Anime
1. The Disastrous Life of Saiki K.
This anime/manga is about a 2nd year high school student named Saiki Kusuo who was born with psychic abilities. One might think that having psychic abilities will make their life easier but for Saiki, it only makes it harder. His wish is to have a quiet and peaceful life; however it tends to be disrupted by his powers and those around him such as his classmates, people he encounters and his parents.
First of all, I just had to watch this anime so many times because it is extremely funny. This is something I would highly recommend when one is having a bad day. It would for sure cheer you up. Also this is the right anime for you if are into slice of life and comedy. I think this is a bit similar to Gintama such as the comedic parts and characters but as far as I know, there are no serious scenes compared to Gintama.
2. High Score Girl
This anime/manga is about a boy named Haruo Yaguchi who is a gamer. He primarily spends his time in the arcade playing Street Fighter. Haruo considered himself to be the best player until a girl named Akira Ono shows and ends up beating him. This slice of life anime/manga shows Haruo's life from elementary to high school and has a bit of romance to it as well.
Overall, I thought this was a cute and simple show. It just felt like it was youth so a typical life of kids. It made me curious about video games especially ones from the 90s. I did not know that Street Fighter was popular among gamers. This anime I believe shows that being passionate about something can bring people together even those who weren't into that certain hobby prior to it.
Drama/Tokusatsu
1. Kamen Rider Build
Kamen Rider Build is about the country of Japan where a martian exhibition has brought the Pandora box was opened which led to the formation of the skywall that split the country into three regions: Hokuto, Seito and Touto. The main character Sento Kiryuu who has no memory of his life prior to a year before has gotten a job at the Touto Institute of Advanced Matter Physics and is aided by Souichi Isurugi and daughter Misora who can purify the smash bottles as well as fugitive Ryuuga Banjou and journalist Saya Takigawa to find out his past.
This was the first Kamen Rider series that I watched since Drive and it was just amazing. This has officially been added to my top 5 Kamen Rider list. There were parts that did not make much sense and was a bit frustrating to watch but overall, the plot was very strong as well as the acting. I felt that this was the right series to start watching Kamen Rider again. Though my love for Kamen Rider has not gone away(and probably never will), it is hard to find time to watch as an adult due to time and I am not someone who is committed enough to watching it every week. The comedic parts were spot on and it was something that even adults are able to enjoy so I highly recommend this series if you are someone wanting to start watching Kamen Rider.
2. Tokusatsu Gagaga
Tokusatsu Gagaga is about an office lady named Kano Nakamura who is a huge fan of Tokusatsu but keeps it a secret to her coworkers because she does not want to be judged for her hobby. She then eventually starts finding those with the same or similar hobby such as a 3rd grader and a woman in her thirties.
This drama is way too relatable. As an otaku who doesn't want people to know that I am one, I understand how she feels so much. Though I consider myself to be more of a casual tokusatsu otaku meaning that I just like watching the actual series; there are certain things I can understand such as saying that you like a certain actor on one of the series and just watch it because that actor is in it. One of the reasons I do like to watch Tokusatsu is because there are actors out there that will end up becoming extremely famous such Takeru Sato and Masaki Suda after being on a Tokusatsu series and it makes me feel happy to see someone from these shows succeed.
3. Kamen Rider Ex-aid
Kamen Rider Ex-aid is about Emu Hojo who is an intern for the Pediatrics Department at Seito University Hospital. He is a genius video game player who goes by the alias "M". The bugsters, a type of computer virus has been affecting human beings. In order to save those who get affected by it and to stop those behind it, he transformed as Ex-aid and joined the The Cyberbrain Room(CR).
I thought Ex-aid and Build were both very strong when it comes to the storyline. Ex-aid was very fun to watch. I liked how he heroine became a Kamen Rider although I wished she was able to fight more. When Poppy did transform, it was very short and she seemed very strong so I hoped she had more of a spotlight. The one thing I was a bit bothered about when it comes to the series was the design. It wasn't the best and I thought it would get better as the series progresses but it just got worse.
American Sitcoms
1. Parks and Recreation
Parks and Recreation is about Leslie Knope who works for the Parks and Recreation. She loves her town Pawnee which is a fictional town in Indiana. One day, she meets a young woman named Ann Perkins who complained how a pit next to her apartment injured her boyfriend. This leads Leslie to come up with an idea of creating a park on that spot. This wacky sitcom shows politics in a comedic way.This show is one of my favorite American sitcoms of all time. The first season is very underwhelming but it gets better throughout the second season onward. Every single character in this show is fun yet crazy in their own way. An interesting fact is how it showed all the problems of a small/rural town in a funny way. I did a paper on this show for my Rural Anthropology class at university which about a 1/3 of the people in class wrote about Parks and Rec as well.
2. One Day at a Time
One Day at a Time is a remake of the same show that aired in the 1970s. This show is about the daily life aa Cuban-American family. It is focuses on topics such as PTSD, divorce, substance abuse, and growing up.
This show has so many meaningful moments. It has the fun and happy times along with the dark and dramatic times. I think many people regardless of race can relate to at least one thing from this show. When I figured out this was canceled by Netflix, I was a bit sad because a very good show that deserved much more had to end.
3. Fresh Off the Boat
Fresh Off the Boat is about a Taiwanese-American family who moves from Washington D.C to Orlando, Florida in order for the dad Louis Huang to open up his own restaurant. The family first has a hard time adjusting to their new home such as having to deal with living in a primarily white area, not being to make friends as well as fitting in with the neighbors and the mom Jessica Huang having to deal with her hair frizzing because of the humidity.
As an Asian that grew up in the United States especially in a primarly white area, I can relate to quite of the things on this show. Being told my food looks awful, people not knowing the difference between any of the Eastern Asian ethnicity and having a hard time getting along with the "other" Asian person in my area/school. I think this show shows a life that many Asian-Americans deal with. I'm very amazed this show was able to do five seasons and if it ends after the fifth season, then it still is able to create an achievement of being the first show with an Asian-American cast with more than two seasons.
