I already loved Elmina from reading the manga…and then they go and have Fairouz Ai do her voice? A+ character right there.

Mod-approved self-promotion post.

Enjoy the melancholy! Wait…that might be the wrong sentiment.

I remember reading one time on sakugablog that the average anime takes about 3 years from start to finish to make. However, there are many, many examples of deadlines being missed for episodes or a final cut being turned in literally at the last minute. Often the show is mostly done by the time the first episode airs, but there is usually some work still ongoing for future episodes as it is airing.

The animation in that battle for the 8th floor boss was really good. I don’t remember the first season having sakuga sequences like that. Looking forward to what they do for the final dungeon boss.

I like that we’re getting to know Romelia through the eyes of people around her, instead of listening to her inner monologue

This is actually very different compared to the manga adaptation and I like the choice a lot. I think it is clear to the viewer that Romelia is not doing this on a whim and has a plan and goals, but they largely are still a mystery to us. It makes it easier to relate to the soldiers that they introduced this episode because we see Romelia in mostly the same way they do.

I will preface this by saying that I am a huge fan of the manga adaptation of this series. This first episode was a bit underwhelming to me, but I think helps set the tone for what is to come. I think the humor in this series is at its best when the MC has a comedic straight man to play off of, but it still came through here.

One of my favorite parts of this series and her power is that she gets both the good and the bad of the internet. Like, yes, you get practically god-like knowledge at your fingertips. However, you also get popup ads, spam, forum trolls, shipping wars, all the rest of it too.

I really like the background art style they went with for the show. However, I do feel like they are leaning really hard on the 8-bit sequences to save animation budget/effort. Also, there is just so much text on screen sometimes that it is hard to parse without a lot of pausing.

Anyway, looking forward to more to see how this adaptation works out.

The manga adaptation is pretty cool, so I am probably going to check this one out. However, there are signs this has been caught in production hell for some time, so I am not too hopeful.

Looks good! Welcome!

Best Dragon

I wait for this award every season!

Felt like it was time for a new one of these threads.

Alright, going over the list for next season, here are my takes:

Definitely try to watch

• The World’s Strongest Witch - This manga is a riot, and I can’t wait for anime-onlies to be introduced to Rona and her antics.
• Apothecary Diaries Season 3 - Absolute must-watch for me.
• Appraisal Isekai Season 3 - This is kind of like a comfort watch. I like the source, and the adaptation is fine. Despite the politics/war setting, I don’t find this one too dramatic/tense.

Watch if time allows

• Sasaki and Peeps Season 2 - The first season was a roller coaster of a story, but suffered with poor production values. I am interested in seeing more, but it isn’t high on my priority list.
• Suikoden - I have a good friend that has been trying to get me to play Suikoden 2 for years. I might just try to watch the anime version instead to troll him.
• Magical Girl Raising Project - I have heard great things from source readers. Think Shiboyugi, but with a magical girl bent.
• Magic Knight Rayearth - An oldie of an isekai. My wife is a big fan of the manga and has tried to get me to read her copies for almost 20 years now. She has pretty good taste, so I expect the story to be pretty decent.
• Reincarnated as a Sword Season 2 - I am pretty sure I am past this point in reading the manga adaptation, but this one is still a lot of fun.

Other notes

• Romelia War Chronicle - I read the very beginning of the manga for this series and enjoyed it. It is kind of a cross between kicked out of the hero’s party and a gritty war story. It’s a new studio making a debut, so who knows how it will turn out.
• A Wild Last Boss Appeared Season 2 - I binged the manga for this series a couple weeks ago and it was way better than I thought it was going to be. I haven’t watched the first season yet, but might try to get caught up on this one.
• Reborn as a Space Mercenary - I really wish there were more sci-fi isekai out there. It seems like a natural genre mix between the mecha and isekai worlds. I don’t expect much from this, but just wanted to say that I want more of this mix.

This pretty much reflects my experience as well. Though, like you, I didn’t watch Akira until relatively recently, so that probably has something to do with it. Experiencing it in the late 80’s/early 90’s might have left a very different impression. From reading retrospective reviews, lots of critics praise it these days for the impact it had on the industry as much or even more than the story it was trying to tell. Short story time…

A couple years ago, my partner and I decided to watch through all of the AFI Top 100 movies, and there were plenty on that list that I genuinely thought were pretty bad. However, in reading about them after watching them, they are on the list because of the tremendous impact they may have had on the industry; special effects innovations, directing techniques, etc. I kind of lump Akira in that kind of basket these days. It was a technical showpiece that had an outsized impact on the rest of the industry, especially the actual animators who have inserted countless Akira references into their art over the years.

Mine is probably one that hasn’t been released yet, but I read the manga source, The Moon on a Rainy Night. The funny thing is that I found I related to it a ton, but as an adult, it had nothing to do with the school setting. It deals with the issue of disability in a way that felt so real and it was easy to map onto my life’s experiences.

In general, the other thing I relate to often is transfer students. I went to more than 10 different schools through K-12 because my family moved…a lot. So I was almost always the transfer student, and almost always preparing to say goodbye. It made me really good at making new friends wherever I found myself, but it also made me really good at dropping friends from my life for little to no reason.

The stupidest fucking timeline…

I read the first couple volumes of this manga and it gets wild…

ANN calls it a “romantic suspense manga” and that is closer to the truth. However, I feel like that is still underselling it. This series is basically suffering porn, and that is why I ultimately ended up dropping reading it. This visual is a huge misdirect and gives off the totally wrong impression.

The genre that I most often see people mix up is CGDCT. A lot of casuals that I have talked to don’t realize that the target audience for these series is almost always either boys or men. Instead, they kind of lump these series in with stuff like Precure, which is aimed at girls. To prove the point, AniList only has 13 series that are shoujo and CGDCT, and a grand total of 0 that are josei.

The past couple weeks I watched a couple things that I can write about…

First up is Star Wars: Visions Presents - The Ninth Jedi. I really liked the two anthology episodes that were part of season 1 and 3 of Star Wars Visions (especially the episode from season 1). So, getting the chance to get an eight episode season sounded great. The first couple episodes felt a little slow, but did a lot of work establishing things. Then, it delivered really well as the season went. Right as I was finishing it, Mother’s Basement released a video about the series, singing its praises. While I wouldn’t go as far as he does in his video, the series manages to feel pretty fresh with respect to its treatment of Jedi and the force. It is probably the most interesting depiction of Gray Jedi (neither pure dark or light) since the KOTOR games.

Next up is Toradora!. I am currently 8 episodes in and have been enjoying it a lot. I don’t have a ton to add here, but I think the thing that surprised me the most is how much I like Ami’s character. She seems like an easy to hate character, but there is something oddly compelling in how toxic she acts.

Last but not least, I watched Asobi Asobase. I didn’t really know what to expect when I started this series, but my initial thought based on visuals was maybe a CGDCT. However, I quickly realized I was mistaken as these girls are absolutely unhinged (in the best way). The humor feels similar to something like Nichijou, but a bit more restrained due to the smaller cast and scope of the setting. My absolute favorite sequence involved an android that they programmed to speak English using just the vocabulary of one of their grandfathers. I created a clip, but I must give an NSFW language warning: https://static.wjs018.xyz/iJ2rJ45DeIOD6zZA.webm

The only example I can think of off the top of my head are the live action Rurouni Kenshin movies. In my opinion, they are excellent and the best way to consume the story.

I love this series. Really looking forward to this one being adapted. I am curious about how they’re going to depict hearing impairments.

Yeah, this series is a lot of fun.