https://myanimelist.net/blog.php MyAnimeList.net Blogs https://myanimelist.net/blog.php?eid=912679 https://myanimelist.net/blog.php?eid=912679 all of the personality." And that's exactly what they did when making His and Her Circumstances, one of the wildest rides anime has ever taken me on. Kare Kano, as it's sometimes called, is a high school romance, but far from a typical one. For starters, this show sets a blistering pace. No, that is not a critique. I love me some momentum in my anime romances - it's one of my favorite things about Toradora too - and the pacing philosophy of this series seems to be, "why waste time on one idea when you can do lots of ideas?" And amazingly, it does that really, really well! It never feels rushed or underdeveloped, which I largely credit to the character writing: Yukino Miyazawa and Souichirou Arima are an absolute blast. Miyazawa and Arima are the top 2 students in high school. Attractive, good at sports, smart, helpful, well-loved by both teachers and fellow students (Kaguya-sama, anyone?). But each of them has a dark secret to, or rather a dark reason for their success, neither of which I will spoil. Suffice it to say that they are my newly-minted favorite romantic duo in anime, and frankly, it's not particularly close. Not only are they incredibly sweet together, they are incredibly funny, mature (sometimes), thoughtful, and each excel on their own on-screen just as much as with each other. Their supporting cast features Tamaki from Ouran High School Host Club, a suspiciously Taiga-looking shrimp of a girl, and a smattering of equally fun family members and friends. I said I attribute the excellent pacing to the character writing, but that's not entirely true. Shiro Sagisu's score deserves every bit as much credit as anything else, for one. But this show was directed by the man himself, Hideaki Anno, fresh off of Evangelion, and he injects so much life and personality into this series. Featuring the stark lighting and Dutch angles that Osamu Dezaki pioneered in the 70s and 80s, the full-screen text almost serving as punctuation that Akiyuki Shinbou would later make famous in Monogatari, the abstraction, random live-action shots, and sketch-lines that Anno himself made famous (or perhaps infamous) in Evangelion, the slow scrolls over colored-in manga panels that One Punch Man Season 3 would take all the wrong lessons from, and even an episode almost entirely animated on cardstock and popsicle sticks! And it's the funniest episode of anime I've ever seen! Some of this is deliberately in service of the characters, some of it is purely comedic, and some of it is, and I quote, "because Anno wanted it that way." Episodes 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 25, 15p2, 16, 17, 18, 25, 19, 25, and 24p1 of His and Her Circumstances are, bar none, the best comedy anime I've ever seen. And probably the best romance I've ever seen. It's up there with Nana, at the very least. However, eagle-eyed readers may notice that that's not all the episodes. Nor are they in the right order. Nor are they all even entire episodes! Kare Kano, for all its enormous strengths, might be the most troubled anime production I've ever heard of. Anno, breaking down from the stress of directing, stepped down to a supporting role after episode 15, and while the next few episodes are still extremely good (the cardstock+popsicle episode is #19), the cracks began to show after that. But truthfully, even before then, issues could be noticed. Episodes 14, 15p1, and eventually 24p2 are all recaps. And episodes 20-23 are just, well, bland. They're not even bad, really. They're focused on a culture fest, a surprisingly chiché topic for a series which had skillfully avoided such things, and its execution is just . . . fine. I have to wonder if viewers at the time thought of these in the same way that Endless Eight would be seen a decade later. Episode 25 (the mysterious jumping episode up above) is entirely anime-original, and could theoretically be placed almost anywhere, and it's hilarious. But it's the semifinal episode of the show! It feels aggressively out of place where it is. And the finale itself? Well, let me just say that it's a serious contender for the worst final episode I've ever seen. Once again, not because anything in it was outright terrible on its own, it's just, like, there. There's no finality at all. Say what you want about Evangelion's last two episodes, but those knew what characters arcs needed to be completed, and by golly they accomplished that. So all that being said, where does that leave me when rating this anime? I'd normally expect to say something like "this is the hardest show I've ever had to rate," but it's actually super, super easy for me. It's a 10/10. Seems odd. My thoughts on this bear a striking similarity to Maison Ikkoku, which I gave a 4. Why would this be so different? Well for starters, the quality is less stark. The best parts of Kare Kano run circles around the best parts of Maison Ikkoku (ok, maybe that's a slight exaggeration), and its worst parts are only kinda mediocre. Then there's the length. Maison Ikkoku left me in agony for 45 nearly-continuous episodes, Kare Kano left me in mild annoyance for 5. More deeply though, the rough episodes of Kare Kano can just be ignored. They depend on precious little from the preceding work, and there's nothing in them that retroactively ruins the masterpiece that came before. Said masterpiece even has its own ending! Episode 24 part 1 - an abstract, thoughtful, introspective, emotional look into the psyches of our young couple and how and why they love each other (sound familiar?) - feels like an epilogue all on its own. Even the show's creators said it would have been better as the finale. So in the end, I'm not really torn at all. Is it inconsistent with how I usually rate things? Yep. I make a point of striving towards holisticity, after all, and I hardly expect that to change. But the things this series left me with - the fun I had, the tears I shed, the emotions it showed me, and the awe I felt - leave me very, very content. 10/10 Shout-out to the rewatch group on r/anime, they were a lot of fun to discuss the series with.]]> Mon, 11 May 2026 20:11:46 -0700 https://myanimelist.net/blog.php?eid=912678 https://myanimelist.net/blog.php?eid=912678 Mon, 11 May 2026 18:39:19 -0700 https://myanimelist.net/blog.php?eid=912677 https://myanimelist.net/blog.php?eid=912677 Mon, 11 May 2026 16:35:44 -0700 https://myanimelist.net/blog.php?eid=912676 https://myanimelist.net/blog.php?eid=912676 Mon, 11 May 2026 14:32:12 -0700 https://myanimelist.net/blog.php?eid=912675 https://myanimelist.net/blog.php?eid=912675 Mon, 11 May 2026 12:37:33 -0700 https://myanimelist.net/blog.php?eid=912673 https://myanimelist.net/blog.php?eid=912673 Mon, 11 May 2026 12:21:26 -0700 https://myanimelist.net/blog.php?eid=912672 https://myanimelist.net/blog.php?eid=912672 Mon, 11 May 2026 10:57:09 -0700 https://myanimelist.net/blog.php?eid=912671 https://myanimelist.net/blog.php?eid=912671 Sun, 10 May 2026 22:09:19 -0700 https://myanimelist.net/blog.php?eid=912670 https://myanimelist.net/blog.php?eid=912670 Sun, 10 May 2026 19:52:17 -0700 https://myanimelist.net/blog.php?eid=912669 https://myanimelist.net/blog.php?eid=912669 Sun, 10 May 2026 19:02:57 -0700 https://myanimelist.net/blog.php?eid=912668 https://myanimelist.net/blog.php?eid=912668 Home

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Retrocausality Ausdauer Matsutake Schwerpunkt (Live) @ Psychedelic Network Festival ]]> Sun, 10 May 2026 18:07:36 -0700 https://myanimelist.net/blog.php?eid=912667 https://myanimelist.net/blog.php?eid=912667 Bleach: This has always been a loved show by me. I have not seen the new series for it, but I definitely plan to. I loved the original series and yes the fillers suck, and it does typical Shonen stuff, but I fell in love with it long ago. It was the first manga I started reading before I saw the anime and many of my current day accounts use Aizen's name since he was one of my favorite villains...sorry for the spoiler but by now you should know. Anyway, I plan to watch the new stuff soon, and I have heard it is quite good. 9.One Piece: Another Shonen, what is there to say about One Piece, other than it is long, really long, but it never becomes boring, although I could do without some of the Foxy stuff. The world building is amazing, and the action is fun. The best part though is just the core crew and how they react to one another and situations. This is one of the better Shonens in my opinion, it is a fun ride, albeit a long continuing one. 8.Hellsing Ultimate: Still high on my list. I love the action and animation in this world. This is a dark bloody show, and it doesn't pull too many punches. It is fun and entertaining and Alucard is an amazing character. Also, nazi vampires, yes please. 7.Kill la kill: You watch this one for the plot. In all seriousness the plot is fine, but the action is where it is at. Somewhat reminiscent of Gurren lagann, with good reason, it is a wild crazy ride with a lot of fun action. The fan service can be a bit much for some at times though, but overall I really enjoy this one, it is one of the few I have seen dubbed and subbed multiple times each. Also I love Ragyo's theme. 6.Black lagoon: Remember when I said Hellsing ultimate doesn't pull many punches, well this one could arguably be said to pull even less and whereas Hellsing was funny and wild at times, this one is a bit more serious. I've said it before, but this one deals with drugs, gangs, sex, violence, language, etc. It is more mature and I really enjoy it. I keep hoping they will one day make more episodes. 5.Frieren: A new show, this one is amazing. A show about what happens after the demon king is defeated, from the perspective of a long living elf. The show is slower than most, but that is not a bad thing. It definitely has its action moments though. The world building is great, and the show flows nicely between episodic parts and other parts where it stops and has a whole mini arc, similar to Bebop. I really enjoy the interactions between the main cast and the situations that arise. I can't wait for more, so much so I've considered reading the manga. 4.Dandadan: Another new show, this one is a mix on wild crazy stuff almost like FLCL at times and romance combined with paranormal stuff. It is very enjoyable but what makes the show are the two main characters and the romance budding between them. The other characters are great too, but that's what is the best aspect in my opinion. I also will say the story is nice with all the paranormal stuff albeit a bit wild at times. I enjoyed this one so much that I actually bought the first season, first time I have bought a new series in years. 3.Gurren lagann:This drill will pierce the heavens! The classic action packed anime that starts small and gets universal. The story is simple enough, the characters are likeable, but the action is where it is at. I don't need to say too much about this one. 2.Fullmetal Alchemist brotherhood: Depending on what day you ask me, this could switch places with my number 1 show. The characters are very likeable and there is a nice cast of them, the action is top-notch but not too wild, and the story is superb. The ending is better than the original, but I will say the early episodes move fast under the assumption you've seen the original. The original spends more time in the early episodes and because of that, certain things hit harder in the original. The ending was quite unique as well. Still this one is definitely the superior one, the overall story is better. I think it is one of the best anime out there. 1.Cowboy Bebop: I do love Bebop. I have probably seen this anime through the most times of any anime, partly due to adult swim, but I never grow tired of watching it. The characters, the plot, the animation, the action, the music are all top-notch. I forgot to say this in the Black lagoon entry, but certain anime are better dubbed, a few at least and I think Black lagoon and Bebop are two such examples. I could go on and on about this show but much like Gurren lagann, it probably needs little introduction. Anyway, that's my current list as best I can think of. There are many shows I still like that didn't make the cut such as Big O, Gundam Wing, Ghost in the Shell, and many others.]]> Sun, 10 May 2026 15:05:48 -0700 https://myanimelist.net/blog.php?eid=912666 https://myanimelist.net/blog.php?eid=912666 Sun, 10 May 2026 14:28:07 -0700 https://myanimelist.net/blog.php?eid=912665 https://myanimelist.net/blog.php?eid=912665 FLCL: Now this is a wild ride. I said sit back and enjoy Jojo, that goes double for this one. This is a short and sweet fun watch, and it is almost required watching for how unique it is. I've seen this one many times on adult swim back in the day, and it never got old. It is truly lightning in a bottle. They tried to recreate it with some sequels a while back but none of them got near to capturing the original's wild funny charm. 14.My hero academia: I'll be honest, I haven't finished this one. I really should. The show about superheroes when heroes were all the rage thanks to Marvel. Really there isn't too much to say about this one, especially since I haven't finished it. I will say it can be slow at times, when Deku is trying to master his skills, and it takes forever, but that is part of the plot. The cast is amazing like any good Shonen (think Naruto) and it has great openings. This may go higher when I finish the final few seasons. 13.Jujutsu Kaisen: Well I guess this is the string of I am behind on shows...I am not current with this one either but what I have seen in the first season was really good. Demons and domain expanding, wild stuff. The plot is pretty unique, and it feels different, much like chainsaw man, but I enjoy it more. Much like MHA this could go up in the future. 12.Demon Slayer: Yep, I'm behind here as well. Maybe a season only? Anyway, this is a very enjoyable show. A nice cast of characters and two main characters you really root for. The story is entertaining and the visuals can be absolutely stunning at times. For the third time, I'll say it, this could move up in the future. 11.Attack on Titan: This just misses my top 10. The story for this one was amazing. The world building and subplots and reveals combined with the twists made this one a very fun watch. What started out as simple killing of Titans spiraled into well...not to spoil it, but it went wild with some historical similarities to our world. Anyway, good animation, great openings, great action scenes with a great plot. It could be higher, but there were some episodes where it felt slow and convoluted even. The early episodes especially can be sluggish at times.]]> Sun, 10 May 2026 14:26:15 -0700 https://myanimelist.net/blog.php?eid=912664 https://myanimelist.net/blog.php?eid=912664 Apothecary diaries: Another surprise. I did not think I would enjoy this one, but I gave it a shot. It is very well done. A love story mixed with mystery elements, almost case closed liked, and a world building consisting of political schemes and power plays in the background. The main character Mao Mao is very likeable and the story is just so good. I don't typically go for Romance stuff but in this show that is only a portion of it. There's another show that is kind of a Romance way higher up on this list as well. Anyway, just a very fun show from the first seasons. 19.Outlaw Star: I still love this anime. It was one of my first. I always say DBZ got me into anime and Rurouni Kenshin, Outlaw Star, and Gundam Wing kept me in it. Those other two have fallen of my list, but this one remains, albeit much lower than it used to be. It is still a great sci-fi anime, but it doesn't quite hold up as well as it once did, especially against some of these newcomers. 18.Gachiakuta: We've only gotten one season of this, but it was very fun. It broke some traditional anime tropes and rules along the way. I won't spoil it but if you know you know..This anime has a style all its own and some really nice action scenes. I like the plot and the overall world the author has created. There's a good mystery or two here as well, and I like most of the characters. It was for me the surprise of the season it came out. 17.The Dragon Ball series: I'm just combining the whole series, Ball, DBZ, GT, and Super. GT is why it is lower...okay not really. DBZ was what got me into anime and I love all the DB stuff, even GT but not near as much. Super was very fun, the tournament of power was amazing. Having said all that as I have gotten older I realize the story is quite simple, and it stands on its action. So I put it here this time. Still wonderful but much like Outlaw Star, it doesn't hold up like it once did for me. 16.The JoJo series: Another series entry much like Dragon Ball. The Jojo series has great installments and okay installments, but it is always fun. That's about the extent of it really. Don't take it too seriously, and you don't really watch for the plot. Just enjoy the ride. Also, Dio is a great villain.]]> Sun, 10 May 2026 14:07:01 -0700