Current watches

[Anastasia]

Endo and Kobayashi Live! The Latest on Tsundere Villainess Lieselotte: 7/10. So a guy and a girl end up playing an otome game, and somehow the characters within it can hear their running commentary. Cute concept but it's mostly isekai and otome genre filler. Still, it knows what it is and does well if you accept what it is. I liked this but didn't love it.

Spoiler: ShowHide

Honestly, it gets a point for being unabashedly eager to have its happy end, plus it let the two protagonists come visit to magic world at the end. That was a nice touch and well appreciated.

Reborn To Master The Blade: Finished. This dropped to a 6/10. Decent show that slowly lost itself as the season wore on. Too bad, the premise is solid but it misses the mark. I think it's mostly that the show doesn't do a good job of selling you on why Chris does some of the things she does. They make more sense to me with some thought, but it doesn't feel readily apparent.

[Anastasia]

Tomo-chan Is A Girl: Finished. 9/10 feels right. A simple show done well and with endearing characters. My only regret is that it doesn't feel like it has any fuel for a second season. Ah well. Great stuff.

Remake Our Life: Complicated/10. I saw the first episode of this. It's...

I hate to trail off like that, but man. It's something. I have conflicted thoughts about it. I like the premise. The characters look decent too. Yet I don't feel compelled to watch any more of it at all. It's quality from what I can see, but that urge to see another second of it isn't there.

I'm a creative person who does creative work, yet I've never really connected with other creative sorts. This is a show about creative people at an art college, so maybe that's why I'm bouncing off of it. I'll look back in the morning to see if it's just a mood I'm in, but I don't think it is.

Anyway premise is that a 20something guy goes back 10 years to the end of high school. He gets a second chance at college and life after life didn't work out. You see enough to tell that it's not his fault as much as bad luck. Bad breaks at the wrong time, which the opening half of the episode captures well. He's given a second chance and he chooses to go for it.

[Dracos]

Fun shares I have missed!

I've watched a lot of these as well.  Waiting for my partner to watch Tomo-chan as I read the manga ages back, loved it.  It wasn't long though so they may not have stretched it for an anime.

[Anastasia]

My Love Story With Yamada-kun At LV999 (Episode 1): Okay start. I'll give it a few episodes to see if the male lead grows on me at all.

The Angel Next Door Spoils Me (Episode 1): Decent enough to give it another shot. See how more of it is another time, since it's already finished.

Not a lot going on right now, debating something established to watch. Haven't quite found that one thing yet.

[Anastasia]

Had two bounce-offs that's worth talking about.

Re: Zero

Got through 2 of the director's cut episodes, which I understand is roughly equivalent to 4 of the original airing's episodes. I'll mention that now so it's clear how far I got into it.

So I gave this a shot and liked almost everything about it. The mood can be dark without being suffocating, it isn't afraid to show some blood and it feels like has real emotional stakes. There's a lot going on here and the show's good at parceling out some information while using it to ask more questions. Good stuff, right?

It's a case study in how you can do everything else right but a bad lead sinks the story. The lead's constant, completely un-self aware statements of how he's treating the world like an isekai take me out of it every time. To use a word I don't like to use lightly: It's cringe, pure cringe. The rest of the story's engaging, but the lead's antics constantly ruin any immersion I had going. It's frustrating to say the least.

I'd give it a 5/10 if I had to, which is an admission that I like a lot here but there's a fatal flaw that can't be overcome.

Lycoris Recoil

I didn't even make it through episode 1 of this show. So this one may not be entirely fair or is simply incompatible tastes.

Anyway, I tried watching this but I couldn't get into the premise at all. The opening's interesting for the sheer honest discordance of it, particularly the opening speech that shows the assassinations. However, I couldn't get past the style beyond it. Something about modern day waifs being super assassins just...no. Some part of me wasn't able to hold that suspension of disbelief.

That's an odd one for an anime fan. I don't know why, but I knew almost immediately this one wasn't for me.

Also saw the first episode of I Got A Cheat Skill In Another World And Became Unrivaled In This World, which is a case study of decent set up but did you really need to completely overpower him? Maybe it's meant to focus on his real world issues and the social issues around it, but it still left me cold. I'll give it an episode or two more, see what it does with the premise.

[Anastasia]

Bunch of anime to catch up on.

In Another World With My Smartphone (Season 1 + first episode of season 2): 5.5/10

This is pure guilty pleasure isekai anime. It's one of those shows that's nothing but rote and stock isekai, but has that hint of likeability and a good time that makes it watchable. A high school student dies and it's a mistake, so he's sent to a fantasy world with cheat powers. He promptly starts (inadvertantly) amassing a huge harem.

It's the stockiest of stock setups. It works for a reason I can't quite elaborate. The characters have that ethereal ability to make you care about them. Something about it works enough for it to be fun. Sometimes indulgence wins the day.

Parallel World Pharmacy (Episode 1-7): Not sure yet/10

So anyway, a research pharmacist/chemist/whatever the right word for it is, haunted by memories of a sister who died far too young from disease, works himself into an early grave. Bam, time to wake up in a new world with powers to let him exploit his pharmaceutical knowledge. As like a 10 year old kid since that's the thing all the cool isekais do, I guess? That part feels mildly unneeded but whatever. Again, nothing new with the setup.

What works for me is that the protagonist genuinely wants to improve medical treatments in this new world. It's a typical fantasy affair so his knowledge of modern medicine plus magic to let him generate drugs from nothing can do a lot of good. It's not one of those fantasy worlds with much in the way of healing magic, so he has a lot of room to work. I can respect his altruism, which feels genuine and refreshing to me.

That being said, it's a tough one to get through all 12 episodes for. Conflict just doesn't last long, it's one of those shows where it's about the protagonist winning. I'm not sure what I think about it. It's good but it doesn't rise above what it is at all.

I'm also not if the cute female assistant is just a cute girl for the sake of one, or meant to be a love interest once the protagonist grows up. You never can tell.

The Cafe Terrace And It's Goddesses (First episode): 2/10

A guy inherits a house and small cafe from his estranged grandmother. He goes there and finds she had five freeloaders there, all cute young women naturally. Now the guy wants to kick them out and have the house + pharmacy sold off to make a parking lot, just wants to cash in from it. The girls don't have anywhere to go so they want to convince him otherwise.

Fun premise, right? Turns out the guy's a jerk and the girls are self absorbed and perfectly willing to try and seduce him and blackmail him into changing his plans. Combo that with the fact that all of them come off as likeable as a dead rat head in your newly opened box of cereal? It's not good. Maybe this show deserves more of a shot but I bounced off big time. First episodes can be rough but man, no one there's keeping my interest at all.

I mean, the guy's in the right legally speaking. It's a little more arguable morally - he wants to kick them out day of and that's not cool unless they got notice it hasn't mentioned yet - but he's so unlikable about it. The girls call that and raise that. Time to fold and move on to the next han-er, show.

(I may give it another shot in the event I'm being unfair or the rest of the episode or episode 2 rebound.)

Why Raeliana Ended Up At The Duke's Mansion: Too early to tell but it's promising/10

Stop me if you've heard this one, but a girl dies and is reincar-

Okay, cool.

Anyway, standard Japanese girl is thrown into the role of the murder victim of Victorian-ish fantasy novel she read. As her role in the story is to die and the start of the plot, she naturally wants to change that. Problem: She's murdered in story by her fiance who her parents want her to marry for business reasons. Problem: She has absolutely zero signs of cheat skills or super powers at all, wrong sort of isekai, so her personal autonomy is limited. All she has is the novel's limited information about her life. Problem: She's no secret anime social or manipulation genius.

So naturally she uses what info she does know to try and get a young, dashing duke to be her new fiance, get her out of trouble. Use that information as a bludgeon to get him to play along long enough for the problem to solve itself.

Turns out she's not great at it and makes a mess of things. It's fun to watch her genuinely try as she panics about her position. She's been dealt a tough hand and all she has is some out of context information, and no way to prove to others that it's true. I'm interested to see where it's going with that premise.

[Anastasia]

Didn't I Say To Make My Abilities Average In My Next Life?: 7.5/10

A fun little show that starts as super typical isekai fluff. Girl dies and is reincarnated with 'average' abilities, but the average between the lowest, weakest ant and the highest dragon in the setting. In other words she's seriously overpowered. Normal isekai stuff and she just wants to enjoy a happy life. So the protagonist becomes an adventurer. Naturally. because this is isekai and that rhymes with wish fulfillment, she makes a group of fast, loyal friends. As it's also anime, they're all cute girls. None of this should surprise you.

On the surface it's a typical, bright and unremarkable fantasy world. Nothing worth being interested in. However, things soon get increasingly darker around them. It isn't enough to spoil the mood of the series, but it makes it abundantly clear things aren't roses beyond the immediate attention of the main characters. People die, bad ends are had and the world's a mess.

The contrast of a legitimately messy world that begins to infringe on events contrasts with the the protagonist's desires to have a normal, happy life. It makes things a lot more watchable and the bright points shine brighter for that. All sorts of plot threads are begun, though none go too far before the end of the season. Too bad a season two looks like it's never going to happen, I was interested by the end of the show.

[Anastasia]

Birdie Wing -Gold Girls' Story- (First Episode): Seriously not my thing/10

Cor talked me into trying this show. I'm a sports fan, not golf so much, but I know the terms and rules. In general I bounce off sports shows since they come off to me as overly dramatized takes on the source material. Birdie Wing fell firmly into that. My image of golf is a game you play, get pissed off on the front nine, hit up the club house to get drunk, then play the back nine and do something you regret the next day. Something like that, anyway.

Adding anime girls does not improve this formula. Chalk this one up to differing tastes.

[Anastasia]

I Can't Understand What My Husband Is Saying: 8/10

A fun, 26 episode long collection of 3 and a half minute episodes. It's centered around a newly married couple, the man's an otaku and the woman's normal. Naturally shenanigans ensue. It's fun with solid writing to get the most out of its limited runtime. It's very different than the normal anime fair, as it deals with such things as the wife trying to quit smoking, a potential pregnancy and settling into their new life together.

It's fun, different and breezy. I really enjoyed it for what it was.

[Anastasia]

The Aristocrat's Otherworldly Adventure: Serving Gods Who Go Too Far: 3/10

Routine reincarnation isekai. Didn't do anything in two episodes to stand out. I did like the two adventurer-tutors, but that's as far as any of it goes. Didn't do much for me but I might watch more on a rainy day.

Summoned to Another World for a Second Time: 6.5/10

5 or so episodes in now, fun enough series. A guy gets isekaied, takes care of business then gets sent back to a new go around on Earth. Keeps his abilities until high school, when he gets summoned a second time. He's been missing for five years there and has to clean up the mess that caused. Oh, and the rest of his class was summoned with him, including his love interest best friend.

Nothing groundbreaking's here, but I like the NG+ approach. It's pleasantly watchable and I like the best friend, she's enjoyable so far.

Not a lot has gotten my attention this season. I'm passing on Oshi No Ko, which seems to be the stand out and the rest doesn't really tickle my fancy. A few continuations are nice but nothing grips me.

[Anastasia]

The Great Healer: 8.5/10

Up through episode 10, it's an isekai that at least puts good effort in. I like that it shows the growth and effort, as well as lets time pass rather than do everything in a compressed time period. It feels like an isekai that doesn't do anything new, but makes a good effort with what it has. I respect that a lot and enjoy every episode.

Really worth a watch if you like the genre.

Spoiler: ShowHide

Just found out this last episode that the reason why the protagonist is doing the typical not that into all the beautiful women around him? It's a side effect of the power up drink he's been consuming the entire time. I got a laugh that they worked something like that into the plot. Points for justifying it with an in story reason.

My Unique Skill Makes Me OP Even At Level 1: 6.5/10

I like this show. It's pure anime junk food but it's fun, filling, guilty pleasure anime junk food. It's my favorite show of the season because I like the gimmick, even if I admit there's better shows objectively. Something about the gimmick calls to me.

Anyway, the premise is that the guy gets isekaied to a world where everything comes from monster drops in dugneons. Everything, including food. It's an interesting take on the topic but shallow by nature. It's simple and feel good without any real stakes.

[Anastasia]

The Most Heretical Last Boss Queen: From Villainess to Savior (up to episode 11): 7.5/10

Hello isekai. Anyway, it's an isekai that has an 18 year old woman die and reincarnate as an 8 year old princess in a fantasy world. Of course, this is the heartless princess that's the last boss of the game it's based on. Yeah, we're not blazing new territory here.

Eh. It's not bad, not great. Very much your packaged sandwich, chips and drink lunch of the isekai world. It gets the job done and has a few bright points, but nothing's really gone beyond the norm.

Spoiler: ShowHide

Really, the flaws are when it loses touch with strong storytelling and world building. Things like the knights suffering no losses when guns are in play. It's odd because there's pretty clearly implied deaths in the show, and most likely the MC took some lives when she bailed out the knights. It's a jarring lack of realism in a situation that doesn't support it. It comes across as questionable storytelling.

I do like the special abilities, though. Feels like an almost super hero style take on magical powers, with each person who has one getting one unique power of their own. The kingdom's dynasty is built around a female line with precognition, while adopted princes are adopted for the sake of strong special abilities. Stale's teleportation demonstrates this amply and proves to be really useful, which helps back up that story element.

[Dracos]

Last Boss Queen really never stops going 'Oh woe is me, the beloved Queen in the land where I can enslave others and they too will love me'.

I mean I enjoyed it but what a fucked up background and I kind of expected it to lean into 'Hey, we've been perpetually timeline changing for decades' at some point.

[Anastasia]

Last Boss Queen really never stops going 'Oh woe is me, the beloved Queen in the land where I can enslave others and they too will love me'.

I mean I enjoyed it but what a fucked up background and I kind of expected it to lean into 'Hey, we've been perpetually timeline changing for decades' at some point.

Between the precognition and magical enslavement, there's certainly some dark corners you can take that series to.

What's good this season?

Frieren >>>> 16 Bit Sensation = I'm In Love With The Villainess > I Shall Survive Using Potions > My Daughter Left The Nest And Returned An S Rank Adventurer

This is only a few episodes in so take this with some salt. Frieren's top notch, 16 Bit Sensation has a few holes but I like the gimmick, Villainess cracked me up several times with a great premise and dub, Potions is okay but I want to see more before I have a verdict and I couldn't get that much into S Rank. I think S Rank is a shame because the ingredients for a decent story feel like they're there, but it's a slow starter. I'll wait a bit, watch a few more in a row and see if it finds its groove.

I'll write more about them once they get more episodes. It's still early in the season.

In other news, I saw Crunchyroll has the dubs up for the Kaguya movie, so I'm gonna watch them after I rewatch the series. Only an episode and change into the reward, we'll see how it holds up.

[Dracos]

Frieren is remarkably truthful to what I've seen in the manga so far and just as stirring.