#ren x komi render

[shazzeaslightnovels]

February 2023

(Series: Demon’s Crest | Artist: Yukiko Horiguchi)

No. of Reviews: 5

List of Reviews:

Demons’ Crest 1

Hamefura 12

Kami wa Game ni Ueteiru 5

YouZitsu 9

Astrea Record 3

As promised last month, I’m going to use this post to delve into my top 10 anime of 2022. It ended up being long and I can tell that I’m not going to be able to do much about that without really cutting more details out and I’ve already tried to make it shorter so I’m just going to put it under a cut instead. Before the list, here are some honorable mentions: Summer Time Rendering, Delicious Party Precure, and Mobile Suit Gundam: The Witch from Mercury. Really, GWitch should be on the list but I’m still traumatised from the disappointment that was the second half of Ranking of Kings so I’m being cautious. It’ll probably end up on next year’s list if all goes well with the second half.

10. Raven of the Inner Palace - I watched this one shortly after it finished airing and was very impressed. The story was really interesting and engaging, the characters were charming and I loved watching them grow, and the lore was fascinating. The only major issue is that it does end of a somewhat incomplete note. It feels like it wraps up Shoxue’s character arc satisfyingly but it’s clear that there’s more story to come. I definitely would be interested in reading the novels but I’d struggle a bit with some of terminology in Japanese so if I did read it, it would be in English.

9. Shadow House 2nd Season - The first season just missed out on being one of my faves of 2021 so I was pleased that it got another chance so soon and it more than earned it’s place on my top 2022 list. The plot of season 2 was consistently engaging and I appreciated the focus on characters like Rosemary/Maryrose and Barbie/Barbara who I was interested in from the first season. I hope we get more but I know I’m going to be reading the manga when I can either way.

8. Love Live! Superstar!! Season 2 - While I didn’t like the second season of Superstar quite as much as the first, I did still really enjoy my time with it. I was a bit iffy on the new characters at first but they did grow on me by the second half and I was able to enjoy it a lot better. I think the best part of this season is the introduction of Wein. She’s got such a cool character design and a lovely voice and her performances were so good. I was also incredibly fond of the episode about Ren’s gaming addiction. I was initially annoyed about the ending but now I just can’t wait to spend more time with these characters and see what’s in store for season 3.

7. Bocchi the Rock! - There were three things that stood out to me while watching this anime: the music, the visual gags, and the representation of anxiety. The music was great and the visual gags were hilarious and I really related to Bocchi. Aside from the relability, I also really liked that Bocchi was allowed to grow throughout the twelve episodes. Compared to something Komi Can’t Communicate, which I do like but it has flaws of course, where it’s been 2 seasons and Komi still can barely string together a sentence, it was nice to see Bocchi actually grow and be able to talk to others in ways that she couldn’t have imagined at the beginning. I really appreciated that. I think I will rewatch this one in the future as I wasn’t in the best of moods when I did watch it but I still enjoyed it and I really hope we get more.

6. Spy x Family - I don’t know that I have anything to say about this show that hasn’t already been said. It’s fun show and I enjoyed watching it every week, though there were a few dull moments. I enjoyed seeing the family grow and it’s such a good-looking show. I can’t wait for more.

5. Sasaki and Miyano - Sometimes a simple romcom is all you need. I’ve been a fan of the Sasaki and Miyano manga for years and I was so excited for the anime adaptation. While I was a bit wary of the adaptation choices at the start - like the awkward character designs and anatomy and the random cut-aways to cats doing stuff, it melted my heart by the end and became such a joy to watch. I loved seeing these two characters fall in love with each other week by week. It was just so sweet.

4. Lycoris Recoil - This anime was such a blast to watch each week and to look at all the new fanart of the characters and the ships. The animation was superb and I loved the characters and watching them and their relationships develop. I know a lot of people were disappointed that the story didn’t challenge it’s own flawed premise but I think it was satisfying as a story about Chisato and Takina and I appreciated it for that, though I do wish we had gotten more from characters like Fuki and Mizuki. I know we’re getting a sequel and I’m cautiously optimistic about it.

3. The Case Study of Vanitas: Part II - I enjoyed the first half of Vanitas well enough but Part II really surpassed my expectations. I was so invested in the story and the characters and it was such a pleasure to watch each week. I hope we get more of the anime at some stage.

2. Kaguya-sama: Love is War - Ultraromantic - To be honest, I wasn’t massive fan of the first two seasons of Kaguya-sama. It had some great visual gags but I wasn’t attached to the characters or anything and a lot of the gags fell flat for me. And then Ultraromantic came along and I finally fell in love with it. Each episode was hilarious and I was surprised by how invested I was in the romance aspect. I loved all the visual gags and this one stands out as being one of the most memorable anime that I watched last year. I can easily recall several scenes and that’s not something that I can say about most of the shows on this list. So I guess Kaguya-sama won this game.

1. The Orbital Children - This was one of those series that reminded me of how much I love sci-fi. There were so many interesting ideas and details. The plot was gripping and the characters were so much fun, especially Mina. I do think it got a bit convoluted at the end there but I still really enjoyed it and it ended up being my favourite anime of last year.

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