When I watched the first episode of Aquatope it definitely piqued my interest enough to keep watching, but it wasn’t at the top of my list of shows that I was waiting for. It just seemed like a pleasant slice of life show with cute character designs. And that is definitely true, but there is more to this show. Let’s dive into the fishtank and explore why this show worked so well.
As usual, these reviews contain spoilers, and I plan to dive quite a bit into the story of this one, so be warned. If you’re just here to see if you should watch it, then yes, yes you should.
The opening really nails down the general atmosphere
The plot of Aquatope is fairly straightforward. Fuuka is a young idol and actress who gets overwhelmed by the job and the city life and flees to the countryside. There she meets Kukuru, who has been running her grandfathers’ aquarium; Gama Gama, for a while. They quickly become friends and Fuuka starts working at the aquarium too. As the season progresses we learn that the aquarium is about to go under because it’s old and no longer profitable. Of course Kukuru and her friends try everything they can to make the aquarium more lively. They think of events, spruce up the front of the building and even visit a local hospital with a small exhibit. Throughout all of this though, the decision to close Gama Gama permanently has already been made.
It’s a nickname, but we rarely hear her real name 🙂
Maybe one third into the story, Gama Gama is visited by Haebaru-san, an eager employee of Tingaara, a different aquarium. She’s heard stories of the legend that is Kukuru’s grandfather and is eager to learn, but ends up disappointed by having to learn from Kukuru, who is less than happy to help her out. They don’t get along at all. I thought this was just a small arc that never really properly got resolved, but it turns out it was a setup.
You see, what I didn’t realize, and I’ve mentioned this in another post as well, is that this show had 24 episodes, and not 12. So when Gama Gama actually shut down instead of magically got revitalized, I was very surprised by this. I also thought it was a great way to push the story forward. Things don’t always go as planned, and as much as we can dream, some good things must come to an end. Thus Fuuka leaves for Tokyo again, and Kukuru is very sad.
The two split up for a little while.
And then the second half of the season starts, and this is where I think the show shines. Fuuka comes back very quickly, with less than an episode having passed. That was a bit strange, but with a runtime of 24 episodes I’ll cut them some slack. There also wasn’t much story to tell while the characters were separated. The cast then goes to work at Tingaara (I’ve seen different spellings of this aquarium, but this is the one I’m sticking with), where Haebaru-san is also still working. The second half focuses on several of the characters at their new workspace.
Do I think this show is perfect? No, I don’t think so. I’ve seen very few shows that I thought were perfect and even some of my favorite shows of all time (One Piece, Tensura, Kageki Shoujo) have their flaws. But it was very refreshing to watch a drama show where the big issue set up in the first half never actually got resolved. Life isn’t always fair, and Aquatope reflects that. Situations change, things are out of reach and eventually we all have to move on with our lives. And it also shows us that this doesn’t mean everything now sucks. After a rough patch, most of the people from Gama Gama end up in an equal or better place, and by the end of the story everyone is satisfied with their lot in life, having learned quite a lot along the way. I highly recommend you give this show a watch!
This was such a satisfying final episode, very well done!
It’s that time of the year again where every single anime youtuber makes their review of the previous year. I used to look forward so much to Gigguk’s video each year, then forgetting about it because he’s always late, only to be pleasantly surprised when the video did show up. I figured I would compile a list for myself as well, in the hopes of having something to recommend to friends when they’re looking for something to watch. For this list I will only include anime that finished airing in 2021, so Ousama Ranking unfortunately won’t make this list, since it hasn’t finished yet. It would be number one otherwise. On the flipside, although Jujutsu Kaisen started airing in 2020, it finished in early 2021, so it does count for this list. I’m also not counting sequels, if you’ve seen the first season of most of the sequels this year, you’ve probably watched the later seasons too if you liked it. So no Yuru Camp, Dr. Stone, Tensura, Attack on Titan etc. With all of that out of the way, here are my ten favorite anime of 2021, in no particular order. As always, these reviews contain minor spoilers for each show, read at your own discretion.
Jujutsu Kaisen
The main cast of JJK
Easily one of the biggest shows to come out of late 2020, early 2021 and a good place to start as I think this is the most universally liked show on this list. A lot of the shows in here aren’t bombshell mainstream successes as much as Jujutsu Kaisen was, but more reasonably popular shows that I personally liked a lot. Jujutsu Kaisen follows Itadori Yuuji, who ends up mingling with the occult a bit more than he would have liked. Accidentally swallowing one of Sukuna’s fingers he becomes a host for the extremely powerful demon. In an effort to stay in control of his own body he ends up going to Jujutsu tech, where similarly skilled people are learning as well. Jujutsu Kaisen at its core is a well rounded shonen anime with fun characters and an interesting plot progression. It doesn’t pull any punches and is a joy to watch from start to finish. I have yet to read the manga, but if the quality keeps up like the first season of the anime did, it’ll surely be one to remember.
I’ve been killing slimes for 300 years and maxed out my level
Azusa with some of the titular slimes
The title really says a lot for this one. Azusa died of overwork in our world, and after she died she was teleported to a quaint mountain home on the outskirts of a small village in a fantasy world. She then decides to spend the next 300 years just relaxing and killing a couple of slimes every day. Because she’s immortal, she ends up going a little bit overboard and levels up until she is level 99, the highest level anyone can be. When this is revealed at a local adventurers guild, challengers start slowly appearing. This show is very calm and relaxing to watch and has a lot of heart. I felt like it had really fun characters and even the small story arcs were fun. There was next to no drama, no difficult moments, just some characters living their best lives. This show is perfect when you’re winding down from a long day at work.
Life Lessons with Uramichi Oniisan
Look at how happy and not dead inside they are
Imagine this, you’re in your late 20s/early 30s. You’re not quite in the place in life where you wanted to be, but you’re getting by. You have a job, but it’s not your dream job by any means. You’re single and your friends are a mis-matched group of coworkers. Your boss has no regard for his employees and often runs you ragged. If you’re like me and this sounds almost painfully familiar, then Uramichi Oniisan will definitely hit home. Uramichi works as a Children’s TV host. Think Steve from Blue’s Clues but as a gymnast. He does a good job as well, but his life is just a bundle of misery and pain. Uramichi just wants the world to leave him alone as he is miserable in peace. The anime follows his life and that of his coworkers as they get through their day to day. Uramichi Oniisan is painfully relatable, funny, introspective and even heartfelt at times. The characters are well written and with 13 episodes the show doesn’t overstay its welcome. And if all of that isn’t enough, the titular Uramichi is voiced by the one and only Hiroshi Kamiya (Trafalgar Law, Araragi Koyomi, Yato, Izaya etc.)
So I’m a spider, so what?
This promo image is as chaotic as the show can feel sometimes.
Kumo desu ga follows the story of Kumoko, who is teleported to a strange world as a spider monster. Unbeknownst to her, the rest of the class has also been teleported to this world, but they’ve done so as mainly humans and humanoid characters. Meanwhile Kumoko suffers underground as she fights the scary underbelly of the world in an attempt to survive and grow stronger. This anime didn’t really get me invested until later on in the story. Kumoko’s story is fun in a way, but it gets a bit repetitive. I found myself more interested in the humans and as the story focused more on them, I found myself enjoying it a lot more. When it really got me was later in the story, where Kumoko becomes more involved with the plot. There seems to be a lot going on in this show and it’s definitely made as an advertisement for the source material, which I believe is a web novel turned into a light novel. This show does have some CG that I didn’t think looked good at all. Some of the fight scenes did look good, but there were some moments that made me chuckle at how silly things looked. All in all it was a very enjoyable show and it definitely earned its spot on this list.
Blue Period
Yatora is so focused
I recently talked about this show in one of my quick reviews, so there isn’t much I haven’t already said. Blue Period is a great drama show about Yatora, who decides very suddenly to become an art student. He has enough talent that with his drive he’s able to become better very quickly. The story focuses on his relationships with the people around him as much as on the progression of art itself. It has some very well written side characters and my favorite thing about this show is how his friends are super supportive. Early on they come across as a bunch of bros who just like to get drunk together, but when push comes to shove they immediately support Yatora’s efforts, as well as those of another in their friend group. This show hits right in the feelings when it wants to and as someone who thinks art is very important I can’t recommend it more highly.
Komi can’t communicate
I love her character design, her hairstyle is so unique
As fun and comedic as this show is, I can’t help but feel that Komi is painfully relatable at times. Komi-san is a beautiful girl who everyone wants to be close friends with, but Komi has a communication disorder that makes it near impossible to speak. Watching her order a coffee, talking to new classmates or interacting with strangers makes me feel both warm inside yet at the same time reflects a side of my own personality that I don’t like to be confronted with. It took me 2 or 3 episodes to get invested in this show, but once I did there was no going back. The supporting cast is mostly fun, although I think Yamai is definitely on a list somewhere as she is a psychopath. Tadano is great and one of my favorite main characters in a while. His and Komi’s interactions are adorable and I’m happy that this is getting a second season.
Mushoku Tensei: Jobless Reincarnation
The main cast of Mushoku Tensei
Rudeus Greyrat is a strange kid. Mainly because he has the mind of a thirty-something year old from earth. Reborn as the son of two adventurers in a fantasy world, he quickly finds out he is gifted with magic and becomes a very powerful kid. Unfortunately his fears of leaving the house still haunt him from his previous life. As the story continues, Rudeus and his cousin, Eris, are teleported away from their hometown to a strange land, and that is where the story really picks up.
To be perfectly honest with you, I did not like early Mushoku Tensei. The only reason I kept watching was because the animation and art were very good and the worldbuilding looked solid. As the show went on, I started being more interested, but it still had its issues. This show really raised the question about what your age is when you reincarnate. Rudeus is a child, sure, but the person inside his mind is not. He also does a lot of sexual assault, including sexual assault of minors which is worse depending on what age you view Rudeus to be. Outside of this show, I think discussing the mental strain of being teleported or reincarnated in a strange world is a very interesting topic that I hope to visit properly in a story I’m currently writing and publishing on this blog soon. But enough about that, Mushoku Tensei creates a beautifully flawed world where high stakes make you crave a new episode each week, despite its flaws.
The aquatope on white sand
This main cast is so unique in their personalities, I love it.
The first half of aquatope on the white sand plays out as a fairly generic slice of life drama. Fuuka is tired of the idol life and flees to a small town near the ocean. There she meets Kukuru, and starts to work at Tingaara, the local aquarium. It’s a bit rundown, but it’s got a lot of heart. Kukuru is the interim director and her grandfather is the one who made the aquarium big and successful. Alongside Kukuru and several of the other coworkers they try their best to save the aquarium from shutting down. And it’s a heartwarming story about how they come together and beat the odds that are stacked against them. The aquarium gets revitalized and they manage to save it. Except that’s not what happens. Even though Kukuru tries her very best, the aquarium is eventually shut down permanently. Fuuka moves back to the big city and nothing gets resolved in the way they wanted it to.
But then things pick up again. Kukuru gets a new job in a different aquarium, and although there are a fair share of hardships, it really shows that even though life doesn’t always go the way you planned it to go, that doesn’t mean you can’t rebound and find a new path. I loved the realistic take on a situation like this as opposed to the fairy tale success story where everything gets perfectly resolved. Life isn’t always fair, and aquatope acknowledges that. People’s paths converge and go their separate ways again, then sometimes they come back again. It’s a flawed story with flawed characters, but it feels extremely real and that is why it got me hooked completely.
Kageki Shoujo!
Kaoru (top left) is easily my favorite character of this show!
Watanaba Sarasa is a girl who likes to dream big. She wants to be on the center stage of the Takarazuka revue, a famous all-women theater. So she applies to, and gets into the prestigious Kouka Kageki high school. Alongside Sarasa is Narata Ai, a former idol with a troubled background. Together they grow as people and actresses as they go through the grueling lessons at Kouka and make friends along the way. That description does it some justice, but where this show shines is in its portrayal of the characters mental health problems. These can range from very serious topics to more melancholic things. The show takes its time to properly explore this themes which makes it brutally honest when you watch it. If you struggle watching people deal with serious issues then this might not be the show for you, but I personally enjoyed every single second of it, and even though I’m not putting this list of 10 shows in order, this one would definitely be in the top 3, if not number 1.
Horimiya
I was not a fan of how much more generic Izumi looked in the second half of this show
And last, but certainly not least, is Horimiya. I hadn’t heard of Horimiya at all before this anime aired, but apparently the manga is one of the most highly rated manga out there, and for good reason it seems. I will admit that the premise for this show is kind of dumb, but it’s not what keeps the plot going to it’s not an issue. Kyouko is a model student at school but she has a deep dark secret. At home she is, wait for it, very responsible and does the chores. That’s it, that’s her secret. If you think that’s underwhelming then we’re in agreement. At least Izumi has tattoos and piercings to hide, which are very much frowned upon. They come across each other outside of school and slowly become friends because they know each other’s secrets. Again, that’s Kyouko doing the chores at home. The premise is so silly, but it doesn’t take away from the story at all. I think a lot of it is summaries overselling how much it does for the story. This is a very character driven romance story and in my opinion one of the better written high school romance shows. I’d put it up there with the likes of Toradora. The art is nice, the music feels nostalgic and the characters are all likable in their own way. It makes sense that the manga is very popular and I recommend giving the show a watch as well.
And that’s my list. 10 shows I watched in 2021 that I recommend. 2021 saw a ton of sequels, like I mentioned before, and I watched a lot of those while skimping out on new shows. Please, do recommend some shows I’ve missed last year. I want to go back and watch some of them this year, if I find the time. There’s a lot of good anime coming up this year too, and I’ve just started watching Urusei Yatsura, which is a very old anime that’s getting a new adaptation this year. I’m mainly watching it for Lum, the main girl, because I’ve seen her a lot throughout the years in art and amvs, so it’s gotten me curious. And it’s a nice change of pace to watch something old and dated.
I hope this list helps you pick out some shows you might have missed and please drop a like if you found it helpful. Thanks for reading.
We’re reaching the end of 2021 and it’s been a banger of a year for anime. I was talking on discord the other day and said that Ousama Ranking was the best anime to come out of 2021. Someone then pointed out to me that Jujutsu Kaisen was this year and I had to rethink my comments a little. Technically it aired last year and this year, so it just depends if you count a show in the year it started or ended. But that was all the way back in January. It’s December now and in about a week it’ll be 2022. I plan to look at some shows in detail over the next few weeks, but for now let’s take a look at three solid shows that aired this season that I don’t have a ton to say about.
Blue Period
The main cast of Blue Period
I had no expectations going into this show, but I do like a good drama show so I wasn’t going to skip it. Blue Period surprised me though. It had very well rounded characters and didn’t shy away from more progressive issues like gender identity. I consider myself very progressive (I haven’t always, but we grow up and learn I suppose), and I think it’s good that rigid gender norms are being put into question. At the end of the day we all got one shot at life, and it wouldn’t be right if we judged people for wanting to feel comfortable in their own skin. The main focus of the story is of course Yaguchi realizing he wants to become an artist. I think art is something extremely satisfying so whenever Yaguchi gets excited I feel like I share in that feeling. My favorite thing about this anime, without a doubt, is the fact that his friends are so supportive of him. They’re all introduced as a bunch of “bro’s” but as soon as Yaguchi says he wants to be an artist and completely deviates from where he was headed, his friends support him 100%. That’s great to see and made me tear up a bit. Highly recommend this show and I’m considering picking up the manga, assuming I can buy some translated volumes. Send help, I’m one step away from hoarding manga.
The Faraway Paladin
Will and his patron
I like this show, I do, but I have a question for it that I can’t seem to figure out the answer to. Why the heck is this an Isekai? At some point I even forgot that it was an Isekai, but it is. Perhaps it will become clear later in the story, as the anime hasn’t ended yet with a few episodes still left, and I haven’t read the source material. But there seems to be no good reason for it to be an Isekai, Will could have just as well been a normal kid who grew up with three undead caretakers.
Putting that question aside for later, The Faraway Paladin follows a young boy who lives with his undead caretakers, and eventually sets out as a paladin to go do good in the world. I think the mystery of what is going on in the ruined city they live in, as well as the backstory of the three undead, Mary, Blood and Gus, is by far the most interesting part of this show. After that is resolved I feel like it trails a little bit. That could be because it’s a middle part in a larger story, or just because it peaks early. Either way, it’s a well crafted fantasy world with interesting characters and mechanics that is well worth your time.
Taisho Otome Fairytale
Yuzu and Tamahiko
There isn’t a lot I have to say about this show, so I won’t. The story follows the heir of a rich family, Tamahiko, who is sent off to the countryside to live in the family’s vacation home after his mother dies in an accident and he loses the use of his dominant hand. His father then buys a bride for him to live with, so that he’ll leave the rest of the family alone. The story follows Yuzu and Tamahiko as they slowly fall for each other and she helps him recover from his depression. Yuzu is adorable and the side characters in this show are a lot of fun. If you like slice of life, fairly relaxing drama shows, this one is definitely worth a watch.
Obvious spoiler warning for the Blue Period anime.
Blue Period will probably not end up being my number 1 anime of the fall 2021 season. I’m not even positive it will be in the top 3. But before I get completely distracted, I do want to talk about it a little bit. Not so much a proper review, but just a good old-fashioned rant about something I really enjoyed.
Because Blue Period blew my mind. I didn’t expect to enjoy this anime half as much as I did, but as someone who values art highly, watching shows like this always makes me feel a sense of pride. It’s as if it’s reaffirming that what I’m doing is something good. Writing is a very different art from from painting, of course, but it’s still art. Pouring your thoughts and emotions and ideas into a project for others to see is the second best feeling there is. The best feeling is when other people then turn around and see what you meant. As I’m growing older, I’m gaining more understanding for literature, even though I initially didn’t like it much. I think an issue with literature is that not every teacher is good, or willing, at explaining that it’s an extremely subjective course. My latest literature teacher was this over enthusiastic French man who only spoke French and English, no Dutch, but he would basically let you derive whatever meaning you wanted from the books we read, as long as you could defend it. And I aced his course. Other years I struggled so much, but once I realized that it’s all subjective I started to excel.
But enough about that, I want to gush a little bit more about what I liked. When Yaguchi cried tears of joy when Yotasuke acknowledged his skills I cried with him. When Yaguchi wasn’t super confident that he was even fully through it made me laugh because I could understand where he was coming from. I absolutely adore his friend group who were made out to be these borderline delinquents at the start of the show but turned out to be the best bros out there. His parents, his teacher, his senpai, everyone showed how proud they were. And that rush of inspiration he got during the exam, the stress he felt, it all felt so real.
And I haven’t even talked about his friend Ryuji/Yuka (the show uses both names regularly, so I’m mentioning both here) and their story arc. Seeing a character like that in an anime is fantastic. Japan isn’t exactly known for being particularly progressive on this issue, so I found it a breath of fresh air to have a character like that in the show that wasn’t just there score points, but felt like a solid part of the narrative.
If I want to give my final thoughts on this show, assuming I won’t revisit it in the future, then it’s as follows. Blue Period is a very well written drama show with realistic characters and a believable storyline. It doesn’t avoid any important issues but faces them head-on. I don’t believe I’m speaking out of turn when I say that this anime should appeal to most people who consider themselves an artist, and to many who don’t as well. It made me laugh and cry, which not every anime manages to pull off, and it is a show I don’t think I’ll forget anytime soon.
It’s already almost November, and with the spooky season soon behind us it’s time to get cozy and start preparing for the cold winter. At least over here it still gets a bit cold in winter, although not as much as when I was younger. Damn you global warming. But it’s still a good time to bring out your candles and your mood lighting, make a hot drink and snuggle up to watch your favorite anime. And what better to accompany it than the best of the new season. And I’ll help you out by recommending 5 shows that I think are worth your time. This isn’t the first time we’re doing this, you know what to expect, so let’s open the door to a new season!
I’ve played so much D&D I would 100% check that door for traps
A Quiet life in the Countryside
I don’t even have to look it up to know that this anime is a light novel adaptation, seeing as its full name is Banished from the Hero’s Party, I Decided to Live a Quiet Life in the Countryside. That’s definitely up there with some of the longer names for shows, but I don’t think it’s a record per se. The anime follows Red, brother of the hero and former member of the hero’s party. He was kicked out by one of his teammates, much to the chagrin of some of the other members. He then decides to go chill in the countryside and become a pharmacist. Not long after is he joined by Rit, who is a princess and a former member of their party. She left the house so as to avoid a fight over the throne and keep the peace. Together they set up shop and they get along well. What I appreciate about this show is that not only is it not an unnecessary Isekai, it’s also featuring characters who seem fairly mature. Last season had a similar anime, but it just felt underwhelming because of the characters to me. This seems to flow a lot nicer, and I adore Rit and Red’s interactions already. Definitely recommend this if you’re looking for a nice flowing slice of life fantasy!
Shiawase~~
Blue Period
I’ve always had a soft spot for art. And I take the term art very broadly. Classical art isn’t quite my thing, but I am very jealous of people who can draw amazing things, or play instruments. Maybe I should learn to play an instrument at some point. Putting that aside, Blue Period follows Yatora’s journey from a complete beginner in art to aiming to get into art school. What pleasantly surprised me so far is the interesting array of characters. They all seem very different and believable nonetheless. The drama hits you hard from the very start, and I won’t spoil anything, but I’m a big fan of Ruka as a character already. I hope we get to see a lot more of them. There isn’t much to say about this show, it’s good, it’s interesting, and it makes you feel really invested immediately. Definitely give it a watch if you like a good drama show.
Art and literature are vague as hell and so subjective that it’s difficult to relate sometimes.
Taishou Otome Otogibanashi
This show is just undeniably adorable. Tamahiko gets disowned by his father after he loses the use of one of his arms in an accident which also takes the life of his mother. He gets sent off to a family vacation home in the countryside. He also gets sent a bride, because this is early 1900s Japan, so anything goes. His bride is a few years younger than him, but not by too much. I’ve seen weirder shows for sure. What I really like about this show is that not only is it very laid-back, but the characters so far seem to act their age. They’re very much still a bunch of children thrown into a strange situation and making the best they can out of it. Yuzu is undeniably mature for her age, and Tamahiko and his sister, Tamako, who shows up in episode 22, also show that they grew up in a household that was cold and unloving. I definitely want to see more of this, and I’m curious to see the introduction of the other characters in the opening.
Take your time and enjoy!
The Faraway Paladin
I wasn’t sure if I was going to include this show initially because the first two episodes, although interesting, didn’t really wow me per se. The third episode felt a lot more solid, and I thought it was cool to finally see what this prologue of the series was leading towards. Will grew up in a ruined city, raised by three undead creatures. Gus the ghost, Mary the Mummy and Blood the Skeleton. Of course, because it’s 2021 and this is an anime, Will has his memories from before reincarnating, and it so far seems to be completely irrelevant except for the fact that he was conscious for the first few years when he was a baby. I don’t even remember the circumstances around his death in the first place, that’s how forgettable it was. Having said that, everything that happens after that moment has been good. The worldbuilding has been slow but interesting, and the three undead caretakers seem to have very interesting personalities as well. At the conclusion of episode 3 we see things kicking up a gear in speed and at this point I’m definitely invested. If you like fantasy shows, give this a shot since it definitely looks promising!
You’re telling me Will is not a skeleton? Spooky month ruined.
Komi-San can’t Communicate
So I’ve seen images from this manga pop up for a couple years now, and it’s always piqued my interest a little bit but not enough to pick up the manga. I do know that it’s been quite popular, so when I heard it was getting an anime it definitely stayed on my radar. I don’t know what platform is picking this up, since with my very limited availability of anime over here I generally sail the high seas out of necessity. It also seems that the websites where I usually watch shows don’t upload it on a proper schedule yet, so it’s been a bit hard to come by. Having said that, I am enjoying it so far!
I know that feeling, Komi.
And that really is all there is to it this season. I know there are some good sequels airing right now. I’m personally watching Mushoku Tensei, Demon Slayer, Isekai Shokudou and more, but I tend to keep these posts to new shows as much as possible. I’m not watching a large amount, but I’m catching up on some old shows as well, so I don’t have a large “stalled” list going into the new year. Are there any shows I didn’t talk about that I should? Let me know in the comments, and I hope I helped you find some shows to watch!
I love doing these quick reviews, but I generally prefer talking about shows I would recommend in these. I know there’s merit in objective reviewing and showing both sides of the coin, but that’s not what I like to do. Not when writing a review, at least. I like to just gush about the shows I really enjoyed. So there are definitely a few shows I’m skipping out on. Some I will talk about in a larger review, but that’s for later, I’m in no rush. Today I want to talk about two shows I enjoyed, and one that I enjoyed less.
Life Lessons with Uramichi Oniisan
There is a running theme in a lot of modern anime about people being stuck in a rut, unhappy in their life and all around miserable. I suspect this is because they want to make anime relatable, and what’s more relatable than the feeling that you’re wasting away your precious time on earth doing a job you don’t enjoy just so you can afford basic necessities! Uramichi Oniisan tells the story of the titular Uramichi who works as a gymnast in a popular children’s television show. Together with several others, some of whom he’s known since college, they film episodes with the children and do songs and other skits. You’ve all been children before, you know the drill. On stage they are very professional, but their inner thoughts come leaking out from time to time, which is very funny. But at its core, Uramichi Oniisan is about living your life the best you can, and doing what you can. They may not be happy, but they all take pride in their work, and appreciate each other’s companionship. Each of the main characters in this show is relatable in some way, and that’s what makes the show so good. I had a blast watching this, even though it hit painfully close to home sometimes. I highly recommend Life Lessons with Uramichi Oniisan!
That’s the moral of the story right there!
Peach Boy Riverside.
What an interesting premise this show had. I had it recommended earlier on this season as well, as shows to watch out for. Too bad that shortly afterwards I completely lost track of what was going on. For some reason the director decided to air the episodes out of order. I’ve seen some people say on reddit that it added to the suspense, but I hard disagree with that. I just felt like I missed episodes for most of the season and was constantly confused about what was going on. I mean no disrespect to the show and its creators, but a seasonal anime that doesn’t particularly stand out as amazing doesn’t take up enough space in my memory for me to remember every detail properly when you give me them out of order. I just want to sit down, unwind and watch humans kill ogres. Instead I need to do university level math to figure out which part of the timeline we’re at. Not to mention that the final episode was not final at all, so it just left me wondering what I just watched. And that’s the sad part. In about a month or two you can ask me what Peach Boy Riverside was trying to say, and I probably couldn’t tell you. Something about ogres and humans wanting to coexist except they don’t actually want that? Either way, I’d suggest skipping this one.
You only say that because you didn’t see her command a bunch of freaky eyes.
Bokutachi no Remake.
So I praised the writing of this show early on, and this is another case of me speaking too soon. Although phrasing it like that makes it sound a bit harsher than I mean it. Bokutachi no Remake was a very enjoyable show, but I feel like it was bumbling towards the story it was trying to tell a bit awkwardly. The early episodes were great. Our main character gets sent back in time (which is a premise I adore, by the way) to live the life he wanted to live but never did. As someone who only found out about their autism late in life, I feel like going back in time armed with a lot of the cognitive behavioral therapy tricks I’ve learned over the years would make things very different. But enough about me. Halfway through the season the story takes a certain turn I won’t spoil for those of you who want to watch it, and after that it always felt a bit forced to me. I can’t quite put my finger on it, and it could very well just be a personal thing that other people have no issues with. Regardless, this show has a lot to like, and the voice actress for Shinoaki has such a soothing voice that I could listen to it on loop. Even though it wasn’t perfect, I’d still definitely recommend this show. The first half is really, really good!
That’s a very random chair, just next to the runway.
It’s that time of the season again. We’ve just finished up the summer season anime, and it’s time to take a look back at what we watched and if we would recommend it to other people. I didn’t watch a great amount of new shows this season. At least not new ones that ended. But I have watched a couple, and I would like to talk about some of them for a bit. So without further ado, here’s what I thought of the Isekai shows that aired this past season.
How a Realist Hero Rebuilt the Kingdom
Well, this one seems to have hit the mark at least.
Souma has been summoned from modern day Japan to help a Kingdom that’s on the verge of collapse. Upon appearing he is crowned king and the previous ruler retires. Souma however, being from modern day Japan, isn’t exactly the kind of hero they expected to summon. He’s not a warrior, or a powerful mage or some great hero. He’s just a bloke that’s pretty clever, to put it bluntly. He uses his wit and social skills to convince the people around him, and recruit the right people for the right job. So far it seems to be a success. He has been able to gather allies, team up with multiple parties that were slightly adverse to a new king, and stave off the danger. A lot of my issues with this show retain more to my personal stance on politics. Souma feels very manipulative in the way he deals with people. A lot of his victories feel kind of cheap, almost as if all he does is manipulate the people around him into wanting to work for him. Maybe I’m too harsh on this show, but I struggled enjoying several of the episodes. I’d write this one off as a generic Isekai show with potential in the long run.
Seirei Gensouki: Spirit Chronicles
And that’s how this entire season feels. There wasn’t enough time to properly develop the story.
Seirei Gensouki follows orphan Rio, who gains memories from his life on earth where he, as Haruto, died in a freak accident. He was on a bus that got hit by a train. It’s borderline comical in how over the top it is. Either way, his memories slowly fuse into one person. After accidentally saving the princess he is allowed into the local magic school where he is mostly looked down upon. After getting into trouble he flees town and goes to visit the elves and spirits in the forest. He then moves to Yagumo, which seems to be more Japan-inspired. I mentioned this in the image caption, but Seirei Gensouki feels like it has a fun story to tell, but just doesn’t get it out quite right. It also suffers from Kirito-syndrome, where the main character is somehow the coolest, most powerful person in the room. I’m a big fan of overpowered characters, but they need to have a good flaw. I found Kirito in the later seasons of SAO quite fun. He had to go through trauma to become more of a believable character. Rio/Haruto seems to breeze through life, collecting waifus wherever he sees the opportunity. I might buy the novels at some point to see if my suspicions that they have better pacing are true, but there’s several other novels higher on my wishlist, so it’ll probably take a while. For now, I would recommend this show, but set expectations accordingly.
Oh dear, it’s self-aware
Putting all jokes aside, when I started watching this season’s batch of anime I did not expect Tsukimichi to be along some of the more enjoyable shows. Just like Seirei Gensouki and Realist Hero it runs into some issues with its pacing. At this point in the reviews you might have realized that I am an absolute sucker for good world building and would not mind spending several episodes on one discussion about an upcoming fight (Looking at you, Tensura). Regardless, I’m not one to shy away from good action and some solid banter either, and Tsukimichi delivers on both. Makoto is sent to a new world, but the goddess in charge thinks he’s too ugly and banishes him to live with the demi-humans. It’s a bit harsh, but he does end up with some great companions because of it. He quickly makes servants out of two of the greatest creatures in the area and they start building up an empire in a pocket realm. Unfortunately for Makoto, things don’t go well since although he’s still very much connected to the goddess, she doesn’t like him. Tsukimichi suffers from some of the same issues as the other two shows, as I mentioned, but I feel like it flows a bit better overall. Not to mention, the story hooks seem more interesting than in Realist Hero, and I love both Tomoe and Mio’s designs. All three of these anime show potential, but none quite seem to hit the mark. Regardless, I’d still recommend Tsukimichi, if only for the absolute banger of an opening theme. I can listen to that song all day!
But how did you enjoy these shows? Or are you not a fan of Isekai shows in general? I think the genre is coming into its own overtime, and we’ve left some of the bad ones behind us now. (that or I’m just not watching the bad ones). Either way, leave a comment on what you think down below and as always; thanks for reading!
My keyboard is in need of cleaning. I’ll be honest that I haven’t really done so often. I’ve cleaned the top of the keys regularly of course, but underneath it looks less appealing, so to speak. The main reason why this is of importance is because my “o” key regularly gets stuck and gives twice the input. So if you see some weird double O’s in this text, I apologize in advance. I’ll try to fix most of them if I spot them. At worst it’s a minor inconvenience. Speaking of minor inconveniences, Clayman ended up being even less impactful than I expected. His entire story arc seemed to revolve around no one actually wanting to work with him, and it turns out even Frey and Milim weren’t actually on his side. I’m starting to almost feel bad for the guy, if I’m honest. If only he didn’t see the one final chance he was given as an opportunity to do even more damage. At this point he’s being manipulated by everyone involved. If only he listened to his few allies in the Moderate Harlequin alliance.
Beretta undid one of Clayman’s creations so fast it wasn’t even seen.
I’m going to keep this review short, since I’ll be doing an extensive review of the entire season next week (which should come out on Friday instead of Wednesday or Thursday, so do keep that in mind). The main thing they did this episode was show the different fights. Shion is seen kicking ass against Clayman, so that Rimuru doesn’t even have to make his hands dirty. Veldora entertains Milim, and both him and Raphael are shushed when they try to tell Rimuru that Milim is not actually mind controlled. Rimuru wins Raphael back a bit this episode, but I do think he needs to be careful about constantly pissing off the all knowing voice in his head.
Bring your niece to work day?
Clayman, now no longer having any allies in range, gets manipulated one last time, this time by Raphael. For a moment I thought that maybe Raphael was offering him some sort of deal outside of Rimuru’s knowledge, which would have been a fascinating development to the story, but alas, it was something done with Rimuru’s knowledge, to set up for the next stage of the fight. In next week’s conclusion we’ll probably watch Rimuru comfortably defeat Clayman, and then the story goes back towards the status quo. I can’t wait to see what’s next in the volumes, but we’ll have to be patient for that. It does bother me a little bit that we are heading fast towards an “all was well and they lived happily ever after” situation. I do like my stories to be a little bit more gritty than this. There seem to be no consequences to any of the bad decisions made, and everything always goes Rimuru’s way. That’s obviously a shonen hallmark at this point, so it’s nothing new, but it’s something that shows like Demon Slayer and to an extent Jujutsu Kaisen do extremely well. There’s bigger stakes involved when characters actually die when they are killed (I’m looking at you, literally every character in One Piece besides the two obvious exceptions). Regardless, I thought this episode was good fun, but it wasn’t as mind blowing as I would have hoped. Next week is the conclusion and although I’m sad to see it go, I am looking forward to finding a new show to discuss weekly. I might do Demon Slayer’s new season, but I’m not sure about that yet. I want to do something that’s only one cour, because I’m eyeing up JoJo Part 5 as well, that’s coming in Winter. Let me know if you have any suggestions for what to keep up with during fall in the comments down below, and I hope to see you here next week for the conclusion of this show.
So this man was Carrion after all, and Raphael was about to point that out to Rimuru when he shushed her.It’s kind of sad that they did actually all care about each other.
After two months and nine episodes of build-up, we’re finally here! It’s time for Walpurgis. This episode covers the debate itself and sets up the fight that we’ve been waiting for all season. Let’s go through it step by step and I’ll give you my thoughts. First we are once again introduced to all the demon lords present. I gave the entire list last week so I’ll spare you a repeat.
Our small slime is all grown up and scary looking now.Clayman is not as intimidating as he likes to think
To favor a more lengthy episode we skip the opening this week, which I never have qualms about, even if the opening is a banger. Clayman tells the banquet his made up story about how he is the victim and his poor subordinate Myuran (I’m still not sure how to spell her name) was murdered by Rimuru. Not only that, he implicates Milim as the main aggressor towards Carrion. It’s basically a long story about how he’s never done anything wrong without showing any proof.
Rimuru telling it like it is
Rimuru explains his side of the story and shows some footage of Clayman’s people being abused and then quickly defeated by Rimuru’s people. His biggest arguments include Myuran not being dead, Yamza being turned into a small Charybdis and the clowns speaking about the plan being bad and how they shouldn’t have been involved. The clowns mention Yuuki (I presume) but don’t name him. Raphael tries to explain to Rimuru what is going on but he dismisses her too quickly as usual. He basically has an all knowing ally that keeps shushing. Clayman keeps stringing lies to defend himself but this can now only end in a fight.
The big showdown is happening
Guy Crimson creates a barrier for the two groups to fight in, and they both squad up. Rimuru has less people but when he tries to call on Beretta the barrier is already there. A lot of the fights seem fairly evenly matched, except for Rimuru versus Milim. The latter being on the attack the entire time. Clayman barely has to get his own hands dirty as he lets his minions fight everyone. Rimuru is trying desperately to figure out how to make Milim snap out of it, but once again he doesn’t listen to Raphael and thus misses out on important information. I get that we like skipping the hints in the loading screen, but Rimuru should really stop doing so.
Just let the all knowing voice in your head finish her sentences
The last important bit of this episode is that we learn about Noir, or Diablo, being even more powerful and important than we already thought. Him and Beretta are from the same demon family and from what I could glance, Diablo might even be of a similar stature to Guy. It makes me even more curious about Diablo.
Beretta speaks her mind
The last point I want to make, and I feel like I’m repeating myself, is that I really enjoyed the long set-up. I’m seeing this season get very bad reviews and I feel like it’s unwaranted. This anime is slower than some other shonen shows, but I think the shows that jump from action to action to action get painfully boring after a while. I think good build-up is needed to make for good fights. Else there is no narrative weight. Now we have all of the information we need to be fully invested and I’m a big fan. It makes the pay-off that much more satisfying in my opinion.
Oh, I almost forgot to mention, who shows up to save the day:
It’s everyone’s favorite tsundere ancient dragon!
My opinion on this show is clear by now, do you all agree that it’s been a fun ride to get here, or are you more on the side of some of the reviews I saw, that things have been too slow? I’d love to know your opinion! And of course, I hope to see you all here again next week. Hopefully it’s not as warm out by then, because it took my all to find the energy to write this!
Things are finally advancing quickly, after a very enjoyable, but slow start to the season. Since this episode really set the stage for the upcoming discussions, I think it’s for the best to look at this episode a little bit differently than normal. I will be skipping around through what happens today, so bear with me.
Veldora’s attention span has passed, back to manga
Shuna, Hakuo and Soei go to Clayman’s castle to take control of it while Clayman is at Walpurgis. The person guarding the castle is Adalman, the wight king (not the white king, like my subtitles said). He has an army of undead. Unfortunately for him, he is a bad match for Shuna, who not only uses holy magic that is very effective against the undead, but she’s also angry right now. She realizes after a while that Adalman used to be a priest, and we get a small bit of insight into his past. He used to believe in the god Luminus, but was turned into an undead creature by the former/recently returned demon lord Kazareem (the blonde lady that was with Yuuki and Laplace a few episodes ago.) He ends up being no match for Shuna. As a matter of fact, after Shuna inadvertently undoes his binding spell, he asks to be brought to her “god” as in Rimuru.
All the other ogres are very strong, so it’s no surprise that Shuna is far from a push-over, but that was amazing.
I like analyzing the deeper meaning behind things. I would never say I’m particularly good at it, I had to resit some of my literature classes in uni several times before I got a passing grade, but when the source material is interesting to me, I do enjoy looking for hidden things that might be there on purpose, or are there just by coincidence. I don’t think it’s a coincidence that all of Clayman’s people fall so easily. Yamza was an opportunist that was ready to run as soon when things went south. Tear, Footman and Laplace seem to be on the same team as him mostly because they have a common leader figure in Kazareem, but none of them seem to really trust Clayman or think him competent. Frey seems to have been lured in by promises of power by Clayman, but without her help he would have never been able to brainwash Milim. Even the followers of Milim seemed fine with jumping ship when it got to it, and now we learn that another one of his lackeys, Adalman, was only there because he was bound by his own past, and not because he actually wanted to work with Clayman. I think it’s fitting that all of his allies go down easily when he never bothered to give them a good reason to work for him. I wouldn’t be surprised if Clayman himself goes down easily after Rimuru figures out how to get Milim back in control of her own mind.
One more for the fanclub, and a pretty strong one at that!
And that brings us to the last part of this episode, that mixes in with the discussions had early on; the start of Walpurgis, the demon lords’ banquet. Misery, one of Guy’s maids, picks up the different demon lords and brings them to the discussion table. And here we meet all of the other demon lords, some for the first time.
Guy Crimson seems to be the oldest demon lord in attendance and from what we’ve been hinted at is probably the strongest person in the room. He seemed like a nice bloke when he was talking to Leon in a previous episode though.
The giant demon lord, Dagruel. We know very little about him except that he’s seemingly very powerful and his footsteps are loud enough to cause light tremors.
The Vampire demon lord, Valentine. I’ve highlighted the people in his party as well, because Rimuru pretty much confirms that the maid (the one on the left, the blue haired on on the right is Rain, Guy’s maid) is the stronger one there. So she is probably the real demon lord that Veldora pissed off ages ago.
I’m grouping Dino and Ramiris together for this one, since we know a lot about Ramiris and very little about Dino. All we know is that they’re on friendly terms. Dino is the lazy one that Ramiris spoke about earlier this episode. He seems like a nice person so far. Ramiris we’ve met so many times that I don’t need to talk about her much here.
We’ve already met Frey in a previous episode, when she put the mindcontrolling necklace on Milim. I do have to wonder what her endgame is, since there’s no way she believes Clayman can keep Milim under control right? There has to be another layer to this. That or she’s just not very smart, which is also a possibility of course. Shion does mention that the lion looking man behind her could be Carrion, since he looks like beastfolk. I wonder what’s up with that. Raphael seems to agree, but Rimuru shuts her down too quickly and she hmmmpfs away.
Leon Cromwell. The man, the myth, the bellend. He is the one responsible for Shizu’s condition and then death. He doesn’t seem to harbor any real emotions about the situation. He seems to have a very clear moral code, although not one that’s particularly good. The two don’t get off on a great start though, but Rimuru does get invited over to his place for a discussion. If he leaves here alive. That’s not ominous at all.
Last but not least, we have Milim, wearing her mind control necklace, and Clayman, the main villain of this arc. I wonder if that magical looking fox is like the conch in Lord of the flies or something completely unrelated. Either way, as soon as Clayman disrespects Milim, which he’s obviously doing to make a show out of his control over her, every other demon lord in the room looks on with disapproval.
With Carrion missing, that’s all 10 demon lords that are expected to attend, in attendance. The only ones not included her, that we know of, are the female vampire that is with Valentine, who might be the real powerful one as well as Demon Lord Kazareem, who is presumed dead at this point in time. Rimuru doesn’t count yet since he became a demon lord only after this meeting was called, but he was still invited, so that’s nice of them.
I hope this brings everyone back up to speed, I sure could use the reminder of who everyone involved was. Next week’s episode is called Walpurgis, and with all the fighting seeming mostly out of the way, we’re finally going to get into the thick of it. I can’t wait to see what kind of politics happen here. The fights, although they looked better this week, don’t interest me a great deal this season, I’m all here for the politics. Who is on whose side, who is going to fall, and who is going to rise. I also, upon further thought, don’t think the guy behind Frey is too directly related to Carrion, seeing as a large part of Clayman’s plan is to convince everyone that Rimuru killed Carrion and has to die for that reason. Or perhaps that is the way in which Frey is going to show her real colors. Maybe she holds a grudge against Clayman and has been working with him to betray him at the last second. Or I’m totally wrong, but that’s the fun in this, is it not? I am glad I got this review out in time, since it was an absolute banger of an episode, and I hope to see you all here again next week!
Edit – It’s very late and I can’t seem to figure out the formatting around some of the demon lord images. I apologize that it looks a bit chaotic and I hope to get back to this post to fix it at a later date.
Opal Kaharis 