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Season 2 of 'The 100 Girlfriends Who Really, Really, Really, Really, Really Love You' or 100 GFs or Hyakkano is one anime this winter that I was highly anticipating. In my review for season 1 (https://myanimelist.net/reviews.php?id=545367), I called it genre-defining. Unfortunately, it feels that it's not as good as season 1.

Season 2 is basically Rentarou adding more girlfriends. It features more ridiculous situations and the metafictional aspects are even more pronounced. I love the fourth-wall breaks.

The problem is that, firstly, every new girl now feels hit or miss. Of course, we may prefer different girls, but the effect is still the same. I may like ... Mei but dismiss others as a girlfriend I do not prefer. It's a pity because every new girl in season 1 felt so much better than the girl before yet in their own ways, each is compelling.

Secondly, the ever-increasing new cast of girlfriends is proving to be a problem, and that's probably why previous harems have chosen to limit the number of girls, even if the number is a few girls plus/minus ten girls. Rentarou's girlfriends are starting to become unwieldy. Aside from dealing with every new girlfriend, Rentarou must also make some effort to keep his existing girlfriends happy. Thus, I'm afraid, every succeeding season of Hyakkano might get worse and worse.

Again, the idea is great, but the execution is bothering me, and we only have 11 girlfriends in the anime so far. How much more unwieldy can the number of girlfriends in succeeding seasons, if any, will get?

I'm not saying that the anime got bad. It's still better than many harems. I'm saying that, over time, getting a laugh out of the ridiculous situations has diminishing returns.

Due to these concerns and the fact that my experience of season 2, while still okay, is nowhere near the peak of season 1, I am rating this a 6 and marking it as 'mixed feelings.'

'Legend of the Dragon Kings' aka 'Souryuuden' is one of the anime I watched earlier in life. I rewatched it because 1) I remember it being decent, and 2) it came from the same author as 'Legend of the Galactic Heroes.'

It's basically about how the four Ryuudou brothers, who descended from dragons, are being targeted by people in the government. Little do they know that there's a larger conspiracy.

We have to distinguish between text and subtext: text, being the plot and all that, and subtext, being what is implied by what is presented.

The story is decent but it's ultimately unsatisfying. Although this OVA series was ... released in the early 1990s, the entire novel series from which this is based hasn't been concluded. I reckon that, if the entire novel series is finished, this would have been ripe for a new and longer adaptation. For now, we can only content ourselves with this adaptation.

There's a strong politickal text and subtext in this series, which I did not fully appreciate when I first watched it. It leaves you wondering if the author is actually promoting the values of Imperialist Japan and bemoaning the corruption of what was then the Japanese government. (Perhaps the social critique still holds true.) Then again, something in the anime will contradict this notion. I won't spoil you, but suffice it to say that this is no different from what a Platonic dialogue does. It presents different ideas, and it's up to us, the viewers/readers to weigh the strengths and weaknesses of the arguments and decide which ideas to accept, reject, or even modify.

Note also that it has a strong anti-American subtext with how the villains are from the West and how the USA is effectively still occupying Japan and that there are powers lurking in the shadows of the white house. This is no different from some real-life conspiracy theories about certain people which I won't mention.

But for me, it has an anti-war message, and for this part, I am recommending this despite some ideas that I might not be comfortable with.

Eri's OP and ED are lovely. They may sound dated to our ears, but one cannot deny how powerful her voice was.

Like many anime based on cel animation, either you like it or you don't. It looks dated but one can argue that the art direction is consistent because it doesn't include CGI.

So far, I haven't seen 'Legend of the Galactic Heroes' though it's probably safe to conclude that it might not be as good as that anime that has a reputation for being a masterpiece. Despite that, this is still a decent watch. The story is far from the masterpiece that it might have been, but it's still worth watching because of the ideas that it presents, either directly or indirectly.

'Farmagia' is an anime that has a reputation for being bad. I originally wanted to watch it 1) to get some taste for what's bad to feel the contrast between what I consider good to great, and 2) to lower my MAL average score.

The truth is, it has some things that make me cringe and some aspects that make it decent or good.


§ Overview

After the death of the world of Felicidad's ruler, one of the Oración Seis, Glaza immediately sets himself up as the ruler.

Glaza's minions immediately attack the Avrion continent where the protagonist Ten and his friends live. In response, Ten and his ... friends must fight Glaza and other members of the Oración Seis to regain their freedom.


§ Notes


1. This is Fairy Tail meets Pokemon/Digimon. The characters were designed by Mashima Hiro, the mangaka of Fairy Tail. Although Mashima did not write Farmagia, there are clear parallels. Ten corresponds to Natsu; Leii corresponds to Gray; and Arche corresponds to Lucy (perhaps). Both main characters have pets; Lookie-Loo corresponds to Happy. (I don't know the analogues for Chica and Emero.)


2. With the usual disclaimer, if you don't like Mashima's works, you will not like this anime. The same goes if you like his works.


3. If I were a person who usually drops anime, I would have dropped this before reaching halfway. I was facepalming at how dumb the characters were. It was not encouraging.

I suggest that you keep at it. It gets better.

In fact, the character designs don't seem to pop initially. But by the end of the anime, you will know which is which because of how invested you become in their respective story arcs.


4. I love that we get the respective story arcs of each protagonist, and this makes them so memorable. This is in sharp contrast to so many anime that have an ensemble but fail to characterise and give justice to each cast of characters. (I'm looking at you, 'Promise of Wizard' and 'Cheer for You.)


5. The opening song for Farmagia is decent. Some dislike it, but come on. It's from Asian Kung-Fu Generation, the band that sang one of the bangers of the original Fullmetal Alchemist.

The ED by miss-dystopia is okay but has the energy to become a banger.


6. The animation is decent enough compared to the usual, but it probably pales in comparison to top-tier battle shounen. (By the way, the source material is a game so we don't have the usual demographic categories as shounen, shoujo, seinen, and josei. But with the way the content is too similar to Fairy Tail, it's safe to use the term shounen.)


7. The pacing is mostly decent. At first, the events are happening so fast that it seems it's not good pacing. But after watching, you realise that the 12-episode format has helped this anime. Even if you feel that the anime is bad or cringe, as I often experienced, because the cringe aspects are similar to Fairy Tail, you can't help but feel that each episode is way better than the average episode of Fairy Tail. The single cour format made the director only to include the essentials and not bother creating fillers that don't add much to the plot.

Thus, plotwise, Farmagia is good.


8. You can, however, nitpick some plotholes such as the personal not being too numerous for a continent. It's not perfect but decent.


9. Its greatest strength is the lore and world building. Despite my wanting to hate this anime, this is an aspect that convinced me that this anime is not really bad.

I won't spoil you because the world of Felicidad's mythology is tied directly to the plot. I will not though the place names. If you got a kick out of the character names in Frieren as German words that characterise the characters, you might like this aspect.

• Felicidad, which is the world our characters are inhabiting. It means happiness in Spanish.

• There are five continents within Felicidad, and I like the map.

1. Avrion. You can't find a meaning for it, but it seems related to the word of French origin, avion, which is any machine that flies or an aeroplane.

2. Perfectus. Latin for perfect.

3. Rahatluk is the Bosnian concept of 'the art of enjoying.'

4. Sonrisa is Spanish for smile (or even forced smile).

5. Nadeyat'sya is Russian for hope.


§ Conclusion

Farmagia is that one anime considered by others as bad. Indeed, it has some cringe elements. Yet, I was surprised that it has so many decent elements that I cannot ignore.

I'm grading it a 5 and a recommended mark. It's not bad and can be good. It's hampered by how the characters can act like idiots, and this prevents me from giving it a higher score.

'I May Be a Guild Receptionist, but I'll Solo Any Boss to Clock Out on Time' is quite an enjoyable anime. It's one of my favourites this winter season. It's understandable, though, why some might not like it.


§ Overview

Alina Clover is a guild receptionist who only wants to clock out on time but suffers from overtime due to paperwork, which results from adventurers not immediately killing the dungeon bosses.

Unknown to many, she has a very powerful skill, a Dia skill, which allows her to quickly dispose of various monsters.


... § Notes


1. If you just read the synopsis, there's really nothing special about the story. It is set in a fantasy world of adventurers, the number of anime that features such is a dime a dozen.


2. What carries this show is the visuals and Alina's voice acting. Naturally, if you don't care for the character of Alina and only focus on the story, you might find this anime so-so and consequently score this low.


3. The nice visuals are expected from any CloverWorks anime, so I'm bumping the score to 8 rather than the 7 I would have given if this anime had so-so visuals.


4. Alina's seiyuu is the lovely Takahashi Rie. She owns the character of Alina who is snarky. It's as though the character was written specifically for her, and any other seiyuu voicing her would have been so-so.

To make some comparisons, Takahashi's performance as Serina in 'Honey Lemon Soda' and Sakura in 'Blue Miburo' is okay. As Ai in 'Oshi no Ko,' it's great but quite limited because of the character's early demise. But in this anime, it is outstanding. It's undoubtedly the best from what I've seen so far, and it's reasonable to claim that it is one of her best performances.


5. Some might not like the repeated overtime jokes, but for me, they are acceptable. It makes the character of Alina lovable but not annoying in a tsundere kind of way.


6. There is some developing romance between Alina and Jade, but the romantic subplot is not the focus of the anime. If this gets a second season and if the romance develops, it might become one of the show's strengths because their chemistry is great.

But those looking for romance in this season might get disappointed.


7. As to why she continues to work as a receptionist instead of an adventurer is explained, but some may wish that it had been put in Episode 1.


8. Both the OP and ED are nice. The OP is pleasant, while the ED is cute. Some people are even claiming that the ED is the best this season. Again, I'm not counting this for my final score, but it's good to note.


§ Conclusion

'I May Be a Guild Receptionist, but I'll Solo Any Boss to Clock Out on Time' is a rather mediocre story but is quite enjoyable due to Alina. How one may love (or hate) this anime really depends on whether he finds Alina charming or annoying.

'Momentary Lily: Tsuzuiteiku Kappou, Kappou!' (もめんたりー・リリィ 続いていく割烹、割烹!) is translated in English as 'The cooking continues.' As to why it's named as such, you should watch it. Suffice it to say that it has to do with Renge's impact on everyone and it's about a celebration of Renge's life.

This is marked as Episode 14, but it's really a bonus episode, an extension of Episode 13. It covers partly some scenes when Renge and Nerine met. It's also includes scenes about our girls and Renge's sister, Suzuran, in the immediate aftermath after Renge's death, just before Team Emu meets the new girl, Shoujo.

Even if I ... wanted to, a second season is unlikely. Be that as it may, this episode is a far better closing episode than Episode 13. It reinforces the theme of friendship that runs throughout the show. It leaves you with a more optimistic vibe.

As always, haters of GOATHands and Momentary Lily won't like this, but if you're convinced that Momentary Lily is a decent if not a good show, this is a must-watch.

'Momentary Lily' is the first GoHands anime I've watched, and it's that one anime that made me a GOATHands Crusader.

Narratively, it's simple. It's just a bunch of girls in an apocalyptic world where giants called 'Wild Hunts' are erasing people. It's how the girls discover who they actually are.

It's easy to dismiss this story as nonsense. To their credit, viewers who don't know the ending yet, the very people who watch this anime original weekly from the original airdate, can come up with different predictions and plausible theories, but this anime refuses to get tied down and shatters the theory builders. In a way, ... it's unpredictable.

The opening song is itself fire, even if the animation is not something everyone would love. The ending song is emotional and beautiful, but it's underrated.

The character designs are more than okay but they could have been better. You will know why some feel this way if you see the final episode.

The animation style of GOATHands is polarising. Either you like it or you don't. I like it!

Some people may like it because its composition is ugly and can't really screenshot a particular scene and make it a wallpaper of their desktop or cellphone screen. In other words, it goes against the phrase 'every frame a painting.' I agree up to a certain point, but its emphasis is not on composition but on movement and heightened sensation because of all the visual stimuli.

I don't know if anyone is familiar with this idea, but one of the purposes of art is to take us away from the mundane and resensitise our view of the world. In a sense, Momentary Lily meets this criterion to the detriment of other stuff people usually like.

Some people experience headaches watching a GOATHands anime but you get used to it and look back at some of the mediocre animation in your average isekai/romcom slop, and you appreciate what GOATHands is trying to accomplish despite mixed results.

Finally, this anime has one of the best fanservice out there. The unique angles are something only GOATHands can give you.

Move over Himemiya Karen of 'Too Many Losing Heroines.' The best jiggle physics I've seen so far is in this anime, Koudaiji Erika.

In closing, give this anime a try if you like CGDCT, especially if you haven't experienced an anime from GOATHands. It has a nice mix of action and slice-of-life. Ultimately, it's an anime about friendship.

'Magic Maker' seems to be yet another average isekai slop. But once you watch it, you will realise that it tackles a unique premise, though, in reality, it still falls under generic fantasy.

Shion was reincarnated in a world without magic. In his previous life, he was trying to use magic but to no avail. He died trying.

One day, he and his sister found a magical phenomenon, and it became key to him becoming the Magic Maker.

One thing to note is that this anime has a high normie filter, and it is unfortunate. It's only a bait. It's gone by Episode 3, but if this ... is the first anime someone watches, it's gonna be a turnoff.

What's important is its unique premise of magic research. Shion spends time finding how to generate magical energy and how to use it. A good number of episodes were spent on this.

Also, the monsters here are really scary, unlike the typical isekai slop where monsters are easily overcome. Monsters here offer some challenges.

The art style is a bit better because monsters are more realistic. The animation seems a bit better than average, but as typical of DEEN, it's not something that you can point out as exemplary.

In essence, you will cringe at first for watching the first few episodes. But if you're not weeded out, you are in for a treat.

'Welcome to Japan, Ms. Elf!' could have been a great anime but was hampered by some of its choices.

It's basically reverse isekai. Kitase Kazuhiro is able to travel to another world through dreams. But one day, his ælf companion, Mariabelle, was able to travel back to Earth with him, and here begins a wonderful romance.

Both Kazuhiro and Marie spend an equal amount of time in the isekai as well as in Japan, and herein lies its weakness. Even if a place in the isekai is interesting, such as this particular dungeon, it remains to be a mediocre part of this story. On the other hand, ... Marie's exploration of Japan and eating lots of Japanese foods is magical. This is its strength.

It's understandable that both have to travel back and forth the isekai. After all, that is Marie's home and both are adventurers there. The problem is, that it detracts from its core strength of having Marie become amazed with Japan. One might argue that if this had at least 24 episodes, it might have been more acceptable. In that case, both isekai and Japan would be adequately explored, but the inherent mediocrity of exploring the isekai is here to stay.

re: character designs

I thought Marie might prove to be another generic ælf, but she is holding her own as a likable character. Her character design is slightly better than generic but not as iconic as Frieren's.

Kazuhiro is rather generic.

Wridra, an important supporting character, has great character design.

The opening song is lovely. The ED is just as love but more cheerful. Both fit the vibe the show is giving.

I also give additional points for its strong visuals.

re: romance

Although there are some romantic subtexts between Kazuhiro and Marie in most anime, the main draw is still her exploration of Japan. Granted, this romantic subtext adds some chemistry between them, but it remains to be seen if this developing romance would be more primary should there be a second season.


§ Conclusion

Setting aside the mediocre isekai part, it's a nice slice of life with a touch of romance. Their chemistry is great and worth watching. This is one of those shows that deserve a second season.

'From Bureaucrat to Villainess: Dad's Been Reincarnated!' is a mixed bag. There's so much one can like, and there are some that I don't particularly like.

Tondabayashi Kenzaburou is a 52-year-old bureaucrat who was going off from work when he saw a kid about to be hit by a truck but chose to save him, an image that reminds you of how Yusuke saved a certain kid in Yuu Yuu Hakusho.

Upon waking up, Kenzaburou sees that he became Grace Auvergne, the villainess of his daughter's favourite otome game, 'Magical Academy: Love & Beast.'

***************************************
I'll start using the she/her pronouns when I refer to Grace as a ... character even if technically, it should be a he/him.

Note that too many people would refer to Kenzaburou as a boomer, but he is on the borderline between boomer and Gen X. If he was 52 when the manga was published, he would have been one of the youngest boomers. But if he was 52 in 2025, he is one of the oldest Gen X'er. I'll just refer to him as an old man.

***************************************

Before watching this anime, I was uncomfortable with the idea that Grace might get a love interest. After all, the soul within her is a man. But as you watch it, it looks like she isn't and wouldn't be interested in anyone.

One key appeal of this anime is how Grace is fatherly. Grace originally had a bitchy attitude that made anyone fearful of her, and with Kenzaburou's soul in her body, it amuses me so much how people have received well the new grace.

The supporting characters are nice to her. In fact, they are too nice to an annoying degree. She has the so-called the Elegance Cheat that makes whatever thing she does adorable. So she has a lot of people obseqiuous to her. Anna Doll in particular, the protagonist of the game is particularly annoying. She is reliable on what she does, but she is part of Grace's groupie.

Despite me hating on Anna as insufferable, she is still the better support character. She has a good character design despite being a lousy character. In general, the support characters are shit and forgettable.

Another great aspect of this show is how Kenzaburou as well as his wife are weebs long before that term has been coined. There's a lot of old-school anime being referenced or alluded. I especially like the list of old-school isekai mentioned, both anime and non-anime.

This common interest of anime and manga somehow makes you want to respect your elders because so many people have written on the irreconcilable differences among the generations. This anime is an attempt at bridging that gap.

Both the opening and ending songs are so great. They're a bangers. One might take issue is the imagery. Since we're dealing with an older generation, the imagery feels tacky.

I don't like the colour grading. It's not vibrant, and the gender bender combined with the dull colour grading prevents me from fully liking it despite all the good things about this anime I've mentioned above.


§ Conclusion

This is a decent anime. It's entertaining. It has several virtues, but it also has some things that repel you from fully appreciating it.

If you're considering this anime, still give it a try. I may not like it that much, but you might like it.

'Anyway, I'm Falling in Love with You' is an anime so forgettable that I was close to forgetting all about it even before I finished watching it.


§ Overview

Set in 2020, at the height of the pandemic, this anime is about aspiring mangaka, Nishino Mizuho and her childhood friends as they navigate their feelings for each other.


§ Notes

...
1. The melancholic tone reminds me of Orange. In fact, Mizuho's character design has a similarity to the heroine of Orange, Takamiya Naho. But that's only their similarity. In Orange, we feel this melancholic tone because Naho's future self wrote to her that she must stop her love interest, Kakeru, from committing suicide.

But in this anime, we don't know why the fact is the tone melancholy. You keep waiting if someone will die or if an action will cause great sadness. I know there's a second season, but I wish they made it clear why. As far as I see it, without this melancholic tone, watching this anime would have been more pleasant, especially because we can't see the point of that tone.


2. The animation leaves so much to be desired. I know an anime like Bakemonogatari is justified in not animating NPCs or background characters. In fact, they don't appear at all. Here, not only don't they have faces, they are deliberately blurred with some random colours. Worse, we see and hear them talking to each other or even interacting with our cast of characters.

There's no creativity involved here. It's just a lame attempt to save money.


3. Another anime that has a melancholic tone is 'Days with My Stepsister.' It is melancholic because both of the pair are trying to repress their feelings for each other. Also, it uses deliberate framings to imply meanings, it has different meanings for every colour filter, it uses a long take (at least for an anime), and it has suitable objects in its mise-en-scène.

This anime has none of that. As mentioned above, we can't see the point of the melancholic tone. It's slow but we can't see the point. It has several moments where the 'camera' so to speak lingers on a character's face, but we can't see the point. Instead of an artistic use of the long take, we get this negative impression that this is only so to fill airtime.


4. The melancholic tone, the slowness of the actions, and some long takes mentioned above make it harder to follow the story. We can see a character kissing her, then later they do some random stuff as friends, some school activities, etc. It's so random. It's almost impossible to follow the episodes and see the big picture.


5. Also, since this story, at least the flashbacks from high school, is set during the pandemic, we see normal activities being suspended. I wish at least someone got sick from COVID and used that as a plot point. Again, this is a missed opportunity and the threat of death could have justified the melancholic tone.


§ Conclusion

This is one of the worst anime I have ever watched. This poor excuse of an anime doesn't deserve a second season. Some readers of the manga claim that there's so much good stuff that will only be covered by a second season. But the way the first season was executed makes one doubt that a second season will help improve the situation.

I give this travesty a 1 out of 10. I might give the second season a try just to see any improvements to the story but would probably involve me giving it a very low score once more.