This review contains big spoilers for the original Bioshock game, basically revealing the core plotline. If you are just here to see if you should play it, then the answer is undoubtedly a resounding yes.
Would you kindly?
Powerful words. A polite way of asking someone to do something for you. On the surface it’s a completely innocent phrase, and on its own it is nothing more than that. But the writers of the 2007 game Bioshock use it to manipulate us and show us one of the most incredible stories that video gaming has been able to share with us. In my journey to make it through my gaming backlog I have included a couple of games I wanted to replay again since it has been many years, and the Bioshock series is part of this. Mainly because I never got the second game to work on my computer back in the day, so I only played the original Bioshock and then Infinite. Now I’m replaying the entire trilogy.
Bioshock takes place in the underwater city of Rapture. Built by an oligarch named Andrew Ryan, it is supposed to be a paradise away from the regular constraints of society. No pesky government to take your taxes from you, no pesky morality, no one bossing you around, just working hard and expressing yourself in the ways you want to express yourself. What could possibly go wrong? That’s where we come in. At the time we first make our way into Rapture, things have already gone horribly wrong. Most of the people living in the underwater city have fully lost their minds and the culprit is a substance named Adam. Without going full midichlorian on you, Adam is a substance that allows you to alter your body and give you superpowers. It rewrites your DNA and it is used to power up the protagonist in the games. The problem with Adam is that most get addicted to it and it makes the person unstable. This results in the addicts we fight throughout the game known as splicers. They were once humans who – due to using Adam on their body – have totally lost it. Then we also have the big daddies and little sisters, who go around harvesting the Adam from deceased splicers. Big daddies are guys in big suits that walk around protecting the little sister, a genetically modified little girl that can harvest Adam from corpses. In this crazy underwater world, we need to find a way back to safety and our only ally in all of this is a man by the name of Atlas.
Atlas tells us that his family is stuck and he’s trying to escape with them to the surface, and if we would so kindly assist him in his escape. We’re a good guy, so we obviously do and we soon come face to face with our first little sister, making the most important decision of the game. Do we harvest her or do we save her? We’re a good guy, so we obviously saved her. In neither of my playthroughs did I have the heart to go for the bad ending. We now get a little bit of Adam and the thanks of Tenenbaum, the person who seems to be responsible for these girls’ condition but is now trying to fix her ways. We continue our journey through Rapture and meet all sorts of strange people, most of whom are trying to kill us. Eventually we get to the escape pod for Atlas’ family but Andrew Ryan kills them. Now fueled by revenge, our goal is to go after the man himself, the capitalist anti-government creep named Andrew Ryan. After making our way through parts of Rapture, fixing up some systems and disabling some guard systems, we go into Ryan’s office and “kindly kill the son of a bitch.” It is here that Ryan reveals to us that we were a sleeper agent all along, working for Atlas – nay, Frank Fontaine – and being activated by the phrase would you kindly. On my first playthrough I did not expect this twist at all. Ryan manipulates this phrase to get us to kill him and we’re now at the mercy of Atlas who tells us to kill ourselves, but fails. It turns out that Frank Fontaine (Atlas), Tenenbaum and a scientist by the name of Dr. Suchong were the ones who created us and faked our personality while putting the activation phrases in our head. Tenenbaum feels remorse and removes some of the damage from us, while Suchong was killed by a big daddy during an experiment. Most of this lore we learn through audio logs that you can find throughout Rapture and it’s really nice that you can just hit play on those while you continue the game or choose to listen to them and wait. This is a feature more storygames need to add. Either way, we now have a new task. Deal with Frank Fontaine and save the little sisters.
The gameplay of Bioshock is mostly a lot of fun because of the resource management. You get money and ammunition from enemies as well as health and Eve hypos (mana). Yes, you need Eve to use more of your Adam powers. What makes it fun is that if you aren’t great at shooters – like me – you need to plan ahead, especially when fighting a big daddy. So put down some traps, make sure you have some grenades and anti-armor rounds and look for a spot where you can kite the enemies enough to have some cover. That last part feels like it is often a lost cause. The game isn’t so hard that it’s a problem, but I do remember struggling a lot more on my first playthrough. I didn’t play games as much as I do now, so I was really bad. Now it wasn’t that hard and the final boss fight felt very easy, but none of that detracted from my enjoyment at all.
What stands out in Bioshock to me isn’t so much the gameplay – which is solid considering it is a 20 year old game – but most of all the atmosphere. The combination of often somber and intense music with the dark environment, the beautiful ocean floor and the real feeling of Bioshock being a space that was once thriving – we get to see some of this in a DLC for Bioshock Infinite – makes this a truly haunting experience. I will never forget a scene early on in the game where we first get our shotgun. Right after picking it up from the corpse of a splicer, the lights turn off and we’re stuck with only a small spotlight. In the dark we can hear other splicers moving around and taunting us, before they attack us in waves. That scene genuinely freaked me out both times I played through it. The vending machines have some of the most memorable marketing tunes and add onto it a sometimes fun, sometimes very frustrating hacking minigame and you even managed to make shopping a tense experience.
There is much more to talk about when it comes to this game, which is impressive considering you can get through it in less than 10 hours if you rush things, but I recommend taking your time. I am not one who cares much for story in video games. I find that it’s often hard to tell a truly good story that can compete with movies or books in the setting of a video game, since the gameplay can sometimes take you out of it. But the way Bioshock feeds you information while you play, doesn’t force you to stand still and listen, but really lets you experience things at your own pace, while constantly keeping you occupied and tense really works wonders. Even if you did play this game when you were younger, I would recommend you play it again if it has been a while. Or let me rephrase that. Would you kindly (re)play the Bioshock series? Thanks for reading.
It is not an easy task to create a proper top 10 anime. As of writing this, my anime list has well over 1250 entries and it is ever growing. To choose my all time favorites was not easy, and I will start off this post by telling you all that this list will likely change over time. As a matter of fact, In the month or so I’ve been working on it, I have changed one of the entries and adjusted the positions of three. But I am pretty happy with how the list turned out. There are some asterisks here and there throughout but I will explain those as we get to them. At the very least this will be a great list of anime and I hope there are at least one or two shows on the list that you can check out for yourself after reading this. So let’s not waste time and start with number ten.
10. That time I got reincarnated as a slime
This show has many great moments, lots of them more emotional than this one, but the pure joy I experienced when Rimuru let this attack go is indescribable. This is my favorite shot of the entire anime for that reason.
I have made no secret of my love for the Isekai genre. The concept of being transported to another world through some means has always drawn me in. I think it comes from a very clear longing in the current day for something different. Now this isn’t a cry for help, I’m medicated these days, but wouldn’t it be great if one day you woke up as a little slime and started building your own kingdom while making lots of friends along the way? Just me? Well Rimuru gets to live that life after being stabbed to death in modern day Japan. He finds himself in a dark cave and quickly gains some pretty impressive powers through what seems to be divine intervention followed by becoming friends with a dragon. As Rimuru makes his way through his new world he turns wild monsters into friends, builds his own city, joins a council of demons and even starts his own kingdom while toppling others. While doing all of this, a lot of the focus of this show is also on the quieter moments that are in between the fighting. For this reason some people have called it slow and boring at times and if that’s not your favorite type of content then I definitely understand that sentiment. But as someone who loves a slower story that pays off everything it sets up this show hits all the right spots. Some parts of the worldbuilding were so quiet and lovely that they made an entire spin-off show for it that is basically just a fantasy slice of life show. I have never been more comfortable laying in my bed watching an anime than while watching that spin-off. I highly recommend this show to anyone who likes the Isekai genre and I am excited to one day start reading the novels as well. If I can ever make it through my backlog.
Destroying your enemies without mercy is important, but festivals are even more important!
9. Ore Monogatari
Sometimes, being Sunakawa is suffering
Oitsukenaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaai, Oitsukenai noni, totsuzen monogatari. When I just think about this show, the first line of its beautiful opening by artist Trustrick – who are as unfamiliar to me besides this song as they probably are to you – immediately jumps into my mind and I can’t help but belt it. It’s honestly hard to believe that this show is a decade old already, it feels like just yesterday when I first fell in love with the romance anime genre through watching this show. That might be a bit unfair, there were other romance anime I enjoyed before watching this one, but this show taught me that shojo romance hits my feelings in a way I didn’t think was possible. It’s since been followed up by incredible shows like Horimiya, Skip & Loafer, Sakurasou and more recently a sign of affection, but as the first in the genre to truly make me cry tears of joy this show will always hold that special place in my heart. Gouda – a high school student, not the city I used to work in or the cheese named after it – is a big man but he’s not particularly popular with the girls. His friend Sunakawa is much more popular but he’s not all that interested in romance. One day, Takeo (Gouda) helps out a schoolmate named Yamato when she’s being harassed on the train. Not long after, the two start dating and we get to experience all of the joy and worry of budding love among two teenagers who have absolutely no idea what they’re doing. It’s a very funny show and the romance between the two characters starts pretty early on, so we don’t spend an entire season waiting for something to happen. Misunderstandings often get resolved pretty quickly and the characters actually communicate pretty well for anime characters. If you like shows like Horimiya and Skip & Loafer – which both could have made this spot as well – then you’ll enjoy this one too.
They’re somehow the most perfect pair
8. Ace of Diamond
The seniors have got to show the rookies who’s boss at least once per sports anime
For the first five spots on this list I also looked at what genre of anime I really enjoy and then which of the shows within that genre have stuck with me the most. For traditional sports anime that has got to be Ace of Diamond. A baseball anime about a team that is a powerhouse within their own region but struggles to make that next step that will bring them to nationals. With enough members to have a full first and second string as well as numerous bench players this allows for many different characters to be introduced. We follow a young Sawamura who has talent but needs a lot of time and work to get polished into being an actually good pitcher as opposed to a predictable pitcher with one good throw that eventually gets figured out. And he is not even the only talented pitcher within his team, as several others are also gunning for this position. In a team this competitive you need to constantly improve or you’ll soon be benched for the guy behind you who is working harder than you. Lucky for us, Sawamura is a hard worker and although it definitely takes some time, we get to see him perform on the stage of his dreams. On his road there we learn about the personalities of his seniors, the other people in his year, the management team and the coach and we even start to root for some of the other teams in the competition as many of the teams you face have their own charm and backstories, and it sometimes even becomes difficult to choose which team to root for. On top of that, the matches in this anime are quite unpredictable at times. Sometimes you think the protagonists have to win for the story to continue and then they lose and we follow someone else for a while as Seirin goes back to the drawing board. The characters are fun, the matches are very tense and the story just flows really well. If you like sports anime and haven’t seen this one yet, do yourself a favor. There are over 100 episodes of it, so you won’t be bored for a little while.
Everyone’s favorite scheming catcher; Miyuki
7. Bakuman
Although I don’t think I’ve seen any of my students draw their classmates yet – at least not in a flattering way – I’ve seen many of them doodle instead of do their work, so this is pretty accurate.
The feeling of wanting to make it big by bringing your stories to life is a relatable feeling to me. Having a family member who also told stories is also a relatable feeling. My grandfather – who I never met unfortunately – wrote a book before I was born. Reading a story about two kids who work really hard to become manga authors is something I can relate to. This story follows two high school boys as they work together to create manga and get them published and turned into anime eventually. We watch their growth as authors, their meetings with the people from Jump and their competition with others from their own age and older. As talented as the two are, they are also trying to write manga at the same time that another boy who is a once in a generation genius is trying to write manga. He is their main competition and I’m pretty sure he’s based on Oda. The manga was written by the same duo of authors that wrote Death Note and a good part of the story is based around their own experiences, so they know what they’re talking about. There are a few other anime that I would consider to be in the same genre about creating some form of art. I almost put one of them – Shirobako – in this spot. Other similar shows you could watch are New Game, Keep your hands off Eizouken and Sakura Quest. But out of all these, I think Bakuman still feels the most well rounded and was the most enjoyable. It’s not always super accurate of course as a lot of the story is heavily romanticized, but if you like learning a little bit about how manga publication works, this is a great show. Definitely give it a watch.
If there’s one thing I’ve learned throughout the years it is that most manga authors are at least a little bit strange. I think Bakuman does a good job of portraying them as such.
6. The Ancient Magus Bride
I promise you that this isn’t that sort of anime, it’s actually pretty wholesome most of the time.
One of the first manga I bought when I first started collecting manga more avidly. I just fell in love with this anime from the first second that I watched it. The gorgeously drawn British countryside, the fascinating mythology that I love to learn more about, fictional or real and the interesting character dynamics. At a surface level, the relationship between Elias and Chise is incredibly messed up, with one being a teenage girl and the other being a borderline eldritch horror that’s already lived for many long years. But the more time we spend with these characters, the more the roles almost start to reverse as we learn Elias isn’t nearly as mature as you would expect and Chise is much less a weak little girl than she seems at first. Not to mention the fact that Elias’ idea of marriage is very different from how we see it and has no creepy undertones at all. Despite me mentioning all of these things, the story follows a complicated relationship between two fundamentally broken people that try to navigate a confusing and magical world filled with danger around every corner. As the story continues, Chise and Elias enroll in a university for sorcerers where they get embroiled in a much larger plot and have to be very careful to get out of this unscathed. If you like fantasy, mythology and a slow but never boring coming of age story, then this show has to be on your radar, it’s one of the very best in the genre. Unfortunately there will likely not be a third season anytime soon, considering there is only one (translated) volume out beyond the end of the season 2 anime since the author took a bit of a break between volumes. Still, the story is continuing and the anime finished most things up quite nicely so it’s far from a bad spot to end the story for now. Treat yourself to some wonder and watch this show.
This anime – and the manga – loves using flowers to make the environment really pop, and they’ve done a great job bringing that to life with all this color.
Intermission with some honorable mentions
It’s been so long since I’ve seen these nerds, what a blast from the past and a reminder how cozy this show was. Well, until shit hit the fan, that is.
There were so many shows that could have made this list but didn’t. I considered the recently popular Solo Leveling, but since it didn’t get to the point of the story that I really love yet I decided against it. When it gets fully animated it might make this list. I considered classics like Fullmetal Alchemist, Steins Gate and Attack on Titan, but none of them give me that urge to rewatch them as much as the others on this list do. And although some of my top picks are definitely the same as the most popular anime of all time, I think there are very few shows that are recommended more often than FMA, so that one really doesn’t need a spot on a list like this.
I think I’ve made it pretty clear by now that I like shows that play with my emotions, and Vinland Saga 2 does just that, and it does an incredible job of it.
Vinland Saga season 2 would make the top 10 with confidence, but I didn’t really enjoy the first season nearly as much, which is why it failed to reach this top. A place further than the universe, Shirobako and Yuru Camp all almost took the spot of Bakuman, but I think the tenure that Bakuman has put it over the edge for me. Yuru Camp will be in my manga top most likely, so look forward to that in the future. Many of you are probably wondering where One Piece is on this list, but I find that the anime has too many flaws for me to put it on this list. I almost put the One Piece Fan Letter OVA on this list instead as a standalone episode, that is beyond brilliant. The incredible seinen action show Mononogatari is probably the show I would put in 11th place, so if there’s none on this list that you haven’t seen yet, give that one a watch instead. But with the honorable mentions out of the way, let’s dive into the 5 best anime I’ve ever watched. Drumroll please.
These two make for such a great duo
5. Ranking of Kings
One episode in and he’s already getting scolded by his stepmom
This is probably the most divisive entry on the list. Putting aside reviews on anime websites – as those are generally the most stuck-up people on the internet finding every little flaw in a show and making them as big as they can – there are quite a few people who find this story boring, think the writing is sloppy and say it’s not a really good anime. Despite all that, I think it was relatively popular in its time and it struck just the right emotional nerves for me to firmly jump into this top list. Ranking of Kings follows Bojji, a young prince who was born deaf. Not only that, he’s far weaker than his brother and seems to be all around not very talented. In a world where the kings of different nations are quite literally ranked and the most powerful ones get to take some very special treasures with them, Bojji seems to be lost. He doesn’t let it bother him all that much though as he’s a very positive little boy, despite getting hurt at times by the people around him. We follow Bojji as he goes on a quest with Kage, his newly made friend who is from a race of persecuted shadow people. The two become quick friends and go on a journey. While this is all happening, the kingdom is in the midst of a conspiracy that involves everyone that Bojji cares about. The protectors of the realm are divided, the king has made a deal with the devil and throughout all of this a monster is approaching fast. Bojji and Kage need to navigate this web of intrigue to save the kingdom and their family. Bojji’s stepmom is one of my favorite characters in all of fiction writing and an incredible example of how to write a strong female character that isn’t physically all that impressive. The opening Hadaka no Yuusha by Vaundy is also an incredible song and combined with the stellar animation and art style this show makes for a fantastic experience that I believe to be very underrated. I will add that the story itself does feel a little bit forced at times, it’s not the perfect story, but I think that all the other aspects of this show more than make up for that, and I would never say the story is bad.
Mirror, mirror on the wall, who’s the shadiest of them all?
4. Chihayafuru
Studying time.
Had I made this list about two years ago, this show would have been in the number 2 spot. That might give you some hints about the upcoming picks in the top 3, but let’s first talk about an anime that doesn’t get nearly as much attention as the rest of the top 5. Chihayafuru is a strange anime. It tells the story of Chihaya, a high school girl who is obsessed with Karuta. Karuta is a Japanese game of memorization and speed where poetry is read out by someone and it is up to the two players to then tap the correct cards on the ground in front of them. The poem read is the first half and the text on the cards is the second half of this poem, so you need to know these poems to be able to play the game. If you’re not sold on the concept by this description then don’t worry, neither was I when I first heard about it. The sole reason I started to watch this anime in the first place was because I heard the opening song by 99RadioService. They did the openings for all three seasons and the vocalist has a very pleasant voice. Chihaya and her club gather more members, compete in tournaments and meet all sorts of players from across the region. Nestled between all of these games – as some of the show is structured like a sports anime – is a romantic subplot that really tugs at the heartstrings at times. Chihaya is a very likeable character, but she would probably be quite the frustrating person to be around at times. Dense as can be and very little regard for social cues she often makes the people that fall for her suffer due to her lack of understanding. Despite this pretty big flaw in her character, the story never feels very frustrating and I think a lot of the romantic subplot is handled quite well. This one is definitely a comfort anime for me and I’m probably rewatching it after I finish this blogpost.
This show can get quite tense and competitive at times, like a proper sports anime, which makes the downtime feel much more comfortable in exchange.
3. The Apothecary Diaries
This is how it all starts, the awkward servant girl who is much more clever than your average servant gets immediately spotted by the scheming eunuch.
This show caught me completely by surprise. When it first aired I didn’t immediately watch it because it didn’t seem all that interesting to me. Yet I heard the buzz around it soon after so I gave it a shot and I was incredibly surprised. Apothecary Diaries follows Maomao, a young apothecary who is kidnapped and forced to work in the rear palace, a place where the emperor lives. In this part of the palace the only people allowed are the Emperor and his family, women and eunuchs. After quickly catching the eye of Jinshi, an attendant who is a beautiful young man, she is put in his employ. She helps with the medical issues in the palace and soon gets caught up in all sorts of problems. Her love for poisons gets her in trouble more often than not and she ends up working for several of the high ranking concubines throughout her time in the palace. She becomes good friends with two other servants and her relationship with Jinshi gets more complicated as time goes on. Even the eunuch doesn’t seem to be exactly who he says he is. This show gives the viewer just enough information to figure some things out before they’re revealed but also doesn’t assume we need our hand held at every step. Maomao is a fun main character and none of her flaws make her unlikable. The supporting cast complements her well and there isn’t a single boring episode. With season 2 diving much deeper into some of the political upheaval in the region we get a much better insight into the world of Apothecary Diaries and with a third season already announced for 2026 there is no good reason not to watch this one. The fact that the number 2 and 3 spots aired during the exact same season shows what an incredible season it was.
This is the same girl as the one in the previous screenshot, I promise.
2. Frieren: Beyond journey’s end
Because that’s right, the next entry on this list is Frieren, which originally aired alongside Apothecary Diaries in the fall of 2023. This one I was much more interested in from the start since I watched Gigguk’s video that he made on the manga, recommending it. The concept seemed interesting but I never expected to love it as much as I ended up doing. Frieren is an elven mage who has lived for over a millennium and has learned much in those years. Despite that, she’s still considered to be relatively young for an elf and the way she ages differently from those around her makes her a bad fit for joining up with communities. Still, she ends up joining Himmel the hero on his journey to the northern continent to deal with the demon king and end the war between humans and demons. The 10 year long adventure ends with success and Himmel and his party are crowned heroes of the realm. They split up after a job well done and agree to come visit now and then.
This moment from episode one was so powerful that I immediately knew I was in for a treat and it never disappointed for even a second after this.
50 years have passed since Himmel the hero defeated the demon king and Frieren suddenly remembers that he has something of hers and that they wanted to see a meteor shower that comes once every 50 years, so she decides to visit. To her surprise, both Himmel and Heiter – the humans in their party – are incredibly old and not long after their trek to see the meteors he passes away from old age, Heiter dying not many years later. Standing emotionless at Himmel’s funeral, the words from the onlookers that she’s not even crying hit her harder than she thought. It was merely a 10 year journey right? Not even one-one hundredth of her life. Despite it being only a short journey, she only now starts to realize how much she enjoyed that short journey and she wants to learn more about humans and about her friends that are now partially gone. She takes on an apprentice in Fern, who was adopted by Heiter, the corrupt priest of the party and they are joined by Stark, who was the apprentice of Eisen, the warrior of their original party. This trio travels north to find heaven, the place where spirits rest.
I had to include the scene that became a meme format, this girl is beyond dense sometimes.
I’ve talked a lot about the core of the story, but on top of these emotional and reflective moments, the series also contains quite a bit of action that is done incredibly well. This series is incredibly rounded and with great animation, voice talent and incredible opening songs by both Yorushika and Yoasobi – which are some of my favorite Japanese artists – the music is also fully sorted. There are few anime that make me feel the way that Frieren makes me feel and manages to tug on my heartstrings as much with both sadness and happiness. But if there is one anime that can compete, it would be the next and final entry on this list.
What makes a good anime feel complete is when the supporting cast feels not only interesting but also like they’re real people with their own story. Frieren nails that feeling as I want to know more about the lives of everyone in this screenshot.
1. March comes in like a lion
The quiet focus of a professional match, beautifully scored with calming piano music that picks up in intensity as the games do the same. Also look at my boy Nikaidou 😀 I love this kid.
The only entry on this list that has held its position for many years and to me stands head and shoulders above the rest. March comes in like a lion follows a young Kiriyama Rei. At 17 years old he is a talented and up and coming shogi player. Shogi is more or less a more complicated take on chess and I will immediately put you at ease that you do not need to understand the game to enjoy this anime at all. I still don’t fully understand most of it, but as long as you understand the basic goals of the game you’re fine. Kiriyama never really asked for these chances in life, but after his parents died and he was adopted by a friend of his father it felt like being good at shogi was his only path to belonging, so he fervently chased after it. Now he’s 17, skipping school and depressed in his own apartment. He doesn’t get along with his family in a healthy way, he pushes his only friend away due to not having the skills to get along with him and he feels most at home at the shogi hall just because he feels like he belongs. Kiriyama lives a lonely life.
Although Sangatsu has many incredible characters, these three are the heart and soul of the show.
Or that’s how it seems to him, and this is also why this portrayal of mental health struggles hits so incredibly hard. Many of us feel lonelier than we truly are. His stepdad cares for him in his own weird way. His friend Nikaidou cares for him greatly and pushes through his own illness to make sure his friend is okay and gets checked up on. The people at the shogi hall all feel responsible for him and make sure they keep an eye on him. But it takes until he meets the Kawamoto sisters randomly that he truly starts learning what his place in the world is. Kawamoto Akari is a hostess at the club where Kiriyama is taken one day by his seniors at the shogi hall. Fully drunk and passed out by the time the club closes down, Akari decides to bring him back to their cozy house where she lives with her two younger sisters and her grandfather. They get Kiriyama back on his feet and after realizing how lonely he is they start inviting him over. Despite not being his family, he starts feeling more and more at ease around them before the dark thoughts return. Still, they make sure to keep pulling him out of the dark place he’s in and it works. He becomes more and more at ease with who he is and we see Kiriyama’s journey from the darkest depths of his depression to a much better place. He gets all the help he needs from those around him and although it’s hard to see this when you are in this dark place, it is often true that there are people who care about us, even when we can’t see it. We’re social creatures after all.
All you need to know about this guy is that he’s a predator and we violently hate him
There are so many incredible characters in this story that just thinking about them puts a smile on my face. From his teacher who is a fan of shogi and makes sure that Kiriyama doesn’t fail school despite being a truant for most of it to the members of the science club that take him in as one of theirs and brighten his day. From his seniors at the shogi hall to his opponents who invite him to their club. And finally and most importantly the Kawamoto family is always there for him with Hina going through her own problems at school while the toddler Momo is a joy for sore eyes. The slightly weird art style that is often part of Studio Shaft products really fits this show well and the opening themes are all incredible. They have Orion by the powerhouse of Jpop that is Kenshi Yonezu as well as Bump of Chicken’s Answer. The later season has two songs by Yuki, out of which Sayonara bystander is probably my favorite. I will only give a warning that this is probably not a good show to watch when you’re in a dark place. The show gets much lighter as it goes on, but I think diving into the portrayal of depression could make your own mental health problems worse, so be aware of that.
Doofus 1 and Doofus 2
And now time for some closing thoughts. I’ve been thinking about making a list like this for a while and it was quite fun although it took a lot more time and effort than I expected. It wasn’t hard to find ten anime I loved, but narrowing it down to exactly ten and then figuring out their order was definitely a challenge. I’m happy with the result and although I’m sure that when you ask me in a year or so this list will look different, I’m happy uploading this post. There are many more anime that I really loved and didn’t mention in this post, so please do not crucify me that your favorite anime didn’t make this list. Feel free to recommend it to me in the comments below and I’ll let you know if I’ve watched it or not. And let me know what your own favorite anime are. For now, I recognize this was a long post, but hopefully you got some ideas on what to watch next. Thanks for reading!
It’s 2025. After all these long years I finally sat down and read Douglas Adams’ The Hitch-Hiker’s guide to the Galaxy. I first heard about this story when I watched the movie about it with a buddy of mine. That’s right, the one with Martin Freeman as Arthur Dent. I don’t remember too much about this movie except thinking it was very weird and complicated at times. Years later – when I was still quite young – I tried reading the book, but I could never really get into it. Despite this, I still bought the remaining books in the poorly named “trilogy” and since I’m both trying to read more as well as diversifying the sort of books I’m reading, it was time for me to give this book another shot. And I was pleasantly surprised.
For those of you unfamiliar with the book, The Hitch-Hiker’s Guide is a book based on a radio play about an Englishman who ends up traveling through space after Earth is blown up. His good friend Ford Prefect – which he thought would be a good cover name – is actually an alien from Betelgeuse Nine and he brings Arthur along when he escapes earth on a Vogon ship. The two later get picked up in a ship with Trillian – the only other earthling who happened to escape a few months prior – and Zaphod Beeblebrox, a strange fellow with two faces who was the president of the galaxy for a while and is also a cousin to Ford. The four of them make their way to a planet rumored to exist but considered a myth by most and meet some interesting figures.
What makes this novel ‘tick’ is the humor it uses. It will describe the most insane concepts that clearly make no sense at all with a seriousness that makes you believe they’re really thought out. It talks about how a phrase yelled into nothingness is sent through a wormhole millions of years back and happens to be the exact same as an insult that causes two races who were about to make peace wage war for many more generations instead. This story ends with them figuring out what happened and teaming up to attack earth, only to be swallowed by a single dog as they vastly misjudged the size difference. All of what I just talked about was only a throwaway side story in two pages before we return to the main story again.
The main story itself is interesting too. The concept behind it seems to be that these travelers are somehow influenced to go here and although we don’t quite learn all of what is going on, it does make for an interesting background. What really makes this book good for me is the final part on the planet of Magrathea. They meet an old man named Slartibartfast – yes it’s impressive someone made this up – and they then come face to face with the mice that were actually the smartest creatures on earth. They ran an experiment through earth, making it basically a giant super computer, but due to the Vogons’ interference they never got the result they needed. You see, researchers managed to build the second most intelligent super computer a long time ago and this told them that the answer to life, the universe and everything was ‘42’. But they never managed to figure out the question that this number answers. Since the second most intelligent computer couldn’t figure it out, they had to build an even more intelligent one. Now they need to start again from zero while our cast of weirdos make their way to the restaurant at the end of the universe.
One thing I took away from this story is how progressive it can seem at times. I want to look at one scene towards the end of the novel as a specific example of what I mean. While trying to escape from the mice on Magrathea, our fantastic four run into two cops that are chasing Zaphod for stealing the Heart of gold. Many years before the “acab” movement ever caught steam, this novel speaks about two cops who are just as violent as the other cops, but they’re the good apples because instead of bragging about shooting someone they go home to their wives and cry about not having another choice. Needless to say they still start blasting immediately. It’s a fun little commentary on the way the world works that I didn’t expect to find in a novel from almost 50 years ago. Also, Marvin depressing a ship so much it commits suicide is very funny.
I didn’t expect to talk this much about a book that’s only 180 pages, but it left more of an impression on me than I expected. I’m excited to read the other four books in the trilogy and I’ll share my thoughts on them as I go through them. I’ll be reading a lot more throughout the year and I’ll try and update you folks at times about what I’ve read and what I recommend. For now, I’m going to sleep since it’s already late and I have to teach first period tomorrow. Thanks for reading!
Volume 86 marks the 20th anniversary of the One Piece manga. For those of us who can do math, that’s about 4 volumes a year, with a little bit extra. Oda at this point in time admits that maybe he should start taking the series a bit more seriously. Which he then contradicts almost immediately by having a terrifying mafioso talk to his baby boy all cutesy. Anyway, the emperor assassination plan is in full swing as Bege tells us what the plan actually entails. It turns out that Big Mom is almost invincible but she has a weakness. She had a portrait of someone named “mother Carmel” which when destroyed causes her to scream out so loudly everyone gets disabled for a few seconds. With the help of CC’s rocket they’ll then take out Big Mom. And Bege – against all wisdom – has put Luffy in charge of destroying the picture frame. He already has ideas for a funny entrance. Poor Bege. I can’t believe the manga is going to make me feel bad for a bloodthirsty murderer because he’ll have to deal with Luffy’s crap.
Now we get to what I believe will be the most important part of this arc, although we have some time to get to the ramifications of what some of these characters represent. The underworld emperors all arrive at Big Mom’s territory for her wedding. There are several names but I want to focus on three of them. First up is Stussy. She’s the queen of the red light district although we’re not told what that means exactly. She’s a young woman who looks rather frail but knowing how Oda likes to draw his women, that’s not that strange. The second character I want to look at is Morgans. Morgans is a crucial character in this story who has been looming over us for a very long time without us really knowing much about him. The newspaper that gets delivered everywhere in the world is delivered by his company. He is in charge of the media and he decides what gets shown to the world and what doesn’t. He’s probably also the reason why it was so easy for Big Mom to mess with Sanji’s wanted poster. The company that writes these papers is called the World Economic Journal, which I’m assuming is based on the World Economic Forum in our own world. Lastly, a character that we know very little about to this day; Umit. Pretty much everything we learn about Umit, we learn in this chapter. But the reason I want to pay some attention to him here is because of his epithet. Deep Sea Current Umit. There has been a long running theory about the deep sea currents in the world of One Piece. Many questions are often asked about Shanks’ incredible ability to traverse the world at the blink of an eye, seemingly teleporting all around. We also know that there are some deep sea currents around Fishman Island, as the crew made use of one to get there. So a running theory is that there are certain people (pirates, underworld brokers) who know how to properly navigate these tremendously fast deep sea currents, getting across the world very quickly without being noticed. This explains how Shanks could intercept Kaidou in the New World before arriving at Marineford only a little bit later. It’s also suspected that the Moby Dick traveled a similar way and there’s even a running theory that the reason why Rayleigh became a ship coater is because the deep sea currents will end up being very important at a later date. I’m very curious to see where all of this leads but I recognize that we’ve gone off topic far too much, so let’s return to the actual story being told here.
One big roadblock will be Charlotte Katakuri, the strongest man in Big Mom’s crew whose Haki is so advanced he can even see a few moments into the future. His very first act is assassinating someone before they can start firing their own weapon, so you know he’s a badass. I still remember when we were first introduced to this character and he was so damn cool. This immediately poses to be a problem as his prediction sees how Pudding falls to the ground after Sanji calls her third eye beautiful and she’s shocked by this. He tries to fix the scenario but his deadly attack on Sanji misses, causing the priest’s gun to go off and allowing for Luffy’s funny entrance. Of course it was going to be funny, a whole host of fake Luffys jump out of the cake all at once, surprising everyone at the tea party.
From here on out, shit hits the fan and so much happens that I doubt I can cover it all, so apologies if I miss things. I’ll go over the important stuff. While Jinbe confronts Big Mom about leaving the crew, Brook – disguised as Luffy – shatters the picture of mother Carmel. It’s good that he went in as a backup since actual Luffy was defeated by Katakuri in about a moment. While Caesar is trying to find his moment, Bege pretends to be on Big Mom’s side and takes Luffy into custody. Many of the top officers of Big Mom’s crew get to work because Pudding failed to do her job. They all put their weapons to the heads of the Germa members, who can only laugh while Judge weeps. He caused his own downfall and none of his children really care, they mainly just respect the hustle. Elsewhere on the floor, Katakuri has a grim look on his face which Bege rightfully interprets as a disaster waiting for the Big Mom pirates. He lets Luffy go and he shows the broken picture to Big Mom, causing her to scream out, stunning everyone just like they planned.
We then learn about Big Mom’s past. She was abandoned by her parents at the age of 5, because she was far too dangerous. She outgrew everyone around her and had monstrous strength. She was left on the island of Elbaf where an orphanage fun by Mother Carmel was. This orphanage actually worked on creating spies and soldiers for the navy, but no one outside of Mother Carmel and the navy knew about it. Because the orphanage was on Elbaf, they interacted with the giants and during the period of fasting, Linlin got so angry from her hunger that she attacked one of the two village chiefs, killing him. The orphanage then had to leave the village and went elsewhere on the island where they eventually celebrated Linlin’s 6th birthday. It was during this birthday that Charlotte Linlin ended up eating her croquembouche, the table, her fellow orphans and even mother Carmel, gaining her devil fruit powers in the process. It also earned her the eternal hatred of all of the giants in the world. Back in the present day, she lets out a scream so strong that the weapons don’t work and their escape mirror gets shattered. With no real way out, everyone retreats into Bege’s body.
With no real way out, we have to regroup inside of Bege while Big Mom is back in control over her mind. Gathered here are the Tank pirates, the Straw Hat pirates as well as the now free Germa members who probably aren’t too happy about being saved by Sanji and his friends. I know this was a long one, but a lot happened in this volume. There are even some things I haven’t talked about, like what’s happening with the underworld broker, but we’ll get to that when it comes back in the next volume. I hope you’re enjoying this incredibly chaotic arc and I hope to see you all here again next week to see where the story goes.
It’s no secret that I’m a big fan of worldbuilding. I love it when a world you read about or watch something about feels like it was lovingly crafted. The people living there feel realistic, they have their own cultures and their politics are complex yet sensible. I love complex magic systems but I also have a fondness of magic that “just works”. What I enjoy the most in some of my favorite fantasy series is the moments where characters just get to live their lives. I love Shounen action, but sometimes the constant action and drama becomes a bit overbearing. I just want to watch a slime spend 10 episodes planning, organizing and hosting a festival. Some of my favorite memories of early One Piece were when the crew was just goofing around or even as recently as Wano when they were just chilling in the onsen. To make a long story short, Restaurant to another world was always going to be a story that I would like. Having just finished the second volume of the light novel, let’s talk about it.
Nekoya is a restaurant in Tokyo. It serves a host of guests from students to salarymen all throughout the week and does so very well, leaving its customers satisfied. But on Saturday the restaurant is unavailable to the public and that is for a reason. On Saturday, doors appear all over a different world, one filled with fantasy and wonder, that lead to the restaurant. These black doors appear on “the day of Satur” and only in specific locations. They allow for the denizens of this world to enter this restaurant and experience food they could never in their own world. Satisfied, they go back home. Fighting is not allowed and with some of the strongest denizens of their world arriving to this place peacefully, seemingly even claiming it as their domain, no one would dare start a fight there.
It’s through this wonderful restaurant that we get to learn so much about the different people living in this world. It really starts to build a picture as the story continues. My favorite subplot is how the prince of the sand nation is madly in love with the imperial princess Adelheid but doesn’t dare strike up a proper conversation with her. Instead, his sister will initiate the conversations in the restaurant and – spoiler alert – the pair eventually gets married. It strengthens their nations, but it probably would have never happened if they didn’t meet in the restaurant. And through this place we see legendary fighters, wise sages, fairies, lizardmen, ogres, dwarves and many more. Some of the people visiting the restaurant even try to recreate the recipes in their own world or go on soul searching journeys about food. It is ill-advised to read this story when you’re hungry.
Lastly, let’s talk about Aletta. She’s sort of the main character of this story, although it really shifts focus a lot. We’re introduced to her late in the first volume but if I remember correctly she shows up pretty early in the first season of the anime which is a good change. She’s a poor demon girl who stumbles upon the door way too late and ends up falling asleep on the floor of the place. The master of the restaurant then feeds her and offers her a job, vastly improving her life. She even manages to get a proper job in her own world despite how much prejudice there is against her kind. One of the adventurers that frequents the restaurant needs someone to watch her house and if Aletta is good enough to work in Nekoya then the adventurer trusts her. All in all it’s just a very heartwarming story that combines food, worldbuilding and fun characters. I wouldn’t recommend reading all six novels in a row as I worry it would get a little bit much of the same thing, but reading one of these novels every so often is a very pleasant experience. Thanks for reading!
It’s been quite a ride from the little boy who ran out to save his friend while being completely powerless to the powerful hero who saved the world from destruction. As a simple shonen anime about heroes and villains, My Hero Academia was a decent telling of a story about young heroes coming into their own. Where it failed however, was in an overarching premise it started building up early on in the story before mostly abandoning it. So today, with the story having finished, let’s talk about where it missed the mark. As the title suggests, of course this post will contain spoilers for the entirety of the manga, including the ending.
Let’s start by explaining what I believed to be the overarching premise of My Hero Academia. The story takes place in a world where people suddenly develop superpowers called ‘quirks’. This has been going on for a little while now and although it’s caused its fair share of issues, it seems to be relatively balanced. A villain appears, heroes come to the rescue and lock the villain in jail, things go back to normal. Sounds pretty solid, right? We have a whole ranking system among heroes with the most popular ones being at the top and those are often the more charismatic people with cool powers. But what happens to those who awaken to strong powers but don’t have the charisma or support system that these heroes have? That’s right, they can end up turning into villains. This is particularly visible amongst those whose powers have them look different from the average person. Think of characters like Spinner, Seto and Tokoyami. Of course being different doesn’t immediately mean that you’re alienated and turned into a recluse, but it’s definitely something that is more common among those who look out of place.
In this world, we get a fantastic villain like Stain, who has become disillusioned with the way these people consider themselves heroes, only to refuse to solve any actual problems. Sure, they beat up villains for money and popularity, and that’s not inherently a terrible thing to do, but they’re not doing it out of the goodness of their heart per se. They’re doing it as a job or as a way to get ahead in life. Although the series doesn’t dive into this aspect much, I wouldn’t be surprised if there’s some proper sadistic heroes around who see this as a chance to beat up some people without there being any negative repercussions. To make a long story short, Stain is disgusted by the state of heroism in the world and realizes that there’s a deep rot beneath all of it that creates more villains through it.
With Redestro’s arc about the liberation of power users we get even more of an insight in how alienated a large number of people with quirks feel. They don’t quite fit in the way that society has molded and this scares them. The promise of being able to freely use their abilities – which feel natural to them, mind you – is an attractive one for sure. Add to that the people like Spinner who want to tear down the racist system that looks down on anthropomorphised people like him and you’ve created a very clear narrative. These people are definitely villains and their actions are not good for society. But the goals they aim to strive for are valid. The world is faulty and is hurting many people in the way it doesn’t properly regulate quirks. It sort of feels like how in the real world the US sends cops to deal with a mental health crisis. The aim of the heroes isn’t to fix the underlying problems with society, but to just lock up anyone who doesn’t fit the mold. I think you can start to see where I’m going with this.
What I would have really liked from My Hero Academia was to come to a conclusion in which these sorts of points were properly addressed and we’d have a clear shift in the way hero society is being run. Earlier on in the manga we learned that newer generations tend to grow up with a bit more powerful quirks which means that if another villain shows up in the future, they can be much more powerful than Shigaraki was if we’re unlucky. We could have had social reforms. The heroes could create a branch that focus more on mental healths and helping those who seem to be struggling with their quirks. For the longest time I believed that the storylines around Nagant and Hawks having to do horrible things as well as all of Himiko Toga’s storyline were sending us in this direction. Break down the structures and build them up from scratch to be better.
Instead what we got was one old lady helping a child who’s hurting and the author patting himself on the back for solving society. Hero society still functions the exact same way as it did at the start of the series. Dabi isn’t an exception, he won’t be the last person to go through harsh training due to zealous parents. People like Himiko Toga – although probably a very complex problem to deal with – still don’t have the support they need to overcome their complex personality disorders. And to top it all off, Deku’s become a teacher at UA without a quirk or anything, just kind of there to be forgotten. I fully believe that he should have instead started an institution that deals with societal unrest. But no, why fix society when Todoroki and Bakugo can just lock up anyone who doesn’t step in line?
I wrote about this series and my hesitant worries a long time ago when I thought it wasn’t going to properly address some of these storylines it set up. And if it never bothered to set them up in the first place, I would not have been this negative about the ending. But it set up these problems and then didn’t deliver on them. I feel like Horikoshi was inspired by Oda’s writing – which makes sense as it’s known he is a fan of One Piece – but wasn’t quite able to replicate Oda’s talent for social commentary. Now I can’t tell you if this was a shortcoming on Horikoshi’s end or if Shonen Jump wasn’t interested in that part of the story, or even if it was editor interference. At the end of the day, My Hero Academia was a story written for teenage boys and never had to be much deeper than that. It just feels like a real shame that it didn’t become the powerhouse it was destined to be and will instead be remembered as an okay story that didn’t really stick the landing.
But that’s just me and my opinion. I look at these stories through a very skeptical lens so there’s a good chance that you have a different opinion than I do. If you do, please let me know in the comments down below, I’d love to hear it. But until then, thanks for reading!
I know, I know, it’s probably not the most logical thing to say as someone who regularly reviews manga and anime, but I think it’s still good advice. Let me explain myself. After a friend of mine recommended that I watch the recent Kaiju No. 8, I went and binged the entire show in a day. What I found was a very solid shonen with a fun main character, a cool setting and great pacing. It didn’t blow you away by how crazy unpredictable it was but even though you could see most important moments coming from a mile away, it simply executed those moments really well and sometimes that’s all you need. It’s been a long time since I watched a show in one go, so I highly recommend you give it a shot. Yungblud – an artist I’ve been obsessed with for years – sings the opening theme and OneRepublic sings the ending theme. Both are great too. You can feel a but coming, can’t you? Well, yes and no.
After I finished watching it, I went onto the shonen jump app to see if the manga is available. It is! I remember that the free reading of older chapters ended at some point, but apparently not. So I’m probably diving into the manga soon. But then I went to mark the show as watched on anime planet and my attention was grabbed by the reviews, which were mostly negative. Curious what people had to say about it, I went to look at them. They came up with some pretty good points – assuming the points they make are fair – that made me more hesitant to start the manga. Apparently the plot doesn’t move very fast and due to biweekly chapter releases this gets even worse. That doesn’t sound like a great time. Especially since I already have trouble keeping up with monthly manga to the point that I swapped to physical volumes. I could of course do that for Kaiju No 8, but let’s not keep spending money on manga volumes I have no room for, I just completed my One Piece collection all the way up to 106 and half of it is in the attic.
So what’s my point? Well, as usual, I just yap a bunch. But I think what I would advise you is to just stay away from reviews that don’t align with your opinion. This isn’t a golden rule you should always follow, but I’ve had it happen multiple times where other people point out problems with shows I like and somehow that lessens my enjoyment. As much as we like to admit we’re above this stuff, I think many of us still feel like we need approval from others. If four other people tell you that Fairy Tail is bad due to the power of friendship, then I guess me watching it with a grin on my face must be wrong. (Fairy Tail is most definitely bad but also incredibly fun, but let’s not get too distracted.)
So my advice to you is simple. If you’re easily influenced, do not read reviews of shows you’re enjoying after you finish them, especially not if you liked the show. I’ve learned throughout the years that the things I like and the things most people like don’t really align and that’s okay. But I also know that I am still influenced by other people’s opinions. So I don’t read a lot of reviews. It’s also why I keep in mind what to say whenever I write my own reviews. Most of my reviews – especially the quick reviews that I promise will return at some point – are very simple and mainly focus on things I enjoyed. I think that’s the sweet spot. If you don’t like a show, don’t talk about it. Having said that, my post complaining about Mushoku Tensei is viewed more times than the rest of my blog combined and I hate it. Turns out shitting on something popular gets you views. We all know the algorithm is designed to destroy all happiness, but it’s interesting to see it first hand. What am I trying to say? Right, go watch Kaiju No 8. The main character is in his 30s, no bitches, no dreams, no muscles. Never before has a main character been this relatable. Thanks for reading.
I didn’t watch a lot of anime during the winter season. I say that, but I still kept up with more than a dozen of shows at all times. I guess it’s just not as much compared to the unhealthy amount I watched in the past. Of the shows I watched, most of them were quite good. Today I want to talk about several of them. I’ve already talked about Frieren in a separate post and I’m not going to talk about Mashle anymore than I already have since I think it’s a terrible show. Alright, let’s move on.
Look at that city, my boy, it’s filled with every good anime that aired this season.
Apothecary Diaries
I only started watching this anime when most of it had already finished airing. I didn’t get into it initially but I heard nothing but good things about it and I ended up being very impressed with what I saw. Maomao is the daughter of a local apothecarist and often works at the nearby Verdigris House, a famous brothel in town. On her way home from delivering medicine she is kidnapped and then promptly sold off to the emperor’s rear palace to be a servant girl. Being much more educated than most of the other women present in the palace she quickly stands out, much to her own dismay. The manager of the rear palace, a young and handsome eunuch named Jinshi, figures out that she’s not only literate but also knowledgeable about medicine. She quickly gets caught up in a bunch of drama and trouble as it comes to light that she was responsible for saving concubine Gyokuyo’s child from dying. We follow Maomao and her life in the rear palace where much is afoot that we don’t know until the story progresses. The music is stellar, the story is gripping and Maomao is a fun character to follow. Literally being named “catcat” she’s quite the capricious young woman although her wisdom comes through when it has to. If you want to treat yourself right, this show would be the stand out of any season that doesn’t have Frieren in it. But for now it’ll have to sit in a very comfortable second place for me. And don’t worry, I’m not ranking the other shows, there were just a very clear top two for me personally when it comes to this past season.
Jinshi and Maomao, the two main characters of this show. Both have a lot more going on in their personal lives than you might think.
Banished from the hero’s party, I decided to live a quiet life in the countryside
Just by typing out the title I’ve already reached my word cap for the day I think. Obviously we’re all intimately familiar with the trend of light novels trying to cram in as much information as possible into the title to get more eyes on them. This one does a pretty good job of telling you exactly what it is about, but there is also definitely more to it. Gideon (Red) is the guide for the hero Ruti, his sister. Each person has a blessing in this world, which dictates what they are “destined” to do and affects their personality. Gideon isn’t seen as useful enough by some of his party members and is thus kicked out of the hero’s party by Ares, a fellow member. Not deterred by this setback, Gideon changes his name to Red and start a quaint little apothecary in the quiet town of Zoltan. Of course his old life eventually catches back up with him as the hero’s party is slowly fracturing and things are going increasingly poorly on their front. Red is soon joined by Rit, a princess and fellow adventurer and the two hit it off pretty well. As the series continues they eventually meet up with Ruti as well, who retires from being the hero, although doing so is not easy and causes many problems I won’t spoil here.
Listen, I’m not one to judge, but there is an alarmaing amount of Ruti feet in this opening theme song animation. I wonder whose idea this was.
Now we’re in the second season and there’s an interesting twist here. Because Ruti stopped being the hero, a new hero’s blessing was given out by the god of this world to a young man named Van. Much more zealous than Ruti, this new hero sets out to save the world, quickly making enemies everywhere through his zealotry. He ends up having to visit Zoltan and gets into some fights there which result in Ruti beating the snot out of him. Things escalate from here but Red, Ruti and the gang end up resolving the entire problem of season 2 in a complex but efficient way. This show does a great job at delivering you on the action and the highlights you would want, but it also knows that big action scenes aren’t what its main priority is. I liked season 1 quite a bit, but season 2 impressed me much more. If this sounds interesting to you, I highly recommend you check out this show.
Sometimes you just need to flee your village for a little while and camp out in the mountains. Happens to everyone, right?
A sign of affection
Yuki is deaf. She’s been deaf since she was just a young girl. One day she bumps into a handsome guy from her college called Itsuomi. He realizes she is deaf and unable to hear the messages over the train’s intercom and tries to help her. His kindness impresses her and she wants to meet up with him again, doing so through her friend at college who knows him. They go to a bar where he works and quickly hit it off. Yuki and Itsuomi soon realize there’s something between them and an interesting romance quickly starts. Itsuomi invests time in learning sign language and their romance takes off without much issue, while some of their friends go through their own turmoil. This show is a lovely romance that doesn’t overstay its welcome, is gorgeously drawn and if anything happens to Yuki I will kill everyone in this room. Not much more needs to be said here.
Mood
Sasaki and Peeps
Where A sign of affection often says very little, relying on subtlety and sign language, Sasaki and Peeps might say too much. Sasaki is a lonely office worker who overhears a co-worker talk about their pet one day. Jealous of the idea, he goes to a pet store and gets himself a cute little bird he calls Peeps. It turns out pretty quickly that there’s more to Peeps than just being a bird. He’s actually a powerful sorcerer from another world. Sasaki and Peeps become quick friends and partners as he learns that he can now travel to this other world. When you think things have picked up in pace we’re also introduced to psychics in the “normal” world. Sasaki gets caught up in their shenanigans as well as they mistake him for a psychic instead of being able to use magic from another world. Pretty chaotic right? Would be a bit overkill to also add in magical girls, right? Well that’s exactly what happens next. Things just keep escalating and although I am enjoying myself whenever I watch this show, it seems to be very confused about what it wants to be and what story it is trying to tell. It feels very much like the author wants to try and do far too much at once. None of the conflicts really get resolved except the one in the fantasy world that already felt a bit contrived and forced. I liked this show, but I don’t think I would recommend it all that quickly. If you want something different you should give it a watch, but most shows on this list today are probably better in my opinion.
What’s her deal? She’s in this show so much yet I have no idea why. Enjoyable as it was, this show felt like a fever dream at times.
High Card
With two full seasons out now and the story concluded, let’s finally talk about High Card. With an interesting concept of using cards for superpowers and an eclectic bunch of weirdos leading the charge, High Card was an interesting concept. During the first half of the second season it hit some pretty good highs. There was a bunch of plotting happening below the surface of the first season that came to light and things were looking pretty good. Unfortunately I don’t think it quite managed to stick the landing as the last few episodes were a little bit much in my opinion. I won’t go into spoilers but I feel like some of the twists were not that good and it caused me to lose interest a little bit. Having said that, for a majority of this show I found myself much more invested than I expected. Finn and Chris work well together and Ban Klondike makes for an interesting antagonist. I think that if the underlying story had been worked out a bit better this could have been a very memorable show. As it stands, no real lessons were learned, nothing was solved and the big mystery stayed hidden below the surface for most people. I would have liked to see more of Chelsea as well, especially since she was such a great support character. We saw her for a moment at the very end, but I would have liked more of an epilogue with her.
A lot of the politics in this show feel very forced. For as intelligent as Theodore presumably is, he’s making a lot of dumb choices throughout this show.
Solo Leveling
I wonder if many people ended up being disappointed with the first season of Solo Leveling. I read the webtoon last year after trying to get into it once before but failing to get hooked. When I first read the webtoon I got to about the point where the current anime ended, only a little bit before the conclusion of that fight. I was the guy in the meme where he gives up right before finding diamonds in the mine. I’ll link the meme below for those unfamiliar. I think the first few arcs of Solo Leveling are incredibly generic. Up until he gets his job change in the last episode of this season, Sung Jinwoo is a pretty boring protagonist in a pretty forgettable story. Because this first season of the anime only covers that part, I found myself not super interested at times. Having said that, I know what’s coming next and with how often they’ve already mentioned Jeju Island it seems like the creators of the anime also know what fans are waiting for. If you are on the fence about Solo Leveling I would honestly wait with watching this show until the second season has started. If you then binge through the first season of character growth you can hop on the hype train right as it departs from the station.
He said the thing!!!
I believe that’s all I really wanted to talk about this season. Outside of shows that finished airing I have also been keeping up with Moonlit Fantasy season 2 which has been a fun watch. I also watched The Twelve Kingdoms, an Isekai from the early 2000s. A friend recommended it to me and after persistent nagging I finally gave in. It’s very good. It starts off slow and you really need to give it a handful of episodes before you get hooked – at least I had to – but Rakushun is an incredible character so once you meet him you’ll have a great time. It’s a very different take on the Isekai genre, unburdened by the tropes we see these days, which makes it feel very unique. It’s also 45 episodes and although those include some recaps, it definitely makes for a show that gets to spend some time with you and doesn’t need to rush you through the plot in 12 episodes. That’s been me for this season again, I’m excited for all the hype sequels and reboots in the upcoming season and I hope you are too. Thanks for reading.
Future Nick here. I took a little bit of a break between writing the previous post and this one. It felt like a good moment to take a break from reading One Piece and pick up some other stuff. I’m currently reading Eragon. It’s better than I remember, but it definitely still reads like it’s written by a teenager at times – which it is, so that makes perfect sense. I am excited to read the other three installments and now the newly released Murtagh novel that should arrive on my doormat tomorrow. Anyway, we’re diving into the second half of One Piece now, which is already looking to be a longer half than the first half by a lot. Let’s get to it. Future Nick out.
I started watching One Piece just before the time-skip happened. Seeing as I was a high school student at the time, I had basically unlimited time. So I watched all of One Piece in the span of about 2 or 3 months so I was completely caught up around the time this volume started to be animated. Imagine the hype at the time when we learned our favorite characters spent two years getting stronger and cooler before jumping right into the dangerous New World. But before we get to that point, we have a few more small obstacles to get past. Let’s have a look at them.
After learning where several of the pirates from Sabaody Archipelago ended up – including Bonney being captured by Blackbeard and subsequently by Akainu – we learn what the crew does during the two years. They each got the message from Luffy loud and clear and find their own ways to get stronger. Robin is going to meet Luffy’s father while Nami learns about the weather and navigation. Chopper, Sanji and Brook each practice their skills in strange environments while Franky accidentally becomes a legend on Vegapunk’s home planet. Zoro bows his head to Mihawk to have him become his teacher. Usopp is going to lose some weight and get swole. Good for him. While all this is happening, Luffy spends 2 years on an island near Amazon Lily where he’s going to be trained by the dark king himself: Silvers Rayleigh. In 2 years the crew will meet up again at Sabaody Archipelago and continue their journey.
As the crew reunites on Sabaody, a few things are happening. For starters, everyone is on edge as there have been sightings of Straw Hat Luffy even before the man himself has arrived. One of the people present is Sentomaru who expected the Straw hats to return here somewhat soon. As the crew reunites we meet their imposters as well. A pirate named Demalo Black has posed as Luffy and hired a few bad lookalikes to represent the rest of the Straw Hats. Of course Luffy and Chopper both fall for their silly schemes but the rest realizes what’s wrong pretty quickly. While all this chaos is happening we see Brook giving his final performance as Soul King, the legendary artist. Duval and Hachi did their best defending the ship but they are both very wounded by this time. Two years is a long time after all. In the middle of the gathering of the new Straw Hat Pirates crew we see Luffy, Zoro and Sanji reunite. Many of the pirates present, including Coribou and Caribou, who are famous for killing navy soldiers, think they’re with the real Luffy. Sentomaru quickly shows off that this is an imposter by calling him out on his bullshit and taking him out in a single hit. Meanwhile he trains his pacifistas on the real Luffy, who happens to be present as well. To the shock of everyone present, this Luffy looks much more like the wanted poster and they all feel a little bit dumb for believing this triple-tongued fool.
Luffy shows off his newly learned Haki powers and takes out a pacifista in one punch after dodging its laser attacks. Zoro and Sanji then take out another pacifista and the trio leaves, but not before thanking Rayleigh, who came to watch. As the navy sets out to chase them, they get stopped by many allies of the Straw Hats. Rayleigh, Perona, Heracles’n, the researchers from weatheria, Chopper’s birds, the Kamabakka queens and many others stop the approaching navy, leaving the straw hats to depart with relative ease. After inflating the bubble coating they make their way down to the bottom of the ocean where Hachi and Jinbe should be awaiting them.
As the ship sails down the sea current, Franky tells the crew what he’s learned about Bartholomew Kuma. We know most of this by now, but he is a former revolutionary who – for some unknown reason – let Dr. Vegapunk turn him into a mindless cyborg. One last thing he wanted to accomplish was help out the Straw Hats. He didn’t send them to strange islands to defeat them, he sent them to strange islands to give them a way to train and get stronger. They weren’t ready for the New World yet and because Luffy was the son of the revolutionary leader, Kuma didn’t want to watch him die quite yet. After the war, Kuma was turned into a complete cyborg, no more emotions and humanity left in him. He did have a final order programmed into his brain by Vegapunk. Protect the Thousand Sunny until one of the Straw Hats shows up to collect it. What a hero. After this story, the straw hats then get found by Caribou and Coribou, but we’ll have to wait until next volume to see what happens when they fight this deadly duo of pirates.
One thing I want to mention – and this is a problem that unfortunately never fully goes away – is that I think Sanji’s character is terrible. The first few volumes after the time skip this is at its worst, but his womanizing is grating at best and cringe at worst. I get that this is a cartoon, but he’s too cartoonish. And that’s saying a lot considering how far from reality a lot of One Piece’s wackiness often tends to get. There’s just something about him lusting over every woman he sees that really turns me off. I guess this characteristic is considered funny by a lot of the audience, but I can’t be the only one that really dislikes it. Despite that small problem, I think this arc is great and watching the Straw Hats reunite is something I rewatch regularly, even just the few episodes during which it happens. Thanks for reading, we’ll dive – pun intended – into the Fishman Island arc next week.
I consider myself to be an author. I write stories and I have been doing so since I was quite young, breaks aside. Whenever I read or consume other stories, I try to not only enjoy them for what they are, but I also like to look at what makes them work or what doesn’t make them work. Sometimes a story is great but part of it feels off and then I find it important to figure out what it is that makes it feel off. Other times a story does everything right and there really isn’t anything you can learn from it, you just marvel at its perfection. Frieren is one of those shows.
This beautiful sight is not that interesting to Frieren initially. She doesn’t understand a lot of things about the world yet, and the fleeting moments aren’t yet precious to her.
For the few of you that haven’t heard of this show yet, or don’t know much about it, let’s quickly summarize it. The hero Himmel and his party – to which the elven mage Frieren belonged – saved the world from the dangerous demon king and restored peace to the land. Fifty years passed and Frieren returned to meet up with her friends. Only upon meeting them does she realize how much the time that’s passed has changed them. Her friends are old and frail now while she’s barely aged. Even worse, that mere 10-year adventure that they once had together suddenly feels much more important than the blip on the radar she originally thought it was. We follow Frieren as she travels with Fern, a young human mage that trained under Heiter, the priest that was part of the hero’s party as well as Stark, a young man who trained under Eisen, the warrior of the hero’s party. Together, the three of them travel north for reasons I’ll not spoil.
I wouldn’t call Frieren an action anime, but when action happens it does so wonderfully.
What Frieren excels at is something that a lot of shows can struggle with. Frieren doesn’t move particularly fast at some points in time, yet there is a decent amount of action as well. This can often create that feeling of working towards the next big moment. So when you have a show that combines slower and faster arcs, it gets tricky to balance the slower arcs in such a way that viewers don’t get bored. Frieren never gets boring. I can watch the gang spend several minutes just doing chores in some town, help out an old lady with some minor inconvenience for half an episode or have an action packed showdown with a bunch of powerful demons. None of these moments feel better or worse than the other moments. Seriously. I don’t think I prefer the action heavy episodes over the slow episodes at all. And vice versa of course.
As I talk about, the quiet moments are what matters. The shrinkflation of desert, two teenagers slowly becoming more friendly while also working out their arguments. It’s all paced so incredibly well.
What makes this show so sad at times is how Frieren realizes through her current journey that her past journey meant so much more to her than she initially thought. Human lives are fleeting for a near immortal elf and the mere 10-year adventure felt like a blink and nothing more, but Himmel was such an incredible force of personality that more than 50 years later, after his passing, Frieren still feels his impact tremendously. With Fern and Stark at her side they travel north, slowly and leisurely. They help people, encounter problems and even take a dangerous exam, all the while Frieren reminisces on her similar journey with Himmel. It adds to this sentiment that there are signs of Himmel’s heroics everywhere. From statues of the hero himself to old folks who still remember him. There’s even new heroes sprouting to follow in his footsteps, motivated by his heroics. Even the priest and warrior are hailed as heroes despite Frieren knowing Heiter to be a drunk and corrupt priest, he’s a hero now due to his effort with the demon army.
Himmel the hero. Loved by everyone that knew him, gone but not forgotten.
Frieren is personal. Frieren isn’t a grand spectacle that feels epic in scale. Frieren feels like watching someone discover themselves through the love that others show them. It takes you along on Frieren’s journey of self exploration and she even manages to make some others reconsider themselves. Fern grows as a mage at a staggering rate and although Stark isn’t the bravest person out there, he has the right amount of courage when he needs it. We meet so many interesting characters along the road but the story also isn’t scared to leave them behind as we keep traveling onward.
The openings and endings are incredible. Both Yoasobi and Yorushika are some of the very best Jpop acts currently making music.
I can talk about this show for hours, as it’s easily some of the best writing I’ve ever consumed, but most of you have probably already seen the show and know this. I am mainly writing this post for the few of you who haven’t seen Frieren yet. Those of you who have can just nod along and agree that it was an incredible journey. It might have been a mere 28-episode journey, but it’ll still have an impact on our lives a long time from now. Thanks for reading.
