We’re only one week into the new season, but we already have our first invaluable life lesson.
I did a lot of first impressions, so this week’s post is a little paltry. But we’ll be back to normal next week.
Farming Life in Another World S2 Ep. 1
I’m pretty sure I watched the first season (because it was dubbed), but I barely remember any of the characters or what they were up to. But does it matter with a show like this? They’re all the same, right? Office worker dies then becomes an overpowered fantasy hero. He then marries like a gajillion girls and fucks for days. No, literally. This is how the MC is described on the Wikipedia entry for this show:
“Though this is partly due to his wives fearing his stamina thanks to his blessed body; even though Ru and Tia are supernatural, he tires them out.”
Aren’t you embarrassed to write a character like this? I mean, just look at this nonsense:
Yeah, I spoiled myself. Oh no, I know who the main character of Generic Ass Isekai 9000 is gonna bang~! The story is ruined now!!! But fine, let’s be “fair and balanced,” as they say. I should therefore mention at least one good not morally depraved thing about our protagonist. So guess what? At least he isn’t a lolicon:
[Ru] size changes with her magic power reserves (which she can recharge by drinking blood); though she willingly stays a loli to deter her husband’s massive libido.
Woo, the isekai protagonist is not as bad as billionaires and elected officials!
Anyways, should I talk about the latest episode? I should talk about the latest episode. The town is too small, so they build a second town. More people move in. The end.
Gals Can’t Be Kind to Otaku!? Ep 1
Normally, I do a first impressions post for new shows, but I don’t think this anime is unique enough to warrant it. Right from the start, the main character Takuya is already off-putting, because he outright declares that he can’t stand two of his classmates. He doesn’t even know them. Like fine, you’re a social outcast, but you can at least be nice to people until they’ve actually done something bad. Near the end of the episode, after one of the gals has already shown that she has no problems making small talk with him, Takuya still assumes that she’s going to mock him in front of the entire class. Over what? Not having his textbook? Why? What is wrong with this guy? And no, don’t trot out the same, tired “muh social trauma” excuse. If you don’t want people to judge all otaku by a few bad apples, then you shouldn’t do the same to them. Can gals be kind to otaku? Let’s flip the question on its head: can otaku be kind to people who don’t exactly cater to their niche interests? I’m honestly not sure that this guy could.
Other than that, it’s yet another nerd x gyuru show. Insecure boy is mind blown at the idea that we shouldn’t judge people by their appearances. But let’s not forget to emphasize how hot these girls are — hot enough to be a model! Ain’t no way you can be friends with a mediocre-looking gyuru! There just happens to be more than one gyaru this time around. I enjoyed My Dress-Up Darling, so what’s so wrong with this one? To be honest, if I only had the first two episodes of MDUD to work with, I wouldn’t have liked the show very much either. It took a while before I warmed up to Wakana and Marin’s dynamic. And so far, Takuya is way, way less charming that Wakana. The same can be said about the girls and Marin. They feel flat by comparison, and I’m not talking about their measurements. But sure, I gave MDUD several episodes to sink its claws in, so I guess I should do the same here.
Always a Catch! Ep. 2
After last week’s misunderstanding, it’s time for our heroine to make nice with the crown prince. Hell, Mimi’s so nice to him that he literally proposes to her by the end of the episode. So how do you bag yourself a prince? Easy. Just treat him like a child with no object permanence. As an added bonus, Mimi gets half a steak. Seriously, where’s the rest of it?
What about Aida, you ask? I mean, it’s obvious that she and the little brother have a thing. Renato was trying to be considerate of his brother all along.
At some point, the mean girl hires people to kidnap Mimi. Renato is investigating her father for corruption, so her brilliant idea is to commit even more crimes. Like father, like daughter, I guess. Well, as you might have already expected, the heroine who knows martial arts proceeds to save herself. Sadly, this sequence is poorly animated.
Even though he literally did nothing but show up at the last second, Renato tries to turn on the charm. But Mimi wasn’t scared? From what I can tell, she didn’t panic or even look worried. Nevertheless, our heroine starts tearing up. I guess she’s one of those anime tomboys who yearns to be treated like a girly girl. Groan.
Anyway, it’s kinda messed up how quickly Renato is moving. Sure, I like it when the main couple gets together early on, but I’m talking about going on dates and stuff. Not freakin’ marriage. Is this guy really fit to be king?
Go for It, Nakamura! Ep. 3
Oof, Nakamura somehow manages to charm the resident fujoshi. Granted, some people have little to no experience, so they fall for the first person who is nice to them. All he did, however, was say that he was a fan of her sketches, particularly of Hirose.
We then get the classic “stuck in the gym storage room” scenario, except it’s with all three characters: Hirose, who is clueless about Nakamura, who is clueless about Kawamura. In the end, however, it seems like she finally catches on when she (and the PE teacher) catches Nakamura being creepy with the sleeping Hirose. Her first crush might be over, but hey, at least she’ll have a new ship?
Agents of the Four Seasons: Dance of Spring Ep. 2
I don’t like the way Sakura keeps asking Hinagiku if the latter is ready for the SadnessTM. Why? Because it’s the show emotionally priming the audience. Are you prepared to cry? Well, are ya?! ‘Cause it’s gonna get so sad up in here! I’m reminded of how Dark Souls 2 started out with the old crones telling the player over and over that they will die a lot over the course of the game. It’s trying to hype itself up, which is so corny to me. I feel the same way here. Just tell a good story. It’s a beautifully animated anime, but the plot is so preoccupied with tugging our heartstrings to the point that it feels inorganic. We’re not actually saying anything. We’re just crying to cry.
This week, the point of view switches over to Rosei, the agent of winter. He spends much of this episode mentally torturing himself over what happened ten years ago. Back then, he thought he could spare Hinagiku from being kidnapped by killing himself. As a result, she sacrificed herself to prevent him from dying. Round and round we go. Okay, but she’s back now, right? So just go see her? Well, no, he can’t because… because… um, the powers that be won’t allow him to! And Sakura, Hinagiku’s guard, still blames him for Hinagiku being kidnapped! She hates them even more because the winter people abandoned the search. And and and… just all sorts of excuses to justify the nonstop emotional wailing. It’s overwrought. It’s the “will they, won’t they” situation made worse by the fact that these characters can’t or won’t communicate and thus resolve their misunderstandings. Too much crying, not enough problem-solving. And look, I appreciate a good cry every now and then in order to help reset our emotions. But then you gotta come up with a plan going forward. What’s the plan, Rosei? What are you gonna do, Rosei? But we don’t get a plan. We just get more pointless flapping about, because staring wistfully at the beautiful landscape is… art or whatever.
The strongest job is apparently not a hero or a sage, but an appraiser (provisional)! Ep. 2
Emalia sells the crystal horn for 700 gold coins (this is a lot, apparently), then her boobs pop out. You’re supposed to use that trick before haggling. She then rushes home due to an unspecified emergency.
In the meantime, Hibiki gains the medical skill. I would never think to associate an appraiser with powerful healing magic, but sure, go on. All of a sudden, an adventurer is conveniently knocking on death’s door, thereby allowing Hibiki to flex his newly acquired skills. He then gets told that he needs to hire a bodyguard, because his healing prowess will make him quite exploitable. Uh-huh. As I watch yet another overpowered isekai MC awaken to his abilities, I can’t help but wonder if there’s even a point to traditional jobs anymore. Why be a warrior or a wizard? These bread-and-butter fantasy jobs just plain suck by comparison.
Everything else about everything else:
I can’t feasibly watch every single show this season, so here’s a bunch of show that I am more than happy to cut:
- I watched another episode of the gluttonous maid. What is there to say about her eating mint chocolate ice cream? Or brewing a pot of tea? Or eating melonpan? So yeah, it’s dropped.
- I saw a thirteenth episode of The Dark History of the Reincarnated Villainess pop up on Crunchyroll, but it was just an OVA. A rather poorly animated OVA, too. Was it always this ugly? The first half is all about Yomi, whom I hated. The second half had more Iana x Sol moments, but in the end, her fujoshi nature took over. I honestly can’t say that I miss this show. May a second season never find me.
- I briefly considered following Ascendance of a Bookworm, but I saw some spoilers regarding the main character’s eventual romantic fate. I’m sure it’s technically not problematic due to x, y, and z reasons that will take paragraphs upon paragraphs to explain. Nevertheless, I just don’t care enough about Ascendance of a Bookworm to wade into that quagmire. By the way, this sort of thing is what I was referring to in my Witch Hat Atelier post.
- My Ribdiculous Reincarnation is sadly not my jam. Sure, it’s meta, and I do like the quirky art style. But I was kinda hoping it would make me laugh. At the very least, the anime should be so ridiculous that I can’t look away from it. Unfortunately, the whole hero’s rib thing was just pretty meh. His next life as a hermit crab doesn’t sound like it’ll be much better.
- I tried to give the new season of that vending machine isekai a shot, but after the first episode, I felt like I had nothing to say about the characters or the journey they’re on. I realized that I just don’t care about any of them. The only notable thing I saw was the gang finding a living girl in a giant clam. Other than that, it felt like a slice-of-life episode.
- I’m pretty sure I watched the first season of The Most Heretical Last Boss Queen, but somehow, nothing about the first episode felt familiar to me. Also, it had that problem where none of the side characters seemed to exist independently of the main character. When we cut away from Pride, everyone else just kept talking about her anyway. No one had any thought or concern that wasn’t related to Pride in some form or fashion. It was ridiculous.
