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No, I haven't played any VN, actually, but that's one of the things that I want to try in the future. There's a VN called Kara no Shoujo; I don't know if you have heard it. It's a psychological/thriller/mystery adult visual novel that's been on my radar for a while, and I've been itching to try it out. Personally, the closest thing VN has to do with my life is probably when I watched someone's Doki Doki Literature Club playthrough on YouTube. There was a period where it was really booming everywhere, especially on the internet, so I let my curiosity consume me. And that was probably also my first exposure to the world of VN. How about you? You mentioned that you had actually bought and played some. Can you title-drop a few, maybe?

Hehe :)


Hmm, I guess so. I can see there are a few similarities, though I can't say for Vivy as I haven't seen it. I'd say one of the biggest differences is that Key Metal Idol's focus is more specific through the evolution of individual journey, while Pluto's is more general with the concepts of existence, coexistence, and evolution. As for Violet Evergarden, yes, it's kind of similar in terms of the focus of the individual journey, but there's no robot, as Violet is actually a human with bionic arms instead of a robot. And yeah, haha. I also like the cover art, and that was one of the reasons it caught my attention.

Yeah, sorry, I didn't mean it in a serious way about the sister stuff haha. I think you probably know it right, but there's an incestious relationship in there, so that's why I made the previous statement/joke. Taboo and controversial things in general, and especially regarding ecchi/eroticism and sexuality, tend to be labeled by people as trash. But in all seriousness, I genuinely think in the Yousuga no Sora case, it's actually a pretty decent anime depicting turbulence in that kind of relationship in an unironic manner. I also remember liking the overall atmosphere of the show. Oh, right. I don't know if you ever watch anime sourced from Visual Novel, but this is actually adapted from VN. Therefore, there are some disconnected stories for different routes and stuff. Incestious flares are mostly present, but it's not all about that. By the way, I think Steins;Gate is also adapted from VN, but they adopted it more linearly without branching out or disconnection. And later, they add alternative routes or timelines through different entries, like Steins;Gate 0, and others. So, there's the difference. How am I talking and comparing Yosuga no Sora to Steins;Gate? Lol.

I'm doing fine :) Nothing much, honestly. As you can tell, I'm watching the Spice & Wolf remake currently. I haven't watched the original myself, so unfortunately, I can't give you my full opinion on it about the comparison between the two. Don't quote me on this and take it as a fact (I don't like spreading misinformation), but from what I've heard, the remake version is more faithful to the LN source material. I've also heard season 2 of the original is more derailing from the LN, and that's probably one of the reasons, aside from the fact that it's been years since the last sequel release, they decided to make a remake version rather than continuing with season 3. Regarding the art style, yeah, it's just a matter of preference. I personally don't have a problem with it, and the remake overall as an anime has been really good so far, in my opinion. Though if you're really bothered by the remake's art style, I think you can stick to the original if you want to, because it's pretty highly regarded on its own.

Yes, I'm currently watching Key the Metal Idol. I think overall it's a pretty good anime so far, though I'm only on episode 6, so my opinion is strictly with that in mind and may change in the future. The premise is about a robot becoming a human. How? By befriending 30.000 people. Yeah, it sounds silly and unreasonable; without downplaying it, I just say it's a pretty interesting concept, to say the least, as we explore how to get to that objective. There's an other option present, but as the title suggests, it's not yet to happen so far on my end, but I think they'll ultimately become an idol to reach it (whether mistranslated or not, I think they expanded the idea to followers instead of friends). There are villains, but for now, I'm mostly interested in the main cast dynamic. The MC herself, as a robot, has the flesh of a human body, and I won't get into it, but there's some kind of intrigue and mystery around that as well, as she discovers herself. Lastly, in terms of technicalities, the scores are alright, I guess; I mildly like the OP and ED, but nothing really stands out negatively or positively. The animation and the overall visuals are nothing stylistically sound but pretty good overall for their time, in my opinion. I personally like the character designs; it's pretty classic 90's art style if you're specifically wondering about that (Spice & Wolf remake case ;)). I hope this helps and isn't too spoilery.

Hey, how's everything been going? I just wanted to say hi. I hope you're doing fine. I notice you just added Yosuga no Sora to your PTW list. I remember that you've also informed me that you have a sister. Is it a coincidence or not? Make sure to watch it with her, and may your relationship with her strengthen lol :)

Yea bro nice to meet you too! Thanks its pretty hard to find people with similar interest in anime lol

I've seen your Favs & Your list... you're a good guy, pal…You're a good guy.

Haibara is a great character in the show. I remember in some of the early episode she would troll Conan saying she was 80 years old or something like that 😂😂😂. But yeah in the United States where I am from the anime is not very popular... or at least not as popular as shows like One Piece that have a similar run time.

Ill be honest with you. I saw the Haibara pic on the forum set and I was like insta friend request. Not many people in the west like Detective Conan that much honestly. Makes me sad.

Thanks for accepting my FR :)

Madoka Magica is one of my favorite anime as well. I just finished the first two movies, which are basically a recap of the TV series. I still really enjoyed it because there were some improvements in terms of animation, with a few extra scenes, but of course, they also cut quite a portion of some of the scenes to fit in a movie length. I heard the fourth movie is coming out this year. I'm looking forward to it, but I think we need to wait a little bit longer unless you're going to watch it in the theater. Yeah, I've also heard a little bit about Revolutionary Girl Utena. I don't have it on my plan list yet, but it indeed looks interesting.

You mentioned that you love the new character in Sousou no Frieren, but generally speaking, do you have a favorite character, by the way? Conceptually, I think Frieren is the most compelling one, which led to the core premise of the story as well. But my personal favorite probably goes to Himmel. I think I like his leadership qualities; he's pretty optimistic and wise, but he's also pretty funny, haha. The narcissistic side of him isn't overblown, as that's just the goofy side of him that also makes him likable.

The explanation regarding your bingable aspect of a slow-paced or fast-paced show, I'd say, is pretty understandable. Aside from time, for me personally, there's definitely a factor in terms of pacing, but I'm leaning toward the density of the content. Whether the pacing is slow or fast, if the content of the series is so dense within an episode, I feel like I need to take a break each episode to let it sink rather than click the continue button over and over again. But of course there are also some exceptions, because if the series is really good and for some reason certain series or episode has an unexplainably bingable factor, I'll probably let the urge and watch the next episode, no matter how dense the content is, and I'll let it sink in later down the line.

The other aspect that comes into consideration is genre-wise; it also really comes into play personally for me. I usually don't binge on either comedy or slice of life. The major entertainment factor for comedy is to see something funny that, to a certain extent, makes you laugh, so it simply can be a bit too tiring for me to binge it. As for the slice of life, especially the iyashikei-type, the purpose of the healing effect can also be worn out for me, and with how mundane it is, it also can lead more toward boredom than the healing effect, hence why I prefer not to binge-watch a slice of life show. What I just mentioned may sound contradictory to you because both comedy and slice of life shows are naturally for the most part a non-dense genre, but as I've also said above, there are always some exceptions. It depends on a lot of factors; yeah, you may find it weird or maybe not hehe :)

For romance anime recommendations, yeah, I'd probably recommend Kimi ni Todoke. I know that Clanad is in your favorites. Unfortunately, I haven't seen it (I'd love to!). Here, I guess I'll make it a list with little summary in it if you're interested:

- Kimi ni Todoke; the romance part and the characters are really adorable, in my opinion. The relationship builds relatively slowly. It's pretty funny and wholesome show but there are quite a few dramas built upon some misunderstandings as well. It can be a bit frustrating to some (not for me personally, but I'm just going to leave it there for the information). I'll take it as a show with an emphasis on communications. Plus the third season has just been announced! It's pretty exciting since this series has been coming out for years.

- Oregairu; for this one, I recommend it because you mentioned that you enjoy the banter between characters. We follow the cynical mind of the MC as he grows. I think the dialogue, or just the monologing of the MC himself, is interesting. The romance part focuses heavily on the love polygon. So, there will be a ship sinking lol. Some notes to mention: as the title suggests with the word SNAFU, the rom-com part is rather ironic. So, it's actually more drama and romance. Maybe the first season, but the latter season is definitely filled with more drama than comedy. sometimes the drama can be a tiny bit overdramatic, as they are all understandably teenagers.

- Rec; if you're looking for a shorter yet self-contained romantic drama-comedy story (it contains ±10 minutes per episode with 9 episodes plus 1 chronologically relevant special). It's one of my favorites as well. The romance is pretty cute, but the couple are also working adults who deal with their own problems and sometimes make mistakes. I think this is an earlier Shaft project, so there's no signature artistic style that Shaft is known for.

- Ristorante Paradiso; I give this one as a more unique one. As the title suggests, the setting is in Italy (sometimes random Italian words are spoken there lol), with a restaurant as the main place. It's also more unique because there's a certain fetish, or, I don't know, a unique taste, with the romanticization of older men with spectacle. I don't think it's super weird, but if you're not used to it, it can rub off the wrong way. Overall, I think the story is told in a pretty mature way and the characters are pretty well developed.

- The last one I'll give is the drama-free one: Tonikaku Kawaii and Tsuki ga Kirei. Tonikaku Kawaii for sugar-inducing, funny, and wholesome, with a tiny bit of spice of a newlywed couple. Idealistic but still surprisingly pretty educational for relationship matters. I especially enjoyed the first season a lot. As for Tsuki ga Kirei, it's the purest form of romance show between middle schoolers, in my opinion. Conclusive, not overly dramatic, nor overly comedic, just grounded pure romance.

I don't know if it's enough or too many; I hope I don't bore you because I realize this is already a pretty lengthy reply than usual lol. All in all, hopefully, my recommendations are enough to help you find the one that interests you the most. I hope you enjoy it whenever you decide to watch it, and this sentence, by the way, also applies to Pluto because, as you mentioned earlier, you're going to watch it sometime in the future hehe :) Naoki Urasawa is truly a talented individual, in my opinion. Looking at his discography, he's been a pretty consistent author, and I think his praise is well-deserved in this industry.

That's good to hear. I hope you stay on pretty good terms or better :) I'm also kind of interested in Mahou Shoujo ni Akogarete. I've seen some clips of it, and it looked 'super interesting' hehe. To be honest, I haven't delved deep into the world of mahou shoujo aside from Madoka Magica. So, hopefully, it can broaden my horizons, or maybe not lol. I don't know your experience or interest with the genre, but if I try to broaden my experience, I think maybe I'll consider watching either Princess Tutu or Cardcaptor Sakura; I'm not sure. Oh, I forgot, other than Madoka Magica, I actually have seen Mahou Shoujo Site, even though it can be pretty funny at times, whether intentionally or not, I don't think it's a good show overall, in my opinion.

Regarding Frieren, yeah, maybe we're experiencing a new classic in the making. It's been really good so far and pretty solid in a lot of aspects, as you mentioned. But if I'm being honest, I personally think the last couple of episodes have been the weaker part of the series, in my opinion. It seems we're on some kind of tournament arc. It's still good though, because we're expanding the world and introducing a bunch of new characters. But I still personally like the first half more. I just like the theme explorations in Frieren that happen mostly in the first half of the series (I hope there will be more later), even though sometimes they feel a bit episodic. Some aspects of Frieren, like the concept some of the theme and story-telling, remind me a bit of Monster. In Monster, sometimes they also feel episodic, but they neatly tie together, whether thematic-wise or with an overarching narrative and plot; the approach to this style of writing also makes some people call Monster a rather slow-burner show (I think you can also call Frieren as a pretty slow show), which is understandable, and if you're not interested enough, it can appear too slow, but for me, those are the parts I thoroughly enjoy and highlight of the series. Another thing that Frieren reminds me of Monster is that there's a character who bears an unmistaken resemblance to a major character in Monster. I think you know who he is because he's nichely popular. Sorry, I don't know why I'm talking about Monster. You haven't even seen it. I just like Monster; maybe that's why hehe. I can't help but notice things.

Nice, you also plan to watch The Apothecary Diaries. It's a pretty good show, in my opinion, but I mostly like it because of the MC. Do you have some criteria for whether a show is watched weekly/slowly, or binge-watched? Because you mentioned you may binge on the Apothecary Diary in particular. Anyway, I don't know you have read the Solo Leveling manhwa. I'm glad that you're enjoying it, and it's good to hear that the adaptation has been solid. I don't know the right term; it's action-power fantasy, I think (?). I still like and can enjoy it, but I'm not the biggest craver of it. On the other side, I also think that for you, you're not as enthusiastic as me in terms of the romance genre. I've watched a lot of them, with the latest one I finished being Just Because! :)

Hey, how's it going over there? This current anime season feels underwhelming. I know my sentiment may be invalid because I didn't watch any; it just feels like it lol. I'm currently just continuing the left-over series from the previous season that I follow, like Kusuriya no Hitorigoto and Sousou no Frieren. I notice that you're at least watching Solo Leveling. Are you enjoying Solo Leveling so far or any other series?

Thank you for your kind words. Hearing that really warms my heart, and it really means a lot to me :) Regarding Sangatsu no Lion, I'll keep that in mind, and I also like to keep my expectations in check because, in my opinion, the greater the expectation, usually, it leads to greater disappointment.

Yeah, I haven't seen both Tatami Galaxy and Re:Zero. I have them on my PTW list as well. So, hopefully, I'll watch them somewhere in the future, but I don't know if it'll be in the near future; I'm not sure. If I'm not mistaken, I've heard both have elements of time travel in them. It may be a bit surprising, given how popular it is, but I also haven't seen Attack on Titan. Maybe, big maybe, in the future, but for now, I'm not really interested in watching it hehe.

Also, feel free to let me know your opinion on Ping Pong the Animation when you get around to it somewhere in the future. Take care!

Oh hi, how have you been? It's been a while, a year, since we last talked (excuse me for my dry yearly joke lol). Don't worry, it's understandable, and it's actually been only a few days and it's fine to take your time to reply :) I'm just grateful you spent your precious time talking with me here. Thank you! I wish you and your loved ones the same as well.

I hope I'll enjoy it too; it's high on my priority list. I haven't read the whole synopsis (I rarely read synopsies anyway haha. I don't know about you, but I mostly look at the cover and genres, and sometimes I just glance through the synopsis. Sometimes more of a blind watch is more fun!). I've only heard Sangatsu no Lion when I was watching Ping Pong the Animation. I heard they were both dealing with similar themes, and from your explanation about a genius prodigy, I think it's pretty on point, but with the way that you compared it to Welcome to the NHK and also cried within the first episode, I'm guessing Sangatsu no Lion is probably a more somber and depressing one.

If you're wondering about Ping Pong the Animation, it deals with themes of talent, effort, and expectation. It's a character-driven sports anime that's also applicable and covers life in general. The art style is pretty unique and kind of weird; it reminds me a bit of Welcome to the NHK, but the shot and everything are really well directed, in my opinion. I think you may also enjoy it, and it's relatively short. It's one of my favorite self-contained 1 season anime. And since we're talking about crying, yes, I also got teary-eyed in some scenes when watching it haha, but overall, it's not really a sad show.

Yeah, the ambiance through natural sound also helps. I'd like to mention VA as well. One of the most memorable emotional performances for me was Thorfinn losing his father. His performance was great there, in my opinion. As we speak about Mob Psycho 100, I also remember that reconciliation scene with Reigen VA, especially when he said, "Hey, do you know?" It's subtle, but his voice was rather shaky and held such a rich emotion compared to his usual confident self. I think it's pretty great as well. I'm also with you about that scene being one of my favorites from Mob Psycho 100. With all the fighting and cool action sequences from the show, I still enjoyed them a lot, but personally, the ones that stick to me the most about the show are the themes about self-discovery, self-improvement, and self-acceptance.

Oh, I see. So you have a separate manga list and will eventually read them. As you can probably tell, I'm not really a manga reader hehe. I've only read a very few of them, and I also didn't add them to my list. Speaking of PTW and PTR, I mentioned that Sangatsu no Lion is a high priority on my list. But it was actually high in the sense that I had a feeling that I'd probably enjoy it, but that doesn't mean priority from a time perspective. Have you shared a similar feeling? Sometimes I don't want to watch it too soon because I don't want to run out of good anime to watch. I'm aware that my anime list is pretty pale in comparison to others with thousands of anime lol.