Kind of went a while without posting, didn’t I? Sailor V1, I suppose.
I’m passing the time much as usual, with games (various mobile, plus Warframe and Satisfactory) and music and work and chores, but also this season I’m keeping up with more anime series than usual. (The usual is “one or two,” for the record.)
Would you like some recommendations? Here’s what I’m enjoying so far.
Sony bought Funimation and Crunchyroll, then rolled both into one service which is, for better or worse, the heavyweight for anime streaming nowadays. My CR queue consists of:
- The Apothecary Diaries (a continuing series from previous seasons) – What if Sherlock Holmes, but a young girl working in the protected enclave for concubines in Legally Distinct From China’s Imperial Era? Maomao is a delight, full stop. If you watch nothing else on my list, watch this show. It’s one of the best shows to start airing in the last couple years, by far, anime or otherwise.
- I May Be a Guild Receptionist, But I’ll Solo Any Boss to Clock Out on Time – Don’t let the kilometer-long title put you off. It’s not an isekai (not that I’m allergic to those, as we’ll see) but it is another follower of the current fad for stories that take place in what amount to video game worlds. This one lacks the stat screens and similar trappings, fortunately. Why watch, then? Alina, the lead character, is a hardworking girl who just wants to clock out on time at the end of her scheduled workday, and if circumstances prevent her from doing so? She’ll take matters into her own (vastly overpowered) hands. Shenanigans ensue. Three episodes in and while it looks like it’s settling into being primarily an action/adventure show, some well-crafted characters and superb voice actor performances elevate the proceedings rather nicely. (I watch subtitled but I’ve enjoyed the first episode with the English dub as well. Both are solid options.) Worth checking out.
- Honey Lemon Soda – What’s a high-school rom-com doing on my watchlist? I don’t know if I can pin down a specific reason, honestly. I seem to always end up with a rom-com of some sort in my queue each season, because I’m a big old softie at heart or something. The initial hook for this show is a POV character suffering intense social anxiety who’s trying to shake off the effects of school bullying. You know… relatable stuff like that. Something just enough off-kilter, just fresh enough, in the overall presentation has me coming back week after week, at least so far. Maybe give it a look-see.
The two of us are also slowly working our way through Shangri-La Frontier (an action romp centered on a fictional video game), while I’m giving Headhunted to Another World: From Salaryman to Big Four! (a very cheesy isekai, the title tells you all you really need to know) another episode to either finish losing me or win me back over… it’s been “mid” at best, and at this point I don’t have the bandwidth for shows I’m not enjoying strongly enough.
I also maintain a HIDIVE subscription, because somehow every season or two they get their hands on something I feel compelled to watch. There’s only the one this time as well, but it’s a hoot:
- From Bureaucrat to Villainess: Dad’s Been Reincarnated! – Yes, yes, more isekai, and it’s a “video game world” isekai at that. Bear with me, though! The twist? A 52-year-old family man, dedicated otaku nerd, and professional paper-pusher comes out 2nd best in a conflict with Truck-kun2 and wakes up in the body of… an aristocratic girl who is meant to be the villain character in an “otome” visual novel’s game world. Hilarity genuinely ensues. This is our “anime night” closer, because it’s guaranteed to leave us smiling when it’s time to turn off the television.
Netflix has become something of a power player in the anime space, funding productions that it thinks it can use to squeeze another few months of subscription fees out of folks. Thankfully they have learned to embrace the weekly release cadence, so what we’re following this season over there is:
- My Happy Marriage – The 2nd season of the supernatural alt-history love story remains as gorgeous and heartfelt as ever. Just don’t think about the fact that the titular “marriage” is a long time off, story-wise. (We’re not getting there this season either.) Having read ahead in the source material, I’m curious to see how dark this season goes. It’s a compelling melodrama, made better once the central character starts to develop her own inner strength and sense of conviction. Give the first season a go. (If you already watched the first season, you clearly don’t need me to tell you to watch the new one!)
That’s enough shows, right? Right. Which is why I’m… also working my way through Macross Delta on Blu Ray, since I picked up the boxed set via import a few weeks ago.
And all of this is part of why I’ve been slacking on the posting. Again. Whoopsie!