With the year finally come to an end, it’s time to take a glance of some of the top shows I enjoyed and share some thoughts on blogging this year as well.
Top Anime of 2021
1. Magia Record Second Season
While it seems that Shaft is facing development hell while working on the second season, so much to split the last 4 episodes in a separate season, the second half didn’t disappoint. It’s nice to see Yachiyo and Kuroe help snap Iroha from her dream that her droppel created. Also, the scenes and fights are done very well.
Of course, we learn the horrible fate of magical girls who use their droppel a bit too much, which seems darker than the game. Also, Tsuruno reveals the struggles she faces. Also, it’s nice to see more development of Kuroe, who is looking for a sense of belonging with Iroha and her friends. As expected, she faces her own struggles as seen in the last episode. I guess we’ll find out more once the final part finally airs this spring, providing there is no more delays.
2. Uma Musume Second Season
Compared to the prequel, the story feels a bit more substantial as it focuses on the friendly rivalry with McQueen and Teio. Of course, Rice Shower is a precious, but important side character who is trying to overcome her bad reputation of snatching records away from other horse girls. Not to mention, she has a crush on Mihono Bourbon, the horse girl she took her victory from.
While the animation is rough in a few episodes compared to the first season, the story was very interesting. It has it’s up and downs as Teio faces her own difficulties of achieving goals as her injuries. Regardless, McQueen gives her a reason to keep trying, although she ultimately faces a similar fate. While this ultimately leads to the downfall of McQueen and Gold Ship pairing, I guess Teio and McQueen it is.
3. Super Cub
Who would have known that an iyashikei show focusing on schoolgirls doing activities on motor bikes can be this enjoyable? It’s nice to see how Koguma, who is a girl that has nothing buying a motor bike that changes her life. Not only she discovers the joys of riding it, but she also eventually made friends and done things she wouldn’t have thought of. As expected, the characters are enjoyable along with the nice scenery of course. Also, Shii is a precious cinnamon bun.
4. Love Live Superstar
As expected, the fourth installment in the Love Live franchise is enjoyable as always, I feel that with the cast being smaller compared to previous installments, it allowed each girl to have some nice character development. Also, the songs and characters are enjoyable and surprisingly I bought some of their songs. This is something I didn’t do as I do not usually listen to Love Live music. The music doesn’t disappoint. Of course, I kind of like Keke since her character is Chinese for obvious reasons. While the mention of saving the school again made me shuttered, but at least that plot line didn’t drag on for long.
5. Kobayashi-san Chi no Maid Dragon S
While it’s a long time in the making, the second season of Kobayashi-san Chi no Maid Dragon didn’t disappoint. Sure, there is more emphasis on the side characters, particularly Ilulu. Even so, it’s nice to see more Kanna and Riko development. Not to mention, seeing Chloe thrown into the mix is a nice addition. Hopefully she will show up again at some point. Even so, it’s nice to learn more about the relationship Tohru had with Elma in the past.
Honorable Mentions
- Selection Project
- Jahy-sama wa Kujikenai
- Shiroi Suna no Aquatope
- Yuru Camp
- Slime Taoshite 300-nen Shiranai Uchi ni Level Max ni Nattemashita
Year in Review
Sure, 2021 is still a mixed year as the pandemic continues for the second year, it was a better year compared to 2020. That is not saying much since 2020 was a bad year, especially given how many lives were lost and productions got delayed.
This year, things has sprung back as it appears that anime productions are back in full force. With that, one can see this with how many blog posts I wrote along with the number of comments received. Yes, this year was one of the best years we had in a long time, since 2015. My hope is that I can continue to engage with my readers and grow my audience. Of course, this doesn’t mean that WordPress Likes are coming back since they are not. I think they are toxic, and spammers abuse it. We replaced it with the reactions system, which allows users to react to posts, but not allow spammers to abuse it.
While I got vaccinated in the earlier half of this year and received my booster recently, it’s still too dangerous to attend events or even do things like eating in restaurants. I didn’t even bother attending Otakon due to lack of guests and not wanting to catch Covid-19. Yes, you don’t want to catch it as there is the risk of getting long Covid, which can ruin your life. However, I was able to visit my parents more since I feel safer with the vaccines and masking up everywhere. I recently upgraded to N95 masks opposed to double masking.
With Omicron spreading at a rapid pace, although less severe than Delta, I feel that we aren’t going back to normal anytime soon. I am still not sure if I will attend Otakon next year, but it will depend on if there are any guests and the trajectory of the pandemic. After all, things can change in eight months or so. This is also a reason I am holding off on other life goals such as finding a significant partner due to the pandemic. I just don’t want to meet other people in person and potentially catch the virus.
While I am still stuck working at home, I started to buy some Seiyuu life performance blu-rays. Sure, my Japanese listening comprehension can use a bit more work. However, it’s nice to experience their live performances from Minase Inori, Kitou Akari, and TrySail. I know that it will be a while before I can understand what they are saying. Even so, I still enjoy their singing. I guess once I progress further in Wanikani, I will become able to understand more words and kanji without having to look up words so often.
Not only that, but I also finally made some major tech upgrades. This includes building a new storage server, upgrading my 2018 MacBook Pro 15” to the new M1 Pro 16” MacBook Pro, and replacing the aging 2016 9.8 iPad Pro with an M1 iPad Pro 11”, which complements my 2018 iPad Pro 11”. Now I can do other things while I play gacha games on my 2018. Yes, I am becoming like Ibarada Ena multitasking video games. Since I did most of the tech upgrades this year, I won’t be doing that many next year.
With that, I hope 2022 will become a better year. Of course, I have some plans in store for the future. Aside from that, feel free to share your favorite shows this year has to offer in the comments.
Leave a Reply