Tenth episode now, let's go.
"Violet Evergarden feels like Oscar bait"
It kinda is, Kyoto Animation have a history of emotional story telling and Violet Evergarden is no exception, with the added disaster of the KyoAni studios fire it adds some weight to the emotion on screen knowing that some of the people who worked on it are sadly no longer with us.
"Makoto Shinkai Films Are Getting Kinda Old"
Looking at his works, they kinda start feeling the same, absolutely incredible scenery but storytelling is a bit convoluted, his works were already feeling old by 2013 let along ten years later in 2023.
"Character designs peaked with Juvia"
How can you say no to such a sweet girl.
Real talk, Juvia is a better made character than many people think, she's more than just a stalker with a crush, her increasing beauty is a subtle way of showing that she is stepping out of the gloomy melancholy rain and accepting the love and compassion in her new home of Fairy Tail, not to mention she has some pretty intense battles and has shown incredible loyalty, it is a testament to Hiro Mashima's work but to answer the other part, there's still room for great characters to come out, so it's not even close to peaking.
"Slice-of-Life Anime is boring and I don't understand the appeal at all"
Might be because you've never grown up in a country with such strict values and work ethics, it's worth noting that anime has foundations in escapism whether it be in another world or grounded in a simpler reality, Japan just sees more value in watching characters do simpler things whether it be about a Diving Club, a Little Market town or working in a Restaurant in Another World, there's a lot to offer. Remember that the longest running anime in history is about a housewife and her family, you can't get more slice for your life than that.
"Most romantic female characters these days aren't as attractive as the ones back in the 80s and 90s, by virtue of them looking like actual grown women and having the wisdom to match"
This is more aesthetic, the old art styles gives them a more mature look but in most cases the average age of female characters is really no different to today, mid to late teens usually. As for the wisdom part, I wouldn't be looking in the Sailor Moon cast or Tenchi Muyo for a girlfriend and certainly not Gundam, this is also why I always preferred adult female characters even when I was a teen myself. Adult females in the 80s and 90s did at least have the wisdom back then but over the last couple of decades more often than not they act like grown up womanchilden.
