The end of a summer is always sad, as it feels like it's the end of a break and when things in our lives start to kick back into gear. We're getting into the busiest time of the year, and that goes for anime too. Fall brings the best whether, the most memorable holidays, and is usually the most stacked season of anime each year, and this particular fall looks to be living up to that tradition. With tons of beloved sequels, noteworthy reboots, and a slew of curious new projects with potential, I have a feeling that things are going to be busy this season even before Halloween. So as always, I'll be sampling at least one episode of each of the new anime coming out this season, and separating them into very appropriately named categories, so that those who read may have an idea of what anime is looking like in this moment. While these entries will be ranked to some extent, I'd prefer readers not pay too much attention to that, as these are solely first impressions and they will definitely shift over time. These simply represent my current opinion after one episode. And as always, I won't be including sequels to shows I haven't caught up to, spin-offs that aren't standalone, or adaptations of things I otherwise want to get to at some point (apologies to fans of Bleach, My Hero Academia, Arknights, Legend of Mana, and others). But with that, let's rake this spread of colorful seasonal anime leaves and jump into the pile.
The Shittiest, Smelliest of Shit Stains
Vazzrock the Animation
Vazzrock the Animation
Some of the other shows I'll place above this one are probably "worse" in some sense, but I would argue that a show that is laughably terrible is a better made show than one that is terribly boring. Unfortunately, this show falls into the latter camp, with little to say about it beyond that it's a snore fest. I guess this is a spin-off of Tsukiuta the Animation, of which I am completely unfamiliar with, so maybe seeing that would make this work better. But I'm not sure it would have done anything to inject personality into this lifeless premiere. It stars 12 pretty boy male idols who mostly spend time doing an interview. I actually tend to like this format because it's a natural way to allow characters who are celebrities to show off their personalities, while providing a framework for giving us an opportunity to get to know a very large cast all at once. But for this to work, the characters have to actually have personality, and the boys of this show are nothing if not bland. So it's mostly a lot of talking about stuff I don't care about. There's also a section where we watch some of them act for a movie, but I have less to say about that, and it's just as boring. Lacking as much personality as the characters themselves are their designs, almost all of which are as generic as it gets for pretty boys (though I like the guy with long pink hair and a fang, he was cute). This show hates going beyond archetype or letting its characters have fun, and so it doesn't like to let me have fun either. A total snooze fest all around.
The Human Crazy University
This is one of those "moving manga" anime with minimalist animation, kinda like Way of the Househusband but worse. There's a really interesting show hidden somewhere in here, but it's buried so far beneath its lifeless visuals, bland directing, and drag of a script that it barely even gets to shine through. This series follows a death row inmate who miraculously survives his execution and has to get experimented on by an organization who studies anomalous humans. I truly believe that there's a fascinating examination of human nature and the justice system hidden in here, and the OP includes what appear to be manga panels and they were expressive and cool. Though I do get the sense that the series will take a more surreal comedic direction going forward rather than anything so biting. It makes me wonder if the manga is any good, because this anime strips out all of the life. It basically doesn't have any animation, it just slides or rotates frames to approximate "movement," and alongside the bland character designs, just gives the whole thing the appearance of being cheaply made. It's a creative choice that I think goes fundamentally opposite what this weighty dark comedy needs, as a more detailed approach would actually sell both the weight of the heavy elements and the humor of jokes much better. The weirdest part is that I know it can do better, because the ED is super cool and creative, and embodies the "cheaply made" aesthetic into a really awesome surreal 90's CGI look. That strength doesn't carry anywhere outside the credits though. The directing completely lacks punch, nearly the entire episode is made of shot-reverse-shot and then hard cutting to new scenes. There's no sense of comedic or dramatic timing, and every cut to a new scene has the dialogue start just a little bit later than it feels like it should. And the actual script just drags like crazy, the pacing is sluggish and characters keep talking about shit I have no reason to care about. The whole thing is bizarrely uncanny, but not in a good or intended way. I really hate this "moving manga" aesthetic that some shows have taken too recently, but this show is definitely one of the more boring ones.
The Eminence in Shadow
A bland and unassuming male lead who trains all the time to beat bad guys like a "badass" to check is power level? Check. A cute, innocent girl who gets kidnapped and is obviously going to be sexually assaulted by the kidnappers? Check. A scene where the male lead doesn't care about her but saves her from kidnappers anyway? Check. A panty shot and a shower scene in the first 30 seconds of the episode, with a character who will get sexually assaulted later in the episode? Check. The MC plays Moonlight Sonata over scenes of random shit until it gets starkly cut off right at the moment something violent happens? You bet your ass that's a fucking check. This is that kind of show, the one that all the edgy 13 year old wannabe badasses like. It's a bizarro power fantasy starring an emotionless protagonist who acts like a total loser but is presented like the coolest guy ever, full of gratuitous violence and fanservice and is generally completely intolerable to anyone who isn't a boy just now entering the gates of adolescence. He beat people up while droning on and on about how the crowbar is actually the ultimate weapon, and it's presented with the tongue firmly outside of the cheek. Riveting stuff. I like to think I'm pretty sympathetic towards these kinds of fantasies, I may not have shared them myself as a teenager but I get where they come from nowadays, and have even enjoyed some of the more well executed takes on this story. But this one is just a mess. It's ugly, it's stupid, it's completely laughably terrible in every way. And then, plot twist, this entire episode was actually the backstory of how the main guy eventually gets run over by a truck and transported to another world. They really put this entire plotline about a teen celebrity who previously got kidnapped by a stalker and has to be driven to and from home for her safety, and her strange relationship and conflicting feelings towards the main guy, and then said "fuck that, this is an isekai, bitch," and now the MC is like the leader of some organization of cat girls who do stuff in the shadows, or something like that. It didn't really tell me, it just kinda sprung it on me at the end of the episode with no context and rolled the credits from there. I guess this one isn't a fan of being coherent. Watch if you're 13 years old, otherwise there's nothing here for you.
Housing Complex C
There are few things on this earth more boring than a horror show that fails to be scary. With zero sense of tension, bland visual presentation, and a script that feels straight out of a mediocre mid-90's OVA (complete by only being available with a fitting English dub straight out of the same era), Housing Complex C has very little to offer as a horror story. It takes place in some seaside town and follows those who live in a rundown housing complex, which has just gotten a bunch of new residents when foreign tech interns come to stay there. It's hard to really call anyone a main character, but it roughly follows Kimmy (or is it Kimi? The dub pronounces it both ways and the character is clearly meant to be Japanese) and some old men who live here, and alludes to some strange happenings related to an underground cave they've used as storage. I honestly can't even tell you much more than that, this episode sets up almost nothing about the story. It's 95% character interactions, and 5% flat attempts at tension building and horror. Most of the characters aren't that interesting, I only liked two of them, and the story feels like such a non-existence at the moment that I'm struggle to know where this is gonna go. There's vaguely something related to optical illusions, but it's only really amounted to Kimmy/Kimi saying "optical illusion" before jumping off a building and doing other weird things. The episode's sole saving grace is Kimmy/Kimi herself, since the literally all of the animation this episode is put into her, and it actually does make her pretty endearing and give her some personality. The only good scene in the episode was when an old man shows her a zoetrope and explains what an optical illusion is, where it feels like he's almost her weird but fun uncle. But the series is not content to just be about the endearing relationship between a little girl and her weird uncle, it wants to be a horror show, and this won't be giving me any of the Halloween spooks I crave. One more thing to mention, I was shocked when I saw that the credit for original character designer was listed as Yoshitoshi Abe. Like, holy shit. It doesn't show in the final product at all. I find it hard to believe that these bland and ugly character designs are adaptations of an artist as stylish as Abe. I actually couldn't believe my eyes when I saw his name listed.
There are few things on this earth more boring than a horror show that fails to be scary. With zero sense of tension, bland visual presentation, and a script that feels straight out of a mediocre mid-90's OVA (complete by only being available with a fitting English dub straight out of the same era), Housing Complex C has very little to offer as a horror story. It takes place in some seaside town and follows those who live in a rundown housing complex, which has just gotten a bunch of new residents when foreign tech interns come to stay there. It's hard to really call anyone a main character, but it roughly follows Kimmy (or is it Kimi? The dub pronounces it both ways and the character is clearly meant to be Japanese) and some old men who live here, and alludes to some strange happenings related to an underground cave they've used as storage. I honestly can't even tell you much more than that, this episode sets up almost nothing about the story. It's 95% character interactions, and 5% flat attempts at tension building and horror. Most of the characters aren't that interesting, I only liked two of them, and the story feels like such a non-existence at the moment that I'm struggle to know where this is gonna go. There's vaguely something related to optical illusions, but it's only really amounted to Kimmy/Kimi saying "optical illusion" before jumping off a building and doing other weird things. The episode's sole saving grace is Kimmy/Kimi herself, since the literally all of the animation this episode is put into her, and it actually does make her pretty endearing and give her some personality. The only good scene in the episode was when an old man shows her a zoetrope and explains what an optical illusion is, where it feels like he's almost her weird but fun uncle. But the series is not content to just be about the endearing relationship between a little girl and her weird uncle, it wants to be a horror show, and this won't be giving me any of the Halloween spooks I crave. One more thing to mention, I was shocked when I saw that the credit for original character designer was listed as Yoshitoshi Abe. Like, holy shit. It doesn't show in the final product at all. I find it hard to believe that these bland and ugly character designs are adaptations of an artist as stylish as Abe. I actually couldn't believe my eyes when I saw his name listed.
Love Flops
Ring ring... ring ring... Hey, is this the early-2000's? Hi. Yeah, it's me. I came to return your bizarre harem comedy, I think you accidentally dropped it when you ran the corner and bumped into me with toast in your mouth. Huh... your panties? No, sorry, I don't have those. You'll have to ask all the park clean-up robots to see if they picked them up. Good luck.
I don't know where the hell this show came from. It really does feel completely era-inappropriate, I genuinely don't think we've gotten such a blatantly generic harem/ecchi/comedy series with no real twist since like... 2008 at the latest? If you've been nostalgic for stuff like Love Hina, congratulations, you have been catered to this season. Fated encounters with girls running with toast in their mouths, a bunch of cute girls with candy coated hair each with some bizarre quirk in place of a personality, the main character accidentally falling on at least a few of them and accidentally grabbing their boobs or seeing their panties only to get slapped for the misunderstanding, contrived excuses for the camera to show us their thighs and panties, letters of confession to meet under the sakura tree Tokimeki Memorial style, it's all here like it's checking tropes off a checklist. You even have the exposition dump friend character, who's only relevance is to tell us oddly specific details about all of the girls because he's basically a stalker. He even has the decency to let us know that the bland MC sits in the back seat next to the window, as if I needed anyone to tell me that. This is the anime that people who have a stigma against anime think that all anime is. I won't say it has no twists, but those twists include: taking place in a mildly futuristic sci-fi setting, a couple of the girls seeming mildly reasonable, a blatantly racist Chinese caricature, a confession right off the bat and without panties at that, and my personal favorite: two beastiality rape jokes. Yes, a dog has sex with not one, but two of the main characters, against their will. I'm sure there is a person out there who finds it hilarious, but I am not them. On the bright side, this show does have one important redeeming quality, and that's that the harem includes a genuine femboy. He's not even my favorite character (that would be the adorable braided twin-tail glasses girl voiced by Miku Itou, the only character who's somewhat reasonable and mildly funny, though Miku Itou having voiced two of my favorite characters of the past few years certainly helps by association), but I'm gonna be very upset if he doesn't win in the end. Also, the series mentions stuff about "waking up in a video game world" and "swapping bodies," which makes me think it might be going for some kind of self-aware meta commentary? It didn't really shine through this episode. I'd be lying if I said this was without any merit at all, it nearly got a few chuckles out of me and I like at least one of the girls, and it's not the worst looking show in the world either. I'll take distastefully trashy over plainly boring any day, and this isn't nearly as boring as the shows listed above, since it's so anachronistic and distastefully trashy. But it's definitely not very fun either. I guess I'm not much of a 2000's harem guy.
I don't know where the hell this show came from. It really does feel completely era-inappropriate, I genuinely don't think we've gotten such a blatantly generic harem/ecchi/comedy series with no real twist since like... 2008 at the latest? If you've been nostalgic for stuff like Love Hina, congratulations, you have been catered to this season. Fated encounters with girls running with toast in their mouths, a bunch of cute girls with candy coated hair each with some bizarre quirk in place of a personality, the main character accidentally falling on at least a few of them and accidentally grabbing their boobs or seeing their panties only to get slapped for the misunderstanding, contrived excuses for the camera to show us their thighs and panties, letters of confession to meet under the sakura tree Tokimeki Memorial style, it's all here like it's checking tropes off a checklist. You even have the exposition dump friend character, who's only relevance is to tell us oddly specific details about all of the girls because he's basically a stalker. He even has the decency to let us know that the bland MC sits in the back seat next to the window, as if I needed anyone to tell me that. This is the anime that people who have a stigma against anime think that all anime is. I won't say it has no twists, but those twists include: taking place in a mildly futuristic sci-fi setting, a couple of the girls seeming mildly reasonable, a blatantly racist Chinese caricature, a confession right off the bat and without panties at that, and my personal favorite: two beastiality rape jokes. Yes, a dog has sex with not one, but two of the main characters, against their will. I'm sure there is a person out there who finds it hilarious, but I am not them. On the bright side, this show does have one important redeeming quality, and that's that the harem includes a genuine femboy. He's not even my favorite character (that would be the adorable braided twin-tail glasses girl voiced by Miku Itou, the only character who's somewhat reasonable and mildly funny, though Miku Itou having voiced two of my favorite characters of the past few years certainly helps by association), but I'm gonna be very upset if he doesn't win in the end. Also, the series mentions stuff about "waking up in a video game world" and "swapping bodies," which makes me think it might be going for some kind of self-aware meta commentary? It didn't really shine through this episode. I'd be lying if I said this was without any merit at all, it nearly got a few chuckles out of me and I like at least one of the girls, and it's not the worst looking show in the world either. I'll take distastefully trashy over plainly boring any day, and this isn't nearly as boring as the shows listed above, since it's so anachronistic and distastefully trashy. But it's definitely not very fun either. I guess I'm not much of a 2000's harem guy.
I'm Mixed, but I can Still Smell the Shit
Aru Asa Dummy Head Mic ni Natteita Ore-kun no Jinsei
Aru Asa Dummy Head Mic ni Natteita Ore-kun no Jinsei
Isekai are here to appeal to your power fantasy, no matter how oddly specific it is or how few other people actually share it. Have you ever wanted to have a bunch of cute girls whispering quietly in your ears, but without actually being a person who they can interact with? Well congratulations, there's an anime for you this season. In this anime, a middle-aged office worker gets run over by a truck, and then his consciousness gets reincarnated into an ASMR dummy head mic, where two cute high school girls whisper into and clean your ears, and also live out their weirdo youth drama right in front of you. This is a series of 3-minute shorts, so I find it hard to say it's boring or offensive. The girls actually do have some personality, and I would have probably enjoyed them in a more traditional slice of life show. It also has pretty good voice acting, and a seiyuu cast list with a few notable names. But this show's lack of grace is in the fact that it's an ASMR show, but doesn't let you enjoy any ASMR. Sure, whenever the girls actually do stuff to the dummy mic, the sound changes and it's kind of like ASMR. But both the girls and the dummy head fucking talk over top of it. You don't get to enjoy the pleasant tingling sensation of ear cleaning or whispering because so many other sounds get priority over it. If you're gonna have an ASMR isekai fantasy, at least let me enjoy the most important part of the fantasy. Ultimately, this show is just bizarre. Again, it's so harmless and easy to watch that I can't call it one of the worst things I've seen this season, but its slice of life and ASMR angles come in conflict with each other in a way that reduces both aspects. If you want some ASMR, you'll find no shortage of great stuff that's far more worth your time with a quick YouTube search, and if you want a cute girls show, this season has quite a few excellent ones I'll recommend later down the list.
Beast TamerUrusei Yatsura (2022)
I'm wondering how much of a sin it is to say that I don't think this classic has aged very well. Feel free to crucify me if you wish, but I have to say that I generally just didn't find this comedy to be very funny. It definitely has its moments, but way too much of the humor is just Ataru screaming a lot, and the result of the episode's big misunderstanding is too irrational and dumb to make for any real compelling love triangle. It doesn't help that I find some of its comedic timing to be awkward even during its less loud comedy moments. On the whole, it's kind of obnoxious. Ataru doesn't have much in the way of personality, and his love interests are endearing but thus far one-dimensional. I like Lum at least, but I don't see her schtick remaining fun for very long. Some of it could be a result of awkward adaptation, but the core material just doesn't feel strong enough to carry a show to me. That being said, I adore the visuals. It's character designs feel distinct and retro but rendered in a modern style, and the colors are gorgeous. I kind of wish I had more to say about this considering how noteworthy of a series it is, but it just doesn't really give me much to talk about. Its strengths are limited and its weaknesses are straightforward and don't need much justification. I may keep my eye on it for a little while just due to the notoriety of the property, but I'm definitely disappointed with this as my entry into this beloved and influential classic.
Does anyone remember that "slow life" not-quite-an-isekai from like a year ago? The one about the guy who got fired from the hero's party for being useless and then went to sell medicine and find a cute wife? Yeah, me neither. But this show is basically just that one, except the MC becomes a low-stakes adventurer instead of a pharmacist, and the wife is a cute cat girl instead of a cute regular girl. The beginning of the episode is nearly identical, down to the cartoonishly evil way the protagonist's ex-companions lay him off, and him having a group of kids who all love him for being so nice. It's pretty bland, generic, and boring for the most part. But the appeal of this show is very straightforward. There's a cute cat girl, and she has a fang, and Waki Azumi performs her with lots of perfectly adorable cat noises. If you're the type to self-insert into these kinds of fantasies, then you have tamed a rare and powerful monster who loves you for almost no reason, and if you're the type who just likes a cute romance with light adventuring elements, this has got you covered there too. There's one part where our cat girl looks directly into the camera, gives her sweetest smile while making sure her fangy is visible, and Waki Azumi says "please tame me" in her most sugary sweet adorable moe voice and... look man, I'm only human. It's really fuckin' cute. How am I supposed to ignore cute fangy cat girl telling me that I'm great and special, and everyone who wronged me is an asshole who's just blind to my good traits, and she basically wants to share her life with me literal minutes after meeting me? Well I'll tell you how: by dropping this show that's pretty boring and ugly any time Waki Azumi doesn't look and sound like a cat. It's really that simple. Do you like Waki Azumi's voice coming out of a cute cat girl with a fang who loves you? Well I like those things a lot, and even I still don't really have any strong desire to watch more of this. If you like these self-insert fantasies a little more than I do though, there are absolutely worse ones than this one. It's, for the most part, competent enough and has enough cute moments to be watchable.
I've Somehow Gotten Stronger When I Improved my Farm-Related Skills
8 seconds. 8 fucking seconds. This is how long it took for this show to bless us with an absolutely hideous CGI dragon. You know what it means when a show pulls out the hideous CGI dragon, right? Oh yeah baby, it's time for a dumpster fire. And 8 seconds feels like a new record, so this is gonna be the extra fiery brand of dumpster. And oh boy, is it ever trash. But, you see, this show is the best kind of garbage. A kind of garbage so insanely generic, cinematically incompetent, and narratively ridiculous that I kind of just want to keep watching it as a spectacle. Actually, it just rules. At one point early into the episode, the protagonist sees a group of soldiers fighting a high level dragon, and he throws a carrot at the dragon and it fucking explodes. Our main character is so overpowered that he accidentally rips off his doorknob due to not controlling his strength. Of course, it has all the generic politicking and evil demon armies that are always boring as sin in these kinds of shows, but it's all presented with such visual incompetence and brazen genericness that I can't help but be entranced by it. It's the kind of trash fire that is an absolute joy to behold, and in any season that wasn't as stacked as this one I would absolutely continue to behold it. Unfortunately, this season has so much treasure that I have no time for another man's trash.
8 seconds. 8 fucking seconds. This is how long it took for this show to bless us with an absolutely hideous CGI dragon. You know what it means when a show pulls out the hideous CGI dragon, right? Oh yeah baby, it's time for a dumpster fire. And 8 seconds feels like a new record, so this is gonna be the extra fiery brand of dumpster. And oh boy, is it ever trash. But, you see, this show is the best kind of garbage. A kind of garbage so insanely generic, cinematically incompetent, and narratively ridiculous that I kind of just want to keep watching it as a spectacle. Actually, it just rules. At one point early into the episode, the protagonist sees a group of soldiers fighting a high level dragon, and he throws a carrot at the dragon and it fucking explodes. Our main character is so overpowered that he accidentally rips off his doorknob due to not controlling his strength. Of course, it has all the generic politicking and evil demon armies that are always boring as sin in these kinds of shows, but it's all presented with such visual incompetence and brazen genericness that I can't help but be entranced by it. It's the kind of trash fire that is an absolute joy to behold, and in any season that wasn't as stacked as this one I would absolutely continue to behold it. Unfortunately, this season has so much treasure that I have no time for another man's trash.
Blue Lock
Fresh off the heels of Ao Ashi having completed its run, Blue Lock comes to take its place as a noteworthy soccer sports drama. While Ao Ashi is more traditional youth drama, Blue Lock takes all the melodrama and grit of a death game battle royale and applies it to the lens of sports, which certainly makes for an intriguing hook. There's a balance to be had with a show like that, since the premise is inherently silly and going too far in any direction can either make it hard to take seriously or make it come off as overly edgy. Blue Lock is an interesting case in that it kind of tows the line on both sides. Everything about this premise is hopelessly contrived, I genuinely don't buy the idea that the cast would be swayed by the speech the recruiter gives so quickly and the idea that this is something that would be allowed in the first place already stretches the suspension of disbelief. The series is over-the-top, it has that Attack on Titan "everyone screams all the type" style of melodrama and applies it to a seriously goofy mini-game that everyone takes deadly seriously. As such, it's simultaneously almost too edgy for its own good and also almost too silly to take seriously. "Almost" is the key word there though, because when all the cards are laid on the table, I did have fun in the end. That final scene was a strong hook, and if the rest of the series gives me more of that, I think I'll have a good time. Narratively, this one is in it for the long haul, and I think it might be a fun time if it pays off well. Thankfully, strong visual presentation gives me some degree of confidence that this team can pull it off, as it's well directed even outside of the most important soccer scenes. I also don't feel like I know these characters well enough to be invested in them, but that can come with time. As a whole, my thoughts on this premiere are decidedly mixed, but I'm definitely not sold on it. The source material seems well regarded though, and I see reason to think this could end up solid, so I might stick with it a bit to see what it has to offer.
I'm Mixed, but I can Smell Flowers Too
Immoral Guild
Immoral Guild
I really expected less of this based on the title and staff. An ecchi/harem fantasy series from the director of Redo of Healer and the studio behind High School DxD? Could this ever be good? Fortunately, the answer is yes (I blame script writer Kazuyuki Fudeyasu for this). Not that it blew my socks off, but it's a surprisingly competent premiere that may not be what it appears on the surface. While it's ostensibly a fetish show, in reality it's actually more of a manzai comedy that just happens to be vaguely themed around sexual situations. It has plenty of fanservice and ends on no shortage of sexual punchlines, but I don't think that the schlocky elements are its main appeal or what the series is built around. They feel more like an aesthetic element to me. As a manzai comedy, the series is pretty entertaining. It has snappy comedic timing and solid voice acting that helps the gags to land, and its cute character designs and expressions help to sell the comedy even harder. Little details like the adorable tiny squirrels who clean up everyone's tears when they cry add to the humorous tone. It's not laugh out loud hilarious, but it definitely got more than a few chuckles out of me, and that's more than I can say for a lot of ecchi comedy shows. And if you're here for fanservice, you'll probably find less of it than you'd hope for, but there's still plenty to chew on. The character designs are adorable, I dig the thick outlines on all of them, and you've got more than enough blatant ass shots, cleavage, and bizarre camera moves to be satisfied. From what the OP shows, you'll also find a character to fit your preferences regardless of what you're into. Whether you prefer big ol tiddies or think flat is justice, whether you lean more towards cute sexy or hot sexy, you'll find a character to appeal to you here. This episode also particularly seemed to like thick thighs and butts, so do check it out if you're more of an ass man. My only real complaint is the male protagonist, who isn't particularly likable, but he does get better the further we go into the episode and makes for an alright straight man. If you're craving some fanservice this season, I have a feeling that this will be one of the better offerings you'll find, but more so for the gags than the cheesecake. I'm far from in love, but it's entertaining enough.
The Little Lies We All Tell
Have you ever found yourself wishing that Spy x Family had more cute high school girls? That's basically what this show is. In this cute little comedy, an alien commander, an ex-ninja, a mind reader, and a femboy all attend a girls school and attempt to hide their identities from each other while maintaining their barely functional friendship. As a gag comedy, its gags do have the sharp punch you'd need to make this work, but the execution is a little inconsistent. I'm not a fan of the narrator who often narrates the punchlines, especially when our resident Esper often plays the exact same role, and its comedic timing can occasionally not quite be snappy enough to make the gags land. It's not always funny, but when it is funny, it lands. Each of the characters embodies their archetype very well, and it always feels like they're constantly struggling to blend in, like they're always putting up a front, since they literally are. Their relationship feels genuinely fragile, so the central gimmick ultimately works. The vocal performances in particular are excellent, even for some of the more off-kilter characters like the loli alien girl who barely manages to push out logical sentences. Of the characters, the highlight is definitely Chiyo, an ex-ninja who ran away from her responsibilities to chase the life of a normal girl and constantly has to fight off ninjas who are sent to kill her, and who is also extremely pure and incredibly stupid. While each of the other characters have more mixed and awkward thoughts about each other, she's purely genuine and it cuts through the more confrontational and mean-spirited interactions in a way that's genuinely pretty damn funny. It definitely has potential, and it's the kind of show I can easily see ironing out the kinks as it goes on. Still a bit of a mixed bag in the end, but it's worth looking out for.
Have you ever found yourself wishing that Spy x Family had more cute high school girls? That's basically what this show is. In this cute little comedy, an alien commander, an ex-ninja, a mind reader, and a femboy all attend a girls school and attempt to hide their identities from each other while maintaining their barely functional friendship. As a gag comedy, its gags do have the sharp punch you'd need to make this work, but the execution is a little inconsistent. I'm not a fan of the narrator who often narrates the punchlines, especially when our resident Esper often plays the exact same role, and its comedic timing can occasionally not quite be snappy enough to make the gags land. It's not always funny, but when it is funny, it lands. Each of the characters embodies their archetype very well, and it always feels like they're constantly struggling to blend in, like they're always putting up a front, since they literally are. Their relationship feels genuinely fragile, so the central gimmick ultimately works. The vocal performances in particular are excellent, even for some of the more off-kilter characters like the loli alien girl who barely manages to push out logical sentences. Of the characters, the highlight is definitely Chiyo, an ex-ninja who ran away from her responsibilities to chase the life of a normal girl and constantly has to fight off ninjas who are sent to kill her, and who is also extremely pure and incredibly stupid. While each of the other characters have more mixed and awkward thoughts about each other, she's purely genuine and it cuts through the more confrontational and mean-spirited interactions in a way that's genuinely pretty damn funny. It definitely has potential, and it's the kind of show I can easily see ironing out the kinks as it goes on. Still a bit of a mixed bag in the end, but it's worth looking out for.
Shinobi no Ittoki
It's always nice to see new original anime. Troyca's new project is a bizarre little show that I get the sense has a lot of heart put into it, but which is a bit of a mixed bag in execution. It follows Ittoki, a regular school boy from a rich family who barely has time to actually experience his youth due to all the rich family lessons he has to take. It's clear right from the start that something's a bit off compared to other rich family shenanigans, but it's hidden well enough that I never cared to question it too much. After he gets confessed to by a cute girl who goes to his school, he gets excited but is ultimately forbidden from dating her since he has never met her before. He goes through with it anyway though, and things go in an... interesting, albeit predictable, direction from there. I had initially hoped for a more straightforward story in which a character has to navigate satisfying his rich family alongside finding ways to actually come-of-age with his friends and was disappointed with the plot twist, but the direction it ends up taking doesn't actually sacrifice that angle, and instead it leads to something more action packed and funny. Still, there are some oddities about this episode's structure and visuals that make me hesitant. The show's background art is bland and ugly, and although there are many bits of really solid animation, there are also multiple occasions of characters being drawn off-model during moments with little animation. I'm more worried about its structure though. The whole episode feels like it started with an end goal in mind, and was written backwards from there so they can find ways to introduce the elements that would lead to its conclusion. This leads to a lot of awkward expository dialogue, and many moments that feel contrived in an attempt to let us see the protagonist's abilities and personality. Still, in spite of these elements, I found this premiere to be reasonably charming, and I'd have been more tempted to stay with it in a weaker season. I think this will appeal to a lot of people, it has potential and heart.
Reincarnated As a Sword
As far as by-the-numbers isekai goes, this one seems better than most. I think most of its problems come down to awkward elements of the source material that don't translate well into animation, rather than anything inherently wrong with it as a story. This episode spends a lot of time on showing us the sword defeating monsters and gaining new skills, which isn't unusual for this kind of story, but it drags a lot and I definitely suspect that this would feel more brief as a novel. In this episode, it takes more than half the run time and is ultimately kind of boring and unnecessary, so I wish it would have been trimmed down for the adaptation. I'm tempted to say that our titular sword has no personality, but upon reflection, I don't actually think this is true. This brings me to the second major adaptation problem, which is that swords just don't make for expressive characters in animation. You can't do much to give them personality visually, they're stiff objects with no arms or legs or mouth or anything that might help to give them appeal, and I think that's why I had felt he was a bit lifeless despite the charisma of how he describes things. Its only expressive quality is that it has eyes, but with no face beyond that it's near impossible to give it actual expressions, and there were multiple occasions this episode where I think there was an attempt to let it show an emotion that just didn't shine through in execution. This is a lot of negatives for a show I don't think is that bad, but that's just because the actual core of this story is barely revealed in this episode. Once we meet our significantly more emotive and adorable cat girl slave, its good qualities start to shine through. It's actually pretty well animated and directed, in a way that's kind of impossible to tell with an expressionless sword. Fran has adorable facial expressions and tons of character appeal, with a personality I immediately found myself endeared to. She also has motivations I can get behind, though I have to admit that I probably wouldn't have realized the extent of this if not for those familiar with the source material telling me. Apparently, this is a show about an adorable cat girl loli brutally murdering slave owners to liberate the oppressed, and if that's not based as hell then I don't know what is. And this episode is actually violent and gorey enough for me to think that it might deliver on that appeal. There's... potential here. This is a bit of an unfortunate first episode because it's structured in such a way as to limit amount of its appeal that it can show off, and I think this adaptation may have been better off starting in-medias res to rectify that, but a strong production, an endearing protagonist, and a based premise are all reasons to think this show has promise.
Chainsaw Man
Here we go, the big one. Considering its placement on this list, I think I'll probably have to be very careful in how I convey my thoughts on it. I know that a lot of people are gonna love this one, probably right from the first episode even. But personally, I'm a little mixed on it. I'll start with what I liked. First of all, it's definitely one of the more visually impressive shows of the season. Not only in dynamic and bombastic action sequences that convey some fairly complicated emotions, but most notably in the quiet moments. Scenes of Denji taking a walk in the early morning, or falling backwards when approached by a devil, or laying in bed thinking about his dreams, are all shot and animated with an intimate and delicate sense of realism. The shot compositions and general sense of design are isolating and moody, they highlight Denji's loneliness and how unachievable his ultimate dream of a half-decent life and human connection are. I've seen some people say that the manga has a much grittier and grimier style that this adaptation doesn't capture, but I think that what they've chosen to go with works for the story. It's a moody aesthetic for a story about poverty in a moody part of town. And Kiyotaka Oshiyama's demon designs are fantastic, the tomato monster Denji killed early into the episode creeped me the hell out. I also love Pochita, precious bean little chainsaw dog. But I was shocked at how little this deviated from the norm of traditional Shounen Jump stories. I had been under the impression that Chainsaw Man was more experimental and grungy than its genre contemporaries, but this first episode felt very similar to most classic shounen hero origins. This isn't a bad thing of course, but my biggest problem with the episode is that the characters just talk too much. I referred to some moments as "quiet moments" a little bit ago, but I think that's an exaggeration. Denji narrates just about everything, and other characters aren't much better. I found Denji laying in his bed spouting all his dreams to be a little annoying, and I'd have preferred the series just let him lay quietly so I can appreciate the loneliness and figure out for myself what his mostly pretty obvious dreams are. As it stands, none of the quiet moments are actually all that quiet. Likewise, I'd have much preferred if the zombie demon didn't go out of its way to let me know that he hates demon hunters because they kill his kind and that his followers become zombies because he's a zombie. It halted the pacing leading up to the biggest moments of the episode, all for information that was plainly obvious to anyone looking. The show generally doesn't seem to want me to enjoy its moody atmosphere and introspective moments (or Kensuke Ushio's music). In other words, it's the problems I often have with media aimed at teenage boys. The show is a little juvenile and explains itself too much for my taste, and I've yet to find myself particularly attached to any character who isn't a chainsaw dog. Still, I enjoy myself moody stories about poverty and the cutthroat nature of capitalism, and I like weird and off-kilter fantasy shows with bizarre monsters, especially if they're as gorgeous as this one is, so I can easily understand where one might be hooked. For myself, I'd like to give it a few more weeks before coming to any strong opinions on it. But for the moment, although it has time to grow on me, I'm not fully on board.
Here we go, the big one. Considering its placement on this list, I think I'll probably have to be very careful in how I convey my thoughts on it. I know that a lot of people are gonna love this one, probably right from the first episode even. But personally, I'm a little mixed on it. I'll start with what I liked. First of all, it's definitely one of the more visually impressive shows of the season. Not only in dynamic and bombastic action sequences that convey some fairly complicated emotions, but most notably in the quiet moments. Scenes of Denji taking a walk in the early morning, or falling backwards when approached by a devil, or laying in bed thinking about his dreams, are all shot and animated with an intimate and delicate sense of realism. The shot compositions and general sense of design are isolating and moody, they highlight Denji's loneliness and how unachievable his ultimate dream of a half-decent life and human connection are. I've seen some people say that the manga has a much grittier and grimier style that this adaptation doesn't capture, but I think that what they've chosen to go with works for the story. It's a moody aesthetic for a story about poverty in a moody part of town. And Kiyotaka Oshiyama's demon designs are fantastic, the tomato monster Denji killed early into the episode creeped me the hell out. I also love Pochita, precious bean little chainsaw dog. But I was shocked at how little this deviated from the norm of traditional Shounen Jump stories. I had been under the impression that Chainsaw Man was more experimental and grungy than its genre contemporaries, but this first episode felt very similar to most classic shounen hero origins. This isn't a bad thing of course, but my biggest problem with the episode is that the characters just talk too much. I referred to some moments as "quiet moments" a little bit ago, but I think that's an exaggeration. Denji narrates just about everything, and other characters aren't much better. I found Denji laying in his bed spouting all his dreams to be a little annoying, and I'd have preferred the series just let him lay quietly so I can appreciate the loneliness and figure out for myself what his mostly pretty obvious dreams are. As it stands, none of the quiet moments are actually all that quiet. Likewise, I'd have much preferred if the zombie demon didn't go out of its way to let me know that he hates demon hunters because they kill his kind and that his followers become zombies because he's a zombie. It halted the pacing leading up to the biggest moments of the episode, all for information that was plainly obvious to anyone looking. The show generally doesn't seem to want me to enjoy its moody atmosphere and introspective moments (or Kensuke Ushio's music). In other words, it's the problems I often have with media aimed at teenage boys. The show is a little juvenile and explains itself too much for my taste, and I've yet to find myself particularly attached to any character who isn't a chainsaw dog. Still, I enjoy myself moody stories about poverty and the cutthroat nature of capitalism, and I like weird and off-kilter fantasy shows with bizarre monsters, especially if they're as gorgeous as this one is, so I can easily understand where one might be hooked. For myself, I'd like to give it a few more weeks before coming to any strong opinions on it. But for the moment, although it has time to grow on me, I'm not fully on board.
More Than a Married Couple, But Not Lovers
The second show this season that feels way outside of its era. But at least this one is for a reason, and also it doesn't suck. This one's a cute rom-com about students who are paired together in "marriage training" practicals. Our protagonists are a pair made of a nerdy retro gamer and an outgoing gyaru girl, each of who has a crush people who are part of another pair, and they aim to reach the A-rank so they can exchange partners and be with the people they love. Classic set-up to be sure, I won't be watching this for any hard hitting romantic story or gut-busting comedy. Not to say that it isn't cute or funny, but for me, the characters don't go too far beyond archetype yet and the humor is mildly charming at best. Instead, the appeal lies in its aesthetics. This show comes from much of the staff who left studio Xebec when it went under, who are now at studio Mother. Xebec was always known for the horny stuff, and you'll find plenty of lovingly rendered, beautifully detailed and tantalizing fanservice here. But more importantly, the general aesthetic is fucking awesome. It has this very vibrant and colorful, stylized look to it that makes everything pop. Its character art is lovely regardless of whether or not it's for fanservice, it's well animated and directed, and it just generally looks really nice. And that does a lot for a romance where so much of the appeal is watching the characters try to appeal to each other. When Watanabe whispers in MC's ear ASMR style, it fucking hits because the visuals and audio are really solid, and when the biggest romantic moment comes at the end of the episode, the visuals give it a magical quality. This won't be the second coming of Toradora but horny, but it's a relatively fun time that I just want to constantly look at all the time.
I Think the Shit's Gone, I Like This Smell
Play It Cool, Guys
The second show this season that feels way outside of its era. But at least this one is for a reason, and also it doesn't suck. This one's a cute rom-com about students who are paired together in "marriage training" practicals. Our protagonists are a pair made of a nerdy retro gamer and an outgoing gyaru girl, each of who has a crush people who are part of another pair, and they aim to reach the A-rank so they can exchange partners and be with the people they love. Classic set-up to be sure, I won't be watching this for any hard hitting romantic story or gut-busting comedy. Not to say that it isn't cute or funny, but for me, the characters don't go too far beyond archetype yet and the humor is mildly charming at best. Instead, the appeal lies in its aesthetics. This show comes from much of the staff who left studio Xebec when it went under, who are now at studio Mother. Xebec was always known for the horny stuff, and you'll find plenty of lovingly rendered, beautifully detailed and tantalizing fanservice here. But more importantly, the general aesthetic is fucking awesome. It has this very vibrant and colorful, stylized look to it that makes everything pop. Its character art is lovely regardless of whether or not it's for fanservice, it's well animated and directed, and it just generally looks really nice. And that does a lot for a romance where so much of the appeal is watching the characters try to appeal to each other. When Watanabe whispers in MC's ear ASMR style, it fucking hits because the visuals and audio are really solid, and when the biggest romantic moment comes at the end of the episode, the visuals give it a magical quality. This won't be the second coming of Toradora but horny, but it's a relatively fun time that I just want to constantly look at all the time.
I Think the Shit's Gone, I Like This Smell
Play It Cool, Guys
Moe as a concept is often based around clumsiness. Someone clumsily and wholeheartedly trying their best makes you want to protect them. But it's also about being cool. A character who often does cool things is endearing and likable. But what if you could have both at the same time? Play It Cool, Guys sets out to answer that ambitious and difficult question. It's a show about lovably cool guys who have a cold and uncaring exterior and seem like they play off their mistakes with ease, but make so many adorably clumsy mistakes in the first place that you can't help but find it adorable. In other words, it's a celebration of gap moe. I think the sell for this show is simple. If you like watching handsome men make cute mistakes and act like they don't care while doing their best to hide their embarrassment, definitely check this out. Beyond that though, it's actually very well produced and directed. Chiaki Kon is a director who goes perhaps a tad too undervalued nowadays, and she captures both the appeal of cute anime boys and also the mood of mundane living. Although there's no singular animation cut that stands out, there's also rarely a moment where things aren't moving, and it's fluid and generally just strong character acting. Even before I got to see this episode's main man act all cute, I found myself invested just from the strength of how he's animated when waking up and getting ready to start the day. It's a very pleasant way to spend 12 minutes a week.
I'm the Villainess, So I'm Taming the Final Boss
Bibliophile Princess
It's nice to get a historical drama aimed at young girls for once. Shows like this feel exceptionally rare in the modern anime industry, it's classic shoujo to its core while also staying true to the feel of 1800's romance literature. Following an introverted princess who desires to spend all of her time reading, she gets into an emotionless marriage with a prince because they both benefit from having each other as fiancés in their own ways. It starts out very pleasant, but as the story goes on, and each of the male characters gets involved in their own duties, our protagonist Elianna starts to feel insecure about being part of a "phony" marriage and freeloading on everyone else's lives. This is something she feels subjectively rather than her reacting to genuine drama, but the series frames it subtly in such a way that we, for example, start to feel awkward about the much more outgoing Irene who Elianna thinks is taking her current life from her. This sense of guilt she starts to develop makes her a likable and interesting character, and does a good job of making sure the episode is engaging. That being said, I think the real strengths of this episode lie in its audiovisual presentation. It's pretty well directed, and also just plain pretty. Lovely background art and beautiful character designs befitting its historical setting make it a joy to look at, and I was particularly impressed by its gorgeous soundtrack, which kept up the air of pleasantry and captured the historical setting and rigidity of noble life. This also seems like it may be, to some degree, a reverse harem, but like I said above, it's just as in the spirit of classic 1800's women's literature as it is in anime's harem tradition, although its bevvy of beautiful boys are traditional bishounen hunks themselves. If you've been craving something with the feel of classic shoujo anime, or are looking for a sweet and pleasant historical drama, then Bibliophile Princess is where you should be looking this season. I really hope that we'll get even more shoujo and josei inspired series going forward, as anime aimed at girls (outside of the yearly Precure) feel like a rarity these days.
It's nice to get a historical drama aimed at young girls for once. Shows like this feel exceptionally rare in the modern anime industry, it's classic shoujo to its core while also staying true to the feel of 1800's romance literature. Following an introverted princess who desires to spend all of her time reading, she gets into an emotionless marriage with a prince because they both benefit from having each other as fiancés in their own ways. It starts out very pleasant, but as the story goes on, and each of the male characters gets involved in their own duties, our protagonist Elianna starts to feel insecure about being part of a "phony" marriage and freeloading on everyone else's lives. This is something she feels subjectively rather than her reacting to genuine drama, but the series frames it subtly in such a way that we, for example, start to feel awkward about the much more outgoing Irene who Elianna thinks is taking her current life from her. This sense of guilt she starts to develop makes her a likable and interesting character, and does a good job of making sure the episode is engaging. That being said, I think the real strengths of this episode lie in its audiovisual presentation. It's pretty well directed, and also just plain pretty. Lovely background art and beautiful character designs befitting its historical setting make it a joy to look at, and I was particularly impressed by its gorgeous soundtrack, which kept up the air of pleasantry and captured the historical setting and rigidity of noble life. This also seems like it may be, to some degree, a reverse harem, but like I said above, it's just as in the spirit of classic 1800's women's literature as it is in anime's harem tradition, although its bevvy of beautiful boys are traditional bishounen hunks themselves. If you've been craving something with the feel of classic shoujo anime, or are looking for a sweet and pleasant historical drama, then Bibliophile Princess is where you should be looking this season. I really hope that we'll get even more shoujo and josei inspired series going forward, as anime aimed at girls (outside of the yearly Precure) feel like a rarity these days.
Mangement of a Novice Alchemist
There's often little more I can ask of a show than to be overwhelmingly pleasant, and this one more than passes that test. I think the best way I can describe this one is as a sort of magical cooking show. Our protagonist lost her parents when they were killed by bandits, and used her time to study alchemy to escape from her grief. By the start of the series, she passes what is essentially alchemy college, and has a lot of important experiences there, but was always so lost in this goal and her grief that she never took the opportunity to make friends. Each of this episode's two halves sum it up well. The first half focuses on Sarasa's backstory and her graduation exam, which is probably the highlight of the episode. The second half then prepares her to go on her own and look for professional training, while her apprentice master slowly nudges her towards gaining more social experiences. So it seems like this will be a sweet story about a girl who missed out on youth due to grief coming to find friends and look at the world head on. And the characters are immediately likable enough to carry it, and it has a pleasantly breezy tone and expressive voice acting. I was a bit worried for its animation upon seeing it credited to studio ENGI, but thankfully those worries were immediately relieved upon watching the episode. Not that it's amazingly impressive or anything, but it has really adorable character designs (based on original designs by Fuumi, who you may know as the designer of Hololive's Tsunomaki Watame) and some really solid moments of expressive animation. Once I saw Hiroshi Ikehata's name listed as director, the cartoony animation moments made sense. Ikehata is a great director, and though this may not be a Mahoujin Guru Guru, it's still expressive enough to be endearing. We're certainly not lacking for breezy and pleasant slice of life outings this season, but I'm always down for a chill time with adorable characters and a sense of magical whimsy, so one more on the pile doesn't hurt.
My Master Has No Tail
This wasn't on my radar at all going into the season, but what a pleasant surprise. My Master Has No Tail is thoroughly charming and very much my shit. Starring a young tanuki who goes to visit the town her father came from, it focuses on the ways that human society has changed over time. While her father had (or at least claims to have had) an easy time fooling humans with tanuki prank tactics, society has since evolved in such a way that those pranks don't work anymore, and so despite it being an important part of tanuki identity, it's now dangerous to fool humans. But after coming across a rakugo performance and being totally enamored with it, Mameda decides to try and become a rakugo performer, an alternative way to "fool" humans through acting. The series functions sort of like a combination of The Eccentric Family and Shouwa Genroku Rakugo Shinjuu, crafting a sense of fantastical whimsy through incorporating elements of magical realism, while putting all of its resources into making sure the rakugo performance that serves as the centerpiece of the episode is as engaging as possible. I won't say that this series is as good as its influences, but it's still damn good. Its magical elements aren't given any focus or weight, they simply exist as a part of the world, which makes the moments when they come to pass that much more magical. And the style shifts for the rakugo performance worked wonderfully, highlighting Mameda slowly getting more and more invested in the performance. Small details like how flat the camerawork is initially, but how it gets just a bit more dynamic and actively highlights when the performer switches roles the further into the performance we get, do a great job of putting me into Mameda's headspace and making the performance feel exhilarating. And thankfully, it's backed not only by a really solid translation, but each episode will have a post-credits scene explaining the rakugo story that was performed, so it's still easy to keep up with things even without knowledge of Japanese language or culture. It's also pretty decent visually, with a style that evokes something like a scroll painting, and delightfully cartoony character designs. I have a feeling that this one is gonna go under the radar, so please do check it out if you have the chance.
This wasn't on my radar at all going into the season, but what a pleasant surprise. My Master Has No Tail is thoroughly charming and very much my shit. Starring a young tanuki who goes to visit the town her father came from, it focuses on the ways that human society has changed over time. While her father had (or at least claims to have had) an easy time fooling humans with tanuki prank tactics, society has since evolved in such a way that those pranks don't work anymore, and so despite it being an important part of tanuki identity, it's now dangerous to fool humans. But after coming across a rakugo performance and being totally enamored with it, Mameda decides to try and become a rakugo performer, an alternative way to "fool" humans through acting. The series functions sort of like a combination of The Eccentric Family and Shouwa Genroku Rakugo Shinjuu, crafting a sense of fantastical whimsy through incorporating elements of magical realism, while putting all of its resources into making sure the rakugo performance that serves as the centerpiece of the episode is as engaging as possible. I won't say that this series is as good as its influences, but it's still damn good. Its magical elements aren't given any focus or weight, they simply exist as a part of the world, which makes the moments when they come to pass that much more magical. And the style shifts for the rakugo performance worked wonderfully, highlighting Mameda slowly getting more and more invested in the performance. Small details like how flat the camerawork is initially, but how it gets just a bit more dynamic and actively highlights when the performer switches roles the further into the performance we get, do a great job of putting me into Mameda's headspace and making the performance feel exhilarating. And thankfully, it's backed not only by a really solid translation, but each episode will have a post-credits scene explaining the rakugo story that was performed, so it's still easy to keep up with things even without knowledge of Japanese language or culture. It's also pretty decent visually, with a style that evokes something like a scroll painting, and delightfully cartoony character designs. I have a feeling that this one is gonna go under the radar, so please do check it out if you have the chance.
Raven of the Inner Palace
I feel like it's not too often we get a show like this one. A Chinese inspired historical fantasy mystery series, it centers around the relationship between the new emperor and the mysterious raven consort, who can supposedly use special powers to take on any request. Said emperor seems to be using her to help find evidence with which to convict the previous emperor, who murdered his mother, and it appears to have a series of smaller mysteries that will tie into this larger one. In a sense, it reminds me of a more mature, historical fantasy version of Hyouka. What I like about this premiere is mostly the way it's paced; it's snappy without feeling rushed and its dialogue has almost no fat. It gets straight to the point at all times, only conveying the information we need and little else beyond that, with barely a lick of exposition beyond a sentence or two. And this efficient dialogue doesn't skimp on characterization at all, as I already have a clear sense of each character's personality, and even some of their insecurities and desires. It's adapted from a novel rather than a manga or light novel, and it's clear to see in how efficient and literary its character interactions are. Solid visual storytelling helps with that, there are some nice animation touches that convey how characters feel without stating it outright, allowing the actual dialogue to continue on its train of conveying only the most necessary plot information. And like Hyouka, descriptions of information relevant to the mystery are presented with shifts in visual style. It uses striking, era appropriate imagery to keep these scenes visually interesting and help me understand the way characters are feeling. The character designs are gorgeous, the girls have these big, shiny eyes and clean faces that make them look almost like dolls, which is appropriate for the setting, while the men are a bit less distinctive but nonetheless wear era appropriate clothing and have solid designs. Fit with a strong soundtrack as well, this was a very interesting premiere that I'm definitely looking forward to seeing more of. Anything I can compare favorably to Hyouka is a good sign, considering that Hyouka is one of my favorite anime of all time, so I'm hoping for good things from this one.
Mobile Suit Gundam: The Witch From Mercury
Encouragement of Climb: Next Summit
I've been hearing a lot of people refer to this one as Utena in space. I was not at all prepared for how literal this description actually was. A girl transfers into a technology school to make her home on planet Mercury more prosperous, and ends up getting into a dual with the school's hotshot bad boy over his fiance, winning and taking said fiance for herself. Yeah, literally Utena; it even has a greenhouse where the series Saionji stand-in nearly slaps the Anthy stand-in. If you've seen Utena, then you know how this is probably gonna go: lots of duals over the ownership of a literal trophy wife, with appropriate commentary on related topics like power and masculinity (also capitalism in this case). Of course, there's much more going on here than the novelty of watching space lesbians fight each other in giant robots over marriage and status under the harsh rules of a hyper-capitalist hellscape in need of systemic change, but I do think that this sell will probably lead a certain crowd who might be interested in the series to it immediately. Perhaps more meaningful though, is the series absolutely delightful protagonist, a girl full of personality and animated with so much character appeal it hurts. It's so easy to be invested in Suletta as a character because she's just so darn likable and acts with a ton of charm, and although the remaining characters have only had relatively superficial introductions, each of them seems potentially interesting. Moreover, the setting captures my imagination as well, as a bustling and advanced technology school with a wide arrange of majors, such as mech piloting (which apparently makes you an elite). This was fun and stars a protagonist that's super easy to root for, so the basics are all here for a great show. This will be my entry point into the long-standing Gundam franchise, and there are definitely worse ways of getting into it than the one about space lesbians.
These Are Why I Watch AnimeEncouragement of Climb: Next Summit
While I've already advised everyone to ignore the order for this list, that warning goes especially for this one. Yama no Susume's fourth season is a bit of a weird one, as it's chosen to start on four recap episodes, including this first one (though with one new scene that already shows the level of production prowess that will probably define this season, and holy hell is it crazy good). As such, actually ranking it against other anime this season is a bit awkward, since this episode was entirely repurposed content from previous seasons, so I've elected to just put it first and get my mention of it out of the way. Nonetheless, I must put Yama no Susume in the highest tier, because I know what I'm getting with this one, and this series is genuinely something special. I won't recap the whole thing here, but the most important thing to note about it is that it's simply the most impressive and ambitious slice of life production possibly ever, outside of anything (and honestly probably including things) from Kyoto Animation. Any season where this show airs, it's guaranteed to be the best looking show of the season, it's a masterclass in character acting from no one but the most talented names in the industry. It's a pure passion project, coming from staff who make it not because of any financial success, but simply because they're desperate to keep making it by any means necessary; it's a show that seems like a miracle in the current anime industry. And that passion and animation prowess is put to good use in an incredibly endearing slice of life title and an extremely fulfilling coming-of-age story. While this will be the show's fourth season, it's actually not much of a commitment to catch up, as the first season has three minute episodes and can be knocked out in about the length of a single anime episode, while the second and third upgrade to half-length episodes of just 15 minutes. And I couldn't recommend catching up to it more. As the story evolves and gets more ambitious, the episode length seems to increase, as the story really takes off about a quarter of the way through season 2 and just never looks back from there; this episode was recap likely because this season has upgraded to full-length 24 minute episodes, and it seems like we may be paying off a plot point two and a half seasons in the making. And if that's what it takes to get more of this wonderful series, I'm all for it. Encouragement of Climb is a standout slice of life title and a showcase of what productions in the anime industry could look like under better circumstances. I know what I'm in for, and I don't have to watch any new content to know that this will probably be among the best anime this season.
Mob Psycho 100 III
Speaking of some of the most visually impressive anime ever made, Mob Psycho 100 returns with its third and final season. Picking up right where the previous season left off, Mob has to contend with the most difficult enemy to overcome yet: his impending future. This episode was pretty low-key all things considered, pretty reserved animation wise for a Mob Psycho episode and with a very humble introduction to what this season will focus on narratively. But a reserved episode of Mob Psycho is still better than most anime. Mob has grown a lot, and the fact that he's considering things for his future so strongly makes me proud of him. It's wonderful to see him looking at his peers of all ages and slowly figuring things out for himself. The episode centers around a man who made a single wrong decision and ended up having his whole life go to shit for it. It's left ambiguous whether it's caused by a spirit that led him astray, or whether the spirit was created from his own personal failings (though considering what this series has generally been about, my bet is on the latter), but it nonetheless hits close to home for Mob, as well as Serizawa, who is no longer a shut-in. As someone who has personally had his life go far off track as a result of one bad decision, this definitely hit me too close to home as well. But it's hard to realize that going off track doesn't mean your life is over. Figuring out your adulthood years before it comes is hard, but this classic coming-of-age stuff is Mob Psycho's heart, and it's already proving itself to be relatable as fuck. I'm sure all the awesome action scenes will come later, I'm glad the series has focused on establishing its emotional hook first. Mob Psycho 100 is a standout modern anime series, and I'm so excited to see such a creative and poignant work like this one get such a phenomenal adaptation that finishes the whole story.
Yama no Susume is not the only slice of life title this season to have masterful character animation. Do It Yourself is an extremely delightful show with an equally ambitious production that might have some of the best animation friendly designs of any show in a long time. It even shares Yama no Susume's character designer, Yuusuke Matsuo, who brought his A-Game to both shows. This is a cozy little show about a spacey girl with a tendency to accidentally hurt herself, who ends up getting involved with a school club dedicated to DIY craft projects in hopes of rebuilding a bench that was a symbol of her relationship with a childhood friend. The set-up isn't important here though, the appeal is in the comfy vibes and the visual style, both of which it nails. Tonally, it's kind of the same space Yuru Camp is in when it's not taking in nature or sunsets, comfy and breezy but humorous and hopelessly charming. The characters are instantly lovable and have extremely distinct designs. But it's the animation and background art that make this one shine. If you like your character animation to be cartoony and imaginative, then you're in for a real treat. From imaginative dream sequences and cleverly framed flashbacks, to simple day-to-day motion and emotions, this series is already looking to be among the very best of its genre, and honestly maybe the medium, when it comes to expressing the joy of motion in daily living. It's stylized and even a tad experimental in some senses, and alongside its gorgeous background art, crafts a world brimming with life and characters bursting at the seems with personality. It's simply charming as all heck. And that's not even mentioning the bizarre sci-fi elements it has. It almost feels like this takes place ever so slightly in the future, where delivery drones are everywhere and other interesting little gadgets are just normalized parts of daily life. It's very interesting and adds a sense of magical whimsy. Oh, also, the main character owns an adorable pet pig who wears sunglasses and is named "meat," so therefore this anime is the greatest thing to exist. If you're down for an adorable, charming, comfy cartoon, or are a big sakuga nerd, then this is one you're not gonna want to miss.
Spy x Family Part 2
Fan favorite Spy x Family returns with the second half of its first season. After a three month break between cours, it's just so nice to have it back. Spy x Family continues right where it left off, combining a thrilling story about terrorists trying to incite war by killing a political figure with the wholesome and charming adventure of Anya and Yor trying to adopt a dog. This episode brought its A-Game in terms of animation and direction, and perfectly encapsulates the appeal of Spy x Family's two sides. The recommendation for this couldn't be any simpler: if you liked part 1, then part 2 is simply a must watch. I'm sure I don't have to say it considering the well deserved popularity of this show, but if you like wholesome, hilarious charm and homey found family stories, there are few better places to find it.
Akiba Maid War
So, I kind of have a lot to say about this one, but I refuse to say anything of substance. The less I say about it, the better. This is one you must experience blind. I will not tell you about its story, its setting, or its characters. Please, I beg you, just experience it for yourself. Akiba Maid War is why I watch anime, nay, it's why the medium was made. It's beautiful, brilliant, creative, and wholly unhinged. You will not find a show like this in any medium other than anime. You just won't, you can't. I can tell you about how expressive the animation is, how perfect the character designs are, how gorgeous its art direction is, how creatively directed it is, or how well paced and plotted it is, all superlatives that will generally, hopefully, get you to understand that I think this show is really fucking good. But you're gonna have to live with just that until you experience it for yourself. P.A. Works original anime hit different, but this one hits extra different. If them finally branching out into adapting manga means they get to pour those funds into unhinged bizarro anime original stories like this one, then I'm more than all for it. Anime as a medium was invented specifically for the purpose of this show getting greenlit and animated. Holy shit.
Bocchi the RockLittle did you know, I wasn't done gushing about slice of life stories with visually ambitious productions. Following Yama no Susume and Do It Yourself, we have our third such title in Bocchi the Rock. Slice of life lovers are eating way too well this season. I pretty much expected that this would be great from the outset, knowing what I do about it. It's an adaptation of a Manga Time Kirara manga from many of the same creative staff behind My Dress-Up Darling and Wonder Egg Priority. It was guaranteed to be gorgeous and likely to be adorable and funny. But what I wasn't expecting was for it to be such a powerful and intense personal attack aimed at me specifically. If I were to sell this show's concept, I would describe it as K-On and Hitoribocchi's weirdo dark comedy goth child. I've heard comparisons to Watamote as well, but I haven't seen that so I can't speak to how true they are. Hitori Goto is an extreme introvert who has always struggled to make friends or talk to people, but after seeing a TV program where a guy in a famous band talks about how he was the friendless shut-in introvert, Hitori gets inspired to try and learn guitar in hopes of attracting people to her. Of course, she ends up doing the only sensible thing: finding herself too autistically hyper-obsessed with learning guitar to actually make friends, spending all of her free time learning covers of popular songs and posting them online, and therefore becoming a kind of amazing guitar player with nothing but a solid social media following as as social support system. By the time she was decking herself out with music memorabilia to broadcast to everyone that she's into a specific hobby hoping that it would get others to approach her first so that she doesn't have to start the conversation, I was cringing my ass off at the painful mirror held in front of me and reflecting the adorable pink haired anime girl version of myself that I never knew I wanted to see. Coupled alongside a phenomenal vocal performance from Yoshino Aoyama, I found myself ready to die for Hitori about 8 minutes into the episode. But it's not just Hitori's characterization that makes the series hit so close to home, the animation and directing play a huge role in it too. The series has a washed out aesthetic and tight, occasionally claustrophobic framing that does an amazing job of capturing that feeling of isolation. The series layouts have an excellent sense of 3-dimensional space, so each location feels tangible and lived in. Small moments of Hitori just zoning out on the couch after school and contemplating her life are animated with lots of detail and intimacy, and small details like how Hitori never makes eye contact with people she talks too help make her believable, making for super effective character acting. And Hitori's design compliments it as well, with her washed out pink hair fitting into the background, while her new band mates more colorful hair pops out more, representing how she sees them (I don't have much to say about them yet, but they're well established and likable so far). The series has a dark tinge, and often doesn't let Hitori revel in successes for too long before sinking back into self-deprecation, but it never becomes overwhelming, and Hitori does have some success, with one shot even highlighting how she's taking her first step towards overcoming her self-deprecation. It's a dark comedy you can see yourself in, but it mixes in moments that build our main character up too, and it's absolutely hilarious to boot. From what I can tell, this show seems to be something the staff are passionate about, and that passion and their talent shows right off the bat. I'm not sure if this show is for everyone, but if you're familiar with a particular kind of introvertedness and self-deprecating attitude, it will certainly hit you very close to home.
Final thoughts:
This season is definitely one of the more impressive ones that I've kept up with, at least given first impressions. The amount of anime with extremely high quality productions that are all airing at the same time is astounding, given the state of this often cursed industry. There are way too many shows airing all at once that I want to keep up with, including at least a few genuinely historic or otherwise important works, be it Gundam's return to television for the first time in 7 years, to the start of a likely modern classic in Chainsaw Man, to three of the most visually ambitious slice of life titles possibly ever all coming out at the same time. Not only is it a good time to be an anime fan, but it's also a fascinating moment for the industry itself. It's wonderful to see so many impressive works, and it's especially wonderful to see so many people so strongly enjoying some of the things I was a little less impressed by. By all accounts, this is a great season. Despite my shitty shit puns, the smell of bad anime is nearly entirely muffled by the smell of stuff to look out for.
This season is definitely one of the more impressive ones that I've kept up with, at least given first impressions. The amount of anime with extremely high quality productions that are all airing at the same time is astounding, given the state of this often cursed industry. There are way too many shows airing all at once that I want to keep up with, including at least a few genuinely historic or otherwise important works, be it Gundam's return to television for the first time in 7 years, to the start of a likely modern classic in Chainsaw Man, to three of the most visually ambitious slice of life titles possibly ever all coming out at the same time. Not only is it a good time to be an anime fan, but it's also a fascinating moment for the industry itself. It's wonderful to see so many impressive works, and it's especially wonderful to see so many people so strongly enjoying some of the things I was a little less impressed by. By all accounts, this is a great season. Despite my shitty shit puns, the smell of bad anime is nearly entirely muffled by the smell of stuff to look out for.
Favorite OPs:
Encouragement of Climb: Next Summit
Spy x Family Part 2
Bocchi the Rock
Akiba Maid War
Mob Psycho 100 III
Do It Yourself
Chainsaw Man
Urusei Yatsura (2022)
More Than a Married Couple, But Not Lovers
Favorite EDs:
Encouragement of Climb: Next Summit
Spy x Family Part 2
Beast Tamer
Bocchi the Rock
The Human Crazy University
Akiba Maid War
Do It Yourself
More Than a Married Couple, But Not Lovers
Play It Cool, Guys
Urusei Yatsura (2022)
Mob Psycho 100 III
Encouragement of Climb: Next Summit
Spy x Family Part 2
Bocchi the Rock
Akiba Maid War
Mob Psycho 100 III
Do It Yourself
Chainsaw Man
Urusei Yatsura (2022)
More Than a Married Couple, But Not Lovers
Favorite EDs:
Encouragement of Climb: Next Summit
Spy x Family Part 2
Beast Tamer
Bocchi the Rock
The Human Crazy University
Akiba Maid War
Do It Yourself
More Than a Married Couple, But Not Lovers
Play It Cool, Guys
Urusei Yatsura (2022)
Mob Psycho 100 III
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