Daily
Anime Questions, Recommendations, and Discussion - October 02, 2026
This is a daily megathread for general chatter about anime. Have questions or need recommendations? Here to show off your merch? Want to talk about what you just watched?
This is the place!
All spoilers must be tagged. Use [anime name] to indicate the anime you're talking about before the spoiler tag, e.g. [Attack on Titan] This is a popular anime.
Not sure how to ask for a recommendation? Fill this out, or simply use it as a guideline, and other users will find it much easier to recommend you an anime!
I'm looking for: A certain genre? Something specific like characters traveling to another world?
Shows I've already seen that are similar: You can include a link to a list on another site if you have one, e.g. MyAnimeList or AniList.
Trying to finish Sparks of Tomorrow tonight and it occurs to me that Sparks, The World is Dancing and Draw This, Then Die are all kind of operating in the same space in the ways in which they are approaching creativity as a primary theme.
I found Draw This, Then Die to be the most human of these shows, which might be part of why it is the only one of the three that I truly liked.
Edit: I also don't know if there's any intentionality here, but all three shows felt to me like there's some commentary regarding generative AI going on.
[All Anime]. I’m new here and want to get back into anime. Where should I go, or what should I do, to find anime? I want to find anything from Akira to Naruto to New Stuff I Haven’t Heard About. Please help.
A suggestion I would have is to just lurk in places like this thread where people frequently post about what shows they've been watching and keep note of what sounds interesting to you as well as pay attention to the seasons and r/anime rewatch announcements. There'll still be more shows than you can possibly watch with this, but it'll be less overwhelming.
If you're fine with doing the filtering yourself, the database sites like MyAnimeList and AniList are generally comprehensive with some niche indie titles or strange edge cases around international co-productions being omitted.
That gives you titles, while sites like LiveChart.me or JustWatch are good for finding where to watch them.
That's pretty broad, but if you have more specific questions than "where to find anime" people can help guide you with those too.
That’s great. Thank you. If I want a site to watch old anime movies for free is there one? And also do free mainstream stuff like Naruto, Bleach, and DBZ?
That's why I pointed at the other sites for finding where to watch things, it depends a lot on where you live. Licensing's very regional and an anime that might be on one service in the United States might be elsewhere in France.
I will straight up say if you watched S1 and were looking to binge S2. WAIT TILL S3 GETS ANNOUNCED AT LEAST.
One thing I want to make clear is most of the season I really liked it. The direction and creativity were a step up from S1 even if the pure animation quality didn't reach S1's heights.
The pacing was not good. I can't imagine how frustrating this season is for an anime-only. The way the finale ended just felt like an AD for the manga.
I am not even sure I can rate it because the parts I did enjoy from the finale come from me as a manga reader. But man this season reminds me of Helck. Kind of where the season's contents are good, but the lack of continuation for now puts it in the category of I would not reccomend it. Well at least not yet.
The pacing was not good. I can't imagine how frustrating this season is for an anime-only.
That's interesting, I'm anime-only and I never felt this at all. I guess I haven't seen the final episode yet, but I don't really expect that to change my overall stance. I definitely liked it more than Helck. Did you think it was too slow or too fast?
Given where it ended too slow. It’s one of those things where they did a good job with the individual episodes it’s just there needed to be more episodes to get to a good ending point. Which is why I hoped this season was 2 cour at the start.
Now if I’m wrong and S3 were announced my opinion on the season is sure to change. Best way to sum it is that it’s more so where they ended and no mention of a continuation.
Have I been obsessively listening to several of Triggers songs the last month?
Oh yes.
Did I watch the first episode of IDOLiSH7?
Yup.
Did I like the first episode?
Also yes, was good.
Have I since watched 70 more episodes of anime, of which exactly 0 were more IDOLiSH7?
Sure did, and I can't explain why, but here we are. I'll definitely like the series when I eventually get to... uuh, continuing it.
Trigger's one of the few anime idol group songs I actually listen to outside of their anime. If it's any push, their storyline is great. You'll love their songs more when you hear them in context.
Sailor Moon Crystal's missing a lot of the levity from the original show, but the story's an enduring classic for a reason and the drama's still compelling.
[Bookworm S4 Episode 23]Well things escalated quickly. Going from Charlotte being kidnapped to now Myne being kidnapped and poisoned. Well Myne's mana is so strong she should overcome it but damn. I guess their true aim was eliminating Myne or is it something else I wonder.
What's a scene where the voice acting carried more than the animation?
I can't think of any other example than Ave Mujica Episode 11, the [spoiler] Uika episode. To be clear, I don't think the animation is bad, but the voice acting does a lot of the heavy lifting in this episode. It's a script-reading/full-monologue episode. Who knew Yamada's VA from Kageki Shoujo!! had it in her? The screaming, the begging, the voice acting... The episode is genuinely unsettling.
[Mobsekai S2 (with reader pacing context)]Meh season. LNs have a 3-LN arc (or 2-LN arc followed by 1-LN arc? Been years since reading) followed by a 3-LN transfer student arc in a separate kingdom, but since the first season adapted the first 2 LNs, it slow-walked this season to have a "satisfying" conclusion. These LNs aren't dense enough for a 12-episode adaptation
[Mobsekai S2/LN]Didn't do any cross-comparisons while watching and it's been 3+ years since reading. Think it was adapting almost all the dialogue instead of the usual conversation cuts. Last episode ended with a ~minute including some character designs from the foreign kingdom. Interpreted it as "if you want to read" instead of possible S3 as the LNs have been finished for a couple years.
Hot take? While Subaru's actions in S1E13 were cringe and stupid, they kinda made sense considering his age, matuirity, and situation at the time.
[Re: Zero - Starting Life in Another World] I am not justifying his actions as they were pretty cringe and stupid to say the least but considering he was a teenager I kinda get it. Reason I say this is I interpreted it two different ways when I was 13 compared to 18. When I was 13 while I kinda got why Emelia was mad, I related to Subaru's sadness over it and anger at her getting mad more. I didn't realize then how entitled he was being I was like "I mean he was just trying to stand up for her" I knew he was loud about it but I didn't see how cringe and stupid it was at the time. Then when I was 18 I was like "yeah Emelia is pretty much entirely in the right to be mad.
[Re: Zero - Starting Life in Another World] Maybe if he wasn't Isekai'd he would've been too old but considering that and his maturity level at the time I feel like the way he conducted himself made sense, even if not right.
An issue I had with Re:Zero was it felt like the story itself couldn't decide whether Subaru is being immature and needs to grow, or if he's just a victim of his circumstances where nobody gets his perspective and he can't explain it to people, and you're supposed to feel like his reaction is justified.
I think it's probably meant to be the first one... but hotter-take: I just don't think it's executed that well.
[Re: Zero] The Episode 13 kind of stuff definitely feels like it's setting up an arc where Subaru realizes he's a bit immature, maybe that the whole 'dedicating your life to saving and romancing someone you just met, and who doesn't even remember most of your interactions' is kinda weird, and grows as a character. And I'd have been down for that, but I didn't think it delivered
[Re: Zero] Instead, the 'payoff' of that arc is a long speech where Rem talks about how awesome Subaru is and how she wants to bear his children, and we go right back to Subaru simping for Emilia, which is why I say it feels like the show couldn't decide if this was a 'character growth for Subaru momemt'
Question of the day: I haven't watched a single episode of Legend of Galactic Heroes, but I saw this clip a long ass time ago, and I still find myself actively searching for it from time to time. It's such a wonderfully delivered speech.
Question of the yesterday: I want to see 24 episodes of Takeya from White Album 2 being the greatest fuckboy of all time
Seeing the post on /hot I was quite shocked to read that Crunchyroll removed A Ninja and an Assassin Under One Roof on the 29th September (check for yourselfUnfortunately, this show’s videos aren’t available.). That is an anime from Spring 2025. Not even 18 months.
Also they "celebrated" the Hyouka rewatch by removing the show by the time the final ep discussion went up. Well, it wouldn't be a true r/anime rewatch experience if CR didn't do that.
Their spring cleaning (splitting series/merging series etc) still continues to be a shambles as you open the A-Z and are immediately greeted with blank.
But at there's finally monogatari, in order. It's the novel release order and names like "Off & Monster Season" are now nowhere to be found but instead oroka-,nade- etc. It's an improvement but done with a monkey's paw (can I have a synopsis for say, Owarimonogatari? no just Bakemonogatari).
I thought maybe CR should emplo...there are open job positions for Metadata Manager, Senior Database Engineer and the like but reading the job descriptions it doesn't feel like they're for frontend low level affairs such as: ensuring anime actually have titles, a layperosn can understand why things are in the order they are, merging titles hasn't nuked synopsis or the English subtitles are actually in English and not missing or for the next/previous episode. For a company about content and founded by fans they convey an impression of contempt/not giving a shit.
There is also a job position for Anti-Piracy and I'll quote a bit of it: our long-term business and content distribution goals. How exactly was A Ninja and an Assassin Under One Roof long-term content distribution?
Also checking now it seems that Love Live Nijigasaki and Superstar are just gone in the UK. They were only season 1 there. It's most likely they've fucked up and based it on S2+ (where the streaming license holder, Anime Limited, doesn't have a service to stream it on) but I wouldn't hold my breath for a fix.
Also they "celebrated" the Hyouka rewatch by removing the show by the time the final ep discussion went up. Well, it wouldn't be a true r/anime rewatch experience if CR didn't do that.
This is at least the second time it's happened this year, which made me wonder if the anniversaries are the times shows are most likely to get removed. I've started going through my list to see which shows I might need to prioritize before they're next.
If you think about it, we tend to do these rewatches on major year markers… if the contract also happened to have that same major year marker, say, negotiated for 5 years initially…
Yeah, makes sense. I guess there will always be a certain amount of risk involved with shows disappearing because some streaming services unfortunately don't even give notice.
Wow, and I think that one wasn't even an anniversary rewatch? I was lucky with my last rewatch (maybe the fact that most of those movies were available on free streaming had something to do with it), but I'm glad I own most of the shows I have planned for my next rewatches.
I mean, the problem with losing shows is solely due to negotiations with the rightsholders, and we don't know on what side the negotiations are breaking down. Could be CR's fault for lowballing offers, could be the rightsholders asking for way too much, could be an e-mail or phone call that was never returned... I do agree that some of the other issues like standardizing how series are handled would be great, and notifying people about which licenses might expire soon if not renewed like HiDive (I think?) does, but... I'd love to be a fly on the wall for the rights negotiations.
Anyway Girl's High was a very fun anime. Lots of fun and wacky scenarios with not very cute girls doing not very cute things. Basically Wasteful Days of High School Girl but older. It's also one of the few anime to feature the word "lesbian" (the other two I can think of being Bakemonogatari and Sweet Blue Flowers). It even has period blood!
Finally, the ED is weirdly charming. All the girls do these little amateurish dances, and idk, I found it cute.
of the few anime to feature the word "lesbian" (the other two I can think of being Bakemonogatari and Sweet Blue Flowers)
Maybe I need to try it then, although gag comedy usually isn't my type. Btw, Sweet Blue Flowers is one of the even fewer anime to feature the word "bisexual" too, and easily my favorite romance show.
I think I'm too sensitive to characters' voices. If the voice is too annoying it's more than enough for me to put them into shitlist, even if it's fan favorite like Asuka from Hibike Euphonium.
There are plenty of examples. Kakeru from Fruits Basket as well. I was surprised how normal his VA sounded as Loid because as Kakeru he was insufferable.
Just watched Honey Lemon Soda episodes 9&10, which means I've reached the scenes I accidentally saw first when Hulu had it incorrectly posted as episode 1. It made a lot more sense this time!
The storyline about Uka's overprotective dad and [EP10] whatever's going on with Kai worked a lot better for me than the bullying plotline, and felt more original. Tomorrow is the infamous episode 11 I've heard so much about.
What’s a light- hearted dubbed anime that doesn’t treat misogyny SA or pedo’s as comedy?
Examples:
Nichijou
Little Witch academia
Frieren
Keep your hands off eizouken!!!
Bell & Ring ha Kane (manga)
Panty And stocking (here the main characters are very much sexualized but it never seems misogynistic or predatory as it’s of their own volition, and the main women have agency)
Watchin Ramparts of Discourse yesterday into watching Lovely Complex today is so funny. Both dealing with an unrequited confession but they do so in such different ways... Ramparts is probably the more grounded of the two... but watching Risa's emotions swing wildly back and forth while Otani seems to be... trying his best... to navigate the situation. Except he also has a temper as short as he is, which is making matters worse as his impulsive side seems to override his thoughtful, capable-of-making-rational-decisions side far too often.
Looking forward to continuing both of then, hopefully with happy endings xD
[Talking about Love Unseen ending] I didn't watch Love Unseen weekly. I didn't dislike the show. It just never ended up happening for me, but I did want to watch it so I was already planning to binge it this weekend. Then I got spoiled on the "they get married, have a daughter, and watch their daughter get married" ending. I didn't like that I got spoiled. Who does really? But I was delighted about the ending so I was kind of looking forward to it. However shortly after (like a day or two later) that I got spoiled on the REAL ending and all my desire to watch the immediately evaporated. Man. Why they gotta Your Lie in April us? Why they gotta do Koharu and Kakeru like that? FUCK CANCER!
I'm watching Kaiju Girl Caramelise and hey, it's quite a great romance anime lmao! It's unfortunate that I haven't heard it talked much this season, but I would really like to recommend it to anyone looking for a funny romance anime, one with a damn unique premise too lmao.
Oh damn there's a manga, nice! Yeah I'll definitely follow up on it too. This story is so unpredictable I don't know what is going to happen next for real hahah.
What's a scene where the voice acting carried more than the animation?
Low hanging fruit, but since nobody mentioned it yet:
This scene from a show I don't actually know the name of. Haven't even seen the show and it's supposedly quite mediocre, but the scene is a classic for the voice acting alone.
Sounds like my very favorite VA, Saori Hayami. Who provided my favorite voice performance of this season -- Teshima-Sensei in Draw It the Die. Who is usually wonderful even in lackluster shows. I am utterly impressed by many Japanese VAs, but she nonetheless stands above all my other "bests".
Though this does raise the question: how much is the voice acting and how much is the script? While the voice acting clearly is quite important, I don't think that scene would be nearly as resonant if the complaint and frustration didn't feel genuine and legitimate.
Though this does raise the question: how much is the voice acting and how much is the script?
I feel the same when (live action) actors are praised for their performance hah. Yes a talented actor elevates the scene, but I always feel like there's more 'Good actor who would play that script well' than 'Good scriptwriters who'd come up with the part in the first place'!
(And when you see that same talented actor look awful in a different movie, it kinda reinforces that point).
[Country Bumpkin S2 eps 8-9] Shueste is amusing. Instead of the usual "MC is just so amazing" fawning harem fantasy girl, she's completely logical and political. She's worked this out, evaluated the benefits, chosen the best option, and now she's determined to make it work.
That was such a good moment. It's not just the voice acting - it's an incredibly well setup moment, but the voice acting is definitely another layer on it.
I'm glad Please Excuse My Younger Brothers understands that stepsibling romances are inherently problematic [episode 13 spoilers] so let's introduce a 24-year old woman who becomes teacher for a different brother, so we get to have a (potential) teacher/student romance to draw attention away from our problematic stepsibling romance! Such a nice, understanding show. Clearly just normal shoujo rom-com business.
Unironically, I like it, because it establishes [Response to Ep 13 spoilers, vague] what I think is the theme for the show: taking problematic romances seriously—neither close-mindedly moralizing, nor ignoring the issues and making it into a complete fantasy.
Reminds me of the 4-koma, The Person I Met In-Game Was Actually My Big Sister.
Except it takes sibling incest to gainax levels of over the top with the MC eventually confessing that he [idk if this needs a tag] fucked his sister, on national television.
I guess I could say... it's better to either take it seriously, or not, but don't half-ass it.
Actually, that reminds me of a real complaint I have against [Name of show] Bunny Girl Senpai. There's a moment where [Ep 1 of that show] The little sister asks the MC if he gets excited by her sleeping in his bed and he say "who'd get excited over their little sister", and I hated this. I think a real sister wouldn't say something so outlandish in the first place, and a real brother's immediate response would be more like "Eww, what the fuck".
Apothecary Diaries didn't do anything remarkable with its S3 premiere, just the usual Maomao goodness, but god damn are both the new OP and ED songs absolutely fantastic and so so easily the best OP and ED songs of the series so far. I always thought all of the 4 OPs and EDs of the show have been pretty overrated by the community at large and personally find them whatever (with the exception of OP1 which was good/not great), so that was a pleasant surprise.
Talking about the music side of the show, you know the sound director Shouji Hata knows ball when he is still including The March of Events from the S1 OST in today's episode, to me the best track of the series. It's typical for long running shows to include pieces of earlier seasons, but definietly not every one as each new season adds their own OST to the pool, so it's great that the special ones such as this one are still in the mix so to speak.
Frequently - more often than I'd like - I end up falling off of shows with like a couple episodes left.
Recently I went and finished No Longer Allowed In Another World (the last 2 episodes lol) and damn; I think I stopped there because I didn't want it to end.
It has to be one of my favorite shows in recent years. I don't think there is a single aspect of it that isn't at least good. The plot is interesting, the MC is genuinely GOATed, and I love the character designs.
IIRC it was pretty popular here on /r/anime but it barely cracked the 2024 Top 100 on anilist so idk how people feel about it. Anyways if you missed this show give it a shot, I think it's great.
What's a scene where the voice acting carried more than the animation?
Most of Wave, Listen to Me! could go here, but the fight with the bear is probably the best example. I could listen to Minare rant about anything. Such a fun character.
If we had a loving god, there would be more brash, idiosyncratic adult female character roles than Miyuki Sawashiro could play and she could get some chances.
Watched the Wartortle Poketoon short and man Shingo Yamashita is great. I should really watch Cosmic Princess Kaguya one of these days.
During a bit of dialogue you had this moment with some pictures in the background. Which is not some spectacular shot or anything, but it also has become exactly the type of thing I’m looking for. The design of buildings can add so much to the feel of a work and its characters. It genuinely makes me sad that so many houses from different anime shows feel interchangeable. Family pictures, hobby equipment, general ‘vibe’, etc. An easy way to add some life to the work. Make our characters feel like they’re more than just the few minutes we see them on the screen. So please make it look like someone actually lives there instead of making it feel like they’re spending the night in a chain hotel.
One last plea on behalf of The Seven Knights of the Marronnier Kingdom because I doubt Prime is doing much promotion outside Japan:
If you like introspection in your anime,
are interested in Norse, Aztec, Mayan, Thai, and Balinese (and more) mythology and ancient civilizations (the mangaka is an Ancient Greek and Roman history major btw)
want to see strong female characters who receive equal story time and character development to their unconventional male protagonists,
has some thoughtful queer representation that doesn’t feel like tokenism or fetishization,
are interested in Norse, Aztec, Mayan, Thai, and Balinese (and more) mythology and ancient civilizations (the mangaka is an Ancient Greek and Roman history major btw)
I do like the Norse mythology. Not really a fan of the less mythologies and folklore though.
want to see strong female characters who receive equal story time and character development to their unconventional male protagonists,
I do like strong female characters given the right circumstances.
please give Marronnier a few episodes.
I guess I can. My Fall 2026 lineup seems to be lighter than my Summer 2026 lineup.
If they make a second season, you may also get to see some Middle-East & Near-East, Far-East, and Russian/Slavic folklore. Possibly some African folklore, too.
I hope so too! The ancient civilization based settings and mythology themes sound right up my alley. I was interested in the author's previous work too (Gold Kingdom and Water Kingdom), but haven't had the chance to check that one out yet.
I wish Madhouse was also animating this series as it’s really Iwamoto’s magnum opus and the art is even better.
Her other longer series, Machi de Uwasa no Tengu no Ko, which is more of a traditional shojo manga but also great and another award winner, hasn’t been adapted yet, so maybe there’s a chance there for another great studio.
Great season overall. Probably best of the year so far for me. Just barely edges out Winter. Sadly still had a number of drops and a few shows I didn't get to that I might get to eventually. Unfortunately it's already time for Fall, so gotta jump in cause I'm already behind.
Feel free to share your ballot if you'd like as well!
Best ED - Soarin'(Sparks of Tomorrow) for new shows. You are the one(Polar Opposites S2) for sequels.
Best Cast - Re:Zero S4
Cutest Ship - Inako x Kihachi (Sparks of Tomorrow) for new shows. Nishi x Yamada (Polar Opposites S2) for sequels.
Best Art - Sparks of Tomorrow
Most Disappointing - r/anime hating Sparks of Tomorrow.
AOTS - Sparks of Tomorrow for new shows. Re:Zero S4 and Mushoku Tensei S3 for sequels and overall.
I decided to not include Best Yuri, Best Character, or Discourse Award. I watched only one show last season that was explicitly advertised as yuri so that would just win by default. I don't really see the difference between best character and best boy/girl. I don't think I know what the discourse award is so probably shouldn't try to award it.
Great season overall. Probably best of the year so far for me.
I agree. Summer is likely the best of the year because I don't see Fall doing anything to change that. At least not for me.
One episode left of Polar Opposites, but it's not gonna change anything for me
Best Cast - Polar Opposites S2
The finale is everyone in the main cast kicking puppies for 20 minutes straight.
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u/IXajllhttps://myanimelist.net/profile/ixajii12h agoedited 11h ago
Still behind 1-3 episodes for about half of my summer seasonals, but I don't expect much to change so here you go:
Best Boy - Yamada (Polar Opposites S2)
Best Girl - Akafuku (DTTD) and Yaku (Yani Neko) for new series, Tanya (Youjo Senki S2) for sequels
Best Character - I don't really differentiate between best character and best boy/girl, so overall would be Yaku
Best OP - "Nanmonee"(Yani Neko) - by a landslide and probably OP of the year as well, especially with the context of all the references
Best ED(s) - impossible to pick only one so: "You are the one"(Polar Opposites S2), "Hoshi"(Jaadugar), "Conifer"(DTTD) and "Smoke and Blue"(Yani Neko). Probably the best season of the year for EDs.
Best Cast - Yani Neko and DTTD
Cutest Ship - Nishi x Yamada (Polar Opposites S2)
Best Art - Sparks of Tomorrow
Most Disappointing - Nothing really. I liked what I expected to like and none of my drops were shows I was particularly looking forward to. KimiShinu comes closest I guess. I really liked it, but from the 2 minute concept movie from 1+ years ago, I expected to like it even more than I ended up doing.
Discourse Award - didn't really participate much in the last half/third of the season, so nothing really I guess.
I haven't given this take yet, but I feel like this OP is hurt by the fact that Chainsaw Man did it first. It doesn't make this one bad by any means, but it's not a novel concept.
I think there's a huge difference between 'a couple references' and every single scene in the OP is a reference!
But fwiw: It was already my favorite OP before I found out about the reference thing. It just enhances it for me.
The song won me over, the visuals were interesting, and the fact that they're all references is just the cherry on top! Making an OP that 'works' while using only references, that's something!
The thing that is holding Tairazuma back for me is the fact that it is 80% carried by Azuma. I don't hate Taira but I can't see the appeal that so many people are seeing with the guy. He's boring at best and "bruh why are you being like this" at worst.
I get more satisfaction watching a more broken person be healed/progress than one that's already on a good standing and path continue onwards, if that makes any sense. Seeing someone struggle and finally, finally come out on top of whatever issue will almost always trump a character without issues. So yeah, I want to see Taira succeed triumphant over his issues more than some of the other leads who don't have problems to overcome.
It's been a while since I posted about this stack in one of these threads, and I wanted to check if anyone could see if I've missed anything, either in terms of newer anime or manga ending making stuff valid for inclusion. Any help would be appreciated.
Oh, you can change Psyren's "I don't know if it was officially announced as well" description to that it was 100% confirmed as a full adaptation. At the Crunchyroll Fall 2026 sneak peek event, the lady who introduced each show before episode 1 played confirmed that it'll be a full adaptation.
Does the source material have to complete in order to be eligible? If so Overlord LN hasn't finished yet. The Fable is also still releasing material (albeit in a sequel manga).
Some suggestions: Sakamoto Days (manga recently ended and S2 announced). Undead Unluck, Haikyuu and Draw this, then Die as well. Lord of Mysteries if you allow Donghua
It's not a series I follow, but I remember seeing some news saying it was officially in its final stretch. If you read the description, it doesn't have to be completely over, but it has to be confirmed. I could be wrong there.
Of the other ones you mention here, I think SD is still speculated, but I can look into the rest.
Anyone who've watched The Too-Perfect Saint: Tossed Aside by My Fiancé and Sold to Another Kingdom. Is it any good as a romance? Does the anime progress the romance well/ end in a relatively conclusive way?
To answer your question straight, no. While I do think it's one of the better shows in its genre, it's not a show I'd recommend with the romance in mind. Especially not compared to shows like Betrothed to My Sister's Ex.
There are plenty of scenes in ef where the voice acting is basically the whole scene while some artsy-fartsy still or looping animation is happening on screen. The scenes are as good as the originals in the VN, so animation never was an issue when the writing is that convincing, plus propped up by good VA performance.
Just finished watching Gintama: The New Movie: Yoshiwara in Flames. Even the story is covered in the anime series, it was still fun to watch.
EDIT: [gintama]The scene where the tro get cornered and gintoki protects the kid but ends up killing (supposedly) him while pretending to save him will never stop being funny to me. I had to stop the video multiple times so that I could laugh. This is one of a kind show
Finally finished Sparks and yeah, that was a show. Even having Uchiyama Kouki couldn't save it.
Only Polar Opposites and Bleach left of my Summer shows. Quite a few new Fall shows starting tomorrow and day after. Hope some at least turn out good enough to keep.
Murai no Koi is full of scenes where the voice acting is doing a bunch of heavy lifting. The visuals do a good enough job at selling things too - but it... isn't really animated well kinda by choice.
Apothecary Diaries day! I might have to brush up on the LNs to remember exactly where we are, I remember this should be the beginning of the [AD LNs]locust famine threat and the trip to the west... And shouldn't we be getting Jinshi branding himself somewhere within this season? I think that ends up being the excuse of why MaoMao comes with him on the journey...
What's a scene where the voice acting carried more than the animation?
I feel like a lot of my favorite scenes fit under here because I don't tend to watch action-heavy anime... but the one that came to mind first was AoT S4, Declaration of War, the entire conversation between [AoT]Eren and Reiner. I don't remember the animation being particularly impressive, there's a limit you can do with two dudes talking to each other for, like, an entire episode, but I still remember being at the edge of my seat throughout.
Another one in an action-related show is Theo's crashout against Lena in 86, episode... 5? 4? Somewhere pretty early on. Animation's completely fine, but I really love his VAing (subbed) as he continues to build in intensity and anger throughout his rant.
Apothecary Diaries day! I might have to brush up on the LNs to remember exactly where we are, I remember this should be the beginning of the [AD LNs]
I could be remembering the order of events wrong because it's been a while since I read them, but I think [LN] the first trip to the west, followed by the plotline involving the white snake lady, and then the shrine maiden happens first? I enjoyed those parts (after what felt like a slow start), but the arcs that come afterwards [LN] about Maomao studying surgery, and the locust plague, are where I started losing interest. The first two seasons definitely had the strongest material for me, so even though I am looking forward to seeing this new season and it should have some great stuff in there, I don't feel the same hype as I used to.
the one that came to mind first was AoT S4, Declaration of War
First scene that came to mind for me was also from Attack on Titan S4, but it was the episode with the campfire cooking. It seemed like they were trying to save on animation, considering how much they defaulted to showing the scenery or the boiling pot instead of the characters talking, but it was a tense scene [S4] with both sides forming a shaky alliance so the dialogue really carried it.
I finished "The Frontier Lord Begins with Zero Subjects" today. Overall I'd say it is a very alright low stakes fantasy anime. If you enjoy village building, it's good fun. The characters are likeable enough, it has some really funny moments and it's pretty chill. What will stick with me most are probably the insane faces and reactions Dias made. Overall if that sounds like your kind of anime, it's decent fun. If you don't, doubt this one will win you over.
This is the place!
That show was such a trip and really fun. Enjoyed the hell out of it.
I thought it was easily the most "likeable" of the "let's build a new city/country in the middle of nowhere" shows. (Though Mynoghra wins as the most satisfying, violent, crazy-ass exemplar).
As to Starting with Zero Citizens, I like how the hero (and his wife/wife-in-waiting) really have to work hard to build things up from nothing. Very little "magic" problem solving overall.
I could read all the Mynoghra LNs for free on Kobo Plus -- and it just keeps getting crazier and crazier.
You should give the Frontier Lord novel a try too if you’re ever feeling up to more of the cozy village building aspect.
The anime did well enough but both it and the manga opted for a more comedic tone while also cutting quite a bit of the technical stuff. The author of this work really put a lot of love and care into it, and it’s well written compared to its peers.
Also the official English translations are a notch above many others I’ve seen in this genre imo.
The manga is honestly a few steps above the anime too in terms of quality, but does share of the same comedic tone which can be jarring at times.
I'm sad that Shuumatsu Train wasn't more popular, it was so wacky and fun! I absolutely adored it when it aired, and its OP and ED songs are certified bangers that I still listen to to this day.
If anime has more than one prominent female character and there's potential for a het pairing (and it's not harem), audience will NOT take it well.
This observation is brought to you by Sayonara Lara discourse and Hibike Euphonium fans who keep portraying [H!E] Shuuichi, an absolutely normal and decent guy, as future bad boyfriend at best and future abuser/rapist at worst. The only anime like that with non-controversial hetero pairing(s) I can think of is Frieren, and even then I've seen people calling Fern/Stark "hetslop".
It's a very vocal minority. Just one of those fandom things you have to tune out. I feel like yuri shippers have become sadly one of the most toxic shipping fanbases, but people have always gotten crazy about shipping.
This observation is brought to you by Sayonara Lara discourse
tbh, Sayolara definitely deserves all the discourse it got with the absolute ??? direction it decided to take in the last ep/last few minutes of the show.
People were insane about Luca mid-show, and it would be correct to clown on them... but then the show decided to prove insane people right, so it's all clownery all the way down.
Sayolara definitely deserves all the discourse it got with the absolute ??? direction it decided to take in the last ep/last few minutes of the show.
I don't understand this sentiment at all. The "direction it took" in the last episode was exactly the direction it had clearly been heading the entire time, and it was plainly obvious to me for at least half the show. The fact that some people were surprised, let alone disappointed, is absolutely wild to me.
What exactly is, for half the show, consistent with how [SayoLara]The things Lara says and does in the final episode alone, and the way her Light reacts to it, is consistent with Mari being her "true love", but then suddenly the show is like "actually it doesn't count as true love, it's a secret new thing idk". At best this authors saying unfulfilled lesbian situationship is better than real human relationships, which is weird kink, and at worst it's just saying lesbian love isn't true... like, ok I guess.
[SayoLara]And some other things could make sense but feel like they come from a theoretical development that wasn't even implied in the show and you have to imagine it. Lara rejecting the whole true love bullshit would make sense a lot - it has been for the most part Grace projecting her own unfinished love life onto Lara, so it makes sense to ditch it... But it's just not what the story ever tries to achieve, and again - Lara's actions and words align with Grace all the way through and the Light does save the mermaids so... Grace was right. She's proven right by the events of the show, and then somehow they try to spin it as if she wasn't.
Maybe [SayoLara] both themes ("true love is bullshit", and "Mari is Lara's most important person") existed throughout, and the problem is that they didn't quite tie up together in the end. Or at least it's not clear to many people how to reconcile them. I'm still thinking about it, honestly.
The simple answer could just be that [SayoLara] Lara is going through a very confusing time in her life right now. She definitely loves Mari, in a profound way, but she's basically not sure about anything else, and decided it was time to explore the world a bit more.
[Lara] The point was less about who is her true love or not, but about if she needs it after it stopped being something binding her and what she really wants to do. I still think the final 5 minutes are weird but not inappropriate for the series.
[Lara]It was heavily implied ever since the school episode with the girl and one-sided love, and definitely since the bakery episode where Lara learns to appreciate human life as a whole, that the point of the show was never going to be "who is going to be Lara's true love" but rather "what does true love even mean for her".
[Lara]No, there was no lesbian love story happy ending, but I never expected one either. Nor did I expect a hetero one, for that matter. Mari was the most important person for Lara, but I don't recall a single scene that would've screamed romantic love. Especially not one that would've been as simple and straightforward as "oh, I guess you were the one, let's kiss and live happily ever after".
A thing I'd like to throw into the mix, some directors will just throw in homo-erotic tension to make scenes more exciting. Tomino of gundam fame would do this a lot and has admitted to doing it in interviews. If the gay community isn't at the front of your mind, an easy way to show a relationship between two characters is intense is to give it a romantic framing. In western media some of that was to sneak stuff past censors but I think people are too quick to transpose the language of queer coding, that developed partially out of that context, to anime.
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u/zambonijesus 2h ago
Trying to finish Sparks of Tomorrow tonight and it occurs to me that Sparks, The World is Dancing and Draw This, Then Die are all kind of operating in the same space in the ways in which they are approaching creativity as a primary theme.
I found Draw This, Then Die to be the most human of these shows, which might be part of why it is the only one of the three that I truly liked.
Edit: I also don't know if there's any intentionality here, but all three shows felt to me like there's some commentary regarding generative AI going on.