10 years…it has been 10 years since I started doing this event. My goodness, how time sure does fly! For my very first November Challenge, I said I would workshop the name and chose all 5 people who gave...
10 years…it has been 10 years since I started doing this event. My goodness, how time sure does fly! For my very first November Challenge, I said I would workshop the name and chose all 5 people who gave me shows. Skip ahead and now the name never changed once, and it’s a yearly tradition of people sending me series to watch during November. This year I abandoned a chunk of the classic rules below to watch 10 anime to make it fit within the idea of 10 years. I invited all the champions to come back as well, even though only a few answered the call. All in all, this is something I always look forward to, and am excited once again to talk about again here for people from Kitsu and not. Buckle up though, this is gonna be a big fat post!
The way this mega-post will work is as follows: I will talk about the shows in order of when I watched them, there will be two splits of non-spoiler & spoiler, and you will get an idea of how I felt about them all through that. Afterward, I will present individual awards for several hand-picked categories. Then the final part comes. I will give the official order of how they all ranked this year, and deem the winner of the 2023 November Challenge! It should be fun, but it will be a lot to read. I will have a large spoiler picture above each section that talks about well…..the spoilers, for people to avoid if they wish.
Before I begin, I would inform the readers outside of Kitsu, what the rules of this tournament are generally when people sign up. Aside from a “first come first serve” to sign up unsaid rule, these are the following rules I use.
THE RULES
-The show’s length must be between 10-13
-It must have full-length episodes.
-No shorts, OVAs, ONAS, films, or anything else aside from standard format shows(Exceptions can be made with a proper discussion!)
-No adult content like hentai
-You must have seen it to completion
-I must have not seen any of it.(Even a single episode seen by me disqualifies it)
Other than that let’s get into talking about the challenge!
2014 Winner: Shinsekai Yori
Other Shows: No Game No Life, Shiki, Bokurano, & Kyoukai No Kanata
2015 Winner: Berserk(1997)
Other Shows: Donten Ni Warau, Princess Tutu, Mawaru Penguindrum, & Master Keaton
2016 Winner: Oh! Edo Rocket
Other Shows: Planetes, Katanagatari, Shouwa Genroku Rakugo Shinjuu, & Haibane Renmei
2017 Winner: Fune wo Amu
Other Shows: Kino’s Journey, Aishiteruze Baby, Cuticle Detective Inaba, Food Wars, & Hanada Shonen Shi
2018 Winner: Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure Season 1
Other Shows: Mob Psycho 100(S1), A Place Further than the Universe, Tamako Market, Emma: A Victorian Romance, Kyousougiga
2019 Winner: Future Boy Conan
Other Shows: Silver Spoon, Big Wind Up, Dennou Coil, Isekai Shokudou, Outlaw Star
2020 Winner: March Comes in Like a Lion
Other Shows: K-on!, F, Aria the Animation, Recovery of an MMO Junkie
2021 Winner: House of Five Leaves
Other Shows: Takarajima, Kobato, Bakuman S1, Banana Fish
2022 Winner: Run with the Wind
Other Shows: Key the Metal Idol, Utawarerumono, Daughters of Mnemosyne, Moribito
2023 November Challenge!
Show: Hi Score Girl(S1)
Year Aired: 2018
Studio: J.C. Staff/SMDE
Episodes: 12
Source: Manga
Watched For: Dr_Broli
If you ask me, there is definitely an overlap between people in the anime community and people in the gaming community. It’s certainly not uncommon to find someone who is part of both of these social circles. I would definitely include myself in that conversation as well. Heck, I would say gaming is my prominent hobby while anime plays second fiddle to it. It then comes as no surprise that at some point there would be a mangaka who would make a series that has a large focus on games. There is such a huge crossover between the two you would honestly think at this point there would be even more stuff like this out there to consume. Alas, that is not the case though, so this actually makes Hi Score Girl a relative rarity in the anime world with how it uses the subject matter of games in tandem with its story.
This anime is a coming-of-age romance comedy at its core. We follow Haruo Yaguchi, a slacker student who finds salvation in only one place, in the world, the arcade. A bonafide gamer to his core, Yaguchi thinks of games 24/7, and his life, basically, revolves around them. His favorite thing to do is play the classic Street Fighter II and try and destroy people with his main Guile. All of this changes when he suddenly plays a Zangeif player who absolutely demolishes him, despite his expertise at the game. He soon discovers the person on the other side of the cabinet is, in fact, mega-popular Akira Ono, the silent mysterious princess of his school. Confounded how a random rich girl like this could beat him, let alone be great at games, he vows to best her at games. This is the igniting spark that creates an odd, but eventually romantic bond between the two characters as they start to spend time together all the time after this. This is at least the general premise as the story itself tosses a few wrenches into the fold to keep things a little more chaotic than that.
This anime certainly appeals to the nature of people who grew up in this era of gaming. There is real footage of arcade classics of the times used throughout the show, and it really commits to putting focus, on this. I imagine almost anyone who frequented the same arcades developed either friendships or even more just like the main cast does in the show if that was a major part of their youth. The nostalgia of games from a bygone era, and the memories we hold from the experiences, we had in those days. Mix that with a childlike innocence romance building and plenty of slapstick comedy and this show definitely will hit the right combo if those things are relatable to you. If you find the CGI style too ugly though, or aren’t really into games lead to love as a premise, you probably aren’t the target audience and should find something else to scratch that romcom itch!
I think at the end of the day, I’m a little on the fence with this show. While I did get over the pretty ugly character models almost immediately, this is definitely another show in a long list of anime with romance in it that I don’t think completely nails the execution. I’m unsure if it is because Yaguchi is such a goddamn airhead and oblivious to others’ feelings, or that it just seems unlikely that a guy like him could casually make two girls fall in love with him just because he is a passionate gamer. They definitely put the work into trying to sell it, but I just don’t think it really lands. The series has a lot of love and care put into other aspects as well, but I feel the romance part is maybe the weakest of it all. The biggest detractor here is how Ono literally never speaks a single word during the course of the show. I commend the commitment from the writer, but I’d rather them give the character a condition that makes them mute rather than them literally just refuse to ever talk just because. It makes it really hard to ever know what she feels about anything because she is exclusively body language-based, and she tends to use a vacant stare more often than not as the default expression. When someone is as hot and cold as she is with reactions, it goes a long way to have something more concrete to latch onto. I know this is just the first season, but I found it hard to believe these two fall in love just through playing games together and never actually communicating in almost any other way. Fondess sure, but love is a little bit of a stretch. That being said, they are kids, and this is only season 1 so I might be putting my horse before the cart and feel more pleased with the second act of the story on that front.
I did appreciate the gaming history part of the show though. The time capsule of early 90s Japan and the impact games like Street Fighter and other Capcom classics had on the gaming scene was one of my favorite parts of the series. There is definitely a difference though between being a fan of games and literally being a gamer and nothing else. Yaguchi is so one-track-minded that he is almost frustrating to watch with how he ignores the basic tells of a conversation with other characters because he is purposefully uninterested in anything nongame-related. People like Hidaka are certainly way too lenient with how damn cold he is sometimes because of this. Look man, I get how great games are, I’d rather be playing some right now than writing a massive anime post, but sometimes you gotta have your damn priorities set!
All in all, the show is definitely cute and funny most of the time, but lacks the oomph factor for me to be much more than slightly above average. I take personal umbrage with people who put their hobbies before others, and I can’t really invest in a romantic comedy that spends so little time making me believe the connection between the two. I feel their importance, but I don’t know, something is missing from the romance. It probably doesn’t help that Ono gets sidelined for a chunk of the season with her moving abroad so we spend about 6 episodes without her being a major player at all. Half a season building up the other girl and giving me insight into her emotions doesn’t do anything but make me feel bad that she is gonna lose in the end haha. These two major elements detract from what I find to be an otherwise fairly breezy show to sit through and watch. It’s pretty interesting from a historical standpoint, and it has plenty of comedy to push each episode forward enough as well. It’s not gut-busting but it is definitely amusing on the regular. and it occasionally does give me the butterflies for young love when it does a little extra work here and there. I will probably watch season 2 someday, but, as of now, this series falls more in line with my backburner of priority.
Random Fact: Street Fighter II is one of the highest-grossing arcade games of all time with a new profit of 2.3 million by 1995. That’s about 3.58 million by today’s standards!
Show: Appare Ranman!
Year Aired: 2020
Studio: P.A. Works
Episodes: 13
Source: Original
Watched For: feethebunny
Sometimes I forget anime actually came out in 2020. What a blur that year was with the pandemic and everything else going on around the world at the same time. In retrospect, it is a little crazy to think a complete anime original managed to be released right at the height of all that craziness. I don’t know what P.A. was doing to manage that, but someone should give them props for managing to figure it out. I like to believe this type of anime was a salvation for those wanting new stuff in a world that was shutting down all around them. And if it wasn’t I will still head cannon it, because it obviously is more fun that way damn it!
Appare Ranman is literally and figuratively a wild ride. Its premise presents itself as a cross-country racing series, when in actuality that is only one cog in the greater wheel of what the show aims to be. It’s probably more accurately described as an adventure series filled with colorful stereotypes to achieve something wholly unrealistic. That is part of what makes anime…well anime. Only in this medium could we see a race between characters like a samurai, a kabuki inventor, a Chinese martial artist woman in the time of men, outlaw cowboys, an English nobleman, and much much more. This series probably comes off as offensive to some because of these choices, but I find they are made with respect to the cultures and to just make the series have a diverse cast of classic archetypes from throughout the world’s cultures.
If you wanted a racing anime solely, this anime will disappoint you greatly. As I said above, I think of this more as an adventure series. The race is the connecting aspect to bring all these personalities together, so their histories can mix, to unfold a dramatic storyline that ties all of their personal storylines forward. What you expect and what you get here will bring you two very types of experience, so expect your mileage to vary. If you want the show to get a little more serious then you will probably be a happy camper. On the other hand, if you just wanted a high stakes-crazy race you will riot and burn the streets of your local city more than likely. At least, that is what I expect the average anime fan to do when they don’t get what they want in their fiction. If anything, the colorful visual style is most likely to be the sole thing that allows these two parties to shake hands and agree on something at the end of the day. Classic anime fans and their love of aesthetics.
If I didn’t make it blatantly obvious, I didn’t mind the direction this series took. If anything I just think of this as another case of people creating their own expectations instead of just taking a story as is. Wouldn’t be the first time though that I’ve felt anime fans just don’t understand basic storytelling versus their simplistic desire to have what they want. Putting that aside, I had a thoroughly good time with this series. It was a ride from start to finish. What I thought was just gonna be a quirky but enjoyable race to the finish line ended up being a lot more emotionally charged and fun in a different way. While I think this is definitely an anime that could have benefited from even more episodes to build up the cast even more, I think there is a lot of love and care put into making everyone have their own moment to shine. There isn’t a character who doesn’t get a chance to shine, and for that alone, I appreciate this anime greatly. It might take some twists and turns, but I was all for it from start to finish personally.
I think the thing that shines the most is how everyone from Appare to Kosame to Xialian to fucking TJ gets their moment in the sun. I find myself way more invested and interested in an anime series when the writers try to give some love to everyone involved in the story, and not just the main character. The series kind of hits the itch of an action movie, racing movie, western movie, and a few others all in one strange hotpot. I guess it might feel stretched too thin for some, but I just found myself enjoying each topic and genre it threw itself at. It’s one of those shows that rides and dies on being a thrill ride with zany characters. It definitely takes a few episodes for the show to really find the stride, but even at its weakest parts I still found myself consistently engaged with the content on screen. I’m glad my girl won second place too. I almost wish they would have let her win, so I could have seen how Appare felt about losing, but sometimes main character privilege is too stronk.
I guess what sells this show for me is just the fun factor. I liked the evolution of how it changed things up regularly and shifted gears, and I was just having fun the entire time. It’s something I forget about sometimes with all these obligation watches I do, and how busy life gets as well. There are times when I just want an anime to make me feel like I did when I first got into the medium, and Appare is that sort of show. Not a lifetime favorite, or life-changing experience, but something I would gladly rewatch or share with someone else because of the amount of fun I had with it. As a moe character I generally dislike would say: “Fun things are fun!” That’s about all I can ask for these days. Give me a good time, and I’m liable to say I liked the show. I know, how fucking wild is that concept right? There are times when I just want to see a samurai take down outlaws to save his native American friend. You just can’t get that everywhere you look, so when it does come into my life I’ll just appreciate it.
Random Fact: The type of race in this series is super similar to the Cannonball Run Challenge people do today. The fastest time from NY to LA is currently 25 hrs and 39 mins. Clearly legal right?
Show: Senryu Shoujo
Year Aired: 2019
Studio: Connect
Episodes: 12(Half Length Eps)
Source: Manga
Watched For: KNO108
Ah the haiku, a simple yet effective way of communicating something. Imagine if someone loved the poetry so much that they used it solely to deliver their feelings to others. Especially if they were a shy or socially anxious person! Look no further than the world of anime to find an idea like that and roll with it! The medium is no stranger to having peculiar characters who talk or behave in ways that you would probably never see an actual person do. Yet, we all tend to just be okay with it when watching fictional depictions of our race. I wonder why that is? I’d bet it has something to do with seeing an idea come to fruition even if it would be nuts to see be practiced in reality. What would that look like if someone did it? I mean, could they even form friendships, or fall in love if they have such a queer way of talking to others?
Of course, they can! That’s what Senryu Shojo is all about baby! Well, sort of at least. It showcases a lead character who can only talk through Haiku thanks to being very shy at talking. The anime series is about her everyday life, and more importantly the bond she and the boy she likes to have with each other. The first person outside of her family she has ever met who doesn’t mind the way she is and even makes her feel okay with not being like everyone else. Even with half-length episodes, each one gives enough time for a full ministory of this girl and how her life has expanded thanks to the boy who openly supports her.
That is what will decide if Senryu Shojo is a make or break for viewers. Are you easily bothered by unrealistic dynamics, and do you find yourself easily bored by fluff pieces? If the answer is yes to either or both of those questions, this anime is definitely a no-go. If you on the other hand really love that sort of thing you will probably eat up the 10-minute episodes in a binge-watch session and be done before you know it. This is one of those series that tends to have a lot of familiar tropes and ideas present as well, so you might either feel right at home or be completely bored by the” been there, done that” sort of philosophy. Take what you will from the show, and either enjoy the simple concept as it is or be an angry anime fan who yammers on for more substance. It’s your call, but don’t forget if you like or dislike it to tell the person your feelings in a simple 5-7-5 syllable fashion. Wouldn’t want to be out of style with your argument would you?
That was pretty cute, not going to lie. What this lacks in depth it more than makes up for in heartwarming comfyness. Just a simple story of two friends with insanely good chemistry making each other feel happy and slowly falling in love. What’s not to like here? I guess the half-length episodes are a little disappointing because you don’t get that much content, so my biggest issue lies within the fact that there isn’t more to enjoy. But just like the first Kingdom Hearts opening, this series tends to be simple and clean, and that is the way it is most definitely making me feel tonight. I wasn’t quite sure at first how I’d feel about the gimmick the show is built around in all honesty. Anime is so hit or miss when it commits to trying to do stuff like this that I’ve become a little reticent from it all. That could be a me thing, with how I’m personally unimpressed by a lot of series trying this or that to stand out, but in this case, I will say nothing ill towards it. I actually came around pretty much instantly on her 5-7-5 way of speech because it made every response she gave instantly a waiting game of how she would use the limited scope she had been given to say what she wanted. I also appreciated the choice of showcasing how fine-tuned her language mastery had become when comparing it to others who had comparatively simplistic haiku when they tried instead. It takes some laudable effort to not overwrite this to the point of making the main lead feel unreasonably deft with the crazy diction they use. It stays within the realm of believability even though no one in real life would solely communicate this way.
When talking about the main guy and other supporting girls who make up the cast I’ve got not much poor to say either. The main guy is the perfect stupid lovable oaf who has a huge heart. His misinterpreted delinquentism is often a place of humor and I just liked him overall. The rest of the girls are okay enough I suppose. I don’t care that much for their fellow stupid council member nor the girl who acts like a sister to the main guy, but both are decent wingmen when it counts so I will forgive them. The girl who draws though? Another excellent execution of abnorable behavior made suitable precious and enjoyable through the anime medium. While not quite as great as the 5-7-5, the art talk has plenty of good moments that shine aplenty. So while the girls feel a little fillerish in creation they fill out their roles well enough for me to not roll my eyes or get actively annoyed by their existence. I know I grow a little tired of every romcom needing to force new cast members constantly just because apparently it would be stale if we just focused on the principally introduced characters. Sometimes that is right, and other times I heavily disagree with the new inclusions. Nothing overly egregious here though, and the girls all find ways to be cute and harmless without taking away from the main focus of the series.
Outside my old man prattle, this show is the type to fill the void if you are needing a comedy pick me up though. As I grow older series that don’t overreach and just stick with a simple plan tend to hit me harder than I expect. I just there are times I just need a reminder that not everything has to be an elaborate joke or dramatic storyline. There are days when I just wanna watch two people who vibe with each other really well just get along and be happy. The small blushes, the acts of kindness, the desire to see someone kiss maybe. Who am I kidding, the lewdest shit that is holding hands by accident is far more likely! Regardless of all of that, Senryu Shojo just made me happy to watch it. It isn’t an all-time favorite comedy or romance or anything, but it is something I would fill up two or three hours with to make myself smile. I can roll with that fine enough. Fact is, I rather like smiling and having a nice time. Hip hip hooray for some warm fuzzies!
Random Fact: Masaoka Shiki is considered the man who penned the name for the Haiku once it became a stand-alone form of poetry.
Show: Servant x Service
Year Aired: 2013
Studio: A-1 Pictures
Episodes: 13
Source: Manga
Watched For: Zangril
I had two series during this challenge that before starting them, I had zero idea they were made by people who had created other things I had seen. In this case, Servant x Service comes from the same mind as Wagnari or Working depending on what you prefer to call it. Just like Working, this series is a comedy-focused ensemble cast with romantic tension injected into the background as the relationships slowly develop. The main difference here is this is a workplace comedy with solely adults versus a family restaurant with a mix of students and young adults. It is kind of amusing to me on a basic level that there is a series with a somewhat similar premise to the creator’s other work and I still had zero inclination that it existed prior. Despite how much research I do to try and keep up to date with anime names, somehow or another stuff always finds a way to sneak on by me. It probably doesn’t help that the name of the series made me think it was an ecchi comedy. Doesn’t really make you think otherwise unless you see the actual art! I really thought it was something kinky being thrown at me randomly.
Surprise motherfucker! This is actually about as far away from being a trash ecchi as possible! I mean yes they do make jokes about the busty glasses girl often, but it’s not to the point of being like the main draw of the series. SxS is essentially an anime that is built on the cast having strong traits that define them and a few running gags that revolve around those and seeing them play off each other in the office from situation to situation. This is the classic-styled Japanese comedy where jokes are built on the reactions of people and how those expressions or one-liners are meant to sell the joke. If you have seen Working at all, this type of comedic style will be nothing new to you, but if you are fresh to either, it should feel fairly familiar to other anime as well.
It should be rather obvious that your enjoyment of this show will probably hinge on your taste for the humor. While there is most definitely a romantic subplot that finds plenty of screen time, you’ll find yourself dealing with the comedy far more frequently. I would not be remiss to say that because comedy is so subjective this type of series could definitely range from anywhere to huge favorite to fall back on to completely indifference. I guess some people might vehemently hate it too, but it’s fairly harmless in content so that seems a little less likely all things considered. If you watch an episode or two you will know if this series hits the spot for you or not. If you like Working it might be worth checking out as well for the similar structuring in style too. Yet, if you don’t like Working or comedies like this….maybe find something else to watch! STOP BEING SO ANGRY ALL THE TIME YOU HEATHEN! It’s just anime!
My meanest thing to say about this series is that it is diet Wagnaria. It has similar extreme personality types, lots of running jokes, and a romance it desperately wants to slowly make a main focus on top of the jokes. Yet, all of it feels like second-tier content. It reminds me a lot of my time with season 1 of Working actually. I didn’t find myself in love with anything in particular. That series built off of itself super nicely in the subsequent seasons after the established first one. Without those, that series wouldn’t be a favorite for me like it is today. That’s exactly the case here. I’m not in love with anyone in the cast, most of the running gags, and the romance is fine but completely unfinished in development. Nothing hits the sweet spot, and everything is sort of just there really. I’d say I actually find this show less funny and the cast less likable than Working as well. No one in particular shines in this series and I found myself pretty much actively disliking both Chihaya and Ichimiya as time went on. Her for the nasty personality she has and him for literally never taking action on anything ever and being the most static aspect of the whole series.
It wasn’t all bad though I should mention. I was starting to really like the romantic subplot even if they didn’t finish it. It reminded me a lot of how I wasn’t initially sold on the Inami love story in Wagnaria but by the end of the series/movie I adored it. This unfortunately just sees the building blocks and not the finished house of that idea. It was for sure a start I wanted more of, but it doesn’t seem like that will ever happen so what we see is what I got. The comedy might as well be mentioned too since it is like the main aspect of the anime as a whole. I complain it wasn’t as funny, but it still occasionally got me knickered up, and I don’t think outside of Chihaya there was any character who I was tired of their jokes by the end of the series. I started to even come around to both Lucy and Hasebe’s quirks and they were slowly becoming more endearing to me. The so dense it hurts type of person can be absolutely hit or miss depending on the scene, and that applies here as well, but there were definitely times that her blissful ignorance came as a boon rather than a crippling pain.
The inconsistency of the way I felt about the humor is probably why I wasn’t sold overall. I feel bad to keep mentioning Working but the frame of reference is excellent in a lot of ways. That show suffered a lot of the same hang-ups for me in season 1 and ironed them out or improved upon itself almost all around by the middle of season 2. The lack of content here that exists makes me sad because of the potential that is never to be. I feel like I could be convinced to love this more if it had more seasons to possibly change my mind or have it slowly grow to appreciation. That isn’t the case though, so what I gotta critique is the rough edges of a diamond in the rough. A bit more polish and we could have comedy gold and super cute romance. Instead, we have a series that just doesn’t hit the mark all the time and manages to be lackluster because of it. I’m not mad, just disappointed. How’s the for me being your parent Servant x Service?
Random Fact: The average income of a Japanese government worker annually is 74K in USD. Not too bad right!? That’s roughly $36 an hour!
Show: Babylon
Year Aired: 2019-2020
Studio: Revoroot
Episodes: 12
Source: Novel
Watched For: Cwavs
Leave it to Cwavs to toss me some show I have never heard of that is filled with plenty of psychological and political food for thought. There are definitely a few different types of anime fans out there and while most of them are predictable in what they might recommend to you, that can not be said about this man. I literally never know what the hell he might share, which mind you, is part of the fun of this whole process. Babylon is exactly the type of series I want to see show up in these challenges. Will I like it even? I don’t even care, I just love having stuff springloaded onto my radar with no choice but forward! It’s what drives me to keep doing these things if I am being fully transparent. One of my greatest joys is discovery, and ladies and gents that is what this challenge has done.
Babylon is part murder mystery and part sociopolitical discussion on the topic of suicide being legalized. The story focuses on a Japanese investigator who is looking into the mysterious apparent suicide of someone. As he digs deeper down the rabbit hole he finds that others, including people he knows, are also dying by what seems to be suicide of their own choosing. It doesn’t make sense, and the mystery is all tied to a woman who is also linked to one of the gentlemen running for political office as Prime Minister of Japan. One of their biggest goals is to have an autonomous society within Japan and legalize suicide as an option for all its residents. The topic is obviously up for huge debate, and centralizes a lot of time of the plot, especially in the back half of the story. You’ve got mystery in why they want this, why people are dying, and who the heck is this lady intertwined in the web of confusion.
I would think it would be rather prudent to state the fact that this show will trigger or anger some people with the concept outright. Just don’t watch or even try it if that is the case. It’s not worth your time to seek out media content that generally upsets you or reminds you of things better put in the back of your mind. On the opposite side of the field, we have people who eat up this kind of stuff. Mystery, intrigue, and lots of death! You probably already planned to watch this if you haven’t heard of it first here, and you’ll enjoy plenty of that as well. I think this series is easily a make-or-break sort. The only caveat I want to mention is: If you are looking for answers to all the questions and for a neat bow to be tied onto the whole trail of questions; this does not happen here. This is a show that poses the inquiry without the need to tell you the outcome. Take that as you will.
Let’s get it out the damn way. COME ON….WHAT DO YOU MEAN WE DON’T GET ANSWERS ABOUT WHO AND WHY THE FUCK THIS POSSIBLE WHORE OF BABYLON IS!? God damn that was beyond frustrating. Not only did the majority of episodes 8-12 just focus on the topic of what people think of suicide and completely throw the mystery out the fucking window, but they just had to use the last 10 minutes to bring it back up and bring literally zero closure to it all. If that isn’t a cock tease of a story, I don’t know what is. Look, I love the topic being discussed from so many angles. I have my own thoughts on suicide legalization and find it a great ethical dilemma to present to anyone willing to have an open adult conversation. This show nails that into the wall all well and fine. The problem? That isn’t what the show starts with nor what made the narrative flow at its best. Ai Magase and the complete aura of enigma she exudes is brilliant in her introduction, and how she shows up always completely brings chaos to the world around her. How she can do it and why is such a deeply interesting question…that we never get an answer to.
I think the first seven episodes of this series are great. The twists and turns the story takes consistently keep the audience on the edge of their seat, and there is always something to mix things up when you least expect it. The crazy mass suicide of all the people surrounding the main character in the police force, essentially ripping him completely bare is palpably numbing to the heart. I was so excited to see what they would do after this, and it just shifts gears to being about the topic of suicide legally internationally and loses all focus on keeping a tight story. This is probably the most disappointed I felt during the entire challenge. It’s not like the content itself is bad either, it just doesn’t satisfy what came before it, and feels like we aren’t quite on the same page as before. Mix that with the ending that pretty much just blows sweaty ass and you get undercut hard. All the things I was into like the directing style, the surprises, and the mystery just don’t get followed through on and it hurts man….it hurts.
This is one of those shows I categorize as the sum of its parts take away from the better elements. When the series shines, it really does good work. It’s just a shame it can’t stick the landing and kept faltering after that point as well. I guess that is just how some media go though. You’ve got high and low points and the mixture of those creates the end result of your experience. It’s just a shame that this series doesn’t have that sprinkled throughout and all the weakest aspects are backloaded all the way into the finale. A show rarely goes good to just meh for me, but this is the case with Babylon. I think it might have one of the strongest starts and initial setup of anything in the challenge and probably the weakest delivery of the goods. Had I just had a better ending I could have even forgiven the shift in tone and direction that the international arc takes, but without it, well it feels like my whole journey was for naught. It’s almost like how I don’t have a good nonsequitur to end this paragraph with so I’ll just say weird mouth cam was a cool direction choice and ax murder is so faux pas.
Random Fact: The current rate for Japanese folks committing suicide is 17.2 deaths per 100K people. They regularly rank in the top ten in the world in this statistic.
Show: Interview with Monster Girls
Year Aired: 2017
Studio: A-1 Pictures
Episodes: 12
Source: Manga
Watched For: Joannethered
It seems like every year I do the challenge lately, someone tries to throw in a series that is part comedy and part wholesome message. I think back on stuff like Isekai Shokudou that managed to not only relax me during my watch but also have grown its fondness in my heart as time has passed. I feel that is the aim this show is going for when being shared with me at least. I know for a fact that people always seem slightly off-base when guessing what I find actually funny in the anime medium, but they aren’t as bad at finding things that are just soul food. I guess that is less subjective and more universal, but even then, we all have differences that set us apart, so you really never know what is going to be meaningful to someone until you talk it out properly. Oh would you look at that, I made a genius line that perfectly connects to my next paragraph. Late night high five to myself!
Interview with Monsters Girls for lack of better wording is basically a show about understanding others. The series is a big metaphor for students in school who live with differences from their peers and how common it is for the majority of people to not even consider how that impacts their day-to-day lives so much. In this case, it’s got a twist of the girls being supernatural beings so they have distinct quirks that could only be described as not normal. Whereas in real life you see people who might be in a wheelchair, have a completely different ethnicity, be of a different age group, be mentally handicapped, or something else altogether this series has the struggles of vampirism, being an ice princess, living as a dullahan, and of course how inconvenient being a succubus can be. The show approaches these girls who are so different from the lens of a science teacher who just wants to know more about demis(the nickname for supernatural peeps) and help them better acclimate to the social ladder of their school lives.
While there is a little bit of fanservice here and there, and more sexual talk than you’d expect, this show is mostly focused on being a comedy with a wholesome progression of the cast. If you are the type to find cute shows with gimmicks boring, you’d probably find this the same. However, if you are looking for something maybe relatable to struggling to fit in with your peers or just classic anime comedy hijinks of the modern era, then this would slot into your currently watching quite easily. I think the biggest aspect to keep in mind is your tolerance for certain jokes, and if you are the type who is easily bored by lighthearted comedies with a penchant to try and tug at your heart every few episodes with emotions rather than action. It’s light on melodrama and more on relationships and self-acceptance than it is trash bait. I repeat this show is not lazy bait and something that attempts to tell something people can latch onto. Whether you do or not is really up to your own experiences in life and what you get out of fiction.
I for one found this show surprisingly sweet! I thought it was mostly going to be a straight comedy and get bogged down on monster girl of the week shenanigans. Thankfully it keeps the focus narrow and doesn’t constantly expand itself until a new universe was born with a bang. Takahashi is a strong central lead as a mentor and inquiring mind that the girls can both be supported by from an educational level and as a friend. Every single girl gets something from being in contact with him and how he openly listens to them about everything and his great interest in who they are deep down. He is so passionate he sometimes forgets how certain questions might be embarrassing or inappropriate but these moments are few and far between and rarely detract from the building of the cast. I would say a lot of times I find it refreshing that he is just interested in learning from a scientific POV and removing the natural emotions we all suffer from social norms is actually pretty interesting, even if it certainly exists in the show because you know how Japanese writers can be. The vast majority of the time it’s very insightful and thoroughly interesting how you can tell the writer didn’t just pull straight from old lore and tried to personalize their versions of the classic demis.
So like I said, my only major complaint was some of the sexual jokes in the series. I just don’t need as many as the show has, but it comes from a place of innocence rather than degeneracy I feel, so I will forgive it. I was actually moved quite a lot by certain parts of the series and really loved the little-found family all the cast started to form around each other. It made stuff like the video to Takahashi at the end from Takanashi/crew especially cute. I also thought they were gonna make the entire cast have a thing for him but it just ended up being the one other adult character and one of the students, and I can get mad at the concept of a student being attracted to a mentor. It’s a real thing and honestly completely understandable, especially when that person listens to all your worries and has some fine fucking arms. Every episode pretty much finds some way to bring new creative information about one of the girls and their race. I found this to make the series interesting the entire time on top of being actually pretty funny to me. This was probably the funniest show out of the entire bunch, and the only one that made me laugh out loud at all.
Mixing some tenderhearted mushy stuff with solid comedy and what do you know? This is a recipe I can get behind! Honestly, if they would have cut out all the sex humor from everyone who isn’t the succubus and I’d have very little to complain about. It’s a tremendously pleasant show to watch and the insightful approach to presenting how important it is to try and connect with others by understanding their differences healthily is hard not to praise. It’s something I strive to do in life myself so seeing a show promote this type of behavior gets nothing less than a seal of approval. Not every conversation is deep, and some jokes are repetitive, but in general, this show fills a nice comfy spot in my heart that I can easily let it occupy. Oh, and the fact that I was actively curious about how a Dullahan has to go to the bathroom and can eat was answered….THANK YOU…JUST THANK YOU! You have no idea how many times I have these types of thoughts to never get it addressed. These people get me.
Random Fact: The most famous versions of the main characters’ demi race would be Dracula for vampire, the Headless Horseman for Dullahan, classic folklore for Yuki-onna, and Lilith for Succubus.
Show: Kokkoku
Year Aired: 2018
Studio: Geno Studio
Episodes: 12
Source: Manga
Watched For: Br00klyn
In a world filled with school-centric anime, I will say something is refreshing about anime series that are completely different. With Kokkoku we have a committed science fiction narrative that never once tries to focus on being mainstream or catering to what makes anime popular worldwide. It has a story to tell and it is here to do just that. If you don’t like what you see, well too bad because that is what you are gonna get. NOW SIT DOWN AND DRINK YOUR GOD DAMN TEA! Maybe it is because I watch so many anime trying to tackle the same ideas and use the same setting that I get all giddy like a kid when you tell me this show is gonna do this instead. Does that instantly make it a win for me? Of course not! You should know by now that I am a shrewd person who requires the plot and cast to please me, but I won’t lie that my intrigue has already been firmly grasped by something when it at least attempts to tell a story first and foremost before just being a property that exists to make more money.
Kokkoku uses an entire town as the setting and the bulk of the screen time has the narrative take place with time frozen in place outside of all the characters who are central to the plot. There are specific reasons why they can move in a frozen world like this and why it is important in general. I won’t tell you plebians that reason today because it is easily part of what makes the journey worth taking in the first place. Go out there and discover why these people are in this world and why their battle against those trying to take advantage of the frozen world is meant to be compelling. All you need to know is there is a distinct element of danger present throughout and this story follows a poor struggling Japanese family caught up in a whole world of mess. It’s a trippy ride, but if you are a sci-fi junkie you’ll appreciate it no doubt.
That’s gotta be the aspect that will either turn you away or make this a thrill ride from start to finish for most anime fans. This anime has a core concept and the whole show revolves around it. If you don’t engage with that, the whole story falls flat and will be an utter chore. On the flip side if the first episode or two grabs you firmly by the proverbial testicles then you will be unable to put down Kokkoku anytime soon. I personally don’t have this issue like most folks and will stick through something either way, but hey what can I say? I’m not better than you, just better at watching anime than you! Okay, that was a bold lie, but hey if you got your jimmies rustled maybe you will want to watch this series to prove me wrong which in that case I win. See, it’s not that hard at the end of the day to win the argument with yourself writing the outcome every time.
Commitment to the bit! I can’t believe this series actually stayed within the frozen world the entire time basically. There is so much dense lore, family history, and desire to create a new future all tied to it. It’s really something unique in the anime landscape that I find incredibly interesting. We don’t have a lot of well-thought-out science fiction stories that really delve deep into their ideas in a way that feels tangible and not completely nutso abstract. I think Kokkoku does a great job slowly introducing its concepts one at a time while expanding the scope of the conflicts within. The whole story plays out with far more actual storytelling than just action sequences. With the whole lunatic religious fanatic element present the series could have gotten rather dull quickly had it devolved into meanderfilled squabbles. Instead, there is a lasertight focus on the family trying to escape, and the cult trying to obtain their goal. It doesn’t get too wild from their objective standpoint but there are definitely some neat reveals that upend the current events quite a bit when they do happen. The biggest one of course is the transformation of the main antagonist into somewhere between human and guardian. Once he does this, he becomes the main threat to everything, yet even his goals aren’t really typically bad guy material and far more a self-interest than anything else. This series sticks with the idea of not telling a story in a way you’d expect just because and feels pretty fresh because of it.
I do have a pretty large gripe with the show though. Well, I guess two, but the other issue is probably a me thing. First off, the dad, son, and grandkid…all basically worthless to the plot. They bring a little bit at the very end, but that’s really only the grandson who does. The other two function as just obstacles that delay the plot and bring nothing of character value or interest. They are just two guys who don’t have their shit together and bring their F game all the time. I found both of them infuriating to watch on screen and didn’t care about them in the slightest. That is actually a problem in general with Kokkoku. The family is the main cast and their outcomes are what the conflict hinges on. The problem is they never spend any time really investing us into anyone outside of the Grandfather and Juri, who don’t even have that much backstory to begin with. This might be a contrarian idea, but this series should have had more episodes and spent a few of those building up the cast from the start so I was more invested in their plight. Instead, it feels like a movie split into a series where there wasn’t enough runtime to tell the story and build a full fleshed-out cast.
My other issue is the ending. It just sort of happens so quickly and without much lead in that, it feels way too convenient. Not only do we get an unremarkably short amount of screentime for Juri being stuck in Stasis alone, but she just gets saved right when she is about to give up too. Not by anyone really preestablished either mind you, just an omnipotent character of the lore who only showed up in the background once early on. It feels like an asspull of an ending in an otherwise really thought-out concept and narrative. This is where I would have once again put more episodes into the series. A few of just seeing the life of stasis alone and exploring the effects on the psyche and whatnot. It would have made plenty of time to possibly explore the idea of introducing this character subtly and the impact of Juri’s descent of lucidity more emotionally resonant. Maybe that’s just me but that is what keeps this series back from an otherwise really compelling story.
Random Fact: There are real phenomena that cause time dilation similar to that of a stasis field. Extremely high velocities approaching light speed or immensely powerful gravitational fields such as those existing near the event horizons of black holes will cause time to progress more slowly. However, there is no known theoretical way of causing such time dilation independently of such conditions.
Show: Taisho Otome Fairy Tale
Year Aired: 2021
Studio: SynergySP
Episodes: 12
Source: Manga
Watched For: Futatsu
There is always that scary realization I have when people want to share romance series with me. Am I going to hate it, and just absolutely tear into it, and break their faith in my ability to like love stories? People seem to think one of two things about me. Either I love romance or hate it. I like to think I enjoy it in general and most anime fans have tastes in “love” that I don’t relate to or enjoy the depiction of. Thankfully, in this case, the series being shared with me is from my actual girlfriend, so that certainly brings a little more faith that she would understand something about my tastes in that regard. Of course, I tend to disappoint her plenty with my peculiar views at times, but hey we can’t agree on everything right!?
Taisho Otome is a historical series set in…yep you guessed it, the Taisho period of Japan. It follows a young man named Tamahiko who has been completely ostracized by his family after surviving a terrible accident that claimed the life of his mother and the mobility/use of his right arm. Being a poor choice for marriage and work to help the family prosper they sent him away to the mountains to be forgotten about to not tarnish the name. To help settle a family debt owed to them his father buys a young woman to take care of him as a potential future wife. Her name is Yuzu and she is the principal main love interest in this story. While the initial premise sounds quite harrowing and depressing the anime is way more centered on the other side of that journey. Not the living through struggle, but the act of trying to move forward again after the fact. Tamahiko is hopeless and has no aspirations for his future at this point, but Yuzu is the ever-optimistic realist and tries to not only make the best of the situation she is in but heal the broken soul of her betrothed.
This is the type of anime that one would classify as trying to be cute, wholesome, and funny to mend the pessimistic heart. I think most anime fans would find it to be just that too, as generally most people like this type of style, and like sugary sweet depictions of couples. For all the tsunderes and will they or won’t they couples out there, sometimes people just want a show that is literally just two people who get along and start to fall in love with one another. I’d imagine some people would be terribly bored by the execution or find the idea to be trite compared to the more dramatic romantic plots that exist out there. Others who prefer things to not bog them down and just want the comfy feeling of supportive love will probably be quite happy when consuming this though. Just like love itself, people are about as fickle with what appeals to them in the anime world. If you know yourself you’ll have a decent idea if this series has the potential to worm itself into your heart or not. Up to you if you want to open that door or not.
When the flooooooof monster takes hold of your heart! This series is just flipping adorable. It’s like a warm hug straight to my depressed heart. I would categorize it as a healing anime of sorts with how much precious fuzziness envelops you as you watch it. I wasn’t sure what to think at first with the rounder/cuter style at first, but a few minutes passed and I was completely over that. Like a spring storm is no exaggeration. Yuzu is a tiny ball of life and love. If you don’t like this girl, we can’t be friends, enough said. The influence of her personality and kindness spreads like a disease, except instead of the blight killing everything in sight it creates a world of goodwill and liveliness. I like the entire cast as a whole, but I do think the lynchpin that holds the entire thing together is Yuzu. Which I guess makes sense with how putting her in peril towards the end of the series is as tense as you could get for a series like this. If she doesn’t get a happy ending, then what is this world truly? It’s cruel enough as it is, we can’t make it even worse for people by taking out the treasure of a person.
One of the best aspects of Taisho Otome outside the main girl being a beacon of lovely is just the general progression everyone gets. Just about every character you first meet comes off as either negative, mean or with some other personality defect. Through acts of thoughtfulness and kindness, they slowly open their hearts back up after all the pain they suffered through to try and be their best again. Yuzu is almost always related as a catalyst in some way or another, and this is more apparent with Tamahiko than anyone else. We see his journey from depressed recluse to literally running around a destroyed Tokyo being helped by so many friends and connections he has to try and salvage his happiness. Everyone gets a small character arc and grows to some extent, but none more than him. It really goes to show how useful and important it is to be considerate of others, not give up on yourself, or to spread love. One person can change the world around them on the microscale and from that the domino effect spurs on the rest. Don’t ever forget how one act of kindness begets another.
While I do wish the series had a few more in-depth conversations between Tamahiko and Yuzu or just more time, in general, focused on them, I won’t deny I was pleased overall for my whole experience. Little things her
