tl;dr:

• AOTY - Frieren with honorable mention of Oshi no Ko
• Worst AOTY - Am I Actually the Strongest?
• Most Mid AOTY - Atelier Ryza

If you had asked for my anime of the year prior to the Fall season, it would have unquestionably been Oshi no Ko. However, Frieren's adaptation has been so excellent over this past season that I am hard pressed not to give it my AOTY. I know Frieren is still airing for a second cour, but it has a full cour's worth of episodes to compare to other seasonal shows, so I think it is fair for now. I think that Oshi no Ko has definitely left a strong impression on me though and I will always remember the first episode and episode 6 as extremely impactful. Few anime have ever had me as invested in a character's story as episode 6 of Oshi no Ko did for Akane.

As for my worst anime of the year, this one is tough. I watch my fair share of bad anime so it is tough to pick. I think I will have to award it to "Am I Actually the Strongest?" The show was horribly paced and narratively confused. Large sections of important story were seemingly glossed over almost nothing was explained. Having watched 12 episodes of the anime, I still don't think I can give any kind of explanation for the MC's abilities. Just avoid this one, it isn't so bad it's good, it's just bad.

Finally, in my quest to pretend to still be young, I thought I would also give a mid award. This one goes to a show that was so bland and generic that it wasn't good, it wasn't bad, it just exists. That goes to Atelier Ryza for me. I have heard that the game series this show was based off of is actually quite good. I have a friend that has played a ton of them and was hyping up the show to me because of it. However, watching the show being unfamiliar with the source at all, it was extremely boring. Things happened extremely predictably. I actually felt that watching the show was like being stuck in an unskippable, long tutorial cutscene in a game. Things were overexplained, drawn out, and the game's quest -> reward structure was very obvious. There were never really any stakes it felt like. I don't know if the entire game was adapted or not, but I certainly hope there is more to the game. The show felt like it was adapting just the tutorial levels.

@ram@lemmy.ca or @N3DSdude@lemmy.ml if you could pin the new/unpin the old discussion posts, that would be greatly appreciated.

Oof, this one lands a bit close to home. Teachers can be amazing, but comments like these with the best of intentions can sometimes hurt given the context of a person's life.

Two continuing series I want to highlight:

• I have lately been enjoying Nagatoro. It is a series that has its good spells and bad spells, but this arc in which Senpai and Nagatoro are both working on improving themselves to overcome the challenges placed before them feels very satisfying. I expect the next couple chapters to be very consequential to the story. If nanashi undoes all the progress made during this arc, then I don't see how it could ever recover. It would just become the next Rent a GF at that point.
• I feel like Tonikaku Kawaii is wandering through the narrative wilderness at the moment. It started to have some interesting tie-ins between Nasa's childhood and an incident in the past with Tsukasa, but left it completely aside for a whole different story set in ancient times with Tsukasa. Like, the situation they were setting up was interesting, let's get back to that. Hopefully soon.

I wanted to also highlight a couple series that I started recently that I have been really enjoying.

• Firstly, "When Trying to Get Back at the Hometown Bullies, Another Battle Began" or "Jimoto no Ijimekko-tachi ni Shikaeshi Shiyou to Shitara, Betsu no Tatakai ga Hajimatta" (MD link) has been a lot of fun. The "twist" in chapter 1 is pretty obvious, but the twist in chapter 2 is the interesting one. So far, all the characters are likeable and no typical harem drama hijinks. Definitely recommend if you are interested after the first two chapters.
• Next is "Shinigami Ramen" (MD Link). It's about an overworked salaryman that wants to die and a shinigami that kills people by feeding them her deadly ramen. It's cute and I am looking forward to where it goes next after the introduction of Udon to the cast of characters.
• Finally, "Yuusha to Yobareta Nochi ni: Soshite Musou Otoko wa Kazoku wo Tsukuru" (MD Link). It is about a hero that slayed the demon king and grew so powerful that he became distrusted by humans. He was sent to the edge of the world to conquer the most powerful dragon in the hope that he died. Instead, he settles down and starts living with the dragon. This is a pretty wholesome, fluffy series about family life, but everybody in the family is obscenely strong like Saitama or Ainz. I have been really enjoying it so far, especially after the newest addition to the family.

Great title drop to end the episode. In case you missed it last week, there was a discussion about the translation of the title in the discussion thread for episode 7. Looks like they went with Frieren the Slayer (at least in my subs, sometimes it can vary by region).

Frieren decided to break the number one rule in any D&D party by splitting up. She wanted to go solo the boss to get all the good loot for herself I guess. I am really looking forward to next episode as I remember the confrontation with Aura was one of my favorite confrontations of the manga (though the action is not necessarily my favorite part of Frieren). I don't remember all the details though as I haven't gone back and reread this one other than to spot check a thing or two as they have progressed through the adaptation.

Cute chapter this week. I really thought Senpai was going to muster up the courage for the confession there for a minute. Looks like we will have to wait at least until after Nagatoro's match with Orihara before it might happen. It really feels close now though. If they reset back to a will they/won't they after this arc, then it would basically turn this into rent a gf.

One of the things I was most curious about how they were going to adapt this season was the explanation of Claire's newfound powers. I never thought that the way the LN described this part was very clear and it is only through later discussions with other fans that I got a good understanding of it. I think that the anime actually does a better job of setting up and explaining this. Plus, we get to see Aurora-sensei and JK Claire in the process, so that is a win.

The fight sequence was quite modified from the source, but I actually really like it. Characterizing Elizabeth's attack as literally raining blood was a great touch. My favorite part of that sequence was Aurora/Claire trying to use Cid's All Range Atomic. This was a great anime original touch and I loved everything about it. From her initiating it, Beta realizing what is going on and freaking out, and finally Aurora trying to do the Cid atomic voice. Just chef's kiss.

We get to see a new ED this episode by Maaya Uchida (voices Nu). We also get to see the setup for the next arc in a post-ED scene. If you liked the design of Yukime and didn't want to see her leave the story yet, then this scene should give you hope. Also, just as a meta-aside, the next arc is probably the overall fandom's favorite, so look forward to it!

Edit: I forgot to mention that this begins one of my favorite ongoing gags in the whole series. In which Cid thinks Claire is just a chuuni having chuuni delusions about things.

Welp, one more entire episode devoted to Helck's backstory with another on the horizon based on the episode preview. I like backstory and worldbuilding as much as the next person, but I feel like this could have been paced better. For the first 12 episodes we had almost no backstory about Helck and the humans. Then we are getting at least four entire episodes devoted to it in one giant exposition dump? It feels like it would have been possible to do both story and backstory at the same time rather than put a hard stop on the story so that we can have a whole arc just devoted to backstory.

That being said, I do like the backstory being told and think it is interesting. It was also a solid gag to have Helck be so dense that he doesn't even realize how dense he was being when his buddies were setting him up on a date.

So good to see my favorite LN series back with Season 2 so quickly. So many things I can say, but I will keep it to the highlights.

• I think it was a good choice to do a tiny bit of recap to make it clear that Claire won the Bushin Festival. I remember a lot of people not really picking up on that at the end of last season. Though, I am sad to see they pretty much cut the scene of Cid treating Claire to dinner, it was a pretty funny one. It was nice of Cid to yadda-yadda his way through most of the recap so as to keep things moving.
• The "I smell it" gag and that whole Shadow Garden meeting was an anime original scene and worked pretty well. The anime keeps finding ways to incorporate members of the Seven Shadows that haven't even really had an impact in the LNs yet.
• They handled the early ghoul stuff a bit differently, but I actually like they way they did it a lot. In the LN, Cid didn't really meet Mary in that way, so he was spouting off lines that he made up to sound cool. In the anime, I really like that he copied Mary's lines with everybody that he met as Shadow. I am pretty sure they literally just reused the animation of him saying them multiple times, adding to the gag.
• Skel and Po showing up was nice to see. They don't appear in this arc at all, but this totally fits their characters.
• Claire is just casually decapitating ghouls with a kick. If you remember, we saw Rose do this to a cult member in Season 1 when she gets her magic back during the school attack arc.
• Mary using a blood sword is a nice touch that I don't remember being in the LNs. However, it totally fits with the lore and I really like it.
• The last five minutes of the episode felt like a whirlwind as they rapidly introduced all the new characters for this arc.
• I like the new OP. I was never a huge fan of Season 1's OP, so I am happy with the change. I guess we will see what they have done with the ED next episode.

In case you missed it, there is a post-credit scene this episode. As far as I remember, it is the only one this season, so FYI.

tl;dr As written, the Usuba family served no purpose and really hurt the story.

Alright, rant incoming...

I was really hopeful for this show for a number of reasons. I think there needs to be more josei stories adapted to the anime medium. We have shounen, shoujo, and seinen fairly well represented, but josei mainly lives on bookshelves in printed form. So, I was hoping that this story, being one of the few josei to get a quality anime adaptation would really become a flag bearer for josei everywhere and encourage more adaptations in the future. Note that if it does well commercially, it still might do that, but time will tell.

My central thesis, after giving it some thought, is that introducing the greater Usuba family to the story (at this point) really squandered a lot of potentially great storytelling. I will first explain why they make absolutely no impact to the story and then what could have been done instead.

Let's look at the contributions that the Usuba grandpa and Arata made to our story. The grandpa gave an entire episode's worth of exposition dump giving us the backstory of Miyo's mother and how Miyo's powers ended up sealed; then basically disappeared again never to be seen. Arata served the purpose of being some kind of benevolent jailer to Miyo, selected by the Usuba family to protect her. He also served the purpose (through the duel with Kiyoka) to show a bit of why the Usuba family is feared by the other supernatural families. However, it's important to note that in this final episode, Arata decides to give up doing his one job just because Miyo asked nicely. I mean, what was the point of kidnapping her and dueling Kiyoka and all of that if you just let her go again? It feels like it is simply some contrivance to create artificial tension in the relationship between Miyo and Kiyoka and to physically separate them so that they can't communicate and clear up any misunderstandings.

Now, let's think about what could have been done instead. There are a few story beats we need to hit in the second half of the show:

• We need some way for Miyo to learn about her mother and her powers
  • I think this could have been done better if we got to learn about Miyo's parentage slowly over a couple episodes through her dreams. She had touched her mother's tree, breaking the seal on her powers at this point. Grandpa Usuba did say when he was explaining her power that she can see the past and the future in her dreams. This also would help the viewer gauge her developing her skill at controlling her power; as she better controls it, she can see and learn more.
• We need Miyo to begin confronting the trauma she has had in the Saimori household since her mother passed
  • The bonus potential for these dreamwalking segments is that she can confront different parts of her psyche and acknowledge and begin to deal with the trauma that the Saimoris inflicted on her. We got a little bit of that in this final episode, but it could have been done much better. In the show, she basically overcame her trauma by hugging it out with herself. In my alternate version, it would take time and repeated dream confrontations. These confrontations would be the best way to make Miyo's physical condition decline as she struggles to deal with her past trauma.
• We need some way to foster a closer relationship between Miyo and Kiyoka
  • I think this could be done by keeping the grotesqueries storyline. Have Kiyoka consistently in the field, fighting battles to protect the city. Meanwhile Miyo is struggling at home trying to control her powers. You could even keep the bit where Miyo collapses in the city. However, instead of Arata inserting the Usubas into the storyline at that point, have Kiyoka rush to Miyo's side and give our main couple a bit of R&R while they talk about all the things they haven't been able to lately. This allows them to share a common goal, understanding and controlling Miyo's power, and it brings them closer as partners.
• Ideally, we would like to have some kind of climax to end the season on.
  • This episode works pretty well for that purpose. The main difference is that she won't need Arata's permission to help Kiyoka. Just make her be a badass on her own instead.
• A hook for season 2
  • This is where the Usubas can best fit into the story. Have some ominous scene at the end of the season with the Usubas talking about needing to remove her for her protection or something to those ends. Perhaps the events of the grotesqueries storyline and Miyo's ability very publicly saving Kiyoka is what alerts the Usubas to her true powers.

/end rant

I am glad I watched this show, rant aside. I will likely stick around for season 2 since I still think there is a lot of potential in this story. Like I said up top, I hope that it is successful and is something that can help more josei story adaptations to get made in the future. Time will tell.

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.

The bot maintainer is @chaorace@lemmy.sdf.org. I am not sure why the series isn't getting posts made since it is listed in the source code.

I haven't read telework yet, but I have read Sweat and Soap by the same author and highly recommend it. One of the rare adult romance stories in which the characters (mainly) act like adults and communicate rather than just high schoolers in an office setting.