In this post:
Paradox Live- Frieren (again)
- Helck (episode 11)
Migi and DaliSHYRon KamonohashiHypMic- Spy x Family
- Kusuriya no Hitorigoto/Apothecary Diaries
- Tearmoon Empire
Helck
To quote myself at episode 8, “We’re still on the motherfrickin’ island?!”
Vermilio is shrill and I had the unfortunate idea to watch several episodes with the sound on…like most people do. Plus there are mysteries going around with what’s up with the humans, but I don’t really care for them. So normally I would see through any choices I’ve got from past seasons, but I’m just going to pause this show here before I start complaining, because it sure ain’t going to hold up when there’s too much other good stuff waiting for me.
Tearmoon Empire
I was not sure if that white-haired dude was actually a dude early on, since he looked quite feminine in some of the shots. I did confirm while writing this post said character is a dude, though, so…that’s sorted.
It’s a pretty standard story, but decent enough. The only concern is how Mia’s a bit shrill. However, this was a concern I’ve had since watching the ANN trailer party video, so…at least it’s being consistent(?)
Other notes:
- *we see and hear the glasses dude* *my eyes gleam* I heard Ume! *checks cast list* Yeah! Found him!
- Content warning: Don’t watch this on an empty stomach. (/jk) I got two slices of toast before watching most of this premiere and I wasn’t sure if I was overeating, but the emphasis on food is making it worth it.
- …Welp, RIP Mx Cake. (/jk x2)
Frieren (ep. 2)
I could’ve just left it at 1 episode, but I replied to another blogger’s impressions and said I would be back once I watched more Frieren, so I did just that.
Frieren is more than just being about death. It’s about legacy and I think that struck me when I started the episode…to the point I’d say episode 2 was better than ep. 1 for that alone. I mean, what are we doing, spending our lives online or whatever else we’re doing if we want to make an impact on the world? What are we leaving behind?
…come to think of it, legacy is also an important factor to those anime I cherish as well, whether it’s Yakumo 8th of SGRS training the next generation of rakugoka or Yato of Noragami trying to leave behind a small shrine. This blog, too, is my way of leaving something behind. I might be younger or younger than you, dear reader, but my legacy lives on here.
Other notes:
- Having Frieren and Fern in the same show, talking to each other, is going to be a bit annoying, isn’t it…? I keep mistyping “Frieren” even though I’m meant to be good at spelling, so throwing in a similar name will get me more likely to mix the names up.
Spy x Family (season 2)
I read this part of the manga before, so I know where this goes…the only thing I can fault this episode for is the actual content, which (as just noted) is inherited. I mean, bad jokes about weird things have killed entire anime from my list before (Heybot!‘s booger jokes, Marginal #4 and Lycoris Recoil‘s underwear plotlines), so even though I know this plotline is not going to last long enough I yeet the anime on the basis of it like the examples I just mentioned, I can find more reason to fault it that way.
Other notes:
- I find it cute how you can see Loid step over Bond in the new OP. It shows maximum attention to detail while also demonstrating how the dog gets in Loid’s way, but Loid tries his best to stay out of the way of everyone else.
- If you pause at the wrong time in the OP, you’ll see Yor put the parachute harness around her skirt so that it’s more like trousers.
- I think I remember reading some analysis of how this series tells us (something to the effect of) being the “perfect family” and “having perfect gender roles” are performative feats…but I forget exactly where I read this. Anime Feminist, perhaps…(?)
- *screams incoherently* I normally hate first-person cam, but…Loid! *heart eyes* I’m probably getting on in years enough to say I can like him without repercussions now… *sweatdrops* (Sidenote: Is this what they mean by “DILF”…? /jk)
- You can still see the scars on Penguinman, haha…
- Rumour has it Masaaki Yuasa – yep, the Eizouken dude – worked on the OP this time!
- Of course there has to be a silly love song for at least the OP or ED… *rolls eyes* I guess you don’t have Spy x Family without the romantic plotlines, after all…
- Bond on drums is cute.
Kusuriya no Hitorigoto (ep. 1)
It seems to move at a pretty fast pace in comparison to most. That’s actually a point in its favour, considering it’s probably got a lot of ground to cover to get to the battlefield(…?) depicted in this episode…although the fast-moving fire is a bit of a weird move. (I’m not familiar with the source material, so I don’t know how accurate I am on that front.)
As expected from someone who likes husbandoes like these, I fell for Jinshi. Just speaking as an ace person attracted to dudes, I’m more okay knowing the guy can’t reciprocate me in that way, rather than thinking his body is going to waste like Maomao does…It makes me more comfortable with him, in a sense. (That said, Maomao’s comment about how his body is going to go to waste…or something like that…did throw me for a loop.)
However, on a different personal front, I’d like to admit something personal. I’m a fan of Japanese media of Chinese background, partially because I wanted to reject certain aspects of the life my parents gave me (such as their love of historical Chinese dramas like the ones this series is inspired by and the fact I learnt 2 different dialects of Chinese as a child and then stopped using them) and because I wanted to embrace the rest (such as my pre-existing knowledge of Chinese characters being a leg up for learning kanji). That, along with my friend’s research project and my professed love of mysteries, means I have the lived experience and ability to attack this series from several different angles, but it means I occasionally have mixed feelings about it in the same way I do for Paradox Live. (However, if you want me to compare my emotional conflicts, Paradox Live‘s is more violent because that’s more “apples to apples”, so to speak, and I can enjoy this series despite my lived experience because I have little to no knowledge on poisons.)
Rankings
Frieren, Kusuriya no Hitorigoto and Spy x Family are bringing the best possible versions of themselves this season, so as I’ve been saying, it’s an absolute bloodbath. I’ve made my decision now though, so here it is:
Continue:
- Kusuriya (1 ep, new): At one point, I thought “this was made for me” like this was the Legend of Amigara Fault, which means I cannot skip it (despite the emotional conflict this gives me, as noted above).
- Spy x Family (1 ep, new)
- HypMic (3 eps, down 3): Turns out the ED is directed by the same person who did the animation of Lost in Paradise. Also, I think I finally came down from my so-hyped-I’m-almost-insane phase, so hopefully I’ll be a bit more reasonable from here in out. The reason this moved down is…well, aside from the competition at the very top…is because despite the huge advertising of this being post-2nd DRB, the anime isn’t committing to that (more on that in this post)…That doesn’t necessarily mean I won’t make it appointment viewing every weekend or continue to bring my rose-tinted fan lenses to every episode, though.
- Shy (2 eps)
- Migi and Dali (2 eps, up 1): I like how they used what was essentially the “vodka does not equal water” joke from Grand Blue in a suspense setting. That’s inventive! Also, according to ep. 2, the “tori” in “Hitori” means “bird”, so
I’d hazard a guess the “hi” would be the character for “to fly”.Update: The characters for “Hitori” mean “secret bird”, according to the characters given on their pages on the anime’s website. - Tearmoon (2 eps)
To deal with in a less crowded season:
- Frieren (2 eps, down 6): As good as I know it will be, 1) that 4 episode premiere is a bit of a big ask for someone who’s only just come back to the seasonal scene (note I binged Hataraku Maou-sama!! between fall premieres, so I could easily get anime fatigue), 2) this seems to be the sort of anime which requires the right time and place, so it’s better off binged and 3) I have the Amazing Race to worry about as well on top of this, so it’s better to have less on my anime plate.
- Paradox Live (1 ep, down 3): I justify my reasoning for this here.
- Ron Kamonohashi
- Helck (11 eps, down 8)
Keep seeking the magic,
Aria.
The Animanga Spellbook 
What do you think about this?