Greetings! This week was rather weak when it came to anime watching or manga reading because, as I mentioned before, I was away from home. I came back yesterday, so the last days were reserved for spending more time with my father and his friends. I still have stuff to write about though, so no worries. Here’s what I watched this week, some being new and others being the continuations. As always:

New Entries

Love of Kill – Episode 1

Two assassins face off. The cool bounty hunter Chateau and the mysterious and powerful Ryang-ha. Chateau and Ryang-ha become enemies after this fight—at least, they should have, but for some reason, Ryang-ha takes a liking to Chateau and begins following her around. Little by little, Chateau develops a cooperative partnership with Ryang-ha, which gets her caught up in the struggle against the organizations hunting him down. Furthermore, that battle is related to her past as well. Two mismatched assassins weave together a twisted “Assassin X Assassin” thriller. The strange gears of fate begin to move.

I’ve previously read Al‘s review of this series’ manga, so I had an idea of Love of Kill’s premise without looking into anything. As a fan of the enemies to lovers trope and certainly won’t say no to some good action, I thought it’d be to my taste. My initial impression is lukewarm; there isn’t much I am given apart from the unaffectionate female lead with past trauma and a cold-blooded assassin who looks easy-going and interested in Chateau on the outside, but it’s pretty clear he has different motives that we’ll hopefully find out throughout the series. Maybe the chemistry will further develop between the characters in the following episodes because for now, I can’t say I have much interest in these two or how things will develop. 

Life With an Ordinary Guy Who Reincarnated Into a Total Fantasy Knockout – Episode 1

Childhood friends Tachibana Hinata and Jinguuji Tsukasa were living the everyday life of office workers. Then, on the way home from a mixer, they were sent flying into another world by a mysterious being. Once there, Jinguuji sees his best friend has been turned into a beautiful blonde-haired, blue-eyed girl…?! The adorableness of Tachibana’s female form completely flummoxes Tachibana. But these two are each others’ best friends. To keep their relationship from being destroyed, they must defeat the Demon Lord as quickly as possible and return to their original forms.

I almost caved in and decided to review this weekly. Then, I thought about the title I had to put and also ways to fit that name on the header image, and the decision quickly left me. Still, what a fun and interesting first episode! There is a lot to talk about the gender dynamics in this series, but I’ll leave you with these.

I love the humor in this series, am glad that the comedy doesn’t solely rely on shouting and there’s variation in voice acting. I enjoyed Kaguya-sama: Love is War a lot for the dynamic between Kaguya and Shirogane where two dumb-dumbs try to one-up each other and I’ll certainly be waiting for the next episode of Life With an Ordinary Guy Who Reincarnated Into a Total Fantasy Knockout eagerly! Yes, I copied and pasted that title. 

I’M KODAMA KAWASHIRI – Episode 1

The story depicts the lazy, unhealthy daily life of Kawashiri, who loves alcohol and anything greasy, salty, or sweet.

This is pretty much it. I won’t be adding I’m Kodama Kawashiri to this list every week and mention it only if there’s something I want to share with you, but I’ll be keeping up with it. There’s no way I’ll be missing a short anime which will make me laugh and feel depressed at the same time, all the while looking cute! Plus, the opening theme by UROMT is a banger.

Continuations

Akebi’s Sailor Uniform – Episode 2

Another marvelous episode where we watch Akebi make more friends after her first encounter with Erika, be her extra and cute self and get to show her uniform to her dad. I really, really love this series. The most outstanding part of Akebi’s Sailor Uniform for me is the focus and detail in the movement. Every little moment and gesture has meaning and weight and is handled accordingly. I remember thinking to myself “Huh! So it is possible!”

I’m sure you know by now that I’m a sucker for shojo/josei/romance/slice-of-life genres and compared to shonen where grand and well-choreographed fight scenes are the main focus, for the former, it’s these little gestures, eye or finger movement, head tilts, touches or the absence of them are the medium that conveys the emotions. While I understand the state of the industry and it’s not possible to deliver high-quality works on the daily, I can’t help but think a lot of the series I watched could really shine with this kind of love and attention, yet these genres always get the shorthand of the stick. Rant over. And PLEASE give Akebi a chance.

Sasaki and Miyano – Episode 2

In this episode, we witness Sasaki and Miyano hitting the bookstore together for the first time, Sasaki struggling with his feelings and desire for Miyano while Miyano slowly becomes more aware of the changes their relationship goes through, and finally, Valentine’s Day approaches. 

This was a much better and much more interesting episode for me than the premiere. Although it’s not on the level of Akebi, the small gestures I mentioned above took more prominence and were emphasized, and they made me connect more with these lovable boys. Also, don’t make fun of me but usually, women are so absent in BL that I didn’t even notice this was an all-boys high school and I haven’t seen any young women in the classroom until I was explicitly told… SO EMBARRASSING. Anyways, Sasaki’s smile has healed me, watered my crops, and brightened my skin.

My Dress-up Darling – Episode 2

We take off from where we left things in the first episode, where Marin is walking us through the God game that is Slippery Girls 2 and Gojou is sitting in seiza, going through a lot of things at once. They decide to meet after school on Monday for taking measurements and Marin’s first sewing class, but of course, she’s not going to sit idly in her room through the weekend when she finally found herself a teacher who can help her cosplay Shizuku-tan! She shows up at Gojou’s house and the plot thickens. 

The one thing I can nitpick about, and I only do it because I LOVE the series already even with two episodes in, was this. I understand obliviousness is key to getting the plot going and it’s one of the most frequently used traits in romance. Because once the character realizes what’s going on, then you have to resolve it in some way. And like any other tool, how you use it can make the character or the circumstance shine or feel underwhelming or out of place. I find it a bit out of character of Marin, who is so socially apt and plays eroge, to be SO oblivious to Gojou’s reactions and playing it out as teasing or her choosing to be oblivious would be more in place. However, that’s just me and just a minor point that won’t dampen my experience for now. 

How’s the season going for you? Any series you’re hooked in right from the get go like me? Or other series that you’re looking forward to that haven’t been released yet? Let me know in the comments! Otherwise, take care of yourself and see you next time ~

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