Excellent post. If there is an equivalent of /r/bestof this would be worthy. It is super telling that rather than stick around and deal with the ramifications of the referendum, Cameron immediately resigned. Another point of context is that Cameron had gambled his political life previously on a different referendum (Scottish Independence) and that one worked out fine, so what is the harm in trying that gambit one more time?

I have gone super deep in the Darth Jar Jar rabbit hole before and I am convinced this was likely the original intent of the character. I believe he was written to be a character similar to The Mule from the Foundation series.

::: spoiler Foundation Spoilers The mule was a literal clown that only ever did silly comic-relief things during most of his time in the books. However, it is revealed near the end that he is actually a character that has been manipulating events the whole time and poses an existential threat to the galaxy. :::

Disclosure: as a moderator of the /c/anime and /c/manga communities on ani.social, I don't want to try to influence anybody's decision regarding this as I think there is plenty of space for multiple communities to exist at the same time.

That being said, after the defederation happened and there was clear hostility from the ml admins toward much of this type of content is when I made my account on that instance and started up activity on those two communities. I agree that there is an inherent risk of these communities being purged from the ml instance and that is one of the main reasons I wanted to establish an alternative community that is well established with existing content that users can migrate easily to. Quoting myself from that post:

In any case, I think this issue validates concerns that were raised after the initial defederation happened that the ml admins could come to view any kind of lewd content or fanservice as anathema to their instance. It begs the question if the anime or manga communities on ml are on borrowed time. If the admin’s metaphorical Eye of Sauron passes over their community on a day a lewd clip, key visual, or trailer is posted, that could be it for them.

All that said, the reality is that unless you use an ml account (which you unfortunately posted with), then you can access both communities. I had primarily been using this ml account on lemmy for some time until the defederation happened, and then proceeded to make an account over on ani.social to access that content and drive activity in those communities.

I personally have been super impressed with Frieren, but I get that that is a show that isn't necessarily for everybody. The other two shows I have been enjoying this season, Eminence in Shadow and 100GF, are similarly not for everybody as you either enjoy the humor or not since comedy can be really subjective (especially genre parodies like those two).

Really looking forward to this one. Just caught up with the manga and it is one of the best I have read in a while. Hope they keep the pacing nice and slow to keep the contemplative mood that the beginning of the series has.

I feel like every time I see a version of this question online, I mostly see people talking about how HDHPs and HSAs are always the right choice. So, I want to provide the perspective of somebody that opted for a PPO rather than an HDHP.

My workplace offers both a PPO option and a HDHP with a company contribution. I opted for the PPO because the HDHP's out of pocket max was so much higher than the PPO that it would be very difficult for us if something were to happen. My wife has a chronic illness that is manageable most of the time, but there is always that risk that we suddenly need to have a whole bunch of very expensive specialist visits and procedures done. Yes, if it is a good year, I probably came out behind compared to having a HDHP + HSA investments. However, I value the risk mitigation that having the PPO plan provides for the chance that it isn't a good year. The situation can be very different for different people though.

I sympathize with this view as well. Romances in anime/manga are especially frustrating to me because all the characters tend to act in very childish ways and not act their age. If you are in high school, it shouldn't be heart-attack inducing to have a member of the opposite sex talk to you or share a textbook or whatever. The extra frustrating part is that these childish behaviors are not just limited to teens, but fully grown adults tend to act the exact same way in a lot of anime/manga; just swap high school for an office or izakaya. I can deal with it easier if the show leans more on the comedy side of a romcom, but the more straight romances tend to be tough to bear (with a couple exceptions).

That is most unfortunate. It doesn't inspire a lot of confidence that this was done without any elaboration or warning. Without a reversal, if we want to keep automated discussion posts, there are a couple options I see. Either posts are made by a local account on lemmy.ml, discussions are moved to a different community/instance, or ultimately automated posts could go away.

This is the most active lemmy anime community, with the next most active belonging to hexbear.net which is a polarizing instance to say the least. Beyond those, it is a steep drop in activity. The anime community on lemmy.world for instance most recently had a post 20 days ago (beehaw's anime & manga community is a bit better at 5 days ago). All this is to say it would be a steep ask to get the community that has essentially consolidated to lemmy.ml to move elsewhere. I hope it gets resolved soon.

Honestly, it's deserved. Much worse shows have had multiple seasons. The premise is so stupid that a lot of people aren't going to be able to get over it, but if you do, I think there is a decently written story underneath it all. Lots of the world left to explore, so I am looking forward to it.

Definitely deserved for Frieren. Episode 7 was probably my favorite episode yet. The Kingdoms of Ruin dropping entirely off the chart is surprising considering that it premiered at number 1 on the chart and stayed high until suddenly its gone. Also interesting to see Undead Unluck and Dead Mount Death Play jumping up the chart so much.

So, this past week saw the defederation of ani.social from lemmy.ml. If you aren't familiar with ani.social, it was an anime-focused instance and the host of the episode discussion bot that used to make the episode discussion posts here. I don't want to rehash things that have already been said in other threads other than to bring it to people's attention that may have missed the original posts about it.

This past week has been very busy with irl work for me so I have only really been able to keep up with Eminence in Shadow and Frieren. If you aren't watching Frieren at this point, I am not sure what I can say to convince you, but the animation of the most recent episode was absolutely amazing and completely elevated the manga to new heights I could not have imagined.

@[email protected] if you would be so kind as to do the pin/unpin shuffle once again.

My thoughts on shows I watched this season fall into a couple groups.

The Good:

• Helck: This one is still going since it is running for two cours. I have enjoyed the slow, mysterious world building they have done. It really feels like they are taking their time to build things up in a rewarding way. It has also had good comedy bits and Vermilio serves as an excellent straight man to the clowns that seem to be everywhere else in this world (I mean that in the most loving way possible).
• Isekai Vending Machine: When I started this series, I had low expectations based on the idiocy of the premise. However, it has far exceeded my expectations and has actually been really fun. If you can get past the ridiculous premise and accept a bit of silliness when it comes to combat, then there is actually a story with some heart and thought behind this ridiculous title.
• Level 1 Demon Lord and One Room Hero: This is another that I expected to not be that great, but turned out to be a pretty satisfying fantasy story. The characters and their interactions in this show are the best part of this show. The political storyline that is happening is a bit bland, but doesn't drag the show too much.
• Horimiya Pieces: I am a huge fan of the manga for this series, so I was happy to see this anthology of cut content from the original run of the show. However, I think that viewers that aren't as familiar with the source content might not be as engaged with this run of episodes since it focuses more on side characters than the titular Hori and Miyamura.

The Bad:

• Atelier Ryza: This one was tough for me to stay awake while watching. I understand that the game is widely beloved, but the adaptation to a show just fell flat for me. I don't know how much of the game was adapted, but the whole season feels like they are just stuck in some kind of tutorial rather than undertaking some grand adventure.
• Am I Actually the Strongest: This show was just bad. I have seen/read a lot of really bad isekai and this one might take the cake. The story is incredibly oddly paced; flying through extremely important plot segments and then dwelling for an excrutiatingly long time on fluff/omake stuff that doesn't matter at all. Just steer clear of this one, it's really bad, but not so bad it is funny. It is just really bad.

The Mixed Feelings:

• My Happy Marriage: I have written a lot about this series in the episode threads already, so I will keep it short here. The first half of this season is excellent and really sets up the potential for a great period romance. However, the second half of the show is incredibly disappointing in this regard and just feels so lackluster compared to what was set up through episode 6.

The only other show from this season I am watching is Zom 100. It has been pretty great so far, but because of the delays in production, I don't want to make any final verdicts about it.

It's great to see Frieren recognizing that she has changed since the last time she fought one of those monsters and illusory Himmel was such a bro to make it easy for her to blast him. I think it is a bit unfair to criticize Fern for freezing up fighting a monster when she did just fine against Qual when he was unsealed. Looking forward to seeing the party fully assembled and some action next episode.

Also, the OP has grown on me a bit since last week. It's not my favorite ever, but it is pretty good, especially paired with great visuals. The ED is amazing though.

You're not wrong and I think that is exactly what chaorace's reply to me in that thread is worried about. Frankly this situation is really unfortunate and I don't have a good answer.

Looking through the shows I have enjoyed the most in the past couple years here are some that I don't see on your list:

• Bocchi the Rock
• Eminence in Shadow
• Lycoris Recoil
• Heavenly Delusion
• Oshi no Ko

Also, it might be (quite) a bit older, but if you really feel like you need something dripping with melancholy, I would recommend Mushi-shi.

One of the things I like about this series is how they use real artists/albums/songs rather than slightly changing names like is usually done. I say that, but on the first page it says Benny's instead of the real Denny's.

Over the past fortnight I have focused catching up with series (mostly isekai, I have a problem) that I had read partway and then let slip by the wayside for one reason or another. I have listed a selection of those below. However, before that I just want to encourage more people to read Atsumare! Fushigi Kenkyu-bu as it has been consistently great for a long time. With that out of the way, some selected series I have been catching up on in no particular order:

• Konjiki no Word Master - Yuusha Yonin ni Makikomareta Unique Cheat: I have read up through what is translated of the WN for this series and enjoyed it. The manga is a good portion through the story that I have read (if memory serves). Overall, I like the art in this one and the story is good enough to keep my interest though the pacing can be a bit uneven. The most recent chapters have really reinforced my opinion that Eveam is best girl.
• The Wrong Way to Use Healing Magic: I have not read any of the source material for this story. I had stopped keeping up with the manga during the arc (trying to keep it spoiler-free) centering around trying to save a disappearing princess. Overall, I think the ensemble and MC of this story is good, but it tends to have a bad habit of splitting the party and only focusing on the MC and 1-2 other characters. The story has not been as interesting in my opinion since the MC left on his journey to be a letter carrier.
• Reincarnated as an Aristocrat with an Appraisal Skill: This story is a weird one. I actually like the characters individually and the interactions when they are together, but all of that feels out of place with the rest of the world that the story is set in. This story feels like if you take the characters from a slow-paced iyashikei series, but then puts them in a pretty dark world full of the horrors of war. The setting just feels discordant with the characters.
• Saihate no Paladin: I had dropped this one when it entered its city-building, dwarf-training phase. However, after picking it back up again, I am pretty on board with the dragon-hunting arc. In particular, I think this series really benefits when it focuses less on the supporting characters and more on Will and his moral dilemmas. As an example of what I mean, I especially loved Chapter 47 and the conversation with Stagnate. It had similar vibes to Bilbo/Gollum from The Hobbit.
• Lv2 kara Cheat datta Moto Yuusha Kouho no Mattari Isekai Life: Honestly, I caught up with this one, but might just drop it. It still hasn't hooked me with the most recent arcs. I think this story is one which would be better served by focusing on the fluffy, feel-good relationship side of things and less on the serious world-at-war storyline. The main couple is great, but we only get glimpses of them being a couple because the rest of the world and its story that I don't care much about keeps intruding.
• Tensei Shitara Ken Deshita: I have not been a fan of the arc in which they go to some island undergoing a revolution and had dropped this series early on in that arc. However, after forcing myself to get past it, the story has picked back up. This is a series that is at its best when it focuses on the relationship between Fran and her sword. The island arc just expanded the cast too much and made Fran into a bystander while other people lived out their stories. I am fully back on board now that since we are currently in a (cooking) tournament arc, so you know it will be good.

There are other series I have caught up on but I frankly don't feel like writing more, so I have included very short impressions below, but can expand if there is interest:

• Otomege Sekai wa Mob ni Kibishii Sekai desu: Not a huge fan
• Isekai wa Smartphone to Tomo ni: This one deserves all the razzing it gets
• Kuma Kuma Kuma Bear: Still cute and fun in its own way
• Yondome wa Iya na Shizokusei Majutsushi: Interesting story, but can't help but feel there is important plot lost in the adaptation from LNs
• The Modern Strongest Hero Who Came Home: This one isn't really stupid fun...just remains pretty stupid
• Finally, last and also least Kanojo, Okarishimasu: One of the things I miss the most from reddit are the many, many ways /r/manga used to shit on this series. Once even they were tired of beating that dead horse I let this series go. I am proud to report that, after catching up, it remains just as bad as before.

Disclaimer: I have no insight whatsoever into the production process for this show behind the scenes.

That out of the way, it is a bit ironic that this show is the one with the troubled production and (likely) crunch for the staff as the whole motivation for the MC is to escape being overworked and pursue passions instead.

Another great episode. Really loved the first part about Himmel not wanting Frieren to be alone and that is why he had so many statues made.

One of the (many) things that I really enjoy about this series is its portrayal of demons. They really feel quite alien but relatable at the same time. They fall right into an uncanny middle between human and monster that always has you second guessing yourself about them. Frieren probably says it best in that they can understand our speech, but can't be communicated with; drawing a clear line between being able to speak and being able to understand and convey thoughts and emotions through speech.

There are many parallels I can draw between this series and Mushishi, but this portrayal of demons reminds me a bit of how mushi are described by Ginko. They are more or less wild things living in nature and when they intersect with humans bad things can happen, but it isn't out of malice or any kind of emotion, it is simply surviving in the environment it finds itself. I think Frieren views demons in much the same way. They are not hurting humans out of malice, but simply creatures that find themselves in a world full of humans. As a survival strategy, the demons found ways to use humans to their advantage, it just so happens that those strategies involve manipulating and taking advantage of human emotions.

I have a Brother MFC Color Laser and everything here is true for the color version as well. I haven't had too many issues with wifi jank after I set a static ip both on the router side and the printer side, and then map the printer by ip port on the computer. However, it still acts up every now and then. I plan on fishing some ethernet to that corner of the office, but haven't gotten around to it yet.