Granted that it is a bit unsettling that it reveals the deep, dark secrets early on, so there’s virtually no goofball Vash before serious Vash appears, I don’t really mind that all that much. That was a fascinating tonal shift the first time through the original, but on rewatches, it was more sort of weird, since goofball Vash seems out of place when you know the rest of the story.

Meryl in Stampede is interesting. In the original, she starts off bossy, then shifts to sort of tsundere, before finally (and admittedly very rewardingly) opening up, and just in time to remind Vash of Rem. In Stampede, she starts off naive and earnest and kindhearted, so there’s no need to break through her defenses - she’s already the positive influence she needs to be. And it’s interesting to see her toughen up, which should make for a satisfying role in Stargaze. And her reputation as “Derringer Meryl” gets some very satisfying context.

I like seeing Zazie get a bigger role - they really need to be integral to much of the story, as the representative of basically the entire planet, and that seems to be the way it’s going.

The best part of Stampede IMO though is Wolfwood, since he gets some much-needed background development. It’s not entirely new, but it goes into more detail than it did in the original, and provides better context for his character.

All in all, and even now, the second time through, I liked it. It’s just good in and of itself, and if the original didn’t exist, that’s all it would be. Since the original exists, it can’t help but be compared (and be reflexively hated by some simply for existing), but again, I don’t think it’s notably either better or worse - just different.

It’s an oujosama, a childish jock/genki girl, a meek and earnest meganekko and a quiet and awkward outsider, who just happens to have grown up with a father who was seriously into survival, and took her all over the world and taught her how to survive in the wild. So part of it is of course them trying to survive, but they don’t face any great threats and the one girl is so ridiculously skilled that they do pretty well (with predictable problems caused by the ojousama and the genki girl), so it really works out to be more sort of odd slice of life than anything else. It’s not great entertainment, but it’s amusing and low key and doesn’t require much attention, which was what I needed after Stampede. And a brief note - the series is actually remarkable in one respect - the final episode has a scene that as far as I know is entirely unique and that is… startling. There’s no telling how any specific individual will react to it - there’s a wide range of possible reactions - but it’s guaranteed that you will remember it. And no - I’m not going to spoil it. I’m sure you can find a spoiler on any anime site, but if you’re interested, you’re better off letting yourself be surprised. Probably.

Diana in the audience at Shiny Chariot’s show, all of Akko’s reactions, Chariot’s gloriously awkward but showy wand moves, backflipping up onto her broom then riding it like a skateboard, Shiny Arc and the fireworks reflected in Akko’s eyes, Ursula is the first person you see at the school, Akko’s nose, Diana’s “gokigenyou,” the hat the witch in charge of flight training wears, the spot-on Wile E Coyote homage when Akko tries to fly, the Dragon Warrior music and sound effects in the background when Ursula is explaining their dungeon mission, Akko literally on fire with excitement, Lotte and the light fairy, the bully girls turned cowards, Akko hearing the commotion when the minotaur appears and running off screen one direction then immediately reappearing from an entirely different direction, Sucy and the minotaur, the quiet little interlude when the girls float down with their wand mini-broom brush things, the cowardly bully girls immediately turning back into bullies when the dragon appears so small and feeble, then immediately turning back into cowards when it grows, Ursula’s bullhorn spell, Akko stopping Diana from taking off by grabbing the bristles on her broom, Diana’s face when she stops her, Akko finding the Shiny Rod, the moment when Ursula recognizes it, Akko on the back of Lotte’s broom - “I could have flown myself!” “Of course you could have - it just might’ve taken you all day.”, Akko’s wonderfully animated run/slide/run past the dragon to get the stone, the moment when she hears Chariot’s voice, Shiny Arc again and the look on the dragon’s face when it realizes what’s happening, Diana rescuing Akko then going all tsundere when Akko calls her out for knowing what Shiny Arc is, Ursula’s reveal.

It’s just terrific, from the first frame to the last.

It’s a period Mafia drama, and period dramas set overseas are generally sort of an odd thing to experience in anime, since the Japanese dialogue is sort of a pointless extra step in the middle of it all. Since I watch subs, they might as well be in the native language - in this case, either Italian or English - and that would fit better. But, though I don’t know enough of it to really say, it did seem that there was something going on with the dialogue in this one - like it was maybe actually Japanese with an Italian accent? In any event, even though they were speaking Japanese, it sort of broadly sounded sufficiently Italian to me that it worked fine.

More than anything else, it was beautifully crafted. The art, music and sound were all exceptional (the beach scene was especially well done). And it was surprisingly well written - it covered a lot of familiar ground, but with intriguing and unexpected twists. It’s brutal and tragic, so I wouldn’t say I “enjoyed” it, but I was very, very impressed and satisfied.

Equa is a marvelous character, and the whole cast works well. It’s very episodic through the first 9 episodes, and some of them are better than others (episode 8 is the standout - quite seriously one of the most beautiful and touching anime episodes I’ve ever seen), but then, surprisingly enough, it pulls everything together - all sorts of unexpected bits and pieces from the past episodes - for the last three, and it’s really pretty impressive. And the reappearance of one of the characters (if you’ve seen it, you know who I mean) is truly epic. The ending tramples all over the limits of my suspension of disbelief, but I can forgive it that, just because it’s enjoyable. And, as always, I was reminded of how much I like the OP.