littleboo

So, the premieres that were on my list for this season are out and I have watched them.

Witch Hat Atelier: Not much to say here except "Yup, that's the good stuff."

Observation Log of My Fiancee Who Calls Herself a Villainess: I found the male lead / viewpoint character and his attitude toward the titular fiancee irritating, plus there was a minor plot point made of fatphobia, so this one's a pass for me. On the other hand...

Always A Catch: This looks like the "fun villainess-genre-adjacent anime" I wanted. Our heroine is straightforward the point of silliness but also caring and assertive, and seriously, she wears brass knuckles as a hair accessory. I'm in until further notice.

Agents of the Four Seasons: I enjoyed episode one, but it was pushing the line on being self-importantly sentimental, so I'm almost afraid to keep going...?

Ascendance of a Bookworm Part 3: I'm a big fan of the franchise and this is getting into one of my favorite parts, so I was hyped, but being a big fan of the franchise also makes me picky, and I actually found the premiere disappointing. As an adaptation, it felt humorless and superficial; like, the art was more pretty than functional, and it felt like just watching a sequence of events rather than inhabiting Myne's often-amusing viewpoint like I expect to. So yeah, great material here and as a fan I'll keep watching, but I'd recommend the manga (or the original novels) over this anime season so far. The OP is quite pretty, tho.

[PS: I steered away from Rooster Fighter for the silly and quirky reason that I'm also a fan of the web novel Beware of Chicken and will accept no substitutes.]