Lvxferre [he/him]

While Tsubasa Reservoir Chronicles has its own rich lore, it is made even more enticing by its connection to the series xxxHOLiC. Both series were developed by Clamp and are set in the same multiverse. Characters are shared between the two series, and the interdimensional witch Yūko Ichihara plays an important role in both stories.

This. So much this.

You can enjoy them individually, but once you enjoy them together, both become far richer. It isn’t just about the TRC gang visiting the witch, everything is connected.

Mushishi and Hellsing also have great worldbuilding, but TRC/xxxHolic is more like a fractal of worlds tied together.

Can’t say about the other series, as I didn’t watch them.

With that out of the way, for people who want an isekai series with good worldbuilding, I’d recommend Log Horizon. AFAIK it was one of the first “trapped in a game” isekai series, and it goes great lengths to explore how game logic interacts with reality. Such as food only having a taste when made by people with a cooking skill, or where the money from loot comes from, or what it means to “die” in the world, etc.

And if you don’t want isekai, there’s The Ancient Magus’ Bride. Sure, younger than things mentioned in the list (the first season is from 2013), but worldbuilding is top notch.

The next episode should clarify most/all of those questions. Just one thing: the contracted spirits have nothing to do with Cecil being the “android prince”, they basically do what their master wants them to.

What a great episode. Even if you know what’s going on, you can’t help but worry about the characters, and cheer for them.

And it shows really well what’s wrong with the heroine and what’s right with the villainess: both are reincarnated and clueless muppets acting as if their new world was still following game logic, while derailing the story with their mere existence; but only Bertia genuinely cares about the others, Heronia only cares about herself.

Sentenced to Be a Hero: initially I thought “meh, yet another series where they fight the Maō”, but right in the first episode there was a “hero” stealing stuff, then I was like “well, this is going to be fun”. And as the series progressed I started genuinely enjoying its cynical and bitter tone.

Mayonaka Punch: I didn’t bother with the series at the start of the season, because you can be pretty sure “arsehole influencer doing dumb shit” is not my cup of tea. But mid-season I got bored, gave it a try because I thought the vampire looked fun (and quickly noticed she was voiced by my favourite voice actress, Fairouz Ai), and really enjoyed it, because the interactions between characters were fun.

What a banger. I’m not into musicals, mind you, but I’ve enjoyed every single second of this episode, it was bloody perfect. All that build-up from the other six episodes, the tease with the Misfits “fighting” over Elizabetta, the way they introduced Lilith’s lovers, letting the Misfit’s personalities “leak” into the characters they’re representing, all that anxiety waiting for Purson (mind you I did read the manga, but I was still “Purson when?”)…

And they made the Misfits look physically tired at the end of the episode. Specially Elizabetta. Like you’d expect from someone who has been dancing/singing/acting for minutes in a row, it’s something so subtle but you notice it in real actors.

Plus I love how this arc basically introduced a new character (Purson) without feeling weird or off. Perhaps due to his bloodline ability, sure, but still.

People will still talk about this episode for the years to come, because it is that good.

That a relationship needs to grow into maturity, and this takes time.

Funny (but not surprising) that Gilbert immediately caught what Stanley was up to: Stanley is trying to give Pride the freedom to marry whoever she wants.

Also, Pride, come on… you know you ain’t your game counterpart. You’re just some Earthling baka. Chill, no need to blame yourself for what you didn’t.

If the adventurers knew they were bullied by a true dragon and three demon lords, they’d be screaming bloody murder.

Silica scolding Bertia was hilarious. Yeah, Bertia went a bit overboard. (Poor Charles, by the way.)

And the heroine lurking from the shadows…

For a long time I wondered why I like this series so much. The premise is a bit cliché (the villainess is reincarnated, and actually a decent person), the MC has Mary Sue vibes, and the animation is subpar.

But this episode shows it for me, in all its glory: regardless of all I said above, this series is damn great at pulling you into all that emotional baggage of the characters, so you root for them: Stanley and his mother, Arthur and his father, Val and his kids, and now Leon and the people of his kingdom.

And the contrast between how things went in the game, versus how things developed because of the reincarnated Pride, only adds even more impact.

Leon and Pride’s engagement is probably over. He loves Anemone too much to leave it, and Pride is certainly not ditching Freesia. And yet their relationship is way better than it would be in the game, and so are the ties between both countries.

I’m a bit glad they cut off the harem aspect of the original. It was first Ru, then Tia, then the mayor siring almost every kid in the village; in the anime adaptation however it’s just the mayor being married to Ru, and having Alfred as a child. The harem thing was neither funny nor meaningful to the plot, it was kind of meh.

That’s largely the premise of the series, to show the so-called “barbarians” are way more reasonable than the society insistently trying to invade them, and that fights against nature instead of embracing it.

Aaaand we get introduced to the Admirers of Miss Bertia! Joana looks way craftier and “more evil” than in the manga. But that’s fine, I think; if anything it’s good for contrast with other characters, even Prince Cecil with his silent malice.

In the meantime, Bertia herself is completely clueless. Anyone else would’ve noticed the heroine is also a reincarnator. Bertia, though? Nah.

Prince Cecil is not aware of his own feelings towards Bertia. (It’s basically the one you love sending you away, of course it hurts.)

So far I’ve been really liking this adaptation.

I’d recommend things based on stuff they like to read/watch in other media, so I don’t have a single must-watch.

That said my initial picks would be Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood, Spy x Family, Kimetsu no Yaiba, Nichijou. Perhaps Log Horizon? EDIT: Uzumaki for people who are into suspense/horror.

[François] The revived people of South America helped me to learn it [Spanish]

Things like this are the ones that make me like the least this part of the series. It shows how much they rushed research.

There’s no way they’d learn Spanish in Araxá, most of the population there speaks Portuguese. In fact, I don’t even know why they decided to mine niobium there, if they entered SA through the Amazon river delta; for reference they’re further from each other (2000km) than Berlin from Moscow. Plus there are niobium deposits in the Amazon basin, smaller and less profitable but still enough for their purposes.

And the whole idea of going to Catalunya feels silly. There are some fluorite deposits in Sant Cugat del Vallès but they’d need to walk something like 15km from the coast, on a rather hilly terrain. Transport is hard. There are better deposits in Asturias, by the coast, but no olives. But you know, where there are fluorite deposites near the coast? And olives? Tunisia. Plus dates; amazing travel food, tasty even if dried for long-term storage, and with a high caloric content. I should stop chewing on those everyday, though. They certainly don’t help with my weight.

Those things don’t make me say “bleeergh, I’ll drop it!”, but come on… it’s a stain in a series that shone because of all the research behind it. Granted, mostly Chemistry, but still.

You think the hardest part was convincing Purson? Pfffft. That isn’t even the start of their troubles!!!

I guess I think of Bertia as the MC, even though Cecil is supposed to be the MC.

Cecil is the main character, but Bertia is the protagonist.

People often use both interchangeably, because they often refer to the same character, but here I think the distinction is useful:

• main character — the character we “tag along”, following the story through their point of view. Note how almost every scene showing Bertia also shows Cecil, but the opposite is not true.
• protagonist — the character driving the plot. Bertia is clearly the one doing so: from her world knowledge, her desires to keep the plot intact, and even her interactions with other characters. Cecil might act behind the scenes, but it’s more accurate to say he simply reacts to whatever Bertia comes up with.

This distinction is also something you see in spin-offs: the protagonist is usually the same as in the original series, but the MC is a different one. And this series plays a lot like a spin-off to an inexistent main series, since you’re following the love interest instead of the otome villainess.

And also in Sono Bisque Doll, at least at the start (Marin as the protag, Gojō as the MC). Later on it becomes a mess, and likely on purpose.

So far I’m pleasantly surprised with this adaptation. And the “we’re going to have a baby” scene, goddammit I laughed hard in real life at it, I don’t remember doing so while reading the manga!

Seeing Garfiel crash was very emotional

Specially as Reala thinks he’s just missing his mother, when he knows she is his mother.

And, like. We take Garfiel as more mature than he really is, as he’s physically well developed, but the poor guy is just a teen.

And in this episode, he was selling dirty mags to the boys too!