Anime Review - Onimai: I'm Now Your Sister

 

I'd say this series is very high up there on the "WTF Japan" meter. 

Genius high school girl concocts a drug that turns her useless, NEET older brother into a middle schooler. And a girl. If you're one of the people who morally objected to Mushoku Tensei because the MC was a dirty rotten scoundrel before getting killed and given a second chance at life... this series is ALSO probably not going to be for you. This one's a magical gender-bending yuri series, and will probably not survive the upcoming purge when any all "problematic" media gets removed from streaming services (probably somewhere during wave 2 of the Fahrenheit 451 future we're currently knee deep in).

This show came out in 2023, and at time of writing this review in 2026 it's got a MAL rating of... 7.64???? Curious if the show was actually good, I decided to see for myself before it becomes media restricted to Japan.

The series got to me by the end, especially with the scene on the train. Mihari was truly a real one for giving her brother a second chance at life; think she was my favorite of the side characters by the end. The return to school arc was where the show peaked for me, and I found the relationship Mahiro had with the two boys in her class to be some of the funniest scenes in the show.

I don't know that I'll watch it again, and glad I watched the SFW Crunchyroll version. Take my 7/10

Crunchyroll Anime Nights 3.16.2026 - Spring Anime Sneak Peak with Witch Hat Atelier and Daemons of the Shadow Realm

 

Called my dad up on the way home from work: "I'm picking you up in 20 minutes. Taking you to see some anime."

Dad: "Sounds good, let me get dressed up."

This is how we do things in my family. My folks are long retired, pushing 70, and spend most of their time on cruises and watching football, but they got me into anime when I was young enough that if you rounded my age I'd be 0. So, I think it's only fair to return the favor and introduce them to the really good stuff now that they're older.

When I saw Crunchyroll was doing a Sneak Peak for some series coming out this April, with Witch Hat Atelier included in the lineup, I knew that was something I couldn't miss, and something I wanted to make sure they didn't miss as well.

I waited in line for hours at AX 2024 to go see Shirahama-sensei's live drawing Q&A panel. One of the best events from that year, right up there with the Look Back world premier. Needless to say, I'm a pretty big fan of the manga (and the cooking spinoff which is even more cozy). This is one of those series I proselytize for. If I'm gonna go visit some relative and stay at their house for a while, I'll usually buy them a copy of volumes 1-3 of Witch Hat. Perfect present to bring along, easy to pack, and generally not possible to dislike. 

From the early trailers, I was a bit worried about this adaptation though; it looked like they were using a lot of CGI, which I felt totally went against the vibes the series had going for it. Given the MAJOR plot of Witch Hat is that Magic isn't something you cast, it's something you draw, to have the series be CGI seemed really off-putting. 

Well, from last nights preview of episodes 1 and 2, I think we can all rest easy. My worries have been relieved. It really looked like they refined the CGI almost completely out of the show. If they maintain the same level of consistency throughout the rest of the series, and are able to keep up with the quality from the episodes they showed off, I think we've got a very strong contender for Anime of the Year. I'd say the animation quality was either as good or better than Mushoku Tensei at its peak. The direction managed to really bring out all of the best qualities we saw in the books; I especially like how they occasionally cut to this pop-up style effect where they transition the characters from anime-style, to a pop-up book illustration. Super well done. I'd rather not spoil any of the other incredible moments, so please make sure to watch this one yourself!

The official worldwide premier for Witch Hat Atelier is less than a month away now on April 6th. We will be watching it again for sure.

After the premier of Witch Hat came Daemons of the Shadow Realm. I went into this one totally blind, only familiar with the series based on its reputation and pedigree, but not knowing anything about premise, characters, etc. The book is from author Hiromu Arakawa, creator of Full Metal Alchemist, of which I'm a bit of a fan (named my kid after one of the characters level of fan). Episode 1 did not disappoint. The premise completely sucked me in. Studio BONES did a marvelous job with the animation quality; direction is on point as well.

After getting home last night I re-upped my MangaUp subscription. Planning on binge reading the series today. I've gotta know more.

After Daemons of the Shadow Realm came The Drops of God. This is another series I'm not super familiar with. I've not read the manga, but oddly enough I'm watching the live action adaptation on Apple TV right now. Is it weird to say I think I liked the live action version better? The animation from the episode 1 preview seemed really low budget, and a bit bad... direction seemed all over the place as well with too many cuts to the backs of people's heads (as if to save money on not having to animate their faces). Motion seemed stunted and lifeless. Not sure I'll watch this when it airs after seeing the preview, which really begs the question why Crunchyroll would include something like this in their lineup??? Wouldn't you want to show off the series you're really expecting to WOW people? This felt like a real misstep to me.

I will probably read the source material - I believe I picked it up some years ago from a Humble Bundle, so I've got it all on digital somewhere. Also going to continue watching the live action, though it seems like there are major differences between the plot...

I didn't stay to watch Re:Zero, since I'm not caught up with season 3 yet and didn't want to get spoiled.

Wonder how that was... if you're reading this and watched the s4 premier, comment below...

I'm not sure I'll go to another of these Sneak Peak events, since it's basically just paying $20 to watch something a few weeks early (and I hate when you have to pay premium price for early access in video games), but I could see myself doing it again if it was a show I wanted to see up on the big screen. Getting to see Witch Hat like that was incredible. Wonder if there's a way to convince theaters/Crunchyroll to show some of there shows in theaters on the weekly....

Anime Review: Yano-kun's Ordinary Days

 

Did you watch Shikimori's Not Just a Cutie and think to yourself, "man, they really underutilized the whole clumsy boy trope," then do I have the show for you.

Yano-kun's Ordinary Days is an anime adaptation of the manga of the same name by Tamura Yui. I'd probably label it a shojo (and then be beaten to death by shojo elitists). The story centers around the female MC Kiyoko, the class president, who's concern over her classmate Yano grows into affection, then into full fledged romance.

Yano is a very clumsy, accident prone boy, who seems to draw misfortune to himself; he always comes to school injured heavily, wearing an eye-patch. Kiyoko's determination to keep him from harm ultimately proves largely ineffectual, but charming and to Yano, very endearing.

Yuka Nukui, the actress who plays Kiyoko, does a fantastic job. Her reactions, panic, and emotion all come across so honest and believable that I really grew to like Kiyoko as a character. In comparison again to Shikimori, who's more of a badass, guardian angel type, Kiyoko comes across less powerful, and more concerned.

I think both are very good characters and I appreciate the different ways of approaching the clumsy-boy trope.

Yano, very much like Izumi of Shikimori, is a beacon of calamity. Misfortune seems to follow him around constantly. I found myself calling him cursed in episode 1, which may became a plot point later on... When episode 11 rolls around though and a character is introduced from Yano's past, I felt like they kind of rushed through the traumatic backstory in order to find resolution, and the new cast member's presence wasn't really well executed.

Yano's pretty pathetic, but his positivity and unwillingness to break in the face of all the bullshit he constantly dealt with left me wanting to be inspired; to what end? Not sure.

I would happily watch another season of this series and buy the manga if they decided to license and print it in the US.

8/10

Anime Review: My Awkward Senpai

 

I went in really wanting to love "My Awkward Senpai", but came out very lukewarm on it. Office romance is such a rare genre as far as anime goes, so I hoped this one could be added to my list of faves. However, outside the titular senpai, I found the cast to be very bland and the episodic stories were extremely tropey and unoriginal, while also not really capturing just how marvelously cute, charming, and awkward the senpai mc girl is. It could be in part because the animation quality, or the directing, but the series just felt super underwhelming. The most offensive thing to me though was that the male MC was just extremely boring and I couldn't for the life of me think of why the Senpai ever became attracted to him in the first place, outside of him just being a hard worker??; I read the first few chapters of this manga, and I feel like he was more devilish there, teasing Senpai and trying to monopolize her cuteness to himself. That just didn't come across at all in the anime, and now looking back, I question whether or not he was that kind of character in the manga to begin with. Was I reading a different series??? Maybe I only read the original web version? Did I read the right one...?? They got her eyes right in at least a couple of shots, but in the manga, everything is black and white, but her eyes are full color, and full of life - this didn't really come across well in the anime, especially with everything else in color too. She just looked like another anime girl with weirdly colored eyes. They got her accent done really well though!

I'd give this a 5/10 I think... might look into reading the manga, since I do want to see more of her.

Anime Review: mono

 

From the creator of Yuru Camp, comes another work of tourism propaganda. "mono" features an entirely new cast of characters (with some familiar cameos), taking trips together, exploring Yamanshi, Shizuoka, and the surrounding environs. They eat lots of food and get involved with the occult (what...). I loved this series, but as far as story goes... was there one? It felt like they completed lost the plot pretty early on. It was supposed to be about a couple girls taking on their senpai's legacy to continue the cinematography club, but it pretty much just devolved into a travel anime where the characters visit a bunch of real world locations and showcase the local cuisine and scenery. 

And what the hell was all that occult stuff about?? There's a specific character who's got a mysterious background connected to shrines and exorcism. They encounter ghosts, and characters get haunted. How does this have anything to do with film making... or travel??? It seems maybe like just the personal interest of the author. It worked though, and provided for some funny setups.

Am I complaining? Nope. But then again, I lived in Yamanashi for half a decade and the nostalgia I have for the area is crazy. I visited quite a few of the real world locations they visited like Katsunuma, and the wineries, but never got to explore a lot of the others (can't believe I never actually got to go to the wine tunnel when I lived like 30 minutes away) - and now I want to book a vacation to go back and continue where I left off. So, did this anime achieve exactly what it was aiming for? Probably!!

9/10 from a very biased former Yamanashi JET.

Library Updates: 3100 Volumes and Counting

 

My manga library has passed the 3000 volume mark some time ago, but I've been too busy to clean the place up enough to post pics.

Organization-wise, I think it may be high time I make some changes. It's becoming a real pain in the ass to find anything in here with this many different series. I primarily keep all the romance/rom-com/drama/echi series on the right side of the room, and all the action/comedy/suspense/serious series on the left... but.... that's beginning to fall apart as I am getting pressed for space. Now, the motto has truly become: if it fits, it sits.

Things I'd like to change: probably going top pull up the LED's and remove the hanging style Christmassy white lights. I feel like they just get in the way, and I so rarely ever turn them on that it's not worth the hassle of having them up all the time. I'd also really like to do something about all the Funko... maybe move them to the card room (my MTG hobby got so out of hand the man-cave had to dig out another cavern).

This year's goal is to paint the walls which haven't been touched up since the house was purchased back in the 80's, and redo the flooring. I want to put some vinyl/wood floor in that doesn't look like a kid's playroom (which is exactly what this room used to be when I was a wee little child). I'd also really like to put in a hanging lamp, like one of those weird bulbous ones they sell at Ikea. There's a beam that runs across the ceiling, which could definitely support a chandelier of some kind, so I think trying to utilize that would be ideal. Would also be nice to put in some new drapes. 

Anime Review: Ruri Rocks

 

Last night I finished the last couple episodes of Ruri Rocks, so I wanted to go ahead and put my thoughts down on paper while it's still fresh.

I feel like Ruri Rocks belongs in a subset of CGDCT anime where the aforementioned Cute Girls are doing things that aren't very cute at all. Geology? Not cute at all. But, when these girls are out there in the middle of a river panning for gold? Maybe a little cute.

My mind wasn't blown by this series, but I did enjoy it pretty thoroughly. The animation staff took some serious liberties with the character design to push the fan service way, way over the top, which I think is kiiiiiinda weird, but given the overall quality of the show was so high, maybe these changes are more on the level of how the One Punch Man series changed from web comic to manga. (see also Horimiya).

Overall I liked experienced Ruri's character arc, but I think Shouko's was maybe more compelling and kinda wish they had introduced her much earlier in the series. I would also like to have seen more of Ruri's friend group from school, which seemed to be an underutilized group of characters, especially Aoi, who, outside of the Radio episode, really didn't get much screen time, but is right there in the background of the poster art.

As far as the smart, onee-san type characters, Nagi is sure to be a fan favorite for many, but I think I liked the more eccentric Youko more personally (it's the glasses).

I don't think this series created a newfound interest in mineralogy for me, but it did make me want to go on a hike.

8/10

What I'm Reading and Watching to Kick off 2026

 It's a new year!

Will this year turn out like so many others, with many life updates, but little content?

Who's to say really.

Seeing as I haven't updated this blog since August, I'm afraid it may turn out that way again, but, then again, the holiday retail season has come to an end, and I've taken on less responsibilities at work - maybe I'll have more time to write. Plus: I got a fancy new computer during Black Friday sales; it's got a massive, fancy monitor as well. Perfect for processing many words. All the words.

So, what's been on my Otaku plate as of late....

CURRENTLY READING

About an hour ago I caught up with: "Yane no Shita no Artemis" by Nagi Uraya.

The premise is reminiscent of "We Never Learn" - a somewhat ordinary guy in college has to tutor one of his former classmates who's extremely one-sided genius has prevented her from graduating high school, and now's her final chance before her dream's of becoming a scientist go up in smoke. It's heart-warming, funny, and emotional. The art is sexy, but not fan-service heavy (no nudity). By the current chapter I really got to care for both the main girl, Kobachi, as well as the MC's college senpai. I've been trying to pin down for a while who the male MC reminded me of, but I'm drawing a blank. At times he gives off Onizuka vibes, but at like 1% the energy level. He's smart, and caring, and has a mind for literature, but considering he's there to tutor her in liberal arts, I think there's been only a few chapters where they do any "proper" studying.

I'd say this has really great potential and it's going to be the top of my English license recommendations list in 2026.

You can read it in Japanese here.

UPDATE: I recently found a copy of vol. 2 in the Wild at Kinokuniya in Little Tokyo. Going to try and get my hands on vol. 1 and 3 which I believe are also available now in the states.

I've also been trying to catch up on some of the series in my backlog from my personal collection.

Yesterday I polished off vol. 13 of "How Do We Relationship" by Tamifull.

I've held this series pretty dear to my heart for a long, long time and it will be ending with vol. 14 coming out in April. I really value how well it tackles extremely sensitive topics, and doesn't stray away from confronting relationship problems head-on. Considering most romance manga don't even really let us see the characters together for very long, and even fewer let us watch the characters break up (somehow I think this series had more break-ups than confessions), this one let us watch the characters get together, break up, then do it all over again while struggling with the conflicting emotions from the trauma that gets built up in the time apart. I have a feeling that seeing Miwa and Saeko's story come to an end next volume will probably leave a pretty big hole in my liver after I pour one out for another series I've been invested in coming to a close after a decade.

9 out of 10 manga enthusiasts would recommend, but some of the topics may be very sensitive for some.

I also recently finished reading another Yuri series: "Monthly in the Garden with My Landlord" by Yodokawa. 

I'll probably write a full review of the series soon. Overall, I enjoyed it, but it felt like another GL book which was rushed to a conclusion prematurely. 7/10 losing points for squandered potential.

CURRENTLY WATCHING

Winter Anime Season 2026 kicked off with a bang, and good lord, we're eating good.

Not going to go to in depth with everything I'm watching since I'm watching a ton of shows this season, but there's certainly a couple of standouts.

1.    Journal With Witch

This is a series I tweeted about pretty heavily last year. I ended up reading it from start to finish 5 or 6 times and I've been begging for an English release of it for months. (I'm right on the verge of importing the Japanese version myself). It's not often, in anime especially, that a series comes along and perfectly deals with topics like loss and grief, and this one does it especially well. The adaptation is superb with just out of this world voice acting from the main pair and a supporting cast of A-list talent to top things off. Bring a box of tissues.

Rounding out my top 5 are:

2.    You and I Are Polar Opposites: Adorable, fun, high energy. This series scratches the itch I have for more romance anime about the couple together doing couple stuff. Like Horimiya, but much less serious and without all the S&M and off-screen sex.

3.    Tamon's B-Side: God this series is funny and the adaptation is just pure perfection. Given how hugely successful this has been do I think it's possible the author's previous work, Takane and Hana, could also get an adaptation? Maybe, but that's kinda like asking if Fire Punch will get picked up now that CSM's gone mainstream...

4.    The Invisible Man and His Soon to Be Wife: Shit, now I need to buy this book. Looks like the English publication is up to vol. 6 now, with 7 on the way. Strong series giving off high levels of cute, adult romance, strongly reminded me of "The Ice Guy and the Cool Girl." Quasi-supernatural office romance is a truly underrated genre. 

5.    Tis Time for Torture Princess: Maybe after season 2 we'll get VIZ to have enough faith in the series to print it. The translation of the manga is already available, but given it's length, I suppose they're worried about committing to printing any comedies that run 20+ volumes.

Honorable Mention...   In the Clear Moonlit Dusk:  I'm not convinced. The animation and art direction don't really feel like they're doing Mika Yamamori's Shojo series justice. So far this is at best a 7/10 adaptation of a 9/10 series; please refer to Tamon to see what a 10/10 looks like... I was really hopeful that this would be breaking the internet, but doesn't feel like that's happening, which doesn't bode particularly well for Yamamori-sensei's other series getting picked up for anime after this.

The rest of the watch list includes:

Frieren Season 2: 10 episodes though. WTF

Oshi No Ko Season 3: I heard vague rumors of a new ending. I'll cling to hope.

JJK Season 3: Nope

Hell's Paradise Season 2: Eh... manga clears it.

Sentenced to Be a Hero: On my binge list.

Fire Force: I'm not caught up yet.

Fate/Strange Fake: Holy fucking sakuga gods.

Chained Soldier Season 2: It's ok to be horny sometimes.

Shibou Yuugi: I find it funny how they've self-censored all the blood and gore.

The Holy Grail of Eris: Possession is nine-tenths of the law

The Demon King's Daughter is Too Kind: Have to check my blood sugar after every episode

Cosmic Princess Kaguya: When I re-up my Netflix

Love through a Prism: See above

Anyway, if you made it this far, thanks for reading, and stay in touch. Hopefully more posts and reviews to come soon.

I continue to post on that cesspool that is twitter, but you can also find me on Bluesky.

We've got a small discord community as well, though it's not super active. DM on Twitter for invite links.

Anime Review: From Old Country Bumpking to Master Swordsman

 After seeing a few clips on twitter, I decided to go ahead and give this anime the old college try. The fight scenes were really well done - they used CG, but you can barely tell to be honest. They did something extremely convincing with after effects to make the CG look hand-drawn. Not sure what the process is called, but I like it. The battles across the last couple episodes showcased it the most.

Despite pretty much all the women in the show having a crush on their former teacher, I felt like there was very little chemistry between them, and ultimately he never hooked up with any of the eligible ladies, instead spending most of his time with his adopted daughter character, basically turning this into single dad the not-so-isekai fantasy. It's a real shame, because the female cast of the show had really good character design! I especially liked the short haired girl hauling around a zweihander and using it properly!! I felt it was really ironic that the reason he got sent to the city in the first place is because his parents back in the sticks wanted him to give them a grandchild, but instead of getting together with any of the women, he just adopts a random kid who was in over their head.

The focus really is on the old country bumpkin himself, and he's a bit of a Hary Sue. I wouldn't call him an overpowered protagonist, but he's certainly got skills which surpass the other folks in this universe. Rather than a 'Master Swordsman', he felt more along the lines of a master martial artist; instead of specific sword-oriented special abilities, he's just really good at reading the environment and his opponent, and then using his sword in *just* the right way to strike at their weaknesses. I appreciate this take on a swordsman type character. Although there were definitely a few instances of him doing some outrageously out of character stuff (like cutting down a tree in one strike). Overall he felt like just a normal old guy who's good with a sword, which when you get down to it, is the point of the series I suppose.

Overall, I didn't hate this show, but I didn't love it. The characters were pretty bland and one-sided. The villains were very typically tropey. In the end, I kinda just didn't mind this show, but I don't think I'll think of it a season or two from now.

5/10

Mii-chan Wants to Be Kept: Vol. 1 Manga Review

Cat/Girls are cute too

I’m a sucker for cute anime cat-girls, but Mii-chan isn’t exactly what I was expecting...

In this series by Waka Takase, our protagonist Natsume-kun, works in a supermarket, where he gets pushed around by the ladies at his job; but, he’s generally a good guy who’ll pitch in and help out when things get tough – as a result, he’s always exhausted and burnt out.

One day, on his way home, he takes in a stray black cat for the night, even though his building doesn’t allow pets. When he wakes up in the morning, he finds the cat’s gone, but an extremely beautiful (buck-naked) black-haired girl is sleeping in his bed.

The series is only mildly NSFW

As it turns out, Mii-chan, is a seventeen year old runaway cat/girl, who is a human during the day, but turns into a cat at night. The details have yet to be really explained; is it a curse? Is it just in her nature? Not too sure. Will I read on to find out more? Probably.

I really enjoyed the book for the first 90% of the volume. The interactions between the two main characters are pretty funy. Mii-chan’s cute, and the MC dude’s not annoying (honestly the most important thing in any of the manga where the MC is meant to be a self-insert protag). It’s also really funny how he’s got such a soft spot for Mii-chan as a cat, but is really hard on her in her human form.

<<Moderate spoilers for the end of volume 1 to follow, but I think it might affect whether some people pick this book up.>>

Toward the end of the volume, Mii-chan has a conversation with another Cat/Girl, and in that conversation, it’s revealed that one aspect of their “affliction” is that unless they have sex with a guy before they turn 18 they’ll eventually be stuck in their Cat form forever…

I’m generally not too stuck up about stuff like this, but this seemed so contrived and deliberate I got a bit annoyed – especially since the MC is in his early twenties; maybe the age-gap tension will turn into a plot point. I guess it’s always possible Mii-chan chooses to stay with Natsume-kun, but in her cat form, since he’s pretty obviously got a thing for cats. Who knows? I think that’d be kind of a funny possibility. I’m interested enough to see how it plays out that I’ll probably pick up the rest as it comes out. So far, Japan has 3-ish volumes worth of chapters and the manga is still ongoing.

This is one of those weird series where I enjoyed it, but the hook might make it super annoying. Also makes it very hard to recommend, so if this is your kind of jam, go for it.

Volume 2 is due out in August.

Mii-Chan Wants to Be Kept is published by Seven Seas Entertainment.

Purchase at Barnes & Noble for $13.99

A Year in the Life

Good lord, 2023 really went by pretty quick didn't it. What's that? It's almost 2025? It seems we've skipped a year haven't we? Somehow that's usually how things go for me and blogging. I'll set my mind to blog about all the books, or games, or trivial bullshit i'm involved in, and then life will get in the way of my daily posting routine and next thing you know it I've changed adresses three times and moved to another country. I got to go to anime Expo 2024 this year WooHoo!! Had an incredible time in fact! Went to some insane exhibits, saw some wild screenings (Look Back!!), meet and greets with a few really incredible people (HaneAme, NonSummer Jack, and most importantly Witch-Hat Sensei Kamome Shirahama!!). Stayed at the same hotel as the entire Trash Taste cast coincidentally and kept running into Garnt (arguably the one with the least trashy taste) at the elevators since apparently our rooms were on the same floor; wonder if he thought I was a strange, stalkery fan, but I never could get up the courage to ask him for a pic or a handshake or anything out of some strange desire not to make it weird (that probably backfired tremedously in hindsight). All said and done, managed to make it home with my wallet in One Piece *badum tss*. 

Altogether pretty swell experience if you ask me. Definitely making plans to go again next year, but preferably in a room of my own next time. Best friendo snores.

In terms of the not so swell, In the year that's passed since my last seasonal anime wrap-up and manga review posts (god, was watching Frieren and Apothecary at the time wasn't I??), my health shit the bed (then recovered, then shit itself again in the past week or so), my dog died (still fucked up over that tbh), and I've gotten promoted at work (twice! - yay?) but as a result now have far, far less free time, and also far less will to live less energy, so blogging has become rather complicated in that it's something that I'd always love to do, but never have the willpower to sit down at my desk and ACCOMPLISH. But, I've now bought myself a swiveling arm-desk thingy so I can sit in my big, comfy leather chair, and not at my crappy pc desk, so I mean to get back to it for a few reasons:

1) I'm broke, and all of my hobbies cost money.

2) I'm broke, and all of my hobbies cost MONEY.

My current obsession is the One Piece TCG. It started casually last year at Christmas. We'd get a few packs in every month at work, and I'd buy them, and rip em open and get nothing of any value. Then, they started getting packs at the local BNoble, which was all in good fun, until I cracked something worth about fifty bucks, that triggered a tragic dopamine reaction in my brain leading down the path of hunting for boxes. Several thousand dollars later and I've opened up close to a dozen by now, sourced from local LGS's (support your local business) - and not even remotely come close to breaking even. I reconciled this by starting to play the game too, instead of just collecting shiny cards, but I'm utterly shit at it, mainly as a result of only playing the Waifu leaders and not the decks that are S-tier in the meta (though my Reiju deck is pretty much tournament-grade, I just need to pilot it better).

Lately though, I've managed to curtail the OPTCG obsession to some extent by just buying singles for the decks I'm playing, and I sold off all the money-cards. I know when set 9 rears its ugly head I'll get sucked back in again though, so I think I need to make a break for it before I do any further lasting damage. Sadly, best friendo is pulling me back to the financial black hole that is MTG, and that's a dark, dark path I'm not keen to travel solo). I figure, the best solution to spending all of my time and money playing trading card games every week is to rededicate that time to pouring over the manga collection I've invested my hard-earned dollars in and write more reviews of the individual volumes/series that I've amassed at break-neck pace over the last few years.  

Maybe even sell some stuff off to make room for all the new series I'd prefer to pick up if I had the space for them, or so I tell myself knowing this will never happen.

Right now, my physical manga hoard is sitting at around 2500 volumes with another 500 or so in digital. Finding space for all these paperbacks has become a major conundrum. Owning my own little manga library used to be the end goal, but I've gone way past that and don't have any room for it anymore. Have had to start spreading the collection out into other spaces of the house - which the rest of the family aren't too keen on (especially since I started moving the mature books into the communal living spaces). They need to experience the culture though, so it's ok.

I've now begun measuring the value of the books I own in terms of missed opportunity cost; specifically as it relates to the value of the Honda I could have purchased had I been someone who made good financial decisions. Currently, we're looking at a nice 2025 Civic LX, but probably couldn't afford the sport, so I guess when all things are considered, that's not that bad right? 

But I digress.

Current life goal #1 is to get this place up off the ground, especially with the site formerly known as Rightstuf burnt to cinders and twitter quickly following suit. I used to post reviews of all the stuff I read on Rightstuf, Barnes&Noble and Goodreads, but then Crunchyroll nuked all the Rightstuf product review pages making that site, for me at least, very much the Wrongstuf. I haven't shopped there much since (did maybe one order to test things out... it didn't go well). I don't know why I never got into Goodreads more, but I suppose I should. Or mabye make a bookstagram? I guess that's a thing, but I'm not sure how I like hearing my voice in recordings. Generally, just want a place to reconcile my thoughts, longform, with words, about the books and anime I'm reading, and I want to do it on a more regular basis. Consistently. 

Over the last year I hit a life milestone with my anime consumption - I cleared the "Year of Your Life Spent Watching Anime" statistic over on MAL. Over 1000 series completed. That's just so much anime - and even with my average score being so much higher than the norm, so much of the anime was just... shit.  Goal #2 is to catch up on all the anime worth catching up on, and polishing off a bunch that aren't anyway, but in all honesty, the amount of anime that exists in the world is currently growing at a rate greater than the amount of time I have free in a week; even if I multi-task and watch anime while reading, or gaming, I still don't have enough hours in a week to watch everything that's airing seasonally taht I actually give two fucks about. This has led to a pretty huge backlog, which I'll gradually get through, but I'm being much less completionist about (and that kills me - really). I do however want to continue contributing anime reviews to MAL, but that site, like Goodreads, is picky about sweary content, so I'll most likely continue to cross-post the uncensored reviews here.

So, I guess expect more posts here from me if you'd care to read them. Or don't. Reading's hard, and nobody has the attention span for it anymore. Suppose I should just train an AI to write my blog for me; that would be the real 2025, way of the future, thing to do. But, sadly, I can't stand the idea that instead of the machines replacing my day job, they're replacing the escapism I used to seek out to get away from my day job. Crazy how things turn out isn't it? 

Fall 2023 Anime Watchlist - The Season that Had Too Much

There's Too Much Anime Next Season

Where the hell do they expect me to find time for all this????? There's 36 shows airing next season that I want watch!! WTF???? That's more than 5 shows a day I'm going to have to plan all my time around. And this is during the time of peak holiday retail??? I'm going to be so damn busy. 

Bruh...

anyways...

MY TOP 4

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The Apothecary Diaries

This series reminds me so much of the TV series HOUSE, M.D. that It hooked me instantly. When you add in a smart gremlin-like girl, and pack it all into ancient China; this is a uniquely intriguing series that can keep everyone enthralled. I reread the manga from start to finish about every 2 weeks these days, because each time I crack it open I find a new page I love. Watch this, then go out and buy them books!!

FRIEREN: Beyond Journey's End

What's to say about Frieren? You're going to cry. A lot. Especially during the first episode. Go give your loved ones a hug, because they're not going to be there forever - that is what this show has to tell you. After the premier though, I'm looking forward to seeing Frieren and Fern on their adventures and Frieren being generally a goofball. The soundtrack for this show will be an insta-buy if I can find a CD for it, because it's done by the same genius that did Violet Evergarden. 

The 100 Girlfriends Who Really, Really, Really, Really, Really Love You

We're getting part 1 of, what I hope to be, many, many parts of The 100 Girlfriends Who Really, Really, Really, Really, Really Love You, this fall. This series is PURE Parody - think Gintama, but for the Harem/Rom-com genre. I adore this manga; it was one of my favorites from last year when it made it's English debut. From the poster art though, it looks like we're only going to get 12 episodes at best, and probably only see maybe his first handfull of gals (he's over 40+ in the manga at this point i think on the JP side...). Go give this series a watch, support the release, and then hopefully, maybe we'll get to see the rest animated.

Shangri-La Fronteir

Shangri-La Frontier is Sword Art Online without all the Edginess and the Sexual Assault. The series is entirely players in a game, playing the game. This is Bofuri without the Parody. It's just straight up, super high adrenaline action, with a vast and interesting world, and fun characters to boot. There's no "if you die in the game, you die IRL" plot to this, but somehow I felt like the stakes were even higher than SAO or the like, because when the players risk they're items, or the NPC's risk their lives, there's no coming back for them - and the idea that one of the lovable NPC's in Shangri-La Frontier might bite the dust is WAY more believable to me than Kirito or Asuna actually dying in SAO. I will be counting the days till I get to see that Weathermoon fight scene. 

Beyond my top 4 though, there's a whole basket of new series I'm excited to watch listed below here in no particular order.

NEW SERIES

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Under Ninja

I Fell In Love with the Villainess

Girl and Her Guard Dog

You Were Experience, I wasn't

Boushoku No Berserk

Lamentations of a Shut in Vampire Princess

I'm Giving the Disgraced Noble Lady I Rescued a Crash Course in Naughtiness

The Kingdoms of Ruin

Ragna Crimson

Undead Unluck

Tearmoon Empire

Hoshikuzu Telepath

To eat the Pig Liver

Shy

Overtake

MF Ghost

Migi to Dali

Yuzuki-chan no Yon Kyoudai

Rainy Day Protocol

But, what's really bad about next season is this.... 

Look at all these damn seqels and continuations. Holy crap. There's over a dozen of them. And all of them are bangers. I'm super excited for these and will most likely be watching them weekly. Gotta stay current.

SEQUELS AND CONTINUATIONS

-------------------------

JUJUTSU KAISEN Season 2

AoT REALLY FINAL PART

Eminence in Shadow part 2

Spy Family s2

Goblin Slayer s2

Dr Stone S2 part 2

Faraway Paladin s2

Dead Mount Deathplay part 2

Helck p2

Tokyo Revengers

Kanojo Mo Kanojo s2

Sain't Magic Power is Omnipotent s2

Ancient Magus Bride S2 p2

Hit me up on twitter with your thoughts and which shows you're most excited for this fall!!

If you'd like to peep the livechart to see when these series air, and check out the full list of all the shows, including the ones I left out (*cough* rise of the lame hero *cough*) click the link that's highlighted here.

Anime Review: "Reborn to Master the Blade..."

Reborn to Master the Blade. Becomes Vegeta instead.

This is more like what I’m looking for in a isekai power fantasy than most of the shows that came out this season, but there were enough annoying things about it that ultimately I soured on it a little by the end. But not THAT soured. Still kinda recommend it if you're into dumb isekai stuff.

The premise behind this one is that of a kind, beloved king, ruler of a prosperous fantasy empire, being reincarnated into another fantasy world, or maybe the same one, just in a different time (honestly I can’t remember which it is because it’s kind of passed over quickly in the early episodes and never comes up as a plot element later on); the king is reborn as a girl, which he adapts to pretty quickly. That plot hook is wasted for the most part and not really played off of at all, though the reincarnated king, in the body of a little girl reminded me of Rudeus from Mushoku Tensei, maybe that’s just me. Since the King isn’t nearly the same level of perv, it doesn’t really feel gross.

The first of the BIG issues I had with this series was its broken promise. The king is reborn to master the blade. The blade!! So, WHY? Does the MC mostly go around punching the crap out of monsters and shooting lasers from her fingers??? What the hell? Did it turn out drawing sword fights was too hard? I simply don’t understand. When she’s a child, there’s ONE really, really good sword fight, which really sucked me in. I thought this series was likely to be really good based on that episode, but after that, the MC barely ever uses a sword again.

The other issues I had with this were mostly just niggles. The plot seemed overly complex. I’m still not entirely sure what exactly a Hieral Menace is, but I think it lets (forces? Curses?) people to turn into powerful weapons??? (wasn’t clear if it’s permanent… or? Idk). Last of my issues was the incomplete plot hooks which are all left dangling. The series ends, but nothing is resolved, ensuring that if we want to see any of this reach its conclusion we either need to buy the source material, or hope that a season 2 gets made.

I’ll probably wait for a season 2 if there is one, but I doubt I’ll be picking up the manga/ln’s.

Wait… hold on, this doesn’t sound like I’m very positive about this anime, but I’m giving it a 6?

Should I reevaluate??

Nah, there was actually quite a bit to like here.

The villains are bad, but there’s a few who are sympathetic and multi-dimensional. The good guys are good, but some are complex and have several facets. The series is never loses its light-heartedness even in the most serious battles, so it’s not dragged into the dreary, meaning even if there’s conflicts they don’t feel depressing. The action scenes are well-done; the animation is crisp, even if the art looks like everything else that’s coming out in this genre these days. Ultimately I felt the personality in this series was strong enough that it’s likable on those merits alone.

So, this one is just barely a 6 for me. Maybe a 6.1.

Anime Review: "Raising 80K Gold..."

This show was my 80,000th Reason Why

On a conceptual level I think this brought enough new ideas to the isekai genre that it was worth watching just for the freshness. Being able to come and go between this world and a fantasy world + having a character predominantly motivated by money + the mc’s super power is a glock = a formula for a good time; sadly the execution here wasn’t great, with some episodes having borderline awful animation. The story had enough bad plot/story developments that it sadly outweighed whatever positive base the premise had going for it. And the worst offender is this series REPEATS. REPEATS EVERYTHING. The MC makes friends with not ONE, but THREE different little girls. The villains in this are almost ALWAYS some random, annoying, greedy old man (literally every single villain except for the monsters is a fucking ugly bastard). I lost count, but I feel like there was at least 5 of them....  thankfully this was a pg-13 mainstream series and not an H title, cus, damn. Ugly bastards everywhere.

I didn't mention this in my MAL review, but the main character is also an insufferable dolt. Like, WTF are you even thinking????? I suppose there's a reason she failed her entrance exams and couldn't get into college in the first place. The real moment this threw me was when she goes out on a quest with a bunch of professional adventurers. Before going to bed she tells them she's off to bathe, then pops out in a bikini... like what in the actual fuck are you thinking girl? You KNOW this isn't gonna fly in his medieval society! Why? just... ugh... use thy brain, please.

I just got so tired of watching the same plot play out over and over that ultimately this series bored the pants off me.

This dreadful anime barely earns a 2... 

Anime Review: "Chillin In My 30's..." [I genuinely can't remember the rest of the title]

I mean, at Least Tomokazu Sugita is in it

This series was hot garbage. It was mildly fun garbage, kinda like finding a really messed up sofa thrown out by the curb, but at the end of the day, still garbage. The best compliment I can give this series is that I didn’t actively hate it by the end, just felt kinda indifferent to it. Not memorable, but I wouldn’t say it was boring enough to forget. I will remember Malika (Marika?) at least.

Tomokazu Sugita [Gintama’s Gintoki], the voice of the main character Dariel was fighting for his life trying to carry this series, but his voice acting alone couldn’t pull it off. I did enjoy his performance though I wouldn’t say it’s his best, or one he’ll probably remember five years from now. Felt a bit like a paycheck show.

The title for this series is total BS. There is virtually nothing “Chill” about this series. Dude goes from one conflict to another and gets absolutely no rest, because the girl of his dreams hits like a truck every time she runs in for a glomp. And glomp she does. So even in his down time, he’s dealing with broken ribs every times he catches a hug.

The BETTER title for this series would be “Nobody will let me chill, even in my 30’s”. Dariel gets expelled from the Demon King’s army’s only to end up busy as hell even in his early forced retirement. The characters here were all pretty standard; same tropes we’ve seen a million times before. Demon King, Four Heavenly Kings, overenthusiastically-here-to-train hero, big-boobie oneesan waifu (that would be the aforementioned Malika). Etc. Etc.

In the end, I found it pretty boring and repetitive, but not in a way that made me fast forward, or skip episodes. Not entirely sure why I stuck it out with until the end, but I think it had something to do with Malika. I just can’t quite put my finger on which part.

A year from now, I doubt I’ll remember this series, just like Sugita won’t, but, that’s ok. Not every anime can be Mushoku Tensei, even if Tomokazu Sugita is in it. (Have I mentioned how much I like Tomokazu Sugita? Is that coming across?) We need 1’s in order to really appreciate the 8’s and 9’s. They make the 10’s feel even more incredible. This show wasn’t THAT bad though. The art-style and animation were cookie-cutter and manufactured, but they weren’t dreadful, or copy-pasted, like an ExArm or TanMoshi. I did get a couple laughs out of it; plus… Malika. So, thank you, “chillin in my 30’s” for at least not making me hate you. With that in mind. 30 / 10 equals 3, so you’ll be getting a 3 stars.

Anime Review: "Handyman Saitou in Another World"

This is a STRONG 7. Like... 7.99

I'd say this is well above average in terms of quality isekai series. I generally dislike it when an isekai with a ridiculous premise, such as this one, gets serious, but somehow, I wasn't overly bothered by it here. The plot of this show is pretty much right there in the title. A handyman, named Saitou, ends up being transported to a fantasy world; he joins a party of adventurers who’re exploring a dungeon. He’s good at picking locks, disarming traps, kinda fulfills the role of a rogue in general ‘Dungeons and Dragons’ terms, but without the stealthy backstabbing. I bring up D&D because I could definitely see this entire series being played out on a table-top. It felt like a really whacky campaign, designed by the world’s weebiest DM. For example, one of the biggest, plot-centric turn of events involves a Roomba. So, even when the anime is at its most serious, those bits were balanced out well with laughs and general silliness. It gets precarious, but not bogged down in a dark, depressing way. I really liked the cast of characters too. Saito’s party of adventurers includes a bad-mouthed fairy, a blushing maiden of a fighter, and a lecherous old wizard who can’t remember his own spells. Definitely reminds me of a D&D group generated with quirkiness in mind. Each of them gets a great backstory, some even having entire arcs dedicated to resolving their past conflicts (I cried during the wizard’s). Outside the main party, there’s also a really diverse group of side characters who add their own unique flavor to the show, and here is where I think the series really shines because they’re all so vastly non-standard, that you’re always in for something special when someone new shows up. Even the villains are given their own time to shine. This series was a delightful little piece of isekai popcorn, and I’m glad I stuck with it, even though the start was a bit rocky.

Anime Review: "The Magical Revolution of the Reincarnated Princess and the Genius Young Lady" - 5/10... oof

 
Viva the Yuri Revolution!!

Or that’s what I’d say if this series left me feeling excited about it. Sadly I didn’t really enjoy it as a whole.

I enjoyed PARTS of this show, but way, way too much of it was bogged down in seriousness and depression. Why can’t I just have a cute little yuri isekai slice of life series???? I dislike series that can’t pick a tone, and this series definitely had that issue. It started off with the hilarious antics of this bloody, wild princess, who steals away her brother’s fiancé to take for herself. It’s very comedic. I was legitimately laughing at how the princess shows up the first time. I need a good laugh these days. Life’s too serious to be serious all the time.

But, the problem comes after this, because all of the important obstacles in the story are TOO big, and TOO serious. Really killed the mood.

The titular ‘reincarnated princess’ is from our world, by the way, which is never really used as much more than a B-side subplot device to give her a reason to come up with various magical inventions that look like stuff from our world. Not that that’s a bad thing, but this series definitely puts me into the frame of mind where I’m questioning what the point of this series being an ‘isekai’ is in the first place. The origin world stuff really doesn’t come up that much whatsoever. Could have been default fantasy without a problem.

This is a problem because on the one hand, we have a ridiculous princess who makes flying brooms and magic swords, and there’s vampires and dragons, etc. and on the other hand we have a very serious plot with characters being worried about rites of succession and having to bear offspring that will carry the royal bloodline. There’s a serious divide here. Ultimately it led to me feeling pretty bad about the series in general.

In the end, this series became one I completed mostly for the sake of not leaving something unfinished, but I couldn’t really bring myself to care very much about it. The visuals were stunning, so it certainly wasn’t a drag to watch, but I don’t think I’ll think about anything aside from it having a cute little yuri couple. I ended up buying the manga after the first episode, and with the dramatic tone shift, I actually felt pretty baited. Not likely to continue to buy volumes of this, or watch a season 2 if they make one.

 

Anime Review: "The Ice Guy and his Cool Female Colleage"

This was a very nice little romance anime. The two main characters were really cute and had a fun dynamic. It’s not often you get a series where the male lead is a soft blushing fellow always getting embarrassed and freaking out over his love interest. And the way it’s expressed using his “Yuki-onna” heritage was super fun (especially the snowmen). In fact, the whole ‘fantastical creatures’ aspect of the series, with many of the characters being descendants of famous Japanese mythical monsters (?) was a cool premise. The only problem I really had with this series is focus; I would have loved it if we could have seen much, much more of the main pair, and less of the side characters. The side characters had their own charm, but they weren’t nearly as interesting to me as the main guy and gal. Adult, office romances, are few and far between, and having screen time divided up among all the various office-people caused me to kind of lose interest. Needed them to spend more time on the title folks. All in all, a fun read. I believe the manga for this has recently been licensed; I may check it out, but not sure yet. Will definitely peep a season 2 if they make one though.

TL;DR 8/10

Anime Review: "Don't Toy With Me Miss Nagatoro" Season #2

 

Season 2 improved the Nagatoro formula in a big way IMO. Senpai grew a spine and became much less of a wimp. Nagatoro’s bullying got more flirty and endearing. As a whole, Season 2 was really, really cute.

As far as the things I think make up an anime adaptation:

Voice acting was still just as on point as it was in season 1, with the addition of a new member to the cast in Sayumi Suzushiro, who was also excellent. I think they actually improved the music too for this season. I ended up downloading the OP for a mix tape. The animation was also just as good as season 1, with amplified wiggle-taro.

Now, why do I rate this season higher than season 1? I think for me it mostly comes down to the stories in this arc. They’re much, much more fun than the stuff that happens in season 1. When there’s teasing, its way more playful and flirty and less mean/bullying. I think maybe season 2 is really where the author got into their groove with plotting, jokes, etc. The payoffs are really great too – for me the ‘caught a cold’ episodes were fantastic.

The episodes in season 2 also really accelerate bringing out the best in all of the characters. Both senpai and Nagatoro receive a good amount of character development. I especially liked the whole training arc because we get to see both of them getting serious about improving themselves in their own respective ways.

If and when they make a season 3 I’ll definitely be there for that.

Anime Review: "Don't Toy With Me Miss Nagatoro" Season #1

 

I’m finishing Nagatoro season 2 right now and realizing I haven’t reviewed season 1 yet, so here we go.

Adaptation rating. Very Good.

Voice acting was great. Sumire Uesaka (Nagatoro) does a fantastic job with all of her characters and she’s certainly a great Nagatoro. Daiki Yamashita plays Senpai a little too weak for my tastes, ends up channeling early My Hero Deku… I’m not sure I had senpai pegged as being quite that soft, but I suppose it works.

The music was good. OP ED were fine, but not really the kind of songs I’d buy to play in the car.

The animation of the cute, wiggly bits, certainly worked great.

That being said, there’s a couple reasons why I score this one pretty low as a series (low for me at least, romcom's are usually an easy 10/10). Though I eventually turned into a Nagatoro fan after buying the manga, the first season of the anime didn’t really help me with that. I think this series as a whole gets better as things go and season 2 was definitely an improvement.

I found the male MC to be excessively wimpy in the beginning. In this season his wimpy-factor gets played up even more than in the manga, which is… *ugh*. In contrast, Nagatoro starts off as too much of a sadist. I understand in the original prototype for this series Nagatoro was MUCH more sadistic, even going so far as to torture senpai with not a single hint of flirting. The first stages of the series still had too much of this essence and it took too long for it to go away.

But, things do get better, much better in fact.

Nagatoro’s friends are pretty hilarious and drive her to be more territorial protecting Senpai so that only she can tease him. Then you throw in the senpai of senpai from the art club and now you’ve got a force pushing them together on the romantic front too.

For me the highlight of this season was the last few episodes. Nekotaro arc and the school festival art contest were pretty incredible.