Witch Craft Works
Directed by Tsutomo Mizushima
Produced by J.C. Staff, Lantis, Kodansha
Voice cast: Yusuke Kobayashi, Asami Seto, Ai Kayano, Shiori Izawa, Ai Matayoshi, Yuka Kuroda, Kana Asumi, You Taichi, Sayaka Oohara, Natsumi Hioka, Momo Asakura, Shiori Izawa, Yuuko Iida, Rie Kugimiya, Shiina Natsukawa
Air Dates: Wednesdays at 1:15 CST
Currently simulcasting on Crunchyroll

Put yourself in this situation: Let’s say you’re a below-average male high school student. You’re scorned by your classmates, and to make things worse, you have to sit next to the most popular girl in the entire school every day, an arrangement that singles you out for all sorts of physical and mental abuse from her fans – both male and female – on an equally daily basis.

Now imagine that the only thing keeping you safe from an entire army of large mechanical rabbits that just invaded your school, hell-bent on your destruction, and the cadre of witches leading them, was a single fire witch who referred to you as her “princess,” and said fire witch is none other than the most popular girl in school.

Student Council’s Discretion (Seitokai no Ichizon)
Series directed by: Takuya Sato (1st series), Ken’ichi Imaizumi (2nd series)
Written by: Aoi Sekina, Jukki Hanada, Reiko Yoshida
Cast: Mariko Honda, Takashi Kondo, Misuzu Togashi, Yuka Saitou, Yuki Horinaka, Ai Shimizu, Haruka Tomatsu, Kazutomi Yamamoto, Mami Kosuge, Mamiko Noto, Ryoko Shintani, Takahiro Sakurai
Production: Kadokawa Pictures
Broadcast: Currently Streaming on Crunchyroll

Based on a light novel series written by Aoi Sekina, Student Council’s Discretion, or Seitokai no Ichizon, is a funny romp through the idiosyncrasies of anime and manga fandom, as well as the foibles of its own sometimes deeply flawed characters.

A prestigious private school named Hekiyou Academy is the setting for this self-effacing high school comedy, where members of the Student Council are elected by means of popularity contests. Kurimu Sakurano is the current President of the Student Council, along with Chizuru Akaba, the Council’s Secretary, Vice-President Minatsu Shiina, and her sister and Council Treasurer, Mafuyu Shiina. Rounding out this stellar cast is one male member, however: Ken Sugisaki, who acquired the coveted Student Council “Blue Chip” seat for Vice-President by being the top academic scorer on campus.

Gingitsune: Messenger Fox of the Gods
Directed by: Shin Misawa
Series Composition by: Hiroshi Yamaguchi
Voice cast: Hisako Kanemoto, Shinichiro Miki, Ami Koshimizu, Ayumi Fujimura, Chinatsu Akasaki, Hirofumi Nojima, Kazuhiko Inoue, Kensho Ono, Tomokazu Seki, Tomokazu Sugita, Toshihiko Seki
Diomedea
Air Dates: Sundays, 12:30 p.m. CST
Currently streaming on Crunchyroll

Okay, confession time: I love slice-of-life anime. I have a big soft spot for this particular sub-genre, and when I first started watching Gingitsune: Messenger Fox of the Gods, I fell in love right away. Currently simulcasting on Crunchyroll every Sunday afternoon, the series is directed by Shin Misawa, whose previous work includes such series as 801 T.T.S. Airbats and the television version of JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure. The series is produced by anime studio Diomedea, whose diverse list of production chores include Hidamari Sketch, Aria the Scarlet Ammo, and Fairy Tail, among many others.

The series is based on a manga created by artist Sayori Ochiai and tells the story of the day-to-day life of Makoto Saeki, who is the fifteenth successor of her family’s Inari shrine. The shrine has been in existence since the early years of the Edo period, roughly dating from the early 17th century. Makoto’s mother died while she was still a little girl, and it is at her mother’s funeral that she first meets the series’ other main protagonist, the shrine’s guardian “kitsune,” or fox herald, Gintaro.

One Piece fans, rejoice! Crunchyroll Inc., the leading online Asian entertainment stream service, announced on October 31st that it has added the incredibly long-lived series to its already impressive roster of streaming anime.

The series, which is currently up to its 619th episode, will begin broadcasting this Saturday, November 2 at 7:30 p.m. Pacific Time. Broadcasts will start with episode 619 for both premium and free users of the service. Earlier episodes will be made available for users at a later date.

Log Horizon
Directed by Shinji Ishihara
Written by Syouji Masuda
Character Design by Mariko Ito
Voice cast: Emiri Kato, Takuma Terashima, Tomoaki Maeno, Ayahi Takagaki, Daiki Yamashita, Eriko Matsui, Jouji Nakata, Kanami Takahashi, Misaki Kuno, Nao Tamura, Ryota Ohsaka, Shohei Kajikawa, Sora Amamiya, Taishi Murata, Takahiro Sakurai, Tetsuya Kaikihara, Yumi Hara.
NHK
Air Dates: Saturdays, 6:30 a.m. CDT.
Currently Simulcasting on Crunchyroll

At first glance, NHK’s production of Log Horizon is reminiscent of many anime series in the fantasy/RPG genre. Sword Art Online and .Hack both come to mind. Nevertheless, this series has its own strengths that allow it to stand on its own, including character development and story details that don’t distract from the plot and wonderful character designs and fight sequences.

Simulcasting on Saturday mornings on Crunchyroll, Log Horizon is based on a series of novels by author Mamare Touno. Besides the anime adaptation, there have been four manga adaptations of the original novel series as well. The anime centers around three main characters, Shiroe, Naotsugu, and Akatsuki, who are among some 30,000 players in Japan – and several hundred thousand worldwide – trapped in the world of “Elder Tale,” a long-running MMORPG that, for some unexplained reason, has trapped everyone within it. At this point, I must mention that I love the setting for this series. The action all takes place on the actual islands of Japan and in real places like Akihabara and Susukino, but in “Elder Tale,” they are set in a kind of post-apocalyptic, sword-and-sorcery environment.