Love Scout

Wah, so I finally watched (and finished) another Kdrama. Not, of course, any of the ones that I had started ages ago. Sigh. 

There's reasons, of course. One, for a long time Viki wasn't working at the gym, giving me some weird message about proxy servers, even though I connect to the Wifi there. And I also usually exercise 55 minutes there (as hubby does his swim) and most of them are an hour or a little more. And I haven't had time at home, really. So anime has fit the bill.

But Viki started working again AND I've been working out over an hour while hubby is in Madeira. So I had time. AND Love Scout features an "older" romance (actors in their forties! whoa!) and there's even a kid (male lead's daughter; he's divorced and she's 7). So I was happy to give it a try and get away from school romance and harem isekai. 

It also features a (sort of) powerful female lead as a CEO and the greenest of green flag male leads (he puts 'em all to shame). I've finished it now and I'll say that my overall feelings are positive and I did enjoy it. I'd even say that MOST of the way through my satisfaction rating was like 90%. 

There was an inkling very early on where they hinted that their past childhood traumas were connected and I was really, really hoping they weren't going to go that route...but they did indeed. It was wholly unnecessary, unwanted, and annoying. On the plus side, they didn't draw it out more than about an episode and a half. So, her dad died when she was a pre-teen when he ran back into a burning apartment building to save someone. Of course, the someone he saved turns out to be Eun ho, the male lead, who she falls in love with 30 some odd years later. Ridiculous coincidence and totally not necessary for the plot. It would have been enough to have her just opening her heart (as she did) from normal trauma/life/issues rather than making this ridiculous connection. I really hate it when shows do that. And, seriously, how many fires does South Korea have? 

The other annoying plot stuff has mainly to do with the "big bads" of the show (stupid) and how the writers of these shows really don't seem to understand how businesses work. Not gonna hash that out though.

I did think the main romance was sweet, as were the side ones. Was definitely all in for the developing relationship between the daughter and the female lead and it was nice that they got to know each other BEFORE they realised their connection to Eun ho. 

So, yes, I enjoyed this one and am glad I watched it. I doubt if I'd watch it again as it wasn't heart pounding doki-doki or anything but it was really nice to see a more mature romance for once. More of that please. 

I Got a Cheat Skill in Another World and Became Unrivaled in The Real World, Too

Ok, I'm first going to say that I enjoyed I Got a Cheat Skill in Another World and Became Unrivaled in The Real World, Too and I binged it in short order. That said, it is absolute, pure unadulterated wish fulfilment for those that feel unloved, unattractive, and abandoned.

Rather than being the standard "Average Joe" that gets sucked into an isekai world, Yuuya is an overweight new graduate of middle school, about to go to high school (so, 15ish). Not only that, but he's abused by his younger siblings and ignored or worse from his parents. His beat downs are daily from his bullies. His grandfather was the only one who loved him and, when he passes and gives all of his belongings to Yuuya, his parents try to cheat him out of it. But grandpa was too smart--so instead they just abandon him. And so poor Yuuya lives on his own, a very miserable existence indeed. But he somehow manages to still be an upstanding, kind guy and even saves a pretty girl from a bunch of assholes--who beat him bloody. 

Around the same time, he discovers a hidden room in his grandfather's house that leads to another world; hello isekai. He immediately gains a bunch of powers/abilities which cause him to lose a massive amount of weight and get all buff. But also more clever and lucky. 

Meanwhile, when he gets back to the real world, he's changed there too (though he doesn't realise this immediately). When he gets to school, everyone is stunned, but still kinda ready to bully him (especially the younger brother and sister). But, hallooo! The pretty girl he saved arrives, having tracked him down. It seems her dad is the chairman of some fancy shmancy school and she wants him to go there because he saved her. She even recognises him (from his kind eyes) even though he's changed so drastically physically.

So after this, he winds up going back and forth between worlds, levelling up. He thinks he's cheating and has about as much self confidence as a cucumber even once he starts winning at, like, everything in both worlds, and gets stronger and stronger every day. But he's putting in hours of training time, so I dunno that I'd actually call it cheating. 

The wish fulfilment continues -- model agencies want him. ALL the girls want him. Probably the boys too. He saves a princess, she wants to marry him. He accidentally trains with an assassin girl, she wants him. Everyone wants him and thinks he's the most attractive thing on wheels. He cooks so well that even his teacher immediately proposes to him while on a school trip. Yeah. Wholly inappropriate. Yet he stays completely humble and oblivious. 

I'm sure I'm sounding sarcastic, but, really, everything about this story is pretty ridiculous. The most unbelievable thing, perhaps, is that this kid who is PURE and NOBLE and has actually a great work ethic...if he didn't have some kind of medical condition, why was he fat and unhealthy his whole life? Why did it take magic intervention to turn his life around? They show his EARLY childhood where his parents were already hating on him. And grandpa was there. So...why was it all so horrible and traumatic? Not to mention grandpa has the secret door to another world. Since he knew how horribly Yuuya was treated, WHY didn't he do something about it? 

Anyway, I did enjoy watching it. I liked the back and forth between worlds, which isn't something you see a lot of in isekai. It is definitely the kind of story you can't think about too hard because it doesn't hold together at the seams, but you do want to root for Yuuya. I'm not sure that the message behind stuff is totally a good one -- it's even repeated later on with the older brother prince of the princess, who spends most of the season trying to kill her...he's scarred beyond recognition with burns and that has lead him to be crazypants...but after Yuuya heals him and he's pretty again...it's all good? 

So...while I overall liked it, I guess you could say it's a surface appreciation. The animation style is also a bit wonky. While Yuuya seems oblivious to the growing harem, it's a bit much. Actually, it's a lot more than a bit much. But at least it isn't like some where they actually get married and have concubines and things. So it could have been worse, I suppose. 

And when looking it up to grab an image for here, I saw that if you read further than the anime went that apparently there's also aliens and interplanetary travel? And the other vile/divine disciple girl that was like crazy lolita robotnik with a bow...he takes her to the real world and enrolls her in the school? WTF? The level of forgiveness this dude has is more legendary than his out of control skills. You tried to annihilate the world and kill everyone? Oh, that's okay, why don't we just be friends? Do you wanna manhandle me as well and ogle my washboard abs? Don't worry, everything will be fine if I just smile bashfully at you as I princess carry you off the field of battle where you just tried to turn me into a pincushion of arrows.

Zenshu

I confess I really wasn't sure about this one after the first episode, but Zenshu has won me over (for now), though I'm really hoping it ends happily.

Let's call it isekai-adjacent. Natsuko Hirose is a young woman that has been totally and wholly consumed by making anime/drawing since she first saw A Tale of Perishing (a distressingly depressing anime movie) as a young girl. She could probably draw the characters in her sleep. After high school, she went straight to work and developed a hit anime (a la magical girls) and now she's supposed to follow that up with a new one...about first love. Something she knows absolutely nothing about.

While struggling with the deadline and tossing storyboard after storyboard, she winds up eating an expired clam lunch and collapses to (theoretically) reawaken in the middle of A Tale of Perishing, right before one of the characters, Unio (a really annoying talking unicorn dude), is about to sacrifice himself to save the other heroes fighting the Void. But Nautsuko has her pegboard, which is apparently magical now, and it demands she draw! A desk appears and she does; drawing with release, drawing like she hasn't been able to draw since her last project started. 

And she saves the day and Unio, re-writing the battle on the fly. Then she promptly collapses and sleeps for a few days. Now, I should mention that she'd stopped cutting her hair and wasn't going to cut it again until after the project was done (or at least the storyboard) and when she first arrives in the world, she looks, basically, like a walking clump of hair. Can't see her face at all. So the heroes are shocked when they realise she's actually human.

I'm not going to rehash everything, but let's say that the show really seems to be about her rediscovering her love of drawing, but also seeing people outside of herself and her obsession for the first time. As she changes the world around her, it's changing her too. Luke Braveheart, of the super cheesy name, falls in love with her instead of Destiny, the character he was supposed to (and Destiny, instead of being a damsel in distress, becomes a crazy bodybuilder and builds an orphanage, finding her purpose as well, even if it wasn't what the original writer wanted). And the original writer (who also had died) is there too -- in the form of a bird, annoyingly proclaiming to Natsuko that the end of the movie is set in stone and there's nothing she can do about it.

And the ending is terrible; Luke would have become the Ultimate Void after Destiny died. The world ends, the future destroyed.

Can Natsuko re-write this tale? Is she really there or just experiencing bad clam hallucinations? That'd be a shame, because she needs Luke (and the others). Just as much as she needs her spark.

So I'm curious as to how this will wrap up. I'm not going to look anything up and spoil myself.

Edit: Finished it. It was good. The ending made sense, but was also bittersweet (she saves the world, but also goes back to "reality"). But they left it open for a sequel as Luke has promised her he'll find her next time. 

The best part is that it's one of the more original storylines in the season. Definitely glad I watched it. Dunno that I would watch it again, unless there is a second season and we get some romance thrown in if Luke makes it to reality...

Skeleton Knight in Another World

Oh look, another isekai! Haha. Ok, I actually started Skeleton Knight in Another World a long time ago with little dude then forgot about it and just recently finished it (only had about 5 episodes left).

It's a fairly standard storyline with the only major difference being that Arc finds himself isekai'd into the MMO that he'd been playing and he's basically a human (probably) who has been cursed to look like a walking skeleton. That's not normal, even for this fantasy world, so he wears some massive armour to cover that up.

Other enjoyable bits: he is continually geeking out over any cool fantasy stuff he comes across. A dragon? OMG! An elf? OMG! So even though he's a skeleton, he's honestly just adorable.

He's also so GOOD and PURE that Ponta (the little creature with a lot of tails) gloms onto him and adopts him, which helps him as others he meets know that the little creature like that doesn't normally associate with anyone and especially not anyone bad.

I wouldn't say it's a harem, though his main two companions are a dark elf fighter/mage and a beastfolk lady ninja. There's hints of jealousy from dark elf lady when he saves a "lady of the night" from some ruffians (pretty sure he didn't even realise what she was; he just runs in if there's a damsel in distress) but nothing overt. 

There's an adorable bro-mance between him and another beefcake beastfolk ninja dude where they wrestle and bro-hug.

Other than that, it's pretty standard -- he's OP as they come (singlehandedly defeats a hydra). The main conflict is that there's slavery in this world where the elves and the beastfolk aren't safe from humans. Some political intrigue.

I've heard there's a season two, so I'll probably watch it. Not so much for the plot, but because Arc is such an exuberant, chill dude.

The Magical Girl and the Evil Lieutenant Used to Be Archenemies

Oh man, I was really enjoying this freaky, kinda weird magical girl anime: The Magical Girl and the Evil Lieutenant Used to Be Archenemies and I got to the last episode and was wondering if there was more (it stopped rather open-ended) and looked it up and the mangaka apparently died very young at 31 and left it behind unfinished.

So, that's a bummer. I binged the whole thing in one night -- the episodes are about half the length of normal ones (which makes sense because it's from a 4 panel manga) and even shorter if you skip the intro/outro. It is a little bit charming, a bit sketchy, very sweet, but also a bit dodgy. It has a deadpan heroine (the eponymous magical girl of misfortune Byakuya) who works about a billion jobs and never has enough money. And an eyeglass wearing "evil" lieutenant that falls in love at first sight. He wants to do his job and defeat the magical girl, but no, he really just wants to spend time with her.

On the skeevy side, it also has the weirdest ass most awful "angels" / familiars who are "in charge" of the magical girls. Byakuya's is the chainsmoking pervert dude in a cat suit who is constantly trying to get her into compromising jobs or talking about her boobs. He's gross. Actually, beyond gross. Mira tears his head off at one point, though he sadly doesn't stay gone, and you really wish it was permanent. The other magical girl is a childhood acquaintance and she hardly ever actual speaks (except in her head) and acts like she has Tourette's because she's constantly blurting out "fuck" as she randomly chomps people. The swearing part, not the violence. Her familiar/angel is a very bizarre looking bird-man with a six pack. Though when the familiars go back to "heaven" (is it really??), they look like guys.

Honestly, could have completely done without the other magical girl and the horrible angels that are just taking advantage of the girls. Just give me more of the "evil" lieutenant who can't help but save the hapless but...ok, I was going to say plucky, but she's not plucky. She's resigned. But she keeps going even so. I love that they find their happiness in each other.

So there's no real end to the series due to the author's death, so I imagine that she is somehow the magical girl who saves everything by the two of them falling in love. And even though there's an age gap (not sure how much, but this is a weird world where he's not human (?) and she's not either exactly, now that she's a magical girl, so I'm just gonna roll with it). 

So, am I glad I watched it? Yeah. I doubt if I'll watch it again, but it has it's own special charm. In "my" ending, I'll also imagine that Mira ("evil" guy) manages to send off the familiars once and for all and truly save Byakuya and give her the life he so desperately wants her to have.

Ameku M.D.: Doctor Detective

In an effort not to fall any further behind, here's Ameku M.D.: Doctor Detective, an anime that I tried an episode of last night.

It's basically House meets anime, teaming up with the police (sort of), if House was a short, female doctor with too much attitude who looks a bit like a teenager and the Watson of the group is a tall, sturdy, dependable doctor with dark hair.

I...didn't love it. I mean, I love mystery type things but I really didn't care for the Dr. lady much. She's needlessly abrasive, doesn't actually seem to care about patients -- just satisfying her curiosity. The junior doctor was a much nicer character. 

And the mystery begun in the first episode involves her postulating that a Tyrannosaurus Rex bit off a guy's leg and killed him. Like, wtf? It seemed a bit too out there for what the show was billing itself to be. It does have a decent rating on Crunchyroll, so I may try another episode to see if grabs me at all, but I'm very meh over it and there's a lot of other untried shows out there.

Welcome to Japan, Ms. Elf!

Out of the new crop, Welcome to Japan, Ms. Elf! is one that I'm finding very enjoyable. 

Since a young age, Kazuhiro Kitase (the dude) has loved sleeping -- because in his "dreams" he travels to another, fantasy-style world. He's able to bring with him bentos (that he leaves by his bed) and not really anything else and his "body" in the other world started as a young child and is now more or less like a teenager, though in the real world he is out in the workforce and in his mid-twenties. When he "dies" in the alternate world, he just finds himself back at home in Japan. He's never questioned it much, since it's been this way since he was young, but it seems like he assumed it was some kind of rich dreamworld. 

In the fantasy world, he has a friend, Marie, an elf wizard that he likes to hang around with. But then, one day, they are both killed by a dragon, though Kazuhiro protects her as the fire envelops them. When he wakes up back in Japan, he's very startled to discover a (naked) Marie in bed with him. That's when he realises it isn't just a very realistic dreamworld; it does exist. Why he goes back and forth isn't really explained (at least so far; I'm in episode 8) or why anyone there with him when he falls asleep and/or dies returns with him, but it's not really necessary. 

Marie then begins to accompany him back and forth (and later, the avatar of the dragon does as well). So the show is kinda like an isekai but not at the same time. There's cooking related stuff as Marie (and the dragon lady) discover the joy of Japanese food and also just Japan in general, but then it's balanced with their adventuring in the "fantasy" world. 

I like the set up. I like the characters. The two main characters are obviously destined for some romance, but it's very sweet and even though big busted dragon lady appears and an old childhood friend, it's NOT a harem (childhood friend is even married!). All around, I'm finding this one charming and a big enough departure from standard isekai that it's quite enjoyable. Will update after the end of the season.

Psychic Princess

Ha, okay. So leaving aside for a moment that the intro/opening credits to this Chinese anime is quite possibly one of the weirdest I've seen with the strangest song and the title itself is iffy, Psychic Princess is actually very enjoyable. 

It's actually a kinda overused storyline for the base premise -- older sister has strange (i.e. spirit) talents and is sent away at a young age because she's seen as a "jinx" to Spirit Cloud Mountain while younger sister is a pampered, spoiled brat. Hmmm, yes, we can see our Happy Marriage parallels easily, though this one might have come before it. Then the emperor has arranged a marriage between the Grand Councillor's daughter to Prince Ye, but he has a reputation of being cold and heartless and evil Grand Councillor has plans AND younger daughter doesn't want to marry Ye either (until she sees him later and has regrets) so they recall the free spirited older sis and make her go through with the marriage, sort of holding her servants (Auntie Xu (?) and Qu'er) as hostages. 

So, at first it's the classic thing where he declares he doesn't want her anywhere near him (while she's hiding under a table, so he doesn't even see what she looks like) and sends her off to a busted up Serenity Palace building. But then she winds up running into him later dressed like a ninja, into one of his brothers who thinks she's a maid (and she shoulder throws him, much to his immediate joy; he crushes on her immediately) and into another brother, who witnesses her taming the untameable horse (Ye's). 

Meanwhile, our psychic princess (I have to think that the original Chinese is less goofy than the translation, but maybe not) has a ghost servant and soon adopts another one that's been haunting the Serenity Palace. They are called Mochi and Sesame. 

So while he doesn't trust her at first, she continues to intrigue him with her very non-princess-y ways. She knows martial arts, she argues with him all the time, she's not remotely demure, etc. etc. The consorts, including the former favourite, of course detest her. There's political machinations via her father. There are evil Taoist priests who want to steal her away. There are good fairies that become her friends. 

I finished season 1 and can't find season 2 (or, strangely enough, the manga/donghua/manhua version) even though there was news that it was supposed to be out in the 2023/2024 season, though in a weird 3d-ish animation style. I can find online translations and supposedly the season 1 of the anime covered up to around Chapter 130 (and there appear to be over 500 chapters). Taking a peek at the online version it has a bit of a different feel / pace than the anime, though the bones are the same. 

I guess let me cover this...I did enjoy it, the weirdness notwithstanding. She's a strong character, though the voice actress for her has a particularly whiny, high pitched voice that kind of gets on your nerves -- I know it's supposed to be the "cute" voice but, eh, not to me. The art is actually okay once you get past the weirdness of the opening title song. It's SO weird. I did wind up binging it very quickly, so it held my interest and it's annoying that season 1 ended so abruptly, so I did like it and I am glad I watched it. I'll probably even attempt to read it online as there's no other way that I can find, though the translations are...not the best.

Edit: Ok, I found a reasonably (but not great) translated version online and I've been reading it. Up to Chapter 337 out of 500 something. The anime went to roughly Chapter 125? It is both better and worse than the anime, though some of the "worse" might be due to the somewhat iffy/ridiculous translation. Maybe. 

Pro for the anime is that some of it was restructured so that the story makes more sense. And the art is much more consistent. 

The most ridiculous things for the written version is that we're supposed to believe that this 20-something year old (or maybe older, it isn't clear) prince with an ACTUAL harem and even a favourite concubine, has NEVER before had sex and has no idea what to do. Nor have any of his brothers, except for the Crown Prince, who is married and a total horn dog. 

Then, there's a whole section about how they have a past connection and have been reincarnated (I guess?) where neither one were human. He was the Sage King of the Devil Realm and she was a Sky Fairy (and princess? maybe?). And their romance in that past life was also just about as weird, where she went to the Devil Realm dressed as a man (but not remotely looking like one; I mean, the girl has obvious boobs even when wearing men's clothing) and he figures out she's a woman, sort of...but literally is like asking her "Are you a woman?" like he's never seen one before when he has handmaidens who gush all over him all the time. 

Anyway, while I am finding it moderately interesting, it's also got a lot of stuff that makes no sense at all. I am not sure if I'll finish it. I kinda just want a summary. And, seriously, if you could just skip through all of the wrist grabbing and forced kissing and "Shocked" faces, it'd probably take the chapter count down from 500 something to like 200. 

Blue Box

Blue Box is somewhat of an atypical watch for me as I'm not really into sportsy anime. That said, it's really more of a slow burn romance/coming of age story.

This one is on Netflix and is ongoing. I'm not sure how many episodes there will be, but I'm caught up at episode 19. Gah, I kinda hate watching stuff as it comes out! So much nicer to just watch after it's all been released!

Taiki is a badminton player and a year younger than Chinatsu (brown haired girl) who plays basketball. Every morning, they are the first ones at the gym to practice. He has a crush on her and respects her, content mostly to admire her from afar, though he dreams of more. Then it turns out that her parents have to move country and she is going to stay behind to hopefully make it to nationals (she's the star player). As Taiki's mom and her mom were close friends, she goes to live in his house. Oh ho, forced proximity!

It's pretty clear early on that Chinatsu does have some interest in him as well, though she seems determined to not act on it -- she's very focused on basketball, the whole reason she stayed behind. The pink haired girl is Hina, a good friend of Taiki's. They have a teasing relationship together and he treats her basically about the same as his best guy friend Kyo.

But Hina realises she wants more and confesses to him. He rejects her, though he's confused. Meanwhile, Chinatsu senses/sees Hina's moves on him and is growing more and more conflicted. Does she dare disturb the universe?

I'm sure the end game is that Chinatsu and Taiki wind up together, though I have to admit that I don't mind Hina. She's honest and straightforward and, if Taiki weren't totally smitten already, would actually be a good match for him. If, perhaps, she'd started her campaign earlier, who knows what might have happened. But there's definitely some second lead syndrome with her. Not to mention -- Chinatsu is a year ahead. Someday, she'll be at uni while he's still in secondary. That's a hard thing. But, in general, you want to root for the two of them.

It is very much a slow burn--at episode 19 neither one has confessed to the other as they both dance around their feelings. It is very sweet, though I don't think this will be a rewatch for me because it's so painfully awkward. Will update when it finishes though! I do feel bad for Hina; hopefully she'll find her prince charming someday.

Raven of the Inner Palace

Hmmmmm. I felt like I at least partly found what I was looking for in Raven of the Inner Palace, though the anime ends very abruptly (and rather unsatisfyingly). 

It's from a Japanese light novel series (completed, though the anime doesn't cover it all), though it's set in an alternate world historical Chinese universe. The mythology behind it is unique and the art style has a gloriousness to it. It isn't your typical story, which is likely what made me binge it all in a short amount of time.

Anyway, the Raven Consort is a 16 year old girl and while she is ostensibly part of the Emperor's harem, she stands apart from the other consorts. She does not have nighttime duties, for one, and she is the one you go to with requests...occultish ones. Her strange powers come from a raven-ish goddess and she was chosen when she was only 6 to be the successor of the latest Raven Consort.

She's also one of the only surviving members of the old ruling family clan -- they all had silver hair, as does she, though she dyes it to hide. I thought more would be made of that in the anime, but even when her secret is discovered (like, immediately) by the emperor, it really wasn't a big deal and he even mid-way through repeals the edict that put a price on her head.

This at first appears like it is going to be a romance, but it really isn't. It is more a story about freedom and truth, friendship and loyalty. There's definitely a found family aspect to it as well. 

I'm not actually going to rehash it any more than that because, while it is only 13 episodes, to really explain it would take ages. Suffice it to say that the world building is interesting and well done, though I definitely get the feeling that they had to leave large swaths out. The art is well done, the characters are well drawn and well rounded. I enjoyed it, though the ending of the anime really leaves you hanging. 

I did look up what the ending of the manga is and, while I think it would also prove ultimately unsatisfying in some ways, it is a logical conclusion. I'm glad I watched it. I am not likely to re-watch, however, as it has that feeling of 98% complete-ness to it, leaving you unsettled and unsatisfied.

The Tale of the Outcasts

I've obviously been searching for something that I haven't yet found, as I keep starting new animes. I mean, I am finishing some, but I keep starting new ones. Such as: The Tale of the Outcasts.

I'll say right off the bat that this also isn't exactly what I've been craving, BUT, that said, it does seem like a decent show. There's a bit of an Ancient Magus Bride thing going on, but I won't fault it that, though so far I'd say the Ancient Magus Bride has the nod as far as art style and story. I've watched a few episodes so far. 

Wisteria is a young orphan girl who is forced by a (very nasty) priest to beg for a living and is then sold off by him to a nobleman who intends to torture and kill her. Before that sale, the only bright spot in her life was Marbus, a lion-like powerful demon that only she (and very few others) can see. While he has a human form, it costs him to wear it long. When he's a demon, almost no one can see or hear him, but Wisteria can. 

They've spent some time where he comes to her room at night to tell her stories. You see, he's terribly, terribly bored. Demons are NOT people and his values and the things that bind him are very different...but he's been alive for a very long time and he is BORED with a capital B. He's also relatively decent...for a demon, you might say he's quite honourable in his own way. He's at first not going to interfere in Wisteria's life, but that changes when he hears what the nobleman plans. He whooshes off to save her --where it turns out that noble also had a pact with a demon...but that demon is no match for Marbas...except...if a demon does something "good" without something big in exchange, it can kill them. When he tries to save Wisteria, expecting nothing, it immediately cripples him.

So Wisteria gives him her eyes (eyesight), forming a pact with him. Back in full form, he easily levels the evil demon dude.

Complicating matters is that Snow, a demon hunter and Wisteria's long-lost brother, tracks them...he's looking for his sister. After a standoff with Marbus, Wisteria convinces him that this is what she wants, and at the end of the last episode, she and Marbus are off on a new adventure, though I am sure it will be full of people wanting to tear them apart.

I am enjoying it so far and the dynamic between Marbus and the now-blind Wisteria, who has to rely on him to do things like clean when he's never done anything like that before. I truly hope it doesn't drop into romance territory as she's a literal kid and he's more or less like a father figure for her. But, we'll see.