Anime/Manga Anime Watch Challenge 2022!

I haven't watched much in the way of comedy slice of life series, so I'm going to go with Komi Can't Communicate this time around.

You know what, I'm in! I really want to catch up again.

Going to torture myself and watch Serial Experiments Lain. :')

Sheep said:

Going to torture myself and watch Serial Experiments Lain. :')

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YESSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS

I started the first few episodes of Welcome to the NHK a few years back but never finished it. However I'm going to give it another go since it seems interesting. Haven't watched much psychological anime so it should be neat :D

I have no idea what to watch, I know that I don't often watch Slice and life or Sci-fi anime (not a fan of either. Slice of life mostly because it's usually boring school life)

If anyone has recommendations, hit me up c:

Sapphire Rose said:

I have no idea what to watch, I know that I don't often watch Slice and life or Sci-fi anime (not a fan of either. Slice of life mostly because it's usually boring school life)

If anyone has recommendations, hit me up c:

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Let's do this shit. I'll DM you.

sliding in here "late" to say I'm going to be watching Loveless. I basically never watch BL shows and i remember from various videos back in the day that this one in particular is a shitshow lmao. I could have gone with the easy choice and watched something I know will be good by reviews (given, junjou romantica, and sasamiya were on my list of possibilities), but this should be fun :))

8 episodes into Serial Experiments Lain!

It is insanely confusing so far, but I still can't not keep watching. Binged episodes 3-8 today and all I can say it is absolutely insane, to the point where I'm probably going to watch some of the videos explaining exactly what went on by the end (noticed there were some recommended videos that try to explain the 'Serial Experiments Lain iceberg' on my feed). Poor Arisu/Alice :((

Sheep said:

8 episodes into Serial Experiments Lain!

It is insanely confusing so far, but I still can't not keep watching. Binged episodes 3-8 today and all I can say it is absolutely insane, to the point where I'm probably going to watch some of the videos explaining exactly what went on by the end (noticed there were some recommended videos that try to explain the 'Serial Experiments Lain iceberg' on my feed). Poor Arisu/Alice :((

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That sounds like the standard Lain experience. I'm glad you're liking it though because it's one of my favourites!

I'm in! I've just started watching Sgt. Frog but that can be put to the side for now.

I haven't watched much Sci-Fi when it comes to anime, so I think I'll pick that genre and give Irina: The Vampire Cosmonaut a watch!

I'm curious to all the reviews! Those are all some interesting choices!

So, I finished Komi and... I dunno.

I have friends who think really highly of the manga (and maybe the show?), and it was rated really highly on MAL, so I was expecting better. While I am glad that, through it's hyperbole, the show did a really good job of portraying what anxiety can feel like to those who suffer from it. Unfortunately, rather than portraying things with authenticity, the show mostly makes it the butt of the joke even though it tries to present itself as though it isn't. That's not to say that you can't joke about something like this, I think it's a good topic for a comedy series, but Komi feels more like a mockery than a joke in good faith/spirits. You can tell because, for much of the series, Komi isn't even the perspective character. Roughly a third of the series is more focused on how weird Komi makes Tadano's life rather than actually focusing on her difficulties. It gets better about this as it goes on, and even has moments earlier, but it's not enough to properly redeem a series that should be told from Komi's perspective from the beginning.

Outside of Komi, the characters tend to either be annoying or forgettable. Tadano is bland and only memorable because of his MC status and the majority of other characters that appear only once or twice are quickly forgotten about. Then there's the few more important/memorable secondary characters of which.... most are annoying character archetypes thrown in to make the class more zany. The entire class having the empathy and intelligence of toenail clippings doesn't help. The ulta-simping for Komi from literally every person that lays eyes on her also got pretty bothersome.

Through it all though, in the darkness of this cast, there is a shining light: Najimi. Not only is Najimi's gender non-conformity only rarely used for crappy jokes, but they are also the most compelling character in the cast. Their upbeat, mischievous and friendly personality makes them easy to like. They are also the only source of comedy in the show that consistently hits. I wouldn't say Najimi is gods gift to comedy anime, but they definitely stand out a lot in this cast. They're also one of the few characters with a design that isn't either very bland or very unpleasant.

Oh yeah... not super fond of the art either. It's weird though because it's hard to put my finger on exactly what I dislike about it. There is the aforementioned blandness of many characters - even if it was intentional on Tadano's part. There's just something about the art style that is weirdly off-putting though. This is especially true for Komi who in neither "form" conforms to the art of other characters. It's entirely possible that the weird combination of designs + Komi's different art entirely are the problem actually. The animation itself is of a solid quality, but it's hard to overlook the dissonance with the art.

I don't have much to say about the music or the acting. Neither was standout at all but neither was bad either.

So.... Komi isn't terrible. It's not. It has its moments and it really does do a great job of conveying what anxiety feels like. But it also has a lot of problems. Ultimately though, Komi is a painfully average show with comedy that mostly falls flat. It's biggest crime is being disappointing after all the praise it's received. Frankly, if you want to watch a comedy about a high school girl learning to grow past social issues... go watch WataMote from back in 2013. It does something similar but much, much better - even if it isn't explicitly about social anxiety.

I give Komi a 5/10. A couple of little things save it from falling into the loathsome "4 or less" category.

I'll have my review for Irina The Vampire Cosmonaut ready on Sunday! Cutting it VERY close to the end of the month but I've just been a tad busy with work towards the end of the week. I'm halfway there, though!

I'll have my review up tomorrow! Still a few episodes to go - I'm so close, and honestly pretty darn excited to wrap up Lain and add it to my list. So far I have a pretty positive experience of it (despite it being a bit confusing right now lol). Going to have to consider more in this genre in the future.

Finished!!

Wow that was crazy. Around 9 is when the history lesson started and I honestly did not expect to start seeing images of real people to illustrate what had happened in human history prior in this anime haha, but it fit well. The ending was sad and I felt so bad for Lain erasing herself from everyone's memories. ;__; But that little moment between older Arisu and Lain was a good final scene and kind of made me feel like the ending wasn't as sad as I thought, and I was happy having that interaction be the final moment of the series. I was worried humanity would perish or something crazier would happen... not sure I'd handle that too well.

Honestly, it was confusing but really good. It's just...a type of confusion you keep wanting more of even if you can't make full sense of it, if that makes sense? I'm still going to be going through some explanation videos on YT today to see what I might have missed/not realized (am sure there's a lot), but even without those, it was a very entertaining experience. I think I'd give this an 8/10, 2 points docked because some episodes could have benefited from 1.5x speed since they were slow-going and because of my brain not fully being able to grasp it all. Though the latter was probably intentional haha.

I got some time this afternoon to watch the last few episodes of Irina The Vampire Cosmonaut! Allow me to tell you what I thought of it...

For starters, it was basically Russia vs UK, who's gonna be the first on the moon. The first test launch featured a dog, who isn't called Laika in the show but is obviously based off her. It was, surprisingly, a very politically driven anime, although I did enjoy it. The animation was amazing, the characters were really likeable and it even featured a scene with as dude denying his heart attack because he wanted to see his space project out. Very cool. A very heart-warming ending, with the two main characters sparking a political revolution (and realising but not caring that they have been used as pawns lol) and vampires and humans travelling to the moon together. It was... weird, but good. I didn't get that into it, but it was an enjoyable watch over the course of the week.

I'd give it a 7/10. If you enjoy a bit of political drama, and vampires, and lemon seltzer water, then this one is for you! My next review will be better I promise, it's just late rn D:

I know what you're expecting for this month's theme, but to hell with expectations. The Winter Olympics is right around the corner and we're celebrating that instead of other things typically associated with the month of February. The theme for this month is sports anime. Regardless of the genre, the show you watch should be centred around some kind of sport - be it real or fictional.

I finished loveless the other night. I wish I hadn't.

It had a decent ost. But other than that... I know early-mid 00's art styles are kinda hit and miss these, but I just really couldn't vibe with what was going on here. That, along with the whole premise of the show in the first place and the fact nothing ever really gets explained? Eh. Catgirls are kinda cute ig, but does it really matter when a 20something man is actively and continuously 'engaging' with an actual preteen?

I just want to... not think about this show anymore lmao. Please don't put yourself through this.

For February I'll be watching Tamayomi: The Baseball Girls! Fits the theme nicely and it looks super cute!~