Anime

5/5 - Apothecary Diaries - wow, the last few episodes have been perfect. The characters are the strongest part of the story and the anime is doing a great job of reflecting their depth.

5/5 - Frieren - I was a little disappointed in the first part of the exam, but now that the new characters are more established, I’m enjoying the second part.

4/5 - 7th time loop - I really enjoyed the light novel and this adaptation seems excellent. The writing is not to the level of Apothecary Diaries, but well above average for light novels. Strong characters and a good use of the past lives gimmick. I especially like how Rishe has to adapt to changes from the past timeline and cannot just trust her past knowledge to work outright.

4/5 - Weakest Tamer - the story is low and deliberate but somehow I’m not getting bored. I think it does a good job of making the mundane meaningful to the characters.

4/5 - Villainess 99 - another good adaptation. The anime does a good job of showing what a lovable dork Yumiella can be.

4/5 - Solo leveling - I’m a sucker for rpg elements in stories, so this has been fun so far. Pacing is a bit slow for my tastes, especially with some of the forced cliffhangers, but that is getting better.

4/5 - Shanghai-La Frontier - still enjoying this one, the last arc has been good, just far to long. Almost feels like this one would be better with hour long episodes.

3/5 - Tsukimichi - the hero focus episodes were annoying (but understandably necessary) and the season started slow, but it is now reminding me of all I liked in the first season and thankfully seems to have escaped the season two curse that ruined a lot of other anime…

3/5 - Sasaki and Peeps - picked this one up recently and really enjoying the goofy randomness.

3/5 Instant Death - seems like a good adaptation. The story was so crazy that seeing it animated makes it somewhat more sensible. And seeing proud, OP, characters get effortlessly killed of never gets old, at least not in this story…

3/5 - Fluffy Paradise - I did not expect much from this one, but it has been fun so far. Still concerned about the whole monster ranch concept though

Close to dropping:

Demon prince of Momochi house - I like the yokai, house stuff. But overall am about 50/50 on this one.

Wrong way to use healing magic - I wanted to like this one but nothing about it is compelling to me.

On hold: Sengoku, and Torture Princess - I watched the first episode of both, but have not felt compelled to continue

Dropped:

Strongest Tank - I wanted to like this one but no. Far too much fetish/harem material for far to little plot.

To watch: Dangers in my heart - enjoyed the first season, but not sure I finished it. Hopefully it gets less repetitive

Brave Bang Bravern - I’ve seen this one talked up a lot

Banished from the hero’s party - I watched the first season, so I guess I should check it out…

Unwanted undead adventurer - another that seems to have a positive buzz