Endmaker

I do not remember why Motoko’s hair changed color.

Holy shit, I didn’t even realise until you mentioned it.

Netora Reiko

Peak naming

This doesn’t make sense.

Nope, why?

I binged From the New World last week.

This is such an underrated anime if we go off of its AniList rating.

Then again, I shouldn’t be surprised. I haven’t watched an anime of such low production quality relative to how good the story is in a while. Pretty much all the recent anime with top-tier story got adaptations of corresponding quality, and I have gotten used to that level of standard.

So it was quite jarring for me to see the unexpected change in artstyle in episode 5, and back to the original style for the next episode. I think I got used to it though, or was too absorbed in the story, because subsequent inconsistencies weren’t as noticeable.

It is not just the inconsistent artstyle that’s an issue. The direction / writing / execution doesn’t feel quite perfect, though I can’t really put a finger on it. I am no anime connoisseur 😅

It is certainly not A1 studio at their best when you consider the rest of their portfolio. In their defence, this anime aired in 2012. Of course the studio is going to improve given time.

Earlier I said that this anime is underrated, but don’t get me wrong: its rating is 80% at the moment, so it’s not like the rating is low. It’s just that the story is so great that it felt much more than that.

If you refer to the top recommendations on its AniList page, you will see that it’s all peak: Made in Abyss, The Promised Neverland, and the likes. That should give you a clue as to the type and level of story it is.

Personally, without spoiling too much, it felt much more like a mix of [Attack on Titan] and The Summer Hikaru Died to me. Or the whole

arc. I was surprised that I had to submit this recommendation given how on the nose this one is.

Other anime of underrated similarity include:

Long story short, the plot of this anime is too good, or at the very least it’s right up my alley. It embodies the saying “History is written by the victors”.

I tend to weigh my enjoyment of the story way higher than other aspects of the anime, so this one defaults to a 10/10 for now. Definitely going into my Peak Politics list.

By the way, when I first saw the queerats, I thought that

Although my guess turned out to be wrong, it wasn’t too far off 😎 I gotta say, I like their twist better.

Also, to those who have watched it, or even better, those who have read the source material:

WIP

Last week, I picked up After School, We Wander in Space. It’s very cute, and reminds me of They are Still Being Shaken This Morning. Not sure how long I will be following this for; hopefully there would actually be progress in the main couple’s relationship.

I also just discovered that 1 x 1/2: My Half of You got a remake. This is among the spiciest manga I’ve read; so glad to see it come back.

The real romance is between Kouta and Lisa…

Bruh, the episode ended right as it was getting good…

Nozawa sensei’s cats

It’s probably no coincidence that

Sein is working overtime for this anime

Just start dating already!

that makes moving pngs work in its favour

I actually enjoyed the limited animation.

It never felt like the studio cheaped out on animation. Rather, it seemed like an intentional artistic, stylistic choice (even if their actual goal was to save money).

Murai in Love. Comedy is subjective, and this one happened to tickle my funny bone.

The return of best cat!

Mama-nyan getting teary-eyed

It was a pretty touching reunion 🥹

I’m no longer thinking “holy shit, what’s going to happen?”

I’m thinking “yeah, okay, here comes the thing they always do.”

I have always assumed that this is a universal experience. Once you have consumed enough media, everything just seem so obvious.

So I would tend to prefer a unique premise over a recycled one.

Sometimes it actually works.

My experience is less of a epiphany like your’s. In my case, the execution / story-telling of some anime is so awesome that the story being cookie-cutter didn’t matter.

That’s why my method for finding anime nowadays isn’t to seek recommendations, but to go down the list of top-rated anime.

Once again, Aqua (and plenty other characters) from Oshi no Ko.

But that’s probably the point of the story - that the entertainment industry drives one kookoo.

indeed

Least exquisite handholding panels

It has a way of pulling emotion out of you.

This must be a meta reference because that’s how I am feeling about this anime. The gags are hitting, and the touching moments are tugging at my heart strings.

It is now among the seasonals that I most look forward to every week.

What is the difference between a smart MC and a genius MC?

Looks like my cup of tea; added to my list.

I hope they start showing the backstories of the characters (excluding Arale and Ritsu) soon. Otherwise, the plot is starting to feel hollow.

It’s especially needed for Viola. Why is she doing all this?

Initially, I chalked it up to her own selfish ambition: to build her own personal brand (as opposed to the band’s). But now these actions are destructive whilst not providing much benefit to herself or her band.

The anime is now trying to paint her as a psycho, but psychopathy doesn’t arise out of nowhere. Historically, they’ve had circumstances that pushed them to become the persons they are.

I need to know her motivations! Or at least how she came to be the way she is!

Related sites / instances like wiki.ani.social won’t be affected, right?

Yeah, hit the gym as usual

08/07

Small thing but it’ll be nice to specify 7 August for ease of clarity.

The first anime / cartoon I have watched is probably Pokemon or Digimon.

But excluding those, it’s The Familiar of Zero (a.k.a. Zero no Tsukaima) or Infinite Stratos. These are the ones that my friends were watching / recommended back then.

Stupid answer but: anything that moves me 😅

The easiest way is through a mother’s death. The ones that come to mind are:

Others that I’ve found moving include:

• Umamusume season 2
• Angel Beats
• Belle

I guess a common theme is that these anime feature characters who persevere / struggle through hardships.

peach tart

reminds me of Takina’s second masterpiece

butt tart

Mid-season update: these are the anime that I’m still following:

Sequels

• Saga of Tanya the Evil
• You and I are Polar Opposites
• The 100 Girlfriends Who Really, Really, Really, Really, REALLY Love You
• Mushoku Tensei: Jobless Reincarnation

These are all so high-quality and entertaining, showing why they are worthy of having sequels. Undoubtedly peak.

New Releases

The Ghost in the Shell - (Disclaimer: this is my first experience with Ghost in the Shell.) I wish that the main / overarching plot would advance. So far, all I am seeing is the police’s counter-terrorist unit going around fighting crime. Maybe the big reveal will show that all these crimes are in fact connected, but if that’s the case, it would nice if they can at least tease at the underlying conspiracy. Otherwise, it’s getting kind of boring.

BanG Dream! YUME∞MITA - Most underrated / underwatched anime of the season (fewer than 7000 followers on AniList). It has a proper story / drama that I enjoy following. I must say, if the main characters are smarter or wiser, the drama could have been better navigated. But I am willing to close one eye on account of the fact that they are simply teen (i.e. underaged / immature) girls.

WIP

Rentarou’s name makes more sense in Kanji. In case you aren’t already aware, all of their names are puns 😆

Stream of thoughts:

I’m so glad Rudy and Sara reconciled. Rudy did Sara so dirty with his parting words last time.

Most non-subtle foreshadowing:

I think I’d fall for girls who saved me from a crisis.

Hot take: that last dialogue between Rudy and wives felt too forced IMO. The author was clearly set on having Eris join the harem and wanted to remove as much friction as possible. But it just ended up making the conversation seem kinda unnatural.