#Anime Revolution 2023

[theletterwsartflap]

I was taking a picture of a group and another guy asked me to be a part of it as well 😆

[mioakiyamafanboy]

Woot! Anime convention HYPE!

[veedraws]

Arknights & TWST Stamp Rally Reservations!

[Pssst North American homies, giving out free stuff, sharing is appreciated!]

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Hey con goers! I am hosting 2 separate stamp rallies (Arknights and TWST) at both Otakuthon 2023 (Montreal) and Anime Revolution 2023 (Vancouver).

The stamp rally is FREE to play. If you'd like to reserve a stamp card to guarantee your spot please DM me on twitter or ig (veedraws/veedart respectively)

If not the cards are FCFS and I'll only be preparing a limited stock.

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How to Play/What is a Stamp Rally?

1. You pick up a stamp card from my table

2. There are conditions* from each participating table (~4-8)

3. You fulfill each condition for a stamp

4. Once you collected all the stamps, come back to my table and you get a prize (FREE sticker sheet)

*Example: "Show me your fav operator/card"

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My stamps are Goldenglow and Jade. I'll be cosplaying both at the con ;)

My table partner is also participating and duo-cosplaying with me as Mizuki and Floyd.

If you're attending either of those cons please come by! I'd love to meet you!

More details, convention map and table numbers closer to the con!

[lgbtpopcult]

Best WLW animated shows 2023

Harley Quinn

The Owl House

I'm in Love with the Villainess

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

Rwby

Disenchantment

Yuri is my Job

[tamaki-ako]

anis said 🏳️‍🌈 rights

[ruckeysquad]

Totsugeki! I really love mays stage in Strive and had to make a poster based on it! Its one of my favorites ive made so far! Been working on stickers and posters to bring to my table at Anime revolution in Vancouver on Aug 18th-20th. Gonna be posting them over the next few weeks leading up!

[ladyloveandjustice]

Anime Overview: The Magical Revolution of the Reincarnated Princess and the Genius Young Lady

Whew, not typing that again! We’re calling it Magirevo. If you couldn’t tell from the trademark long title, it’s a light novel adaptation, but most importantly, it’s a yuri light novel adaptation.

(And yes, technically an isekai, but the isekai element isn’t focused on a lot. It only comes into play at the last minute, in a surprisingly emotional way!)

The story centers around two extraordinary girls- Anisphia, nicknamed Anis, and Euphyllia, nicknamed Euphie. Anis is a rambunctious princess who’s given up her claim to the throne. Royals are expected to be able to wield magic, and Anis was born without the ability. So she’s developing her own field of study, “magicology”, and inventing tools that will allow anyone access to the wonders of magic. Since magic was restricted to nobles before this, Anis making it easily accessible to the common people naturally threatens the gentry, and Anis is branded a heretic. On top of all that, Anis has openly declared if she ever did get married, it would have to be to a woman, and she’s not interested in continuing the royal “bloodline”.

Euphie, in contrast, is entirely focused on fulfilling her role as a proper noblewoman. She’s arranged to be married to the future King, Anis’ brother, Algard, and is determined to live up to expectations. But then Algard betrays her and publicly destroys her social standing.

That’s when Anis steps in to save the day. She takes Euphie’s hand, quite literally carries her brother’s girlfriend away, and promises Euphie they’ll discover the root of the conspiracy brewing against her. So their partnership- and blooming romance- begins.

Sometimes just I want to watch girls fight dragons and save kingdoms and use cool magic. And sometimes I want to watch girls be gloriously joyously gay. I want to watch them fall in love, kiss, dance grandly, and team up to defeat enemies with swords and sparkles! I want to see layered, powerful queer protagonists in fun fantasy adventures! Magirevo delivers wonderfully on all those fronts, and (easy mark that I am) that alone would probably have been enough for me, but that’s far from all the series has to offer.

Anis and Euphie are great protagonists. Anis is chaotic and passionate with her love of magic. She’s bold, openly queer, and charming right off the bat. Meanwhile, Euphie is a girl struggling with the fact she spent her whole life trying to fit into the mold of perfect lady, perfect prodigy and perfect future queen. Every choice was made for her, but now that life has been ripped away. She’s free to make her own choices now, but all that possibility is frightening and overwhelming, and seeing how other people live makes her feel empty aside. The care that the show puts into representing Euphie’s depression is one of the best parts of the early arcs. The sharp direction really lets the viewer feel Euphie’s sense of loss and melancholy, as well as the hope she comes across when she realizes there’s a power in making her own choices, and when she finds inspiration in Anis.

Both girls are dynamic, easy to root for, and have a strong rapport with each other. They also both go through some nice development. The story starts off with Euphie as the vulnerable one who’s burdened with expectation and Anis as her confident savior, only to completely reverse the roles near the end of the story. We get to enjoy the journey of watching Euphie grow bolder and more self possessed, meanwhile as the story goes on it becomes clear that Anis’s sunny nature hides some aching insecurities and royal traumas. She’s not unscathed by how others denigrate her for not having magic, or from the pressure of her role. The character arcs are simple to follow, but the development is satisfying.

Yuri adaptations are often cursed with scant resources and middling-to-poor looking animation (sobs in Otherside Picnic) but Magirevo is thankfully a glowing exception to that. The animation is slick, and the show delivers some punchy action scenes and great emotional moments. When Anis and Euphie wield dangerous magic to fight an attacking dragon, it’s just as fun and hype as your average action shonen, and it’s great to see lesbians get to go feral and do ridiculous OP fantasy shit.

Magirevo also has some really fun side characters, like the cynical goth gremlin Tilty and Anis’ charmingly snarky maid Illia. There’s a few fun surprises in store- like a compelling hints of another wlw side romance, involving a vampire! It would be nice to see these characters get a little more attention, but the anime can only cover so much.

The second episode has a few hiccups that might stick out to some viewers- Anis’ father reacts badly to her antics and her declarations that she loves women, and his reaction is played in a goofy anime slapstick violence way that’s very tonally weird (it's even weirder in prose, believe me). There’s also jokes made about Euphie feeling initially uncomfortable about Anis’ flirtation and this includes Anis “helping her get her clothes off because they’re too complicated to do on her own” and Euphie being obviously unhappy with this. In the light novel, since we see Anis’ POV and there's not much of a negative reaction from Euphie, so we know she genuinely did just want to help Euphie with her clothes and wasn’t being a perv, but it doesn’t quite come off that way in the anime. Though at least the whole thing is much briefer and less skeevy than it's manga counterpart. (And Anis never repeats this behavior again).

There’s also some brief scenes of Anis at the bath later on, and an even briefer scene where Anis touches a girls boob as part of an examination and said girl is super embarrassed (this one goes by quickly enough and Anis’ expression is detached and clinical enough it doesn’t make much of an impression- it was so much worse in the manga). In the area of things that are unsettling on purpose, there’s a pretty well-done scene where Anis has to listen to a bunch of old nobles talk about her like she’s breeding stock, and a lot of emphasis is put on her disgust, fear, and discomfort. It delivers the message well, but might be upsetting.

The other caveat of the show is that while making magic accessible to commoners and upsetting the outdated hierarchy is a clear theme of the show, it’s far more focused on Anis’ and Euphie’s relationship. I think that’s for the best, though it might make one feel like the show glosses over some things. You shouldn’t expect super complex political intrigue or a rigorous, detailed examination of oppression- the show’s more into romance and cool fights. (The ending of the anime also makes it clear the fight to reform the kingdom is ongoing, so we might get more in the novels, for what its worth).

The anime also manages to condense three light novels into 12 episodes. This leaves the last arc feeling a little cramped with all the big emotions and ideas its covering, but after reading the light novel I discovered that the anime didn’t cut out much of value. The anime is by far the best way to experience the story, as the light novels are incredibly repetitive and full of exposition dumps. The anime wisely cuts all that out and focuses on what matters, the emotions and the characters. I do wish there was one more episode at least, since judging by the care the anime team shows I think they would have capable of adding good original content, but overall I’m very impressed with all the adaptation decisions. The anime turns an uneven, dragging novel series into a tighter, jam-packed story with a satisfying finale.

And what a finale it is!

When I say joyously gay, I really mean it- the Magirevo finale is one of giddiest celebrations of queer romance I’ve seen in anime. You will happily drown in rainbows.

It’s so rare to see a yuri adaptation get far enough with the source material that we get romantic catharsis, and Magirevo goes for every inch of it! Even the early moments of Euphie’s shyness and Anis’ pushy flirting become more meaningful as the roles are reversed in a truly fun way.

We even see the isekai concept used for meaningful emotional drama I always wish more stories would go into! It’s stellar all around.

Magirevo is a fairly simple story at its core, treading on some well-worn fantasy archetypes and tropes. But the loveable characters and jubilant execution of the romance make it a treat to watch. Who cares if it’s not super deep? Queer viewers deserve something shiny and fun once in a while, and Magirevo truly has a magic of its' own.

[shirzan140102]

Death of Pirouz

Not-So-Fun Fact, given the context of this story: Pirouz (پیروز) is Persian for "victor" (or "victorious," depending on how it's used in a sentence).

Pirouz (the sweet little baby pictured above) was the last surviving Asiatic cheetah cub born in captivity in Iran, and he passed away on Tuesday due to kidney failure. Besides the fact that he [obviously] was a precious baby, everyone is angry and heartbroken by his passing, because he had become a symbol for the revolution. Shervin Hajipour had even alluded to him and the delicate nature of his existence in his GRAMMY-winning song "Baraye."

This reflects another dimension of the pain and suffering caused by the regime. With their blatant disregard for environmental issues and tendency to suppress environmental activists, it is not much of a surprise that this tragedy also took place. (And this isn't even taking into account the suspicions that they had a hand in his death.) While there is still a great deal that remains unknown, considering that one of his siblings also had died due to health complications, it's probable that he and his siblings were not bred in the best conditions. Furthermore, it's highly likely that limitations in resources prevented them from receiving the care that they needed, despite their caretakers' best efforts.

As for Pirouz himself, I'm absolutely heartbroken, and I cannot stop crying right now. Sadly, he is another victim of the regime. I just hope that his last moments weren't painful. From the perspective of the revolution, I hope that his death does not signify the death of potential victory for the revolution, considering the meaning of his name and his status as a symbol.

Now, let's fight for Pirouz in both senses of the word as used in this post: The poor baby himself and the pirouzi (پیروزی) (i.e., 'victory') of the revolution.

SOURCE:

[tetrix-anime]

Megami Magazine April 2023 Issue (#275) - Tensei Oujo to Tensai Reijou no Mahou Kakumei

[alexissara]

My Favorite Movies/TV/Anime of 2023

Going into 2023 I've done a lot more taking in art then in previous years and this section is all about the audio/visual/auditory art I've taken in this year and enjoyed. In fact it's a content and clickable top 10 list! Wow so engaging, much content, please enjoy. This is gonna be inclusive of movies, cartoons, anime, TV shows, etc because I don't engage any one of these mediums alone enough to make a nice little list, at least not this year.

These are roughly in an order by how much I enjoyed them but these are different pieces of art that hit you in different places for different reasons and no one piece of art here is like "Better" than the other. Ask me at a different hour let alone day and this list could be all scrambled.

Adolescence Of Utena

So I finally watched some Utena, I mean I watched a little but of Utena before, just a few episodes with some friends but I watched the full ass movie now so that counts for something. The anime is really artful and it's a very compelling queer coming of age story with all the messy trauma and feelings attached. It's a weird movie, a girl turns into a car, and that's amazing, 12/10, another girl can also turn into a car, we're really just living the dream here. Finally true lesbian representation is when a girl can turn into a car and I am here for it. It's a really great piece of art and I am glad to have finally got to take it in and enjoy it.

Glass Onion

So this is probably the biggest surprise on the list for folks who follow me but one of my girlfriends really loves mysteries and so a Glass Onion I did watch with her. It's super funny and fun, it's just good. The cast has good chemistry, the jokes land, the mystery has fun twists, and it's just a good experience overall.

One Piece Film Red

I am not a One Piece fan, I do not care for One Piece, It's like fine Shonen. However, this movie fucking slapped, it was a good fucking time. Uta is One Pieces best character and she should show up and take over the final arc of the manga because she is so good. The music was fucking killer with Ado slaying every single fucking song and it really just hit. Every song is so good on it's own and in it's context. It's what you want from a truly killer musical experience and every song being from "the villain" is just extra fun. The power of friendship and bounds is really great here, it's just good and well animated even if the women all have the same exact body.

Everything, Everywhere, All At Once

I finally watched this movie after all the hype had died down and well, it was worth the hype, it isn't my favorite movie of all time but it's a good movie. It's funny, amazingly acted, well shot, silly and just in general a good time. It touches on a lot of good themes of family, trauma, homophobia, expectations, and parental relationships. I think the queerness coulda been better in the movie and have complaints on how that is displayed here but I mean it was at least a little bit queer and that's more than most movies. As a former actor who really loves the craft I envy everyone involved too for getting to be in such a fun film, I can only imagine what a blast it was to see the final product of what I am sure was a ton of hard work to make something so fun.

Gundam The Witch From Mercury - Season 2 

Gundam ended on more of a whimper than a bang to me. Which is both not uncommon for a Gundam series to have a shitty ending but also not shocking given this series was given it had a much shorter run time. Regardless of me thinking this half of the anime is much weaker than the first half it still undeniably striking in it's animation, stunning visually, engaging to watch with a cast of very endearing characters to watch in the dramatic stakes of it all. The very end was not terrible but the time we spent to get to the final epilogue moments were questionable. Regardless, this show did not kill off Prospera, Chuchu, Secelia or Rouhi and they all were in a lot of these episodes so like an 8/10 cuz their all fucking brilliant and I really like Sulletta a ton too, I am just probably Mio's weakest solider among lesbians preferring my sweet little nervous lesbian settle down with a nice earthian girl or make use of her second hand to be polyamarous.

Kakegurui Twin

I never have and likely never will watch Kakegurui's main series but the twins series female focused cast and yuri energy captured my attention and so I turned it on. Wow, what a fucking ride. This over the top gambling game is Jojo's bizarre adventure, is sports anime, is card game anime, it's the raw spirit of these things radiating in the horny submissive lesbian factory and served back in animated form. The fucking faces these women get to make as they smugly battle in bounts of gambling is just so delicious and the tension they manage to put into each of these games of chance as the fucked up students try and cheat each other and win is just brilliant.

Harley Quinn 

HarIvy is a ship of all time for me, it's hard to have the concept of a show be "HarIvy comedy" and me not to at least kinda enjoy it and I enjoyed it a lot this new season. At the start of the season I wasn't click with it, it felt weird and forced for Harly and Ivy to be placed in these really binary hero and villain roles but in the end that's what it was really about. Neither of them are traditional heroes or villains and the show actually recognized that and let them trying to fit into the strict mold of the universe as an active issue for themself, their sense of self, their relationship, the world and more. From time to time they felt fairly out of character but I am just happy to see this arcs over all themes and the work they put into that.

I’m In Love With The Villainess 

While I would have rather had a tighter pace that went through the first two books of the series rather than one and some tiny jumps into the second book I'm In Love With The Villainess still managed to be one of my favorite things to watch this year with me viewing it multiple times. Rae's Isekai fantasy of being bullied by a hot rich woman and the eventual need to confront her own internalized homophobia and self pity as blocking her path to happiness are fun to see. Rae is really good in the anime adaptation and in it more than any other adaption it feels like everyone is friends and cares about each other which fits the light hearted comedy tone better than the light novels Rae will kill anyone for Clair, she has no friends mindset.

Scott Pilgrim: Takes Off

This was the biggest surprise of the year. I had grown out of Scott Pilgrim, while I was a fan of the comics before the movie was even a thing, I watched the movie before it even released, I even at some point was collecting the colored editions, I eventually soured on the series and sold everything I had of it. I wasn't excited about the anime and felt more like "let it go" then "OMG thing from when I was young" but hearing the good things I heard about it and about the Scott twist along with seeing the great animation in the OP I decided, fuck it why not give it a shot. So I did and wow, it's really good. It's a great take down, commentary, adaption, whatever it is of the original work. It is Scott Pilgrim having grown up alongside me, funnier than ever and a lot better about everything. I really loved all the changes and it still felt very true to the heart of Scott Pilgrim which is messy adults trying to fix their fucked up selves and relationships.

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

This certainly sits among my favorite anime of all time and very highly if not number one. MagiRevo mastered a light novel adaptations tempo perfecting how to make one season of what would be a nothing slow burn with no pay off at the novel and mangas pace into an exciting action packed yuri with more gay kisses in it than the rest of the years anime put together. It's funny, charming, fun but it also captures some really hard emotions too, I'll never forget the scene with Anis being pressured by old men to have children and stuff and the utter disgust she has at being treated like a piece of meat as she attempts to fill her role to the kingdom. It is devastating and heart wrenching and it just makes all the joy feel so strong.

If you want to help me enjoy more art then consider checking out my Patreon or Ko-fi and giving me a little bit of cash so I can do more of this kind of writing but also like make lots of my own art, art is hard to make and costs money and like maintain my chronically ill and trans body also takes money so anything helps, thank you. If you want more details on any of these I do have reviews for many of the pieces of art above but you can also let me know you want more and maybe I'll write more.

[ohnoitspheo]

Get to know your local Pheo!✨ Here’s my Meet the Monkey 2023!  🐒☀️🌙 

I’ve been on a nostalgic DDR kick lately so I thought- what if I tried my hand at a Y2K logo and made a self-indulgent Meet the Artist full of those sweet 00s arcade vibes? 

[theletterwsartflap]

AniRevo was a blast this year!! I didn’t expect to be recognized as Elec Man as often as I was, and while I didn’t encounter a single other Mega Man cosplayer (T_T) it was still a fantastic feeling knowing that the franchise is still thought of and beloved by people! Especially that guy that told me, “I always hated fighting you, and I mean this as a compliment. Fucking Thunder Beam, man.”

If you have pictures of or with me, I’d love to see them!

[ladywani]

Mayblade Day 25: Flame

[animebw]

Short Reflection: Winter 2023 Anime

Is it just me, or did this season of anime kind of blow? Yes, anything would be a step down after the absurdly stacked Fall 2022 roster- and in fact, two of my favorites this season were continuations of shows I already liked from fall (Blue Lock and MHA)- but man, there was just a stench of failure around so much of Winter 2023′s offerings. Not just in how many of them turned out to be disappointments, but in how many of them didn’t even get to finish in time! Barely a week went by without another show suffering long delays, production after production crumbling under the weight of mismanagement and corporate apathy that doesn’t care how many animators are worked to death for an inferior product as long as they can make some extra cash from rushing it out early. I mercifully managed to avoid all the victims of these delays (well, almost; RIP Kubo-san Won’t Let Me Be Invisible), but even existing in the same space as them felt like it took a toll on everything else. This was a rough one, folks. But there were still some gems worth highlighting, so after spilling my thoughts on Onimai, Trigun Stampede and MHA Season 6, here are my thoughts on the rest of the anime I managed to finish this season!

(Also no Vinland Saga review yet cause I’m waiting for the season to be over, but spoilers, it’s still really fucking good. You’re shocked, I can tell.)

Tokyo Revengers Season 2: 1.5/10

You know what? I give up. I gave Tokyo Revengers every opportunity to finally pull itself together and turn into a good show. But not only did it drop the ball so hard the shockwave registered on the Richter scale, it felt like it was actively going out of its way to suck as hard as it could. Every single plot thread in season 2 is bungled so horrendously, from Takemichi’s increasingly unforgivable stupidity to the insulting cul-de-sac fights that change nothing about the status quo to the truly infuriating mishandling of every female character (Hey, I know, let’s give Yuzuha a panty shot while she’s being beaten by her abusive brother! Great idea!), that there is no possible way this show can ever recover. Even if the next season is somehow a masterpiece that fixes all the series’ issues- which it won’t be, let’s be honest- it won’t change the fact that Tokyo Revengers has established a new low for lazy, intelligence-insulting storytelling in shonen. The only reason it managed to get so popular is that it keeps making you think it’s about to do something really cool and meaningful with its high concept. But at this point, it’s all but proven that it never will. Fuck this show, fuck the manga it’s based on, and fuck everyone who accepts this barely-animated hackjob slop as anything close to acceptable entertainment.

The Fire Hunter: 2/10

Between this and Mars Red, I’m really starting to hate studio Signal MD. They’ve got a habit of turning fascinating highbrow fantasy premises into some of the dullest, sloppiest, most poorly produced pieces of pretentious dogshit that think they’re high art imaginable. And this one’s directed by Mamoru Oshii! He’s supposed to be a veteran director who knows his shit! How did he turn out such a colossal flop? Almost nothing in The Fire Hunter works on an audiovisual level; the animation is embarrassing, the direction is incomprehensible, the editing is somehow even worse (I have never seen such poorly timed painterly insert stills), and the whole thing is smothered under a droning soundtrack that drowns every scene in the same overbearing, tuneless sonic dead air. Even the best script in the world couldn’t survive this cataclysmically bad production, and suffice to say, this is very far from the best script in the world. It’s equal parts mind-numbing exposition, dull narration, and pointlessly mean characters with no interesting internal struggles or worldbuilding to justify the air of arrogance about the whole affair. The Fire Hunter desperately wants to convince you it’s art, but it’s just crap. Skip it.

To Your Eternity Season 2 (2nd Half): 3/10

I’ll give it this: the second half of To Your Eternity’s second season is unquestionably better than its first. Not a very high bar to clear, I realize, but after the utter slog that was Bon’s introductory arc, it’s good to have actually interesting things happen for a change. Unfortunately, for all the fresh air the siege of Renril brings to the proceedings- new characters, new kinds of stakes, a bonkers re-imagining of what Fushi’s powers are even capable of- it’s nowhere near enough to save this show from running itself into the ground. Whatever magic To Your Eternity once had is well and truly gone, buried under a flood of terrible production compromises and questionable story choices that have lead it down a path it can never recover from. No matter how much future arcs might try to turn things around, they’ll never escape the lesson this show has somehow forgotten it used to preach: when something dies, it can never truly return. To Your Eternity is dead. It’s over. Let it rest in piece while it still has some faint shred of dignity left.

Giant Beasts of Ars: 3/10

Did someone open a time portal to 2006? Giant Beasts of Ars feels exactly like the kind of original fantasy anime that studios were pumping out two decades ago- and unfortunately, that’s not a compliment. It gets off to a good start with a strong introductory episode that sets the tone well for a fun magitech adventure with some giant monster fighting, but the second that adventure gets under way, pretty much everything goes to shit. The characters are bland. The world itself is dull and uninspired. The action is lifeless thanks to a weak production that can’t give these fights the oomph they need. And the plot escalates from understandable low-key stakes to some of the most asinine “suddenly we’re fighting god now” swerves I’ve ever seen. Seriously, the way this story loses all sense of scale in its final episodes as it barrels head first toward a climax left me stunned in disbelief. Never mind the fact it ends on an asspull cliffhanger that’s almost certain to never get resolved because nobody’s going to want a second season of something this limp and underbaked. What a waste of time.

Kaina of the Great Snow Sea: 3.5/10

I was really excited at all the fantasy anime coming out this season. After being swamped in the isekai sewers for so long, it was such a relief to see the industry remember they could tell stories about actual fantastical worlds and not just, you know, reskinned Dragon Quest knockoffs. So imagine my how immeasurable my disappointment was when one by one, all these promising series let me down. Kaina’s Naussicaa-inspired world of snow seas, giant spire trees and steampunk skiffs navigating an allegorical prayer for co-existence with nature and rejection of militarism should have been an easy slam dunk, a new Miyazaki for a modern landscape. Unfortunately, as beautifully realized as the world is- Polygon Pictures is no studio Orange, but their impressive background art and environmental storytelling continue to make a strong case for CG anime- the writers forgot to populate that world with anyone worth getting invested in. The characters are the stockiest of stock archetypes, photocopies of photocopies of tropes that have already been worn to the bone by decades of misuse and overuse alike. If you’ve seen even one generic fantasy anime, chances are you’re already sick of these characters, and there’s nothing fresh or particularly meaningful here to make up for the lack of originality. Don’t get me started on how poorly the princess is treated, yegh. Is it too late to unplug the concept of fantasy anime for a few years and hope it recovers some steam before we plug it back in?

High Card: 3.5/10

There is no excuse for High Card being as lame as it ended up. A Kingsmen-style goofy gentleman spy action comedy written by the author of Kakegurui in which secret agents in dapper suits fight with the power of magic transforming playing cards? And the entire world is themed around cards and card games (the country is Fourland, the spy organization is Pinochle with its office on Old Maid street)? This should have been a camp masterpiece every bit as delightfully unhinged as Kakegurui. This should have been the most gloriously Anime Bullshit (affectionate) experience of the year. But instead, it was mostly just Anime Bullshit (derogatory). It takes so little advantage of its concept, wasting episode upon episode on trite plotlines and cliche developments, jumping between so many tones and focuses without ever settling on a single one. I came here to see Twink Bruce Wayne summon bazookas out of thin air with the power of Instant Interdimensional Marketplace, not slog through the umpteenth iteration of “the stoic katana girl needs to open up to her male colleagues” or “tragic little sister with an incurable illness.” The bouncy ED, which sees the main cast all singing together in the car, was the one consistent bright spot, and even that started feeling more and more like an insult as time went on. If only the rest of the show were as loose and freewheeling as those painfully short 90 seconds per episode promised.

Don’t Toy With Me, Nagatoro-San Season 2: 3.5/10

Look, I’m no prude. I’m not above trash. Nagatoro’s first season was far from a masterpiece, but it had enough actual charm and character depth that I didn’t mind coming along for the ride. But the thing about trash is that just like every other show, you still have to do it well. Nagatoro wasn’t ever entertaining because it was a shallow wish-fulfillment rom-com for masochists, it was entertaining because it found something recognizably human in spite of being a shallow wish-fulfillment rom-com for masochists. And sadly, whatever spark made that first season work didn’t survive the transfer to OLM studios. There are fun moments here and there, but the overall package is just too half-hearted to care anymore. Not even the introduction of Nagatoro’s sister keeps the proceedings from feeling increasingly mindless. What’s the point of this show, really? What does it offer that I can’t get better elsewhere? Because if the only appeal is the teasing gimmick, well, Teasing Master Takagi-san is right there, people. You could be watching an actual good show about a girl mercilessly teasing her crush instead of this flavorless assembly-line mushburger of an anime. Just saying.

The Tale of Outcasts: 4.5/10

There’s something strangely endearing about The Tale of Outcasts, despite its many flaws. Does it read like every thirteen-year-old girl’s embarrassing stash of unpublished Ancient Magus Bride fanfiction? Yes, unquestionably. But you know what? There are far worse things to be. Maybe it’s the isekai exhaustion getting to me, but there’s something so refreshing about a cringey wish-fulfillment fantasy adventure populated by stock archetypes and hacky plotting that’s actually, like, wholesome? That feels like it was made out of genuine amateurish love for Victorian splendor mixed with demon furries instead of incel resentment that the world isn’t catering to their every whim? Yeah, it’s still cringe, but it’s charmingly cringe, not revoltingly cringe. I still can’t really recommend it unless you’ve got a real soft spot for deep-voiced daddy beast people who can be your angle or your dveil, but out of all the bad shows I kept up with this season, this was the one where I never minded clicking on that next episode button, and that’s gotta count for something.

Urusei Yatsura (2nd Half): 5.5/10

I think it takes a change in mindset to really appreciate Urusei Yatsura. True to its 70s roots, this is not an anime to watch for a constant sense of forward progression. This is a show to be enjoyed as a reliable weekly comfort, 25 minutes of mayhem every 7 days with a familiar cast of characters bouncing off each other endlessly. If you come in looking for a tightly woven narrative that’s always driving toward a forseeable endpoint like most modern anime confined to single cours runs, you’re likely to be disappointed. But if you let yourself just enjoy the chaos and don’t worry about what might come next, I think you’ll find a lot to like here. If nothing else, I appreciate Studio David sticking to that old-fashioned spirit. But I have to admit, I might’ve preferred a more streamlined adaptation that doesn’t waste a second of runtime. What can I say, I’m used to modern anime pacing. Or maybe I’m just annoyed by yet another instance of a tomboy character who wants to be more feminine. Which, you know, not Ryunosuke’s fault that particular trope has gotten so beaten to death these days, but still. Sometimes making changes for modern times isn’t such a bad thing, you know?

Revenger: 6/10

So y’all hear about this Gen Urobuchi guy? Apparently he was pretty famous back in the day or something, IDK. He’s been plugging away at his goofy Taiwanese puppets show for the past few years and slapped his name on the story concepts of a few high profile projects for extra buzz, but now at last, he’s returned to grace us with a full story and script from his own hands! ...and apparently from 17 years in the past as well, because from what I’ve heard, Urobuchi originally wrote Revenger back in 2006, well before the one-two-three punch of Madoka Magica, Fate/Zero and Psycho-Pass that would make him a household name. And boy does it definitely feel like a trial run of those shows. Not that it’s bad by any means; it’s slickly produced, the cast has good chemistry, and the Booch is clearly having fun coming up with creative ways for evil bastards to be mercilessly slaughtered. But that’s really all it is, with little of the staggering depth and emotional complexity that would later earn him a place among the greats. It’s a first draft of basically all the thematic ideas he’d later perfect: the corruption of systems of power, the failure of blind heroism, the necessity of finding hope even in the darkest corners of the earth. I still recommend it for any fans of creative edgy violence, but don’t come in expecting another Madoka. It’s a bite-sized snack of an Urobuchi show, not the main course. And I’m totally fine with that; it’s entertaining enough on its own modest merits to be worth a look.

Play It Cool, Guys (2nd Half): 6/10

Yeah, I knew this one was gonna grow on me. There’s nothing like a really good low-key deadpan comedy to put me in a good mood at the end of a long day. Really, I think Cool Doji Danshi’s secret weapon is how much it appreciates the mundane awkwardness of everyday life. I have been in many situations much like its titular characters, little moments of confusion where the pieces don’t quite line up how they’re supposed to and before I know it I’m putting my umbrella in the fridge because I momentarily mixed it up with the groceries. And also like its title characters, I’ve learned just how damn important these moments are to my life. None of us are perfect meat machines 100% of the time; in many ways, our clumsiness is what makes us human far more than our accomplishments. And there’s something so wonderfully comforting about watching these boys (and men) come to appreciate their own imperfections much as I’ve done of myself. We need more shows that celebrate that simple silliness as well as this one does. So if you’ve been looking for something to lift your spirits in this increasingly grim world, I cannot recommend this show enough.

Sugar Apple Fairy Tale: 6.5/10

Do my eyes deceive me? A non-isekai, shoujo oriented fantasy that’s all about slavery being a bad thing? Stop the presses, we’re defying all the norms over here! Between this and the new season of Vinland Saga, it feels like we’re finally starting to push back on the noxious floodgates that Shield Hero pried open, and I could not be more thankful for that. Now, is Sugar Apple Fairy Tale a perfect depiction of the dynamics of slavery? Fuck no, it’s a young adult wish-fulfillment romance about a hot sulky fairy boy falling for the woman that was once his owner, this thing’s as problematic as an Antebellum-era Uncle Tom’s Cabin ripoff. But at least it’s actually trying to say something about the effects of dehumanization on a societal scale and how it manifests, and I’d argue it succeeds more often than it trips over itself. Plus, how fucking great is it to have an actual shoujo romance again? Set in a charming fantasy world with some actual originality? Sugar Apple Fairy Tale’s not perfect, but its charms are evident of a trend I hope to see countless other shows follow. The more fantasy anime looks like this instead of The World’s Strongest Necromancer is Reincarnated With a Cheat Skill In Another World Harem (I just made that title up, but admit it, you weren’t sure at first), the better off we’ll all be.

Ippon Again: 6.5/10

We seriously need more good female-centric sports anime. The guys have been dominating the field with their shounens and seinens while the girls are forced to subside on moeblob table scraps more concerned with being cute than actually telling a compelling sports narrative, or else being handed the absolute bottom of the production barrel (cries in Farewell My Dear Cramer). Ippon Again isn’t gonna right the ship all on its own, but it’s a damn good first step. The characters feel like believable teenagers, their judo matches are given genuine weight and strong animation, and while it suffers from some tired sports anime cliches, it always executes them with heart firmly on its sleeve. At its best, it captures the same freewheeling adolescent spirit that defines the likes of A Place Further Than the Universe, and I don’t say that lightly. It’s no masterpiece, but it’s a damn good time with no caveats, and hopefully it’ll only be the first of many great lady-centric sports anime to come.

Tsurune Season 2: 7/10

If you’ve somehow forgotten about the first season of KyoAni’s pretty boys doing archery show Tsurune from back in 2018, well, I don’t blame you. As a testing ground for the studio’s rookie talent to take their first crack at putting their own show together, it was by far the studio’s most workmanlike production, an all-around solid experience but lacking the insane polish and panache that defines the KyoAni brand. But my god, what a difference five years makes. Tsurune’s second season isn’t just a massive upgrade on the production front, it’s a complete overhaul on the show’s entire look and feel. It’s sweeping and elegant, it’s vibrant and explosive, it’s as expertly poised and shimmering as a bowstring drawn at dawn right before it releases a brilliant arrow. This show has gone from KyoAni’s simplest looking show to one of its most richly cinematic, complete with earthier color tones and revamped score from Fruits Basket composer Masaru Yokoyama. Yes, it’s ultimately still just a show about pretty boys learning to shoot bows well as they overcome their issues together. But with such a massive step up in its look and feel, it’s officially become just as much appointment viewing as any KyoAni masterpiece.

Blue Lock (2nd Half): 7.5/10

Now that’s more fucking like it. Last season I bemoaned the lack of edgy death game nonsense I was promised in this edgy death game sports anime, but once we reached the second selection, Blue Lock kicked into high gear and made good on its premise at last. Betrayals! Allies turned enemies! Enemies turned allies! Overcharged homoerotic rivalries and break-ups alike! Overdramatic shonen boys trying to crush each other underfoot to grow stronger! Self-actualization through rejecting the power of friendship and embracing the power of “Fuck this guy!” This is everything I wanted when I first learned about Blue Lock’s premise, twisting the classic shonen sports formula into an equally blood-pumping tale of clashing egos and selfishness as everyone fights to become the best player by embracing their worst selves. It might have taken a hot second to get there, but now that it’s arrived, this show has become some of the most deliriously entertaining chaos you’re likely to find in the genre. Well done, you mad genius.

Buddy Daddies: 8/10

Man, whoever’s making the decisions on what shows PA Works produces is really on a roll lately, huh? It takes a real genius to look at premises like Ya Boi Kongming and Akiba Maid War and see an opportunity to create something truly special. But even that pales in comparison to the brilliance behind Buddy Daddies, a.k.a. “Hey, so this Spy x Family show is about to take over the world, right? What if we made our own version of that, but mix in the homoerotic buddy-cop energy of Tiger and Buddy to make it stand out?” That’s the kind of galaxy-brain thinking that’s rapidly making this studio a personal favorite of mind. And it’s that kind of confidence and pure solid storytelling chops that make Buddy Daddies just as entertaining and endearing as its most obvious inspiration. It’s not exactly the same- it’s set in modern day, it’s more focused on the child-raising than the assassin stuff- but it’s every bit as good at nailing that specific sweet spot of deliciously entertaining spy action, wholesome family hijinks, and the bittersweet space in between trying to reconcile those two worlds. Heck, Miri’s a way more realistic four-year-old than Anya ever was; you can tell the writers really did their research on what it’s like to care for a child that young. The year’s still young, but I think this show is already a strong contender for the feel-good masterpiece of 2023. Just don’t go in expecting the hot guys to kiss, because you will leave disappointed if you do.

The Magical Revolution of the Reincarnated Princess and the Genius Young Lady: 8.5/10

We’ve done it, folks. We’ve finally cracked the code on how to make modern isekai great. Step One: Center it on a female protagonist with an actual personality instead of an empty self-insert male-patterned cooler full of stale oatmeal. Step Two: Make your story all about subverting the exhausting masturbatory self-centeredness of vanilla isekai in favor of a symbolic or literal revolution to give power back to all lovers of fantasy instead of pandering to maladjusted thirty-year-old manchildren. Step Three: As part of that progressive reinvention, make it GAY. AS. FUCK. The Executioner and her Way of Life was a strong step in the right direction, but as good as that show was, there was clearly still room to push things even further. But now, at last, that potential has been fully realized by the stunning tale of a reincarnated princess and a genius young lady coming together to revolutionize the world. Folks, MagiRevo fucking rules. The main leads are wonderful separately and even more wonderful together, the production is strong enough to carry the story’s soaring ambition, and it’s a genuinely powerful exploration of the harms caused by archaic systems of patriarchal power, and how difficult it is- but also how necessary- to change what’s been leading a society down the wrong path for so long. And while it drags a little in the midsection, it all culminates in a spectacular final act and a final episode that had me sobbing in my seat for 25 straight minutes. This isn’t just the best isekai since Re:Zero, this is a triumph of queer fantasy carving its own revolution through a genre that’s desperately needed it for far too long. So come join me and raise your banner with Anis and Euphie, because their journey deserves all the attention we can give. I promise, you won’t regret it.

[tamaki-ako]

the magical revolution of the reincarnated princess and the genius young lady | episode 12

[lwa-but-gay]

So the last episodes for magical revolution and ice guy aired this week and OMFG spoilers for magical revolution BUT WE GOT THREE FUCKING KISSES AND A CHEEK KISS IN THAG LAST ELSIDOE and a CLEAR CONFESSION ABOUT HOW ITS GAY AND NOT FRIENDLY KISSES YUUUUUUUUUUUHHHHH