Tag Archives: Chained Soldier

Mid-Winter 2026 Anime Ranking

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This is a heavy season for us. So many great shows! Also a lot of content from my favourite seiyuu Umehara Yuuichirou, and a quite a few rock music OPs too. I’ll list some of the ones that caught my attention below.

01. [OSHI NO KO] Season 3 (Ep. 1-10)

OP: “TEST ME” by CHANMINA

(Streaming at HIDIVE and Crunchyroll)

02. Tamon’s B-Side (Tamon-kun Ima Docchi!?) (Ep. 1-11)

(Streaming at Crunchyroll)

03. Journal with Witch (Ikoku Nikki) (Ep. 1-11)

(Streaming at Crunchyroll)

04. Blue Miburo: Serizawa Assassination Arc (Ao no Miburo: Serizawa Ansatsu-hen) (Season 2, Ep. 1-12) – I’m so glad I didn’t drop this after the mediocre first season. Now that the set up is done, we can focus on the grown up members of the Miburo instead of the kids, and it is so much better!

Episode 5, “Firefly Glow,” featuring Okiku, was really powerful. It artfully humanized Serizawa and showed what kind of person he is, for better and for worse.

I do have some doubts and disbelief at the actions of some of the characters, namely Niimi and Hijikata, and ultimately I’m not sure if those are character problems or writing problems. But I appreciate that the show really makes me think about their motivations.

OP: “Blue Noise” by Ryōsuke Yamada

(Streaming at Crunchyroll)

05. Isekai Office Worker: The Other World’s Books Depend on the Bean Counter (Isekai no Sata wa Shachiku Shidai) (Ep. 1-11) – Kondou is a workaholic with substance abuse tendencies. He wasn’t supposed to have been summoned to this other world, but since he’s here, he might as well balance their books, try to fix their miasma problem, and maybe find love!

This is isekai as I haven’t seen before. It’s BL. It actually has well-written characters and a well-rounded story line. Pretty impressive.

(Streaming at Crunchyroll)

06. You and I Are Polar Opposites (Seihantai na Kimi to Boku) (Ep. 1-10)

(Streaming at Crunchyroll)

07. TRIGUN STARGAZE (Season 2 of TRIGUN STAMPEDE, Ep. 13-22)

(Streaming at Crunchyroll)

08. Hana-Kimi (Hanazakari no Kimitachi e) (Ep. 1-11) – I was watching this show just casually, not caring much about Mizuki pretending to be a boy, or whether Sano would high jump again. But at some point, I realized how much I like Nanba-senpai! He’s got the looks, the voice, and he cracks me up!

I bumped this classic shoujo title up quite a few notches, more than it deserves, because I actually found myself looking forward to watching it.

(Streaming at Crunchyroll)

09. Love Through a Prism (PRISM RONDO) (Ep. 1-11)

(Streaming at Netflix)

10. DARK MOON: THE BLOOD ALTAR (DARK MOON: Tsuki no Saidan) (Ep. 1-9)

OP: “One In A Billion（Japanese Ver.)” by ENHYPEN

ED2: “Fatal Trouble” by ENHYPEN

(Streaming at Crunchyroll)

11. Frieren: Beyond Journey’s End (Sousou no Frieren) Season 2 (Ep. 1-8)

(Streaming at Crunchyroll and Netflix)

12. In the Clear Moonlit Dusk (Uruwashi no Yoi no Tsuki) (Ep. 1-10)

(Streaming at Crunchyroll)

13. A Gentle Noble’s Vacation Recommendation (Odayaka Kizoku no Kyuuka no Susume.) (Ep. 1-10) – The way almost everyone who encounters Lizel becomes obsessed with him is admittedly amusing, but other than that, this show is about nothing?

(Streaming at Crunchyroll)

14. Chained Soldier (Mato Seihei no Slave) Season 2 (Ep. 1-11) – Still a fun show, don’t get me wrong. But whereas last season they took great pains to justify the sex and nudity through actual plot, this time around it is more graphic, largely gratuitous, and occasionally crosses the line into assault.

OP: “Hikari yo, Boku ni.” by Akari Kitō

(Streaming at HIDIVE)

15. The Villiainess Is Adored by the Crown Prince of the Neighboring Kingdom (Akuyaku Reijou wa Ringoku no Outaishi ni Dekiai sareru) (Ep. 1-10) – Both of the leads are sweet, sure, but maybe too sweet? Over time, Tiara’s voice and face started to get on my nerves. And just in case you thought I automatically love every character that Ume gives voice to, it isn’t true; Aqua here, is way too bland to inspire feelings of any kind.

(Streaming at Crunchyroll)

16. Oedo Fire Slayer -The Legend of Phoenix- (Hikuidori: Ushuu Boro Tobi-gumi) (Ep. 1-8) – I came warned that the CG animation was atrocious, but I think that was an exaggeration. Mostly they just stand around talking, and that looks passable. What’s really lacking is the unimaginative action/firefighting scenes, where they’re still just standing around talking. This ain’t no Firefighter Daigo!

I want to know what tools and equipment were available to them in those times. When there was a fire, they literally just took off running? How did they transport their equipment, get their water? It seems like their main tactic to contain a fire was to tear down the nearby buildings. What support was given to the people who were left homeless? The one guy who complained was knocked down a peg or two, but he had a valid point? And what about that time they broke into a private storehouse for materials to put out a blaze – that was somehow okay?

Seriously, about the only thing this has in common with Firefighter Daigo is how preachy it is!

OP: “Hamidashi Gomen” by Porno Graffitti

(Streaming at Crunchyroll)

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)