Friday 20 July 2018

Anime Spotlight : Spring 2018! The Season Filled with Abrupt Endings

Spring 2018 had it's fair share of ups and downs as most seasons do. But strangely it was full of weirdly timed endings of animes. Some just seemingly randomly ended. And THEN you have Full Metal Panic which only ended nearly 3 weeks after the other anime....That being said I thoroughly enjoyed this past season and as always I'll share my top 5 anime from the past season and my thoughts on the rest.

Uma Musume: Pretty Derby

Synopsis : This is a tale of a world where "horse girls" with glorious names and incredible running abilities live alongside humanity.

Horse girl Special Week has moved from the country to the city to attend Tracen Academy. There, she and her classmates compete to win the Twinkle Series and earn the title of "The County's #1 Horse Girl."
Thoughts : This anime was an absolute blast! Once you get past the slightly weird premise, A huge cast of lovable characters and the races had just the right level of tension to them. The final episode was a bit of a cop out sadly, but all in all well worth the time.

Hinamatsuri (2018)

Synopsis : One night, a strange object falls on the head of Nitta, a member of the yakuza. Inside the box is a strange young girl named Hina. She has tremendous supernatural powers, and Nitta finds himself reluctantly taking her in. Her powers can come in handy for his yakuza business, but he also runs the risk of her using them on him! Not to mention, if she doesn't use her powers, she will eventually go berserk and destroy everything around her. Nitta and Hina's strange life together is just beginning...
Thoughts : Most laughs this season for sure! A show I'd easily recommend anyone and everyone to watch! NEED MORE!

Otaku ni Koi wa Muzukashii

Synopsis : A gaming otaku and a fujoshi reunite for the first time since middle school at work.
Thoughts : Otakoi just had the perfect mix of laughs and diabetes inducing sweet scenes in it. I loved the references to other anime and the whole setting of working adults and thier daily lives.

Megalo Box

Synopsis : A desolate land stretches out from the city of poverty. A motorcycle speeds recklessly, blowing clouds of sand and dust. The rider is the protagonist of this story – he has neither a name nor a past.

All he has is his ring name, Junk Dog and a technique for rigging MEGALOBOX matches with his pal Nanbu Gansaku, which they use to support their hand-to-mouth lives. Although he has the skill, he isn't dissatisfied enough to change his ways- but he's not satisfied with his life either. JD is bored, resigned, and unfulfilled. He lives with frustration in a life of shadows beneath the lights of fame.

Meanwhile, under the bright sun is Shirato Yukiko, the daughter of Shirato Konzern - the reigning family of the wealthy class. Yukiko decides to advance her career by using MEGALOBOX to organize a large fighting event, MEGALONIA: the tournament to determine the champion of MEGALOBOX. She creates a scenario: MEGALOBOXER Yuri, under her control, will win and become the champion to further promote the Shirato brand gear and expand business. Yuri has been the reigning champion of MEGALOBOX for the past few years. Driven by self-discipline and his strong will to practice, he has the skills and presence of a true champion. The man himself is a shining exemplar of virtuosity.

This is a story of JD and his rival, Yuri. An encounter between shadow and light; a fast-paced story begins when their paths cross.
Thoughts : Megalo Box was, for me, the perfect way to reboot a loved franchise. Take the classic boxing story of Ashita no Joe and bringing it into the future the right way! 

Darling in the Franxx

Synopsis : They dream of one day flying into the endless sky, even though they are painfully aware of how far away the sky is beyond the glass that blocks their flight.

The distant future: Humanity established the mobile fort city, Plantation, upon the ruined wasteland and civilization flourished. Within the city were pilot quarters called Mistilteinn, otherwise known as the "Birdcage." That is where the children live... Not knowing anything of the outside world, and unaware of the vast sky. Their only mission in life was the fight.

Their enemies are the mysterious giant organisms known as Kyoryu. The children operate robots known as FRANXX in order to face these still unseen enemies because they believe that is their purpose in life. Among them was a boy who was once called a child prodigy: Code number 016, Hiro. However, now he's a failure and considered unneeded. Those who cannot pilot FRANXX basically do not exist.

One day, a mysterious girl called Zero Two appears in front of Hiro. From her face grew two alluring horns.

"I've found you, my Darling."
Thoughts : I'll be first to admit that Darling in the FRANXX was flawed, but I still loved it, maybe it was the elements and references to the classic Gainax anime. Or maybe I'm just a sucker for cute pink haired girls and mecha. One thing is for sure though, the Opening song is a killer!

Now you are probably wondering "what about the rest?" No fear, as we are about to look at them too..

Golden Kamuy : I Loved this anime, it's only real flaw, is that it ended midway with the second part only showing much later this year. Split Cour anime must end...

Hisone to Masotan : At first I was surprised by what was going on in this anime, but I really enjoyed it all the way to the end, and if you don't mind the art style, I highly suggest you try it.

3D Kanojo Real Girl : It's a real shame the studio that did this anime didn't have a bigger budget. As the show itself was enjoyable to watch, I just feel it would have done so much better with proper animation..

Comic Girls : Kaos-Sensei and the girls made me smile, Which is exactly what cute girls things type slice of life anime are meant for :D

Tachibanakan To Lie Angle : Short, lewd, funny but lacking in substance..

Alice or Alice : My thoughts on Tachibanakan to Lie Angle can be replicated here...

Tada-kun wa Koi wo Shinai : Tada-kun wa Koi wa Shinai had all the ingredients for a great anime, but someone it just didn't bring it all together in the end.

Fumikiri Jikan : A collection of shorts that kind of come together in the end, A pleasant time waster 

Beatless : I feel that Beatless took itself way to seriously, and it also had the most recap episodes I've ever seen in a 24 episode show...and the end was lackluster to say the least.

High School DxD Hero : The "new" art style pissed off a few people, but I personally didn't mind it at all. A must see for fans of the previous seasons.

Cardcaptor Sakura  Clear Card-hen : Seeing Sakura and the rest return was a pleasant experience for me. I'm just curious why it had to end so abruptly

Nanatsu no Taizai Imashime no Fukkatsu : Yes I know shounen anime can be stupid, but god damn do I love this franchise thus far. Lots of action and Escanor is OP.

Sword Art Online Alternative - Gun Gale Online : Personally I enjoyed this spinoff a lot more than the original franchise it's based on...guess no Kirito helps..that and a decent writer..like the one from Kino's Journey for example.

Grancrest Senki : There were moments where I wanted to drop this anime, but for some reason I kept on pushing on, and honestly it's not bad. It's not great either. It's a fairly good fantasy warfare anime I guess..

Rokuhoudou Yotsuiro Biyori : For the worried, I can confirm there is absolutely 0 BL in this anime, just good times.

Yowamushi Pedal - Glory Line : The only flaw in this season of Pedals was simple. Onoda didn't sing while cycling :(

Amanchu! Advance : Love, love, love, LOVED this anime. Amanchu Advance fills the gap left by Aria for me. If you are into diving, or just want to feel better. This is for you.

Shokugeki no Soma - San no Sara - Toutsuki Ressha-hen : My only issue with the latest season of Shokugeki no Soma is simple...WHY DID IT HAVE TO BE SO SHORT :<

Toji no Miko : An underrated gem of an anime that more people should watch. I'm so glad I stuck around till the end of it.

Full Metal Panic Invisible Victory : HOW FUCKING LONG DID WE WAIT FOR THIS? And so many things happened that broke my heart...but that last episode was worth it...

How was the Spring 2018 anime season for you? Please share your thoughts with me.

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