Long answer: My somatic reaction tells me to fear the accusation. But I choose not to. My brain tells me I shouldn't be. One - AI or not, em dashes are very helpful in comprehension. Two - why should I change myself just for internet points? Should I purposefully worsen my grammar to satisfy the anti-AI reader?
It turns out the threat to the culture festival has lower stakes than I thought.
The episode quality tends to be lower in the second cour, but the past few ones are some of the best (the Keigo-Nemu and the Nico-Morihito date episodes, for example). Didn't mind the lack of main plot pacing because I liked the episodic comedy.
Glad you liked it! It was the other way around for me. My interest in The Fragrant Flower Blooms With Dignity began because (1) people were hyping up on how good the manga is and (2) the Akebi staff is working on it.
My first reaction on seeing the poster is "the female MC [Kaoruko] looks like a grown-up Akebi Kao". There are some stylistic similarities. I could also say that KaoruHana has the Akebi art style without the Akebi mangaka's weird facial proportions.
Summer 2025 is the strongest since Winter 2018 (with #2 best Violet Evergarden, #4 best A Place Further Than The Universe, and Yuru Camp), and the strongest since I started serially watching anime (Winter 2022). It’s got:
Takopi’s Original Sin - my new best anime. I never thought anything could upstage Violet. Cried hard in five out of six episodes.
My Dress Up Darling S2, The Fragrant Flower Blooms With Dignity, and Rascal Does Not Dream of Santa Claus - Cloverworks trifecta, all highly-regarded and some of the studio’s best output yet!
Baan - It's... really good, given it's an indie production that Gigguk bankrolled
Dan Da Dan S2
The Summer Hikaru Died
Call of the Night S2
Grand Blue S2
Silent Witch
Again, can I glaze some more on KaoruHana and MDUD?
While I had to ground my expectations on KaoruHana, they knock it out of the park with episode after episode. My gut tells me Cloverworks was cooking something the moment I saw its poster, simply because it's got the same artistic quality as Akebi's Sailor Uniform. I can't glaze that one enough either as it's one of the best-looking works in all anime. Unfortunately, the studio had to cut corners in KaoruHana, but they didn't where it mattered. And in those scenes, they matched and exceeded anything the staff put out in Akebi, multiple times, in each episode. I'm as happy as Kaoruko there. Yay also for the romance iyashikei story it tells.
Bocchified MDUD is not in my bingo. It has OP of the season no doubt, and I think it's the perfect way to adapt the series.
Other nonseasonal highlights I watched during Summer 2025:
Lost in Starlight - Insterstellar-esque mature romance story with nigh-flawless execution with the Shinkai art style I'm biased in favor of. 10/10
Redline and Promare - acid trips of watches there. Would recommend. Both 9/10
The Dangers in My Heart - the chemistry between the MCs is off the charts. Part of the reason why the story of KaoruHana felt more mundane to me, lol. 10/10. Best romance strictly because of the romance. I have higher-ranked romances but it's because of other things. BokuYaba, for instance, is just below Your Lie in April because the latter's drama is so good and it impacted me in a personal way.
For me Summer 2025 is the strongest since Winter 2018 (with #2 best Violet Evergarden, #4 best A Place Further Than The Universe, and Yuru Camp), and the strongest since I started serially watching anime (Winter 2022). It's got:
Takopi's Original Sin - my new best anime. I never thought anything could upstage Violet.
My Dress Up Darling S2, The Fragrant Flower Blooms With Dignity, and Rascal Does Not Dream of Santa Claus - Cloverworks trifecta, all highly-regarded and some of the studio's best output yet
Shuumatsu Touring and Class 3-Z Ginpachi-sensei are the only ones that get my attention in this season. At the surface, it looks like this will be the weakest of 2025. Witch Hat Atelier was supposed to air at around this time, but it's delayed to 2026.
It's overrated, but it's more than a good intro to anime for a child. Growing up, I really liked it. Looking back, it's not groundbreaking as far as anime is concerned. Also, it was all downhill after the Pain Arc.
Close enough. Welcome back, Tomo-chan