Winter 2022 anime

Wasn't that the whole central joke with the elf queen? It's been a while, but I found it very offputting.

Um, no, not at all. She was vain, and part of her pride in her looks is that she and her tribe literally worship the goddess of beauty. We do later find out that the church of said goddess is basically a 24/7 pool party of men and women in skimpy swimwear, though.

The Goddess of Beauty also covers love since that’s what their human followers tend to fixate on, while the Elves focus on the beauty aspect. Which is why it’s not surprising Jinguuji is Tachibanas “Weapon”. Cause a boyfriend fighting to protect their girlfriend.

Like how the Goddess of Night is also the Goddess of Chuuni.

Edited by OmegaRadiance on Mar 4th 2022 at 3:28:40 AM

Sabikui Bisco EP 9:
First, a final fight with a now cowardly Kurokawa. Then, an emotional goodbye to our titular character. I forget that "aishiteiru" is used towards people who will never be seen again. This left me wrecked with my soul and emotions wrung dry. You will be goddamn missed, Bisco.
(unless I spoke too soon because I have not touched the light novels)

That's a very heavy word to use and I've never seen it used in a platonic context.

Yeah, I don't read that as platonic at all. Notice how Milo intended to hook up Pawoo and Bisco for I Want My Beloved to Be Happy, and only told Bisco how he felt after Bisco died.

I hear the novels confirm Milo is bi. so there’s that if it’s true.

I also don’t think it was platonic. Also, holy crap what an episode, despite all my misgivings with the storytelling. RIP Bisco.

Wait WHAT? Ooooooooh I'm hooked!

I'm wondering how they're going to come back from Kaminaing the character the anime is NAMED after.

Netflix Reactions: Kotaro Lives Alone:

So I went in this blind, not knowing what to expect, and boy did I not expect a lot of dark themes here. From the moe came hints of child abuse, domestic abuse, and basically most of the stuff Kotaro had been through before moving by himself to Shimizu, especially parental neglect. Then again, the premise being about a the adventures of a 4-year-old who moved to an apartment by himself should've raised flags before viewing...
EDIT: Wait this was seinen? No wonder...

Edited by thuse on Mar 10th 2022 at 9:28:05 PM

Just finished Kotaro lives alone actually, and I was just as surprised as you were about the subject matter. Still, it was a pleasant surprise and all elements worked towards the Central Theme very well. The show is good, is what I'm saying.

A recap episode for Tokyo 24-ku this week, the second delay...
Indeed, the worst fears have come true...

Edited by thuse on Mar 17th 2022 at 1:43:40 AM

Finally got around to watching the first episode of Orbital Children and I am already in love with it. I already knew it going in but I was instantly reminded of Dennou Coil upon seeing the art style and the cool sci fi bits.

Sabikui Bisco Episode 11:
D-D-Did they just milk me dry back in EP 9 because guess who just came back from the dead...

Edited by thuse on Mar 22nd 2022 at 12:49:24 AM

Bisco and Princess Connect airing on the same day is the WLW-MLM solidarity we needed.

I kinda expected it when Kurokawa sort of came back but as happy as I am for Milo and the gang, I feel like Bisco’s resurrection is an asspull that really cheapens his sacrifice.

Yeah, I kind of have to agree. At this point I'm just rolling on pure vibes, though.

Final Reactions:

Leadale no Daichi nite: It was a fun, lighthearted, and heartwarming isekai that really helps me calm down on a Wednesday night. Cheers!
Orient: At this point, I really do not (nor should I even) give a damn about the negative press surrounding this! I had fun watching this! I could relate to this in some way! Heck, I even picked up the manga, and I'm anticipating the next season come summer!! I might as well see this to the end!
Ousama Ranking 2nd cour: I definitely had fun watching this, as if the thread posts weren't enough evidence of that. Can't wait to see what happens next!
Platinum End 2nd cour: It was a series of and around countradictions from the plot down to the characters as though it tried to tell people what they already knew (at least, in this part of the world, though I'm not even sure that is true)... I get the mixed reception now, and though I do not agree with everyone when it comes to Mirai's character, I do agree that that was one fucked up ending, and I could only guess that it wanted to display humanity's contradictions and see where it leads while also blatantly hammering down on suicide being a bad thing.
Slow Loop: It was cute, wholesome, and a bit educational. It really did help provide a calm before the Vanitas storm!

Edited by thuse on Mar 25th 2022 at 11:59:04 PM

Final Impressions

• Ranking of Kings: At first glance, it looks like a lighthearted fantasy adventure, right down to the simple children's storybook visuals, but if there's one thing you'll learn about this anime it's that there's always more than meets the eye. The story becomes a Jigsaw Puzzle Plot of competing agendas. Characters regularly upend their first impressions as they reveal more facets of their backstory and personality, and I'm sure I'll remember many of them long after this season has passed. WIT also flexes its animation muscle hard, especially in the fight scenes. Its major problem is its unfortunate habit of pulling its punches, resulting in one of the most deflating conclusions I've seen in recent memory. Despite that, this feels like it's easy to recommend even to non-anime fans. And do give the both OP songs a listen, they're killer.
• Girls Frontline: Copy pasted from the thread: The existentialist musings are interesting but overall I feel that this anime was merely passable. The Sangvis Ferri are a joke, the story is more about being obtuse than properly setting up the mysteries, and the action is so basic it actively hurts the immersion of the viewer.
• Slow Loop: I was thinking about why I liked this show more than the usual CGDCT, and I think it's because the main protagonist Hiyori is so relatable. She's socially awkward, she fumbles with things like how to talk to kids or how to properly give presents, but when you talk about fishing she'll find it hard to stop gushing. The show generally has that down-to-earth quality that makes it skew closer to iyashikei rather than the usual quirky, moe-quartet style. The sport of fishing is also discussed extensively, and I am always happy to learn more aquatic life trivia and fish recipes.
• Eighty Six: After Part One shook us with the brilliant use of dual perspectives, Part Two focuses almost entirely on the Shin and the Spearhead survivors. They come to learn what it means to live in peace... and it gnaws at them. Now that they're here, should they be happy? Eighty Six is an incredible war drama, with highly polished writing and insanely inspired cinematography. A veritable masterpiece, and there's really nothing more that needs to be said.

I've found I'm enjoying Princess Connect much less in the final episodes of this season.

It's still very pretty, and I'm really loving the Karyl and Pecorine stuff.

But all these other characters are just kind of irritating? Not because of the characters themselves, but how them doing cool stuff and using cool attacks isn't really connected to the narrative.

When Pecorine used Princess Strike to blast the queen into the wall that was cool because I care about her.

But when Christina fights Twilight Caravan, who've appeared in a one off episode last season, I found myself just not really caring about the fight.

If anything I found myself rooting for Christina, because at least she has a bit more of a role in the story.

I think this fate of the city/world plot is just much less entertaining to watch compared to one off episodes where the gang encounter a problem and maybe meet with one new guild in a smaller stakes plotline.

Yeah. I'm really liking Karyl and Pecorine, but PriConne is one of the worst anime I've seen for the whole "unintroduced character with clearly gacha marketable design shows up, talks to herself about some JRPG-ish proper noun, and is never shown or referenced again" thing.

Platinum End and Slow Loop are both finished. Can you guess which one was pleasant and nice to watch, and which one was a boring trek so utterly devoid of entertainment and purpose that its ending completely negated any time spent watching it to begin with? Platinum End doesn't really deserve any discussion, and I don't have much to comment on about Slow Life itself, so...

• Yashahime: Still to watch the last episode, but Crunchyroll somehow managed to supply subs for every language except English. But since I don't expect this last episode to drastically change anything... it sure was a show that existed. I honestly can't remember a whole lot of what happened; a few fun moments here and there, but overall, uh... this plot sure feels super manufactured because Sesshomaru decided that Inuyasha couldn't deal with a meteor and/or Kirinmaru. Yet both of them could each individually beat Kirin anyway, I'm not entirely sure why they couldn't have just done that at any point? At least it finally answered what the hell Shippo's been doing: Looking for Moroha by not searching for her. Sure, okay.

• My Dress-up Darling: Really enjoyed this one. Sydsnap is great and Gigguk is a lucky guy to have met... wait, sorry, hold on- Marin and Gojou are a fun pair to watch. Even if Marin seems tailor-made to be the ultimate perfect waifu, it's still refreshing for a female lead to be so open about her interests, and Gojou doesn't come across like a typical chaste protag; he's socially awkward for a reason, but still has great chemistry with Marin and the others. Marin herself is clearly cultured, but I like how she doesn't really wallow in doubt or misunderstanding over something. She was genuinely upset that she made Gojou think he had to pump out an entire costume in under two weeks, that sort of thing would've just been laughed off in most other shows. Kinda wish Marin's friends had more presence, though, be kind of neat to have Gojou's circle of friends expand.

Final Reactions: Akebi-chan no Sailor-Fuku

This was incredibly stunning from start to finish from the art to the slice of life! The shipping is definitely strong with this one, and it's basically pure cuteness overload that it is indeed hard for me to believe that this is a seinen anime. I was not disappointed; it definitely deserves praise!

Worth noting that the author of MDUD is a woman, which may be one of the reasons why there's so much effort put into presenting Gojou as a husbando alongside Marin being prime waifu material.