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This is my wall. It was made for me.
I watched nearly a full cours of dead-sister-recovery efforts before realizing Dungeon Meshi (Delicious in Dungeon) wasn't merely going to be about eating monsters. There's actually a plot, and it involves more than recovering dead sisters. I dunno, I guess I didn't really think about it and sort of assumed the source manga ran for 14 volumes concentrating nearly entirely on convincing a recalcitrant triangular elf to sample variations on the fantasy campaign equivalent of redneck dwarven roadkill cuisine.
I know you're important because you were in the opening credits.
As it turns out, in addition to getting a dead sister out of dragon storage, there are also plot lines about the dungeon's mastermind, the controversial use of forbidden magic, and some yet-unrevealed questions related to new characters. I'm not sure what to think about the influx of new characters, actually. After 16 episodes, I feel as if there's still a lot I don't know about the original core cast.
I also feel as if y'all should be more alert.
Is getting more plot a good thing? For me specifically, I suppose it is. I've never been a big fan of cooking shows, so I've only regarded the culinary focus of the series so far as being mildly interesting at best. I was mostly watching because I enjoy Studio Trigger and its signature stylistic flourishes. It's also accurate to recognize I enjoy Marcille too, even if she is triangular.
Posted in Dungeon Meshi | Tags: Cooking, Food, Season Introduction, Spring 2024, Studio Trigger | Permanent Link
I like that they imprisoned her with her sword.
When I first heard about Torture Princess, I assumed it was some sort of edgy bullshit manga. Then, when I found out it's a comedy, it wasn't difficult to piece together what it's actually about. Later, when I learned it was getting an anime adaptation, I assumed it would generate a fair amount of buzz, since I had always heard the manga is popular. As it turns out, I dropped Hime-sama, "Goumon" no Jikan desu ('Tis Time for "Torture," Princess) after two episodes even though it was mostly fine.
Cordless phone.
I stopped watch Torture Princess because I assumed it would continue being mostly variations on the same basic joke. I'm sure this sort of thing can remain fresh if it's done creatively, but I'm not a huge fan of reaction-based humor to begin with. As a result, I got my fill of Torture Princess gags pretty much right away. It didn't take long for me to lose interest. There were some jokes that I liked because they did not follow the basic template of the main gag, but they weren't enough to keep me watching.
Where does she poop?
Still, I assumed the anime would be fairly popular with other viewers. And while I wouldn't call its current performance a failure, it at least doesn't seem to place highly in weekly popularity polls and whatnot. I also don't encounter much enthusiasm for the series in the corners of the Internet that I frequent. I suppose I should avoiding putting too much stock in that one particular metric, since I don't encounter much enthusiasm in those areas for BokuYaba or Frieren either, and those are my top two shows this season by a considerable margin. There's no question those two are popular, though. Torture Princess, not so much.
Posted in Hime-sama, "Goumon" no Jikan desu | Tags: Comedy, Dropped Shows, Food, Initial impressions, Manga, Season Introduction, Winter 2024 | Permanent Link
Hard work is going to make you hungrier.
I've been hearing for some time from adjacent Internet sources how entertaining the Dungeon Meshi (Delicious in Dungeon) manga is, so learning Studio Trigger would be animating the anime meant I was guaranteed to give it a try, even if I had to watch it on the Netflix. (I also continue to pay for the Netflix even though it irritates the shit out of me. Don't get me started. But I digress.) Through four episodes, it's nice—the animation in particular—but it's not really the sort of show I'd normally be watching.
Marcille looks like that because she's eating spicy food, not because she's sexually aroused.
I suppose I have at least some interest in a few cooking-related anime and manga, but it's clearly not one of the sub-genres that I'm passionate about, considering my muted reactions to fan favorites such as Shokugeki no Soma (Food Wars!) and Yakitate!! Japan. Consequently, I'm really only watching the Dungeon Meshi anime because I enjoy Studio Trigger and because Marcille's reactions amuse me. I can't help but notice she gets worked up a lot more over things than Frieren, but maybe Marcille is only a little baby elf compared to Frieren.
Posted in Dungeon Meshi | Tags: Cooking, Food, Initial impressions, Season Introduction, Studio Trigger, Winter 2024 | Permanent Link
Asirpa is short.
The fourth season of Golden Kamuy was supposed to finish at the end of 2022. A staff member's death delayed production, and the cours restarted as a Spring 2023 show. As with other long-running anime (well, longer-running, relatively speaking), there's not much I can tell you about this series if you're not watching it already. Read the manga. It's great. I would tell you to start watching the anime, but that's probably a harder sell now that there are nearly 50 episodes (more, if you count the OVAs). You should have started already.
Don't stare. It's impolite.
This is one of those series that does everything well. There's comedy, there's drama, it's wacky, and it's serious. There are a lot of characters, and most of them are mental cases, but you'll also spend enough time with them (well, the ones who don't suddenly die) to appreciate what they've got going on and what motivates them. We already know the anime will cover the entire manga, so it's at least something newcomers can start without worrying about it being incomplete. There are honestly still some rough parts where the scenes or action are clearly difficult to animate, but we're at least well past the immersion-breaking 3DCG bears and fire from the first season.
Posted in Golden Kamuy | Tags: Cooking, Food, Mamikore, Manga, Season Conclusion, Season Introduction, Sequels, Spring 2023, war, War Is All Hell | Permanent Link
Aletta is pleasant.
There's honestly not all that much to Isekai Shokudou (Restaurant to Another World), but I enjoyed the first season enough to watch its sequel. Isekai Shokudou 2 continues its first season's parade of enthusiastic patrons whose displays of excitement are not entirely over the top, unlike some other food-reaction-shot anime. I at least don't remember any guests literally orgasming from their meals.
Kuro is pleasant on the inside.
There's also not really very much tension or drama. There are a number of side plots related to the customers and how they happened to find the magic door to the restaurant, but these are also secondary to showing off the various dishes and encouraging viewers to try them. In that respect, Restaurant to Another World is fairly successful. At a minimum, it's a reminder that I have available to me an incredible assortment of different cuisines and the means to sample them (even if they do cost more than a few coppers, typically). I should probably do so more often. I don't even need to travel to another world to do it.
Posted in Isekai Shokudou | Tags: Autumn 2021, Food, Initial impressions, Light Novels, Season Introduction, Sequels, Ueda Reina | Permanent Link
Don't let rabbit shit go to waste.
Sounan desu ka? (English title, Are You Lost?) has turned out to be reliably amusing thanks almost entirely to Homare, without whom the rest of the girls would be as fucked on that island as they would be on the moon. For perfectly valid anime reasons, Homare spent a considerable part of her childhood getting stranded over and over with her hyper-competent survivalist father. This provided her with the knowledge and experience to keep herself and the other girls who are stranded with her on a deserted island alive through an otherwise harrowing situation. Every other girl with her is basically dead weight, but Homare has managed to provide substinance and shelter with relative ease, so she's already advanced from survival basics to quality-of-life considerations.
Look at how happy she is to have metal.
In this respect, there are some similarities with Dr. STONE in that both shows are about pursuing makeshift improvements in a primitive environment, and applying science and cunning against the various threats posed by nature. Dr. STONE is significantly more ambitious in this regard as it also involves threats posed by man, whereas Sounan desu ka? takes a more matter-of-fact approach toward its concerns, many of which are inspired by whining teenage girls. Lucky for them, Homare is a treasure, and incredibly patient and accommodating. It is abundantly clear to me that she would be perfectly happy being stranded apparently indefinitely. Really, if you are going to be lost in the middle of nowhere, being lost with Homare is basically your best-case scenario.
Posted in BEST GIRL, Dr. STONE, Sounan desu ka? | Tags: Building Stuff, Fan Service, Fishing, Food, Season Introduction, Summer 2019 | Permanent Link
At least the smaller animals are 2D, even when they're delicious.
Golden Kamuy was one of the Spring 2018 shows I was looking forward to the most. It stumbled a bit out the gate when the first episode's infamously out-of-place looking 3DCG animals dominated most of the show's initial discussion. That this got the most attention is a bit of a shame, because Golden Kamuy has a lot going for it. Notably, the manga is good enough that a few misses in the anime adaptation are not going to be enough to ruin it. I didn't watch the all-3DCG Berserk, but the problems facing Golden Kamuy here are by no means as severe. It's not as if the entire show is 3DCG—just the larger animals when they appear.
Golden Kamuy is also about Asirpa looking displeased.
Seeing as how the show isn't actually about bears, 3DCG or otherwise, it's pretty good most of the time. Well, that's assuming you have an appetite for the horrors of war, collecting the skins of dead convicts, brutal violence, Japanese history, Ainu cultural lessons, and delicious meals made with freshly killed game. I suppose I'm not fully prepared to resist arguments that anyone interested should just read the manga instead, but I do believe the anime adds bits worth appreciating separately. I suggest watching the anime first before turning to the start of the manga. The way I see it, the anime will inevitably finish far short of the still ongoing manga's current position, and you'll probably want to read it anyway.
Posted in Golden Kamuy | Tags: 3D, Cooking, Food, Manga, Season Introduction, Spring 2018, war, War Is All Hell | Permanent Link
I like Aletta even though she admitted her bodily fluids are not poisonous.
Food-based anime is all about reaction shots. Isekai Shokudō (Restaurant to Another World) is no different, but it does spice up the usual recipe by with its fantasy element and its somewhat unremarkable menu. As the title indicates, the restaurant in question features an entrance which pops up periodically in fantasy world locations, ensuring an eclectic mix of clientele who are amazed by the exquisite way food can taste when it does not consist entirely of plain boiled meat and wilted vegetables.
Behold! Bacon!
Through two episodes, the anime has been whimsical and amusing enough that I consider it a success. I'm told it's similar to the Bartender anime from 2006 (which I have not seen). I also don't know anything about the Isekai Shokudō light novel, but based on its illustrations and the anime's promotional art, it seems the restaurant will be gaining another waitress.
Such is the power of fried meat.
Incidentally, the OP is by Wake Up, May'n!, a collaborative effort between the real-life Wake Up, Girls! idol troupe and May'n (Sheryl Nome's own bad self). This doesn't strike me as the most natural combination, but it is a good one, even if the resulting OP is a lot more energetic than I would have expected considering the tone of the anime itself. I'm definitely in favor of more Wake Up, May'n! and certainly looking forward to more Isekai Shokudō.
Posted in Isekai Shokudou | Tags: Food, Idols, Light Novels, OP ED, Season Introduction, Summer 2017 | Permanent Link
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