Completed:

• Hell’s Paradise - Well the big surprise was I thought this was a single season show. It mostly definitely is not. Still, I ended up much more satisfied than I was for the first half. Initially felt like an excuse for extreme bloody violence. By the end, I liked several of the characters quite a lot and am very curious where the story goes. If there’s a season 2, I’ll likely continue.

Current releases, following weekly (roughly organized by decreasing interest):

• Oshi No Ko S2 - No new episode.
• Makeine - Still great. The curious thing for me in this anime is it flirts with common tropes, but then subverts it somehow that makes it not bother me. I wish it just avoided certain situations completely, which would make this a much easier recommendation to non-regular-anime-watchers.
• Pseudo Harem - Great episode. This couple is adorable.
• I Parry Everything - Another episode where the stakes just keep going up, and it gets beyond the level of absurd I thought it could do.
• Alya Sometimes Hides Her Feelings… - More anime tropes I find very boring, but at least it was only part of the episode this time. When it focuses more on the relationship of the main couple, it’s much better.

Watched part of, but not up to date:

• Dungeon People - 6 episodes. Fun and easy watch. The content sometimes surprises me. It looks like it’d be relatively safe for kids, then something happens or is referenced and I realize it’s more adult than it looks.
• Days With My Stepsister - 4 episodes. Watched because it keeps hitting very high on the weekly charts. I’m super leery of the subject, but it’s surprisingly mature and realistic. Veerrrry slow though. It’s good enough I’ll keep going, because I think it started really climbing the charts for its later episodes.
• Wistoria - 3 episodes. Watched because it’s been higher on charts. Fun story, good animation, likable characters, interesting world. Ya I’ll probably keep going.
• No Longer Allowed In Another World - 1 episode. Watched because charts. The obsession with suicide is very off putting (I don’t think this subject should be handled to lightly…), and then I learned the MC is based on a real person (who actually died by suicide) and that made it feel really icky to me. I’ll admit, I laughed several times in the first episode. But I dunno if I’ll keep going.

Is it too early to start thinking about next season? (Credit and blame to MAL)

Fall 2024 Lineup:

Completed the following:

My Dress-Up Darling

Heard plenty of praises for it before. It moved up my priority queue thanks to the latest manga chapters.

It is good as expected and I can see why everyone likes Marin. In fact, I’d say she carried the show quite a bit. Wakana does not have as much of an impact but he’s decent too.

Like most other seinen romances that I’ve consumed, there’s a lack of unnecessary drama. For example, at the end of episode 10

Those shounen and shoujo romances can learn from this (though at that point, they would probably be considered seinen and jousei).

It’s among my potential top favourites at the moment (i.e. score of 9 / 10). Looking forward to the next season.

Coincidentally, I picked up the manga The Story of a Succubus Who Came to the Human World. It looks like it’s inspired (or referenced) by the succubus manga from My Dress-Up Darling. Real cute and wholesome.

WorldEnd: What are you doing at the end of the world? Are you busy? Will you save us?

Kinda like Captain America but in a fantasy world.

This anime surprisingly fulfills many of my criteria for a Gundam-like show. At one point, I was half-expecting the talisman to float around and attack enemies like funnels / dragoons / gund bits.

Not sure if it’s because the anime tried to adapt too much of the source material in too few episodes, but I find that there’s a lack of explanation and depth when it comes to characterization and world-building.

Due to its flaws, I’ve gotta give it a 7 or 8 / 10