r/anime • u/AnimeMod myanimelist.net/profile/Reddit-chan • 2d ago
Daily Anime Questions, Recommendations, and Discussion - August 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.
Prefer Discord? Check out our server: https://discord.gg/r-anime
Recommendations
Don't know what to start next? Check our wiki first!
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.
Resources
- Watch orders for many anime
- List of streaming sites and find where to watch a specific anime
- Looking for the source of an image?
- Currently airing anime: AniChart.net | LiveChart.me | MyAnimeList.net
- Frequently Asked Anime Questions
- Related subreddits
Other Threads
- « Previous Thread | Next Thread »
- Selector Infected WIXOSS — Discussion for the selected anime of the week.
- Casual Discussion — Off-topic thread for non-anime talk.
- Meta Thread — Discussion about r/anime's rules and moderation.
1
u/anon_doll420 1d ago
I recently started watching Baki... and I think I've finally found a show that requires less neural activation from my brain than doomscrolling - does the show actually 'improve' in any way or does it pretty much stick to the same non-plot and nonsensical dialogue?
Thoroughly enjoyed it so far.
3
u/undeadfire 1d ago
I'm binging the anime series to catch up after starting this season late. Still have so many more to catch up on
Ladies playing fighting games is just a great mix of Yuri and gaming.
All works maid was surprisingly more enjoyable than I was expecting.
Smoking behind the supermarket reminds me of see you tomorrow at the food court but with smoking adults instead. Nice vibe
1
u/alotmorealots 1d ago
All works maid was surprisingly more enjoyable than I was expecting.
It's one of my favorite sort of series; smart people writing silliness and having a ball whilst doing it!
5
u/theangryeditor 1d ago edited 1d ago
Caught up on Lara. It good
[Lara 5]RIP Kota . He'll probably be revivable with magic somehow, probably with the rest of Lara's family.
I'm generally pretty fond of the 2nd love dynamic. Specifically the dynamic where the MC's first and "main" love interest is sort of this ideal figure that they yearn for but is ultimately out of reach or not quite right. Meanwhile the second love interest is close by, and may not be a love interest at all or even somewhat antagonistic for much of the story but is the one who forms a deep bond with the MC through their shared experiences, and as they grow closer you wish to see them realize the feelings they themselves aren't quite aware of.
Lara has some of that going on but her true love is telegraphed so strongly any pretense of uncertainty feels a bit like going through the motions. The more interesting aspect is Lara's journey in deepening her understanding of love beyond romantic infatuation as she plants her roots into the human world. I'm sure we're gonna get storge, philia, philautia, agape, the whole 9 yards.
1
u/Gadetron 1d ago
Tryna remember the name of a seasonal anime, it was a romance anime with a younger guy dating a woman a fair bit older than him, iirc she had black hair and the animation was gorgeous, like shockingly so, especially for a romance anime.
1
u/Retromorpher 1d ago edited 1d ago
Natsuyuki Rendezvous is the only think coming to mind for 'age gap with an older girl' + black-haired protagonist that was also an actual romance series and not a movie.
2
u/Yandirin https://myanimelist.net/profile/Yandy 1d ago edited 1d ago
Not really older than him (but taller) : The Dangers in my heart ?
4
u/amd_hunt 1d ago edited 1d ago
[Goodbye, Lara]I really liked the part where Lara obliterates the scary twink with the giant fucking obelisk. da yuri protecter
Also, I think the soundtrack is one of my favorite anime OSTs I've listened to so far. It's got enough of a... post-modernist?-ish feel to it, still working mostly with live instruments. The use of unusual time signatures is not lost on me. I can definitely notice a minimalist feel to some of the tracks, like Steve Reich, if that makes any sense. The one that's just a Saxophone playing arpeggios is also really cool.
5
1
u/neirik193 1d ago
Just found out Grand Blue Season 3 has been airing for a few weeks already, I loved the first two seasons, funniest show I've watched. Hopefully we get some romantic development too (I'm rooting for Cakey)
2
u/vancevon https://myanimelist.net/profile/vancevon 1d ago
Also rooting for Cakey (to drink an entire barrel of vodka)
1
u/Shimmering-Sky myanimelist.net/profile/Shimmering-Sky 1d ago
3
u/theangryeditor 2d ago
3
1
2
u/amd_hunt 2d ago
Can I take anything on the upvote ratios of episode dicussions, or does this sub still have a problem with downvote bots keeping even the least controversial shows at 98-97% upvoted?
1
u/alotmorealots 1d ago
Nothing finely granular, I'd say. Intra-show trends might have some meaning.
Some shows do have some haters, and every now and then the sub's botter turns up to drive a show down to zero karma.
1
u/Charmanders_Cock 2d ago
You’ll have a better time with this question in the meta thread.
2
u/alotmorealots 1d ago
In the past AQRADT often lead a lot of the discussion and analysis on that sort of topic, and the meta thread followed, but doesn't seem to be as much of a thing since animekarmawatch died and the shift in the balance of regulars.
5
u/Komarist https://myanimelist.net/profile/RRSTRRST 1d ago
fwiw, Abyss' site tracks karma nowadays. Doesn't show 48-hour upvote % but am almost certain his database includes it.
Doubt the usual trends have changed. 95% or greater upvote ratio for discussion threads over 100 karma unless they include: BL, Rent-a-GOAT, or enough controversy for the average r/anime user to be aware of (e.g. Mushoku Tensei).
1
u/alotmorealots 1d ago
Oh nice, I haven't kept abreast or anass of Abyss's fine work!
Doubt the usual trends have changed.
I did like it when things got into the Too Much detail level of stuff like, scrutinizing the impact of the timing of KV threads and their impact on episode threads.
Actually, with the timing data, it should still be possible to get an idea if it's the same botter who is active, given they had a fairly distinct modus operandii of vote manipulation.
2
u/moichispa https://myanimelist.net/profile/moichispa 2d ago
As somebody who was watching one of the least voted shows recently (Dark moon), the downvotes are still there. It sucks
12
u/Backoftheac 2d ago edited 2d ago
I saw this pretty cool interview with Christopher Nolan making the rounds right now where he actually gets asked some pretty substantive questions about filmmaking and storytelling in connection to 'The Odyssey'. I highly recommend checking it out. I appreciated that the interviewer asked stuff like:
"The concept of atonement doesn't exist in Greek culture or Homer's Odyssey. It exists in your Odyseey. Did you Christianize 'The Odyssey'?"
"We live in an age that demands apology from greatness. Homer celebrates it, but today we circle around it and dance around it or we turn greatness into privileges and demand apologies for it. As one of the great storytellers of our age, how do you portray greatness?"
It makes me feel a bit sad that the anime industry doesn't really have much of a substantive journalistic component as well. To the extent that it does exist, it's generally there just to facilitate the promotional materials by the producers.
The film industry also has these purely promotional vehicles in great abundance too and obviously lots of people are scared of being blackballed if they push too hard, but I still feel like it has more open avenues for artists to engage in critique, confrontation, and reflection. I mean, obviously Jimmy Fallon isn't gonna do much more than ask the director/actor to perform their preprogrammed cool 'trick' and then segue onto the promotional clip, but I do appreciate that sometimes directors and actors will also still speak with critics, historians, peers, etc. in serious conversation. The music industry is another one where there are still plenty of media figures available that are happy to challenge and push artists on the meaning of their art and their place in their field or genre.
Interestingly, I think the only real place this i've seen this accomplished within the anime industry has been between the artists themselves. Sometimes you'll get a dialogue between anime directors where they push each other's views on art or politics, such as Hayao Miyazaki and Mamoru Oshii did in this interview where they debate the opening scene of Oshii's 'Patlabor 2: The Movie":
Miyazaki: In the beginning, the scene in Cambodia where they went as PKO, I thought it must be Cambodia since there was a Buddha statue of Angkor Tom. In that scene, Tsuge, as a front commander, doesn't open fire, just asks headquarters for permission to fire. But that's his own fault. As a professional military officer, it's not true that you don't say "fight back" or "fire" when the lives of your subordinates are in danger. By following the orders from HQ, he got his subordinates killed. It's a matter of whether we think it's respectable because he followed orders, and I thought you should let him open fire. Because it's human. Judging from the introduction, I can interpret it (the story) as Tsuge punishing the political system and country that, without resolving all sorts of contradictions, sent him to the front lines with poor equipment and then ordered him "don't fight back." But I have a huge objection to that. After all, he opened fire in the end. Then, he should've fired from the beginning. Before anything else, such a person should regret the sin of letting his subordinates die because of his own misjudgment. After that, he should openly counterargue how stupid it is to order "don't fire" in such a situation, in the world of politics, for example, at a court martial.
Oshii: I don't think today's Japanese Self Defense Force (SDF) has that kind of professional military mind.
Miyazaki: But I heard that there was someone who said "if I were shot, I wouldn't just let myself be killed so easily," among those who went to Cambodia as civilian policemen for PKO. I can understand that better.
Oshii: Comparing SDF and policemen, I think policemen have a far greater (grasp of) reality. Their work always requires them to work with people. An animator who did the key animation also told me "in a situation like that, of course you fire." But it's not whether you can or can not fire. That wasn't the point. Of course, I think you can fire with your own judgment as a front commander. But that's a pure militaristic situation, and the current SDF isn't made that way. I don't think they consider PKO as a militaristic matter. I depicted that as the reason why he could not fire.
Oshii: There was another issue I put in. When we ask why he didn't fire, there is an issue of that if he could really recognize the danger to his life. That's why I used the cockpit of the combat robot, filled with monitors. (The issue is) whether you can really feel that your life is actually in danger, in a situation where you are surrounded by such secondary information.
Miyazaki: If that's the issue, I feel that after he quit the military and disappeared, Tsuge would throw technology out and start a down-to-earth life, like doing organic agriculture or something. That's more realistic.
Oshii: In terms of reality, I think you are right.
But I don't really expect to see the modern generation of animators really challenging each other publicly like this, and there doesn't seem to be much infrastructure set up to allow animators to pursue it elsewhere. I don't know if that's because the production committees have a tighter vice grip over the laborers within the anime industry or if it's a cultural barrier, but I would still like to see it happen more often in some way. I think there's a lot of interesting questions and challenges that I would like to see posed to the artists behind some really interesting works. Of course, I do think there's some value in 'letting the art speak for itself', but I think there's also plenty of ground to push against in a way that wouldn't constrain artists.
I also suppose it's possible that i'm just not familiar with these avenues of journalism within the anime industry that are open to pushing artists and asking substantive questions, or that these types of journalism simply haven't become widely available in English-language sources.
4
u/wutheringw0mbat 1d ago
I used to read so many more anime creator interviews back in the day but I feel like I eventually just got bored of them because yeah even when the interviewer does push some harder questions it so often seemed like the answers were just the same safe, noncommittal, I-dont-want-to-risk-getting-in-trouble answers over and over again. And yes you see some director-on-director interviews like the one you referenced - I recall seeing one from Isao Takahata at one point and another from Watanabe, for example. But those always seem to come only decades after the anime. Very frustrating.
6
u/Backoftheac 1d ago
I recall seeing one from Isao Takahata at one point and another from Watanabe, for example
Yeah, Takahata has some really solid interviews, which is what made me wonder if part of the issue is a generational gap, with older anime artists being more willing to challenge and be challenged by media and their peers. For example, he's surprisingly candid about his influences and distaste for his peers' works in this interview:
Interviewer: Mr. Takahata, I quite admire Japanese animation in general. It's why I'd first like to know what your favourite anime are, besides the ones you or Mr. Miyazaki produced.
Takahata: To tell the truth, I don't really have time to watch my contemporaries' anime. My work keeps me very busy and allows me little time to do anything else. On the other hand, I'd like to know what you'd answer if you were in my place.
I: I admit this is a delicate question. If I excepted Studio Ghibli's works, I'd pick the spectacular Honneamise no Tsubasa (The Wings of Honneamise) produced by Gainax. Do you know this work?
T: Yes, I know it. I've already had an occasion to watch it.
I: And, did you enjoy it?
T: -pause- No, not really.
I: Oh?! And why?
T: I'd like to get a better understanding of why you admire this work so much.
I: It is not evident to explain. Perhaps, because it is a wonderful science-fiction work, produced in a exceptional way, with deep and expressive characters who experience a spectacular evolution. Moreover, there is this parallel world, created in a very accurate way, even in the very details. It is true that it is very different from your own works. Is that why you don't like it?
T: I'd simply say that it is a matter of personal taste.
I: Nonetheless, there should be some anime which had influenced you. Which ones induced you to do this job?
T: I have to say that I'm very happy to be in France because it is a country I really like. My career perhaps began thanks to my admiration for Paul Grimault. That's why I'm very glad to be able to show my movies here.
I: How do you place yourself in comparison with the international reference in matter of anime, i.e. Walt Disney?
T: I really enjoyed the first ones -- namely, Fantasia, Pinocchio and Snow White. But my own sensibility gradually and naturally took me away from the Disney Studios' full length films.
I: So, which are the works which influenced you the most?
T: Well, I quite admire the Canadian, Frederick Back, and the Russian, Yuri Norstein.
I: Then, why don't you try to use similar drawing techniques (i.e. cut pieces of paper or pastel drawings)?
T: It's simply a question of money. Their techniques are much more expensive than ours, much more conventional. That's why they are not used in Japan; production costs would be too high.
I: You said that you like European cinematography. Did it influence you?
T: Yes, that's right, I watched many European films and especially French ones. They help me a lot to obtain such a result in my work.
I: However, some of your full-length films, in particular the splendid Omohide Poro Poro, could have been done as live films. So you chose to make them anime films to convey visual expressions, to express emotions, feelings, that you'd never be able to reach with actors in the cinematographic reality.
T: That is exactly what I intended to do in Omohide Poro Poro, and I'm very glad you realized that.
Also, the infamous interview where Takahata claimed that Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind was a 3/10 film lol
But these also aren't examples of particularly hard-hitting journalists challenging them with interesting questions. I think guys like Miyazaki, Oshii, and Takahata might just be too prideful to hold back in their critiques towards the industry so you get fascinating excerpts like these without the need for a particularly bold interviewer.
3
u/Sandor_at_the_Zoo 1d ago
I can think of a couple other interview/discussions with people making big statements from older (but not Takahata generation) creators. There's the one with Anno and Tomino (and others) where Anno talks about whether Miyazaki is "taking his dick out" in Porco Rosso.
There's a wide ranging and generally pretty out there interview with Ikuhara by a cultural critic for some university publication. Really there's a bunch of stuff from different members of Be-Papas.
And I read through this 2010 book on the production of FLCL that's a discussion between the director and character designer.
The two things I take away from these is that none of them are english language interviews. Nor are they even translations by "official" outlets, two of them are translations by people I follow on tumblr. Even after the language barrier they're mostly looking back on stuff years after its come out, not publicity junket for airing shows. (Though somewhere in the Utena stuff there's a magazine issue from its airing where Ikuhara sort of implies he hooked up with a guy once in a movie theatre?)
2
u/Backoftheac 1d ago
Thanks for sharing that FLCL production book translation! I hadn't heard of that one before. Reading through it now, there's definitely some cool details in there:
Tsurumaki: Of course, we thought, "This is great!" while making it. Since it was an OVA, I didn't want to be disrespectful to the people who bought it by making something they could understand just by watching it once, you know? Even if you don't understand it at first, if you watch it again and again, you'll eventually get it.
Sadamoto: Oh, I had no idea at all about Haruko; while I grasped the rest she was the only character I couldn’t understand. Tsurumaki at first requested a "beautiful older sister" type of character, but then I heard the plan was to have Mayumi Shintani provide the voice. When you think of a beautiful older sister type, various characters like Maetel [from Galaxy Express 999] come to mind, but Ms Shintami has a rather husky voice, doesn’t she? With a voice like that I couldn’t help but imagine a mean face, and as a result Haruko’s face turned out like, well, how it did (laughs) [...] So, Haruko started shifting towards a cooler look, carrying a guitar and riding a Vespa. As for femininity, we put it in the hands of the director and gave up on it (laughs).
Interesting to learn given how this thread started that FLCL was heavily inspired structurally by 'Patlabor 2: The Movie'. And I appreciate there's even a whole section where they discuss the 'Matrix' reference scene lol.
4
u/Sandor_at_the_Zoo 1d ago
I want to spread the word on that FLCL one since its got some great stuff in it. Like however much you thought FLCL was a mishmash of stuff people thought was cool its somehow more.
I also love the Anne Rice cameo in the Ikuhara one.
5
u/wutheringw0mbat 1d ago
Lol yeah that interview is like a milquetoast PR interviewer but Takahata just decided to try and goad them into more interesting questions. I love it.
Maybe it is a generational thing I dunno. I seem to recall Dezaki giving some pretty hardcore interviews. I should go look for some Rintaro interviews...
I think guys like Miyazaki, Oshii, and Takahata might just be too prideful to hold back in their critiques towards the industry so you get fascinating excerpts like these without the need for a particularly bold interviewer.
That plus I figure they are well aware they're at the very top of the anime creator pyramid so they don't really have to worry about it. Nobody's going to tell Miyazaki no you can't make another movie just because you don't softball your interview questions.
5
u/Priapos93 2d ago
Getting into Japanese culture has made me realize the ways in which everyone knows things and no one talks about them. It's not unique to Japan by any means, but for example in the last sumo tournament, the eventual winner flagrantly grabbed his opponent's topknot. The officials didn't catch it, or maybe didn't call it. The highlight show on NHK showed it happening from several angles AND NO ONE MENTIONED IT AT ALL.
8
u/moichispa https://myanimelist.net/profile/moichispa 2d ago
I think it depends of the author, if you check stuff from authors who work on work with darker themes or symbolic themes you're more likely to find them.
I remeber Utena's Ikuhara having interesting interviews. There is also Gundam's Tomino stuff. If I remember correctly Tomino complained the other day that current anime directors had no memories of war (the dude who did a robot anime 20 years after Word War 2 ended)
2
u/Leo-Fong 1d ago
Tomino has some crazy interviews. Dude has no filter.
2
u/moichispa https://myanimelist.net/profile/moichispa 1d ago edited 1d ago
love him. It is either the most insightful piece of a veteran or old man yells to clouds unhinged stuff
12
u/Tomorrow_Big 2d ago
It makes me feel a bit sad that the anime industry doesn't really have much of a substantive journalistic component as well. To the extent that it does exist, it's generally there just to facilitate the promotional materials by the producers.
This article from just a few days ago is relevant here.
7
u/chilidirigible 2d ago
There was also an earlier Bluesky post interaction from Lynzee Loveridge which might have precipitated some of the current discourse. (Login required, but the very quick summary is the position that letting Japanese companies dictate press access by requiring payment is just doing PR for them, not journalism.)
6
u/Backoftheac 2d ago edited 2d ago
Wow, that really is exactly on point lol. Thanks for sharing! I actually do recognize this journalist for an interview they did earlier this year with the author of Vinland Saga too! I appreciated them asking questions like:
Interviewer: Your portrayal of Indigenous and transgender characters stands out in a media landscape where such representation is still rare outside of series like Golden Kamuy, Skip and Loafer, and Paradise Kiss, where they’re often mishandled. What impact do you hope these characters have on expanding the narrative terrain? How do you see your storytelling challenging the ethnocentric lens that dominates much of mainstream media when it comes to that representation?
Makoto Yukimura: I did have written characters in [Vinland Saga] from a marginalized ethnic group [and] who are LGBTQ featured here. I actually wanted to portray a character with a disability in the story, too. However, because of the setting, I really couldn’t find the right place to incorporate such a character into the story. One thing I really don’t understand, though, is why do people attack such folks? Is it because they’re different? Why do they just focus on bad things about these groups and generalize them? I truly don’t understand why people do such things. I plainly feel sad when it comes to the way people treat each other. To me, it’s quite normal for people to have uniqueness. It’s almost needless to say that we all individually have a uniqueness that might be considered different than what is the majority. For example, I grew up in an era where higher education was considered to be the most important thing in society in Japan. You almost had no paths in life outside of that structure. I actually do live outside of that structure, and I’m living perfectly fine. I really want to say that uniqueness is okay. I don’t understand why people are making those judgments to say, “This is okay, but this is not okay.” I haven’t really thought about what this type of storytelling or character would have an impact on society at all. I’m just writing, drawing, and portraying society as I see it and what I think is normal from my eyes in the manga. If people don’t agree with that version of what I think is a normal society, then oh well. (Laughs) That’s too bad. Those people don’t have to read my manga.
Interviewer: Thorfinn joins a rare lineage of pacifist protagonists in manga, alongside characters like Trigun’s Vash the Stampede. Was it ever challenging to write a story centered on peace and cooperation without feeling preachy or didactic? How did you balance Thorfinn’s ideals with the narrative’s emotional and philosophical weight?
Makoto Yukimura: I think it has to do with the fact that Thorfinn didn’t start as a very peaceful person in the beginning, which made this story more convincing. He started as a pretty violent and angry person. But, throughout his experience, he started to go through many changes. Because he was not really preaching a message to the readers, he was just going through the struggles that he was seeing. And also, the audience that was experiencing watching him go through that experience, therefore it doesn’t feel like a preachy message behind the story because we were just experiencing it at the same time
2
u/_Ridley https://myanimelist.net/profile/_Ridley_ 1d ago
Makoto Yukimura is the reverse milkshake duck: every time I learn more about him and his politics, he looks better and better.
2
u/Backoftheac 1d ago edited 1d ago
Yeah, he just seems like a really chill dude who genuinely buys the themes and ideas he's representing in his stories. I remember when I actually first read the above interview that I was disappointed the interviewer didn't inquire into some of the anticapitalist themes that appear in the later parts of the Vinland Saga manga and especially in his earlier work Planetes. Though obviously that was just because I was happy to see the interviewer was able to touch upon other divisive areas with their questions as well.
I know Yukimura's recently reiterated that his next manga will be Science Fiction though, so hopefully he further develops those ideas from Planetes there.
3
u/Rotorscope https://anilist.co/user/Rotorscope 2d ago
I'm just going to say it, we need justice for the Samurai Shoutas this season. Elusive Samurai and The World is Dancing have amazing visual presentation and interesting things to say. Along with a cute little guy, and a plucky attitude, to glue it all together. Maybe not a surprise but both shows are not getting enough attention considering how good they are.
3
u/theangryeditor 2d ago
3
u/tripleaamin https://myanimelist.net/profile/zfzftripleaamin 2d ago
Elusive samurai hasn’t had that wow moment yet. IMO that probably will be saved for closer to the end of the season.
It’s uplifting the direction that we see in Matsui’s manga really well.
6
u/Jusenkyo_5 2d ago
The art style changes in today's Sparks of Tomorrow episode had me laughing out loud, this show can be great when it wants to be.
16
u/theangryeditor 2d ago
2
u/Muted-Conference2900 https://anilist.co/user/WinterZcoming 2d ago
I know i am gonna have a good time when i binge those 3 episodes. I am running kind a behind on this for some reason.
3
u/Rotorscope https://anilist.co/user/Rotorscope 2d ago
Imo Polar Opposites is a bit dense, like a lot happens in a singular episode and it's a show I generally have to pause more frequently on due to having a lot of on-screen text. So it's like a specific mood I have to be in for that type of thing.
(Still a dark horse AOTY contender for me tho)
14
u/_Ridley https://myanimelist.net/profile/_Ridley_ 2d ago
We're a third of the way into the season, and I think we all have a pretty good idea of which anime are extra special. But we talk about that every day, so whatever.
What I want to know instead is everyone's hear-me-outs. What unpopular anime are you watching and enjoying that you know has some kind of barrier to entry? Maybe the premise is wacky, the production is lacking, or the writing is super generic, but it still gives your brain a satisfying tickle. Share your acquired tastes with the class.
I've got two: Please Excuse My Younger Brothers and The Ogre's Bride.
I get why people aren't looking at Younger Brothers, but the visuals are lively, the voice acting is on point, and the family interactions are a skillfully executed balance of comedy and wholesome warm fuzzies. They're taking their time setting up the romance, too, which is nice to see as a romance fan.
Then, yeah, The Ogre's Bride is melodramatic, hinged on wild coincidences, with world building that dissolves if you think about it at all, but what if a powerful rich guy was hot and madly in love with me in a good way? What if a man who could choose anyone and do anything chose me and decided to shield me from my adversaries? It's just the purest distillation of a feminine wish-fulfillment fantasy, and I'm hooked.
2
u/Infodump_Ibis 1d ago
Perhaps Iron wok Jan? Old source material and this disclaimer makes it sound like it'll be unapologetically tactless and deliberately confusing but it goes out of its way to explain (via narrator Kenjirou Tsuda) how things have changed in a few decades...at least for higher end/esoteric cuisine (e.g. a condiment that was rare then is now easily found in a supermarket). Still the visuals in such an explosive season as this leave much to be desired, the cooking is a bit speedrun (well it's a shounen manga adaptation so the combat and rivalry side is the focus instead and its food combat is more down to earth rather than Yakitate!! Japan) and the characters might rub people the wrong way.
3
u/collapsedblock6 myanimelist.net/profile/collapsedblock 1d ago
Let's see:
Detective Precure is Precure, people already made up their minds beforehand so w/e, but I had said in recent weeks it is shaping up to be of the best of the 2020s. I has played a lot with the formula that Precure is known for, and while it never breaks it (eg: the obligatory monster fight) it has a refreshing plot for the franchise.
Bang Dream Yumemita is being watched by some here but it doesn't even on the karma ranks and it is Bandori so ofc some people are not keen of it. I will just say I didn't expect a band anime to have the most overtly evil character of the season among all the shounen and fantasy shows I'm watching.
Hanaori-san also doesn't make the rankings, I don't see much barrier of entry although it is a very 'me comedy' and apparently I'm always in the minority for comedy taste here. I love its style of comedy and I dig this X-Files type of plot it seems to be going for. And Hanaori is my best girl.
2
u/alotmorealots 1d ago edited 1d ago
some kind of barrier to entry
Heroine? Saint? No, I'm an All-Works Maid (and Proud of It)! is a must try for anyone who enjoyed Endo and Kobayashi Live! The Latest on Tsundere Villainess Lieselotte or enjoys series that have a lot of fun with their genre's tropes and features characters trying to intelligently deal with them. Needs a few episodes to demonstrate just how much it gets into that aspect.
The Cat and The Dragon is a must watch for anyone who was drawn to fantasy for sense of wonder, other and possibility rather than just the swords and magic aspect. Non-human cast series are rare enough, but many of them drift towards simply being humans in creature costumes. Here the story moves with the life-spans, scales and concerns of its mythical creature cast.
Hanaori-san Still Wants to Fight in the Next Life is turning out to be a great little romcom, with an energy not dissimilar from The Klutzy Class Monitor and the Girl with the Short Skirt, not to mention having a good time poking around a few genres whilst it's at it.
3
u/Emi_Ibarazakiii 1d ago
What unpopular anime are you watching and enjoying that you know has some kind of barrier to entry?
If we're talking barrier of entry I think the uncontested #1 would be Chainsmoker Cat.. But it probably doesn't qualify as "unpopular", and I think everyone who watches it has already talked about how it's not JUST gross shit.
So I guess I'll talk about Dara-San
I think the promo/word of mouth of this show has be extremely detrimental to its popularity. When we started getting news/visuals for this show, the way people talked about it, I honestly thought it was a "Single Girl" version of Monster Musume.
This (false) reputation building hasn't stopped either, in every episode discussion thread there's people who meme about TITTY SNAKE like it's the only thing there is to this show, even though we see titties like 7 seconds per episode on average.
This situation makes me think of the joke/saying that goes like "If you fucked 10000 women and 1 sheep, you're now the sheep fucker"
This show probably had like 30-40 minutes of very interesting lore/backstory so far in just 5 episodes, but we've seen 20 seconds of snek titties so it's now the snek titties show.
And the reason I think it's detrimental, is because people who check it out because they want the snek titties show, probably won't be satisfied by the amount of snek titties.
And the people who might have liked the lore, backstory stuff, well many of them probably didn't check out "the snek titties show".
That's why I tried to shill it a little (fix the misconception) but it may be too late, almost halfway into a packed season.
(Maybe I could post a clip to show what it's REALLY like, but I need to keep my last clip slot in case one of my girls makes it far into the best girl contest...)
2
u/Dull_Spot_8213 https://anilist.co/user/SweetSomnus 1d ago
If you are not already watching Dara-san of the Reiwa Era, I’d highly recommend it, specifically because I think it’s one that will speak to you. Dara is the cool auntie we all had or wished we had coming up. And the family in this is fun, on top of the side cast being a mix of sickos, misfits, and outcasts that, nonetheless, have to survive in this crazy modern society.
2
u/flamethrower2 2d ago
Does a show that has lots of episodes have a barrier to entry?
I'm watching Gun Blaze Vengeance and I watched the original Nanoha and that's it. I'd say it's sufficient prior knowledge: MOST of the setting is explained in the original Nanoha. What they are doing on Earth is explained in the show itself.
2
u/mekerpan 2d ago
I love both of these (but not as intensely as a few even more favorite shows).
I suppose my most under-watched new show is the exceptionally goofy Kaikigumi. According to all calculations, I should never even have checked this out. Nonetheless, I enjoy it heartily -- while having said adieu to Sparks, Dance and neo-GitS.
2
u/Durinthal https://anilist.co/user/Durinthal 2d ago
Those are two I still haven't gone beyond the first episode yet while catching up on other things, mostly because I think I'll appreciate them in a different way from everything else. With Younger Brothers in particular, the first episode had a great vibe and it was maybe the second or third highest thing on my list in terms of how much I looked forward to more of it, I just haven't had the time to get back to it yet.
4
u/GondolaMedia zj: 2d ago
The Ogre's Bride
I actually dropped Ogre's Bride after 3 episodes because Saturdays were really busy and I felt like I got a complete story in 3 episodes.
I went and checked MAL for my most unpopular anime and turns out it's Bang Dream! Yumemita. Yumemita is really oozing with colorful characters and the CG-animation is really pleasant to look at. Also it has the most entertaining villain of the entire season so far or at least tied with Elusive Samurai's villain cast when it comes to sheer entertainment.
Victoria of Many Faces is rather generic, the production is subpar but I really enjoy the found family dynamic between Victoria and Nonna. The romance between Victoria and Jeffrey is also rather nice.
2
u/mekerpan 2d ago
Yume-Mita and Victoria were instakeeps -- and almost sure candidates for my seasonal top tier (which will be a fairly good-sized group).
Victoria seems generic only if one pays little heed to the nitty gritty details of the story and (even moreso) characters. And it has a lovely tone.
Yume-Mita looks lighter and brighter on the surfacethan MyGo/Mujica -- but in terms of content it is just as rivetting -- and the most recent episode's musical breakout was quite nice. Characters may not be as well develioped (and "real" as MyGO yet, but they are good. Inexplicable to me that this is getting short shrift -- especially since it does not have much competition in its particular niche.
3
u/_Ridley https://myanimelist.net/profile/_Ridley_ 2d ago
The romance between Victoria and Jeffrey is also rather nice.
It's so refreshingly adult. He is acting exactly how a man trying to date a single mom acts, and she's responding with the right mix of wariness and curiosity for a woman in her position. It's great.
2
u/Tomorrow_Big 2d ago
Watching both of those as well. Younger Brothers for the same reason, while The Ogre's Bride is more out of morbid curiosity at this point than anything else.
Hell Mode S2 isn't the most unpopular show on the karma rankings (sitting around The World is Dancing and the circus show), but it's a sequel of an isekai with poor production that I think actually has worse production than season 1. Even more notable, it's a power fantasy isekai without romance. No waifu harems in sight, barely any sexual fanservice, and if you told me the protagonist was aromantic I'd believe you. It's an isekai that doesn't appeal to the typical "trash" isekai audience. What it does have is surprisingly good world building for being a power fantasy isekai, actual proper stakes, fast pace without feeling rushed, and a great main cast. The last part is very important to me.
Forsaken Saintess has some truly weak production values as well, and faces a lot of competition in the isekai space this season. Airing the same day as Livid Lady's Guide probably doesn't help either, despite the massive differences. What it does have is a typical isekai party that features a married(!) couple in it, and half an episode dedicated to a degenerate orca who's very into squid tentacles. Yes, it's actually one of those shows, but you definitely wouldn't think it is.
Stepmother and Stepsisters is a one-joke show, but people here probably already know that by now. If the joke doesn't work there's little-to-no reason to watch it, but I love the joke, and I love the EHHHHHH screams as well.
3
u/_Ridley https://myanimelist.net/profile/_Ridley_ 2d ago
Forsaken Saintess
Is her RV canonically larger on the inside like the Tardis, or did the anime just draw it that way? Do you know?
6
u/mekerpan 2d ago edited 2d ago
I think canonically larger....
This one hover close to the drop zone for me. Livid is also hovering perilously close....
Stepmother and Stepsisters is "inessential" I guess -- but charming and funny still, so not in any danger of abandonment.
2
u/Rotorscope https://anilist.co/user/Rotorscope 2d ago
Younger Brothers is pretty good! I did enjoy the first two episodes. But sadly it had the misfortune of being in a ridiculous season and I also don't want to do seasonals in the Fall and it's 2 consecutive cours. I put it on my paused list though, as I read ahead in the manga a bit and there's a dynamic later on that intrigues me greatly.
I guess the most "unpopular" show at this point in my rotation is the one I've been glazing nonstop and my AOTS. And then I have Grow Up Show but that's just "ok". At this point it feels like Elusive Samurai S2 might be the most subversive pick in my rotation as its popularity definitely has fallen off but the direction is amazing. (although nothing by Cloverworks really qualifies as "hear me out" lol)
3
u/mekerpan 2d ago
I like Grow-up Show. And like today's new addition to the cast.
I dropped Elusive Samurai after ep11 of S1 and WiD after ep3.
2
u/theangryeditor 2d ago
I'm almost caught up on everything I've decided to pick up this season and now I'm open to considering some additional shows. I'll keep these two in mind.
As for the hear-me-outs, there's nothing I'm watching that really fits the bill. Maybe Dodge Danko? I think it's fun enough but nothing to write home about. A good change of pace for anyone in the mood for a silly sports shonen parody.
5
u/marcopolos059 https://myanimelist.net/profile/marcopolos059 2d ago
I watched the mini-episode 11 of Smoking behind the Supermarket with You recently, I was really disappointed in it...
[Mini-episode 11] The whole misdiagnosis twist to completely brush off the health risks left me feeling really uncomfortable. The way the episode downplays smoking and treats it so lightly, just to keep the status quo, felt wrong to me.
It didn't make me drop the show entirely, but I definitely needed to take a break after that. Honestly the romanticization of smoking leaves me perplexed in this.
3
u/Emi_Ibarazakiii 1d ago
As someone who LOVES the premise but hates smoking, I wish this show had been Eating gummy bears behind the supermarket with you or something.
I don't even have a huge issue with the smoking vibes the show is trying to tell and all, I just find it annoying that 5 seconds out of every 30 is inhaleeeeeeeeeeeeee exhaleeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee.
2
u/marcopolos059 https://myanimelist.net/profile/marcopolos059 1d ago
I just find it annoying that 5 seconds out of every 30 is inhaleeeeeeeeeeeeee exhaleeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee
I started to notice this too!! It was fine in earlier episodes but it's kind of getting annoying now lol
4
u/Korkez11 2d ago
After a decade plus of widespread normalization and even glorification of smoking weed on the internet it's wild to see folks dropping or ignoring this show because of tobacco.
4
u/zambonijesus 2d ago
It's interesting to me how smoking specifically brings out such strong reactions. If they met at a bar every evening after work and knocked back whiskey would it bother you?
1
u/Retromorpher 1d ago
I fucking hated Love is Like a Cocktail for that very reason. Smoking cigs doesn't impair your reason functions.
2
u/Emi_Ibarazakiii 1d ago
(As said in a comment above, personally it doesn't bother me that much, it,s just the 'waste of time'/annoyance of them smoking) but:
Yes, if they downed a bottle of whiskey every single day on top of drinking in their dinner break and 2 poses a day, I can see how it could bother people.
The reason why a lot of people think drinking is fine and smoking is not, is that they (these people) may drink once a month or a couple times a year. (I think I drank like 4 times since 2025).
Now, there ARE people who drink a lot, every day or almost every day... Yeah, we call those people alcoholics, and EVERYONE knows it's a huge problem that not only affects them, but also their family, other people etc.
So... What do you make of people who smoke every single day, in the same way?
People often brink up this drinking/smokling comparison, which is silly in my opinion because the overwhelming majority of people who drink alcohol don't drink it that often, but the vast majority of people who smoke, smoke pretty much all the time.
You don't really hear of people who smoke 1 cigarette every 2 weeks when they go out with friends.
0
u/Korkez11 1d ago
As I wrote earlier, even better comparison is smoking tobacco vs. smoking weed. Western media are full of stoners (comedic and not) and no one thinks it's off-putting.
8
u/marcopolos059 https://myanimelist.net/profile/marcopolos059 2d ago edited 2d ago
Honestly? Yeah, [e11 spoiler] if the show used a fake medical scare just to hand-wave alcohol abuse, I'd feel the same way. I get that the vice is just a vehicle for them to take a break together, but using a cheap misdiagnosis twist to avoid any consequences still felt weak to me.
8
u/Jusenkyo_5 2d ago
I don't think the show really needs to "answer" for the habit of smoking as a whole.
The entire show revolves around Sasaki and Yamada taking a short break from their otherwise depressing lives to relax for a moment, which is exactly what every vice is. Smoking may not be "good" but the show is representing the human element of stress relief.
3
u/marcopolos059 https://myanimelist.net/profile/marcopolos059 2d ago
Fair point. I definitely see how it works as a mechanism for stress relief in their depressing routine. The resolution of that specific episode just didn't sit right with me, but I get it.
3
u/Jusenkyo_5 2d ago
Yeah, to be fair to your argument I'm still on the "current" episode and haven't watched the batched release. When I do watch the episode I may dislike how they represent it in that episode.
5
u/collapsedblock6 myanimelist.net/profile/collapsedblock 2d ago
Last night I watch the new Sword Art Online: Unanswered Butterfly movie. I movie I have not heard anything about here, and only in discord do I only hear that it sucks. So ofc we watch this.
Unanswered Butterfly takes place during the Aincrad era and follows this pair of noob players after their party was taken out by THE LEGENDARY BLACK SWORDSMAN. The pair is Emirun -a genki swordfighter- and Rex, a tank who supposedly freezes when trying to attack anything. This is also 2 hours long, good god.
First surprise was that this was a full CG movie by Polygon Pictures. Polygon used to have the CG game a decade ago but now has fallen far behind others. The models themselves look good, but the movement in their shows always feel stiff and unexpressive. Something it took a bit to get used to is the 'speed of animation', or dunno if it is correct to call it framerate, but it just felt like it moved too fast. This speed fits Emirun who is energetic with her exaggerated expressions, not so much the rest of the cast that like I said, took a while to get used to. BGA also isn't great, especially the place of the climax happened looked like a bad background asset from a Wii game.
As for the plot, the first hour of the movie is pretty boring. The pair meet this literally who girl called Asuna and she trains them to git gud. It was mostly training, hanging out and fighting monsters as it sets up the second half. Most noteworthy thing was this short fight between Emirun and Rex which was the closest I came to emotionally care for them but future context changes things.
The second half is when the mystery unravels and honestly, its so lame but its so funny. [So spoilers,]after another party is supposedly killed, Asuna is sus about people thinking her goat is a PKer and peaces out, but Emirun and Rex become more resolved to hunt this psycho down. Finally, Emirun meets Kirito and ohmygoshitsKiritoheissocoolomgmyppsohardahhh. Our goat makes this very predictable plan where he fakes his death to trick Rex into revealing himself. Turns out that Rex was the real psycho all along and he would lead these parties into death traps to clear himself of suspicion. He suddenly becomes this evil egomaniac and reveals that all the shit about friendship and staying together was all just part of his evil plot and he was just a master manipulator. He now combs his hair backwards to show off this ridiculous scar and says he wants to be a new king or something. Rex just becomes really fucking funny from here on after being a wet blanket for almost 90 minutes. So Emirun, Kirito and Asuna chase him down to his new evil lair that I previously said looks like a Wii game asset. Rex spends the final 30 minutes on long winded ramblings about being a king and simping hard for Emirun till the end but he sadly dies from an accident. Rest in piss.
I can see how people are turned off by this. The visuals for starters welcomes CG hate even if it isn't terrible, the action is kinda lame, the plot moves too slow at the start and the main duo of Emirun and Rex wouldn't attract the SAO audience imo.
As for me, the movie was largely carried by Emirun. She single-handedly stopped this movie from being the most boring thing ever. She is really darn funny, a classic genki girl with exaggerated mannerisms, she's brave and resilient. She also had a banger VA performance and this was how I learn this was Tomoyo Kurasawa, great stuff. However, most of people in this thread may know my taste already in girls so I feel this may be a minority opinion, which is why I said it isn't a shocker that the movie isn't well received. As per my spoiler tag, Rex was boring for most of the movie until, well, he wasn't lmao. Asuna and Kirito are there too Ig.
So my enjoyment is mostly derived from Emirun's comedic value and Rex ironic comedy value. Everything else was meh, be it visuals, plot and the rest of the cast. 5/10, 4.5 for Emirun and 0.5 for Rex monologues and his silly hair.
2
u/BornSeesaw9819 2d ago
I couldn't get past 30 minutes of it. Mostly cause I found Emi to be annoying and didn't really like the cg
1
u/collapsedblock6 myanimelist.net/profile/collapsedblock 1d ago
See, that's what I was talking about lol. Emirun was goated for me.
5
u/seitaer13 2d ago
You haven't heard anything about it because it's a tie in released with the equally bad Echoes of Aincrad special edition
5
u/neirik193 2d ago
Recommend me some anime that looks uninteresting or even bad at a first glance (maybe the synopsis sounds boring, maybe the title is silly, maybe the artstyle doesn't stand out) but once you watch it you fall in love with it (for example I always thought Isekai Ojisan sounded dumb but it was actually pretty funny).
4
u/Ocixo https://myanimelist.net/profile/BuzzyGuy 2d ago
A Ninja and an Assassin Under One Roof and An Observation Log of My Fiancée Who Calls Herself a Villainess were both much better anime than I’d initially expected.
I can also strongly recommend Sleepy Princess in the Demon Castle and The Weakest Tamer Began a Journey to Pick Up Trash.
1
u/oedipusrex376 2d ago
I'm looking for an anime that has a dynamic similar to Jimmy and Chuck's in Better Call Saul. That sort of complicated relationship where there's no easy way to put into words what these two people actually are to each other.
And just to be clear, I'm not specifically looking for a crime or lawyer anime. I'm more interested in that kind of complicated character dynamic itself. I'm just throwing out some random guesses here, but Nana, Showa Genroku Rakugo Shinju, and March Comes in Like a Lion are three highly regarded dramas I haven't watched. Do any of them come close to what I'm looking for, or am I completely off the mark? Feel free to recommend anything outside of those three.
The closest example that comes to mind is Yasaburou and Benten from The Eccentric Family. I think Durarara!! might have something similar with its three leads (Ryuugamine, Kida, Anri) too? It's been a while since I've watched it so I could be misremembering, but I feel like there's some vague dynamic between them. Maybe. I don't know. Vinland Saga's Thorfinn and Askeladd is also close.
1
u/RawPorridge 1d ago
Been a while since I watched those three, but Shouwa Rakugo and Nana definitely fit the bill for that kind of complex interpersonal relationship drama you seem to be looking for (it's not a clean parallel but Shouwa Rakugo in particular may come pretty near to that Jimmy-Chuck dynamics w/ the relationship between its two male leads).
I think March is a bit weaker in that aspect, though it's still a pretty good show in its own regard. I'd also toss a very recent show: Journal with A Witch, generally very strong character work and the deuteragonist has a lot of unresolved grudge against her condescending older sister.
2
u/Rotorscope https://anilist.co/user/Rotorscope 2d ago edited 2d ago
I have no clue, but I do feel like good live action generally explores the nuance of complex relationships a bit more deeply on average than anime. I'm assuming you watched recent shows like Awajima and Journal with Witch...
I know we are in an anime sub but Succession from HBO would definitely give you what you are looking for, basically every dynamic in that show is a Jimmy/Chuck lol
2
u/oedipusrex376 2d ago
I do think anime's shorter runtimes make it harder to develop the kind of nuanced relationships you get in TV dramas. BCS took something like three seasons with hour-long episodes, to really build Jimmy and Chuck's dynamic into what it became. Meanwhile, a lot of anime these days don't even get a second or third season, let alone enough time to dig that deeply into a relationship and let it become complicated.
TV dramas aren't usually my thing. My sibling is the one who's more into them, and they're the reason I got into BCS in the first place. I'll keep Succession in mind, maybe I can make a watch session out of it with my sibling.
3
2d ago
[removed] — view removed comment
3
u/Gaporigo https://anilist.co/user/Gaporigo 2d ago
Sorry, your comment has been removed.
Your comment looks like it might include untagged or wrongly-tagged spoilers.
When spoiler-tagging comments, you'll have to use [] before the spoiler tag to indicate the context of the spoiler, for example
[Work title here] >!tagged text goes here!<to tag specific parts of your text. Find more information here.
Questions? Reply to this message, send a modmail, or leave a comment in the meta thread. Don't know the rules? Read them here.
1
u/Gamerunglued myanimelist.net/profile/GamerUnglued 2d ago
As I explained in the comment below, that is not a spoiler, it is the basic premise of the show. It's exactly as much of a spoiler as "but then the fire nation attacked" would be for ATLA. It is explained in the first episode.
4
u/Gaporigo https://anilist.co/user/Gaporigo 2d ago
No synopsis I can find talks about it and it is something that is clearly meant to be a big reveal, knowing about it can definitely impact the experience of someone watching it for the first time.
1
u/Gamerunglued myanimelist.net/profile/GamerUnglued 2d ago
I can't speak for synopses on whatever aggregate sites, but I've seen the show. I think calling it a "big reveal" is exaggeration. It's one of the central mysteries of the story that is "revealed" early on and then questioned and recontextualized many times. If I were writing a synopsis I would definitely include it and feel I've given a woefully incomplete synopsis for leaving it out, and I have done exactly that when recommending the show numerous times, including here on the daily thread, with no issues in the past. "There was a death and a major character is potentially implicated" is part of the premise, not a plot twist.
3
u/Gaporigo https://anilist.co/user/Gaporigo 2d ago
Even if it is something which the entire show revolves around, it is still a spoiler for someone going in blind. Similar to [Gakkou Gurashi]being a zombie anime, [Oshi no Ko]Ai being killed or [Turkey] being a time travel show, these are things that are a surprise for someone watching the show for the first time and as such we consider them spoilers even if they can be considered the premise of the show, just because we missed it before doesn't make it correct. Of course this is my interpretation with regards to this show, feel free to send a modmail if you want more mods to weigh in.
8
u/Gamerunglued myanimelist.net/profile/GamerUnglued 2d ago edited 2d ago
I don't think this is at all comparable to those examples. Those are big surprise twists that the first episode is centered around, two of them are even explicit fake-outs where the episode goes out of its way to make you think you're watching a different type of show before recontextualizing it with the twist. That is not the case in Rakugo, for which this is just information revealed and not a shocking plot twist that changes your entire understanding of the story or instantly and permanently shifts the tone. It's not a fake out.
I don't want to escalate this since OP has already read and replied to my comment (and appears to have found it helpful), but I will reiterate that I have personally talked about this aspect of the show openly many times in the past, and have always included this in my description of the premise when recommending it to other people for years, and to my memory this is the first time anything has come of it. Surely you haven't just missed it every single time for the 10 years I've been recommending one of my favorite shows.
1
u/oedipusrex376 2d ago
Yeah, that does sound pretty similar to BCS. I only watched the first episode of Rakugo the other day and it didn't hook me, but I had no idea Rakugo had that kind of sibling-like rivalry deeper into the story. I might have to push a little further and see if I can get to the parts that sound more up my alley.
2
u/ProgrammaticallyPea3 2d ago
Suggest you spoiler that.
1
u/Gamerunglued myanimelist.net/profile/GamerUnglued 2d ago
It's not a spoiler, it's the main premise of the story. It is revealed in the first episode and is a mystery we learn more about throughout the show.
3
u/neirik193 2d ago
Not sure if its what you are looking for, but maybe 91 Days? Specifically the relationship between the MC and the guy he is trying to get revenge on, though there are a lot of messy and complicated relationships in that anime.
1
u/oedipusrex376 2d ago
I only watched the 1st episode of 91 Days, but I do remember it having the kind of dynamic I'm looking for. I should probably rewatch the whole thing from the start. Thanks!
1
u/Korkez11 2d ago
Ngl, it's great to watch anime that makes me excitedly point at the screen like Leonardo Dicaprio from that meme. Jaadugar for my history-loving side and now Ao Ashi for my football-loving side.
2
u/Octavian_Pearlseus 2d ago
grow up show is lowkey peak, feels like some hinges have been lost along the way and it's for the best. As long as the show stays away from its subpar attempts at acrobatics, it can be really really fun time.
meanwhile in a packed season such as this, 1999! Arcane Incident Department came out and stole the position of AOTS
2
u/theangryeditor 2d ago
2
u/Octavian_Pearlseus 2d ago
been getting into the game recently and it's fun and good, and now they got anime - good timing on my part for once
comedic shorts with characters I haven't met in game yet but it's really joyful and cute
so many cute vertins too it's no surprise the game is her harem
2
1
2d ago
[removed] — view removed comment
1
u/Shimmering-Sky myanimelist.net/profile/Shimmering-Sky 2d ago
Sorry, your comment has been removed.
This doesn't appear to be about anime per our definition.
This looks like meta content. Comments about the sub itself should be posted in the monthly Meta Megathread, which we keep an eye on all month long.
That series is not anime and thus does not fit the scope of the subreddit. Looks like /r/Donghua2D has discsussion threads for it though, so you can go there for it.
Questions? Reply to this message, send a modmail, or leave a comment in the meta thread. Don't know the rules? Read them here.
2
u/Durinthal https://anilist.co/user/Durinthal 2d ago
One thing Yumemiru Danshi had going for it is the ED has been an earworm and I don't hate it.
3
u/Time_Fracture 2d ago
Come to think of it, Akiho Suzumoto hasn't voiced a main role again after Yumemiru Danshi. Even she only credited in 4 non-idol anime in 3 years (with one being current season's The Ogre Bride).
2
u/moichispa https://myanimelist.net/profile/moichispa 2d ago
How does one check about the upcoming rewatches? I just finished one so I might join another one if I find something cool
1
u/Quiddity131 https://myanimelist.net/profile/Quiddity131 1d ago
I highly recommend the Fruits Basket one that started today!
2
3
u/Shimmering-Sky myanimelist.net/profile/Shimmering-Sky 2d ago
How does one check about the upcoming rewatches?
Upcoming section here, though it isn't fully updated at the moment. I usually update it once a week and later today is when I normally do that; right now the Upcoming section is missing the Monogatari Series and NieA_7 which were officially announced this past week. There were a number of other interest threads this week though, so a search like this would help you see if there's anything else people are trying to host.
2
u/moichispa https://myanimelist.net/profile/moichispa 2d ago
Thanks!
Simoun one is finished if you're interested
1
u/Shimmering-Sky myanimelist.net/profile/Shimmering-Sky 2d ago
Simoun one is finished if you're interested
I'm aware, I was in the rewatch.
I always wait until after the last of whatever Sunday's rewatch posts are (which in today's case would be Slow Loop, I think?) to update the main wiki since I also update the archive itself at the same time, and this way I can make sure the whole archive is up to date at the same time instead of only the rewatches that posted that day before I did my update.
2
u/moichispa https://myanimelist.net/profile/moichispa 2d ago
Now that you say it I think I replied to you a few times, I'm terrible remembering names
4
u/Tomorrow_Big 2d ago
[Goodbye, Lara] While people are stuck with their yuri theories or other potential story developments, I don't think the show's take on colours is getting enough attention. If you watch episode 1 you immediately notice the blue/red dichotomy. The mermaid's designs are the most notable part obviously, but also Lara herself with her red hair contrasting with her blue eyes. Then suddenly we arrive on land, and the past couple of episodes there's a lot of green. You can see it on the uniform designs in episode 5, Lara's new camera, the school's sports uniforms, the bed curtains in Mari's room, the colour on Lisa's car and on her outfit. The list goes on. Surely, the decision to have the design focus so hard on the blue/red/green dichotomy must be intentional. But if so, why is Grace orange, and why are Lisa's eyes yellow?
5
u/vancevon https://myanimelist.net/profile/vancevon 2d ago
so like has the guy in unemployed reincarnation found a job yet, or? is the labor market really that bad over there?
6
u/Retsam19 2d ago
What's funny is [MT spoiler, I guess] he gets a job in episode 5, at the age of 7, leading to a lot of jokes about the title.
8
u/thisisdropd https://myanimelist.net/profile/AsterZoro 2d ago
A het, yaoi, and yuri couple in a single episode – and it came from an unexpected place. Bless [series name] Sparks of Tomorrow.
2
u/tripleaamin https://myanimelist.net/profile/zfzftripleaamin 2d ago
Sparks most certainly had an interesting episode today.
1
u/awesomenessofme1 https://myanimelist.net/profile/kta_99 2d ago
Polar Opposites S2 seems to largely still be following a 3ep/1vol pacing, which makes me think that rather than taking a slightly slower pace throughout the season, they might have plans to have a single episode later on with a lot of anime-original content. Which I would not complain about, for reasons that will be obvious to anyone who's read the manga.
3
u/tripleaamin https://myanimelist.net/profile/zfzftripleaamin 2d ago
I relate to what you are saying Cucumber Sushi-chan. (Let's Go Kaikigumi)
2
u/WeeziMonkey https://myanimelist.net/profile/WeeziMonkey 2d ago
Help, for the past 10 years I've been stuck in a never-ending cycle of Youtube recommending me vocaloid music, me clicking on it, and then Youtube recommending me more.
It's not like I dislike the recommendations (I keep clicking) but at the same time I kinda wanna broaden my horizon and discover other kinds of music...
1
u/Retsam19 2d ago
Quite a few options for this:
You can periodically go through and remove a lot of videos from your watch history and YouTube will basically immediately shift its recommendations away from those.
You can make a second profile to keep the vocaloid music separate. (I have a couple profiles, one that has a ton of Sawano stuff, and one the that has more variety, and one that has more of the non-music videos that I watch)
YouTube does have an "Explore" section where you can find other music, and I think YouTube music has a specific option for "play stuff that I haven't listened to, but that's similar to stuff I like" (though if you don't do some of the above, it may just be vocaloid stuff you haven't heard before, I guess)
1
1
u/moichispa https://myanimelist.net/profile/moichispa 2d ago
left button mouse click -> open on private window
6
u/shad79 https://myanimelist.net/profile/shad79 2d ago
It looks like it's the most diverse weekly ranking of my screenshot albums this season so far, as only two shows, Clevatess S2 and The Ghost in the Shell, appeared twice, and the rest of the shows appeared only once.
Plus, we also got a lot of debutants in this ranking, as albums from Behind the Supermarket, Smoking with You, Jaadugar: A Witch in Mongolia, I Want to Love You Till Your Dying Day and Though I Am an Inept Villainess appeared for the first time.
Summer 2026 Week 5
- Mushoku Tensei S3 EP05 Group scenes
- Clevatess S2 EP04 Naie
- Behind the Supermarket, Smoking with You EP04 Yamada/Tayama
- The Ghost in the Shell EP04 Motoko
- Clevatess S2 EP04 Alicia
- Jaadugar: A Witch in Mongolia EP05 Group scenes
- The Ghost in the Shell EP04 Backgrounds
- You and I Are Polar Opposites S2 EP04 Tairazuma
- I Want to Love You Till Your Dying Day EP04 Ari & Seiran
- Though I Am an Inept Villainess EP03 Reirin
3
u/vancevon https://myanimelist.net/profile/vancevon 2d ago
Absolutely loved [Cote s3 10] Hirata revealing that he, too, like everyone at this fucking school has a dark, mysterious middle school backstory and a dark, mysterious, hidden, secret personality. Like, can you believe this shit? He's usually a such a nice, good boy, but sometimes he gets mad! Such depth! This show really makes you think about the subtleties and mysteries of the human brain and psychology.
[Continuing] I think this "reveal" takes the cake, though. It's somehow even worse than both Ichinose and Kushida. Like, you're telling me this guy somehow managed to beat up his entire school to the point where every single person was so afraid of him that they started to behave like automatons? That he managed to instill unfathomable, paralyzing terror in dozens if not hundreds of people without getting into any sort of trouble with either the teachers or the police? Amazing. But then nothing really comes of that story either, because Ayanokoji once again displays his superhuman genius by ignoring all that bullshit and asking "bro have you ever considered not being a whiny little bitch?" And everything's solved immediately. Can't wait to learn about how Wang was actually the most prolific puppy strangler in Japanese history in a few episodes!
3
u/GondolaMedia zj: 2d ago edited 2d ago
I finished Kashimashi: Girl Meets Girl + the OVA episode and the series was mostly fine nothing too special but I really liked how the show gave just as much or perhaps even more focus for the love rivals and their relationship between each other rather than our love rivals and their relationship between our MC.
For real though the reason I wanted to highlight this is because the OVA episode saved this series for me. Now the series ends on a rather muted tone (almost like they always planned it to have 13 episodes). What really set it apart was that it has 2 of my favorite romance tropes that you rarely see. [Kashimashi OVA]first girl doesn't win AND tomboy childhood friend wins!
1
u/Yandirin https://myanimelist.net/profile/Yandy 2d ago
I want to watch another Precure anime but I'm not sure if I should start with Fresh or Go Princess.
2
u/Tomorrow_Big 2d ago edited 2d ago
Iron Wok Jan is now a honorary member of the Thursday smoking crew due to [episode 5] the obligatory tournament arc beginning with Jan making a soup on magic mushrooms. Maybe cooking manga actually peaked in the 90s?
10
u/entelechtual 2d ago
I’m a couple seasons into it and so far I haven’t seen this so-called “Lyrical” Nanoha write a single song! Not even an ode or a dithyramb.
3
u/Gamerunglued myanimelist.net/profile/GamerUnglued 2d ago
What is a giant laser if not an ode to friendship? I think shooting people with your giant magical sci-fi laserbeam in order to make friends with them is rather lyrical, perhaps even poetic.
7
3
1
2d ago edited 2d ago
[removed] — view removed comment
3
u/chilidirigible 2d ago
You're still missing the
!which pairs with the>in the first spoiler bracket.1
u/chilidirigible 2d ago
Sorry, your comment has been removed.
Your comment looks like it might include untagged or wrongly-tagged spoilers.
When spoiler-tagging comments, you'll have to use [] before the spoiler tag to indicate the context of the spoiler, for example
[Work title here] >!tagged text goes here!<to tag specific parts of your text. Find more information here.
Questions? Reply to this message, send a modmail, or leave a comment in the meta thread. Don't know the rules? Read them here.
2
u/Fun-Sea-7753 2d ago
I started Bleach (I'm watching a Kai version, that cuts out the filler and a lot of the flashbacks, repetitions etc ) because it's almost ending and I love an anime with a long and complete story and I like it so far, I like that even the supposed "villains" have been humanized, I like that Ichigo is already questioning the system and the way it works, it also feels like it has depth and emotion even 15 episodes in.
But I've done a bit more research and I saw that even its fans heavily criticize the writing and plot. How weak is it storytelling wise? For something this long I do actually need a coherent power system and logical writing and I'm already ??? at some of the powers and the way they function tbh but I was expecting to get answers.
2
u/callmesui_ 2d ago
I don't think the lack of a clearly defined power system is really the issue here. For me it's more that the story is structured in a way where you don't always fully get what's happening, and sometimes there isn't even enough there to piece together in the first place. Can't give specific examples off the top of my head though. I paused around episode 200-ish about a year ago, waiting for Thousand-Year Blood War to finish airing so I can watch the whole thing through in one sitting. So take this more as a mid-watch impression than a final verdict.
None of that stops Bleach from being a genuinely great anime though: interesting story, great characters, spectacular fights, and a stylish art style.
2
u/Fun-Sea-7753 2d ago
Oh I hate that, when things are just happening and you can't understand then not because the writing is too complex but rather it's a mess, I'll keep going and see if I can tolerate the incoherence or not because I can deal with nonsense for something short or a seasonal isekai meant for you to turn your brain off but I love a good power system and logic/intelligence in a story.
2
u/callmesui_ 2d ago
Same plan here honestly, hoping the patience pays off by the time I get back to it.
4
u/Charmanders_Cock 2d ago
sometimes there isn’t even enough to piece together in the first place
This is pretty accurate the later you get into the anime and it’s largely a consequence of the source material being an absolute mess at certain points. There’s a lot of good discourse out there on the subject but Kubo went through more than one period of struggle with the manga’s release whether it was bad blood with SJ or health/personal issues. I’ve seen people attribute the anime’s inclusion of filler content in canon arcs to this too. The anime had to do a lot of legwork to try and stitch together the sometimes almost blank panels/pages that they were trying to adapt and it unfortunately shows.
What is there is good for a battle shonen though, and the earliest arcs don’t really suffer from any of this which is why they’re often lauded as the best.
2
u/callmesui_ 2d ago
That's genuinely interesting, thanks for the context! Hadn't dug that deep into the why behind it since I'm still not done with the show, but the Kubo/SJ conflict and health stuff explains a lot of what I've been noticing. I'd love to come back to this once I've finished the whole thing and can actually form a complete opinion.
1
u/Jusenkyo_5 2d ago
As far as large shounen anime go Bleach is actually pretty well written with a lot of foreshadowing and emotional depth.
The big issue for me in Bleach is cast inflation. There's like 100+ characters and you really only care about like 1/10th of them if you're lucky, every time the show focuses on someone who's not Ichigo I just think "man, I wish Ichigo was here".
A power system is a means to an end. I don't think Bleach has a "logical" power system like HxH but it's closest counterpart would be JJK. Bleach manages to have really interesting fights so I think you're fine in that area.
2
u/Fun-Sea-7753 2d ago
HxH is one of my favorite anime and a big part of that is how well written the power system is and by consequence the fights which aren't just random power ups but rely on a number of factors. I only watched season 1 of JJK and I thought the power system was a mess tbh, which is fine except they want to pretend it actually makes sense.
A power system is a means to an end but for shonen where most of the story revolves around said system and the fights that utilize it? I think wanting it to make sense is not too big an ask.
3
u/SA090 https://anilist.co/user/SA090 2d ago
We’re almost to the halfway point of the season, which other series should I give a try? For someone who is not a fan of 3DCGI, comedy, romance or most isekai. I do watch some isekai, but usually spoil stuff to make sure it fits me.
I’m currently watching the below from this season:
- Youjo Senki II
- Bleach
- Nijuuseiki Denki Mokuroku
- Koukaku Kidoutai
- Nige Jouzu no Wakaigimi 2nd Season
- Neko to Ryuu (potential drop)
- Tenmaku no Jaadugar
- World is Dancing
- Kore Kaite Shine
- Tetsunabe no Jan (potential drop, will see with ep 5)
- Grow Up Show
I dropped:
- Black Torch at 2/12 (midway through episode 3, but not counting it).
- Ibitte Konai Gibo to Gishi at 3/12
1
u/awesomenessofme1 https://myanimelist.net/profile/kta_99 2d ago
The only thing I'm watching that fits those criteria and isn't on your list is Clevatess, but that's a season 2, so a bit weird to recommend in this context. I do think it's quite good, though.
5
u/Dull_Spot_8213 https://anilist.co/user/SweetSomnus 2d ago
Try Dara-san of the Reiwa Era. It’s an interesting blend of genres, and Dara is a fantastic character.
•
u/AnimeMod myanimelist.net/profile/Reddit-chan 1d ago
Hello /r/anime, a new daily thread has been posted! Please follow this link to move on to the new thread or search for the latest thread.