ivaliyaThe first episode of Ikoku Nikki (Journal with Witch, 国日記) (2026) was beautiful. One of the few anime I was genuinely waiting for, and it turned out better than I could possibly hope for. Non-linear storytelling, wonderful character design and, more importantly, topics covered: solitude, grief, mourning, road to healing. All the little details, its own contemplative tempo that stands out so much in the world of modern accelerated vibe. Also, finally, josei adapted. And it's a quiality one. I really-really hope it'll keep being good
Episodes 2-3: It keeps getting better. Every single piece is in place and works so well to tell the story. Asa's mental visuals, unspoken details, truthfullness of interactions. But what's most impressive is the delicacy with which all the feelings and emotions are handled. I'm officially in love with this anime.
(It's a bit surprising to me personally because I'm not the biggest fan of Tomoko Yamashita's mangas. I haven't read this one, but I've read a couple of others, and most of the time it was storytelling that bugged me. But here everything is perfect so far. So I guess those just weren't my type of stories. This one is though)
Episodes 4-6: I'm not tired to express my love for this anime. It's wonderful. And it keeps being wonderful. It gives space and is filled with air to breathe and to think. Masterful characterization. Adults are adults, teenagers are teenagers. We see various facets of characters, various ways to cope, various ways to live this life. Makio is an amazing character, very well-written. And the way she's trying to build relationships is truly something (side note: Junichi Suwabe as the seiyuu choice for Kasamachi goes straight into my heart, love his voice to bits...)
Also I was a bit surprised to see that many people didn't know about the movie Makio recommended to Emiri (aka Fried Green Tomatoes), or rather about Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Cafe novel by Fannie Flagg. I know you can't project your knowledge onto others, but this one seemed so well-known to me. It was one of my favourite books in my late teens... so I have a particularly nostalgic moment with this little detail.
rfnix@ivaliya it was indeed unknown to me - and I did miss the subtext while watching since it was presented so subtly and matter-of-factly!
@rfnix Yes, the subtext might be missed here, but even without the knowledge of the movie/novel themes it still shows how great Makio was in that moment by offering solace to a slightly lost girl. One of the reasons this anime is so good, it really treats everything with great care and subtlety
I feel like my vocabulary is failing when it comes to describing how good Ikoku Nikki is. Like nothing I say to describe it is good enough. So I'll just go with it's the best anime I've seen recently and I'm truly sad there's only one episode left
I'm not into numerical rating of things, but Ikoku Nikki would get top score for me in any chosen system. Absolutely wonderful anime that we're very lucky to have this year. Feels like we weren't told everything, but there's always the manga source and that's exactly what I'm going to check next
