I'm surprised you seem to dislike Shaft across the board but the toothbrush scene isn't until Nisemonogatari (S2) which it sounds like you were not even close to... did you at least finish Bakemonogatari? Or did you stop when the loli showed up in Mayoi Snail?

On the surface yeah there's a lot of cringe and otaku gags but the true strength of the Monogatari series is its character writing which is possibly unmatched at least in Japanese media. Every character feels fully realized and has a past, present, and future that feel truly relevant, not just "character is X because Y happened". If you don't like it that's your prerogative I suppose but there's a reason its as popular and praised as it is.

See... I really value chemistry and buildup in romance which is why I'm so evangelical about stuff like Bokuyaba. Even going back to stuff like 5 Centimeter Shinkai has really focused on separation and longing and it just doesn't resonate with me. I mean FFS the leads in Your Name interacted only indirectly until the final scene of the movie. I think I was supposed to be pulling for the main ship in Suzume even though my man was a chair for 4/5 of the movie.

How far did you actually get in Monogatari series? It does have a lot of rapid fire jokes about otaku subjects, tropes, etc. but please tell me you're not basing your opinion on clips -- they absolutely don't do the series justice.

I gotta echo Kanon here AoButa really is store brand Monogatari; its entertaining but mostly just makes you want the real thing. Speaking of movies though I finally got around to watching Suzume and it was okay I guess. Shinkai movies are great for spectacle but really suck at anything resembling actual romantic chemistry. Still need to get on the most recent Prillya movie someday... oh and the Tom Brady roast was entertaining but kinda long.

Do you have anyone left to root for in the NHL or have you tuned out? There's a couple of Canadian teams still in it... I don't really care as long as the Bruins lose. NBA wise I've been fond of Ant Edwards for a while now so its nice to see the Wolves do well. I still got to stick with my Thunder the rest of the way though.

Jellyfish might be a yuri after all, and Seiyuu Radio still feels like a slow burn but I definitely appreciate a gyaru X plainy ship. Sasakoi kind of bores me to tears though, I'm struggling to stick with the anime.

The franchise going full movie pretty much killed it for me. I'm done with it, it was always a poor man's Monogatari anyway. The real deal will return this summer.

All I know is it gets great reviews. Has a “big announcement” coming, which is either an anime or drama, almost certainly.

Letting go of Jimmy Butler had more to do with his fit next to Ben Simmons than Tobias Harris directly... and somehow both contracts have aged like milk and become some of the worst in NBA history. I heard the Sixers want Jimmy back, I guess there's a possibility. I'm not sure what I'm hoping for.

Seiyuu Radio, Date a live V, Konosuba S3, Yuru Camp S3, Slime S3, Misfit of Demon Academy S2, Whisper me a love song, Jellyfish can't swim in the night, The Duke of Death S3, Mushoku Tensei S2, Train to the end of the world, and Unnamed Memories.

I haven't bought anything recently but as a big Suikoden fan I actually supported the Kickstarter for Eiyuden Chronicles a couple years ago so I finally got that. There's a couple VN coming out that I want to read but otherwise I'm not really playing anything. I might go back to FFXIV when the new expansion comes out but I'll see.

I've completely given up on the Sixers, I only care about the Thunder anymore. Maybe I'll tune into the NHL playoffs in time... I'll see how it develops.

I'm really tempted to get Persona 3 at 30% off on Steam Golden Week sale. I'm guessing you're waiting for 60% or 75% off. Hmmmm...