I am far from a bleach expert as I only watched the first couple of arcs, but my understanding is that the anime adaptation of Bleach ended since they had caught up with the source material and didn't want to keep making filler content while they waited for the manga. While the show was on hiatus, the manga continued with the final arc, called The Thousand Year Blood War. So, after the manga finished, they started the Bleach anime back up to adapt the end. That is what is currently airing.

Disclaimer: I have no insight whatsoever into the production process for this show behind the scenes.

That out of the way, it is a bit ironic that this show is the one with the troubled production and (likely) crunch for the staff as the whole motivation for the MC is to escape being overworked and pursue passions instead.

Agreed. Miyo just traded the Saimori family for the Usuba. The only difference between the two really is that she isn't treated like a servant with the Usubas despite remaining a prisoner.

I think the first half of this show was really strong, but I feel a bit disappointed by the latter half. I think there is a version of the story in which Miyo's dreams could help her piece together her mother's backstory while simultaneously strengthening the bond with Kudo as they work together to overcome the burden these undeveloped powers place on her body.

Dreams can be an incredible narrative tool, but as far as we know, the dreams that she was experiencing didn't really have any narrative importance other than that they were supernatural and very disruptive. It just feels like a squandered opportunity if you want to make a character whose superpower is related to dreams and then the dreams aren't really used to further the story.

It was a pretty sympathetic portrayal of the undead and it raises moral questions about the wholesale killing of them if they retain some sense of reason. This zombie kid had enough sense to understand what Boxxo said, go seek out a coin, and then track down Boxxo when he was in an unfamiliar location. That takes some amount of brain function.

I was expecting the kid to be somehow connected to the floor boss, but it looks like the boss fight is queued up for the finale so Lammis can try to overcome her fears.

Action-focused episode this week with some good action animation. We also finally know where Yuria has been, so hopefully she comes back with a bit of a resolution next episode. Also, I loved the fact that we have seen Max play with this candy for pretty much the whole season, but it turns out that it has been his trump card the whole time.

Horimiya this season feels a bit underwhelming. I feel like if the original run had incorporated these bits into the story and the show expanded to two seasons it would have worked better. However, trying to tell these stories removed from the context of the larger story does them a disservice.

I also think there is a reason most of these bits of the story were cut originally. I think the first season rightly focused more on just Hori and Miyamura. A lot of the episodes of this season focus on other characters with Hori/Miyamura acting as a supporting character instead. They are cute stories, but just don't have the same narrative heft as when the main couple is the focus.

I hope this series turns out well. I love the WN and the manga has been great. If you liked the vibe of My Next Life as a Villainess: All Routes Lead to Doom!, then this one has a similar sense of humor but with an OP MC.

Yeah, the anime wasn't the clearest in this regard. Since you already watched season 1, I don't feel bad writing out the explanations below, but for those that haven't seen the series yet; spoilers ahead.

Basically, Cid made up the Cult of Diabolos as a cool sounding story when he explained it to Alpha as a child. In the scene you see him grab a book and look at a bottle label. These were inspiration for the story he was making up. Specifically, there is a legend in the world of heroes that slayed the great demon Diabolos and saved humanity. Think of this legend similar to tales of the city of Troy is in our world. Achilles, Hector, etc. are mythical figures much like the heroes (like Olivier) are in that world. He made up this story featuring elements of the mythology around him because he thought it sounded cool (who wouldn't want blood of the heroes running through their veins).

What Cid didn't (still doesn't, and likely never will) realize is that there is an actual Cult of Diabolos that has exerted its influence in the background of society for ages. They conduct research on what remains of Diabolos (revealed to be Aurora the Witch of Calamity) to try to extract its power (eg. the red pills Grease and Zenon use to power up) or extend their life (the drops that the Knights of Round use). The cult uses the church as a means to gather and experiment with/exterminate all the people that show signs of possession. These individuals are the ones with the most active expression of heroes blood. Basically, possession is the result of the magically powerful heroes blood running out of control with magical energy so that the host body can't control it. When Cid or the girls cure someone of possession, it is rewriting the way their body controls magic to be able to fully harness all of that magical potential. This is one of the reasons why the Shadow Garden girls are so powerful.

So, to recap, Cid told Alpha that Diabolos placed a curse on the heroes so that their descendants suffer from possession while the Cult then experiments/disposes of the possessed. He was essentially correct, but the "curse" that Diabolos placed on the heroes was actually a result of the Cult itself experimenting with implanting Diabolos' cells in children, creating the heroes.

I thought the end of the duel was set up pretty well. We, the viewer, see Miyo earlier wanting to rush out, but is held back. Then, as the fight is about to reach its conclusion she does (appear to) rush in. When the sound of the gun went off, I fully believed it because we were already primed to expect her to rush in. The illusion was super effective (at least on me and Kudo).

Spoilerful discussion below. If you haven't read up through LN4, then proceed at your own risk (I will not discuss LN5 or mobile game only content).

Premieres October 4 with a new OP by OxT once again. 12 episodes long this season.

Based on the characters/outfits in the visual (as well as the new trailer) looks like they are planning on adapting at least up through the first arc of LN Vol 4. That means ~4 episodes per arc, similar to Season 1.