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!

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. 

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!