I usually do this after watching the premiere, but alas, life has its priorities (including procrastination and laziness) so here comes my late posting of anime impressions. I’ve been consistently following them; it just doesn’t look like I do because I barely update my MAL account due to old—er, forgetfulness. I prefer to mark them complete when I’ve finished, but so far I’ve been keeping up weekly, with only one series dropped in the meantime.

• Hana-Kimi – This is such a delight. As the twitter folks said, 2026 is looking to be a shoujo/josei renaissance!! I’m so happy to revisit it after all these years! It’s one of my OG shoujo manga, and I vividly remember enjoying it (though, alas, I’ve forgotten some events since it’s been so long). My small—very little—gripe is that they modernized the setting. I would have preferred if they kept the ’90s timeline because some things just made more sense in their original context. It was shocking to see them using smartphones. It would have been nice to show how teenagers back then communicated without them. As someone who was a kid in the ’90s and later got her own phone (text and call only!), you wouldn’t understand how clever, creative, and intentional our communication was back then. With old anime like Red River, I hope they keep the original setting intact.
• Hell’s Paradise Season 2 – I honestly forgot most of the details aside from the main plot, and after two episodes, I felt like not continuing. I finished the first season, but there’s zero motivation for me to pick this up right now. Maybe I’m just not in the mood.
• In the Clear Moonlit Dusk – I’m such a huge Hirunaka no Ryuusei fan (Mazume fans, raise your hands!), so I’m quite excited to watch this. I did try the manga before, but it got swallowed up by everything else I was reading and following. So far, so good? I’ve realized how frustrating shoujo heroines can be—or maybe I’m just old and find all the internal monologues and back-and-forth dialogues exhausting. For once, kids, just say it straightforwardly! It’s cutesy, but a little frustrating for this grandma.
• Jujutsu Kaisen: The Culling Game Part 1 – Do I really need to say anything? You know this is a default watch! I’ll tune in no matter what! And man, the animation and adaptation in general are beasts. So good that I ended up picking up the manga again just to reread and keep everything fresh in my mind while watching the anime.
• Tamon’s B-Side – This is such a surprising series; I really love it! It’s so funny and engaging. I like the whole two-faced idol concept, and our heroine Utage being a super fan who still knows her boundaries! She’s not delusional about an actual romance (when it actually is!). And by the way, I actually prefer Gloomyhara over idol-version Tamon. One of the gems of this winter season! I implore you to watch it!