Anime ATM 108 My Next Life as a Villainess: All Routes Lead to Doom!

Fun fact, the manga this anime was based on was my introduction into the subgenre of shoujo/josei isekai. This was either the first or one of the first plots I discovered with this sort of concept and I fell in love. That's why when I heard it was going to be adapted into an anime I was super excited. In fact, when I saw that it was airing during finals week, I was super tempted to watch it and forget all about my obligations, but I refrained. Instead I watched lots of clips on Youtube that people were posting. Honestly, that was both a good and bad decision. Good because I didn't just binge watch all of the episodes that were currently out and sacrifice my grades. Bad because lots of those clips just featured the highlights of the episodes and since I've already read the manga which covers everything in the anime so far, nothing was super novel. It was really nice to see all of the characters brought to life.

Overall, it was a pretty good adaptation. It's definitely got that otome game, shoujo sparkle flair to it. And if you turn your brain off of all the cringy parts or the fact that some of the lines in the show are just so that everyone gets a line in a scene or just so that nothing is ambiguous, it's a really nice show. But some parts are a little bit too self-explanatory or it's just to give a certain character more screen time. Also, since they're otome game characters, their backstories pretty much follow the cookie cutter otome game character's background story and character so there's no real surprises. What I'm saying is that it was a really nice and cutesy show, but there was no real spice. And as I was watching, i realized that you know what? It's okay to not be super over the top and have all these crazy subplots going on. Especially since the whole concept itself of an otaku girl being reincarnated into a game as the villainess instead of the heroine is pretty unexpected. That paired with the fact that Katarina is seriously Disney princess material; she's super kind, hardworking, pretty, ditsy to a fault, loyal, courageous and almost any other naturally attractive quality, makes it enjoyable to watch in and of itself.

Also, I should mention I watched 9 episodes in one day and then finished it off in the next day. It was that addictive. Honestly speaking I think the first episode was the best, but I think it was the best just because I had been anticipating watching it for so long. It's like when you're super hungry so your food tastes extra good, not necessarily because the food itself is out of this world. This isn't to take away anything at all from the anime. The concept of it is amazing. It's great sometimes to take a step away from this world and escape for a little while; especially with the state of the world today. It was nice to take a break from job searching. It's getting kind of exhausting trying to sell myself.

Second favorite episode might be episode 6 which was all about summer break. LOL even though I complain so much about things not having a plot, somehow I really liked that episode. But they're all good in their own way of course. Just some wholesome show with an accidental reverse harem :')

Anime ATM 107 Wotakoi: Love is Hard for Otaku

This actually aired back in the day, but I didn't watch it because I was satisfied with the manga. But then I saw a really cute clip on IG of Hirotaka and Narumi and decided to watch it haha. The power of suggestion. After watching it, all I am is more bitter and still single. Oh well. But it definitely made me feel all warm and fuzzy inside while watching it. 

I've definitely seen some really nice Youtube videos reviewing this anime and talking about how it portrays adult life and mature working adult people romance well. I can neither confirm nor deny this claim as I am a 20 year old child that passes as an adult on a good day. But what I can say is that it's not a super showy shoujo sparkles kind of romance. And it's not the kind of romance with lines that would be really cringy if someone were to say it to you in real life but is somehow passable in manga format. You know what I'm talking about. It falls in a happy place that feels realistic and genuine. 

If you've ever wondered what your life might be like as an adult otaku, this show might be a glimpse into the future you's life. The show features different kinds of otaku: games, BL, and shoujo mainly. It focuses on four main coworkers that all secretly happen to be otaku. Well, it's not necessarily secret, just not a well-known fact. There's two main couples, and both are really really cute. The dynamics of Hanako and Kabakura's relationship is kinda like an old married couple in a way, but there's also an interesting gap dynamic going on with Hanako highkey wearing the pants in this relationship and Kabakura the shoujo otaku. While Narumi and Hirotaka kinda felt like the main couple to me, especially with the whole childhood friends thing going on, definitely don't forget about Hanako and Kabakura; they're really sweet. 

It follows their daily lives as office workers during the day and otaku during nights and weekends. But it also shows them doing "normal people" kinds of things. LOL idk how else to say it. I definitely don't mean to box people into certain labels, but there's definitely a variety of dates and hangout activities they do, both otaku and non-otaku-centric. For example, they go to the amusement park on dates, but they also go to the summer Comiket and buy doujins together. That kind of thing. There's definitely lots of fun little side stories and just wholesome get-togethers and hangouts. They live the sort of ideal adult life I think a lot of us wish we will have in the future. Obviously it glamorizes work and adulting and everything like that, but I'm hopeful adult life is actually like that *wheeze*

Overall, it's a really sweet romcom slice of life to enjoy. It gives you something to aspire towards as you become an adult. It also might make you bittter that you don't have this super cute relationship, but hopefully watching this could satisfy that desire for human contact while we continue to shelter in place. It's just really really nice to watch all of these cute and fluffy moments and indulge in this life that's different from your own. Ah, I love escapism. 

Anime ATM 106 Asobi Asobase

Truthfully I got really lazy and almost forgot I watched this show altogether. Good thing it's the first thing that pops up on my "Plan to Watch" list on MAL. 

Nowadays what gets me to watch anime/read manga is when clips or screengrabs are recommended to me on IG or Youtube. Otherwise I haven't really been watching much LOL I'm always too distracted by Animal Crossing or job searching. Very sad. Oh, also I've graduated from college so theoretically I should have more time to watch anime, but that hasn't been the case so far. I think I've just been really anxious over adult things like the looming start of paying back college loans and the fact that there aren't a lot of jobs I'm qualified to do. But I'm sure things will work out eventually. 

Asobi Asobase is definitely a breath of fresh air and a nice escape from the everyday troubles of life. The humor is pretty ridiculous. It's kind of like Nichijou on crack. But also kind of scary. It follows a main trio of girls: Hanako, Olivia, and Kasumi. They're part of the Pastime Club which isn't really a club because they don't have enough people, but they have fun together doing things like kendama or playing in a kiddie pool inside. There's a lot of inhuman screaming that goes on, mostly from Hanako and a lot of the times I found myself turning off my brain just to watch. Not in a bad way, but just in a "it's necessary to suspend your belief and knowledge of reality" in order to really enjoy this show. At least, that's what I felt when I started watching. I'm definitely not confident in saying anything beyond that this is a comedy anime of middle school girls doing interesting things. 

If you like really strange humor and you enjoy slice of life antics where there's no real plot, but just lots of crackhead behaviors exhibited, this would be a good anime for you. Maybe don't watch it out loud though, someone might be really disturbed by Hanako's inhuman screams. 

Anime ATM 105 Toilet-bound Hanako-kun

I think this is the closest I'll ever get to watching something relatively recent. I might start the reboot of Fruits Basket so we'll see, but for now this is a true statement. Honestly the reason I started this was because I was scrolling through the IG Discover page and saw a set of screenshots from the anime. They looked really interesting so I thought I'd give it a go. And it was a roller coaster honestly. Also a good reminder of how good anime with a plot is. The mystery kept me going and really I watched all of it in three days, which is pretty good considering all the work I had for the week teehee~ Maybe I should recommend my little sister to watch this one. She's gotten pretty interested in anime as of late; during her spring break she binged watched a whole like like Kaichou wa Maid sama, Haikyuu (S1 and S2), Promised Neverland, and she's watching Anohana right now. Although she keeps telling me Anohana isn't interesting smh.

{Spoilers because there's a plot}

So, for those of you who don't know, Toilet-bound Hanako-kun is a supernatural story that takes place in a school that's both a junior high and high school I guess. There's rumors about the Seven (Apparition) Wonders of the school floating around. Our main heroine Yashiro Nene seeks out the seventh wonder Hanako to ask for her wish to be granted. However, Hanako refuses to grant her wish in the quick-magic sense so she takes drastic measures which in the end have her end up as Hanako's assistant. From there she's enlisted to clean the bathroom Hanako inhabits and help him spread rumors to keep the other wonders alive. All of the wonders seem pretty scary, but most of them are nice or at least the story is written in such a way that even if they're temporarily scary, there's still a little bit of comedy thrown in there to make it less scary. A favorite on-going joke is Nene's legs which apparently resemble daikon or the fact that she's not popular with boys. It's an endearing narrative overall that switches between a comedy and mystery all under the umbrella of the overarching supernatural yokai theme that goes on. There's lots of likable characters that they meet along the way like Tsuchigomori and Yako (aka kitsune udon lol).

The third MC is also endearing in his own way: Minamoto Kou. He's the second son of a long line of exorcists, but he's still learning his way and lives in the shadow of his older brother Teru. But he's a really pure and nice kid who's trying his best to figure out if exorcising spirits is the right thing to do in every situation. You could go as far as to say it's a bit like an allegory for the US prison system. Perhaps we shouldn't just throw everyone in jail for any crime and instead have a reformative system rather than a punitive one. Or perhaps I'm just reading too much into this after watching the new Maleficent movie and trying to analyze why they thought it was a good idea to make this second one. Who knows?

There's also this underlying mystery of Hanako that's explored throughout the story. But we never find out the whole truth which is both disappointing, but also appropriate for the pacing of the story I feel. If we were to find out in these brief 12 episodes, it'd feel a little bit like cheating. I hope that this series becomes really popular and we can get another season. I really enjoyed the gothic lolita vibes that the show gave off. It was a great balance and juxtaposition of a spooky supernatural but also a cuteness to it that made it easy and enjoyable for a scaredy cat like me to watch.

Overall, it was an excellent watch. It was comical, engaging, entertaining, and mysterious all packaged into one that kept me watching and wondering. I hope that more people could watch this and enjoy such beautiful art. I mean even just looking at Nene and how cute she is, she almost gives the show a shoujo vibe. But most definitely if you like yokai shows, I think you would really enjoy this one and its format which is reminiscent of other shows I've watched similar to this in the "problem--->solution" in each episode with overarching mysteries spread throughout to give a variation in pace. It was so jam-packed actually that at some points I wanted a filler arc of just our three MCs having fun at a school festival or something like that. I didn't get that, but I really craved it. I guess it's my slice of life side coming out. Watch for some good mystery and strange humor :')

Anime ATM 104 Akatsuki no Yona (Season 1)

WOW! Okay a little backstory, a while ago, and by a while ago I'm pretty sure like 2 or 3 years ago, S recommended that I watch Akatsuki no Yona. I was like "Oh yeah I'll get around to it eventually" but obviously I haven't did until now. And that was a mistake. Akatsuki no Yona is SO GOOD. I'm so happy I started it, even though I did so in the middle of quarantine and in the middle/tail end of midterms season, but it's alright. Also, I was inspired to start this because I saw some random anime account that posted a series of screenshots of Hak and...I fell in love. Haha. It's only kind of a joke.

It's been so long since I've watched an anime with plot. Okay I did watch Boku no Hero Academia. And yes that does have a plot. But there was something about the pacing of this anime that really gelled with me. Each arc was around 4-ish episodes and it felt really satisfying to see Yona grow and her cohort of fellow OP characters. I think that's what I've been doing wrong all along really. I kept relegating myself to just fluffy shoujo stuff thinking that that's what I really enjoy. But actually, having gone back to something with plot was so refreshing and I binged 9 episodes in one day. That's how good it was.

Anyways, this is a pretty old anime; it came out in 2014. So, there's probably lots of good reviews out there, but let me just glorify it further.

{Spoilers!}

A basic synopsis would be there's this princess named Yona in Kouka Kingdom that lives a really privileged and pampered life. She thinks her life is super great, she's about to turn 16 and her father is a great, if a little softhearted king, not believing in war or weapons. This anti-violence agenda irks some of the kingdom and leads to Yona's childhood friend Su-won leading a coup to murder Yona's father. The king dies and Yona was next, but she escaped with her bodyguard and other childhood friend Hak.

From then on, Hak and Yona end up as travelers around Kouka Kingdom under instruction by Ik-su, a priest who can communicate with God to find the four dragons from the creation myth of Kouka Kingdom. There's different arcs that follow their happening upon each of the dragons and the adventures that they have together. That's a super cheesy description, but in the most simple terms that's what happens.

I think what I found most engaging about the whole thing was the fact that the pacing was really nice. It was the right proportion of action happening while also character development and interpersonal relationship building. For example, when you think about Shinha and his sub-arc, there's a little bit of everything. You've got this little kid that just wants to make friends, but has been shunned because of rumors about his powers causing people to be paralyzed and then his mentor dies after becoming blind (oml when he put the bells on his mask so Ao would know where he was) there was a lot of heavy stuff going on there. But there was also this relationship built between him and Yona as the two are able to find support in one another as Yona is able to bring him into the light and Shinha offers her comfort and strength. In the same vein, all of the dragons in their own way lend their strength to Yona after realizing the benefits that it gives each of them and the bond that ties them altogether.

It was a nice touch too to have each of the dragons come from four incredibly different backgrounds. It gave diversity beyond just them having four different powers, but also delved deeper into how each dragon trait would be accepted by people and how each of their backstories led to them leading four different lives. Still they all converged and are on this shared quest with Yona and Hak.

It was really heartwarming as well to see how the group is growing in terms of numbers but also in terms of character development. It wasn't just an instant connection between them or Yona not doing anything to prove herself, there was a mix of everyone doing their part to better themselves.

I'm still not really sure how I feel about Su-won. I think from a purely political standpoint, he might be good for the kingdom. The sub-arc where he goes to the Earth Tribe and hypes up the Earth General was super smart. He bolstered the tribe's morale, strengthened its economy and inter-kingdom trade, and sized up the Earth General's willingness to side with him. Su-won is super clever which both I respect and am intimidated by.

However, just from the first season I feel like it could end up where the four dragons and Hak help Yona rule the kingdom as the ending shows a table with multiple chairs around it instead of a throne. I feel like that could indicate her success, but if she does succeed it'll be bittersweet. But of course it would also be revenge and justice for the late king that was killed for his anti-violence agenda. However, Yona's travels through the kingdom and different tribes is showing that the late king's policies were rather neglectful. There's many hard truths to swallow in the show and I think different people could have different takeaways, but regardless I think this show is wonderful.

Please don't put it off for years like me before watching it. I highly recommend it. I'm a fan of the characters, their growth, the story's pacing, and the weird sort of OP/ED music style between the first 12 episodes and the last 12. Go check out the anime if you haven't already to know what I'm talking about.

P.S. As you can see, I've run out of scheduled content really so I'll just be posting whenever I get the chance. Unfortunately, this blog is no longer my priority, but it is my hobby! So I'll keep updating it of course whenever I do finish something. Until then, take care!

Manga Match 100 The Memorandum of Kyouko Okitegami

I think after I introduced V to the last manga (Manga Match 99) he felt like he had to one up me so he gave me this one. I was a little bit skeptical to be honest, especially after he dubbed Kyouko as "waifu material" which is kinda gross. But I decided to pick it up anyways and ended up really liking it. Some parts were a little bit scary, and it has to do a lot with murder mysteries which I'm not really good with, but it did stimulate my brain and was a really well-written mystery manga. The only thing is, don't be deceived. Even though it says that the manga is finished, really it's only volume one so the bigger overarching questions have yet to be addressed which upset me. I thought I would find out who wrote on her wall and the origins behind the Forgetful Detective by the end but I didn't!

The story revolves around this very unfortunate man that always gets accused for things he hasn't done or otherwise gets caught up in rather unfortunate happenings named Kakushidate Yakusuke. He often hires this detective named Kyouko Okitegami to help him solve his problems. She's very good at her job, but she can't take any long-term job that would take more than a day to solve because once she falls asleep her memory resets to when she was around 17 years old. This in itself is a frustrating mystery. I wish I knew why this happened to her.

Almost every episode is a different mystery case that Kyouko has been hired to solve with a pretty regular format that all mysteries go through, just at a heightened pace because of Kyouko's time limit. It's a regular shtick for her to talk about getting paid; we stan a ruthless businesswoman. There's definitely a lot to say about each of the cases that she solved, but I think to go into each one would kind of take away from the whole magic that the story evokes. So I'll leave it at that, but wow mysteries are truly addicting to read. I actually skipped my section to stay in bed and read this manga; that's how good it was. 

Manga Match 99 Tonari wa Nani wo Kuu Hito zo

Truthfully, this manga has been repeatedly recommended to me on the MangaRock app, but it never appealed to me. The premise of a girl relying on her neighbor's cooking didn't really interest me. But, I started to run out of interesting things to read so I thought I'd give this a shot. Plot twist: it turned out to be really good. There's definitely a time and place for manga that're like 4 chapters long or manga that's over 100 chapters long, but this one with 14 chapters hits the sweet spot of it could take you two days to get through of you could binge it in one. And I was just in the mood for that kinda thing. So this came at a perfect time really.

{Spoilers, but it's shoujo/SoL so don't worry}

Suzuna has lived her whole adolescent life up until this point without friends in some farming town. After living like this, she realizes that it's time to make her college debut so she works really hard and moves to Tokyo for college for her new exciting life to start. Except she never learned how to cook or actually take care of herself, so if her next-door neighbor hadn't checked up on her she probably would've died. Thank god for Seto. He's Suzuna's next-door neighbor and happens to be in the same department and year as her. He helps her learn how to cook in exchange for some of the fresh produce her parents send her from their farm. It's a very domestic manga with lots of cooking montages and SoL arcs like club circle activities, sakura picnic-going, and a vacation in a rich friend's house. And of course there so happens to bloom a very cute and subtle love between Suzuna and Seto. It was an especially satisfactory romance to watch since at the beginning Seto was set on Suzuna not being his type and Suzuna seeing him as more of a teacher than love interest, though slowly and sure things started to change and it was really cute. Especially as Suzuna started to show more interest in him and he kept giving her really non-romantic things like the edamame plant for her birthday and soy sauce as a white gift. Is this what they call gap moe? Not sure.

Overall, a really solid short read. You might learn some cooking tips as well! So this is an educational read you could say :) And I would recommend it since it's a pretty natural progression of their romance and a good slice of life to get you feeling kinda nostalgic/anticipatory about college (depending on how old you are).