Been super busy, so not a whole lot of anime for me recently.

Gridman Universe (2024) I think this series peaked with the original SSSS Gridman show, but this was still a nice capstone movie. B

Mobile Suit Gundam AGE (2011 - 8/49) Enjoying this so far, but I think I would have preferred a game by Level-5 instead. I'm curious how they're going to make the generations stuff work in a 4-cour show.

Eureka Seven (2005 - 7/50) I watched a little bit of this when it aired on Toonami. It's pretty cool - I'm enjoying the day-to-day life stuff in it.

Fang of the Sun Dougram (1981 - 31/75) Love this show, but I just need more time to dig into it. "What if Gundam was about an anti-colonial guerilla war" - amazing!

Love Live

I finished season 1 of Love Live! School Idol Project. Although it had a strong start, it sort of started losing my interest in the second half. I'm still glad I watched it, but with such a large cast, it really could've done well of having at least another cour to flesh out the characters and get me invested in them, and then the ending could've been a bit different, too — it's like they already resolved the main plot, and just threw on an extra mini-plot at the end that didn't really need to be there. So I guess in a sense Love Live season 1 was both too short and too long — it reached its natural conclusion too quickly and had to tack on something at the end.

Also, I wish Love Live had less booby shit. Like I'd put less booby shit in Love Live. If I directed it. Just sayin'.

Magical girls!

Now that I'm done with Love Live, at least for the time being, my main anime to watch alone have now become Magical DoReMi and Tokyo Mew Mew. In fact I'm watching episodes of these shows generally one after the other, which isn't something I've done basically since I first got into anime back in 2019.

Magical DoReMi and Tokyo Mew Mew are both magical girl shows, but they're actually quite different from each other. I was expecting Magical DoReMi to have villains of the week, but at least by six episodes in, there are still no real villains to be seen — rather the characters use their magic to solve more pedestrian issues, often with some sort of positive message. It's a silly show, it's clearly made for kids but still very enjoyable. It's also pretty toyetic, with its Pollons and Taps and costumes.

Tokyo Mew Mew on the other hand stands out for being based on a manga by Reiko Yoshida, who did series composition and other "high-level" work on some of my favorite anime, most of which are adapted from manga. So I associate her name with quality, and by watching TMM I'm in a sense now seeing what it's like when Reiko Yoshida is the adapted rather than the adaptor.

And lo, TMM is all over the place (positive intent). So the Mews are both high school girls and maid café waitresses and, y'know, magical girls fighting the forces of evil; and the Mews each have an endangered animal theme that gives their designs some neat little animal features, and they also have a food theme from which they get their names and theme colors; and, evidently, they each even have a specific musical instrument associated with them. So, y'know, I don't know what finless porpoises, lettuce, and castanets have to do with each other, but...... Yeah, sure, why not! Most magical girl shows would stick to just one theme, but TMM evidently doesn't care.

...And yes, the character I was describing there is LITERALLY named Lettuce (or in the subs, Retasu, but that's just the kana for "Lettuce" anyways). And the bad guy's named Quiche, and he's this like green-haired elf guy who's always got his midriff showing. So that's neat!

I should mention, the main character per se is named Ichigo, which you probably already know means Strawberry.

All this being said, yeah, I've been enjoying TMM a lot. It's silly but it's got heart to it, and it satisfies my expectation of a magical girl show to actually have bad guys and episodic fighting in it. Aesthetically it actually reminds me a bit of the ever-goated Cardcaptor Sakura, which makes sense since the music was actually made by the same guy who did CCS's music, and the main character's crush in TMM shares a voice with the main character's crush in CCS... And also, well, TMM and CCS both came out within half a decade of each other, in the same genre, so there's that.

I don't want to overstate the similarities, though, because TMM also has some elements I see as more distinctly early 2000s.

Into the Haruhiverse

I started watching The Disappearance of Nagato Yuki-chan on Hextube, but eventually switched to watching that with my mom instead. We haven't gotten super far, but it's still nice to see these characters again, even if it is an alternate universe. It's making me think that the theme for this year's anime watching should maybe be continuing old series that mom and I started but never finished, like Yuru Camp, Squid Girl, Is The Order a Rabbit, the likes.

Speaking of Hextube, I've been continuing the rewatch of The Melancholy of Haruhi-chan Suzumiya there, between episodes of JoJo's Bizarre Adventure: Golden Wind, which I frankly don't pay super close attention to.

Tamako Love Story

I finally got around to watching the Tamako Love Story movie with my mom. It was nice seeing the Tamako Market characters again, and as a whole it was a pretty good movie. There wasn't a lot of Dera in it, but it was still a stellar love story with a lot of fun moments otherwise, and it was pretty much the perfect length for me (though we still had to split it into two sittings). Mom and I both appreciated the sudden "Sukiyaki" bit in the movie, too, and there was some nice buildup to that bit in the sort of side-plot.

If there's really anything I'd note, it's that the movie ends a bit abruptly. Like the Eagle lands but you aren't really given any time to feel that high, it just sort of cuts right after the climactic moment. But I guess breaking from the sort of conventional structure of such a movie is an artistic choice and that's just how it is.

In conclusion, this movie should've been called You Used To Call Me On The Cup Phone.

Otherwise...

With my mom or the family we've been continuing

• Cells at Work: Code Black
• Minami-ke: Okawari
• Nadia: The Secret of Blue Water
• Ranma 1/2 reboot
• Samurai Champloo
• Lupin III Part 2
• The Boondocks

I also rewatched the first episode of JoJo's Bizarre Adventure: Phantom Blood with my mom, and she thought it was interesting — not particularly like she expected, but still not something she's super interested in continuing, due to the fighting. But she's still glad to at least be familiar with what JoJo's is actually like, rather than just going off her impression of what it's like, right?

There isn't much I have to say about these other things that I haven't already said in previous threads, but what I will say is that I'm really enjoying the Ranma 1/2 reboot more and more as we continue it; and also, by Jove, we have at long last reached the part of Nadia: The Secret of Blue Water where the Secret of Blue Water is revealed. The reveal came a bit suddenly so it took us by surprise.

So yes, we've got the titular secret revealed, but we still have to try in mind for another eight episodes yet.

...The great reveal of the titular secret was a bit of an awkward episode, though, on the part of all the nudité artistique. Add that one to the long list of parallels between Nadia and Neon Genesis Evangelion!

—Speaking of those parallels, though, my mom's enjoyment of Nadia makes me want to sit her down to watch at least the first episode of Evangelion as well. Because she already saw the Evangelion 1.0 movie and didn't care for it, but I don't think that's necessarily directly comparable to the original 1995 series, right?

In any case, as good as all these shows we're watching together are, I am kind of looking forward to finishing them, y'know? Like we've literally been watching Nadia for over a year by this point, and there's a lot of things I'd like for us to try.

—Incidentally, CITY the ANIMATION is coming out in July! Looking forward to it!

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.

Anime: I started watching Ameku M.D. Doctor Detective. I really like it. I finished the first 4 episodes just now.

Anime

Hyakkano - is there some cringe fanservice? Sure. Is it more wholesome than 99.999% of romcom stuff despite this? Also yes.

Villainess Ojisan - show is the least cringe isekai ever. G Gundam and JoJo references make this a really enjoyable watch. Also it helps it's not toxic power fantasy or cringe creepy shit.

Solo Leveling - continues to be incredibly well animated mids anime.

Manga

I started reading Umineko, and god help me, I'm up to Volume 6. It's so fuckin' bad that I can't look away. What do you MEAN you solved the puzzle off-screen and then didn't tell the reader TWICE?!

Otherwise keeping up to date with OPM, CSM, Kagurabachi, One Piece, Bocchi, and the Kikuri Spinoff (which got two new chapters!). They are all slop, except for CSM, which is kino.

Anime

Started watching Space Brothers, but I've been busy so I've only watched 9 eps in several weeks. Not amazing so far. Most interesting thing is that it's set in 2025, and is about NASA missions to the moon and to Mars, which, lol lmao.

I've been working through a hell of a backlog after a few years of kinda doing nothing.

I've been on a villainess kick for some reason and just kinda have been using them as a bit of comfort food.

Akuyaku Reijou Level 99 (5/10): Bland, it's sorta cute in places but it fails to do anything interesting.

Loop 7-kaime no Akuyaku Reijou (6/10): It had a little bit more to offer than level 99 but it was still rather bland, would've been much more interesting if we had more of these loops to experience.

Akuyaku Reijou nano de Last Boss wo Kattemimashita (5/10): This one had a bit of an interesting start but it kept having to one up itself and by the end I was sorta happy it was over.

Kanojo ga koushaku-tei ni itta riyuu (5/10): Kinda crap and bland, doesn't do much interesting

Watashi no Oshi wa Akuyaku Reijou (7/10): This one was good. I remember opening the light novel a while back and starting it but falling off it pretty fast because it took the annoying trope of "I'm happy being a passive observer of my love interest as long as they're happy." It actually does a lot more with its premise and the anime is really just a prequel to everything else. I actually have been working on the light novel and been quite happy with it. (9/10)

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Dungeon Meshi (9/10): Loved it, expected something very different more akin to Isekai Shokudou but was very happy to be wrong.

Raise wa Tanin ga Ii (6/10): I was there for the yakuza drama, everything else felt kinda ick, the male lead was also fucking awful.

Isekai One Turn Kill Nee-san (3/10): Why did I start this? Came back to my list to see I had 4 episodes left so I finished it but goddamn I subject myself to some awful shit sometimes.

Solo Leveling (6/10): It was enjoyable enough to watch while sick with the GI bug, I think the dark souls red knight boss should've been the MC though.

Mashle S2 (8/10): Solid, listened to the OP for all 12 episodes.

Tensei Oujo to Tensai Reijou (7/10): While it did some interesting things and had the guts to show the main pair actually kiss, I don't think I'll pick up the original. If the light novel does something interesting though I'd be open to reading it.

i was missing this thread. glad is finally here. this season i'm mostly watching sequels so i don't have yet many things to write about. i also have been revisiting some old shows from my childhood to see how well they hold up (coincidentally, fmp is on the list for next revisits). this time i have a wall of text

Dragon Ball GT (1996)

After weeks of screaming "this plot idea was also on gt!!" while watching daima, i decided to go back and see how well had gt aged and if how much of my love for it was just nostalgia.

to my own surprise, i enjoyed most of it a lot. while the series had common problems found on 90s children anime, it actually did very interesting things. having a "20 years later" type of story was a very good idea since it lets you see a clear difference in the characters while keeping all of them familiar. new characters are interesting enough to keep the overal story entertaining. the big bad villain from the first half is simply great and probably one of my favourites from the whole db franchise. the last arc is great and thematically conected to the whole story, with the ending making me cry even if i already knew what was going to happen.

sadly, the show has quite some problems. many ideas were great but were not executed well. the second half screams production issues by how inconsistent it is and the ending, even if i loved it, was draged out and many events appear out of nowhere. it also has one of the worst sagas in the whole franchise (super 17) that is not only inconsecuential but it's many recycled ideas without any proper plot. pan was a great character and it was on the spotlight for most of the show (excluding the big fights) but at the very end she was delegated to a background character and didn't even had a last scene like other characters that barely appeared.

even with all of that, i still believe is a very strong db show and an amazing sequel to z. it tries to keep the core of the franchise while trying new things to keep it fresh. it's full of callbacks and homages without making them pure nostalgia. i didn't expect to hold up but it actually did

The Red Ranger Becomes an Adventurer in Another World (2025)

this one is actually a bad one. it's very close to a generic comedy isekai. it falls in common tropes and characters are quite simplistic. but for a fan of tokusatsu, the jokes about its exagerated nature in a somehow serious world are incredibly funny. they are starting to get repetitive and the plot itself is almost non-existant but it has been enjoyable until now. i'm not sure if i will get through until the end.