On this completely normal day during this completely normal year, I come bearing anime good vibes.
That My Hero Academia good good
This is my current obsession so allow me to gush over several moments from the series. Anime viewers were finally introduced to Hawks and Mirko, and y’all? The thirst was real. Moreso then the time Aizawa wore his hair up. You know the time.
My precious sleep-deprived husband.
Anyway, this is Hawks.
King.
And this is Mirko.
Queen.
And this is my totally professional reaction to them.
I watch the series for the plot.
It doesn’t help that their dub voice actors are AH-MAY-ZING. As a constant card-carrying member of “good representation matters,” I was already in love with Rock Lock (voiced by Gabe Kunda) but then Zeno Robinson “just flew in” for the movie premiere and, shortly after, Anairis Quinones debuted as the ferocious rabbit heroine. For weeks fans fed off of their excitement (seriously, a 6-second clip of Hawks was all it took) and, more importantly, debated who the rightful spouse of Mirko was (sorry Zeno, I gotta give it to the ladies and say Anairis wins). While the anime hasn’t given us much (yet), the manga has. I won’t spoil the Hawks stuff since season 5 could get into it, and as for Mirko? Let’s just say I’m excited to see them animate her fight scenes.
Then there’s my boy Bakugou, who got some MAJOR character development in these last few weeks. He was even trending on Twitter thanks to a big moment in the manga. That speech he gave that kid in season 4? He’s definitely taking his own advice. Heroes Rising also showed us some beautiful Katsuki Bakugou growth, after all, we got his amazing team up with Deku coupled with a power ballad.
Might + U!!!
That Firefighter Himbo and the Mad Burnish (now on Blu-Ray/DVD)
Twitter was all over the movie Promare back in 2019 and, for a while, the fandom was the only way I saw any of it. Select theaters got screenings in September, then again in December, and guess which month I finally got to release my firefighter soul? I was, indeed, late to the party, relying on fanart and memes to give me an idea of why the shirtless, pizza-loving, firefighter administered the longest dose of mouth to mouth anyone had ever seen.
He can revive him with the burning flames of his soul.
This is such a delightful anime. I’m not just saying that because the ship dynamic is Lio constantly sighing at Galo and thinking, “He’s an idiot, but he’s my idiot.” Promare is a good time and it finally got a home release this year.
This man right here
Balanced: Unlimited.
Yes hi hello please watch The Million Detective Balance: Unlimited ok thank you.
Synopsis: a bored man with unlimited access to money becomes a detective. Hijinks ensue as he proceeds to throw money at his problems and come face to face with one of those “you can’t just do that” guys on the force (yes the tension is extremely shippable). The story starts with daily cases, but near the halfway point there’s an intriguing overall plot that’ll keep you guessing until the end. The series is currently being dubbed by FUNimation, who also has all the subtitled episodes. I binged the whole thing subtitled and am now watching it as it’s dubbed.
This absolute unit of a woman
I am weeeeeeak!
I’ve seen very little of Dorohedoro but what I do know is that this woman can step on me. That’s it. Next entry.
These Anime in Particular
Maybe just … ask the boy if he likes you next time.
Toilet-Bound Hanako-Kun: Nene Yashiro takes “notice me senpai” to the “summon a wish making ghost” level, gets turned into a fish, almost gets hijacked by a mermaid, and is now under Hanako’s protection as long as she cleans the bathroom. Friendship, tragic pasts, and other hauntings commence.
I’m sure these three brothers are extremely trustworthy.
Moriarty the Patriot: what if Sherlock Holmes was in Moriarty’s POV? What if he and his two brothers helped the poor get revenge against the aristocrats who’ve wronged them? What if they work together to challenge a society that constantly favors the rich and abuses the poor. Are … we rooting for Moriarty in 2020?!
You gonna eat the demon or what?
Jujutsu Kaisen: local good boy and occult club member Yuji Itadori eats THE demonic finger of ALL demonic fingers in an attempt to save his friends. Afterwards, he’s tasked with finding the rest of the body parts, chugging those down, becoming the demon, then…be killed by a group of sorcerers to stop the evil for good. Sounds…legit?
I’m immediately invested for reasons.
Honorable mentions: I’m extremely behind on Fruits Basket, Haikyu!!, and Fire Force but ALL THREE of these series got new seasons this year. Yashahime proves that we can’t just assume a franchise is done, I need to watch more Beastars to prepare for season 2, and Attack on Titan starts its final season next month.
The magical … rap battle … anime …?
This gets its own entry to make room for my absolutely precious response of WHAT THE HELL DID I JUST WATCH??? It’s been a while since I’ve seen a series that completely embraces the chaotic essence of anime. I thought I’d be watching a series about some musical upstarts whose palms are sweaty, mom’s spaghetti, but Hypnosis Mic: Division Rap Battle is about a world where women have taken over and weapons have been replaced with … hypnosis mics … that are used in dramatically animated rap battles …
If someone grabbed a mic and this happened? I’d run.
Round one…RAP!
How WELL the Demon Slayer movie’s doing IN THE MIDDLE OF A PANDEMIC
Yes. Hi. Hello.
It’s impossible to keep up with the numbers this is doing. As soon as there are reports of it breaking one record another report comes out to reveal another broken record. From what I can gather, here’s where the movie stands at the moment:
- Broke the first-day opening record in Japan (1.2 billion yen)
- Currently holds the best 3-day opening weekend record in Japan (4.6 billion yen)
- Is the fastest movie to reach 10 billion yen in Japan (10 days)
- Currently holds the best second-weekend opening record in Japan
- Broke 15 billion yen in 15 days
- Is currently the 10th highest-grossing movie in Japan
P H E W.
The fact that we still have anime to watch IN THE MIDDLE OF A PANDEMIC
Like … can we take a second to appreciate that?
Now trust me when I say that I’m missing some spectacular picks because I’m only a whee fangirl in a sea of geeky Black girls. That being said … what did I miss? I have the weekend off and totally shouldn’t add to my queue … but I will if you ask nicely.
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