Here’s a handful of non-current shows that I’m slowly working through or just about to drop. If you wanna know why I picked these shows, it’s simple: 1) they’re dubbed, 2) they were recommended to me by either friends or a streaming service, and 3) and I needed something to listen to while grinding in my JRPG of the week (currently Super Robot Wars Y), because the alternative is listening to the same song on loop and that makes me loopy.

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Tying the Knot with an Amagami Sister

How far have I gotten? The MC and one of the sisters just freed themselves from a time loop.

I tried to slowly watch Tying the Knot with an Amagami Sister — think one or two episodes at a time — but I’m probably going to throw in the towel. I think the supernatural elements are too much for me, but that sounds weird, doesn’t it? I’ve watched other shows with gods and spirits, and they’ve never bothered me before. So why do I have a problem with this anime specifically? Well, Uryu always wanted to be a doctor. As a kid, he tried praying for the gods to save his sick mother, but nothing ever happened. As a result, he lost his faith. By spending time with the Amagami sisters, however, he starts to realize that the gods are real after all. Essentially, Uryu’s like a born again Shinto believer. And y’know what, something about that just bugs me. He was always going to convert, because the end goal is to marry one of the sisters, become a priest as well as a doctor, and inherit the shrine (’cause, y’know, a guy has to do it). It’s just once that reality became more tangible, I just couldn’t vibe with the show anymore. I admit I’m biased, and this isn’t something I care to correct. Oh well.

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My Happy Marriage

How far have I gotten? Kiyoka just saved Miyo and burned down the Saimori Estate.

I started watching My Happy Marriage, and a few things about it bother me. First, the couple fall for each other way too easily. Kiyoka goes from “You’re poisoning me, aren’t you!” in the second episode to legitimately having feelings for Miyo by the fourth. Talk about whiplash. Second, Kiyoka can be a bit edgelordy sometimes. When he discovers that someone has been following him, he says something along the lines of “How dare they spy on me!” How dare they? C’mon, no one is above being spied on. Last but not least, I can’t take over-the-top stepparents and step-siblings anymore. I used to read a lot of relationship drama on Reddit just to pass the time. Lately, however, every other story is about evil stepparents and/or step-siblings. I’m sick of it. And I can’t help but wonder if AI has exacerbated the issue. If you want to post a story that gets a lot of clicks and upvotes, then stepfamily drama certainly does the trick. And unfortunately, fake stories being posted on Reddit does bleed over and affect my enjoyment of My Happy Marriage.

And well, if you’ve been following my posts on Betrothed to My Sister’s Ex, then you know how I feel about a person starting a romantic relationship immediately after escaping their abuse. How can we be so sure that this is healthy for Miyo?

My biggest concern is that every major plot point going forward is gonna center around separating these two. It’s like they’re together, but they’re not. As we all know, most romance series end as soon as the happy couple gets together. For some reason, we’ve all collectively decided that a relationship no longer has any story to tell once things are official. Well, they have to be official in My Happy Marriage. As the title suggests, they’ll literally be married. So will future episodes be about the trials and tribulations of said marriage? Or will future episodes be about Kiyoka repeatedly finding himself in situations in which he needs to win Miyo back? Unfortunately, at the point I left off, some new guy shows up and claims he’s here to get Miyo, so I have a feeling I know where the story is leaning.

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My Tiny Senpai

How far have I gotten? Binged the whole thing.

Two coworkers become friends and stay friends. They probably get married by the end of the manga, but we certainly don’t get to see that in just one season of the anime. This show is frustrating because these adults are so inept. It takes them twelve episodes to merely affirm their friendship (with the possibility of something more), but then they struggle to even invite each other to hang out. “Uwu, I’ve never had a guy friend before! How do you do this?” Just… ask… them? One of my friends likes to try new restaurants like me. I just ask her straight out if she wants to do something later in any given month. There are no strings attached. We’ve been platonic friends for years. I’m not sweating buckets every time I send a text.

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Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba

How far have I gotten? Tanjiro just defeated a demon who played the drums, and now they’re headed for some mountain.

I remember watching the first episode when it initially aired, but I never following up for a reason I can no longer recall anymore. Well, I’m a little more than halfway through the first season now. At first, it was okay. The show wasn’t blowing me away, but I was enjoying it casually as background noise. I liked how the series handled Tanjiro’s training arc. I never like it when shounen series drag things out, so cramming two years of training in one episode was a nice breath of fresh air. The entire Final Selection event only took a little more than an episode to resolve as well, so naturally, I approved.

Of course, Demon Slayer had typical shounen conventions that I’ve never particularly cared for. For instance, I’m not a huge fan of Tanjiro screaming out the names of his myriad forms every time he uses them. The dub makes it even harder to take him seriously, because he shares the same voice actor as Ota from AI: The Somnium Files. When I hear Tanjiro in battle, I can’t help but picture the pathetic NEET somehow getting himself isekai’d or simply living out a chuuni fantasy in his dreams.

I’m also not a huge fan of the only major female character being essentially mute outside of a few growls and grunts. I wonder how that audition even went down. But hey, at least she gets to participate from time to time. I just hope she either regains the ability to talk or they introduce another major female character.

Unfortunately, my enjoyment of Demon Slayer has dropped dramatically ever since Tanjiro’s fateful encounter with Kabitsuji. That part was fine. Pretty harrowing, actually. What followed, however, are some of the most annoying male characters ever. I cannot express how much I despise people like Yushiro, Zenitsu, and Inosuke. They’re so fucking annoying. Yushiro constantly berating and hitting Tanjiro for even deigning to look in Tamayo’s direction ruined the Asakusa episodes for me. Then we get to the screaming duo.

Sure, the first ten episodes are somewhat bland and perhaps a little too serious at times, but at least they didn’t destroy my eardrums. Ever since Zenitsu and Inosuke have shown up, it has been nonstop screeching and screaming. To make things worse, Zenitsu likes to harass women. Why do shounen writers keep doing this shit? Why do they keep creating losers like Zenitsu and Mineta over and over? It’s ’cause you fuckers find them funny, huh? Am I supposed to laugh because Tanjiro has to defend a poor woman from Zenitsu? Am I supposed to laugh as he chases Nezuko around when she clearly doesn’t want his attention? My friend thinks Zenitsu’s backstory will change my mind, but no matter how sad it is, I just can’t stand listening to him. I’m seriously considering dropping the show because of this. It’s either that or skipping every single scene he’s in.

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The Apothecary Diaries

How far have I gotten? Maomao got fired, and after much hand-wringing, Jinshi finally buys her out of the brothel.

As for The Apothecary Diaries, I had watched a few episodes a while back, but I didn’t keep up with it because… well, to be frank, the setting skeeves me out. First, we have a 14 year old consort. Yes, I know they protected her, so she didn’t have to sleep with the former pedophile emperor. Sure, having consorts that young is probably historically accurate (I’m no expert on China), but the thought of it still grosses me out. And of course, we have women forced to entertain clients, because they’re heavily indebted to the Verdigris House. Yes, I know sex is not always involved — and I know some women actually enjoy this job — but the whole setup is still appalling. Basically, I’m trying to power through it, because Maomao’s investigations are kinda interesting.

Also, the freckles thing is ridiculous. I’m sorry, but the people who would rape or sexually assault others will not be deterred by a few dots on your face. If anything, this is such a ludicrous attempt at hiding Maomao’s attractiveness. Like c’mon, who are you fooling? It’s on par with Western movies removing someone’s glasses. All of a sudden, everyone is blown away by the beauty they strangely couldn’t notice before.

The problem is that these stories want to have their cake and eat it too. Maomao is not like all these pathetic ladies who chase after Jinshi like hopeless, lovestruck fools. Our heroine only cares about her poisons! She’s quirky… like you! But she is amazingly attractive if she would just doll herself up… like you! Maomao is the only person who doesn’t swoon over Jinshi’s drop-dead good looks. She’s the opposite of shallow… like you! But he is beautiful, a fact that is almost always brought up whenever he appears! Maomao totally doesn’t care about his status. If anything, she wants to live the simple life where she can pursue her passions. But he is the crown prince! What’s next? We’re going to find out she’s secretly a princess as well? But ugh, she would want nothing to do with that. Just. Like. You.

And look, the same shit happens on the other side as well, i.e. the totally ordinary but super mega selfless male character who somehow bags the hottest chick in school, because he’s actually the prophesied chosen one if he would only just apply himself. We’re all painfully pathetic. It’s just that if you’re looking for a show that doesn’t pander, The Apothecary Diaries isn’t necessarily it.

But yeah, I’m still sort of enjoying the story in spite of everything I just said.