Anime ATM 74 Kono Subarashii Sekai ni Shukufuku wo! 2

I binged this in one day because I hate myself. Or maybe it's just because I have no self-control. Or maybe it's because it's a three day weekend before the quarter/death starts. Who really knows?

{Spoilers, maybe}

Honestly this season was just more of the same. There wasn't a lot of character development, if any development at all. It was just more jokes and unfortunate adventures driven by money. But then again this is a parody series on actual adventure anime, so it does serve its purpose. Anything I could say about season 2 is the same as season 1 so if you're curious about my opinion just check that one out.

One additional thing I'd like to note is that this series is definitely aimed towards the stereotypical male population. I think this demographic would disagree with me on how it was lacking in anything different than a continuation of the first season or how this is how a series like this should go, but in general I wasn't blown away by anything. There was a nice little story-like OP and a soothing ED again which I appreciated. There were different arcs and bosses, but overall it really was the same thing again.

And cults really scare me. If you've read the webtoon Lookism you'd understand.

Anyways, this is a good show to binge because the two seasons together are only 20 episodes, less than some shows are for an entire season. It's an incredibly light watch and really easy to digest. If you're looking for something funny and lowkey ecchi this is the show for you I guess? Ah, also it's not a harem anime like I originally thought it was going to be.

Star Wars?

Wow that's me during the winter. Bundled up and hidden away from my problems.

When all your friends haven't seen you in a while and are reminded again of how stupid you are :)

When you mess up once and everyone blames you for it :(

OMF his face when Aqua makes him tea

Also Yunyun is such a pure girl. Honestly all the crimson demons are my favorite with their ridiculous antics and weird names.

Anime ATM 73 Kono Subarashii Sekai ni Shukufuku wo! (KonoSuba)

These past couple of days I've been eating, drinking, and binging with abandon. I've been eating a lot of candy, drinking a lot of water, and binging a lot of anime.

After finishing Blend S I was feeling a little empty inside and I asked V what I should watch next. His recommendations lately have been between KonoSuba and Gabriel Dropout. I've yet to watch Gabriel Dropout, but something about the 10 episode season of KonoSuba made it appealing. And so I binged it all. In one day. Healthy. I swear I'll start actually going to the gym sometime soon.

Note: I'm writing this at night after I went out to eat KBBQ with my friends, so I can't really think straight, but I like writing reviews right after I finish the series so all my thoughts on the series are still in my head. I'd rather pour it all out into one post rather than risk losing a part of my train of thought.

{Spoilers, I guess?}

First of all, this isn't your typical fantasy adventure anime. So don't expect it to be super serious and have all these arcs and super cool bosses. This is mostly about our unfortunate main character and his comedically sad life. Natsuki Subaru

*cough* I mean Kazuma is your average NEET and otaku.

Well he's normal until he dies and decides to take a goddess with him to a parallel world to defeat the demon king and save the world. Or something. It turns out that Aqua isn't the brightest and she's mostly the reason for Kazuma's suffering and their chronic debt. With Aqua the occasionally useful goddess, Megumin the good for one time use explosion arch wizard, Darkness the masochistic and clumsy knight, and Kazuma the average dude, they make up a pretty motley crew. Their dysfunctional dynamic makes it more interesting to watch because they're not given per-say a way to easily finish the game. Heck, they never even make it to the demon king in these 10 episodes.

This is more of a "just for fun and laughs" kind of anime rather than a serious adventure anime. Sure it has its moments like when Kazuma dies for the second time and almost leaves the parallel world for a nice life reincarnated in Japan, but instead decides to stay with all of them in the parallel world. That fond loyalty and the fact that sometimes they do really cool stuff like defeat one of the demon king's generals keeps it from completely being a gag anime, but let's be honest, it still kind of is a gag anime.

I wouldn't recommend you watch this in a public place. Without context a lot of parts, especially when Kazuma learns the steal skill or like any scene with Darkness is high risk. And definitely don't let anyone see you watching episode 9. That's NSFW.

Overall I'd say it's a pretty light watch. It's honestly like a slice of life comedy, just in an adventure format. So it's a pretty good transition series if you're looking to branch out into different genres. It's also very addicting because they all link together in this kind of series of unfortunate events as they keep getting money and accumulating debt. Ah and the ED really heals my soul. It's a really good ED. The OP is pretty good too, but the ED is very pure. 

They've got some really nice spell sequences in here. They're really aesthetic. One day I think it'd be cool to learn how to make GIFs so I could show you in all their glory.

Is that a Chuunibyou reference? Like the eyepatch :o

The truth hurts too much Aqua T^T

His response to all his party members calling his name is so cute

I just love how this anime doesn't take itself too seriously. Like they could've made the end really dramatic and meaningful or something, but instead they put this epic battle sprinkled with sardonic humor. Like this deadpan humor killed me. It was just a really well executed anime overall and something I hadn't seen before. Maybe it's because I'm not too into RPGs or adventure type anime in general (like the classics I haven't even watched because there's just too many episodes and I'm overwhelmed by the sheer amount), but I thought this was a really original show and I can't wait to watch season 2!

Anime ATM 72 Blend S

SMILE SWEET SISTER SADISTIC SURPRISE SERVICE WE ARE STILE!

Okay if you live anywhere on the Internet I'm sure you've heard that now iconic opening from the poppin' (relatively) new slice of life that's got all the kids talking. Or rather, I've had a few conversations with people and either discussed it with them or introduced it to them. I really like how university life is really open to all different kinds of interests including the animus ofc~

If we're being honest here I binged this in less than 24 hours. Like I fell asleep watching it and the next morning picked it up until I had finished it. Don't worry, this doesn't happen all the time, it was just a kind of "treat myself after finals" thing. And also I had this on my to watch list because I tried to be responsible during the quarter. *stares off into the distance thinking about how many 10 minute Youtube videos I watched instead of doing hw or watching anime ahahah*

I just realized as I schedule this that it lands on Valentines Day! For those of you with a special someone, make sure to, I dunno, buy them chocolate? And for you single people, just know that you're beautiful and Mafuyu endorses the single life anyways.

{What are spoilers in slice of life?}

Truly I meant to watch another genre besides slice of life but clearly that didn't happen.

From pictures or clips you might think this is just another fan service laden series with nothing much to offer except cute girls and overused gag jokes, but what you'll find here is a wide variety of different girls and a staff that interacts with one another in such a hilarious dynamic you won't even realize you're laughing until you can't breathe. Or maybe that was just my experience. (But in my defense my friend E who I introduced the anime to found it super addicting to watch as well.) There's just something about all of them and how relatable and awkward they are that makes it really easy to relate to them and their purity just touches my soul. Well purity excluding Miu.

What sets this apart from some of the other perhaps maid anime or slice of life in general is how quirky the characters are. For instance there's a nice representation of the otaku community and people that aren't super outdoorsy. They like to stay inside and watch anime late into the night or engross themselves in video games without reprieve. There's something comforting about seeing people like the manager that watches anime super late into the night or are just really into any hobby they have. Although I do have to say I can't really agree with the whole watching anime live thing; personally I enjoy binging it all at once.

Besides the representation of my kinda people, eheheh, there's also some hobbies or characteristics of people that I haven't seen before that really fascinated me. Maika's character in particular caught my eye as being something super unique. Sure you've seen the faux-gangster that appears scary but is actually really nice, but that whole trope of mistaken demeanor paired with her ability to be accidentally sadistic and her obsession with foreign places all together make her a really fun character. When Maika and the manager were talking about how Maika originally became interested in foreign countries and how her first love was the KFC man statue I died laughing. Her ditsy yet hardworking attitude make her completely irresistible.

The cafe itself fostered some interesting interactions that I found equally entertaining. Like how Mafuyu rejected the guy by saying that her mom hadn't given her a phone yet so she didn't know what a talk app was.

While that was funny I'd have to say that there was a considerable amount of rationale as well as commentary on the types of people that work in a niche character cafe like that. I guess people tend to forget that those people are also playing a role and so that might not be who they really are, or at least not their full personality. And Mafuyu, being the practical and level-headed girl she is, didn't lose sight of that when the guy confessed to her. And even when she was thinking about it later, she realizes that she doesn't need a guy or a relationship, that those just take up her time and distract her from her hobbies anyways. And while it's not the shoujo manga, overly romanticized approach, I think it's a really admirable way to look at life all the same. I think the way that it's phrased makes it more of a comedic thing, but maybe we really don't need to think about things like romance or relationships all the time, but instead cherish the free time that we have and take time to love ourselves.

Just in general Mafuyu is the most solid and big sister character of them all. She helped Kano with her makeup test and even changed her schedule for her. And when she was paired with Maika she had a real talk with her about not being too humble and letting herself get stepped on in the real world. This girl doesn't mince words and she's honestly the best character in my opinion. 

Something else that's really nice is how it sticks to the slice of life genre and just sprinkles in the romance. Like if you took away the romance it would still be a solid show that would still be enjoyable. For example the dynamic between the manager and Maika is super cute, especially with the manager being the dork he is with his terrible timing and awkward phrasing and Maika being the adorable and pure girl she is, sprinkled with a little spice with her accidental sadistic manner, leaves anyone watching with a grin. Because you just can't help rooting for their weird relationship because they just seem to get along so well. Albeit you do have to overlook the age gap and whatnot, but if you don't think to hard about it (I'm a terrible human being, please make sure it's legal at least) it's super cute. 

Side note: the sandwich literally fell from all over his face onto the plate perfectly like wow Dino damn that talent

Another alluded to romantic relationship is the relationship between Kano and Akizuki. It's funny because Kano's role in the cafe is to be the tsundere character and Akizuki is the real life tsundere. There's something really cute about their dynamic, especially when it's revealed at the end that they were the original two employees at Cafe Stile. Knowing their history and how much their hobbies overlap makes me hopeful for their future :3

Oh, something as a side note is that this anime is an adaptation from a 4-koma manga. And you know how sometimes manga to anime adaptations or more often 4-koma manga to anime adaptations are really obvious? This one sort of is, but not as obvious as others. This is just a personal preference, but I just don't really like when you can tell that it's an adaptation. 

Honestly if you're having a bad day just watch these episodes. They'll brighten your day for sure with their sassy savage comments and then their purity and just everything.

Honestly any time Maika does the sadistic persona I kind of die inside of laughter

Isn't Owner just precious? T^T

My family @ me by the end of this year probably

When Akizuki is the secret manslayer heartbreaker 

Me @ the guy I like omfg

 Overall, this anime is purity. It's got some allusions I suppose to mature content, especially once Miu comes into the picture, but she only adds to the quirkiness of the show. In general if you're looking for something kind of common with a little bit of added something something this is the anime for you. They've got a solid OP and ED as well. Oh, something to note about the ED is every time they get a new waitress they add them to the ED. It's really cute. If you need some heartwarming anime with lots of laughs, start this one right now!

SMILE! SWEET! SISTER! SADISTIC! SURPRISE! SERVICE! WE ARE STILE! 

Okay, okay for real that was the last time...eheh or maybe not. It's super catchy~

Anime ATM 71 Himouto! Umaru-chan R

I started this anime as my "treat yo self during winter break show" even though, technically, we hadn't even taken our finals before break anyways but like *bitter laughter* Anyways I guess you could call it my "treat myself for waking up at 5 everyday for like 12 for work bc I need money as a poor affffff college student." Wow I wish I could get money off of binge watching anime, but sadly that's not a thing yet T^T I guess next best thing would be making money off this blog? Ahaha in my dreams bois. I watched all of this one Youtuber's videos and now I'm starting to talk like them. I'm losing myself. I also just took my last final today so you know your girl's not in a good place.

{How can there be spoilers in a fuwa fuwa slice of life *cough DDLC cough* anime?}

Alrighty, so if you haven't watched the first season of Umaru I'd say it'd be better if you watched the first season to get some insight into say something like why Kirie calls Umaru sensei or why Sylphin doesn't know that Umaru is UMR, but other than those sorts of details you don't really have to. Although, thinking about it, why would you watched the second season before the first one? Eh, but who am I to judge? *thinks back to when I tried to get into Fate/Stay Night (who knows what order those are supposed to go in? I went through so many blog posts and such on how I should watch it, but I never got a clear answer so I watched like 4 episodes and abandoned it sorrymasen)*

I'd say that this season definitely got a lot deeper than I was expecting. The first season was a lot of really cute slice of life scenes and Umaru just being Umaru, but this season we got into a variety of different themes and miniature arcs. You got to see a lot of character development as the main four, Umaru, Sylphin, Kirie, and Ebina, got closer together as friends and started to hang out more. Of course there's a lot of cute and calming slice of life aspects of it like the summer fireworks festival or ringing in the new year together, but there's some nice little themes and nuances going on. For example, Kirie has this internal turmoil and self-doubt that anyone with social awkwardness or social anxiety feels on the daily with doubts of if their friends actually like them and if they can trust the people around them to support their dreams. As time goes on she starts to realize that her friends do genuinely like her and that she's surrounded by people that will support her pure af dream to be a storybook author. The theme of friendship really carries through in all of them as Taihei observes that Umaru has changed from being a lazy hamster that just wants to stay home and game into someone that genuinely enjoys going out and playing with her friends. As far as Ebina goes, she's been the constant pure character during the whole duration of the show and she continues to be the one that you can't help but love and support, especially in her crush on Taihei a little bit. Things got especially emotional between Sylphin and Umaru/UMR. Like the mini arc of the two of them going to the old shopping mall with the tiny amusement park on the rooftop. Sylphin knew that the place was closing down, but she wanted to make happy memories with UMR before it closed down. And in that moment Umaru realized that the memories that they made together would outlive any location, that no matter how much their surroundings change, the feelings and memories they experience together will be immortalized. I know that's super duper cheesy and an overused trope I guess in slice of life anime, but I think it's a nice sentiment to keep in your heart no matter how times are changing. I'm such an emotional sock it's disgusting (lol do you get the ref?).

Another theme that kind of goes too far, but is also kind of touching as someone that has siblings is the theme of family. You see a lot of different and kind of unclear relationships between each of these girls and their older brothers. All of them have the older brother-younger sister relationship, but each have their own dynamics. Like Ebina and her brother who left to chase his dream and now she's been searching for him in Tokyo. It makes you wonder why he never contacts his family and leaves them to worry about him. Or Kirie and Bomba. Their dynamic makes it seem like they're not close, but from what I can see, it seems like they actually are really fond of each other. Bomba wants to dote on Kirie, and though Kirie is really awkward, it seems like she doesn't actually hate him, but is instead unsure of maybe how to express her feelings. Sylphin and Alex have an interesting dynamic. Because it seems like when they were younger they were close, though Alex did leave her to live in Japan, but now it seems like they've got the perfect otaku sibling dynamic. And Umaru and Taihei have the most followed relationship as this whole show revolves around Umaru. I think their dynamic has evolved over time with Umaru realizing how much her brother does for her, and also how much Taihei's life revolves around Umaru. If she didn't leave a mess or was adept at cooking, he would never have anything to do. Eventually Umaru realizes that she can do things for her brother, like get him a Christmas present, that his nagging isn't for nothing, like playing in moderation with her hamsters, and that he's extremely kind. To be honest, the whole sibling jealousy of Hikari and Umaru over Taihei reminded me of when my siblings were young and I wanted a lot of attention. I wasn't neglected or anything, but it just made me realize that no matter how unrealistic it is for someone to be smart while living off of cola and potato chips and playing Wii, there's something to be found, some commentary on the human condition that slice of life does so well. j

One thing I have to note is the mild incestuous vibes I got. Maybe it's a cultural difference between Japanese and American culture, but something didn't really sit right with like the OP or maybe how Ebina saying Taihei reminded her of her brother, but she also had romantic interest in him? I dunno, something about the nuances were a bit off. But I don't think it really detracted from the anime as a whole. Just something to note.

Another kind of minor thing that struck me was Taihei. He was the top of his class and studied super hard, but he didn't have a dream which is why he ended up as a corporate worker. I mean there's definitely nothing wrong with earning an honest living like that, but I guess in my mind I always thought that if you were smart you could do anything. But I guess you need to be smart and have a vision for the future in order to move forward. That really got me thinking about why I'm trying to get a degree and what I should strive for. I'm still relatively young, so I think it's foolish to work blindly and hard without a goal. Don't let the system steal your soul~

Overall I'd say it's a really fun and lighthearted show. I really enjoyed the OP and ED. Just the quirky little Umaru ways are super fun and I was singing parts of the ED to myself for a while. It's really cute and has a lot of different characters with different personalities to enjoy. It's not hard to get into at all and it leaves you feeling really happy. I feel like since most of my Anime ATM's are slice of life anyways you could say they all end the same way, but they're just nice to watch and soothe your soul with. Yep. That's all from me today. I hope your day, your week, your month, your year, your life is going well and that it only continues to get better with a dream in mind and a lot of laughter.

OMF I just had to screenshot this bc it's true about every sports anime. Reminds me of KnB

When someone gets you a present and you appreciate it, but you didn't really need a 5 LB chocolate bar???

Same. TBH while I'm at uni I tend to crave a lot of burgers...but beef is energy inefficient oof

I wish that I could play Wii and become successful in life ahah

I'm sorry, this is Umaru. I didn't come here for deep life contemplation

Um, bread is on the food chain. Leave her alone. Also Hikari's eyes like this lowkey freak me out. They remind me of the goldfish people in Kiznaiver

Ahahaha...will college teach me how to not be awkward?

Take care~