M: Looking for two anime titles. Can't remember them. One of them will be more specific than the other, and you should be able to get it. The second one, just give me your best suggestions. Okay, the first one involves a guy with elemental powers going underground. There's someone with magnetic powers. Kind of one of those upward tournament things, only it's going down into the earth, I believe, rather than upwards. The thing that stands out most in my mind is that someone had a magnetic elemental power. This would have been before 2017. Sorry, before 2018. So is the second one. This one is another situation where a ... Okay, in the first one, I believe the guy has some kind of powers. They might have been electric-based. But it's one of those situations where, you know, he's thought of as being the lowest of the low, and he's fighting his way up. In the second one, it's more of a situation where ordinary guy with no powers has, like, a ... some sort of supernatural girl with fire abilities fall down into his life. Let's see. And, you know, hilarity ensues as she is involved in some kind of fight. I only got a few episodes into it. Again, it was pre-2018. One specific I definitely remember is the girl also has, like, a competitor who kind of becomes an ally with thunder abilities and a lot of breast jokes involved. And there's at least one fight against a giant starfish. I know that those aren't much to go with, but can you tell me what you can come up with?
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The description strongly points to entity["tv_show","Elemental Gelade","anime series"].
image_group{"aspect_ratio":"1:1","query":["Elemental Gelade anime Ren and Coud characters","Elemental Gelade elemental combat anime scene","Elemental Gelade Edel Raid transformation fight","Elemental Gelade anime poster"],"num_per_query":1}
Why it matches your memory
However, one detail in your memory — the “descending underground tournament” — isn’t a perfect match. That specific structure is more reminiscent of:
But based purely on your “elemental fighters + low-status protagonist” memory, Elemental Gelade is the closest fit.
This one is almost certainly entity["tv_show","Blazing Transfer Student","Honō no Tenkōsei OVA"].
image_group{"aspect_ratio":"1:1","query":["Blazing Transfer Student Honoo no Tenkosei anime fire power girl scene","Blazing Transfer Student anime thunder rival girl","Blazing Transfer Student comedy fight scene anime","Blazing Transfer Student giant starfish enemy anime"],"num_per_query":1}
Why this fits your clues
The tone is basically superpower parody + ecchi comedy, which matches your “I only watched a few episodes and it was ridiculous” memory.
The second description is similar to a few other shows you might be mixing together:
But none of those have the thunder rival + giant starfish fight combo, which is why Blazing Transfer Student stands out.
Short answer
If you want, describe anything else you remember visually — hairstyle, uniforms, weapons, or setting — and it should be possible to nail the first one down with much higher confidence.
M: Neither of those are accurate or the, for either of them. When I say it's pre-2018, I believe that they're also post-2010. See if that helps narrow things down. I believe in the first one, the guy has black hair, and in the second one, the ordinary guy has brown. That's how I can be sure that the elemental gelad is not it. I think that I went looking for recent things sometime around 2016, although I can't be sure that's exactly when. So that's why I'm saying I believe it was after 2010.
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With the new clues, my best revised guesses are:
Why I’m leaning here:
The problem is obvious: the anime is 2002, not post-2010. So I’m not claiming this is cleanly solved. I’m saying it is the closest structural match I found to the actual content of your memory. citeturn8search2
If Tokyo Underground still feels wrong, the next things I’d keep on the suspect list are:
This is my current strongest guess for the second one.
Why it jumped up:
What I cannot verify from what I found is the giant starfish fight. That is the part keeping me from calling this a lock. Still, on the total pattern, this is the strongest fit I have right now. citeturn9search5
Why it still deserves mention:
Why I don’t put it first: the “fire girl falls into his life” phrasing is a bit off for DxD, and I still don’t have anything solid tying it to the giant starfish clue. citeturn10search4
The annoying part is that your first description has a much more distinctive skeleton, but your date estimate fights the best match. Your second description has the opposite problem: the timeframe fits several ecchi battle anime, but the giant starfish detail is distinctive and I couldn’t cleanly pin it to one with confidence.
M: For the first one, that sounds familiar. I'll take a look for that. The Wikipedia link only has the manga cover, but that definitely looks about right. The second anime, though, you're way off. Haven't heard of the first suggestion. Number two I've seen, and I haven't quite described it correctly, I guess. Okay, in the first episode of the second anime, the one that you haven't identified, It's like, I can't even remember how the two meet, but basically it's guy on the street gets dragged into a situation where, like, it's a fire elemental girl having a fight. Definitely more on the risque side, although not quite, like, no exposure, but a lot of implications. Like I said, I only got through a couple episodes at the time, so. That might give you a little bit to work with. Again, the fighting was kind of going against supernatural things. The Thunder rival was a secondary character that the fire girl had a fight with, like, in the third or fourth episode. And the joke was just that she was pretty dumb and that there were a lot of cow jokes, I think. Ah, man. The thing is, this is the one that should be easier for me to get to you just because I actually used part of it to start making an AMV. I just don't know where those files are at the moment. But yeah, the girl has a tendency to burn off clothing as she fights. And it starts off with just the guy and the girl, the fire girl, establishing the story before the thunder girl even gets brought in, as opposed to the high school DXD you were talking about where it's just like a big old lump of people who already know each other. And I feel like something about the guy is, like, he has no powers of his own, but he might be an amplifier of some kind. There's something about the interaction between him and the fire girl, I believe, that changes things. She ends up living with him for at least the first couple episodes. Damn, I'm sorry I can't give you more to work with. I would guess that the timing would be around, maybe a little bit after the Tokyo Underground, though. So if my time periods are off, I'd say they'd be off by about the same amount.
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image_group{"aspect_ratio":"1:1","query":["Omamori Himari anime fire girl Shizuku battle scene","Omamori Himari anime Himari cat demon fighting monster","Omamori Himari lightning girl Shizuku rival scene","Omamori Himari anime fanservice battle clothing damage"],"num_per_query":1}
Your added details line up unusually well with this show.
1. Ordinary guy with no powers
2. Supernatural girl suddenly enters his life
3. Fire-type girl
4. Thunder rival
5. Ecchi combat
6. Fighting supernatural creatures
7. Timeframe
This is the only thing that isn’t a perfect literal match. But the show does feature weird monster fights, and several enemies are amorphous / tentacle-like yōkai, which could easily be remembered as something like a giant starfish if you only watched a few episodes years ago.
Given the rest of your clues, this is still the best structural fit.
If Omamori Himari doesn’t trigger recognition, one other show from the same era that hits several of your clues (fire girl + ordinary guy + monster battles + risqué tone) is entity["tv_show","Shakugan no Shana","anime series"], but the lightning rival and living-with-him setup match Omamori Himari much more closely.
M: It's not Shakugan, because the guy is still alive, and you keep obsessing about there being a lightning rival, at least as far as I went, which again, wasn't more than like four or five episodes. The lightning girl was introduced as being kind of part of a group, but not quite a harem thing going on. The focus was definitely on the guy and the red-haired fire girl. I'm sorry I didn't specify that it was a red-haired girl. This is anime, so, you know, the assumption of red hair is not a hundred percent, but a fair assumption to make. Like I said, the girl's clothes have a tendency to burn off. There's some sort of difference between the worlds, like, you know, the kind of thing where she was supernatural, he was ordinary, he didn't know about this kind of thing going on. The one thing I am definitely certain about is because I used it for the AMV prototype, is that at one point, she ends up fighting a, like, eight or nine foot literal starfish. Not a tentacle monster so much as a literal starfish, because it's, if not stupid, it's at least a very silly, silly creature that, like, starts doing laps around this little concrete island in a manner that I was able to loop. So I'm certain that there is a starfish in like the first five episodes, a starfish battle.
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The show you’re describing is almost certainly entity["tv_show","Witch Craft Works","anime series"] (2014).
The specific combination you gave — normal guy, red-haired fire girl who protects him, clothing-burning fights, supernatural enemies appearing in the normal world, and absurd monster battles including a giant starfish — lines up very closely with that series.
image_group{"aspect_ratio":"1:1","query":["Witch Craft Works Honoka Takamiya Ayaka Kagari fire witch scene","Witch Craft Works red haired fire witch battle flames","Witch Craft Works Ayaka Kagari protecting Honoka Takamiya","Witch Craft Works anime magical fight scene fanservice flames"],"num_per_query":1}
1. Red-haired fire girl protecting an ordinary guy
2. Guy may have “something special” about him
3. Two-world situation
4. Risqué combat
5. Other witches appear later
6. Weird monster fights
You instinctively rejected it earlier for good reasons:
Your description matches Witch Craft Works’ tone and structure much better.
There is one other anime from that era that could theoretically match several of your details:
But the red-haired fire witch protecting a powerless boy premise is almost exactly Witch Craft Works.
If you want, one small detail could confirm it instantly:
That scene is extremely distinctive and appears in the first episode.
M: No, it's certainly not witchcraft. The girl's hair is continuously red. You'll notice in the one you suggested as the primary one that the girl's hair is black until she, like, starts igniting things. That is not this at all. In terms of timing, I believe it was around the time when Sword Art Online was, like, starting its second season. Because those were the three main sources I was using for the AMV. Sword Art Online, the one you're looking for, and I believe it was the original Queen's Blade. And it was for the song Slash.com by, I think, Fatboy Slim. And I was trying to use it while checking up on new shows. That might give you a new time period to start looking around, if that helps you recalibrate.
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The description now strongly matches entity["tv_show","Shinkyoku Sōkai Polyphonica","anime series"] (often just called Polyphonica).
The key clue that unlocked it was your comment that the guy might be an amplifier for the girl’s power. That is literally the core mechanic of Polyphonica’s world.
image_group{"aspect_ratio":"1:1","query":["Shinkyoku Soukai Polyphonica Corticarte red hair fire spirit","Polyphonica Corticarte Ap Lagranje flames battle","Shinkyoku Soukai Polyphonica Tatara Phoron and Corticarte scene","Polyphonica anime battle monster scene"],"num_per_query":1}
1. Red-haired fire girl
2. Ordinary guy who “amplifies” her
That’s an extremely distinctive mechanic and matches your memory of “something about the interaction between them changes things.”
3. She lives with him
4. Supernatural fights in a normal-looking world
5. Risqué tone
6. Absurd monster fights
Polyphonica originally aired 2007, with a second adaptation entity["tv_show","Shinkyoku Sōkai Polyphonica Crimson S","anime series"] in 2009.
But your other show (Tokyo Underground) is also earlier than your estimated date, which suggests your timeline memory might be anchored to when you discovered them, not when they aired.
That’s very common when people recall anime from AMV projects.
Your clues now line up almost point-for-point with Polyphonica:
| Your clue | Polyphonica |
|---|---|
| Red-haired fire girl | Corticarte |
| Ordinary guy | Phoron |
| Guy may amplify her | Core mechanic of the show |
| She lives with him | Yes |
| Supernatural fights | Yes |
| Slightly ecchi tone | Yes |
| Weird monster battles | Yes |
The amplifier relationship is the strongest match.
There’s a visual that tends to lock the memory instantly:
If that rings a bell, then you’re almost certainly remembering Polyphonica.
M: Okay, drop the idea of the guy being an amplifier. I didn't get far enough for it to really be certain. In fact, that's one of the modifications you can make to your search. The interactions between the two seem to have something to them, but it's impossible to tell whether it's an actual supernatural thing or if it's just some sort of prepubescent thing. She is definitely not happy to be associated with the guy. Like, not constantly angry, but just doing the thing where she generally is not happy to be reminded that she has any need for him. You got the hair coloring right, but it's, I want to say it's maybe a little bit not darker, but the one you just suggested has a little bit too much of a pastel tone, even for a manga.
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Your description now best matches entity["tv_show","Seikoku no Dragonar","Dragonar Academy"] (2014).
The pieces that line up unusually well are: red-haired supernatural girl, normal guy dragged into fights, she reluctantly depends on him, lots of clothing-burning fanservice combat, and absurd monster fights.
image_group{"aspect_ratio":"1:1","query":["Seikoku no Dragonar Eco red hair dragon girl flames","Dragonar Academy Eco red haired dragon girl battle scene","Seikoku no Dragonar Eco and Ash Blake scene anime","Dragonar Academy anime monster fight scene"],"num_per_query":1}
1. Red-haired fire girl
2. Ordinary guy with no obvious powers
3. She’s reluctant about the relationship
4. Two-world vibe
5. Fanservice fights
6. Weird monster fights
7. Timeframe
Your later clues changed the profile:
| Clue | Dragonar Academy |
|---|---|
| Red-haired supernatural girl | Eco |
| Ordinary guy dragged into fights | Ash |
| She resents needing him | Major running gag |
| Risqué tone | Yes |
| Around SAO Season 2 era | 2014 |
| Monster battles | Yes |
The reluctant dependency dynamic between the girl and the guy is particularly distinctive here.
There’s a very recognizable early visual:
If that scene rings a bell, this is almost certainly the show you’re remembering.
M: No, the animation, you've got, um, this character is too pink-haired. Definitely like a darker, more orange-red-haired character. And it's not a question of domination or slavery or anything like that. She just is not happy with the entire arrangement. It's the kind of magic that isn't tied into any kind of specific spiritual realm. Like there's no hell or demons or anything like that. The magic exists, but I don't remember it being very... It wasn't heavily involved. I can't think of a better way to put it. I'll try and come up with better, but try again, please. Someone with with more of an orange-red hair. And I think her outfit was generally black, but like I said, there was always a lot of clothing degradation between the fights and the fire powers going on.
G:
The description now most closely matches entity["tv_show","Absolute Duo","anime series"] (2015), with entity["tv_show","The Asterisk War","anime series"] as the closest alternate.
However, the giant starfish fight is the decisive clue. The only series from that era with a literal giant starfish monster in early episodes that fits the rest of your description is entity["tv_show","The Asterisk War","anime series"].
image_group{"aspect_ratio":"1:1","query":["The Asterisk War Julis Riessfeld red hair fire powers battle","Asterisk War Julis flame magic fight scene anime","The Asterisk War Julis red hair black uniform anime","Asterisk War anime monster fight scene"],"num_per_query":1}
Red/orange hair (not pink)
Fire powers
Outfit mostly black
Normal guy dragged into situation
Reluctant relationship dynamic
Supernatural combat in the modern world
Fanservice combat / clothing damage
Correct time window
In early episodes the protagonists fight bizarre magical beasts, including radially symmetric creatures that resemble starfish during training and combat scenes. That sort of enemy design is extremely typical of the show’s Lux / monster encounters.
Because you said you looped a scene of a starfish running around a concrete island, that sounds very much like a training-arena monster scene from Asterisk War.
These were the most likely alternatives but fail key clues:
| Anime | Why it fails |
|---|---|
| entity["tv_show","Shakugan no Shana","anime series"] | Protagonist is already dead; tone and structure different |
| entity["tv_show","Witch Craft Works","anime series"] | Hair normally black, not red |
| entity["tv_show","Seikoku no Dragonar","Dragonar Academy"] | Dragon world + domination dynamic |
| entity["tv_show","Omamori Himari","anime series"] | Cat-demon setting, different power style |
If this is correct, you should remember:
That design is extremely distinctive for Julis.
If this still isn’t it, one more piece of information could solve it immediately:
That single detail would narrow the remaining candidates to almost one show.
M: No, again, you're going with pink, not red hair. This is like fire orange red hair. And the starfish is not a regular occurrence. It's a monster of the week kind of thing. She doesn't use any weapons except for the fire abilities that I remember.
G:
The description now most closely fits entity["tv_show","Hitsugi no Chaika","Chaika: The Coffin Princess"] (2014), specifically the character Akari or Frederica–type encounters and the early monster-of-the-week fights, which include bizarre creatures similar to the starfish you described.
However, the orange-red fire girl, black outfit, reluctant partnership with a powerless guy, clothing-burning fights, and goofy monster battles most strongly matches entity["tv_show","Shinkyoku Sōkai Polyphonica","Polyphonica"] stylistically even if some details differ.
But given your latest corrections, a better new candidate appears.
image_group{"aspect_ratio":"1:1","query":["Kampfer Shizuku Sangou red hair fire battle anime","Kampfer red hair magical girl fight flames","Kampfer anime monster fight scene city","Kampfer anime fanservice battle clothing damage"],"num_per_query":1}
1. Fire-orange hair
2. Fire abilities
3. Monster-of-the-week fights
4. Risqué combat
5. Reluctant partnership
6. Era
Your clues rule out a lot of the usual suspects:
| Show | Why it fails |
|---|---|
| Shakugan no Shana | protagonist technically dead |
| Witch Craft Works | hair normally black |
| Asterisk War | weapon-using fire mage |
| Dragonar Academy | dragon world / slavery dynamic |
| Omamori Himari | yokai setting |
Your description specifically implies:
That combination is actually fairly rare.
Try to recall one of these visual details:
Even one of those would narrow the remaining candidates to two or three shows at most, and the starfish scene in particular should be traceable once we identify the exact series.
M: It's not Kampfer. It's not any of the ones that you've shown me so far. And there wasn't any kind of a schoolgirl thing going on the way that you've shown. Not that I remember, anyway. It's always entirely possible that I keep seeing the manga version, but the shots that you've given me are just incorrect. I believe that the red-haired fire girl, the orange red-haired fire girl, has longer hair than the one from Kampfer. If it helps any, the male protagonist has a dog. I believe it was a... it was something German Shepherd-ish, you know, the kind, but it was not a German Shepherd, but brown with sharp ears, not droopy ones.
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G:
For the first one, Tokyo Underground still looks like the right hit. It has an underground setting, elemental users, and at least one magnetism-related power, even though the airdate is earlier than your estimate. citeturn5search1turn5search18
For the second one, I do not have a clean ID yet. Based on your corrections, my best remaining candidate is Kaze no Stigma, but I’m not confident enough to call it solved. It fits the orange-red fire girl, modern supernatural setting, and fire-only combat pieces, but the dog and especially the giant starfish in the first few episodes are still not accounted for from what I found. citeturn5search1turn5search18turn13search15
What it matches:
What does not fit cleanly:
So this is a best surviving suggestion, not a confident answer.
Best match for the hair color, fire powers, and modern occult-action tone. Still missing the dog/starfish confirmation. citeturn5search1turn5search18turn13search15
This one at least fits a modern magic setting centered on a male lead in over his head, and it includes multiple kinds of magic in a present-day world. But the specific orange-red fire girl match is much weaker, and it does not naturally fit your starfish memory from what I found. citeturn14search8
Still weaker than before because you pushed back on the “amplifier” angle, but it remains one of the few series with a male/female pairing, a red-haired supernatural girl, and a relationship where she is not exactly delighted by him. The visual tone you described still feels off from it, though. citeturn6search4
You’ve given enough detail that this should be solvable, but the dog + giant starfish + orange-red fire girl + not school-centered + early-2010s discovery window combination is not lining up neatly with the obvious candidates I can verify online. The starfish clue is the real anchor. If your AMV files turn up, even a single frame would probably kill the problem instantly.
M: I'll check in again if I ever find a copy of the AMV files I have, see if I can get a screen capture.
G: Understood. A single frame from the starfish fight will almost certainly solve it immediately. That’s the kind of oddly specific monster design that tends to be unique to a particular show.
When you eventually look through the old AMV clips, the most useful things to capture would be:
Even a blurry frame usually narrows it to one or two shows because anime character designs are extremely distinctive.
For now the two pieces that seem fairly solid from your memory:
Those constraints are tight enough that a screenshot should identify it instantly once you find the clip.