It’s nice to be back to writing again. I used to get so ashamed after taking breaks from writing that it would become more and more difficult to come back to it. It becomes sort of a self-defeating process and I’m nothing if not self-defeating. In any case, I’m trying to be better about working through my personal writing blocks nowadays. Things aren’t perfect, but they’re better.
I think part of the issue is that my time has been very divided lately. Not only do I want to watch anime and write about it, but I also want to knit and crochet (things that help me handle my anxiety). I also have to deal with a lot more things at work than I have in the past, and with some minor medical stuff tossed on top it’s just… a lot. I think the key for me is just being able to indulge in different pleasurable activities as I’m able and not get too caught up in non-constructive thinking about it.
The Summer 2022 anime season has gotten off to an interesting start thus far, with a few surprises mixed in with several cases where there was no absolutely no surprise whatsoever. Below are links to posts from the past week in case you missed them.
- Summer 2022 First Impressions – Engage Kiss – A deeply unsettling relationship between a girl (demon?) with a great deal of power and a guy to whom she seems to be inexplicably beholden. Contains kissing with dripping saliva, which personally makes me gag.
- Summer 2022 First Impressions – Lycoris Recoil – One of this season’s early “pleasant surprises,” this story seems to want to examine the necessity of violence in preventing crimes in society. The charm is the interplay between the two focal characters.
- Summer 2022 First Impressions – Shoot! Goal to the Future – A stealth continuation of an earlier sports series, this rejoins a fallen high school soccer team as they make motions to regain their former glory. Decent, but corny in certain ways and not especially compelling.
- Summer 2022 First Impressions – Teppen!! Laughing ’til You Cry – (I refuse to type out all the exclamation points) A series focused on manzai humor, which can be somewhat impenetrable. There’s also a bit of slapstick and visual humor added in for flavor. Note: The second episode of this series was cancelled completely due to the situation involving the assassination of former Prime Minister Abe.
- Summer 2022 First Impressions – Phantom of the Idol – The story of a curious agreement between an unenthusiastic idol and the ghost of a former idol who loved her job. Surprisingly sentimental and occasionally funny, but I question the staying power of the gag.
- Summer 2022 First Impressions – Bastard!! Heavy Metal Dark Fantasy – A modern remake of a series popular in the 90’s. Has some fun and over-the-top moments, but loses me a bit because of the manner in which the main character’s transformation is activated. Also extremely violent.
- Summer 2022 First Impressions – Yurei Deco – A new anime from Science Saru that looks great and introduces some interesting ideas regarding technology and social media. Purportedly draws some plot points from Huckleberry Finn, but those aspects aren’t apparent as of yet.
- Summer 2022 First Impressions – Spriggan – Another updated property, focused on a group ensuring that ancient artifacts aren’t used to cause violence. I enjoyed this one quite a bit.
- Summer 2022 First Impressions – My Isekai Life – A mediocre fantasy story that doesn’t seem to offer very much in the way of compelling action or drama. It’s difficult to connect with the main character.