Yeah, the second season of Kaguya-sama is one of the best seasons of an anime I've ever seen. It's genuinely fantastic (with one big hiccup in the middle), from how the characters are used to the evolution of the plot to the continuity-driven expansion of the humor. I think the second season of Yuru Camp might--might--have been able to topple it from it's top spot, last year, had it aired in 2020, but it was THAT level of good. (Also: they don't admit their feelings, but they also don't act like they're hiding them, anymore. Which creates a very different tone.)
...but you really do have to have seen the first season to appreciate it. There's a lot of continuity-based jokes.
HOWEVER...I think you actually explained your reason for wanting to avoid the show pretty well--or, at least, I think you have, because I felt very much like that at the start.
'Cus I wasn't the biggest fan of the start of S1. I thought it was exhausting and the premise was wearing out quicker than it realized. Chika kept me interested enough to get to Ep 3...and then bought the show all the capital it needed when she did her suprise ED dance, which was just about the best thing ever. The rest of that season was generally very good, but Chika was a MAJOR reason why.
Second season, though, belonged to Kaguya, whose VA crushed it--then resurrected it, let it gain even more power, and then crushed it EVEN HARDER. Everyone was fantastic, don't get me wrong, but Kaguya was the all-star of the all-star team.
But, yeah, I totally get why you stayed away. It doesn't require inventing new systems of logic just to weakly justify your decision, which seems like a missed opportunity, but...y'know, I get it.
Aww--buttering me up, eh? Well, friend, flattery will get you everywhere!
Seriously, though, I appreciate the very kind words. It's quite the compliment to say you enjoy something you diagree with. (I'm like that with my favorite YouTube movie reviewwe. Agree with maybe 40% of his opinions. But I love his work.) So, really, I am flattered that you think so.
Or, alternatively, if you're lying just to butter me up, I appreciate the effort to butter me up. Going that extra mile.
As for Evangelion...I watched, I think, maybe one episode of it, maaaaany years ago, because a friend of mine had the series on DVD (for I am so old that I remember the time when you could really only watch anime if you bought it--sight unseen--one disc at a time from the store) and, when he was moving to new apartment, was ditching the whole thing.
"Here, watch this," he said.
"I don't like giant robots. And...didn't you hate this series?"
"Yes."
But, all the same, I got home and popped in the first disc, and, at the first sight of the wibbly-wobbly monster thing the robot had to fight, I was like, "Yeah, no." And that was that.
Now, to your question--which, as I'm sure you're not surprised to find, I've spent a million words leading up to (mostly unnecessarily)--why is it on my "won't watch" list? Because...fundamentally, I'm stubborn.
See, I don't want to give it the satisfaction. I don't want to acknowledge that, while my anime tastes haven't really changed, over the years, my tolerance for trying other things has and, by rights, Evangelion is one of the shows I should absolutely give a shot, now that things are (internally) different.
BUT...it is so fundamentally indicative of what kind of fan I have been for so, so long that to reverse course on it now would mean that I am no longer who I thought I was. And, if I can keep that show locked away from my attentions forever, then I can preserve that false identity that I am not entirely lost to the madness of weebdom.
Despite loudly flying my Eromanga Sensei flag across the forums for all to see.
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Yeah, the second season of Kaguya-sama is one of the best seasons of an anime I've ever seen. It's genuinely fantastic (with one big hiccup in the middle), from how the characters are used to the evolution of the plot to the continuity-driven expansion of the humor. I think the second season of Yuru Camp might--might--have been able to topple it from it's top spot, last year, had it aired in 2020, but it was THAT level of good. (Also: they don't admit their feelings, but they also don't act like they're hiding them, anymore. Which creates a very different tone.)
...but you really do have to have seen the first season to appreciate it. There's a lot of continuity-based jokes.
HOWEVER...I think you actually explained your reason for wanting to avoid the show pretty well--or, at least, I think you have, because I felt very much like that at the start.
'Cus I wasn't the biggest fan of the start of S1. I thought it was exhausting and the premise was wearing out quicker than it realized. Chika kept me interested enough to get to Ep 3...and then bought the show all the capital it needed when she did her suprise ED dance, which was just about the best thing ever. The rest of that season was generally very good, but Chika was a MAJOR reason why.
Second season, though, belonged to Kaguya, whose VA crushed it--then resurrected it, let it gain even more power, and then crushed it EVEN HARDER. Everyone was fantastic, don't get me wrong, but Kaguya was the all-star of the all-star team.
But, yeah, I totally get why you stayed away. It doesn't require inventing new systems of logic just to weakly justify your decision, which seems like a missed opportunity, but...y'know, I get it.
"I simply value clarity, conciseness, and class, so at least you have 2 out of 3 going for you."
I laughed for a good minute at that one. Well done.
So, similarly, then: why don't you want to get into Kaguya-sama? It has Chika!
WHY DON'T YOU WANT TO LOVE CHIKA???
Aww--buttering me up, eh? Well, friend, flattery will get you everywhere!
Seriously, though, I appreciate the very kind words. It's quite the compliment to say you enjoy something you diagree with. (I'm like that with my favorite YouTube movie reviewwe. Agree with maybe 40% of his opinions. But I love his work.) So, really, I am flattered that you think so.
Or, alternatively, if you're lying just to butter me up, I appreciate the effort to butter me up. Going that extra mile.
As for Evangelion...I watched, I think, maybe one episode of it, maaaaany years ago, because a friend of mine had the series on DVD (for I am so old that I remember the time when you could really only watch anime if you bought it--sight unseen--one disc at a time from the store) and, when he was moving to new apartment, was ditching the whole thing.
"Here, watch this," he said.
"I don't like giant robots. And...didn't you hate this series?"
"Yes."
But, all the same, I got home and popped in the first disc, and, at the first sight of the wibbly-wobbly monster thing the robot had to fight, I was like, "Yeah, no." And that was that.
Now, to your question--which, as I'm sure you're not surprised to find, I've spent a million words leading up to (mostly unnecessarily)--why is it on my "won't watch" list? Because...fundamentally, I'm stubborn.
See, I don't want to give it the satisfaction. I don't want to acknowledge that, while my anime tastes haven't really changed, over the years, my tolerance for trying other things has and, by rights, Evangelion is one of the shows I should absolutely give a shot, now that things are (internally) different.
BUT...it is so fundamentally indicative of what kind of fan I have been for so, so long that to reverse course on it now would mean that I am no longer who I thought I was. And, if I can keep that show locked away from my attentions forever, then I can preserve that false identity that I am not entirely lost to the madness of weebdom.
Despite loudly flying my Eromanga Sensei flag across the forums for all to see.
No problem. Glad that you appreciate it!
What your favorite anime