Welcome, holiday homebodies, to what is coincidentally my largest seasonal write up ever! I ended up juggling a daunting number of shows that eclipses anything I had done before, even in my most intensive of blogging days! I don’t want to be presumptuous, but I think anime is just getting better, you guys. The average bar of quality continually rises as artist integrity, inspiration, and competition all grow and react to each other. It’s really like an actual shounen cast out here in the anime industry with determined rivals bringing out the best in everyone.
All eyes were on Chainsaw Man of course, and we will undoubtedly unpack everything that show had to offer, but this season continued our year long trend of stand out surprises, as well as whipping up some fresh takes on established series and genres. High school romance Gundam, anyone? I do have one notable omission which is the hotly (I heard there’s some good “fire” scenes) anticipated return of Bleach. I have never watched the original series so while I did try one episode for the premiere write up, I decided it’d be best to save the rest of the new episodes for after I catch up to the old ones. So, without further ado, let’s get into how the most anticipated action series based off this year’s best selling manga was basically dethroned by an awkward guitar-playing youtuber.
More Than a Married Couple, but Not Lovers
Jiro’s just a regular guy with a long time crush that he’s never confessed to. His school decides to pair up students into a mock marriage and have them live together, and Jiro gets paired with Akari, one of the most popular girls at school. She also has a long time crush she never confessed to. Turns out, both of their crushes got paired together, but if you get a good score on this “fake marriage” then you can switch partners. So Akari and Jiro decide to go for as many points as possible to end up with the ones they want to be with.
I was cautiously optimistic about this show when it first aired. While I didn’t get invested in the characters, I at least got invested into seeing the conclusion. So let me say right off the bat that I did not get this conclusion. The final episode sets up for future episodes, or for engaged viewers to go seek out the manga. Because of this, season one just doesn’t feel like a complete viewing experience and steers me much further away from recommending it.
The most pleasant things about the show are its general art style that went for a more light-hued color scheme that makes it feel very innocent. That was contrasted with the spicy ecchi scenes which concocted a very eye-catching mix. For anyone who wants a sugar-coated filter layered over the animation is definitely going to be in for a treat. The characters are also, at certain times, capable of forging a real connection with you. There’s enough character drama to make for a few choice, meaty episodes. But most of the time…?
…It was wish fulfillment. So much so that by the time the final episode concluded, I was starting to feel a bit aggravated. I am a sucker for romance, but I also firmly believe romance isn’t convenient, nor is it easy. Sometimes you get thrown a lucky bone, so it’s not like Jirou getting paired with one of the school’s brightest diva’s was implausible. But her hasty change in disposition into seeking Jirou’s validation and attention was. The way she felt like it was totally okay to wear alluring clothes in a private dorm with someone who was, only weeks ago, a displeasing stranger, doesn’t register with me. The way Jirou would just sit on a couch wondering how he got here, only to have a freshly bathed, barely clothed damsel start teasing and seducing him felt just as logical as plumbers fixing the kink- I mean sink, in an online video. I hit my limit in the final episode where both of the main love interests decide to race each other in some symbolic appreciation of each other. When they finish running a stranger talks to them, and the girls notice his name is Jirou too. This reframed that whole race for me, and now it felt like the show was preaching that if you’re a nice guy, girls will be willing to run romantically in slow motion for you. Not to mention that Akari was wearing heels?!
I also can’t get invested in characters who behave in ways that service the plot, rather than flesh out who they are. For example, almost every character’s thought process is 100% about their romantic situation. I think it’s very challenging to create realistic characters when you only show their romantic frame of mind. Who are they in a vacuum? What are their goals besides confessing to their respective crushes? I’ve been in situations where love is literally all-consuming, but I also always had other things going on in my life that either alleviated or complicated my love life. But in this show, their home life, school life, and free time were all devoted to creating romantic tension. This formula can work, and definitely has. It all depends on the chemistry and how much their interactions make you desire an escalation in their relationship. Some shows can achieve that with pretty much every episode, but it wasn’t the case here.
I say all this acknowledging that I’m probably becoming picky with my romances, and it’s not like the ones I like are objectively better than this one. But I’m learning what I can and can’t tolerate, and this show sadly demonstrated more of the latter. The wish fulfillment, and the character behavior that surrounded it, was too much of a turn off despite having enjoyable, insightful character banter at times, and a dainty art style. The lack of a conclusion killed any hope of a last minute upset.
5/10
To Your Eternity (Season 2 – Part 1)
The immortal being, Fushi, hides himself away after the events of season 1, but finally finds a reason to journey back to society and find a different approach to living alongside the human race, and the predatory Nokkers that threaten them.
I’m starting to lose hope that To Your Eternity will ever recapture the magic of its debut episode; one that stands as a hallmark in storytelling and a triumphant premiere to a fantasy epic of massive proportions. Now here I am, eleven episodes into season 2 and I haven’t really felt much of anything. The powerful presentation efforts have basically disappeared leaving us with one mediocre looking episode after another. It’s truly sad to see such a poor adaptation of a story that feels fitting of much more grandiosity.
The story itself is still very solid, and the events of season 2 have steered the narrative towards a more bizarre and oddly unsettling environment. To Your Eternity rides a fine line between standard fantasy and dark fantasy, but the times when its creepy sometimes feel accidental. It’s almost as if the poor adaptation is responsible for some of the discomfort rather than any properly prepared shift in tone. There’s a character with a Nokker that lives within their arm, and it will sometimes write down messages which is basically their arm flailing and twitching out of control dragging their body around as it writes down a message. But the anime just presents it without batting an eye. The creepy things have no atmospheric tension. No music to enhance the effect, and no fear present in the other characters to validate just how weird the whole situation is. This happens countless times, and that is why I wonder if the studio just didn’t take the time to properly accentuate these scenes. If it is purposeful, then it does remind me a bit of Satoshi Kon’s work who is very unflinching in his portrayal of oddly behaved characters and situationally awkward scenes.
The weirdness is a net positive, but its unfortunate that the strongest compliment I can give To Your Eternity is about its awkward story. The first season was a bit more predictable, but also delivered regular dosages of catharsis. Season 1 followed a “companion of the week” format where Fushi would meet someone, grow close to them, and then have something to force Fushi to move on from them. It created several bittersweet farewells and tragic climaxes. Season 2, instead, focuses inward on how Fushi wants to assist the world and learning how to harness his powers in the most efficient way possible.
Now I’ve never been fond of the Nokkers. I find them an entirely uninspiring type of enemy, as they are basically just tendrils that shoot out of the ground and kill or infect people. But that character I mentioned earlier with the Nokker in his arm has finally introduced a Nokker that can express some sort of will or intent. This has helped make them more interesting, but the overall feeling of the season is just a bit lackluster and boring. At its best, To Your Eternity’s second season is an offbeat fantasy with ailing production woes that is doing it no favors.These woes are enough to keep me from recommending the show despite its masterful first episode. Should the day ever come where this show can tap into that same potential again, then I’m going to be a very happy writer.
6/10
Reincarnated as a Sword
An isekai anime (an anime where the main character reincarnates in a new world) presents itself yet again, and this time with the uphill battle of having a talking sword as a main character. Isekai are a dime a dozen, but at least we can rest easy with our trusty sword and her cute-as-a-button wielder, Fran. Unlike numerous isekai anime, this one mostly swerves past the pitfalls of being boring, confusing, or perverted. It’s primary concern? Being comfy and adventurous, which is the beating heart of this subgenre.
Before we get ahead of ourselves though, for all the weaknesses Reincarnated as a Sword avoids, its also lacking in many notable strengths. In essence, this is a by the books serviceable fantasy journey where the lack of surprise is made up for by simply enjoying the company of the characters and finding satisfaction in watching Fran get more powerful because she really really wants to, and I support that. Her relationship with Sword guy usually brings a smile to my face. Especially when she respects his guidance so much.
There’s not much that changed since my premiere report. I think the worst episode is the first episode, but it didn’t exactly jump up too high in quality. Fran is a very loveable character with adorable voice acting and mannerisms that are tough to resist. Her drive to become strong is simple as can be, but this is a simple show. The plot is very day by day in that Fran doesn’t have any long term goals. She simply wants to spend each day training or eating. Her sword simply wants to protect her and realize her potential as an adventurer. Though sometimes Fran wants a little bit more than that…
I think the only strong plot point is Amanda who initially came off as a one-note character; a doting mom who annoys Fran in her attempts to protect her. She was alarmingly persistent, to the point of a stalker so my opinion of her started damn near the floor. But the finale handled her past with a rather striking scene that still felt a bit melodramatic, but it was easily the best character development of the show.
On the production side, the animation is pretty lackluster. It’s not necessarily a bad thing, but my eyes never really lit up in excitement. It’s a similar story with the music which played some pretty common sounding old school fantasy metal. Throw in a by-the-books opening and ending sequence and we have a thoroughly consistent mild quality that I think I would only recommend to those who seek this genre, those who like cute main characters, or those who simply want to watch anything seasonal or recent that isn’t bleakly disappointing. Otherwise, I’d point to many other isekai out there first. But, for what its worth, this one was a fun ride. I don’t think I’d hesitate to jump into season 2, should it be announced. And yes, this does end with a very tongue-in-cheek setup for a continuation.
7/10
Raven of the Inner Palace
The Raven Consort is a mysterious being that lives secluded within the inner palace. She is known to have supernatural abilities and can be approached with requests to speak with the dead, or discover the nature of curses. The emperor decides to meet her and their encounter becomes a fateful crossing of paths.
Raven of the Inner Palace is an aesthetic powerhouse. I think my favorite character design of the season would go to Jusetsu, or alternatively, Lie Shouxue depending on the subtitles you’re using. The opening and ending songs both evoke strong feelings of tragedy and mystery, while the show itself thrives in the murky dim light of the shadowy atmosphere. Character’s speak softly and rhythmically creating a rather hypnotic viewing experience. It’s a very poetic show with flowery language and frequent philosophical asides.
The show jumps from one mystery to another, making most of the season’s running time doing research and gaining an understanding of characters both living and dead. These stories range in quality, but overall I think their only hindrance is being a bit boring in the delivery. The overly serious tone can sometimes backfire by diminishing the range of emotions you ultimately feel with any given episode. This is especially so because most episodes introduce new characters, and try to draw your empathy for them, only to send them off by the end of the episode. Some anime excel at this, such as Mushishi, but I think the story crafting is far more interesting and engrossing in that anime.
But we do have a couple overarching plots, both of which, sadly, don’t quite reach their resolution by the end of the season. The most important is the blossoming romance between Jusetsu, the Raven Consort, and Koushun, The Emperor. It’s a very respectable bonding experience where he slowly tries to earn her trust and allowance past her walls she’s learned to put up for herself. In other words, its very classical romance where only the most gentlemanly prevail. This can lead to it feeling a bit cliche at times, but thanks to Jusetsu’s blunt demeanor and fierce determination to not get involved, we avoid any cheesy swooning bits that tend to plague established romantic tropes of the past.
I do wish we got more focus on the central story which also includes the history of the Raven Consort position itself. I’m curious about this show, and very pleased with its treatment of romance and the art style. But it is admittedly slow paced, and rather uneventful without much to make up for the lack of momentum. But if you’re in the mood for a classic bird-trapped-in-a-cage setup with a respectable female lead, then you need look no further.
7/10
Urusei Yatsura
I’m not sure what is more intriguing to write about; the fact that Urusei Yatsura somehow managed to make me feel bad for Ataru, the biggest dingus womanizer of the season, or how MAISONdes, the artist behind the OP and ED is a really weird, enigmatic musical project. Luckily, I have nobody telling me I can’t do both.
Welcome to a Urusei Yatsura, a reboot of a romcom classic where a human tail-chaser, Ataru, gets unofficially married to a beautiful alien, Lum. Her iridescent hair, electrifying personality, and flintstone-esque getup, is something of an icon in the anime community. Urusei Yatsura is one of the pioneering anime that popularized many of the archetypes that romcoms use today. Casually put, this anime manifested “waifu” culture.
Obviously, as someone who is happy to debate which character deserves the Waifu crown with every anime I sit through, I was very eager to see where this all started. As someone who prefers anime romances with a heavy touch of delicacy, and a generally serious approach, I was ready to just cut loose and enjoy something a bit more far-fetched and comedic. Despite feeling prepared for anything, I actually wasn’t prepared for just how disrespectful Ataru was. He is willing to lay his hands on any pretty girl that walks by, feelings and consequences be damned. It’s played for laughs, but it’s behavior that is troublesome if I ever really think about it. Was this a dealbreaker? Should the show have progressed its character dynamics a bit to modern times? After watching the entire first cour, what I could honestly say is that it would have made for a potentially better show, but it wouldn’t be Urusei Yatsura. While it’s no relationship I’d wish upon a friend, for the sake of comedy and characterization, I think Ataru is a great catalyst, and allows characters to shine in unexpected ways. Also, Lum’s hair turns into a wonderfully dazzling color whenever she gets angry, so Ataru assured that I had plenty of amazing screenshots to pick from.
In a very crucial episode, one that single-handedly raised my score a full point, Ataru is forced to face a consequence for the first time, as Lum seemingly ditches him for good. What follows is the series’ most poignant expression of the cruel realization of how much you like something after its gone. It’s a classic lesson, but it’s made effective by excellent pacing and even better animation. What I wanted, more than anything, from this show, was to witness Lum’s legacy as an anime all star, and watching her lovingly descend upon Ataru with the autumn leaves gliding softly behind her, was an absolute money shot. I’ll never forget that moment with Lum, and it showed me that this story is capable of the romance I crave.
Unfortunately, the show itself is quick to reengage in its transgressions. I queued the next episode and Ataru and Lum went right back to bickering, and my investment returned to a state of normalcy. When Urusei Yatsura is just doing its thing, it can carry a full episode of entertainment thanks to the many side characters that help demonstrate that there’s more to this show than just Lum. The bigger that cast gets, the happier I am, so I’m pleased to say that this show has only gotten incrementally better since I started it. If they can pull out one more episode like the one I loved for the season finale, we may be moving this up the list even more.
Now, let’s not forget about the bops! In a rather uncommon occasion, the producers commissioned the same artist to do both the opening and ending theme. Normally it’s two separate artists, with the opening usually being the marquee band. This usually ends up meaning the OP song is the good one, and the ED song is the forgettable one. In Urusei Yatsura’s case, both of the songs are infectiously catchy dance pop jams, with a particular singing style that really had me craving more. Upon looking up the band, I was only greeted with strange trivia. Apparently, their entire ethos as a musical project is to simulate the feeling of living in a one-bedroom apartment, and the songs are assigned apartment numbers to populate this virtual musical setting. Furthermore, they operate as a collective, switching up singers and producers on a song by song basis giving them very little central identity. There’s only one recurring figure which is the “manager” of the apartment complex, so I guess I’ll just say, “give my thanks to the manager?” Either way, MAISONdes feels like a band to watch, and they’ve been releasing since 2021. Urusei Yatsura was my gateway to them, and I did spoil myself and saw they they are doing yet another song for the anime, to be used as the anime continues into the winter 2023 season!
Easy for me to love, and easy for me to hate; I have mixed emotions when viewing this show, but its pleasantries and general entertainment value are slowly but surely winning me over. Starting and ending each episode with a miniature dance session is a major plus. I find myself getting more excited to come back to this show each time.
7.5/10
Akiba Maid War
Ahh, maid cafes. Aren’t they so comforting? Bubbly, bright-eyed girls deliver lovingly cooked food while performing a coma-inducing amount of cute performances, and then one of the maids gets violently shot point blank in the head. Wait, what? Is that ketchup on my omelette or blood? Welcome to Akiba, Japan. Only in this anime, the maid cafes double as gang territory. Akiba Maid Trip is one of the most ridiculous, yet properly executed proof-of-concepts in anime I’ve ever seen. I don’t know what is more worthy of applause, the absolutely bonkers premiere episode that demonstrated just exactly how cute and gory thing were really going to get, or the finale that served as a capstone to twelve episode of sticking to the gimmick all the way to the end.
I spent a lot of time raving about this show in my premiere write-up. I wasn’t sure if I’d particularly love it, but the shock value and hilarious execution was so damn good that it felt like the best anime to sample out of the whole season’s offerings. I still stand by that and recommend everyone to check out the first episode, just so you can be in the know. I was curious as to how the show would progress. Would the novelty of gun toting maids eventually fade away to obscurity? Could this senseless cycle of violence really be the key to achieving “Moe Moe Kyun?”
Akiba Maid Wars decided to keep its relevance by constantly shapeshifting each week into what could only be described as a fiasco-of-the-week format. Boxing rings, cultural festivals, birthday parties, luxurious casinos, no matter where each episode decided to throw us, hilarity ensued, blood ran like water, and animal puns infested the subtitles. Honestly, underneath the have-to-see-it-to-believe-it exterior, this anime’s overarching plot is firmly rooted in traditional gangster flicks, complete with the spaghetti western ending song.
Ultimately, this was a show that simply cashed everything in on the premise, and sought to deliver one hell of a dark comedy. While I didn’t actually feel anything significantly meaningful from this series, it was an assault on my senses in almost every way. And while it starts on its most disturbing foot, the finale also managed to ascend the absurdity and chaos to an insane level. This is a hard score to pin down because it still is just a bit one sided for me. It’s the kind of show where I’d only want to watch the first episode with a friend, and then part ways and say enjoy the rest on your own. It’s something I’d be excited to discuss, but not necessarily converse about anything except “holy shit, wasn’t that crazy?!” But despite the score, this anime does have a special recommendation for anyone who just wants to see how wild anime can get.
7.5/10
Arknights: Prelude to Dawn
Arknights is probably the biggest addition to my gaming schedule in 2022. Having started it in 2021, I then moved to a new state that included a new job with a lengthy commute. Arknights quickly became one of my most played games because of this, so my investment into this anime was so intense, that I actually felt nerves at the potential disappointing quality of this adaptation. Arknights has a pretty interesting relationship with its audience. It’s a largely positive one due to the game’s strategic gameplay focus and lack of relative greed (yes, it’s still a gacha, but it’s one of the most fair gachas.) The players also enjoy a plethora of memorable game music thanks to pretty incredible partnerships with artists around the world. This also helped set up Arknights to have one of my favorite ED’s of the year. But the most curious case of player enjoyment has to do with the game’s story: One that is just as good as it is bad.
Arknights, the game, suffers from dialogue fatigue, and a state of inexertion. It’s a visual novel with very little kinetic activity. The quality of the art is fantastic, no doubt, but the presentation of the story is a known drawback. Citing translation shortcomings and over exposition, there’s a notion of “trudging” through the story to absorb its quality. With an anime adaptation, almost all of that unwelcome baggage could be left at the airport as we take the direct flight right to the best bits of the story. This, surely, is a win win for Arknights story lovers and newcomers alike, right?
Well, just like the game, the anime seems to have found itself in an equally appreciated, yet equally disregarded position. The single most important thing that I see a lot of agreement on, though, is that this is a serious, and ambitious adaptation. This isn’t a cash-grab that lacks creative inspiration, nor is it a lazy throwaway given to the B team. In fact, this is a very driven pet project by the director, Yuki Watanabe who ascended the ranks through studios like Trigger. In fact, a lot of Trigger staff are involved in this project due to company absorptions. So basically, the passion and pedigree is there, but at the same time, this is also sort of uncharted territory for the director.
What was apparent upon the series debut is that Arknights is attempting to be extremely cinematic. The director, who also was in charge of sound directing, opted for 5.1 surround which is very rare in anime, as well as being basically the only anime I’ve seen all year presented in a widescreen letterbox format. In interviews, the director made it known that his two biggest focal points was atmosphere and presentation. I think, in this regard, Arknights exceeded expectations in spades. There’s just a filmic touch to the series that even cinema-inspired anime like Chainsaw Man doesn’t even quite replicate, thanks to very effective camera effects and framing styles.
The final episode opens with an extended take of Amiya wringing her hands in first person. It’s this focus on character psychology and letting scenes idle by slowly that impresses me the most. I spent a lot of the premiere report gawking at the incredible environmental design and background art detail, so let me just say that this remained true through the rest of the season. There is gritty eye candy all over this anime. In fact, I may go as far as to say that this anime has my favorite artwork of the season. As I was looking for screencaps to accompany this entry, I kept coming across one masterful shot after another. In fact, all the images for Arknights that I used in this post are sampled from about five minutes of a single episode.
But on the other hand, the actual content of the show, namely, the combat and character interactions, ended up being a bit too muted or restrained, especially around the middle of the series. Characters didn’t get fleshed out all too well. Due to the amount of exposition (which is still dialed way back compared to the game) most characters didn’t get to let their personality shine. The show never really cashed in on adrenaline or bombast that I think the show really could have used. Many fight scenes cut away too quickly, or ended right when you’re bloodflow started accelerating in preparation for a good fight. Because of the times the wind felt robbed from my sails, the adaptation wasn’t perfect, and has room for improvement. But at the same time, I feel even more assured that this anime is being handled by a team that cares about the source material, and about the production of the show, and for some reason, that trumps most of the negativity I feel about it.
8/10
Blue Lock
A bunch of talented youth are scouted to join a soccer training facility named Blue Lock. But the methods used in Blue Lock are unlike anything seen in soccer before. Yoichi, alongside many other determined soccer players, vows to conquer Blue Lock, whatever it takes.
Blue Lock only ramped up its ferocity since my premiere write up, and that is pulling the anime into two extreme directions. One of them is thrilling and I eat up every moment, the other makes me laugh at just how seriously this show takes itself. The battle royale analogy still rings true. The number of times a character has said “even if it kills me” makes me feel like everyone here has signed a suicide pact to either win or be buried in the soccer field they play on.
Blue Lock is an EDGY show. I don’t know how to emphasize this more than italics and all caps. Characters frequently refer to their nurturing talent as monsters living within themselves and everyone thinks they are the hottest shit in Blue Lock. Instead of “nice weather we’re having” it’s “I’m gonna be number one.” There is very intense shadowing making their eye sockets look deranged, and if they are really concentrating, a glowing aura will appear around them and their hair will start dramatically swaying as if a stormy wind was approaching. The show wants every character to be a badass, and that’s sort of the point of the facility too. They don’t want their players focused on teamwork and sharing the glory. Blue Lock wants you to swipe the glory for yourself and let your ego lead you to your victories.
What has drawn me into the show the most over the length of the season are the characters that have been introduced midway through the season. I’m not entirely happy with Yoichi’s initial team, making me wish I could dump half of them and just keep a select few. Luckily my wish has manifested right at the tail end of the season.
Spoiler warning*
The residents of Blue Lock are now whittled down to teams of three, and each victory allows them to steal a player from the losing side. And lo and behold, my two favorite characters are on Yoichi’s team.
End of spoilers*
Thanks to this mix up, and the tactical trajectories of all the possibilities, I find myself much more excited for the upcoming cour. At the same time, this show often teeters to a bit of an overblown presentation. I will sometimes find myself laughing or scoffing at a characters extreme tendencies just as often as I am enthralled by them. It doesn’t help that Yoichi is a carbon copy of Eren Yeager from Attack on Titan, only replace the titans with goalies. You can picture how that’d go, right? But ultimately, the cringe-factor of being overly self-indulgent doesn’t derail this show because Blue Lock played it straight from the beginning. This facility is extreme. The characters are intense. And the stakes are always dramatically sky high. You hopped into a sports car and now it wants to show off its horsepower. I’m pretty much along for the ride.
8/10
The Tatami Time Machine Blues
Yojouhan Time Machine Blues
The debate for the best Masaaki Yuasa production is one I have a hard time choosing sides in, but if I had to stake my claim, it would be with Watashi and his wild, whimsical timeline hijinks in Tatami Galaxy. Basically amounting to the fluffiest feeling time travel series I’ve come across, Tatami Galaxy will forever hold a special place in my heart. Time Machine Blues, then, had quite the reputation to live up to. This is an indirect sequel that largely operates as an in-universe but unrelated storyline, much like The Night is Short, Walk on Girl. However, we do return to the focal point of a single bedroom in which most of the lunacy comes alive.
To compare Galaxy to Time Machine Blues feels easiest if we just compare the size and impact it left on me, because the writing quality, which is as wickedly fast as ever, feels exactly the same. The loose and lackadaisical realism fantasy is still just as charming. And the expressive and ever-exaggerated art style all hits the same mark regardless of which anime you’re watching. I know I just got done raving about Arknights artwork, but for people preferring more conceptual stylings rather than modern cinematic technique, Yuasa’s team spared no effort as you can see from these shots. I would consider Time Machine Blues the little brother. The genetic makeup of the production is all there, but at half the running time, it just doesn’t take me on quite as large of a ride.
It’s also worth noting that while this is a six episode series, the sixth and final episode feels like an outlier, with the first five feeling like the proper series. This is also because this series was aired in two different ways, one of which didn’t even include the sixth episode, so I would consider it a bonus OVA style episode. So with only 5 episodes, my journey was over much more quickly. Like Galaxy, the strongest episode is the last in the proper five. The four before it are pleasant misadventures that just get me smiling, while a lot of dot-connecting happens in the background to set up all of the time travel consequences.
The show starts off as if the time-traveling would just be an ignored vessel for the sake of comical escapades. So I was very happy to see that almost every scene that originally felt aimless, turned out to be a fine-tuned clue to how everything fits in the timeline. This plot is tightly woven while appearing very unassuming to the first time viewer. Hats off to Yuasa, but equal commendations for Tomihiko Morimi, the author of the original novels for offering such a potent wellspring of fun storytelling.
8/10
Spy X Family (Cour 2)
Spy X Family is the new all-ages-welcome anime craze that is sweeping the world thanks to the loveable family dynamic and Anya’s hilarious faces. The second cour decided that no family is complete without a loyal doggo to warm the living room carpet, and so our season started on a secret spy mission to adopt a dog! Can we get much higher?!
Everything that made Spy X Family a hit is still running rampant. Loid’s logical narration constantly tries to diffuse the hilarious situations his family gets him into. Anya is still a smug gremlin who is determined to help Loid however she can, if only she didn’t have to actually study to do so. And Yor is still the terrifying, assassinating force of nature that earned the fascination of anime fans around the world. Even though the mission is to help end potential war by socially infiltrating a political leader via their children’s mutual prestige academy, the real meat of each episode are the familial moments.
Acquiring Bond, our fluffy gargantuan doggy, took up the first arc of the show, but season two also introduced yet another recurring character by the name of Fiona Frost. She plays the femme fatale to rival Yor Forger, and this somehow led us to an underground tennis tournament where Fiona and Loid had to compete against cheaters that had secret mechanisms to move the net, and even had snipers ready to shoot dud bullets. Of course, the stakes are rarely high in Spy X Family so this was really an excuse to let Loid and Fiona flip around and play tennis at an inhuman level. But no matter how hard Fiona Frost tried, Yor is the perfect wife and mother for this makeshift family, and I like that Fiona isn’t causing too much genuine friction. This is a happy go lucky show and I think romantic drama isn’t quite a good fit for it.
One thing many fans are starting to realize, however, is that Spy X Family isn’t exactly quick to progress the main plotline. Season 2 already saw quite a sharp decline from the online fervor of season 1. Many episodes ended without really shifting the status quo, and I don’t think I, nor many others, were expecting to get trailed along this much. It’s a bit of a downer that did affect my overall enjoyment of the series a bit. There’s a lot of fluff. It’s good, and I rarely have an unpleasant time with Spy X Family, but the crucial episodes are very sparse.
Luckily the final episode made sure to resolutely state that progress is being made. Loid and his target have finally made physical contact. This allowed the spotlight to shine on Damian and his father. While Loid was trying to curry favor with Damian’s father to further his mission, I like how Loid, in searching for a random topic for discussion, ended up on parenting. Damian had to sit on the sidelines and wonder if his father truly felt or agreed with what Loid was saying. And for the record, Damian is definitely my favorite character in the show. His confused emotions at how to process the clumsy but well-meaning Anya is always cute to see. His desire to connect to his father is the type of thing no child should have to go through. Add in the fact that he puts on a facade for his friends and he’s immediately just as complex, if not more so, than the rest of the cast. Spy X Family continues to succeed in weaving you into a casual spy thriller where the value of family constantly reverberates in comforting fashion. I saw that someone online has already beaten me to the punch with a good ol “best part of waking up is Forgers in your cup” pun, but there really isn’t a better way to simplify the appeal of this show.
8/10
Mobile Suit Gundam: Witch from Mercury
When this romance-laden mech anime first started, I thought it was going to be my favorite Gundam, and the one that I understood best. The character motives were all very confidently expressed, but also simplified in a way that kept me firmly on track. The hasty match up of our two lead heroines had me instantly praying for a true romantic pairing. The fact that most of the conflicts involved adolescent braggarts betting what they want on school-sanctioned duels made the stakes crystal clear. For better and worse, (mostly for the better) this show became bigger than that.
The show expanded past the singular goals of the students, and became a more lofty business oriented mind game where idealistic kids try to play ball in economics and create a company. And where financial success can be found, so too can crafty, shady folks with less amenable methods at getting their piece of the pie. My simple brain doesn’t do well with complicated political/capitalist thrillers unless they can get me emotionally invested in each piece on the chessboard. So if I had to point to my biggest disconnect, it’s that I didn’t really care about all the shady corporations that was getting in the way of Miorine and Co’s success. But, ultimately, I think all of that played second fiddle to the shifting dynamics of the bride and groom.
Suletta is a breath of fresh air, being brazenly honest, but intimidated by everything that moves. She has a relatable fear of being brave that’s illustrated painstakingly well, and consistently throughout the series. There is a particular episode in the second half where Suletta succumbs to an inferiority complex. As someone who’s basically an inviting next door neighbor to these types of complexes, I really appreciated how it was handled. Many of us know the angular, paranoid mental gymnastics we go through when we feel down about ourselves, and we loosely interpret every innocent happenstance as a personal attack on our character. I also appreciate that this didn’t villainize anyone, including avoiding the trope-ish dark turn of our protagonist. Instead, she just sought solace, received advice, and immediately moved on to resolving the situation in a healthy matter.
However, despite me not particularly enjoying the more serious conflicts of the second half, that is not to say that I didn’t enjoy the actual combat. Sunrise has a reputation of heralding the best mech anime that even I, a mech novice, can somewhat recognize their prowess. The easiest way is to just say, “hell yeah man, no overused CG smoke and mirrors here!” But it really has to be stated how well drawn and animated this was. I, especially liked the deep shading used on Aerial that created a more realistic, gritty color palette. Many times, robot and mech anime just looks a bit plastic. Let’s not forget about the bombastic orchestral and choral music set pieces too. Looking into the composer, I found that he has had a pretty short career thus far, and this is the only thing I’ve personally seen with his compositions. But he sounds like an up and coming Sawano protégé if I ever heard one.
As the credits rolled on the final episode, I thought I was going to have to write about the most anticlimactic ending of the season. I knew it was the final episode, so I expected the ending to go out in style, but instead, it just cut away like a commercial break. Luckily as I sat in a dumbfounded stupor, the real ending scene played after the credits. It was very short, but it gave me more to chew on than the rest of the finale combined. In a world full of double crossers and economical mutiny, I got used to characters behaving in surprising or inexplicable ways. Rather, I got kind of bored and numb to it, but Suletta reaching out her hand in that final shot was the curio I needed to hold me over until season 2. Seriously, what was that? I’m ready to theorycraft!
8/10
My Hero Academia (Season 6 – Part 1)
Almost every hero has been gathered for an all-in assault on the Paranormal Liberation Front’s headquarters. What follows is 13 episodes of the some of the most intensive, scale tipping fights the series has ever seen. Season 6 feels like a direct response to the withering fanbase as the last few seasons failed to deliver the type of action we were craving. Each of these 13 episodes felt like a climax, and this unrelenting pace made for some of the most engaging stuff in the anime sphere this season.
This quality is primarily in the stakes of the fight, and the way that neither the villains or heroes feel in complete control of the chaos at hand. The stakes are also vastly elevated compared to previous seasons due to the number of casualties and severe injuries that befell our heroes and villains alike. People get taken out left and right. I honestly can’t keep track of who got injured, or who died. I’m sure some of the ones that felt like deaths will be resuscitated in a hospital, but there were some clear-cut vanquishing of souls where we know for a fact they are not coming back, and got one hell of a send off.
To best describe this season long brawl, let’s just say that basically every villain and hero involved took turns sharing the limelight and having their moment to show how they can make a significant difference in the fight. Many characters I like had some of their most triumphant scenes in this season, and the fact that we just got 13 episodes of unfiltered dramatic table turning, is largely a superb bit of entertainment. There’s a very shocking character reveal too that throws a whole new element into one of the longest running and fan-favorite side plots.
Honestly the only things that bring this show down are weaknesses that were exposed in earlier seasons, and simply persist in the current one. Shigaraki, the main villain this is all revolving around, is still a very uninteresting guy. And Deku, our justice loving protagonist, is constantly in a state of nearly exhausting himself but somehow managing to jump back in the fight, which some how makes him the most anticlimactic of the bunch. And while it was not nearly as emphasized as his embarrassing epiphany about using his darn legs for once in a fight, I was still just a bit exasperated that Deku decided to fight…with his tongue.
A hyper-critical part of my brain also questions if 13 episodes of eleventh hour appearances is actually overdoing it. It did get to a point where the show started becoming predictably unpredictable, but you won’t really catch me complaining since I’ll take this over what the last two seasons were any day of the week. It hasn’t quite surpassed season one and two for me overall, but as far as singular battles go, this is the best My Hero Academia has had thus far.
8.5/10
Bocchi the Rock
From phobia of society to society’s new phenomenon, Bocchi the Rock came in with an unassuming premise, and ended up stealing the thunder from this season’s most anticipated anime. This makes the third anime this year to sideswipe an unsuspecting audience and join the ranks of hidden gems that managed to garner a staggering amount of popularity. We saw it with Ya Boy Kongming, and again with Lycoris Recoil, the last two seasons. This is exactly how I like to see the anime industry thrive. The established, mainstay shows still bring a lot to the table, but they don’t completely overshadow the competition, allowing for nice little surprises like this.
For the uninitiated, Bocchi the Rock is a music-oriented anime about an extremely socially awkward recluse who harbors comedically selfish dreams of being famous, but just can’t seem to juggle the attention that her skill as a guitarist gets her. She settles this by becoming youtube-famous, but eventually ends up in a band with three other girls. After which, their journey to reach all of their personal goals begins in earnest. Though the struggle of maintaining a band is undoubtedly difficult, the real challenge is Bocchi versus her unbridled fear of social contact, and this is where the delicious memes come in.
One crucial part of this anime’s appeal is… well, Bocchi’s complete lack of appeal. The animators spared no effort in depicting the many faces of crippling anxiety with lavish insanity. From convulsing into a bunch of polygons, being rendered as a lifeless puppet, and even throwing in some live action gags into the mix, every episode was sure to siphon out the laughter straight from your lungs. At the same time, the anime knew when to be heartfelt. Bocchi had a personal desire to be better, going as far as getting a part time job, and working at a maid cafe for her school cultural festival. Granted, almost every waking second was her regretting theses actions and attempting to go AWOL from her life’s motivations, but that’s what made her so intensely relatable to anyone who’s felt overwhelmed by their vision of bettering themselves.
Now, Bocchi is the star of the show, but I can’t leave without showing love to the rest of the cast, with special regards to the bassist, Ryo. She plays the cool, dark-dressing, laid-back rock star that never lets the facade falter, unless money is involved. That is because Ryo is almost always flat out broke, and the way she begs for food, but still sticks to her bad girl demeanor is just about the cutest thing. I especially liked when she spoke deeply and honestly about the kind of music she wants to play. She expresses that she doesn’t want shallow lyrics, but wants singers that truly expose themselves no matter how much it clashes with what the audience wants. The drummer, Nijika is the infallible ray of sunshine that keeps the band together, and Kita is an even brighter ray of sunshine that takes the mic in stride and helps boost the bands popularity. Toss in a raging alcoholic, and an older sister who secretly watches out for them, and you have an amazing support network for Bocchi to finally take the stage she has earned for herself.
With all this good-natured character interplay and the clear effort that went into the production, the question then becomes, how does this stack up against the greatest music anime out there? Bocchi the Rock is a hard entity to really have any strong negative feelings about, but to beat out some of my personal favorites like K-On (its closest comparison) or Kids on the Slope, it would have had to accomplish more for me. I needed more moments like Ryo discussing her true feelings on music, or Bocchi discovering more newfound joys in putting herself out there. The finale ended rather casually which was odd for an anime with so much emphasis on impactful moments. Though her attempted stage dive definitely got some wicked laughter out of me. That was a perfect final joke to go off on. In the end, Bocchi was an amazing comedy, and a slightly less impressive drama, that maybe could have ended on a better foot to really cement itself as an all star. But this could be the beginning of a multi-season series that absolutely has the potential to go all the way.
8.5/10
Chainsaw Man
In the world of Chainsaw Man, things that people fear take the form of creatures called Devils. There’s sword devils, ghost devils, and, most obviously, chainsaw devils. But to me, these macabre manifestations isn’t what gives Chainsaw Man its greatest distinction. Rather than the forces of evil kept at bay, it’s the forces of the slightly less evil keeping it away that pulls me in. Denji, having grown up impoverished, stumbled upon a meager life, and doesn’t mind killing devils to maintain it. Aki, who’s family was lost to the Gun Devil, is focused entirely on revenge. Power, a half-Devil, wants to assert her superiority by killing anything that moves and somehow winning a Nobel prize. These are the characters that make the chains on the chainsaw go ’round. They are selfish. They make petty choices. Yet, they keep the world safe.
If you haven’t peeked into the manga industry in a while, Chainsaw Man is the title at the top of the totem pole at the moment. But as someone who prioritizes anime, this season was my first entryway into the depraved mind of Tatsuki Fujimoto, the author. As this is an adaptation, I probably can’t speak accurately into what made the manga popular, but I can definitely parse what makes this a very peculiar anime, in hopes that it parallels what makes the manga special too. Here we have an anime that lacks the typical shounen hero archetype, and instead behaves as an odd infusion of western and eastern cinema where ideals are tucked away for more harsher goals and realities.
On an easy to describe level, Chainsaw man is a gory action romp that wears its horror inspiration on its sleeve. But as you watch Chainsaw Man slowly unfold, you’re treated to little bits of something more delicate. Somber, minimal scenes will focus on character movement and body language of their most simple of thoughts and motions, just as much as it gratuitously displays the violent combat. From a production standpoint, Chainsaw man is an ambitious exercise in presentation, with an eye for the minutiae. In the beginning, I wasn’t exactly blown away. I was impressed, but not invested. If I had to attribute it to something, Chainsaw Man seems like an easy world to be disgusted by when you are not immersed. It’s like travelling to the part of the city that gives you bad vibes as you approach. You’ll kind of notice the flaws in the woodwork before you appreciate the strengths of what’s left standing.
But Chainsaw Man warmed up to me over time. The more the exemplary directing controlled my mood and perspective, the more this world became alive. And once you feel involved with this world, the characters that originally turned me off felt natural to the environment I once grimaced at. Basically, Chainsaw Man became a very real world. I think it’s a strength of the writing and the cinematography that this effect of tone-building is achieved. We as humans like to pride ourselves on being in the moral high ground. We go as far as finding villains sympathetic, but they are still villains. They still had to be defeated. Chainsaw Man, instead, puts you with a group of people who’s moral boundaries are basically warped to the job they have to do, which is killing horrific monsters, and knowing that you or any of your comrades will die unceremoniously.
Now while some of this could be characteristics found in both the anime, and perhaps the manga, one thing that is definitely adding a whole new layer to the Chainsaw Man experience is the music. Composer, and personal treasure, Kensuke Ushio, helms the seat behind the music, and his work heightens the atmosphere exponentially. I think his strengths are tapped into best when used alongside the more restrained, drawn out scenes of reflection or inactivity. He captures the feeling of dwelling and losing yourself in your mind with natural ease. Looking outside of the OST, an anime traditionally has an opening and ending song handled by third party bands or singers. Chainsaw man looked at this pattern and decided to slice it (hehe) into 12 endings songs. This is something that only could have happened with the manga’s popularity and momentum, and I’m super grateful for this. Each episode has a different ending song and sequence, and my current favorite is First Death from TK. But that crunchy bassline from the opening number is definitely one of the biggest earworms of the year.
If I had to pick the weakest part of chainsaw man, it actually would be the action. Despite every initial thought of mine thinking this show was gonna be all fight, and no form, each fight scene ended up being a more forgettable part of each episode. Instead, the scenes that were going viral on the internet were scenes about Aki making a cup of coffee. I do appreciate that the fight scenes were excruciatingly animated, but I was always most in tune with the show in the moments leading up to, and following each conflict. The most pressing matter, however, is just what is going on with Makima? Talk about an artisan crafted enigma. Everything from her vocal delivery, to her uncanny presence, and slightly discomforting rumors swirling about her, help to concoct a subtly frightening persona. Her sacrifice ritual scene is probably my favorite scene so far. While I’m still warming up to Chainsaw Man, I have found an appreciation for it by the season’s end, and I’m glad that it’s leaving me with such lasting impressions. I can’t say if this will be the next Hunter X Hunter or Fullmetal Alchemist, but it’s doing a bit more to get there than Jujutsu Kaisen did for me, and definitely more so than Demon Slayer.
8.5/10
Do It Yourself!
Well, now we are nearing the end of the blog, and the dust is settling in a rather predictable fashion because my top pick from my premiere impressions managed to only sink one spot here at the end of the season. To be frank, Do It Yourself left me with the warmest, coziest feeling all season. I finished it feeling intimately grateful for the show, and I felt more fulfilled having finished it than anything else on this list. Rather than a sum of ambitious strengths, surprising twists, or hysterical comedy, Do It Yourself succeeds in a singular motif of self-satisfaction with absolutely no distractions to weaken the message. These girls all want something, and in putting matters (and tools), into their own hands, they all manage to carve out their own happiness. As sappy as it sounds, it affected my happiness too.
To preface, sometimes with these shows that pry their way into my heart, I don’t exactly recommend it to that same degree. Do it Yourself is a rather inconsequential show. There’s very little conflict, and very little drama. This is just one of many anime in the “cute girls do cute things” genre and they all have a similar vibe. If that notion of watching people seize the day in small steps isn’t your thing, Do It Yourself won’t exactly change your mind. However, if anyone were looking for an entryway into this style of slice-of-life anime, Do it Yourself is one of the first ones that I would point to. It stands as a testament to why this is such a successful micro-genre but also an outstanding model for future shows to match up to.
I think it does absolutely help that there is just a touch of drama decorating the narrative. Just enough to let the finale have some terms to settle. This hint of heaviness does allow certain emotional climaxes to ring stronger than one would expect in this genre. Jobko, the foreign student really steals the limelight in this case. Her fond memories of her mother, and the things in the DIY club that evoke them really eviscerates the hardened shell of a heart. And while Jobko was undoubtedly the most focused on secondary character, the bigger relationship tension was between Purin and Serufu. It’s tsundere done absolutely perfectly. (Tsundere being a common archetype of someone who acts like they don’t care about something they truly care about.) Purin thinks the DIY club is too old-school as she attends a fancy tech university that shares a campus. But, more mysteriously, Purin and Serufu had some sort of falling out that I wasn’t sure the show would ever address. I was very happy to see it not only explored, but it was the focal point of the finale, and managed to tie a thread from episode one, cleanly through the end credits. It was, without a doubt, an exceptionally proper ending.
You can’t have an anime about handicrafts and not talk about how the anime itself was made. Aesthetically, this is a fanciful storybook brought to life. Pastel hues, edges that fade to white, and extremely loose but vibrant character animation all created a hand-made feel to the anime. This is coupled with a really upbeat score, and my personal favorite opening sequence of the season. Yes, even over Chainsaw Man and that groovy bass. Furthermore, and this doesn’t necessarily factor into the viewing experience, but the director shared a personal message online as the show was airing about how this show is dedicated to his father in an attempt to rectify his feelings that he was a bad son. The show takes place where he moved as a kid due to his father’s job, and he sadly passed away much later when the director was working on his first show. Do It Yourself, became intensely personal and that only adds to my appreciation for this show. It really feels like the whole team came together on a single coherent vision.
There are still several small things that make me fond of this show, still. The fact that they have a pet pig that wears sunglasses and gets terrified every time the family talks about eating pork. They evenbuild the darn thing a house to sleep in. How can I not be won over by that? Purin has an AI jellyfish robot that is still such a bizarre thing, but shows an appreciation for technology all the same. It’s not like this show is saying that tech is bad. It just wants to make sure we don’t forget what can come from old fashioned communal construction efforts. But I think the thing I appreciate most is a very specific plot point. In my premiere impressions, I stated that one of the things that resonated with me most was how Serufu’s motivation to join the DIY club was very heartwarming. For a while I thought the show had forgotten about that reason, but the finale had room to devote some time to it which really just made me feel like this show knew what it was doing from front to back. Like all good DIY projects, you want to plan out your steps ahead of time and make sure every piece does its part in the final product. And just as these girls succeeded in building their dream project, so too did this wonderfully talented staff. My hat is off to their dedication.
9/10
Mob Psycho 100 (Season 3)
This was the final season of Mob Psycho, everyone. It’s a pretty wild thought considering how many anime trod on like aimless husks as fans beg for continuations to long-dormant franchises. It’s also crazy because Mob Psycho was insanely popular, and for a show of only a meager 36 episodes, it managed to squeeze out an amazing story that most anime with double the runtime or more have yet to accomplish. Mob Psycho 100 is an inarguably outstanding production. The talent and energy this show exudes doesn’t even feel up for debate. This show knows how to propel itself, and confidently executes everything with such fervor that I see almost no real way to improve upon the spectacle. I use the word “almost” very lightly, but we’ll get into that later.
Mob Psycho 100 carries with it a staggering amount of strengths as a piece of art and animation. There’s no denying that Studio Bones treated this anime like a spoiled child. It got every visual treatment it needed. I still clearly recall scenes from season one that are etched into my retinas. Season 3 spared no effort and continued to deliver one incredible sequence after another. They don’t just bank them all up for fights either. Mob’s inner turmoil, Reigen’s ridiculous body language, that weird hangout with aliens (oh that’s getting a paragraph for sure), are all given the premium touch, with a shot of exaggeration for good measure. From a pure visual standpoint, I’d give Mob Psycho perfect marks across the board.
Mob Psycho 100 is a deceptively simple story. Mob harbors his emotions because he wants to keep his psychic powers safe, and it leads to an emotional complex. Due to his stony personality, people keep underestimating or misunderstanding him. But Mob, from premiere to finale, never stops seeing the value in kindness and self-worth. He is, without a doubt, a very inspiring character packaged into a very understandable persona. He is one of anime’s most pure-hearted characters. This is, in large part, thanks to Reigen, who is my actual favorite character from the show. Reigen is a con artist who fatefully became Mob’s biggest role model, and their dynamic and blossoming friendship is truly something to behold. His antiheroic methodology is a perfect compliment to Mob’s devotedly pure mindset. He helps round out the show, and brings the biggest laughs.
It’s hard to pin down whether this show is a comedy first, or drama. Ultimately it doesn’t matter. It makes me tense up just as much as it makes me lose composure with a snort. It is worth noting just how chaotic the comedy is. It’s the type of humor that sometimes overstays its welcome in most other shows. Mob Psycho knows when to switch gears, and when it does, you really feel that shift in tone and gravity. In the middle of the season, I was even feeling a bit put out with the show. I wasn’t really into the villain, and I was writing off this arc as the “warm up” arc. I just presumed that we’d get to the good half of the show after some prerequisite lollygagging. As it turns out, in the space of one episode, I went from entirely unsympathetic, to comfortably shedding tears in a weird sort of respect for how they turned the story around. This anime can create emotion out of thin air like it’s a menial task, and that’s something I can only give high commendations for.
So how about those aliens, huh? In one of the most unforgettable episodes, Mob Psycho transformed into its most indecipherable form yet. I felt like I took a hallucinogen, or that everyone at Studio Bones did. I thought that maybe the following episode would help contextualize it, but that was not the case. The show just plowed on ahead as if it was natural that an alien abduction would turn into an after school hangout, only to have one student end up becoming some god-like messiah for an entire alien civilization. But as weird as the episode was, the thing that stood out to me more was the completely new approach to the animation. Character were drawn extremely loosely, but had thoroughly realized animation. The camera moved in a more film-like manner, and the focal points became much more centered on minimalistic body language. This only added to the bizarre list of oddities that this episode contained, but it will remain one of my favorite episodes to bring up, henceforth.
As Mob Psycho approached its finale, all signs were pointing to a flawless exit. I was completely attuned to the conflict at hand. I think they chose a perfect final obstacle for Mob to overcome, and the team at Bones made sure to whip up an absolute nightmare of a final battlefield. It was as epic as you’d expect for a show with incalculable psychic powers and literal emotional overloads as its hook. So it is, with just a slight pang of sadness, that the final episode wasn’t the uninterrupted high that the prior episodes had me on. There were two specific moments, both being important climaxes, that give me an initial reaction of being perplexed rather than being wowed.
This paragraph will have spoilers, mind you, but one is definitely what I see fans calling the “Dimple-ex-machina.” Dimple came back. If you recall what I said about season 3 turning a boring villain into one I adored, that was Dimple. He left Mob as an unsung hero, and while it was not made explicitly clear that he died, I do not think his time to reappear was at this moment of the conflict. Especially when it was handwaved in with a bit of “psychic vortex” voodoo that happened to bring him back. For someone to enter as favorably as they left, I think it needs an equal amount of build up and payoff. The second thing was Reigen’s reveal, and that, I felt like I already watched it in Season 2. One of my favorite episodes of the series is when Mob reveals that he knew about Reigen’s truth all along. Mob says, despite knowing that, he still believes Reigen is a nice guy. It made me cry. I love that scene so much. So, what exactly was Reigen revealing this time? The only thing I can conclude is that Mob knew Reigen was lying about the nature of his work, but was still withholding the nature of his powers. That means I misunderstood, to my own detriment, but no matter what logical knots I try to tie, it still felt like a moment that already happened to me. And that was a bit of a bummer. To note, it did not ruin the ending. It only made for an uneven episode at certain points, because seeing Mob finally embracing himself was a true victory through and through. Seeing him so expressive after so many episodes of shutting himself down was pure catharsis.
Both of these things do very very little to knock down Mob Psycho’s sky-high pedestal it built for itself. It did not ruin the ending. It only made for an uneven episode at certain points, because seeing Mob finally embracing himself was a true victory through and through. Seeing him so expressive after so many episodes of shutting himself down was pure catharsis. The final gathering to celebrate someone’s birthday (again calling out to that amazing arc in season 2) made me tear up happily. Without the aforementioned hiccups I truly think this would have been a perfect show. To some, and probably many of you, it still will be perfect. Anyone who says Mob Psycho 100 is their favorite anime will meet nothing but excitement and support from me because nothing really did what Mob Psycho 100 does in a better way, in my eyes. However, if the debate becomes why it doesn’t achieve a perfect score, I would have to point to two very critical moments not quite hitting the mark. In the end, we were given a show that entered and exited the anime industry with so much confidence and kindness that I can’t do much else but marvel at how we have yet another complete story here in the anime industry that I would recommend to everyone. That doesn’t happen often, and now I find myself wondering just how many months, or perhaps years, will pass before we get a complete package as well prepared as this?
9.5/10
With that being finished, the fall season is officially over in my mind, and with it, the entirety of 2022. I managed to get back into a regular release cadence with my blog. I feel like focusing on big seasonal wrap ups is the perfect pace. Though I do want to do something special for the end of the year as well, so stay tuned for that! But would you look at the time? The anime industry never rests, and we are already a few weeks into the new season! I’ve earned myself a small break, but I’ll be sure to come back with my thoughts on this season’s pickings! I’m most excited to jump back into Maple’s gang with Bofuri’s long awaited return.
Thank you for checking this blog out. The time people spend reading here is always cherished. Enjoy the new year and let’s hope the anime continues to please our insatiable appetites.
Lotus Viridis 