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

I binged through all of the currently released Blue Box manga in the past week or so. I pulled the certified boyfriend classic of being in the same room as my partner watches something im not interested in, only to get very invested. We then proceeded to watch the entire season of the Blue Box anime on netflix together. The show ends in a way I didn't find satisfying, so I sought out the manga to continue the story. I definitely did not expect to become as hyper fixated as I have.

Im not usually one for highschool romance animes/manga and on occasion I enjoy a sports anime/manga, but Blue Box hits in a way thats a little difficult to describe. There is something about the way the characters are written that feels so grounded and earnest, it just keeps me hooked and invested. It really captures the feeling of being in highschool, and having your first love or crush, and the way you obsess over all the small interactions while trying to be normal. The basic premise sounds very rote, FemMC moves into MaleMC's house and awkwardnees ensues, but its handled and delivered in a way that works very well, at least for me. It doesnt ever feel overtly tropey or gazey or weird, it just feels like im getting to peek in on the authentic lives of these highschoolers. It's a slow burn, letting the characters and their feelings develop over time in a way that feels natural, which I really enjoy and I think enhances the emotional highs and lows of the characters romantic endeavors.

While the sports are not quite the main focus as in the way of a "Rising Impact", the sports are still intertwined into the core narrative and character dynamics, so the big moments still feel gripping and powerful. Also shoutout to the protags not always winning and being considered a prodigy of their sports from go. They improve over time and takes some pretty crushing losses at times, and it makes it feel so much more earned when they do finally pop off or have a big win. It ties back into the grounded way the manga portrays its characters relationships, feeling so real and earnest and showing the highs and lows of being an athlete in high school. All in all, its just a really solid manga, especially as someone who tends to be fairly picky on what i devote my attention too in this genre.

Yet another season starts to wind down.

It's been a relatively quiet one for me, but next season is looking packed.

Jujutsu Kaisen S3
Feels like this went a bit off the rails in S2 with the loss of focus on the trio of protagonists and all the elaborate but poorly explained powers, but I'm here for this so long as they keep up the exceptional animation.

Jigokuraku S2
It's not as flashy as Mappa's other shows, but S1 was some solid action / adventure / cultivation fantasy and I'll be happy to watch more of the same.

Oshi no ko S3
I still don't think the premise or writing is anywhere near as good as Kaguya, but the animation and performances are top notch and have carried the show for me so far. I've heard there was some fan discontent about how the manga ended, though, so I'm keeping my expectations in check.

Enen no Shouboutai S3 Part 2
They've jumped the shark with this one and I'll only be watching due to sunk cost fallacy. The answers to all the mysteries set up in the initial seasons are ridiculous and there are way too many characters in play, slowing the pacing to a crawl.

Fate / Strange Fake
I stopped being invested in the lore of the Nasu-verse after they turned it into a multiverse, but I'll admit that a lot of these Fate shows are pretty good on their own terms. I even enjoyed Prisma Illya, Lord El-Melloi and that dumb cooking show.

In this case, though, the preview airing of episode 1 already feels a little too self-indulgent with all the cameos and references to other series. I'm also not a fan of the reuse of Gilgamesh (again!?). It makes the world feel small when they have access to anyone from all of history and mythology but keep going back to the same well, and I would have preferred to see some American servants to go along with the new setting instead (Paul Bunyan as rider? John Henry as berserker? The possibilities are endless.)

Trigun Stargaze
Basically season 2 of the CG Trigun anime, which was surprisingly good (once you get used to the CG art style) and very smartly paced. I love the original too, but it has a ton of filler and does a worse job of conveying the story.

Vigilante: Boku no Hero Academia Illegals S2
Could do with being a bit grittier given the premise and a little less tied to the story and characters in the main series, but it's fine as the obligatory seasonal Bones action show. Working class Batman is a standout and I wish they had made him the protagonist.

Shibou Yuugi de Meshi wo Kuu
I'm intrigued by this one as a death game enthusiast, but the whole 'protagonist is a death game expert' premise might end up being a bit too meta for its own good. The detailed art in the trailer also looks quite nice, but it's Studio Deen, so who knows if the animation will actually be any good.

Honorable mentions for shows I won't be watching but liked the manga for:

Sousou no Frieren S2
Kind of regret not jumping on the anime train for this one, as there's a ton of fighting in the manga now and it's not the artist's strong suit, with the battle scenes often feeling very stiff and clinical - A is shooting B in panel 1; B is using a shield spell in panel 2 - and so on. It reminds me weirdly of the fight scenes in Akamatsu Ken's manga, where the panels are often filled with beams and explosions and people hitting each other, but there's no dynamism or impact to the composition or panel flow. I expect these scenes will look great when paired with proper storyboarding in the anime, though.

Darwin Jihen
Possibly the most realistic depiction of Western characters and setting that I've ever seen in a manga. Also has the usual mature themes and handling of them that you'd expect from an Afternoon series.

Kirei ni shitemoraemasu ka
Slice of life series about a lady running a dry cleaner in Atami who 'washed away' her own memories. Cute and relaxing. It also taught me that you have to leave your washing machine door open to air it after use, and I always think about this series when I do.

I finished Lord of Mysteries over the weekend. Think it's based on a Chinese webtoon. It's got some elements of steampunk with a lot of supernatural/occult/eldritch horror type stuff. Really enjoy the art style. All the characters are sooo pretty. It can be a little hard to follow at times, but that might be because there are like three stories intertwined, all involving the MC. Overall though I'm definitely into it. Looking forward to the second season.

Then I watched Gnosia. This is a sci-fi space murder-mystery and deception show. Basically like that game, Town of Salem. I think; I've never played the game myself. Though I thought it was going to be more like Danganronpa. It's not, but that's OK. I do think the story is a little weak, with some plotholes here and there. Sometimes hard to uphold suspension of disbelief. And the characters don't seem very deep. This is the first season of the show and it's not done airing yet, at least not on Crunchyroll. I just finished the 10th episode. I'll keep with it, probably.

So then I moved onto ID: Invaded last night. I used one of those websites that gives anime recommendations based on how I answer some questions. It came up with Psycho Pass, which I love; Ergo Proxy, which I enjoyed enough but should prob watch again just to be sure since it's been like 15yrs since I watched it; and ID: Invaded, which I hadn't heard of before. It's mystery, sci-fi, and psychological, which is basically Psycho Pass and Ghost in the Shell; two of my favorite anime IPs. So ID should be right up my alley. We'll see where it goes!