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Ok, lets talk the Winter 2021 anime season

Dear god, there are so many shows airing. A ton of sequels, and a decent amount of new shows. I think I’ll actually break down what I’m interested in watching into two parts, sequels and new. Lets get started. 

Watching:

Sequels 

Jujutsu Kaisen - This is technically a continuation rather than a sequel, but the spirit is the same. This was my choice for favorite anime of the season fall 2020 so this continuation has me pretty hyped. 

Black Clover - Still continuing. The manga had a 6 month time skip and the anime did some anime only stories with the author’s direction to cover that time period and now it’s caught up to that time skip. Shit is about to go down and I am stoked. 

Attack On Titan: Final Season - So this started airing in December which makes for a strange airing schedule, but it’s technically continuing from the fall season into the winter season. Anyway, it is fucking fantastic and this week’s episode left us on a major cliff-hanger for 2 weeks. 

That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime S2P1 - Ok, so first... HOLY FUCK I’M SO EXCITED FOR THIS SEASON, IT’S GOING TO BE AMAZING. Second, yes this is part 1. Thanks to covid there are some longer running seasons that are being split up to accommodate the production schedule. So this part 1 is airing in winter, then in the spring the 4-koma comedy re-telling is airing, and then in summer part 2 of this season 2 will air. it’s annoying, but 3 continuous season of slime is a welcome thing. 

Re:Zero S2P2 - Alright, so this is the second half of summer 2020′s season 2 part 1. I have high expectations considering what we’ve already been given. 

Dr. Stone: Stone Wars (S2) - HOLY FUCK I’M SO FUCKING EXCITED FOR THIS SHOW, I LOVED THE FIRST SEASON AND AM READING THE MANGA AND OMG I CANNOT WAIT FOR MORE.

The Promised Neverland S2 - More of the promised neverland. I’ve heard that this season will go even harder than the first season and Emma will prove even more why she’s best girl, so bring it on. 

The Quintessential Quintuplets S2 - A second season of a decent harem show? Bring it on. 

Log Horizon S3 - So I didn’t watch this when the first 2 seasons aired years ago, 6 I think actually. That said it’s always been on my PTW list and when I heard season 3 was going to air I decided that now was the time to catch up; and wow am I glad I did. I binged the first 2 seasons over the last 3 weeks and I am so fucking invested now. I cannot wait for this next season. 

Higurashi GOU - this is continuing from last season and I’ll keep watching it, though I’m still not quite sure how to evaluate it. 

Yuru Camp S2 - WOOHOO!!!!! This was the chillest of chill shows that aired winter 2018 and I absolutely loved it. I’m so excited for this next season for more camping and adorable girls being chill. 

World Trigger S2 - So I was under the impression that there were already 2 seasons of this show, I watched most of it I think but it’s been so long I don’t really remember much. But this is being called season 2... so either this is retconning the previous season 2 or that was really just 1 big season despite the notation on some websites. Also a S3 has already been announced so I need to hurry up and rewatch this before the new season airs. But with 73 episodes that might take a bit of time. 

Armor Shop for Ladies and Gentlemen S2 - This is a sequel to the short anime of the same name. If you like it, you like it. 

New

Cells at Work S2 - Ok, technically this is a sequel, but I’m including it here because of something cool that’s happening with the next title. 

Cells at Work: Black - Why yes, this is a different Cells at Work title. This is based on the spin-off manga of the same title that gender swaps the cells from the main series and covers their work inside an extremely unhealthy body. This is going to be a grittier, bloodier, and bleaker show than the main one and in a fun airing scheduling event, they will be airing back to back. I’m quite excited for the both of these. 

Mushoku Tensei: Jobless Reincarnation - OMG I CANNOT BELIEVE THIS IS GETTING AN ADAPTATION! SADLY IT’S A SPLIT COUR SO THIS IS THE FIRST HALF OF SEASON 1 AND THE SECOND HALF WILL AIR LATER PROBABLY IN THE SUMMER. BUT THAT’S OK BECAUSE EVERYTHING I HAVE SEEN ABOUT THIS SO FAR TELLS ME THIS WILL BE A PRETTY DAMN FAITHFUL ADAPTATION AND IT IS GOING TO BE FANTASTIC. 

Horimiya - I’ve heard many good things about this romance show and am looking forward to it. 

Redo of Healer - Ok, here we go. This is going to be the outrage anime of the season. That is, if it is actually watched by people. It’s also getting 3 different levels of censoring so uh, I’ll have to check for the proper versions when it airs. 

So I’m a Spider, So What? - Ok, so funny story. I’d been hearing about this manga for a while so I decided to dive into it a few months back. As I read it, I thought it was pretty funny but I wondered if the anime adaptation would be great for a comedy manga about a reincarnated girl into a spider’s body. Then about 3 weeks ago, I realized I was reading the comedy spin-off instead of the main story. That said I’m still quite excited to see this adapted and I’ll get the manga after then anime is done. 

The Hidden Dungeon Only I Can Enter - Hella ecchi, actually pretty fun manga. I’m looking forward to this adaptation. 

Suppose a Kid from the Last Dungeon Boonies moved to a started town - Hopefully this will be as fun as the manga was. Here’s a better synopsis than the Livechart one - Lloyd is the weakest person in his remote village but his dream is to become a soldier in the big city. So he moves to the city and strives to make his dream come true. However in a twist, it turns out that the remote village Lloyd came from is the retirement town for all the world’s strongest heroes and they are all massively overpowered, so when he gets to the city he’s stupidly OP but it doesn’t quite click for him. Shenanigans ensue. It’s fun and I’m looking forward to this adaptation. 

Bottom-tier Character Tomozaki - This is supposed to be not quite as good a romance as Horimiya this season, but still decent. If that is the comedy romance this is the drama romance show and hopefully it’ll be good. 

Kemono Jihen - Mystery, supernatural, Yokai. I’m intrigued in this show and hope it’s decent. 

Otherside Picnic - Shoujo Ai, Sci-Fi, I’m sold. 

Hortensia SAGA - This is based on a game, but I’ve heard that the story and scope are actually quite good and the PV actually looks quite good so I’m definitely gonna check this one out. 

SK8 the Infinity - Ok, so my first impression of this was nah, I’ll pass. But then I saw the PV and saw it was being animated by BONES and my impression changed to Ok I have to at least give it a couple episodes. 

2.43 Seiin High School Boys Volleyball Team - So this is supposed to be Haikyuu except lots more drama and less gameplay. It will really have to pull me in in order to get me to not think boring Haikyuu when I watch it. I’ll give it a couple episodes. 

Dr. Ramune -Mysterious Disease Specialist- - Doctor heals people from Yokai or something like that. The tags look interesting as do the character designs. I’ll check it out.

Back Arrow - Fantasy setting but BOOM... Mecha! That premise at least demands a couple episodes of my attention. 

Heaven’s Design Team - Here’s my chill comedy SOL show of the season. The premise is Heaven has a design team that creates/created all the animals. I’m very excited to see the shenanigans. 

Gekidol - Idols and stage acting. After watching the new Love Live last season I’m in the mood for some idol stuff. But most interesting to me is the next show on this list. 

Alice in Deadly School - It’s not currently known whether this will be a full series or an OVA or some other thing, but this is an anime of the stage play that is being put on in Gekidol. The same VAs in Gekidol that play the characters in this play are voicing the characters for this anime production. And I just think this whole setup is neat and am very interested to see it play out (pun fully intended). 

Idoly Pride - This seems to be a more straight-forward idol show which I’m going to check out. 

Maiko-san Chi no Makanai-san - Girl doesn’t quite cut it to do the thing she and her friend came to do, but she found that she can cook so uses her cooking for support her friends. SOL, lets go. 

Wave!! Surfing Yappe!! - Surfing show, the animation will make or break this show so we will see how it turns out. 

Wow, that is a lot of shows, lets add them up. 

13 sequels and continuations

22 new shows

35 total. I kinda hope some of these suck cause HOT DAMN, that’s a lot of shows. 

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Anime of the Year: 2020

Winter: Dorohedoro

Spring: Tower of God

Summer: The Misfit of Demon King Academy

Fall: Jujutsu Kaisen

Shit, this is honestly a tough one. I think I have to give it to Dorohedoro for my personal favorite of the year, but despite covid sucking all the joy out of the world and causing many delays in anime, it was a legitimately stacked year with lots of great options. 

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Fall 2020, What I watched

Hot damn, this season was fucking packed. And next season is will only be more packed. Since there’re so many lets get started. 

Completed

Jujutsu Kaisen (9) - Rating this now may be a bit premature since it’s a 2 cour show that’s actually airing back to back! So this season won’t finish until March, but damn this first half is absolutely fantastic. 

DanMachi S3 (9) - Holy shit this season was amazing. Please watch it if you like the series. 

Tonikawa (9) - Best romance anime I’ve ever seen. Married in the first episode. Fuck yeah. Absolutely adorable and now I really want an adorable wife of my own. I mean I’ve wanted that for a while, but this showed me how lonely I am... I mean this showed that there is hope out there in the world. 

Irregular at Magic High School S2 (7) - I love this series but rating objectively, the pacing was a bit off this season despite the animation and action being quite good. Not quite as good as the first season for me, but I still loved it. Also you can now watch the movie with proper context after this season. 

Haikyuu!! To the Top 2nd Cour (9) - This show just gets better and better. 

Wandering Witch (6) - For some reason this show is generally rated higher than this, but no it’s not that good. It’s fine, but not spectacular by any means. 

Our Last Crusade or the Rise of a New World (6) - I’m conflicted about this one. I read the manga before the show aired so I was pretty hyped for it, but the show just never seemed to live up to what I imagined it would be. Then it started changing some details and I realized it was basing the source material on the LN and not the manga. And then the show went past where the translated manga was up to date and it was good? So all in all, I think it was pretty good. 

I’m Standing on a Million Lives (7) - This one was quite a surprise. It started out a bit generic but then it built into something quite interesting by the end. Then there was the surprise announcement that it’s getting a season 2 in Summer 2021 so actually I’m quite looking forward to that. 

Noblesse (5) - Is this good? I honestly don’t know. I think it’s actually been an ok show so far, but I’ve heard that there’s been a lot of chapters skipped and the story is fractured. 

By The Grace of the Gods (10) - This is an Iyashikei anime, a healing anime. It’s just supposed to be chill and good things happen and you just feel good about things. I read the manga first and then watched the show and it legitimately put my soul at ease. 

The Day I Became a God (5) - Damn, Jun Maeda letting us down in the last episode again...

Akudama Drive (9) - Holy shit. So this is going up against Deca-Dence for best original of the year and it will be a tough fight.  

Talentless Nana (8) - MHA meets Assassination Classroom meets Death Note. I did not expect this at all and it ended up being much more interesting than the synopsis lead you to believe. 

Kuma Kuma Kuma Bear (6) - Reminds me of Bofuri except there’s very little struggles and difficulties. That doesn’t make it bad or completely boring, but it was definitely low-stakes. 

Higurashi GOU (6) - I never saw the original so I’m watching this one on its own and so far that seem to be fine you don’t need to know anything about the original for this to make sense. 

Sleepy Princess in the Demon Castle (7) - Absolute surprise of the season. This was hilarious and cute and adorable and just absolutely fantastic. 

Adachi and Shimamura (8) - This is the building of emotions and relationship to Tonikawa’s already married gotta go from here. It’s two girls struggling to figure out where they fit into life and what their own feelings mean. Yuri and adorable. 

Golden Kamuy S3 (8) - Fantastic season. You know what you’re getting. 

Iwakakeru Sport Climbing Girls (6) - Girls do rock climbing. Pretty decent. 

Assault Lily: Bouquet (5) - Had lots of promise, but kinda failed to live up to the promise. Loads of cute girls and thigh close-ups with good action animation. 

Warlords of Sigrdrifa (7) - Tags: Norse Mythology, Ragnarok, Cute Girls, planes, sadness, cute girls. 

Dogeza (4) - 3 minute episodes of a guy kowtowing and begging to see boobs and panties. It’s fantastic. 

The Gymnastics Samurai (8) - Just watch this. 

Love Live! Nijigasaki High School Idol Club (7) - An actually good Idol anime! A Love Live that isn’t completely drama with some singing and dancing, but singing and dancing with girls who learn about their own personal struggles and no unnecessary drama. 

Hypnosismic (5) - Bishi boys rapping against the Matriarchy. It’s quite the show, check it out. 

Dropout Idol Fruit Tart (7) - This show is way more horny and yuri focused than it presented itself and it is amazing for it. 

Completed 26

Favorite show of the season: Jujutsu Kaisen. 

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Summer 2020, What I watched

Alright, it’s time to break down what I watched in the summer 2020 anime season. Lets get started!

Completed

The Misfit of Demon King Academy (9) - This was an absolute blast of an anime and I desperately want more. Anos VoldiGOAT is truly the chad we deserve. 

The God of High School (5) - Fantastic fight animation, mediocre to bad everything else. The pacing and story were so cram-packed and frantic it made everything incomprehensible, but damn if that animation wasn’t pretty. Read the manwha. 

Black Clover (7) - Still continuing, still decent. 

Re:Zero S2P1 (8) - So, this shows kicks off an issue that will affect many shows going forward... the part 1/part 2 thing. I am unsure how to grade the show; do we treat each part as it’s own thing, or wait til the whole “season” has aired and then take it as a whole even though there was at least a one season gap in-between. I think for the sake of my reviews here I’ll have to grade each part independently. That issue aside, this first part was very good and my expectations for the second part are pretty damn high.

SAO: Alicization Part 2 (8) - This was pretty decent. I think I’m one of the few people who actually like Kirito and just want him to run around doing OP stuff, so this season, which basically omitted him for all but like 2-3 episodes at the end, was still pretty dang good. 

Fire Force S2 (7) - Damn, ok so David Productions took their A tier fire animation from season 1 and somehow stepped it up even more. Damn S tier fire animation was so good. The story was a little bit of a slower burn (lol) from the first season, but the story and world was expanded further this season and was legitimately good. 

Rent-a-Girlfriend (7) - This is like pure cringe, but somehow still good. Also getting a S2. 

Uzaki-chan (8) - Everyone (twitter) hated on it so damn much, so naturally I loved it. 

Deca-Dence (8) - Maybe the best original anime this year? It’s fantastic and I highly recommend it to everyone. 

Monster Girl Doctor (6) - Cute monster girls, do I need to say more?

Peter Grill and the Philosopher’s Time (3) - Look, this is not a very good anime. But I’ve read the manga and then watched the show and I just want more of this terrible trash. Also, do not watch the censored version there is no point. Find the uncensored. 

Super HxEros (5) - Not great, but some very nice character designs. Characters gotta get horny to beat off aliens. Wait... well you’ll see. There’s a censored version and a less censored version, but no fully uncensored as of yet. 

No Guns Life S2 (8) - Damn, I love this show. If you liked season 1, watch this. 

Dropped

Oregairu - Ok, so this is a fantastic show but... it’s been so long since I saw season 1 and 2 that I was completely lost while watching the first episode. So I’ll watch it after I get around to rewatching the first 2 seasons. 

Haven’t Finished

Great Pretender - This is a very good show, I just haven’t finished it yet. Also I’m not sure if the second half is out with subs yet. 

Completed 13

Dropped 1

Haven’t Finished 1

Favorite show of the season: The Misfit of Demon King Academy. 

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Spring 2020 - What I watched and what I liked.

Yo, long time no post. So 2020 shit the bed and I just didn’t feel like keeping up with this until now at the end of the year. So I’m going to be making a few posts today to break down these past few seasons, the year as a whole, and then what I’m looking forward to next year/season (spoilers, there’s an absolute shit-ton).

Alright, so lets break down what I ended up watching and what I grade it. 

Tower of God (8) - I loved it. It turned out much better than I could have hoped, I only hope we get more seasons. 

Kaguya-sama S2 (7) - This was a lot of fun, but personally I liked season 1 a little bit more. 

Black Clover (7) - This show is like a permanent 7. There are a lot of 5′s and 6′s but there’s enough 9′s and 10′s that really make the whole worth watching. 

My Next Life as a Villainess (8) - One of the best harem shows I’ve seen. Even though this is more of a reverse harem with a lot of bishi boys there are a number of girls in the harem as well. Also the protag is stupid dense but absolutely hilarious. It’s a great show and I’d love a season 2. 

Food Wars S5 Final Season (4) - Look this season kinda really sucked, but it’s a conclusion to this show that I’ve adored since the first episode. 

The 8th Son? Are you kidding me? (6) - Another isekai, but one that actually sucked me in. Also I love trashy isekai, so it was a pretty solid bet that I’d at least be a little interested in it. 

Kakushigoto (8) - This was a very sweet and funny show with an air of sadness throughout that these 12 episodes pulled together into a great series. 

Sing Yesterday for Me (5) - A decent show that kinda botched the ending. That said, if you’re interested in a show about college and post-college aged adults trying to figure out their lives with a mediocre ending this I recommend this show. This is one of those shows where the journey of the show is well worth is despite a potentially disappointing ending. 

Ascendance of a Bookworm S2 (9) - So, I can’t lie, I absolutely adore this show and will recommend it to basically everyone. Season 3 here we come!!!

Ahiru no Sora (7) - So I don’t remember when this show ended as I’m writing this at the end of December, but by this time it is completed. I really liked this show, it’s no Haikyuu, but lets be real... what is? It’s a solid story about high school boys who all have and cause trouble but try and play their basketball the best they can. And this journey is absolutely worth the watch. 

Appare-Ranman! (7) - This was a really fun ride. It was paused after about 3 episodes due to covid and picked up later, but I didn’t finish it til about 3 weeks ago. That said it was a very very fun ride and I highly recommend it. 

Arte (6) - A girl fights against the patriarchy in the middle of the Rrenaissance in Italy as she strives to become a female painter which was nigh unheard of. It was a very nice show that I quite enjoyed. 

Wave, Listen to Me! (8) - A comedy drama about actual adults! Holy shit was this show a ride. And a ride I would absolutely take again because if anything the voice acting was absolutely superb and the story a very entertaining ride. 

Diary of our Days at the Breakwater (7) - I’m a fan of the CGDCT genre where they pick a topic and then do that in a SOL setting. There was the space one earlier this year, the fall season just finished one about indoor rock climbing, and this show is about fishing. Now I’m no fisherman, but I have some slight experience with it and I absolutely love seafood. So really if you like cute funny girls and fish you’ll like the show. 

Dropped: 

Gleipnir - I just couldn’t get into it

Plunderer - Just no. 

Listeners - Look, I really tried to finish this show. I got through 5 episodes and just really didn’t want to watch any more. Once you get to that point on a show you should just put it away and spend your time on something you’d much rather enjoy. 

Haven’t gotten to, but plan to catch up at some point. 

Boruto - So I definitely plan on coming back to this show at some point, but I’m like 80 episodes behind now. So I’m going to let it pile up and wait until the next slow time to catch up. 

Dropkick on my Devil S2 - I really liked season 1, but just wasn’t in a place mentally to watch season 2 when it dropped. Also I think it got a S3 announcement so I will be catching up on this at some point in the hopefully near future. 

Tsugumomo S2 - Same as above. Really like the show, just wasn’t ready to watch it when it dropped. 

Fruit’s Basket - Dang I am behind on this one. I’m only like halfway through season 1. But fortunately it’s getting a full adaptation so I feel like I can get to it in my own time. 

Princess Connect! Re:Dive - I have heard and seen so many good things about this show, it’s just one that I missed when it aired. Will definitely watch at some point. 

Completed 14

Dropped 3

Paused 5

My Favorite show of the season: Tower of God. 

All in all this was a pretty decent season of shows, if not a bit light due to the world shutting down. 

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Spring 2020, What Will I Be Watching

Well, it’s that time again, a new season of anime is upon us. Winter 2020 held a surprising number of gems and the hype for Spring 2020 is strong. So let’s see what catches my interest. 

I’m looking at Livechart.me, sorting by airdate to see what’s starting soonest. 

Ahiru no Sora - Continuing show, this season marks the 3rd of 4 cours. 

Tower of God - So fucking stoked for this show. As soon as I heard the rumor about it getting an anime adaptation, I started reading the webtoon. I binged all 460 chapters in about 2 weeks and can reliably say that it is one of the best stories I’ve read and I could not be more excited about seeing it animated. The first episode aired this past wednesday and despite the pacing being slightly quicker that optimal, it was an excellent start. 

The 8th son? Are you kidding me?  - This one vaguely reminds me of Ascendance of a Bookworm, grown man dies and is reborn into a young child in a medieval setting where they are poor and have to figure out how to survive. I suspect that’s about where the similarities will and it’ll end up being slightly closer to Wiseman’s Grandchild in terms of content. I’m not expecting much from this show, but I like a good trash isekai show as much as the next weeb, so I’ll keep watching. 

kakushigoto - Father/daughter adorableness, Father authors a lewd manga and can’t live with his daughter knowing that so goes to extreme lengths to hide it. The first episode was fantastic and this looks like a fun series. 

Listeners - I’ll admit, I was not expecting the mecha aspect to this. If I didn’t know better i’d almost say this was a Studio Trigger show for all the reminders of Darling in the Franxx this show gives me lol. I hope that the music becomes more a focus as the music was ok, but it definitely wasn’t a big focus this episode. Overall, it’s a decent first impression and I’ll stick with it a while longer. 

Wave, Listen to Me! - Ok, wow. What a first impression this show gives. The cold open was completely out of left field, and the rest was a great introduction Minare Koda. I could listen to her drunken ramblings for many episodes. I’m very much looking forward to this show this season.  

Arte - Cute girl doing art in renaissance Italy. Sold. 

Gal & Dino - So... this show is just not my style. I was interested at first, cute designs, interesting premise, but the mixed media approach is just not for me. Same reason I never got into Pop Team Epic. I couldn’t finish the first episode. 

My Next Life as a Villainess: All Routes Lead to Doom! - This show was pretty entertaining. I got a lot of Average Abilities vibes from this first episode, and seeing how fun that show was, I have a good feeling about this one. 

Sing “Yesterday” for Me - I’m not quite sure how to describe this show. But it’s giving off fantastic vibes. A show about adults, I’m always excited about those kinds of shows. It also has a strong contender for Best Girl and a highly relatable MC. 

Ascendance of a Bookworm S2 - Fuck yeah! This was one of my absolute favorite shows of last year and I’ve been waiting impatiently for the last 3 months for this season. 10/10

Tsugu Tsugumomo - Hot damn, season 2 of Tsugumomo. It’s been 3 years and I never even imagined that we would get a second season. So happy. 

Gleipnir - So, not entirely sure what to think about this show. The first episode was intriguing and what I’ve heard about the source material is that it’ll pick up quick. So I’m looking forward to what this show brings. 

Dropkick on my Devil!! Dash - Speaking of second seasons, a second season of Jashin-chan was a very nice surprise. The first season was a riot and I’m expecting more of the same for this season. 

Fruit’s Basked S2 - I would like to watch this, but I’ve very far behind in S1 and my smart self decided to rewatch ATLA instead of finishing S1, so I’ll catch up eventually. 

Diary of our Days at the Breakwater - Not entirely sure what this will be about but it’s a SoL from Doga Kobo so I’m sure it’ll at least be decent. I could use a nice SoL. 

BNA - Speaking of Studio Trigger, here’s this one. Very excited for it, but hopefully a decent fansub group will pick it up, seeing as it’s in Netflix jail. 

The Millionaire Detective - Balance: UNLIMITED - Cool, another detective show. Hopefully it’ll be interesting. 

No Guns Life S2 - Hell Yeah, season 1 was fantastic and I hope Season 2 lives up. 

OreGairu S3 - Oh shit, another sequel. Dope. 

Appare-Ranman! - I’m looking forward to this show, I saw the PV a while back and it looks like a whole lot of fun. Also it’s a P.A. Works shows, so that’s always a good sign. 

Food Wars S5 - I absolutely love this show, but the word on the street is that this upcoming storyline is hot garbage, so I’m not sure whether I’ll watch this or not. 

Kaguya-Sama S2 - The quick S2 announcement was a pleasant surprise, and I’m very much looking forward to more of these dorks’ antics. 

SAO: Alicization Part 2 - Part 1 was actually really good and the anticipation for part 2 is quite high, I’m excited. 

So as far as I’m aware that’s all that’s showing in Spring 2020. Re:Zero S2 was supposed to air, but the Covid-19 issues are pushing it back to summer. Hopefully nothing else will be too adversely affected. 

So my totals are, 15 guaranteed watch, 7 most likely, 22 total. About the same as last season, but I dropped 3 last season. I’ll give most of these the 3 ep test before reporting back here on what I find to be worth keeping up with. 

Until then, keep watching anime!

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A time of change

We sit here upon the eve of the Spring 2020 season and the fading light of Winter is glowing in the rear view. How about we rate the shows that just finished.

AOTS - Let’s start with the big one, Anime of the Season. Honestly for me it’s close to a 3 way tie. Interspecies Reviewers was a legitimately good show, pushing boundaries the way anime hasn’t in a long time. An adaptation that goes far and above the source material, going so far as to add nearly double the amount of source material in original additions that only enhanced it. But Reviewers wasn’t the only show this season that went above and beyond to deliver on it’s adaptations; Eizouken and Dorohedoro rise up as proper rivals. Eizouken was a magnificent love letter to animation and the creative process that is a solid 10/10 and absolutely fantastic. Dorohedoro is the embodiment of chaos, yet the story beats don’t miss a single step and the chaos really just push the story, the comedy, and the character interactions forward. 

My horny self gives the win over to Reviewers, my intelligent self gives the win to Eizouken, and my fun brain gives it to Dorohedoro.  Overall, it’s probably Dorohedoro, but there are many reasons why someone would choose something else. 

Pure Enjoyment - Bofuri. Seriously, this show was an absolute blast to watch. Every week brought some new form of ridiculousness, but really the first episode is enough of a litmus test to tell if you’ll like this show. 

Best Trash - Darwin’s Game. Somehow this show was actually entertaining and fun despite being another edgy trash show. But this one is like a 6 instead of a 3 or 4. 

Best Original - ID:Invaded. Thank god, we finally got a good original show that didn’t bomb the ending like Kado or Babylon did. Additionally the dialog, the visuals, and the OST were all very very good. A solid 8/10. 

Best Dialog - In/Spectre. This show is one that is HEAVY on the words and light on the animation and action, that said... it’s just so damn entertaining. If you’re interested in an intriguing show about mysteries and youkai that thrives on the tête-à-tête between people, this is the show for you. 

Best Sport - Haikyuu!! This feels like it wins by default cause it’s one of the only sports shows this season, but it’s an absolutely fantastic show. This first half of season 4 feels like a build-up season, but considering that season 3 was 10 episodes focusing on 1 match, a come-down and regroup period is needed. 

Biggest Surprise - Tie between Smile Down the Runway/OshiGa. These were two shows that did not actually expect to like, yet ended up being a couple of shows that I looked forward to every week. Smile Down the Runway too fashion design and modeling and meshed it into the shounen genre in a way that had me on the edge of my seat while also bring tears to my eyes on repeated occasions. If My Favorite Pop Idol Made It to the Budokan, I Would Die (Or OshiGa) is a show about a woman who becomes obsessed with an idol from a small local idol group. I’m not a big idol fan, I only got through half of Love Live, but I understand enough about the culture to understand this show. And honestly this isn’t a half bad place to start with your introduction to idol culture. There are a lot of aspects to this culture that are explored throughout this show and not necessarily in a glorifying way, because there is a lot of negative behavior in the idol world, but OshiGa tends to highlight the different aspects in an almost neutral voice that simply shows. 

Best Comf - Heya Camp/Nekopara. Nekopara is a lot less horny and a lot more wholesome than first expected considering its source material. Heya Camp is more adorable camping girls to tide us over between seasons of Yuru Camp. 

And Finally, Best Continuing. This category consists of HeroAca, Blade of the Immortal, and Welcome to Demon School Iruma-kun, Blade of the Immortal is ok, but not really stellar. Iruma-kun dragged out the first part of this second half of the season so much that many people lost interest. HeroAca didn’t quite feel as epic as seasons 2 or 3, but there were so many character moments, quiet moments, wholesome moments, that just elevated the show as a whole even though the story felt both rushed and drawn-out at the same time. HeroAca takes the win. 

Alright, so that was Winter 2020. For as much as I keep seeing people saying this was a terrible season, nothing interesting, nothing good, I just have to say they must be boring people because there was something for everybody this season. And for those of us who enjoy many types of things, a lot of shows. Here’s a quick list of 10 that I definitely recommend to people to watch. 

Keep Your Hands off Eizouken

Dorohedoro

Interspecies Reviewers

Haikyuu!

ID:Invaded

In/Spectre

Pet

Smile Down the Runway

If My Favorite Pop Idol Made It to the Budokan, I Would Die

Bofuri

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Winter 2020 grades!

So this is the part of the season where life happens and I get behind on shows for a bit and I have to catch up. The one upside to this, is that my interest sieve gets applied to what I’m watching and the gems rise to the surface while the duds fall to the bottom. That said, lets go day by day and see what kept my interest and what fell to the bottom. 

Monday  

Pet - B

Heya Camp - B+

Pet and Heya Camp are the only shows I watch on Mondays and both I kept up with because Pet is quite an experience and Heya Camp is so adorable, I can’t wait for season 2.  

Tuesday

Orphen - Dropped

Black Clover - B

Isekai Quartet - B- 

Orphen I just got tired of and have dropped. Black Clover I kept up with, though I skipped the last 2 weeks cause they’re recap episodes. Isekai Quartet I always watch, it helps that it’s a short, and also I love every show that’s in it. However this season isn’t popping quite like the first season.

Wednesday

Ahiru no Sora - B+

Blade of the Immortal - B

Bofuri - A+

Number 24 - B+

Re:Zero: Director’s Cut - A

Bofuri might just be my favorite show of the season. Not the best, but it’s the one I look forward to the most. Re:Zero is a blast of a rewatch, season 2 coming up is going to be some good shit. Number 24 is hella gay and a lot of fun to watch. Blade of the Immortal is one of those shows that I have to be ready for and I watch it a few episodes at a time. Ahiru no Sora is a fun show that I wish the animation lived up to. It’s still good, but the basketball animation leaves something to be desired. 

Thursday

Toilet-Bound Hanako-kun - A-

Nekopara - A-

Oshiga - A

Somali - A

Hatena Illusion - Dropped

Infinite Dendogram - B-

Hanako-kun is a lot of fun and hella adorable. Nekopara is a lot less ecchi and a lot more wholesome that first expected. Hatena Illusion I was kinda interested in for the first few episodes, but I got bored quickly and after I got behind, I decided to drop it. Infinite Dendogram somehow still has my attention despite being fairly mediocre. Bofuri is the better video game anime this season and probably in the last many seasons, but Dendogram has some flashes of insight and fun that make it worth watching. Somali is super adorable and I’m terrified of anything bad happening to her. Must protect. Oshiga is probably the most surprising show of the season for me. I never expected that a show about a girl obsessed with a girl from a small-time idol group would be first on the list of Thursday shows to watch. 

Friday 

Darwin’s Game - A-

Haikyuu!! - A+

Koisuru Asteroid - B+

Smile Down the Runway - A-

Kabukichou Sherlock - B

RikeKoi - A-

First show on the block to watch for Fridays is Haikyuu!! by far. So fucking good. Second is Darwin’s Game, which is one of the best trashiest shows I’ve seen. So bad, but so entertaining. Third up, is Smile Down the Runway. This is another of those “non-combat, battle shounen” shows where it takes a premise and pits people together but not for physical combat. This time it’s the world of runway models and clothing designers. And I’ll be damned if it doesn’t have some of the best emotional beats of any show this season. Koisuru Asteroid is an absolutely adorable CGDCT show about rocks and stars. Kabukichou Sherlock continues from last season in a run of episodes that are quite good, though never exactly stellar. RikeKoi feels like a romance show that was tailor-made for me. Graduate level college students, studying different aspects of computer science, trying to prove love between a dude and one of the best looking girls to grace the 2D screen. 

Saturday 

Welcome to Demon School, Iruma-kun - A

My Hero Academia - A

In/Spectre - A

Ishuzoku Reviewers - A+

Saturdays are fucking stacked, literally all of these shows are fantastic. Iruma-kun just ended on a great note with a message for season 2 in Spring 2021. Hero Aca is in the middle of the Deku-Gentle Criminal fight of the School Festival arc. In/Spectre is continuing the same story of the last 4 or so episodes that is mostly conversation that still manages to be some of the most compelling content to watch. And Ishuzoku Reviewers is the absolute height of culture and needs to be remembered as a cultural milestone in the anime community. 

Sunday 

Dorohedoro - A+

ID: Invaded - A

Keep Your Hands off Eizouken - A+

Overflow - B+ (Completed)

Sundays are also just as stacked, if not slightly more, than Saturdays. Eizoiken is a stellar 10/10 that everyone should watch. ID: Invaded, we hope will not go the way of Kado and Babylon and will hopefully actually stick the landing of a show with a hell of a premise. Dorohedoro is an absolute treat of a ridiculous show that really needs to be watched by more people. But it probably won’t be because it’s currently locked in Netflix jail and the netflix shows never seem to get properly watched. And Overflow is somehow an 8 episode short hentai that aired weekly. Apparently there is a “clean” version and the full hentai version. Like Ishuzoku Reviewers... is there actually any point to watching the censored version???

Lastly, I just want to highlight Dorohedoro, Hanako-kun, Oshiga, and Somali-chan for having some of the absolute best background art of the season. Absolutely gorgeous.  

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Some quick thoughts from this last week

Just finished watching Eizouken, Dorohedoro, and ID:Invaded. All three are absolutely fantastic and should be required watches for this season. Though Dorohedoro can get a slight pass due to being in Netflix jail. Which is super sad cause the art is amazing and the story just keeps plugging forward with no sign of slowing down or getting boring.

Black Clover concluded the entirety of the elf arc which, believe it or not, has taken the last like 9 months or so. Doesn’t feel that long. 

Haikyuu boys are done with their camps! Time to put into practice what they learned before the big tournament with a practice match against Date Tech. So hype! Can’t wait to see the growth in my boy Hinata. 

Ishuzoku Reviewers delved into cyclops girls and mushroom girls. I don’t even know how you have a mushroom girl fetish, but I think I have one now. Not sure what to do with this new information though...

Iruma-kun and co wrapped up the blow up the school arc and can now just enjoy the definitely not a culture festival. 

Hero Aca provisional license supplementary classes crew learned how to deal with shitty kids and Midoriya learned that Aoyama can be scary when he’s being nice and caring. 

Re:Zero Director’s Cut continues to be the perfect dosage of Re:Zero a week that I need and want. Season 2 hype!!!

Somali is in mortal danger after this episode. I really need her to be ok. Can’t handle any sads

In/Spectre continues to be one of the best new shows this season with just spectacular dialog and just the smuggest of faces. 

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Winter 2020: First Impressions  - the rest of the shows

Haikyuu!! To the Top! (S4) - What can I say about this show, it’s more Haikyuu!! It’s absolutely fantastic. This is a bit of a slow-burner so far, very reminisce of season 1 so far, a lot of learning and training. It might seem to be a bit of a let down after the action-sakuga-fest that was all of season 3, but character growth is just as important and despite it being a number of years since season 3, the story picks up right after that insane high, so the flow of the story needs to reset its equilibrium. So a but of a slow lul is important before the boys to go Tokyo to kick ass!

Isekai Quarted (S2) - I mean, it’s more of the same except with the shield hero and gang in the other classroom. If you liked season 1 you’ll still like it, if you didn’t then don’t bother watching. That said, I love it. 

In/Spectre (Kyokou Suiri) - This is definite my surprise show of the year. It’s so fucking good! It’s one of those shows like Bunny Girl Senpai of last year that lives or dies on the quality of it’s conversations rather than any action or sakuga. And dear lord does it deliver. The MC is so freaking adorable, I love her. Please watch. 

RikeKoi - I’m getting serious Wotakoi vibes from this show. There are so few shows that are about adults or college students that honestly I’ll take anything that has this age range. And as a comp/sci graduate myself, I can’t help but love these complete dorks. And holy fuck main girl is perfect. A ponytail that moves on its own, an absolutely banging bod, and tights that remind me of Miru Tights. It’s a masterpiece and the two MCs are fantastic together. Please watch. 

Infinite Dendogram - This and Bofuri are the 2 VRMMO shows this season and honestly Bofuri is the clear winner of the 2. In fact Bofuri is in my top 5 of the season. This one might be lower than Darwin’s Game which is an edgy death game show, so that’s not a great rating. It’s not exactly bad but it feels like it’s wasting the potential of the shows setting by focusing so hard on fairly bland MC and his maid weapon AI partner. I’ll probably keep watching it, and I hope it improves, but it probably won’t. At least it looks pretty good. 

Nekopara - Cat girls. What more is there to say? Considering this is from an eroge where the goal is to fuck the neko girls, this show is surprisingly tame and wholesome. Definitely one worth watching. 

Toilet-Bound Hanako-san - The art-style in this show is very unique. It feels like there isn’t actually a whole lot of animation in the show, because the show is presented to us in frames of animation where the rest is beautiful art background. The story is almost secondary to the visuals, but it holds up in its own right. A very good show and should be seen. 

Dorohedoro - Man, I so wish that this show could get the amount of eyeballs it deserves, but alas, it is in Netflix jail. That said, there are some quality fansubbers taking it on this season and for that I am very glad. The art and character designs are so fucking unique I hardly know what to say other than please watch it. It’s one of those shows where you’re not entirely sure what exactly is happening, but you know you definitely want, nay, need to keep seeing more of it. Watch it now if you can, or at the least when Netflix releases it from Jail. 

Ishuzoku Reviewers - This show is a show of true culture. I’ve been saying ever since I heard it was getting an anime adaptation that I can’t believe it’s getting an anime adaptation. I read the manga, I knew what it was about. It’s a group of adventurers traveling around and trying all the brothels of the different species of succu-girls. Turns out the anime decided to make this a hentai, but without the direct penetration shots. Episode 3 though, that took things to another level. This was being aired on funimation as a censored version that was basically unwatchable, so I’ve been surfing the high seas to find high quality uncensored versions. And they exist, and they are absolutely fantastic. However, apparently funimation forgot to look into what the hell the show was before they promised to not only air the show, but also to provide a dub. Cause after the first episode dub attempt they completely dropped the show. There’s still 8 episodes left, so hopefully a fansub group or two will step up and champion the cause. 

A Destructive God Sits Next To Me - I’m normally down for wacky chunni shenanigans, but I just couldn’t get through the first episode, so it got dropped. 

Smile Down the Runway - I really wasn’t sure what I was going to think about this show. It’s about a girl whose dream is to be a supermodel for her dad’s clothing agency and walk down the catwalk during Paris Fashion Week, but she’s too short. It’s also about a boy she meets at school who just wants to be a fashion designer and loves to make shows. I did not expect that the show would pull a bait and switch and for the majority of the focus to be on the boy and not the girl. I also did not expect to be shedding a few tears by episode 2 because I was so emotionally invested already. It went from a show I was unsure about, to being a show I’m now going to be eagerly looking forward to each week. 

Hatena Illusion - If I had to drop another show, it would be this one. It doesn’t really do anything great, but it’s not offensive in anything and is at least moderately enjoyable. Plus, I started it so now I feel like I have to finish it. But I don’t hate it. A solid 5-6/10. 

Natsunagu - I wasn’t able to find an english sub version of this and the reviews I did see said it was mediocre at best. So this show never got started. 

Now for a few thoughts about the continuing shows I’m watching:

My hero Academia S4 - The Overhaul arc was a slow burn that led to a spectacular explosion with some insane hype levels and some very hard emotional hits. I’m glad we’re now headed into the Culture Festival arc as the show feels like it needs a little bit of lightheartedness to get us back to a good equilibrium. 

Mairimashita! Iruma-kun - This arc feels like it’s kinda spinning it’s wheels and dragging things out longer than needed, but these characters are so fun that it’s fine. 

Ahiru no Sora - Moar backetball!! This show is just a solid sports anime. Can’t wait to keep watching. It’s a full adaptation with 50 episodes and only 16 or so have aired. 

Babylon (The last couple episodes) - Talk about shitting the bed. The ending of this show ruined so much setup and promise. It leaned hard into the philosophical and should have leaned into supernatural. Such a disappointment. 

Kabukichou Sherlock - This show continues to be a pleasant surprise every week. I can’t wait to see how the rest of the season plays out. 

Blade of the Immortal - I’m a bit behind, but this show continues to deliver. 

Re:Zero Director’s cut - Damn, I actually forgot how much I actually like Re:Zero. It’s a masterpiece that I had somehow forgotten was a masterpiece because of how I binged it when it originally aired. This double episode format is honestly even better. The first season I continuously wanted more and more, but with a double length episode every week, I feel like I’m getting just enough to satiate me until the next week. I’m sad that come the spring it’ll be back to 1 normal length episode a week lol. 

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Part 2 of winter impression

It’s coming soon. Hopefully this weekend. I’ve been busy and it’s been hard keeping up with all the shows. I still have 2 left to watch the first couple episodes of and then I’ll finish off my thoughts. 

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The Second Victim

A Destructive God Sits Next To Me. Normally I’m up for wacky chunni shenanigans, but I just couldn’t get into it. 

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The first victim

Plunderer is getting dropped and I’m actually a little sad about it. I’m not dropping it because of time or anything, it’s really just such a bad show. And the premise held so much promise. The whole idea about a world run by numbers that mean different things to each person is inherently interesting, but it’s totally wasted on a boring start and sexual assault and harassment that just will not stop. Can’t do it. 

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Winter 2020: First Impressions - Part 1

So, no way am I going through all the shows in one post. This is going to be broken up into a few parts as the shows get up off the ground and air the first 1-2 episodes. And there are already a few shows, so time for some initial thoughts.

Heya Camp - So I’m pretty sure there’s supposed to be both a movie and a second full length season of Yuru Camp, so I’m thinking this is just a bit of a fun side-story of the non-Rin characters. That said, I love these adorkable camping girls and this is a nice dose to tide over until there’s more. (It’s a short btw)

Darwin’s Game - This is exactly the kind of edgy trash that I love every once-in-a-while. It feels a bit edgy, but not razor sharp like King’s Game or that one with the bullied girl and the razors in her shoes. It’s another one of those deadly game anime shows where this time I don’t actively hate the MC. And for the biggest draw, Shuka is absolutely adorable and I love her already. 

Keep Your Hands Off Eizouken! - I’ve heard this be described as “a love letter to anime” and after the first episode, that’s the best description possible. As long as nothing changes, this is looking to be a solid 9 or 10 out of 10. The sequence in the laundrymat where they’re putting their drawings together and their imaginations take over to visualize how it would look animated was absolutely brilliant. The on-the-fly changes they made in that bit was just such a natural action, it’s crazy. Everything about this show is fantastic, it’s a must-watch of the season. 

Somali and the Forest Spirit - This is another of those found family type shows, usually a single male becoming a parent for a young girl. Except this time, we’re in a world where humans are basically extinct because they started a war they weren’t strong enough to win and a Golem (the titular Forest Spirit) finds a very tiny human who has chains on them. We then begin the adventures of Golem and child (Somali). This first episode was so adorable. The forest and the setting are all very very pretty, but almost all of the episode’s charm comes from the enthusiasm and joy in Somali’s voice acting. This show is truly a joy to watch, and hopefully it doesn’t go too dark so this can stay a iyashikei (healing) anime. 

Number 24 - Rugby boys  doing a lot of talking. Coming off of Stars Align, I can’t help but detect a potentially similar structure of drama and character interactions with a smattering of sports to tie it all in together. And it worked pretty damn well for Stars Align and I hope it works as well for this show too. I also hope they explain rugby a little bit, cause I have no idea how the game is played and what the rules are lol. 

Bofuri - This show gives me the same kind of feel good vibes that MMO Junkie did during the gaming bits. Maple is a complete newbie to games and just does’t want to get hurt, so all points into defense right? This is definitely a fun take on the VRMMO genre of shows that have been in the limelight the last few years. This is no OP MC that magically has great abilities and a harem, it’s a newbie learning to play the game the way she wants to, and it’s refreshing. 

Plunderer - About the elephant in the room, there was a lot of sexual harrasment and assault in this first episode. Harassment from the “hero” and assault from the villain, and all of it felt pretty unnecessary and very outdated. Setting that aside, the whole premise about the numbers is quite unique and I hope they lean more into that going forward and leave the lucky lecher shit behind in this first episode. Especially since this is set to run for 24 episodes. 

Seton Academy - I’m not quite sure what to think about this show. All the dudes are full-on animals and all the girls are cute anime girls with animal ears and tails, and the humans are normal. So they wanted the cute anime girl appeal and were afraid to go full Beastars.  Additionally the comedy is almost mean at some parts, but the rest was fairly good. I think it would definitely have benefited from being half-length episodes. It’s probably at the top of my list of shows to potentially drop if I get to busy. But the cute girl designs are definitely cute, and the ED is pretty adorable. 

Sorcerous Stabber Orphen - Man this feels so dated. Both in the designs, the look, the sound, the script, the premise. Everything about it feels old and unoriginal. I think this is the second or third anime attempt that’s been made for this series so I guess that’s to be expected. There were some things to like though, I like the art for the magic, the two main characters so far, Orphen and that other girl are pretty likable. This is also on the list of maybe drop. 

ID: INVADED - Now this was a great premier. I really love everything about what these 2 premier episodes gave us. The setting is so unique and strange, but you didn’t feel lost for too long and you start to piece the setting together much like the lead character does too. I don’t want to go into the details because it really should be watched without knowing much about it, which is pretty easy to do since it’s an original show. Definitely worth watching. 

Asteroid in Love - Holy moe! Dear god the moe, yuri, genki levels are off the charts in this show. It’s just the first episode and already we get yuri vibes, a bunch of adorable moe girls and maybe we’ll learn a bit about astronomy and/or geology along the way. 

PET - The direction could have been a bit better this episode in order to make the flow of some things a bit clearer, but this has a lot of promise. Hopefully they’ll lean into the psychological aspects more in the future, but what we got here was a very interesting start and is a show to keep an eye on. 

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Winter 2020

Alright, now that the year and decade are over, it’s time to look to what comes next! That means Winter season of 2020. So here I’ll list all the anime that I’m interested in watching, and then the 3 episode rule will take over from there in terms of what I’ll finish. 

Lets start with continuing shows:

My hero Academia S4

Mairimashita! Iruma-kun

Ahiru no Sora

Babylon (The last couple episodes)

Kabukichou Sherlock

Blade of the Immortal

Special Mention - Re:Zero Double episode edition. (rewatch before the spring)

And now for new shows:

Plunderer - What’s your number mean? I hope this is pretty good, the premise is unique

Darwin’s Game - another death game kind of thing. Hopefully this one is decent

Somali to Mori no Kamisama - slice of life with a golem and a human girl. 

Haikyuu!! Season 4!! Fuck Yeah

Isekai Quartet S2 - fuck yeah

Kyokou Suiri - youkai + romance. 

RikeKoi - Scientists trying to prove love. Very excited for an adult romance with science. 

Bofuri:  I Hate Getting Hurt, So I Put All My Skill Points Into Defense - reminds me a bit of Average Abilities from last season, not a bad thing. That was a real nice chill show. 

Infinite Dendrogram - VRMMO game anime. Not sure what the main conflict is supposed to be, but could be good. 

Nekopara - Cat girls. Nuff said. 

ID:INVADED - Original anime that has some hype around it. 

Majutsushi Orphen Hagure Tabi - Probably bad, but i’m usually down for at least 1 or 2 bad shows a season lol 

Jibaku Shounen Hanako-kun - This one also has a bit of hype around it. 

Dorohedoro -  This is just so out there, with a horror/suspense vibe and dumb action and crazy character designs. Definitely worth checking out. 

Heya Camp - A little more of the camping girls to tide us over til the full S2

Ishuzoku Reviewers - Fuck yeah, I read the manga and can’t wait til this brothel review anime to air (hopefully uncensored. AT-X come through please)

Koisuru Asteroid - AstroGeo girls? Looks like a cute SoL show. 

Pet - This is one I’ve been looking forward to for a while. Looks like a kind of tripy psychological horror/sci-fi kind of premise. 

Boku no Tonari ni Ankoku Hankaishin ga Imasu - Looks like fun chuuni shenanigans

Murenase! Seton Gakuen - Beastars, but not? But I’m down for animal girls and comedy

Eizouken no wa Te wo Dasuna - Lets make an anime!

Runway de Waratte - fashion?

Hatena Illusion - the PV looked cute. Magic and illusion or something 

Natsunagu - Short, but about college students coming of age. Always down for something set in college. Not enough of those. 

number24 - I’m hoping this is much better than Try Knights. 

Dang, 31 shows. I’ll give them all a try and from there decide what to continue. I generally have a low bar for what I’ll watch. It doesn’t have to be a top tier show for me to watch, I just like watching anime. That said, something about the show has to grab me at least. So we’ll see what this season can provide. 

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Anime of the Decade - Final

So I’ve gone through the last 10 years of anime and now it’s time to rank them. 

1)  Hunter x Hunter (2011)

2)  No Game No Life (2014)

3)  Vinland Saga (2019)

4)  Youjo Senki (2017)

5)  Run With the Wind (2018)

6)  Haikyuu!! S3 (2016)

7)  Food Wars (2015)

8)  High School DxD (2012)

9)  Kill la Kill (2013)

10)  Sekirei (2010)

Now, I fully agree that this order and even the inclusions are not objectively the best. These are my AOTY shows for each year and I’ve ordered them in terms of personal preference and their effect on myself. 

So there we are. Now to look forward to a new season, year, and decade of more anime. I can’t wait. 

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Anime of the Decade 2019

Alright, now we start breaking down this current year. There was a fuck-ton of anime that I watched and to get this done on time and without going crazy I can only highlight some of my favorites, but it was a damn good year. Lets get into it!

Winter:

Dororo - This is a remake of an incomplete anime series from the late 60s. And besides this show having an absolute banger of an OP and ED, it has some gorgeous art and a story full of heart and ambition. Party is over. 

The Promised Neverland - Definitely the suprise show of the season for me. I hadn’t read into the manga and was fortunate to not have been spoiled on anything going into it and that was definitely for the best. For a show based on suspense and mystery, keeping the thriller aspect is of absolute importance. This show was absolutely spectacular. 

Kaguya-Sama: Love is War - Oh man, this show was so much fun. Just so much fun from start to finish. The mind games, the banter, the character interactions are all so entertaining. There’s a surprise ED too that is too adorable to even describe. 

Mob Psycho 100 S2 - Ok, so this is my AOTS and a strong contender for AOTY. This second season takes everything we loved about the first season and cranks that up to 15 and then they have the absolute gall to throw in some super strong character growth as well! And as if that wasn’t enough, there were multiple EPISODES this season that had some absolutely mind-blowing animation. 

Spring:

One Punch Man S2 - Oh man oh man, I so wish this had kept everything the same from a production standpoint as the first season. This story is arguably slightly more interesting than the first season, and this could definitely have benefited from a 2 cour airing. And nothing has been able to top that season 1 ending fight and animation. This was a troubled season, and I hope if there’s another one that the production will be able to keep up with everything. 

Demon Slayer - This was such a great surprise of a show. I hadn’t heard about it or anything about it before starting and I was quite pleasantly surprised. One of the best new shounen shows of the last few years. 

Attack on Titan S3 Part 2 - And here is my AOTS. This second part of season 3 is just everything good about Attack on Titan PLUS... FINALLY! THE basement reveal!!! This is the building culmination of years of waiting and dozens of episodes and it is truly great. 

Isekai Quartet - Talk about the biggest surprise of the season, this show came completely out of left field. It’s an isekai show about 4 isekais. Like, this show is so fucking meta it’s insane. Also everyone is chibi, even Ainz. And there’s going to be a season 2 and they’re adding Shield Hero to the case. Truly insane. 

Carole & Tuesday - I really wish I could give this my AOTS, that’s how much I love this show. Particularly this first half. It’s basically a 90′s show that somehow got missed and is now being made and that still feels like it belongs. This is really an anime that’s a love letter to music and it succeeds wholly. 

Summer:

Dr. Stone - This is my AOTS. I absolutely adore this show. This season there were a LOT of shows that aired on Fridays and this was the first one I watched every single time. Humanity has been petrified for over 2500 years and this story follows Senku a science obsessed high school student who decides to recreate the entirety of scientific evolution in record time. Bill Nye meets prehistoric era shounen series. What an awesome idea, and I absolutely love it. 

Fire Force - Fire Force is like a love letter to fire animation. The only thing that holds this show back is some completely unnecessary, ill-timed, and ill-executed fanservice with a particular character. It really feels like a block that keeps me from wholeheartedly reccommending it to people, but besides this it’s an absolute treat for the eyes. 

DanMachi S2 - Wooooo season 2! AND we’re getting a season 3 and a MOVIE!!

Vinland Saga - Holy shit, this show is beautiful. SO good. 

Fall:

My Hero Academia S4 -  Hell yeah, more HeroAca. This first part of season 4 has been a slow-burner, so we’ll have to see what the rest of the season has in store for us next year. 

Welcome to Demon School, Iruma-kun - This is such a charming show. It’s got all the appeal of the fun shows of the 2000s and reminds me of a less ecchi Rosario Vampire. And it is absolutely worth checking out. 

Vinland Saga (second cour) - I’m going to cheat a bit and include this in my fall selection. It is a 2 cour show, but the second part of the season is almost drastically better than the first part and I thought the first part was a solid 10/10. This takes it up to another level both in the visuals and the story and characters. Definitely my AOTS. 

Alright, so we have Mob Psycho 100 S2, Attack on Titan S3 Part 2, Dr. Stone and Vinland Saga. I am having some legitimate struggles right now. Dr. Stone wins on straight entertainment value, Mob wins on character growth and animation, AoT wins on payoff and action, and Vinland Saga wins on beauty and story and characters. I think it all comes down to Vinland Saga as AOTY, but damn that’s a hard choice.