Man, procrastination and lack of attention to the calendar… Bites me in the butt every time. However, I’m only really anticipating three shows this season, so this will be pretty quick.
Love Live! Superstar!! Season 3
Superstar, so far, has been a more than worthy successor to the OG. (I’m just going to pretend Sunshine never even happened.)
One the best parts was the introduction of an actual villain, one with the skills to back her nastiness up. And now, Margarete Wien is twice humbled. First, by losing the Love Live. Second, by becoming Kanon’s kohai. I’m grinning in anticipation.
However, I mourn the passing of Nicholas Dupree, who reviewed the first two seasons. He was a honest-to-Honoka fanboy, well versed in the show’s lore and tropes, and utterly unafraid to call them on their bullshit. The anime community has suffered a great loss.
Ranma1/2 (2024)
Currently kind of a fad to remake older shows, and it’s been a mixed bag. Fruits Basket was flat out outstanding. OTOH, Spice and Wolf: MERCHANT MEETS THE WISE WOLF, was at best just ‘above average’ other than the final arc. Still, I can’t resist checking it out because, as you know, weird harem romances are a Very Derek Thing.
Still, the bastards better keep their money grubbing paws the ef off of Nana and Angel Beats. Everyone probably has their own list, their own lines in the sand, and those are mine.
Sword Art Online Alternative: Gun Gale Online II
Last, and yeah it kind of deserves to be here, a second season of SAO’s odd cousin. Other than the finale, I like the first season well enough, so I’ll check out this one just because.
If that sounds like it’s verging on the edge of damning with faint praise, yeah. I meant to do that.
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Usually, at this point, I’d delve into my more speculative shows… But they’re all pretty much speculative this season, with none really standing out for me. And it probably doesn’t help that I’m still in a weird mental place after unexpectedly losing a close RL friend (not the Nicholas, who I mentioned above) of many decades.
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A note on the next few weeks… I anticipate getting my first impressions posts out on time. My 3rd episode reviews will be delayed because I’m out of town in mid Oct, flying home for my brother’s wedding. Will catch up as soon as possible when I get back.
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That’s pretty much all I’ve got. As usual I will keep an eye on my mutuals on Twitter (X) and Bluesky, as well as ANN’s Preview Guide.
And of course, I’ve gotten more than one good suggestion from y’all’s comments on my posts.
Anyhow, a full list of what’s available can be found on the Live Chart Seasonal Guide… Take a gander, and drop a comment telling us what you’re looking forward to or let’s chat about whatever else is on your mind!
Apprentice Mages Lounge. 
Yes, losing that friend so suddenly has been quite a blow to a lot of us. Be well.
As for shows I’m looking toward, like you most of them are speculative, but a couple are more obvious. First, I’ll be watching After-school Hanako-kun, though that hardly counts as the last season of that was four episodes of 5 minutes each. Toilet-bound Hanako-kun is supposed to be getting a new season in January, so it’s not a long wait for more substantial ghost fare. Uzumaki is already having episodes show up on Max, but I understand that it’s also going to be an abbreviated series of only four episodes, though at least those are full-length.
I can only watch Netflix on my computer for now, so if I can discipline myself to watch there I’ve got DAN DA DAN and, like you, Ranma ½, plus I’ve been trying to work through Onmyōji, although that’s in my “old anime” track. I’ve gotten further in my Death Note re-watch, so it’s not like I’ve been doing well at watching Netflix. DAN DA DAN is about a girl who believes in ghosts but not aliens and a boy who believes in aliens but not ghosts, and the two visit paranormal spots to determine who is right, plus unanticipated romantic feelings ensuing.
On Crunchyroll, in addition to the Hanako-kun shorts, I’ve got Acro Trip, which I know little about other than it’s a mahō shōjo story that sounds something like Gushing Over Magical Girls without the porn. A magical girl fan becomes a villain to help her favorite magical girl shine because her normal villain is incompetent and so nobody cares. Then there are the two entirely speculative ones, The Do-Over Damsel Conquers the Dragon Emperor and Nina the Starry Bride. Do-Over Damsel sounds a lot like Tearmoon Empire, which I liked, but I’m a little unsure of whether this is going to be as good. Starry Bride is pure speculation. I found the capsule description on LiveChart to be interesting, and it’s not like there’s a lot else going on this season.
Finally, Prime is bringing over another mahō shōjo offering, Magilumiere Co. Ltd., which is given in some sources as Magilumiere Magical Girls Inc. The original Japanese is 株式会社マジルミエ (Kabushiki Gaisha Majirumie). It looks like that one is about a company that finds a way to make magical girls, who then, of course, go on to fight for justice and love, probably.
Nothing much of interest on HiDive this season, so I’ll drop my sub until something shows up. I looked briefly at How I Attended an All-Guy’s Mixer, but I’d only have gone for that if there was some other reason to keep HiDive this season (I thought they might get Acro Trip, but that didn’t happen). After the last episode of this season of Oshi no Ko drops this week, I’ll be putting that service on hiatus.
Oh, and of course Wonderful PreCure! is still running. The subversion of the villain trope and the downplaying of violence in this generation of Pretty Cures really sets this one apart. The villains still act like Pretty Cure villains, spoiled, a little stupid, massively and largely undeservedly overconfident, and constantly doing the same thing over and over no matter how many times it fails, but this time they have a legitimate point behind their actions and that is making the lead character start to question what the Pretty Cures are doing. I’m sure she’ll reconcile everything in the end, but it’s fascinating to watch.
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I didn’t know you knew him as well… (From work?) It’s also that this is the fourth long time friend (three from high school) that I’ve lost in five years. I am too young for this shit.
>plus unanticipated romantic feelings ensuing
I had to chuckle at that line… That’s such a common trope that it should practically be a genre unto itself.
Acro Trip and Magilumiere Co. Ltd. both seem interesting. The latter I’m not so sure about though, I’m just not sure about the vibe.
Yeah, I’m tempted to put HiDive on hiatus if nothing pops up during the premiere season… Their Roku UI/UX is such utter garbage, and they took away ‘grandfather’ status for us early adopters. And lately, it just seems they aren’t even trying. I would not be surprised if they don’t last another year.
Curse the bastards that let Crunchy gain a functional monopoly.
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Oh! No, I thought you were talking about a mutual friend who just passed from a sudden stroke. We (may have) met in her house. I’m sorry if I am the one to let you know.
Oh, the HiDive experience on Roku is so incredibly frustrating. It used to be that it just wouldn’t mark episodes as watched, even though it was supposed to, but now it isn’t even supposed to. Very annoying interface. I really wish they’d do better, especially since they’ve got the license for several really good shows mixed in with the morass of low-grade nonsense and softcore porn. Mostly, they seem to be the service for stereotypical otaku, but then they have things like Made in Abyss, Legend of the Galactic Heroes (the original adaptation), and of course Oshi no Ko. But sliding by things like Kämpfer, Gushing Over Magical Girls, or Chained Soldier to get to them seems sleazy. I guess Crunchyroll has things like My Wife is the Student Council President or Magikano, but somehow they don’t seem as bad there, probably due to the better interface.
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Hm, I’m not really interested in any of those. I’ve enjoyed the first season of Live Live well enough (after trying three times), but never watched any of the follow-up seasons. Ranma was never more than okay for me back in the day, and that was before the internet when I’d watch whatever I could my hands on. Not really interested in a reboot. (Slapstick Takahashi doesn’t really work for me.) And I’ve not watcht the first season of Gun Gale Online, so I won’t start with season 2.
And… I really have nothing either. I mean, there’s lots of sequels and continuations I’ll watch (above all Natsume’s Book of Friends), but new shows? I’ve got nothing. Maybe Kinoko Inu? The plot sounds like a cross between My Roommate is a Cat and Bananya. Maybe that’ll be fun?
There’ll probably be shows I’ll enjoy, but nothing that stands out in the preview.
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I mentioned a couple of possibilities to Chris, but, yeah, this looks to potentially be a thin season. In some ways, that could be good… I really need to tackle my photography backlog, a couple of bookbinding projects, and the Gunpla my wife gave me.
And that’s not even getting into my anime backlog.
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It’s not likely to be a slow season for me; there are plenty of sequels I’m interested in after all. It’s just that I’m always most excited about new shows; I tend to only skim the preview pages, because I really like clicking on stuff I know nothing about. It’s the anime lottery.
If anything stands out, I’ll use this thread to give show a little spotlight. So far, not much.
I do suggest watching a few minutes of Uzumaki, even if you’re not interested. They’ve been animating quite literally a manga. By that I mean, black and white, brushstrokes and all. The only thing missing is pannelling. I’ve never seen anything like it. It’s mindblowing (and Uzumaki is the perfect show to try this on, with it’s fascination with spirals). I didn’t know, before reading Chris’ post, that it’s only 4 episodes, but it actually makes sense. I’ve seen the live action movie in the early 2000s, which mistakenly made me think I like Junji Ito (I’ve never really clicked with any of his animated stuff so far). While the movie had an original ending (manga still ongoing at the time), I wasn’t sure if there was material for an entire season. 4 seasons seem enough to me, even though I also feel they’re going at a pretty brisk pace. I have to say the, the direction is outstanding on this show.
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It does seem to be a pretty thin season doesn’t it? Love Live Superstar 3 is my highlight. I regard Superstar as the best of the various Love Live iterations and being an unashamed Keke Tang fan I will be there!
SAO Gun Gale I will also watch. The first season was enjoyable so I will be following up on that.
Seirei Gensouki was a reasonable isekai which was good comfort viewing so I will check that out too. Arifureta Season one was good, season 2 less so, so I will give the new season a go too (with reservations).
In regard to the new shows not much stands out. The first few shows I have watched I have ranked pretty low so far. I watched Acro Trip and am on the verge of dropping it. I’ll give it the mandatory three episodes however. Once again I note the dearth of sports themed shows. There is a high school romance show where the protagonists are both sporty types and Oi Tonbo! is back (Not watching however) but that’s about all.
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In my recent rewatch of LLS!, I ended up being a Sumire stan during the first season. (Galaxy!) But man, during the second I never could settle on just one… But yeah, if it’s not the best, it’s certainly the best of the successors.
Yeah, I’ve already checked out quite a few… (and a lot of bodies have hit the floor) but I’ll be talking about those in my first impressions post. I expect that Monday or Tues at the latest.
Three eps is not mandatory for me… It’s just the first of two gut check points (the other being mid-season), where I make sure it’s worth keeping a given show. I’ll happily drop at any point, and have dropped more than one without even completing the first ep.
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