halfway there (nailed it) · 10:52pm Nov 15th, 2024
Dandadan
This show keeps pulling out stops we didn’t even know existed. It’s getting really hard to decide where this is going to fall on the Anime of the Year list: number two, or number one.
How I Attended an All-Guy's Mixer
I guess if I had to take one dig at the show, I suppose it's the question of what the girls see in the guys. But I guess this is mostly from the guys' perspective, so maybe we won't learn that.
Magical Girls Inc.
Magical Girls Inc is another show that reminds me just how incredibly convenient it would be to to have a magic broom to get around on.
I had been wondering if we were going to get a hard turn out of the show, and it looks like it. Still, for being this far into the season, I feel like very little has happened. The protagonist seems to have only just started learning foundational Magical Girl lessons.
And now down into the manga.
List organized in rough order of my most to least favorite.
Below are those manga that I recommend.
Boyish Girlfriend from Another School
A guy is dating a tomboy, and begins to realize she also has a cute side that he usually doesn't see because they go to different schools.
Short chapters. Not much to it, but cute enough it doesn't need to be.
Dramatic Love Starts from the Basics
An old guy has a medical issue and six people come to his aid. He "repays" them by telling each of them he's giving them his house - and doesn't tell them about the others. In the midst of this, two of the six fall in love.
It's an unconventional setup to be sure, but fortunately seems the romance is enough to compensate.
Wicked Spot
A witch raised isolated in the mountains decides to go live in the modern city and becomes frenemies with a strong girl.
Author has a history of drawing violent yuri. This one seems to have a little more plot and a little less romance, at least for now.
Below are those manga that I conditionally recommend.
Whimsy Whimsy Witch
A witch turns a prince into a frog, but he soon realizes how tsundere she is.
One page per chapter, and while I'm not sure it could support a whole series, I would like to see more than that. Wacky comedy.
Adorable Mission
A spy has retired to focus on his family, the only way he knows how.
One shot. Spy x Family if it was way, way more straightforward.
Antumbra
A woman on the run travels to a new continent to lay low and work as an adventurer.
An interesting steampunk setting with shades of RWBY, but hardly pauses for plot at all.
Senpai, Jitaku Keibiin no Koyou wa Ikaga desu ka?
A guy's gamer friend who he has never met IRL asks if he would hire them as a security guard. It turns out to be a runaway high school girl.
But for the significant factor that she could be underage...this is actually fairly decent. I have to say, with a setup like that, I was expecting it to be trash. It still might be, there's only one chapter out so far, but I may read more.
The Bakery's Pride Komugi
A cat passes away but manages to get reincarnated to see her owner again and help out at her bakery.
It's cute, but there's next to no substance. I would have thought the poignant reincarnation plot would have had at least a little bit.
Black Lagoon: The Book of Venom
One volume of guest omakes.
The usual warnings apply (gore, nudity). Not much substance and probably not worth it unless you're really into the series.
Sashimi-chan
A girl commits suicide by jumping into a meat-processing machine, but regrets it when her crush is the one who eats her.
One shot. Definitely one from the "I don't know what I expected" pile.
I'm the Class President, but I Fell in Love and Became a Bad Girl!
The class president starts acting out to get the attention of the discipline committee president.
Idiot romcom. Would be better if it was actually funny. Ecchi.
Below are those manga that I do not recommend.
Tail of the Moon
A girl is bad at being a ninja so she's sent for an arranged marriage, but the guy doesn't care. She didn't really care either until she sees how cute he is.
A rare foray into printed manga I found at the library. While yes, this is a period piece, discussion of impregnating young teens is not a positive - female lead is 15, and she's older than some. The first chapter didn't really grab me. Maybe if it was more about ninjas, or if there were any charismatic characters.
That time in the 90's an American comic book artist attempted an unauthorized adaptation of JoJo. An entertaining read if you have a few minutes.
https://1900hotdog.com/2023/12/punching-day-diesel/
It's my understanding that that would change the show so drastically as to make the comparison useless.
5816246
fair enough
Dandadan has been the best I’ve seen since Akiba Maid War at taking on whatever genres it pleases and succeeding well. And it’s got much more of a plot to boot. I hope it’s not one that’ll end up just a stopping because they can’t run long enough to adapt all of the manga.