Karen's Anime Blog

Many moons ago, on a different website, I used to do anime blogging. Recently I took a couple of years off from not just blogging, but from anime as well. I did watch Frieren, and one or two episodes here and there of whatever my husband was watching, but I was totally checked out of the whole seasonal anime culture. That changed this Spring, when I suddenly had a strong urge to watch anime again. Break over!

On the whole I thought it was a really good season, with several shows surprising me with their writing and animation quality. Before diving into Summer 2025, I thought I’d do a little roundup of what I watched last season.

Apothecary Diaries, Season Two- I held off on starting this show for a little while because– and I’m ashamed to admit this– I thought the title sounded boring. Little did I know that Maomao was going to become one of my favorite anime characters of all time, and perhaps one of the all-time greats in fiction in general. This historical fiction, featuring a whip-smart young girl named Maomao that solves medical mysteries (kind of like “House M.D. in Tang Dynasty China”) is phenomenally clever, and often surprisingly poignant. It’s also unique for it’s positive portrayal of sex workers, given that Maomao grew up in a brothel; the show does show the dark side of that realm, but the courtesans and concubines are depicted as fully fleshed out characters, with their own hopes and dreams. As of this writing, there’s only one episode left of the season, and I really hope we get an S3 announcement sooner rather than later.

Food for the Soul- I love food anime and I often enjoy Cute Girls Doing Cute Things (CGDCT) anime, so picking this up was a no-brainer. Yes, it is pandering to viewers who want to watch cute anime girls bop around on screen, but it’s also a really relaxing show with likable characters. Director Shinya Kawatsura proved his ability to wrangle a full cast of eccentric girls with the fan-favorite Non Non Biyori, and everything about this anime original is on-point. As is necessary for a food show, the dishes they make look delicious. In theory, you could take the recipes from this show and whip up some really nice food, but I’m too lazy to do that. Maybe if FFTS gets a second season I’ll whip out a saucepan and get cracking, but don’t hold me to that….

Mono, Weekend Animation- The other main CGDCT anime of the season, Mono is a bit of a strange bird. It starts out being about a high school photography and film club, then seems to forget about it’s own premise during episodes 3-11.; the girls travel around Japan, eat curry and shaved ice, and basically just goof off, aided by some adult friends that can drive. Then in episode 12, the writers go “Oh crap, we totally forgot this was supposed to be about filming and photography!” and have the girls make a little movie at the last minute. I know some people would have enjoyed this show more if it had stuck to its initial premise, but I kind of enjoyed the randomness of it. On top of everything else Mono has going on, the animation was often breathtaking. I definitely wouldn’t say no to another season of this, even if the show forgets what it’s supposed to be about again.

WitchWatch- Great urban fantasy tale featuring witches, ogres and all kinds of other beasties in a modern-day setting. What I love about WitchWatch is that the witch, Nico, isn’t hiding her magic powers; she lets her whole class know about what she is, from the very beginning. And because they’re all positively stand-up guys and gals, no one goes to social media and posts about the actual, honest-to-God witch in their class, because they respect her privacy. So we get to have the fun of the whole class dealing with the existence of magic, without all of the logistical nightmares that would occur if someone with real magical powers ever “came out” publicly. I like the fact that the show had the confidence to say “Yeah, this is not realistically how people would act; we don’t care.” Plus, ogre-dude Moi is adorable and one of my favorite male protagonists. I will say, as the show continues into its second cour, watching Nico’s magic backfire is starting to get old, but the writers have proved themselves smart enough that I trust the show will continue to be worthwhile.

Zatsutabi “That’s Journey”- Oh look, it’s another CGDCT show. This one, with it’s adorably Engrish title, focuses more on travel, with less goofy hijinks than Mono. In fact, it’s so focused on travel that it sometimes seems like a fluff piece for the Japanese Tourism Association or something to that effect. It’s very low-drama; the most exciting thing that happens is newbie manga artist Chika’s drafts often get rejected. How an inexperienced comic artist and college student can afford to take all the lavish trips on this show, I could not tell you, but I guess Chika’s finances are her own business. This show is just soothing; I actually fell asleep once while watching it. I know that doesn’t sound like much of a recommendation, but having a show that really calms you down is pretty nice.

Anne Shirley- I never read Anne of Green Gables, which is weird since, as a kid, I read an awful lot in the genre of “Classic children’s literature taking place far in the past where the title is always a girl’s name.” I think I must have read Caddie Woodlawn eight times, but whatever. Anne Shirley is actually the second anime adaptation of AOGG, and though I haven’t seen the original one from the 1970s, its supposedly well-regarded enough that this interpretation has big shoes to fill. People who’ve read the books by Lucy Maud Montgomery have complained that this show is paced too fast, but as someone unfamiliar with the source material, the tempo feels perfect to me; I think there would be a danger of it dragging if they went any slower. Anne is a great character and it’s fun watching her grow in leaps and bounds as the show goes on. I plan to continue watching the show’s second cour during the summer season.

Catch Her At the Ballpark- I’ve seen the whole show and I’m not sure if it’s supposed to be “Catch Her at the Ballpark” or “Catcher at the Ballpark,” but the first one makes more sense so I’m going with that. This is a really cute slice-of-life anime that follows the mild adventures of many characters who frequent a baseball stadium, from the players to the beer vendors. What’s amazing about it is that even though the stakes are usually low and the characters introduced can feel somewhat random, every character’s story feels like it matters and like it belongs; I never found myself waiting for one vignette to be over so we could move onto the next one. That’s really hard to pull off with a slice-of-life show, especially when it has a mark against it by virtue of being about a sport I don’t even find interesting. I loved main girl Ruriko and I hope she gets together with the salaryman who has a crush on her, I don’t EVEN CARE that there’s probably a ten-year age difference there. Let me want what I want.

Rock is a Lady’s Modesty- Anime music shows are always good, aren’t they? Bocchi the Rock was good, given was good, Euphonium was amazing, etc. Even K-ON! was pretty darned good, moe-filled and all. If there’s a bad anime music show, I have yet to see it. Rock Lady features a rock band, veering into metalhead territory, made up of classy ladies who attend a prestigious academy for privileged young rich girls. The contrast between the afternoon-tea-and-crumpets aesthetic and the “FUCK YEAH!” rocker mentality is very entertaining, and made me think about the real meaning being rock music, which has a kind of unwritten code of conduct that really clashes with the pomposity of the upper class lifestyle. The scenes where the girls play their instruments are clearly using CGI models, but it looks good for once. The ending pulls something very predictable, but you know what? Not every story needs to reinvent the wheel. The show gave me exactly what I wanted from the last episode, and that’s rare. Main girl Lilisa’s hair is ridiculous though, even by anime standards.

Aharen-san wa Hakarenai, Season Two- I actually haven’t finished this one yet; husband and I are watching it together and we get few opportunities with the living room to ourselves without the 9-year-old being around and/or monopolizing the TV. But it’s a really great romcom where the two leads are actually dating (SHOCK!) and the jokes usually land.

****EDIT***I forgot one! Whoops….

The Gorilla God’s Go-To Girl- This started out really fun, watching the meek and timid Sophia learn to use the mighty powers bestowed on her by the mysterious Gorilla God. After a few episodes, it transitioned into more of a reverse-harem and never quite made it all the way back. The character interactions were okay, but what was really special about the show was watching Sophia cut loose with her new powers, complete with adorable animations of the Gorilla god “looking on.” Like Mono, it’s a show that kind of became a different show, only in this case I really liked the first one better. Also, they kind of ruined the villain by making him such an incredible hypocrite that it was impossible to have any sympathy for him, which his wah-wah sad backstory seemed to invite.