#the apothecary diaries cour 2

[blerdsunited]

January Anime Releases 2024

Classroom of the Elite S3 - January 3rd via Crunchyroll

Chained Soldier - January 4th via HiDive

Delicious in Dungeon - January 4th via Crunchyroll

Demon Prince of Momochi House - January 5th via Crunchyroll

The Unwanted Undead Adventurer - January 5th via Crunchyroll

A Sign of Affection - January 6th via Crunchyroll

Blue Exorcist: Shimane Illuminati Saga -January 6th via Crunchyroll

Kingdom S5 - January 6th via Crunchyroll

MASHLE Season 2 - January 6th via Crunchyroll

Solo Leveling - January 6th via Crunchyroll

The Apothecary Diaries Cour 2 - January 6th via Crunchyroll

Tales of Wedding Rings - January 6th via Crunchyroll

Banished from the hero's party - January 7th via Crunchyroll

Mr. Villain's Day Off - January 7th via Crunchyroll

One Piece Egghead Arc - January 7th via Crunchyroll

High Card S2 - January 8th via Crunchyroll

Tis Time for "Torture" - January 8th via Crunchyroll

Tsukimichi - Moonlit Fantasy Season 2 - January 8th via Crunchyroll

Metallic Rouge - January 10th via Crunchyroll

Delusional Monthly Magazine - January 11th via Crunchyroll

The Witch and the Beast - January 11th via Crunchyroll

The Weakest Tamer began a journey to pick up trash - January 12th via Crunchyroll

Bucchigiri - January 13th via Crunchyroll

Let us know what you guys think of the shows and be sure to share what animes you're looking forward to this season. We will keep you updated on any others that may drop after the 15th!

[rutilation]

Chomping at the bit rn.

The yuri arc cometh.

[skiptoyuri]

niceee

[ladykyriaa]

I NEED SEASON 3

[tetrix-anime]

Kusuriya no Hitorigoto (The Apothecary Diaries) - Season 2 Key Visual and Teaser PV. 2 consecutive cours. Premiere: 10 January 2025

[metalandmagi]

The Real Anime Awards of 2024 (part 2)

Ever since Crunchyroll started doing their Anime Awards, I've made it my personal mission to make my own awards that represent the actual year in anime!

I already posted my silly awards list (with the truly important categories such as: prettiest boy and biggest trainwreck) so here are my serious picks. Don't take anything too seriously. These are just something fun I like to do every year. I can't watch everything.

Anime Of The Year

Dungeon Meshi

Dandadan

Go Go Loser Ranger

Orb: On the Movements of the Earth

Re: Zero (season 3)

Ranma ½

Best Comedy

Mayonaka Punch

Konosuba (season 3)

My Deer Friend Nokotan

Ranma 1/2

VTuber Legend: How I Went Viral After Forgetting to Turn Off My Stream

Acro Trip

Best Drama

Jellyfish Can’t Swim In The Night

Senpai wa Otokonoko

Dead Dead Demons Dededede Destruction

Girls Band Cry

Orb: On the Movements of the Earth

If My Wife Becomes An Elementary School Student

Best Romance

A Sign Of Affection

Blue Box

Cherry Magic- I’m not typing the full title

Kimi ni Todoke (From Me To You) (season 3)

Tasogare Out of Focus

365 Days to the Wedding

Best Slice Of Life

Mr. Villain’s Day Off

Welcome Home (Tadaima, Okaeri)

The Yōkai Next to Me

Natsume Yuujinchou Shichi

Negaposi Angler

Dungeon People

Honorable Mention: The Magical Girl And The Evil Lieutenant Used To Be Arch Enemies

Best Action

Wind Breaker

Bleach Thousand Year Blood War (part 3)

Brave Bang Bravern

Bucchigiri?!

Kaiju No. 8

Dragon Ball Daima

Honorable mention: Viral Hit

Best Fantasy

Frieren: Beyond Journey’s End cour 2

Dungeon Meshi

Re: Zero (season 3)

Spice And Wolf

Isekai Suicide Squad

Dandadan...more of a sci-fi than fantasy but oh well...

Best Boy

Asamine Matakara (Bucchigiri?!)

Yuichi Kurosawa (Cherry Magic)

Buchio (The Yokai Next To Me)

Shion Yoshino (Tasogare Out Of Focus)

Natsume Takashi (Natsume Yuujinchou Shichi)

Keisuke Niijima (If My Wife Becomes An Elementary School Student)

Honorable Mention: Nukumizu (Too Many Losing Heroines)...this poor guy deserves some love but everyone else edged him out just a little bit 😅

Best Protagonist

Sakuna (Sakuna: Of Rice And Rain)

Masaki (Mayonaka Punch)

Fighter D (Go Go Loser Ranger)

Hibino Kafka (Kaiju No. 8)

Ciel Phantomhive (Black Butler Public School Arc)

Lawrence Kraft (Spice And Wolf)

Honorable mention: Mao Mao (Apothecary Diaries cour 2)...I love her so much but I already nominated her last year so I felt like it wasn't fair to do her twice

Best Antagonist

Sirius Romanée-Conti: Sin Archbishop of Wrath (Re: Zero season 3)- There are 3 great villains this season, but I could only pick one to represent and Wrath was my favorite 😅

Red Keeper (Go Go Loser Ranger)

Mika Hanaoka (Senpai wa Otokonoko)

Melon (Beastars Final Season cour 1)

Nowak (Orb: On the Movements of the Earth)

Chika Shiraishi (If My Wife Becomes An Elementary School Student) I know she’s only an antagonist at the beginning of the show, but dang, she’s a good one.

Best Girl

Holo (Spice And Wolf)

Marcille (Dungeon Meshi)

Sawako Kuronuma (Kimi ni Todoke season 3)

Harley Quinn (Isekai Suicide Squad)

Koshi Torako (My Deer Friend Nokotan)

Hina Chouno (Blue Box)

Best Supporting Character

Senshi (Dungeon Meshi)

“Youko Satou” (The Fable)

Kouji Shigemoto (Magilumiere Magical Girls Inc.)

Peeps (Sasaki and Peeps)

Chrome (Acro Trip)

Nyanko Sensei (Natsume Yuujinchou Shichi)

Best Character Design

Delico’s Nursery

Oshi no Ko (season 2)

Isekai Suicide Squad

Dungeon Meshi

Beastars Final Season cour 1

Ranma 1/2

Best Score

Girls Band Cry

Spice and Wolf

Natsume Yuujinchou Shichi

Kaiju No. 8

Jellyfish Can’t Swim in the Night

Bleach Thousand Year Blood War (part 3)- I will keep nominating it every year until it wins the actual award!

Honorable mentions: Orb: On the Movements of the Earth

Best Animation

Oblivion Battery

The Elusive Samurai

Blue Box

Beastars Final Season cour 1

Too Many Losing Heroines

The Stories of Girls Who Couldn't Be Magicians

Honorable mention: Shoushimin Series (I guess I’d categorize this as “most cinematic” over “best animation”), also Wind Breaker's animation deserves a shout out too.

Best OP

(BASED ON BOTH SONG AND VISUALS! so, sorry Viral Hit and The Fable...)

Dandadan (“Otonoke” Creepy Nuts)

Go Go Loser Ranger (“Preview of Me” Tatsuya Kitani)

Beastars Final Season cour 1 (“Into The World” issei)

You Are Ms. Servant (“Otozure” tricot)

Orb: On the Movements of the Earth (“Kaiju” Sakanaction)

Tower of God season 2 OP 1 (“Rise Up” NiziU)

Honorable mentions: *This is the hardest category every year for me, so I just have to shout out some others*

Yuru Camp season 3 (“Laid Back Journey” Kiminone)

Oshi no Ko season 2 (“Fatal” GEMN)

Wind Breaker (“Absolute Zero” Natori)

Mashle season 2 (“Bling-Bang-Bang-Born” Creepy Nuts)

Best ED

Isekai Suicide Squad (“Go Getters” Mori Calliope)

Brave Bang Bravern (“Sounen no Shouzu” Ryota Suzuki and Yohei Azakami) There was no way in hell I was leaving this off the list. If you watch no other anime endings this year, please watch this one 😆

Go Go Loser Ranger (“Sekai wa Iranei” NANAOAKARI)

Ranma ½ (“Antanante” riria)

Frieren Beyond Journey’s End cour 2 (“Anytime Anywhere” Milet)

Too Many Losing Heroines ed 2 (“Crazy For You” Shion Wakayama) *I love the other 2 endings as well, but I could only choose one*😭

Best Japanese VA Performance

*I'm terrible with this category. I really don't know how to judge good voice acting performances at all*

Hasegawa, Ikumi as Masaki (Mayonaka Punch)

Ueda, Hitomi as Yoshino (Yakuza Fiancé)

Seki, Toshihiko as Muzan Kibutsuji (Demon Slayer Hashira Training Arc)...This arc may have sucked, but he acted the shit out of it.

Inoue, Kazuhiko as Nyanko Sensei (Natsume Yuujinchou shichi)

Nagase, Anna as Harley Quinn (Isekai Suicide Squad)

Fujita, Saki as Koshi Torako (My Deer Friend Nokotan)

*I don't watch enough dubs to do nominations for English voice actors, but I want to shout out SungWon Cho as Senshi from Dungeon Meshi and Abby Trott as Ayase from Dandadan. They understood the assignment.*

So there you have it! My picks for the real anime awards of 2024! Don't take this seriously at all, it's just something fun I like to put together every year. I always try not to nominate the same things, but it's so hard to include a variety sometimes! 😅

[leahthedreamer]

Apothecary diaries s2 cour 2 opening my misunderstood queen

[romancemedia]

The Apothecary Diaries - Season 2 Cour 2 Opening Maomao's family, friends, allies and... Jinshi

[animangapolls]

[mairuzusama]

✨ The Apothecary Diaries Season 2 Cour 2 premieres April 4, 2025! ✨

The new trailer teases more palace intrigue, medical mysteries, and a shocking twist 👀. Plus, fresh theme songs:

🎶 OP: "Hyakka Ryoran" – Lilas Ikuta (YOASOBI)

🎶 ED: "Shiawase no Recipe" – HIRAIDAI

[ladyloveandjustice]

My Top 12 Favorite Anime of 2023 (and more)!

This was a great year for anime, so here's a long list of my top 12 (including some bonus great anime). If you get tired of clicking the review links, check out my anime overview collection for all of them here.  You can also check out my list of favorite manga here!

Some of these are ongoing, so consider those only a review of the first cour-- no official endorsement on the rest because it hasn't aired yet!

Mobile Suit Gundam: The Witch From Mercury (Season 2)

When I listed G-Witch in last year's top anime list, I prayed the show wouldn't betray me. Fortunately, it didn't! Though the final half of the show was a bit rushed, it remained must-see, compelling sci-fi full of exciting twists and turns. And I adore the well developed romance between the robot-piloting protagonist and precious girl, Suletta, and her fierce fiancé, Miorine.  Whether you’re here for starcrossed queer lovers, robots wrecking each other, tense battles between opposing political factions, or morally-horrifying moms on a revenge spree, you’re in for a treat.

See my full review here.

Yuri is my Job!

Hime is roped into working at a cafe where the waitresses playact as students of the fictional all girl’s school from a beloved novel series. However, Hime finds her co-worker, Mitsuki, has an inexplicable grudge against her. Thus begins a tangled web of romance and wounded feelings among the girls in the cafe! Yuri is My Job seems like a fun comedy boasting a cast full of quirky lesbians, but then reveals itself to be a complicated and fascinating examination of performance- as it intersects with queerness, girlhood,  and the desire to be “likeable” and “cute". It's top-tier lesbian drama full of fraught relationships and it's absolutely worth a watch.

See my full review here.

The Apothecary Diaries (still ongoing, review is for the first cour)

Though it's still going, I have to sing the praises of this dazzling anime about a saavy apothecary who uses her medical expertise to solve the many murders and betrayals in the Emperor's palace. MaoMao is a fantastic lead, a poison-obsessed gremlin who's whip-smart, deadpan, and fun to follow. The Apothecary Diaries has intrigue, well-developed characters, and an impeccable atmosphere. It tells a great range of stories, from romantic triumph, to bittersweet tales of recovering from grief, to pure tragedies. I'm totally hooked.

See my full review here.

The Magical Revolution of the Reincarnated Princess and the Genius Young Lady

When Euphie is dumped by her fiance at a ball, the oddball princess Anis rescues her.  Euphie becomes Anis' assistant in her quest to develop magical tools. The girls also start to develop feelings for each other, while discovering a conspiracy among the nobility. I'm always desperately in need of cool lesbians having action-packed fantasy adventures, and Magirevo delivers. The characters grow in entertaining ways, we get to see them fight dragons in killer action scenes, and the romantic development is completely satisfying. It's a simple story at its core, but the lovable characters, joyous queerness and jubilant execution make it a great watch.

See my full review here.

Birdie Wing: Golf Girls' Story (Season 2)

In the second season of the anime about girls homoerotically golfing while dealing with the mafia and ludicrous family drama, Birdie Wing remains a bombastically absurd sports anime that is fun all the way through. Please come watch these girls get ridiculous sports  injuries, scream their super golf attacks, experience extremely extra plot twists--and be super gay with each other, of course. The finale didn't go quite as hard as I wanted (and the romance is more subtexual than I wanted), but you need to allow yourself to experience the madness of Birdie Wing.

See full review here.

Skip and Loafer

An endearingly dorky, earnest, and driven girl moves from her small town to Tokyo. While she struggles to adjust, she befriends a nice popular boy who's got some baggage. Skip and Loafer is a show that’s like a warm hug. It's sweet, entertaining and funny. It handles adolescent struggles with tender nuance. There's a emphasis on kindness, connection, and looking past stereotypes and misconceptions. It also includes a trans character who's treated with respect (and is a great character in general!) Let this show touch your heart.

See my full review here.

Undead Murder Farce

An immortal woman has had most of her body stolen by a mysterious man. Reduced to a head carried around by her maid, she teams up with a half-demon man to track the thief down while solving supernatural mysteries all across Victorian England.

This a fun, campy mystery series starring three asshole weirdo protagonists,  it’s bursting with supernatural creatures and literary references. We've got Sherlock Holmes, The Phantom of the Opera, Carmilla and more...along with a vampire murders and werewolf drama galore. UDM is a wonderful romp with stylish, slick direction... and it’s unexpectedly really gay.  I’m aching to see more of these scrappy misfits and their adventures.

See my full review here.

Migi & Dali

A story of twins who are pretending to be one kid in order to fool their foster parents and find out who killed their mother. It starts out as an utterly absurd comedy becomes a impressive and genuinely tense murder mystery that is incredibly moving at times, all while keeping up it’s signature brand of goofiness. There’s genuine commentary on abuse, the damage you can do to children by forcing perfection on them, the struggle of being a foster kid, grief and recovery and more. There's also some great character development. It's a weird one, but it's absolutely worth sticking with.

See full review here.

Pluto

Somebody is killing the most advanced robots in the  world and murdering humans alongside them. A robot detective is trying to track this killer down, but he might be compromised as well. Pluto is a tense, tense, tightly plotted robot murder mystery that keeps you on the edge of your seat. Through robots, it explores the idea of being a tool in a corrupt system, and tackles subjects like war, imperialism, and the nature of hatred. It's a masterful psychological thriller with stunning animation and a rich story.

See my full review here.

Scott Pilgrim Takes Off

This anime approaches the story of Scott Pilgrim and Ramona's seven evil exes from a brands new angle, and the results are great. We get a exploration of relationships and regrets, the messiness of communication and connection, the trials of becoming an adult, all with the signature goofy video game antics. Characters neglected in previous iterations finally get their due, new facets of the story are explored, queer relationships are delved into more, girls kiss...and it's all accompanied by phenomenal animation and a killer soundtrack.

See my full review here

Soaring Sky! Precure

Sora lives in a world called Skyland and wants to be a great hero. When rescuing the kidnapped baby princess, she falls through a portal to earth. There she meets her fellow magical warriors, and as Precure they protect the princess from the villains!

This vibrant, warm-hearted adventure got me back on the Precure train! This series boasts a lot exciting firsts for the franchise--the first official male cure, the first main cure that's eighteen years old- but above all, it has a lively team of characters with who have an entertaining dynamic and enjoyable individual journeys. It's often very funny, the baby has a surprisingly good character arc, and it's bursting with magical girl (and boy) goodness! It's also not afraid to give you an emotional gutpunch when you've been lured into a false sense of security by all the fun times. If you're new to Precure, this is a great jumping on point, and if you've watched it before, this is a series you won't want to miss.

I'm in Love with the Villainess

Rae is reincarnated as the heroine of her favorite dating sim. But she has no interest in romancing any of the boys- she’s head over heels for Claire Francois, the snooty villainess.

Villainess may not be as polished--storywise or animation-wise-- as these other entries. It's a messy series, it has plenty of problems...but it's also very fun, and it touched my queer little heart like no other. Queer people get to indulge in our imperfect faves too, and the silly shenanigans, blatant lesbian wish fulfillment, honest advocacy for queer people, and the joy and earnestness of the series works for me!

See my full review here.

Some Other Great Anime:

Frieren: Beyond Journey's End (still ongoing, review is for the first cour)

Frieren is a long-lived elf who was once part of an adventuring party that saved the world from the Demon Lord. But now her friends are passing away and the world is moving on. She decides to retrace her old party's journey so she can understand what she's feeling.

Frieren is both an interesting examination of what happens after the hero saves the world, as well as a meditation on mortality, grief,  and the endless march of time. It takes you on a quiet, beautiful and sometimes touching journey though a pastoral fantasy world. There's some breath-taking animation and excellent atmosphere to enjoy.

See my review here.

Spy x Family (Season 3)

Spy x Family is pretty much staying the course from when we last checked in,  though this season gives a lot more attention to Yor, and I love the cruise ship arc and all the ridiculous fights she gets into a lot! That arc contains some of my favorite gags of the series too (like Loid’s  attempts to be a cool dad). Otherwise, Spyfam has settled into a series that intends to be around for the long haul, so don’t expect too much forward plot momentum. And Yuri (the man, not the genre) unfortunately still exists. Overall it was good season and remains a fun  adaptation. Yor, please step on me.

[keyserelric]

The Apothecary Diaries Season 2 Cour 2 Opening

[otakunews01]

"The Apothecary Diaries" Season 2 cour 2 key visual & PV

Cour 2 starts April 4

Source

[animedegens]

I am so ready for season 2. I love that we’ll be getting 2 cours again!!

And I apologize in advance, because come January I will be yapping about apothecary diaries & maomao a lot 🤣🤣

[glassbead-xx]

So for the rest of the year and into next year we’re going to have:

Another cour of Elusive Samurai and a possible second season

Dandadan with split cours well into next year

Blue Box for the rest of the year

Sakamoto Days in January

A Ranma 1/2 remake

Witch Watch in April

The rest of Dr. Stone

Apothecary Diaries S2

An Undead Unluck special and maybe a second season

Kaiju #8 S2

A Gintama school AU

And now the anime adaptation of Kaoru Hana

When I say I’m going to be very annoying for the rest of the year and for a good chunk of the next I mean it

[tetrix-anime]

Kusuriya no Hitorigoto 2nd Season (The Apothecary Diaries Season 2) - 2nd Cour Key Visual and PV. Episode 37 (S2E13) Premiere: 4 April 2025

Opening: "Kusushiki" by Mrs. GREEN APPLE

Ending: "Hitorigoto" by Omoinotake