What I'm Watching: Anime Edition

Crunchyroll hasn't had a lot of good stuff in a while, but saved itself from unsubbing lately.

That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime is yet another "lost in a videogame-like fantasy world", but this time a total sad-sack loser is brought over with a bunch of dying wishes which turn him into an all-consuming semi-invulnerable slime. Anything he "eats" he can analyze and make part of his skill set or mimic. And he sets out to help monsters he meets. It's a very familiar world to anyone who plays generic JRPGs, hapless Goblins, evil Direwolves, stout worker Dwarfs, sexy porno Elves ("E.I.L.F." as he puts it), and rules like "naming things gives them power" are taken VERY literally.

There's nothing really innovative in this, except the joke is taken all the way, sort of like Pratchett's Discworld. And it has great pacing; Akashic Records of Bastard Magic Instructor and In Another World with my Cellphone were smarter shows, but slower.

★★★★☆


Rascal Does Not Dream of Bunny Girl Senpai is a romantic comedy, not, you may think, my usual thing. A guy sees a cute girl wearing a bunny-girl outfit in school, and recognizes her, a year older student with a sort of notorious past. Nobody else sees her or remembers her. So there's some widespread insanity, or very local insanity, and tragedy either way.

I like the hurt and shame in this show. I dunno how else to put that, it's emotionally raw, sarcastic, and everyone hurts. Reminds me a lot of Anohana: The Flower We Saw That Day, but much more mature and less hopeless.

★★★★½