Akiba's Trip: The Animation is an anime adaptation of the video game series of the same name, made by GONZO (commemorating the studio's 25th anniversary) which began airing on January 4, 2017
. Though based around the same general premise, the actual plot and characters are completely original from any of the games.
Tamotsu Denkigai is an average teenage nerd enjoying a normal day in Akihabara. However, there have been unsettling rumors going around of the Bugged Ones, mysterious creatures that have been attacking people all around Akihabara. He soon learns that those rumors are all too real, after getting caught up in a bizarre series of events involving them and a mysterious girl with super-human fighting ability named Matome Mayonaka.
Eager to find out more, he learns that Matome is fighting the Bugged Ones, who are possessing people to turn them into an army in to take over Akihabara. This curiosity nearly costs him his life, but he is saved by Matome through a ritual that gives him powers like hers. Now they and their friends must fight together to stop the Bugged Ones' plans and save Akihabara.
The first trailer for the series can be seen here and the second here. It's licensed for streaming on Crunchyroll and Funimation. Notably, Funimation's simuldub premiered on the same date as the Japanese broadcast, only 30 minutes after the Japanese episode, making it Funimation's fastest simuldub behind Space☆Dandy.
Has a character sheet here.
This anime contains these following tropes.
- Affectionate Parody: There's one for everything, often pointing out the criticisms with them while still playing the tropes to the hilt.
- All Part of the Show: This is how incidents with the Bugged Ones are written off at first, being mistaken for (or more likely, covered up as) elaborate street performances. It helps that, apparently up until just before the show began, there had been a ban on public street performances, so people going all out to make their mark now that they can is easily accepted by the people at large.
- Almost Kiss: Tamotsu and Matome almost share a genuine kiss in Episode 13, but they are interrupted by time-travelling Niwaka and Arisa.
- Amusing Injuries:
- Tamotsu's Training Montage in Episode 5 includes him getting smashed in the face with baseballs, eaten by sharks, and rolled over by a steamroller, but he comes out of it without any lasting injuries.
- Arisa and Matome get their own in episode 6, where their attempts to fight the giant fused computer-robot leaves them beaten up, bruised, and stripped to their underwear.
- In Episode 7, Tamotsu's face swells after Niwaka slaps him and then hits him with Matome's bat. He gets better right in the next scene.
- In Episode 13, Tamotsu and Matome run into a whole host of traps like land mines and spears, but they don't suffer any lasting injuries from it.
- And the Adventure Continues: Episode 13 ends with future Arisa and Niwaka taking Tamotsu and Matome to the Akiba Empire, 100 years in the future.
- Artificial Intelligence: The professor happens to be working on a custom operating system, complete with its own AI.
- Association Fallacy: Tamotsu and Arisa become friends through this. They both want the same limited edition figurine and have a deep passion for that character, so obviously they can trust each other! It actually seemed to work out well.
- Awesomeness by Analysis: Matsuko usually lets her opponents do what they want in the first round of a match, so she can analyze their play style and counter them effectively.
- Badass Normal: Arisa, presumably. She isn't a Bugged One but has near-superhuman strength, to the point of easily going toe-to-toe against Matome when they first meet.
- Balloon Belly: Tamotsu and Black Hole Kurota display these in episode 10. Interestingly, Matome eats more than both of them, but averts this trope.
- Batter Up!: Matome's weapon of choice is a wooden baseball bat.
- Beauty Is Never Tarnished: Averted when Matome is about to be executed in Episode 1. She gets beaten pretty badly during the beatdown and her face even swells up, though it goes away by the next scene.
- Becoming the Mask: In Episode 7, Tamotsu eventually becomes obsessed with pleasing the heads of the maid cafe due to brainwashing, to the point that he's wearing a maid outfit when the others finally investigate the cafe.
- Bittersweet Ending: Not every episode had a happy conclusion. For example, Episode 6 ended with the threat being resolved, though at the cost of Pyoko sacrificing herself for the sake of Akiba. The episode is also accompanied with a Solemn Ending Theme in contrast to other episodes and The Stinger is also an Action Film, Quiet Drama Scene. Pyoko's Heroic Sacrifice is later revealed to be a Disney Death, as she shows up out of nowhere for the Final Battle.
- And let's not get started on the Cliffhanger at the end of Episode 11...
- Bland-Name Product:
- "Gonheiser" (Sennheiser) and "STEX" (STAX) in-ear monitors are shown in the audio store. They also have "STEX" earspeakers and "Zogodynamic" (Beyerdynamic) over-ear headphones.
- Averted and lampshaded in episode 4's On the Next segment. When Tamotsu announces that the next episode will feature Street Fighter V, Niwaka objects that he's supposed to make up a similar-sounding name. Tamotsu replies by announcing that they're being officially supported.
- In Episode 6, Mofmap stands in for Sofmap, a Japanese electronics retailer, which appear by its namesake in the games.
- Episode 9 has Battle Creatures, a trading card game that crosses the rules of Yu-Gi-Oh! with the card designs of Magic: The Gathering.
- Blessed with Suck: High-Class Bugged Ones and their possessed human minions are much stronger than the grunts they command but, if they are stripped and defeated, the human host dies and evaporates with them.
- Breaking the Fellowship: Following the Akiba Ban, and Tamotsu being stripped of his powers and Arisa going back to the U.S., the team disbands in Episode 12. Later subverted once Tamotsu and Arisa go Big Damn Heroes on Mayo.
- The Cameo: Kati from Akiba's Trip: Undead and Undressed game can be seen chatting with a fellow maid at a restaurant Tamotsu and Matome visit in Episode 10.
- Censor Shadow: A shot in in episode 2 shows Matome's upskirt view, but conceals it with shadow.
- Child Prodigy: Professor Latu appears to be this, but is actually older than she looks. Arisa is revealed to be one in episode 8.
- Cliffhanger: Episode 11 ends with Matome spotting Tamotsu's still body, just before it plunges into the river below.
- Clothing Damage: Given the games this is based on, pretty much a given. There are even weaponized versions of this is with the "Disrobing Rounds" used in Episode 2 and the microwaves from Episode 4.
- Combined Energy Attack: In Episode 13, the professor's power supply glowsticks convert the people's support of Akiba into energy for Tamotsu and Matome, which takes the form of a giant energy being.
- Contrived Coincidence: In Episode 10, the Professor just happened to be carrying an ice machine with her when Matome needed one the most.
- Cosplay: All of Arisa's outfits seem to be some kind of cosplay outfit.
- Couch Gag: The credits song changes with each episode.
- Damsel in Distress: In Episode 5 Niwaka's kidnapping kicks off the episode's plot. This happens to Niwaka again as well as Matome in Episode 8 during Arisa's fight.
- Date Peepers: In episode 10, Arisa and Niwaka do this tag along in secret on Tamotsu and Matome's "practice date", which ends up with the them going to restaurant after restaurant.
- Denser and Wackier: Compared to the games, which make the games down-to-earth in comparison.
- Defeat by Modesty: The main way to defeat the Bugged Ones, though it's because of their hyper-sensitivity to air instead of sunlight.
- Down to the Last Play:
- Tamotsu wins the fighting game finals on the last round and with only a sliver of health left.
- Matome wins the ramen eating contest by just one bite.
- Face Fault: Done by Arisa and Niwaka in episode 10 after they hear Tamotsu and Matome mention going to yet another restaurant after having gone to several already during their "practice date".
- Fanservice: Loads of it, just like the games. If there's a Bugged One attack, expect there to be lots of people, male and female, left in their underwear or naked by the end of it.
- Fat Flex: The gun store owner in episode 2. While in uniform, he's a tank. Stripped naked? Brain Bleach, please...
- From Bad to Worse: As if the Akiba Ban wasn't bad enough, Tamotsu loses his powers, and Electric Mayonnaise seemingly disbands. It all changes when Tamotsu and Arisa go Big Damn Heroes on Mayo.
- Gamer Chick: Matsuko, the focus of Episode 5, is an extremely skilled fighting game player who is set up as if she's a Bugged One, but actually isn't.
- Get A Hold Of Yourself Man: Niwaka slaps some sense into Tamotsu when he becomes fully brainwashed by the maid cafe.
- Hazmat Suit: The trio wear protective suits made from aluminium foil to block out microwaves fired by Denko in episode 4.
- Heroic BSoD: After Tamotsu is stripped of his powers, he heads home and hides under his blanket for a while.
- Heroic Sacrifice: In Episode 6, Pyuko rockets off with a robot on the verge of self-destruction in order to save Akiba.
- Home Guard: The Akiba Vigilantes qualify... as much as a bunch of volunteers making sure street performances in Akihabara don't go out of control can be called a vigilante force.
- Honor Before Reason: In Episode 5, after Matsuko strips and ups her game, Tamotsu does the same, even though stripping for him leads to his death.
- Indirect Kiss: After Matome takes a bite out of a meat cutlet and exclaims how good it is, Tamotsu grabs it and eats the rest of it. Matome is fully aware of the implications.
- Instant Ice: Just Add Cold!: Kurota somehow freezes over in solid ice after he inhales an ice machine.
- Jumped at the Call: At the end of the first episode, Tamotsu's pretty eager to get involved... only for this to turn on its head at the start of the next episode when he's no longer curious after he learns more and feels that it's actually looking to be too much trouble.
- Kiss of Life: If it hadn't been for Matome's Transcend Providence ritual, Tamotsu wouldn't have made it past the first episode.
- Leaning on the Fourth Wall: At the end of episode 4, Tamotsu interviews the girls as part of a ham radio broadcast. He finishes the interview by playing their "hit" song, which then plays over the end credits.
- Lens Flare Censor: In Episode 5, after Tamotsu throws off his underwear, a ray of light shows up whenever he would inadvertently expose himself.
- Limited Wardrobe: Zig-zagged. Matome is rarely seen wearing anything other than her track jacket and skirt. Tamotsu and Niwaka both have an outfit they wear frequently, but they're occasionally shown wearing other clothes. Arisa changes her costume several times per episode.
- Madness Mantra: In Episode 7, Tamotsu's obsession with working at the maid cafe reaches the point where he passes out flyers that have nothing but "thank you" written over and over.
- A Magic Contract Comes with a Kiss: The Transcend Providence ritual Matome uses to save Tamotsu requires her to kiss him, much to her displeasure.
- Maid Cafe:
- Maidreamin is a real-world maid cafe that the cast occasionally visits.
- This is the focus of Episode 7. Tamotsu takes a job at a maid cafe in order to make money to replace a figurine he broke.
- Mark of the Beast: A skunk stripe is a dead giveaway on someone being possessed by the Bugged Ones. The bigger the stripe, the stronger they are.
- Masquerade: The existence of the Bugged Ones is kept tightly under wraps by the "Woman In Black" and further discredited as a urban legend within Akiba to lessen their credibility. Any open conflict between them are usually handwaved as "Otaku wars" through internet's rumor mill, also controlled by the "Woman in Black".
- Monster of the Week: Each episode focuses on a particular hobby, which the villain of the week's scheme coincidentally revolves around.
- Ms. Fanservice: Arisa. She wears all sorts of costumes and the anime likes to focus on her chest a lot.
- Mundane Made Awesome:
- The fighting game match between Tamotsu and Matsuko is made much more awesome with the two throwing off their clothes during the fight and Tamotsu eventually using some ridiculous tricks to defeat Matsuko.
- Zigzagged with the card game battle in episode 9 between Tamotsu and the Princess Company CEO. The battle itself shows the two engaging in some Ham-to-Ham Combat and flashy moves. However, from Matome's point of view, she just sees the two guys sitting across from each other with cards laid out, asking why they don't just beat up the CEO, and becomes increasingly bored.
- The ramen eating contest in Episode 10 is made dramatic thanks to some exaggerated maneuvers and Combat Commentators.
- Mythology Gag: In Episode 6, footage from the Akiba's Trip game can be briefly seen on some TVs Tamotsu passes.
- Naked People Are Funny: There are times people got stripped nude for laughs
- Non-Lethal K.O.: Defeating the Bugged Ones by stripping them leaves the human host unconscious, but alive. This is not the case for those possessed by High-Level Bugged Ones, however.
- Nonstandard Character Design:
- The military store owner in Episode 2 is very detailed in musculature.
- Two minor characters in Episode 3 have odd designs. One has a very circular design, while the other is extremely rectangular.
- In Episode 5, all the participants in the tournament that are not Tamotsu or Matsuko are more realistically detailed. The crowd is also much more simply drawn.
- In Episode 8, the appliance shopkeeper moves and talks like the Puppet Pals from Dexter's Laboratory.
- Nosebleed: In Episode 5, the audience has a nosebleed when Matsuko throws off her clothes, and Arisa has a nosebleed when Tamotsu throws off his clothes.
- Not Distracted by the Sexy: Occasionally. While the characters do get distracted if this occurs during downtime, in combat situations they don't really make a big deal when underwear or more is being exposed.
- Of Corsets Funny: After stripping the computer company CEO of hers in episode 6, she's revealed to be quite obese.
- Offscreen Moment of Awesome: In Episode 5, Tamotsu loses his very first match in the Street Fighter V tournament. A narrator then states that he manages to defeat all of his opponents in the losers' bracket to make it to the finals, which the episode skips to.
- One-Hit Kill: While the fights could all be considered this as Tamotsu's able to pull off entire outfits with one good grab, Episode 5 stands out, as Tamotsu defeats the Monster of the Week by punching them through a wall.
- Otaku: Tamotsu and Arisa, among the main characters. Though either of them possesses knowledge that can leave the other like a deer in the headlights depending on the subject. For example, Arisa has been shown to be a fan of military weaponry and idols, while Tamotsu is a longtime fan of ham radio.
- Plot Armor: After his disastrous first match, it's rather surprising that Tamotsu ended up winning the entire loser's bracket of the tournament in episode 5. But then the main duel of the episode wouldn't be able to happen.
- Product Placement: Several real-world places and products are depicted.
- Maidreamin is a maid cafe that the main characters occasionally visit.
- The characters go to Carl's Jr. multiple times in the series.
- Street Fighter II and Street Fighter V are featured prominently in Episode 5. This is actually lampshaded in the Next Episode Preview advertising it, with the characters being stunned the episode's about the actual Street Fighter V and not a Bland-Name Product.
- Episode 10 features a number of restaurants, like Bengal, Gansen, and Kitchen Jiro.
- In Episode 12 they fight in and around the AKB 48 Cafe & Shop.
- Punny Name:
- Tamotsu and Niwaka's last name, "Denkigai", is Akihabara's nickname.
- "Matome" refers to Japanese aggregate sites.
- "Niwaka" is a Japanese term that refers to fans with Fleeting Passionate Hobbies.
- Arisa's last name, "Ahokainen", is a Japanese phrase in a Kansai dialect which means "are you stupid?".
- Arisa's master, appearing in episode 8, is called "Shi Shyo", which literally means "master".
- Refuge in Audacity: The high-powered battles and property damage are waved away as being part of an act, so no one gets too suspicious about them.
- Robot Buddy: In Episode 6, Tamotsu's efforts to build a custom PC eventually leads to the creation of a walking autonomous computer Tamotsu names Pyuko.
- Sequel Hook: Arisa and Nikawa take Tamotsu and Mayo 100 years into Akiba's future.
- Serious Business:
- The card game Battle Creatures is treated with the utmost seriousness in Episode 9. It's used to resolve the episode's conflict. Matome wonders why they don't just beat the villain up.
- Tamotsu gets very irrational and depressed when a friend of his visits in episode 10, and is seen with a girlfriend. When Matome hears him mention wanting a girlfriend, she seems happy, until he mentions that none of the girls he hangs out with would count as one, which ticks her off a little.
- Shipper on Deck: Niwaka and Arisa eventually realize that Matome likes Tamotsu and set forth a scheme to hook the two up.
- Shout-Out: See here, shared with the game.
- Sibling Yin-Yang: Tamotsu is a super-nerd who is interested in things that are so obscure or unpopular no one else cares about them. Niwaka, on the other hand, is just fine liking things that are popular, and also seems to be more responsible than Tamotsu.
- Solemn Ending Theme: Episode 6 uses a softer credits theme compared to other episodes and does not have the usual Credits Walking Sequence.
- Spoiler Opening: Zigzagged. At one point in the opening, every antagonist in the series appears one after the other in sequence, but some of them turn out to be false leads.
- Surprisingly Realistic Outcome: After Tamotsu's intense training montage for the Street Figther V tournament, he gets Perfected in the first round since none of that actually involved playing and getting better at the game. It does come in handy in the end though.
- Take That!: In the card game episode, the Pot of Greed analogue is called "Exploitative Gatcha", in which the image used is the Summoning Crystal from Granblue Fantasy.
- Taking the Bullet: Tamotsu takes a blow meant for Matome during Episode 1 and dies as a result, resulting in Matome using a special ritual to bring him back to life.
- Took a Level in Badass: Tamotsu, after getting revived and powered up by Matome.
- Training Montage: Tamotsu undergoes one in Episode 5 to train for a Street Fighter V tournament. His training regimen includes running on a hamster wheel, a quiz show, and rapidly poking a watermelon until it explodes.
- Turn the Other Cheek: After Matome wins the ramen eating contest against Kurota, she's willing to overlook making him pay for all the bowls if he promises to just enjoy the food he eats. Kurota staunchly refuses.
- Verbal Tic: Arisa randomly inserts the word "moi" into her speech as an indicator of her Finnish nationality. "Moi" means "hello" or "hi" in Finnish.
- Weaksauce Weakness:
- The Bugged Ones are extremely vulnerable to air, so removing the clothes being worn by the possessed people destroys the Bugged One that's controlling them.
- The fused giant computer-robot near the end of episode 6 has one. It needs to be plugged into an outlet. However, unplugging it causes it to enter its self-destruct mode.
- What the Hell Is That Accent?: Judging by her last name ("Ahokainen"), Arisa appears to be Finnish. Yet her heavy accent sounds rather strange, and her habit of randomly saying "moi" (pronounced "moy") can be grating to listen to for actual Finns.
- You Can't Go Home Again: In Episode 2, it's revealed that Tamotsu is stuck in Akihabara as a direct result of Matome giving him powers, as there is a force field-wall erected around Akihabara keeping all Bugged Ones and their familiars inside.
