fall 2022
A weirdly productive season in the sense that I didn't have that much to do and therefore ended up just binge watching literally everything for no reason. (but never ended up finishing write ups).
Completed
Noumin Kanren no Skill bakka Agetetara Nazeka Tsuyoku Natta.
I can't say this was a particularly good or a bad show - I'd probably rate this more on the side of meh, but I think there were definitely fun or good things about this show. There are some good moments that really hint towards like, world building in this show but it's done only very occasionally and then it's not really touched on again later, which is a bit of a let down. Enoki Junya does a great job of being an endearing MC as usual, but the actual characters in the show aren't super likeable and don't get a lot of actual development. I am somewhat interested (as the source material is actually already finished but not translated) as to what actually happens in regards to the broader ideas of 'evil god' and 'good god' in this world and the MC's background and how he's so strong, but despite the 12 episodes here, it's never elaborated on that much. I can't really recommend this show but I did watch all of it.
Bocchi the Rock
This actually surprisingly is a show released in a seinen manga, so the themes of this show are actually a little more realistic and kinda real - I think it's interesting to consider what shows are targeted at what audience, especially as this show is predominately about female high schoolers, although the mangaka is female (afaik). i think this has a lot of really relatable elements (social anxiety, being awkward around people, not fitting in) in general, not just specifically towards musicians, and if you're in the venn diagram for both, this is absolutely up your street. it also has a lot of little easter eggs for the hardcore musicians among us, and that's been fully deconstructed by other fans. that said, for a show ABOUT musicians, there is very little mention of the actual music, which makes me a bit sad.
i personally did enjoy this (as a fellow bass player, but not in a band) although I have to admit, it's partially dampened by the sheer hype and popularity this ended up garnering, especially from men - but I have to say that this is a really solid show that doesn't have anything similar to it at all, and I found myself having a lot of fun watching it. i don't think there's much else to say about this one that hasn't already been said, but I do recommend checking it out if anything about it catches your attention.
Do It Yourself!!
For an anime original, this was amazingly well done. it gave me a similar vibe to eizouken, but far less experimental and much more earnest and heartfelt. i think there were a few comparisons between bocchi and this, but i honestly ended up really loving DIY because of the more character based elements interlocking with each other, and also the process of actually doing DIY (one thing that differs from bocchi, cause you actually get a brief runthrough about the types of material, how to put things together) which i also really liked, as someone who has basically tried to do everything diy.
i think the actual arc of the characters is nice too, you get a slow introduction of all the girls and how they develop relationships with each other, all the while trying to build something to get the DIY club to get more members, and how they grow a little each episode. i think i ended up crying about the last few episodes, even though nothing sad was particularly happening, i just really loved the vibes and the feeling of the show.
i think there was something pretty overlooked and lovely about this show - the spots of really good animation, the hinted worldbuilding, the relationship between purin and yua, and i also really loved how there were a lot of moments where they could have easily resolved it with a feel good solution but didn't, especially when joboko does finally talk about building a tree house with her mom and how she doesn't end up staying, but goes back to reconnect with her dad, which is honestly, way more heartfelt and touching than i had expected, and i really wish there had been more of this. i feel like there was a real gem in this show that didn't get fully brought all the way out, but the way this is just girls doing things and being girls without the lens of fetish or sexualization is refreshing and nice to see. i rec this. a real comfy slice of life a lil fruity and very wholesome.
Tensei shitara Ken Deshita
This wasn't bad at all, tho I can't say I was a massive fan of the set up in the way that it tingles my brain. it's an interesting take on the isekai, the MC gets reincarnated from another world but instead of being the most powerful human, he gets turned into an intelligent weapon and slowly levels himself up. however, he gets stuck in a mana sucking forest, and it saved by a black cat girl who was a slave, who escapes after they get attacked. the rest of the show is basically the story of the black cat girl trying to become an adventurer, and the sword MC assisting her - with their sort of, parental? teacher? mentor? relationship. pet peeve, the translation of 'shishou' in the official subs went with teacher, but i feel like mentor/master feels a little more accurate?
anyway i think the main focus here is the moe appeal of fran, the black cat girl, but i truly couldn't give less of a shit about her character, and just like the appeal of the man turned into a weapon, although that never really gets expanded upon after he meets fran (which i feel like is a shame) and kinda is jsut used as a plot point to introduce concepts that don't exist in the world like, curry. there are some hints to the other world building points, like the god who sent them to that world, but that's literally it.
i think if you're a big fan of the black cat girl moe and the relationship between the MC and the cat girl, this is more of a thing for you, but i kinda just watched it as part of my isekai propaganda. can't really say i enjoyed it a lot, but i think i enjoyed it enough.
Akuyaku Reijou nanode Last Boss wo Kattemimashita
im so fucking fond of this show and the romance god??? this deadass tingled my brain and i just could not get enough of it. basically, the MC gets isekai'd and reborn into this otome game world, but instead of being the heroine she ends up being the villainess. unlike hamefura (which i felt like really played into, not the best gender rep), i kinda love how they didn't shy away from making the original heroine kinda scummy and mean, and i like how she's a real straightfoward, badass female character who kinda just gets shit done and everyone adores her for being who she is. also her getting a following of adoring men while she still has a fiance, that's sick and i love it. i think i vastly prefer this to hamefura.
one word about the presentation of this show is perhaps that the animation isn't quite where i feel like it should be, because the little golden band on claude's hair looks more like, weird string, and less like i think it's supposed to be like a golden metal fringe??? like tassles? as a design element it's not fantastic, but it's not delivered well in the anime. the rest of the faces i think are fine. besides that, the fucking pacing of this show is crazy, it's breakneck. at about the 4th episode i think, i had gone and found the translated sections of the light novel, read ahead to what i thought they'd cover up to, and within two episodes they'd already caught up to where i'd read up to. in fact, by the time the anime ended, i still hadn't read up to that point. so yeah it goes by quick, but i guess it's nice to wrap everything out and not fuck around with fillers.
honestly tho i really recommend this - i just love the essence of the story and how fun it is, i can't get enough of it.
Cool Doji Danshi
ARGH THE BOYS ARE SO CUTE. THIS IS THE CUTEST THING EVER.
watch it if you love clumsy silly boys. the most adorable thing ever.
Kage no Jitsuryokusha ni Naritakute!
I love an isekai because it's terrible but I genuinely think this is hilariously fun. it brings a chunni into an isekai world where he thinks that everyone's just going along with his silly plans except all his delusions actually turn out to be real but he just keeps roleplaying like the good boy he is. this was a two cour, but damn this ended up being real fun.
Urusei Yatsura (2022)
This is weird as a show that I kinda watch on/off at most. i definitely wasn't looking at this show when the season began at all, but for some reason during my research period i came across the concept of Lum - the alien princess, being a target of 'moe' affectiveness and an icon for a lot of otaku men for their 2D attraction. i definitely wouldn't have touched this show otherwise.
that said, this isn't terrible? it has a real old school vibe (it is an old show revamped, but unlike fruits basket they still try to keep the retro animation elements), and it's basically a vaguely plot orientated story about ataru the womanizing MC having the worst fate/luck from the gods, and his relationship with alien princess lum. most of the show is just comedic shorts with slice of life, playing into ataru's chronic horniness for women and how lum just accepts it but tries to beat him up for it, and other shennanigans. i think the comedic bits of the show outweight the truly atrocious and kinda silly gender presentation here (and if the comedy didn't hit, ataru is truly just the worst MC ever), but there are genuinely funny set ups in this show that are so absurd that i kinda love the overthetop insanity of it. i can't say i recommend this, but it's fun at some points and that's good enough for me.
blue lock (ongoing)
YES. BLUELOCK ARGHHHH GOOD.
i'm currently like neck deep in the manga, I watched a few episodes of this and kinda lazily kept up with this but if you'd like an introduction to the manga without wanting to read, this is great.
i personally feel like the animation quality for the show really drops after the first episode, but i mean, who doesnt love a bunch of silly teenage boys fighting to the death for soccer? with a healthy dose of gay.
Yuusha Party wo Tsuihou sareta Beast Tamer, Saikyoushu no Nekomimi Shoujo to Deau
Honestly this wasn't terrible, I kinda enjoyed the premise of this and it ended up being kinda fun. The idea is the hero's party has a beast tamer (who tames... beasts, which is kept kinda vague lol), and he basically gets kicked out of the hero's party for being a deadweight to the team cause he has no offensive powers. unfortunately it turns out (much like the i quit the hero's party red storyline), every person in the hero's party is essential to the hero's journey and this beast tamer is actually exceptionally talented as most tamers only control one animal but he has an almost unlimited power, and comes from some secret tamer village which was burned to the ground by a demon. the beast tamer MC ends up becoming an adventurer and along his journey he meets a bunch of "superior species" which are basically most non humans, including a cat girl, a dragon, fairies, a demigod/fox girl. each contract with a superior species gives him more powers and he basically becomes really powerful along the way (enhanced physical/magical powers and resistance against ailments and consecutive casting). the plot basically comes when he goes on his adventures, but also that after he was kicked out of the party, there's an existing tension between him and the official hero, who hates seeing his success and in his hate for the MC has tried to replace him but can't stop thinking about how no one can measure up to him even though he thinks he's useless, and as the MC gets stronger, he can't stand the idea of being scorned while the MC is living his best life with his superior species harem.
i actually kinda enjoyed the 'harem' presentation in this show - the MC is never really shown as salacious and there's no 18+ energy in their relationships as much as a sort of master/servant/friend dynamic (which is way better than any of the other isekais where the guys go 'oh no im not intersted but like oops i fucked her). i think the MC is also like, a fun character, he's not very interesting or a dynamic character, but i think the progression of the story definitely keeps things interesting and there is hints towards the further world building with the demon king here too.
(spoilers) but it is later revealed that it turns out the hero actually had a lot of descendants and they are the only people who can push beyond their limits and rein (the MC) is actually one of those people with the hero's bloodline and can push beyond his human limits and they usually pick one hero just to keep things simple but have backups in case the chosen one goes rogue (evidently in the story), and it's sort of hinted at in the show, which i think is nice.
i don't think this show was like, spectacular by any stretch of the imagination, but i do think that it was genuinely interesting to see what would happen and how, and there weren't any points where i was really irked by the gender dynamics in this (yes i know the women are more powerful and still they're just servants to the MC, but he's not scummy and is pretty respectful of them, which is more than I can ask for other shows with similar set ups). i can't recommend this, but i enjoyed myself.
Romantic Killer -
okay even though this was a netflix special, this was real good. the show is about the MC and how she gets forced into a bunch of 'romantic' situations due to a magical fairy being placed in her life but the somewhat heartwarming little romances that follow and their lives. i honestly ended up loving this a lot more than i thought i would, and recommended it to a few people who all ended up enjoying it. i think this brings a lot of comedy to a romcom that i would usually not like, and i think its a good balance of funny and heartwarming that reaches a wider audience, which i think is nice. i'd really suggest checking this out for anyone who wants an unexpectedly heartwarming comedy - it's definitely something i hope to see a second season of!
on hold/dropped
Eternal Boys -
honestly this show is so endearing but some of the pacing and the plot was poor. i really liked the first few episodes, but it ended up being a half two court - like shorter than usual episodes but 24 of them, and with the somewhat sporadic uploading schedule i ended up dropping it because i literally couldnt remember what the fuck was happening. there was emotional moments for sure, but i can't say it was so memorable that i went out of my way to continue any of it at all unfortunately.
mob psycho 100 III
i remember reading the manga but apparently there was more and it wasn't where i had finished (spoiler, ekubo dies). i do want to stack this and watch it at some point, but fucking life really gets in the way sometimes.
Peter Grill to Kenja no Jikan: Super Extra
i briefly talked about how bad this show made me feel with the constant cheating and harrowing sex/dub con situations, and i will keep my stance on that.
bleach: sennen kessen-hen
Futoku no Guild
idk, ecchi girls. harems.
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