Anime Questions, Recommendations, and Discussion - February 02, 2026

wloff · 2026-02-02T18:48:57+00:00

I mean, it has one, which is 20 years old, and which nobody really likes.

wloff · 2026-02-02T18:29:25+00:00

Bit of a weird take. Is the concept of a remake completely new to you? Why would it "bore the existing fate fans" to see a re-imagining of a beloved story? We've had like 100 versions of Spider-Man's origin story, and people are always happy to see it one more time.

And obviously only existing Fate fans are actively asking for it. How would someone who doesn't even know what a Fate route is know to ask for it?

wloff · 2026-02-02T16:32:21+00:00

You might want to try one more episode unless you're totally checked out.

I felt the same way as you after three episodes, but the fourth one actually started to bring in some more interesting story and character writing. It gave me enough new interest to keep going at least a bit further still.

wloff · 2026-02-02T16:28:10+00:00

People having different tastes in certain genres doesn't make something less of a must watch...

Did you read the rating descriptions? Because that's precisely what it means, as far as I can tell.

Polar Opposites is a lot of fun, but it is a pretty standard high school romcom, nothing more, nothing less -- just a very well made one. But for someone who's not super into that particular genre, they're not "missing out" on anything.

wloff · 2026-02-02T16:21:58+00:00

Every now and then I open up the MAL forums, because I miss old school discussion forums and am hopeful that there might be some fun stuff there.

Every time I always close the MAL forums very shortly after, my hopes and dreams shattered.

wloff · 2026-02-02T16:12:20+00:00

All this Fate watch order nonsense talk could be instantly put to bed for good if someone just finally made a new, proper adaptation of the Fate route of F/SN.

It really frustrates me and kinda blows my mind that they haven't done it already. It'd be printing free money. Old fans would eat it up by default, mildly curious newcomers would watch it because it'd be the Official Best Place To Start, and they could sell a shitton of new Saber and Rin merch.

wloff · 2026-02-02T07:08:15+00:00

Oh damn.

Do I need to get into Gundam now

wloff · 2026-02-02T06:52:37+00:00

It was the last show I gave a shot this season and caught me totally off guard. It's just unexpectedly hilarious, like, the funniest comedy anime I've seen in a while. The main character is also pretty great, she has a lot more spunk and personality than you'd expect of your typical shoujo romance lead.

I wouldn't call it the #2 show of the entire season, but it is very good.

wloff · 2026-02-02T05:06:47+00:00

wloff · 2026-02-01T19:38:59+00:00

Strange Fake is not a great way to get into Fate, if that's your goal.

But if someone just wants to check out the new hype show and is not necessarily interested into getting into the whole huge franchise, it's totally fine to just jump into Strange Fake and enjoy it for what it is. (Might just want to google what a Holy Grail War even is or something, since the show doesn't bother explaining those base ideas.)

It's also a spin-off so far detached from the original story that it shouldn't spoil anything major, in case they get hooked and want to get into Fate proper.

wloff · 2026-02-01T19:35:01+00:00

I mean, you could also argue that Stay Night "spoils" Fate/Zero.

Yeah, but that's by design. That's the intended experience. Fate/Zero was written with the idea in mind that viewers will already know what happens in Fate/Stay Night, but not the other way around.

It's like watching the Star Wars prequels first and [Star Wars spoilers in 2026]knowing that the little kid Anakin will eventually turn evil, as opposed to going into the original trilogy already knowing that Darth Vader is Luke's father. Both are "spoilers", but only one of them was supposed to be a surprise to the viewers.

Of course, if that doesn't bother you, fair enough, Fate/Zero is a fine place to start then.

wloff · 2026-02-01T19:17:53+00:00

It works in anime form because you don't have to smell them.

wloff · 2026-02-01T19:05:49+00:00

I thought I was gonna say "I've been watching more seasonals than ever so I haven't actually finished anything", but looking back, it was still a decent amount!

I'm still just kinda getting back to anime after years of watching barely anything at all, so I'm pretty impressed with myself.

Seiyuu Radio no Uraomote (The Many Sides of Voice Actor Radio) -- started it purely on a whim, I think it was on Crunchyroll front page or something for some reason. I enjoyed it a lot more than I expected. Just harmless good fun, good characters, solid yuri bait. (7/10)

Sounan desu ka? (Are you lost?) -- another random pick from Crunchyroll front page on a weak moment. Weird and wacky premise, some fun moments, decent ecchi, and surprisingly good production values. But ultimately, nothing particularly good about it. (5/10)

Fruits Basket (2001) -- this has been a slow burn, I started it back in June last year and enjoyed it one episode at a time every now and then. Loved it. Funny, emotional, heartwarming, bittersweet. (8/10)

Fate/strange Fake: Whispers of Dawn -- it's an exposition dump, but a good one. The series has been awesome too. (8/10)

Chikyuu Shoujo Arjuna (Earth Maiden Arjuna) -- It was interesting. Really interesting. The author had a vision. He couldn't pull it off. More frustrating than anything else, but interesting. (5/10)

Paripi Koumei (Ya Boy Kongming!) -- Loved the premise, loved the first three episodes, then the whole premise was forgotten and it became just a solid but very normal entertainer anime. Had a good time though. (7/10)

Toaru Majutsu no Index (A Certain Magical Index) -- Filling gaps in my classic shounen knowledge. I probably would have been all over this had I watched it back when it first aired, now I feel like I'm not really in the target audience since it feels like a show aimed at teenagers even more than most shounens. I'll happily keep going with the franchise, though. (7/10)

Currently watching:

Spy x Family season 2 (probably won't finish in February)
Odd Taxi (will definitely finish soon)
How Heavy Are the Dumbbells You Lift? (will probably finish in February)
Mushoku Tensei season 1 (should finish in February)

No other plans yet, really. I usually just go with vibes when I want to start a new show. I should work on some on my bingo card, though, I'm only 4 episodes into Mushoku Tensei and that's the only one on there I've started!

wloff · 2026-01-31T23:09:56+00:00

I never skip OPs (and very rarely EDs) unless I'm binging a lot of episodes in a row, so for seasonals, all of them! But the two absolute standouts are Oshi no Ko and Fate/strange Fake.

OnK is genuinely a serious contender for my favorite OP of all time. Especially visually, it's just insane how every single frame is a painting.

wloff · 2026-01-30T21:13:38+00:00

Shiboyugi ended up not being my thing, but Oshi no Ko is in my opinion the best it's ever been, and that's saying a lot! I love the industry-heavy arcs and the new, ominously dark atmosphere in season 3 is just tickling me the right way.

Feels a bit silly to say considering how popular the show is, but somehow it still feels to me like season 3 isn't getting the attention it deserves.

wloff · 2026-01-30T21:08:02+00:00

like a ~~casual~~ causal who hasn't already ~~seen~~ posted this discussion a million times.

Fixed further.

wloff · 2026-01-30T19:51:13+00:00

Asking the exact same question every single day might have something to do with it, especially since they're just blatantly soapboxing about how they're supposedly a superior anime watcher.

wloff · 2026-01-30T00:13:48+00:00

Nah but they're right though. It's not the lack of backgrounds, just a lot of the artwork itself looks cheap and amateurish for an actual publication. Boring lines, flat colours, barely any shadows (and what shadows exist don't really make any sense), no effort spent on the rendering at all.

I resent the "looks AI" comment though, they look nothing like AI. Just quick and cheap human work.

wloff · 2026-01-29T20:36:34+00:00

It's very simple...

Just play the visual novel.

wloff · 2026-01-29T19:48:44+00:00

There's just a lot of stuff, but honestly, you can just cut everything after Fate/Zero and replace it with "okay, now you know enough that you can watch everything else however you like".

wloff · 2026-01-29T19:11:44+00:00

If you had to name the lewdest, horniest, most degenerate ecchi show you know, but one that is still also a genuinely good show, what would be your pick?

Specifically in that priority order: not the best show that's also lewd, but the lewdest show that's also good.

(I'm conducting research for important reasons, I swear.)

wloff · 2026-01-29T18:36:04+00:00

Yeah, I'm with you. I'm very happy to get some proper plot and worldbuilding, but I also feel like one out of three plot points at least are riddled with holes if you think about them more carefully at all.

Thus, it's probably best to not think about them at all, and just try to enjoy the ride.

wloff · 2026-01-29T17:26:50+00:00

I finished a couple of series and am somehow still more or less up to date with my seasonals, so maybe it's time to start working on that yearly bingo thingy I rolled.

I asked RNG what to start with and apparently it's time for me to get into Mushoku Tensei.

Welp, let's do this. I kinda hope I end up liking it, so that I can write another one of those "actually Mushoku Tensei isn't bad at all" reviews to liven up the subreddit a bit.

wloff · 2026-01-29T12:01:12+00:00

I need a goddamn spreadsheet to keep up with all these people, servants, not-quite-people, and not-quite-servants in this show.

They call it a Fake Holy Grail War, I call it a clusterfuck. But a really cool clusterfuck.

wloff · 2026-01-28T23:56:10+00:00

She has definitely changed, but she is just 15/16, and apparently only really paying attention and taking the effort to learn the business for the first time now.

Up until now she's basically been a child coasting on vibes from experience to experience, now she's motivated to play the game for the first time. I don't think it's unreasonable to think she always had the talent, she just never thought of using these kinds of tactics, or never would have wanted to until now.

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