Anime

Lots of takes that I agree with here. 7th Prince last season turned out way better than I thought it would be, despite some real sus stuff that goes on. Similarly, Delicious in Dungeon's second cour was way more engaging to me. Once things started to get higher-stakes and more life and death I paradoxically had a lot more fun because I was invested more. The fight they had at the season midpoint was phenomenal.

As for this season, I agree that Oshi no Ko started out really slow. However, they have really paid off the slow start with some great moments. The episode 6 climax was so great and took the manga to a whole new level. Also, I have had a similar experience with Nokotan. Some jokes land, others don't. However, they throw so many jokes out there that it manages to keep me watching. It reminds me a bit of Monty Python's Flying Circus in that way (especially all the vignettes in the most recent episode).

I have mixed feelings about Yuki in Alya. On one hand, I find her easily the most entertaining character in that show. On the other, if I actually knew Yuki in real life, she would be the most annoying person in existence. She isn't a character as much as an expression of the author's desire to shake up the world they have created just to see where the pieces land. She flirted with fourth wall breaks early in the show and pretty explicitly broke it in the most recent episode in the bathroom.

Finally, I feel like I should try to check out Makeine at some point. The synopsis didn't really grab me before the season started, but I have seen lots of praise for it and it has pretty consistently been climbing up the different charts as the season has gone on. The shows that climb consistently like that tend to have the quality to back it up as opposed to series that just jump way up for a single episode before falling back down.