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.
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):
- Bananya | L30?? (first episode) + Bananya and the Curious Bunch | L30?? (first episode) - very cute anime if you like cats and/or bananas.
- あたしンち S1 | L30?? + 新あたしンち S1 | L19 (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:
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.
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.
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
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?
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
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
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
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…