#we are also currently watching Dark which is mind-blowingly good but which I feel no need to talk about fannishly so far

[gen-is-gone]

Am I continuing to hyperfixate on a children's show from ten years ago because the alternative is fantasizing about walking into traffic?

You can't prove it.

[butterflydm]

links for current & recent media

Since I am watching and posting about these shows and will be doing so in the future, I did want to post the links to the places I’ve been watching at, since as an international fan, watching from the official links is generally the most I can do to support the shows. If you want any kind of personalized content warnings for the ones I’ve already watched, let me know!

Most of these are based on novels, none of which I’ve read yet, unfortunately. I have read a very little of a translation of Mo Dao Zu Shi (the novel The Untamed is based on) but my brainspace has been better situated to watching things than reading things at the moment.

Currently Watching

Until We Meet Again (by Studio Wabi Sabi)

I’m all caught up at episode 16 and am dying. Pls send help.

UWMA is a great show -- it’s a queer reincarnation romance, and it does have MAJOR content warnings for suicide and homophobia, but (imo) it deals with those topics very well. In addition to the romances, it has some great friendships as well. Wonderful acting.

I have two quibbles with the show, one more major (the somewhat erratic narrative flow for the side couple) and one that’s just a line here or there (cw: body-shaming, basically), but the main plotline is just... deep and nuanced and the acting in mind-blowingly good. 💖

Why R U? (by LINE TV)

Tonally, this show reminds me of something like The Princess Bride or Galaxy Quest or Clue, in that it feels like a loving and sincere satire of the genre’s conventions that can be funny and silly but then also have genuinely touching emotional beats. It’s laughing with the genre, not at it, I would say.

Saifon & Zon are kinda the more comedic version of the tropes, while Fighter and Tutor are the more drama-based half, but they switch it up sometimes. The tension between Fighter and Tutor is excellent, even if the subtitles are... sometimes less than clear. Watch their faces and their bodies and not the words on the bottom of the screen, tbh (though the most recent week’s subs were better; I heard they got a new translation team?). 💖

Recently Watched

TharnType (by LINE TV)

Special Episode (costs $10 to purchase unlimited streaming; the main series above is free):

I was genuinely blown away by TharnType. It can feel very raw and unfiltered, but in a way that is acted and filmed beautifully. Character growth that is... intense but believable. Complex characters.

It does have some pretty major content warnings but if you’ve watched Black Sails or Spartacus, then it’s in that same kind of ballpark, warning-wise, I would say but again, I can definitely give details if you need them.

The chemistry between the two lead actors is scorchingly hot; it kinda has to be for the story to work, but they have more than enough electricity to pull it off.

The story fits together really well. It’s a relatively straight-forward romance when you break it down, but I find it particularly satisfying how Type and Tharn’s faults move their relationship forward as much as their virtues do. Their relationship starts out so incredibly messy, which is always a favorite thing of mine.

Very much looking forward to season 2 when it airs. 💖

The Untamed | Chen Qing Ling (by Tencent): you can watch it on netflix, or youtube, or viki.com (@three--rings has informed me that viki is official too 💖)

I mean, this show is everywhere right now, but just in case you missed the pitch: charming and chaotic bisexual necromancer demonic cultivator dies but then is brought back and reunites with the love of his life while solving a murder mystery in ancient fantasy China.

It’s about as queer as it could possibly be given Chinese government censorship laws; the acting for the mains is fantastic, the chemistry between the leads is wonderful, it’s PEAK ROMANCE at all times, it has interesting and complicated things to say about family and society. It will give you all the feels. It helped heal my heart so much after the disappointment of The Magicians S4 finale. Infinite gratitude and love for it tbh. 💖💖💖

Planning To Watch Next:

1. Love By Chance: I’ve seen a bit of it already, because I wanted more Type content (and, yes, not the same actor, but it was definitely still Type!), but I haven’t watched it in full yet, so I’m going to officially watch it all after I’m done with UWMA.

2. Joy of Life: not a queer show or a BL but it sounds really intriguing (and Xiao Zhan from CQL has a minor part in some of the ending episodes). Modern-day student is reborn as a baby in ancient fantasy China; it apparently has a lot of humor but also has heart.

3. 3 Will Be Free: I hear this has a poly relationship as the main relationship and they get a happy ending plus the actual story (surviving while on the run from one of the character’s criminal family) sounds intriguing.

4. He’s Coming To Me: Ghost love story with a happy ending. No playlist links available that I’m aware of, but lmk if it sounds interesting to you.

5. HIStory: Cross the Line & HIStory 3: Trapped: I don’t actually know what these are about! I think History is a bit of an anthology show, where each ‘season’ has a different plot? That’s the impression that I get. These are both on viki.com so that’s where I’ll be watching them.

6. Dark Blue Kiss: I think this is about an established relationship (and there’s a compliation video called Our Skyy that has the actual ’getting together’ bit & I should watch that first).

[entamewitchlulu]

Homura’s Flash Reviews [Spring 2018]

It’s the end of another animu season, so it’s time to give some flash reviews for the stuff I ended up finishing this season!

Under the cut for the length + all the gifs lol

Comic Girls

After having storyboard after storyboard rejected, young aspiring manga artist Kaoruko moves to a dorm specifically for young mangaka, where she makes new friends, has fun adventures, and learns a lot about herself and her craft.

I liked this show way more than I expected to; it’s a very moeblob show and especially in the first couple of episodes there’s a lot of anime bullshit.  It IS a gag anime at the start and tends to default to a lot of the same tropes.  Despite this, I found it ridiculously hilarious, and I could relate to a lot of the #ArtistProblems and other things the girls dealt with regularly.  Not to mention, the characters were generally just really fun, cute personalities.  Despite some frustrations with some general character arcs feeling a bit stagnant, there were actually multiple places where I physically cried because despite the gag manga start, it gets pretty emotional later on regarding things like anxiety, artist’s block, and the feeling of stagnation, which was super relatable.  Also....Kaoruko is absolutely a tiny lesbian and I love my tiny lesbian daughter.  Actually I’m pretty sure they’re all lesbians, except for Rukki who is probably bisexual.

overall: 7/10

Cardcaptor Sakura: Clear Card

Following the events of the original Cardcaptors, Sakura wakes up one morning to find that all of her Sakura Cards have turned clear.  Not only that, but there are more, strange new spirits appearing, and she’s been granted a brand new key from a dream.

Okay so....I have made mention of this one from a few other flash reviews since the first cour took place during last season.  And...my opinion has honestly worsened.  This was 22 episodes of obnoxiously boring fluff and little else. Don’t get me wrong: I love fluff. But I watch specific things for fluff. I don’t watch magical girl shows for 95% fluff, I watch them for sparkly, magical girl bullshit, cute costumes, fun magical experiences, and maybe just a little bit of worldbuilding.  Clear Card gave me next to nothing on all fronts.  When it wasn’t trying to be Cardcaptor Sakura: The Cooking Show, it was dragging its feet with 15 minutes of pointless chatter that did nothing to further characters or relationships, leaving them the exact same static characters they were in the original series.  Syaoran’s greatest draw was nearly completely erased once he became just a sedentary background love interest who did little. At least as a rival he pushed Sakura, but here, he just enabled the boring writing that did nothing to push the envelope.  The formula is nearly exactly the same as the last two series and the arc even mentions it.  Characters are unnecessarily cryptic, hiding things from each other, which only drags the story down.  The main plot is barely sprinkled in, magic stuff usually only happens for about 2 minutes towards the end of the mind-bogglingly slow fluff episodes, and the major plot??  Only appears for about five minutes in the final episode, addresses none of the questions we had and only reveals things we had already figured out fifteen episodes ago, gives no conclusion to any of it, and COMPLETELY ERASES THE ONLY CLIMATIC, STORY-FURTHERING SCENE BY USING TIME MAGIC.

And that’s...it, apparently.  I see no indication of a second season.  I assume the manga is still ongoing, but even if it is, this was an absolutely horrendous ending that did nothing to satisfyingly tie up ANY loose ends, further the world or the characters, or really do anything to add to the previous series.  Even the costumes were few and far between and the cards were almost all the same as the last set.  There was no creativity and nothing added here for the fans.  That brings me to my ultimate complaint: who was this show even for?! It can’t still be for kids, because new young fans of the original demographic’s age group would not have any clue what was happening with these characters, and it’s just lore-based enough to confuse any new viewers.  And it can’t be for the original fan group, who are all much older now and want something with just a little more substance. I’m not asking for a gritty cardcaptors show at all. Just something that respects us as adult viewers and gives us a little more to grab onto.  And that was way longer than any flash review has any right to be, so I will cut myself off there.

overall: 4/10

Lostorage conflated WIXOSS

Though they believed it was finally over, former LRIG and Selector Kiyoi knows that the Selector battles will come again, and this time, they will destroy everything--and she is determined to bring the dark loop of suffering to a close once and for all by bringing together all of the greatest Selectors from every generation to take on the new threat.

Boasting the largest cast of any of the previous WIXOSS series and continuing both the story of Lostorage and the first two Selector series, this is absolutely the most ambitious take on the WIXOSS universe thus far: and it does fantastically with it.  There was not a single moment where I was bored; even during slower flashback and exposition parts, I was hooked.  This was one of the best ways to expand and complete the universe, as the ending here finally does feel like a decisive end to the anime franchise (though, so did the end of the Selector anime, so who knows lol).

As always, WIXOSS has some of the most fantastic character designs, relationships, dynamics, and animation among other anime, making it truly stand out.  The card game is more window dressing than actual substance, but that doesn’t matter, because the power of the relationships and the messages that this story is telling are far more powerful and attention grabbing.  The decision to make Kiyoi the protagonist of this series, while also bringing back previous protagonists Ruko and Suzuko, was an incredible decision and really made for a fantastic story.

overall: 9/10

Golden Kamuy

After being discharged from the army after the Japanese-Russo war, Sugimoto is left with the dying wish of his comrade: to make enough money to support his fallen comrade’s wife and son and pay for their medical expenses.  He stumbles across an opportunity when an escaped convict tells him of a hidden trove of Ainu gold that can only be found by collecting the information tattooed onto the bodies of a group of escaped prisoners. With the help of an Ainu girl named Asirpa, whose tribe the gold was stolen from, Sugimoto takes on the mission to track down the prisoners and find the gold.

This show is absolutely fucking incredible.  I don’t think I can even give it proper words.  Like what a goddamn great season for anime this was??  Not only is the show clearly heavily researched, giving us insight into a part of Japanese history and Ainu culture that is rarely if ever discussed in Japanese culture, the story and characters are all so well done.  The animation can be wonky in places, but the expressions, the character banter, and god the soundtrack are all mind-blowingly good.  Unlike Clear Card, when this show decided it wanted to be a cooking show, I was completely on board, because I was learning something new about Ainu culture and also getting to see our heroes be adorkable and hilarious together.  The characters are absolutely where this show shines, and even though it’s a bit bloated at first, characters quickly become recognizeable and easily separated.  The relationship between Sugimoto and Asirpa, especially, is one of the most wholesome and fun friendships I’ve ever witnessed (I’m hoping, tho, that it stays platonic despite some jokes to the contrary lol).  This was only season 1, and season 2 will air in October, and you can bet I will be waiting at the edge of my seat for more of this incredible show.

overall: 9/10

Hinamatsuri

After a strange girl in a metal cocoon drops out of the sky and onto his head, yakuza Nitta finds himself the reluctant father of a needy young girl with psychic powers.  Shenanigans ensue around their strange new family and the dysfunctional adults and children that surround them.

This show was so much fucking better than it had any right to be; from the initial plot summary I was worried it was going to be awful, creepy-ish moe bullshit...but it was NOT.  This was a gag anime of the highest caliber.  The pacing was amazing, the characters were to a one endearing, the animation was BEAUTIFUL, and god...the punchlines...everything was so fucking funny the whole time.

You’ve got pretty much everything here: you’ve got the obnoxiously needy Hina, who is monotone in everything she does, you’ve got the Worst/Best Dad Nitta, you’ve got poor can’t-say-no-to-favors Hitomi, and the Most Pure and Wholesome Anzu.  There’s something to love in every character and every scene, and it’s ridiculous just how amazing this show is.  I can’t put it into words, please just watch it.  Where my other top shows of the season took awhile to grow on me, this one was hitting home runs from episode 1.  Do yourself a favor and watch it.

overall: 9/10

Megalo Box

In a world where boxing is performed with powerful mechanical rigs known as Gear, a nameless boxer known only as Junk Dog is tired of being forced to throw fights in an illegal underground boxing ring to pad the pockets of his gambling organization.  When he crosses paths with the current champion of Megalo Box, he and his crew take a risky gamble to get him into the world’s first international Megalo Box competition so that he can fight the champion again, reinventing himself as Gearless Joe as he steps into the ring without any Gear.

This show took a while to really get onto my Awesome List, mostly because the aesthetic that it’s throwing back to was never really my thing in the first place.  I’m generally not a huge fan of the muted color palettes, the punkish music, or just the idea of boxing in general (a lack of significant female characters also always tends to put me off).  Despite this, however, the show ended up being stunning.  By halfway through, I was incredibly hooked on the high this show wanted me to ride, by the character arcs that were playing off each other, and I was even coming around to the music.  Boxing may not be my thing, but the character story that was told here was an incredible one, and definitely deserves its place among the Best Anime of 2018, which if it doesn’t win something come that time, I’ll be floored and disappointed with everyone.

overall: 9/10

Overall this was an incredibly strong season: I dropped a few things of course, but what I continued were almost all 9/10s.  I’m super pleased with the spring season and I’m looking forward to seeing what’s coming out for summer.