Lots of shows to go through, but I doubt all of them will stick around for the entire season.
My Status as an Assassin Obviously Exceeds the Hero’s Ep. 2
Well, at least the pacing has been pretty brisk. Saran is murdered, and Akira has to hide out in a dungeon. Luckily, this lets him kill two birds with one stone: not only is he avoiding the king’s assassins, he can train up down there. Elsewhere, the king plans on sending most of Akira’s classmates to war, but Gilles frees a few of them from the princess’s mind control powers. So as you can see, a lot has happened.
There are a few things I’m not a huge fan of, though. For instance, the multi-floor dungeon. It’s boring. It’s not compelling world-building to have the hero romp through a generic-looking dungeon without any interesting design or lore (so far). Not only that, it’s an overused trope we’ve seen in countless isekai series.
Well, speaking of overused tropes, Akira eventually saves an elf princess deep within the dungeon. Naturally, she’s even the prettiest darn thing he has ever seen! I’ve hardly played every JRPG out there, especially the ones that were never localized. So sadly, I’ve only ever encountered one 100-floor dungeon in a video game, and that’s the Palace of the Dead in Tactics Ogre. And boy, there sure isn’t a princess in that dungeon.
Last but not least, none of the characters really stand out to me. You watch another show like, say, May I Ask for One Final Thing? and even though I don’t love all of the characters, I at least enjoy how they interact with one another. Well, Akira and Saran dominated a lot of the screen time in the first episode, but one of them is already dead (did he really go down that easily?). But even if he had survived, no one is really setting this show on fire with their personality. Everything so far — the characters, the premise, the world-building, etc. — have just been rather flat. The anime looks and feels competent, but nothing’s drawing me in.
A Mangaka’s Weirdly Wonderful Workplace Ep. 1 & 2
In the first episode, the main character frets over sending her storyboard at 2am. Then frets over the wording of her email. Then frets over not getting a response an hour later… at 3am. Then when she does get a call, she hesitates to answer because the caller ID says it’s coming from her editor’s personal phone. After the call, she becomes a crying mess. We’re not even halfway through the first episode, but Futami’s already getting on my nerves. I think it would be cool to watch an anime on what it’s like to work on a manga, especially since I couldn’t get into Bakuman. Unfortunately, the main character is making this difficult. I dunno, maybe folks find her endearing. Maybe people already want to ship her with her editor. Personally, I find her exhausting. It doesn’t help either that her editor never compliments her because — get this — it’s embarrassing. That’s pretty pathetic for a professional with years of experience managing people.
Mizuki, the assistant, seems cool at first, but in the second episode, we learn that she turned down an opportunity to debut. She met with a publisher once, had something akin to a panic attack, then quickly concluded that she doesn’t have what it takes to be a mangaka. Mizuki’s one-shots actually go viral on social media, but she claims she can’t connect any of them into one coherent series. From my perspective, however, she’s too scared to even try. I mean, she literally hasn’t tried. She keeps telling herself she can’t. I dunno, that’s pretty weak for a grown ass adult. But hey, it’s her life. If she’s content to be an assistant forever, then it’s none of my business.
None of these characters are particularly appealing. I’ll probably give the anime one more episode, but if I’m still not vibing with any of the characters — and since it isn’t fun to tear them down like harem and/or isekai protagonists — then I’ll just drop the show.
Campfire Cooking in Another World with My Absurd Skill S2 Ep. 1 & 2
This show is basically all steaks and no stake. There’s no world-ending threat to deal with or tricky interpersonal drama to navigate. All we ever get to see is the isekai protagonist running around, making food for his monster buddies. I suppose it could be worse, but I don’t even know how a Dragon Quest slime is supposed to appreciate crispy gyozas. It doesn’t even have a mouth! The food just dissolves inside it! Well, guess what? The MC acquires yet another gluttonous friend to feed. This time, a dragon. Will we ever see this guy form a similarly close relationship with a human? Hell, does he even want to?
The second episode does manage to show me something I’ve never seen before: a Genghis Khan grill. I don’t think I’ll go buying one anytime soon, though. Eighty bucks on Amazon is a bit steep. Plus, cleaning between the ridges sounds like a pain. I already find it a hassle to baby my current cast iron skillet.
Yano-kun’s Ordinary Days Ep. 2 & 3
The more I watch this show, the more it just seems to me that Yano-kun is dumb. For example, who the hell sharpens a pencil with a razor blade? You’re just asking for trouble. Hell, it’s been decades since I was in school, but even back then, i.e. ancient times, most of us had already started using mechanical pencils. The last time I used a regular pencil was maybe back in kindergarten or first grade.
Also, our girl’s going to make bento boxes for him now. With her own money, right? ‘Cause if I were her parent, I’d be pissed about my grocery bills going towards some random fuck-up. Also, I’ve had enough of anime girls cooking for anime boys. They are more than capable of feeding themselves. Yes, even the accidental prone like Yano-kun.
Well, the third episode shows us that he isn’t entirely hapless. He can actually throw a ball pretty hard. I hesitate to say that he’s good at dodgeball, though. He only avoids elimination because getting hit in the face somehow doesn’t count. Anyway, our girl finds him cool, but then she starts getting insecure when he doesn’t react to her the same way other boys react to other girls. Once again, it’s really difficult for a lot of guys to tell if girls are into them.
Anyways, a show can be both wholesome and boring, and I think this describes Yano-kun’s Ordinary Days to a tee.
Kakuriyo -Bed & Breakfast for Spirits- Season 2 Ep. 2
The first quarter of the episode is more backstory on Kiyo and Kasuga’s relationship. Even though the tanuki ultimately wants to marry her childhood love, she doesn’t want to be torn away from Tenjin-ya. I must admit that I’m not particularly invested in this subplot, but I do find its timing to be rather fortuitous. Why? Because I’m going through Silent Hill f right now (and will probably have gotten the first ending by the time this post goes up), and that game is all about the horrors of arranged marriages (among other troubling aspects of the Showa era).
Of course, every time marriage comes up as a topic, everyone starts talking about Aoi and Odanna. He no longer wants to make her marry him, though. These days, he’s willing to wait. That’s a good thing! So of course, it’s now her turn to feel all insecure about it: “Maybe he doesn’t feel all that strongly about marrying me anymore.” You can’t win, bro. This actually reminds me of an incident in Love Is War. Miyuki could have taken advantage of a sick, unconscious Kaguya, but he doesn’t for obvious (read: moral) reasons. But afterwards, she’s offended that he didn’t try anything! No matter what you do, you lose!
There are scenes of the characters taste-testing Aoi’s new souvenir snacks. While I understand that she’s a good cook, so ultimately, her friends will always give her rave reviews, this isn’t really how it works. In real kitchens, when you workshop new dishes, it’s an iterative process, i.e. “This is a good start, but maybe it could use a little more this and that.” C’mon, no chef is perfect. It would be a lot more interesting if Aoi had to slowly refine a dish before it was ready for customers. But for whatever reason, due to time constraints, due to the episodic format, or due to just plain laziness from the author, Aoi never fails to impress. Apparently, the only thing she’s missing is the right container for her new buns. And oh yeah, Odanna thinks they’re a bit plain-looking. In a way, Aoi’s like any other overpowered anime protagonist. Her battles just don’t involve kicks and punches.
One last thing: the animation quality in this week’s episode was particularly shoddy.
Hero Without a Class: Who Even Needs Skills?! Ep. 3
In order to save itself, Dragon Fang will need to enter a competition and win against a rival guild. Even though they’re outnumbered because they only have three whole members, Lilia reasons that they’ll be fine as long as they’re not up against A-rank swordsmen. Naturally, that’s exactly what our heroes get. It’s just the third episode, but Arel already has to fight the top guild. To make matters worse, the girls don’t even get to participate. It’s the classic shounen problem all over again where you might have badass female characters (i.e. Reiner) in the squad, but all they ever get to do is cheer from the sidelines. This was supposed to be a team effort, but it quickly becomes the Arel-only show as he effortlessly crushes every foe in his path. Yawn. Look man, no stakes equals no suspense. And where do we even go from here? If this is the top guild in the city, he obviously needs to go elsewhere to be challenged.
Unsurprisingly, the girls are already down bad. Of course they are.
Pass the Monster Meat, Milady! Ep. 2
Well, Aristide certainly doesn’t waste any time. With encouragement from his brother, the literal crown prince, our “blood-mad” duke has already sent a formal request for Melphy’s hand in marriage. This is the first time he’s ever met anyone he likes, so he intends to strike while the iron is hot. At first, both Melphy and her father are dubious of Aristide’s intentions, and that’s perfectly understandable. Who proposes after one meeting? Don’t you guys need to go through some kind of courtship first? Before her father can even respond to Astride’s letter, however, he shows up with a fleet of dragons and a royal, uh… moodle. Meh, it just looks like a shaggy goat. Nevertheless, Melphy is charmed by Astride’s earnestness (and the still living monster), so she intends to accept the proposal.
Her stepmother, however, disagrees. I’m not exactly sure what the problem is. Didn’t she threaten to banish Melphy to a convent if she failed to find a fiancee? And now that our girl has done exactly that, the countess still has something to complain about? C’mon, beggars can’t be choosers, and we’ve already been told that no one else wants anything to do with the “Voracious Villainess.” I dunno, man, this union sounds like a win-win. Plus, it sounds like the duke will learn exactly what makes Melphy tick when he visits her late mother’s research facility in next week’s episode. That’s a strange first date, but at least we’re sort of getting a courtship…?
My Gift Lvl 9999 Unlimited Gacha Ep. 2
Honestly, I started to doze off halfway through this episode. It’s been three years since Light was betrayed. Since then, he’s built an entire kingdom in the abyss. Where did all of the townspeople even come from? Did he pull each of them with his gacha ability too? No matter, because they’re not the focal point of this week’s episode. What’s the focal point, you ask? His fucking maids. He’s got an entire legion of them, and guess what? They’re all in love with him. A few of them are even plotting to overthrow the head maid, because the latter gets to roll around on his bed and sniff his sheets. So yes, I stopped actively watching the episode at this point. I would glance over every ten to fifteen seconds just to check if anything interesting was happened. No. The answer is no. But if you stick around for next week’s episode, it looks like Light’s first act of revenge is to kick the dog.
Shabake Ep. 2
The problem with this show so far is that it had to go and give me a mystery only to snatch it away. This week’s episode is maybe 90% non-mystery-related chatter: how Ichitaro can’t be sneaking out due to his weak constitution, how his mother would kill herself if he died, how a friend is envious of Ichitaro’s responsibility-free life (the grass is always greener), yadda yadda yadda. Then there’s the teeny, tiny 10% near the end where we finally learn more about the mystery. Somehow, the victim, a humble carpenter with apparently no debt or woman-related troubles, was beheaded after Ichitaro found his corpse. That’s it. That’s all we get regarding the mystery itself. Sorry, but Ichitaro’s health and everyone’s penchant for overprotecting him aren’t engaging topics. I find myself bored for the vast majority of the episode only to have it finally pique my interest right before the credits roll. That’s not good enough.
A Wild Last Boss Appeared! Ep. 3
When they first showed off the crybaby Aries, I thought, “Awww, how cute.” But they went and gave the sheep a humanoid form, so I immediately lost all interest. There isn’t really anything else to talk about. Aries attacks the city, but the defenders initially manage to hold him back. Lufas knows, however, that they can’t keep this up over multiple battles. The giant sheep will eventually win a war of attrition so he steps in and manhandles his former pet. Plotwise, it’s pretty straightforward and uninteresting. If you want to see animal cruelty, however, the animation is decent-ish.
My Friend’s Little Sister Has It In for Me! Ep. 2
It’s a small world. Not only does everyone live on the same floor, but even the teacher is on the indie dev team. Actually, she’s being blackmailed into working for Akiteru. I would feel bad for her, but as you can plainly see from the screenshot above, she’s a pedo (don’t start with the ephebophile crap). As for the Mashiro drama, it’s pretty basic: she became a shut-in after being bullied. The way she reacted to finding out that everyone lives on the same floor pretty much hints at the fact that she’s also on the same team. After all, her build matches one of the silhouettes. Predictable.
The Banished Court Magician Aims to Become the Strongest Ep. 2
You know, it actually kinda bothers me that younger Alec was so insistent on becoming a court mage. Not only did he ditch his friends, his mentor-slash-father-figure warned Alec specifically not to follow in his footsteps. But Alec still thought he could change the system from the inside. Isn’t that just pure arrogance?
His friends currently pity Alec’s current situation, saying shit like “Oh my god, he’s amazing for even lasting four years with those bigots in Galdana!” Amazing or stupid? I don’t feel any sympathy for this guy. No one made him become a court mage. No one made him act like a servant and carry all of the prince’s bags. No one made him give up his best magic in order to play the support role. All of Alec’s misfortunes are self-inflicted.
Yes, there are terrible people in this world who will gladly take advantage of the people around them. But unlike the unfortunate, Alec always had the luxury to walk away at any time. He chose not to. In fact, he had to be kicked out of the party. So no, I don’t feel bad for this sucker. He should be extremely thankful that Yorha and his old pals are taking him back with open arms.
To make matters worse, Alec is still in his “woe is me” phase. “Wah wah, I’m out of practice. I’m just an extra.” It’s so annoying. But a party needs rescuing deep in a dungeon, so he better get his shit together real quick.
Hands off: Sawaranaide Kotesashi-kun Ep. 2
Again, this is like that meme where the guy can’t tell if the girl is into him unless they’re literally married with five kids. Aoba, the soccer player, tries to tease the main character for funsies, but because he’s your typical anime protagonist, he is dense and scared of sex. Unfortunately, Aoba likes the chase. She’s even more determined than ever to win him over. Well, whatever. Typical harem shit.
Alma-chan Wants to Be a Family! Ep. 2
In the first third of the episode, Alma makes her parents breakfast, so Suzume decides she also wants to try her hand at cooking. She wants to impress Enji ’cause, y’know, ~feelings~, but she’s too tsuntsun to admit it. Unfortunately, Suzume is a bad cook, and her early attempts are abject disasters. Alma, the child, pretty much has to hold her mother’s hand the entire way.
I gotta go on a rant here: I’ll never understand it when an average person claims they can’t cook. Obviously, if you have problems focusing on a task or whatever, then you’re off the hook. But for the rest of us normies, all you literally gotta do is follow the instructions and taste as you season your food. It’s not rocket science, especially for a genius like Suzume. So of course, when Alma gives her mother a few tips, they basically boil down to Suzume simply not following instructions. She alters the recipe but she does it badly, she doesn’t cook at the right temperature, and she can’t even hold a knife correctly. Like why? Why can’t you simply follow instructions? “Monkey see, monkey do” is something literally any child can do. We copy what other successful people, and in turn, find our own success. But somehow, a genius who can create an android can’t bear to copy others? Sure, once you’ve gotten the basics down, you can tweak the recipe to suit your preferences. But get it right at least once before you mess around. Alright, rant over.
Anyway, I don’t think I can get Hamburg steak around here, but I can get Hawaiiwan Loco Moco, which is close enough. Probably better too, since it comes with a fried egg. Maybe I’ll order it tomorrow for lunch.
In the second third of the episode, Alma refers to their automated vacuum cleaner as her brother.
In the last third of the episode, Enji’s younger sister drops by to clean his apartment, because men apparently can learn to do anything remotely domestic. Your dear sister, who is still in high school, has to pick up after your sorry ass. How is that not embarrassing? I would be mortified if a younger sibling had to clean after me. And oh yeah, she discovers that her brother and Suzume are living together like a family with their robot child. Surprise surprise, it turns out Suzume has been a childhood friend all along.
I guess if I’m being charitable, this is kind of a chill, feel good anime. The relationship leans a little too hard on worn-out tropes, though.
Dad is a hero, Mom is a spirit, I’m a reincarnator Ep. 2
Rovel pulls a fast one on Agiel by having her essentially admit in court that she’s a cheater. Apparently, infidelity is a big no-no in this universe. Not only can she not marry again, she literally can’t even approach another man. A magical force will repel her if she comes near one. Obviously, I’m not interested in defending the woman. She’s undoubtedly horrible. But she’s not horrible because she’s fat. And yet, every time she moves, they play some blob sound effect. Second, she’s done a lot worse than merely cheat on her husband, but that’s pretty much the only thing anyone cares about. That’s not justice. What about all the money she’s wasted — the money that should have gone to the people? Finally, from a narrative standpoint, the first episode built Agiel up to be this super cunning, manipulative woman. “Babe, we need to have our second marriage right now before this evil woman ruins it for us!” But then Agiel pretty much goes down without a fight. Um, okay?
The other part of the show that made me cringe was when Ori basically admitted to grooming her husband. Ellen even knows that this is wrong, but yeah, I doubt anything will come of this. Remember, kids. Throw the book at someone for cheating, but we can ignore spending the people’s money and grooming a minor.
Anyways, Rovel might have gotten rid of Agiel, but her brother is just as bad… maybe even worse. The king-to-be already wants to arrange a marriage between his son and Ellen. See? This is why we need a campaign… call it a “No Kings” protest.
Mechanical Marie Ep. 2
In the first half of the episode, Arthur hosts a garden party, so Marie has to help set it up, serve the guests, check for intruders, prevent a relative’s unruly cat from making a mess, comfort her master, and last but not least, foil a bomb attack. They better be paying her big bucks for all that she’s doing. More than six figures, I think. She’s already saved his life multiple times by now. That alone should be worth millions in the bank.
Anyways, what do we learn this week? Not all of Arthur’s relatives are out to get him. Apparently, he has a pretty chill aunt. Also, Arthur hates green bell peppers. But instead of just telling the cooks not to use the rather mild-tasting vegetable, he relies on Marie to get rid of them. So pointless. More importantly, she’s already falling for him, which is insanely fast. If we’re going to go down this route, I hope there’s some sense of finality by the end of the season. I wouldn’t bet my money on it, though.
Afraid that Arthur will catch onto Marie one day, Roy tries to replace her with a real robot. Naturally, this doesn’t work, because Arthur isn’t an actual clanker. He’s just a poser. I had to laugh when Marie was leaving the premises, because she was like, “No, I can’t possibly keep this maid outfit as a memento! It’s too painful! It brings back too many memories!” Girl, what the fuck are you talking about? It’s been two damn episodes. In the end, however, we do what we always do when confronted by our doppelganger: kill it. There can only be one. Well, not really. Robot Marie comes back the next day.
Li’l Miss Vampire Can’t Suck Right Ep. 1
The show’s premise is pretty simple. Luna is a vampire who can’t suck blood correctly, but she wants to maintain her cool persona. So Tatsuta, who sits right next to her, offers to let her practice on him. And why is there a vampire hanging out with us humans at a school? That’s just how it is in this universe. There are all sorts of silly creatures living among us. Vampires, zombies, robots, etc.
Honestly, I expected something different. I expected a straightforward romcom, and it still kinda is that. But the tone is different. Tonally, this is closer to something like Yano-kun than, say, My Friend’s Little Sister Has It In for Me! Tatsuta is pretty soft-spoken and chill. At the moment, he sees himself more like a mama to Luna when he lets her feed on him. Maybe that’ll change one day, but not anytime soon. Kind of a boring show, but nothing offensive.
Summer leftovers:
Dealing with Mikadono Sisters Is a Breeze Ep. 12
It’s a pretty weak conclusion. Well, I wouldn’t call it much of a conclusion at all. With her newfound motivation, Miwa gets the reverse sweep and defends her title. Afterwards, Sakura slinks away and accepts that she’s a pawn. Sure, she tells herself that she’ll have the spotlight one day, but that sounds like cope. And, well, that’s it. Yuu is happy that he’s found his happy family. I know the manga is still ongoing, but the first season feels incomplete.
The Water Magician Ep. 12
Again, another anime ends rather unspectacularly. I didn’t think fighting Oscar would be compelling to begin with, because a) this guy got introduced so late and b) this conflict is born from a misunderstanding. A stupid misunderstanding too. All Oscar has to do is communicate and talk to his princess’s saviors, but he doesn’t. But fine, what’s done is done. If we’re going to fight, then let’s fight. But we don’t even get that. Ryou and Oscar clash for a tiny bit, but Abel eventually shows up to play peacekeeper. What did we even achieve in the past three months? What did these twelve episodes even build up to? Shrug.
Back home, the narrative teases the Ryou x Sera coupling some more. I’m not charmed by either character, so I don’t care. Then Ryou finally buys a rustic, little home on the outskirts of the city. The end. What a complete bore of a series.
Tougen Anki Ep. 14
Jin saves a pair of children from being run over, but he had to use his powers to do so. As a result, the Momotaros are alerted to the Onis’ presence. My big problem is that the villains continue to be shallow and uninteresting:
Mikado: “We should keep this guy alive. He did save those kids, after all.”
Other guy who is an asshole: “So what?”
Ugh. Look, I know tribal conflicts are often dumb like this. People don’t need compelling reasons to hate. Bigots are some of the stupidest fuckers on this planet. Nevertheless, I’m trying to experience a good story, and it’s just not interesting when the bad guys are so one note. Well, the Onis aren’t much better. A lot of the faceless grunts get on Jin’s case for saving those kids. Welp, I guess we should’ve just let them die!
After this, there’s some Jin backstory, but it’s pretty trite and unremarkable. The bad guys then stoop to using an innocent girl in order to take Jin hostage. Sure, great, see ya next week.
Gachiakuta Ep. 14
I wanna know what happened to Amo, so most of this week’s episode failed to engage me. It was just a lot of fluff I didn’t care about. Meeting a doctor who lost all of her hair but certainly not her vocal cords. More boring chatter about who’s assigned to offense or defense based on how they care for their vital instruments. Being formally introduced to Team Child. Meh. It’s all meh. It wasn’t until the Raiders surprised everyone at the very end that the anime managed to get my attention again. But by then, the episode was over.
Everything else about everything else:
- My schedule is mostly set. I’ll be covering these shows with dedicated posts every week:
Sunday: The Fated Magical Princess: Who Made Me a Princess
Monday: *****
Tuesday: “Everything else”
Wednesday: The Dark History of the Reincarnated Villainess
Thursday: Dusk Beyond the End of the World — My Awkward Senpai
Friday: May I Ask for One Final Thing? — Sanda
Saturday: SPY x FAMILY
Mondays will be my break days… mostly. If I have something offbeat to talk about, i.e. video games like Silent Hill f as a recent example, then I’ll do just that. “Everything else” will include shows that I’m casually watching and won’t spend too much time analyzing. Let’s see how long I can keep blogging at this pace before I burn out again. It might look like I’m watching a lot of shows, but it works out to around two or three episodes a day. The weekends are busy, but, well, it’s the weekend.
- I did try to watch another episode of A Gatherer’s Adventure in Isekai, but I couldn’t finish it. I didn’t even get halfway. I found it dreadfully boring. The hero has no personality, nor does he seem to do anything of note.
