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Pretty sure Ooya just exploded somewhere off screen when he called himself her boyfriend.

First reaction: It's back! Yes!

Second reaction: What the hell was happening again? Who are all these people?

It took a bit of rereading, but I think I am back again. This arc has introduced a ton of new characters all at once; not that different than what happened during the mage exam arc.

Nothing so far about this series is really reinventing the wheel, but it's just so darn cute that I don't really mind. Thinking about it, Kubo was similar in that regard. I really enjoyed the manga, but I found the anime quite dull most of the time.

We got a One Punch Man style serious face from Jelly this chapter. Also, this juxtaposition killed me:

That face doesn't really give me will to fight vibes.

Some nice space trivia this chapter in addition to the normal dose of sweetness. It's these kinds of problems that would likely cause issues for long trips.

This chapter is sweeter than the ice cream.

RIP Bladehorn. You were too cool to be allowed continued existence. It's basic shonen power rules, nobody is allowed to be cooler than the MC.

Some early impressions of the season:

• City the Animation - Fantastic so far. The production quality is off the charts and the humor is connecting for me. Nichijou is my go-to feelgood anime, so this show never fails to make me feel good as well.
• Silent Witch - This adaptation has been better than I could have hoped for. Monica is a lot of fun as a main character and Nero is a great supporting cat. Also, by far my favorite villainess of this season.
• Vending Machine - I have enjoyed season 2 so far, but I feel like the pacing is pretty slow. I remember reading that there wasn't much left of the source after the first season, so perhaps they are stretching what little there is over the whole cour.
• Mikadono Sisters - I have read/watched lots of harem shows and this one is not bad. The MC is actually likeable and the three sisters are all meaningfully distinct from one another.
• 7th Prince - The production of this show continues to impress. I know many are likely to get turned off by Lloyd's character design, outfits, camera angles, all of it really...but if you can look past that, the animation in this show really goes off when it wants to.
• New Saga - I have ended up liking this more than I thought I would. I didn't remember the beginning of the story too well since it had been so long since I read the manga. It has kept me watching so far. I don't think they are making it the whole way through the story this season, but I have feelings about the story's ending, so I will probably drop this at some point.
• Dan Da Dan - Season 2 has been fine for me, but one thing in particular has been excellent. The animation of Jiji in the fights the past two episodes has been stellar. I absolutely love the way they have animated him and his abilities. I just want more of Jiji kicking a ball around, is that too much to ask? I think we know where all the frames for Blue Lock ended up now, Dan Da Dan stole them.

I want to acknowledge a couple series that I have really enjoyed this past week.

• Sometimes Even Reality Is a Lie!

The romance progression in this series has delivered so well. There was a big thing in the most recent batch of chapters and I am really excited about it. This started out as a really silly series about a shy girl and a cross-dressing guy and has turned into one hell of a nice romance.

• The World’s Strongest Witch

Rona is a treasure and this series keeps delivering. Thinking about it, this is a bit of an inversion of the cookie-cutter isekai. Instead of a gamer getting transported into a fantasy world and projecting their gamer sensibilities onto the fantasy world, this series has a fantasy world resident be exposed to the gamer forum culture of the internet and interpret that through her fantasy point of view.

• If the Villainess and Villain Met and Fell in Love

I caught up with this series this past week and have enjoyed it a lot. It's a slow burn on the romance front, but it has an interesting world that it has built. I find myself enjoying the romance aspect, but I often just want to learn more about how spirits and magic works in this world.

Ichinose is finding out that combining Himemiya with the innocence of Nagisa is surprisingly powerful.

I always enjoy when Grey leans into his villainous aesthetic.

Classic fireworks, exploding at the exact wrong time.