This chapter is peak "no one asked, but here I am" energy 🤩

In case you haven't noticed, my username is Cora-chan. The -chan part is important to note because it showcases how much of a weeb I used to be when I was in middle school.

Like,,,, ya girl was bad. I have weeb memories that haunt me 'cause they're so cringy it hurts 💀💀

I'm bored and have nothing else to do during quarantine, so I thought it'd be funny?? to take a trip down memory lane of what anime I watched bc maybe I could get some recs out of this (also this post ended up so much longer than I thought it would holy crap)

So, I'm gonna separate this into 'eras' with the first one being one of the most cursed of the bunch—

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My Introduction to Weebdom
Hetalia

Hetalia was my first ever anime that wasn't Pokémon, and it was a trip 😂

It's basically "what if countries were anime characters and they reenacted random scenes throughout history" with most of the franchise revolving around WWII. It's a comedy with really attractive characters and my top English dub of all time.

An interesting thing about Hetalia is that its episodes are only 5 minutes long. Guess who thought all anime was 5 minutes long 'cause of Hetalia? M E

I still like Hetalia a lot because it was one of the first fandoms I got into thanks to the Internet; before this show, I joined all my fandoms through books. It also really got me into history? Like I've always loved history but this just made me like it more lol

I'd give it like 4 out of 5 stars, but big chunk of it has to do with nostalgia

Wait, Anime isn't 5 Minutes Long???
Ouran High School Host Club + Free!

Even if Hetalia and Pokémon were technically my first anime, I consider OHSHC to be another one of my firsts because it was my first full-length not-Pokémon anime lmao. I remember texting my friend being confused on why its episodes were so long (20-ish minutes), and she told me anime is normally like that 💀💀💀

So OHSHC is about a poor girl who gets into a snobby rich kid school via scholarship. She accidentally knocks over a vase and becomes indebted to a host club--himbos for hire, if you will--and has to become a host. It's a cute, comedic shoujo.

I'll be honest: I'm not a big fan of OHSHC. Please don't kill me yet! I've always liked it, it's iconic as hell, but I never could really get into it. The twins creep me out too much and I'm not a fan of lolis or shotas 🤧 3.5 out of 5 stars

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The opening still slaps, tho

sPeaKINg of ShOTaS, let's talk about Free!

Free! is important to me because it was the precursor to what would be my greatest anime love of all time. What's it about? Well, swimming. Actually, no, not really. It's about boys who like swimming, but the "plot" mostly revolves around the boys' friendships. It's a slice of life sports anime

I thought Free! was ok. It's waaaaay too slow, like the animation and attractive characters carry the entire series hard. Back when it was coming out, all of my friends watched it so of course I had to watch it, too. 2.5 out of 5 stars

Y'all know where this is going 👁👄👁

An "Otaku" and Proud!! (aka peak weeaboo phase)
Kuroko no Basuke/Kuroko's Basketball + Attack on Titan + all the other popular anime in 2014

Do you ever see something, whether it be a book or TV show or game, and you think to yourself: oh yeah, this is my life now?

That was me with KNB.

KNB is both the best and worst anime I've ever watched in my life. Don't get me wrong, it's a good show. If you like sports anime, especially ones with exaggerated plays like Prince of Tennis, KNB is a ton of fun.

You don't watch KNB for realism, you watch KNB to see screeching men shoot lightning out of their eyes while they whip out Naruto powers out of their asses just to win a simple basketball game. Like look at this—

You would think homeboy's about to fight a demon monster, but he's just trying to dribble around a fellow basketball player. Ugh, talent. I support one(1) shounen 💕

I love KNB because of how much fun I had when the fandom was active back in 2014/2015. I also hate KNB because of how much fun I had in the fandom because everyone on this site let me become a hardcore weeaboo without saying anything. Enablers, smh 😤

But honestly??? I'd still defend this show to the death because I'm just so attached to it. 5 out of 5 stars *chefs kiss* for nostalgia mwah 💕💕

During this era, I used to think that all anime was good. I would watch anything my friends told me to and would convince myself "oh yeah, this is great" even though deep down inside I hated it. I think the only show my friend showed me that I really enjoyed at this time was SNK?

Hell, I don't even know what SNK is about anymore. It started out with kids trying to destroy titans while living behind the walls, but then the manga went crazy and I gave up on all of it. 3 out of 5 stars for the parts I did understand tho lmao

Speed round! Let's describe the other anime I remember watching during this period in 10 words or less and rate them—

Gokukoku no Brynhildr/Brynhildr in the Darkness
(Mystery, Sci-fi): "Edgy ecchi witches from hell"
1 out of 5 stars

No Game No Life
(Adventure??): "Beautiful animation + cool plot, but fck that incest"
2 out of 5 stars

Sakurasou no Pet na Kanojo/Pet Girl of Sakurasou
(Slice of Life, Comedy, Romance): "Slice of life w/ fanservice for men blegh"
2 out of 5 stars

Nisekoi/Fake Love
(Slice of Life, Romance): "Cute slice of life w/ infuriating love octagon"
2 out of 5 stars

DanganRonpa
(Mystery, Thriller) "Techno Hunger Games w/ a great soundtrack"
3.5 out of 5 stars

Oreimo
(Disgusting Waste of Time): "Incest the Show. If you like this, block me rn"
-10000 out of 5 stars get this garbage out of here

aaaaand these are the only shows I can remember off the top of my head. I know there's a lot more, but I just can't remember them 💀💀

Phasing Out of Anime
Uta no Prince-sama + Haikyuu!! + random anime on Netflix

My life always changes a lot when I move, and when I moved from Florida to Virginia, my interest in anime dropped. A lot. It was not a good time in my life, and anime was the last thing on my mind. There were only a few shows I watched.

Uta no Prince-sama is my favorite singing anime. It's based off an otome game where the MC has to write songs for a whole bunch of beautiful men aspiring to become JPOP idols. The characters are alright, the animation could be better, and the plot is basically nonexistent, but the soundtrack s l a p s. This series has fantastic pop songs like oh my god.

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I've actually been rewatching UtaPri lately and it's just as cheesy and fun as I remember it. 4 out of 5 stars 🤩

Haikyuu!! is okay. It's a much more grounded in reality sports anime compared to KNB. Some people love that, but then you have the oddballs out like me who prefer asshole MCs with superpowers vs. "good bois uwuwuwuwu" who don't defy the laws of physics. It's all about preference, but HQ doesn't do it for me. 3.5 out of 5 stars.

Tbh, after HQ I stopped watching anime almost entirely for like a good year or so? The only shows I watched were because of my sisters since they played them on Netflix in the living room.

The first of the two was Death Note. If you watch anime but you haven't watched DN yet, you need to fix that ASAP. I don't like crime dramas but this show was so entertaining and intelligent and all-around fantastic... except for that ending. Because of that ending, it's a 4 out of 5 stars for me.

The other anime my sisters got obsessed with for far too long was Naruto. You know what? I blame Naruto for making me hate shounen anime so much. Like it is a fun show about ninjas with crazy superpowers, but it just couldn't ever resonate with me. 2.5 out of 5 stars.

JK I Just Watch Shoujo Now
Literally every single high school romance shoujo

At this point in my life, I basically refuse to watch any anime/read any manga that doesn't fall into my very specific guidelines: it has to be a female protagonist-lead high school romance shoujo.

Do I care that it's the same characters/tropes/clichés/plots over and over again?

Well, if it was any other genre, yes, yes I would care. But for my high school romance shoujos???? Heck no! This is the perfect formula for me. I can't even say it's a guilty pleasure because I'm loud and proud about it.

I'm just gonna abbreviate this to HSRS lmao

Anyways, HSRS are like chocolate for the soul to me. They're cute and cheesy and silly and sweet and cute and they just make me incredibly happy. Nothing else in this world can make me as instantly happy as these. Like if I'm having a bad day, this niche will make me warm and fuzzy in no time.

I will rank the ones I have watched tho because this post is super long already might as well keep on typing lmao. Tbh I don't even have to write the plot for these like they're all the same. My ranking's mostly based on how much I like the lead couple.

All-Time Fav

Sukitte Ii Na yo/Say I Love You
I love this shoujo, oml. It's one of the more mature ones, though. I can relate to a lot of the (non-romance) conflict the protagonist, Mei, goes through. I actually like the male lead, too.
4 out of 5 stars 💕

Not #1 But They're Still Golden

Gekkan Shoujo Nozaki-kun/Girls Monthly Nozaki-kun

Ao Haru Ride/Blue Spring Ride

Kimi ni Todoke/From Me to You

Tonari no Kaibutsu-kun/My Little Monster

Kaichou wa Maid-sama!

Orange

I HATE THIS SERIES OH MY GOD

Ookami Shoujo to Kuro Ouji/Wolf Girl and Black Prince

Fun fact: I hate this shoujo so much it made me write Liar, Liar to prove that its fake dating premise could've been great had the mangaka not been a dumbass and make her male lead into the worst shoujo character I've ever seen in my life.

WGBP is about a girl who asks a boy to be her fake boyfriend to try to impress her classmates. He agrees, but in return, the girl has to act like his pet dog. The relationship was so, so toxic because of how controlling the male lead was. You want to know how bad it was? Huh????

When I first finished watching the series, I loathed it so much I looked up to read reviews and see how people highlight the major problems with the series. Instead, I find a fan blog. In the blog, the writer talks about how the main couple finally had sex in the most recent manga chapters and said "it's so cute how he waited for her to be ready" and I--

...

...

...

GAHHHHHHH!!

Consent should ALWAYS be in relationships!! Any relationships, romantic or not!!! The male lead not being a rapist shouldn't be "couple goals" like oh my god what the actual hell???!!! The standards are THIS low!!!!

I could write a whole essay on why WGBP is the worst shoujo ever to be given the luxury into being made into a pretty anime, but I'll stop for now

Honorable Mentions

Aka these are shows that don't fall into my specific criteria, but they have the same energy as the aforementioned anime so I love them a lot

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Ore Monogatari/My Love Story
This show is so cute and hilarious and charming like it's a solid 5 out of 5 stars

Tsurezure Children + Nijiiro Days
Ngl, these shows are basically the same thing. They don't have any specific leads because the shows revolve around multiple couples. All the episodes are 15 minutes and under, but their bite-sized fluff is adorable and fun

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Also, Nijiiro Days is on YouTube!!! I accidentally binged it in one go lol. Both of these anime get 3.5 out of 5 stars.

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Why is this post so long??? I swear this started off as a joke post, but then I got way too into it oml. Anyways, if you guys have any recs for anime you think I'd be interested in, please tell me!!!

P.S.

I forgot to mention this but somewhere between my OHSHC phase and my KNB phase, I watched Kuroshitsuji/Black Butler which is a garbage fire show that fetishized a relationship between a full-grown man and a 12-year-old boy that should rot for all eternity 0 out of 5 stars