The Dangers In My Blog

I finally took my long anticipated 3 week trip to Japan and have been back for almost a month now. Social media has glazed Japan to hell and back and everyone is taking this trip in big ‘26, so I won’t dwell on my experience for too long. Tokyo and pretty much all of Japan feels like it streamlines everything. The place feels polished and efficient, and it feels like the whole country was built to be public facing. Which does feel a little jarring compared to the US or the major city I frequent, Los Angeles, which feels very automobile facing.  Amazing baseline for food quality, amazing sights and views and of course the American spending power was a plus. When I say food quality I mean the quality of ingredients and freshness of every meal I had. Going to even the cheapest sushi spots still gave me some of the freshest fish I have had compared to any American sushi joint. Holistically, I still love Mexican food more, but it’s hard to argue the care put into the quality of ingredients for every dish I had in Japan. Of course what I was grinning at the whole time was the integration of anime everywhere, the Konbini, billboards, restaurant collabs, shops, department stores, etc. Meeting other Japanese anime fans was a huge highlight of the trip, along with visiting the anime holy sites. Most notably my venture to Uji for the Hibike Euphonium sites and Sumida for the Lycoreco sites.

Left to right: Kumiko's Bench, Kyoani memorial statue, Spotted Garden Eel at the Sumida Aquarium 

Just going to anime pop-ups and cafes that I could only wish to attend through a screen before was immensely exciting pretty much every time. Even if some of them were just large cardboard cutouts of characters, it’s just exciting to see spaces dedicated to the fandom all over. Top that off with not having to pay 5x-8x more on having to import resells.

I truly underestimated the amount of shopping and malls that make up Tokyo, and after the first few days experienced shopping burn out, but luckily that didn’t last for too long. One super cool thing I did was attend a Japanese baseball game at the Tokyo Dome. Really different crowd compared to an MLB game, less screaming and loud cheering and more loud organized chants and salutes. Japanese baseball concessions blows ours out the water, not even fucking close. To top it all off the uriko (Japanese beer concession girls who walk around the stadium with a keg on their back) proved to me the quality of amenities was better. The quality of play… not so much, Dodgers stadium still fun to go to and I hope to go watch Ohtani again soon. The night life was amazing all around, bars, sites, arcades, etc. Izakayas, in my opinion, demolish US dive bars in quality and experience, though I wouldn’t say we really have an equivalent to Izakayas. Seeing Unicorn Gundam was a special experience, especially since it will be taken down this Summer!

One unexpected ornamentation of the country was that every manhole has a cool decoration on it. These designs vary depending on area and there are some 1-of-1 manholes that were really cool to experience. My favorite of course was the Lycoreco one in Sumida!

Although I am happy to be back in the states, I do find myself missing the access to the anime culture and the overall fluidity of the Japanese infrastructure. Also miss the 2 dollar beers and 30 dollar Gundam TCG boxes… Stuff like the Witch From Mercury ramen collab acrylic stands would legit cost about 5 dollars buying it from the 7/1,1 but now I have to import/buy resell for crazy prices again.

Having spent the better half of a month in Japan and not having the easiest access to or time to watch anime, I fell weeks behind this season. This was tragic cause not only has this season had so many shows I wanted to watch, but it seems almost all of them are fucking bangers. After many 4-5 hour binge nights I have finally caught up, and I have to say with full confidence, it has been well worth my time.

To get the big hitter out of the way: yes, Witch Hat Atelier is that fucking good; yes, it is peak fiction; yes, BUG FILMS is fucking cooking. Pretty much a 10/10 so far if it keeps up its quality, every single element of the show accumulates to this immersively enchanting fantasy series. The sheer wonder of the world is amplified because we are seeing it through the perspective of the show’s main lead Coco. Extremely endearing and encapsulates the purest form of childlike wonder and amazement, enjoying what other characters may see as mundane or routine as a fluttering, euphoric experience.

Every aspect adds to this: backgrounds, music, animation, coloring, compositing, etc. I won’t even go into the plot, I will just say it is worth watching. I am excited to see more. Coco’s VA, Rena Motomura, absolutely kills this role and is one of the best casings I have heard in a while.

Small note: I was curious who the composer was and it is the same woman who did the Soul games OSTs, Yuta Kitamura, which I thought was super cool.

My favorite show of the season, Kamiina Botan Fully Blossoms when Drunk, is most definitely the highest quality yuri series I have ever seen & a stunningly gorgeous project. The series comes from the new and small team at Soigne; this is their second project after Mono last year. Every scene is handled with meticulous care. Part of what makes this series so beautiful is the focus on presenting animators talents and personality into the series.

The director said he didn’t want a chief animation director to oversee the whole project. Instead giving each episode more autonomy to pretty much be it’s own individual project as to not try and fit the mold of the others. All to bring about the draftsmanship of each episode’s main animator and director. With the staffing structure allowing for this auteur approach to the animation, the series ends up with immense personality, having style  and interesting flair in every scene. The series is centered around a women’s college dorm and the tenant’s complicated relationships, seen mostly through the lens of their drinking escapades. The drinking itself isn’t the sole happenings of the series, but it ends up being the cornerstone of the storytelling. Facilitating the environment where character progression takes place. Despite the impression of its slice of life framework, it lays bare the characters emotions in such a way that is not only mesmerizing to observe, but is so genuine and impactful that it evokes physical and emotional responses.

Such an illustrious showings of isolation, jealousy, limerence, fear, and pure yearning that genuinely sends chills through my body and tears to my eyes. Every scene of this series is gorgeous but at its peak the show latches on to you and agitates your whole body with the emotions of these characters. Emulating the ensemble of moods through pure passionate artwork. The amount of care and attention every episode receives shines through in its presentation. The mesmerizing layouts, the personalized animation, striking backgrounds and  even down to the pacing, allows every emotion of the characters to seep into you. Truly a show I think is special and is well worth watching, even if you’re not into the genre.

Nippon Sangoku is a crazy good watch, super sick animation style and truly has a pulling sense of stakes in each episode that gets me hype every time. I love this show, extremely fun dialogue that melds the comedic quirkiness of the characters and seriousness of the ongoing war perfectly in every scene. While there are literal battles, the enticing content comes from political character interactions. Whether it be tactical strategies on how to move the armed forces, bureaucratic conflicts for power, or straight up just shit talking to each other, this series has an awesome script and composition that acts as a strong root for the whole series.

I’m not gonna lie, I am watching three shows because Shion Wakayama is voicing the lead; I think she has become my undisputed favorite Seiyuu. Said three shows are Marriagetoxin, Kirio Fan Club and Killed Again, Mr. Detective. To be honest, Killed Again, Mr. Detective is absolute trash, with little to no redeeming qualities, EXCEPT FOR the fact that Wakayama’s character is cute and she sounds great, do not watch unless for this reason alone. Kirio Fan Club is turning out to be way better than I expected, probably the surprise of the season. A funny show with the ridiculousness of the two leads, their down-bad antics, and how dumb they behave with the stupid shit they say is enough to make me want to come back every week. Marriagetoxin most likely would have been on my radar regardless of Wakayama. A stylish girlfriend/villain of the week BONES series that has some kickass animation, very fun characters, and a ridiculous power system that lends to all the fights being over the top and fun to consume. This is all topped off with Wakayama playing Mei Kinosaki, one of the front runners for best boy of the season.

I do not really like Agents of the Four Seasons, and as each week passes, I think I do less and less. It looks great and up to par for a WIT production in animation quality, but I am just really not enjoying it. The series composition and script aren’t really doing it for me, even eye rolling at times. Contrary to something like Kamiina Botan, the emotional beats of the show seem almost gimmicky in nature and do not flow out naturally, contrarily presenting itself as goofy for how overly dramatic and heart wrenching it is trying to be. I like sad stuff but I cannot stand this show’s bright neon fluorescent lights that are saying “look, isn’t this tragic?” that blinds you every episode. The OST has been really good, but of course, the GOAT Kensuke Ushio worked on it; definitely my favorite part of the series. 

Dr. Stone and Slime are back and both have been as fun as always. Dr. Stone got an Asian Kung-Fu Generation OP in Big ‘26?!??!!? I was very happy to hear it. Daemons of the Shadow Realm has been super consistent every week. It emulates the same quality and feeling that FMAB did back in 2009, truly feeling like an Arakawa Shonen series. A tad bit slow but it’s been fun to watch. Misaki Kunou’s character has been my favorite.

The last two series I am watching currently are Ramparts of the Ice and Ganbare Nakamura-Kun!! After You and I are Polar Opposites aired last season, I was intrigued to see what Koucha Agasawa’s (mangaka) new series was like. It may not have the polish that Opposites had but I have been pleasantly surprised regardless. The characters are relatable and their internal conflicts are believable. The show mostly deals with everyone’s identity issues as well as their struggles with dealing with other’s perceptions of themselves. It is more engaging and touching than I would have expected. Their emotional baggage is presented realistically and are worked through with genuine feeling conversations. The show interlaces this with  light humor and cut away chibi art for some fluff and humor to make for great pacing. The said cut-away visuals portray its conflicts in a relatable way that, to me, registered exactly what the complex feeling would look like. 

It doesn’t fall into typical miscommunication tropes that feel artificial and forcefully extend conflicts like in other series. It is very pleasant.  Nakamura-kun is a Yaoi series about a boy who is down horrendous for his classmate. Nakamura isn’t friendly or personable so the show is all about his internal struggles with approaching his crush. It is a very well drawn show that encapsulates a 90’s era romance series based on the original manga’s artstyle, with some guest directors / storyboarders making some more interesting episodes visually. I think it is solid, I don’t rush to watch it, I don’t find it particularly funny, but it is pretty cute.

That is about 14 series to keep up with and I still need to catch up with 100 Scenes from Awajima. To put in perspective, 14 episodes a week is about 5+ hours per week, so it really is a bit hard to find the time between everything. I was praying perhaps Summer would have a light load but it seems it also has some MEGA bangers.

PLUS Shion Wakayama and Chika Anzai reuniting once again in Tefuda ga Oume no Victoria! By my count I already have 14 series I want to watch…

I am already debating a solo trip back to Japan in December but we will see what comes of that. I also might send it to see Asian Kung-Fu generation in Mexico City in June because they are touring for their 30th anniversary. After the announcement of Shion Wakayama (Takina) at anime expo, I am 100% going to this year, which I was super on the fence about prior.  As always, I think the industry is in a really good place with a lot of small passionate studios popping up, thus my interest in anime only increases.