Geek of Oz

It's always refreshing when an anime series comes along that transcends fanboy hype, grabs you by the face and demands your attention. That series is Guilty Crown. Like a Eden of the East/Code Geass hybrid, Guilty Crown builds a world which is both instantly identifiable and futuristically foreign. "Shu's entire world was shattered after a meteorite crashed into Japan, unleashing the lethal Apocalypse Virus. The chaos and anarchy born of the outbreak cost Shu his family and reduced him to a timid, fearful shell of the boy he'd once been. His life took another unexpected turn after a chance encounter with the stunning pop star, Inori. This mysterious beauty introduced Shu to the King's Right Hand: a genetic mutation that allows him to reach into hearts of mortals and turn them into weapons." - Madman Firstly, I can't believe that "From the Director of Shingeki no Kyojin" isn't plastered all over every piece of marketing for this ser...

Black★Rock Shooter has one of the strangest origin stories in anime history. Back in December 2007, artist Ryohei "Huke" Fuke posted an image of the eponymous character to his blog and art community Pixiv. This character in turn was the inspiration for a song of the same name by J-Pop group Supercell, who used the Hatsune Miku Vocaloid synthesiser to supply all of the vocals. From their, Supercell and "Huke" collaborated to release a film clip for the song on video sharing site Nico Nico Douga. From this point, BRS found itself portrayed in a single episode OVA, a number of manga releases, as an iPhone game and finally an 8 episode anime series. With such a convoluted origin, it is downright surprising that BRS works as well as it does.