Ohayotaku

god, I miss summer breaks 

Woke up to the triple whammy of Monday Morning, Valentine’s Day & last night’s Super Bowl result. But after some much needed positive energy from a friend & the day being largely over now, feeling more mellow 

I keep hearing good things about March Comes in Like a Lion, will have to add it to my PTW list. The Fruits Basket remake (2019 - 2021) hit me in the feelz consistently over it’s run , frequently causing me to tear up or lay awake at night. Funny thing is the original didn’t do a thing for me, barely even remember it. While the difference is probably mainly due to the superior adaption,  there’s also no denying things that have happened in my life in recent years have made me more sensitive to emotional & existential concerns. Of course that’s also why I try to balance out some of the heavier series (Made in Abyss, Attack on Titan, Vinland Saga) with lighter series (Yuru Camp, Welcome to Demon School Iruma-kun) so I don’t get too depressed/brooding)

18 minutes ago, kamomesan said:

Glad to see that catgirl enjoyers are still out there. Stay cultured, my friend.

Must confess that despite being an anime aficionado for close to 4 decades, I never truly appreciated the appeal of  catgirls until Princess Connect: Redive’s Karyl made her debut in 2020 (triumphant return in January 2022 woot! ) 

As you say, 2021 was a sparse year as far as debuts (though Show by Rock Stars saw the return of Cyan, Himiko & a couple other representatives). 
One notable debut though was Ghislane from Mushoku Tensei  

who was a significant supporting character in the 1st cour & made a pivotal reappearance in the 2nd that leaves little doubt we haven’t seen the last of her. While technically classified as a beast-person, the ears & tail are definitely feline. And it’s even more obvious when we met other members of her tribe in the 2nd cour.

On the more incidental side, Saki from Platinum End recently debuted a catgirl inspired battlesuit 

And Rumble Garanndoll recently introduced Misa Kuroki , a reclusive hacker/gamer who goes by the online alias Werdcat & has a number of catlike mannerisms & her mecha is also a cat 

Crunchyroll is doing anime adaptions of some webtoons. Tower of God, Noblesse & God of Highschool are the ones they’ve announced so far.

The R.O.D. Ova was more action oriented & it wasn’t immediately clear how it connected to the TV series, but became clear later. Love Yomiko & the Paper sisters.

Season 2 of Ascendence of a Bookworm is scheduled to start in April. Starts kinda slow, but gets very interesting. Even though it’s set in s fantasy world , it does retain the medieval realism of a society where the general populace is illiterate & the only people with access to books are the wealthy & the church.

I used to read all the time as a child. My parents would take me & my sister to the library every week. And then all through college & my early working life I would read during my lunchbreaks. It’s a habit I’ve gotten away from for various reasons, but would like to get back into. Most of what I read is either fantasy or scifi since that is what interests me most. I’ve always been a physical media person as opposed to ebooks or audiobooks. 

On a related note, here are a couple anime with bibliophile MC’s you might want to check out

Hope you get to feeling better. 
 

I think the Castlevania series has pretty much ran it’s course for me.  Snarky dialogue can be entertaining when it’s one or two characters, but when it seems to be a defining trait of every character it gets old fast. Also seems like they feel they have to remind you it’s an “adult cartoon” by making sure every sentence has at least one profanity. I don’t find it offensive, just tedious. I like Sypha & Trevor as a couple, but they didn’t seem to grow at all in season 3. And the whole subplot  with Alucard & the twins seemed pointless other than as an excuse to have a

Again another hamfisted attempt to be “adult”. The graphic violence actually doesn’t bother me because if fits the horror aspect of the show.

Star Blazers way back in the late 70s or early 80s. Would even wake up early during summer break so I wouldn’t miss it. Didn’t get into the unedited stuff till the 90’s. Probably Ranma 1/2 or Project A-ko. Then stuff like Tenchi Universe & Slayers.

For me a lot of the show’s appeal was it’s cast of characters you can’t help but grow attached to.

I haven’t played the games, but am curious if you’ve seen the Steins Gate 0 anime or the movie (Load Region of Deja Vu) and if so what you thought of them.

Also I understand the series Robitics Notes  & Chaos Head take place in the same “universe”, though I haven’t watched either.

I agree with all of Seshi’s recommendations and add Dororo. For series from the current season To the Abandoned Sacred Beasts is my favorite with Fire Force being the one with the most potential. For somewhat ecchi comedy check out How Heavy are the Dumbbells you Lift. For diabetes inducing cuteness check out If it’s for my Daughter, I’d Even Defeat a Demon Lord.

For older stuff: Attack on Titan finally revealed the secrets of the Jaeger family’s basement and set the stage for the final season next year. If you enjoy Kunihiko Ikuhara’s (Penguin Drum, Yuri Kuma Arashi) brand  of weirdness check out Sarazanmai. For romcom there’s Kaguya-sama: Love is War. And since you mentioned Dragon Maid on an earlier post I’ll recommend As Miss Beelzebub Likes.

Enjoy 

1 hour ago, Kinbaryu said:

Definitely agree here, but it's sad to see that the anime has downplayed how dark the novels are.

I’ve read a number of comments on other forums detailing how the anime has been toned down. While it’s certainly a valid complaint considering it’s darker tone distinguishes it  from other series, I personally don’t think I would continue watching if it was much darker. While I’m not against series that make me uncomfortable at times,  in recent  years I need to balance it out with lighter fare to keep from getting too depressed. (Tangent: I haven’t read the Attack on Titan manga, but if the anime ends the way I suspect it will, I’ll need to pull a cgdct series out of my backlog pile  )

Thanks for the input on Rezero & Tanya. Honestly neither sounded that appealing to me initially, but after watching IQ I’m at least curious enough to give them a try. Of course since IQ is a parody of those series, I could very well wind up dropping them. For what it’s worth, I thought Tanya’s set up for arriving in the IQ world was the best.

Even though I enjoy Konosuba, I get what you’re saying about it being overhyped. Whenever I’ve tried to analyze why I like it as much as I do, I’m unable to come up with a satisfying answer (the only thing that really stands out about the series is how the main characters are jerks to each other most of the time  )

Also agree that Overlord is the most refreshing reimagined as a parody/comedy considering how dark and down right disturbing the main series can get at times.

I haven’t seen Tanya the Evil or Rezero but still seem to get the gist of the jokes and definitely want to watch them now.

19 hours ago, Yanushi-Chan said:

Miss Kobayashi's Dragonmaid - I live for Ms. Kobayashi! I literally breathe Fafnir and bleed Kanna . . . definitely would watch again and again!

Second season has been announced, but no date yet

https://www.animenewsnetwork.com/news/2019-02-11/miss-kobayashi-dragon-maid-anime-gets-2nd-season/.143234

The stand out series had to be A Place Further than the Universe & Yuru Camp for me. Other notables: Golden Kamuy, Megalobox, Planet With, & Asobi Asobase

I think I made it to around episode 6 of Black Clover. While I'm not opposed to watching more or it someday, it's nowhere near the top of my list. It looks like most of the series you listed are isekai or at least fantasy world inspired. You might want to check out the currently airing Rise of the Shield Hero, though I have mixed feeling about it at the moment. The final season of Fairy Tail too. There's also Radiant, but I dropped it after about 3 episodes because it's pretty generic. Some older series I would recommend from the genre include: GATE, Claymore & Broken Blade.

I haven't watched Saiki K, but seems to be a comedy with psychic powers, so maybe check out Mob Psycho 100, Hinamatsuri and Zombieland Saga.

Finally, some personal recent faves that don't have much in common with the series you listed

SoL/Healing: My Roommate is a Cat, Yuru Camp, A Place Further than the Universe, As Miss Beelzebub Likes

Comedy/Parody: Asobi Asobase, Konosuba, Ms. Kobayashi's Dragonmaid

Sports: Hinamaru Sumo, Megalobox

Scifi: Space Battleship Yamato 2199 & 2202, Planet With

Shonen: My Hero Academia, Ushio & Tora

Romcom: Recovery of an MMO Junkie, ReLIFE (make sure to watch the OVA aka eps 14 - 17)

Hard to classify: Golden Kamuy, Beautiful Bones

sends chills down my spine everytime