Man, this season has flown by… <crickets> OK, that sounded much funnier in my head than it looks on screen, but I’m just going to let it stand. Anyhow, here we are at mid-season, so let’s hit the jump and take a look at how things are going.
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.
365 Days to the Wedding
Kekkon Surutte, Hontou desu ka?
Episodes 1-6
Wherever 365 Days is going, it’s taking its own sweet time… But other than Ep 6’s weirdness it has been a decent trip. (Really, getting that point across should not have taken an entire episode or as much weirdness.)
Of course, “watching two dorks accidentally fall in love” is among my favorite forms of romance. Heck, any romance featuring two dorks of any stripe usually gets high marks in my book.
But what would really elevate the series is to finally get more into the backstories of our two leads. Especially Takuya-kun. He didn’t run so far from his dad for nothing.
Status: Keeper with modest reservations.
Blue Box
Ao no Hako
Episodes 1-7
Blue Box is, for the most part, a classic slow burn… I mean, it took until Ep 6 for the pink haired Childhood Friend to truly catch on that something is going on. Something she encouraged, and now (though she won’t admit it yet) something she’s starting to regret encouraging.
MC-kun is a classic in his own right, a classic blundering dunderhead that is. All of the protagonists need to actually talk straight to the rest of the triangle, but none more than he. But… the show would be like 2.7 episodes long if he did that, and we can’t have that.
Chinatsu-senpai remains something of a mystery. A blank counter being shoved about the board by the whims of the plot. And I absolutely hate when shows do that. Writers, give the poor girl some agency! (The close of ep 7 indicates we may be close to that.)
I guess, I’m saying the show is generic and in a lot of ways, paint-by-numbers. There’s nothing really wrong with that, it is enjoyable because the colors chosen complement each other…
Status: In more crowded season, Blue Box might be in danger. Here, it’s snuck into the acceptable range. Keeper.
Kinoko Inu: Mushroom Pup
Episodes 1-3
We sat down to watch Ep4, and started talking about the show… And realized that neither one of us was actually enjoying it very much. Just too slow, and lacked any structure, point, or compelling characters. My Roommate is a Cat covered much the same territory and did so much better.
Status: Dropped.
Love Live! Superstar!! Season 3
Episodes 1-6
I am having second thoughts about this season. The one new character introduced (Tomari) is a colorless cipher. Margarete worked fine as one-note villain… But is much less enchanting as a one-note main character. Both are being unnaturally molded by the plot. (And worse yet, they’re shoving much better main characters into the background.)
There’s also not room in the show for two full time groups, so both are getting short shrift. And then both were shoved aside for Keke’s arc… But on the flipside, it was nice to see her situation get cleanly resolved even if it involved some serious deus ex machina.
(Missed this until I went looking for my screenie for this post… Even though they’re “all singing together”, Tomakanote (what an awkward name), are still off to the side by themselves.)
You always know how a Love Live series is going to end, and that’s really hurting the show right now because it limits the depth of the contrived drama. I can see what they’re trying to do, but it’s not working well within the bounds of the franchise tropes.
So far, “Special Color” (S3E3) is the only song to really capture my attention. The OP song isn’t bad, but their outfits are *awful* and that colors my reaction.
Status: I am not entirely happy, but I stan too many of these girls to simply walk away. I’m going to keep on keeping on.
Magilumiere Co. Ltd.
Kabushikigaisha Magi-Lumière
Episodes 1-6
This show is in many ways, so ridiculously over-the-top that I can’t help but like it. Plus, it gets bonus Derek Points for being absolutely committed to its premise. Y’all know how much I love shows that stick to their guns, no matter how ridiculous it is.
But it also takes it’s basic premise seriously. We’ve seen several different types of [corporate] magical girls, and each is believable. We’ve seen them operate exactly how you’d expect professionals of various stripes to behave. And encountering the real world problems you could expect.
Overall, it sits comfortably alongside 365 Days and (maybe?) Blue Box as the top shows of the season. Depending on how the second half goes, and how those two resolve their plots, I would not at all be surprised to see Magilumiere walk off with the gold this season.
Status: Solid keeper, and if you haven’t you should definitely check it out.
Ranma 1/2 (2024)
Episode 1
I wasn’t really feeling it after watching the first episode… And after getting back from vacation I just couldn’t bring myself to watch the second. Just gonna call it after a single episode. Not my jam, not the show’s fault.
Status: Dropped.
Sword Art Online Alternative: Gun Gale Online II
Episodes 1-6
Not sure how much I’m watching this show because I’m liking it, and how much because I sometimes feel a certain sense of duty to sequels. It’s not that I particularly dislike it… Or that I’m bored or anything.
But there is a certain feeling of “been there, done that.” There’s been some detail changes, but overall one Squad Jam is much like another. And like the first season, there’s a ton of disposable characters they’ve spent a good part of the first six episodes disposing of. They’re also relying heavily on you being conversant with their details from the first season… Which I admit I’m not. I didn’t rewatch it in preparation.
But, that being said… The last couple of episodes have mixed that up. Pitohui is indeed Up To Something, and at her cleverest most evil best. I can’t recall where I saw it…. But there’s a theory that LLENN is the actual betrayer and that Pitohui, for her own reasons, claimed she was the betrayer. That actually explains a lot, especially how LLENN has basically shut down.
I think my only real regret is that we’re not going to see the hoped for bare knuckles no holds barred fight between LLENN and SHINC.
Status: So far, the sequel is a much lesser show than it’s 1st season. But my interest is picking up. Keeper.
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Sorry for missing the Week 3 post, just not enough energy after getting back from my vacation. Which by the way, was awesome. Got real sugar cake, at tons of real BBQ, got to hang with my siblings…
The only disappointment was that fall hadn’t really hit yet. For years, I’ve been wanting to show my wife what the fall colors look like back home and the chance just never seems to materialize.
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Speaking of fall, it’s hit here with a vengeance. As happens many years, it took about two weeks to go from summer(ish) to cold, windy and rainy. Been that way all week, and it’s not supposed to improve until next. But I’ve been making plenty of fall/winter dishes and baking bread, so there’s that.
Homemade bread and veggie soup is about the best thing in the world when it’s cold and wet and dark!
Do you have any traditional/favorite cold and wet weather dishes?
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Well, enough rambling from me… Over to you! Drop comment and let’s chat about the season so far or anything else on your mind!
Looks like we are down to just Magilumiere Co. Ltd. in common and I have nothing much to add to what you’ve said, though since you wrote, “Of course, “watching two dorks accidentally fall in love” is among my favorite forms of romance. Heck, any romance featuring two dorks of any stripe usually gets high marks in my book,” you really, really should give DAN DA DAN a go, though I hasten to add that it’s that plus shōnen action. There are reasons that people might bounce off of the first episode, but it picks up quickly after that.
I’m just hoping *Magilumiere* doesn’t falter in the back half. We’ve seen that before, too many times.
*Dan Da Dan* also has a lot of things (supernatural/paranormal) that I tend to avoid, on top of the shōnen action… I checked out a few reviews and it really does seem like something I wouldn’t like.
This is a decent season for me. And as so often lately, it’s dominated by the sequels and continuations. Natsume Yuujinchou and Sengoku Youko above all else, with Re:Zero and Shangrila Frontier being pretty much what I’d expect, too.
For what it’s worth, I’m actually watching the second season of Oi Tonbo, and made it the transition to its tournament arc pretty well: it’s a complete change in the mood, and yet it’s effortlessly the same show. I quite liked the first season, and I still like this one.
For me, Kinokoinu is near the top of the new stuff, but – yeah – My Roommate is a Cat was about a tier better.
365 Days to Marriage was best early on and comes with diminishing returns, but it’s also near the top of the new stuff. I sort of agree a bit more backstory might be nice, but it might be coming, who knows. I feel the focus is more social than personal, and while the balance here isn’t exactly optimal it’s good enough for me.
Blue Box is pretty much how you describe it. The thing is, though, that it’s pretty good at the animation stuff, like body language. These are consistent characters in the way they look, act and move, and that makes this show feel more alive than many others of its kind. Easily one of the top new shows this season.
Megalumiere is perhaps the most consistent show this season. If you liked the first episode you’re likely to like the rest. No standout episode in either direction, and lots of nice moments in every one. I quite like it.
One of the reasons I’m not attempting a tier list this season is that… everything sort of bleeds together in the middle. Take for example, Dandadan (which Chris mentions). Yeah, I like it. The mains have excellent chemistry, and the weirdness has some depth to it (more on the supernatural side so far than on the alien side), but again I don’t find the balance between weirdness and depth perfect. The show’s style could use some… moderation. Some of the scenes have real impact and then go on too long and waste the potential. Same with the action; it’s fun for a while, but overstays its welcome. The moments of pure chaos, though, are a treasure and sooo hit the spot.
I could go on. There’s a lot I like among the new shows, but nothing I really love. For example, I’m really liking the current incarnation of the Villainess show, too, but the more you watch the genre the more you feel that speaking your mind and not being all about feelings is what makes you a villainess… Like if you play otome games as a girl, the main character isn’t going to be your in… And it’s especially notable in this show, where our main character declares she’s going to be a villainess to go down in history, and all the characters around her take it just as her quirk. It’s present in pretty much all those shows, but it especially stands out in this one.
And this type of thing goes on and on: Mecha Ude, Demon Lord 2099, Girls who couldn’t be magicians…. Perhaps the most telling title is Negative Postive Angler. All the new shows have the negative/postive dynamic, so that overall I end up with a season that’s entertaining in the moment, with a few for shows even being memorable, but it mostly clusters in the upper middle field.
If you’d ask me for my favourite new shows this season, my answer would probably vary depending on mood and what I just watched (and how that episode played out for me).
One show I so far haven’t even tried but am curious about is Orb. I hear good things about it, but I also hear things that make me… cautious. Sounds like the show might just fit in with all the rest…
I’d add that DAN DA DAN has some excellent animation that adds a lot to the other goings-on on screen.
re: Blue Box I’ll keep my eye out for details, but I do agree that it’s animation (and the character’s behavior) are a cut above the normal. (Well, except where genre tropes require the characters to behave a certain way.)
>Megalumiere is perhaps the most consistent show this season. If you liked the first episode you’re likely to like the rest. No standout episode in either direction, and lots of nice moments in every one.
Consistency is a good thing though. Until last weeks cliffhanger, it relied on solid episodes that told a complete story without cheap drama. That’s actually pretty rare nowadays.
>One of the reasons I’m not attempting a tier list this season is that… everything sort of bleeds together in the middle.
I’m kinda feeling the opposite. There’s the three shows I mentioned as most likely being being headed toward the podium… and then everything else. The sequels (LL Superstar and SAOA:GGO) are both a step down from their progenitors.
Well as this season begins its final run of episodes, I thought I would record my thoughts so far. Firstly my top three shows this season are all the big name returners (In order) Love Live Superstar 3, Dan Machi 5, and SAO GGO 2. After a season opening that surprised many in the fan base, Love Live Superstar has got back to business and delivered some first class episodes, particularly from the Shanghai arc on. The two newer characters have become more integrated into the Leila unit now and have been given sufficient character development for the story line, though Margarete can still be a bit one dimensional at times. The songs are pretty good but are sometimes placed at the end of an episode to wrap things up and some have been edited to fit the episode’s run time. The story line in the second half has accelerated now the Love Live arc is underway and if anything it feels a bit rushed (are they trying to wrap this season up in one cour perhaps?). Those minor issues aside, LL Superstar is still the best show for the season, for animation and storyline. I think LL SS season 1 and 2 were probably better overall but LL Superstar 3 isn’t that far behind them.
Second for me is Dan Machi 5 which continues the strong storytelling and tight scripting Dan Machi fans have come to expect from this show. Third is SAO GunGale 2, which has been entertaining enough but which borrows from too many plot elements from the earlier series for my liking.
Megalumiere and Dandadan I dropped pretty early on. I didn’t like the animation styles of both those shows so out they went.
365 Days To The Wedding I have stuck with as I quite like that its protagonists are adults rather than the usual high school kids we see in rom-coms mostly. Blue Box I also liked but have to admit to being four episodes behind that I need to catch up on soon. Both of these shows have the male leads suffering badly from Japanese Male Pattern Bashfulness, which is a trope I’m finding increasingly tedious. I did think when both Skip and Loafer and Loving Yamada-Kun tried something different for how the male leads behaved, that maybe we were seeing the beginning of the end for Japanese Male Pattern Bashfulness but it seems the trope is as strong as ever. One of these days I’m going to write something on the top five anime tropes I dislike. What are everyone else’s pet hate anime tropes? I’d love to find out. :)
Of the ubiquitous isekai, Goodbye Dragon Life has unexpectedly been the best of them for me. Selina the Lamia is cute and engaging and the usual tropes abound. I did think the monsters were better designed than often is the case, and the show fulfills my “comfort anime” requirements.
Apart from the “Big Three” mentioned above, I’ve found this to be a pretty ordinary season with none of the new shows really standing out as above the ordinary for me. Consequently I have been watching a few older shows I missed when they were released (such as Chihayafuru) and bingeing a few old favorites (Railgun) instead.
re: LLS Yeah, post Shanghai has been good – but very rushed. It was really noticeable in this week’s episode, which was packed to the gills. And yeah, Liella hasn’t won yet, so the season is almost certainly going to end on the Love Live plus possibly an epilogue episode or two.
My big question – with all the emphasis on “the next generation” over the last few eps… Are they setting up a 4th season?
>Both of these shows have the male leads suffering badly from Japanese Male Pattern Bashfulness
Absolutely agreed. And 365 has a leading lady playing her version, even stronger than usual.
re: GGO Yeah, this season has been very scattershot and suffered badly from having significant parts be borrowed from earlier seasons. Can we just be done with the All Nippon Machine Gun Lovers please?
And sadly, we’re still being denied the LLENN/SHINQ throwdown/showdown we all want. But I kinda get it, because once that is resolved, the show really does have nothing left.
Oh I almost forgot to give a shout out to Maou-Sama Retry which continues to plow new depths for bad isekai, with poor animation, predictable storylines, questionable and exploitative fan service, and in a new low has pinched some in-episode theme music note for note from Sword Art Online (I even checked that to make sure). Its almost made me wonder whether Studio Gekkou set out to deliberately match how bad the first series was, but surely no-one would be doing that? …Would they?
<blockquote>What are everyone else’s pet hate anime tropes? I’d love to find out. :)<blockquote>
Not sure, to be honest. I tend to take a lot of things in stride. Two things come to mind, but it’s less about tropes, and more about some sort of underlying line I don’t connect with.
One line would be the girl+boy = romance default. I can take a lot of the associated tropes, if they don’t “toe the line” too much. Jealousy comes to mind: “jealousy is romantic”, “absence of jealousy makes me insecure”, “I don’t want you talk to other boys/girls”… Also, all those times girls try to become more feminine when romance approaches, or boys need to “protect” girls… All that’s related, though more remotely. I don’t mind the tropes by themselves; they just become annoying when I feel they affirm a cultural stereotype (and even then not always).
A lot of this is vague, and hard to figure out for me. Some implementations of “I want to be a hero” annoy me a lot (I dropped My Hero Academia for this; it also sort of ruined Yuki Yuna for me – but for a different reason). I’m not quite sure if all of those relate to the same faultline, though, or not. I don’t think I could do a top 5.
For what it’s worth, I think this is a very middle-of-the-road season. I’m enjoying plenty of shows, but there are few that will stay with me. I do quite enjoy Goodbye Dragon Life. DanMachi 5 is nice, too (I think I like this season better than the last few, but not by so much that it’s obvious – I’ll probably need some distance to really tell.) A lot of the top-shows this season (as has been a trend) are sequels and remakes. (Maou-sama Retry is not among them; I watched the first episode, which at first seemed like a not-so-good reboot, and then at the end of the episode seemed to fast forward, with the effect that they retreaded the ground I remembered, and then suddenly showed lots of characters I felt I should remember but didn’t. I didn’t stick around to find out what’s going on. I remember low-key liking season one, but I also didn’t really need more. I’m still not sure whether this is a reboot or a sequel. I heard it’s an adaption of a reboot manga? I don’t much care, to be honest.)
I’d have to really think about hated tropes myself… but most would almost certainly come from romance anime. So many seem to be cookie cutter, more so than almost anything else.