Soon this season will be done, and we’ll have a whole load more shows to fawn over.

In the meantime, we’ll be starting with some Ms. Koizumi Loves Ramen Noodles, and…

…the writers decided to crank up the yandere to 11. Okay, so no sharp knives or blood or gore, but we have now reached the point of no return for Yuu, whose obsession with Koizumi has reached the unhealthy. This week sees her collection of photographs, us looking at her dark fantasies, and Yuu writing her Ramen Note (see above). This show does not really have much in the way of constantly changing storylines; SOL shows like this typically don’t. I won’t lie; I am getting a little tired of this show, and when I see the back of it, I will be rather relieved. Do I think it has gone on for longer than necessary? Hard to say…depends on how much you like your ramen. Since ramen is normally something I don’t eat on a regular basis, I can’t really understand why some people praise ramen so much.

Moving on, and Yuru Camp will definitely be on the best of 2018 so far list; for a show to impress me in the Winter season…so early in the year…is not easy. Little Witch Academia did it for me in the Winter season last year, and it ended up becoming my favourite show of 2017. There could well be some more great shows to come later on in the year, but in the meantime I have this SOL gem, not to mention all the Winter shows I have in fact missed (Cardcaptor Sakura: Clear Card, A Place Further Than The Universe, Mitsuboshi Colors, Beatless, Slow Start, Märchen Mädchen, etc.)

Having overslept at a hot springs, Rin arrives at her campsite late. Meanwhile, Aki is still over at Nadeshiko’s, where the two of them are already making plans for their Christmas camping trip, where they consider inviting Rin when she comes back. This in fact ties in with the very first scene in the opening episode where we see Rin with Nadeshiko, Chiaki, Aoi and other girl Ena at a campsite on what appeared to be Christmas. As this show is wrapping up, I will presume that these final episodes that are coming up will go into detail on the planning of this Christmas camping trip. This has been a real joy to watch, and I will be sad to see it go.

Oh, and the identity of the new teacher (and new club advisor) is revealed: she is the drunk woman that Rin and Nadeshiko ran into a few episodes back.

Your favorite yuribait trash show now, and Citrus begins what appears to be the final arc of the show: the Tachibana sisters, who also have a history with Yuzu, and find themselves getting caught up in Mei’s affairs.

If you’re not familiar with the two in the manga, older sister Sara ends up falling in love with Mei, while younger sister Nina works as hard as she can to prevent Yuzu from getting in their way. This is a much more pleasant arc than Matsuri’s one, since not only are these two very likable characters, but we can feel some kind of satisfaction that this show will be ending soon. Of course, there have been aspects of this yuribait show that you have enjoyed watching (I mean Harumin will forever be your queen), but on the other hand, there have also been several aspects where you want to do nothing else but cringe.

When this show ends at the end of this month, I don’t think we’ll see the return of it. It has run its course, and it has lived out its attention span in the audience. Remember that this was the one show I picked for the Winter that you guys unanimously thought I would drop…well I won’t lie when I say I nearly crossed that line several times whilst watching this.

Darling in the Franxx is still, sadly, sticking to the filler episode formula; this week sees the relationship between Ichigo and Goro come under scrutiny, with a storyline that wouldn’t come out of place in something like Evangelion…in fact, I believe episode 16 of Evangelion featured Shinji being absorbed by an Angel. Here in Franxx, Goro is the one who is absorbed, and instead of going on some mental journey, he thinks about how much Ichigo means to him. It is this episode, in fact, where we see that she actually means a lot to him, but most of the time, she either doesn’t notice it or appreciate it.

I’m not 100% sold on these filler episodes, and hope that, by the time the first half ends, we as the audience will get to see something substantial. With most of the focus appearing on Hiro and Zero Two (with Ichigo making regular appearances every now and then), something major will happen to the two of them that will make them both reevaluate their roles in Plantation 13.

The shows I picked out for The OASG have been either great or okay to watch; there hasn’t really been a one that I’ve dreaded watching. This is a rarity for me, since there is always at least one show every season I end up hating, and either dread tuning into every week or drop altogether. Choosing a quality classic/out-of-season show has helped too, and rewatching Monthly Girls’ Nozaki-kun has been fun.

Episode 10 is more of a middle-of-the-road episode, that features the return of focus on Seo and Wakamatsu, as well as Hori-chan returning to acting when a club member breaks his leg. By effectively cutting out any action with Nozaki and his manga creation, this episode sort of falls flat and gets very boring very quickly…even if Seo is my favorite character in this show. I know this show will be ending soon as well, and it seems like, at this point, filler episodes were brought in before the final moment in the last episode where Nozaki whispers into Chiyo’s ear, and we’re given the impression that it’s some kind of meaningful phrase.

Next week will see me beginning my teacher training, and as that will be a priority for me so no Otaku Theater next week. Meanwhile…

…has your Winter season been cool? Did you end up watching all the Netflix shows out so far? Do you have anything special planned to watch for the Spring season? Feel free to air your opinions in the comments below…