Thursday 2 July 2020

Anime Spotlight Spring 2020

COVID-19 has caused quite a lot of chaos in everyone's lives, and even the anime industry wasn't safe from the pandemic. A significant amount of anime have been delayed and postponed which means that quite a bit of anime I started in Spring 2020 will only end in Summer 2020...possibly.
Luckily Spring 2020 still had some really good shows! Here is my top 5 and afterwards my thoughts on the rest that I watched till completion.

Kakushigoto

Synopsis :  Gotou Kakushi is an artist who draws a somewhat vulgar manga, and tries to hide it for the sake of his daughter, Hime.
Thoughts : I absolutely adored Kakushigoto, From the author of Sayonara Zetsubou Sensei, Kumeta Kouji, it was filled really good gags, great characters, a bit of a strange harem and also some really serious topics and feels. Kakushigoto is well worth your time if for some strange reason you didn't watch it.

Otome Game no Hametsu Flag shika Nai Akuyaku Reijou ni Tensei Shiteshimatta...

Synopsis : After hitting her head particularly hard one day, Duke Claes' daughter, Catarina, suddenly recalls all the memories of her past life: that of a teenage Japanese girl. Just before her untimely death, this girl recalls playing an otome game... that is exactly like the world she's living in now! She is now Catarina Claes, the antagonist of the otome game, who nastily hounded the protagonist until the end. Knowing all the possible outcomes of the game, she realizes that every single possible route ends with Catarina being murdered or exiled! In order to avoid these Catastrophic Bad Ends, she has to use her knowledge of the game and her own wiles, starting with breaking off this engagement with the prince... Will Catarina survive while making her way through this world, where bad flags trip at every turn? Find out in this reverse-harem rom-com, led by everybody's favorite villainess!
Thoughts : Hamefura is Isekai done right but also a really good reverse harem anime. There is nothing to hate about this anime and a second season has been announced too!

Honzuki no Gekokujou: Shisho ni Naru Tame ni wa Shudan o Erande Iraremasen (2020)

Synopsis : With her baptism ceremony complete, Myne begins work in the temple as an apprentice shrine maiden. Awaiting within is what she always wanted: a room full of books! But her new life isn't quite the dream she was hoping for; she's surrounded by nobles who scorn her commoner origins, and even her own servants are causing her trouble. On top of that, she has to constantly battle the weakness of her own body. But with her love for books burning in her heart, she gives her all to her new apprentice duties.
Thoughts : I was a huge fan of the first season of Honzuki, and with the second season's focus a bit more on magic and the growth of the characters especially Myne and Luts it was quite a joy to watch.

Nami yo Kiite Kure

Synopsis : The stage is Sapporo, Hokkaido. One night, our heroine, Koda Minare, spills her heartbroken woes to a radio station worker she meets while out drinking one night. The next day, she hears a recording of her pitiful grumbling being played live over the air. Minare storms into the station in a rage, only to then be duped by the station director into doing an impromptu talk show explaining her harsh dialogue. With just one recording, the many eccentric facets of Minare's life begin to pull every which direction as she falls ever deeper into the world of radio.
Thoughts : Wave, Listen to me!'s protagonist, Koda Minare is best described as chaotic, but her voice is so gosh darn good, and it's such a joy listening to her talking. This anime has a ton of good scenes with a good mix of serious and funny mostly all due to Minare...

Arte

Synopsis : Firenze, early 16th century. The birthplace of the renaissance era, where art is thriving. In one small corner of this vast city, one sheltered girl's journey begins. She dreams of becoming an artist, an impossible career for a girl born into a noble family. In those days, art was an exclusively male profession, with woman facing strong discrimination. In spite of these challenges, Arte perseveres with hard work and a positive attitude!
Thoughts : Arte has that person trying their best, against all odds, for their dreams vibe that I love. My only gripe with Arte is IT'S TOO SHORT!!!

That's my top 5 anime from the Spring 2020 anime season that I have completed watching. The release of Brand New Animal I'm watching hasn't been completed yet otherwise it would have taken Arte's spot. But onto the rest of the completed anime I watched this past season.

Listeners : Listeners at times felt like a LSD fueled trip filled with early rock as well as late 80's/Early 90's alternative rock references and mecha. And not in a good way..

Dorohedoro : Speaking of trips, Dorohedoro was pretty darn crazy, but in a good way. If you want something completely different and will take you by surprise. This is for you

Plunderer : This is one of those anime I had high hopes for due to it being from the Soro no Otoshimono author, but sadly those hopes were dashed on the rocks of mediocrity. It did have some good scenes though.

Tamayomi : This anime would have been so much better if it didn't have atrocious animation. The opening is pretty fun and as far as a sports anime goes it's not bad at all...if only it didn't look like it was animated by blind people.

Yesterday wo Utatte : This is one of those anime that the closer I got the the end, the faster I wanted it to end. Initially the romance dynamic was okay but things got more than just a bit tedious in the latter half.

Hachi-nan tte, Sore wa Nai deshou! : One of those isekai anime that doesn't promise you the world, but does give you a fair bit of fun throughout.

Tower of God : The "Big" anime this past season and the first animated Webtoon, which hopefully opens the doors for better Webtoon's to get anime adaptations. Tower of God had really iffy animation at times and the Opening was awful to say the least. Yet the anime itself was still a decent watch and the mystery of the tower keeps one interested.

Gleipnir : This is one of those anime that initially I didn't think I'd enjoy it as much, and at the end I felt it ended too soon :( 

Princess Connect! Re Dive : One of the most useless Protagonists this season, but luckily the anime's focus is more on the cute girls than mr useless :D

Tsugumomo S2 : The second season of Tsugumomo initially started off as the same kind of lewd fun show the first season was, but nearing the end it got really rough. Seems like there is going to be a third season though.

That wraps up my Spring 2020 anime season, How was this pandemic fueled anime season for you?

No comments:

Post a Comment