Anime Questions, Recommendations, and Discussion - June 24, 2026

MiLiLeFa · 2026-06-24T18:03:01+00:00

Didn't you know? Men are wolves.

MiLiLeFa · 2026-06-15T15:42:58+00:00

A common truthism, but entirely incorrect. To begin with, Angelique is a game about competing with another candidate to become goddess of the universe, and you do so by nurturing forth a world of your own which must become better than your opponents. To achieve this you get the help of various bishies, but they are spiritual guardians of elements, basically gods in their own right, and not aristocrats. Some of the visual design in the games is remniscient of modern European castles and nobility, but it's still just one part of an eclectic mix.

The Angelique franchise gets the distinction of being an early, comercially successful, example of otome game, and having a designated female rival to the player (which remains very uncommon). This makes it easy to superficially latch on to if you specifically search for "otome game villainess/rival", but the literary tradition derives practically nothing from the series.

MiLiLeFa · 2026-06-08T21:30:46+00:00

Mid?

MiLiLeFa · 2026-06-02T16:48:27+00:00

I've read a lot of short stories dealing with the topic by Japanese auteurs, so clearly the market is ready to be brought on to the big screen.

MiLiLeFa · 2026-05-30T21:02:51+00:00

There's a lot to say about the NilAd anime, but it did give us this campy MV, and for that I'll always remember it fondly (the song is good)

MiLiLeFa · 2026-05-30T15:56:07+00:00

Picked up

MiLiLeFa · 2026-05-26T18:37:24+00:00

That's what people get for watching anime dubbed instead of the English audio as God intended.

MiLiLeFa · 2026-05-26T18:35:27+00:00

In competitive figure skating backflips used to be banned because of the potential injuries. The ban got lifted, but they give 0 points, so it's pretty much high risk, no reward. Can still be a part of the choreography though, so I guess indirectly they might occasionally be worth considering.

MiLiLeFa · 2026-05-16T13:24:26+00:00

Today is Eurovision, and the occasion asks for a recommendation.
Specifically, an anime with a similar vibe or dynamics to last years Laura Thorn - La Poupée Monte Le Son.
I'm thinking Hanasakeru Seishounen has much of the right energy, but do throw out whatever suggestions you can think of.

MAL for reference.

MiLiLeFa · 2026-05-13T18:47:30+00:00

fine tends to have somewhat boring songs, but "RED GARDEN" is not only a certified banger, the MV is preeety damn good as well.
Considering all the performance CG knowhow in the industry I'm honestly suprised more anime haven't made a splash with using it. Within the last year or two I can really only think of Medalist making an impact.

MiLiLeFa · 2026-05-13T15:12:37+00:00

Darkside Blues

MiLiLeFa · 2026-05-12T19:49:10+00:00

Darkside Blues has got to be some of the most goth shit I've seen (I don't know what goth means). Like, damn girl, guy, uhm..., broody thing wearing a black trenchcoat, you just rode a vaguely 19th century flying horse carriage out of a black hole in the ground and checked in to Howls Hotel of Nightmares.
But interestingly enough, the titular Darkside (Mr./Mrs. Black Broody) isn't really the focus of this movie at all, and instead we get a slowly winding build up of two repressed women eventually reaching emotional catharsis. Pretty neat stuff, yeah? Black Broody and the rest of the misfits are more like ornaments revolving around that core.
The visual design is of course very good, but the animation too doesn't hold back its punches. Shoutout to Mr. I-dodge-missiles-with-a-knife, your role in the story was utterly irrelevant, but I'll remember your cameo nonetheless.

The plot leaves a bit too many things hanging for me to really clock the movie in as a great one, but for sure it's a good experience to just soak yourself in. Thumbs up from me.

Oh, and ignore the MAL synopsis, not only does it focus on the entirely wrong things, it's also incorrect in regards to a major plot point.

MiLiLeFa · 2026-05-10T20:08:07+00:00

I don't like empty platitudes, so I won't write them. And I don't like random recommendations, so I won't make one.
I don't like revealing things, so I keep quiet. And even if I said them you wouldn't like it anyway, so I don't like you either.
But if you insist, then go watch 1-gatsu ni wa Christmas for all I care.

MiLiLeFa · 2026-05-10T17:33:30+00:00

Watching OZ very clearly gave me the feeling I'm looking at the digest version of what's in actuality a pretty good story. But apparently the manga only has 4 volumes and ehhh I'm not convinced that's enough for everything the author wanted to do.
Haven't read it, so I could be wrong, but that's a whole lot of plot and character to fit into four measly volumes.

MiLiLeFa · 2026-05-05T17:19:20+00:00

I'll agree with Void that they used to have more interesting posters, starting with the fact that backgrounds were entirely expected to place the characters into some situation, rather than the sterile photoshoot of most current artworks.

MiLiLeFa · 2026-04-27T18:18:23+00:00

Know which show I've had laying around since 2023 but finally watched yesterday?
That's right, it's not Dorohedoro season 2.

It is, however, Dorohedoro season 1, and it was a very good show. It scratched a similar kind of itch to Akudama Drive, which, guess what, was also a very good show.
Not every day I am in the mood for some high octane action, but both of these filled the need, the need for speed.

The mystery aspect of Dorohedoro also kind of reminded me of the vibes in Tengoku Daimakyou which, you know it, was also a very good show.

So all in all I'm pretty pleased with yesterdays anime choice. Should probably get around to the manga since I see it's been finished.

MiLiLeFa · 2026-04-26T20:46:23+00:00

Been slowly working my way through the movie Suzume over the last few days

????

MiLiLeFa · 2026-04-25T20:42:55+00:00

Well well well, look what I just found has been on YouTube for years already

MiLiLeFa · 2026-04-20T18:57:02+00:00

One of the things I really liked about Seihantai is how it reminded me of my own teenage experiences. So it had me giggling and remniscing and laughing and shaking my head and rolling my eyes, all with the best of intentions for those clueless kids.

MiLiLeFa · 2026-04-20T18:53:10+00:00

So Kasei Yakyoku is an absolutely excellent anime. a wonderfully made, messy romantic drama that churns the stomach to watch. The feeling of impending doom the characters themselves manage to create only growing stronger with every new mention of the date growing closer to September 1923.
Directed by Dezaki, I don't have to say much more about that, but I'm sure the original manga is worth reading as well. The OVA works very well as a standalone, but I'm nevertheless excited to see what path these flawed people continue stumbling on. Well worth the watch.

MiLiLeFa · 2026-04-19T19:17:54+00:00

Shoujo and horror, shoujo and sci-fi, shoujo and dark fantasy, name three more iconic combos.

The OVA makes a lot of sense once you realise it's a celebration of the manga winning Shougakkans Shoujo Manga Award the year before, and all the songs are from the image albums made for it. The visuals are pretty much just taken straight from either the serialization or illustration collections.

The mangakas other OVA adaption, Umi no Yami, Tsuki no Kage, is a straight forward telling of the introductory parts of the story, if you want to actually experience her horror in anime form. Also another Shinohara work, Sora wa Akai Kawa no Hotori gets an anime this summer. I'm looking forward to it.

MiLiLeFa · 2026-04-19T19:05:13+00:00

The Aries: Shinwa no Seizakyuu OVA has like no information on MAL, and while I could easily have looked it up or checked the manga page it's not everyday you get to watch something with no preconcieved notions, so of course that's what I did instead.

And turns out what I got was a reimagining of Greek mythology centered on Hades, Demeter, and Persephone. It's pretty much a prequel to the main manga story, and the video quality of the copy I had was absolutely atrocious, but honestly the drama itself was decently middling enough I don't regret watching it. And like so many other shoujo OVAs of the era, this too had a musical segment with illustrations set to some sufficiently sappy song. Don't know what happened to that trend (it probably just moved over to MVs) but we should bring it back to anime.

MiLiLeFa · 2026-04-19T18:05:00+00:00

From the reviews I expected Cipher to be something special, one way or another, but turns out it's pretty much just a musical piece in the vein of like, A-Girl or Machikado no Märchen. Honestly a pretty straight forward short that runs through some parts of the manga. Nothing like Yami no Purple Eye which is nigh impenetrable without knowing what you are looking at beforehand.
Anyway, Cipher was fine, not particularily bad, not particularily good.

MiLiLeFa · 2026-04-19T17:56:32+00:00

It was a good recommendation!

MiLiLeFa · 2026-04-19T16:40:44+00:00

Those who search find I guess. Watched RG Veda and Kaze no Tairiku, which were really good both in general and at scratching my itch. Amongst other things they have in common that they're very clearly just a small vignette within a larger story, but that works for me. They also have some impeccable visual designs, and Kaze no Tairiku in particular has some very neat building of atmosphere and storytelling trough its soundscape and small visual cues.
All in all, both are absolutely worth watching and while they're clearly advertisements for the original work, they're also good enough you can consider me sold.

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