2021 Favourite Anime & Manga (and games!)

I really wanted to finish the Greed Island arc for HxH by the end of 2021, but I guess that's not happening lol.. I think I'll be lucky to get this out by the end of the year haha! Anyway, honestly, not much anime or manga has really piqued my interest this year, so I haven't been really reading/watching aside from the popular stuff or just reading the stuff I'm already reading lol, so yep, probably not much to expect other than the mainstream stuff haha! (EDIT: I made it, yay!) But I am EXCITEDDDD for the anime in 2022! Spy X Family, Chainsaw Man and Kaguya-sama are the main ones that will be airing that I'm interested in, and I am soo looking forward to them! I've already read the manga for them, but I would love to see them animated! Jigokuraku being done by MAPPA makes me so happy too! I legit cannot wait haha!

 ANIME

Favourite Manga Adaptations

Kanojo mo Kanojo (Girlfriend, Girlfriend)

Genre: Comedy, Romance, Shounen
Episodes: 12
My Rating: 8/10

My favourite comedy for 2021! From the author of Aho Girl and Mangaka-san to Assistant-san to comes the harem comedy with our MC Naoya two-timing with permission to from the girls lol! Honestly, when I watched the first episode, I wasn't sure if I really liked how stupid and ridiculous everything was, and two-timing is a questionable premise, but the more episodes I watched, the more this became the anime I looked forward to watching the most every week. Yeah, it doesn't stop being ridiculous, yeah it doesn't stop being stupid, but it also doesn't stop being funny for me, because I absolutely love all these idiots. Naoya is honest to a fault, and a lot of people seem to complain about him but I find him endearing, mainly because he's so stubborn, so hard-headed and perseveres for the girls he loves. Seeing him try so hard to make his harem happy because he acknowledges that he is selfish for getting them to agree to be in this two-timing situation just felt so touching to me haha. I know it's silly because he's still technically a two-timer but I really can't help but love him tbh.

The girls are also as entertaining as their hair colours with Saki being fiery, Nagisa being more like the perfect housewife etc, I love how they're all so silly in their own ways, but also sincere in their love in different ways, and I think that variety makes it difficult for you to not love at least one of them. Personally, I love them all, so I definitely hope for the harem end because the premise and characters are ridiculous enough for it to happen, so even if it's only in this story, it would be nice to see all the girls have a happy ending with the guy they like for once. A good thing about this story is that all the girls have a genuine reason for falling in love with Naoya that I can relate with and understand, it honestly made me think, you know what, I would probably fall for this idiot too, and the thing is, when it comes to Naoya, it really feels like he will try his best to make everyone happy no matter what, and he shows it well through his words and actions. I mean, obviously sometimes, it'll still hurt and things can't always be "happy", but I think the author portrays it nicely enough to make me think that somehow it'll work out if it's them, and I think that's enough for me. But yeah, as usual, it's Hiroyuki comedy, so it's a hit or miss for people and never in-between, for me, I enjoyed this more than Aho Girl, and Mangaka-san to Assistant-san to will always be my favourite. I am also reading the manga and it's still quite enjoyable :D

Hataraku Saibou Black (Cells at Work! CODE BLACK!)

Genre: Action, Drama, Seinen
Episodes: 13
My Rating: 7.5/10

If you've watched the original Hataraku Saibou (Cells at Work), then you'll know the gist, but if not, this basically follows the the struggles of the cells in a human body as they fight to maintain the health of the human. In the original story, the body was "normal" in that it basically showed the normal struggles of cells in situations such as colds, wounds etc, whereas for this story, the story focuses on how devastating life can be for cells in a body that is wrecking itself from alcohol, smoking, overwork, not eating properly etc. The MCs are a Red Blood Cell (RBC) and a White Blood Cell (WBC), and you follow them through the horrible things they have to experience because of the human's poor life choices, honestly, it really makes kinda think about your health a bit every episode hahaha. Personally, I prefer this version more because it's more emotional and character-driven, whereas the original is more light-hearted and fun. Both are educational though, and it was nice learning about the jobs of different cells in the body and how they work in an interesting way, definitely recommend it just for the stuff it teaches you haha.

Anyway, I think the story really portrays the emotions of someone with aspirations in finding their first full-time job, only to be crushed by the reality of what it means to be working in a dead-end job that you can't leave, and then finding meaning again in why you chose this job in the first place. It was such an emotional rollercoaster, and I honestly loved all the ups and downs RBC had to go through. The devastating working conditions, the stress of every department and cell in this body really made me feel for every cell's job, and seeing all the different attitudes of the different cells in a "dying body" and how they have "chosen" to live made my heart break for them, I think the drama was done quite well in this aspect whilst still being educational.

Ijiranaide, Nagatoro-san (Don't Toy with Me, Miss Nagatoro)

Genre: Comedy, Romance, Slice of Life
Episodes: 12
My Rating: 8/10

I looveee the opening song, it's so catchy! I also really love Nagatoro. Anyway, the title is basically what this show is about. It really doesn't hide anything in showing what show it is, which is basically a romcom with slightlyy ecchi elements (but not really) where the younger girl likes to tease her senpai (senior) because he's shy and passive, so she thinks it's fun. It's mostly wholesome and very cute if you can through the first episode haha. I feel like most people who dropped this dropped it because of the first episode, which tbh is quite understandable lol. The first episode depicts a more uncomfortable "bullying" scenario involving our MC and since he doesn't retaliate, it's very one-sided and kinda painful to watch especially if you can relate to him. Honestly, I thought about dropping it too, but I persevered because manga readers really liked it, so I decided to keep going and try it, and omggg best decision everrr because it definitely becomes much better and wholesome afterwards. The later episodes especially, when senpai (I don't even know the MC's name lmao) grows to have more confidence after spending more time with Nagatoro and tries his best to either tease her back or take her on with her jokes. I found it really endearing to see how cute they both were, especially with Nagatoro, I lovee all her animations, especially noodletoro? LOL. Their relationship is very cute and I love the voices for Nagatoro and Senpai, they suit and play off each other very well. Definitely recommend trying beyond episode 1 to see if it's your thing because I started looking forward to it every week because I wanted to see what antics Nagatoro would be up to and how her relationship with Senpai would progress, and for a romcom, the progress of their relationship is actually very evident, and they both help to change each other for the better, and I love that.

One Outs

Genre: Psychological, Sports, Seinen
Episodes: 25
My Rating: 8/10

Definitely another show where I wasn't sure if I liked it after episode 1 but it just keeps getting better and better after our MC Tokuchi Toua joins the team, because the psychological baseball is where it's at! Hahaha, honestly, it's an old anime but I definitely enjoyed this the most out of everything I watched this year. I binged the whole 25 episodes in like 2 days, and I haven't binged anything in literally yearsss. If you want a proper story, you'll probably have to turn to the manga for that though, because the anime only adapts a couple of matches, so you'll only really have fun with it if you like Toua, and if you like watching how dodgy baseball can get behind the scenes with some teams, but Toua still gets past all that with his wits. Anyway, the plot basically revolves around Toua, who is very much a "gambler" that can only throw fastballs, who joins the team on a unique contract where the amount of pay he gets correlates with how successful his pitches are. I honestly absolutelyy love how the sponsor is all about money and not baseball, and I just think this story is a breath of fresh air from all the youth high school sports anime where they aim for the regionals etc etc. In this story, everyone's abilities are mostly established and it isn't focused on training to becoming the best, but instead focused on Toua and his teammates fighting psychological battles against other teams and their coaches. If you've read Liar Game before, One Outs is by the same author and created before it, so it's like a simpler but still engaging mind battle type of story, which I really likeee. I'd say you have to like Toua in order to like the story though, because everyone else besides him is just basically "there" haha, so yep, the highlights are definitely the baseball matches that are won through wits rather than training your ass off lol. I love it for that though, and think it's well worth watching even though there isn't a proper ending for the anime. I honestly wish there was a remake or sequel one day, honestly so sad.

Favourite Light Novel Adaptations & Sequels

86

Genre: Action, Drama, Sci-Fi
Episodes: 23 (last 2 eps of Part 2 airing in March 2022)
My Rating: 8/10

Definitelyy my favourite anime that aired in 2021! I went into this with moderate expectations because even though it was well-regarded by the light novel readers, it was also something that really depended on your tastes, but I think the anime adaptation was done so well that as long as military drama is kinda your thing, you'll probably enjoy it. Both Part 1 and Part 2 are really good, and it's safe to say that Part 2 is even better because there's more action whilst keeping to the emotional bits of the characters and the story. The animation is solid, the music is great, and if you have problems with the characters being rather "flat", Part 2 definitely spends more time on building the important ones up. Anyway, the story revolves around the situation where the silver-haired Albas of the Republic of San Magnolia are oppressing and using those of different appearances to them to fight against the Empire's autonomous Legion machines that they have been at war with for a while. In order to protect their own kind, the Republic uses the "Eighty-Six" who are visibly different from them to sacrifice their lives in order to preserve their own for a "zero casualty war". Within this, there is a silver-haired Alba lady referred to as Lena who is the new "Handler" (gives commands to a group of 86) for the Spearhead Squadron where the infamous Reaper who survives every squadron he's been in is a part of. So then comes the interactions between Lena who sympathises and wants to change the situation of the 86 alongside the people in the squad she "fights with" as they both learn more about their respective worlds, and fight for change in a world at the brink of death from the Legion.

I think the best part of this anime is how it was directed tbh. The story and characters are pretty standard, but the way everything is shown and portrayed is really well-done and really shows the atmosphere of the Republic well. It really tells captures the story in a "show, don't tell" fashion whilst effectively using the communication between Lena and the 86 to directly contrast their different circumstances and thoughts. You can really feel how the Albas discriminate the 86, you can really feel how difficult it is for Lena to fight a solo battle where she's the only one who wants to change things, and you can really feel how jaded the 86 are when it comes to life and their future. I love watching over their journey and how exhausting their emotions and lives can be as they try their best to live in a world they're tired of, but still hope to change I guess haha. I love our MCs and their interactions, and even though Lena is a bit naive at first, it's so lovely to see her grow and in turn change the others because she refuses to give up, and I love that kinda thing haha.

Mushoku Tensei: Isekai Ittara Honki Dasu (Mushoku Tensei: Jobless Reincarnation)

Genre: Drama, Fantasy, Ecchi
Episodes: 23
My Rating: 8/10

Honestly, it's difficult to recommend Mushoku Tensei because I can totally understand why people have dropped it, and their feelings towards it are quite valid, because it is true that our MC Rudeus who has been reincarnated into a fantasy world is not the most...likeable MC lol. He's a pervert, says quite disturbing stuff when it comes to the girls, especially knowing that his real age is 30 something. Like yeah, I know he's basically a "kid" because even though he aged physically, his mental age never really changed from his teens, ever since he started becoming a recluse and couldn't find the will to get back out into the "real world" and just died like that with regrets when it comes to his real family and other things. Anyway, I'd say if you can ignore those perverted parts of Rudeus, Mushoku Tensei is quite a good watch, especially the second cour. The first part was all right, but only really set up the world and the characters, and the adventure really starts in the second cour, where the "fantasy" of this world begins, and honestly, I loveee the detail put into it. Whether it be the effort they put into making an actual demon language for the VAs to talk in, the beautiful backgrounds, the great fighting animations and the very well portrayed emotional breakdowns and reunions. I'd say I'm mostly giving this an 8 because of the second cour, because the first cour is really not that great compared to it, especially since Rudy's pervertedness is most apparent there, and I have to admit, even I felt uncomfortable with him and a lot of the things the men in his family do. Like yeah, you can brush it off as a different world but what's uncomfortable is uncomfortable, so yeah, really depends on what you can accept and what you can't tbh.

Anyway, the story revolves around Rudy, who is quite a genius when it comes to magic, and quickly hones that magical talent with the help of his teacher Roxy. The first cour revolves more around getting to know the characters around Rudy as he builds up relationships he never got to have in his past self. Not only does he learn to interact with others (despite still being weirdly perverted towards the girls), he also learns more about this world and how difficult it can be to live in. The second cour is when things get more serious and you really start to see how vast the world of Mushoku Tensei, whether it be the different continents, the different species, the different languages and how Rudy does his best to survive in his own way. Honestly, it even has a lot of wholesome moments to his growth, whilst there are other moments where Rudy really gets reality checks on what kind of world he is really living in. Personally, I really loved all that, and this is probably a controversial opinion of some sort, but I honestly think the ecchi moments aren't really that "needed" for the story, but it's what the author included and wanted, so yeah. Anyway, if you like MCs going on a journey and exploring different places like a fantasy adventure, then you'll definitely like this as long as you can get through the first cour imo. The visuals are great, the music is beautiful and you can totally tell how much love is put into the adaptation.

P.S I also watched Fruits Basket: The Final, and it was good, but I honestly think S2 was much better and I enjoyed their journey more than the ending I guess.

Favourite Anime Original

SK∞ (SK8 the Infinity)

Genre: Comedy, Sports
Episodes: 12
My Rating: 8/10

Honestly, I'm surprised how much I ended up liking this anime about skateboarding haha! The story follows Reki and his new friend Langa who only has experience in snowboarding, but ends up learning skateboarding from Reki and excelling at it, enough that they end up participating in "S", the illegal underground race where skaters compete in crazy and dangerous conditions. Initially, I thought this anime was going down the realistic skateboarding type of road, especially with how wholesome and fun it was to see Reki and Langa just becoming bros skateboarding with each other and teaching other tricks etc, but dang did it instead go the complete opposite way lmao, because as you watch more episodes, the more ridiculous and crazy the skateboarding gets haha. It's mostly to do with how the "villain" acts more than anything else though. It's mostly the villain that does the most over-the-top and really takes the immersion out because I'm always wondering, yeah this is an illegal race but still, there are rules and that seems veryyyy dodgy lol. Anyway, ignoring those parts, I really love how colourful everything in the anime is, and I honestly love the races, and I love Reki and Langa's relationship as they both handle their problems. I really liked how the story showed Reki's feelings of inadequacy and how they resolved it, and I also really enjoyed how all the different racers became friends with each other. The beach episode (?)) or whatever where they all just hung out was sooo beautiful and it's totally my favourite episode. The characters (and races) are definitely the highlight of this show because they're all so different and cool in their own ways, and it's really fun to see how they all pull off their different skateboarding skills. Anyway, as long as you don't go into this expecting realism, and you love how over-the-top and ridiculous things can get, it's a very fun anime to watch. Oh, and the opening song is an absolute bangerrrr, it's definitely my favourite one this year, I literally never skipped it hahaha!

MANGA/MANHWA

King's Maker by Haga & Ji-young Kang

Genre: Boys Love, Drama, Fantasy

Status: Completed, 38 chapters scanlated

My Rating: 8/10

Even though the manhwa is considered BL, the MCs romantic relationship is not the focus of the story even though it is an integral part of the story too. Anyway, I guess I just want to say that because I don't want people to brush it off as just "BL" when I really enjoyed the story. There are disturbing paedophilic moments from the villain though, so just a warning there if that disturbs you. Anyway, the story follows Wolfgang, the nation's fourth prince that ran away and is in hiding to protect himself. However, after some events, he is taken back to the palace and is forced to live as a prince under a father he holds no respect for, so he initially starts out rather rash and impulsive until he meets Shin, who then decide to "use" each other to change their lives, with Shin needing Wolfgang to be a pawn for rebellion and Wolfgang needing Shin to survive and change the kingdom.

I really love Shin and Wolfgang's relationship. The story follows them throughout their childhood and it's really nice to see how different these two are, but love how well they match with each other in terms of work and as they develop feelings of care for each other. Just as Shin saw something in Wolfgang that made him believe he could free him from this palace and the king, Wolfgang also found meaning to his life through Shin and I think it's so nice to see them grow fond of each other without even really needing to express it. The situation in the palace is well-presented, and it's actually pretty nuts to see how crazy the king is but have no one capable of really defying him. I found the story really engaging at every step as both Shin and Wolfgang fought against the angst and drama of their situation, and how difficult it was for things to "go their way" even if they tried their best to plan what they could for their fight for change. I really liked how the story and villain was simple and straightforward, but interesting enough that I always wanted to see what happens next, and oh the art is very beautiful too! There's also a sequel that delves into their lives as adults that I've read a bit of and it definitely delves into the romance much more if you want to see that haha.

Tokyo Revengers by Ken Wakui

Genre: Action, Drama, Supernatural, Shounen

Status: Ongoing, 235 chapters scanlated

My Rating: 8/10

After watching the anime that aired this year, I knew I had to read the manga to see if it is better lol. Honestly, I'm not too fond of the anime and I think it's really just a 6-7 for me, but after I read the manga, I think I like our MC Takemichi much more in the manga haha. Like sure, he's still a crybaby, but I honestly cried with him seeing him try his best. I guess the anime made things feel more slow-paced, where it made you think why is Takemichi not doing anything most of the time, whereas with how fast-paced the manga is, I definitely lean towards thinking more towards, how does Takemichi keep up with everything going on? You can definitely feel for Takemichi's situation much more in the manga tbh, and even though he still isn't my favourite character, I still really like him, and I personally think the Christmas arc (the next season they are producing right now) is my favourite, even though the arc after that is very emotional and good too, but I think what happened with Kisaki was disappointing. Anyway! I definitely recommend reading the manga over watching the anime, but yeah. Back to the story! If you haven't heard of Tokyo Revengers, it's basically about our MC Takemichi who is living an eventless life as he watches the news one day to find out his ex-girlfriend back in the day has been killed by a criminal gang. As he starts contemplating his past and current life, he is suddenly pushed off the train tracks. Takemichi thinks this is the end of his life, only to "wake up" and realise eventually that he had actually time leaped back to his middle school days instead. And thus begins the story of Takemichi wanting to do his best to save his girlfriend's life in the future by changing the past he has always been trying to avoid and run away from.

Honestly, Takemichi's perseverance when it comes to fighting kinda reminds me of Ken from Sun-Ken Rock, even though Ken obviously knows how to fight and is much stronger compared to Takemichi haha, but I think that determination to never back down that affects others is something they both share. Maybe it's cliche, maybe it's very shounen, but I do enjoy these stories where our MC has reasons for never giving up, and I like that because Takemichi really can't fight, he can't miraculously win fist fights but he can motivate others and make them understand what they want to really fight for. I honestly cried sooo much during those Takemichi moments hahaha. Other than that, I also really like how the story has a clear goal. and an understandable one as well, because who doesn't want to save Hinata?! Anyway, it's also been a while since I read a story about delinquents and gang fights, and there's just something about them that are really enticing, especially when they fight for their own form of "justice" and their members, it's just very cool I guess lol. Anyway, aside from all that, the characters are also really great, I loveee Chifuyu foreverrr lol, and Draken (Tatsuhisa not voicing Draken anymore breaks my heart, but is understandable and expected), Mitsuya and the new characters in the coming arc for the anime~ The character designs are also really nice and gives off the cool gang vibe that I can't help but love. The time travel part of the story is also fun in the sense that I love seeing the differences, but it's not really a story about time travel, but instead a story about change, so don't expect anything scientific haha. I'd say that emotions. camaraderie, love and inner strength are the themes driving the story forward, so if you like stories where the MC is physically weak but strong mentally for the sake of others and because he doesn't want to have regrets, then you'll probably enjoy it.

Jishou Akuyaku Reijou na Konyakusha no Kansatsu Kiroku (Fiance's Observation Record of a Self-proclaimed Villainess) by Shiki, art by Natsume Hasumi

Genre: Comedy, Fantasy, Romance, Shoujo

Status: Ongoing, 33 chapters scanlated

My Rating: 7.5/10

If you're looking for another otome game isekai villainess story with a silly MC that is wholesome, Bertia is definitely one of my favourites! Similar to other stories, Cecil, the male lead finds life boring because everything comes too easily to him, he finds nothing interesting, until he meets Bertia and listens to her bizarre stories about how the world they are living in is an "otome game", and how she needs to be a true villainess in order for Cecil to have a happy ending. Personally, I find the most refreshing thing about this story is how Bertia's knowledge of how the otome game goes isn't really important at all lol. I also find it really cute how she basically shares all the information she has about it with Cecil as well, and openly tells him things about the game, and I love how he earnestly listens to her and pieces together her gibberish lmao. Anyway, the cutest thing is how Bertia tries her best to be a "villainess" to follow the plot of the story, but she doesn't even know her own plan isn't working because she's too nice and kind to actually do anything villainous, but she believes that what she's doing is "evil" and proclaims herself as the perfect villainess lmao. She's so adorable the whole story, I just can't haha. I also really like Cecil and how he handles Bertia. He genuinely listens to her, takes care of her and does his best to make her happy, and help her succeed in what she wants to do. I love how they end up together and think it's really cute how Bertia is so clueless and naturally helps and attract everyone around her to supporting her and loving her. It's not a harem story, but everyone does love Bertia for who she is, and I really like that. I also really liked how the main plot was resolved in terms of achieving the "happy ending", so even though it's mostly comedy, I also really enjoyed seeing how much Bertia positively influenced Cecil and how important she really is in his life. The story is funny, adorable and super cute, and definitely a nice wholesome isekai if you want a sweet "villainess" story.

JRPG GAMES

Ar Tonelico: Melody of Elemia (PS2)

Story/Plot: Ar Tonelico is one of my favouriteee childhood nostalgia games lol. It's about a world where catastrophes from back in the day have caused people to lose much of their world and be forced to live on floating landmasses. separated from the people "above" them in the Tower of Ar Tonelico. We follow a guy called Lyner who alongside his comrades is unable to stop the force of "viruses" invading the Tower of Ar Tonelico, and needs to go to the Lower World (where most of the ordinary people are) to find a Hymn Crystal that is supposed to be able to get rid of these viruses, and that's the start of our MC's journey~

The most interesting part about the story is definitely the world the game is set in. There are ordinary humans and there are Reyvateils (women who fight through singing powerful song magic) but the latter are seen as subservient by most. You can say it's a pretty typical JRPG where you save the world and stuff like that, but I really enjoyed how simple and straightforward the story was. Lyner meets friends on his journey, finds love, and changes the world by connecting people with each other, and I think it's nice. The story is split into different phases where the first phase is like an introduction to the world and people, the second phase is different depending on whether you choose Aurica or Misha as the girl you want to be with, and the third phase focuses on changing the world and resolving the problems with the villain. I really liked how everything was set out personally, even though the romance gets shoved to the aside at the end, when the story at its core relies on the romance with the girl lol. So yeah, it's not without flaws, but I did enjoy Lyner's journey of getting to understand Reyvateils, getting to understand himself better and bonding with the girls. I also really liked how the mechanic of "diving" into the girls' inner soul system kinda thing allowed us to better understand the girls as you go deeper level by level, which I really appreciated tbh. A lot of the story revolves around trust in your partner and your friends, so getting to see that trust build up as the story progresses really makes things flow better. (7/10)

Characters: Even though there are quite a few characters, only a few really get developed tbh. Aurica and Misha are the main girls, so of course you get to know them the best especially since they have a story phase focused on them and their journey with Lyner, but the rest get a more shallow role that is important but quite forgettable tbh. The only "side" characters I really liked where Shurelia (if you count her as one) and Ayatane. I would have liked to see Mir more, especially considering how much you get to understand her life, but it is what it is. As a kid, my best girl was Misha, but I have to admit, I think Misha will have to share the pedestal with Shurelia now, because even though you don't get to know her much until the last phase, she is such a great and lovable character through and through that I can't not pick her as a favourite haha. Lyner is the typical protagonist tbh, and even though he's not bad, he's not very great or memorable either haha. The girls are definitely the focus and the highlight of Ar Tonelico games, so if you don't like the heroines, it'll be difficult haha. But yeah, at least one heroine should cater to your tastes anyway, with Aurica being the more shy, withdrawn one that Lyner opens up, and Misha being the outgoing, cheerful one with a sad past that Lyner eventually comes to understand and love. I always love how different people like different girls, and I think this was the game where it dawned on me that my tastes in girls was different than my brother's, which I guess should be expected since I am a girl myself lolll. Anyway, my brother preferred Aurica, and I preferred Misha, so yep there was my introduction to best girl contests lolll. (7/10)

Music: The music in Ar Tonelico is very very nice. Not only are the BGMs fun and suitable for the towns and battles etc, but I really love the effort they put into the songs the Reyvateils sing when they sing song magic to protect or to fight. Obviously, they're only in the cutscenes, but every time they opened their mouths and started singing, it always blew me away. (7/10)

Gameplay: Simple and straightforward! The battles are really easy in this game because all you really need to do is charge the Reyvateil's song magic and unleash it for max damage, and technically that's what you need to do to get better items haha. Honestly, even though it is an interesting concept, the battles do get boring quite fast because you're alwaaaays doing the same thing no matter what, I had to escape a couple of times just because I couldn't take wasting my time anymore lolll. My favourite part of the gameplay is probably the visual novel element of the game where you dive into Aurica or Misha to get to understand them better through their made up stories. Honestly, they were pretty funny and hilarious, but also heartwarming because you get to know them better. However, I do have to say that having to go through both their cosmospheres and having to finish most of their levels in both routes is a chore. Why isn't there a skip function? lol. Anyway, other than that, if you've played Atelier games, then you'll be familiar with the "crafting" grathmeld system in this game where you mix ingredients to make weapons, items and even crystals to amplify your song magic. But yeah, compared to other Atelier games, most of this is pretty easy to gather and do imo. I haven't played recent Atelier games though, I've really only played Atelier Iris and Mana Khemia if you count those haha. (7/10)

Overall, I would give Ar Tonelico a 7.5/10 because of the girls and the world. It's a nice, chill, laidback game that's not too difficult, with nice art, pretty girls that you get to bond with, and you save the world along the way, so why not haha~ I still need to replay Misha's route though. But yeah, even though it is simple, I can't help but love how encouraging Lyner can be for the girls, and seeing them all strive to change and overcome their fears is always so sweet to see, and just that makes me love the game as much as I did as a kid tbh.

VISUAL NOVELS

The Great Ace Attorney Chronicles (Nintendo Switch, PS4, Steam)

 Okay, TGAA isn't exactlyyy a VN but it is on vndb, and there's a lot of reading, so yeah lol. Anyway specifics aside, TGAA is undoubtedly my favourite game of the year. I'm still listening to the soundtrack right now as I'm typing this, and I've finished it for months already loll. It was just sooo good! Everything about it is good tbh lol! I can't stop fangirling over Barok van Zieks, I love his character and his design is just soooo beautiful, and his animations are 10/10. Actually, I love all the characters tbh loll~ If you want more of my impressions on this game and others, I have another blog where I talk about my thoughts and feelings in more detail, there's spoilers, so beware though lol!

Story/Plot: The story focuses on Naruhodo Ryunosuke (Phoenix's ancestor) and is set in Victorian-era Britain and Japan. As with the usual Ace Attorney series, Ryunosuke starts off as a complete newbie and grows throughout the two games as he faces different courts and cases in both London and Japan. Without spoiling the story, Ryunosuke basically goes to London to study law as a defence attorney and ends up being faced with cases and clients that make him question what exactly a defence attorney should be. He is supported by his assistant Susato and other characters such as Herlock Sholmes who help him improve his skills as a lawyer, but also help him reinforce his resolve to pursue what he believes to be right. There is an overarching case and villain at the end of the series like a mystery to be uncovered; first brought out in the first game and then solved in the second game, and even though it's not as engaging as the DL-6 Incident in the AA Trilogy, it was still interesting in its own right. 

In terns of cases, my favourites were definitely 1-3, 1-5 and 2-3. So if you think the beginning of the first game is boring, I think at least try it until the 3rd case to see if it becomes interesting for you, but things definitely pick up by the last case in the first game. Anyway, what I love about the cases are the variety of witnesses, and the motives of the "villains". I'd say that compared to the AA games (although I only played the trilogy), the witnesses in this game are less "funny" and weird, which I much prefer tbh, because it suits the setting much more. There are still a lot of quirky and weird ones in their respective ways, but I think a lot of them are much more sympathetic than for fun, which I enjoyed. I really liked the flow of the cases though, especially since there are juries now, so there's a lot more interaction with different characters to get different perspectives to piece the whole story together, and I thought that was really nice. The investigating elements are long but also quite engaging, since there is a mini game called the Dance of Deduction where you "solve" what has happened at a particular scene with Herlock Sholmes. I definitely recommend giving wrong answers every now and then because the answers you get back are hilarious lmao. Anyway, the story flows pretty well, even though I'll say the first game is very slow in terms of plot and stuff, but it does pick up in the second. I love both games though. (7.5/10)

Characters: What makes me love TGAA so much is most definitely because of the characters. I don't think there's any characters I don't like, because I think they all execute their roles well. My favourite characters are definitely Barok van Zieks (the main prosecutor for TGAA) and Herlock Sholmes. I also really love Ryunosuke, Susato, Gina and Kazuma and some of the witnesses such as Enoch Drebber (lovee his animations) but van Zieks is the death of me lmao. The moment I set my eyes upon him, I knew I would love him lmao. It's so dramatic, but it's true. He's probably my favourite prosecutor now because I really love how logical he is in the cases against Ryunosuke, especially since whenever Ryunosuke says something silly and I want to question him, Barok would say exactly what I'm thinking in an eloquent way haha. Many people don't like him because he's "racist" towards the Japanese, but I thought it was understandable, and I never took it personally because you could tell that what he hated was something else and not really their race itself imo. I think Barok's character integrated with the story very well, and I really liked how as Ryunosuke grew as a person, Barok also was able to learn to overcome his past. As for Herlock Sholmes, I honestly thought he was sooo annoying in the beginning lol, but by the 2nd game, I really couldn't get enough of him, enough that I want him to have his own game loll. He's such a quirky but smart character, and I just love how silly he is in the Dance of Deduction parts because he never fails to make me laugh out loud at his crazy deductions. 

However, when it comes to character growth, Ryunosuke's journey from the beginning to end was my favourite to see. Witnessing his growth and maturity by the end of the story just made me so proud and want to cry because you could really feel throughout the story how much his feelings fluctuated when it came to his job, his beliefs and what he aimed to achieve as a defence attorney. I really loved every part of that, and I personally love him more than Phoenix in the Trilogy, but I haven't played that game in a long time so I don't really remember hahahaha. As for Susato, the assistant, I definitely prefer her over Maya because I like how serious and actually helpful she is to Ryunosuke lol. Maya is great for fun and stuff, but Susato is like the Yamato Nadeshiko type of perfect lady and I think she suits Ryunosuke with how strong and encouraging she can be, she honestly made me feel like I couldn't give up as well, and I always felt like I could go on with her by my side, so I can totally see how important she is hahaha.

Anyway, at first the 3D animations threw me off the game and I didn't like it, but after a while and seeing them in the courtroom, I think 10/10 they should keep using 3D because the potential for it is immense, like dang, Ryunosuke's and Barok's desk slam animations etc are so good, I could watch them all day. The witnesses are also so much fun, and I love how there can be multiple witnesses on the bench now, it makes things so much more interesting. The juries are also a great addition even though it can get repetitive at times, but I still preferred having them, because I love seeing the different perspectives and information brought out from other characters, they're just so unique and interesting to talk to lol. Definitely appreciate that haha. (8.5/10)

Music: I absolutelyyyy love the TGAA music, legit my favourite because I immediately had to YouTube it once I was done with the game. My favourites are definitely all of Kazuma's Themes and Partners ~ The Game is Afoot, and Susato's themes probably, because dang are they good loll. I think the effort put into the OST is very evident, because when I hear any of the music, I think it really "suits" what is happening on the screen. Barok's theme is great and represents his character well, as well as all the other character themes tbh because whether it be the enthusiasm in Gina's or the grace and beauty felt in Susato's theme, everything fits together so well, and I just can't stop listening to them all. (9/10)

Gameplay: Gameplay is pretty simple! I still used a walkthrough or "Story Mode" when I got tired though lolll. For those who don't know, Story Mode basically plays the game for you, so it literally turns the game into a visual novel haha. Personally, I only used it when I got stuck in trials because I really didn't need it any other time haha, but its' addition is very welcome because it's nice to just chill and relax reading through the story without interruptions. In terms of difficulty, most people say it's pretty easy compared to the other AA games and I have to agree. There really isn't that much difficulty, and most of the answers are quite straightforward, aside from some hiccups here and there haha. I think the parts with the juries did stump me sometimes though, because you have to present juries with contradicting words, and sometimes what you were looking for wasn't really what was "contradictory" between two particular juries but something else like it didn't make sense with the case, and that kinda confused me. Otherwise, pretty straightforward and fun, especially the Dance of Deductions! You might get a few wrong here and there if you don't read things properly, but otherwise, there's no way you won't get the answers because they're right in front of you haha. (7.5/10)

Overall, I realllyy love TGAA and would probably rate it an 8.5/10 because despite its' flaws such as slow pacing, shallow main villain that had so much more potential, long-winding last case etc, I still very much enjoyed the story and the characters. The characters definitely carried the game, because for 1-5, if it wasn't for Gina and Ryunosuke's bond of trust, I wouldn't have liked the case as much as I did, and I think that goes for a lot of the game as well. For a lot of the cases, I felt like I related a lot to either the witnesses, the villain/criminal or Ryunosuke and Barok's pursuit for the truth that I couldn't help but love the cases for the emotions they evoked out of me more than the content presented in the case itself. It's every bit emotional, and the music really helps to elevate those feelings. I still very much love Pat and Roly's story and think it's very sweet. But yeah, I think the game really knew how to tug at my emotions, and I loved it for that.

Collar X Malice (PS Vita, Nintendo Switch)

My favouriteee otome game this year! Initially, I wasn't really fond of the art style because of the cat eyes and stuff like that, but as I played it more and more, I think I ended up really liking it haha! The guys are hot and cute! Romance is important but not as important as the plot, but there is a fandisk for more romance for each guy, so I think it's quite complete in both areas haha, so it really just depends on if the LIs (love interests) are to your tastes.

Story/Plot: The story and the "mystery" of the villain is definitely the main driving force of this game. The introduction of the game caught my interest immediately btw, I thought the way the "criminal organisation" appeared and presented themselves was interesting and I love the idea of exploring corruption in the police force and the pursuit of "justice". Anyway, the story follows the rookie police officer Hoshino Ichika, who becomes involved with this criminal organisation because she gets attacked by them and has a poisonous collar attached to her. So then Ichika is forced to listen to the collar whilst enlisting the aid of the LIs as they all hope to uncover the truth behind these terrorist attacks on "evil" people and police officers in a quarantined Shinjuku.

What I really like about the game is how it explores the corruption in the police force in different aspects and through the characters themselves. Many of the characters question the methods of the police, and many of them have been forced to experience less than ideal situations with them as well. The story changes depending on whose route you choose, but they're all kinda like pieces to a puzzle, so you kinda do the first four guys to uncover the stories of the specific crimes they are investigating, and then through the "final route", you finally get to the main villain and the ultimate answer in a sense, which I really enjoyed. I felt like by having each guy deal with different villains/criminals for the respective cases they were investigating made the routes fresh but also interesting, because as you get to know more about the stories of each case and each criminal, you got a better understanding of what kind of criminal organisation you were dealing with, and it gave you a better picture of their motives. Personally, I found the criminals in the routes more interesting than the main villain but that's not important haha. Anyway, each route not only explores a different criminal, but the guys are also different enough with various backstories that intertwine with the criminal (in a sense), which helps them all grow as a person. Personally, my favourite guys are Mineo and Yanagi, which are apparently the least popular guys apparently lolll! I still like the others but those two are my best boys for sure haha. (8/10)

Characters: Personally, I found all the guys lovable in their own ways, and I really liked seeing how they were in their respective routes, but I have a soft spot for Yanagi and Mineo. I love Yanagi for being the mature, kind and protective older brother type, that needed Ichika's help and support to tell him that it was okay for him to move forward and be who he was now. And I also really like how loud, silly and cheerful Mineo is, but also how much he needed Ichika's help to get out of his slump and depression towards having been clueless to the feelings of those important to him. Okazaki is the probably the guy with the most baggage and needs the most help, but I really enjoyed how cute he was even if I don't think I really felt his "love". Sasazuka is a "bully" but it never really bothered me because he's actually quite tame and understandable lol. Shiraishi is probably the most pure and cute one despite his personality, and their romance was probably the cutest alongside Mineo's haha. So yep, good variety of LIs, but I really have to say, the side characters aka the criminals in each route are the biggest highlights for me. I don't want to spoil who they are, but I think aside from the girl in Mineo's route, the game really did well in portraying the pain of each criminal, and I really couldn't help but empathise with their situations so much that I legit cried for some of them. I honestly hope that if the anime adaptation ever comes out, they will do these criminals justice, because they were easily what made me love this game so much. (8/10)

Music: Good but not really memorable imo haha. I never really had any complaints about them, but I also can't really think of any particular BGMs or anything that I particularly liked tbh. (7/10)

Gameplay: As with most otome games, the only gameplay you do is make choices that will lead you to different guys. CxM has just a bit more with exploring different floors in the police station, as well as Trigger Mode where you have to shoot a gun. They're all pretty easy stuff though, so it's just like an extra interactive element that's a bit of fun.

Overall, I would rate CxM an 8/10 because of the characters and their stories. The main villain was not as interesting as I thought he would be, but the other criminals really made up for it with how emotional their stories were, and how well portrayed their feelings and thoughts were. The voice acting was also really great, because I shuddered at how well-shown their pain was through their voices that I just couldn't stop myself from crying at their situations. Anyway, if you like reading about being in quarantine because of terrorists, the corruption of police, injustice and the pain accompanied with that, then you'll probably enjoy this story. It is one of the most recommended otome games for English readers for a reason haha! Oh and the CGs are absolutelyyyy beautiful.

Brothers Conflict (Passion Pink) (PSP, Nintendo Switch)

Just a heads up, but Brothers Conflict is only available in Japanese, there is no English version, and it's quite likely there will never be a localisation for it at this rate, and that's why I chose to practise my Japanese with it haha. I've alwaaaays wanted to play it, so I'm glad that I can read it with my limited Japanese, my dictionary and sometimes Google Translate lol. It's definitely a great game for beginners at Japanese because most of it is everyday life talk, so it's quite easy to figure out as long as you have some patience, but if you know Japanese at an intermediate level, it would be an easy read for sure. Btw, I definitely also recommend Brilliant Blue, which is the second game with the rest of the guys, I just haven't finished it yet, haha. But I know that I love and enjoy it just as much because I'm halfway through and I've been liking it just as much as Passion Pink haha.

Story/Plot: There's really no overarching plot to the story and is mainly focused on each LI instead. The basic premise is that Ema's father is remarrying, and this lady has 13 sons, so Ema will be getting 13 new stepbrothers! Wild, huh? Lmao. So yes, if stepbrothers are not your thing, steer away from this game because all the LIs are her stepbrothers if you haven't realised from the title. Oh, and also if big age gaps are not your thing too, because the oldest brother is like 30 and Ema is 17, so just a warning if that's not your thing~ Anyway, since Ema doesn't want to interrupt her father's new married life, she decides to live in an apartment in the mansion building where most of the brothers stay at, and the story just rolls from there as you choose events spending time with the LI that you like. There are common events that happen in every route, and route-specific events, but yeah, even though they are "routes", I'd say that they are more event scenarios because throughout the "route", you read a mix of dates, story events and sleepover scenarios etc, so sometimes the intimacy may feel different or weird if you don't raise the hearts with your LI properly. Anyway though, the routes do not follow a common plot, instead they focus on each stepbrother and their relationship with Ema, so yep if slice of life romance is your thing, then you'll definitely enjoy these stories because they're all about it! Ema goes on normal dates like lunch or dinner with the LI, spends Valentines Day with them, gets to know their insecurities, their problems and encourages them to become better versions of themselves etc, it's just so wholesome and sweet most of the time and definitely a good game to just kick back and relax to. (7.5/10)

Characters: The best thing about this game is that since there are soooo many brothers, there's gotta be one that you'll like haha! For me, I actually like most of them, besides Fuuto the brat :) There's only ones I like more than the others tbh haha. I think the only routes I've been disappointed with would be Kaname and Hikaru's, with the former being rather disjointed and weird, whilst the latter was just too short so it was difficult to really "fall in love". Otherwise, I love Yusuke's typical but super sweet high school romance story, I loved Masaomi's older brother caring type, I liked how well-balanced Tsubaki's was in terms of romance and the troubles that come with your dreams, and I quite liked how shy and sports-focused Subaru was. Then you have Ukyo that's like a mother to all the brothers lol, and the other guys in Brilliant Blue that are reallyyy cool and great too I have to add! My personal favourites are definitely Tsubaki, Yusuke, Masaomi, Ukyo, Azusa and Natsume~ I still have to read Louis and Iori's routes to know them better, but I love their looks so I'll probably like them haha. But yeah, the variety of personalities, ages and appearances is just so good! I don't think I've ever played a game with so many LIs, but I don't feel overwhelmed or tired of them at all because their stories and characters are so different that I really look forward to getting to know each of them more. The common events are also easily skippable, so even though it does take time to skip, it's okay haha. I just love spending time with the brothers and slowly going on dates and falling in love with them, it just feels so cozy and natural haha. (8/10)

Music: Music is pretty simple, with every guy having his own theme alongside the other standard BGM. Personally, I find Fuuto's theme to be the best and most catchy, I loveee it so much, but I hate his character soo much lmao. Anyway, nothing much to say about it tbh haha.

Gameplay: I wanna say this part is easy and just like other visual novels where you have to pick the right choices for the happy ending, which is true, but omggg is the schedule annoying lol! I definitely recommend playing with a walkthrough, because when I first played this game and did not use the walkthrough, and then got the friendship ending, I was SO ANNOYED. You literally have to plan out every week of Ema's life for around a year, and it's not as hard as it sounds because you just have to pick from the options what you want to do each day, but it is still tedious, and it's difficult to know what each other brother likes if you're going in blind. Honestly, even with a walkthrough, I still missed out on the ending I wanted sometimes because, even if you pick the "right" stuff to do, RNG dictates that you don't get hearts for them sometimes zzzz, stat-raisers suck, end of story. Anyway, it sucks but it's bearable with a walkthrough, so yeah yay to walkthroughs/guides!

Overall, despite the difficulties I have with playing a whole game in Japanese, it really helps because everyone is voiced except Ema. And even if I don't understand everything, I get the gist of things, and that's good enough for me at this point in time haha. I, of course will continue honing my Japanese and hope to be able to read comfortably, but we shall see. Anyway, I would rate the game an 8/10 because it's everything I wanted it to be when I bought this game. I wanted something fluffy, slice of life, with all different kinds of stepbrothers and I got exactly what I wanted and more! I really ended up liking the brothers much more than I thought I would, and every time I think about them, I feel warm and fuzzy because they're so cute, especially on the dates. It's such a nice comfort game, and I'm sad that people don't get to enjoy it because it's not localised T_T

And yayyy, I'm done! Honestly, I always hate myself for doing these yearly favourites because they take soo much time, especially since I always try to only pick stuff I would watch, read and play again, but every time I'm done with it, I'm so glad I do it because then I can go back and remember how much I liked all these series. Hopefully people enjoy them as much I do! It's early, but happy new year! Hope 2022 will be a better year! The cases are rising in my area in Australia, so stay safe as well, wherever you may be!