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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.

Stars Align which does the interpersonal stuff way better.

Thankyou for your review of Healer Girl I like Aria and musicals so I'll check it out :)

I really need to see Stars Align it looked so freakin' good! Sad that they cancelled it after one cour when it was meant to run for two though :(
 
I finished Spirit Riding Free, was quality horse-themed entertainment! :) 👍

Also finished Ride Your Wave (subbed), and I'm glad I did, I don't always like everything Yuasa makes but this was def a hit for me :)

Other than that I have now rewatched most of Kaiba (also a Yuasa favourite of mine), started rewatching Samurai Jack, had a go at watching Hunter X Hunter 2011 (dubbed) but wasn't paying enough attention so I'll put it on hiatus and go back to it later, and watched the first ep of Monthly Girls' Nozaki-kun (subbed) which was very funny and cute :)
 
Birdie Wing -Golf Girls' Story- episode 1 Nice shot.

Deaimon: Recipe for Happiness episode 1 Big order.

RPG Real Estate episode 1 Home hunters.

The Greatest Demon Lord Is Reborn as a Typical Nobody episode 1 Reincarnation woes.

The Rising of the Shield Hero Season 2 episode 26 Training against failure.

Bleach (Partial rewatch) episodes 178-190
 
In the Land of Leadale (English Dub) Episode 8

The Genius Prince's Guide to Raising a Nation Out of Debt (English Dub) Episode 5


Birdie Wing -Golf Girls' Story- Episode 1

Deimon: Recipe for Happiness Episode 1 Bulk order


I'm Quitting Heroing Episode 1 Probation test.

RPG Real Estate Episode 1 House hunting.

The Greatest Demon Lord Is Reborn as a Typical Nobody Episode 1 First impressions.

The Rising of the Shield Hero Season 2 Episode 26 Training.
 
Ya Boi Kongming ep1

This seems quite jolly, but I imagine it’s funnier if you have a better knowledge of the Three Kingdoms than I do. Immediately recognised it as a PA Works series when Eiko turned up though; her design and the way she’s animated are very much like the Shirobako girls.

Birdie Wing ep1

Shows promise, but I’m not sure they’ve quite got a handle on the tone - the vaguely melodramatic setup for why Eve is hustling golf feels a bit at odds with the wackier parts. I also find the character designs rather plain, if I’m honest.
 
I've almost finished rewatching Kaiba now, on the final episode :) Also started rewatching Ponyo yesterday cuz the guy I'm dating mentioned he really likes it while we were chatting online and then my PA wanted to watch it when I got the DVD out to show him XP
 
Vatican Miracle Examiner episodes 1-12 & OVA

Latest title from my backlog, interesting concept for a series but probably not one I will be watching again
 
I'm not having a very good time this season. All the best stuff seems to be coming this weekend.

I'm Quitting Heroing ep1: The story of an overpowered hero who saved the world (the 'world' appears to be a single country) and didn't receive any thanks for it, so in a fit of pique he ditched everything he knew and tried to apply for a job under the Demon Lord. Unfortunately, she's still a little annoyed about being beaten and we're told that he thinks there's more to her conquest than mindless slaughter, so he has to resort to kissing up to her lackeys instead. All of whom remember him from their own past defeats. The fantasy trappings barely conceal the metaphors for corporate disillusionment in the modern world and if I never hear the annoyingly amorous underage-looking catgirl baddie gurgle in excitement again I will count myself lucky. The biggest problem with this show is that the lead is such an unlikeable jerk that I don't care about his past or his hackneyed attempts to work his way up through the ranks of his former enemy's army. He's a jerk to everyone long before his decision to switch sides - his former allies were mocked for being less naturally skilled than he was, warriors were mocked for not 'mastering every single weapon in the world', the Demon Lord's generals were mocked for poor strategy even after indulging him in a request for a job interview - and there isn't even the tiniest glimmer of anything more to his personality than that. He's so horrible that he makes the Demon Lord's army look friendly and welcoming, which completely muddies the waters of the show's entire premise. The world-building makes no sense because it's abandoned any time there's an opportunity for a sight gag of little pie chart printouts explaining why the bitter hero would be the best new recruit ever. It's possible to make shows about horrible characters entertaining but for me, at least, this one doesn't manage it.

The Greatest Demon Lord is Reborn as a Typical Nobody ep1: Ugh. The start of this series feels like a very close retread of Mushoku Tensei (even down to the shy elf girl childhood friend) except there's a bolted-on preamble where he tells - rather than shows - us how much of a badass he was in his past life. So much of a badass, in fact, that he failed to maintain any worthwhile friendships because he was too superior (read: unlikeable) to form lasting bonds and decided to reincarnate on what appears to be a whim. It's an interesting idea which falls flat right from the moment it's introduced because it's so blindingly obvious - the storytelling isn't subtle - that everyone around him is a cardboard cut-out and his real problems come from within, not his reputation. Also, it's all been done multiple times before and the animation kind of sucks, which makes the comparison to other, better-animated shows more damning. The staff just don't seem to care already - not a great sign in the first episode! - as people randomly move around between cuts and the backgrounds don't seem to mesh with what's actually happening in the narrative. Is the lead's new house in the village of the show's Japanese title, or in the middle of nowhere as it appears in some of the establishing shots, or in the heart of a reasonably large town? The director doesn't seem to know or care, placing it randomly in the countryside and in the middle of a busy town according to the scene. There's a moral in here about how hard it is to make friends and work through introverted awkwardness, but there's so little creativity on show that I don't really care. And of course, despite being a 'typical nobody' he's a peerless martial arts and magic master before hitting puberty. It was also a little unappealing when the lead laughed off the future-elf-girlfriend's cute habit of running into the forest to massacre/bully (the threat level is unclear when they don't have exaggerated thirsty goblins on camera) ordinary-looking bears with magic as 'blowing off steam by killing monsters'. The only character who acts like they have a brain is the mellow elf dad who has about three lines and nothing to do. I didn't like this formulaic stuff the first dozen times I saw it and this take doesn't add anything new to the mix.

Deaimon ep1: Thank goodness, a show with a bland-looking male lead with a chip on his shoulder who... isn't a sarcastic, bitter bully! This is a more mature take on the whole 'finding myself' genre that the last show failed at so badly, where the people act like actual human beings and participate in conversations instead of monologuing to themselves. Our lead ran out on his family business to follow his dreams and when that fell apart, he returned to find that his family had taken in an abandoned child who ended up behaving like a much better heir than him. Rather than whining for the whole episode, the lead starts trying to help out and gradually gets to know the usurper a little better. The main character is a dork and while the 'older male looks after a young girl' concept isn't unique, the first episode managed to set things up for plenty of meaty character drama later on. It helps that the aforementioned family business is a wagashi shop, so we get treated to loving anecdotes about the beautiful traditional sweets in between the interpersonal stuff. Not sure whether it's a keeper but I appreciated that it managed to be interesting.

R
 
RPG Real Estate ep 1
Doga Kobo do CGDCT with real estate (and in a homage to K-On, having afternoon tea!) in a fantasy world. It's definitely a piece of fluff, but pretty chill non-the-less.

BIRDIE WING -Golf Girls' Story- ep 1
The tone is a bit all over the place and some of the dialog is unintentionally funny, but seems interesting enough.

Deaimon: Recipe for Happiness ep 1
Accidental parent. The set-up of the paring is a little over dramatic, but it seems like they might form a nice bond and there were some amusing moments in here as well.

Heroines Run the Show ep 1
Accidental manager. Enthusiastic girl from the sticks needs money to live when moving to the big city for a school with a prestigious track team and accidentally gets a job being a trainee manager for an idol group (something she has no clue about) which is made up of 2 of her male classmates. Seems like it could be fun.

Miss Shachiku and the Little Baby Ghost ep 1
Seems like Senko-san, but with an OL instead of a male and a ghost instead of a fox spirit. Some funny moments, but felt a little slow in places. Might drop.

The Demon Girl Next Door s2 e1
Now I remember why I didn't get on with this as much as others seemed to. They talk at a hundred miles an hour and sometimes on top of one another making it hard to follow. And being a 4-Koma it's a collection of skits and sometimes events don't flow well like Yuuko left the statue at school and then it shows up back home in the next part. It's fun enough when not going fast, but that's not that often. Might drop.
 
Estab Life: Great Escape episodes 1-4 Split.

Heroines Run the Show episode 1 Personnel.

Miss Sachiku and the Little Baby Ghost episode 1 Only if you leave.

Skeleton Knight in Another World episode 1 Time of need.

The Demon Girl Next Door Season 2 episode 1 Challenge.

Bleach (Partial rewatch) episodes 191-203
 
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Pompo The Cinephile-another movie I randomly found-I've gotta say this one was really good. It was released in Italy but not in the us.....!?!?!?!?
 
Arifureta: From Commonplace to World's Strongest Season 2 (English Dub) Episode 8

Arifureta: From Commonplace to World's Strongest Season 2 Episode 13 (OVA)

Komi Can't Communicate Season 2 Episode 13

Miss Shachiku and the Little Baby Ghost Episode 1

Skeleton Knight in Another World Episode 1

The Dawn of the Witch Episode 1

The Demon Girl Next Door Season 2 Episode 1
 
Aharen-san wa Hakarenai episode 2 Stalker.

Date A Live IV episode 1 Assistant.

Legend of the Galactic Heroes: Die Neue These - Gekitotsu episode 4 Trample.

Love after World Domination episode 1 Two sides.

Science Fell in Love, So I Tried to Prove It r=1-sinθ episode 2 Affections.

The Executioner and Her Way of Life episode 2 Showing off.

Bleach (Partial rewatch) episodes 206-212, 215-223
 
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