#palace maid

[chinesehanfu]

【Historical Reference Artifacts】:

China Southern Song Dynasty PaintingBy 刘松年Liu Songnian (1174–1224).

Tokyo National Museum Collection

[Hanfu · 漢服]Chinese Song Dynasty (960–1279 AD)Traditional Clothing Hanfu Reference to Song Dynasty paintings

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🧚🏻‍Recreation Work: @我不是小馨 & @十睿传统美学馆

👗Hanfu:@桑纈

🔗Weibo：https://weibo.com/6929988517/NhSKRyLaB

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#chinese hanfu #Song Dynasty (960–1279 AD) #hanfu #hanfu accessories #hanfu_challenge #chinese traditional clothing #china #chinese #china historical fashion #historical fashion #historical hairstyle #chinese style #ruqun #Palace Maid/宮女圖 #我不是小馨 #十睿传统美学馆 #桑纈 #漢服 #汉服

[littlekohai77]

Some facts.

Alfons... That bitch is a left handed mf.

Or at least his sword hand is his left hand.

I've made that conclusion from which side he rests his sword on. It would be hard to unsheathe it swiftly from his right hip with his right hand. Thus the assumption.

Also new info on the maids.

That's so adorable and nice 🥹🥹

I feel so happy for them (◍•ᴗ•◍)

Also Victor is the tallest. Coming in at second is Roger. (Both a little over 6 ft)

And Ellis was discrided as tall in the prologue.... I've been scammed.

#ikemen x reader #ikevil #ikevil jude #ikevil alfons #the palace maids #ikemen villains #ikevil ellis #ikevil elbert #ikevil en #ikevil william #ikevil liam #ikevil victor #ikevil harrison

[sharper-than-a-serpents-tooth]

the jewelry Athy stole likely belonged to the murdered concubines of the Ruby Palace and not once Athy feels bad about stealing from the dead

#like it was justified because her life was in danger but still I would have liked to see her feeling at least a little bit guilty #and putting flowers on the concubines' graves and saying thank you and that she was sorry her father killed them #this makes the maids stealing from the Ruby Palace seem even more unscrupulous #they were all from noble families and didn't need that money #I hope the ghosts of the concubines haunt tf out of their families 😤 #anyway I needed a scene where Athy notices blood stains on a necklace she stole and remembers that she is living at a crime scene #and throws up making Lily send Felix who was meant to take her to the next tea party with Claude away #Athy feels the rage of the poor murdered girls possessing her and cannot bring herself to smile for Claude in the next days #wmmap #who made me a princess #sbapod #suddenly became a princess one day #athanasia de alger obelia #massacre of the ruby palace

[animebw]

There are still a couple more shows on my PTW list for this season that haven’t aired yet.

Why the fuck do I do this to myself.

Akiba Maid War: Watch this show I am begging you on my knees

Bibliophile Princess: The cinematic equivalent of crusty molasses. Dropped.

Blue Lock: Whoever came up with “Edgy death game but it’s actually a shonen sports anime“ is a goddamn genius.

Bocchi the Rock: Has the potential to be the best cute girls band show since K-On.

Chainsaw Man: I’m officially aboard this hype train let’s GOOOOOOOOOOO

Do It Yourself: It’s a damn good season for cute girls, what can I say?

I’m the Villainness, So I’m Taming the Final Boss: I feel like otome isekai genre is rapidly growing just as stale as its male counterpart, but this one might have some life to it.

Mob Psycho 100 Season 3: ONE AND ONLY OOOOOOONE

Mobile Suit Gundam: The Witch From Mercury: GUNDAM UTENA GUNDAM UTENA GUNDAM UTENA GUNDAM UTENA GUNDAM UTENA

My Hero Academia Season 6: The fact there’s no movie announced this time gives me hope this season will rise to the top again. Fingers crossed!

My Master Has No Tail: Feels like the weakest parts of Eccentric Family and Rakugo Shinju combined. This one is next on the chopping block if it doesn’t pick up soon.

Pop Team Epic Season 2: I still don’t get the double voice actor gimmick tbh

Raven of the Inner Palace: Historical fantasy josei with courtroom politics and social commentary? You better believe I’m here for that.

Reincarnated as a Sword: Yeah, it’s the obligatory isekai, what do you want from me?

Spy x Family: Are you ready for more Anya faces? Because I sure am!

Urusei Yatsura: Just Lum Just Lum Just Lum Just Lum Just Lum Just Lum Just Lum Just Lum Just Lum Just Lum

Yama no Susume Season 4: Okay, but... this season isn’t gonna be all recap, right?

#anime #the anime binge-watcher #tabw #urusei yatsura #mob psycho 100 #i'm the villainess so i'm taming the final boss #do it yourself anime #chainsaw man #pop team epic #my master has no tail #spy x family #my hero academia #boku no hero academia #raven of the inner palace #reincarnated as a sword #gundam witch #g-witch #blue lock #bocchi the rock! #akiba maid war #bibliophile princess

[genrerolereversal]

#so might as well play with the trope. have a woman surrounded by hot and attractive dudes vying for her attention #she could be average looking, or older, or charismatic

I've seen some examples of this in media aimed at straight women, although the woman is always young & attractive too since that's the default for women in media lol.

Examples I know of:

Bloodbound 2 from Choices: Stories You Play app has a cover with the LIs (including 1 of the female LIs) surrounding her whilst she's sat down.

Finding Twilight webtoon from the Lezhin website/app has a cover where the guys literally have half open shirts whilst the f!MC sits on a throne lol.

Lady & Maid from Tapas website has a cover where the female character is sat in a suit whilst the male characters are sat around her in maid costumes.

Love & Thirst, an upcoming otome game has a cover with the f!MC sat on a chair surrounded by guys.

"Reverse harem" books seem popular on TikTok so maybe there's more there?

Thank you for the tip, Anon! And sorry for the late reply, I kept wanting to add more to the post haha. I don't want to derail the original thread so I will compile the examples here.

(^ Finding Twilight)

I'm always down for women in suits :P And I like that the guys are casually wearing maid outfits, not looking humiliated or embarrassed.

Baka-Updates also has a number of reverse harem stories, though it might take some effort to find the ones you like.

As for the ones I know... There's Ōoku: The Inner Chambers, a josei manga by Fumi Yoshinaga. It's an alternate history of Tokugawa Japan, depicting the shoguns from this era as female. It starts with polyandry as the premise, explained as the result of a plague reducing the number of men in society. Because the shoguns are now women, the inner chambers employ hundreds of men as concubines.

(The live-action adaptation)

I would argue that Ōoku is more diverse than average when it comes to women who aren't conventionally attractive. One of the shoguns, Ieshige, has a speech defect and other health problems like her historical counterpart. The rest of the court underestimates her because of it, but she isn't dehumanised or vilified by the story (imho).

Baka-Updates was actually how I found out about Queen's Palace/Empress's Harem :D It's set in a matriarchal society, has a dominant female lead, and a whole bevy of other GRR stuff/flipping gendered tropes. It's one of my personal favourites.

Like you said, many of the examples are still young, light-skinned, conventionally attractive women, so I'd love to see more variation. And for the men too--they don't have to be skinny anime boys or muscle-bound hunks all the time :P

#asks #reverse harem #polyandry #comics #grr #gender role reversal #queen's palace #oooku the inner chambers #webtoon #finding twilight #lady & maid #bloodbound 2 #choices stories you play #love & thirst #thanks for sending this!

[ginsoakedgirl80]

#Story of Kunning Palace #Bai Lu #she went a bit insane there and continued telling everyone about how she thought she could change fate #bless her maid for giving her sage advise #pls her fragile state in the 2nd scene ;_; #episode 18 #excuse my bad quality screenshots

[kruinka]

young master! isagi and escort guard! kurona but the setting is chinese historical drama

#i might expand on this idk #Idk if im obsessed with this genre enough to make a whole au #but i want to see bllk boys fly around on swords and jump on tree branches #and merchants guild leader kaiser #assassin ness #idk i want there to be a conspiracy between isagis dead dad and itoshis parents #young master isagi BUT hes from a fallen noble family AND hes out for revenge #krn bs ╰（‵□′）╯ #i tried really hard to make this kiis centered #but noooooo krn was diligently running laps in my brain #chanting planet hotline #and i rlly want young master isagi in this #if not this then im gonna change krns role in romfan #bc palace attendant is kinda boring i need SPICE #maid kurona? #hes giving “im not paid enough for this shit” #and also “i'll stand with u until death bbg” #so like.. the loyal maid trope rlly fits #idek what this post is about anymore

[shiningdesignersreflections]

Mary: Jasmine Buds

Designer’s Reflection: Jasmine Buds

Obtained: Casual Drinks workshop

Rarity: SR

Attribute: Green/Fresh

Awakened Suit: Jasmine Aroma

Story - transcripts from Designer’s Reflection

Chapter 1 - Lucky Color

Chapter 2 - Unexpected Crisis

Chapter 3 - Jasmine Tea

Story - summarized

Mary is Queen Ophelia’s most trusted maid. She meticulously plans everything - from the suits the Queen wears down to the smallest accessory, to afternoon tea and the type of china. Today’s plans include preparing afternoon tea with the Duchess of Humphrey.

The noble family of Humphrey is young and influential, so this meeting will be important. May double-checks that the kitchen is stocked with the Duchess’ favorite tea: pine needle tea.

After gathering a jasmine bouquet from the garden, she goes up to the Queen’s bedroom, serving breakfast and chatting with her. The two enjoy their mornings like this: simple, friendly, warm. But they still have to get ready for the afternoon tea.

Finally, the Duchess of Humphrey arrives with her own maid, Sal. Sal is stunned by the beauty of the palace, and she can’t help but gush with Mary over everything.

And then she shares that the Duchess is getting sick of pine needle tea.

Mary hurries to the kitchen. She can’t ruin this important meeting! She remembers the jasmine bouquet she had picked for the Queen that morning. Jasmine tea is delicious, but a lot of nobles think it’s too mundane and lowly for their status. Could it still work?

She blends the jasmine and pine needle teas and finally serves the Queen and the Duchess. The Duchess is impressed with the new tea, and even asks for the recipe! The rest of the meeting goes smoothly.

Connections

-In Chapter 1, Mary mentions that the Original Crystal is back and Ophelia is happier and better. After the events of the Vol. 1 finale, Pigeon Kingdom finally got the Original Crystal back from Lilith and Nightbane.

Fun Facts

-Color divination is different from how Mary uses it. She just picks a lucky color of the day based on the flowers she sees, but in divination, each color has a meaning, like green represents nature and wealth, silver represents the moon and mysteries, and white represents purity and completion.

#mary #shining nikki #jasmine buds #green attribute #fresh #sr designer #workshop #casual drinks #pigeon kingdom #afternoon tea #divination #colors #color divination #flowers #meeting #palace #maid #pine needle tea #jasmine tea

[animefeminist]

Anime Feminist Recommendations of Fall 2022

We closed out 2022 with one of the strongest seasons in recent memory and plenty of great titles to choose from!

How did we choose our recs?

Participating staff members can nominate up to three titles and can also co-sign other nominated shows. Rather than categorizing titles as “feminist-friendly” or “problematic,” they are simply listed in alphabetical order with relevant content warnings; doing otherwise ran the risk of folks seeing these staff recommendations as rubber stamps of unilateral “Feminist Approval,” which is something we try our hardest to avoid here.

The titles below are organized alphabetically. As a reminder, ongoing shows are NOT eligible for these lists. We’d rather wait until the series (or season) has finished up before recommending it to others, that way we can give you a more complete picture. This means we also leave out any unfinished split-cour shows, which we define as shows that air their second half within a year of the first. That means that staff favorite Mobile Suit Gundam: The Witch from Mercury is currently excluded from the list but will be eligible later.

Here’s what the team thought—let us know your picks in the comments!

Read it at Anime Feminist!

#the little lies we all tell #bocchi the rock #jojos bizarre adventure #jjba part 6 #jjba stone ocean #akiba maid war #pop team epic #poputepipikku #raven of the inner palace #romantic killer #my master has no tail #mob psycho 100 #mp100 #mp100 season 3 #do it yourself #articles

[its-chelisey-stuff]

The Legend of Anle eps 21-30 (thoughts& feels!!)

I don’t know why they released this happy poster that had nothing to do with these last eps lol they tricked me! I feel tricked!

What a rollercoaster. Even if I don’t exactly like the direction the drama took, I have to admit it got the plot moving a lot more than the last 10 eps. So let’s recap: Prince found out the truth, got a little cheeky and passive-agressive about it, throwing hints left and right. He went on a date with Anle. The two fell into a trap and off a cliff, then took care of each other (arguably the most romantic eps of the show so far), then they forgot about returning home and stayed there for a few days while everyone else was worried sick looking for them hahaha

And then they got rescued against their will and things went bananas. Anle revealed herself as Ziyuan and everything went angsty weepy sad eyes. Dowager Empress died. HanYe got emo and depressed, then he snapped and killed someone and now Luo MingXi knows Ziyuan’s brother is alive, but because he’s truly the worst, he still won’t tell her hahaha I mean HanYe not telling her is one thing, I guess, but LMX? why? cuz he sucks! and his love for her is conditional. If he can’t be the one to present her with the solutions or the shoulder to lean on, then he won’t give her something that makes her happy, because in his eyes he’d be indebted to someone else that’s not him and he cannot allow that. He said it himself, he’s selfish! He cannot die soon enough.

A list of things I loved the most no sad Crown Prince on my list btw:

Ziyuan&HanYe living together in some magical valley where days looked fake af and nights looked like fairy tales. They should’ve made out at the very least, by the look of things we won’t have a kiss until the last ep, if ever.

Ziyuan told WenShuo he can be her little brother (!!!!! girl if only you knew!!) and also, they bonded a bit more in these eps, yay! Why is HanYe not saying anything to any of them??

Luo Mingxi was arrested and tortured (sorry not sorry, I hate him :P)

My sweet Crown Prince became a hot murderer lol. Made a whole post about it.

Meanwhile MoBei or Lengbei or whatever is planning the most boring and slowest invasion in the history of wuxias, with zero charisma on his side. It’s almost like he got too invested in the whole Anle is Ziyuan drama that he has forgotten his mission with all the tea happening at court. Maybe he is a shipper as well and the angst has completely slowed down his plans. Unlikely? Yes, but not impossible lol 

But we can’t blame him. It happens when you’re not the main protagonist and just a secondary character exclusively invented for the show forced to be the ultimate baddie but writers don’t care enough about you to give you a personality. Also, someone get him away from Anning!!! arghh!!!

I hated to see Crown Prince being lovesick and like he was on the verge of a mental breakdown. I mean, technically he had one. Ugh.stupid Gong Jun and his sad puppy eyes But I know that, for every scene I watch of him suffering, I have to push through to see Ziyuan suffer unbearable pain because she took him for granted for far too long.

I remember posting once, when the trailer came out, that at the very least I’d be enjoying how pretty the drama was, starting with OTP. And I got what I wanted, but at what cost? Anyway, I made it this far and I actually watched Gong Jun’s The Flaming Heart (which was truly plotless and the FL behaved like a 10 year old, truly haunting given she was a doctor). In here till the end! lol

#the legend of anle #gong jun #dilraba dilmurat #liu yuning #cdrama #i do still enjoy the show #does that make sense? i am aware of its flaws and all but i kinda like the mess #but jesus christ this took a turn #anle zhuan #not that i care about her #but drama really forgot about cheng'en #and it's lowkey hilarious #in the novel she became a maid in the crown prince's palace #and even then she was plotting how to better her situation #ah the quality of the writer really went down a lot #and the poor actors are the only ones carrying it on their shoulders

[uraandri]

meizhuang is the baddest bitch of them all

#also i love whatever the fuck is going on with consort fleur and her maid #ura.txt #empresses in the palace

[ridley-was-a-cat]

Fall 2022 Anime Roundup

Somehow yet another season has completed, and this one was a doozy. Not only were there multiple sequels to major franchises like Mob Psycho and My Hero Academia, we got a sequel to Bleach 10+ years after the last season ended. On top of that, there was the highly anticipated debut season of Chainsaw Man, and four adaptations of shoujosei works, which is more than we usually get in an entire year. There was just a ton of stuff on offer this season, and almost all of it was good.

Completed

Anime of the Season: Mob Psycho 100 III

In a season as packed as this one, choosing a favorite was no easy task, and I went back and forth between this and Raven of the Inner Palace. As good as they both were, I'm going to have to give this the edge for pairing its moving story about adolescent turbulence with an absolute spectacle of art and animation. I really can't say enough good things about how Mob steadfastly rejects violence or subjugation as displays of strength or power. The show never gets preachy about it, Mob just sees people's appeals to use his power in destructive ways as pointless and unappealing. ONE said that he set out to write something kind when he wrote Mob Psycho, and I have to say that he definitely succeeded in writing one of the best examples I've seen of positive, non-toxic masculinity. 9/10

First Runner Up: Raven of the Inner Palace

I didn't really know what to expect when I added this to my schedule for the season, and basically only watched it because it had a shoujo label, and I reflexively support shoujosei anime. What I ended up with was a fantastic drama that used one to two episode-long vignettes about various people and spirits around the imperial court to tell a larger story about who the main characters are, and how the events of the past affect them today. The slow development of the relationship between the Raven Consort and the Emperor was extremely satisfying to watch, as was seeing her learn to open up to the people around her. Many of the characters' backstories were tragic or traumatic, and the show handled them with the right amount of thoughtfulness. 9/10

Second Runner Up: Akiba Maid War

I nearly dropped this halfway through the first episode thinking that it was going to be just another P.A.Works original about humbling an idealistic young woman at her first job, and then a gang war broke out. A committed and affectionate parody of gangster movies with enough heart to avoid becoming a cheap joke. 8/10

Bocchi the Rock! - I didn't plan to watch this because the manga runs in one of those lolicon magazines that skeeve me out, but luckily the hype got to me, and I didn't miss out on this spectacularly animated and directed comedy about an introverted girl chasing her rock and roll dreams. 8/10

I'm the Villainess, So I'm Taming the Final Boss - This tried to squeeze three light novel volumes into twelve episodes, making episodes 4, 8, and 12 into arc-concluding speed runs, but our villainess was so charmingly spunky and her demon lord boo was so damn fine that I was having too much fun to care about its flaws. 8/10

Spy x Family Part 2 - I kept waiting for the plot to kick back in before finally accepting that this series apparently is more of an episodic comedy than the first cour let on, but it's still plenty entertaining. 8/10

Bleach: Thousand-Year Blood War - I liked, but didn't love, Bleach's original run, and this sequel retains many of the story writing traits I didn't care for, but the visuals got a major upgrade, everyone is smoking hot, and they played "Number One" at the end of the last episode, so I can't help but feel the hype. 8/10

Chainsaw Man - I can both see how skillfully directed and animated this was, and how the characters and story would be appealing to a lot of people, while also disliking the decision to mimic live-action movies, and acknowledging that this story full of misery is just not for me. 7/10

Do It Yourself!! - A cute girls doing cute things show that broke through my exhaustion with the genre by having an unusual activity like carpentry, and mixing it with distinctive character designs and lively animation. 7/10

The Little Lies We All Tell - The visuals for this didn't appeal to me so I didn't pick it up until the season was almost over, but it ended up being a really charming little comedy about four friends with bizarre secrets. 7/10

My Master Has No Tail - The rakugo performances left a little to be desired, but the character interactions in this light comedy about a tanuki taking up rakugo in Meiji era Osaka kept things entertaining. 7/10

Reincarnated as a Sword - If this wasn't a light novel adaptation, and it didn't have so much monologuing from the sword, blah visuals, or mediocre shot composition, this would make a pretty fun story despite the goofy sounding concept. 6/10

Bibliophile Princess - I've read the manga adaptation, so I was really looking forward to this, but some combination of poor animation, questionable story adaptation choices, and an annoying tendency to rehash the same conflict made this a bit of a slog to finish. 6/10

Ongoing

Golden Kamuy S4 - I'm definitely looking forward to watching this when it comes back from hiatus in the spring, as the action was really starting to get interesting, with our competing gangs of charismatic scoundrels about to get back on their bullshit. 8/10

IDOLiSH7 Third BEAT! Part 2 - This part continues with the corporate drama instigated by the extremely hateable villain, while completing Trigger's transformation from antagonist to loveable underdog, and giving some very satisfying character development moments. Looking forward to the concluding four episodes in February. 8/10

One Piece - While I'm definitely still enjoying myself, and this really is the best One Piece has looked during its run, I'm kind of ready to be done with Wano already. 8/10

Play It Cool, Guys - You've heard of cute girls doing cute things, now get ready for the new hotness: cute guys doing airhead things. Just pure, unadulterated fluff that brightens my day. 8/10

My Hero Academia S6 - On the one hand, this was kind of an exhausting anime season for seeing the good guys get the stuffing beat out of them, but on the other hand, seeing Mirko rip a monster's head off with her thighs was some peak content. 7/10

Welcome to Demon School! Iruma-kun S3 - This season still has most of its charm, and I still love all the characters, but this contest arc is really dragging. 7/10

Dropped

The Eminence in Shadow - This was sold to me as a satirical take on power fantasy isekai, but it was playing all the tropes pretty straight, and the atrocious fanservice in episode 10 made me decide I had better things to do. 6/10

#mob psycho #Raven of the Inner Palace #akiba maid war #I'm the Villainess So I'm Taming the Final Boss #bleach #Bocchi the Rock #spy x family #chainsaw man #do it yourself!! #the little lies we all tell #my master has no tail #reincarnated as a sword #bibliophile princess #golden kamuy #Idolish7 #one piece #Play It Cool Guys #my hero academia #Welcome to Demon School! Iruma-kun #the eminence in shadow #anime #shoujo #fall anime 2022

[animebw]

Short Reflection: Fall 2022 Anime

Was Fall 2022 the single most stacked season of anime ever? It’s certainly a contender, at least. Not only were there once again far too many good shows to keep up with, not only were a lot of those shows really fucking good, but there was such a wide variety that no matter your tastes- shonen, slice of life, mecha, political drama, whatever the fuck Akiba Maid War counts as- you were basically guaranteed at least one phenomenal show to stay hooked on. And if you’re someone like me who appreciates pretty much every genre as long as it’s done well? Then my god, I hope you skipped lunch, because this feast never fucking ended. I’ve already given my thoughts on Yama no Susume’s underwhelming fourth season (6.5/10), Mob Psycho 100′s safe but deeply satisfying finale (8/10), and the bonkers roller coaster of Chainsaw Man (8.5/10), and there’s still way too many anime left to talk about. So without any further ado, let’s dive right in to the disappointments, the hidden gems, and the runaway smash hits that closed out this fantastic year for anime.

My Hero Academia Season 6: Unfinished/10

There’s not much I have to say about this one yet, as I’m planning to give it a full review when it’s all over. But I at least wanted to say this: I fucking told y’all My Hero Academia was going to reclaim its crown. I told y’all this show was eventually gonna earn its place back as one of the greatest long-running shonen of all time. But nooooo, you were all busy pretending that a few lackluster fight scenes meant this show was the worst garbage ever and handing out accolades to gorgeously animated pieces of stale cardboard like Demon Slayer for plastering pretty wallpaper all over the vapid nonsense at their core. Well, how does it feel now, huh? How does it feel to remember what an actual great shonen action series looks like? This is the best that MHA has been since season 3, and while it’s gonna fall to the next cours to determine where season 6 ends up on the pantheon, it’s so fucking good to see this show operating at full capacity again.

To Your Eternity Season 2: Unfinished/10

Genuine question: what the absolute fuck happened to To Your Eternity? I still remember when that incredible first episode dropped back in 2021 and everyone was ready to crown it the new patron saint of cry-inducing philosophical fantasy. How did we get from that to this? To increasingly hacky production values that rarely rise above passable and never once manage to capture the awe and wonder this story is so clearly shooting tor? To writing so tonally inconsistent it decides to introduce a cast of wacky over-the-top camera-muggers in this serious and serene fantasy yarn? Didn’t this show used to be good? Didn’t it used to be a genuinely compelling exploration of human nature and immortality and moving on from loss? When did it fall apart so badly that it barely even resembles the show it used to be? And that’s not even getting into some of the most abysmal queerbaiting I’ve seen in a very long time. There were definitely worse anime this year, but nothing else left me feeling so utterly betrayed. I can only pray the slight upswing of quality it’s experiencing in its current arc continues, because otherwise this is going to end up the most crushing disappointment of anime in 2022.

Reincarnated as a Sword: 3/10

Let us all stop for a moment and consider the absolute state of the isekai genre. Here we have yet another story of some personality-deficient schlub transported to another world that runs on JRPG logic, where he instantly becomes the most OP person (or, well, sword) around and never has to struggle for anything. The characters and setting are all as painfully generic as every other entry in the genre. The plot wastes so much time rattling off video game stats to justify its boring OP worldbuilding that it forgets to write any sort of interesting or nuanced personalities for the people in its world. The production values are passably okay without ever showing a single shred of personality beyond the most by-the-basics staples of this watered-down Dragon Quest backwash. There is nothing worth recommending here, nothing you can get from this show that you can’t get in a million better ways elsewhere. And yet, Reincarnated as a Sword has one thing going for it: it doesn’t try and justify slavery. In fact, its real protagonist is an enslaved catgirl who breaks free from her chains and seeks to prove her worth, with the titular sword serving as her paternal guardian. And that alone puts this dull, uninspired, pointless slab of processed anime loaf above a decent chunk of its contemporaries in the isekai genre. Because that is how fucking far the bar has been lowered at this point. God help us all.

My Master Has No Tail: 4/10

The frustrating thing about My Master Has No Tail is that there’s not really anything wrong with it. It’s a cute little historical anime about a tanuki girl learning rakugo from a fox spirit in a time of huge technological upheaval for Japan, a time when all the old spirits are at risk of losing their place in the world and must find some way to adapt to the new era alongside humanity. That premise should result in something really interesting, or at least unique enough for a mellow slice-of-life hobby show with a supernatural twist. And yet despite the lack of things to complain about, I just could not get on this show’s wavelength. It just doesn’t push far enough in any direction to be memorable; the animation is competent but also as basic as it gets, the characters are inoffensive but simple, the comedy is decent but rarely rises above a chuckle. Every single aspect of this show is just a little too underwhelming to really make an impact, and with nothing but average everywhere you look, the whole thing ends up kinda boring. I do like the themes it’s playing with, how art is used as a vessel for spirits and humans to keep their connections strong in an increasingly secular, industrialized world, but it’s not enough to bring this show up anywhere above harmlessly mediocre. What a shame.

Arknights Prelude to Dawn: 4.5/10

I find myself fairly conflicted about the first season of Arknights. On the one hand, it’s a relief to get a gacha game adaptation with some actual gravitas behind it, and the story of a post-infection dystopian world struggling between compassion and justice has some genuinely complex things to say about the morality of living through hellish situations. And its cinematic production ambitions ensure it’s rarely boring to look at. On the other hand, though, I get the sense that whoever was behind the script didn’t take into account the differences between what works narratively in a video game and what works in a TV show. Divorced from their role as an audience surrogate/POV who needs to be explained everything so the player can understand how to play, the mostly silent Doctor comes off as a nothing character who could be cut from the show without changing anything. Ditto the under-explained, underutilized tactical cell phone that probably only existed in the first place to justify how the game’s combat looked and functioned, and the dialogue that’s mostly a series of plot points taking us from one Important Setpiece to the next. I want to like what Arknights is doing, but it’s not until the shockingly great final two episodes that it starts to feel like a proper show and not just a lavishly animated cutscene compilation. Hopefully the second season continues that upward trajectory, and maybe then we’ll be able to call this a truly excellent gacha anime.

Do It Yourself: 5/10

Between this show and Healer Girl from earlier this year, I think I’ve come to the conclusion that I really need more than vibes to keep me interested in a show. Don’t get me wrong, vibes are good! But there’s a whole subsection of cute-girls shows that are basically nothing but vibes, and absent anything else to sink my teeth into, I find myself feeling very little connection to them. You’d think Do It Yourself might have a little more going on, what with its near-future setting, stabs at commentary on the importance of not letting automation fully run everything, and extremely gay undertones. But no, it’s mostly just cute girls doing DIY carpentry for twelve episodes. It’s a show for you to turn your brain off to and just, well, like I said, vibe to the expressive FLCL-esque art style and richly detailed guide to DIY carpentry with a bunch of intermittenly interesting characters. And while I can appreciate those vibes well enough, there’s so little intrigue to anything that I can’t really bring myself to care about it all that much. I dunno, maybe they shouldn’t have kept the one character who actually generates interesting narrative friction at arm’s length for nearly the entire show. And maybe they should’ve let Serafu and Pudding kiss. Actually, no maybes there, they definitely should’ve done that.

Play It Cool, Guys (1st Half): 5.5/10

Here’s a pleasant little surprise I don’t think anyone saw coming. Sure, this slice-of-life about a bunch of clumsy dudes navigating their own awkwardness isn’t gonna set the world on fire, but it’s become one of the more unusually absorbing short anime I’ve encountered in a while. I think what draws me to Play It Cool, Guys is that it’s just very unpretentious; it promises a chill twelve minutes every week of low-key sweet-natured comedy, and that’s exactly what you get. The punchlines aren’t amazing, but they pretty much always hit. The characters aren’t very complex or interesting, but they all carry themselves well enough that you enjoy seeing them on screen. It’s even got a certain kind of confidence to just be so low-key and not try to overextend itself with cheap gimmicks or recycled plot beats to grab your attention, because it trusts that its word and characters are charming enough to earn your investment on their own. And you know what? That confidence is not misplaced. It might not be my favorite thing in the world, but I have a sneaking suspicion it’s just going to keep growing on me as it moves into its second cours. Check back at the end of winter, and I might just end up giving it a much more enthusiastic recommendation.

Urusei Yatsura (1st Half): 6/10

Is there still a point to Urusei Yatsura today? Yes, Rumiko Takahashi’s groundbreaking rom-com about an alien girl falling in love with a philandering douchenozzle invented the anime rom-com as we know it, not to mention possibly starting waifu culture itself with Lum. But fifty years later, with all its component parts iterated upon by basically every romance-adjacent anime that followed it, does the original property have anything left to offer on its own merits? Or is it a relic of a bygone time, no longer useful as anything but a historical artifact for tropes and archetypes that have all been used better by the works it ended up inspiring? Halfway through this modern reboot, I’m still not sure what the answer to that question is going to be. What I can say for sure is that this show makes me laugh more often than it doesn’t, and while not all of it has aged gracefully, it’s oddly refreshing to see just how much more egalitarian the anime rom-com used to be. This is no incel wank fantasy where a loser guy gets all the hot girls by doing basically nothing; this is a show where everyone’s just a little bit nuts, and you’re not so much rooting for anyone to get together as you are just enjoying the chaos that results when all these different flavors of asshole butt heads. That’s far more my speed than any of the wish fulfillment harem slop that learned all the wrong lessons from Urusei Yatsura’s success. Whether or not it’ll end up anything more than a series of mostly amusing episodic sketches remains to be seen, but for now, I’m content to just watch the madness unfold. Plus, it’s got Hiroshi Kamiya and Mamoru Miyano sniping at each other like every episode, you can’t not love that.

Pop Team Epic Season 2: 6/10

Sometimes, you just need a little chaos in your life. That sentence probably sums up the appeal of Pop Team Epic better than anything else I could ever write. Sometimes, you just want to let loose on a stream of consciousness through utterly batshit comedy skits that switch tone and animation style on a dime, packed with references to countless things you’re only vaguely aware of, never quite sure if all this insanity has any kind of point or if the pointlessness is itself the point. Pop Team Epic is just fucking weird, y’all. But it’s the kind of weird that clearly comes from a group of talented people having a blast throwing anything and everything at the wall just because they can, not caring about whether any of it sticks or not because the messy, nonsensical act of creating the damn thing in the first place is reason enough for it to exist. What other show will give you a dating sim spoof, yaoi lesbians, legitimately great mecha action, a final fantasy parody, gratuitous violence, a live action flipbook segment, and a full-on tokusatsu show starring Aoi Shota as a time-traveling sentai hero, all in the space of 12 episodes? If that kind of memetic insanity is your jam, then you need to get this show in your eyeballs yesterday. Pop Team Epic makes no goddamn sense, and god bless it for that.

Spy x Family Part 2: 7/10

Does a show need a plot? Is it enough for it to simply wander through a bunch of random side quests and coast on charm alone? That certainly seems to be what Spy x Family is banking on; after a relatively plot-solid first part where most episodes had at least a little in the way of new developments, part 2 seems content mostly to put the Forger family members in a variety of amusing scenarios and leave all the big picture stuff in the background until the final episode. And it’s a testament to just how damn charming these characters are- and how slick the production continues to be- that it mostly gets away with it. it’s fun watching Loid, Yor, and Anya bumble about as they slowly figure out what it means to live a “normal” life. But I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t impatient for the plot to pick back up. I dunno, after so many episodes of just faffing about, I felt myself getting kind of burnt out on the sitcom hijinks. And it doesn’t help that the biggest new character introduced is basically just a genderswapped Yuri, a.k.a. the worst character in the series. Spy x Family works best when it’s balancing its fluffy and kickass sides, and part 2 just leaned a little too far into fluff for my tastes. I still had a lot of fun, but I’m more than ready for the Ostania-Westalis conflict to be important again.

Blue Lock (1st Half): 7/10

The premise of Blue Lock is one of those immediately head-slapping moments of “Wow, why has no one tried this before?” brilliance: what if you took a shonen sports anime and made it an edgy death game? Sports anime are already full of larger-than-life personalities and conflicts, so taking that over-the-top competitive camp and applying it to a situation where the characters have to destroy each other to get ahead in a winner-takes-all battle royale is such a no-brainer, I’m shocked it’s taken this long for someone to come up with it. Sure, you don’t actually die if you lose Blue Lock, but losing the ability to play competitive soccer ever again might as well be death for a shonen sports boy, so it still counts. Point is, this premise is certifiably genius. Which makes it slightly disappointing that so far, the show isn’t taking as much advantage of it as it could. Don’t get me wrong, there’s some of the skullduggery and backstabbing you’d expect from your typical death game, but for the most part, Blue Lock just plays like a traditional soccer anime. A very good soccer anime, to be sure, but I find myself wishing it was willing to get nastier and edgier and really take advantage of its premise. Hell, it’s not even the best straightforward soccer anime this year; Ao Ashi has it beat in everything but animation. So count me a fan, but also count me hopeful that it leans more into what makes it unique going forward.

Raven of the Inner Palace: 7.5/10

In a fantasy-tinged version of Medieval China, there lives an imperial courtesan known as the Raven Consort. But unlike the other courtesans, her duties do not involve, well, nighttime visits. No, her mission is to put to rest the wandering spirits of the dead, the shades of those who died with regrets or unfinished business that still tie them to the world of the living. As long as anyone can remember, she’s lived alone, existing for nothing but her mission with no bonds to the world around her. But when a new emperor deposes the corrupt regime, he makes it his mission to set right everything his forebearers set wrong... including freeing the Raven Consort from her isolation. Thus begins one of the most absorbing anime I’ve watched all year, a story of the sins of the past as they claw at the fabric of the present, the struggle to untangle eons of societal oppression, and what it truly means to make amends for mistakes that left scars too big to ever heal. Raven of the Inner Palace is a bit of a slow burn, but when it takes off, it fucking takes off. And I know most of you barely even heard about it because it was overshadowed by all the louder, flashier shows this season, so consider this your wake-up call. Don’t sleep on this one, it’s really damn good.

Akiba Maid War: 8.5/10

Honestly, I don’t even want to say anything about this one. I just want to tell you all that you need to fucking watch Akiba Maid War and let you experience its many surprises as deliriously blind as I did. So if that alone is enough to convince you to go watch it, then stop what you’re doing and go watch it before you’re spoiled on anything. But if you need a little extra convincing, then consider the following: what if I told you that this seemingly innocuous maid cafe show is not, in fact, a quaint little otaku-centric slice of life, but a full-on pastiche of yakuza movies that takes all the genre’s bloodshed and mayhem and filters it through maid-colored glasses? A show where maids gun each other down and jockey for power and get in vicious turf battles and yet never once break maid keyfabe? Where the simple joke of “yakuza movie but they’re maids” is played so straight and pushed so far to its absolute limit that it somehow wraps back around to being both a completely ludicrous parody of itself and a completely genuine, 100% heart-on-its-sleeve love letter to both seemingly incompatible sides of its double identity? And walks that seemingly impossible tonal tightrope near flawlessly before bringing it all home in a final episode so pitch-perfect it forced me to pump my score up half a point just from how hard it stuck the goddamn landing? Are you convinced yet? Did I mention there’s a thirty-six year old murder maid who totally kicks fucking ass and doesn’t let anyone shame her for being a middle-aged woman working a cutesy job? What more do you want from me? JUST GO FUCKING WATCH THIS SHOW ALREADY I SWEAR TO GOD

Mobile Suit Gundam: The Witch From Mercury: 8.5/10

I had no idea what to expect going into my first ever Gundam anime. Sure, I was excited to finally get a taste of what this storied franchise had to offer, and the excellent prologue and promise of an interesting female protagonist were certainly reasons to be hopeful, but as someone who’s rarely clicked with mecha as a genre, I wasn’t sure how this first foray into the definitive mecha anime would turn out. What I never expected- what I don’t think anyone could’ve expected- was that The Witch From Mercury wasn’t content to just be the first even female-led Gundam. No, this show decided to be REVOLUTIONARY GIRL UTENA. IN SPACE. WITH MECHA BATTLES. And I don’t think I need to say a goddamn thing more to convince you to watch this show. It’s goddamn Gundam Utena! It’s the queerest, most socially conscious anime of all time re-imagined with a futuristic metal exoskeleton, only with Utena’s symbolism-drenched ruminations on gender and patriarchy replaced with a no-less-compelling grounded portrayal of the evils of space capitalism and the political consequences of corrupt systems. Well, presumably; this first cours has mostly focused on the ground-level school romance antics as it builds up all that big picture stuff in the background. But I say again: GUNDAM. FUCKING. UTENA. I couldn’t have picked a better introduction to the world of Gundam if I tried. And as long as the second cours doesn’t shit the bed, this is going to go down in history as one of the greatest things to over come out of the mecha genre.

Bocchi the Rock: 9.5/10

And yet. Despite all the big shonens and bold anime originals, despite Chainsaw Man and My Hero Academia and Gundam Utena, when all was said and done, one series rose above them all. One series that looked at all those big names with a smirk and sailed past them as naturally as breathing. Ladies, gentlemen, and everyone in between, Bocchi the Rock is a goddamn motherfucking masterpiece. It takes the band-girls coming-of-age majesty, the painfully relatable social anxiety of Watamote, and the sheer animation flexing of Nichijou, and blends them all together into a gut-busting, tear-jerking, jaw-dropping tour de force that raises the bar on what slice-of-life anime is capable of just as thoroughly as K-On did thirteen years ago. Hitori Gotou is a socially paralyzed weirdo who’s never had a real friend because her anxiety’s too overwhelming to make friends, but she knows how to play some mean guitar. So when a chance encounter leads to her joining a band, she resolves to stick with it and try to finally break out of her shell, one hilarious misstep at a time. It’s a wonderful story of overcoming what holds you back and finding a community that accepts you for who you are, brought to life with some of the most astonishingly Extra(tm) animation that regularly left me choking on my own laughter. And the music uniformly kicks ass, and the incredible supporting cast provides a wide array of perspectives of introversion and extroversion, and Ryou is such an asshole and I love her, and fucking hell, I love this show! Other anime may be deeper or more complex or have more to say, but almost nothing else is so consistently charming. Every second of this show is delightful. Every moment is lovable. It’s a new gold standard for animated comedy, for cute girls, for coming-of-age, and for music anime in general. Bocchi the Rock fucking rules, and every single one of you needs to give it a watch. Something tells me this is gonna be one of those shows we’re still going to be gushing over for many, many years to come.

#anime #the anime binge-watcher #tabw #fall 2022 sr #fall 2022 anime #bocchi the rock! #bocchi the rock #reincarnated as a sword #tensei shitara ken deshita #urusei yatsura #raven of the inner palace #akiba maid war #gundam witch from mercury #gundam witch #mobile suit gundam: the witch from mercury #koukyuu no karasu #pop team epic #poputepipikku #do it yourself anime #my master has no tail #arknights #arknights: prelude to dawn #blue lock #my hero academia #boku no hero academia #to your eternity #fumetsu no anata e #spy x family #play it cool guys #cool doji danshi

[lithi]

Athanasia, some time after Lucas became her playmate: Just learned from Felix that Lucas is contributing so heavily to chocolate milk sales in the town’s market that they’ve requested to be notified when he leaves the palace so that they don’t overstock

#wmmap incorrect #everyone please remember that during all this time #Lucas has been living in the imperial palace #he has his own room #and maids most likely have to serve him food too obviously

[ace-reviews]

FALL 2022 ANIME RECOMMENDATIONS

Yes, Chainsaw Man is on the list.  Of course Chainsaw Man is on the list.  That’s not the only new anime this season, however, so despite also having more Spy x Family, Mob Psycho 100, and Golden Kamuy, on top of a new Gundam for those who care about that sort of thing, and those already being more than enough anime for one season, other series still decided to vie for the coveted (?) position of fifth place, so we may as well let them plead their cases.

Not this one, though. It doesn’t deserve it.

RAVEN OF THE INNER PALACE

Raven of the Inner Palace is a supernatural mystery series with a hefty dash of political intrigue set in fantasy Ancient China, a setting that is hardly novel but still an always-welcome reprieve from fantasy Medieval Europe.  It’s not exactly an animation spectacle, but it’s still nice to look at, and the primary duo of the eponymous raven and the emperor resist falling instantly into stereotypes. Considering how busy the season already is, this series is likely to sit forever in my watchlist among all the other anime I’ll totally get around to one of these days, but if you like fantasy mystery and don’t mind a bit of magical girl-esque recycled animation sequences, you’ll probably not regret checking this out.

RECOMMENDED BY: ACE

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HUMAN CRAZY UNIVERSITY

Human Crazy University starts out as an interesting look at the psychological effects on guards off and prisoners on death row. It then takes a hard left about ten minutes in, when (spoiler alert) the main character fails to die. While it's not really my thing, and has at least one egregious translation flaw (It’s called Human Crazy University, but in the show the University is called Human Bug [Bug in context of Glitch, not Insect, so a better title would probably have been Human Glitch University --Ed.]), this show might well appeal to people who enjoyed the animation style of that one show that was on Adult Swim with the talking french fries, and wacky plot twists.

RECOMMENDED BY: CHARLIE

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AKIBA MAID WAR

RECOMMENDED BY: FEN

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CHAINSAW MAN

Charlie does not like horror. Charlie does not appreciate gore. Unfortunately for Charlie, Charlie is the only one not familiar with the source material. Chainsaw Man follows Denji, a horny but basically decent teenager who occasionally has a chainsaw for a head, and hunts devils. As previously stated, it's not something I'm interested in, but I can see why it's popular. I like the dog.

RECOMMENDED BY: FEN, ACE, CHARLIE

#chainsaw man #akiba maid war #akiba maid sensou #raven of the inner palace #human bug university #first impressions #seasonal recommendations

[shiningdesignersreflections]

Chapter 1: Lucky Color

Narrated by Mary.

Narrator: As the first ray of sunshine penetrates into my room, I grab my pocket watch and check the time. It’s 5:17, 13 minutes before the scheduled wake-up time.

Narrator: Once I get freshened up, I’ll start the day’s work.

Narrator: My notebook is open on the first page, filled with details of the Queen’s schedule for the day: outfit color, style, accessories, afternoon tea flavor...

Narrator: I’ve already made all the arrangements before bedtime yesterday, but I still need to recheck everything one last time.

Narrator: After all, I’m Queen Ophelia’s most trusted maid. I take care of her daily affairs and make sure everything goes perfect.

Narrator: Besides the usual meetings, there is but one important item on the Queen’s full agenda: afternoon tea with the Duchess of Humphrey.

Narrator: The Queen smiles more often ever since the Original Crystal was found. And after the successful coronation festival, the Queen also has been receiving more visitors.

Narrator: Some of them have ulterior motives, of course, but at least they aren’t ignoring the Queen like they used to.

Narrator: The Duke of Humphrey is young and influential among the nobles. The Duchess visiting the Queen can be seen as a good sign.

Narrator: We’ve been preparing the venue for the afternoon tea for days. Ordered the Duchess’ favorite pine needle tea, too.

Narrator: We all hope that the Queen will have a lovely afternoon with her guest.

Narrator: By the time I get everything sorted out, it’s almost 6 already. I tiptoe out into the palace garden.

Narrator: Before waking the Queen up, I’m going to pick some flowers and make a bouquet.

You: Why make a bouquet?

Narrator: I brought some fresh morning blossoms to the palace once. Queen Ophelia loved them and asked to keep them.

Narrator: Since then, I’d bring new bouquets to her quarters every morning. Seeing the flowers puts her in good spirits.

Narrator: With the temperate environment in our kingdom and specialists maintaining the conditions, our garden is always thriving.

Narrator: As soon as I step into the garden, a pure white jasmine petal drifts down onto my skirt.

Mary: I guess white is my lucky color today.

Narrator: I pick up the flower. It smells heartwarmingly fragrant in my palm.

Choose either “What do you mean by lucky color?” or “Why white?”

If “what,” ...

You: What do you mean by lucky color?

Narrator: It’s the color that brings me good luck for the day. I saw this concept in a book on divination I found in the library.

If “why,” ...

You: Why is white your lucky color today?

Narrator: I’ve decided that the color of the first flower I see each morning would be my lucky color of the day.

--

Narrator: According to the book, if I carry items in my color, it will bring good luck to everyone around me.

Narrator: Everyone chooses lucky colors in different ways, but luck will always smile upon you if you follow your heart.

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

#mary #shining nikki #chapter 1 #lucky color #divination #transcript #sr designer #casual drinks #workshop #palace #maid #afternoon tea #jasmine #flowers #bouquet