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Attack on Titan: The Final Season (Japanese audio) - Episode 28 (Completed for now, Continues in 2023)
How a Realist Hero Rebuilt the Kingdom (Japanese audio) - Episode 26 (Completed)
This Winter 2022 season has had a lot of interesting anime. While I have yet to watch Season 2 of ARIFURTA due to wanting to read the novels first, I did manage to watch the other shows I had in mind from the line-up.
My Dress-Up Darling was the biggest surprise of the bunch because despite the ridiculous overhype the show has had, the actual story is really solid and the interactions between the two characters were spot on. It's a strange feeling watching this show because when you look back at other romance slice-of-life anime they always throw some stupid ******** to cause conflict but this series doesn't really do that. It's literally a relaxing time and there's enough reactions to have a 600MB folder.
Another interesting surprise was The Genius Prince's Guide to Raising a Nation Out of Debt. Despite the rather rough start to the series, the second episode onwards offers a rather interesting storyline of a prince trying to solve various situations and compete against other royal members and staff. The character designs were great and the final episode was a great way to end the season. That said, the series did have some rough animation so hopefully the Blu-rays are more polished.
How a Realist Hero Rebuilt the Kingdom's second cour continues its focus on dialogue and for the most part it was really interesting, though saying that I can definitely see people being turned off by its pacing and some themes it covers which may raise some eyes. But saying that the final episode provides a whole another look at the direction and I look forward to how the story goes.
World's End Harem's anime adaptation was always going to be a rough one. Trying to adapt a borderline hentai series into an anime format was never going to be easy, but fortunately the studio made the right decision to adapt up to a certain point that I was hoping it would with its story. The character designs while were not as appealing as the manga held up quite well in the anime, and the voice work was also very good. My biggest gripe is that the studio's production was a mess with its final episode obviously incomplete with still images and missing mouths in numerous scenes. While I do feel the adaptation should have gone to a different studio, they are at least adapting and extending a lot of the sex scenes in the Blu-ray home video version so I hope they put more time actually amending the animation as well. If they do that, then I'll raise my score for the show lol.
SABIKUI BISCO was another surprise as its concept held up really well and the art style was unique and great. The music was also different and memorable, though this is coming from someone who does like to listen to metal here and there so this won't be your cup of tea if you dislike the genre. The story is pretty interesting though I felt it did end rather quickly and there are some questionable choices in its direction during the latter half. I do think there was potential for this whole arc to be a bit longer but what we got was overall a good time.
Princess Connect! Re: DIVE Season 2 somehow managed to go far and beyond on various areas. While the first season had a lot of Konosuba style humour, the second season focused more on its main story which is really interesting and the animation is one of the best that's been produced and far superior to Demon Slayer on production value. The character roster does get much bigger and because of that it does lose a bit of development, and while its great to see a bit more backstory to the MC he does get side-lined a lot despite his importance to the story. I do think Season 1 is better in some areas but Season 2 is a much better season overall.
And then we have Attack on Titan: The Final Season's second part which slows down on its pacing but offers a whole ton of very interesting developments. This series has continued to amaze me on both its story and direction, because I am well aware that the manga's conclusion is very divisive but what the anime has shown so far has been really great and I love it. While the studio is very controversial, MAPPA has done a fantastic job on both the animation and artstyle, which I honestly prefer now over the WIT Studio one. While it's frustrating we have to wait until 2023 to see the conclusion of the adaptation, it does make sense given MAPPA will be busy focusing on Chainsaw Man, Dance Dance Danseur, Hell's Paradise, Jujutsu Kaisen Season 2 as well as three films along the way.
Either way this has been an almost perfect batch of episodes for Attack on Titan.
How a Realist Hero Rebuilt the Kingdom (Japanese audio) - Episode 26 (Completed)
This Winter 2022 season has had a lot of interesting anime. While I have yet to watch Season 2 of ARIFURTA due to wanting to read the novels first, I did manage to watch the other shows I had in mind from the line-up.
My Dress-Up Darling was the biggest surprise of the bunch because despite the ridiculous overhype the show has had, the actual story is really solid and the interactions between the two characters were spot on. It's a strange feeling watching this show because when you look back at other romance slice-of-life anime they always throw some stupid ******** to cause conflict but this series doesn't really do that. It's literally a relaxing time and there's enough reactions to have a 600MB folder.
Another interesting surprise was The Genius Prince's Guide to Raising a Nation Out of Debt. Despite the rather rough start to the series, the second episode onwards offers a rather interesting storyline of a prince trying to solve various situations and compete against other royal members and staff. The character designs were great and the final episode was a great way to end the season. That said, the series did have some rough animation so hopefully the Blu-rays are more polished.
How a Realist Hero Rebuilt the Kingdom's second cour continues its focus on dialogue and for the most part it was really interesting, though saying that I can definitely see people being turned off by its pacing and some themes it covers which may raise some eyes. But saying that the final episode provides a whole another look at the direction and I look forward to how the story goes.
World's End Harem's anime adaptation was always going to be a rough one. Trying to adapt a borderline hentai series into an anime format was never going to be easy, but fortunately the studio made the right decision to adapt up to a certain point that I was hoping it would with its story. The character designs while were not as appealing as the manga held up quite well in the anime, and the voice work was also very good. My biggest gripe is that the studio's production was a mess with its final episode obviously incomplete with still images and missing mouths in numerous scenes. While I do feel the adaptation should have gone to a different studio, they are at least adapting and extending a lot of the sex scenes in the Blu-ray home video version so I hope they put more time actually amending the animation as well. If they do that, then I'll raise my score for the show lol.
SABIKUI BISCO was another surprise as its concept held up really well and the art style was unique and great. The music was also different and memorable, though this is coming from someone who does like to listen to metal here and there so this won't be your cup of tea if you dislike the genre. The story is pretty interesting though I felt it did end rather quickly and there are some questionable choices in its direction during the latter half. I do think there was potential for this whole arc to be a bit longer but what we got was overall a good time.
Princess Connect! Re: DIVE Season 2 somehow managed to go far and beyond on various areas. While the first season had a lot of Konosuba style humour, the second season focused more on its main story which is really interesting and the animation is one of the best that's been produced and far superior to Demon Slayer on production value. The character roster does get much bigger and because of that it does lose a bit of development, and while its great to see a bit more backstory to the MC he does get side-lined a lot despite his importance to the story. I do think Season 1 is better in some areas but Season 2 is a much better season overall.
And then we have Attack on Titan: The Final Season's second part which slows down on its pacing but offers a whole ton of very interesting developments. This series has continued to amaze me on both its story and direction, because I am well aware that the manga's conclusion is very divisive but what the anime has shown so far has been really great and I love it. While the studio is very controversial, MAPPA has done a fantastic job on both the animation and artstyle, which I honestly prefer now over the WIT Studio one. While it's frustrating we have to wait until 2023 to see the conclusion of the adaptation, it does make sense given MAPPA will be busy focusing on Chainsaw Man, Dance Dance Danseur, Hell's Paradise, Jujutsu Kaisen Season 2 as well as three films along the way.
Either way this has been an almost perfect batch of episodes for Attack on Titan.
Attack on Titan: The Final Season Part 2 episode 87 Arrival. (Complete. This season continued to engage as it builds towards the final two or so volumes worth content coming next year.) 4/5
Boruto: Naruto Next Generations episode 243 Defence.
Magia Record: Puella Magi Madoka Magica Side Story Final Season - Dawn of a Shallow Dream episodes 9-12 (Complete. I found these episodes to be a mixed bag - especially the ending.) 3/5
Shenmue the Animation episode 9 Reasoning.
Trapped in a Dating Sim: The World of Otome Games is Tough for Mobs episode 1 Fuss.
Black Jack TV episodes 51-61 & Black Jack: The Two Doctors of Darkness (Film) (Complete. Tonally this is very different from the OVAs and film which preceded it as it opts for a more family-friendly approach. This resulted in a tedious watch and I found myself skimming through a fair amount of the episodes, though some storylines did manage to reclaim some of the more engaging maturity the series previously had.) 2.5/5, 3/5
Boruto: Naruto Next Generations episode 243 Defence.
Magia Record: Puella Magi Madoka Magica Side Story Final Season - Dawn of a Shallow Dream episodes 9-12 (Complete. I found these episodes to be a mixed bag - especially the ending.) 3/5
Shenmue the Animation episode 9 Reasoning.
Trapped in a Dating Sim: The World of Otome Games is Tough for Mobs episode 1 Fuss.
Black Jack TV episodes 51-61 & Black Jack: The Two Doctors of Darkness (Film) (Complete. Tonally this is very different from the OVAs and film which preceded it as it opts for a more family-friendly approach. This resulted in a tedious watch and I found myself skimming through a fair amount of the episodes, though some storylines did manage to reclaim some of the more engaging maturity the series previously had.) 2.5/5, 3/5
Dragon Slayer
The Wildcard
Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba - Entertainment District Arc (English Dub) Episode 7
Attack on Titan: The Final Season Episode 87 Landfall. (Complete for now. Another excellent season that continues to ramp up the suspense as it builds upto next year's finale.) 4/5
Magia Record: Puella Magi Madoka☆ Magica Side Story Final Season - Dawn of a Shallow Dream Episode 9-12 (Complete. These final few episodes left me somewhat stumped after that mixed bag conclusion.) 3/5
Trapped in a Dating Sim: The World of Otome Games is Tough for Mobs Episode 1 Rags to riches.
Attack on Titan: The Final Season Episode 87 Landfall. (Complete for now. Another excellent season that continues to ramp up the suspense as it builds upto next year's finale.) 4/5
Magia Record: Puella Magi Madoka☆ Magica Side Story Final Season - Dawn of a Shallow Dream Episode 9-12 (Complete. These final few episodes left me somewhat stumped after that mixed bag conclusion.) 3/5
Trapped in a Dating Sim: The World of Otome Games is Tough for Mobs Episode 1 Rags to riches.
Gemsy-chan
Shrine Maiden
Ep 12 of The Case Study of Vanitas part 2 [complete]...there shouldn't be any new anime as its completely caught up with the manga, unless they go original anime route which i hope doesn't happen.
Eps 1-3 of The Legend of the Galactic Heroes: Die Neue These season 3
Eps 1-3 of The Legend of the Galactic Heroes: Die Neue These season 3
Orgun
Dragon Knight
Wounded Man - Episodes 1 - 5 [Final]
A truly awful OVA released between 1986 and 1988, avoid!!!
D-1 Devastator - Episodes 1 & 2 [Final]
Another watch of D-1 Devastator, I think it's the epitome of cool 90s mecha OVAs. I had the Mega CD game of D-1 Devastator (just called Devastator) on import back in the early 90s but it would be nearly 20 years before I saw the anime it was based on. I know people like me keep banging on about this but I really would like to see it get an official release, but now that Leina Stohl has got a release there's always hope.
Macross 7 - Episodes 26 - 28 (Blu-ray)
Ranma 1/2 - Episode 79 (Blu-ray)
A truly awful OVA released between 1986 and 1988, avoid!!!
D-1 Devastator - Episodes 1 & 2 [Final]
Another watch of D-1 Devastator, I think it's the epitome of cool 90s mecha OVAs. I had the Mega CD game of D-1 Devastator (just called Devastator) on import back in the early 90s but it would be nearly 20 years before I saw the anime it was based on. I know people like me keep banging on about this but I really would like to see it get an official release, but now that Leina Stohl has got a release there's always hope.
Macross 7 - Episodes 26 - 28 (Blu-ray)
Ranma 1/2 - Episode 79 (Blu-ray)
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I started the new season's anime. Only one keeper to date. Unpopular opinions follow.
Ya Boy Kongming! ep 1: A genuinely fun time travel comedy that isn't an isekai or a samey high school show (hurrah). I appreciated that Kongming is presented as legitimately intelligent and therefore the necessary recycled setup jokes about being a fish out of water in the modern world are blasted through at warp speed. It's probably kind of an average show overall but I liked it so much better than the other first episodes so far; even the simplistic side characters have more depth than a lot of series' leads!
Mahjong Soul Pon ep 0: It's episode 0 so it might not be representative; I'll give the series an extra week to give me a better idea of what is going for with its gag-heavy parody themes. Unlike most of the other crummy isekai parodies, however, this episode was less than two minutes long, which seemed to be about right. The lack of boring internal monologues from grumpy teens made it watchable.
The Executioner and Her Way of Life ep1: I will admit that seeing the isekai guy brutally killed was pretty funny, though that particular element isn't enough to stand on its own when shows like Re:Zero have already scratched that itch. There is potential here but the interesting political background is firmly in the background and the main characters we've seen before haven't interested me very much. It's a shame that the first episode wasn't a two-partner because while it's obvious that the second summoned character is going to be very important in future, the first episode wasted too much time on setting up its big 'twist' (which wasn't ever destined to be much of a twist given the show's title) and I don't feel I have a very good idea of how the setup is going to work. I think it benefits a little from the lead being a properly integrated part of the world (i.e. mostly straight fantasy) rather than the usual shallowness of a traditional isekai show, but my dislike for the genre it's parodying coupled with being outside its target audience means that it's a swing and a miss. Kudos for being the only first episode where enough actually happened to warrant spoiler tags, though.
Aharen-san wa Hakarenai ep1: It's the same show we've seen quite a few times over the last decade, where a boring guy with no discernible hobbies or personality hyperfixates on a cute weirdo girl in his class and stoically puts up with her weird habits in an effort to form a bond. It could be interesting played straight to explore all sorts of complex social/interpersonal issues but it isn't, it's a heartwarming comedy, and the girl is treated more like a pet or a kid than the guy's peer. Not my cup of tea at all.
Fanfare of Adolescence ep 1: This series has no idea what it is trying to do and it's annoying because 'hot guys (plus a girl) and horses' is a great concept. The guys aren't especially interesting, the horses are ugly CG monstrosities and the horse knowledge on display is bizarrely inaccurate - it doesn't feel as though anybody did a sensible amount of research. Including the actual characters, who appear to have all signed up for several years of intensive training in Horse School despite never having ridden, touched or read about horses? I don't get it. I wish that they'd either gone full 'UtaPri'-style crazy with the premise and just made everyone nuts, which would have been great, or put more effort into crafting a suitably serious, realistic scenario where the human drama and horse stuff could have meshed properly as with some of the great sports shows of recent years. Instead, this is serious horse stuff that picks and chooses how much it cares about realism on a whim, which is just confusing. There are some good ideas and I don't hate it but it just doesn't come together as a finished package for me.
Trapped in a Dating Sim: The World of Otome Games is Tough for Mobs ep1: I was initally confused because the otome game that the lead kept insulting legitimately made no sense as an otome game (even in jest - and I've played some pretty stupid otome games!), until near the end when I realised that it was actually parodying elements I've seen in bishoujo games, except the creator had just swapped the gender roles to turn it into another persecution fantasy. The joke in-world is that the game was a uniquely terrible example of its genre yet the title and dialogue constantly blame the entire genre with no real insight or finesse. Why don't they just parody bishoujo games in the first place, then? I play both genres and the show would work way better that way around, especially because it would be punching up and set the series apart from its peers. After all, a masterpiece otome game parody show already exists in the form of the criminally underrated DAMExPRI Anime Caravan. Setting aside my quiet irritation about people parodying things that they plainly haven't researched at all (the 'dead unicorn' trope in action), the show itself just wasn't that good. It's going for a meta, knowing angle that falls short without the genuine love of the genre that permeates the very best parodies. Had it dared to be just a tiny bit more tongue in cheek I could have stuck it out and laughed with the writer. Perhaps persecution fantasies about angry teenagers enslaved by their lazy sisters have a niche which sits too far outside of my sphere of interest.
Estab-life ep1: I tried but I hated the CG and characters too much to finish the episode.
R
Ya Boy Kongming! ep 1: A genuinely fun time travel comedy that isn't an isekai or a samey high school show (hurrah). I appreciated that Kongming is presented as legitimately intelligent and therefore the necessary recycled setup jokes about being a fish out of water in the modern world are blasted through at warp speed. It's probably kind of an average show overall but I liked it so much better than the other first episodes so far; even the simplistic side characters have more depth than a lot of series' leads!
Mahjong Soul Pon ep 0: It's episode 0 so it might not be representative; I'll give the series an extra week to give me a better idea of what is going for with its gag-heavy parody themes. Unlike most of the other crummy isekai parodies, however, this episode was less than two minutes long, which seemed to be about right. The lack of boring internal monologues from grumpy teens made it watchable.
The Executioner and Her Way of Life ep1: I will admit that seeing the isekai guy brutally killed was pretty funny, though that particular element isn't enough to stand on its own when shows like Re:Zero have already scratched that itch. There is potential here but the interesting political background is firmly in the background and the main characters we've seen before haven't interested me very much. It's a shame that the first episode wasn't a two-partner because while it's obvious that the second summoned character is going to be very important in future, the first episode wasted too much time on setting up its big 'twist' (which wasn't ever destined to be much of a twist given the show's title) and I don't feel I have a very good idea of how the setup is going to work. I think it benefits a little from the lead being a properly integrated part of the world (i.e. mostly straight fantasy) rather than the usual shallowness of a traditional isekai show, but my dislike for the genre it's parodying coupled with being outside its target audience means that it's a swing and a miss. Kudos for being the only first episode where enough actually happened to warrant spoiler tags, though.
Aharen-san wa Hakarenai ep1: It's the same show we've seen quite a few times over the last decade, where a boring guy with no discernible hobbies or personality hyperfixates on a cute weirdo girl in his class and stoically puts up with her weird habits in an effort to form a bond. It could be interesting played straight to explore all sorts of complex social/interpersonal issues but it isn't, it's a heartwarming comedy, and the girl is treated more like a pet or a kid than the guy's peer. Not my cup of tea at all.
Fanfare of Adolescence ep 1: This series has no idea what it is trying to do and it's annoying because 'hot guys (plus a girl) and horses' is a great concept. The guys aren't especially interesting, the horses are ugly CG monstrosities and the horse knowledge on display is bizarrely inaccurate - it doesn't feel as though anybody did a sensible amount of research. Including the actual characters, who appear to have all signed up for several years of intensive training in Horse School despite never having ridden, touched or read about horses? I don't get it. I wish that they'd either gone full 'UtaPri'-style crazy with the premise and just made everyone nuts, which would have been great, or put more effort into crafting a suitably serious, realistic scenario where the human drama and horse stuff could have meshed properly as with some of the great sports shows of recent years. Instead, this is serious horse stuff that picks and chooses how much it cares about realism on a whim, which is just confusing. There are some good ideas and I don't hate it but it just doesn't come together as a finished package for me.
Trapped in a Dating Sim: The World of Otome Games is Tough for Mobs ep1: I was initally confused because the otome game that the lead kept insulting legitimately made no sense as an otome game (even in jest - and I've played some pretty stupid otome games!), until near the end when I realised that it was actually parodying elements I've seen in bishoujo games, except the creator had just swapped the gender roles to turn it into another persecution fantasy. The joke in-world is that the game was a uniquely terrible example of its genre yet the title and dialogue constantly blame the entire genre with no real insight or finesse. Why don't they just parody bishoujo games in the first place, then? I play both genres and the show would work way better that way around, especially because it would be punching up and set the series apart from its peers. After all, a masterpiece otome game parody show already exists in the form of the criminally underrated DAMExPRI Anime Caravan. Setting aside my quiet irritation about people parodying things that they plainly haven't researched at all (the 'dead unicorn' trope in action), the show itself just wasn't that good. It's going for a meta, knowing angle that falls short without the genuine love of the genre that permeates the very best parodies. Had it dared to be just a tiny bit more tongue in cheek I could have stuck it out and laughed with the writer. Perhaps persecution fantasies about angry teenagers enslaved by their lazy sisters have a niche which sits too far outside of my sphere of interest.
Estab-life ep1: I tried but I hated the CG and characters too much to finish the episode.
R
RonJB
Vampire Ninja
Love, Election and Chocolate episodes 1-8: put this on in the expectation it was going to be a light fluffy souffle of a show. Before the opening credits on episode one, we had a conspiracy being photographed by a young girl, who was then run down by one of the protagonists. We've then ignored her plight (one shot of a hospital bed) in favour of watching the student council elections at a very posh/bitchy private school. Some funny moments, some drama, some very weird characters, a little intrigue, and the expectation that the nasty undercurrent of sleaze and corruption is going to burst out at any moment. It HAS kept me interested, which is all I can ask, eh?
Dragon Slayer
The Wildcard
Attack on Titan: The Final Season (English Dub) Episode 83
Healer Girl Episode 1
Healer Girl Episode 1
D1tchd1gger
Shrine Maiden
Attack on Titan Final Season p2 e12 (complete)
Filling in the gap. This last episode fills in some of the missing pieces from between season 3 and the now quite misnamed Final Season! But then posses more questions.
Overall this part went back and covered some interesting history stuff and started with a decent battle and had that twist, but the second half dragged a little as everyone has to gather together and re-examine allegiances and the events of the final episode could have been placed elsewhere.
Still can't get used to the new character designs, but the animation is good.
8/10
The Case Study of Vanitas s2 eps 11 & 12 (complete)
Reason for vengeance.
The first arc of 8 episodes was pretty good, but still had the odd comedy moments following heavy story beats. The 2nd arc of 4 episodes was pretty dumb though. The villain's motivation was dumb (jealousy?) and the reason Vanitas attacked Noe was dumb (he'd hypnotised himself to kill anyone who tried to take his memories!) and the reason Noe attacks Vanitas is dumb (because Domi will jump! Umm, she's a vampire! You know an undead being that can only be killed by very specific means of death, I think she can survive a jump off a not very high thing!) and the reveal was meh (do we know this guy, are supposed to be shocked or surprised?). We did learn some information though, so wasn't a complete waste.
Art and animation were pretty good again, but the aforementioned comedy bit coming with the dumbed down art. Was cute in the 00's, but is getting a bit old now!
Was going to up my score from the first part, but the second arc really was stupid.
6/10
Healer Girl ep 1 (dropped)
I don't mind the odd idol show, but this is a musical where the girls started singing instead of talking. I found it so annoying I couldn't get through the first episode, which is a first! I've suffered through some dreadful stuff because something in it caught my interest, but the idea of songs being used for healing physical wounds is also pretty dumb and my first impressions of the girls were that they were just tropes and not ones I particularly like.
Filling in the gap. This last episode fills in some of the missing pieces from between season 3 and the now quite misnamed Final Season! But then posses more questions.
Overall this part went back and covered some interesting history stuff and started with a decent battle and had that twist, but the second half dragged a little as everyone has to gather together and re-examine allegiances and the events of the final episode could have been placed elsewhere.
Still can't get used to the new character designs, but the animation is good.
8/10
The Case Study of Vanitas s2 eps 11 & 12 (complete)
Reason for vengeance.
The first arc of 8 episodes was pretty good, but still had the odd comedy moments following heavy story beats. The 2nd arc of 4 episodes was pretty dumb though. The villain's motivation was dumb (jealousy?) and the reason Vanitas attacked Noe was dumb (he'd hypnotised himself to kill anyone who tried to take his memories!) and the reason Noe attacks Vanitas is dumb (because Domi will jump! Umm, she's a vampire! You know an undead being that can only be killed by very specific means of death, I think she can survive a jump off a not very high thing!) and the reveal was meh (do we know this guy, are supposed to be shocked or surprised?). We did learn some information though, so wasn't a complete waste.
Art and animation were pretty good again, but the aforementioned comedy bit coming with the dumbed down art. Was cute in the 00's, but is getting a bit old now!
Was going to up my score from the first part, but the second arc really was stupid.
6/10
Healer Girl ep 1 (dropped)
I don't mind the odd idol show, but this is a musical where the girls started singing instead of talking. I found it so annoying I couldn't get through the first episode, which is a first! I've suffered through some dreadful stuff because something in it caught my interest, but the idea of songs being used for healing physical wounds is also pretty dumb and my first impressions of the girls were that they were just tropes and not ones I particularly like.
RonJB
Vampire Ninja
Love, Election and Chocolate episodes 9-13 + OVA: Action all the way to the end, then a bake-off between the two rivals for Ojima's heart. I can't recall at any point them talking about schoolwork or appearing in a classroom, and the only teacher was the sponsor of the sweet-eating club. Lots of intrigue and action, but I get the feeling they squeezed too much into the finish and some questions were not answered. Still, well worth the £5 from the MVM sale.
Watched a few more first episodes in the eternal quest to find new shows which match my tastes.
Healer Girl ep1: The colourful art style is delightful, and I was pleasantly surprised to discover that the show was a musical because we haven't had one of those since... Dance With Devils? I'm not going to keep watching it though because despite being about trainee medics, Healer Girl is all about low stakes, peaceful incidents; I find the genre quite dull and the music wasn't dramatic enough for my taste. Unlike most of the shows I drop, however, I can see the appeal of this one. Fans of Aria and other slow-paced shows will likely find a lot to enjoy here and it really does look lovely.
Love All Play ep1: Yet another badminton show! The problem with the recent glut of new high school sports shows is that they all sort of blur together unless they have something unique to make them stand out and this one didn't really achieve that for me. The animation is decent enough when it gets going. The boys are believable as teens and given appropriate levels of depth. But it's missing any kind of spark to get me hooked and most of the first episode is the lead dithering about making a life-changing decision with only one real outcome if the plot is ever going to progress, which matters to him and not so much to me. It doesn't help that I'm currently catching up on Stars Align which does the interpersonal stuff way better. There's nothing wrong with Love All Play, it's just so by-the-numbers that I don't really see the point in investing any more of my time.
Tomodachi Game ep1: I like death game shows but they're all kind of the same at this point, and this smaller cast of not-very-sympathetic (or fleshed out) teens really doesn't feel as though it's going to grip me when I already found my attention wandering in episode 1. All of the baddies act as though they think they're far cleverer than they are which isn't very endearing either. There will probably be some fun twists here and there but the base material is looking very tired now.
R
Healer Girl ep1: The colourful art style is delightful, and I was pleasantly surprised to discover that the show was a musical because we haven't had one of those since... Dance With Devils? I'm not going to keep watching it though because despite being about trainee medics, Healer Girl is all about low stakes, peaceful incidents; I find the genre quite dull and the music wasn't dramatic enough for my taste. Unlike most of the shows I drop, however, I can see the appeal of this one. Fans of Aria and other slow-paced shows will likely find a lot to enjoy here and it really does look lovely.
Love All Play ep1: Yet another badminton show! The problem with the recent glut of new high school sports shows is that they all sort of blur together unless they have something unique to make them stand out and this one didn't really achieve that for me. The animation is decent enough when it gets going. The boys are believable as teens and given appropriate levels of depth. But it's missing any kind of spark to get me hooked and most of the first episode is the lead dithering about making a life-changing decision with only one real outcome if the plot is ever going to progress, which matters to him and not so much to me. It doesn't help that I'm currently catching up on Stars Align which does the interpersonal stuff way better. There's nothing wrong with Love All Play, it's just so by-the-numbers that I don't really see the point in investing any more of my time.
Tomodachi Game ep1: I like death game shows but they're all kind of the same at this point, and this smaller cast of not-very-sympathetic (or fleshed out) teens really doesn't feel as though it's going to grip me when I already found my attention wandering in episode 1. All of the baddies act as though they think they're far cleverer than they are which isn't very endearing either. There will probably be some fun twists here and there but the base material is looking very tired now.
R
I’m quitting Heroing episode 1 Trial run.
Tomodachi Game episode 1 Games people play.
Black Jack 21 episodes 14-17 (Complete. I found the stories within this season better than the preceding though I still prefer the OVAs overall.) 3/5
Bleach (Partial rewatch) episodes 168-177
Tomodachi Game episode 1 Games people play.
Black Jack 21 episodes 14-17 (Complete. I found the stories within this season better than the preceding though I still prefer the OVAs overall.) 3/5
Bleach (Partial rewatch) episodes 168-177