Fall 2016 Season Wrap

Let us all breathe a sigh of relief that I have finally finished the fall anime! Thanks to my three-week honeymoon and a terrible throat infection/fever, I had a lot of catching up to do after returning home. There were a ton of wonderful shows this past fall that I was almost sorry to complete. 2016 as a whole was actually a great year for anime, and the fall season capped it beautifully. I hope you enjoyed the season and year as much as I did, and that you’ll share with me your thoughts and personal favorites!

• Bungou Stray Dogs 2nd Season
• Days (TV)
• Fune wo Amu
• Gi(a)rlish Number
• Haikyuu!!: Karasuno Koukou VS Shiratorizawa Gakuen Koukou
• Hibike! Euphonium 2
• Keijo!!!!!!!!
• Magic-Kyun! Renaissance
• Natsume Yuujinchou Go
• Shakunetsu no Takkyuu Musume
• Shuumatsu no Izetta
• Udon no Kuni no Kiniro Kemari
• ViVid Strike!
• Watashi ga Motete Dousunda
• WWW.Working!!
• YURI!!! on ICE

12 Days of Anime – #10 Joys in Parenting

I’ve stated over and over again to my family and friends how I am not a fan of children, and how they are not fans of me. There are some notable exceptions–like my friend’s kid who quietly ate his weight in oysters at my wedding and grinned the entire time, and my cousin’s two adorable ginger children–but the vast majority receive a pass in my book. But! Anime has this strange ability to turn almost everything into something cute, lovable, and almost desirable–including kids.

There are two special shows that aired this past year that toppled my misgivings about children and brought me to laughs and tears almost every episode. I’m speaking of course of Amaama to Inazuma and Udon no Kuni no Kin’iro Kemari, both of which feature a father or father-figure with children. They both also happily use food as a starting platform to their stories. I would gladly spend a year with each of these families if given the opportunity!

Fall 2016 Set Menu

Here comes my favorite season, with its cooler weather perfect for cozy hats, mittens, and scarves and its turning colors of purple, red, and yellow. This season is also when I start craving soups and stews, and my hot beverage intake skyrockets. We also have our fair share of rainy weekends leading up to the winter months, so that hopefully means plenty of time for anime and gaming.

Right now, KWoo and I are working our way through the final portions of the PS3 version of Tales of Graces F. I had played it several years ago, but never finished it. He’s liking it much more than Tales of Symphonia, which we completed earlier this year. I actually found a rough draft for my initial review of Graces F, so I’m hoping that I’ll have the time this second play through to actually write about it.

But back to this season’s choices in anime. As usual, this “set menu” is subject to change as the weeks progress. For now, this is what I have chosen:

• 3-gatsu no Lion
• All Out!!
• Bungou Stray Dogs 2nd Season
• ClassicaLoid
• Gi(a)rlish Number
• Haikyuu!!: Karasuno Koukou VS Shiratorizawa Gakuen Koukou
• Hibike! Euphonium 2
• Keijo!!!!!!!!
• Long Riders!
• Magic-Kyun! Renaissance
• Mobile Suit Gundam: Iron-Blooded Orphans 2nd Season
• Natsume Yuujinchou Go
• Occultic;Nine
• Shakunetsu no Takkyuu Musume
• Shuumatsu no Izetta
• Stella no Mahou
• Udon no Kuni no Kiniro Kemari
• Watashi ga Motete Dousunda
• WWW.Working!!
• Yuri!! on Ice