wjs018 @ wjs018 @lemmy.ml

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2 yr. ago

Horimiya this season feels a bit underwhelming. I feel like if the original run had incorporated these bits into the story and the show expanded to two seasons it would have worked better. However, trying to tell these stories removed from the context of the larger story does them a disservice.

I also think there is a reason most of these bits of the story were cut originally. I think the first season rightly focused more on just Hori and Miyamura. A lot of the episodes of this season focus on other characters with Hori/Miyamura acting as a supporting character instead. They are cute stories, but just don't have the same narrative heft as when the main couple is the focus.

I hadn't heard of this one before, but the premise is super interesting. As somebody that reads way too much isekai (see my wall of text in this thread), most of them waste a huge potential of the genre that this one focuses on. Namely, the whole premise of (most) isekai is that there is one or more people that vanish from their world. However, we usually never see anything about the people and places that were left behind. This is one of the reasons why I am of the firm belief that most isekai are just fantasy stories that have the unneeded addition of the reincarnation/summoning/whatever isekai element added to them.

The Dragon, The Hero, and the Courier looks interesting, definitely going on the to-read list!

Yeah, I think I just wasn't really a fan of the disappearing princess arc because I have enjoyed the series more since they moved past it. I think I also just enjoyed the opening cast of characters so much (Rose and the other healing mages in particular), that I am missing them. I am really looking forward to the anime adaptation in Winter as the first part of the story was my favorite part.

Yeah, agreed. I understand that the series is posted on Twitter, so there is a four image limit per post, but man if I don't want some longer, meatier chapters out of this one.

Over the past fortnight I have focused catching up with series (mostly isekai, I have a problem) that I had read partway and then let slip by the wayside for one reason or another. I have listed a selection of those below. However, before that I just want to encourage more people to read Atsumare! Fushigi Kenkyu-bu as it has been consistently great for a long time. With that out of the way, some selected series I have been catching up on in no particular order:

• Konjiki no Word Master - Yuusha Yonin ni Makikomareta Unique Cheat: I have read up through what is translated of the WN for this series and enjoyed it. The manga is a good portion through the story that I have read (if memory serves). Overall, I like the art in this one and the story is good enough to keep my interest though the pacing can be a bit uneven. The most recent chapters have really reinforced my opinion that Eveam is best girl.
• The Wrong Way to Use Healing Magic: I have not read any of the source material for this story. I had stopped keeping up with the manga during the arc (trying to keep it spoiler-free) centering around trying to save a disappearing princess. Overall, I think the ensemble and MC of this story is good, but it tends to have a bad habit of splitting the party and only focusing on the MC and 1-2 other characters. The story has not been as interesting in my opinion since the MC left on his journey to be a letter carrier.
• Reincarnated as an Aristocrat with an Appraisal Skill: This story is a weird one. I actually like the characters individually and the interactions when they are together, but all of that feels out of place with the rest of the world that the story is set in. This story feels like if you take the characters from a slow-paced iyashikei series, but then puts them in a pretty dark world full of the horrors of war. The setting just feels discordant with the characters.
• Saihate no Paladin: I had dropped this one when it entered its city-building, dwarf-training phase. However, after picking it back up again, I am pretty on board with the dragon-hunting arc. In particular, I think this series really benefits when it focuses less on the supporting characters and more on Will and his moral dilemmas. As an example of what I mean, I especially loved Chapter 47 and the conversation with Stagnate. It had similar vibes to Bilbo/Gollum from The Hobbit.
• Lv2 kara Cheat datta Moto Yuusha Kouho no Mattari Isekai Life: Honestly, I caught up with this one, but might just drop it. It still hasn't hooked me with the most recent arcs. I think this story is one which would be better served by focusing on the fluffy, feel-good relationship side of things and less on the serious world-at-war storyline. The main couple is great, but we only get glimpses of them being a couple because the rest of the world and its story that I don't care much about keeps intruding.
• Tensei Shitara Ken Deshita: I have not been a fan of the arc in which they go to some island undergoing a revolution and had dropped this series early on in that arc. However, after forcing myself to get past it, the story has picked back up. This is a series that is at its best when it focuses on the relationship between Fran and her sword. The island arc just expanded the cast too much and made Fran into a bystander while other people lived out their stories. I am fully back on board now that since we are currently in a (cooking) tournament arc, so you know it will be good.

There are other series I have caught up on but I frankly don't feel like writing more, so I have included very short impressions below, but can expand if there is interest:

• Otomege Sekai wa Mob ni Kibishii Sekai desu: Not a huge fan
• Isekai wa Smartphone to Tomo ni: This one deserves all the razzing it gets
• Kuma Kuma Kuma Bear: Still cute and fun in its own way
• Yondome wa Iya na Shizokusei Majutsushi: Interesting story, but can't help but feel there is important plot lost in the adaptation from LNs
• The Modern Strongest Hero Who Came Home: This one isn't really stupid fun...just remains pretty stupid
• Finally, last and also least Kanojo, Okarishimasu: One of the things I miss the most from reddit are the many, many ways /r/manga used to shit on this series. Once even they were tired of beating that dead horse I let this series go. I am proud to report that, after catching up, it remains just as bad as before.

I thought it was cute and a quick read with only ~4 pages per chapter. With a light-novel-esque title like that, there was no way I wasn't going to share with the community.

Thanks! I'll give it another shot then.

Folks that have read this far in the story, is it worth going back into? I bounced off the first couple chapters and dropped it, so I am not sure if it got better or not.

Yeah, those two have really similar vibes. I tend to prefer Uzaki because Akutsu is perpetually stuck in this phase where they won't even ask each other out despite living together. That being said, I still read and enjoy both.

I hope this series turns out well. I love the WN and the manga has been great. If you liked the vibe of My Next Life as a Villainess: All Routes Lead to Doom!, then this one has a similar sense of humor but with an OP MC.

Yeah, the anime wasn't the clearest in this regard. Since you already watched season 1, I don't feel bad writing out the explanations below, but for those that haven't seen the series yet; spoilers ahead.

Basically, Cid made up the Cult of Diabolos as a cool sounding story when he explained it to Alpha as a child. In the scene you see him grab a book and look at a bottle label. These were inspiration for the story he was making up. Specifically, there is a legend in the world of heroes that slayed the great demon Diabolos and saved humanity. Think of this legend similar to tales of the city of Troy is in our world. Achilles, Hector, etc. are mythical figures much like the heroes (like Olivier) are in that world. He made up this story featuring elements of the mythology around him because he thought it sounded cool (who wouldn't want blood of the heroes running through their veins).

What Cid didn't (still doesn't, and likely never will) realize is that there is an actual Cult of Diabolos that has exerted its influence in the background of society for ages. They conduct research on what remains of Diabolos (revealed to be Aurora the Witch of Calamity) to try to extract its power (eg. the red pills Grease and Zenon use to power up) or extend their life (the drops that the Knights of Round use). The cult uses the church as a means to gather and experiment with/exterminate all the people that show signs of possession. These individuals are the ones with the most active expression of heroes blood. Basically, possession is the result of the magically powerful heroes blood running out of control with magical energy so that the host body can't control it. When Cid or the girls cure someone of possession, it is rewriting the way their body controls magic to be able to fully harness all of that magical potential. This is one of the reasons why the Shadow Garden girls are so powerful.

So, to recap, Cid told Alpha that Diabolos placed a curse on the heroes so that their descendants suffer from possession while the Cult then experiments/disposes of the possessed. He was essentially correct, but the "curse" that Diabolos placed on the heroes was actually a result of the Cult itself experimenting with implanting Diabolos' cells in children, creating the heroes.

I thought the end of the duel was set up pretty well. We, the viewer, see Miyo earlier wanting to rush out, but is held back. Then, as the fight is about to reach its conclusion she does (appear to) rush in. When the sound of the gun went off, I fully believed it because we were already primed to expect her to rush in. The illusion was super effective (at least on me and Kudo).

Spoilerful discussion below. If you haven't read up through LN4, then proceed at your own risk (I will not discuss LN5 or mobile game only content).

Premieres October 4 with a new OP by OxT once again. 12 episodes long this season.

Based on the characters/outfits in the visual (as well as the new trailer) looks like they are planning on adapting at least up through the first arc of LN Vol 4. That means ~4 episodes per arc, similar to Season 1.

Loved the fakeout with Vermilio coming onto the beach in what appears to be grief but turns out to just be frustration with Helck. Also loved that she took the time to cross the finish line to make the others happy; didn't even push back on it after Piwi pointed it out. The cohesion and mutual trust between Vermilio and Helck has developed very naturally.

Agreed! I think a great moment after she traveled back in time was when her companions stopped her and asked her what's going on. They knew right away something was different despite Frieren's attempts to hide it. It served to show how close she was with her old party as well as how much she has unknowingly changed over time due to their (and her later party's) influence on her.

I think Frieren is at its best when it is slow-paced, introspective, and even a bit philosophical. I was worried during the El Dorado arc that this story was going to pivot to have a bit more of an action/battle focus (even though there was plenty of non-battle content as well). This arc is a great return to form in my opinion.

In this chapter, there is a fight, but it mainly happens out of view and is implied. The focus is instead Frieren reflecting on her companions (old and new) and the nature of her journeys. Time travel stories have a tendency to become muddled and confusing, but so far this one has provided some great character building and has provided readers with a much better view of Frieren's old companions and allows us (and Frieren) to better understand the bonds she has with others.

So glad this one is back after hiatus.

Great episode this week. We finally got some background on the final member of the party, though we haven't seen her in the current time yet. Also had some great action between Leo and Fred and (briefly the Demon Lord). Finally, I loved the gags around Max riding his bike. I wasn't expecting commentary on multi-modal infrastructure in my silly anime show, but it was appreciated. Glad they included the post credit scene for some closure on the flashback.