Back Street Girls: Gokudols (Back Street Girls: Gokudolls)

Imagine three hardened Yakuza gangsters being forced to get gender-reassignment surgery and debut as a female pop-idol group. Yes—that is the actual premise of this insane show.

Genre:
As a pure comedy, this show absolutely delivers. I found myself laughing uncontrollably during several episodes. Because the plot is completely predictable, it’s a really chill, low-stakes show to watch to pass the time. While it got heavily branded online as anti-LGBTQ+, I didn't really feel that vibe while watching. The gender change was explicitly used as an absurd yakuza punishment; the narrative never actually tries to circle around real transwomen issues.

Let's be real—the animation is objectively bad. The graphics look dirty and cheap. While I initially hated the art style, it eventually grew on me, but the visuals will definitely discourage a lot of viewers. If you’re going into this expecting a traditional, high-effort IDOL anime, nah—this isn't it. Morally speaking, the story is completely sh*tty, and the momentum eventually just runs its course.

Is it a masterpiece? Heck no. The animation is weak, the audio is questionable, and a lot of overly sensitive people will probably get offended by the premise. But hey, it is what it is. The anime worked because it was unhinged, sh*tty, and mature in its crass comedy. I still finished the whole thing anyway! LOL.

Loop 7-kaime no Akuyaku Reijou wa, Moto Tekikoku de Jiyuu Kimama na Hanayome Seikatsu wo Mankitsu suru (7th Time Loop: The Villainess Enjoys a Carefree Life Married to Her Worst Enemy!)

For starters, I don't know why she was called a villainess. She didn't do anything villainous at all. In fact, she was upright all throughout.

Genre:
Romance - It has a funny side to it. I feel giddy when something intimate is about to happen to the both of them. However, the season ended in a cold manner - nothing romantic.

The plot of having to live your 7th life after dying 6 times makes it very interesting. Her 7th life, hoping she won't die of war this time, primarily sets a goal to never allow her husband announce war in the future.

Here's why I don't like it. This is a realization after reading a comment from myanimelist that the smartness or wittiness of a character is based on the actual writer's intelligence and a character can never be smarter than them. There were two things Aerogun or Aerogunz (I forgot the actual spelling) stated that two ways of making a character more intelligent was (1) to create smart characters and make the MC outsmart them like "Death Note" or (2) surround the MC with incompetent characters, like "Classroom of the Elite". That's the same feeling I had with "How a Realist Hero Rebuilt the Kingdom". Now, with 7th Loop, I felt the same. Everyone else was dumbed down to make her stand out as an intelligent person which eventually makes everyone else admire her. Instances include the fireworks and the negotiation with Aria Trading.

Another reason why I don't like it is because it's stagnant. It promises to be a romance anime but nada. Although the MCs love interest is interesting. His possessiveness is something I thought would make it amusing, but it tries to build that momentum then it easily dies down. It's confusing for me. It doesn't show depth.

What I enjoyed is the fact that she lived six lives (and kept the memories of all lifetimes) and experienced different struggles giving her 6 different exposures to skillsets - as a pharmacist, an alchemist, a maid, a trader, etc. Every time she goes back to that point in time, she tries to not repeat the same mistakes. If I was her, I'd do the same, but perhaps try not to get killed.

If you have time to kill, yes, this is a good option, I finished it overnight. Although stagnant, it wasn't dragging for me to make me lose interest. It was still enjoyable. Give it a watch.