Crazy busy IRL last week and weekend, but finally getting caught up with shows and writing… So, here’s my thoughts on the shows I’ve watched so far. Some good, some bad, some middling.
Hit the jump and let’s 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.
My Wife Has No Emotion
Boku no Tsuma wa Kanjou ga Nai
At first, I was kind of “meh”… But the more I think about it, I’ve shifted over to “nah”. I’ve already suffered through a season and a half of Rent-A-Girlfriend and that’s more than enough of protagonists with serious self esteem issues to last anyone a lifetime.
Status: Originally three episode rule keeper, dropped after reflection.
Alya Sometimes Hides Her Feelings in Russian
Tokidoki Bosotto Russia-go de Dereru Tonari no Alya-san
A tsundere, not one but two childhood friends (one of the whom MC-kun doesn’t remember)… Very much a “stop me if you’ve heard this one before” type of show.
It’s not bad, it’s just (other than it’s one gimmick) kind of borderline generic. And “lucky pervert” moments are so overdone, though in his favor MC-kun doesn’t actually appear to be a pervert.
Status: On probation under the three-episode rule.
Days with My Stepsister
Gimai Seikatsu
That was… rather more serious than I expected. I daresay, I actually like that. It’s refreshingly different, especially in this season’s run of romances. (Which are, in the main, rather ordinary.) Interesting how the differences between our protagonists upbringing is shaping their relationship.
I think it will definitely take another episode or two to get a decent handle on where this series is going…
Status: Keeper.
My Deer Friend Nokotan
Shikanoko Nokonoko Koshitantan
Not my style of comedy. That’s it. That’s the review.
Status: Dropped. No regrets.
Pseudo Harem
Giji-Harem
OMG. If there was ever an anime that was written specifically for Saori Hayami – Pseudo Harem is that anime. She is absolutely able to cut loose with her full (and impressive) range, and the animators are keeping pace. (Mostly. There were a couple of times where Rin slid off model.)
The questions… Where does it go from here? Can they keep it up without wearing out the viewer? I have no answers. But I’m definitely curious enough to hang around and find out.
Status: KEEPER. (Not in the least basically because Saori Hayami.)
The Café Terrace and Its Goddesses Season 2
Megami no Cafe Terrace 2nd Season
Familia Café Terrace is open for business and it’s Goddesses are in their heaven. All is right in my world. There’s hints it’s not gonna be in theirs, but I have no doubt our little pseudo family will pull together and pull through.
Status: Keeper. And maybe finally I’ll be able to choose a Best Girl.
Plus-Sized Elf
Elf-san wa Yaserarenai
I don’t mind fanservice, but something about Elf just rubbed me wrong.
Status: Dropped. And then I sought brain bleach to get the ick out of my head.
Sakuna: Of Rice and Ruin
Tensui no Sakuna-hime
If Sakuna was based on a video game, this episode was very definitely it’s unskippable opening cutscene. It also didn’t help that the episode was obviously padded at the end to reach a very specific point.
And Sakuna herself is annoying as f*ck. A spoiled little self centered brat with no noticeable redeeming qualities. *sigh* Yeah, yeah, she has to have to room to grow or else we don’t have a series. I get it, I get it, but I don’t have to like it.
Status: Keeper, without invoking the three episode rule. But it really needs to up it’s game and pop it’s characters at least into 2.5D.
Senpai is an Otokonoko
Senpai wa Otokonoko
I’m not certain what to say here. And I think part of that is we’re looking at a show that’s a pretty slow burn. 
The kind-of, sort-of cliffhanger right at the end seems to say there’s a lot going on that we don’t know yet.
On one hand, I appreciate Saki’s “I fell in love with who, not what” attitude. On the other, her intensity is just a little bit creepy.
Status: Solid keeper. Senpai, you definitely have my attention.
VTuber Legend: How I Went Viral after Forgetting to Turn Off My Stream
VTuber Nanda ga Haishin Kiri Wasuretara Densetsu ni Natteta
That was… something, wasn’t it?!? What exactly that thing is, I am not at all clear about after the first episode. Maniac energy is cool and all, but for me you have to go somewhere with it. Where though? I guess we’ll find out as we go along.
Status: Keeper.
Narenare: Cheer for You!
Nanare Hananare
Pretty much a typical stage-setting episode. Thankfully no infodumps, but we did have a ton of characters thrown at us alongside a couple of plot hooks. (Insert Derek’s usual grumpiness about introducing ensemble casts.)
I’m not saying it’s a bad show, maybe a touch generic… Only that we really don’t have enough information to make an informed judgement yet.
And I think I’m going to make an early nomination for Best Girl – Suzuha, the parkour girl. And it wouldn’t hurt one bit if they turned Anna down a notch or two.
Status: Keeper.
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And there you have it… The first (?) round of first impression for the Summer 2024 season. We’ve still got Losing Heroines to go, but I don’t really want to hold this up any longer for just one show. I’m going to be working on other shows for the rest of the week, and I’ll get out a part 2 next week maybe?
I really need to free up time and head space for my Spring season review. (Euph and Jellyfish are killing me there…)
Anyhow, everything I intend to watch other than Heroines has premiered, so there’s no limitations on comments. Feel free to discuss whatever. And of course, I actually mean whatever. As usual, the comment section is something of a free for all.
Over to you! Drop a comment and let’s chat!
Apprentice Mages Lounge. 
Looks like the only crossover we have this season is Sakuna. That’s fine, but I will wait for more episodes, at least one more, to say anything about it.
From last season, I am fairly upset by how Whisper Me a Love Song was mistreated. I hope that they get the opportunity to finish the final episodes sooner than later, but I do recall how Wonder Egg Priority was similarly fumbled. I look forward to hearing what you have to say about Jellyfish, though I will say that I am not particularly happy with the ending. On the whole, I think that Urusei Yatsura, Yurucamp, Salad Bowl, and Mysterious Disappearances were my favorites of what we’ve gotten, though I am certainly anticipating Love Song finishing up.
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Yeah, you can’t say much about Sakuna with what we’ve been shown so far. Setup episodes are kinda like that. Hopefully, it gets out of the way soon and we get going with the actual story.
Also, absolutely agreed re: Whisper. (Even though, plotwise, it was stumbling towards the end.)
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@Wife: Yeah, well. It’s better than Helpful Fox Senko San. Best thing about the show is the wife’s character design. A very interesting balance of robo-cute and uncanny valley here. I like it. Beyond that, though, the writing doesn’t seem to get the same feeling across, and as a result I have no idea where the show’s going.
@Alya: I like it better than I thought I would. For some reason I expected the main character to keep his Russian a secret either because he’s too shy and embarrassed, or because he’s using secret knowledge to tease her. I didn’t see the social awkwardness of missing the timing window coming: it’s far more relatable. I’m enjoying this and am about to watch episode two.
@Days with my Stepsister: Yeah, that was pretty good. The constant melancholy mood could wear on me; they need to mix it up, which they might once the other characters come in. This show needs something like a genki support, or a troll of some sort, I think. Maybe not. I’ll see.
Nokotan: I quite liked it. For that director, it’s a low-mid-tier comedy (I did a list on Animefeminist to figure this out); but for comedy on the whole it’s good mid-tier. I like the utter nonsense of it.
@Giji Harem: Romance of the season for me. Reading the pv text, I had the completely wrong idea. Our leads have a good chemistry going, and the acts have had a number of different social functions already (playful bonding, overplaying embarrassment, practising acting…). I’m not worried, partly also because the side characters (such as the club president) are fairly distinct, too. Probably my favourite premier so far.
@Plus-Sized Elf: I must have missed this. I didn’t know it aired already. I’m fairly wary of the show, to be honest. Anime doesn’t have a good record with fat jokes.
@Sakuna: Second favourite premier, after Giji Harem. I don’t mind Sakuna. I’ll definitely admit she’s more type than character, and I’m predicting a fairly straight forward development for her. I’m not expecting a deep story, either. What I’m curious about is how the show will treat the demons. The main draw is just the shows energy and looks. Style over substance. Good fun. I’m loving it.
@Senpai is an Otokonoko: Yes, this is nice. Our main girl would annoy the hell out of me in real life, but I’m fine with her in anime. You’ve chosen an excellent screen-shot. That scene killed me. Don’t tell me he’s out in school, but in the closet at home? (Should I be using “he”? I get the feeling it’s more cross-dressing, but otokonoko is inconclusive. I should type this response in Japanese, then I could just avoid pronouns [I don’t speak Japanese]).)
@V-Tuber Legend: It’s… okay? I have nothing much to say about it. Don’t remember much. Am not interested in V-tubers. I wasn’t bored, so see no reason to drop it, but it’s not particularly memorable for me.
@Cheer: I quite like the set-up: Accident not overplayed, and we’re going to back into Cheerleading through a detour it seems. As usual, the foreigner is totally Japanese with a single those-wacky-foreigners gimmick to mark her out. I don’t think this’ll displace Anima Yell as my favourite cheerleading anime, but it’s at least going to better than the second half of Cheer Danshi. (And that’s all the cheerleading anime I’ve seen.)
Other shows:
@Ramen Akaneko: It was fun; well written and nice character dynamics. Sadly the production isn’t exactly making the most of kitty cuteness. An example of what I meant by well-written: They need a human helper (they need to be brushed so the hair doesn’t get into the food, and they’re not good at it), so during the job interview, the boss asks the applicant if she likes cats. She says she’s more of a dog person, really, and he shoots back: “You’re hired.” The scene’s over fairly quickly and it’s played as a joke. Later in the episode, though, while she’s brushing them, she asks why she got the job, and the cat who’s being brushed tells her that, well, their selling point is that they’re cats, so they play that up out there, and the last thing they want is another cat lover “backstage”. It’s not award-winning writing prowess, but it’s enough to give you confidence that the show knows what it’s doing.
There are quite a few other decent shows: Dungeon People has more going on than I expected. The Elusive Samurai is an interesting shounen (if it follows history it won’t have a happy ending). Shoushimin Series was nice – I expect to get more into it as it goes on (Hyouka wasn’t love at first sight either).
And I’m having lots of fun with Isekai Shikaku (where Osamu Dasai gets isekaid, and just wants a good place to die. The world’s called “Zauberberg”, and I’m wondering if it’s just German exoticism, or if it’s a Thomas Mann reference.)
So, yeah, for me this is going to be (aprat from SgkYk – you know what this stands for) Giji Harem and Sakuna. And then probably Isekai Shikaku and Elusive Samurai. And some nice side dishes. Not a bad season so far.
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And out of nowhere: Love is Indivisible by Twins. The first episode is great. Twins in love with the same guy: first episode is the story from first date to break-up with one of them, first from her point of view, and then from her sisters. No idea where this goes from now on. But it was great: melancholy, cheeky, messy, and deeply personal. We don’t have the guy’s perspective (yet?).
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Re: Giji Harem – So far, I’d say it’s second to Stepsister. I like it from the rom-com POV, but so far the characters are a little on the one note side. Which is fine, even though it usually isn’t, because of how Saori Hayama is just killing it. I’ve got my eye on the club president too, because Junichi Suwabe is also a damm good VA. I’ve watched shows for worse reasons than having top notch VAs.
Re: Senpai I stumbled over the same issue… What exactly Makato is. At least until the show clarifies things, I think I’m just going to go the cowardly route and use “they”. And no, that screen shot wasn’t an accident. Next to the final scene of Stepsister, it’s the most powerful among the premieres so far.
OK, I’m done rating things by comparison to Stepsister… But I guess it also shows how I rate/feel about without a full reply on it’s own.
re: Cheer Well, you’ve watched on more cheerleader show than I have. :) But going by the tags on Anime-Planet, it’s not like it’s a crowded genre. I didn’t dislike like it, it’s just there was so little plot or character meat to chew on.
“SgkYk – you know what this stands for” Actually… I don’t…
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<blockquote>“SgkYk – you know what this stands for” Actually… I don’t…</blockquote>
I made a reply earlier but it seems to not have gone through. Might have been too a short a comment? This has happened to me in the past. I’m typing all this just to make the post longer, in case that was the problem. (There was some sort of message, but I clicked it away too quickly.) Anyway, the show:
Sengoku Youko
Sorry for the abbreviation, but I feel like a broken record repeating myself…
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Yeah, the short reply seems to have gotten caught in the spam filter. I knew about that show, but the title didn’t stick…
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