Chillin’ in Another World with Level 2 Super Cheat Powers

This isekai is slightly different, but only a bit: Chillin’ in Another World with Level 2 Super Cheat Powers. Surprise! The Main Character doesn't come from our world! He's from an entirely different fantasy world!

Bananza, a kind hearted merchant, is transported to another world trying to find heroes. However, he's brought there at the same time as another potential hero, who shows up with high level stats, while his appear to be weak. But they screwed something up and can't send him back and the King just wants to get rid of him so he doesn't get embarrassed. So they ship him off to a far away forest, though at least they give him some supplies first.

But, Bananza (now called Flio so the Kingdom can't find him and wearing a very slight shapeshifting disguise so he doesn't look exactly the same), *did* acquire some mad skills from the world's god--kind of like a super cheat. Once he levels up by accidentally killing ALL the demons in the forest when his 'onboard computer'--think Siri--recommends he purify it, his level shoots up. Most skills are marked with an infinity symbol, though he doesn't know what they mean. 

Anyway, he has no idea that the spells he is using are high level. He lived in a fantasy-esque world before and just thinks the rules are different. He goes off and joins an adventurer's guild so he can make a living. Through reasons, he winds up entangled with a lupine girl/demon (who's brother he just killed) that actually works/worked in the Demon King's army that the other hero is supposed to be fighting, and she pledges to stay with him after he bests her in combat (in her race, all the women want the most powerful husband, and he's definitely that). 

He collects some more lady warriors who want to be taught, but happily it doesn't look like a traditional harem show as the lupine-lady gloms on to being his wife after he suggests it as a way they wouldn't look suspicious while in town. Even after just three episodes, it actually seems more like this is going to be a happy show with them as the couple.

The King, who doesn't know that he's the "other" hero, has even sent people asking for this new adventurer to help (he's been killing crazy big stuff easily, especially with his new wife's help), but Flio says no--he's happy to just be chillin'. 

While I don't think this one is particularly groundbreaking, I am enjoying it. Also liking that Flio was against slavery in his own world and doubled down in this one -- he's just a decent guy. And, based even just on the cover images of all the books already released, he's a one woman man and a walking green flag.

As a Reincarnated Aristocrat, I'll Use My Appraisal Skill to Rise in the World

Ok, another ridiculously long title one: As a Reincarnated Aristocrat, I'll Use My Appraisal Skill to Rise in the World which is, obviously, another isekai. 

I'm thinking it will be easier to just go over what's different in this one. The set up is the same as, like, every other isekai out there. Dude gets reincarnated as Ars Louvent, a nobleman's son. By the time he's three, he's learned to read and write, etc. and he has a special skill--he can appraise OTHER people (but not himself) and sees their skills, etc. represented as numbers. 

Learning the world's history, he sees that it is inevitable that this world is headed towards war and bloodshed. He starts collecting talented retainers, not paying any attention to race or gender, etc., just their skills. He is a teeny, titchy little paragon of virtue who wants to help people and make a difference in the world but so far doesn't seem to have any "power" other than his appraisal skill (and inspiring his followers). 

Happily, his dad seems to realise and appreciate his talent right away and basically lets him do what he wants, even accepting new retainers that are from 'despised' foreign countries, etc. 

Another plus, I'm pretty sure this isn't going to turn into a harem. Honestly, if it did, it'd be very sick, because dude is still a little child. In a flash forward, we see him looking like maybe 10? But either way, YOUNG. 

I've seen 3 episodes so far and it's pretty good. Not super exciting, but good. 

I'm Giving the Disgraced Noble Lady I Rescued a Crash Course in Naughtiness: I'll Spoil Her with Delicacies and Style to Make Her the Happiest Woman in the World!

Continuing in the vein of very, very long and misleading titles, we have: I'm Giving the Disgraced Noble Lady I Rescued a Crash Course in Naughtiness: I'll Spoil Her with Delicacies and Style to Make Her the Happiest Woman in the World!

Sounds absolutely horrid, doesn't it? The first part anyway -- which is the half you see on Crunchyroll. 

Allen Crawford is a rather grumpy sorcerer nicknamed the Demon Lord. Charlotte is the disgraced noble lady, who was living a Cinderella-like existence in a neighboring kingdom (Cinderella pre-fairy godmother) who was framed by her betrothed but managed to escape certain death. Allen finds her and takes her in.

He may be all-powerful and have a scary reputation, but the normal extent of his "evil" ways is correcting the grammar in other people's magical treatises. We learn part way through that he was an orphan adopted by the headmaster of THE magical school and was so clever he graduated at 12 and became a teacher. But, for the last 3 years he's been living in a mansion out in the woods...which is where Charlotte finds herself.

Charlotte is a brow-beaten, soft-spoken goody-two-shoes who, basically, says sorry for a living. Allen is determined to show her how to let loose a little (and maybe even get angry at her evil family for once). So all the "naughtiness" is stuff like "eat dessert for dinner!" and "go on a shopping spree!" 

It's cute and there doesn't seem to be any evidence of a harem. However, I'm nine episodes in on the twelve and they didn't really stick to the shtick of "let's spoil her" for very long. Ostensibly, each episode is supposed to tie in to it but instead it started just throwing characters at the viewer. A delivery cat-girl, a younger step-sister (who, thankfully, is NOT in love with her brother, though she is determined to get him and Charlotte to admit to each other their obvious feelings that literally ANYONE else can see), a hell capybara (no, I didn't just make that up) who can transform into a buxom older woman, a jealous magical fenrir (like a big magical puppy who calls Charlotte "mommy" and growls at Allen), and even an elf lady writer who was the former owner of the mansion who had been hiding out in, like, a root cellar for the last THIRTY years. And in the latest "arc" (can't really call them arcs, but whatever), Charlotte's younger half-sister who they think is in trouble but...is actually attending the magic school and has become the top, er, gang leader?

So....um. I mean, I actually am mostly enjoying it, but I kind of wish it had stayed with the original conceit. It feels like anime salad. But, I do like a nice guy helping out his lady love, even if he can't admit it and goes all blushy. 

Edit: Okay, I finished it. Overall, it's a good show and sets itself up for a season two. However, I personally did want at least a LITTLE progress on the romance aspect so I was disappointed in that respect. Will I watch a season two if there is one? Eh, probably. It's not one I'd go out and buy the books for though. I did appreciate the 4th wall break when the cat girl pops up again and he's, like, "Oh, haven't seen you since episode 6." So perhaps the author realised the annoyance of all the characters being thrown at you. I really just wanted to see more of the couple together.

Now that I'm caught up...

So, now that I am finally caught up on all the shows (I think), might as well do a general update. All the things. Well, most of the things.

The Bad...Back in December, I slipped and fell right before Christmas on our slippery deck. Tried to catch myself on the concrete planter and wound up jamming my shoulder up completely and messing up my rotator cuff on the right side. Months later (April now) and it's still slowly getting better, though a lot of the pain now is in my neck. Having trouble being on the computer for long (D&D nights leave me a bit wrecked now the next day). Have been going to an osteopath, though I'm still waiting on my NHS physical therapy appointment (in May). It's massively slowed down my writing as I just can't take being on the laptop long. Which is probably one reason I've watched more dramas and anime lately...

I am also, truth to be told, very over this D&D project now. I very much wish I'd never started it or had taken the out when WotC gave me an excuse with their mishandling of the SRD/Open License stuff. It's nearing draft completion (just a couple chapters to go) but there's a lot after that, if I'm actually going to Kickstarter it. And I am mentally just ready to throw it all away. I won't, but I feel like it. We'll see how it goes. I wish I'd just picked a novel to work on instead. I dunno. Or just quit it all for now. I don't have to write anymore. And, honestly, it's really not worth it.

The Medium...I'm about two months in on restricted calorie diet + more exercise and I've lost a stone. Coventry has, let's be honest, been a very bad place for me. It was a move that made sense for us at the time but it's not been a good place for my mental health (any of us, honestly) and definitely not my actual health either. I was this close to being able to get off my blood pressure medication before we moved here. Then I gained a stone and a half at least. Allergies are bloody debilitating here too. Don't generally like the people. Or the place. If there's a nice restaurant or store--it closes. Just feel generally trapped. It's just that bit too far that taking the train into London for the day isn't easy and if there's anything else going on--which there always seems to be something--there's just no way to justify it. On those rare occasions when I do make it in, it feels like a literal weight has been lifted off of me. Ha, and I can breathe better, literally. 

I'm just lonely here. 

But I was supposed to be talking about the medium good stuff here -- I am really happy that I've finally lost some weight. I'm eating 1000 or less calories (usually around 800ish) a day and exercising about 6 days a week. Hubs is away visiting family this week, so I'm doing an hour in the gym (usually only get to do 40 minutes when he's here, as he swims). I am SO close to breaking into the next bracket (120s), which I haven't been in since basically we moved here. Body fat % has also gone down 7%. So I am feeling more like "me" than in a while, other than the shoulder/neck thing.

Also started HRT and that's helped too, I think.  At least on some things. It definitely isn't a cure all, but some things have improved and not getting migraines either and skin has calmed down. Honestly, that is a good thing -- it SUCKS when you're, like, 50 and getting pimples again. It's, like, FFS. Give me a break. So happy it helped with that. Menopause is a sucker punch.

Playtime...I'm playing (regularly) just a few things right now. I've mostly given up on Trading Legends, though I check in every now and then because I like the people I met in the guild. But it basically became impossible to win anything ever because of the crazy Russian whales. Instead my main game is Isekai: Slow Life, which I don't think I've written about? Maybe I have. It's very similar to TL, actually, but isekai/anime based. Have met some nice people there too, and even dragged some TL people over. Am running a guild, though also regretting that I bothered doing that. Glutton for punishment, I suppose. 

Other than that, I have weirdly picked up MeChat again for the last couple of weeks. It is, admittedly, just as poorly written as it was before. But I was feeling a Mystic Messenger shaped hole in my life and though I'd tried to run an otome-style game in ChatGPT's DeepGame, it just really wasn't very good at it. I did even try to do MM again but, honestly, I can't be waking up in the middle of the night or keep track of the chat timings during the day. MeChat is generally awful (writing, art, money-grabbing to unlock anything decent) but you can just sign in whenever and spend a couple of minutes. 

I won't talk about any of the particular LIs as even the ones where I'll be, like, hey, I'm actually enjoying this one a bit and then they do something stupid and it sucks as bad as the others. So I honestly don't know why I'm bothering. I have NOT spent any money on it. It's kinda funny, actually. They added an AI option and after chatting with it about what I wanted out of the game, it basically told me I should go somewhere else. Ha. It is right. I think I just don't have the spoons to pick up a new game right now. I suppose I could try the DeepGame thing again. Sometimes it does really well and sometimes...not. But at least it isn't raunchy like MeChat (which sometimes even happens in the ones that aren't labeled "spicy", which is super annoying).

Other than that, I am still midway through the Bakarina game second run through. The problem with that is I always forget about it because it's on the Switch. And I guess it makes me feel more guilty about work stuff if I pick it up? Since my phone is right there and I can spend a few minutes and then move on.

Anyway, I guess that's enough of an update. Going to try and actually get some work done today.

An Archdemon's Dilemma: How to Love Your Elf Bride

The only reservation I have about An Archdemon's Dilemma: How to Love Your Elf Bride is that it has the potential to turn into a harem show, but I'm hoping it won't. Other than that, I'm mostly charmed thus far, three episodes in.

We meet Zagan, the supposedly evil sorcerer when he saves the life of a girl (who happens to be a knight of the church, though he doesn't know that at the time) from a different evil sorcerer who wants to sacrifice her. Zagan, though, cleans up her clothes and teleports her somewhere safe. 

Another sorcerer, this one a sort-of friend (he's short on friends, apparently) called Barbatos tells him about the death of one of the Archdemons (which, in this world, just seems to mostly mean Uber sorcerers with lots of power) and that some of his things are being auctioned off.

They go, and in an Ancient Magus Bride kind of twist, Nephelia the elf girl is being auctioned off. Zagan, this supposedly tough guy who hates everyone immediately falls in love with her and buys her, spending basically his entire fortune to do so. And immediately says terrifying things when he really means nice things...which probably adds to his reputation.

Basically, he brings her home to his castle, which was previously owned by someone who had a taste for torture (and he's never bothered to get rid of the stuff) and they begin their very socially awkward cohabitation. She, of course, would just like to know how he intends to kill her.

We soon learn that Zagan had it tough -- he was an orphan child scrambling to live when a sorcerer tried to kill him and he managed to live. Since then, he's tried to make himself stronger and stronger to keep himself safe. He still eats like a half feral child, not knowing anything else, and seems to sleep in his chair. Nephy was known as a "cursed child" and actually has serious power (which she unleashes when the church knights return, thinking Zagan was behind a spate of recent kidnappings, and tries to kill him). 

I always love the stuff where the guys fall first and I like the socially awkward, misunderstood types. It's goofy but also terrifying in this world and I so just want Zagan and Nephy to succeed and find happiness in each other. 

I'm just hoping the lady knight doesn't get in the way (though I think she's already figured out that he's not your typical evil sorcerer). He hasn't become an Archdemon yet, but it's obvious he'll be the next one. Who knows whether he actually wants to be or not. I think he'd be perfectly happy if he could just hang out in his castle and eat Nephy's cooking.

A Condition Called Love

Welp. I, uh, don't totally know what to think about this one. I was seeing A Condition Called Love in bookstores and the covers were screaming "cute high school romance" so when I saw it pop up on Crunchroll I thought I'd give it a try. I've seen two episodes now and...

I...uh...am not entirely sure he's not like potentially crazypants serial killer predator or something. I mean, maybe not? But also maybe? 

I'll start over. Hotaru, the girl, has never experienced love or even been terribly interested in it. She's in high school. While out with some friends, she sees Hananoi, the guy, getting dumped by his girlfriend. Later, walking home, she sees him sitting alone in the snow and puts an umbrella over his head.

And he immediately falls totally in love with her, this girl he's never met before.

Ok, sorta sounds sweet. The boy who falls in love too easily and the girl who's not sure what love is. Anyway, he talks her into at least trying to date him to see if maybe they could really be boyfriend and girlfriend.

And he immediately goes off the deep end trying to do things for her. On the one hand, it's sweet. On the other hand, it's, like, seriously excessive (like showing up two hours early to wait for her in the morning or staying up all night to write up study guides for her or nearly freezing in the snow to try and find her lost hair pin).

The first episode erred more towards the sweet side, but in the second...he, uh, says some really really borderline stuff. And it's feeling skeevy but people in the comments were all "It's not like it looks! This is the sweetest! Seriously!" so I guess I'll stick it out for a bit but dude needs some help on figuring out proper boundaries. 

So I'm reserving judgement for now and just hoping he's not a budding serial killer. Maybe it's also 'cause I'm old. My rose coloured glasses broke a long time ago.

Edit: Ok, I've watched 4 episodes now and...hmmm. The dude has toned down the serious red flags but he's still wavin' 'em, just not as loudly. The girl, while on the surface she seems like she should just be sweet and charming, she's also slightly getting on my nerves because I don't see how she can be THIS clueless if she's not neurodivergent (which she doesn't seem to be). Has she never seen a movie? Read a book? Paid any attention to her friends or their relationships? Paid attention to PEOPLE? 

So, I mean, I guess it's mostly sweet but with an edge that makes me want to take them both to therapy. It feels like they could both use it.  

Lovely Runner or Run Away With Sun-Jae On Piggyback

I honestly am not sure why I was so looking forward to this one: Lovely Runner, a new timeslip romance. It just came out and is still releasing, but I've watched the two episodes that are available. I am really liking it so far. Why did it tickle my fancy enough to make me start it when it's not fully out yet and I've got other shows on the go? I really don't know. I HATE having to wait around for new episodes and almost never pick up something that I know is still releasing.

Is it because I've wanted to see the female lead (Kim Hye-Yoon) in something? She's from Extraordinary You, which has been on my list for ages but somehow I've never found the time to watch. I have seen her as a bit part in a number of things (where, strangely enough, she has often played a delinquent).  I've also only seen the male lead (Byeon Woo-Seok) in small parts as well, though he's also in some that are on my huge backlog list. So I dunno if that's it.

Is it because it feels quite topical? I don't know. I guess I don't need to analyse it though--just enjoy it. Which I am, two episodes in.

Im Sol (the girl--though I should say woman, as she's a 27 year old playing both a 16/17/18(?) year old and her older self (early 30s)---both, I should add, convincingly) had an accident (probably run over by a car) when she was a teen and was in despair in the hospital, paralysed from the waist down. She gets a phone call from a radio talk show randomly calling people to see if they've heard of a new band called Eclipse, of which Sun-jae is a member). They offer her a prize of running shoes and she breaks down--and Sun-jae says some words that give her new hope.

Flash forward 10 or 15 years and Sun-jae is 34 (the actor is 32 and, while he does look slightly old to be playing a HS student (19), he's pulling it off) and completely burnt out by the Idol life and commits suicide, coincidentally on the same night that Im Sol runs into him when her wheelchair battery dies on her way home from (trying to get into) his concert. She's devastated, as she's a total stan (but not in a creepy way). She'd previously bought his watch, which is somehow magical(?) and winds up going back in time to when they were both still in high school. 

It's also back before her accident, hence, I imagine, the English version of the title. She thinks it's a dream at first and runs right to Sun-jae and hugs him (in the middle of a hidden swim meet), completely surprising him. You find out at the end of episode 2 that he, who also happens to be her neighbour, actually had a crush on her (though, originally at the time, she had no idea who he was and she was crushing on some bad boy band member named Kim Tae-Sung (Song Geon-Hee). She's so far beyond him after being in her 30s that she barely remembers who he is though in this timeline/the past, she'd literally confessed to him the day before.

I feel like I'm trying to cram a lot of information in her and am not totally making sense or structuring this well, but, ah, well. 

Anyway, she spends most of the 2nd episode trying to figure out how to protect him--now and in the future. She realises that the next swim meet he has is the one that was his last when he completely ruined his shoulder. She's doing everything she can to get him to not compete, but, to be fair to teenage him, she is acting a bit like a crazy person. Honestly, if he hadn't already noticed her and been crushing on her, he probably would have called the police by now for harassment.

That's about where we're at after 2 episodes, but I am really enjoying it and if it doesn't have a happy ending, I am going to go postal. Not really. But I'll think about it. There's at least hints that things can turn out happy--a glimpse into the present day shows a change in the crime scene when a picture of the two of them appears on the table...

Will write more after I've watched more. Still confused as to why I'm torturing myself by watching one I have to wait for, but there you go.

Everyone Loves Me

I watched the lead actor in this one (Lin Yi) in Put Your Head on My Shoulder and quite liked him in it, so when I saw he was in Everyone Loves Me, I thought I'd give it a try. It's a similar kind of set up -- enemies to lovers. But going both ways. 

So, in this one, the female lead, Yue Qian Ling (actress Zhou Ye), is a digital artist and works as an intern on an otome game while she finishes up her degree. Gu Xun (Lin Yi) is a game designer (programmer/idea guy?) who is known as an aloof dude. Qian Ling is enamored with Gu Xun, but he really has never paid any attention to her...

Which isn't totally true. They're actually in a FPS gaming group together, but there they go under the avatars "Campus Hunk" and "Sticky Dough Twist". They also even play at the same arcade and are often vying against each other for first place. Gu Xun is very interested in Sticky Dough Twist, not knowing it's Qian Ling. While gaming, she's talented, harsh, and tells it like it is. When she asks for advice on how to get her crush to like her, he gives her advice to act like a timid, weak "I need saving" kind of girl, which is nothing at all like she's like.

But she tries it. But it of course backfires because she's trying the "naive" girl shtick on HIM and he hates those kind of girls. 

Here is where I gotta say this show isn't as good as Put Your Head on My Shoulder. She's (for the first 6 episodes) trying SO hard to re-make herself into what she thinks he wants and is SO forgiving when he's a total ass to her. It's painful. And, I mean, I get why he gets annoyed at her, because anyone with a brain would be annoyed by her. But he is a total ass. As a viewer, I was getting mad at both of them--her for trying to hard to completely change herself just for a guy that treats her like garbage and him for just being a jerk.

After episode 6 I was thinking that I'd just give it up. But I thought I'd at least check some reviews to see if it improves (especially after I realised it had over 20 episodes, even if they are just 40ish minutes instead of an hour). And the couple of reviews I clicked on seemed to note the same dragging issue BUT they all said episode 7 is where it picks up. 

So I figured I'd give it another couple and watched episode 7 and 8. It does improve. Basically, she confesses as Qian Ling and he rejects her in a very public way. That FINALLY FFS snaps her out of it and she vows to have nothing else to do with him. But, in the same episode, when she's venting to her online gaming group that night, he figures out that she's Sticky Dough Twist. So now the tables have been turned. 

He's trying to apologise and explain himself and she's having none of it -- and finally acting like herself instead of a meek idiot girl.

Though I still have reservations as some of the reviews also talk about the increase in Chinese censorship and how that's led to a very lacklustre story (particular in the actual romance part). So I think I will probably continue watching it BUT I don't have super high expectations and I very very seriously doubt I'll like it more than PYHOMS. I may, honestly, just stick it out until they actually get together and then see if I want to stick around after that. It does remind me why I usually stick to the Korean stuff over the Chinese stuff, though I really would like to get better at Chinese.

Though, to be fair, I don't think it's the actors in this case--it's more the writing/plot.

Oh, and I forgot the second lead couple. The dude is one of Gu Xun's friends/co-worker and the girl is his very socially anxious assistant. I mean, it's actually painful to watch her. Other than for "plot reasons" I have no idea why he wouldn't have either fired her or reassigned her to a role where she doesn't have to talk to people. She can work if she doesn't have to actually, you know, communicate or talk to others. Things kinda essential to an executive assistant...

Lastly, I'll mention the game stuff -- I'm adjacent to programmers / otome knowledge / game design enough that I was interested in that side of the plot as well. Some of it is kinda realistic, but other bits really aren't (unless Chinese dev shops are totally different). But I think that's somewhat for the drama and office politics.

Oh. And the title is stupid. 

Edit: Hm. Ok. I've made it through episode 16 but I'm really kind of annoyed. One, they'd all be fired. They all act so inappropriately. It's like their 12 year olds, the lot of them, including some of the 'older' bosses. And he's STILL not confessed his feelings and now she's more or less back to liking him. I dunno. I'm feeling very waffle-y about it.

Frieren: Beyond Journey's End

This is one I'm watching with little (big) dude: Frieren: Beyond Journey's End. It's interesting in that it's kind of about the hero's journey AFTER the big bad is destroyed. 

I thought we were nearing the end, as we're on episode 10, but there's 28 episodes on Crunchyroll (!) so we have a long way to go. So I might as well go ahead and start my write up! 

Frieren, an elven mage over a 1000 years old, was part of the hero's party that defeated the demon king. We don't see that part; we see the after. Being so long-lived, human lives feel like a blink to her and though she spent ten years traveling with her companions: Himmel (a human knight), Eisen (a dwarf warrior), and Heiter (a human priest/cleric), she was always rather distant. After the journey was over, she went traveling--collecting spells is her hobby. She returns many, many years later still the same but Himmel is nearing death and Heiter is quite old too. Eisen is still going, but has aged as well (middle aged dwarf?). They take kind of a last trip together to see some shooting stars and then she disappears again. Himmel dies not long after and Frieren experiences regret that she didn't connect with him more. 

So, things happen (I don't want to rehash each bit) and Heiter sort of tricks her into taking on a young girl as an apprentice (Fern) on his death bed. She was an orphan he adopted. They travel together after Heiter's death, with Fern almost being more mature than Frieren as far as waking up on time and trying to keep things on track. 

While they travel, they go on kind of mini adventures. Now, mostly, this is not a fighting show. An adventure might be trying to find a particular flower that Himmel really liked so she can cast a spell to create a field of them around a statue of him. They do also some big things too -- like returning to a demon previously sealed by the party years before and Frieren takes him out...the world of magic moved on after he was sealed and he is taken by surprise.

Interspersed in the episodes are flashbacks to the original party, and, after a while, Frieren's master, the legendary mage Flamme. Flamme lived so long ago that she's like a part of the myth of the land. Only Frieren remembers the woman behind the legend.

Part way through, Frieren decides to go to "Heaven" (which is, apparently, a real place far to the North, past the Demon King's fortress) to talk to Himmel. She finds information in an old book of Flamme's that the mage left behind for her to find. Along the way, she and Fern pick up Stark, who was the apprentice of Eisen, who is now a fairly old dwarf. 

We're up to the part where Frieren kills Aura, one of the seven sages (demons) of destruction that they had previously driven off or sealed up. Aura thinks that Frieren will be easy pickings as her mana aura is weak...but that's only because Flamme taught Frieren all those years ago to hide her true power to trick demons. When Frieren lets loose, it's practically like the northern lights. 

Now they're about to move on farther north, with, I suspect, a detour where Frieren has to get a current mage "certification" as she hasn't bothered to keep them up to date because "they change the requirements so often". 

It's an interesting thing, with Frieren being so long lived -- She's like a legend herself, but in a tiny, unassuming package. Both she and Fern are rather deadpan. Stark is more like a puppy. I'm enjoying it. I can see why it's so popular (been seeing it everywhere) as it's a side of the story we seldom get to see. It's the classic hero's journey but not at the same time. It's also about loss and found family and grief.

Will update later after more episodes or finishing it, but it's definitely a good one.

Mr. Villain's Day Off

I've only seen one episode of this one, but I'm trying to catch up, so here goes: Mr. Villain's Day Off!

Honestly, it seems pretty cute. Basically, the guy (er, no idea what his name is....hmm.) works for some evil league of evil doers from another planet that are trying to take over the world. But...on his day off, he likes nothing more than to go visit the pandas at the zoo and eat ice cream. 

He even has run ins (where he refuses to fight) with the heroes. No idea if there's going to be a larger plot or if it is really just going to be him enjoying his time off while periodically thinking, hmmm, better enjoy this before I destroy it or hey, this shop has great stuff, I'll leave it until the end...

At any rate, I liked the first episode. I think I'll use it as filler when I want a break from something I'm watching more regularly. Will update later once I've either finished or watched a chunk.

I Woke Up as a Maid in a Romance Novel and His Royal Highness is Madly in Love With Me

This is another title from that Manga Plaza website: I Woke Up as a Maid in a Romance Novel and His Royal Highness is Madly in Love With Me and it was an actual completed series, so I finished it. About half the chapters were free, maybe more, so I spent maybe £4ish on it? That seemed reasonable and the story was decent, so I'm happy with that. It was a good afternoon's diversion.

They really do seem to go for some exceptionally LOOOONNNNGGG titles, don't they? I know it's the trend, but, man. Ok, so this is isekai adjacent. Erina (the girl) is actually an editor for a romance author, Haru Yayoi. Like every author ever in one of these things, he's a procrastinator who waits around for inspiration (Dear Everyone: This is not actually how professional writers work. Okay, maybe SOME of us, but not the majority. If I waited for inspiration, I'd never finish a freaking book.). 

In his current work, there's this magical blue raspberry thing and somehow (none of this is really explained in the book, but go with it), he makes it in real life. He has her try it while she's there trying to cajole him into working (Dear Everyone: I have never ever ever had an editor show up at my house. Ever.) She does -- and somehow gets sucked into the book as a maid to the main male lead, a Duke who's also her foster brother (though why she's also a maid...I dunno. It doesn't make sense.) 

The author dude 4th walls it, appearing as a crow, and says she can get out if she eats one of the berries in the book and something about "true love's kiss." Considering the panels before had just shown him being completely stunned and shocked as she disappeared, no idea how he a) figures out how to appear to her or b) what's going on or c) how she can get out again.

What she doesn't know is that he also winds up sending his younger brother Kiito in--who appears in the story as Kit, the Crown Prince that is fated to die IF he doesn't eat one of the magic berries. The brother had never met her before, but he had seen her picture and had been told of her tragic (i.e. asshole) first love.

Anyway, things happen, they fall in love, etc. etc. but since she doesn't know that Kit is from the real world and she's in true love for the first time, and they've only managed to get one magic berry created--she gives it to him. But then he kisses her and makes her eat it and Bam! She wakes back up in her author's house. But kinda heartbroken because she thinks Kit died. Then brother comes in and Whoo-hoo, a reunion. 

There's more to it than that, but I'm not going to go into any more depth than that. Overall, I'd say it's sweet. It's a quick read at 15 chapters and the art is pretty good too. There's an awful lot about the plot that doesn't make a lot of sense (especially at the end, when they're about to be sent into another book), but it's one of those things where you just have to go with it.

Am I glad I read it? Eh, sure. It's not the best thing I ever read, but it gives you some feels and actually finishes the story. Would I read it again? Hmmmmmm. I doubt it? But maybe? The biggest issue with it is probably to do with the length. They both fell in love a little too easily and too quickly--there wasn't time to do much more. Which also made the side character stories very quick too. Well, that and the plot holes, but like I said, it's one where you just have to completely suspend disbelief and roll with it. It would actually make for a decent full length thing, but it'd require a lot more work. Anyway. As a short one shot, it was pretty good.