The past couple weeks I watched a couple things that I can write about...
First up is Star Wars: Visions Presents - The Ninth Jedi. I really liked the two anthology episodes that were part of season 1 and 3 of Star Wars Visions (especially the episode from season 1). So, getting the chance to get an eight episode season sounded great. The first couple episodes felt a little slow, but did a lot of work establishing things. Then, it delivered really well as the season went. Right as I was finishing it, Mother's Basement released a video about the series, singing its praises. While I wouldn't go as far as he does in his video, the series manages to feel pretty fresh with respect to its treatment of Jedi and the force. It is probably the most interesting depiction of Gray Jedi (neither pure dark or light) since the KOTOR games.
Next up is Toradora!. I am currently 8 episodes in and have been enjoying it a lot. I don't have a ton to add here, but I think the thing that surprised me the most is how much I like Ami's character. She seems like an easy to hate character, but there is something oddly compelling in how toxic she acts.
Last but not least, I watched Asobi Asobase. I didn't really know what to expect when I started this series, but my initial thought based on visuals was maybe a CGDCT. However, I quickly realized I was mistaken as these girls are absolutely unhinged (in the best way). The humor feels similar to something like Nichijou, but a bit more restrained due to the smaller cast and scope of the setting. My absolute favorite sequence involved an android that they programmed to speak English using just the vocabulary of one of their grandfathers. I created a clip, but I must give an NSFW language warning: https://static.wjs018.xyz/iJ2rJ45DeIOD6zZA.webm
