Wow, thanks so much for typing these out! Will take a closer look and try some of them out! Lots of interesting sounding shows here.
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Since it sounds like you’re looking for shows that are really easy I might have a few recommendations. Apologies if they are too easy and/or too boring/weird looking! (Also, ignore the levels. Apparently with TV shows you cannot set the level while importing…)
Two animes that I each watched one episode of (before deciding that watching actual anime is still a bit too hard for me because of my terrible vocab, but those were the closest I ever came to understanding an anime without English subs):
- ばなにゃ | L30?? (first episode) + ばなにゃ and the Curious Bunch | L30?? (first episode) - very cute anime if you like cats and/or bananas.
- あたしンち S1 | L25?? + 新あたしンち S1 | L21 (first episode) - I know, I know, the art style is a bit meh. After giving it a chance though, I was positively surprised that I actually found it charming and funny!
And two recommendations that are both cult in Japan and are often recommended for beginners, but so far they are only on my wish list and I haven’t even tried a single episode:
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Thank you for all the recs, @Legato! Will definitely keep an eye on these. 
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I started watching 結婚できないにはワケがある and it’s uh…not very good, but very easy and brainless so I can watch it after a long day and not feel more tired. It kind of feels like someone smashed おじさんはカワイイものがお好き。 S1 | L27 into a ‘woman desperately crazed to get married’ show, and I’m even more confused because it’s the same main actor as in この男は人生最大の過ちです S1 | L26 and he’s honestly not playing that different of a role.
I have no idea if I’ll stick it out the 3 episodes (or so?) it takes to rate it, but it’s on Viki right now so if anyone wants an easier live action to try, it’s an option.
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I started watching ハンターｘハンター S1 | L30 last week; I’m slowly reading through the manga (in English) and I thought it’d be a fun pick. I’m watching through Netflix, and subtitles aren’t an option, so I’m picking up maybe…15% of what they’re saying? Hard to estimate, but it’s very little. I figured listening and not understanding is probably better than not listening at all, at least, and my familiarity with the story does let me keep up with what’s happening, at least.
I need to check out the ones @Legato mentioned to me earlier still.
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So I’m three episodes into 俺物語!! S1 | L18??, but I’m not sure I can take this show seriously… it seems like it wants to tell a serious love story, but so far it just seems too… I don’t know, “fake” I guess. Everything that’s happened so far is unrealistic, the main guy is pretty one-note and crude, the main girl’s voice is annoying. Also, it’s definitely not difficulty level 18 as far as I’m concerned. Particularly the main guy’s voice is so deep I have trouble understanding him.
Has anyone seen this anime before? It’s not so bad that I feel the need to drop it after three episodes, but I also don’t think I like it enough (at this point) to watch 24 episodes. Is there a point where it gets better, or are the first three episodes pretty representative of the show as a whole? Trying to decide if it deserves another 1-3 episodes before I make a decision.
Filling in the gaps in series I’ve partially watched in 日本語. atm that’s:
- SAO 1: 2 eps (Finished)
- SAO 2: second half of the season (Finished)
- SAO Alicization: 14-24
- Akatsuki no Yona: 12-24
- Log Horizon S1: 12-25
- Kimetsu no Yaiba S1: 21-26
And most of New Game 1, but I’m deliberately delaying those, while I read the manga
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JFF released new independant films streaming from today on their website here: https://jff.jpf.go.jp/watch/independent-cinema/film-lineup/
From past experience I know it won’t work in some places (notably Japan as its meant as a tourism initiative I think?) but in unrelated news, VPNs can make it appear you’re browsing the web from a different location than you are.
In the Distance and Drive into Night are the ones that appeal to me - any that you all are thinking of watching? 
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Oh unfortunately it appears there are hard subs. I’m not sure I’m so deeply interested that I’ll watch an entire movie with something blocking the bottom of my screen 
I don’t remember there being hard subs during the last film fest 
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I’m in the middle of Kaiji season two. Middle of the Bog with seven episodes left.
Restarted Absolute Boyfriend yesterday as well and I love it just as much as I did back in college for how ridiculous it is
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I started watching 死との約束 (trailer) which is an adaptation of Agatha Christie’s Appointment with Death and it’s fun while also not being very good. Over-acting is a complaint I often hear about Japanese TV and usually it doesn’t faze me, but this movie is taking it to extremes. So far as I know it’s a made-for-TV movie, though, so standards and expectations are different.
I like that it took a Christie plot and made it so Japanese though. I certainly wasn’t expecting 八咫烏 to come up while watching a western media adaptation 
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I am watching はじめてのおつかい and episode 10 (season 2) is just 
I hadn’t realized netflix put some episodes up. I remember watching some like 10 years ago or so… 
I just finished watching ハウルの動く城 | L26 … kinda.
It’s part of a collection of Ghibli DVDs I got from a cousin and they are all watched to death. In all DVD so far, there was at least one or two chapter that was unwatchable due to the damages. I didn’t mind so far, since I saw most of the Ghibli movies quite a few times myself, so I can remember the missing parts.
However, I never watched ハウルの動く城 and the missing part is the end of the penultimate chapter as well as the last chapter… And I can’t find those parts on youtube either.
Well, what I gathered from the choppy bits I saw in there is that
ソフィー kisses かぶ for some reason and he turns into a prince before saying he will stop the war? Also she put the heart back into ハウル. Also she kissed Calcifer. Then really impossible to watch until a scene of a flying version of the castle and ソフィー and ハウル kissing.
… Now that I think about it, she is kissing a lot of people in short succession haha.
Then I literally cannot watch anymore, my DVD player refuses to go further. I think I’m not missing much, but if anyone knows, I don’t mind being spoiled the missing parts.
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Probably a little late but: Not sure where the last bit before this was that you seen in case anything previous has been missing but starting from when ソフィ kisses かぶ, it’s because he sacrificed himself to stop the run away “raft” (the floor of the house) that was careening down a hill and he turns back into a Prince from the neighbouring kingdom which I think him being missing is what caused the war in the first place. ソフィ put ハワル’s heart back into him as that’s what he gave to Calcifer to create the pact and this releases Calcifer which causes the raft to start careening down the hill and ソフィ kisses ハワル because she’s finally admitting to herself that she cares so much about him and is glad he’s safe. After that all you missed is Madam Suliman seeing the dog in her crystal and seeing that the prince is going home so the war will be ending then it cuts to the castle in the sky.
I’ve watched this so many times it’s unbelievable. Also, I could recite most of it in English or give a play by play of what happens in it at each part. If you have Netflix access, it is on Netflix if you decide you want to watch what you missed.
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Okay, I think I am only missing the castle in the sky bit. Do they ever explain why the prince was a scarecrow?
I have a Netflix access, but Ghibli movies are unavailable in Japan because of licensing 
I guess I could try to get a VPN…
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Damn, I wonder why they can show them for us in the UK then.
He was cursed to be one until he was kissed by his true love. Since neither ハワル nor the witch of the wastes knew him, I’m guessing it was Madam Suliman that cursed him but I’ve not read the books yet. Think it is explained in there though if different from that.
Once I’ve read them, I’ll let you know 
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FYI, the book of Howl’s Moving Castle is very different from the movie. Very good, but very different. In the book the prince and the scarecrow are two different, separate characters.
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Ah, ok. Cool. Thanks for sharing this or I’d have been confused when I read it
I’ve git them in English and Japanese but want to read the Japanese version first. English one is just there as a back up.
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Continuing to read JK, about 60% of the way through it. Took a bit of a break and forgot how violet this book is.
It’s my first show without subs!! (Tho I check the English when necessary). I’m also reading the JP manga alongside it
I’ve previously watched with EN subs, and have read the manga in JP
Game Grammar - Ace Attorney playthrough. It’s a playthrough of the JP VN, where they explain vocab & grammar along the way. Really great way to learn!
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