MAL Secret Santa 2023: The Great Reveal!

thank you @tingy for your manga recommendations I am excited to start these series once I find the time. I appreciate the effort you put into these recommendations as they allowed me to learn about something new rather than just give something I'd heard of a try.

@zubby Thank you for the anime recommendations! I watched both and enjoyed them quite a bit.
Sarazanmai was... highly unorthodox, to completely understate, but fun and surprisingly deep nonetheless. Not one I would've thought to try of my own volition, so I'm grateful.
Appare-Ranman I vaguely remember seeing and dismissing it as silly at the time it aired, and - who would have thought it - past me was an utter fool, a nincompoop to the highest degree. I went in expecting a zany wild west mad max-y racing show and got a show with suprisingly good character writing and drama... and also zany wild west mad max-y racing.
Thanks again! Hope you had a joyous christmas!


@Awkward-Bean Many thanks to you too for the manga recommendations! I completed all three and found them all very nice.
I'm fairly inexperienced when it comes to yaoi series, but after watching Bokura no Shokutaku I may have to be careful at my own dining table in future due to the diabetes I contracted from it's wholesome sweetness!
Mizuno to Chayama was a really interesting read - while I've certainly red GL manga with more dramatic serious themes before, this was very unique in its story and tone. Also, good lord the art - especially the background art, chef's kiss.
Finally Dekisokonai no Himegimi-tachi is a series I had seen before in passing but that didn't really interest me compared to other GL works - however I was pleasantly surprised - a lot of romance series throw in doomed-to-fail rivals for the love triangle drama - but I felt this manga did it justice with Izumi, and felt very natural. The only major disappointment I had was being left wanting more!
I hope you had a splendid Christmas!


And thank you to the Elves for organising this event!

Hellooo @Natsusa_Zoldyck8 , thank you for your recommendation!!

"Classroom of the Elite" was an interesting anime to see, second season totally hooked me! I liked a lot the whole idea of it not being a regular school, the points system, and the students having to earn them through games. Although I found that the main characters are listless or too serious and didn't win me over, I liked that most of them had a hidden personality, including the protagonist, giving it a mysterious touch.

Now I am waiting for season 3 chapters ^_^

I wish you a happy new year!!!

Thank you @getlon for your gift.
You really nailed the recomendations! I loved Jumyou wo Kaitotte Moratta. Ichinen ni Tsuki, Ichimanen de in a day or two and I'm enjoying Yokohama Kaidashi Kikou a lot too.

It's funny how we share a lot of anime and mangas on our lists, so I understand how surprised you felt with my request haha I just wanted to read something that I probably wouldn't discover on my own :P

Hope you have a nice year!

@Pimelea Thank you so much for the anime movies :3 Really enjoyed them

Kono Sekai no Katasumi ni and Nitaboh were exactly what i was looking for, beautiful scenaries illustrating the past paired with touching stories

For Nitaboh


Though for Kono Sekai no Katasumi ni my fav scene was one of the more lighthearted and simple ones at the beginning


Funnilly enough, Stranger: Mukou Hadan that you mentioned being the most action packed one... is the one i fell asleep watching 😅 I still really loved the first half
Particularly this scene


Hope you're having a great 2024 and enjoyed your secret santa gifts too :)

Hello @Digicat, thank you for the feedback! It was so sweet of you to give all the recommendations a chance and I'm glad to hear you enjoyed them.


I hope 2024 is going wonderfully well for you so far, take care!

Hey @Twintail_Daemon and workshop! Thank you so much for the gifts!

Twintail I really enjoyed the anime you recommended! I have a rather busy schedule but I can't wait to watch the other recommendations you gave as well!
It caught me by surprises when watching school-live for the first time! Really good!

@Master_kid28 Masamune-kun's Revenge was an interesting suggestion, although I started off really not liking the main characters since Masamune is the embodiment of everyone wrong with "Alpha Males" and Aki is just a bitch. By the end of the second season I definitely started warming up to them, they're slowly getting closer and hopefully I'll get some nice cute couple moments in the manga, since there wasn't really much chance for that in where the show's gotten to so far.

I was doing my standard thing of making notes as I watched the show, they're in the link below if you or anyone else wants to take a look at it.

https://pastebin.com/0t6uNMAM

@hirodake Hello, first of all thank you for the anime you recommended, I haven't started the anime yet but I plan to watch it when I have time, thank you for the fact that we have the same anime tastes and that you diligently researched the gift for me.


And thank you to all the helpers and staff who made such a fun event possible! <3

Thank you @Void_from_within for the recommendation! I won't be watching it before the end of February when my brother comes to visit, because we want to watch it together, but we're both looking forward to it!

Hey, @Lala5255

Really enjoyed the gift! Finished the entire thing pretty quick since it was so good. At first I thought it was gonna be another generic adventure anime but it did a really good job with the story telling to the point that I couldn't stop watching. I already want another season (doubt there will be one).

Hope you enjoyed christmas, and i wish you a happy new year!

@Bella_Sky Hey! Glad you enjoyed the gift! It took me quite alot of time to find something that aligned with your interest, since it isn't my cup of tea, but its good that in the end it all paid off, because you seem to be excited about it :D