Japan according to Julian

 Hunter X Hunter (cont.)      I've already written about Hunter X Hunter before but that was months ago when I was on episode 20 ish. Now I am well into the series and just watched episode 92 so I feel like it's time to revisit it. As before, the story centers around Gon and his quest to find his dad. However, now Gon and his best friend Killua are involved in a potentially world-ending fight between a group of Pro-hunters and Chimera ants. This arc is really taking its time with exposition and long fight sequences. Honestly, I am a little bored but I know the payoff will be worth it. I would definitely say that people who are intimidated by Hunter x Hunter's episode count shouldn't stress too much because the bulk of those episodes take place during this arc and probably most of them are skippable without having huge consequences on the story. 

Made in Abyss   I just started watching Made in Abyss and so far, I am finding it to be very interesting. There has been a lot of exposition and very little actual plot so I'm not exactly sure what the anime is about. From what I have seen though, the crux of the anime seems to rest on the mystery of the Abyss. The Abyss is a mysterious pit that reaches unexplored depths and it was home to an ancient civilization as well as mystical beasts. Because of this, adventurers and explorers enter the pit in hopes of either finding what lies at the bottom or collecting artifacts and conducting research on the pit. The story centers around a young orphan who discovers a robot boy on one of her trips to the pit. So far that is all that has happened so I can't say much more than that. The art style for the anime is very cutesy as far as character design but the subject matter of the anime seems to be surprisingly serious. I am very curious about where this anime will go and how it will pl...

 Vinland Saga       Vinland Saga is a period piece anime about Vikings set in the medieval era. Season one follows Thorfinn as he travels with a ruthless band of Vikings on a violent campaign through Britain. Season two, the season I'm watching right now, is much different. This season occurs on a farm as Thorfinn comes to terms with the violence of season one and its consequences. Although the season lacks much action, its dialogue, themes, and ideas are very interesting. I would like to see some of the carefully choreographed fight scenes that they had in season one but I understand why omitting them is more faithful to the story as a whole. 

 Solo Leveling (Update)      Solo leveling occurs in a world where magic and dungeons have fused with modern society. In this world, gates leading to dungeons filled with monsters and "dungeon bosses" appeared as well as humans who are born with certain amounts of heroic potential. These heroes are called hunters and use their powers to clear the dungeons and defeat the bosses to keep modern society safe. In Solo Leveling, the main character Sung Jin-Woo (The anime was adapted from a Korean webcomic hence the Korean names) was born with very little magical potential at all. In his world, this meant no chance to rank up or improve his skills until a near-death experience allowed him to access the system. Much like a video game, the system allows him to complete quests and level up, improving his magical potential. This is as far as I have gotten in the show so far but the concept proves to be very interesting as Sung Jin-woo becomes stronger and learns more about the ...