The Anime Thread

So others finished, too.

Guild Receptionist was at least an okay show. They leaned hard into the whole obsession with "I don't want overtime!" of the main character, especially in the last episode (which really got some good laughs out of me, considering the stakes in the final LOL). The animation was gorgeous and action was good, and I liked the humor, but at times the more dramatic aspects of the story seemed to kind of spin its wheels. It's worth a look and fun, at least I thought so.

Welcome to Japan, Ms. Elf! ended up being a very sweet (almost sugary) story. Watching the relationship between the main characters (and the encouragement from their dragon friend) develop was great and quite heartwarming at the end. They don't concentrate too heavily on the happenings in the fantasy world, which might be considered a detriment to some, but the real story is about the Kazuhiro and Marie. Worth it if you want a good rom-com.

100 Girlfriends? Awesome. If you want to know what powers a tsundere or watch your jaw drop when Rentaro tells the girls all the things he loves about them (and it is a jaw-dropping scene lol) watch the show. Heck, just watch the show because it's great!

I ended up dropping Headhunted to Another World, though. I tried, but it just couldn't keep me engaged as the show progressed.

Finally, one that started in fall and finished in winter, Tying the Knot with an Amagami Sister. The supernatural elements of the show came on strong as the show progressed, and it ended up explaining how all the sisters and the protagonist ended up developing their feelings for one another. Granted, the supernatural elements used weren't anything that could be considered groundbreaking (time slips, time loops, body switching) but they were used to good effect in telling the story and even added some little "oh my!" moments with some of the reveals. You get a lot of the usual tropes you would see in rom-coms, but it's not terrible (I've seen worse lol). The only real complaint I had was that (especially with the winter season episodes) the opening and ending songs could seem a little loud, especially after an episode that was more on the subdued side. It's one I'd recommend as it's not completely as it might seem, and I had fun watching things unfold.

Man, have I been slacking off. LOL

SoSo
So, before I get into my shows for spring, this popped up for summer and (big surprise LOL) I'm SO there for it. It's been officially announced that season 2 of My Dress-Up Darling is coming to Crunchyroll this summer.

Crunchyroll to Stream My Dress-Up Darling Season 2, Rent-A-Girlfriend Season 4, More Anime - News - Anime News Network

Also getting season 2 of A Couple of Cuckoos (yay) and the latest season of Rent-A-Girlfriend (meh) for the summer season. But it's the image they gave for season 2 of Dress-Up Darling that I'm digging. Worth checking the article (especially since the image doesn't seem to want to be copied over at all LOL). EDIT: found another image elsewhere, but it's big lol

So now for spring:

The Unaware Atelier Meister has been cute and interesting. The unaware meister is Kurt, a young man with little to no combat skills but ranks triple S in all other skills, so even simple things like his cooking can break deadly curses with no effort. If you watched Suppose a Kid from the Last Dungeon Boonies you'll get the vibe they're going for. Overall it's been okay and the only real issue I've had is with the CG models used for the three main characters in the end credits (it's not bad, it just bugs me for some reason).

I'm the Evil Lord of an Intergalactic Empire! has been a bit of a mixed bag. The basic plot is a man who was basically handed a raw deal in life (wife cheated with his boss, falsely accused of crime, terminal illness) is isekai'ed and offered a life where he decides he'll be an evil lord because being a nice guy didn't get him anywhere in his old life. However, due to his choices in his new life (in which he still gets stuck with some raw deals) he's slowly but surely making himself into a benevolent ruler of his domain.

I get where they're going (watched a recap video of part of the manga it's based on) but I think it's struggling on two fronts. First, the bit with his efforts to being evil make him a good ruler don't seem to be landing with as much comedic punch as they could, but you can tell it's there. Second, it's being very thorough in the storytelling so the pace can seem a bit slow. If they're not doing multiple seasons they might not get to where some more great comedic potential in the story lies. Still, it's been entertaining enough to watch.

Can a Boy-Girl Friendship Survive? scratches the rom-com itch pretty decently. Himari and Yu have been friends since middle school, but things start changing once Yu's first love appears on the scene. It's not followed some of the usual tropes you'd see in a show like this, and it's not been afraid to get a little messy when it comes to the characters. At the very least it's kept my interest going, and I'm curious to see where it goes for the season.

The Brilliant Healer's New Life in the Shadows definitely leans into some power fantasy tropes (overpowered healer who is mistakenly judged as useless by his party, attentive hot monster girls who fall for him to varying degrees after he helps them) but it's kept me watching. The cluelessness of the healer Zenos to how powerful his healing is works great with the deadpan delivery of many of his lines, and the fact that he asks for payment for his services adds some interest. It keeps you guessing as to how much he's going to ask for certain jobs and why. I've enjoyed it so far.

The Shiunji Family Children is probably the trashiest one of the shows I've watched, I wouldn't be surprised if it was on the trash list for this season on Mother's Basement. LOL The children in question (five girls, two boys) are told on the birthday of the youngest sibling that they're all adopted. Only the youngest boy and one of the girls are actually related by blood, and since he (Shion) already has a girlfriend, thoughts of varying degrees start creeping into the heads of all the other sisters in regards to the oldest son Arata. It's messy, it's trashy and there are hints/flash-forwards that Arata chooses one of the in the future as his wife. But it's had fun breaking the rules a bit, as in one episode it seems like the tsundere sister comes out and straight-up confesses. LOL It's very well animated though, and if you can get past the potential ick of the story it's been interesting enough to keep watching.

Finally we have The Gorilla God's Go-To Girl! General vibe at first looks to be a reverse-harem show, but considering the interactions between Sofia and Louis, it's more that she's surrounded by hot guys because they only have eyes for each other. In that world, Sofia is trying her best to maintain a low profile, but when she receives her blessing from an animal god, it's from the Gorilla god. And because it's one of the best blessings for combat, she's kind of thrust into the spotlight in becoming the first female knight in training. Lots of fun jokes and asides when it comes to the gorilla powers manifesting and the budding romance between Sofia and Louis has been good to watch.

I might watch Rock is a Lady's Modesty once that one finishes up. The reviews seem good and I'd hate to be stuck waiting for new episodes. LOL Plus the rock group Band-Maid performs the theme song (which kicks serious butt) and if I remember right at least two of the band members performed motion capture for some of the show's sequences.

Thanks for the reviews once again. May I suggest Once Upon a Witch's Death. This anime touches the heart in every episode
https://myanimelist.net/anime/59169/Aru_Majo_ga_Shinu_Made

Totally agree, like totally!
The Unaware Atelier Meister
I'm the Evil Lord of an Intergalactic Empire!
The Brilliant Healer's New Life in the Shadows
all are my favs this Spring season!

Plus 10,000 likes for knowing about Band Maid!

I had thought about that one, but after reading the plot summary I thought it might be a bit much for me. It's not a slight against the show, but my instincts were just kind of telling me to leave that one alone for now. I might check it at a later date, though.

And from the "well THAT came out of nowhere" department, LEGO One Piece sets are coming, with sets depicting Buggy's Circus Tent, The Battle at Arlong Park and The Going Merry Pirate Ship.

Fun bit from the Mother's Basement YouTube channel.

Just recently they released their Spring season "Trashiest Anime" video (kind of an annual thing, they usually do both "ones to watch" and "trashiest shows" videos). Mind you, the "trash" designation isn't that the show is bad, just trashy in some way. It was pretty extensive, too, the video runs close to an hour long. But the fun part?

All of the anime on my spring season list above was on this spring's trash list. LOL

The Brilliant Healer's New Life in the Shadows concluded today and I feel it will be one of this season's animes that gets a Season 2 next year for Spring 2026.
I really enjoyed this one, as opposed to "I'm a Noble on the Brink of Ruin so I Might as well Master Magic", I by Episode 9, I just wanted to punch Liam. I really, really wanted to punch him. Talk about a male Mary Sue = Liam + Annoying. Bad combination.

Okay, so this looks like it might have some potential for a fun watch.

Time for some wrap-ups I guess.

The Shiunji Family Children was okay. I was surprised to learn recently that it's from the same author as Rent-A-Girlfriend, as it seemed like a much better story than RAG (granted, a bit of a low bar LOL). Watching the dynamics between Arata and his sisters evolve as the show progressed was interesting, and the last frames we see at the end of the show hint at more drama to come if more seasons are on the way. Not anything I'd rush out to buy to add to the physical collection, but a decent enough watch, I thought.

The Brilliant Healer's New Life in the Shadows was a decent one as well. I heard some dub clips and found myself preferring the Japanese version of Zenos as his deadpan delivery on lines and cluelessness were portrayed better in that version, I think. Watching him do his work and solve problems was definitely entertaining, and between the new character hints at that end and the inadvertent interference he keeps giving that demonic person does suggest a second season could be good.

Same could be said for The Unaware Atelier Master I think. I still got similar vibes to Last Dungeon Boonies all through the run of the show, but they managed to throw in some slight twists and turns in characters and the plot with just enough humor to keep me interested. Plus the little throwaway line by demon he rescued adds some more fun story possibilities if they decide to do another season.

I'm The Evil Lord of an Intergalactic Empire! finished with some fun stuff. The action overall was great, the humor really came into its own and they even managed to sneak in a little pathos/drama as well. And The Guide should win an award for the greatest scenery-chewing in an anime this year. LOL

Can A Boy-Girl Friendship Survive? is going to be a mixed bag for folks, I think. It's a look at messy, stupid teenage relationships that is actually pretty messy, and I think a lot of it stems from Himari and her behavior. So a lot of how much or little a person may like the show will depend on their opinion of her. Still, it kept me interested, as there's hints at similar/weird relationship dynamics taking place in the past between the older siblings of the love triangle players. I enjoyed it, but I can see others having some issues with it.

Finally, I took the time to finish Our Last Crusade or the Rise of a New World after it restarted, and I'm still not 100% sure I should have. LOL I really liked the first season as they had a good mix of world-building, minor intrigue, action and rom-com with the interactions between Iska and Alice. But the first four episodes or so of season two went WAY too heavy on the rom-com stuff and never really clicked well. The other good stuff (intrigue, action) did start making their way back into things after that, but it made it all the more jarring when they'd try to throw some rom-com stuff that didn't really fit the moment. The story is far from finished and there's room for a third season, but I'd really hope everything is better balanced than this season was.

Our Last Crusade finished well. I hoping for another season, I really liked this one

Oh my.

If you've been following this thread, you knew this was coming as soon as the first episode dropped.

My Dress-Up Darling finally started the new season, and I am SO there for it! I had rewatched the first season (partly to get the series back in my watchlist, partly because I could LOL) over the past week, so everything was fresh and ready for season 2.

I'm also up to date on the US manga releases, so I knew what was likely coming for this season. They decided to go with a different chapter to start out the new season as compared to the manga, but I'm fine with it. The chapter they chose helps start off the season on a lighter note and helps set the stage for what's coming up, and if they hit everything hinted at in the OP, they're hitting a LOT of good stuff this season.

Speaking of the opening song, it rocks. I had heard bits and pieces in the promo videos, but hearing the whole thing (sung by the same artist as season 1's opening song) again set the stage for the fun they plan on having with the show.

As for the show itself? It looks just as good as season 1, arguably better in some places. I'd say they decided to up their game with this season and made some choices in style and execution that really help the comedy. If they can keep up the pace through the whole season we could be seeing some impressive stuff, even though it's a rom-com about cosplay.

Characters are as solid as ever, as well. The performances for old and new characters are good, plus we get some that not only play into later stories but were also introduced earlier on in the manga but not used in season 1.

Granted, I was probably biased towards the show coming in, so feel free to take what I'm saying however you wish. But even with that in mind, they managed to exceed my expectations about season 2 and I can't wait to see what they do with the rest of the show's run. Super high recommendation, especially if you liked the first season.

I just wish it had been stronger all throughout the run. If there's a third season I hope it's a lot less uneven because there is some good stuff to work with in that story.

There are so many good anime this summer season. Bad Girl is one I have been looking forward to and as well as Kaiju #8 season 2. The Shy Hero and the Assassin Princess is another good one. Clevatess has a great episode one and Takopi's Original Sin is extremely emotional anime dealing with bullying and suicide and even murder. The Silent Witch is off the a good start as well. There are a bunch more but these are some of the ones I am loving so far

Ok, I watched "The Shy Hero and the Assassin Princesses" ... How do I say this "kindly"? Toto is a dork.

Yes. Yes he is. But he's a well-meaning dork, even when semi-conscious. LOL

Personally I was taken aback a bit by Anemone. Without the priest disguise she looks straight out of Black Lagoon.

I KNEW I had seen her from somewhere before!