What Anime are you watching?

[B E C K]

April 2024 though. I was kinda into it until he became a kaiju at the end and then my interest dipped. But, fuck, April 2024.

[jonhammstein]

Kaiju No. 8 is another one where I gave the manga a try and just fell off immediately.

Now, if they ever decide to animate Choujin X or Dandadan...

[B E C K]

So this trailer ended up on my feed.

7th Time Loop: The Villainess Enjoys a Carefree Life Married to Her Worst Enemy!

I don't like the hair and there's something off about the faces, but I wanted to know what this was about and really liked the sixteen chapters of the manga I read.

So a few things...
-I have no idea why the fuck she's supposed to be a "villainess." She's not an isekai'd otome fan like all of the other villainess stuff I've watched. She's just a woman going through a bunch of loops and nothing had been explained in that regard. Her fiance/ex-fiance at the beginning of the story seems to imply she's a villainess but in 16 manga chapters she's a heroine figure. I guess " 7th Time Loop: The Heroine Enjoys a Carefree Life Married to Her Worst Enemy!" doesn't have the right ring to it?

-She is a Mary Sue but so far she's a Mary Sue mostly done right. Her wealth of skills come from her prior loops. I liked the more selfish aspects of her character: the young lady looking to live her own life for herself and be lazy for once. I do feel her character is tipping away from this towards the more altruistic type of female lead. This may damage my long-term prospects of enjoyment as the selfless "must save dem all" gets kinda annoying. But I can respect the big picture view since all of her loops are different and she knows she may not have another chance to get to the bottom of the war than the opportunities provided in her current loop.

-The "cool" ("cool" as in icy) male lead seems okay.  He's cynical and behaves in a cold manner that suggests trauma but also doesn't seem too edgy or vile.  Oh course he's secretly good or whatever but I feel the story isn't blowing its load too early. His brother was a little... much. 

Anyway, I look forward to more of the story. Will definitely chell this one out in 2024. I just wish the visuals (especially for the MC) were a little nicer to look at because it doesn't really do it for me.

[B E C K]

I watched Jyu-Oh-Sei on Hulu.  The reviews I read seem to put it down, primarily the ending, even though the consensus appear to be that it starts well and has potential.  One reviewer's website in particular went on about how supposedly stupid JOS was but then went on to praise Wolf's Rain.  Fucking Wolf's Rain.  Granted, I liked Wolf's Rain.  Didn't love it, but liked it.  You'd think anyone that liked one series with a wonky ending would like another.  If JOS was reminiscent of any other anime series, it's Wolf's Rain.  JOS's even shorter at 11 eps, so it should get points for not wasting your time.  Granted the female characters in JOS are pathetic jokes, which makes me wonder if whoever wrote the story has ever interacted with a woman before.  All in all, it's not bad.

I revisited this series and didn't realize it's been fourteen years since I first watched this.

I feel like it's aged well. The Op and Ep are fantastic, I like the basic premise, world, and characters. It still feels like it crumbles apart in the end somewhat. Once the MC is an adult, it's pretty much a downhill ride.

I surprised myself at how much I actually liked Tiz (the female MC) in the beginning. By the ending, she's tiresome but on rewatch she's a livelier character in the first half or so. Even Chen improves a bit on rewatch. Karim's still fucking garbage though.

Edit: I forgot the add my comment about the ring system. In this show, people on the Beast Planet are divided up by skin color and put into groups called "rings." Blanc, Night, Sun, Ochre. Those in turn are sub-divided into gender. Like racist, sexist Harry Potter houses. But this system makes even less sense than Harry Potter houses do. The kicker being that what's the point of racial or gender segregation if people can just jump rings? The Blanc males have an Ochre female second. Ochre males have a pale dude with silver hair (who should be in Blanc) as their Top (leader) with a Sun female as a second. If this shit doesn't matter then why is it even here in the story? And then there's a bunch of ditched children. Which makes no fuckin' sense when you realize women are basically a protected class because there's so few women and they are necessary to make children. But then the children are ditched in the forest?  What the fuck? Is this a riddle?

Granted, this shit wasn't even on my mind when I first watched this show. But the moment anyone (whether on their first viewing or on subsequent viewings) thinks it over, it makes no sense at all.

The ring names sound cool though. I could've seen the race angle if this was something actively enforced on the planet but it's not. Maybe this is all different in the manga or whatever.

[Rama]

After watching one piece, the live action show on Netflix and really really enjoying it. I decided to give one piece the anime a second try……. And my first impression that it is bullshit crap was correct. I don’t know how they made such a good live action show out of such a shitty anime but they did.

[jonhammstein]

Man, I haven't gone back to classic One Piece in a long ass time, I kind of wondered how it's held up. I always thought of the quality not really falling off a cliff until much later, but looking at some of the episode thumbnails on Netflix, the early stuff does indeed look pretty crummy.

Though I will admit, they've been doing some pretty amazing stuff animation-wise recently, I think specifically to combat the trash reputation they've had for so long.

Not that it makes up for 20+ years of low effort garbage...

[B E C K]

I didn't realize until rewatching Jyu-oh-sei that Zagi is Zorro's voice actor. I really like his voice. But I can't bring myself to sit through One Piece. Even clips of it are too much.

Regarding the current season of stuff, I dropped Zom without realizing it. It had delays, I think. That probably didn't help. I might pick it back up.

I feel like the stuff I'm still watching is starting to decline.

My Happy Marriage has become boring. The Usuba stuff sounded intriguing at first but the actuality is a dull mess of over-exposition, Miyo's character regressing and this smug, boring Arata person eating up screentime. I want the couple back and facing this shit head-on as a couple. This forced separation bullshit is ass.

Lvl 1 Maou's last three episodes (inclusive of the future ep) could've been two episodes easy. They just stretched it out. Bleh. I hate when shows do that crap. Doesn't make it bad but does make it less enjoyable.

Last Boss Queen did something similar. Stretching story beyond two episodes isn't interesting if there's not enough content. Boss Queen's the one I still enjoy the most. It has a very strong core group of characters. Even though there some romantic interest between a few of them, it's still nice to see a cute group of friends supporting each other. Even though I was annoyed at the story being continued through a third episode, there were enough cute and cool moments that I was happy.

At this point, I'm just waiting on the next season of stuff to appear.

[jonhammstein]

Oh no! That new FLCL thing started last weekend and I haven't seen anyone talking about it anywhere. It must be even more awful than it looks. Time to investigate.

[jonhammstein]

Yup, fucking abysmal.

[B E C K]

I didn't like old FLCL so I don't have an opinion on new FLCL other than it looked bad from the teaser/trailer. Is it ugly both inside and out or is this strictly a looks-thing?

[jonhammstein]

It's bad all around. The story is seemingly just a regurgitation of the plot from the original series. The music is recycled from the original. I know I use the phrase "creative bankruptcy" a lot, but only because the shoe fits so well.

[B E C K]

I finally saw Words Bubble Up Like Soda Pop, which has been on my Watch list for a while. If Helck is the "C Student" anime this is the "B- Student" movie. It's not bad. I'd say it's just above mid. Its colorful and a bit cozy with the setting and male MC who loves haiku. But the girl MC zoomer influencer borders on obnoxious and the movie's plot is rote at times. You watch certain parts and know exactly what's going to happen next. I didn't need this movie to subvert my expectations by any means. It moves in the right direction but a little more creativity in getting there would have made this a winner. I can't really recommend this but you also won't hit your TV in a rage watching this.


So I was bored and curious and decided to give Bleach another try for... I don't know the reason. I'm house-sitting for my family friend again and she has Hulu and it's there. Anyway... HOW is this popular? The big-titty waifus? There's way too many characters and ass-pull powers and I don't know why I'd give a shit. For every interesting or cool-looking character, there were like five shitty ones. The music on the episodes I watched were a big MEH, with the opening credits sequence on one of the OPs in particular being especially awful to look at. I needed some eye BLEACH.

The humor felt especially dated for this being from 2004. It somehow feels more dated than Yu Yu Hakusho even though that show's, like, 10 years older.

I watched some episodes dubbed and some subbed and heard Wataru Takagi of all people. I'm always happy to hear his voice... not that it made me care at all about the character he voiced.

[B E C K]

My Happy Marriage ended. Don't know if we'll get more but I doubt I'll watch more. It nosedived imo. Nowhere near the nosedives of Ousama Ranking or I'm the Villainess so I'm Taming the Final Boss where those went from A to F-tier. But the cozy vibes were gone to have forced melodrama separating our couple and then Miyo, who never knew she even HAD powers, just decides she knows how to use her powers and saves Kiyoka. Kiyoka Kudo, who this story decided was so OP until he was suddenly fucking wasn't for some random fucking reason. It felt like bullshit.

I think the worst part was there were some easy fixes for the story.

-have Miyo's dreams still torment her but also have her slowly learn and come to terms with her powers in each subsequent dream to make the ending less of an ass-pull

-the Usubas should've been shown to be a craftier family. They couldn't even kidnap her properly and them pretending to bargain with Kiyoka was stupid. They should have lured her to their house and Miyo makes the choice to not stay with them and deal with her nightmares herself to be with Kiyoka. That way it's her direct choice. It's her progressing as a character and making clear decisions for herself. Then she could've used what she learned from her nightmares to push through and save Kiyoka when he needed her. The ending with her own cheer squad as she uses powers she never knew she had was stupid.

-the Usubas should've been the ones to directly attack and inflict Kiyoka with a dream-thing that Miyo needs to save him from. Even in retaliation for her choice.

I'd say this went from A to C or something.

[Rodent of Unusual Size]

Season 2 has already been announced. Sounds like Season 1 only adapted the first two LNs, but anyway. I'll probably binge it between now and the start of the new season shows.

[B E C K]

I'm doing a Crunchyroll free trial just for the ease of trying some stuff although I don't like most of their offerings. It does let me watch the dubs of things I've already watched. A couple of shows really bothered me with how much 'yeah' is shoehorned in on the dub. I don't care if Marin from My Dress-Up Darling says 'yeah.' That's in her character. But then in that Saint show, when I checked out that dub, that late-twenties chick's saying 'yeah' all the time. I don't really seeing it being in character for an adult used to the strict standards of a Japanese office setting and now living in (and later near) a royal palace to say 'yeah' so much. It's nitpickery. There's worst offenders out there. But that's such an easy fix to have her say 'yes' instead.

I tried a bit of around four of so different shows I hadn't seen. Current shows. Like the vending machine one. I really didn't like any of them. That one reincarnation one where the dude's all "whoa" at his mother's own tits. EW. And there's some other one with this dude cleric that just looked MEH as shit.  I couldn't be bothered with the names of these.


For upcoming shit, this one caught my attention on YouTube. It's an adaptation of Doctor Elise: The Royal Lady with the Lamp.

I never heard of this before but binged most of the manwha version. It's decent. Nothing too exciting or spicy or anything. Very paint-by-numbers but the final painting is nice. I don't quite understand part of the concept. Like, this lady actually existed and then was reborn as someone else but then died and got thrown back to her past life. And there's some magic so how can this be the real world but yet it is in her next life? Kinda confusing. Not knowing these answers doesn't affect much storywise but it's one of those things that's bothersome the more you think about it.

Also, this kinda edges into the villainess-reincarnation trend because she was a bitch in her past life. However, it fails here like most of the other media I've watched with similar concepts in that it made her such a baaaaaad person but we the reader don't get to see enough of that side of the character (at least in the manwha version). I think only The Most Heretical Last Boss Queen is the only one I've seen so far that does a good job of setting up the MC's alternate self as a horrible person and a threat to society. Here, past Elise is burned at the stake but so far I have no idea how it even progressed to that. Like we're supposed to infer that she was awful but I need to see those things to feel it.

Also, it has the other issue this villainess stuff has in trying to balance the Mary Sue-ness of the main character. Here it's especially egregious. This woman gets titles and accolades left and right and literally has this fucking plaque under the painting of her and her husband at the end. Fuck off.

[jonhammstein]

First episode of Ojou to Banken-kun was okay. Her perpetually pouty, blushing doll face gets a little aggravating after a while, though.

[B E C K]

I hear the eyes are wonky-looking. Which they were in the trailer. But I haven't watched the show yet.

Saw one ep of Frieren. I liked it but I shouldn't have started the manga and just went in fresh. It would've kept my interest longer. I meant to marathon all four eps on CR and have a cozy Frieren night. Instead, I quit after one ep and will resume it later.

[jonhammstein]

First episode of Frieren was nice. I didn't understand why the one guy seemed to age so much faster than everyone else. I get that she's an elf and probably won't visibly age ever. I guess the priest or whatever has been artificially prolonging his own life somehow? And that would tie in with how he wants her to figure out that book he gave her.

Even after all that, it still doesn't add up. It was fifty years, right? How old was Himmel supposed to be at the beginning? Like in his forties or something? When she comes back, he's friggin' Yoda!

It probably doesn't matter.

[jonhammstein]

I remember you mentioning you were interested in Shangri-La Frontier, so I gave that a look, despite the fact that it looks like yet another one of those fantasy MMO things that I loathe.

It was actually quite good. Very nice art/animation, likeable characters, interesting premise, etc. I will definitely be keeping up with it.

In other words, good pick!

[jonhammstein]

I checked out Dekoboko Majo no Oyako Jijou because the characters looked cute, and it was pretty decent. Looks damn good for a goofball anime. The co-mains remind me of Lina and Naga from Slayers, but slightly different.

And now that's reminded me that I never did watch the Slayers stuff from '08/'09, so I'll probably do that now, and I'm sure I'll regret it.

[B E C K]

I tried A Girl and her Groomer Guard Dog and could not sit through it. The relationship is gross and the eyes were also as awful as people said they were.

I watched MF Ghost and actually thought it was good. Good enough for me to chell out the next ep. Same for Shangri-la Frontier.

Re: Frieren, I could swear I read Heiter was only half-human and that's why he aged slower than Himmel. But it was the Mandela Effect apparently 'cause I can't find where I read that.

I also read people stating the horn made Himmel age worse. No idea if that's true or not.

[jonhammstein]

The horn! Damn.

Motherfucking Ghost? Really? Okay, I'll give it a shot.

[jonhammstein]

Are you an Initial D fan, or are you just watching for Ren?

[jonhammstein]

Migi to Dali did not disappoint. So demented, I love it.

Kamonohashi Ron no Kindan Suiri was pretty good, too. But you know how it is with anime murder mysteries. 22 minutes is hardly ideal for the format.

[B E C K]

Are you an Initial D fan, or are you just watching for Ren?

I forgot who Ren was and had to Google. I don't really have names down yet. I'm an Initial D fan. First season is best season though. And I couldn't bring myself to finish after Stage 4.

[B E C K]

I watched a bunch of new stuff. Nothing was an F but most of these may never be watched again:

The mother/daughter witch one was okay. Entertaining enough. Likely won't stick with it but it was relatively non-offensive.

Migi and Dali was like weird absurdist art. I don't know the point of it or how you'd successfully hide a whole- ass human being. I think the thing that really pulls me out of the story is how this rich couple is sooo enamoured with Hitori. How am I supposed to believe they wouldn't want two of them? They have the time, the money, the space... It makes no sense. Also, I can't help but get a bit of a creeper vibe here. Like someone's playing around with their fetishes. The Steve Jobs quip made me laugh though.

I watched the S-rank adventurer one with girl and her dad. It's all right. If the whole show is this girl never seeing her father, it's gonna get super old super fast. By the end of episode one, the concept already felt stale.

I'm in Love with the Villainess or whatever is fucking harassment. If the MC was a guy, it would have skeevy Nice Guy energy all over it. But it's a girl so it's "okay."  I guess. The guys getting intrigued over the MC who has zero interest is kind of interesting. But the other characters come off super bland in appearance as well as in character. I saw the dub and one of the guys sounds miscasted entirely and it puts me off when he talks. I feel like the show wants it both ways: it wants a story where a femcel creeper "punishes" a bitchy bully with a secret heart of gold by being a masochist; and it also wants a light-hearted stakes-free teen romcom. I don't think it can have both. Maybe I'm wrong but it's not really working for me.

Started S2 of the Saint's Magic Power yada-yada. They have coffee in this world. At least the Saint didn't invent that, too. In watching this, I remembered that I binged S1. This is a binge anime for a lazy Saturday. Nothing really happens. The season opens up with a taste of a battle yet to come. But it's only there to convince the viewer to sit through the slow shit. I'll need to save this one for a binge.

[jonhammstein]

Bullbuster was alright, other than the heinous monster CG. Why do they settle for this?

I like the idea of KamiErabi, but that animation, though. Sub-RWBY-tier. Blech.

[B E C K]

I watched the Disgraced Noble Lady Getting a Crash Course in Naughtiness or whatever. It's not terrible and I guess the general concept is sweet in a way. But the execution is meh. It's paint by numbers with no sweetness, no spicyness, no laughs, no anger or sadness. This guy's mansion isn't scary or cozy. Nothing's cute nor sexy nor dynamic or bold. It's all just... there. I still gotta rate it higher than Helck because this show didn't manage to annoy me like that one did. Voice acting and design of the main guy is decent. But it's a very shrug-your-shoulders scroll-on-your-cellphone anime.

[B E C K]

I didn't care for Deranged Detective. For me I want to solve the case with the detective. Either that or make the characters interesting enough that I don't give a shit about the case. This one does neither for me. The crime was stupid. Sure the kills were easy but what about moving the bodies? That couldn't have been easy. It's stupid. I don't care if these two guys are Guel from G-Witch and Arthur from Boss Queen. Love their voices but I could care less for their characters in this. The detective talking to the corpse was kinda fun tho'.

[B E C K]

A Playthrough of a Certain Dude's VRMMO Life was entertaining enough. I'm interested in seeing where this goes.