The Best of Autumn 2017

Posted on by Karandi
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And the Autumn Season has come to a close bringing an end to the 2017 year in anime. While the poll for best of the year will get going tomorrow, for now it is time to reflect on the final anime season that 2017 had to offer. Starting with my picks, we’ll then look at the results of the reader poll. This was incredibly close this time with three titles changing back and forth with barely a vote in it for the entire duration of the poll.

My Favourite Show

Well, if you’ve followed my weekly season overviews you know season 2 of March Comes in Like a Lion has been on top every single week. However, it isn’t finished yet so it isn’t taking this out (though it so should by a million miles as I’m completely obsessed with it at this point). Yes, I rewatched season one and all episodes of season 2 that were out over the Christmas break and no I didn’t get around to watching Full Metal Panic for a review so, whoops.

With that one ruled out though, what took it’s place?

It came down to Land of the Lustrous and Girls’ Last Tour. I loved both shows but considering the final episodes and which one gave me a greater sense of completion and I have to give favourite show of the Autumn 2017 season to Girls’ Last Tour.

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My Favourite Character

This was super, super tough as there were so many great characters this season. It finally came down to two and I have to give it to Phos from Land of the Lustrous. I didn’t much like Phos when I first met them but over the course of the series and following along with Phos’ transformation as a character, they really captured me. However, other great characters from Autumn included Rei from March Comes in Like a Lion, Chito from Girls’ Last Tour, Morioka from MMO Junkie (okay, I just loved her), and Ena from Just Because.

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My Favourite Story

My favourite story was absolutely Land of the Lustrous, but for that whole slightly unfinished feeling. I still think it was the best story of the season. March and GLT are both more slice of life and drama driven than story driven. That said, I personally loved King’s Game because it is a completely terrible story delivered in a fairly terrible way. So, personal enjoyment fairly high but quality pretty low on that one.

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My Favourite Opening Theme

So many great ones this season. I mean I loved the King’s Game opening as it fit the trashy feel of the show, Juni Taisen was amazing with Rapture (my favourite thing about the show), MMO Junkie was just upbeat fun as was Girls’ Last Tour. However, my favourite for the season needs to go to March Comes in Like a Lion. I loved how the opening theme really captured the progress Rei has made in his journey over the course of the first season and where he is now. And, once again it beautifully matched the visuals to the lyrics and tone. Still, this one was incredibly close this season.

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My Favourite Visuals

No competition at all here. As much as March remained on point with its visuals (and is glorious as always) Land of the Lustrous was truly exceptional at showing us all what CG could do when handled well and not making our eyes bleed.

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Reader’s Choice – Best Anime of Autumn 2017

Here it is:

Best of Autumn

Yep, the Ancient Magus’ Bride stole it in the last couple of days thought early on it looked like Girls’ Last Tour would take the lead before March Comes in Like a Lion managed to pull ahead. For so much of the vote these anime were within one vote of each other and the lead swapped a number of times.

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That of course brings us to the end of the best of Autumn 2017. Get ready to vote for best of the year with the top 3 titles from each season going head to head and that poll should be open tomorrow.

As always, I’d love to know what you thought about the season so please share your thoughts on the poll and any of the other shows in the comments below.

Thanks for reading.

If you enjoyed this post and like the blog, consider becoming a patron to support further growth and future content.

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Karandi James.

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The Worst of Autumn 2017

Posted on by Karandi
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Something different this season, I’m starting with the worst so that the best can follow. I will admit, this season the poll had the most votes for worst anime of the season and there was a clear winner fairly early on. So, first I’ll share my picks for worst of the season (keeping in mind these are the shows I watched and not the ones I dropped) and then I’ll share the result of the reader’s poll. Be sure to check back later for the best of Autumn.

My Least Favourite Show

Despite a number of shows managing to disappoint or not live up to their potential this season (and yes there were a lot of amazing shows too but that means very few ended up in the middle either being fantastic or meh, dull or just painful), a clear winner for my least favourite show still emerged. Yes, it was the show I should have dropped after that train wreck of a prologue and I certainly shouldn’t have continued beyond episode 3 and yet I’m just not very good at knowing when to admit defeat. You guessed it, Dies Irae. A horrible mess of a show that never got any better and after watching a prologue and 11 episodes I’m still not really sure if there is any point other than crazy characters with super powers being crazy.

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My Least Favourite Character

This is actually kind of hard because there were a lot of very bland characters out there this season. I’d nominate most of the cast of Juni Taisen but none of them hung around long enough for me to really care enough about to say they were my least favourite character. And Asta (Black Clover), as much as he would win for most annoying voice of the season, hasn’t actually done enough of anything for me to care about him either. So, sorry to say but the character who I liked the least even though he is kind of important to the story was Koiwai from Recovery of an MMO Junkie. If I knew him in real life I would genuinely despise this guy. Regardless of his intentions, his actions are at times highly questionable and he has way too much fun stirring up Sakurai.

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My Least Favourite Story

Unquestionably Juni Taisen. I think what makes this worst is the advertising that insists on twists and turns in a plot that is utterly devoid of anything resembling a twist (unless a lack of twist is a twist these days). And really, where is the story. They fight, they die, we still don’t know what impact that had and we never had any reason to care about them. The few interesting elements of this show can’t save a plot that marches through the process of knocking off its cast without bothering to give us a reason why or making us care.

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My Least Favourite Opening Theme

Sengoku Night Blood, oddly enough. It isn’t that it is terrible but it is just painfully generic and unremarkable in any sense of the word. I guess it matches most of what the show delivers but to be honest this was the opening I skipped the most during Autumn.

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My Least Favourite Visuals

I have to give it to King’s Game. As much as I quite liked this story, the terrible depiction of deaths (heads getting screwed off, bleeding, severed limbs etc) just come off as incredibly laughable when they aren’t completely lame. While the rest of the show is just kind of average, for a horror that takes pride in knocking off its cast with alarming regularity they never really did manage to make even one death look in any way cool, interesting, or even just impressively real. For instance, in the image below, the guy is bleeding from the neck and his head is about to fall off. While censorship could be blamed a little, even that isn’t enough to account for how poor some of the visuals are in this anime.

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Reader’s Choice – Worst Anime of Autumn 2017

Well, here it is. I’m going to be honest in that I was hoping that Dies Irae would take over the lead but I guess I always knew what the majority of people would vote for. Thanks to everyone who participated in the vote this time round.

Worst of Autumn

Yes, King’s Game had an early lead and never really relinquished it. Clearly, bad horror left a bad taste in many viewers mouths.

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That’s it for the worst of Autumn 2017. Be sure to check back later for the best of Autumn post and remember the best of the year poll will open tomorrow with results to go out next week. As always, I would love to know your final thoughts on the season, so what did you vote for and which shows do you think deserved the title worst of the season?

Thanks for reading.

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Karandi James.

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Have Your Say on the Best and Worst Anime of Autumn 2017 – Be Sure To Cast Your Vote

Posted on by Karandi
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The Autumn 2017 anime season is nearly at its end and the poll will close at the end of December so be sure to vote if you haven’t and please share the post. The more votes, the more reliable the poll will be.

The top three anime for best haven’t changed since the beginning of this poll, however the order changes almost daily with only 1 or 2 votes splitting them and some days the three being in deadlock. Every vote will matter as we close in on the end of December for best anime. I wish I could say worst anime was close, but there’s a pretty clear ‘winner’ at this point.

Reminder that once this poll closes, I will be running the best of the year poll with the top 3 choices from each season up for voting on. So start thinking about what your anime of the year was.

By ‘best’ anime, a reminder this is not about technical proficiency but merely the anime you found the most entertaining this season for whatever reason. Which anime do you like the most?

For ‘worst’ anime of the season I ask that you only vote for an anime you are actually watching through. So while this is the anime you like the least, you didn’t drop it.

Thanks for reading.

If you enjoyed this post and like the blog, consider becoming a patron to support further growth and future content.

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Thanks,

Karandi James.

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Autumn 2017 Week 11

Posted on by Karandi
autumn 2017

Welcome to week 11 and we are nearing the final episodes of most shows (or the halfway point of a couple). Autumn has been an excellent season for anime watching and I’m almost sad to see it end but I’m also really excited to see how some of these shows wrap up. As always, I’d love to know what you have been watching this season so please leave your comments below. Remember also to have your say in the reader’s poll for best and worst anime of the Autumn season. If you haven’t voted click here.

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Must Watch

March Comes in Like a Lion Season 2 (Episode 31)

Another wonderful episode and this one shows us the culmination of all of the things Rei has been hearing and processing over the season and a half of this show as he manages to self-reflect and to learn from a previous mistake. It is a great moment and is followed by another brillian Rei/Hina moment. This season of the show is truly fantastic.

Land of the Lustrous (Episode 10)

This show continues to deliver some fantastic character development while upping the tension beautifully as we approach the end of the season. With two episodes to go, it seems unikely that we’ll ever learn everything we want to know about how the world got to where it is or the relationship between the different races, but it still seems like this show is preparing for a fairly dramatic climax which should hopefully be satisfying. Fingers crossed as this has been a great watch this season and I’d love it to end on a high note.

Girls’ Last Tour (Episode 10)

Another very solid episode from Girls’ Last Tour. Continuing to build a very interesting world while exploring interesting questions, the story remains interesting and fun to watch even without a lot of direction behind the girls’ journey.

The Ancient Magus’ Bride (Episode 10)

Well, I wanted to know more about Elias and we’re finally getting a glimpse of his backstory. While this show isn’t in a rush, there is an ongoing sense that we are moving toward something. We also continue to learn more and more details about mages and magic creating a fairly rich lore for the setting of the Chise and Elias’ stories.

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Usually Entertaining

Recovery of an MMO Junkie (Finished)

Just Because (Episode 9)

Definitely more movement going on in this episode with all of the girls stirred into action. It will be really interesting to see what the overall outcome of this is because I can’t see everyone getting a happy ending but I kind of want them to at this point.

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Okay, I Guess

Our Love Has Always Been 10 Centimeters Apart (Episode 4)

Episode 4 felt like it was stretching content for the sake of it as this communication issue with Haruki and Miou reaches silly proportions. While Miou’s actions kind of make sense to a point, it just drags out too long and by the end of this episode I really wanted them to be getting on with things.

King’s Game (Episode 10)

Things are getting fairly tense as the kids are ordered to run for the day with the person furtherest from the goal getting punished at eight hour intervals. I’m actually amazed only one character decided to take out the competition and the rest are just running along. This show remains pretty terrible but entertaining enough for fans of bad horror.

Code: Realize ~Guardian of Rebirth~ (Episode 10)

Another functional but not particularly exciting episode. The show is trying and yet I think it is all a little bit too late to really engage me. Probably the best thing I can say about this show is it has played it pretty safe the whole way through so fans of the genre or people who haven’t seen a lot of these types of shows will probably enjoy it.

Anime-Gataris (Episode 10)

Episode 10 wasn’t bad, but it doesn’t undo all the poor episodes of the mid-season. This show might yet pull off a reasonable ending but that’s about as much as we can hope for at this point.

UQ Holder (Episode 11)

My thoughts last week that we weren’t given any reason to care about the villain continue. While some history was given this week, it still didn’t tell us the all important reason to actually want to stop the villain or reveal anything of actual significance. It felt like wasted air time to be honest and the fight in the stadium continues into next week.

Kino’s Journey (Episode 10)

Yep, the pointlessness of this show continues without any kind of message or theme being constructed, it just rambles on with its episodic nature with very little to tie it all together or any real purpose given it doesn’t even stand up as just entertaining.

Black Clover (Episode 11)

And episode 11 killed the tiny little bit of hope that episode 10 gave me that this show might be improving. But at least they didn’t let me get my hopes up too high before dashing them on the rocks of mediocrity and repeated punch lines.

Juni Taisen: Zodiac War (Episode 11)

So the match is over and the victor decided and we still don’t really know what was at stake or what it means for the world. Maybe they’ll bother to tell us in the final episode. I’m mostly just waiting for this one to be done as it has been more than a little bit disappointing.

Sengoku Night Blood (Episode 10)

This show continues to be pretty dull and mostly pointless as we go through the motions of character interactions but none of it has any real feeling behind it or given me any reason to care. The main plot line, if there was one, seems lost in amongst these smaller exchanges so there’s no real sense of anticipation about what is to come. While there are certainly worse shows out there, this one commits the worst crime of being boring.

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They Made This?

Dies Irae (Episode 9)

I have no hopes for this show at this point and time. I’m watching until the end of Autumn and then the show will either be done (if one episode count is true) or I will drop it (if it turns out this is going for more episodes). There’s just nothing to recommend this show and it seems to take delight in being dreadful at this point in time. It isn’t even a so-bad-it’s-good kind of thing. It is just bad.

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Tried and Dropped

Evil or Live (Episode 4)

My Girlfriend is Shobitch (Episode 2)

TWOCAR (Episode 1)

Taisho Mebiusline Chicchaisan (Episode 1)

Love is Like A Cocktail (Episode 1)

Konohana Kitan (Episode 1)

A Sister’s All You Need (Episode 1)

Urahara (Episode 1)

 

Thanks for reading.

If you enjoyed this post and like the blog, consider becoming a patron to support further growth and future content.

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Thanks,

Karandi James.

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Vote Reminder for Best and Worst of the Autumn Season

Posted on by Karandi
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Just a reminder to put in your vote for best and worst of the Autumn 2017 anime season. The poll will close at the end of December and then voting for best of the year can commence. I’m really looking forward to seeing what everyone ends up voting for.

By ‘best’ anime, a reminder this is not about technical proficiency but merely the anime you found the most entertaining this season for whatever reason. Which anime do you like the most?

For ‘worst’ anime of the season I ask that you only vote for an anime you are actually watching through. So while this is the anime you like the least, you didn’t drop it.

Thanks for reading.

If you enjoyed this post and like the blog, consider becoming a patron to support further growth and future content.

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Thanks,

Karandi James.

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Autumn 2017 Week 10

Posted on by Karandi
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Here we are in week 10 and it is now make or break for so many shows (though quite a few will continue on to the next season). Autumn has been great fun so far. By the way, voting for the best and worst of the season has opened and if you missed it, go here and have your say. As always, I’d love to know your thoughts on the season in the comments below.

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Must Watch

March Comes in Like a Lion Season 2 (Episode 30)

Have I recommended this show enough yet? Seriously, this one is defining what a must watch anime is at the moment. I’m hanging on every word and every image and I’m desperate for the next episode. I’m going back and watching previous episodes to catch bits or to learn more about scenes, and basically just to get more of March in my week. Loving this show even if it does leave me crying most episodes.

Land of the Lustrous (Episode 9)

Superb character development complimenting beautiful visuals and this story continues to be impressive and engaging. Really loving the journey that this story has taken me on and Phos is definitely a contender for one of my favourite characters of the season.

The Ancient Magus’ Bride (Episode 9)

A nice transition episode moving us away from the darkness of last week and consolidating character relationships. That said, not a lot happened in the episode and it is one of those episodes that will be appreciated more during a binge watch than during seasonal viewing. Still, good quality and progressing the characters nicely.

Girls’ Last Tour (Episode 9)

I continue to be completely impressed with the amount of thought that has gone into Girls’ Last Tour. Don’t let the moe character designs fool you. This show is really fantastic at asking the hard questions and leaving you pondering once the episode is done.

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Usually Entertaining

Recovery of an MMO Junkie (Finished)

With episode 10 being the final episode (as far as I am aware) this is now done and managed to end as it began, cute and interesting but not outstanding. I’m certainly glad I picked up this romantic comedy this season because even though it felt a little bit slow in the mid-season, the story here is quite adorable.

Just Because (Episode 8)

Should have trust photography girl to stir things up and get them moving again. The only problem is I want her to win and not just be the catalyst for other characters and I don’t think that is the path we are on. Poor Komiya. Anyway, this remains a highly entertaining high school romance slice of life thing as long as you don’t mind the slow pace and the occasionally poor animation sequence.

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Okay, I Guess

Our Love Has Always Been 10 Centimeters Apart (Episode 3)

This continues to be a fairly solid cute romantic drama set in a high school. There’s not a lot about it that is unique but it continues to be fairly well delivered and so far the narrative has been nicely constructed.

Kino’s Journey (Episode 9)

And now the show just gives us snippets of stories that might have been interesting but apparently even the writers couldn’t be bothered to flesh them out. Now, short stories can have impact, but each of these were more outlines for ideas that might have been developed and not one of them was. It was really just kind of dull to watch as we skipped from story to story and country to country. Overall, this show is pretty flat at this point.

Code: Realize ~Guardian of Rebirth~ (Episode 9)

Still not exactly exciting, Code: Realize is playing it pretty by the numbers at this point. It isn’t bad by any means, but nor is it exciting or memorable. Cardia is working decently enough as the lead here and has at least developed a personality over the course of the show, but that isn’t really enough to make this any more than just a once watch.

King’s Game (Episode 10)

Things are getting fairly tense as the kids are ordered to run for the day with the person furthermost from the goal getting punished at eight hour intervals. I’m actually amazed only one character decided to take out the competition and the rest are just running along. This show remains pretty terrible but entertaining enough for fans of bad horror.

UQ Holder (Episode 10)

Well, we finally ran into the plot though I’m not sure the audience has been made in any way to care about the supposed villain. Either way, a decent enough episode with a lot of clichés but also some reasonable action and drama so all and all this show maintains its watchable status that it has held for most of the season.

Anime-Gataris (Episode 9)

Yep, this show used up all its bang and sparkles early in the season. After a mid-season slump it did indeed try to recapture the earlier tone of the show but just has not managed to re-engage the appeal of those earlier episodes. As a result, we get this mangled mess of an episode.

Black Clover (Episode 10)

Okay, some actual forward progress here. I’m still not a fan of this show, ti is still really struggling to hold my interest and not annoy me, but episode 10 shone a little tiny light of hope that maybe this will improve.

Juni Taisen: Zodiac War (Episode 10)

This continues to be a really bland and dull action show with little purpose and a fairly linear and straight forward plot. No tension, no excitement and little reason for the audience to get invested.

Sengoku Night Blood (Episode 9)

The tragedy here is I very nearly forgot the heroines name this week. Plus this show seems absolutely unable to have a single actual villain and it will apparently just be the monsters that we’ll end up seeing all the cute warlords fighting. Oh well. I guess they couldn’t agree on which fan girls to let down but actually having an antagonist in the story.

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They Made This?

Dies Irae (Episode 8)

“Can these guys please destroy the world already so that the show will end? Or at the very least can the ‘hero’ find someway to not seem totally useless just for one episode. That would be the best I can hope for from this show at the moment.” – My thoughts from last week and my opinion has yet to change.

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Tried and Dropped

Evil or Live (Episode 4)

My Girlfriend is Shobitch (Episode 2)

TWOCAR (Episode 1)

Taisho Mebiusline Chicchaisan (Episode 1)

Love is Like A Cocktail (Episode 1)

Konohana Kitan (Episode 1)

A Sister’s All You Need (Episode 1)

Urahara (Episode 1)

Thanks for reading.

If you enjoyed this post and like the blog, consider becoming a patron to support further growth and future content.

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Thanks,

Karandi James.

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The Best and Worst Anime of Autumn 2017 – Have Your Say

Posted on by Karandi
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I know it is early this time around, but I’m opening this poll until the end of December to give everyone a chance to see it and to vote. You can choose up to three series in both the best of and worst of the season polls. After I get the result of this, I am going to take the three best shows (as voted by the readers) from each season to poll the reader’s choice for best of the year so that’s kind of why I’m opening this early and cutting it off at the end of December because otherwise it will be March before I get around to best of the year.

So here we go for best of Autumn 2017. I have tried to include a lot of titles, even ones I am not watching, but you do have the option to write your own title in if I’ve left something amazing off the list. Remember, this is not for technical best animation or any other objective measure. It is just the show (or shows) you liked the most and had the most fun watching this season.

For the worst of Autumn 2017 it is much the same. In case you are new to one of these polls, I ask that you don’t just vote for something because you hated episode 1. This is the worst show you actually sat through and watched this season. The bottom of your watch list. So the show that wins won’t be the actual worst show, it will be a show good enough to string you along, but not actually ever good to watch.

And that is it. I’ll try to remember to repost these at least once each week to remind people to vote but if you can share the link that would really help as well. The more people who vote, the more chance of this poll having even a little tiny bit of validity. The Summer vote was the best yet in terms of numbers, so lets see if we can engage more anime fans and really get an idea of what they think the best anime this season was.

Thanks for reading.

If you enjoyed this post and like the blog, consider becoming a patron to support further growth and future content.

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Thanks,

Karandi James.

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Autumn 2017 Week 9

Posted on by Karandi
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And we are closing in on the end of the season with some shows having only a handful of episodes left. Regardless of how things go, Autumn has been my favourite season overall. Even the lesser shows this season have been pretty entertaining if for no other reason than to tear them apart, but there’s certainly been a lot I’ve really enjoyed. They might not make it all the way to the end, but the week to week has been pretty fun.

As always, I’d love to know your thoughts on the season so please share them in the comments below.

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Must Watch

March Comes in Like a Lion Season 2 (Episode 29)

It is probably getting repetitive of me to say, but this was another fantastic episode. We pulled away a little from directly dealing with Hina’s bullying, however that gave the episode a chance to focus on the ripple effects that situation is having on the other characters in the show and hwo it is changing their words and actions. This show has been amazing this season and is truly unmissable at the moment.

The Ancient Magus’ Bride (Episode 8)

This was a great episode for Chise and Elias and really just gave me exactly what I wanted going in to this show. There’s not a lot to say other than the character relationships continue to develop, the show looks beautiful, the music is fantastic, and overall it is a fairly magical experience.

Land of the Lustrous (Episode 8)

Land of the Lustrous has continued to impress. While the distinct visuals are certainly what drew me in initially, now it is very much Phos’ character journey and transformation as well as the world itself that draws me back each week to this show. It shall be very interesting to see how this ultimately plays out.

Girls’ Last Tour (Episode 8)

Not much more to say about this. It has been consistent in tone, style and quality and has felt worth the watch so far. A nice and relaxing viewing experience to be found with two very charming characters facing the end of the world.

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Usually Entertaining

Recovery of an MMO Junkie (Episode 9)

My fear that this show would slump in the end was kind of alleviated this week with a strong second last episode and both of the main characters showing us just why we have put up with all these silly misunderstandings so far. I’m really hoping for a good final episode and this show has continued to be one of my favourite watches each week even with the little bit of a slump in the second half.

Just Because (Episode 7)

Indecisiveness should be one of the seven deadly sins. It is incredibly painful watching a character hesitate over and over again. I think wrongful action would be better than inaction in some of these situations because while they are inactive nothing will change at all. Not for the better or the worse. Anyway, this is a slice of life, high school romance thing that works quite well and as long as you don’t pay too much attention to the characters when they walk or run isn’t that bad looking.

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Okay, I Guess

Our Love Has Always Been 10 Centimeters Apart (Episode 2)

This is not my favourite genre and it isn’t exactly blowing me away, but it is hard to fault this show on any particular aspect. It isn’t overly ambitious and is cute and charming as it delivers its story. I can definitely see romance fans getting into this one.

Kino’s Journey (Episode 8)

Yep, Kino’s Journey has dropped. Another episode minus Kino and instead following Shizu who just isn’t interesting enough to be bothered with. It has been quite a number of episode since I was really entertained by this show. It isn’t bad by any means but it isn’t really doing much to make me feel that it matters whether I keep watching it or not.

Anime-Gataris (Episode 8)

The mid-season slump continues with this show. It isn’t broken but it hasn’t managed to be anywhere near as entertaining as its earlier episodes once it has had to try to build an actual plot. We’ll see what the season’s end brings us and whether this show can bounce back or whether it fizzled early on.

Code: Realize ~Guardian of Rebirth~ (Episode 8)

This continues to go through the motions as we move closer to a climax. There were some positives from this episode but a lot of pretty standard and expected moments as well as some more filler and time wasting. There’s only so many times the main characters can escape the villains clutches before the villain starts looking way too pathetic to be taken seriously.

King’s Game (Episode 9)

Emotionally this show has me far more invested at this point in time given we’re fully focussed on the current game and aren’t guaranteed of what the outcome will be (even though it seems relatively obvious there is room for a twist). Not to mention, this show knows how to push just far enough on the gore and tragedy to get an emotional rise out of its audience without being too gross to watch (though that is a subjective measurement). Lacking in logic, this story won’t be for everyone, but fans of bad horror will be enjoying the ride at this point in the season.

UQ Holder (Episode 9)

And I’m still echoing concerns that this show is in no hurry to go anywhere devoting a lot of this episode’s run time to a random girls want to wash guy’s back at the baths sequence. There was some actual plot development this week, but you had to wait a long time to get there.

Black Clover (Episode 9)

“Ahhhh!”

Juni Taisen: Zodiac War (Episode 9)

So a tiger walks into a bar… and that’s it. No punch line or purpose. Much like this show so far. It has three episodes left and I just don’t know what it could do at this point to actually make me care.

Sengoku Night Blood (Episode 8)

Well, they’ve officially run out of people to abduct the heroine so I guess that counts as plot progress. This one is more about watching the pretty colours on the screen than the plot at this point.

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They Made This?

Dies Irae (Episode 7)

Can these guys please destroy the world already so that the show will end? Or at the very least can the ‘hero’ find someway to not seem totally useless just for one episode. That would be the best I can hope for from this show at the moment.

Wizard1a

Tried and Dropped

Evil or Live (Episode 4)

My Girlfriend is Shobitch (Episode 2)

TWOCAR (Episode 1)

Taisho Mebiusline Chicchaisan (Episode 1)

Love is Like A Cocktail (Episode 1)

Konohana Kitan (Episode 1)

A Sister’s All You Need (Episode 1)

Urahara (Episode 1)

Thanks for reading.

If you enjoyed this post and like the blog, consider becoming a patron to support further growth and future content.

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Thanks,

Karandi James.

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Autumn 2017 Week 8

Posted on by Karandi
autumn 2017

So much fun and contrast in this season as I jump between the sweet romantic, to more comedy based romance, to pure fantasy, to post apocalytpic slice of life and then just horror, shock and gore. Really enjoying following a long with everyone as we navigate this season of anime. That said, below is my current list and everything below King’s Game is pretty much not fun to watch at this point. They haven’t been dropped because I’m hoping they either improve after the mid-season and have a good end game, but to be honest, I’m thinking anything I’ve ranked below King’s Game at the moment has more than a few issues to overcome. There were also a couple of no shows this week which made my review schedule a little interesting.

Let me know which show you think will have the best final this season?

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Must Watch

March Comes in Like a Lion Season 2 (Episode 28)

I don’t think I’ve ever seen the theme of bullying dealt with in such a fantastic manner. It is something that really only works because of the strengths of the characters that we’ve had an entire season to connect with and because of the visual style of this show and the end result is something truly moving and amazing to watch unfold. Once this storyline is concluded I am going to binge watch the entire section again and I’ll probably go through an entire tissue box as it leaves me emotionally wrecked.

The Ancient Magus’ Bride (Episode 7)

This was a great episode for Chise and Elias and really just gave me exactly what I wanted going in to this show. There’s not a lot to say other than the character relationships continue to develop, the show looks beautiful, the music is fantastic, and overall it is a fairly magical experience.

Land of the Lustrous (Episode 7)

The world moves into winter and Phos still hasn’t come to terms with their new legs or how to use them but their desire to get stronger and to be useful remains. I must admit, this was a very beautiful winter world and Phos’ journey continued to impress.

Girls’ Last Tour (Episode 7)

Another week exploring the world and looking for food. The girls are really in their element when it is the two of them trying to achieve a goal. This continues to be a sleepy but fun show to check out each week and it always leaves me feeling relaxed and calm.

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Usually Entertaining

Recovery of an MMO Junkie (Episode 8)

Right, unless this picks up for its final two episodes it may find itself crashing down into the ‘Okay I Guess’ category as the last two episodes have been a little underwhelming. I still really like the two main characters here and I really want this to end well, so fingers crossed it picks up again.

Just Because (Episode 6)

No episode this week.

Kino’s Journey (Episode 7)

Once again, an episode that works well enough and is kind of interesting, but overall this series is pretty flat. I’m thinking next week this will probably drop to the category below. Still pretty to watch and very laid back story telling. There’s certainly plenty to like about the show but it just isn’t holding my interest as much as some of the other shows this season.

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Okay, I Guess

Anime-Gataris (Episode 7)

Another fairly ordinary episode that works well enough but isn’t overly entertaining (or at least I wasn’t particularly entertained). While this show has been a pleasant surprise and has managed to have me laughing many weeks, as the season progresses the lack of any kind of overall plot direction has started to hurt this and the reuse of the same conflict over and over again isn’t helping at this point. Hopefully the show can end on a high note but this mid-season slump is definitely noted.

Code: Realize ~Guardian of Rebirth~ (Episode 7)

Yeah, this was back on track this week. Almost predictably so. Yet at least it felt like the plot was moving and that we are finally getting closer to more conrete answers. Cardia also feels like she has actually made a lot of progress as a character so hopefully this will end well. This series hasn’t been exceptional but has mostly continued a long in its own unspectacular way with only a few mis-steps.

Our Love Has Always Been 10 Centimeters Apart (Episode 1)

Cute romance story that so far hasn’t done much but set things up, but is certainly watchable and has potential. Will see how it goes.

King’s Game (Episode 8)

With the focus now firmly on the game in the present time period, I actually found a lot more to enjoy about this episode. There’s something far more compelling about viewing events in a horror where you don’t know who the sole survivor is going to be. While the animation, story and characters are all still pretty dreadful at times, this remains entertaining and I feel picked up a bit this week.

Black Clover (Episode 8)

Black Clover is making a good argument for why a series should be completed in its entirety before it is allowed to air and why people who promote shows should be forced to watch them in their entirety before they are allowed to promote them. That is all I have to say about this one at this point.

UQ Holder (Episode 8)

The lack of overall drive continues with Fate admitting that it doesn’t really matter whether Tota comes with him now or not and so any sense of urgency that may have been kicked off by this whole abduction attempt goes straight out the window. So, still watchable and that is all.

Juni Taisen: Zodiac War (Episode 8)

I’m bored with this. Really, incredibly bored. Four episodes left and to be honest I really wouldn’t mind if they all just died from the poison at this point.

Sengoku Night Blood (Episode 7)

No episode this week.

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They Made This?

Dies Irae (Episode 6)

Okay, mostly this show now makes sense and it is truly dreadful. Unless there is something resembling a master plan that they just haven’t shared with us yet the villains essentially break stuff because they can. Oh wait, it is because his very existence brings destruction. There’s an excellent plot line for you.

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Tried and Dropped

Evil or Live (Episode 4)

My Girlfriend is Shobitch (Episode 2)

TWOCAR (Episode 1)

Taisho Mebiusline Chicchaisan (Episode 1)

Love is Like A Cocktail (Episode 1)

Konohana Kitan (Episode 1)

A Sister’s All You Need (Episode 1)

Urahara (Episode 1)

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Thanks,

Karandi James.

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Anime Quotes – Autumn 2017

Posted on by Karandi
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Yes, this is another fairly random post where I have collected my favourite quotes from this season (so far) in one place. I’d love it if you would share your favourite lines or quotes from the season in the comments.

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Thanks,

Karandi James.

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