Summer Blog Post - #12

Ah, the final summer blog post of 2025.

I'm not too sure what to write. There's an overwhelming feeling of excitement for the upcoming semester. I already spent a couple hours on campus today with the other officers of my club. We were out looking for a new club room. Just being around them made me feel so much better. It's like all that griping about loneliness from the last twelve weeks meant nothing.

I don't know if I'll continue doing weekly blog posts, or if I'll keep them for nothing more than my breaks off. Something tells me I should keep them up though.

I'm tired, physically. I want to sleep. 

Anyways, I'll sum up anything recent. Last week I went to a fair with some club members of mine. It was a good time, and we spent around six hours together. It was nice to just sit and talk, as well as eat fair food that totally put weight on me.

Aaaaaaaand that's it.

My classes are two in-person and three which are async. I hope to use a lot of my free time to keep up with the shows I'm watching!

This summer I finished quite a few shows too! I wanted to watch stuff, and I absolutely did. I won't go into anything live action, so we'll just be talking about anime here.

Things I've finished this summer were; Honey Lemon Soda, Akkun to Kanojo, Golden Kamuy seasons 1 through 4, Maison Ikkoku; Kanketsu-hen, Ojisan to Marshmallow & the special, Comic Party, Dandadan season 1, Aoi Bungaku Series, To Heart, To Heart: Remember My Memories, and last night I finished the second Mononoke movie.

I started a few shows too! Ore no Imouto ga Konnani Kawaii Wake ga Nai, UFO Princess Valkyrie, CITY The Animation, Oruchuban Ebichu, Dandadan season 2, Kuragehime, GA: Geijutsuka Art Design Class, Chobits, and Comic Party Revolution.

And some shows were dropped; the only two here are Sakamoto Days and Highschool of the Dead.

I'm happy that I was able to watch so many things. I wanted so badly to get into the habit of watching stuff again, like I would religiously as a child when I had cable television. So now I get to quickly go over all of these.

- Honey Lemon Soda

It was cute and easy. Almost too typical of a style, but I was looking for something super basic and relaxing so I wasn't upset with it. The cliches were very much there, but I personally find that stuff charming. - 6/10

- Akkun to Kanojo

It was cute, and took me a short time to watch. It was a little... much sometimes. I get the point is it's a role-reversal and the male is now the tsundere type character. It just kinda comes off as normalizing an abusive relationship, still. I liked it, but I wasn't blown away. - 6/10

- Golden Kamuy (Seasons 1, 2, 3, & 4)

I never thought something would out JoJo JoJo. This show did it. I was kind of upset because it made me realize how kinda mid JoJo is. Golden Kamuy was just that but better in every way. The comedy was great, the visuals were great, the story was great, the characters were great... Even the slow periods were great. The show was a perfect 8/10 across every season. You might think then that it's just better than average, but I disagree. If a show is able to hold a *perfect* score the whole way across without any fluctuations, that's amazing. I can't recommend it enough!

- Maison Ikkoku: Kanketsu-hen

The movie to finish off my favorite anime series, Maison Ikkoku. I can't believe it took me so long to finally sit down and watch the final chapter, but it was just as good as I had hoped. The artstyle change was a little much at first, but I quickly adjusted to it. It was perfect, just like the series it closed up. - 10/10

- Ojisan to Marshmallow (& Special)

A middle-aged obese salary man who loves marshmallows. It was cute! I liked it a lot for the short episodes it gave. - 6/10

- Comic Party

When looking for older things to go back to and watch, I was recommended Comic Party due to my love for Genshiken. I can understand why! It was a fun take on doujin culture, mostly from the creator's end. Genshiken is more about the consumer end of the community. They contrast like that, you see? In the middle of the show, I couldn't help but be curious about the series it kept referencing, so then I started and finished To Heart before I finished Comic Party. It was great still! I personally watched the dub of this, as it fits my personal criteria for wanting a nostalgia binge through a semi-poor dub. Again, it has a charm! I am upset the voice actors have been changed in the continuation. - 8/10

- Dandadan (Season 1)

I like aliens, I like yokai and Eastern spirituality, and I like romance. Put all together and you get -- Mid. Slightly above mid, sorry. I like the romance story being told through this series, but I couldn't give a damn about the action if I tried. I find long-winded fight scenes boring, and I absolutely hate when they take up a whole episode or two. I just want the romance, please. - 6/10

- Aoi Bungaku Series

A fantastic remake of a few classic Japanese literary tales for the "modern" (this was in the 2000s) era. Every story was done well, but one stood out above the rest. The episodes that made up Osamu Dazai's Run, Melos! were perfect. If this were an OVA that consisted of only those two episodes, it would be a perfect 10/10. No notes. I would be singing the praises of that OVA to anyone who'd listen, and I will absolutely be showing it to my club this year. - 8/10

- To Heart

I love HMX-12 with all my heart. She is perfect. I want a robot maid so fucking bad... Anyways, Multi is best girl, Shiho is secondary best girl. 

I couldn't really care for Akari, the main childhood best friend character. The others were alright as well. Some better than others. I was very appreciative of the series and what it did for anime in the 2000s, and I was happy to experience it for myself. I consider myself a pretty big fan of ToHeart now, and have picked up the game(s). - 8/10

- To Heart: Remember My Memories

The character development in this one was much better compared to the first series. I loved Multi getting much more time, and for most of the story being the assumed main love interest. The real girl who wins, Akari, is pretty bland and boring I found. It did make me somewhat upset Multi didn't get the final happy ending, but this is why the games exist, so I can make it happen for myself. :) - 8/10

- Mononoke Movie: Dai-2 Shou - Hinezumi

Pure art. No notes.

I love Mononoke as a series, and was beyond ecstatic to see it get a trilogy of movies in the modern day. This second movie is brand new at the time or writing, so I won't say anything more other than it was amazing. Please, go watch it! - 9/10

Now quickly for the shows I've dropped:

- High School of the Dead

Was campy trash that was made for the angsty kid who probably smelt musty in 2010. Dropped after one episode, it was pure garbage. - 1/10

- Sakamoto Days

I'm sad to see it kinda suck. Once again, I love the slice of life sections but can't give one about the action. If this was more like Way of the Househusband it'd be great. - 5/10

- GA: Geijutsuka Art Design Class

My partner loves this show, as he went to university for a graphic design degree already. I also find it adorable, but the jokes land with him much, much more. - 8/10

- Chobits

I've been told I need to watch this because of my love for To Heart and how it approached AI robotics as humans in a normal society. It's just that, but gone further into. I only started it last night, but I'm already deeply hooked. I love robotics, and I love Maison Ikkoku. This series feels scarily close to Maison Ikkoku in a ton of ways, but the only real change is there are now robot humanoids around the world. I want to see how much further this stuff gets explored, and plan to watch more ASAP. I can see this being a 10/10 if it's played right.

- Comic Party Revolution

I started this today, and it feels like it's doing the same as To Heart: Remember My Memories. Artstyle change, more character development. Unfortunately, I'm watching the dub for this specific show, and I'm horribly saddened that the VAs were changed between the first series and this one. I'm only a single episode in so far, so I have not much to say. - Rating TBD