One of the newest titles coming to a Nintendo Switch near you is Pub Encounter, an otome game aimed at more open minded girls. If you have any experience with games like The Men of Yoshiwara series or The Forbidden Romance series (which shares the same Publisher), Pub Encounter is one for you. Of course, be prepared for a somewhat forbidden romance that you don’t usually see in an otome game!
If there is anything that you should know about Pub Encounter, it should be the fact that this otome game is not going to be as text heavy as games like Hakuoki or Psychedelica of the Black Butterfly. This would be great for those who want a simple dating sim without all of the heavy story and plot points. This one is solely focused on the romance!
Of course, let’s not forget the fact that Pub Encounter is a romance between a young woman and several middle aged men. Oh yes, your romantic love interest will not be a young boy fresh out of university or high school; he’s a seasoned man with a stable career and real life problems outside of finding himself. If any of this entices you, keep reading to find out more!
Things have been hard for Itsuki Shiori (you) at her job. She keeps making mistake after mistake, so defeated, Shiori decides to clear her mind by taking a different route home. Along the way, she comes across a bar named Audire that interests her with its nice atmosphere. At this bar, Shiori meets a group of rather mature older men who all hang out regularly. Just what new experiences await Shiori at Audire?
Ported from the 2016 mobile phone game, Pub Encounter has finally reached a console near you on the Nintendo Switch! Of course, Pub Encounter was released on the PC previously, but this is its first console in the West. In Pub Encounter, you play the part of Itsuki Shiori, which is the main character’s default name, but that can be changed if you wish. As Shiori, you have the option of courting 5 mature yet eligible bachelors!
Pub Encounter is a rather unique game in the dating sim/otome game scene what with all of the love interests being older (but not elderly) in comparison to the usual ikemen type. How does this really change the gameplay? Well, for the most part, the characters don’t immediately seem to fall into the usual tropes (i.e. tsundere, kuudere, dandere), although they all do have similar personalities to the usual love interests if you continue playing. However, these personality tropes change when you alter the situations by making the characters more mature with careers, history, and even their upbringings. Despite the age of these men, Pub Encounter still has that “first love” feeling that we are so used to. Whether or not this will appeal to you is up to you, but do remember that this is an M for Mature title so be prepared for more than just a first kiss at the end of the game!
As far as the gameplay, we have to say that this was a good casual game to play on the Switch between text heavy otome games. It has a focus on just the dating part, so if you want a more developed romance, you’ll be sorely disappointed, but if you are used to mobile dating sims, you should set your expectations accordingly. You’ll dive straight into the romance and a little plot, but for the most part, this isn’t going to be a game that you can’t put down. It’s merely for casual enjoyment.
It was nice to be able to play a game with more mature themes and some unique plots, but because this is for casual gaming, we were disappointed to see that things were wrapped up too easily and plots weren’t well developed. We tried to be understanding considering this is a mobile game, but it still stings a little. Also, something that feels awkward is the emphasis on the age gap between the male leads and Shiori. Yes, we get it; there’s probably a 20 year age difference (we’re guessing), but we don’t need people to be constantly saying how young Shiori is or how much older the male lead is, nor do we need strange moments where Shiori is treated kind of like a child. You may not notice these moments as well as we did, but it did make us feel a bit awkward, but we understand that there is ageism in most societies so this could be part of the normal, awkward conversation, right?
While your experience may vary, the gameplay of Pub Encounter was quite enjoyable and fits the casual style of many mobile otome games like the Shall We Date series. We enjoyed the fact that there was mature content that fits the actual age group the game is intended for, but at the same time, it doesn’t stray too far away from the usual format that dating sims have and crosses the line landing Pub Encounter in the cliche territory. The plot also matches very well for the age group and although the plots are not as well developed as, say, a full blown visual novel, Pub Encounter is still an enjoyable dating sim experience if you are only looking for a casual game. For $16.99, it doesn’t break the bank and lets players play the game without pesky commercials or daily limitations that come with most mobile dating sim apps.
Sometimes we don’t need to have the developed story and heavy plots; sometimes we just want to have a cute romance and maybe with an older man! Well, if that is so, we hope that you gained something from our review as you learned about exactly that type of dating sim in Pub Encounter. With men varying in age, experiences, and even backgrounds, you will get to experience a different type of dating sim that is on the market.
For those of you out there reading this, what are your thoughts on the game? Do you think it’ll be as moe as any other dating sim with younger men? Do you look forward to dealing with real life problems with these handsome older men or do you wish they were a little bit less seasoned? Share your thoughts in the comments below because we’d love to hear your take!
Author: Jenangelx3
California based workaholic. Current mottos are “I don’t care” and “I’ll try almost anything once”. Interests include traveling, eating, video games, and weightlifting. Currently living life to the fullest, pursuing my happiness, and conquering my fears. Yoroshiku onegaishimasu!
During an evening press conference in Japan, Nippon TV along with their subsidiary company AX-E Entertainment, officially announced their e-Sports team called "AXIZ". This is incredible news for the competitive scene in Japan as this now encourages more players to take part in major events, but also gives players around the world a chance to see Japan"s strongest players take to the main stage.
The main logo motiv is meant to express strength and power, using the big fangs and horn to emphasize that meaning even further. The new team aims to be the central figure in the growing e-Sports scene in Japan and with this logo, they"re dedicated to being at the head of the pack.
The goal of AXIZ is to change the perspective of the e-sports scene around the world to a positive one for players, while raising awareness about e-Sports for more people to engage.
AXIZ plans to kick off their plans during the Shadowverse Pro League, which takes place July 7th - July 27th, with their goal to enter into the multigaming scene in Japan. The MC at the event was singer and songwriter DAIGO who took part in the PUBG activities, along with Rina Ikoma, and Kishi Okawa, all of whom are avid gamers and look forward to bringing this scene into the spotlight.
E-sports specialty program eGG (e-Sports Good Game) plans to kick off their official broadcast on July 19th from 24:59 (12:59JST) and will be aired on CS NTV Plus, BS NTV, NTV Free (TADA), Tver、GYAO、Hulu、and OPENREC.
Source: Official Press Release
This is amazing news for the Japan e-Sports scene! Glad to see more teams are popping up!
This will definitely encourage more players to come out and really work hard to become pros!
Crash Bandicoot fans and gamers can relive the ‘90s with the launch of Crash Bandicoot N. Sane Trilogy on Xbox One, Nintendo Switch and Steam. Crash Bandicoot N. Sane Trilogy’s arrival to new platforms marks the first time that the original three games – Crash Bandicoot,Crash Bandicoot2: Cortex Strikes Back and Crash Bandicoot3: Warped – will be playable on these platforms.
To celebrate launch day, Activision Blizzard is bringing Stormy Ascent and Future Tense to Crash Bandicoot N. Sane Trilogy at no additional charge. Existing Crash Bandicoot N. Sane Trilogy owners onPlayStation 4 can download Stormy Ascent at no additional charge from the PlayStation Store.
The ‘coot core will also receive a brand-new level called Future Tense. Developed by Vicarious Visions, Future Tense brings an extra layer of difficulty to Crash Bandicoot 3: Warped’s Future world, as players dodge rockets, destroy robots and leap over lasers while ascending a massive futuristic skyscraper. Future Tense pays homage to the unreleased Waterfall level from the original Crash Bandicoot game. Future Tense is now available at no additional charge to all gamers on PS4, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch and PC.
Source: Official Press Release
Future Tense Launch Trailer | Crash Bandicoot N. Sane Trilogy
Another classic title coming to the Switch! Yahoo!
Funny enough, I"ve actually never played a Crash Bandicoot title before. This will be my first time!
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HIDIVE announced today that it acquired the streaming rights to the Summer 2018 simulcast series, 100 Sleeping Princes & the Kingdom of Dreams. The series will be available to HIDIVE subscribers in USA, Canada, Australia, New Zealand and other select territories. 100 Sleeping Princes & the Kingdom of Dreams will premiere July 5, 2018, with weekly episodes being released every Thursday at 3:00 p.m. UTC!
Source: Official Press Release
My handsome prince, come to me! I shall be waiting!
XSEED Games revealed earlier today that the Nihon Falcom developed adventure Ys: Memories of Celceta will release on Steam, GOG, and The Humble Store by Humble Bundle on July 25, priced at $24.99, €24.99, and £19.99. The publisher also confirmed that the Ankake Spa-developed indie action-adventure game Touhou: Scarlet Curiosity, set in the classic Touhou Project bullet-hell universe, will release on Steam on July 11, priced at $14.99, €14.99, and £12.99. Both titles will release with a 10% discount off their regular prices for the first week.
The PC version of Ys: Memories of Celceta will include a digital PDF version of ‘Adol’s Travel Journal’, which was originally included as part of the PlayStation Vita Limited Edition. This journal provides details on adventuring strategies and is full of gorgeous artwork. The title has received numerous enhancements as well, including improved visuals with a wide range of HD resolutions, unlocked framerates, fully customizable control bindings, mouse support, and more to ensure that it feels right at home alongside XSEED’s other PC releases.
The Steam release of Touhou: Scarlet Curiosity comes with a number of enhancements compared to its former PlayStation 4 release as well, including support for resolutions up to 4K. Additionally, Touhou Project veterans and newcomers can play through the all-new “Bullet Hell” difficulty created exclusively for this Steam release, offering a deeper layer of difficulty that lives up to the series’ bullet-hell roots.
Source: Official Press Release
Official Trailers
Ys: Memories of Celceta (PC) - Launch Date Announcement
Touhou: Scarlet Curiosity - Launch Date Announcement (Steam)
Shoutouts to Nihon Falcom for all of these amazing games!
As we mentioned before, Pokémon Go is easily the best example of AR gaming done right. Pokémon in general has been for years now a staple of what a franchise can accomplish with lovable characters, a popular anime series and some amazing video games. What changes the franchise up though is how Pokémon Go removed the boundaries of immersion and allowed players to feel as if they are real life Pokémon trainers trying to nab all the Pokémon. Yet, if you don’t know what AR gaming is yet—which is what the point of this article—then you won’t fully understand what we mean. Let us explain how Pokémon Go works and how AR fits into it.
The Pokémon Go app is a very simple game in concept. AR works within the game’s structure to allow players to find Pokémon in real world locations like cities, suburbs and towns. Using an overlay, real world maps are utilized to allow games to walk through areas and find Pokémon. When a player arrives at random locations, a Pokémon appears in the area the player is and the player uses the camera to put the Pokémon on the actual location, though not physically of course. It might sound gimmicky and overly simple but in the end it shows that AR—which is still in its infancy—has potential to work with popular franchises to make for some cool games. Just be sure to stay safe and pay attention to where you’re walking while playing Pokémon Go.
Discover Pokémon in the Real World with Pokémon GO! (Official Trailer)
System/Platform: iOS, Android, Apple Watch
Publisher: Six to Start
Developer: Six to Start
Release Dates: Feb 27, 2012
While Pokémon is a very popular franchise, that might not be enough to really wow you on AR and fully explain how AR can be implemented into video games. Luckily, there are still several other AR games out there that we can use for examples and one of them happens to be a zombie focused game. Zombies, Run! by developer Six to Start is all about surviving zombies and its main function is AR gameplay. How does the AR work in Zombies, Run!? Simple, you run just like the title says to do.
Zombies, Run! works on the ideals that players get up and run—yes in real life not in game—to gain supplies and survive against the bloody thirsty enemies. What’s even better is that Zombies, Run! hides the fact that it has a lot of health benefits such as calorie counters, time, pacing and distance ran to make it a semi-good workout app despite the game ideas. In comparison to Pokémon Go, Zombies, Run! doesn’t use make AR seem very obvious but equally puts out images on your phone—using the GPS—to show your location and how you’re doing surviving the zombie threat. AR is perfect for Zombies, Run! or games like it because of how it is isn’t intrusive and it makes working out really fun! Again though, be careful where you run at, zombies don’t exist in reality but various other worldly threats do like cars, bumps in the road and such. Make sure to run in locations you’re familiar with and know to avoid danger, folks.
All-New Zombies, Run! Trailer (Official Trailer)
System/Platform: iOS, Android
Publisher: Niantic
Developer: Niantic
Release Dates: Dec 14, 2013
Before making Pokémon Go, developer Niantic had another lesser known AR game available called Ingress. The idea of Ingress though is something we wish more people knew about as it uses AR in a really intriguing way. In Ingress, you assume the role of an agent for a faction of your choosing and must help said faction gain power over opposing teams. To do this involves similarities to the other games above we mentioned—Pokémon Go and Zombies, Run!—in that players explore real areas outside their homes. If you’re still not 100% understanding of how Ingress works then allow us to remove that confusion and explain what you’ll be doing for your faction and how Ingress works as a whole.
Ingress, as we mentioned, is a team-based AR mobile video game that has players beating down others not with actual violence or meet ups but with app themes. When you load up Ingress, you’ll see a map of your real location—minus some details and such—and then will be shown locations on said map that contain spots to hit or to capture. These spots are called portals and when you nab them you score points for your faction. What also makes Ingress more AR themed then even Pokémon Go is that it makes players go more adventurous by having portals located in popular landmark areas—museums, public art, monuments and so forth—which broadens the horizons of players who might not ever visit some locations. Ingress has a really cool spy themed story and while it’s not as popular as the titles above, we do recommend trying it out to see what AR can do in a more realistic sense.
What is the Niantic Project? (Official Trailer)
4. Harry Potter: Wizards Unite
System/Platform: iOS, Android
Publisher: Niantic, Warner Brothers Games
Developer: Niantic, Portkey Games
Release Dates: 2018
We wrap up our What is AR article with one final example of a new game soon to be released from the AR focused development team Niantic yet again. Just like Pokémon, this franchise that Niantic is taking control of for their upcoming AR game should be well known to most readers out there as it too has had some popularity but more so in the book world. That’s right folks, as if the title above didn’t spoil it already we are going to be talking about Harry Potter: Wizards Unite which from the description, sounds like the AR game we’ve been waiting for. Yes, Harry Potter: Wizards Unite might finally allow us to feel like witches and wizards and that truly excites us.
Similar to other AR games, Harry Potter: Wizards Unite will have a focus on exploring your real-world environments to play the game itself. However, thanks to the Harry Potter focus, this AR game will have players fighting Dementors and other threats that appear in augmented reality as well as collect wizarding items and artifacts. We don’t know when Harry Potter: Wizards Unite will be released exactly, but we do know a 2018-year release is most likely so that means we won’t have to wait too long to become the masters of magic we always wanted to be. What spells can we use and how will multiplayer be integrated in Harry Potter: Wizards Unite? We don’t know fully but all we can say is to keep your eyes glued to your app stores for when Harry Potter: Wizards Unite drops soon.
Final Thoughts
Author: Aaron
Hey everyone I’m Aaron Curbelo or Blade as I’m called by my YouTube Subscribers. I’ve been an anime/manga fan since I was a young kid. In terms of anime I have watched nearly a thousand shows and have read hundreds of manga series. I love writing and honestly was so happy to join Honey’s Anime to get a shot to write articles for such a wonderful site. I’m a firm believer in respect in the anime community being the most important embodiment we should all have. We all love anime and we have varying opinions of series but we should respect one another for those differences! Life is too precious to spend it making needless arguments in a community that should be the shining example of loving an amazing medium. I hope as a writer for Honey’s Anime I can bring you folks some amazing articles to read and enjoy!
I’m a lover of anime and manga and I spend most of my time working hard to accomplish my goals in life. Outside of anime and manga, I’m an avid Heroes of the Storm player and I love some good food.
What happens when you give a Crunchyroll trial to a former Toonami kid who hasn"t watched anime since Cowboy Bebop got dubbed? You get Hercule SSJ. Thanks to that, he"s spent the last two years catching up on dozens of shows and manga he"s neglected over the years. Has probably watched 60% of all harem ecchi in existence. Currently seeking series to fill the void left by Konosuba and One-Punch Man. Accepts NisiOisiN quotes as payment.
Wolfenstein II: The New Colossus – As BJ Blazkowicz, experience an unforgettable action-packed story brought to life by extraordinary characters. Reunite with your friends and fellow freedom fighters as you take on the evil Frau Engel and her Nazi army. Wage the second American Revolution your way – at home or on the go. And for the perfect blend of immersion and accuracy, use the Nintendo Switch system’s motion controls to stop the Nazi threat. The Wolfenstein II: The New Colossus game is available on June 29.
Crash Bandicoot N. Sane Trilogy – Spin, jump, wump and repeat as you take on the epic challenges and adventures through the three games that started it all: Crash Bandicoot, Crash Bandicoot 2: Cortex Strikes Back and Crash Bandicoot 3: Warped. Relive all your favorite Crash moments in their fully remastered graphical glory. The Crash Bandicoot N. Sane Trilogy game is available on June 29.
Activities
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Theme Shop on Nintendo 3DS
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Nintendo eShop Sales
Nintendo eShop on Nintendo Switch, Nintendo 3DS and Wii U
Great deals this week! Check out the full list of deals available this week at http://www.nintendo.com/games/sales-and-deals.
Save up to 50 percent on select digital games – Super Smash Bros. is back! Celebrate E3 2018 with savings on select digital games that helped make some of your favorite fighters famous, as well as other great games. Offer starts today at 9 a.m. PT and ends June 21 at 8:59 a.m. PT.
NEKOPARA?!! OH YES!! Please gimme now!
Wow I"m surprised Wolfenstein looks pretty good on the Switch!
You walk down a hallway one day, and a cute boy or girl says hi to you. You are flustered but manage to say hi back to them. With a smile you move on. Moving into your classroom, you tell your friends what has happened. They all laugh at you and you wonder why? They explain that the person you just talked to isn’t the gender that you assumed they were. Turns out they are gender bending or dressing/acting as a member of the opposite sex!
Love ‘em or hate ‘em, gender bending characters have been around for a very long time. They were introduced, for the most part, with a very famous anime made by a very famous author. Sometimes it’s well known to everyone that this person isn’t they gender they are portraying, and sometimes it’s a secret. One thing is for sure, usually someone has no clue what is going on and it’s rather hilarious! Let’s take a look at some shows as we round up the top 10 anime with gender bending characters!
Episodes: 13
Aired: July 2014 – September 2014
Here is your slice-of life, student council anime complete with a cross-dressing character? Hmm? Hime Arikawa is a second year student at a high school. His parents left him an obscene amount of debt and he is now being hunted by debt collectors. Fortunately for him, the student council saves him one day. When they do, they tell him that they can get rid of his debt … for a price. He will not have to dress as and pose as a girl for the next two years and serve the student council!
For all intents and purposes, Hime Arikawa looks like a girl to begin with. He even has a feminine personality to boot! What’s not helping him is being at the mercy of three women! He’s constantly forced to be a part of their antics including the bathing suit fiasco. He is even inappropriately touched by boys who are interested in him while he/she is trying to run away! Poor Hime! He/she even passes for a woman most of the time so it’s great! This is a great show to dip your toe into the pool of what it means to be a gender bender. Enjoy!
Episodes: 12
Aired: October 2009 – December 2009
How would you feel one day if you went to bed as a boy the night before, and you woke up as a girl the next day? Not only that but some stuffed doll comes to life and tells you that you are now destined to fight? What? Well this is what happens to Natsuru one day. Now he has long hair and is being attacked by other Kampfer. Welcome to Kampfer!
The thing with most gender bender characters is that they tend to not have people throwing themselves at the character. With poor Natsuru, people, including his best friend, who previously had no interest in him, are now all about him. The entire female student body, along with the male one, are suddenly now obsessed with him. Oh and don’t forget too this is a fighting anime! There’s actually plenty of action to keep things going and never a dull moment. Check it out to learn more!
Episodes: 12
Aired: October 2014 – December 2014
Twin-tails or twin pigtails are probably right next to the heavenly beings of the purple-haired race on the Moe scale of things. When an otaku is obsessed with twin-tails enough to the point that he starts his own club to celebrate them, what’s a guy to do? Well, Souji, the guy, is now approached by a being named Twoearle who insists that he fight for their cause; to save twin-tails from being absorbed by evil aliens. He’s onboard and away he goes to save them all!
Twoearle gives him asset of armor to help him fight but there is one small problem… he transforms into a girl! Now he has to fight these evil aliens from absorbing all the spiritual energy of the world! The most refreshing thing about this gender bender anime is that while he does transform, becoming a girl doesn’t make him weaker. He is the same and in fact, his attacks (or is it her attacks?) become stronger! It was a big hit on the screen when it aired and it still fairly is. Check it out because you won’t be disappointed!
Episodes: 13
Aired: October 2007 – December 2007
Minami-ke follows three sisters, Chiaki, Kana, and Haruka in their everyday lives. A majority of this show takes place in their residence or at school. Haruka is the slightly out-of-the-loop sister, due to her being in high school, Kana, the crazy sister who oddly can be very conniving at the same time, and then good ole, Chiaki who is the most calculating and probably smart sister of the group. Their friends come over often to help study with them but the star of this show, is Makoto.
Makoto or Mako-chan is a fellow elementary school classmate of Chiaki. He comes over to meet Haruka because he has a crush on her, and Kana decides to hide him from Chiaki. How you ask? With hair clips and girls clothing. Because that will disguise anyone from everyone when they already know what he looks like as a boy. Mako-chan now blends in with only Kana and two others knowing his secret. In this type of gender bender setting, it’s more of a humorous role as he is forced to wear the clothes the first few times, but eventually Makoto gets into it and starts buying his own girl clothes to wear over to the Minami house.
Episodes: 26
Aired: April 2006 – September 2006
What if you could go to school with the elites? What if that also meant, that as a girl, you could stop a certain room after school and be entertained by a swath of attractive, bishounen (pretty boys) as they showered you with compliments and attention? Life would be pretty sweet eh? Haruhi Fujioka isn’t the richest individual at this school of the elites, but she tries. One day, unfortunately, she stumbles into this club. Backing away in disgust/terror she knocks over a vase worth over $80,000! The group decides to blackmail her into being their servant while she pays off the debt.
An outfit upgrade later, some of the clients are now realizing that Haruhi is actually really cute and she is mistaken for a boy frequently. Female clients start to request her, and the club offers to put her to work as a host to help pay off the debt faster. Haruhi in this series is the first of this list where a girl now is playing a boy. This has a very similar feel to Himegoto (or vice versa) and shows the rarer part of a girl playing a guy. Somehow though, with her wits and charm, she is able to dress as a boy and still maintain female clients. The difference though is that Haruhi here keeps up the charade. However, just like with Himegoto and Kampfer, EVERYONE is in love with him/her.
Episodes: 26
Aired: April 2008 – September 2008
Yuuki Rito is this awkward boy who cannot get the nerve to confess to his love, Haruna. He eventually gives up one day and in a bad mood begins to sulk in the bathtub. He doesn’t have long though because this strange nude girl barges in. Her name is Lala and while she is being pursued hotly by a suitor, she has come to Earth. She is here to get away from the rules of her own society as well as marry Rito in order to stay on Earth.
The actual gender bender character of this show is Ren and his alter ego Run. Ren is male and Run is female. They are quite possibly and most likely a nod towards a show farther down and you’ll see why down there! The thing is that for a rare gender bender character, they are not merely cross-dressing; Ren and Run are the same person. They just happen to switch personalities and bodies as a whole. How do they do it? With a sneeze. As a male, Ren is in a hilariously, one-sided pursuit of Lala while as a girl, Run is in love with Rito and constantly wants him. The great part about To Love-ru is that this show is an ecchi rather than a straight comedy or a slice of life.
Episodes: 13
Aired: July 2008 – September 2008
Tsutomu is walking home one day when something comes out of the sky and kills him. This is super anti-climactic for a series opener right!? I mean the main character is now dead. Or is he? It turns out that space police agent Birdy Cephon Altera was in hot pursuit of a criminal and accidentally killed him. To punish her and help him, the police force offers to regenerate, or in a sense, grow him another body. Tsutomu agrees and for the meantime, he and Birdy have to share a body while she investigates the evil aliens on Earth.
Something unique about this show and it seems like a mistake someone missed, is that Tsutomu will show up as a boy in his body when his personality is in control! Wasn’t it destroyed?? Birdy is inside of him as well but when she is in control, you see her body! This kind of gender flip flopping or complete and total gender bending, it similar to Ren/Run from To Love-Ru. It’s funny because Tsutomu has to keep all of this a secret from his friends and family, yet somehow help Birdy while flip flopping bodies in the same situation. Check it out not only for the gender bender, but because the fight scenes are pretty great too!
Episodes: 13
Aired: July 2015 – September 2015
Aoharu x Kikanjuu was a little gem from the summer that hopefully you were able to catch! It follows Hotaru Tachibana, a seemingly masculine passing girl as she somehow gets talked into joining an airsoft team called the Toy Guns. It comprises of three members per team and she travels with them to so called “survival games” to compete.
The problem is though, is that due to her uniform and looks, the other two guys assume that she’s a guy! Not only that, before Tachibana can even correct them, they talk about how girls are banned from their team and they will never accept them! Whoops! She’s in over her head. Somehow she’s between a rock and a hard place when it comes to being true to herself and still playing these “survival games” that she loves so much. Tachibana does blend in perfectly though a as guy, so there is that part to love too!
Episodes: 12
Aired: January 2009 – March 2009
Kanako is finally realizing her dream of going to an all-girls school! Because she hates boys? Maybe. Because boys scare her? No. Because she breaks out in hives when a boy touches her? Possibly. Because she’s a secret lesbian with dirty perverted fantasies of doing things with high school girls her age? Yes! (No joke. That’s why she’s at the school.) From day one, everything seems to be perfect at Kanako’s new school. Then Kanako moves into her room. A female vision of loveliness turns around to greet her as her new roommate! Kanako is in heaven. Till she discovers that Mariya, her new roommate is actually an extremely mean guy in drag! What the heck! Kanako is going to expose her but Mariya threatens to tell everyone that Kanako is a perverted lesbian. Mariya also comes equipped with a sassy maid Matsurika. The dorm has multiple unique characters that will butt into her attempts at love for sure! Will Kanako ever find love?
Mariya has to be one of the funniest characters around who is in drag. In fact, until she/he flat out expresses it, you don’t really know! Not to mention, Mariya’s older sister cross-dresses as and passes for a boy at an all boys-school! There’s also the silver tongued Matsurika who does not hold back at all when it comes to Kanako. This show will make you laugh so hard you’ll cry.
Episodes: 161
Aired: October 1989 – September 1992
Yeah that number of episodes is a bit daunting isn’t it? Welcome to the final entry on this list of Top 10 Gender Bender Anime! Ranma 1/2 was a very successful manga written by the infamous Rumiko Takahashi (Rinne, Inuyasha, Urusei Yatsura, Maison Ikkoku), and it is argued to be one of the first anime to really start to make anime popular in the U.S.! Ren/Run from To Love-ru is the character that is a nod towards this show! Ranma 1/2 is a martial arts manga that opens with Ranma and his father Genma in China. They both fall into cursed springs and as such, whenever Ranma is hit with cold water he turns into a girl! No joke, he physically turns into a girl! His mind stays the same but his entire physical appearance is altered. How does she change back? A splash of cold water does it. Ranma has no couth about using this form to his advantage on multiple occasions which leads to some rather funny outcomes. He trains at a dojo in Tokyo and goes to high school full time, so there is a school aspect to Ranma1/2 as well.
What’s so wonderful about Ranma 1/2 is that is really encompasses the whole thing about being a gender bender while wrapping it up in other genres. While yes, changing clothes is still okay for gender bendering, Ranma fully changes physically. There’s comedy, martial arts, and this show has romance/harem going on with Akane as his main love interest/rival. (You will have to watch the show to find out more about that one, but it is good.) Another great aspect of this show is that other people transform too. For example, Shampoo turns into a cat, Mousse into a duck, and Ryoga into a black pig. However Ranma is the only one to actually change gender. For laughs, romance, martial arts, and just an overall good show with gender bending, check out Ranma 1/2!
Whew! Here we are at the end again. I really hope you enjoyed this list of gender bender shows! What’s great about gender bender anime is that it isn’t always boy to girl or girl to boy. As this list shows, while it can learn one way more than other, it’s not an absolute. Anime is diverse and interesting and there’s not a dull aspect about it since there’s a show for everyone. Let’s talk about them in the comments below! As always, till next time!
Editor/Translator
Author: Nagareboshi
American by birth; international by choice. I am trying to bring attention to one of my favorite causes; me. I translate by day and write by night. Aspiring polyglot. My dream would be to be the personal translator for Amuro Namie. Other than that, my hobbies include languages, weightlifting, sleeping, karaoke, GOOD coffee and music. When I’m not doing any of the above, I am most likely laughing hysterically at Willam Belli videos or EV farming. I ain’t gunna Rupologize for it neither. Waifu are Shirai Kuroko & Euaerin.
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