Monti Velez

Akira. The famous red motorcycle, the cool tough guy sporting the leather jacket with the half blue pill on his back, the popular highway scene that’s been adopted and reused for decades to come. All anime fans know it, people not even in the ani-space have seen at least one relation of Akira, just look at its influence in fashion and music with A-list celebrities. While known for its politically charged themes – for me it’s known as one of the first steps in accepting my queerness.

Heaven’s Design Team isn’t something I would usually watch – usually I’m more of an “I need to have heartbreaking deaths in anime” kind of watcher, but I wanted to try something new. Surprisingly, it felt like I left the series holding hands with my inner child. Originally a manga started in 2017, Tenchi Sōzō Dezain-bu, or in English Heaven’s Design Team, was created by writers Hebi-Zou and Tsuta Suzuki (Merry Checker, A Strange and Mystifying Story) and illustrator Tarako.

Sumire is a choice-based walking sim developed by Game Tomo, currently on Steam and Nintendo Switch. You play as Sumi, a little girl decked out in all shades of purple, who finds a golden seed in her room after it was thrown into her window. That morning, the seed becomes a magical flying Flower, set to help Sumi achieve what she wants for the next 12 hours. Sumi and Flower make a deal: Flower will help Sumi see her dead grandmother one more time, as long as Sumi shows Flower a good day.