What Current Anime Are You Watching Version v4.0

[M'Kyuun]

Started watching GQuuuuuux, a rather nonsensical appellation (yeah, I realize it's a placeholder, but certainly they could've come up with something better) and after four episodes I find it a bit lackluster thus far relative to other Gundam entries. While many entries in the franchise are a bit contrived to ensure the featured pilot finds their way into the cockpit of a Gundam, this one stands out as particularly ham-handed as well as her ability to unlock its other abilities where the intended pilot, a Newtype no less, failed.

Thus far, and it's still very early into the series, there hasn't been much character development with more time allotted to setting up the alternate UC timeline and the clan-fighting subplot. 

Spoiler

Shuji, a mysterious pilot of a Red Gundam, claims to hear his Gundam speaking to him. Beyond piloting the Red Gundam, he appears to be a bum with no apparent occupation to support the upkeep of his Gundam. His weird proclamations and directions from the Gundam, which no-one else perceives, coupled with his lifestyle, or want for one, are just a few of the big question marks of this series. Machu, the main female protagonist is a student with apparent Newtype abilities with the usual Mary Sue like quality of jumping into a machine she's never seen before and magically piloting it with an inexplicable prowess. Judging from the opening sequences, it appears that she and another character, a parts courier named Nyaan who introduced her, by writers' contrivance, to the Pomeranians, a group of young engineers who maintain a mobile suit for clan battles, will eventually share digs. As of ep 4, that hasn't happened yet but I'm curious to see how that relationship unfolds.

 

[Seto Kaiba]

10 hours ago, M'Kyuun said:

Spoiler

Machu, the main female protagonist is a student with apparent Newtype abilities with the usual Mary Sue like quality of jumping into a machine she's never seen before and magically piloting it with an inexplicable prowess.

Spoiler

Machu actually has a better excuse/explanation for her prowess operating the Gundam QuuuuuuX than most Gundam protagonists who fell/jumped into the cockpit do.

The Gundam QuuuuuuX she Gundamjacked from Zeon's space assault force in the sublevels of Side 6's Izuma colony at the start of the series is equipped with the "Omega Psycommu"... a prototype fly-by-thought control system similar in principle to the Intention Automatic System on the RX-0 Unicorn Gundam and MSN-06S Sinanju in Mobile Suit Gundam UC.  As long as she can muster up a Newtype brainwave strong enough to activate the Omega Psycommu, she doesn't have to worry about the QuuuuuuX's physical controls since it'll obey her thoughts instead.

 

[Hikaru Ichijo SL]

I watched Aldnoah.Zero: Ame no Danshou - The Penultimate Truth .  I can sum up this OVA with one line. Why was it made.

[M'Kyuun]

3 hours ago, Seto Kaiba said:

  Hide contents

Machu actually has a better excuse/explanation for her prowess operating the Gundam QuuuuuuX than most Gundam protagonists who fell/jumped into the cockpit do.

The Gundam QuuuuuuX she Gundamjacked from Zeon's space assault force in the sublevels of Side 6's Izuma colony at the start of the series is equipped with the "Omega Psycommu"... a prototype fly-by-thought control system similar in principle to the Intention Automatic System on the RX-0 Unicorn Gundam and MSN-06S Sinanju in Mobile Suit Gundam UC.  As long as she can muster up a Newtype brainwave strong enough to activate the Omega Psycommu, she doesn't have to worry about the QuuuuuuX's physical controls since it'll obey her thoughts instead.

 

Spoiler

 First, I commend you on your ability to recount facts and figures concerning so much of the media you watch. I've never remotely had that level of recall, and I find as I enter my mid-fifties, things slip away even quicker and more permanently than ever. I both envy you that capability and laud you for it. I always enjoy reading your posts for the sheer amount of detail you're able to supply and for your prolific contributions. That said, even her ability to access the 'Omega Psycommu', via the HARO unit it seems, gave her an advantage over poor Xavier, the assigned pilot to the GQuuuuuux who, by virtue of that position, probably should have been able to tap into that ability as well. (raised eyebrow) But, you know, Machu's the hero of this series and there needed to be some excuse for her ability to just jump in and tap into its special abilities without training or something as intrusive as IBO's Alaya-Vijnana system. Then again, how many wannabe pilots have just jumped into a Valkyrie in any number of Macross series and managed to effectively pilot their highjacked machines? It's an anime trope, but it's fun to nitpick it at least a little. Coming out of the aviation world (retired AF plane mechanic), I see the parallels and the absurdity of it and my skepticism is somewhat unfettered. 😉 Gift an old fart a touch of levity, kind Sir.

 

[Big s]

19 minutes ago, M'Kyuun said:

That said, even her ability to access the 'Omega Psycommu', via the HARO unit it seems, gave her an advantage over poor Xavier, the assigned pilot to the GQuuuuuux who, by virtue of that position, probably should have been able to tap into that ability as well.

I kinda get a feeling that the red gundam may have been a trigger to her newtype abilities, but the initial activation may have been triggered by her emotional determination. She seems to want it more while the original pilot failed possibly by not being as strongly motivated. Newtypes are weird

[Seto Kaiba]

3 hours ago, M'Kyuun said:

Spoiler

That said, even her ability to access the 'Omega Psycommu', via the HARO unit it seems, gave her an advantage over poor Xavier, the assigned pilot to the GQuuuuuux who, by virtue of that position, probably should have been able to tap into that ability as well. (raised eyebrow) But, you know, Machu's the hero of this series and there needed to be some excuse for her ability to just jump in and tap into its special abilities without training or something as intrusive as IBO's Alaya-Vijnana system.

Spoiler

The Haro belongs to Kaneban Co., the illegal company running the Pomeranians team.  It offers some guidance on how to operate their Zaku, but it doesn't seem to have any role in her ability to operate the Gundam QuuuuuuX.

As you likely already know, Newtypes are by no means created equal.  You've got very strong Newtypes and weak ones.  There are Newtypes who can consciously control their supernatural abilities, Newtypes who unconsciously use them all the time, and ones with no control whose abilities activate sporadically and in moments of stress or danger. 

Zeon's Flannigan Institute believes Ensign Xavier is a Newtype, but this is an alternate timeline where Newtype research doesn't seem to have gotten quite as far thanks to the altered course of history and the Zeknova putting the kibosh on most psycommu research.  Xavier was deemed to be a Newtype by the Flannigan Institute, but it's not 100% that he is one.  The Flannigan Institute was kind of swinging for the fences back then even in the main timeline, and only identified three actual Newtypes during the One Year War in the correct timeline: Char Aznable, Challia Bull, and Lalah Sune.  That seems to still essentially be true in this timeline too, though Char is missing, Challia Bull's not dead, and Lalah Sune never fought in the war (and may have been under study at Granada and the cause of the Zeknova).  If Xavier is a true Newtype, he may be just a weak one or one who can't consciously tap into his powers.  Machu seems to be a lot stronger, given that she's resonating with other Newtypes without meaning to, making her a lot more able to use the fly-by-psycommu Gundam QuuuuuuX to its full potential.

 

 

3 hours ago, M'Kyuun said:

Then again, how many wannabe pilots have just jumped into a Valkyrie in any number of Macross series and managed to effectively pilot their highjacked machines?

... honestly, I can't think of any.

Macross is pretty good about establishing that anyone who jumps/falls into a Valkyrie's cockpit with the intent to fly it has at least some relevant training.  Thinking back to all the major Macross titles, I don't think we've ever had a totally unqualified person jump into the cockpit in the manner that so often happens in Gundam.  

Spoiler

• Hikaru Ichijo was an award-winning stunt pilot before he ever set foot in a Valkyrie.
• Hibiki Kanzaki had a Valkyrie pilot's license.  Every other VF pilot in the OVA is a soldier.
• Isamu Dyson and Guld Goa Bowman were both licensed Valkyrie pilots (and Isamu was an active duty military pilot)..
• Basara, Mylene, and Gamlin were all trained by ace pilots.
• Shiba Mido never pilots a Valkyrie.  Mahara Fabrio is ex-NUNS.
• The unnamed VF-X pilot is already a special forces ace when he first appears.
• Aegis Focker was already an ace in his own right before his first appearance, as were all the other pilots in his game.
• Moarmia Jifon is trained by Zentradi rebels before her first appearance, then by Max and Milia afterwards.
• Shin Kudo and Edgar La Salle go through model conversion training onscreen.  D.D. Ivanov, Nora Polyansky, and Roy Focker already have experience from test pilot duties.
• Alto Saotome, Michael Blanc, and Luca Angeloni are in their final year of the space flight program at a vocational school that feeds into the military's flight school, and have prior experience on trainer Valkyries.  Sheryl gets some of that training too while attending the school.  Brera is trained by the Macross Galaxy Corporate Army.
• Chelsea Scarlett is a trained SMS Valkyrie pilot at the start of her story, Hakuna Aoba and Naresuan are both ex-Macross 7 fleet special forces.
• Leon Sakaki is ex-NUNS, Rod Baltemar is current NUNS Special Forces, Aisha Blanchett is SMS-trained, and Mina Forte is implied to go through training and licensing offscreen by local authorities before operating her VF-11.  
• Vigo Walgria never pilots a Valkyrie.
• Kaito Kinjo is already a trained SMS Valkyrie pilot at the start of his story.
• Keith A. Windermere and the other Aerial Knights go through flight school together (in the prequel manga).
• Hayate Immelmann goes through flight school onscreen, though he already had qualifications as a Workroid driver (and enough talent to make his Workroid literally dance.)  Everyone else had prior military training.

I think that's just about everybody.

 

[MinmayMusicManiac]

i've been watching NicoNico Nonsence. it is an anime parody that's on Nico Nico (japanese site similar to youtube)

[Stampeed Valkyrie]

On 5/5/2025 at 1:06 AM, Seto Kaiba said:

Caught the latest episodes of The Gorilla God's Go-To Girl, Witch Watch, I've Been Killing Slimes for 300 Years, Can a Boy-Girl Friendship Survive, The Brilliant Healer's New Life, and The Too Perfect Saint.

This season is painfully light on talent.  No real standouts so far, just a lot of serviceable but unremarkable middle-of-the-road formula shows.  The only series I'm really waiting for every week is The Apothecary Diaries.

There are a few real stinkers, though.  Classic Stars is so incoherent I still don't know what it's even about five episodes on.  Mobile Suit Gundam GQuuuuuuX is exactly as poorly thought out as its literal placeholder title implies.  Yandere Dark Elf marketed itself like a romcom but it's basically softcore porn.

 

Kinda disappointed... but my watch group is getting a lot of mileage out of The Apothecary Diaries and our rewatch of Jojo's Bizarre Adventure in celebration of the announcement of Steel Ball Run.  

I might try to pick up one or two more simulcast titles to see if I'm missing anything good.  Maybe The Beginning After The End, Kowloon Generic Romance, or Shoshimin.

Yandere Dark elf is exactly as you described.  

 

As for good ones this season.. 

Katainaka no Ossan, Kensei ni Naru

From Old Country Bumpkin to Master Swordsman -  good so far.   Not groundbreaking but its not isekai trash.. just sayin.

 

Kijin Gentoushou

Sword of the Demon Hunter: Kijin Gentōshō -  this is very good.  seems to by flying under the radar on most places from this season.

 

[Hikaru Ichijo SL]

This season for me is just becoming tedious.  I like Witch Watch, Katainaka no Ossan, Kensei ni Naru and Slime 300 (more Yuuki Aoi than the show). I keep on forgetting things are on.   

[M'Kyuun]

18 hours ago, Seto Kaiba said:

  Reveal hidden contents

The Haro belongs to Kaneban Co., the illegal company running the Pomeranians team.  It offers some guidance on how to operate their Zaku, but it doesn't seem to have any role in her ability to operate the Gundam QuuuuuuX.

As you likely already know, Newtypes are by no means created equal.  You've got very strong Newtypes and weak ones.  There are Newtypes who can consciously control their supernatural abilities, Newtypes who unconsciously use them all the time, and ones with no control whose abilities activate sporadically and in moments of stress or danger. 

Zeon's Flannigan Institute believes Ensign Xavier is a Newtype, but this is an alternate timeline where Newtype research doesn't seem to have gotten quite as far thanks to the altered course of history and the Zeknova putting the kibosh on most psycommu research.  Xavier was deemed to be a Newtype by the Flannigan Institute, but it's not 100% that he is one.  The Flannigan Institute was kind of swinging for the fences back then even in the main timeline, and only identified three actual Newtypes during the One Year War in the correct timeline: Char Aznable, Challia Bull, and Lalah Sune.  That seems to still essentially be true in this timeline too, though Char is missing, Challia Bull's not dead, and Lalah Sune never fought in the war (and may have been under study at Granada and the cause of the Zeknova).  If Xavier is a true Newtype, he may be just a weak one or one who can't consciously tap into his powers.  Machu seems to be a lot stronger, given that she's resonating with other Newtypes without meaning to, making her a lot more able to use the fly-by-psycommu Gundam QuuuuuuX to its full potential.

 

 

... honestly, I can't think of any.

Macross is pretty good about establishing that anyone who jumps/falls into a Valkyrie's cockpit with the intent to fly it has at least some relevant training.  Thinking back to all the major Macross titles, I don't think we've ever had a totally unqualified person jump into the cockpit in the manner that so often happens in Gundam.  

  Hide contents

• Hikaru Ichijo was an award-winning stunt pilot before he ever set foot in a Valkyrie.
• Hibiki Kanzaki had a Valkyrie pilot's license.  Every other VF pilot in the OVA is a soldier.
• Isamu Dyson and Guld Goa Bowman were both licensed Valkyrie pilots (and Isamu was an active duty military pilot)..
• Basara, Mylene, and Gamlin were all trained by ace pilots.
• Shiba Mido never pilots a Valkyrie.  Mahara Fabrio is ex-NUNS.
• The unnamed VF-X pilot is already a special forces ace when he first appears.
• Aegis Focker was already an ace in his own right before his first appearance, as were all the other pilots in his game.
• Moarmia Jifon is trained by Zentradi rebels before her first appearance, then by Max and Milia afterwards.
• Shin Kudo and Edgar La Salle go through model conversion training onscreen.  D.D. Ivanov, Nora Polyansky, and Roy Focker already have experience from test pilot duties.
• Alto Saotome, Michael Blanc, and Luca Angeloni are in their final year of the space flight program at a vocational school that feeds into the military's flight school, and have prior experience on trainer Valkyries.  Sheryl gets some of that training too while attending the school.  Brera is trained by the Macross Galaxy Corporate Army.
• Chelsea Scarlett is a trained SMS Valkyrie pilot at the start of her story, Hakuna Aoba and Naresuan are both ex-Macross 7 fleet special forces.
• Leon Sakaki is ex-NUNS, Rod Baltemar is current NUNS Special Forces, Aisha Blanchett is SMS-trained, and Mina Forte is implied to go through training and licensing offscreen by local authorities before operating her VF-11.  
• Vigo Walgria never pilots a Valkyrie.
• Kaito Kinjo is already a trained SMS Valkyrie pilot at the start of his story.
• Keith A. Windermere and the other Aerial Knights go through flight school together (in the prequel manga).
• Hayate Immelmann goes through flight school onscreen, though he already had qualifications as a Workroid driver (and enough talent to make his Workroid literally dance.)  Everyone else had prior military training.

I think that's just about everybody.

 

Rather comprehensive list; there are names of characters there I've never heard of, but then I've never played any of the Japanese games or read any of the manga. I was thinking of Hikaru since, although he's a pilot and proficient flying a standard aircraft, the VF-1 presented two additional configurations for which he was unprepared. And of course, he handled it clumsily thus crashing into Minmay's bedroom. That at least, in contrast to the usual prowess shown by first-time mecha pilots, was a more realistic portrayal of how things would actually likely play out. Concerning Alto, he'd trained via simulations and by flitting about in his flight gear; however, having never actually sat in a Valk until the Vajra attack, he acquitted himself quite admirably with William's VF-25 to protect Ranka, even if he only basically just stood there in GERWALK and pulled the trigger (I shall forever think of Shinji Ikari every time I hear that phrase). He also developed rather quickly into a very skilled pilot, as seems to be the case with most Macross protagonists regardless of background. Hayate initially raised a brow and a groan with his "Immelmann Dance". Pretty cheeky way of justifying his later skill in the VF-31; by virtue of his Workroid experience, I think it would have made for a more believable portrayal had he mastered the battroid, given the similarities, but struggled with the flying aspects. Instead, they gave that weakness to Mirage, both the progeny and student of ace pilots (isn't the whole Jenius family, though?) As for the rest, however, you make a good case for their skill, especially compared to the untrained Amuro Rays, Benagher Links, or Loran Cehacks of the Gundam universe(s). 

[Seto Kaiba]

59 minutes ago, M'Kyuun said:

Rather comprehensive list; there are names of characters there I've never heard of, but then I've never played any of the Japanese games or read any of the manga. I was thinking of Hikaru since, although he's a pilot and proficient flying a standard aircraft, the VF-1 presented two additional configurations for which he was unprepared. And of course, he handled it clumsily thus crashing into Minmay's bedroom.

IMO, Hikaru's getting an unfairly bad rap there... he was ordered to take off directly into enemy fire, got hit almost right away, and crashed because his aircraft lost power.  He did fumble with the Battroid, but at least part of that is also attributable to the battle damage his Valkyrie had suffered making it even harder for him to control.

 

59 minutes ago, M'Kyuun said:

Concerning Alto, he'd trained via simulations and by flitting about in his flight gear; however, having never actually sat in a Valk until the Vajra attack, he acquitted himself quite admirably with William's VF-25 to protect Ranka, even if he only basically just stood there in GERWALK and pulled the trigger (I shall forever think of Shinji Ikari every time I hear that phrase). He also developed rather quickly into a very skilled pilot, as seems to be the case with most Macross protagonists regardless of background.

Alto had prior experience on older model Valkyries before he jumped into the VF-25 at the start of Macross Frontier.  It doesn't come up in the TV anime directly, but supplemental material, the TV-adjacent short stories, audio dramas, and alternate versions of the story like the novelizations and manga all indicate that Mihoshi Academy's aerospace classes involve training with real Valkyries.  Specifically, Mihoshi Academy is said to have a number of civilian market VF-1C Valkyries kitted out as flight training aircraft.  In the TV series short story "Actor's Sky" and the Macross Frontier TV novelization, Alto takes the guy playing Shin Kudo in the Bird Human movie up for a training flight in one to help him prep for the role.  That's part of why he's able to fly his borrowed VF-25 as effectively as he does, since all he's really unfamiliar with at that point are the weapons.

[M'Kyuun]

2 hours ago, Seto Kaiba said:

IMO, Hikaru's getting an unfairly bad rap there... he was ordered to take off directly into enemy fire, got hit almost right away, and crashed because his aircraft lost power.  He did fumble with the Battroid, but at least part of that is also attributable to the battle damage his Valkyrie had suffered making it even harder for him to control.

 

Alto had prior experience on older model Valkyries before he jumped into the VF-25 at the start of Macross Frontier.  It doesn't come up in the TV anime directly, but supplemental material, the TV-adjacent short stories, audio dramas, and alternate versions of the story like the novelizations and manga all indicate that Mihoshi Academy's aerospace classes involve training with real Valkyries.  Specifically, Mihoshi Academy is said to have a number of civilian market VF-1C Valkyries kitted out as flight training aircraft.  In the TV series short story "Actor's Sky" and the Macross Frontier TV novelization, Alto takes the guy playing Shin Kudo in the Bird Human movie up for a training flight in one to help him prep for the role.  That's part of why he's able to fly his borrowed VF-25 as effectively as he does, since all he's really unfamiliar with at that point are the weapons.

I'm bested.  Your knowledge of all this stuff truly is impressive.  Despite having only just watched Frontier a couple months ago, I don't recall Alto's flying the Shin Kudo actor in a VF-1. I'm sure I spotted it while watching, and likely pointed it out to the wife as I do, but obviously the import of it didn't land.  That said, I distinctly remember Ranka's planting one on Alto as they rehearsed the Mao-Shin underwater scene. Perhaps I'm a romantic at heart after all.

[Hikaru Ichijo SL]

I am nearing the end of Azumanga Daiou The Animation and it has been great.

[Seto Kaiba]

On 5/6/2025 at 10:30 PM, M'Kyuun said:

I'm bested.  Your knowledge of all this stuff truly is impressive.  Despite having only just watched Frontier a couple months ago, I don't recall Alto's flying the Shin Kudo actor in a VF-1. I'm sure I spotted it while watching, and likely pointed it out to the wife as I do, but obviously the import of it didn't land.

I fear I may have caused a misunderstanding.  It doesn't happen in the TV anime itself... it happens in a side story set during the series that was published in Macross Ace.  In that side story, Akira Kamishima (the actor Alto stood in for) gets some help with reshoots of his cockpit scenes from SMS.  Alto takes him up in a VF-1C so he can experience being in a real Valkyrie instead of a cockpit set.

[Hikaru Ichijo SL]

The Brilliant Healer's New Life in the Shadows has its moments. Today's episode was actually decent.

[Seto Kaiba]

The Brilliant Healer's New Life in the Shadows... yeesh, what happened?  It wasn't a great series by any means, but the animation quality took a real hard dive in this episode.  There are a few scenes, esp. ones with the "mystery antagonist", which look like they were animated by rank amateurs.

Classic Stars remains delightfully unintelligible.  I have no idea what is going on, and the series is half over.  It's like a drug trip, but you can have it while you're sober and with zero danger of ending up in jail from it.

The Too-Perfect Saint is leaning real hard into its form letter "the prince is a twit" plot.  Like, it's really really boring and you can just tell that the plan to give the prince enough rope to hang himself with is gonna backfire epically.

[M'Kyuun]

On 5/7/2025 at 7:42 PM, Seto Kaiba said:

I fear I may have caused a misunderstanding.  It doesn't happen in the TV anime itself... it happens in a side story set during the series that was published in Macross Ace.  In that side story, Akira Kamishima (the actor Alto stood in for) gets some help with reshoots of his cockpit scenes from SMS.  Alto takes him up in a VF-1C so he can experience being in a real Valkyrie instead of a cockpit set.

No worries. I appreciate your elucidation as my memory is anything but dependable and I would've continued to think I misremembered until my next watching (probably years down the road) at which point I would have forgotten this entire conversation anyway, rendering the point moot. You could have remained silent and I would likely have never known the difference, thus I appreciate your disclosing the source of that particular bit of info. It's both interesting and demonstrative of your character. Cheers!

[Hikaru Ichijo SL]

I am enjoying Excel saga so much.  The show is so funny. 

[Seto Kaiba]

Classic Stars remains delightfully unintelligible for another week.

I have watched... six!... six episodes of this hot mess and I still have absolutely no f***ing clue what it's about.  None.  It's like that one episode of Deep Space Nine where everyone's got aphasia and can't form coherent sentences.  Things sure are happening, but I don't know what any of it means.

[Hikaru Ichijo SL]

I watched Excel Saga episode 22 last night. I was laughing so hard I almost fell out of bed. As a Space Battleship Yamato and Harlock fan this episode was great. When I saw the Comet at 5:00 I screamed. It is the White Comet Empire. Then the Arcadia shows up I am thinking where is Yamato. I glad we at least saw the ship on the manual Excel had. I also like the RX-78 and Emeraldas appearing too. Weird seeing the Arcadia using the Wave motion gun.

[Stampeed Valkyrie]

18 hours ago, Hikaru Ichijo SL said:

I watched Excel Saga episode 22 last night. I was laughing so hard I almost fell out of bed. As a Space Battleship Yamato and Harlock fan this episode was great. When I saw the Comet at 5:00 I screamed. It is the White Comet Empire. Then the Arcadia shows up I am thinking where is Yamato. I glad we at least saw the ship on the manual Excel had. I also like the RX-78 and Emeraldas appearing too. Weird seeing the Arcadia using the Wave motion gun.

Its been quite some time since I watched Excel Saga,   the ending was ....     well its memorable. 

I remember the original english dub actress had to bail halfway through the series cause the voicework was damaging her voice.

 

 

[Hikaru Ichijo SL]

6 hours ago, Stampeed Valkyrie said:

Its been quite some time since I watched Excel Saga,   the ending was ....     well its memorable. 

I remember the original english dub actress had to bail halfway through the series cause the voicework was damaging her voice.

 

 

I am only watching it in Japanese with subs. Excel has a very memorable voice.

[Seto Kaiba]

I've Been Killing Slimes for 300 Years and Maxed Out My Level season two has lost a lot of the wit and charm that made the first season enjoyable.  All I can really say for it now is it's bland and inoffensive white noise.

Classic Stars... yeesh.  Seven episodes on and still as unintelligible as ever.  On a lark I decided to check what its rating was in Crunchyroll's app, and it's barely holding onto a 3... which considering you have to REALLY screw up to get below 4 on Crunchyroll is pretty impressive.

Can a Boy-Girl Friendship Survive? remains pretty watchable, if rather formuliac.

The Brilliant Healer's New Life in the Shadows has not really improved in any way.  It remains, as it has been, one of those isekai-adjacent, low-effort, generic power fantasy titles.  In other words, the laziest kind of slop imaginable.

For my money, this season's standout is The Apothecary Diaries S2.  Just as enjoyable as season one, and with the promise of quite the explosive payoff at the end of a major story arc from the light novel.  

[Dangard Ace]

I left my A Rank Party...etc turned all harem-y.   It was pretty harem-y to start but I'm losing interest.

So instead I started watching Country Bumpkin to Swordmaster.  First episode starts off with expectation of harem-again but the MC doesn't roll that way.  7 episodes in I'm enjoying it.  Female characters outnumber the male characters revolving around the MC but it's not all fawning and the story arcs are quick and fun.

Fire Force.   Yup still following the manga.  The future arcs/fights are going to be wild.

[Hikaru Ichijo SL]

I Left My A-Rank Party to Help My Former Students Reach the Dungeon Depths!. I wish Yuke would get a clue already.

[Seto Kaiba]

The Gorilla God's Go-To Girl has finally decided to veer into romance... which I guess is a nice change of pace from the main girl bashfully shoving the main guy through the nearest wall with her super-strength every time he gets close.

[Hikaru Ichijo SL]

Summer pockets seems to have a time loop back to the beginning of the series.  New girls now.  Right to the beach and a swimsuit. That is what happens with Visual Novel adaptations.

Edited Monday at 08:43 PM by Hikaru Ichijo SL

[Seto Kaiba]

The Too-Perfect Saint's latest episode is really... eech... let's just say it's stretching the limits of suspension of disbelief enough to resemble a slinky.

Spoiler

It's invested a lot of its screen time into this subplot about Saint Maria trying to give the second prince enough rope to hang himself with.  That, on its own, would be fine... if the second prince were a properly developed character with an actual personality.  The obvious problem with that premise is that the second prince is more plot device than character, as the starter villain in an otome anime, so he only has one character trait that is his entire personality: Maximum a-hole.  He is so consistently, thoroughly, and unapologetically awful and openly criminal that multiple characters continued insistence that they just need to wait for an opportunity to expose him for what he is is would have sounded profoundly silly after about the second episode.

(You'd think the whole "sold the country's Saint to the neighboring kingdom then used the proceeds and the defense budget to build a giant gold statue of himself" would be fairly ample justification?  Especially considering the Saint is the country's one defense against the encroaching hordes of the demon lord.  That sh*t happened in episode 1 and the army was apparently openly talking about overthrowing him long before that.)

 

[Hikaru Ichijo SL]

I finished Excel Saga and Azumanga daiou. They were both great. Even though I thought the last episode of excel saga was really crazy. I watched the 1st episode of Puni Puni Poemi and finally the bow of Yamato appears. Also when Hitomi spoke my 1st impression was it is definitely the same voice as Ushio from Clannad,