That song is by hip-hop duo Creepy Nuts who also did the OP and ED for Call of the Night. The reason for this is because their song Yofukashi no Uta directly inspired the writer of the original manga which is also originally called “Yofukashi no Uta”, and was used as the ED for the series. The OP Daten is also very good, and the guys from Creepy Nuts had a cameo in the show. Call of the Night just had a second season announced, btw.
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I’ve now started The Apothecary Diaries.
If you’re anything like me and started watching period-esque C dramas during the 2020 lockdowns, this is definitely an anime for you.
I recommend these shows if you’re into it:
Oh My General
Story of Yanxi Palace
The Untamed
Legend of Fuyao
Love and Destiny
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The first episode of the classic, Uzumaki is out and it’s giving me hope that this may be the first good anime adaptation of a Junji Ito graphic novel. It has that look, as if they just animated the manga pages, and I’m okay with that here. The fact that it’s in black and white already elivates it above the more recent adaptations. And I enjoyed the Netflix and Cruchyroll adaptations but more in an ironic, isn’t this silly ghost story funny, kind of way. The first episode of Uzumaki sets a more serious tone, closer to what I thjnk Ito was going for i the novel.
So far so good.
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I think everyone has had their eye on this. I’m waiting for all the episodes to be out before I watch it. I think it’s only 4 episodes.
I’ve seen the live action movie of Uzumaki, and it’s not the best.
I’ve finally finished season 3 of Hibike! Euphonium. I am very well aware that I am literally 3 months late to it. I had originally planned to watch it when it came out, but then decided to wait for it because the first two seasons made this my favorite show of all time and I really wanted to sit with it. And then I procrastinated for it for basically the same reason, wanting to not just watch it but comprehend it.
This show is just perfection for my taste despite not being particularly musically talented or knowledgeable. The characterization is just top notch and KyoAni is really cutting no corners to convey them. I also love the plot developments and how they play into and challenge established dynamics.
Shows about high school team competitions, provided that they span multiple years, necessarily have a turnover of characters as students graduated and new ones enter the school. This season also brings in a transfer student that directly reflects and competes with our main character and her role in the band. This also directly compares with previous plot points in earlier seasons. The anime is specifically about challenging norms of the traditional japanese senpai-kohai dynamic and clubs also being about popularity, and their shortcomings in contrast to a meritocracy. This is easy to preach when you’re the one who is benefiting from it, but are you also going to stick with it when its to your detriment? That is pretty much the central question this final season asks.
This show is just fantastic and I am currently made painfully aware of my lack of vocabulary for it. If you have never seen it, I beg you to watch it. It’s a modest requirement at three season and two movies at least, but I guarantee you will not regret it.
Another show I finished, this time as the final episode aired, is season 2 of Oshi no Ko. If you are unaware, this is a murder mystery with supernatural elements that at the same time skewers the japanese entertainment industry. It is based on a manga by the same author as Kaguya-sama Love is War.
The show is in my opinion great. The adaptation features high quality animation and voice acting, and some style flourishes that make the experience very enjoyable. The movie-length first episode which functions as the prologue and setup was already incredible and it has continued since in a really good manner, mixing mystery, romance and criticism in good measure. I won’t talk in specifics though to avoid spoilers.
For this season, the first half of the story was mostly occupied with one of our main characters being cast in a high production stage play adapting a popular shonen battle manga, which explores how the adaptation process functions, what problems can arise from that, as well as the struggles of various actors in how they approach their roles and their craft in general. Unfortunately this has not been popular with wider audiences who believe that these sections take away from the mystery aspect of the show. I on the other hand believe that both the mystery and the exploration of the japanese entertainment industry are pillars of the work itself, and quite liked this arc.
We can however definitely also smell the author grinding a bit of an axe in this segment as well, since some of the above retreads an issue already touched on in season 1. Maybe a bit self-indulgently they also explore the struggles of writing serialized manga with the author of the original work showing up during the adaptation process.
The mystery fans do get what they crave for in the final four episodes of the show though, with major plot developments for the central narrative as our secondary main character becomes the focus of the show.
The show has been great so far and I highly recommend it. They also already announced a third season. Unfortunately from what I hear from the readers of the manga, there is a decline in the quality of the narrative in the near future.
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