52 Anime in 52 Weeks: November

We might be in February but I have still not posted about the last two months of 2022’s 52 anime in 52 weeks anime challenge. I have started up the challenge again for 2023 but I cannot in good conscience post about 2023’s January anime journey for this challenge without wrapping up 2022. So it is about time I post this.

During 2022 I started my challenge on a Wednesday and would wrap it up on a Tuesday. November covered weeks 44 to 47.   

Week 44: 2nd November – 8th November

Anime 1: Housing Complex C

Housing Complex C is weird. C Danchi was my anime choice for the 44th week of my anime challenge. C Danchi’s introduction episode was intense. As soon as I saw that big guy chasing the two girls, I had a feeling he was being misunderstood. Then we cut to the old folks and the start of the episode and the story begins.  The shelter was very suspicious from the start and the amphibian creature was weird. I wanted to know more and wondered if I had stumbled upon a new mystery horror anime. Since as per my normal self, I did not read the synopsis before watching – out of concern that I would spoil the anime for myself. This means that I also did not look at the genre tags. The first episode felt longer than 24 minutes and there were a lot of personalities introduced. Plus a few notable plot points I could already pick up on. The first episode is a good introductory episode. Especially for an anime this short. It was impactful and had no wasted time or moments. The guys eating the shrimp live was a bit off for me – but I am a firm believer in cooked food. The old lady is very offensive and I love her for it. The setting, pacing, angles and sounds throughout the anime were all aimed at being ‘suspenseful’. It was done really well. The girls were always questionable. I enjoyed the twist. Finally, a new suspense anime to recommend to people.

Anime 2:  Bungo Stray Dogs

My second anime for the 44th week of the year was Bungo Stray Dogs. All three seasons, OVA’s and the movie. I thought I would take the chance to rewatch season one and watch the rest for the first time and catch up with the series before the fourth season comes out in January. I love Dazai, adore Kunikida and I need more of Chuuya, Ranpo and Junichirou. This is one of those series that I need to watch in bulk, otherwise I forget who does what and how they fit into everything.It was the first time I watched the entirety of season two and the first time I watched the movie. Both did a good job of deepening my affection for the characters and has me routing for the detective agency and the maffia. I wish Sakunosuke Oda was still alive and the trio could still meet in the bar. But if he was, Dazai would not be part of the agency. At this point, while the story is good, I am watching this for my favourite characters, but mainly my detective boys, Dazai, Kunikida and Ranpo.     

Week 45: 9th November – 15th November

Vinland Saga I had to watch it in stages. It’s good that I had to get this one done as part of this challenge. It encourages me to get back to the series quicker than I would have otherwise. Even though I knew that the *spoiler* father was going to die – it was obvious – I had to brace myself. This meant a break between the episode before and the episode it happened in. There were a few other intense emotional moments where I had to take a break while watching. I can say that I really loved all of the scenery shots, and I took so many screenshots of them. Plus week 45 of my 52-week anime challenge held my fiance’s 30th birthday. There are many intense moments in this that I was not prepared for and I feel that while it was good that I had to watch this in one week, I wish that I had allowed myself a little more time to pace my way through.  

Week 46: 16 November – 22nd November

Meiji Tokyo Renka is an anime that I had started watching weekly as it was released but then decided to put it on hold until the entire anime was out. It had then gotten lost on my “on-hold” list until I was going through my screenshot folder. I decided it was time to rewatch and complete this reverse harem title as my 42nd anime during week 42. I had watched up to episode nine in my first watch-through, I do not know why I decided to put it on hold at that point when I was over halfway through. The introduction of the men was rather cringing when I watched it this time. As I am watching more and more reverse harems it is becoming clearer that none of them has enough time to flesh out the love interests. I do not know if this one really classifies as a reverse harem, but I could see it being one. I did not enjoy the ending and I feel a lot of the cast deserved more. I understand why it ended the way it did but, ugh! Ps, Mori and Mei fell in love way too quickly. She is in the Meiji era for a month, which is not enough time and it explains why she made the choice she makes. I enjoyed that in this anime you can see why most of the characters feel the way they do and that the bonds developed the way they did. 

Week 47: 23rd November – 29th November

This week I am going to count the new One Piece movie, RED. It has just launched in South Africa (25 November 2022) and I wanted to watch it the day it was released. There was merch and fellow fans gathered, it was fun. I had thought there would be more about Shanks in this movie (as had been mentioned or rather hinted at during early media releases). Instead, we got a musical number that was actually pretty good. I liked Uta and I did not expect her role to be what it was, that genuinely took me by surprise. There are parts in this that you need to just roll with because explanations in most anime movies are meh if any are given. I did not anticipate the number of characters that appeared, not the mix of characters. If you are not up to date with the anime or manga, this movie does hold a number of spoilers from ranks to abilities. I loved the animation sequence for the sync-up between Shanks and Luffy. I am disappointed that there was not much of the Strawhat crew in this – they were in batches here and there, but that felt forced. Overall, I enjoyed it, and I know that I will need to rewatch it again at my own pace.

Musings on the 52 anime in 52 weeks’ anime challenge:

I had this sitting in my drafts for finessing but now it is February and I feel I must finish these off before starting my posts on this year’s challenge. November was a really good mix and match of anime. I had some light-hearted titles and some heavier titles. 

I particularly enjoyed Housing Complex C and the new One Piece movie, RED. Although, the One Piece movie enjoyment level might be due to the fact that I was at the movies with fellow fans and thanks to the bit of fan-ship before the start of the movie. 

November saw me catch up and almost get an anime ahead. Which meant I was caught up from falling behind in October and if I had been more flexible, I would have had a leg up for December. However, I decided that it would be cheating. I shall allow catch ups in this challenge, but not stock pilling ahead.

Are you joining me in my 52 anime 52 weeks challenge? How is it going for you? I am following the #52anime52 tag on Facebook, Twitter, TikTok, Instagram, Pinterest and Gettr, if you would like to share your journey with me and others.

Completion: 47/52 (90,4% completed)