heavenly_pearl | Entries tagged with rent-a-girlfriend

After several really good seasons, I have to say, this one was kind of a dud, but there were a few bright spots.

Sacrificial Princess and the King of Beasts: Definitely my favorite of the season, and one of my favorites of the year so far! I’m glad that it got two cours, giving the anime enough time to cover the entire manga.

Zom 100: Bucket List of the Dead: If you asked me a few years ago, I would have said I definitely didn’t care for zombie stories, but after becoming a fan of series like School-Live!, Zombieland Saga, and now Zom 100...maybe I kinda do like them? It’s a shame Zom 100 ended up dealing with some production issues, causing a bunch of delays and the cour to actually still remain unfinished at this point, but the episodes we did get were fantastic. I especially appreciated the artistic decision to colorize the copious amount of blood in this show in rainbow colors. Gore is not my thing at all, so the colored blood really helped make it more palatable for me to handle. (Uh, maybe “palatable” isn’t the best word to use when talking about zombies!) I also loved the way they managed to get Akira’s best friend, Kencho, buck naked (Akira sometimes joins him) at least once in almost every episode since he was first introduced in the show. Never failed to crack me up!

Soaring Sky! Pretty Cure: Still really enjoying this year’s Precue series! I was a bit worried when Princess Ellee joined the team as Cure Majesty, but I liked that they kept her a toddler, only aging her up when she transforms.

Horimiya: The Missing Pieces: This season is a bit unusual in that it’s not a sequel or even a prequel, but a chance to go back and animate all the stuff they cut from the manga during the first season. Filling in the “missing pieces”, if you will. (And, thus, the subtitle.) I have to say, I enjoyed this season more than the first. It helped that most of the episodes focused on the supporting cast instead of the main couple. I’m sorry, but I’m just not a big fan of Hori, and shunting her out of the spotlight for most of the season just emphasized how much more likable the other characters are. Could have lived without the episode focusing on the sleazy teacher, but other than that, I liked it a lot despite the somewhat random nature of the episodes. That being said, I just wish they had done a straight two cour adaptation from the start. I think the series as a whole would have been a lot stronger that way.

TONIKAWA: Over The Moon For You: This was just a four-episode miniseries, which I expected to be mostly like your typical OVA episodes. You know, filler-y and fanservice-y, with nothing really important happening in them? So I was really surprised that this little arc with Nasa teaching computer skills to a class of high school girls – still think asking a guy who never even attended high school to teach is strange, no matter how good he is with computers, but they kinda made the premise work – actually had some relevance to the plot, particularly with the introduction of a character who may be connected to Tsukasa’s mysterious past. I imagine she’ll continue to play a role in future storylines, so definitely not skippable material!

Rent-a-Girlfriend: Almost no Mami, aside from a really random, fourth-wall breaking game explanation and a last-second cameo in the final scene? Minimal Ruka aside from the episode dedicated to celebrating her birthday? The addition of a fun neighbor girl who refreshingly doesn’t have a thing for Kazuya (at least, not yet) and would much rather help hook him up with Chizuru? A lot more focus on Chizuru and her relationship with her dying grandmother? See, this show can be good when it tries! This season was sooo much better than the first two. Too bad it doesn’t seem to know when to quit. Seriously, the end of this season would have been the perfect time for Kazuya to tell Ruka he’s just not that into her and get together with Chizuru for real, but apparently they feel the need to drag things on and on and on...

Bungo Stray Dogs: I think my favorite relationship in the entire show is between a young un-Gifted girl named Aya and Bram Stoker, who she affectionately calls Bra-chan. Despite being under the main bad guy’s control and being, well, a vampire, Bram isn’t all that bad himself, and watching him and Aya become friends while she attempts to sneak them out of the airport was quite amusing. The rest of the plot… I honestly think some characters have become way too overpowered, and there are now way too many of them. Of course the good guys won in the end, but not without the help of a lot of deux ex machina. Well, anyway, it seems the anime has now caught up with the source material, so it’ll probably be a while until we get a new season despite the teaser at the end of the final episode.

Saint Cecilia and Pastor Lawrence: This show was...cute. That’s really all I can think of to say about it. It really was just fluff without a whole ton of substance.

MIX: I really should have seen it coming. This series is from the same mangaka who wrote Cross Game, one of the most tear-jerking manga/anime series I’ve ever read/watched, yet...it still caught me by surprise when it happened. Granted, I can’t say it was done as well as Cross Game, mainly because despite having more time with the character, I was never particularly attached to them, but, still, this cour was a definite step up from the previous one.

Reign of the Seven Spellblades: There are a lot of fascinating concepts introduced in this show, but they don’t quite add up to feeling like a satisfying, cohesive whole, if that makes sense. It felt like the show was more interested in world-building than actually forming a coherent plot. I mean, halfway through the cour we learn that main character Oliver is ( Spoilers )...and then it’s barely referenced again after that. (To be fair, this is an extra-long cour with a couple of more episodes left, so maybe things will pick up again when presumably ( Spoilers ), but still!) Like, what? You can’t drop something like that in a story and not do anything with it! From what I understand from comments I’ve read (MAJOR SPOILERS FROM THE LIGHT NOVELS AHEAD), ( MAJOR SPOILERS ) which, fair enough. I don’t expect to get the full story from one fifteen episode cour, but at least build things up, leave clues, prepare plans, reveal more backstory, explore the teachers’ characters, gain allies...really just do ANYTHING with your main freaking storyline!

Jujutsu Kaisen: You know, I’ve come to the conclusion that I enjoy this series so much more when it’s focusing on Gojo and Geto. The first season was okay, but I really liked the prequel movie and the first few episodes of this season, which also served as a prequel flashback. Then after taking a break for a couple of weeks, the show returned to the present and the start of the much hyped “Shibuya Arc”…and I’m back to being “meh”. Seriously, can we just have a spin-off series devoted to younger Gojo and Geto?

As for next season, I'll of course be continuing with Soaring Sky! Precure and Jujutsu Kaisen, which are carrying on into the fall. Really looking forward to the new cours of Spy x Family and Ancient Magus' Bride, and I've already started watching Frieren: Beyond Journey's End and I'm In Love With the Villainess. I'll probably watch the new season of B-Project -- if not now, then at least eventually, since I've watched previous seasons -- but it's not a big priority, and SHY seems like it might be good. Oh, and After School Hanako-kun is a spinoff of Toilet Bound Hanako-kun, so I'll probably watch that, too. Other possible picks, if available on Crunchyroll: My New Boss Is Goofy, Kawagoe Boys Sing, and The Apothecary Diaries.

The spring anime season was pretty much a dream for romance lovers like me. Funny thing, I noticed that most of the shows I watched could be joined up into similar pairs. For example, if you enjoyed TONIKAWA: Over The Moon For You, you'll probably also like A Galaxy Next Door. If you loved The Ancient Magus' Bride, you might also love Sacrificial Princess and the King of Beasts. A fan of Skip and Loafer? Check out My Love Story with Yamada-kun at Lv999. Yuri Is My Job! and Why Raeliana Ended Up at the Duke's Mansion might not seem too similar at first glance, but both shows feature leads who put on a mask of sorts and lots of manipulation and secrets. Even MIX and BIRDIE WING - Golf Girls' Story - share more in common than just being sports anime (but to say anymore would be a pretty big spoiler for BW).

Anyway, onto the reviews!

Skip and Loafer - By far my favorite show of the season! It's strange... While y'all know I adore friends-to-lovers plots (and, don't get me wrong, I'm definitely rooting for Mutsumi and Shima to get together eventually), I actually wouldn't be too disappointed if they didn't become a couple, because I'm enjoying their sweet friendship just as it is. I also loved the fact that Mutsumi is still best friends with Fumi, who she grew up with. A lot of the time, when a character moves to a new place, their old friends tend to be forgotten until the character goes back to their hometown for a visit. But Mutsumi and Fumi still call and text each other all the time, and it's clear that Fumi has a life of her own off-screen, too, which saves their relationship from feeling too one-sided as is usually the case. The one weak spot? Ririka. The show does a good job of making you like characters that perhaps start out on the wrong foot (*ahem* Mika), but with Ririka... It's just really hard to feel much sympathy toward her when she really only has herself to blame for what happened to her. I really hope this gets a second season.

My Love Story with Yamada-kun at Lv999 - Like Skip and Loafer, I really loved the focus on friendships in this show, and I appreciated that though Akane notices that Yamada is hot right from the start, she doesn't really start crushing on him until she gets to know him better as a friend. Though some might have concerns about their age difference -- she's a 20-year-old second year college student while he's an 18-year-old senior in high school -- by the time they realize their feelings for each other and make it official, Yamada's about to take his college entrance exams, so he'll only be in high school for a few more weeks anyway. Not a big deal, IMO. Speaking of which, I don't really want to spoil too much, but I have to say the scene in the last episoe when they finally confess their feelings is probably one of my favorite anime confession scenes ever. This cour ended in a perfect spot, but I definitely wouldn't say no to more in the future!

Sacrificial Princess and the King of Beasts - What can I say? I always love a good "Beauty and the Beast"-type story, and this one is a great one. I think it's a cool twist that humanoid beasts actually rule the world and humans are the ones looked down upon, and I'm glad that it's revealed in the very first episode that Leonhart, the current Beast King, is secretly half-human (transforming into one when the miasma surrounding the kingdom is low) and has been releasing all the human sacrifices he receives instead of eating them as believed. Sariphi, the "sacrificial princess" of the title, is a pretty awesome character. No matter what trial and tribulations come her way, whether it comes from Anubis, the king's most trusted advisor, or members of the other clans who hate the idea of the king taking a lowly human as his queen, her kindness and determination always pulls her through. Special shout-out to the crocodile princess Amit, Sariphi's closest friend and ally, whose crush on one of the king's generals is just super adorable. I believe this is continuing into next season, so I'm looking forward to more!

A Galaxy Next Door - For those who don't think that asking for consent is "romantic" or "sexy", I present to you this anime, which makes consent pretty much the most romantic thing ever. The plot does start off a bit non-consentually with Ichiro accidentally touching Shiori's "stinger", which in her strange island culture makes them engaged and bonded to the point where they can't be too far apart without feeling ill physical effects. But after that revelation, the two of them are beyond respectful of each other's boundaries, even wanting to end their forced "engagement" despite the fact that they genuinely do fall in love with each other. They want to love on their own terms, not because of some mystical bond they did not consent to, and really, this was just one of the sweetest romances I've ever watched. Ichiro having to take care of his much younger sister and brother after his father's death also played to my love of stories featuring men taking care of kids. It was a bit strange that their mother was never really mentioned after establishing the fact that she left after her husband's death because she didn't want to be a mother anymore, a storyline that seemed ready made for drama, but maybe they'll explore that in another season, if the anime gets one. Though it ended in a good place, I definitely wouldn't mind more in the future!

TONIKAWA: Over The Moon For You - Though we get a few more big clues this cour basically confirming that Tsukasa is immortal and probably from the moon, her true origins mostly remain a mystery for now. That doesn't really bother me, though, because the real joy in this show is just watching how cute and sweet Nasa and Tsukasa are as a couple. I also enjoyed the adddition of Tokiko, Tsubasa's "grandmother" who knows all her secrets, to the cast. She was a hoot! Curious that we're getting a four episode miniseries about Nasa teaching a high school class this upcoming season. Seems kinda random, to be honest -- and IIRC, he didn't even go to high school himself, much less college, so why is he teaching? -- but I'll definitely take more TONIKAWA!

The Ancient Magus' Bride - I'm so glad this series got another season! This new cour has a bit of a different vibe, with Chise attending school and making new friends with her sorceror classmates, but it still has all the mystical charm and well-researched folklore of the first season. Admittedly, while most of this cour did seem like set-up for a larger storyline, with another cour already announced for later in the year, I'm totally okay with that. Looking forward to what happens next!

BIRDIE WING - Girls' Golf Story - - This anime almost makes golf interesting. Or, rather, it's more like the story surrounding the golf is interesting, because let's be honest, nothing can make golf interesting. Sorry, it's the truth. But BIRDIE WING certainly tries its best, which I can respect. From what I've seen online, most fans seem to prefer the first cour, which focused on Eve playing over-the-top underground mafia golf, but I actually much preferred this second cour, which brings Aoi more into the spotlight as the two of them strive for the pros. For me, Eve was too much of a one-dimensional character, only caring about golf and Aoi. (And I guess Klein and the immigrant orphans, although they felt more like plot devices to give Eve a reason to play illegal golf. Otherwise, she doesn't seem to think or care about them unless it's relevant to the plot at the time.) Aoi, on the other hand, felt much more fleshed out, what with her family pressure, the mystery of her paternity, and her serious illness, not to mention her totally obvious crush on Eve. I'm not sure if the ending really hit a hole-in-one, but it's open-ended enough that another season could be made.

Soaring Sky! Pretty Cure - Soaring Sky! is really turning out to be the best Pretty Cure series since Healing Good so far! With Ageha joining as Cure Butterfly in Ep. 18, the main team is finally complete, and I must say, the way they've really spread out the Cures' debuts with this series really reminds me of the first season of the original Sailor Moon anime, which is a definite plus in my book. The biggest weakness remains the villains, who are pretty forgettable, but that tends to be the case with almost all the Pretty Cures I've seen, so eh. Still a lot of fun to watch!

Yuri Is My Job - Hmm, this anime is a bit difficult to recommend because most of the characters are kinda unlikeable, to be honest, but they're also pretty fascinating. It's both fun and frustrating to watch them interact just because everybody has fundamentally different communication styles, leading to a lot of misunderstandings and drama. Still, I did enjoy it quite a bit, minus Kanako's rather disturbing fixation on Hime. Probably not the show for you if you really hate plots that hinge on misunderstandings, but if you don't mind that, it might be worth checking out.

MIX - This wasn't a bad cour, just not as good as the previous ones. With the first season, it was pretty easy to enjoy the story without being familiar with Touch, which MIX is a sequel to. With this cour, however, there were a lot of references to Touch that I think would be more meaningful to those who are familiar with that series (which I am not), especially the amnesiatic man who starts living with the Tachibanas. He seems to be a character from Touch, but I just couldn't bring myself to care much about the mystery of his identity which took up quite a lot of screentime. And they barely played any baseball at all! At least it seems like a tournament is coming up next, continuing into the summer season. Hopefully that means the focus will swing back more toward the Tachibana siblings and the current baseball team, rather than the previous generation.

Why Raeliana Ended Up at the Duke's Mansion - There's no denying that this anime is not going to winning any animation awards (even though the character designs are very pretty), but at least the characters and plot help make up for some of the animation deficencies. Unfortunately, with very little of story's various mysteries solved by the end of the season, the whole thing comes off rather unsatisfying. Definitely felt like it was just made as an advertisement to read the original manhwa, which to be fair is true for a lot of anime series, but most at least try to end on some kind of conclusion to an arc (see My Love Story with Yamada-kun at Lv999 and A Galaxy Next Door, which pulled this off beautifully). Raeliana feels like it just...ends. Still hoping we get another season, though, because I am interested to see where the story goes.

Next season, I'll be continuing with the TONIKAWA miniseries, MIX, Soaring Sky! Pretty Cure, and Sacrificial Princess and the King of Beasts, along with watching the new seasons of Horimiya, Jujutsu Kaisen, Rent-A-Girlfriend, and Bungo Stray Dogs. Unfortunately, My Happy Marriage and Ooku: The Inner Chambers, the only new series that really caught my eye, are on Netflix, so I'll just have to wait and check them out whenever I resubscribe to watch Sailor Moon Cosmos (assuming they again get the movies). If Crunchyroll gets Saint Cecilia and Pastor Lawrence, I may give that one a try, but, eh, it's just not a very exciting season.

Current Mood: blah

After a jam-packed spring, the summer anime season was a bit lacking. On a positive note, that did give me time to catch up with spring's Love After World Domination, which I absolutely loved! As for this season's shows:

The Yakuza's Guide to Babysitting - Give me an anime about some unexpected guy forced to take care of a cute little kid who wins over his heart, and I'm there. I do wish it had been a little harder for them to bond at first because Kirishima adjusts to babysitting Yaeka way too easily, IMO, but otherwise, it's just a cute, heartwarming series with the occasional dark moment (because it is the Yakuza). My favorite of the season!

My Stepmom's Daughter Is My Ex - Going into this show, I expected it to be trashy fun on the level of My Domestic Girlfriend or Citrus, but this series surprisingly is a somewhat nuanced take on the whole "step-siblings in love" plot. While it does occasionally fall into fanservice, it's not too distracting or over-the-top. I will say that Isana is the best girl, though, so Mizuto really just needs to get over his stepsister Yume and give his best friend an honest chance. ( Spoilers ).

RWBY: Ice Queendom -- It was really cool to see RWBY, which started out as an anime-inspired American cartoon, turned into an actual anime, and since Weiss my favorite of the main team, I liked that she was the focus on this filler arc, but I do think this would have worked much better as a movie. You can really tell they had to work to make the storyline stretch over twelve episodes, and that was even with the first three episodes being a recap of the beginning of the original series to catch new viewers up. An interesting experiment that I liked well enough, and I wouldn't necessarily mind seeing more RWBY anime, but I don't know if I'm really dying to see more either, you know?

Delicious Party Pretty Cure - Turning Amane, a former brainwashed villain, back to good and having her join the team as Cure Finale did really help with the sense I had about the other girls feeling "off" last cour. I think the creators really learned from the last series, during which I often complained about the other girls being ignored in favor of Manatsu and Laura until the series was almost over. Unfortunately, I also think they've gone too far to the other side, in that Yui, who is supposed to be the main character, feels more like she's in a supporting role. She hasn't gotten much focus at all. And I definitely don't like how Kome-Kome has been a strong focus over the past few episodes. She continues to be more off-putting than cute. It's still a fun series, but, eh. I'm not loving it as much as some of the other Precure series.

Rent-A-Girlfriend - Did we really need that super-uncomfortable, lavishly animated scene of Ruka forcing a French kiss on Kazuya at his birthday party? Did we? I know "Fuck Mami" has been a rallying cry for watchers of the show, but I will take Mami (who honestly didn't even do much this season) any day over Ruka, who gets on my last nerve. Other than that, Sumi continues to be cute but utterly pointless, while nothing much changes between Kazuya and his main love interest Chizuru until it's revealed ( Spoilers ). The season finale, in particular, which focused on Chizuru's backstory, was really good and actually makes me more interested than I expected to be about the already-announced season 3. I just wish they had cut out the rest of the season (which amounted to mostly filler anyway) and started the season with the ending arc.

Classroom of the Elite - I said this a few seasons ago when My Teen Romantic Comedy SNAFU got a final season, but if there's been more than a couple of years since installments, it would be REALLY helpful to start things off with a recap episode. The first season of this series came out in 2017, and there are, like, a million characters. Only the most dedicated fans would remember who they all are and what happened in the previous season. That being said, I do remember that I didn't really care much for the first season, and that's pretty much how I feel about the second. It was...fine, I guess. A solid "eh". (I will say that Kushida's reason for going after the main characters was REALLY, REALLY stupid, though. Actually, most of the characters' motives for doing things are stupid, now that I think about it, but Kushida's is definitely the most stupid.)

Next season looks to be all about new seasons for shows I already enjoy! In addition to continuing with Delicious Party Precure, I'll be watching the new cours of SpyxFamily (super excited!), My Hero Academia, IDOLiSH7, To Your Eternity, and Welcome to Demon School, Iruma-kun. That doesn't leave much room to check out new series in my schedule, unfortunately, but I'm potentially interested in:

Bibliophile Princess (except that's going to HiDive, so it'll have to wait)

Raven of the Inner Palace

I'm the Villainess, So I'm Taming The Final Boss

More Than A Married Couple, But Not Lovers (not sure yet who's going to stream this)

Housing Complex C is an apparently a four-episode horror series that will be airing on Toonami in October, so I'll also check that out.

Current Mood: blah

This was a REALLY strong season for anime. In fact, even though I ended up following nine series this season, I still didn't get to check out everything I wanted to see. I'll have to catch up with a few series later on, but for now, here are my thoughts on the ones I did watch.

SPY x FAMILY - LOVE, LOVE, LOVE, LOVE, LOVE! I thought it would be tough to top the amazing "My Dress-up Darling" from last season, but "SPY x FAMILY" is my new favorite of this year's anime so far, and I wouldn't be surprised if it ended up as one of my all-time favorites. (I already rated the first season a perfect 10/Masterpiece.) It's THAT good, so I'm definitely glad we're getting more in October!

Dance Dance Danseur - This was another amazing series! The way the characters' eyes look like they're always on the verge of tears is a weird style quirk, admittedly, but the dancing scenes are incredible, which makes up a bit for the strange character designs. Though I'm a bit conflicted on how I feel about the ending to this cour -- it seems very deus ex machina that Junpei gets chosen for the scholarship over a more technically skilled dancer despite being the opposite of the kind of dancer Ayako wants in her school -- I'd still love to see this get more seasons.

Kaguya-sama: Love is War Ultra Romantic - ( Major Spoilers! ) I have to say that this season wasn't quite as funny as the first two seasons, but I'm more than okay with that, since it was building up to the big romantic moment. It really was about time to move things along, anyway. Looking forward to what the next season/movie/OAV/whatever the announced project is will bring!

Ascendance of a Bookworm Season 3 - Compared to the first two seasons, this cour definitely felt a bit lacking, especially considering that it only got ten episodes instead of the typical 12-13 (a couple of more episodes probably would have helped with some of the pacing issues), but even a weaker season of "Bookworm" is still pretty darn good, and assuming we get more seasons, I'm looking forward to seeing what happens with Main now that ( Major Spoilers! )

Requiem of the Rose King - I'm always a sucker for a great Shakespeare adaptation, and "Requiem of the Rose King" is a pretty good one! (Keeping in mind that I only have a passing familiarity with the source material, mind you.) I had to catch up with the first cour which was originally on Funimation, so I watched the entire series this season. Making Richard intersex instead of giving him a hunchback like in the original plays was an intriguing twist. There were some parts that were confusing, like the ending, and I don't really get what the heck was going on with Henry/( Spoiler ), but overall, I found the series rather engrossing despite the limited animation.

Deaimon: Recipe for Happiness - This series was just plain sweet! And I'm not just talking about the literal sweets that are created by the characters at the center of the show, although they did look delicious... The one thing that bothered me was Itsuka's parents, namely the fact that her father abandons her with strangers (at least to her) when ( Major Spoilers! )

Healer Girl - One of these days, I'd love to see another anime musical on the level of the amazing "Nerima Daikon Brothers". A few series since then have flirted with the idea -- "Dance With Devils" is the most recent to come to mind -- but they never really committed to the genre, making the musical numbers seem out of place. "Healer Girl" has come closest to feeling like a true anime musical, yet again, I just want a series to really go for it! I almost wish that they kept the singing bits confined to healing, because the moments they suddenly burst into song stick out when it just seems so random. Either fully commit to being a musical or just stick to more conventional musical numbers that actually make sense within the story. Don't just have them singing for no reason if you're not doing a full-on musical! Okay, rant over! Setting aside my disappointment that this wasn't the anime musical I wanted, it is a cute series, and some of the healing numbers are really beautiful. One healing session during a surgery even brought tears to my eyes! It just that it could have been amazing if they had made it a true musical...

Science Fell in Love, So I Tried to Prove It r=1-sin0 - More mathematical and statistical fun...at least until the very end of the cour, in which things took a very dark turn that felt rather out of place in what is generally a very cute romance. I definitely wasn't a fan of that part, but the rest of the season was just as good as the first!

Delicious Party Pretty Cure - As suspected, a Tuxedo Kamen type character has been added to the formula, and it's strongly hinted that he has a crush on Yui! It's cool that they're shaking up the usual formula, but I have to admit that there's something about the characters that feels "off" to me. I can't really even describe it... It's weird. There's nothing objectively wrong with them; I'm just not enjoying them as much as the Cures in the other seasons I've watched. (And Yui's fairy that turns into a hybrid fox/human baby is just...off-putting and unnecessary.) Still a fun watch, though!

Fanfare of Adolescence - This is the only series from this season I didn't really care for. It's not terrible...it's just kinda bland. (Heck, they couldn't even bother to name the school anything other than "Horse Racing School". Yes, that it literally the name of the school.) A lot of it has to do with the main character Yu, who made for a fairly boring protagonist. Even the writers seemed to realize his story wasn't all that interesting, suddenly switching to a multi-episode arc focused on Shun about halfway through the cour that lasted until the last couple of episodes. Shun's story was definitely the strongest part of the series, and you could honestly start the series when his arc begins without missing too much. I will say, though, that the opening, ending, and insert songs were fantastic! In fact, considering how good the music is, it's rather baffling that they decided to make an anime about a former idol giving up his career to become a jockey when the music should have been used for the opposite: a former jockey giving up his career to become an idol! Even just exploring Yu's past as part of a successful boy band would have made his story a lot more interesting. ( Major Spoilers! )

As for next season, it's looking pretty light at the moment. I'll continue with Pretty Cure, of course, but the main new series I wanted to see, Phantom of the Idol, has already been announced as going to HiDive. There are some sequel series that I'll probably check out: Classroom of the Elite II and Rent-A-Girlfriend 2. I wasn't a big fan of either of their first seasons, to be honest, but my completionist personality needs to see them anyway. There's also a new season of Made In Abyss, but I'm not sure how necessary it is to have seen the sequel film to the first season; I haven't yet, so I'll be checking the reviews to decide if it goes on the list. I'm a big RWBY fan, so I plan to check out the new anime version, RWBY: Ice Queendom, even though it sounds like just a retelling of the original series so far. My Stepmom's Daughter Is My Ex sounds like it could be trashy fun, and The Yakuza's Guide to Babysitting is hitting my love of stories about men taking care of little kids, but I'm just not terribly excited about anything. Ah, well, I guess I can just check out a few of the series from this season that I missed out on!

Current Mood: blah

This was a pretty weak season aside from Fruits Basket, which continued to be amazing, and Major 2nd. I only picked up two new shows.

Fruits Basket – You already know I love this! Can’t wait for the final season next year.

Major 2nd – Good to see this finally back on a regular schedule after some COVID-related bumps. I’m enjoying it as much as I did the first season! I like the fact that even though Daigo’s team is made up of mostly girls, how the other teams (mostly boys) react to them is varied and nuanced, rather than everybody thinking they are automatically not good enough to play against boys (although there’s definitely some of that, too).

My Teen Romantic Comedy SNAFU Climax – I’m usually not a fan of recap episodes, but since it’s been five years(?) since the second season aired, I think one would have been really helpful in this case. I remembered the three main characters and some of the more important secondary characters, but I had no idea who anybody else was with no helpful reminders. Anyway, this final season was good, but nothing special. I just didn’t think the whole prom storyline needed almost a whole season to tell and would have worked better as a movie. Also, the conflict over Yukina’s supposed “codependence” was super-weak.

Rent-A-Girlfriend – The only totally new show I picked up this season, I wouldn’t say it’s objectively “good” by any means (except animation-wise – it looks great!), but I still found it mostly trashy fun. I just wish it hadn’t gone the harem route. The ex (Mami) and the rental girlfriend (Chizuru) were more than enough! Ruka is super annoying, and Sumi’s just not all that interesting (although, to be fair, she only played a big part in one episode).

Ahiru no Sora – For a basketball anime, I have to say that this show worked better when it wasn’t focusing on basketball. The games just dragged on and on and on, and it’s kind of ridiculous that in fifty episodes,they never managed to win a single game!I mean, it’s nice to see some realism in a sport anime, but come on! There’s realistic, then just plain frustrating. Well, it’s finally over, and I’m not really holding my breath for more.

Next season is looking a little better, mostly because the continuations of series I really enjoy. The only new show I’m definitely planning to check out is Tonikawa: Over The Moon For You, and I’m looking forward to the continuations of Haikyuu!! To The Top and Idolish7 Second Beat (finally coming back after hiatus!). Major 2nd is also continuing, but I’m guessing it’s only going to be for half the season, due to the hiatuses? I also really want to watch Taiso Samurai, Wandering Witch – The Journey Of Elaina, and Sleepy Princess in the Demon Castle, but they’re all Funimation shows, so I’ll have to wait until the next time I subscribe.

Current Mood: disappointed

Long time, no see!

This was a bit of a weird season with all the COVID-19 related production shutdowns. It ended up affecting two of the shows I was watching, the second seasons of IDOLiSH7 and Major 2nd. Though Major 2nd keeps stopping and resuming, I'm not sure when we'll get more IDOLiSH. Luckily, Funimation sent me an offer for a two month free trial, so I was able to replace those shows with the second season of Kaguya-sama (Yay!) and Wave! Listen To Me. (Also Arte and Kakushigoto, but I haven't finished those yet.)

Fruits Basket (Season 2) - Love, love, love, love, LOVE! What more is there to say?

My Next Life as a Villainess: All Routes Lead to Doom - Cute and fun! I'm really glad it's already been announced that this is getting a second season, although I kind of wonder where they'll go from here considering thatCatarina has already "finished" the game, so to speak.

Kaguya-sama: Love is War (Season 2) - I was thrilled that my Funimation free trial meant that I could watch the second season after all! Maybe not quiiiiiite as funny as the first season, but Ishigami's backstory made him much more sympathetic, and Miko was a nice addition to the cast.

Sing "Yesterday" to Me - This was pretty good up to the ending, which I found pretty unsatisfying since the couple I was rooting for broke up for rather vague reasons to hook up the couple that didn't really have any chemistry or development at all.Honestly, I found Rou and Haru, the younger love interests, really unnecessary. I was much more interested in Shinako getting over her dead boyfriend and finding love again with Rikuo.

Wave, Listen to Me! - This show has some of the weirdest eyes I've ever seen in an anime. It was like the irises had shadows or something? It's hard to explain, but it was weird looking, and I never quite got used to it. Other than that, it was a fun series, although whether you like it or not will likely depend on how grating you find Minare and all her rants. She can be a bit...much. Her voice actress was fantastic, though!

Ahiru no Sora - The basketball game that made up the first half of the season seemed like it went on FOREVER, but the drama in the second half makes up for it.

Woodpecker Detective's Office - Eh, this series was pretty disappointing, honestly. With these kind of detective shows, the key to making them work is good characters, but the main character is really unlikeable, and you're left wondering why his friends (especially Kyousuke) continue to be friends with him when they're aware that he is a selfish mooch. The opening song bops, though! Seriously the best part of the show.

The summer season looks pretty threadbare, with the virus leading to some shows I was looking forward to being postponed. I'll continue with Fruits Basket, Ahiru no Sora, and Major 2nd (assuming production continues), but the only new shows that caught my eye are the new season of My Teen Romantic Comedy SNAFU and Rent-a-Girlfriend.

Current Mood: lethargic

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heavenly_pearl

Pearls of Heaven

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