#dandadan episodes review

[afabstract]

Dan Da Dan Episode 7 Review: Kindness Wins

Episode 7 of 'Dan Da Dan' delves into Momo and Okarun's final battle with Acrobatic Silky while uncovering her heartbreaking backstory.

Follow us on Twitter | Instagram Well, that was an unexpectedly emotional episode! It begins with a realistically animated scene of a woman rushing through a dimly lit city street at night, searching for something. She grunts and pants, as if utterly exhausted or in excruciating pain—almost as if she’s bleeding… But soon, the scene shifts to the present, where Turbo Granny in cat-form has just…

[mastacell]

Dem H0es Are Back!! DANDADAN Episode 8 Review

[jackle-fundashii]

Turbo granny was very "U no wot they call me back home?" ..... "By my name." This episode

[zambogirlpiano]

How to Play Dandandan OP 'Otonoke' on Piano

[originaljiraiyan]

Dandadan Episode 5 Recap and Review

[ecargmura]

Dandadan Episode 7 Review - A Mother's Love

If Episode 4 hasn’t put Science Saru on the map for high quality animation, then this episode surely did. I haven’t read the source material, but even as an anime-only watcher, I can definitely see the love and passion the studio puts into this. It’s crazy how a Japanese anime studio owned by a Korean person can make such invigorating quality.

The rest of the fight with Acrobatic Silky was animated well. I love how the kids outwitted her by running away just so her hair gets caught in the nook and cranny of the warehouse. Okarun manages to defeat her by going full throttle. However, their victory isn’t a happy one as devouring Aira caused her to die. Turbo Granny explained that since she’s an ordinary person, being devoured by a spirit would easily kill someone. I sort of like that detail, honestly. There’s no anime logic about how she could survive this. She’s dead and that is what the rest of the episode is about. 

What I also like is that seeing her dead easily causes Momo and Okarun to start doing what they can like telling Turbo Granny to call the ambulance and for Momo to resuscitate her using her psychic hands. Though, it does feel odd that a group of teenagers know how to resuscitate someone so skillfully, even if it’s an attempt. They’re both not doctors and are on the opposite spectrum of them. The only way she can be saved is having Acrobatic Silky connect her aura to Aira’s like connecting two cords together.

That’s where the highlight of the episode comes in the form of Silky’s tragic backstory. Man, it broke my heart seeing Silky’s life before her unfortunate end. She was a single mother working as a prostitute alongside several jobs in order to provide for her and her beloved daughter who was her entire world and her purpose for living. Her daughter was sweet in that she was essentially her light in her life. She worked hard in order to buy the red dress that eventually becomes what she wears as a ghost and she was also teaching her daughter ballet. The tragedy comes from debt collectors or mobsters coming in to assault her and then they later took her daughter away, which is severely tragic because the sequences of her life before the tragedy shows that her daughter just celebrated her fifth birthday. If the mobsters are related to trafficking, this means that her daughter’s fate became that of a trafficked child and that’s horrendous in itself. Also, props to Hina Kino for voicing the daughter. She's excellent at creating a child-like voice, especially with how she wailed.

Silky’s dance sequence before meeting her end was seriously beautiful, yet so tragic. The scenery with the starry night was gorgeous but Silky starts dancing. Ballet is an elegant, graceful and poised style of dancing and that’s how she decided to meet her end. The way it was animated was so gorgeous. Also, if you noticed, Silky’s dancing was used in the full music video of Dandadan’s opening song.

There are some people out there wondering if Silky’s daughter is Aira. She’s not. When Silky became a ghost, she could only stand listlessly until little Aira came and mistook her for her recently deceased mother. Realizing that she had a daughter, Silky latched onto Aira and decided to protect her until it became obsessive and psychotic. 

This sequence also showcases why Aira behaved the way she did earlier. She’s a narcissist primarily because of what her father had said about her needing to become stronger in order to let her mother be proud of her once she sees her again. That was why she developed a high self-confidence in order to one day show her late mother. She may have been insufferable before but the memories have completely humbled her. The way she hugged Silky just so she could have solace and not be forgotten in death was such a powerful scene. This shows that underneath her pompous attitude, Aira had a kind heart. My opinion of her instantly changed after this. Wow. I legit shed some tears.

I wonder if Dandadan’s story is just encountering a ghost or an alien and learning of their stories or what not. There doesn’t seem to be an overall grand scheme of things. I like that honestly. It’s just a story about kids encountering the supernatural and learning a lot of life lessons amidst the craziness. Please correct me if I’m wrong. Anyways, what are your thoughts about this episode?

[spyxfamilyanalysis]

Did you know? (Trust me, y'all will shock!)

So recently, aside from waiting for Endo-sensei releasing the next chapter, and it was soooo longggggg.....

[May contain spoilers!] + poll pls choose :")

So a week ago, I started reading new manga (online), and recently there's a new anime series in Autumn 2024, and currently has 5 episodes, the story is about aliens & youkais and cute romcom 🥰

You guess it! DANDADAN by Tatsu Yukinobu! (R - 17+) (should it be a bit 18+? slightly)

(continue reading will unlock surprises~)

Yes, I read and reached chapter 173, which was just out yesterday, so that means, 172+1 chapters finished within a week!

Usually, if I didn't go to uni/school in general, like in summer break, I would have finished 150+ within 3-4 days

Listen, I won't spoil the manga or anime, go watch it on your own pls :)))

Recently, I've been thinking of doing analysis about Dandadan as well, but it's still in consideration, because I still have SPY x FAMILY analysis here, and it's still undone! So not quite sure if I have the urge to make a blog about Dandadan, even though this is currently a hot anime. And there haven't been many blogs about Dandadan doing analysis (i think?) So I'll let you decide! Pls comment whether I should make a blog about Dandadan (think wisely! 'Cause I still have uni study too :")))

You know why I post sth not about SxF? You think it's not related?

Not because there's no relation... IT ACTUALLY DOESSS!!!

So as you already (or not) know

You know Chainsaw Man (Autumn 2022), right? By Fujimoto Tatsuki (R - 17+) (a bit 18+)

(though I haven't watched it yet, but yeah I heard of the name)

So Fujimoto-sensei has his amazing assistants who also have great manga series and earn popularity and respect from the fans! One of them is Tatsu-sensei, the author of Dandadan.

Next, Hell's Paradise: Jigokuraku (Spring 2023) by Kaku Yugi (I heard it's coming up for season 2)

I have already read and finish the manga, like a year ago. Trust me, it's wild (but ofc R - 17+) (the manga is a bit 18+ :"))

Finally, you guessed it! SPY x FAMILY by Endo Tatsuya!!!

I've been wanting to tell ya this, but I kept waiting and you know, busying with exams :")))

Also, here's a cute reference from Dandadan that I captured:

[Dandadan chapter 129]

slightly hihihihihihihihihihihihihihihi (laughs uncontrollably)

[dandadananalysis]

DANDADAN analysis main post!

If you love Dandadan, this blog is for you!

If you love romcom anime, you are interested in occult phenomena - such as spirits/yokais and aliens/astrology - mysteries in general, this Autumn 2024 anime, Dandadan, is for you! This anime is an adaptation from the manga of the same name, whose author is Tatsu Yukinobu, the one working as an assisstant for the anime/manga Chainsaw Man, by Fujimoto Tatsuki.

[SPOILERS WARNINGS!] R17+

It's a story about a nerdy, but lonely boy named Takakura Ken (later Momo calls him by Okarun), who believes in aliens, befriends with an out-going girl named Ayase Momo, who believes in spirits & ghosts, and a great fan of Takakura Ken, a famous actor. When they first went head-to-head, both of them dared the other that if they find out aliens/ghosts are real, they will become the other's slave. And turns out, both the aliens and ghosts are real!

Okarun was possessed and cursed by a spirit named Turbo Granny, and eventually, he lost his b@lls/kintama (Japanese for Golden ball), but he gains Granny's speed and her power; while Momo was abducted by aliens who called themselves as the Serpoians/Serpos, but luckily, she unlocked her inner energy/power (?), which is her special psychokinesis ability, and escaped successfully. The two of them worked together to help Okarun find his kintama back thanks to the help with their friends, though they have to come across many spiritual situation, alien invasion... And sooner or later, y'know, they actually become close friends, love and care for each other. [ya know what ima talking abt]

[SPOILERS]

Edit/Cont: (According to the latest chapter) Now they are looking for a special cure to turn Momo back into her orginal size, as well as solving mysteries with their friends.

As I mentioned before, same as my 2nd blog, @spyxfamilyanalysis, there will be a pin post for this blog as well. There are analysis of the episodes & chapters, descriptions of the characters & relationships, facts about occults: yokais, aliens, and other stuffs in the future.

Analysis:

¬ Season 1: 3rd October, 2024 - 18th December, 2024

Turbo Granny Arc (chapter 1-8): analysis

1. That's How Love Starts, Ya Know! [pt.1.1] [pt.1.2]

2. That's A Space Alien, Ain't It?!

3. It's a Granny Vs. Granny Clash!

4. Kicking Turbo Granny's Ass

Acrobatic Sliky Arc (chapter 9-17): analysis

5. Like, Where are Your Balls?!

6. A Dangerous Woman Arrives

7. To a Kinder World

Serpo Arc (chapter 18-27): review + analysis

8. I've Got This Funny Feeling [pt.1 (review)]

9. Merge! Serpo Dover Demon Nessie! [pt.2 (review)]

10. Have You Ever Seen a Cattle Mutilation? [pt.3 (review)]

Cursed House Arc (chapter 28-33)

11. First Love (watch live) [pt.1.1 (review delayed)]

12. Let's Go To The Cursed House

¬ Season 2 (July 2025) Huge announcement!, Official trailer

Cursed House Arc (cont.) (chapter 34-50)

Evil Eye Arc (chapter 51-62)

Kaiju Arc (chapter 63-73?)

Full description of character: (not yet)

Facts: Chapter 30, love Turbo Granny Meow meow :3, Chapter 176, Chapter 177, 177 Cont.1, Chapter 178, Chapter 50, Chapter 51+cont, Chapter 52, Chapter 179, Chapter 180, Chapter 181, Chapter 182

Facebook: Discussion Turbo Granny, Woofkarun, Tatsu Yukinobu loves Ultraman

Polls: What post should I continue work on?

Ask box: Help me :")))

Other stuffs: Welcome!, The reason why this blog is made, My blogs~, 100+1 posts reached, nearly 2AM post: good night, uni life killin' me (?), teacher, why :"))), updating main post (cursed house arc), update my temporary pin post, thank you 250 likes, thank you 500 likes, New update blog

Thank you for 82 followers 🥰

[brucebocchi]

Ranking 2024 anime, Pt. 2: #40-31

hey, this post is also available on my ko-fi, so please check it out and consider tipping/donating as i do this for free and am currently between jobs. you can find part 1 of the list here. thanks!

Alright, on we go to the list proper. The first post was probably whiplash-inducing, going from a bunch of shorter stuff I loved to whole seasons I hated, but we can only go up from here. I watched a lot of anime this year, as the numbers indicate, so there's a little positivity to be found even in the lower rankings.

As always, OPs are linked in the series titles. Watch them, they're almost all great.

40. Metallic Rouge

One of the biggest disappointments of the year, one which I didn’t think could be outdone (and I’ll get to that one shortly). Metallic Rouge had so much going for it as a Studio Bones original for its anniversary, and managed to fumble all of its promise and goodwill in slow, agonizing fashion. 

It’s a shame, too. Metallic Rouge still looks awesome; the character and mech designs are excellent, the space-cyberpunk aesthetic is undeniable, and the animation can be terrific when it counts. The story, on the other hand, is so completely asinine that I was sick of this show before it ended. I’ve mostly forgotten what even happens, partly because it was that infuriating to keep up with, and partly because I feel like the writers forgot too; the bulk of any actual story felt backloaded into the last two or three episodes because they focused too hard on vibes for a while. I think they were trying to go for some “G-Witch by way of Detroit: Become Human” something or other, but all of it rang hollow. I’m still not sure whether it needed more runtime or better writers. Probably both.

Not worth your time. Just watch the OP and imagine a better show than what we got.

39. Mysterious Disappearances

I’ve thought so little about this show since it went off the air that I don’t really have anything new to say. Looks pretty lousy most of the time, not that interesting, oddly horny, and the plot structure gets kind of cloying after a while.

I know I harped on that last point when I reviewed it at the end of the spring season, but something funny happened after I did. Back in July, I mentioned that I took issue with the formula of “we encounter a paranormal anomaly, it’s identified as a yokai or urban legend, we learn its tragic backstory, our protagonists give it closure, and we move on” because it felt manipulative after I realized that it happened with every arc, and then I went ahead and read DanDaDan, which basically does exactly the same thing but a hell of a lot better. Comparing a middling work like this to DanDaDan of all things feels unfair, but they cover pretty similar ground. Maybe it’s sharper writing, or maybe it’s just a more engaging work. Who’s to say?

I’d also said in my review that Mysterious Disappearances unintentionally gives off the vibe of a poorly-archived mid-2000s series, but I hadn’t realized just how right I was: It turns out that studio Zero-G just went ahead and made up its own ending even though the source material is still ongoing. Better shows did the same this year, but the studio and I seem to have the same level of faith that this anime’s ever coming back.

38. My Deer Friend Nokotan

Honestly? Fuck this show.

I’ve already gone into what I did and didn’t like about Nokotan after it went off air a few months ago and I don’t care to revisit that while it’s still relatively fresh. Not nearly as funny as it pretended to be, yet still not even confident in its own sense of humor. The OP's still a bop (calling it "Shikairo Days" was a genuinely great joke), and a small handful of gags do land, but not enough to prevent this from being a massive disappointment.  At the same time, Nokotan was still somehow not the biggest letdown of the year.

37. Uzumaki

This was the biggest letdown of the year.

When an anime adaptation of the legendary Junji Ito horror manga was first announced in 2019, it was hard not to get excited. Even when I’d mostly fallen out of anime fandom, I knew damn well who Junji Ito was and I knew Uzumaki. Adult Swim was funding the project, a prestige studio in Production I.G. was handling the animation, and they even nabbed Hereditary composer Colin Stetson for the score. Ito’s manga is famously very difficult to adapt well, and it looked like we finally had a project being taken seriously. Delays and radio silence in the ensuing years were disappointing, but I was willing to be patient if it meant everything was being handled right. When the trailer dropped this summer, it looked like it would be worth the wait.

And for one glorious episode, it seemed like everyone’s patience paid off. Uzumaki’s debut episode was one of the most visually arresting pieces of animation I’ve ever seen: The entire look and feel was faithful to Ito’s inimitable style, from the meticulously detailed linework to the stark black-and-white color grading of his manga’s pages. On top of that, the animation itself was absurdly good; the process of rotoscoping 3D motion capture seemed arduous, but the end result was beautifully lifelike for a story where that quality could only serve to instill further terror. Several of the most iconic images from the early chapters looked incredible in hi-def motion. Sure, the pacing was a little fast, but this was a four-episode miniseries. We could deal. This was just too good.

And then came the second episode.

I’m not going to over-elaborate or relitigate every single thing that went wrong here, because it’s a lot. Uzumaki was in development for a long time, and that five year gap between announcement and release included several detriments to the production process, not the least of which being COVID, animation production changing hands between several studios, and new leadership for Adult Swim’s parent company that now favors profit over product, especially when it comes to animation that doesn’t involve DC characters. Plenty of us figured that all of these delays and a run of only four episodes meant that they had the time to hammer out all the issues and give us the best possible product. That, unfortunately, was not the case.

Responding to complaints about the decline in animation in the second episode, executive producer Jason DeMarco (who, to be blunt, has overseen several mediocre-to-awful anime products released under the Adult Swim brand, including my bottom-ranked anime of 2023) claimed in a quickly-deleted Bluesky thread that there is indeed a higher-up to blame and that they were left with an ultimatum to either drop Uzumaki after just one episode, let it go the way of so many other Warner Bros non-releases under David Zaslav’s disastrous leadership, or release the whole miniseries in its half-baked state. They went with the third.

So, what we got was an uneven, often sloppy work; another mediocrity to throw on the pile of failed Junji Ito adaptations. All goodwill established in the first episode is soon undone by wonky character models, uncanny walk cycles, and movement that looks like PNGs being dragged across a background at the most inopportune times. Plenty of viewers, myself included, were willing to overlook the accelerated pacing after the first episode, but that issue was thrown into stark relief by the second when entire chapters of the manga began playing out simultaneously, and one was even reduced to an afterthought for a cheap “scare” at the end of episode three. 

Not that I thought Uzumaki necessarily needed a full 12-episode season for a proper adaptation or anything; Ito’s output can often be light on story, and dragging it out too far risks losing interest. What makes Ito’s stories actually work, though, is a proper sense of setting and space to let tensions rise. That didn’t entirely happen here; while the atmosphere of Kurozu-cho does plenty resemble what we’ve seen from Ito’s pages, and Stetson’s atonal saxophone does a lot of work to raise the level of unease, things just kind of happen. Few things really get the chance to land as intended, in part due to the production quality cheaping out at climactic moments.

This was the last anime I finished this year even though I’d watched the first two episodes after they aired and it went off the air in October. I was looking forward to the last two episodes that little. There are still bits and pieces of great animation and faithful adaptation here and there, but not enough to regain any goodwill from the second episode’s wheels visibly falling off. Maybe it’s finally time to declare Junji Ito’s works unadaptable once and for all. 

Definitely watch that first episode, though. At this point I kind of wish that’s all we’d gotten.

36. Hokkaido Gals Are Super Adorable!

Straitlaced Nice Guy moves to a new town, laid-back gyaru from his class immediately takes a liking to him, a couple other girls enter the picture, shenanigans ensue, and a slow-burn romance begins in parallel. Nothing special on paper and nothing much more special than that in execution. The setting is lovely, though, and it really made me want to visit Hokkaido one day. Nicely done, tourism board.

If you watched this and were put off by it, I don’t blame you; I probably would’ve been too if I hadn’t decided to read ahead in the manga. I will say this, though: If you liked Hokkaido Gals even a little, read the manga. It’s a minor investment, but if you can get over the halfway mark, it gets surprisingly good and has a really lovely ending. 

The anime, on the other hand? Meh. Doesn’t look super great and didn’t have enough time in 12 episodes to overcome most of the issues the source material had to move past to get to what made it worthwhile. It would take another season or two to get there, and that probably isn’t gonna happen. Great OP, though (I'm starting to repeat myself, I know). Just read the manga.

35. No Longer Allowed in Another World

Boasting one of the most audacious premises for an isekai I’ve ever seen, No Longer Allowed in Another World doesn’t shy away from the implications of an Osamu Dazai isekai, has the dark humor to match, and provides some fascinating commentary on the type of person who tends to consume wish-fulfillment isekai. Unfortunately, the presentation was a little lacking and threatened to lose my attention several times. I think the idea is much better on paper, to the point where I might test that theory and go read the manga.

34. The Wrong Way to Use Healing Magic

The next dozen or so anime in the rankings fall into a category of either “well-made anime that I found kind of frustrating” or “middling anime that I kind of enjoyed.” The Wrong Way to Use Healing Magic is very much the latter. It’s a standard isekai on paper; demon king, special powers, what have you, but it has a likable cast and laid-back vibe for much of its runtime that made it pleasant enough to watch.

As I said after the winter season, I really liked that Wrong Way spends a lot of its early story ensuring that the protagonist expends the time and effort necessary for him to become the hero he’s meant to be instead of the narrative just handing it to him from the start, which instantly sets it apart from most other wish-fulfillment isekai. It’s far from the best-looking anime I watched this year, but it has a mid-00s throwback look and feel to it that works more to its benefit than in Mysterious Disappearances. Nothing groundbreaking and a little too backloaded, but an enjoyable enough experience and one I’m looking forward to seeing come back. 

The only really upsetting thing about this show is that Atsuko Tanaka (Major Kusanagi, Bayonetta, Kainé), who was tremendous as the intimidating Captain Rose, is no longer with us. She was an exceptional talent with an iconic voice who will be sorely missed, and future seasons of this show won’t be the same without her.

33. Go! Go! Loser Ranger

Though not a bad anime by most metrics, I still consider Loser Ranger a minor disappointment. It mostly looks great, and “what if The Boys was a sentai series” is a killer premise, but the story so far is extremely frontloaded. Almost too much happens in the first four episodes, and then the bulk of the last arc of the season takes place in a goddamn parking garage. I’m still annoyed by that. Still looking forward to season 2, but I wish the debut season had been 24 episodes to avoid the sour taste in my mouth.

Did you hear that echo? Yep, that's me telling you to watch yet another OP. Easily the best part of the show and one of the best of the year. Tatsuya Kitani can't keep getting away with it.

32. Astro Note

2024 turned out to be a banner year for Rumiko Takahashi’s older works making their way back to modern screens, and one of those entries wasn’t even hers.

Astro Note is an overt homage to Takahashi’s less-famous romcom Maison Ikkoku, which ran parallel to Urusei Yatsura for most of the latter’s run. Like Ikkoku, Astro Note follows a down-on-his-luck young man living in a boarding house full of bizarre miscreants who only stays because the manager is super pretty. Unlike Ikkoku, and unbeknownst to our protagonist, said manager is actually an alien who is practically turning the house over to find a secret alien MacGuffin.

This show looks lovely and has a delightful cast and some surprisingly moving subplots, but it’s nothing too special otherwise. There are some fun creative flourishes here and there, like the alien stuff shown in flashback being made to look like an older space opera anime, but aside from a very fun turn near the end of the season, Astro Note rarely rises above the level of simply “pleasant.” And that’s fine, but it doesn’t quite live up to the material it’s aping, and what we’ve ended up with is just a nice distraction. 

I’m so glad I finally decided to read Maison Ikkoku though.

31. Shangri-La Frontier, second cour

It’s been a running joke for me that the more I watch Shangri-La Frontier, the less I’m sure whether I like it or not, and now with 25 episodes in the tank, I’m less sure than ever. The back half of the debut season improved on a few of the things that annoyed me about its first cour by focusing more on the high-quality action and introducing minor stakes to the proceedings, and then everything else surrounding it made it feel no less like I’m just watching a guy playing a goddamn video game, and the stakes still mostly seem to amount to "he wants to be good at it."

You may notice that I didn’t include the second season in this review, and that’s because I flat-out didn’t care to pick it back up. I’d been busy during the fall season and continuing a show I didn’t enjoy that much just wasn’t a high priority. It’s continuing into January, so there’s time to catch it while it airs, but I’m still not in any hurry.

[sansfangirl24]

So quick little review time * slight spoilers for first episode of DanDaDan*

I thought it was really good! I love the animation especially when Momo was walking in the hall and I love the opening so much! (Fun fact I listened to the song in the opening before I even knew it was an anime opening)

And I love the ghosts and aliens of course

Ken is adorable (he's like a more confident Izuku in a way?) Momo is awesome especially when she beat those pervert aliens

The only complaint that I have is the immediate nudity and sexual references especially since the main characters are clearly in middle school or highschool but I was warned before hand so I guess I can't say anything

Overall its a good show so far and I'm excited to continue watching it! I'll just make sure to not explain many details to my parents because we're not going down that hill😅

[osamaman]

(SPOILERS DEAD AHEAD, VIEWER DISCRETION ADVISED)

Seeing as how I watched Episode 7 of Dandadan on Disney+ and how Acrobatic Silky's death scene (in an already tearjerker-worthy episode) was followed by an ad break that gave me tonal whiplash (can’t remember what the contents of the ads were but it did have peppy-sounding music) gave me this idea of an edit.

WATCH DAN DA DAN ON CRUNCHYROLL, HULU, DISNEY+ (only if you subscribed to the Disney Bundle) AND NETFLIX thank

inspired by this Nostalgia Critic clip in regards to Bambi (which was later called back to in the NC Review for Jack Frost but I couldn’t find THAT clip, so I found the source of that joke):

[afabstract]

Dan Da Dan Season One Review - Wildly Fun, Ends With A Criminal Cliffhanger

When a shy nerd and a popular girl team up to battle spirits and aliens, hilarity ensues. Dan Da Dan Season 1 takes you on a whirlwind of supernatural encounters, teen drama, and unexpected alliances in this wild anime.

⭐⭐⭐⭐ Rating: 4 out of 5. It should be a crime to end season one of any show on such a cliffhanger! It almost makes me want to drop my rating for Dan Da Dan. That said, the abrupt climax didn’t erase the memory of its wickedly wild, unhinged, and thoroughly entertaining early episodes. But ugh, those last two episodes—what a drag. Slow and patience-testing (yes, that should definitely be a…

[mastacell]

I Wasn't Ready. DANDADAN Episode 7 Review

[dude1818]

Anime Year in Review 2024

2022 2023

Watched a lot more anime this year than last year, both seasonals and catching up on older stuff, so I'll try to keep these brief. Also created a MAL account this year, so I'll include my ratings from that for comparison, although it'll also be subject to recency bias since I backfilled it pretty late in the year

The Apothecary Diaries [9] - Fantastic. I loved Maomao and her obsession with poison. The mysteries were intriguing, although the thread tying them all together was a bit contrived

Suzume* [10] - A little unfair to compare movies to shows. This was incredible. I loved the characters and the story and the art. I only wish Shinkai had gotten to make it yuri like he wanted

Vampire in the Garden* [10] - Such a good tragedy. I loved how it showed both sides of the war were really destroying themselves, and then the two mains looking for a way out, but it's not that easy. Beautiful show

Cyberpunk: Edgerunners* [8] - I knew it was good, but I got way more invested than I expected. It threaded a pretty tight needle for a perfect ending [pretty similar to Vampire, actually]. And absolutely gorgeous animation

Arcane [season 2: N/A] - As beautiful as the first season. Loved getting a more in-depth look at what Powder/Jinx was going through and her relationship with Vi. Suffered from trying to also fit in the Mel/Black Rose/Ambessa plot

Dungeon Meshi [8] - I fully expect the second season to top my list, but the story starts pretty slow. No Falingon or Izustumi until the second cour, for example, and we still haven't met WL!

Your Name* [9] - Starts out silly but nice, but that twist was killer. I think the shift in focus worked really well and really made the story sing

Frieren: Beyond Journey's End [cour 2; all season: 9] - I adored the new characters this cour, but having a tournament arc was disappointing. It didn't have the emotional heart of the first cour. That said, the final battle was awesome

Mayonaka Punch [9] - Hidden gem of the season. Very funny show, but it's treatment of what it's like to be a content creator felt on par with Oshi no Ko. I really liked how it established Masaki as a fun character but a shitty person, but still not deserving of all that

Shadows House* [season 1: 7; season 2: 8]- Very cool concept. I loved the character dynamics in the first season, and the reveals during the second season brought a level of sympathy to antagonists from the first that I wasn't expecting. I'd love to learn more about this world, although what I know of the manga is disheartening

Makeine: Too Many Losing Heroines! [8] - I don't like romcoms, but I did like this deconstruction of them. It kept the humor, but also got to have the characters actually act like people, which you don't normally get

Weathering With You* [7] - It was pretty similar to Your Name, quite frankly. I think I liked the characters a bit in this one. Not the ending I expected, but definitely the one it deserved

Deca-dence* [8] - Ambitious twist. I don't think I would've watched something just about the cyborgs, but the Tanker parts more than carried the rest. I really liked Natsume and Kabu's relationship, and the way it handled Natsume's trauma and hang-ups was really nice

Undead Girl Murder Farce* [7] - Distills the essence of a good Sherlock Holmes story by making the detective a disembodied head. The main trio is incredibly funny, and no one else appreciates that, which makes it even funnier

Dandadan [7] - Torn on this one. Lot of really good aspects [the main characters and their dynamics, the monsters, the fights] and a lot that I do not like [the basic premise and genre]

Train to the End of the World [9] - Wacky and fun. The episodic nature of visiting the different realities established at each train stop really nailed what made Infinity Train so fun

Shy* [season 1: 8; season 2: 7]- I hadn't realized the second season had started airing when I started watching the first season. I like how it's ostensibly a superhero show, with the MC the only one trying to be in a magical girl show instead. The subvillains are all great

K-on!* [season 1: 7; season 2: 8; movie: 7] - Very cute and chill. I liked how the girls all played off each other in different ways

Mysterious Disappearances* [8] - I loved the twists involved in modernizing yokai and applying globalization to them. Kind of like Dandadan in that way. The mysteries were mostly pretty good. I know the show's ending is different than the manga, but I appreciate having a proper ending

Metallic Rouge [7] - I'm probably giving this extra points for the story it was trying to be, rather than what it actually was. Trying to tell a story about oppression where there is an in-universe reason for it is risky at this point in time, but I appreciate that they tried taking a third way out, that stuff like the X-Men never does

Magical Destroyers* [8] - Very fun having an adult version of a magical girl show, but oof that ending. I get it thematically, but it was rough

My Wife Has No Emotions [6] - Not normally a fan of plain romance stories, but I watched it for the robot, and was pleasantly surprised. It kept going back to basic slice-of-life, but there were so many tantalizing hints of worldbuilding to keep me hooked

Midnight Occult Civil Servants* [7] - Urban fantasy is cool. I like mixing government bureaucracy with yokai and mythological creatures. I wish the MC wasn't such a Chosen One though; that's boring

Mononoke the Movie: Phantom in the Rain [8] - The mystery and intrigue was very interesting. The art style was neat, although I found it hard to watch for that long at once. I feel like the Medicine Seller himself was kind of extraneous here, though

Miss Kobayashi's Dragon Maid* [season 1: 8; season 2: 7]- I did not have high hopes for this one, but it was a surprisingly endearing relationship story. Some of the more egregious character designs were just too awful, though [Lucoa, Ilulu]

Spy x Family Code: White [7] - Cute. I thought it did a great job of balancing the spy, assassin, and school parts of the story, which the anime doesn't tend to have time to do. The poop sequence was way too long

Arknights: Perish in Frost* [7] - FrostNova and the Yetis were great. The sudden push to humanize the other Reunion members felt incoherent

Orb: On the Movements of the Earth [cour 1; ongoing]- It's certainly interesting, if not necessarily enjoyable. The fake-out main character was a bold choice, but I think it paid off. Definitely interested to see where it goes in the second cour

Magilumiere Co. Ltd. [6] - The concept was interesting, although I think the execution was a little boring. The characters were fun, but the pacing felt all over the place, and the actual Kaii fights were kind of wanky

Alien 9* [8] - Intriguing premise and fun wet kitten of a protagonist, but it was very disappointing that less than half of the first arc was adapted. Could've been a cool show

Shoshimin: How to Become Ordinary [6] - Not my normal kind of thing. The deuteragonist girl was fun and kept me watching

Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha* [season 1: 5] - I was expecting an actual sci-fi magical girl show, and that wasn't delivered until pretty late in the season. I do think later seasons may be more interesting to me. Fate was cool

* indicates the show aired prior to 2024

I also rewatched Bocchi the Rock! and Revue Starlight this year. I'm still picking up new things about RevStar; what a fantastic show. I also tried Good Bye, Dragon Life; Pseudo Harem; and My Deer Friend Nokotan and bailed pretty quickly. The first two are not genres I enjoy, and the latter was way too high-energy and juvenile

As for next year, I made a separate post with my thoughts. Looks like a really promising year though!

[fununtitled]

Anime Round Up - Adding Dragonball Daima to our Weekly Watch of New Episodes - FunUntitled Review

Aloha Anime Fans! We finally added 🐲Dragonball Daima to our list of new Animes:

⚔️Bleach: TYBW 👻Dandadan 🐼Ranma 1/2 🍥Uzumaki.

Let us know your favorite episode this week.

[originaljiraiyan]

Dandadan Episode 12 Recap and Review