dr. b

Sheesh, no replies since May 20. We all need to do a bit better, it seems! . @Psycho666Soldier and @Anelle -- are you still keeping up with anything in Jump? I have kept up with everything that I was following, though I haven't checked out many new things in May/June/July except for the latest new one... The new one this week -- Wild Strawberry -- was off to a pretty decent start. I'll keep reading it. It's interesting, having watched the Hell's Paradise (Jigokurako) anime during the spring season, to see the whole flowers-blooming-out-of-people thing happening again, albeit in a different context. There are some very beautiful (and gory) visuals in both! This week's Sakamoto Days (#127) was harsh. RIP Hyo ??? What a bummer man, he was a great dude I have really enjoyed recent chapters of The Elusive Samurai. Kinda weird to see Tokiyuki and co. basically beg forgiveness of the Mikado, but I guess it was their only play. The new character (Akiie) is something else lol. Also I am on the fence about the ninja girl, but I don't think she's going to betray Tokiyuki's crew to the Tengu. I have a gut feeling about that. JJK is a bit of a hot mess. The Culling Game may never end Recent chapters have at least had some good action, but damn it's confusing. The competition happening right now in Akane-banashi has been great and I am pulling so hard for Akane. Win or lose, I am loving what is going on. Beat and Motion is similar to Akane-banashi in that I am just really enjoying what it's all about--no complaints about either series. Ichinose Family is starting to lose me again... but I know I will keep reading it anyways I think that's about it for my rando thoughts on manga...

Horimiya is just a delight. I love this show I have also been enjoying the return of JJK. Haven't gotten around to checking out Zom 100 but maybe I will this week.

First episode back of Stray Dogs was good stuff! Ranpo is the man Also apparently nobody ever actually dies in this show, I think they all came back

First episode back of JJK was very good! I also watched the first episode of AI no Idenshi last night and it was interesting enough for me to keep going with it.

It's over After how up-and-down the first half was for me, I was a bit surprised how much I got into the second part of the series. Night and day difference. I didn't love everything about the ending... but this was still a very strong series in the end. @Anelle @Lucy @Vic Boss where'd you go

The Jays crushed the Red Sox last year... they won the season series 16-3. I think Boston is out for some revenge this year. At this rate, I don't see the Jays making the WC games anyways. And if they do, they'll flame out like they did last year against the M's. It will take a very strong second half push, and maybe a couple of trades, to get me to really believe that this team can actually make some noise in the postseason. It's a bummer, but I'll still be living and dying with every pitch no matter how frustrating they are

I feel like the Padres are more of a disappointment. They've got a lot of young talent, at least on paper. Part of me could still see them bouncing back with a strong second half. The Mets should probably be thinking about blowing their team up.

Happy birthday MT!

I bailed on Ayaka after less than two minutes. It didn't grab me and I really doubt I will enjoy it. Bummer. But I am thrilled to have Horimiya back in my life The new episode was fantastic with many LOL moments.

Finale of Hell's Paradise was pretty rad. Season two already announced! The first season was a mixed bag but ended on a strong note, so I'm up for more

Perfect game !

This summer I will definitely be watching Horimiya, JJK, and Stray Dogs. Whenever Bastard!! hits Netflix, I'll continue watching it too. Maybe not right away, but I'll get to it eventually. This season is looking pretty damn weak when it comes to anime originals. Good, single-season, original anime with a complete story == the Holy Grail that I search for in every new season It looks like Ayaka could be the only contender this season. I'll check it out if it's on Crunchyroll. AI no Idenshi has also piqued my interest a little bit just from reading the synopsis. Maybe it will be trash. Maybe it will be good. I'm always up for a good sci-fi show, so here's hoping it's good. Madhouse isn't what it used to be, but I think they still do quality stuff, so hopefully the looks and style catch my eye even if the story is on the weak side. We'll see.

The Reds have been a great story. I'm happy to see them winning games!

It's over Skip and Loafer was fantastic, start to finish. Tuesdays will never be the same You know a show was really good when you get this sad that it's over. Skip and Loafer is my AOTS without a doubt. I will definitely be rewatching it in the future

As long as Ohtani can keep doing the two-way player thing like this, he should be MVP every year in whichever league he happens to be in. That dude is so incredibly talented.

Well, Dr. Stone: New World is done (for now). 11 episodes is kind of a weird number. Anyways, I thought this season was great overall. Episode 11 especially was very good. Byakuya They will be back in the fall season with part two. Ousama Ranking: Chest of Courage also wrapped this week (only 10 episodes). It was great having Bojji and co. back in my life this spring. I love this story and these characters. Watching the last couple episodes, I felt like I would have gotten more out of it if I read the manga... it felt like at least one seemingly important character got teased in the final episode. Oh well, I'll just wait for more anime. Here's to hoping there is more to come in the future! The 12th and final episode of Skip and Loafer is going to air next week. I am probably going to be really bummed out when it's over I want more.

Well, Eizan, I don't think this is the year for either of our teams... I guess either of the Jays or M's could go on a run still in the second half and turn it around, and you never know when other teams could get bit by the injury bug or go on a slump... but it's not looking great. In the AL East, the Rays and O's just look too strong. And the Yankees are still a solid team. Part of me is starting to feel like 2021 was the real window for contention for the Jays, the year that Vlad was on an MVP pace but they missed the postseason by one game. That was a really good team. Last year they petered out in the Wild Card games, and this year they are looking rather mediocre. That's a bummer. The AL West is weird too. I expected the Rangers to at least be better than last year, but not this good! The Astros are still solid, and somehow the Angels are still seven games over .500 and we're getting pretty darn close to the mid-way point of the season. Have they finally figured out how to put a winning team on the field with Trout and Ohtani??? I dunno, maybe the collapse in the second half, but I expected them to have already collapsed by now. I am also pretty surprised by the D-Backs. I listen to lots of baseball podcasts, and the D-Backs were a bit of a hipster sleeper / dark horse pick for some of the more analytically inclined baseball writers and podcasters, because they do have an interesting group of young and talented players. I thought maybe they would show flashes but it would still be too early for them to really look good. So far they're looking great!

Now I just need to find some spare time one evening to watch a few episodes... I'm just barely staying current with everything I'm watching this season. Might have bit off more than I can chew in the spring season I think in the summer season I will follow fewer shows and then mix in some Demon Slayer.

Yeah, I am a huge fan of this show. I don't expect everyone else to like it as much as I do, but I like it so much I have to keep mentioning it It just keeps getting better IMHO ! I'll definitely be on board to watch a second season as well. Too curious to find out what weird thing happens next.

IMHO you will really enjoy this one Speaking of shows we all liked (Tassi too IIRC?), I was delighted to notice the other day that we're getting more Horimiya this summer: Horimiya: Piece. I can't believe it was already two years ago that the first series ran. I loved that show Hell's Paradise can be infuriating at times. Confusing and sometimes bad, but other times very good and very interesting. I just can't look away Gabimaru's fight with that one Tensen was wicked, I think that was last week's episode... Gabimaru is one crazy dude. MAL says it is 13 episodes, so I'm not sure how they finish this story up with the time that is left. Feels like there has to be a second season---or a very unsatisfying ending, which also would not totally shock me

No need to apologize, I love a good wall-of-text! Thanks for your insight. Blood and gore aren't necessarily so bad in theory, because in some shows/styles it's kind of just silly, but if that goes along with a bit of a horror vibe, like super spooky demons that will cause her imagination to run wild (she is already kind of afraid of the dark still) then that could be problematic. I guess I'll just have to watch a few episodes myself and see what I think! Thanks for the input. I'm leaning towards us watching the show together... but I will review a few episodes first.

My daughter keeps asking me if we can watch Demon Slayer together. I still don't know much of anything about this story. What say ye re: how appropriate you think this would be for a 12 (going on 13) year old? I'm sure I watched worse at that age myself because my parents were pretty disinterested in what I was watching on TV, but I am trying to be a bit more aware of the content my kids are consuming without being too overbearing about it... I'm not so much concerned with profanity, because honestly she hears enough bad language around the house coming out of my mouth I'm wondering more about how violent/gory or scary it is, because she does scare somewhat easily (we don't need nightmare fuel for her), and I'm wondering how much fan service-y stuff there is.

SKIP AND LOAFER !

Yeah, the AL Central is so bad. Mix them into the AL East and they would all be in last place It's starting to get late pretty early here for both our teams. The Jays or M's could still go on a hot streak and get right back into the WC or division races... but they gotta get hot soon. The Jays also lost a bunch of games to division rivals here in May, which hurts them in the standings. You get fewer chances against division teams now, so you have to make the most of the games you have against them.

The Cards got that devil magic, but they're still seven games below .500 and second last in a pretty bad division. There's still time left for them to go on a run and eventually win the division, especially because the other teams are not the greatest... I think the NLC comes down to Milwaukee or St. Louis. The Pirates were a fun story to start the season but I think it's all downhill from here for them