It’s kinda hard to describe Botan Kamiina Fully Blossoms When Drunk, because nothing really happens. So far, we have three characters. Ibuki, the resident adviser, drinks alone because she always hiccups. Anime is dramatic as all hell, so we get a glimpse of a bad experience she had said hiccups. Sigh. Luckily, she soon meets a kindred spirit in Botan, who burps if she consumes any carbonated drink. Somehow, this makes Ibuki comfortable enough to drink with her. Then we have Kanade, who’s a bit jealous that Ibuki is willing to drink with someone else and not her. Sounds like she has feelings for Ibuki. And… that’s it. There really isn’t much to the show at all.
In the land of-… whoa, three moons? Man, the tides must suck. Anyway, in this land, the noblewoman Serafina attempts to lead an army eastward in order to claim fertile territory from the barbarians. Thus begins the first episode of The Barbarian’s Bride. Basically, it’s an invasion; the barbarians have every right to defend their home. In Sera’s mind, however, this is her kingdom’s only solution to the famine that ails her people. To nobody’s surprise, the rest of the nobility are gleefully fattening their coinpurses, because war is profitable. It’s familiar if unoriginal world-building. The people starve while the fat cats party and feast (actual cats not invited). The people could probably survive this famine if the rich weren’t hoarding all the resources. Oh yeah, they’re also misogynistic! Have we painted a clear enough picture yet? Has this completely one-sided portrayal of the noblewoman’s kingdom convinced you that they deserve to be hated? Unfortunately, Sera’s hands aren’t exactly clean either. Look, I get the logic. Even if she knows that most of the spoils will end up in the ruling class’s coffers, the riches will surely “trickle down” and save the people. It will, right? It must! And thus she fights to maintain the status quo, because she sees no other option. But again, this is an invasion. She’s hoping to steal from others — others that she has deemed “barbaric.” Why is it okay in her mind to take from them? Because she’s racist.
So often, I watch anime where the main characters are children, because that’s just the nature of the beast. Anime caters to a younger audience, so the protagonists tend to skew on the younger side of the age spectrum. Just to mix things up, however, let’s watch a couple of shows starring adults — working adults with responsibilities.
First up is The Klutzy Class Monitor and the Girl with the Short Skirt. Maybe you watched a certain show last season and thought to yourself, Y’know, I kinda like polar opposites! I want more of that! Well, Togo and Poem (yeah, that’s her name) are kinda like polar opposites, but in the least interesting way possible. The girl is your old school tsundere. All you gotta do is compliment her, and she’ll melt in your hands like chocolate. Unfortunately, she also gets very, very violent. Oh man, it’s so funny when the girl socks her love interest in the stomach. Peak 90s or 00s romcom antics! But in all seriousness, there isn’t much else to say about Poem. Uh… I guess she’s decent at math?
When I first read the synopsis for Ghost Concert – missing songs, I thought we were getting some sort of anime Footloose:
In 2045, when singing is forbidden, a high school girl hears the ghostly voice that possesses her and grants great power.
You can still have music. You just have to let AI create a song for you. You’re not allowed to sing or compose music yourself. So when the episode kicked off with an idol concert, I figured I could go for the low-hanging fruit: if you’re going to lambast generative AI, please try and come up with something a little more substantive than idol slop. But no, Ghost Concert isn’t that simple. In fact, Ghost Concert seemingly wants to be everything and anything all at once.
