Midseason, time to pause and evaluate where the shows are and where they’re headed. Also, when I make a gut check to make sure I’m not watching shows that I’m not enjoying but sticking with out of habit.
Time to dive in and run ’em down!
The shows that I’m watching are in bold, shows my wife and I are watching together are in bold italics, strikethrough marks dropped shows and (*) marks shows that are watched but not regularly reviewed.
Bartender Glass of God
Bartender: Kami no Glass
I think we’re just going to have to resign ourselves to this being a mostly average (or a little under) anthology series. And from that point of view, Sasakura’s wooden perfection is becoming more of a hindrance than an asset.
Status: I really should drop this and I don’t know why I’m not.
Jellyfish Can’t Swim in the Night
Yoru no Kurage wa Oyogenai
Jellyfish came out of the gate running hard, some of the finest opening episodes I’ve ever seen. Since then… It seems to have lost a lot of steam and to lack a bit of a sense of purpose and direction. It’s introduced a lot of potential plot threads, but doesn’t appear to be in hurry to do anything with them.
It’s still worth watching, but it no longer carries my strongest suggestion.
Status: Keeper.
The Many Sides of Voice Actor Radio
Seiyuu Radio no Uraomote
Given that Episodes 4-5 effectively reboots/resets the scenario can I even give a mid season review? OTOH, they’ve got some decently established characters and moderately well built world, so there’s material to work with… And yes, this is kinda damning with faint praise because the series keeps resorting to a sledgehammer to get it’s point across. Subtle it isn’t, even when it should be.
Status: Keeper.
Spice and Wolf: merchant meets the wise wolf
Ookami to Koushinryou: merchant meets the wise wolf
Spicy Wolf‘s voice continues to improve, the VA’s are really hitting their stride… Sadly, animation problems continue to plague the series. Holo’s wolf form at the end of Ep 6 looked more like an annoyed puppy than an ancient and terrible goddess in her full majesty.
As it’s simply running through well known plot beats, I won’t comment on them.
Status: Keeper.
My Hero Academia
Boku no Hero Academia
Only two episodes in because of the 4 episode OVA/recap series (which was actually pretty good). A bit annoyed that Star and Stripe was a bit of a deus ex machina. Otherwise insufficient data to hold an informed opinion.
Also annoyed that Star and Stripe was, as per stereotype, busty and blond.
Laid-Back Camp 3rd Season
Yuru Camp Season 3
Not much to say beyond “it’s sticking to its strengths” is there? Which is emphatically not damning with faint praise. That’s what Camp does best and what makes it so good.
I’m seriously looking forward to the next camping arc though… If they can pull off doing it exactly like the manga, it’s going to be a minor masterpiece.
Status: Unquestioning keeper.
Sound! Euphonium 3
Hibike! Euphonium 3
They are certainly moving things along a torrid pace. At mid season we’re already at the Kyoto Preliminaries which were the finale of the 1st season! Yet, somehow they’re managing to pack in a lot of solid story and character beats. (I could write several paragraphs…)
Despite what they’ve managed to accomplish, I still think they should slow down a touch and give the story room to breathe. Sometimes the blows come almost too fast.
Status: Going for Gold at the Nationals!
Whisper Me a Love Song
Sasayaku You ni Koi wo Utau
While not quite Adachi and Shimamura slow, they’re certainly taking their time… and I kind of like that. The pace is believable and they’re not just artificially stringing the viewer along. In terms of characterization, Whisper is slowly climbing the ladder and getting better each episode.
Status: Keeper.
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So, looks like no actual drops this season, but TBH it’s kind of slow feeling season so I’m in a generous mood. Though I still might yet nope out of Kami no Glass.
Speaking of season, it’s finally Spring here in the Pacific Northwest… Actually sitting here in short sleeves with the sliding door open. Still need a blanket on the bed at night though.
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And with that, over to you! Drop a comment with your midseason thoughts, the weather in your neck of the woods, or whatever else you want to chat about.
@Jellyfish: Only the first episode was ever great for me. But since then it’s been pretty solid still, I’d say.
@Radio: And that one’s fairly good to, for me, though not quite as good as even a reduced Jellyfish.
It’s really interesting that both shows seem to address the darker side of the idol business, but in different ways. Would be interesting to compare at the end of the season, once we know how things shake out. It’s a bit of a sore spot for me, and I tend to do better with idol and idol-adjacent shows if they ignore that topic (so I can, too).
@Spice and Wolf: It’s good, but so far it’s a slighly lesser version of what we’ve already had. However, the chemisty between our leads really shines through here, too, and that’s what’s always made the show.
@ Yuru Camp & Euphonium: I’m experiencing severe diminishing returns for both these shows. When they reach their highpoints I’m as into the shows as ever, but when it’s business as usual… it’s little more than comfy background noise.
@Whisper me a Love Song: I’m quite liking it. Oddly enough, it’s reminding me most of Sasaki & Miyano (a BL show), with the character dynamics (the crusher and the undecided + supportive group of friends) – funnily enough with reversed hair-colours. I suppose the crusher/undecided is fairly common in queer anime romances (from Aoi Hana to Bloom into You), but the supportive-friend environment is somewhat more rare.
My favourite is still Tonari no Youkai san, though it’s sort of settling down a little at the moment. I do really like the characters, though. At the beginning of the season I kept thinking of it as a mix of Kamichu and Tamayura. That’s still there, but there’s a bit more plot-drama than I imagined, so I wonder if I don’t need a third show in there? Then again, it really is it’s own thing.
I’m also liking Salad Bowl more and more. It’s the sort of multi-character show you tend not to get into, though, so it’s likely not a good recommendation for you. But it’s perfect for me. A nice show to relax to.
The Raven Doesn’t Choose Its Master is really interesting to watch, too, though I’m reading other people being bored by it. I can see this, but I’m fine with it.
I did drop a few shows, mostly because there’s a lot to watch and I just don’t have time for everything. Jii-san Baa-san Wakagaeru seemed to thrive mostly on stereotypes, down to the overly “cutesy-old” voice acting – not bad exactly, but a tad annoying. Oy Tonbo has better old people than this show, for example. And that’s sort of… sad for a show with that concept.
That said, this also a season where I often find myself prioritising silly to bad shows over my favourites, as I’m often not in the mood for paying attention. This hasn’t really happened before; it’s weird.
It’s not a bad season, all in all, but I’ve been spoiled a lot lately. It feels like I’m watching a lot of stuff I’ve seen better this season. I wonder if I’m just growing anime-old; having seen so much that it’s getting harder to take in new stuff and easier to unfairly compare? If Sengoku Youko didn’t take a break this season, it would be right at the top no questions asked.
Sorry for the crazy late reply… even more of a space case than usual.
>I tend to do better with idol and idol-adjacent shows if they ignore that topic (so I can, too).
I don’t have a particular preference either way. I think it’s a good thing to at least occasionally examine the darker sides. (Though none have ever been as brave as *Wake Up Girls* S1E2.) But that’s obviously very much a YMMV thing.
It will be interesting to compare how it shakes out in both shows… If they (especially Jellyfish) ever get their act together and do something. That’s what’s so frustrating about Jellyfish. And if they’re going for the slow burn, they’re failing.
Re: Whisper It’s been slowly climbing in my estimation, and this weeks ep (after my post) just pushed it up another notch. Good point about the circle of personal and supportive relationships. Poor Aki though…
Re: Camp The new arc is not “business as usual”. I loved this arc in the manga, and they’re doing a decent job of adapting it. Though they’re toned it down some…
Re: Raven Yeah, it was huge in my bubble at the start, but it does seem to have fallen off the radar… But then a lot of my mutuals are moving beyond anime for various reasons. I need to widen my circle.
>I wonder if I’m just growing anime-old; having seen so much that it’s getting harder to take in new stuff and easier to unfairly compare?
I’ve felt that way sometimes… but right about the time I hit bottom, we get an Overtake, or Freiren, or G Witch, or even something as silly as Do It Yourself and my faith is restored.
I didn’t remember when I dropped Wake Up Girls, so I went back to see if I dropped it after episode 1 or 2. It turns out I’ve seen episode 2, and that’s precisely the episode that got me angry (it’s rare for me to get angry at anime; I usually roll my eyes) – angry enough to instantly drop the show. It’s a bit of a sore spot for me, but for me this felt more like a gambit than like a willingness to face the deeper problems with the very way the business is conducted. In a sense, they played it like supporters vs. the seedy underbelly. I personally think what Radio does is braver: they’re actually addressing the fiction – the problematic status of what comes with the job, the fiction at the heart of it. It’s far easier to address the sexual commodification, because the idol business rests on some sort of purity cult. Radio tackles the fiction and what it’s like to live under it head on. The latest episode for example (I just watched it today) was especially impressive in some ways, but ultimately still didn’t quite get it out there. If I compare that to that WuG episode, I’d say Radio tried and failed, while WuG didn’t even understand the problem (or understood it and used a gambit to remain in denial). I’m not going into details about the Radio episode here, as I’m not sure you’ve seen it yet, and I can’t go into details about the WuG episode as I only remember how it made me feel and some “highlights”, which I don’t trust because I’m biased (I’d have to re-watch the episode, but I don’t really want to). I don’t want to diss WuG, but that episode is precisely what I don’t really want to see.
I’ve been trying to figure out what my favourite idol show is, and it’s probably Locodol. It’s the small scale setting, and the fact that many of the original audience knew the girls from when they were little that sidestepped the issue in believable ways. The semi-professional mood the show portrayed felt very familiar to me.
As for Raven: I quite like it as it is. It’s not boring me at all. A lot of the time you know something more important than is apparent has just happened, but you’ll only learn a few episodes later why that was important (an example would be “that Koto”). The show doesn’t hold your hand, and if you’re used to the straight-forward shounen mode of watching anime, you might miss a lot. A lot of things aren’t outright stated. A half-a-second flinch on someone’s face might be addressed in two weeks. I wonder what I’ve missed? Given that if the show bores you then you’re more likely to miss important stuff, I can see how people would get… silent about the show. The show basically has two straight-forward and open main characters who serve as the point-of-view, while everyone else guards their expressions so as to navigate their (politically) perilous surroundings.
Bartender: Glass of God: I guess it’s going over better with me than you. I do admit that I much prefer episodes in which Sasakura is outside of Edenhall, as that’s where he lets his emotions, worries, and other aspects of personality show. Behind the counter, he’s an unflappable, equanimous pseudo-Buddha. Outside, he’s worried that he isn’t going to be able to live up to the expectations of those around him, but still does want to pass on what he’s learned. The barrier between the two Sasakuras does seem to have breached a bit in the most recent episode, but I still prefer the outside episodes the most.
Jellyfish Can’t Swim in the Night: It’s sort of veered from what we were promised, which is, I think, what’s hitting you differently. We were promised a half-CGDCT, half-idol show, we are getting that plus some yuri romance. I know that it was after you wrote this entry, but the most recent episode has alleviated all of my worries, slight though they were. I’m happy with it, for now.
Spice and Wolf: merchant meets the wise wolf: I’ve got no complaints, other than I also wasn’t that impressed with vengeful Holo in the sewers. Makes me worry for the later parts of the shepherdess arc. Well, we’ll see soon enough.
Laid-Back Camp: I cannot get enough Nadeshiko. And I feel like that is enough commentary.
Whisper Me a Love Song: I was starting to worry that they weren’t going to really be able to sustain a whole season, especially with Aki being so chill about things. Turns out that there are really a couple of story arcs here, and now we’re moving on into the second one I guess.
For me, I finally dropped Unnamed Memory. For a show which relies so heavily on the personalities of the two main characters, and especially their chemistry, it has a couple of dead fish heading things up. Anyway, I stopped caring about what happens to either of them, gave it an extra episode to correct the problem, then just dumped it. On the other hand, Mysterious Disappearances has managed, despite the occasional leering fanservice (and it is really only occasional, which is sadly refreshing, but it is creepy and not very fun), to get more interesting than it started out. A Salad Bowl of Eccentrics is definitely my favorite of the season now, especially now after the horse-track episode. Urusei Yatsura is pretty great, as it has been for, well, I guess this is season 4 now of this new version. Black Butler and Tonari no Yōkai-san are both flirting with annoying me, but have managed to stay above that threshold so far. And I guess that’s it for the new shows (and remakes). I’ll probably talk about the older shows I’m watching somewhere else.
The spam filter ate both your posts and I discovered them there. (Since it was suspicious that you hadn’t posted.) I marked them both “not spam” but left the other one unpublished since it was just a quick rehash of this one. Hopefully it won’t happen again.
Re: Kami no Glass We’re an episode behind (two by the time we get to watch), so can’t comment on the latest. Otherwise, I think we’re mostly in agreement.
Re: Jellyfish My problem isn’t that it’s not what we were promised… It’s that it’s got all the parts, and the demonstrated chops, to be so much better than it is. I’m loving the individual episodes (mostly, what the hell was with that new character this week?), it’s just the annoying lack of something larger… It’s not episodic, but it refuses to take advantage of that.
Re: Camp Yeah, it’s getting to the point where it’s hard to say more “LOOOOVE IT”. But also to the point where no more is needed.
Re: Whisper I am hoping the new arc doesn’t overshadow what was established in the weekend’s episode. I mean, Yori’s musical career is a nice plot on it’s own, but it’s not central if you get what I mean. But if it gets Yori down – there’s all kinds of interesting potential plots.
For Salad, you should probably scroll up and chat with Dawnstorm, looks like he’s a fan too.
Yep, I’m really enjoying Salad Bowl. I’ve liked it from episode one, but it’s been growing on me more and more. In a sense it reminds me of them good old Screw Ball comedies of the fifties. I mean it’s clearly anime, but still…. Shows like this pop up now and then. I’ve been trying to remember other shows that gave me that feeling, but my memory’s not up to what it once was. Gamers, maybe?
Oh, and the horse-race episode was great.
I wrote a longer comment, but WordPress just ate it. So, quickly:
Bartender and Jellyfish: I seem to be liking both more than you, though I am a little less happy with Bartender. I think it’s better when Sasakura is not in Edenhall. Jellyfish has added yuri romance to its initial premise, which is all right by me.
Spice and Wolf: I agree with you on Holo’s vengeful goddess form. Makes me worry a bit for the later parts of the shepherdess arc that is just starting now.
Laid-Back Camp: I love Nadeshiko.
Whisper Me a Love Song: Oh, there are two story arcs here. Cool, I’m into it, was wondering how they were going to manage a full season.
Had to publish this one so it wasn’t hanging in the queue… Main reply above.
I’ve left my comments on this season to the end of the season as I wasn’t quite sure what I thought about some of the shows I watched.
Jellyfish: I thought it a decent enough show. It went for a soft ending which neatly wraps up all the previous conflicts. That was okay but I thought the way they did that was pretty shallow considering the nature of their previous conflicts. Still I liked Jellyfish over all and liked how it was informed by current social media and cultural trends. They could have taken a more dramatic course but as I’ve said before that’s not Doga Kobo’s style.
I thought Girls Band Cry was a better show. It was excellently animated with interesting characters who displayed real growth and whose approaches to their personal issues was believable and grounded. In fact that’s a good way to describe the show overall. – believable and grounded. Over the season it has accumulated a very healthy fan base, both overseas and in Japan despite it not being licensed for overseas streaming. The clamors for a second season is growing and hopefully the powers that be at Toeii listen to that groundswell.
Another show that could do with a second season is Salad Bowl of Eccentrics. I was entertained by Salad Bowl from the very beginning and really enjoyed its gentle irony and low key approach. Livia’s adventures in the modern world were often understated and very funny and I would love to see more of that soon.
Another show I thought was pretty good was HighSpeed Etoile. Once we got through the info dumping setting the scene and got used to the futuristic car designs, it was pretty good. I liked how it was reasonably informed by current Formula One strategy and tactics, and the races, once you worked out who was who were quite entertaining. Dont expect a lot of character development as the real stars of the show are the CGI car designs. This is a Studio a-Cat production who have something of a background in CGI based shows and they have done a pretty good job with this one. Like most Studio a-Cat productions, the story telling is tight and moves along at a satisfying pace.
One show that did surprise me was Tensei Kizoku, Kantei Skill de Nariagaru (As a Reincarnated Aristocrat, I’ll Use My Appraisal Skill to Rise in the World). Its basically a typical isekai but proved to be an easy watch without the dumber elements often found in isekais. I was able to watch the whole thing in one sitting, and was surprised I was able to do so without getting bored. It’s worth a look I think and is certainly set up for a second series (I hope).
Overall though, I thought Mushoku Tensei II was the best show of the season with excellent animation and a solid and grounded ongoing story (as usual).
On to Summer 2024!
I’m hoping to get a season wrap up post done over next week… Gotta wait for Euph to finish! Don’t want to say much until then.