A Surprise Day Off

After a delightful day spent with my family yesterday, my plans to join my mother on a trip to visit my grandmother were thwarted by a very grumpy stomach. (And since it woke me in the middle of the night for over an hour, that led to a very grumpy Alex as well.) I would have been okay if I was just slee-deprived this morning, but the grumbles continue, and so I have an unexpected free day (with only a small helping of guilt!).

So I'll be spending it writing for Nano (hoping to make a big dent in it), sipping tea, and knitting. ....Like pretty much every other day, I guess :)

I'll also be using it to catch up on some of my anime viewing, so I figured I'd share the shows that I'm watching this season! (I watch all shows on CrunchyRoll.com, which is free (with advertisements and a week delay, or only $6 a month for simulcast.)

Yuri!!! on Ice - You MIGHT have heard of this one. It's taking the internet by storm as a canon gay pairing. It could be easily said to be "cute guys ice skating" but it's about so much more. It's about love, self-confidence, familial and friend support, and overcoming obstacles, whether they are your competitors or yourself. The ice skating sequences are carefully and well-done, it mixes just enough humor with seriousness, and it has the internet on the edge of their seats to see where this is going!

Nanbaka - This is a ridiculous comedy show about a special prison where the most troublesome inmates (like those that constantly escape from other prisons) are sent. It's bright, colorful, and goofy (though it does seem to have a vague plot it's heading for). The character designs are delightfully ridiculous in appearance, behavior, and weird 'powers'. This is a popcorn show, through and through, but never really presents itself as anything different. Familiarity with Japanese humor/anime probably helps, not because there are cultural references, but just to help understand what the joke is that they're making as they reference back to other shows, etc.

Trickster - Mysterious boy who can't be harmed (for mysterious reasons) and just wants to die, and his new friend who won't leave him alone and promises to find a way to kill him. Oh, and they're part of a detective agency. I can't really recommend this one, but I also can't seem to stop watching it....

All Out! - If you like closeups of bulging muscles, firm butts, and (did I mention) bulging muscles, you'll enjoy the visuals here. This show is about a HS Japanes rugby team in a small school and it follows the first years who join this year. The tone of the show is "guys being dudes" (they are rugby players, after all) and it sometimes leaves me wondering why I'm still watching, but I am still watching. The characters can be grating, but they also exhibit character growth that keeps me wondering what's going to happen next week.

Kiss Him, Not Me - All about a chubby fujoshi (term for a woman who loves yaoi/slash/m-m pairings) who suddenly becomes slim (and thus attractive to all the boys), the premise is weak, but the show is spectacular. Having a basic understanding of fujoshi culture helps a lot, but if you've got that, this show is hilarious and sweet at the same time. Now that she's pretty, the boys want her, but she just wants to see them all hook up with each other. Bonus: She also has a female love interest/option who is a fellow fujoshi.

Touken Ranbu - The basis of this show is that famous historical (Japanese) swords have been turned into humans in order to fight this group of monsters that keeps appearing throughout history to try to disrupt historical events (for reasons unknown). But the amount of time spent with the human!swords fighting the monsters is limited. Most of the time it's just a slice of life anime about a variety of cute boys all living. In this compound together and the mischief they get up to (sometimes because they don't understand human things, sometimes just because). The visuals are great here, but if you don't like pointless slice of life, you probably won't enjoy it.

That's it. Hope you maybe found something that caught your eye! I realize anime isn't for everyone, but as this list shows, the variety of options is really extensive. There's something for everyone (and it's definitely not kids' cartoons!).