I was surprised and excited when I found out Hataraku Maou-sama! was getting a sequel. It’s one of my comfort anime - and a perfect balance of comedy, fantastical action sequences, and warm Slice of Life moments.

I was confused by the studio change. Why would they trade White Fox Studio (of Steins;Gate renown) for Studio 3Hz of Princess Principal and a few other ‘cute’ things? But! My excitement would not be curbed - even if the visual showed they traded the clean, sharp look of an action comedy for a round, bubbly character design straight out of a CGDCT anime.

And then I watched it.

I haven’t read the light novels, but I can tell the source material is good because I like what’s going on - I just don’t like how it’s being presented. We spend most of the time on Slice of Life moments, and then rush - sometimes not even see - the fights. Important plot points are mentioned in passing, instead of shown. And, there is no proper build up or denouement for the fights we are shown.

I don’t know if they’re trying to cover specific arcs, but the pacing is all over the place. Sometimes it’s so fast, the dialogue feels like it’s being played at 1.5 speed. The comedic timing is lost. And, heart-felt moments don’t hit right if they last half a second before we’re on to the next thing.

Our protagonist is undergoing big emotional and psychological changes this season. His backstory is finally being revealed, and the audience is starting to understand his actions. It would have been great to make time for some internal monologue - or just time to see him pause and reflect.

In short, the perfect balance of Season 1 is gone, and I’m frustrated that I can see all of these cool things happening - but not enjoy them. Perhaps it’s time I picked up the light novels.

Hello Fellow Geeks!

Here’s my guide to the 2022 Fall Anime Series Premieres. I watched the first couple of episodes for everything on Crunchyroll. So, this includes my first impressions - and let me just say, the premieres are as exciting as this season’s sequels!

Geekko out.

I’m bringing back my season rankings - better, more concise, and hopefully more entertaining! In this video, I rank all of the new anime series I watched in the 2022 Winter Season from worst to best. As usual, even if I personally liked it, I try to analyze the objective worth of the show. Of course, entertainment value is a legitimate rubric, but I think it should be contextualized and weighted amongst other factors: direction, art, character development, originality, exposition. Which anime will win the top rank?

I want to gush about Shadows House because every episode consistently blows me away.

The scope and exposition are perfect. The first episode is a conversation between two characters in a bedroom. The second episode, there’s a hallway leading to a ballroom. There’s a group of people with societal structure; there’s tasks; there’s a gate. What’s outside? There’s creatures. There’s people in charge. There’s a test. What’s outside? There’s something in the coffee. There’s someone lurking in the shadows. What’s outside?

Shadows House evokes the thrill of watching Yakusoku no Neverland for the first time, and the wonder I felt reading The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe as a kid. Emilico waking up in her ‘human doll’ bed and walking through the dimly lit passage to her Shadow Master’s bedroom, evokes the same sense of adventure and dangerous excitement as the Pevensie children exploring the house that connects to Narnia.

And, the art is just as lush and comforting as a cozy detective mystery set in Edwardian high society. The colors are rich; the textures and patterns are whimsical. And, the frames are warm. They’ve also managed to animate soot. I can almost feel its grainy texture through my screen.

I was satisfied with the revelations at the end of the first season - but the second season has become a larger, thrilling ride. Not only is there a new mystery within the Childrens’ Wing, the purpose of certain meetings and objects we’ve seen since Episode 1 is becoming clearer. Society is larger. Hope is less and less abundant.

Shadows House has the same thrilling mystery as Yakusoku no Neverland and Shingeki no Kyojin, which transcends genre preferences and can captivate anyone.

Hyouka is one of my comfort anime. Not only is it still beautiful by today’s standards - Kyoto Animation of Violet Evergarden did a fantastic job adapting the inner workings of Oreki’s mind - it captures that indescribable comfort of a cozy detective mystery - and thankfully, none of the murder.

But what stands out most to me is the subtle, yet realistically profound character development.

At this point I’m going to spoil one thing from the light novels: there is a reason for Oreki Houtarou’s ‘Minimal Effort’ Creed.

I don’t think Oreki’s personal creed is simply “If you don’t have to do it, don’t do it. If you have to do it, do it as quickly as possible.” I think he doesn’t want to be used or manipulated. This is a reasonable concern stemming from a mature understanding of personal relationships, but it can be isolating. Chitanda is the perfect foil.

She is completely open with him. And! She’s constantly dragging him - literally and figuratively - into new adventures. One of my favorite moments is when Satoshi assigns everyone a tarot card symbol during the most important case for Oreki’s personal development, “Why didn’t they ask Eba?” Oreki looks up the meaning of ‘Strength’ - and realizes Satoshi was poking fun at his inability to tell Chitanda “No.” But, Oreki also thinks of Irisu and his sister at this moment. Why is this significant?

His sister manipulates him often - she is the reason he’s in the Classics Club. She gives him the doujinshi manga in the Jumoji Case. And, she recommends Irisu use him for her film predicament. Why? I think his sister is setting up experiences for Oreki: a better high school environment, an interesting culture festival, important connections.

Irisu-senpai uses Oreki for personal gain. She doesn’t want her name associated with a poor quality film, and pretends she’s saving a classmate from public scorn. Oreki believes, for the first time in his life, that he is special - only to realize Irisu promoted this feeling for her own benefit.

This is the perfect contrast to Chitanda, who asks him for help in order to better understand herself and others. It’s a wonderfully meaningful scene when, near the end of the series in the Intercom Announcement Case, Chitanda reiterates everything Irisu told Houtarou - but Chitanda means it. She admires his mind, and thinks he’s special and good. Oreki thinks she’s mistaken, but he’s grown to trust her.

My favorite episode is the Ogi-sensei Case. Oreki doesn’t realize that he’s grown to care for Chitanda, or that he’s justifying his feelings for her by saying he “owes her one.” By the last episode, “The Doll That Took a Detour,” Oreki values the tasks Chitanda values. It’s not that his motto is gone; he’s allowed another judgment in the measure of his creed.

It’s pretty cringe to write your own ‘About’ thingie - but the alternative is an introvert’s worst nightmare. Plus, only I really know what goes on in this crazy brain of mine.

I started my channel because of Akagami no Shirayuki-hime and Akatsuki no Yona. When I watched these anime, I felt all floaty and excited to talk to someone about them, watch a review about them, anything! Alas, at that time, Funimation was barely becoming mainstream, licensing things in The States, and the landscape of anime otaku outside of Japan was thin.

There were a couple short videos on YouTube, but even within the anime community not many seemed excited about seasonal anime - or really many anime outside of the big Shounen Jump adaptations. I filed away my frustrations, and went on with life. I didn’t think about starting my own channel; I think I tried to start a puny WordPress thing at some point - but the truth was, I wasn’t a good otaku. I hadn’t read a lot of manga, light novels, or watched all that many anime. And I, myself, wasn’t super knowledgeable about the seasons, animation studios, or any in depth information like that.

Years later, I still loved anime, I found myself watching every seasonal anime I could, and thoroughly researching and understanding the themes of each season. I remembered I had an old channel I created to share my Sunny Go Model Build. I remembered my love for certain underappreciated anime. And, I realized I was knowledgeable enough to have a decent anime conversation.

Happily, I found the international anime landscape had changed. There’s lots of smart and skillful creators who know much more about anime than I do. But! I still couldn’t find the information I wanted, in the format that I wanted. My mission is to watch as many anime as I can, and present my thoughts and information in a way I’d like things organized. I hope this is helpful to a fellow geek who is looking for just such information.

Finally - to cut off my long rant about how much I like anime, so that I can continue writing about how much I like anime - I am starting this blog because I’m more of a geek than I thought. I like anime. I have many informal rants and thoughts I’d like to jot down, and I hope this is a good venue.

And on that note, I’ll catch you in the next post!

Geekko out.

Here’s my complete guide to all of the anime franchises coming out this 2022 Summer Season - whether they’re sequels, mixed media projects or specials, they’re in here!

I wasn’t expecting any of these, but I’m very excited for Shadows House Season 2 and Hataraku Maou-sama!! To watch, or not to watch the Dr. Stone Hour Special - should I wait until we have Season 3?

For each anime, I’ve included information on streaming availability, promised episodes, and studio changes. Happy watching!

Geekko out.

About That Anime Geekko