The Promised Neverland - Volume One
So, I read through this whole thing today. as far as I can tell, it covers the first 2-4 episodes of the anime? That speaks volumes to how much season 2 must have condensed things down because there's 20 volumes of The Promised Neverland.

I immediately noticed that the art for this series is gorgeous. The coloured covers especially, but the black and white pages within are really nice too. Big respect to the artist. Everything feels very kinetic and expressive and that really is not easy to achieve in still images.

Story-wise, it seems s1 of the anime didn't diverge much (if at all) from the source material. The first volume follows Emma, Norman and Ray from their realisation that they are being raised as demon food to the arrival of Sister Krone. Emma, Norman and Ray are as compelling as I remember them. Emma is all action and feeling, Ray is cynical and calculating and Norman is an interesting middle ground between them, aware that Ray makes more sense but not willing to budge on the emotional side regardless. It gives them an interesting dynamic as the protagonists.

Isabella also remains as terrifying as I remember, a fantastic villain who at this stage of the story someone new to it would really struggle to understand. She feels almost more inhuman than the demons because of how cold, calm, cunning and ruthless she is. Krone, by comparison, feels extremely human, being much more emotive and more focused on climbing the ladder than on the horrors she enables.

I love a good battle of wits and The Promises Neverland delivers on that even this early. I'm excited to get back into it and to go further than I did with the anime since I heeded the warnings and didn't try s2.

The Promised Neverland - Volume Two
This part of story is juicy. It's not just a singular battle of wits but many ongoing struggles all happening at once between competing factions who are more or less aligned or against each other depending on the situation. You've got Emma, Norman and Ray (and later Gilda and Don) attempting to figure out an escape plan against Isabella and Krone, you've got Krone attempting to undermine Isabella and steal her positions, you've got the traitor in the midst of the wannabe escapees and the differing opinions between Norman and Ray that Emma is being kept mostly oblivious to - not to mention that the main trio have secured Don and Gilda's help but are actively keeping the truth from them as well. There's a lot of very interesting dynamics all at play here all at once and all of them deliver the tension and the intrigue. Meanwhile, the mystery of the world at large still looms and we get our first mention of William Minerva, a potential ally on the outside leaving secret messages in old books.

This was one of my favourite parts of season one and it's just as good in the manga. The thing with the traitor feels like it was paced a bit quicker in the manga for some reason which cut down on the tension a bit there, but I have no idea why that's the case because I don't think the anime added anything in.

The art also just continues to be brilliant. Every character is wonderfully expressive, especially Krone who stands out a lot this volume - especially with her frequent contrasts to the cold and collected Isabella.

I'm actually about to order the next few volumes right now.

The Promised Neverland - Volumes Three and Four
My manga finally arrived which means I've got more Promised Neverland books woo! As always, I'm going to try my best to avoid spoilers but it's really hard to talk about anything with much depth as a result.

These two volumes are where the tension is amped up dramatically from the already tense preceding chapters. The kids, Krone and Isabella all start to make their big plays for real and, naturally, it can't go right for everyone. We start with Krone starting to make her moves which is ultimately what triggers the kids pushing their escape date forward and amping up their plans - which in turn puts Isabella into a tough spot and forced her to start taking more serious actions against both factions.

This culminates in what we are lead to believe is an absolute defeat for the kids. Obviously, with this much of the story left, that isn't the case. It doesn't go perfectly for them, but the author does an excellent job of showing us Ray and Emma in despair, which is great misdirection since we're only seeing what Isabella sees.

In the end, they are able to successfully make their escape with the "orphanage" in flames in their wake. This manga continues to be fantastic. The work on fluidity of movement and expressiveness is only getting better with each volume which is very hype.

This marks (apart from a chapter or two at the start of the next volume) the end of what s1 of the anime gave us. That means from here on out, I'm going in blind and I am very excited to see what happens next.

The Promised Neverland - Volumes Five, Six and Seven
Alright, we're in uncharted territory now and things are already playing out quite different than I expected with some new characters being introduced and some new information about the world coming to light. I can see what the author is setting up introducing Sonju and Mujika as well as a certain nameless individual one right after the other. I probably shouldn't be surprised about the moral complexity given earlier characters like Krone and Isabella, but it was still something I honestly didn't see coming. They make interesting foils for one another and while I have my suspicions about how things there will play out, it's going to be fun to read.

Beyond that, our heroes are being pursued by demons still and are learning the true nature of the world they inhabit is much worse than they had originally guessed. The plucky bunch they are though, they have also found a colossal silver lining in those storm clouds. Honestly, it is very clear that the kids' determination and positivity is going to get them through things as much as their wits and the speed with which they adapt and learn. Which makes sense. We've already seen what can become of you if you lack those first things.

Would I say that I'm still enjoying this as much as when they were still at Grace Field? Probably not. I miss the subterfuge and the mind games and the pacing feels like it has shifted dramatically to go along with the new focus on action and survival. Still, the strategy element is still there if you look for it and the world and its inhabitants are fascinating. I'm still enjoying it a lot, but I am experiencing a bit of whiplash perhaps that will hopefully die down over the next few volumes.

Anyway, I've done some budgeting and now it's time to order volumes 8-10.

The Promised Neverland - Volumes Eight, Nine and Ten
Goldy Pond is very exciting. By far, this is the most action-packed The Promised Neverland has been. Blessedly though, it manages to keep all that action without ever completely forgetting it's more cerebral horror starting point. The focus has definitely shifted, but it's doing so in a way that still feels faithful to the beginning. Actually, something very interesting I've noticed is that the story shifting away from horror coincides with the characters learning how they can fight back. So as the story becomes less about the terror as the demons become a little less scary to the protagonists. It's pretty cool when you look at it that way.

We get a lot of information in general during these volumes too. We learn the locations of the ways to the human world, we learn what really happened to Norman, we learn about William Minerva's true identity and the various different human and demon factions at play in the world. We also get what looks like a promising redemption arc for Geezer and a lot of new and interesting characters. There's still mysteries to be unravelled though, like what is different about the new farm and what the mysterious seven walls are. It seems that the latter is known to the characters, but hasn't been explained to us yet, so hopefully I'll get to find out soon.

These volumes were well worth the read, although I am a bit frustrated because volume ten ends on a huge cliff-hanger. I'll have to do some budgeting to figure out when I can order the next few volumes.

The Promised Neverland - Volumes Eleven, Twelve and Thirteen
So, we got the dramatic and exhilarating conclusion to the Goldy Pond arc in volume eleven. This was everything I wanted it to be. It was the completion of character arcs, personal growth, intense action and still those more cerebral and strategic elements as a hold over from the more horror-based early volumes. Yugo is probably my favourite character in The Promised Neverland, although I do like most of the others to varying degrees. I think at this point my top five would probably be Yugo, Emma, Isabella, Krone and Nigel - but others like Ray, Don, Gilda and Lucas are strong competition for those latter spots.

Following Goldy Pond, we get a very abrupt and weirdly paced nearly two-year time skip where some of the survivors ( the total group now numbering over 60) venture out into the world, sometimes disguised as monsters, and find out more about these mysterious seven walls and how to get into them. The plan being to establish a new Promise to save all the humans of the demon world.

Now, I'm not against time skips but they are so rarely done well and this is not really an exception. Because of the way it is handled and the way two years of progression are crammed into a few pages, it feels like a lot of stuff just magically falls into the laps of the protagonists when in-universe it took them a lot of work. It would have been better to either explore the journey to figuring that stuff out or not show the trip at all and just do the time jump so it could be gradually revealed to us.

Following the skip, we got our first real taste of human enemies with the Ratri Clan and they proved to be just as formidable as the demons encountered thus far if not more so. This proved to be a very intense arc. Much like the Goldy Pond one, we got a lot of great action without losing the strategy and mind games. We're definitely well out of horror territory now, but the stuff that makes me love this story is still mostly there.

That being said... I don't know how I feel about what is going on with the new base and James Ratri. It's still early days and I don't know enough about it yet, there's bound to be some sort of problem there. But as it stands, right now, it feels far too abrupt for its scale. Still, I'm eager for the next volumes. I'm hoping to be able to read them next month.

My Hero Academia: Season 6 - Episodes 113-131 (The Paranormal Liberation War Arc)
So... originally the idea was that I'd be doing entries for each handful of episodes. But seeing as I've binged this whole arc over the last couple of days, it seemed pointless to do that since I'd have to do several entries in one day. So, instead, I'm going to do a summary post for the arc. Fair warning, there's probably going to be spoilers below.

This is where MHA takes a jump in intensity, brutality and also emotional weight. The heroes mass their forces to go after the Paranormal Liberation Front created by the merging of the old League of Villains and Meta Liberation Movement. They split into two groups, one to raid the hospital where the Nomu's are being manufactured and Shigaraki is being enhanced and one to go after the Front's main base. Students are primarily handling evacuating nearby settlements and being backline combatants/support. Naturally, this does not go as planned on just about any level.

This was clearly going to be a big arc with ramifications that will be felt for the rest of the series and it lived up to that expectation. From the very beginning of the season, the action and drama were already at an all time high as was the excitement and character moments. Early on we go scenes like Kaminari, motivated by thoughts of Kyoka and his classmates rushing in despite being nearly overcome by fear and completely shutting down a PLF leader and Mirko rushing ahead of the rest of the hospital raid and having to fight seven high-end Nomu's on her own, fighting like mad to hold her own until Eraserhead, Endeavour and others could arrive. That was all within the first like... 2-3 episodes.

From there, the intensity and weight of the situation only increased - and we had our first real deaths of names characters in the series. We saw Hawks try desperately to convince Twice to surrender and then having to kill him to prevent him from just auto-winning the fight for the enemy. We saw Crust, Native and Midnight die at the hands of Shigaraki or the Front. We saw a city erased from existence, numerous. We saw the UA students banding together to face down Gigantomachia, a monster who the pros couldn't even really handle and succeed in their plan only for it to not be enough to immediately stop him, allowing him to head towards Shigaraki and destroy more settlements along the way, leaving even more injuries and death in his wake.

And, of course, then there was the real big part. Shigaraki, now with All For One and biological enhancements that put him physically beyond even the Nomu's without his quirks even activating, with his own Decay quirk levelled up a shitload from the previous season. We watched as Endeavour, Ryoku, Gran Torino, Eraserhead, Deku, Bakugo and Shoto all had to put in huge amounts of effort to effectively just get a tie, culminating in Dabi finally dropping the reveal we all already knew about in advance - that he was Toya Todoroki - and the remaining League/Front members escaping to then break All For One and several other dangerous people out of prison.

That's a barebones summary, honestly. A ridiculous amount of wild stuff happens during this arc. What I love about it though is that the severity of the situation is never understated. The story doesn't pull punches here. The deaths, injuries and destruction all carry the kind of weight that tragedy of that scale should carry. While both sides are left in ruins, ultimately the heroes are losing the war. Masses of people, heroes included, are horribly wounded or dead. After the heroes failed to stop the destruction and the reveals about Toya and the death of Twice, the public are in despair and losing faith in heroes. The heroes are questioning things and losing faith in themselves. The losses - of every variety - by both sides are felt.

But, conversely, towards the end there was a problem. I have little to complain about, truthfully, most of the arc was incredible. But it tries a little too hard to give us every amazing or dramatic thing that could have happened all at once. Subsequently, some pretty huge events that should have been treated with a lot of attention and gravitas were barely even addressed. Things like Eri successfully managing to control her quirk for a short time and Lemillion getting his back and joining the fray again, Eraserhead cutting off a limb to keep his quirk from being sealed off, Mr Compress mutilating himself to free the other villains and getting captured as a result and a couple of other smaller things. The return of Best Jeanist could have been a bit more too, but it was impressive enough. The former two things in particular though... I was not happy with the execution there.

That is basically my only gripe though. The music, animation and voice acting were all as good as the best episodes of previous seasons for the most part - but for every episode of the arc just about. Narratively so much happened that mattered here, that felt like it mattered. We learned some new stuff about One For All as well and the state of the world has been changed. The stakes are higher then ever and I'm looking forward to seeing how things play out now with Deku going rogue for a bit.

My Hero Academia: Season 6 - Episodes 132-134
So, these episodes were all about the shifting status quo, with some more discussion of the history that led to this inevitable shift. 132 mostly served as setup, we got to see Deku get a rematch with Muscular and absolutely body him as a sign of how much more powerful and skilled he is now. More importantly though, this episode continued to show us the messy state of affairs of Japan as society continues to fall apart and dig their heals in against the people trying to help them. We also got introduced to the team dynamic with Endeavour, Hawks and Jeanist moving in one area while Deku handles another with All Might as logistical support. Four heroes and one assistant plus a scattering of others - largely students - trying to hold things together despite everything being determined to crumble.

Then we get Deku vs Lady Nagant and finally get openly stated what we have long known - Stain was right (at least partly). Hero society was largely a facade. Public facing heroes did their work while specially selected heroes like Nagant and Hawk would also do the dirty work behind the scenes, often in the form of assassinating prominent threats or traitorous heroes who threated that image and the public faith.

Deku's fight was not just a fight to win and survive, but also to show her that real heroes do still exist. I do love it when a fight is thematic and philosophical as well as just violent. It was cool to see Deku's strategic mind coming into play again too since it feels like a while since we've seen him go into prediction and analysis mode. Seeing him making good use of the previous OFA holders' quirks was nice too. I appreciate that most of them aren't super powerful but are more about utility or manoeuvrability since it stops Deku from feeling like a god and keeps him being a bit of an underdog compared to All For One and Shigaraki. That being said though, Fa Jin is extremely powerful, especially given how well it synergises with One For All. I like that he mostly uses it as a way to temporarily reach power equivalent to 100% OFA without wrecking himself. Keeps such a powerful ability from feeling too powerful just yet while still being very cool.

I'm interested to see where things go from here now that the squad know where their enemies are supposed to be in the future.

Chainsaw Man - Epsidoes 1-6
I've heard nothing but extremely high praise for this one, so I figured I'd give it a watch. Evidently, it wasn't terrible because I've watched six episodes now lmao.

It's hard to talk about plot with this one because right now it's pretty much episodic with only the hint of the beginnings of an overarching plotline with the Gun Devil stuff just coming into play. Really we've just got the premise of "supremely down on his luck dude is saved from death by merging with his cute little devil buddy and gets conscripted to hunt other devils" which is intriguing enough and character introductions shenanigans. I'm entertained, but I'm definitely eager to see the more longform stuff really play out because that's generally much more interesting.

Character-wise... I also don't really know what to think? Aki and Himeno feel like they're the main characters of a different show. They're very dark serious characters, even with allowances made for Himeno's surface-level joking. Makima is similarly more serious and is intriguing because she is clearly manipulating everyone who works under her towards her own ends whatever they might be. The other rookies are just kinda... there right now.

Then we have Denji himself and Power. I want to like them more than I do. They both have things I like about them, but there's a lot that is kind of... eh as well. I like the idea of a character like Denji who doesn't really have any grand ambitions. He's just trying to enjoy the time he's got after having it incredibly rough right up to losing his only friend. I appreciate that. He has some genuinely funny/cool moments too. I hope he gets over his sex obsession thing and develops an actual personality though because he will get tiresome without some very good character development.

Power is fun. She tries to portray herself as being the typical demon who revels in the suffering of others and loves carnage etc. But clearly is really motivated by a desire for approval. Everything she says or does is done because she wants people to think highly of her. She doesn't want to beat people down, she wants them to build her up. I feel like seeing where she goes with that has a lot of potential. But like Denji, her whole schtick could become very tiresome if it never goes anywhere. I guess I'll remain cautiously optimistic for now.

I have no complaints about the visuals. They're not quite at the level of something like Jujutsu Kaisen or Demon Slayer, but the art style is appealing and the animation is really clean and fluid, which is a win in my book. The voice acting and music however, are both fantastic. Everyone doing something sound-related is knocking it out of the park.

So... where do I stand with this one? It's... solid. Right now it does feel extremely overhyped, but that doesn't mean it's bad. It's sitting at a solid 6/10 right now and there's definitely potential for it to go to some really interesting places going forward. I just hope it actually does.

Chainsaw Man - Episodes 7-8
Okay, so... kudos for being an anime that understands the ethics of consent somewhat I suppose?

Anyway, I'm not sure what to say about these episodes really. A lot happened but also not much happened. Episode 7 was just wrapping up the fight with the Eternity Devil which was really not that exciting after Denji jumped in and just started ripping it t shreds. It served more as Himeno exposition than anything. It was nice to see all the Devil Hunters hanging out after though, and I didn't miss Makima avoiding explaining the reality of Denji to people.

Then Episode 9 was a very abrupt and sudden serious switch after the first few minutes. We get a coordinated yakuza(?) attack against the assorted hunters followed by a katana-hybrid (like Denji is a chainsaw-hybrid) attacking Denji in revenge for the dead yakuza from the first episode - probably also being manipulated by the creepy girl with the snake contract. Possibly all related to the Gun Devil or even orchestrated by him.

This led to the first real death of the series which wasn't super surprising given the episodes prior. Still, it was a nice reminder about the brutality of the world of this show and it was executed well in the way it was very subtly build up to over the last few episodes before coming out of nowhere quite abruptly here. As for the other attacks... I definitely doubt Makima is dead and honestly I'm not sold on Kobeni and the others being dead either.

So far, I'm still enjoying the show quite a bit. I do have to say though, it really does feel like the episodes are broken up weirdly with where they end and pick up. I don't know if the manga volumes were like that too or why they've done it, but it's definitely strange.

My Hero Academia: Season Six - Episodes 135-136
These episodes deal with how worn down Deku is quickly becoming attempting to deal with the All For One/League/Chaos situation pretty much alone. Episode 135 is basically split into three parts. Firstly, the handful of pro heroes in the know discussing what to do about Deku's rapidly draining stamina and deteriorating mental state, the second following Deku himself as he struggles to keep from falling apart and finally his classmates and friends dealing with the aftermath of his leaving and eventually deciding to go after him and save him themselves. They arrive at the end with just enough time to save him from being dogpiled by civilians having their bodies controlled and fully prepared to drag him back to U.A. by force if necessary.

The next episode deals with the confrontation itself with every single member of Deku's class working together to pin him, restrain him and make him listen to sense. All of them poor their hearts out while struggling to keep him from fleeing but he is determined to get away. In the end, Deku simply runs out of steam and has to listen and after nearly six seasons we finally get the emotional resolution to his whole deal with Bakugo when the latter acknowledges his feelings of inferiority - not just because of Deku getting so powerful - but because he knew deep down that Deku was a far better human being. That was the reason he always pushed him away and tried to lift himself above the quirkless boy. Finally the guy acknowledges Deku as a person, apologises for past wrongs and calls him by his actual name.

Honestly, the actual action of Deku vs 1A wasn't that exciting. It wasn't particularly dynamic or thrilling. But it also didn't have to be because it was the emotional struggle that was actually on display here (and the voice acting and character expressions were on-fucking-point for that). These were two of the most emotionally charged episodes the series has given us and god damn was it good. We got almost every significant character that Deku has helped voicing how he's changed them for the better. Shoto, Asui, Tokoyami, Iida and especially Bakugo got the best moments throughout this.

Of course though, it's not over yet. They've gotten Deku back to the U.A. shelter but he still wants to leave and the civilians within are protesting his presence already, trying to drive him back out. Looks like we're gearing up for a big Ochaco moment in the next episode. Perhaps she has an answer at last to the question she's been asking for three seasons now - who protects the heroes when they need saving? That'll be hype. I'm concerned about our boy All Might though... we last saw him dejected after being left by Deku and likely about to be ambushed by a villain that was watching him.

God damn this season is good. I wasn't thrilled by the middle of season 5 (focused on the students training under pros) or parts of how elements of season 4 were handled but I have little to complain about with season 6. It's definitely the best MHA has been. If I had to pick at anything, I'd maybe have liked to have this arc drawn out a little longer and see more of the struggle before 1A successfully brought Deku back, but it's tricky to get the timing right on parts of a story like this. You don't necessarily want it to go too long or it gets really hard to justify how your hero could ever actually recover. Plus, it can get a bit repetitive. So while I would have liked a tiny bit more, I'm satisfied with what I got and understand why it didn't go that extra episode or two. Great episodes.

Chainsaw Man - Episodes 9-12
So, we open up with the immediate aftermath of Himeno's death and the Special Division's defeat and losses at the hands of the Gun Devil's minions/Yakuza led by Katana and Sawatari. Sort of. We also got treated to our first, terrifying glimpse of Makima's power and got to see Kobeni fuck shit up too (Himeno did say she was skilled) - saving Denji's ass in the process.

Following that, everyone has to take some time to recover, process what happened and prepare for what was coming. Recovering wasn't particularly hard for Denji and Power who have devil regenerative powers and the emotional depth of an amoeba. In fact, realising this Denji even questioned if he was becoming less and less human... and then decided to ignore those ponderings. For Aki though, he was struggling with the loss of Himeno. Which I'm glad for. I was a little worried that Chainsaw Man wouldn't give her death the attention it deserved but it absolutely did and not just for Aki but for Kobeni too (who lost Himeno and also her partner).

Aki seems to have lost his contract with the Fox Devil in the aftermath of the fight too and only has about two years left to live thanks to using his cursed sword. He refused to leave public safety though and instead contracted with the Future Devil, allowing him to see brief glimpses of the future. Meanwhile, Power and Denji were put through a brutal training regime by the division's captain Kishibe - who also trained Himeno.

This all culminated in the division's raid against Katana and Sawatari's hideout... and honestly, domination of their forces for the most part. Even with the added zombie numbers the team of Kishibe, Denji, Aki, Power, Kobeni, Angel Devil, Spider Devil, Violence Fiend and Shark Fiend was more than enough to deal with the plebs. Especially with Makima using her power to snipe the Yakuza goons from literal miles away. Only Katana and Sawatari stood any chance at all but both of them were defeated. I particularly liked seeing Sawatari attempting to use the Ghost Devil stolen from Himeno against Aki only for that to blow up in her face and result in her capture and subsequent contract death.

The fight between Denji and Katana was dynamic and fun and the animation was spectacular, but carried way less emotional weight although it did lead to a nice montage of Denji, Aki and Power getting closer which was nice.

So, that's the end of Chainsaw Man for now.

I have to admit, I do still think it's been a little overhyped. But, that doesn't make it bad by any means. It's still a really solid show. The writing is mostly really tight, even if the characters didn't really grow at all through the season besides becoming actual friends. Don't get me wrong, I like seeing our main trio becoming buddies, I just wish there was more individual growth too. The story itself isn't anything too crazy, but it was executed well. The mysteries are definitely there to make me want to come back for more. Why does the Gun Devil want Denji's devil heart from Pochita and what the hell is Makima actually up to? The latter episodes also mostly did away with the weird places that episodes were broken up which was nice, although that did irk me through like 2/3rds of the show.

Animation and art-wise I have no complaints. It wasn't quite up to the same standards as stuff like Demon Slayer, Jujutsu Kaisen or Ufotable stuff when it came to the action sequences, but those are really freaking high bars to clear. It was still really dynamic and fluid and everything looked amazing by-and-large.

As far as sound, the music was all-around great and the voice actors all brought their A-game and really sold their characters at every moment they were on screen. Top-tier work there.

I'd say, over all, I'd give Chainsaw Man a 7/10 but depending on how things go in future seasons, I could see it climbing higher.

My Hero Academia: Season Six - Episodes 137-138
It's interesting how sometimes in a story, very significant parts of a story can be the ones where over all not that much happens. Over all, these two episodes contain no action and the final episode contains very little in the way of character drama. Yet, I think both of these episodes were essential because they set up everything to come in the next season.

First and foremost, we got Episode 137 which primarily dealt with Uraraka grabbing a megaphone and putting it to good use, making a case for Deku being allowed to continue staying at UA to recuperate. She made some pretty good points too. The crowd were so worried about themselves that they were sparing no thought to the people protecting them, but in doing so were only putting themselves at greater risk because Deku - their best chance for being saved from Shigaraki, AFO and the League - was being run ragged and needed somewhere safe to get some rest. We got the emotional payoff of Uraraka forcing the masses to finally look at heroes as people and to expose the greatest flaw with All Might's "symbol" approach: the inevitable collapse and dehumanisation of the protectors - which Bakugo alluded to previously as well.

The next episode we got to see Deku finally getting that reprieve and some lighter moments to provide a reprieve for the audience too after such a brutal and gritty season. We also got to see the brief return of Stain, who not only provided All Might with a wake-up call and reignited his heroic spirit but also provided him with crucial information about the activity of AFO and the league that led to the realisation that Shigaraki's own recuperation and progression as a vessel would be completed much sooner than expected.

Then, the season ends on a more hopeful note with international aid from the US' #1 hero, Star and Stripe en route and other places also ready to lend assistance and 1A resolving to deal with what was to come as a team.

Overall, this season was an emotional rollercoaster and it was easily the best MHA has been. Not just for the raising stakes and intense action either. Not because it showed us the brutality and darkness that has mostly just been alluded to. But also because it did such a fantastic job of portraying a society in the middle of collapse and the effects of fear and trauma at both a large scale and at a personal level. The character growth and important character moments we got throughout as well were awesome and all while the animation and voice acting hit new peaks as well. Uraraka's VA deserves a raise after the speech scene.

So yeah, there were some issues during the latter stages of the first half and I do still think that the vigilante arc could have gone on a bit longer or Nagant could have done with a bit more screen time but those are very minor complaints compared to how well done literally everything else was. I can't believe I'm saying this about MHA, but I'd say this season was a 9/10 - compared to previous seasons which have been 7's or low 8's. Damn.


Next I'm planning to watch To Your Eternity and The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya, plus I've got two more volumes of The Promised Neverland sitting on my desk waiting for me and only 1-2 more chapters left before Kubo ends.

The Promised Neverland - Volumes Fourteen and Fifteen
I am now 3/4 of the way through The Promised Neverland and things have taken an interesting turn. I'm going to spoil this one for a huge plot twist and stuff, so read at your own risk.

To Your Eternity - Episodes 1-4
So... To Your Eternity is a show with a fascinating premise. An orb of nothingness or something like that is dropped into the world by someone and rapidly has to evolve and learn, eventually becoming some sort of wandering shapechanging immortal with no understanding of what it means to be alive. It must discover this through the people it interacts with.

The first episode is an introduction to this being, later named Fushi, as it takes on the form of a domesticated wolf that died nearby it out in a tundra. It goes on to take the dead wolf's place at its master's side and later on, it takes that master's form.

Episodes 2-4 (and more to come) follow a group of characters for longer as Fushi, still with no idea how to human - or anything really - gets caught up in the events surrounding the imminent ritual sacrifice of a young girl and her subsequent escape and imprisonment as well as some larger politics since the sacrifices are being encouraged and used to manipulate local villages out of their resources by a nearby nation.

It's a very emotional and poignant show already just four episodes into season one with 16 more episodes and a whole second season to go. I'm not sure how I feel about it in a lot of ways, but it's entrancing in a way. It's such a unique and intriguing concept and I'm so curious to see where it goes. Watching Fushi come to terms with different emotions, discoveries and experiences over what will undoubtedly be a very long and harrowing existence has me thoroughly captivated. I'm very curious to see where it all goes from here

To Your Eternity - Episodes 5-6
Firstly, we got the conclusion of March's story which was about as depressing as I was expecting from this show so far. Still, from March and Parona, Fushi learned more valuable lessons about what it is to be a human (or a person at least). They learned the desire to seek knowledge and grow, something that will undoubtably drive them going forward. Their grasp on emotion also began to improve.

After that, they fled the Hanome (or whatever they were called) with some help from Parona and her village and eventually met back up with the old lady from the prison, Pioran. With her help, Fushi began to learn the basics of language so they could express themselves better - some of March's teachings coming into play.

Along the way to meet Pioran's lover, Fushi was attacked by this weird tree thing that was able to steal their forms and memories. With some advice from their maker though, they were able to defeat the tree thing and claim their memories and forms back. We got some information there too. Apparently, Fushi exists to serve as a record or continuation of humanity/life after an impending apocalypse or something like that and the tree was sent to impede that progress - although I wouldn't be shocked if the tree was also somehow part of the creator guy's experiment either. I don't quite trust him yet.

The show continues to nail the emotional punches it delivers, but I do worry that it's going to start becoming formulaic very quickly if doesn't change things up a bit going forwards soon. That being said though, I'm still intrigued by the mystery of Fushi's existence and I'm enjoying watching them evolve. Here's hoping the story stays good.

To Your Eternity - Episodes 7-10
So, we started this new arc off with the focus not on Fushi for most of episode seven but on a boy named Gugu. Gugu lives in poverty with his older brother while pining helplessly for a wealthy girl named Rynn and his life only gets worse from there. His brother abandons him and then not long after finally managing to talk to Rynn for five seconds he ends up saving her from being crushed by a log only to be gravely injured and seriously disfigured with her none the wise. Which is where Fushi and Pioran come in - the person who saved Gugu's life was her lover who is also a crazy brewer and part-time mad scientist. So Fushi meets Gugu and soon after they are also joined by Rynn who has run away from her suffocating home life.

Of course, things aren't exactly idyllic. Rynn fawns over Fushi, Gugu gets jealous and soon after learns he's been turned into a human distillery by the brewer. Officially reaching his breaking point, he runs away from home after a falling out with Fushi and lives alone in a tent for a while, being horribly mistreated all the while. He's nearly abducted, but is luckily saved by Fushi and soon after that gets to bond with Rynn for a while and start to build an actual friendship with her.

This is To Your Eternity though, so it doesn't end there. Another evil tree attacks them on their way back home and Fushi is very nearly permanently reverted back to a rock. Luckily for him, Gugu manages to save him. Somewhere in there, Rynn's situation is also somewhat resolved too. It's a busy arc.

Fushi's creator takes a moment to warn him that he must become stronger to deal with the tree menace and that the best way to do that is to keep travelling, but Fushi is attached to Pioran, Boozeman, Rynn and especially Gugu and elects to stay. I'm sure this will have no negative consequences in the future. This concludes with a four year time skip. So, breaking tradition, all the people we care about are still alive and it looks like Fushi might spend at least some of the next arc with them too. Honestly, I am deeply concerned for every one of those characters. This is too happy. Feels like all four of them are marked for a painful death now.

Where the previous arcs have focused primarily on Fushi learning the basics of being human - survival skills, simple emotions and basic language - this arc starts to have Fushi explore more complex elements of his newfound humanity. Specifically, this arc not only sees him learn how to speak more completely and start learning life skills like cooking and cleaning but also has him begin to learn about brotherhood, family, ostracization and even romance to a degree and all of the complicated emotions and baggage that come with that list. It's also the first time we see Fushi make a real, conscious choice about his own fate when he chooses to stay with Gugu and the others and his human body aging up a bit over the time skip is symbolic of the inner growth experienced in this arc which that choice exemplifies.

I think this might have been my favourite arc so far. Fushi experienced a lot of growth through this arc and Gugu is probably the most endearing character yet. I hope that he continues to be now that he's confident and buff lmao. I continue to be curious as to the evil trees because we are yet to get much in the way of actual information about them.

Re:Creators - Episodes 1-11
So, Re:Creators. This is one a few people have recommended to me and the more I have heard about it, the more I have been intrigued. The premise is a fun one - fictional characters get pulled into our reality, learn that they aren't real to us and were created by artists and writers and then end up trying to kill each other.

More specifically, they end up in a conflict because of a philosophical divide between those that want to force their creators to change their worlds and those that choose to protect the creators. Of course, there's also some nasty manipulation going on behind the scenes, secrets being kept and also a rogue agent who just wants to embrace the chaos.

While I was confident that I would like this show by the time I started, I am still surprised by how much I like it. For having a pretty expansive cast, the characters are largely really well-written and believable for the context they are in. I particularly like Mamika and Meteora and Magane is a great villain. There's loads of great characters though and even the ones that as of yet have less presence/personality/story are interesting enough or cool enough to keep me invested in them.

For a simple premise, the writing has actually been really layered and multi-faceted. Characters have simple motivations and philosophies but the situation they are in and the ways they interact with each other make for very complex dynamics that are intriguing to think about and scenes that in less skilled hands would be nothing but spectacle often carry a lot of emotional weight. Truthfully though, as exciting as the combat is, some of the best moments are when characters are just sitting down and talking. I like that a lot in a show like this.

Aesthetically, everything has been gorgeous so far. The character designs are excellent and the animation is really fluid and dynamic. The music is done by Hiroyuki Sawano so you know it's top-tier and the sound design has also been really great. You can feel it when a character gets blasted through a building. Some of the best I've heard. The voice acting has also been really good.

You can tell that this show has not just had a lot of money thrown at it, but a lot of effort has gone into it as well and it has been created by people who have a good understanding of the genres/media that they are referencing and a love for their artform. I'm really excited to get into the second half of the show because I am told it will be a rollercoaster and after a certain couple of events in the first half I believe it.

Re:Creators - Episodes 12-22
I actually finished this earlier last week but I completely forgot to do the write-ups. Whoops.

So, narratively the second half dealt with the truth of Altair's creation coming out and for a while largely dealt with the aftermath of a certain death and the consequences of a different death in the past. This was all done really well. I very much appreciate that this show was willing to actually capitalise on its plot and premise, considering the philosophical and moral implications of things and giving events their proper due.

The plot then all came to a head in the last four episodes dealing with Meteora's plan of action for the final showdown and the conflict itself. I actually liked the strategy and collective action a lot here, although I do have some complaints about the final battle itself. Specifically, the fake out with Sirius was annoying and unnecessary.

I also have to admit that the dating sim girl added nothing to the show whatsoever besides some comedy that did not land. Sho and Charon were more interesting additions but I think that they were underutilised quite a lot. Magane choosing to help Sota was also kind of random. I liked how it fit in but it was a strange choice. None of this hurt the show that much because the writing was over all really solid with pretty strong characters. I really liked Mamika, Meteora, Shunma and Alicetaria. Blitz, Magane, Altair, Yuya and Sota were also really well-written (for the most part). Selusia and Rui were pretty bland comparatively and (as mentioned) some other characters were underutilised but for the most part the cast was really strong for being as large as it was.

Again, the art and animation were excellent as was the voice acting and sound design. The music was top tier as well. Over all, I'd say that the show was a good 7/10. Without the hiccups towards the end it may have pushed into 8/10 territory.