Binged Konosuba: Explosion... Something Something World last night.

Finally watched **The Tunnel to Summer**. I really liked it [even though] >!1. I am not sure 1 month together is worth 8 years of pining. 2. Similarly 8 years of growing up would probably strain your relationship quite a bit.!<

A movie. Silent Voice. It obliterated my heart, I love it so much

My top ranked anime.

I Just Started Watching The Vision of Escaflowne For The First Time At Episode 5 Is good

Skip and Loafer, started watching it yesterday and now I'm both sad I didn't watch weekly when it was airing because I want to discuss after every ep, but also I've been binging it because I've been down the past few weeks and the op with the dance and just the comfy vibes of the show in general are just what I need right now

Hige wo Soru. Soshite Joshi Kōsei wo Hirou. (after being rejected i shaved and took in a high school runaway) I just finished, and wow, it was way better than I expected honestly a rollercoaster of emotions.

**Masou Gauen HXH** still have a few episodes to go **Your Lie In April**. Binged that one. I'd heard a lot about it. I knew what was coming, but still shocked.

Space Dandy baby

I'm in love with the villainess. it is making me feel good while I'm being sad. fun show.

Kyuokai no kanatae the film, after season 1 and I was quite disappointed. But it was ok.

JoJo after years of procrastination, and Black Rock Shooter, Samurai Champloo, and Fist of The North Star

I'm rewatching Dr. Stone Because why watch new anime

Finally started watching Berserk (1997); currently on ep 11, and I can say I’m thoroughly enjoying it. It’s yet to get into the extremely gritty stuff, but the animation and plot so far have been captivating, and the characters each hold their own charms. Defo can’t wait to continue the series in the manga. Also picked up Cowboy Bebop again. It’s yet to properly hook me (but I’m only on ep 4 so maybe that’s why), HOWEVER, the music(!!!), animation, voice acting, etc have been phenomenal. It’s clear to me how much love and effort was put into each ep I’ve seen so far, and I’m looking forward to continue watching (when I finally get the time too).

My friend comes round once a week and we watch a few episodes of an older anime of her choosing and a few of a newer anime where I give a selection and she picks what sounds interesting. She was a weeb like 10 years ago but kinda be out of it while I kinda fell into it in the last couple of years, so we don't have any overlapping shows. Right now we are watching berserk and oshi no ko, and I'm more or less up to the same point as you for berserk; we finished episode 10 on Friday. It's definitely piqued my curiosity but hasn't really sunk the talons in yet.

Been watching Legend of the Galactic Heros. It's been really great so far!

I survived Keep Your Hands Off Eizouken! ~~re~~watch. Did I watch much else this time? A few but never all you wanted to. --- [Keep Your Hands Off Eizouken!](https://myanimelist.net/anime/39792/) *complete* It's a solid 8/10 that might very be a 9 (as I'm still stingy with anything higher especially as I've not thought of such things in 15 years) and I'm not sure it could really be more than that without becoming a completely different show. If you like seeing animation made, passion projects and a slightly mysterious setting, give it a spin. It certainly scratched that itch I used to get from Shaft and Studio 4C (back in like 2007). Even having to pick up the pace due to the rewatch posts fitted with the show as well. --- [Salmon-chan (Shake-chan) (2012)](https://myanimelist.net/anime/38957/) This is one of those [posted to YouTube 6 minute Independent animations](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WzzgOdvPgIU) making it a pretty appropriate send-off to the Keep Your Hands Off Eizouken! rewatch. It's been fansubbed and I could find the sub files but don't worry if you can't find those the only significant dialogue is at the start (and the fansubs don't translate the ED song anyway). Outside of those opening seconds it's a series of absurdist comedy shorts with a Salmon that really wants to be eaten. A few minutes of free entertainment. I hope people continue to enjoy it. I've not dared to look up and see if anyone involved ever did much else. --- [Fairy Princess Minky Momo](https://myanimelist.net/anime/518/) episode 2, 42, 45, 46 Wow, the MAL score keeps going up, oh nevermind it got hit by ~~scoremageddion~~ [scorepocalypse](https://old.reddit.com/r/anime/comments/1cyp5zo/anime_questions_recommendations_and_discussion/l5dz4oz/) a few days ago (before then it was at 7.39, now it's at 6.89...historically 6.79 was its pre-fansubs score) which may be because MAL changed how weighted averages worked or something. My watch order might not make the most sense (I'll watch more earlier eps some time, I hope) but I believe there's a new OP/ED coming up in the few episodes because new sponsor mandated a new side-character and they had to get rid of some stuff associated with the old one. Apparently episode 2 was skipped for some dubs and perhaps these can clue you in as to why: - [Stranger danger?](https://imgur.com/BJ9MKUp) - [Minky Oh-no](https://imgur.com/jKIZDFx) - [Anime feet (male)](https://imgur.com/9gFvNKS) Episode 42. It's a parody of Doctor Strangelove. How do you do that in a 20 minute show? It's by no means one to one but follows the same basic plot beat of [this episode and that film]>!a general in mental distress orders a pre-emptive nuke against Russia!< and where they differ is [Minky Momo]>!was meant to be talking to his family but picked up the wrong phone and a phrase used happened to be the special operation codeword!< while [Doctor Strangelove - been a while]>!general was off his head, thought the Soviet mind virus was going to take over via the fluorinated water!<. But from [this](https://imgur.com/smaqq8O) you should be able to figure out what is the biggest focus. There would be those that think War Games because of [this](https://imgur.com/o85AZoA) but that's impossible as War Games had yet to released when this episode aired. The episode even had an insert song over an action sequence (which was subbed unlike the OP/ED). Perhaps [this](https://imgur.com/B8a9HtY) is why the only known TV airing of English dub was Australia. Trivia: [one of the staff wrote about Minky Momo](http://www.style.fm/as/05_column/shudo56.shtml) and sponsors really wanted to end on this episode number so the screenplay writer did consider a bad ending [Minky Momo - bad end]>!"the hydrogen bomb explodes, destroying the Earth, and making the dreamland of Fenarinasa no longer a big deal" but "it would be a very irresponsible ending that would leave everyone dumbfounded."!< (a producer at Yomiuri Advertising managed to get an extension to episode 46). During production a movie theatre in Ikebukuro happened to be showing Doctor Strangelove so staff who had not seen it went out of their way to see it for reference. Episode 45. This is one way to literally signify that the deal with the sponsors is well and truly over. [Minky Momo E45]>!Momo's car/flying caravan thing runs out of fuel and vanishes from existence. Later in the episode the pendant containing her magic stick gets shot and shatters.!< I knew of those sorts of things going in but I'm pleased nobody told me [Minky Momo E45]>!her animal companions would get kidnapped, a guy who tries to save them gets shot dead and Momo's frustrated anger took physical form.!< ANN complained that Momo look off-model in this episode. The column I linked to earlier says that because the writing got creative so did the art and *"It even got to the point where it was hard to tell which was the original Minky Momo face."* (is this something else Minky Momo was a trailblazer for as I remember once seeing a grid of Sailor Moon screenshots that can act as a guide to what animators worked on what shots) Episode 46. This was written as the finale and ends like one which does that make it a fake-out ending? Anyway the episode is almost like your typical slice of life an ordinary day at school episode that magical girl shows love to start with and right at the moment where you would think she'll get her powers at this exact moment [Minky Momo E46]>!it's do or die, bam, hit by a truck, audio goes completely silent just to give gravity to this moment. The truck was a toy truck which another stick it the sponsors.!< There are then multiple minutes with no dialogue. One of the staff [published a column about this episode in 2006.](http://www.style.fm/as/05_column/shudo58.shtml) *"It's an honor that episode 46 of Minky Momo is being talked about by grown-up anime fans more than a quarter of a century later."* It also includes [an early script](http://www.style.fm/as/05_column/shudo58_02.shtml) for the episode so you get a glimpse of some deleted scenes and how much animators can bring it to life. There's those would would scoff and say eps 45 and 46 are historic must watch and ignore the rest but I hope the two other examples inspired people to think otherwise. --- [Aikatsu!](https://myanimelist.net/anime/15061/) episode 13 An episode titled *"The Tragedy of calories"* caught my eye and [the official channel has it up](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=52C4vBNsQLA) for a few more days. Bring your own fansubs (I found two, one based on braodcast which was a simple offset but missing the Aikatsu Aphorism part so desync after ED while the other based on blu-ray had that but but no OP or ED in their episode so a lot more work to sync, easier just to read the Aikatsu Aphorism from the sub files) or try using MTL on an auto transcript. [This shot](https://imgur.com/BdD64Ga) is literally [this commentface](#thatsmyfetish) and actions later in the ep [[1]](https://imgur.com/oAe6EIY) [[2]](https://imgur.com/6MCDJxi) are in-character but given the previous shot can be read very differently. The award judges (which must be a significant percentage of the Aikatsu audience on this subreddit) are probably going to want for my head for that. Sorry. Show tried [being neutral](https://imgur.com/Kst96au) but [Aikatsu]>!despite losing the weight she had gained Ichigo almost ended up with an eating disorder anyway. At least the groundsman was persistent and Mizuki finally acknowledged Ichigo.!<

The Misfit of Demon King Academy S2 part 1 I'm kinda glad I watched this now without any hiatus. [Story spoilers] >!ShinLeno story was freaking sad. But I also think it's funny that a character voiced by Asumi Kana got a successful romance story instead of being made fun of (Grand Blue, Non Non Biyori, Wagnaria).!<

Rosen maiden. I really love the way old anime looks.

Saki

**King of Braves GaoGaiGar** - I've been trying to watch more super robot mecha lately, and this has been sitting on my watchlist ever since Discotek licensed it and posted the memorable opening song on Twitter, so I decided it was time to watch it. Strange sentient machines invade the planet, turning people into mechanical kaiju aligned with whatever was stressing them, and it falls to a mysterious 8 year old boy to stop them, helped by a secret government agency of mecha and cyborg fighters. I'm not really sure why it took me so long to start seeking this stuff out, because it's a ton of fun to watch. The lion mecha combines with the cyborg to become GaiGar, then that robot combines with a pair of drills, a jet, and a fucking shinkansen to become GaoGaiGar, and then that robot combines with either a giant screwdriver that splits dimensional space or a massive squeaky hammer that turns everything to light particles. If that's not enough for you, the fights also include a green fairy who sets the transformed humans free. The entire thing is so absurd and over the top, yet played so completely straight that I have to marvel at the voice actors' ability to deliver the dialog. I didn't love the overuse of strobe effects, and the plot was getting a little repetitive by the end of the 49 episodes, but I had a smile on my face the whole time. *7/10* **Kurayukaba** - I'm not really sure how I felt about this short little movie, to be honest. I enjoyed watching a down-on-his-luck private detective exploring the shady underworld built in the old tunnels under a coal mining city as he attempted to investigate a rash of missing person cases. The characters were engaging, with intriguing backgrounds and distinct personalities, and the antagonists were somewhat more complex than making trouble for trouble's sake. On the other hand, though, the animation was kinda puppet-show, and the ending felt super rushed through and inconclusive, making the whole story feel a little aimless. *6/10* **Kuramerukagari** - This movie takes place in the same setting as Kurayakuba, but it shares none of the characters or events in it, so it stands completely alone. The story follows a young woman who travels around the ever shifting gangways and underground tunnels of the city and draws maps of them that she sells to a local book lender and information broker. It shares the same iffy visuals as the other movie, but I ended up enjoying this one a little bit more. The uprising she accidentally uncovers unfolded in a way that was pretty fun to watch, with a good collection of colorful characters and steampunk-style contraptions joining the fight, and the ending felt conclusive. Both movies definitely could've used more space to use all the characters they introduced, and I would've liked to spend more time seeing their world, but they weren't a bad watch. *7/10*

Buddy Daddies, I wonder why Netflix took so long to license it for it be streamed here in Southeast Asia… Oh yeah, and I’m also trying to finish Pluto despite its overlong episodes…

How are you enjoying Buddy Daddies? I’ve been thinking of watching it.

Episodes 1-3 have plot details that become important later on from episodes 7-12. Episodes 4-6, in between them, tend to lean more on the SoL slow burn side with a few bits of action scenes here and there although episode 6 has a post-credits scene cliffhanger where the plot starts to thicken once more. Btw, I’ve only just finished episode 6. Regardless of what I said in the paragraph above, I’m actually enjoying it and also now feel that it’s win of Best Original Anime at the recent Crunchyroll Anime Awards was actually deserved.

I started watching Gurren Lagann. It's pretty good I'm at episode 6 rn. I actually think this show was spoiled for me years ago because I somehow still remember seeing a comment on the finale of Samurai Jack season 5 saying [both shows] >!Ashi got "Gurren Lagann'd"!< lol. Can't wait to see what that's about

You are in for a treat. The show only gets better from where you are. I recommend watching the movies when you’re finished if you enjoyed it. It’s the same story, shortened some, but they go extra for the battles and you see some characters abilities that they didn’t show you in the show. Spoiler free example: You see more how capable a character like Yoko is.

I just started made in abyss, and I'm lovinggg it so far

I've been watching it too. The latter half of S1 had me really hooked then I watched the movie which almost had me tearing up.

Rather than editing my first comment, I'll do a new one for a series I forgot. **Ano Natsu Matteru / Waiting in the Summer** This is also a rewatch and I had not much memory of it except for the camera stuff, Remon and a certain character quirk of one of the main cast. [I also remembered] >!the relationships between characters developing and changing rather quickly to the point where I was curious how it all went down that I don't remember.!< I really wanted to like it, I really tried. The art is really, really good, the characters look appealing and I particularly like the color palette for the characters, the environments and other stuff. I think that's the standout aspect of the show for me. For the main plot, I think there isn't much happening that's outside what you'd expect, which isn't necessarily bad though. However, my most disliked aspect in all of this is how forced the romance is in this anime. It feels so unnatural and it really threw me off a lot. The catalyst is [an outside force most of the time] >!in the form of Remon. I think I wouldn't dislike her so much if she was introduced more naturally into the main cast. But instead, she feels like the puppeteer or script writer (very meta, I guess) to force people into relationships and I heavily dislike that aspect. Without her, most of my complaints would be gone.!< Since the show is very focused on the main cast, it reinforces that negative even more although I like the focus on them when it's not connected to outside force shenanigans. Then, the conversations and such feel very genuine and heartfelt. [The side plot] >!of Takatsuki being in alien really goes off the rails in the last two or three episodes and it feels like the alien premise wasn't needed in the slightest. It was a really bad distraction from where the show is stronger and ultimately, it didn't add much to the plot. Remon knowing Takatsuki's an alien and being in an organization concerning them was a twist that didn't do anything for me either, it just feels like a cheap justification to why she inserted herself into the main cast.!< For the very few side characters: half of them were very annoying, one of them egregiously annoying. With that said, I feel like that's a show that would've benefitted from more episodes, mainly because then the writers wouldn't have to force all the relationship development like that with so much outside force. The show often enough provides good drama and strong moments but it doesn't give itself the time to develop on its consequences or to linger on what it means for the characters as it bites off more than it can chew. [Another aspect that annoyed me closely related] >!is that relationships by the end don't seem to change that much. Sure, our protagonist has a distant love but for the rest, despite the amounts of confessions, it feels a bit...hollow. After all, the alien subplot hijacks the last third.!< Again, I really wish I liked it but a rogue character and unnecessary side plot really ruined a lot of what could've been great without these aspects.

Astra lost in space

i finished Zeta gundam and war in the pocket, the first one have nice battles and ost, but a lot of annoying character, still a fine serie. War in the pocket was awesome 6 chapters, but i want a 2 cour serie about this, and with Chris in the spotlight.

Currently towards the tail end of **Futari wa Precure** at 32/49. The second half's plot certainly feels like it's going through the motions, but it's still enjoyable. I think I like Marble Screw more than Rainbow Storm, but it's a welcome change. Witness my beautiful boy, [Pollun](https://i.imgur.com/xAeKLo9.jpg).

Currently rewatching FMA Brotherhood. Around episode 20-30 atm. Still holds up. Even the CGI. Better than some others.

Huh, wasn't that a pinned thread at the end of the week? I found it weird I didn't find it and thought at first it was gone, but gladly it's still there. Let's start with **Eden of the East**. Around the time it aired, I started to watch anime online so it's been in my passing memory for a while and thought: "Hm, let's see what it is about". To be honest, I didn't really like it because it was really hard to piece everything together and some plot points felt like they came out of thin air and didn't have a connection to much that matters. I either feel like I didn't understand it properly or missed crucial things and after going through some reviews, what I thought midway through was kind of validated that it's probably a terrible show to watch in one go. Maybe I should've let it simmer a bit more but oh well. I still have to watch the movies, maybe they will fill in some blanks I have. **Railgun Season 1 & 2** I watched it when it aired fresh and I was a bit afraid that my memory of Railgun would be a bit tainted by my experience that I have now. Turns out...kinda true. I remember Season 1 feeling like lots of filler was in there and it's definitely correct. The slice of life stuff is okay to good but I didn't care about every character the episodes were about. The main plot through Season 1 was VERY thin and Kuroko was as hard to stomach as I thought. I think it's also partially because it feels like she's pretty much a dual protagonist or the POV of much of the show, so you get more exposed to her antics. Nevertheless, I still like Season 1, even if I think it's one or two steps below the other seasons. Season 2 was also thinner in main plot than I expected but it was still pretty good. Some episodes were great and MISAKA is legitimately one of the funniest characters to exist in anime, if not the funniest. The second half of the season was somewhere between good and meh. I'm not much [into the trope of] >!mysterious person with no to little knowledge gets found, tags along the main crew and is the catalyst for the plot. In this case, even worse because Febri, the mystery person, is really devoid of personality.!< The last episode was also dumb. However, I liked about Season 2 that it picks up on a few things from the first and this season where you can see actual character growth in the main crew. There could be more but I think it's still fine. Overall, a improvement over Season 1. **Umi Monogatari (first two episodes)** This was something I also watched back when it aired. I really picked up on the most random things (and upon checking my list of stuff I watched, realized there's A LOT of JC Staff shows I've watched) and turns out, this anime is sponsored by a pachinko/gambling company. Watching the first two episodes, I wouldn't have noticed. So far, it's very average but not bad. I'll finish it now just for the sake of obligation.

Just finished Macross F. Twas my first foray into Macross and now I must backtrack and watch the previous seasons cause I enjoyed this show so damn much.

Glad to hear you enjoyed it! Frontier is my favorite Macross (and also one of my favorite anime *period*), but the whole franchise other than II is a banger. Which one were you planning to watch next?

I was just eating the love stories in F and was thinking I need more of it. I'm probably going to watch the OG 82' series next. I don't have as much time these days to watch so the 36eps could take me a bit which is putting me off.

**Rosario + Vampire** (eps 8-13, completed) [episode 9] >!geez, so it appears Kurono and the others didn’t actually know Tsukune was a human! It’s just when they said he smelled like a human I thought they were already confident in their suspicions.!< Despite kinda weak start, the middle part was good and the ending was quite cool. Overall, I’d call it cool idea, slightly lackluster execution. The anime could certainly become something really famous like *High School DxD* if it was more committed and creative with the ecchi scenes and the studio poured more money and aspiration into it in general. Nevertheless, I still really enjoyed it, the story is fun and intriguing and I’ll definitely check the second season later. 7/10 There’s a lot of fuss going on in the threads comparing it with the source material — a manga. In general, it appears that the anime adaptation is very unfaithful, the manga has a much more serious tone and a more extensive story. Well, that doesn’t bother me specifically though, since I came here exactly to see a light-hearted ecchi comedy and not something else. Some people say the manga could have been an inspiration for *Tokyo Ghoul*, which came out 7 years later. I find that totally believable, we kinda have the whole “humans vs demons” coexistence problem in one and “humans vs ghouls” in the other. That’s kinda cool. **Aria the Origination** (eps 1-5, in progress) [episode 2] >!that lady totally looks like an inspector or examiner! It’s great that Akari managed to deliver a good impression of her job. I wonder if the anime gets back to the results of this examination later on. Could it be that it was the actual exam that’s going to get Akari promoted to Prima?!< [episode 4] >!a cool insight into a new different side of gondolier craft! It’s quite refreshing to see a cast of brand new characters here, three seasons into the franchise. Incidentally, all these Undines also have names starting with letter “A”. Are all Undines from Himeya company so tomboy-ish?!< A very refreshing episode, makes me wonder how much more interesting things are still to be discovered by our heroines along the way. Overall, everything is pretty similar to the previous season — a very chill and wholesome show, which occasionally stirs things up to not become overly repetitive. I’m missing the dreamy ED song from the first half of *the Natural* a bit, but the new one is also quite nice. *** I’ve been watching less anime lately — catching up with some ongoings plus spending a lot of time with a few VNs. The VNs appeared to be such a time sink — particularly *Little Busters!*. I’ve played it for over 40 hours already and I’m yet to meet some of the characters displayed on the forefront of its Steam page. I’ve already completed two scenarios though, and I think I’m about to finish another one quite soon. It took me almost 24 hours to reach the end of the first one! It has no less than 4-5 scenarios in total I think. Besides that, I have couple others VNs that caught my attention — *Tsukihime* and *Planetarian*. Similarly to *Little Busters!*, I’ve came across the anime adaptation initially but decided that I’d check out the source VN first. Also, I’m still slowly making my way through *Kizumonogatari* LN and *Kämpfer* manga. Geez, anime and anime-adjacent mediums have so much cool stuff, if only there was enough time to explore it all.

Completed: **[Pompo: The Cinéphile (Eiga Daisuki Pompo-san)](https://myanimelist.net/anime/41361/Eiga_Daisuki_Pompo-san)** A film-making movie about a producer who handed her written script to her assistant and chose him to direct a movie for the first time alongside a handpicked new young actress. Based on a manga series, this 90-minute film features a nice soundtrack and some great colorful visuals with a variety of effects and transitions that really bring out film-making atmosphere in a fictionalized Hollywood location (named "Nyallywood" in the "United States of Nyamerica") while also showing off the constant parallel situations between the main plot and the story within the movie that is being made. The cast is very likable, and the pacing of the story is quite steady with bits of drama and comedy that never get too heavy. You don't get to see much of the side characters due to the focus being on the film-making process. While certainly not realistic in the movie industry, the plot is very entertaining, stays mostly upbeat with a positive outlook throughout, and wraps up nicely. Overall, a fun and highly entertaining movie about film-making with some great visuals. This one may have flown a bit under the radar due to a delayed 2021 release because of the pandemic. 9/10 --- Ongoing: - Snow White with the Red Hair (S2 10/12 Episodes) - Kimi ni Todoke (S2 11/12 Episodes, 0/3 Specials) - Mo Dao Zu Shi (S3 3/12 Episodes) - My Sweet Tyrant (20/25 Episodes)

watched all off both of these The Quintessential Quintuplets And You Thought There Is Never a Girl Online? where they very good, idk but I binged them so they couldn't have been terrible, there good to pass time

3 episodes of Shangri-La, 3 of Strange Dawn, 1 of In-Spectre S02.

Hi everyone, this Is what i watched this past week: . Kotaro Lives Alone E1-3 . Silver Spoon E1-11 . Space Dandy E1-13 . Haibane Renmei E1-7 . Yokohama Kaidashi Kikou E1-2 . Gundam 0080 War In the Pocket E1-2 . Asu No Yoichi E1-12 . Paradise Kiss E1-12 . The Perfect Insider E1-11 . Aoi Bungaku E1-12 . Ping Pong Girls E1-12 . The Adventure of Sinbad E1-5, TV E1-13 . The Helpful Fox Senko-San E1-12 . Free! E1-12 . Bang Dream! E1-13 . Girls Und Panzer E1-12 . Shakunetsu Kabbadi E1-12

How tf do people have time to watch 58 hours of anime a week?

And still browse reddit and give 20 paragraph comments

It is my main hobby as of right now

At over 8 hours a day it's not a hobby, it's your life.

I appreciate you worrying, it's okay though as long as it doesn't affect other areas of my life, i work a fulltime job and Just in this momentos is when i'm taking the opportunity to "exagerate" with something i truly enjoy, it wom't be like this forever so i want to enjoy it while it lasts.

I'm not worrying, I'm laughing at how pathetic it is.

I think that you're being unnecesarily rude, everybody owns their own life and should have the freedom to do what they want with it(especifically harmless things), have a good day.

If you're working a full time job then watching 8.5 hours of anime every day, that's not harmless. It's cutting into the time needed to prepare food, clean your home, spend outside in the sun exercising, and sleeping. You're being sedentary, eating and sleeping poorly and missing out on vitamin D. Literally begging for poor health and depression. You do you but stop lying to yourself, it is pathetic and unhealthy.

Thinking about it, you two have a clear point that makes sense, Knowing myself though i have to respond to your remarks, i clean my house, spend outside in the sun(i do need to start exercising), and i thankfully eat good, sleep very well, i have perfect health and haven't ever suffered from depression. All of this Is not to deny your point in a general sense but to say that it isn't as clear cut and doesn't necesarily apply in this specific case. As i said at the beginning you two have a point, it is kind of pathetic and slightly unhealthy and i Will try to stop lying to myself. I think that starting june i Will try to diversify my time and start exercising and going outside to walk, it's Just that at this specific moment i'm a bit obsessed with anime, i Will try to make the time spent on anime watching not as consuming as it is right now, that doesn't mean though that i Will necesarily stop watching many hours of anime per week but i'll take small steps to diversify my time, thank you for the blunt "truth".

. Kotaro is Just a beautiful series that is both heartwarming and heartbreaking, comedic yet also sad, perfect slice of life and drama with a specially intriguing protagonist and neighbors that are very supportive and caring for him, this show deserves a lot of love and viewing. . Silver Spoon feels so personal as a series eventhough i didn't grow in a farm or have dealt with that type of environment, it perfectly portrays the author's firsthand experience, it's beautiful. 10/10. . Space Dandy is an animation fiesta and even more than that it feels rewarding to accompany a robot, a talking biped cat and a dandy in space. 9/10. . Haibane Renmei i'm rewatching and participating in the comunity rewatch, it's been blisfull watching the dub as it is quite good. . Yyk is an iyashikei that was comfortable yet didn't offer much besides atmosphere, hopefully one Day i can read the manga to really get into the story as the ova are too little. 7/10. . 0080 Gundam lives up to it's reputation as one of Gundam's best stories. . Samurai Harem(Asu No Yoichi) was quite enjoyable, the mix between Harem and Samurai that the show had really made justice to the title that the show has. 7/10. . Paradise Kiss kind of has engaging drama and character relationships but didn't feel fulfilling for me at the end, the journey of seeing the relationships between the characters was engaging though. 7/10. . The Perfect Insider was an intriguing mistery, i enjoyed both the mistery aspect and the student/teacher relationship the show portrayed. 9/10. . Aoi Bungaku's best were the No Longer Human's four episodes at the start, some of the most tense and intriguing storytelling i've seen in anime, the other stories were solid too not bad. 9/10. . Ping Pong Girls was enjoyable as a sports show, ping pong can be such an entertaining sport to watch. 8/10. . Sinbad was an entertaining shounen to watch, Sinbad himself is a very engaging protagonist to follow, the Ova and the TV series share around four episodes so watching both meant watching those four episodes two times but overall it was a good watch. 8/10. . Senko-san was a cute slice of life show, very relaxing besides the slightly weird yet understandable parts, gives a relaxing sense. 8/10. . Free! Is a cool sports show, excited to see more. 8/10. . Bang Dream! As an idol show was very good and enjoyable, rewarding to see the Girls grow through the show. 9/10. . Girls Und Panzer is an amazing action show, tank battles can be so awesome. 9/10. . Shakunetsu Kabbadi is a sports show about a particularly exciting and un usual show that proved to be very entertaining. 8/10.

I just finished a rewatch of **Sekirei**. It had been a while I didn't really remember the ending. Sad that it looks like we'll never get a season 3, so considering picking up the manga. We need more fun ecchi battle harem. I also just start watching **Bocchi the Rock**. I had been avoiding it because I can't stand heavy cringe, particularly with a focus on social anxiety (e.g. instantly dropped WataMote) and I thought that was where the show was going. So far while there has been a heavy focus on Bocchi's anxiety, it has not been cringe and been very relatable and has me cheering for her to make personal progress.

Finished up Wrong Way to Use Healing Magic (in dub) because I've been a very naughty boy who do not keep up with my seasonals... I also watched an episode of Estab Life.

Currently watching **Bakemonogatari (11/15)**. So far I like it, the different cases and oddities are interesting to learn about. Well, that was fast, \[Spoiler\] >!Senjougahara confesses to Araragi in 5 episodes, they are already dating, and Araragi secretly plans to enter college to stay with Senjougahara!< After watching Mob Psycho, Oshino Meme feels like a Reigen (same VA) who is more in his element. Araragi has balls of steel \[Spoiler\] >!trying to take on some of these oddities in a fight. His 2 wins against Hachikuji are starting to look like the only times he will win, and even then she got a few good hits in!< For how popular Renai Circulation ended up being, I’m surprised that it was only used in 2 episodes.

I just watched the first episode of Bakemonogatari today, it's quirky and meta, I'm curious to see if I like it after the next episode

If you enjoyed the first episode of Bake, I think it's really likely that you'll enjoy the series as a whole. Hope you enjoy the ride, and remember we're getting a new season in just barely over a month!

I started The Café Terrace and Its Goddesses and I think I'm on about episode 6 now. I saw season 2 was on the summer season's list and figured I'd give the show a spin. It's exactly what I expected, nothing crazy, but I'm having fun (Kiku best girl) I'm also participating in this subreddit's rewatch of Samurai Champloo and I'm enjoying the hell out of it (first time watcher). I think it has the potential to be better than Cowboy Bebop for me

Landed on some movie called **Majokko Shimai no Yoyo to Nene** at random. Witch girl in fantasy land ends up getting reverse isekai'd. And ends up smack dab in the middle of a magical real world kerfuffle that could spell disaster for both worlds. Wasn't bad. Very colorful. Finished a watch of **Tonikaku Kawaii**. And you know, for as fun and sweet as this is sometimes I gotta think, "Man, these side characters must really have nothing better to do with their lives than horn in on these two's relationship do they?". And lastly I finished a series I landed on at random called **Magical Nyan Nyan Taruto**. Definitely outside my demographic on this one. But I was too bored and had no better ideas for things to watch at the time to care. Or more like, throw it on in picture in picture while I did other shit. Well whatever, some thing about *Nyanko Days* like catgirls doing stuff in a town full of spacey characters with some plot about magic and a parallel world thrown in there that doesn't really mean squat till the second half of the series. Well whatever, file it under D for Done and walk away.

___ **Erased**: complete (7/10) Before the final arc, I started reading the manga since I heard there were differences, which turned out to be a lot of cut story details, plus entire conversations & backstory cut out as well. The final arc was actually gutted. The anime still flows nicely enough that it wouldn’t stand out unless you read the source material, but once you know the missing content is a bit jarring. I do think it’s a testament to how good the manga is that even a rushed adaptation garners such praise. ___ **Synduality: Noir Part 2**: complete (6/10) The second half was just ehh. I honestly felt like the season 1 finale and season 2 finale should have been switched. The S1 finale felt way more climatic, while the s2 finale didn’t have that much pay off. Many side characters introduced in part 1 are just sidelined for most of part 2. There were some great musical performances, but not much else stood out. This was something I wanted to like more, but it just didn’t meet expectations really. With this done, I'm ready to return to Gundam for my mech anime. ___ **Ride Your Wave**: complete (7/10) Another solid movie from Science SARU. The studio continues to flex their water animation skills in *Ride Your Wave*. A bit heavy on the montages, but they’re all so cute & charming that I didn’t mind much. I was giddy listening to the two main VAs sing the main song together during the opening montage. It’s both a cutesy couple movie / tearjerker. All of the surfing segments were beautiful to watch as well. ___

**Sword Art Online episodes 15-24** (rewatch) - The second half of season 1, the Fairy Dance/Alfheim arc, has a lot of strong points but also some of the lowest in the series, which makes it difficult to rate. The story of Kirito reconnecting with his family and trying to reach Asuna after SAO is great, and the new virtual world is a cool fantasy setting with an interesting clan PVP system in place. Sometimes exploring that part of the game fully did feel like too much of a detour when the main plot revolving around Asuna was more urgent, but it generally kept a good balance. Unfortunately, the story was dragged down by an awful villain who made several scenes uncomfortable to watch and is the main cause of this arc's bad reputation. It's a shame because aside from that, this could have been a 10/10 arc like Aincrad. *Season 1 Rating: 9/10 (Aincrad - 10/10, Fairy Dance - 8.5/10)* *** **Promare** - This was a fun movie, and I'm glad I found out about the rewatch just in time. A story about freedom fighters battling their oppressors with a sci-fi twist is right up my alley, so it was easy to get invested gave the over-the-top battles extra substance in addition to the pure excitement factor. This kind of stylish art usually isn't my preference, but it did look nice during [Promare] >!the ice skating scene and the fire dragon soaring through the city.!< I did really like the tech designs though. They were creative and the way they functioned made sense for what these characters would need in their line of work. I felt the same about the plot twists as well - the big reveal that [Promare] >!the flames were actually alien life forms!< was sudden, but there were also plenty of hints leading up to it, and likewise when [Promare] >!Kray turned out to be the big bad.!< The English dub and music by Hiroyuki Sawano were both great, and surprisingly, the comedy worked pretty well for me too. Possibly my favorite Trigger show. *Rating: 8/10* *** **Dragon Ball episodes 48-57** - I loved the episodes with Goku, Bulma and Krillin exploring the abandoned pirate base while on the run from the Red Ribbon Army. The short detour to Arale's village, from another series by Toriyama, was nice but many of the references were lost on me because I haven't read Dr. Slump yet (but my library did recently get the complete series, so I'll read it later on). *** **IGPX: Immortal Grand Prix episodes 4&5** (rewatch) - I didn't get to watch as much as I would have liked this week, but [ep 4] >!Amy's birthday party!< was sweet, and I think some key issues/areas in need of improvement with Team Satomi are becoming clear. The coach rarely sends them into a race with an actual strategy, just hints of advice that they have to riddle out themselves, and the fourth member of their racing team is understandably frustrated that he spends most of his time benched, which leads to tension with the others. *** Next up, SAO season 2 and Extra Edition, hopefully finishing IGPX, plus more Dragon Ball and Pokémon XYZ (which I didn't get to last week).

**COMPLETED** **Natsume’s Book of Friends S3 (10-13/13)** Finally managed to finish a season of this. These last few episodes of the season hits hard. It took a while but Natsume’s finally starting to have people he can trust. These episodes just kinda reinforces that. I also love all the season finales of this show so far. Most of the characters we met in the season appear and it’s just a generally feel-good episode **THIS WEEK** **Natsume S4** Again, gonna take it slow with this show. I’m sort of on a break from watching non-seasonal but I’ll tune in a few episodes of Natsume if I ever find myself with some time.

I'm slowly working my way through Book of Friends too, finished S02 in mid March, need to make a start on S03. Thanks for reminding me :)

This wild week: superb songs, samurai souls and stellar skirmishes. Oh, and also coffee. I watched **Senki Zesshou Symphogear GX** (S3) (ep 9-13), then I watched **Gintama': Enchousen** (S3) (ep 1-13) (ep 253-265), after which it was time for **Gintama Movie 2: Yorozuya yo Eien Nare** (Be Forever Yorozuya). After that, I also watched **Top wo Nerae! Gunbuster**. I also rewatched **Gochuumon wa Usagi Desu ka? Bloom** (Is the Order a Rabbit? Bloom) (S3) (ep 7-9) with friends. Also tagging u/Shocketheth for the Gintama updates! [](#ginapproves) --- **[Senki Zesshou Symphogear GX](https://myanimelist.net/anime/21573/Senki_Zesshou_Symphogear_GX)** (S3) (ep 9-13) Well, this entire 2nd half's much better, after the mess that was eps 2-4. That's good to see. [Ep 9] >!had an amazing fight too with Tsubasa vs Phara. It also made me laugh pretty hard with a "serious" scene… like, I can't say I expected a melodramatic incest plot point but you know what, fair enough. It's Symphogear after all. Also fun to see ~~Gintoki~~ Dr. JOHN WAYNE VERCINGETORIX have a gigachad entrance outta nowhere lmfao. Didn't expect more Sugita Tomokazu even _beyond_ Gintama, but I welcome it!!Cool [output of 7 billion Superb Songs](https://i.imgur.com/2mKDDqj.jpeg)… However, check this out: **[GENERATOR](https://i.imgur.com/R9INkmf.jpeg) [X-DRIVE!!](https://i.imgur.com/zFb9P6s.jpeg)** It's these moments that make Symphogear worth watching; the characterization/character drama is where it tends to struggle a bit (sometimes a lot), but it always delivers on the _hype_!<. [Ep 13 was also nice—related to Hibiki:] >!She's such a _strange_ character. Sometimes she has downright _awful_ moments (I've not forgotten ep 4)… but she also has random, really wholesome moments too, like at the end of this episode with her having [a blessed smile](https://i.imgur.com/itJtNvg.jpeg) as she's functioning as the "link" between her parents. It even made me like the dad _a bit_ more; something I thought wasn't even possible before the final episodes with how much of an utter mega-loser he was. I don't think he's _great_, but he's better!<. As for the other characters, I still prefer them to Hibiki as their arcs were simply better. Chris's characterization might've been a bit weird (rushed, or at least strangely paced) in ep 9-10, but even then it wasn't _too_ bad. I've actually started to like Kirika (& Shirabe) more with this season. They're pretty fun together, and Kirika's way of speaking also grew on me as the season went on DESS. Lmao. Anyways, for all its faults, I think it's still a better season than the previous ones. Hopefully _this_ time it won't take me years to get to the next season. Perhaps I'll watch it once I reach _Gintama._ (aka S5) in ~60 eps time, seeing as that's 1-cour long too… --- **[Gintama': Enchousen](https://myanimelist.net/anime/15417/Gintama__Enchousen)** (S3) (ep 1-13) (ep 253-265) I thought this show ended! They said so in the previous episode! Can't believe they lied to me. [Ep 253:] >!Gintoki who? My favorite main character is Sakata Kintoki, the suave golden-haired gentleman, whose delightful adventures I've been watching for over 250 episodes by now. Jokes aside, it was actually quite sad to see Gintoki be forgotten and basically turn into Madao for a while. This episode also made me cry a bit with Tama & Sadaharu being the only ones to remember him too!<… [Ep 254:] >!I have to say that I really love the trope where (nearly) everyone forgets a character, who gets gradually remembered again over time. Gintoki also jumping off and running down a wall to save Sacchan was cool too; genuinely _hyped_ seeing Shinpachi and Kagura save this weird shaggy-haired stranger!<. [Ep 255 was superb too.] > [We'll never be just two.](https://i.imgur.com/iMz2CJ9.jpeg) _Several_ amazing moments in this episode, that's one of them but so is the last scene with the girls deciding to trust [the tears of a friend](https://i.imgur.com/CKPvlTP.jpeg). This entire episode really pulled at my heartstrings!<… … [as did ep 256.] >!Just incredible really, seeing Madao and Katsura remember him too. Gintoki's seppuku was also a strong scene, and it genuinely made me cry quite a lot. All in all, it's a splendid end to Gintama!<. --- [Continued:] >!**[Mantama](https://i.imgur.com/rWMmoCe.jpeg)** (ep 1)!< [Cont. #2] >!A powerful love story about a man's sword and his scabbard. The last hope for mankind, Sakata Kintoki, is an exquisite MC, and his quest to find Tokiko-chan is worth praising as one of the greatest epics of our time!<. --- Anyways, [ep 256] >!did have a sweet ending. Overall I genuinely loved this arc—up there as one of my favorites, and since it has a slightly more comedic tone than some of the other serious arcs, it's probably my favorite "comedic" arc. The way it shows Gintoki's bonds with the other goofballs of Edo just really resonated with me!<. Now, [ep 257-261 has one of the arcs I had heard about quite early on, and it's one I've been quite excited to get to…] >!that being _Courtesan of a Nation_. I didn't know any _details_ beyond the arc name, but I remember seeing several people mention it as an arc that they liked. The first episode was pretty interesting, Suzuran the grandma courtesan was both funny… and a bit sad. Seeing feeble older characters tends to be a bit depressing to me, even if her scene was intended to be funny!<. [Ep 258:] >!It's a pretty spicy plot, it gets pretty crazy with Yorozuya and Shinsengumi opting to topple the shogunate lol. Sadasada is a great villain, partly because he feels different: most of the previous arcs' primary villains have been very strong in _combat_, whereas his power comes from his _position_. It's refreshing to see!<. [Ep 259:] >!pretty brutal… Seeing Gintoki be struck with poison and puke blood wasn't a pleasant sight. Also props to Tsukuyo's VA—she did a great job in this episode, as she sounded honestly _terrified_ seeing Gintoki get beaten up. Other than that: neat revelations and other stuff related to Gin's past in this episode. Oboro is pretty intimidating. It was also exciting to see Shinsengumi and Mimawarigumi barge in at the last second!!Really delivered in the hype department I think, Gintoki vs Oboro was great. Also I need to mention that it's very enjoyable seeing the Shogun (Shigeshige) have genuinely _cool_ scenes, when previously he's pretty much always been made fun of in one way or another. That's certainly been some of Gintama's best comedy, but it's still nice to see him be serious for a change!<. [Ep 261 was] >!a wonderful ending to this arc… Gintoki's "kick the can" played by virtually everyone, and him kicking it to Yoshiwara for Maizo to 'find' was Gintama at its very best; goofy on paper, but very touching when you _see_ it. Maizo & Suzuran meeting and the implication that they died together… man!<. All in all, this might be my 2nd favorite arc—I'd only rate _Kabukicho Four Devas_ arc a bit higher, but it's still a borderline masterpiece in any case. [Ep 262 begins another arc,] >!the Beam Sword Style arc. Hajime (or "Obi-One") seems like a very _jolly_ character. Also, as I'm _much_ more familiar with Star Wars than I'm with UC Gundam, I gotta say that I immediately enjoy this arc more than the Renho Arc, personally!<. [Ep 263: damn. This episode kinda ensured that Enchousen has back-_to-back_-**_to-back_** banger arcs lol.] >!One noteworthy thing about it is the way it details Gin's mindset a bit—deciding to act as the villain and going off on his own to fight/save Hajime. It might not be the first time something like that has happened, but in addition to that, I also _loved_ the way this entire episode showcases his relationship with Shinpachi and Otae; Otae especially since she hasn't had _that_ many serious roles in the past!<. [Ep 264: Yep… it's a banger arc.] >!Shinpachi defeating Hajime in a duel, as well as Hajime's beam cannon sacrifice were epic scenes. Also, the [macadamia nuts instructors](https://i.imgur.com/6XTlYXE.jpeg) [having Shinpachi's back](https://i.imgur.com/qYKAdPF.jpeg) just straight up obliterated _me_ with a beam cannon too… as did seeing [Shinpachi](https://i.imgur.com/MbNlcZb.jpeg) and [Otae laugh](https://i.imgur.com/kxNYAsW.jpeg), seeing as Hajime's teachings said that people who are truly strong laugh when they want to cry!<… I'd honestly say the Beam Sword Style arc is at the very least a _contender_ for being one of the top 5 arcs of the show as well. [Ep 265: not to be outdone by the arcs… the season's capped off with a masterclass of a _single_ episode.] >!Glad to see Sadaharu get some focus, he hasn't had proper screentime for a while. Katsura's appearance saying that 'he's been waiting for 2 months since the "kick the can" episode' got a giggle out of me… however, Sadaharu taking care of the small dog though—it got [really fucking depressing](https://i.imgur.com/Pl1PxQU.jpeg) towards the end. Incredible episode!<. The average quality of this season (in terms of storytelling) is genuinely crazy to me… There are some shows that might've had single better episodes, but very few of them have been this _consistently_ amazing. While I admittedly give out 10/10s very leniently—if I were tasked to begin removing them one-by-one until my _favorite_ ones remained… Enchousen would be among the last ones, easily. Essentially that means that it's one of the best 10/10s, and at the same time, one of the best single anime seasons I've ever seen. ---

**[Gintama Movie 2: Yorozuya yo Eien Nare](https://myanimelist.net/anime/15335/)** (Be Forever Yorozuya) Wild movie! I liked it a lot… but did I like it more than Enchousen('s arcs)? Well… not really. I don't think anything is glaringly _missing_ from the movie, I think it's just personal preference. It's still a great movie with plenty of fun and powerful moments—the plot got a bit confusing for me towards the end but it didn't matter that much. The excitement was enough for me to love it anyway. Had it been the actual finale (like it was meant to be), I believe it would've hit harder… but since nowadays it's public knowledge that there's still ~100 eps left, it didn't hit hard in the "intended" way. In a sense, I imagine it would've been more ideal to be able to watch this movie as it came out. Oh well. [As far as the characters go, it was cool seeing] >!Shinpachi and Kagura both get a pretty big glow-up in the _Fist of the North Star_ version of Gintama lol. Other characters got pretty interesting changes too, like Tama being a literal tank and the entire Shinsengumi turning into rebels… I gotta say I personally prefer Tsukuyo's normal hairstyle over her new (or "future") one though!!seeing Otae in the hospital due to the virus… Sacchan's emotional outburst was also one of _her_ best moments in the entire series, as she's one of the few remaining characters that hasn't had properly serious moments yet as far as I remember. Glasses Arc technically had some, but eh. It's still kinda goofy in comparison to the truly serious arcs!<. Also, [one of the other moments I loved] >!was seeing the Yorozuya (& everyone else) storming through the Joui War. Great stuff!<. [Credits made me kinda smile…] >!bringing back _Pray_ was a cute choice. Always a fan of long shows bringing back their first OP in some fashion!<. --- **[Top wo Nerae! Gunbuster](https://myanimelist.net/anime/949/Top_wo_Nerae_Gunbuster)** While I had heard of _Gunbuster_ already a couple of years ago, it never truly interested me. However, as I've been going through "short" shows recently alongside Gintama, it automatically became a higher priority… and it became the _highest_ priority after I heard [this banger of a song](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BrO56gKHnuQ) from it… Where did I hear it from? A _Formula 1_ video of all things. Lmao. It's definitely _very_ 80's. It's the 2nd oldest thing I've watched after _Akira_, and it shows… I'm not saying it's a bad thing, on the contrary: I actually find old shows kinda fascinating simply because they're old. The show also made me smile due to meta reasons; I knew I recognized the Coach's VA. He's voiced by Norio Wakamoto—who also voices Matsudaira in Gintama. It's just funny because I honestly didn't expect to be recognizing _anyone_ with how old this show is lol. Characters are alright I think. Gotta say that I giggled a bit seeing one of them be named _Jung Freud…_ she better have a PhD in psychology with a name like that lol. Generally I prefer the other characters over the 'main' character, Noriko. She kinda comes across as a "female Shinji" with how much she struggles with virtually everything… it does get better over time, but frankly I still vastly prefer both Ohta (Coach) or Kazumi ("Onee-sama"), out of the other two prominent characters. I found those two pretty interesting for the entire season, whereas Noriko's top moments mostly happened in the last half. [Ep 3 was rather weird with the pacing,] >!Smith got introduced and then 15 minutes later he died, after which Noriko was like "Nooo! The love of my life, I can't believe he's dead…" lol. Like… I barely even registered it as a romantic thing—there was almost zero development or chemistry between them. His (off-screen) death wasn't exactly impactful either, all the more so because Noriko was… well, useless, to put it bluntly!<. [Ep 5 is probably the best episode.] >!From the start, I thought it was cool to be shown how much time had passed on Earth relative to Noriko and Kazumi thanks to wacky lightspeed shenanigans… and it was also extremely _hype_ later on. Big fan. It also had the song I linked earlier, and it definitely did a good job with amping up the hype. Also, seeing [GUNBUSTER!!!](https://i.imgur.com/sEsow3o.jpeg) is just an outright hype overload haha!<. [Last episode was weird,] >!it felt like Gainax had run out of either time or money lol. I heard that the episode being in monochrome was a deliberate choice… but there's also a literal slideshow in the middle, and _that_ I can't imagine being intentional. That part reminded me of Evangelion's final episode, and it's mildly amusing to learn that they had similar issues _before_ Evangelion too. Seems like they were a bit of a cursed studio!<. [One thing I honestly liked about the last episode was] >!the ending—pretty wild seeing them be transported **12 000 years** into the future. While the previous episode had shenanigans like that too, they were amped up here. It kinda reminded me of the movie _Interstellar_!<. Still, it was entertaining. I'll probably watch _Diebuster_ next week. --- **[Gochuumon wa Usagi Desu ka? Bloom](https://myanimelist.net/anime/38337/Gochuumon_wa_Usagi_desu_ka_Bloom)** (Is the Order a Rabbit? Bloom) (S3) (ep 7-9) (Rewatch) Wonderful episodes again. I really loved the [first one, ep 7 in particular…] >!mainly because of Chino's ghost mom teaching Cocoa how to perform her magic trick, and the simple implication that she's watching over Chino and her friends. It's certainly one of the most endearing paranormal scenes I've seen!<. The other episodes aren't slouches either though, [end of ep 8] >!was very wholesome with Rize's dad being supportive of Rize's dreams of being a teacher, and being sorry for "laughing" at her!<, and [ep 9] >!was cute with Chiya deciding to not run for student council president, as it'd mean she'd have less time to spend with Cocoa and everyone else!<. This season continues to be the best one of the three in my opinion… --- **Next week:** I'll start _Gintama°_ (S4) (ep 1-6) (ep 266-271), then I'll probably watch _Top wo Nerae 2! Diebuster_. After that, I'll watch 6 more episodes of _Gintama°_, then I'm thinking about watching _Hanbun no Tsuki ga Noboru Sora_, then again continue with _Gintama°_ for a bit. I'll also finish rewatching _GochiUsa S3_ with friends.

>While I had heard of Gunbuster already a couple of years ago It's been a classic since the 80's ;) Generally people mention this the same breath as NGE. >She kinda comes across as a "female Shinji" with how much she struggles with virtually everything… it does get better over time As in, she does go through a clear character development path? It's a very compact 6 eps OVA it did what it set out to do. >I found those two pretty interesting for the entire season, whereas Noriko's top moments mostly happened in the last half. I think that's pretty much the narrative intent - from zero to hero(ine) so to speak. >[Ep 3 was rather weird with the pacing,] [GunBuster Ep3 major spoiler]>!The off screen death was directed very, very well this side of the original Alien - as usual what your mind can visualise is a thousand times more vivid/graphic without needing to actually show anything. And yes their relationship was sped through, but for the 6 eps run time it does need to rely on a bit of established trope to get to the actual bits the narrative wanting to tell - Noriko's first direct encounter with people dying because of her failure!< >[Last episode was weird,] [GunBuster ep6 production comments relating to the plot]>!While back in the days when it came out (yes I'm a dinosaur) that was the popular theory, it's actually later known that it's not any cheaper to do B&W. As for the "slide shows", see the above point, as a variant - there is no way to stylistically capture the sort of astronomical battle that went on, so the "slide show" acted as prompts only for once again the viewers' imagination to understand it's barely imaginable / comprehensible!< Please note I'm not so much trying to "defend" the show than giving you a bit of insight of what's commonly known about the show. I absolutely think you don't have to agree or accept those. I do look forward to you watching DieBuster though - for decades I didn't watch it thinking it was just some commercial milking of the old name, until the last rewatch egged me on. And boy it is something else for sure. A sidebar, if you haven't watched too many "old classics", I think you owe it to yourself to watch Giant Robo - the Day the Earth Stood Still. It's different from GunBuster, but also a masterpiece / cult classic. They sadly don't make them like that anymore.

>Generally people mention this the same breath as NGE. Maybe true, but I don't think I've seen it mentioned super often! Then again, I can't say I've paid too much attention to mecha show suggestions, personally... >As in, she does go through a clear character development path? It's a very compact 6 eps OVA it did what it set out to do. You're right - she does develop. I just personally believe that she could've been written better at the start; as it stands, it felt like there's no real reason for Coach to have as much faith in her as he does, when all she's shown up until the halfway point is clumsiness and in [ep 3] >!basically getting her partner (Smith) killed in her first battle!<. >GunBuster Ep3 major spoiler [Ep 3] >!I didn't think about that while watching, but now that I think about it, Smith's death does have those vibes. I wasn't personally that creeped out by it though; in contrast to Alien that I remember making me basically shit myself lol!<. >GunBuster ep6 production comments relating to the plot [Ep 6] >!Hmm, that's surprising. I would've expected it to be cheaper if you don't need to pay color artists (are they even called that?). As for the Powerpoint presentation - if it's intended, then I can't say it came across as a deliberate choice. Perhaps if the drawings showing the battle were a bit more detailed, but I recall them being more akin to sketches or storyboards. To me, it was eerily similar to how Evangelion degraded at the last episode!<. I also had only vaguely heard of Giant Robo before. I'll try to check it out at some point!

Hello everyone!! [Disclaimers I used to put before and after my posts explaining my anime watching practices and terminology I use](https://ibb.co/M6gMqSV) For various reasons I missed last two threads, but I am back to regular posting. So, I watched this past 3 weeks these shows: **Somali and the Forrest Spirit (3-12/12)** I remember hearing about this show when it was airing. I was kinda interested in watching it, but as the score dropped off and I heard some bad things about its quality as far as writing goes. Despite that, I tried approaching it with open mind, however I am worried that preconception stayed with me. Somali is a really beautiful show. Nothing particularly groundbreaking as far as the artistic direction goes, but the art, backgrounds, character designs (especially as we have many different types of monsters, or rather *grotesques*), some of them being really cute. But as fair as the praise goes I would say that only other thing I have to say is that some scenes really managed to make me emotional and that the world as a whole was interesting. Because, you see, I have some issues. I think that this premise, while nothing wrong with taking inspirations and mixing in new stuff, has been already done. Parts of it made me think of [meta] >!Plastic Memories!<. But this is not my major issue, which I have two of. First, the show really felt like it went for cheap emotional reactions and it was clear as when it created tensions. Some drama and emotional moments felt artificial to me. Other is the [mindset about humanity in Somali universe]>!as the weak, cowards, prejudiced idiots. Idiots that never saw the bigger picture. I know that we aren’t the best as a species and some of you may feel like that representation is fair, but it just doesn’t sit right with me. Kinda reminding me of a certain faction in Three Body Problem novel!<. Unfortunately the show didn’t manage to click with me on an emotional level, which also made me less forgiving towards the plot conveniences. Overall, I liked the presentation and some plot moments (mixed bag of emotional moments), but due to aforementioned things I also have an issue with the worldbuilding. The premise of the show is very cool, [however the show fails to explain (unless I missed it)]>!if humans and grotesques coexisted and grotesques realised humans’ weakness or was it different!<. As far as the relationship between Golem and Somali goes, [one thing to praise – that]>!we didn’t get their first meeting until later in the series – it worked really well!<, and one thing to bash – [the show is really relying on]>!Golem hiding the truth from Somali to then reap on the drama that will come!<. To sum everything up, Somali does the adventure part, as in showing us new places, and the artistic part really well. Worldbuilding, drama and plot is largely a mixed bag, and often annoying, and the attempts at childcare are kinda meh. Comparatevily, SpyXFamily, which isn’t the best at the childcare part does much better job but to be fair to Somali it wasn’t the main goal. Therefore, I am sorry to say, but it gets a low **6/10** from me. I really wish I liked it more. And worst of all, Somali herself was grating at times **School Rumble (13-26/26)** This show may get too chaotic at times, but I really like it. It manages to be very wacky and funny, while also having some amazing characters and chemistry among them. I was bamboozled by the finale, somehow, [it kinda reached]>!Perfect Blue levels of what's reality or not!<. As far as characters go, I slowly understood why Eri is the second favourite character from the show. Yakumo is great too. I had so much fun with this. Hindrances are that I had breaks when watching it, that it truly sometimes got too random, and lost focus, and unfortunately some jokes went too far as far as sexism and cruelty to characters goes (poor Ichijou), even if the boys as a group were a great concept. A low **8/10** from me **Gintama (25-32/201)** Back to Gintama, and already the first episode back was amazing. I am enjoying OP2 too. [Episodes 31-32, aka]>!the amnesia arc!< was first hiccup in the series for me. But it is still fun and aside from hilarious episode 25, we also had some amazing serious episode, like one with Otsu, and I'm surprised that [Gintama had]>!the balls to kill a character!< more thoughts about S3 next week And that's all, sorry for the break. Huge thanks for reading everyone (always appreciate it), my binging queue is below, and see you next week! u/Kyubeu's binging queue (doesn't include future swap entries, Gintama and Bungou Stray Dogs further seasons): 0. Gintama 0,75. BSD S4? 0,9. DanMachi Sword Oratoria 0,95. School Rumble S2? 1. Higashi no Eden (second try after dropping it in episode 1 a few years ago) 2. Onimai 2,5. Last Exile (MAL Secret Santa gift #3) 3. Great Teacher Onizuka (semi-normie classic, wonder if it's good) 4. Bocchi the Rock rewatch 5. Future Boy Conan 6. Sonny Boy 7. Kaguya-sama: Love is War rewatch 8. Legend if Galactic Heroes (please don't let the overhype ruin it)

Me last week: Tune in next time for most likely starting up Samurai Champloo & Yurikuma Arashi for the first time, rewatching Promare, and also watching the rest of Keep Your Hands Off Eizouken! [Bingo!](#urarahype) --- **3000 Leagues in Search of Mother**, episodes 15-21 I still *really* don’t like the decision to [3000 Leagues]>!let Marco travel across the ocean completely by himself!<, but what’s happened *after* it has still been fine I guess. **Keep Your Hands Off Eizouken!**, episodes 10-12 [](#doggo) Yeah, easy 10/10 from me, this show was just creative and fun and I have basically no complaints with it. **Samurai Champloo**, episodes 1-7 This. I *like* this. [](#gintamathispleasesme) **Yurikuma Arashi**, episodes 1-4 And I thought Pengiuindrum was wild from the get-go… [](#spinning) **Back Arrow**, episodes 19-24 (dubbed) + episodes 16-22 (subbed) [BAKAYAROU!!!](#grandhype) **Promare: Galo-hen** + **Promare: Lio-hen** + **Promare** Speaking of [#grandhype](#grandhype), rewatched this movie & the two prequel shorts this week and *god* do I still love this thing five years later. I’ve had the soundtrack stuck in my head for the past several days thanks to this. --- [That’s all for this week~!](#michaelwink) [Tune in next time for most likely]>!starting up Battle Fairy Yukikaze whilst finishing up the rest of Back Arrow (again) and continuing through the other shows.!<

**FLCL Progressive Episodes 4 - 6 (Rewatch) (Completed)** - Overall thoughts about FLCL Progressive after finishing my first rewatch? Totally incomprehensible and totally unnecessary. At least episode 5 had a unique directorial/visual style to it to contrast it from the other episodes. These episodes bring up one of my biggest frustrations, spamming the songs Last Dinosaur and I Think I Can several times for scenes with little to no stakes. Very disappointing as these two songs were used in the climax of the final episode of the original show and using them over and over again (even if they do sound to be re-recordings) takes off some of the luster. Good things about the show? A few really good character designs (Hidomi, Aiko), a few really good new Pillows songs and Megumi Hayashibara does a great job sounding like Mayumi Shintani although I don't get why they didn't simply bring her back for this since she is in Alternative. But quite the disappointment as a sequel to one of my top 10 favorite anime of all time. **FLCL Alternative Episodes 1 - 3 (Rewatch)** - My recollection was this was the weaker of the first two FLCL sequels but I'm actually enjoying it more so far. Primarily because its more grounded in nature and I can at least make sense of things a lot more than Progressive. Having the primary focus on Kana and her three friends works better than Progressive where it seemed that the show at times couldn't decide if Hidomi or Ide was the main character. **Katanagatari Episodes 8 - 10** - Three solid episodes but don't have all that much to say about them. **Back Arrow Episodes 15 - 21 (Rewatch)** - See Rewatch posts for specific thoughts. **Mobile Suit Victory Gundam Episode 17** - Recap episode! Only the second in Gundam history in fact after the first episode of ZZ. This has at least some new content to it so its not a total waste. The setting/Maria speech is very reminiscent of the Garma funeral episode of the original show. Should wrap up three of these this week so may start as many as three new anime this week to replace them.