Rejoice comrades, february's thread is here
Manga
I returned and picked up Ah! My Goddess and Oresama Teacher again. They're both still fun manga. I Made Friends with the Second Prettiest Girl in My Class made a positive first impression on me; as far as kinda generic romcoms can be. Unique in that regard was the manhwa Skill of Lure, which does have a really eyebrow-raising premise, and was somehow shockingly well written (and short) for what it was. Less r/incel and more r/relationshipadvice kind of stuff, I suppose. It not being in the dreaded long strip format made it easier to read.
Anime
I finished Season 1 of Full Metal Panic! (2002) and it's fun in how it merges end of history era brainwormed action movie tropes and a romantic comedy with the most unhinged male and arguably female leads in anime (Chidori Kaname is a total girlboss). A ...which leads into Full Metal Panic? Fumoffu (2003), a slice of life spinoff set between S1 and S2 and animated by KyoAni, which two episodes in is already one of the funniest anime I have seen. How did this show fade into relative obscurity?
Speaking of hilarity, Cautious Hero (2019) is an isekai so similar in spirit to Konosuba that it feels like a spin-off of that show. I did not go in expecting actual quality, but the show does have it. Ristarte does have some great facial expressions in the show. I have not finished it yet.
Instead of sharing the comedic aspects of FMP (well... usually), New Mobile Report Gundam Wing (1995) shares an oddly similar main character. The show is better and less so-bad-it's-good as the initial impression left on me, even if it does heavily borrow from the entire UC Gundam universe to the point of feeling a bit like a recap of 0079 to CCA. Definitely worth checking out, even if imo not as good as either G Gundam or After War X Gundam. B+
The Apothecary Diaries S2 (2025) Maoism is back, and is the same quality it was in Season 1. Hell yeah, A
Midnight Eye: Goku (1989) is not about Son Goku, but a 60 minute cyberpunk OVA. For what it was, pretty good, even if it had some B movie qualities. B
From Bureaucrat to Villainess: Dad's Been Reincarnated! (2025) is fun, and, even though it has a neat twist, fairly generic. For what it is, it's decent. B
directly related Games
Super Robot W is one of the best written games in the franchise I have played so far, but much like other games in the series, the further you go into the game, the longer the missions get. Beyond an exciting boss fight, the difficulty is medium to easy. A
Anime
I watched both of the anime adaptations of Riyoko Ikeda's works (both directed by Osamu Dezaki) in release order:
Rose of Versailles (1979): Absolutely loved this anime. It's very much a product of its time, so you can expect a pretty different art style and soundtrack, but it's held up amazingly well and I'm kicking myself for waiting so long to watch it. The anime takes place in the decades leading up to the French Revolution and Ikeda's leftist ideals are plainly on display throughout. It's got action, romance, class politics, palace intrigue, and plenty of Gender™. The show does a wonderful job in creating all these heartwrenching moments by playing on the viewer's knowledge of the ultimate historical outcome. I would recommend the show wholeheartedly to just about anyone, but I do have to give a CW for SA due to one brief scene which comes completely out of left field. It's basically the one blemish in the entire 39 episode series for me, and IMO is completely unnecessary (my headcanon for the story is that it just doesn't happen).
Dear Brother... (1991): I'm glad that I watched this anime and enjoyed it overall, but unlike Rose of Versailles this would be a tough recommend for me. Right off the bat, I'd have to give a HUGE CW for suicide and a substantial CW for abusive relationships; they are both central themes of the show, so (unlike Rose of Versailles) it's not something you can skip past. There is also drug abuse, but unlike those other two topics I didn't find its portrayal to be particularly visceral (perhaps on account of drug use being a much less visible issue in Japanese society), although your mileage may vary.
It definitely caught me off-guard that a show about the French Revolution was so much more lighthearted than Dear Brother..., which takes place in Seiran Academy, a private all-girls school which has a unique custom of a sorority which consists of a select few members of the student body (again, the class politics are on full display). The show is quite dark--perhaps melodramatic for some people's tastes, but I enjoyed it all the same.
I think its main weakness is its length--the pacing can be quite uneven. It's notable that the source material was only three volumes of manga, which pales in comparison to the 10 volumes of Rose of Versailles despite their anime adaptations being the same length--I'm quite curious to read the manga. I'm also just generally curious about the production and reception of the show in Japan, since it tackles some really difficult topics for a show aimed at young teenagers, and not necessarily in the most delicate way. Neither English nor Japanese Wikipedia has much info, so I suspect I'll have my work cut out for me.
Oh, almost forgot...this show ALSO has a component that I find off-putting, although it might be a spoiler to talk about it. This might be another of those "product of the times" things, but...yeah.
Manga
Oops, all yuri!
The Summer You Were There (2020): I really enjoyed the dynamic between the main pair, and the art is quite nice to look at. While the broad strokes of the plot are pretty straightforward, I liked the convolutions that the author added which made it an engaging read.
Doughnuts under a Crescent Moon (2019): Short and sweet four-volume office romance. The characters are super likeable, and their halting progress is cute to watch. I ended up finishing this one in a day.
Definitely looking for more yuri recommendations! Some other yuri manga I've enjoyed are How do We Relationship?, She Loves to Cook and She Loves to Eat, I Can't Say No to the Lonely Girl, If I Could Reach You, and The Guy She Was Interested In Wasn't a Guy at All (the first two are my own top recs). The ones I'll probably read next are Bloom into You (I've given up on getting an S2 of the anime
) and This Monster Wants to Eat Me.
Light Novels
The Apothecary Diaries (2011): In preparation for S2 of the anime, I thought it would be a good idea to dive into the LN and read up to the end of S1 to refresh my knowledge of the plot (in particular the characters and their relationships) and also get additional detail that will inevitably be missing from the show. I've only just started, but I've enjoyed what I've read so far!
Would also be interested in recs for yuri light novels as well--the one that comes to mind is I'm in Love with the Villainess, but I basically know nothing about LNs in general. Idk, I read this short WLW fanfiction recently and I literally can't stop thinking about it so I feel like I should feed that impulse and try to just read some actual books as well. I'm slowly rediscovering the power of the pure written word when it comes to fiction; I read absolute boatloads of novels as a kid and then it completely dropped off a cliff once I went to uni, so it's been quite some time since I've read fiction regularly and I'm trying to ease myself back into it.
Rose of Versailles is a masterpiece.
Shame Riyoko Ikeda more or less went through the new left to liberal pipeline to my knowledge as early as the 80s.
ooh i just started The Summer You Were There and i'm really enjoying it! i'll have to read Doughnuts under a Crescent Moon next. they're webtoons but i just finished Mage & Demon Queen (9/10. recommended by @KatGirl@hexbear.net (tyvm)) and first season of Winter Before Spring (7/10. cw for depictions of homophobia/bullying but i still liked it)
Ty for the recs! For Winter Before Spring, which version should I read? Seems like there's an earlier, finished version and a newer, ongoing version
oh i actually had no idea, i read up to what's been released for the newer one but i'm not sure how far the canvas version got. i can't see any of the panels for the first one though and it seems like further development will be on the new original. sorry i wish i had more info!
No worries! Idk anything about Webtoons but I'm guessing the canvas version is sorta like a web novel and then the newer one is like when a web novel gets picked up, polished, and published as a light novel? I'll just go for the newer one
I forget my detailed thoughts on Dear Brother at this point because I found it rather mediocre. I found it really disappointing especially considering how much of a masterpiece Rose of Versailles was I even named my cat Oscar.
In terms of light novels I've heard good things about Urasekai Picnic though I haven't gotten around to it, it's a slow burn from my understanding so the anime didn't even really get started on their relationship. I read most of Sexiled and thought it was alright.
Yeah, I definitely experienced whiplash going from Rose of Versailles to Dear Brother... . I'd say the main reasons I'm glad I watched it were
As just a show to enjoy, I'd be hard-pressed to recommend it, and if it had been something airing this season without the historical factors I might have dropped it, especially given the length. It's pretty telling that I really had to restrain myself from bingeing Versailles no Bara but I only had one or two days where I watched two episodes of Dear Brother instead of my usual one. Also I vaguely recall seeing that it influenced Revolutionary Girl Utena? That'll probably be the next long show that I watch, so I'll be keeping my eyes peeled for any influences.
I've heard good things about both of those LNs, so I'll definitely check them out! I'm nowhere near the book-a-day speed of my youth, but hopefully by next month's thread I'll be able to give my impressions of at least one of them.
crosscode spotted 👍🏿
i'm happy to see The Summer You Were There mentioned in possitive light. i did enjoy it and while i don't think it's amazing i have read quite a lot of negative comments about it which i think are ungranted.
about manga recs, have you read The Moon on a Rainy Night? it's probably my favourite teenage romance manga so i heavilly recommend it.
for LNs, "Adachi and Shimamura" is really good altough a bit slow teenage romance. there is manga and anime adaptation of it if you prefer the medium but both are behind by far