Following on from my last anime musing piece I wrote before, I thought I’d pull together some small thoughts I had on a collection of Anime I watched in 2020.

Why 2020? In some ways, I’ve been on a semi hiatus and haven’t watched a lot of anime in a long time. Sure, there are a core few I watch, but I haven’t kept up with seasonal anime but have book-marked them to pick up at some point.

Here’s my small thoughts on 5 anime I recall watching in 2020:

Tate no Yūsha no Nariagari (The Rising of the Shield Hero)

The Isekai genre has grown a lot in recent years. I was looking for something a little more serious rather than comical and came across Tate no Yūsha no Nariagari (The Rising of the Shield Hero). I wasn't aware of the controversy surrounding in the past it, but really enjoyed it.

The plot was really interesting for me and the serious tone to things helped me enjoyed it more. The development of the characters was great too and how they changed and evolved over the series. For me how certain actions affected things around the Hero's was great to see too.

I also loved how Raphtalia was towards Naofumi. I really ship these two together. They both really care about each other. And Raphtalia really supported Naofumi when he really needed it. She was definitely the best girl! I'm so glad this anime got a season 2 & 3! And the new season is out soon.

 

Kanojo ga Flag o Oraretara (If Her Flag Breaks)

I don't know how to feel about Kanojo ga Flag o Oraretara (If Her Flag Breaks).

I went into it thinking it was a slice of life, comedy, harem anime.

What I got was something slightly different, with the Matrix and Inception included. I’d say it pretty interesting and unique, without giving away any spoilers; I say it’s worth taking a look at especially if you want your expectations to be turned on its head.

Toradora!

I’m sure this deserves a bigger write-up, and somewhere down the line I will probably get around to doing that. But for now I’ll jot down my thoughts here.

I didn't know how to feel going into Toradora! At first, I felt a bit apprehensive at watching the show as I wasn’t a fan of how Ryuuji was being treated nor how much of Tsundere Taiga was, but I stuck in there and the show really grew on me and I grew to love the characters.

The character development was amazing, especially towards the end with Taiga. I also liked Ami and how she developed, too. The romantic aspects are quite believable too.

I really wish there was a second season, after story ova kinda thing, but sadly there isn't.

I'd have to say the best girl for me was Taiga Aisaka. She went through a lot. And she went from being annoying to someone really loveable to me by the end.

I'll have to visit the expanded media in the future, including the visual novel.

Ano Natsu de Matteru (Waiting in the Summer)

Ano Natsu de Matteru (Waiting in the Summer) was another one I feel like it deserves a bigger write-up.

I found it to be a great anime. I really enjoyed the plot to it.

It felt quite nostalgic to me with the snapshot of adventures in the summer in the yester-year. Summer love, romance and heartache.

The romance felt very real and took time to develop, much like in reality.

I must be very sentimental and soft-hearted as the story left me in tears. I will say though, Ichika Takatsuki is definitely the best girl! Not only that, but I wished this show had got more episodes or at least a few more OVA's. I'll be picking up the manga to relive the summer.

Kokoro Connect/ Michi Random OVA

In 2020 after 8 years, I rewatched Kokoro Connect and the OVA Michi Random. It was an anime that left a lasting impression on me till this day, and from time to time I'd think about it. It's had the right mix of slice of life, the supernatural, comedy but at times made you think.

It was surprisingly psychological and made you think a lot, especially after the things they went through. Character development was great. It's kinda a shame it never had a second season. I've always wondered how it ended. I'll definitely pick up the LN to finish the story.

I also loved the romance in this.

Inaba Himeko was the best girl, and she actually got who she wanted in the end. It made me really happy. She was probably one of the ones that made me like this personality type.

After-thoughts

It's a small round up, but I’ll probably continue my small thought’s series again soon, so stay tuned.

The best place to probably start is what is the meaning of the phrase ‘falling’ down the rabbit hole? It all started when Alice chased a rabbit, literally fell down a rabbit hole, and found herself in the strange world of Wonderland in Lewis Carroll’s Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland.

Going by this bit from Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, “Falling down the rabbit hole” was originally used to mean stumbling into a bizarre, disorienting alternate reality.
It is now also used to mean a person who becomes interested in something — fully immersed to a degree.

This was exactly what happen to me in 2020. During the later half of 2020 I was looking for some tutorials on how to use the open source application Krita when I came across a tutorial by Ninomae Ina’nis from Hololive EN.

 

All Holomyth/Hololive Characters and the distinctive likeness(es) there of are Trademarks & Copyright of Hololive Production and Cover Corp. Holomyth illustration by artist by Ninomae Ina’nis.

It was a strange to see what was an anime girl teaching me how to use the software but I was hooked from there. I started watching more of Ina’s video archives and watched her live streams and collabs and slowly learned more about Hololive, (including Hololive EN, Hololive ID) and got hooked on other streamers in those branches.

This eventually this spread to learning more Nijisanji another V-tuber organization via ZEA Cornelia an Indonesian V-tuber and member of Nijisanji ID. I ended up catching one of her chat streams by accident and got hooked from there as well and eventually found out about Lazulight the first wave of EN V-tubers from Nijisanji.

All Nijisanji Characters and the distinctive likeness(es) there of are Trademarks & Copyright of Nijisanji Production and ANYCOLOR, Inc. Original source of image Lazulight - Diamond City Lights official music video

The V-tubing trend

V-Tubers are online content creators using a virtual animated face in place of their own.
In the year 2020 during the pandemic when everyone was spending more time online than ever before, there was a boom in the popularity of V-tubers.

The idea of came about in the Japanese idol industry with the rise of Kizuna Ai, and there are a bunch of Japanese virtual idol industries like Nijisanji and Hololive, with the latter being one of the most famous ones on a global scale.

Both Hololive and Nijisanji idols have each formed and gained a fandom rivalling some of the other most intense modern artists. Most of these talents end up becoming popular because of their interactions with the fandom, through memes, skits, gaming, chatting and other stuff rather than what you think might be singing (they do all try to record their own original song though and do the odd cover).

Every idol has their own niche and appeal to a certain audience.

But what's the appeal?

I’ve never been into live streamers, and the whole watching real people play games on Twitch and YouTube has never appealed to me.

But why did V-tubers appeal to me?

It's hard to describe, really. For me, I suppose it’s the interaction and the fact there is someone real behind that anime avatar.

In the case of Ina in hololive, she is actually a priestess of the Ancient Ones. After picking up a strange book and then started to gain the power of controlling tentacles. But behind that avatar she is a normal person using some phone cameras to project an anime girl persona and staying in character, but the real her had similar interests to me such as art and video games that I like. She also comes across has quite a comfy streamer.

I think, personally, the content of the streams alone aren’t what keep me coming back. If that were the case, I would’ve been able to get into regular streamers (real people) long ago.

I think it's because of the fantasy world, being able to interact with an anime character unlike when you watch anime itself there is no connection.

The lore of the characters of these V-tubers portray and the universe they live in, but also the real life stories you get mixed in with their anime personas. The sense of camaraderie and interplay between the members is also what makes their streams seem more like an over-arching narrative rather than just isolated individuals.

Positive aura

I had a couple of rough years and during 2020 having the pandemic on to of everything certainly did kick me whilst I was down.

Despite having friends in my life that I could chat and interact with returning to work after a long absence, trying to maintain work, earning money and getting my life back together was a really hard thing to do.

A lot of things I enjoyed I didn’t have time to do any more, whereas in the past I would have watched a lot of anime, it was not something I could do now, work left me very tired, I couldn’t binge-watch things like I used too, my hobbies like reading, art and gaming sat an on the wayside whilst I had to struggle to re-coup my lost energy.

Watching V-tubers is pretty much pick up and play I guess in this sense, you get to remain in a world our familiar with (anime) but you also get to watch streams that are plain fun and sometimes silly, you can enjoy the reactions, the games that they play but the silliness and the stories.

It helps to get my mind off things, and you don’t have to worry much about storylines and plots, which sometimes when you are just too tired It's hard to follow.

Other side effects have also included me dusting off my art skills again. I long set down my pencil, so to speak, but Ina’s drawing streams have been incredibly useful and helped me to bring this hobby out of retirement. Sure I’m not going to be a great artist like everyone else on the internet, but the important thing is I enjoy it and can learn new things.

And that’s the main thing.

Since I fell down the Hololive and Nijisanji rabbit hole I’ve felt a bit more energized, happy and can get my way through my day. It's certainly a welcome reprieve to my life and helps me to avoid reality sometimes.

Is there anyone you would recommend?

This is a hard one, I think there is someone for everyone in the V-tuber universe.
Take a look at Hololive and Nijisanji, but don’t just restrict yourself to these fan bases, check out other V-Tuber groups and indie V-tubers too.

For me, though, I guess it's mainly dependent on my free time and timezone.

I currently watch from HoloEN: Ninomae Ina'nis and Takanashi Kiara as they stream when I finish work. But saying that, I do check in on the other HoloEN streamers when my free time lines up.
 

From HoloID: Probably all from HoloID but mainly Ayunda Risu, Kureiji Ollie, Pavolia Reine, Airani lofifteen, Moona Hoshinova and Anya Melfissa (I have them on sometimes whilst I’m working though for Anya it's more her late night streams that happen to be my evening time).

From Nijisanji in the first wave ID (3SetBBQ) it's ZEA Cornelia who streams in my afternoons and  Lazulight is Pomu Rainpuff though she tends to stream much later when I’m fast asleep, but there are occasions when the stream time lines up.
 

Give V-tubers a try, there might be someone you like.

I wouldn’t call this a review as I’m sure there are more extensive and in-depth ones on the internet, but I’d say it’s more of a musing (a period of reflection or thought). You could call it random anime musings.

Back in 2020, there was a time when I had quite a lot of spare time, I had been pretty much through a lot and needed to heal when I came across the anime Sewayaki Kitsune no Senko-san (The Helpful Fox Senko-san) 世話やきキツネの仙狐(せんこ)さん.

Sewayaki Kitsune no Senko-san is a Japanese fantasy comedy manga series created by Rimukoro and was later adapted into an anime television series by Doga Kobo.

The plot revolves around Kuroto Nakano a young salaryman with a very unhappy and stressful life, and basically, his job is his life at the company for which he works. I’m sure a lot of us can identify with that, I had been in similar jobs, with one that nearly left me practically burnt out.

One day after overworking himself, he comes home and finds a seemingly young girl with fox ears and a tail cooking dinner for him – her name is Senko, an 800-year-old fox demigod. What is Senko doing on earth? She’s been sent from the spirit world to relieve Kuroto from his unhappy life and help him find happiness again.

It’s a simple plot, though it just starts to get more depth in the manga.

It is one of my favourite animes. Not only that, but it's such a feel-good and is quite a wholesome anime. It's a great watch to unwind and enjoy and relax. It's quite a healing anime. Super Senko time (+ guest kitsune) at the end is the best!

I could see a lot of Nakano in myself, which was quite scary. A lot of the advice that Senko-san gives can be applied to real life. After certain events, I've been through, I find myself wholeheartedly agreeing with the advice.

It's worth a watch, especially with a small, tight-knit cast and a wholesome op and ending too. I use to just like Neko characters, but I think tanuki/raccoons and now foxes/kitsune characters are great too, especially if they are kind and friendly like Senko-san.

•     Original Run: April 10, 2019 - June 26, 2019
•     Number of Episodes: 12
•     Genre: Comedy, Slice of Life, Supernatural
•     Based on the Series Created By: Rimukoro