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Once YoI finally ended I screamed, like legit shrieks and screams, my voice cracked on that last episode. I wanna talk about why I love this anime and why it’s been the highlight of this year, for me.

One of the most important ones is definitely the GAY. Not because of the fan service, or queerbaiting, or whatever other terms people like using to put down shows.

This is the first anime sports, serious sports mind you, that there’s real gay in it, that is approached beautifully and so realistically. This is breaking norms, rules, and I love it.

Another thing is racial diversity! The cast has all ... kind of races and ethnicities, and they’re not dumb stereotypes, in fact I’ll get to that in a bit. Everyone is treated super cute, and with respect, while also being true to their roots, so it isn’t racial diversity for “show” like some haters like to spout off.

This is also super important: breaking gender stereotypes. We see boys using eyeliner, mascara, eyeshadow, lipstick, using cute pink cellphones, pink curtains and pajamas, and all kinds of cute, glittery thing that by all rights is not gendered, and I love seeing it being used for everyone!

I can’t forget that they also approached everyone’s ages with an amazing respect, they didn’t sexualize Yurio or Minami, or the other cuties, the ones that were sexual were the adults, and heck if I don’t like that! Not saying teenagers can’t be sexual or sexy, just that there tends to be too much focus on that, and here we see just cute kids, angry little kittens, coming into their own without the need for that. I just like it, okay?! /protects all the cuties

Speaking of the gay, this isn’t just focused on gay, heck this is inclusive. There’s heteros, bisexuals, homosexuals, and there’s shout outs to the real ice skaters that broke norms, which is lovely!

Speaking of shout outs, one of the things I love is that this show is so well researched, not just the costumes, but the shout outs, the routines, everything has been done right, and I love seeing the passion infused in this!

The writing is stellar, as are the characters, I really get the sense these are people with their own needs, dreams, goals and desires, and flaws, and they’re all so compelling, I want a season for each character!!! 😭

The OST is super great, from the OP, to the ED, to the songs picked for the routine. The art is gorgeous, have you seen those character designs and costumes?! Aaah! Plus the animation is tricking amazing!

I want a Season 2 really badly and I hope it happens!

If you haven’t seen this, well I don’t know why you’re reading this sentence, but go watch it!

This anime wrecked me. Wrecked me so much I went back to not watching anime because it engulfed my thoughts while trying to sleep. Much like Daiya does, for different reasons obviously. I hadn’t watched an anime since Code Geass wrecked me into a puddle of tears and snot and feelings, and so of course, I had to return to watch this masterpiece and be reduced to tears, snot, feelings and a lot of despair and moral values evaluation in my part. Isn’t this why everyone watches anime? （-＾〇＾-）

Kidding aside, this is a difficult series to write about, but it’s one I can’t rewatch because ... I remember it too vividly and can’t go through heartbreak again. I just refuse to suffer all over again, my heart was already destroyed by it countless times while watching, it’s not something I’d like to re-experience.

I know I must sound pretty dramatic, but it was that painful. Halfway through the series I went to bed and cried to sleep because of emotional pain. I kept imagining all the ways characters had died, and what must’ve happened, and it kept destroying me. I finished this series pretty exhausted but feeling hope. This isn’t a depressive show, it’s just a lot to take in and it doesn’t pull punches.

I love how the show starts, and I really love how we follow these characters from children to adults, not a lot of shows do that and more should. My connection to them grew, and I felt protective over all of them.

Let me remind you this has a tragedy tag and uses it quite skilfully and without pulling punches, plus it’s not an easy watching. It is, the animation and OST are great, love the openings and the visuals, the folk stories tidbits were my favorite in terms of aesthetic.

No, the reason why it’s not easy to watch is because these characters suffer, they go through a lot. Like a shit load of a lot, without mercy, and when revelations and twists happen, when the show starts showing it’s darker side more and more? Just wreck me.

But maybe it’s exactly why I loved it.

These characters grow and evolve and mature and make decisions, and sometimes those decisions were the bad ones and they die. It’s realistic, and I feel proud they didn’t make it perfect, because real life isn’t.

This show also has a really strong narrative, coupled with strong characters, and with all the mysteries, supernatural and intrigue happening, one would expect to know what’s going to happen. Except you can’t. It’s impossible. Unless you’ve been spoiled, then I’ll feel sorry because this is the one show you don’t want spoiled about detailed things.

I watched this with a friend (at the same time/rate, because we don’t live near) and we talked a lot while watching it because it’s impossible not to. Just like it’s impossible for me not to write about it. Shin Sekai Yori raises a lot of valid questions, some moral, and it’s an experience I’m glad I went through.i

I also really liked that the show had action and adventure mixed with the mystery and suspense, and so never felt slow or boring or dragging. It’s really important to me to have that balance because I’ll end up dropping/not concluding the series otherwise (⌒_⌒;)

In conclusion: if you haven’t watched it? Watch it, like right now, go go go!

Perhaps this is where I admit, before I even start, that I’ve watched Escaflowne the most throughout my life. It’s because as soon as I finish watching it, I feel like watching it again right away. This is also where I admit I haven’t watched in some years now. The very first time I glimpsed it I was maybe 11-12, but I didn’t watch it because it didn’t match my school schedule, so officially I watched it when I was maybe 14-15. I don’t remember anymore because it’s been a decade since I was that age and my memory slips. I rewatched it again at ... 18-19, and since then I haven’t again.

Now I must say I of course watched/rewatched Sailor Moon, Saint Seiya, Marmalade Boy, CardCaptor Sakura and Dragonball the most in my life, but that wasn’t because I wanted, it was just what was available in my TV when I got out of classes. Those were also things I watched with pretty bad Portuguese dub, again because there was no alternatives. Mind you I’m not slandering them, I’m quite fond of them but I don’t much like rewatching series, just like I don’t much like rereading books.

So out of my own volition, I watched Escaflowne and completely fell in love enough I watched the movie, tried discovering what else there was (pretty bad mangas, a novel and a PlayStation 1 game, I believe, without translations) because it was a magical experience to me. It’s also because of this show I became a humongous fan of Maaya Sakamoto, who sings the opening and all the songs, and Yoko Kanno, because she does kickass OST’s that’s why.

Why am I saying all this? Well, I’m biased and really, super biased towards this show. That’s why （＞ｙ＜）

So I’m going to say why I loved the show, why it grabbed me, and why I wished there’d been a season 2, a continuation, anything to sate my thirst for the show.

The most important thing to me are characters, even in my own (private) fiction, my stories always start with characters first, and a good story will go to the shitter if it doesn’t have good characters to hold it up. And I can say that Escaflowne has very humane characters, they have flaws and make mistakes without being TSTL. Their interactions are pretty organic and grow as they know each other better.

This is one of the things I very much enjoy in Escaflowne: the balance of elements are superb. Action and romance are dwelt just as masterfully as the intrigue and the world unveils before us.

In my first viewing of Escaflowne I started with a big crush on Allen to then despise the cunt, and when I rewatch I find I dislike him more and love Van even more. Van and Hitomi are dual protagonists, and they’re also the ones that grow, change and mature the most throughout these 26 episodes.

I cried so much when it ended, and the emotional impact of this series is really focused in the ending. Mind you the mysteries leave you hanging until the end to unfold and they’re very well done.

I can’t praise Escaflowne enough for the balanced way which it uses plot and characters, plus all the genres, to make an amazing series that is involving, and stays in the mind of watchers.

I know it sounds weird I keep coming back to the balance thing, but mind you that one of the things I didn’t like in Evangelion was that the episodes sacrificed plot or characters to move forward, without a compromise. I liked Evangelion, but Escaflowne is my favourite mecha/romance/fantasy/alternate world show.

It may not be a thought piece like Evangelion, that made me more depressed and gave me an existential crisis, or a masterful tale like Shin Sekai Yori that delivers on a story that grips you with mysteries. But what it does do is deliver in all the fronts that it touches upon, and this series is so good and rounded. Not in a mediocre way. It’s rounded as in there’s something of each to keep interest, be their romance lovers, mystery aficionados, or action buffs.

There’s never a weak episode where I can say “you can skip and won’t lose anything” or “this episode is boring/dragging”, because those don’t happen and that’s a blessing. In a world where a lot of episodes are either enemy of the week, fodder or drag/slow, to have a show that consistently delivers? And it’s a quality story? What more can one hope than that? Because that’s all I want from my anime. I want good, excellent and superb, and I find this show is all those.

Plus there’s some really cool twists that will leave you with your mouth open (^_−)☆

I’d never seen this anime tho I knew about it because it was a popular title, so the lovely Pink decided to rectify that with a rabb.it session and my god, am I glad I finally watched it! She’s a surprising big fan of dubs, so I was like “okay let’s see this train-wreck”, but I was pleasantly surprised that the dub was great.

This show is filled with swearing, of the kind I’ve never heard before on an anime, and I was super shook and amazed, AND I WISH MORE ANIME GOT THIS KIND OF TREATMENT BECAUSE WOW. Tho tbh, MC’s voice was kinda…not that ... good at first, but it grew on me.

This does end in a “to continue”/we haven’t finished the story kind of ting, but I was told it’s cause the studio went bankrupt, so can’t be helped :V I do wish they’d outsource it to another studio, but the manga is already over OTL

The anime had wonderfully vicious scenes of skin melting, and chunks of meat getting ripped, AND IT WASN’T CENSORED, IT WAS AMAZING. Plus the character design was great, and I liked how some characters weren’t what they looked like. Especially being foul motherfuckers once the penny dropped and they turned vicious~

This was really engaging, fast-paced and never bored me, so if this sounds like the type of show you enjoy, GET ON IT, YOU WON’T GET DISAPPOINTED. I recommended watching the dub because it’s not censored, at all, so it’s always great to see it!

Most know Shungiku Nakamura as the mangaka of Junjou Romantica, which in my opinion is her weakest work. Her Sekaiichi Hatsukoi was head and shoulders above JR, and one of my favorites. I’m quite fond of lost lovers finding themselves again. But the one story that grabbed me by the throat and made me cry rivers, was Hybrid Child.

I first read this manga back when it came out fan-subbed, and it hurt a lot. I was expecting another rape/coercion story like her JR, but it was not. It was magical, fantastic and depressive. It made me putty and made me cry. I was devastated. So ... being the emotional masochist I am, when I discovered it got adapted? I was on it like bees to flowers!

First is that this story gained a lot by being animated. The colors, the camera pans, the OST, really enhanced these amazing short stories. It also helped me keep track of who is who, because this mangaka tends to make really similar dudes and I lose who is who. But it’s not just this one, I suffer of that a lot. I need color to help me, and voice is a nice bonus to complement it.

Either way, the animators were true to the source and didn’t deviate from the plot of the manga, and like I said: I honestly believe it enhanced the original. This adaptation has gorgeous transitions, I’m a sucker for really good transitions. Heck, one of the reasons I was so enchanted with Haikyuu! besides the cute boys, was the way it was directed.

This isn’t as known as her other work, probably because it’s short and short stories. But it is so worth it, if you haven’t read or seen this yet, I advise you to get on it! Feelings and BL go along very well, and though I do wish it was racier, it has some nice kissing and handsome boys ~(＾◇^)/

I discovered this was finished translating (by fans, I love you all!!!) two days ago, after waiting nine hundred years because it kept being passed around from group to group.

I just finished marathoning it for two days, 24 volumes, and I can't tell you how empty, sad and just overwhelmed, mind blown and how I wish it would have never ended. This is one of the best shounen-ai series I've ever read, and that I've finally been able to finish it when others like Ze, Dark Descendants, Loveless, Love/Sex Pistols haven't, is... I don't even know how to express it.

I just have a lot of ... feelings right now, but it surprised me, endeared and reeled me in just as much as the first time I read it, and though it didn't make me cry like Silver Diamond (by the same author) it was equally great.

I cannot extol her as much as I wish I could. 90's manga is everything to me, most of my favorites come from the 90's, and even the aesthetic is so appealing to me.

I cannot tell you how many times I laughed with them, how much I grew and learned from Ishuca and Blood, both main characters with so much depth and hearts. Such big hearts, so much to learn from them. I cannot tell you the depth of my feelings, but I will try either way because I feel this deserves it.

I don't end up feeling empty, like I never want to leave or for it to the end, all that easily, I'm tough to please to that level. I'm pretty skimpy with my 9's and 10's too in MAL, because they have to impact me and this story so did.

I'm always surprised by the warmth and feelings this author infuses in her stories. Silver diamond was another heartwarming series that talked about subjects like the heart, mind, what is evil, what is good, and so did this one and just as flawlessly, and in different ways.

I will admit this: I am in love with the author, and with her works. You cannot believe how refreshing it is to see characters develop, grow, and become more and more human, and gain a heart, gain a soul, and with it also develop awareness and feelings of romance. There is no instant in-love between the two main characters (though there is humorous one-sided ones) but it is there slowly, and it isn't so light you could pass it as "friends", which I like. It leaves no ambiguity to their feelings, while not having to thread to the smut area (tho mind you, I wouldn't mind. Blood and Ishuca are truly works of art :Q____ )

I will also bow down to the author and say that her art is amazing, Blood is so gorgeous and sparkles, and is so goddamn striking, just take me away demons if you're that beautiful 😂

My sense of feeling too full yet empty at the same time hasn't passed, but let me tell you it is both the best and worst feeling. I don't think I will be able to reread this one anytime soon, it is so fresh and crippled me so hard, but I will no doubt reread it once I've forgotten just how beautiful, how much it impacted me.

If you haven't read it, let me assure you it's one of the prettiest BL mangas out there from the 90's (alongside X/1999), and the plot, story and characters are amazing. You will love them, you will fall in love with them, and you will get impacted each time things go wrong for them, but it is such an awesome journey to make with these two beautiful beings. I couldn't have wished for a better twist, or ending to this story, and I don't have enough words to describe why it impacted me without going into spoilers.

I also really like that the author challenges the black & white mentality of her characters, and of us as readers, about characters and where the story is going, and let me tell you: it is worth it. If you haven't read it, make yourself a favor, and do it. I promise this: you'll love them too, and there's no better feeling in the world.

Punpun is not a bird, he appears as a bird to the viewer, as does his family, but they're not birds and that's not how the people around them see them. Aka, they're people, but they're just presented as caricatures. In a way, it makes the domestic violence and problems appear simple at first, until you realize what a mindfuck this series is and how depressing it truly is.

Warning: this is one of the darkest series I've read, and needs more trigger warnings than you might realize at first.

I discovered Oyasumi PunPun thanks to Deviantart, back when it was used (is it still used??) and ... wondered why there was a cute girl with a bird. Might say, lured by the cute, fucked by the dark. Props to Inio Asano for that!

Punpun is a deeply depressing, touchy series that might look like it's only a gag or funny manga, but slowly goes down to the depths of hell to the end, progressively getting worse.

I'm not going to spoil this, but let me assure you to not expect a happy ending for this. This is not a cute, bubbly story. This touches upon rape, abuse, domestic violence, dreams and death, suicide, and so many more I'd just need to do a skull warning label for the series.

But...and maybe this is the masochist in me, I couldn't look away and I had to know what happens and how it ends. Even if it's miserable and it'll make me wish I never did, PunPun is extremely well drawn, paced and extremely luring.

This is not a fantasy, Sci-Fi, or shounen, but a slice of life seinen that doesn't pull punches, and throws in your face what you thought you were expecting from a story featuring a cute bird. I'm sure you weren't expecting to get your feelings fucked with, or to have to experience the dirt-bags that clung to this series like snot to a nose.

I'm not sure I can explain why I loved it, and why I rated it so highly, but it didn't disappoint me. Even with not delivering in some things I hoped to see, it was still so raw and real, I couldn't help be blown away by it.

I won't say to go read it. Perhaps check MAL, check around, think carefully, look at the tags and if you do read it, may you safely cross over this river!

Our MC and uke-kun, Shirotani, has misophobia and surprise surprise, this series treats it with respect and realism. That's right, no magical dick here to heal diseases, cause it doesn't work like that! 👏👏👏

In fact, there's a rawness and darkness, no punches pulled as we see both the damages it has caused to him -his hands are completely fucked up, full of wounds and bleeding/cracks - but also how he sees the world. When the filth/darkness spreads, you can both see and feel how it impacts him.

There's nothing quite as visual media to show how a character sees the world, themselves, especially when making full ... use of imagery. Something that doesn't exist or can't be seen on the naked eye, can be represented in a strong way like this.

From the moment they meet, as Kurose saves Shirotani's boss from being flattened by a truck, he sees clearly through Shirotani. Kurose immediately says he has mysophobia, and pushes him to try to get treatment. What would be farfetched isn't by the discovery that Kurose is a psychiatrist, and so he really just wants to help him lead a better life.

But is that true? Is that really it?

I mean, as we read more and more, this is ongoing *it's finished now*, we quickly figure out that no. Kurose isn't being altruistic, he isn't doing this from the bottom of his heart to help Shirotani.

This is a rather slow manga, there's no fucking in the first 20 chapters, or more maybe (I didn't count and I didn't try to keep track of it) that I've read. But at the same time they get attached to each other rather quickly, including those feelings that go above friendship or like.

I like that it's slow, but I always get thrown for a loop because suddenly, out nowhere, there'll be an intimate scene that I don't expect. Then returns to being slower and no progress in their relationship, only to do it again.

Am I criticising it? Yes. I find its rhythm rather odd. I'd rather they stuck to either a slow burn, we'll get there; or to progress and not devolve back to before the progress. But it's also not a criticism. In lots of ways, that is reality, that is what happens in real life. Including for disease treatments.

This is also rather dark, gets darker as it goes, as more of their back stories get unraveled. Including why Shirotani is misophobic, or rather what triggered it, but also why Kurose is so adamant about Shirotani being his "ideal". Plus Kurose does have a rather inner darkness, and does tend to push Shirotani's boundaries, sometimes even in a cruel way.

Their relationship isn't abusive, if I'm making it out to be I don't intend it, but it isn't sunshine, rainbows and happiness.

Tbh, Ten Count is a tiring manga to read if you try to read it all in one go. Not just because of the subject matter, and the inherent darkness it comes with, but also the pacing of the story with the growing drama makes it tough.

Or maybe it's because I do prefer feel-good stuff to binge with, instead of this much realism. Who knows? I don't! 😹😹😹😹😹

Still, I do think if you're tired of those "I meet and I fuck a weeping uke" stories without any depth to them, you'll rather enjoy this one.

I love this mangaka, she did this and Ice Cold Demon’s Tale, both really great stories.

There is no sex, but lots of implied feelings. This focus more on the story than the romance, but I like light and fluffy too! Though of light… It doesn’t have much when it comes to its themes.

Our protagonist has the power to grow greenery in our world, so his house and garden are like a wild forest, but he’s used to it, even tho it’s not normal to have that kind of power. So when a stranger appears from a hole from nowhere, carrying tree guns and full of ... bandages, he’s very weirded out.

We quickly find out there’s another world, one which is a desert, where there’s almost no water or greenery, and is slowing dying. People have it tough there, and have been waiting for a person that is capable of bringing greenery to their world. Since our protagonist has those exact powers, he accepts going into the other world to help people.

This one has lots of fighting, cool moments, super pretty art, some dark themes once you got further into it, plus some twists and resolutions.

I cried when I finished it, it had so much impact and its message is so beautiful, it definitely shines light in the dark!

This mangaka is better know for her Hydra series, but this is better in my opinion.

Using elements of SciFi, horror and fantasy, it blends them in a very interesting story.

The family is cursed, and the eldest males all die before 35, so the current eldest and protagonist, is searching for a way to dispel the curse.

Because he’s having nightmares related to his old family house, he returns to the countryside to try to unveil the mystery. That’s when he starts time slipping, and goes to the past, as he works with one of his ancestors in the past, and his cousin in the present, to ... figure out why they’re cursed, what happened, and why there’s a mist-clad kimono person stalking them and promising them they’re next to die.

I super love when BL introduces rare genres, and this is a really interesting mystery, you’ll be left in suspense till the end!