Monthly Log - September 2025

Another season has ended. here are some closing thoughts and some other stuff I watched or read in September.

Watched

• Watched Miracle Girls episodes 6-22. As I keep on watching, the show can feel like it's a collection of pop paranormal topics at times, as the sisters got involved with stuff like snowman (the hairy kind) and unicorn, dreaming of people from ancient times, body swap, bilocation(?), time slip... . ESP can do a lot of stuff, and the episodic character of the show allows for various standalone episodes exploring their own things.
• Watched Kimipre episodes 30-34. Meroron's relation with the main girls have finally reached a turning point, and the more gets revealed about Meroron, the more I'm getting intrigued what they're planning for the endgame. For now, it's good enough that they can reach this point of resolving the false dichotomy plaguing Meroron's perspective without making Meroron's stubbornness feels frustrating.
• Watched Princess-Session Orchestra episodes 20-24. The first half finally ends, and with the girls able to overcome both the Band Snatch and the Red Queen through the bonds and support they have with all the other girls they've met so far, I have enough faith that the anime crew understands their assignment. Now, what does the second half of the show have in store, I wonder.
• Finished Dealing with Mikadono Sisters is a Breeze. The anime ends at the end of a story arc and ensures each sister has one story arc dedicated to them. Still, it feels an odd place to end the anime on. Personally, I would have liked it more if they could work out the story where everybody goes on a trip to the amusement park as the last episode. Feels more conclusive with everyone hanging out together, I think. But well, that's just me.
• Finished April Showers Bring May Flowers. It consistently entertained me with good and funny character chemistry.
• Finished CITY The Animation. A musical finale?? And it was suggested by Arawi? Since CITY's fifth episode was so impressive in the way it brings together people from around the city I wondered how they're gonna make something more impressive for the finale. Then the CITY Race episode came up, and now the finale has come this way. It keeps presenting new ways to impress me.

• Finished Secrets of the Silent Witch. The final episode of the anime is pretty low key, but it has much significance for the main character in emotional terms. It's neat enough for a conclusion for now.
• Watched the 1924 silent film adaptation of The Sea Hawk novel. I was silly to have read just a short synopsis that mentions the main character became a pirate, and thus, missed the details that he precisely joined the corsairs of Algiers and became a muslim after being enslaved in a Spanish galley. Not somethin I had expected from a 1920s Hollywood film. As with other silent era films I've seen, the acting of the actors has fascinatingly distinct character to see.
• Rewatched the film adaptation of Gold Kingdom and Water Kingdom. Watched it at a theater when it was made a part of the annual Japanese Film Festival in 2023. It's a film that I think can be enjoyed together with friends and family. So, content-wise, it's a film that could be suitable for a broader commercial release at theaters, but admittedly, the property isn't familiar enough to the broader public, so marketing it would probably be very challenging.

Readings

• Finished the Wandering Witch manga. I can see now why these stories were the ones picked for the manga version. It allows for Elaina's relationship with her teacher, Fran, and with Saya to come full circle. Still wished it could have gone longer and cover more stories, though.
• Read Dagashikashi volumes 2-5. I forgot that this series had a collaboration with an actual snack company for an exclusive flavor..
• Read Reiya x Reiya. It is a funny short fighting magical girl parody. But I think the quality of the material could have worked as a comedic, self-aware longer series too (pity it didn't). Perhaps it's only natural that it feels that way considering Kikuta Michiyo's body of work.
• Reading Kirsten Cather's The Art of Censorship in Postwar Japan. I recommend people who are interested in the issue of censorship to read this book. Even if it focuses particularly on cases of works (literature, film, manga) that has been brought to obscenity trials, there are still things to learn about how the cases are connected to broader discourse about censorship and obscenity, their implications, and the relations to other issues such as nationalism.