The Anime Thread

Villainess Level 99: I May be the Hidden Boss but I’m Not the Demon Lord concluded, and I’m happy with the way they ended it. I would love to see a Season 2 of this anime.

For those who have not seen it, the premise is about a High School girl who loved playing a particular video game. Unfortunately she meets an untimely end and is reincarnated as the hidden boss character in her favorite game… unclamped…. =^_^=

Anyways, its a nice, easy going kind of anime compared to others with a similar premise, and it is light hearted.

That's some crazy good CG animation right there.

hol' up, they're cooking.

The initial episode is getting decent-to-good reviews over on the spring preview page on ANN, but you gotta know that title is going to get everyone's inner 10 year old giggling over that particular term, and I'm not talking about a type of jacket. lol

WIND BREAKER - The Spring 2024 Anime Preview Guide - Anime News Network

So two more finishes.

The Wrong Way to Use Healing Magic ended up being a decent little show. I liked the varied reactions to being isekai'ed we saw among the people from Japan (ranging from outrage to being taken to geeking out over every little thing in the new fantasy world to simple acceptance over something out of his control). Plus the action was really well done, when it would finally get around to action sequences (getting to the main battle took a while). But the show kept the good sense of humor it started out with all throughout the show's run, and that went a long way for me in keeping me engaged. I'll probably sit down to watch it again through the dub version, as some of the casting choices for characters were well made and the show is just a fun watch.

The second season of Bottom-Tier Character Tomozaki also finished, and just like the first season it was a very engaging show. It's split between two story arcs, the first dealing with classroom intimidation and/or bullying, while the second centers more around Tomozaki choosing who he wishes to date. The first one can be the more uncomfortable story to watch, but perhaps not for the reasons one might expect. Your enjoyment of the second arc might come down to which girl you consider "best girl" to pair with Tomozaki, but it's all presented well enough that you understand the choice made at the end, even if it's not the pairing you wanted.

If you liked the first season there's more of what you liked in this season, but from my own experience I'd recommend watching/re-watching the first season before season two. Having the relationships from season one fresh in mind helps the setup for the first arc in season two at least.

Also, between the recap episode and the first episode of the new season of Reincarnated as a Slime, I'm getting this nasty (but fun) feeling that Veldora and Diablo are going to take turns stealing the show.

I've checked out a couple of new offering for Spring, with mixed results.

The Banished Former Hero Lives as He Pleases wasn't getting the best reviews on the Spring Preview page, but I figured I'd at least give it a shot to see if it might be at least fun enough to laugh at.

It wasn't. It's not a very good show at all. And the really annoying part is that since I watched the first episodes (why they released two at once, I don't know) it's going to keep popping up in my Crunchyroll queue even though I didn't save it to a watchlist.

One I caught this morning after seeing the trailer a day or so ago was Dragon Raja -The Blazing Dawn-



The first episode runs about 47 minutes, being mostly setup for what's to come (most of the stuff in the trailer). I'm intrigued enough to keep watching (even saved it to a watchlist) but a couple things bugged me. The camera movements and usage at times were distracting to me, and while the whole thing was gorgeous it got very easy to get a dream/fever dream-like vibe from watching it.

I will also admit to probably being burned a bit by Cheat Skill in Another World so that may be making me a little leery about where Dragon Raja might go as it's easy to get similar vibes to that show. LOL There's just enough humor in the show that I don't think they're going to be taking themselves TOO seriously about the story. So here's hoping.

Also, The Irregular at Magic High School started its new season, and it's pretty much more of the same. If you've liked the previous seasons, movies and spin-offs (The Honor at Magic High School retells the first season from Miyuki's perspective) you're probably already watching it.

Both Girl Band Cry and Jellyfish Can't Swim at Night had excellent 1st episodes. I am loving it so far. Ono Tonbo was pretty good and well as Reincarnated slime. Yuru Camp or Laid Back Camp is one of my most anticipated anime of the season as well as Whispering You a Love Song. Check them out if anyone gets a chance

Do people here only watch Japanese animation or Chinese too?

I like all anime but I pick the ones that I am interested in and watch them. I watch probably around 10 to 15 seasonal anime each season

Personally I tend to stick to Japanese animation because that's mostly what's available on Crunchyroll and HIDIVE. I know that Dragon Raja is based off of a Chinese story and uses a lot of Chinese names for characters, but I think it's a Japanese production.

If you don't mind spoilers and/or just want more detailed reviews of two shows I talked about, ANN has full series reviews up for both Bottom-Tier Character Tomozaki-kun 2nd Stage and Banished from the Hero's Party season two up on their site.

Bottom-Tier Character Tomozaki 2nd Stage Anime Series Review - Review - Anime News Network

Banished from the Hero's Party Season 2 Anime Series Review - Review - Anime News Network

Grandpa and Grandma Turn Young Again episode 1 came out today and it was pretty good. The premise is an elderly couple suddenly become young again after sharing a special apple grown from a tree they planted 60 years ago when they first got married. It's very lighthearted going by the first episode, and I think it will be enjoyable to watch this season.

Lately, Japanese anime have somehow stopped captivating me... but Chinese anime, on the contrary, have hooked me... of course, Chinese anime have their drawbacks (for example, in 9 out of 10 animations about cultivation you will see many of the same motifs... just from different angles.. .), but psychologically the Chinese characters turned out to be somehow closer and more understandable to me than the Japanese characters...

Chillin’ in Another World with Level 2 Super Cheat Powers: This one I think will be a really good one based off of what I have seen in the first episode. The main character, Filo, is immediately likable, which is important to me. This anime is an Iseki type of anime where the main character is transported to another magical world, only in this case our main character is already a resident of a magical world. It’s a different twist to be summoned from one magical world to another lol. Unfortunately, he is not considered the Hero by the Kingdom, another is, and thus our poor Filo, who after being order never to speak of this mistake, is banished to a dangerous forest where the Kingdom intents for him to meet his demise.

Next: I Was Reincarnated as the 7th Prince so I Can Take My Time Perfecting My Magical Abilities
Our main character, Lloyd, is a reincarnated commoner born into the Royal Household. He was obsessed with magic in his previous life though he had very little ability. After being reincarnated as a prince he now has over the top magical ability and is still obsessed with learning all there is to know about magic. Kinda like Pastry from Sweet Reincarnation. However…. Unlike Pastry, I am not really liking Lloyd. It’s just something about his personality that isn’t really clicking with me. Also, the way he is drawn has a Western influence to it unlike the normal Japanese way anime is drawn. This anime is a watch it & decide for yourself kind of anime lol

I tried. I really tried. I gave Banished Hero one more try with episode three.

It got worse. Bad action. Bad storytelling. Bad animation.

My advice? Just don't.

Is that the Banished Hero Lives As He Pleases? This anime is a bit of a mess. First, Allen was never a hero in his, yet again, reincarnated life. From the view point of his reincarnated life, he was a lazy, loser, who was literally disowned by his father even though he was the first born son. I feel this anime is a mess designed by a committee perhaps.

Exactly the one, and I think "mess" might be a generous term at this point. I can be forgiving to a fault at times with some shows, but watching the "fight" against the Fenrir beast was just bad.

Oh you must mean the fight once the Fenrir finally decided to wake up! Lol With all of the noise they were making that Fenrir had to be sleeping off a night of hard partying lol