It’s time for a new general discussion thread! Hot takes, recommendations, questions, cautionary tales, all of it is welcome here.
As always, remember to be mindful of spoilers. If you want to know more about how to handle spoilers in this community, check the guide here (also linked in the sidebar).
Ave Mujica kept giving surprise each episode as someone who avoided watching bang dream franchise. I only discovered it because I have nothing to watch this season beside 100 GF and it was on Muse. Decide to give it a chance and instantly hooked from the first episode, knowing it’s a sequel to it’s MyGO!!! I binged watched it instantly. Both give a different take on traditional band girl anime formula.
it’s MyGO!!! is a group of individuals still haunted by their past trying to make a new band with each member only have their individual interest in mind. It was filled with interpersonal drama and a satisfying climax.
While Ave Mujica was a take on psychological thriller on band girl, because they were formed out of egoistic leader. There were no coherence between the group member as they only have their individual interest in the group. I still have no Idea what’s the end goal of the series. I need more people to watch it!!!
watching hokido girls are adorable and the dub is way funny because they give some of the hokido folks a fargo type accent. Also I swear he uses the term yaru like hot. he will say I can’t believe im friends with a yaru like that and it sounds like it would mean hottie to me. When I look it up it seems a super offensive term for a girl. That confuses me.
I watched Sonny Boy over the last week or two. I quite enjoyed it overall, it’s interesting on multiple levels. The ending was a little bit melancholic and upsetting, but that’s consistent with the rest of the show. I didn’t think too deeply about the philosophy and metaphors that the show put forward; it might’ve been good to reflect on and write about each episode.
Spent most of my anime time last week on season IV of DanMachi, which was pretty good all in all. It suffered a bit from being adapted from a light novel series, in that it was more a handful of juxtaposed arcs than a single overarching story, but it was nice to see Ryu get a good deal of character development, and Bell is finally starting to feel like an actual hero. There’s very little of the old hesitant, self-doubting Bell left, and good riddance. And it was nice seeing the rest of the (extended) familia succeeding without him - Aisha in particular has turned out to be a great character in her own right, and Haruhime is showing signs of what I assume is eventually going to be extraordinary power.
The only thing that really irritated me about all of that was that they got into the whole situation in the first place because nobody believed Cassandra, even after she had just proven herself by predicting the moss monster basically exactly. And Daphne in particular really needs a swift kick in the ass, because her whole attitude toward Cassandra’s premonitions not only puts the party at risk, but deeply hurts a person she claims as a friend.
Between the two cours of DanMachi IV, I took a bit of a break for Ganbare Douki-chan, which was adorable. I remember when the original was releasing, but it slipped past me initially, so by the time I became aware of it, it was already in the hundreds of chapters (one or two page chapters generally, but still). So it just went on my TBR. But the adaptation did its job - it was a perfect quick and easy break, and it led me to finally read through the original series, which was well worth it.
After DanMachi, I dipped all the way back to one that’s been on my TBW basically from the start, but that I just hadn’t yet taken the time to watch - Yokohama Kaidashi Kikou And the first OVA pair - the 1998 ones - are IMO quite simply some of the finest anime ever produced.
It’s a thing I’ve really been keyed into since watching Eizouken. The details that went into these OVAs - the simple but exquisite animations of a weather vane turning in the wind or ripples breaking across a flat stretch of water or the dappled transition from light to shadow on entering a forest - are just breathtaking. And the little incidental sounds all along the way - the ticking of a cooling engine or the creak of a gate hinge or the quiet roar of a gas flame and the rattle of a percolator lid - are just as wonderful. The whole thing is very obviously a labor of love, and the art of anime at its finest.
The second pair, from 2002, are still quite good by any ordinary standards, but they pale in comparison to the 1998 ones.
And at the moment, I’ve gone back to the search for odd gems and currently watching one I’d somehow never even heard of before called Punch Line (which I assume is a pun in Japanese). It starts with a cheesy concept of a guy who manifests superpowers if he sees a girl’s panties, but then almost immediately leaps past that into a thoroughly bizarre genre mashup meta/deconstruction… thing, alternately goofy, surreal, stylish and inexplicable. At this point (about halfway through), it’s pulling in little bits and pieces of plot from all over the place, but is actually looking like it’s going to tie it all together into… something. And if nothing else, it looks great, in a sort of bold colored, cel-shaded style reminiscent of Redline or Kill la Kill or Idaten Deities.
Weekly thoughts as usual:
Past Seasons
I watched Expelled From Paradise last week. The writing was deeper / more mature than I expected, given that the MC wears a skimpy outfit. I also liked how the deuteragonist is clever.
Otherwise, the setting is kinda Gundam-like, but not much politics
Expelled From Paradise spoiler
just yet.
I think they are setting it up and we may see more politics in the sequel.
I enjoyed it a lot - the characters, the dialogue, the action sequences. The only aspect that didn’t stand out is its soundtracks. They are definitely not as memorable as Promare’s.
That’s enough to earn it a 9 / 10 from me. I’m looking forward to its sequel Liberated from Paradise
This Season
Dropped
I gave Sakamoto Days one more episode, but just being decent is not cutting it. 8-episodes is a serious sunk-cost but it’s time to cut my loss.
Tried one episode
I skimmed through the first episode of Orb but it looks like it would take some time to build up its hook. It certainly didn’t hook me in by the end of the first episode. It kinda reminds me of Vinland Saga, so it’s back in my plan-to-watch list.
I gave Honey Lemon Soda a shot as well. It reminded me of why I always watch anime that pairs romance with comedy (i.e. romcoms) instead of a purely romance anime.
When characters in romcoms say or do stupid shit, I can simply laugh it off as part of the comedy. When the anime tries to take it seriously though, it just makes the characters look dumb and the show unbearable to watch.
Unfortunately, this is the case with Honey Lemon Soda. It’s no good, so I’m dropping this one for good.
If you want a romance anime about a girl who has to deal with the challenges of adapting to a different environment, a way better alternative is Skip and Loafer.
Picked up
I’ve seen so much praise for Medalist that I decided to give it one episode. That one episode quickly turned into seven, and now I’m all caught up.
This anime is truly the hidden gem of the season.
The premise is that the coach-student pair is your typical sports David who has to go up against their Goliaths. Yeah, not a very unique premise, which is why it did not get my attention.
It’s a very simply premise, but the execution is so well done. The writing is incredible, resulting in an amazing story with relatable characters and well-grounded dialogue. The animation is top-tier, and so is its use of soundtracks.
Inori’s situation with her mother somewhat reminds me of
manga meta spoiler
Shizuka from 100 girlfriends. It’s like Medalist’s author took Shizuka and went all in on her character development and emotional scenes.
My only gripe is that Inori, who’s like, 11?, behaves way too mature for her age. IMO it’s better than grown-up characters who behave childishly.
Like what another Lemmy user pointed out, I find it quite ironic that this anime is the underdog of the season just like how its MCs are underdogs in the skating scene. I hope that the anime would make a comeback and explode in popularity towards the end of the season in true underdog fashion.
We are more than halfway through this anime season but if you are looking for a new show to pick up, this would be my recommendation.
This is looking to be at least a 9 / 10 - with high potential for 10 / 10 - from me.
Spent most time rewatching AoT last week because The Last Attack was in my local filmtheater. It’s still a great time. Season 3 Part 2 remains my favourite.
Sadly the room the film was in had pretty bad audio, so I couldn’t enjoy it as much as I’d have liked, but oh well.
Delicious in Dungeon makes me more open to trying unusual foods. Slightly.
It’s easily among my top 5 anime of all time at any rate. Such phenomenal writing in every way!
Trying my best to not drop shows this deep into the season despite some work that has been piling up on my plate lately. So, here are some quick thoughts on what I have been able to watch this past week:
- 100 Girlfriends - This show continues to deliver. All the references this past episode were ridiculous (so much Ghibli).
- Apothecary Diaries - It was nice to spend time with the Emporer this past episode.
- Guild Receptionist - Alina finally got some time off this past week…and then it immediately ended! I do like some of the story they are building in the party she adventures with.
- Welcome to Japan, Miss Elf - This has become my comfort show this season. Such a chill time, and we got a new party member this past episode!
- Bureaucrat to Villainess - We had a really fun little Beyblade sequence this past week that was fun.
- My Happy Marriage - Really enjoying this season. We are getting more Kiyoka/Miyo time and progress in their relationship.
- Ameku M.D. - I haven’t been able to watch this past week’s episode yet…I might have to drop this due to time.
Watched the first 6 episodes of Medalist this week. I had my hesitations, but this show delivers! I still like the manga a little more, but that doesn’t stop me from looking forward to each and every episode I watch. Honestly it made me want to go ice skating but I have a cold and ice skating season is almost over. Still, maybe next week.
Weekly ranking roundup:
- Anime Corner - Full Results - Weekly Winner: Apothecary Diaries
- Reddit Karma - Weekly Winner: Solo Leveling
- Anime Trending - Weekly Winner: Re:Zero
Credit to /u/Abysswatcherbel for making the chart for reddit karma and /u/Nooble5 for the Anime Trending chart.
One thing I noticed this week is the absence of Toilet-Bound Hanako-kun on the reddit chart. For a show that ranked #2 in both other charts, it doesn’t even crack the top 30 in weekly reddit karma. Not sure the reason and I don’t watch the show personally, but just found it interesting.
