mo_lave

Any suggestions on interesting things to watch?

I'm already shilling The Fragrant Flower Blooms With Dignity because it has the same studio and director as Akebi's Sailor Uniform, and that one is among the most visually stunning works out there.

Spring 2025

Mobile Suit Gundam GQuuuuuuX - On hold for now. Will come back to this someday. My first foray to UC and third to Gundam overall (after Seed and WFM). It's great and I have little complaints to the show.

Witch Watch - Laughed hard because of referential humor. Good enough for me.

The Apothecary Diaries - S2 is much more serious, and it somehow tied the episodic S1 into a grand conspiracy. Having a tinfoil hat was justified there. The past two episodes convinced me to provisionally rate the show a 10.

Rose of Versailles (2025) - I love the musical format. Its OP scene is as iconic and impactful as The Lion King. I'm able to watch this in French. Best MAPPA work. If you think they cooked hard with Zenshu, this one surpasses it. 10/10

Past Seasons

The Orphans of Simitra - No accessible English softsubs. Finally jumped the shark and watched it like a native speaker would. And... I'm pleasantly surprised, really. I think I understand 80% of each episode. It gave me the push to start watching Witch Watch with Japanese CC instead of the English sub—I'm not a fan of the translation style used there.

The book is very short, so the anime introduced a lot of original elements. It managed to put out a cour's worth of slice of life without it being dull. That's something I'm even more surprised with. Unless it disappointed in the episodes I haven't seen yet, a 6.89 MAL rating makes this show criminally underrated.

Train to the End of the World and Tsumasho - Great for most of their runs, only to disappoint with the last episode. The former's recap is the worst I've seen yet.

Backflip - Nice CGI and complements the rhythmic gymnastics routine very well

After the Rain - Handles the age gap romantic attractions well enough

Tawawa on Monday - I mentioned it before, but I really did watch this for the plot. The anime punches well above its weight.

Pokemon original series - It's a slog that I've started since late 2024, but it's okay as a turn-your-brain-off watch. My favorite parts are the Hoenn teases for the eventual Pokemon Advanced series and seeing Team Rocket blast off.

Atri

Summer 2025

Witch Watch - Simply because it's aired in consecutive cours

The Fragrant Flower Blooms With Dignity - Has the potential to have insane production values. It's a romance and the staff appeared to pour their love and care in its making based on the trailer. I'm sold.

Yeah, it's clear why Kaigo is a recluse. Getting forced to transform into a werewolf at random times is a big pain. Miyao Nemu (Meow Sleep, heh) has great chemistry with him, though. They're great together. For now, it's with the Wolf persona, but I think she'll appreciate the regular Kaigo later on. I ship them.

A kiss to dispel the love spice, how convenient.

@rikka@ani.social

I don’t get why the soldiers killed Shishou on the spot

Harming the Moon Prince, even if it's but a scratch, is enough to do that.

I've heard about it and know its notoriety. Is it like watching a trainwreck in slow motion?

Calling it, Loulan survived.

Apothecary Diaries is a masterclass of storytelling. I love how it all came together. Next is the last episode, which I assume is using the resurrection potion to save the children.

@rikka@ani.social

Lemmy communities are more tight-knit because of its size. That means if you go against the narrative, you're cast out, for better or worse.

Knowing Nintendo, they're fine with it. They would rather go bankrupt than let people interact with them outside the officially-allowed methods.

It's rentin time

The main difference is counterfeiting as we understand it (physical goods) usually involves selling for profit. At least more than piracy. And if you ask me, companies frown upon piracy because they see it in the lens of digital counterfeiting. Yet in piracy's case, it usually involves no profit.

Will continue Witch Watch for my first seasonal.

For the second, I thought I'll pick either Dan Da Dan, Rascal Does Not Dream of Santa Claus, or My Dress Up Darling. Then I saw The Fragrant Flower Blooms With Dignity could be the dark horse of the season (same director as Akebi's Sailor Uniform). With that in mind, the slot's already accounted for.

And so concludes the first major arc. A few of the spells and techniques introduced in the past episodes were useful in the battle against Wolf and the Enchanter. The Enchanter was defeated, but the prophecy hasn't disappeared. There is still the mastermind, who is smart enough to steal the Enchanter's magic and kill her (and also release Keigo from the pact).

Keigo had the best intentions in mind, and was manipulated. But after everything's cleared out, he joins the Otogi household! This will be fun.

@rikka@ani.social