Anime News Network reported that Crunchyroll is adding Girls Band Cry, a spring 2024 anime, on November 6. Girls Band Cry was perhaps the only high profile anime of 2024 to not be officially simulcast. News of Crunchyroll’s picking it up is bittersweet for me. I am a Crunchyroll subscriber. But I purchased Girls Band Cry on Amazon (in the digital purchase is really a rental sense) early last month. Fortunately, I actually watched all 13 episodes in early-to-mid September, so I got some value from the “purchase” before it officially arrives on Crunchyroll. I had been on the fence about writing a Girls Band Cry review, but now I almost certainly will with the news that it is arriving on Crunchyroll. Now can you expect to see it ranked in my year-end top-six anime of 2024 in a couple of months (see my 2023 ranking)? I did (mostly) like Girls Band Cry, but we are close enough th the end of the year that I will issue a no comment on its prospects.
Tag: anime 2024
The Annoying Anna Aveiro in Narenare: Cheer For You!
Maybe I could get through [Nanare Hananare] on a binge watch, but I doubt I’d like it, so I’m just not going to bother. Also Anna is god awful.
Takafumi of the Pls No Hate blog posted his review of the summer 2024 anime season. I always enjoy Takafumi’s reviews, both because of the good analysis and also because they include many shows I avoid. But one show we both watched and failed to finish was P.A. Works’ Nanare Hananare (localized by Crunchyroll as Narenare: Cheer For You!). Takafumi got through 2 episodes. I managed to make it through six before tapping out (I think I lost here). I had already begun writing an article over the weekend about my sometimes-difficult relationship with anime by studio P.A. Works, and I figured being able to link to a brief note on its most recently completed anime would be a nice addition to that in-progress article.
In his brief analysis of the first two Nanare Hananare episodes, Takafumi opined that “Anna is god awful.” “Anna” refers to Anna Aveiro, a blonde, overly-energetic, Japanese-Brazilian girl who gets the ball in the series rolling (despite not being the principal main protagonist) by roping four other girls into producing content for her online video channel. Despite the fact that Anna is Brazilian, it would be easy to confuse her with many of anime’s blonde Americans. She is hyper-active, very loud, blunt, has no concept of personal space, and has some very interesting English pronunciations for a supposedly native speaker.
I agree with Takafumi that Anna was annoying in the first two episodes. Takafumi also said of the show “Maybe I could get through it on a binge watch, but I doubt I’d like it, so I’m just not going to bother.” From someone who watched six episodes, allow me to opine that not bothering is the safe choice. Anna gets her own character arc in episodes 4-5 about trying to keep a musty local record store that she loves from closing. The show does establish why the record store is important to Anna. Given that she is in high school, one may think that this would be an opportunity for Anna to accept that businesses come and go and to express her gratitude to the store owner who had run his record shop as a labor of love and consistently treated her well. Instead, Anna throws a tantrum, sulks, and generally acts like a 10-year old before summoning foreign celebrities to Japan (with some of the worst anime-English I have heared, bad as in how I would sound trying to pronounce Japanese). The arc was not helped by the fact that everyone, from the other main characters to entirely new characters, indulged Anna all the way through the arc’s improbable positive conclusion. I stuck it out one episode after the arc, but I had lost all hope for the show after Anna and the record store.
As I noted at the top, I have a difficult relationship with studio P.A. Works. It produced what was nearly my 2015 anime of the year (Shirobako) and a few other pieces I like (True Tears and Sakura Quest). But mixed in with those are pleasant mediocrities (Tari Tari), series which underachieved on account of annoying characters (Hanasaku Iroha and The Aquatope on White Sand), underachievers for lack of direction (Angel Beats), trainwrecks that got my hopes up with pretty previews (Glasslip), and at least one anime atrocity (Charlotte). I will describe Nanare Hananare as an inoffensive mess. I could see someone who does not find Anna obnoxious and does not expect too much from Nanare Hananare finding it somewhat pleasant.
(Anna Aveiro aside, I will note that 2024 has been generous to other anime Annas, but that will have to wait for my 2024 year-end review in a few months.)
MF Ghost S2 PV
I have seen more than enough anime series in 2024 thus far to be reasonably (not absolutely) confident that the second season of MF Ghost will not be a realistic contender for my annual year-end top-six ranking. With that out of the way, count me as excited to watch the Chad-faced protagonist Kanata engage in some high-octane drifting, disappearing line attacks, and late breaking. As I noted in my 2023 ranking article,while MF Ghost missed by year-end top six by 2-3 spots, I often found myself looking forward to it more than my anime of the year choice, which happened to air on the same day. With luck, maybe MF Ghost season 2 will cut down on everything that doesn’t involve racing (its romance writing is on par with its predecessor, Initial D, and I submit for the record that this is not a complement).
BokuYaba to Initial D
I watched the second season of The Dangers in My Heart (“BokuYaba”) as a simulcast after watching and reviewing the first season. While I do not want to fully spoil my upcoming New Leaf Journal review of season two, I’ll note that the second season is was the strongest anime of winter 2024 and a very early anime of the year candidate (impressive in light of the fact the first season came in outside of my 2023 top six series). The second season finale aired on Saturday, March 30 and I watched it a little bit after midnight on Easter the 31st. It was an excellent final episode that ended on a very sweet note. But maybe it was too sweet. I was satisfied with the way the season concluded but I needed a change before a checked out for the night (or morning). I have been watching Initial D for the first time after being inspired to try it by MF Ghost (which aired in fall 2023). For those not in the know, Initial D mostly consists of street car racing against a Eurobeat sound-track. It is not at all sweet. It has some awful anime romance writing but the races are great fun. I watched the first two episodes of Fourth Stage right after the Dangers in My Heart finale. Just the contrast I was looking for — very satisfying.
2024 Winter Anime Mid-Season Impressions
I caught up on all the winter series I decided to follow as simulcasts. Below are my (mostly) one-sentence impressions thus far. I publish a year-end top six anime series list annually over at The New Leaf Journal, so I will note which series I view as potential candidates for 2024 based on how they compare to one another and also to series that have made my top-six in previous years.
- 7th Time Loop: The Villainess Enjoys a Carefree Life Married to Her Worst Enemy: It is much better than the ridiculous (somewhat misleading) title and it has had some good episodes, but cracks started to show in the writing and setting with the introduction of a certain sibling.
- A Sign of Affection (thru 8): This is a solid effort all around and one of the better shoujo series I have seen in recent years — it should be a solid year-end top-six candidate with a good finish. (Note: I may be somewhat biased due to its exemplary attention to hair color detail.)
- Bottom-tier Character Tomozaki-kun: 2nd Stage (thru 8): This has erred on the disappointing side with its odd pacing and sometimes-shaky writing, but it has had its moments — episode 8 was its best episode of the first 8 and delivered what should stand as one of the better moments in 2024 anime.
- BUCCHIGIRL?! (thru 6.5): A trashy delinquent comedy that feels like it is from a different era and stays watchable by not forgetting what it is.
- Frieren: Beyond Journey’s End (thru 24): It has had some genuinely excellent moments and seems like a near-lock for best aesthetics of 2024, but episodes 18-24 have been shaky (read: boring and very uncomfortable depicting action) to put it generously. It is still a likely top-six prospect but any chance it had to be in the series of the year mix have gone by the first class mage exam wayside.
- Metallic Rouge (thru 7): It’s a convoluted mess but I’ll watch to the end for some unknown reason.
- The Apothecary Diaries (thru 20): Its generally strong start has been underminded by its unsatisfying mysteries (a problem for a mystery show) and its passion for using Maomao’s (or Xiaomao’s) long, winding monologues to advance the plot.
- The Dangers in My Heart (thru 7): The class of the season and the only anime of the year caliber show of the winter bunch. I expected it to improve over last year’s season one, but not go go from borderline-top six candidate (it missed my 2023 top-six list but would have made 2022) to potential series of the year.
- Sengoku Youko (thru 7): This is admittedly not my cup of tea but it built up to an excellent episode 7 and has done enough to keep me around so far.
- Shangri-La Frontier (thru 20): I respect this series for turning the sort of dumb premise that usually makes me run for the hills into a genuinely fun, excellently-animated show that makes for a good watch on Sundays.
- The Demon Prince of Momochi House (thru 8): I am in a strange place with Momochi where I find it slightly boring but also find myself looking forward to it. So long as the ambulatory daikon (I thought it was a turnip, but it is a raddish) keeps appearing every episode, we have an unexpected borderline top-six candidate with a solid finish.
- Urusei Yatsura [S3] (thru 9): There’s an animation cut toward the end of the new OP that is about as pretty as anything you will see in anime (AS FOR THE ACTUAL SEASON THEY STILL YELL ALL THEIR LINES SO IT IS STILL VERY MUCH URUSEI YELLSURA).
All in all, winter 2024 has been solid and certainly better than winter 2023, which ultimately yielded no top-six entries in my final 2023 ranking. Dangers in My Heart is a genuine series of the year caliber production through 7 episodes and despite its dull mage exam arc, Frieren is still a strong more-likely-than-not year-end top six candidate. Sign of Affection and Momochi both have top-six ambitions. I’m still not entirely persuaded by Sengoku Youko, but it is long enough that it may be a good prospect for 2024 if it keeps improving. Tomozaki, 7th Time Loop, and Apothecary Diaries are outside candidates for top-six contention but they would need much stronger finishes than what the episodes which have aired thus far suggest they are capable of.
Bottom-tier Character Tomozaki-kun and bullying
I did not get around to publishing a review of episode 2 of season 2 of Bottom-tier Character Tomozaki-kun after publishing a brief review of the first episode. The second episode had a dramatic tonal shift — segueing from the social game shenanigans that began in the first episode to bullying. I had some issues with most of episode 2. It was oddly paced. I did not mind the fact that none of the main characters (save for Tama) acquitted themselves well, but the whole production felt rushed and a bit heavy-handed. My biggest concern was with the main character himself, Tomozaki, whose views on the episode’s bullying situations jumped around without the changes being fully developed. Bullying is a subject that requires good writing (see e.g., my anime series of the 2011-2020 decade, March Comes in like a Lion). Even the best anime in the broader high school drama/comedy genre that Tomozaki is in, Oregairu, struggled a bit in its one season one arc that focused primarily on bullying. However, while episode 2 was one of the weaker Tomozaki episodes overall, it ended on an intriguing note with Tomozaki and the second bullying subject, Tama. I complained about Tama being underdeveloped and used to highlight the annoying tendencies of a more important character in my season 1 review, but depending on the writing, it can use her well here. I will see what I think when I watch episode 3 this evening.
Strangers of Momochi House (Ep 1)
Himari’s 16th birthday will be one she never forgets. Unexpectedly, she receives a will detailing her inheritance of a mysterious estate: the Momochi House. She arrives only to discover that the home was built on the cusp between the human world and the spiritual realm. There, she encounters Yukari, Ise, and a peculiar boy named Aoi, who seems to be concealing a shadowy secret.
This was the first completely new (as in not subsequent season) anime I am trying in the Winter 2024 season. These days, not involving “another world” or “reincarnation” is a good place to start. We have a girl, Himari Momochi, who is an orphan. When she turns 16, she learns her late parents left her an inheritance: The family house. However, the family house she finds is old, in the middle of nowhere, and occupied by three very pretty boys (le shock!). The studmuffins warn her that she should leave for her own safety, but everyone unsurprisingly works things out by the end of the episode after all the cards are laid on the table (you’ll be shocked to learn that the dreamboats may not be normal guys). It was equal parts inoffensive and unimpressive. I do not always (or often) agree with Anime News Network review takes, but I think their four first impression reviews were on point. I would have given it 2 stars out of 5 on my unofficial rating scale but for one thing…
The talking turnip in the basket is too perfect for our imperfect world. I like animate turnips. 5 stars for the turnip, 2 stars for everything else. I will keep watching but I expect to see more of the turnip.
Bottom-Tier Character Tomozaki 2nd STAGE (Ep 1)
As the second term begins, Tomozaki's first task (courtesy of Hinano) is getting popular girl Erika Konno motivated for the school sports tournament.
I re-watched the first season of Bottom-Tier Character Tomozaki (after having watched it as a simulcast in 2021) for two reasons. Firstly so I could write a review and secondly so that I could refresh my memory for the second season. I watched the first episode of season 2, titled The best games make reconnaissance fun, a few hours after it went live on Crunchyroll. Five quick thoughts below.
- The overall aesthetic is the same but the production values were better than most of the first season. For example, I noted that the character models were very consistent. It did reuse a few cuts, however.
- The episode did a good job of depicting Tomozaki’s new-found confidence in his coaching sessions with Hinami.
- A good part of the episode was spent effectively re-introducing the characters. This is understandable since I assume many viewers did not re-watch the first season in the last week of December like I did.
- It introduced one new character in Tomozaki’s lethargic co-worker (another girl, of course). She seems to be set up for a advice role but time will tell.
- Speaking of advice, I complained that Tomozaki’s friend/pushed love interest, Kikuchi, was used too much as an oracle in season 1. In this episode she gives advice that reasonably followed from things she and the audience observed happening in Tomozaki’s class.
- Speaking of advice, I do not find Tomozaki’s initial challenge, to get the unpleasant Erika Konno motivated for the sports festival, to be particularly interesting. However, his approach to completing the task, relying on others, does highlight his character growth (namely that he can rely on others) and give the first episode a way to help all the characters shine.
- Speaking of shining, I like what this episode did with Yuzu Izumi. I mentioned in my review of the first season that I thought she was a good character but somewhat underused. Her late-episode resolution was well-done and I hope she continues to play a meaningful role in the second season.
- In my review, I opined that the series would ultimately depend on its exploration of Hinami’s characters and motivations. Perhaps the most encouraging point of the episode was an early monologue wherein Tomozaki considers the difference between him (trying to enjoy each step of his self-improvement journey) and Hinami (looking beyond the moment at something distant). I will count it as a good early sign that this is something Tomozaki is thinking about.
- Finally, in my season 1 review, I complained about the camera’s tendency to fixate on Hinami’s and Mimimi’s legs. Positive sign: Only one weird Hinami leg shot in episode 1. Progress!
I expect to see this first arc wrapped up in episode 2 next Wednesday. All in all, the first episode was a solid start to the second season and I am interested to see how it develops after we finish the first arc.