#even kaburagi realized it and looked at him like that lmao

[ambreiiigns]

ok partner talk about tiger and bunny

LMAO THANK YOU PARTNER!!!!! <3<3<3<3

ok here's the scene. this is sometime in the weird future. place is called sternbild city there's people w Superpowers called next and some of them work as heroes. but it's so funny and capitalist bc everything they do is aired on a tv show and they get points for all of their. heroic acts and by the end of the season whoever gets more point is king of heroes. and since they're on tv their hero costumes are Covered in logos for real And fake companies that sponsor them. hello

i didn't think i'd like it as much as i do w this ^ premise but it's actually not that important :) we are making friends and solving a murder, Actually. yippie. my brother pointed out to me something which is obvious that i care the most abt relationships and dynamics between characters and i love a package deal. so obviously something called tiger & bunny? the title alone implying Dynamic Duo Centric? of course i like it. irrelevant comment sorry. i really like it. like i'm gonna spoil Everything but pls consider watching it lmao it's really good :)

our main characters are the titular tiger and bunny as you can imagine,, real names kotetsu t. kaburagi and fuckin barnaby brooks jr. heroes usually keep their identity secret so kotetsu's Hero Name is wild tiger 🤢 he's so cringe but barnaby decided to not use a fake name. so kotetsu Immediately nicknames him bunny bc his hero suit has two long pink things by the sides of his head that look like bunny ears allegedly and because he's quick and jumpy and Cute like a bunny. bunny hates it. they have the same superpower called hundred power or smth in which for 5 minutes every hour their strength and whatnot becomes umm. Stronger. super strong. that's abt it tho everything else abt them Clashes there's a like 10ish years age gap bunny calls him Exclusively "old man" for the first like half of the season. and i feel normal abt it. in fact kotetsu even has a daughter and a dead wife he's so old. (he's 35 at the beginning of the show smh) while bunny's the newest hero hired so they get partnered by their boss. yk the veteran who's not doing Great w ratings bc he doesn't care abt the show and the points and the rookie who's cool and clever and everyone already likes him bc he's hot. alas they mandatory Don't Get Along. at first. for a bit. very normal people it's very refreshing to me after having my brain rotten by dazai and chuuya who are insane abt each other i must say they are just Normal Coworkers Who Slowly Become Friends

there's a whole Team that works w tv of heroes i like them soooo much most of them get a dedicated episode hdjdjgnand they're so Guys. Friends. my favorite is of course the one who never got his own episode aka a guy who's besties w kotetsu his name is fucking Antonio hello. antò. my other favorite for funny reasons is a 19yo schoolgirl karina who gets the biggest fucking crush on kotetsu it's SO FUNNYYYY he's nice to her bc she's a kid and he's a dad and he's always sweet w kids of course but she's like oh. i am now in love w you. and he does Not realize if anything for a second he thinks she has a crush on bunny so he keeps being nice to her and bunny at one point kinda gushes abt him to her and Convinces her it is a crush. i cannot get over this part. her last scene in s1 is her looking at a magazine called 100 ways to make a single father fall for you. ANYWAY then we have two other kids ivan & pao-lin that kotetsu uses dad powers upon to cheer them up when necessary and the top rated hero guy who just looks so usamerican Keith Goodman and has a dog named john and last but not least the diversity win queer black girlguy nathan who kicks so much ass. he has a bit of a crush on bunny and only calls him Handsome and there's a scene i love when he's teaming up w karina and pao-lin and he goes GIRLS NIGHT!!! and karina goes one of us doesn't quite fit but sure! and pao-lin goes I'M SORRY I'M A TOMBOY and karina goes I WASN'T TALKING ABOUT YOU and nathan goes YOU MEANT ME ?!?!?!?! CRIES SCREAMS THROWS UP

anyway the plot. the plot??? oh when the plot started chickening... oh i was so hooked. so bunny shows up and gets partnered w kotetsu. bunny becomes a hero bc his mom and dad got Murdered and he wants to Avenge them. that's kinda the overarching Thing we're dealing with. but let me try going over it episode per episode.

first few episodes are mostly Meeting Bunny. Being Forced To Work With Bunny As His Sidekick Or Else I'm Fired. We Keep Getting Into Trouble Bc We Don't Get Along And We're Not Working Well. ep 2 we get to see how kotetsu decided to become a hero (was saved as a kid by the old greatest hero and encouraged to use his powers for good) and also we see his daughter kaede and like. i guess it's sort of the episode where you see just how much of a good guy my MAN kotetsu is. the villain of the week is a bullied kid who's using his powers to fuck everything up and kotetsu Fathers him into behaving. bunny starts to be Huh abt him here bc he just thought kotetsu was some cringe old loser but apparently maybe there's more to him woagh!! ep 3 is when they kinda work well together for the first time. it's not GREAT yet but it's something. they find a bomb in a building and bunny can't manage to turn it off in time and kotetsu convinces him to fuckin Launch It In The Sky w their combined powers so at least when it blows up it doesn't destroy anything and it works! another W for kotetsu. ep 4 is abt karina trying to quit her hero job bc she actually wants to be a singer and kotetsu finds out and just encourages her to do what's best for her. she is now down bad for him and goes back to working as a hero. i'm making this sound silly but imagine that it is actually really nice & sweet

episode 5 is WHERE WE REALLY GET THIS BREAD I THINK it's bunny's bday and he's being grumpy and kotetsu wants to cheer him up by throwing him a nice surprise party. he is so fucking sweet i hate him. he sets up this Act w the other heroes where they pretend to be criminals and ambush bunny & kotetsu and then just kinda yell Sike! ig but ofc it goes Wrong bunny refuses to meet up w kotetsu gndndkakjfnw he is So Funny and then there's Real Criminals, Actually and kotetsu & bunny defeat them w the power of friendship. bunny's like mad at him bc he keeps sticking his nose in other people's business but as he walks off w the criminals a guy asks him why's he smiling to which he obv says HE IS NOT SMILING BUT HE IS SMILING KOTETSU MADE HIM SMILE ANOTHER WIN FOR MR DILF

ep 6 the plot finally chickens. we learn abt bunny's parents and his only lead being an ouroboros tattoo he saw on the killer's hand. at the same time their coworker nathan is being suspected of murder ?!?!?! bc someone w fire powers similar to his has been fucking around. turns out it's the same guy who planted the bomb a few eps ago and he Also has the ouroboros tattoo but before bunny can ask him abt it a New Character fuckin Kills The Guy. it's a next w fire powers calls himself Lunatic and he's just. killing criminals. spoiler but this man is like a judge or smth and that's why he knows criminals. also spoiler but he's the son of the Iconic Hero who inspired kotetsu when he was little and he Killed Said Iconic Hero for being an abusive husband & father once his powers started fading. i like this guy i get the feeling we'll see more of him in the movies and or s2 i'm ready. lunatic has his lil Arc where people start doubting heroes so they start doing lil charity work and whatnot to get The People back on board. kotetsu bunny & ivan go to some hero school (this is ivan's episode and kotetsu Fathers him) next episode instead is for pao-lin and GOD I LOVE THIS EPISODE SO MUCH kotetsu is Urgently called to work only to find out he's being given babysitter duty for the day YOU KNOW BECAUSE HE HAS A DAUGHTER 🤤 sorry what. so he has to babysit the mayor's baby who's a next and he imprints on pao-lin so kotetsu gets the baby And Her and takes them to bunny's house ?? and instead of babysitting him and bunny chat abt ouroboros and get drunk and pass out. they are bonding. in the meanwhile pao-lin & the baby get kidnapped Lmao kotetsu & bunny get them back and in the process bunny has a Flashback and finally remembers what his parents' murderer looks like

ep 10 the plot REALLY chickens again. the guy who killed bunny's parents (jake) gets out of jail and him + the ouroboros Criminal Organization Situation take the whole city hostage and threaten to Destroy it. the gang does some snoopin to find the hideout and bunny & kotetsu fight bc kotetsu. as established. cannot mind his own business and his efforts to help usually result in Messing Up and bunny whines abt trust. everything kinda peaks into jake challenging every hero to a 1v1 fight and if any one of them wins he'll leave the city alone. if he wins welllll everyone's dying ofc. it's not looking up bc jake has two (2) powers one of which (mind reading) is secret so it's fuckin. impossible to beat him when he can hear your thoughts right. kotetsu eats absolute shit and bunny's up after him but he figures out the mind reading thing bc he is So Smart And Cool, Actually and tries to give bunny some assist by Lying. tells him jake's got Super Hearing. bc ofc if bunny knows abt the mind reading jake can just plan around it. bunny's pissy like ough that is so stupid but kotetsu's like well i know but i trusted you to trust me and it worked 😌 and bunny's like OH??? TRUST???? WE TRUST EACH OTHER and he CALLS HIM BY NAME FOR THE FIRST TIME up until now he'd either only called him tiger (hero name) or old man (10 years age gap) AND NOW HE CALLS HIM KOTETSU AND MY MANS IS SOOOO HAPPY also jake dies. this is how the first half of s1 ends :)

second half starts after a 10 months timeskip. tiger & bunny are now super popular as a team and they're super besties and hang out together all the time and i love them. karina is Jealous. she's assigned to work w kotetsu and bunny for like a fucking concert sjfjakjf she has to teach them how to sing and dance 😭😭😭 why would you force her to thirdwheel like this it's so evil. she Really likes kotetsu and ofc he is Father so he does Not realize. he asks her if she's free tonight and she's like YES OF COURSE but he only wants to train more so he's better at the dance than bunny and she's MAD that he's thinking abt WORK AND BUNNY SHE THOT THIS WAS A DATE and he's like WHY ARE YOU MAD AT ME IS YOUR BOYFRIEND JEALOUS THAT YOU'RE HANGING OUT W AN OLD GUY??? and she's like I DON'T HAVE A BOYFRIEND!!! and he's like DON'T WORRY YOU'RE SO COOL AND PRETTY YOU'LL FIND ONE FOR SURE!!!! and she's like I NEED HIM DESPERATELY this is also the episode where bunny tells her OHHH MY PARTNER KOTETSU HE IS SO SELFLESS AND KIND AND WONDERFUL and she's like DAMN I WONT HIM!!! fucking GREAT STUFF. secondhand embarrassment THRU THE ROOF. also kotetsu's powers are acting funny as in they're stronger than usual but instead of lasting 5 minutes the time's getting shorter. uh oh

next episode keith's mopey bc bunny's now the number one hero and he gets a crush on a girl who's an android (he never realizes) (he destroys her and doesn't realize it was her) while kotetsu finds out his powers are fading and will eventually Vanish Completely. 👍 ep 17 he takes a break from work to go back to his hometown to visit his family his mom and brother and kaede his daughter who lives w them. his relationship w kaede's a bit Strained she thinks he's lame (she doesn't know what his job is) and she's mad at him for never being home w her. she also has a Huge crush on bunny and his posters hanging on the walls. really embarrassing. she gets stuck in a storm and kotetsu saves her and she softens + finds out she's ALSO a next and her powers are insane so all things considered. since his own powers are fading. kotetsu decides to retire from being a hero and go back home to raise his daughter. ARGH

next ep bunny finds out it wasn't jake who killed his parents after all. he Spirals and decides maybe he can't keep being a hero which leaves kotetsu Floored bc they can't both fuckin quit at the same time and he wants to help bunny before he leaves so he postpones it and kaede is Saaaad at him and i'm thinking why are you still keeping the secret. just tell her you're the guy who works w barnaby brooks jr and she'll forgive your every crime??? stoopid ass. anyway. bunny hears kotetsu talk to his family on the phone and finds out he wants to quit too. they get in a fight (bunny has a Thing w trust ig) (really funny if you know what's coming) so he runs to this fuckin Guy called maverick to Confide. maverick is 1. the guy who runs the tv show heroes work for and 2. a friend of bunny's parents' who kinda took care of him after they died. bunny tells him he knows jake's not the Murderer and maverick gets Suspicious. then bunny's old nanny samantha calls him bc she found a pic from the day bunny's parents died (the way bunny remembers it he spent that day w maverick but this pic proves he actually spent it w Her which leaves maverick without an alibi) so every piece falls into place and we realize IT WAS MAVERICK ALL ALOOOONG he was WORKING W CRIMINALS TO STAGE ARRESTS FOR HIS TV SHOW WHAT!!! but he's a next w the power to fuck around w your memories so he Wipes bunny's memories as soon as he realizes. uh oh

kotetsu's close to figuring everything out. somehow. the thing abt him is that he's an idiot but when he gets clever Oh is he clever. so after a failed attempt at wiping kotetsu's memories maverick changes plan he Kills samantha then wipes kotetsu from the Team's memories and Frames Him For Murder. really funny. kaede sees this on the news and Runs Away From Home to get to sternbild city and help her dad (grandma has finally told her that kotetsu's the hero wild tiger gasp!!) also her powers involve copying Anyone's Powers as long as she touches them. this will save the day bc she bumps into maverick and is therefore able to give everyone their memories of kotetsu back yippie EXCEPT BUNNY BC HE WAS SOMEWHERE ELSE so kotetsu has to deal w him on his own

so he fuckin takes bunny on this nostalgic walk around places where they first met to try and get him to remember him ARGH and bunny just wants to fuckin Kill him and kotetsu CRIES as he tells him he found him so annoying but the more he got to know him the more he realized they were MEANT to be together and he calls him LITTLE BUNNY and that's what fuckin jogs bunny's memory finally fuck OFFFF "OH THAT'S MY BUNNY" FUCK OFF KOTETSU anyway. GOD. they are BACK together everyone is KIDNAPPED maverick has teamed up w THE GUY WHO BUILT THE ANDROID GIRL THAT KEITH HAD A CRUSH ON??? their plan is to. replace the heroes w androids for SOME reason. everyone has bombs on their necks and kaede is going thru it too and if tiger & bunny don't beat this android everyone's dead. the stakes are umm significantly high ig. kaede frees herself and the othet heroes just as bunny & kotetsu finally get the chance to kill the android. as in kotetsu holds it still while bunny Shoots it w its own gun. kotetsu swears he'll dodge the hit before it's too late but he Doesn't and he gets hit and he fuckin. dies. like he doesn't die i knew in my heart he'd make it but for a minute he dies and i CRIED I DID

bunny holds him in his arms kotetsu tells him he doesn't think he's gonna make it but it's ok bc this past year of chasing bad guys w him? he loved every minute of it. in fact when bunny finally started calling him kotetsu he was so happy he went on an all night bender alone to celebrate. bunny tells him he can't die bc he's been learning how to cook him his favorite food and he has to try it GOD FUCK OFFF and he holds him close and kotetsu goes Wow you're so close. do you know you have really long eyelashes. AND HE DIES???? THAT'S YOUR LAST WORDS????? MY FUCKING GOD!!!! AND KAEDE WALKS IN AND SEES THEM LIKE THAT BUNNY CRYING OVER HER DEAD FATHER AND SHE CRIES AND THE HEROES GET THERE AND EVERYONE CRIES AND I WAS CRYING IT WAS BAAAAD

I ALSO WANNA MENTION after the end credits song there's a little In The Next Episode moment where either kotetsu or bunny introduce themselves (HI I'M TIGER/BUNNY THE MEMBER OF TIGER AND BUNNY WHO [insert fun fact abt themselves]) BUT IN THIS EPISODE IT'S JUST. SAD MUSIC AND BUNNY'S SAD VOICE SAYING SOMETHING LIKE in the next episode.... SADLY WHERE USUALLY HE ENDS IT WITH SEE YA!!! IT FUCKING GOT TO ME. REALLY BAD

so anyway. ofc the day is actually saved bc behind the scenes the girlie who runs the show and the guy who builds hero suits also get their memories back and work to Stop maverick's plans and actually broadcast the whole Situation on tv so maverick can't make it out. he tries to kill kaede and KOTETSU FUCKING GETS BACK UP IT'S KINDA SCARY BUT HE SAVES HIS LIL GIRL and maverick fuckin WIPES HIS OWN MEMORIES SO EVEN IF THEY CATCH HIM THEY CAN'T GET ANYTHING OUT OF HIM IT'S KINDA SICK!!!!! but hey remember lunatic. he Kills maverick anyway. bunny's upset bc it means every chance of learning abt ouroboros is Gone but IDC I'M SORRY I'M JUST HAPPY HE'S DEAD BOOOO so now that everything's chill both bunny and kotetsu announce they're retiring. how sweet. kotetsu's reasons we already know but bunny says he's been manipulated by maverick his whole life even becoming a hero was part of his plan so now he just wants to live for himself :-) it's all bullshit bc a year later kotetsu comes Back to work even tho his power only lasts one (1) fuckin minute bc kaede told him he was boring at home. and since his partner's back Well. bunny goes back to work too. their last scene together mirrors their first scene together - kotetsu Falling from somewhere like the idiot he is and bunny catching him bridal style at the last minute. they chat some shit and they're like well OLD MAN let's get to work. i'm with ya LITTLE BUNNY and that's IT???? THANK GOD THERE'S MORE BC THAT CANNOT BE THE LAST THING I HEAR THEM SAY IT'S DISGUSTING

so. yea i really like it i think it's great. it's so chill and normal despite the Hero bullshit. it feels idk,,, so genuine and down to earth and fun... the vibes reminded me so much of sk8. the chemistry between every character is so nice. it's almost perfect. i like the artstyle well enough (i wasn't too sure at first) i love a colored lineart :^) and i was sorta ready to be down bad for kotetsu lmao but he is SO SWEET ACTUALLY I LIKE HIM SO MUCH MORE THAN I THOUGHT??? BLORBO 100% I LOVE HIM i'm SO excited to watch more i like it so much. it might be one of my favorite animes i've watched? or is it just fresh. idk but i really. really do love it please. give it a shot even tho i just spoiled the whole thing xx it's really good

[ywpd-translations]

Ride 697: Rokudai's goal

Pag 1

2: Huh....

If I lose this race....

I have to become the.... bicyles' club.... “manager”....!?

3: That's right!!

Kuku, you're gonna surpass me? Right!!

4: That's just right, isn't it!? You were the basket club's manager, after all!!

5: Why....

Pag 2

1: Why didn’t I think of this!!

Pag 3

1: Hahaha, that's right!! How is it!!

Not a player, but a mana.... huh!?

2: Oi, wait wait

Then I can support Back-gate slope-senpai!!

I can use all the skills I have....!!

Wait this isn't what I thought!! And by the way, there's a Back-gate slope-senpai!?

3: I'm telling that if you lose!! That's a warning!!

4: Thank you for the warning, teh

Pag 4

1: Well

2: No, no!!

Ngh....!! This guy...!!

3: Anyway, you think you'll surpass me!? Are you an idiot!?

Those two guys said so!!

Ah-

4: We'll stay in the club until we make sure that he surpasses that guy!!

5: Ah!!

6: Ahhh

Now I understand your attitude. Amateurs don't care about winning, so don't run!!

Huh-

Road racing

Pag 5

1: Is not a game!!

5: At least... not for me and the two people before us

We're running in this race seriously

6: We're thinking of “winning”

7: This race....

8: I'll definitely.....

9: Sorry but I'm

Pag 6

1: Aiming for the Inter High

Running as a regular

2: Is my goal!!

Pag 7

1: Goal....

2: A goa, I have a goal

3: Kinaka is....

Kinaka.....

He said something that isn't bland!!

4: I wanted to.... give you a warning, but you were below my imagination and I wasted my breath

Ah....

7: A goal....

My goal.....

8: What is it, teh?

Joining the club?

…. no

9: Follow me

10: No....

Ki..... Kinaka-kun!!

Pag 8

1: If I win this first years' race, I'll participate in the Inter High!?

3: Rokudai!?

5: Ah

Pag 9

1: Waaa, what am I saying....

No.... I meant I want to follow  Back-gate slope-senpai

I spoke without thinking, teh......

2: I think you'd participate

3: If you surpass all of us who have experience and then take the goal ahead

5: That's Rokudai, Rokudai!!

Talking about surpassing the three cyclist with experience!? As expected

Hahaha

6: We're wondering who will come in fourth place?

Maybe.....

7: Maybe what I just said

It's my....

Pag 10

1: It's my heart's feelings!!

Thank you, Kinaka-kun!!

Pag 11

2: Kakaka looks like no one dashed ahead in the urban area section, this year

That's because I told them so strictly!!

Ahhh, it's started! We'll watch the race from the van! I'm so excited, Danchiku!!

3: Looking at the suffering first years, and I can say whataver I want, right!?

Wait...  when you see them, about their running style, or their running form.... yeah

4: Hurry, suffer!!

Oi, Issa

5: Huh?

6: Right, that Kawada isn't here, what happened... he was so in high spirit and was getting ready for it, I thought he'd surely ride in the car!

Ahhh, Kawada, huh....

Pag 12

1: This first years' race will start soon!!

Oi, Imaizumi!!

2: Sorry but

I'll participate in the first years' race too!!

3: Hahaha Sugimoto told me!!

Last year he participated to become a regular!!

4: I prepared for it too!! Hahaha

Ah... stop, stop

5: Your legs are still nothing special, right?

Ah!?

If a third year lost, that would be very uncool, wouldn't it?

Huh!?

Can't you improve?

Ugh-

Pag 13

1: I told him so, and he said he'd stay in the clubroom

2: Hotshot, you're really harsh with Kawada....

Am I?

3: Fo-follow me, there are still chances

Follow what?

4: Alright, I see them

The first years' ranks!!

9: One.... two....

Three people?

They already passed the brideg sign and crossed the river, so

Pag 14

1: The ban on surpassing is lifted!!

They've entered the “country area section”!!

Pag 15

1: The race has already started!!

2: These three people were cut from the front?

They're already scattered!

As expected, the beginners can't follow the speed up, huh!

3: Three people.... among them.....

Pag 16

2: Rokudai-kun is not here....!!

Ah

Thank goodness, he's still ahead

3: Ngh!! What am I doing, supporting him individually!! As the captian, I should take care of everyone equally!!

Everyone, do your best!!

Yessir!

Run in a line, cooperate, preserve your strength and run!! By the way... are you suffering? Is it hard?

Yessir

Yessir

Yeah, yeah, hahaha

Oi, Issa

4: Ahh, it's fun!! Looking at them from above!!

You forcibly pushed yourself here on the front

Looking at them from above.....

5: From now on, there are three cyclists with experience and three beginners left....

Pag 17

1: Six people!!

Pag 18

2: Omihata and Shimihiro!?

They were cut off earlier! Behind

Seriously?

3: Koshiba, are your legs still okay?

Yeah

4: Even though the three people ahead raised their pace

Somehow!!

5: I've played soccer until middle school, so I'm confident in my legs!!

Really!? You too!?

6: I came here to become a regular in Sohoku!!

Ku!! Should we go together until then!!

Pag 19

1: Let's stick together!!

2: These two....

There's no.... room for me, teh......

3: But I can't give up, teh

Uh....

Ugh....

6: One small animal is about to fall

Shall we accelerate a little?

Pag 20

1: I see one more person!!

2: He got torn off from the six people in the lead!!

Now there are five people in the lead!!

Who's the one who got torn off!!

3: That jersey is....

4: Rokudai-kun.....!!

[lia-nikiforov]

Winter 2018 Anime Final Review

Why yes, pretty much all the Spring premieres are done (don’t even remind me haha I’m so far behind) and this is horribly late, I had a busy couple of weeks ;---; and am still struggling to catch up, but here’s my final rundown of this long slow winter! Worst to best, as always.

Dropped

Basilisk Ouka Ninpou Chou: Although I’d said I’d keep watching for the Nobunaga twist, given the onslaught of new stuff for Spring, it’s unsustainable to keep watching something so mediocre I don’t even find anything to say about it. Also Nobunaga hasn’t been mentioned in three episodes.

DUMPSTER FIRE

Darling in the Franxx: So we’re halfway through the show and still feels nothing of importance has happened, except we learned “lesbians are not viable, what a relief” and also KOKORO REALLY WANTS TO MAKE BABIES. The whole Kokoro business is very unsavory because on the one hand the writing is a dick to Walking Fat Joke Futoshi, but on the other hand Futoshi is an entitled Nice Guy who acts like Kokoro has some obligation to return his feelings, so basically everyone sucks lmao. Btw, does anyone know what happened with episode 13? I went to watch it but what I got instead was a Deadman Wonderland episode, complete with the story of Palurdo meeting Lab Experiment-turned-Beast Waifu as children and making a promise that would subsequently be forgotten until they meet again in their teenage years. Jesus, does Womenz are Beastz: The Anime have a single original idea?

How am I supposed to measure my own disinterest and contempt

This basically means I didn’t care for these shows. I don’t hate them but I was aggressively unengaged in them and I can’t really rank them from worst to best because that would imply me having any measurable emotional reaction to them

Violet Evergarden: I don’t think I have much to add about this one that I haven’t said before. Tryhard Sad Anime Girl stories rehashing old clichés with little novelty to them,  with a bonus of a super poorly explained and thought out child super soldier tragic backstory that still has me ?????? The final episode has the addendum of trying to redeem That One Asshole in a “he treats her bad because he’s sad about his brother dying sob sob sob he’s totally not a jerk” and i was very annoyed by that.

Koi wa Ameagari no You ni: It’s complicated to talk about this show. I really liked the first episode, hated the 4-6, then was mostly bored by the rest of it. The whole romance angle was completely dropped in the latter half, but I’m not even sure if that’s a good thing given how tastelessly it was being handled in some moments, or a bad one given how bland everything else was. It felt like Akira’s crush on Kondo turned out to be insignificant in the grand scheme of things. It also felt like Akira was profoundly underdeveloped, and it bothered me because Kondo was developed properly. His character felt more fully realized than hers. Like idk, I just cared so little for the last few episodes and it didn’t feel like Akira’s emotional progression was very connected with the first half of the show. 

Fate/Extra Last Encore: I don’t even have a screenshot. Apparently the reason the show started so late into the season is that it took a long time to produce, and apparently there are two more episodes that will be released at some point in July. But really, what matters is that I have no idea of what this show was trying to accomplish. The characters were a bunch of pieces of cardboard spouting pseudo nihilistic philosophical nonsense and I don’t even know how to describe the plot. It was generic in its Boss of the Week approach but the execution was often very flat. Definitely none of the fun from Apocrypha’s cool characters was to be had in this iteration of the franchise.

Too much iyashikei

This season we had too much iyashikei and I’m burned out. Here are the ones I didn’t hate but also wasn’t super in love with.

Miira no Kaikata: I think this show would’ve worked better as 3-minute vignettes. 20 minutes of it was a bit too much and I struggled to pay attention. I also felt the dragon and MukuMuku had very tangential roles. I don’t have a whole lot to say. It’s cute, if cute is your jam this show is for you. Connie is best smol monster.

Hakumei to Mikochi: Another cute show that gains extra points for its somewhat unique setting, beautiful color palette and picture book aesthetic and because the two main girls are great characters. I particularly liked the first and last episodes. It’s a relaxing, fun little show

Sanrio Danshi: The harbinger of feminism made into a toy commercial, while not quite iyashikei, is still a slice of life that just occassionally indulged in too much melodrama. It was nonetheless a fun little thing that managed to turn cynical consumerism into a positive message for boys: it’s okay to like non-traditionally-masculine things. One of the details I liked most was that none of the boys had to give up on their previous groups of friends even after “coming out”, Kouta’s friends and Shuu’s team were supportive of them and even participated in their dumbass musical play. Some may even read this show as a not-so-subtle allegory on homosexuality and while I don’t think this was Sanrio’s intent (their intent is to broaden their market, plain and simple) the fact that it works so well with that reading is honestly great. I had very minimal expectations for this show and I’m happy it turned out better than those.

Classicaloid 2: Classicaloid isn’t quite iyashikei either but it fits in the “didn’t love it, didn’t hate it” category. I’m a huge fan of season one, but unfortunately a big part of S2 failed to capture the magic. I think most of it was restored in the second cour, specially with brilliant episodes such as the one where Dovo-chan becomes a super-realistic painting of himself, and the last three episodes really captured what made Classicaloid great. I’ve really come to love this cast, so I wouldn’t complain if we got more seasons (please do Vivaldi!!!)

Shonen is a Good Genre, Actually

Shonen as a genre/demographic is much reviled for its repetitive clichés and childish stories, but I think we live at a time in which we can have well-executed shonen anime that, although falling for the same old clichés, have enough heart and sincerity that makes them enjoyable. This part also isn’t necessarily ranked, since my favorite one will change depending on which day you ask me

Nanatsu no Taizai: Imashime no Fukkatsu: As I have mentioned before, this second season seems to be the polar opposite of the first one’s rapid pace. It’s been a while since I read the manga, but I feel like it took a lot less to get to the mid-season cutoff point there than this anime would lead you to believe, especially the training part felt excruciatingly long. NanaTai has other various flaws including its 1000% not funny harrassment jokes and the dumb introduction of quantified “power levels” (why Suzuki), but characters like Diane, King and Ban give the show a unique flavor. And I’m not even gonna pretend to be unbiased, I just love everything involving Ban, even the weird and questionable choice of bringing Elaine back. I’m excited that we’re finally approaching Escanor’s arrival.

Yowapeda Glory Road: I also forgot to grab a screenshot lmao. Yowapeda is a very particular beast, and with its episode count already in the hundreds, it’s not something I’d reccommend unless you’re super into dragged out ridiculous sports anime. This second season of Onoda’s second year has not been without its flaws either, starting with the, imho absurd persistence in making Sohoku look like underdogs even though they’re reigning champions. It’s made a lot of the first two days of the Interhigh feel a lot grimmer than this cheerful show ought to. Kaburagi is still an insufferable character, and the fact that he drags the team down doesn’t help him either, and I just wish the writers would let Best Boy Teshima win anything. I hope the second day ends on a lighter note, because the gloom and doom is making this a less enjoyable watch than it should be

Mahoutsukai no Yome: I feel a little better about this one knowing the final was anime-original, but at the same time I’m beyond livid with how it was wrapped up. I loved the second half of the series because of how well-written and emotional Chise’s growth was, and everything up to her embracing of Cartaphilus’s curse was a beautiful display of her strength and will to live. What I’m not here for is that asspull wedding whatever that makes no sense in the context of the previous events, especially because after the fact, Elias’s attempt to kill Stella is swept under the rug. This could’ve been my favorite show of the season without that bullshit ending and while I don’t regret watching it, it leaves me with a sad feeling of what could have been

Best of the season

Hakata Tonkotsu Ramens: It had a slow start, but with its endearing cast and well-developed character relationships, HTR won me over, especially the last quarter. The animation was veeery barebones, but Lin and Bamba’s charisma and their organically developed relationship carried the show to be one of the most enjoyable of the season. I also really appreciate the fact that the series includes a gay couple with an adopted daughter and that Lin’s crossdressing is never used as a joke or treated as a character flaw or a “phase”. I love stories about found families and I’d love to see more of this gang fighting crime and doing shady business in their city of assassins.

Garo: Vanishing Line: This iteration of Garo had a somewhat slow start, but boy did it pick up steam in the second half. The action was great -the final fight against King had some incredible stylistic choices, the characters’ journeys felt complete and very human and the story was interesting and different enough from other Garo to not feel repetitive, yet with enough Garoisms that made it feel connected to everything else. Like I said, I love stories about found families, so the way Sophie found a home with Gina, Luke and Sword by the end was very touching. Watching Sophie’s journey has been a treat, and I’m immensely happy that this wasn’t a Guren no Tsuki disaster, but was more in line with the excellence of Honoo no Kokuin.

Gakuen Babysitters: This was the huge surprise of the season for me, I almost expected it to be pretty dull. Instead it turned out to be super cute and extremely heartwarming. It had a couple of duds here and there, mostly the not-actually-a-pedophile joke character and the early love triangle skits, but the former disappeared and the latter was vastly improved in the second half of the show. I wish Ryuichi’s grief had been dealt with a bit more, but I think what they did show was very well executed and empathetic. And the portrayal of the kids felt very realistic, including both children’s most adorable and most obnoxious behaviors. KIRIN IS BEST GIRL

Card Captor Sakura Clear Card arc: I have expressed some complaints and dissatisfactions with this sequel all through the season. Mostly in regards to the new cards and how the old ones seem to have been forgotten (also the lazy designs of the new cards). In spite of that, Sakura hasn’t lost any of its heart in these 20 years, the characters are still the kids we grew up with. It is an overwhelmingly cheerful and positive show, from Sakura and Syaoran’s shyly developing relationship, to the hopefulness of Sakura’s magic and just the simple day to day life of Sakura and her friends. In spite of all its flaws, Sakura is still my favorite show of the season and I’m happy we get to spend one more season with these characters. Just please give me more Yue??? 

Ooooof, finally I’m done with this! PLEASE LET’S NOT TALK ABOUT THE 20+ SHOWS I’M SAMPLING FOR SPRING AHAHAHAHA. There’s too much anime. Anime must be stopped, immediately. Don’t hesitate to send me your thoughts about the winter season, even if it seems I’m losing my mind a little Dx TOO MUCH ANIME