New promo videos for Magilumiere 2 and Isekai Ass-Guardian. The first shows off the new underrim-glasses-wearing magical engineer gal, and the second shows off the platonic-as-far-as-he-knows harem.

Apple Watch accessibility is infuriating

The crown button on my watch stopped working, and the FAQs suggest that the most likely cause was poor tolerances dirt in the gap, which could be fixed by holding it under running water and slowly rotating and pressing the crown button.

This worked. However, it also somehow turned on audio announcements of each on-screen action, which prevented any actual, y’know, actions. I could type in my passcode, and it would cheerfully recite the digits, but would not pass them through to the watch to unlock it. And this behavior survived a reboot.

The only way to regain control of the device was from the “accessibility” menu on the phone app. There was literally nothing I could do from the watch itself to disable what I had accidentally enabled; it was completely useless.

Today I was consumed with the desire to bitch-slap an emergency-room doctor into the next county. Fortunately, he wasn’t in the room at the time.

Farm Harem Never 2, episode 11

Seems like an odd time to be introducing an entirely new race of subjects, but they did include a crew of scantily-clad busty succubi, so I can’t complain. And then we got a standalone piece with all the subtlety and complexity of a four-panel gag comic.

Verdict: would have been significantly improved by having the succubi use their powers to get the haremettes a-hareming. One more week to go.

Witch Hat Atelier, episode 12

This week, Our Problem Children help Our New Problem Child deal with his crippling insecurity and history of abuse, and Sexy Witch Gal demonstrates that she is both A) an excellent teacher, and B) a damsel in distress.

Verdict: as part of next week’s season-ender, I demand the announcement of season 2. With a firm date attached.

(this week we got to see a new Bad Witch in action)

Of course the final battle against the Big Bad Evil Ivell had to be extra-shouty, with a side order of Button Elf. No reunion with his isekai’d friends, though, who at least got as far as meeting Our Best Guild Catgirl right before the credits rolled. No announcement of a second season, but they made no particular effort to tie off dangling plot threads, and in fact padded out the ending, so they may be hopeful.

Verdict: forgettable shouty fluff with not nearly enough catgirl. The divine revelations open up all sorts of questions about what’s really going on, but answers are unlikely to be animated any time soon. If ever.

(Little Witch catgirl is unrelated)

(12 episodes for Not-Harem, 13 for Witch Hat)

Farm Harem Never 2, episode 10

Well, if we’re never going to get a proper harem, at least we got a swimsuit episode. Part two is an over-narrated explanation of how they finally got some new human villagers, which Our Hoe-Holding Mayor somehow thinks will resolve the gender imbalance despite all of them being young married couples. And New Female Villager #7 somehow triggers a cliffhanger, sigh.

(unrelated, of course, except for the animal ears and the swimsuit)

Witch Hat Atelier, episode 11

Looks like it’s problem children all the way down, and I wouldn’t have it any other way. Also, the return of Sexy Witch Gal, with a disguise that sends Our Heroine to the moon.

Verdict: two episodes left, and they’re clearly trying to create a satisfying season-ender. But true satisfaction comes from announcing a second season…

On Stargate

Some thoughts, now that Amazon has chickened out and shitcanned the previously announced new series…

I remember the magazine hype before the original Stargate was released in theaters. It… wasn’t as cool as they’d made it out to be, but was still a lot of fun. I rewatch it every few years.

SG-1‘s debut on Showtime blew me away. I was sad that we only got bare titties in the pilot episode (because Showtime demanded them), but it’s not like they needed cheesecake to sell the story. What I still love after all these years is that they hit the ground running, with all the characters well-developed and working well together, not just the core cast. About the only real clunker was the poor guy who got stuck with the job of summarizing the movie relationship between Jack and Ska’ra.

Anyway, I loaded it up on Prime over the weekend, and it started at the season 1 episode Bloodlines, in which Teal’c has to deal with the family he left behind when he defected. This was followed by Fire & Water, in which Daniel is declared dead. And neither of these stories could be told by today’s Hollywood. A father balancing duty against family and making difficult choices? A mother who vigorously disagrees with those choices and their impact on her and their son, but behaves like a grown-up about it? A cranky-but-wise father-figure mentor, training the son as he trained the father? And in the second one, a full military funeral executed with precision and respect for the service, without a hint of irony or eye-rolling?

And of course, Good Ol’ Doc Frasier, as usual carrying every scene she was in, standing up for the health of the team while still respecting the chain of command, instead of being used as a writers’ mouthpiece. (and she even got to kick a bit of ass in the next episode, Hathor)

(it did often feel like she was running the medical center alone…)

She has awakened! And she seems to be the only person in the cast who doesn’t shout, which explains why God was trying to keep her napping. Anyway, Evil Ivell attempts another cunning plan that should have worked if Our Shouty Shota hadn’t gotten divine help at just the right moment (a very prolonged moment, when the Big Bad Wolf should have torn him to pieces in the first five seconds of the fight), but even in failing, she managed to get Our Hero’s cheat powers revoked and teleport him right into a cliffhanger.

Verdict: will there be time for Our Dusky Best Catgirl to arrive and save the day? And will she drag along Button Elf and Our Isekai’d School Pals, or will all of that be saved for another season that may not happen? Next week, it ends.

(random unrelated catgirl from the archives)

Farm Harem Never 2, episode 9

Pouty Hakuren trying to make friends with a child should lead to sexy Hakuren making a child with friends, but it seems we’re never, ever going there. Related, having the Demon Lord defeated almost entirely off-screen is something I wish they would have done with Boxxo And Friends.

On the bright side, we got lots of Insane Tan-Elf Engineer Gals this week.

Verdict: mmmmm, tan-elf engineer gals.

(tan-elves earn the Esil seal of approval)

Witch Hat Atelier, episode 10

“This week, we’re going to tell a small story about overcoming disability and self-doubt.”

“Let’s animate the fuck out of it!”

Verdict: really, really hoping for a season 2 announcement soon.

Trailer Park: Busty Catgirl Slob With A Habit

Wrong kind of habit, though. She’s just what it says on the tin: Chainsmoker Cat (Japanese title yani-neko = tobacco-resin cat), and it looks like the sort of gagging gag comic that would drive me away even with the promise of big bouncy titties. And it seems she hangs out with other addict catgirls (as opposed to catgirl addicts, who might have thought “I can fix her”). Not one I plan to watch next season.

For fun, here’s the result of telling an AI model to generate an image based on an AI analysis of a manga panel:

Original:

NSFW

(and yes, that’s Jamie, the Little Blonde Titty-Witch from A-Rank Adventure Harem, drunkenly expressing her affection for Our Hero)

“Your ideas are intriguing to me…”

“…and I wish to subscribe to your newsletter.”

Today I Learned…

…they opened a Buc-ee’s 30 minutes away from my house. Oh, dear.

(okay, they opened it two years ago, but it’s on I-70, and if I’m up that way, I’m either going west from I-75 or east from I-675, and guess where it’s located)

Well, that escalated quickly. It seems that God has a really good reason for protecting Our Shouty Shota with ridiculous cheat powers. This is either foreshadowing for the end of the season or a prayer that they get a second one.

Anyway, we’re off to the dungeon, and I must register a complaint with the guild that they did not install a sexy catgirl at the reception desk. A cheerful loli is not an adequate substitute.

On the B-side of the story, Button Elf is surprised and disappointed to discover that Ivell is not a good friend.

Verdict: do they really have a stopping place for this season? They just keep throwing out plot coupons and spending most of their time on Adventurer Basic Training.

Frontier Lord & Oni Gal teaser

Here. Our Hero is voiced by someone with a lot of experience in shows I didn’t watch, while Our White-Haired Tan Teen Oni Waifu has done a fair amount of shows, of which the only one I watched was the one where busty high-school girls hung out in a closed-down mahjong parlor.

(no fan-art for this one, so here’s a popular horn-y teen waifu)

(okay, the title would work better if Shouty and Farm Harem aired on the same day; WHA is definitely not a bust-forward show…)

Farm Harem Never 2, episode 8

This week, A Wild Loli Appears. Also, the most nudity we’ve had in this show all season. From the loli, sigh. At least Our Gorgeous Oni Chief Maid gets some good screen time, and maybe three frames of streaking across the room in pursuit of the naked loli.

After that, a huge helping of tell-don’t-show plot coupons, as Our Divine Toolsmith narrates the mystery found under the hot springs.

Verdict: another example of how removing all the harem elements has damaged the story. The behavior of Our OP Dragon Gals would make a lot more sense if they were openly attached to him, as in the source. As is, the only reason we’re given for their continued presence is a vague “we like it here”.

(ditto for these two…)

Witch Hat Atelier, episode 9

We’re well into the plot now, but there’s still time for character development for all four of our little witches, and our increasingly-complex teacher as well. Even a side character gets some respect.

Verdict: don’t make us wait too long for a second season.

Magilumiere 2 promo video

Here, introducing a magical-girl-research engineer magical girl whose civilian identity includes underrim glasses. Also, for those who might be interested, the ED song is by Marine Houshou.

Heartwarming, with a side order of titties

Finally got around to reading the manga for Cosplay Haremettes. The anime was a quite faithful adaptation, except for toning down the delightfully gratuitous nudity, and there’s enough material for them to do another 2 cours.

Also, in recent volumes there’s a thicc cutie with glasses and long braided twintails, insisting that she’s forever 17 (plus 20). And she gets more impressive the more we find out about her.