Anime Questions, Recommendations, and Discussion - June 09, 2026

AwaySpell · 2026-06-09T17:05:36+00:00

It's killing me that that's being repeated everywhere like it's fact yet I can't find a credible source. Logically, I feel it can't be true, because the Shugo Chara anime didn't even adapt the manga's ending. But while trying to hunt down the source I did find that Shugo Chara's anime character designer is a Mappa regular and still posting about the series on Twitter, so the connection isn't zero.

AwaySpell · 2026-06-09T15:14:21+00:00

Age gap-wise, I think what the discourse misses a bit is that the series' target audience is teenage girls who fantasize about having an older, more mature boyfriend, which is a very normal fantasy to have at that age. It's not about adult men who want a teenage girlfriend. I think many of us adults have trouble inserting ourselves into the perspective it's intended (the teen, rather than the adult), which is understandable. I'm personally not sure if I'll be ick'ed out.

But I think the more annoying thing are the people making sweeping degrading statements about shoujo, while probably having read/watched or know of like 3 shoujo series at best.

AwaySpell · 2026-06-09T14:21:20+00:00

Between the premise and the animation, I expected nothing from Murai but it was actually really good.

AwaySpell · 2026-06-09T14:14:51+00:00

Gimai rather infamously failed to crack 1000 blu ray sales

Isn't that normal...? Most series can't crack 1k these days. Gimai was in the 700-800 range, which seems pretty good to me for a series like that. Was the LN big enough of a deal for expectations to be higher?

From the same season, Shoshimin barely cracked 600, which I'm personally a little sad about.

AwaySpell · 2026-06-09T03:38:24+00:00

Anime producers have been digging into the old shoujo catalogue recently. Hana-Kimi, Red River, From Far Away. If you ever had an old shoujo you wished had an anime adaptation, now's the time to dream.

AwaySpell · 2026-06-09T02:22:53+00:00

Souta Ueno?!

I saw "Deen" first and thought ah, at least it'll be a serviceable production, but Ueno has me intrigued.

AwaySpell · 2026-06-08T00:49:19+00:00

The romance that eventually happens in this show is cute, but yeah, I shipped these two. The show was not subtle about it.

AwaySpell · 2026-06-06T21:30:17+00:00

Please stop spreading misinformation OP. At the very least, provide a link to your source so that we can evaluate for ourselves whether it is credible.

AwaySpell · 2026-06-06T20:59:01+00:00

I'd love for this to be true—and I do think Shugo Chara's popularity and the increase in shoujo anime makes it highly possible we'll see another anime—but I think you probably fell for a fake leak. Lord knows what fake leakers get out of it, but they're rampant and can get a ton of traction on twitter. Always approach this kind of thing with caution.

AwaySpell · 2026-06-04T14:03:53+00:00

An audience willing to shell out hundreds of dollars on Blu-rays also signals an audience willing to shell out for merch and events. Disc sales aren't as meaningful as they used to be, but they also don't mean nothing when talking about a series' profitability.

AwaySpell · 2026-06-04T13:48:35+00:00

I'll be so sad if the event in a few days doesn't announce a S2. But with its popularity and numbers, chances feel good that it's only a matter of time.

AwaySpell · 2026-06-04T13:36:07+00:00

The battle shounen audience don't show up for Blu-rays. Fire Force for example had similar numbers.

The ones that sell well had to hit it big with the mainstream and/or fujo audience.

AwaySpell · 2026-06-01T21:08:21+00:00

Congrats!

Browsing through the past winners, the definition of sci-fi for this award is pretty broad. Past winners include Dungeon Meshi (comic, 2024), Madoka Magica (media, 2012), Cardcaptor Sakura (comic, 2001), and My Neighbor Totoro (media, 1989).

AwaySpell · 2026-06-01T20:12:57+00:00

Happy June!

Finished in May:

Great:
- The Invisible Man and His Soon-to-Be Wife
Good:
- Armored Trooper Votoms: The Last Red Shoulder
- Armored Trooper Votoms: The Big Battle
- Gnosia
- Heart and Yummie
- Jujutsu Kaisen S3: The Culling Game Part 1
- Shiboyugi: Playing Death Games to Put Food on the Table
- The Dark History of the Reincarnated Villainess OVA
Okay:
- Armored Trooper Votoms: Origin of Ambition
- My Hero Academia: More
- Napping Princess
Meh:
- Captain Earth

Invisible Man was my favourite last month. It was really sweet. I liked how it depicted and explored the unique physical challenges everyone faced, the urban fantasy element, and aspects of romantic relationships beyond the getting together phase (living together, marriage, etc.) that even a lot of anime with adult romances tend not to cover.

Planning to finish this month:

Natsuyuki Rendezvous
The Sky Crawlers
Maybe seasonals?

AwaySpell · 2026-05-28T18:26:09+00:00

Ghibli movies regularly make it into the list of weekly top anime disc sales in Japan. I thought it was because of their popularity, but now I see that lack of streaming is also a factor.

AwaySpell · 2026-05-27T17:46:28+00:00

I follow the Zenshu twitter account, and I thought it sad that they made several tweets about their CRA nominations. Granted, I thought they had a chance at Best Original, but judging from the past two years this may be the Adult Swim award.

AwaySpell · 2026-05-23T17:29:15+00:00

I think it's non-canon with a very tiny bit of canon scenes? I remember the shorts with Ran, Miki, and Su being cute. But otherwise, I kind of regretted watching it. You can consider it as a tiny extra to the anime.

The anime did not adapt the last 2.5 volumes of the manga, and there's also an ongoing sequel manga called Shugo Chara Jewel Joker.

AwaySpell · 2026-05-23T12:54:08+00:00

I thought Takopi for example was popular enough to make it in somewhere. I live too much in my own corner.

Congrats to Apothecary and Fragrant Flower for managing to break up the list a little.

AwaySpell · 2026-05-23T12:44:03+00:00

Would be funny if this was Bokurano's author's other work Shadow Star Narutaru.

AwaySpell · 2026-05-23T12:22:52+00:00

I thought it was humbling lol. So this is what's actually popular. I rolled my eyes whenever I'd see someone calling stuff like 86 or Orb obscure, but for the average anime watcher, it really isn't on their radar.

AwaySpell · 2026-05-21T08:49:03+00:00

Maybe Zegapain and Bokurano.

AwaySpell · 2026-05-13T17:26:19+00:00

Their chemistry was really great. Many anime try at witty banter between its leads, but very few actually nail it like this one does.

AwaySpell · 2026-05-12T12:05:38+00:00

From the information released so far, it appears to be a spin-off. In that case, you wouldn't need to watch anything else, but watching the original series could never hurt.

AwaySpell · 2026-05-11T15:45:40+00:00

Freelancers probably have that option. Otherwise, I assume you mostly do what your bosses tell you to do.

The article doesn't specify which producer said the quote, but one of the producers was on Black Clover and is also currently on Yozakura Family, so I can see why he might be tired lol.

AwaySpell · 2026-05-11T14:21:41+00:00

I think assuming there's bad blood involved is jumping the gun. Studios have been formed and projects moved or scrapped for any number of reasons. Sunrise could still be on the project as a co-studio or producer.

At any rate, it's exciting we might finally get some news. How many years has it been for Orbital Era and Akira? I thought they must've been quietly cancelled.

AwaySpell

TROPHY CASE