10 votes

What have you been watching / reading this week? (Anime/Manga)

What have you been watching and reading this week? You don't need to give us a whole essay if you don't want to, but please write something! Feel free to talk about something you saw that was cool, something that was bad, ask for recommendations, or anything else you can think of.

If you want to, feel free to find the thing you're talking about and link to its pages on Anilist, MAL, or any other database you use!

4 comments

  1. [2]
    GoatOnPony
    Link
    Now that the first few episodes of the winter season are out I'm starting to coalesce on the few that seem worth following (at least on Crunchyroll): Zenshu: Mappa studios new anime, so the...

    Now that the first few episodes of the winter season are out I'm starting to coalesce on the few that seem worth following (at least on Crunchyroll):

    • Zenshu: Mappa studios new anime, so the animation quality is really good. The story is unique and interesting but so far a little too on the nose.
    • Solo Leveling Season 2 I read ahead in the Manhwa quite a ways and I'm looking forward to this season. Animation quality is pretty good so far.
    • The Red Ranger Becomes an Adventurer in Another World There's a lot of weird concept, mediocre execution fantasy/isekai this season for some reason. This one is at least pretty funny IMO

    I've not yet started watching Apothecary Diaries season 2 because I know that once I start watching I'm going to need a few episodes to satiate. Hopefully it's as good as the first season.

    6 votes
    1. redwall_hp
      (edited )
      Link Parent
      I'm about six episodes out from the end of the first season of Apothecary Diaries. Hoping the new season will have a bit of a head start. I also started on Fate/Strange Fake a few weeks ago, and...

      I'm about six episodes out from the end of the first season of Apothecary Diaries. Hoping the new season will have a bit of a head start.

      I also started on Fate/Strange Fake a few weeks ago, and was surprised there wasn't more yet. Apparently they release episode one early, for the 20th anniversary of Fate, and the rest isn't combing for possibly several months. >_>

      3 votes
  2. [2]
    zestier
    (edited )
    Link
    I'm watching a fair bit this season and for some reason find my wife and I watching a lot of trashy anime. Rating System Full attention - We wait until there are no distractions. Partial attention...

    I'm watching a fair bit this season and for some reason find my wife and I watching a lot of trashy anime.

    Rating System

    • Full attention - We wait until there are no distractions.
    • Partial attention - Watched by at least one of us with a fair bit of attention. Interesting stuff will be summarized or scrolled back for if the other person missed it.
    • Background - One or both of us are likely to end up on our phones while it runs in the background even though neither of us understand the audio. It feels impossible to miss anything that matters in these shows because nothing that matters ever happens.

    Shows (in the order that they happen to be present on MAL)

    • Solo Leveling - Full attention - I enjoy this show quite a bit. It is animated well and fight scene heavy. Its plot doesn't seem particularly deep, but I am a sucker for anime fight scenes.
    • Apothecary Diaries - Partial attention, sadly - Admittedly this show doesn't fit my normal tastes, but my wife wanted to watch it and I liked it well enough to watch it together. Personally, I've found this season to be incredibly weak and pretty boring so far. If this wasn't a continuation of a show we previously liked we probably would have already dropped it, but are clinging onto hope that it gets better again.
    • Zenshu - Partial attention - Not really what I expected going into it. I only really skimmed the description before watching the first episode and didn't notice that description of this show feels like it takes a 180 in the last sentence from what I thought could've been an interesting premise about an animator trying to find a way through a particularly difficult mental block to just an isekai. It is animated well, but the plot is sorely lacking. Every problem is solved with "summon big strong monster or weapon" and the show is worse for it.
    • I May Be a Guild Receptionist, but I'll Solo Any Boss to Clock Out on Time - Partial attention - This show is dumb fun if, like me, you are into the generic anime tropes of fantasy worlds with adventurer guilds and magic and stuff.
    • Headhunted to Another World: From Salaryman to Big Four! - Background - This is definitely an anime. The idea could be interesting, but isn't really executed very well. Nothing that happens ever has stakes, so its easy to ignore.
    • Possibly the Greatest Alchemist of All Time - Partial attention, transitioning toward background - It started off with some interesting ideas but has transitioned into a generic harem anime with a protagonist that gets flustered when thinking things like how inappropriate it would be for him, a male craftsman, to craft panties. Ugh. Go back to the earlier stuff, like using alchemy for combat by casting the spell to dismantle materials into their component minerals directly on the head of a charging boar.
    • Bogus Skill <<Fruitmaster>>: About That Time I Became Able to Eat Unlimited Numbers of Skill Fruits (That Kill You) - Background - This show has a frustratingly dumb cast. It follows the generic "MC's skill that he thought was terrible is actually amazing and he's really the best boy" formula, but without even doing it right. MC's acquired skill is essentially that he could acquire infinite skills, but rather than him doing that he just acquires one more skill, Sword God, which is of course OP so now he's OP in the least creative way possible. The writer could've just given him Sword God at the start and been done with it.
    • Even Given the Worthless "Appraiser" Class, I’m Actually the Strongest - Partial attention - The title reads like it would be one of those previously mentioned "MC's skill is terrible but its really actually amazing" shows, but it surprisingly isn't. In practice his appraisal skill doesn't feel like it really matters and what does matter is his encounter with some higher beings that decide to train him. Its animated well enough that the fights are decent, but so far the whole show seems to just be setup so I'm not sure what the actual plot will be quite yet.
    • I'm a Noble on the Brink of Ruin, So I Might as Well Try Mastering Magic - Partial attention - Its animated well enough to be mildly interesting. There are a lot of shows with more-or-less the same plot and this is far from the best of them. If you want to watch a show about someone being reincarnated as some sort of noble or royalty but spending all their time on magic then watch 7th prince instead.
    • I Left My A-Rank Party to Help My Former Students Reach the Dungeon Depths! - Partial attention - Again, decently well animated and fun enough. Standard formula of a guy getting kicked out of his party for being useless even though he was carrying them. The name implies there would be an age gap, but there really isn't so I'm not sure what's up with the "students" business. He's 20 and the students range from 17-19, I think. One mildly interesting new element is that he can live stream the party's adventures, which he does.
    • The Red Ranger Becomes an Adventurer in Another World - Partial attention - This show has made me actually laugh out loud, which is a real rarity. It does have some rather dumb gag humor, but the team behind it really knows what it is they're trying to make and are doing a solid job of executing that vision.
    • Arifureta: From Commonplace to World's Strongest - Full attention - This show is definitely pretty tropey, but its plenty of fun. I think the currently airing season is the strongest season of this show. The most recent episode has a "fighting mirror version of self" thing and I like the approach they took to it.
    • Shangri-La Frontier - Full attention - The sort order I used really did this show dirty. This show is just fantastic. Everything about it. Easily my top anime of the season. It just did like 4 straight episodes of fight scenes that were all great.
    5 votes
    1. GoatOnPony
      Link Parent
      Your rating system reminds me of my own internal one which is that I have a plugin for controlling the playback speed. Basically everything gets watched at a rate of 1.25 to 1.75 (at 2 I'd only be...

      Your rating system reminds me of my own internal one which is that I have a plugin for controlling the playback speed. Basically everything gets watched at a rate of 1.25 to 1.75 (at 2 I'd only be able to read the subtitles and it feels like a complete waste of time). The worse the anime, the faster the playback. S tier is 1x, good is 1.25, mediocre is 1.5, trash is 1.75.

      I feel like there's a lot of ok premise but weak execution this season in the isekai/generic fantasy space. I kinda hope the genres/tropes there are on their way out and we might be able to get more variety in the future.

      3 votes