Endmaker

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.

Oof, a couple references from the manga did not make the cut 😔

Anyway, Rentarou is based as always:

Yamame: But that means we’d have to bend down for you.

Rentarou: That’s hot!

That last flashback is a good reminder of Rentarou’s high EQ / non-denseness. In fact, non-denseness is now one of my criteria for favourite romance / romcom MCs.

Peak romance; best of 2026.

Hoshino Ruby: Absolute Cinema

Yamada and Nishi making it official is the main highlight, yes. But the kiss between Tani and Suzuki - that’s their first real one, isn’t it? I remember all of their previous attempts were foiled.

Plenty of highly-rated vanilla romances and romcoms for instance.

Yes, they are good, but that’s all. They are just rehashes of the same story. They do nothing to change one’s perspective.

Not that I can’t enjoy them; my take isn’t as extreme as Hikaru’s. However, I’ve gotten bored of the same stories and would rather seek out something different. (Which probably explains the multitude of parodies in my reading list.)

I usually prefer the wacky hijinks but serious chapters like this one always knock it out of the park.

Also, who would have thought Iku and Rana would have made a pairing? The girls are typically paired based on their more quirky traits, so it’s refreshing to see a pair based on their positives (in this case, being hardworking).

That was one of the fastest conflict resolution I’ve witnessed in anime, lasting just 4 minutes! (~06:30 to ~10:30)

Other anime characters should learn from them.

Side note, Hikaru is spitting facts:

I can’t stand manga that’s well-made and nothing more.

I’d be interested in a breakdown from someone who specializes in Chinese history of the accuracy of Apothecary Diaries (on the surface it seems at least somewhat accurate, but it also feels a bit romanticized… I want to believe!).

Bad news: these are all fictional characters in a fictional nation.

I’d say historical accuracy is more of a thing if, say, Romance of the Three Kingdoms (三国演义) gets an anime adaptation.

Talk to your manager goddammit!

strangle meme

She’s the best person to handle all these drama. It’s her job!

Continuing from the anime thread:

It’s cheating but my favourite historical manga is Uma Musume - Pretty Derby: Star Blossom

The same points for Umamusume anime applies to this manga. It’s just peak history.

Is historical accuracy important to you?

Depends. If they claim to be historically accurate, or allude to it in some way (e.g. the characters are based on real people), then I would expect some level of accuracy - especially for the significant moments.

What are some of your favorite historical works in animation and comics?

These are really more fictional than historical, but they would be my picks:

• Vinland Saga
• The Apothecary Diaries
• Saga of Tanya the Evil

I enjoy these more for the story / drama than the historical aspect, but if you are looking for accuracy it has to be the Umamusume brand.

My favourites are:

• Pretty Derby season 2
• Cinderella Gray

Just look at how they replicate one of the races: 1993 All Comers - Umamusume vs real life. Notice not just the characters’ positioning, but the commentary - it’s pretty much word-for-word!

And that’s just races. Even outside of the races, there are too much IRL / historical references - not just to the horses, but also to the people involved (e.g. jockeys).

It’s peak fiction reality.

In terms of character design, it’s Lycoris Recoil and Too Many Losing Heroines. The girls are so cute.

Shoutout to Imigi Muru, who turned out to be the character designer for both of these series when I went to check. No wonder they look so similar.

If I have to take everything into consideration, then my pick would be Pokémon: Dragonite and the Special Delivery. It’s just so beautiful.

That, or one of Shinkai Makoto’s more famous works (e.g. Your Name).

your favorite OPs and EDs for the season

For me it’s Wonder of the Universe (ending theme of BanG Dream! YUME∞MITA), no contest. The visuals and song are too cute.

By the way, the lyrics are in the closed captions.

Rentarou (from 100 girlfriends) if he ever get isekaied late into the story:

I have 100 fiances waiting for me back on my planet.

The way Lara is building relationships and learning common sense reminds me of Violet Evergarden. Such good writing.

Also, calling it now: for the climax, Lara would have to choose between her new-found human friends and her original mermaid family.

These wholesome episodes felt like the calm before the storm.

Not that I am complaining though. The Greyrats make a cute family.

This is pretty much the best a source reader can hope for: actual dance sequence and choreography for their performance on stage. What a quality episode indeed.

Also, regarding the restriction that idols are not allowed to have romantic partners,

The wingmen are real MVPs in this anime.

What are your favorite educational series?

On the manga side of things, I don’t know about “educational” but The Isekai Doctor goes into incredible details with respect to medicine / surgery. It doesn’t do so every chapter, but certainly does so frequently enough IMO

What are your favorite educational series?

My top one is Cells at Work! too!

It’s followed closely by Shirobako (anime production) in terms of educational value alone.

Then there are the all the sports anime. To list a few:

• Umamusume (horse racing)
• Medalist (ice skating)
• Wandance (dancing)
• Haikyuu! (volleyball)

Because I only know Explosion Magic.

If I had a nickel for every Megumin reference this season, I’d have two nickels. Which isn’t a lot, but it’s weird that it happened twice

This turned out to be quite the educational episode which I appreciate.

So much effort goes into just 4 pages; huge respect for all the mangaka out there, especially those with tight release schedules.

ore wa gundam da

So, what do y’all think the twist would be?

1. the “aliens” are in fact humans
2. the protagonist is an alien
3. everyone but the protagonist are aliens
4. the protagonist is living in a simulation presumably created by the aliens

This manager seems capable enough. Now I’m wondering what the heck Arale’s previous manager was doing.

You and I are kindred spirits!

First off, big shout out to everyone who checked out “trash” anime and share your thoughts in this weekly thread. I lack to time to do so myself, but enjoy hearing of your experience.

I picked up 3 seasonal anime last week, 2 of them courtesy of @Crank@ani.social. So a big thank you again.

Regarding The World Is Dancing , I first want to point out that the only thing it has in common with Wandance is the theme of dancing. Beyond this surface similarity, they couldn’t be more different. Wandance is a high school sports anime with a hint of romance. The World Is Dancing is a historical drama. The stories are totally different.

Still, the first 2 episodes of The World Is Dancing have been impressive. This is a such a CyPic anime in terms of visuals.

I do wish that it would pick up its pacing though. The story so far looks like the prologue to the main plot. There has to be more to it than what we’ve seen.

Goodbye, Lara is the other recommendation and it’s just as impressive. I enjoy retelling of a classic story, and seeing how the new one develops.

I also like the art style. It reminds me of the one in Gundam Gquuuuuux.

The latest anime that I picked up is The Cat and the Dragon. I checked it out on a whim because it looks cute, and I am glad I did. There is more world-building than I expected, and each episode’s plot is at least loosely connected to the previous ones.

It’s voice cast is another aspect that surprised me. The moment I heard / recognise their voice, I had to check their casting out. And boy is it stacked. My headcanon is that these high profile voice actors enjoyed going “Nya nya nya” in this anime.

Lastly, I am all caught up on Mushoku Tensei / Jobless Reincarnation. This is peak story and story-telling, and easily one of the best isekai out there. I may just pick up the novels after this season finish airing; I must know how the story goes.

With my mana capacity, I can only use it once, even with a staff.

Megumin?

I bet someone is going to overlay the Explosion soundtrack over their casting / chanting of Lightning.

Gotta say, that poor tree did not deserve this 😭

Banner nomination: one of my favourite reaction image from the manga! (which I’ve never found the need to use, thankfully)

F*ck you

@rikka@ani.social

I’d usually try to avoid gags / punchlines for episode banners, but this one is gold.

I got you fam: Peak Wholesomeness

But if you want something airing right now, I would recommend The Cat and the Dragon