Gankutsuou / Monte Cristo anime definitely uses it as a stylistic choice. It kinda gives it a stained glass look, where each “panel” has its own complex 2D pattern.

In general though it’s kinda a middle ground where you get characters who wear textured clothing more interesting than a single color without requiring a ton of time and effort to create. I can’t really bring myself to complain about it when it would take 10x the effort to make it look 1.5x as good (though I do appreciate it when they DO take the time and effort to make animated textured clothing)

Like most Oshii movies imo, the Sky Crawlers was really boring. But, in a way I didn’t really mind; it was a good kind of boring, like 5 Centimeters Per Second or Christmas in January

What’s the one right center?

Excited for Mahou no Shimai Lulutto Lilly. The first anime-original Pierrot magical girl show since the 90s. It’ll also be a new entry in the mostly dead-ended evolutionary branch of magical girl shows that aren’t about fighting bad guys, but about being magical idols. In fact, this show looks SO similar to Mahou no Tenshi Creamy Mami that I’d almost call it a remake, based on the trailer. They even have the same familiars: a blue cat with pink eyes + a pink cat with blue eyes.

I would recommend Mushishi to anybody from age 5 to 105. I just finished rewatching it with my mom.
It’s kinda like Pokemon but instead of animals the “Pokemon” are usually fungi or diseases or natural phenomena. The series takes place from the point of view of a traveling doctor / scientist who uses his knowledge to help people.

While I do think it’s appropriate for any age group and I think I would have liked it as a kid, it might be scary or boring for a little kid.

The first episode is pretty uncharacteristic of the rest of the series, so if you check it out I’d recommend judging it based on episode 2.

I haven’t read it in a few months but I’ve generally kept up with the manga for the last four years. It’s mostly interesting in a meta way, where you see how long they can keep up the stupid premise.

There was an author interview that was translated and included in one chapter of the manga where the author revealed that although he had planned all 100 girlfriends from the beginning, some of the prospective characters had already started to overlap with existing ones and will have to be reworked. Is it really possible to write 100 good unique characters?

Practically, no. I think the manga falls off really hard after the 23rd girlfriend (currently it’s at #36).
I’m hoping that the 100th girlfriend is a girl who already has 99 boyfriends and I’m like 95% convinced that doing anything else would be sexism.