The Anime Thread

Okay, this one just caught my interest because I've been a fan of the show.

Apparently they've just announced a stage play version of The Quintessential Quintuplets starring members of an idol group in Japan. Normally that would have been a *shrug* and move on moment for me, but then you get the promo image of the idol members dressed up in character.



Not bad in representing the characters, I'd say. The cast listing in the article lists two actresses per character for most, with Yotsuba getting three actresses playing the part at one time or another.

The Quintessential Quintuplets Manga Gets Stage Play With Hinatazaka46 Idols - News - Anime News Network

Couple news bits.

First, Disney+ is going to be airing a new version of the classic Cat's Eye manga/anime. Talk about a bit of a deep cut.

Tsukasa Hojo's Cat's Eye Manga Gets New Anime on Disney+ in 2025 - News - Anime News Network

Second, it looks like there's a volume 3 of Star Wars: Visions on the way, with quite the lineup of anime studios.

Star Wars: Visions Project Gets Volume 3 in 2025 - News - Anime News Network

Gotta revisit How I Attended an All-Guys Mixer a bit, as I want to talk about the characters and I gotta do it while I still have their names fresh in my memory.

(yes, it might be a slight knock against the show that I can remember the characters well but not their names, but that just might be me being distracted by other stuff in real life, so we'll leave that aside for now lol)

First, there's Fuji and Asagi. Fuji is kind of the quiet one of the three girls, but she's also a manga/doujinshi artist that focuses on BL stories, so she's not above using Asagi for some of her inspiration, shall we say. Asagi, meanwhile, is probably the most pure of the three guys and has never had any issues with the girls working in drag. In many ways, he comes across very much like an eager puppy. But watching their interactions is probably the best part of the show as they each genuinely like spending time with one another.

Next up, Hagi and Kohaku. Hagi is the one in the male group of friends that had the hardest time getting over the "working in drag" aspect of the girls, especially when he finds himself attracted to Kohaku. It doesn't help that just about every interaction he has with Kohaku is while she's in drag, but he does finally get everything sorted out in his head. Kohaku has found herself being attracted more and more to Hagi, but their interactions have started becoming dominated by the "romantic misunderstandings due to not communicating" trope, so they can be a little frustrating to watch.

Finally, there's Tokiwa and Suo (or Suou, can't remember the spelling they use in the show right now). They are very much the main couple, and Tokiwa's biggest obstacle is his cluelessness. Despite all the attention he's getting from Suo (both in drag and out), he hasn't really clued in to the fact that she likes him. Suo, meanwhile, doesn't mind that cluelessness and is going forward with her plans anyhow. Now if the two of them didn't have to keep dealing with Suo's fans of "The Prince" at the university they attend...

Been a little while, but since shows are starting to wrap up let's give it a whirl.

2.5 Dimensional Seduction finally wrapped up (the show ran for two seasons) and it kinda sorta ended up as "My Dress-Up Darling" harem edition, but not really.

The show centered on Okumura, the only member of his school's manga club, meeting and helping his junior Ririsa cosplay as her favorite character, Lililei (which also happens to be Okumura's favorite character). However, he claims to have no interest in 3D girls. You get many of the usual romcom tropes (Ririsa and Okumura developing feelings for one another without realizing their feelings, for example) and meet and join up with more cosplayers who participate in the club (even though two of them go to other schools lol). Heck, even their club advisor is a semi-retired cosplayer herself.

Despite the tropey nature of the show, though, they get a little deeper than you might imagine. For example, one of the cosplayers, Nonoa, has past issues with personal interactions and as a result pretty much closed herself off from a lot of interactions, even about things she loves. Okumura and Ririsa do help her come out of her shell, but it isn't a one-episode magical transformation and she still struggles with some issues as the show goes on. There's even some exploration in the last episode about why Okumura is the way he is when it comes to real-life women.

Overall the show is enjoyable enough to watch, and it did well enough that it announced a second season at the end of the last episode, so I'd recommend giving it a shot.

Oh, and even though it's been a little while since it aired, Skeleton Knight in Another World just got a second season announced. So fun times there as well, just hoping they get away a little from how they showed guys being evil in that show.

Couple more finished up.

I jumped in to 365 Days to the Wedding midway through and binged to catch up. The story centers on two people who work at a travel agency who, for various reasons, don't want to get reassigned to the branch opening up in Alaska. However, single people are being prioritized, so the two decide to fake getting engaged and rom-com antics ensue.

It's generally a sweet story between the two (they are wonderfully adorkable together), but there are a couple of detours to other characters to show how marriages and ideas of marriage can go awry. It adds a little drama and weight to things, and overall the show is a decent watch. My only nitpick is that the last episode kind of feels rushed in the way they tie up most loose ends.

How I Attended an All-Guys Mixer also finished up. I've already written a lot about the pairings in that show, with the Hagi/Kohaku pairing getting more attention in the final part of the series when Hagi (true to form) started having issues again, this time getting conflicted when he sees Kohaku NOT in drag. Thankfully he gets out of his own head again by the end.

A lot of the enjoyment of the show will depend on how you like the interactions between the pairings. Even though the Hagi/Kohaku pairing and story got a little annoying because of Hagi, the other two pairings and the back-and-forth between the characters more than made up for it and kept me watching. So I think it could be a "mileage may vary" kind of show for folks, but I had enough fun with it to keep watching.

Oof.

Is It Wrong to Try to Pick Up Girls in a Dungeon? V Anime Resumes With 12th Episode in Early Spring 2025 - News - Anime News Network

That kinda sucks, the last episode was a classic cliffhanger type so it's gonna be a long wait until spring.

Let This Grieving Soul Retire! also finished up its run.

They definitely had fun with the reverse "Eminence in Shadow" theme, where the main character Krai is assumed to be a master tactician and strategist by everyone mainly due to coincidence when he knows he's pretty much not that at all. LOL Everyone one of his actions and decisions is usually met by "wait, he knew about this, THAT'S why he sent us here!" reactions when something happens and provide a decent chuckle or two.

His interactions with some of his party members gets to be fun and interesting, too. I already talked about Liz, but it turns out her sister is also a member of the group (pink hair as well, but no tan and more of a scientist/alchemist job) and both of them seem to have a thing for Krai. Liz is very clingy, while sister Sitri seems willing to forgive the massive amount of debt Krai owes her if he'd consider marriage. We don't see the other members of the group as adults until the end of the series, including an unmentioned member of the party who was the only one who joined AFTER the group had formed. I won't spoil anything, but there are some hints that some members of the group might be a little more ruthless than they appear, especially given their status as one of the top hunter parties.

Watching everyone (friend and foe) second and third guess themselves over Krai's actions and decisions does drive a lot of the humor and plot of the show, so how well that sits with the viewer (or how tired you get of it) will probably determine how much you might like the show. I kept watching and didn't hold off on new episodes when they premiered, so I can say I liked it. Plus it has been greenlit for a second season, so it must have been doing something right.

Dunno if it'll end up in the collection, but I had fun watching.