Back from Hawaii, posting can now resume. In lieu of there actually being greater than zero anime series that I am interested in watching I decided to give the Crunchyroll subscription trial a go to see how it is. Aside from Attack on Titan, I think it has been at least a year if not several years since I had regularly watched anime. Word on the street is that there are several decent shows that are not only worth watching but conveniently available for viewing on Crunchyroll so the week before last was devoted to small bouts of anime binging in-between wedding/vacation planning and the like.
Hourou Musuko (Wandering Son)
This show is a slice of life drama about middle school students growing up with gender identity issues. It addresses cross dressing, puberty and gender issues in a down to earth/non-fanservicey manner. It’s serious but not dark or depressing. Shows, particularly anime shows such as this are few and far between.
Wandering Son has a slow but well paced plot line with a fairly gentle story that is surprisingly well balanced. It’s not for everyone but if you are looking for a quiet drama it is definitely worth a watch. Worth noting that this series is obviously geared towards the middle age crowd.
Hajime no Ippo The Fighting
Hajime no Ippo is a shounen boxing anime that follows a 100+ volume manga series of the same name. I am pretty sure that the series on Crunchyroll picks up immediately after where I had left off in Hajime no Ippo but I’m not 100% sure and not 100% sure it even matters plot wise. I am also pretty sure this series falls into the category of unending Shounen anime, but it has always been one of my favorites and one of the only sports anime shows that I really enjoy.
Kill la Kill
A way over-the-top super stylized action/comedy series that dips well into the absurd. Oh and it is also about clothing. Good pacing and likable characters. I mean, all any show or book series needs to have in order for me to at least enjoy it is a decent character story, which Kill la Kill has in spades. It is animated well and has a comic book like aesthetic which I like (thick lines). Kill la Kill is also definitely fanservicey and by definitely I mean that the nudity and boobage play a major role in the story but ultimately aren’t the primary focus of the show if that makes any sense.
This show fell short of being the series that “saved anime,” but it garnered enough interest out of me to start watching not only kill la kill but other anime series again