Sound Euphonium - It's a shame we didn't get to hear the band play as much as we did in the first two seasons, but otherwise, I absolutely loved this cour and the focus on Kumiko, who struggles to figure out what she wants to do after she graduates high school while also having to compete against a talented new transfer student who also plays the euphonium for the chance to play the soli with Reina at Nationals in the band's new contest piece. Also, no need to mention that the animation is still absolutely gorgeous!

Black Butler - Black Butler has one of the strangest release schedules I've ever experienced with anime. The first season is mostly true to the manga (apparently, I've never read it myself) until the ending, which is anime original. Then Season 2 is competely anime original and made essentially to undo the ending of the first season, which killed Ciel off. They went back to following the manga with Season 3 (Book of Circus), but the next two manga arcs were covered with a 2-episode OVA (Book of Murder) and a movie (Book of the Atlantic). Now seven years after the movie's release, it's back with a Season 4, covering the Public School Arc. If any series could really use a reboot, I'd put Black Butler at the top of my list at this point, but I actually really enjoyed this arc. In fact, it may be my favorite arc so far! It was nice to see Ciel interacting mostly with people around his own age for a change, and thankfully, there was very little creepy sexualizing of Ciel this time around. The last episode hints at the next arc, so hopefully it won't be too long before we actually get another season!

Spice and Wolf: MERCHANT MEETS THE WISE WOLF - It's been a long time since I watched the first adaptation of Spice and Wolf, but I'm struck by just how similar this new adaptation is to the old one, to the point where I'm wondering why they didn't just make a sequel to the original if the intention is (presumably) to adapt the full novel series? Literally the only major change I've noticed is that the new series starts with a flash-forward scene. Other than that, it's basically the same exact show with new animation and music. That being said, it's still a great show! If you've never seen the first series, I definitely recommend checking it out. Lawrence and Holo are absolute masters at the art of flirtatious dialogue, and even a subject as dull as economics becomes positively riveting when those two are involved. If you have seen the first series, though... Eh, you can probably just skip this first cour and just pick it up once it gets to new material. If it ever gets to new material. (It's continuing into next season for a total of 25 episodes, which is the same length as the original series, so I'm not really sure what the overall plan is.)

Grandpa and Grandma Turn Young Again - This series does not put its best foot forward with the first episode, in which their teenage granddaughter (and her mother, but she's a daughter-in-law, so it's not quite as weird) gets the hots for her suddenly-young grandfather (who she knows is her grandfather). It's hard to tell whether we're supposed to believe Mino's just joking around, or if she actually serious. Fortunately, it's never mentioned again beyond the first episode, and Mino soon gets her own age-appropriate, not-related love interest. That's a good thing, because the rest of the series is a genuinely touching and sometimes bittersweet look at a loving, happily married couple getting a second chance to be young again and make the most of the time they have left together.

Laid-Back Camp - A change in animation studio means the show looks a little different than it did before, featuring a lot of hyper-realistic backgrounds that are likely actual filtered photographs, but at heart, it's still the same cute show about cute girls having fun while going camping. What more can you ask for?

My Hero Academia - The FOUR episodes of recap that started this cour were excessive and pretty pointless, but once it got back to the actual story, the show has been on fire (for the most part)! Good thing, too, since this is the start of the final batttle, the climax of the entire series. Normally I tend to get bored whenever there's too much fighting going on in a show, but My Hero Academia is one of the few series that can hold my interest even through back-to-back battles, thanks to how easy it is to follow along with what is happening and how cool and inventive everybody's powers are. I just wish ( Spoiler ) got to stick around a while longer. Yeah, her power was super OP, but it's a shame that she got killed off so soon after her introduction. At least she went out in a blaze of glory. I also almost completely forgot that there was supposed to be a traitor in Deku's class since it hasn't been mentioned in ages, so the revelation of their identity seemed kinda random and anti-climatic, but in hindsight, who it is makes sense, and the reason why they started working for All-For-One is very sympathetic, allowing them a chance for redemption.

Mission: Yozakura Family - Could have really done without the annoying big brother with the sister complex, but otherwise, this was a really cute and funny show about an ordinary teenage boy who "marries" (by way of an old family tradition that's probably not legally binding) his best friend/crush and becomes a member of a wacky family of spies.

A Condition Called Love - This show starts with an interesting premise. Hotaru loves her family and her friends, but believes herself to be aromantic, incapable of falling in love with anyone. (Of course she doesn't actually use that term, but it feels like an appropriate label for her, at least at first.) Hananoi, on the other hand, is the complete opposite, with absolutely no friends and distant family. For him, the ONLY thing that matters is romantic love, to the point where he seems to have no real personality of his own, since he's always trying to conform himself to his latest girlfriend's tastes. Obviously, he doesn't have the most healthy view on love, and even though it makes sense why he has such issues when you learn his backstory, it's easy to see why a lot of viewers find him creepy and stalker-ish at first. The thing is, while Hananoi does change little-by-little over the course of the series, the show has Hotaru decide she's in love with him way too early in his (re)development. When she confessed her love for him around the midway point, I was left wondering, "Why?" At that point, she still didn't know much about him, and what "changes" he'd gone through were so small that his grandmother basically had to tell Hotaru (and the audience, by extension) what they were. There were some cute moments between them, and I appreciated how much focus was put on the importance of communication (even if they didn't really do much with the idea, and Hananoi is still keeping a huge secret from her by the end of the show), but, really, there needed to be more time spent on developing Hananoi's character earlier in the series before they turned their trial relationship into a real one. That would have made it a much more compelling romance.

Go! Go! Loser Ranger! - This show started off really strong, but started losing me when Fighter D began impersonating a cadet and a lot of new characters were introduced at once right before a fairly boring battle tournament set in a parking garage, of all places. There just wasn't any time to learn or care about any of the other cadets before they started fighting, so those episodes were a bit of a drag to get through. It picked up a little near the end, but, still... Just too many characters introduced way too fast.

Vampire Dormitory - Ah, this show... It's kind of a trainwreck, to be perfectly honest, and I rolled my eyes more than a few times at how dumb the characters are and how idiotic the plot is, but...it's still pretty fun to watch? Like, in a "it's so bad, it's good" kind of way? Yeah, it's definitely no Shakespeare, but if you turn your brain off, it's an entertaining enough soap opera. Just don't think too much while watching it. Seriously, just don't.

Wonderful Precure - Still not really feeling this new Precure series, but I am glad focus has, at least for the moment, shifted mostly away from Iroha and her dog, Komugi to Mayu and her cat, Yuki, who are frankly much more interesting characters. The conflict between Yuki, who only cares about keeping Mayu safe and believes Iroha and Komugi are putting her in danger by being friends with her, and Mayu, who understands how Yuki feels but also wants to help her friends and the possessed animals, is really well done, and at least Yuki/Cure Nyammy is willing to do some actual fighting. I just don't get this insistence the show has with Komugi and Yuki attending school in their human forms. They're animals! They don't know how to read and write! Or at least they shouldn't, but it seems all logistics are just glossed over to put them in school uniforms.

Unnamed Memory - There are hints of a good story here. Too bad this anime has little interest in actually showing us that story, instead settling for basically summarizing the source material. Even for someone not familiar with the original light novels like me, it's obvious the show skips over a lot in favor of hitting the highlights. Things just happen with no warning and little explanation, almost forcing people to check the comments on Crunchyroll for spoilers to understand what actually happened. A lot of anime are created as extended commercials to get viewers to check out the original source, but in this case, it feels more like the show was aimed toward people who are already fans of the novels...except I can't imagine those fans being very happy with this kind of adaptation, either. Somehow, though, it's getting another season? 0.o Why? I mean, it's not outright terrible, but... (Actually, the last episode of the season was probably the best one of the series and basically resets everything, so maybe a second season could do a better job...but, eh, I'm not in any rush to watch it.)

Next season, I'll be continuing with Spice and Wolf, My Hero Academia, Mission: Yozakura Family, and Wonderful Precure. I also plan to watch the new season of SHY, but as for new shows... Honestly, nothing's really piquing my interest except maybe Twilight Out of Focus. Normally, that would be a bad thing, but with Sailor Moon Cosmos finally coming to Netflix in August, along with a third season of Kimi ni Todoke (so excited for both!), I've decided to subscribe to Netflix for a few months and catch up with some of the exclusive series I've been wanting to see there, like Delicious in Dungeon, My Happy Marriage, Romantic Killer, Ooku: The Inner Chambers, and the second season of Tiger & Bunny.

Thanks to Right Stuf's awesome birthday sale last month, I haven't had much money to spend on fun Sailor Moon merchandise on eBay, but I did manage to pick up a couple of things.



This is my favorite recent purchase! I remember seeing the Pegasus charm up for sale one time on its own, but somebody else ended up buying it before I could, so I was really happy to find this set. The two transformation brooches are actual brooches and the other three are charms. They're all really well made and heavy, not like most of the cheap gashapon charms I have.

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I also just won a Girls Memories Chibi Moon figure, but that hasn't even been sent off yet, so I'll just leave that pic for next time!

If you're curious as to what I bought from the Right Stuf sale: Yu Yu Hakusho: The Movie DVD, Amagi Brilliant Park DVD set, Okimono Kimono (a book about kimono written by CLAMP's Mokona -- the artist, not the cute mascot), Toradora Bluray/DVD bundle, RWBY Volume 4 DVD, Black Butler Season 3 Bluray/DVD set, Death Parade Bluray/DVD set, and Aromatic Bitters (a manga by Erica Sakurazawa).

It's been a while since I've done a meme! Found this one on Tumblr.

( Long meme )

Finally, cold weather! I'm sitting here at my desk, drinking a steaming cup of hot chocolate, listening to Celine Dion's Christmas album, and contemplating wrapping presents today. I think I will. It just feels like a present-wrapping day!

Speaking of presents, I bought quite a few for myself during Right Stuf's 12 Days of Saving sale. ^_^ I still can't believe how much I saved! I only(!) spent about $300, but my savings added up to more like $550. That means I got everything for roughly a third of the combined retail price! Seriously, if you're an anime/manga fan (or need to find a gift for one), I definitely recommend checking it out. The sale ends this Friday, though, so don't wait too long.

So, what did I get?

Black Butler Season 2
El Cazador de la Bruja
Figure 17 *
Genshiken Season 2 *
Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood Cols. 1 & 2
Princess Resurrection Cols. 1 & 2 (They were only $9 each!)
Someday's Dreamers II Sora * (Squee! So looking forward to this!)
The Wallflower
Witchblade
Cross Game manga bundle (The entire series for just $62!)
Kimi ni Todoke Vol. 10 *

(Those marked with an asterix weren't actually a part of the holiday sale, but other than the Kimi ni Todoke volume, they were still a part of the usual weekly bargains. Actually got even better deals on some of those, especially on Figure 17. Thirty dollars for a $180 set? Yes, please!)

Oh, man, so many great deals during Right Stuf's annual "12 Days of Christmas" saie. I already have over $150 worth of purchases I want to make! -_- Granted, not everything is from the sale, but a good majority is. I'll probably end up dropping one of the two most expensive sets from my wish list: Black Butler Season 1 Holiday Bundle ($36.99) or Soul Eater Holiday Bundle ($44.99). (Leaning toward dropping Black Butler, since the Soul Eater bundle is a better deal, comparing the per-episode cost.) Still, my wallet is weeping.

I just hope that the twelth day doesn't have anything else I want (unless it's the third Utena boxset I need to finish the series). I still have a couple of Christmas presents to buy!