Tag Archives: Legend of the Galactic Heroes

Mid-Autumn 2022 Anime Ranking

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The main takeaway point that I got this season is this: Stalkers are evil incarnate; I would not wish one on my worst enemy. (Re: Romantic Killer, Human Crazy University)

01. Legend of the Galactic Heroes: Die Neue These – Intrigue (Ginga Eiyuu Densetsu: Die Neue These – Sakubou) (4th Season) (Ep. 37-48) – Well, the Galactic Empire has the momentum and they’re on the attack, and things are not looking great for the Free Planets Alliance. Their leaders are over-confident that one man, ‘Miracle Yang’ will always be able to protect them, which is extremely short-sighted on its own. Yet at the same time, they constantly undermine him because they fear his political popularity. I’m definitely concerned that this is not gonna end well for Yang’s side.

(streaming at Crunchyroll)

02. Romantic Killer (Ep. 1-12)

(streaming at Netflix)

03. Chainsaw Man (Ep. 1-12)

(streaming at Crunchyroll)

04. IDOLiSH7: Third BEAT! (Ep. 14-26)

(streaming at Crunchyroll)

05. Raven of the Inner Palace (Koukyuu no Karasu) (Ep. 1-13) – Ghostbusters of the Chinese imperial court. Can’t say I fully understand some of the more mystical stuff, but I am fond of the main characters and the show is seriously gorgeous.

(streaming at Crunchyroll)

06. Play It Cool, Guys (Cool Doji Danshi) (Ep. 1-12) – There’s one word that always comes up in regards to this show: “relatable.”

(streaming at Crunchyroll)

07. BOCCHI THE ROCK! (Ep. 1-12) – As far as band anime go, this one is top notch. So many original songs, great animation, great attention to detail – in the live performance scene, when they mention errors, it’s even possible to hear the misses in the music!
It’s not quite anime-of-the-year material for me though, since I surprisingly did not find the characters to be that relatable; and the humour sometimes did not click.
In fact, one of the fundamental things I found hard to believe was that a gloomy rocker chick like Bocchi would sport a pink tracksuit as her daily outfit.

(streaming at Crunchyroll)

08. BLEACH: Thousand-Year Blood War (Sennen Kessen-hen) (Ep. 1-13) – I’m kinda surprised and disappointed that all these Soul Society elites have become so complacent and dependent on their bankai that they have no alternative strategies for dealing with the invaders. I’m trying to cut them some slack; I mean it is do or die, and the bankai is their ultimate weapon. But after learning that it’s foolish to bring it out, surely they could at least try some other tactics.

09. BLUELOCK (Ep. 1-12)

(streaming at Crunchyroll)

10. Human Crazy University (Human Bug Daigaku) (Ep. 1-12)

(streaming at Crunchyroll)

11. SPY x FAMILY (Ep. 13-25)

(streaming at Crunchyroll)

12. I’m the Villainess, So I’m Taming the Final Boss (Akuyaku Reijou nano de Last Boss wo Kattemimashita) (Ep. 1-12) – Obviously, I like that Aileen is a strong and independent woman, but there’s little development for the characters. Aileen meets the demon lord; next thing they’re already in a committed relationship and she’s fixing up his house. The narrative flow is just lacking.

(streaming at Crunchyroll)

ALSO STARTED:

Akiba Maid War (Akiba Meido Sensou)

Mobile Suit Gundam: The Witch from Mercury (Kidou Senshi Gundam: Suisei no Majo) – The first episode was great! But then after the time skip, I was a bit disappointed at the small-world school setting, and focus on economics instead of space drama.

(streaming at Crunchyroll)

Mid-Spring 2022 Anime Ranking

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1. Legend of the Galactic Heroes: Die Neue These – Collision (Ginga Eiyuu Densetsu: Die Neue These – Gekitotsu) (3rd Season) – The overall theme of democracy vs dictatorship, explored through engrossing character and plot developments, continues in the third installment of this eloquent space drama. I’m always impressed with how smart and well-written this show is!

I actually admire and empathize with Yang on a deeply personal level. His continued commitment to his duties, in spite of his distaste for his job; because the outcomes would be far worse if he weren’t there – I feel it. His frustrated declaration, “That’s it. I’m quitting for real this time!” was so cathartic!

(streaming at Crunchyroll)

2. KAGUYA-SAMA: LOVE IS WAR -Ultra Romantic- (Kaguya-sama wa Kokurasetai: Ultra Romantic) (3rd Season) – This new season ventures into the absurd more than ever, and it is definitely the most fun I’ve had with KAGUYA-SAMA yet!

Just because HYPNOSIS MIC is not on air this season, that doesn’t mean we have to want for rap battles! From our meagre list alone, epic rap battles feature prominently in not only this show’s ep. 5, but also ya Boy KONGMING! as well as Nanaraki. It’s almost like, which shows don’t have a rap episode nowadays!

My sister and I laughed so hard (and felt so called out) when Iino’s motivational ikemen voice track in ep. 1 turned out to be none other than our faves, Umehara Yuuichirou and Saito Sōma, hamming it up! Haha, why doesn’t that thing exist in real life?

(streaming at Crunchyroll)

3. SPY x FAMILY

(streaming at Crunchyroll)

4. ya Boy KONGMING! (Paripi Koumei) – It’s the Tale of the Three Kingdoms meets the contemporary music biz when Zhuge Kongming gets his dying wish for a peaceful next life granted, in the form of an isekai trip to modern day Japan. He befriends and becomes an immediate fan of aspiring singer-songwriter EIKO; and before long, Kongming has a job tending bar at a nightclub and is applying his wisdom and battle stratagems to further her musical career.

(streaming at HIDIVE)

5. Summer Time Rendering (Summertime Render)

(streaming at HIDIVE)

6. Deaimon: Recipe for Happiness – Because of Nagomu’s general appearance, his voice actor, the fact that he’s a musician moving to a different city at the start of the show, and the underlying theme of carrying on a family tradition, I can’t help but be reminded of last year’s Those Snow White Notes. But whereas Setsu was stoic and intense all the time, this guy is like his half-assed antithesis. He’s low-key inept enough that his parents are looking to eventually entrust their business to someone else, instead of their son.

I’ve also started to wonder how he hasn’t noticed that two people in his life, who may be related, have the same last name. But then I realized this is Nagomu we’re talking about; I wouldn’t put it past this chump to not know the full names of any of his friends!

(streaming at Crunchyroll)

7. Heroines Run the Show (Heroine Taru Mono! Kiraware Heroine to Naisho no Oshigoto) – The idol duo starring alongside Hiyori here is LIPxLIP, who were featured in HoneyWorks 10th Anniversary “LIP×LIP Film×Live” movie (also known as Kono Sekai no Tanoshimikata: Secret Story Film.) Hiyori happens to attend school with Aizou and Yuujirou and becomes their manager-in-training, partly because she is not gaga over them. Heroines Run the Show is pretty light and amusing, and Hiyori is certainly more likeable than the 2 guys. Those eyebrows though.

Unfortunately, LIPxLIP’s songs are some of the most horrendous idol music I’ve ever had the displeasure to hear in an anime.

(streaming at Crunchyroll)

8. Love All Play – The second badminton anime in as many seasons. This one is a more straightforward high school sports scenario, and at least in the beginning, I found it quite similar to this season’s other sports anime, AO ASHI.

Love All Play is quite heavy on the gameplay aspect. By comparison, Salaryman’s Club featured a greater proportion of off-court content, and that suited my tastes better.

(streaming at Crunchyroll)

9. The Rising of the Shield Hero Season 2 (Tate no Yuusha no Nariagari Season 2) – It’s okay. It’s totally not bad, but lately we’ve had much less time for anime, and I don’t know if I’m interested enough to finish watching this.

(streaming at Crunchyroll)

10. AO ASHI – We mostly watch this one while we’re busy doing other things, such as eating. I enjoy the episodes featuring Ashito’s mom and older brother considerably more than the soccer episodes. Too many of the characters at his new team have nasty personalities. I don’t know if that’s realistic or not, but I simply tend to prefer uplifting interactions over unpleasant ones.

(streaming at Crunchyroll)

Also watching, sort of:

Nanaraki ~Seven Lucky Gods~ – Not sure why this strange, barely-animated show exists, but there are some big-name seiyuu involved, and my sister is following it.

(streaming on YouTube)

Jacquie’s 2019 Year in Review

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How’s this for procrastination? Check it out! Better late than never, right?

☆ Top 10 Anime

#1. VINLAND SAGA (24 episodes)

Aired Summer 2019 to Autumn 2019
(Streaming: Amazon)

#2. THE PROMISED NEVERLAND (Yakusoku no Neverland) (12 episodes)

Aired Winter 2019
(Streaming: Crunchyroll)

#3. The Legend of the Galactic Heroes: Die Neue These Second (Ginga Eiyuu Densetsu: Die Neue These – Seiran) (12 episodes)

Aired Autumn 2019
(Streaming: Crunchyroll)

#4. COP CRAFT (12 episodes)

Aired Summer 2019
(Streaming: FUNimation)

#5 Dr.STONE (24 episodes)

Aired Summer 2019 to Autumn 2019
(Streaming: Crunchyroll)

#6. Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba (26 episodes)

Aired Spring 2019 to Summer 2019
(Streaming: Crunchyroll)

#7. Attack on Titan (Shingeki no Kyojin) Season 3 (22 episodes)

Aired Summer 2018 and Spring 2019
(Streaming: Crunchyroll)

#8. [given] (11 episodes)

Aired Summer 2019
(Streaming: Crunchyroll)

#9. Cautious Hero: The Hero Is Overpowered but Overly Cautious (Shinchou Yuusha: Kono Yuusha ga Ore TUEEE Kuse ni Shinchou Sugiru) (12 episodes)

Aired Autumn 2019
(Streaming: FUNimation)

#10. PSYCHO-PASS 3 (8 double-length episodes)

Aired Autumn 2019
(Streaming: Amazon)

◇ ◇ ◇ ◇ ◇

☆ Anime Songs TOP 7 COUNTDOWN:

Going in the opposite order now…

07. “MAYDAY” by coldrain feat. Ryo from CRYSTAL LAKE (Fire Force OP2)

06. “Iruimi” by JUNNA (BEM ED)

05. “Sight Over the Battle” by OLDCODEX (ULTRAMAN Theme)

04. “Gurenge” by LiSA (Demon Slayer OP)

03. “Touch off” by UVERWorld (THE PROMISED NEVERLAND OP1)

02. “Take On Fever” by OLDCODEX (Tokunana OP)

01. “MUKANJYO” by Survive Said The Prophet (VINLAND SAGA OP1)

◇ ◇ ◇ ◇ ◇

The following music categories are not necessarily anime-related, though they kind of happen to be.

☆ BEST FULL-LENGTH ALBUM


“THE SIDE EFFECTS” by coldrain
Favourite tracks: SEE YOU, STAY THE COURSE
(Available on iTunes Canada, Spotify)

Runner up:
“Anti” by HYDE
Includes previously released songs: Who’s Gonna Save Us, Mad Qualia, Fake Divine, After Light, Zipang, and his worthy cover of Duran Duran’s Ordinary World.
Favourite album track: Another Moment
(Available on iTunes Canada, Spotify)

Honourable mention:
“LADDERLESS” by OLDCODEX
Favourite tracks: Sight Over the Battle, Deeply Mind
(Available on Spotify)

☆ BEST SINGLE (A-side & B-sides)


“Take On Fever” by OLDCODEX (Take On Fever, Nasty, painting of sorrow)
(Available on Spotify)

Mid-Autumn 2019 Anime Ranking

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There are so many good shows this season, it’s been impossible to stick with a short list! Unfortunately, that means we’re quite behind on several of them, but I’ve slotted them in for the ranking anyway as long as we’ve seen at least 5 episodes.

Other than the usual sequels and sports anime, the notable trends for Autumn are isekai stories and police dramas, with at least 4 or 5 offerings apiece. We picked up just one isekai, but decided to follow all of the cop dramas!


01. VINLAND SAGA (ep. 13-20) – VINLAND SAGA is an epic tale with really great storytelling and exceptionally strong characters. As long as you can stomach the violence, I can’t recommend this enough. Askeladd in particular, and now Canute, seem to have taken the lead away from Thorfinn. Both of them have complex personalities and are fascinating to watch.

This is one show (of several this season) that seems to come down hard on God/religion, despite also presenting a pretty positive and informed view of Christianity. But seriously, some of the things that happen in VINLAND SAGA are hellishly brutal. How could anyone possibly keep their faith in the face of all that?

The new opener is a big step down from the first one, but I’m gradually warming up to it. The closer too, is nicely evocative in a melancholic way, even though it’s not a song I actually like per se.
(streaming: Amazon)


02. The Legend of the Galactic Heroes: Die Neue These (Ginga Eiyuu Densetsu: Die Neue These – Seiran) (ep. 13-23) – This second season picks up directly from where the first ended, with the episodes mostly alternating between the Alliance side and the Empire side. The story is interconnected and touches on contrasting concepts of leadership and politics, all while remaining highly engaging and entertaining.

You know, I can’t recall ever seeing so much foreshadowing, so many episodes in advance, of a character’s death as in this show for this one person. It isn’t as if I can’t understand the reasoning, though. As one who cried out in protest at the very first hint of a tragedy, it was probably a good thing I had that much time to prepare myself!
(streaming at Crunchyroll)


03. Chihayafuru 3 (ep. 1-9) – Season 3 finds Chihaya thinking about her future, while Taichi is taking karuta more seriously than ever. Chihayafuru is simply a great show and I’m so happy to catch up with these characters after 6 long years!
(streaming at Crunchyroll)


04. PSYCHO-PASS 3 (ep. 1-6) – There’s a mostly new cast of characters in this sequel, but the show does an impressively good job of fleshing them out very quickly and getting the audience invested.
(streaming: Amazon)


05. Stars Align (Hoshiai no Sora) (ep. 1-9) – This is the soft tennis anime. Or is it the child abuse anime? It seems like every one of the members on the team has at least one problematic parent, ranging from dysfunctional relationships to outright physical or mental abuse. You don’t usually have to worry about your sports anime turning into a blood bath, but I feel some dread that a tragedy could happen here.

The animation is high-budget; the tennis scenes are great; the opening sequence is gorgeous. Some of the verbal exchanges seem slightly above the maturity level of middle-schoolers though.
(streaming at FUNimation)


06. Cautious Hero: The Hero Is Overpowered but Overly Cautious (Shinchou Yuusha: Kono Yuusha ga Ore TUEEE Kuse ni Shinchou Sugiru) (ep. 1-9) – Out of this fall’s bumper crop of isekai titles, this is the one I cherry-picked. Why, you ask? First and foremost, it is funny, and that is reason enough.

Secondly: Ristarte. It is unusual for the goddess character to be the point of-view role in this type of show, and it turns out to be really effective, partly because it is a decidedly female point-of-view. Even though her outfit is revealing for obvious fan-service purposes, she doesn’t actually get objectified for her looks as much as the male hero, Seiya, does. Also, I have to mention that Ristarte has the very best reaction faces!

Finally, the titular hero is hot and intelligent and is voiced by Umehara Yuuichirou, so you know I’m so there. Well, it turns out the guy is also an asshole with some major personality problems, but you can’t win them all, right?
(streaming at FUNimation)


07. Blade of the Immortal (Mugen no Juunin: IMMORTAL) (ep. 1-6) – Like Dororo earlier this year, Blade of the Immortal is an updated reboot of a classic story. I watched the live-action film not long ago, but that’s my only prior familiarity with the material.

While this is basically a revenge tale, there is some thoughtfulness exhibited and it is not all blind vengeance. Rin, a young swordswoman, seeks to kill the men who brutally murdered her parents, including the torture and rape of her mother. What happened to them, right in front of Rin’s eyes (but off-screen for the viewer, thankfully) was very disturbing, and honestly made me feel a bit sick. It’s easy to understand why she would feel compelled to exact revenge, but she also knows her limits; so she enlists the help of Manji, a bloodworm-infested immortal samurai. He takes on the job because Rin reminds him of his lost sister.

Despite her youthful appearance, Rin sounds like a woman, not a girl, and I appreciate that. She comes across as smarter and more capable than her counterpart in the live-action film. As a whole, Blade of the Immortal, the anime, is still a very violent and dark affair, but I’m finding it to be more thematically interesting than the movie was.
(streaming: Amazon)


08. BABYLON (ep. 1-7) – I hope I’m not giving this anime too much credit, but the feeling I get from Zen’s struggle against Magase Ai is akin to Dr. Tenma’s struggle to take down Johan in MONSTER, or Ichirou vs Hiro in INUYASHIKI. In all 3 stories, the good hero, who plays by the rules, suffers horror and despair at the hands of a formidable opponent who definitely does not.
(streaming: Amazon)


09. Special Crime Investigation Unit – Special 7 (Keishichou Tokumubu Tokushu Kyouakuhan Taisakushitsu Dainanaka: Tokunana) (ep. 1-8)
(streaming at FUNimation)


10. Fairy Gone (ep. 13-20)
(streaming at FUNimation)


11. Ahiru no Sora (ep. 1-8)
(streaming at Crunchyroll)


12. Food Wars! The Fourth Plate (Shokugeki no Souma: Shin no Sara) (ep. 1-7)
(streaming at Crunchyroll)


13. Africa no Salaryman (ep. 1-5) – An absurdist workplace satire starring a lion, a lizard, and a toucan. It’s exceedingly hard to rank this show since it is so very different from everything else that we’re watching. It’s sort of like Aggretsuko, except even more crude, offensive, and out-there.

Toucan, an unapologetic road-rager and repulsive skirt-chaser who doesn’t think twice about taking advantage of his co-workers in order to benefit himself, is truly an awful person. Not a terrible character, mind you; his shamelessness is morbidly fascinating. But as a person, he is the absolute worst.
(streaming at FUNimation)


14. Ace of Diamond (Diamond no Ace): Act II (season 3) (ep. 27-33)
(streaming at Crunchyroll)


15. Stand My Heroes: Piece of Truth (ep. 1-5)
(streaming at FUNimation)


16. Kabukichou Sherlock (Case File nº221: Kabukicho) (ep. 1-6) – This show is kind of a disaster. The detective of the title is a weirdo who explains his deductions using rakugo and does bizarre things like sniffing people’s armpits.

Mrs. Hudson could be a good character, but she’s in the wrong show. Obviously, she sees herself as female, despite the misfortune of having a very masculine build. Why would she sport a full beard except to be a joke for the audience? Same goes for Lucy, who isn’t threatening until people discover he is actually a she; then all of a sudden: scary! What the heck.

Kabukichou Sherlock isn’t a complete write-off, though. There are some random things that do work for humour, such as that client who was named Pu (Bear).
(streaming at FUNimation)

Also still watching: DR.STONE (streaming at Crunchyroll), but as I don’t have 5 episodes from this cour under my belt at this time, it has not been included in the above list.

Jacquie’s 2018 Year in Review – Anime

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Looking back, I didn’t have incredibly strong feelings about any series I watched in this past year. So I considered the titles that I rated most highly at MyAnimeList, that is, the ones that scored an 8 or high-7, as I did not give any 9s or 10s last year. However, there were 2 notable series that did not get ratings at all because they were not anime: an American cartoon that was based on a Japanese video game, and a Japanese-Taiwanese co-production puppet show, both on their second seasons. And honestly, I think those were more flawless than the other titles on my short-list!

Things are certainly continuing to be weird here at Jacquieandbini. You may recall I selected a 3D CG short (Ikemen Sengoku: Bromances Across Time) as my Anime of the Year for 2017. For 2018, two non-anime series are dominating my year-end “anime” chart. I don’t think you’re likely see a Top 10 like this anywhere else!

I’m keeping it simple this time. Please follow the links if you wish to view the previous write-ups.

☆ Top 10 Anime or Anime-like Series:

#1. CASTLEVANIA Season 2 (8 episodes)

Aired Autumn 2018
(streaming: NETFLIX)

#2. Thunderbolt Fantasy: Sword Seekers (Touri-ken Yuuki) (season 2) (13 episodes)

Aired Autumn 2018
(streaming: Crunchyroll)

#3. The Legend of the Galactic Heroes: Die Neue These (Ginga Eiyuu Densetsu: Die Neue These – Kaikou) (12 episodes)

Aired Spring 2018
(streaming: Crunchyroll)

#4. SCHOOL BABYSITTERS (Gakuen Babysitters) (12 episodes)

Aired Winter 2018
(streaming: Crunchyroll)

#5. DOUBLE DECKER! Doug & Kirill (13 episodes)

Aired Autumn 2018
(streaming: Crunchyroll)

#6. MEGALO BOX (13 episodes)

Aired Spring 2018
(streaming: Crunchyroll)

#7. The Disastrous Life of Saiki K. 2 (Saiki Kusuo no Psi Nan 2) (24 episodes)

Aired Winter 2018 to Spring 2018

#8. How to keep a mummy (Miira no Kaikata) (12 episodes)

Aired Winter 2018
(streaming: Crunchyroll)

#9. Skull-face Bookseller Honda-san (Gaikotsu Shoten’in Honda-san) (12 episodes)

Aired Autumn 2018
(streaming: Crunchyroll)

#10. BANANA FISH (24 episodes)

Aired Summer 2018 to Autumn 2018

☆ The Biggest Slogs:
There were a few shows that seemed very promising in the beginning but ultimately felt like a chore to get through, with no real payoff at the end. The dubious honours in this category go to:

01. Angels of Death (aired Summer 2018, Crunchyroll)
02. SANRIO BOYS (aired Winter 2018, Crunchyroll)
03. Phantom in the Twilight (aired Summer 2018, Crunchyroll)

☆ Anime Songs TOP 10 COUNTDOWN:

10. INKYA IMPULSE, by Honda Hanako(cv:Kino Hina), Olivia(cv:Nagae Rika), Nomura Kasumi(cv:Kohara Konomi) feat. Ikepy & KSKN (ASOBI ASOBASE ED)

09. Heavenly Visitor, by TRIGGER (IDOLiSH7 ED3)

08. KISS OF DEATH, by Nakashima Mika (Produced by HYDE) (DARLING in the FRANXX OP)

07. Growth Arrow, by OLDCODEX (Butlers X Battlers OP)

06. One Side, by OLDCODEX (SERVAMP: Alice in the Garden Main Theme)

05. Treasure, by Narek (cv: Ishikawa Kaito) & Vino (cv: Umehara Yuuichirou) (Dame x Prince ANIME CARAVAN ED3)

04. The Perfect World, by Marty Friedman feat. Jean-Ken Johnny & KenKen (B: The Beginning ED)

03. His/Story, by Nishikawa Takanori (Thunderbolt Fantasy: Sword Seekers OP)

02. narrative, by SawanoHiroyuki[nZk]:LiSA (MOBILE SUIT GUNDAM NARRATIVE Main Theme)

01. Roll the Dice, by Nishikawa Takanori (Thunderbolt Fantasy: Sword Seekers ED)

Mid-Spring 2018 Anime Ranking

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There are a lot of good shows this season, including a handful of big-name sequels. Not necessarily great shows, mind you, but a whole slew of series that are too good to drop even though we kind of need to pare down our list. It’s frustrating, as we simply haven’t had the time to keep up with everything we had wanted to.


01. Legend of the Galactic Heroes: Die Neue These (Ginga Eiyuu Densetsu: Die Neue These – Kaikou) (ep. 1-10) – Some of the political stuff is maybe a little dry for a visual medium, but it is still fascinating, both in terms of plot development and as a statement to real-world events, past and present. It really makes you think, and it can make you cry, that the themes of this story are just as relevant now as they were 35 years ago when the novels were first written. And they will continue to be, probably forever.

If only people like Yang (and possibly Kircheis), who value human life and have their eyes on the future, were in charge, humanity could actually have a chance at lasting peace. However, these are just the types of guys who would not likely ever seek a position of power for themselves, and who would never win the support of the under-educated, self-interested masses anyway.

Actually, Yang is my hero. I agree with everything that he’s said and done and I really sympathize with the difficult situation he’s in, in terms of personally wanting out of the war, yet knowing that others will be worse off if he leaves.

Regarding the cast, it is an exceedingly rare treat to find all four of my favourite voice actors in just one show: On the side of the Galactic Empire, there’s Miyano Mamoru, Umehara Yuuichirou, and Suwabe Junichi; and then there’s Miki Shinichiro over on the Free Planets Alliance’s side – just an extra perk on an already impressive series.
(streaming at Crunchyroll)


02. WOTAKOI: Love is Hard for Otaku (Wotaku ni Koi wa Muzukashii) (ep. 1-9) – Relatable and funny workplace romance starring a group of otaku. Yes, the show pokes some fun at their geek tendencies, but mostly, it serves to illustrate the joy of like-minded adults spending time with each other. There is actually very little drama to the main romance, which is realistic, though a little anticlimactic.


03. MEGALO BOX (ep. 1-10) – The new boxing anime, created to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Ashita no Joe manga, is a pretty slick production, featuring dynamic fights in the ring, cool music, and a multi-layered plot.
(streaming at Crunchyroll)


04. The Disastrous Life of Saiki K. 2 (Saiki Kusuo no Psi Nan 2) (ep. 13-20)


05. DEVILS’ LINE (ep. 1-10) – I expected this to be a trashy, pulpy romance about a stupid girl falling in love with a dangerous, angsty vampire. Well it is that, but it is surprisingly a lot more too. It’s also a decent crime drama that covers serial murders, discrimination, terrorist organizations, double agents, and that staple of anime storytelling: secret orphanages for “special” children. Plus, the main character actually expresses some self-awareness of her own folly.
(streaming at HIDIVE)


06. FULL METAL PANIC! Invisible Victory (ep. 1-8) – I like the time-skip storyline featuring Sousuke’s new group of colleagues. The underground mech battles have some similarity to the setting of MEGALO BOX, actually. I feel like I should be missing Chidori and Tessa more than I do…
(streaming at Crunchyroll)


07. Food Wars! The Third Plate (Shokugeki no Souma: San no Sara – Toutsuki Ressha-hen) (ep. 13-22)
(streaming at Crunchyroll)


08. Yowamushi Pedal: GLORY LINE (ep. 13-22) – Imaizumi is supposed to be Sohoku’s ace, but it seems like he never wins anything!
(streaming at Crunchyroll)


09. DARLING in the FRANXX (ep. 13-20) – We’ve finally gotten some big reveals now that the climax is near, but that isn’t as interesting to me as the more character driven stuff was.

On the romantic front, while things got serious for 2 couples, the other kids continued to face heartbreak. It’s an unpopular opinion, perhaps, but I actually liked the way the show dealt with Ikuno’s same-sex crush. Certainly she faces extra challenges from being gay in a straight world, but her friend did not judge her for being different; and the bottom line is that she was not rejected because of her sex, but because her crush simply did not reciprocate her feelings, which really is no different from what many of her straight teammates have gone through already.
(streaming at Crunchyroll)


10. Record of Grancrest War (Grancrest Senki) (ep. 13-21) – No joke about the fast pacing! I definitely did not imagine, back when Theo met Siluca in the forest at the start of the series, that he would end up accomplishing so much career-wise. And the show isn’t even over yet.
(streaming at Crunchyroll)


11. Rokuhoudou YOTSUiRO BiYORi (ep. 1-9) – Not much plot happens in this slice-of-life anime about four guys who run a trendy and classy café, and yet somehow, it manages to be consistently riveting to watch regardless! It has some things in common with last summer’s Restaurant to Another World, in that many of the stories are about the various customers that visit the café, although YOTSUiRO BiYORi is obviously more grounded in a real world setting. I personally prefer less fantasy, so this works for me.
(streaming at Crunchyroll)


12. Tada Never Falls in Love (Tada-kun wa Koi wo Shinai) (ep. 1-10) – This show is supposed to be a romance and a comedy, but it just isn’t terribly effective in either category. Most of the guys are obnoxious; and even the fact that two of them are voiced by a couple of my aforementioned favourite seiyuu (Mamo and Ume) does nothing to mitigate my annoyance with them. Unfortunately, the not-particularly-annoying characters, such as Tada and Teresa, in turn have no personality to speak of.

Alexandra is the type of character I would normally support, but I never found it in me to forgive her for the undeserved attack on Kaoru in the very first episode, which she didn’t even apologize for. Believe me, I get it, but being annoying is not a justification for assault!

You know what? The best guy is probably Charles, who, like Villar Constance in Grancrest Senki, appeared for a few episodes and stole the show. Both characters have long, fair-coloured hair, are super-cool dudes despite initially negative expectations, and speak with the velvety voice of Sakurai Takahiro. Also as with Villar, it’s pretty easy to ship Charles with the tall redhead that he can’t be with.
(streaming at HIDIVE)


13. SPACE BATTLESHIP TIRAMISU (Uchuu Senkan Tiramisu) (ep. 1-10) – A lot of the stuff that happens in this space opera parody anime is really crazy and out-there. At the same time, it’s not a completely absurd idea that spending a long time in space, frequently all alone in your cockpit, could make a person somewhat weird in the head. This is a pretty funny short, as long as you’re okay with gross-out humour.
(streaming at Crunchyroll)


14. LIBRA OF NIL ADMIRARI (Nil Admirari no Tenbin) (ep. 1-9) – There are too many characters in this cursed-book murder mystery! I thought I was doing fine for a while, but nope. Especially at times when they are referred to by name only, it can be a real struggle.

After seeing the uh, subtleness with which the romance was handled in Code:Realize, I do at least appreciate that the apparent main suitor in this series has made his attraction to Tsugumi obvious. Sadly, Tsugumi appears to have more chemistry with one or two of the other guys though!
(streaming at Crunchyroll)


15. Butlers X Battlers (Butlers ~Chitose Momotose Monogatari~) (ep. 1-9) – It’s kind of laughable that practically the whole cast has been revealed to be “Butlers” now, but the show plays it pretty straight. The odd little bits of humour do occasionally hit the mark too.

The main character’s goal, to save his sister, is a story device that’s strangely common in anime and often assumes that no explanation is needed. But I can’t muster any empathy without seeing what their relationship was like before she went missing, or what their shared experiences were.
(streaming at Crunchyroll)

For the record, here is the whopping list of shows we’ve fallen behind on, but have not formally dropped:

BORUTO: NARUTO NEXT GENERATIONS (Crunchyroll)

Cute High Earth Defense Club HAPPY KISS! (Binan Koukou Boueibu HAPPY KISS!) (Crunchyroll)

GOLDEN KAMUY (Crunchyroll)

HINAMATSURI (Crunchyroll)

LAST HOPE (Juushinki PANDORA) (maybe we’ll try again when it comes to NETFLIX)

MAGICAL GIRL ORE (Mahou Shoujo Ore) (Crunchyroll)

MY HERO ACADEMIA (Boku no Hero Academia) Season 3 (Crunchyroll)

My Sweet Tyrant (Akkun to Kanojo) (Crunchyroll)

Ninja Girl & Samurai Master S3 (Nobunaga no Shinobi: Anegawa Ishiyama-hen) (Crunchyroll)

Steins:Gate 0 (Crunchyroll)