April 02, 2022
It's also interesting to see the origins of some characters, like how the Samurai Goemon joined the crew, and how he wasn't exactly a regular until later on.
I'm now getting started on Part 2, but they only have the first season. This is the start of the "Red Jacket".
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March 20, 2022
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March 06, 2022
So, this is supposed to be my anime blog, so I should probably post a thing or two about shows that I've watched.
Interestingly, one of the ones I recently completed was one I skipped entirely in the fall season. (And most of the things that I did mark on Anime Chart I still haven't finished.) But can you blame me? It had this incomprehensible description.
Durch Leiden zu Freude - L.V. Beethoven.
Music is the light that illuminates people's hearts-- and that "light" was suddenly taken from the world. The world changed the night the black "Kuroya Meteorite" fell. Grotesque monsters known as D2 emerged from the meteorite and began to overrun the land and people. As the D2 were drawn to melodies people played, eventually "music" itself became taboo.
However, those who opposed the monsters appeared.
They are the "Musicart," girls who draw power from music. They possess the great operas and musical scores of human history and use them to defeat the D2.
With them are the "Conductors" who lead the girls.
The year is 2047. The United States has been devastated by the struggle against the D2. Takt the Conductor and Destiny the Musicart travel together to New York. In a world without music, Takt longs for it. Meanwhile, Musicart Destiny hopes to wipe out the D2.
Will the melody they produce together be joy or despair?
I mean, REALLY? And the photo was particularly uninspiring too.
And then I visited a link that isn't on my regular blogroll, Tenka Seiha, even though I bookmarked it ages ago. And there was an episode by episode review, and it was definitely not positive.
But you know, I was kind of disenchanted with what I was watching, and there were so many screencaps, and I kinda liked the character designs. And well, there are worse reasons to search out a Batch.
To make a bit more sense of the description. Two meteors strike the earth roughly in the heart of the US. One brought terribly destructive monsters that in particular hate rhythmic sounds like Music. The other brought their opponents, the Musicarts. However it took research by the New York Symphonica (Which became quasi-militarized in the process) to awaken their true potential. They really don't go that much deeper into the background.
The Monsters, the D2, basically own the center of the country. And of late they've been relatively contained. Or dormant-ish. The country pretends not to be post-apocalyptic. But Music is frowned upon because it can bring an attack, at least if you're close to a D2 controlled area.
Takt, the brooding hero, is the son of a famous conductor, who lost his father in a D2 attack. He still lives in his modest home in Oregon, constantly playing Piano in his soundproofed garage.
His friends, Cosette and Anna are the only ones who keep him company, much to his annoyance. Cosette, the younger sister idolizes his music, plays as well and is so genki and enthusiastic that it drives him up the wall, while she is immune to his moods. Anna, the older sister, is far more practical, and does her best to make sure he's at least fed. They've lost touch with their oldest sister, who is in New York working for the Symphonica in research, along with their mother. This family connection is also why Cosette wears a small stone on a chain that apparently is a tiny bit of the meteor the Musicarts came from.
Things have been so calm from the D2's in this part of Oregon that they are having a small music festival sponsored by the Symphonica, which has given the all-clear. (This is SO in character for Oregon). Cosette urges Takt to play, but he's too self-centered to do it. But she manages to coerce/shame him into a duet by stealing his piano, which was well received right up until the D2 attack. They blow up the Piano, Cosette, and Takt's right arm is severely wounded.
Observations:
Destiny sports the same type of red-rimmed eye effect as Zero-two in Darling in the Franxx, but as far as I can tell, nobody involved in this was involved in that.Nothing indicates that other Musicarts were formed by human sacrifice. This may be part of why Destiny is so wild and defective. Every other Musicart has a surfeit of personality. (And there are apparently a lot of them, mostly seen in the background at the Symphonica headquarters).
The leader of the Symphonica has identified so strongly with the D2's that his plan is to eventually surrender all of North America to them. And part of that involves building a structure in the Symphonica headquarters that will summon a huge mass of them and destroy the otherwise untouched city.
Anna can't accept that there is nothing of Colette left in Destiny. And she keeps calling her Colette for at least the first half of the season. Destiny indulges her somewhat merely because she and her Conductor need her for transportation and support.
Couple of pics:

But at least in the end she's learned how to love. Near Necrophilia is love, right? Love the shoes.
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March 03, 2022
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February 20, 2022
So one visit to the Mart of Walls later, I had a 5 Gallon gas can with some Rube Goldberg rejected monstrosity of a nozzle on it. ("Flip up the dark green paddle and hold it with your palm against the light green plunger, wrap your fingers on the top of the nozzle and squeeze against the powerful return spring, and wrestle the thirty pounds of gasoline with your other hand, and note that this is an inflexible spout that will not allow you to fill a car's gas tank, and will probably douse your mower entirely. There is also an internal restrictor that will cause gas to flow out if you try to fill the can too fast. All of these features are designed to make you give up and buy an electric mower. The spilled gas will release far more hydrocarbons into the atmosphere than the unusability features will supposedly prevent.")
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January 15, 2022
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December 17, 2021
And the hazards of trading on your reputation for honesty in order to spread falsehoods.
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November 20, 2021
Komi
Poo, it doesn't loop like it's supposed to.
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October 16, 2021
About the only thing I've really enjoyed so far (for small values of enjoyed) has been Tsuki ga Michibiku Isekai Douchuu. That's the isekai where the hero is the child of two adventurers who went to our world, and got called back by the goddess, who decided he was too ugly for her purposes and dumped him among the demihumans. Like most isekai, the plot is marginal, and success comes too easy for the hero. Early on he defeats two legendary monsters, a dragon and a spider. Once defeated, they transform into human woman and are contracted to him, but they admire him so much they want to be his harem, and like most isekai, he isn't really interested. The Dragon, yeah, I can see why her gung ho desire to model herself after a samurai (formed on the basis of his memories) would wear thin quickly. Her advantage is she has formed a sub-plane where he can relocate all the demi-humans, and they love him and put aside their differences so they can live in this paradise. The Spider, on the other hand, Mio - I kept watching because I liked her. Classy and generally soft-spoken, yet powerful enough to level city blocks. She manifested as a Kimono-wearing woman with a web motif and some modern touches (like some dainty black gloves with ruffled edges, and an Obi with leather belting). By the time we got to the final episodes, it looked like the entire season was just a set-up for a second season that would descend into pure Shonen battles. Seriously, who introduces antagonists in episode 12?
The OP though is pretty bangin'.
I've been watching Jahy, but out of inertia. Adult Jahy has lost her appeal. The series is episodic in a way that barely advances anything, and jokes about being poor and hungry, and her outsized Ego smashing against reality, went out in the early 90's.
I watched Idaten, Heion Sedai no Idaten-tachi, and I can't recommend it, which is sad for an Noitanima series. It had an unusual art style, and an interesting premise: a small group of god-like beings who were tasked originally with protecting the world from these "Demon" monsters, but once they were all sealed away behind a barrier, had little to do. Then it turns out that some demons have survived, by hybridizing with humans, but they are weak. The power differential makes you want to side with the "Villains." Just after halfway though, the demons are ousted from power in this one country they controlled, and driven underground, while the gods try to ferret them out and finish them off for good. The last half is spread out over years as the demons try to regroup and reconnect and try to find some way to save themselves. And then, after 11 episodes, it just stops. Apparently that's where the Manga may have stopped too. And that's it. No resolution. I have to wonder why it was made.

There were other shows I downloaded, but didn't get too far into. The second half of the new Madoka Magica, which I haven't watched yet because I didn't start the first half. Tantei wa Mou, Shindeiru, I started because of my love of white-haired characters, and which I do mean to continue with. I tried Cheat Kusushi no Slow Life - Isekai ni Tsukurou Drugstore, but it felt like reading way below my grade level. I should have gone one episode further because it seemed like they might have finally been about to introduce some conflict.
I watched Peach Boy Riverside, but I watched it in Chronological order rather than Episode order, so it actually made sense. I'm sure the director was spewing bullshit (covering for a production problem?) with this shuffling somehow improving the storytelling. Since most episodes faded into each other at cliffhangers, scrambling them didn't even work artistically. In chronological order, it was a fair to middlin' Fantasy Adventure. It also Stopped rather than Ending. Not abruptly, but clearly with a second season in mind, like so many anime these days, which it probably won't get.
I watched Kanojo mo Kanojo. Again that White-haired character fixation. And what do you know, she was the only sane one of the bunch. I think it works a little better if you regard the redhead as the main character rather than the guy. But while it's interesting in a world of Harem anime to have an actual romantic interest on three sides of the love triangle, this surely isn't the way to run a threesome.
Of the fall season, the only thing I've sampled so far is Shinka no Mi - Shiranai Uchi ni Kachigumi Jinsei, It promises another white-haired, dark skinned Haremette. That's probably the only thing going for it, since the hero again seems to have the unfair advantage that means he can't lose. The premise is that his whole class gets isekaied, but since he's the fat, hated loser of the class, the transporting god gives him an extra power that lets him perfectly harvest every resource and power from what he defeats. The rest of his class ends up in town, and the king makes them train with his soldiers, so so far their isekai experience has sucked, while he got separated, ended up in the jungle and the survival experience has caused him to level up (as well as eating some special "evolution fruit" that significantly upped his stats). He ends up with this pink Gorilla in love with him whom he can't escape from, but fortunately, after two episodes of that embarrassment, she's transformed into a girl, and the harem commences accumulating.
With so much disappointing anime, it's a wonder I spend any time on it, but I'm sure there are some gems out there (suggestions welcome). Besides, it's a hell of a lot better than anything produced in this country.
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