Sorcery in the Big City

Christmas just doesn't seem to hold the same place in anime that it used to. We still get our fair share of Christmas episodes, but the significance of hooking up or being alone on Xmas eve just doesn't seem to have the same importance that it used to. Which is why it's nice to see an ONA dedicated entirely to the holiday, even if it isn't anything to write home about. Akari Kido is the new intern at the NYPD, having transferred from Tokyo just in time for Christmas. No sooner has she started walking the beat when a mischievous magical girl appears, bringing thetoys to life so she can have a big party &/or wreak havoc. It's up to Akari, her partner Emma & somehow transformed into a hero teddy bear Apple to save Christmas & discover how everything links back to her kind hearted father, killed on the beat fifteen jolly holidays ago. Which is one of the nice things about the story (that sounds more morbid than it's meant to). For various reasons, anime tends to focus on romance rather than family as the theme of Christmas, with Christmas Eve being one of Japan's many "couples" holidays where companies sell them tat & expensive restaurant menus. This time, however, family is the focus, with Akari "returning" to New York treated as part of her coming to terms with her father's death by following in his footsteps (& nobody eats KFC). This theme does get a little lost in the action, but it's nice that it's there. It's pretty easy to be critical about Sorcery in the Big City. It's rushed, mawkish & predictable, with little beyond the holiday theme & New York setting to make it stand out. Liberty, the magical girl bringing toys to life, isn't much of an antagonist herself & is soon replaced – because her motivations for unleashing violent toys on the streets were just misunderstood, obviously – by an even more pointless & forgettable monster for them all to team up & fight. The characters are all simple stock types with no real development & there really isn't any point or moral to the story, beyond being an excuse for action scenes. But really, does that matter? It's a 40 minute ONA & as such it being little more than an excuse for some festively themed fights is fine. It's a shame, then, that the climax – despite being incessantly foreshadowed like it's going to be a huge deal - is just Liberty, Apple & Akari teaming up to fight some throwaway monster that has little to do with anything. They could have at least made it a giant evil Santa, or something. Maybe one of the toys Liberty brought to life that goes out of control after she joins the good guys? Something to make the final fight feel connected to the rest of the story? Call me, Japan; I've got so many ideas! Being set in New York also means we get a chance to see a bit of the old accidental racism that doesn't happen much any more – given how Japancentric modern anime tends to be. If this was set in Tokyo, I'm reasonably confident in saying that Emma would be a big titted Osakan who's gregarious personality contrasts with the more straight-laced & reserved Tokyan (because that dynamic will never get old...). But this is New York so, turning to American media for inspiration, the creators decided the American equivalent is a sassy, fat, black woman who eats doughnuts. Oh no they di'int! Like everything else though, it's harmless. Sorcery in the Big City exists because mobile game company Xflag teamed up with CGI studio SANZIGEN to make a fluffy, forgettable, action focused Christmas ONA using some Xflag characters. On that note, if you liked the CGI in BBK/BBNK, the visuals here are much the same. It's not going to make anyone's required Christmas anime viewing lists, but if like me you're currently besieged by snow & don't want to watch The Disappearance of Haruhi Snoozemiya or that ToodleDoodle episode for the millionth time, it's not a bad watch. It's no Mad Bull 34, though.

I had a good time with this Monster Strike Christmas special. It was a departure from a lot of the original anime content their channel had produced in the past, a completely new story with new characters set in New York City of all places. I always love seeing anime depictions of American culture. I love that their idea of a stereotypical New York cop is a large, sassy, donut-loving black woman. Very progressive. Likely unbeknownst to the citizens of New York, there's been a bit of a world changing phenomenon over in Japan where one of their mobile games has come to life and startedopening portals to another world unleashing real ass monsters everywhere. You know, Japan stuff. One of these monsters decides to play an epic prank, bro on the people of New York by making all the Christmas toys and decorations come to life. Our protagonist, new to the NYPD, has to deal with rounding up giant frosty the snowman and nutcracker displays that are rampaging through town spreading Christmas cheer. Then her childhood teddy bear with huge sentimental value comes to life and turns into a magical girl. It's a really wacky plot already, but the best part is that all of this magic stuff is happening over what would have been a typical buddy cop story, where the new by-the-book recruit has to learn to work with the older jaded mentor and they eventually overcome their differences and learn to work together to save the day. All of those elements sound like they should be really stupid together but it's actually pretty fun. Almost as good a Christmas movie as Die Hard. Overall I'd say 8/10

Well, I really liked that. Story: Christmas needs to be saved and apple's just the one to do it! Standard anime stuff. Giant monster about to destroy Christmas It has everything you expect: Contrived convience, sad backstory. Art: I really like the way apple and liberty's designs they looked really good. Everyone else looked OK, kind of fleshy which is how cgi typically looks. Characters: We've got akari, our every day police woman. Emma our *black* every day comic relief. I laughed out loud at 2 of her jokes. Liberty our magical girl and apple our superhero, it's the basic cast fora basic show. I Can't really say much without giving everything away for a 40 minute mini movie. Sound: Everything sounds fine Enjoyment: I really liked watching it and I'm not mad that I did, it was simple and perfectly put together.