They're hit and miss. Brain's Base is certainly capable of doing good work. (In recent memory, they've done both To Your Eternity, and In/Spectre.) But they've made plenty of poopers in between. Only time will tell, but I can't imagine them doing a worse job than Geno Studio, which always seemed way in over their heads with GK, biting off more than they could chew.
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Iaboo, Youaboo, Weallaboo for Anime!
- Thread starter Johnny Unusual
- Start date
That's a big RIP. Even if she hasn't had much to do with the industry for a while, the stuff she's left her mark on has been some of my most favorite media of all time. I made a big effort post a while back about it (I think on TT2 maybe?) but I implore people to go look up and give Wolf's Rain a chance. I think I might go rewatch it and pour one out for her. It's a masterpiece, and a really good example of Mono no Aware, IMO.
I think it's ok to level criticisms or discuss how she wrote female characters. Many around here object to how Macross Plus treats its female cast, and I'll be the first to admit that Cowboy Bebop relies on a lot of tired tropes for many of its female characters. But she always managed to imbue a level of depth into her female characters that her male contemporaries in the industry just straight up don't do. Most of the characters in her stories are intensely flawed, but relateable characters that experience growth arcs and exercise agency in ways that most contemporary female anime characters are happy to just have one dimensional, static, inorganic stereotypes for its female cast.
Edit: Also, speaking of Macross Plus, the film version is gonna be in US theaters this Tuesday for select showings.
I think it's ok to level criticisms or discuss how she wrote female characters. Many around here object to how Macross Plus treats its female cast, and I'll be the first to admit that Cowboy Bebop relies on a lot of tired tropes for many of its female characters. But she always managed to imbue a level of depth into her female characters that her male contemporaries in the industry just straight up don't do. Most of the characters in her stories are intensely flawed, but relateable characters that experience growth arcs and exercise agency in ways that most contemporary female anime characters are happy to just have one dimensional, static, inorganic stereotypes for its female cast.
Edit: Also, speaking of Macross Plus, the film version is gonna be in US theaters this Tuesday for select showings.
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Cancer sucks and creators dying sucks, but to cast Nobumoto as exceptional within her industry specifically in terms of as to how she approached writing women to me is nothing but hagiography--you can't deny her legacy but it doesn't extend there. Much of her career is inextricable from Watanabe's, so that informs those impressions, but she was perfectly capable of maintaining her voice in collaboration with others too. I'm not fond of any of her work.
Johnny Unusual
(He/Him)
Also looking fun; the newest Dragonball Super movie trailer
I like the idea of the return of the Red Ribbon Society as a superhero team with them either being villains pretending to be heroes or real heroes being manipulated by their superiors to beat up our favourite warriors. But more than that, I love Gohan's look of "Piccolo in nerd glasses", though if there were a better time for the return of Saiyaman, I couldn't think of it. Oh, and it looks like it's a bit of a time jump again, for what it's worth.
I like the idea of the return of the Red Ribbon Society as a superhero team with them either being villains pretending to be heroes or real heroes being manipulated by their superiors to beat up our favourite warriors. But more than that, I love Gohan's look of "Piccolo in nerd glasses", though if there were a better time for the return of Saiyaman, I couldn't think of it. Oh, and it looks like it's a bit of a time jump again, for what it's worth.
Sprite
(He/Him/His)
Husband and I just watched season one of One Punch Man and loved it. Definitely my favorite take on the whole “being Superman would suck” trope. Very impressive to see a show manage to have such a high body count while consistently feeling low-stakes.
Is season two as bad as people say?
Is season two as bad as people say?
Johnny Unusual
(He/Him)
I don't know but as I understand it, if you like it also watch Mob Psycho 100, which is the same creators take on the Psychic Action genre. I've yet to see it but people love it about as much and it has a Hell of an intro.
If what you care about is animation quality, don't watch season 2. The manga (the Yusuke Murata illustrated one, not the original webcomic) is better animated. Don't think I'm exaggerating.
Johnny Unusual
(He/Him)
Bad news, good news time.
We are going to have to wait another year for a new Dr. Stone season.
But this next year we are getting a TV special. So that's good.
We are going to have to wait another year for a new Dr. Stone season.
But this next year we are getting a TV special. So that's good.
So some series had their season finales! And you damn well better believe I've got some thoughts!
First up is Takt Op. Destiny. Despite being based on a mobile game, it wasn't beholden to following some premade storyline. I liked both Takt and Destiny's growing relationship, even when they were both being jerks to each other. The ending kind of felt like it came out of nowhere, with the reveal that the head of the defense group was behind the recent events. But at least it left things on a hopeful note, even if Destiny is now gone and Takt is in a coma. I highly doubt this is going to get a second season, but I wouldn't be opposed to it.
Worlds Finest Assassin became a bit of a hate watch partway through. Look, I get that Lugh is a teen and will have wet dreams, but the insistence of his maid and adopted sister that they "take care of him" multiple times got gross. And then they upped the gross factor by revealing that Dia is his cousin, and now is pretending to be his sister, and Lugh is in love with her. Just...no. At least the Celtic myths are more involved with the reveal of Setanta and his Gae Bolg. Too bad he went out by way of "a wizard did it." Of course he wasn't the Hero, with a capital H, leaving things open for a second season. So look forward to more people thirsting after Lugh's man juice if this get another season greenlit.
Finally, there's my favorite of the ending ones The Fruit of Evolution an show that never took itself too seriously and loved to giggle at isekai tropes. Does it make sense that Seichii can create magic and is being asked to be an instructor at the magic academy that his fellow students are at? Nope! But does this show care that it doesn't make sense? Not at all! In fact, you could call this the "Hang a lampshade on everything" show and that would be pretty accurate. I'm hoping it gets another season, as I like it.
Digimon Ghost Game is still ongoing and I'm still enjoying it. The Faraway Paladin is one I fell off at the recap episode, but I do want to catch up.
Worlds Finest Assassin became a bit of a hate watch partway through. Look, I get that Lugh is a teen and will have wet dreams, but the insistence of his maid and adopted sister that they "take care of him" multiple times got gross. And then they upped the gross factor by revealing that Dia is his cousin, and now is pretending to be his sister, and Lugh is in love with her. Just...no. At least the Celtic myths are more involved with the reveal of Setanta and his Gae Bolg. Too bad he went out by way of "a wizard did it." Of course he wasn't the Hero, with a capital H, leaving things open for a second season. So look forward to more people thirsting after Lugh's man juice if this get another season greenlit.
Finally, there's my favorite of the ending ones The Fruit of Evolution an show that never took itself too seriously and loved to giggle at isekai tropes. Does it make sense that Seichii can create magic and is being asked to be an instructor at the magic academy that his fellow students are at? Nope! But does this show care that it doesn't make sense? Not at all! In fact, you could call this the "Hang a lampshade on everything" show and that would be pretty accurate. I'm hoping it gets another season, as I like it.
Digimon Ghost Game is still ongoing and I'm still enjoying it. The Faraway Paladin is one I fell off at the recap episode, but I do want to catch up.
An amusing factoid about this show to me, is that it's actually a really popular show in Japan. One of the top watched of the season. And that most of its viewership is female.
Fun(?) fact(?): I wish I could remember where exactly I had seen this, but in an article I saw a while back that was covering some stuff related to fujoshis, one of the parts was about a difference between "male" and "female" gaze in porn. And at a very distilled level, the breakdown was essentially that "male" was about the big, grizzled, powerful men, while "female" was about small, young, fragile boys.
There's probably a lot more nuance that wasn't covered, and/or that I'm just forgetting, though. My main takeaway ended up being that, aside from "Yes, women are also able to be horny", there's a desire to be the "caretaker" of the relationship out there. To be a person that is relied on, in a manner other than being the big tough protector. And that's something I can understand and relate with.
Johnny Unusual
(He/Him)
Decided to make a list of my favourite series of this year.
Honorable Mentions:
Honorable Mentions:
Vivy: Flourite Eye’s Song
The premise doesn’t quite live up to its ambitious ideas but it never crashes and burns as could have happened but this sci-fi adventure taking place over the course of 100 years is largely satisfying. I think a lot of the adventures end up being traditional in probing ideas about AI, it has some great cliffhangers and plot turns, my favourite being turning the end theme into something much more sinister. Very pretty animation and some decent enough plot turns made it compete pretty hard for my number 10 spot.
Zombieland Saga Revenge
I feel like this season didn’t make as big a mark as season one but it might be the better season overall? I think I’d have to watch them back-to-back to be sure but I really liked it and appreciated it’s willingness to do things like a surprisingly grounded 2-parter that ends up playing a big role in the show’s mythology and also ending on a new-level silly cliffhanger.
Sk8 the Infinity
Some shows have gorgeous animation, fresh unique characters and genre subverting ideas. And some are just solid mid-tier shows with no greater ambition than just make an entertaining show. And Sk8 the Infinity succeeds, in large part thanks to the likability to the two leads, a brash skateboarding enthusiast and an aloof but sweet amateur with a gift for the sport. It’s silly as heck but remained consistently fun throughout.
Jujustu Kaisen
Jujustu Kaisen’s second half of it’s first season nearly made my list because after a very grim story arc, we get a fun competition arc with great new characters, some expanding on the ones we had and more humour that works. I like that the main character constantly gets caught up in his new “best friend’s” energy, both building an elaborate fictive backstory for their friendship. It’s also beautifully animated and though the final fight didn’t lead to any big reveals, it managed to be a satisfying and well-animated actioner.
10. Shadows House
The fact that Shadows House is an eternal optimistic girl just happy to help made me worry that Shadows House might be a show that romanticizes indentured servitude with a gothic veneer. I mean, this isn’t unthinkable in anime. And early on, it takes us a while to get to the fact that this is about our protagonists involved in a horrible system with dark aims that they must work together to defeat. The series kind of weakens in the last couple episodes, which I’m given to understand was made for the show to give a convenient stopping point but all the same, it is a series where the underlying mysteries and plotting make for a fun surprise.
It’s not subtle about being a series about duality but we get to see the “dolls” grow during the testing arc in ways that are interesting. I’m definitely looking forward to more in this series that feels like a somewhat lighter (and admittedly not quite as clever) version of the Promised Neverland with a slight fairy tale sheen and while it’s attitude isn’t completely “fuck the man” (our heroine is still a “happy maid” archetype that her “owner” indulges) but I am looking forward to digging into it’s murky world of shadows.
9. Kageki Shoujo!!
In the early 2000s, I used to go to an anime club were they would lend out videos and CDs of anime episodes. This allowed me to find some older, good stuff like Touch and Glass Mask. Glass Mask, a long running shojo about an actress, was a favourite of mine and I was chasing a similar high of a shoujo acting drama. Though a lot lighter, Kageki Shoujo!! hits that spot. It’s not without problems. After a harrowing episode about child abuse and growing up not being believed, it followed it with a well-intentioned but misguided episode where said character his helped by her stalker’s stalking skills. Then there’s an episode about body image and eating disorders that mostly lands but while it comments on the fact that it is the result of the demands of a teacher and the very school’s system, it kind of sidesteps addressing this area of the problem.
But overall, it is the kind of show I like, as it explores why the women in this school want to become actresses and what kind of skills need to be developed. The main character is likable and begins as a character we often see both in shoujo and shounen series, the kind of hero who happily faces any challenge with unwavering optimism and kindness. But as the series continues, we also see that even she gets to have more depth and complications when her following her dreams and the fact that she in fact has had her share of heartbreak and that she actually has put more thought into her path than we may have suspected and that it might be related to dreams she couldn’t follow. There’s a lot going on here and I hope we get to see these girls continue to find their creative voices.
8. Dr. Stone: Stone Wars
I remember when Dr. Stone came out, it never made it in my list but part of me regrets that a bit. There are shows that are funnier or more touching or have more well-realized characters or clever plots. But Dr. Stone is a show about a process and it is addicting to watch these plans come to fruition and there’s nothing wrong with that. I do feel like the big emotional climax is more effective than the last one. I always feel like in theory all of them are actually strong but it never quite gets to me as much as it should. Nonetheless, this silly edutainment show is constantly entertaining and I can’t look away.
This season is also the culmination of what was being built to since the series began and the show manages to stick to its guns, mostly, when it promises a deathless end to war on Earth. I think it’s easy to think of Senku as a science bully a lot of the time but I think the show does a decent job hammering the point that this is a man who cares and that science is a method to make life better for people. At first blush, he’s the archetypical “science for the sake of science” but we see he is a man who believes and honors it because of the good it does. Looking forward to what is sure to be a wild new season when it finally happens.
7. Sonny Boy
It feels like it’s been a while since I’ve seen a show that really does feel like it wants to experiment in it’s storytelling. Visual, I don’t think it is but it is a nonetheless gorgeous magical realist journey through a multiverse that is both almost too freeing and yet to some, terrifyingly restrictive. I’d be lying to say if I could follow everything that was going on from episode to episode but I feel like as non-handholdy as this show is, its episodic nature makes it not to hard to understand the major show and every episode almost allows for a reset where you can try again.
When I saw the first episode, I was a little disappointed, finding the story a little too heavy handed but it quickly won me over by being a show constantly rejecting a status quo because that’s sort of what it is about. Yeah, scene to scene isn’t always easy to follow but what it is about in the macro-sense feels very clear to me; that it is about the anxiety of what happens after school, finding a new place in a strange world where all of the old rules only roughly prepare characters for life. Things don’t culminate in a battle against a villain or overcoming a crisis but choosing to find direction in life, even if it is harder to attain than equally valid choices such as… becoming a tree? Its an odd show. But it does have monkey baseball.
6. Blue Period
If there’s one kind of show I like, it is one about a process. I love to see the creation of something, which much of the appeal of a show like Dr. Stone, but more than that, I do love to see the relationship between the process and the mindset of the person behind it. It doesn’t always work (the disappointing Those Snow White Notes) but when it does, it makes for some compelling television. And Blue Period very much hits the button in my brain while remaining a rather sweet hearted look at a people pleaser who used to walk the line to make all people happy who finds himself encouraged to leave his comfort zone when he learns he wants to be an artist.
What Yatora finds isn’t just that art is fun, which he finds it can be, but that it goes beyond fun and that being able to communicate through an artistic medium is worth the pain and struggling and wrestling with composition and message. He learns and relearns how big and complex the art world is and it expands his own understanding of himself. He learns not just to make people happy but to really put himself out there and communicate with them. Sometimes that means risk and hurt but the rewards have much more depth than simply keeping the peace and enriches is work and friendships. And that can be healthier than simply trying to be a selfless good guy, even if his new career will make him fraught with anxiety.
5. The Heike Story
While I’m sure there’s lots more to get out of The Hieke Story if you are familiar with the source material but even if you don’t know it and find the specifics intimidating, the series isn’t hard to follow in the broader sense, even if the smaller details might lose you. Because it is a show about history, a history written in stone, but also a reminder that the people who make up history aren’t just figures, they are people. In fact, the failure to recognize people as such is the failing of many in the Taira clan, the protagonists and sort of tragic “villains” of the tale. In fact, the family is also made up of good people caught in the political machinations of the clans leaders, which eventually leads to war.
But while the war itself is important, it primarily keeps itself focused on the human element, making the tragedy far more palpable rather than scholarly. I think it is also about our desire as the audience to want to be able to avert tragedies we are familiar with in our stories and history. There’s no “time travel/history changes” element, but the show does allow us to have small measures of hope and that tragedy will have an important place in the minds of the people. In a half-decade marked by corruption, suffering and grief, it’s nice to see a show that doesn’t say “it’s all going to work out” but does allow us a measure of hope not based on blind faith and a belief what we take with us can help us in our human journeys.
4. Nomad: Megalobox 2
Nomad had a lot to live up to. Megalobox was a strong series and there was little that DEMANDED a sequel, as it came to an incredibly satisfying conclusion. Does this wonderful little re-imagining of Ashita no Joe even need a sequel? What is there left to say. It turns out it actually had quite a bit to say and also got to do an about-face on its attitude without feeling like a betrayal of the hungry, scrappy little series that began it. Here, Joe’s never say die attitude is replaced with a calmness and understanding there are things not worth destroying your body over.
Nomad is a much quieter and sadder show but also extremely hopeful, as Joe returns to a world he felt he betrayed and tries to make amends. Wiser and gentler, but still strong and flawed in his way, it isn’t the tale of the comeback of a broken fighter into the ring but into other people’s lives. Yes, there is a fight and a big antagonist but the final battle isn’t “go for broke and destroy my body in the process to save day”, but something a little more mature. Maturity is really what the series is about. Joe matures and we don’t rebuke the character from the first series but instead see his journey to self-improvement and winning back the things he loves and helping those who are threatening to throw away those things. It also has a surprisingly strong subplot dealing with immigrants, which I didn’t expect.
3. To Your Eternity
To Your Eternity could have easily settled into a tiresome formula. After all, in a very loose sense, all of the arc in this series follow the same one. I won’t spoil it for you in the event that you start watching the series, which you really should, but it won’t take you long to catch on either. Heck, as much as I love the intro, it also isn’t shy about hinting at where things are going (though it has some misdirects). But it is a testament to how great the show is that it never does because it makes sure that even when the cycle is starting over, we are going to invest in everything so that by the end of the story, it is just as powerful as the other times. Granted, in this regards, the arc on the prison island is a bit weaker than the others but all of them have their merits.
I also feel it is ambitious in the way that I felt Vivy, while I did enjoy it, didn’t quite live up to. In 20 episodes, To Your Eternity manages to feel like a epic that spans years and you can slowly feel the weight of those years in the series. The main character starts out as… not exactly being that, instead a barely sentient sponge and by the end manages to feel like a real character without taking narrative short cuts on the journey, even if there are some time jumps. There are several mysteries in the series I am invested in but I feel the series first and foremost is interested in the emotional stakes of the story, even more than the evil tentacle monsters that our hero is tasked to save the world from. It sells us that we’d rather have that take a back seat to the friends that our hero values and makes the world worth saving.
2. Ranking of Kings
You know it is a good year when a show like Ranking of Kings isn’t the best show. I love the shounen genre and Ranking of Kings feels very much in that area. There are power ups, hugely outsized characters (literally and figuratively), a protagonist on a journey towards strength which he faces with a hopeful attitude, and deep mythos. But if you go in expecting Shaman King or Dragon Quest: Adventures of Dai, you might be in for a surprise, because Ranking of Kings is a much richer show, populated with characters you find yourself caring for. Despite the shounen/fairy tale sheen, this turns out to be a more empathetic/cartoony Game of Thrones (when it was good), which our alliances turning as we learn more about characters. Except for Bojji and Kage, who remain the goodest of boys in a world that turns out to be much murkier than they expect.
If anything, it is quite a gamble to spend so much time away from the show’s most loveable characters, but it’s one that pays off, making the show something closer to ensemble where the characters who seem like also-rans and stock archetypes find themselves in complex situations and reveal themselves to have depth. Even one of the show’s more villainous characters turns out to have a surprising level of integrity and I’m excited for when they get a chance to redeem themselves. The show might not take you to the fireworks factory right away but the journey is so rewarding, your thankful for the scenic view.
Ranking of Kings is a show about what it means to have power, retain it and what it does to you. We are presented to characters who despite their best intentions turn into monsters while the powerless Bojji is finally getting his own tastes after a lifetime of being powerless. And while that’s usually a recipe for disaster, Bojji and Kage seem primed to overcome any temptations of corruption through their purity. They aren’t chosen ones, they are the ones destiny seemed to cast aside or downright damn, but with compassion and empathy, they’ll avoid the pitfalls of those they love, if they can help it. Because unlike many of the characters, even those who love them, they are learning to accept themselves as on their own terms rather than the standards expected of them
1. Odd Taxi
It feels like it has been a long time since I’ve seen a done-in-one (season) series that is so perfectly crafted with absolutely no excess fat. You might think that something like that means it moves at light speed but quite the obvious, it’s a real slow burn, albeit one where everything pays off perfectly. It also risks being a little heavy handed about our relationship with social media, as it is key to the arcs of many flawed and naïve characters in the series but in fact it is a series about human failings, wants and desires and how what we need isn’t as easy to figure out. These are characters who would find ways to mess themselves up even without it, to be sure. But I also don’t think the show is looking down on these characters, as pathetic as they are, and instead is a bit optimistic people can turn their lives around if given a chance.
It also helps that the series confident plotting sells it’s casual first act through the main character, Odokawa, a large taxi-driving walrus, is, despite his aloof, wry attitude is a good conversationalist and a people person. He knows how to get people to talk to make his job go better and adding to some push and pull to the conversation, doesn’t do a lot of judging and is curious. And this is a show that is curious people, wondering how they fall into their own personal traps and what their wants really are. Things slowly tighten over the course of the series as it gradually turns into a tight, tense thriller that manages to take control of all of its threads.
The series makes a bold choice for it’s last act and one that risks its hopeful humanist attitude but I really do think it works. Apparently, there’s going to be a film “retelling” of the series with a fleshed out ending but I REALLY think we don’t need it, as the ending it gives us is a perfect punctuation to the series. I think there’s been some great series this year but my love of Odd Taxi goes beyond mere consistency to a sense that the creators know exactly when and how to steer the series that takes the more rewarding path to get to its destination.
The premise doesn’t quite live up to its ambitious ideas but it never crashes and burns as could have happened but this sci-fi adventure taking place over the course of 100 years is largely satisfying. I think a lot of the adventures end up being traditional in probing ideas about AI, it has some great cliffhangers and plot turns, my favourite being turning the end theme into something much more sinister. Very pretty animation and some decent enough plot turns made it compete pretty hard for my number 10 spot.
Zombieland Saga Revenge
I feel like this season didn’t make as big a mark as season one but it might be the better season overall? I think I’d have to watch them back-to-back to be sure but I really liked it and appreciated it’s willingness to do things like a surprisingly grounded 2-parter that ends up playing a big role in the show’s mythology and also ending on a new-level silly cliffhanger.
Sk8 the Infinity
Some shows have gorgeous animation, fresh unique characters and genre subverting ideas. And some are just solid mid-tier shows with no greater ambition than just make an entertaining show. And Sk8 the Infinity succeeds, in large part thanks to the likability to the two leads, a brash skateboarding enthusiast and an aloof but sweet amateur with a gift for the sport. It’s silly as heck but remained consistently fun throughout.
Jujustu Kaisen
Jujustu Kaisen’s second half of it’s first season nearly made my list because after a very grim story arc, we get a fun competition arc with great new characters, some expanding on the ones we had and more humour that works. I like that the main character constantly gets caught up in his new “best friend’s” energy, both building an elaborate fictive backstory for their friendship. It’s also beautifully animated and though the final fight didn’t lead to any big reveals, it managed to be a satisfying and well-animated actioner.
10. Shadows House
The fact that Shadows House is an eternal optimistic girl just happy to help made me worry that Shadows House might be a show that romanticizes indentured servitude with a gothic veneer. I mean, this isn’t unthinkable in anime. And early on, it takes us a while to get to the fact that this is about our protagonists involved in a horrible system with dark aims that they must work together to defeat. The series kind of weakens in the last couple episodes, which I’m given to understand was made for the show to give a convenient stopping point but all the same, it is a series where the underlying mysteries and plotting make for a fun surprise.
It’s not subtle about being a series about duality but we get to see the “dolls” grow during the testing arc in ways that are interesting. I’m definitely looking forward to more in this series that feels like a somewhat lighter (and admittedly not quite as clever) version of the Promised Neverland with a slight fairy tale sheen and while it’s attitude isn’t completely “fuck the man” (our heroine is still a “happy maid” archetype that her “owner” indulges) but I am looking forward to digging into it’s murky world of shadows.
9. Kageki Shoujo!!
In the early 2000s, I used to go to an anime club were they would lend out videos and CDs of anime episodes. This allowed me to find some older, good stuff like Touch and Glass Mask. Glass Mask, a long running shojo about an actress, was a favourite of mine and I was chasing a similar high of a shoujo acting drama. Though a lot lighter, Kageki Shoujo!! hits that spot. It’s not without problems. After a harrowing episode about child abuse and growing up not being believed, it followed it with a well-intentioned but misguided episode where said character his helped by her stalker’s stalking skills. Then there’s an episode about body image and eating disorders that mostly lands but while it comments on the fact that it is the result of the demands of a teacher and the very school’s system, it kind of sidesteps addressing this area of the problem.
But overall, it is the kind of show I like, as it explores why the women in this school want to become actresses and what kind of skills need to be developed. The main character is likable and begins as a character we often see both in shoujo and shounen series, the kind of hero who happily faces any challenge with unwavering optimism and kindness. But as the series continues, we also see that even she gets to have more depth and complications when her following her dreams and the fact that she in fact has had her share of heartbreak and that she actually has put more thought into her path than we may have suspected and that it might be related to dreams she couldn’t follow. There’s a lot going on here and I hope we get to see these girls continue to find their creative voices.
8. Dr. Stone: Stone Wars
I remember when Dr. Stone came out, it never made it in my list but part of me regrets that a bit. There are shows that are funnier or more touching or have more well-realized characters or clever plots. But Dr. Stone is a show about a process and it is addicting to watch these plans come to fruition and there’s nothing wrong with that. I do feel like the big emotional climax is more effective than the last one. I always feel like in theory all of them are actually strong but it never quite gets to me as much as it should. Nonetheless, this silly edutainment show is constantly entertaining and I can’t look away.
This season is also the culmination of what was being built to since the series began and the show manages to stick to its guns, mostly, when it promises a deathless end to war on Earth. I think it’s easy to think of Senku as a science bully a lot of the time but I think the show does a decent job hammering the point that this is a man who cares and that science is a method to make life better for people. At first blush, he’s the archetypical “science for the sake of science” but we see he is a man who believes and honors it because of the good it does. Looking forward to what is sure to be a wild new season when it finally happens.
7. Sonny Boy
It feels like it’s been a while since I’ve seen a show that really does feel like it wants to experiment in it’s storytelling. Visual, I don’t think it is but it is a nonetheless gorgeous magical realist journey through a multiverse that is both almost too freeing and yet to some, terrifyingly restrictive. I’d be lying to say if I could follow everything that was going on from episode to episode but I feel like as non-handholdy as this show is, its episodic nature makes it not to hard to understand the major show and every episode almost allows for a reset where you can try again.
When I saw the first episode, I was a little disappointed, finding the story a little too heavy handed but it quickly won me over by being a show constantly rejecting a status quo because that’s sort of what it is about. Yeah, scene to scene isn’t always easy to follow but what it is about in the macro-sense feels very clear to me; that it is about the anxiety of what happens after school, finding a new place in a strange world where all of the old rules only roughly prepare characters for life. Things don’t culminate in a battle against a villain or overcoming a crisis but choosing to find direction in life, even if it is harder to attain than equally valid choices such as… becoming a tree? Its an odd show. But it does have monkey baseball.
6. Blue Period
If there’s one kind of show I like, it is one about a process. I love to see the creation of something, which much of the appeal of a show like Dr. Stone, but more than that, I do love to see the relationship between the process and the mindset of the person behind it. It doesn’t always work (the disappointing Those Snow White Notes) but when it does, it makes for some compelling television. And Blue Period very much hits the button in my brain while remaining a rather sweet hearted look at a people pleaser who used to walk the line to make all people happy who finds himself encouraged to leave his comfort zone when he learns he wants to be an artist.
What Yatora finds isn’t just that art is fun, which he finds it can be, but that it goes beyond fun and that being able to communicate through an artistic medium is worth the pain and struggling and wrestling with composition and message. He learns and relearns how big and complex the art world is and it expands his own understanding of himself. He learns not just to make people happy but to really put himself out there and communicate with them. Sometimes that means risk and hurt but the rewards have much more depth than simply keeping the peace and enriches is work and friendships. And that can be healthier than simply trying to be a selfless good guy, even if his new career will make him fraught with anxiety.
5. The Heike Story
While I’m sure there’s lots more to get out of The Hieke Story if you are familiar with the source material but even if you don’t know it and find the specifics intimidating, the series isn’t hard to follow in the broader sense, even if the smaller details might lose you. Because it is a show about history, a history written in stone, but also a reminder that the people who make up history aren’t just figures, they are people. In fact, the failure to recognize people as such is the failing of many in the Taira clan, the protagonists and sort of tragic “villains” of the tale. In fact, the family is also made up of good people caught in the political machinations of the clans leaders, which eventually leads to war.
But while the war itself is important, it primarily keeps itself focused on the human element, making the tragedy far more palpable rather than scholarly. I think it is also about our desire as the audience to want to be able to avert tragedies we are familiar with in our stories and history. There’s no “time travel/history changes” element, but the show does allow us to have small measures of hope and that tragedy will have an important place in the minds of the people. In a half-decade marked by corruption, suffering and grief, it’s nice to see a show that doesn’t say “it’s all going to work out” but does allow us a measure of hope not based on blind faith and a belief what we take with us can help us in our human journeys.
4. Nomad: Megalobox 2
Nomad had a lot to live up to. Megalobox was a strong series and there was little that DEMANDED a sequel, as it came to an incredibly satisfying conclusion. Does this wonderful little re-imagining of Ashita no Joe even need a sequel? What is there left to say. It turns out it actually had quite a bit to say and also got to do an about-face on its attitude without feeling like a betrayal of the hungry, scrappy little series that began it. Here, Joe’s never say die attitude is replaced with a calmness and understanding there are things not worth destroying your body over.
Nomad is a much quieter and sadder show but also extremely hopeful, as Joe returns to a world he felt he betrayed and tries to make amends. Wiser and gentler, but still strong and flawed in his way, it isn’t the tale of the comeback of a broken fighter into the ring but into other people’s lives. Yes, there is a fight and a big antagonist but the final battle isn’t “go for broke and destroy my body in the process to save day”, but something a little more mature. Maturity is really what the series is about. Joe matures and we don’t rebuke the character from the first series but instead see his journey to self-improvement and winning back the things he loves and helping those who are threatening to throw away those things. It also has a surprisingly strong subplot dealing with immigrants, which I didn’t expect.
3. To Your Eternity
To Your Eternity could have easily settled into a tiresome formula. After all, in a very loose sense, all of the arc in this series follow the same one. I won’t spoil it for you in the event that you start watching the series, which you really should, but it won’t take you long to catch on either. Heck, as much as I love the intro, it also isn’t shy about hinting at where things are going (though it has some misdirects). But it is a testament to how great the show is that it never does because it makes sure that even when the cycle is starting over, we are going to invest in everything so that by the end of the story, it is just as powerful as the other times. Granted, in this regards, the arc on the prison island is a bit weaker than the others but all of them have their merits.
I also feel it is ambitious in the way that I felt Vivy, while I did enjoy it, didn’t quite live up to. In 20 episodes, To Your Eternity manages to feel like a epic that spans years and you can slowly feel the weight of those years in the series. The main character starts out as… not exactly being that, instead a barely sentient sponge and by the end manages to feel like a real character without taking narrative short cuts on the journey, even if there are some time jumps. There are several mysteries in the series I am invested in but I feel the series first and foremost is interested in the emotional stakes of the story, even more than the evil tentacle monsters that our hero is tasked to save the world from. It sells us that we’d rather have that take a back seat to the friends that our hero values and makes the world worth saving.
2. Ranking of Kings
You know it is a good year when a show like Ranking of Kings isn’t the best show. I love the shounen genre and Ranking of Kings feels very much in that area. There are power ups, hugely outsized characters (literally and figuratively), a protagonist on a journey towards strength which he faces with a hopeful attitude, and deep mythos. But if you go in expecting Shaman King or Dragon Quest: Adventures of Dai, you might be in for a surprise, because Ranking of Kings is a much richer show, populated with characters you find yourself caring for. Despite the shounen/fairy tale sheen, this turns out to be a more empathetic/cartoony Game of Thrones (when it was good), which our alliances turning as we learn more about characters. Except for Bojji and Kage, who remain the goodest of boys in a world that turns out to be much murkier than they expect.
If anything, it is quite a gamble to spend so much time away from the show’s most loveable characters, but it’s one that pays off, making the show something closer to ensemble where the characters who seem like also-rans and stock archetypes find themselves in complex situations and reveal themselves to have depth. Even one of the show’s more villainous characters turns out to have a surprising level of integrity and I’m excited for when they get a chance to redeem themselves. The show might not take you to the fireworks factory right away but the journey is so rewarding, your thankful for the scenic view.
Ranking of Kings is a show about what it means to have power, retain it and what it does to you. We are presented to characters who despite their best intentions turn into monsters while the powerless Bojji is finally getting his own tastes after a lifetime of being powerless. And while that’s usually a recipe for disaster, Bojji and Kage seem primed to overcome any temptations of corruption through their purity. They aren’t chosen ones, they are the ones destiny seemed to cast aside or downright damn, but with compassion and empathy, they’ll avoid the pitfalls of those they love, if they can help it. Because unlike many of the characters, even those who love them, they are learning to accept themselves as on their own terms rather than the standards expected of them
1. Odd Taxi
It feels like it has been a long time since I’ve seen a done-in-one (season) series that is so perfectly crafted with absolutely no excess fat. You might think that something like that means it moves at light speed but quite the obvious, it’s a real slow burn, albeit one where everything pays off perfectly. It also risks being a little heavy handed about our relationship with social media, as it is key to the arcs of many flawed and naïve characters in the series but in fact it is a series about human failings, wants and desires and how what we need isn’t as easy to figure out. These are characters who would find ways to mess themselves up even without it, to be sure. But I also don’t think the show is looking down on these characters, as pathetic as they are, and instead is a bit optimistic people can turn their lives around if given a chance.
It also helps that the series confident plotting sells it’s casual first act through the main character, Odokawa, a large taxi-driving walrus, is, despite his aloof, wry attitude is a good conversationalist and a people person. He knows how to get people to talk to make his job go better and adding to some push and pull to the conversation, doesn’t do a lot of judging and is curious. And this is a show that is curious people, wondering how they fall into their own personal traps and what their wants really are. Things slowly tighten over the course of the series as it gradually turns into a tight, tense thriller that manages to take control of all of its threads.
The series makes a bold choice for it’s last act and one that risks its hopeful humanist attitude but I really do think it works. Apparently, there’s going to be a film “retelling” of the series with a fleshed out ending but I REALLY think we don’t need it, as the ending it gives us is a perfect punctuation to the series. I think there’s been some great series this year but my love of Odd Taxi goes beyond mere consistency to a sense that the creators know exactly when and how to steer the series that takes the more rewarding path to get to its destination.
Johnny Unusual
(He/Him)
Shit, I forgot Pui Pui Molcar came out this year. So that's my number one. After my Bananya rewatch.
So Faraway Paladin finished its season so time for some thoughts on it! And a couple other series that I binged, just to catch up on things.
So Faraway Paladin initially kind of lost me when they did a recap episode. I'm not a fan of them, especially when you've only got 12 episode, and it felt like they needed to fill time and didn't want to do something silly. Which after watching the rest, is pretty much true but I can forgive them since the ending was actually pretty good. I like that they kind of subvert your expectations with the head bishop actually not being a villain but a pragmatic and a realist in his dealing with others. The final scene between the bishop and the prince solidifies that they both like Will and are kind of using him but not in any malicious way.
Interesting too is how it mildly breaks Will. Seeing Meneldor getting badly hurt and his decision to take care of things on his own since he is a "monster." Most other isekai handwave the implications of these OP characters and the effect it could have on their mental health when they lose or it simply becomes a point for them to "get stronger." Will's still unspecified past trauma pushes him to almost fully embrace his darker thoughts and head off on his own to take care of the demons. Like Reystov says "(Losing) hits those who are stronger harder). I'll be looking forward to a second season, but I'm happy with it ending as it does.
Bee is an adorable halfling and we could use more of her. Also, the amount of shiptease with Will and Menel was getting ridiculous at the end.
So now onto the series I binged!
First up is Kid from the Last Dungeon Boonies. I know others found it a little offputting, what with the loli grannie wanting Lloyd, but eh. It was mostly inoffensive and Lloyd is such an innocent goober that he just thinks she's being nice. I would like second season of it as they left it pretty wide open as to why the bad guy is being the bad guy. This show also has the benefit of it not being an isekai, so Lloyd is just Lloyd with no hidden baggage. Unless there's a dark and twisted reason for his existence! But this Boonies doesn't seem to want to head in that direction, instead reveling in absurdity.
Finally, we've got Sleepy Princess in the Demon Lord's Castle, a show that I'm actually reading the manga for and thus was interested in seeing how it transitioned. And it came over pretty good! Sya is hilariously horrifying in her pursuit of a good nights sleep and the demons are just nice guys. Biggest change is the lack of shiptease between Demon Cleric and Sya, which doesn't really change much and kind of feels a bit better. Granted the manga reveals that Sya is somewhere in her 20s, but she still looks young. Look I'll be honest, I'm biased because I really like this one, so go and watch the damn thing, you'll giggle throughout.
Interesting too is how it mildly breaks Will. Seeing Meneldor getting badly hurt and his decision to take care of things on his own since he is a "monster." Most other isekai handwave the implications of these OP characters and the effect it could have on their mental health when they lose or it simply becomes a point for them to "get stronger." Will's still unspecified past trauma pushes him to almost fully embrace his darker thoughts and head off on his own to take care of the demons. Like Reystov says "(Losing) hits those who are stronger harder). I'll be looking forward to a second season, but I'm happy with it ending as it does.
Bee is an adorable halfling and we could use more of her. Also, the amount of shiptease with Will and Menel was getting ridiculous at the end.
So now onto the series I binged!
First up is Kid from the Last Dungeon Boonies. I know others found it a little offputting, what with the loli grannie wanting Lloyd, but eh. It was mostly inoffensive and Lloyd is such an innocent goober that he just thinks she's being nice. I would like second season of it as they left it pretty wide open as to why the bad guy is being the bad guy. This show also has the benefit of it not being an isekai, so Lloyd is just Lloyd with no hidden baggage. Unless there's a dark and twisted reason for his existence! But this Boonies doesn't seem to want to head in that direction, instead reveling in absurdity.
Finally, we've got Sleepy Princess in the Demon Lord's Castle, a show that I'm actually reading the manga for and thus was interested in seeing how it transitioned. And it came over pretty good! Sya is hilariously horrifying in her pursuit of a good nights sleep and the demons are just nice guys. Biggest change is the lack of shiptease between Demon Cleric and Sya, which doesn't really change much and kind of feels a bit better. Granted the manga reveals that Sya is somewhere in her 20s, but she still looks young. Look I'll be honest, I'm biased because I really like this one, so go and watch the damn thing, you'll giggle throughout.
Alka single-handedly ruins the series. And the anime is tamer with regards to her than the books are. Which sucks, because there's a lot of good stuff that the series does! There's a lot of good writing surrounding self-worth, expectations as a result of your environment, and the like. The villains are mostly not even really villains!
One of the villains just wants there to be a new Hero so that he can finally be forgotten and fade away, while another is a villain so that he can give Lloyd a fun adventure to go on with his friends. Only one of the three villains (seen so far) actually wants to do bad things!
Another thing I'm slightly miffed about, but it's very minor compared to Alka, is that the Belt Princess is originally described as ridiculously buff because she trained herself thinking that the only way to break the curse was brute strength. She's described as being unappealing to suitors because she's strong. And then she just looks like a wee thing. It's frustrating.
Oh, and as an aside:
I saw an interview with the author some time ago, and there was a comment about this that I liked.
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Whaaaaaaaaaaaat.
A whole series? Holy carp. I cut my wee weeaboo teeth on UY. Man.
Yep, a whole remake. I'm not sure of the wisdom of giving Urusei Yatsura a remake in this day and age, but I'll still be very interested in seeing how this plays out.
The studio handling this is David Production - most of y'all probably know them as the guys who've been bringing us JoJo's Bizarre Adventure for the past decade. By the looks of it, they've got good people on the production, using the team that made Season 5 of JoJo (hands down the best looking that show has ever been). And the casting so far is really friggin' good. Hiroshi Kamiya as Ataru is about as perfect as you can get for casting jobs, and Sumire Uesaka has the acting chops to really nail Lum.
And this is going to be broadcasted in Japan on the noitaminA time block. So this could potentially be really good, but who knows?
The studio handling this is David Production - most of y'all probably know them as the guys who've been bringing us JoJo's Bizarre Adventure for the past decade. By the looks of it, they've got good people on the production, using the team that made Season 5 of JoJo (hands down the best looking that show has ever been). And the casting so far is really friggin' good. Hiroshi Kamiya as Ataru is about as perfect as you can get for casting jobs, and Sumire Uesaka has the acting chops to really nail Lum.
And this is going to be broadcasted in Japan on the noitaminA time block. So this could potentially be really good, but who knows?
Johnny Unusual
(He/Him)
Yeah. There are a lot of things that haven't aged well about it and it would be one thing if it was a slight tweaking/updating but it sounds like they are cherry picking popular stories. So... it's been a while but I remember being Ataru being a high level sex pest so I have some doubts, good production company aside. I'd say more but this seems like the perfect segueway to...
Netflix, Universal Develop Scott Pilgrim Anime Series With Science SARU
Creator Bryan Lee O'Malley would be showrunner with Eunyoung Choi producing, Abel Gongora directing
Hmm, huh, wha? OK, but what?
I was a big Scott Pilgrim fan but I feel like culture moved on. It's been forever since I read it but what I remember of the last volume hold's up pretty well in terms of themes and ideas (that the movie, while I liked, didn't include). But at the same time, I feel like the video game referencing that made it what it was makes it seem like it's old hat. I suppose there would be more time for the slice of life stuff that the movie didn't have a lot of time for. But also... I just don't need this? I don't think Scott Pilgrim was ever a franchise I felt like I needed to get back to. If there was going to be another Lee-O'Malley adaptation, I'd rather it be Seconds.
But also, they managed to get Science SARU to do this and I have yet to dislike any of their projects that I've seen. The director did one of the Star Wars Visions which I haven't seen yet. This is just some weird news that I'm struggling with my reaction to.
That particular one was seriously channeling Osamu Tezuka visually… so I’m not sure it tells you much about their style. Possibly that it’d look a lot like the comic.
I kind of agree though, that while I enjoyed SP at the time I think at this point I’d be more interested in his later work if anything.
Scott Pilgrim is the Ready Player One of comic books. I don't think this is a good idea.
I've been reading the UY manga as it's been coming out, and much like Ranma 1/2--which, of course, came right after it in Takahashi's shonen manga career--it has a take on women that's both refreshing and eyeroll-worthy. In UY, Ataru's sex pest-ery is, perhaps, seen as funny, but it's also not seen as "normal" and he never gets away with it. The girls are the ones that administer justice here, too. The following spoiler has a CW for sexual assault.
(contrast it with, say, KOR which treats sexual assault as "boys will be boys" with boys and men being both the perps and the rescuers/administrators of justice) There is exactly one panel that I found upsetting in this respect in what I've read of UY to date, and it was very early on, before where I'd consider Takahashi really came into her own with the series: Lum loses her "zap" powers as part of the episode's gimmick, and some of the boys in Lum's class take this as an opportunity to feel her up. There's an episode of MI that I find hard to forgive, too, the one that I call "Sexual Assault New Year's Eve." In Ranma 1/2 there's Happosai, and to a lesser extent Kuno, whose sex pest-ery also never gets a pass. (while I hate Happosai, it always makes me chuckle when he gets blown up, burnt to a crisp, etc. like a Looney Tunes character as a punishment for his gross behavior.)
One thing I like about UY is how the girls and women can be undignified and participate in the science fantasy adventures right along with the guys. I mean, a lot of the motivator for the slapstick is Ataru being Ataru, but they aren't just sitting around taking it, at least. You see a decent number of older women, but once they get past a certain age they are, to a woman, mothers and housewives.
Anyway, tl;dr: I love Takahashi's work, and have spent way too much time thinking about it. It does have some problems that I will not excuse. I'm looking forward to the new UY TV show and if I have an opportunity, I will watch it!
I still need to check that one out. It looks quite interesting.
I recently binged The Vampire Dies in No Time, which is exactly what it says. Draluc is a vampire who turns to ash at the drop of a hat. Literally at the drop of a hat. He's forced to move in with Ronaldo the vampire hunter after Ronaldo blows up his mansion. If you liked Aho Girl, you will probably like Vampire. Just...look it also has some content that people will probably find objectionable. Like Ronaldo being forced to say "Boobs" because of a vampire's powers. Or the micro bikini vampire. BUT! It has John the armadillo familiar who is freaking adorable!
Finally, Arifureta season 2 is starting. I will hate watch the shit out of it because I hate it and myself apparently.
I recently binged The Vampire Dies in No Time, which is exactly what it says. Draluc is a vampire who turns to ash at the drop of a hat. Literally at the drop of a hat. He's forced to move in with Ronaldo the vampire hunter after Ronaldo blows up his mansion. If you liked Aho Girl, you will probably like Vampire. Just...look it also has some content that people will probably find objectionable. Like Ronaldo being forced to say "Boobs" because of a vampire's powers. Or the micro bikini vampire. BUT! It has John the armadillo familiar who is freaking adorable!
Finally, Arifureta season 2 is starting. I will hate watch the shit out of it because I hate it and myself apparently.
Johnny Unusual
(He/Him)
Bojji is the best boy. It's also a show that's taking the long road to the fireworks factory but every diversion is also awesome, so I don't care.
Vampire was often pretty funny but I was more likely to object to some of the gay stereotype stuff that pops in now and then. But yeah, John is great. I also like the board game episode.
I found Vampire Dies exhausting more often than not, as it is relentlessly sophomorically raunchy (and frustratingly so, because I think it had the potential to be quite funny if it ejected that shit out the window, but instead became increasingly about exactly that shit), but my SO likes it quite a lot, so I'm probably in for S2, even thought I'd rather not be. Agreed that John is easily the best part about it, though, and the show knows it.