Thursday 22 April 2021

Anime Spotlight : Winter 2021 Anime Season, Everything You Needed to Know


 This is a few weeks late, but better late than never. Winter 2021 was filled with mostly fantastic anime that made Anime fans experience quite a few emotions. And there were a few disappointments as well.

But let's start off as usual with the 5 Anime shows I thought were the best of the season and then get to the rest.

Horimiya



Synopsis: At school, Hori Kyouko is known for being smart, attractive, and popular. On the other hand, her classmate, the boring, gloomy Miyamura Izumi tends to get painted as a "loser fanboy." But when a liberally pierced and tattooed (not to mention downright gorgeous) Miyamura appears unexpectedly on the doorstep of secretly plain-Jane homebody Hori, these two similarly dissimilar teenagers discover that there are multiple sides to every story...and person!
Thoughts: From start to finish, this highly anticipated anime adaptation has been a joy to watch, and no I didn't read the manga before hand so no bias here. Honestly Horimiya is a great watch with fun characters, good music and great visuals. And the best bit? No overly forced drama as is usually the case in the romance genre.

Jujutsu Kaisen

Synopsis: Although Itadori Yuuji looks like your average teenager, his immense physical strength is something to behold! Every sports club wants him to join, but Itadori would rather hang out with the school outcasts in the Occult Research Club. One day, the club manages to get their hands on a sealed cursed object. Little do they know the terror they'll unleash when they break the seal...
Thoughts: It's not everyday, or anime season for that matter, that an battle shounen anime comes around that's actually impressive. I mean sure a lot of them can be entertaining to watch, but not many are really good. Jujutsu Kaisen is one of the few really good ones since Demon Slayer. You won't be disappointed watching this one.

Non Non Biyori Nonstop

Synopsis: Fresh excitement brews as someone new moves into the house next door. The students of the tiny, tight-knit Asahigaoka branch school will have to make this newcomer feel welcome!
Thoughts: The latest Non Non Biyori season was brilliant, as expected. A few new characters were added to the winning formula of slow paced but full of joy events in the countryside. The graduation scene especially was a winner for me. Makes one almost wish the Nyanpasu never ends...

Tensei Shitara Slime Datta Ken (2021)


Synopsis: Champion of monsters Rimuru Tempest ends the orc war and earns the esteemed title as Slime Chancellor.

Now that the Jura Tempest Alliance is growing even further, they will now be meeting the animal kingdom of Eurazania, reuniting with King Gazel, rising tensions between monsters and humans, and Rimuru encountering the strongest enemy he's ever faced.
Thoughts: The first half of the 2 cour season 2 of That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime was significantly darker than the first Season. But I really enjoyed it, it really kept going strong from the first season, which is more than I can say for shows like Overlord or Promised Neverland...

Yuru Camp Season 2

Synopsis: Rin, Nadeshiko, Ena, Chiaki, and Aoi continue their laid-back adventures camping around Yamanashi prefecture, whether together, in pairs, or enjoying their own solitude.
Thoughts: I'm so glad Yuru Camp season 2 aired on the same day as Higurashi, mostly so I can relax after the horrifying things that kept happening to Rika, that and the second season of Yuru Camp was so goshdarn good. Now I just want to visit japan even more! Also if you haven't seen Yuru Camp yet because you think and anime about camping can't be good. Shame on you, go watch it RIGHTNOW!

That concludes the my Top 5 anime of the Winter 2021 anime season, now it's time to talk about the rest of the season.


Yakusoku no Neverland S2 : As much as I'm glad we finally got more Promised Neverland, I can't help but feel like they rushed the conclusion of this story quite a bit, and the ending was just too convenient for me. 

Dr. Stone S2 : The Stone Wars took quite a while to get started, but in the end it was worth it, Got to learn quite a lot about Tsukasa and I'm curious to see how the story progresses.

Shingeki no Kyojin (The Final Season) : It's called the "final season" except, it's not. It's a split cour waste of time with a horrible OP people weirdly seem to enjoy. The only good character in the franchise was killed off. And the plot is still asinine. Shingeko no Kyojin is like a story that one uncle tells you, but he just rambles on and never really gets to the point, when he finally does you realize there was no point.

 
Uma Musume - Pretty Derby S2 : The second season of Uma Musume focused mainly on Tokai Teio and Mejiro McQueen, their rivalry to be the strongest horse girl,, and had quite a lot of unfortunate events. I only wish the second season had a bit more balance to character focus like the first season did. But I did enjoy watching it, and it really had some good emotional scenes.

Re Zero kara Hajimeru Isekai Seikatsu  s2 Part 2 : The name is a mouthful, but the  second part of the second season of ReZero was quite good for me, instead of the depressing loop Subaru was stuck in the first part, we finally get some real progress, and find out the thruth about a lot of the characters in the series. Rem fans might not enjoy this one though ;)

Go-toubun no Hanayome S2 : The Five beautiful but stupid sisters are back, it was good to see that the focus finally switched to them facing their feelings for Futaro, and that he isn't as dense as we think he is ;) looking forward to the movie that ends the anime.

Azur Lane - Bisoku Zenshin! : Ironically the more slice of life approach this short Azur Lane anime had, was a lot better to watch than the overly dramatic previous Azur Lane anime, At least now they didn't feel like Kantai Collection with worse girls.

Shin Chuuka Ichiban Season 2 : The ABSOLUTE LAST THING I expected to see in this anime was NTR, and yet it was there...that aside pretty good season, I won't be surprised to see a third season.

SK8 the Infinity : This anime somehow got it right to take something cool and impressive like skateboarding, and turn it into something really silly, it wasn't a bad watch but some parts were really unnecessary.


 Tenchi Souzou Design-bu : It was pretty interesting seeing the animals being designed in this Anime and trying to figure out what they were making. some were quite easy to guess. Others though...also it was quite funny how they made hell seem like a themepark.

Kaifuku Jutsushi no Yarinaoshi : Take Rising of the Shield Hero, mix in some hentai elements, and a general plot line of rape is terrible. Then you have this show, later on it felt like the sex scenes were added just to tik a box for every episode.

Majutsushi Orphen Hagure Tabi S2 : It's probably becuase I've been watching quite a long time, but there is something great about watching this old skool anime that doesn't follow most of the modern trends in anime. A Go to show if you are looking for that old Fantasy anime.


Mushoku Tensei : A hugely popular Isekai anime with some inconsistency issues, and also terrible male characters. Some arcs in the anime were mostly fun to watch, others were just meh, especially midway into the season. I'm not a huge fan of the MC still acting like perverted neet that would definitely have been caught for molesting a girl on a train. That aside it is still worth a watch, and most of the time the MC isn't super creepy. Though I do fear things might get worse in the future.

Higurashi no Naku Koro ni (2020) : Do you want to see horrible things happen to kids? Repeatedly? Then the 5th season of Higurashi is for you! I was quite confused as to why they continued this franchise as the previous anime season finally had the gang surviving for once...but I guess someone just had to punish Rika...

Hortensia Saga : A full on Hard Fantasy Anime featuring an Evil Plot, Betrayal, Confusion and a bunch of guys who can't see an overly obvious girl dressed up as a guy....Those aside it was a decent watch all in all, The pacing was just a bit weird and the end was full on o_0



Ore dake Haireru Kakushi Dungeon : This fantasy harem anime does quite a few things different than the norm, MC kisses his childhood friend in the first episode, actually does things with the girls in his harem and isn't overpowered for no reason. The anime is fairly light hearted with a good mix of comedy and action. The fanservice isn't overbearing either.

Tatoeba Last Dungeon Mae no Mura no Shounen ga Joban no Machi de Kurasu Youna Monogatari : Definitely takes first place  for longest anime title for the Winter 2021 season. And it's pretty fun to watch as well :D I just with our protagonist wasn't so dense, and the belt princess wasn't so overly attached..

Jaku-Chara Tomozaki-kun : One would EXPECT this anime to turn into a romcom, but it never really gets there. or anywhere else to be precise. At the end our protagonist is only a slightly less nerdy version of himself, making the journey there feel all a bit pointless. Maybe this anime should have been 24 episode instead so it things could get a bit more fleshed out.


Idoly Pride : An Idol anime with decent music, good characters and actually a bittersweet story. I really enjoyed this anime, and yet it went by completely unnoticed by most.


Kemono Jihen : A dark but fun anime about supernatural battles and mysteries surrounding Kemono and the world they live in. One thing I never understood was, how some people thought it was going to be like "Tokyo Ghoul" when it was clearly nothing like that, even from the synopsis and initial trailers...

Soukou Musume Senki : An Isekai anime where the main character gets to use an armoured suit, based on a model she bought be chance while on a shopping trip with a friend of hers. Yes it sounds weird. But even though there is a lot of doom and gloom in the anime. It feels like it was never really intended to be taken too seriously, especially when you meet some of the supporting characters. Yes there is a lot of action, but there is also a lot good gags, and relaxing scenes. And it's also complete. Which is pretty rare these days for isekai anime ;)


High-Rise Invasion : I was pleasantly surprised when I saw that Netflix was bringing out an anime adaptation of High-Rise Invasion, a manga I quite enjoyed. The anime takes a few episodes to get started. But things get pretty crazy later on. I quite enjoyed the adaptation and I do hope Netflix decides to adapt the rest as well.

Log Horizon S3 :  Firstly, lets address the biggest thing, There is no DATABASE OP :( but the new one by Band-Maid is pretty good too so no worries. Season 3 of Log Horizon just goes on where season 2 ended. Without spending a significant amount of time with the usual "this happened in season 2" flashback kind of thing. So it might take a while for details and characters to get remembered by watchers but I generally felt this season was a good watch. I still enjoy the fact that game mechanics are still a big part of the world and story.

Urasekai Picnic : This fantasy anime about two girls traveling between the real world and the "Otherworld" kept my interests up. I really hope to see more of this anime if possible. I quite enjoyed the fact that no matter how many times they go to the Otherworld, they still get freaked out by a lot of stuff. It made the characters feel more real, as real as Anime characters that travel between worlds can be.....


Hataraku Saibou S2 : The second season of Cells at Work was quite an educating watch, though things got surprisingly dark with the reintroduction of an old enemy from Season 1, it's a shame the anime was only 8 episodes though. But~

Hataraku Saibou Black : Luckily there was also more Cells at Work to enjoy, in this adaptation of the spinoff manga, with a significantly worse body/work conditions. It was great to see the contrasting versions of the different cells compared to Cells at Work, instead of dependable guys, the white blood cells were katana wielding big breasted girls. The platelets were more mean spirited than the adorable ones we got to know etc. This one was quite depressing at times though..

And that concludes my VERY LATE but still done, seasonal wrap up write up of the Winter 2021 Anime Season. What were your thoughts on the past season as whole?


Sunday 10 January 2021

Anime Spotlight : The Best Anime from 2020

 

We all can agree that 2020 was not a good year in general for most people, but it luckily had some really good anime, some of which got postponed due to covid-19 but luckily was still made and aired in the end. The following is my top 5 anime from 2020.


Chihayafuru 3

Synopsis : They may have just won their most coveted karuta tournament, but members of the Mizusawa karuta team still have a long way to go. Each member chases their dreams, and with a win under their collective belt, those dreams are closer in reach than ever. Ayase Chihaya is determined to challenge Wakamiya Shinobu and win the title of Queen, and Mashima Taichi is ready to take on Wataya Arata now that he's made it into the most elite of karuta players — but an unexpected revelation will deal these karuta players a hand none of them saw coming.
Thoughts : The third season of Chihayafuru was and easy choice for this list, it was one of the best in the season it aired in, and one of the most memorable.

Eizouken ni wa Te o Dasuna!

Synopsis : Asakusa Midori wants to create an anime, but she's too disheartened to make that first step by herself. But by pure chance, she meets Mizusaki Tsubame, an up-and-coming socialite secretly dreaming of becoming an animator. Together with Midori's money-loving best friend Kanamori Sayaka, the energetic trio slowly work towards making their "ultimate world" a reality!
Thoughts : Eizouken ni wa Te o Dasuna! was a very pleasant surprise, I'll admit the first episode was kinda iffy for me but quickly this turned into an anime I was looking forward too each week. I love how it sheds light on anime creation and didn't need to rely on cute girls to do it in a fun way either.

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.


    Golden Kamuy (2020)

Synopsis : Separated from Sugimoto, Asirpa now travels toward the Russian border, focused on discovering more about her and her father's involvement with the coded tattoos. But Sugimoto is determined to find and protect Asirpa! Along the way, he'll discover new people, new cultures rich with history, and an unforgiving terrain. Will Sugimoto and Asirpa survive their journeys and reunite?
Thoughts : The third season of golden Kamuy, and luckily not the last. Was everything I loved from previous seasons and more. This anime still has great action, comedy, drama and lore. If you haven't watched Golden Kamuy yet, why not?

Uzaki-chan wa Asobitai!

Synopsis : Sakurai Shin'ichi's one wish is for a little peace and quiet. But Uzaki Hana–his boisterous, well-endowed underclassman–has other plans. All she wants is to hang out and poke fun at him. With the help of her chipper charm and peppy persistence, this might just be the start of a beautiful relationship!
Thoughts : Uzaki-chan wa Asobitai! was an extremely fun anime, where one finds oneself, much like the characters in the show, wanting to see how their relationship develops.

That concludes my top 5 anime series from 2020, there was quite a few anime movies I was hoping to see in 2020, like Demon Slayer, Evangelion 3.0 + 1.0 and The Violet Evergarden movie, but luckily we made it into 2021 so there is always hope :D

Friday 8 January 2021

Anime Spotlight : Fall 2020

 

2020 was pretty crazy, but before I get into the top 5 anime of the past crazy year that was 2020. Let's talk about the Fall 2020 Anime season, which had some really fun shows in it, here is my top 5. As always I'll only talk about shows that completed in the Fall 2020 anime season.


Tonikaku Kawaii

Synopsis : First comes marriage, then comes an earthbound love that is out of this world!

From the day his parents named him, Yuzaki Nasa has been destined for outer space...or so he believes. But while trying to join the space program, he is thrown for a loop when an accident introduces him to Tsukasa, a mysterious girl with strange powers. Is she an alien, a moon goddess or something else? Since she insists on marrying him, Nasa has plenty of chances to find out!
Thoughts : From the creator of the much loved Hayate the Combat Butler comes Tonikaku Kawaii, with an extremely fun OP and quite a surprising first episode. This anime never fails to make me smile. Great mix of characters, some good vanilla rom-com fun without any possible ntr or other drama. Highly Recommended.

Majo no Tabitabi

Synopsis : Once upon a time, there was a witch named Elaina, who set off on a journey across the world. Along the way, she would meet all kinds of people, from a country full of witches to a giant in love with his own muscles-but with each meeting, Elaina would become a small part of their story, and her own world would get a little bit bigger.
Thoughts : Elaina's journey in Majo no Tabitabi reminded me quite a bit of Kino's Journey, just with more shoujo ai elements, fantastic countries with their own unique rules and settings, I most enjoyed the one with all the different Elaines, Hondo Kaede did a fantastic job voicing all those different versions of the same character. If you want a fun adventure anime this is for you.

Golden Kamuy (2020)

Synopsis : Separated from Sugimoto, Asirpa now travels toward the Russian border, focused on discovering more about her and her father's involvement with the coded tattoos. But Sugimoto is determined to find and protect Asirpa! Along the way, he'll discover new people, new cultures rich with history, and an unforgiving terrain. Will Sugimoto and Asirpa survive their journeys and reunite?
Thoughts : The third season of golden Kamuy, and luckily not the last. Was everything I loved from previous seasons and more. This anime still has great action, comedy, drama and lore. If you haven't watched Golden Kamuy yet, why not?

Haikyuu!! To the Top Part 2

Synopsis : Karasuno enters into the second half of Nationals with brand-new opponents: Inarizaki High. The long-standing powerhouse team includes a few familiar faces, namely Miya Atsumu. Named Japan's "best high school setter," Miya previously rubbed elbows with Kageyama at the All-Japan Youth Intensive Training Camp. Karasuno will have to overcome a setter that outranks their own, and Atsumu's twin brother is on the team, too.
Thoughts : Haikyuu! never fails to entertain, one of the better sports anime franchises from recent years. In this season we finally see Hinata become the kind of athlete we wanted him to be, and some really great moments in general.

Kuma Kuma Kuma Bear

Synopsis : Fifteen-year-old Yuna prefers staying home and obsessively playing her favorite VRMMO to doing anything else, including going to school. When a strange new update gives her a one-of-a-kind bear outfit that comes with overpowered abilities, Yuna is torn: the outfit is unbearably cute, but too embarrassing to wear in-game. But then she suddenly finds herself transported into the world of the game, facing down monsters and magic for real, and the bear suit becomes the best weapon she has!
Thoughts : Kuma Kuma Kuma Bear reminded me of Bofuri at first, but soon stood on it's own. It's a fairly light hearted isekai anime with plenty of fun moments to be had. I wouldn't mind another season of it.

I know not everyone is going to agree with my picks, as there was quite a lot of good anime in the Fall season, though it does feel like I say that almost every season, with few exceptions. On to the rest, though there  might be some extras ;)

Dungeon ni Deai wo Motomeru no wa Machigatteiru Darou ka III : Danmachi is back in it's third season with some stressful moments for Bell and the Hestia Familia. With the addition of talking monsters and a deeper understanding of the lore of the world, it was all in all a good season.

Enen no Shouboutai S2 : I quite enjoyed Fire Force season 2, feels like we are getting closer to understanding what the true nature of the Evangelist really is. Still a fun shounen anime, though the fights are starting to get long..

100-man no Inochi no Ue ni Ore wa Tatte Iru : At first I wasn't sold on this anime, but it did grow on me, the MC did become significantly less annoying and the whole premise is pretty interesting, would have hoped it would be 24 episodes though.

Iwa Kakeru! Sport Climbing Girls : I quite enjoyed this anime about wall climbing, granted I'm a sucker for sports anime and this does have all the cliche's and trappings, but I still had a good time watching it, and learning about wall climbing.

Kud Wafter OVA : Adorable, heartwarming and great to watch. The end to Little Busters we all deserve . 

Noblesse : Why do all the webtoon anime adaptations from Crunchyroll have such horrible music? Music aside, and the fact that you need to see Noblesse Awakening, which came out 4 years before the series, before you watch Noblesse, it was generally one of the better webtoon anime's thus far. Though that's not hard to be with such a low bar.

Kamisama ni Natta Hi : Quite enjoyed this latest show from Jun Meada, though not nearly as sad as Angel Beats was, PA Works did a great job with this anime. If you are a fan of Key animes this is for you.

Tenchi Muyou! Ryououki Dai Go-ki : The 5th part in the Tenchi Muyo Ryo-oki OVA series, there is just something about this classic scifi harem anime that pulls me in.

Senyoku no Sigrdrifa :Cute girls that are fighter pilots, norse mythology, funny side cast and a overpowering enemy made Senyoku no Sigrdrifa a fun watch.

Yuukoku no Moriarty : A different take on the whole Sherlock Holmes stories, a friend said it reminded him of Death Note in some regards, though I feel that's doing this anime an injustice ;)

Ochikobore Fruit Tart : A cute anime about a bunch of entertainment dropouts trying to be  idols, with a fair bit of yuri undertones. The music isn't half bad either, except that curry song...

Gochuumon wa Usagi Desuka Bloom : The latest season in this relaxing anime was just what we needed in 2020 to take our minds off the dark times we live in.

Strike Witches - Road to Berlin : I was pleasantly surprised to find out there was a post Movie Strike Witches series, that other badly animated "slice of life" one doesn't count. The battle against the Neroi is growing ever more stressful in this franchise, with quite a few rough moments.

Taisou Zamurai : At first I was  quite unsure of what to make of this anime, but after a few episodes I found myself quite invested in it, with each episode getting better than the previous. Aragaki's recovery as a Gymnast is well worth watching.

Munou na Nana : If you enjoy plot twists this anime is for you, you'll be kept on your toes throughout.
 
Kimi to Boku no Saigo no Senjou Arui wa Sekai ga Hajimaru Seisen : Not a bad watch by any means, just weird that it was so super popular in Japan.

Mahouka Koukou no Rettousei - Raihousha Hen : I quite enjoyed the second season of Mahouka, finally we can see what happened between the first season and the movie. Tatsuya is still a boss of note.

Maoujou de Oyasumi : A sleeper hit of the season, pun intended. I'm sure everyone wants more of this anime :D
Assault Lily - Bouquet : Thicc thighs saves...humanity? A enjoyable "magical girl" anime that doesn't really bring anything new to the genre, but doesn't do anything wrong either.

Adachi to Shimamura : I was honestly hoping for something a bit more in the yuri stakes with this one, though for the most part this was just a unrequited shoujo-ai kinda thing, though still had fun watching it, especially for the alien girl.

Akudama Drive : A surprisingly fun watch, with tons of action, good visuals, a lot of craziness and a decent end that felt final.

Ikebukuro West Gate Park : I quite enjoyed watching IWGP, Makoto is such a well written MC and I really liked the characters and stories from this anime.

Kami-tachi ni Hirowareta Otoko : Slime Rancher the anime! JK a fun little isekai anime about a salary worker that got reincarnated as a young kid with too many slimes :D

All in all the Fall 2020 anime season was pretty good and a good closer for 2020 as a year in general. Which anime from the Fall season did you enjoy watching?