I know, I know … running horribly late again.
I’d started writing this a few weeks into the season and then ran out of steam, so it sat for quite a while as a draft. Unfortunately (?), you’ll probably be able to tell the stuff I wrote after I got back to it as those descriptions are, admittedly, much more terse and compact. (I decided to also flag these.) Note that the delay in writing about stuff isn’t, in and of itself, intended to be any indication of how much I like any particular series. it really was more about just not having much internal inertia to keep writing reviews / commentary.
Standard boilerplate:
- I have a paid subscription to CrunchyRoll (and Netflix), so I don’t have access to shows on other streaming srevices. Yes, I know I’m missing other stuff, but – this is a hobby, not my job.
- The listing of shows within each category does not indicate any sort of preference for one over the others. It’s typically just the order in which I was reading them from my Watchlist.
Quick Internal Links
- Continuing Shows
- Returning Shows
- The Romance / Rom-Coms
- The Isekais
- Action-ish / Fantasy
- Did Someone Mention Robots and War?
- Reincarnation / Life “Reboot”
- Slice-of-Life
- “Other”
- On Hold
- Music!!!
- The Clear Winners
Continuing Shows
Tower of God – It’s back and … I am thoroughly confused by what is going on. I don’t think I should feel like I have no idea what is going on, but I definitely do. At least for me, it feels a lot like Season 1 (from a while back) had a fairly solid plot line and was telling a consistent story. Season 2, including the previous cour and this one, seems like it’s all over the place. Perhaps a recap (episode or shorter) prior to this season was needed, but I have no idea, and – realistically – I’m not inclined to spend the time re-watching Season 1 just to get caught back up. I haven’t dropped this yet, but I don’t exactly approach each episode with eager anticipation. Honestly, watching it feels more like a chore than a pleasure. [Since put on hold and probably will drop it.]
Returning Shows
Re:ZERO -Starting Life in Another World- – Natsuki Subaru, the tormented (and tortured) isekai hero is ba-ack! And his troubles go on (and on). Thankfully, there’s a lot less immediate “reboots”, but he’s definitely up against some powerhouses this time. I am somewhat anticipating him getting rebooted and his most recent “checkpoint” not being nearly as far back as he might want it to be? Still a great series and it’s interesting that the maid twins (Rem and Ram) are now definitely not part of this arc (for reasons from previous seasons that I won’t elaborate on).
Rurouni Kenshin – The modernized version of RK continues, heading, now, to Kyoto for the continuation of the story. As with the previous season, it’s faithful and just updated to more recent animation techniques (and modern display ratios – 16×9 vs 4×3). This bodes well for a complete re-do of the entire series and, yes, I am absolutely here for it.
As a Reincarnated Aristocrat… – Ars Louvent, the kid who can see all your stats in the fantasy world is back and this time he’s been thrust definitively and completely into war. After all, this is what he’s been building his supporting cast (retainers) for and, of course, he’s good at it. Still lots of fun to see how everyone is proving they can shine with what they excel at.
Shangri-La Frontier – Oh … where to begin with this? If you haven’t already read my gushing praise for this series, you should (here and here)! It’s a great show and does, indeed, capture a lot of the inner workings of MMO RPGs, but as the “god game” tier game it’s supposed to be.
MF Ghost – Street racing is back (from here) and it’s still just as much fun as it was before. One really nice aspect of this show is how it does get into some of the technical details of why some of the cars outperform others in the very specific situations that occur in the racing. And, yes, there’s still a bit of fanservice / eye-candy in most of the episodes.
Arifureta: From Commonplace to World’s Strongest – I’m well aware of the divide in the anime community over Arifureta, with many thinking it’s absolute isekai / harem trash and others who are … less harsh on it. Personally, I think it’s absolutely splendid! Yes, Hajime Nagumo isn’t necessarily the “Good Guy”™ who was needed when his entire classroom was transported to the fantasy world, and he was tossed aside and left for dead very early on. However, he’s certainly come a long way since then, hasn’t he? He now has his own personal harem (of some of the most powerful, if not some of the most perverted, females in existence) and is also pretty kick-ass himself. He also absolutely has an extreme “take-no-prisoners” approach to anyone and anything that might get in his way, but is doing so in support of his harem (somewhat unwillingly, almost). It’s all splendid to watch and I am here for every moment of it.
Ron Kamonohashi’s Forbidden Deductions – Even with my simmering level of annoyance at yet another show which uses the Sherlock/Moriarity mythos as a foundation, I still greatly enjoy watching it. Ron and his Watson-like sidekick (who is the actual police detective) are still doing their thing, solving mysteries. This season has the added twist that an associate has concocted the beginnings of some sort of medication which is able to subdue Ron’s “Power Word: Kill (Yourself)” ability which has haunted him and prevented him from being a “real” detective. Definitely will be entertaining to see where it goes from here.
The Romance / Rom-Coms
Tying the Knot with an Amagami Sister – It’s … checks notes … another anime about a guy who goes to a Shinto shrine and needs to work with the shrine maidens. What’s different this time (as compared with a previous show, Tenpuru,) is that he the head priest has suckered him into an arranged marriage situation. Oh, and the aforementioned shrine maidens are three sisters … and he gets his pick. However, he’s trying desperately to study for college, so he doesn’t exactly need the distraction. Of course, though, he’s just the kind of guy they need to help fix the shrine’s financial troubles. Fairly typical harem-esque rom-com with the expected trio of harem members (the ditzy living fanservice one, the tsundere, and the overly lewd underage one). For all of that, still fun to watch.
365 Days To The Wedding – If the company you work for suddenly announces it’s opening a branch office in the middle of Alaska in a year and a “lucky” unmarried employee will be chosen at that time to be stationed there … what do you do if you’re not married and really don’t want to run the risk of banishment / exile to Alaska? Most people would start job-hunting. But then we wouldn’t have this particular gem, where one of the unmarried females decides that the best solution is to have a fake wedding with one of her co-workers. Now they’ve got a year to concoct all of the supporting details of them having had a secret relationship with plans to be married – in a year. Typical romcom elements with the expected slow-burn of the two starting to discover real feelings as they start seeing each other outside of solely a work context.
You are Ms. Servant – (terse) Cute assassin girl who has no real-world experience becomes the maid (not “servant”) for mostly-normal high-school boy. Hijinks ensue! It’s fun, it’s sweet and the way she interacts with everyone and everything around her (all of which is pretty much new) is funny. And, of course, let’s not forget the completely unintentional and low-key slow-burn romance.
Yakuza Fiancé – Calling this “romance” or a “romcom” is such a disservice. On the other hand, I’m not sure how else to categorize it. Granddaughter of a Osaka yakuza clan head goes to Tokyo to meet the grandson of another clan head (who was best buddies with the other clan head when they were young) for a potential marriage. She’s not really into the idea, but figures she’ll give it a try. The grandson seems like an absolutely boring guy … except he’s secretly a masochistic (for lovers) ass-kicker who’s already got waaay too much blood on his hands from beating the crap out of several people (for various reasons). There’s a lot of mind games between the two of them with her trying to get out of this arrangement while he is trying to get her to fall in love with him (because, at the end of the first episode, she sold her kidney to be able to afford to have her own bankroll to mess with him). It’s better than I can describe it and the animation / artwork is gorgeous.
Blue Box – (terse) High school athlete (girl) winds up moving in with another family (whose son is also a high school athlete). He’s been watching her from afar a bit and there’s a budding interest on both sides, although neither knows how to handle it. One really interesting element here is that the sport he plays is badminton. From experiences of my younger son, I have come to learn that badminton – when played beyond the “fun in the backyard” level – can be downright brutal. This show certainly emphasizes that part of it.
The Isekais
I’ll Become a Villainess Who Goes Down in History – (terse) Oh, look … it’s another “I’ve been isekai’ed into a romance visual novel, but I’m the villain” story. It’s “ok”, although this is starting to become a regular trope / subgenre all of its own. On the upside, the “heroine” here definitely is less than the best thing around and is attracting a very unpleasant group of sycophants and otherwise horrible people to her aid and defense. So, as always, rooting for the “villainess” to win.
Action-ish / Fantasy
The Healer Who Was Banished From … – (terse) Yep, he’s OP and (even with most of the season watched) there’s no real explanation for why he’s quite that OP. This is even with the repeated demonstrations that he is ridiculously powerful as a healer (and just in general) and while many side characters note that he’s strong, he’s still regularly referred to as a failure. I’m watching it, but not quite sure why I am.
Let This Grieving Soul Retire – I cannot even begin to describe this one. I’ll start with: WATCH THIS!!!, though. The strongest group of treasure hunters (“adventurers”) in this world started out as a group of six kids who promised to become the strongest / best when they grew up. Five of them succeeded beyond their wildest dreams. When the sixth (and seemingly weakest) tried to stay behind and wanted to leave, the others made him the leader. The fact that he collects obscenely overpowered trinkets and artifacts and has an almost unerring knack for making just the right choices (for all the wrong reasons) just compounds his troubles – to the point where he’s more notorious and more feared than any of his friends. Hilarious fun including lots of demonstrations of just how ridiculously strong all of his friends are.
The Most Notorious “Talker” Runs the World’s Greatest Clan – (terse) Oooh… a “weak” class (in an RPG-like world) is actually pretty strong because he’s been trained by the best there is at it. But he’s also more than a little bit of a jerk. Some interesting animation / fight sequences, but, realistically, the story is otherwise rather forgettable. For some reason, though … I’m still watching it.
Nina the Starry Bride – (terse) A young street orphan girl who happens to be the doppelgänger for the princess (who recently perished secretly in an accident) is kidnapped and forced to play the role of the deceased princess. She’s forced into this because, then, marrying her off to the prince of a neighbor country is the only way to prevent war. Plot twist – one of the princes of her country (the one who kidnaps her) is also a doppelgänger. And then she falls in love with him. This doesn’t stop her from being shipped off – where she somehow starts also feeling attraction to the other prince. It’s convoluted, but interesting and the animation is, at times, quite pretty.
Did Someone Mention Robots and War?
GUNDAM: Requiem For Vengeance – Netflix has put its own imprint on the timeline of the original MS Gundam series (UC) with a story set during the One Year War. Kicking it up a notch, though, they’ve used Unreal Engine to produce video game-like level graphics for the series. Is this pure CGI? Yep. Does it look like it’s a video game? Absolutely! Hasn’t almost everyone deep-down really wanted to see video-game-realistic giant mecha fighting? droooool. This story is presented entirely from the perspective of the Zeon Federation (the ostensible “Bad Guys” of the UC era … at least until you get deeper into the story and realize there aren’t any “Good Guys” – just the two sides of the war). And the Gundam unveiled for this show gives a terrific sense of just how devastating the Gundam is when compared with all of the other mobile suits in use. There is a palpable sense of dread and terror at just how … combat-effective … it is. If you aren’t a fan of the Gundam-verse and mecha in general, this isn’t going to be for you. But if you have the slightest interest in things Gundam (and, trust me, you don’t need to be completely knowledgeable about the UC timeline), you will want to watch this show!
Reincarnation / Life “Reboot”
The Do-Over Damsel Conquers the Dragon Emperor – (terse) A female noble (who is a knight) gets a reboot (after being framed by the prince, her fiancé). Back to when she was younger, she escapes fate by declaring love for the first man she comes upon – who happens to be the emperor of another kingdom. Lots of good humor (mainly revolving around how the emperor is pretty much hopeless, but he’s got real reasons for it and there is a developing relationship between the two of them. Worth watching!
Good Bye, Dragon Life – (terse) It’s a reincarnation show! But instead of a person coming back (for whatever reason) as someone else, this time it’s a dragon (a good one) getting tired of his “dragon life” and being given the gift of becoming a human. Of course, he’s still as strong as before (in many ways) and almost immediately starts a … “situationship”? … with a beautiful lamia (half woman / half giant snake) and he’s settling into his life in a mixed human / beastman village. Lots (and I do mean lots) of rather … questionable? … element here – don’t even get me started on the one village guy touting his cow-woman wife’s milk. I’m grown up enough to ignore those pieces and just kind of enjoy the slice-of-life bits until it’s (since) turned into the “need to defeat the demons to save the world (or at least this corner of it” storyline.
Slice-of-Life
Ranma ½ – Another classic show joins the ranks of being redone with modern animation techniques and screen ratio, and it’s another one by Rumiko Takahashi. I’ve been a fan of Ranma and have a decent chunk of the original series on VHS (which, admittedly, have barely been watched). But I’ve read quite a bit of the manga and am more than passingly familiar with the story. I won’t even try to describe the story, since it really needs to be experienced for yourself if you don’t already know about it. This run seems to be off to a good (and faithful) start. Oh, and they also were able to get all of the primary voice actors back for the reboot (at least on the original Japanese side; I almost never watch dubbed versions, so I can’t and won’t comment about English actors). My sole complaint / quibble is that they used a completely new opening song. The original season 1 opening, “Don’t Make Me Wild Like You”, is such a classic and deserved either being straight up reused or re-recorded (see embed for the original version).
“Other”
Blue Miburo – (terse) Interesting look at early Meiji period Japan (the same timeframe Ruroni Kenshin is set in), this time from the perspective of the Shinsengumi, who are also somewhat an element of Kenshin.
Acro Trip – (terse) Magical girl (“mahou shoujo”) series, sort of. The main character is a big fan of her local magical girl (fawning over her) and is recruited to the side of the Bad Guys™. This way, though, she can regularly interact with her idol / nemesis. Absolute slapstick humor here, good for many laughs.
TRILLION GAME – (terse) Where to even begin with this one…? It’s sort of a “Wozniak and Jobs” (founders of Apple Computers) but the Jobs character is a lot scummier and is pretty much just continually running some sort of scam or another. He does want the both of them to be successful, but it’s a lot of “fake it until you make it” type stuff. Honestly not sure why I’m still watching, but it’s light entertainment and I don’t need to pay too much attention to it.
TsumaSho – I’m going with the shortened version of the title for this one (rather than the “official” translated-to-English title … which is “My Wife Will Become an Elementary School Student”). No, this isn’t hentai, nor even close to it. Instead, this is a story about a widower and his grown daughter having not gotten over the death of his wife / her mother for ten years … until she reincarnates in the body of a young elementary school girl. I am so torn about this show – but not because it’s bad. Instead, I am … uncomfortable? … with how it presents them dealing with grief. Yes, grief can be crippling, especially for someone you were that close to. But the path this presents for how to deal with it feels just … so … wrong. Having looked at the description of the rest of the manga series, the plot does eventually get to the right place, but the path there is extremely convoluted and doesn’t make things better. I’m definitely watching it, but that doesn’t lessen my discomfort.
Orb: On the Movements of the Earth – (terse) This one started really slow for me and I was tempted to drop it within the first couple of episodes. I’m glad, in retrospect, I didn’t. It’s basically set in medieval Europe (Poland) when the mere concept that Earth wasn’t the center of existence was heretical and could get you horribly tortured and then put to death (both extremely painfully). It’s turned into a rather fascinating view into how heliocentric (Sun-centered) philosophy and research could even be conducted in the face of it being such a “horrible” idea. Also, some pointed glimpses into the extent everyone else will fudge the results to explain away why bad theories are the “right” ones. [While I, personally, could draw many current real-world parallels … I’m refraining from doing that so as to not politicize my public “face” here.]
On Hold
None this season.
Music!!!
Arifureta (S3): (opening) “Unending Wish”, by Void_Chords (feat. MindaRyn).
Days with My Stepsister: (opening), “Tenshi-tachi no Uta” (Song of the Angels), 天使たちの歌, by Fhána.
I’ll Become a Villainess Who Goes Down in History: (opening), “Baddududu”, by Liyuu.
MF Ghost: (opening), “Rock Me Kiss Me feat. Motsu”, by Yū Serizawa.
Ron Kamonohashi’s …: (ending), “ラビリンス” (Labyrinth), by Hackrockb.
365 Days to the Wedding: (opening), “Kirakira” (Sparkling), キラキラ, by HoneyWorks feat. HaKoniwalily.
Tying the Knot with an Amagami Sister: (ending), “Kimi ni Kai wo Musunde” (To Tie You With Love), by Sumire Uesaka, Kaeda Hondo, Shion Wakayama.
Special Mentions
Arifureta (Season 2): (opening), “Daylight”, by MindaRyn.
Ranma ½ (ORIGINAL): (opening) “Don’t Make Me Wild Like You”, by Etsuko Nishio.
The Clear Winners
Rather than trying to call out the shows I think are absolutely outstanding in each description, here’s a quick list. Think of these as the “If you can only watch a few, go for these!” list. I won’t get into the details on the whys for each one (beyond what I described above), but these are the ones definitely worth checking out. List is purely alphabetical.
- Arifureta
- Let This Grieving Soul Retire
- Shangri-La Frontier
Tied For Second
And, if you have a bit more time beyond just those few, here’s others I think are definitely worth having on your own watchlist
- 365 Days to the Wedding
- Do-Over Damsel
- GUNDAM: Requiem For Vengeance
