Another weekly general thread! I know everybody has this time of the week set aside as their favorite, so here it is. Like usual, feel free to use this thread for any kind of anime/anime-adjacent topics you might want to discuss.
As always, remember to be mindful of spoilers. If you want to know more about how to handle spoilers in this community, check the guide here (also linked in the sidebar).
I've finally caught up to the 7th episode of Monogatari Off Season. I wish the series was more popular but I guess it's hard to get into for some especially when there's 100 non-linear episodes prior to Off Season. I realized the weekly rikka thread died so I'll try to revive that starting later tonight.
I spent most of my free time playing Persona 3 Reload the past few weeks and I've been considering watching the anime movies.
Also, it's typhoon season again so I hope everyone can stay safe.
You've watched quite a bit of anime, so we have a fair amount of overlaps. Unlike me, you are more generous when scoring (no 1s and 2s!) and you have a more diverse taste in anime.
As such, I won't be able to recommend anime based on a particular theme / genre - unless you have something in mind?
I'll just point out my favourites that are not in your completed list, though I won't be surprised if some of them are already in your PTW list.
Not among my top favourites at the moment, but worth adding to your PTW list if you haven't done so already IMO; I should have filtered out those that you've completed:
Oh yeah, DanMeshi and Apothecary Diaries are indeed in my PTW.
Gushing over Magical Girls - looks like you don’t watch any ecchi anime; you may want to skip this
Good ecchi is hard to come by, and I consider Frieren ecchi (hot take, yes - it's one of the best in that regard), so you get the idea where my standards are lol.
The 100 Girlfriends Who Really, Really, Really, Really, Really Love You
I might watch it alongside Makeine, which of them should I start first?
Current releases, following weekly (roughly organized by decreasing interest):
Oshi No Ko S2 - Finally hit the climax I’d been waiting for. Really nailed it between the last episode and this one, then hooked in for exciting plot progression. Great episode.
Makeine - Looks like focus is shifting to a new character again, with a new accompanying (excellent) ED. It was a bit of an exposition episode, so a bit less exciting than the last few, but still excellent.
Pseudo Harem - A bit slower episode for me. Still good.
I Parry Everything - Caught up this week. It’s great. Tension and scale keeps escalating and the silliness keeps outclassing what I thought was peak absurdity. Characters are very likable and animation is serviceable. Try a couple episodes!
Alya Sometimes Hides Her Feelings… - Ya, mostly just finishing because I’ve watched this far. The general conceit of the series feels mostly forgotten, and is largely the type of anime I wasn’t really here for from the beginning.
Watched part of, but not up to date:
Hell’s Paradise - 10 episodes. Alright I was kinda iffy for a while, but I’ve really enjoyed the last couple episodes. Finally filling in story a bit and setting up an overall plot that is fun and understandable. I’m definitely finishing now.
Dungeon People - 4 episodes. Got some time to try it out more and it’s excellent. Surprisingly darker than I expected, based on the animation style! But very silly, fun exploration of dungeon crawl tropes, and a low stakes mood. Really nice easy watch that slightly mollifies the gaping hole that finishing Frieren and Dungeon Meshi left.
I am finally back from my vacation! My sleep schedule has been a bit weird as I am getting adjusted to the time zone again, but it's nice to be in my own bed and to be reunited with my cat. The only downside is that basically as soon as I got back I proceeded to get quite sick. So, the anime backlog persists as I have a hard time reading subs when I am not feeling well.
What I have watched this week has been limited, but here we go:
Oshi no Ko - Far and away the best show this season of what I have been watching. It has been an absolute treat every week. Sad that it is going on a week break.
Nokotan - This week's past episode was a lot of fun and I enjoyed it a lot. A welcome return to form.
Alya - I have liked this show, but Alya is my least favorite character in it. I have a hard time putting my finger on it, but I find that most of the other characters in the show have more entertaining moments than Alya has.
Love is Indivisible by Twins - This guilty pleasure continues to deliver. Nobody in this show is happy and the love triangle has expanded to become some other, more complicated shape; and I have really enjoyed the messiness of it all.
Completed Terminator Zero and Rascal Does Not Dream of Bunny Girl Senpai
Terminator Zero
Probably top show of the season for me, tied with Makeine (unless Rick and Morty can pull off a surprise).
First off, I liked how well-animated it is. The first 6 minutes of the show convinced me to watch it, and quality of the animation remained consistently good.
It is its own self-contained story, but it still faithful to the style of the Terminator series. The iconic "dun dun duh dun" is nostalgic.
What I liked the most is
Terminator Zero spoiler
the multitude of plot twists / reveals.
I know that going into time travel + AI sci-fi, a plot twist is to be expected. What I did not expected is the sheer number of reveals:
Misaki is a cyborg (that's cool)
Kokoro is built upon Misaki (ok, removal of Misaki's core component explains her strange behavior)
Malcolm came from the future (alright, that explains his nightmares)
Eiko is Malcolm's mother (now that's a surprise)
IIRC: the Terminator was sent by Kenta (surprise number 2)
I thought that the show would reveal that Reika would grow up to be the prophet, but turns out that didn't happen.
Overall, it's really good.
I've got to knock a point off due to some annoyances I have with the show though.
For example,
Terminator Zero spoiler
in true HISHE fashion, most of the problems that the characters faced could have been avoided if Malcolm just brought his family with him to the lab and have them stay with him.
So 9 / 10
Rascal Does Not Dream of Bunny Girl Senpai
This show is if Steins;Gate was good.
This anime is if Subaru (from Re:Zero) at his best got isekai-ed to the world of Steins;Gate
This show is what I wish for from a sci-fi of this nature.
We have a capable, mature MC who gets down to it
Rascal Does Not Dream of Bunny Girl Senpai spoiler
and solves the first and titular problem in just 3 episodes. Then he continues his streak for the rest of the phenomenon.
What a chad.
To be fair, Sakuta isn't with flaws e.g.
Rascal Does Not Dream of Bunny Girl Senpai spoiler
when he doesn't tell his girlfriend of his troubles.
But that's when Mai would step in and scold him, all the while supporting him. I love their relationship dynamics.
It's been a while since I studied physics, so can't comment on how scientifically accurate some of the phenomenons are.
Otherwise, the story and the rest of the characters are great.
The only thing I found the show to be weak in is its soundtracks - none are really memorable to me - but that's just a nitpick.
One of the best sci-fi anime, and going into my favourites. 10 / 10