Chapter 854: Saturday Night At The Memory Lane II
A beautiful and cute 9-tailed fluffy fox appeared and winked at them before showing them the front page.
The Kuramaroll TV-app front page opened on the big TV, and the group of friends saw a colorful and beautiful page.
The first thing everyone noticed was the card showing an anime called Sword Art Online. But beneath this card was a roll of card with a tag [Trending]. And on this tag, there were several other animes.
At first, they didn’t find anything out of the ordinary; they thought it was just another streaming service. That was until Helen exclaimed in disbelief.
"No way!" She exclaimed with shining eyes, "This streaming service has Rose Fields?" She asked as she noticed the card for Rose Fields in the Trending Section.
Everyone immediately was attracted to where Helen was looking, and in the Trending Section, they found other animes that shocked them.
"Mystery Boys?"
"Nantes?"
"JumboTron?"
Each one of them found an anime that made their eyes shine.
Now we have to understand why this group of friends became so shocked when they saw these animes. And we talk about the anime industry in the Sakura Abode Country, we talk about a multi-billion dollar industry that has produced hundreds of animes every year for the past 40 years. This means that there are thousands and thousands of animes, and no streaming service would care to put a lot of animes in it; they only want to put the most famous of each year.
This left hundreds of animes from over 5, 10, and even longer years ago without any platform for the fans of these anime to watch. They could buy DVD copies, but that was too expensive.
Rose Fields, Mystery Boys, Nantes, and JumboTron were animes released when this group of friends were in high school. Although these animes might not have been the most famous ones, for their teenage minds, they still loved them extremely.
Now, as adults, they had searched each streaming service available, but their search was in vain. So, imagine their surprise to find their favorite teenage anime on a streaming service.
"What’s this, Tashi?" They hurriedly asked.
Tashi chuckled as he replied, "A new streaming service."
"Duh, I know it’s a streaming service!" Rys impatiently said.
Tashi laughed, "But Kuramaroll is an anime-exclusive streaming service! I checked the catalogue and there are so many animes that no other streaming service has!" He said excitedly.
Their eyes shone as they listened to what seemed to be the best news they had heard in the entire year!
For anime lovers, and old ones like them, Kuramaroll was a gift from the heavens!
"Give the control!" Mika said as she took the control from Tashi, "I want to see the other animes."
Tashi promptly gave away the TV remote control; he knew that he had to give it away or he would pay for it later.
The Kuramaroll page blazed on Tashi’s TV screen, a kaleidoscope of anime thumbnails promising nostalgic adventures. Tashi, already halfway through a family-size bag of chips, let out a delighted squeak. Helen, perched beside her, mirrored the squeak with a slightly higher-pitched one, her eyes wide with the recognition of countless childhood memories. Mika, ever practical, was meticulously scrolling through the "Sorted by Rating" section, while Kenan, sprawled on the floor like a discarded plush toy, mumbled something about finding the perfect "mecha-fest." Rys, meanwhile, was silently judging everyone’s snack choices from her perch on the armrest of the sofa.
"Oh my god, look!" Helen cried, pointing at a thumbnail featuring impossibly spiky hair and ridiculously oversized eyes. "’Magical Star Princess Aurora’! I haven’t thought about that show since... well, since I was seven and genuinely believed I could fly with a sparkly wand!" A wave of bittersweet nostalgia washed over her, momentarily eclipsing her usual cynicism.
"Remember the theme song?" Mika asked, already humming a tune under her breath. "La la la, sparkly stars and dreams..."
Kenan groaned from the floor. *Seriously? That’s what they’re excited about? Give me giant robots fighting giant monsters anytime*, he thought, secretly eyeing a show called "Galactic Gladiator Gods." His inner monologue was a constant battle between his love for cheesy action and his outwardly expressed desire for sophisticated storytelling.
Rys, ever the pragmatist (and the spreader of collective chaos), internally chuckled at their discussion. *This night promises to be an epic night! Watching old animes is the way to pass a Saturday Night*, he mused, observing the empty pizza box resting on the coffee table, a testament to their shared love of binge-watching.
"Okay, okay," Tashi announced, her voice rising above the background hum of excited chatter. "We need a plan. We have Rose Fields, Mystery Boys, Nantes, JumboTron, and Magical Star Princess?"
"Oh, ’Samurai Showdown’!" Kenan sat up, his eyes gleaming. "That opening sequence was epic! The soundtrack alone..." He trailed off, lost in the memory of dramatic sword clashes and heroic pronouncements.
Mika, having finished her careful perusal of ratings, chimed in, "Actually, according to Kuramaroll, ’Galactic Gladiator Gods’ is rated 9.8. Pure mecha perfection!"
Rys raised an eyebrow. "9.8? Based on what? Robot butt-kicking statistics?"
"Probably," Mika admitted cheerfully.
"I’m voting for ’Magical Star Princess Aurora’," Helen declared, resolutely ignoring the higher ratings. "Pure nostalgia!"
Tashi, caught between her love for childhood favorites and the siren call of high-octane action, simply shrugged. "Fine. Let’s have a democratic vote. The majority wins. But we’re ordering extra pizza!"
The friends erupted into another round of excited discussion, the debate over which anime to binge-watch overshadowing even the sugary delights awaiting them. The outcome, however, was already predictable. Sometimes, even the most rational among us succumb to the pull of nostalgia and sparkly wands. And extra pizza. Always extra pizza.
Until they reached the final discussion.
A wave of nostalgic fondness washed over them as they each, in perfect unison, settled on *Mystery Boys*. Ten years had passed since the anime’s initial run, a vibrant, unforgettable explosion of popularity that had defined their high school years. The memory alone sparked a warmth in their chests. The show, a delightful romp following a gang of adorably quirky middle-schoolers unraveling mysteries with a blend of slapstick humor and nail-biting suspense, still held the same magic.
The scent of freshly popped popcorn filled the air, a comforting aroma that mirrored the anticipation bubbling within them. As the first episode began, a hush fell, broken only by the gentle crackle of the screen. Time seemed to warp, to bend and twist. For a heart-stopping moment, the years melted away, revealing the vibrant, passionate anime geeks they once were, their eyes alight with the same incandescent joy, the same unbridled enthusiasm that had consumed them a decade ago. The familiar opening theme song swelled, a poignant reminder of shared laughter, late-night discussions, and the unbreakable bonds forged under the spell of *Mystery Boys*.