The knives come out · 9:38pm April 20th
As with any season of anime, I eventually have to start making cuts. Probably won't stop here, either. We'll see what the future holds.
Train to the End of the World
I'm really digging how unapologetically surreal the show is. At the same time, there’s still a harder edge underneath. This is Japanese children’s media, after all, it comes with a side of psychological horror.
Tonari no Youkai-san
I seldom describe things as cozy, but Tonari no Youkai-san definitely qualifies. I mean, yeah, it has a little bit of a harder edge to it too. Like any story about a community, there are plenty of unique characters, joys and problems, chill vibes and crisis moments. There's not necessarily a central plot, but learning about this diverse town of people, both humans and their god neighbors, is more than enough.
Delicious in Dungeon
We are now, in the words I promised back during the first season, deep in the srs bsns, following the first cour that was mostly slice of life. This is also past the part I read in the manga, so it’s gonna be a surprise for me now, too.
Mysterious Disappearances
By the second episode it feels...unsophisticated compared to the manga. Still, it remains fairly unique in choice of plot and characters.
I wrote the above a few days ago and am only just realizing the "plot" pun here.
The Fable
The Fable continues to understated impress. Not a ton happens. The visuals aren't the best. But it keeps me watching.
Kaiju No. 8
The intro kind of reminds me of a James Bond intro, with the artistic patterns and chill music. It’s a pretty good shounen action comedy overall, but I keep having fridge thoughts about things that don’t make sense.
Grandpa and Grandma Turn Young Again
I wish this wasn't a clip show. I wish a lot of other small changes. But it's still a cute comedy. I guess technically still a romcom even if they are married.
Highspeed Etoile
The show would be better if it was literally just like a sports broadcast and didn't have any in-car personality shots. I'm actually kind of enjoying the racing. The characters, their attitudes, their animation, don't do it for me. A lot of the sponsors seem real, and I bet a lot of actual car nerds were involved. Still, a few headscratchers remain. I can't believe in the future with robots, pit stops actually take longer.
I dropped it in the middle of the third episode because the protagonist is too dumb.
Whisper Me a Love Song
It’s cute, it’s got great production value, but for some reason it just doesn’t really work for me as a romance. I was ambivalent on the manga, and the significant upgrade of the anime wasn't enough to win me over. Dropped halfway through the second episode, because from reading the manga I knew there weren't going to be any developments for a while.
Blue Archive the Animation
The intrigue of the first episode did not translate to actual answers, plot advancement, or much of anything in the second episode. Begs too many questions and the stakes of battle are meaningless. I've also never been a fan of the "guy stands back and gives basic advice to a group of girls" plot. Dropped after the second episode.
And now down into the manga.
List organized in rough order of my most to least favorite.
Below are those manga that I recommend.
The Housekeeper In The Dungeon
A modern fantasy about a woman who receives the skill Housekeeper, which is an unimpressive though helpful support class.
Low stakes homey comedy.
Below are those manga that I conditionally recommend.
Yandere-chan x Negative-chan
Title is plot summary.
Short chapters. Medium wholesome.
Boring
Two schoolgirls have drifted apart, but hit and make up.
This author really has a thing for lesbian violence; they previously had done a whole series that was entirely about angry sex. This one shot doesn't really measure up to that.
Mi-chan and Airi
One of the "office lady invites a mysterious girl to stay with her" genre. This one is a witch.
One of the "opens with a kiss and then nothing happens for a while" yuris.
Offline Meeting With A Tall Jirai Kei Girl
Internet gaming friends meet for the first time. She's seven feet tall.
Short chapters. Ecchi.
Misaki-kun is Unobtainable
In a dating game, with characters that know they're in a dating game, the designated protagonist attempts to veer from heterosexual dating choices to romance his cute male friend.
I feel like it would have been okay as a one shot, but everything was pretty much laid out in the first chapter and I didn't feel much need to continue reading.
The Fallen Elf Summoned an Insurance Agent
A guy gets isekai'd by giant elves. They're worried that they've lost their ability to see the future, so he sells them insurance to cover disasters that may happen.
Only one chapter so far. Kind of meh on the premise.
Below are those manga that I do not recommend.
The Princess Has a Rosy Dream
A guy gets put into a game world as the boss, a vampire loli, and catches imposter syndrome.
I can think of half a dozen plots with at least a few elements of this. Doesn't really stand out.
Since I’m watching like 16 things this season, I’ll just comment on ones you did or ones that are notably better/worse than I thought they’d be. I kind of wish I had the wherewithal to drop things that were underperforming, but unless I’m really bored to tears by something, I watch it to the end (but may not follow sequels).
Delicious is keeping up interest with multiple points of intrigue, old party members returning, and whole other parties getting involved. They’re good at introducing something new just as it’s starting to get samey.
Disappearances developed an even better hook as to the guy and his sister being able to see the markers and whatever their overall goal is. So far I find the main uninteresting. She’s awfully game to try whatever they ask her to, and she’s a little too eager to hang out with cute young girls. What little back story we’ve seen is fine, but they’re more interested in showing her boobs than making a character out of her so far.
Train has been great. It’s not what I was expecting, but I like what it is. Kind of an anthology almost. The only thing that’s bugged me so far is how they can keep using hammers to communicate when the track got ruined behind them.
Astro Note has been disappointing. Kind of an odd art style that reminds me of the Gundam shows, but it’s also one of those that uses exaggerated faces and reactions to try convincing you things are hilarious that just aren’t very funny.
Girls Band Cry and Jellyfish ended up being so similar that I’m having a little trouble keeping straight which is which. Jellyfish has some really strong personalities, and I like the way the former idol is dealing with a rabid fan, cementing that she’s good at heart, and how they deal with filling in instruments they don’t have, which makes it feel realistic, unlike Whisper Me, which just hopes you don’t notice.
Since you dropped Loser Ranger, it’s shown there’s a larger conspiracy and the alien is shaping up to simply be a pawn again in yet another game. Interested to see where that goes.