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Upgrading my impression of Girls Band Cry to favorite out this season.

Current impressions of Girls Band Cry - this series is really pulling me in. The whole idea of a virtual girl band being the focus of an anime is not a novel concept, but the characters in this series have such dynamic, rich personalities. They are as dimensional as the 3DCG that everyone has mixed feelings about. This one does the 3DCG really well in my opinion, and I think most people have some pretty strongly held biases against 3DCG to say that it isn't good in this series. The level of expression it allows in Girls Band Cry is higher than most 2D animation styles I've seen. In a way I think that is a bit of a crutch for the team working on it, but also makes the way they make use of it even more impressive.

I watched the four main OVAs of Ghost in The Shell: Arise, the prequel to the original Stand Alone Complex series. And then I proceeded to rewatch the first couple episodes of SAC.

Initially, Arise felt like it was a very strong return for Ghost in the Shell, the characters had some resemblance to the original cast outside of being the same crew that carries the SAC story. I was hesitant at first, it felt a little off-base but as I continued watching I got used to the characters in their new Arise setting. The development was nice, the character building was good, it was a nice history of how the Section 9 squad came together. It turned out that only one episode of SAC was enough to make me question how faithful Arise was to the original. In fact, Togusa is a good counter-example of continuity. In the original SAC, he was a relatively new recruit to the team, brought on for his insight and perspective as a mostly un-cyberized person. In Arise, he is part of the team relatively early in the game. Not before everyone else is recruited, but the Arise OVAs insinuate he is recruited prior to the squad actually being part of Section 9.

Also, the characters in SAC are vibrant. It reminded me what made the original series so compelling. Arise makes the caricatures somewhat flat, unfortunately. This is probably its biggest flaw, the SAC characters are strong as individual characters and their interactions are rich. The Arise counterparts, even if they are limited in their history together, feel desaturated and distilled into quick and definable stereotypes. If you like Arise, you should hopefully enjoy SAC more.

Masamune-kun's Revenge R has revitalized the series for me. The first season left things off so poorly, I never imagined a second season would happen let alone start the pace properly. If you watched season 1 of Masamune-kun's Revenge and felt disappointed, this season (three episodes out so far) feels like it brings back the original draw of the series. I remember really enjoying the first half of the first season, so I don't want to give it a full pass just yet.

This season of anime has been really strong so far. I wanted to keep track of what I've been watching, so I've listed them in order of my preference so far:

1. Oshi no Ko, 9.00 - Excellent attention to detail and a GOAT OP and ED. The source material was strong, this adaptation stays true to it.
2. Insomniacs After School, 8.75 - I could probably give it a 9 and be happy. This one is wonderful and had me catch up with the manga after running out of eps. In fact, had Oshi no Ko's adaptation been a little less clean, Insomniacs would have definitely been the top spot.
3. My Clueless First Friend, 8.50 - Another great series. I also caught up with the manga after running out of episodes.
4. My Love Story with Lv.999 Yamada-kun, 8.25 - It's a great series, even if it's a little heavy on the gaming aspects. The character development is solid.
5. Skip & Loafer, 8.25 - I think this one deserves a higher score but at the same time I'm more invested in the other series this season.
6. Tonikawa, 8.00 - Same is true for this one, I feel like Tonikawa is a slow burn show great for catching up on after the episodes are out.
(6.5). Kubo Won't Let Me Be Invisble, 7.75 - This one came out last season but had to be postponed to halfway. Kubo is such a trip, so ready for the new eps.
7. Dangers of My Heart, 7.50 - The dynamic between Ishikawa and Yamada is excellent, the male bg chars are abhorrent. The female bg chars are alright.

I'm reading Real no Heroine wa Irimasen! which itself is an adaptation of the LN Chuuko demo Koi ga Shitai! There is something underneath the surface of this one, I think there are a lot of issues with how the plot develops, such as multiple situations where the writing leans heavily on sexual assault to build conflict, and there is a sourness to the trope of female character desperately requiring a life change given to her by male MC that I think could be much lighter than it is in the manga.

The parts that I love is Ayame as a character is somewhat reminiscent of Tohru's mother in Fruits Basket, a delinquent who really just wants to be happy and accepted, someone who actually has a big heart and wants to do the right thing. Her character is a little too clean-cut for someone who was just a delinquent, the Drama CDs seem to do a better job of capturing how Ayame actually should be, maybe the LN is less brisk with her change from delinquent to reformed member of society. That roughness of her character is actually what makes Ayame better, if I were to rewrite the series I would lean on that a lot more.

The plot twists get kind of crazy as the manga progresses. Initially the story felt flat, but after a few volumes it seems to actually gain a fair amount of nuance. I didn't expect to fall into a mediocre manga and realize the quality seems to rise substantially past the early mire.

Welcome to the NHK was rough in many ways, but it was also a story worthwhile. It doesn't pretend to be what it isn't, it doesn't sugarcoat the harshness of reality, and it manages to have a sense of humor and a kind side to it. It's an older anime, and the budget may have not been amazing, but the show is worth watching. I gave it a strong 8.

Violet Evergarden is a series capable of capturing emotions in ways few anime, or perhaps other forms of media in general, have been able to. I stand by my claim that the episodic anime and the final movie are 10/10 masterpieces.

A Couple of Cuckoos was a cluster, but it was my guilty pleasure of the season, I had to see every episode where Erika keep Nagi from completely falling head-over-heels for Hiro.

I paused on Lycoris Recoil for some reason, maybe I don’t want to see the end.

Classroom of the Elite was an absolute banger this season.

Shadow House was great this season, I’m probably more excited for season 3 than I was for season 2 after wrapping it up.

I also put Devil Is a Part Timer on hold. This season felt like it moved pretty slow compared to the first. I would say partly due to the content they were adapting, but also because a lot of the heaviest moments end up being reduced by cheap writing, not sure how faithful to the source those moments are.

I recently watched all of Madoka Magica, it hurt my heart but it was very solid writing. I gave it a 9/10, would watch again.

Adding to previous comment, I hadn’t realized PA Works did both Angel Beats and Charlotte, but looking at their back catalog there seems to be a pretty strong trend of anime that suffer from pacing or incomplete adaptations.

I finally completed Angel Beats, and gave it an initial 8. I feel like it’s closer to a warm 7, as the pacing feels a bit quick towards the last half and this makes the connection between Kanade and Otonashi feels forced. In fact, Kanade’s character development felt stunted so much that the final episode just seemed out of character entirely. The premise is solid, the characters are nice. I think there are more emotionally captivating anime, I would say this one levels with Charlotte pretty well.

Finished Ousama Ranking very quickly, spent the past three days binging. It was great in most aspects, a lot of tearjerker moments. Wholesome, but also very rough at times. Ending was good, but there were some plot things that felt weird. I can’t give 7.5 on MAL, but that’s my ranking for Ousama Ranking.

New anime I’m following this season:

Aharen-san
Kaguya-sama S3
Shikimori-san
Spy x Family
Ascendance of a Bookworm S3
Science Fell In Love S2

I just finished Kono Oto Tomare, both seasons. “Delinquents” who become musicians, heartfelt stories around every corner, the themes of forgiveness and redemption. This anime was 120% wholesome and I am glad I gave it a shot. Honestly, did not expect to really enjoy Akira as a character but she came to be one of my favorites from the show.