#non non biyori was so boring for me

[luckydoeslanguage]

Immersion Review | スーパカブ（Super Cub）

So! its finally time for me to write down my log of this show. Immersion is a unique experience for everyone cause depending on your tastes in media you may end up watching wildly different things.

if what i say here makes you a little interested in checking out the show, you can watch it here!

A lot of whats recommended to beginners in JP are Slice of life shows because they're usually slow paced, and have easy to digest dialogue (for the most part) which makes them either laid back, easy going dips into immersion, or unbelievably boring snooze fests. Super Cub is definitely a show that falls on that fine line. I think for me, slice of life really depends on the show. for example, I literally fell asleep once while watching Non Non biyori, but were not here to talk about that, haha.

As for Super cub, well, lets get into the review! (more under the cut! this post may be long, i will try and keep it from meandering.)

The show follows Koguma. A highschool student who lives in a semi rural town in the japanese countryside with no friends, no hobbies, no parents, and little money. She lives a pretty boring day to day life until one day, on a whim from her way home from school, she drops by a small motor shop and acquires a Honda Super Cub for dirt cheap from the store owner. From there, her life slowly, but surely, begins to become a little brighter from the new experiences she has while travelling around on her new moped. (not the most compelling synopsis, i know.)

At its core, Super Cub is a show about how changes, big or small can breathe new life into your own. There's a scene in episode 1 where, upon sitting on the moped for the first time and taking hold of the handles, Koguma's world literally gets a little brighter from the experience. up until now the show has had a pretty muted colour pallete. But for a single moment, the drab colours melt away and become bright and vibrant!

As a Japanese learner, the first episode is as accessible as a TV anime get aside form kids shows. Things get a little more complicated as it goes on, there's a fair amount of words related to mopeds, motorcycles and related things that honestly I just glossed over for the most part. Koguma is a quiet (honestly kind of depressed) girl who speaks pretty slowly, and its easy to understand her. Aside from the obvious focal of the show, the dialogue uses a lot of common words you'll come across quite frequently, so it was good practice for me to listen to. There also isn't a lot to miss out on if you don't understand everything. a lot and be inferred form the current visuals on screen, which makes it easier to pick up on new words.　（the show also makes me really want to get a moped, lol.)

I also really enjoyed the sound design of the show. the sound effects for the moped like the engine starting and the clunks the metal make or the textures of cloth are fantastic. i also think the pacing is pretty good. its laid back, but it has this adolescent warmth of discovering a new passion for the first time. the 3D models i will admit are a bit ugly, but they dont show up frequently enough to be bothersome.

The overall tone of the show has a melancholic feel that slowly drifts away as it progresses. Its like and iced coffee. sweet, but a tinge of bitter that keeps it from being all boring. I'm glad the cast is so small cause moe slice of slice shows can easy feel a little samey, despite having larger and more vibrant casts.

My Verdict - ★★★★★

Super Cub is a great show for language learners who want to try out a slice of slice that feels more down to earth. It has an energy of discovering new passions, and the small and large impacts it makes on your life.

the dialogue is easy to follow, and aside from the focal point of the show the word usage is quite easy to digest and get a feel of. while laid back, it has a great atmosphere that feels careful, but caring at the same time.

I hope what I've said today has gotten you to consider giving the show a try! if youve made it this far, thank you for reading my post and i hope to see you all again! またね！

[imnobodyuknow]

Nyanpasu!

Well, you'll never believe this (unless you're an anime nerd like me) -- as soon as I finished watching the first season of Spy x Family, I decided to jump to something else I've been a fan of for quite some time: The sweet slice-of-life anime, Non Non Biyori!

More specifically, its third season: Non Non Biyori Nonstop!

That was the only season available on Crunchyroll, sadly. 😒 If anyone knows where I can watch the first two seasons, I'd be much obliged if you could fill me in!

Luckily, it's the kind of anime whose seasons (and even episodes) you can watch out of order without missing any context, for the most part. Mark my words, I'll watch the first two seasons at some point, but for now, here are my thoughts on the third season of this lovable anime with adorable characters living in the Japanese countryside:

...Oh, right! A brief description first. Non Non Biyori is about a group of schoolchildren living the country life in the fictional countryside village of Asahigaoka. The meaning of the title, "Non Non Biyori," has never been established by the show's creator, but according to the observant people out there in internet land, it could be a combination of the words "Nonbiri," which means "live carefree," and "Biyori," which means "weather." (Oddly enough, I once thought it translated to "Day After Day," and I have no idea where I got that from. 😅) As someone whose fluency in Japanese is limited to the simplest of words, I can't say who's right or wrong, but I like the idea of the title meaning something like, "Weather for Living Carefree." 😊

All right, on to the reviewin'!

In terms of beautiful scenery (which is often shown for several seconds at a time with the sounds of nature, which helps the viewer take it in):

In terms of gorgeous (if simple) character art and animation:

In terms of fun, pleasant music:

In terms of cute and hilarious interactions between characters:

In terms of portraying the carefree, fun-loving nature of children:

In terms of decency:

(There's a bit of light language here and there, but when it comes to anime, I'll take what I get.)

And finally, in terms of reminding viewers of the innocence (and shenanigans) of childhood, the beauty of nature, and the joys of country living:

So, while this may not be the type of anime you'd go to if you're looking for fast-paced action, intense emotion, or a deep plotline, one can't help but admire the simplicity and innocence found in it. If you need a break from the craziness and crudeness one usually finds in anime, this is definitely the one to go to. Not too eventful, but not too boring, either. 👍

My one complaint is that no English dub of the show exists. I know it's a challenge to create an anime dub that works well, but if Spy x Family could pull it off with a little girl like Anya, I can see it potentially working if someone ever felt like giving it a try. I can't be the only one who wants to hear an English-speaking Renge Miyauchi, can I?

But for now, I guess we'll have to settle for just imagining it. Which is actually a pretty fun challenge, I've found. 😄

[kumoriyami-xiuzhen]

Hakuoki Drama - Hijikata Biyori Track 16 - Sigh English translation

This is my last post of the month, so I’ll end by asking you to please support me if you can through my ko-fi, and paypal or patreon which provides access to my hakuoki blog translations and early access to my postings. Also, please let me know if you have any hakuoki drama cds that you’d be willing to share that are on my Lookout List since i either do not have audio for those cds or do not have audio that I can share...

I think i mentioned this at least one other time, but i don’t like posting things unless im at least sure of my translation by a certain percentage... and this time’s translation barely meets that criteria. reason being is that i had two tls for this... and parts of them vastly differed from one another (way more than usual. normally, for the biyoris, i get 2 sentences that almost convey the same thing). well, i’ll review the audio to see if i go ahead with subtitling this later. 

Hakuoki Drama - Hijikata Biyori Track 16 - Sigh

Translation by KumoriYami

Hijikata: -sigh-

Harada: Nn? What's the matter with you? Hijikata-san.

Hijikata: Ah, Harada, it's you. What's wrong with me?

Harada: Ah? You just sighed. It's rare [reword later?].

Hijikata: Really? No, it's nothing. (walks away)

Harada:What's the mater? You looks strange.

.....

Shinpachi: -sigh-

Harada: What's going on? Even Shinpachi is―

Shinpachi: Sano, what's wrong?

Harada: What's wrong, what's wrong? Just don't sigh, okay!

Shinpachi: Sigh? Ah... that. Did I sigh just now?

Harada: What's wrong exactly?

Shinpachi: It's nothing. Then, see you later (walks away)

Harada: What the hell.

-later-

Hijikata/Shinpachi: -sigh-

Harada: Um... you...

Hijikata: What is it? Harada.

Shinpachi: Nn? Sano, what's wrong?

Harada: What's wrong! Why have the two of you have been sighing earlier now talking non-stop! Ah, I can't it, I'm so bored!

Hijikata: Ah, well, it's because there were various matters.

Shinpachi: I also had various matters.

Harada: Really! Ah, I get it. If you have anything to say, just tell me, and as long as I can do it, I'll definitely help.

Hijikata: Ah, Harada...

Shinpachi: Sano, you...

Harada: Alright, go head! Whatever it is, just let it out!

Hijikata: Even if you say that...

Shinpachi: It's a bit...

Harada:...Huh?

Hijikata; Right. However, it's shameful for me to have caused Harada to worry. Alright! Cheer up!

Shinpachi: Ooh! Me too! If Sano is worried, I don't deserved to be called Nagakura Shinpachi [something like that? idk]! Cheer up!

Hijikata: Yeah. A bitter expression really doesn't suit Shinpachi.

Shinpachi: That's right, Hijikata-san. And it wouldn't look good to hate the Demon Vice-Commander look dejected either.

Hijikata: Yeah, that's right.

Shinpachi: Ok! Let's go out for drinks.

Hijikata: I'll head out with you later.

Shinpachi: Oh! I haven't gone drinking with Hijikata-san for a long time.

Hijikata: Yeah. Hahaha...

Shinpachi: Hahaha...

Harada:...Ha? What about my.... situation?

-end-

[lesdreams-author]

Man I'm trying to find a good wholesome cute anime. I've had enough of dark edgy stuff. I can't believe I used to love Harem Anime. Nowadays I find it so annoying. It's just copy paste from one another. [Dude gets teleported to other world. He joins a girl, gets mega strong outta nowhere, more girls join him, then the rest of the series is them just thristing over the him. Its tired, boring and played out already] Do you have any recommendations? I seen magdoka girls already btw

Comic Girls is pretty good. There's lots of lesbians and almost a couple 😍 no men (thank, Madoka)

There's anima yell (I think it's this title) about a bunch girls been lesbians and in a cheerleader club. There's a lesbian there too, canon.

This one is huge and a little bit old but for me it's a all time rewatch: Hidamari Sketch. It's from Madoka's illustrator and it's fantastic like Madoka art was. The anime is pretty good, there's lesbians everywhere 🤭😍 so I would recommend those 4 (or six with the OVAs?) Seasons.

Non non biyori has a guy but he is pretty much useless and not in the picture (as every guy should be in this world, amen Madoka). It's a cute anime with two or three seasons and a movie. The movie has a lot of lesbian content and you can watch without context since the whole anime is just a bunch episodes with the girls in the forest lol.

D4DJ is a must! Even more if you like music and lesbians 🤭🤭 there's a lot of lesbianism in there and it's an actually pretty fun anime. Although I don't like 3D style I really enjoyed this one. You can even find the anime in the official YouTube channel and it comes with English subtitles! Also the game released this year to smartphones and iOS, I'm playing it too so if someone plays send me your I'd so we can add each other!

Iwa kakeru sports climbing girls is cool. At least there's muscled girls doing sport stuff 🤤 it has a guy but you can easily forget about him since he comes late on story and isn't important. Story wise it's eh but again, muscled girls!!

Slow start is good too, all female cast lots lesbian content.

Oh yeah, there's Aikatsu Friends too. The most lesbian franchise from this title so far. If you like huge animes with lots girly things and lesbians, this is the one!

And it's all for now. Hope you have fun anon

[recentanimenews]

Manga the Week of 10/13/21

SEAN: Mid-October and we’re still seeing a lot of great books.

ASH: I’m okay with this, although I am terribly behind.

SEAN: Yen On has a debut, with a title that might sound a bit familiar. I’m the Villainess, So I’m Taming the Final Boss (Akuyaku Reijo nano de Last Boss wo Kattemimashita) is a light novel with a premise that readers are no doubt aware of. This one’s quite popular, though, and an anime was just announced, which is a rarity for villainesses not named Catarina.

Other light novels next week include Banished from the Hero’s Party, I Decided to Live a Quiet Life in the Countryside 4, The Demon Sword Master of Excalibur Academy 4, Our Last Crusade or the Rise of a New World 7, and The World’s Finest Assassin Gets Reincarnated in Another World as an Aristocrat 3.

As for Yen Press, they have Angels of Death 12 (the final volume) and Toilet-Bound Hanako-kun 10.

ASH: Good reading for the spooky season.

SEAN: Viz Media gives us Call of the Night 4, Case Closed 80, Fullmetal Alchemist: A New Beginning (a new light novel in the series Viz started back in the 00s), How Do We Relationship? 4, Komi Can’t Communicate 15, the 10th and final volume of Pokémon Adventures Collector’s Edition, and Requiem of the Rose King 14.

ASH: Always glad for a new volume of Requiem of the Rose King! And thanks for pointing out that the Fullmetal Alchemist novel is a new volume rather than a new printing; it’s been a while since I’ve read any of those.

ANNA: Agree about Rose King, I need to get caught up.

MICHELLE: Same here!

MELINDA: Okay, Requiem of the Rose King, yes please. Also, I can’t believe I never really got into that Fullmetal Alchemist light novel series. I will have to check it out!

SEAN: Tokyopop has Assassin’s Creed Valhalla: Blood Brothers and Konohana Kitan 10.

Square Enix has By the Grace of the Gods 3.

No debuts for Seven Seas this time around, but we do get Arifureta: I Heart Isekai 4, Happy Kanako’s Killer Life 2, High Rise Invasion 19-21 (which wraps up the series), The Invincible Shovel 2, Magical Girl Spec-Ops Asuka 12, Non Non Biyori 15, Precarious Woman Executive Miss Black General 7, The Tale of the Outcasts 3, and Wonder Cat Kyuu-chan 3.

ASH: I still need to check out Wonder Cat.

MICHELLE: Jeez, volume two of Happy Kanako already?!

SEAN: One Peace debuts Higehiro: After Being Rejected, I Shaved and Took in a High School Runaway (Hige o Soru. Soshite Joshikousei o Hirou), the manga adaptation of a popular light novel which has been licensed in English by Kadokawa’s new publishing arm here. The title is the plot.

Kodansha, in print, has Knight of the Ice 7.

ASH: Yay!

ANNA: One of the few series I’m not behind on, it continues to be delightful.

MICHELLE: I’m behind, but I still say “Yay!”

SEAN: Digitally there is a bit more. The debut is Our Bodies, Entwining, Entwined (Karada, Kasanete, Kasanatte), a “shousei” title from Palcy. A woman who was dumped years ago for being “boring” at sex is in a new relationship, but her boyfriend also has issues having sex. Can the two of them satisfy each other?

Also digital: Altair: A Record of Battles 24, Ex-Enthusiasts: Motokare Mania 6 (the final volume), Giant Killing 27, My Pink Is Overflowing 5, Perfect World 8, Police in a Pod 5, Space Brothers 39, Wave, Listen to Me! 7, and Yamaguchi-kun Isn’t So Bad 3.

MICHELLE: I thought Ex-Enthusiasts: Motokare Mania was quite fun and, of course, I adore Giant Killing and Wave, Listen to Me!.

J-Novel Club has two debuts. Hell Mode ~The Hardcore Gamer Dominates in Another World with Garbage Balancing~ (Hellmode ~Yarikomi Suki no Gamer wa Haisettei no Isekai de Musou Suru~) is about a hardcore gamer looking for a challenge, who finds himself reincarnated in a very difficult game world.

The other is Maddrax, a German SF series from J-Novel Pulp.

Also out next week: An Archdemon’s Dilemma: How to Love Your Elf Bride 12, Black Summoner 6, How NOT to Summon a Demon Lord 14, and the 8th manga volume of Infinite Dendrogram.

Ghost Ship gives us World’s End Harem 12. The back cover promises this is the climax, but (unsurprisingly in this sort of manga) the climax may wait a bit longer, as there’s more to come.

ASH: Ha!

SEAN: Airship debuts in print Disciple of the Lich: Or How I Was Cursed by the Gods and Dropped Into the Abyss!.

Also out in print: Reincarnated As a Sword 9 and The Strange Adventure of a Broke Mercenary 2.

Digitally there’s early volumes for My Status as an Assassin Obviously Exceeds the Hero’s 2 and She Professed Herself Pupil of the Wise Man 2.

Are these books great? Judge them. Judge them with your EYES.

By: Sean Gaffney

[afreakingdork]

Review: Non Non Biyori and Non Non Biyori Repeat

Koshigaya

“ Asahigaoka might look like typical, boring countryside to most; however, no day in this village can ever be considered colorless thanks to five students of varying ages occupying the only class in the only school in town. The youngest student is first grader Renge Miyauchi, who brings an unadulterated wit, curiosity, and her characteristic catchphrase, "Nyanpasu!" Then there are the Koshigaya siblings consisting of the quiet ninth grader and elder brother Suguru, diminutive eighth grader Komari, and the mischievous seventh grader Natsumi. The recent arrival of Tokyo-raised fifth grader Hotaru Ichijou, who appears overdeveloped for her age and thus naturally holds an air of maturity, rounds out this lively and vibrant group of five classmates. Based on the manga penned and illustrated by Atto, Non Non Biyori chronicles the not-so-normal daily lives of this group of friends as they engage in their own brand of fun and frolic, and playfully struggle with the realities of living in a rural area. “

Another cute slice of life show and finally I can reverse what I’ve been saying about someone foreign going to Tokyo and going through the daily life experiences. This show does the opposite and its quite cute and enjoyable. I may have a few qualms, but let’s save that for...  

Criticism:

S1E4 "Summer Vacation Started" after Honoka leaves, that really long pause on Ren-chan's face was weird... They succeeded in these long pause shots way better when the second season came around, but when their budget was lower in season 1 it’s distracting to sit on an unmoving character’s face for so long. I see what they were going for, but it missed its emotional mark...

So I guess I should have guessed from the name that season 2 was going to be a repeat of season 1, but it was still so jarring. I thought the first episode was a cute throw back to Renge’s first day of school, so when the second episode started and we were back to before Hotaru arrived I was really confused! Here’s a link to an article that takes a stab at the actual chronological order if you are interested. Since the episodes jump around what happened in season 1 it can be hard to gauge how much Hotaru knows... I was really hoping to see them progress since the whole end of season 1 was pretty much about Renge getting ready for her next year and getting her backpack... she'll never get to enjoy it in season 2....

Ugh they keep doing this thing in season 2 where they reference something cool like the new convenience store or the newt pond, but then they skip right to the moment after the characters have done this activity. It doesn’t feel realistic it just makes me upset that I didn’t get to see them do those things!!! 

Ugh look, I was just talking about her backpack and there it is in season 2! She doesn’t get this until she starts her SECOND YEAR... If you are going to do a repeat then at least keep your facts straight! It’s not like you have a ton of them!! 

Hm there’s an error in season 2, in season 1 Hikage says that when she comes back from this school year she will bring Renge a picture of Tokyo Tower. Since season 2 never actually progressed into the next school year how does she bring a picture of Tokyo Tower!?

These are sisters...? The Koshigaya family also doesn’t look anything alike but at least they all have tufts of hair behind their ears as like a family look alike trait, but these guy’s have nothing... 

Positives:

I’m seasoned enough to know that it’s bait, but I sure do love my sweet baby lesbian beans. I hope they grow up into strong lesbian beanstalks~

I want to give this show marks for an almost perfect no perv pandering score but there is a single mar on their record (S1E5 "I Pretended I Forgot My Swimsuit" Hotaru is in fifth grade so damn). I do want to acknowledge that they totally negated this in season 2 so I leave it as a positive. 

I really understand what Honda-san was talking about when they mentioned that Kadokawa just chucks these types of series out like crazy... I mean I honestly don’t mind, but these cute girl slice of life shows are a dime a dozen at this point! 

These backgrounds are beautiful... I won’t barrage you but here are two of my favorites... 

I love the depth in Kaede and Renge’s relationship. At first it just seemed that the candy store owner was being sweet to the youngest girl, but instead they have this whole history you can peel back about how Kaede babysat Renge as a child and even gave her her iconic hairstyle! Watching Kaede teach Renge how to bike was amazing!! 

They superimposed real fireworks into these shots. It makes for a really cool effect! 

S2E11 “ I Became a Pampered Child" really hit me in the feels. Hotaru reminded me of a lot of good times I had with my mom doing literally the exact same things...

I freaking love that this show has the balls to have Suguru exist and not even give him a voice actor! Most of these types of shows have all the girls and just pretend boys don’t exist but this show took it to a new hilarious level! 

I love that in season 1 they still have the hole in the floor that Suguru fell through in the first episode... 

Verdict: 

we had a good time... 

Check out what I’m watching or other shows I’ve rated here. I also have a ko-fi if you like what I do~

[titusmoody]

Q3 entertainment review

Movies:

IT (1&2): Pretty cool, but I really wish they had known that they’d be making part 2 while they were making part 1.

Gandhi: I liked it, but have nothing to say about it

Gone With the Wind: Despite the fact that its spectacle has been matched and surpassed over and over in the past century, plus the deeply uncomfortable racism, I got totally sucked into the story. Don’t blame anyone for not being able to get into it, though.

The Bourne Identity: Forgot I watched this one. Meh. Oh, right, it was from the library and the disk skipped through a few chunks. Not sure if I should count this as a movie I’ve seen or not.

The Lighthouse: Weird and cool. I didn’t get quite as sucked into this as I had hoped, but it sure is neat.

Twelve Angry Men: Movies like this are definitely why people think classics are boring. If you appreciate acting beyond “man yells/cries loudly” there’s plenty to enjoy, though.

The Green Knight: Hell yeah. This was great. Except the CGI fox.

A Few Good Men: If you appreciate “man yells/cries loudly” acting, there’s plenty to enjoy. 

Easy Rider: Excellent at creating an atmosphere. Almost feels like a parody of itself by the end, but I liked it a lot.

Vertigo: A few of the twists kinda pulled me out of the experience, but it’s not really about the twists, so it wasn’t a big deal.

The Trouble With Harry: Extremely slow paced by modern standards, but it was really very funny.

Idiocracy: This was never going to age well. The culture it was satirizing has long since moved on. The premise is also a little eugenics-y.

The Man Who Knew too Much: Competent and still entertaining, but mostly unremarkable to me.

Kung Fu Panda: Definitely a good movie for kids, so I suppose I can’t be disappointed that I personally didn’t enjoy watching it much.

Luca: I think Pixar can stop making movies now. This was good, but only in ways I’ve seen a bunch of times already. Again, it’s for kids, so my opinion is ultimately irrelevant.

Austin Powers (1&2): Still pretty funny, surprisingly. I mean, the gags aren’t all winners by any means, and maybe my expectations were so low that anything would’ve been a positive surprise for me.

Brazil: A very good movie that I wasn’t in the mood for when I watched it. I’ll give it another shot sometime.

Transformers: Michael Bay’s characters seem to live in a world where the concept of shame doesn’t exist and everyone is constantly acting on all of their worst impulses.

TV: Soul Eater: Has a strong visual identity and some scattered interesting characters and situations. Not consistent enough to be a favorite, though.

Deep Space 9: It’s really good, but only if you’re already accustomed to Star Trek’s brand of cheesiness.

Non Non Biyori: A good example of slice of life anime. The only premise is that it’s set in the countryside. Lots of “older people experience cuteness overload at a small child taking things too seriously” which is a fun Japanese humor staple.

O Maidens in your Savage Season: Leans way further into serious (but low-stakes) drama versus the secondhand-embarrassment humor than I expected, and luckily the drama was pretty solid.

Trigun: An enjoyable ‘90s 26-episode anime, which is its own distinct genre.

Megalobox: Only season 1 was on Netflix. It was alright.

Jujutsu Kaisen: It’s nice to see how the shonen genre is evolving. I don’t care for the current obsession with demons and gore, but I can see why this is popular.

Violet Evergarden: We’re all sick of the Dexter type of “I do not understand these human reactions” premise by now, right? Still, this was pretty good.

 Succession: It’s honestly pretty funny and not as dry as its reputation suggested it would be.  I tend to go into spirals of worrying about how bad the future is gonna be when I watch this show, though.

Video Games:

FF7R: Intergrade Intermission: I like the combat of the Final Fantasy 7 remake, so I got more of that, which was fun. 

Hellblade: Senua's Sacrifice: Good presentation and pacing of puzzles and combat. Disappointed by how many people say it’s a good representation of psychosis. It is certainly not bad and doesn’t fall into the common harmful tropes, but there’s also just not much to it?

Xeodrifter: A tiny game that I had a lot of fun with. I love repeating bosses that add a few new moves every time you fight them.

Oxenfree: A story-based game that didn’t click with me. It’s fine, you might like it, I’ll just move on.

Evoland: Such a cool idea but not fun to actually go through and play the whole thing.

Books:

Crooked Kingdom: Kind of a mess, plot-wise, which also muddled the character arcs that had been set up in the first book. 

Name of the Rose: Extremely my kind of book. It’s got the exact things I like about Sherlock Holmes but it’s set in a medieval Italian monastery. A copy of Aristotle’s Poetics is a major factor of the plot, to give you a sense of the pedantry we’re talking about. Oh, that’s a huge spoiler though.

The Way of Kings: Very pleasant and comfortable to read. Didn’t blow my mind or anything, but it was a reliable way to get a dose of entertainment after work. 

Project Hail Mary: I love how Andy Weir’s characters view the world. Everything is a potential source of curiosity and everything you’re curious about can be figured out with a bit of thinking and a bit of doing. Science Fiction is almost never this optimistic anymore, which is a shame. 

[applicarobo]

Applica’s Winter 2018 In Anime

Another anime season over (for me), and since I've reached a point in my life over the last two years or so where I started watching anime as it came out, I think I'm now qualified enough to start writing about these things. I hope, at least. Kind of wish I started doing these things earlier, but what can you do.

So, without further ado, here is my Winter 2018 in anime.

Ms. Koizumi Loves Ramen Noodles

Recommended if you like: Anime where food is the focus and the characters aren't, Ramen.

I figure it may be best for me to start with the things I enjoyed the least, and move forwards from there. So, as you'll notice, Ra-Ra-Ra-Ramen Daisuki Koizumi-San is the first on the list. It's a simple anime about a girl named Koizumi-san(sic), who eats Ramen multiple times on the daily, and introduces many of her fellow classmates to various types and styles of ramen. In truth, it's actually an anime about ramen, not about Koizumi herself.

And, were that the only thing that mattered, this anime would've done a great job. It serves to be heavily educational about ramen, it's history, and most importantly, how many different varieties of it there actually are and how different those varieties are from each other. The depiction of the ramen is very high quality, and should be considered the draw of the show.

The problem is, that alone is boring. And it therefore relies on its characters to keep things interesting, unfortunately. Koizumi is plain, and prefers to keep away from others (in orderto continue enjoying ramen). As a result, she's rather one dimensional as a character. The anime's main character, if it has one aside from ramen, is actually Yuu, a plucky, short-haired, lesbian. Normally, I'd applaud such a character, but of course she relies heavily enough on yandere tropes to be a consistent stalker of Koizumi, but endlessly positive enough to not be dangerous to anyone. This means she's less of a character, and more of a device to have her end up following Koizumi into a ramen shop, having Koizumi sigh as she sits down next to her, informing her uneducated mind about how good this ramen is.

And that's it. That's mainly how every segment of the show works. Yuu follows Koizumi to a ramen shop, Koizumi sighs and wishes she'd go away as they both order ramen, and then they talk about the ramen for a few minutes. There's a few other characters, a few other ways that scenes play out, but none of them are interesting enough to talk about.

Some solace can at least be taken from the fact that the little ditty they play between segments of the show is very, very catchy. In addition to that, both the opening and ending themes of the show are wildly good jams. The ED especially incorporates both ramen puns and parodies of popular Japanese ramen commercials that I normally wouldn't get. It's so good that I don't even mind the fact that I enjoy a song who's title is LOVE MEN HOLIC.

Speaking of jam openings and endings, though, that was pretty much the case this whole season, for me. Nothing I watched really had anything I really wanted to skip, ever, at the very least. Although some openings certainly were better than others. And next is...

Kokkoku

Recommended if you like: Seeing where ideas can go as long as you're okay with them not panning out, every single episode of Paranoia Agent.

That OP. That sweet, sweet OP. A complete banger, and no doubt about it. The ED is great, too, if you ignore half of the visuals.

Yeah, I'm calling Kokkoku out. I'm not expecting you to be a bastion of pureness, Kokkoku, but whoever just storyboarded random fanservice images of the two lead female characters into your show 's ED just needs to be... demoted, or something. However that works. It's especially odd because the show itself doesn't really have any of that, specifically. (It does however contain a couple of instances of villainous gang members joking about sexual assault, which is never really a welcome thing to hear even if it is coming from villains.) The rest of that ED is fine, though, with the music being nice and the images of the characters that look like still images, only to have the characters move while the rest of the scenery stays frozen around them. Did I mention this is an anime about time being frozen? I should probably go over the scenario.

It opens on a family, of which the only members you need to pay attention to are Juri, her grandfather, her father, her brother and her young nephew. Juri and her grandfather complain about how useless the brother and father are while the brother and nephew get kidnapped on their way home. Grandpa gets a ransom call demanding money in a short period of time, and then he whips out his secret magic time stone, freezing time for everyone except himself, his son, and Juri, as they go off to rescue their family members, leaving the kidnappers none the wiser.

Except that the kidnappers planned for this and froze time at the exact same time, joining the family members in the frozen world known as Stasis, hoping to wipe them out and steal their magic time stone from them. In the middle of Stasis are some magical time monsters that only show up when someone wants to kill someone who is frozen in time. Except they really only become a minor footnote, and for the most part the conflict revolves around the family and the kidnappers. Oh, and some of the people on both sides also get magical powers they can only use when time is stopped.

The problem is that I hardly find this conflict interesting. For most of the twelve episodes, the Stasis thing really only exists to create an environment in which these parties can fight without incurring normal societal penalties, and with a method for them to show off some cool visual scenarios (many of which involve liquids). There's only a couple moments where the fact that time is stopped leads them to invoke creative solutions as a result of this, and most of the other things about time being stopped revolve around arbitrary rules or limitations of the Stasis environment.

Most of the characters are decently written and likable, at least. The five members of the Yukawa family, as well as a few other people who are wrapped up in Stasis, are fun and interesting enough to carry the plot of the show where it would've otherwise failed for me. That, along with the occasional visual spectacle. The conflict, and the central villain, are really just kind of awful. Awful in the "badly written" sort of way, and I do feel that the central villain's writing is bad enough to drag down the show's likability at least a full octave. It's that bad.

I will, however, give an enormous shout out to the show's final episode, which offered a new scenario of conflict (although one which had "been coming" for a few episodes before it.) For me, it was far and away the series' most memorable episode, and really left things on a good note. It's... hard to explain without spoiling it, but simple enough that I think someone could actually just drop in on the final episode of the series, understand enough of what is going on to enjoy it, and then finish the series (of one episode) satisfied. In fact, if you do show interest in a story about the world being frozen in time, I personally recommend that's what you do, because that one episode is actually very good.

Hakumei and Mikochi

Recommended if you like: Girls' Last Tour, Yuru Camp△, Mushishi???

And from an anime about a tense invisible conflict happening in a small span of time, we move to an anime about some generally regular things happening in a very small world. A tiny little life, as you'd say.

Hakumei and Mikochi is an anime about the aforementioned girls, who came to live together in small society for reasons we don't actually know. (I'm going to imagine that they're probably gay, but, that's not really the focus here. [although it does joke about them being a couple a couple of times and neither of them actually denies it haha im gay]). When I say "in small society," I mean that neither of these girls are particularly out of the ordinary in their world despite being shorter than the length of my hand. That's really the only major difference between our world and theirs, aside from a scaling back of technology and the fact that animals talk. Yeah, several of the side characters are animals.

Still, despite the fact that this is a comfy slice of life taking place in an otherwise normal world there are a number of fantastical things that can happen. While one episode may focus on the two of them taking a train to a fishing trip or spending a day on the town, another has them meeting with an equally small scientist who is in the business of animating the bones of dead creatures, or helping resolve a lawless gang dispute that involves the kidnapping of their friend. And despite these differences, each episode remains highly serene and comfortably lovable.

Whereas I feel Kokkoku rarely made the most of its setting (interjecting to contrast here that Hakumei and Mikochi might have the most forgettable OP of what I watched this season, unfortunately), Hakumei and Mikochi makes the most of it. The two live in a tree, (for a while, which, they don't even realise there are neighbourly animals living in the branches), eat entire meals that would normally be a morsel for us, make unique interactions with animals, or use small materials in completely new ways. Each episode is calm, comforting, and full of love, and I really wish I could be there.

Yuru Camp△

Recommended if you like: Non Non Biyori, K-On!, being warm, girls

But... There's still more comfort to be had. If Hakumei and Mikochi made a handful of people want to live in their tiny world, Yuru Camp△ (triangle will now be exempted from the rest of this article, you've done your work, sorry △ purists) made a whole ton of people really, really want to go camping right now. I suppose that's largely because it's a much more achievable goal, but it's also in no small part because Yuru Camp was exceedingly popular this season.

And I'm glad it is, too, because it certainly deserves it. I described it after only a couple episodes as "The best Manga Time Kirara anime since K-On!" (and yes, that includes Yuyushiki) and I'm glad that I was correct. I'm sort of feeling like I don't need to write a plot summary mainly because everyone should know what it is by now, but I'll take a crack at it anyway.

Rin, a quiet girl who loves camping alone, is doing so one day when she meets a girl sleeping outdoors near the bathroom. Nadeshiko, a boisterous, joyful and carefree girl, biked all the way out here, and since she fell asleep it's getting too dark to bike back home. Rin, not knowing what to do, lets her hang out at her campsite while she waits for her sister to arrive, and feeds her one of her noodle cups.

Nadeshiko is so taken by the experience that she joins a camping club at her school, and is also excited to find that Rin is also at the school, though not in the club. Over the course of the anime, Rin learns to make more friends and enjoy the things that her chance meeting with Nadeshiko has brought to her life. Such as Nadeshiko.

And that's it! But it's not really the plot, but the comfort that makes the show as good as it is. Aside from the beautiful scenery, the Jackson 5 "I Want You Back"-esque OP, and the extremely enticing depiction of camping, the relaxing atmosphere and constant comfort that the characters enjoy is really the draw. It's really hard to describe it with words, but the viewers can just share in Rin's calm, comforting bliss as she spends time both alone and with others. What could be more enjoyable than that?

A Place Further Than The Universe

Recommended if you like: Life.

And yet, while it's good when animes are just purely comforting, sometimes you need to remember how real things can be before we can enjoy those other moments. Enter Antarctica.

Antarctica is a girl named Shirase at Mari's school who is obsessed with going to Antarctica and therefore a bunch of people who go to Mari's school have nicknamed her that. When Mari decides that she wants to do something amazing with her life, she runs into Shirase, who has a million yen and half a plan to board a research boat on its way to the continent in order to meet her missing mother. The two attempt to execute their plan, and, thanks to a stroke of luck, join with another two girls as part of the research team who will board that same vessel.

The real story is in those ups and downs, the really real emotions of our main characters and some of those around them. It is somewhat worth noting that despite being a show about girls who plan to go to Antarctica for various reasons, and they move closer and closer to their goal each episode, it's more about the people on the journey than the journey itself.

Most of the episodes are about them as individuals, talking about the problems in their lives and finding ways to accept them. These problems are more often than not heartbreaking, and I'll just say this right now: I cried hard at least three times because of this show. Maybe more.

And yet, for every dip, there is a resurfacing, and as sad as the show can get, the uplifting moments rise above the rest and really, really, make you feel love, and make you feel alive. And that's why I think A Place Further than the Universe is undoubtedly the best anime I've watched this season.

That should cover everything I watched this season, I think.

Right?

Pop Team Epic

Recommended if you like: Hell, video game references, nonsense, antihumour, art

Does this really count? I don't know if this anime counts in this list. I probably liked it more than Kokkoku, at the very least, and that one wasn't that bad. Still, it's so... Insanely hard to define Pop Team Epic. It's a bit show, I guess? Like, it's jokes. But it isn't even traditional jokes. It's just nonsense that's funny because it is and that's all you can really say about it. Sure, there's pop culture references, they're abundant. Sure, there's slapstick moments and parodies. Lots. But that's not even the meat of the show.

The majority of the jokes are simply because of the pure nonsense that happens, most noticeably in the (completely unchecked by the central production office) “Bobunemimimmi” segments where the characters are parodies of themselves and the jokes are sometimes completely nothing and yet are still funny. One of the most quotable bits from the show among my friends has been "Eisai Haramasukoi" which is literally just nonsense words. It means nothing. But it's so fun to say.

The bits in this show can be so obscurely humourous that sometimes just an unexpected change in the production value or the medium itself can qualify as a joke, often impressively so. Sometimes the joke isn't even a segment, but rather, how that segment even came to be placed in the show in the first place. The show airs the same half-length segments twice a week, but with different voice actors each airing and each week. Sometimes, the second airing changes some of the jokes, and sometimes it doesn't. Somehow, it tricked me into watching the same episode twice each week, and yet it never got boring. Pop Team Epic is a work of art that's sometimes so horribly ugly that it's hard to define it as so, and yet, it is. It just is.

It's definitely still not better than going to Antarctica, though.

[slice-of-no-life]

Year End Anime Roundup

Hello all.  this is a list of every anime I watched this year.

A Channel 6 - Meh. Aho Girl 7 - stupid funny Akiba’s Strip 7 - this series was more fun than it had any right to be.  I thoroughly enjoyed it. Alice to Zouroku 8 - I really enjoyed some parts of this but i have a personal weakness for series about adults raising children. Another 7 - Wasn’t bad but didn’t really resonate with me that much. Ansatsu Kyoushitsu S1 9 - thoroughly enjoyed this. Ansatsu Kyoushitsu S2 7 - ending was kinda meh Bakemono no Ko 8 - I really enjoyed this movie.  I had seen it at walmart for ages.  glad i picked it up. Blend S 9 - Ah yes the workplace Rom-Com.  Always a favorite of mine. Boku no Hero Academia S2 10 - don’t look at me like you didn’t know this was gonna have a 10. Carnival Phantasm 8 - had a lot of fun with this. Castlevania 8 - Hoping for more of this Centaur no Nayami 7 - I love monster girls so this was a no brainer. Danmachi Gaiden Sword Oratoria 7 - alright as a companion to danmachi.  can’t really stand on its own merits. Demi-chan wa Katartai* 10 - this was a series I looked forward to each week.  I wish i could say more great things about this but if you’re a fan of SoL, you really can’t do much better than this Durarara (all of it) 8 - I really enjoyed the beginning to this.  i feel like the last season or two could’ve been skipped if the friends even spoke just a little. Eromanga Sensei 10 - masterpiece. Evangelion 1.0 9 - waiting for 4.0 Evangelion 2.0 9 - ^ Evangelion 3.0 9 - ^ Fate/Apocrypha 8 - it’s a goddamn mess but i love it. Fate/Kaleid liner Prisma Illya Movie: Sekka no Chikai 8 - I love seeing heroic spirit emiya anytime I can. Fate/Zero 2nd Season 9 - dont know why i waited so long to finish this.  i enjoyed it. Fuuka (updated and now finished) 6 - started out cool but got boring about midway Gabriel DropOut 8 - CGDCT cute girls subverting religious stereotypes.  you have a Fail-len angel addicted to gaming, a sadistic angel, a mostly harmless prankster demon and a demon who is easily the most pleasant person in the show.  would watch again Gurren Lagann 8 - don’t even know what was even happening at the end but it was cool. Hajimete no Gal 7 - it’s alright. Himouto s2 9 - i thought it fixed a lot of the problems season 1 had and it actually made umaru a tolerable character.  Also bonus points for more cgdct. Hinako Note 7 - eh it was cool.  Kuu-chan was bae. Howl’s Moving Castle 9 - Watched this while cooking Easter dinner. Imouto sae Ireba Il. 8 - Solid show with some of the most ridiculous parody comedy i’ve seen. Inuyashiki 8 - Super robot attack grandpa was pretty cool. Isekai shokudou 8 - I enjoyed it. Isekai wa smartphone to Tomo ni. 7 - vanilla as fuck op character in a harem.  still moderately enjoyable.  I like how they approached the harem scenes. Juuni Taisen 8 - fate meets the chinese zodiac.  it was alright. Kakegurui 8 - i still don’t know how to categorize this. Kancolle Movie 9 - I finally got to meet all the charactersfrom the games that the weebs i follow love so much. Katanagatari 9 - so glad i finally gave this a shot.  it was worth it. Kemono Friends 10 - wholesome. Kimi no Na wa. 8 - it was just alright for me. Kiseijuu: Sei no Kakuritsu 8 - that was pretty good. Kizumonogatari 3 10 - it was amazing.  i got to see my favorite series on a movies budget. Kobayashi-san Chi no Maid Dragon* 10 - seeing Ms. Kobayashi’s daily life was a treat and I loved seeing how her life changed as other characters were introduced into it.  Going into this show i thought it was gonna be a silly thing but it was much more serious than i anticipated.  Kanna was best loli for the season and it wasn’t even close *megumin always gets honorable mentions* aoty candidate Koe no Katachi 10 - best non monogatari movie of 2017 Koi to Uso 7 - meh Konosuba2* 10 - i love it when s2 live up to a great s1.  they fixed a lot of the problems with s1 but didn’t compromise what made this show magical.  darkness really climbed the best girl chart this season thanks to plenty of storylines.  could always use more megumin.  Aoty candidate Kuzu no Honkai* 9 - wow way to make me feel emotions.  i was initially turned off by all the hype i saw.  im glad i gave it a try. Love Live S1-S2 8 - i really enjoyed this. Made in Abyss 10 - it was pretty.  it had chibi characters.  it was dark it was an anime of the year candidate. Mahouka koukou no rettousei 8 - Magic High was cool if a bit pretentious. Mahoutsukai no Yome 10 - im always a sucker for a fantasy world that didn’t feel cookie-cutter.  Anime of the year candidate. Masamune-kun no Revenge 6 - protag-kun confirmed for shit taste.  main girls best friend was way better and she wasnt even a route.  ending was weak. will probably still get s2. Megane na Kanojo 5 - meh 4 shorts about glasses girls. Miyakawa-ke no Kuufuku 8 - Lucky star spinoff that gave me lucky star vibes. Momokuri 7 - an okay rom comedy. Naruto Shippuuden 7 - wow what a trip.  there was only like 70 eps of filler in the last 100 episodes. Nekopara 9 - true to the game and compelling enough to stand on its own.  will probably watch again. Net-juu no Susume 9 - I really enjoyed this series.  MoriMori-chan is a waifu of the year candidate New Game 2 7 - wasn’t as good as the original but it was alright. would watch a s3. NonNon Biyori 9 - enjoyed it.  should start s2 at some point. Noragami s1-s2 8 - didn’t think i would like this as much as i did. Nyanko Days 6 - can’t remember shit about this One Room 7 - alright.  its short episodes so it could knocked out in 40 mins. Ookami Kodomo no Ame to Yuki 9 - really enjoyed wolf children.  watched for mothers day to appreciate my own mother. OwariMonogatari s2 9 - really enjoyed this conclusion to my favorite anime. Renai Boukun 7 - meh it was entertaining for a while. Saekano s2 9 - I was gutted emotionally during the first half of the series.  I still enjoy it though.   Seiren 6 - i’d give arc 1 a 9, and everything else was blah.  i dont even remember arc 3. Shingeki no Kyojin 2 9 - I enjoyed it.  most people said there was too much flashback but i didn’t have a problem with that. Shoujo Shuumatsu Ryokou 8 - cool ambient cute girls.   Spice and Wolf S1-S2 9 - I didn’t know i was gonna get economics lessons from an anime this year.  enjoyed it. Star Fox Zero 6 - nothing important. Sword Art Online: Ordinal Scale 8 - enjoyed seeing this in theaters. The iDOLM@STER CINDERELLA GIRLS Theater 7 - meh The Kings Avatar 8 - solid series that’ i’d like s2 or another series like it. The Seven Deadly Sins 9 - I see why this is the 4th most binged series on netflix.  everything about it screamed quality. Tsurezure Children 7 - good enjoyable rom com shorts.  i hope theres a s2 coming. Urara Meirochou 8 - solid cgdct.  cute girls are fortune tellers.  Koume for best girl.   Yojouhan Shinwa Talkei 8 - they spoke so fast i struggled to read the subtitles.  It was great though. YuGiOh!: The Dark Side of Dimensions  7 - ive never seen a theater roast a series they paid $12 for.  it was everything i remember about the old show.  Kaiba was hilarious. Zero kara Hajimeru Mahou no Sho 8 - solid fantasy series.  Zero for potential waifu of the year   

Waifu Tier characters (no previous characters for earlier years ie Megumin, Megumi Kato, Mikasa) Satou Sakie Kobayashi-San: i loved her Tohru: she’s so cute Hanabi Vigne Koume Tsuneki Hikari Zero MoriMori-chan Chise Ozen the Immovable Natsukawa Kuina Ishida Miyako Satanichia Kurumizawa McDowell Elf Yamada Shiori Shinomiya Mashu Kyrielight Astolfo Frankenstein Jeanne D’Arc

Imouto Tier Nikawa Denkigai Kanna Kamui Natsuki Momohara Sagiri Izumi Yuzuru Nishimiya Alice *spoiler character from A Sisters All You Need*

work in progress anime Boruto 20/38 Cardcaptor sakura 40/70 Dragonball Super 42/121 Sakura Quest 16/25

i’ll compile all the 8, 9, and 10 rated anime in another list and from there, I’ll choose my picks for anime of the year.  I may even steal crunchyrolls categories and place what i saw into those.  i reserve the right to add to this list up until the 15th of January or to change any score on it.  *seriously theres like 70 series on this list and ive probably missed some.*

[mageinabarrel]

Without question, this is the definitive take on the season.

Let’s not bury the headline—I finished exactly three shows from this season. We’ll get into my thoughts on each shortly, but as those of you who have been following me for a while know, this was a fairly big shift in my relationship with seasonal anime. This upcoming spring season will mark the start of my fourth year following simulcasts, and up until last season I had been watching anywhere from 8-15 shows a season. Of course, those numbers had been trending downwards, but still—to go from 8 shows a week to a mere 3 (and not often watching things the day or even the week they came out) was… well, it was different.

I’ve got a post in the works about the changes I’ve been making in the way I watch anime and the reasons for those changes, but we’ll leave that for another day. For now, all you need to know is that while I only finished 3 shows, I did sample a pretty wide variety of things that I’ve got thoughts on. I’m not going to be ranking things or doing awards as I have in seasons past—with only three shows, such ceremony seems rather misplaced.

So enough spinning our wheels, let’s talk about some Winter 2017 anime!

Finished Shows~

I suppose it makes sense to start with my favorite show of the season, director Shingo Natsume’s ACCA. I wish I could remember back to the start of the season and what I thought of ACCA before the first episode aired, but I just don’t remember. Maybe it’s because the show was more of a speculative pick that anything for me to start, but the first episode blew me away with its slow-paced and effortless sense of style.

While the show as a whole didn’t manage to keep up visually with the excellent opener and best-of-the-season OP, it did manage to find some other strengths to lean in to. Liborek’s coverage of the show over on the Sakugablog highlights some of the reasons the show’s visual quality was so inconsistent (heavy storyboarding duties on one staffer, a ton of outsourcing), but it was nice to see that overall the production issues never overtook ACCA‘s core strengths: 1) the compelling relationships between many of its characters, 2) the general human cuteness it put on display, 3) the richness of its world, and 4) the well-handled slow burn of political intrigue.

Perhaps more than any recent show I’ve seen, ACCA was fascinating for its depiction of various relationships. Jean and Lotta had their comfortable dynamic; Jean and Nino’s genuine affection and care for each other stood out; Nino and Lotta were charming to watch together; Jean and Mauve were riveting as a couple (a ship I was both totally okay with not sailing and also crushed over); Mauve and Grossular’s mutual respect was super neat. Et cetera. And that these relationships and love and loyalty of a human, familial kind ran alongside their political parallels in a kind of beautiful synchronicity made the experience all the richer.

In the end, ACCA left me really satisfied. As great as the cute interactions between characters (and their food lol) were on an immediate basis within the show, the way things pulled together emotionally (like in episode 8) and plot-wise (in episode 12) was immensely gratifying to watch. Whether it was the revelation of the backstory that tied all the characters together or the sheer rush of watching Jean and co. turn the tables on Lillium at the last second, ACCA was beautifully crafted as a story. When I finished the final episode, I felt full, like I’d just eaten a satisfying English muffin and finished a cup of tea (a ritual I actually completed with over half of the show’s episodes—it just put me in that mood). That’s a good feeling to walk away from a show with. I’m glad I watched it.

Speaking of things with satisfying endings, how about the finale of Konosuba‘s second season? Kazuma a pile of bones and Aqua lauching a final boss character into the sky with a magic-fueled uppercut? Seriously, what more could I ask for?

That’s more of less to say that Konosuba delivered more or less exactly what I wanted—and expected from it this season. The stuff I didn’t like about the first season (ecchi stuff, Kazuma being gross, Kazuma getting to take most of the heroic planning stuff credit) was still there, and the stuff I liked (Aqua) was still there too. Did anyone else noticed that the quality of the episodes seemed to go up and down proportionately to Aqua’s screentime, or just me? Well, this is notice to all you who didn’t realize this, so now you can go back and watch this season with new eyes. Lucky you, you will be able to experience the full glory of Aqua clapping for fishes.

Incidentally, I found even more things this season to relate to Aqua with. Everything else about the Axis cult aside (yes, I’m cherry picking), it was pretty darn cool to see the way Aqua responded with such benevolence to her followers even though they treated her like crap. I mean, sure, they’re directly linked with her goddess powers, but still… seeing the lengths our beloved selfish goddess would go to for the people who worshipped her (or their image of her lol) still was neat. As I’ve said before, Konosuba‘s appeal for me lives and dies with Aqua—it was good that it went out on a pro-Aqua high.

https://sakugabooru.com/data/5752ba99b0be8e2469f3094f7b5a3f7d.mp4

  And then we have Hand Shakers. Yes, I finished it. I watched every second of every episode (except the OP/ED, which were eminently skippable and not at all necessary to setting a mood for the show). It was bad, as I expected, but I don’t regret watching it. If nothing else, it’s been a while since I actually finished a show I could rate a 3/10; the bell curve of my MAL rankings was starting to get out of whack.

As you may recall, I wrote a piece early in the season “defending” Hand Shakers‘ visual choices. The thoughts I expressed in that post regarding the fascinating prospect of seeing a show place pursuit of a particular aesthetic before all over values—including coherency—still hold true, although I’m sad to report that Hand Shakers largely settled into a kind of complacent expression of that aesthetic as the show wore on. That was a disappointment for me, and I’d have to say that K will probably remain the definitive GoHands-style anime for me going forward.

So what about Hand Shakers‘ story and characters? Well, the story pulled a last-second spin and lots of the characters were either yucky (the incest siblings) or grating (Makihara-sensei) or just plain uninteresting (Kodama Awaza, in a tragic waste of an idol character). But there were still some that I wound up liking, particularly Chizuru and Hayate and their affectionate, almost pseudo-parental friendship with Koyori and Tazuna. The latter pair wasn’t anything exceptional and bogged down by Koyori’s nearly show-long muteness, but even so I felt there was a enough of a kernel of a well-intentioned effort to make their relationship feel genuine and sweet that I found them pleasant to watch.

In summary, I absolutely do not recommend you, your friends, or anyone else watch Hand Shakers. It is not a good anime, and at its worst it is disgusting and offensive. And yet, somehow there are things in it that are good, too. That’s something I don’t think I’ll ever not find fascinating—seeing the unexpected good in something largely bad.

Unfinished Shows~

That covers the stuff I finished, but what about the stuff I didn’t? There were plenty of shows less bad than Hand Shakers that aired this season. Some of them were—Miss Kobayashi’s Dragon Maid, Kemono Friends, BanG Dream!, and Idol Jihen.

I got the farthest into Idol Jihen, which I watched 5 episodes of. It wasn’t a terrible show, as it sometimes indulged in some delightfully wacky contortions of its ridiculous premise, but generally speaking it was a boring waste of time in between the bigger moments. It didn’t help that the characters had no personality or charm (at least part of that due to the horrid character designs). Draggle’s right—watch AKB0048 instead.

Miss Kobayashi’s Dragon Maid is a substantially better show that Idol Jihen, yet I watched less of it. That’s probably not Dragon Maid‘s fault. I liked the three episodes of it that I watched. It’s cute, with KyoAni’s typical fixation of small gestures and warm character interactions, and has some standout things going for it—like Kanna, its (somewhat inferior) rendition of Non Non Biyori‘s Renge. But just being nice wasn’t enough to motivate me to really catch up with it, so it just benignly slid off my watching schedule.

Kemono Friends was somewhat the same, although I will say that I enjoyed watching people talk about Kemono Friends more than I liked watching them talk about Dragon Maid—and possibly more than I liked watching the show itself. I did three episodes of Kemono Friends for a Crunchyroll article I wrote on it myself, but there were a number of other great pieces (Kastel’s, Froggy’s, Bobduh’s) that came out about Kemono Friends. I can’t remember the last time so many different writers all were all hooked on writing about the same show in this way. If meme shows are what it takes to attract a bunch of critics all at once, I guess more meme shows is what we need.

Demi-chan wa Kataritai lost me after three episodes, too, but for worse reasons that the prior two. After a lovely first episode, it started to go more and more for romance and creepy stuff between the high school girls and the teacher, and I really just wasn’t in the mood to navigate that in a show I’d hoped would be more pleasant and less blatantly sexual than Urara-chan, which I never even picked up for that reason.

Oh, yeah, I watched one episode of BanG Dream! and while I found it somewhat quirky, that wasn’t enough to get me back. I also opted not to watch the (obvious AOTS) sequel of Shouwa Genroku Rakugo Shinju on a week-by-week basis, meaning that someday in the future I’ll have the glorious chance to marathon it all at once and bawl my eyes out.

And that pretty much sums up my Winter 2017 anime experience! What did you guys watch and enjoy this past season? Feel free to tell me what I missed out on in the comments (although I can’t promise I’ll pick up anything other than Rakugo in the future).

Without question, this is the definitive take on the season. Without question, this is the definitive take on the season.

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OPINION: The Lessons I Learned from Renge that Changed My Life

  Non Non Biyori, now on its third season, is a joy for many reasons — its celebration of simple rural life, its down-to-earth depiction of childhood, and its quiet but undeniable sense of humor, just to name a few. But among all of its strengths, one factor has far and away stolen the spotlight time and time again, and that is the adorable youngest member of the cast, Renge. Despite having no established main character — each skit usually focuses on the perspective of just one or two members of its ensemble cast — Renge frequently ends up being the most interesting character involved in any situation. Partly because her naivete puts her in silly situations, but largely because her curiosity and open-mindedness allow us to see things from new perspectives, which can be just as insightful as they are funny.

  While that childhood innocence expresses itself in things we take for granted, we shouldn't miss out on Non Non Biyori's greatest message — even if we’re older, we should all be a little more like Renge.

    Where the other children are of the age where they think they have things figured out, feigning maturity to impress the others as children do, Renge isn't at all embarrassed to admit she doesn't know something. Seriously, turn on any random episode of Non Non Biyori and skip to a part that has Renge in it, the girl never stops asking questions. Do they live in the sticks? How does multiplication work? Is anything truly round? No thought is too simple or too abstract for Renge, and her curiosity pays off for her — while the older kids and adults in her life fumble trying to pretend they have all the answers, Renge's acceptance of her own ignorance just makes her smarter every day.

  I've found it empowering to embody Renge's inquisitive nature because despite being four times her age and living in a world that expects me to have it all "figured out," the truth is I'm pretty dumb and there's way too much I just don't know. That means when I get curious about a subject, I try to educate myself about it as much as possible — recently that meant a binge of podcasts about old-timey pirates, but it can be as small as looking up a word when I'm not 100 percent sure I know what it means or double-checking a fact I'm pretty sure I know but might be misremembering. I also try to always have a long-term learning goal going at any given time, whether that be a language, some kind of math concept, or even just research on the production of a show I really liked. The point is to keep challenging myself — when you're always learning something new, it reminds you that you don't in fact have it all figured out, and never really will, but as Renge shows us, that's a good thing.

    Another great thing about Renge is that, despite being only in first grade, she is already quite the artist. Renge tries to capture the new things she finds in the world by drawing them for herself. When the gang lands a trip to Okinawa, everyone plans things they want to do, and the top of Renge's list isn't just to see the sights. No, she goes a step further — she wants to draw the things she anticipates the most, including dolphins, despite being told how unlikely it is she'll get to see them for herself. She gets good at it, too! Some might chalk that up to the animators drawing pictures for a 7-year-old, but when you think about it, it only makes sense that she would improve with so much practice.

    Now, despite fleeting aspirations to become a manga artist in middle school, I'm no van Gogh myself. That doesn't mean I can't imitate Renge's hunger for self-expression, though — in fact, I'm doing that right now, by thinking and writing about a show I love. The medium may be different, but the gains are the same — when Renge draws her surroundings, she is truly taking in the things that interest her, understanding them on a new level by trying to replicate them. Writing about my favorite shows inherently asks me to engage with them beyond the simple act of consuming them, and by doing that I learn more about the anime itself, what it is trying to say about the world, and even myself by figuring out what makes me connect with it. Writing isn't the only way to do that, of course — the same thing is accomplished through fanart, cosplay, fan fiction, or any other creative endeavor that requires you to put a little bit of yourself into the mix. The important part is that you're engaging with the stuff you find interesting because doing that not only helps you understand the world better but also yourself — and you might pick up a surprising skill or two along the way. Renge sure has, and she just started elementary school!

    The last thing Renge does is probably the most simple one because it's something you can do basically all the time — play, or to be more specific, improvise. Play is good for kids because it gives them an outlet to interact socially, develop problem-solving skills, and stretch their creative muscles. That last part is the one I'm focusing on here — when Renge and the other kids are bored, they often make up scenarios and roles to embody for themselves or play nonsensical games with each other. My favorite example of this is in Non Non Biyori Repeat Episode 2, where the gang teaches Hotaru how to play "knock-down-the-ruler" — a seemingly simple game where you use a pen and a ruler to knock someone else's ruler off the table — and go on to accidentally confuse her by making up rules and special moves as they go along. That's just one example, of course, as Non Non Biyori is filled with examples of the kids, but especially Renge, starting with simple premises and adding or subtracting from them as they see fit.

    We're not all kids putting buckets on our heads to pretend we're superheroes, but that doesn't mean we can't embody the spirit of that boundless childhood imagination in our everyday lives; I try to make mundane situations into forms of play themselves. When I walk to and from work, I make it a point to mix things up sometimes, taking longer or more unusual routes for my commute to change up the scenery. If I've been making the same thing for breakfast for too long, I try to mix up the ingredients a little without looking anything up ahead of time — just going with the flow based on what I have in front of me and what I think might taste good. When playing a video game I've already played a million times before, it keeps me on my toes to make up restrictions for myself or to set goals that force me to go out of my way and do things differently than I normally do. And just like for kids, changing things up from time to time keeps my imagination active, not only letting me enjoy the little things in life more but ensuring my brain is always working so when a more serious problem arises and changes life up for me, I'm well-equipped to figure out how to improvise through unfamiliar situations because I do it all the time.

    Renge may be young, but the way she navigates life is not only smart but easily imitable. The next time you're watching Non Non Biyori, when Renge does something funny, ask yourself: What is she learning from acting that way? What is she gaining by challenging her boundaries and preconceptions? Often, the answer is that she is learning and growing, and though you might not be a first-grader in the Japanese countryside, you might find it rewarding to be a little more like Renge yourself.  

What's your favorite hilarious Renge moment? Let us know in the comments below!

      David Lynn can be found obsessing over Fate/Grand Order on Twitter @navycherub.

By: David Lynn

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Bookshelf Briefs 2/27/17

Anne Happy, Vol. 4 | By Cotoji | Yen Press – I am beginning to wonder if the goal of this class filled with luckless idiots is not so much to improve their bad luck as to simply get them to find joy in little things anyway, as this fourth volume mostly involves a school trip that ends up in a giant keep away gave of tag, with the losers sleeping outside and foraging for food. Take a wild guess which team ends up losing. There’s also Karaoke (Anne breaks the equipment by merely attempting to use is) and woodcarving (Anne is quite good, but it shatters fairly easily). In order to appreciate these sad sacks, one must turn the brain off, but if you do, it can be cute and adorable, and a culture festival sounds fun. Recommended if you like moe stuff. – Sean Gaffney

Fate/Zero, Vol. 4 | By Gen Urobuchi, Type-Moon, and Shinjiro | Dark Horse – One of the biggest reasons to read Fate/Zero is too see the contrast in heroes between Shirou, the naive, hardheaded yet lovable hero of Fate/Stay Night, and Kirutsugu, the cool, pragmatic, “greater good” protagonist of Fate/Zero. And while Saber falls pretty hard for Shirou, it’s pretty clear that Kirutsugu fills her with rage and disgust, which is very well drawn here by Shinjiro. I also enjoyed seeing Irisviel’s attempts at being his balance, which I suspect are doomed to failure, and was weirded out by Sola-Ui, possibly as she looks like Bazett and has a crush on Lancer like Bazett. Oh yes, and we have more lovingly detailed child murder. Fate/Zero is classic Gen Urobuchi, which is to say death and pain, but so well-written. – Sean Gaffney

Haikyu!!, Vol. 8 | By Haruichi Furudate | Viz Media – In general, most sports manga that revolve around “it’s our chance to win the big tournament�� invariably involve losing in the first tournament they try to win, because otherwise the manga would be quite short. And so it is for Haikyu!!, as despite various stratagem, and almost having a shot, our heroes still go down to defeat. But they can learn from it and let that frustration fill them with the desire to improve. And the graduating teammates may stick around a little longer after all, if they get permission, because yes, college is important, but this is volleyball. All that and we get cool poses, facial grimaces galore, and so much sweat you could float down it in a boat. Haikyu!! is powerful and fun to read. – Sean Gaffney

Kamisama Kiss, Vol. 23 | By Julietta Suzuki | VIZ Media – I’ve always enjoyed Kamisama Kiss, but I was never particularly excited about it. That has officially changed with this volume. Suzuki-sensei manages to strike the perfect balance between action, plot resolution, and feelings. Instead of the focus being on Tomoe and Nanami’s relationship, it’s on the friendship Tomoe and Akura-Oh once shared and how both of them were able to change through coming to love and understand humans. It’s quite lovely, actually. Creepy Yatori, who still looks like a villain out of Basara, is still in play, though, so our heroes are not entirely out of the woods yet. Having a high-quality ending like this really bolsters my opinion of the series as a whole. – Michelle Smith

Kuma Miko: Girl Meets Bear, Vol. 3 | By Masume Yoshimoto | One Peace Books – Kuma Miko is becoming a lot less weird and a lot more moe. Unfortunately, this has the effect of also making it far less interesting, as the story beats it’s hitting are ones that we’ve seen done better elsewhere (albeit with fewer talking bears). It also means we pay more attention to the interpersonal relationships, which can be somewhat creepy (Yoshio towards Machi, which is thankfully called out by Hibiki) or disturbingly co-dependent (Machi and the bear). We do get an occasionally funny gag (“they’ll throw rocks at me!” seems like country naivete till it gets a callback. I’m beginning to be reminded of another series set way out in the country, Non Non Biyori, and am asking: is there a point to this? – Sean Gaffney

Kuroko’s Basketball, Vols. 7-8 | By Tadatoshi Fujimaki | Viz Media – The crushing defeat from last volume still weighs on both Kuroko and Kagami, and Kuroko in particular is finding it hard to move past and get to the next level. Luckily there are ways to fix that, such as INTENSE TRAINING. We get sand basketball, which is as rough as it sounds, and poor Kagami running and running and running and then running some more. And then we get to watch more of the winner’s in the tournament, as the battle between Aomine and Kise, which is incredibly badass, and also helps to show that yes, Kuroko and Kagami DO have a ways to go. Luckily, we’ve a number of volumes to go as well. Having this and Haikyu!! coming out at the same time means we’re hitting similar beats, but they’re both good. – Sean Gaffney

Magi: The Labyrinth of Magic, Vol. 22 | By Shinobu Ohtaka | Viz Media – The heroes of Magi are filled with shiny shonen idealism, and they run up hard against the cynicism of the real world in this volume. Even Sinbad, who’s been presented till now as at least a reasonable ally, is starting to show signs that he may be, if not just as bad, certainly just as problematic. Alibaba is not yet strong enough to refuse offers that he can’t refuse. To the rescue comes Aladdin, who gives everyone a giant flashback to show what happened in the universe he’s from, a parallel one where humanity is fighting evil Mr. Potato Heads, and we also get Solomon and Sheba, because I was wondering when they would show up in this manga clearly influenced by Biblical as well as Arabian Nights myth. Magi is terrific; you should know this by now. – Sean Gaffney

Maid-sama!, Vols. 13-14 | By Hiro Fujiwara | VIZ Media – Y’know, Maid-sama! is certainly not a great manga, but damned if it isn’t immensely satisfying when things finally happen! I suppose that’s owing to the fact that Misaki is a stubborn tsundere, which can be frustrating, but I cannot deny that her confession of love and Usui’s reciprocation, followed by their becoming an official couple and eventually revealing their status to the school is all the sweeter because it took so long. There’s plenty of other stuff in this volume, including a school trip with appearances by random supporting characters and more boring drama about Usui’s family background, but even the plot wherein he transfers schools for his final year is redeemed when Misaki is 100% not cowed by some rich girl claiming Usui is her fiancé. The endgame is afoot! – Michelle Smith

Monthly Girls’ Nozaki-kun, Vol. 6 | By Izumi Tsubaki | Yen Press – I suppose it might seem like an insult to say that this volume of Nozaki-kun is pretty much the same as the others, but I actually mean it as a compliment. Tsubaki continues to spin out amusing scenarios for her characters with no dip in quality. In this volume, Nozaki is doing a lot of research into horror themes, in anticipation of having to incorporate some into his manga, but there are other silly gags like Wakamatsu being transformed into a confident guy via an eye patch, doing summer homework at Nozaki’s house, and finding a suitable girl to pretend to be Mikoshiba’s girlfriend in order to persuade a persistent admirer to back off. Each new volume of this series is like the best kind of brain balm and I’m grateful for it! – Michelle Smith

By: Michelle Smith