juliko25

So...yeah, I'm not gonna watch much this season because, really, there's only one new anime coming out this season that I'm interested in. The others are either not my cup of tea for whatever reason, or absolute dreck that I refuse to go anywhere near. I know for a fact that I'm not touching Gushing Over Magical Girls with a ten foot pole! But since last season was so packed, I might as well take this opportunity to watch some shows I never got the chance to.

New:


1. A Sign of Affection
I've heard a lot of good things about this one in particular. I decided to read the manga and read up to volume 5, pleasantly surprised by how good it was. All the characters were intriguing and compelling, the romance was believable without being too saccharine, and Yuki's deafness isn't used for any forced drama or milked for inspiration porn, she's just treated like a regular person, complete with her own life, hobbies, likes, dislikes, strengths, and weaknesses like anyone else. Seeing as how I like the manga, I'm curious to see how the anime adapts it to the silver screen.

Old:


1. My Roommate Is a Cat
I remember watching the first episode of this at one point, and I liked it, but I was still deep in anime burnout at the time, so I didn't watch the rest of it. I ought to remedy that, because this show is super cute and heartwarming. What's not to love about an anime involving a guy adopting a cat and all the joy that comes with owning a pet? I also hear it's a big tear jerker, too, and since everyone I know who saw this really liked it, it's high time I watched this and stopped putting it off.


2. Shadows House
Who's up for some good ol' gothic mystery horror? I saw the first episode of this and liked it, but due to other obligations I didn't continue it. Again, I ought to remedy that, because a show like this seems like it's right up my alley. And again, a bunch of people I know really like this show, so why not finally give it a try?


3. Lady Georgie
Eighties shoujo is coming back, y'all! The mad lads at Discotek put Lady Georgie out on Blu-Ray, and I bought the blu-ray both to watch the show and financially support Discotek, since they say buying these shows will entice them to license more of them. I hear the manga leans heavily into the pseudo-incest angle, and...eugh, not a fan. Luckily, the anime changes quite a few things, the ending included, so it's free of most of the ickiness the manga has. Now that I own it, I might as well watch Lady Georgie and see how well it holds up in the new twenties.


4. The Yuzuki Family's Four Sons
Initially, I had passed this over because I was busy watching other stuff, and not only that, somebody gave Crunchyroll some truly abysmal English subtitles for the first episode when it was first put up. Luckily, the subtitle issues have been fixed, the occasional typo and misspelled name notwithstanding. Now that I have some time to kill, I decided to start watching this. Man, this show is sooooo good! And I'm not gonna lie, it did make me cry a little bit. Please watch it if you really love wholesome family dramas!


5. Planetarian: The Reverie of a Little Planet
Ah yes, another one of the many anime adaptations of Key's visual novels. I actually just started playing said visual novel this past week, and I remember watching the first episode of this years ago, but again, burnout prevented me from finishing it. I do remember liking it, and since it's fairly short, it should be a breeze to get through.

So the plague is still going on, though thankfully a vaccine is being rolled out. Hopefully the public can get vaccinated. Here's hoping 2021 will be better. But there's still anime to watch, and here's what I'm going to watch this winter.

New:


1. Laid Back Camp Season 2
I loved the first season and have read the entirety of the manga that's out in the US right now. I'm always up for more comfy camping adventures!


2. The Promised Neverland Season 2
No way was I going to miss this one! I liked the first season, and managed to read a bit of the manga, though I need to read more.


3. Cells At Work Season 2
Man, there's a lot of sequels this season, aren't there? I also really liked what I saw of the first season, so you can bet I'm watching this as well. As for that one spin-off, Cells At Work Code: Black, I'm not sure. I'm going to wait on that one. That does remind me, I need to watch the Japanese version of season one since I started off with it dubbed.


4. Show By Rock Stars!
Awwww yeah!! My favorite guilty pleasure is back!! Granted, I didn't like Mashumairesh all that much, as it was held back by its refusal to develop its characters, relying too much on trite cliches, rehashing similar character archetypes without everything that the original SBR used to make them work, and it just felt hollow. Since Cyan and the gang are back in this season, here's hoping things will improve from where Mashumairesh left off. Maybe it'll answer some unanswered questions, too!


5. Wonder Egg Priority
This is a strange one. It's a completely anime original project, and there's very little in the way of information on it. There's not even so much as a premise! But I am intrigued by it, and a lot of Aniplex's original anime have been pretty good (AnoHana being one of them), so I'll try it out and see what it's like.


6. Tropical Rouge Pretty Cure!
Pretty Cure is back again, baby! Not even a pandemic can keep these cute badass girls down! But I'm not gonna lie, Healin Good has been an absolutely amazing season IMHO, so it'll really be hard for this show to follow it up. This could either turn out good, okay, or downright bad depending on the direction the show decides to go, and I'm aware that various seasons have their own sets of problems (Like favoring certain characters while refusing to give others proper screentime and development). I'm gonna give this one a try and see how it fares. But this season is already breaking one trend: A lead cure who ISN'T wholly pink for once!!

Old:


1. Jungle Emperor 1989 / The New Adventures of Kimba The White Lion
I've wanted to see this particular version of the series for a while. I remember when Nozomi Entertainment had the series subbed up on YouTube, but I only saw one episode and then it all got taken off. Luckily, a fansub group worked on it for a bit, and after that fell through, an official YouTube channel, Anime Log, sponsored by companies like Toei, Nippon, Tezuka Productions, and others, started subbing the episodes into English. I made it to episode 9 so far, and I like it...though from what I've heard, the series goes downhill in quality after the second half. I'll watch more and see for myself.


2. Konncihiwa Anne: Before Green Gables
I watched this when it first came out back in 2009, but several fansubbing groups dropped it, and years later, I had to resort to watching this one really awful fansubbed version of it that was full of grammar errors, incoherent sentences, and name changes that made no sense. But yet again, just like with the 80s Jungle Emperor, Anime Log picked it up and are subbing it in its entirety in English. Granted, AniLog's subs aren't necessarily the best, but they're miles above those crappy ARR subs this show had. Now I can finally watch it not only legally, but with somewhat coherent subtitles!


3. Mahou Tsukai Pretty Cure!
No, I am NOT calling it Maho Girls Precure! So I've been getting back into Pretty Cure again, and I decided to check this one out. I'm halfway through it now, and it's...a mixed bag. It does have good parts, but it also has just as many parts that feel really half-baked. But I don't want to pass judgment on it too early, and I'm going to watch this season in its entirety.