Spring 2023 — Seasonal Impressions

Seasonal Impressions,

Sequels: Ancient Magus Bride, Birdie Wing, Boku to Roboco, Demon Slayer, Dr. Stone, Duel Masters, Edens Zero, Idolmaster Cinderella Girls, Isekai Smartphone, Kaguya-sama, Kuma Kuma Kuma Bear Punch!, Mix, Mobile Suit Gundam: The Witch from Mercury, Orphen, Pokemon, Ranking of Kings, Tokyo Mew Mew New, Tonikawa, Vinland Saga

33. Kizuna no Allele
Damn this sucked.

32. Opus.Colors
I wanted to barf just from the first ten seconds.

31. My Clueless First Friend
Kind of cute. I’m too old and jaded for this.

30. The Marginal Service
Entirely forgettable magical cops show. I’m not sure but maybe it was supposed to be a comedy? Regardless the only funny part was the main character being from East Dakota.

29. My Home Hero
Daddy must murder to protect his daughter. It was definitely boring, just kind of horrible. The bad guy looks interesting I guess.

28. Ao no Orchestra
Generic music show. The two main characters did not draw my interest at all. It was kind of funny how much trauma the main kid had from violin though. Maybe he should just avoid it.

27. Dead Mount Death Play
Very well animated, but it just seems so mean. Not sure if I’ll keep watching this.

26. I Got a Cheat Skill in Another World and Became Unrivaled in the Real World Too
Guy loses weight with magic. It is sad how most of these isekai wish fulfillment shows reinforce the premise that the main characters are completely worthless as they are, until they magically become superior to everyone that used to look down on them. That’s part of why I really like Mushoku Tensei— the main guy really stays the same person, although he works hard to grow, and also gains some empathy while becoming accepted.

25. Alice Gear Aegis Expansion
Lesbians want to become actresses. On the positive side, this was very bizarre.

24. The Aristocrat’s Otherworldly Adventure
Pretty generic isekai. Not bad really, just forgettable.

23. Summoned to Another World for a Second Time
Another isekai that looks pretty forgettable. The titular twist seems like just a slightly different excuse to make the main character overpowered. I guess I do like the masochist girl…

22. Stella of the Theater: World Dai Star
Reminds me of that one with the tall girl who goes to acting school (forget what it’s called) but not as good.

21. Otaku Elf
I went into this not expecting much. It was fine but not my thing. What would have been a cute show about shrine maidens a few years ago but is now an isekai because everything is an isekai.

20. Magical Destroyers
The worst main character in recent memory….? Can’t help sympathize with banning otakus when this is the best they can offer.

19. Too Cute Crisis
This first episode was pretty funny. But I don’t think it’s going to keep my interest for an entire season.

18. The Cafe Terrace and Its Goddesses
This felt a bit nostalgic— it’s like we’re back to the days of Love Hina. Decent first episode, if you like this kind of show.

17. Sacrificial Princess and the King of Beasts
Kids show, but this was actually a great first episode. No idea if it will stay that way though.

16. The Legendary Hero is Dead
This was just non-stop bad jokes. I’ll probably watch it since it’s my kind of trash.

15. Mashle: Magic and Muscles
Somewhat amusing first episode although I suspect it may grow stale fast. Very stupid childish sense of humor.

14. Rokudou’s Bad Girls
Very strange show. Not quite sure what to make of it. It’s been growing on me though.

13. A Galaxy Next Door
It was fine, and I’ll probably watch it to the end. But the manga is beautiful. This was not.

12. Why Raeliana Ended Up at the Duke’s Mansion
I like the comic and the adaptation seems to capture the fun of it. Solid first episode.

11. My Love Story with Yamada-kun at Lv999
Despite the title this is not an isekai, just a show involving video games. Seems like an interesting romance, lots of drama so far. More adult than we usually get. I feel like it may peter out however…

10. Konosuba: An Explosion on This Wonderful World!
I mean, I won’t say no to more Megumin…. Didn’t feel quite as funny as the original though.

9. The Dangers in my Heart
Pretty well made. I read this manga and I completely forgot what a piece of trash the main character was at the start. Pretty realistic middle schooler though…

8. Kamikatsu: Working for God in a Godless World
Ok so this is trash and I expect most people won’t like it. But I found the first episode pretty amusing. The goddess is already annoying, however.

7. My One-Hit Kill Sister
The incest premise is of course very creepy, but it’s really well animated??? Seems like a waste to be honest but this was one of the best put together first episodes.

6. Yuri is My Job
This could still go either way, but I enjoyed the first episode. The main character has quite the personality. Not what I was expecting.

5. Insomniacs After School
Love the manga and the first episode did not disappoint!

4. Skip and Loafer
Cute shoujo romance! Off to a pretty good start. Both characters have lots of personality.

3. Hell’s Paradise
Pretty dark with all the execution methods, but cool first episode. But this was an intro done in a way that I suspect the rest of the show may be nothing like this.

2. Heavenly Delusion
Love this manga, and the anime is off to a great start. Looks spectacular.

1. Oshi no Ko
I love the manga too and wow this ruled.

There are too many shows I want to watch this season and I’ve already dropped some I would have watched last season. Anything good I missed? What do you all think?

Narutaru Ch. 57 – 61 — The End of the World

Narutaru,

Ch. 57 Summary: A reporter investigates the dragon children. Shiina’s mom meets Akira. Sudou plots something terrible.

Ch. 58 Summary: Shiina investigates Mishou, leaves home, and runs into Mamiko.

Ch. 59 Summary: Shiina and Mamiko ride bikes together. Mamiko reveals that the entire earth is her shadow dragon. Japan launches ICBMS at America.

Ch. 60 Summary: People look for Shiina. Cities are destroyed by nuclear weapons. Many dragons appear in the sky.

Ch. 61 Summary: Sudou launches more nukes. Hoshimaru picks up Shiina.

These final chapters of volume 11 are mostly setup for the epic conclusion volume 12 has in store for us. Yeah, that’s right, nuclear winter is just the beginning of this. It’s going to get much worse.

Sheol as the Earth

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So the entire Earth is Mamiko’s dragon child. Which she named “Sheol”, the abode of the dead. More specifically, Sheol is a land of darkness, cut off from light and from God, where all the dead go, both the righteous and the unrighteous, regardless of their deeds. And Mamiko identifies Sheol with the Earth.

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And Sudou is working to make it just that, the land of the dead. (Kitoh’s style, filled with the detail of debris, works great for these kinds of destruction scenes.)

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Mamiko and Sudou don’t see this as sad even. They think the earth would be better off as Sheol.

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I mean, sure, the Earth wouldn’t be sad, the Earth doesn’t really have feelings. But… what? Basically Sudou’s logic is, people don’t treat the earth well? So we should start a nuclear war and destroy all humans? I don’t entirely understand him. I also like how he accuses mankind of becoming too arrogant, while he unilaterally judges them and arrogantly decides that it’s in the earth’s best interest for him to bring about their extinction.

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And somehow Bungo goes along with this plan because he thinks they need a uniform society of law and order? I suppose the lack of any society whatsoever would fit these conditions, but… Teenagers are dumb I guess. I’m guessing their logic isn’t something we were supposed to think too hard about.

 Shiina’s Mother

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We’re forced to reevaluate Shiina’s mother a bit here. She seemed like a terrible mother (and she is). But she has changed her entire career and life for what she sees as Shiina’s sake. Shiina may be afraid she’s a replacement for their previous daughter, but it’s not nearly as simple as that. Both her parents certainly care for Shiina deeply.

The Dragon Children

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We also get this interesting tidbit about the dragon children. The dragon children come to those who ask for their help, even subconsciously.  Why and how have the others wished for the dragon children’s help?

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So Sudou is the executor and Mamiko is an observer. Recall that Tsurumaru earlier told Shiina that her role was to observe. Is he another executor paired to her observation? (By the way, my Japanese sucks, but I think the translation above, “the one who makes decisions” is not correct. That doesn’t make sense— the executor makes decisions, not the observer. I believe a better translation is “the one who judges”.)

Finally, note how the dragons appear in the sky after the massive death toll, and how Shiina feels sick.

Narutaru Ch. 51 – 56 — In the Sack

Narutaru,

Ch. 51 Summary: Shiina’s parents find Norio’s head attached to a doll and Shiina’s corpse brought home in a bag.

Ch. 52 Summary: Shiina shows up at her grandparents’ house. She has her first period.

Ch. 53 Summary: Akira and Sudou visit the guy Shiina killed a long time ago. Sudou pressures Akira to join him.

Ch. 54 Summary: Tsurumaru cries.

Ch. 55 Summary: Tsurumaru kills some gangsters.

Ch. 56 Summary: Mamiko and Tsurumaru’s girlfriend visit Tsurumaru’s house and are raped by the gangsters. Then Mamiko massacres them.

Back in a Bag

Part of what I love about Kitoh is his sheer brutality. No one else comes close. Other manga will kill off characters (sometimes), but who else has the balls to have the remaining bits of the main character’s corpse brought home in a bag to show to her parents. My God. Oh, right, and that’s nothing compared to what happened to another main character a few pages before.

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Yup. Holy crap. Who else would even be able to imagine this kind of shit. Continue reading Narutaru Ch. 51 – 56 — In the Sack →

A Seasonal Review — Winter 2023

Seasonal Review,

Seasonal Impressions

Didn’t Watch: Blue Lock, Buddy Daddies, By the Grace of the Gods 2, Cardfight!! Vanguard, D4DJ All Mix, Don’t Toy with Me Miss Nagatoro, Eternal Boys, Farming Life in Another World, Flaglia, The Fruit of Evolution, High Card, The Ice Guy and His Cool Female Colleague, iDolish 7, Kubo Won’t Let Me Be Invisible, Malevolent Spirits Monogatari, My Hero Academia, Revenger, Soaring Sky! Pretty Cure, Sorcerous Stabber Orphen, The Tale of Outcasts, Technoroid Overmind, Tokyo Revengers S2, Trigun Stampede, Tsurune, UniteUp!, Urusei Yatsura, The Vampire Dies in No Time, Yowamushi Pedal

Suspended: Ayakashi Triangle, Misfit of Demon King Academy, NieR Automata

30. Spy Classroom — F
The light novel fans have been telling us how great this was for years and daaaamn it sucked. I’m almost tempted to read the light novel because it can’t actually be this bad can it?

29. The Legend of Heroes: Trails of Cold Steel- Northern War — F
Why bother making this? It was sooo bad.

28. My Life as Inukai-san’s Dog — D-
Ok the premise of trash but if you ignore that it’s pretty good. Hard to ignore though.

27. Giant Beasts of Ars — D
Just like Fractale! Continue reading A Seasonal Review — Winter 2023 →