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!

Anime ATM 99 My Hero Academia S1

Hallo everynyan! It's Christmas Day today, but I'm writing this waaaaay in advance. It's currently the first of August and I'm just procrastinating on my summary document for my internship. But Merry Christmas anyways if you celebrate and otherwise Happy Holidays!

{Spoilers}

After telling myself I would watch BnHA for who knows how long (maybe 2 years at this point?) I finally sat my butt down and binged it in like two days. It wasn't super hard since it was only 13 episodes and each of the episodes nicely led into the next which made it really easy to binge. The thing is with overhyped anime is that sometimes I get overhyped myself for how epic the anime is going to be and then when I watch it it's not all that people talked it up to be. For sure it was an amazing anime that kept me on my toes, but after seeing so many protagonists in hero stories having to work their way up, it kinda felt the same as the others. This is not to say that my opinion is a hard and fast one, feel absolutely free to change my mind lol I'm flexible, but I'm just saying it didn't absolutely knock my socks off. Then again, my specialty isn't in shounen hero shows really anyways? So honestly just discount my opinion. It's not hate though so please no flames this holiday season!

As we all know at this point, Boku no Hero Academia is about a little boy named Izuku. He lives in a world where abilities known as Quirks materialize in people in their childhood. Unlike the majority of the population, Izuku was born Quirk-less and is the butt of basically everyone's jokes. This young boy is heartbroken as he dreams of being a great superhero like his idol All Might. He wants to go to the prestigious superhero school called UA, but his chances of getting in Quirk-less are slim.

Being the fanboy he is, Izuku constantly watches different heroes and writes down all of his observations in notebooks he keeps on heroes. One day he runs into some trouble and is saved by his idol All Might. Desperate to get to know him better, Izuku ends up discovering All Might's secret. He's actually a critically injured hero that can only transform into his super buff self for 3 hours before having to revert back to his scrawny normie self. He tells Izuku that no matter what he does, without a Quirk there's no way that Izuku could become a hero. Heartbroken, Izuku almost gives up on his dream. However, he finds his frienemy Bakugo caught in the middle of a villain attack and rushes in to save him while other heroes stand back helpless. His heroic action inspired All Might to train young Izuku to inherit his powers.

One thing led to another and Izuku is now a student in UA's hero course where he's with a bunch of other super cool kids that have crazy powers like levitation or literally having your calves turn into engines. And each of their Quirks has limitations that keep them from being super OP...for now.

Most of the story takes place inside UA so there's no slice of life to be found. Not even any after school going to karaoke for these kids :(

The plot thickens as Izuku tries to control the power All Might has given him and everyone comes face-to-face with a group of villains that threaten the peace. Because it wouldn't be a spicy enough plot in a superhero comic if there wasn't a cohort of villains that are a looming threat.

I think as I watch the other seasons on BnHA it'll be interesting to see how things unfold in terms of how All Might's power decreases, how Izuku deals with his insane power, and how each of the characters introduced will continue to grow as heroes. One kind of gripe I have with these kinds of shows is the sheer number of characters. It's overwhelming when each of them is given their own little spotlight to shine, and then inevitably their backstories and their full character's won't be fleshed out. That in itself is pretty disappointing. Then there's the whole deal with names haha. I thought I was pretty good with names, but honestly there are too many characters each with their own Quirk (I can remember the Quirks better than their names though). To memorize them all would be insane. Props to you if you've done it though just after the first season.

In general I wouldn't say that the hype is undeserved. I do think that it was an engaging and very stimulating watch with the battle sequences especially. I'm curious to see how Bakugo changes as a character since he seems especially villainous I guess.

Overall I would recommend the series just for the hype if you're into that. Just know that if you're a completionist like me, there's 3 more seasons currently to watch so you've got that to look forward to/to be overwhelmed by. It wasn't anything special though. It's your hero story with a formulaic villain enemy and underdog hero trying to make it. What makes it more interesting is everyone's Quirks and how they're used. I look forward to how the plot continues to unfold and how the characters grow, but if you didn't get "glowing review" vibes from this, I hope you kinda get the gist of why it's not like that.

Anime ATM 98 Aggretsuko S2

I watched this on the plane back from Vancouver and I think the girl sitting next to me was judging me. But that's okay! 

{Spoilers}

If you've had a quarter/midlife crisis before, I think that this season really embodies that. I love Aggretsuko episodes because they're on the shorter side, but with the pace and the message behind each episode they really pack a punch and deliver a well-executed story. I mean, if you think about it, in 10 episodes they covered a really overwhelming theme answering the question of "what's my dream?" "what am I doing with my life?" that a lot of us ask ourselves. Is our daily life fulfilling? Are we living every day to the fullest?

This theme of self-doubt and questioning first appears when Retsuko's mom comes for a visit after nagging on the phone. She really wants Retsuko to go for an arranged marriage meeting, but Retsuko is strongly against it. She doesn't think she's ready for marriage. She does go for that first arranged marriage meeting, but she just doesn't know if he was the right guy. So she doesn't pursue that relationship, but when she finds out that he's moved on and found happiness with someone else she's also strangely melancholic. 

This kind of pushy dynamic goes on with her mom with more proposed arranged marriage meetings and even a mingling singles party which doesn't go too well. But, because of one of her fellow coworkers, she realizes that marriage is something that she really does want.

Kind of unrelated, but ya know since Aggretsuko encompasses all of the aspects of life as an office worker, Retsuko has to train a new recruit. And he's terrible. He's also kind of the next generation. He's too sensitive towards other people's innocent comments towards him and is kind of threatening/intimidating. I don't know how she dealt with him being so crazy, but I'm glad that Anai finally found his place in the office as the bento guy. 

Something unexpectedly deep about this season were the driving metaphors. As a ploy to delay anymore marriage meetings, Retsuko tells her mom she's going to get her license. While this in and of itself is a tool to achieve freedom, Retsuko realizes that while she can drive now that there's no real place she wants to go. And I think this is too relatable to the point that it's scary. I think because I just go with the flow a lot of the time, it's scary to get caught up in everything and to eventually realize that you don't know where you're headed anymore. 

At the driving school, Retsuko meets this super cool guy named Tadano. Well, he's just kind of weird. He can't get past the theoretical portion of driving and he always seems sleepy. And for the longest time Retsuko thinks he's unemployed. Actually he's a super forward-thinking AI-developing CEO. And he doesn't want to marry Retsuko per say because he doesn't see the point, but he wants them to stay together forever. And because Retsuko is confused as to what she wants for a while, she blindly follows him and internalizes the thought that marriage isn't necessary. 

Thank goodness she came to her senses and was able to realize what she actually wanted in life. Which meant goodbye to Tadano.

It was a little bittersweet. Especially since I really wanted Retsuko to be happy and you know get married and such. But, not everything in life is about romance. So, Retsuko's life will go on and she'll continue to be the queen she is. 

But! If there's a season 3 you bet I'm rooting for smol boi Haida!

Overall, would definitely recommend. It's a pretty short watch with 10 episodes at around 15 minutes each. It's too relatable if you're going through a life crisis and are trying to find yourself. And it's just a really heartwarming watch. 

Anime ATM 95 Kaguya-sama: Love is War

I honestly have a hard time reviewing comedy anime. I think it's hard because the flow and jokes and such just aren't as funny or endearing as when you see them in context when you actually experience them when watching the anime. And I feel like me describing the gags and stuff is such a waste of time when you could actually just watch the anime yourself! So, we've cracked the code. We've solved the case. No need to do comedy anime reviews because you can just watch it yourself!






















Are you still here?

Yeah, I know. I'll continue the review. It was a joke!

{Spoilers, but it's comedy with no plot to follow so you're good}

Man, this show was a real trip. It saved me when I was feeling pretty stressed about roommate issues and the looming finals ahead. But for me, when I watch comedy anime I really have to be in the mood for it. So, admittedly when I finished the anime I wasn't in the same mood. I was also watching most of this on my laptop and I didn't want my friends to see me take screenshots since it's been so long since I've blogged anime...that I don't have good screenshots to share with you all. I'm very sorry. But! More reason now for you to watch it.

I think in this anime there's something here for everyone. Honestly all of the characters are pretty socially awkward in a way, except Chika. Chika is a queen. If you've seen the Chika dance, you already understand what I'm saying, but if you haven't you need to stop reading this and go watch that instead. I remember when V was watching this anime he sent me the clip of the Chika dance and geeked out over how they made it. But he's right. It was well made.

Anyways, the main "story" or more like the background for all the jokes is encapsulated by the OP and the title of the anime itself with a theme of love being a battle. Kaguya is herself a well to do ojou-sama and VP of this prestigious school's school council. The president is a commoner named Shirogane. They both have a thing for each other, but are kind of socially awkward and stubborn so they don't want to be the one to confess/make the first move. It's scary to be rejected after all! So instead, they create elaborate schemes to get the other to fall in love with them and confess first with Kaguya making elaborate plans to nudge Shirogane into getting a cell phone or something ridiculous. There's no end of ridiculous scenarios to behold in this anime I'm telling you.

While all of this is going on and it's all good to stop here, the supporting characters honestly shine a lot. Like Chika! She's the secretary of the student council and she seems kind of like an brainless flat character at first. But she's kind of into the occult and she's really quirky and cute! But also oblivious. And we love her for that. Like when they all made summer plans together that Chika was really down for, but then she made family plans to go to the Tomato Festival in Spain instead?? Doesn't make any sense. Another similarly lovable character is Ishigami. He looks like a gloomy NEET, but he's pretty quirky and relatable as well. Every time he makes a social blunder and has to go home early is honestly a fat mood. (See what I mean? I can describe these things all I want, but it's not the same as just watching clips of the anime or it in its entirety! It'd be better in this case to review it in video format but...that's a lot of work) And lowkey best girl of the year award goes to Hayasaka. The episode where she wingmans for Kaguya when she has a cold. Or when Kaguya gets a Twitter to see what Shirogane's up to and keeps thinking she's breaking it because she's technologically challenged and keeps bothering Hayasaka in the bath. Truly iconic. A real heart of gold and limitless patience. Bless Hayasaka.

From this review you might think "What the heck did I just read? This was a waste of time and a piece of trash." And to that I would agree. I think that all of my reviews are easily described in a similar manner. And I don't know if the quality will ever change from this. And it's just hard to review comedy anime without clips of it. It's really hard to sell something for which you need visuals, audio, and good timing, you know? But I would definitely recommend this anime. All of the characters are likable. The jokes are funny. The pacing is on point. Watch it if you haven't already!

Anime ATM 92 Seishun Buta Yarou wa Bunny Girl Senpai no Yume wo Minai

My eyeballs feel like they're about to fall out of my head. I binged the whole season of this show with minimal regrets. Hehe such is the life when your first class of the day is at 6 at night~

{Spoilers}

Wow. So, like most of my shows nowadays, this was recommended to me by V. He was pretty spot on with this one. It's probably the best or one of the best shows that aired this past season. I mean wow just look at that MAL score; it was fire. I can definitely see why it was such a hit. It was like if you took Chuunibyou (the show, not the syndrome itself) and used a different syndrome, in this case Adolescence/Puberty Syndrome and made a whole show about it. It's got this fantasy-like quality to it and such an excellent plot and pacing to go along with it that you just can't help but be captivated. So many parts stand out as poignant that it was hard to stop and screenshot...which is why I won't add any screenshots to this post. While I did take some, I feel like no standalone shot could really exemplify parts of the show that truly captivated me.

The basic premise of this show was around Adolescence Syndrome in which the person (in these scenarios either middle school or high school) deal with some traumatic experience and try to escape from it in some sort of way. This show incorporated a physics (and vaguely scientific?) explanation of what was going on thanks to Futaba, but the last time I took physics (and really basic physics at that) was 3 years ago so I won't even try to comment on that. But it was also a very cathartic show at the center. It focused on the stories of different girls and how Sakuta was able to help them kind of solve those problems that they faced, as well as be a general support system.

I think it's hard to really put Sakuta's character into words. He's kind of your stereotypical rebel character in that he doesn't care about what other people at school think of him, but he's got a heart of gold underneath that which guides him to meddle with the affairs of others. He's definitely your problem-solving protagonist. On the surface he seems kind of flippant, with some of his jokes coming off as crass, but you can definitely tell that underneath that is someone who genuinely cares about others and kind of uses his jokes to break down the barriers between himself and others.

Each of the arcs of the show follows a different girl and a struggle that she's going through. It goes through things like the harsh consequences of bullying, how to deal with the harshness of reality and the consequences of events that are unfavorable towards you, the inferiority you feel towards being compared to someone else, and the hatred you can feel towards yourself because of society. A lot of it is definitely more so social commentary on how people will often just be a follower and read the atmosphere around them rather than to fight against it which is why Sakuta's character really shines here. From the get-go when Mai is disappearing, he fights against the flow because it's hurting someone near to him, going above and beyond to make sure she isn't forgotten. And I think it's this noble part of his character which is really the most charming and the reason why the show is so enjoyable to watch.

Inside of the show, there's a lot to unpack. Like Shoko who could or could not be a real person. Or reasons why Sakuta's chest wound came to be in a sympathetic reaction to Kaede being bullied and him not being able to do anything. Or the dynamic between Mai and her sister and the nuances of that. All of these expose different parts of what it is to be human and how people interact with one another and that's one of the beautiful things about anime, is that it really displays all of these different aspects of the human condition and in so many numerous ways that there's bound to be some anime or some character or some scenario that you could relate to.

Honestly, you should definitely watch this. The pace is perfect. There's such a diversity of characters and some topics that I haven't seen covered in these ways. And it's obviously all beautifully drawn. And the ED that changes with each arc omg. Don't be deterred because it has bunny girl senpai in the title. I know. It sounds super sus. When V brought it up I thought it was going to be pure ecchi and definitely not something I would recommend anyone to watch. But it's actually such a clickbait title. It's not super all about the ecchi bunny girl. It's way more than that and so you shouldn't feel deterred by the title. Inside this series you'll find a really lovable cast and a gripping story.

Anime ATM 91 Itsudatte Bokura no Koi wa 10 cm Datta

So we've moved back into the dorms and for some reason it feels more sad than when I first moved into these dorms for the year. Probably because I saw my family for such a long and uninterrupted period of time. That, plus the fact that I watched the Black Mirror movie made me both sad and scared at the same time. What better way to remedy this dual-negative feeling than to watch some shoujo?

{Spoilers, but not really because it's such a short shoujo series}

So first of all, this series is only 6 episodes with each episode being your standard 23 minutes. So that should already give you an idea of how easy it is to binge if you're like me hehe. And obviously you can't expect a whole lot in this 6 episodes, I mean you can only flesh out characters so much in this little amount of screen time, but what they do give you is pretty standard.

The basic story line goes something like this: there's a group of three boys in the Movie Club shooting their graduation film project and there's a group of three girls in the Art Club and there's mutual love between all three pairs. No love triangles here folks. All six of them are graduating soon. The story revolves mostly around one main couple: Haruki and Miou, our beautiful spring couple. As many high schoolers in shoujo are, these two are in mutual love, but are too awkward to realize. This story goes along with their gradual romantic relationship progression as well as an unexpected, but extremely foreshadowed twist. When Miou was small, she almost drowned in a river, only to be saved by someone. She can't remember who it was and she isn't allowed to meet him up until the last summer of high school. Delighted to finally meet this hero who saved her life, Miou ends up in front of the Serizawa family grave and meets the realization that the man who saved her was Haruki's older brother. This led to an immovable grief and guilt within Miou and she shut herself off from everyone. However, she is able to overcome this guilt through her friends' support and can finally face Haruki who was battling his own doubts as well.

I can't relate too much to this scenario, but if you're a younger sibling and you've got someone you really look up to, maybe this is something you're familiar with. You idolize your older sibling so much that you end up following what they do and end up cultivating a passion for something that questionable wasn't even of your own volition. Or that's how it'd be if you didn't get the whole story. And that's addressed in the series when prompted with the question "Why can't you have the same dream as your older sibling?" which is pretty valid. And I'll leave it at that because it's a solid stand-alone point.

You know though, their sibling relationship was super cute.

But once these individual characters have overcome these personal hurdles, it's time to graduate high school and embark on future endeavors. There's nothing quite as liberating and saddening as graduating high school. The tracks have been lifted and you're free to blaze new trails for yourself (in a very American exceptionalism and buying into the whole idea of moving westward because of manifest destiny ya know). And that leaves Haruki off to pursue film in America and Miou with her dreams lying in Japan. The two separate and if it wasn't your traditional shoujo you would have doubts of if they would stay together beyond these high school years. Hehe, but it is your traditional shoujo so of course after actualizing their dreams, they reunited and lived happily ever after.

asdfghjkl; this scene really got me. It's full of their dreams that have nothing to do with one another except for that small corner. But is that one feeling going to last those 7 years they're apart?

One thing I really enjoyed about the series was how serene it was. It had its ups and downs yes with the characters' emotions turning into a storm at some points, but those scenes where Miou and Haruki were sitting on the stairs and just sketching out ideas and illustrations side-by-side and other kind o mundane moments, there would be this serenity that would just be present in those moments. And it was really quite calming. I think as life gets more hectic, we tend to appreciate these moments more for their simplicity and presence rather than to be wowed by big things. Or maybe I'm just an old soul lol.

If you're looking for a short and sweet watch that isn't a waste of your time like other short series are, I think this could be a good fit. It's definitely a good fix for if you're craving that sweet shoujo feel and if you just want to reminisce on high school life and stuff like that. It's not anything super new or novel, but sometimes you just need that traditional shoujo stuff.

Anime ATM 90 Akkun to Kanojo

So I haven't been watching much anime recently. I guess that's probably due to the fact that I just study all day and then in my free time I usually do whatever. But because I seldom have huge chunks of time to binge all at once, I usually find myself turning towards Youtube videos for that 15 minutes of standalone entertainment than watching a compartment of a series.

That's why to get back into the swing of things I watched this anime. Each episode is suuuuuper short, at like 3 minutes long, with an OP but no ED (an OP you can skip though because I wasn't a huge fan) so it's easy to watch all in one sitting.

{Spoilers: Jokes on you there's no spoilers because there's exactly no plot}

So this anime centers around this couple: Nontan and Akkun. Akkun is a clear tsundere. He acts really mean to Nontan, while secretly wishing he could be nicer to her because she's his angel. In any other circumstance his stalker tendencies would be super creepy, but because this is such a slice of life anime he gets away with it. Bur if this were real life and your boyfriend/girlfriend/S.O. puts a secret mic on you and listens to you hum while trying to sleep and has pictures of you all over their wall please call 911. That's not healthy.

I choked because this scene was funny, but seriously peep all those Nontan pictures on the wall. Yikes.

And then Nontan is kind of just your run of the mill airhead but strong-willed and super kind anime girl protagonist. You've seen her before and you'll see her again so there's nothing much to say besides that she's a very sweet girl and she and Akkun make a good couple.

Besides the main two, there are two other couples that the show kind of revolve around for some jokes that we've all seen before with the pairings of like the "otaku ikemen boy" and then Akkun's younger sister or the "cat girl" and then she falls in love with her teacher for honestly no real reason.

Ah this part was also funny. Above is Irie (cat-esque girl) after Sensei praises her

This is definitely a show you shouldn't take too seriously. It's super short. It's super fluffy. There's really not a whole lot going on, so if you have the time...I suggest honestly that you watch something else besides this anime. There's definitely many better and more fleshed out versions of this anime. Sure, it's kind of sweet and it's short, but I think your time would be better invested in watching something more fleshed out and hopefully fulfilling.

Anime ATM 89 Cells at Work

Hello hello I'm back atcha with another anime review. To be honest, I finished this anime more than three weeks ago and I remember very little of it, heck I even forgot to review it at all because of midterms, but here I am now, on the other side of midterms, with a sub-par review just for Y-O-U!

As all my anime reviews nowadays start, I watching this anime because of V. I have absolutely no idea how he has time to watch anime what with his major and such, but that's a problem to contemplate at another time. Honestly most of my brainpower when not thinking about the classes I'm currently taking is focused on thinking about my major/prospective minors and perhaps studying abroad? I'm also gunning to graduate in three years, so really we'll just have to see. I love feeling absolutely overwhelmed by work :)

{Spoilers, but it's more of an educational anime meant to teach you about human body biology and specialized cells in your body so there's not a real plot}

So this anime, like my spoiler notification tells you, is pretty plotless. It's not like my usual slice of life anime that have no plot. This is more because it's about teaching you about like macrophages and killer T cells and fun ways to memorize these different cells and their functions rather than the tradition by-the-textbook method. I think in terms of an effective form of education it did a pretty darn good job as an overview of the cells in your body as well as the different viruses and bacteria and afflictions that your body goes through like food poisoning, heat stroke, blood transfusions, and cancer. I could also imagine this as a good reminder to be kind to your body and to appreciate it for all of the hard work it does for you. Imagining all of those little personified cells inside your body fighting against infections and trying to keep your body alive is pretty endearing and is a pretty good motivation to keep treasuring your body.

Overall, it's just super pure. All of the cells have such enigmatic personalities that makes it fun to watch. Like if you've seen any clips of Cells at Work it'd probably be of the platelets which are so pure or of the main character red blood cells. Oooof did you know that she's a sickle cell? That fact is pretty sad, but she's such a pure girl. Besides the characters themselves though, it wasn't a very dynamic watch in that it was the same sort of series format of something like everything is fine until a problem in the body arises and then the cells have to band together to fix the problem and in the end the body is saved by the hard work of the cells. I was talking about this show with my roommates and friends and the ones that finished it said that they did so because it was really pure, and the ones that dropped it said it was too repetitive. So there's two kinds of viewpoints here. If you're not taking any cellular biology/introduction to biology classes and you're not looking for just a show to relax to, this show might not be for you. Otherwise though I think it's a pretty cute and chill watch.

{Haha the wifi in my new dorm is absolute trash so I had to watch a lot of this in like 480p which isn't really conducive for good anime screenshots, so sorry there's no screenshots this time either}

Anime ATM 87 Inari, Konkon, Koi Iroha

Yikes, so I'm out here with a viral throat infection that I don't even know how I got and I'm leaving back for college in 4 days wow I'm just loving life right now. Also this is as good a time to remind y'all that are out living in dorms or going to school with hekkin people to go and get your flu shot. You'll thank me later when all those other suckers are sick as heck and you're thriving.

{Spoilers}

So for some reason I had a tab for this anime open on my phone. I literally have no idea how I came across this anime, like actually no clue because my memory is so bad. It's got a little bit of a Fugiken Mononokean vibe to it with the portrayal of the celestial plain and how the gods are pretty relatable and human-like (a quality that I've seen in a lot of shows with kami in them, maybe it's just a portrayal of how they are in religious texts? I'm not too sure, but in any case it's a common thing) and it's also got a little bit of Kamisama Kiss, partially because of the fox character with the clumsy shy girl and also just that feel to it.

In terms of the actual quality of the anime, it wasn't the best in terms of plot. It was basically this average girl named Inari (lol I just keep thinking about the sushi inari every time) who was watched over by the fox goddess(?) named Uka. One day Inari saves a fox that turns out to be a familiar for Uka-sama and to repay Inari's kindness Uka gives her one wish. Inari's dumb and makes a bad, impulsive wish which ends up in Uka having to give Inari some of her divine power in order to right the wrong. Giving Inari this divine power comes with a lot of complications as every time Inari uses it to transform into someone else it makes Uka weaker to the point of almost disappearing. Overall it was just about Inari not knowing she was hurting Uka and Uka not wanting to live without Inari knowing her and becoming too attached to humans in general. They both had to learn their lesson the hard way with Uka almost disappearing in the end. Obviously everything had to end with a happily ever after, so that's what ended up happening and that in and of itself made it a quite boring watch. It's like you already knew almost what was going to happen. In the 10 episodes, nothing really spectacular happened. I mean, Inari found her love in Tanbabashi and Inari's friends were pretty cool, but it wasn't anything spectacular.

Although, I do have to say that I loved Sumizome's loyalty to her friends and her gap moe

Of all of the things I noticed about the anime, was I actually really liked the ambiance in some scenes. The golden light, the autumn leaves, and the soothing background music was very transporting. However, that was probably one of the only things that I found appealing and note-worthy of the anime--was the ambiance and sceneries.

Overall, I can't say anything about this anime was spectacular. I wouldn't say there's any particular reason you should watch this anime besides for the ambiance and maybe if you're looking for a kami-sama kinda anime with cute girls and a questionably chuuni older brother. 

Oh, and this is Kon. This is my favorite character in the anime. Although I'm not quite sure why there's a leaf on the tip of its tail?

Anime ATM 86 Amagi Brilliant Park

Currently I'm sitting in my sister's bed with my dog at my feet after a long day of work. I meant to write this blog right after I got off from work, but I ended up falling asleep due to exhaustion. Manual labor is pretty tiring after all.

I was recommended this anime by V who said, in short, that this was a trip. That day I had tried to watch the gambling anime that's on Netflix, but uhhhhh let's just say it was wild and I probably will never finish that anime.

{Spoilers, but it's more about the comedy than the plot so you kinda already know what's up}

I think something that's really important when watching an anime in terms of how much the story impacts you is how relatable and how much it resonates with you. For V I think this anime really stood out to him. He said the MC was unique because of his narcissistic nature and the way he wouldn't take crap from anyone. Perhaps because V had already pointed it out to me I didn't find these things to be as standout as they maybe would've been had I already not been aware of these unique qualities of his. Then again V also said that he read a comment that said that the MC's name was Kanie because he was actually Kanye or something else ridiculous and nonsensical *smh*.

In general the general plot of banding together people for a greater purpose was well executed. Kanie was enlisted partially against his will and partially through bribery with Latifa's croquettes into becoming Amagi Brilliant Park's new manager. The goal was to get 500,000 guests through those gates, a feat that seemed near impossible at the start of the show. However, with a lot of teamwork, collaboration, sacrifice, and ingenuity, they were able to pull it off and save the park. From this bare bones summary, the show doesn't seem like anything special, but some things that set this show apart are the characters themselves and the fact that most of the cast members of the park are ~magical~. They're from this place called Maple Land that runs on Animus which is like people's fun I guess? It's kinda like the Monsters Inc./University university that runs off children's screams/laughs which is kind of creepy when you think about it...

Anyways, the characters are all really unique. Like V said, Kanie is definitely unique in that he's a narcissist and very pragmatic.

Sento, V's personal favorite, is kind of like if you took Violet from Violet Evergarden and mixed her with the girl from Nichijou that keeps whipping out her gun to shoot that guy she likes. Sometimes it's hard for her to understand people's feelings but she tries her best, even though Macaron and Tiramie are often times waaaay too rated M for mature, and she's very trigger happy. It's hard for her to convey her emotions as well, but she's honestly best girl for wanting the best for the park and for Latifa.

As for Latifa, she was too perfect. Maybe it's just me, but I don't really like the frail, pure ohime-sama characters in general and since Latifa is the cookie cutter of that very description you can see why I don't prefer her character. Moffle, her uncle, on the other hand is great. He's a super cute mouse mascot, which makes me confused as to if he is blood related to Latifa or what, Maple Land lineage is wack, that sacrifices everything for Latifa and for Amagi Brilliant Park. What really got me going though was his backstory about Latifa's mom :(((( his true love. Something that makes Amagi Brilliant Park so iconic in terms of humor oftentimes is because of Tiramie and Macaron. They look like super cute characters like Moffle with their pink cat and sheep exteriors, but inside are perverted old men. This would've been a totally different show if they had super girly voices and acted like fairies like I had expected. Instead they were...very interesting.

I didn't know where to insert this kinda random thought I had, but the ED reminded me of the ED for K with Neko sleeping. In the same way there's kind of a lot of fan service. Heh. You've been warned!

Each of the episodes either showcased methods of how they improved the park to increase visitor count, or they were more filler episodes like when Kanie was too sick to go to school so Sento, Tiramie, Moffle, and Macaron each took turns impersonating him. In the way that Konosuba is a parody of "life in a new world" and Hinamatsuri is a parody of sci fi, Amagi Brilliant Park is a parody of the run of the mill show where people band together to save something (LOL I can't think of a more succinct way of putting it right now). Like the episode of how the fairies of Elementario had to bond in order to pass trials to shut down the castle's defenses through karaoke and DDR.

Or how in the last episode to make a PV, Sento and Tricen consulted everyone around the park on ways to improve the PV and make it more impactful and that PV turned into a viral sensation. That was actually the funniest episode. Kanie's reaction to Sento being so moved by this mish-mash PV was the best.

Overall, I'm glad they were able to save the park. It was a show that was full of a lot of comedic twists and turns that were quite unexpected. You're sure to find a character you relate to and have a lot of fun laughing at everyone's antics and being relieved with them when they find out they've saved the park. It's honestly a pretty moving anime if you let yourself get swept away in this Amaburi world. 

Also I should mention that KyoAni had a part in this and I love KyoAni. KyoAni has the Midas touch I swear.

Anime ATM 85 Hinamatsuri

7.23.18

Lately I've been trying to be more mindful. It's mostly motivated by my feeling that everything is fleeting. Maybe it's because of all of the kdramas I've been watching with my dad where there's an unexpected car crash and the main character is left devastated after losing a loved one. So I've been more mindful of mortality and of my emotions so that I'm not left with too many regrets. Because as it stands, I've got so many things in my life to be grateful for that it'd be a waste to just lament over the few things I lack.

LOL that had absolutely nothing to do with the anime I'm about to talk about to be honest, but that was just a thought.

{Spoilers, but jokes on you it's actually slice of life so there's no real plot bwahaha}

It's really funny because I hadn't even heard of this anime before, so when V recommended it to me (while he was on vacation in Europe this fool was also watching anime smh) I had to look it up. To be honest I wasn't super interested in watching a comedy sci-fi so I was kind of reluctant to actually watch this. But I'm definitely glad I did watch it because it was definitely an original work. I don't think I've ever seen anything quite like it. The comparisons that come to mind are Umaru-chan in that the main character is a total parasite, MC's best friend is a golden girl, and the MC's caretaker is super kind to put up with all the MC's shenanigans + Konosuba is that it's a parody of a normally plot-intensive genre with generally no plot = Hinamatsuri. 

Where to even start? Well the run-down is at the beginning of the show it shows this kung-fu master pink-haired girl and then she never shows up again until the end. But let's ignore that for now. The chronological sequence would start when Hina appears through a portal into the apartment of this yakuza member named Nitta. Through Hina blackmailing Nitta, they end up living together with Hina becoming Nitta's daughter of sorts. This show follows along with their daily lives as Hina encounters her rival-turned-best-girl Anzu, goes to school and makes interesting acquaintances like Mami and Mishima, and has an overall very normal home life with Nitta spiced up with her psychic powers. And that about sums it up.

Since it's a really short 12 episode season, each episode was its own mini-arc in a way. One that was pretty touching was when Anzu couldn't go back to her world because Nitta put her transportation ball thingy in the laundry and became homeless for a second time. This time she was taken in by a fellow homeless man named Yassan who taught her how hard it was to earn money and live an honest life as a homeless person. It was really touching because she had to go through this grueling work every single day, and even though she had to go through this hardship she was still super upbeat and did her best. And that's why she's best girl. AND THEN when she was taken in by those Chinese restaurant owners. She was crying because she was separated by all of the homeless men who took care of her, but then the restaurant owners told her that they would always live on in her heart. Like my heart just asdfghjkl; same. 

Even though that was a touching episode, and I may have teared up when Anzu had to part with Yassan and all of them, I think the best episode was when my personal favorite character Mishima moved out to live on her own. I mean, she's this middle school girl who works in a bar at night and makes stellar drinks and she's this independent member of society, so much so that no one questions it when she begins working at all of these places while STILL going to middle school. And she's living by herself because her mom didn't believe that she was actually working at a bar. It's actually insane. Her work ethic is honestly inspiring. And then all those crazy connections she made, I'm still shook. She was able to go from a bartender and ended up in this government job where she was faced with those stereotypical office life scenarios like the spiteful fellow employees and long hours. It was kind of sad how I could see myself in Mishima during those times, and a foreshadowing of times to come as well. This episode gives some nice commentary on how the grueling workload takes its toll, and how even the most mature and responsible people can't do it all alone. 

And then my favorite humorous episode was when Hina wanted to have a celebration for Nitta for his promotion. So she went around and asked everyone what was the best way to throw a celebratory party and then with the little money she had, she tried to create the most awesome party. But then it ended up looking like a funeral for Nitta. I died laughing.

Okay, now you might be thinking to yourself "Self, she mentioned a pink haired girl earlier, what happened to her?" Well I was thinking the same thing when I was watching the show too. Like what happened to her? Well she was actually supposed to bring two transportation balls with her, one for her and one for Hina to bring her back to whatever planet, but they were lost at sea so...instead we got this really crazy episode of Mao surviving on that island for who knows how long. But she wasn't alone, she had coconut Hina and Anzu.

Something that's kind of buried underneath all of these jokes and ridiculous situations though, is that Hina came from a place that probably forced her to be an assassin or something. All she did was follow orders from the adults who were the polar opposite of Nitta. She wasn't treated with a shred of kindness, and was collared in order to control her powers. Just thinking about that makes me wonder what kind of world that Hina, Anzu, and Mao were from. But just like in Konosuba which was a parody of a normally serious genre, we'll probably never get answers.

Overall, it was a very entertaining watch. Hinamatsuri surely doesn't disappoint with its humor and super weird situations. There's honestly nothing more to be desired in a show like this which is a comedy in a sci-fi setting. It's definitely not meant to be a serious watch, but more of a comedic and slice of life relief. Oh, one kind of easter egg thing was in the OP and the ED. Sometimes they're edited to reflect what had happened in previous episodes. Like in the OP, before Utako rejected Nitta because she couldn't get in the way of such a strong bond between Hina and Nitta, she would be pictured standing next to Nitta as Hina ran towards them with an ikura-don. But then after she rejects him, she's no longer in the OP and it's just Hina holding her ikura-don running towards Nitta alone. And then in the ED after Hina's supposed to go back to her home planet, she's not in the ending scene at the bar with everyone, which is kind of eerie because she was at the center of the group of people and without her there it just looks empty. 

Here are some screenshots of Hina and Mishima just being themselves. Honestly, this show without these kinds of facial expressions just wouldn't be the same.

Me once I quit my manual labor job :(

Okay, this one made me laugh a lot too. Everyone clapping except for Hina who literally has no idea what's going on. What a mood

And I'm gonna cap it off with this screenshot of best girl :')

Anime ATM 83 Yuru Camp

8 July 2018

Hmmmm I had meant to watch an anime or complete a manga earlier on last month to give a more current life update, but with summer school at my local cc and my part-time job, as well as finding time to catch up with the friends in my hometown it's been hard finding time to sit down and relax watching anime. So I made time for family and anime by actually watching this anime with my sister. She's really young still, still an elementary school kid so she gets kind of lonely sometimes because of the age gap between the two of us, what with our interests not overlapping all that much and her boundless energy while mine has slowly withered away into a dismal spark. So yeah, it was a good bonding experience for us to have and I think it's safe to say that she really enjoyed it.

{Spoilers, but this is a slice of life about camping so there's really none lol}

So this is an anime about camping. I first became interested in the anime when I think I saw an Facebook clip of Rin riding on her scooter behind a car when suddenly a dog pops its head out the back window of the car and stares at her and then that car goes away only to reveal another car with dogs in the window and then another car with a pack of dogs peering out the window, and for some reason the dog lover in me just needed to watch this anime to see more of this.

It focuses around this group of high school girls that live in the countryside and love to go camping. This especially focuses on winter camping. I can't really vouch for how accurate or how well this teaches you about camping or gives you false expectations on what camping is like, like my friend A's cousin said it was so inaccurate, but I don't know because I stay inside all day. Literally. My job's inside, my hobbies are all inside activities, etc. And honestly that's all I can really say. It's just a bunch of cute girls discovering the joys of camping. One of the main girls, Rin, is used to camping alone and for most of the show would decline Nadeshiko's invitations to go camping with their school's Outdoor Club. But by the end she's found out about how enjoyable camping with other people is.

Just a warning, this show has absolutely no plot. There is no substance to this show. It's purely fluffy and meant just to be a happy and simple time. Perhaps a show to eat with a meal or give you some inspiration to go outdoors. But really, there's no plot or anything of the sort. It's just camping. And it's got a very relaxing art style, like all the girls have the droopy eyes and are bundled up for the cold. And in this summer heat it really feels refreshing to see these girls all bundled up and cozy. There's just something about the ambiance and the relaxing factor of this anime that I would really recommend. Like the gentle music they play and the scenic shots of Mount Fuji are just so quaint and lovely.

Shimarin is so cute and precious and independent so cool~

these scenic shots thoughhh

If you like cute dogs this is a good show. They're not the focal point but they're still beautiful. Look at Chikuwa wearing a puffer and a bunny ears hat like so precious asdfghjkl;

Anime ATM 82 Aggretsuko

In the span of a single day, two people recommended this show to me. When the first person did I didn't give it a lot of thought. He didn't go into a whole lot of detail about it and most of what he says, if not all, goes in one ear and out the other. The other person was my dear Canadian. Her opinion meant a lot more so I put it on my list to watch. I didn't mean to binge watch it, but it was all too easy. Midterms? What are those? I don't know them. I mean, the season is only 10 episodes and each one is 15 minutes, less if you skip the OP and the ED. So it's not really that bad, or so I'm trying to persuade myself.

{LOL it's slice of life, you know the drill, no spoilers}

I didn't really want to admit that those people were right when they said I would really enjoy this anime or that the main character reminded them of me...but they were kind of right. Retsuko is truly a relatable protagonist. She's not perfect by any means and she's quirky too. She's just trying to make her way through life without too much disturbance. On the outside, Retsuko looks like your average corporate office worker, a real career woman in the accounting department. The only real notable thing about her is that she's a bit of a pushover. But you soon realize that underneath that sweet and tolerable exterior lies a death metal loving alter ego. She uses this singing and the karaoke place she frequents as her sanctuary from all of the expectations people have of her. In that kind of business setting you're forced to conform and go with the flow, but Retsuko finds this kind of thing unbearable. The show mainly focuses on her and her struggle with her job and love life.

Along the way you can experience her interactions with the people around her and how they all have pretenses that they hide behind. A good example is the women power duo of the company, Washimi and Gori. On the outside they look like total girl bosses, walking around the company always looking like they've got something important to go to. In actuality it's tiring for them to constantly have this image and it's comforting yet disconcerting to know that even these untouchable and super cool people also have to play a role to fit into this office persona. Like Gori is actually a super awkward person, but she can't really show it at work because she's forced to have this professional attitude. Like sure it's work, but it's also kind of sad that you can't be yourself. Honestly I'm really happy that Retsuko found friends in those two. They're like A-1 supporting characters.

Speaking of supporting characters, Retsuko starts off the show with her two friend Fenneko and Haida. Honestly Fenneko is super funny and quirky. She's lowkey me when she doesn't want to go to the mixer, but ends up going and finding out that it's actually super fun. And she's also me when she knows something and makes that really funny and annoying fake laugh. Like Fenneko is lowkey me if I didn't already relate so much to Retsuko. And we already know that Haida is Retsuko's actual soul mate. When he's on the phone with Fenneko and worried about Retsuko being snatched by some other man, he's in his room with his leather jacket on and looks like a total rocker. That's when you know that the man Retsuko would be most compatible is the one right in front of her. I hesitate to say that he's the man that Retsuko needs because I think she's just chillin' at her own pace you know. She's 25 and she's got a stable career and great friends so there's no need for her to rush. Even though she contemplated marriage as just a way to escape from her insufferable job and how Director Ton and honestly everyone in the Accounting department take advantage of her, she still doesn't need a man I think.

There are a lot of quirky little bits and bobs throughout the show that make it really entertaining. Every time she breaks out into a death metal solo it makes me feel a little cathartic as well. It's definitely a very fun and entertaining show that I think a lot of people can relate to. I definitely recommend that you watch it if you're looking for a comedy/slice of life that's aimed, I assume, more for an older audience that is working. Yep.

Alrighty now I'm off to study for my midterms. No screenshots again because it was on Netflix. Sorry y'all!

Anime ATM 80 Karakai Jouzu no Takagi

If you look at any list of anyone's top 10 shoujo anime I've probably watched it. And so I asked V what fluffy anime he's watched recently in order to perhaps satiate my need for fluffy things. In the process of watching this I realized that as much as I like shoujo and slice of life, I've been avoiding shows with actual plot which is rather disappointing. So I'll probably watch something with actual substance one of these days. Who knows when though because school is becoming more of a chore T^T

{Once I finished writing this I realized how much it starts repeating when all I review is slice of life. RIP}

{LOL no spoilers bc slice of life}

This show is definitely a blend of Nichijou and Momofuri. It's got that playful and innocent nature that is most of Momofuri, while still having a toned down version of the eccentric nature of Nichijou. The show revolves around two groups of people in middle school. One of them is a boy and a girl, Nishikata and Takagi and the other is a trio of friends Sanae, Mina, and Yukari. Sanae, Mina and Yukari portray more of the traditional slice of life, comedy, and school life aspect of the show. They are often the comedy relief of the show and are often doing random things, mostly at Mina's expense. The three of them have a timeless quality that you can find steadfast through the genre.

The more interesting aspect of this show I found was the dynamic between Nishikata and Takagi. Takagi incessantly teases Nishikata in and out of class. At one part it gave me a little bit of Tonari no Seki kun vibes when Nishikata was making a jack-in-the-box to try and shock Takagi, only for it to backfire in his face quite literally. Takagi often takes advantage of how easy it is to read Nishikata and uses that as well as his short-sightedness to prank him. As someone older than these kids and seeing the antics of middle schoolers it's easy to see how Takagi is more mature and definitely likes Nishikata, whereas Nishikata doesn't really understand his feelings and instead focuses on trying to oust Takagi at her game of teasing him. That's basically the whole series. It's a beautiful thing really, to see their friendship grow and subtly progress throughout the show. 

One thing I find funny is that usually they're in English class when all of this happens. And a bulk of the show actually happens before and after school with Nishikata and Takagi walking together. And it's also funny seeing the two sides of middle school life, the kind of romantic life with teasing the people you like and also the childish fun that you have with your friends. It's pretty nostalgic thinking back to those middle school days.

Overall, if you're looking for a fluffy 12 episode anime this is it. It's got a lot of doki-doki moments, as well as, ironically, a shoujo parody inside, which is pretty funny considering this definitely has shoujo vibes. Or perhaps it isn't shoujo since it's from Nishikata's perspective, but instead in a more general sense it's just romantic. It's also relatable and heartwarming all at once. Just listen to the OP and if you're anything like me you'll probably be hooked. Fingers crossed anyways that you enjoy~

Me thinking about everything I've ever wasted time on. Honestly Mina is me. She's the type of person to try something new and it usually turns of disgusting just for the experience. :( whenever I order a new drink it usually turns out disgusting and sad, but it was an interesting experience I can never get back, which in its own way is valuable as well (me trying to justify buying so many expensive drinks or clothing that I do not enjoy but like trying lol)

RIP when people catch you doing embarrassing things and commence teasing you about it for about two thirds of an eternity

Mina's pretty dramatic, but at the same time this is really relatable. I remember at the end of my summer break, as I was finishing packing for college I realized that summer break wasn't coming back, that even when I come back from college I'm just going to work and go to summer school in order to graduation, so it was a pretty sobering experience realizing that that was the end of basically my childhood. Not to be dramatic or anything, but in essence that's what happened. :( I miss being a kid.

I present to you: the Evolution of Takagi and Nishikata's Relationship (abridged)

It's kind of painful how clueless Nishikata is sometimes

I think it's cute how towards the end they started showing more of how Takagi felt. Because before we just had to sort of infer from the instinct that when a girl teases a guy at that age it's a good sign that she likes him, especially since she always talks to basically only him and knows him pretty darn well. But it's just super cute seeing her as well, that her heart is also racing and it's not just her playing with him, but also because she genuinely likes him as well.