The Anime Thread

Quick observation before I try to go into any "what I'm watching" recap.

Between the return of Gojo in My Dress-Up Darling and the introductions of Toto in Shy Hero, Monica in Secrets of the Silent Witch and even Renako in There's No Freaking Way I'll Be Your Lover! Unless... there's a surprising number of protagonists/main characters in anime this season where social anxiety is a real problem for the characters to face in their everyday lives.

Also, just as an aside, it's probably going to take ALL of my willpower to resist doing weekly recaps of some kind when new episodes of Dress-Up Darling Drop. That's how much I'm loving what they're doing with the presentation of the story. LOL

Do it.... Do it!

Scooped up by an S Ranked Adventurer is basically the same premise as I Left My A Rank Party to Help My Former Students Reach the Dungeon Depths, The Unaware Atelier Meister, and, The Brilliant Healer's New Life in the Shadows.

And the "Hero" who kicks him out looks like the "Yellow Haired Hero" from Chillin' in Another World with Level 2 Super Cheat Powers.

eating good this summer season *dont mind rent-a-girlfriend, its a slow-mo car crash, dumpster fire, Dr. Sandra Lee Pimple Popper show I can't take my eyes off*

My big concern is trying to work it so that I avoid any spoilers for anyone who might not have gotten the chance to watch the episode.

EDIT: That, and not constantly saying, "OMG I can't wait to see how they animate THIS part of the manga!!!!" LOL

I'm more inclined to not include the A-Rank Party comparison for the show's story/theme, as Lloyd's cluelessness matches the other shows better. Yuke has more of a grasp of his true strength/power than the other protagonists of the shows you mentioned.

However, Simon's attitude in A-Rank Party matches the hero in Scooped Up pretty well, though, so it does work for me in that regard.

Ok, a bit overdue, but I'm also trying to stay awake (long week at work already lol) so this should help me focus a bit.

We'll start with one I just watched the latest episode of, There's No Freaking Way I'll Be Your Lover! Unless... is one of the shows I mentioned having a main character with some social anxiety issues. Renako is trying to start anew in high school, but some of her past experiences makes it tough for her to feel like she's connecting with her classmates. But by being earnest and talking with the resident goddess of the school (gorgeous, fashion model, so yeah, best descriptor I could come up with lol), she not only becomes friends with Mai but Mai also falls in love with Renako as a result. And I do mean falls in love, and hard.

There's a lot going on in the show and I'm sure there could be some discussions had about Mai's actions and behaviors, and whether or not they fall into some of the more negative stereotypes that can come about in anime. But watching the dynamic between Mai and Renako is interesting as they are sorting through what they want from their relationship (love or just friendship). I do find it a little surprising that it's streaming on YouTube considering how intense some of the scenes can be, but it's got me interested in watching so far.

Dealing with Mikadono Sisters is a Breeze has had some fun moments. The almost talentless son of a famed actress ends up coming to live with a trio of sisters after his mother's death, and those girls are each super talented and at the pinnacle of their respective fields (acting, athletics, academics/shogi), and so we're going to have some harem-adjacent antics taking place. I say almost talentless about Yu because there are moments where his looks strike someone at school and get the "yeah, THAT'S the son of a gorgeous actress for sure" reaction, but also his determined work ethic. He works very hard at things (even cooking for the sisters) because of how hard he's tried to live up to expectations others have had for him due to his mother. The art style is interesting (each sister is beautiful in their own way) and they do have fun with the show.

Apocalypse Bringer Mynoghra is another "sent to a game world" isekai, but the game in question is more of a world/empire building strategy game. There are parallels to be found to some aspects of Overlord, as the protagonist liked playing as an evil civilization, but the main character is no Ains, for both good and bad. It's okay but I've found it a little dry so far, maybe because those kinds of games have never really been my cup of tea. I'll keep with it for now, but I wouldn't be surprised if I end up dropping it.

Scooped Up by an S-Rank Adventurer is hitting a lot of the same notes as shows mentioned by Tiffany, but so far they're doing an okay job of hitting the notes. So I can't really complain about much, other than hoping it gets to something a little more substantial in the story since we've now had a few episodes to establish the main characters.

The Shy Hero and the Assassin Princesses has been fun, even though it looked like the whole "easily flustered" aspect of Toto could have gotten old quick. So far they're doing a decent job of keeping the joke fresh, though. Watching some of the true nature of the assassins when they let their guard down a little too much is fun, and seeing Toto power through obstacles (literally) keeps things interesting as to how the ladies might try to take the poor dork out. LOL

Secrets of the Silent Witch could be a mixed bag for some, but I'm digging how well they balance the humor and plot progression in the show so far, adding in just enough menace and drama to the goings-on to keep it from just being a goofy show about a super shy young lady in a magical realm. Plus, you watch the show and you just end up screaming "MUST PROTECT" after watching Monica go through her trials and tribulations, for many reasons.

As for returning shows, beyond Dress-Up Darling, I'm watching A Couple of Cuckoos, and will probably be diving into Rascal Does Not Dream of Santa Claus once I rewatch what's available of the original (dense show at times, want to be refreshed) and Call of the Night once more episodes drop so I can binge watch it,

Well, thanks to the highly unnecessary but effective arm-twisting from Tiffany, I'm gonna try to tackle semi-regular reviews of My Dress-Up Darling episodes. I'll start here with an overview, with impressions of the first three episodes and the manga adjacency to the show.

If there was one or two words I'd use to describe the current season, I'd have to use either "dynamic" or "active," probably both. For a slice-of-life rom-com about cosplay and hina doll production, CloverWorks went all in on animating this season, and then some. It'd be very easy to believe they used either motion-capture or live action actor video as a basis for how they animate characters in the show. From little things like characters walking to full-on reactions to actions taken by characters (thinking in particular about one Gojo reaction in episode three), the animation used this year really adds a lot of life to some already well-drawn and realized characters. It's really one of the better looking shows I've seen this year.

Also, they're moving at a decently brisk pace to what's been presented in the manga volume releases. Season one covered the first five volumes, right up to Marin's phone confession to a sleeping Gojo and the last panel being Marin's "See you soon" line. Season two has already covered all of volume 6 and a portion of volume 7 as well, with episode 3 of this season ending right around the same point as chapter 50. As I mentioned before, they did play around with chapter order for episodes but that's probably something I'll go over in more detail when I dig into episode reviews/overviews.

We've also got an ending song for the show now, and some highly stylized animation showing off Marin that was a nice change of pace. I'm not sure of what the art style might be called, but it's different enough from the show itself and the opening that it stands out but also stands decently on its own. Song's not bad either, plus you get some looks at art from at least the manga volume releases. Each volume has what I guess would be called an eye-catch drawing on the inside cover that relates to part of the story, and I recognize at least one. Plus there are at least hints of what might be on the way this season.

That's about all I have for now. I'd love to hear any feedback on this, plus I wouldn't mind hearing what level of detail folks might want to hear, especially when it comes to potential spoilers. I'm looking at waiting at least one or two weeks before going too much into stuff, so I won't be watching a new episode and immediately coming here with "this and this and this and then THIS happened" posts. LOL But I do want to give people a chance to watch episodes on their own without giving away any surprises.

Okay, finally getting to it.

My Dress-Up Darling Season Two: Episode 1 (or #13 overall, depending on how you're counting)

The Basics: Gojo helps Marin make a bunny-girl themed cosplay; Gojo and Marin spend Halloween with a group of Marin's friends.

Manga Related Notes: As I mentioned before, the story arc they're going with came later in the manga. This episode covers chapters 44-47 in the volume 6 manga release, while the chapter that corresponds to the end of season one was chapter 39. We do get the introduction of Usami from the craft store into the show finally (unless I'm misremembering season 1). He was first shown in chapter 24 of the manga when Gojo asked for his help about the Black Lily costume he was making for Juju. More on that in a bit.

Details (and potential spoilers, you've been warned): The music of the show is on point and ties in perfectly with season 1. If you're familiar with music used for particular scenes or situations, you'll feel right at home with this season.

CloverWorks has, as I mentioned, knocked it out of the park with the animation, so I won't go into that again (no matter how easy it'd be to do so LOL). But their creative choices in gags, bits and situations show in the manga have been really well done, not to mention really convey the emotions of the situation in really unique and effective ways. They could have copy-pasted some of the things from season one, such as Gojo's trauma from being rejected by a childhood friend, but the way it was handled at the end of episode 1 of this season was fantastic. And they do go hard on the jokes and gags as well.

Usami's introduction felt a little overdue with how much earlier he was introduced in the manga. Plus it helped set up the misunderstanding bit with Gojo better. In the manga, the whole bit with "being open minded" was over him seeing Gojo's Black Lily sketch and thinking he was making it for himself, and he was still under that assumption until Marin came up in this episode and he realized Gojo wasn't making the outfits for himself. Nothing huge or groundbreaking, but I think the joke might have hit harder if they had gone the same route as the manga.

We do get the re-introduction and expansion of the friend group during Halloween, and they will be playing a role later on in the season. Kashiwagi is great being so non-plussed about stuff, and Morita is a fun, loud lovable goofball.

Gojo and Marin are still fun to watch. I still find it funny how head-over-heels she is about him but still seems to be oblivious to the effect her cosplay outfits and actions can have on him. I did love her giggle as she went to get changed into her Arisha outfit, though.

Random side note: I gave the dub a watch and it's pretty good. The actor playing Morita has got the "loud goofball" energy going, and Marin and Gojo's original voice actors are back and nailing it again.

For some odd reason, probably due to some YouTube algorithm spitting out clips at me, I binge watched The Aristocrat's Otherworldly Adventure: Serving Gods Who Go Too Far.

It's your basic tropey isekai in many ways, even down to the power fantasy and most every woman he meets wanting to marry him (even though he's still below the age of 15). Disposable and more or less harmless, but what struck me (especially in the last episodes) was how rushed the storytelling felt. It's almost like they were trying to get in as many story beats as possible, either because they knew a second season probably wouldn't happen or because they wanted to drive interest to get a second season.

If you want something silly as a distraction, it might work.

Small personal favorite for me is re-emerging thanks to Discotek. Among the many licenses they announced at their Otakon panel, we're getting a re-release of Golden Boy.

Discotek Reveals Monster, Shin Aim for the Ace, Zegapain, 6 More Licenses - News - Anime News Network

It even includes commentary from Doug Smith, the dub actor for Kintaro. And if you've watched Golden Boy and remember the dub, that could be VERY interesting, even...

YAY! See?! I knew you would like it!

My Dress-Up Darling Season 2: Episode 2 (#14)

The Basics: Gojo tries to save Marin from being hit on at karaoke on Halloween; Marin catches a cold; Gojo and Marin meet a new cosplayer.

Manga Related Notes: This covers chapters 48-49 from Volume 7, and then we get to jump back to Volume 6 for chapters 40-41 for the new storyline (the cosplayer). A couple more people of the friend group shows up at karaoke, but they don't get introduced into the manga until later in Volume 7, so anime-wise, they're some early arrivals as opposed to Usumi making a late appearance. There's also a little rearranging of some detail given (it's coming later but was actually in these chapters) but it's nothing story-breaking. Also, it's not Marin who initially discovers Amane in the manga, but Gojo. Marin's reaction, however? Exactly the same. lol

Details (and potential spoilers, you've been warned): The extra bits to punch up the gags or the scenes in general continue, such as Gojo sneaking up to Marin's laundry basket. But it's never done to distraction and doesn't take away from the original material. For example, Marin thanking Gojo for trying to "save" her (and his reaction) was still great, as was Marin crying while also eating the meal Gojo cooked for her while she was sick.

We also get the return of Suzuka (aka Miss Photographer from season one's cosplay event) and with good reason. Yes, there's more in store for her and her interactions with our fun couple.

And of course, there's Amane. There's more of it in the manga chapters (and next episode) but we get to ease into the character by hearing them talk about some of their cosplay challenges and/or methods. My only possible complaint might come from the dub, as Amane's voice sounds much more feminine in the original Japanese. There's a slight hoarseness or raspy aspect that comes across in the English dub and I found it a little distracting. Fun little detail, though? In both seasons of the show, you can see a poster in Marin's room for Amane's cosplay character. The poster in each season is different, but it's there to be found (season two's poster is easier, it has the character name on it in English).

Random side note: When I first saw the episode title as a line in the manga, I KNEW it was going to be a must-have line in the second season, but I didn't expect it to be used as an episode title.

My Dress-Up Darling Season 2 Episode 3 (#15)

The Basics: Gojo and Marin spend the day getting to know Amane better; Gojo gets to see Marin at a photoshoot before a birthday party.

Manga Related Notes: This episode covers Chapters 42-43 from Volume 6 and then Chapter 50 from Volume 7, so by the end of this episode we seem to be done bouncing back and forth between manga volumes. LOL Some of the make-up talk and details in this episode were earlier in the manga, but they fit a little better when visiting the cosplay shop and checking the displays, so I can see why they moved it, and as I said last time it didn't break the story or anything. The interactions with other cosplayers was expanded on a bit as well in the anime, but it was done in a way that felt like a natural extension of what might happen in that kind of situation and helped flesh out the sequence.

Details (and potential spoilers, you've been warned): This episode had what I'd call the "meat and potatoes" of Amane's story, so even though the episode covered less chapters than other episodes, it was time well spent. Beyond talking about the challenges and make-up techniques as a cross-player (BIG SPOILER if you haven't watched yet, Amane's a guy), we get to see some of Amane's hesitance and guarded nature about his hobby, even around enthusiastic friendly people like Gojo and Marin. There was a lot of subtle but very effective animation work done with Amane's face to express both his worries and relief.

What was most effective, though, was how they showed Amane. During the flashbacks to his past, we never got a clear view of how he looked out of cosplay. It was the usual "eyes not showing, distant and slightly indistinct face shots" thing we'd see with some background characters in shows. Any time while he was talking, we'd only see him in costume and still made up. It wasn't until the end that we saw Amane shown as a guy (and even then, he's pretty lol) but after all the more graceful, ladylike movements we saw throughout the episodes he was featured in, we see him walking away very much as a guy. It was a nice nod to how much he committed to his cosplay and kind of telling about him as well. Ending the episode with Gojo and Marin's birthday celebration added an extra bit of levity to help soften anything harsh that might have come with watching Amane's story.

Random Side Note: Even after seeing it in the manga, I still get a kick out of the other CosLuv cosplayers referring to Gojo as "Mr. Samue Cosplayer" and noting that he's hardcore when he says that's his normal clothing.

Woohoo, Farming Life in Another World (a show I particularly enjoyed) is getting a second season . Plus it's getting a tie-in mobile game to boot.

Farming Life in Another World Anime Gets 2nd Season in 2026, Game - News - Anime News Network

...and back to it.

My Dress-Up Darling Season 2 Episode 4 (#16)

The Basics: The school festival is coming, and Marin decides to do a cosplay for the pageant.

Manga Related Notes: This episode covered Chapters 51-53 of Volume 7, and surprisingly it was pretty straight-forward. No real major deviation from the source material other than some fun but ultimately minor background stuff (more on that in a bit).

Details (and potential spoilers, you've been warned): We get to meet a couple more significant classmates in this episode, Murakami probably being more of a highlight (and I'm cursing myself a bit because I swore I wrote down the other guy's name and I can't find it LOL). Kashiwagi steps up to help set Gojo straight and not give in to his (Gojo's) tendency of trying to do everything so that he doesn't feel like a burden. We also get the usual impressive lengths Gojo goes to for his character/cosplay designs, and it always stands out how well he dives into aspects of the character that others might miss. Plus we had a solid establishment of the "source material" for the cosplay Marin's going to use, so hats off on once again making a fake show/manga feel real.

Random Side Note: Nowa is by far the best secondary character when it comes to scene stealing. Morita and his exclamations are a close second, but Nowa owns the screen when they want her to.

EDIT: Had to look it up in the manga, the other new classmate is Koga. Good guy overall.

A two-fer

My Dress-Up Darling Season 2 Episode 5 (#17)

The Basics: Prep for the school festival continues.

Manga Related Notes: This episode covers Chapters 54-55 of Volume 7 and 56-58 of Volume 8. Unlike last episode we had a significant deviation from the manga this time around, as they skip a whole sequence involving Gojo and Marin styling her wig for the cosplay and learning some new info about creating hairlines for wigs. Nothing terribly groundbreaking and I can see why they cut it (no pun intended), but they reference the President Luna cosplay pic from earlier in the series, and it kind of lays the groundwork for some other stuff later. Marin's inspiration for making a bento for Gojo is slightly different in the manga as well.

Details (and potential spoilers, you've been warned): Marin making Gojo a bento to help him avoid lunch chaos was already comic gold, especially knowing how she cooks, so Gojo's dread and relief were icing on the cake. And Marin's reaction to her misunderstanding why Gojo was relieved and so nervous about her bento was CloverWorks knocking it out of the park once again. They even threw in a few of the panels from the manga during that sequence.

As for the rest, Marin and Nowa playing up the whole host bit was a lot of fun (like I said, scene stealer), and Morita going from heartbreak to enthusiastic model for Marin played up his goofiness, even if it did annoy the living daylights out of Marin. Finally, we got to see Gojo help Murakami be more comfortable with enjoying the things he likes even if they seem off to others. Kinda makes Murakami seem a little tsundere, but it works.

Random Side Note: I never knew I needed to see puppet versions of Marin, Gojo and Grandpa explain some of the processes of making hina dolls until I watched this episode.

My Dress-Up Darling Season 2 Episode 6 (#18)

The Basics: Gojo finishes Marin's costume and Marin appears in the school pageant.

Manga Related Notes: This episode covered a lot of chapters, 59-63 to be precise, and finished out the content in Volume 8. We did have some differences in the two versions as well. The festival went over two days, but in the manga the second day was just for students, and I don't think we had the class competitions (food war between Class 3 and Gojo/Marin's Class 5, essentially) on day two. Also, the champagne call used in the pageant was different, as the manga seemed to hint at music and flashy club lighting during the call, and Marin's speech and performance was much different. However, the pose at the beginning and pulling the student council president in close were pretty much spot on, as were the reactions by the crowd in seeing Marin as Rei-sama.

Details (and potential spoilers, you've been warned): I liked that Seira was given that real laid-back type of performance, as it gave her something to help the character stand out from the rest of the class/friend group while also helping with the rainbow rose. Gojo had a lot of growth, with one minor step back just as he was on the cusp of realizing something he feels about Marin. He took to heart more of the lessons about allowing others to help, as well as wanting to work hard to help others succeed (kind of the theme of the PrezHost source material). It was also fun to see the class get totally pulled into watching Gojo transform Marin into Rei-sama. And I gotta admit, there was some fun expression game taking place when Marin ended up getting photo-blocked by Gojo's new guy friend group (I'm amazed she didn't take out Morita right off the bat when he showed up LOL).

Random side note: Now you know where Marin's plushie from the end credits comes from.

My Dress-Up Darling Season 2 Episode 7 (#19)

The Basics: Marin gets some bad news at work but also gets a reward she's been working towards, managing to freak out Gojo a little in both cases.

Manga Related Notes: This covers Chapters 64-67 in Volume 9 of the manga, and there really isn't much deviation from the manga. The only slightly significant change was the name of Marin's purchase (Miss M in the manga).

Details (and potential spoilers, you've been warned): So Marin got the worst news imaginable for someone working in modeling. Weight gain. Watching the whole thing play out, from trying on cosplay outfits to figuring out where the gain came from, was not exactly a gripping detective story, but fun to watch as all the realizations set in. And watching Gojo do the math to figure out what caused it when she explained was great, as his freakout face continues to be on point.

But she did finally earn her camera! Which also caused a freakout face because it reminded Gojo of how frighteningly proactive Marin can be. The impromptu photo shoot was really well done, with the animators taking advantage of their dynamic choices and making it a very active but not super busy sequence. And kudos to them for including both good and bad shots taken by Gojo, considering it was his first time using the camera.

We also got some setup for what's to come, with Gojo taking the initiative to reach out to someone to learn about modeling for cosplay (making props, not posing in front of the camera). They're meeting up at a cosplay event where Marin's going to be meeting up with Amane and possibly Suzuka, so all sorts of hijinks might ensue. LOL

Random side note: None really, just that Marin gets the "sweetness" award for her gushing over her plushie to everyone she knows at the beginning of the show and for specifically going to Gojo's house at the end to get pics of Grandpa.

My Dress-Up Darling Season 2 Episode 8 (#20)

The Basics: We meet some old and new friends in cosplay and get a little information passed along.

Manga Related Notes: This covers Chapters 68-71 of the manga, finishing off Volume 9 of the series. There's a couple minor dialogue tweaks here and there and the usual extra flourishes this season of the anime is providing, so nothing unusual there. The only real add-on was the visual representation of someone's cosplay friend group that wasn't shown in the manga (more on that later). There was also the initial introduction of one of the new friends that was kind of spoiled in the anime because she wasn't shown until later.

Details (and potential spoilers, you've been warned): Hoo-boy, where to begin? There was a lot of stuff packed into that episode, from new characters to instances of veteran cosplayers handing down their knowledge to the newbies (Amane, Gojo, Marin) to hints of potential drama!

Gojo's excitement at meeting Akira and getting to ask her questions about prop modeling was fun, and even extended to him stopping himself from being rude when he thought he might be with a statement. Suzuka's reaction to Amane and meeting Gojo was fun and shows that she's maybe a little bit sketchy in how she views things. LOL The split screen where she's on one side and Amane's on the other was great, with the camera on Amane's side panning up and down to match Suzuka looking him up and down really stood out to me as a prime example of the things that are making this season so good. Akira's reactions to Marin definitely spark some attention, which Amane picks up on. Between that and him noticing Miyako's little whispered comment about work, I like how they show how observant he can be (probably due to his past) and it will come into play more.

Plus we get the chance of seeing one more returning character at the end of the episode when Marin makes a call. Overall another great episode.

Random side note: Poor Aoi. She was never shown in the manga (just mentioned), and gets to make her debut helping to explain a couple of cosplay aspects in the episode only to be shut out again because she can't make the Coffin cosplay.