The Speakeasy #147: Vinland Saga, Bocchi the Rock, Witch Hat Atelier, + More

This month is a grab bag of things we’ve been watching and reading:

  • The Magical Revolution of the Reincarnated Princess and the Genius Young Lady
  • Bocchi the Rock
  • Vinland Saga S2
  • Witch Hat Atelier
  • Bonus: Toradora Vtuber rewatch

The Type-Moon (Moment) Minute

  • FGO Tales of Chaldean Heavy Industries

Join us on Discord!

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Manga of the Month: Skip and Loafer

Skip and Loafer by Misaki Takamatsu

Mitsumi has moved from a small town to Tokyo to live with her aunt and start a new chapter of her school life. She has grand ambitions of becoming a public servant (and mayor of her hometown someday)! Only come to find out, she is a bit less astute than one might imagine. She get hopelessly lost on the first day of school, pukes on a teacher after her opening ceremonies speech, but befriends a handsome slacker along the way and thus her new school life full of missteps begins.

I honestly picked up Skip and Loafer because the girl’s face on the cover made me laugh (and sums up the character perfectly btw). It just got better from there. The series balances the things you expect from a school comedy (navigating friendships, low-stakes misunderstandings, budding romance) with a willingness to show how flawed everyone is. Mitsumi has the classic can-do, nothings-gonna-get-me-down attitude of a shojo lead (despite running in a seinen magazine), but all her intelligence is in book smarts. In contrast, she lacks self-awareness, making for a protagonist who feels normal but not average. That robustness of character extends to every member of the cast and is what makes Skip and Loafer comedy gold while also being incredibly endearing.

It has been sometime since a school life story really captured me, but Takamatsu has given the genre a fresh twist with a heroine who is earnest and well-intentioned but also an overconfident blockhead.

-Kate

The Speakeasy #146: Trigun, Buddy Daddies, Soaring Sky! Pretty Cure + More Winter 2023 Anime

This month we discuss as many of the new shows of the season as possible:

  • Trigun Stampede
  • Kaina of the Great Snow Sea
  • The Fire Hunter
  • Mister Lee’s Detective Agency
  • Buddy Daddies
  • Spy Classroom
  • Summer Time Rendering
  • Malevolent Spirits Mononogatari
  • The Tale of Outcasts
  • The Ice Guy and His Cool Female Colleague
  • Tomo-chan is a Girl!
  • The Magical Revolution of the Reincarnated Princess and the Genius Young Lady
  • Handyman Saito in Another World
  • Revenger
  • Sugar Apple Fairy Tale
  • Giant Beasts of Ars
  • Ippon Again!
  • Soaring Sky! Pretty Cure

The Type-Moon (Moment) Minute

  • Witch on the Holy Night release
  • Fate/Samurai Remnant new info
  • FGO Ordeal Call

Join us on Discord!