#UMA MUSUME: PRETTY DERBY SEASON 2

[vanilla-blessing]

qb's top 5 anime of 2023

This list is coming out in July 2024 because I needed to finish mygo first and also I needed several more months to write it that's my excuse

#1 Uma Musume: Pretty Derby - ROAD TO THE TOP

In order to explain why I put a gacha mobile game anime adaptation in the #1 rank I need to explain why Uma Musume Pretty Derby had a bad start. There was a flash of wild inspiration in the core concept, that this is a place where real world racehorses are, instead of awkward animals, awkward two-legged girls who do a victory song and dance when they win, and it accommodates this absurd gimmick in every part of their setting with humorously large phones and earmuffs and carrot burgers, but it lacked the confidence that this premise was funny enough on its face and frequently dumped dramatically less good comedy on top of a basic sports anime formula. There was a spark of something fun there, but it was ultimately covered up by too many bits that were tedious and unremarkable, and the anime didn't stand out from other sports anime in execution. Thankfully, Uma Musume Season 2 got a strong upgrade in animation and began to prioritize the simple but effective drama of competitive running, building a more coherent narrative around the real-life events that happened to these horses. Most importantly, it took itself more seriously (which is much funnier) and steadily accumulated memorable moments and running bits, then paid off everything in the bombastic final episodes that sprinted to the top of my 2021 anime list.

Uma Musume: Road To The Top further refines the formula of Uma Musume Season 2 into four lighting-quick special episodes with no wasted time and even more commitment to the bit that anime girls yelling their heads off while running is simultaneously thrilling and really, really funny. Road To The Top is pure gas the whole time, entirely composed of over-the-top highlights, and utterly confident that it can go as hard as possible on tragic drama and ferocious action, buoyed by the fact that all of this is inherently hilarious no matter what they do.

The 2024 horse movie Uma Musume: Pretty Derby - BEGINNING OF A NEW ERA seems to have inherited this momentum and accelerated to ludicrous speeds, so it's my most anticipated anime and I need it as soon as possible. There's something to the fictionalized drama Uma Musume as a franchise has built on obsessively accurate results of horse races that is compelling in its authenticity, enabling Studio KAI to capture the feeling of the messy but true stories that get passed down naturally and retold among fans of any sport, but starring anime horse girls with profoundly stupid names. This is the highest compliment I can give in the sports genre.

None of this bizarre franchise should work on paper, but it does anyway, its momentum keeps growing, and it shows no signs of slowing down.

#2 BanG Dream! It's MyGO!!!!!

BanG Dream MyGO!!!!! doesn't come up in the first page of results of any anime database when you start typing the title, it's something like the 4th or 6th entry in the BanG Dream gacha mobile game anime franchise, none of the other seasons are particularly notable aside from putting SANZIGEN on the map as one of the two rock-solid CG anime studios; the point is nobody really expected a lot from this show. MyGO!!!!! has the same core staff from the other seasons, it even shares some of the same characters as other seasons (although it's intended to be watched standalone). However, despite everything being stacked against it, MyGO!!!!! forced its way into many top 10 anime lists by word of mouth, where it was praised widely for its exceptionally powerful writing and lyrics, strikingly competent CG animation, and unique style that could only be pulled off on a TV schedule by a team that was supremely confident in their ability to execute the previous two things.

The personalities that make up the titular wildly dysfunctional band range from deeply unpleasant to generally infuriating, but MyGO!!!!! strikes a careful balance, endearing them as people without giving an inch in portraying how frankly awful they are to each other. Seeing these messy, manipulative musicians clash, break up, and unwillingly come together again over the course of the season reaches heights of drama I've rarely seen before, it's as though you're watching a house made entirely out of tires burn down.

The way the show's tangled relationships converge around the immovable object Tomori, who's inability to read a room or pick up on signals just so happens to cut through their collective drama like a hot knife through butter, is such a compelling way to utilize a character unambiguously on the spectrum that I haven't stopped thinking about it and I'll need at least a few more watches to fully appreciate. She's the X-factor that makes the entire show work and episode 3 rigidly forcing you to inhabit her first-person worldview isn't only a directing stunt uniquely suited to CG, it's a blunt declaration of the core mission of MyGO!!!!!.

Halfway through 2024, everyone's talking up different band anime about girls who are more than friends, but MyGO!!!!! will be known forever as the definitive band anime about girls who are closer to mortal enemies.

#3 Pluto

Pluto's my favorite manga and the anime took so long to come out we thought it was fake. My only major complaint is that the CG is unmistakably strange and evokes the feeling of observing an alternate history of animated special effects development that is more goofy and endearing than bad, but it's a consistent distraction from the all-timer material.

#4 Scott Pilgrim Takes Off

Totally unexpected drop on Netflix in the middle of a season, this caught me off guard and handed me a full platter of New Scott Pilgrim which I didn't know I was ravenously hungry for.

#5 Oshi no Ko

I adore the manga for Oshi no Ko, especially the more sicko it gets, but the anime is objectively better thanks to smart pacing decisions, an unreasonably powerful character designer, and better planning than most seasonal anime (everyone knew this would hit like an isekai truck so they just didn't stop after S1). S2 is airing now and it's already powerful in the ways I just said.

Heavenly Delusion and Apothecary Diaries were also pretty good. Expect my next 2024 anime list in 2028 - friend of the show qb

[yurisorcerer]

Starting my AWC Gacha Challenge off with a fucking bang right here.

I've been peripherally aware of the Uma Musume / Pretty Derby franchise for years. I actually checked the first season of the anime out back when it was new and remember not being super impressed (I think I found the trainer annoying? It's been quite a while since then), but I was put on to the existence of this four-part OVA, and a film related to it, by a friend, and it happened to fit both the "watch an anime with the 'athletics' tag" and "watch an anime whose romanized title starts with 'U'" criteria, so I thought I'd knock out two birds with one stone.

Can I just say? This shit is CRAZY. Danny Devito I Get It GIF. I have seen the light. I'm a believer.

I have long said I don't really "click" with sports anime, and that's proven true up until now. Maybe I just needed something in a more streamlined format? Maybe I just needed girls with fun character designs? Either way, this shit fucking slaps. Being an OVA focused on a competitive sport, there's not a ton of focus on "plot" per se, but the basic rundown is that Uma Musume's characters are horse kemonomimi, named after actual, historical racehorses in the real world, who run competitive footraces. Obviously, we follow a few of them on their road to victory.

These first two episodes follow a broadly similar format where the first 2/3rds of the episode is characterization for our three leads and the last third or so is the race itself, which is an incredible exercise in just absolute top-shelf action animation, to the point where that phrasing feels like selling it short. Like, I'm not a "sakuga head" as such in that it's not the main thing I look for in an anime, but I recognize fucking game when I see it and the lightning adrenaline channeled through these races is just a really rare thing, especially in the contemporary landscape. A lot of the more restrained 'character acting' animation is really excellent too, both in the obviously human movements the girls have but also the *in*human movements; the show never forgets that these are *horse*girls so a lot of them emote with their ears, it's honestly really endearing and helps the inherently somewhat goofy setting feel real in a way it would not if less care were put into it.

About the girls themselves, I said there are three main characters. I really like two of them. One, T.M. Opera O (whose historical namesake was at one point the highest-earning racehorse on Earth), is just a fucking crackerjack execution of one of my favorite kinds of character: she's amazing at what she does, and she fucking knows it. She's a showboat, but she's a *likeable* showboat. She's an artist and the racetrack is her canvas. It's her performance, we're all just here to watch it, and she knows it. Also she has what I will call "prince girl" aesthetics and hope you get it. She's awesome. If I have to pick a single favorite character, it's her, hands down, no competition. She wins the race at the end of episode 1 and if this were my show she'd also win the races in episodes 2, 3, 4, and 5, even though there's only four episodes. She's my fucking GOAT. I love this theatrical horse.

One of the others, Admire Vega, is very much a different thing. She's got a fairly serious and reserved personality. She also, we learn in episode 2, has mood swings, which she feels are in fact the feelings of her stillborn sister. I was not prepared for something this heavy---and honestly, this soap opera-y---to show up in this series, but it works surprisingly well in terms of giving her a motivation that feels like it makes sense. She wins the race in episode 2 and for the first time in the OVA's run we see her looking genuinely contented with a broad, serene expression on her face. It's lovely.

Now, there are three leads and I've just described two of them. Unfortunately, Top Road, who is actually supposed to be *the* main character I believe, is the least interesting to me. She wants to win because a lot of people believe in her and she feels like she owes her trainer. I get this as a motive intellectually but something's just kind of missing for me, yet. I WANT to like her, and after watching her get her spirit completely crushed twice in a row I definitely *feel bad* for her (especially as of the end of episode 2, where she cries one of the most pathetic-looking cries I've ever seen animated. Poor girl), but I'm not at the point where I'm actually rooting for her over Vega or Opera yet. Still, I'm hoping I'll get there. There are two episodes left which I'm tentatively planning to watch tomorrow. I'm excited! This is really fun!

[expectingrivers]

Komorebi no Yell

Uma Musume Pretty Derby Season 2 ED

[ridley-was-a-cat]

What I Watched This Week – 1/28 – 2/3

Akuma-kun (ONA) – This appears to be a sequel to a 60-year-old series that I haven’t seen or read, so I hadn’t planned to watch it. I saw it got nominated in the backgrounds category, though, and I figured I’d give it a go. I might have been missing some stuff from the earlier series, but if I was, it didn’t really feel like it, as the story stood alone just fine. It follows a paranormal investigator named Ichirou Umoregi, who operates out of a dingy office cluttered with books alongside his half-human/half-demon assistant, Mephisto III. Most episodes have the characters encounter some supernatural situation involving wayward demons where Ichirou unravels the mystery behind the incident, and Mephisto forces the demon to go back home. It wouldn’t be my top pick in the category, but it definitely has excellent background art, which fits the cartoony style just about perfectly. Yuuki Kaji does an excellent job voicing Ichirou/Akuma-kun, giving him the right mix of dispassionate rational thinker and young man still working through childhood abandonment. The cases were suitably creepy, and the ending caught me by surprise. Definitely a good show to keep on tap for spooky season. 7/10

Uma Musume: Pretty Derby Season 3 – Having completed this entry in the series, I can confidently say that it’s an awful pick for the slice of life shortlist in the r/anime awards. Not only is it not very good, it is categorically not a slice of life in the slightest. If I asked people to recommend me a slice of life anime, and they suggested an action-heavy racing drama full of screaming horse girls, I would think they were trolling me. Maybe it has some connection to the real life horse she’s based on, I don’t care enough about the show to look it up, but the constant screaming while Kitasan was running was unbelievably annoying, and I adore the screaming boys of Haikyuu. Combining this irritating noise with the lousy way the story introduced and then just sort of forgot about her rivals, there wasn’t a whole lot to recommend here. I can’t help but feel it’s stealing a spot from shows that were both much more enjoyable and actual slice of life stories. 5/10

Scott Pilgrim Takes Off – The way all the marketing for this emphasized that they were bringing back the cast of the movie left me uninterested in watching it, as I figured it was just going to be a nostalgia grab. It kept showing up on different best of fall lists, and it got nominated in the adventure and animation categories, so I figured I’d take a look. As I had figured, the English version was not super good. Actors do not always make very good voice actors, and a few of them were pretty wooden-sounding. It was weird to have Japanese voices in this very North American/Canadian story full of English language pop music, but switching it to Japanese was the right decision, I think. Once I did that, I got an extremely fun adventure centered on Ramona Flowers that imagined a story where Scott lost the first fight against her seven evil exes. The character designs were charmingly creative, the color palette was great, and the animation went hard when it needed to. Most importantly, the soundtrack was as good as I hoped it would be, with songs from the Dead Kennedys, Vampire Weekend, and Metric alongside an original score. 8/10

[fzzr]

What I'm Watching, Fall 2023 Anime Season

New Stuff:

16bit Sensation: Another Layer - I hate making galge in the current industry, so I got sent back in time to the 90s to make galge then. Wacky concept, let's see where they go with this.

Boukensha ni Naritai to Miyako ni Deteitta Musume ga S-Rank ni Natteta (My Daughter Left the Nest and Returned an S-Rank Adventurer) - An overpowered fantasy character series, but this time it's heartwarming fun.

Boushoku no Berserk (Berserk of Gluttony) - If Eminence wasn't getting its second season right now, this would be my pick for edgy trash of the season. As it is, I'll enjoy some bottom of the barrel sludge with an overpowered edgy MC and no subtlety.

Bullbuster - Provisionally watchable. You take what you can get with mecha sometimes. This one is about fighting ugly cg giant beasts but also deployment was delayed until liability coverage was confirmed, and further by the broken printer.

Hametsu no Oukoku (The Kingdoms of Ruin) - I'm concerned this will turn into a lot of indulging in violence against women as shock material, but continuing with it for now since the setting raises some potentially interesting questions.

Hoshikuzu Telepath (Stardust Telepath) - Cute girls doing (psychic) friendship things? It's probably nothing, but I'll give it a try.

Kimi no Koto ga Daidaidaidaidaisuki na 100-nin no Kanojo (The 100 Girlfriends Who Really, Really, Really, Really, Really Love You) - Now this is garbage! After a double meet cute comes a double confession and double acceptance of same. A shenanigans-type romcom where a poly harem end is supernaturally enforced, and I am here for it.

Konyaku Haki sareta Reijou wo Hirotta Ore ga, Ikenai Koto wo Oshiekomu (I'm Giving the Disgraced Noble Lady I Rescued a Crash Course in Naughtiness) - Not that kind of naughtiness! No ecchi tag! Kinda looking like a nothing show, but I'll give it some more time.

Kusuriya no Hitorigoto (The Apothecary Diaries) - This one is starting late, so actually a placeholder for if I get to it later.

Shangri-La Frontier: Kusoge Hunter, Kamige ni Idoman to su (Shangri-La Frontier: Crappy Game Hunter Challenges God-Tier Game) - Another full-dive MMO game, but this time it's about a dude who is just having fun being a minmaxer and speedrunner. No angst, just a side of very light romance. Imagine a show about games also being about having fun!

Sousou no Frieren (Frieren: Beyond Journey's End) - This one got started fast, so I'm already several episodes deep. Tagged in advance as the likely show of the season, it's a slow and thoughtful show about a near-eternal elf mage learning to understand the fleeting humans in her life. Very much a "vibes" show.

Tearmoon Teikoku Monogatari: Dantoudai kara Hajimaru, Hime no Tensei Gyakuten Story (Tearmoon Empire) - We Have Marie Antoinette At Home gets to re-do her life after getting the guillotine. I'll go with it for now, why not.

Toaru Ossan no VRMMO Katsudouki (A Playthrough of a Certain Dude's VRMMO Life) - Did this trick me into watching a cooking show? Maybe. It's fine I guess.

Undead Unluck - This is excellent. So much fun. David Production was the right studio for an anime where a character climbs buildings by severing his own limbs and use the force of them growing back for propulsion.

Watashi no Oshi wa Akuyaku Reijou. (I'm in Love with the Villainess) - Yuri Villainess? Sure I'll take it. Looks fun.

Sequels

Dead Mount Death Play Part 2 - More of the excellent edgy reverse isekai from earlier this year.

Dr. Stone: New World Part 2 - New World part one shaped up in the second half, so here's hoping they keep that momentum.

Kage no Jitsuryokusha ni Naritakute! 2nd Season (The Eminence in Shadow Season 2) - Yessss. Eminence was the highlight of the excellent Fall 2022 season and I am super ready for more.

Spy x Family Season 2 - Oh boy, time for more Anya antics!

Uma Musume: Pretty Derby Season 3 - More horse girls? Don't mind if I do!

Ongoing

Rurouni Kenshin: Meiji Kenkaku Romantan (2023) - It's Rurouni Kenshin again. Actually nevermind, I'm just not going to continue with this.

Zom 100: Zombie ni Naru made ni Shitai 100 no Koto (Zom 100: Bucket List of the Dead) - This one is mostly done, just keeping track since it ran over a season.

Hall of shame (Shows I dropped after just one episode):

Dekoboko Majo no Oyako Jijou (The Family Circumstances of the Irregular Witch) - Meme about weird that it happened twice for adopting a daughter you found in the woods. This one is about a 200 year old loli and her 16 year old daughter with giant anime tiddy. Pass.

Hikikomari Kyuuketsuki no Monmon (The Vexations of a Shut-In Vampire Princess) - Dog Days meets Liar Liar? I liked those things, but together, nah.

Bokura no Ameiro Protocol (Protocol: Rain) - Didn't even get through the first episode of this one. Painfully ugly and awkward. If you're going to make a show about a fake esport, make the fake game look good and make the players not play it like shit.

Keikenzumi na Kimi to, Keiken Zero na Ore ga, Otsukiai suru Hanashi. (Our Dating Story: The Experienced You and The Inexperienced Me) - Again dropped halfway through the first episode. Just such a drag. Not worth it for the trash.

[darkeraven22]

Uma Musume Pretty Derby Umayon 2020 Short 12 Review Finale

Fan Service Race After two food eating races, we finally have a real race… Of sorts. A so called obstacle course race. Filled with subtle fan service. Or not so subtle as one lady has bigger than normal for these chibi shorts breasts. The second still having bigger than normal but not so big boobs… Also references. Announcers? Tokai Teio from Season 2, and Gold Ship from Season 1. Anyway…

[newsintheshell]

⚡ANIMEJAPAN 2025: TUTTE LE NOVITÀ DAL GRANDE EVENTO (PARTE 1)

Le seconde stagioni di My Dress-Up Darling e Rascal Does Not Dream arriveranno a luglio! 😭

Eccovi la prima parte del mega riassuntone di tutto quello che è stato mostrato e annunciato durante i due giorni dell’AnimeJapan 2025.

È tanta, ma veramente tanta roba e ci metterà un po' per pubblicarla tutta. Se avrete pazienza, ho altri tre post salvati nelle bozze che tenterò di far uscire a stretto giro nei prossimi giorni.

Un po' a rilento, rispetto ad altri lidi, ma questo offre la casa 😅 Vi lascio alle news, buona lettura/visione!

🔶🔸MY DRESS-UP DARLING

A ben tre anni dall'annuncio, la seconda stagione della serie ha finalmente un periodo di debutto ufficiale: luglio 2025!

Vi ricordo che la prima stagione di questa fantastica romcom è disponibile in streaming su Crunchyroll, ache doppiata in italiano. Rewatchino?

🔶🔸RASCAL DOES NOT DREAM OF SANTA CLAUS

La seconda stagione della serie arriverà a partire da luglio! Tenete presente, però, che fra questa e la prima ci sono ben tre film che continuano la storia; Crunchyroll ne ha portati due al cinema l'anno scorso, magari la distribuirà in simulcast anche per noi?

La nuova stagione, infatti, andrà ad adattare i volumi dal 10 al 13, dei 15 totali, della light novel.

🔶🔸MAGICAL GIRL LYRICAL NANOHA EXCEEDS: GUN BLAZE VENGEANCE

Svelati una prima immagine promozionale e lo staff al lavoro sul nuovo anime, targato Seven Arcs (Extreme Hearts, Blue Period), che festeggerà i 20 anni del franchise.

La regia è affidata a Takayuki Hamana (Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha Detonation, Witchy Pretty Cure!! Mirai Days), il character design è a cura di Issei Aragaki (Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha Detonation, Vladlove), mentre la sceneggiatura è ovviamente farina del sacco di Masaki Tsuzuki, il co-creatore della saga.

🔶🔸L'ESTATE IN CUI HIKARU È MORTO

Nuovo trailer per la serie tratta dal supernatural mystery manga di Mokumokuren, in arrivo da luglio su Netflix.

L'adattamento è diretto da Ryohei Takeshita (La medusa non sa nuotare nella notte) e in produzione presso CygamesPictures (Uma Musume: Pretty Derby - Road to the Top)

🔶🔸MOONRISE

Stropicciate bene gli occhi perché è tutto vero! Abbiamo un trailer ufficiale e una data: l’originale anime sci-fi di casa WIT STUDIO (Vampire in the Garden, Ranking of Kings), diretto dae diretto da Masashi Koizuka (Attack on Titan - Season 3), arriverà su Netflix dal 10 aprile.

Se penso che il progetto, avviato con tanto di breve racconto scritto dallo stesso Tow Ubukata (Mardock Scramble, Psycho Pass 2, Soukyuu no Fanfer), che fa da sceneggiatore, risale al 2018... Oof!

🔶🔸THE FRAGRANT FLOWER BLOOMS WITH DIGNITY

La serie tratta dallo school romance manga di Saka Mikami verrà trasmessa a partire da luglio.

L'adattamento è firmato CloverWorks (The Elusive Samurai, Bocchi the Rock!) ed è diretto da Miyuki Kuroki (Akebi's Sailor Uniform), con l'aiuto da parte di Satoshi Yamaguchi (direttore d'episodio in Panty & Stocking with Garterbelt).

🔶🔸TOKYO REVENGERS: WAR OF THE THREE TITANS

Cambio di regista, in quel di  LIDENFILMS (Insomniacs After School, Call of the Night), per la quarta stagione della serie.

La direzione passa a Maki Kodaira (The Seven Deadly Sins: Four Knights of the Apocalypse) e si aggiungono anche alcuni nuovi membri nello staff, soprattutto nel reparto di design. Il regista delle stagioni precedenti rimarrà in campo giusto per aiutare nella composizione della serie.

🔶🔸CLEVATESS

Primo trailer per la serie action fantasy tratta dal manga di Yuji Iwahara.

L'anime è diretto dal debuttante Kiyotaka Taguchi presso lo studio Lay-duce (Tomo-chan Is a Girl!, Rising Impact) e andrà in onda da luglio.

🔶🔸RUROUNI KENSHIN

Confermata ufficialmente una terza stagione per la nuova serie animata con protagonista lo storico samurai vagabondo di Nobuhiro Watsuki, che possiamo seguire in streaming qua in Italia grazie a Crunchyroll. 

🔶🔸KAMITSUBAKI CITY UNDER CONSTRUCTION

Data e trailer anche per l'originale anime prodotto da Shogakukan Music & Digital Entertainment (Duel Masters Win, Yomawari Neko).

Scritta e diretto da Kodai Kakimoto (BanG Dream! It's MyGO!!!!!), la serie debutterà in Giappone il 3 luglio.

🔶🔸SECRETS OF THE SILENT WITCH

La timida e potentissima maga di Matsuri Isora sbarcherà in tv da luglio!

Oltre al trailer, è stato anche confermato che Takaomi Kanazaki (KonoSuba, Princess Connect! Re:Dive) sta attualmente supervisionando l'intero progetto presso Studio Gokumi (I'm Getting Married to a Girl I Hate in My Class), la sceneggiatura e il reparto sonoro, mentre si è riservato di lasciare la regia in mano a Yasuo Iwamoto (Princess Connect! Re:Dive - Stagione 2).

🔶🔸DISNEY TWISTED WONDERLAND

Mostrato finalmente anche un primo trailer per la serie Disney+ in arrivo da ottobre.

Come vi dicevo, sono già state confermate tre stagioni: Episode of Heartslabyul, Episode of Savanaclaw e Episode of Octavinelle, ognuna basata su uno dei manga legati all'originale videogioco, con protagonisti studenti ispirati a celebri villain delle opere Disney.

L'anime è realizzato da Yumeta Company e Graphinica (Record of Ragnarok), sotto la supervisione di Takahiro Natori (Tokyo Mew Mew New) e la regia di Shin Katagai (The Ossan Newbie Adventurer Trained to Death by the Most Powerful Party Became Invincible).

🔶🔸PRINCESSION ORCHESTRA

Il nuovo trailer per l‘originale majokko-musicale dello studio SILVER LINK (My Next Life as a Villainess: All Routes Lead to Doom!, Hokkaido Gals Are Super Adorable!), fissa il debutto del primo episodio per il 6 aprile.

La serie è diretta da Shin Onuma (Fate/kaleid liner Prisma Illya, BOFURI: I Don’t Want to Get Hurt, so I’ll Max Out My Defense) e andrà in onda per un anno intero, a quanto pare.

🔶🔸TUNE IN TO THE MIDNIGHT HEART

Prima locandina e breve promo per la romcom tratta dal manga di Masakuni Igarashi.

La serie non verrà trasmessa fino al 2026, ma intanto sappiamo che sarà diretta da Masayuki Takahashi (Butareba -The Story of a Man Who Turned into a Pig-) presso lo studio: Gekkou (Grandpa and Grandma Turn Young Again, TenPuru: No One Can Live on Loneliness).

🔶🔸THE TOO-PERFECT SAINT: TOSSED ASIDE BY MY FIANCÉ AND SOLD TON ANOTHER KINGDOM

Nuovo trailer anche per la serie fantasy romance tratta dalla light novel di Koki Fuyutsuki, in arrivo dal 10 aprile su Crunchyroll.

L'adattamento è targato TROYCA (Atri: My Dear Moments, IDOLiSH7) e ha come regista Shu Watanabe (Shinobi no Ittoki).

🔶🔸FERMAT'S CUISINE

Nuove info riguardo alla serie animata che a luglio porterà in tv il gourmet manga di Yugo Kobayashi.

Il progetto è in cantiere presso Domerica (Romantic Killer, The World Ends with You The Animation) ed è diretto da Kazuya Ichikawa (Romantic Killer), con l'assistenza da parte di Miyuki Kaieda (Burning Kabaddi).

🔶🔸LOVE LIVE! NIJIGASAKI HIGH SCHOOL IDOL CLUB: FINAL CHAPTER

Presentata un'immagine teaser per il secondo dei tre film che andranno a chiudere la storia della serie, con protagoniste le giovani school idol del videogioco mobile Love Live! School Idol Festival.

Il lungometraggio sbarcherà nelle sale giapponesi dal 7 novembre.

⫸ NON VUOI PERDERTI NEANCHE UN POST? ENTRA NEL CANALE TELEGRAM! ⫷

Autore: SilenziO))) Se usate Twitter, mi trovate lì! 

blogger // anime enthusiast // twitch addict // unorthodox blackster - synthwave lover // penniless gamer // INFJ-T magus

[godginrai]

I need to stress without any hyperbole or irony that Tokai Teio from Uma Musume Pretty Derby Season 2 is still one of the most compelling protagonists in anything I've ever experienced.

[deadbilly]

Tagged by .@gettothestabbing

Last song: Telephone by Castlebeat

Favorite color: orange

Currently Watching: Dekoboko Majo no Oyako Jijou, Vexations of the Shut In Vampire, Hoshikuzu Telepath, Spy x Family Season 2, Uma Musume: Pretty Derby Season 3, I'm In Love With The Villainess

Last movie: The Great Escape

Currently reading: Last book I finished a few weeks ago was Banana Yoshimoto's Hardboiled and Hard Luck. Very sad and downbeat but highly recommended.

Sweet/Savory/Spicy: Spicy! I always load my recipes with lots of oregano, garlic and cayenne powder.

Relationship status: single, not looking

Current Obsession(s): The Sacred Riana

Last thing I Googled: recently found lost media

Currently working on: getting over this nasty sore throat

Tagging: anybody who wants to

Tagged by @walden-west

Last song: Introduction to the Snow (Miracle Musical)

Favorite color: Indigo

Currently Watching: MasterChef's latest season

Last movie: Double Indemnity

Currently reading: Mao: The Unknown Story (Jung Chang and Jon Hallliday)

Sweet/Savory/Spicy: Savory for the moment, can't handle much spice

Relationship status: In an exclusive relationship

Current Obsession(s): Learning how to use all the gym machines

Last thing I Googled: turkey breast roast

Currently working on: Getting all the cat hair off my rugs

Tagging: @speaking-impartially @deadbilly @frangipani-wanderlust @m00nxtal

[a-titty-ninja]

[kurayamineko]

[r-spada]

Twin Turbo being Twin Turbo I guess. edit: Made some tweaks, mostly on the face.

[mat2modblog]

[ridley-was-a-cat]

What I Watched This Week – 1/21 – 1/27

Campfire Cooking in Another World with My Absurd Skill – When the nominations were announced for the r/anime awards, I had only seen one out of the eight nominations in the slice of life category: Skip and Loafer. I’ve since watched Onimai, and tried to watch Masterful Cat, so this makes three completed. It had a steep uphill climb for me, as one of the things that annoys me the most about modern isekai is the tiresome obsession with Japanese food, and this is an isekai centered around a man sent to another world and given the magical ability to order food from a Japanese online grocery. I just can’t get past the arrogance required to imagine that the Japanese equivalent of Little Debbie and Hormel would be so mind-blowingly delicious to alternate dimension beings that a monster strong enough to solo a dragon for funsies would make himself your servant. The adventure part of the story was entertaining (and it is an adventure story, I have no idea why this is in slice of life, but it’s hardly the only title that doesn’t belong here) and I liked the characters enough to plan to watch the sequel. The cooking part of the story, though, where he just drowns everything in name-brand sauces, doesn’t really do it for me. 6/10

Uma Musume: Pretty Derby Season 2 – For years people have talked up this particular season of the series as some kind of marvel, but I ended up liking it less than I did season one. Centered on Team Spica members Toukai Teiou and Mejiro McQueen, this season deals heavily with getting injured, rehabbing from injury, and attempting to make a comeback after time away, and I did not like how they handled it. Sports anime in general has a fairly unhealthy tendency to romanticize overtraining as evidence of a strong work ethic and dedication to a sport or team, and that was on display here as well, with multiple frustrating montages of horse girls overworking themselves and neglecting rest. Additionally, when recurring injury or more chronic conditions leads some of the characters to consider retirement, it’s labeled as “quitting” or “giving up”, and they’re pressured by the people around them, who make emotional pleas for them to continue racing. The total disregard for athletes’ well being was really frustrating. I still find the idol performance segments a little insulting to both women athletes, whose sports performance should be entertainment enough, and idols, whose efforts and talent should not be belittled by the suggestion that anyone can do it. It wasn’t a chore to sit through, despite all my complaints, but it was less fun than the previous season. 6/10

Uma Musume: Pretty Derby – Road to the Top – The only reason I started watching this series was to watch this particular entry, which was nominated by the r/anime jury for Anime of the Year. To its credit, it’s fairly different than the first two entries. It’s only four episodes long, it focuses on three racers not on Team Spica, and it’s a serious step up visually. I thought the color palette for seasons one and two was kind of oversaturated, whereas this series had a more sophisticated look to it. The animation was never bad in the series, but it was straight up good here, with lots of movement and fun distortions. I was pretty neutral on the series cast up to this point, with the exception of Team Spica’s Gold Ship, whom I adore, and this series added one more to the adore column, with the introduction of T.M. Opera O, who was fantastically overdramatic in everything she did. I liked that the story was more than girls professing to each other to be the fastest or promising to race each other, and that two of the three main characters got extensive backstories. There was a still a frustrating amount of overtraining, and those damned idol performances still exist, but this was easily the best entry in the series, and I enjoyed it quite a bit. 7/10

Tsurune S2 – In all my bellyaching about the AOTY nominations this year, I’ve mentioned Tsurune as one of the shows I wished got nominated, so I figured I should rewatch it to make sure it was as good as I remembered it being. It was. The production is just solid all around; the soundtrack, the sound design, the animation, the cinematography, and the art are all excellent. It manages the large cast incredibly well, giving all three teams the right amount of depth and backstory to lend the archery matches emotional stakes. The fight between the two cousins on the main team in episode five might be the best single episode from last year with how it perfectly captured the way only a very close friend can push your buttons before resolving it with a pitched battle that ends in a fit of the giggles. How this got left off the shortlist in favor of Road to the Top or basically anything else just mystifies me. 9/10

[anime-of-the-day]

Anime of the day: Uma Musume: Pretty Derby Season 2

Released: 2021

Team Spica has been gaining traction victory after victory. Teiou is the current favorite. Her facing porous and wonderful personality have been charming the audience constantly. Her current goal is to win the Triple Crown undefeated. However, she is meet with all kinds of challenges along the way that will create her legacy.

[darkeraven22]

Uma Musume Pretty Derby Umayon 2020 Short 4 Review

R.G. Utena U The Music… Huh? Opera O? Suddenly a musical. A short 3 minute musical. Featuring from Season 2 2021 T.M. Opera O. Hmm… Looking forward to seeing her core universe appearance when I review Season 2. This is pretty much Revolutionary Girl Utena as done by Pretty Derby. Look at the costumes, the main gist of the plot (something about Opera’s love) and the random sword fight. Also the…