LogFAQs > #979742067

I finally finished the last of the Winter shows too. I might watch a few more someday like Mr. Villain or Solo-Leveling, but this is it for now.

The Witch and the Beast was fine, but it should've been better. I really liked the dark fantasy world, and the characters were all interesting. The main duo had a fun dynamic. Both their personalities and their specialties/combat styles complimented each other well. I also enjoyed the various story arcs they embarked on, whether it was hunting witches or some other supernatural threat. The production quality wasn't always the greatest, which held it back a bit, but I'm not usually one to care too much about that. In the end, I just felt like it didn't live up to its potential as much as it should have. I love so many of its individual components, yet for some reason the overall whole left me feeling kind of meh. This was hard to slot into my ranking because I could slide it up or down depending on how I'm feeling. Since the last episode was a big info-dump setting up their next adventure and there's no way this ever gets a second season, my final feelings towards this show were kind of negative.

Sengoku Youko wasn't for me. It was competent in most regards. The animation was fine, the characters were fine, and the setting was fine. I just didn't enjoy any of it very much. The only character I really liked was Shakuyaku, and she didn't get anywhere near the focus she deserved. Shinsuke was just a random hanger-on who added nothing... until he wasn't, but even then he developed instantly in ways I didn't like. The dynamic between Tama and Jinka mostly just annoyed me. I also didn't like how the story progressed, it never felt like it was building towards anything interesting. This is an adaptation of a work from the same guy who made Planet With, which I loved, so I'm kind of sad that Sengoku Youko pushed me away as hard as it did. I can see some narrative similarities between the two, but this one felt like it was missing all of the things I loved so much in Planet With. Sengoku Youko just wasn't for me, I guess. Maybe the future seasons will turn me around on it.

Metallic Rouge was really, really bad. The only good thing about this show was the animation quality. Everything else sucked. The characters were all bland and undeveloped, and their motivations rarely made sense. Part of me wonders if this could've been a good story told in the worst way possible. Certainly it didn't do itself any favors with bad pacing and the nonsensical way it provided information. However, now that it's over and I can look at all the pieces that built the story... this whole thing just feels random and uninspired. Even in the hands of competent storytellers, I think this anime would've always sucked. At least it wasn't as bad as Fluffy Paradise.

Winter 2024 Ranking
-7th Time Loop
-The Wrong Way to Use Healing Magic
-Frieren: Beyond Journey's End
-Ragna Crimson
-Villainess Level 99
-A Sign of Affection
-Doctor Elise
-The Witch and the Beast
-The Unwanted Undead Adventurer
-Hokkaido Gals Are Super Adorable
-The Foolish Angel Dances With the Devil
-Sengoku Youko
-The Weakest Tamer Began a Journey to Pick Up Trash
-The Apothecary Diaries
-Sasaki and Peeps
-The Demon Prince of Momochi House
-Metallic Rouge
-Fluffy Paradise