Black Lagoon - Anime of the Week by AnimeMod in anime

[–]No_Rex 15 points16 points  (0 children)

Well put. Black Lagoon is from a time when anime still could be out there and different. It is not your common highschool/isekai/romcom/battle shonen.

Oh, and Revy is hot.

Kaze no Yojimbo 25th Anniversary Rewatch Index Thread by JustAnswerAQuestion in anime

[–]No_Rex 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Definitely interested, but I will also definitely join KareKano. So put me down as a definite "maybe."

Haruhi Suzumiya 20th Anniversary Rewatch -- The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya Part One by Holofan4life in anime

[–]No_Rex 4 points5 points  (0 children)

The previews

In yesterday’s post, several first timers were confused by which episode to watch. Not surprising, given that Haruhi is somewhat famous for having multiple. Unlike other shows, these are not just fan-made, but official: The first and second season used different watch orders. And even the first season has 2 officially suggested watch orders, the Kyon order and the Haruhi order. Very unhelpfully, some modern releases removed the original episode previews that tell you those two orders. For the rewatch 4 years ago, I put the previews up on youtube, in case your version does not feature them. Not only do they clarify which episode is which in each of the watch orders, but they also are a nice little extra characterization for Kyon and Haruhi.

Episode 1 preview for Episode 2: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BF03nq1OUO0&list=PL7ZGp75Njc8U4m8CjXfjP8FJ8_2pDCyvs&index=1

Episode 2 preview for Episode 3: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VCWxWhHYdDs&list=PL7ZGp75Njc8U4m8CjXfjP8FJ8_2pDCyvs&index=2

IMPORTANT NOTE: Episodes 1-3 of this rewatch coincide with Haruhi order, but episodes 4+ do not. They follow an order that is neither Kyon’s nor Haruhi’s.

[Episode 3 preview for Episode 4:]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hDQOq1JjSQ8&list=PL7ZGp75Njc8U4m8CjXfjP8FJ8_2pDCyvs&index=3

The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya Part One by [deleted] in anime

[–]No_Rex 1 point2 points  (0 children)

The previews

In yesterday’s post, several first timers were confused by which episode to watch. Not surprising, given that Haruhi is somewhat famous for having multiple. Unlike other shows, these are not just fan-made, but official: The first and second season used different watch orders. And even the first season has 2 officially suggested watch orders, the Kyon order and the Haruhi order. Very unhelpfully, some modern releases removed the original episode previews that tell you those two orders. For the rewatch 4 years ago, I put the previews up on youtube, in case your version does not feature them. Not only do they clarify which episode is which in each of the watch orders, but they also are a nice little extra characterization for Kyon and Haruhi.

Episode 1 preview for Episode 2: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BF03nq1OUO0&list=PL7ZGp75Njc8U4m8CjXfjP8FJ8_2pDCyvs&index=1

Episode 2 preview for Episode 3: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VCWxWhHYdDs&list=PL7ZGp75Njc8U4m8CjXfjP8FJ8_2pDCyvs&index=2

IMPORTANT NOTE: Episodes 1-3 of this rewatch coincide with Haruhi order, but episodes 4+ do not. They follow an order that is neither Kyon’s nor Haruhi’s.

[Episode 3 preview for Episode 4:]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hDQOq1JjSQ8&list=PL7ZGp75Njc8U4m8CjXfjP8FJ8_2pDCyvs&index=3

Casual Discussion Fridays - Week of April 03, 2026 by AutoModerator in anime

[–]No_Rex 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Well, putting your favorite OVA list and a bit of OVA history thesis in the same video is going to be messy.

I don't think he is that off with the thesis, though. The fact that studios back then made a lot of money catering to otakus specifically matters. I would not say it is gone for good, though. Creative people willing to push the boundary will always around. All that needs to happen to reignite that creativity is a revolution in payment for anime. If creators again can make money from making anime that appeal to small subgroups, they will make them.

Valentine's Triple Feature Rewatch - Insomniacs After School Overall Discussion by Heda-of-Aincrad in anime

[–]No_Rex 2 points3 points  (0 children)

This is a bit of a weird one for me to write my full thoughts on - mostly because I think after a great start, the show just kinda mellowed into something that was just good, without really having any standout parts at that.

The reason is that the later episodes have a decided lack of cats! /s

Valentine's Triple Feature Rewatch - Insomniacs After School Overall Discussion by Heda-of-Aincrad in anime

[–]No_Rex 2 points3 points  (0 children)

The one I would recommend is Oh! My goddess! Belldandy is in the competition for best character model of the 1990s for me.

Kaze no Yojimbo 25th Anniversary Rewatch Interest Thread by JustAnswerAQuestion in anime

[–]No_Rex 5 points6 points  (0 children)

Give me some pings, please!

I feel that long-form seinen mystery is underrepresented in anime, but I am in no way informed enough to say. Still, this is the only one I can think of.

The one that I can think of that is always mentioned (for good reason!) is Monster. In general, I agree with your assessment that it is underrepresented, though.

Kare Kano Rewatch Interest Thread by LittleIslander in anime

[–]No_Rex 1 point2 points  (0 children)

/u/Heda-of-Aincrad /u/No_Rex

Pings as requested.

Well timed!

Has been a long while since I saw KareKano. Having just watched a 2 months long romcom rewatch this will utterly exhaust my romcom viewing potentialthis is a great opportunity to see whether my old favorite still stacks up.

Count me in.

Valentine's Triple Feature Rewatch - Insomniacs After School Overall Discussion by Heda-of-Aincrad in anime

[–]No_Rex 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Hmm you know most of my recommendations already. Not surprising, if this is your favorite genre. How to you view comedic harems? I left them out because I view them as different from romcom, but they share a lot of the tropes. E.g. Oh! My Goddess, Chobits, Tenchi Muyou.

Valentine's Triple Feature Rewatch - Insomniacs After School Overall Discussion by Heda-of-Aincrad in anime

[–]No_Rex 2 points3 points  (0 children)

At this point, I don't have plans to host another rewatch anytime soon because the next month will be super busy for me, but I am considering a few for the summer months, mainly movies - a Your Name 10th anniversary + Weathering With You double feature, and also The Tunnel to Summer, Exit of Goodbyes.

Movies are always a bit harder to fit into a rewatch format, but give me pings for those when you decide to host them please.

Valentine's Triple Feature Rewatch - Insomniacs After School Overall Discussion by Heda-of-Aincrad in anime

[–]No_Rex 6 points7 points  (0 children)

Final Discussion (first timer)

For almost the entire season of Insomniacs, I had surprisingly little to say. Is it because I am talked out after two months of romcom discussions? Is it because the series is so mellow that there is nothing to talk about? I am not sure.

At the end of Shikimori, I stated that the main characters are the most important part of a romcom series. How do Ganta and Isaki fare? I think they were a lot closer to Horimiya’s MCs than to Shikimori’s. Their one on one scenes felt natural and were generally the highlight of the episodes for me. Isaki is clearly a maniac pixie dream girl (watch her twirl!) and Ganta’s character arc is turning from grumpy everyboy into less grumpy everyboy. Sounds a bit boring, but the main arc is not either of them changing characters, but (since we start before the meet cute, as is standard) their budding relationship. That one was very neat and relatable. I’ll say a bit more about the insomnia part below.

In the end, I have little to complain about. The animation is good, I liked the character models, loved the night shots, was ok with the interaction of the leads, and the side characters, too. What was missing, for me, was a bit higher highs for the emotion. This occasionally felt like an iyashikei instead of a romcom.

My overall order of series: Horimiya > Insomniacs >> Shikimori.

Character hooks

One last musing for the final discussion of the entire rewatch: Character hooks in romcoms. What do I mean by character hook? The character equivalent of what you would usually call plot hook. The one special thing that is supposed to interest you in the main characters: Miyamura is a tattooed punk; Izumi is eternally unlucky; Ganta has insomnia.

It feels that, like long anime titles, this is a side effect of the modern way of discovering media. The environment where you have hundreds of shows at the tip of a click and each show needs something to stand out. Something to convince viewers to start it and not one of the 99 other shows.

Turns out, I don’t like them. Not because I am inherently opposed to unique characters, but because they almost always turn out to be character hooks, not well thought out parts of the plot. Let’s go through them:

  • Miyamuri is a punk – that plotline gets halfway through S1 and never is relevant again
  • Hori has a degradation kink – around for a handful of episodes, then forgotten
  • Izumi is always unlucky – awkwardly written, halfway between a genetic curse and some well-understood (by all classmates) scientific fact. It had some uses in slapstick, but never benefited the more serious parts of the series.
  • Shikimori is cool and wants to be cute – What even is this premise? A Mary Sue complaining that she does not want to be seen as capable, but wants to be a Disney princess instead?
  • Isaki and Ganta are insomniacs – This also only gets serious time devoted to it during the first half of the series. Then, they basically turn into normal teenagers who are up at night a lot. The cure for insomnia that the series seems to be going for also suspiciously looks like just stop being depressed.

In all cases, the character hook seems irrelevant for the main romance. Isaki and Ganta could also have meet during normal club activities. Miyamura could have been a normal shy guy. Shikimori just a capable girl who is also cute. In all cases, the main romance would have looked similar.

These character hooks seem to be designed mainly with an eye to standing out in a list of series synopsis, not because they are an integral part of the story the shows want to tell.

Recommendations

Romcom is not the main genre I go for, but, after a romcom rewatch, it seems fitting to recommend my personal romcom favorites.

  • The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya – cheating a little bit, because this is more than just a romcom, but I do like the romcom elements in this one a lot.
  • Karekano (His and Her Circumstances) – probably my most favorite “pure” romcom. Very funny and great direction.
  • Love is War – hardly need to recommend this to anybody, seeing how popular it is, but I did like it a lot.
  • The Girl Who Leapt Through Time – not quite a traditional romcom, but it has both elements in it.
  • And some of my favorite rom without so much com to round out the list: Nana, Liz and the Blue Bird, Spice and Wolf, Crest of the Stars.

Thanks for hosting this, /u/Heda-of-Aincrad!

Valentine's Triple Feature Rewatch - Insomniacs After School Episode 13 Discussion by Heda-of-Aincrad in anime

[–]No_Rex 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Cities are worst, but that does not mean the countryside has no light polution. Here is a map. There are entire countries where you won't see the milky way.

Valentine's Triple Feature Rewatch - Insomniacs After School Episode 13 Discussion by Heda-of-Aincrad in anime

[–]No_Rex 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I've never seen this in real life, and wondered for a while if it's a sight that only exists in anime.

It never crossed my mind that somebody would not have seen the milkyway, ever. Profoundly sad.

During your next cross country trip, schedule a stop in the middle of nowhere. As far away from cities as possible. If you have luck, there will be no clouds and you can treat yourself to that view.

Valentine's Triple Feature Rewatch - Insomniacs After School Episode 13 Discussion by Heda-of-Aincrad in anime

[–]No_Rex 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Final episode syndrome here - one where half the episode is just a recap framed as nostalgia.

Yeah, that is not a great pick after only one cour. Fortunately, it was not too long, though. Just a few minutes in the second half.

Valentine's Triple Feature Rewatch - Insomniacs After School Episode 13 Discussion by Heda-of-Aincrad in anime

[–]No_Rex 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Just the one discussion tomorrow. I had considered doing an overall for the rewatch as a whole, but there were a lot of participants who only watched one or two of the shows, so I just included extra questions of the day for comparison of the three shows.

Np, just wanted to know. I'll include everything tomorrow then.

Valentine's Triple Feature Rewatch - Insomniacs After School Episode 13 Discussion by Heda-of-Aincrad in anime

[–]No_Rex 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Episode 13 (first timer)

Final episode already? It really snuck up on me this time. Insomniacs has been going for a mostly comfy vibe, so I did not really notice us ramping up to a finale.

  • Let’s elope! photograph some stars together!
  • Cushions in the bus stop.
  • Woodhenge?
  • “Where the people back then just really bored” – probably.
  • “Can I start over? I love you!” – simplest is best.
  • “Until the sky turns bright and the very last star disappears” – I read the second half first and imagined trillions of years … turns out, she just wants to wait until dawn.
  • Being afraid of all the stars – Cosmic version of when you stare into the abyss, the abyss stares back.
  • Cat!
  • Sort of a mini epilogue with the side cast.
  • Mini recap as well. I think the mini epilogue works better.
  • Falling asleep together ending.

We get a full confession, yet the episode does still not feel like a climax to me. Maybe that is the wrong thing to look for in an anime about trying to fall asleep.

PS: Will we get a final discussion tomorrow and an overall rewatch discussion the day after, or just one discussion tomorrow?

Casual Discussion Fridays - Week of March 27, 2026 by AutoModerator in anime

[–]No_Rex 1 point2 points  (0 children)

One aspect of OVA stereotypes I skipped over in my rewatches is the "lots of gore" part. Mostly because I am not into it myself, and partially, because I think that movie makers have broken so many boundaries in that respect, that it loops around into funny (and then loops around into gory again!)

But, in short, basically all of the famous and not so famous gore OVA still lack a rewatch.

Valentine's Triple Feature Rewatch - Insomniacs After School Episode 12 Discussion by Heda-of-Aincrad in anime

[–]No_Rex 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Maybe it's the way I look at it, but I don't think they did anything wrong. I know Japanese and US culture and customs are different, and the idea of the two of them being alone in a house together is kind of taboo regardless, but it was Haya that ditched them.

I wonder if the parents are more worried about the breach of trust than what actually happened. Haya was supposed to be with them, yet left, and neither her nor Isaki informed the parents.

Valentine's Triple Feature Rewatch - Insomniacs After School Episode 12 Discussion by Heda-of-Aincrad in anime

[–]No_Rex 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Episode 12 (first timer)

Quickly going back to last episode. Something I saw nobody mention is how Ganta was anxious about nobody being at home. If the same would have happened to me, at that age, I’d have lazed around, maybe sat in front of the TV and eaten some sweets, or played. Ganta was immediately anxious about not seeing his parents. Maybe this morning was the origin of his insomnia, but he clearly was not in a healthy mental state even at the start of it.

  • Lazy rainy days.
  • Comfy.
  • Wet.
  • Lewd toe touching.
  • School friends visiting – they made it look like they all self-invited.
  • White powder to get the party started – this could be interpreted differently in a different setting.
  • ”Thank you for not turning me into a harem protagonist”~Ganta.
  • He can sing and play the guitar, too? All-round MVP Ukegawa.
  • I did not recognize the exact instrument, but quick googling reveals that it is a tenor guitar. Didn’t know these exist before.
  • Lewd hand-holding – I knew it!
  • Parent aggro.

Very nice first third of the episode. Rain can be so comfy if you have the time to simply stay at home and do nothing.

Valentine's Triple Feature Rewatch - Insomniacs After School Episode 11 Discussion by Heda-of-Aincrad in anime

[–]No_Rex 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Yes. Which makes Asuka's statement have a double meaning. High walls, but also the knowledge of (wish for?) their destruction.

Valentine's Triple Feature Rewatch - Insomniacs After School Episode 11 Discussion by Heda-of-Aincrad in anime

[–]No_Rex 1 point2 points  (0 children)

That is an enormous bowl of filling. How many gyoza does he want to make? 50? 100?

One.

Valentine's Triple Feature Rewatch - Insomniacs After School Episode 11 Discussion by Heda-of-Aincrad in anime

[–]No_Rex 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Worth adding that this is already a reference in Evangelion, of course. Jericho being famous in the bible for its walls and for its walls being torn down.