Lighter season for me. Quite a lot I’d like to catch up on.

New:

• Frieren - my 2023 AOTY. This’ll be a must-watch.
• The Dangers in my Heart S2 - first season was so much better than I expected. Definitely check this out.
• Solo Leveling - know nothing about it, but there’s a lot of buzz, so I’ll try a couple episodes.

Catch-up:

• Apothecary Diaries - lots of buzz, but haven’t had time yet.
• Helck - almost finished. Enjoyed way more than I expected.
• The Eminence in Shadow S2 - stalled after a few episodes. Wasn’t in the right mood. Try again in winter.
• Pluto - only watched first episode. Good so far, but hasn’t captured me.
• 100 Girlfriends - almost finished. Didn’t like it as much as I expected, but I’m enjoying it more the wackier it gets.

Might finally find time for:

• Trigun (OG) - slowly tinkering through it.
• JJK - stalled somewhere in S1.
• Slime-san - somewhere in S2?
• Ancient Magus’ Bride

I had somewhat written SpyXFamily off after the second half of S1. I disliked several of the characters and it seemed to be going nowhere (especially a certain mini sports arc). But I’ve caught up with S2 now and it’s the most I’ve enjoyed the series since the first three episodes. Makes me way more optimistic for the future of the series.

Almost caught up with Helck and I didn’t think the extensive flashbacks were nearly as bad as I’d heard about. I thought it was pretty compelling and added a surprising depth to the world building. Still enjoying this one a lot.

I’m almost caught up with Girlfriend, Girlfriend and it’s not quite succeeding as much as the first season for me. The incredibly stupid moments of the beginning made up for the dumbness of the harem. I’m there for the dumb, and there’s only been a few moments I actually lol’d at. The sincere heartfelt moments don’t really work for me, since I think the concept of the harem is so ridiculous. Except maybe Shino. She’s so sincere and somewhat has a brain, so she feels like she might be an actual character.

I feel kinda similarly about 100 Girlfriends. I’m there for the ridiculousness, but they’ve been including several sincere moments that I struggle with. I’m pretty far behind here though. Maybe it gets better.

Ooooooh I didn’t know Frieren was continuing for next season! It’s really gonna get my aoty for 2 years in a row, isn’t it…

The others aren’t really jumping at me. Might be lighter for my tastes, so maybe I’ll catch up with all the stuff I missed from the current season.

Finally got some time to watch a bit:

• The Attack on Titan finale was great, imo. I think that pretty much secured it as my all time #1 for a completed series that’s more than 1 season. It’s not perfect, for sure, but it got so much right considering the weight of its story. Really liked it.
• Almost done with Castlevania Nocturne. I know many don’t really consider it anime, but it’s close enough I throw it in. I like it, but the stakes are harder to care about compared to the very engaging first season premise, and the characters aren’t quite as charming. Still a fun story and worth watching.
• Still keeping up with Frieren (phenomenal), and a bit behind in Helck, Eminence S2, Girlfriend Girlfriend, 100 Girlfriends, SpyXFamily. Enjoying them all.
• Tried first episode of Pluto and was imptessed. Throwing it on the to-watch mountain.
• Still need to get to Apothecary Diaries, Blue Eyed Samurai, and new Scott Pilgrim. This season has truly been ridiculous.

Oh and got a good lol from those examples of spicy takes. Almost spit out my coffee. Whew.

Finally got a little time to watch this week. Wrapped up my HBO Max journey by finishing the last couple movies I don’t have on disc. Turns out four of them I had picked up on previous Black Friday sales and forgot haha.

Belle: I enjoyed it and the animation was very good. But probably my least favorite Mamoru Hosoda film. Wolf Children and Mirai are easily my favorites, while this felt like mostly a retread of Summer Wars. Where it went different than Summer Wars, especially the more challenging content topics, I think it could’ve done better with a more complete message. This gets too spoilery to discuss further unfortunately. It’s worth watching, still.

From Up on Poppy Hill: I liked this much more than the last Goro Miyazaki film I watched (Earwig). Similar to Only Yesterday, it was a really nice look into a specific time period in Japan. This time the early 1960’s, with the massive developments going on in Tokyo and nearby cities. This felt like a typical Ghibli film, with very likable and strong female protagonist and a plot with a strong moral message about respecting the past/heritage. I enjoyed it more than Belle and was one of my favorites I’ve been blasting through. Still need to get to Tales of Earthsea sometime to complete my Goro journey.

Caught up on Frieren and absolutely loving it. If it keeps up, it’s going to take AOTY from Oshi no Ko for me.

Been a very busy week so haven’t had a lot of time to watch.

I did manage to get HiDive working after the update, so caught up on Eminence in Shadow and enjoying the new season a lot.

Only a bit of progress on clearing my HBO Max catalog before sub ends. Only Yesterday was a really interesting look into what Japanese life looked like in 70s and 80s, with an enjoyable cast and story. I really liked the art style of the memory sections. Glad I made time for it.

I had been planning on continuing to catch up with Helck and try out the new Eminence in Shadow, but my Apple TV updated, and now the HiDive app won’t work. I’d say I hope they’ll fix it soon, but I have very little faith in the HiDive app team to do anything at all. Best bet is to figure out another device that can at least get it streaming…

Otherwise, I’m trying out new releases like Kanojo mo Kanojo, SpyXFamily, Frieren, and Shield Hero. I think I may finally drop Shield Hero though. That last arc was rough and I’m not blown away by the start of this one. Also watching the new Castlevania.

Oh I’m also trying to blast through the remaining anime on HBO Max because my sub expires later this month. Tried Ride Your Wave and The Secret World of Arrietty. Both were good, but not top tier classics. And Earwig and the Witch. It wasn’t as bad as some had made it out to be, but… that’s about the best I can say. I think I have 7 more I need to watch.

I’ll be honest: I thought Campfire Cooking looked like another generic low effort isekai anime, so I didn’t even give it a try. With your input, I’ll give it a shot. I’m looking for a lighter good feeling show to cap evenings, and this might be just right.

As others have said, I’d probably not post at all if there’s no automated post. I like them and lurk frequently, but also agree there’s too many with zero participation. Either a cutoff of 5-10 shows that are the highest popularity or simply cutting a show after 1-2 weeks of zero comments would simplify it well.

I’d also add another recommendation here that might help with participation. I’m frequently watching older shows or stuff that’s a few weeks behind. Would anybody be interested in a weekly general “what did you watch this week and what did you think of it” thread?