Top 10 Asian Dramas Of 2023

And now last but not least, here's the Top 10 Asian Dramas list! Again, this list is based on my personal opinions and may contain spoilers. If you'd like to see more, make sure to check out my Weekly Drama Reviews, Favorite YouTube Videos and My Asian OTPs & Ships as well as checking out my Top 10 Asian Dramas Of 2018, Top 10 Asian Dramas Of 2019, Top 10 Asian Dramas Of 2020, Top 10 Asian Dramas Of 2021, and Top 10 Asian Dramas Of 2022 lists!

Coming in at number 10 is Bo Ra! Deborah!! This show was honestly cuter than it had any right to be. The beginning was a bit rough cause I'm a little over most enemies to lovers tropes but I think it was as soon as episode 3 that it started to settle in and become so cute. I'm honestly a sucker for a good soft male lead and though our male lead here started out feeling like he was going to be a cold one, he quickly showed us his soft underbelly and that's where I fell in love. I loved the idea of a dating expert realizing that all the advice she gave to the world was nothing if she couldn't focus on her own love life and that we focused so hard on the idea of what to do after a breakup and the different routes we could take.

At number 9 is My Lovely Liar!! Unique show concepts are so totally my jam so the fact that this show chose to focus on a woman who could detect lies and a guy who almost never told a lie was so fun. The chemistry between our main leads of course was the reason that I stuck around with this show but I also really did love the story. Okay yes I really didn't need the murder mystery cause for some reason kdramas are obsessed with adding a murder to rom coms which is hella weird tbh but everything else about this show was perfect.

Coming in at number 8 is Crash Course In Romance!! This show was a surprise to be about how much I ended up liking it. The show started out feeling like it was going to be a typical slaphappy comedy where I prefer more subtle comedy but then somehow around halfway through this show after when the male lead realized he was in love with the female lead and freaking out over the fact that he thought she was married, I realized I was looking forward to new episodes every week. I am a sucker for forbidden love tropes so I soaked in all the angsty goodness. The stalked plot twist was a bit unneeded in my opinion but I guess it gave the show something to do in the later episodes of the season after our leads got together and were happy.

At number 7 is Tale Of The Nine Tailed 1938!! Another surprise hit joining my list cause I really didn't enjoy the original season of Tale Of The Nine Tailed and I'm not sure if it was because of the main romance not hitting for me or the fact that since this was taking place in the past all the characters were chiller than they would be and especially Yeon could relax and be funny rather than stressed about the end of the world or whatever. The new cast were all interesting to watch as was the setting and the costuming but of course the relationship between the two brothers being such a focus made this show stand out.

Coming in at number 6 is Pending Train: 8:23, Ashita Kimi to!! As the only jdrama to make it onto my list this year, you have to know this is a good one! I love stranded somewhere stories and this one I felt had an interesting slow burn pace that most of these survival shows don't have. The main trio were all fun to watch and the romance between our leads was very cute. I also really loved the fact that the story didn't end when our stranded heroes returned but actually it followed the idea of how victims continue on with their lives after a big event. How can they return to normal if everyone around them has changed including themselves?

At number 5 is Nothing But You!! This is a noona romance that stole my heart from the first episode that I watched. I don't usually love noona romances cause those kinds of shows always put such a focus on the age gap and shaming the female lead when there are literal shows in which the male leads are twice the age of the female leads and yet no one says anything. From my memory though there wasn't too much of that nonsense in this show which is why I loved it. I loved that our main leads started out as friends and slowly evolved into something more and I loved the focus on sports. Leo is always a star in everything he does and I'm obsessed. 

Coming in at number 4 is Celebrity!! This is the year in which I decided I'm totally in love with Netflix kdramas cause they feel so large and different than most kdramas. They are so beautiful to look at and they always seem to avoid all the usual kdrama pitfalls and tropes that annoy me. This show follows social media influencers but also focuses on the 1% and bullying and I adored every moment. The plot was so dark and twisty and I loved seeing our female lead kick butt. The romance in this show did feel a bit underdeveloped despite the intense chemistry our leads had cause though he was clearly head over heels from day 1, she seemed to go from hating him to loving him in the course of one episode. The ending was strange but not unwelcome.

At number 3 is Hidden Love!! This is hands down the best cdrama that aired this year in my opinion which is definitely saying something cause usually I'm a fan of modern day kdramas and historical cdramas but ironically between this and Nothing But You, it was the modern cdramas that had a chokehold on my heart this time around. This show is at it's core a rom com with no hidden bells and whistles but sometimes that's exactly what you need. A good old fashioned romance isn't that popular to do anymore cause the show needs to have well written characters and a well written romance since there's nothing else in the show to distract the audience. This show did all that and more. I loved every single moment of this show and how warm the tone was.

Coming in at number 2 is Hate To Love You!! I was obsessed with this kdrama the first time I watched it cause I don't think I've ever seen a show with such a concept before! Our leads feel so American more than Korean with their thoughts about romance. It was funny in a subtle way which means no physical comedy as is my jam and the romance between our leads was so intensely good. I was a bit hesitant going into the drama cause the description for this show was so terrible but honestly if you are curious at all about this show I'd definitely recommend checking it out! The whole manhater/womanhater thing was definitely much less of a plot point than it seemed to be and both the main leads acted like adults so there wasn't a lot of misunderstandings that dragged out.

And finally my number 1 favorite drama of 2023 is The Glory!! I mean really could it have been anything else when this show was one of the more hyped up shows this year to the degree that people who don't even watch kdramas were talking about this show! I didn't watch the first season when it first came out cause I think I thought rather than a revenge story this was more rich people drama like Penthouse but I eventually was bored enough to check it out and I was sucked in. I loved that this show didn't hype up the idea that a good person always forgives like in a lot of other dramas and that we actually saw our female lead make a revenge plan and follow it through to the end. She was leaps and bounds ahead of everyone else and it was so much fun to see her put these horrible monsters in their places. And let's not forget the romance which shined like a bright light amongst all the dark. I loved that not only weren't they so cute together but that it also gave her a reason to want something at the end of her revenge tunnel and see that there could be more to her life. If you haven't seen this show yet you have to have to check it out!

And with that we come to the end of my Top 10 Asian Dramas Of 2023! I hope you have a wonderful New Year!!

xoxo Allie

Top 10 TV Shows Of 2023

Hi everyone! As promised, I'm back with my Top 10 Favorite TV Shows of 2023! Again, this list is based on my personal opinions and may have spoilers. If you want a refresher, check out my Top 10 TV Shows Of 2013, Top 10 TV Shows Of 2014, Top 10 TV Shows Of 2015, Top 10 TV Shows Of 2016, Top 10 TV Shows Of 2017, Top 10 TV Shows Of 2018, Top 10 TV Shows Of 2019, Top 10 TV Shows Of 2020, Top 10 TV Shows Of 2021, and Top 10 TV Shows Of 2022 as well as my Favorite YouTube Videos and My TV Show OTPs & Ships lists!! Fair warning, there may be spoilers below so keep that in mind!

Coming in at number 10 is Transatlantic! This show actually isn't one I usually watch given that I usually lean towards more lighthearted stuff but I saw this show on Netflix one day and seeing that it was a miniseries I thought I would watch it out of boredom than anything else. I went in blind knowing nothing about what the show was about and who was in it which in a lot of situations is kinda the better way of doing something cause then anything good will surprise you! And that's exactly what this show did. Surprise me with how good it was! Any kind of story set in WWII is heartbreaking of course but I loved the tone this show took. It was able to balance dark with humor in a way that it didn't feel out of place. I loved all the characters and the main romances and I even loved the ending.

At number 9 is XO Kitty!! This show is sort of a sequel/spinoff to the All The Boys I've Loved Before film trilogy where it follows the youngest Covey sister as she moves to South Korea and goes to boarding school to be with her long distance boyfriend. It's an interesting show that's clearly trying to be a kdrama-lite but in a sense that it doesn't really hit any note as hard as it should in any situation. I did like the main cast and the plot was just light enough to turn my brain off with but I high key fell in love with who seems like the second male lead and it's gonna suck when Kitty totally doesn't end up with him if we do get a season 2.

Coming in at number 8 is Miss Scarlet And The Duke!! This is a show that I don't think I ever talked about loving on these Top 10 lists but given the fact that I actually seem to be a bit low on tv that I've watched this year, this gets a spot! Having said that I do really love this show! Something about it just makes it feel so low stakes that I forget that I watch this show and enjoy it once it's over! I adore the whole detective show set in a period piece thing that a lot of shows have been doing in the past few years and I love the intense chemistry between Eliza and William. I do wish there was a better reason for their will they won't they thing other than the fact that society would look down on Eliza if she was married to Will and still worked as a detective cause in all honestly Will as much as he gripes about her working doesn't seem like the man who would make her stop if they did get married so really their problem should be something more in order for us to believe their hesitance to be together.

At number 7 is The Witcher! This is a bittersweet entry on my list cause I have a feeling that I won't be finding any future season of this show to hit as hard as previous ones have since Henry Cavill is leaving and being replaced by Liam freaking Hemsworth of all people. Like I totally understand Henry's disappointment with this show (I see you every City Of Bones adaptation) but they couldn't find any other actor with a pulse to take over? It was especially sad that this was the last Henry Cavill season given that he and Yennefer have such good chemistry and this was the season that they were finally a team! The story is just ramping up and yet I have a feeling that this next season might be it's last unless a miracle happens and people really do end up liking Liam.

Coming in at number 6 is Star Trek: Strange New Worlds! In this past year I've really fallen down a Star Trek rabbit role cause I have been told for a while that Star Trek would totally be my thing but I was hesitant cause I'm a bit of a completionist so I knew if I wanted to get into Star Trek I would have to start from the beginning and go all the way through which is what I did and ironically Strange New Worlds became one of my favorites. Not only am I just a fan of modern day technology in terms of monsters and aliens but I just find the way the modern day tells stories to be more interesting. I love our main cast and especially Captain Pike who feels like the perfect blend of Kirk and Picard. Where Kirk was too much of an adventurer and constantly in danger, Picard almost never left his bridge. Both captains fit their shows (Next Gen felt more military in a fun way while OG was more about space adventures) but Pike brings this charm to his character that also makes me feel like he's worth following.

At number 5 is The Wheel Of Time!! I know this is probs a slap in the face to book readers since this show does stray quite a bit away from the source material but I'm just a tv watcher for this show and in all actuality I think this show is fun! Every week I'm sitting on the edge of my seat wanting more and I feel like paints the perfect picture as to how much I like this show. Moraine is so fascinating to watch and she really steals the show every time she's on screen. I love the world and the plot that this show follows and though I do think the pacing is strange (sometimes it feels like we're jumping from plot to plot and other times it feels like nothing's happening for episodes on end) in the end it keeps me entertained enough to put it this high on the list.

Coming in at number 4 is Loki!! This show is probs a surprise to no one given that the entire public is ranting and raving about how season 2 of Loki is singlehandly saving Marvel from flopping and given the fact that it's this high on my list, I sort of agree with that. Loki is still one of my most favorite Marvel characters and when I started this season I was a bit worried given that I liked season 1 so much and I was worried that season 2 would not hold up. In the end I feel like the first half of season 2 was a bit wonky and Sylvie really had no purpose in this season other than to be annoying but the way the finale saved this show was a work of art. I loved seeing how everything that happened after He Who Remains died was all a part of his bigger plan and how poetic it was that in the end Loki gave up the thing he actually wanted the most which was to not be alone for the thing he always thought he wanted which was a throne. If the rest of Marvel's phase 5 and 6 is written by the showrunners of this show no one would be worried!

At number 3 is Queen Charlotte!! I mean is it any surprise that a Brigerton season is on this list even if it's a spinoff/prequel and not a new season? Bridgerton has such a chokehold on me that I flip for any new content created by these showrunners cause they really do make the sweetest most romantic shows in a world where shows geared towards women aren't really made. This season followed Charlotte and George and we got to see them fall in love and make it work despite his mental issues. Bridgerton does this thing where each season it builds up the most dreamy men and they make you want to fall to pieces as they would give up their entire worlds for the women they love. How can you not watch and melt??

Coming in at number 2 is Gen V!! In an abrupt change of tone from the cute sweetness of Queen Charlotte to the darkness of the Boys world, Gen V definitely surprised me this year. I really don't know what I was expecting from a spinoff of the Boys other than maybe a fear that it wouldn't be as good or too CW-esque given that it follows teens rather than adults but Gen V really knocked it out of the park with it's cast and the story it told. I loved that it was just as dark and twisted as the Boys but there was light in this show with the cast cause they were young and naive enough to believe what the public believed about superheroes being forces of good. Our main cast really did want to do good and it was only their circumstances that prevented them from doing so. The final episode had one of the best moments with the appearance of Homelander who really popped up and you were like oh wow he's going to save the day only to remind you what kind of monster he was.

And finally my number 1 show of 2023 is One Piece!! This has to be the biggest shock of this year cause unlike a lot of people I'm actually not a fan of One Piece. I've never seen a single episode at first because I didn't like the animation style and then later cause there's like 1000 episodes to go through so the fact that I decided to check out this live action adaptation mostly out of curiosity was a thing especially after how hard Cowboy Bebop's live action adaptation flopped. After having watched it I have to say this show hit so hard. It's almost a perfect adaptation cause it actually took what the anime and manga did and condensed it in a way that made it easier to digest without taking away the essence. Every single person involved in this production was clearly a huge fan and it shows! I especially want to give a shout out to the showrunner Matt Owens and the main actor Iñaki Jasso who literally oozed charm from every pore and made anime tropes work in real life!

And that's the end of my Top 10 TV shows of 2023 list! I'll see you all tomorrow for my Top 10 Asian Dramas of 2023!!

xoxo Allie

Top 10 Movies Of 2023

Hello all my lovelies! I hope you've all had a great holiday season! It's that time of year again where I list my favorite movies, tv shows, and Asian dramas of the year! I've been doing these for about seven years now so you should know the drill but if you don't, I'm going to be listing my Top 10 Movies of 2023 from 10 to 1 with number 1 being my favorite movie of the year! If you're interested, I also have Top 10 Movies Of 2013, Top 10 Movies Of 2014, Top 10 Movies Of 2015, Top 10 Movies Of 2016, Top 10 Movies Of 2017, Top 10 Movies Of 2018, Top 10 Movies Of 2019, Top 9 Movies of 2020, Top 10 Movies Of 2021, and Top 10 Movies Of 2022 as well as my Favorite YouTube Videos and My Movie OTPs & Ships lists! 

Coming in at number 10 is The Little Mermaid!! So I really didn't have any expectations for this movie given the fact that it's another Live Action Disney movie and other than Cinderella I haven't really and truly enjoyed one of these adaptations but I went into this with a fairly open mind figuring at least the songs will be good and came out of the movie fairly content. By no means is this movie better than the cartoon like in the case of Cinderella but it's not egregious either like the Lion King adaptation. To be completely honest it's only on this list cause I didn't have anything else I enjoyed more. The casting was fine, the music was fine, and the cinemography was fine. I did like the way Eric and Ariel were given the same drive for exploration in order to give them another reason to be into each other other than the typical wow this person is handsome thing but Eric's adoption was also strange.

At number 9 is The Marvels!! Okay so this movie even being on my Top might be a bit of a surprise for anyone cause 90% of the public have decided that this movie is the worst thing in the world and is the reason that Marvel is on a downward slope and blah blah blah but to be completely honest I had a blast watching this movie! I mean yeah it's no Infinity War or Winter Solider but it's not Antman Quantomania either! I thought this movie was meant to be a lighthearted space adventure and that's exactly what it was! I mean yes the plot was a bit wonky and yes the whole singing planet thing was not needed but on the whole I think Iman Vellani's charm was just so good that I couldn't help but like this movie! She actually made Carol Danvers seem interesting and that's something after everything we've gotten so far in the MCU which makes her dull as a rock. And like don't get me wrong cause it's definitely not Brie Lawson's fault cause I found her charming in the Fast franchise so it's definitely the writing. I loved the cat space station scene and I loved the post credits as well!

Coming in at number 8 is Fast X!! Once again this is probably a surprising move to be on this list but sue me I'm clearly a sucker for movies where I have fun or I see the cast having fun over movies which are grim and dark! I've always been a fan of the Fast movies and I really don't care that much that they've become so unrealistic that cars are driving in space or people are literally coming back from the dead. I'm just out here to see big explosions and hear Vin Diesel say family! Jason Momoa was another pleasant surprise in this movie cause for once I actually really enjoyed the villain of one of these movies! He was totally playing a version of Joker with his unhinged craziness and I loved it. I also loved Alan Ritchson who played a double agent cause I'm obsessed with him and how hot he is.

At number 7 is Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves!! This might surprise you but despite how nerdy I am, I've actually never played a single game of D&D. Now this isn't because of some need to say that I'm too cool for something like that but just because no one I know plays so I've never had the chance to! I have however watched a lot of online D&D campaigns and I've seen VOx Machina so that's all to say that I'm familiar with the way D&D works. This movie was truly a love letter to anyone who enjoys D&D and that made me smile. I love that the whole story plays out exactly like a campaign but subtly enough that it  feels like this is what the characters would do in different situations rather than we're just acting out a campaign. I loved the nods to different stereotypical character tropes and I loved the ending and how it was so bittersweet! The movie was hilarious to watch and I loved every second!

Coming in at number 6 is Oppenheimer!! Another surprising entry but only because I think this movie would be higher on so many other people's top 10 lists. My reasoning goes back to everything I've said before. I honestly just prefer more lighthearted movies! Tbh I probs wouldn't have even watched this movie in a normal year cause this isn't even the type of movie I go for but with Barbenheimer sweeping the world this summer I ended up checking this movie out and enjoying myself. Given that it's probs an Oscar bait movie obviously everything was top notch here. The plot, the cinematography, the acting was all chefs kiss. I loved how dark and emotional the whole movie was given what it was about! My only complaint would be that it felt like it ran a little too long cause by like halfway through I was checking my watch like wow it's only halfway?

At number 5 is Hunger Games: The Ballad Of Songbirds And Snakes!! Of all the movies on my list this is the one that was probs the biggest shock to me while I was both watching this movie and after I left. I mean I love the original Hunger Games movies but I really and truly didn't expect this prequel to hit as hard as it did cause usually prequels and sequels never stand up to the original but low and behold this one did! I absolutely loved every moment of this movie from beginning to end. It was fascinating seeing how different this Hunger Games was compared to the 74th and the 75th cause of course like in real like the technology was poorer but more so it was interesting how differently the public viewed the Hunger Games compared to our present day. The characters were all fascinating to watch and Snow really hit the ball out of the park. My only complaint of the movie might be that Snow was played a bit too nice compared to how evil he was with Katniss but I suppose 60 years could change a person enough,

Coming in at number 4 is A Haunting In Venice!! This is another surprise movie that I was shocked to find out how much I enjoyed. If I think back to my favorite movie going experience this year it would be this movie over everything else! I'm always surprised every time another of these Agatha Christie movies come out cause I really don't know of anyone other than me who enjoys watching them compared to something like Knives Out which I never stop hearing people gush about. Murder On The Orient was my first experience of anything Agatha Christie and I fell in love with the way she wrote her mysteries. Yes Death On The Nile wasn't as good but this movie was perfection. I loved the haunted scary movie type of mood this film took given that it came out in October and I loved the way the mystery played out. For once you could actually follow along Hercule and discover clues alongside him in a way that you could yourself figure out whodunnit rather than it being some lame plot twist that was only there to show you that the detective was this genius. I totally figured out who the killer was very early on but I didn't guess how until the end!

At number 3 is Spiderman: Across The Spider-verse!! Honestly the next three movies on my top 1 are going to be pretty basic with no real surprises cause I feel like these three movies were universally loved! Spiderverse really did tell the best multiverse story I've seen so far. It was able to balance so many characters and worlds in a way that I was interested in them all while also making sure that you knew that Miles was our guy and the one we're still following and looking out for. So many movies (especially sequels) try to go bigger and better only to lose their main character in the jumble but this movie didn't. We followed Miles through his family problems and insecurity as we jumped from world to world and the ending truly shocked me cause I didn't see it coming even though all the clues were right there for you to see! I can't wait until the next move comes out!

Coming in at number 2 is Barbie!! Like I said earlier, is this any surprise? I mean seriously this movie shook the world to it's core when it came out and proved to the world with it's numbers how much women enjoy movies written for women! This movie didn't hit so hard cause it's a Barbie movie but because it was a love letter to women. I loved the plot, the acting and the sets oh gosh the sets! I truly couldn't believe that Mattel let Margo and Greta tell the story they did but somehow they did and it was everything. I loved that you could go see this movie as a child and enjoy yourself but if you're an adult you can catch  so many of the heavier moments. I don't agree with any of the criticism saying this movie is a man-hater cause honestly this movie was meant to be a parody of a lot of male focused movies.

And finally at number 1 my favorite movie of 2023 is Guardians Of The Galaxy Volume 3!! Once again no surprise to the general public but maybe it was a bit of a surprise to me personally. I enjoy the Guardians well enough as characters but I never find myself loving them as much as the public does so I was surprised watching this movie and crying as much as I did. This movie really was a love letter to saying goodbye to the Guardians as we knew them. It told such a heavy story but was able to balance it with enough humor that it still felt like a Marvel movie. Every character had a moment to shine and it reminded me once again why Chris Pratt despite how hard he'd been meme-d about recently is still a movie star. It showed me that maybe I can trust James Gunn to do Superman given that he's able to do more than just comedy. It showed me that Marvel fatigue is not a thing cause we're not all tired of superheroes but of bad superhero movies.

And with that we've come to the end of my Top 10 Movies of 2023 list. I'll see you all tomorrow for my Top 10 TV Shows of 2023!

xoxo Allie

Fall 2023 Anime Awards

Hey guys! The Fall 2023 Anime Season has officially come to a close this week and I'm excited to shout out my superlatives for the season!

(Original) Anime Of The Season

Apothecary Diaries is my pick for the anime of the season and I love the fact that there's so much more of this show to go! Once again part of me wonders if maybe I'm jumping the gun here by choosing this show to be my favorite of the season given that it's only halfway over but the rest of me thinks that it was leaps and bounds better than any other seasonal anime that isn't a sequel so I can't help but choose it anyway. By now you probs all know that I love romance anime but I also love detective shows and period dramas so the fact that this anime has all three plus an amazing protagonist, a fun cast, and beautiful world building really just makes this show built for me! I love that the show is so dark given that this story exists in a world with extremely harsh circumstances for anyone who was born poor or a woman and yet there's comedy in the way our protagonist interacts with the world with her sense of pragmatism. I'm so curious to see where this story takes us.

Runner Up - Tearmoon Empire

Hidden Gem 

Tearmoon Empire is my pick for hidden gem of the season. I am truly such a sucker for villainess anime the way most guys are suckers for power fantasy isekais (which always makes me laugh when people complain oh no there's another villainess show when literally we get one a season whereas there is always at least two or three isekais a season!) so I'm always up to check out a new one whether I finish it or not. Fortunately this one ended up being my more favorite of the two airing this season and the kicker is that it's not a typical villainess anime because it actually involves time travel where this anime's version of Marie Antoinette goes back in time to try to save her life by fixing all the problems that led her to be beheaded. The comedy in this show is fantastic and so tongue-in-cheek and I love the romance that blooms in this show but the thing I love the most is the slow burn mystery in discovering who actually was behind her original downfall.

Runner Up - MF Ghost

Best Sequel 

Jujutsu Kaisen Season 2 is the best sequel of this season and though it had a bit of competition especially at the start of this season honestly after the Shibuya arc I can't think of any other sequel I enjoyed more. Now I will be talking spoilers from here on out so if you're not caught up in either the anime or the manga step away now. Okay? Okay. So seriously I did not expect as many deaths as happened or for the show to go as dark as it did! I mean I grew up on shounens like Naruto and Fairy Tail and even My Hero and Demon Slayer recently and through all of those shows I've basically been trained to believe that the power of friendship and goodness with defeat all so our protags never really have to go through that much darkness or lose people that aren't mentors or part of their backstory! Here we have not only two mentors taken out (though one isn't dead) but also one of the people who I really thought was one of our main trio! I love that Sakuna took over and slaughtered so many people and left Itadori reeling over how he failed to save so many people. This show does a fantastic job stripping down a character who starts out the typical shounen protag who's just excited to be here and help out to realizing the world is hard and that he can't just snap his fingers and fix things! I can't wait to see more.

Runner Up - Spy x Family Season 2

Greatest Animation/Character Design

Apothecary Diaries had the best animation this season and seriously this show had no right to go as hard as it did! From the beautiful animation style that switched from ethereal to chibi to the saturated color palette made it such a pleasure to watch!

Runner Up - Rurouni Kenshin

Best OP 

Special Z by King Gnu from Jujustu Kaisen is the best OP of the season. It's so haunting and lovely to listen to and the scenes that playout really make you want to watch it every time!

Runner Up - Hana ni Natte by Ryokuoushoku Shakai from Apothecary Diaries

Protagonist(s) Of The Season

Maomao from Apothecary Diaries is my protagonist of the season because she really was the most interesting character to follow this season. I did have a bit of trouble choosing between her and Itadori but in the end I went with Maomao cause I feel like Apothecary Diaries did more this season to give her character than Jujutsu Kaisen did with Itadori (he was more rectory.) I love that Maomao isn't the typical "not like other girls" protagonist of a period drama in which the character is basically a woman from the modern world fighting against the rules of the society cause seriously there's no way those kind of characters would do anything in one of these period dramas but get killed! Maomao actually feels like she's grown up in this world where society is not good to those who are poor and those who are women. She doesn't like to get involved in other people's business unless she has to cause she knows that commoners can be killed for less. She hides her beauty behind freckles in order to keep men away and yet she's still so kind and caring even if she tries to hide it under her hard exterior that she's built to survive. 

Runner Up - Itadori Yuji from Jujutsu Kaisen Season 2

Antagonist(s) Of The Season

Mahito and the Curses from Jujutsu Kaisen Season 2 are my antagonists of the season cause they seriously accomplished things in this one season that most shounen antagonists can't achieve across like 100 episodes! They are so dark and twisted and part of me still doesn't exactly understand their motivations outside of wanting to cause harm to humans and sorcerers but the rest of me has trust in the writer of this show to slowly tell us what they want later. I love that they had such a great plan from the start and also had multiple back ups in case Plan A failed but more than that they were actually able to achieve their intended goal. They wanted to capture Gojo and cause havoc and they accomplished both. All the deaths they caused were added benefits!

Runner Up - Bastard Children Of Sabaramond from Dead Mount Death Play

Ship Of The Season

Mia Luna Tearmoon and Abel Remno from Tearmoon Empire are my ship of the season cause they're honestly so cute! Mia having traveled back in time to save herself from being killed for being a tyrant is still very selfish and really only thinks about herself despite circumstances honestly conspiring around her to make others think she's this benevolent and wise ruler. Abel is a playboy with a chip on his shoulder and a boatload of insecurity towards his older brother and Prince Sion who's the model of what a prince should be. It's only once these two are together that they start bringing out the best in each other. Abel wants to make Mia proud and work hard to prove to her and himself that he can be good. Mia starts to put his wants and needs first rather than her own in both a metaphorical and physical sense. And that's not even mentioning that their blushing and embarrassing scenes are totally precious on their own!

 

Runner Up - Kaoru Kamiya and Kenshin Himura from Ruroni Kenshin

So now that concludes my Fall 2023 anime awards and I'll definitely see you all at the end of the Winter 2024 season but do keep an eye out for my Year Ends Awards which starts tomorrow with my Top 10 Movies Of 2023!

xoxo Allie

Summer 2023 Anime Awards

Hey guys! The Summer 2023 Anime Season has officially come to a close this week and I'm excited to shout out my superlatives for the season!

(Original) Anime Of The Season

Rurouni Kenshin is my pick for the anime of the season which may or may not be a slight cheat cause while technically this anime isn't a sequel it is a remake of one of my favorite early 2000s anime. In my defense though I usually stick to choosing anime that aren't sequels for this category so I think ultimately it counts. I also know that the writer for the original manga for this anime is not a good person on so many levels but honestly I can't help but separate the art from the artist in this case cause I adore this story so much. I really am such a fan of this remake so far cause while it's still hitting the same beats the original story did, the story and characters have been tweaked slightly in order to modernize them. Kaoru especially benefited cause she's no longer the butt of every joke especially with her crush on Kenshin which low key feels requited much earlier than expected! 

Also as a side bar Zom 100 really was going to win this category for so long only to lose my interest because of it's terrible airing schedule!

Runner Up - Zom 100: Bucket List Of The Dead 

Hidden Gem 

Dark Gathering is my pick for hidden gem of the season and I seriously think not enough people have checked this anime out! I know technically this show is supposed to be a horror anime and though I'm not sure that anything in this anime is all that scary something about the tone of the show, animation style, and story gives me the perfect amount of creepiness to have a blast! I love that this show is able to balance the cutesy character designs with short shots of creepy faces and the dark tone of what the story is telling without giving you whiplash. Our main trio is so interesting and fleshed out in their own ways and I seriously adore that there's no harem for our main lead cause I can't tell you how tired I am of that trope! I did wish that we had spent a bit more time on the evil spirit that Yayoi was hunting for but I also really liked each evil spirit of the week.

Runner Up - Undead Murder Farce

Best Sequel 

Bungo Stray Dogs Season 5 is definitely the best sequel of this season hands down. I actually can't believe that we managed to have two new seasons for this show in one year and that makes me so happy cause not only do I adore this show so I'm always down for more, season 4 and season 5 tell the same continuous story so it's nice to not have to wait that long for the continuation. I'm just such a fan of the way this show fleshes out it's ensemble cast and tells it's stories in this hopeful tone that makes you want to believe the best in people. I also really love how devious and well thought out our villains are this season cause it really feels like for the first time our Detective Agency is playing defense rather than offense which leaves you on the edge of your seat wondering how they're going to be able to turn it all around cause duh there's no way they lose!

Runner Up - Jujutsu Kaisen Season 2

Greatest Animation/Character Design

Zom 100: Bucket List Of The Dead had the best animation this season. This whole anime is just a love letter with how detailed the animation is. I loved the way the show uses color or the lack thereof to show us how bleak life is when you're depressed v when you're living life to the fullest.

Runner Up - Mushoku Tensei: Jobless Reincarnation Season 2

Best OP 

Spiral by Longman from Mushoku Tensei: Jobless Reincarnation Season 2 is the best OP of the season cause not only is it so nice to listen to but I love the way the visuals in the OP fit the somber tone of the song and the somber tone of the season given that it's all about Rudy finding his way after Eris left him.

Runner Up - Tetsu No Ori by GRANRODEO from Bungo Stray Dogs Season 5

Protagonist(s) Of The Season

Miyo Saimori from My Happy Marriage is my protagonist of the season cause of all the protagonists I've watched across all the anime this season, Miyo was the one that had the strongest character growth! She starts out the show this quiet and meek girl who apologizes at the drop of a hat after having been mentally, emotionally, and physically abused her entire life. She never voices her own opinions or stands against what she's told to do even if she disagrees until she meets Kiyoka. After being given the space to actually be a person and not just an object and affection from all those in the Kudo household, Miyo slowly learns not to hide. She is able to say when she wants something and say no when she doesn't. Of course like most people she does regress a bit when she meets the Usuba by being unable to voice her opinions but after a time is able to once again be stubborn about wanting what she wants and it was so fun to experience across this show.

Runner Up - Keitarou Gentouga from Dark Gathering

Antagonist(s) Of The Season

The Hunting Dogs from Bungo Stray Dogs Season 5 are my antagonists of the season cause like I said in my best sequel section, the Hunting Dogs actually felt like the first villains across the 5 seasons I've watched of this show to actually feel like they have the Detective Agency with their backs to the wall! Usually the Detective Agency is running circles around their antagonists but the Hunting Dogs managed to wreak such havoc that they not only separated the Detective Agency members from each other physically (when we know they're stronger together!) but they removed all the Detective Agency's allies from the situation through making them out to be terrorists and they even hurt so many of her members to the degree that if this were another show I'd be wondering if they were actually dead!

Runner Up - Geto Suguru from Jujutsu Kaisen Season 2

Ship Of The Season

Kaoru Kamiya and Kenshin Himura from Ruroni Kenshin are my ship of the season and maybe that's cheating again cause of all the couples that I actually watched this season, Kaoru and Kenshin might be the only one that actually haven't had any real romantic moments yet but in my mind the fact that I've seen so many versions of this story in which these two are a couple that I think it counts! I just love everything about these two! I love that Kaoru is one of the first people that Kenshin meets in his life since the war that gives him a safe place to put his head down. She doesn't judge him for his past or require anything from him outside of companionship. Meanwhile his one trigger is her. He'll be calm and in control 99% of the time until Kaoru's kidnapped or in danger and I think that's such a trope that I adore.

 

Runner Up - Miyo Saimori and Kiyoka Kudo from My Happy Marriage

And with that I'll see you all in the Fall 2023 Season!! Here's hoping that we get a better crop to choose from!

xoxo Allie

Spring 2023 Anime Awards

Hey guys! The Spring 2023 Anime Season has officially come to a close this week and I'm excited to shout out my superlatives for the season!

(Original) Anime Of The Season

Oshi no Ko is my pick for the anime of the season and seriously you if haven't seen this anime yet you definitely have to! The first episode was a full hour long and it will give you whiplash with how many different genres of anime it goes through until it finally settles into what it will be and I loved that about it! I am also low key fascinated with shows that focus on celebrities and though I've seen a lot of kdramas about idols, I don't think I've really watched an anime about them that isn't focused on handsome bois doing handsome things or pretty girls doing pretty things. I was fascinated that this show actually looks at the dark side of the entertainment industry without sugarcoating anything and yet gives you enough reason to understand why someone would even bother getting into such a dark world! The main lead is so grey in terms of his morality and it makes it so fun to watch him play everyone else like a puppet.

Runner Up - Heavenly Delusion 

Hidden Gem 

My Love Story With Yamada-kun At Lv999 is my pick for hidden gem of the season. I really do have such a soft spot for romance anime so when one actually hits and hits hard I'm thrilled. A lot of romance anime either fall apart in the middle or have so much will they won't they misunderstandings in them that I get bored but this show managed to balance character development and emotional growth alongside a growing romance. The leads changed as people separately and found a groove together and I loved that about them. This show also had an amazing supporting cast that were fleshed out and given time to shine on their own so they didn't just feel like props for the leads. 

Runner Up - Skip & Loafer

Best Sequel 

Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba - Swordsmith Village Arc is definitely the best sequel of this season which might be a bit unfair cause duh it's Demon Slayer but how can you not be so hyped about this show?? I mean okay in all fairness the middle chunk of this season did falter a bit but then the ending hit so hard that I ended up forgiving everything else! I mean Nezuko literally became a daywalker and she can speak now which makes me so excited cause I've loved her but felt like she got such a raw deal with how she couldn't speak! I do wonder why this season highlights two Hashira rather than just one like the previous two seasons cause it gave us less time to emotionally connect to either Tokito or Kanroji and less time to see everyone in action.

Runner Up - Birdie Wing: Golf Girl's Story Season 2

Greatest Animation/Character Design

Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba - Swordsmith Village Arc had the best animation this season which once again might be cheating cause if Demon Slayer can't do anything else it's animation will always hit.

Runner Up - Oshi no Ko

Best OP 

Idol by Yoasobi from Oshi no Ko is the best OP of the season. It truly slaps no matter how many times I listen to it!

Runner Up - Innocent Arrogance by BiSH from Heavenly Delusion

Protagonist(s) Of The Season

Aquamarine Hoshino from Oshi no Ko is my protagonist of the season because like I said in my original anime of the season section, I'm fascinated with him as a lead. He's not our typical anime protagonist cause he's not idealistic or kind or forgiving. In fact most of the typical protagonist traits went to his twin sister Ruby who could support an argument that she's the co-lead of this show but in all actuality we spend most of show in Aqua's head and I'm more interested in the way he's playing everyone. Aqua is ambitious and obsessive and cunning. He's able to read a person and play whatever character they need him to be and yet he's still not a villain cause he's doing all these twisted things in order to solve him mother's murder. Underneath it all he's still a good kid and it's just his singleminded focus and PTSD that seem to stop him from acting as anything but cold and calculating.

Runner Up - Chise Hatori from Ancient Magnus Bride Season 2

Antagonist(s) Of The Season

Aoi Amawashi from Birdie Wing: Golf Girl's Story Season 2 is my antagonist of the season and maybe you're surprised by this cause Aoi isn't actually a villain like my usual picks but by definition an antagonist is simply just someone who acts in opposition to the protagonist and no where does it say that this person can't be a good or even a low key love interest! All that to say that I find that I no longer really watch that many anime that have clear cut heroes and villains so it opens up the antagonist pool if I don't just focus on villains. If I did that the demons from Demon Slayer would be my only option to choose and I really didn't care for either of them from this season so I went with Aoi. Aoi was the reason that Eve went to Japan and joined the Golf school in the first place and she's also the reason that she left and went back home to find her family and go pro. She was the reason that Eve was able to fight hard enough to create her own golf and to come in number 2 in the competition!

Runner Up - Demons from Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba - Swordsmith Village Arc

Ship Of The Season

Raeliana McMillan and Noah Volstaire Wynknight from The Reason Why Raeliana Ended Up At The Duke's Mansion are my ship of the season which is hysterical cause they didn't even end up together by the end like Yamada and Akane but I was just fascinated by these two. Whereas most guys are obsessed with overpowered isekai harem shows my guilty pleasure is definitely a villainess anime and I especially love when the lead isn't the typical soft sweet naive heroine. I loved that Raeliana and Noah both had schemes of their own and wanted things for themselves and yet fell in love with each other anyway. I love that he was fascinated by her wit and intelligence and she his gentle nature despite the coldness he shows to the world. She was able outwit him several times and he was down to do crazy things for her even before he realized she meant anything to him. It also low key helps that I've read the manga for this show and I know where the story goes!

 

Runner Up - Akane Kinoshita and Akito Yamada from My Love Story with Yamada-kun at Lv999

And with that I'll see you all in the Summer 2023 Season!! Here's hoping that we get a better crop to choose from!

xoxo Allie