#also shojo rei master.

[apotelesmaa]

Who do u think u are I am etc

[irenewsky]

Anime I watched in 2023 (Part 1)

In honor of the new year, I’m gonna be casting a look back at the anime I watched last year. Unfortunately, I didn’t have a lot of free time to watch anime at the beginning of the year due to university kicking my ass, but after I finally graduated with my master’s degree, I could finally work through some of the backlog I had accumulated on Crunchyroll and Netflix.

Anyway, without further ado, this is a list of anime I watched in 2023 with some short descriptions and my own personal opinions. Let it be known, there is a lot of text in this one.

Also, since there ended up being a lot more shows that I watched than I thought there would be, this had to be cut in two -> Click here for part 2

Some of my older lists:

My favourite animes (Old. Tells of my tastes back in, like, 2018-2020 or something. Updated list coming once I get around to it)

Feel good anime Part 1 / Part 2 / Part 3

Handa-kun

Handa Seishuu is a calligraphy prodigy and a high schooler. For years he has been living under the assumption that his student peers all hate him. This is, of course, a huge misunderstanding. In reality, Handa is very much admired in his school, to the point of being popular. Where did this misunderstanding stem from and how can it be resolved?

12 episodes - comedy, slice of life

I liked this one! Although I did have a little bit of distaste towards one of Handa’s so called friends. You’ll understand who and why if you decide to watch this.

Barakamon

Handa Seishuu, now a 25-year-old man, punches a famous, older calligrapher judging his latest work. As a consequence of his own actions, he is sent to live in small town in the countryside where a group of kids rutinely keeps breaking into his house. Beautiful friendships bloom between Handa and the people of this town.

12 episodes - comedy, seinen, slice of life

Took me an episode or two to get in to, but once I did I thoroughly enjoyed it!

Backflip!!

Shoutaro Futaba enters high school with intense love for sports, especially men’s rythmic gymnastics after he saw Shoushukan high school’s team perform in a competition. He enrolls into said high school and hopes to join the team despite not having any prior experience with gymnastics. Another boy, Ryouya Misato, get recruited alongside him and together with their senpais they start to work towards Inter-high tournament.

12 episodes and an OVA - sports

I started this in the beginning of the year and only got around to finishing it in November. Actually liked this one a lot! The final movie left me feeling so happy yet bittersweet. I recommend this one!

Skip and Loafer

Mitsumi Iwakura leaves her small countryside town and moves to Tokyo to live with her aunt in hopes that attending a prestigious high school would aid with her ultimate goals in life. As the new school year begins, Mitsumi leaves for school with high hopes, gets lost at the subway station, runs into classmate called Sousuke Shima and together the two barely make it to the entrance ceremony. What will her school life shape up to be?

12 episodes - romace, shojo

Nao-chan supremacy! The bestest aunt!

I really liked to animation animation style of this anime. For me, the show looks very soft and fresh in a spring and pastels kind of way. It’s hard to explain but I hope at least one person gets what I mean. I like the characters a lot and their interactions feel nice and grounded. The romance isn’t the main focus in this one, at least not in this season, which I liked since it’s always lovely to just see friendships put into the spotlight.

Buddy Daddies

What do you get if you combine two trained, professional assassins who live together and an accidental child acquisition? A riot of a family dynamic. Katsuki Kurusu and Rei Suwa fumble through their new shared life as parents to a four-year-old Miri Unasaka. What seemed like a temporary situation at first, stops looking temporary when genuine affection and care for the little girl and her well-being start to blossom in both men’s hearts.

13 episodes - action, comedy

This one was so good. I loved every minute of this and the characters’ dynamics worked so well together. Anyone in the shows comment section who complained about Miri being annoying had clearly never been around young children and it showed. Miri is a delightful little girl who loves her dads very much. There was also a fair bit of action in this which was a nice change of pace amidst all the parenthood things.

My New Boss Is Goofy

Momose Kentaro is a 26-year-old office worker working for a marketing firm, Minette. He is new to the job, having just recently quit his previous job due to power harrassement and abuse he received from his former boss. Can his new clumsy and little goofy manager Shirosaki Yuusei make him feel comfortable in his new job?

12 episodes - comedy, slice of life

I love everything about this show. The characters, the storylines in each episode, the art style. This just makes you feel happy and a little giddy. Definitely my favourite show of the year. This one earned the top spot on my rewatchable shows list.

If you liked Play It Cool, Guys or The Ice Guy and His Cool Female Colleague, you might like this one.

Ron Kamonohashi’s Forbidden Deductions

Kamonohashi Ron was the best stundent of an elite detective school until an incident took away his future career path and made him live as a recluse as he refused to receive any information about the world outside his four walls. One day a police detective Totomaru Isshiki is adviced to approach Ron about a series of cases that have stumped the police for a while now. But because Ron is not allowed to do any sleuthing, Totomaru has to work as Ron’s puppet of sorts. Oh, and there is also the thing about having to keep Ron from influencing the killers to take their own lives. Oh well.

13 episodes - comedy, mystery

I’m a sucker for anything ’Sherlock Holmes’ type of media so this show was right up my alley. Eagerly waiting for the confirmed second season.

Play It Cool, Guys

Group of goofy and clumsy guys from different stages of life happen to meet one another and develop heartwarming friendships. Little mishaps won’t ruin their day!

24 (short) episodes - slice of life

Easily one of my favourites of the year. Watching this felt like sipping a cup of hot green tea while wrapped up in a blanket. Instant rewatch.

If you enjoyed The Ice Guy and His Cool Female Colleague or My New Boss is Goofy, you might also like this one

Vanitas no Karte

A vampire named Noé Archiviste is looking for a book called ’the book of Vanitas’ in the 19th century Paris, when he unexpectedly meets a man calling himself Vanitas and carries the book he’s searching for. The Vanitas he meets isn’t the original maker of the book but a doctor who possesses the ability to save vampires by returning their true names to them.

24 episodes - action, fantasy, mystery

Me, mere minutes into the first episode: ”If anything were to happen to Noé, I would kill everyone in this room and the myself.” Anyway, love me some vampire action, especially with that late 1800s, early 1900s Paris vibe. Delicious.

Vampire Dies in No Time

One day vampire hunter Ronald is tasked to infiltrate a castle and save a woman’s son. Things don’t quite go as he expected. Inside the palace, he meets a vampire called Draluc, who is truly so pathetically weak that he turns to ash from smallest of things that ahppen to startle him, and Draluc’s companion, armadillo John. The kid he seeked was totally fine and playing with Draluc’s video games. Oh and Draluc’s castle gets destroyed. Yeah… Ronald has a new roommate now.

2 seasons - comedy, supernatural

This truly is armadillo John’s world and we’re just living in it.

Love me some more vampire action. Only this time it’s a lot less angsty and violent and a lot more ridiculous and goofy. I laughed so much while watching this.

[officialshojobeat]

☆☆ NEW SERIES ANNOUNCEMENT ☆☆

The King’s Beast 

by Rei Toma (The Water Dragon’s Bride, Dawn of the Arcana)

A smoldering tale of romance and revenge set in the world of Dawn of the Arcana!

Legend says that a sacred beast appears in the time of a great king… Ajin are people who bear the attributes of beasts, and in this kingdom they are forced to serve men in the military and women in the brothels. The Ajin boys who show signs of special abilities are conscripted to serve in the imperial palace as beast servants—status symbols and shields for their royal masters, to be kept or discarded on a whim. When Rangetsu’s twin brother Sogetsu showed signs of such abilities, he was ripped from her arms and given to Prince Tenyou as a beast servant, where he quickly fell victim to bloody royal intrigues. Now in a world that promises only bitterness, Rangetsu’s one hope is to disguise herself as a man and find a way into the palace to avenge her brother!

About the Author: Rei Toma has been drawing since childhood, and she created her first complete manga for a graduation project in design school. When she drew the short story manga “Help Me, Dentist,” it attracted a publisher's attention and she made her debut right away. After she found success as a manga artist, acclaim in other art fields started to follow as she did illustrations for novels and video game character designs. She is the creator of Dawn of the Arcana and The Water Dragon’s Bride, also available through the Shojo Beat imprint.

Coming in February 2021!

[recentanimenews]

Kodansha Comics Plans Releases Of "Fairy Tail" Author's "Rave Master" - Plus Sports Manga "All Out!!" An "Shojo Fight"

Along with the conclusion of the Fairy Tail manga and author Hiro Mashima's plan to attend New York Comic Con in October, Kodansha Comics has announced plans for a new release of his earlier fantasy action manga Rave Master. The series ran 35 volumes from 1999-2005 in Weekly Shonen Magazine and was released in North America by Tokyopop and Del Rey. 

From their announcement

It happens. Sometimes printed manga titles become no longer available: they go “out of print.” And as part of our massive digital-first lineup expansion, we’ve been bringing a lot of those title back—as digital “rescues” so they can be discovered by new generations of manga fans.

Whether it was Tsutomu Nihei's cyberpunk trendsetter NOiSE or Tomoko Ninomiya's all-time classical-music tearjerker Nodame Cantabile or Kouji Seo'sFuuka predecessor Suzuka, we haven't just been resurrecting long out-of-print titles but in many cases finally completing those series so they could at last be read in their entirety in English. But there was always one series out there that we especially wanted to bring back …

As part of our ongoing celebration of the conclusion to Fairy Tail and all things Hiro Mashima, on October 3 Kodansha Comics will be releasing in one fell swoop the entire 35-volume run of Mashima’s original fantasy-action breakout hit, Rave Master. Originally one of the bestselling titles published by Tokyopop, Rave Master has been out of print for almost a decade, but now all 35 volumes are back and available for preorder at all of our digital retail partners: BookWalker, comiXology, Crunchyroll, Google Play, iBooks, Kindle, Kobo, and nook.

  We're also running a special promotional preorder price—more than 40% off cover price—for every volume!

  See a preview at http://ift.tt/2fCbo3X

  Here's the full lowdown on the events, exclusives & free stuff for #FairyTail celebration at #NYCC2017! https://t.co/uOUo7Oyb98 http://pic.twitter.com/zPHsEfQIsy

— Kodansha Comics (@KodanshaUSA) September 20, 2017

UPDATE: Just added an additional @hiro_mashima signing session at #NYCC2017 @FUNimation Booth (#542)! Details: https://t.co/0c6QVqg0OQ http://pic.twitter.com/UjMg5ZB4zT

— Kodansha Comics (@KodanshaUSA) September 20, 2017

Speaking of @hiro_mashima... His classic manga #RaveMaster is BACK! This time on digital! https://t.co/zhsT8xOqbG

— Kodansha Comics (@KodanshaUSA) September 20, 2017

  Also, this month, the publisher will be debut digital editions of sports manga All Out!! and Shojo Fight.

  Shojo Fight

By Yoko Nihonbashi

see a preview at http://ift.tt/2xyd7AR

Ever since that day, Neri Oishi’s resolved not to make friends. She’s fifteen years old and plays volleyball at Hakuunzan Private Academy Middle School, which is known for producing top players of the sport. Neri’s doing everything she can to hold herself back, including hiding that she was the captain of a team that took second place in a national tournament when she was in elementary school. While she’s immersed in this team sport, why should Neri have to kill herself? What keeps her from quitting volleyball in spite of that? Get ready for an ensemble volleyball drama!

    All Out!!

By Shiori Amase

see a preview at http://ift.tt/2xyd8EV

Kenji Gion has always had a complex about his height. On his first day of high school, he meets the giant Iwashimizu and a certain ball game: rugby. This classic shonen manga of youth and high school rugby starts now!

  via TheOASG

  ------ Scott Green is editor and reporter for anime and manga at geek entertainment site Ain't It Cool News. Follow him on Twitter at @aicnanime.

By: news+feed@crunchyroll.com

[speedknight]

Singapore Toy Games & Comic Convention 2017 was it's biggest ever. Into it's 10th year,lets take a look at the captured moments at Halls C,D & F of the Sands Expo & Convention over the weekend from the 9th to the 10th of September 2017.

Akiba Zone

Mini Stage

Ayame*Apricot and Masayoshi Minoshima of  Alstroemeria Records

TAM (TAMusic) & Akai Ryusei (Tokyo Active NEETs & Kokyo Active NEETs)

Akiba zone as the name suggest,was inspired by the very town in Japan. Idols, Doujin music circles,Guest Cosplayers & makeup products are found here. This zone was also made accessible with the lowest tier ticket,benefiting those were only interested in the eastern pop culture(DJ night and Japan Pop stage exclusive,though).      

Local Dance group Tokimeki Jump

Local dance group A-live

Ola Aphrodite 

Ayame*Apricot

Rie Yurohara

At the mini stage within Akiba town, visitors were treated with bite size performances. On the first day the stage was largely focused on Idol Performances. Besides Japanese idols like Rie Yurohara, Ayame*Apricort, Sae Tuskiyama & Idol groups like Tokyo Clear's , ColorPionte, local Dance groups like Tokimeki Jump ,  A-live , Natsuiro Party & Ola Aphrodite a member of  an Indonesian idol group Shojo Complex performed to an enthusiastic crowd which wotagei and cheered throughout the performances. The day mellowed down with TAMusic & Akai Ryusei bringing the audiences acoustic rendition of anisongs, games and the all too familar pieces from Touhou.

M_Minoshima(Alstroemeria Records)

ARM(IOSYS)

DJ Benkun

The enthusiastic crowd returns on the 2nd day this time enjoying remixes from Anime, Touhou and   other games. Local anikura DJ Benkun was spinning alongside Masayoshi Minoshima of  Alstroemeria Records, ARM  of iosys, DJ Keitan  of Real Akiba Boyz and Shouya Namai.

@tokimekijump performing at #STGCC2017 akibazone mini stage now!!

A post shared by Wong Han Siang 黄瀚翔 (@speedknight) on Sep 8, 2017 at 9:11pm PDT

Ayame *Apricot x @tokimekijump #STGCC2017 akibazone mini stage day 1

A post shared by Wong Han Siang 黄瀚翔 (@speedknight) on Sep 8, 2017 at 9:58pm PDT

@Arm_iosys Feat. @Tamusic save me Errrrrrrrin ~~~~ #STGCC2017

A post shared by Wong Han Siang 黄瀚翔 (@speedknight) on Sep 9, 2017 at 9:58pm PDT

Lol lol lol the Sailor Moon dance agian #STGCC2017

A post shared by Wong Han Siang 黄瀚翔 (@speedknight) on Sep 9, 2017 at 11:42pm PDT

Guest Cosplayers 

Siutao

Shimo

Leon Chiro

Iroi Moe

The 3 Guest taking a pictures together & autographing on them as a mementos for each other  

Fans of  Siutao(Hong Kong), Shimo(Taiwan), Iroi Moe(Japan), Leon Chiro(Italy) were delighted that not only they get to meet their favourite cosplayers up close, they are able to get their merchandise autographed. Every Single of the guest had their merchandise sold out by the mid of 2nd day!     DJ Night (Day 1) & Japan Pop Stage (Day 2)

DJ REDShiFT

Yunomi Feat.Nicamoq

Ayame*Apricot and Masayoshi Minoshima of  Alstroemeria Records

Taku Inoue

ARM of Iosys

On day 1 of STGCC the programme on the main stage ended with the staple of STGCC, the DJ Night. This year hot favourites such as Masayoshi Minoshima of  Alstroemeria Records [Bad Apple!!-Touhou Remix] returns with new faces such as ARM  of iosys [Cirno Perfect Math Class-Touhou Remix],  Taku Inoue [Your Sunset-Tekken Tag Tournament 2 OST]   Yunomi Feat.Nicamoq[Mentai Cosmic-Original Song] all are top DJ from Japan , Last but not least its REDSHiFT[Lucid Dream-Original Song Feat. 巡音ルカ ] from Neighboring Indonesia.

Sae Tsukiyama and Tracy of Amatres Records 

Hiiragi Rio

Yunomi Feat.Nicamoq

Rie Yorohara

Ayame*Apricot

ColorPointe

Tokyo Clear's

Similarly on Day 2 where Japan Pop Stage ended the day with crowd favourites like Rie Yurohara, Sae Tuskiyama & Hiiragi Rio returns, while Ayame*Apricot (Though not her 1st time in Singapore, She came for EOY 2015 before), Yunomi Feat.Nicamoq,Tokyo Clear's  & ColorPionte Performed on STGCC's Japanese pop culture stage for the very 1st time.

@M_minoshima @ayame_apricot #STGCC2017 #alstroemeriarecords

A post shared by Wong Han Siang 黄瀚翔 (@speedknight) on Sep 10, 2017 at 4:09am PDT

Woah ballet version of senbon by colorpionte

A post shared by Wong Han Siang 黄瀚翔 (@speedknight) on Sep 10, 2017 at 5:01am PDT

STGCC Championship of Cosplay & Kids Cosplay parade.

STGCC Championship of Cosplay

The 8 Contestant for this year's  Championship of Cosplay. 

There were 8 Contestants for this year's Championship of Cosplay vying for the top prize of a trip to  Crown Championships of Cosplay finals at C2E2 2018. As of past STGCC Championship of Cosplay fashion contestants this year were all deck out in impressive amours and props. Results after the break!

2nd Runner Up

1st Runner Up

Winner for STGCC 2017 Championship of Cosplay

Kids Cosplay Parade 

The Participants for Kids Cosplay parade.

While the kids cosplay parade every year may not be as impressive as the Championship of Cosplay, it's always interesting to see the young Padawans on stage, at a tender each you can never guest each participants reaction on stage some put up a brave and impressive act while others would be so shy that the would just quickly walk across the exit and entry points to the backstage. Artist Galore 

Rachta Lin

Velvet Room booth 

Some marvel & DC figurines  

Sugarfree Booth

Have your Caricature drawn

James C. Mulligan

Sonny Liew

Frank Cho

Shimo

East meets West!

No con is complete without Artist Gallery, STGCC 2017 offering this year has something for everyone.,be it the Eastern or Western Pop culture. This year's Walk of fame is situated in this section as well.  For the artistes get your autograph & interact with them, as for the guest cosplayers get your photos taken with them with a cleaner background and lightings. GGXP

Asus ROG Masters Grand Finals  (Counter-Strike)

VIVE Booth at GGXP has some serious VR action

Qishan Should not be a stranger to the gaming community here  

Competitive Gaming too much for you? Have a Casual gaming session or two at the chillax zone   

Avertigos a kickstarted singapore made board game that revolves around sail ships   

Gaming is the probably the section that got the biggest boost at this year's STGCC partnering GGXP. Competitive gamers fight it out at Asus ROG Masters. There is also a tabletop gaming section where Avertigos a board game that is made in Singapore that is based on .         Starwars: Experience the Force

Kylo Ren Resting inside the  Millennium Falcon

Rey's Speeder bike mockup

Hmmm..... The timeline has been altered? XD 

Another Section that took up a significant floor space is Starwars: Experience the Force. with life size mock-ups of the Millennium Falcon's interior and Rey's Speeder bike fans of the star wars franchise was in for a treat and certainly the force was strong at the show floor. Exclusively Your's (or not)

HMO Megaman Displayed at the booth

Kinetiquettes Chun li

Masterpiece Collection of Fire Engines 

Without doubt the STGCC Exclusives are always pulling in the early crowd. Even before i entered the hall on Saturday,the People who wanted the exclusives had already formed up snaking queues at the booths(VIP pass holders get early access to the show floor). Even if you are not here for the exclusive you get to feast your eyes on the highly detailed, most of the time hand sculpted figures many of which is already out of production. EDP Lab Singapore STGCC official after party  

Kors K, Ryu☆,Camellia & Kradness

Kors K

Ryu☆

 There was an After party at VLV for STGCC this year with DJs like Ryu☆, Kors K ,Kradness & Quarke, The pictures above was taken at the preview session at the event itself. Why? Because after Covering 2 days of STGCC 2017, the after party is for Enjoyment!

#EDPlabsingapore #STGCC2017 Official after party Ryu☆

A post shared by Wong Han Siang 黄瀚翔 (@speedknight) on Sep 10, 2017 at 9:55am PDT

Ryu☆ #STGCC2017 after party #EDPlabsingapore

A post shared by Wong Han Siang 黄瀚翔 (@speedknight) on Sep 10, 2017 at 9:36am PDT

           Cheers to the end of #STGCC2017

A post shared by Wong Han Siang 黄瀚翔 (@speedknight) on Sep 10, 2017 at 9:59am PDT

More Captured Memories