If you’ve been following my recent posts, you probably already know that I’m on a daring and quite brave quest to improve my blog writing! I learned that the best way to improve is to first assess what you are doing and find where you can begin to make changes. So I was looking through my list of blog posts and I noticed that something seemed to be missing compared to other blogger’s writing. It was the central pillar of anime blogging, the “Currently Watching” post. At first, I only noted that it didn’t seem to be included in my most recent posts, and I thought, “Hmm when was the last time I actually posted about what I was currently watching?” As I scrolled down the list and the months of writing passed by . . . and then a whole year . . . and I found that it was never. I have never posted about what I was currently watching! Considering that this is a core of anime blogging and is the majority of what most ani-blogger post about, I’m kind of embarrassed to find out that I haven’t written even once about current anime. Oops!

In fact nearly all of my posts seemed to be themed recommendations. In my defense, I worked in a public library for years and themed recommendations are kind of what library staff do. For example, if a person came into the library and said that they want a book recommendation and that they liked the Jurassic Park movies, we might point them towards the Jurassic Park books, and if they’ve already read those then maybe suggest the book the movie Jaws is inspired by. After all, both stories are about scary animals that munch on people. And that’s basically the way I’ve been blogging, except the library I’m referring readers to is the library of anime I’ve watched. Hmm, maybe that’s kind of a odd way of describing it? What I mean is I try to think of different things that inspire me or that I think people might like and then I think of what anime might go with that thing. Like, if you enjoy watching videos featuring cats getting into mischief, here are some anime about mischievous cats! (Have You Seen My Tama, My Roommate is a Cat)

Though I certainly have a good reason to write the way I do, it’s still kind of alarming that I’ve completely neglected a core part of anime blogging! Well, that is going to change today! So I present to you my very first blog post that features anime that I’m currently watching right now, and they are modern anime that are still being release as we speak! Though I’m watching quite a few anime at the moment, my three favorite are:

Raven of the Inner Palace

Raven of the Inner Palace is a historical fantasy anime that is set in ancient China at the Imperial palace. A young Emperor has just returned to the capital city to take control and as he looks into his new kingdom and vassals he learns about a special consort. The Raven Consort. This person has their own palace, prestige, and is kept at the courts expense, and yet they are kept in an secluded palace away from the rest of the court, they are granted no servants, and are almost treated as a prisoner compared to the other consorts. And unlike a normal consort, this lady isn’t supposed to be romantic to the Emperor at all. In fact, the Emperor is supposed to stay away from the Raven Consort. So why does the royal court keep such a person around at all? Because the Raven Consort can perform magic! With the power the Raven Consort can wield, she can summon and talk to ghosts, she can banish curses, and is the only one with the power to investigate paranormal occurrences that happen at the palace. Paranormal occurrences are actually becoming a bit of a problem for the new emperor, so off he goes to seek help from the Raven of the inner palace!

Bibliophile Princess

It probably shouldn’t be much of a surprise considering that I used to work at a library and that I’ve always loved books, that I’m a huge fan of Bibliophile Princess! It’s so adorable! The story is about the fluffy haired and wide eyed book lover Crown Princess Elianna Bernstein. At a young age she was given the title of crown princess, which allows her access to the royal library (the most impressive library in the country) but she was convinced that she was the crown princess as a place holder only, and that she wasn’t actually going to marry the prince. After all the prince was handsome and charming, and he was going to become king, there’s no way he could love a dowdy bookworm like Elianna, right? As clich`e as this anime is, it’s also just so smile inducing. Elianna is just such a little sweet heart, and Prince Christopher tries so hard to make it clear that he cares for her, but she just doesn’t get it in the cutest most bookwormy way. If you’re okay with lack the of political intrigue, deep plots, or romance stories with lots of twists and turns, than this anime is a wonderful comfy watch and lets you just be happy with how cute the characters and relationships are.

Spy X Family Part 2: Enter the Floofy Doggo!

The Folgers are back again with even more spy-tastic shenanigans! And this time they get a great big, super fluffy dog! But of course, this is Spy X Family, the dog isn’t just any old dog, it’s a dog that was experimented on and now has the ability to see the future! Combined with the adorable Anya’s ability to read minds, kid and dog are now a world peace mission saving duo. To start off the duo’s tag team adventures, they help Loid find a bomb that would have killed an important diplomat and Loid himself. In later episodes, we get to see more of the relationship between Loid and his friend Franky, we get more background story for the Handler, we get to see Yor’s attempt to improve her cooking, we get more Yuri being creepy, a little delusional, and weirdly enough being a kind of great uncle! The season it’s over yet, but it has been lots of fun so far!

I’m also currently watching:

1. Welcome to Demon School Iruma kun season 3 (My cinnamon roll has returned!)
2. I’m the Villainess, So I’m Taming the Final Boss (The manga was better, but still pretty funny)
3. Drop Out Idol Fruit Tart (CGDCT very funny)
4. Monochrome Factor (90’s-tastic!)
5. Oni Pan (very silly!)

Best Song of the Season!

For best intro or outro of the season, I have to give it to the closing song from Bibliophile Princess, it’s just such a charming song that I often hum it while I’m washing dishes. Though the Spy X Family’s outro is also pretty catchy, it just doesn’t inspire a smile in me nearly as much.