Anime

I have spent all weekend traveling (for vacation this time, not for work). So, it has been a series of flights, layovers, car rentals, etc., but we finally made it to sunny Los Angeles to visit some of my wife's family. All of that is to preface that I will probably not be very active for this week (or next) because of this. However, most of this past week, I was still able to watch stuff. Also, I have thoughts...

• Trigun (1998) - My wife and I have been slowly chipping away at this series. We are currenly up to episode 13. Overall I have enjoyed it (she has seen it before). However, the humor definitely feels dated at times, especially with how lecherous so many of the male characters are. If Master Roshi or Jiraiya bothered you, then so will this show.
• Oshi no Ko Season 2 - These past couple episodes have been phenomenal. So, so glad this season has been able to deliver after a bit of a slow start.
• Tower of God Season 2 - This season has felt like a letdown compared to season 1 for me. I am up through episode 6 and just don't feel invested in this whole new cast of characters. The peak of the season for me so far were Khun's parts.
• Love is Indivisible by Twins - This show has continued to deliver guilty pleasures. Lots of drama, while keeping the actual stakes fairly low. Naori is a pop-culture reference machine though and I can only keep track of half of what she says.

I have had to drop a couple shows for time: Quality Assurance, Plus-Sized Elf, Spice and Wolf, Dahlia in Bloom. I am probably going to try to pick some of these back up again after my vacation.

Hadn't realized what a banger this season is for me as a SOL/RomCom lover. Just caught up with Makeine, Alya, and Gimai Seikatsu. I'll probably pick up Giji Harem after it all airs. I usually watch 4-5 shows per year, so having 4 in one season is great.

We recently watched Dungeon Meshi and Spy x Family with our kid and both were a big hit. I’m curious if anyone has recs for shows with a similar vibe and maturity level. I liked that both shows have comedy, positive messages, and light drama.

The violence in dunmeshi was borderline at times but overall not a problem as long as it’s not more much than that.

Finished up Isekai Suicide Squad. Overall, I'm glad I stuck it out with this show through my general malaise, as I don't think I would have came back to it, but the last couple episodes were pretty great with a lot of cool fights and some hilarious surprises.

The big bad having shrimp cocktail horns was still a bit distracting, but we weren't supposed to like her anyway. There was a big twist ending that sets up a season 2, and is check that out. The series as a whole may be worth a rewatch for me when I'm in a more receptive mood.

Gave the Rick and Morty Anime a go out of morbid curiosity. I have no idea what the hell I watched. It was just odd in general, and it felt like some kind of prank on the fans.

Rewatched a few more Gintama episodes, and those were still great. It was the handful were Kagura's Dad came to try to take her back home, and the ones where Sadaharu got massive. Also the Dom Peri contest with the hostess club. Odd Jobs and friends can still get me laughing consistently!

I was happy to hear Sakamoto Days is getting a show. I felt they would get one due to having a similar vibe with SpyxFamily and a bit of MHA/JJK.

Dahlia in Bloom 1-8:
More than just the last week, but I finally caught up with the translations.

The story is fairly mundane for an isekei fantasy world light novel. No major meta plot, no level grind. No major world building. No major fights. No real enemies. It is basically a light character drama slice of life. So far, maybe 6 months have passed in 8 volumes, and the main, so obvious even a horse sees it, romantic subplot is unchanged. The main character is something of a mary sue with everything tending to work in her favor (cold open, otome like dumping scene included.)

Normally I'd be bored with this. But the business/inventor subplot is fun and the characters are very well written, especially the way their interests and back stories tie together. It is character driven and uses the characters well.

Sadly it does not look like the anime has done a good job showing any of the stories charms, but I'm a few episodes behind so maybe it gets better.

I'm going to continue watching the new Monogatari Off Season this week. I saw the new OP and it's really cute. I feel like Off Season might be one of my favorite seasons in the series. Anyway, it's summer and I spent a lot of time touching grass (and sand!) which was very refreshing and really tiring. I went on three different trips and got sick during one of them so I haven't been very active lately.

Weekly ranking roundup:

1. Anime Corner - Full Results - Weekly Winner: Alya Sometimes Hides Her Feelings in Russian
2. Anime Trending - Weekly Winner: Makeine
3. Reddit Karma - Weekly Winner: Oshi no Ko

Credit to /u/Abysswatcherbel for making the chart for reddit karma and /u/Nooble5 for the Anime Trending chart.

Three different winners across the three different charts this week. It's always nice to see some variety in representation in these charts. I think this week marks the first time Makeine has ranked #1 on any of these so far this season.

Completed Gate

The trope of a war between an advanced military and a hopelessly outdated one (is there a specific term for this?) isn't exactly new, but I haven't seen much of these shows. I guess it's because the outcome is too obvious (spoiler for anyone without common sense: it is a one-sided massacre), which means writers have to put more effort into developing the story pre-war and post-war.

Isekai is extremely common in anime but the way Gate did it resulted in a unique take on the genre as well the trope IMO.

The depiction of how people react as way as character motivations was believable. Just like how soldiers of real-world military frequently lost common sense (is there a name for this phenomenon?), the isekai soldiers started rampaging / plundering instead of working towards a clear goal. The way people (including the MC) reacted was understandable too.

The timeframe between the initial attack and the deployment of troops beyond the gate was reasonable too. I'd expect that long given the bureaucracy and inefficiency of politicians and military.

All these led to a great set-up, which the show then squandered.

Honestly, the first season (or cour? I can't tell the difference) wasn't too bad.

There have been minor annoyances for me from the very start, such as

There are probably more, but these are the ones I can remember off the top of my head. Anyway, I was willing to overlook these issues because the world-building and characters were fun.

I am willing to give it a 7 / 10.

The second part got way too dumb for me.

For example,

And that was only the second episode IIRC. It just became more and more braindead as the show goes on. I would have gave it a passing score, but by the last episode, the anime gave up all pretense of not being a trash isekai by shipping various characters together.

My guess is that the writer (and maybe the rest of the animation studio?) is a military nerd who worships his country's armed forces, but never actually served. The anime would fixate weirdly on details such as the backblast checks - clearly the writer did a bit of research - and yet completely missed some obvious / common-sensical things that anyone who have been in a military would know.

Unfortunately, he ended up doing a disservice to the JSDF that he looked up, portraying them as unprofessional and incompetent in a weird way (even if they are not).

Final score of 4 / 10. I would have given a lower score if not for some entertaining moments that sustained my attention.

Mother's Basement's hottest trash video for this season just came out. This is another one of those things I always look forward to each season.

Jujutsu Kaisen ending soon after a Sakamoto days teaser. Gege knows peak is coming