Tag Archives: The Apothecary Diaries

Mid-Winter 2024 Anime Ranking

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I’m adequately enjoying most of what we’re watching, however this is yet another season in which I have no clear favourites.

01. 7th Time Loop: The Villainess Enjoys a Carefree Life Married to Her Worst Enemy! (Loop 7-kaime no Akuyaku Reijou wa, Moto Tekikoku de Jiyuu Kimama na Hanayome Seikatsu wo Mankitsu suru) (Ep. 1-9) – Riche says she won’t do any work, that she wants to live a carefree life. But all that means is she won’t do the official duties expected of the betrothed of royalty. In her idle time, she is working her butt off, fixing the economy, curing diseases, and trying to stop a war! And ultimately, she hopes to avoid suffering an untimely death yet again.

The Prince Theodore arc was weak, and strained my interest in the show a lot; but subsequently the narrative has picked back up, now that elements of Riche’s past lives are coming together.

For a villainess-do-over-genre anime, I wasn’t expecting anything special in the animation department, but 7th Time Loop has some pretty nice-looking fights. And the ballroom dancing scene was the best of the 3 shows in this category that we’re watching. Yes that’s right: 3! The others are Doctor Elise and Villainess Level 99; and yes they both happened to have a ballroom episode too. However, I think I prefer the more subdued colour palette of the other 2 anime.

(Streaming at Crunchyroll)

02. FRIEREN: Beyond Journey’s End (Sousou no Frieren) (Ep. 17-27) – With most anime, I usually find that the fights and action scenes don’t do that much for me; and I prefer the quieter character-building moments. It’s the opposite with FRIEREN, though. The fights are really interesting and smart, while the slice-of-life sequences come off as slightly boring.

(Streaming at Crunchyroll)

03. The Apothecary Diaries (Kusuriya no Hitorigoto) (Ep. 13-23)

(Streaming at Crunchyroll)

04. Chained Soldier (Mato Seihei no Slave) (Ep. 1-12) – My sister has a new Roman Empire, as it were (I just learned this phrase recently lol), and it’s seiyuu Hirose Yuya. So expect us to be watching more of his works going forward, starting with this raunchy harem anime, which is certainly outside our usual zone of interest.

Considering the ecchi and nudity, Chained Soldier is surprisingly not as exploitative as one might expect, since it’s the females who hold most of the power in this society. And yes, it’s actually pretty funny too.

(Streaming at HIDIVE)

05. Villainess Level 99: I May Be the Hidden Boss but I’m Not the Demon Lord (Akuyaku Reijou Level 99: Watashi wa Ura-Boss desu ga Maou dewa Arimasen (Ep. 1-9)

(Streaming at Crunchyroll)

06. Doctor Elise (Gekai Elise) (Ep.1-9)

(Streaming at Crunchyroll)

07. Mr. Villain’s Day Off (Kyuujitsu no Warumono-san) (Ep. 1-9)

(Streaming at Crunchyroll)

08. A SIGN OF AFFECTION (Yubisaki to Renren) (Ep. 1-8)

(Streaming at Crunchyroll)

09. The Witch and the Beast (Majo to Yajuu) (Ep. 1-7)

(Streaming at Crunchyroll)

ALSO STARTED:

HIGH CARD Season 2 (Ep. 13-17) (Streaming at Crunchyroll)

Classroom of the Elite III (Youkoso Jitsuryoku Shijou Shugi no Kyoushitsu e 3rd Season) (Ep. 1-6) (Streaming at Crunchyroll)

Mid-Autumn 2023 Anime Ranking

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It was very difficult to do a ranking this time.  All the shows we are watching are good enough to keep us coming back every week, but none of them stand out as something we can’t wait to watch.

01. My New Boss is Goofy (Atarashii Joushi wa Do Tennen) (Ep. 1-10) – Momose starts to heal from the workplace abuse that he suffered at his previous company with the help of his kind new supervisor.

My New Boss is Goofy is practically the spiritual successor to Play It Cool, Guys, right down to Umehara Yuuichirou voicing the airheaded ad exec. While I’m not in love with the show, it is consistently sweet, and silly, and it makes me smile.

(Streaming at Crunchyroll)

02. The Yuzuki Family’s Four Sons (Yuzuki-san Chi no Yonkyoudai.) (Ep. 1-11) – The Yuzuki boys are really endearing, especially Gaku, who is the youngest in age, but acts the most serious and mature.

There’s a lot of content here that I personally relate to, being from a family of 3 sisters, with a big age gap, and now orphaned too.

(Streaming at Crunchyroll)

03. Rurouni Kenshin: Meiji Kenkaku Romantan (2023) (Ep. 14-24)

(Streaming at Crunchyroll)

04. FRIEREN: Beyond Journey’s End (Sousou no Frieren) (Ep. 1-12)

(Streaming at Crunchyroll)

05. The Apothecary Diaries (Kusuriya no Hitorigoto) (Ep. 1-11)

(Streaming at Crunchyroll)

06. Paradox Live THE ANIMATION (Ep. 1-10) – Out of the 3 music-themed anime we’re watching, this one has the best music and the most compelling and dramatic story line.

(Streaming at Crunchyroll)

07. Firefighter Daigo: Rescuer in Orange (Megumi no Daigo: Kyuukoku no Orange) (Ep. 1-11) – Very realistic firefighter stories, but it’s kind of slow-moving; and the amount of recap at the start of each episode is ridiculous. It’s almost like the storytelling is so realistic that it happens in real time, which is totally unnecessary. Otherwise, Firefighter Daigo can be pretty exciting and suspenseful.

(Streaming at Crunchyroll)

08. JUJUTSU KAISEN -SEASON 2- (Ep. 35-45) – The Shibuya battle rages on, in all its destructive glory. I don’t know what to say. Two of our favourite characters bit the dust in 2 consecutive episodes. When another of our favourites entered the fray the next week, we were like, ‘no – what are you doing??’

(Streaming at Crunchyroll)

09. The Saint’s Magic Power is Omnipotent (Seijo no Maryoku wa Bannou desu) Season 2 (Ep. 1-11) – Now that her Holy Saint duties are winding down, the kingdom wants to see Sei settled down. Of course, Sei has always been more interested in her research than in romance, so Albert understandably hasn’t pressured her; but if he doesn’t make his move soon, he might miss his chance.

Well it’s still good, but somehow less magical than the first season. Even the romance/chemistry between Sei and Albert feels kind of lacklustre.

Actually, you know who the cutest couple is? The king and his attendant! Just from one brief scene, it’s obvious how much they enjoy each other’s company and that they have a rich shared history together.

(Streaming at Crunchyroll)

10. GOBLIN SLAYER II (Ep. 1-10) – Less action and gore compared to season one, but still entertaining, as somehow, Goblin Slayer’s fixation on goblins never gets old.

I’m appreciating Lizardman a lot lately. He’s getting to be as into the goblin slaying as Goblin Slayer! And the subtle jabs he sometimes takes at their leader are so funny.

I also really like the makeover for Farm Girl. Previously, I was weirded out by that vacant look in her eyes, but now she seems bright and cute.

(Streaming at Crunchyroll)

11. SPY x FAMILY Season 2 (Ep. 26-35) – At first it seemed like this cour was going to be more episodic filler, but we finally entered a long arc with Yor’s mission on the cruise liner, and that was a huge improvement for the show.

(Streaming at Crunchyroll)

12. HYPNOSISMIC -Division Rap Battle- Rhyme Anima+ (Season 2 Ep. 1-10) – I was never particularly enamoured of any of the HYPMIC guys, but you know, there’s just something cute about the way Samatoki is always irritable and so angry; to the point that even his closest comrades can’t tell if he is under someone’s influence, or suffering nicotine withdrawal, or just being his normal self!

(Streaming at Crunchyroll)

13. B-PROJECT: Passion*Love Call (B-PROJECT Netsuretsu*Love Call) (Season 3 Ep. 1-11) – Tsubasa’s workload increases as Gandara signs up a streaming platform duo called Ultras. There’s a learning curve since the company is not accustomed to representing this type of talent, and Ultras are not accustomed to being represented.

Unfortunately, the English subtitles for this show are frequently problematic. It’s obvious the translator wasn’t given any background information or just can’t be bothered about getting any of the names right. Gandara Music is misspelled every time with an extra ‘h’ inserted randomly; the group names are often preceded by ‘The’ and are pluralized, as if they can’t conceive that music group names do not always follow that format. This, despite the fact that the correct typeset sometimes appears right on the screen.

(Streaming at Crunchyroll)

14. BEYBLADE X (Ep. 1-9) – The best opening theme of the season (of the shows we are following) is “PROVE” by ONE OK ROCK! That is in fact the primary reason we are watching BEYBLADE X. I have never touched a bey, nor have I watched any previous Beyblade anime. Also, Saito Sōma voices one of the main characters, so that never hurts!

ALSO WATCHED:

Onimusha (Ep. 1-8) (Netflix)