The Anime Thread

Two more finished.

Love After World Domination kept up the goofy "super sentai star-crossed romance" bit right to the end. Watching Desumi and Fudo explore a very sweet and pure love was a fun watch. They hit all the cliches and tropes you'd find in a Power Rangers-style show perfectly, and threw in a few other surprises along the way (one other romance that blossoms is a fun/funny one). "Sweet and goofy" are probably the best words I can use to describe the show overall, so if that's in your wheelhouse then by all means watch it. And even if it isn't, I'd still recommend at least giving it a try.

Meanwhile, Kaguya-Sama: Love is War -Ultra Romantic- lived up to the title and was a worthy continuation of the series. The comedy wasn't as hugely prevalent but the character development more than made up for it and kept me watching all season long. Wrapping things up with what was essentially an hour-long episode was great and the final scene is sure to have fans making all sorts of "squee" noises. LOL Great great GREAT show and season, I can't recommend it enough.

I really recommend Love After World Domination as well. Also the conclusion of Season 1 for Spy x Family concluded but Season 2 will start in October 2022 so YAY. This one turned out to be real gem.

Indeed. Initially I thought the last episode was a little more low-key than others, but a one-word punchline to a visual gag had me laughing pretty good when I watched it.

"Wow."



Spy x Family is definitely in the "recommend highly" category.

January, the torment (?) continues.

'Don't Toy with Me, Miss Nagatoro' Anime's 2nd Season Unveils Title, Cast, Staff, January 2023 Premiere - News - Anime News Network

That was such a weirdly charming show.

On another note, I'm playing catch-up on Overlord before the new season starts and I was reminded of something that was another of the interesting aspects of the show. You see the denizens of Nazarick acting very amiable and friendly a lot of the time and it's very easy to feel friendly towards them. And then the show reminds you of their monstrosity.

This one hit home with a scene in season three. You see Lupisregina Beta in regular contact with the citizens of Carne Village and being very friendly and cheerful and even offering advice. Then while hovering above the village talking with Yuri Alpha, she talks about how thrilling and delightful it would be to see the expressions on the villager's faces as their new leader was cut down in front of them, ending with how she would love to see the place just burn.

They may be helping, but in no way are they nice.

Hrm.

Dunno about this now. Having seen the original and knowing how things played out, it all seems in line and all, and the CGI isn't as bad as I feared. I guess it seems a little too overdramatic.

My favorite scene came in the following episode when Ains gives her a stiff talking too! lol

Overlord Season 4 Ep. 1

Funimation premiered the first episode of the new season for Overlord. I believe this was purrhaps a ground laying episode as there was nothing really edge of your seat action, it was just an expansion of Ain’s relationship with Albedo and Pandora’s Actor. Some new maids were introduced, who may or may not play a larger role in this new story.

It was great to see something new concerning Overlord, like a visit from an old friend. I have high hopes for Ains & Albedo, I want them to be more romantic! I know Ains is technically an undead but c’mon, Albedo needs to have her love reciprocated! Oh well, I guess I’ll just have to watch Season 4 and see what happens

Definitely a low-key episode but like you said, there was some groundwork laid. After mentioning the bit about elf/dark elf enslavement, it did make me think back to the dirtbag Worker from the attempted looting of Nazarick in season 3 and his helpers who repeatedly kicked him after his demise. Makes me wonder if we'll see any follow-up on their fate.

As for Ains and Albedo, I don't think we're going to see anything on that front if Shalltear has any say in the matter. LOL Beyond that, I think that the limiter that seems to kick in when Ains gets emotionally worked up might be more of an impediment to that. It's kicked in when he gets flustered or really angry, so that could pose more of a challenge than anything else.

This prob should go in the "What are you Listening too?" thread but it is also relevant here too. Enjoy

What I've checked out so far this season (beyond Overlord, of course LOL):

Rent-A-Girlfriend Season 2: Pretty much picking up from last season. Kazuya is still in some of his old habits, but if the first episode is an indication perhaps we'll be seeing more from the perspective of the ladies in the show. I'm really hoping this includes his ex, as getting some solid indications as to why she seems to care at all about Kazuya and Chizuru dating could be interesting.

My Isekai Life: Usual tropes of someone getting thrown into another world, but it is interesting to see how the protagonist's former life at a black company is influencing his actions and decision-making, particularly in dealing with other people. The character designs on the monsters he can tame are great (the variety in the slimes is fun) and I'm getting a fun little Scooby-Doo vibe from Proud Wolf. Think I'll be keeping up with this one. Two-episode premiere, too, so bonus show for one week.

Vermeil in Gold: Again some familiar tropes, where a young magic student ends up summoning a demon in his quest to advance his education (can't advance if he can't summon a familiar, and he has trouble with that until summoning the demon). Of course, the demon is strikingly sexy and shows up naked upon summoning. LOL So you're getting THAT kind of vibe. But beyond that, there's something about what's been presented that I want to keep watching to see what the story reveals. I don't think it's going to be highbrow entertainment or anything like that, but it does have my attention. And no, not for THAT reason. LOL

Another show premiere, Call of the Night.

Wow. Visually striking to say the least, with great use of color even though it's set at night (get ready for a lot of purple, though). Character aesthetics of the main characters reminds me of the same style in Dagashi Kashi, with some chibi/deformed versions thrown in appropriately for comedic effect. Plus the story set up in the first episode is really well done and has a LOT of potential. There's also some great little details that can be seen but easily missed (the elevator scene in particular). And the opening and ending songs are bangers.

Highly recommend this one just from the first episode, which I know is going out on a limb. But they knocked it out of the park with the premiere and I'm very interested to see where it goes.

This is a new anime based off a video game, Arknights, which is a mobile game. This looks like it is going to be a quality anime, the art is beautiful and we should get some real good story lines and character development with this one.

Shikimori's Not Just A Cutie finally wrapped up (had a couple of episodes delayed).

Overall a very sweet show, but with a decent amount of depth to it. Getting to watch Izumi and Shikimori be all cute with each other is great, but you also get some exploration of most of the rest of the cast as well. I say "most" because Izumi's buddy Inuzuka didn't seem to get a spotlight episode like the others in the friend group did.

I can understand why some might have given it up early as the back-and-forth between Izumi and Shikimori might have gotten tiresome fast, but there's more to the show than just that. If someone tried it and gave up, I'd suggest finishing things out. Otherwise I'd recommend it as a decent, if not solid, rom-com.

A Couple of Cuckoos might also have finished up its first part, but I think it's supposed to be back-to-back seasons so I may hold off on any sort of wrap-ups yet. If there isn't a new episode this week I'll do a part one wrap-up. LOL

These were two of my favorite animes this Spring / Summer. I was really impressed with the conclusion of Shikimori's Not Just A Cutie, of course I love romance anyways lol. I agree with you on how they really did a good job developing these characters in both animes. I really glad that A Couple of Cuckoos is getting back to back seasons, I think it will resume in October?

Overlord is finally starting to lay out the plot for this season as schemes and sub-schemes are being hatched. I believe if Ains truly knew what he has unleashed, he would be terrified lol. Ain's wants a world where everyone is treated as equals to mimic the kind of camaraderie he had in his old guild and like what we have in the leagues I belong too on Hero/Villain side; where as his subordinates are plotting nothing less that WORLD DOMINATION, mwhah ha ha! Cue Dr. Evil for consulting. lol

A Reincarnated Pharmacologist and a Parallel World (don't try to say that on fast lol )is a different take on the isekai genre where as the one who is 'reincarnated', not sure if its just a body swap, is viewed with fear as an overpowered monster. Not sure how this is going to play out. There is precedence for the hero being mistreated horribly in isekai animes so we shall see about this one.

Finally, out of curiosity, I watched Harem in the Labyrinth of Another World... (sigh) I don't like how women are portrayed in this anime and I won't be watching it.

According to ANN, the next season/cours of Couple of Cuckoos starts July 23. So I guess it was just a week off then back to it.

A Couple of Cuckoos Anime Previews 2nd Half in New Video, Visual - News - Anime News Network

Overlord's latest episode exemplifies why I think I prefer waiting and binging the whole season. LOL I should have rewatched the second season because it took me until near the end to realize who Mr. Scummy Lord's patron was, but it does explain the absolute fear in her eyes when he started talking about trying to court Albedo. I think watching him get his come-uppance (which is very likely) is going to be very entertaining. But I think seeing the post credits bit with Albedo and Princess Renner was the jaw-dropping bit. It gives a chilling reason as to why she was so eager to learn of the special skills of the Blue Roses (can't remember if it was singular or plural for the group name right now LOL) AND it really doesn't bode well for Climb's future. On the plus side, seeing Evileye back and gushing about Momon was great.

I just watched the Pharmacologist one myself, and it caught me off-guard a bit but in a good way. Usually in isekai stories there's wonder and amazement at the abilities of the protagonist, but Elen's total fear and shock was a surprise but a completely understandable reaction and solid choice in the storytelling. If the OP is any indication she gets over it, but even so it provided a good hook for me and caught my interest in the show.

So awesome they are actually doing a live action movie for Yu Yu Hakusho!! One of my favorite anime. Hopefully it does better than the live action movie for Bleach did. Although thankfully, Bleach's TYBW arc is getting its anime release this fall.

Wasn't he the Spirit Detective or am I thinking of a different anime?

You've got it right. The show tended to have more than a few story arcs featuring tournaments of some kind or another, so the "Spirit Detective" part could (and did) get overlooked more than once.