That last scene between Rui and Seiichi was hilarious. And perfectly placed genre-savviness.
Overall, this was good. It was sort of hit or miss, but when it hit, it was great. And I never got tired of the art style (though admittedly in large part because it reminded me so much of Words Bubble Up Like Soda Pop).
<So I'm a Spider So What?> volumes 1 & 2
Still deep in what was covered in the anime adaptation so no real surprises, but it's been fun revisiting that world and getting to see it in even more detail.
That Starting On Hard Mode thing seems weirdly fascinating - like it's so ridiculously awful that it's some sort of massive troll or a really well-disguised Swiftian satire or something.
Already finished, might be my number one: An Observation Log of My Fiancée Who Calls Herself a Villainess Sweet and funny and goofy and charming and a pure pleasure from start to finish. Bertia is easily my favorite character of the season.
Not finished but might end up my number one: My Ribdiculous Reincarnation (and that's the first time I've actually written out that godawful localized title and will also be the last) Bizarre and hilarious and stylistically unique. Went from having no recognizable plot to speak of to having a "fate of the universe(s) hangs in the balance" plot and the final episode is potentially going to be epic, silly, charming, stupid and laugh-out-loud funny, all at the same time.
Not finished but has an outside chance to end up my number one: The Ramparts of Ice - very impressive look at miscommunication that worked by regularly switching the point of view between the four main characters, so we got to see first hand the (often significant) differences between the ways that different characters saw each other and the things that happened between them. The only problem is that there seems to be far too much story still left for this final episode to be really momentous.
Not finished but has an even more outside chance to end up my number one - Even a Replica Can Fall in Love Intriguing and original, and with a demonstrated history of going along seemingly relatively sedately for a few episodes, then hitting us with an astonishing gut punch (and in fact the second time they did that - I can still see the scene in my mind's eye, and I don't think I'll ever forget it - it was that impressive). It's now been going along for the last few episodes relatively sedately, so there's no telling what might happen in this last episode.
Seems like it might end up my number one, but I dropped it right at the beginning of the season so I could binge it later so I don't know yet: Witch Hat Atelier
Notable but not in the running for number one: Nippon Sangoku and Needy Girl Overdose Both creative and interesting and generally well done, but with too many flaws to make the top of the list.
I think I'm going to have to watch this all the way through again at some point, because it strikes me that the pacing issues that bothered me earlier in the series are pretty much gone at this point. This episode in particular, though it covered some really significant and emotionally charged events, kept to a good pace pretty much all the way through.
I suspect that watched straight through and taken as a whole, the middle parts, where the pacing seemed to switch back and forth from slow to fast too erratically, might actually fit in as a transition between the relatively slow beginning and the much faster paced ending.
Hanasaku Iroha is wonderful.
Surprisingly low key episode, and I was okay with that. I've never been much of a fan of weddings, either real or fictional - they're sort of boring for anyone who's not directly involved. But it was just nice to watch Bertia's dreams come true.
I really enjoyed this overall. It didn't push any boundaries or anything, but it was solidly entertaining all the way through, and Cecil and Bertia (and especially Bertia) were charming characters.
And I'm still vaguely hoping to see an account of Heronia in exile, redeeming herself and reuniting with Pii-chan.
It's almost as if there's been too much progress lately, so the entire main cast took a giant step back.
Is this...? (off to do a web search...)
Yes! It's the one with Remilia and Emi. Oh I'm looking forward to this one.
And with that, this moved up to become my favorite of the season.
And an appropriate send-off.