Sweet Dreams

 

Natsume's Book of Friends Season 7 - You know, despite the fact that Natsume meets a new yokai in almost every episode this season, it's a bit strange we only saw the Book of Friends used only a couple of times this cour! But, connected to one of those times, it was interesting to finally meet the very first yokai whose name Reiko collected and learn how the book originally got started in the first place. (The story behind it is very bittersweet.) I also loved the focus on the supporting characters this season. I think most of Natsume's school friends got one episode devoted to them, and we even met a guy who could possibly be Natsume's unknown grandfather. This may be the series' seventh season, but I'm not bored of it at all. Let's just hope that it doesn't take another seven years for us to get another cour!

 

365 Days to the Wedding - This is a really sweet fake dating -- or should I say fake engagement -- romance between two very awkward, introverted people. The whole subplot about someone finding out about their secret and making threatening phone calls to them using a voice-changing device was a bit dumb (seriously, who cares that much about a fake relationship between coworkers, even if it's to avoid a transfer to Alaska?) and obviously just included to give the story some tension, but, honestly, it wasn't needed. I just enjoyed watching Rika and Takuya gradually getting to know each other and falling in love for real. I also liked how the show explored different views of marriage and what it means to different people. The cour ends in a great spot (with Rika and Takuya ( spoilers )), but I definitely wouldn't mind seeing more. 

 

Nina the Starry Bride - There's a lot to like about this series. The animation is beautiful, the plot is great (if maybe a bit rushed in parts, especially in the beginning), and Nina/Alisha is a fun and spirited lead character. I just wish I liked her two love interests more. Azure is obviously the better choice between the two if she has to pick between them, but he's still the one who bought her off the streets to pretend to be his dead sister, the princess. Speaking of which, you would think the fact that everybody believes them to be blood siblings would be a much bigger deal to angst about, but neither of them seem to think much about it at all, which is a bit weird. Well, they are (pretending) to be royalty, so maybe incest is more accepted between the royal family in Fortna? It also doesn't help that due to the aforementioned rushed beginning, Azure and his romance with Nina come across as being rather underdeveloped, so it's hard to be invested in their relationship. In any case, ignoring the kinda-incest (but not really), the more immediate problem is that "Alisha" is already engaged to Sett, the prince of a rival kingdom. He's the "bad boy" type who will occasionally deign to be nice to Nina but is otherwise mostly unpleasant. (He does start to get a little better once he gets attached to Nina, but, still, not a great guy.) Honestly, I don't get what she sees in either of them (mostly she seems to fall in love with them out of pity due to their tragic backstories, rather than their actual personalities), but, whatever. Despite my dislike of both of her love interests, I do love Nina and all the palace intrigue, and I'm really hoping we get another season, especially with the rather inconclusive ending we got...

 

Yakuza Fiancé: Raise wa Tanin ga Ii -- I know, I know, I was just complaining about Nina's problematic love interests, but sometimes, it's kinda nice to just sit back and watch a truly dysfunctional romance, and the one between Yoshino and Kirishima certainly fits the bill! Forced together in an arranged engagement by their respective yakuza leader grandfathers, they don't get off on the right foot, but as it turns out, Kirishima is a huge masochist who loves when Yoshino treats him like crap, and though Yoshino likes to pretend to be a normal teenager, she can be just as wild and unhinged as Kirishima when the situation calls for it. Watching them argue and grow closer as they get involved in various yakuza schemes is a lot of fun. It's also just plain awesome to see some josei anime for a change! (Technicallly, Nina the Starry Bride is also josei, even if it feels much more shoujo in vibe.) I don't really get the point of them being seniors in high school, though. Considering how adult they look and act and how little of the show actually takes place at the school, I think it would have made much more sense for them to just be in college already. Also, as with NTSB, the last episode is weird, just kinda...ending after setting up for the next arc. (Seriously, I was like "That's it?" after the final scene and wondered if there was going to be a thirteenth episode, but there's not.) I wouldn't mind so much if we were guaranteed another cour -- which I hope we do get -- but, come on, it's a josei anime. It's a miracle that it got one cour in the first place; it's not getting a second. (Nina...maybe. Between the two, I'd put my money on NTSB getting a sequel, but I still think it's unlikely for both.) The second-to-last episode would have worked fine as an ending spot. Now I might just have to check out the manga (for both this and NTSB)...which was obviously the main goal anyway!

 

Wonderful Precure - The one thing I will say about this season of Precure is that after some lukewarm romantic subplots in previous seasons, the romance between Iroha and Satoru is pretty freaking adorable. I'm surprised Satoru and his pet bunny, Daifuku, never became Pretty Cures, though! After last season introduced the first boy Cure in a main role, I thought for sure it was only a matter of time until Satoru and Daifuku joined the team, but it never happened. (Apparently, they do get Cure-like forms in the movie, but I haven't watched that.) Anyway, I do rather like that this season focuses a lot more on the characters and not so much on Precure stuff. I know I criticized the lackluster "battles" (if you can even call them that) in the beginning, which never really changed, but when the villains aren't really that bad and actually have a good reason for their anger against humans...eh, I guess it doesn't really matter if there's not much fighting involved this time. At least the characters get some nice development.

 

Delico's Nursery - After a long break, Delico's Nursery came back to finish up the rest of the cour from last season, which focused more on the investigation and less on the child-rearing. Since the child-rearing was the part I actually enjoyed, I wasn't as interested in this second half of the show. It was...fine, I guess?

 

After-School Hanako-kun Season 2 (kinda) - I don't really get the point of making these four episode long series of shorts. Even Crunchyroll is considering these episodes to still be part of the first season, even though a year has passed between them. Why not just do a full 12-13 episode cour? With each episode being only about ten minutes long, it doesn't seem like it would take that much extra effort, especially compared to a cour of full-length episodes. Anyway, much like the first batch of episodes, this set was amusing, but mostly forgettable, mostly just serving as an appetizer to the main event, the long-awaited second season of Toilet-bound Hanako-kun next season, which I am legitimately excited about.

 

Uzumaki - Speaking of four episode series... In my last post, I expressed the hope that this series would at least be better than Toonami's last attempt at airing a short horror series around Halloween, Housing Complex C. Was it? Eh, I guess so, but that's not a high bar to clear. The first episode was legitimately great, with stunning black-and-white animation that looked like a moving manga. I also liked that they showed the episodes in Japanese with subtitles. (Apparently they're showing the dubbed version during a marathon the weekend after New Year's.) I'm not sure if it's the first time they've shown subtitled anime on Toonami -- I think I remember some subtitled movies? -- but I wouldn't mind seeing more in the future. Unfortunately, there was a noticeable drop in quality starting with the second episode that lasted until the end. It didn't help that the characters were as flat as paper, and they tried to cram way too much into each episode. I think the series would have benefitted a lot if it had been a full cour.

 

As for next season... Man, is it packed! Of course I'll be continuing with the end of Wonderful Precure and watching the new You and Idol Precure, assuming Crunchyroll gets it, which I have no doubt they will. (There's another Precure coming out this season called Mahō Tsukai Precure!!: MIRAI DAYS, but it's a sequel to the older series Witchy Precure, which I haven't gotten around to watching yet, so that one will have to wait.) There's also new seasons of the aforementioned Toilet Bound Hanako-kun, The Apothecary Diaries (so excited!), and The 100 Girlfriends Who Really, Really, Really, Really, REALLY Love You. Re:Zero and Blue Exorcist also have new cours, but seeing as I still haven't caught up with this past season's cours, they will need to be wait-listed, along with the second season of Unnamed Memory, which I'm just not in any rush to watch. (The second season of Happy Marriage will also have to wait until whenever I subscribe to Netflix again.) 

 

As for new series, the show I'm most looking forward to is obviously Medalist, another figure skating anime. Can't wait, can't wait, can't wait! I've read some of the manga, and it is so good! I'm also planning to check out Honey Lemon Soda and Anyway, I'm Falling in Love with You. Maybe Ameku M.D.: Doctor Detective, too, but that  will probably have to wait-listed. If they show up on either Crunchyroll or Hulu/Disney (got a year-long subscription to both for cheap on Black Friday), I Have a Crush at Work, Baban Baban Ban Vampire, and Sakamoto Days are some other titles I'm eyeing.

And, finally, my Top Ten Favorite Anime of 2024! (* means I didn't watch it simulcast)