You're listening to the After Hours Arc, your
new anime podcast. My name is Antai, and I'll
be your host. Join me as I review, recap, and
relive anime, one arc at a time. And as always,
these are all from a manga -free point of view.
And welcome to tonight's episode. This is going
to be a little random and all over the place.
I wanted to start a new type of segment and I
figured this would just be more of like an open
discussion. I really enjoyed doing that in the
winter 2026 roundup that I did. I will put a
link in the description if you want to check
that out. I'm not bringing up I think any of
those titles today. Another reason that I wanted
to do this random open format is I just got my
new pop filter in for my microphone. It's Lime.
It looks really good. But I wanted to see if
it would help because I am looking for more of
a consistent sound. I feel like every episode
sounds different. And I don't have the luxury
of keeping my setup the same way every time.
I have a cat, and she is a fucking menace. She's
adorable, but she gets into so much trouble.
And this stuff costs way too much to just have
her ruin. So I'm hoping that this will help.
So we'll see. I also figured open would be better
than doing a full -on review because if I don't
end up liking how it sounded or if it's like
way too quiet then that would be really upsetting
so I figured this would be a safer bet. The first
thing I want to bring up is the witch hat atelier
because I am a liar. I have no idea why I was
under the impression that it was going to be
airing on Thursdays. Like it was replacing Jujutsu
Kaisen in my mind. But the truth is, it's coming
out on Monday, April 6th. So we are getting two
episodes, I found out, which is really exciting.
But... I have been wrong for weeks. I have been
saying I am going to be watching and recapping
this. And because I assumed it was on Thursday,
I said the recaps are going to be on Friday,
which no, they're going to be on Tuesday. So
I'm not going to wait a whole week to upload
it. That seems a little ridiculous. So I will
say this actually works out way better for me.
With the Jujutsu Kaisen recaps, I literally had
to watch it twice, record, run out the door to
go to work, and come home and then deal with
that whole mess. It was a little stressful. It
was a very good trial run for me because I was
very familiar with the show from watching it
for the last couple of years. I think figuring
out how to... watch something and give my play
by play has been a learning experience but I
think this show specifically was a very safe
choice for me the next anime I'm doing is a brand
new one to me and again where I don't read manga
I have zero clue on who the characters are what
the main plot is I know it's fantasy, magic based.
I know they have really fun pointy hats. But
I also really like the designs and I thought
the animation looked really beautiful in the
trailer when I watched it. This one piqued my
interest immediately. Hopefully I'll be able
to handle that one smoothly and coherently for
you guys. And if you are new here or it has been
a while since you listened to my pilot. I have
no idea what I'm doing. I have been literally
figuring this out as I've been going episode
by episode. And it's been a lot of fun. It is
definitely filling my time, which is exactly
why I started this. I feel like I've been learning
a lot and it's been helping me slow down a lot,
which is really good. I also had said in that
winter 2026 roundup that... my spring list looked
really light. And by light, I mean only the witch
hat at Tellier. There was a reason. The biggest
one is I wasn't caught up in a lot of the shows
that are coming out with the new season. So there's
really no point to jump in if I'm not there.
Some of them I will not watch. The biggest one
being One Piece. And I do love that anime i just
can't deal with only like five minutes of a show
i made it like 200 something episodes before
it like drove me crazy i know what happened in
the episode before like it just it really made
it an unwatchable experience for me personally
i'm sure that'll get me a lot of hate and sorry
not sorry but like that's just how i feel I wanted
to enjoy it. I loved it. I really did. But it
really, it felt like my experience was being
hindered by all the retelling of what happened
in the episode before. So that's my biggest issue
with One Piece. It's not the actual material.
It is not the story. It is not the voice actors.
It's nothing of that nature. It is literally...
how the show is produced to me it is unwatchable
i know there's a fan made version that has all
that cut out but i feel like i shouldn't have
to watch a fan made edit to enjoy a series so
that's why i'm not i'm all set with that one
The other one that I was interested in and I
do need to start it is the Wistoria Wands and
Swords, I believe it's called. And it's looked
really interesting. Every time I've passed it,
I've thought about clicking play. I just haven't.
That is one that I need to start. And since this
is only going to be a season two, I mean, it
could have been doable, but I am not cramming
a series in just to catch up. It is not that
serious for me. There's two that I'm halfway
through, the Classroom of the Elite and the ReZero.
I might not even be halfway through ReZero. I'm
not even sure what season's coming out, but I
think I might only have finished like almost
the first season. I'm not even sure. This was
a while ago. There wasn't anything that really
stuck with me. That's probably why I didn't pick
it back up. It seemed pretty ordinary and not
necessarily in a bad way, but just not one that
that wasn't the vibe I was looking for at the
time. Let's put it that way. And the classroom
of the elite that just really bored me. I'm on
season two and it just it feels like there's
really nothing going on. It's like too much drama
with no action, I guess, is the whole point.
But I've just lost a lot of interest with that.
So I believe it's the fourth season coming out.
So there's no way I was going to watch a season
and a half in like a week, especially for a show
that I considered really boring. The other one
is one I actually just started, which is Dr.
Stone. that I have been dying to get into I didn't
realize there was so many episodes and seasons
and specials and oh my god I feel like I'm gonna
have a field day with this one so I'll get into
that one a little bit I am on I think episode
four or five I'm not really sure but immediately
I recognized The main character, Senku, is the
guy who voices Cry Andre from Let This Grieving
Soul Retire, which I love. So I was immediately
excited to see him. I really enjoyed the character
designs. I thought it was very fun and interesting.
I really liked that they just jumped right into
the problem and then back. before the problem
and then into the problem so it was a really
cool way to open the series it gave me like a
little teaser and i really can't believe they
just stayed alive for like 3700 years or something
like that that is insane to me and this is a
really smart anime I described Apothecary Diaries
the same way, and it did really give me the same
kind of vibe. Except it's a lot more on the science
and I think action, where Apothecary Diaries
was more about the science and the mystery. So
I think that's the difference between those two
for me. The way Senku is... Reminds me of Mao
Mao so much. I really enjoy it. I will say his
friend Taiju, the second one to wake up, he is
so loud and obnoxious, but for some reason it
does work. It almost gets to the point of being
too much, but it seems like they were able to
kind of reel it back enough to not ruin the show
for me. I don't know if that's the case for anybody
else, but I've been thoroughly enjoying it. I
can't wait to get even deeper into it, especially
where I have so much material to go through.
I'm so excited. I've needed something that I
can actually binge. Especially after coming off
of all the new shows during the winter. That
was a lot to keep up with and to have to wait.
I'm filling my time with all these shows, but
I have to wait a whole week to enjoy them. It
was really like a double -edged sword for me.
The struggle was real, but I made it. I'm very
happy about Spring. Because I only have two shows
that I'm going to be watching, that Witch Hat
at Tellier, and I don't actually know if I brought
it up, but I found out there was another anime.
Daemons of the Shadow Realm that I am very interested
in checking out. I just saw it the other day
looking through what's coming out this spring.
I completely missed that one, so I was really
excited to now have something else. And Two Shows
is still very manageable, I feel like. That is
nothing. I can still enjoy shows outside of that
realm. Like Dr. Stone. Or the other new one that
I just started was Hell's Paradise. And my coworker,
the one I've brought up a ton, she is actually
the one who recommended that one to me. So I
figured I would give it a shot. I think I'm on
episode six or seven. I can't really remember.
I just got into binging Dr. Stone, so I do forget
the number I'm on. They're at least on the island,
and not too much action has happened yet. But
it has been entertaining enough to keep my focus
and attention. I do feel like the main character,
the Gabimaru dude, he reminds me of Killua from
Hunter x Hunter. Except a deadpan version. Like,
with the white hair and his hands, he uses them
as weapons. Which he literally turned his hand
into Killua's hand. I don't know if I'm the only
one who felt that way. But that is how I felt.
It was literally like I was looking at a wish
version of Killua. And no disrespect to the animators
or the designs of Hell's Paradise. I do really
enjoy it. I just think that is such a specific...
style of fighting to pass off as original to
be honest as with the dr stone one i am really
enjoying it i feel like there's been a lot of
build -up so far the sagiri girl the swords woman
who's supposed to be his executioner she sucks
i assumed she was going to be This complete badass.
Which, I mean, she can be. But the first couple
episodes really painted her as this brutal executioner.
She seems really fucking useless on this island.
So I'm really hoping that she can kind of pick
it up. Because I was really looking forward to
a strong female executioner. It seemed that that
was very uncommon, so I was really excited to
see her go all out. Hopefully she will. I will
keep you posted on that one. I am not sure if
it is a 12 or 24 or 26 episode season. I will
definitely find out for the next time. I will
say I do like the slutty Shinobi girl. I forget
her name, but she seems like a lot of fun. So
I'm really excited to see more of her. But now
getting on to something I don't want to see,
which I thought I did until I started seeing
what it was sort of about. And don't come for
me. I know I'm judging a book by its cover. However,
Oshinoko was something that I wanted to check
out because of the art style. I really thought
the eyes were cool. I'm a sucker for eyes. And
I really thought that would be a fun one to get
into. I'm pretty sure it's like this mystery,
supernatural drama. Also, Slice of Life -y. That
is the vibe that I got. But I am pretty sure
she is in love with her twin brother, even though
I believe they are actually like reincarnated
people that aren't related. Regardless of how
you spin it, I have a really hard time digesting
shows like that. I am probably not going to be
getting into that one. It reminds me of a lot
of isekais. They follow that very similar pattern
where the gaggle of women have to be the stepsisters
or the cousins or the literal sibling. I have
a really hard time with that, so I am probably
not getting into that one, which is unfortunate
because I did want some more variety in my watch
list. I'm going to keep looking in that department.
If you have any... mystery, drama recommendations,
be sure to let me know. I am always down for
suggestions. But I am really happy that the spring
break is here because winter was so fall and
I am excited to re -watch a couple shows. I am
very big on re -watching anime. One of my favorites
to rewatch is Cowboy Bebop. I must have seen
this one like a hundred times. This is also the
only anime that I own. I am not somebody who
collects. I don't obviously read manga, so I
don't have that for a collection either. That
is pretty much how important that series is to
me. It is one of the first shows I was introduced
to. Is one of those shows that I feel like just
gets better and better and deeper with each episode.
It is fantastic. And I also really enjoyed the
live action Cowboy Bebop. Maybe I'm only thinking
of this because I brought up One Piece. And One
Piece has their live action. Which I didn't necessarily
hate. But I did enjoy the first season. I thought
it was really fun. And it's really hard with
the live action because of all the CGI. That
is one I didn't mind, but the Cowboy Bebop one
I thought was really good. I enjoyed it so much
more than I thought I would. I figured I would
be over it in like an episode or two. I figured
it wouldn't do it justice, which they do take
their own approach on a couple of things. I wouldn't
say I was fact checking, but. I definitely noticed
they changed Fei's background a little bit, which
is fine. I also really liked the actress who
did her. Maybe I'm biased because that is one
of my top favorite animes of all time. Maybe
that's the case. But getting away from watching
Cowboy Bebop again, I also would love to re -watch
Freerun Season 1. in the Japanese with the subtitles.
And I brought it up so many times that I was
having a hard time with the Japanese voice actors
because the journey wasn't the same with season
one's English dub. Well, by the time I got to
Himmel's memoirs, I was absolutely sold. His
Japanese voice is perfect. So much so that it
made me feel like I was missing out. And I also
feel very similar about Jujutsu Kaisen Season
1. But not for the voices. For the whole concept.
The Culling Games literally has shaken my faith
in what I actually know about what I've seen.
It has been a while. And on top of that, with
all the game mechanics that they have added throughout
the Culling Games. To remember all these different
curse techniques and reverse curse techniques.
Like, I don't even remember Yuta being able to
copy. Maybe that was in the Jujutsu Kaisen Zero
movie. I'm not really sure. But I feel like I
also knew he could do it. I don't really know.
That's why after sitting with myself for a little
bit, that is pretty much what I think is my next
step. And the springtime with only having two
shows is a perfect opportunity to do that, I
think. And getting away from rewatching to re
-recording, I would really like to redo my Bungo
Stray Dogs and my Windbreaker review. I feel
like I didn't do them justice and it was like
the first reviews I've done. This has been a
very big learning process. I have been figuring
this out as I've been going. I feel like with
what I know now, I feel like I'm at a point where
I could probably go back in and actually dive
into the series. The only people I really went
over was Dazai because I really enjoy him. He's
my favorite. I do feel like it would have been
nice to get into more of the characters. And
with Windbreaker, that is one of my all -time
favorites. It gave me the same effect that the
ICK Office Worker did, where most of the episodes,
I was smiling and grinning from ear to ear. But
with Windbreaker, I also cried so many episodes.
It was so emotional. But in the most uplifting
way, it was insane. I was like crying and smiling.
I can get really into my shows if you couldn't
tell. I feel no shame in it. I really enjoy when
the story sets me up to really feel emotions,
especially coming from an animation. So that's
what I would really like to do at some point.
If you've made it this far, thanks for vibing
out with me. Hopefully you've had a good time.
I know I've been kind of all over the place.
This is my first attempt at an open episode.
I wanted to do something that didn't feel as
formal, if you know what I mean. I really wanted
to feel like I'm shooting the shit with you guys.
I am going to work on recording my ICK office
worker either tonight or tomorrow night. I'm
not really sure. But Monday and Tuesdays are
usually nights that I do not work. This also
makes the new recap I'm doing so much more easier
on my body. I really am happy that I get to sit
with it and not feel rushed. If you're looking
forward to that. Make sure you check it out on
Tuesdays. I'm not uploading it on Friday. I was
the liar. I was so wrong. I am so sorry. I will
try to do better. Let's be real, though. I probably
won't, but I will try. Also, hopefully this pop
filter sounded good. We will see in the playback.
That's all I have. So until next time. I will
see you then.