summer 2023

i had fun this season, it definitely wasn't stacked with standouts by any means but I can't deny that it was ok for what it was. 

Bungou Stray Dogs 5th Season 

oh my GOD cmon. listen, my general rule of thumb is always, if you enjoyed the first season you'll enjoy whatever sequel is being pumped out cause most anime tends to be relatively consistent, but this is the first time i've watched something for long enough to actually see it completely reinvent itself so much that I went from feeling incredibly apathetic to being hyped as fuck for it. BSD, up until season 4 had been pretty much a fujo bait write off for me, but it definitely reminds me of K in the way that like, they really end up finding themselves and their writing and getting into a good groove with what they want to say with the story, and like, while the 4th season probably has the strongest opening and a strong arc, 5 keeps the excitement and tension up and carries it over. although this season definitely ends up somewhat suffering from the Avengers problem (what I've dubbed it, defined as a show which makes the stakes way too high with not enough time to actually resolve the problem in a satisfying and comprehensible way), from making everything completely fucking nuclear level crazy, they end up having to take an easy way out, and it's... fine. if you stop to think, there are definitely logical inconsistencies (eg. the hunting dogs attacking Fukuchi for his plan, but his real plan actually being far more magnanimous.) it's not the ending i would have expected the show to take considering its track record, and feels a little KH3ish, a random redemption that isn't really evident or visible to anyone, but I think i always feel like there's this feeling of, you're not smart enough to keep up with what they're going to do with this show, and sometimes it's in the show's benefit that it tries to outsmart you, so you can't think too deeply about the flaws. I'd still say 4 is probably the peak of this show because I wish that they'd stopped to really give the redemption arc room to breathe besides the vague 5 minute interlude they give, which I think would have far improved what they ended up with, but as a lot of this season has been concurrently airing whilst the manga is being released, i don't think i can really blame anyone. but you know what, if you have to slog through all of 1/2/3 and dead apple to reach this point to make sense of it all, i would still say it's worth doing.  

Undead Girl Murder Farce

I watched the first episode of this show, put it down, and then came back around 6 episodes in, and honestly, i gotta say, this is the type of show i think benefits from being stacked. although the premise starts the show with a bit of an 'action vibe', primarily, this is a show about solving mysteries - with the MC which is a half demon and a severed head of an immortal woman and her maid. this is based on source material where a majority of the narrative has already been worked through which i think works better for this type of show, so the story at least has a nice compelling flow. based on the pacing alone, i'd say i enjoyed this show for what it was, although the interlude was what really had me interested - although the story feels like it takes place in an isolated, recently modern world, the story basically pulls out sherlock holmes, frankenstein, alistair crowley, moriarty in the middle as the big plot complication, moriarty being the one who experimented on both main characters. i like that this has a sort of cultural mishmash of ideas here, which i think makes it more interesting to me when i watch it, it's not as bland as kabikucho sherlock has, and it's not as sterile as vanitas - i tend to dislike when shows are put in 'western' settings, but this one is a bit of a location hopper, with the rakugo japanese elements from the actual show up against the sort of fun fantasy fusion of rural europe and london. 

the story itself is like, fine - i'm not a big mystery person and i do think some of the werewolf arc really overstays its welcome and feels a little dragged out, but again, for what it is, i think it was a good time. it's not the type of show i usually find myself thinking about after it's done but it's definitely one i can see people enjoying heaps if they like the genre. 

Seija Musou: Salaryman, Isekai de Ikinokoru Tame ni Ayumu Michi

Weirdly, I enjoyed myself with this one. by no means was this GOOD. but by no means was it... bad. although this ends up being pretty slow and kinda silly and there is really, no redeeming factors, it's also so blandly inoffensive that i ended up kinda looking forward to this, especially after they kinda get the ball rolling on some of the plot stuff. for pacing, this is a show that is EXTREMELY slow, and I mean, the training montage that might usually only take an episode or two basically takes up 6 episodes in this fucking show. but like, i find the MC kinda fun enough that he's not too grimy or seedy, and that he's just kinda a nice guy just trying his best even though he's kinda dumb but well meaning. i mean, i really can't say too many positive things about it, but weirdly enough, i ended up looking forward to watching this and just turning my brain off, watching him just chug butai x and slowly levelling himself up and seeing what else he'd unlock - and again, i guess, that's all you can ask for in these trying times. it's mid, but they can't all be smash hit winners.  

Dekiru Neko wa Kyou mo Yuuutsu

I had a lot of fun with this one. Despite it being animated in a very gohands way, it's not at all a K adjacent show (despite all the fucking warped angles haha). I will get around to finishing it but i've been putting it off. 

Nanatsu no Maken ga Shihai suru

It's weird because it's like, a harry potter universe kinda vibe except the guy is secretly on a mission to kill everyone who works at the school who aided in killing his mom. i have no idea how i feel about this show only to be more like, i'm sure the source material really had a lot to say, but the result is some mishmash of ideas - like you know that the work is derivative but you're really grasping at straws to fill in a lot of the gaps. like each episode will go by and you'll be wondering, where the fuck are we up to? the pacing for this is also all over the fucking shop, so it's hard to really tell what's going on - it's definitely one of those shows you can distinctly feel is taking from something else and tries and fails to do everything, like a bad restaurant. 

Okashi na Tensei

Well this was... like. a show lol. for a show about a guy who was supposed to be a genius patissier, it ended up being pretty much being not at all about that? the story is pretty much the most generic isekai ever - a guy gets reincarnated and happens to be weirdly good at everything (no idea how him being a patissier added to his knowledge of how to win a war but like, ok), and he's of course, mentally super advanced. i mean, i always have a problem with MCs in isekais where they're obviously mentally way older than their physical bodies (it's weird and creepy to think this 8 year old boy is secretly like a 40 year old man? i seriously hate that trope and it's becoming weirder and weirder as i get older).  anyway, it's fine. this is definitely comparably more jam packed with 'content' and 'plot' compared to the slice of life isekais, but this is also incredibly boring compared to an actual well written isekai, so it sits in no man's land of just being mediocre enough to exist with barely any attention. frankly this is the kinda show i'll watch and completely forget about after a year, and be like, oh yeah haha i watched this. although ngl it is seriously funny to go to the r/anime discussion this week and everyone like, ok is this week where he finally bakes? no? jesus christ. like the plot is so fucking generic (hes kinda OP and super smart and while he can replicate anything he wants to create a land of sweets but 80% of the show is him waging war or playing political games and then he gets roped into a weird engagement and also some other girls fancy him) but it's somehow completely at odds with the actual premise of the show (a guy who loves to bakes and wants to keep baking), so i guess the inherent contradiction of the show's presentation and self description is probably the most interesting thing about this show. it was. a show. of all time. 

Jitsu wa Ore, Saikyou deshita?

I mean this is. fine. I think there are definitely funny moments in this show which are ... also fine? i mean i felt very middle of the road about this show - the funny moments definitely give this a little more 'pep in its step' for what it is, but the feeling of this show is relatively juvenile, very much like a young teen kinda anime, especially compared to most other isekai which tends to lean on the 'mature' end of things. i think i had some qualms about this show, i didn't find myself super compelled to watch this very much at all and ended up being one of the later shows i picked up in the season, but again, for what it is, it's fine. i just felt like i was kinda being babied during the show, and frankly, the fucking baby sister in this show kinda throws me off, especially with the hinted darker aspects of the flash princess and her like, frankly super provocative clothing? sometimes it makes me wonder, who the fuck is the audience for a show like this? not me. anyway, it's a good watch for what it is, despite it feeling like a baby version of most isekai shows, but i did eventually finish it all, so good for me. wouldn't rec but there are some great screencaps in here. 

Jidou Hanbaiki ni Umarekawatta Ore wa Meikyuu wo Samayou

LOL I mean - if you like vending machines this is definitely is a show for you? it's always the very mediocre shows which get 2nd seasons, got knows why, but uh this has a second season. it's sort of the inanimate object isekai trend which has been geting really popular these days (eg. the sword one) but this is kinda like a weird, less wholesome, but i guess, less........... dubious take on it? guy who loves vending machines becomes a magic vending machine and meets someone, and eventually becomes like, the hero of the story despite being like, an inanimate object. i wonder if there's something in here, if it's just a way of differentiation, or if people actually wanna become sentient objects in their next life so they actually serve a purpose without having to inhabit a physical body. something to think about. anyway the show itself goes on to like, talk about some discussion about granting wishes, because they're like all stuck in the dungeon/labyrinth and you never see the real world, and they just fight and defeat foes but there's a full town and what not. the actual hint of plot that happens at the end seems interesting (the bosses/demons in the dungeon know that vending machine man is a visitor from another world), but like, i guess that's the point of the next season, since most of this one was just, setting down the scenario of the story. again, this show is nothing to write home about at all, it exists.  

Level 1 dakedo Unique Skill de Saikyou desu

This is like, objectively trash? Like honestly there are no redeeming factors about this show. So why. why oh god do I keep watching this? i think there is one upside in which, i feel like the MC is generally just a nice guy and not like the weird scummy type, he feels a little like a self insert bland MC which is kinda nice - especially without the weird female harem vibes that usually come with shows like this. but yeah the animation is bad, the voice acting is subpar, the story is passable at best, the pacing is strange, the characters are flat and generic, but it's one of those shows you watch in which you can completely tune out for half of it and come back and still feel like you've watched it, so that's one upside. 

Lv1 Maou to One Room Yuusha

this hit me out of nowhere how fucking good this was damn. like between this and the villainess, these were the stand outs of the season (although, not competing with heaps here). this was NOT an original story but that definitely works for what it is - the premise is dealing with the fall out after a hero stops being a hero after the war is finished, which i always find a really compelling and interesting plot point to grapple with, but from the perspective of the demon king he defeated. while the superficial stuff is very similar to the 2022 Yuusha Yamemasu (which I really enjoyed as well), it's very distinctly different. the demon king finds the hero a NEET who's been disgraced and shamed and middle aged, and his old party mates have gone their own ways, their cleric is now a politician and their warrior is now a rebel against the state. although the story starts as the demon king and hero reluctantly becoming housemates and friends, the subplot about political tangles from the issues with the state/rebel state becomes the main arc of the story, and max the hero's desire to stop his friends from fighting but to maintain a sort of equilibrium in his life. it has a nice blend of both the comedy but also serious heartfelt moments, and i really walked away feeling really content with how this show ended up. also there's this amazing running joke of a ghost living in max's apartment that no one can see but the cleric, and literally it is never mentioned or explored in depth which i kinda love. just no mention of that entire plot point. and i love it.  i'd definitely give this one my personal thumbs up out of the shows this season - i enjoyed it a lot. 

Higeki no Genkyou to Naru Saikyou Gedou Last Boss Joou wa Tami no Tame ni Tsukushimasu.

I was pleasantly surprised by this one! I know the villainess trend is definitely on an upward trend and for good reason - i definitely ended up liking this one more than i thought i would considering i ended up skipping one of the villainess ones from last season, but this one was a nice treat. the characters are pretty well fleshed out, and while the villainess/pride ends up being a little TOO goody two shoes, i like seeing the redemption arc that she puts herself on and also gathering the affections of everyone around her. yeah listen there's not much i really wanna say about this besides, i think it was a really well paced, pretty well written show. it's nothing special, but it's a solid walk in the park. 

On Hold/ Dropped

Zom 100: Zombie ni Naru made ni Shitai 100 no Koto 

I ended up watching one or two episodes of this and then also watched the live action movie with akaso eji - it's fine? i think the thing is that zombies tend to really not do it for me, so like, this was kinda a pass no matter how good it would have been. 

Eiyuu Kyoushitsu

i dont know what the fuck i should say about this? it ended up being about a guy who was a hero but hes moonlighting as some super like, happy go lucky guy and befriending everyone because hes actually superpowerful and then randomly theres like this bit where this girl he was friends with was actually a clone of him? weird. dunno what to say about this one, but i couldnt bring myself to keep watching. 

Shiro Seijo to Kuro Bokushi

uh? yeah i guess? it's one of those cutesy romcoms where there are two people who like each other and don't wanna talk about liking each other, and then romantic shenanigans ensue. it's also animated by doga kubo in its super cutesy kawaii style, and i'm a jaded fuck, so no. but its a shame, cause ishikawa kaito as the main guy is always a lovely thing to listen to.