MY TOP WAIFU OF 2021 – PART 1 (FINALLY!!! AFTER SO MANY MONTHS!!!)

My Top Waifus of 2021 – Part 1

Hello my friends. Welcome to another entry of my blog.

Today, I am going to do something completely different.

What I want to do today is something I should have done four months ago, and now, since I have a bit of free time, I think I must start with these right now. For those who have read my entries for quite a long time, you know that I have another yearly tradition, and that is….

MY TOP WAIFU OF THE YEAR!!!!!

Now, since the last year we got more popular anime than in 2021, I will probably divide this section into three parts, and like last time, I will get to talk about five girls in one entry, and then five in another.

Or, on second thought… Let’s think outside the box and do six.

Having said that, let’s talk about My Top Waifu of 2021 – Part 1.

1. ERIS BOREAS GREYRAT (MUSHOKU TENSEI)

How could I NOT start with one of the most visible female protagonists of one of my favourite isekai of 2021 – Jobless Reincarnation? Don’t worry, I will include Roxy and Sylphiette eventually, but I must start big on these entries.

Eris Boreas Greyrat is the older second cousin of our main protagonist, Rudeus Greyrat, having meeting when Rudy is trying to earn money to enrol both him and Sylphiette on the Ranoa Magic Academy. And their first encounter was… very heated.

At the beginning, Eris and Rudy didn’t get along, but through Rudy;’s tutoring and resolve, she gradually starts respecting him more. And after the Mana Incident that transported both to the Demon Continent, little by little Eris grows more, from an ill-tempered girl to a brave, smart young woman… and falling in love with Rudy.

I think, during the first season of Mushoku Tensei, we are witness of so much character development, in both mind and body, in Eris Boreas. And when you see her abilities in swordsmanship, almost rivalling both her uncle, Paul Greyrat, and her master Ghislaine, you have the same expression of Rudy.

That, along her… well-endowed appearance (if you know what I mean after watching the series for too long). I personally do not consider many tsundere girls as waifu material, but in this case, I believe is fair to say that Eris Boreas has earned her place on this spot.

And one last frame before I continue.

2. SHOUKO KOMI (KOMI-SAN CAN’T COMMUNICATE)

A tagline from Komi-san can’t communicate says it all.

“An important thing to remember is, just because a person has problems communicating, doesn’t mean that person doesn’t want to communicate with others.”

Tomohito Oda

I said it once, and I will say it again. Shouko Komi is one of the most relatable characters of the manga nowadays, because she perfectly reflects a big problem that most of the people suffer on modern times – social anxiety disorder. And from the moment she meets Hitohito Tadano, we see Komi-san on her daily life trying to make 100 friends and trying to overcome her communication disorder. And her struggles are accompanied by those lovely images of her own fears.

Add that to the fact that she is a very kind, loving person, and innocent in a way, and we have a character that we want to share our days with. Furthermore, I must say that her chemistry is wonderful.

Indeed one of the most beautiful friendships in anime 2021

No wonder she was nominated as Best Girl at the Crunchyroll Anime Awards, she has everything we want on a waifu, charm, kindness, beauty, class, and a flaw that we can relate with, and that, at the end of the day, she turns into a strength.

3. MAKI ZENIN (JUJUTSU KAISEN)

Yeah. I can hear all the voices that say that they want to choose Nobara Kugisaki, the Best Girl at the recent Crunchyroll Anime Awards.

But the truth is that I grew up to love Maki even more. Because I… have a weakness for the glasses.

Art by Danieri

No, but seriously, from the moment in which Maki decided to exile herself from the Zenin household, until the arc of the Kyoto Goodwill Event, Maki has proven to be one of the most capable characters from Jujutsu Kaisen, and despite being a non-sorcerer, having to rely on her glasses, Maki is indeed a capable fighter, and proving to be a good role model for Yuji, Megumi and Nobara, and of course… Yuta (But I still haven’t watched Jujutsu Kaisen 0).

Honestly Maki’s fight against Kasumi Miwa is one of my favourite.

As well as her second fight against Mai.

In conclusion, Maki has everything to become one of the best female characters of Jujutsu Kaisen – wonderful design, excellent background, awesome abilities, and a really cool attitude, A part of me has not truly recovered to what happened to her at the Shibuya incident, but she already got my heart.

Sorry guys, but If I must pick one, I will definitely pick up Maki over Nobara. Ipso facto

HOW DARE YOU?

4. VLADILENA «LENA» MILIZÉ (86 – EIGHTY SIX)

There is something, among many other things, that Mushoku Tensei and 86: Eighty-Six have in common, both have a bunch of female characters to choose from as waifu material.

Major Vladilena Milizé, a.k.a. Lena, is a Major from the Military of the Republic of San Magnolia, a Handler of a group of soldiers, in charge of piloting the Juggernauts, big mechanised weapons that fight the Legion, an army of automatised war machines from the former Empire of Giad.

But there are two horrible truths behind this. – the first one is that the government of San Magnolia is extremely supremacist, with the Alba discriminating the Colorata. The second truth is that San Magnolia forces them to fight Legion as disposable assets rather than human beings.

Unlike other Handlers, Lena firmly disagrees with this agenda, and treats the Colorata as human beings, much to the annoyance of her peers, taking her time to knowing them better and protect them at all cost. But it is not just her compassion what makes Lena so compelling, also her gorgeous character design, her high intelligence, resolve and resourcefulness to discovering the truth.

DON’T F^%K UP WITH BLOODY REGINA

One can say that Lena is unpredictable too, but that is another element that makes her so badass. Every moment with her is a delight, even during the second cour, Lena keeps an aura of awesome and kindness that makes one of the best characters of 2021. No wonder why she was nominated as Best Girl at the Crunchyroll Anime Awards.

And now… some extra gallery to Lena. Hail Bloody Regina!!!

5. KYOUKO HORI (HORIMIYA)

I already talked a lot about Kyouko Hori-san, from HoriMiya, included her on my list of FIVE OF MY ANIME COUPLES.

You can check out the link here.

FIVE OF MY REALLY FAVOURITE COUPLES OF ANIME (VALENTINE’S DAY SPECIAL)

So this tiem I will keep it simple.

Kyouko Hori is the most beautiful and popular student at her school, but at home, she is the housekeeper, looking after her brother and keeping the house neat when her parents are out. Everything changes when another popular student, Izumi Miyamura, meets by chance at home, and… full of tattoos and piercings, completely different from the aloof, otaku-like persona that Hori-san thought Miyamura was.

Hori-san became one popular character of 2021, mostly due to her eccentric personality, but willingness to do things right; also… the fantastic work of Haruka Tomatsu voicing her really helps. And throughout the series, Hori-san and Miyamura develop a closeness that makes our hearts wamr every time we watch them together.

But… I have two reasons for putting Hori-san so low on this list.

The first one is that she treats her dad horribly. And I mean like FREAKING GARBAGE.

Sorry, couldn’;t find a decent GIF

But, to be fair, Hori-san’s dad is kind of a dickhead, so yeah. The guilt is for both parts.

The second feature that I TRULY DISLIKE from Hori-san is that she is a masochist… Out of nowhere. Seriously, at no point, I saw any evidence that Hori-san was a mascohist before episode 8. And yes, I know it is only for Miyamura, but yet, it feels really contrived.

And no. Hori-san «cute» faces don’t make it any better.

Nevertheless, Hori-san is still one of my waifu of 2021, and I must praise her for how well constructed she is. (Excluding her strange masochism).

6. AZUSA AIZAWA (SLIME TAOSHITE 300-NEN)

In our world, Azusa Aizawa was an officer worker who only existed for work, no social life, no friends, no hobbies, no dreams. NOTHING!! Only work. And she stayed over 50 days without any rest, so naturally, she ended up died for exhaustion (Or Karoshi). Immediately, she meets a beautiful goddess, and Azusa has the offer to reincarnating in another world, as an immortal witch. Azusa gleefully accepts, and since she will never die, she decides to spend the next 300 years living a peaceful, uneventful life, simply hunting slimes, for being the weakest and easiest to kill creature in her new world.

Because of this, she is quickly known as the Witch of the Highlands.

Unbeknownst to Azusa, killing slimes fully maximises her, become the most powerful witch of the world, soon, many adventurers visit her for a fight, including a red dragon, called Laika, who destroys Azusa’s house in the middle of the battle. Of course Azusa wins, and when Laika states that she will overwork herself to rebuild Azusa’s house, the latter refuses, claiming that Laika must never overlook her health, and give some time to rest and enjoy.

Wow!! What a long summary!!

Slime 300 is an anime that I truly enjoyed, and with all the comedy and adventure of it, we see how powerful, yet caring and compassionate Azusa truly is, remembering her past experiences to encourage others not to repeat her mistakes, and the passion she puts on her family, including her «daughters», Halkara the elf, Beelzebub and Flatorte, made her a character that I cherish.

And one of my waifus of 2021.

Let’s hope for the best at season 2.

CONCLUSION

WOW!!! So many waifus.

And more are to come.

Thanks for checking by my Top Waifus of 2021, Part I. I hope you guys like the list. Despite waiting for so long, I was able to work these months on it. And I think this is pretty decent.

Again. Hope you guys like it. See you soon.

AREN’T YOU FORGETTING ME???

ANOTHER FIVE OF MY FAVOURITE COUPLES IN ANIME (VALENTINE’S DAY SPECIAL)

Hello my friends.

Welcome to another entry of my blog.

As I promised, I took my time to find another five couples that I really love, and that warms my heart and my soul every time I thinking about them. And as part of the month of Valentine’s Day, I will share with you all of them, and why I really love them.

Hope you like them, and again… Happy Valentine’s Day.

Now, here they come

5. RENTON AND EUREKA THURSTON (EUREKA SEVEN)

I swear to all of you that the very day I read about Eureka Seven, I was all but bored; that was by 2005; by that time, I was watching Fullmetal Alchemist, one of my favourite anime of all time, and I loved everything, especially the animation. And due to similar animation, I got my heart put in Eureka Seven.

And I love it. There are so many fantastic elements, but the one that really hooked me was the relationship of Eureka and Renton as a couple.

Renton started as a simple, but impetuous teenager, and Eureka as a cold, emotionless girl with no understanding of human emotions; but as the story unfolds, our two protagonists evolve and mature, and they form a couple that, from the start, is extremely heartwarming; the resolve of Eureka and Renton to pilot Nirvash and become one, along with their mutual caring, gives soul to a story that is already full of backstory and good characters. Renton grows to be a brave young man, and Eureka becomes a beautiful young lady, and along with awkwardness, their love story is one worth checking out, especially if you want to something to share as a couple.

Again. Better to see than to describe.

4. NASA & TSUKASA (TONIKAKU KAWAII)

Being in a relationship is one of the most beautiful experiences in life. Nonetheless, I am also aware that there is a point in which is very challenging to live with someone else, especially after getting married.

And I think Nasa & Tsukasa Yuzaki, from Tonikaku Kawaii represents that. After meeting in the craziest circumstances, Nasa meets a really beautiful girl, called Tsukasa, falling in love with her. Tsukasa accepts his confession on one condition – Nasa must marry her, which he gleefully accepts. And after three years, Tsukasa meets Nasa again with a marriage form, formalising the union afterwards.

Now. A part of me thinks that circumstances Nasa and Tsukasa meet are insane, and I would lie if I say that I am an obsessed fan with Tonikaku Kawaii, but I will repeat what I said about Nasa and Tsukasa when I voted for them as Best Couple in the Crunchyroll Anime Awards – Both are authentic, their relationship is genuine, and both Nasa and Tsukasa help each other to improve as individuals.

Without mentioning that they are adorable every time they are together. (Ah!!! Young love!!!)

3. MIYUKI SHIROGANE AND KAGUYA SHINOMIYA (KAGUYA-SAMA: LOVE IS WAR)

Good Grief!!

A part of me thinks living in couple is a constant battlefield, fighting for keeping the love of your partner, but not let him/her take advantage of you, having a balance for yourself and for your partner, keeping a poker face for the sake of the relationship (You know what I mean), ending any disagreement in good terms, or at least with an armistice.

Ok. Perhaps I am exaggerating.

Or perhaps not, because that is the soul of many romantic comedies. But Kaguya-sama: Love is War takes that premise in a creative, semi-innovative way, with each moment being more hilarious than the last one; nothing is boring and you like the episodes so much that times flies in a blink. And that’s why is so pleasant to watch Miyuki and Kaguya, they are trying to force the other to confess, yes, but even you can tell that they are having fun most of the life, and so are we.

But, when the story is serious, Kaguya and Miyuki steal the show, and giving us really poignant moments. For these reasons, I adore them.

With them, I am not even close to war.

2. YUU KOITO AND TOUKO NANAMI (BLOOM INTO YOU)

Of course, I cannot forget about LGBT love. Yuri love.

Where do I start with these two? Yuu is a quiet, reserved girl, very studious, but also very conflicted on how relationships work (just like me), while Touko is more laid-back, playful, but extremely full of layers. And in the story of Bloom Into You, their relationship slowly develop in the most organic way, first as friends, then as partners in the Student Council, with Yuu avoiding Touko’s forceful advances, and then as a couple, with both have a decent development.

None of their moments feels boring or forceful. Of course, they could advance a bit faster, but that is the purpose of the story – Show two girls falling in love, and living life. And after reading the ending, I can tell that Touko and Yuu is a couple that makes my heart fluffy and warm.

Just one favour.

Please, give us an anime of the spin-off of Sayaka Saeki. Thank you.

1. EMMA AND WILLIAM JONES (EMMA – A VICTORIAN ROMANCE)

This is definitely one of the best love stories of all manga and anime. Trust me, Emma and William have the chemistry of Nasa and Tsukasa, the development of Renton and Eureka and, in my opinion, the same sensitivity and care you will read in a book from Jane Austin. For starters, Victorian Era had a great sense of romance; of course, they were nasty times, but Emma – A Victorian Romance portrays those with the aesthetic and attention to detail only anime brings.

Emma is a young, beautiful maid living in the 1895 London, working for Kelly Stownar. One day, Emma meets William Jones, member of a middle class family who is desperate to marry William to a woman, member of the gentry, and former student of Mrs. Stownar. From that day, Emma and William Fall in love, but because of class distinction, their love would be considered forbidden, something that troubles Emma deeply. Furthermore, William must look after the business of his family.

But, at the end, love prevails.

The story of Emma and William can be described with one word – heartwarming. It has tragedy, but it has happiness; it has hardships, but it has opportunity. It does not come shy in depicting some of the worst problems of Victorian England, but somehow manages to bring us hope. And the protagonists are some of the most sincere, natural and realistic characters in romance in general, not just anime.

If you love romance. Emma – A Victorian Romance is definitely the anime for you.

CONCLUSION

There you go. Another five beautiful couples in anime and manga.

And now, since I believe I finished Valentine’s Day season with flying colours, there is something we all came here to see.

MORE CHIKA.

And of course… the third greatest characters voiced by Konomi Kohara… and my new waifu…

MONA MEGISTUS

I FINALLY CASTED MY VOTES FOR THE CRUNCHYROLL ANIME AWARDS 2021 – PART III

Hello my friends.

It is time for post the third and final part for my choices of Crunchyroll Anime Awards 2021.

BEST COMBAT

Yuji Itadori & Aoi Todo vs. Hanami from Jujutsu Kaisen

There are two reasons for this vote.

The first one is that I haven’t watched the other battles (I am not living if I refuse to watch Attack on Titan: The Final Season, part 1), except from Elma vs. Tohru, from Miss Kobayashi’s Dragon Maid S, but I consider this one, from Jujutsu Kaisen, more impressive, especially because of all the hard work and effort put by Studio MAPPA.

The second reason is that, as I previously mentioned on one of my blogs, Jujutsu Kaisen indeed exceeded my expectations, especially during the choreography and the battles, in fact watching Megumi and Maki doing their combo on episode 19 was awesome!!!

So there you go. This year, Jujutsu Kaisen enchanted me again.

BEST ANTAGONIST

First vote goes to… Tomura Shigaraki, from My Hero Academia season 5

I am starting to believe that Tomura Shigaraki is this close to becoming one of the greatest antagonists of all the shonen genre, along with Orochimaru, Cell and Frieza. Every time I watch Tomura, I am more convinced that he is indeed the true successor of All For One.

And the part when Tomura’s past is revealed is really heartbreaking and disturbing at the same time. Finally, Shigaraki is one of my favourite characters of My Hero Academia, and one of the best antagonists (along with Dabi, Himiko Toga and Stain)

You got my vote.

Second vote goes to… ECHIDNA, from Re: Zero – season 2.

Just like before, Echidna has that sense of mystery, beauty and unpredictability that makes her charming. She is like some kind of Anti-Emilia, and a very popular character in my personal opinion.

And… Re: Zero is one of the best isekai of all time. So I had to give Echidna my support. And… I will finally be able to have some of her «special» tea.

BEST PROTAGONIST

Odokawa, from OddTaxi.

Of all the nominees, I think Odokawa is indeed the best, because of his calm personality, his wits, his mysterious and tragic past, and the work done by Natsuki Hanae.

And I really wanted to divide my vote between Odokawa and Ai Ohto, but at the end, I consider that Odokawa was better constructed and had a better story. It is not like I don’t like Ai Ohto.

Now… I am starting to regret not voting for her too.

And the others… I barely know about them, and since I haven’t watched Attack on Titan: The Final Season – Part I, I thought not to lie. And Bojji… I must watch Ranking of Kings.

BEST GIRL

First vote goes to… Vladilena «Lena» Milizé, from 86: Eighty-Six

Indeed, Lena is one of the best female leads of all 2021. She is an intelligent, resourceful, caring, compassive Handler of the Republic of San Magnolia, ascended to Major at a young age.

All the time she is taking the initiative, not being afraid of questioning the supremacist ideology of San Magnolia for the safety of the Spearhead Squadron, and trust me, she gets better on the upcoming volumes (I hope 86: Eighty-Six gets a second season).

Lena is like Relena Peacecraft, from Mobile Suit Gundam Wing, or Kudelia Aina Bernstein from Gundam: Iron-Blooded Orphans.

One of my favourite heroines.

Second votes goes to… Shouko Komi from Komi-San Can’t Communicate

As I said in my review of Komi-san Can’t Communicate, Shouko Komi is the heroine that I relate the most, because I suffer from anxiety, and despite Komi-san’s problem is much worse, I understand how she feels. How hard is her life because of that.

And her chemistry with Tadano-kun, her antics with Najimi, and her cool personality, and funny misunderstandings makes her so memorable. So I must vote for her, if not… I rather go to jail.

Lena and Komi-san – Two of my Top Waifu of 2021.

BEST BOY

Izumi Miyamura, from Horimiya

Ok. I also voted for Hiroshi Odokawa, but I already said what I had to say about him. And I will avoid being repetitive.

But Izumi Miyamura is a really well-constructed character, he is a reserved student that keep mostly from himself, but beneath that exterior, he is full of piercings and tattoos that goes against everything related the first impression.

And both his character development and his relationship with Hori-san is full of chemistry and cuteness that probably does not make it original enough, but it definitely makes them entertaining and memorable.

It is a shame that I haven’t watched Ranking of Kings, because I will definitely voted for Bojji (I have that homework).

ANIME OF THE YEAR…

GOES TO…

What can I say?

A good plot, solid social commentary, memorable characters, splendid animation from A-1 Pictures, and a great story about war, discrimination and child soldiers. An anime that took risks.

And yes… I am fully aware that either Attack on Titan: The Final Season or Jujutsu Kaisen – second cour will get the award, but 86: Eighty-Six really hooked in a way that it has no words, and I find myself every time reading the light novels and searching about the characters on Wikipedia.

Just like Mobile Suit Gundam Wing and Iron-Blooded Orphans before, 86: Eighty-Six will remain with me and I will mentioned it a lot… at least until I fully watched Attack on Titan: The Final Season.

CONCLUSION

And there you go!!!!

My personal choices for the Crunchyroll Anime Awards. Another year, another group of blogs.

Some will agree with me, some will definitely have different opinions. But what is true is that 2021 gave us a lot of awesome anime, and the favourite, the ones that most of the fans love will be awarded.

I am as excited as you are, especially because i finished the tradition of giving my favourite for the awards on time.

Let’s hope for the best.

And… you know what Henrietta said to me? If Lena does not get the award, it will be my fault.

Right Henrietta?

YOU BET YOUR BEHIND IT WILL BE!!!

Hehe. She loves me.

I FINALLY CASTED MY VOTES FOR THE CRUNCHYROLL ANIME AWARDS 2021 – PART II

BEST OPENING

YOASOBI – Kaibutsu – BEASTARS – Season 2

Because… Ali made a wonderful opening for the first season with «WILD SIDE». The moment I listen the opening for season 2, I didn’t think twice… This song really deserved the best opening award.

Of course, Cry Baby from Tokyo Revengers is also fantastic, but… In my personal opinion, nothing can beat Beastars, except OddTaxi, by Skirt and PUNPEE.

Good luck. You two deserve to be the next Beastar.

BEST VOICE PERFORMANCE (JP)

FIRST VOTE Goes to… Natsuki Hanae, for Hiroshi Odokawa, from Oddtaxi.

I need to say this now. I am a huge fan of Natsuki Hanae, and in this 2021, this great seiyuu brought us some iconic roles, including Vanitas, from The Case Study of Vanitas, Tanjiro and Odokawa.

I adore Oddtaxi, is absolutely one of the best anime of 2021, and when I listen Odokawa, I couldn’t believe the seiyuu behind was Natsuki Hanae, and that proves how talented this actor is.

SECOND VOTE Goes to… Aoi Kuga, for Kumoko, from So I am A spider, So what?

The same happens with Natsuki Hanae. Even though her voice reminds of both Tanya Von Degurechaff and Azusa Aizawa, Aoi Kuga prints her own mark with Kumoko, perfectly mimicking the dynamism of the character and her personality every time Kumoko seems to break the fourth wall.

Of course, she can get a bit annoying sometimes, but that does not stop the character and heir voice actress for being so cool.

You are a Spider, So what? So we love you.

SPECIAL MENTION – BEST VOICE PERFORMANCE (Latin America)

VICTOR UGARTE as Shinji Ikari, from Neon Genesis Evangelion

In my personal opinion, from day one, and I mean as far as 1999… on one can beat Victor Ugarte as Shinji Ikari.

And I love Pepe Vilchis, but the sweet voice of Ugarte as Shinji (in both the original series and the films) is practically a milestone in Latin American anime community.

Don’t believe me? Check it by yourselves.

BEST SOUNDTRACK

FIRST VOTE goes to Hiroyuki Sawano and Kohta Yamamoto, from 86: Eighty-Six

Wonderful, to say the least. Just like you would know from Hiroyuki Sawano.

I am a bit disappointed, because I believe that Vivy: Fluorite Eye’s Song deserved more nominations than the ones it got. However, I was expected its soundtrack to receive a nomination. So yeah.

My second vote goes to that beautiful A.I. that wants to make people happy with her singing.

BEST CHARACTER DESIGN

Baku Kinoshita and Hiromi Nakayama – ODDTAXI

I must say that every time I saw the characters of Oddtaxi, I was imagining myself as an animator, trying to make the design of each one of these characters, and how hard it should be. Furthermore, every one of these designs perfectly gives identity, making them more memorable.

It is a shame that I didn’t watch Ranking of Kings by the time the nominations were revealed, because I would divide my vote between both series.

Also, I consider to divide my vote between Oddtaxi and Wonder Egg Priority, but I didn’t take me too much time before going to Oddtaxi.

BEST ANIMATION

Studio Bind for Mushoku Tensei: Jobless Reincarnation

This vote was a tough one, because I couldn’t decided between Demon Slayer: Mugen Train and Mushoku Tensei: Jobless Reincarnation. Moreover, this category produced me a bit of cringe, for one exterior reason.

Just like Vivy: Fluorite Eye’s Song, Mushoku Tensei deserved more nominations, being among the best freaking anime of 2021.

Particularly, because of the animation.

So yes. I finally vote Mushoku Tensei, because this fantastic isekai has a lot of competition, and we must support it, because the infamy Rudeus Greyrat inspire in some, this anime earned all its praise.

BEST DIRECTOR

Baku Kinoshita, for Oddtaxi.

Not just the animation, Oddtaxi has good storytelling, characters, great twists all over the episode, all blend together in one of the best anime of 2021.

And of course, someone had to be in charge of everything. So I voted for Baku Kinoshita for OddTaxi.

I also consider dividing my vote with Wonder Egg Priority, but then I thought that Oddtaxi has a deeper story.

So there you go.

CONCLUSION

And there you go. Part II finished.

Remember that this is only my own opinion. Everyone has the right to vote to whichever series they want. At the end of the day, the best will get the awards… I hope.

Stay tuned for the third and final part.

I FINALLY CASTED MY VOTES FOR THE CRUNCHYROLL ANIME AWARDS 2021

Hello my friends.

First and foremost… I just want to wish you Happy New Year 2022 (Well. Not that new anymore). And also a very Happy Chinese New Year for everyone. I hope that the celebrations were really that great for all of you.

Regarding myself… I want to apologise.

Because as of January 31st 2022, it has been a very complicated month for me. I have a lot of work (And a very bad misunderstanding that almost left me… traumatised to say the least). And I have been working in my new book, trying to get some pages done, at least two per day. But because I have been exhausted, and I got a severe pain in my shoulder, I was unable to advance in my blog as much as I wanted.

Everything started shortly after I published my review on Netflix’s Death Note (Well. November was pretty busy too). That is when things got very busy for me. Christmas time came, a lot of responsibilities came as well, a lot of cleaning, a lot of hot weather in Melbourne (last week was average 36 degrees), and visiting a lot of friends for the holidays, and some time off.

So. As you can see. Many events kept me away from writing and watching beautiful anime.

But worry not.

Because I have been preparing a lot of My first Impressions, and the… TOP WAIFU OF 2021. That is a tradition in my blog.

But now. I will start with another tradition. Yep. The title says it all.

Now… I want to start showing my votes for the Crunchyroll Anime Awards 2021. from Best Film to Best Ending. Then, the rest will come. But little by little, I have so… many things to write.

With that said… let’s START!!!!!!!

BEST FILM

In the words of Rengoku…

Well… It is Demon Slayer. What else can I say? I red the manga of the Demon Train arc, and it was… fantastic. And when I watch the movie… I was in love with both Demon Slayer and Ufotable, more than ever. The ending was heartbreaking, and seeing Akasa for the first time was a feast. Don’t get me wrong. I do not doubt that Belle can be a masterpiece, but I never watch it. The same happened with Evangelion 3.0+1.0 Thrice Upon a Time. But Mugen Train is beautiful.

And my choice for Best Film of 2021.

BEST FANTASY

Mushoku Tensei: Jobless Reincarnation & To Your Eternity.

I have to admit that this was a really tough one. On one hand, I am starting to believe that isekai is like Scooby-Doo! You will always see many versions and proposals and it will never get old (unless we are talking about Scoob!, of course)

So I decided to spread my vote, between Mushoku Tensei and To Your Eternity. Wonder Egg Priority was also great, but, in my opinion, the two series I chose share a common strength – narrative. To Your Eternity has a very good storytelling that helps characters and story to evolve, the same happens with Mushoku Tensei, and the fantasy element is stronger than in Wonder Egg Priority. At least from my perspective.

Fingers crossed.

BEST ROMANCE

I love Beastars, but in regards of romance, Horimiya was my surprise fo 2021. Hori-san is an amazing character, as likeable as Miyamura, and seeing together was a complete feast for my eyes, and the rest of the couples were also incredibly adorable, especially Remi and Sengoku.

Again. It was a tough one, because I enjoy Komi-san (In fact, I will say it now… Both are… BETTER… WAY BETTER than Rent-A-Girlfriend as romantic comedies), bu t I still need to see more episodes of Komi-san and Tadano-kun.

Kudos for Miyamura and Hori-san. Just…

We need more headbutts!!

BEST DRAMA

86: Eighty-Six

Without a doubt, 86: Eighty-Six is one of the best anime of 2021, and a candidate for the second or third best anime produced by A-1 Pictures on the 2020s (Only beaten by Sword Art Online: Alicization and Kaguya-sama: Love is War).

For me, this anime was a big surprise, because it definitely has those vibes that you see in Mobile Suit Gundam Wing or Code Geass, including social commentary, the brutality of war, child soldiers, and big robots. But also, 86: Eighty-Six manages to have its own identity, with very well-written characters and a setting that reminds us the consequences of world wars and Why should we never, ever allow something like that to happen… ever again.

And of course… a story that gets better and better, even in the light novels. Trust me. you read the light novels of 86: Eighty-Six, and the story becomes way better.

And as much as I hate to say this – the only two competition that 86: Eighty-Six might have in this category is either Oddtaxi or Fruits Basket: The Final Season.

BEST COMEDY

I will say this straight away – I was ready to give my absolute vote to Miss Kobayashi-san Dragon Maid S. It is simply one of the best comedies of 2021, and the fact that Kyoto Animation produced this second season after the tragic fire of July, 2019 gives it more merit. But then… I got a big surprise, as big as with 86: Eighty-Six.

And that is Life Lessons with Uramichi-Oniisan.

I was like…

Honestly. Life lessons with Uramichi is pure insanity, every moment was better than the last one. Original jokes, and very hilarious characters. So yeah.

50/50.

BEST ACTION

Triple vote – Vivy – Fluorite Eye’s Song, SSS Dynazenon and Mugen Train.

Ok. Some of you might be thinking:

«Jaime… What the hell is this?»

And yes. It is definitely a fair criticisim if you have it. But I will explain.

First…n

For Vivy: Fluorite Eye’s Song, Wit Studio did a really good job animating the fighting scenes. Every time I watch Vivy and Elizabeth in a fight, I couldn’t resist. I really was looking forward for what will happen next. Especially in the last episodes of the series. Vivy did great here. It is a shame that it got less nominations than it deserved.

The same happened with SSSS Dynazenon. If there is anything Studio Trigger is an expert in, that is animating action, i.e. Kill la Kill, Darling in the FRANXX, SSSS Gridman, and now here. I hope it really does well.

And Demon Slayer – Mugen Train… Nothing to say. Better watch.

BEST ENDING

«Shirogane» by LiSA.

Because, as a Demon Slayer fan… How can you say No to such a beaituful song?

Every time I listen to it… I feel the whole arc of Mugen Train.

CONCLUSION

And that is it for now. I must admit that, at the beginning, I was kind of disappointed for some of the nominations. I was expecting something like Vivy being nominated as Anime of the Year, as well as To Your Eternity. And 86: Eighty-Six had less nominations too. I expected Shinei to be nominated as Best Protagonist, and…

What about Rudeus Greyrat?

And for those who are wondering why I haven’t choose any of the categories for Attack on Titan. The answer is simple… I haven’t reach The Final Season: Part I yet. I guess I will get there when I get there.

But that is for today. Stay tuned for Part II.

And now… let’s get some beautiful Uzui waifus…

And what about me?

Who?

ME!!!!

I AM PERFECT TO SHIN… MORE THAN LENA.

JAINITUOS ANIME REVIEWS – KOMI-SAN CAN’T COMMUNICATE – MY FIRST IMPRESSIONS

Komi-san Can’t Communicate (Komi-san wa, Komyushō Desu)

Genre: Slice-of-Life, Comedy, Romance

Studio: OLM

Hello my friends.

Welcome to another entry of my blog.

Right now. I have very good news, and that is I finally recovered from my headache, and now I am back to do a little bit of entry. To be honest, this is an anime that I wanted to do from the beginning, since the moment I saw the key visual and the premise, my interest was full on.

I know that the title says it all, but I will repeat. Behold.

But before I continue, I must continue with the typical question:

Are you guys ok? Feeling healthy?

If the answer is yes, then I am happy.

Now, time to solve the biggest question in the history of humankind…

Has Komi-san or not communism?

?????????

According to Google Translate, the original title of the series, Komi-san wa, Komyushō Desu., is translated as Mr. Furumi has communism. Check these stills.

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Anyway, let’s go with the anime and the sweet story of Komi-san and Tadano-kun.

PREMISE

Shouko Komi, or Komi-san, is the personification of elegance, she has an impressive beauty, grand posse, unprecedented charm and wonderful aura, which is why, on her first day on the Itan Private High School, she becomes the indisputable queen of the school. Her cool, aloof and calm attitude earns her more points in terms of popularity, but there is a secret beneath her personality.

Komi-san has extreme social anxiety, and cannot truly communicate with any of her classmates.

The only one who notices the truth is the student that sits next to her, Hitohito Tadano, or Tadano-kun, a pretty average student.

They both become friends, and Tadano-kun promises Komi-san to help her made one hundred friends on the school. But what Tadano-kun ignores is that Itan Private High School has the craziest, most unique students of all the city.

Komi-san wa, Komyushō Desu. is written by Tomohito Oda, famous for making another series, called Digicon. Oda has published Komi-san since May, 2016, and has been comprising 23 volumes. One funny fact is that the studio animation, OLM, is the same one that animates…

Also, when I first noticed the whole of Tadano-kun, I thought that the creator of Komi-san was none other than Gosho Aoyama, the genius behind Detective Conan and Magic Kaito.

I am dead serious. Just look at his design, along with the one of Conan Edogawa

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Ok. They are not precisely similar, but you might see a bit of influence from Aoyama-sensei on the design of some of the characters of Komi-san, aside from Tadano-kun.

As of November 8, there is no confirmation of how many episodes Komi-san will have, but I honestly, honestly, hope we got 25 or 26 episodes, because I am reading the manga, and the story deserves it. You can check Myanimelist.com to confirm this last fact. Finally, while «hikareinochi», the ending theme, is beautiful, I think the opening, «Cinderella», performed by Cider Girl, is simply of the best songs of the spring of 2021.

Here is a link to the TV version:

And for the full song.

STORY

I want to start saying that Komi-san is definitely a character I can relate to entirely. For one reason, one I think I already mentioned on my previous entries.

I suffered from anxiety, and I still do. Seriously, sometimes on social situations I get very nervous, especially because of my attitude and the body language I will display, and the single thought of that is enough to make my skin crawl, especially in front of… women. And that anxiety, the same one that interferes in your daily life, it does not allow you to enjoy the present, and it fills like a rope all over your body like a python, slowly choking you and taking control of your mind.

Subconsciously telling you to leave, when you really want to stay, but don’t feel in control.

But now, I realised that what Komi-san is suffering is much complicated. Yet, I understand her sadness and loneliness. And I know I am not the only one. And that makes her one of the most relatable characters of the season.

Now, I will be focusing only in the first two episodes, which are the ones I watched so far. And I will try to be as brief as possible.

On the very first moments, we have a good introduction of both Komi-san and Tadano-kun, the episode takes its time, but without going too slow, to introduce both, their reason to go to Itai (having a normal school life for Tadano-kun, and to make friends and socialise for Komi-san); their encounter at class, and how the rest of the students are jealous of Tadano-kun for sitting next to Komi-san.

A freaking Ninja!! Honestly. Buddy. I think you should go with Boruto

And while some students are really hilarious…

…Others are plain a%(*oles.

Tadano-kun is knocked by the students at lunch time. And when he wakes up, he hears Komi-san wishing to communicate. He talks to her, but since Komi-san cannot respond, Tadano-kun suggests her to use the chalkboard, creating one of the most heartwarming scenes in anime of 2021.

Honestly, calling that scene beautiful is an understatement.

Episode one finishes with the promise of Tadano-kun helping Komi-san to make 100 friends.

And episode two, we meet our world childhood friend, Osana Najimi,

From now on, we see our beloved Komi-san trying to overcome her communication problems, facing many daily-life situations .

As a whole, I would say that the first two episodes gave me a very amazing first impression, and they perfectly adapt both the manga and the one-shot, aside from the changes of the latter. And both the rhythm and the pacing are really natural; despite both episodes only have thirty minutes, they narrate their respective stories on a fluid way, from our first encounters with both Komi-san and Tadano-kun, to the moment Komi-san walks along with Najimi.

And we got really hilarious moments of Komi-san, whose anxiety creates very funny moments of misunderstanding and sweet images, like this.

When Komi-san becomes Kenshiro

Also, the animation from OLM is better than expected. I would say that it perfectly adapts the style of Tomohito Oda, which I will classify as unique.

And Komi-san, Tadano-kun and Najimi are beautiful together as a trio…

Overall, the story of Komi-san had a powerful start. And now, what about the…

CHARACTERS

From what I saw on the trailer and the first episodes, I can see that we are going to have a lot of colourful characters from Komi-san, after all, I repeat the word that I used for describing them – Unique. However, there is really not too much to say about the rest up to this point.

But, I want to talk about two characters in particular. The first one being Najimi.

Najimi is literally «everyone’s childhood friend», because Najimi had to move from one city to another due to Najimi’s dad’s work, which is why Najimi became friends with practically everyone on the city, also Najimi is quite the opposite from Komi-san, because Najimi is quite an expert in talking to the people, befriending everyone, and Najimi has a really open personality – naughty, supportive, sincere, outspoken, everything you wanna know about Najimi.

Now, you might be wondering. Jaime… Why do you repeat Najimi a lot? Couldn’t be easier if you use pronouns?

Well. That’s the issue, because I do not know Najimi’s gender. And in the manga, sometimes Najimi addresses as a girl, and others as a boy. And that’s the intention of the author. At the beginning I thought Najimi was a trap, but now, this makes this character so much interesting.

Probably a great example of how to write a genderqueer character. I will not use LGBT in these situation, because I don’t know what Najimi’s heart desire, and Tadano-kun calls Najimi pathological dishonest.

Which reminds… Netflix on the Latin American version did something to Najimi very… questionable. But I will talk about this in part 2.

The other character I will talk about, really earned my hatred.

Ren Yamai. The leader of the cool girls, who is a lesbian and has a destructive obsession with Komi-san.

In other words, a mean popular girl who will do anything to get Komi-san for herself, even crime. Trust me. But from the moment I saw this image, I knew she was an awful character, and… It gets worse, especially from episode four.

SPOILERS – EHS SEPPANDIK ROOP TADANO-KUN.

Look, from Wandering Witch: The Journey of Elaina, I still hate Saya’s obsession with Elaina.

But what Yamai feels and does is so despicable, so toxic, it makes root for a yuri between Saya and Elaina.

Anyone. That is all for now.

CONCLUSION

Komi-san wa, Komyushō Desu. is one of best anime of spring 2021, along with 86: Eighty-six Part II, and despite being available on Netflix, I am happy to find out more. And if you are a fan of the manga, you will definitely enjoy the anime a lot more.

Trust me, it is really awesome.

And now, there is a pending issue.

Has Komi-san communism?

The answer is… I don’t know. She does not tell me.

What she has is a lot fo beautiful pictures.

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Anyway… stay tuned for Part II.