Discuss the Series You Just Finished

Three Leaves, Three Colours (2016) - school based cgdct show. One of our main three leads, a girl named Youko has to start at a normal school after her dad lost his fortune and she is no longer a spoiled rich girl. We follow her as she makes friends and learns how to live a regular life on frugal means. The core to a good cgdct show is the character banter and interactions between the main and secondary cast, and this show hits the mark. funny, some slapstick, over the top reactions, some silly secondary characters like a maid and butler who stalk Youko to keep an eye on her despite not being employed by her family anymore.

Typical character designs, clean visuals with some thought gone into shot composition and camera angles, above and beyond what you'd get from a standard, paint by numbers cgdct show. OST was ok. Finally, this was a Doga Koba production of a 4-koma manga, which more often than not hit the mark where cgdct shows are concerned. Low 7/10 (7.1). This show sits in the B-tier of cgdct for me. Decided to list my cgdct tier rankings for my own reference:

CGDCT Rankings:

S Tier:
A Place Further Than the Universe
Aria franchise
Slime 300
Azumanga Daioh
Yuru Yuri
Hidamari Sketch
Koihime Musou

A Tier:
Non Non Biyori
Healer Girl
GochiUsa
Demon Girl Next Door
Gabriel DropOut
Bocchi the Rock
Girls Last Tour
Love Lab
Dropkick on my Devil
Diary of Our Days at the Breakwater
Azur Lane
Asobi Asobase
Nichijou
Nekopara
Sound of the Sky

B Tier:
Minami-ke
OniMai
Magical Pokan
K-On
Konohana Kitan
Lucky Star
Yuru Camp
Uma Musumi: Pretty Derby
Kanamemo
Yuyushiki
Three Leaves, Three Colours
Endro
Hinako Note
WataTen
Comic Girls
Hina Logi: Luck and Logic
Princess Principal
Urara Meirocho
Yuri is my Job
Galaxy Angels
Didn't I Say to Make My Abilities Average in the Next Life?!
Hitoribocchi
Lapis Re:Lights
Fate Kaleid Liner: Prisma Illya
Dropout Idol Fruit Tart
Assault Lily Bouquet

C Tier:
Akebi's Sailor Uniform
New Game
Warlords of Sigrdrifa
RPG Real Estate
Sport Climbing Girls
Takunomi
Slow Loop
Slow Start
Ms vampire who Lives in My Neighbourhood
Kiniro Mosiac
Strawberry Marshmallow
Strike Witches
Leviathan: Last Defence
D4DJ First Mix
High School Fleet
KanColle
Show By Rock!! Mashumairesh!!

Maria the Virgin Witch (2015) - this is one of those series that has an interesting setting and themes, but tries to cram too much into the story, ofc it may have been the pressure to adapt the source material in one cour. We follow the titular witch, Maria, living in one of the warring periods between France and England during the medieval ages. Maria uses her powers to prevent the fighting between the two sides, earning her the ire of the soldiers, who earn money from looting, the nobles, and her fellow witches, who also profit from the fighting, although it's not clear how exactly. Then you have the church, who see Maria as a heretic, getting in the way of gods decree that the enemies of France be defeated. And finally you have the archangel Michael show up, displeased that Maria is disrupting the natural order of things, by which he means, humans should be left to their own devices, and if this creates war, chaos and suffering then so be it. Michael curses Maria so that she will lose her magical powers if she loses her virginity. There is a fair amount of bawdy humour in this show, as well as a lot of general sexual content.

Maria has two familiars, one a sexy succubus who helps Maria prevent fighting by shagging as many of the soldiers as she can, and an incubus, who doesn't have a penis, so isn't much help, apart from serving a couple of men, ahem. Then you have a love interest in Joseph, who is principled, innocent but with a certain grit about him, and devoted to Maria. None of the characters really stand out, apart from the bawdy succubus, a mercenary called Galfa, who doesn't give a shit and just wants to fight, make money and screw women, and his doxy Lolotte, who has a no nonsense attitude towards her place as Galfa's partner. Reminded me of the women in the Sharpe books, who followed the army and earned scraps by looting dead corpses and having to constantly remarry as their husbands were killed in battle one after another, but they carried on doing the cooking, cleaning and other camp chores that keep an army moving.

The story seemed overly convoluted and had too many moving pieces with the battles, the church, the romance, the witches and the angels. Conclusive ending, which was wrapped up almost too neatly. Clean visuals, too clean for medieval France. While this wasn't a bad watching experience, it lacked depth, and I wouldn't recommend it. Mid 6/10 (6.4).

The Ancient Magus' Bride Season 2 Part 2 (2023) - the story continues on from where it left off at the end of Season 2 Part 1 with a powerful magic grimoire having been stolen and people attacked in the college. What I like most about this series is the dialogue. You get some really profound moments, deftly articulated, whether it's around how people harbour resentment, hate or jealously towards someone with innate talent, how people need to tell others how they feel and ask for help if they need it and recognising when someone else is in the same dark place you were once in and helping them out of their malaise. A bunch of the plots involved parent child relationships, which were moving. I know the phrase 'hurt people, hurt other people' is often quoted, but I think the phrase 'broken people break other people' suits the villain of the series.

This series has a penchant for the darker side of magic, which I like, but also takes it's time to cherish the good, kind and benevolent sides of human behaviour, and many of the characters display both, especially parents. I love the appearance of a less well known ancient god and this season we had the Morrigan to add to the mix. Good visuals, especially the detailed eyes (they could give studio Mappa and Gojou Satoru a run for their money) and OST round off a decent second season, low 8/10 (8.3).

Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha: The Movie 2nd A's (2012) - the second movie picks up when the first left off and we rejoin Nanoha as she joyfully reunites back with Fate after her confinement following the events of the last movie. All too soon trouble arises as the girls are attacked by rogue mages seeking to drain them of their magic power. They learn they must seek out a dark tome imbued with a broken magical defence spell that causes its users to die and wreak havoc upon the world. This story followed a similar trajectory as the first, with the bad guys having a valid reason for their actions, even if the means to achieve their goals aren't justified. After some misunderstandings and bit of drama, everyone unites to fight a common enemy. You have the gap effect between the cute and innocent character designs, and the daily lives of the girls at school (not much touched upon in these movies, which condenses the story from what I understand) and the dramatic nature of the events that unfold.

Pacing keeps the story moving at a quick trot, but doesn't feel rushed. The story knows how to press the pedal on the emotional beats and does it well, without coming over as overly melodramatic. This second film is just as polished as the first with some gorgeously animated action sequences, detailed backgrounds and bright colours. The magical weapons are worth a mention, with each having magical bullets that are loaded and then power up the weapon, pistons firing, exhausts venting etc, looks pretty damn cool. Well rounded OST with mostly instrumental and orchestral pieces, but also some insert songs and electric guitar accompaniments for the action scenes.

All in all, a couple of pretty impressive magical girl films, have to thank @inim for putting me onto the films rather than the longer series. Strong film, high 7/10 (7.8).

Natsume’s Book of Friends: Nyanko-Sensei and the First Errand (2013) - special extra episode where Nyanko comes across two children who are on an errand to the shop but became lost along the way. They think he's a talking tanuki and entreat him to help them, which he does, much to his dismay. Sweet and light hearted, mid 7/10 (7.6).

Natsume’s Book of Friends: On a Certain Snowy Day (2014) - this additional OVA episode involves a story where Natsume comes across a fluffy snow fairy (basically looks like a traditional snowman) who is continually searching for something, but doesn't know what that thing is, or where it is. Being a sympathetic kind of person Natusme helps the snow fairy in the search and ends up being rewarded for his efforts when the fluffy snow fairy finds what it's been looking for and blooms into its full fledged form, only to then pass away. This story is more typical of the ones found in the various series with a melancholy feel. The snow fairy continually searched for something, which once found allowed it to bloom and it then disappeared, having fulfilled it's purpose. Was the search wasteful or regretful given that upon finding what it seeks, the snow fairy passes away? High 7/10 (7.8).

Special Duty Combat Unit Shinesman (1996) - parody OVA of Power Rangers and Super Sentai format, which sees some aliens attempts to invade earth through corporate takeover. The aliens are combated by a group of super heroes known as Shinesman, regular salarymen by day and super heroes by night. Mildly funny at times, mid 6/10 (6.6).

Sound of the Sky (2010) - a cgdct military show about a group of girls serving in a remote fortress town that is based on the real Spanish town of Cuenca. This show had a good mix to it; some SoL moments where not much happens but daily life, cdgct banter, some mythology about the regions history of Fire Maidens who saved a fallen angel, a bootleg distillery, some developments about some of the girls' backstories, some sci-fi about an apocalyptic war and lost technology and finally some actual military drama. This show almost feels as if it could've been set in the same world as Girls Last Tour but in the far distant past.

This was one of those shows where the setting feels like an extra character, it was so rich and detailed. Small details like the tiled floors and walls, statues, clothes and furniture. And to top it all off a lovely OST with a focus on the trumpet playing of our bugler, Kanata, including one of the most moving renditions of Amazing Grace on a lone trumpet, got me right in the feels every time. Character designs reminded me a lot of Id@lmaster 2011, which was created by A1 studios only a year later. Good VA from the Japanese cast.

Overall a really good package of a show wrapped up in a cgdct format. High 7/10 (7.9).

Sound of the Sky Specials (2010) - two extra episodes, the first of which involves the secret calvados distillery hidden in the fort. You don't often see underage characters drinking, and when you do it's usually an accidental sip or chocolate liqueur, but here the girls all got riotously drunk on the calvados. Second episode was all about peoples' dreams for the future and what they want to achieve with their lives. Some really nice visuals in the second episode of the surrounding countryside, reminded me of rural Spain or Portugal. Strong 7/10 (7.7). Sound of the Sky is a little gem of a show which I'd place as low A rank in my cgdct rankings.

@jal90 you're right it's impressive that Sounds of the Sky manages to include the usual cgdct banter and camaraderie whilst having a world that is on the brink of war and is a real and present danger. Usually cgdct have safe, insular worlds, where nobody gets hurt and nobody is harmed so it's a refreshing change to have such a competent mix of girls who are able to enjoy light hearted moments with each other, but still have worries and misgivings over the future, especially because although they now have peace with the immediate neighbour, there are still many other countries fighting each other.

The alcohol and arranged marriage are two aspects you would never normally get in a cgdct show, you don't get them in most anime unless it's a character accidentally getting drunk (or older drunk onee-san type) or a love interest is forced into a marriage prompting the protagonist to step up their game, ie Magical Revolution of the Reincarnated Princess and the Genius Young Lady, and it's usually treated in a melodramatic manner, poor damsel in distress forced to marry pervy guy (ie Perv Asshat from Eminence in Shadow type). None of that here, it's barely mentioned, apart from the fact the roman emperor is an understanding guy and Rio is allowed to return to the fort.

@OrlahEhontas I did wonder that myself as the story ends abruptly. Some of the parody moments were pretty damn funny, shame it didn't get picked up.

Space Pirate Captain Herlock: Outside Legend - The Endless Odyssey (2002) - first off, one inconsistency that bugs me. Every character synopsis spells it HArlock. every character calls him Captain HArlock, yet every title spells it HErlock, why I have no idea.

I've only seen two entries from the Harlock universe, the Galaxy Express 999 film and the 2013 fully cgi film from Toei, which I highly recommend, good film with a bit of Hollywood feel to it and stunning visuals. So I'm not overly cognisant of all the minute details of Harlock, his backstory and that of his crew and ship.

This entry sees an unknown primordial entity suddenly awaken and seek to cull all life in the universe to take it back to a state of chaos, as it was during the birth of everything with one seething mass of super dense plasma where Nu reigned supreme revelling in the chaos. One aspect I admired was the attention to detail for the backstory of the entity, known as Nu, who was born with the emergence of the universe in plank time just after the big bang. The story then merged sci-fi and mythology saying that Nu is behind the existence and tales of demons. The attention to detail in the science elements were good, even going so far as to talk about the spin of atoms and how flipping them (bit like a version of quantum entanglement) allows Nu to move matter between dimensions.

So Nu wants to destroy all life in the universe and Harlock is entreated by an ancient race to help prevent its destruction. To which he says no, and that he must follow his heart. This is where the show started to lose me. This is the description of Harlock lifted from the mal character synopsis:

"Harlock is the archetypical romantic hero, a space pirate with an individualist philosophy of life. He is as noble as he is taciturn, rebellious, stoically fighting against totalitarian regimes, whether they be earth-born or alien. In his own words, he "fights for no one's sake... only for something deep in his heart."

Wanting to 'follow your heart' is great for the story of a protagonist in the pages of a shounen jump comic for someone like Luffy in One Piece, but when you have a supposedly real world setting, complete with real world physics, this mindset starts breaking down, especially when there are other peoples' lives at stake and actions have consequences. Everybody we meet succumbs to Nu's psychic attacks, breaking down in convulsions of fear, but not Harlock, who seems to have supernatural abilities all drawn from the resilience of his indomitable human spirit. He manages to cross dimensions and walk the world of the deceased and return, because 'he follows his heart, as a man should'! When a show tries so hard to sell me on the real world physics of it's story and then has the protagonist just up and defeat a primordial entity with the strength of their resolve, kind of cheapens the whole deal. This is where I'm not sure whether my knowledge of Harlock is lacking, does he have some supernatural abilities I'm unaware of (I have a vague memory from the film that the mantle of 'Captain Harlock of the ship Arcadia' is passed from person to person [eg like Doctor Who], and that Daiba took on that role at the end of the 2013 film, but I could be mistaken or misremembering).

The ending of the show just stops in the middle of a crucial confrontation. I thought there was going to be an after credits scene wrapping things up but nope, just ends abruptly, which from reading the forum comments annoyed long time fans of the series as much as it bemused me.

This entry is an OVA and the visuals and OST showed. There's a bit of a dark vibe here that didn't really work for me. The OST is genuinely good, but it felt like the music was trying a bit too hard to create a moody, distant vibe at times. Like the character designs.

There's a lot to take away from this series, strong visuals, interesting world, but the juxtaposition between Harlock's actions and mindset and the story is a stretch too far. Reminds me of Char Aznable in Gundam, the writers try too hard to make the character into this solemn, stoic ideal of a man, like a John Wayne type from a spaghetti Western, and it never works with the parts they play in their respective stories, and certainly not as the leading role. For what we got a high 6/10 (6.9).

@23feanor That's frustrating. I know there's a lot of variation out there in terms of availability of shows like these, not to mention way too many streaming services. I saw Unicorn: Warriors Eternal, Scavengers Reign, and Fired on Mars on Max, Hazbin Hotel on Prime, and Blue Eye Samurai and Carol & The End of the World on Netflix. Makes it expensive just to watch all this.

Dropkick On My Devil!! X (2022) - third season of this self aware comedy gag cgdct show with it's large cast and mix of angels and demons all living in Jinbocho. This season was only produced thanks to a crowdfunding campaign so the middle portion of the season was spent at various towns and cities in Japan (mainly Hokkaido). This made it feel like promotional material at times, but the show managed to keep it funny by having the titular Jashin on the run from debt collectors as the excuse why she was running around these places. Also Hakune Miku kept showing up with a spring onion in hand, so guess there was a crossover. I don't get the appeal of Hatsune Miku, at all, she sounds like a computer, at least vtubers like Gawr Gura, Hoshino Marine or Mori Calliope have a personality, and can sing. The rest of the show was the usual banter and antics, which is pretty good. Reminds me of Yuru Yuri at times with a large cast comprised of various different character types who combine and clash in a multitudinous manner. Don't expect we'll get another full season. Solid 7/10 (7.5). Solid A rank cgdct franchise, great banter, very self aware and some really unusual comedy moments like the full 10 minute enka song at the end of S2 called Jinbocho Elergy, it's amazing, honestly!

Chihayafuru Season 2 (2013) - after a strong first season, the balance shifted and I lost interest. Yes the characters are well written and the production quality is very good, but the core of the show and the part that interested me most was the core friendship and dynamic between Chi, Arata and Taichi. This second season we saw very little of Arata, and he interacted with the other two very little. Chi has become one dimensional and single-mindedly obsessed with karuta and there is nothing else to her personality but playing and getting better at karuta. I feel like the author is playing on the gap between a beautiful teenage girl and this obscure card game to keep her interesting. If Chi were a geeky unattractive girl/guy, would the audience still be so invested in watching their journey, I'm not sure. Chi's USP as a character is her vivacious nature and enthusiasm for karuta, contrasted against the looks of a stunning beauty who draws male and female attention wherever she goes, partly due to their befuddlement why she likes karuta, but that can only take you so far, and without anything else to her personality Chi became stale. Taichi is the only one of the main characters who has really grown and developed over the course of the show.

My main gripe is that there's just too much karuta, and it isn't balanced by anything else. The love polygon that was foreshadowed at the beginning of the first season has failed to materialise or even progress after 50 episodes. I can see why. The author backed themselves into a corner, as if we had any sustained meaningful interactions between the main three of Arata, Chi and Taichi, the romantic undertones would overshadow the rest of the show and would drive the narrative to an inevitable romantic pinch point, so the author has purposefully kept these three apart, to the detriment of the show imho. Which is a shame, because even without the romantic subtext I enjoyed watching these three as friends. I would even have enjoyed it if we had some slower SoL elements, but episode after episode of an obscure card game without anything else was just too much for me so I won't be picking up the final season.

Visuals and OST were very good and studio Madhouse did a brilliant job in bringing the source material to life. I simply found myself failing to enjoy watching and getting bored. For me this show could have been an amazing pure romance, like Kimi no Todoke, but condensed into say 24 eps with karuta as a background activity and shared interest of the main leads, even if the romance took a background to the character writing and SoL elements. Have to say I'm a bit disappointed, I really wanted to like this show more than I did and feels like wasted potential. I want to see more of these characters, just not playing karuta. Low to mid 7/10 (7.3).

Zom 100: Bucket List of the Dead (2023) - I'm rounding up the highly praised shows of 2023 and thought I'd give Zom 100 a shot. I've watched too many zombie films and moves over the last couple of decades (remembering getting bored with Walking Dead around season 6) and after finishing this show I can't say my appetite for zombie shows has rekindled yet. I was hoping for a bit more from Zom 100. We got some fun stuff watching our MC, Akira and his mate laze about in Tokyo, get a motorbike and then an RV, but I was hoping for bat shit crazy antics. A couple of the arcs fell flat for me. The first was when Akira encountered his former boss and the second was when a bunch of disenfranchised people holding grudges against everyone tried taking revenge for petty reasons. At times it felt like a sight seeing tour with the cast visiting a sushi place and going to a hot spring, typical anime content. Some of the comedy was ok and the main cast worked well. Animation did stand out especially the use of bright colours for the blood spatters everywhere. High 6/10 (6.8).

Rokka: Braves of the Six Flowers (2015) - a fantasy mystery show based in the unusual world of an ancient Mesoamerican setting (eg Olmec, Mayan, Inca) complete with stepped pyramids, statues and temples. A demon god is revived and this precipitates the summoning of a group of six heroes from across the land, known as Braves. However, once the Braves all come together at an assigned meeting point there are seven of them. One of them is an impostor. The first few episodes are set up and the rest is a mystery whodunnit all set around a temple where the Braves have been imprisoned within a magical barrier preventing them from progressing further in their quest to defeat the demon god. Our MC, Adlet Myer, must work to uncover the identity of the impostor so the true Braves can lift the barrier and resume their quest. Suspenseful enough to keep me hitting next episode with some logical deductions used to help the mystery narrative moving forward whilst giving us time to get to know each of the main cast. Animation wasn't the best, but the backgrounds of the lush tropical jungle and stone age buildings were nicely done. OST was a bit to dramatic for the content and didn't quite work. Low 7/10 (7.2).

Fist of the North Star: The Movie (1986) - I remember watching either some of the series or this movie when I was a young teenager at my mate's brothers and ever after Ken from Fist of the North Star became the top trump in theoretical arguments regarding which fictional character would win in a fight. I'd forgotten all details except the name 'Fist of the North Star', so thought I should check this one out.

In a post apocalyptic hellscape our MC, Ken, has his finacee stolen by his old friend, Shin, and left for dead. Ken must search the wasteland for Yuria (Julia in the dub) and recover her from Shin's clutches. This is the most GAR male orientated action I think I've ever seen. Huge dudes punching each other, with some of them exploding into gory pieces after the impact. Side note; I'd always wondered what GAR stood for and looked it up; turns out it's one of those phrases that originated from message boards, in this case 4chan (so bit like the term 'pog') and GAR doesn't stand for anything, just a term for manly men being manly.

Ken beats Shin, then discovers Yuria has been kidnapped by another dude, Raoh, so he must continue on to fight Raoh. He finds and fights Raoh only to have Yuria disappear during the fight. And that's it. Animation wasn't the best, apart from a couple of stunning scenes at the beginning and end of the film showing nature landscapes. Also the dub cut out 10 mins before the end of the film, bit odd.

12 y/o me was impressed by this gore action with glowing eyes Ken kicking ass, but with no actual story and no depth to any of the characters (I appreciate this is a condensed version of the series, but still, all the men are just GAR males who simply growl and want to fight) this wasn't very good. Mid 5/10 (5.5).

Dirty Pair Flash (1994) - this 6 episode OVA is an alternative setting to the original tv series. The MC, Kei and Yuri, have had a 90's make over with large angular eyes and spiky hair styles and much more antagonistic towards each other than the original versions. The story in this OVA is linear with the girls getting tangled with a galactic megacorp seeking dominion, megalomaniac geius and an assassin. All the reviews I read for this OVA said it wasn't very good and nothing like the original, and I agree, it wasn't. However, taken on it's own merits this was a decent OVA and whilst the main duo didn't have the same chemistry and banter, the setting and story was decent. Animation for the action and background details were very nice, some of the settings reminded me of those in the Final Fantasy games. OST was good with some shredding electric guitar for the action sequences, Glad I picked this one up and gave it a chance. Low 7/10 (7.1).

Undead Girl Murder Farce (2023) - continuing my roundup of the best picks from 2023 I moved onto this supernatural detective show set in an alternate version of the late 18th century where monsters exist. Our main leads consist of one oni, Tsugaru, one immortal girl (950 y/o) who lost her head to a mysterious professor, Aya, and one maid, Shizuku. These three meet up in Japan and shortly after agreeing to form a cohort to find Aya's body and help Tsugaru extend his lifespan, they set across the world solving cases as they go. These three are all a bit strange in their own way; especially Tsugaru, who comes across like he has a screw lose at times, and has a strange pattern of speaking, Aya, the dignified and intellectual talking head and the silent maid with a big gun. They bounce well off each other.

The first case involves a vampire Duke and his family, who have been working with humans peacefully until the murder of the Duke's wife. The second case is set in London and involves a handful of historical fictional characters including Sherlock Holmes, Phileas Fogg, Lupin and the Phantom of the Opera, plus a real historical person in Jack the Ripper. The last case involves a hidden werewolf village in the Alps and a number of gruesome murders all involving young girls. Each was detailed and interesting. I'm not the biggest fan of including existing fictional characters in a story, especially Sherlock, as it often doesn't work (ie Moriaty and the Patriot S2), but the author managed to include a variety of characters and they balanced each other.

Clean animation and backgrounds, nothing special but looked alright. Same with the OST, just ok. Similar stamp of show as Case Study of Vanitas and Moriaty the Patriot with historical setting and supernatural elements. Hope we get a second season. Strong 7/10 (7.7).

Magical Meow Meow Taruto (2001) - a show about the fantastical world of cats. The cats in this show are anthropomorphised, however, the humans see them as plain cats and can't talk to them. Our MC, Taruto, lives out her life with her owner getting to know the cats in the neighbourhood and generally having a relaxing and fun time of it. Taruto can use magic, although it never has the intended consequences and usually goes wrong, but this convinces her of a tale of a lost cat princess and she thinks it could be her. The majority of the show is relaxing cat antics, but the fantasy tale of a cat realm and it's infighting and lost princess comes to the forefront in the final few episodes. Backgrounds were nice. The setting was a European looking town with western style buildings and architecture, but with the addition of Japanese features and customs. Cute character designs for the multitude of cats. Mainly relaxing content with a bit of a fantasy flourish at the end. Solid 6/10 (6.6).

@inim I was planning on picking up some of the later OVA's and movies you mentioned, but after watching this film and getting the general gist of the series I won't bother. I wanted to reconnect with an old memory of watching FotNS as a young teenager and inform myself what the story was about. After having done so, I'm not that bothered about digging deeper into the franchise.

Please tell me! Galko-chan (2016) - short form anime (7 min per ep) that you can binge in a bit over an hour. The show follows Galko, a busty gyaru, and her classmates, Otako and Ojou as they discuss many different subjects, often touching upon sex and people's misconceptions over how someone looks compared to how they behave, a lesson we all learn as we're growing up. I thought some of the discussions around labels and how people get treated in a certain way because of their label and way they look was very well articulated in a funny and engaging manner. The content of the discussions varied from outright hilarious (ie does the size and shape of a girls lips indicate the shape of her vulva) to topics that I remember wondering about when I was much younger (ie can virgins not use insert tampons, does riding a horse mean you've lost your virginity, silly stuff like that). Galko is very similar to a girl in my favourites, Yame Yukana, and is exactly the type I liked when I was younger, a dolled up girl but who isn't a slut and is actually quite shy and reserved when it comes down to it, so yeah liked watching her. Educational with a sound message and funny moments, high 6/10 (6.8).

Ashita no Joe (1970) - this was an unusual mix of a show. I expected a sports shounen anime centred around boxing, and whilst boxing is the key focus of the show and main driving force behind our MC, Yabuki Joe, this show is definitely not a typical shounen sports anime. We follow Joe on his quest to become a recognised boxer, which takes him to some unexpected places (juvenile prison and a touring company). Joe's gym and home is a run down ramshackle hut under a bridge known as the 'Bridge of Tears', as it leads to the slums where Joe lives. People walking over the bridge to the slums only do so when they have nowhere else to live and never return to civilised accommodation. Hence the notion that when they cross over the bridge they do so with tears in their eyes, knowing they have no hope for the future. This is the main setting where Joe lives alongside the colourful characters of the slums who take Joe as their hero and saviour and one of them, someone who has the power and talent to rise from the squalid place they inhabit thanks to his innate skill at brawling and street fighting.

The first thing that struck me was that Joe is so untypical of so many lead characters and the Japanese stereo type of later years (made me realise how sterile and sanitised manga/anime have become over the years, this story is a product of its time and its core strength). Joe is brash, has no respect for authority and speaks his mind, particularly earlier on in the show. He reminds me more of a stereo type American punk than a Japanese lad. Although Joe does knuckle down to an extent and learn how to behave in order to pass his boxing training and become a registered fighter, he never loses his independent streak. In that famous Japanese saying 'the nail that stands out gets hammered down', Joe would be a giant spike daring anyone to try and hammer him down if they think they're hard enough.

The characters are what makes this show. As well as Joe, you have his trainer, Tange Danpei, who I've seen parodied so often I almost felt like I knew him. Tange is an old boxer whose dream to become a champion faltered, so he became a coach, but then that fell apart and he became a drunk with nothing to live for. That is until he meets Joe one day and his passion to see Joe become a champion boxer lifts him out of his torpor and he becomes Joe's stalwart rock, guiding him on his journey. Then you have one of the greatest rivals in any sports story I've seen, Rikiishi Tooru. The build up of Rikiishi and Joe's rivalry is masterfully written and the ending is so unexpected. Then you have the posh girl, Shiraki Yoko, who is not typical at all being a woman in the mans world of boxing. Finally you have one of my new favourite characters, Sachi, who steals the spotlight every time she's on screen; a rude and outspoken young girl from the slums (part of a group of kids that attaches themselves to Joe and follow his every move, like a fan club, the characters designs of which reminded me of the Bash Street Kids from the Beano comic I used to read as a kid) who is quite smitten with Joe, but can be very vulgar and has a bad habit of removing her sandals and biffing people over the head with them when they badmouth Joe. This group of kids are the main source of comedy in the show and are just the best; they smoke, rip people off, cause damage to people and property left right and centre and are generally a little bunch of hooligans, who you just can't help but smile when you see them on screen.

I get the feeling watching anime all these years, that I've been seeing stereo types of characters made from known moulds, and observing the characters in Ashita no Joe I'm seeing the moulds later character stereo types were made from. These characters are an ingredient in the original base mould for many later cliche and conventional character types.

The animation is a bit crude but uses some simple but effective techniques and personally I like it. OST was a brilliant mix of mostly wild jazz (same as Dezaki's other work Treasure Island) mixed with jaunty tuneful pieces for the light hearted and comedic moments. The only real drawback to the show is that I found it tough to get through at times. Watching this show put me in mind of watching an old spaghetti Western. I didn't often have the urge to watch the next episode, but when I did I always found it a rewarding experience, and never watched more than two episodes at a time. Good to have seen another of Dezaki's works. I'll pick up the second season at some point (which I understand starts from the mid point of season 1 and follows through until the end of the manga), although intending to watch Hajime no Ippo first. Very high 7/10 (7.9).

Aria the Avvenire (2015) - three episode special taking us back to Neo Venezia to check in on Akari, Aika and Alice and their new apprentices, as well as reflect on some of their past encounters. This special was produced by a different studio to the past entries in the franchise, and apart from some janky cgi buildings in the first 10 mins of episode 1, they did a good job. They reused the OST from previous seasons. Magical blend of music and art, amazing setting with loveable characters, pitch perfect dub cast, and not forgetting some sappy lines. Always moves me watching this franchise. Low 8/10 (8.1).

City Hunter: Goodbye My Sweetheart (1997) - another movie length tv special. This time Ryo and Kaori are engaged to find the lost brother of actress Emi. Turns out he's been up to no good and before long bombs have been planted all over Shinjuku and will detonate if a train that Emi is operating for a day (part of an ad campaign for her upcoming role) goes under 60mph or if she leaves the train drivers seat (clear influence from the 1994 film Speed here). This special wasn't as silly as the last one I watched, which says it's a prequel although it came out after Goodbye My Sweetheart in 1999. Less action than some of the earlier movies/specials, but gripping nonetheless. Noticed that these later specials have put particular attention into the facial features of Kaori and Saeko, bringing them into sharp focus in certain scenes, which was a nice touch. OST has moved on from that 80's sound and is now mainly piano, some R&B and a little bit of jazz, with none of the iconic vocal background songs that I enjoy so much. Good movie experience. Just makes an 8/10 (8.0) but would have been higher if it had the original vocals included in the OST.

@23feanor Glad you iked the show, it shows its age but the story is one you'll never forget and the influence, like you say, is all over anime. My best try to describe the show is "like Charles Dickens meets James Dean".

If I recall it correctly the split point is episode 53 of S1, i.e. after the fateful fight against Tooru. S2 recaps a bit of the S1 plot and then continues with the manga plot. S1 after ep 53 is pretty much filler and fan fiction. Given the iconic status and popularity of Joe in Japan S2 builds on an outstanding manga, an outstanding director and unlimited funding. And actually manages to deliver on those promises.

You may want to consider Megalo Box. S1 is a loose retelling of Joe, you'll now see the 1001 references. But the result is mid to slightly above average. However, S2 then is a leap and really worth watching on its own. It definitely catches Joe's rebel spirit.

Three Leaves, Three Colours (2016) - school based cgdct show. One of our main three leads, a girl named Youko has to start at a normal school after her dad lost his fortune and she is no longer a spoiled rich girl. We follow her as she makes friends and learns how to live a regular life on frugal means. The core to a good cgdct show is the character banter and interactions between the main and secondary cast, and this show hits the mark. funny, some slapstick, over the top reactions, some silly secondary characters like a maid and butler who stalk Youko to keep an eye on her despite not being employed by her family anymore.

Typical character designs, clean visuals with some thought gone into shot composition and camera angles, above and beyond what you'd get from a standard, paint by numbers cgdct show. OST was ok. Finally, this was a Doga Koba production of a 4-koma manga, which more often than not hit the mark where cgdct shows are concerned. Low 7/10 (7.1). This show sits in the B-tier of cgdct for me. Decided to list my cgdct tier rankings for my own reference:

CGDCT Rankings:

S Tier:
A Place Further Than the Universe
Aria franchise
Slime 300
Azumanga Daioh
Yuru Yuri
Hidamari Sketch
Koihime Musou

A Tier:
Non Non Biyori
Healer Girl
GochiUsa
Demon Girl Next Door
Gabriel DropOut
Bocchi the Rock
Girls Last Tour
Love Lab
Dropkick on my Devil
Diary of Our Days at the Breakwater
Azur Lane
Asobi Asobase
Nichijou
Nekopara
Sound of the Sky

B Tier:
Minami-ke
OniMai
Magical Pokan
K-On
Konohana Kitan
Lucky Star
Yuru Camp
Uma Musumi: Pretty Derby
Kanamemo
Yuyushiki
Three Leaves, Three Colours
Endro
Hinako Note
WataTen
Comic Girls
Hina Logi: Luck and Logic
Princess Principal
Urara Meirocho
Yuri is my Job
Galaxy Angels
Didn't I Say to Make My Abilities Average in the Next Life?!
Hitoribocchi
Lapis Re:Lights
Fate Kaleid Liner: Prisma Illya
Dropout Idol Fruit Tart
Assault Lily Bouquet

C Tier:
Akebi's Sailor Uniform
New Game
Warlords of Sigrdrifa
RPG Real Estate
Sport Climbing Girls
Takunomi
Slow Loop
Slow Start
Ms vampire who Lives in My Neighbourhood
Kiniro Mosiac
Strawberry Marshmallow
Strike Witches
Leviathan: Last Defence
D4DJ First Mix
High School Fleet
KanColle
Show By Rock!! Mashumairesh!!

Glad to read I'm not the only one who's blown away by Frieren.

@33orion77 there was a discussion about what constitutes a cgdct show for me here, from an August discussion on this thread. I'd agree that Lucky Star is a comedy and parody, but couched in a cgdct format (ie all female cast apart from the dad and brother iirc, with cute girls and plenty of focus on the banter and interactions between the girls). Wasn't the timote advert the one where the lady was sat underneath a waterfall, or was that pantene, forgotten now.

Dirty Pair Flash (1995) - this second instalment of the revamped Dirty Pair series wasn't quite as good as the first OVA. For some reason (guessing the writers wanted to get home to dinner) decided to set the entire OVA on a theme park world which was a replica of 90's Tokyo. So you had Yuri and Kei going about present Tokyo saying how weird ancient life was and living in a bog standard small apartment and getting up to some hijinks. A couple of the stories were ok, but they had every episode set on this themed world and got stale quickly. Hoping for better from the final OVA. Mid 6/10 (6.6).

@23feanor Yeah ok, I kinda get what you mean, after looking more closely at the other shows your definition is a bit broader than I thought. I think you are right about the waterfall but I'm not sure either lol

So if I understand correctly shows like D-Frag, Bofuri, Date A Live, Death March kara Hajimaru Isekai Kyousoukyoku, Demi-chan wa Kataritai, Girls & Panzer, Gunslinger Girl, Joshiraku, Mayoi Neko Overrun!, Mouretsu Pirates, Rinne no Lagrange, Saki, Softenni and even Seitokai Yakuindomo would fit the description.

Now I'll throw in a curveball, what about Higurashi? nipaa!

Bang Brave Bang Bravern (2024)

My pick for the most surprising anime of the season. I found myself loving this one for a variety of reasons, but first, I’ve got to talk about that premise:

Top Gun with aliens invading a la Independence Day but giant robot Kamina from Gurren Lagann comes to save the day.

That sounds like a mess, and while it kind of is, this is a show that revels in the mess. It leans in hard as the robot Bravern diagetically blasts his theme music from its cockpit (projecting his opening animation background behind him like a boss), proclaims that his pilot Isami is its soul mate, and proceeds to devastate Death Drive alien robots (all of whom have personalities that are some variation of absurd in the best way) with abandon. It helps that Isami and many of the characters in this series are very unlike those in Gurren Lagann – they have no idea what the fuck is going on and they (aside from Lewis Smith) are not anime protagonists by nature. A small touch I love: they don’t wait for an opponent to monologue or have a problem using their full power from the get-go. The series does not let you get fully comfortable with its premise, either, as Bravern and gang face down an array of increasingly ridiculous robot foes. The number of ways this series goes sideways consistently surprises and delights.

And oh man, is this show homoerotic as all hell. Those Top Gun feels come through in spades in the early parts of this series, but when that ED kicks on (easily one of the best EDs of the season), it rocks the house with two shirtless bros singing their feelings. There are so many moments where Isami and Lewis or Isami and Bravern are just having the best bro moments or, in some cases, going quite a bit further. These are some of my favorite relationships of the season, whether they’re just being bros or something more.

As for the narrative, it does have direction and momentum to it, though it’s probably the most basic aspect of the series… if you can call it that. The crazy anime nonsense is on full display in some of these episodes, some of which feels over the top even for the more bombastic series. And yes, it gets dour in places, though the series never stays in the doldrums too long. Hell, even when things seem at their darkest, the only solution is to fire on all cylinders and become the impossible source of light in the darkness.

Yes, this series was absolutely fine being as absurd as it could be as it kept going, and that’s as it should be. We needed some Spirit Bomb/color change/power-of-friendship/multi-fusion nonsense, and anyone who says differently just doesn't appreciate good fun. Like with similar series, it would have been pretty easy from the start to guess how this one would end, but I'd be shocked if anyone could guess what kind of wild ride it would take to get there. Just a joy from start to finish. 8.3/10.

The Weakest Tamer Began a Journey to Pick Up Trash (2024)

Hell of a title, eh? Yeah, put me off this series too, initially. And it wasn't the sole factor, since this one got off to a rocky start, but as it continued, it became surprisingly endearing.

But back to that start. Generally, I’ve got issues with stories that send a character on an adventure for poorly explained reasons. We’re thrust into a world where we are told that having stars is fundamental to survival, as they go towards a given skill for a given individual. That’s fine, but the series seems to both buy into this premise way too much and way too little simultaneously.

It buys in way too much because Ivy lacks stars and is exiled and pursued with murderous intent for it, mainly built on religious zealotry, chalking it up as ominous and somehow as the cause of another character’s death. While similar circumstances can happen in the real world, I found her family’s decision to hop on this train immediately jarring. It’s also all the weirder because this seems almost entirely unique to the village where she grew up – it’s unclear that anyone else holds these views.

It buys in way too little because, as the series progresses, it becomes very clear very early that people can subsist without stars. Ivy’s father put a lot of stock in how important it was for her wellbeing to have stars in a skill that was valuable, emphasizing that it was essential to her future. Yet it becomes clear that, while you probably won’t make a name for yourself or a huge living, stars aren’t required to get by just fine hunting critters in the forest.

So, the series didn’t do much to invest me in the worldbuilding, and even ends up leaving much of those aspects behind almost entirely just as Ivy did. If anything, the way this is built out put me off the series.

Yet, I say it is endearing, and that still holds. You really feel for Ivy and all she has to go through, including the slow gaining of her trust by others as she tries to stay under the radar. Her finding Sora, an extremely weak slime, and taming, raising and bonding with it are so wholesome and sweet that it’s easy to love everything they do. And it helps that so many of the people around them are the exact opposite of the people in Ivy’s village: warm, welcoming, supportive and helpful. That might all change if she ever lets on that she doesn’t have stars, but at least throughout these 12 episodes, you get the distinct impression that many of them accept her for who she is and wouldn’t be swayed by that knowledge. That said, many of the side characters do seem somewhat interchangeable. There’s great variety in character models, but with a couple of notable exceptions, we don’t get a lot of opportunities to see most of their personalities shine through.

And it helps that the narrative goes in interesting directions. Each new town she lands in presents a different set of both positive influences and new trials to overcome. Ivy is helped along by another personality that lives rent free in her head. Unlike so many isekai’d characters, Ivy is wholly herself: a girl who grew up in this world, rather than a person from another world who was reborn and grew up here. The isekai’d character is entirely in her head, a confidant who gives her ideas and inserts comparisons to our world. It’s a nice change of pace, though most of the time, it feels superfluous, as it’s mainly there to give Ivy someone to bounce off of when she has no one to talk to. Later in, that voice goes a long way towards explaining how capable Ivy is despite her being a 9-year-old. It does seem strange that that isekai’d personality doesn’t talk at all about the fact that Ivy, who is very rich by the end of the season, is still for some reason committed to the same subsistence practices that she was early in the series.

Some aspects of this series do end up feeling a little overly convenient. Sora’s ability to tell apart “bad” people from others, which she discovered just before she needed it for the final arc, certainly felt that way. It would have been nice if Sora was wrong on occasion or if there was some recognition of nuance, particularly with Meela, but it was still a nice inclusion. The series also drags in places, prolonging events that don’t necessarily need to play out in their entirety on screen. Maybe the goal was just to give us more time with these characters, which I certainly don’t oppose, though it does mean somewhat missing out on understanding the circumstances that brought her here. We get a nice resolution to that plot in terms of how Ivy regards it and how she sees her path forward, but scant little understanding of why it happened and how the others regard it.

But I still think this was delightful. Like Ivy herself, it went through some hard times, picked itself up and made a great deal out of a bad situation, and it’s nice to even get some payoff on how being starless helped Ivy without making her ridiculously overpowered like so many isekai would. A worthwhile watch. 7.6/10.

The Wrong Way to Use Healing Magic (2024)

The most overrated show I watched this season. Honestly, are people just starved for isekai for some reason? I sincerely have no idea why this has a 7.5 on MAL and a 75% on AniList.

This is such a frustrating series. The premise both felt like it was written specifically to appeal to me and repulse me. The former because, as someone who commonly takes on the healer role in online games but still likes to throw hands as a healer, the entire concept of a "wrong way to use healing magic" felt more personally investing. The latter because it's as basic isekai as isekai premises get: three students (because of course they need high schoolers) get summoned to a fantasy world because they have to save the kingdom, one of whom just ends up coming along for the ride but, of course, ends up with the special magic that distinguishes him even from his fellows. To be fair, it doesn't stay rote, as Usato quickly finds himself at the mercy of the powerful and sadistic healer Rose, who steals just about every scene she's in. So begins an ultra-fast training arc that actually makes some sense for once, since healers can repair their muscles and recover their stamina rapidly. Add a cuddly blue bear companion, some decent fights in the wilderness and an incoming army of demons and you've got yourself the makings of an investing isekai series.

Trouble is, that only gets you to episode 3. So, what happens after that? I'll keep things vague to avoid spoilers:

Usato trains. Usato and one of his companions from his original world tool around in the woods. The invasion is imminent... for several episodes! Everyone prepares themselves... and now some backstory! Finally, the promised fight arrives... and ends anticlimactically before trailing off into a couple of episodes that feel comparatively drained of significance. So, yeah, this series has some serious pacing problems.

But it's not just pacing. The writing in this series has so many problems. They insert a plot point where Usato learns of impending danger in the fight ahead and barely acts upon it. Sudden power-ups and conveniently effective magic are frustrating, most of the other characters feeling like they only as scenery (even characters who are supposedly powerful), the series barely seems to use its isekai premise (why couldn't these have been three random kids from this world? They never use technology or knowledge from the other world), and everything feels shockingly easy with healing magic. Who knew? It doesn't help that even the great Rose feels significantly less interesting after we learn her backstory (though she's still the best character in the show). Sometimes, less is more, and I think if her story had remained more shrouded in mystery would have been better than what we got. It doesn't help that the whole narrative direction of the series feels like it's barely established. There are many ways to do antagonists that work, and they certainly don’t all have to be nuanced (Frieren pulled demons off very well with little to no nuance), but this just came off as lazy. It's a nice excuse not to give any of their enemies more than the bare minimum in character development.

Put simply, the writing for this series isn’t good. It took what was a simple but intriguing idea and just didn’t know how to use it effectively past its early stages. It’s a shame, really, because there are the building blocks of something worthwhile here, but the series doesn’t capitalize on its opportunities. It drags out elements that aren’t worth the time and rushing through others that should matter more. I really thought this one would be more worthwhile, and it’s doubly frustrating because they set up more of an adventure-focused narrative for a S2 that may never happen. It seems like they have an interesting world to build, just a shame they have barely showed us any of it so far. Much as I might give it another chance based on that alone, I don't think this season earned a sequel, no matter what potential it might have. It's not nearly as bad as I Got a Cheat Skill in Another World and Became Unrivaled in The Real World, Too (shivers), but given that that's among my least favorite series of all time, if that's where the bar is, then this is still underwater. 5.7/10.

Mashle: Magic and Muscles - The Divine Visionary Candidate Exam Arc (2024)

Ending this set on a happy (and short) note.

Yes, this series is still a joy to watch. Yes, it’s still the same basic joke of largely being Saitama in Hogwarts, now with a little bit of its own identity due to anti-no magic sentiment. No, that premise has not gotten tired and played out, even if it’s not everyone’s cup of tea. If anything, I’m enjoying myself more now than I did in season 1.

I chalk a lot of that up to spectacle and scale. Things have gotten significantly more ridiculous as Mash and company face down tougher opponents with lower odds of success. Mash is forced to push himself that much further, and Wahlberg in particular gets his moments to shine this season, demonstrating why he’s the headmaster of this school. We get our first solid indication of what the remainder of the series will look like, even seeing how dangerous the main villain appears to be after a season and a half of build-up. It helps that the fights in this season do look sharper and better animated, even when it features the goofball nature of the series in all its simplistic glory. Sure, it’s missing some of the more emotional, personal beats of the first season (though it does have a few of its own), but it’s solid enough to put those aside for the time being and still feel like there’s more than just physical weight to what’s going on.

As someone who enjoyed the manga for this series start to finish, I see no reason why I will end up frustrated with the anime. I’ll keep watching and enjoying this series on through to the end. 7.8/10.

Frieren: Beyond Journey's End (2023) - have you ever watched a show and felt like it was made just for you. I had this experience watching Frieren. As my username indicates, I'm a big Tolkien fan, so coming across a story that feels like an epilogue from some epic high fantasy novel was something I wasn't anticipating, ever. In the Lord of the Rings books I think there's a couple of lines where Legolas muses on the short nature of other races and how time has a different quality to the elves, who live for tens of thousands, sometimes hundreds of thousands, of years. This idea is further expanded in some of Tolkien's other writing such as Lost Tales and Cottage of Lost Play, but still it's only few fragments of writing on the matter of how time passes slowly for long lived races, attempting to convey the elven perception of time. The elves are said to be both in the present moment and experience life like a sort of dream, as the seasons and years pass like rippling waves in a forest tossed by the wind. Whenever I read these passages they always held my attention and I would sit and ponder what being alive for such a long period of time was like. And here this anime, Frieren, brought my musings to life and gave them substance.

Frieren follows the character of the same name as she retraces the steps she took with her party of four as they made their way to the demon king, leading to his eventual defeat. As she begins a new journey with an apprentice, Fern, she reflects on the ever changing nature of life and her time with her former companions takes on a new light as she begins to appreciate what she might have been missing. This ties in perfectly with the Japanese notion of 'mono no aware' (the pathos of things), where a story will touch upon the transient nature of life and how everything will change or end given enough time, leading to a somewhat melancholy view of life. This seems to be the viewpoint of Frieren herself, who keeps a distance from others emotionally, and tries not to get entangled in humans lives as they fade away so quickly compared to her own. The story of the anime is about how Frieren is coming to terms with her decision to disengage and what she might have lost out on and how she can change that going forward.

There are so many little things I love about this show. Have you ever had the experience where you see a painting or picture on a wall depicting an alleyway, small winding country track or garden path and you wish you could be transported to that place to set off and investigate. I got that feeling constantly watching Frieren. Moments like on an approach into a town or village you would have these bucolic paths or roadways that made me ache to see what was round the corner and jump into the screen to follow the characters. And in Frieren, we get to see what's round that corner, or past that gate, down that field, beyond that hedge, over that rise...

There are so many valuable life lessons sprinkled throughout this show, a lot of which stem from Frieren's new found decision to appreciate the small pleasures and incremental moments that make up life; the company of friends and companions and the gestures and effort they take in making you part of their lives, taking in a moment and living in the present. Frieren starts to notice these occurrences more often and apply them retrospectively to the journey she took with her former companions, which bring some unbelievably poignant and moving recollections of her past. What I find praiseworthy about this facet of the show, is that these are the types of life lessons you only gain when you're older and have experienced a good chunk of life and interactions with people, where sufficient time has passed that you can look back on your past interactions with people and learn from your mistakes or come to new realisations about yourself or the nature of your relationship with others.

The SoL aspects in Frieren were cosy, soft, slow paced and gives the series a grounded vibe. Scenes like chilling in a cabin during winter (not just one scene, but a good portion of a few episodes), exploring a new town or village, just simply wandering around browsing the shops and wares and that staple of SoL; eating.

There's a good sprinkle of comedy moments present such as Fern's pouting, Frieren lazing about and having to be dragged out of bed and Stark and Fern bickering.

Any show that involves magic can live or die based on the magic system, the spells and ways they are implemented by people, and this show gets a A+, as one character states "magic and spells are limited only by the imagination of the mage". What I also admired was that the magic we see isn't only flashy attack and defence, but simple magic used for day to day chores (cleaning a statue, lifting crops from a field or clearing debris from a beach) and to bring small pleasure and joy, ie making a field of flowers bloom spontaneously, or completely frivolous like a spell to see through peoples' clothes. We get to experience mage battles the like of which I haven't seen brought to the screen in quite the same fashion before and dungeon crawling. This ties into the action, which when it took centre stage went really hard and looked superb, easily the equal of the S-Tier animation we saw in Jujutsu Kaisen S2 last year.

All the characters felt like they belonged in this world, and even the characters who entered the story for only a few episodes made an impact. The core trio of Frieren, Fern and Stark gave a great balance and while I won't say they had the best banter I've ever seen, they felt like three people who travel together every day, day in and day out and know each other intimately, but yet are always learning new things about each other as they go through new experiences as a group.

I've noticed in the last couple of years that the pool of English dub VA seems to have grown and Frieren capitalised on this with one of the best dub casts for a new show I've encountered in a while.

Animation - direction, choice of viewpoints and camera, light and shadow, gestures, colour palette, all superb - this video from Canipa effect does a good job of analysing why the animation works so well. During pre-production the show brought in someone to take the settings from the source material and expand them, making paintings, pictures and a range of visual material which gave the animation team a huge catalogue of reference material and boy does this payoff so well. It's the reason the towns, villages, alleyways, country roads, winter cabins, ruins, dungeons etc all feel so immersive, as if we've stepped into a fully fleshed out world with such exquisite attention to detail your eyes are spoiled for choice and the sumptuous fabric of every scene convey a depth of visual world building that is unequalled for a fantasy show (Mushoku Tensei does an amazing job in this regard, but imho, Frieren tops that). This video from PhenomSage breaks down how the director (same one who directed Bocchi the Rock) brought together a large array of talent to create this masterpiece.

The OST was godly. I'd heard of Evan Call, the sound director, for his work on Violet Evergarden, but the music he produced for Frieren is on another level. The OST is every bit as good as a John William's score or Howard Shore's score for the LotR movies imho. I'm tempted to buy the soundtrack.

After watching the first 4 eps, which were released together as a prologue, I knew I was going to fall in love with this show. What I didn't expect was for this show to become so critically acclaimed and popular with the anime community at large, with Frieren even taking the vaunted no 1 spot in the mal ratings (9.39/10 as of my writing this). In terms of a score, easily the best anime since sliced bread, 10/10 (10.9). This is a masterpiece in every sense of the word, from the first moment to the final scene. I might end up rewatching this show as often as I reread LotR, to wit, there is no higher praise in my book.

The World God Only Knows: Tenri Arc (2012) - OVA where Keima has to exorcise a lost soul from an old acquaintance. With it's simple premise and no nonsense MC in Keima and adorable supernatural helper Elsie, this is one of the better harem romcom franchises. Low 7/10 (7.2).

Dirty Pair Flash 3 (1995) - the final OVA of the revamped series and thankfully this one goes back to an episodic format. Stories were ok, couple were quite funny and finale was pretty action heavy. Some nice looking backgrounds here and there, action sequences were ok and some rocking electric guitar for the OST accompaniment to the action. Low 7/10 (7.0). I'd only recommend this alternative version of Dirty Pair to fans of the show who want more, and fans of 90's OVA's. Flash is not the original, but the first and third OVA's aren't bad taken on their own.

Tales of Wedding Rings (2024) - an ecchi isekai where our MC, Satou travels to a fantasy world after his childhood friend, who turns out to be a princess. Satou is tasked with collecting 5 rings to aid him in defeating the dark lord. To collect each ring he has to marry a different girl from a variety of races. His main love interest is the first princess, Hime, but despite being married and told having multiple wives is normal in this world, Satou acts like a wet blanket and the show continually blue balls the audience. The show annoyingly teases Satou and Hime having sex every other episode, but one or other of them get cold feet at the last moment, or something interrupts, got boring quickly. The story was rubbish and the characters boring but the backgrounds and settings for the fantasy world did look nice, especially a multi coloured night sky. Plus there was a variety of boobs on display in different colours and skin tones, something I haven't seen since Peter Grill (green boobs with dark green nipples is a novel look). Female character designs and OST were good. There's a second season announced but won't be picking it up. Low 6/10 (6.2).

A Sign of Affection (2024) - I've termed this show a 'big fluffy scarf shoujo', as watching it puts me in mind of wearing a big fluffy and warm scarf. Plus a bunch of the male characters wear big fluffy scarfs. I loved Yuki, the deaf girl and MC of the show, who reminded me a lot of Sawako from Kimi no Todoke, in that we watch as her life experiences bloom as she meets new friends and a love interest in Itsuomi. I liked the adult cast and university setting. There was decent secondary romance as well as the main couple. Visuals were really good, soft pastel colours and shoujo flourishes, mixed with detailed and unique settings like the Robin bar where Itsuomi works. The main romance between Yuki and Itsuomi was well handled and didn't stall or dither. My only real issue was the male characters, mainly Itsuomi, who felt like a woman's idealised version of a guy, rather than an actual person. Itsuomi is aloof, mysterious, likable, charming, dreamy and when it comes to the romance he's straight forward, says what he thinks, he's considerate, not scared of open physical displays of affection but wants to take things slowly so as not to put pressure on Yuki. Oh and he's tall and handsome. The guy is just way too perfect. The show introduces a potential love rival late on, why I don't know as Yuki and Itsuomi are smitten with each other, and Itsuomi rather than getting jealous tries to befriend the guy.

Nice OST with brilliant ED. Watching this deaf girls world open up as she falls in love was pretty damn touching, Yuki is adorable. Strong 7/10 (7.8). One other small issue was that Crunchyroll weren't subbing the text, which there was a lot of for the sign language and written text messages, or they weren't subbing it when they released the English dub episodes, which drove me nuts. Ended up having to turn on the audio subs just to see the text for some eps.

Sol Bianca (1990) - 2 episode OVA about an all female pirate crew on board a mysterious advanced space ship. Both stories were good, some nice action, rocky OST, realistic facial features for the character designs (the 3 older women on the crew looked stunning, especially the tanned Feb Fall), good dynamic between the 5 female leads and finally a really cool space ship with some amazing interior décor. Backgrounds were detailed and looked smooth even in 480p. Decent OVA, low to mid 7/10 (7.4).

Banished From The Hero's Party, I Decided To Live A Quiet Life In The Countryside Season 2 (2024) - I remember enjoying the first seasons mix of romance, SoL and fantasy with the latter stages exploring an ancient ruin that may explain the mechanics behind the blessings people are given by the god of the world (no RPG mechanics but everyone is designated a blessing that dictates their skill set for life, some of which are familiar in RPG games like mage, hero, warrior, thief etc). Sadly this season went a different route and brought a new hero into the mix, who wasn't happy that the former hero (the sister of our MC) had retired. Also no focus on the romance between our lead couple, Red and Rit, now they are an established couple living together. SoL bits were a bit boring too. Wasn't terrible, but nothing to get excited for, Another disappointing sequel season, mid 6/10 (6.6).

@OrlahEhontas Sol Bianca was one of those surprising OVA finds, it's why I keep picking up OVA's to find little gems like this one. I really liked the ship, one of those rare shows where the ship is interesting as the story and characters, only the live action shows Firefly and Farscape have done the same that I can think of. Also liked the realistic proportions for the char designs. Top OVA finds so far: Gunsmith Cats, Video Girl Ai, DC Cleopatra, Shamanic Princess, Project A-Ko, Gal Force, Desert Rose, El Hazard and now Sol Biance. Will definitely be checking out the other OVA in the franchise. Now why don't they pick up and remake something like Sol Bianca into a proper tv show.

Martian Successor Nadesico (1996) - mecha parody about a crew of misfits who come together to fight off alien invaders. This show took pot shots at a range of subjects, romance (especially aimed at the platonic protagonist type), mecha shows (our MC is a huge fan of an old mecha show called Gekiganger) and anime fans and didn't pull its punches. It was a very self aware parody, but mixed with a story that had a number of characters killed off, emphasising to the MC and crew that real life isn't like the stories in anime, except this one is. Story did take a few unexpected twists and turns. Characters were a wacky bunch. Bit of romance. Low 7/10 (7.2).

@OrlahEhontas I was thinking along the lines of the fact that production committees seem to be running out of ideas, remaking old shows (not that I mind Spice & Wolf getting a new adaption if we get a complete version as S2 seems to leave off on an odd point) and churning out hundreds of cookie cutter isekai each year (I'm a fan of isekai, but there's so many I don't have time or the patience to sort the wheat from the chaff to find the couple that may be worth watching and the sheer number of isekai being made is a bit ridiculous). Maybe some smart cookie on a production committee should look back to some of these older OVA's to find a decent premise and some promise for a good adaption, like Sol Bianca, or Shinesman even, which could've been a funny parody.

@SuperAdventure I really enjoyed Ganbare Douki-chan, more than the 6/10 I scored it would suggest. I remember waiting months for the sequel special to be available to stream on the high seas. It's the only anime that prompted me to go and read the source material to find out what happens, partly because it's a web comic and each chapter only a few pages. You never see the love interests face, even in the climatic moments when confessions happen, he's always facing away. This story is all about the women and has quite a long way to go from the point where the anime left off. Think I picked up the web comic at about chapter 50 where the anime finished and there's 220 chapters, but they're very short so didn't take long to read through and loads of them are promotional material or seasonal posters instead of actual chapters.

Metallic Rouge (2024) - this sci-fi original had a lot of moving parts and employing a show don't tell approach the scope of the world and plot didn't fully come into focus until episode 8. You had two sets of aliens (visitors and usurpers), a couple of human organisations (one for earth security and the other as envoys for the visitors), androids created using visitor tech known as Neans and a Nean independence group. I liked the characters, the sci-fi world, the animation looked so smooth, especially the action where the Nean's transformed into combat mode and unique retro sounding OST including best OP of the year and decent ED. The ending had a bunch of twists and turns, all packed into the final episode and yeah the pacing was a bit off. Feels like the show spent the first 8-9 eps building the world and characters only to dive head first into the final arc and keep most of the reveals for the finale. Would have been better if the show had 2 cours and spent a bit of time exploring the world before the final arc. Good dub cast. I really enjoyed this show, despite some issues. Just makes an 8/10 (8.0).

Rose of Versailles (1979) - this was one of those shows that steadily grew on me as I was watching. Adding a shoujo twist on the historic tale of the French Revolution and incorporating a MC like Oscar was a genius move on the part of the author. The lead up and advent of the French Revolution provides ample backdrop for a story and the addition of some romance and tragedy was brought together well.

The character writing varies. In the early portions of the story I thought a lot of the characters, mainly the nobles including the queen Marie Antoinette, were one dimensional, but then history tells us the whole reason for the revolution was the extravagance and greedy nature of the French nobility, so maybe I can't blame the author entirely. The commoners were better written, such as Jeanne and Alain. I liked how certain characters weaved into and out of the central plot over the course of the story. I started off thinking Oscar and Andre, the core MC's, were a bit boring, but after time and events unfolded I revised my opinion as they both changed and grew as people. Another strong point for this show is that it takes place over a few decades giving ample opportunity for character growth.

Another positive was the range of romance showcased, from infatuation, unrequited love, star crossed lovers and friends becoming lovers . I found myself more engrossed as the story went on and was gripped for the last 10 eps or so. The ending was tragic, but that played well with the shoujo flavour of the narrative. This is a seminal work for anime and the shoujo genre and I can't count how many times I've seen it mentioned or referenced in other shows. There's a clear influence on Utena, who takes on the mantle of tomboy in a mans role with aplomb, but I'm not sure now whether Utena herself is better written as a character than Oscar (which I originally thought after 20 eps or so), mainly because we get to see Oscar change over the years and experience and learn new things about herself.

Backgrounds were nice, moving animation was a bit crude at times. Simple but effective OST. I'm put in mind of the phrase 'standing on the shoulder of giants' when reflecting on Rose of Versailles, so many other anime and characters wouldn't be the same without Oscar and this story. Despite a slow start this show gripped me and had me weeping like a sad puppy by the end, solid 8/10 (8.7).