The Anime Thread

And so the new season starts.

First off, the new season of Oshi no Ko started, and while we didn't get the same treatment as season one (the first episode is only a half hour long) it does pick up right about where last season left off, with Aqua and company in the stage play. Solid stuff around, and decent (if not banger level) songs for both the intro and end credits.

I also checked out The Strongest Magician in the Demon Lord's Army was a Human and I'm not quite sure where I stand on that one. It's got some stuff that's trying to be the humor of the show but it isn't quite landing for me, and the drama/stakes for the titular magician being discovered as a human doesn't seem too huge. I don't know, I'll at least give it a couple more episodes but something about it just isn't quite clicking for me for some reason.

Failure Frame was one I kind of got a preview of from a YouTube video (the kind where a voice is narrating the events going on in a manga as the images from said manga are being shown) so I gave the show a chance. Some of its tone is darker than the impression I got from the video but it does work. It does come across as similar to shows like Arifureta but with more edge added so I can see some people rolling their eyes about it. But I'm going to keep with it as the action and animation is really well done, so (and watch me jinx it with this statement lol) hopefully that stays consistent through the season.

And finally for this post, we come to Pseudo Harem.

Oh. My. God. So. Freaking. Adorable.

The premise is a new student to school joins up with the school's drama club, and she starts to fall for her senpai. The fun part? She flirts with him via "harem personalities" including Cool, Spoiled, Tsundere and Imp. The actors behind the girl and her senpai are pretty recognizable, and they are nailing it with their performances and chemistry. One episode and I'm already hooked, I've watched it twice already. Looks to be a great romcom for the season.

I like your reviews

Yep yep, Willflynne has really good reviews! He’s very thoughtful, and considers things from different angles. I like his unique takes on anime and other topics. He’s an overall great guy. I just wish he didn’t have such a blind spot for the subject of the unspeakable topic.

Aw, shucks.

Thank you both, I really appreciate it. I'll admit that sometimes it seems like my impressions/reviews are kind of shouting into the void, but that's part and parcel with the internet so I roll with it as much as I can. I've found that it's a nice way to keep my mind active and give it a little workout, though, and (hopefully) it's helped exercise both my vocabulary and my critical thinking when looking at shows and other forms of entertainment I enjoy. Plus it gives me a chance to gush about the shows I like (see above with Pseudo Harem lol), though doing so without saying too much in the way of spoilers can be challenging.

I think my biggest weakness with any reviews is that I can be pretty forgiving of a show if it's provided me with at least some entertainment, even if it isn't a super strong show or just relies heavily on tropes. I think part of it is that I don't want to be too hypercritical, because to me that can lead to removing the joy of something you find fun. It's easy to see that happen with some people in fandoms, and I really don't want to be that angry bitter guy who gripes over everything about something I claim to love. That in and of itself is a cliche that I'd like to avoid. I'm an older white guy to start with, I'm already too close to hitting that stereotype for my own liking. LOL

Weird jokes aside, again, thank you both for the kind words. I'm glad you've liked my writing and hopefully I can keep my impressions and reviews interesting and entertaining, or at the very least slightly informative.

Almost forgot some reviews/recaps.

Tsukimichi -Moonlit Fantasy- wrapped up its season (can't believe I didn't give a recap when I mentioned season three coming lol). It was a busy one, too. We had

• Makoto expanding his power and the demiplane
• conlfict with the goddess, demons, hyumans AND (again) Sofia and Mitsurugi
• Makoto becoming a teacher
• getting to know two more isekai-ed people from Makoto's world

And that's just the stuff I remember off-hand. That's what happens when they put out episodes across both the winter and spring seasons. LOL Basically they kept up what had made the first season work well and expanded the scope of the story and the world where it takes place, so it was all pretty solid. If you happened to like season one and somehow missed season two it's definitely worth a watch.


Chillin' in Another World With Level 2 Super Cheat Powers was, despite the cringe-worthy title, not too bad. It was one I gave a chance because of some clips the YouTube algorithm sent my way. The main character was isekai-ed from one fantasy world to another (slightly novel lol) and after getting sent off into the boonies to meet his end (his initial stats were low and another summoned "hero" was considered the better choice, so a "get rid of the embarrassment" thing) he manages to level up and all his stats turn infinite. They even use the sideways 8 to represent it.

It's kind of novel that the fantasy world Flio came from had slavery (which he hated) and the new one doesn't, and he even refuses to use spells that would enslave others even though it's presented as the best option to him. Also, despite the number of women presented in the opening, it isn't a harem show. There's only romantic interest from the wolf girl, and that gets played pretty well later on in the series.
It does, however, hit a lot of the usual tropes you'd see, including things like stat screens. So there's very much a "seen it, been there, done that" feeling to the show. And outside one or two story bits I can't say the show was terribly compelling to watch overall. So while I didn't think it was 100% terrible, I don't think it's one I could wholeheartedly recommend, which might explain why I described the opening episode the way I did. Just as kind of a heads up as to what kind of show you'd be getting into, I guess.

I did try giving Astro Note a shot, mainly because of the vibes I got from that ending song. But there was something about the first couple episodes that I couldn't quite get past (still not even sure what it might have been) and I ended up giving that one a hard pass.

And while I'm at it, a first impression while it's still fresh in my head. LOL

2.5 Dimensional Seduction is, by the nature of the story, going to be compared to My Dress-Up Darling. It's inevitable because of the cosplay focus of the initial female character introduced, Ririsa. It's kind of unfair, though, as it's clear from the start that this show is NOT the same kind of story about girls wanting to indulge in cosplay.

If I had to describe it, right now I'd call it "My Dress-Up Darling: Total Otaku Edition." This time around, the male lead Okumura is the only one left in his school's manga club as all of his senpai graduated. Unfortunately he's also of the "I've been hurt by women too often in my life and want nothing to do with 3D women" variety, so mileage may vary on how likeable you might find the character. Ririsa, however, matches him (if not exceeds him) in appreciation of a particular anime character they both like, as well as liking the more risqué outfits and characters in anime. Anyhow, she ends up enlisting Okumura in her goal of making and putting out her own romcos video (I think that's what it was, may have to rewatch it to make sure).

I'm going to give it a shot, at least, although if the opening/end credits are any indication I might have to adjust the "Total Otaku Edition" description to "Total Otaku Harem Edition" because of the number of ladies shown. LOL I think there's some potential to see interesting characters and (I hope) some good character growth in Okumura.

Okay, quick correction from the 2.5 Dimensional Seduction recap, Ririsa wants to make a cosrom, which is apparently a DVD/ROM of photos and videos of the cosplayer. I thought I had kind of blundered that one. LOL

Another first episode impression, this time Wistoria: Wand and Sword. The main character Will is determined to achieve his goals in a world of magic, but he doesn't have any magical ability whatsoever. He does, however, have his sword work going for him and a dungeon to help provide some credits for the magic school he attends...

So yeah, you're going to get some Black Clover (and maybe some Danmachi) vibes with the setup, but thankfully Will is NOWHERE near as annoying as Asta in his first appearance. LOL The show itself does differentiate itself enough from both to carve its own way, I think. And the show is gorgeous, with a great art style and fantastic animation. The fight scene between Will and the Evil Guardian late in the episode alone is worth a watch and might well be where I got the Danmachi vibes. In fact I remember thinking "Wow, I think they just threw down the fight scene gauntlet for the folks at Is It Wrong to Try to Pick Up Girls in a Dungeon" while that fight scene was taking place.

So you're likely to get some familiar vibes from other shows, but I liked what I saw enough to stick with it. Besides, it's fun to see how a character with glasses might equip themselves if they're a melee fighter.

Okay, correction time again, Will faced off against an Evil Sentinel, not Guardian. LOL

And at the risk of spoiling things, THIS is why I think the Wistoria crew threw down the gauntlet.

Been looking forward to this one, been good so far.

The first episode was outstanding

I am really liking this

Okay, so now I know why I'm probably getting such strong DanMachi vibes from Wistoria: Wand and Sword. Turns out the author of Is It Wrong to Try to Pick Up Girls in a Dungeon? also wrote the source material for Wistoria. LOL

Wistoria: Wand and Sword (TV) - Anime News Network

Fujino ŌMORI - Anime News Network

Maybe they had to go so hard because the author told them to.

A couple more quick hits.

Alya Sometimes Hides Her Feelings in Russian is a pretty straightforward one. Alya is half Russian-half Japanese, and as such will use Russian to express herself when she doesn't want anyone to know what she means. The fun part? The guy she keeps expressing her feelings towards does know Russian, but she doesn't know that.

So instead of a "will they/won't they?" kind of relationship, you have a "what happens if/when she finds out?" situation between them. Meanwhile, you get some fun from the male lead as he tries desperately to keep a poker face over what she's saying while also being something of the clueless protagonist who isn't sure why she's saying all that stuff. The first couple of episodes are sorting out the various relationships between the cast that's been presented so far, so it is moving a little slow but not too bad. The only possible downside to the show is that, well, it looks like a decent amount of the budget was spent on fanservice shots. LOL That's not to say the show looks bad overall, but you can tell they spent some extra time on that. Overall I think it's cute so far, so I'm giving it a shot.

They also started a new season of Our Last Crusade or the Rise of a New World, which surprised me a bit because it's been a while since the first season (2020). If you remember the show and liked it you'll probably like the new season as it's familiar territory. I would, however, recommend re-watching the first season before starting season 2, as they pick up RIGHT where season 1 left off with little to no real recap. Besides, the first season had some pretty good action in it (yes, I rewatched it before the new season lol) so that helps make it worth a look.

One good news bit, one "huh?!?!" news bit.

First, the upcoming Overlord film is gonna be bringing a whole lot to the table, as the film is slated to run more than 2 hours. So there's gonna be some good stuff there, I think.

Overlord: The Sacred Kingdom Anime Film Runs Over 2 Hours Long - News - Anime News Network

The "huh?!?!" news? Rent-A-Girlfriend is getting another season.

Rent-A-Girlfriend Anime Gets 4th Season in 2025 - News - Anime News Network

Do we really need another?

A late entry for the summer, Makeine: Too Many Losing Heroines!

A-1 Pictures brings gorgeous animation, a top-rate expression game and great comedic timing for this tale of "love story heroines" on the losing end of declarations of love. I loved it and was laughing all through the first episode, so I won't say much more than "it's VERY much worth a look!"

Alya Sometimes Hides Her Feelings in Russian is starting to grow on me in surprising ways.

With the first two episodes, you've of course got the cute bits with Alya and Kuse going back and forth and starting to get the rest of the cast fleshed out a bit. The third episode is starting to add some substance to things while also fleshing out some of the past that brought characters to where they are now.

I don't know if I'd call it true depth at this point as we're only three episodes in, and given the original tone of the show we've had I don't know if it means things will go a super-melodramatic direction. But there's at least hints that there's more to this show than just cute moments of Alya speaking her heart to Kuse in another language, and it has me more interested in where it's going.

Random notes.

• Something that's helping to keep Alya Hides Her Feelings interesting beyond watching the story unfold as it has: the endings. So far each episode has had at least a different ending animation (and probably songs as well, I'm usually too tired to notice for sure lol).
• The latest episode of Reincarnated as a Slime threw in a nifty callback/easter egg. If you look in the background of the dinner scenes, you can find some characters from the Scarlet Bond film.
• Not sure of all the details, but apparently there's going to be a collaboration of some kind between Hello Kitty! and My Dress-Up Darling, with this image being put out to announce it.

• Wistoria: Wand and Sword continues to go WAY harder than it needs to, with the latest episode having an absolutely rocking fight sequence. But it also reminds you to remember the rules of the game you're playing. LOL
• Finally, the Mother's Basement channel put out their Hottest Trash video for the summer season, and I'm still not sure how good or bad it is that most of the shows I'm watching got put on the list in one way or another.

So. Oshi no Ko.

Oof.

The stage play arc has been fantastic, with some great exploration of acting and acting methods and incredible visuals used to tell the story (both onstage and among the actors). And the latest episode concluded with a great cliffhanger that gets us back into Aqua's story and goals.

But I think it might be a little while before I can get myself to sit down and re-watch that episode, because the sequence early on involving Aqua, his darker side, what happened with Ai and his performance just about broke me. I wasn't expecting that emotional gut punch moment and even now I'm having some trouble collecting myself enough to articulate my thoughts.

Now, I'll freely admit that one reason why it hit me so hard is that work has been rough for a good couple of weeks and I'm probably in more of an emotionally vulnerable state of mind than I normally would be. So I'm sure some would take my reactions with a grain of salt. But the best way I can put it is that moment that got me is one that will resonate with anyone who has ever lost a dear loved one, and I think it would have been just as impactful even if I wasn't in my current headspace.

There is a interesting at somewhat cute little anime called “The Magical Girl and the Evil Lieutenant”; the premise is a struggling magical girl on financial hard times meets the dreaded Evil Lieutenant of an unnamed evil organization, most likely the company I work at, lol. The Evil Lieutenant falls for the magical girl and theirs is budding secret relationship where he dotes on her and lavishes her tasty delights. HOWEVER, recently a new magical girl character has needlessly been introduced who loves to use the F-word, constantly. This is strange to me that the writers would introduce a character like this. She is needless.