It’s that time of the year!
I must say, this year has been pretty good for anime. Lots of sequels came out and also new shows for me to like of course.
Also anime-related wise, I spent a lot of money this year lmao. BUT I finally had the chance to go to an anime convention so I’m pretty happy about this.
But without further ado, let’s talk anime in 2022 review!!!!
Basically the start of the year was Kimetsu and Shingeki.
Frankly, I’m pretty indifferent about SNK now after reading the ending 2 years ago. Still, Part 2 of the Final Season animated the two best chapters of the series, so I was still looking forward to it. And it delivered of course! Oh and look forward to Final Season Part 3 for the conclusion lmao.
On the other hand, Kimetsu reaaaaally went all out once again animating the RLD arc. And once again, ufotable expanded the arc, so I’m sure they will do it again in the Swordsmith Village arc. Speaking of that, I’m excited for it squeeee Mui and Mitsuri in action next year!
Other than those two big shows though…this season was pretty eh I guess. Vanitas no Karte Part 2 was good, though my favorite parts were with Vanitas and Jeanne…hehe. How A Realist Part 2 was eh and I don’t remember anything from that isekai show sorry. Takagi S3 was cute as always, it even got a movie that I haven’t watched yet. Koroshi Ai was fun but I admittedly watched the show for Hiro Shimono. His character was trying so hard to seduce Saori Onishi’s character lmao.
And then we got Sono Bisque/Kisekoi. Oh boy Kisekoi was something else. It was funny, horni…but most importantly, it had a heart. Of course, it’s a CloverWorks show after all! Still, I enjoyed it a lot and made me appreciate Shouya Ishige more. Look, I’m not the biggest fan of Yusaku/Playmaker, but I’m glad to hear the VA voice a nice protag. Wakana Gojo is a great character because he has so much passion in what he’s doing, and that’s why best girl Marin starts liking him. It’s a cute romcom show for sure.
And new year means new precure! Delicious Party Precure is pretty much a show about food. I just finished the latest episode earlier, so we’re definitely heading toward the endgame. Personally, I enjoy the show…but I find that it focused on the other cures too much that the pink cure didn’t get character development as of later episodes. Basically, it felt pretty slow at times. But the villain reveal in episode 41 immediately reminded me of Hugtto lmao. Oh and I even rewatched Hugtto last August…Still though I like DP for what it is.
And lastly, 86 is here because the last two episodes of part 2 got delayed to March, and gosh the wait was so worth it. So worth it that I checked the later volumes because I NEEDED to see more of Lena and Shin. Their reunion in that battlefield was emotionally gripping and the whole scene being accompanied with Sawano’s OST was just *chef’s kisss* AMAZING!!! You see, I’m not a big fan of stoic overpowered badass guys. (It all started with onii-sama) But Shin is different. He’s OP yes, but he carries such a big burden and he’s just so humane compared to his predecessor. And him getting saved by Lena in that battlefield adds more weight to his character. Honestly gosh I think Shin is Chiba Shouya’s magnum opus and is a better character than 50% aka Ayanokoji-kun (but we’ll talk about him and his sequel show later ofc). 86 was wonderful and deserves a second season.
So that’s all for winter! Now we go into the romcom season.
Why the romcom season? Let’s see: Kaguya S3, Komi-san S2, Shikimori-san, Aharen-san, Cuckoo, Rikekoi S2, KoiSeifuku…I think I got most of them but see this is why I say spring 2022 is the romcom season.
You see…I first read Kaguya chapter 136 back in January 2019. It was a Monday morning, and I was looking out for the spoilers…and when the legendary kiss scene came out? I was screaming YEAAAAAAAHHHHHH!!!! and was like “I want to see this animated one day!!!” So yeah, seeing A-1 deliver it this year was just so great to see the Cultural Festival arc adapted. And Maki Shijo.
Komi-san S2 was also nice and honestly hearing Aoi Koga play a tsundere genius and a shy beauty in the same season was just something else. I enjoy Komi-san but I wish it wasn’t so random at times. Last time I check the manga had 384 chapters and they’re in 3rd year…imagine beating Nisekoi like that lmao.
Shikimori-san was nice. Saori Onishi once again. Surprisingly though, it was Aharen-san that had the kissu on the lips…even tho Shikimori established the couple at the start…Cuckoo’s Fiance was eh like what I expected. I stopped reading the manga because I was getting bored and 100gf was better (even tho I speedread the latter too lol). Hiro worst girl.
Rikekoi S2 though? Oh my goodness what happened man? I actually forgot about the show until I looked in MAL…but S2 shifted into a different genre in the last few episodes and the reveal in the end that Kanade (aka the only sane character in the show) also likes the male lead??????!? For what reason man…I mean I remember I discovered the manga via Facebook years ago and found the premise super interesting. Two scientists love each other, but are trying to figure out why. I even read the manga until the translation stopped at some point. I was pretty happy when it got an anime…and season 2. Then the Kanade arc happened and it just crashed man. It didn’t need to be that dark and it didn’t need to be that dramatic. But anyways that’s me ranting about a show I want to forget lol.
Thankfully though, Love After World Domination aired in the same season and I still got my weekly dose of laughter and fluff. I actually watched the show after 5 episodes because I heard good stuff about it. And boy it was such a fun show. Shame that the manga ended abruptly…Still though, seeing a sentai and a villain trying to hide their relationship was hilarious.
Sequels! Shield Hero S2 was hilariously bad that they couldn’t even bother animating a big turtle…Also the dialogue was worse than in the first season. Dude, I enjoyed S1 and loved the openings, but S2 was pretty bad. Even the OP. I hope S3 gets better…Date A Live IV got a new studio for the nth time and luckily this time it doesn’t have JC-quality animation (I’m sorry JC ily but S3’s animation was pretty bad). Also gave more Tenka aka Dark Tohka. And it’s getting a 5th season…I’m happy but in pain as a TWGOK fan…I just hope S5 adapts the most important volume properly. Aaaand I won’t be surprised if S6 happens to finish the story.
The only isekai that I watched this season besides Shield Hero S2 was Skeleton isekai. It was because Ono Katsumi directed the show…Pretty fun though. I am saddened though that I didn’t watch Ya Boy Kongming. I even had to dance the OP dance in Otakuthon because I joined a game lmao.
Yu-Gi-Oh! Go Rush aka the 8th instalment in the yugioh franchise. Many people, including myself, got surprised when they announced that SEVENS was ending back in March. I saw the logo leak and I was like “wut” But now that the show has 39 episodes I must say…I guess the show is a sequel of SEVENS but is the past of the show? Still has a lot of mystery. And while I enjoy the reappearances of SEVENS character incarnations, I also find that it bogs down the show a lot because it can’t form its own identity. But anyways, looking forward to see what year 2 has for us.
And RIP Kazuki Takahashi. Thank you for giving us yugioh…
Last two shows I wanna talk about: Summertime Render and SPY x Family.
I just wanna say… I don’t regret watching STR. I actually know the name because of someone I follow on bird app read it. Also *cough*remindedthemoferehisu*cough* But man, another super interesting and emotionally gripping time travel story man. I was pretty much at the edge of my seat every week because there were so much high stakes in the story. The protags didn’t have a lot of upperhand most of the time because the villains were following them when they reset the timeline. And there were tries as well. Honestly? Just a super good show and I love that it got to adapt the whole manga! One of my favorites this year.
And Spy x Family! Everyone knew it was going to get an anime at some point, but man it really grew mainstream this year. So mainstream I got to buy 2 SxF tshirts from Uniqlo. But anyways, everyone and their moms had high expectations for this adaptation and WIT and CloverWorks definitely delivered! I finished watching the show yesterday and I’m glad it’s getting a second season and a movie. Can’t wait to see the Bond chapter animated lol. But yeah. I started reading it around chapter 20ish and I love it ever since. Also Damian/Anya is like the second coming of SyaoSaku so I’m like hnnnngggg puppy love i knooow. But anyways, definitely glad to see SxF this year.
So that’s all for season of romcoms! Now we go into summer.
I basically call this season the season of sequels because just look at those sequels right there man.
Before the sequel talk…let’s talk about the new shows first. I didn’t watch Call of the Night and Lycoris Recoil so yeah.
Isekai Ojisan! I actually didn’t pay attention to this show until I watched it with my cousin and that’s when I decided to watch it all through. Very funny and it has Takehito Koyasu so it was extra good. It was basically a finished isekai where the ojisan just shows his isekai adventures to his nephew and his nephew’s osananajimi. Too bad it’s not ending until next year because of production problems. But I enjoy it regardless.
Ayumu, Stepsis ex-gf, Suspicious Maid for the romcoms… Ayumu was okay but that was it, also slowburn ofc. It’s expected for the Takagi author. Speaking of, the author really got 3 anime adaptations of their mangas (Takagi S3, Ayumu, Tsubaki ninja) this year huh! Good for them. On the other hand, My Stepmom’s Daughter is My Ex wins the most bizarro title of the year but I watched it for Shimono (and Rina Hidaka because she kept on getting romcom roles this year lol) and honestly? It had a story to tell despite the bizarre title and synopsis. It had a Kaguya element for the first few eps and then we find out later on it was basically a story of two teenagers who loved each other but were still too immature to be in love. So yeah! Also thank goodness one of the male lead’s girl friends didn’t fall for him. All platonic friendship in the end. Rikekoi S2 could never. But I enjoyed this bizarre-titled show for what it is. The Maid I Hired Recently is Suspicious was a late arrival and I watched it because Rie Takahashi (also this series reunited the Mahou Tsukai Precure trio hah) and I didn’t expect it to be a full-blown love story? I don’t know what to feel about that tbh but oh well.
Tokyo Mew Mew New! Okay so I didn’t watch the OG TMM so I essentially know nothing about the show and watched it because I want to see the reboot. It was fun to watch but I couldn’t help but think how boring mister nice guys Aoyama is. Also, I can just hear Yasaharu Takanashi all over the show because of the soundtrack. It’s sad to learn that the author passed away few months before the reboot started though…RIP Mia Ikumi.
Sequels talk now. For the record, I also didn’t watch Hataraku Maou-sama S2 because I didn’t watch S1. I didn’t hear good things about it though. And the LN ending lmao.
Kanokari S2! The trash continues and after seeing the legendary chapter 218 just before 2021 ended…I must say my perception of the series completely changed lol. But anyways, more Kazuya being a simp and Chizuru being indecisive and stubborn and more of worst girl Ruka. Seriously man. I love Nao Toyama but she voiced two worst girls this year: Hiro and Ruka. But yeah, everyone in the show is terrible besides Sumi and I’m sooooooo glad it’s getting a third season.
Classroom of the Elite S2 came back after 5 years and did it deliver the most anticipated arc? I guess so. But I feel sad that the animation quality is somehow worse even though it had five years in the making…But yes, I watched the anticipated 50% vs Dragon Boy fight in a restaurant and lmao it was hilariously brutal. Speaking of 50%, I will once again say that I do not like him because there’s just no nuance to his character even though he’s supposed to be coldhearted and manipulative. Meh. At least they gave Kei Karuizawa the spotlight because best girl right? Nah for me it’s smug girl Arisu Sakayanagi.
Overlord S4 had a full-out one-sided war this season where we get to see a crazy psycho princess dance in the end. Ahh Yasuno Kiyono really nailed it as Princess Renner…but really though Overlord content is always nice to see. Also the opening is such a banger! And then you have Danmachi S4 which really REALLY upped the stakes and gosh that cliffhanger in the end is illegal. I’m glad S4 part 2 is airing this January…but yeah I feel very tensed every week I watch a new episode because they’re going to a deeper floor and it screams danger…I honestly like Danmachi so I’m glad JC is continuing with it.
Made in Abyss S2 oh boy season two was something else. Brutal and heartwrenching man and Misaki Kuno should get an award for her performance as Faputa and Irumyuui. The craziest thing is she also voiced another crazy character that season: Haine from STR. She even tweeted that she lost her voice because of voicing Faputa…so yeah I have so much respect for her for her incredible performances this season. Special shoutout to Yuka Terasaki too as Vueko and I was like “hmm that name sounds familiar…*checks out* wait Ruka?!” But yeah, MIA has always been incredible, and S2 upped everything and it was worth it in the end.
And lastly…Shadows House S2. I’m sooooo happy that Shadows House got S2 because I love the show. I love the manga even though there are waaaaaay too many characters. So they adapted Robe-sama arc this season and they did it well. Obviously I wish they do a third season now because that’s when we’ll see the 5 kids and Kate’s backstories…but yes I was just so happy to see it back.
So that’s all for summer! Now we go into the faaaaaaall.
To say that this season is hype is probably an understatement. But it was really hype.
You got the most anticipated anime ever: Chainsaw Man.
The most anticipated sequels: BNHA S6, Mob Psycho 100 S3, Fumetsu S2 and Pop Team Epic S2 (to some extent) Bleach and Iruma S3 (I didn’t watch these two tho).
And then SxF part 2 though. So it was a stacked season.
So let’s start with the sequels. Honestly? BNHA S6 freaking delivered this season gosh. I remember seeing the spoilers with Dabi being Endeavor’s oldest son and seeing it adapted was pretty cool. If only I didn’t get spoiled huh?! Anyways as always Shimono…as always his performance was great and he should definitely play more villain roles. (And be in yugioh please) But yeah BNHA gets better and better every season. Idk exactly what’s happening in the manga now but I heard it’s going towards endgame now so heh!
To Your Eternity S2 is…fun so far. It feels more fast-paced than S1 though. Also worse animation quality but I guess it’s because NHK didn’t give Brains Base enough time. But Koyasu is the perfect seiyuu for Bon and he’s such a best boy. I’m looking forward to see everyone get resurrected though! I wanna see March again! Pop Team Epic S2 is as kuso anime as ever and I got to test my seiyuu ears every week. I swear, I think I learned that I’m pretty good at recognizing voices because of poputepipicu lol.
And then you have Mob Psycho 100 S3 which literally ended the show on a super high note. I’m not the biggest Mob fan, and I admit I forgot what happened in the first 2 seasons, but gosh this season couldn’t have been even better. We got Mob vs Dimple and Mob vs everyone else. Mob’s final arc had an incredible message for everyone and I just love how we get to see Mob finally accepting himself and Reigen being really honest with Mob. Bones really did a good job adapting MP100 and all in all…Mob laughed!
Now with the new shows! I didn’t watch Bocchi the Rock, Akiba Maid War, Blue Lock and G-Witch Gundam so there’s that…I kept on seeing them everywhere but I can only watch so much.
I’m the Villainess, So I’m Taming the Final Boss, Bibliophile Princess and Raven of the Inner Palace were basically my romance gateways for this season. I watched Akulas because of Yuichiro Umehara. I watched Bibliophile because of Reina Ueda and I watched Raven Consort because of dragon boy Ryuuen’s voice actor (Mizunaka Masaaki) lol. But I did enjoy them for what they are….Raven Consort was the least romantic out of them all though because it was mostly a fantasy-mystery-drama anime. But then you have the MYSTERIOUSSSSS opening and the ending (I like the ending) so yeah. Bibliophile Princess was making me happy until it didn’t. Eliana Beeernsteeeein became a wattpad female lead and doubted her beloved Christopher for the sake of drama. I’m just like whyyyyy did it need to happen…Sighs. Anyways at least Aileen saved the day because I love this villainess. I was actually unsure if I should watch Akulas but I did and Umehara should voice more isekai bishounen character man. Luckily he’s gonna be voicing another lead next year yie! But yeah, Akulas started really strong and Aileen was such a strong character (also added by the fact that Rie Takahashi voices her). The school arc was still fun…but what happened after that was just unnecessary. Look, I like amnesia arc and everything, but it felt so out of place in Akulas and made me dislike the show a bit. We really didn’t need Claude-sama to lose his memories tbh. But anyways, this year didn’t really have a lot of shoujo presence (romcom season still consisted or romcom shounen shows tho) so hopefully 2023 gives me GOOD ROMANCE.
Chainsaw Man aka the most anticipated show this year ever since the anime was announced last year. Personally, I find the show “ok” and I feel that it had a different identity from the manga. Not that I’m saying that it’s a bad thing but I guess Fujimoto’s style is unique and it’s hard to translate it into the anime medium. I say this because I read Fujimoto’s one shot this year Goodbye, Eri and he really has a unique style of his own. Also the show felt like JJK I guess because same studio and some of the staff also worked on JJK. But yeah, I should probably really read the manga because I’m reading part two even though I haven’t read the whole manga lol.
POST-EDIT: I can’t believe I forgot about The Eminence in Shadow until I saw a pic yesterday lmao. Basically an isekai where the protag is so chuuni that it’s hard to take him seriously lol. It’s pretty cool for what it is, and that’s pretty much it. Again, I like flawed characters so chuuni OP characters like Shadow-sama isn’t my cup of tea. He’s a cool mob character though!
Last one that I wanna talk about is the Urusei Yatsura reboot. I mean I did mention in my Maison Ikkoku review that UY pulled back into the Rumiko Takahashi universe haha. But honestly, I just feel a lot of love from David Production for this reboot because gosh the effort in every episode! It’s not without its flaws ofc (too fast-paced at times) but it’s such a fun anime and fun reboot. And watching the funny moments in youtube made me realize why Takahashi is so good at comedy. Absurd and over the top, but she writes good comedy. Also I read the last arc and yeap. Even though Ataru and Lum’s relationship is centered around the absurdity of UY, it works and Takahashi made them work. Really, I can say that UY had a great influence on romcoms and I think it’s great that they rebooted the show for the new generation. I might watch the OG next year who knows!
So that’s it for faaaaall and this year’s review! What a year, right?
But this review isn’t over yet!
This year’s movie watching is not the best tbh.
Though I will say however that my biggest accomplishment this year was watching two anime movies in a big screen: Jujutsu Kaisen 0 and Gotoubun no Hanayome Movie. Pretty cool achievement for me tbh because I never get the chance to watch one. Literally the first one I ever watched is Kimetsu no Yaiba and I actually bawled myself watching that movie haha…
But let’s talk about anime movies then! So the first one I watched was Yu-Gi-Oh! Bonds Beyond Time back in January in the middle of my 5D’s watch. It was really a cool crossover and the fact that the plot somehow went back to main 5D’s story because of Paradox was pretty nice. I was actually surprised when I learned that Paradox is one of Z-one’s buddies so that was a nice surprise for me lol. Other than that, it’s great to see Judai again…one of my faves always. Cool crossover movie and 12 years later we finally got another one in Go Rush’s episode 39.
Next one was JJK0 back in March and seeing other weebs in the theatre was pretty nice. I’m not the biggest JJK fan, but I enjoyed it regardless. Also Yuta is cool. I’m always a sucker for characters who starts as weak and scaredy and ends up being badass…that’s what exactly happened to him and bonus point Megumi Ogata voices him lol. Well JJK S2 is next year so hopefully he gets a small cameo at least.
Next movie that I watched was Tropical-Rouge! Pretty Cure: The Snow Princess and the Miraculous Ring! and that’s when I decided to make a 4th twitter account because I’m just a hot mess and I always tweet my reaction and I didn’t want to flood my main so…lmao. But anyways, I did enjoy the movie and it honestly treated the crossover characters better than the HG movie..The story isn’t as impactful for me, but it did tug the heartstrings during the emotional parts so yeap. Next was Saekano Fine and I know I’m almost three years late but I forgot about watching it so my apologies to best girl Megumi…but then again the movie just solidified her win so I’m quite satisfied. BUT! I’m actually surprised how quiet the movie’s mood is. It’s not like there was a big thing that happened…besides Tomoya’s confession but that’s pretty much it. Everyone got baited in the last 10 minutes though lmao. But yes, Saekano concluded and I’m glad everyone grew up. Even more happy that another best girl wins.
I was originally planning to watch Fruits Basket Prelude in a movie theatre but the show times were only during the night and there’s no showtimes to my nearest one so I just waited for the subs to come out. The movie really did great on adapting Kyoko’s story, but I’m pretty disappointed that the first 30 minutes was essentially a recap…I love kyoru but why…Anyways, Kyoko’s story has always been controversial because 1) age-gap and 2) student-teacher romance. But really I just watched this film in the lens of Kyoko’s character development. Because really she started as a broken character who’s shunned by everyone else. When she finally finds someone who will accept her for who she is, that’s when that love gets taken away from her and we saw how her grief consumed her. But it wasn’t the end of the world for Kyoko…she has someone else with her now even though Katsuya died–their daughter Tohru. So really for me what I liked about this movie is the exploration of Kyoko’s character and why is she such a great influence on Tohru.
(I just realized after writing this that Kyoko Honda and Kyoko Otonashi…both characters who lost their husbands and have the same name! What a coincidence.)
Last three movies! Okay I put Love Me, Love Me Not in the collage because I was honestly planning to watch it this year but couldn’t…I did read the manga a few years back, but I didn’t finish it sadly. But next year for sure I’ll watch okay! I hope!
Urusei Yatsura: The Final Chapter and Maison Ikkoku: The Final Chapter. So apparently these two films went back-to-back release back in the ’80s but I decided to watch UY Final Chapter out of a whim…because I read the final arc and I wanted to see the adaptation lol. I really liked it. It was pretty much 1:1 adaptation but the final 10 minutes with Ataru and Lum’s tag game was great. Him having flashbacks of Lum while saying “I won’t forget about you!” is the best scene and even better scene because it elevated the manga chapter didn’t have it. Really the movie was about two stubborn people who almost doomed the world because they’re stubborn and they love each other. On the other hand, I was honestly disappointed with MI Final Chapter and I was looking forward to it too…The movie took place in one night, but it felt like it lasted for 453945 nights lmao. I just hated how it focused more on the other characters. It should’ve been really about the main couple…Yeah I said it in my MI review but I just didn’t like how we needed to deal with Ibuki’s shenanigans again. But anyways, that’s my sentiments about these two Takahashi movies.
Gotoubun movie was the other movie that I watched in a movie theatre this year and let me tell you some of the people walked out when the winner was chosen lol…But in my honest opinion, the movie should’ve been a 3rd season instead. I mean the studio still won anyways because the movie generated a lot of profit, but really cramming 25 chapters in a 2-hour movie is not a good idea. Also Crunchyroll’s subs were pretty terrible. For the movie itself, it was enjoyable, but it felt like a string of flashbacks here and there and since they were adapting ~25 chapters so there was no time to breathe. And of course the honeymoon trip made it… Really, my thoughts about 5toubun really changed after the ending. I was on board with Yotsuba’s win, but the ending pretty much soured it and looking back, she should’ve had more character development. But anyways, let’s see if Negi’s improves when his new sentai anime comes out.
Overall, didn’t really watch a lot of anime movies this year, which is funny too because I watch a lot of movies this year in a movie theatre. Hopefully more next year? There’s Suzume, Kaguya movie and Kimetsu special screening (last two episodes of RLD and the Upper Moon meeting) and yeah! That’s all for movie reviews.
To be honest, my manga game hasn’t been good for the past few years…it’s pretty hard to keep up with them.
Like looking at my MAL manga list, I am like super behind with some of the mangas that I’m reading. Like there’s AkaYona, CCS Clear Card (this one tho it’s hard to find translations), Choujin X, Goblin Slayer, Kono Oto Tomare, Noragami and Otoyomegatari. I mean I could catch up with some of them but we’ll see lol.
But with the ones that I was closely following and caught up…let’s talk about them eh!
So Spy x Family this year pretty much dealt with Loid’s backstory as well as starting a new arc: School trip-turned-into-hostage arc. Loid’s backstory really elevated his character, and we get to see why he fights for what he thinks is right. Also Endo showing why war is bad and always unnecessary. The school trip arc so far is preeeetty intense but I’m really excited to see how it concludes next year. BUT! The other highlight this year is Yor’s meeting with Melinda Desmond. Oh boy that chapter really surprised everyone including me…I know that SxF is pretty slowburn and it builds itself every arc, but I do hope we get major stuff happen next year.
On the other hand, Oshi no Ko got really intense this year because double the star means double the trouble. I’m really glad that Ruby finally gets to shine this year though cuz she’s supposed to be one of the main characters as well. And then you have Aqua and Akane breaking up this year………………screw me I guess. But yeah, anime finally got announced for next spring as well as English license. I miiiight buy it but I need a bookshelf for realsies…But yeah! More revenge next year baby.
Shadows House got bigger and bigger this year tho tbh I can’t remember what happened this year besides Oliver regaining his memories as a human. And Patrick/Ricky and Barbara/Barbie character developments…The author got busy during S2 so there were longer breaks. But yeah, my biggest concern is that the manga will drag on because of how big the cast is. But we’ll have to see what happens next year with the sunshine gang.
I put Chainsaw Man Part 2 and Maison Ikkoku just because…again I spoiled myself with CSM’s ending so I was like “whatever let’s read part two” and it’s actually pretty good so far. Asa is a flawed protag and I love flawed protags. I honestly should’ve put Goodbye, Eri cuz I actually read that one-shot this year and it was bombastic for real. It was basically Fujimoto flexing his love for cinema and movies and it was just a wild ride. I will read MI manga though….I was going to this month but I got busy writing the anime review instead lol.
So for the mangas that I caught up! 100 Girlfriends Who Really Really Really Really Really Love You is a wild ride as always. I think there are 21 girlfriends as of now? (checks tvtropes: 22 girlfriends!) so yeah…Tbh, I like it, but I couldn’t keep up with the girlfriends now lol. Really for me the best girl is Karane…the tsundere ofc! But it would be so funny if Rentarou gets a “normal” gf because all of his girlfriends have a certain archetype/quirk so far. I think the other archetypes that the manga doesn’t have so far are: twins, yandere, cuckoolander, stuco president and more that I forgot lol. But yeah, whenever I feel like catching up I will catch up with 100gfs to see what craziness we have once again.
On the other hand, I caught up with Mao during my Takahashi phase. And I was literally reading it during my psych class lol. I’m actually impressed with this manga so far. There’s a clear mystery and instead of resolving it easily, Takahashi is spreading it out so it makes the manga more interesting. Also, there is actually romance and it’s pretty cute compared to Rinne. It’s not blatantly obvious, but Mao and Nanoka’s relationship gets to be developed and they’re both not tsunderes so there’s no osuwari and baka baka moments lol. I just think that Takahashi improved her writing with Mao and I’m excited to see where the manga goes because there are clear stakes behind the plot.
Then there’s Are You Really Getting Married? and oh boy I tell you this manga…At first, everyone and their cats thought this manga was just going to be about two introverts trying to protect their introverted lives by signing a marriage contract. Then Wakaki goes ahead and makes a romance manga while also tackling serious irl issues. Like I just noticed that it started to gain more attention in r/manga so I started catching up and I’m like “Yep that’s Wakaki’s new hit alright. Give us the anime adaptation!” But yeah, I really enjoy this manga. Compared to TWGOK’s wacky romcom shenanigans and supernatural elements, Kekkon Desuka is more grounded and hits you right in the face. While TWGOK hits you with the debate about ideal vs real, Kekkon Desuka basically hits you with reality yep why do people have to get married mate. Also we get to see how Takuya and Rika’s relationship develops and it reminded me why Wakaki is pretty good at romance. Like seeing them kiss for like 4 pages and chapter 86 man…chapter 86…I think it’s neat to see how two introverts develop and they really do grow as individuals and as a couple. Wakaki’s art and writing definitely improved with Kekkon Desuka and I justttt gaaaah I wish for an anime adaptation. I need to watch the live-action, but anime adaptation please! It has the perfect Reiwa romance energy….
Last but not least, Kaguya-sama: Love is War ended this year. I still remember back in 2019 wondering if Kaguya and Shirogane will ever end up with each other and chapter 136 rolled around and I was like YES! and the next arc concluded with them kissing and dating and I’m like YES! And then the rest was history.
I’m gonna be honest though, the last 14 chapters of Kaguya really soured my opinion of the series. By the time I read the ending I was like “Well I guess Kaguya is officially over.” When Aka announced that he’s gonna end Kaguya, I was like “wait but third year just started no???” And yeah I was preeeeetty salty that we never got Freshman, Summer chapter after all! But yeah, my feelings for the series changed in those 14 chapters. And even the arc before that which dealt with Kaguya’s family…But really what made me pretty salty is the conclusion of IshiMiko. I guess it was another case of AOT ending because the fandom was split about it. Personally, I’m in the dislike side because I don’t understand why they became Kaguya and Shirogane 2.0. They’re pretty much different from the other couple and I think it’s unnecessary that their Maybe Ever After ending was trying to make the other person confess. I don’t mind that they didn’t become a couple at the end, I’m super bothered with how they went to ShiroKagu route instead. Really made me salty lmao. Honestly I think the IshiMiko doujin that I read years ago spoiled me too much that I got high expectations for them in the series proper…Oh well.
Overall though, Kaguya is not a perfect manga by all means and it had its highs and lows. The best high for me will always be chapter 136 and the actual best high is chapter 45. Kaguya broke a ton of romcom tropes while also presenting real growth with the characters. If anything, Kaguya is the new standard for romcoms and I definitely agree with the comments saying that romcom authors should stop stalling already! Why go through 100+ chapters of romcom shenanigans and misunderstandings? Get together and solve couple problems. There. I’m very happy for Aka though for striking gold with Kaguya. 3 seasons and a movie and another hit with ONK. I think he could improve his writing furthermore though. He said he’s gonna retire as a manga artist and focus more as a writer, so I certainly hope the best for him.
Bye-bye, Kaguya!
So that’s it for the manga talk! Actually I just finished Wakaki’s 2015 manga earlier: The Screw People but it was last minute because I didn’t even know it got fully-translated last year lol. Basically, very philosophical manga, but Wakaki literally went it to get roasted by his characters lmao. It was a nice read regardless and IT HAD KAMINOMI CONTENT! Keima and Elsie cameo I am just finding that out after 9 years lmao. Yeah…I really want new TWGOK content…
Let’s see what 2023 brings.
Soooo before ending this review I just need to do a special shoutout to…
PM Journeys ended a few weeks ago and finally. FINALLY. Ash is a world champion. After 22 years of defeat and 3 years of debating whether he’ll win against Leon or not….we get to see it this year! It trended worldwide too.
And it finally erased my bitterness about Kalos League. Tbh, I was happy for him for Alola League, but his win should’ve been really in Kalos. But here we get to see him defeat Steven, Cynthia and Leon so WOOHOOOO!!! Lost opportunity fighting Alain though…I still wanted that revenge win lol…
And then we get the announcement that he’s retiring as the Pokemon anime protag and we’ll see 2 new protags next April. Unlike many people, I’m really happy that his journey will finally end next year. Like what’s next for Ash anyways? Being a Pokemon Master is broad term too and looks like they’re answering that in the 11-episode finale…But yeah, I think that Ash’s story deserves to have a conclusion and I’m glad that they finally decided to give him a conclusion.
Soooo that’s it for 2022! It was definitely a good year for anime and manga and movies, and I got to watch and read a lot this year so yipee. Until next time!
Coco's Random Blog and Reviews 