I’ve been watching late-night anime, trying to find something that’s as good as the first one I binge-watched last month. It’s getting harder by the second. The screen flickers a bit in my dark room, but it doesn’t bother me because I’m fully focused on the story unfolding before my eyes.

The series is about a girl who can control water—she fights monsters and stops them from harming people in her town. There are epic battles where she summons giant waves and uses elemental powers to defeat foes. The animations aren’t as polished as some of the stuff I’ve seen, but they still look cool with their splashy colors and dynamic action sequences.

I like how the anime gives me a break from my usual games and movies. It’s different—more introspective, if that makes sense. Every battle scene has these moments where you can see the inner struggles of the characters. The protagonist’s determination to protect her friends and save people is something I can get behind. There’s even a subplot about her past, which I find interesting because it hints at her motivations.

The sound effects are hit or miss. Sometimes they’re so on point that you feel like you’re right in the middle of the action. Other times, there’s this awkward moment where the background music swells and the character just walks into a door. But hey, those are the trade-offs for free streaming.

I’ve been taking notes on what works and what doesn’t. I want to find out how they do certain things because it could help me when I’m working on my own little animations in Photoshop. It’s like learning from the pros without actually being a pro yet.

One of these days, I’ll have a project that’s this good. For now, I’m just taking it one scene at a time and figuring out how to improve my skills. Maybe next year, when I’m not just obsessed with playing games all day, I can really dive into making something like this myself.