Sorry if this is a bad place to talk about this, I've seen anime posts pop up here and they were well-received, so I'm assuming this is okay. If not, downvote so I know not to post here again.
Me and my family like to sit down and watch anime every once in a while. We started watching Spy x Family recently and really enjoyed the first part. The action, comedy, intrigue, and relationships between the characters were excellent and we all LOVED it. Like, a ton. Plus there was no fanservice which meant everyone could watch it without feeling uncomfortable.
Unfortunately, nobody's a huge fan of cour 2. It seemed like the main plot had vanished, along with the progressing relationships between the characters. Instead, it was just meaningless slice-of-life stuff. Which is fine, but it's just not what we'd been expecting (and wanting) based on cour 1. From what I've read, Season 2 is much the same.
I was wondering if anyone has any recommendations similar to part 1 of the show? We're fine with a little fanservice once in a blue moon, but if it's every episode we'd probably drop it. Violence is the same, nothing too extreme, like PG-13 or so.
Thanks in advance.
The first thing which comes to mind is Ascendance of a Bookworm. Basically a woman who loves books is reborn in the body of a sickly young peasant girl in a medieval city.
Books are something only the wealthy nobles can get access to. She starts trying to make her own through various ancient techniques while dealing with her sickly body. Things happen and she ends up in charge of a long neglected orphanage (some heart breaking stuff around that), employing them to help her produce paper.
The intrigue comes from her interaction with the church and a girl who will do anything to avoid having to return the the orphanage she suffered neglect in.
That's the gist without spoiling too much.
I actually read the manga haha. Personally i found it somewhat boring and dropped it after the male friend found out that the main character was a reincarnate. My main criticism was the lack of any central plot, with things just more or less floating from event to event like your standard power fantasy isekai... without the power fantasy. Does it get better after the point I dropped it? Is the anime better?
I've only watched the Anime, so I can't help with a comparison. I can understand your criticism, it's in no rush to get where it's going.
The character interactions are what made it great for me. I guess the main link I made in my head was smart young girl with strong father figures.