A professional grief counselor. Things like the diary or the present/past tenses.

Waiting for the show to just drop the detail that Makio was a therapist before she went into writing, that would be very realistic honestly.

Anyway, back to the show - it's excellent, but I get a creeping feeling it's becoming 'grieving 101' with Makio acting more like Asa's personal therapist rather *just* a concerned relative. It's one thing to be empathetic, another to pull psychological techniques from your hat like you're

Speaking of viscerality and things hitting close to home, it doesn't help that Makio's sister is basically my sister. (We've learned to get along slightly better once I reached my 30s, though. And she's still alive, obviously)

(Not a complaint FYI, I'm just not used to either BL or yuri works that actually acknowledge the wider societal context of being queer. So, positively baffled)

Oh, the ending song is hella cute
www.youtube.com/watch?v=IrCe...

6. Umibe no Etranger (2020) myanimelist.net/anime/40615/...

Very very cute and comfy but also - I'm very confused??? Is it okay for a BL story to feature girls on the screen for ~50% of the runtime??? (There's even a lesbian couple in the background! And also a het kiss for good measure I guess)

5. Space Adventure Cobra (1982) myanimelist.net/anime/2452/S...

Going further into the Dezaki filmography. Psychedelic & amazing. Matsuzaki Shigeru sounds like he was born to voice Cobra. The animation credits are hella long for a 80s movie - never knew this was such a huge production.

Ikewaki has exactly 2 VA roles, this and Sara in the 2nd Zeta Gundam movie... And she was replaced in the latter role for the 3rd movie bcs her acting was prominently awful. I guess this just shows how a sound director can make or break a VA? (Incidentally, there's no SD credited in Neko no Ongaeshi

4. Neko no Ongaeshi (2002) myanimelist.net/anime.php?id...

Written by Yoshioka Reiko (yay) and directed by Morita Hiroyuki (huh...). Very cute, bouncy and fun but I get why it gets overlooked by the usual Ghibli crowd. Amazing voice acting from non-seiyuu, esp. Ikewaki Chizuru as Haru.

3. Hyakuemu. (2025) myanimelist.net/anime.php?id...

Competent and enjoyable but uneven. My expectations might have been too high after Iwaisawa's debut film. It uses rotoscoping extensively, and there are parts where it was integrated very naturally and parts where it stands out in a bad way.

some elements that just tug at my heartstrings: found family, big girl & little girl, 3.11 trauma. I bawled 4 times watching it and then a 5th when I later listened to the ending song by Hitsuji Bungaku. Very recommended.

2. Misaki no Mayoiga (2021) myanimelist.net/anime.php?id...

This movie undersells itself so fucking much, the synopsis and main visual look like generic "magical Japan" slice of life but it's anything but (def needs some trigger warnings). Although I may be biased since it happens to feature (1/2)

1. Uchuu Show e Youkoso! (2010) myanimelist.net/anime.php?id...

I balked at the length at first, and indeed it was simultaneously too long and too packed - would've worked wonderfully as a 4-ep OVA - but it was just earnest fun. Very bouncy, cute animation, and the main char is a total idiot (good)

OMG I totes forgot this movie randomly features the two leads ruining a Nazi white supremacist right-wing rally as a humorous aside. Making fun of Nazis is much too rare entertainment in 2025