...what are you watching...

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.

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.

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.