The Stories and Novels By Derek Ward
I’ve been enjoying the trope of a good-natured overpowered MC who thinks he is underpowered. My first two are good examples of that.
Next is an isekai that is very much in the light-hearted vein.
The last is a nice little rom-com. I really like stumbling on to the ones with adult protagonists.
I really liked the characters and how they worked together in this one.
This was an unusual isekai that was just hilarious. A very “yes-and” with some unusual twists.
This was a very good fantasy romance with a strong side of politics.
This one kept going in ways I was not expected in very intriguing ways.
I would say this is a solid fantasy romance with an interesting hook.
The best description of this one is “John Wick in a sitcom.” It doesn’t take it self seriously, and you shouldn’t either.
This one is kind of an isekai that goes both ways. Weird, I know, but cute.
I like this one because of the concept. There’s something about the master from an out-of-the-way place coming “to the big city” that I find appealing.
This came from the second season of Dandadan. Not only is it a damn good metal song, but for the English version, they got the lead singer of Dragonforce to perform. So, I’m posting both versions.
This one was a pretty decent fantasy / harem series. It goes some places I did not expect.
This one was surprisingly deep.
This is kind of a run-of-the-mill fantasy / comedy, but the premise is at least interesting.
This one kept showing up on listicles of good romances featuring adults, and it deserved its place. I finally found it on Amazon Prime.
This month’s a bit of a grab bag of series that caught my notice.
This one is best described as House reincarnated as a Japanese anime. Not a bad analogy.
This one has a pretty decent premise, but I wouldn’t recommend watching it with kids around.
This is another one that with a subversive take on the “power ranger” theme.
Another isekai with an interesting premise and strong protagonist.
I don’t know if it’s just the times we’re in or what, but I’m kind of drained on politics. So, for the time being, I’m going to post links here on things that interest me. Intellectually or feeds into one of my interests.
First, one of my favorite animes “Gate” is getting a second season 10 years after the first debuted.
The long-awaited second season, which is officially titled Gate 2: Tides of Conflict, will adapt the first two volumes of the Gate Season 2 sequel series, focusing on the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force.
So, it feels less like a direct sequel and more of a “setting sequel.” Which I thinks sets up my expectations well.
Second, the new Transformers / Macross 7 collab toy was set up for pre-order.
Okay, I don’t hate it. I like how they merged Optimus and the Firebomber mecha. However, the more I watch of Macross 7, the more I really dislike the Basra character.
I’m doing a quartet of isekai’s this month.
This one is where the protagonist goes from extremely underpowered to extremely overpowered, but the progression is interesting to watch. I love how the world is built.
This one is another with a pretty decent story and good world building. The protagonist is sometimes cringey.
I really liked the how the protagonist solves problems in this one and the general earnestness.
This is one where the concept is intriguing, although sometimes it plays a bit fast and loose with its own “rules”.
Okay, so this movie has been in my “to-watch” list for a while. However, this video kind of spurred me to suggest it to The Wife for watching.
The general gist is a college student who is saving money to study abroad takes on the job of watching a paraplegic woman – Josee. Her grandmother refuses to let Josee out of the house to protect her, and hires the MC to watch her in the afternoon. Events happen where the pair start “sneaking out” for adventures and draw them closer.
I strive for no spoilers in my reviews, so I won’t spoil the major plot twists. This is anime, so expect the normal love triangle and gorgeous animation. Josee is also a tsundere extreme. This was a sweet, cute, romance with a few bouts of intensity. I think it’s a great couple movie.
In the last six months or so, I’ve been watching dubbed anime more than subbed. It was a comment by Oddball on one of the Assorted Calibers Podcast blooper reels. Essentially, why would you miss any of the great art reading the subtitles if the dub was of decent quality. I realized that since anime skyrocketed in popularity, the quality of the dubs similarly improved. It was no longer the dark days of the 1980s and 1990s with badly translated scripts read by actors who couldn’t emote themselves out of a wet paper bag.
Unfortunately, some of the dubs are bad enough to switch over to the subtitled versions. I recently started watching “Blue Box” with The Wife. I’d seen it when it first aired and the dub wasn’t available. Let’s just say the dub is not my favorite. There are a couple of voices that are annoying for characters that are of key importance.
Still, it’s the rare exception.
I’m still working on learning Japanese, partly to get to watch anime in Japanese without needing the subtitles. I still think the original actors provide the best performances. At least I don’t have to suffer needlessly anymore.
And here’s hoping we’ll get new dubs of some old anime.