Submitted 3 days ago by wjs018@ani.social to anime@ani.social
Welcome to another general discussion thread! Feel free to use this thread to talk about things you have watched recently, questions you have, or recommendations you want to give!
As always, remember to be mindful of spoilers. If you want to know more about how to handle spoilers in this community, check the guide here (also linked in the sidebar).
Alright, the winter season is fully underway this week. Some impressions:
The Demon King’s Daughter is Too Kind
Episode 3 comes with a third sing-along segment. I hope they keep this up.
I certainly wasn’t expecting these Disney-like / kids’ cartoon-like singalongs.
This is one of the most creative use of the animated medium IMO. You can’t have such segments in printed form, but can easily do so in anime. The studio / director / etc understood the assignment when it came to this adaptation and did so in a way that not only value-add to the underlying story, but also captures the essence of it.
I am so glad that it is adapted as well as it did so far.
Caught up on Spy x Family S3. This was the comfort food show I needed after a rough week at work.
Frieren S2 is finally here, and I don't even need to say anything more. It's Frieren.
I have a bit of a soft spot for representations of disability in media, so The Invisible Man and his Soon-to-Be Wife caught my attention. I'd heard that the mangaka worked closely with a local school for the visually impaired to research the depiction of a blind MC, and it definitely looks like she did her homework. Adorably sweet and fluffy, might give me diabetes.
Also started on Legendary Gambler Tetsuya (2000). First hand and I'm already complaining that they can somehow make complete reads just a few turns in with so little visible information on the table. But this is how every mahjong anime/manga goes, it's an entirely different game when characters can draw whatever tile the author wants them to draw, so fine fine I'll suspend my disbelief. But then you have the whole bit about them improperly shuffling and then keeping track of tiles that got flipped over, and that's driving me wild because they simply shouldn't be getting away with not shuffling correctly. You never put a face-up tile in your wall, flip it back over and gently reshuffle a bit more. Call the other players out if they do this. Can't even use the fiction excuse for that one, just no.
Back from vacation! Which means having the time to catch up with the first episodes of the season.
As expected, sequels and adaptations that I am familiar with held up well. The only exceptions / first to be on the chopping board are Chained Soldier season 2 and Roll Over And Die. In a sea of greatness, anything less looks mediocre by comparison.
There are some that anime that stood out to me:
The Demon King’s Daughter Is Too Kind!! - IMO the anime has done a great job, capturing the essence of Dou’s cuteness. I also love the anime-original scenes which expanded upon the lore (unless I have dementia and already forgot the story). I hope this level of quality is kept up for the rest of the season.
The Darwin Incident - The story is kinda edgy but I have been enjoying it unlike Sentenced to be a Hero; not sure why - perhaps its premise is fresh to me. I am looking forward to seeing how the story develops.
Tamon’s B-Side - I thought it would just be some cheap dopamine but I have been finding this anime more funny than expected, consistently. I think I may actually watch this one till the end.
Journal with Witch - After seeing so many members of our community glazing this anime in previous threads, I gave it a shot.
That one is so, soo, sooo good!
It is one of the anime that I can tell is special from the beginning. Its writing is just that peak. In fact, if I were judge anime purely by how well-written they are, this would likely be anime of the season. Yes, better than Frieren and Oshi no Ko.
Yeah…I think I am going to have to check out Journal with Witch. Too many people in this community have said too many good things about it.
Checked out more of this season’s premieres.
Champignon Witch - it has a fairy tale feel. I somehow expected it to be cute and episodic, but it turned out to be a drama with an actual plot and thought-out lore.
The Darwin Incident - the story raises interesting philosophical questions, but so far lacks in execution. The writing feels rather bland.
The Holy Grail of Eris - managed to interest me in the conspiracy behind Scarlett’s death.
The Invisible Man and His Soon-to-Be Wife - pairing up a blind woman with an invisible guy, who happens to be a gentleman in a suit, is a genius move. It’s sweet and wholesome, but, since they are both adults, I expect to see more spicy moments as their romance develops.
Isekai Office Worker: The Other World’s Books Depend on the Bean Counter - the premise sure was premising at the start of the second episode. It was premising so hard I remembered my fujoshi days and screamed all the way. A BL isekai with an adult cast was unseen in anime form before this one, I believe. It’s fun seeing Aresh get frustrated with Seiichirou’s corporate slave mindset. That long “Haaaaaaaaaaaah?” when Seiichirou ran off to work right after waking up was hilarious. May a hot man heal that unrepentant workaholic and change his unhealthy lifestyle.
A Gentle Noble’s Vacation Recommendation - an isekai about a noble transported from one fantasy world to another and being extremely chill about it. I’m a bit confused about the title, because the guy decides to become an adventurer of all things. I don’t see BL in genres tags, but the vibe is there. It looks and feels like isekai targeted at female audience. Fascinating we got two of them in one season all of a sudden. I don’t know what to make of it so far, but I’ll keep watching for now; I quite enjoy hearing Souma Saitou’s calm noble voice.
Love Through A Prism - haven’t finished it yet, but one thing I appreciate about it is how the story’s progress gives the drama time to develop so that it doesn’t feel forced or like coming from nowhere and characters’ grievances feel believable. Having 20 episodes certainly helps.
Kaya-chan Isn’t Scary and Scum of the Brave - I would give both more episodes in a slightly less busy season, but with Love Through A Prism batch release and Fushigi Yuugi and Dear Brother, which I started when the current season wasn’t in full swing yet, something had to be sacrificed, and nothing about these two particularly stood out to me.
Fall 2025 leftovers
To Your Eternity Season 3 - Fushi has finally realized that his friends have got to live their own lives and there is nothing he can do to prevent them from struggling and facing new challenges. Heartbreaking. This story is at its best when it focuses on Fushi and his friends instead of nokkers.
Tojima Wants to Be a Kamen Rider - Still fun. I’ve seen people being disappointed with ramen-loving idol episodes, but I thoroughly enjoyed them. I mean, Sena just went and domesticated a powerful Shocker, isn’t it hilarious? I wonder if it would be relevant to the plot later. Maybe Kumota would feel a tinge of sympathy for humans or something.
I started watching Violet Evergarden. Looks very pretty.
Love Through a Prism: it’s Netflix-produced, so it’s a batch release. Set in the Edwardian era and structured like a Taisho romance. Screenwriting is serviceable, but the backgrounds are gorgeous and fits the art theme. Also a bonus that they’ve got a proper London-based English dub cast for maximum immersion.
Ganso BanG Dream Chan: Surprised by how funny these can be once you’re familiarized with the characters by either playing Girls Band Party or watching the main series
Current Season:
MF Ghost - still formulaic and still entertaining.
Trigun Stargaze - watched the first two episodes, since it was waiting on my rewatch of Stampede. It was genuinely great to see Milly, and to see the Ceylon tea gag (and the debut of Milly’s gun) played out again, if a bit differently. Broadly, it seems that Stargaze is picking up pretty much exactly at episode 7 of the original - immediately after Lost July - though with the Stampede-introduced differences . Looking forward to it.
Yuusha no Kuzu aka Scum of the Brave - this was just something of a whim, but it’s promising. The mains have great chemistry, so if it’s relatively well written, it could actually be pretty good.
You and I Are Polar Opposites - This is such a good adaptation that I envy the people who haven’t read the manga.
Ikoku Nikki - the highlight of the week, as it has been since week one. I still love absolutely everything about it.
Past Seasons:
First was finishing up my rewatch of Trigun Stampede, to get myself oriented for Stargaze. I was sort of relieved to find that I still like it. To me, it’s neither better nor worse than the original - just different.
Granted that it is a bit unsettling that it reveals the deep, dark secrets early on, so there’s virtually no goofball Vash before serious Vash appears, I don’t really mind that all that much. That was a fascinating tonal shift the first time through the original, but on rewatches, it was more sort of weird, since goofball Vash seems out of place when you know the rest of the story.
Meryl in Stampede is interesting. In the original, she starts off bossy, then shifts to sort of tsundere, before finally (and admittedly very rewardingly) opening up, and just in time to remind Vash of Rem. In Stampede, she starts off naive and earnest and kindhearted, so there’s no need to break through her defenses - she’s already the positive influence she needs to be. And it’s interesting to see her toughen up, which should make for a satisfying role in Stargaze. And her reputation as “Derringer Meryl” gets some very satisfying context.
I like seeing Zazie get a bigger role - they really need to be integral to much of the story, as the representative of basically the entire planet, and that seems to be the way it’s going.
The best part of Stampede IMO though is Wolfwood, since he gets some much-needed background development. It’s not entirely new, but it goes into more detail than it did in the original, and provides better context for his character.
All in all, and even now, the second time through, I liked it. It’s just good in and of itself, and if the original didn’t exist, that’s all it would be. Since the original exists, it can’t help but be compared (and be reflexively hated by some simply for existing), but again, I don’t think it’s notably either better or worse - just different.
I was a bit burnt out after that, so next, after bouncing around a bit, was a rewatch of Sounan Desu ka aka Are You Lost?, which is a short (12 12 minute episodes) oddity about four schoolgirls who wash up on a desert island.
It’s an oujosama, a childish jock/genki girl, a meek and earnest meganekko and a quiet and awkward outsider, who just happens to have grown up with a father who was seriously into survival, and took her all over the world and taught her how to survive in the wild. So part of it is of course them trying to survive, but they don’t face any great threats and the one girl is so ridiculously skilled that they do pretty well (with predictable problems caused by the ojousama and the genki girl), so it really works out to be more sort of odd slice of life than anything else. It’s not great entertainment, but it’s amusing and low key and doesn’t require much attention, which was what I needed after Stampede. And a brief note - the series is actually remarkable in one respect - the final episode has a scene that as far as I know is entirely unique and that is… startling. There’s no telling how any specific individual will react to it - there’s a wide range of possible reactions - but it’s guaranteed that you will remember it. And no - I’m not going to spoil it. I’m sure you can find a spoiler on any anime site, but if you’re interested, you’re better off letting yourself be surprised. Probably.
Next, following a sudden inspiration, I rewatched for the I-don’t-know-how-manyth time the original Little Witch Academia OVA. I still maintain that that’s one of the best, if not the best, “episode” of anime ever. There are just so many brilliant moments crammed into those 24 minutes (some of which you’ll only notice on a rewatch).
Diana in the audience at Shiny Chariot’s show, all of Akko’s reactions, Chariot’s gloriously awkward but showy wand moves, backflipping up onto her broom then riding it like a skateboard, Shiny Arc and the fireworks reflected in Akko’s eyes, Ursula is the first person you see at the school, Akko’s nose, Diana’s “gokigenyou,” the hat the witch in charge of flight training wears, the spot-on Wile E Coyote homage when Akko tries to fly, the Dragon Warrior music and sound effects in the background when Ursula is explaining their dungeon mission, Akko literally on fire with excitement, Lotte and the light fairy, the bully girls turned cowards, Akko hearing the commotion when the minotaur appears and running off screen one direction then immediately reappearing from an entirely different direction, Sucy and the minotaur, the quiet little interlude when the girls float down with their wand mini-broom brush things, the cowardly bully girls immediately turning back into bullies when the dragon appears so small and feeble, then immediately turning back into cowards when it grows, Ursula’s bullhorn spell, Akko stopping Diana from taking off by grabbing the bristles on her broom, Diana’s face when she stops her, Akko finding the Shiny Rod, the moment when Ursula recognizes it, Akko on the back of Lotte’s broom - “I could have flown myself!” “Of course you could have - it just might’ve taken you all day.”, Akko’s wonderfully animated run/slide/run past the dragon to get the stone, the moment when she hears Chariot’s voice, Shiny Arc again and the look on the dragon’s face when it realizes what’s happening, Diana rescuing Akko then going all tsundere when Akko calls her out for knowing what Shiny Arc is, Ursula’s reveal. It’s just terrific, from the first frame to the last.
Then I was ready for a satisfying challenge, so it was time for one of those series that’s preceded by its reputation, and after a bit of thought, I went with 91 Days. And it was a great choice.
It’s a period Mafia drama, and period dramas set overseas are generally sort of an odd thing to experience in anime, since the Japanese dialogue is sort of a pointless extra step in the middle of it all. Since I watch subs, they might as well be in the native language - in this case, either Italian or English - and that would fit better. But, though I don’t know enough of it to really say, it did seem that there was something going on with the dialogue in this one - like it was maybe actually Japanese with an Italian accent? In any event, even though they were speaking Japanese, it sort of broadly sounded sufficiently Italian to me that it worked fine. More than anything else, it was beautifully crafted. The art, music and sound were all exceptional (the beach scene was especially well done). And it was surprisingly well written - it covered a lot of familiar ground, but with intriguing and unexpected twists. It’s brutal and tragic, so I wouldn’t say I “enjoyed” it, but I was very, very impressed and satisfied.
After that, I just wanted to coast, and I ended up rewatching a sentimental favorite - Estab-Life: Great Escape.
Equa is a marvelous character, and the whole cast works well. It’s very episodic through the first 9 episodes, and some of them are better than others (episode 8 is the standout - quite seriously one of the most beautiful and touching anime episodes I’ve ever seen), but then, surprisingly enough, it pulls everything together - all sorts of unexpected bits and pieces from the past episodes - for the last three, and it’s really pretty impressive. And the reappearance of one of the characters (if you’ve seen it, you know who I mean) is truly epic. The ending tramples all over the limits of my suspension of disbelief, but I can forgive it that, just because it’s enjoyable. And, as always, I was reminded of how much I like the OP.
Unboxious@ani.social 3 days ago
I tried a few of the new shows from this season:
I also watched some sequel shows:
Currently catching up on:
Endmaker@ani.social 3 days ago
I find it interesting to see multiple members of this community - myself included - shit on it despite how well-received it is among the broader anime community. I guess we are just not the target demographic.
Excuse me, I actually watch JJK for the plot. Seriously though, the conspiracy was what got me hooked; the action scenes are just the icing on the cake. I hope there is greater development of the story.
IMO Teio’s story in season 2 is still the best. I hope you would stick around long enough for it.
Unboxious@ani.social 3 days ago
No need to worry; unless they’re actually bad I usually finish the things I start. It’s not like season 1 doesn’t have its moments; Gold Ship is great and after having watched Cinderella Gray it was fun seeing Oguri Cap in the eating contest.
ReluctantZen@feddit.nl 2 days ago
I haven’t watched it myself, but I get the sense that it’s because of the animation and not much more. I’ve seen plenty glazing about how well-animated it is, but not about story or characters.
nyan@lemmy.cafe 2 days ago
Dark/edgy fantasy doesn’t seem to be very popular around here, it’s true. Makes me feel a bit isolated sometimes, as someone who does like those kinds of shows. 😅
selayar@ani.social 3 days ago
Actually the japanese title for Ikoku Nikki use a non standard writing (違国) that use the kanji 違 (different) instead of 異 (foreign/unusual).
Unboxious@ani.social 3 days ago
So it does, I guess I wasn’t paying close attention; thanks for the correction!