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Mahoutsukai no Yome 15-24! the end. We learn a little bit about Silky in episode 15 while Chise is healing in the fairy world. And we see Alice's past in 16. And 19 starts an interestingly dark arc featuring Cartaphilus and most of the characters we've seen thus far. The fantasy story was a bit rushed, but the characters and world-building was pretty unique. I enjoyed the slightly dark aspects of Chise's encounters. ~7/10~ I'm interested to read if this is how the mangaka wants the story to end...things didn't seems interconnected well in the anime; maybe due to editing..I guess the Cartaphilus storyline ended and Chise sorta became a bride. Good enough for now.

Cardcaptor Sakura: Clear Card 3-12! Sakura gets two! cards in episode 3. A new transfer student is introduced in episode 4...you'd think Sakura would figure out that transfer students are tied to the magical activities. In episode 10 Sakura cheats on Tomoyo with Akiho...sad. *maybe spoilers* The theory that Ahiko might be the mirror card somehow brought to life has some credibility. That would be a nice twist. It explains the whole clear/crystal-ly theme this arc has. And it's a shame that her new cards do not have human characteristics anymore. Syaoran and Eriol are withholding info from Sakura and if this were any other anime, that would be rather douchey of them. I like the fact that Touya's powers are being restored due to him just being alive.

Violet Evergarden 2-4! A very pretty anime, but rather low on dynamic characters. Dropped!

Kokkoku 3-7! The daughter is able to expel the ghost thing that keeps people out of stasis and is able to fight off the guys who are after the family's magical stone. It's interesting how the different family members deal with their crisis and what powers they have. The pacing is a bit too slow for me and the characters aren't likable enough to continue to watch. This would be a better live action show. Dropped.

3-gatsu no Lion S2 36-42! Kiriyama v. Souya starts and Kiriyama learns Souya's secret. It's interesting how they treat Souya so delicately. Nikaidou is back and recovered from his illness by episode 38. Sorry, the duel in 39 made me fall asleep. While I know that they are building the relationship between Kiriyama and Hina to a certain point in the story, it's still rather unconvincing to me. It's mildly cute though.

Saiki Kusou no Psi S2 1-10! picking up where it left off a year ago, the first episode reintroduces Saiki and his classmates. It even has a Gintama cameo. I enjoy the episodes that focus on Saiki's parents and/or grandparents more than the classmates.

Spring anime list:

Mahou Shoujo Ore 1-2! just aired. This sounds and looks completely stupid..a young female singing idol wannabee turns into a magical girl/male muscle-man by her yakuza-shaped mascot sidekick. She fights demons with magical hairpin grenades and beats them into a bloody pulp with her magical wand. It basically takes the trope of the magical shoujo genre and applies a gender-bending twist to it. Her love interest is a successful male idol who takes a weird liking to her male form when she saves him. While very silly, it sorta works. The pacing and comedic timing is pretty good. The panty crotch shot...LOL. Plus, her idol partner confesses her love to her which allows her to change into a magical muscle man...and I'm hoping their manager continues to follow them with his camera.

Golden Kamui: A popular historical fiction manga about the Japanese Ainu, a gold rush and political stuff looks pretty badass.

Piano no Mori: I remember the one-shot OVA being interesting. Didn't know it was a 26 volume manga. Hope it's good.

Devil's Line Vampires.

Hinamatsuri: Yakuza and a psychic girl comedy.

Tada-kun wa Koi wo Shinai: A romantic drama...looks pretty.

Darling in the Franxx 1! Mechs need a male and female to pilot them. A young partner-less youth stumbles across a naked girl with horns swimming in a lake. Monster comes knocking, they hook up to kill said monster. *yup* checking off all the mech prerequisites here. There's a perverted old scientist and plenty of sexual innuendos. Fan-bait mech anime...zzz. Dropped. It'd be better if it were a parody.

Sanrio Danshi 1-2! is about some pretty boys who bond when they admit to liking Sanrio's characters. This should be more terrible than it is. It's actually kinda cute and silly. Dropped. There needs to be an anime about the western Bronies.

Koi wa Ameagari no You ni 1! High quality anime about a teen who has a crush on her 40-something year old cafe boss. Gotta love Japan for the creepy relationships that seem a-ok in the anime-world. Dropped, despite the high quality animation, it's still creepy.

Miira no Kaitaka 1! A young boy receives a tiny mummy from his overseas father. Dropped; it tries to be cute, but ends up quite boring.

Cardcaptor Sakura: Clear Card 1-2! Gotta love when a franchise many people grew up with is re-introduced now with HD animation. Sakura and her friends are pretty much the same cute characters. This time around, Sakura upgrades from 'sakura' cards to 'clear' cards. Yukito still sleeps over...*wink*.

Violet Evergarden 1! is about a young female soldier who tries to adjust to civilian life after war is over. Her commanding officer who likely died leaves her to the responsibility of another officer who has a delivery service business. Despite her having automail arms, it looks like the anime is about her learning how to be human instead of a killing machine. The production is really pretty.

Kokkoku 1-2! This is the Inuyashiki of this season. A young girl's nephew and shut-in brother are kidnapped when she learns that her grandfather (and her family bloodline) have the power to stop time. Unfortunately, there are mysterious people in suits who seem to want that power. The story's pacing is a little messy, but hopefully this gets better.

3-gatsu no Lion S2 12 (34)-13 (35)! New opening and ending songs and visuals are introduced this season. This anime spoils me for all other anime in terms of how well it is made and how well the characters tell their stories. Episode 34-35 turns its focus onto the conclusion of Hina's bullying arc.

Mahoutsukai no Yome 13-14! New opening and ending songs...rather generic and they reuse alot of animation, but the same oddly sweet story continues the second half of this series. Chise demonstrates more magic now.

Nirvana in Fire 1-54! cdrama! the end. This aired in 2015, but I only discovered this epic drama recently. There are fanfics, tumblr memes, and a sequel currently airing, and despite being over 50 episodes and being a chinese historical drama which is a genre I try to avoid for their length, it's definitely worth the binge. The basic premise is that Mei Chang Su is the Count of Monte Cristo in 4th century China who devises a complicated, multi-faceted plan to get revenge on his enemies, bump his bro up to the throne, and clear his family and friend's names all while keeping his true identity a secret. It is a little difficult keeping track of all the characters at first, but you really only need to focus on the good-looking characters and once they draw you in with their humorous bromance, everything else falls into place. Once you get to around episode 30, the pacing of the story is such that it ends all too quickly. ~9/10 rating~ for a fun revenge drama with lovely costuming and even lovelier characters...minus 2 points because the BFFs never get to hug. c'mon, the prolonged staring deserves a hug.

Jimi ni Sugoi! Koetsu Garu Kono Etsuko jdrama 1-10! the end. I thought the fansubbers gave up on this, but they just finished up a little after a year the show finished airing..wahoo. This show is about a young woman who really wants to become a fashion magazine editor, but is instead hired as a literature proofreader. Besides her immediate coworkers, other characters include her high school kohai who is now a fashion editor at the same company and a love interest in the form of a male model/author. I enjoy that Etsuko faces each episode's challenge optimistically and with a cute fashion sense. ~8/10 rating~ for a light-hearted slice-of-life drama.

Kokkoku: Theme-song by Miyavi <3 A girl, a kidnapping and a grandfather with time traveling abilities...

Miira no Kaikata: A high school student's father sends him a cute mummy. The mummy is cute. I'm watching.

Violet Evergreen: It's got the beautiful Netflix money. All the characters look sad though...I may drop this after an episode or two.

Darling in the FranXX: I like this title of this new mech anime.

B: The Beginning: More Netflix money. A futuristic police force looking for a serial killer...B.

Saiki Kusuo no Ψ Nan 2: I enjoy watching the chin character.

Fate/EXTRA Last Encore: More Fate but with Studio Shaft.

Cardcaptor Sakura: Clear Card: A continuation of the original series, and again, Sakura powers up through no effort of her own...she really needs a Hermione-like friend. Someone to solve the mystery of the magic, the cards, the mysterious cloaked figure; someone to be be proactive at figuring out everything; Syaoran, Tomoyo, Yue and Eriol are useless. I don't think the anime will get very far since the manga only has 3 volumes out with very little plot advance; Most chapters are filled with the characters speculating about nothing, eating food and saying hi to their school friends...I suspect a bunch of fillers. At least I'll get my fill of Touya and Yuki. <3

Catching up...

3-gatsu no Lion S2 7-11 (29-33)! LOL, at Kiriyama's senpais comment about him being similar to Hachiya because they think he thinks the world revolves around himself. I thought that Hina's bullying issue would bog the show down a little, but it's handled rather well. The science-shogi club bros are fun.

Ballroom e Youkoso 21-24! the end. This show has the best facial expressions. Kiyoharu's attempt at loosening Tatara's muscles backfires on Tatara until Chinatsu is able to support him. They struggle through the competition, but in a sorta surprising anime-move, they win the competition instead of lose as many main characters do. ~8/10 rating~ for a hilarious sports anime about ballroom dancing. The only flaw was that half-assed attempt at animating the actual dancing scenes.

Shoukoku no Altair 20-24! the end. Halil Pasha, Mahmut's mentor, is killed in his attempt to take down the Empire. As in all the other episodes, time moves very quickly in this series and Mahmut is able to trap his enemies. It's terrible that the animation quality is so inconsistent...ugh, episode 21. Mahmut Pasha is able to defeat the Empire's attempt at taking Cielo. He is rewarded a promotion and show ends at the beginning of Torqye's offensive. ~7/10 rating~ When the show takes its time with the characters and its animation, it's pretty good. But overall it glosses over the war and its large cast of characters so quickly that other than Mahmut, you barely care about anyone else. I did enjoy the colorful and sometimes elaborate costume designs. Another season isn't announced, but it appears open for one.

Inuyashiki 7-11! the end. After his mother's suicide, with the prodding of his high school female 'friend', Shishigami decides to save people instead of killing them. But the police come after his safe house and he goes off on another psychotic killing spree. Inuyashiki continues to train with Ando. The show climaxes with Shishigami and Inuyashiki fighting it out with Inuyashiki being the winner. But the last climax is an asteroid that threatens the Earth. ~7/10 rating~ for a unique hero. I enjoyed the occasional humor including the sadly realistic anime Trump. This would make a good Hollywood movie with the right writers.

Kino no Tabi: The Beautiful World 8-12! 8 is another Shizu-centric episode with no Kino this time. We see that Shizu, Ti and Riku are travelers looking for a place to settle. They find a country where the residents believe that radio wave can influence people's behavior. Episode 9 is another break from the normal routine as we see Kino, Shizu-tachi and references to Kino's teacher in separate instances in separate countries. Quite a cute episode with a nice message from the original novels' author. Thought it meant that the series ended here...but we see another remade story in episode 10. It's interesting that because of the prior new episodes we can apparently connect the old guy with the woodsman gun to Kino's teacher's companion. Unfortunately, the twist at the end is not a surprise this time. It was a very pretty episode though. And 11 shows us Kino's origin story again...with a prettier-boy Kino. And the show wraps up with a wtf human-killing sheep episode. ~9/10 rating~ for a high quality traveling show hosted by a fearless, and sometimes ruthless traveler. The original 2001 series had a pastely, haunting quality, while this remake was bright and clear. I enjoyed this and the original equally. Hope to see another season.

Youkai Apartment no Yuuga na Nichijou 21-26! the end. There seemed to be very mundane high school problems with random supernatural things happening. ~6/10 rating~ for a pleasant time waster. Nothing really stood out production-wise or character-wise. It almost seemed like a parody of a magical girl show starring a male character, but it didn't quite rise to the comedy or drama-like levels that it could have.

Juuni Taisen 1-12! the end. Wasn't going to watch this, but it was a decent time-waster. 12 fighters representing the twelve zodiac signs fight to the death with one winner whose wish will be granted. Each has a specialized, sometimes supernatural skill. None of them are particularly memorable, but overall, the payoff is rather lame, but fitting once you realize the author of the novel that the anime is based on is Nisioisin (Monogatari's author). ~6/10 rating~ for a story that does make you wonder what may happen, but kinda makes you roll your eyes. *spoilers* I suppose I should have know that the mouse would win.

Black Clover 8! This is moving way too slowly for my tastes. Dropped.

Mahoutsukai no Yome 8-12! Chise becomes friends with a cute dog animagus-like creature in episode 8 and gains familiar. While making a wand, Chise learns about Elias's background from Lindel in 10-12. I enjoy the quiet, but fast-paced world building in this show. Lindel has a nice singing voice, too. Once she finishes her wand, you can sorta predict that Chise's early death issue will be resolved by her new phoenix-like-looking powers. Halfway through and still enjoying this show...

Kino no Tabi: The Beautiful World 3-7! Feels like I missed something when Kino said they were staying 5 days or so at the moving country, because I thought it used to be 3 days max. Shizu and Riku show up again in episode 4. Shizu interferes with a ship country that will sink and gains a homicidal little girl as a travel companion. The backstory of another traveler, Photo, is told in episode 6. And an amusing story of Kino's teacher is told in 7. The non-Kino-centric episodes are nice.

Ballroom e Youkoso 16-20! Chinatsu and Tatara's problems are refreshingly normal. They enter the next competition still arguing, but this is probably a-ok since Sengoku and his partner are similarly combative. Akira's girl-love is amusing, too.

3-gatsu no Lion S2 2-6 (24-28)! Souya takes down another opponent, but episode 24 is focused on the mildly bothersome relationship between Gotou and Kiriyama's adopted sister. Hina's bullying problem is the focus of 25-28.

Inuyashiki 2-6! The show gets a little violent as the psychopathic teen who has robo-powers is introduced in episode 2. Nice cliffhanger. It's nice to cheer for a grandpa-like hero, but he has a sadistic streak too when you see that he blinds the whole evil yakuza gang rather than kill them.

Black Clover 3-7! If Asta and Yuna could catch wild hogs and fish so easily, why didn't they provide food for the orphanage? Anyway, both leave the orphanage in episode 3 to take the Wizard Exam. Shonen anime usually draws an audience in by making them root for the under-dog main character, but geez, Asta's voice actor has an irritating yell which most viewers seem to comment negatively on...I agree, his voice is terrible.

Mahoutsukai no Yome 3-7! Hey, it's Beauty and the Beast with more magic. Chise witnesses a dragon's death in episode 3 and we find that she is somewhat suicidal, and conveniently in danger of dying young, and is a coveted 'beggy sleigh'. She learns how to cleanse a soul in episode 4-5 even the soul of a cat murderer. And in 6, she meets the very oppai-endowed Faerie Queen and humorous King. The story's pacing is pretty quick. We see Elias's true form in 7.

Shoukoku no Altair 15-19! Ouch, Mahmut receives a very thorough TSA inspection in episode 15. But is able to convince another country to join their alliance. He is able to convince many needed countries to join their side and finally joins the Torquye army at Cielo. The Imperial army meets them for battle there, too.

Youkai Apartment no Yuuga na Nichijou 16-20! There are alot of episodes where very little happens worth mentioning. This is basically my background noise anime.

Kuroshitsuji: Book of the Atlantic movie! takes one of the more interesting story arcs from the manga and makes a pretty good movie out of it. The mangaka likes to frame many of her plots around known stories or pop culture. The Book of the Atlantic crosses zombies, a Dr Frankenstein-like character and the Titanic into one. The best part of the story is that Lizzie finally becomes a likable character. Ciel, Sebastian and Snake board the luxury cruise ship, Campania, to investigate a cult who can raise people from the dead. Lizzie and her family are also on board. ~8/10 rating~ for a higher than usual quality Kuroshitsuji anime episode with some fun action. I feel like I've written this before, but I don't know what the anime writers were thinking when they decided to kill Ciel off in the original anime series. It would have been nice if the tv anime, ovas and movie flowed together.

While You Were Sleeping 1-32! the end. kdrama! is unrelated to the Bill Pullman/Sandra Bullock movie. This is about characters who dream about the mostly-near future. A young reporter, a young prosecutor and nice-guy, third wheel, young policeman are interconnected through their dreams and try to help each other solve mysteries, prevent potential crimes and/or prevent heartache. I enjoyed the fact that this show was broken up into 30 minute mini-episodes rather that full hour-long ones and the fact that they used this format for some quite good cliffhanger moments. Hong Joo has been dreaming most of her life and feels helpless to change things. Jae Chan moves in next door, and they find they have similar dreams. Batman-loving-nice-guy, Woo Tak, gives them the prodding that they need so they try to take action in changing their futures. There's an evil lawyer lurking throughout the show and some bad guys who create trouble. ~8/10 rating~ As with other dramas that base their shows on some sort of sci-fi element, this drama doesn't delve into the laws of these dreams, but hey, it lures you in with the wtf-kery dreams and the characters that are adorable enough that you root for them anyway.

3-gatsu no Lion Part 1 live-action movie! I don't know if a person who wasn't familiar with the manga or anime would find this as satisfying as someone who could fill in the blanks. The imdb rating of 6.9 suggests it was possibly ok to the average critic. Keishi Ohtomo who was the director of the Kenshin live-action movies and was also credited as a writer is responsible for this adaptation as well. He does do a great job squeezing the whole first season of the anime into a two hour movie; up until Shimada and Souya's match. The movie is well-cast and well-acted. ~8/10 rating~ for a darn decent adaptation. I look forward to the 2nd movie as well, but honestly prefer the anime.

3-gatsu no Lion S2 1! yes! another season of anime. Episode 1 finds Kiriyama hanging out after school with his science shogi bros. The episode was so colorful and fun.

Inuyashiki 1! wasn't exactly about what I read online before...probably an erroneous summary. Anyway, an underappreciated, aging father who has cancer is accidentally killed and brought back to life by aliens. His body is basically robocop now. He tries to use his powers for good. There was a young teen with him during the alien abduction. And I was hoping the dog got robo-ed, too.

Black Clover 2! Episode 2 shows us a flashback to when young Asta and crybaby Yuna decide that they will become rivals for the Magic King title. It's your mandatory shonen bromance. The opening theme showcases a lot of interesting-looking characters so it may be worth continuing.

Kino no Tabi: The Beautiful World 2! The Colosseum story was two episodes in the older anime, but is one episode this time around. You do feel that the story is rushed, but I believe that Shizu and Riku show up in another story or two, and maybe this new series wants to get to the stories that were not animated this time around.

Shoujo Shuumatsu Ryokou 2! I think this tries to be too cute and too serious at the same time. Kino does it better. I'm sure the background story may be interesting, but I don't think these first couple episodes are worth it. Dropped.

Mahou tsukai no Yome 2! While I'm waiting for Chise's melancholy personality to evolve, the new characters are turning out to be cute and interesting.

Shoukoku no Altair 14! New theme songs and visuals in episode 14. It seems that the series is back to one speedy political maneuver per episode now. Mahmut attacks the empire through a trade deal rather than through a fight.

Ballroom e Youkoso 13-15! Tatara and Chinatsu reluctantly pair up together and Tatara tries to figure out how to lead a headstrong female. I'm a little sad Tatara leaves Sengoku's studio for Marisa, but it's nice that his education and development are shown in a realistic manner....though the jump into high level competitions seems fast.

Youkai Apartment no Yuuga na Nichijou 15! Two pretty teachers and one troublesome student are introduced in episode 15. This isn't a really good show, but some filler fluff to watch during the week.

Kino no Tabi: The Beautiful World 1! is a new version of the 2003 anime which was based on the light novel series written by Keiichi Sigsawa. While I didn't recognize the first episode's story, it appears that some of the other stories that were animated in 2003 will be remade in this new series. Kino travels with his motorcycle, Hermes, to different countries. The 2017 anime captures the same tone of the original, but with new seiyuu and updated production. Episode 1 is about a county where murder is not prohibited, the clue being not prohibited...not meaning that it is permitted.

Mahoutsukai no Yome 1! The three OADs that were released in the past year basically cover's Chise's pitiful childhood, so this jumps in where she sells herself to slavery. She is purchased by a powerful magus who will train her to become his apprentice. At the end of the episode, he also casually mentions that she's to be his bride, too. Yep, a story that only works in anime. Despite the so-so Beauty and the Beast-like plot, it's rich in fantasy and Elias has a dry sense of humor.

Shoujo Shuumatsu Ryokou 1! superficially looks like it should have the same tone as Kino no Tabi, but the SD character design doesn't do it any favors. Two small girls are traveling in a post-war country. In episode 1, they search for food and it's all cute until the blond one pulls a rifle on the other for the last chocolate bar...and then it's all cute again. Not sure if I can get past the cheap SD faces enough to get into whatever story they are trying to tell.

Houseki no Kuni 1! is about a small race of extremely thin, genderless, humanoid beings who are made of natural crystals. They have an enemy that tries to take them for their bodies. Episode 1 is about Phosphophyllite who tries to find his purpose in life. As he is too brittle to fight the enemy, their master assigns him the task of writing a natural history encyclopedia. Pho isn't too thrilled about that. The cgi is interesting; sometimes bad, sometimes pretty. Dropped anyway.

Shoukoku no Altair 13! The end of the civil war arc concludes with Mahmut successfully ousting the sultans who had underlying loyalties to the 'empire', allying himself with the successor sultans, and being promoted to Pasha again. Because he looks like he is missing an arm in the ending theme visuals, I thought he was going to lose that arm. Anyway, looking forward to new theme songs and new story arc in next week's show.

Black Clover 1! Young Naruto and Sasuke were left in an orphanage together in a world where everyone uses magic. Naruto grows up to become a loud mouth brat who dreams of becoming Wizard King despite not being able to use magic. Sasuke grows to become a cool, aloof, talented magic user. They reach the age where they are bestowed a grimoire/magic book. Sasuke gets the lucky four-leaf clover book. Naruto gets nothing...until his bff/rival, Sasuke, is in danger and he obtains the five-leaf black clover book. Because this is a shonen anime, it's pretty well-made and fast-paced. While the set-up is stupidly unoriginal, it's still entertaining. Consensus is correct...Asta's seiyuu is as annoyingly loud as Naruto's seiyuu was in the beginning of the series.

Juuni Taisen 1! Fighters representing the twelve zodiac animals fight to the death every 12 years. The first episode focuses on the boar. Because she wasn't very cute, her demise was fairly predictable. Zzzz....dropped.

Shoukoku no Altair 9-12! Heading towards a mid-series climax, Mahmut (Muhammed?) is ordered to overthrow the local sultans who side with the empire. He and his comrades are able to gain allies with those to have interests in Turkye's side. He finally gets a chance to show off his tactical skills in episode 12. I'm impressed that the sultan who was shot in the head had enough strength to go after his brother. When the show spends an extra episode or so on one part of the story, it makes the characters a little more interesting.

Youkai Apartment no Yuuga na Nichijou 10-14! I'm not sure how many episodes this show is going for, but evil teacher arc seems like a major story despite that lack of actual danger. In episode 13, Yushi goes through some training to level up and in episode 14, new theme songs are added with new characters.

ReLIFE live-action jmovie! The concept was fresh with the anime, but doesn't carry over to the live-action movie. The pacing is much too slow. 27 year old unemployed Kaizaki gets a chance to relive high school by taking part in an experiment that de-ages him. ~6/10 rating~ Less humor, less cute, and slow pacing makes watching this painful.

Just average shows all around....

Katsugeki Touken Ranbu 11-13! the end-ish. The final battle takes place in Hakodate where Izuminokami and Horikawa's old master, Hijitaka dies. Horikawa had abandoned the Second Unit for a couple episodes living in the past serving Hijitaka. He debates whether to save him and change history. There's a lovely climactic battle with both units fighting against the demons. Horikawa sucks up his doubts to help. ~7/10~ if not for how pretty the production is, this wouldn't be worth watching at all. The anime storyline doesn't stand up on its own. I suspect that the RPG game does delve into each of the other characters' past. Or maybe it's just a franchise that lives off the prettiness of its characters. There are alot of really pretty figures out there (click, click). It would be a nice twist of their master or the fox characters were the one pulling the strings of the demons. Mikazuki also looks suspicious...how is it that everyone else uses swords and he uses cherry blossoms? I guess the franchise is popular enough for a movie, too?

Knight's & Magic 11-13! the end. Well, the climax to this show is that Eru meets his equal on the battlefield as his knight mech faces a dragon mech created by an equally talented engineer. I found the Eru's enthusiasm for learning about the world's magic and robots was the only reason to watch this show and that once it turned its focus to the war between the kingdoms, it became rather mundane. The production was pretty high quality, but the opening and ending themes were grating. ~7/10 rating~ for an extremely fluffy, fast-paced mech show.

Hitorijime My Hero 10-12! the end. In standard romcom fashion, the couple goes through a rough patch when Masahiro realizes that Kousuke would probably lose his job if it ever got out that he was dating a student. The angst goes on a few episodes until they get back together...since in true anime fashion, teacher-student relationships are a-ok if it's true love. ~7/10 rating~ Yes, they turned a PWP yaoi manga into a disappointing shoujo-type, angst-filled anime. The humor saves it a little. I enjoy the fact that the local gang now have jobs selling and delivering Christmas cakes.

and something not so mediocre...

Ballroom e Youkoso 12! is the start of a new arc with fun, new theme songs by the same artists. Episode 12 was a hilarious episode. Tatara and Gaju are in high school together. Tatara meets his future partner and of course, she's a tsundere girl. All players meet to watch Coach Sengoku at a professional competition. Sengoku and his partner have highly entertaining personalities. And I think there was a bump up in the animation quality...trying to refrain from reading ahead in the manga is hard.....

Mahou Tsukai no Yome (The Ancient Magus' Bride)OAD 1-3! The series has an attractive design. It's a little like Kiki's Delivery Service, Natsume Yuujinchou, and Harry Potter. This starts off with Chise already being a part of Elias's household (ie. his bride). The OADs covers a story from her past. Chise didn't get along with her foster family since she is able to see things others can't. She finds refuge in a magical library. The show has a pleasant tone...maybe a little bittersweet. I like her animagus dog. ~7/10 rating~ I look forward to the tv series.

Ballroom e Youkoso 10-11! While it's unbelievable that a person who has only been dancing a couple months could be a real rival to couples who have been dancing since childhood, it's still entertaining. The ending of the amateur competition was so satisfying. I'm glad Mako won her brother back. Apparently the red-headed girl is important. Looking forward to the next story arc.

Pretty sure these two shows stuff each episode with a whole volume's worth of story.

Shoukoku no Altair 2-8! It's a little tough keeping track of all the characters and their loyalties, but it's fast-paced, and still fairly interesting. After the fallout of helping his friend in a border town and preventing war, Mahmut loses his Pasha position for not realizing what the higher-ups really wanted. He then becomes a spy for Zaganos Pasha and travels to other countries. While I think many of these characters are based on real historical figures from the Ottoman Empire, the anime moves much too quickly for any history to be learned. It rather focuses on Mahmut's ability to gain experience and knowledge.

Knight's & Magic 1-10! Not sure why that apostrophe is there in the title, but hey, it makes it easier to google? The story was originally a web novel which got picked up as printed light novels, then manga, now anime. A modern day programmer who is admired by his coworkers is killed in a car accident after a busy day. As he dies, he laments over the fact that he cannot finish building his toy mechs. He is reborn as a young boy in a medieval world where knights, magic and mech exist. He takes to his new life quickly and enthusiastically. It's not an original set-up as there are plenty of anime with otaku boys who get stuck in alternative fantasy worlds, but Studio 8-bit produces top quality anime, and the main character, Ernesti (Eru), is quite adorable and likable. There's no dwelling over his past life. He excitedly focuses on building mechs to defeat demons and the enemy kingdom.

School is back in session...time for a new season of anime:
Inuyashiki: A middle-aged man becomes a younger man. The actor, Kanata Hongou, will be voicing the main (young) character in the anime and playing the same character in the upcoming live-action movie.
Houseki no Kuni: Genderless people are made up of gems...weird.
Shoujo Shuumatsu Ryokou: the day-to-day lives of a couple little girls who are the last survivors of humanity.
Black Clover: the 'pre-teen boys who beat each other up' show of this season
Juuni Taisen: from the author of the Monogatari series.
Kino no Tabi: The Beautiful World - The Animated Series: Another welcome remake.
3-gatsu no Lion S2: more please...when can I see the live-action movie?

A lot of this season's anime have really pretty characters...with pretty clothes...

Katsugeki Touken Ranbu 2-10! New pretty boy characters are constantly being thrown into this story. And while consistently very pretty, it's moving sort of like an RPG now rather than a show with a plot. The mindless demons aren't really doing anything for the show. In episode 7, we get introduced to Unit 1 who have much stronger members than Unit 2 who are basically the main characters. It would be nice if there were 'bad guys', but we find in episode 10, that the anime is really about the character's internal struggles with being time travelers who try to prevent distortions in history based on their master's decisions whether they agree with them or not. The writers are terrible at conveying the plot.

Ballroom e Youkoso 2-9! Generally speaking, the set-up of the show isn't unique. There's the hard-working, naive, main character; the strict, but knowledgeable teacher; overly-serious & talented rival(s), and possible love-interest. The above-average production with its exaggerated facial expressions comedic and otherwise along with the stylized dancing scenes probably make this show stand out. Unfortunately, none of the dances were animated in full. They relied mostly on still frames. In episode 3, Tatara stumbles into a competition. The set-up was a little too obvious, but the tension and portrayal of stage fright were pretty brilliant. Tatara's feelings are portrayed well; you feel indirect embarrassment with him. The show moves quickly as Tatara starts an amateur competition with Makoto against her brother and Shizuku.

Hitorijime My Hero 2-9! Episode 2-3 focuses on the dense idiot and moody, quiet guy. Of course, the moody one forces a kiss(and more off-screen) on the dense one. Episode 4 turns its focus back on the older brother turned teacher and main character who of course, is an excellent cook. The anime does a nice job of creating some semblance of a story out of the almost-PWP manga. Wish they had aged them up to college students, but it's a nice, fluffy BL love story with some really funny moments.

Youkai Apartment no Yuuga na Nichijou 2-9! The parallels to Natsume Yuujinchou are numerous, but this show has a more slapstick sort of humor. A lot more supporting characters/Inaba's neighbors are introduced in episode 2. Inaba also develops supernatural powers. I read some of the manga to see if this was supposed to be a shonen anime, but it's not. It is a supernatural slice-of-life story. Inaba's dorm is eventually fixed and he moves out of the yokai apartment...but naturally realizes he misses the place and returns. There's an odd BL aura around his best friend that I think is supposed to be humorous, but is cute...I guess. In episode 6, he acquires a tarot book a la Cardcaptor Sakura and is able to command the creatures inside. I think the show tries to be a parody of the magical book shows?...but doesn't try hard enough for the laughs.

Looking for a good kdrama or jdrama to watch...I think I've watched so many that the new ones look so bland.

Anyway, finishing up some anime...

Owarimonogatari S2 1-3! resolves the open story items up to this point; Araragi's death in Koyomimonogatari, Hachikuji who ended up in hell, Oshino Ougi's identity, and Hanekawa's search for Oshino Meme. This actually seems like a good end to the series as the season ends with Araragi accepting his weaknesses/dark side and graduating high school. It's pretty impressive that the novels go on to his university and young adult years. So after ten years, the anime has only gone through about half the author's intended novels. The narration, wordy conversations and fanservice get a little tedious, but at the core, the characters are interesting. I'm also fond of the stylized backgrounds. It'll be interesting to see how they can keep the series fresh going forward. ~7/10 rating~ the date with Senjougahara was cute. The wiki page is helpful since the jump in timelines and the wait-time between each season makes following all the details confusing.

Kizumonogatari Tekketsu, Nekketsu and Reiketsu movies! Finally got around to watching these. These are basically prequels to the whole Monogatari series. It tells the story of how Araragi saves a vampire, Kiss-shot Acerola-Orion Heart-Under-Blade, who later becomes Shinobu, and how he gets his vampire powers. The movie takes the stylish sets, gore and pervertness of the tv series and ramps it up even further. There's more action as there are three vampire hunters who try to kill Kiss-shot and Araragi. I usually find Hanekawa pretty uninteresting eye-candy only existing for the male audience, so her overwhelming presence in these movies was fairly annoying. ~8/10 rating~ for an overall decent prequel trilogy...the action scenes were probably a 9; plenty of blood splashing for all.

Made in Abyss 1! On an island somewhere there is a town built around a large abyss. The orphanage uses its kids to scavenge the abyss. The better the findings, the deeper the kids are allowed to explore. A young girl finds a robot boy who has lost his memory and decides to keep it. This has lovely production, but is a too slow for me.

Hey, most of the new, popular anime shows are on Amazon's Anime Strike...well, not this next one...

Hitorijime My Hero 1! Thought this sounded like a bad, cliched BL story, but the first episode is quite cute. A young loser, Setagawa, is used as a go-fer/servant/dog by a local gang. The notorious 'bear killer' randomly beats up the gang allowing Setagawa to leave the gang; he become's Setagawa's 'hero'. Setagawa unknowingly befriends the bear killer's younger brother due them being in the same class. The bear killer later ends up a math teacher at their high school. It looks like there are two main couples from the opening song. The production was pretty good for this genre and I'm up for a cute BL romcom.

The stylish characters...

Ballroom e Youkoso 1! Fujita Tatara is a junior high school student with no plans for his future. He randomly follows a classmate to a dance studio and gets dragged in by an aggressive, enthusiastic dance instructor. He suddenly decides to take lessons after watching a dvd of a professional ballroom dance competition. The production is pretty good with quite detailed character designs; loong necks, lovely eyelashes...haha. Anyway, I feel this will be as flamboyantly fun as Yuuri!! on Ice. The opening theme by Unison Square Garden is one of the more likable songs this season, too.

Vatican Kiseki Chousakan 1! Nicholas Roberto and Josef Kou Hiraga are Vatican Miracle Examiners which are pretty much what their titles imply. They are sent to investigate an immaculate conception case. The premise was promising, but the production was rather tedious. The pacing of this show is noticeably uneven. The characters don't bring anything new to the supernatural religious story genre and there's no humor. Dropped.

Shoukoku no Altair 1! has some fanciful turbans. Young Mahmut becomes a pasha in the anime-version of the Ottoman empire, Turkiye. There's war brewing and he wants to stop it. This reminds me of Arslan Senki in how it feels like it is somehow based on history, but thankfully, I know nothing of that history, so I can't criticize this anime-fication of it. The main character is young and naive...and has a trained eagle(?). I enjoy historical fantasy, so while the production is a tad mediocre, I think I'll keep watching this. I also enjoy the costuming.

Isekai Shokudou 1! is about a restaurant that serves beings from other worlds. In the first episode, the owner/chef finds a homeless demon girl sleeping in the kitchen and gives her a job. It should be a cute slice-of-life fantasy, but it's also boring.

Youkai Apartment no Yuuga na Nichijou 1! a young man graduates middle school. He looks forward to starting high school and moving out of his uncle's house (his parents died in a car accident). He is unable to find a cheap apartment until he finds one occupied by various youkai. The first episode was unoriginal and dull, but there might be some potential in the supporting characters.

Fate/Apocrypha 1! Not sure what the timeline is for this Fate story, but instead of one holy grail war, two factions are warring each other to be the group that will have a legitimate holy war. So eventually your comrades will be your enemies. The animation studio A-1 tries its best to live up to ufotable's quality, but it's apparent that they can't reproduce the smooth and sleek style. And accordingly, you don't have Saber, you get half-price Saber..Mordred. That being said, it was ok. I'll see if any of the characters stand out in the next episode...because the first episode is stuffed full of forgettable characters.

Katsugeki Touken Ranbu 1! is pure visual eye-candy due to ufotable passing on the show above. This show is based on a RPG game where you play pretty-boy, sword-wielding time cops to fight demons who threaten to disturb the past. The first episode introduces Kane, Kimihiro (his junior) and their mascot fox-like thing, and later in the episode, their boss and supporting pretty boy characters.

Random: This article's title basically sums up my thoughts on photobucket. They should not have implemented their policy retroactively...or on photos uploaded before their new policy took place. Oh well, there goes 9 years of screencaps.

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...what are you watching...

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