Rino and Reirin:

I've introduced two new characters to my wonderful hall of fame:  Rino from Happiness 2 and Reirin from Futsutsuka na Akujo.  Rino received the theme song 'When the Northern Sky is Clear,' which has the same magical feel as Rino's life, while Reirin received the theme song 'In Paradisum,' which has the same august majesty as Reirin.

I've finally gotten around to playing the Happiness 2 visual novel, which I figured would be good because Happiness is great.  Happiness 2 isn't as good as the original, but at least one of its characters is worthwhile, and that's Rino.  I fell for her from the start, but wasn't allowed to play her route until I finished Karen's route.  So I finished Karen's route and started on Rino's, which is where I am now.  She's short but well-endowed, with red eyes and red hair that splays out into twintails due to a ribbon. I'd call her a classic beauty in that nothing about her character design is complicated or novel, but she's still incredibly eye-catching.  She's a bit of a tsundere, which makes her all the cuter, and the protagonist's long-forgotten childhood friend (though she never forgot.)

What I like most about Rino is her leadership skills.  She is always the first to volunteer for every task, whether tedious or difficult, and then excels in it.  She encourages others to put in similar effort and keep up with her, and everyone responds to her sincerity.  She's a stellar magician, but only due to all the hard work she's put in since childhood.  She doesn't hold her magical ability over others, instead she helps them cultivate their magical skills too.  All this while she works a side job as a cute waitress and gives people good advice.  She's a saint.  The only thing she's bad at is confessing her own feelings.

As for Reirin, I didn't expect Futsutsuka to be this good, but each new episode of the anime proves why she, and the franchise itself, is too good for me to ignore.  In the first few episodes I found her to be too nice and airheaded, but as the story progresses it turns out she can be vindictive against those who wrong her and stoically stubborn when she sets her mind to something.  She actually has every possible trait you could want in a woman -- the charitable and compassionate traits, the graceful and decorous traits, plus the steel spine to see things through when necessary.

There is a slight problem, in that 'Reirin' is only a soul, living in a different girl's body, who has a different name.  But when I say 'Reirin' I'm referring to the soul, not the body.  Reirin's original body is beautiful, but her new body isn't bad either, so it doesn't really matter what her body looks like.  I'm enamored with her soul anyway.  Which is of course the point of the whole series, that you can't keep a good soul down, no matter what body it inhabits (and with said body, no matter what initial circumstances one finds oneself in).

Not only Reirin is great, but the anime she's featured in is also great, with lavish attention to detail and quality animation.  The setting of a Chinese-style harem of absolute luxury where all the girls compete at being accomplished court maidens to please the one prince who has to choose between them is perfect.  The plot where Reirin goes from being the prince's chosen one to the most detested girl in the harem and has to climb her way back up again is perfect.  The only reason I'm ranking this series at #180 instead of higher is the somewhat limited scope of the story, with really only 2 characters in the story, the heroine Reirin and the villainess who switched bodies with her, Keigetsu.  Everything revolves around them and there's nothing much going on outside them.

To make room for Futsutsuka, I promoted Witch Hat Atelier up to #109 (now that it's getting a second season, and presumably more seasons beyond that.)  I promoted Honzuki no Gekokujo to #67 (after what's been a stellar season 4.)  And I combined Mao with Inuyasha, since it's essentially the same series.  The same time-slip romance central theme, with the same 'magic of ancient Japan' action vibe, by the same author.  At a certain point it may as well be a single series, much like how Demons Crest may as well be another season of Sword Art Online.

Honzuki's promotion makes it the premier isekai anime in my rankings.  Hundreds of isekai series have tried their best in the animation arena and Honzuki has emerged at its peak.  The fact that it's so different from the normal isekai fare, with a female lead who isn't interested in romance or war, is what quietly gives it so much strength.  It feels like everything that happens in Honzuki is interesting and new.  And the vast length of the anime feels like it hasn't exposed even a tenth of the story's potential.  It still feels like we're only beginning, with Myne still a young child after all this time.  There's no telling how much she'll transform the world by the time she's done.

Meanwhile, in Heaven Burns Red, I got base Karen to limit break level 4, which improves unison Karen in my critical penetration squad by 10%, as well as red-riding hood Karen, cute Karen, etc. other Karens in my other squads.  Karen is now my highest rated character in the game.  I also got base Akari to limit break level 3, for what good it does me.

I also downloaded the long-awaited Template (or Tenpure in Japan) visual novel.  From the little I've played so far it's excellent, especially Shio.  With Happiness 2 and Tenpure the month of August will be as fun as all the previous months of this year.  And with Fire Emblem: Fortune's Weave coming in September, there isn't going to be a dropoff in the future either.