You know what time it is, and if you don’t, just skip this one.

…It’s the end of the Summer 2024 anime season, is what it is.

Things we watched in summer 2024:

I don’t think I’ve weighed in on the Spice and Wolf reboot yet. Predictably, I love it. The only thing I don’t love so far is the shading? It’s kind of washed-out to my eyes. Maybe that’s just a more modern style, I don’t know. Overall it’s living up to the first adaptation, and I’m really stoked that another season has been announced. Eventually I’ll have to loop back and listen to some of the English dub too, because I really liked the first one, and it sounds like they’ve gotten the original leads back. <3

Makeine: Too Many Losing Heroines! – I said at the start that I was sticking with this one out of a love of mess, and that held true. This series starts with what could be a cheap, tropey premise, and then dodges the low-hanging fruit almost all the time. An episode early on with some unnecessary fanservice is an exception; that’s pretty much everyone’s stumbling block, from what I’ve read. Otherwise, it treated its characters with compassion and more complexity than they would usually get. Also, the animation is bizarrely gorgeous for a slice of life comedy.

Senpai is an Otokonoko – With the caveat that this is Not My Story to Tell or Pass Judgement Upon — i.e. I’m not transfemme — I really loved this show. Though I think Skip and Loafer was overall a better sweet, awkward high school romcom, I feel like Otokonoko is reaching for a few overlapping beats. Its characters are a little bit messy/flawed but sympathetic, and they’re doing their best.

(Absolutely loved [No Spoilers] That One Character Who Comes In Right at the End though. <3 So much implied backstory conveyed with set design and just a couple of scenes. I told my spouse I’d watch a whole spinoff about all the people in their apartment building.)

Backlog stuff we’ve watched/been watching lately:

Komi Can’t Communicate – we’re about halfway through the second season, I think. My opinion remains pretty unchanged as it settles into character-comedy shenanigans. Punt Yamai into the sun, everyone else can stay.

Astro Note – A short show from a few seasons ago that we finished during the spring. A prettily animated, feather-light Rumiko Takahashi homage that didn’t screw up anything too badly. (The nosy neighbor gave me hives — the depiction was too close to something quite ugly — but otherwise fine.) Apart from the cute opening theme, this is one of those cotton-candy shows that I enjoyed at the time, but will probably never think about again.

Tearmoon Empire – Did something halfway interesting with an isekai premise, which means of course 100 more shows will copy it with diminishing returns. (Already saw one on the Fall 2024 lineup! To be fair, I don’t know who came up with the idea first.) I almost lost interest a few times, but made it through.

My Happy Marriage – Look, I am a Fruits Basket old-head; you tell me there’s a series about recovering from trauma, and I am immediately there. This one was nice. Sometimes frustrating, as the lead recovers in a believably slow fashion, but enjoyable.

Series we’re planning to try in the fall:

Ranma 1/2 – I read the manga along the way, but it’s not a show I have a very strong attachment to. Still, it’s an influential classic, and I am curious to see if they’ll just make a shot-for-shot remake or do anything halfway interesting with it.

I’ll Become a Villainess Who Goes Down in History – The synopsis has me curious. I’ll admit.

I don’t know if we’re going to get suckered into 365 Days to the Wedding. I am an easy mark for romcoms featuring adults, since there are so flipping few of them. The first whiff of weird sexist shit and I’m out, though.

Orb: On the Movements of the Earth – It’s about science history! Of course I’m going to try it!

After-School Hanako-kun – Mostly because I’m waiting for the main series to return next season, but hey.

My spouse plans to watch Uzumaki, but honestly I don’t know if I can take it. It’s supposed to be good; I just don’t always need horror stuff living rent-free in my head, you know?

(We are not caught up on Natsume’s Book of Friends – just started season 5, and 7 is airing this fall.)

Kind of a lot, but we don’t always stick with everything we start.