Time for the mid season reviews! There’s some shakeups this time around… And no, Honey Lemon Soda isn’t one of them, still the top show this season. Anyhow, now that I’ve posted a spoiler, hit the jump and check out the rest of the lineup!
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.
Dr. Stone: Science Future
I can’t say too much about Dr. Stone because we’ve just now finished up all the setup and are getting into the heart of the series. Into the conflict between the two Kingdoms of Science. And really, this kind of conflict is where the series has always been at its best… But there’s a twist this time: In Dr. Xeno, Senku is facing an equal. Science against science. Someone he can’t cow or outwizard.
The chess match is fascinating in it’s possibilities. And a personality conflict that’s going to get interesting given the twist dropped at the end of episode 6.
Now, if only they’d lay off the derp faces.
Status: My wife has bowed out, but I’m going to keep watching.
Flower and Asura
Hana wa Saku, Shura no Gotoku
I can’t quite put my finger on Flower and Asura. On one hand, with the focus on the competition, it’s almost structured like a sports show. On the other, it’s very much leaning into the whole “school club drama” vibe. In the same vein the narrative focus has quietly shifted from Hanna and Mizuki to Hanna and Anne…
So, I don’t really get where it’s going. Or what it want to do when it gets there. But other than the nonsensical rivalry between Anne and Shudai, I am enjoying the characters. The different approaches to the competition are also interesting. (If a little confusing because it’s hard to keep track.)
It’s not quite living up to the first couple of episodes, but it’s still holding our attention.
Status: Keeper, dropped to a distant 3rd.
Grisaia Phantom Trigger
After the disappointing mess that the Ep4-5 arc, I just couldn’t work up any enthusiasm for Ep 6. Episode 7 dropped just a few hours ago, and that just made me realize that I had no interest in getting caught up.
Status: Dropped after 5 episodes.
Honey Lemon Soda
Man, Honey Lemon is hard to write about because it’s still upping its game. And I don’t really think it’s made any major missteps.
Uka is a really good character. I love how she hasn’t simply shed her skin and changed entirely. She’s blossomed, but she’s still the same person with the same doubts… And it’s going to take a long time for her trauma to subside. Flipside, she’s over exerting herself, and sooner or later she’s going to innocently reach too far and fail. And I can’t think of anime character, even Bocchi, less well equipped to face/deal with that failure. (And Uka’s classmates don’t strike me as the solid support system that the girls of the Kessoku Band provided Bocchi.)
Kai remains, mostly, a mystery. But despite his previous denials and his tacit rejection of the role of “Ishimori’s protector”… You can’t misunderstand this moment.
Not to mention the incident outside the storage room… And his talk with his friend.
Boy, don’t you break her heart. We aren’t strong enough to suffer that.
Status: Keeper. AOTS material.
Medalist
I’m not entirely happy with the brief “tournament arc” as it seems a bit much for Inori to have won. OTOH, how she won was interesting. Only part of it was her natural skill and newfound adaptability. The other part is that her frenemy Miketa got rattled to her core by Inori’s score and that threw her off her game.
That’s an aspect of sports and competition that I think doesn’t get examined as much as it could be. Get rattled, and you can defeat yourself. Sometimes you’re even before you take the field.
On Tsukasa’s story… I don’t really have any thoughts on it that I can vocalize. No complaints, just still wrapping my head around it.
Episode 7 brings it out a bit more. I think they waited until about the right spot to remind us that this is really a partnership… And that Tsukasa is pulling his weight. (And carrying his own baggage.) The two are simply so good for each other.
Status: Modestly strong keeper. Stands on the podium below Honey Lemon.
The Red Ranger Becomes an Adventurer in Another World
Sentai Red Isekai de Boukensha ni Naru
Red Ranger, it’s not you, it’s me. You’re just absolutely crushing the memes and tropes of your chosen genre(s). I… didn’t grow up on those memes and tropes, so rather than being nostalgic they’ve just become wearying.
Status: Dropped after 5 episodes.
Sorairo Utility
Episode 6 seemed a bit weak. It covered the events of the OVA, but it didn’t do nearly so good a job. (There was only one HAM ball, much less effective than the series of them in the OVA…) Mostly an adaptation problem, the episode wasn’t actually bad, just not up to par. (Pun intended.)
Overall, still enjoyable, still excellent watching the girls derp about and Minami trying (and so far failing) to wrap her head around real life not being a game.
OTOH, I loved how Ep6 leaned into Minami’s “special move”.
Status: Keeper, yeah. It’s still good but it’s lost a lot of momentum. And dammit they are headed into a tournament arc,
Sakamoto Days
As predicted, Sakamoto has pretty quickly fallen into a rut. But… It keeps making us laugh.
Status: So long as it continues to keep us laughing/caring, keeper.
UniteUp! -Uni:Birth-
As I said in my week 3 review, solid but relatively unambitious. No further comments.
Status: Keeper.
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Not much to say down here that I didn’t say up there… Other than I’ve just about had enough of winter (the IRL) season. And darn, midseason for Winter (the anime) season means it’s almost time to start thinking about Spring (both senses). Looking forward to both I think.
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Anyhow, time to turn the keyboard over to you – drop a comment and let’s chat. What are your thoughts on the season so far? About ready for Spring (either sense)? Anything else on your mind?
I honestly have little to add to what I said in the 3 ep(ish) check-in post. Flower and Asura comes with diminishing returns, but I still quite like it (and I actually don’t think the conflict between Anne and Shudai is nonsensical: it’s addressing a point that most competition shows don’t – what’s important about winning?).
Honey Lemon Soda keeps getting better for me – but, yeah, I’m worried about Uka overexerting herself, too. I’m currently wondering if Kai’s been overprotective in the past, and he’s holding back – maybe with Serina? I could see Tomoya’s interference having to do with this (seeing what road Kai is on). This is very tentative, though – totally unsure.
Also, Honey Lemon Soda being compared to Kimi ni Todoke reminds me that I need to, at some point, finish season 3 (it’s four long movies, and I’ve seen two – season 3 isn’t as good as season 1, but it’s much better than season 2).
For me, this is a decent season, and once again it’s dominated by sequels (Apothecary Diaries above all, but also Hanako-kun, despite not living up to season 1, and Shangri-La Frontier).
re: Flower Oh, I’m certainly enjoying it. It just isn’t living up to it’s early promise. It’s the origin of the conflict (different schools) that bugs me, that and how it’s practically a parody in an otherwise down to earth show.
re: Lemon I have yet to figure out what role or angle Tomoya is playing. Or how Serina fits in. I kinda have the feeling that since we’re getting her and Kai’s story told through spread rumours… we’re not getting anything resembling the straight story. Which makes sense because we’re mostly seeing things from Ishimori’s POV.
Kinda surprised you had no comment on Medalist given how it’s developed in the last couple of episodes.
For me, on average, it’s an OK season. Neither particularly good nor particularly bad, and that’s mostly down to most of the shows being just mid. Which is perfectly fine, not every season can or should be packed. It’s not condemnation, merely observation.
I don’t really know what to say about Medalist. I mean, I’m enjoying it quite a bit, but I feel it’s staying the course more than anything.
Grisaia Phantom Trigger: I’onno, I like the action. I think I was supposed to be sad there, but I haven’t really connected with anybody so, eh. But the booms are fun. Better than some things I’ve watched, like it totally beats El Cazador de la Bruja, but I can for sure see why you dropped it.
Honey Lemon Soda: If it weren’t for Apothecary Diaries, this would be at the top of my season too, for pretty much your reasons.
re: Grisia I dropped it because lost momentum and pulled off to the side to take a break as much as anything else. Booms are good, an incomprehensible meta plot less so. I think the big cause of that is that the anime is the 3rd entry in the Phantom Trigger continuity.
Re: Honey Lemon Well, what can I say? We’re just in solid agreement.
Though surely you’re watching more than those three… (Though i know you’ve been through a lot the last few weeks.)
Yeah, I have several others.
Witchy Precure ~Mirai Days~: I want to like this more than I am. The story is just a bit too convoluted for me, I guess. Time-twisting story elements do that to me, I guess. Mirai, Liko (or Riko), and Mofurun are as engaging as ever. Having Ha-chan shoved off-sreen for plot reasons is a bit annoying. They tried to alleviate that with the new character, Hi-chan, but she was almost as annoying as the worst version of Chibi-usa in Sailor Moon. Now Kotoha is back, so we’ll see how that works out. Also, they might have killed off Hi-chan? Like I said, it’s all a bit disappointing.
You and Idol Precure♪: It’s still early, but I’m not as engaged with Uta/Cure Idol as I was with Iroha/Cure Friendy and Komugi/Cure Wonderful in Wonderful Precure! or Manatsu/Cure Summer from Tropical-Rouge! Pretty Cure, or even Sora/Cure Sky from Soaring Sky! (and I much preferred Ageha/Cure Butterfly in that series). Of course, we’ve only met two (of three, it seems) Pretty Cures so far in this series, and Nana/Cure Wink is a lot more interesting even if Cure Idol may be more energetic and inspiring, so who knows where it will go from here?
Toilet-bound Hanako-kun: The stories are fun, but perhaps a bit disconnected. The season isn’t as engaging as the first one was, but the plot thread involving Nene’s fate might prove to be interesting when all is said and done.
Ave Mujica – The Die is Cast –: There’s something interesting here, because I’m still watching, but I can’t figure out what it is. I guess the dissociative state of Mortis/Mutsumi might be part of it, but they’ve seemingly dropped the whole Ave Mujica plot in favor of Sakiko and Mutsumi maybe going back to CRYCHIC, which, eh. I might be more into that if I’d watched earlier BanG Dream! installments. I was liking the Visual Kei direction of Ave Mujica. Still watching, but I don’t really know why. I keep feeling like they have to go back to Ave Mujica since both Sakiko has already strongly said that it’s where her passion lies and also it’s the name of the freaking series. It’s also possible that I’m maybe missing what’s going on since I don’t really have all the context, or at least it feels that way sometimes.
The Apothecary Diaries: First off, Maomao is a great character. That overpowers any of the tendency toward formula (bad thing happens, Jinshi puts Maomao into a position to tempt her natural curiosity, she solves the mystery through her superior knowledge of pharmaceuticals/poisons or other random trivia). The other story threads, palace intrigues, and character arcs that weave around the Rear Palace also keep things from getting stale. Just an excellent show.
Promise of Wizard: The idea that a group of wizards have to help protect the world from attacks by the Moon (the actual Moon, not invaders from there or whatever) and are gathered by a Great Seer who has to come from another world is neat, but it feels like nothing is going anywhere. Very mediocre, but at least it’s watchable due to the various wizard personalities interacting. Disappointing, though.
Tasokare Hotel: Until the show got an antagonist, it was quickly losing steam from an otherwise solid beginning. Now, though, the stories have a renewed sense of meaningfulness. It’s an interesting take on ghost stories in the M.R. James mold.