Also, I guess I'm boring in that I just like girls with black hair. Blue shines are nice too.

Only for men of culture, to be sure.

I'm watching it, though not expecting much. Seems fitting to watch a show about drinks after a show about food every Tuesday. Just wish it was longer, but it's fine for what it is.

Winner* of the poll is...Blonde hair! Good job blondes!

_{*Red-hair won the popular vote, while blondes won the electoral college*}

Next poll question is a simple but important one. What is your AOTS so far? Any surprises? Disappointments? Expect any changes from here on out? Let me know! I might listen.

Poll comes from MAL yet again. If you don't like it, go write a letter to your congressman.

I don't care much about ranking anime and I loathe rating anime but my favorites right now are Houseki no Kuni and Net-juu no Susume.  

In a world where most anime is a predictable as dirt, Houseki no Kuni manages to throw something unexpected at you almost every single episode.  It's extremely unique and creative but it also has some really interesting character work.  It just oozes personality.

Net-juu no Susume is more of a guilty pleasure.  Sometimes it feels a bit awkward and amateurish but that actually makes it feel more charming.  The characters are good and the premise is enjoyable.  Most importantly, I adore the main character.

Yellow Diamond is pretty and her voice fits perfectly.

Bortz is a complete badass. Seriously.

Every single episode of this anime has been excellent so far. Every single episode. The pacing has been flawless.

The people behind this deserve a ton of credit and I hope they get more work in the future.

For my mid-season review, my anime of the season hasn't changed too much, though lately Sangatsu no Lion has been edging out Shokugeki no Souma. While the latter is covering one of my favorite arcs in the manga, watching what I've already read doesn't really have the same impact now. Still looking forward to Erina's long overdue focus arc, but it's still largely waiting to see what I've already seen.

Sangatsu, meanwhile is absolutely amazing. Every character feels so realistic, and it's easily the probably the most immersive show I'm watching this season. Last episode was a great example of that; watching Rei trying to solve the bullying problem, and hearing how complex the issue really is. The hypothetical scenarios the teacher walked him through were very accurate, and the scene with Akari was amazing. It's so easy to spout platitudes when confronted with problems like that, Akari's reaction to how ineffective such advice really is was a very humbling scene. It was a very human reaction from someone who constantly puts on a strong face for everyone. And that's to say nothing of the art and sound direction for the show. 

Biggest disappointment is probably Black Clover. I knew going in that it was basically an amalgation of every popular shounen adventure series...what I didn't know was that they would hire a dying car engine motor to voice the MC. Holy crap that's obnoxious.

Biggest surprise is Imouto Sae Ireba Ii, which somehow keeps surpassing my expectations of it. First two minutes of the first episode were absolute cringe, and yet the actual slice of life elements and the coming of age stories for these young authors are surprisingly well done. Little things like the characters playing brainstorming games and having fun drinking together are always fun to watch, and it's interesting seeing a more grounded take on how light novel authors advance in their careers. The scene with the other male author watching his anime debut, only for everyone online to dismiss it as another "generic light novel adaptation" was well done, and his reaction felt surprisingly realistic. I can't help but feel scenes like this are flat out meta-references to events the author of this story herself has been through (I liked Haganai...but I'm curious how close it was to the source material).

Speaking of which...I wonder if the author of Black Clover felt that way when the anime came out. Poor guy...now I feel bad.

Retag.

Been watching a few shows at once due to special circumstances.

Hajimete no gal: I love trash anime, some of the lines are straight comedy gold.

Restaurant to another World: Not a very good binge anime, only feel like watching when I have a meal of my own. Probably much better when you guys watched it weekly.

Huh, so red heads won. What cool characters have there been in anime that sport red hair? The only one I can think of is Shana from Shakugan no Shana, and she was pretty cool...



As for my AotS, looks like it may go to Sangatsu again. It's just been so excellent yet again like the previous season. It manages to be so funny and charming while also being very deep and real with its topics. The last few episodes have been a real roller coaster ride of emotions. Watching the recent struggles with Hina have been saddening and painful to watch, I'm sure I've teared up at least a couple of times, and seeing Rei deal with it has not only been great, but feels very real as well. It's definitely not something that has a right way to resolve it, as his teacher explained. The show just feels... excellently done with its mix of comedy and light moments with the heavy. Really loving it, but... I need a follow up anime to pick myself up after watching.


...Which is what Blend S does. I wouldn't call it AotS material, but it's cute and fun, which is nice to watch and have a good laugh. It's fun to see Maika be unintentionally sadistic while the customers (and Dino) enjoy it. The other characters have their funny quirks, so it's fun overall.


And also, there's Netto Juu, which is just... such a sweet and cute anime. Moriko just acts so cute and funny while playing her game, especially in the beginning episodes when she meets Lily. Those 2 together in-game is a real joy to watch. Their other friends are really good and caring people as well, being supportive and understanding of each other. It makes it feel like you can meet some wonderful people online.



So yeah, I guess I'd rank it as:

Sangatsu 1st, Net-juu 2nd, and Blend S 3rd.

Well, I've been watching some Non Non Biyori, and I gotta say I'm really loving it. Something about seeing the main cast enjoy the simple life of the countryside is quite enjoyable, and they're really funny as well in their usual activities and way of speech, especially compared to Hotaru, the city girl xD Also, this anime just feels a little nostalgic to me. It takes me back to the days when I used to see those rice fields and hear the frogs croak and bugs chirp in the night.

Also, there's some funny things about the cast, like how despite being the older sister, Komari is shorter than her younger sister and Hotaru. Also, there's the only male student in the class who I kinda feel bad for. He never says anything and he's barely around. I kinda wonder what he does off screen...

Magi has some pretty cool red-heads, most notably the main female. She was a former slave that gets freed by the two MCs, and becomes one of their strongest allies. I was kinda disappointed when she began to lose screen-time, but she was definitely a joy to watch both alone, and interacting with the other main characters.

Also, she totally wore the pants in this relationship.

The MC in Shokugeki no Souma (see my signature) is pretty fun to watch, even if he's kind of a Gary Stu. Erza in Fairy Tail is probably a popular one, though I have the same problem with her.

Good season list though! I might end up giving up Sangatsu a 10 if it keeps up this momentum.