It's been SO LONG since I even wanted to say that.

[some edits and corrections based on input from comments]

Disney has done Star Wars justice.


Finally.


You want shocking? Get on YouTube and search for The Mandalorian reviews and commentaries. There are a lot of people calling it bad, garbage, more of the same Disney BS. But many, many more people, including a lot of people who have despised everything Disney has done with Star Wars, like it. A lot of them REALLY like it.

I do, too. It's not without flaws, many of which arise from its format. Sometimes you gotta skip some development when you're trying to tell a story in 30 minutes. And frequently, they could have written those bits better than they did. Hey, Disney is NEW at trying to do Star Wars right, but the effort is SO good here, I'm willing to cut them that bit of slack.

You want to know what there isn't? Bizarrely? Nit-picks. OK, yes, there ARE plenty of things to nit-pick. But let me draw a picture for you.

Solo (the movie) was *fine*. It wasn't really good, it had some good bits in it, it was bad in many places, but it was fine. The worst thing Solo did was all the little things that didn't make sense or were completely unnecessary. Things in the plot, details in just about every single scene, that were just a little problematic. Contradictory. Didn't make sense. Too much "look at the Star Wars!" going on. Nit-picks, in other words, more than an overall "just a bad movie".

The Mandalorian has VERY little of that. Even moments that could be described as "look at the Star Wars!" are subtler. Held done and told to hush, just sit there. People will notice, if it's worth noticing. There's one shot in the first episode that they really linger on longer than they needed to, and; while it's played for laughs, it seems to also have been done mainly as a "remember this?" moment. Probably some I didn't really notice...WHICH IS GOOD.

Another production choice, that some have complained about, that I think HELPS, is that there is very little dialogue. What IS there is sometimes perfect...sometimes it's stilted and wooden. Much like a George Lucas production. The Mandalorian doesn't talk much, and doesn't encourage it in others. That was a SMART CHOICE. Don't talk it out. Look, don't show. As is, the show has received praise for lavish, well-done visuals; praise that is deserved. Except for one planet, you never know where you are. There is one subtitled scene, which is used specifically to set up a dramatic point. No planets are given names so that you can connect them to lore. There is a desert world that is almost certainly Tatooine, but it's not named. It doesn't NEED to be named, because where The Mandalorian is is not important to the story.

On the left: not a Mandalorian On the right: The Mandalorian

Dropped:

Kandagawa Jet Girls - I don't like MoeSexy and there just wasn't enough story in this for me. Would really love know what Steven Den Beste would have thought of this series.

Rifle Is Beautiful - Just too laid back. This works for a lot of people, and I suspect the 4-koma comic is much more enjoyable. Stretching it out into something more plot-centric makes it seem...awfully shallow. And realizing it was light gun shooting instead of firearm otaku-ism was a bit of a let down.

DNF:

XL-Joushi - Still no English sub. I translated the first few minutes of the first episode myself, but it's an extremely tedious process for me since I have to look up every word and cross reference meanings. That is to say, I gave up.

Continuing:

Azur Lane - Dramatic with lots of action, and shipgirls, although criticism for a simple and derivative story is certainly deserved. As is criticism for under- budget animation in action scenes. But USS Enterprise CV-6 is a Big Damn Hero, and that's really all I need to enjoy this. And the slowly growing anticipation that Laffey is going to release her self-imposed limiter at some point go F****** BERSERK.

Chuubyou Gekihatsu Boy - Borderline. It got better after the first episode, but this series still seems very confused and uncertain about what it's trying to be. After a few good episodes, the last was so simple and tropey that I skipped through it to just get the gist of each scene. Could still drop.

Iruma-kun at Demon School - Oh, my; this is still the highlight of the season for me. It's funny, light, and charming. I don't see too many people talking about this one, which surprises me.

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Other things:

The car situation (which I haven't mentioned on here but basically we need at least 4 operational vehicles between us and our kids and we have two, none of which can stay with the kids) is looking up, as the kids' Toyota is finally off to be repaired. After getting the engine replaced for free by the oil change place that put the wrong filter on, the transmission went out and nobody in town would work on an automatic trans-axle.

I bought a Corvette this weekend. Completely unintentionally. An unbelievably mint 1984. I won it on eBay, for honestly about $500 - $1000 less than what it could probably be sold for 7 times out of 10. But it was no reserve, and I paid my deposit and contacted the seller. They messaged me back the next morning and said they couldn't sell it. No explanation. No refund. I demanded my refund; that took another 24 hours. Left negative feedback. But, yeah; I owned a 1984 Corvette for the weekend.

Updated with notes after 2 - 3 episodes:

Rifle Is Beatiful:

Two eps in, I like this a lot better after realizing that it's based on a 4-koma (it's pretty obvious after the first few jokes in the first episode) and also realizing that the style of art and humor reminds me strongly of Hidemari Sketch. (NOTE especially for Wonderduck: I've only read the manga, I still haven't watched the anime.) The bottom line is, since world-building is not the point, I find myself with questions frequently. In order to watch this, I have to limit myself to about 8 minutes at time, because the point is the punchline that's delivered once per minute (that's illustrative, not definite). When multiple 4-koma are combined into a single story, the rhythm feels off and I start losing interest.

Still, the show is cute above all, and the character designs are quite good. Figures of the main character are going to be quite popular, as she is the definition of an oppai loli that isn't actually a loli. Somewhat like Tatsumaki from One Punch Man is called "the legal loli". (CLARIFICATION: yes she's still underage for many places and people, being a high-school girl. I am specifically referring to the trope, not technicalities.)

Also, I'm still somewhat confused about the rifles. They've been called laser guns and beam guns, but the bit demonstrating how they work looked just like a standard "light gun" to me. I.e., a Nintendo zapper.

Azur Lane: I love it. Animation gets cheap at times even in the first episode, which is never a good sign. But the art is great and I love the character designs. The story is not quite what I was expecting: there were/are aliens in the ocean, but they were all defeated by the creation of ship girls. But NOW that that war is over, Japan (Sakura Union) and Germany (Iron Union) have teamed up to form the Axis and are using alien tech to declare war on America (Eagle Union) and Britain (Royal Union), for control of the entire world.

The Big Damn Hero, at least at the start of the show, is Enterprise (CV-6, the Grey Ghost), and her entrance into the battle that closes off the first episode is appropriately epic. There is no real audience insert character, as Fubuki played in Kantai Collection, but Cleveland, Laffey (very sleepy, don't wake her up), and Unicorn form something like the trio of Fubuki, Yuudachi, and Mutsuki in KanColle. Illustrious and Prince of Wales provide the sempai roles.

That the story focuses so heavily on American vessels while the Japanese vessels are the bad guys in and of itself makes the story more interesting to me. Certainly this is all filtered through at least some level of Chinese lenses, but it's still a Japanese production primarily being released in Japan. I honestly expected at least some level of grumbling, but I haven't seen any and other anime viewers have reported the same.

Definitely finishing this one. Very good.

After 3 episodes, I'm still enjoying this series. There's some clarification of the names of the allied "countries", but that's not really important: It's the United States and Britain vs Japan and Germany. Interestingly, the designs use a lot of similar conventions to KanColle (gun size=breast size, more or less). Maybe that's not so surprising as it's a very useful trope in a series like this, but more interesting is that they seem to tease historical connections such as the fates of the Yorktown-class carriers, but it informs the characters rather than "possesses" the characters, as in KanColle. Both are interesting takes, and I wouldn't be upset if they explore how that affects our ship girls a bit more. Friend Wonderduck has referenced the game story and shared some bits with me; and if they stick to that it's going to create some very interesting situations.

Chuubiyou Gekihatsu Boy: This is both about what I expected, and not really. The premise is a female student transfers to a new school and gets caught up with a group of boys with Chuunibyou. Hijinks ensue. What actually happens: well, all that. Yes. BUT...all the boys take each other's Chuunibyou very seriously: the boy who says he was the product of a demon and angel mating in a former life, the boy who believes he's part of a sentai team with the other boys, the boy who is totally dedicated to his 2D dating game girlfriends, and the two other boys who haven't really been introduced yet. And they all believe the girl has secret powers that haven't awakened yet.

It's over the top, yes; and well produced and acted, yes...but it takes itself too seriously. The direction and pacing are of an actual seinen action series, not a goofball comedy. And that's what really diminished the first episode; that the comedy is what the 3rd party characters in the anime see, but the ensemble cast and audience are meant to watch the story on a different level.

I haven't decided if I'll watch the second episode.

Two episodes later, and this has become much better. The class rep and Hijiri's (the girl) only female friend ends up getting the Hero Club's help in deterring a classmate who's stalking her and won't take "no" for an answer. She comes off as sweet, sincere, and a tad ditzy; and can interpret Black's (the boy who acts like an anime antagonist and is the product of an angel and a demon mating in a previous life) overly-dramatic pronouncements with ease (and seems to find him endearing). For instance, a pronouncement that he can only wear clothes prepared by his own regal family: "Oh, your Mom buys all your clothes." The boy with the tail turns out to be just as self-deluded as the others, claiming to be the only one with "real" superpowers, although it turns out he's dominated by his three older sisters and has to take care of his twin younger siblings. I expect similar reveals for all the characters. (Black, I suspect, will turn out to be a spoiled but lonely only child, based on what they've shown so far.) These subsequent episodes really dial down the "seriousness" of the first episode, which helps tremendously.

Kandagawa Jet Girls: Art is good, although it fades a bit as the episode plays out. BUT...yes; this is definitely an echi series. There is a late-night uncensored airing that features naked boobs and butt cleavage, and more explicit dialogue (I haven't verified that last bit, but the translations are certainly different). What I was wrong about: it's more echi than I thought it was.

In the future, jet ski racing is done as a sport on super jet skis with a pilot and a shooter. The goal of the game is to...shoot the other team's clothes off. And the guns used apparently shoot orgasm bullets. ON THE OTHER HAND: the shooter of our main pairing (yuri is definitely implied for the entire sport) is Misa Aoi, a tall full figured girl with black hair, purple highlights, and blue eyes. I will definitely be buying figures of her when they are available. There's a story in here about the main character's mother, too; but that hasn't really started, yet.

Definitely continue, but if it's just a service show, I can see dropping it.

WARNING: Do not watch the WetGirls fansub, unless you want a laugh after watching an actual fansub. The WetGirls fansub is either a joke or an attempt at a What's Up, Tiger Lily? - esque made-up translation, although it's much more meta in nature. Switching back to a real fansub, and after watching the first race in episode 2, the series has much more substance. Oddly, this is one of those series where the more exaggerated something is (like breast size) the harder it is to enjoy the story, even as much as the story in this series exists only as an excuse to show curvy girls in skimpy swimwear (that can be shot off for reasons even the show admits are because that's why you're watching the show). But there IS something to this series, and the racing itself wasn't so completely bullshit that I've written it off as nothing MORE than fanservice. Judgement remains on hold.

Iruma-kun at Demon School: What I expected and so much more. Reminds me strongly of Boku no Hero Academia, but I haven't looked into whether there's a good reason for that. Identical art style, similar story elements. Thankfully, Iruma is just plain goofy. Iruma-kun's parents are unreliable and uncaring, and Iruma has to work to pay off his parents' debts. While working on a salmon trawler in a storm, Iruma is transported to the demon world because his parents sold his soul to the demon Sullivan. Sullivan has always wanted a grandson, but he's childless himself and is tired of hearing Belial and Revy brag about their grandsons. So he begs Iruma to sign a contract to be his grandson. Iruma is promptly sent to demon school, and he's warned that if anyone finds out he's human, he will be eaten. Because that's what demons do. It's even in the school song. In fact, it IS the school song.

It turns out Sullivan ojiisan is the Director of demon school, and not only brags on his new grandson Iruma-kun in front of the entire student body, he then insists that Iruma-kun give the welcoming address instead of the incoming student with the highest entrance exam grade. On top of that, ojiisan writes out a forbidden spell for Iruma-kun to recite (without telling him about any of this). The spell is so powerful that you could explode if you say it wrong or hesitate, but its effect is that you can't trip or fall for the entire day. Grandpa meant it as gift, you see. Iruma-kun's recitation of a forbidden spell in front of everyone impresses the hell out of the student body, and he's immediately challenged to a dual by the top student he was substituted for, Asmodeus. Asmodeus is master of fire magic, but Iruma has developed insane dodging skills thanks to a lifetime of misfortune. After twenty straight minutes of failing, Asmodeus decides to try martial arts, which Iruma-kun instinctively dodges. Iruma then has to save Asmodeus from flying over the wall, but the momentum is too much to overcome.

Except Iruma-kun has a spell on him now that prevents him from falling or tripping, and the spell literally yanks him (and therefore Asmodeus) backwards. When the dust clears, Iruma-kun's feet are planted perfectly on the ground, and he has performed, for all intents and purposes, a perfect German Suplex on Asmodeus. This, of course, leads to Asmodeus pledging himself to Iruma-kun in his quest to achieve the demon lord throne.

Which is a plot point introduced almost as an aside at the beginning of the first episode.

This was fun. It's absurd. The art fits the goofy nature of the show. I'll keep watching until it gets too serious.

UPDATE: Iruma-kun At Demon School remains charming, sweet, funny, and fun. Along with Azur Lane, it's the only series so far that I unreservedly recommend to anyone to try. In the second episode, he summons his own teacher (a Professor Snape stand-in) as his demon familiar, which should be IMPOSSIBLE for a demon and further sets him apart as an amazing stand-out student. In episode 3, he meets Clara, who's blood is made of Red Bull and has the family ability "Food Synthesizer". She has two magic bags of holding that can produce ANYTHING SHE'S EVER SEEN. Which means she's A) banned from all stores in the demon realm, and B) is nigh-impossible to be around for most people, but who's ability is abused ruthlessly by many of her classmates, which she uses to "buy" friendship, even if it's of the very cheapest kind.

The story wasn't subtle about this, nor did they hit you over the head with it. You pick up on what's going on quickly, but when you realize a couple of minutes later that Clara is not semi-intelligent vending machine and actually understands and participates in the practice because it's the only way she can obtain companionship of any kind; I CRIED, Y'ALL.

Naturally the kind-hearted Iruma befriends her genuinely, at which point he obtains a lifelong companion THAT COULD GIVE HIM AN ARMY AND A BATTALION OF TANKS AT ANY GIVEN MOMENT. Not that the kind-hearted Iruma-kun would ever do that. Having a Clara is a game-breaking cheat.

XL Joushi: nobody is subbing this in English, yet. Dammit.

Umm...let's see...

I quit farming, we covered that...didn't do much of anything for a while other than video games and part-time work...went back to work as the Precision Ag manager for a local implement builder, taking over the job of three people....

Right, that's where the story picks up.

When I started, I replaced three people. As I just mentioned. Aside from me, there is the Owner/President, his wife who does the bookkeeping and accounts payable, a file clerk who also does accounts receivable and covers the store counter, the store manager/parts manager who is the main person who covers the counter, orders parts, does inventory. Also another salesman who ostensibly backs up precision ag, but doesn't really; a shop manager, and two shop employees (one of which was my brother-in-law).

My brother-in-law left in January for another job. He was replaced in May by someone to support me in Precision Ag, and also work in the shop. The salesman left a couple of months ago, and wasn't replaced; but I took his spot backing up the counter. The store manager is leaving at the end of the week to take the job my brother-in-law left to take, that he quit to go back to working for himself, and the file clerk/AR person is leaving next month.

The current plan is for me and the shop manager to split the duties of the store manager and the file clerk; the assistant Precision Ag guy will be the shop manager, and no new personnel will be hired until next year.

I have my doubts.

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We had a good crop until summer, when it stopped raining, until last week, when it started raining when it was too late to do any good. So nobody is going to be spending money this winter. That's never good.

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The summer anime season I watched How Heavy are the Dumbbells You Lift? and Cop Craft. I still need to watch the last two episodes of Cop Craft, actually.

Dumbbell is an incredibly aptly named series. It is saved, and indeed made enjoyable, by knowing exactly what it is and what it's doing. Even then, it stretches thin in the end. There just aren't that many jokes to be made, and the show made all of them. Cop Craft is...fine. Good, even; at times. Great character designs, good; very good ideas. It falters a bit in the execution...I think a better director could have done more in this case. Most tellingly, the OP is an explosion on par with such greats as Cowboy Bebop, and it never lives up to that promise.

The Fall season actually features five six anime I'm interested in trying:

• Azur Lane, which I'm sure everyone knows is based on a Chinese mobile game that started as a cash-in on the popularity of Kantai Collection. I'm not expecting anything beyond minimal plot (probably involving aliens) and hot boat-girls.

• Chuubyou Gekihatsu Boy - cute girl transfers schools and gets involved with five boys with chuunibyou. If you've forgotten, chuunibyou is "middle school disease" and describes (mostly) boys and (sometimes) girls who respond to the typical feelings of isolation and angst by pretending to be a dark, mysterious, powerful, anime protagonists/antagonists. An analogue of being "gothic" in the 90's in western culture. Sounds like it could be a cute comedy.

• Mairimashita! Iruma-kun - An isekai series. Iruma gets transported to the demon world, and adopted by a demon who always wanted a grandson. Iruma then goes to demon school ("grandpa" is the chairman) and has wacky adventures and wins over his classmates. Again, sounds like it could be a fun comedy.

• XL Joushi - I'm not sure if this is hentai or not; or if it's just an ecchi romance. Female office worker takes a part-time job testing "adult" products and is tasked with testing the new "XL" condom. But where is she going to find an XL....test subject...in Japan??? Turns out her office boss is...umm...appropriately...sized. Tagged as a romance, features adults instead of kids...but also tagged is "explicit". I guess we'll find out!!! The description is hilarious...

• Kandagawa Jet Girls - cute, sexy girls in swimsuits compete in jet ski races. Ecchi sports anime. Woooooo!!!!

• Rifle Is Beautiful - High school girls club anime, except the club is shooting sports. Protagonist must start up the club again, recruit members, compete. I don't know if it will be *good*, but I want to see what they do with it. Lots and lots of gun otaku in Japan.

So that's my fall season, unless I've missed something. The winter season is supposed to be pretty good, so I was surprised to find so many shows I wanted to watch this fall.

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Baseball ends (for my teams) this week, and I don't have a lot of interest in the playoffs, except for cheering on whoever the Yankees and Astros are playing...which means I think I'm backing the Dodgers and the Brewers.


That is all, for now.

I'm shocked to discover a video showing students singing "Do You Hear The People Sing?" over the Chinese National Anthem somehow was disappeared.

As my busy season starts to slow down finally (for those who don't remember, I quit farming in 2014/15, did odd jobs until the fall of 2017, and went to work for an agricultural implements and services dealer, so I'm back on farm schedules), I am finally able to start taking a few minutes for myself with increasing frequency.

On video games:

I got back to playing Dragon Quest 8 on PS2 last weekend and am currently grinding levels to get all party members at least ONE max-level skill. I must say I was quite disappointed by Hero's Lightning Storm, as it turns out it DOES NOT work on metal slimes like one person I read on one FAQ said it would (and it shouldn't, as it is technically a magic effect, to which metal slimes are immune). Angelo actually has TWO skills maxed out, Bows and Staves, because I only ever put points into three skill trees with him. Jessica just needs her Stave tree maxed, although she's still two or three levels from being able to do so; as with Hero, I spread her points across all but one tree, which I don't think I'll ever do again. The game just isn't built to support generalists. And Yangus, despite leveling faster than anyone else, is still three levels from getting his first max tree in Fisticuffs. He's the one I'm worried about, as I didn't know about the possible necessity of Stainless Steal Sickle for skill grinding until it was arguably too late. So, for this game, I may just finish the "first" ending, then leave off the optional ending and do it some time in the future. My daughter and I have already started acquiring the equipment and games we need to play every story line Dragon Quest game from 1 through...whatever the most recent one is. 11 or 12.

This "required" the purchase of a Hyperkin Retron V retro gaming console. I must say, it has been everything it was supposed to be, so far. You put a Gameboy Color cartridge in the Gameboy slot after you've started the system, it copies the ROM to memory, then runs it in an emulator upscaled to 720P and properly framed, no stretching or distortion. Out of the box, it did that. We've tried four games (three Game Boy Color, one Game Boy) and they've all worked. I was most surprised that my original copy of Link's Awakening worked fine after cleaning the contacts on the cartridge, that game has literally just been sitting around through multiple moves since I was 12 or 13, something like that.

In order to continue to the next set of games (the Retron 5 will play Game Boy through Game Boy Advance games), we have also purchased a used Wii U. While there are games on the Wii U we will be playing, the intention is to install the Homebrew channel in order to run a Nintendo DS emulator on the Wii U. This will give us the ability to play all DS games through the 3DS (although obviously without the 3D effect).

Following Dragon Quest, we will move on to either Final Fantasy games or Phantasy Star games, or possibly Shining Force games. Shining Force may be a problem at this point, as some significant titles were released on Sega CD or were Japanese-only releases. I haven't had much time to research it, yet. I don't really have a problem with emulation to solve the problem...the prerequisite is that the game must be playable on the big TV while sitting in a recliner. Ergo the Retron V and and the Wii U to solve all our Nintendo needs. The Retron will cover the two Genesis/Megadrive games that were released as Shining Force 1 and 2 in the U.S., although the story is poorly adapted in SF1 and SF2 is actually SF 3, while SF2 was actually a couple of games that weren't released in the U.S. until they were updated and put on the Sega CD.

Final Fantasy will be easy. I already own the PSOne/Classics releases of Final Fantasy 1 and 2, 4 - 6, and 7 - 9; as well as 10 and 10-2 and 12 for PS2. I also own all of those (through 10 and 10-2 Remastered) on PC, as well. Final Fantasy 3 will have to be purchased for GBA or PSP. 13, 13-2, and 15 will be determined at a later date. The PSP releases are arguably the best versions, at least in most cases, as they generally have the best script adaption and HD graphics, and natively support widescreen. A PSP GO can use a Dual Shock 3 controller, and you can use a mod to connect a controller to a PSP 3000.

Phantasy Star I haven't even looked at, yet. My memory is that the games started on the Master System, and have always been a bit unique in the turn-based role playing game world. Phantasy Star Online was a massive hit in Japan, and is basically the baseline for everything that has been done with Phantasy Star since it originally debuted on the Dreamcast. But I think there were at least 4 or 5 Phantasy Star games before that.

IN other video game news:

I quit playing World of Warcraft, probably for good; or at least until gameplay changes back to support solo players. I quit playing Lord of the Rings Online (again). When I went back to it last year or the year before, whenever that was, I was able to push forward another few areas with my Ranger, plus I leveled at least one of every other type of class to Level 10 or thereabouts. I really wanted to try to get to the Moria expansion, but I just couldn't do it. I understand gameplay in the most recent expansions has changed a bit, but in the earlier expansions the focus is still on party play, and I just wasn't interested in trying to get involved in finding a group that was primarily interested in taking a non-party player along for a tour of the parts of Middle Earth I couldn't get access to on my own. I'll keep an eye on the game; it's changed ownership to a group that's basically finishing out the main content releases and polishing the game, so new game modes and refreshes of early content for all the "other" players may be coming soon.

So, while I still have a bunch of MMORPGs installed on my computer, the only one I'm playing regularly is Star Wars The Old Republic. I'm on my last original character story, the Jedi Knight. Once that's done, it's time to go back; probably to my Sith Agent, and start working through expansions. And probably completely rebuild how I play the character now that I have the experiences I've gained with all the other classes under my belt. The Agent was still the best storyline I've had, although the utter inability to follow up with the character I created in the first bit of added content (where I basically am assumed to hold the opposite opinion on one of the fundamental issues facing the Sith Empire than I the one I actually HAVE) is BY FAR the single must frustrating story element I've faced. But I haven't started that storyline with any other character, yet...so we'll see.

*Basically, my Sith Agent followed the story options that resulted in her being highly dismissive of and opposed to the current Sith regime, and supportive of a powerful Rogue Sith who believed that the Sith Pureblood rejection of anyone who wasn't Sith Pureblood or Human weakened the Empire and doomed it to fail. He set out, during the story, to take out the current leadership and remake the Empire. I'll just say the my Sith Agent was a silent but active supporter. She's a big believer in the Imperial Bureaucracy, and everything she experiences in the story re-enforces that belief. THE FIRST NEW CONTENT AFTER THE MAIN STORY ENDS assumes you opposed this guy like all the other right-thinking Sith did and you're tasked with taking him out. NO YOU DON'T get the option to secretly support him anymore, YOU'RE A SERVANT OF THE EMPIRE DAMMIT AND SITH HATE THE FAHKING ALIENS AND ANYONE WHO BOOSTS THEM UP. I tore my fahking hair out during that story.

This ended up being a lot longer than I expected. I guess I'll talk about movies and anime in a separate post. I've got a review of the Godzilla: King of the Monsters to write, and both Isekai Quartet and One Punch Man Series 2 are almost done. Plus I've finally watched The Disappearance of Haruhi Suzumiya and Kantai Collection The Movie. Regarding the latter, I apparently zigged when most people zagged; I thought the movie was brilliant. I loved it. It was exactly what I wanted, and I enjoyed every minute of it. I gather at this point that is NOT the more popular opinion of the movie. While "like" and "dislike" are certainly subjective and not worth arguing over, a quick google of reviews brings up the same phrase over and over "not the Kantai Collection I know and love." This is probably a fair assessment from many points of view. And while I liked Kantai Collection, the series, readers here or at Wonderduck's Pond may recall that I was extremely frustrated early on because the world didn't make sense to me. I finally just let it go and enjoyed what was presented. Well, The Movie just about answered all my questions, and made the world make sense. To me. And it was a good movie and story beyond that.



Anyway, there's another review coming for that. And I really want to write up Overlord Series 2 as I did with Series 1.

Stop me if you've heard this one before:

Two female roommates, newly arrived at college, develop such intense feelings for each other that they sing songs and act impulsively toward each other?

No, it's not the hit musical Wicked, and it's not Loathing™...

It's Manaria Friends, and it's....erm....borderline embarrassing how hot and bothered the two leads are toward each other™.

Yet at the same time, it's a really sweet and cute show, very short, with a decent amount of world-building.



This is Princess Anne. The human princess from [mumblemumbleplace] and a magical prodigy. She's a natural at studying magic, learning magic, and she's capable of casting spells that no one in [magicalacademyplace] can even understand. But she's no wild talent...she's gained her knowledge by studying, she just has that much more magical ability than anyone else.

She's also very interested in getting some tail.



This is Grea. She's a dragonborn princess from wherever the dragonborn princess comes from, presumably a place with other dragonborn. While her magical ability is bog standard with other other non-princess-anne students, she's a powerful fighter. She's also a talented musician and is very shy around the other students.

She also has a tail.

Manaria Friends is comprised of 1 part lore, 4 parts sweetness, including the yuri romance, and 5 parts the two leads thinking about...well, getting really nasty with each other. The show is NOT explicit...it's not hentai, it barely has any ecchi content at all. At the same time, it is made perfectly clear that both characters have their mind on what comes AFTER their first kiss...the kiss is merely a formality at this point. In the final episode, Anne takes the initiative and gets approval for the two to room together next year, which is followed by Grea and Anne...taking a nap together, I'm sure that's what happened.



But don't get me wrong! This series is so much more than LEWD CONTENT.



It's very pretty, the music is great, and the episodes are short. It's an incredibly relaxing (except for the LEWD bits) time-waster.

The series (only ten short episodes) is based on the Rage of Bahamut game; specifically one event called Rage of Bahamut: Manaria Friends. Yes, this ENTIRE series is based on an EVENT in a social game. It was announced in 2016, had the entire staff removed a year later, was re-announced with a new staff, then had it's production and debut pushed back to late 2018/early 2019. The show is certainly a 1 1/2 trick pony, with a few hints at something deeper. Although I guess you'll have to get into Rage of Bahamut to see any of that.

Recommended. Dress casually. Take breaks every three episode to prevent overheating.

I haven't been this effing excited for a movie in YEARS.