Demon Slayer: Swordsmith Village Arc | Hantengu

I could only pick 10 options so if your fav is not here be sure to enter it in the comments!

Daddy Lance to the Rescue

kiruko & maru

Spring 2023 Anime that I’m Watching:

1) My Love Story with Yamada-kun at Lv999

Ok so this anime almost slipped under my radar which would’ve been TRAGIC as it is my fav for the season. If you haven’t given this a watch, try the first 3 episodes I promise it’s worth it.

Cute rom-com with loveable characters and beautiful art. Cannot recommend enough.

Episode 3 for Oshi no Ko just came out and yes, I’m still in love!

We all guessed it would happen after the first episode, but the pacing for the story is on the slower side. That being said, I appreciate it because it really gives us time to get to know and love these characters better!

To begin with, let’s just look at Arima Kana this episode! Can I just begin by saying that this girl is such a sweetheart??? Like, episode 1 she was such a brat, but this episode? We could see that not only did she have to deal with the consequences of being self-absorbed, but she’s also learned from them and is now such a sweetheart! If that weren’t enough, she’s giving Aqua the chance to get back into acting and I am nothing if not an Aqua Stan, so I support this whole-heartedly.

On top of all of that, though, she’s also so funny and light-hearted(for the most part)! Like, so many of her comments are just so dang funny! From following Aqua after he leaves the school and asking what middle school he’s from to calling out the director for living with his mother to assuming Aqua is gay she’s just such a lighthearted, fun character right now.

That being said, the details!!!! We know Kana lives alone, that she’s struggled with the acting business, that even though she’s doing her best she doesn’t even have an agency and the producer is looking down on her. All of these make it so Kana’s lightheartedness isn’t tasteless in a story that shows the darker side of the entertainment industry—instead it fits beautifully with everything else. Kana hasn’t seen the darkness the way the Hoshinos have so she’s allowed to be more lighthearted and have it make sense, but she isn’t oblivious to it, either. And man oh man I can’t wait for Aqua to bring it next episode!

Which brings us to my boy, Aqua!

Before we get to the fact that he’s acting again(which, whoa, I didn’t expect that to happen so early in the story, but I am in no way upset by it either), can we talk about the cute twin moments with Ruby in this episode???? Just watch that entire beginning scene where the two of them are talking to Kana! The way they both understand each other so well and aren’t ashamed of it, the whispering to each other, the way Aqua shows and feels no shame in admitting that he’s only going to that high school for his sister and she, in turn, feels no awkwardness or embarrassment in casually calling him a siscon? Man, this sibling relationship is just so dang funny and sweet! I love it!

On top of that, Ruby gets so excited about Aqua going into acting! Somehow, the one thing that seems to make Aqua bashful is acting(likely because it’s something that he wants to do for himself, but doesn’t know how to let himself live for himself) so it’s so important that his family is supporting him in this! But, like, the matching Twin sweatshirts they were wearing during that scene? Love it! Gotta say, all the matching outfits for these two give me life!!!! I love it when the twins are together and I can’t wait to see more of them!

That being said, Aqua and obsessive go together like peanut butter and jelly. Because the whole phone sequence? Where the boy continued trying passcodes for four entire years(and yes, I did look up how to do italics on tumblr just to be able to give four entire years the emphasis that it truly and honestly needs)??? That is absolutely insane and obsessive to the nth degree! Anybody who doubts the fervency of Aqua’s desire for revenge is so off-point it’s not even funny. The boy took four years to break into a phone and then memorized all the names of the contacts to help him have some idea of where to even begin looking for his father.

But enough about that, let’s talk about the fact that he’s acting!!!!! Boy oh boy am I excited for Aqua to be acting again! But, like, did you all see his eye sparkle when he heard what the show was??? He wanted to be in it from that exact moment, none of you can convince me otherwise! He didn’t agree until he heard who the producer was, yes, but in some ways I can’t help but feel like that was almost an excuse he was giving himself to allow himself to act again. My evidence? The end of the episode!

Aqua has the DNA, by all means he doesn’t especially need to do anything special, and yet you all saw that closing image, yeah? Aqua is about to make at least that episode worth watching! He’s gonna go all out in acting and I don’t care what Aqua says about his own talents in acting, I believe in that boy enough for the two of us! And you know what, the fact that he’s also doing it in defense of Kana???? This boy has a heart of gold and will do literally anything to protect the people he loves. We know this just by looking at everything he’s done/is doing for Ai and Ruby, but it looks like Kana might be added to the list of his people soon if things continue, and I am all for this!

All of this being said, Aqua right now doesn’t know how to let himself live for himself or even really value himself. This has been an underlying issue the entire series, but it’s definitely something to keep an eye on as the story progresses. He never got angry at the stalker for killing him(in fact, in episode 1 Aqua says that he felt almost grateful to the stalker), Aqua never lets himself enjoy things for himself(he always credited Sarina for his love of Ai/says he was Ai’s fan for Sarina rather than admitting it was for himself and, now, he won’t even let himself admit that he enjoys acting), and even which high school he went to was solely decided by which Ruby went to. From the very beginning he was called somebody with no dreams(refer to the conversation in Episode 1 between the doctor and Sarina when they’re discussing what it would be like to be an idol’s child) and even though he was a doctor, a profession that’s usually very ambitious, Aqua never truly showed any love for the profession in either life—being something of a layabout while he actually was a doctor and never even considering being a doctor again in this life. It honestly makes me wonder why he was ever a doctor and wonder more about his past life in general, because, when you think about it, we don’t actually know all that much about his past life, do we?

Anyway, another great episode of Oshi no Ko with another cliff hanger ending! I cannot wait for next week’s episode to come!

Why does the season have to have good anime now that I need to study for exams

Insomniac After School / Kimi wa Hōkago Insomnia (2023)

buncha words 'bout some spring animes #3

Still here, still watching, still writing. Can't believe it's May already. I remember having this weird feeling last time I was watching seasonal anime - that I can't wait for the next episode to come out but once it does, I realise how time flies. It's almost scary! Many of the series that have only just come out are already at the halfway point. ...But let's not think about the inevitablility of time passing and instad talk about them animes. Enjoy!

Hell's Paradise (ep. 5) - After episode 4 I was a bit wary of where Sagiri's plot was going but episode 5 assuaged my worries somewhat. I used to get very annoyed whenever an action show would introduce A Sexist character. Why aren't the female characters just allowed to be badass without anyone putting them down, I was thinking to myself. Why can't I just have a nice escapist fantasy? But somehow I don't mind it here. I'm not sure why - whether it's because I changed or because (so far) Jigokuraku handled this subject better, or at least differently than other series I've watched. We'll see what comes next. As for the rest of the episode, I feel like the series is still at the phase of setting things up and I really hope the plot moves forward next time. Nurugai is Very Good.

Oshi No Ko (ep. 4) - I won't be a stinker this time, I quite liked this episode. We got to see Aqua acting and I got this great idea for battle-shounen like manga about acting, where the main character has to analyse their surroundings and gather data about their fellow actors to know how to rile them in front of the camera, so that they act well. (I'm going to pitch this to President of Anime whenever I get the chance.) I'm curious how will that reality TV show that Aqua got hired to act in go. As for the school plot... I don't watch many idol shows but I recall 'school of idols' is a recurring theme. Will Oshi No Ko subvert it somehow or play it straight? No idea. I'd assume the former if not for plethora of colour-coded female characters we've met already. I appreciate this series' commentary on show-business harsh truths a lot but it somehow doesn't feel grounded in reality because of the visuals, particularly character designs. And I REALLY hope there'll be more male characters in the main cast, although judging by the opening, that might not be the case.

Tengoku-Daimakyou (ep. 5) - We focus more on Maru and Kiruko this time, which is good because They Are Great. By the way, I've been reading a little about this series' production and I was surprised to learn that it's really speeding through the manga - but does it so well that it doesn't feel rushed or anything like that. It doesn't happen often in anime, I think. I'll probably read the manga once the series ends just to see how does the story unfold there (and to see all the quality K&M content that's been cut from anime). Also I absolutely need to cite one sentence from ANN's weekly review of T-D because it was simultaneously the best and the worst sentence I've read in a review in a while: "And while Maru's boner gets in the way of their hug, we can see that it's not getting in the way of their friendship." Absolute perfection.

Skip and Loafer (ep. 5) - I've already written how I appreciate what they do with Egashira in this series and episode 5 fleshes her out even more. I think my favourite moment was after Egashira's and Mitsumi's clash with the third-years in the gym - how Egashira made sure to remember the names of the students who were rude to them, while Mitsumi remembered the name of the one who helped them. It's a very telling character moment for them both. Skip and Loafer is really growing on me, it might even end up as my favourite series of this season. I'm literally feeling happier after watching every episode, it's that powerful.

My Love Story with Yamada-kun ar Lv999! (ep. 5-6) - As I thought, the matter with Runa is solved pretty quickly and she's already Akane's bestie in episode 6. That's pretty good in my opinion. Even if Runa's change of heart may be a bit sudden, I don't think she'd make a compelling long-term antagonist. That 'gamer guy' from episode 5 gave me massive creeps and there was some great direction in that scene in the toilet. I like that even though ultimately nothing bad happened, the guys from the guild immediately went to the rescue because they knew the potential danger. Then episode 6 is back to usual shenanigans and I thought it was very funny. And one important note: Kouki Uchiyama's acting when Yamada was talking to Eita right after waking up was Extremely Good.

And in the backlog section:

The Witch from Mercury (season 1, ep. 7-9) - You know guys... maybe it's because the Internet was screaming about Prospera lately (I didn't catch any spoilers, thankfully) but I'm starting to get a feeling she might be a bad guy! On a serious note, it's very interesting how Prospera is contrasted with Delling and papa Jeturk (whatever his name is, I don't even care). All three of them are shitty parents but whereas Delling and Jeturk are very openly shitty in how demanding, strict and cold they are towards their children, the way Prospera treats Suletta is just chilling. Only three episodes left in season 1, I have no idea what might happen in the finale but I'm definitely looking forward to find out.

Spy x Family (ep. 6-7) - As I knew that The Face was coming, I actually appreciated The Punch more - that was a real good piece of animation. Damian's developing crush on Anya (including the special romanticised version of her in his eyes) and Loid suspecting that Becky obviously must be plotting a political sabotage or something because he just doesn't get kids were hilarious. Also, I totally forgot about Yor's and Anya's time together (or maybe it wasn't in the manga, though I think it was). It was great! I'm not going to be original by saying that Yor often feels a bit secondary in this family, so it was real nice seeing her getting more screentime. Next episode Yuri will show up - I think his visit was the last thing I've read in the manga, so I have no idea what happens next.

Aaand that'd be the end of this week's musings and ramblings. I start a new job on Monday but I think I should be able to keep up with all the shows. At least I must find some time for more Skip and Loafer. Hope you enjoyed reading and see ya!

Demon Slayer: Swordsmith Village Arc ED | Mitsuri Kanroji

I just watched the first episode of Yuri Is My Job and I honestly loved it. I'm a huge fan of the manga and so glad it got an adaptation.

The PVs had me a bit worried about the voice actors, but in the actual episode they felt great. Not in love with the animation, but the character designs feel faithful to the manga. Absolutely looking forward to the rest of this season.

God I’ll miss this show

Spring Anime 2023 that I’m Watching:

4) Dead Mount Death Play

I really like this show!! The premise is different and the characters are fun. I’m loving our main trio and the cop duo are interesting.

Having work when the newest episode of Oshi No Ko comes out? Lame. Anyway, it’s later than my last few posts for this show, but I finally watched episode 5 and I love it!

This episode, in many ways, seemed to bring back a lot of that humor we saw and loved in the first episode that’s been largely missing in the past few episodes. Yes, we still have Aqua being obsessive about getting revenge and everyone still misses Ai(though, to be fair, I don’t know if it’s possible not to miss Ai), but that wasn’t the main focus.

In the past few episodes, the main comedic parts have come from Kana(assuming Aqua’s gay, following Aqua home, freaking out when she found out that Aqua wasn’t in the celebrity department, fighting with Ruby), and this episode continued that!

Considering how the previous episode ended, we all knew that Kana was going to feature decently heavily in this episode, but man I did not expect her going joining Ruby to go down in quite the way it did here! I mean, first of all Ruby and Alana constantly fight! I can’t wait to see these two continue to get closer because it’s honestly hilarious seeing the two of them go at each other yet also work together. On top of that, Aqua begging her to join? Hilarious, but also man did Aqua do Kana dirty! I love him so much! 😂

Okay, and then Ruby? She’s still so sweet and innocent, but now she’s finally starting to become an idol! Oh, and the way she wants to be honest and not have any lies? Man is she so sweet and naive! That being said, the fact that Ai was an expert lier and Ruby plans to be an idol who doesn’t lie is an interesting juxtaposition and it will be interesting to compare the two as the series progresses—especially since you know that the one thing that Ruby will have to lie about is Ai.

I will say, though, that having her idol group named the same thing as her mother’s seems like a dumb move considering that’s something that she probably wants to keep a secret. Like, there’s no way people aren’t gonna sit down and compare the new B-Komachi to the old one, so there’s bound to be a decent number of people who might notice the similarities between Ai and Ruby. Hopefully Ruby won’t end up regretting any of this!

As for my boy, Aqua, man I am laughing! I mean, we all saw the dating show coming(our obsessive little boy is willing to throw away his dignity for his revenge anytime!), but man, the fact that our lovable little sulky boy hates it all so much and yet is acting his literal heart out pretending to be happy about all of it is sending me! 🤣🤣🤣

As much as I love Aqua, I will say that the part where Aqua was talking about his love for Ai was a bit weird/uncomfy since it was framed in a romantic way yet she’s his mother and all that. It’s the thing that made me hesitate in the first episode, but Aqua has somehow managed to be respectful towards Ai despite being her fan, you know? Like, refusing breast feeding, not being overly cuddly, supporting Ai with her pregnancy, things like that. To me, all of it made what would otherwise be awkward and uncomfortable humorous and acceptable. This conversation brought up all those things, but Aqua said it wasn’t a romantic love, so I just hope that’s solidified a bit more as it gets brought up.

Anyway, I can’t wait to see how all this goes down—who will join Kana and Ruby’s Idol Group, how the dating show will go down, what’s up with the girls in the dating show(because I’m calling it now: all of them are sketchy!), and what will happen next! I really can’t predict much for what will happen in this show and it makes me so excited and curious about what’s going to happen next!