To me, this is a desperation show. This is the show I would expect the only person to watch it is either a person with a fat fetish, or a person who has already watched literally everything else.

Yeah, but you don’t cater to people with a fat-fetish by having the plot be basically “diet and work out so you can look good again”. It’s so strange.

okay, I just have one question: Who is the target audience here? I really don’t get it. They show a naked elf but the elf looks like that. The show someone with fat-positive disposition but they fat-shame her in the plot.

I like it. I love the derpy design and I can’t wait to have those cute characters come up with fucked up traps to kill human adventurers. This is my favorite till now.

Some unsorted thoughts I had watching the first episode:

• I don't remember Aqua being so edge-lord-y. At least I wasn't annoyed by him in the first season but here I (slightly) am.
• How old is this Himekawa character? With the stubble, he looks like 30-somethings are often depicted in anime, and I'm uncomfortable with him trying to get close to Kana.
• I liked how they conveyed the impact the "good acting" had on others during the rehearsal. I thought that was a visually stunning and elegant way to bring that plot point across. Too bad that they had to go and have the characters talk about it extensively as well. It's show and tell. But I can excuse it somewhat as it is at least relevant to their motivations, but eh.. I just wish they would not spell everything out and trust in the viewer's emotional intelligence to pick up on it anyway.
• Not a fan of OP and ED songs. Both were absolute bangers in season 1, so I was hoping season 2 would deliver as well.

Okay, hear me out. I have a theory:

I don’t know if I’m a genius or if I’m slowly going mad here.

but to me, a human viewer, it’s somewhat disturbing however much the writer/director makes light of it.

I can't agree more. Dropped.

I believe the best starter animes must meet some criteria:

• not too long (seeing something having hundreds of episodes is a huge hurdle)
• self-contained (no spin-offs of other franchises that you need to know)
• completed (no "if you want to know how it ends you have to read the source material or hope for a second season")
• no need to know cultural references (what the fuck is a shikigami?!)
• universal themes (love, hate, friendship, hardship, etc.. Stuff that applies to everyone)
• characters should be likable (no one keeps watching if they dislike the characters)
• interesting from the start (no "uh, it gets great from the 5th episode, just keep at it")
• interesting throughout (show shouldn't fizzle out or run out of steam)
• normal visuals (yes, shows with unique art styles can feel fresh for someone with more than 1000 shows under their belt, but for a new watcher better keep it normal)
• not mundane but not too far "out there" (just the right amount of fantastical)
• no off putting material (gore, over-the-top violence, etc.)
• it should end on a positive note (I wouldn't have touched another anime ever again if Grave of the Fireflies were my first one)

With all those criteria listed, I believe the best show that ticks all the checkmarks is Anohana: The Flower We Saw That Day.

It's another great episode. We get a new addition to the cast and a hint about Kano attacking a member of her past idol group. I hope the series keeps drip-feeding us this mystery instead of just info-dumping it all at once.

The premise is cute enough but I feel it would have worked better as a short-form anime. As a 24-minute show, the single joke repeated over and over felt a bit dragging on. I think 12 minutes would be perfect for this.

I liked it. It was funny and the cast is interesting.

I assume it's not a anime centered around anime then. In anime circles the Frieren anime was already one of the most anticipated shows based on the Manga which was hugely popular long before the anime announcement. Then when the anime aired it dethroned FMA:Brotherhood from the #1 spot on Myanimelist which was like cemented by the word of God or some such. Took everyone by surprise and the discussion flared at that point with discussions about the popular manga, how awesome the adaptation is, about that insane 90 minute first episode, and about the FMA:B fans frothing at the mouths about that affront against their religion. It only got more popular from there with exceptional week after week and finding its way into the mainstream media. In Japan especially it got so huge that the phrase "It's what Hero Himmel would have done" became a mainstream saying like we in the west would joke about WWJD. I love that anecdote and I hope that isn't just a fad and stays for good.

Well, Frieren is hardly a insider recommendation. It's the most talked about show in the last half year.

No see here, come closer, are you interested in a real internet stranger recommendation? One with a good chance that your friends haven't even heard about because they are too mainstream? One that goes deeper than just a puddle? Do you want to know the real stuff? If you think you have what it takes then go an watch