“In Heaven’s Animal Design Department, designers create a variety of new animals daily while contending with the unreasonable requests of their client: God. This series answers question…
Jan 12, 2021 • Subscribe
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First Impressions – Tenchi Souzou Design-bu
I don't know how much staying power this conceit has, but for an episode at least it's quite amusing. Read more


Tenchi Souzou Design-bu – 07
It would be hard to imagine a show being ignored more thoroughly (in the West) than Kai Byoui Ramune, but Tenchi Souzou Design-bu fits the bill. Read more
Heaven’s Design Team, Dr. Ramune -Mysterious Disease Specialist-


Tenchi Souzou Design-bu – 08
Rap battles as a kind of courtship display is pretty on the money, I have to say. Read more


Tenchi Souzou Design-bu – 05
I've always admired the ability of a series to use comedy to enlighten something real, and this show absolutely demonstrates the ability to do that. Read more


Tenchi Souzou Design-bu – 10
Yakomaru? Is that you? Read more


Tenchi Souzou Design-bu – 11
This series inspires more Googling than anything else on the schedule. Read more


Tenchi Souzou Design-bu – 06
Onsen episode, check. Read more
Tenchi Souzou Design-bu – 01
「案件1」 (Anken 1) "Matter 1" The only workplace comedy that involves coming up with the flavor of an anteater.


Tenchi Souzou Design-bu – 09
I love this series but it does have a way of reminding you you're not as informed as you thought you were. Read more


Tenchi Souzou Design-bu (Anime Review)
Synopsis In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. He also sought after a wide variety of animals to populate the planet. However, he felt that…


Second Impressions – Tenchi Souzou Design-bu
I liked this episode better than the first - or maybe I let myself buy in to the premise. Read more


Tenchi Souzou Design-bu – 12 (End) and Series Review
They don't get much more under-the-radar than Tenchi Souzou Design-bu, but for those of us who discovered it, the rewards were ample. Read more


Tenchi Souzou Design-bu – 13 (End – Really This Time)
Well, that was seriously unexpected. Read more


Tenshi Souzou Design-bu Reveiw
You know, if God really did ask for even half of Earth’s creatures to be made just on the whims of really vague requests, I’d believe it. Because…


Winter 2021 First Impressions: Back Arrow, Kumo desu ga, Nani ka?, Tenchi Souzou Design-bu
Back Arrow Short Synopsis: A ripped nudist emerges from an extraterrestrial capsule and transforms into a gooey robot to defend an old west town. Wooper: It takes a…


Weekly Digest 1/30/23 – 2.43: Seiin High School Boys Volleyball Team, Tenchi Souzou Design-bu
Learning stuff from anime is good. Read more
2.43: Seiin High School Boys Volleyball Team, Heaven’s Design Team
I probably would have dropped Tenchi Souzou Design-bu by now if it weren't so informative
Some of the work-related bits hit at little too close to home.


First Impression: Heaven’s Design Team
In the beginning, God created the Heavens and the Earth. Then He created the animals. Or so it was supposed to go, but it got too tedious so…


2.43: Seiin Koukou Danshi Volley-bu (First Impression)
“High school student Kimichika Haijima moves back to his hometown, Fukui, after causing trouble in the Tokyo Junior High School volleyball club. There, he is reunited with his…


Heaven’s Design Team: AniTAY First Impressions
In TenDeBu, we explore the question: What if God outsourced the designs of all the animals?


First Impression: Kaginado
A familiar little girl wearing a sailor fuku with stuffed dango in hand walks into a planetarium, where she’s greeted by another familiar face, an android with blue…
First Impression: Pet
The physical world is immense and full of possibilities—good and bad. But the world inside our minds is even more vast, full of imagination, potential, and horror. There…


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If you were resurrected into another world, would it matter what form you were born into? Would you immediately give up on this second life if your new…


First Impression: Medalist
One day, former ice dancer Tsukasa sees an 11-year-old girl, Inori, try to sneak her way into an ice rink without paying. After chasing her around and scolding…
First Impression: Wargroove
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First Impression: BULLBUSTER
For the past year, Ryugan Island has been overrun by large, hulking creatures known as “Giant Beasts.” To deal with the creatures and make the island inhabitable again,…


First Impression: Cue!
Action music. A deep blue sea with emerald green coasts. Pursued by their enemies, a boy and a girl are entering the fantasy world where she was born.…


First Impression: ODDTAXI
Odokawa is an odd duck (or rather, walrus) by most any measure. He’ll take an inappropriately long amount of time to think of an answer to a question…


First Impression: Ishura
It’s the first day of school in a vaguely medieval Ottoman-like world (with robots) when timid Yuno first encounters Lucelles, the sparkling, confident girl who quickly becomes her…


First Impression: Horimiya
Kyoko Hori: Smart, beautiful, popular, but for unknown reasons, she rushes out of school instead of spending time with the rest of her clique. Izumiya Miyamura: Quiet, introverted,…


First Impression: UniteUp!
Akira may be a bit of a curmudgeon (as far as perky 17-year-olds go), but he’s a good son and devoted friend. He’s just been a little bit…


86 (First Impression)
“The Republic of San Magnolia has been attacked by its neighbor, the Empire. Outside the 85 districts of the Republic there is the ‘non-existent 86th district,’ where young…


First Impression: Helck
It’s a difficult day for Lady Vermillio, a powerful fire sorceress with an administrative position in the Demon (Oni) Realm. After the death of Lord Demon Thor, the…


Sakugan (First Impression)
“Far in the future, the human beings were pushed into the deep underground world called Labyrinth and they are living shoulder-to-shoulder. The Labyrinth has several colonies with severe…


First Impression: Zenshu
Natsuko Hirose is a young hotshot animation director who skyrocketed to fame with her first production that was so relevant it became a cultural phenomenon. Her next series…


SK∞ (First Impression)
“Reki, a high school sophomore and skater, is addicted to “S,” a highly secret and dangerous downhill skateboarding race that takes place in an abandoned mine. The skaters…


First Impression: Revenger
It’s nighttime in the dregs of the Tokugawa era, Japan, and assassins abound. This particular one kills his mark, but not before the victim is able to plant…
First Impression: Tamayomi
As children, Yomi would toss a “magic ball” to Tamaki, a curving pitch that the latter wasn’t able to catch. The two agreed that when Yomi mastered it…


First Impression: HAIGAKURA
Ichiyo is a “Kashi,” a shaman who uses dance and music to capture gods in his sacred beads, known as “Sai.” But among all the Kashi, Ichiyo is…


First Impression: Koikimo
Another day, another conquest—though truth be told, misogynistic businessman Ryo Amakusa doesn’t seem to take much delight in taking so many women to bed. But his mindset is…


SSSS.Dynazenon (First Impression)
“One day, Yomogi Asanaka, a first-year student at Fujiyokidai High School, runs into a mysterious man named Gauma who claims to be a “kaiju user.” The sudden appearance…
First Impression: Gibiate
In the year 2030, Kathleen Funada is seeking a cure for a horrible disease that has ravaged the planet, one which turns humans into monstrous creatures. Gibiate, as…


First Impression: Bucchigiri?!
Arajin Tomobishi has a habit of losing things. First, he leaves his bass guitar in the classroom on his first day at a new school, then he leaves…


First Impression: OVERTAKE
Kouya Madoka is a photographer who is having trouble with his work. He gets tense and anxious before a photo shoot, and this is causing him to be…


Gekidol (First Impression)
“Set five years after the mysterious disaster of a city’s sudden disappearance, a group of girls fascinated by the “Theatrical Material System” using 3D holograms aims to brighten…


First Impression: PLUTO
One of the staples of popular anime has always been robots, often giant in scale and battling in space. Long before Gundam and others, Astro Boy, created by Osamu Tezuka, was…
First Impression: Noblesse
Okay, before I get into my first take on this one, I need to clear the air about something. Yes, I am aware that Noblesse has an OVA…
First Impression: Noblesse
Okay, before I get into my first take on this one, I need to clear the air about something. Yes, I am aware that Noblesse has an OVA…


First Impression: SHY
A snazzy comic book-style intro and voice-over catch us up on the state of the world: it seems that planet Earth is awash with…peace and tranquility? That’s right,…