What Minty’s Watching~ — Getting Back Into Anime

Hi friendsssss~ Thought I’d squeeze in a quick post here~ Been a while since I’ve done a list of what I’ve been watching anyway~ While we are known as the Otaku Gamers and the main focus had been on anime and manga, we clearly haven’t covered it much lately. Especially anime. The bros and Lauren have been busy cuz they got actual lives and jobs. Mine is more flexible since it’s my family’s business. So that’s why y’all mostly see me posting. But yeah, as y’all know…anime is not really my expertise. I’ve only read a handful of Japanese manga over the years too. Because my focus and expertise have been more with Korean manhwa and novels. Hence why y’all see me post about that and leave anime stuff to the bros and Lauren. Don’t get me wrong though, I still love anime and Japanese manga. It’s just that I haven’t had as many series that really stuck with me. And to be fair, I honestly don’t do a lot of watching these days. I read more than I watch things. Just cuz it’s more flexible for me. It’s hard for me to find the time to sit and watch things, and I can read things much faster. I do always put things on my to-watch list, but never get around to it. Pretty sure I have stuff going back to like 3-4 years. But yeah, I actually haven’t really watched anime in yeaaaaaars. Not counting during my recent vacation where my sis and her boyfriend had me watch some One Piece episodes with them (when you don’t watch an anime series and get randomly thrown in the middle of the series, and you’re like “???” lol). The last anime I watched was probably like the first 2 episodes of Horimiya when it first dropped. Just those 2 episodes too, cuz BAYOG and friends were just chilling and watching it together on Discord. Before that, the last anime series that I watched (and still never got around to finishing) were Cells At Work! and [Kemono Michi]… Again, my priority had been more with dramas, but I haven’t been watching many of those lately either. I’ve finally made some time to watch some anime though~ Some that I had been expecting, and super excited for~ And another series that I randomly picked up and just ended up loving~ So yeah, I figured I’d share what little I have on my current watchlist~ I’ll touch my past watchlist items later… This post is just more like a short and brief first impressions post though. I’ll probably get around to doing a full dedicated post for each series…eventually… (I say that, but watch it be like 4 months later lmao)

---

彼女が公爵邸に行った理由 | Why Raeliana ended Up at the Duke’s Mansion

Alternatively known as: 그녀가 공작저로 가야 했던 사정, The Reason Why Raeliana Ended Up at the Duke’s Mansion
Genre: Romance, Fantasy, Drama, Isekai, Shoujo/Josei
Vibe: Some romance and drama with a bit of comedy
Watch (Simulcast): [Crunchyroll] | Japanese Audio & English Dub, English Sub
Source Material: [Korean Manhwa (Official English Release)] | [Korean Novel (Official English Release]

Living inside a fairy tale may sound like a dream, but for this heroine, it’s more of a nightmare. After her mysterious death, Rinko is reborn as Raeliana—a loved and wealthy character in a novel. But she knows the ending: her murder at the hands of her fiancé. So, she hatches a plan to stay alive, one that involves a devilish duke and a phony engagement. Can she rewrite her story?

Synopsis | [Crunchyroll]

If y’all didn’t know, this is a Japanese anime adaptation of a Korean manhwa series called 그녀가 공작저로 가야 했던 사정 (The Reason Why Raeliana Ended Up at the Duke’s Mansion/Why Raeliana ended Up at the Duke’s Mansion). The official English version of the Korean manhwa can be found on [Tappytoon]. The official English version of the webnovel can also be found on [Tappytoon]. The original manhwa was probably one of the most well-known Korean romance fantasy and isekai series. It’s also probably one of the first of those series to define and gain popularity of Korean romance fantasy manhwa series. The original manhwa/webtoon dropped back in September 2017. I don’t remember exactly when Tappytoon officially released it in English. I can say that it (along with many Korean manhwa series of the same genre) definitely gained a lot of interest from English readers around the start of the pandemic. I’m pretty sure I started reading it before the pandemic, but definitely got more into it during the pandemic. To me, it’s one of the classics and a staple of Korean romance fantasy series. So yes, this is one of my favorite series. Not only was it one of my first Korean romance fantasy series, it was also one of the first isekai series I got into and liked (prior to the pandemic, isekai series weren’t my thing). One of the reasons why I loved this series so much is that Raeliana is legitimately a smart and proactive female lead. I love that she uses her brains and isn’t afraid to do what she has to. She’s pretty bad ass with shooting and everything too. So yeah, I was excited when I heard there would be an animation adaptation.

However, I was also a little concerned. Because, again, this was originally a Korean series. However, it was going to be a Japanese animation adaptation. So there would be some changes, aside from the usual changes a series might go through due to getting an adaptation. I was just worried that it would get changed too much or that things would get lost in translation. Also, it hadn’t really been a huge concern at first. However, I kinda started getting concerned when news and teasers of another Korean manhwa to Japanese anime adaptation dropped. 외과의사 엘리제/Doctor Elise: The Royal Lady with the Lamp (aka Doctor Elise: Queen of the Scalpel) is another Korean romance-fantasy/isekai series slated for a Japanese anime adaptation. However, the teasers were kinda concerning for me… The character design in the teaser looked vastly different. It was almost unrecognizable to the original, and just looked kinda odd… I definitely didn’t really love the design that was teased for the anime… So yeah, I was like, “Please, please, don’t do that to Raeliana…” Fortunately, the character design is pretty much the same as the manhwa. If not a bit… “cleaner”. Nothing wrong with the original, it’s stunning. It’s just that sometimes the line work for the original gives me sketching type of vibes, if that makes sense?

Shout out to Marc (@cmdrcluckcluck) for letting me borrow his Crunchyroll account to watch it~ But yeah, I finally got around to starting it earlier this week. I do love it. Again, pleased that the adaptation does look like the source material~ It’s also really pretty~ I think the story portrayed in the anime also followed the source pretty well too! Although, it has been a while since I started the manhwa. So my memory is kinda fuzzy. But yeah, it actually made me want to start from the beginning and reread the whole manhwa again~ Although, I will say that the CGI was kinda…wonky at times. I think in one of the latest episodes, Raeliana and Noah were at some kind of ball. The dancing scene with them was beautiful. However… the copy & pasted dancing extras in the background were so freaking weird to me. Cuz it’s like generic, not detailed background characters dancing. But each couple is the same design, just different colors. And they were all moving exactly in sync. So it just looked stiff, lifeless, and very mechanic. Overall, kinda weird to me. Like maybe it wouldn’t have looked as weird if they drew the ladies to have different hairstyles and hair colors at least. Also, I don’t think I’m a fan of the OST for the anime series. The opening OST just didn’t seem to fit the vibe of the series, in my opinion. Like aesthetically, the anime is gorgeous. The ambient background music with classical instruments and everything perfectly fits the setting and genre. The ending OST, [“Always and Forever” by Serra], is fine though. It’s like a soft ballad type of track and can fit pretty well with the story and genre. But the opening OST, [“Survive”], was so odd to me. It’s a great song, and I do like the song itself. It also turns out that it’s by MindaRyn, who is a Thai YouTuber. WOO~ Thailand represent! However, I just felt like her song didn’t really fit the vibe of series. Like, I love rock music. Y’all know that, and y’all know I am a big fan of [Japanese rock music]. I just feel like the rock vibe here didn’t really fit the image or vibe of a historical romance fantasy series. But maybe that’s just me *shrug*. Anyway, I’m looking forward to continuing the anime. I’m also definitely gonna go back and reread the whole manhwa cuz I do want to do a more in-depth comparison…eventually.

山田くんとLv999の恋をする | My Love Story with Yamada-kun at Lv999

Alternatively known as: Loving Yamada-kun at Lv999!, Yamada-kun to Lv999 no Koi wo Suru!
Genres: Romance, Comedy, Slice of Life, Shoujo
Vibe: Chill romance with comedy and a dash of gaming geekiness
Watch (Simulcast): [Crunchyroll] | Japanese Audio, English Sub
Source Material: [Japanese Manga (Official English Release)]

Akane Kinoshita, a female college student, faces the absolute worst situation when she ends up breaking up with her boyfriend after he has an affair with a woman he met playing an online game. While relieving her stress by rampaging through the open hunting grounds of an online game, Akane spills everything about her heartbreak to “Yamada”, a player she met by chance who happens to be in the same guild. “I don’t care,” is his curt reply. But when Akane gets a makeover and joins an offline event to get back at her ex-boyfriend, she hears those dreadful words again. And that was Akane’s fateful encounter with “Yamada”─！

Synopsis | [Crunchyroll]

This was another one that I had been anticipating since it’s release. I remember reading the manga ever since it was first released. I instantly loved it. Plus I love little geeky romances. Although I’m not as big into gaming as the rest of BAYOG, I do enjoy my video games. Back in the day, I spent a lot of time playing Diablo III with them when I first started gaming too. So I really related to Akane. I’m that clueless IDK-What-I’m-Doing noob gamer. I always had to rely on my friends to carry and guide me lol So I loved the gaming references and everything. So yeah, the manga was one of my favorite manga series over the recent years, and it’s one I tried to consistently keep up with. Although, I do probably need to reread to refresh my memory. But I thought this was a great adaptation. Again, I love that the anime translated the original manga designs really well. I also thought it did a great job of portraying the manga (that I could remember). I also actually did like the opening and ending OST. I thought both looks of the animated OP and ED, as well as the music itself, fit the series really well~ This is definitely one I’ll continue to watch~ Super excited, and I wanna see how far into the story the anime gets into.

スキップとローファー | Skip and Loafer

Alternatively known as: Skip to Loafer, Sukippu to Rōfā
Genres: Romance, Comedy, Slice of Life, Seinen, Shoujo
Vibe: Sweet, Cute, Fluffy, Funny
Watch (Simulcast): [Crunchyroll] | Japanese Audio & English Dub, English Sub
Source Material: [Japanese Manga (Official English Release)]

This country girl is ready for the big city! Well, at least she thought she was. Mitsumi’s dream is to attend a prestigious school and make the world a better place. But when she finally gets to Tokyo, it turns out she isn’t exactly prepared for city life. Luckily, she runs into Shima, a sweet and handsome classmate who becomes her first friend! Can she make it in Tokyo with Shima by her side?

Synopsis | [Crunchyroll]

This was a series I was not familiar with. I had not read the manga or anything. Although I did see people post about it here and there on Twitter and other places. It was the whole shoujo/josei vs seinen debate. I won’t really say much about it. But I just labeled it as both. On Wikipedia and things, it’s listed as seinen. However, Crunchyroll does label it as shoujo. I feel like it can be either. All I know is it’s a cute romance. But yeah, back into it… I saw a clip of it on TikTok. It looked cute and my kinda vibe (cutesy and lighthearted). So since I had this week off, I thought I’d add it to my watch list. I instantly loved it. In a way, it kinda reminds me of one of my all-time favorite series, Kimi ni Todoke. Mitsumi somewhat gives me the same vibes as Sawako. Kinda socially awkward, accidentally scaring people, but is actually incredibly pure and sweet, and someone you can’t help but love. Anyway, I loved the cute and lighthearted vibe. I also could relate to Mitsumi. Cuz I’m kinda socially awkward, and I’m also constantly anxious and overthinking AF. Although, I’m not a crazy hardworker like her or have insane goals like she does. However, I also had a hard time adjusting to new places at first, but ultimately ended up making wonderful friends. Shoutout to all my friends from college, like my besties and BAYOG~ It’s also such a great message too. About not really judging people or expecting things solely based on their appearances. It also is great at showing different complexes and struggles people may be going through. I love that it’s cute and funny, but not overly cringe. Over recent years I kinda struggle with these high school campus setting type of stories. Just cuz I’m older, and it feels a bit harder for me to relate to. But also, I sometimes find them to be extremely cringe. But it’s the case here. There are some moments it’s a little cringey, but it’s in a cute and endearing way that doesn’t bug me at all. So yeah, love this series, and will definitely continue it. If I have free time, I also want to read the original manga too~ Also, I really love the opening and ending OST for this one too! It fits the image and vibe of the series so well! The opening is definitely my favorite~ Out of all the series I’m watching now, I’d say the OP & ED OST for this series are my favorite~

I will say, that the series also had me in my feels in the first 1-2 episodes. It’s a part where Mitsumi kinda feels awkward and down when joining classmates at a karaoke place. Yet right at that moment, her best friend Fumi happens to call her. She also is able to immediately sense that Mitsumi is down and having a hard time. So she comforts her and encourages her. It’s this really sweet and wholesome, almost to the point of being telepathic, friendship. I immediately started crying. Cuz this was very reminiscent of me and my bestie, Bre. We’ve been friends for nearly 13 years now. We met in college, and became roommates and besties. We even went to Japan together, where I even helped with the planning of her surprise engagement. Lots of fun memories~ Yet, we were also constantly very far apart. Like, I was on the east coast, and she would be on the west coast. Even now, we’re still states apart. Although she has moved closer to my hometown. So now we can hang out whenever I’m back in Florida. But our entire friendship has mostly been with a lot of physical distance apart. We’re also not one of those besties that constantly talk to one another. But we’ve always remained very close. We also kinda telepathically know when to hit each other up when we’re down or need support. So yeah, I love Mistumi’s friendship with Fumi. Cuz it’s very reminiscent of me and Bre haha. Even back in college, if one was sick, the other would make tea and get food to help the sick one get better. Or if one was down, we’d do something we’d enjoy. Be it going out to the theme parks, going out to eat, or just cooking or gaming while chilling at home. Funny enough, I instantly messaged her about it. She was like, “I miss you!! I also love that series too!!” haha~ So yeah, I’m glad this is another thing to add to the list of things we can enjoy together~

---

Anyway, that’s it~ It’s kind of nice to get back into anime. Although, I think I still prefer reading over watching now. Which is odd, cuz I’m sure younger Minty liked watching anime more than reading haha. It’s kind of funny to see how much you change over the years. It’s also crazy for me to see how much anime has changed over the years. More noticeable for me since it’s been so long since I’ve watched anything. I think overall, it’s improved so much and they’re all so aesthetically stunning. Although, there are times it’s kinda trippy and weird to me. It’s usually those CGI parts that look hella weird and awkward to me lol. (Not me staring at the horses in Raeliana and thinking of comparing them to the weird hyperrealistic or creepy looking horses that look awkward in some manhwa series lmao)

Also, these are just the 3 that I’m currently watching. There are a couple more recent anime series I’ve been meaning to watch. Friends have also been kind enough to give me their accounts for whenever I do decide to watch them haha. But honestly, I’m just probably gonna save watching them when I go back to Thailand for 3 months. Cuz I’ll have plenty of time on the flights and while we’re driving around the country~ Have y’all watched any of these? What are your thoughts and opinions? Which ones do you like? What anime series have y’all been watching? Any recommendations for me?~

---