I did this last time for fall so why not continue it as it meant a lot of people could recommend shows and is the few times we can be positive about CURRENT entertainment.
Putting in two caveats though:
- I didn't watch everything so only listing what I've seen with a few exceptions
- This season has suffered a lot from production issues and delays, I'll mark some as such as it might be better to hold off watching till they are done
Honorable mentions: Vinland saga, To your Eternity, Blue Lock. I'm too far behind on all of these so can't be fair in giving a review.
Ongoing from last season: Eminence in shadow: finding the perfect balance of cringe and cool, good thing we are getting a second season
Iruma-kun: nice wholesome show, some good character development this season for all the misfit class
New stuff:
Attack on titan: was really an hour long episode but they REALLY went all out, including showing how fucked you are if the rumbling catches up to you
Trigun Stampede: a very good adaptation of a classic series, I know, I know, CGI but this is GOOD CGI that actually makes it great.
Nier Automata Ver 1.1a: production delays A great adaptation from the game, a few jank 3D art here and there but a good watch
BOFURI: I Don't Want to Get Hurt, so I'll Max Out My Defense Season 2: You had that one friend that breaks the game by playing it for fun, witness the anime. Excellent anime for gamers.
The Magical Revolution of the Reincarnated Princess and the Genius Young Lady: if you liked Lycoris Recoil, You'll love this as the mc has major Chisato vibes. It has not one, but 2 yuri relationships so if you are 'no gay relationships EVER' skip but it's done organically compared to western media.
Tokyo Revengers Season 2: Building up from season 1, there is more character developments and set up for future seasons, watch if you enjoyed season 1
Tomo-chan is a Girl!: The beginning of tomboy supremacy. A girl that can hang out so well with the guys, she gets bro-zoned. Very funny series plus really love Carol not just as a character but her VA is the same in sub and dub. (Side note Carol and Ko aren't direct cousins, it's a mis translation due to how asian cultures record relations)
The Angel Next Door Spoils Me Rotten: a good wholesome romance anime, a nice pallette cleanser
Reborn to Master the Blade: From Hero-King to Extraordinary Squire: very basic story but the art is WAY too good for this series. If you like the 'battle junkie mc' premise, recommend watching Black Summoner instead, arts not as good but more character.
Buddy Daddies: Don't go in expecting a Spy Family alternative, it's got funny and wholesome moments but a lot of dark moments as it's about 2 hitmen taking care of a child after they kill her dad (she doesn't know)
Handyman Saitou in Another World: very unusual as the story is segmented in every episode, it might go to what a side character is doing, a flashback or different perspective. A mix of humour and dark fantasy.
Danmachi Season 4: Went A LOT darker this season, lots of death, desperation and close calls
Nagatoro Season 2: inching closer to an actual relationship with this one, maybe if there's a third season we actually get a commitment
Farming Life in Another World: very chill Isakai where mc is reborn with a godly farming tool, best boy Kuro, best girl Zabuton
Ningen Fushin: Adventurers Who Don’t Believe in Humanity Will Save the World: a group of people, all betrayed in different ways set up their own adventuring group to fund their own coping hobbies. Art isn't the best but likable characters.
Chillin’ in My 30s after Getting Fired from the Demon King’s Army: like the title, a chill anime with a timeskip halfway through. Also no question about the son's parentage, he's just as 'cultured' as his dad lol
The Misfit of Demon King Academy Ⅱ: Production delays Despite the chamge in VA, still stays true to the formula, gigachad mc walks in, owns his opponent, walks out.
My Life as Inukai-san’s Dog: I got 5 mimutes in and noped out, I ain't 'cultured' enough so anyone else watch this?
Saving 80,000 Gold in Another World for My Retirement: Simple but brilliant premise, mc gains the ability to teleport between ours and a fantasy world so uses it in the most genius way, Income tax evasion. Lighthearted but alludes to dark elements
The Reincarnation of the Strongest Exorcist in Another World: basically the title but added note, was betrayed because he was too powerful so in this life, looking to be in the party with the hero so that he can be more conspicuous. Is ok, best part is some of the monsters he summons like that terrifying one that interrogated a demon
Campfire Cooking in Another World with my Absurd Skill: our mc gets summoned with 3 other people, they get the standard isekai abilities but our boy, he gets 'online shopping'. Smarter than your average mc ducks out of the kingdom that summoned him and travels the world with this broken ability of amazon prime/Uber eats on demand. Great show to watch but eat beforehand as you will get hungry watching and Overlord fans will enjoy the VA for Fenrir.
Dishonorable mention: The Fruit of Evolution 2: I watched 3 episodes of season one, dropped it as it was so bland, thought I'd try 1 episode of season 2, see if it improved....it got WORSE, how did it get even worse! This has overtaken Isekai cheat magician as the worst Isekai I've ever watched!
That's everything, feel free to use it as a guide if you were on the fence, if you think something better should be mentioned or hidden gems I missed. A more calm season compared to fall.
Zabuton best girl.
Zabuton best girl.
It took me two tries but on the second attempt Saitou got its hooks in me and I got like super invested somehow
The disjointed nature of the story can rub people the wrong way, it does get more focused after episode 3 but I understand why that can be off putting
Though for those on the fence, try episode 1 at least as they literally explain where they got their measurements from....
Onimai was probably the anime of the season. Overall a wholesome and funny show disguised by an insane premise and top tier fanservice, if you saw the pastel blue and pink or the premise of "a pervert NEET guy gets turned into a middle school girl" and rejected it because of the American gender movement you were wrong.
Onimai is dope. Fantastic animation. Troons definitely try to co-op it though. Especially with the American title: "I'm now your sister" as opposed to the actual translation "Onii-chan is Done For", which works in multiple ways as 1) he's literally been turned into a girl, 2) this is a way to force him to change as he's a hiki NEET (i.e. his way of life is done for)
I don't think troons succeeded at co-opting it because it was pleasant to watch, sincere, joyful, and funny, which are all the opposite of American gender madness.
Huh, maybe I'll check it out. There were some warning signs, and I saw the troons trooning all over it, so I didn't give it a chance. I'd wanted to check it out out of morbid curiosity, but forgot. If you're saying it's actually good, that's a much better reason anyway.
If you like joyful slice of life shows and occasional big fat anime tits it's great, if you don't then you won't get much out of it. There's no troonism at all.
This is the only one I watched, because I really enjoyed the manga. But it is quite good, holds the comedy up well. And I appreciate the characters aren't as cliche as they normally are in this genre. Misuzu isn't "misunderstood" or "trauma filled," she is just an asshole and always has been. Carol isn't a retard, she is just simple minded despite being top grades and able to outmaneuver Misuzu when she wants. Really makes the character's more interesting to watch when you can't foresee every plotpoint from Ep1.
But they also removed Jun's "Bigot" shirt, so 2/10.
I mostly read Manga these days, but a lot of my niche series keep getting anime unexpectedly so the wife is drawing me back to watching them. Apparently another option I never expected (Gushing Over Magical Girls) just got announced for one, and that's gonna break the weebsphere wide open.
Now I just need Rozen Garden Saga to get one, and my days will be complete.
I love Blue Lock. I was never into sports anime that much but this anime really appealed to me. I love the wide variety in the cast of characters and the anime has made me enjoy soccer a lot more. Nagi and Barou are my favorite characters so far.
Buddy Daddies is the surprise show of the season for me. I expected a relatively chill laidback raising a kid show like Spy x Family or The Yakuza's Guide to Babysitting but Buddy Daddies has extremely dark moments that I never expected from this show. The show is definitely worth watching.
The Angel Next Door Spoils Me Rotten is a really wholesome romance anime. This is probably my best feel good anime of the season. Love the relationship between the two main characters.
Tomo-chan Is a Girl! is a really funny anime. I love the comedic interplay between the cast of characters. Truly a golden age for people who love tomboy girls in anime.
Endo and Kobayashi Live! The Latest on Tsundere Villainess Lieselotte was really good in the beginning. The last few episodes have been a drop in quality but I really like the cast of characters and the star seiyuu voicing them. Lieselotte is an adorable tsundere.
I still need to watch all of Vinland Saga Season 2 and Tokyo Revengers Season 2, still need to finish up season 2 of Iruma kun and Hero Academia season 6.
At some point in time, I need to go watch Bofuri season 2 and Nagatoro Season 2. The new 1hr special of Shingeki no Kyojin apparently come out so I need to catch up on that.
This season has way too much anime I am interested in for me to watch weekly.
It's been like that for a while lol, our only break was straight after the pandemic, then next year we hit the gas and started spraying out the shows like they were firefighters putting out a fire.
As for tomboys, we are getting season 3 of Dr Stone for the spring season so if you liked that, plenty of tomboys in there to keep you going lol
Of your honorable mentions, Bluelock is great. Very unique sports anime, done in a very stylized way. Each contestant has their own strength, and it's presented almost like a superpower. They all stand out in their own way, and really put on a show as they vie for supremacy. Really interesting characters that break the usual tropes, and the MC is a badass. The art is great, the pacing is great, and the concept is pretty unique; sports battle royale tournament?
The attitudes of the characters are also very interesting, they all want to be the best, and they go all out, but not in the sometimes cringy way some anime characters do. This feels more adult, for one thing. It's interesting, too, because compared to anything involving life and death, the stakes here are incredibly low...but also life-defining; a chance to chase their dreams and compete at the highest levels. If they can't hack it, well, it's not like they're executed or anything, but they're going to have to find something else to do with their lives, and give up their dream of being elite.
If you guys do watch it, definitely give it a few episodes. Episode 1 is great, but doesn't get into the meat and potatoes yet. It really kicks off once the games start.
The Fire Hunter: Fascinating worldbuilding, but some really janky animation. The animation director does have a pretty janky animation style, but this goes a little bit beyond that and suggests some production issues. Only 10 episodes, but a season 2 is confirmed.
In/Spectre Season 2: World's thirstiest amputee solves problems involving spirits by BSing everyone. If you liked the first half of Season 1 (or all of it, but the last arc really dragged on far too long), this is more of the same, but better.
The Vampire Dies in No Time Season 2: Comedy about an incredibly weak vampire and the vampire hunter he moves in with. The comedy is somewhat Gintama like, but lower brow. You'll know if you like it or not after a single episode, and if you like season 1, season 2 is more of the same.
Giant Beasts of Ars: Magical Monster Hunter anime that went pretty well, but until we know if there's any sort of direction they're planning to continue the franchise, the ending just leaves us with a "WTF, so what was this all for if it just ends there" moment.
Endo and Kobayashi Live- The Latest on Tsundere Villainess Lieselotte: Cute but repetitive fantasy romance, where two high-schoolers are doing "live sports commentary" on an otome game they magically have direct communication with. The conflict of the final episode was a real letdown though.
Damn, those were two that sounded interesting when all the season was being announced but I waited to see if there was a buzz to catch up later
Unfortunately sounds like I didn't miss much skipping them.
If Ars gets a continuation, then it's fine. Lieselotte, while cute, was rather dull and repetitive, so you can definitely skip that.
Thanks! I getting into more anime and started getting manga recently as well. I assume a rule of thumb with wokeness in anime is to be wary of anime produced in the west?
If it's made in the west, it's a cartoon, not anime.
And don't pay Crunchyroll if at all possible, they funnel money away from the creators, and towards their own woke projects.
I was about to subscribe to crunchyroll and was told exactly what you said. Glad I dodged that bullet.
To be fair, High Guardian Spice, the woke pet project of Cruncyroll, DID provide youtube analyzers a ton of content in how NOT to make a show.
Well yeah as it isn't anime, if Chinese animation isn't anime and they're not that far from Japan, Hollywood stuff definitely isn't.
Though I'll also add be careful of dubs and some subtitles, wokeness can infiltrate through western VAs dubbing a series like what happened with Funimation and Dragon Maid but subtitles can also be affected so just be careful and ask around if it's based on a manga or light novel if a line was meant to be there and sounds a bit woke.
Thanks!
The groups that rip anime with official subtitles have started to include both the official Crunchyroll subs and the English subs from bilibili, an Asian service where they're clearly written by an ESL speaker but definitely aren't being written by a trans person. Sometimes, like with Nagatoro (officially subbed by a troon who thinks he's writing the story and keeps making high school girls say "sus" and "chad") groups will actually resub the entire show.
That’s cool they resub the show. I have found a lot of older anime on Tubi, Crackle, and Pluto when it comes to the free services.
What did they do with it? Usual Netflix stuff?
Oh. So typical Netflix. No surprise. You could make such a cool anime of Castlevania with competent writers
These are the ones I know, though others probably also have either a manga or LN.
Manga:
Light novel:
Most of them do like I know Attack on Titan does, Farming in another world does as light novel i think but it's more....adult than the anime (A LOT MORE FUCKING lol)
The only original I know for sure is Buddy Daddies and Nier Automata is based off the game.
Anime MC: A naked woman?! I should get her some clothes, and teach her about plowing fields.
Book MC: A naked woman... Time to plow her fields.
In the anime, when the second woman shows up, the first asks for help because the farm work is too exhausting. In the books, it's because her bedroom work is too exhausting, since the MC was blessed with infinite stamina.
I think it's mostly alluded to that the fields aren't the only thing he's ploughing (gigiddy) as spolier if anyone cares
He has a son with the first vampire girl by the end of the anime and when they made the bigger home they added a special room just for banging in. I think they just focused more on the chill vibes for the anime and allude to 'yes he's ploughing every woman there'
I really enjoyed your last past and found a few anime because of it. Blue lock is my favourite recent anime mostly because I love sports anime. Haven't caught up with aot or Tokyo revengers yet but I'm excited for both. Any standouts for you in the winter?
Deprnds on taste as for comedy alone, I'd recommend Tomo-chan and Handyman as a dark yet uplifting at times anime
Overall though, I'd recommend Trigun, Reincarnated Princess and Campfire cooking, they are fantastic shows.
Cool I'll look into some of these tonight when I start watching some anime, thanks man!
The OG Trigun is one of my favorite things ever, should I watch Stampede or will it just piss me off?
I've just finished Trigun Stampede today (the final episode released a few hours ago) and holy shit did they do one hell of a finale. It was really good and used the CGI just to make the action scenes as dynamic as possible.
Possible spoiler so don't read if you don't want to get spoiled: the ending seems to be dovetailing it into the OG thanks to how it ended.
Nice, season 1 was cute.
Lol, I can safety say there is NO romantic relationship between these two guys. They're two hitman with broken lives thanks to personal histories that when they run into this girl during a job (the one to eliminate her scumbag dad) she mistakes one as her actual dad (her real dad is a deadbeat scumbag) and they take care of her than abandon her.
It has quite a lot of wholesome moments as they just want to give her the best kind of life but can go dark fast thanks to the business they working in.
I've read about half of these as manga. I had a hard time finding some of the known and some of the unknown ones without the proper Japanese title..
I disagree about your review for Shinka no Mi. I've re-watched Season 1 a dozen times. Inu ni Nattara Suki na Hito ni Hirowareta is an okay manga. BOFURI anime and manga was boring as hell.
Huh, I just can't stand the evolution fruit anime, the mc's attitude, the 'shock' style just to be shock (like there was that guild filled with kink guys), I just couldn't stand it. Then 1st episode of second season got worse with the school setting and the 'misfit class' gimmick.
I can watch 'cultured' anime but that dog one just had me noping out instantly. I'd easily rewatch re do of healer over it. As for Bofuri I like it a lot as it reminds me of some people I used to play with when I was younger. Like I remember LONG ago barely a year after it released, we spent half an hour in GTA trying to land a titan plane on the maze Bank building because, why not? So I get extra enjoyment seeing every way she just breaks the game to have fun.
While I have you on the line, I can recommend some future Anime I've got on "planning to see" at AniList (most read on MangaKatana beforehand).
Arifureta Shokugyou de Sekai Saikyou 3rd season
Buta no Liver wa Kanetsu Shiro
Chiyu Mahou no Machigatta Tsukaikata
Isekai wa Smartphone to Tomo ni. 2
Jidou Hanbaiki ni Umarekawatta Ore wa Meikyuu wo Samayou
Jitsu wa Ore, Saikyou Deshita?
Konyaku Haki sareta Reijou wo Hirotta Ore ga, Ikenai Koto wo Oshiekomu
Kuma Kuma Kuma Bear Punch!
Level 1 dakedo Unique Skill de Saikyou desu
Otomege Sekai wa Mob ni Kibishii Sekai desu 2nd Season
Saijaku Tamer wa Gomi Hiroi no Tabi wo Hajimemashita.
Seirei Gensouki 2nd Season
Sokushi Cheat ga Saikyou Sugite, Isekai no Yatsura ga Marude Aite ni Naranai n desu ga.
Tensei Kizoku no Isekai Boukenroku: Jichou wo Shiranai Kamigami no Shito
Tensei Shitara Ken Deshita 2nd Season
Tsuki ga Michibiku Isekai Douchuu 2
Youjo Senki II
I'm not the best with ACTUAL Japanese, can barely do English thanks to how long some titles are getting lol.
Looking forward to Arifureta because season 2 was a good improvement over 1st season and I REALLY want to see that 'god' get kicked in the balls
Is that the smartphone one? I hope that improves over the 1st season, it just felt shallow like it could've been a bit better but kept everything at a very surface level.
So far for next season,my go to is Ranking of Kings S2, Dr Stone S3 and Mobile Suit Gundam Witch from Mercury S2, everything else, I'll give 1-3 episodes, if I can't hook me by then, I drop it.
So I had time to watch a couple.
Up to now, it's the one I have the most fun watching of the bunch mentionned. It's "goofy well done". I'm a few episodes in but I wonder if it stays as interesting considering the pet. No spoil so won't elaborate. Try the first 2 episodes. Preliminary 8/10, including the bonus for finding a refreshing way to spin "Isekai summon". That's not easy at this point.
It feels like I already watch it because there are several extremely similar ones. "Reincarnated epic master of the world as a prodigious extremely blasé child whose potential is neglected by others. This epic evil monster? Shreded effortlessly. This master plot? Figured it all in 5 minutes after watching a dog sniff its balls and someone drop some planks. Oh and this epic dragon? It's my pet now."
I guess it's most for children? Some parts of the plot are fine though. 5/10 some fun, lots of "sure you did, whatever".
Meh. Had potential but the plot seemed dull despite much, MUCH screaming, and I felt there was nothing in the lead relationship.
4/10 , I will give them the very pretty aesthetics and interesting thing about techo-magic blending.
Worth watching but OH MY GOD the first few episodes were such a drag with the extremely whiny caster elf and those early episodes went nowhere because the characters were litterally fondling and commenting on eachothers tits constantly. I don't care if there is fanservice, but for fuck's sake, there's a limit.
Some episodes have way too much repetition. Yes S4 Cassandra, we know about your vision, you went over it about a dozen times. Now shut up, stop whining, and cast a healing spell or get out of the screen.
The Floor 37 arc was a full episode too long ( cutting a few of the sacrifice / suicidal internal monologues wouldn't impact anything, we got it by the third time, you're afflicted and remorseful ), but overall okay.
6/10, +1 without the constant tits-fondling of the early episodes and near-DBZ levels of repetition-filler.
P.S. : The lead S2 onward is very D.Gray Man Allen Walker-ish, but I didn't care. Obligatory arc about "akshually, Not All dungeon monsters are evil, you bigot". Obligatory Onsen OVA ( you're not missing anything for skipping, but it was watchable ). Obligatory "Adult Night time Pleasures district" arc.
Special mention :
The magical potion sex-change is not much of the story :
You're watching a socially-akward, recluse girl go through puberty with her sister holding her hand. At least that's untill episode 4 when I stopped watching because it wasen't my jam.
I watched it all up to date. Very interesting horror setting for the first two seasons. After that the skyzo constant flips and politics focus bored me to death and the action-packed recent chapter was full of eye-rolling speeches.
Characters go on very long tirades about impending doom so often it quickly starts to sound "I'm 14 and this is deep". Go in this prepared to watch everyone who dosen't have "plot armor" die in absolute horror.
Plenty of speeches will go that way : "viewer-kun, trust us and our unparalled skills and experience, we won't die, so actually bother to keep track of us and care".
This means they are just about to die. Like 9/10 of them. With lots of gore.
It's "fun" a few times but by Named Character No35's death, they all get blurry "soon to die" faces.
Later seasons get rather "CURRENT YEAR" talking-points preachy. Diversity yay, nationalism BAD, armband-wearing ethnic group in internment camps. Eye-rolls.
I just wanted to watch some gore struggle for survival against human-devouring titans focussed on a group of friends defying odds, support eachoters and make it. Instead by S3 it's politics, politics, politics, and the main character goes full-Emo.
Very cool Levi fighting moves. Strong point there.
S1 and S2 : 7.5/10,
S3 v 3.5/10,
S4 : 5/10
Will update if I watch more of the list.
Wtf is up with all those isekek titles?
I have to say despite or because of the titles, they seem to get right into the story quickly than waste time building up the premise so there's that
Attack on titan: S tier and the only hype show of this season, its conclusion.
Nier Automata Ver 1.1a: good because of source material.
Trigun Stampede: good production values, 0 fucks given about source material, above average show.
Chillin’ in My 30s after Getting Fired from the Demon King’s Army: Generic but decent OP isekai type trash.
Ningen Fushin: generic but decent RPG style isekai trash.
Eminence in shadow: Cringe as fuck middle schooler hot topic bullshit show. It's semi-watchable but don't you dare say this show is cool. It's fucking stupid. Half the time, the MC is doing cringe power fantasy. And yes, it's so fucking cringe. It also makes 0 sense and has 0 internal logic or consistency. It is the trashiest of trash and I have no idea why it is as popular as it is other than that people have trash taste.
Danmachi: honestly fucking weird. It went from a comedy show with lots of fanservice rpg style dungeon show, to... some whacked out survival horror shit. It just completely changed genres out of nowhere. Also last half season was some dumb shit centered around a monster loli that almost made me stop watching. The only reason I watched it was because I was stuck on a cruise and only had downloaded a few shows to watch this this was one of them.
Strongest Exorcist: generic as fuck
The Misfit of Demon King Academy: boring "MC is OP and always wins with 0 challenge" typical generic demon lord show. "Demon lord" is basically its own genre now, similar to isekai. Overlord gets away with this premise because it has other things going on, though Overlord fell off.
Farming Life in Another World: boring generic isekai trash.
I think one point you're not taking into account is that some of those are comedies. I didn't get too far into Eminence, but that's why a lot of other people like it, is the comedy/cringe.
And The Misfit of Demon King Academy: History’s Strongest Demon King Reincarnates and Goes to School with His Descendants (I like the full title because even that's ridiculous and hilarious) basically defines "OP MC" and does so intentionally. It's tongue in cheek. And how can you hate on a show that gave us such memes as "Did you really think killing me would be enough to make me die?"
I wish I could say these are comedies but they take themselves VERY seriously.