Anime Questions, Recommendations, and Discussion

Anime Questions, Recommendations, and Discussion - January 06, 2026

This is a daily megathread for general chatter about anime. Have questions or need recommendations? Here to show off your merch? Want to talk about what you just watched.

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Voir le contenu lié

Commentaires

cppn022026-01-06 12:46

Who is this beautiful girl wearing a brooch that signals her status as a witch, whose ashen hair flatters in the wind, shining so much with beauty and talent that even the sun's eyes squint involuntarily?

That's right, it's ~~me~~ the place!

vancevon2026-01-06 13:13

The brooch is the tell, not the massive witch hat?

vancevon2026-01-06 12:47

I really didn't like the "drama" in KimiKoe. It felt like a bunch of moustache twirling villains being like "mwahahahha I am racist and evil and also very, very racist" to which others would respond "no, racism is bad!" and then the show would ask us, with the subtlety of a sledgehammer to the face "now, dear viewer, who is the real beast in this situation, hmmm?"

[KimiKoe] >!It wouldn't have been difficult to create actual compelling drama, especially in the final couple of episodes. It's established very early on that Tsunagu has difficulty controlling himself on account of those pesky "pheromones" and, undoubtedly, there were a lot of those at that rooftop. They could have had him lose control somewhat, as has been foreshadowed the whole season, created some actual ambiguity and actual reason for Tsunagu to doubt himself. You could still, of course, have had Mari come to his defense in the end and all, since she's clearly into this shit, but yeah. Idk.!<

mekerpan2026-01-06 15:12

It was no Sacrificial Princess and King of Beasts, let's just say....

mr_beanoz2026-01-06 12:53

How hard is it to run a laundry shop on your own in real life?

mekerpan2026-01-06 15:11

Having to handle pickups and dropoffs would be hard.

Emi_Ibarazakiii2026-01-06 20:49

I've only ever dealt with 1 laundry shop, but I'm pretty sure they only had 2 employees.

So with a good organization I imagine it's not impossible to do on your own, though it means you need to do the 'outside' stuff before/after your hours, etc..

zairaner2026-01-06 12:58

[Ikoku nikki op](https://www.reddit.com/r/anime/comments/1q5fnyk/tv_anime_journal_with_witch_noncredit_opening/) released!

thisisdropd2026-01-06 13:13

Who's ready to *Tune In to the Midnight Heart*? Only a couple hours till the premiere airs.

Ham_PhD2026-01-06 15:02

Hoping it catches people's eye!

alotmorealots2026-01-06 15:27

Ears?

Emi_Ibarazakiii2026-01-06 20:48

Penises?

[](#lewd)

Fun_Tip98822026-01-06 13:26

¿Alguna recomendación de animes parecidos a *Made in Abyss* pero menos oscuros?

Infodump_Ibis2026-01-06 13:58

I watched **100 Meters** last night and I failed as a person because I had to fight myself not to laugh at a certain scene. My reflexes were wanting to do that that while my mind clearly knew [100 Meters]>!that's how tearful breakdowns suddenly happen, it is clearly not comedy but very heavy drama and perhaps the surprise of it must have been what was getting me to laugh.!<

Going into it I knew rotoscoping was being used for the running. Didn't realise the whole film was. While I don't think there was any crossover (just ZEXCS but no named people), it's improved a lot since **Flowers of Evil** (or at least the few seconds I've glanced of that) which had a unstable image feel (sort of like a generative AI video but clearly not as it was less erratic and long before that tech existed).

It was also very pleasant surprise to hear the voice actors for Kaidou and Zaitsu (I'd not looked these up prior). Could say something about being typecast but they've played similar roles.

Well far as Netflix anime movies go 16 more days until **Cosmic Princess Kaguya!** which I didn't spot it in movies because MAL (and others) class it as an ONA while **Bâan** (which I'd look for in ONA) is a movie.

To go on about MAL point their rules state *"Limited release screenings (e.g. in one theater only, for three days only, etc.) prior to regular distribution will be considered pre-airing events and the anime will not have the Movie type."*. Clearly some limited screenings are more equal than others and two can play that game because Cosmic Princess Kaguya also has a one theater only release (Comic Natalie [raffled 20 seats](https://natalie.mu/comic/news/652811), official anime site [raffled 40 seats](https://www.cho-kaguyahime.com/special/detail.html?id=348), idk if more media orgs did the same). However, that one is same day so if Netflix release is on or before 18:00 JST then it would still count as an ONA (as MAL consider *"first release is the most important"*).

BaytaCosmico2026-01-06 14:24

Bean counter day, yay!

Also, all caught up on Hanakimi. It's nice so far. Nothing groundbreaking, but nice.

As of now, Ikoku Nikki and Tamon-kun are the standouts.

mekerpan2026-01-06 15:10

Agreed so far....

Zeallfnonex2026-01-06 14:32

OK, I'm a couple days late, but Tamon's B-side's first episode was fricking hilarious, didn't expect to be grinning like this given the synopsis... Thanks to you all who shilled it a few days ago xD

_Ridley2026-01-06 15:37

I told you guys it was going to be fun. It's a perfect fit for Hayamin.

awesomenessofme12026-01-06 15:09

MAL has given me my first useless notification for an anime that won't be dubbed for weeks, so now I can say the season is really starting.

marshmallow_sunshine2026-01-06 15:23

Rewatched Medalist in prep for upcoming season 2 and god it's still so good. All the characters achievements feel so earned and makes you feel good watching them. Also Rioh is best tsundere boy [whose smile](https://cdn.imgchest.com/files/45xcvpga297.png) can cure illness. I can't believe It's ranked like 20+ this season in popularity on various sites. It's criminal how hard it's slept on abroad (I know why but still).

AmethystItalian2026-01-06 15:38

Trying to actually keep up with this season more and finally got around to **[Ikoku Nikki](https://myanimelist.net/anime/58788/Ikoku_Nikki)**

This one will be a tough one for me. The general plot of the show feels like something I can get behind but I'm worried it'll be too _themey_ and also end up being my least favourite Sawashiro role

[](#panic)

IXajll2026-01-06 16:34

What does too themey even mean and how would that influence how much you would like a seiyu‘s performance? No shade, I genuinely don’t get it.

AmethystItalian2026-01-06 16:37

Those aren't related.

Themey as in the out of order story telling, the cuts so scenes not actually happening and then that whole like 30 second book into desert scene, not my vibe, any of it.

The Sawashiro side is related to he personality being seemingly very incompetent which is not a quality I attribute with majority of her characters.

oedipusrex3762026-01-06 16:52

I wonder which character you associate Sawashiro with. I really, really, really like her as Dalian in Dantalian no Shoka.

AmethystItalian2026-01-06 17:27

Dalian is great! Definitely not common for her to play a child though, she had some great attitude though.

Sawashiro for me is usually attributed to confident or badass characters.

[Outdated but here are some of my fave roles from her](https://i.imgur.com/MyxtaQc.jpeg)

_Ridley2026-01-06 18:18

> out of order story telling

That's kinda Tomoko Yamashita's thing. If you're not into unconventional story structure, her stuff might not hit for you.

AmethystItalian2026-01-06 18:46

I can when it makes sense to do it, this just felt unneeded at times.

Also just a minor gripe compared to the others.

Emi_Ibarazakiii2026-01-06 20:46

I haven't watched it yet, but

> out of order story telling, the cuts so scenes not actually happening

That's not really my thing either...

And sometimes (in various anime) they don't make it obvious that something is not actually happening... Or the scene goes on for so long that you kinda forget it's not happening.

AmethystItalian2026-01-06 21:01

It's definitely not egregious about it so I think you'll be okay but just felt like a list of things I tend to dislike...

Also sorry you got downvoted for sharing an opinion with me, been awhile since I've seen that!

Emi_Ibarazakiii2026-01-06 21:20

> Also sorry you got downvoted for sharing an opinion

It's so funny considering I'm not even bashing any specific show (I literally said I haven't watched this one yet)

[](#bigthink)

vancevon2026-01-06 21:02

[AmethystContrarian!](#utahapraises)

AmethystItalian2026-01-06 21:17

Feels like it's been a bit at least!

Am hoping the show grows on me as well

vancevon2026-01-06 22:02

I would say it's been far too long, if anything.

BiggieCheeseLapDog2026-01-06 15:38

>This is the place

I was disappointed when the anniversary led to no announcement after they teased something but now that a movie is announced I’m happy. Would have liked another season of episodic adventures like s1 but I can’t complain much as more Elaina of any kind is welcome.

_Ridley2026-01-06 15:43

Happy Bean Counter day to all who celebrate!

AmethystItalian2026-01-06 15:46

Will be giving it a shot and cautiously optimistic!

_Ridley2026-01-06 15:57

Hope it's a banger for you.

alotmorealots2026-01-06 15:57

Giving it an episode because of your propaganda!

_Ridley2026-01-06 15:58

Nice!

Shimmering-Sky2026-01-06 16:21

It was a pretty good first episode.

[](#kannathumbs)

LowraAwry2026-01-06 16:54

I was wondering what "bean counter" everyone was going on about and turns out I just didn't remember the English translation of its title even though I added it to my list just a few days ago. I didn't know the manga was that popular and it's been a while since I read it last, so when I saw the anime adaptation I was impressed. It must be doing good numbers. First episode let's gooo.

_Ridley2026-01-06 18:25

I think the light novel is one of Yen Press biggest sellers. It's surprisingly popular. I even have a couple bluesky mutuals who don't generally do anime, manga, or light novels who've read this one.

Like I was saying to someone in the episode discussion thread, it's an isekai for grownups. Instead of a fantasy about being whisked to another world and finding out you were special and powerful all along, it's about doing what you've been doing but being appreciated for it and taken care of by a partner. It fills a niche in the fandom.

Time_Fracture2026-01-06 17:02

The OP song is the second best of this season as of today (I lowkey wanted to fit it into MHA Vigilantes S2 OP. It's very battle shounen coded), if only not for that Honeyworks earworm song.

VoidEmbracedWitch2026-01-06 18:33

Thought it has some things going for it as far as mystery elements and hot guys go, but it's rather sluggish in execution. Especially the dull exposition delivery in the first half made the episode feel much longer than it actually was. Add to this an across the board unremarkable production and I'm not too motivated to continue. Might read the LNs after the third volume gets translated though.

[](#mugiwait)

_Ridley2026-01-06 18:43

> Might read the LNs after the third volume gets translated though.

It's been out in English since March, if that's your novel reading language.

VoidEmbracedWitch2026-01-06 18:47

Oh, I got confused because for some reason it doesn't have a cover image on the Yenpress site, and in combination with that I assumed the release date of March 2025 is *current year*. I may be stupid.

_Ridley2026-01-06 18:52

> I may be stupid.

It's only the sixth. It happens.

[](#therethere)

cppn022026-01-06 20:17

Agreed. I think I'll give it another episode or two but so far it's a slightly worse *The Saint's Magic Power is Omnipotent*.

_Ridley2026-01-06 20:23

Funny you say that, because when I first started reading it I thought it was a more interesting Saint's Magic Power.

cppn022026-01-06 20:28

It might have been in print.

[](#yuishrug)

_Ridley2026-01-06 20:35

They did adapt nearly the entire first volume of the manga. Hopefully they don't keep that pace up.

cyberscythe2026-01-06 19:25

you know what they say: don't count your beans before they hatch!

[](#hikariactually)

Dull_Spot_82132026-01-06 22:16

Will it speak to my existential dread after working tens and thinking it was already Wednesday but it is still only Tuesday? How is glasses bro on a scale of compliant drone to Nanami work is shit quitting?

_Ridley2026-01-06 22:29

He's somewhere in the middle, maybe? Less compliant drone, more compulsive workaholic who neglects self-care.

BarbaricGamers2026-01-06 16:17

The ability of The Fruits of Grisaia to sneak in pantyshots during tense and serious scenes is impressive.

Emi_Ibarazakiii2026-01-06 20:41

Haven't watched it, but even as a ecchi enjoyer, I hate when shows do that.

It's like, *"Read the room, show, especially when you're the one who created said room!"*

BarbaricGamers2026-01-06 20:46

Yeah it reminds me of Fire Force in that aspect.

Lemurians2026-01-06 21:00

Okay but when it's fanservice of Amane it's always good

awesomenessofme12026-01-06 22:30

The most gratuitous panty shot I can remember seeing in anime was around the climax of the first season of K. Without going into detail for spoiler reasons (and because I don't remember it fully anyway), there's a dramatic scene involving a reveal leading into a fight, which starts off with a kick... and an upskirt. I don't know if it was intended to be sexy, but it succeeded at being accidental comedy that cut all tension from the scene.

justlookinatdemposts2026-01-06 16:31

Looking for a show similar to one piece in the fact that the main cast or crew grows as the series progresses

_Ridley2026-01-06 19:07

As a fan of both series, I've always thought One Piece and Yona of the Dawn scratched a similar itch. It starts with two people, gradually adding others to the main group as they wander around liberating people from local tyrants on their journey to maybe topple the government.

cosmiczar2026-01-06 19:51

Dan Da Dan

Sporadia_2026-01-06 20:05

[Is it tho?](#haaaaaaah)

cosmiczar2026-01-06 20:16

Yeah? I unironically believe Dandadan is the closest a recent battle shonen has come to emulate One Piece's structure.

One Piece is mostly about going to a new island, where a new, mostly stand-alone, conflict emerges and (mostly in the beginning) you get a new member joining the crew by the end. Dandadan doesn't have a journey nor a literal pirate crew, but follows a structure where each arc there's a new, mostly stand-alone, threat that appears and by the end a new character joins the party. As of right now, after only 24 episodes, we already have something like 6 characters that are kind of its equivalent of the straw hats after starting with only two main characters.

Rotorscope2026-01-06 18:01

Hmm I tried Darwin Incident because it feels like a unique premise for anime, but idk man, seems like a pretty generic thriller and something that would work better as a live action movie. Tbf I am being extra picky with what I pick up but yeah this one's an easy drop.

IXajll2026-01-06 18:19

Since this 1st ep was nothing more than a prologue/introduction, it feels way too premature to just casually put the „pretty generic“ label on this, we don’t even really know yet what the plot‘s really going to be about.

Rotorscope2026-01-06 18:55

I think the plot and the themes will be unique for an anime, but what I mean is that the execution comes across as generic and almost uncanny valley for something that American movies/television have already done at the highest level. It's really just not something I'm looking for in Anime and the production values and art (whilst certainly not *bad*) don't justify keeping it in my rotation.

Donnie-G2026-01-07 08:34

I haven't watched it but personally I don't really judge whether something is 'anime enough' or works better as 'live action'.

Sometimes I'm kinda like eh, why not have a un-anime anime. After 20+ years of watching anime, there's only so many of the same tropes I can take. I was pleasantly surprised by something like 91 days, where the premise feels like it belonged some American TV series. I also really enjoyed The Great Pretender, which could totally work as some sorta live action series.

In the end Anime is just the medium of Japanese animation, rather than a genre or something.

zairaner2026-01-06 18:32

Seeing SO many people complain about the production values in the mayonaka thread confuses the heck out of me and makes me question what kind of expectations people had, that seemed to be a completely normal looking episode.

Rotorscope2026-01-06 18:59

It's pretty mid though. Like I skimmed through it, and the animation is super limited and there's not much expression injected into the overall production. It's "normal" for a base level anime production, but base level anime is pretty low quality visually imo.

Especially when you look at how expressive the manga is in comparison.

pachipachi71522026-01-06 19:42

That has more to do with the source material being so insanely good that it would be hell to schedule an anime that could match it.

Ham_PhD2026-01-06 19:48

It's really all from manga readers (of which I am one).

I think we all felt like we just needed to say it after the first episode, despite knowing what were in for ever since the studio announcement. You're right, it's "fine," but we spent quite a while dreaming of it hitting the adaptation jackpot since we think it's worthy of it. I think most people will be over it by next week.

Lemurians2026-01-06 20:57

Well, I think the issue is what passes for "normal" these days. The average quality for the 50~ seasonals that release each season is pretty bad.

People, especially those who really like an anime's source, want things they care about to get a good production and not look merely passable.

wloff2026-01-06 21:03

I thought it started as a standard lower-mid looking show, which I would've been fine with, but once I noticed how everyone looked like [Mayonaka Heart Tune]>!expressionless paper dolls, almost always in the exact same poses and angles,!< I just couldn't unsee it.

[Mayonaka Heart Tune]>!The main cast spends 95% of their screentime looking [exactly like this.](https://cdn.imgchest.com/files/325c3b136768.png) The exact same poses and angles every single scene, so much so that I thought they just copy-pasted the same drawings at first.!<

[Mayonaka Heart Tune]>!Like, I dare you to find a scene where anyone has their body in literally any pose besides "standing up straight with their arms on the side", or "sitting up straight with their arms on the table" -- let alone having any kind of motion!!<

I guess they are making the best of what they've got so it's not the worst animation I've ever seen in my life, but it definitely falls to a very special kind of bad in my eyes.

gothxo2026-01-07 01:54

i liked the coloring and shading, but a lot of the animation was kind of flat. it's not nearly bad enough for me to really complain about it though

Nachtwandler_FS2026-01-07 12:04

The problem is, the manga is really popular, so people hoped at least for Quintuplets level of art/animation (ideally better) and it looked worse.

Infodump_Ibis2026-01-06 18:48

CR lineup TBA are filled:

> Updated on January 6, 2026: Added Champignon Witch, Oedo Fire Slayer -The Legend of Phoenix-, Scum of the Brave, The Case Book of Arne, Theatre of Darkness: Yamishibai 16 and Yoroi-Shinden Samurai Troopers to the lineup!

Hold on. Yoroi-Shinden Samurai Troopers [was originally in the line-up](https://old.reddit.com/r/anime/comments/1po76xj/crunchyroll_winter_2026_anime_season_lineup/nud31ue/) but was removed at some point (when ep went live today I checked the CR post and it wasn't there).

RIP High School Kimengumi [and others](https://old.reddit.com/r/anime/comments/1po76xj/crunchyroll_winter_2026_anime_season_lineup/nud7n1l/), I guess (the original Kimengumi was one of my MAL wrap-up "hot takes").

mr_beanoz2026-01-06 21:18

Crap, Kimengumi's not picked

Time_Fracture2026-01-07 01:05

Only one worldwide license anime is added (Oedo Fire Slayer).

alconnow2026-01-06 19:07

I forgot **Champignon Witch** will be having a double episode premiere

BaytaCosmico2026-01-06 22:39

So many double episodes this week! It's like every other premiere is one.

Shimmering-Sky2026-01-06 19:18

I guess I'll be watching The Case Book of Arne. Wasn't originally planning to, but I'm subscribed to Sou on YouTube and saw an upcoming music video from his channel on my feed this morning, found out it was for this show upon looking into it, and yeah that's enough to get me to watch something I guess. [](#vashheadscratch)

Pretty interesting first episode; I went in blind outside of checking the cast list as well so [Arne ep1]>!I wasn't expecting the show to pull a main character fakeout with Louis dying at the end!< (something that would have been obvious if you read the synopsis, but I did not). And the Sou OP is pretty funky, so that was certainly worth it.

u/BaytaCosmico, not sure if this show is on your radar, but your boy Kouki Uchiyama voices the titular Arne... albeit only when he's in his older form (he spent most of this episode looking like a kid and was voiced by someone else). No idea how much he'll be in his older form in future episodes, but I thought you'd like to know this regardless.

IXajll2026-01-06 19:26

Sou doesn’t disappoint, certified banger of an OP, joins this season‘s top 3 OPs with Ikoku Nikki and Darwin Incident.

_Ridley2026-01-06 19:41

I believe this adapts a joseimuke game that had a shoujo or josei manga adaptation.

Shimmering-Sky2026-01-06 19:42

Huh, interesting.

BaytaCosmico2026-01-06 22:23

Oh oh, more shoujosei too, nice!

BaytaCosmico2026-01-06 22:23

Ooh, I totally missed this one. Thanks for the heads up! I thought I'd only get to hear him in that Netflix show this season. Glad there's another one.

Shimmering-Sky2026-01-06 22:35

[](#papithumbsup)

Tomorrow_Big2026-01-06 19:18

But one week into the Winter season, with many shows yet to air, but there are some definitive winners in my mind. *Journal with Witch* and *Tamon's B-Side* are the two that've left the strongest impression, while *Hana-Kimi*, *Sentenced to Be a Hero*, *The Case Book of Arne*, and *Wash It All Away* all seem promising. *The Demon King's Daughter is Too Kind* is really, *really* cute though, and I need some more episodes of *Isekai Office Worker*, *Samurai Troopers*, and *The Darwin Incident* for the time being. Everything else that's new is squarely in the 'meh' category at best.

In other news, *Gnosia*, *Tojima Wants to Be a Kamen Rider*, and *SI-VIS* are still good, although the last one is a bit too much on the safe and predictable side, but at least it isn't dragging the story out, and it knows how the juggle its cast well. *Princession* remains underwhelming, but I'm in too deep to bail. However, I did finally give *Digimon Beatbreak* the boot, mostly due to the most recent episode introducing a bunch of new and uninteresting characters, but also because I needed to find space for the new Precure show in a few weeks. Maybe this one I won't drop; third times the charm. As for Watanare 2.0 Yuri Harem Boogaloo, too much melodrama, not enough comedy, Kaho best girl, Mai is still an asshole, bath water is wet, more news at 11.

I did also watch 100 Meters, and yeah, the movie is good and [looks great](https://aftermath.site/100-meters-gkids-anime-movie-kenji-iwaisawa-director-interview/). Can't help but feeling that Kaidou was added specifically to spout quotable one-liners though, and I also think they added one or two characters too many by the end of it. Overall I had a good time with it, and that's what matters at the end of the day, right?

Sporadia_2026-01-06 20:03

Nobody told me G Witch was a scaled up Build Fighters.

[](#wow)

Puddo2026-01-06 20:15

The Demon King's Daughter is Too Kind. While I'm quite done with the whole angels/heaven/whatever is holy = bad because they're corrupt, blinded by faith/rules/hierarchy or self righteous arrogant zealots, I will eat up demons/monsters/villains being kind lovable goofs. Sleepy Princess, Torture Princess, Level 1 Demon Lord, Iruma, Love After World Domination. It’s my comfort food I guess. Simple wholesome fun (most of the time). And now this show hopefully. Dou is at least absolutely adorable (hearing Xiaolan's voice was already enough for that) so it's off to a good start.

IXajll2026-01-06 20:39

> I will eat up demons/monsters/villains being kind lovable goofs

The daughter sure is, but this show surprisingly enough differs from the approach of similar shows like Tis Time for Torture by actually having the demons be traditionally being...well, fucking evil. Pillaging, murdering, enslaving, the whole menu and the show goes about showing it in a pretty nonchalant way as well. Makes for a weird uncanny clash with that side and then having the daughter be pure diabetes. Good show though.

Puddo2026-01-06 23:06

Ow yeah the dark stuff is a lot more dark than what I was expecting. Went in with the expectation that they would be 'evil' demons as in pranksters or incompetently evil or at least neutral. But nope just classic evil guys like you said. Reminds me a bit of Dungeon People in that regard, which was a pretty lighthearted show if you ignored the few scenes where they’re ruthless with some flying limbs as a result. But here we've an even bigger contrast with it not being a random scene but a core part of the episode. Anyway we'll see if Dou changes their hearts. How can they resist?

collapsedblock62026-01-06 21:31

Alright, time to work. I haven't checked anything for a week, so jumping pretty blind into expectations of the seasons (outside sequels). But its finally, the [first time again](https://imgur.com/02z8B05) for 2026. I watched the stuff I got recommended + yesterday shows:

* Journal Witch - It was kinda nice. Kinda because while I got no real complaints, I usually don’t jam with pure slow dramas. Also immediately I could tell it was a josei which, not a complaint but its funny how I could just tell, its the meme of feeling like seinen all over. Anyways, its intriguing, good characters being set up. A bit unsubtle but forgivable. Its a keep for now.

* Tamon-kun - My prediction of male Bocchi wasn’t far off. A fangirl meets her ‘oshi’ (I have never seen it used like that, it feels like fansub meme) and supports him with the power of…fangirling? Positive reinforcement! It looked really nice, had funny moments, it has a head start.

* Laundry Girl - An anime about, get this, a girl that does laundry and, and…yeah, that was kinda it, there’s not much here. I was grasping at straws at small things like when she said ‘I can only remember how to do laundry’ and how she found it weird having to wash the same clothes twice, like does she have amnesia? And the bit with her fixing the shoe was silly, Ig it makes sense for her to be a clean freak. Also how this guy got his mind blown about washing shoes just because this girl with big rack cleaned it for him. Its really w/e.

* Childhood friends romcom - Well, that was one of the worst romcoms I have ever seen. Uhhhh, no I can’t bother, drop.

_Ridley2026-01-06 22:14

> this guy got his mind blown about washing shoes just because this girl with big rack cleaned it for him.

That was so awkward. Like the animators were being held at gunpoint and told to sex it up.

OrbitalCat-2026-01-06 21:37

One of the few shows I was kinda interested this season turned out to be a harem... Drop!

That's what I get for not reading the synopsis

awesomenessofme12026-01-06 22:36

I think all harem anime should include the MC on the cover, especially when he's a major selling point of the series like Arisu (I assume you meant Midnight Heart Tune; the only other harem this season is the childhood friend one, and that's obvious from the title). Much as I despise 100GFs, that at least is something I can give it credit for.

OrbitalCat-2026-01-06 23:52

That's the one

Based on the keyvisuals I thought it would be a workplace show

awesomenessofme12026-01-07 00:26

Worth noting that the tagline of the series that appeared on the visuals is "Finding the girl behind the voice", so the premise of the series is at least hinted at, even if you never looked at the PVs or MAL page. Not that that makes it clear, but it's something.

gothxo2026-01-07 01:51

if you're interested in that kind of stuff, but don't want it to be a harem, you should check out The Many Sides of Voice Actor Radio if you haven't already.

but this is one of my biggest gripes with a lot of romance stuff. all the visuals are the prettiest girls you've seen and the second you start the first episode, you're greeted with the most milquetoast guy imaginable. i did think Yamabuki (the mayonaka heart tune guy) was at least somewhat interesting based on the first episode

OrbitalCat-2026-01-07 03:51

I've seen that one, also Cue!, Sore ga Seiyuu and Nami yo Kiitekure. Not particularly interested in radio, just really like workplace shows lol

theangryeditor2026-01-06 23:55

100GFs also has an MC that's arguably cuter than the girls, which means either way you avoid the common issue of picking up a show for the cute girls on the KV only to get disappointed by the lame ass MC.

banditjing_2026-01-06 22:31

I was excited for the reception of Isekai Bean Counter but the amount of lost souls watching it for the isekai and then learning it's BL is annoying. Also my fault for checking /a/ of all places, its thread is a dumpster fire.

_Ridley2026-01-06 22:43

> the amount of lost souls watching it for the isekai and then learning it's BL is annoying.

They're just potential new BL fans. We can reel 'em in with the isekai like Heated Rivalry did with the hockey.

theangryeditor2026-01-06 23:52

The threads should get better a few more episodes in if it can pick up a small but consistent following. The annoying posters should mostly get filtered out after 3 or 4 weeks.

Salty1452026-01-06 22:52

I’m not technically done with Arabasta yet, as I have a few more filler episodes, but I’m through the canon stuff so I might as well go ahead with my update.

I am kind of surprised that “sagas” aren’t all mind-numbingly long, though I’ll eat those words when Dressrosa and Wano eventually come, but we’ll bridge that cross when I get to it.

*One Piece* definitely hits its stride a bit more once we’re in the Grand Line. Now that a lot of the main character intros are over, this is the part of the story ~~most shows these days get to in 12 episodes~~ where we can now get into the meatier stuff… kinda. The worldbuilding in OP is pretty solid, but in a brutal twist of irony, the best of it thus far has been when the anime staff have to come up with filler arcs. The series honestly lends itself to filler so well that I wonder why they didn’t just use more of it instead of dragging out the pacing (more on that later). The characters have found their footing, though Luffy is still… kinda the least interesting one. He very much feels like a one-trick pony, which is odd when everyone else works so well. Not really expecting that to improve much tbh.

Now back to that pacing. It’s… largely only down hill from here and that is somewhat alarming. For as good as the general world-building is, the pace is still starting to sag and that might not even just be the adaptation. If *One Piece* is at its best on the downtime between arcs when it can flesh out its characters and world, then to draw the Arabasta Arc out for so long baffles me. A lot of characters feel like they just dip out of the story for a long time due to the focus being away from them, and it really makes things drag, despite the setting being rather interesting in theory. This is an issue I’m only expecting to get worse as time progresses.

On the other plus side, the animation has improved I guess. I do kinda fuck with Oda’s style in a weird way, even if we’re still not exactly the flashiest thing on the block at this time either.

Last thing, the Grand Line is so freakin’ weird. Like it just being effectively one big line still freaks me out, even if very obvious in retrospect and a convenient plot device. Something about it still messes with my brain though. Like for how dangerous they say it is, you’ve still got these whole ass civilizations in it and they’ve not once thought about how they’re basically stuck here? Maybe it’s the equivalent of living in an end-game town, but like damn a lot of these citizens here feel softer than I’d think. Also, and I’m not really expecting much of an answer here cause I’ll get one eventually, how does [One Piece]>!the time-skip!< work? Like I know vaguely what happens, but [One Piece]>!how does one fuck off when you’re basically living in a line!<? how do Marines get anywhere meaningful? Is deployment to the Grand Line a life sentence?

I’m deeply overthinking this. 7.5/10 through Alabasta.

Charmanders_Cock2026-01-07 01:40

While it’s definitely sort of spoiler-y, looking at a map of the One Piece world is a really neat way to get a better grip on how it’s structured. There’s tonnns of awesome fan-made maps out there ranging from basic bare-bones jpg to full on navigable/interactive 3d models that basically function as very detailed globes. A quick Google will find you a ton.

Seeing a cool ass map of the world was actually what got me to start watching back in the day; I’ve also got a bit of a thing for maps in general though.

collapsedblock62026-01-07 05:24

In later One Piece, you could have as much as 1/3rd of episode runtime be essentially dead time. OPs until Wano were 2 minutes long + recaps, then you add pointless flashbacks (an infamous one in Dressrossa was played 48 times through the arc), the stretched out action and screams, etc, etc.

For reference, the fan One Pace project reduced Dressrossa to like half of its length.

Durinthal2026-01-06 23:01

The [YuriMuri OP](https://v.animethemes.moe/Watanare-OP1.webm "I know that it's shortened to Watanare but I think that's funnier.") has been stuck in my head today.

[](#justright "The shoe tap in sync with the staccatos at 1:11 is the kind of thing that I love.")

The specials were a great capstone to the season and it's the kind of thing that has gone up in my opinion the more I think about it so far.

zairaner2026-01-07 13:13

It really is such a fantastic op.

And what a perfect season finale

theangryeditor2026-01-06 23:30

Tamon-kun and Ikoku Nikki are telling me I should get a high school girl as a housekeeper to fix my life

[](#schemingsaten)

_Ridley2026-01-06 23:47

Now if we could just get an anime for Tsubaki-chou Lonely Planet, we could have a shoujosei teenage housekeeper triple feature.

theangryeditor2026-01-06 23:58

It's even got Hayami Saori voicing the MC in the voice drama.

[](#drunkhisone)

Zale13x2026-01-06 23:30

Super late, so I’m combining my 2025 favourites recap with my 2026 bingo.

[Fav anime watch in 2025](https://files.catbox.moe/k3hpq2.png)
(It’s Mao S2, and my favourite Idolish7 was S3 parts 1+2. Topsters doesn’t split by season)

It’s a bit telling that everything after Look Back tops out at a 7/10. My bingo choices flopped pretty hard, with ten 6/10s and a drop. The rest of my top 25 ended up being carried by seasonals instead.

But that's all in the past; now it's time for the [2026 bingo](https://files.catbox.moe/wvku38.png)!

Pretty typical stuff for me with WMT, ms, mecha, shoujo, a couple "artsy" works etc. But now, as an **official** 0.05% Idol (male) enjoyer, I've decided to also (retry) Side-M.

I've already started with watching [Haikara-san ga Tooru](https://anilist.co/anime/3335/). I got to ep 12 before and it was a lot of fun. I’m glad so many fansubbers (very heroically) tortured themselves to get it done.

>... and the subs were so bad they’ve literally caused several editors in a row to quit living. It’s not an exaggeration to say I’ve lost count of how many versions of episode 1 we had by now.
Regardless, I regret to inform you that we all made it through, so congratulations to everyone who is still alive, and everyone who believed in us!

[](#toradorasalute)

Shimmering-Sky2026-01-07 00:04

> But that's all in the past; now it's time for the 2026 bingo!

[Gundam Unicorn???](#concealedexcitement)

Durinthal2026-01-07 05:17

> I’m glad so many fansubbers (very heroically) tortured themselves to get it done.

I wanted to watch it so much after seeing the abridged movie adaptation that I put out a sizable but pointless bounty for it on a private tracker. Glad it was finally subbed even if I haven't gotten to it yet myself.

[](#mugiwait)

Zale13x2026-01-07 05:48

>that I put out a sizable but pointless bounty for it on a private tracker.

[](#helmetbro)

I remember when I was tempted to make one for RC's subs of Persia but decided it was a pointless endeavour, as seemingly no one saved them, and that the dream is dead. I then just spent my yen on gacha instead.

Abysswatcherbel2026-01-06 23:32

This childhood friend romcom is giving me Goddess cafe flashbacks

It is our goat tezuka isn't it? u/entelechtual

entelechtual2026-01-07 01:58

It’s my AOTS already. They don’t make romcoms like this anymore.

alotmorealots2026-01-07 03:36

That good huh?

entelechtual2026-01-07 04:35

It’s got the earnest whimsy of early 2010’s romcoms that’s leaning into the tropes but not too self-aware that they think they’re above them.

alotmorealots2026-01-07 06:00

Not too cool for school-(setting-romcom)!

BaytaCosmico2026-01-06 23:37

As I was typing [this response](https://www.reddit.com/r/anime/comments/1q4hs22/comment/ny2yun9/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=mweb3x&utm_name=mweb3xcss&utm_term=1&utm_content=share_button) to someone commenting on how tropes are just tools, it really struck me how similar Tomo-chan and this childhood friend romcom are. The premise is essentially the same, just with two girls instead of one.

I remember feeling put off by the fan service at the beginning of Tomo-chan too but that quickly showed it had more to offer and became a fast favourite.

Has me wondering if I should give this new one another chance. But I really do think this one is going to stay shallow and trashy without any redeeming features.

IXajll2026-01-07 00:50

I mean, it *is* pretty shallow and trashy but imo it’s fine because it’s honest and upfront about it and doesn’t pretend to be anything grand. I‘m not watching it for a well written romance story, but for the dumb comedy which landed pretty well for me and the general embraced absurdity.

BaytaCosmico2026-01-07 04:54

The comedy didn't land for me at all and I didn't like any of the characters either. I need something more. Doesn't need to be grand just interesting in some way. This is too junk food for me.

Donnie-G2026-01-07 08:05

I think it just worked a lot better as a quick and snappy 4koma manga. The anime suffered from just not having good comedic timing/pacing, which I feel a lot of 4koma adaptations tend to suffer from.

mr_beanoz2026-01-07 00:33

I haven't read the manga yet, but it would be funny if Kinme is supposed to be a champion in some kind of competition before losing her memory, since "Kinme" sounds like the short for "kin medalist" (gold medalist)

Mama2Ge2026-01-07 01:22

Any good zombie anime recs? I watched Zom 100 and loved it

KendotsX2026-01-07 01:40

Calamity of a Zombie Girl if you don't mind feasting on gore.

High School of the Dead works too.

Mama2Ge2026-01-07 02:19

Gonna check these out, thanks!

_Ridley2026-01-07 02:05

Zombie Land Saga is a great offbeat zombie comedy.

Mama2Ge2026-01-07 02:19

I started this a couple years ago but it was in my beginner anime days so I didn't appreciate it yet. Going to give it another try!

_Ridley2026-01-07 02:47

It's also one of those shows that's fun in both the Japanese and English dubs.

Donnie-G2026-01-07 04:57

I love Zombieland Saga, but at the same time it is barely a zombie show lol.

_Ridley2026-01-07 05:08

It's not a post-apocalyptic thriller, no. If you like the undead, though, it's a fun time.

NormalGrinn2026-01-07 03:05

[Episode 1 / hidden premise meta spoilers]>!Gakkou Gurashi!<

zairaner2026-01-07 13:11

Absolutely going to have to give a second shoutout to [same episode 1 spoiler as beloe]>!Gakkou Gurashi!<!

Wanderingjoke2026-01-07 02:37

How could Yano-kun give us that final episode plotline and [not] >!show us his eyes?!!<

Anyway, finished Yano-kun. I was worried at the beginning that the injuries would get stale, but the group was just so much fun to watch over the course of the season.

Wanderingjoke2026-01-07 03:02

Holy cliffhanger, Batman! Forget That Night just ended right in the middle of a dramatic climax. For a show that's only a few minutes per episode, this is an absolute travesty of an ending.

qwertyqwerty45672026-01-07 03:31

Do you ever see a wild creature get added to the mc's party in an isekai or isekai adjacent story, only for it to *not* transform into a cute girl, and get disappointed over it, or is that just me?

[](#thoughtful)

Retromorpher2026-01-07 07:00

Qwerty out here just vaguely hating on Tonsuki to reinforce their brand.

qwertyqwerty45672026-01-07 13:51

Am I wrong though, the biggest downside to this show is the lack of cute girls.

[](#foldedarms)

SSjjlex2026-01-07 04:06

After watching many japanese highschool romcoms, the school in darwin incident is messing with my brain.

What do you mean they don't have school uniforms? They just casually have blonde people that aren't main characters? What do you mean there are black people?????

America sure is a strange land...

Donnie-G2026-01-07 04:57

At least for me growing up, I did watch a number of shows/sitcoms growing up set in American schools so the idea isn't alien to me. Sabrina the Teenage Witch for example.... there's also stuff like The OC or High School Musical that I was aware of but didn't watch.

The school I attended did have a uniform though, so at the time I was like woah how come my school don't got casual wear?

_Ridley2026-01-07 05:12

And yet, the windows open, students are allowed outside, and it seemed to still be 10th-12th grades instead of 9th-12th. So close.

wloff2026-01-07 07:11

Is this an American joke, or are you actually not allowed to open windows or go outside over there?

[](#niatilt)

Heda-of-Aincrad2026-01-07 08:06

It depends on the school, but many will keep the windows closed as a safety precaution, and won't allow students to leave during lunch hour like I've seen them do in anime schools.

vancevon2026-01-07 08:55

Large public buildings in general are built with central heating and air conditioning in mind, and so most windows just aren't openable as that would mess with these systems. As for leaving school, I'm sure a lot of schools have a policy that says you shouldn't or are not allowed to go without some kind of paperwork, but it's impossible to enforce. The doors are open and you can just walk out.

_Ridley2026-01-07 15:35

> Large public buildings in general are built with central heating and air conditioning in mind

This has nothing to do with it. It's a security thing. The building at my high school that was from the 20s had nice big windows that were meant to open wide, but they modified them in the 80s so they only opened a foot. None of the schools around here have air conditioning either.

> The doors are open and you can just walk out.

Oh sure, but if you were hanging around outside while class was going on at my school or any of the ones I worked at, security would write you up. Also, they were locked from the outside, so you could get out, but not back in.

IXajll2026-01-07 07:11

> the windows open, students are allowed outside

Wait, are you saying this is not normal in US schools?

_Ridley2026-01-07 15:39

Correct. Our schools are built and run like prisons, partially because of school shooters, but it was like that when I was in school in the mid-90s too.

IXajll2026-01-07 15:48

This reminds me of the movie Fast and the Furious Tokyo Drift (I think it was) I watched when I was like 12 and iirc there the character had to do security bag checks too when entering his school, is that a thing too? Seems pretty extreme, but with school shooters and general gun culture it’s not too surprising unfortunately.

_Ridley2026-01-07 16:02

That is definitely a thing. Some schools require see through bags or ban bags entirely. City schools often have metal detectors.

zairaner2026-01-07 13:09

The only manhwa I read (I love Amy) beeing set in an american high school weirded the fuck out of me as well, it took me a while to even realize.

Retromorpher2026-01-07 06:38

Party of 2 people summoned from Japan to a world dealing with a recurring miasma, one of whom is believed to be the chosen saint

Older abductee wants to go back to work almost immediately

Main character affectionately termed Sei-san

Main character has an immediate and strong relation to potions

Surrounded by modestly attractive males

Welcome back The Saint's Power is Omnipotent.

ComfortablyRotten2026-01-07 06:59

I remember so little about Saint absolutely none of the possible points of comparisons came to mind when watching Bean Counter lol

Retromorpher2026-01-07 07:17

Well, in Saint's Power she loses her glasses immediately whereas he keeps his. Obviously these are completely different shows - as the difference between a bespectacled protag and one with none is enormous.

oedipusrex3762026-01-07 06:49

That Arne show looks pretty good, but I’m already drowning in mystery shows right now.

AdUnfair5582026-01-07 07:11

Working on another anime that I stopped watching midway in the past few years. This time it's **Frieren**. You know, I really liked this show for the first half, but the second half just doesn't really vibe with me. I must be alone in this because everyone loves this show to death for some reason. But I feel like it's just trying too hard to be all fantasy/shonen battle manga like and I don't like any of the new characters they introduced. I know everyone is really looking forward to season 2, but I don't think I will watch it.

wloff2026-01-07 07:22

I think it's rare to dislike the second half so much that you'd actually drop the show, but you're definitely not alone in being disappointed that the show went from the cool and unique nostalgic melancholy vibes to suddenly just going down the "basic unimaginative shounen tropes" checklist.

I'm still super hyped about season 2, though!

AdUnfair5582026-01-07 07:24

Yeah you basically summed up my feelings.

Maybe I'll give season 2 a try. I don't know. I'm trying to just finish up some of these shows I stopped watching and then going back to Monster.

zsmg2026-01-07 09:49

> I must be alone in this because everyone loves this show to death for some reason.

I'm with you, Frieren has two modes: [YYK mode](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yokohama_Kaidashi_Kikou)(early episodes) and battle shounen mode. It's really good if it's in the former mode, but average when it's in the latter mode. Second half of the show was just boring for me, it's really frustrating when the show is stuck in battle shounen mode for so long.

One_Bend74232026-01-07 09:54

The mage qualification? Yea, that's the tragedy of shounen stories - they all have to have a tournament arc, a training arc, et cetera. It's kinda incredible how much the tone shifts.

I still maintain that it'd have been better as a 13-episode cour, where they left out the stupid mage qualification (*or* kept it much shorter - just used it as a joke, showing how Frieren and Fern are much more competent than the edgy losers taking part) and stuck to the journey.

Actually, come to think of it - how come there are all these people there? Didnt Frieren's party have to cross a warzone, a snowy mountain, etc, just to get to the Demon King's palace in the north? A supposedly dangerous place? Yet there are peaceful villages and towns there.

Reminds me of the *One piece* setting - Luffy and crew enter this supposedly dangerous Grand Line (or whatever it's called, I dropped the series after a year or so), yet there are all these regular people already there. Way to deflate the tension, lol.

(I do get why tho - these stories don't get planned out *that* far ahead, so when the publisher wants more, the authors have to come up with new stuff. And you can't have your extended setting be only populated by superhumans. As Mysterio said: "When everyone's special, *noone* is...".)

AdUnfair5582026-01-07 10:29

Yeah, I don't know if I'm just old but I don't like all these edgy characters especially the green haired lady. I think if I were back in my teens I probably would have thought they were all really cool though. Even Frieren's personality is a little annoying.

I'm just in a different stage of my life.

Donnie-G2026-01-07 12:25

I didn't finish the anime, but I read past where the anime left off. So in a sense I did get further than you.

I also got bored. I feel like Frieren is aimlessly spinning its wheels and the author has no idea what to do with it. So it's essentially just random battle shonen arcs(yes there's more battle shonen arcs after this!). I was expecting more whimsical slice of life and mini adventures about the ephemeral nature of life or something.

It also feels a bit... cobbled together. Like the world wasn't well thought out and stuff is just being made up as it goes along. Suddenly there's these guys, and those guys, and where the hell were all these assholes doing during the war with the Demon Lord? Just twiddling their thumbs for some damned reason, waiting for the Demon Lord to die and harass Frieren later on.

Demons also feel rather perplexing as a species. I get that they are meant to be this thing that can't understand emotions and just mimics humans to prey on them.... but at the same time how did these guys even evolve into being and survive this long if they are so inept? They supposedly do give birth to young which they abandon as well?

The current arc in the manga isn't even demon related, so they kinda feel a bit swept under the rug as well.

The manga is under hiatus, I hope they do spend some of that time just rethinking what they wanna even do with this.

AdUnfair5582026-01-07 12:30

In terms of the anime it seems like it was all building up to that one big mid anime fight and then everything just lost steam for me. I have about 4 episodes left but it’s just so boring with all these new characters I know nothing about and are all just edgy teens.

Lycelyce2026-01-07 14:13

I mean, the world building are inconsistent and all over the place while being overly generic and barebones at the same time. You shouldn't expect it to has great world building in the first place. Just enjoy the melancholy and nostalgia. (Except, I also can't enjoy it lmao. The premise are great for early chapters, but not when it get overly repetitive and stretched into 140+ chapters with samey troupe)

Ok-Cod52542026-01-07 13:54

If you like the first half, S2 which is only one cour (10 episodes) this time will have the same vibes as the first half.

AnimeMod2026-01-07 16:38

Hello /r/anime, a new daily thread has been posted! Please follow
[this link](/r/anime/comments/1q6cz42/anime_questions_recommendations_and_discussion/) to move on to the new thread
or [search for the latest thread](/r/anime/search?q=flair%3ADaily&restrict_sr=on&sort=new).

[](#heartbot "And don't forget to be nice to new users!")

Own_Lingonberry22432026-01-11 00:40

Need inspiration for my minis. I'd like to know all of your favorite scenes, bedrooms, kitchens, other rooms and buildings I could make into miniatures. ✨