#I hope the same thing not happened with youjo senki

[doodle-empress66]

What happened to all these anime should be a crime

[marshmallowdonutsprinkles]

would you be willing to give a quick intro to the animes youve been watching/blogging lately?

I suck at that, but I'll do my best 😂

1. The Promised Neverland, Season 2 - Emma, Ray and the other children escape the Grace Field orphanage and aim to find William Minerva. Before they can set out, they are attacked by monsters and demons, only to be saved by 2 mysterious people. Who are they, and why would they risk saving Emma and co.?

2. Re:Zero, Season 2 Cour 2 - Pain. After several gruesome, futile deaths, Subaru learns he can rely on friends for help. This time, he'll save Emilia and the girls at the mansion before it's too late.

3. Project Scard - ????? Honestly I'm not sure rn? Surface level is Pretty Boys the Series but it's more than just fanservice for people who love 2D men. MC is saved by the Hero of the town, only to die shortly after giving the MC his powers and telling him to protect everything in his stead. MC works together with the Hero's allies to do so.

*If you watched K project, then Project Scard is by the same animation studio. The anime after K have been straight misses imo, with pretty animation and dry af plot (*cough*Hand Shakers and W'z*cough*). but it seems interesting compared to the last 2 anime from GoxHands, so I'll see what happens here.

4. I'm a Spider, So What? - MC is a highschool student who gets killed in an explosion along with her classmates and teacher. She is reincarnated into a spider (while her class is reincarnated as human beings/elves etc.) and she is determined to survive by learning how to live as a spider.

*I think out of all my years of watching anime, this is like my 2nd-3rd isekai (I just don't like the genre) my best friend recommended it to me, and I'm glad he did cuz it's hilarious. The MC is voiced by Aoi Yuuki(?) Who voices tatsumaki from OPM and Tanya from Youjo Senki. She makes it really enjoyable with her expressive voice acting.

5. Skate Leading Stars - If you've been on my blog for a bit, this was one of the first anime I've been blogging about this year. Skate Leading Stars features a 16(assuming, since he's a first year in high school and in Japan that's around 15-16 y/o) year old boy named Maeshima Kensei who quit figure skating after losing to his rival when was, like, 10. He finds out his rival is also quiting figure skating, but is moving to a similar sport - Skate Leading. (Basically, Skate Leading is Figure Skating, so imagine Sychronized Swimming, but on the ice). Coincidentally (or probably not) he runs into a guy who pushes him back into skating for his own personal vendetta, and also for the chance for Maeshima to face his rival one the ice again. After joining his high school's Skate Leading team, he works with them to go to Nationals and compete with his rival's Skate Leading Team. There are 2 episodes out now, so you can watch them to get a better feel for it compared to all the other anime with 1 ep out.

*before you ask, no this is not like Yuri on Ice.

6. Sk8 the Infinity - Not entirely sure rn, but MC is Reki Kyan who enjoys Skating (not ice skating, the skateboard. Tony Hawk things). By chance he runs into the transfer student Langa Hasegawa, who came from Canada (🇨🇦 intensifies) outside of class. By chance, Langa is hired by Reki's boss, and his first job is to deliver a skateboard to a customer at the (currently) most famous rink in Okinawa. There Langa experiences the sport of Skating and thus start Reki and Langa's adventures as idiots skaters.

*honestly I like this anime the most this season. It's an anime original, so no manga. The animation is smooth, the main characters are expressive and enjoyable, and the one of antagonists are voiced by Dio. The plot seems light hearted so far (if you ignore the burning skateboards and misogynistic insults from one of the antagonists) so if you don't want anything too depressing, this is a great sports anime to dive into.

7. 2.43 Seiin Volley Ball Club - Explanatory in the name: it's a volleyball sports anime. Based on the first episode there's a more mature vibe to it compared to the other sports anime out rn as, for example, it mentions a teammate attempting suicide because of one of the MCs. If you want to compare its vibes to another sports anime, I think you'll like this one if you enjoyed Run With the Wind, or better yet Stars Align. I think Dive!! and Tsurune were on the serious end of sports anime, too, but not like Stars Align. The manga for this series is 4 chapters long, and it's supposed to be about MC and his childhood friend aiming for Nationals with their volleyball team, iirc.

8. Attack on Titan Final Season - Idrk know how to explain it so far, just know that it's crazy and confusing for me even though I read the manga. Eren goes to another country during a 4 year timeskip all in the name of seeking revenge and starting a war. Mood

 9. World Trigger Season 2 - Season 1 was like, 5-7 years ago lmao. From the top of my head, I think season 2 will cover rank wars to determine what teams are eligible for expedition to other worlds. Mikumo is determined to get on the expedition squad with his team.

10. Jujutsu Kaisen, Season 1 Cour 2 - Honestly I skipped like 6 episodes because I was preparing for Christmas/job so I don’t remember where the anime is at right now. I think it’s the Tokyo Jujutsu School vs. Kyoto Jujutsu School..with other things (I don’t reread manga, so I forgot what happened this entire arc)

That's it! Hope this helped anon

Edit: Totally forgot until it popped up, but I’m watching Kemono Jihen! It’s about a boy who’s half human/half beast and his bullied by his cousin and aunt because of his biracial nature. He’s taken in by someone who is a tanuki, and they start the adventure to find his parents/origins

[untapanimedraw]

Anime of the Decade 2017

So many shows! Time to jump into another year!

Winter:

KonoSuba S2 - The best of KonoSuba (excepting the movie). What can I say, it’s fantastic. 

Blue Exorcist S2 - This is the proper manga continuation from the first season. However because the first season had an anime original ending this retcons the end and continues from there. That said, this season was very very good and I hope to get more in the future. 

Miss Kobayashi’s Dragon Maid - This was THE show of the season. So adorable, wholesome, and fun. Just a laid-back show with low stakes that was a lot of fun. 

Youjo Senki - I got pretty busy during this season and put this show on hold for a few weeks before I got to it. When I did watch it, I binged 5 episodes in a row and was starving for more. There are a lot of stellar shows from this winter season but this one was fucking perfect. There was also the Movie that aired last year which was an absolute treat to watch in the theater. Between the large screen and the beautiful sound, it makes for a great experience. This takes my AOTS. 

Kuzu no Honkai - The “romance” of the season. There was so much fucked up teen drama and messiness in this show, it was a heart-wrenching experience. It’s one of those shows that you don’t watch to enjoy, you watch to follow the story and be sad with the characters. Also the OP and ED are absolutely perfect. 

LIttle Witch Academia - I love this show so much. Harry Potter meets anime girls. Also it’s studio Trigger so you knows there’s going to be some great animation. 

ACCA 13 - This was such a fun mystery/drama show. The setting is so unique, the music was fantastic, the characters are so good. Everything about this show is just really good. 

Spring:

My Hero Academia S2 - Tournament Arc!!!! Stain Arc!!! Holy shit this season was fantastic. It’s my AOTS.

Attack On Titan S2 - It’s back!! Finally get some more action after the crazy hiatus. Lots happens, but S3 part 2 is still better. 

Eromanga-sensei - This show was a firestorm of memes and jokes throughout the anime community during this season. It wasn’t even half-bad, just so ridiculous. 

Sword Oratoria - This was such a fucking dissapointment of a show. It promised us more DanMachi, more of the characters we’d like to see, from a new perspective, and we got that. Kinda. In like the most dissapointing way possible. From the perspective of the most annoying character. So bad. So far I’ve only included the best shows of the seasons that I appreciated, but this was such a disappointment that I felt it needed to be included. 

No picture, doesn’t deserve it. 

Re:Creators - This has got to be one of the most unique and ambitious original anime projects of the decade. So many characters, such an interesting plot, 2 cour! Well worth watching. 

Renai Boukun - Death Note, but with kisses. The shinigami is a cupid. It’s adorable. This show even has a likable yandere! Lots of fun

Alice & Zouroku - Found family, Alice and Wonderland, powers, this show has a whole lot to it and was the most wholesome and adorable show of the season. 

Tsugumomo - I have no idea how to describe this show. I’m just fucking stoked for season 2 in 2020!

Seikaisuru Kado - This original anime kinda shit the bed with the ending, but the buildup was fantastic, the ideas it presented were worth exploring, and most importantly it was a nearly fully 3D CG anime that looked really good! It’s worth watching if only for this technological advancement. 

Sakura Quest - I adore this Slice of Life show from P.A. Works. It ran for 2 cours, the OPs and EDs were great, there was a fun and varied selection of best girls, and the engrish and foreign languages spoken actually sounded pretty good!

Fukumenkei Noise - Music anime that was on Amazon. It wasn’t bad as a show, a little annoying with one repeated singing bit that happens like 100 times over the show, but the music was fantastic. I still listen to the OST today.

Summer:

Kakegurui - Gambling with arousal and orgasms. I think that’s as accurate as I can be in describing this show. It’s insanity in a great way. 

Gamers! - “Misunderstandings the anime” is what this was taken to being called. It’s just so straightforward in it’s earnestness and fun, that it’s hard not to love. 

Tsuredure Children - This is a short-form, multiple storied, anime about romance and the different forms it takes for different people. It’s really really good and I can guaranty you will be able to find someone to relate to. 

Aho Girl - Here we get to the stupidest comedy that I’ve seen. It’s so fucking stupid, and so hilarious at the same time. 

Princess Principal - This is an anime about alternate-history europe with high-school girls who are spies. It’s aired in a case-file format that is out of order. So the timeline flow is out of order and we continuously learn more about the characters and their relationships and how things came to be the way they are. It’s super unique, and made for a beautiful story. Also the OP is a fucking banger. It’s my AOTS. 

Fall:

Black Clover - Man, this show had such poor reception when it aired due to Asta’s screaming. There were 3 camps: The manga readers who knew it was a great story and kept watching, the people who couldn’t stand the voice, and my camp, the people who could mostly handle the voice and stuck it out. And I am so glad I did. Don’t get me wrong, this is no top of the line battle shounen, but it’s a very solid B+ that has a number of sakuga moments and a few experimental animation styles that were really dope. 

Net-juu no Susume - A tale of a gamer who lives online and has nearly given up on IRL. She comes to find romance, but more importantly, she comes to find a reason to keep living life and realization that maybe it’s not as bad as it seems. 

Imouto sae Ireba Ii - This show, hands down, has the best opening scene of any show I’ve ever seen. Often referred to as the normie filter, it’s so outrageous that any general passer-by will promptly shun you. But it’s fantastic, and the show is even better. Not in an outrageous way, but in a kind of simple, fairly calm journey through life and the relationships that come of it. Also they play board games in the show and that’s fantastic. I enjoyed it so much, it’s my AOTS. 

So we’ve got Youjo Senki, HeroAca S2, Princess Principal, and Imouto sae Ireba Ii. Four fantastic shows, but Youjo Senki takes AOTY for me. Everything about it is a pleasant surprise. 

[shazzeaslightnovels]

Chronicle Legion 1 Review

Alternate Titles: クロニクル・レギオン

Author: Jou Taketsuki (Best known for writing Campione!)

Illustrator: BUNBUN (Best known as the character designer for Yuuki Yuuna wa Yuusha de aru/Yuuki Yuuna is a hero)

Publisher: Dash Ex Bunko

Date released: 21st November 2014

Story:

Genres: Military, Action, Alternate History, Mecha, Harem (3 girls to 1 guy)

The setting and premise of Chronicle Legion is a bit hard to describe. It takes place during the late 20th century with an alternate history in which Japan is mostly under Eastern Roman Empire’s control. The princess of Japan, Shiori, has secret ambitions to overthrow the Empire and she takes an interest in our seemingly normal high school boy protagonist Masatsugu, suspecting him to be a reincarnation of a great hero and requests for him to become her knight. This world has people who hold great power who are the reincarnations of great heroes and then they do battle. Also, there are mecha.

I hope that made some semblance of sense. Like I said, this setting is complicated. This series biggest issue is that has clearly been inspired by several series that it just isn’t as good as. From that description, you may have gotten a Fate vibe and that’s definitely there with a bit of Code Geass and I personally got Kyoukaisenjou no Horizon. But, even though I’m not a big fan of Fate or Code Geass, I would still say Chronicle Legion is inferior to all three of those series and it’s just not fun to read something and constantly being reminded of better series. The other issue is that some comedy segments can be longer than they should be. This wouldn’t really be an issue but the reader likely doesn’t care enough about the characters yet to enjoy those moments. Hatsune’s first scene, for example, which happens right after Masatsugu’s first scene, is a comedy scene that goes on for far too long and there are very few readers who would be invested in these characters enough yet to be interested in such a scene. Again, this scene would be fine if it was primarily a comedic series but it’s not.

On to the good stuff, I really can’t say that the plot was boring. Jou Taketsuki, while not the most original writer, has always had a talent for crafting exciting stories that holds the readers attention. Even though my version of this book comes close to 400 pages, I barely felt it. And you can tell that Taketsuki wanted to write this series as there’s a lot of effort and thought put into the setting.

Character:

I found the female characters got disappointingly few moments to shine in this volume and it was hard to recognise the confident, ambitious princess seen in the prolouge and the easily-flustered-by-Masatsugu’s-commments Shiori as the same character. I also don’t think this series is going to do much with female historical figures, despite the reincarnation-of-a-great-hero thing, which is a damn shame. I doubt it’ll really explore what it means to be a hero either since all of the heroes shown so far have been ones with military accomplishments.

That being said, the heroines are certainly appealing and Masatsugu is a protagonist that a lot of people would like - he’s funny, proactive and overpowered and does seem to take the girls’ consent into consideration. While the series does rely on a certain trope to quickly create a sense of physical intimacy between the characters, it thankfully doesn’t rely on the ‘only guy at school so of course the girls fall for him because he’s their only romantic option’ trope to quickly get Masatsugu his harem (looking at you Infinite Stratos, Juuou Mujin no Fafnir, Seirei Tsukai no Blade Dance, etc.). While not my favorite kind of protagonist, Masatsugu is a fine one and I can see why people would find him refreshing.

Recommened for:

People who like alternate history and war stories and don’t mind a harem element could like this. While it is a hard read, it’s probably not as hard as stuff like 86, Youjo Senki or Tenkyou no Alderamin so maybe give it a go if you want to read stuff like that in Japanese in the future to get used to the language. Fans of Taketsuki Jou’s other works would definitely like this.

Will I be reading other volumes in this series?

I bought the first 5 volumes back in 2016, probably because of BUNBUN’s art, so it’d be a waste not to read them so I’ll be reading this until I finish those 5 volumes. I also own 2 volumes of Campione! for some reason (my guess is that they were on sale for free or really cheap when I bought them) and 1 volume of Meiyaku no Leviathan (though it is the sixth one so we’ll see if I can be bothered going back and buying the first one) so I’ll likely be talking about those series in the future as well.

[rieshon]

Spring 2019 Preview

How the hell is there another season already. I was hoping for a light load this time around, but it looks like the anime gods will not be so kind. Bonus feature this season is all the titles are links to the shows’ official websites so you can click and look at the cute girls I mention.

Hitoribocchi no Marumaru Seikatsu: This is an adaptation of a Katsuwo manga, who is the guy who wrote the original for the brilliant Mitsuboshi Colors which ended up on my top ten of the year list last year. An all-female cast of adorable looking girls, a proven mangaka, and the usually-capable Hanada writing the scripts makes this one look like a pretty sure bet. Oh yeah it's also got a good looking deko blondenblu gaijin.

Joshikausei: I think this is a short, but all you need to really know about this show is the tagline on the website: おバカかわいい、この日常がたぶん青春. They got all my favorite words in there. Too bad it's a short, but I think it will be fifteen minutes at least.

Sewayaki Kitsune no Senko-san: This is one of those shows where you can probably guess exactly what it's going to be like from the title. It's cute kitsune wife (actual age: 800) and other girls in a rabukome animated by Douga Koubou... which is endorsement enough but it's also got Ayaneru as a meganekko joji anime otaku JD?? Hell yeah. The cast is actually fantastic: Waki Azumi, Mareitaso, Ayaneru and Kitaeri, and Suwabe Jun'ichi holds down the male protag fort so that should be good too. No reason to think this won't be great.

Kono Yo no Hate de Koi wo Utau Shoujo Yu-No: You wanna talk about some aesthetic, this is some aesthetic. It's an adaptation of the hugely influential PC-98 eroge of the same name, which was a work that in large part helped bring us the sort of complex science fiction and fantasy stories that would shape the golden age of that medium. With how much I've been lamenting the lack of 'that eroge aesthetic' in anime as of late, it should be obvious that I'm hype for this, and it's getting two cours from based feel. at that.

Fairy gone: Not gonna lie, I was kinda mad that this new P.A. Works original looks nothing like what they typically produce, but having seen the PV, it looks pretty good. Then I learned that the scripts are being written by the author of Grimgar, and I got hype. Fantasy plus WW2-ish shit is a good aesthetic (think Youjo Senki) and it's got the considerable might of a P.A. Works production behind it. The director of Suzuki Keiichi, who doesn't have a lot of credits but worked on the first season of the Jojo anime, which was great, so this one definitely seems like it could have all the ingredients to really pop off. The girls also look hot which is very important.

Nande Koko ni Sensei ga!?: With Hina-sensei of Domekano about to leave my life this show promises a much more concentrated injection of teacher moe into my veins... In fact it is all about lewd and cute senseis and they all look good. My only worry is that, as sometimes seems to happen with shows where the lewdness is put front and center, the animation doesn't really look like it's the best. I am grateful to this show for allowing Ishigami Shizuka to play a cute girl at least, even if she is still slightly typecast as the tomboy gym teacher.

Bokutachi wa Benkyou ga Dekinai: One of two shows about being a dumbass this season; in this one, everyone is a dumbass. It definitely looks like a standard harem anime, and I always need at least one of those a season to keep myself alive. The girls all look fantastic, but I'm especially excited for the pink-haired teacher character and the purple-haired loli BBA. There's also a delicious brown genki girl, a meganekko who wears kuropansuto... Yeah it's got all the good good ingredients. Oh yeah, it's also being directed by the guy who directed the extremely good Last Period anime last year, so it's got that going for it too.

Kenja no Mago: It's isekai tensei anime, and yes, it literally starts with the protagonist getting hit by truck-kun... But the PV ended up really winning me over, and I'm cautiously looking forward to this one. The premise is recycled, but there's nothing new under the sun anyway. It looks like it's got a decent sense of humor about it and the heroines look cute as hell, but it also looks like it's got some major production values being pumped into it. This show could definitely be a pleasant surprise.

Midara na Ao-chan wa Benkyou ga Dekinai: One of two shows about being a dumbass this season. This one has some good-looking character art courtesy of Silver Link, and one of a couple major leading roles for up-and-coming seiyuu Waki Azumi. The main girl looks extremely adorable and is apparently a pervert so I got hopes for this one to be good.

Senryuu Girl: We actually traditional Japanese arts now (a senryuu is a kind of poem similar to a haiku) but more importantly, cute girls. Za-san takes the leading role but there's also Sumipe as a chuuni looking girl, Kuno-chan, and Paisen, among others. The direction doesn't inspire confidence (this guy was behind the shittier latter seasons of Prisma Illya) but it still looks like a cute rabukome.

One Punch Man 2nd season: How can there be a second season when he already punched last time? He's all outta punches! In all seriousness, One Punch Man was a surprisingly enjoyable romp the first time around, thanks in no small part to the spectacular (especially for TV) animation on display. There is concern over it having moved from Madhouse to J.C. Staff for this season, but if J.C. are being given enough money to rustle up the same level of talent as last time it should hopefully still be a spectacle.

Yatogame-chan Kansatsu Nikki: Hougen marudashi no joshikousei! It's cute dialects anime!! That fishing anime had good dialects but it was actually a bad show; this looks like it will have a good dialect and be a good show. It should be cute if nothing else. The main heroine's thing is that she speaks Nagoya-ben, but given that the other heroines are listed as being from Gifu and Mie, maybe we will even get many dialects. Unfortunately, though, it's probably a short, since Creators in Pack are involved.

Nobunaga-sensei no Osanazuma: This is also a short (ten minutes) which is too bad because these girls look cute as heck. A show with a premise like this is really gonna depend on how likable the male protagonist is, though.

Hachigatsu no Cinderella Nine: Toukyou no chuusuu wa marunouchi, hibiya kouen ryougiin... Wait, wrong anime. But yes, like the venerable Taisho Yakyuu Musume of old, girls are playing baseball in anime again. This one is set in the modern day, and I have no idea if it's a fictional setting where girls all play baseball or if they're gonna do the Taisho thing and try to take down the baseball boys because the website still has no plot section. The character designs look good as hell though, coming courtesy of Noguchi Takayuki, who also did designs for Tenshi no 3P! (they were like the only good thing about that anime) and Shoujo-tachi wa Kouya wo Mezasu (similar). Hopefully this show has more than just good girls to ogle.

Shoumetsu Toshi: Only thing I really know about this is Ayaneru is in it because I've seen her doing promo work for it. The key visual definitely doesn't do it any favors, nor does the fact that it's apparently based on a mobile game, but man some of these character designs look great. Ayaneru plays some kind of moe gumshoe detective, Mingosu is a sexy lab coat channee, actually there's multiple sexy lab coat channees... Really that's all you have to tell me, I'm fucking in there. The show will probably be crap.

Carole & Tuesday: This looks very pretentious and vaguely like they're fishing for overseas viewers (actually they definitely are because the website even defaults to English when I load the site, which offends my sensibilities), but the PV does make it looks fairly interesting. It's another music focused series from Watanabe Shinichiro, who also tried to steal the hearts of the west with Sakamichi no Apollon in 2012, which was terrible. It might be neat though I guess. It does seem to have a black girl as one of the protagonists which is cool.

Isekai Quartet: I have no idea who asked for this, but if it gives me the opportunity to hear more of Amamiya Sora as Aqua while I wait for a third season of Konosuba, it can't be all bad. I ain't never seen no Overlord though, so a quarter of this is gonna be lost on me.

Strike Witches 501 Butai Hasshin Shimasu!: The title is appropriate because this short is basically an appetizer for the coming next wave of Strike Witches content. It's a cute honobono comedy starring the Strike Witches girls, so it'll probably be good. Hopefully this can remove from my mouth some of the bad tastes Brave Witches left. It won't be until next year that we get the return of Takamura-kantoku and true Strike Witches anime, though.

Araiya-san! ~Ore to Aitsu ga Onnayu de!?~: What the hell is this? Do they really have these in Japan? It's about a dude who washes girls in the bath?? Whatever the fuck is going on here, the girls look cute and it definitely promises to be lewd, at least on ComicFesta's own streaming service. MX version will probably have nazo no hikari, so hopefully the uncensored one pops up somewhere I can watch it.

Choukadou Girl 1/6: It's definitely impossible to not think of Frame Arms Girl when looking at this series, which will probably end up being an unfair comparison. For one, it looks like we got a shitty ass male protagonist instead of a cute girl. I remember how Busou Shinki turned out... Not having high hopes for this one.

Fruits Basket: Honestly, there's no way I'd be watching this if it didnt have such a famous name on the tin. Two ikemen danshi on the key visual is too many! Fruits Basket is a legend of shoujo manga, though, and there should be a lot of resources going into this new, full adaptation of the series, so I feel vaguely obligated to check it out. People are mad about the new character designs but the girls look pretty good, especially that blonde delinquent looking girl.

Sarazanmai: Uh-oh. It's Ikuhara anime. My consternation with Ikuhara is well documented, and although I've never seen his opus of Utena, I find his works, though visually compelling, to be frustratingly obscurantist, or to put it another way, "trying too hard." Still, you gotta give the guy credit for being unique I guess, so I'll still end up watching at least an episode, whatever the fuck it turns out to be about. Unfortunately there seems to be a major lack of girls to hold my interest, not to mention none to be lesbians, so it might not last very long.

Kono Oto Tomare!: It's koto anime. You can have an anime about anything and this is one about people who play the koto. Lots of traditional Japanese arts this season for some reason. Unlike the senryuu anime though, this one only has ONE measly female character, and it doesn't even look like she's the protagonist, so I probably won't watch it. The koto is cool though.

Kimetsu no Yaiba: This show looks like a big deal just from the number of stations it's airing on and the fact that it's a rare TV anime from Ufotable... Unfortunately I have little interest in actually watching it. It's a Shounen Jump series, the art makes it look edgy, it uses the word "zetsubou" in the tagline and I already hate the Hanae Natsuki-voiced boy protagonist just after seeing his face in the key visual. There is a cute looking oni girl though.

Gonna put these down here since it feels weird to rank what are essentially ongoing shows:

Aikatsu Friends! ~Kagayaki no Jewel~: Friends is the Aikatsu series that finally really got its claws in me, so I'm chuffed that we're getting a second season, with some sexy looking space idols voiced by Hiyocchi and Oonishi at that. The fact that there will apparently be a time skip has me a little worried, but also, two years older Mio and Maika are gonna be good. I'm sure it will still be great.

Kiratto! PriChan 2nd season: Unlike Aikatsu, Prichan doesn't seem like it's getting any major changes going into its second year, but I hope they shake it up with some new idols or something. Prichan's definitely not on the level of its predecessor (though little is) and its formula is getting a little stale, so hopefully they take this as a chance to rejuvenate it. Oshamatrix full idols now goddamnit.

[pod7]

Winter Anime* 2017 Lightning Review

*just the shows I watched of course

Shows included - ACCA: 13-ku Kansatsu-ka, Ai Mai Mi: Surgical Friends, Akiba’s Trip The Animation, All Out!!, BanG Dream!, Chain Chronicle, Chaos;Child, Demi-chan wa Kataritai, ElDLive, Fuuka, Gabriel Dropout, Gintama., Hand Shakers, Kemono Friends, Kobayashi-san chi no Maid Dragon, KonoSuba S2, Kuzu no Honkai, Little Witch Academia, Masamune-kun no Revenge, Minami Kamakura Koukou Joshi Jitensha-bu, Mori no Yousei: Kinoko no Musume, Nobunaga no Shinobi, Nyanko Days, One Room, Onihei, Piace: Watashi no Italian, Pokemon Sun & Moon, Sangatsu no Lion, Seiren, Spiritpact, Urara Meirochou, Youjo Senki

Settle in for some long reviews, and probably the worst reviewed season since I started doing this! Wow!

ACCA: 13-ku Kansatsu-ka It’s a MADhouse production, so I went in pretty sure I would like it. I was a bit wrong on my first impression; I thought it would be a man on the run type show, but it was actually a more nuanced, spy-that-doesn’t-know-he’s-a-spy type story. I liked the character design. It reminded me of some of the manga series in the “non-moe art” tag on Dynasty Scans. I was in love at first sight with Director General Mauve, voiced by Atsuko Tanaka (Motoko, Ghost in the Shell), and hoped she would play a bigger role than she actually did. I was completely taken off guard by Jean’s confession of his feelings for Grossular at the end, which Mauve had in common. If it had to be someone, I would have guessed it to be Niino, in the old ‘observer falls for subject’ cliche. Still, a welcome, and very low-key revelation that is certainly welcome. The music is really great in this series, especially the intro and outro themes. I would have like for some of the female cast members to have more to do; there were seemingly more women in the show, but they hardly ever had any relevancy. Also, a bit more action or urgency would have been nice. It felt towards the end like this would be called “the hipster’s anime”. Definitely recommended. 9/10

Ai Mai Mi: Surgical Friends Just as ridiculous as ever, though it had some oddly serious parts in some episodes as well. I am appreciating more and more the bit during the credits of each episode where an alpaca recounts an awkward tale of the life of the mangaka who writes AMM. I think the randomness is wearing thin now though. 7/10

Akiba’s Trip The Animation I had never played the game before so I didn’t really have any idea what this was about besides being located in Akihabara. It had a lot of parallels with Punch Line, which I noted in my first impression, just chock full of references and insider humor that I think ended up being lost on a lot of the Western viewers (including me, obviously.) I enjoy the first eight or so episodes, but right when most probably thought it got interesting, for me it was like I just couldn’t stand to watch it anymore. I ended up skimming through the last episodes, but honestly, unless you are REALLY into Akihabara as a culture or just otaku interests in general, I would pass on this show, sadly. Having to watch the idol performance more than once was torture. 6/10

All Out!! The not-so-subtle pattern that is emerging in my anime viewing habits, is that I will start a sport or game series, as soon as it becomes entirely focused on the sport or game itself, I lose interest almost immediately. The same unfortunately happened here; as soon as they hit training camp, it was like I was watching a completely different show, and just couldn’t stand to even skim through it at the end. They can’t all be winners, and even MADhouse can’t be perfect all the time. Dropped

BanG Dream! My first impression was pretty much right on the nose; this is literally what would happen if the people behind Love Live adapted K-On. The melodrama of Love Live with similar archetypes to K-On. Unfortunately, no super gorgeous teacher steps in to help, and instead of a school they have to save the local girls-only concert venue by playing a pop rock version of Twinkle Twinkle Little Star. I wish I were kidding. Not horrible or offensive, but just felt like a phoned in effort from the waifu buffet factory. 6/10

Chain Chronicle Sadly I just kind of forgot this show was even on, even though it showed signs of promise, I just couldn’t bring myself to care enough to catch up on it. Dropped

Chaos;Child The edgiest of edge. It made me appreciate the GOOD parts of Occultic;Nine that much more. I might have watched more if the adaptation of the prequel (episode zero) wasn’t just about the most boring thing I’ve watched in years. Dropped

Demi-chan wa Kataritai Top 3 of the season. It definitely felt less wacky than the manga, but I was okay with that. Satou-sensei stole the show, but Machi held her own in my opinion. It was funny to see how fast people tried to turn on the show when Hikari made Machi’s body hug Sensei and he was embarrassed because her boobs pressed into him when he wasn’t expecting it. However with a certain maid being INCREDULOUS, that movement died out before the next episode even came out. It was a good adaptation, and I think may just be my “comfy” show of the season, though again, a certain maid gave it a run for it’s money there too. 9/10

ElDLive I stand by my previous Space Patrol Luluco comparison. It was silly for the sake of being silly, but tried to add various chuuni and action tropes in to spice it up. To be quite honest this was a bit of a stinker, and only watched it for Misuzu to see if she grew any over the season (she did, but just the tiniest bit.) 4/10

FUUKA This was basically KimiKiss Pure Rouge but flipped love interests and included music to make more money off of the property with. It doesn’t do anything new or interesting, and it wasn’t satisfying at all. Like even knowing that Fuuka would end up being the girl the protag had feelings for, I still thought that maybe, just maybe she would do SOMETHING endearing in the least, but no, she just kind of was a brat at all points. Everything was really pretty, but zero substance. 3/10

Gabriel Dropout I think I started reading the manga for this before reading Demi-chan or Maid Dragon, so it’s kind of a surprise that of those three, this felt like the weakest effort. Something was lost in translation to animation to take away the magic presented in print. It was still enjoyable, it just didn’t have the punch I was expecting it to have, and I don’t know if it’s the low key music or the voices or what. Calling it a disappointment is going too far for me, but I certainly thought it would be better. 7/10

Gintama. Top 3 of the season. Pretty much just the adaptation of a single story arc, but an important one. Also, a super kick-ass, pulls no punches season. Loved the hell out of this show before, but this took it to a whole new level. I mentioned in my first impression that the period was a bit scary, but I now see that it was more of an affirmative statement, “GINTAMA, period.” 10/10

Hand Shakers This was really bad. Like, it’s a known thing that this show is bad. It was excruciating to give this show three whole episodes, but I managed it somehow. As admirable as it is that they went out on a limb to make their own original series, that doesn’t save it from being an over-designed, poorly thought out mess of a show. Dropped

Kemono Friends I just want the record to show that I was on board with this show from the very beginning, whereas the MAL user score was as low as 4.2 at the start of the season. It’s the innocence of Serval mixed with the goofiness of the friends, rounded out by the mystery of Kaban that give this show it’s oomph. The character design is really great too. Basically what it boils down to is that this show has four or five things that the internet typically hates when it comes to an anime, yet somehow captured the hearts thousands, from 4chan to tumblr and everywhere in between. It’s hard to imagine this not getting a second season of some kind, whether it’s a continuation of this season or an adaptation of the manga. 9/10

Kobayashi-san chi no Maid Dragon Top 3 of the season. A loving relationship between two adult women, albeit each loves the other in a different way (or do they?) A nurturing and caring relationship between an office worker and a young girl she adopts on sight. A family unit of two moms and a daughter that works. A dragon woman with giant boobs teasing a young boy that meant to summon a demon. Well, okay that last one isn’t exactly the squeaky-cleanest thing to happy this season, but the people who demonize this show because of it are missing out on an other wise great and potentially important series. I was surprised to find this was a KyoAni series; they tend to work in a very specific style, so the fact that this turned out looking anything like the manga is a miracle of it’s own, I think. Once I knew it was KyoAni though, I could see their thumbprints everywhere; the suddenly very poignant moment with great lighting and super appropriate music is something they’ve managed to perfect almost to a fault (to where it feels forced), but the couple examples in this show just added to the already cute moment that was happening. I am writing this the week before the finale, which features the dreaded anime killer Big Boobs Loli, but having read what comes after her initial appearance, I think that, should this get a second season, people will understand her character once the story moves forward (though the big boobs thing is kind of ridiculous, admittedly.) A wonderful, lovely, heart-warming supernatural comedy. 10/10 highest recommendation

KonoSuba S2 I may get some flak for this, but I felt there was a noticeable drop in quality between seasons. The writing was still good, and the performances as always were hilarious, but the animation seemed to have worsened quite a lot. I haven’t read any BTS for this series but it seemed like some of the more involved shots were rushed. Darkness continues to steal the show for me, even though I know Megumin is everyone’s waifu. I think it’s because I tend to always gravitate towards the girl in a show like this that has the least chance of ending up with the protagonist (Nisekoi, Toradora, Zero no Tsukaima, etc.) Not bad by any means, but I’m concerned for a season three should it happen. 8.5/10

Kuzu no Honkai Despicable trash. Soap opera level characters with midnight softcore love scenes between teenagers, some of which are borderline rape at best. Not even the legit lesbian love interest could keep me watching this show, that should tell you everything. Five episodes makes about 90ish minutes of my life I’ll never get back. Dropped, avoid 

Little Witch Academia This didn’t quite get the hype I thought it would, but it still seems most people that watch it are enjoying it immensely. However, I feel like it may be losing steam a bit, which is worrisome since it still has 12 episodes left to go through. It’s a bit frustrating to watch sometimes as someone who watched the first two movies/OVA, waiting for things like Ursula to be revealed as Chariot, and for Akko to get to a respectable level of magic use, things like that. I do enjoy the extra development that Lotte and Sucy have gotten, and I hope it extends to Diana, Amanda and some of the more prominent girls too. Continues!

Masamune-kun no Revenge The show had a bit of a twist on the usual formula, but by the fifth or sixth episode it was pretty clear it was the same old contrived tsundere harem romance series. When the guy seems to have some redeeming qualities, I can stomach a show like that for the sake of decent characters and performances, but this just ended up being a chore to watch. Even the debut of a late game older woman/love interest’s retainer wasn’t enough to save the show for me. I can’t see myself tuning in to a second season of this without some kind of huge plot twist like a female rival that the love interest is actually interested in (ha ha HAHAHAH) 5/10

Minami Kamakura Koukou Joshi Jitensha-bu In my first impression of this show, I wondered if it would be as dumbed down as the previous season’s cycling anime whose name I’ve already forgotten. It is. It’s basically the same show but with more characters. Has a good, cute sensei, but also has generic foreign student trope character, which was insufferable because she was basically the same character as the foreigner in Akiba’s Trip. Dropped

Mori no Yousei: Kinoko no Musume The amateurish charm I thought I saw in the first episode of this show quickly dissolved into frustration. If it had been a high school clubs project, then I would have supported them whole heartedly, but this seems like a bad mobile game cash-in, and unfortunately it came out in a season that had a GREAT mobile game cash-in. Dropped

Nobunaga no Shinobi The first season ends, but the second season starts in like two weeks, so I’m tempted to not even include this, because it’s silly that it will be considered separate seasons. It’s a charming, and surprisingly bloody show about feudal Japan and for those that have studied the history of that time period, there are some great gags pertaining to certain figures not shown in the best of lights. 8/10

Nyanko Days Once again, this was just a cute fluff series that hopefully paves the way for Nukoduke. If you need a cuteness shot in the arm between heavy shows, this is a good choice. 8/10

One Room My hopes that they would keep the viewer genderless were dashed pretty quickly with a onsen episode early on, and then the sickening imouto arc in the middle. The final four episodes featuring the childhood friend chasing her dreams was the redeeming factor here, I would recommend just watching those episodes to be honest. 6/10

Onihei One of the better shows of the season. It has a different vibe to anything else on at the moment, probably because the source was originally published fifty years ago. There is very little that is lost in translation, and I think it plays well to the modern audience. There is a bit of a problem with character design, which @fucktsunderes pointed out to me, that because there’s more realism to it, some of the characters end up looking pretty similar. Actually, not just some, but a lot. To the point where I wasn’t sure if a character that died was a character that I liked or not until they showed up in a later episode. Other than that though, a great crime thriller action show. 9/10

Piace: Watashi no Italian After an incredible year of short form series in 2016, it’s an odd feeling to only have Piace as a stand out show this season. It was just the right about of silly and cute, while also being about food and food service. A highlight is the outro being sang by two different cast members each week, with the finale having everyone singing. 9/10

Pokemon Sun & Moon The most fun I’ve had watching pokemon since I was a kid, fantastic show. I am somehow even more in love with Japan’s Musashi than America’s Jesse. I am definitely on the Mao/Lillie ship. Also the only theme song this season that I listened to for every single episode, it is so awesome. Continues!

Sangatsu no Lion As I covered in my review for All Out, when a show has a game or sport in it, if it becomes too focused on that game or sport, I lose interest quicker than a hiccup. It’s a good show, but the shogi was just not the good part of the show for me. I enjoyed Rei’s interactions with his sister and the three Kawamoto girls the most of the whole season. It’s when the show felt the most alive and relatable to me. Not to mention Momo is just too darn cute. Shaft does cute very well, and also does cold depression very well, too. A spinoff with the Kawamotos as the star would be the ideal second season for me, but I will continue to watch just about anything Shaft decides to gift to us. 8/10

Seiren I should have dropped this show, but I didn’t for some reason. The middle arc was definitely the best, the epilogue was really cute too. Not really much to say about this series, it just kind of was there every week. One of those “each path of the romance vn is animated” shows, so your mileage may vary. 6/10

Spiritpact Yaoi bait adapted from a Chinese comic iirc. The main characters were both unbearable, and the way they treated the first significant female character in the show was gross, so I dropped this quicker than a hot rock. Dropped

Urara Meirochou Controversial opinion time: This show would have been better without Nono and Koume. They added nothing to the story that couldn’t have been done by either Kon or Chiya, and honestly the four girls thing is so over-done that I end up comparing it mentally to all the shows I’ve already seen before I even watch the first episode. The teacher and the... morals officer? Whatever Saku was stole the show, with some great late game performances from Kon’s mother. It was a cute show, and I’ll watch another season if it gets one, but I’d like it to be a bit more focused on the divining stuff going forward, or at least more focused on Kon and Chiya. 8/10

Youjo Senki Not really sure about this show. I spent the first half of the season mistakenly thinking it was glorying the third reich, but even after being corrected, I still didn’t really understand who I was meant to support or sympathize with. I end up rooting for Tanya a lot of the time because I understand a lot of the anti-theological sentiment she has, but I’m not sure that’s really the intent... Like in the last episode, we see the young daughter of the man who was killed by Tanya after encountering more than once enlisting in what is the equivalent of the American army. Rather than sympathy and compassion for what is obviously a scared young woman going for revenge, I felt pity, because I know far too many people in real life who FROG it up big time (that being ‘full relying on God’, btw) when any sort of hardship comes their way. I don’t really think I could watch a second season of this, it would have to be more than just ‘Tanya pushes back against Being X, BX recruits someone else, etc’, like, if Tanya went the whole season pushing back but never heard a peep out of BX, and started to wonder how much of it was just in her head, and began to doubt the things she remembered from her past life, that would be intriguing, but I don’t really see it heading that way. Also, not nearly enough Visha screen time for my taste. 7/10

[deviloftherein-blog]

How do you feel about the WWII influence on your character's series?

The series happens in 1920s but the war has been long ongoing (i cant recall if anime ever explains the reason for it but manga does and it’s more or less setting for WW1), so it’s more like first world war never ended.

I am not sure? So …let me talk a bit.

In general the series is a mix of both though Political climate is more WWI as far as I can tell but I’m no expert lol it has been too long from the last time I studied this stuff. I can’t speak of the latter half of the series as no official material save for summaries of the novels (I haven’t read any of the said summaries)

Also this is obvious but there are no nazis regardless  BUT the methological thing is def something related to Germans (iirc they had strict discipline and really strict on recording things too etc) though you also must note that it’s also social commentary of the business world in Japan : http://mottainaiuniverse.tumblr.com/post/159376950957/%E8%AB%B8%E8%BB%8D-%E6%88%A6%E4%BA%89%E3%81%AE%E6%99%82%E9%96%93%E3%81%A0-i-really-like-the-series-its>> this is a good summary of that actually 

More or less villain POV regardless even if I doubt Mary will be “good” person either but well - rationality vs emotions is also one important thing in Youjo Senki.

Generally I can see why some people have problems with the series (manga and novel illustrations using Wehrmacht uniforms don’t help, anime uses WWI one’s I forget which position though) and yeah

So that said I’m not sure I’m entirely comfortable with everything but uh I honestly don’t think the series is trying to speak about the world wars in general but just about wars in general? The reason the setting is based on our world is because it’s necessary for Tanya to have all that information of the settings as it ties to the thematics again but lets nOT GO THERE NOW laughs

So yeah, one thing to note is also that Tanya isn’t exemplary person, I recall Carlo Zen said that too in the after word. What we have here is more or less villain POV even if Mary isn’t essentially force of GOOD either but that’s more about the emotions vs rationality (though Tanya isn’t exactly acting on pure cold logic either but that’s again derailing) On the same vein the same goes for Empire - this is more of villain POV just a bit more complex but 

So yeah, it’s late and idk if I’ve talked bs here or not but I hope this makes sense haha. I generally don’t see problem placing series in WW’s if it doesn’t glorify things that shouldn’t be glorified and I personally dont really see any of that in YS? And especially considering it’s thematics for now I can say that I don’t see an issue??? I don’t know what the future will bring

[tren-fraszka]

Tren’s anime roundup: Winter 2017

So I figured that as a horrible otaku that I am, I may as well do some roundup of anime I watched this season and give some recommendations... or not.

It will only contain shows I watched, but hey. It’s better than nothing. Also, I promise I will make some fun categories, so it’s not boring!

Best RPG team shenaningans

Konosuba 2 - if you love making fun of classic jRPG tropes and you haven’t seen the first season yet, you should totally go and see first season. Konosuba is basically a story of a REALLY powerful, but at the same time VERY dysfunctional 4-man party that is trying to save the world from demon king... or avoid the responsibilities for destruction they caused. Usually both.

Second season takes those shenanigans even further, featuring some really interesting ways of using the party members with high aggro (as we discover that priests have tendency to aggro undead if they are powerful and when you have a goddess in your party, well...). We also learn that masochistic paladins are literally the worst people to get possessed by the demon. For all parties involved. Except the paladin, herself. She had a blast.

The high comedic value continues to shine and while visuals dropped slightly during this season, I don’t think it was detrimental for the overall score of the series. The jokes were still great, the interactions between characters lively and the facial expressions remained top-notch.

I need 3rd season in my life.

Thank you for not blowing up the adaptation of manga I like THIS TIME A1 Pictures

Ao no Exorcist: Kyoto Arc - I have... strong opinions about A1 Pictures and they all come from their first adaptation of Ao no Exorcist manga. I really like this manga, okay. It’s all I want from a shounen series. Likeable hero, interesting side characters, conspiracies, overarching plot, cool fighting scenes. All the good stuff.

And then A1 Pictures came and after about 15 episodes of getting it right, they decided to do their own ending. And it was terrible. It’s the main reasons why I now have deep trust issues when it comes to adaptations of things I like.

So many years since the first Ao no Exorcist anime that made me into the salty person I am today, A1 Pictures returns with the adaptation that mercifully ignores their shitty original ending and rolls with the good stuff from manga.

It doesn’t mean I forgive you, A1 Pictures, but damn it’s the good stuff from manga. I may hate you a bit less now. At least until you try to desecrate another shounen I like, because I know this will happen sooner or later...

Sweetest coup d'état

ACCA - I’ve come, I’ve eaten the bread for 10 episode, I’ve took part in the biggest political turnover in the last two, because I couldn’t eat my bread in peace.

If you feel you need a series centering on a political intrigue with a mature lead and some nice food porn as a bonus, this is what you’ve been looking for. The initial development is rather slow, as the intrigue unfolds slowly, while the story centers more on worldbuilding, but the final payoff is satisfying enough to warrant a recommendation.

As long as you like this sort of stories, of course.

The most mature show

Demi-chan wa Kataritai - I didn’t initially plan watching this, because I thought it was one of those “cute girls doing cute things:, except the cute girls are demi humans (so like vampire, dullahan, yuki onna, etc.). Boy, was I mistaken.

Because this is a show about people with disabilities. Like, it’s not even subtle. This a show tackling the topic of difficulties that people who don’t fit the standard face. And it’s BRILLIANT.

I really love how the show approaches it, because it is not about dealing with bullies (there is like one episode with such plotline), but about problems with fitting into the world that does nor always take your needs into the account. It’s about small problems, like classmates not being sure if they can joke about the fact that dullahan’s head is separate from her body. Or the fact that dullahan needs a backpack, because a one-shoulder bag is inconvenient when you also need to carry your head.

It’s about accepting people who are different, but also being aware of their needs. It’s about learning of those differences and how they affect the life of such people. It’s about expanding the world.

It’s also a great comedy and one of the characters is a teacher who is succubus and she is really hot. Like seriously. She’s smoking hot while wearing a tracksuit. 10/10 would be seduced.

Best atheist versus god story in a World War I sauce

Youjo Senki - this series is many things and yet it never loses sight of what it truly is. A struggle of a very pissed off atheist against a god. Or Being X, as he lacks to call it. Or she. It gets confusing when the said atheist used to be a middle aged japanese salarymen, but now has been reincarnated as a girl into a XX century Europe. Except, in this world magic exists.

Yeah, as I mentioned, it’s a layered story.

While most of the story centers around the struggles of main hero(ine) as a soldier taking part in this worlds First World War, the core of the plot is the argument between the hero and the god. The main hero is not smart enough to realize that arguing with god right as he dies about the source of faith may be a stupid move. And he especially doesn’t seem to realize how stupid it is to present hypothetical situations to a being that can make them a reality.

(This is why you should read Bible kids. You can learn at least some basic mistakes to avoid when it comes to interacting with a powerful god. Shinto never prepares you properly for that.)

It’s an entertaining series with some over the top moments, but also a ruthless lead that makes sure we never stray from the goal. Hoping for 2nd season in the future.

Tren has a big soft spot for fantasy

Chain Chronicle: Haecceitas no Hikari  - it’s no joke. I’m weak when it comes to jrpg settings. As long, as the series is not a storm of cliches with idiot hero and a girl falling from the sky (yes, I’m looking at you Granblue Fantasy), I will happily eat it.

Then again, Chain Chronicles is one of the better contenders that came recently. With it’s polished visuals and refreshing take on classic stories, it’s actually a series I can recommend.

The thing I liked the most was the fact that the series actually starts when most would usually end - on the battle with the evil overlord, where the main hero and his party fight together with the allies they have gathered....

...except they lose the battle. Now the hero has to figure out how to turn the situation around, while the chaos spreads through the world.... preferably before the evil curse takes over his body and turns him into a demon. I’ve seen people complaining that underneath this exterior it’s the same “friendship wins” type of story, but personally I have nothing against it. It was still refreshing to see a hero who has to face a failure and the toll it takes on him.

If you liked my ranting let me know! I’ve been thinking about posting more thoughts about the stuff I watch. I’m currently considering some analysis about Tanya being quiet literally a Satan and why Re:Creators is shaping out to be one of the best series of this season. Or I can make short roundup of what I’m watching in spring anime season. I’m easily influenced, so your voice counts.

[yuu0a]

WINTER 2017 ANIME LIST

Ayo! Wassup. It’s that time of the season again where I drop down my opinions about this season’s anime. Instead of writing my 15-pages research, I decided to write this instead. Who knows? I might get some inspiration. All of these are just my opinion and I am no expert in animation so please excuse me.

Tales of Zestiria X Season 2

The second-cour of Tales didn’t fail me. It was sure nice to see the Sorey and the gang back in action especially with the plot thickening. I didn’t play the game so I don’t know how things will turn out but I am really liking where this is going. With Rose as the focus for the past episodes we will now see how her relationship with Sorey will change and how will they get Dezel to their side? That’s what we are about to find out.

Little Witch Academia

Boy, oh boy. This is one of my AOTS contender. Hands down, Studio Trigger. I can’t help but be at awe every single episode. I really love this anime because the two movies really got me. It made me feel like a 5 y/o again inside this XX y/o body. I know it is shown as a mahou shoujo anime but I treat it as a slice of life anime. I love the influence of Western animation on this anime. It’s like something you’ll watch from Cartoon Network. I am really excited to see how they’ll reveal Chariot’s past. If you want something that will give you joy, watch this anime.

Gabriel Dropout

I am a sucker for Doga Kobo. I usually wait for their release every season which is usually moe blob. I am weak against moe characters. At first you’ll think that it will go down the Umaru route but it didn’t. It showcases the life of angels and demons on earth. This anime is so fun to watch because the main character had a 360-degree character change. The characters are endearing especially Vigne. So, if you want some light-hearted moe anime, you can check this out. It’s fun.

ACCA 13-ku Kansatsu-ka

I enjoy watching this. That’s all I could say. I had been a fan of Ono Natsume’s manga especially after reading her work in the Cigarette Anthology which I think made her inspired to write this show or that’s just me. You should check her work on that anthology, you’ll get the ACCA feel. I won’t lie because I watched this because it’s done my Madhouse. So, far I find it interesting and it stirs your curiosity. It leaves me a lot of question every episode and a certain part of me tells me that don’t trust anyone even the MC. It’s a great watch. The OP is amazing, it’s catchy AF. And the ED animation is so splendid.

Kobayashi-san Chi no Maid Dragon

I was not expecting too much from this anime when they said that it’ll have an adaptation by KyoAni and since I am a sucker for KyoAni, I watched it. And all I could say is sasuga KyoAni! After the spectacular show Hibike Euphonium, this anime is refreshing in my eyes. I am so glad I watched this because KyoAni never let me down. It’s a great show and a feast for the eyes because of the color and brilliant animation created by the studio. Kobayashi is a normal MC with really interesting characters around her making her life extra special. I love her life gradually changed with the involvement of dragons in her life. Tohru is really adorable with her undying love for Kobayashi and Kanna is a gift for all of us. Her actions in the recent episode tugged my heartstrings and made me love her more. Those simple gestures mean a lot. The balance of comedy and SOL in this anime is really great. So, if you want a good SOL, this is for you.

Kuzu no Honkai

Ah yes, I am watching Kuzu no Honkai and I have no words for it. If you like romance anime with mature tones and drama, you should check it out. I’m still watching it to see how low can these characters sink just because of love. It’s that type of show that is somewhat painful to watch but you still watch it to feed your masochistic self that you don’t want other people to know. Yeah, it’s that type of show. The I don’t want this anymore but I am still watching it. What I like about this anime is the direction of the story, it’s good in handling moments with rated scene and turning it to a dramatic one where you’ll sympathize with the character because she’s just too pitiful but at the same time argue with how wrong all of this is because their morals and ideals will be fucked up if the sink in further.

Shouwa Genroku Rakugo Shinjuu Second Season

This anime is a gift to us all. This my other contender for AOTS. Hands down, Studio Deen. I don’t have any words for this show. It’s just so spectacular. It’s the continuation of Kiku’s life and now it involves Yota and Chinatsu. I don’t want to write anything anymore because you should see the beauty of this anime yourself. If I am not convincing enough, the drama and character development in this anime is amazing. You should check it out because the latest episode is really good, so good I can still remember. The voice actors did solid work on this anime especially Ishida Akira. You should really check this out.

Ao no Exorcist: Kyoto Fujuou-Hen

I got to say that this is one of my favorite arc when I was reading the manga. I actually binge read the manga because I want to know what happened after I left off from Rin and Amaimon’s fight. I think I did the right thing because the next episodes after that was anime original. I am so excited for this because it really has good fight scenes and we’ll see good character development. The OP is so great, gives a hint of nostalgia from 2010 anime. I hope that we’ll see one of my favorite character and I hope that he’ll be voiced by Yukyan.

Youjo Senki

To be honest, I was intrigued when I saw this because it has a peculiar art style. It took me 3 episodes to get used to it. I was hesitant at first because witch and war anime was a bit meh for me because I didn’t actually enjoy Izetta from last season. But so far, I am liking this one. Who wouldn’t love a sadistic loli going rampant in the battlefield and what more if it’s voice by the loli queen herself, Aoi Yuuki. This anime is fairly enjoyable. It’s one of the anime I look forwards to watch every Saturday.

Demi-chan wa Kataritai

First episode in and it got me, all characters are so lovable. I like Machi but Hikari is a gift to us all. I really like her character. She is so adorable. I was surprised to see a lot mythical creature anime this season and this one is a great contender for slice-of-life of the season especially with the handling of the issue in Episode 4 and the handling of Demi’s in the school and how they’ll belong in the school and soon in the community. I really like this kind of anime. They leave you nothing but light-hearted feelings deep inside. You should check this out, if you haven’t?

So, that’s the anime that I’m watching this season. As for short anime, I’m watching Koro-sensei Q which is highly recommended for Ansatsu Kyoushitsu fans out there because it’s really funny especially the latest episode. I hope I somehow got you into watching any of these and I highly recommend Shouwa Genroku Rakugo Shinjuu but be sure to watch the first season first. If you don’t want a sequel anime, Little Witch Academia will also be a good choice. So, here’s the list of anime that I am watching this Winter of 2017.