February Favourites ‘21

Can you guys believe it’s March tomorrow? I can’t. February went by really quickly and you know what, I’m not complaining about that. I’m going to be honest, February was a shit month for me and I’m really glad to see the back of it. My mental health was really tested for three weeks solid and there was a time where I was in a really low place. To be honest at the time of writing this (Thursday 25th) I still have a couple of days left of the month to go, so fingers crossed the rest of the month treats me well!

I just want to be honest with you guys. The first week I felt numb and empty and it was mostly PMS related but I started to think about life before lockdown, COVID and my parents. I really miss them. The first thing I’m planning to do when lockdown is over and it’s safe to do so is see my parents. I was also starting to think about how I miss my aunt who passed away in September. I think about her almost daily and yeah. It’s shit.

The second week I can’t talk about too much. My mental health was just bad, I was a nervous wreck and I just couldn’t stop crying some days. Just to get this out there, I’m okay now and these feelings have now passed… Thank fuck.

The third week (well this week really…) things just didn’t seem to go right. Dane was told to self isolate at the end of the second week, we’ve had some issues in the house and we’ve been irritable and miserable as fuck. Thankfully we’re both feeling a lot better now.

I just wanted to get that off of my chest. Just because I appear happy and cheerful on my blog and social media, it doesn’t always mean I am and the same goes to everyone. I’m quite good at putting an act on when the time comes. It’s something I’ve had to do my whole life in regards to my mental health.

I also want to say a massive thanks to the handful of friends who have been there for me this month when things were rough. I miss and love you all. :’)

Besides me feeling like shit, February was also a month where I decided to go on a spending ban. I’d been very spend happy in January and due to it being a long month (payday wise) I was kinda skint. The February spending ban went pretty well… Until shitty week two out of three where I ended up treating myself to some Black Milk Clothing pieces… Oops. 😛 Aside from that, the spending ban went really well and it’s actually inspired others to go on a spending ban with me too! I’m already planning to do it again in March AND people will be joining me for that!

Of course if you’re interested to follow along, or maybe even join yourself I’ll pop the template I’ve created for March above. I’ve been posting daily to weekly updates on my Instagram page (theremightbecoffeeblog) stories. Come and join in!

Anyhoo, enough of me waffling on about spending bans and more, let’s talk about my favourites from February. It may have been a crap month but I loved so much stuff and have been excited to share it with you all!

Beauty

• The Body Shop Strawberry Shower Gel.

I’ve spoken about this shower gel from The Body Shop many times and I really do love it. I tell this story every time I talk about this shower gel, which I’m sure everyone is bored of now. 😛 Basically my mom used to always buy me a bottle of this shower gel whenever we visited The Body Shop (once every few months or so?) so whenever I use it, it reminds me of when I was younger. I had a £5 birthday voucher and I didn’t want to worry I lost it, so bought myself a MASSIVE bottle of the strawberry shower gel. It’s something Dane loves just as much as I do so it works out nicely. I’ve been using it loads this month and not only does it smell amazing, but it has left my skin feeling lovely and soft too. 🙂

So… Now it’s time to talk about the miscellaneous favourites of the month! If there isn’t anything I’ve done I’m not going to mention. I haven’t mentioned a movie this month as I don’t actually think I/we watched one!

Favourite TV Show – Attack on Titan Final Season.

It saddens me to say that we are on the final season of Attack on Titan, it only feels like yesterday that me and Dane were watching it for the first time (we’d travelled to Bristol for a long weekend for our first anniversary)… That was almost seven years ago! I love the show and I for one am sad to see it come to an end. So far this final season has been AMAZING and it’s something me and Dane have either watched Sunday night before bed, or Monday morning before work. I don’t want to say too much due to spoilers but it’s amazing and very “WHAT IS HAPPENING!” Moments throughout. This is because I don’t/haven’t read the manga yet. I plan to in the future. I definitely recommend watching Attack on Titan if you never have and want to!

I just want to add here that I was going to also add another TV show I’m loving right now… But I’m going to wait until next month when it’s due to end. Spoiler, it’s RuPaul’s Drag Race UK Season 2… 😛

Favourite Book – Remina by Junji Ito.

GUYS I actually read a book! One book, but A book! This is actually a manga that Dane bought for himself that I ended up reading before him. It’s the latest manga from Junji Ito and it was a strange but enjoyable read. It’s about a young woman called Remina whose dad has discovered a planet, which he names after her. The planet isn’t good, shit goes crazy and people start to blame Remina for it, due to their shared name. For those of you who aren’t aware, Junji Ito is described as the “king of horror manga” due to his unique art style. It’s incredibly detailed and beautiful, although creepy all the same. This isn’t a long manga, but a lot of packed in there! I didn’t really like the ending, but I don’t know what else I expected really. This being said it’s amazing and I recommend giving it a read if you’re already a fan of Junji Ito’s work, or a new reader of his work like I am.

Favourite Music – Childish Gambino – Summer Pack.

I recently discovered the track “Summertime Magic” by Childish Gambino through a game and I have fallen in love with it. From that I also discovered “Feels Like Summer” as both songs were on an EP called Summer Pack which I really love. I’ve found myself listening to them whilst working, even whilst writing up this post on and off too. I’ve never really listened to Childish Gambino before but I’ll definitely listen to his work more in the future for sure! I’m not super excited for the summer yet due to everything going on in the UK at the moment with lockdown and COVID, but as and when we can have a fun summer again, these are songs I’ll be playing whilst cooking something on the BBQ and sipping on a cocktail!

Image taken from GIPHY

Favourite Game – Ark.

Ark is a game me and a group of friends have been playing recently after we bought a server and with Dane and a friend of ours both needing to self isolate in February it’s been good for them to have something to do during the day, as well as in the week. I’d never played Ark before so I was feeling a mixture of excitement and anxious of what to expect. All I knew about it was that it’s a survival game surrounding dinosaurs. We’ve been playing it for over a week now and we’re all having an amazing time! 😀 I’ve become the one who looks after the dinosaurs and tidies up around the place. 😛 We have two robot stegosaurus’ which I called Daft and Punk. Yes, I’m a loser. 😛 It’s just such a fun game and I honestly recommend it to everyone who fancies something new to play. Plus, I’m pretty sure it’s free on Xbox too!

Just a few of my favourite things.

• Creating an amigurumi – Animal Crossing Bizkit dog villager.

Not long after the third lockdown began in the UK I decided I would take up a new hobby and that new hobby was going to be amigurumi! I’d been mesmerised by it for quite some time thanks to Instagram and I thought, “Why not give it a go myself?” I’m not going to lie, the first time I gave this a go I was stressed out and anxious that I’d picked up a hobby I couldn’t actually do… My aunt always tried to show me how to crochet when I was younger and I never got the hang of it. Dane was really good and helped me so much with learning how to do some of the basics of amigurumi and if it wasn’t for that, I think I would have given up.

I worked on this project for a couple of days and didn’t go back to it for a few weeks after getting busy. I don’t know what happened but when I picked it back up I just… Got on with it and something that I’d struggled with so much the two weeks prior just came natural to me! I haven’t finished Biskit yet, but I plan to at the start of March. I’ve been a bit too busy lately to pick it up back but I only have a leg and his ears left to do.

Due to the amount of wool I have left I’m actually planning to make another one to either gift to a friend or keep hold of. In the future I would love to do some more projects similar to this including more Animal Crossing dog villagers, Pokemon and maybe even try and find a Puppycat (Bee & Puppycat) and Morgana (Persona 5) design to play with too.

If you’re interested in this design too and fancy giving it a go yourself then make sure to go and check out HanisCrochet! I bought my PDF pattern on her Etsy store and she’s been so lovely and helpful when I’ve gotten stuck or confused with the pattern. I’ll link back to the Biskit pattern here. The next one I plan to buy from her is Cherry so I can make one for Dane, as well as my friend Gabriella. 🙂

• Pikarar photoshoot (read the post all about Pikarar here).

I’m not going to talk too much about this but I LOVED this mini photoshoot that me and Dane did for my Pikarar review! I had loved the mini photoshoot we’d done for my Black Milk Clothing x Pokemon collection post (which you can read here) so I knew I wanted to do another. Our front room is perfect for these photoshoots and I’m not going to lie, 2021 will hopefully bring more!

As you will have noticed on my blog, as well as on my blog social media pages my image has changed to be the one where I’m wearing my yellow Pikachu crane Pikarar t-shirt. I loved how natural the photo came out and I found by wearing something Pokemon and geeky related it’s more related to what my blog is about.

What do you guys think about the photos? 😀

• Food – Pancake day,fFakeaway and Japanese ramen.

February was a month of me cooking some yummy meals and if there is one thing I really love to do, it’s cooking. Towards the start of February we had Shrove Tuesday/pancake day! I always make pancakes for me and Dane when pancake day rolls around and I knew we had to have them with bacon and syrup! They were really yummy and now I’m craving them again. 😛

I’ve cooked a couple of “fakeaway” meals during February including Nandos and this burger meal we did! The burgers are Linda McCartney’s vegetarian pulled pork burgers and they are AMAZING! I cooked up some chilli halloumi to pop on top and on the side, as well as some salt and pepper chips. This was such a lovely dinner and it definitely hit the spot.

Finally earlier this week I made ramen. It’s been BLOODY FREEZING this week in Birmingham and both me and Dane needed something to warm us up, so I decided to cook us ramen. I used Oumph! spiced kebab meat which is vegetarian and it’s okay… But it’s not something I’d pick up often as I find for the price it isn’t worth it. I’m not 100% vegetarian (flexitarian?) but I’m not someone who eats kebabs so I’d rather have this, if that makes sense? 🙂

• Black Milk Clothing x Pokemon.

Pokemon Day was yesterday and can you believe Pokemon has been around officially for 25 years? I feel fucking old… 😛 I mentioned earlier in this post that I had splurged on some Black Milk pieces towards the end of February and pissed my spending ban UP THE WALL! One of the two pieces I picked up is the Pokemon Dreams Snuggle Suit that I’ve had on my wish list since the collection came out in 2020. I’ve been wearing this on and off toward the end of February and it’s so comfortable to wear during games evenings and chilling with Dane. Black Milk Clothing have their Pokemon 2.0 collection coming out TONIGHT (in the UK anyway…) and I’m planning to buy a couple of things from it. I’m eyeing up the Snorlax snuggle suit but… I don’t think I will. One is enough for me me thinks.

So that is everything from my February monthly favourites! As I said before, February was rubbish for me but writing this post I’ve seen some things I really loved and enjoyed this month, which has made me feel a bit better. 🙂

What were your favourites from February? Make sure to let me know in the comments.

Until next time all, take care, keep safe and see you soon!

The Opposites Book Tag

Image taken from giphy.com

I don’t feel like I’ve done and taken part in a blog tag for a while now (not going to lie, it was probably just last month… :P) so when I came across The Opposites Book Tag on Eleanor’s blog a month ago I knew I’d do it at some point.

Fast forward a month later and here we are! She tagged anyone who read her post, which I’m linking here because you need to read her answers!

I’m changing my answers up a little though and instead of talking about “normal” books, I’ll be talking about manga instead… Considering manga is the majority of what I read. 😛

I hope you enjoy this tag post!

FIRST BOOK IN YOUR COLLECTION/LAST BOOK YOU BOUGHT.

The first manga I ever bought was Azumanga Daioh and it’s one of my biggest manga books in my collection… So far anyway. 😛 I loved the anime of the same name so when I heard about a manga of it too, I knew I had to find it! It took me ages and when I finally found it online I ordered it to be told a month later that it wasn’t actually in stock as they’d said. I got a refund and headed elsewhere in search of it. I found it on eBay in the end brand new and ended up buying it for less money than I was intending to pay for it in the first place.

My most recent purchase is Miss Kobayashi’s Dragon Maid: Kanna’s Daily Life Vol. 2. I LOVE this spin off series even more than the original due to how adorable it is and yet how hilarious it is at other times. I’ll soon be buying some new manga… I feel like I buy it monthly in all honesty. 😛

A CHEAP BOOK/AN EXPENSIVE BOOK.

This stands for both of the same series but I’ve spent an absolute fortune on the Nana manga in the past! It’s not really published anymore I don’t think so it can be such a hard manga to get hold of! It’s so worth it though as I think the Nana manga will be worth some serious monies in the future due to it being on a hiatus. ANYWAY I’ve spent next to sod all on many copies of this manga and other times I’ve paid through the teeth just to get a decent copy or even a brand new one.

Aside from Nana the most I have spent on manga for myself is £15.99, which I spent on the manga of Wolf Children. I regret spending that much on it, but 1. it’s hardback and 2. I picked it up in Waterstones… Of course it was expensive! 😛

A BOOK WITH A MALE PROTAGONIST/ONE WITH A FEMALE PROTAGONIST.

First of all, male protagonist! The first one that pops into my head is Hideo Suzuki from the manga, I Am a Hero. This manga is amazing and it’s thanks to Dane discovering it in Forbidden Planet that we started reading it together. He’s such a fanny at the best of times, but this is due to what appears to be a form of anxiety. He’s our hero during a zombie apocalypse in Japan and he’s such a great and real protagonist for that story. I cannot wait to see where the series goes and what the future has in store for him.

So a female protagonist eh? Oh man I could pick so many manga series with a legend of a female protagonist but I think the first one I can think of is Nana Osaki, from the manga of the same name. She’s the Nana who is a singer in a rock band and doesn’t stand for shit! Although she’s rock hard on the outside and appears untouchable, she actually has a heart of gold and is mending a broken heart throughout most of the manga. I remember when watching the anime, as well as reading the manga what a strong and bold woman she is, even though she isn’t real. I wanted to be like her as I got older and I like to think I am. 😛

A BOOK YOU READ FAST/ONE THAT TOOK YOU LONG TO READ.

If there is a series I found myself whizzing through and finishing quicker than any manga series I own to date, it’s A Silent Voice. I remember hearing about the manga thanks to the anime that came out as a film last year. I picked up a couple of volumes to read to see if I would enjoy it and I instantly fell in love. Even before me and Dane went to watch the anime I went into my local manga/comic book store and bought some more volumes! Later I bought the rest on Amazon PRIME so I could read them as soon as possible. To this day it is now one of my favourite manga series and I recommend it highly to anyone who wants to get into manga and see why it’s so amazing.

Fuck me, if there is one manga series that is taking me forever to get through, it’s definitely K-ON! and I honestly couldn’t tell you why. I think it’s because I enjoy reading it so much that I take my time to read it. I’m on my second to last volume now and I’ll be sad when I’ve finished the K-ON! series. This just means I need to find a NEW SERIES to get into. 😛

PRETTY COVER/UGLY COVER.

I don’t think I really own any pretty manga covers… If anything I love Nana for the story each volume tells about the two Nana’s and the same can go for A Silent Voice which shows off the two main characters together. I also really love A Polar Bear In Love for the adorable covers that their volumes produce! I cannot wait for Volume 3 to come out now as the cover for that looks amazing.

I can’t say I own any ugly covers though… If there are some manga covers I dislike it’s Dane’s Berserk series, as well as some of the Junji Ito covers which aren’t ugly, just very creepy. 😛

A NATIONAL BOOK/AN INTERNATIONAL BOOK.

HA they’re all pretty international when you think about it! 😛

No I joke. All my manga books are in English! Although once I nearly ordered Elfen Lied on Amazon, only to discover they were all in German. I dodged a very heavy and expensive burden there. 😛

A THIN BOOK/A THICK BOOK.

I don’t really own any thin manga… Some of my thicker books are Wolf Children and Azumanga Daioh.

FICTION BOOK/NON-FICTION BOOK.

They’re all fiction really.

VERY (WAY TOO) ROMANTIC BOOK/ACTION BOOK.

Oh man, the majority of my manga is romance related as that’s just what I’m into. I have read action style manga though before, don’t get me wrong! Those are usually ones that Dane has bought and told me to check out. I do like a bit of action in manga, but I’m a total romance girl. 😛

A BOOK THAT MADE YOU HAPPY/ONE THAT MADE YOU SAD.

There are so many manga series that make me happy! K-ON!, Azumanga Daioh, Nichijou, Miss Kobayashi’s Dragon Maid and more, but if there is one that really cheers me up to read lately, it’s A Polar Bear In Love.

A Polar Bear In Love is about a polar bear who is in love with a baby seal. The story is about them exploring where they live together and learning more each day about one another, as well as about things around them. I remember reading volume 1 and wondering what the hell was happening, but it’s such a cute story and the artwork is also adorable. Give it a read if you love cute and yet weird manga. 😛

I feel like I’ve spoken about it so much on this post, but both Nana and A Silent Voice broke my heart. Nana is for many reasons, with the biggest of course being the story but also because it isn’t finished! The writer/artist of Nana has health issues and due to that she had to hiatus Nana. I need to know what happens and how it finishes for all the characters. 😦

A Silent Voice is just depressing for many different reasons and what makes it even more depressing? It’s so realistic that I wouldn’t be surprised if a lot of stuff that happens in the manga, doesn’t happen on a daily basis to both children and teenagers. It’s about a deaf girl who is bullied by her classmate. She leaves due to the bullying, which results in the classmate being bullied himself for many years after. He learns sign language and goes to meet her to apologise before he attempts suicide… Which doesn’t happen thankfully! That’s all I’m saying! 😛 It has a lovely ending to it however and in itself, that makes me happy.

So those are the answers to the The Opposites Book Tag! I hope my answers aren’t boring due to me changing them to adapt to manga, but as I said before… I don’t read anything else other than manga these days…

Like Eleanor did, anyone who reads this tag post, I CHOOSE YOU TO TAKE PART TOO! 😀

Will you be giving the tag a go? If so let me know in the comments!

Until next time, take care all and I hope you’re ready for the weekend.

Winter 2018 Anime We’re Watching – His & Hers Post

This is a series I really wanted to start this year… Well two in fact! I LOVE LOVE LOVE anime and manga so I’m finally going to writing more about it on my blog as and when I can. I know my blog started off with mainly beauty and fashion but the older I’m getting, the less arsed I am about both of them. They will always factor into my blog (beauty more than fashion at least!) but I just want to start writing more about the things I enjoy and wish to talk about, instead of the stuff I hope my audience will want to read. Sounds selfish, but it’s my blog! 😛

As well as starting off talking more about anime, I am also going to be trying to do more blog posts with Dane, aka his and hers posts. I have loads of ideas for posts us two can write together and give both a male and females opinion on.

ANYWAY enough of stalling, on with the post!

Winter anime for 2018 is pretty amazing right now and if you’re a part of the loop you’ll either be incredibly pleased about the new and returning series that are on show right now, or disappointed. There may be some happy medium… 😛

I wanted to share some of the winter anime series that I’ve been watching and my thoughts about them. Dane has been watching some of them more than myself and vice versa, which is why I wanted him to join me in writing this post.

I have My Anime List up as a guide as to what is on at the moment for winter. I’m not going in any particular order. Of course I will list where you can watch these series if you’re interested!

From Myanimelist

Violet Evergarden – Available to watch on Netflix (dubbed).

Synopsis (source: Anime Expo) – There are words Violet heard on the battlefield, which she cannot forget. These words were given to her by someone she holds dear, more than anyone else. She does not yet know their meaning. A certain point in time, in the continent of Telesis. The great war which divided the continent into North and South has ended after four years, and the people are welcoming a new generation. Violet Evergarden, a young girl formerly known as “the weapon,” has left the battlefield to start a new life at CH Postal Service. There, she is deeply moved by the work of “Auto Memories Dolls,” who carry people’s thoughts and convert them into words.

Nat’s thoughts – This is a series that Dane got me to watch a couple of episodes in after it was added to Netflix recently. I’ve only watched a couple of episodes of this to be honest and it’s not that I dislike it, nor do I love it. It’s a series you seem to need to stick with or you won’t continue watching it, like myself. I just feel like the story is very slow and you’re just seeing the impact Violet has on other people whilst she’s trying to piece together the puzzle of what happened to her during her time in the army/fighting in the war. I may give it another go however as it does seem like a gorgeous story. The art style itself is also gorgeous and without sounding daft, is aesthetically pleasing. 😛

Dane’s thoughts – I started watching this after seeing a GIF on Reddit and thought, “Wow, that looks pretty!” After watching it I now think it’s one of, if not, the most beautiful anime I have seen to date. The hair… Damn… The hair just looks so good. Not surprising from the animation studio that brought us K-ON!, A Silent Voice and so much more. Kyoto Animation are really one of my favourite studios.

From GIPHY

The story, whilst slow but so pretty, kept me pretty engaged. I want to know what happened pretty much in the war, who the pretty major is, and how pretty Violet will eventually learn to understand her emotions, that are pretty. Even if Nat is no longer interested I will continue to watch it as it is released as a simuldub (an anime dub that is shown simultaneously with the Japanese release). It is definitely a must watch for me.

Did I mention how pretty it was? 😉 😛

From Myanimelist

Citrus – Available to watch on Crunchyroll (subbed).

Synopsis (Source: Yuri Project) – Fashionable Yuzu imagined the first day at her new school she transferred to after her mother’s remarriage a bit differently; she didn’t know it’d be an ultra-strict and conservative girls’ school. So instead of a sweet high-school romance, she butts heads with the stern student council president Mei—who turns out to be her new stepsister. And she has to learn that hate and attraction are often not that far apart.

Nat’s thoughts – Bloody hell this is an anime series that is taking the anime world by storm right now! I don’t think I’ve heard anyone say a bad thing about it other than how odd and meh (look at Dane’s thoughts for what I mean by meh…) it is. It’s basically about two step sisters who enter into a relationship. I’ve only watched a couple of episodes at the moment and it really does throw you into this young lesbian romance that the two girls enter into. Even the titles are very kiss heavy, like full on tongue and making out. Me and Dane aren’t really into shoujo ai (non-explicit lesbian relationships anime) but we watched it due to everyone talking about it right now, Dane more so than me! We did this with Yuri On Ice!!! and we’re so pleased that we did as we loved it! However, Citrus is different. I think the reason people are going crazy for it right now is because it’s sexual. People go mad for that sort of shit to be honest and considering the type of sexual relationship the two girls have… I’m surprised they’re showing it overseas. I do love Yuzu so much though, she’s adorable and moves away with her mom for their new “life” so she hopes to fall in love etc etc. She’s also kawaii with her fashion sense and quirks. It’s not a series I dislike nor like at the moment but like Violet Evergarden I do want to start watching it from the beginning to give it a fair chance (even though deep down I don’t think the sexual scenes are right considering how rapey they look…). Dane however has been watching more of it than I have! 😛

Dane’s thoughts – Anime is trash and so am I.

Lesbianism and sexual assault is the name of the game here. It is about Yuzu (the protagonist) and Mei, her new stepsister, getting freaky with each other and their shenanigans at school. Whilst it does develop into a consensual “thing” they have going on (as of episode 5 I would not call it a relationship just yet), it starts off really fucking rapey. Yuzu, being a confident and outgoing person in everyday life becomes very uncertain and scared once something vaguely sexual occurs. Even when it’s not even sexual it gets awkward fast, she’s like a teenage boy getting a boner at the slightest thing. Then Mei gets involved and you’re like, “Hell yeah!”… If you’re into that sort of thing… Then it gets rapey. Straight after everyone goes on their day like, “I was just groped, had my clothes torn off me… But I like it so it’s okay.”

The story has left me wanting to know what the deal with the dad is, why Mei behaves like a piece of cardboard, what other ways you can make lesbianism awkward and why Japanese girl-only schools make them so “horny”. Each episode is a roller coaster of emotion that leaves me feeling much like Fry from Futurama being sentenced to death by snu-snu.

From GIPHY

But…

… That shit is hot yo.

From GIPHY

All jokes aside, our reaction to this anime is just like Donald Glover (above) and does once again remind us of how trashy anime can be. If it was a bit more tasteful we could give it a proper recommendation but it’s just on the edge of being a bit too rapey. It’s definitely not for everyone.

From Myanimelist

Poputepipikku/Pop Team Epic – Available on Crunchyroll (subbed) and Funimation (dubbed).

Synopsis (Source: MAL) – Two high school girls, the short and exceptionally quick to anger Popuko, and the tall and much more calm Pipimi, do insane things and swear like sailors in this absurdist comedy filled with references and meta humor.

Nat’s thoughts – Pop Team Epic is a manga I have known about for a couple of years now so when it came out as an anime series I was excited and intrigued to see what they had done with it! The manga is actually more of a comic and shows strips of different scenes of what the girls get up to. It was extremely funny, random and odd all at the same time! I loved it though, but what I don’t love right now is the hype. I get the hype, I really do but at the same time I REALLY hope it doesn’t get too hyped for it’s own good. I’ve only watched a couple of episodes as urgh I don’t know. I think I’ve been more interested in other anime series right now to really want to focus my time and energy watching this one. I will however watch it from the beginning again because I can. 😛 It does have some really funny moments in it however, but I do feel like it worked better as a manga/comic strip.

Dane’s thoughts – Hmm. Don’t let the cute aesthetic fool you, it is not cute. It’s bat-shit crazy. It has its moments where they elicit a chuckle and the occasional, “HA!” but I haven’t wanted to carry on watching it to be honest, or at least not felt the urge to continue. It feels more like a chore to have my TV vomit memes into my eyes at such a blistering pace. We watched it subbed originally, I am a fast reader and enjoy subbed anime but I was more laughing at the visuals rather than the jokes themselves. We tried the dub but I don’t think it had the same impact, whilst the voice actors are good it just didn’t work for me. I guess it would be like trying to dub Konosuba.

I just have the feeling most people are watching this to try and show how weird and quirky they are.

From Myanimelist

Junji Ito: Collection – Available on Crunchyroll (subbed) and Funimation (dubbed).

Synopsis (Source: My Anime List) – A collection of animated horror stories based on the works of Japanese artist Junji Ito.

Nat’s thoughts – This is definitely one of my favourites from winter 2018 so far and I love it so much! Dane has read a selection of the manga by Ito Junji and we actually own Uzumaki which is one big story and probably won’t feature on the anime. Dane loves Junji Ito’s work and I’ve always found it to be creepy when he’s shown me the manga. However when we saw that there was an anime series online based off of his stories, Dane had to give it a go. I really enjoyed the first episode and to be honest I couldn’t wait for the next time! There will be 2-3 horror stories per episode which are either one off shorts or part of a longer series/story. The stories are a mixture of creepy and unnerving, as well as funny at times and somewhat lighthearted. It depends on the story really. As my Friday work day comes closer to 5pm I think of how excited I am to get home and continue watching this with Dane. I really do love this series and if you love horror you will definitely enjoy this.

Dane’s thoughts – I actually had no idea this was coming out until I saw that Funimation had the simuldub out. I have no idea how I missed this in the run up to it being shown.

As Nat has mentioned I have read a fair bit of Junji Ito’s work already online and currently only own Uzumaki (I am hoping for that to change though soon). The stories he writes are so unique and he is the king of the full page spread, the detail and horror in these images are grotesquely mesmerising. Every week the anime shows two short stories (or in some cases part of the greater story) from his collection. It’s great because you get something new each week, made so much better by the unique ending credits each week too which shows the characters from said stories. Something I have never seen before.

The problem with this is that it just does’nt carry over well in the medium of anime. The horror is not quite there in what the anime portrays. The horror comes from the thoughts of the story themselves and thinking after, “What if that were to really happen?” The animation is okay and sometimes the single shots have good detail in them but it just doesn’t have the same impact of turning the page of the manga.

I will continue to watch this one out of respect for the creator. I also want to see how they tackle the Tomie stories which they have not yet covered as of writing this.

From Myanimelist

Miira no Kaikata/How To Keep A Mummy – Available on Crunchroll (subbed).

Synopsis (Source: Crunchyroll) – When high school student Sora Kashiwagi finds himself staring down a mysterious oversized package sent to him by his self-proclaimed “adventurer” father, the last thing he expects is for it to be opened from the inside… by a little mummy so small it can fit in the palm of his hand!

Nat’s thoughts – Oh man if there is an anime series I have thoroughly enjoyed and been pretty obsessed with since Miss Kobayashi’s Dragon Maid and Your Lie In April, it has to be How To Keep A Mummy. I discovered this anime through Crunchyroll’s Facebook page when they posted a video showing off the show for winter 2018. It’s so damn adorable and if you don’t find the little mummy Mii Kun adorable then you clearly have no heart or soul. The series is just so adorable and constantly pulls on my heart strings. It’s based off of a manga that I really want to read at some point. I always look forward to watching this on a Friday evening or Saturday morning. I can already tell it’ll be one of my favourite things of 2018.

Dane’s thoughts – Erm… It’s kinda cute. Nat likes it so I guess that counts for something… Right?

From Giphy

If you like miniature decaying (Nat – HE ISN’T DECAYING!!! HE’S FUCKING ADORABLE!!!) corpses being reanimated and behaving like a retarded pet (HEY HEY HEY!!! HE’S FUCKING ADORABLE. DON’T MAKE ME SAY THAT AGAIN!!!) then this is the anime for you. You may think I am joking but that basically is the premise. Young boy, who’s name I cannot be bothered to learn, gets sent a mummy by his dad who is currently in Egypt travelling and it proceeds to become attached to the boy and becomes his pet. There is even a retarded rip-off Dragonite and some weird bellybutton motherfucker in it too.

Here is an actual scene:

From Giphy

If you haven’t guessed, this anime is not my cup of tea. It is cute but I found it boring and there wasn’t much going on. I can see its appeal though and by no means do I hate it.

If you do hate it though … Fuck you (Thank Dane ;P).

Back to me now (Nat of course. :P)!

Although we are also currently watching some other anime(s) too these don’t count with the anime that is out during winter 2018. We’ll definitely do another post on those though in the near future as we really want to!

So that is the list of anime that we’re watching (well sort of… :P) at the moment from the new winter releases for this year. If you enjoy watching anime like we do, what have you been watching recently? Anything that we’ve watched or if you haven’t had we intrigued you to? Make sure to let us know in the comments down below!

I just want to say a massive thanks to Dane for having a go on this blog post with me today. Bless him he’s been learning how to add pictures to posts etc etc. It was quite sweet really!

I’m off now anyhoo to enjoy the rest of my Sunday. I hope you guys have had an awesome week! Until next time, take care all.