It's May already

Manga:

Shibuya Near Family continues to be good. Koji Kumeta seems to be taking time off, so there was only one chapter in the last month. A

Iwakutsuki Bukken no Yakuro-san is a short (19 chapters) cute read about a ghost waifu. For what it is, it was alright. B-

After Being Executed With the Words "Necromancers Are Disgusting," I Will Start My New Life as a Demon is one of those otome isekai manga with horrible long titles... this one's 𝕯𝖆𝖗𝕶. Unfortunately it seems to be a romance with the evil but secretly caring demon lord. Mehhhh D+

Anime:

I have watched the first half of Gundam 00's first season. The politics are funny. It basically takes Mithril from Full Metal Panic and makes their goals more ridiculous - while also being completely serious about it. But the show itself is fun, and the visuals aged quite well. Also, I discovered that the album the ED song is from (The Back Horn - Pulse) is actually quite good. Apparently the show goes off the rails soon-ish, so I guess I'll see how much of a shitshow it will become B

The Namek arc in Dragon Ball Z is very strong. There's still... 200 episodes to go. A

A Ninja and an Assassin Under One Roof is the new Studio Shaft anime, and unfortunately is nowhere as adventurous as their peak (beyond the start of E1, which is done in an authentic early 1970s animation style). The show itself is fine. C+

Recovery of an MMO Junkie is something Animefeminist.com fawns over, and the first impression confirms their views. Moriko is a very relatable protagonist for anyone who is an adult that feels directionless in life (and got hooked on being terminally on the computer) - but I am too early into the show to comment if it's worth watching.

Bakemonogatari is a show that, for the most part, has not lived up to its sordid reputation (unfortunately "for the most part"). In fact, it's significantly more interesting than what I expected. I'm reserving my judgement until I see where the story goes, if anywhere, beyond character arcs. For better or worse, this is Shaft at its peak.

Western Animation

Gravity Falls is still fun. Though was the Dipper in love aspect of the show really necessary? Ah well. B+

Rejoice, this month's thread is here.

Personally:

Manga:

Nothing. I plan to go back to reading the Apothecary Diaries soon though, as long as I finish reading a surprisingly good Evangelion fanfiction I picked up on a whim, as well as start reading Koji Kumeta's Shibuya Near Family

Anime:

Scrapped Princess (2003) was fine. The start was pretty strong, but then settled into a decent but unremarkable quality. Still, at least it's not generic isekai slop. But as with many shows of those years, Neon Genesis Evangelion always seems to sneak into the plot. B-

Finished Gundam Wing (1995) and actually ended up liking it, even though it's got nonsense liberal melodramatic politics about pacifism. B+

Full Metal Panic? Fumoffu (2003) is unhinged, and that's why I love it. A+

Kakushigoto (2020) sent me back into the Koji Kumeta spiral again. Highly entertaining writing as usual, but instead of cynical GenX political satire, it's a wholesome slice of life show about a mangaka who doesn't want his daughter to find out about it. I was not sure what to expect, but it's a great show so far. Similar in concept to Yotsuba&, but it got me hooked fast, whereas Azuma Kiyohiko's work surprisingly didn't. A+

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

Of all the things young people could have latched onto, it's the decade of the great recession almost no place on earth really recovered from, a head bozo in the US that's somehow popular but turned the world into his personal drone playground, while the empire continued as it did.

It was the decade every social movement failed in, and mostly retreated back to moralistic forms of liberalism, just as every equally moralistic right wing reaction grew exponentially, leading to the current issues.

It was the decade climate change was decided to be fixed through a bunch of treaties worth less than the paper they were written on.

It was the decade of the start of the return of the malaise of collapsing empires. Poverty, hunger, climate change caused disasters. War had not went away, but resistance to it did.

Plus, pop culture (the thing most of the nostalgia is directed to - the eternal "It's Christmas ~~1996~~ 2013 and my parents got me ~~a Nintendo 64~~ the new Call of Duty" of obnoxious liberals) sucked ass.

RIP the home of Lina Inverse.

And I'm sad that 80% of the games are either untranslated or force you to follow along a often incomplete script translation.

I've been thinking of watching some more movies recently and comedies are my favorite genre. However, it's also a genre that's difficult to pull off well, and probably at least somewhat subjective.

So, sneakily asking for recommendations, I'm going to ask what your all time favorite comedy movies are.

I'll share my personal favorites too, as well as some I recently had seen and enjoyed. I'll limit myself to movies that are available in English, otherwise a few Italian movies would also make the list.

Blues Brothers (1980) Mix together a cool retro music act, the Chicago Police Department and Carrie Fisher with a rocket launcher, and what do you get? One of the coolest and most fun movies ever, even if not laugh out loud material.

Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Love the Bomb (1964) A timeless classic slash terryfing 1960s satire of warmongering that feels still fresh and relevant today, for better or worse.

OSS 117: Cairo, a Nest of Spies (2006) Spy movie parodies are a favorite of mine, and this French movie is one of the best. Taking the reactionary undertones of those old movies, and mercilessly mocking them.

A Shot in the Dark (1964) Fun classic whodunit movie. Not much else to say.

I'm lowkey awed that an organization claiming the name still exists.