== Briefly checking in on the Fall 2018 anime season 'midway' through

I know, in [[my fall brief impressions Fall2018Brief]] I said that I
probably wouldn't do a 'midway' post. I changed my mind because there
are a couple of things I want to note before the shows end and my views
change again.

Excellent:

* *SSSS.Gridman*: This show is amazing, and it's also reached the point
  where the giant robots and kaiju fights are essential drivers
  for the compelling character drama. It also continues to
  sneak in straight faced jokes and absurd situations that
  are both funny and [[illustrative of the strange setting
  https://twitter.com/cks_anime/status/1071655068292780032]].

Good:

* *That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime*: I caught up on this and
  I'm enjoying it as straight entertainment, which is pretty much what
  I was hoping for. This is not deep drama, but among other things it's
  a fundamentally pleasant show. It could easily have been about war
  and fighting, but instead it is ultimately about building up a
  community.

* *Thunderbolt Fantasy S2*: I'll now say the thing that I didn't
  really say in [[my brief impressions Fall2018Brief]], which this is
  not as good as the first season. It's picked up lately, but it still
  lacks a vital, compelling spark that the first season had. Still, I
  was very pleasantly surprised by one character in [[the latest
  episode https://twitter.com/cks_anime/status/1072723612522741760]].

  (Part of my dissatisfaction with this season is that the Mistress
  of Cruelty was a punching bag from the start. There were shades of
  Gen Urobuchi's treatment of her in the first season as well, but it
  had other characters to make up for it.)

*SSSS Gridman* is amazing and the other two are perfectly enjoyable,
so I'm currently considering this a perfectly good season. That I got
back on the wagon of watching and enjoying *Slime* is nice, even if
*Thunderbolt Fantasy S2* is a little bit of a letdown. Still, I can hope
for a strong finish to the show; it definitely still has potential and
room for twists.