I finally finished Serial Experiments Lain a couple days ago; I had picked it back up from episode 8 that I had last seen pre-COVID. I know I like it, and I'm satisfied in how it all came together, but due to that hiatus I'm having trouble conjuring all the details to make my thoughts on it properly coherent. I do think it's fascinating as a pre-Matrix imagining of what the coming always-connected world would look like, but it also deserves appreciating fully on its own. I very rarely rewatch or reread media, but I will come back to it sometime, probably before the year is out.

Been making my way slowly through Fairy Tail

I’m enjoying it, for the most part, although I acknowledge that it’s a fairly basic anime.

Animation is solid. Music is really good. I appreciate that they take time to flesh out, at least somewhat, most of the characters rather than just being 100% focused on the main 4-5

The season is coming along nicely, and I'm considering adding another show halfway through the season here. I've heard some decent things about The Millionaire Detective, and it looks rather interesting so I might binge it one of these weeks and catch up. For the stuff that I am watching though, mostly positive still. But it is getting a bit rough for some shows, but they still have a bunch of time to come back together and become amazing.

2020 Summer Week 5

Uzaki-chan Wants to Hang Out! Ep 5
I still believe that the side characters and their watching, interacting, and general existence makes this show. The situations of them trying to watch the main couple and failing horrendously to do so it incredible. Like this episode, they were busy arguing and missed some of the greatest relationship building between the main couple yet.

Onto the main couple, I remember people commenting on the manga at times felt Uzaki went a bit overboard with the teasing at times. But I’ve always believed that she fully 100% loves Sakurai, and just is terrible at actually saying it. But episodes like this bring it out and really make it obvious I feel like.

My Teen Romantic Comedy SNAFU Climax! Ep 5
This prom arc that seems to be wrapping up the show just isn’t doing anything for me at all. I can see where they are trying to bring the main characters working together again and finish building their relationship before the final confession. But I just don’t really care about the prom at all, I feel like this final arc should have been something that was built up more. Instead of being just created this season randomly out of the blue.

Once again though, I am noticing that I just don’t really care about how this all ends anymore. The ending of this show has taken so long that I have long since grown up and lost interest in it. I feel like if you want to keep me interested you have to keep releasing the next season every year, because long delays between seasons just lessen the impact of the journey here.

2010 Summer Week 5

Nura: Rise of the Yokai Clan Ep 4
I mean I’m glad things are finally starting to change in the show and move forward. But man, this episode just feels in poor taste. And the set up is just so dated and overall sexist. We need to make the fight happen and the main character change, lets kidnap two girls and set up a possible rape to convince him to do something.

The fight itself wasn’t that impressive at all, and surprisingly boring. No real fight scenes happened, at least nothing I would consider decent. And the conclusion of the fight was just dull. I just expected more of well, anything.

Amagami SS Ep 4
What an odd rushed episode, and kinda ruins this arc for me really. I want to know how the original VN ending for this character went and if it also felt so rushed. This arc just really needed an extra episode to build them up some more instead of rushing to a confession and time skipping straight to marriage.

Cat Planet Cuties Ep 4
What is this show? Where the hell is it going to go, I don’t have a clue. Like at first, I figured it was a rather normal standard world just with aliens and maybe some crazy tech. But now it has gone so far off that I am shocked. We have cat aliens, dog people who are probably aliens, super advanced tech, literally magic, and tons of references to other shows and manga. Don’t forget multiple cults, many of which are more powerful than most countries.

I don’t see how this show will end and I don’t see where the plot exists to do something with. I figured the major plot will be aliens getting along with humans, but that is obviously the least important part of this show. But I do know one thing, I will keep watching and keep laughing my ass off the entire time.

Shiki Ep 2
Only the second episode, but I think I might put this show on hold early. This was the last show I watched, and I just wasn’t excited to watch it. Nothing about this show is really impressing me and dragging me in. The characters don’t interest me at all, the story feels a tad convoluted thus far and starting really slow, the visuals don’t amaze me, and nether is the music amazing.

I think I would have really loved this show a couple years back when I first started watching anime and was interested in shows that gave this vibe. But recently within the year I’ve just kinda lost interest in them, maybe I just want some happy cheerful stuff with all the shit going on in real life. I’m thinking of giving it another episode to see if it grabs me, if not I’ll shelve it temporarily and come back when I’m in the mood for this style show.

Black Lagoon: Roberta's Blood Trail Ep 1
It has been a while since I last watched Black Lagoon, in fact I really shouldn’t be watching this OVA. I don’t remember a ton about the show. I do remember vaguely the characters, though I don’t remember much about the story at all. But at least this seems to be a stand along story simply about the one side character. I don’t know what to think of it yet, got some rather good scenes but haven’t seen enough to decide on it at all.