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[miyoron]

Anime of 2023, a List By Miyo

Here we go again, it's 2023 and the year has gone by with another year of anime and all those kinda fun things. It felt like another year where we were encumbered with isekai stuff I mostly avoided and anime overworking its staff as always. I guess atleast there weren't any hacks that delayed Precure this time? I dunno, let's all say hello to my anime list of 2023 of shows I enjoyed or wanted to talk about some.

Past Write Ups

https://miyoron.tumblr.com/post/155146006684/miyos-anime-of-note-of-2016s

https://miyoron.tumblr.com/post/168918050454/miyos-anime-of-various-notes-2017-edition

https://miyoron.tumblr.com/post/181565753419/miyos-anime-of-note-2018-rainbow-edition

https://miyoron.tumblr.com/post/189938086634/miyos-anime-of-the-decade-though-actually-just

https://miyoron.tumblr.com/post/639065021256810496/miyos-2020-anime-extravaganza

https://miyoron.tumblr.com/post/672147095495589888/miyos-animated-things-of-note-2021-hello-and

https://miyoron.tumblr.com/post/705216685374865408/miyos-animes-of-2022-a-list-about-things-i-liked

***

As always, I use whatever version of the title I am most comfy writing. Also these aren't in any order other than sort of by release? I wrote down shows when I finished them so earlier in the year shows end up first. This is my science.

TomoChan is a Girl

This show is a fun little romcom that's about a violent girl and her childhood friend who she wants to go out with. The only problem is she's ridiculously tomboyish and violent and they've been friends so long, he legit just sees her as his bestie dude karate friend. This is the driving force for the show and expect Tomo to constantly knock Jun upside the head in response to his failing to see her romantic advances.

The show has an enjoyable cast of secondary characters besides the main ones with dour Misuzu always around to cut people down and active embodiment of chaos Carol who…well, girl is just a walking ditz meme. There's fun hidden depth there even with a show that sometimes has a problem with being a lil too horny. I liked it though, they were fun chars and thinking back on them as I write this up makes me remember them fondly.

Akiba Maid War

Akiba Maid War is one of those shows that is a spectacle over substance when you think about it. However, that spectacle is bonkers and was ridiculously fun to watch. A period piece about the fictional gang style wars of maid cafes in Akihabara, the show is a tale that's as comedic as it is violent. Newcomer Nagomi must learn the ways of maids and the high stakes battles between the maid hierarchy.

Like I said, it's a VERY silly show and ridiculously violent. Calling it a black comedy is pretty on the nose but it absolutely fits. I really don't want to say too much about it, but if you want to see maids murder each other in John Wick-esque violence then I say check it out. It even has some nice drama too amongst it all. Go do it, watch the pig maids!

Nijiyon Animation

Love Live Nijiyon I don't have too much to say on to be honest. It was more time with characters I liked and they had goofy little jokes. Wild this is getting a second season next year but hey why not?

~*~Time for the Precure Cornerrrr~*~

Hirogaru Sky Precure

This is a year of firsts for Precure. The fact the first Precures were the blue and white ones, the introduction of an adult and boy Precures who aren't just side characters in one episode..lots of wild stuff. Hero girl Sora and her bestie Mashiro are such a good pair. Tsubasa is a fun nerd and Ageha rules in the tradition of "older Precure, will kick your ass." The villains have been mostly fun, if a little underwritten. Still, I liked Wario but a pig man and shithead dweeb.

The Precure this year has been pretty solid to be honest, and the official subs have gotten a LOT better in quality so things sound way less like it's being done by some poor intern down in Toei's dungeons. Good designs, good style, pretty much a good season to start with if you're curious. Also for a while we got to see older Precures at the end for the 20th anniversary so yay~

Yes Precure 5 Go Go

So we finished the second half of the Yes 5 series and it was…fine? I still don't really like Milk and even moreso Milky Rose. She's not my least fave cure but she's up there. Coco and Nuts are still bleh and new friend Syrup was ehhhh. Really the main thing I learned to love this year was Bunbee. It's an early season though so I suppose it was still growing pains. This one (like Max Heart) probably could've just been combined into the first series as one year long show and not TWO separate ones.

Dokidoki Precure

DokiDoki Precure is an interesting one because there is a lot there to like. It's got a fun cast, some dopey villains and a good energy to it all. There's also the ugliest Precure baby I can think of so there's that. I didn't initially like Cure Ace but she grew on me over time which is funny cuz meanwhile I was all in on Regina who is just a shithead goblin (complimentary).

Like I said, it's a nice little series and I enjoyed the character a lot. Mana is a good girl who loves all of her friends and anyone she can make friends with. I think my favorite is Alice though just because she's basically Batman in Precure form, even down to the hyper competent butler. I think going into this show I was thinking it was going to be one of the lesser ones, but I liked it more than I thought I would so that's a win in the end.

Power of Hope ~ Precure Full Bloom

I'm putting this on here to complete the Precure chat and I think ultimately I was disappointed by it more than happy. Maybe I was expecting something I was never going to get, who knows. The idea of grown up Precure characters having to do their adult ass lives is an interesting one and I really did like all the designs they came up with for the older characters. But the fact they all just transformed into their older, middle schooler designs, and even used the same old footage, was just kind of a bummer for me. Honestly, it felt like a movie that was stretched out over 3 months of TV and probably could've just been that. Maybe they'll do something different when they do the Mahou Tsukai grown ups next. Also Bunbee was here too so yay.

*~*Thus Concludes Precure Corner*~*

Urusei Yatsura

With friends in tow, finally actually watched some Urusei Yatsura, or rather the 2022 remake series. It's got a lot of what I feel would become the staple Rumiko Takahashi comedy violence in it and I can see why it helped her later works. This is one of those shows where I don't know much to say about because I feel people know what it's about but…oni lady from space comes to Earth, says she's a pervy dweeb's wife and shenanigans ensue from there. A goofy cast of characters that was just an overall silly time. More to come next year!

Mobile Suit Gundam the Witch from Mercury (S2)

Not too much to add to this one since I talked about how I liked it last year, but I like where it took the story. Showing Miorine having to deal with being in charge of her dad's company while he was out injured and showing how people dealt with past traumas that affected their present lives. I mean, it's probably basic Gundam stuff, but I enjoyed it. There were a lot of good dramatic moments and one particular episode that really hit hard on the heart strings.

The ending was great and, honestly, the only problem is we only got 2 cours worth and not a whole year long show. That being said, I hope we do get to see Suletta again and not just in Super Robot Wars games. Also, don't let anyone try to tell you they aren't married at the end. That's just denying the truth.

Inu-Oh

What a cool fucking movie. Cool fucking visuals, cool fucking soundtrack. Just everything about it was a good watch. Made me feel happy, sad..just yea. A tale of friendship between a blind biwa player and a cursed-deformed dancer, it's a really lovely story with like I said..it's just really good and you should check it out. Sorry I don't have better words for this. I think I just want you to discover it for yourselves!

Skip and Loafer

Skip and Loafer is a cute little slice of life with some romance elements in it with a cute cast of characters from all walks of life. Awkward over-acheiver Mitsumi tries to make her way in the big city high school where she becomes friends with others ranging from the overly chill, but complex, Sosuke to the seemingly aloof Yuzuki. It's a nice little story that treads some of the typical high school anime things but has a lot of hidden depth behind the characters.

Like I often seem to say, it's one of those ones I wish wasn't only 12 episodes and deserves more. It even has a nice bit of LGBTQ+ representation in it with Mitsumi's Aunt Nao. Seriously, fun little show, I want more.

Oshi no Ko

Oshi no Ko was initially one I wasn't going to check out because the synopsis for it made me very confused and I thought it was JUST too weird. Let there be no mistake, it's a fucking weird premise and sometimes it gets awkward because of that. That being said, I ended up very invested in the story because I really want to know the answer to the overarching mystery of the show. Who dun it huh? Who dun it?!

This show has a lot to say about the entertainment industry, specifically the shittiness of it and I think that's ultimately a good thing. Word of warning, episode 6 and 7 are REALLY heavy and the official subs even have a warning before and after the episodes because of it. Next year there's another season incoming so I will look forward to more Memcho in our future. Also, probably one of the more hype openings this year. Yoasobi is one of my new favorite artists and I enjoy when they do stuff (they also did a G Witch opening so!)

Yohane the Parhelion: Sunshine in the Mirror

A Love Live April Fools joke that became its own actual show. What a time to be alive. This is an interesting little piece though and had some nice things going for it. As always the music and visuals were good and I like the set up of it all. Plus, I'm always happy to see the Sunshine cast in things since they're the ones I've spent the most time with.

That being said, the show's plot leaves a lot to be desired since some episodes it feels like they forgot they were supposed to have one to be honest. Still though, if you like Love Live Sunshine, you'll probably enjoy this too. Some characters act a little different but I think that's fine since they're in a different setting. Go watch it if you wanna, I dunno!

Spy x Family (S3)

Spy x Family continues its fun times from last year and I'm glad to have more of it. They even did an episode on the "Yor Gets Shot in the Ass" chapter which is a really fun and silly one. Yea it was a good time for more spy times, lots of good action set pieces and silly little moments in between. It's like a hugely popular show, I don't know what all you want me to say on this. It's fun and good!

Birdie Wing Golf Girls' Story

We finished the golf! It went even more soap opera and weird! It even felt like they did a Happy GIlmore reference unintentionally! I loved this weird stupid show. I miss it.

Scott Pilgrim Takes Off

This was an interesting one to say the least, I'm not quite done with it yet but Science Saru plus Scott Pilgrim is a fun set up. It's a complete retelling of the show and honestly I'm for it. A lot more stuff with Ramona and in the Japanese dub, Kim is played by Cure Gelato so yea. If you liked the original series, this should be on your list to check out. And if you liked the movie, all the original actors reprise their roles so bonus points.

Side Things I Enjoyed But Don't Have Much to Say On

Otaku Elf

It's a cute silly little series about a dweeb ass elf. It was fun~

Akane Banashi

This is a manga I started reading a couple months back about a girl trying to become a pro Rakugo performer to avenge her father, but also to claim her own spot in the competitive world of this Japanese art. It's a fun thing that's played really over the top like a sports/battle manga. I enjoy it, you should cheek it out!

The Magical Revolution of the Reincarnated Princess and the Genius Young Lady

A series that's ostensibly an isekai but the main character does not seem to have any knowledge of her previous life. At least, outside of vague things like "I saw a witch flying on a broom in a dream that may have been memories of a past I don't remember?? so I'm going to fly on a broom." An interesting one that didn't take the coward's way out at the end either.

So I think this is all I have to say this year? It's not much but it's my little list~ I hope you all enjoyed it~

For next year, I'm looking forward to finishing up the last old Precure season, Happiness Charge. We've also started the original Doremi so that should be fun. We also started watching Freiren so I feel that'll probably be on next year's list so watch out for that. And Dungeon Meshi is very soon too! Hope you all had a good 2023 and let's hope next year is a good one. Or atleast a non painful one.

[miyoron]

Tonight I was like "What if I draw a junkion" And then that turned into "What if I draw a gremlin junkion" and then that turned into "What if I draw a gremlin junkion with a sharkticon."

[miyoron]

Miyo’s Animes of 2022: A List About Things I Liked

Hi hello! It’s that time of year again! The time where I put in random anime shows I liked for the year and maybe go over dumb things that happened in all our lives.

Maybe? ...no? Yea me neither, I wanna just talk about nerd bullshit so let’s do that yea? YEA! As always, I will be writing these as I feel like in a random order and using whatever name I choose whether it’s the Japanese title or the English translated one...just go with it ok?

****PREVIOUS YEARLY WRITE UPS****

https://miyoron.tumblr.com/post/155146006684/miyos-anime-of-note-of-2016s

https://miyoron.tumblr.com/post/168918050454/miyos-anime-of-various-notes-2017-edition

https://miyoron.tumblr.com/post/181565753419/miyos-anime-of-note-2018-rainbow-edition

https://miyoron.tumblr.com/post/189938086634/miyos-anime-of-the-decade-though-actually-just

https://miyoron.tumblr.com/post/639065021256810496/miyos-2020-anime-extravaganza

https://miyoron.tumblr.com/post/672147095495589888/miyos-animated-things-of-note-2021-hello-and

***************************************** My Dress Up Darling

This show was one I was initially a little wary on because like...you always gotta be careful with shows that seem horny you know? Like “am I going to end up on a list or something like that?” Thankfully though, while this is horny, it’s also freaking adorable which is always a plus in my eyes.

The story of the show is Japanese doll maker apprentice Gojo is thrust into a wild and frantic world of an aspiring cosplayer and intense gyaru, Marin Kitagawa. What follows is a fun little romcom following their adventures of learning more about the hobby and about one another of course. Marin bringing Gojo into her surprisingly dorky interests and him becoming just as enraptured about capturing the characters in costume as she is portraying them. It also helps that Marin just has some of the best expressions of the year, every one she makes is great and fun to see.

What’s also great is the fact that she actively loves him like...falling into a blushing fit at the thought of admitting it even when he’s mostly unaware of it. It’s a great show and brought back memories of cosplay planning sessions from my college years, even when I was mostly there for emotional support to keep my friends from going nuts sewing seifuku. Joy of a show, go look into it!

Symphogear XV

I've been a watcher of Symphogear in the past and haven't really written about it because I guess I didn't have much to say? I like the music and the characters but other than that there wasn't much I felt like I could write down and sound interesting. But hey, I finally finished the show so I thought I'd write down that hey, the last season is really good!

Symphogear is a series that is defined by its bombastic action where you have character launching ICBM missiles, giant swords from the heavens or just suplexing space shuttles. Yes, all this happens throughout the course of the show and I'm not exaggerating. The fifth season, XV, is the culmination of the high impact singing and battles and just hits every note perfectly. Heh, note. See what I did there?

The characters all get to have their own little moments and the relationships between them all is probably my number one reason I enjoy the show. Look, when you can have two girls be basically married and the series all but says it outloud, I'm for it. Hibiki is Miku's action hero wife and I will hear nothing else from you lot. The show was a great send off and with news of a new project next year on the horizon, all we can do is wait and see what's next.

Spy x Family

I originally tried to read this manga a couple years back and somehow couldn't get into it. Maybe it was just the long feeling opening chapters that did it, it's hard to say. That being said, seeing it put out in animated form is what finally did it for me as I caught up between the 1st and 2nd cours and am glad I did.

The basis of the series is super spy Twilight, alias Loid Forger, has to go undercover to get at a political figure and to complete this mission he has to make a fake family. Adopting an unknowing mind reading orphan, Anya, and unknowingly marrying a trained assassin, Yor, such is the basis for the comedy and heart of the show. Only Anya knows the truth of the situation and she thinks it's awesome and cool.

You probably don't need me to say much about this show since it IS wildly popular, but I liked it and think you should check it out. The new family member in the second half of the show and Loid's fellow undercover colleague are super fun additions and I loved every moment Fiona was on screen. It's a fun show, and I say check it out.

Birdie Wing: Golf Girls' Story

Probably one of the weirder shows I watched this year, the show about hyper intensive golf with a weird "buy Gunpla" message barely hidden in it. Like I don't actually wanna describe too much of what happens in this show because it's wild and you honestly probably wouldn't believe me even if I said so.

Eve is an underground golfer whose style is power and defeating her opponent above anything else. Crush their hopes, crush their spirits, that's her style of golf. That is until she plays a round with Aoi Amawashi, a high level teen golfer who is the only one who's been able to beat her. She wants her win back. Meanwhile Aoi wants to play here again because she's the first one she's had fun golfing against in ages. The story that follows goes to bring them together to finally have their rematch.

This show goes interesting places and near the end, every week had me on edge on what was going to happen. I will say, if you want to binge it, be warned it ends on a mid season cliffhanger and the new eps don't begin til Spring anime 2023 so you'll be waiting a while. Either way, check it out when you can, it's a trip.

The Demon Girl Next Door

It was a treat to see this show get a second season after being absent for a few years. Shamiko and friends are back for more awkward ineffective demon fun and trying to get better at this whole "Demon" thing.

This season was cute because Shamiko had to really step up and take charge, even if she was kind of bad at it. She helped Mikan clean out her apartment, was able to find her hidden item left behind by her father and even make it into a giant fork to use against her enemies! Though of course, the main thing here was all of her interactions with Momo. There's something about a mostly uninterested magical girl going through life half teasing her friend and half being embarrassed about interacting with her.

There was also some fun new friends in the form of fellow demons Riko and Shirosawa, a Chinese fox and Japanese tapir respectively, and the little cafe Shirosawa owns. It's a fun little show that still feels like something from the mid 2010s but it's a good one of those so I feel in the end, it's all good. Ganbare Shamiko!

Kaguya-sama Love is War

Kaguya is still a funny show, one of the funnier romcoms out there to be honest. The tale of two hyper intelligent stupid teenagers in love who want the other to admit it continues with the usual hilarious results.

The big set piece for the 3rd season is the incoming culture festival, the second half of the show leading up to it and the big reveal involving Shirogane's future. Why does he need to confess to Kaguya before the end of the festival? Will Kaguya accept? Will she fold first? What dumb bullshit is Chika going to do? These and more await you in Kaguya!

Yea I don't have much to add, like I said. It's still funny, there's fun new character interactions with Miko being on the student council now and Ishigami trying his best to confess to a senpai of his own. What I'm saying is if you liked the previous seasons, you'll probably enjoy this one too. We get a movie in February so there's more coming up too, so let's go watch! Or not, I'm not your mom.

Komi-san Can't Communicate

The second half of Komi! It's here and introduces more fun characters to become friends with! Also everyone's faves are still around of course, like problem child Najimi who is here to be your angle AND your devil at all times. All so that Komi can make all the friends and try to get over her horrible social anxiety. It's a tough world but having friends helps I feel.

Like I said, this season introduces more characters from the manga and the fun situations along the way. We have the school trip to Kyoto which features a bunch of fun interactions, like buff posing in the hot springs and the introduction of the mysterious yo yo wielding hero. Plus it introduces one of my favorite, equally awkward characters, Katai. A big beefcake of a boy who is horrifyingly scary because he's enormous and looks intimidating but he's just bad at talking and...you get the idea. I love him.

I have a lot of sequels on this list so I think a lot of my paragraphs might end with "it's more of X, so you'll probably enjoy it". That being said, it's more Komi so....you'll probably enjoy it. See that's not so bad huh?

LOVE LIVE CORNER

Love Live! Nijigasaki High School Idol Club

Yes indeed, they keep making more Love Lives and I keep eating them up like the monster I know I am. That being said, they are different enough at least and the Nijigasaki shows are a bit more interesting than the others for the fact they have a different style than the rest. Also there's just SO many of them, you've got plenty of fun girls to watch.

The introduction of new characters Shirioko, Lanzhu and Mia leads to new interactions which may have played out different than the phone game version but...I never finished those so, whatever~ That being said, I loved just the sheer overpowering force of Lanzhu coming in and taking no prisoners. Sure, she can't just be a big rude force all the time and has to become a friend in the end but her initial entrance is just bombastic enough to be super fun. She is here to idol and FUCK anyone in her way.

Niji has a lot of fun little side cameos too of the Normal rank idol randos from the original phone game that shows just..a nerdy interest in LOVE LIVE LORE I can appreciate. You go chameleon girl, take the spot and run for it. We have an OVA for this sometime and a set of what looks like short gag eps coming up so that should be fun. I will send out love to Setsuna's actor, Tomori Kusunoki, who sadly has to step away from the role for health reasons. We'll hopefully continue to see her in other shows for years to come.

Love Live! Superstar!!

This show I enjoyed last time but season 2 I enjoyed way more. Weirdly, going from a unique 5 person group to the old reliable 9 person group, worked out better for me. Maybe it's just because the new ones added were goofy and fun and gelled well with the rest of the cast, even with some goofy story telling decisions.

Liella got popular! And thanks to that they got fans! Though they wanted to get more members and that's where our first years come up! Like I said, the new girls are fun and I just can't gush enough about Natsumi. The best little Love Live goblin in a while. I love her shitty youtube plans and her thoughts to monetize everything for her own benefit. Like I said just...it's fun, she's fun! Also they let her say a cuss.

Superstar has another season coming up next year I believe, or it atleast has another season somewhere down the line. We'll see what happens with more rival idols getting closer to Kanon's fan girl creating energy then. I'll look forward to it!

Ya Boy Kongming!

So I played a lot of Dynasty Warriors back on the PS2 and I also read some of the Romance of the Three Kingdoms as well. What I'm saying is this is a series up my alley in way that you wouldn't expect it to be but it is.

Kongming, the legendary strategist, has died and been reborn in modern world Japan. Becoming entranced by a demon from Hell, he wakes up the next day and learns he got drunk on Halloween night and the demon was in fact Eiko, an aspiring singer. From there, he pledges himself to become her strategist and help her in her goals and to bring about an end to pain and war through her singing. He believes in her so much, even if she's a bit embarrassed about it initially.

Seeing classic strategies being put in the modern world and used to strictly build cred in the music world is fun and silly. Eiko is a good character with fun outfits and I love seeing her make friends with new people. Gaining new allies in her battle to become a singer with Kongming helping all the way is just..yea I like it a lot. Also probably the most banger op of the year? I listened to it a LOT.

Now we pause for the PRECURE STOP

Yes Precure 5!

Me and Cheapsteaks did our annual dual old Cure season watch and the first one we started was Yes Precure 5 which was the first 5 person team one. I'll say it definitely felt like an early 00s Magical Girl show but it was starting to get down what Precure is I feel. I really liked the Cures, especially Dream and Rouge.

That being said, there's definitely some things about this one I wasn't as huge a fan of. The villains primarily were really lackluster compared to the previous ones in Splash Star and the ending felt really anticlimatic. On top of that, Nuts and Coco were fine but after a bit their fairy voices really wear you down. Similarly, Milk is a little pain and not in the fun goblin way.  That being said, these are very minor complaints for a show for babies.

The movie was super fun though and was more fun than one would expect. We've got the sequel, Yes Precure 5 GoGo! already started for next year so we'll see if it deserves a 2nd 49 episode season or if it shoulda just been smushed all into one, an opinion I have had previously regarding Futari wa/Max Heart.

Suite Precure

Suite Precure was much more fun in comparison.  Maybe it's because it's a later show so they learned how to do things, maybe I just liked the story and animation better. Whatever the case, Suite does a lot of things I enjoy.

Doofy villain trio? Check. Even doofier baby brained fairy? Check. Super good gal pals teaming up to beat up said villains? Quadruple check. Yea, the musical themed world and fairies and transformations are fun and I was happy when the Precure finally all assembled just for the musical tones accompanying it. I guess I don't have much to say just that I had fun watching this one a lot more.

Accompanying Yes Precure 5 GoGo, we have also started Doki Doki Precure so we're in the final laps of watching all the series. Then it's on to all the All Star movies and other related content!

Delicious Party Precure

The current running Precure, I like the designs a lot and parts of the story are good and cute. But I have a bone to pick, an axe to grind, a suggestion for future cures maybe. I'm probably being dumb but maybe they should just plan to have 45 episodes anymore because the delays that hit both this and Healin' Good a few years ago have hampered the story from feeling satisfying. Again, I know it's a show for babies but when the delays affect things this bad, maybe just plan for a shorter show and use the extra eps for throw off stuff, like when Tropical Rouge did its 11 Random Stories episode.

I'm being mean, I'm sorry about that. Precure is still good and I just get heated when it affects ones with characters I feel are made specifically for me. Ran wasn't hit as hard and screwed over like Hinata was because she atleast gets more time to show off. And what she can show off is just a wide array of facial expressions that I look forward to each week. Behold just a few examples.

Like I said, I still like the show and the characters but again, lackluster villains can really hinder a show I enjoy. Hear my suggestions Toei, suggestions from some random dingus on the internet across the world. I promise it's a good idea!

Lycoris Recoil

Hideo Kojima's anime of the year! This one I initially checked out because I kept seeing the meme going around of Chisato getting kicked in the back of the thigh and wondering "what's that from?" Well the answer is LycoReco, a show with girls and guns and action.

Lycoris is a secret organization which has high school girls trained for covert tactical ops and Takina has just been kicked out of the central command for putting her fellow agents at risk. The solution? Shack her up with Chisato, a peppy Lycoris member who is also on the out with the main command for just..doing as she pleases pretty much. It's a real odd couple situation, if they were gun wielding high school students for the government. LycoReco is an action thrill ride with hints of intrigue along the way that make you want to see what happens next week.

There's lots of fun little moments and character interactions, and one major secondary character who has a past you would not expect. And it's treated with way more care than you'd expect any popular media to really. It's a good show and just furthers the Yuri Aquarium Agenda. It's everywhere man, open your eyes!

Cyberpunk: Edgerunners

This is a game I haven't played and don't intend to play. That being said, I will always check out a Trigger show and this one was no exception. Edgerunners is a cool little show with a lot of action going on and it has that super stylized look that all Trigger shows have. There's a lot of fun characters and thankfully there is the ever present force of the Trigger Gremlin character, this time in the form of Rebecca.

The story isn't going out to break the mold, but the world and characters are cool as shit. I love the look of it and would gladly recommend it to others who want to see some crazy action scenes. It's not everyone's tastes and I do wish parts of it went different but I had a fun enough time to recommend it in the end so that as you will.

Mobile Suit Gundam: The Witch From Mercury

I haven't watched a Gundam in a while and I don't really have a good reason why not. Maybe I'm lazy, maybe I'm a nerd who likes female protagonists more than male ones. Who knows! What I do know though is that I'm having fun watching Witch from Mercury and a large part of that is I just really like Suletta's design and character. This is honestly just a good year for characters who are bad at social interaction, though Suletta's feels different in comparison to say a Komi or (spoilers) a Kobeni.

The mystery of the Witches and the Gundam program slowly unraveling is keeping me going week to week and I look forward to the second part in the spring. Well, that and the Utena vibes being given off with the duels and bride system at the school. It's an interesting set up and I'm glad I started watchin. It also gave us more gremlins in the form of Chuchu who continues the proud Gundam tradition of just decking people in the face.

I hope their business does well!

Do It Yourself!!

Do you like videos about crafts? Do you like anime about girls doing random things and learning new skills? Then I have the show for you! Yua is learning how much she enjoys making things with her new club, even if she's very clumsy and injury prone. It's okay though cuz Pudding is there to look after her.

The show is a nice and comfy little thing with a bunch of very on the nose puns for names and honestly I don't think that's a bad thing. Jobko's actor has a very fun performance, even if her main joke is "foreign girl speaking Japanese." But you know what? It's an easy joke and I don't mind it.

Also I like the character designs in general, the colors are soft and cozy and really fit the characters well. Call me a sucker, but I'm always for cute friendships and DIY has it in spades.

Chainsaw Man

Chainsaw Maaaaan Chainsaw Maaaaan! Chainsaw Man is good and cool! It's a super fun manga and I think the anime did a pretty dang good adaption of it. The cast is fun and I think they cast them all really well. The action is good and even the bits of CG that look a bit wonky are on background characters so I don't really see that much of an issue.

Honestly, I don't know what all to say like...it made me wanna reread the manga again because it's just filled me with good memories of the first time I did so. Seriously, just go watch this and also read it. It's gritty and grungy and that's fucking cool.

Pictured:  Intelligence

Mob Psycho 100

It's good to see Mob on this list again and that it hasn't had some change of animation studios affecting it like One Punch Man's second season.  The effects are as bombastic as always and the battle are always on point with the visuals being some of the best I've seen this year which is kind of par the course for Mob, but it's still great to watch.

Of course, the main draw of Mob isn't the battles but it's seeing how Mob himself has grown over the course of the series. This season, our dear Shigeo is getting a little cocky even, thinking he's finally hit his popular time with girls. Follow Mob as he tries to come out on top and finally ask Tsubomi-chan out! Can he do it? The answer might surprise you! Or it might not if you've read the manga before.

Seriously though, it was great seeing Mob again and I still love how committed he is to those he cares about. It just goes to show that not every conflict needs to be solved with a fight, but with a heart to heart and I dunno, I just think that's a great lesson. Mob's greatest strength is his humanity and I think we can all agree, that's why we love him.

Bocchi the Rock

Rounding out the year for social anxiety, we have Bocchi the Rock. A show about an awkward girl who failed at forming a band in middle school and at social interactions throughout her life. A girl who is terrible at existing and would prefer to just keep herself walled up in her closet making youtube guitar videos for the masses. Bocchi is relatable sometimes in ways I feel like we all experience sometimes.

Bocchi finally gets her chance though, meeting up with Nijika and Ryo who are trying to find a guitarist for their band after the original one flaked. What follows is a blossoming friendship and the beginning to the Keissoku Band, ready to entertain the masses...if Bocchi can get the courage to play outside of a cardboard box and or trash can.

The show is seriously fun and another case of good expressions. I only got a few of Bocchi's here but she has so many I don't even know where to begin to be honest. Seeing her try to get the confidence along with her friends, while simultaneously melting down at anything even remotely social, is again something I think all of us can relate to sometimes. I'm happy for getting to know Bocchi and I kind of hope to see more down the road. If not, I appreciate what we got though.

Pop Team Epic

It's fucking back and it's just as fun as ever. More goofy bits, more random voice actor pairings and a fun new gimmick of them just chatting together at the end of each episode is just...it's great, I love it. Pop Team is still so good.

The parodies, the comedy, it's all still there and it's just what you want. The return of the Aoi Shota cinematic universe..just I can't praise it enough. You should go watch it, it's great. Here's a little spoiler of things to come if you do...

POP TEAM EPIC

So that's my anime list for the year. Like I said, it's a bunch of random things in mostly the order I watched them in throughout the year. Here's a couple more random things to tide you over!

Anime Movies I Enjoyed!

Pompo the Cinephile - Fun movie with real good animation Revue Starlight The Movie - Great music as always and some crazy scenes, so nice I saw it twice Dragonball Superhero - The Piccolo movie we always wanted, so nice I saw it twice pt 2 One Piece: Red - Good music, pretty fun movie over all Yuru Camp: The Movie - So good to see these girls again and just as comfy as ever. Made me wish my job felt as fulfilling as they did in the movie though

Show I Enjoyed but Can't Form a lot of words about! Gunbuster - It rules! Go watch it! It's rad!

Show With Oops Political Timing! Teppen - !!! - Doofy comedy show with a fun opening which had to hold back an ep due to the assassination of Shinzo Abe. Oops on unforeseeable events!

I can't think of much else so...I hope you had a good time reading and have a good 2023. Let's all be safe and not suck ok?

[miyoron]

The 57th Annual Rockin' New Year's Eve with Hulkamatt

We will be live shortly~

[miyoron]

I should post more art here so here’s a piece I’ve meant to do for a while, ta daaa~

[miyoron]

Miyo’s Animated Things of Note 2021

Hello and welcome, welcome once more to that time of times. Where I look over all the various bullshit I watched through the last year, tap my chin and nod, and figure out how much I enjoyed it. A list of favorite things and all, of various shows I had fun watching. Maybe you'll enjoy them too. Maybe you'll think I suck. MAYBE you suck too though, did you ever think of THAT? Well..you're probably cool so I'll retract that but..I'm gonna keep my eyes on you okay?

So while the world is still a pile of annoying disease, let's enjoy the fact there's still cartoons to watch that are fun. Fun things to enjoy and just have a good laugh at. Have a good feelings with. A thing to watch and go, yea. Yea I liked that. As always, I use whatever title I feel like typing out so some of these are the Japanese version, some are the localized version, that's just how I do things. That being said, let's la go~

****Previous Year Write Ups****

https://miyoron.tumblr.com/post/155146006684/miyos-anime-of-note-of-2016s

https://miyoron.tumblr.com/post/168918050454/miyos-anime-of-various-notes-2017-edition

https://miyoron.tumblr.com/post/181565753419/miyos-anime-of-note-2018-rainbow-edition

https://miyoron.tumblr.com/post/189938086634/miyos-anime-of-the-decade-though-actually-just

https://miyoron.tumblr.com/post/639065021256810496/miyos-2020-anime-extravaganza

****

Pui Pui Molcar

PUI PUI MOLCAR

GO WATCH

PUI PUI MOLCAR

Yuru Camp (Season 2)

Yuru Camp is still one of my favorite cozy shows and finally getting a real season 2 was definitely something to look forward to this year. I had read a chunk of the manga so it was fun seeing how the show adapted it. It's fun seeing Nadeshiko growing as a character, even though she's still a silly a dumb baby ultimately, but getting her to develop and become more responsible is good and nice. The story is still basically the same as when I put this show on a previous year's list:  it's comfy, it's cozy, cute girls camp and make food look extra tasty by being cute and by the fire in big scarves.

There's a lot of wonderful little moments in here and I think it comes from the show just featuring nice people ultimately. Some of the girls are near freezing to death out on a campsite in mid winter weather? Don't worry, this nice lady and her dad AND THEIR DOGS will be there to help! Rin's grandpa showing up to pick her up so she doesn't drive home solo and giving her a new windshield because he had a spare (it wasn't a spare, it was brand new) is just a wonderfully cute and fun moment. The best addition to season 2 though is the addition of yet more Aoi little sister. The girl is great in every scene she's in and she just wants to see some capybara. In the end, don't we all? I THINK there's still a movie for this coming out? I could be making up bullshit though so don't quote me on that. That being said, I'm here for more future camps for sure.

Non Non Biyori Nonstop

This year started out hitting the ground running with comfy shows that I love. NNB is still a charming show with country girls just living their lives out in the middle of the boonies and making due with what they can. Playing songs for frogs on the recorder and the flute, helping them walk down the street, if there's anything that can't be improved by watching anime girls play with frogs then I'd like to know what it is so I can call you a liar.

There are a lot of cute little stories and all the girls get a chance to shine, even though Renchon is definitely the star of it all. There's a cute little story with small big sister Komari's terrible cooking slowly getting better, Candy Store getting drunk and remembering adorable things from her past, flashbacks to Natsumi and Hikage being lil punks together..like I said, there's lots of cute little stories and it pairs well with the other seasons. Renchon becoming a powerful big sister to a new girl is also very good and it's worth a watch if you just wanna relax and enjoy some cuteness.

Seriously though, look at that frog walk.

SSSS.Dynazenon

Having enjoyed the previous entry of SSSS.Gridman, it is kind of a no brainer that I'd enjoy this one too? Playing off old tokusatsu shows and bumping them up with Trigger's stylish animation and designs, there's a lot of love put into this show and even more for those who were fans of the original series. Seeing the story unfold each week was fun with a very different character dynamic set up than in Gridman. Shouty friend Gauma being there to drag the team into fighting with his ex-compatriots as they try to figure out the reality behind the kaiju is a fun ride ultimately. There's even some returning friends from the last series that made me get excited to see them back again for more.

There's not just fun action but some really good gags as well. One of my favorite bits involves the pool episode and I won't spoil it, but I fucking died and am laughing as I think of it again right now. You're even looking at a screenshot right before it happens. Dynazenon has a lot of heart to go with its nostalgia so it's not all just references to old things. It's a show about growing whether that be in maturity, in romance, or maybe just your personal sense of being. Thank you mummy man, please eat something better than the crabs you grabbed out of the river next to your house.

Zombieland Saga Revenge

Fucking yes yes yesss. Zomebieland Saga was one of my faves a couple years back and it returned with an aptly named sequel and vengeance. Franchouchou went for the big time and they bombed so hard that Kotaro didn't leave the bar for months. Like a Metroid game, season 2 has the zombies have to start from square one and they are not going to give up until they get all their power ups back...power ups being the stand in for their fanbase here. Look you get what I'm saying here, they gotta start all over.

Revenge has the same janky CGI animation for the song sequences, but the songs rule just as much as before. Heck, this season even gave some life so some of the girls I was kind of "Sure whatever" on before and it's like...yea I think Junko is VERY good now. She's not Saki or Lily or Tae but..you know, it's hard to be better than them so it's still a good thing. Yugiri finally gets her background episode and it's a two parter even! Anyway, I could go on and on about this show about zombies being idols and trying to bring a town back to prominence because it is a good dumb thing that I love. I really hope there's more in the future because the way the season ends is just so ridiculous that "Zombie idols" doesn't even seem like that crazy of an initial premise anymore.

Fruits Basket

The final season of the 2019 series came and I finally got to see how this show ended. I'll say, I didn't like this season as much as the previous two, maybe because it was shorter than the others but...it was satisfying to finally learn the mysteries of the Zodiac curse and seeing how Tohru deals with it. Honestly, I didn't know how this series ended, even though it's 20+ years old at this point. I was pretty surprised at the end, but I was ultimately happy with how most things turned out. There's still some weirder parts I wasn't a fan of with regards to ages in relationships, but in the end I liked this show. Uo and Hana for life yo. Tohru's moms never die.

Kageki Shoujo!!

This show was a fun little thing I looked into over the summer. Giving off some Revue Starlight vibes, it's not that weird for me to want to watch a show about an all girl's theater troupe starring a tall and powerful floof as its heroine. Now granted, it's actually a dual protagonist show, but Sarasa is why I tuned in every week. Seeing her over the top sunny personality played against the colder Ai is maybe something you've seen before but it's good and fun to me so I don't see a reason to complain about it. The supporting cast is good too and most of them get their own little story as they aim to be the top stars of the future.

I think also part of this show that was fun was seeing how the girls all grew throughout the show.  Seeing Sarasa's senpai open up to her and get to love this giant happy dog in human form was good. Heck, it was even fun to hate the catty senpai being just the worst kind of person trying to get ahead. The last couple episodes with the returning troupe field day are some of the most fun though and honestly the only disappointing part of this show is it's only one cour. Please give me more in the future. I want to see Sarasa achieve her goals!

Love Live! Superstar!!

Of course Love Live is on here. If it wasn't, you'd be like "hey Miyo, what's the deal? Did you hate it?" And no I didn't, it was a fun show. There's less characters this time so things are a little more focused than the previous 9 girl seasons. The expressions on the characters are also super fun like..I don't know between Kanon, Keke and Sumire who had the most fun ones to be honest. It's a point of I can't even pick which girl I liked the most because I liked a little bit of all of them. Maybe that means none of them reached the top point for me, or maybe they're all just good. Who can say, not me because I already TOLD you I couldn't pick. Weren't you listening?

Anyway, Love Live is still good, the song animations are very pretty this time. The episode with Kanon going back and singing at her old school is very cute and sweet and the song made me feel super nice and "aww". Like if you like Love Live, you should probably enjoy it still. I'm sure it has a season 2 down the road so I'll look forward to it. Any time an anime has giant isopods in it, it's a good thing in the end right?

Owlhouse Season 2

Owlhouse continues to be a really fun little show which is able to intersplice comedy with some well written drama and heart. It was fun to see the backlash after the end of season one and seeing how Luz has to deal with Eda and the disgraced Lilith learning how to learn magic all over again. Not to mention the budding relationship of her and Amity which is written really cute since both of them are still new at this. It's a very cute little show with nice moments of silliness in between moments of feeling good or even scared at what's going to happen.

I liked also seeing a bit more of Eda's backstory and she is even more Ryoko than before which is always a plus to a weirdo like me. I don't really like how the show is already coming to an end though without a proper season 3 but I hope they get to tell the story they want with those specials because Owl House is really good period. Kid's shows that can reach everyone are good and Owl House is one of those.

Jellystone

This came out of left field but like, if you told me there would be a new cartoon featuring the remnants of Hanna Barbera memories and it was actually good, I'd probably call you a liar. I'd call ME a liar too to be honest, but it IS good. Jellystone takes all those old Hanna Barbera stars and re-contextualizes them, much like Harvey Birdman in the days of adult swim but makes it in a different direction. Yogi Bear is technically the star as a dimwitted food machine doctor but the show is really an ensemble cast with who gets the focus of an episode.

The best thing though of Jellystone is just how it decides to take the characters and the dumb situations they get in. Some of them have even been made into female characters because there are so few ladies in that era and honestly it works out really well. I'm not sure which take I like the most when you have sassy Jabberjaw, the over protective and overly sweet combo of Augie Doggie and Doggie Daddy or ridiculous weeb Peter Potamus. It could be Ron Funches as Shag Rugg though. Seriously, you should check it out, especially if you watched too many dumb Hanna Barbera cartoons in the early days of Cartoon Network before it had its own original programming.

Ok Time to Talk about Precure for a While, a Yearly Category

Futari wa Pretty Cure Splash Star

After spending the previous two years watching the original Precure, this year we went on to the second official squad of Saki and Mai. I think a lot of the previous series' growing pains have been tightened up and improved a lot in this series. The villains are better, I don't want to strangle any of the fairies, and all the little story bits are fun. Saki and Mai are a super fun duo and I appreciate them a lot just...their energy is super good together and they are super cute together too.

I enjoyed watching them a lot through this year as they went up against the villainous cast of leaf man, flamboyant fire man, dig through dirt spider guy, lady with snotty nose name and fitness beefcake weirdo. Like I don't know, I guess I don't have a lot to say just that I really liked this pairing and it was fun to see how Precure grows through the seasons. They did a lot better with their second team and I hope I can see Saki and Mai in a future movie like some of the other teams have recently in newer shows.

Maho Girls Precure!

The witches one! This one was a lot of fun to watch, I had heard things about the way the season goes and I can agree somewhat. The plot does kind of meander with how it deals with its villains, but in the end I can forgive that just because how much I liked the main characters. Mirai and Riko are similarly, a good duo, and are even more married than Saki and Mai are. They even have a fairy baby daughter together who is adorable and I love every one of her forms. Also Mofurun is a wonderful friend and I would give her all the strawberry melon bread I could.

This is a nice little show overall with good visuals, good costumes and a half good set of villains. The earlier ones are more fun than the later ones but it might be just because I love turtle fight man too much. There's a lot of fun little episodes, though I think one of the highlights is the cinderella recreation episode because it's just straight silly. Having watched this one, we have now closed the loop between Go Princess and Kirakira a la Mode and it feels good to be caught up on the modern shows. Goodbye witchy moms, I'll miss you too.

Tropical Rouge Precure

Shrimp baby shrimp baby shrimp baby. Tropical Rouge is a very fun and vibrant show with a fun cast and some of the most fun Precure expressions I can remember in a while. A lot of those expressions from Laura, the mermaid with BGE (that's Big Gremlin Energy), and honestly I feel that's why it's so fun. Manatsu's over eagerness to try and do everything as tropical-shine as she can is great and seeing how she brings her friends together with that energy makes you feel good. She can even overcome her fears and make friends with a ghost doll. The show even is able to have a fun set of villains whose whole gimmick is "ugh I JUST can't fucking bother right now."

There's just lots of fun little things about it I like I guess, though as I yelled about in line one, the stand out is the villain Elda aka Shrimp Baby. She's tiny and rude and looks like a character my friend Chorocojo and I would have come up with somehow. She's just angry and wants to do nothing except have fun and I cannot blame her. This one is still airing so I'm not sure yet on how it'll end, but since they've been working through the current era, I feel it's not gonna end up wrecked like Healin' Good's story flow was.  I'm looking forward to it and for when I can see the movie where they meet up with long time favorites the Heart Catch team. Good luck Tropical girls!

In the next year, look forward to me blabbing about Yes Precure 5, Suite Precure and Delicious Party Precure. I'm curious how the last one is gonna be compared to previous tasty Precures who were desserts AND animals...

Transformers: Super-God Masterforce

Continuing from last year, I have a couple Transformers shows I'm putting on here because it is part of my brand. Watching these episodes with friends and learning the dark secrets of the Japanese G1 continuity has been fun. This one was also better than Headmasters from last time which...isn't hard but there was still fun to be had even with a worse opening and ending song. I think the most fun in this one was Ginrai if only because his whole deal of being just "trucker what doesn't give up" is fun. Though it does cause the show to suffer a bit when only he can actually do anything. Still though, it was fun to see some of the toys I grew up with actually be on the screen even if here they were transtectors and not two robots. The monster pretenders were kind of fun goofballls I guess?

Transformers: Victory

We also watched the sequel, Victory which was honestly a good cartoon about buying toys from late 80s Japan. The characters were way more fun overall, even the kid appeal character of Jan wasn't that bad. And honestly, his friend Holi was a good little pal who has a friend named Pi-Po and we love Pi-Po here. Do not disgrace Pi-Po.

Seriously though, Victory is a lot better than any of the previous ones we watched. It has a fun on-going story that flows well, fun comic relief villains like...it makes the Pretender monsters actually fun to watch and seeing them bumble around always made me smile. Star Saber is fun too, even if he often exists jsut to show up and finish everything off in the last 2 minutes of the show. I'm okay with that to be honest, especially when he's fighting against a guy named Deathsaurus. Deszaras spelling is for suckers, it's Death Saurus. The Victory opening song is really good too and like..honestly the WORST thing this show does is makes me look at $800-1,200 toys on ebay wanting to own a Liokaiser for myself. Maybe Haslab can crowdfund that next..

Transformers: Zone

Existed.

The Aquatope on White Sand

This show was a lot of fun to watch through the summer and fall, P.A. Works really hit it out of the park with this one. A gorgeous show to look at, with fun characters and also aquariums like...it combines a lot of things I enjoy all in one. Watching Fuuka's journey after failing as an idol and meeting up with Kukuru to find a new calling and purpose in her life is just..it's just nice okay? I like stories where two girls get close as friends and have trials and tribulations together. Seeing characters grow over the course of a show is fun to watch, even if sometimes it breaks your heart a bit. I know I was feeling it deep down in the first part's finale and had to not just fall into tears from it.

And yes I said first part because there's actually a second half of this show as well with a whole different set of challenges. It's much more about dealing with working and burnout in comparison to the first half but I still liked it a lot to be honest. Seeing now Kukuru struggling in a new situation in a field she loves was interesting and you really felt bad for her at some points just...trying to make everything right and get where she wants to be. What Aquatope taught me I think is that it's okay to not have your life go the way you think it should because you can still find the good parts that you like..you just have to look for it? I know that's hard to do sometimes but it is a nice message I feel. This is another show I kind of wish had another 12 episodes to have a third part. Maybe I can get one down the road?

Restaurant to Another World Season 2

I talked about this show in a previous year and you know, I wasn't actually expecting it to get a second season to be honest. That being said, I'm glad it made it to have another one because it's just so nice of a show. Like there's not too much to say that I didn't say before. It's a comfy show where the premise is just...fantasy people go to an extra-planar restaurant every Saturday and enjoy the food and I feel glad I ate dinner before watching becuase otherwise I'd have a growling stomach for 24 minutes. That's really all there is to it, it's just a fun show where the same set up happens 95% of the time and I love it. I don't have to explain myself to you.

Selection Project

SelePro was my winter weekly idol reality trash and I say that in the best possible way. The story is actually really fun and I got into it way deep wanting to know how things were going to turn out...just like a fuckin reality show it set up in universe. Wondering how they were going to get enough yells to stay on the show, if anyone would be kicked off, the drama, the fights just...I honestly think I'd watch more shows that have the premise are "anime reality show" and that's probably a dangerous set up when you think about it.

Anyway, SelePro has a fun set up of characters who are all on a reality show to become the next top idol super star. Along the way they make friends, make fun music and wear good outfits. My favorites flopped around due to how each girl got their own time in the spotlight, even though SuzuRena got most of the big story things happen. I couldn't be too upset though because some of the things happening with them were buck wild to the point I wondered if I was going to see something supernatural pop up. I'm not going to reveal what it was but damn was I stuck wondering for a week what they could possibly mean. In the end, this is a good series and while it could have done some things better, I'd gladly come back for Only One Yell more...i..it's one of the song titles I..look shut up and look at the next one..!

Komi Can't Communicate

A friend of mine, alias Metalray, tuned me into this manga either early this year or late last year. Either way, I started reading it and when the anime got announced, I was super pumped to see it all animated out. The anime adaption I think does a fairly good job of putting the manga into work and does really good job on all the voice casting. Sometimes Komi's mouth looks weird because of anime's weird desire to accentuate lips but I think that's about the only big fault I can give it. Getting to see these characters animated is a treat because just...I don't know, they're all really likable, save Yamai's terrible sex pest stuff.

I feel the best part of the casting is seeing chaos gremlin Najimi going around and being just the hyperactive friendly idiot they are. I feel some of the awkward gender related jokes also aren't as present which is good because I think Najimi is best as just a joke against how over-eager they are for anything and not as a "haha boy or girl who knows" punching bag. Komi is a comedy about people with dumb pun names but at its heart is a fun show about people just trying to help each other out and I feel like that's something that's very relatable. Also it's getting a season two in the spring which I'm looking forward to see what parts all get adapted. Hoping we can get Manbagi up in the mix!

Special Manga Addition

Delicious in Dungeon

This is one I had been meaning to check out since friend of the blog Zorak posted a video going over their love of the series and it's like...yea yea I get this. It's a very fun fantasy world setting with especially good world building in it. The premise of "we have to get my sister back, so we're not leaving the dungeon til we do, so we're going to cook monsters" is very fun and silly and those are the kind of things I'm into? Like seriously, the art is fantastic and seeing the different interpretations of fantasy creatures and races and how they all interact is super fun. Also getting the recipes for the various meals cooked up is a good little addition that provides the extra spice to make things fun. I'm not fully up to date since I've been going through the official releases right now, but I'll continue reading as I can because I don't want to stop.

---Zorak’s aforementioned Video Which is Good and Cool---

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HMKSrgZRFSQ

****

So I think that's it for now? I don't have many other shows to add to be honest and so I'll leave you with parting thoughts and stuff. Which is to say just stuff like...

Watching Stone Ocean bit by bit because I refuse to go along with Netflix's binge model so you'll probably get my thoughts on that next year.

Spring season is going to fucking murder my ass with how many sequels we're getting to shows with Love Live, Bookworm, Madoka, Komi uhh...there's a lot. SO much anime.

I'm sure I'll figure it out, especially when we have CHAINSAW MAN and POP TEAM PT 2 too.

Things'll be okay. We'll get there, you'll see. Just stay safe, and be cool and we'll be all goood.\

[miyoron]

Miyo’s 2020 Anime Extravaganza

2020...

Ok, on to anime. I realized the other day, this is the 5th year I've done this little list which is pretty nuts when you think about it! I feel like things have come a long way...or maybe stayed the same in my tastes to be honest. I mean, you could look through the previous ones I did and decide for yourselves!

https://miyoron.tumblr.com/post/155146006684/miyos-anime-of-note-of-2016s

https://miyoron.tumblr.com/post/168918050454/miyos-anime-of-various-notes-2017-edition

https://miyoron.tumblr.com/post/181565753419/miyos-anime-of-note-2018-rainbow-edition

https://miyoron.tumblr.com/post/189938086634/miyos-anime-of-the-decade-though-actually-just

As always, my list is in no ranked order and I use whatever names for shows I feel like. I have also decided to throw on some random shows from the US on here too. Who's gonna stop me? You? I don't think so.

~~~~

Keep Your Hands Off Eizoken

It's hard to believe this show was THIS year to be honest, it feels like so long ago. I actually got to see a 15 min preview of this at Anime NYC in 2019 which was super cool and made me excited to see more. After waiting like 2 months for it to premiere, it was certainly worth the wait though. Eizoken is a story about creativity and dreams and getting mad bucks. A trio of girls form a club to make the kind of anime they wanna see more of and that is basically all you need to know for the set up really.

This show was a wonderful experience and honestly one of the shows I looked forward to each week. It just feels so alive. The weird school architecture and how it plays into Asakusa's imagination and all the world building she does off of it is great. That really might be one of the reasons I liked the show so much is I'm just a sucker for any art/creative process related show. Since I doodle, it's really easy for me to relate to characters who are pursuing creative endeavors because my brain just goes like "Yea I know EXACTLY what she's getting at". As someone who has built/helped build entire worlds and settings, so many story beats just got right to me more than any other show I can think of this year.

The visuals are also top notch and the opening theme is probably still one of, if not the best, theme song I heard this year? Seriously, if you've been sitting on Eizoken, please go and give it a watch.

Dorohedoro

This show is fucking weird in that it's an action show but also like a comedic slice of life at the same time? A lizard man with amnesia tries to find out where he came from and why he looks like a lizard man all while kicking the shit out of wizards with his gyoza making best buddy. Meanwhile, goons run errands for a narcissistic mushroom wizard while festivals go on trying to get a wizard partner until the next blue moon or some shit. It's a WEIRD show but I love it.

On top of being weird, it's also really gross? Like, this show feels like you're watching a metal music video parody. There's lots of blood and gross fleshy sounds with hammers to skulls, faces being eaten and all kinds of body horror shit. And yet...

Everything about it just works somehow. The camaraderie between Caiman and Nikkaido is super good and I'm glad they are just super best pals. Shin and Noi are also super good too just...I like the characters in this weird show a lot and I feel I need to check out the manga when I'm not lazy. Honestly, I hope the Chainsaw Man anime can be this good because the goof to gore content ratio is pretty similar.

Ascendance of a Bookworm

I'm including season 1 and 2 with this since I watched one in January just in time for the next season to come out in the spring season. Isekai is a done to death formula that we are not going to see the end of any time soon, sadly. It's an easy power fantasy narrative that we have hit the point where now just random scenarios are thrown at the wall to see what sticks. Weirdly, this one kind of did for me though.

A book loving girl is isekaid into the body of a super sick little kid in a serf ass world populated with shitty nobles and all she wants to do is read a damn book again. Main uses her modern day knowledge though to do amazing things like make shampoo and inventing crotchet needles. Like there's just something nice about it where the protagonist isn't some guy with his harem in a world full of way too on the nose video game references who is overpowered, or underpowered but secretly the most powerful depending on the trope. She's a sick child who is trying to make paper to read and write books.

There's more to Main's journey than that and I don't really want to spoil it but seeing how she grows and her friendships grow is a really nice treat. You really want to root for her just to get the simple comfort of the written word again. Go on girl, make your books. And maybe overthrow a shitty caste society along the way.

The Headmasters

I love Transformers. I always have and probably always will because they are a part of me since my tiny days. G1 Transformers are especially my jam. I loved the IDW run for a good 4 or 5 years there, even if I never finished post Til All Are One. But this is me just blabbing, the point is I like Transformers a lot. But The Headmasters? This show sucks so bad. So why am I putting it on here? Well because it's my list and I had fun watching it with my buddies, that's why.

Seeing what Japan did after the original US cartoon ended has always been something I've been meaning to check out but never saw it in its entirety til this year. This show is so badly paced and badly animated. The best part of it is the theme song which still rips even all these years later and is a regular on my list of youtube videos I listen to when I want music. But seriously, it's a bad, dumb show that's even dumber than its "Buy our toys" predecessor. It is so bad that it was only watchable thanks to an even worse Hong Kong English dub. It was still a fun time hating it with buddies though and that's why it's on this list. RIP dumb dog science man, never forget.

My Next Life as a Villainess:  All Routes Lead to Doom

Weirdly another isekai. Yea I'm kind of surprised it's on here too, especially since this one involves a lot of video game related things I said I hated. And it even has basically a harem in it too. So why do I like this one more than like a Re: Zero or a Sword Art Online? Maybe when it comes down to it, it's because the protagonist is a lot better? It sounds like I'm saying this show is better due to having a female protagonist, but hear me out here.

Catalina is a big gluttonous dummy who is working in her best interests to keep herself from being murdered. She's a big doofus, I can acknowledge this. But much like Main, the reason why I liked this show more than a video game influenced power fantasy one is because at the end of the day, the most important thing about it is that the main character insists on treating people like people? There's no weird slavery analogues the main character keeps on in secret or decides not to fight against for reasons like "oh the protagonist is supposed to be a shithead". No, both of the isekai I put on here treat people like PEOPLE, even FRIENDS,and not assets. Catalina is an over-eating dipshit with all the boyfriends and girlfriends she could want, but atleast she will treat you with compassion and empathy.

Ok, I'll get off my soap box for now.

Kaguya-sama Love is War

Appearing on my list for the second year in a row, Kaguya and friends! I like it for the same reasons as before to be honest so there's not too much to add from last year's write up. I guess the main thing to put in here is it introduced new characters and explored more with characters from season 1 and it was still fun and good? The Ishigami stuff is very good and Iino is a fun addition to the group dynamic. So..this is all I have really. Go watch them. Do it.

Give Hayasaka more screen time also. Put upon Ai is my favorite bit.

Fruits Basket (2020)

Here is another one returning from last year, I said I was looking forward to following Tohru's journey to hug all animals and I did! Tohru is still an interesting character to watch and I like seeing her relationships grow, and getting to meet new animal friends is good and exciting. She will befriend all of them, they just don't know it yet. The show still has not made a good reason why no one has just punted Akito for me. Yes, I am aware there are very intense astrological reasons, AND I am aware that Akito was so sad apparently...But this doesn't seem a good enough reason for someone not to just yeet Akito out of their lives for being an abusive shit. Maybe next season will tell me!

I will say I had a few issues with this season and it's mainly because I feel like the series itself has some awkward baggage. Mainly, I didn't like parts of Uo-chan's story related to the one zodiac member. It was awkward considering the age difference between the two, and the fact she and Hana are already married and Tohru's moms. Please try to keep things correct in your story line anime, I would appreciate it. I also always feel weird with how close some of the family members are. Blood related or not, it still is a bit of a hurdle to not feel weird about that some of them date.

Wrinkles aside, I do still like this show and I will look forward to seeing where the story goes again. Pretty sure season 3 is set for next year so you can most likely look forward to it being on this list AGAIN in a year.

Hey you need an anime break? Yea let's take a Japan cartoon break.

She Ra and the Princesses of Power

I had actually been watching this last year too, and maybe a little in 2018, I can't remember to be honest, but this year was when it all wrapped up. It was a good wrap up too, a nice little bow on a great series. Haha bow...ok shut up.

There's a lot of fun character work in this show, and it was fun watching the characters grow over time. They love, they hate, new friends are made, sometimes they're even built. It's got fun designs and cute episodes even between the big story beats like having a big princess prom or strategizing how to defeat the enemy. There's even just a fun wild west town type setting where Catra proceeds to just dunk on dumb old toy names.

Good show, I had fun. Also Mermista's rad kicks rule.

The Owl House

This is one I watched while I was on vacation around turkey time but I had a really good time. The setting is fun and I like a lot of the character designs too. It's nice to see someone else using a kikimora in their things for exampl. Also I love all the big eyeball people, they're fun. Luz is a fun weirdo and I like how she relates to other people and makes pals. I guess I am a sucker for character relations in these things but can you blame me?

Owl House is a cute little show though that has a lot of fun set ups really and shines as both a serialized show and an episodic one. The best part is that, like She Ra, it ended its season with you feeling satisfied but also curious to see what happens next. All too often, shows wil end up on a gloomy cliffhanger I feel and have a feeling of "betcha hope we get another season huh huh?" But yea, it's got good characters and good heart to it. It's got a witch owl lady Ryoko which is something I'm always for. It also, like She Ra, has a main character with two dads and that's pretty cool too. Let's have cartoons be more willing to show that kinda stuff I say.

It's time also to break then for Precure from this year. You like when I talk about that right?

Futari wa Precure Max Heart

Returning from last year, we continued down the Futari wa path and watched the second season. Now, I was harsh last year on this, saying how much I really only liked Nagisa and Honoka in that show and well...I don't think my opinion has changed too much? I do like Shiho and Rina's sidekick antics and Akane is always fun. The addition of Hikari is fine like, I didn't mind her being there, but it felt like a lot of her story could have been the second half of the first season. HIndsight is 20-20 and it's not like they knew they would be starting a 17+ year franchise in 2004.

The villains still felt like a pack of whatever with this season, though they atleast were funnier than the baddies from the original series. That being said, I hated looking at Baldez's Hordak-with-combover cosplaying ass. Atleast one of them was voiced by Wataru Takagi so that's a plus. But seriously, there's a lot of things I would have preferred to have happened but it was only the 2nd season of Precure so it's all growing pains at this point right? There were some fun episodes sprinkled here and there and that's all you can ask for. Nagisa and Honoka are still the best thing about the show by far though.

Fresh Precure

In contrast, I had a lot more fun watching Fresh this year! Love and friends are a super nice cast of pals who end up in dumb episodic plots a lot of the time, but that's honestly way more my jam. Whether it's fighting a monster made out of wigs for dogs or secret agent antics involving donuts, Fresh always kept things fun and silly. It did have a few dramatic episodes that were pretty good too though so there is some depth there. The episode involving Love's grandpa and the mid season Cure introduction were especially good for that.

The bad guys are also more fun like..not since Akaoni have I had such fun with a beefcake dipshit but Westar is there for me every week. I've only got 2 episodes to go but the finale is so good that I can't wait to see it. I am prepping for fist pumping and going "YEA" when all is said and done. I'll be sad to see them go, but I know that they'll always be there with a dance step and a donut to help along the way.

Healin' Good Precure

The first simulcast Precure on official streaming services in the US. Holy shit. Also one that I was missing so much due to covid related issues this year. Weirdly the one about doctors and diseases was affected by a pandemic. I don't know if that's ironic or just annoying. But I digress, the Healin' Good crew is a cute group with cute animal pals who are just trying to help make things better.

We're only about 2/3rds through it due to the hiatus so it's hard to say where it's going just yet, but I am definitely interested. I do hope we get more Hinata episodes because like...here let me level with you. I have been waiting for a Precure with a specific Miyo aesthetic for so long and finally I got what I wanted. Cure Sparkle is my beautiful orange yellow :3 daughter and she deserves every bit of love she can get. She and Nyatoran are super cool pals and the scene in the opening with them is still such fun animation. Love these girls, I am way ready for them to heal the day.

Next year the Precure list is going to be most likely:  Splash Star, Mahoutsukai and Tropical Rouge. Let's get some island time on or something! And I'll also go back to the other shows now so...

Brand New Animal

Trigger makes visually impressive and fun shows, big news there right? BNA was an interesting show even if it was kind of by the numbers in comparison to some of their other ones. However, I really enjoyed the character designs in it so it definitey had that going for it. Michiru alone is super fun to watch with all her weird abilities due to being a tanuki and her expressions. Plus there's a fun buddy cop feel to it with a weird mystery going on in the backgroundof what's going down in the city. I guess I don't have too much to say on this one but it also had a baseball episode which was great. Hell, my list this year has two different baseball episode screenshots in it. Every anime needs a baseball episode. Seriously.

Adachi and Shimamura

An anime about burgeoning friendships and more between high school girls. That's what this is about on the surface, but there's a lot of little things that made this one of the shows I looked forward to each week. Seeing the show from different points of view of the main characters helped keep me interested. Shimamura's style of just kind of drifting through life and not hanging on to much along the way can be relatable at time for sure. However, the anxiety ball that Adachi becomes whenever thinking about her friend can be even moreso a lot of the time? Even as someone who didn't have those kind of thoughts as a teenager, being on my own now as an adult, sometimes I veer into that territory more often than I intend to.

There are some weirder parts with the show, mainly an outer space faerie/whatever the hell she is character who seems to exist on whimsy alone.  She's not a problem, just another weird sight along the way. The only thing I didn't like about the show is it suffered from a case of "probably should've been double the length it was". Things feel like they wrapped up nicely, but also that there was still some more things that could've been explored. Regardless, I had a good time and looked forward to what drama or cuteness might pop up next. Maybe there will be more another day, who knows!

Gal and Dino

This fucking show. So it's directed by the same guy who did Pop Team Epic which already piqued my interested when I read about it in the previews for spring. While it didn't approach that level of perfection, there was more than enough surrealist goofiness for me to enjoy each week. The fact it ended up on an extended hiatus only made me appreciate it more after the 6 months between episodes.

Long story short, a gyaru ends up picking up a dinosaur and they become roomies. The dino likes ramen a lot. That's it. It's a silly little show with a bunch of goofy bits, most of which stem from the fact there is a dinosaur that only speaks in gestures and expressions as your roomie. There's also segments similar to the Uchuu People skits on Pop Team, though not with the fun musical video component. It's still cute though and just a generally light show you can put on and listen to while a dinosaur makes airhorn sounds. Also, the second half of the episodes are a trip so I'm not going to tell you the gimmick there to let you see for yourselves. You will thank me later.

Love Live! Nijigasaki High School Idol Club

Aw yea, new year, new Love Lives. New studio too instead of the same old Sunrise team. And to be honest, I think it was a good change up. For once, they're not trying to save the school from closing like always seems to be the problem. Nah, this time they're just working to find out what being an idol means to them and what they can do. It's kind of refreshing because it lets every character get their own episode to flesh them out a bit and figure out stuff about themselves. It's fun!

I know I'm biased, but it really is a fun time and you could even jump into this series without any knowledge of the other two since the previous shows don't even come up. The animation looks better and each girl having their own episode, means each girl gets their own insert song (or more) and these look a lot better than before too. It's more like little music videos than a dance routine with CGI models in front of you, not that I don't enjoy that.

I really can't say enough about how much fun I had with this show. The anime changed up the character designs a little bit from the source material and they just seem super expressive compared to previous seasons. Kasumi especially shines as she showcases a fun emotional range from exasperation to cute to smug to dunked on eternally. This also had anime character of the year, Kasumin Box, so there is so much to enjoy here. I hope a season 2 is in the future, especially since this group was originally supposed to ONLY be in the mobile games. I guess nothing to do now but wait and see.

~~~~

So another year, another pile of anime watched. I wanna also give a shoutout to the explosion of vtuber nonsense this year because it's given me junk to watch as I sit here at work and wish things were more normal with travel again. Thanks Korone, Okayu, Polka, Nyanners and Ironmouse. You all rule.

I'm watching Osomatsu season 3 right now and maybe it'll be on here next year, we have to see how the second half goes. As for next year, I know in January I'll have some sequels that should be fun from Yuru Camp and Non Non Biyori...the sequel to Zombieland Saga was announced for spring it seems and atleast 3 of the shows I put on here are set for sequels next year as well.  It looks like a good set up already so, we'll see what anime may come.

Until then, make sure you stay safe out there okay? 

[miyoron]

Miyo’s Anime of the Decade though Actually Just 2019

***Before I start this list, I would like to continue to send out good vibes and hope to all those affected by the Kyoto Animation arson attacks this past summer. It still hurts and I hope things can get better for everyone affected by it, even though I'm sure some things will take a long time to heal, if they ever will. Just know that you will always have me wishing you the best I can and sending out hope for you to recover at your own pace.***

I like writing these things every year. Whether it lets me know if my tastes are changing or staying the same, or if I'm just sentimental, writing about things I like is fun. Anime is good and I like watching it. I watched a good amount of stuff this year even if some seasons I couldn't find anything I say would fit this list.

For example, I started watching the Symphogear series and it's fun but I wouldn't say I liked it as much as any of these shows. Anima Yell is a very cute show but I didn’t have much to say about it, same for Aggretsuko again. I liked the main characters of JoJo part 5, but I wouldn't say I liked watching that, especially as the villain was revealed more and more. Fire Force was fun for me for like 5 episodes or so but then I bailed so take that as you will.

But I don't want to sound too mean here. No, this is for stuff I liked a lot and I wanted to write about things I enjoyed. This year I actually kept track of shows I liked as opposed to figuring out what I'd go on this list at the last moment. Crazy, I know, but this could be a good idea. Don't worry, I didn't take TOO many notes so this will be pretty off the cuff of my head like normal though I'm sure. As always, I will be using whatever title is easier for me to write/preference.

With this bit of text out of the way, let's la GO!  In no particular order (as always)...

Mob Psycho 100

This entry counts for both season 1 and season 2. I kind of sped through the first one a little so I could catch up in time for the second one. I feel it stuck with me just as much though. Mob Psycho is a solid action series with very silly things going on in the background of it...and foreground honestly). I suspect ONE is very good at making this sort of series. Honestly though, every character in this show is great and there's so many feel good moments. Mob  himself is a wonderful character. The most powerful psychic force in the universe but he just wants to get buff to go out with his crush.

There's a lot to like about this series. The humor is on point and anything with Reigen is going to be hilarious, especially if it takes a while. Animation is consistently top notch, especially in season 2, and I love the psychic effects. They end up looking like an old 90's video filter or trapper keeper or something. However, the most impressive thing this series does is show that maybe fighting isn't the way to do things all the time and that the most important thing you can show isn't just sympathy, but empathy.

Mob is a really good show and both of the OVAs are fun as heck. I dunno why I originally slept on Season 1, but I'm glad I came aboard.

Kaguyasama: Love is War

You probably know this one from that one ending with the pink haired girl dancing, that was going around for a while even though it was only for one episode. This series actually took me a little bit to get into mainly due to being WAY too tired to keep up with it. The set up being that the smartest boy and girl in the most elite high school both want to ask the other out. However, being the one to ask the other out would be to give up all power and admitting defeat. Basically it's a battle of two love struck idiots trying to get the other to ask them out.

As dumb as that sounds, the setups are often hilarious. Seeing the main characters trying to out scheme each other and keep a straight face while watching is a challenge in itself. It's like that 4th dimensional chess but the end result is seeing who will hold the other's hand first. Then throw in the wild card of Chika who seems to both not know what's going on while understanding how easy it is to end up on top in these battles and...look it's very funny ok? Even if sometimes the joke is just "weiner".

Shows that made me tear up count: 1

Kemurikusa

Similar to the Kemono Friends and its big gold star award, I felt like Kemurikusa deserved a shoutout this year. It's still janky like Kemono Friends before it, but after everything that went down with that series, it was definitely telling when this was the better of the two. This is a weird series and only some of that is due to the animation. The studio does a wonderful job of making a world that's both interesting and haunting at the same time. Everything that happens all ties to a big mystery that isn't revealed for quite a while.

The characters are fun enough. From the serious Rin to the caring Ritsu. From the voracious Rinas to the dweeby Wakaba. It's a fun cast going on a road trip throughout the apocalypse as they try to find good water for their big plant friend that drives around their husk of a bus. It can get pretty dark at times even with the neon bright colors the titular kemurikusa shimmering softly in the background. Oh also there's a roomba friend and a girl with sharp teeth so I mean, it's got something for everybody.

Hitoribocchi

This series is a cute little show with a setup which is potentially mean if you think about it. Bocchi's best friend is afraid she won't ever be able to make any other friends since they're going to different middle schools. Because of this, she says they can't be friends again until she befriends everyone in her class. The biggest hurdle to this challenge being Bocchi is horribly shy and socially awkward which just makes things seemingly impossible for her to overcome. Luckily, this is a cute comedy series.

The show is basically about Bocchi trying to make new friends so she can hopefully one day reunite with her bestie from the past. As I said before though, she's kind of bad with knowing how to communicate with people so she has a bad habit of say following friend making tips she read in books or online to a t and not deviating from them. Thankfully she is able to meet with lovable weirdos like blunt Nako, pitiful Aru and ninja girl Sotoka. It's a cute little series that also has a lot of heart, especially if you've ever had to overcome your own social anxieties to interact with others before. It's also funny too so there's a bonus even.

Shows that made me tear up count: 2

Carole and Tuesday

Shhhh. Don't let Netflix know I finished this before they did. Carole and Tuesday is a fun show from the creator of Cowboy Bebop, as evidenced in the fact it takes place on Mars and uses the same currency. It's a fairly simple plot, two girls meet up one day on the streets and start playing music together. One's an orphan who's basically lived alone for most of her life, the other is a rich girl running away from her politician mother (whose politics are a little too close for comfort these days). They just wanna make music man, and with a former big time agent with them, how can they lose!

Carole and Tuesday are fun characters and the show has a fun future sci fi vibe while still being grounded in reality. One of the biggest highlights is definitely the music though with lots of new songs in every episode and a good number of them being certifiable bangers. There's an overarching plot that also hits too close to home at times but the big finale at the end made it all worth it in the end really. This is an easy show to recommend and I am doing so to you right now. Go see these girls trying to make it to the big time!

Shows that made me tear up count: 3

Fruits Basket (2019)

I skipped out on Fruits Basket the first time around. I always told myself I'd go back and check it out but, knowing how I do things, this never actually happened. Part of me is kind of glad I waited to check it out though since I really like the style of the new show compared to the one from the early 00s. What I'm saying is I should have checked this out a lot earlier than I did but I don't feel visually bad for doing so.

Fruits Basket is a show featuring Tohru, the most helpful lovable girl, and a cast of characters who all start to love her because she is the most helpful lovable girl. This might sound like a bad thing but it's not. All of the characters are really fun, save one who I don't know WHY they don't just beat up, and I love seeing all their interactions. I just grew really invested in all of them and keep hoping everything will end up ok for them in the end, while in some cases waiting for a really big shoe to drop and biting my nails in the process.

I dunno if I have a super bunch to say about it other than my favorites are Uo-chan and Hana-chan and I can't wait until part 2 shows up. I am ready to see more of these Zodiac weirdos get hugged by Tohru and become animals and have her solve their problems in that order.

Shows that made me tear up count: 4

....Now, as usual, I will take a break to talk about the Precures I watched this year...

Futari wa Precure

This year, my friend Cheapsteaks and I decided to go after the OG Precure scene by watching the series that started it all. School girls run into fairies being pursued by weird monsters from another dimension/world/whatever and have to become legendary warriors to help them out. It's a story we all know well, just with lots of dropkicks and judo tosses.

As much as I like Honoka and Nagisa, and the opening theme...Futari wa has a lot of growing pains which is to be expected. Being the first one, it feels more like other magical girl series of the time compared to the style of later Pretty Cure series. From the rather uninspired villains, including one named Pissard, to the bland crush of Fuji P-senpai, and especially the obnoxious fairies, this is definitely one of the weaker series in my eyes. Again, it's probably not fair to judge it though since they didn't know what they were doing yet with this series.

That being said, there is a dumb fun to watching the Crunchyroll subs for a nostalgic taste of hard yellow subs and often not great audio. Again, the best parts of this are Honoka and Nagisa and I can see why they still get to be super popular today.

Smile Precure!

The other older series we checked out this year was Smile Precure which is much more my speed. The characters are all really good and they're all super good friends and it just makes me feel good. Like just in general they'rea really good and strong cast and I love all of them. Reika/Cure Beauty is the secret funniest character just by being the straight man on a team of doofuses and it works so well.

Miyuki's desire to make everything around her "Ultra Happy" just makes you feel good seeing a character who just wants others around her to be as happy as she is. All she needs is a smile and that makes me also smile. Akane is fiery and powerful, Yayoi is a big sweetie whose artistic trials and tribulations I SUPER identify with, Nao is a super cool big sister and I already brought up Reika being great. This is really one of my favorite Precures I've watched so far and I'm going to be sad to see it go in a few weeks.

I'd also be remiss if I didn't mention that I love the stupid villain trio. Especially Akaoni. I love you big red oni doofus. (Please see oni times in the link below)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eXA5jfSJz_c&feature=youtu.be

Shows that made me tear up count: 5 (ANY NAO EPISODE AAAA)

Star Twinkle Precure

The newest Precure series! One we also dragged fellow anime friend Metalray into and I feel like it was a fun enough one. Cute alien encounters trying to help space zodiac princesses with a fluff unicorn and a tentacalien? Sign me up my dudes. Star Twinkle is a fun series and has a lot of things going for it, while also having weird similarities to Smile sometimes like soccer related attacks from good big sisters and prim and proper arrow girls.

The characters as always really make the show I feel when it comes to Precure and Lala is adorable enough to carry it entirely herself? But the enthusiasm of Hikaru is always fun because it usually just involves her being really into outer space and everything in it. Hey there's even Elena who is Mexican-Japanese and the show even explores a bit of her growing up being different from others so like, that's pretty cool I think? If it helps little kids learn to accept others and be cool through lil hermit crabs and dog space police officers, I think that's a real good thing.

...Now Precure time is over but I'm looking forward to next year's offering and seeing what old ones we go after next. (Spoilers, we will probably do Max Heart and Fresh!)...

How Heavy are the Dumbbells You Lift?

So this series has some problems in that like...wow sometimes during the exercise segments of the show, it just gets way too horny like...I dunno if I needed to see sensei in nothing but a bedsheet to show off how she worked her lats fellas. But I digress.

The main reason this show is on here is because it affected me enough to actually look at myself and start wanting to become healthier? Like the show is just a framing device for jokes and showing off exercise routines but the characters are all really sincere and the translation of the opening is even moreso? Like I feel this show helped me out a lot and I'm gonna let you all know about it cuz maybe it can help you out too if you need it.

I don't have a whole lot more to say but I will leave you with the opening I mentioned. Turn on the captions for this banger and remember that you can do it too!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qxi2Y4-NNXY

Wasteful Days of High School Girl

Hey, so can I say something amazing? Much like Asobi Asobase last year, this series was a very weird comedy that I absolutely ended up loving a lot in the end. The cast is full of delightful idiots, one aptly named Baka by her friends being the standout moron of the cast. The title pretty much says it all but you will find all sorts of high school girls here just wasting their youth away in their favorite ways.

You want a girl who draws BL doujin while listening to vocaloid tracks? We gotchu. What about a girl who is more invested in micro organisms in Petri dishes than her friends? Yo, we're set. A dipshit chuuni who climbs on top of absolutely anything tall and regularly needs to be rescued/leap out of trees because of it? Yea, that's here too. The show is not afraid to be weird any chance it gets and there's something I can respect about that. This series also had one of my number one laughs in an anime this year in one of the last episodes too and it still makes me laugh as I recall it right now.

Also like Asobi Asobase, it has the plus of having a lovable witch girl who is as pure as she is into weird occult shit. Majo you're a sweetie. Even if your room is creepy.

The Demon Girl Next Door

This show feels like something that should have come out about 5 years ago in terms of animation style, story set up, characters and even the jokes. I don't think this is necessarily a bad thing though because not only is it pleasant and cute, it also knows when to step back from teasing its unfortunate main character. Shamiko, the demon girl formerly known as Yuko by everyone who isn't her family, is a kind of pitiful character and this series could easily just make jokes that punch down and humiliate her way more than it did.

Thankfully, the show actually does it's best to show that she is comic relief but also that she is genuinely a good person. She's not very good at being a demon as she is still learning so maybe she gets easily tricked by resident blase magical girl Momo more than she should. However, she will go out of her way to make sure her rival is eating more than the crappy instant food she frequently microwaves. Like I said, it's ultimately a silly, kind of dated feeling series but the character interactions are nice and it's just genuinely good

hearted to see these girls become friends, even if sometimes it's due to trickier. The show makes sure not to be mean at all times to Shamiko compared to say Satania in Gabriel Dropout's treatment, or the snake girl in that Dropkick show I dropped after one episode. Shamiko is good and hopefully one day she will be able to use her demon powers to rule the world so her family can have a bigger, non cursed, budget to live on.

O Maidens in Your Savage Season

Puberty is hard. Puberty is also maddening, wanting to drive you up the wall with new urges you are not used to. Simple joys like trains are replaced with weird videos you order off websites or somehow get from the back of a video store. Puberty is an inherently frantic time but it's also kind of funny if you think about it enough.

Maidens explores the tales of the Literature Club members as they go through this important stage of life and that's the fun of this series. All of the girls are each trying to find out exactly what it is they want out of a relationship. Is it just friendship? Is it Ess Ee Ecks? There's a lot of fun to be had as the series goes on. Whether it be Kazusa trying to get a bit further with a childhood friend, President Rika questioning her stance on relationships being even proper to have in high school or the writing adventures of HItoha going to sex chatrooms, there is a lot of different things going on in this show.

It's got a very good sense of drama as well; there were more than a few episodes where I found myself worried about what would happen next and hoping things would be ok. Niina's arc is very intense and gave me creeper vibes any time her old mentor appeared. The show is very good in general at just showing emotions and none of it felt like it was shoehorned or phony. The writing is top notch and I love all these girls. Puberty is a weird time but...they got this I'm sure.

Here are a couple of other shows I watched that didn't come out this year but enjoyed a lot!

SSSS.Gridman

Thank God Trigger was able to come back from its previous offering to give us Gridman. At first I was afraid that all of its Transformers color scheme easter eggs were just trying to lure me in with a mediocre show. This was not the case because Gridman just rules hard. A sequel/spinoff to the old 90's series, localized here as Superhuman Samurai Syber-Squad, this show was a love letter from the creators to the show and other tokusatsu shows in general.

Kaiju appear to devastate the city, shown from low angles that just make it seem even more like you're watching an old toku show. The toyetic nature of Gridman's various powerups and the design of Gridman himself just further pay homage to this. There was one Kaiju for a moment I swear you could see a string operating it (for the record, it was not a string but was in fact part of the Kaiju). It's not just a cheap nostalgic trap though because the animation is superb, the action is top notch and the main theme song just kicks ass. This is a really cool series and if you have any passing interest in toku shows, are a Trigger fan, or like seeing Actionmaster Thundercracker's color scheme, go and check this thing out!

Other highlights include another version of Inferno Cop and Rikka's mom who is always fun and good.

Dirty Pair (TV series)

Dirty Pair is a series I watched a good chunk of before but never actually finished. Thanks to the #DirtyDecempair hashtag though, I finally went and did it and well...Dirty Pair is still really good y'all. It's got space babes who kick ass and are not afraid to go after hunks along the way. Seriously, it's great when you watch a show older than you and it lives up to its hype.

Kei and Yuri are really good characters because they will snipe at each other but in the end, they are still besties and will mess up anything that gets in their way. I appreciate that they always try to get more PTO and pay out of their boss. Even more, I appreciate that the chief will put up with all their shit, whether it be the aforementioned blackmailing for vacation or the sheer amount of destruction they leave in their wake,  and still is 100% behind them. He knows they're the best he has and nothing will get in their way.

So yea, Dirty Pair. Still a good show over 30 years later. You should check it out next December! Or sooner, whatever!

That abut wraps up my list of anime I watched this year, but I'm also gonna throw a little bonus round on you! Some anime movies I watched and liked! Lightning round go!

Promare Good fucking movie, good fucking soundtrack. Good Trigger things this year. It lives up to its hype for sure. Go see this when it is out on DVD and Bluray!

Sound Euphonium - Our Promise: A Brand New Day This was a nice movie that felt like a good third season condensed into about 2ish hours.

Love Live! Sunshine!! The School Idol Movie: Over the Rainbow I actually like the music from this one more than the movie itself but seeing Ruby's arc gaining confidence is good and I love it.

Bonus Saint Snow Track: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oUNNWxK2Dfs

Redline A movie I kept meaning to see and finally did thanks. Stylish and cool as hell, and the dub is really good too.

Dragon Ball Super: Broly They made Broly a compelling character finally, holy shit. Also some good Frieza comedy.

KonoSuba! Legend of Crimson Imagine a village full of dipshit chuuni wizards. This movie was fun and funny as shit. Warning: It does have one awkward joke related to gender but it thankfully passes by it real quick.

So I think this is my list. I hope you enjoy it. The next time you'll see one from me will be in the distant future of 2020! Hopefully things will be cool by that point to go with the good anime.

[miyoron]

Moroii is a vampire though maybe not the kind you’re thinking of. She’s a lot less pleasant to be around than Vampire as well in some ways mostly due to her competence. However, she is VERY compelling in some weird way...

Either way, try to keep your distance!

[miyoron]

Zombie is a bit of an enigma. In Arazancar where there is a cycle of renewal, why choose to remain a zombie? Is it some heavy magic that Necromancer has? It’s kind of hard to say how she keeps a zombie just around..but they’re weirdly good friends and you shouldn’t probe too hard on the matter.

[miyoron]

Hellfire is something one hopefully does not encounter in Arazancar. It’s hot and it means you’re stuck dealing with something from the underworld or underworld adjacent. Try to stay away from it ok?

[miyoron]

Guiser is amazingly good at hiding for someone who wears white all the time. But you know that once this season rolls around, her pumpkinening is in full force. Also her desire for candy increases more than usual...

[miyoron]

Brownie works hard and it’s tough work but it’s a good gig. A warm roof and plenty of food and drink? Also he doesn’t have to deal with annoying customers all day. Brownie’s a business partner who is a ok with his spot~

[miyoron]

Panotioi is very frighty at the slightest things. Please take care when talking to her since she is more than likely going to hide like so. Just be kind ok?

[miyoron]

Mermaid is really not a nice person...fish...fish person. It’s probably a good thing you’ll rarely encounter her unless you need to be on a boat. She’s not..bad but just...people can’t say much positive about her aside from “She sure is pretty”.

[miyoron]

Jotunn and Menehune started at kind of a weird crossroads but..they managed to become good friends fairly quickly. The best part is, they can reach ANYTHING when they team up. Nothing is too low or high for them. But yea, friends come in all sizes.

[miyoron]

Faeries love playing pranks. Duende and Sprite have turned it into a fine art of jerky playfulness though. They will also pull these pranks on each other of course but more often than not they will go atleast 60-40 on something.