It’s time for a new general discussion thread! Hot takes, recommendations, questions, cautionary tales, all of it is welcome here.
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).
Let This Grieving Soul Retire - Has been fun so far, certainly better than more generic shows. The gimmick with the MC is holding up ok. There are hints of a bigger story, but not enough to tell so far. 3/5
The Most Notorious “Talker” Runs the World’s Greatest Clan - At first the lack of likable characters, and deliberately nasty MC were a turn off. But this one grew on me. I especially like the contrast between this one and Grieving Souls. The two MCs are so completely different. 3/5
Nina the Starry Bride - I’m enjoying Nina’s optimism and willfulness. Part of this feels like the knock of brand version of Apothecary Diaries (now were near that shows level of course… but something about the setting and having a strong, willful heroine.) I worry that it is going to fall apart with the implied love triangle. 3/5 depending on how it ends.
Shangri-La Frontier S2 - I enjoyed the first bit that wrapped up the leftover arc from the previous season, but have no interest in whatever is going on now that the anime seeming abandoned the titular game for something else. Dropped for now. 3/5
The Healer Who Was Banished From His Party… - Slightly above mediocre now that the current story arc is moving along. Otherwise pretty generic. Almost dropped it a few times. 3/5
Good Bye, Dragon Life - Perfectly mediocre, room temperature, beige… Nothing particularly wrong with it, but nothing noteworthy either. Almost dropped it a few times. 2/5
Acro Trip - One of my favorites this season, that I look forward to each week. The characters are fun, especially the kuma kaijin. The show seems irrelevant on the surface, but everything is actually well connected to a developing meta plot, with reasonable foreshadowing. 4/5
I’ll Become a Villainess Who Goes Down in History - I do enjoy the villainess sub-genera, and this one has been enjoyable. Especially how much the MC enjoys playing up her role. But the last few episodes felt lacking somehow. Seems like it is building toward something that will either make or break the season. 3/5 for now.
Re:ZERO S3 - Wow this hit the ground running. So much going on, so many characters I had forgotten, yet it works. Great to see how much the characters have grown. Looking forward to whenever this comes back. 5/5
Arifureta S3 - J-Novel Club had the light novel on catchup last month, so I caught up on it, and now I understand why the anime was so disliked. I went back to rewatch a scene from season 1 and wow it was horribly disappointing compared to the LN. Looks like they try to squeeze at least three LN’s into an anime season, which is very aggressive for stories lacking excessive filler. I really do not get some of the decisions made, even in this season. They will waste time on long scenes of characters just standing around, then quickly skip through other parts (abrupt scene transitions) making them a confusing mess. There is enough there to still enjoy, but should be better. 3/5
You are Ms. Servant - Is there a name for this strange maid/housekeeper subgenera? I’ve enjoyed this one so far, and it seems well put together. 4/5
DAN DA DAN - I finished the first arc and need to pick it pack up. Once it got going it definitely lived up to the hype. 5/5
The Do-Over Damsel - That age gap… It almost works, since the male lead is fairly innocent and the MC is mentally an adult, but no. I looked up the description for a later light novel, and it looks like the age gap remains a primary plot driver and the main, ongoing “joke” in the series with no hope of the characters aging up to where it is more appropriate. 2/5
Loner Life in Another World - I forgot how much fun the first novels were before it turned into nothing but multiple chapters of magical groping and I dropped it… I’m not sure the adaptation has done a good job of explaining how his skill combinations and development works, and I don’t like how obvious they made the dungeon emperor situation, but the source wasn’t exactly high art either so it does not hurt it too much. 3/5
Is it Wrong to Pick Up Girls in a Dungeon S5 - Plan to watch, but have not started yet.
Re: Acro Trip - It’s really true, the Kuma kaijin are scene stealers. It’s disappointing how Chrome hasn’t been deviously manipulative since the first couple of episodes, and just acting like a regular buffoon.
I have had the same experience watching Loner Life. I read the manga (a bit behind what is most current), and I was surprised how little I remembered from what has been in this season so far. It’s actually a lot more silly fun than I had thought (just don’t think too hard), probably because 200+ chapters into the manga, it gets very same-y. I have heard that the novels are very different in tone.