#and my general enjoyment of dunking on Rush

[diantheia]

Rush has absolutely no rizz, no game. They've developed the mentality of 'if I can't pull, no one can!' As a result, they've become aggressively protective of the flowers they grow in the greenhouse, not wanting them to be used by others in their courtship attempts. It's on sight if they see anyone trying to take them, and they're super suspisious of those who don't usually hang out in the greenhouse being there.

Entities sometimes hire Snares to try and grab some flowers, not that it has a high success rate. Rush has a near omniscient level of detection for when Snares are trying to pick flowers, so will charge through the greenhouse to stop them.

Picture: tiny Snare just happily plucking flowers from flower pots, just minding their own buisness. Next thing they know, Rush charges at them, grabs their entire tiny body in their fist (Snares emit a squeak like a dog chew when grabbed this way), holds them up to their face and asks "Who sent you?" really angrily. The Snares never spill, they can't talk.

[dramavixen]

watch this! – one and only

I watched the first episode of this with my parents. They backed out due to a little thing called instinct, which informed them that the story would turn out too sad to handle. I inherited this instinct, but proven now and again is how I don’t listen to it as often as I should. Hence, I watched this entire show by myself, fully prepared for it to make me feel like garbage. And what do I get? My own self, dunked in the trash can, accompanied by piles of tissues which have been drenched in my own tears. Aha, so this is the sorrow that is One and Only (周生如故).

What is it?

A Chinese historical drama centered around a young noblewoman, betrothed to the crown prince, who finds herself under the tutelage of a capable general — one who is also the uncle of the newly crowned emperor. At first glance, you might think, tragic historical drama, yeah, I’ve been there before. But it doesn’t matter, because this show will still end up clubbing you over the head and rendering you so. So sad.

Based on the novel, 一生一世美人骨 (One Life, One Incarnation — Beautiful Bones) by Mo Bao Fei Bao. The novel follows a female lead who has retained the memories of her past life, in which she and the male lead both met tragic fates—this drama covers that “past life.” Isn’t it so kind of them to literally tell us beforehand that it’s a tragedy? Not that it helps in mitigating the pain, but you know. At least they tried.

Unlike other historical dramas that continuously outdo one another in terms of episode count, this one spares you with its 24 episodes. It’s long enough to incorporate the inevitable political turmoil without beating that dead horse, while also developing the most satisfying and agonizing slow-burn romance known to man.

Why watch?

Made for masochists – if you’re like me, and you suffer a physical aversion to happy romances (A.K.A., romances that are actually enjoyable to watch), then let us rejoice; for the drama overlords have blessed us this one time. One and Only is the least fun time that has befallen my cardiovascular system. The whole experience is just you deluding yourself into believing that nothing bad will happen to any of the characters, while simultaneously resigning yourself to the fact that whatever’s coming is going to hurt like a mothereffer.

My favorite part is that the drama never feels like it’s trying too hard to be tragic, which I realize sounds ironic when considering how that’s its selling point. But have you ever watched a show where someone gets hit by a truck and you think, oh, I guess that’s the next story arc? This is the exact opposite of that situation, where your immersion is so deep that all the emotions you end up suffering are as genuine as if you are participating in the story itself.

We like good actors – Bai Lu cries, I cry. Bai Lu bawls, I bawl. Bai Lu looks like she’s about to tear her heart out, my chest aches like it did when I went through my first breakup. How dare she.

P.S. Ren Jialun is one of few actors who can perform the classic “stoic” character without coming off as a total plank.

Also must give credit to his character’s voice actor, Bian Jiang, who shows up so frequently in dramas that you’d think he’s the only guy in China who can talk...but he’s got such a smooooooth voice, so who am I to complain?

Good pacing – I have a hunch that the writer was once a musician, because the events in this show fall into place with impeccable timing. Nothing is rushed or draggy. You get to witness the main relationship develop without feeling like the leads are being forced together just because they’re the main characters, but no unnecessary problems are sprinkled in to add “excitement” or “suspense” either. The plot is straightforward in the best way possible.

On...ly...YOUUU – I prefer this show over its sequel (which is basically the redemption arc of the leads’ relationship), if only for how pure, yet heavy, the romance turns out to be. There is nothing that can make you doubt their affection for one another. It almost entirely consists of yearning, and pining; then some more yearning and pining. Maybe the occasional longing glance, if the directors are feeling generous. In other words, it’s the superlative form of romance. Are my genre preferences showing yet?

I despise this drama’s poster. It looks kinda cute, doesn’t it? Yeah, that’s how they get you interested. Then when you see it again after watching the show, it’s suddenly the most gut-wrenching piece of marketing in existence. Why.

Pretty – gotta love looking at gorgeous setups with specific color palettes. It’s very nice, to have something beautiful to look at after the tears clear from your vision.

10 out of 10, provides a solid punch to the heart. Don’t forget to prepare water. Can’t finish the drama and cry your eyes out if you pass out from dehydration, itself caused by crying.

[futurewriter2000]

Close Friends - pt. 11

A/N: It’s not over yet but like.... how did I do?

XX

June. 

June finally came, it was rough in the beginning with the final few exams but enjoyable towards the end. 

For you, all those months on focusing on the exams was a bliss becasue if you were stressed enough for pieces of papers deciding your future, you weren’t thinking about the four boys you used to call friends. 

They’ve been great contemplating months of long nights of crying and sobbing. You saw them everywhere. You saw them in the Great Hall, classess, corridors, Hogsmeade, everywhere really and it was hard at first but there was something about them- something that changed. Whether they got closer since your last encounter with them or they’ve matured. 

You haven’t been talking to neither of them. There were some nodds and smiles whenever some of you passed, Sirius more guilty, always looking away but you managed to actually forgive him. 

You couldn’t understand how you could. Usually, you would have hold on to a grudge and never forgive him for hitting you. Some days, you could see him staring in class and it was as if he was screaming appologies at you with his eyes. 

Knowing Sirius for years, he wouldn’t do what he did if he wasn’t truly hurt. He was in love with you and you knew that. He was in love with you and you basically told him you were in love with his best friends. That they were perfect for you. Not him, who had tried months to speak those words- those three words that seemed so heavy on his heart and who would genuenly love you with everything he has got. You knew Sirius. You knew how intensly he could feel his emotions, whether that was love or hurt. If he loved you, he loved you with every single atom in his body and if he hurt- he definetly hurt until he fell into the depths of darkness. 

You knew him so well, so goddamn well that you felt his emotions through all those days. Whenever he was happy and you didn’t see it, you felt happy. Whenever he was in his deepest of refrets, you cried those nights. Whenever he looked at you, you could feel the guilt he felt. It was as if the two of you were connected in such a deep level it felt impossible to think that maybe, just maybe he was right. You two-

“You coming?!” your roomate ran across the room with her bathing suit on, smiling and tying her hair.

She interrupted your train of thoughts but you smiled anyway. Today was a nice sunny day at the lake. Everybody will be there. You put on your dress and your flip flops, grabbed the towel and glasses and shouted back. “It’s you who we’re waiting, Fran.” 

She popped her head out of the warderobe and smiled. “I just don’t have anything to wear!”

“You’ll be in your swimsuit anyway- just throw something on and lets go!” you rushed her and she quickly put her shorts and T-shirt over. 

“Yeah, you’re right. I really don’t give a damn of how I look.” she laughed, grabbed her bag and started running after you.

---

It was rare to be hot in Britian but when it was, you wanted to enjoy the heat and the sun burning your skin. 

It was such a nice summer day. There was music coming from the stereos and students talking, laughing, some of them even playing volleyball and you? You were sun tanning. At times you pulled yourself up on your elbows and looked around, specifically on the group of boys at the other side of the lake. 

All shirtless, including Remus who finally showed his pecks you didn’t know existed. James had his body lines and muscles nicely toned, including the V-line that followed to his trunks. He and Sirius were joking around, playfully fighting and pushing each other in the water. You could hear Sirius bark-like laugh from all over there and it plastered a nostalgic smile on your lips. 

You and him used to laugh together all the way. He wasn’t that nicely rippd as the other two but his shape was nicely fit and for some reason you couldn’t look away. 

And then- then the most perfect thing happened. 

‘ You and Sirius were studying for your final exams in your 5th year. He kept groaning and whining as he kept re-reading the same line for the past 5 minutes. 

“Come on, Black. Just one more exam.” you said as you flipped the page.

“No.” He jumped on his feet and walked to his stereo, turning on the radio and surfing through the stations for some music. 

‘I’m begging! - the song started and Sirius couldn’t help himself but smile so brightly, jumping on his feet and clapping  

“Sirius no!” you laughed at his funky dance moves 

‘ Beggin', beggin' you Put your loving hand out baby ‘ - he put his hand on his heart and started walking towards you, pulling you up. 

“Come on, baby. Put your loving hand out dar-darling!” 

‘ Riding high, when I was king Played it hard and fast, cause I had everything!’ - he continued to sing outloud and to your surprise he had a nice voice. 

He interwined his fingers with yours and pulled you close, both dancing and laughing as the song continued.’

The two of you made so many dance moves to this song that day and when you heard the same intro, your eyes locked with his so fast until James hand pushed Sirius face back into the water. 

You let out a giggle as he came back out, confused and his hair all over his face. He pushed James back and slicked back his wet hair, lookign back at you, smiling and singing along the lyrcs.

‘ Walked away, won me then But easy come and easy go And it would end-’ 

He could see the giggles coming from all that distance, so with a leap of his heart, he jumped out of the water and started to make his way to you. 

Running before the next few lines of the song could come, you stood up as well and just let it play out. 

‘  So why anytime I bleed, you let me go Anytime I feed you get me know Anytime I see you let me know But, I plan and see just let me goI'm on my knees when I'm (beggin'g) Cause I don't want to lose (you) -’

He was now close to you, dripping from water and panting from the run and watching you with apologetic eyes. Opening his arms he continued.  “ I got my arms on spread And I hope that my heart gets fed, matter of fact girl I'm beggin'.” 

You stayed quiet for the chorus, letting him watch your reaction and letting his smile falter. He bit his lips, completely embarrased from what he did but it was after the chorus, that you grabbed his hand and started singing.

“ I need you, (yeah) to understand Tried so hard To be your man The kind of man you want in the end Only then can I begin to live again.” you pressed yourself on his chest, feelign your heart flutter on his touch and smiling so wide your cheeks started to hurt. 

Happy as a man could be, Sirius spun you around until you were back to his chest, his hand on your hip just for a few moments before he spun you away and continued to sing the next part. 

‘ An empty shell I used to be Shadow of my life Was hangin' over meA broken man That I don't know Won't even stand the devils dance To win my soul ‘ 

You laughed and he did as well because all this song was planned for when the two of you were 15, singing it back in his room during studying. Whenever it came on the radio, the two of you would sing out your part, no matter how awful your voices sounded. 

‘ Why we chewing, why we chasing Why the bottom, why the basement Why we got good shit don't embrace it Why the feel for the need to replace me ‘ - both of you sang together, throwing your hands and jumping just as you did 3 years ago, his arms wrapping around you and pulling you close as you wrapped your arms around him as well, swinging on both of your feet. 

The song continued to play but the two of you continued to stay in each other’s arms, his cold and wet body against your heated one. Overjoyed as he was, he let his nose dig into the crook of your neck, smelling the shampoo he was so obsessed with but this time it was a fresh scent of watermelon. 

He pulled away and cupped your cheeks. “Watermelon?”

You laughed at his obsession with your shampoos and nodded. “Yeah. Nice fragmence.” you shrugged and grabbed your towel, turning to your friends. “I’m going to the other side for a while- that’s alright?” you asked as Fran put up her glasses and checked Sirius from head to toe, grinning. 

“Honey, as long as I can come with you? Might introducing me to the tall one?” all the two of you turned to the guy she was pointing.

“Moony?” Sirius smiled.

“Remus?” you looked at her and gave her a wink. “Sure.” you said without feeling any kind of jealousy feeling inside of you as you thought you would. 

Fran got up and grabbed her stuff as well, following the two of you. You let Sirius go a bit further so you could lean to Fran and whisper in her ear. “The abs one.” you smiled and she turned, smiling cheekely as well. 

“Yeah?”

“Fantastic kisser.” you said, pulling down your glasses and running to Sirius side. 

---

There wasn’t a sconf of an awkward moment between the group when you and Fran came. James had his eyes narrowed at the two of you meanwhile Remus kept smirking at the sun, just knowing he was right. Right about you and Sirius, right about how everything would turn out anyway and right in general. It brought him some sort of pleasure but if he was honest with himself, he truly wished that he wasn’t right for this. 

“Took you long enough.” James beamed, giving you a long hug and squeezing you tightly. “Thought we’d have to- you know?” you could feel his arm muscles tighten as he lifted you and started carrying towards the lake.

“James- James! James don’t you fuckign dare! James!” you continued to try get out of his grip when he threw both of the two of you into the cold water. 

You felt your whole heated, sunburnt body get washed by the coldness of the water, James arms wrapping around your stomach and pulling you out with him into the surface, laughing. “Welcome back ,Twizzlers.”

“YOU TWAT!” you splashed and kicked him underwater as he pulled you back and took a hold of your head.

“Take a deep breath baby.” he said and you could feel yourself panic a bit as he dunked your under again. 

You swam around him and tried to do the same but he kept his arms fighting yours and he dunked you again until Sirius jumped in, screaming.

“CANON BALL!” he shouted as he splashed next to the two of you, dunking James head under water and smiling at you as he held him under. “He gets cocky if he always wins.” he winked at you with a smile as you laughed.

“Makes two of you.” 

---

When the evening started to approach and only a few more people stayed, mostly Gryffindors and Hufflepuffs. 

Sirius continued to watch you from his spot. Since you sat down on the pier and dipped your into the lake, swinging them back and forth. 

Nobody could really know what Sirius was thinking but both of the one boy had a a close idea of what he might be thinking. Remus and Fran were both gone somewhere and James was just about to leave. He couldn’t yet. Not until Sirius was next to you. 

“You know- you’ve waited for years to tell her how you feel, if you continue to do so, it’s going to turn worse than before.” he told him, standing up and grabbing his towel before leaving him. 

When he turned around, he could see Sirius standing up and slowly making his way to you. Pleased with himself, he left the two of you alone. 

Sirius stopped a few feet behind you. He could feel his heart throbbing inside of him but at the same time, the calm lake and the following clouds on the sky that you observed so distinctively let the throb fade. 

You could feel him when he sat down next to you. His eyes watchign forward, his legs swinging gently from the dock. It was only a couple of moments when his eyes averted from the sky to you. He was observing- observing the burns on your nose and cheeks- the sticky tuft of your hair that was pulled up into a bun but some falling down because of the weak rubber-band. 

You looked at him as well, your eyes in this perfect doting join.

“A day doesn’t go by I don’t think of what I did to you. You and the other three that day. “ he started and you sighed, trying to interrupt him.

“Sirius-”

“No, just let me say this.” he said, looking away for a moment before locking his eyes with yours. “I knew it was you. I knew it was you when you called out my name and tried to pull me away. I knew- at first I thought that it was Peter because that could have been excuse that I didn’t mean it but I was so hurt- so hurt when Remus told me that you and him-” he stopped, looking away and clearing his throat. “Uhm...I knew it was you but I was so angry- I was SO angry at you, at the world, at this stupid destiny where you don’t love me like I want you to love me. I punished you for it. I hit you because I had noone else to hit but you have to believe me, (y/n), I regretted it right after. I wouldn’t do that to you- I wouldn’t but I did and I think I’ll probably regret it till the day that I die.” his eyes started to tear up but you quickly took his hand and brought it to your cheek. 

“When we started hanging out, I was in love with you. I was so in love with how you could make me feel at times, you know but I didn’t want to be one of those girls and I wanted to prove that to you. I wanted to prove to you I could be more to you than those girls- and then you started flirting with other girls and I was relieved because then we could still be friends and not have it complicated.” you smiled and saw his eyes falling out of his head when you said you were in love with him. “James was funny. He was and I knew since I couldn’t have you, I can have him because you never liked me the way I liked you, so I just stopped liking you and you didn’t mind me flirting with James so I thought that was it.”

“And then 5th year happened and I realized I was in love with you. I tried to bury it. I really did because you were my best friend but then a thought kept repeating itself in my head, saying that being in love with my best friend isn’t really a bad idea, is it.”

“Well I didn’t realize you did fancy me back until 7th year-”

“The bracelet?” he asked and you laughed. 

“I thought it was just a token of your love for me but months after you not dating anybody but hover around me kind of made me think.” 

“Every day before I went to see you I tried to repeat what I wanted to say. Then you kissed James and I was so mad- so mad your first kiss was with James and not me. Because you can’t ever forget your first kiss-”

“You and Jill?”

“Yeah-” he laughed, reminiscing back. “Still, all I could think about was what you said about soulmates and first kisses, you know? I guess if I kissed you first, you’d think I was your soulmate- or something- I don’t know.” he tried to laugh it off, knowing it was probably a stupid thing to say... but it was true and he promised himself to tell you everything. “And then Remus- and Remus is an excellent kisser, better than James-”

“What?” you cut in, watching him with shock. “You kissed-”

“Everybody kisses their friends at least once.” he shrugged. “Except us appereantly.” he leaned and wiggled his eyebrows meanwhile you scoffed and pushed him back. 

“In your dreams, Black.” you laughed and he leaned back on his arms, swinging his legs.

“Worth a try.” he smiled. 

“I promised myself I won’t get involved with you four anymore.” you said. “Since the whole Remus fiasco- we didn’t... I mean, when you said if we... if we slept together. We didn’t.” 

He turned his head to you, watching your whole face features as he simpered. “I know. Remus explained the whole deal.” he then narrowed his eyes at you and continued. “You got Remus drunk. James and I have been trying to get him drunk for years.” 

“Well, you and James are clearly not a woman.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?!” he laughed.

“Let’s say you were at a party- and that you weren’t an alcoholic that you were- a girl approaches you and offers you a drink. Would you take it?” 

“Yes.”

“And if your friends who were always so clearly drunk and irresponsible offered you a drink, would you take it?”

“Is that an insult?”

“Sirius...”

“I get your point.” he brushed his hand in defeat, looking back at the sight in front of you. 

You followed his eyes and let the silence take over. 

“So what now?” he asked. “What are we?”

“Are you still in love with me?” you asked him as he kept quiet, putting up his hand and for the first time since he sat down, you noticed the bracelet he wore- your bracelet. 

He twisted it around his wrist and smiled at it. “I’d like to think so, yes.” he smiled at you. “Are you in love with me?” he asked, watching your eyes so focused on the bracelet. 

Smiling, he took it off his hand and offered to put it on you. 

“It was always meant to be yours.” he said and you put up your hand, feeling your heart tighten in your chest. “If you still want it?” 

“I do.” you nodded, feeling your eyes water but you quickly dried them off. 

He put the bracelet back on your wrist and later pulled out the long chain from his trunks’ pocket. 

You couldn’t believe your eyes. He kept it.

He put the chain around his neck and clasped it together, bringing the silver in to the front. “I kept it and I never told anybody where I got it.” he kept the ring in his hands before letting it hang around his neck, looking at you. “So...” he said and you looked up at his eyes. “Are you in love with me still?” 

He was prepared. His whole body was prepared, tense, veins beating in sync with his heart. 

“Maybe.” you said, smiling.

“Maybe?” he asked, smiling. “Is that a yes? A no?”

“It’s a maybe.” you continued to smile, though you knew the exact answer to his question, you just didn’t want to let him know it yet.

“Than if it’s a maybe, I’ll wait.” he stood up and offered you a hand. “Whatever the real answer is-” he pulled you up until the two of you were chest to chest. “-I’ll still want you to be in my life. Friends or not. I could live with us being just friends but I could never live without you being a part of my life.” he said, pulling you into a hug and holding you, knowing what he said was the truth and knowing excatly that besides that one regret, he wouldn’t have any more of them. 

[cherry-valentine]

Winter 2021 Anime Season:

What I’m watching:

Log Horizon season 3 is all about the politics. Of all the “trapped in a video game” anime I’ve seen, Log Horizon has always been unique in the way it focuses not on the drama and action (although there is some of that), but on the world building of the “game” the characters find themselves stuck in. It’s less a game and more an entirely new world, one that the players, called “Adventurers,” are keenly aware of their influence on. The show focuses much more on the politics, economics, history, etc. of this world than it does on battles or romance. This sets it apart from things like Sword Art Online and the .hack franchise. Season 3 so far seems to be focusing on how the hub town of Akiba will be governed, with an actual election taking place. The Adventurers have to form good business relationships with the “People of the Land” (NPC’s, who in this world have their own personalities and lives and are just as developed as the players). The series goes into things like power systems, food supply, the politics of arranged marriages, and so many other things that make this world so interesting. Because of this, I’ve seen people calling the show boring or slow. I can understand how it could be seen that way, but I honestly find it fascinating. When the show does focus on action, it really nails it. So far season 3 has had pretty much zero action, but I’m guessing we’ll get some in the later part of the season. The animation is nice, with tons of characters sporting various designs. The music is great too. While I do miss the “Database” opening theme from season 1 and 2, this new one is pretty good. Watch Log Horizon if you’re into fantasy world-building. Avoid if you think a few episodes without a fight makes a series boring.

Beastars season 2 is a delight. I didn’t watch the first season as it aired, so I quickly caught up on Netflix before season 2 started, and I’m so glad I did. The show is definitely something I didn’t think I would enjoy, but everyone seemed to agree it was fantastic, so I gave it a shot. I intended to watch the first episode one evening to see what it was like and ended up watching the first eight in practically one sitting. For those unaware, Beastars is about a society of vaguely human-like animals (almost all of them walk upright on two legs and wear clothes, for example) and the conflicts between the carnivores and the herbivores (many of whom live in constant fear of being eaten, even though eating meat is illegal). The core of the story is about a wolf, Legoshi, falling in love with a rabbit, Haru, and all the complications that arise from that. Apparently, inter-species relationships are allowed, but frowned upon (I guess? It’s never explicitly stated either way). What makes this relationship interesting is the fact that the wolf is shy and awkward (and just generally a sweet guy) while the rabbit is more experienced and worldly. Something that struck me as interesting is that the rabbit Haru is sexually active, and has been with several different male characters. While the other characters, naturally, have things to say about this (calling her a “slut” or a “bitch” - the main setting is a high school after all), the story itself doesn’t condemn her for it. In fact, the story presents her in a positive light, sexual history included. The fact that she sleeps around is never portrayed as a negative aspect of her character, and Legoshi is very much aware of her activities. It’s a surprisingly sex positive take. Of course, this positivity doesn’t extend to the audience. Avoid comments sections on episodes of this show unless you want to see some rampant slut shaming.

I ended up talking mostly about season 1, but I didn’t get to do a write-up about it so there’s that. Season 2 is so far very good, dealing with a plot thread that had been left dangling in season one: an herbivore student was murdered and eaten in the first episode, and the mystery of who the killer is was pretty much dropped in favor of character development and world building. But season 2 is addressing that mystery in earnest, and it’s been exciting to watch Legoshi pursue the case. Overall, it’s an engaging show that I regret sleeping on until now. The opening and ending themes are real bangers and the animation looks great.

Dr. Stone Season 2 was easily my most anticipated series this season. It was my favorite show during it’s first season and is my favorite overall this season as well. The show is just so fun. The very quick and basic plot setup is that humanity was turned to stone in the modern age and, thousands of years later, the earth has been retaken by nature. A teenaged scientific genius named Senku breaks free of his stone shell and decides to save everyone and bring science and technology back to the world. In conflict with him is Tsukasa, a physical powerhouse who wants to destroy all the stone adults and create a utopia for the youth. Season 2 leaps right into the war with Tsukasa’s army, with Senku and his allies actually building a primitive cell phone to communicate over wide distances. The charm of this series has always been in its mixture of science facts and methods (all based on real-world science and theoretically possible) and dramatic action between well developed characters, both presented in equally exciting lights. It’s just as much fun watching Senku and his friends gather materials to make a vehicle as it is watching the various skillful warriors battling it out. The art style is something often commented on, as the character designs take a little getting used to, but the animation itself is very nice. As per usual, it has amazing opening and ending themes, with my favorite opening of the season.

The Promised Neverland Season 2 is a bit of a mess. I don’t follow the manga, but I enjoyed the first season of the anime very much and, just by virtue of being on Tumblr and being aware of the series, I ended up hearing about some major plot points from the manga that had me excited. So season two started and the first few episodes were great. But then things started seeming rushed, or just not quite right. A glance at the comments on the episodes revealed that entire story arcs had been skipped, and it really shows even to someone like me who hasn’t read the manga. And one major event I had seen so many images of from the manga is clearly being done in a completely different way in the anime (one that lessens the scene’s impact quite a lot). So... I’m not sure how to feel about this series. It was one of my most anticipated shows this season, but now it’s dropped down toward the bottom, and that’s disappointing. I guess I’ll finish this out and then consider picking up the manga, since apparently this is so different it won’t be spoiling much.

World Trigger Season 2 was a bit of a surprise. I only found out about it a few days before it began airing, and I honestly hesitated when deciding whether or not to watch it. When the first season aired, I loved it. I was sure it would be a new favorite. But then the filler arcs started, and they were almost unbearably boring. I dropped the series and always wondered if the show went back to its former greatness. So when season 2 started, I wondered if this was more filler, or if the filler arcs had ended in season 1 and I’d missed out on some content that I’d need to watch to understand season 2. Plus, my memory of season 1 wasn’t so great. With these thoughts in mind, I decided to watch the first few episodes of season 2 and see if I could make sense of it. Luckily, all of my concerns flew out the window pretty quickly. By the end of the first episode, I was enjoy it so much that I didn’t care about any of the things I’d been worried about. Sure, I might not have remembered all the names or all the details, but the important stuff was coming back to me.

The thing World Trigger does best is juggling tons and tons of characters. I know a lot of anime have large casts, but few of them have so many characters active in a single story arc, and even fewer of them handle those characters so well. Even though it’s been a few years since I watched season 1, and there were dozens of characters popping up in the first few episodes alone, I remembered most of them as I saw them. This is because all of them are memorable, well-designed, and interesting. I think it says a lot about the cast that, in the first several episodes, the three main protagonists are completely left out of the action, and we only get a brief glimpse of them. And this did absolutely nothing to hinder my enjoyment of the show. The supporting characters are so strong (both in-series and in terms of the writing) that the protagonists were not even missed. And I’m not dunking on the protagonists here. They’re great, fun characters. Aside from all this, the show has simple yet attractive art with a ton of variety in the design work. The music is nice, with one of the better opening themes of the season. The action is well choreographed and it’s just a fun series overall.

Sk8 is one of only two totally new series I’m following this season, and it’s a blast. Following a handful of eccentric skate boarders who engage in one-on-one races, the show is equal parts funny and exciting. The main focus is on two skaters, the energetic Reki and the Canadian snow boarder Langa, whom Reki is introducing to the world of skate boarding. The first thing you’re likely to notice about this series is just how colorful it is. It’s like the show itself is in love with color. It makes the art very striking and pleasing to look at. Honestly, it’s worth watching for the eye candy alone. Luckily, the series has other things going for it as well. The budding friendship between Reki and Langa is humorous and sweet, with very little of the usual “rivals who act like they hate each other but are actually friends” shenanigans we see so often in anime. They’re just two nice boys who are nice to each other, and that’s refreshing. Another high point is the gloriously flamboyant villain, Adam. He’s a real treat whenever he’s on screen. The show has an overall light-hearted feel, with enough emotional moments to keep it from becoming too silly. I don’t know much about skate boarding, but this anime makes it look awesome.

Kemono Jihen is the only other new series I’m watching this season. It primarily focuses on a small group of mythical creatures (or half-human/half-mythical) living in Tokyo, operating a detective agency for cases involving creatures like them. The protagonist is Kabane, a young boy who is half human, half ghoul. He’s apparently immortal, to the point that severing his head doesn’t even seem to cause pain. Due to being neglected and mistreated by his adoptive human family, he lacks social skills, but his earnest attempts to make friends and help his companions make him an endearing character. While this type of “urban fantasy” story isn’t new, it’s executed rather well. The characters and their abilities are varied and interesting, the art is competent, and the music fits. There’s a bit of a gross-out factor, with at least two cases involving insects, so be aware. It’s not my favorite show this season, mainly because it doesn’t seem to bring any new ideas to the table, but it’s entertaining enough to keep a spot on my watch list despite me being absolutely brutal when trimming that list down this season. Worth watching, for sure.

Carry Over Shows From Previous Seasons:

Black Clover

Jujutsu Kaisen

Best of Season:

Best New Show: Sk8

Best Opening Theme: Dr. Stone Season 2

Best Ending Theme: Sk8

Best New Male Character: Langa (Sk8)

Best New Female Character: Kon (Kemono Jihen)