What are you watching today?

Japanese Watching
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Cool! 976円 per month, and it looks like they have a good number of anime, so that might be useful for me

First few episodes of うそとき are free too:
https://fod.fujitv.co.jp/title/105j/

I’ll try to watch one later, and see if I like it

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How has your (ongoing) jdrama tracking/logging experience been like on LearnNatively? I’ve been watching モンスター S1 | L30, 離婚弁護士 スパイダー　～慰謝料争奪編～ S1 | L30??, and ゴールデンカムイ ―北海道刺青囚人争奪編― S1 | L30?? but the upstream TMDB data is mostly missing which creates a bunch of problems downstream, here on Natively. I end up filling in the data on TMDB but changes are not immediate as it seems like it takes some time for the TMDB API to update and for LearnNatively’s sync feature to actually get the new data.

For example, I added the airing dates of the last episodes of スパイダー about 30 mins ago to TMDB but even after synchronizing, the airing info is not reflected on LearnNatively so the interface is still showing as though there have only been 3 episodes aired so far. Consequently, I cannot log the episodes 4 and 5 that I did watch.

嘘解きレトリック S1 | L30?? looks interesting so I may join you on that.

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My experience was actually fine up until 離婚後や. No episodes are listed even though about 4 have already aired which means I can’t update it. I haven’t tried updating anything on TMDB though so I can’t comment on that.

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When watching ゴールデンカムイ ―北海道刺青囚人争奪編― S1 | L30??, I was feeling as though I skipped straight to the second season of a show or something. I finally realized that the reason why I was seemingly missing some context is that despite being season 1, the series is actually the 続編 of a 大ヒット movie I have not watched… :sweat_smile:

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507

If anyone likes SAO, the Aniplex YouTube channel is streaming Aincrad arc rn. A little less than 3.5 hrs left

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Partially through ep 1, and it’s actually… working(?) for me so far. Like it still feels a bit slow, bc real life is just slower than animation (unless you’re watching 義妹生活… And even then), and less expressive - but overall for this and 彩香ちゃんは弘子先輩に恋してる S1 | L25 are the two dramas that have the potential to overcome my “I don’t really like Japanese dramas” thing

Aniplex’s streaming of the Aincrad arc (to commemorate the date Aincrad was finally cleared) got me on an SAO kick. So I started rewatching my favorite arc, and having been having lots of fun talking along, and shadowing (via animelon), and even made an Anki deck for ep 4 via subs2srs.

It’s really nice understanding the language much better this time around. Still plenty of fancy vocab though. It’s ironic that the arc that almost made me drop SAO (the GGO setting kinda put me off initially) is now my favorite.

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509

The seasonals are a pretty mixed bag rn:

Speaking of Ranma, here’s an interview with Kappei Yamaguchi (male Ranma’s voice actor, in both versions) that I stumbled across earlier.

Otherwise, planning another ガールズバンドクライ S1 | L27 rewatch, since the most recent blu-ray got here, and finished Phantom Bullet arc in ソードアート・オンライン II | L29. Looking forward to the Calibur & Yuuki arcs. Been doing the jpdb deck for it, and started the corresponding LN (with audiobook) as well

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Started two three series that themselves started some weeks ago, and I got hooked right away:

モンスター S1 - a lawyer drama series with an unconventional female lead fighting for the innocent.

ライオンの隠れ家 S1 - a family based drama series with an unconventional “family“, a caring older brother and an autistic younger brother are visited by a mysterious boy, who immediately disrupts the two’s everyday live.

放課後カルテ S1 - a drama series at an elementary school. The male lead is a real doctor having problems to interact with children, but ends up as 保健室の先生 in that school.

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511

Another “I didn’t quite read/think about the description carefully, and wasn’t quite expecting what I got”. Some compelling sides, and some unpleasant sides

The many compelling elements

The compelling things: action and heroism, a really strong and incredible female lead, makes good use of the reincarnation & knowing about the future feature, music, political challenges, humor (tho the themes less so), etc. Compared to say 私の推しは悪役令嬢。 S1 | L29 it is much more interesting in this regard, as the MC knows certain parts of the future, but not to the extent that she can automagically, perfectly manipulate everything - in fact, very much the opposite. She has to really work for her progress (and does so quite impressively). And unlike Claire, the ML does actually have something of a dark side. So far the MC has towed the line between “I know the future” and “I can’t tip my hat” pretty well.

One of the really interesting elements is that the people she encounters are extremely different than the way she knows and interacted with them from 6 years later. While I’m pretty iffy on “I can change him/her” setups, it’s very clear that environment and circumstances played a very huge role in how those people and situations turned out, in the original timeline. There is genuine potential for things to be different.

Also Iwaza, Shiori plays one of the main characters - which is always exciting for me!

Unpleasant - age and romance

The really unpleasant things: literally everything to do with age, and the fact that romance is so prominent. So to start with… Initially the MC is 16 and her murderous fiance (and prince) is 21… she ends up going back in time 6 years, to right before he started to court her. So now she’s 10 (but mentally 16), he’s 15, and the guy she uses to get away from him is a 19 year old emperor. Most of the time she acts much more maturely than a 16 year old (typical for fantasy, or really a lot of anime), and she’s certainly not drawn as nor treated as a 10 year old (for the most part)… like she’s short, and looks a little young, but definitely not 10 years old. The main time she really acts her age is when it comes to being naive/inexperienced about love/the guy’s obvious attempts to woo her.

On top of that it turns out the 19 year old is only willing to consider people under 14 (there is a plot reason for this), and also despite their initial agreement, continually tries to woo her, including making (what would otherwise be very light) physical advances, even to the point of momentarily kissing her on the lips (off-camera) during an argument, for which she rightfully gives him a hard slap afterwards. In other moments, he has some rather creepy/red flag things to say, while also being genuinely quite charming most of the time.

The story both uses this as a source of tension, plot development, and quite frequently for comedy - with this being a rumored/open secret that is not exactly looked kindly upon (but neither is as extremely scorned as one might expect). There’s lots of different ways to contextualize/wave this away - she’s technically 16, so their age gap is only 3 years (even though as far as everyone else knows, she’s a literal child); political and circumstantial engagements and marriages with large age gaps were common historically, particularly among royalty and nobility; their marriage is in name-only and not physical (except they basically act like a couple, and the guy keeps breaking physical boundaries); etc. However the story very clearly intends for them to someday love each other. And while I don’t like this, the corresponding drama is mostly well-written, and in some way interesting.

I do think the writing has some loose ends (particularly I don’t get why her OG fiancé cares about/is pursuing her at all, in the new timeline) as well. And I was really hoping it would have aged them up already - but I guess that’s not meant to be.

Overall I’d say that it and Re:Zero are probly the 2 most interesting I’m watching this season - and I particularly like their action style. Despite the more messed up elements, I’ll keep watching for now. Next up to try is 株式会社マジルミエ | L28

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I lasted all of 5 minutes with 株式会社マジルミエ | L28 (I had a feeling I wouldn’t be into the setting) and instead, restarted:

Overall solid, but wow I miss the inner monologue & magic descriptions!

My comprehension is a little spotty, but I do hope to read the 2nd LN before the end of the year, so I figured I’d give this a go again. Having read the 1st LN, I’m really missing the inner monologue and (surprisingly) the descriptions of magic and inventions a lot!! Wrt the latter, Anis’ lectures and their debates during research sessions in the LN factor into relationship and character development for Yufi (bc she needs to re-examine her preconceptions and perceptions). They also influence Anis’ views and approach as well. The anime feels a little disappointing b/c in it makes it just seem like “Anis-sama rescued me and she’s free spirited, so I’m awed by her” rather than “our exchanges are completely transforming the way I’ve seen things, and it’s liberating”. Anyway it’s overall solid, and they were fitting 3 LNs into 12 episodes, so I get it.

Also picked back up on the Trails in the Sky FC playthrough playlist. It’s basically just the story scenes, and fully voiced. Comprehension is pretty solid, with pausing to look up a word or two every so often, so it’s very enjoyable. Speech pace is on the fast side, so my processing is slightly slow - but not enough that I need to pause it for that.

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I saw both of the second series on Netflix recently and was wondering how they were. Would love to know your thoughts as you get further into the shows.

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It is funny how amidst watching モンスター弁護士 and 離婚弁護士スパイダー, I started watching season 2 of 結婚できない男 and —surprise, surprise— there is also a lawyer in the main cast of this show! That’s quite different from the first season I watched last year so I did not expect that.

I’m having my JP legal drama debut this month and I am on my way to unintentionally learn 民法第７７０条 by heart, I think. :smile: (If you have more recommendations, feel free to share)

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I don’t usually pay attention to lawyers specifically (I watch cop shows), but off hand the leading lady in 合理的にあり得ない ～探偵・上水流涼子の解明～ S1 | L29?? is a disgraced lawyer. It’s a comedy though, so while there is legal talk it takes a backseat.

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I watched all of this over the weekend. The tension and chemistry was excellent. Minase’s character is also so cute. I’ll watch any j drama with a decent plot, but I did also appreciate the higher production value.

There was one thing about this drama that bothered me, but I won’t spoil.

I watched the first episode of this. It’s the first Japanese GL I think I’ll stick to. (Chaser Game seems great, but I can’t understand it well enough to use it for practice, so I’ve never gotten around to watching it.) Episode one was light, but the premise has me convinced I’m being tricked. No way this can have a happy ending.

I didn’t add this one to natively so someone is watching this with me. So far, it’s the one I‘m looking forward to the most every week. I’m a sucker for angst.

I’m up to date on this one. I didn’t like the Thai drama this is an adaption of, but the Japanese one is suiting me better.

This week, I’ll try to watch a bit more anime. My friend is begging me to catch up. It’s significantly harder for me to understand though.

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I find that interesting. Anime always feels easier for me to understand since people are recording their lines, the speech in it to me always feels more crisp than live action. Of course, when you have crazy premises and characters who don’t talk anything like how real humans would, that goes right out the window :joy: so if that’s what you mean then I agree with that.

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It probably is because of what I choose.

In many of the dramas I watch, they use slow, serious, polite language. And yes, the plots are way simpler. Sign of Affection has a vibe that’s similar to most of the J dramas I watch.

In anime, they speak faster and in sillier voices for comedic effect. If they use Kansai-ben, I’m simply done for. Part of it is that I do choose things with a more complicated plot. I usually don’t like basic slice of life or romance when the characters are teenagers.

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Weekly Seasonals report

Haven’t made any progress on 嘘解きレトリック S1 | L30?? (halfway through ep 1) or 転生王女と天才令嬢の魔法革命 S1 | L30 (on ep 6), but might give these a try:

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I didn’t realize Natsume was so easy (the manga is lvl 27 or 28 iirc). Maybe I’ll give that a watch…

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星降る王国のニナ

This one is really good! I started watching it but could tell that the manga must be even better, so I’ve paused for now. Recommend though.

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522

Yeah, I’m also intrigued by that… also way more seasons than I was expecting!

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