Wolf Girl & Black Prince: Complete Collection

This high-school romantic comedy-drama (non-paranormal, despite the title and cover art) seems to borrow some of the 50 Shades of Grey dynamic…crossed with John Hughes. Teen Erika Shinohara, desperate to fit in with a clique of sexually sophisticated girls in class, falsely claims to have a hot boyfriend. Hard-pressed for evidence, she takes a cellphone-snapshot of a random handsome youth, who turns out to be cynical Kyoya “the Prince” Sata, a storied upperclassman. Amused, Kyoya agrees to go along with Erika's ruse, but in exchange Erika must be his lackey—even behaving as a dog at his command (the hard guy has a soft spot for canines). Kyoya is the callous product of a broken home, who has no faith in love, but at times he treats Erika with fondness and chivalry (as well as possessiveness). As Erika falls genuinely for the borderline-abusive Kyoya, can she hope for better in their manipulative, one-sided relationship? Especially when there seem to be more decent guys around? Some PG-level swear words and sex talk crop up in this risible but entertaining farce of puppy-lovesickness. Compiling all 12 episodes from 2014 in separate DVD and Blu-ray editions, rated TV-14, and presented in Japanese with English subtitles, this oddball love story is recommended. (C. Cassady)