Your anime viewing journal

I've been finishing up last season's anime (highlights: Kaiju No.8, Black Butler, Train to the End of the World, Tonari no Youkai-san, Astro Note, the first half of Yatagarasu) which means that it's time to start this season and grumble when the first few shows aren't as good as the stuff that made the cut last time around.

The Strongest Magician in the Demon Lord's Army was a Human ep1: This is exactly as generic as it sounds, and unfortunately its animation is pretty rubbish too. The main character is CG whenever he's in public because he wears a mask, which makes for lots of boring scenes of people thinking and narrating without anything happening visually other than slow camera pans over bland, cheap-looking art. Every aspect of the core plot has been done before in multiple different ways and seeing them all done again worse isn't very compelling; I have better uses for my time. There's a slave girl too, for those keeping count. Not a strong start to the season.

My Wife Has No Emotion ep1: A socially-awkward (understatement) guy gets so lonely that he tells his pet robot chef to be his wife. She acquiesces because she's effectively his slave and then he spends the rest of the episode working himself up into a horny frenzy over nothing. They're not actually married and she doesn't seem capable of any naughty stuff, so it's more a comedy based around some guy's uneventful non-marriage to a humanoid dishwasher, showing him making magnanimous concessions like offering to do half of the cooking when he's the only one who can eat and cooking for him is her literal purpose. The 'unemotional' passive aggressive attitude of the 'wife' is moderately amusing (the show could be quite funny if she just hated him), and if they'd lent into the marriage thing rather than the one-sided creepiness then it might even have been sweet. However, in the context of everything else going on in anime there are some awkward undertones. She kind of consented to their marriage but ultimately she has absolutely no agency in her life; either she's an appliance and the male lead is deranged, or she secretly has feelings yet is forced to be an outlet for his fantasises. Neither makes for the best viewing experience. The art style is a lot nicer than the last show but for some reason the android lady was given a fully realistic head and hair, but her mouth cannot move even though her eyes are fully detailed, which makes this a similarly static affair whenever she's the only thing on screen.

The Ossan Newbie Adventurer, Trained to Death by the Most Powerful Party, Became Invincible ep1: This series was much better than the last two, which isn't a huge compliment. It started off well with the Kushida Akira OP and decent animation, which even has a discernible style of its own, but even the best efforts of the animation team couldn't do much with the lacklustre source material. The 'ancient' newbie hero (he's in his early 30s) spends the whole episode being sad that everyone thinks he's too old to start out as an adventurer even though it's blindingly obvious that he's the most powerful person in the Generic RPG Adventurer's Guild, and the strongest party in the world have apparently had so little to do that they personally trained him for two years. Given that he used to work in the guild, you would imagine that he would have an inkling that he's a bit overpowered too, but despite some early signs of self-awareness it seems that he's a super-strong passenger in his own life after all. It's a bit sad that his oldness is used as a gag (incessantly) but he never actually acts like a middle-aged man or thinks middle-aged man thoughts at all, which makes the whole series come across as though it was written by a teenager imagining how it might feel to be old. Weird.

TASUKETSU -Fate of the Majority- ep1: Finally, some (ridiculously high) stakes! This is Squid Game (or any of its inspirations) with the presentation of something like Yu-Gi-Oh! and if I was younger I think I would be all over it. Unfortunately, because I've seen a ton of these 'death game' shows before, it's obvious that all of the twists and turns are cribbed from earlier works and I never found myself swept away by its intentionally bonkers premise, about a population being rapidly whittled down to one person by way of an all-powerful person (?) with full control over technology and people's lives. The storytelling is quite natural without the lazy expository monologues of recent LN adaptations but the characters are a boring bunch who haven't really established themselves (or remained especially internally consistent), which is unfortunate. There are occasional glimmers of inspiration, though, which is why I think it would be a good entry point for someone less jaded. It's not fine art but it might serve to entertain.

I'm going to treat myself with Oshi no Ko s2 next, which I expect will be awesome, but aside from a few surefire hits I'm honestly not sure what's going to end up on my viewing schedule this time around.

R
 
Awesome,
@Geriatric hedgehog I found a synopsis of the novels on Reddit. Looks like there are some small changes from the novel (they are under the spoiler tag)
Thank you very much for saving me the trouble of looking for this!! My subjective and kyoani-biased view is more in preference of the anime. I definitely preferred that Mayu retained the solo, especially as it was completely in keeping with Reina's character, and as it also held back on an even more saccharine ending than what we got - though this is one of those anime which is so well developed and likeable that I honestly would not have minded the most Hollywoodily positive ending either heh; in terms of romances, it didn't really matter to me that they went more Yuri, as romance didn't really ever seem a focus of this series and also it gave us the amazing Liz & The Bluebird; it certainly made for comedy with Shuichi's confession eliciting shock and horror 😅; also I assume it really added to the Kumiko and Reina dynamic; I liked the open ended nature, especially as I felt the yuri-ness was a tad bit closeted anyway with the implication of neither party ever likely to commit.
 
@Geriatric hedgehog oh I did see something else that gives a hint to the end romantic situation. Look at the last scene again and check out what is on her binder/notepad. Someone mentioned on Reddit and I would have never put 2 and 2 together but it’s clear as day if you know to look 🤣
Oh yeeeeaaah, you're right!! Perseverance pays off eh? To be fair I never would've remembered that until after being reminded when reading that link you posted heh
 
New Cutey Honey OVAs

I feel like Cutey/Cutie Honey is the perfect popcorn eating series. Just bonkers over the top action with comedy all in an OTT package. Somehow this was even more fan service heavy than Re:Cutie Honey but somehow my mind just accepts it as Go Nagai being Go Nagai where if it was a modern series my eyes would be rolling so hard.

Anyway, it’s a total shame that the series just ends and it does not finish it’s plot… I guess it works out well that each episode works alone anyway so it doesn’t feel like a massive disappointment (just a little blue).

IMG_9468.jpeg
 
Oshi No Ko s2 ep1: It's back and this first episode was a real treat, full of lavish animation which really showed off the shoujo-style artwork to its full. It was visually engrossing from start to finish! The subject matter is really interesting too; I've seen anime-based stage plays like this live and they really captured everything that makes them so engrossing, while using the theatrical backdrop to continue to frame the 'real life' dramas playing out amongst the characters. Objectively not much really happened here; the ongoing mystery has yet to advance and there were a lot of new characters taking screen time away from the regular cast. Nonetheless, I was fully engaged throughout and am greatly looking forward to the next episode.

Alya Sometimes Hides Her Feelings in Russian ep1: Our everyman nerdy schoolboy has befriended the stuck-up half-Japanese girl who sits next to him, supposedly unaware that beneath her frosty exterior she's constantly joking with herself about how much she likes him in Russian. Unfortunately, the hero happens to be (implausibly) good at Russian himself thanks to the influence of a Mysterious Childhood Friend Whose Name He Has Forgotten, so he can understand every embarrassing remark she makes. Not my cup of tea, but if you're into romantic school hijinks with tsundere this will definitely scratch that itch. The artwork is slick and attractive. And thank goodness that the hero is at least moderately likeable; he should really tell her that he can understand but since the situation is her fault I can see why he hasn't.

R
 
Ayla Sometimes Hides Her Feelings in Russian episode 1 Peek.

Oshi no Ko 2nd Season episode 12 Easy to grasp.

The Misfit of Demon King Academy II Part 2 episode 50 Heavy load.

The Strongest Magician in the Demon Lord’s Army Was a Human episode 2 Spying and sparring.

Shadow Skill: Eigi episodes 17-26 & Shadow Skill - Kurdan Style: The Secret of the Lethal Martial Art OVA (Complete. The OVAs were decidedly more serious than Eigi, and despite the numerous adaptations this was a series I likely wouldn’t have discovered without an MAL suggestion.) 3/5, 3/5, 3.5/5, 2.5/5
 
The Garden of Words (REWATCH, English dubbed) - Still a lovely movie, with a solid English dub as well, I kind of like the shorter length for this one also and it makes a nice put on in the background kinda thing, beautiful visuals and music (Greenery Rain is amazing). I didn't mind the age gap romance too much here as they never consummate it while he's underage, also I'm not a foot fetishist but I appreciate good shoes and the effort put into mastering a craft, so that was nice to see portrayed, without the overly glacial pacing of some SOL series yet you still get a real sense of his skills improving over time :)

Fruits Basket 2019 COMPLETE (Seasons 1-3 and Prelude movie) (REWATCH, English dubbed) - Yep I still absolutely love this. It's a profoundly moving emotional drama and I get a lot out of it every time I revisit it, and I love how it emphasises the value of all sorts of different people as regards personality :)

Kokoro Connect COMPLETE (English dubbed) - Def glad I finally watched this show, I really enjoyed it and almost wish there was more, very good dub too IMO (I picked it up cheap on US import Blu-ray on Amazon UK coming from Amazon US), the arcs were really interesting in their conceits and execution, and the cast of characters were varied and complex, without meaning to bash K-ON! I would like to say to people who didn't like K-ON!, and are put off by the shared character designer, that this is not a moe series and the female characters are pretty multi-dimensional and not just balls of overly innocent for their age childish cuteness, so even if you're not a moe person Kokoro Connect is def worth a look :)

My Love Story!! Episodes 1-9 (REWATCH, English dubbed) - So cute, sweet and funny! XD

Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season 4 Episodes 2-5 (REWATCH) - With Friend B, continues to be amazing and Beer Bad isn't as rubbish as everyone says IMO :)

Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season 2 Episode 2 (REWATCH) - With Friend C, Spike and Drusilla are such fascinating characters :)

Lupin the Third Part 5 Episodes 14-15 (English dubbed) - Kinda with Friend D but mostly watched these two eps on my own, will prob save the rest for viewing with them though, still a lot of fun :)

Cardcaptor Sakura Episodes 5-9 (REWATCH, English subbed) - Awwwwww! This show continues to delight me :)

Also rewatched the first few episodes of The Irresponsible Captain Tylor TV (English dubbed) with someone new (let's call them Friend E :p ), but we were uhhh "busy" so didn't pay that much attention to it tbh, great show though! :)

I really wish I were better at these write ups lol it's mostly just a series of positive-adjective gushing on my part XP
 
Days with My Stepsister Episode 1

Shy Season 2 Episode 13


Spice and Wolf: Merchant Meets the Wise Wolf Episode 14

The Ossan Newbie Adventurer, Trained to Death by the Most Powerful Party, Became Invincible Episode 1
 
Pseudo Harem episode 1 Acting up.

She and Her Cat Everything Flows OVAs 1-4 (Complete. A short but emotional story from Makoto Shinkai.) 3.5/5

She, The Ultimate Weapon
episodes 1-13 (Complete. A tragic, albeit at times repetitive, story that served as a solid drama.) 3.5/5

Shounen Onmyouji
episode 1
 
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I've been out drinking and playing darts.
Now staying at my mum and dad's.
They've got netflix.
I'm watching Overlord S2. Previously watched S1.
Has the subtitles by netflix calmed down the language and the intent?? Right word??
It doesn't seem to have the impact I remember from the DVDs. I'm at the Sebas saves Tuarte and storms the Eight Fingers brothel.
I'm also thinking of the S1 bit when Momo is fighting the mad lassie during the skeleton dragon bit.
I am rather drunk but I did finish 63 with 13 and the bull. 🥳
 
Twilight Out of Focus ep1: I've been following Sarah's reviews of the original BL manga here on AUKN so I was looking forward to the anime adaptation, and so far I'm enjoying it. The characters are presented quite maturely (despite being dorks at times) which is a refreshing change from the usual 'teenagers behaving like preteens' formula of most school shows. The character dynamics in the film club are a bit reminiscent of the game Jack Jeanne, even though that's more about acting than production, and their shared enthusiasm for working on their intriguing new project (a BL film) is charming. The roommates who are central to the main story are interesting too, and while not much has happened yet I'll be tuning in for the next episode to see how things develop.

Senpai is an Otokonoko ep1: A boy who has always loved girly things attends school dressed as a girl, and one day a younger student mistakenly confesses her love to her beautiful senpai. Much to his surprise, she isn't put off at all when he explains that he's actually a boy. He turns her down for a multitude of reasons - not least of which is his lack of attraction - but she sticks around and proves herself to be plucky, loyal and unafraid of the risk of being bullied, and in spite of initially clashing with the lead's protective childhood friend a genuine friendship seems to be budding in all directions. While I have used male pronouns for the lead as he identifies as an otokonoko, the final scene implied that his cross-dressing during the school day is the only way he can express his yearning to be his true self, so perhaps we'll see him accepting that and getting past the issues his gender essentialist mother seems to have tried to instil. I had initially worried that the show might be awkward but it's actually rather sweet! It's a mess visually, though, alternating (literally) between its normal, attractive designs and super deformed caricatures - except the SD parts are very sloppily animated and they cut between the styles so rapidly that it looks rough. It's the first time in many years of anime watching where I've found SD scenes aggressively distracting; I'd probably keep watching if the show looked a bit better but if the very first episode is already taking so many shortcuts, it doesn't bode well for the rest.

R
 
The Comic Artist And His Assistants complete series and OVAs: very silly show. The artist is the typical panties obsessed creep lusting after all the girls around him (if he's so creepy, why is he always surrounded by sexy ladies?). Sometimes I worry about the people who draw manga. Occasionally entertaining, over the top fan service and constant thoughts of "what a bunch of idiots. Why would they do that!?".

Now on to High School DXD, which I am sure will be a classy and sophisticated series with a solid plot and mature characters ....
 
I've finished the Grimm Variations.
Episodes 1-3 were excellent.
Cinderella nicely unsettling.
Red Riding Hood has action.
Hansel and Gretel 🤫

The last 3 episodes were poor, although I did really like the ending of the Pied Piper.

I've given up on
Golden Kamuy and City Hunter Live Action.
Will try again with Godzilla Minus One.
My Mum came into the living room after Godzilla's first appearance but before his second.
She says "Oh this looks quite good"
Me It's not what you think
Her What Zombies?
Me Godzilla
Her That's just as bad. 😁
 
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