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Iaboo, Youaboo, Weallaboo for Anime!
- Thread starter Johnny Unusual
- Start date
Akiba Maid War is the hard boiled crime drama about maid cafes in 1999 I didn't know I needed.
So maybe not fully hard boiled. Soft boiled maybe? Either way, I knew this was the show for me when the first episode has one maid shoot another right in the forhead and blood them came gushing like a hose. It's a horrible, horrible black comedy joke that made me laugh way too hard.
So maybe not fully hard boiled. Soft boiled maybe? Either way, I knew this was the show for me when the first episode has one maid shoot another right in the forhead and blood them came gushing like a hose. It's a horrible, horrible black comedy joke that made me laugh way too hard.
The parents take the cat with them overseas.
Johnny Unusual
(He/Him)
I missed that part. I liked the idea that the cat was hanging out but unattainable for snuggles.
I’m pretty sure I watched all of Samurai Flamenco quite a while ago, and interestingly off the top of my head I remember almost *nothing* about what actually happened in it, other than the fact that it had some really serious left turns in its plot and tone. I do think I enjoyed it in the end though.
Anyway, I wanted some time to think about it, and I really don't like Romantic Killer. And me explaining this is probably going to be a bit unfair, because it's not so much something that the show did, so much as it's something that the trailer did.
I don't think I need to explain more than what's already been said up-thread. A lot of those are reasons enough on their own to be down on the story. But what actually got me is that the trailers made it seem like a much different idea. Like I said, maybe this is on me but the trailers gave me an impression of the protag being, like. Aggressively aromantic. That all this would be forces on her to be in a relationship and she would have none of it. Instead, we see that the Potato Wizard's schemes are working. Taking these things out of her life actually did work to get her thinking about love and relationships. And I don't like this! It feels bad to me!
Otherwise, the show is actually pretty entertaining from the two episodes I have seen so far. It just... Ugh. Misses my mark kinda hard.
I don't think I need to explain more than what's already been said up-thread. A lot of those are reasons enough on their own to be down on the story. But what actually got me is that the trailers made it seem like a much different idea. Like I said, maybe this is on me but the trailers gave me an impression of the protag being, like. Aggressively aromantic. That all this would be forces on her to be in a relationship and she would have none of it. Instead, we see that the Potato Wizard's schemes are working. Taking these things out of her life actually did work to get her thinking about love and relationships. And I don't like this! It feels bad to me!
Otherwise, the show is actually pretty entertaining from the two episodes I have seen so far. It just... Ugh. Misses my mark kinda hard.
I would still trade it away for more Kekkai Sensen to get made by Bones in a heartbeat.
From what you've articulated to us, you're more hung up on the character designs than anything else, which is a pretty discrete aspect of the show and doesn't actually have a lot to do with the quality or techincal prowess of the animation.
The new Gundam show is trucking along and I'm enjoying it a lot so far. It's on Crunchyroll this season and not on Gundam.Info YouTube channel like the last several Gundam shows have been, so it's hard to gauge how many eyeballs this show is hitting. versus other recent-ish Gundams. But just annecdotally, fan engagement seems to be up. A lot. There's been a big uptick in fanart for Gundam stuff regarding this show and I'm all here for it.
Every passing week it just becomes genuinely more and more hilarious that Bandai spent ACTUAL, MULTIPLE DECADES pathetically quivering in fear of the mere idea of having a Gundam show with a female main character... out of fear that all the dudes who buy plastic models would somehow stop buying plastic models if they had to start rooting for a girl. Like breh, have these old, stodgey execs ever met an otaku before? (Don't answer that question.)
Every passing week it just becomes genuinely more and more hilarious that Bandai spent ACTUAL, MULTIPLE DECADES pathetically quivering in fear of the mere idea of having a Gundam show with a female main character... out of fear that all the dudes who buy plastic models would somehow stop buying plastic models if they had to start rooting for a girl. Like breh, have these old, stodgey execs ever met an otaku before? (Don't answer that question.)
I was more referring to everything on display looking like a gutted bastardization of something I love but fuck it I'll happily tack "It looks like a fucking PS3 cutscene" onto my list of grievances sure why not.
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That's an extremely uncharitable and pretty easy to disprove accusation, but I get this is an emotional topic for you.
They screened the first episode of this show during conventions already, and the annecodes I've read so far seem to all think that while it looks different, but the vibe and spirit are all intensely Trigun. Guess we'll find out and be able to judge for ourselves in a couple of months.
They screened the first episode of this show during conventions already, and the annecodes I've read so far seem to all think that while it looks different, but the vibe and spirit are all intensely Trigun. Guess we'll find out and be able to judge for ourselves in a couple of months.
What I watched:
Something something, maxed out my defenses
What I expected:
Moe giant dad
What I got:
Incompetent moeblob Moes herself to be invincible due to even more incompetent game designers, programmers and testers who moed themselves from having a soon to fail mmovrrpg to something that may hopefully live on as fanart fodder
The show in general is entertaining and cute but her continually moeing her way to more and more means of Invicibility says both about the character writing and fake games design they live in. In short: how is she the first person to make this broken build and by accident to boot. Either this game was destined to fail in a matter of months or I just need to dial my suspension of disbelief to broken Tier levels and try to enjoy season 2.
It may just be my Jojo brain taking over but creative uses of just the poison dragon stand she has can effectively do most if not all the roles of her other powers do, but then she cannot be a robot angel demon monster eldritch abomination zombie ghost alien disaster.
However it is the most I've enjoyed out of CGDCT in a while... until
What I watched:
Adachi and Shimamura
What I expected:
Cute girls doing cute things, no magic, no supernatural, no otherworldly bullshit like that except for anime's expected poor handling of the shows subject matter
What I got:
Who knew gay disaster could be so entertaining and so wholesome and with minimal bullshit. I don't think I've enjoyed watching people do what is effectively nothing for hours since K-On! Movie.
And of course the biggest disaster relating to the show is this will never get a second season.
Something something, maxed out my defenses
What I expected:
Moe giant dad
What I got:
Incompetent moeblob Moes herself to be invincible due to even more incompetent game designers, programmers and testers who moed themselves from having a soon to fail mmovrrpg to something that may hopefully live on as fanart fodder
The show in general is entertaining and cute but her continually moeing her way to more and more means of Invicibility says both about the character writing and fake games design they live in. In short: how is she the first person to make this broken build and by accident to boot. Either this game was destined to fail in a matter of months or I just need to dial my suspension of disbelief to broken Tier levels and try to enjoy season 2.
It may just be my Jojo brain taking over but creative uses of just the poison dragon stand she has can effectively do most if not all the roles of her other powers do, but then she cannot be a robot angel demon monster eldritch abomination zombie ghost alien disaster.
However it is the most I've enjoyed out of CGDCT in a while... until
What I watched:
Adachi and Shimamura
What I expected:
Cute girls doing cute things, no magic, no supernatural, no otherworldly bullshit like that except for anime's expected poor handling of the shows subject matter
What I got:
Who knew gay disaster could be so entertaining and so wholesome and with minimal bullshit. I don't think I've enjoyed watching people do what is effectively nothing for hours since K-On! Movie.
And of course the biggest disaster relating to the show is this will never get a second season.
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Akiba Maid War is the anime of all time. It's seriously impressive how well it nails both comedic and dramatic timing, often at the exact same time. Ten Birdie Wings out of ten.
The Little Lies We All Tell was my other surprise favorite of this past season. It made me laugh out loud more than probably any other anime I've seen this year, and while it has a similar chaotic energy to a lot of other series that can get pretty mean spirited in their humor (Asobi Asobase, Sabagebu) it's actually very wholesome. At its core it's about four people who are generally well-meaning and genuinely good friends, but also colossal idiots who get entangled in ridiculous schemes both fantastical and mundane.
Raven of the Inner Palace also feels underappreciated, a solid fantasy drama about court politics and supernatural mysteries in what I think is a setting loosely based on Chinese history. It can get very melancholy, with the protagonist's main gig being to identify ghosts and help them move on peacefully, but its overall trajectory is uplifting. The ending is somewhat inconclusive, but the novels it's based on have been licensed and I'm looking forward to them.
The Little Lies We All Tell was my other surprise favorite of this past season. It made me laugh out loud more than probably any other anime I've seen this year, and while it has a similar chaotic energy to a lot of other series that can get pretty mean spirited in their humor (Asobi Asobase, Sabagebu) it's actually very wholesome. At its core it's about four people who are generally well-meaning and genuinely good friends, but also colossal idiots who get entangled in ridiculous schemes both fantastical and mundane.
Raven of the Inner Palace also feels underappreciated, a solid fantasy drama about court politics and supernatural mysteries in what I think is a setting loosely based on Chinese history. It can get very melancholy, with the protagonist's main gig being to identify ghosts and help them move on peacefully, but its overall trajectory is uplifting. The ending is somewhat inconclusive, but the novels it's based on have been licensed and I'm looking forward to them.
The answer is a combination of "Don't worry about the realism, that's not going to result in a fun story" and the actual sorta truth: She started playing on launch, and the game design was based around a bunch of skills and equipment that only one person can ever get and she just happens to keep finding more of them that stack in hilarious ways.
Also like, the conditions for some of the things are so dumb that it makes sense that they're pretty strong. The anime glosses over the passage of time, but frequently Maple is doing the same sort of thing for literally hours. The first skill she gets has the condition of "Be attacked for an hour and don't take or deal any damage". No one's gonna do that. The game devs are dumb. Literally any scene they show up in is essentially "Look at that, it's the consequences of our own actions."
VRMMO stories pretty much don't work if the devs actually worked like game devs. It's the kind of thing you have to let go, like whatever kind of magic nonsense is going on in any other show.
Ah, so "I wanna enjoy this nonsense so I'll max out my Suspension of Disbelief". Gotcha. This will carry me the rest of my cartoony days.
Edit: Also I'd give Maple more of a pass if she got better Tank armor with... you know more coverage. Take for example, any of the shield classes from Etrian Odyssey. Any one will suffice.
But yes yes this just loops back to maxing out "SoD"
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Johnny Unusual
(He/Him)
Between this, the Haikyu movie, the Kaguya movie and the Slam Dunk movie... too many anime movies I need to see.
Johnny Unusual
(He/Him)
Should my takeaway be "Too much pants?"
I know next to nothing about what this is, but my personal takeaway is the intriguing levels of beefcake
R.R. Bigman
Coolest Guy
This past anime season has been robust. Mob Psycho 100 having a great final season, My Hero Academia having probably it’s best season yet, Spy X Family being sweet and fun. I’m sad it’s over for most of these shows, especially Mob.
Now I suppose I’ll go back to watching Great Teacher Onizuka, what some people would label a “problematic fave”.
Now I suppose I’ll go back to watching Great Teacher Onizuka, what some people would label a “problematic fave”.
I'm getting beefcake sentai construction worker vibes. And a screaming hamster? Damn it, I'm in.
Sadly I didn't really get to watch much this last season, due to theatre things happening. I did watch most of Akiba Maid War and plan on finishing it. It's brand of wackiness reminds me of Yakuza and I'm not entire certain it's unintentional.
I'm The Villainess, So I'm Taming the Demon Lord started strong and just kind of ended. Spoiler: They get married at the end of 12 episodes but the last few were just boring. It also crammed in some isekai bullshit that it didn't really need other than to explain why the main character knew what to do. Oh, and the big bad was another isekai'ed girl, except she was the heroine and manipulating everyone for her own amusement? It was fine, just not that entertaining.
Spy x Family was great and I will now wait until season 2 is released.
Chainsaw Man is Chainsaw Man. Denji is such a wonderfully horny idiot that I can't hate on him. After years of protagonists being all like "I'm going to fight evil for the sake of everyone/love/whatever," Denji fighting devils for a chance to cop a feel is a weird breath of air. Or at least that's what they want you to think. I know it's not everyone's cup of tea, but I'm enjoying it.
Beast Tamer was one I watched on a whim expecting it to be just a harem fantasy show with animal girl fanservice. What I got instead is a pretty wholesome show about a character's growing realization of his worth and accepting his surrogate family. Story spoilers: Rein Shroud is kicked out of the Hero's party for being just a beast tamer and, in their eyes, worthless. What we find out is that Rein is the last of a village of very powerful beast tamers that was destroyed by a demon. The village was destroyed when Rein was a child, leaving him adrift until the Hero and his party pick him up to be a glorified back mule. And how powerful is Rein by the way? Powerful enough to have contracts with an OP super rare cat girl, a dragon girl, fairy twins and a fox goddess and form temporary contracts with an entire hive of bees in a world where other beast tamers can control one beast at a time. Who then each give him enhanced abilities through his contracts with them, making Rein an overpowered good guy. There are several funny moments where it's pointed out to Rein that no one else can do what he does. In addition, Rein's growing confidence never feels too forced, but simply as a consequence of finally getting positive feedback and others standing up for him. Rein realization at the end of the season that he has a home brought a tear to my eye. Oh, and seeing the hero finally get his comeuppance was the cherry on the top.
Now on to next season of hopefully good shows. And Trigun Stampede.
Sadly I didn't really get to watch much this last season, due to theatre things happening. I did watch most of Akiba Maid War and plan on finishing it. It's brand of wackiness reminds me of Yakuza and I'm not entire certain it's unintentional.
I'm The Villainess, So I'm Taming the Demon Lord started strong and just kind of ended. Spoiler: They get married at the end of 12 episodes but the last few were just boring. It also crammed in some isekai bullshit that it didn't really need other than to explain why the main character knew what to do. Oh, and the big bad was another isekai'ed girl, except she was the heroine and manipulating everyone for her own amusement? It was fine, just not that entertaining.
Spy x Family was great and I will now wait until season 2 is released.
Chainsaw Man is Chainsaw Man. Denji is such a wonderfully horny idiot that I can't hate on him. After years of protagonists being all like "I'm going to fight evil for the sake of everyone/love/whatever," Denji fighting devils for a chance to cop a feel is a weird breath of air. Or at least that's what they want you to think. I know it's not everyone's cup of tea, but I'm enjoying it.
Beast Tamer was one I watched on a whim expecting it to be just a harem fantasy show with animal girl fanservice. What I got instead is a pretty wholesome show about a character's growing realization of his worth and accepting his surrogate family. Story spoilers: Rein Shroud is kicked out of the Hero's party for being just a beast tamer and, in their eyes, worthless. What we find out is that Rein is the last of a village of very powerful beast tamers that was destroyed by a demon. The village was destroyed when Rein was a child, leaving him adrift until the Hero and his party pick him up to be a glorified back mule. And how powerful is Rein by the way? Powerful enough to have contracts with an OP super rare cat girl, a dragon girl, fairy twins and a fox goddess and form temporary contracts with an entire hive of bees in a world where other beast tamers can control one beast at a time. Who then each give him enhanced abilities through his contracts with them, making Rein an overpowered good guy. There are several funny moments where it's pointed out to Rein that no one else can do what he does. In addition, Rein's growing confidence never feels too forced, but simply as a consequence of finally getting positive feedback and others standing up for him. Rein realization at the end of the season that he has a home brought a tear to my eye. Oh, and seeing the hero finally get his comeuppance was the cherry on the top.
Now on to next season of hopefully good shows. And Trigun Stampede.
Johnny Unusual
(He/Him)
I was not over the moon on this one like a lot of people but I liked it. Frankly, the best stuff for me was the eternity demon arc and the all-is-lost section that starts the last arc. It's a gorgeous piece of work and I love shounen protags who are just asses.
I really don't think it needed the isekai aspect. I feel it would have worked better if the characters just realized they were characters in a game because the character gets an in-game back story explaining the character and her virtues but all we get of who she was before getting dead was she liked the game and she died and it informs the plot without informing the character.
Johnny Unusual
(He/Him)
My favourite anime of this last year...
And I didn't put Golden Kamuy on because it got delayed and basically stopped after 7 amazing episodes. Can't wait to see you on this list next year!
10. Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure: Stone Ocean
Shit, I’m already cutting stuff off? This hurts. I had to cut off some shows that are plain good, like Kotaro Lives Alone, a show with a wacky premise that gets bizarrely real emotionally about surviving abuse and lands it with charm. And Lycoris Recoil, the show about teen assassins that has a dark potentially edgelord premise and manages to be charming throughout. Charm counts for a lot. Then there are two wonderfully dumb sports shows; Birdie Wing and Blue Lock. Birdie Wing starts out swinging for the fences. Blue Lock promises edgelord death game without death but also manages to balance it’s ideas that a good scorer must be selfish and also characters becoming a team and it’s still kind of dumb but somehow it works.
But… I kinda can’t say no to Jojo. And this is a cheat because I actually didn’t finish it yet. No show swing for the fences like Jojo. Araki is following his own weird muse and following right along is David Production. Like Golden Wind, Araki gets kinda nasty with Stone Ocean, with some horrifying gross imagery but it’s always backed up by it’s weird internal logic and I think Stone Ocean has so many weird wonderful ideas, I can’t deny it. And I also cheated since I know how this story ends. But I can’t wait to see it animated. Obviously, the list is bias. It’s about MY favourite. But I think even more than usual, just the joy of seeing Bohemian Rhapsody come to life counts for so much.
9. Demon Slayer: Entertainment District Arc
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I haven’t been AS over the moon for Demon Slayer as some. Not big into the Zenitsu despite I have a soft spot for the team coward archetype when well done and loving the gimmick he has. But when it goes for it, it’s a very well-told if standard action tale. And it is the way it is told that this works so well. I love those action series where the epicness is our heroes not only pulling off big news but managing to win by the skin of their teeth, a hair’s breadth away from death. Demon Slayer is good at making our heroes look like badasses while not just “I trained enough so I have the power now.”
It doesn’t hurt that it is coming off the momentum of the also great Mugen Train film before it but it really sells the epicness of its adventure. In this season, there’s a lot of intrigue in the front but most of the season is a single fight between the heroes and an evil duo and while anime has certainly had fights that last longer, it’s important to do it right or it gets repetitive (seriously, my memory of every fight Naruto has in Naruto is him getting his dick knocked in the dirt five times in a row before deciding to change strategies. This probably isn’t an entirely fair assessment outside of the filler arc but it’s a thing I feel happens in shounen a lot to fill time). Demon Slayer does an excellent job about see-sawing the advantage and doing it with stellar animation and making me cheer when our dumb boi trio manage to pull out wins.
8. Komi Can’t Communicate
It’s the year for social anxiety, I guess. Komi Can’t Communicate still has its problems (mostly Yamai) but thankfully it backed off a little on having people being way to uncomfortably horny for the lead character, instead focusing on the charming and funny side of the series. There’s no shortage of these series this year’s, with the cute Aharen (best slow-witted duo) and Ayumu series but Komi tops them just by being a great looking show and having some sweet characters.
It also helped that it added Katai, who reminds me of a similar 90s manga with a similar premise about a dude who looks like a scary punk but no one realizes he’s actually friendly and accident prones into victories a la Inspector Gadget. Here, though, Katai actually puts Komi in a position where she is judging in a similar way and the triangle between them and Tadano adds some friction but never pretends that the two leads won’t end up together. Komi is a great comfort food anime and while not every joke lands, it has a lead we can cheer for as she learns to make more friends despite her anxiety.
7. Chainsaw Man
Chainsaw Man hit like a bomb this year but to be honest, while I enjoyed it, I wasn’t as crazy as most seemed to be or as unimpressed as some others. I just thought it was a good show, though I kind of rolled my eyes a bit at the early subplot about trying to feel tits. I will say, though, even that is strongly based in character at least; the main character had a life of nothing but alleviating hardship and his journey is upon being relieved from a burden is “What do I live for now?” And his goals are humble, live a good life and enjoy it, but also leaves him a little lost. And that’s unusual for a shounen protagonist and it has potential to make for a character without an interesting journey. But Chainsaw Man is nothing if not interesting.
Of course, people are crazy about power but to me the strength of the series is in the second half when things get darker and weirder. Whether Makima is nasty antihero or full-on villain has yet to be revealed but her methods put her among my favourite nasty folk in anime. The show also really succeeds in smaller moments more comparable to arthouse film than a grindhouse thrill, where we do just slow down with the character and even the moment, like Aki’s routine or Himeno drunkenly stumbling around her apartment. It’s not that I wasn’t sold before but the second half convinced me that it’s more than just a great exercise in style, even when it goes to the classic training arc trope (it helps that it’s hilarious that Denji and Power are away of shounen manga, decide to get ahead of the game and start wearing glasses, believing that it makes them smarter).
6. Ranking of Kings
You know, at the beginning of 2022, I was positive that with its momentum Ranking of Kings was going to dominate WHATEVER came out that year. But as the series went on, it was clear that while the creators were doing an amazing job setting up the mysteries, conflicts and complexities of the characters, follow-through was a bit trickier. The villains motivations became almost a little too convenient to the narrative’s ending, practically asking for defeat and things that were so much more complex in the beginning sorted themselves out a little too well. The fact is, Milhouse, sometimes the journey TO the fireworks factory is actually more enriching than the factory itself.
As you might imagine, though, there’s a but here. After all, I put this above fan favourite Chainsaw Man. Yes, as someone who put the show on a pedestal, I was disappointed, but the show was still good. It should have given our heroes a more emotionally complex challenge but Booji and Kage remained characters I loved and root for and there was still a lot of great stuff to be found in their journey, some victories that didn’t feel hollow, some growth that was strong and an amazing fucking horse.
5. Bocchi the Rock!
I feel like every season a few years ago there were 5 “cute girls doing cute things” but I feel like there’s either been a shift or I’m seeing it different. It’s still adorable girls but I think of it being more of doing projects. Things that they can be cute doing but aren’t inherently about cuteness and instead is about a process. All the same, a lot of them, while nice and pleasant, don’t have too much going on. And that’s OK. They are just chill hangout shows. This season there were two like that or so I thought. There was Do It Yourself! which does fall into that but is more interesting as it involves a weird low-key tech dystopia (I’m not sure that’s what the show thinks but… like… too many drones) and interesting character designs. I thought it would be the superior show to the slick and funny Bocchi the Rock, which seemed to have the traditional multi-coloured hair girl gang.
But soon it became clear, it wasn’t just slickly animated, it was wild and weird and really had a true visual identity of it’s own. Shows about heroines with sever social anxiety seem to be in vogue but more specifically Bocchi visually realizes that with wild visuals. It’s also a case where I immediate noted the voice acting of the main character. She might be afraid to speak, but her inner voice is just going for it and while Yoshino Aoyama has been working for a while, I feel like this is going to break her out in a big way. Bocchi’s path is pretty standard but as a show, it’s one of the most sensational looking in a way that works in perfect conjunction with the comedy.
4. Dance Dance Danseur
I feel like with a lot of the stuff I really liked this season, there’s some sort of caveat. In this one, it ends on something of a misguided note that I don’t think holds up, strong emotions aside. But despite this, Dance Dance Danseur remains a favourite from this season as we watch a little man’s man… boy come to face that he wants nothing more than to be a ballerino and must overcome years of putting his dream aside.
The show is a great sports/arts melodrama as our hero uses the advantages he has and his passion to learn so he can catch up to use, only to find new challenges. Despite my issue with the ending, where it leaves us ends with even more interesting promise for the future but even if we don’t get another season, it was a pretty satisfying story with some gorgeous, eye-popping animation in a year full of it. I liked the characters and in a moment of really strong moments of animation, Luou becoming Rothbart when Junpei risks messing up the play by getting lost in the part is a high point.
3. To Your Eternity
I think the consensus on this one is “not bad but I think this used to be better?” Which I get. Frankly, season 1’s last arc was a bit of a step down from the others. And I don’t know if we’ll get those high highs again but my investment in this series is pulling me along pretty hard so I’m still into this. But I also think that it helps that I do like some of the new cast and their tales. It would be easy to find Bonchien Nicoli La Tasty Peach Uralis to be a bit much as a character but I feel like he was the real emotional core of this season. Also, despite being something of a selfish vain oaf, is also the character not only with the most interesting arc. Despite his flamboyant nature, he proves to be strangely shrewd in revealing his own huge secret and a lot of the big game changing elements involve what he knows.
I also like that this remains a fantasy series where it really takes into account “what does this actually mean” to its speculative elements. A lot of the popular isekai shows gesture at it with characters learning to min/max with their magic but I feel like To Your Eternity is very invested in the human ramifications. What does it mean if you can overcome death. If you meet someone who can but they don’t realize it, do you tell them? The series is still dedicated to taking place over centuries and while it has some stumbles, it remains a strong fascinating series where it’s world building is tied not only to powers but what that means for characters.
2. Spy X Family
With so many caveats to everything this year, things I really like, we are getting to the stuff were I don’t have to say “I like it but…” No buts about it, Spy X Family definitely earned its place as a super-hit, thanks to its loveable cast and perfectly blending big comedy, actual stakes and some well-earned sweetness. In a year of great comedies, it’s hard to top and I can see why Anya and her wild expressions took the internet by storm.
But beyond that, its spy elements aren’t just window dressing and even more than a narrative device. It’s a series about people for whom crisis has shaped their lives and each of the leads have taken seriously a duty that in theory will help others but left them alone and in dark places. Without realizing how much they need each other, they find each other and while they all are motivated by different factors, they end up valuing and loving each other, even if some aren’t quite ready to see it that way. The animation is stellar because Wit Studio has been just KILLING it for quite some time and this is no exception. I can’t tell you how much of a relief it was to end Ranking of Kings and moving onto a new Wit Studio show and one that just makes me laugh and get the feels each week.
1. Kaguya-Sama: Love is War – Ultra Romantic
This isn’t the end of Kaguya but it’s the end of an era. JBear tells me the series takes a different direction from here on in and I’m given to understand the movie released last month is literally all about dealing with the fallout from this one. And it is soooo good. It’s not just that we get some real story progression even though the show could have easily amused me spinning its wheels with delightful farce. But beyond that, the series hit its best season yet and includes some of the best visual gags in the series’ history. It manages to twist some of it’s own formulas in fun ways (the show was actually pretty quick to mess with the Chika teaches Shirogane shit and is completely wrecked and this one finds a new wrinkle with a fantastic rap arc) and features some great visuals I just know weren’t in the manga.
The last arc is particularly fun and yes, there’s farce but it also toys with us when for the first time, there really ISN’T some wacky hi-jinx to get in Kaguya’s way and there’s a sense that something is going to happen… and it does. I remember when I first saw the preview for the show and I parsed it as a romance version of Kakegurui where it is about romantically dominating people and while the *characters* assumed that, the show plays out that shows they are being needlessly dumb. And this season decides to take seriously that these characters have grown and can grow more, even if, as the narrator points out, it rejects the very premise that launched the show. Congrats Kaguya! Can’t wait to see the movie.
And I didn't put Golden Kamuy on because it got delayed and basically stopped after 7 amazing episodes. Can't wait to see you on this list next year!
10. Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure: Stone Ocean
Shit, I’m already cutting stuff off? This hurts. I had to cut off some shows that are plain good, like Kotaro Lives Alone, a show with a wacky premise that gets bizarrely real emotionally about surviving abuse and lands it with charm. And Lycoris Recoil, the show about teen assassins that has a dark potentially edgelord premise and manages to be charming throughout. Charm counts for a lot. Then there are two wonderfully dumb sports shows; Birdie Wing and Blue Lock. Birdie Wing starts out swinging for the fences. Blue Lock promises edgelord death game without death but also manages to balance it’s ideas that a good scorer must be selfish and also characters becoming a team and it’s still kind of dumb but somehow it works.
But… I kinda can’t say no to Jojo. And this is a cheat because I actually didn’t finish it yet. No show swing for the fences like Jojo. Araki is following his own weird muse and following right along is David Production. Like Golden Wind, Araki gets kinda nasty with Stone Ocean, with some horrifying gross imagery but it’s always backed up by it’s weird internal logic and I think Stone Ocean has so many weird wonderful ideas, I can’t deny it. And I also cheated since I know how this story ends. But I can’t wait to see it animated. Obviously, the list is bias. It’s about MY favourite. But I think even more than usual, just the joy of seeing Bohemian Rhapsody come to life counts for so much.
9. Demon Slayer: Entertainment District Arc
I haven’t been AS over the moon for Demon Slayer as some. Not big into the Zenitsu despite I have a soft spot for the team coward archetype when well done and loving the gimmick he has. But when it goes for it, it’s a very well-told if standard action tale. And it is the way it is told that this works so well. I love those action series where the epicness is our heroes not only pulling off big news but managing to win by the skin of their teeth, a hair’s breadth away from death. Demon Slayer is good at making our heroes look like badasses while not just “I trained enough so I have the power now.”
It doesn’t hurt that it is coming off the momentum of the also great Mugen Train film before it but it really sells the epicness of its adventure. In this season, there’s a lot of intrigue in the front but most of the season is a single fight between the heroes and an evil duo and while anime has certainly had fights that last longer, it’s important to do it right or it gets repetitive (seriously, my memory of every fight Naruto has in Naruto is him getting his dick knocked in the dirt five times in a row before deciding to change strategies. This probably isn’t an entirely fair assessment outside of the filler arc but it’s a thing I feel happens in shounen a lot to fill time). Demon Slayer does an excellent job about see-sawing the advantage and doing it with stellar animation and making me cheer when our dumb boi trio manage to pull out wins.
8. Komi Can’t Communicate
It’s the year for social anxiety, I guess. Komi Can’t Communicate still has its problems (mostly Yamai) but thankfully it backed off a little on having people being way to uncomfortably horny for the lead character, instead focusing on the charming and funny side of the series. There’s no shortage of these series this year’s, with the cute Aharen (best slow-witted duo) and Ayumu series but Komi tops them just by being a great looking show and having some sweet characters.
It also helped that it added Katai, who reminds me of a similar 90s manga with a similar premise about a dude who looks like a scary punk but no one realizes he’s actually friendly and accident prones into victories a la Inspector Gadget. Here, though, Katai actually puts Komi in a position where she is judging in a similar way and the triangle between them and Tadano adds some friction but never pretends that the two leads won’t end up together. Komi is a great comfort food anime and while not every joke lands, it has a lead we can cheer for as she learns to make more friends despite her anxiety.
7. Chainsaw Man
Chainsaw Man hit like a bomb this year but to be honest, while I enjoyed it, I wasn’t as crazy as most seemed to be or as unimpressed as some others. I just thought it was a good show, though I kind of rolled my eyes a bit at the early subplot about trying to feel tits. I will say, though, even that is strongly based in character at least; the main character had a life of nothing but alleviating hardship and his journey is upon being relieved from a burden is “What do I live for now?” And his goals are humble, live a good life and enjoy it, but also leaves him a little lost. And that’s unusual for a shounen protagonist and it has potential to make for a character without an interesting journey. But Chainsaw Man is nothing if not interesting.
Of course, people are crazy about power but to me the strength of the series is in the second half when things get darker and weirder. Whether Makima is nasty antihero or full-on villain has yet to be revealed but her methods put her among my favourite nasty folk in anime. The show also really succeeds in smaller moments more comparable to arthouse film than a grindhouse thrill, where we do just slow down with the character and even the moment, like Aki’s routine or Himeno drunkenly stumbling around her apartment. It’s not that I wasn’t sold before but the second half convinced me that it’s more than just a great exercise in style, even when it goes to the classic training arc trope (it helps that it’s hilarious that Denji and Power are away of shounen manga, decide to get ahead of the game and start wearing glasses, believing that it makes them smarter).
6. Ranking of Kings
You know, at the beginning of 2022, I was positive that with its momentum Ranking of Kings was going to dominate WHATEVER came out that year. But as the series went on, it was clear that while the creators were doing an amazing job setting up the mysteries, conflicts and complexities of the characters, follow-through was a bit trickier. The villains motivations became almost a little too convenient to the narrative’s ending, practically asking for defeat and things that were so much more complex in the beginning sorted themselves out a little too well. The fact is, Milhouse, sometimes the journey TO the fireworks factory is actually more enriching than the factory itself.
As you might imagine, though, there’s a but here. After all, I put this above fan favourite Chainsaw Man. Yes, as someone who put the show on a pedestal, I was disappointed, but the show was still good. It should have given our heroes a more emotionally complex challenge but Booji and Kage remained characters I loved and root for and there was still a lot of great stuff to be found in their journey, some victories that didn’t feel hollow, some growth that was strong and an amazing fucking horse.
5. Bocchi the Rock!
I feel like every season a few years ago there were 5 “cute girls doing cute things” but I feel like there’s either been a shift or I’m seeing it different. It’s still adorable girls but I think of it being more of doing projects. Things that they can be cute doing but aren’t inherently about cuteness and instead is about a process. All the same, a lot of them, while nice and pleasant, don’t have too much going on. And that’s OK. They are just chill hangout shows. This season there were two like that or so I thought. There was Do It Yourself! which does fall into that but is more interesting as it involves a weird low-key tech dystopia (I’m not sure that’s what the show thinks but… like… too many drones) and interesting character designs. I thought it would be the superior show to the slick and funny Bocchi the Rock, which seemed to have the traditional multi-coloured hair girl gang.
But soon it became clear, it wasn’t just slickly animated, it was wild and weird and really had a true visual identity of it’s own. Shows about heroines with sever social anxiety seem to be in vogue but more specifically Bocchi visually realizes that with wild visuals. It’s also a case where I immediate noted the voice acting of the main character. She might be afraid to speak, but her inner voice is just going for it and while Yoshino Aoyama has been working for a while, I feel like this is going to break her out in a big way. Bocchi’s path is pretty standard but as a show, it’s one of the most sensational looking in a way that works in perfect conjunction with the comedy.
4. Dance Dance Danseur
I feel like with a lot of the stuff I really liked this season, there’s some sort of caveat. In this one, it ends on something of a misguided note that I don’t think holds up, strong emotions aside. But despite this, Dance Dance Danseur remains a favourite from this season as we watch a little man’s man… boy come to face that he wants nothing more than to be a ballerino and must overcome years of putting his dream aside.
The show is a great sports/arts melodrama as our hero uses the advantages he has and his passion to learn so he can catch up to use, only to find new challenges. Despite my issue with the ending, where it leaves us ends with even more interesting promise for the future but even if we don’t get another season, it was a pretty satisfying story with some gorgeous, eye-popping animation in a year full of it. I liked the characters and in a moment of really strong moments of animation, Luou becoming Rothbart when Junpei risks messing up the play by getting lost in the part is a high point.
I think the consensus on this one is “not bad but I think this used to be better?” Which I get. Frankly, season 1’s last arc was a bit of a step down from the others. And I don’t know if we’ll get those high highs again but my investment in this series is pulling me along pretty hard so I’m still into this. But I also think that it helps that I do like some of the new cast and their tales. It would be easy to find Bonchien Nicoli La Tasty Peach Uralis to be a bit much as a character but I feel like he was the real emotional core of this season. Also, despite being something of a selfish vain oaf, is also the character not only with the most interesting arc. Despite his flamboyant nature, he proves to be strangely shrewd in revealing his own huge secret and a lot of the big game changing elements involve what he knows.
I also like that this remains a fantasy series where it really takes into account “what does this actually mean” to its speculative elements. A lot of the popular isekai shows gesture at it with characters learning to min/max with their magic but I feel like To Your Eternity is very invested in the human ramifications. What does it mean if you can overcome death. If you meet someone who can but they don’t realize it, do you tell them? The series is still dedicated to taking place over centuries and while it has some stumbles, it remains a strong fascinating series where it’s world building is tied not only to powers but what that means for characters.
2. Spy X Family
With so many caveats to everything this year, things I really like, we are getting to the stuff were I don’t have to say “I like it but…” No buts about it, Spy X Family definitely earned its place as a super-hit, thanks to its loveable cast and perfectly blending big comedy, actual stakes and some well-earned sweetness. In a year of great comedies, it’s hard to top and I can see why Anya and her wild expressions took the internet by storm.
But beyond that, its spy elements aren’t just window dressing and even more than a narrative device. It’s a series about people for whom crisis has shaped their lives and each of the leads have taken seriously a duty that in theory will help others but left them alone and in dark places. Without realizing how much they need each other, they find each other and while they all are motivated by different factors, they end up valuing and loving each other, even if some aren’t quite ready to see it that way. The animation is stellar because Wit Studio has been just KILLING it for quite some time and this is no exception. I can’t tell you how much of a relief it was to end Ranking of Kings and moving onto a new Wit Studio show and one that just makes me laugh and get the feels each week.
1. Kaguya-Sama: Love is War – Ultra Romantic
This isn’t the end of Kaguya but it’s the end of an era. JBear tells me the series takes a different direction from here on in and I’m given to understand the movie released last month is literally all about dealing with the fallout from this one. And it is soooo good. It’s not just that we get some real story progression even though the show could have easily amused me spinning its wheels with delightful farce. But beyond that, the series hit its best season yet and includes some of the best visual gags in the series’ history. It manages to twist some of it’s own formulas in fun ways (the show was actually pretty quick to mess with the Chika teaches Shirogane shit and is completely wrecked and this one finds a new wrinkle with a fantastic rap arc) and features some great visuals I just know weren’t in the manga.
The last arc is particularly fun and yes, there’s farce but it also toys with us when for the first time, there really ISN’T some wacky hi-jinx to get in Kaguya’s way and there’s a sense that something is going to happen… and it does. I remember when I first saw the preview for the show and I parsed it as a romance version of Kakegurui where it is about romantically dominating people and while the *characters* assumed that, the show plays out that shows they are being needlessly dumb. And this season decides to take seriously that these characters have grown and can grow more, even if, as the narrator points out, it rejects the very premise that launched the show. Congrats Kaguya! Can’t wait to see the movie.
Mr Bean
Chief Detective
I’ve been medium on the show so far but I’m hopeful for the next season. The field trip introduced Komi’s girl squad - a consistent friend group she’ll have the rest of the series completely separate from Tadano, and I think the year two class change is where the manga really hits its stride. Yamai is in a different class which cuts down on the horny a billion percent, and the core trio of Komi, Tadano, and Katai picks up a fourth - Rumiko Manbagi - a gyaru who hides her insecurities under a layer of pancake makeup. The quartet plus Najimi as wild card works really well IMO. No matter what group composition you shuffle them into it’s usually a fun time.
The first episode of Trigun Stampede went up on Crunchyroll earlier this morning, and I just finished watching it. And it was actually pretty friggin' good. Like, scary good.
I don't have much experience with the manga, and especially not Maximum. Changed aesthetics, different actors, and a few creative choices aside, it feels pretty faithful to the spirit of the Trigun I know and love.
It's also so far a pretty gorgeous show, especially for something 3DCG. If more 3DCG anime looked like this, I wouldn't have as much of a problem with it as a medium. Instead of being a jittery mess with no understanding of motion blur or trying at all to emulate smear frames, and/or a show looking like a bunch of wooden dolls translating rigidly across a screen in cold, calculated vectors... Studio Orange really knows how to actually animate a cartoon. They have a very solid understanding of motion and object transformation to imply movement and weight that is just missing from the vast majority of not just 3DCG cartoons, but cartoons/anime in general.
I think the jury will be out on some of the creative liberties Orange's show takes for a while, but so far I don't buy the argument that they don't understand or are butchering the source material.
The choice of making Meryl a reporter for example, I think stands a better chance of giving her a real reason to keep following Vash around versus being an insurance appraiser. The loss of Millie hurts because she's a fun character that I have a strong attachment to. But it's not like the original show did her character much justice either, reducing her character at the end to a grieving widow and then sidelining her completely. And so far her new partner Roberto offers a more interesting contrast to Meryl for her to bounce off of, and to temper/compare against her idealism/naivety.
The choice of creating a new, but similar scenario I think is not necessarily bad either. If you're taking a stab at a new adaptation, I think you'd be doing both yourself and the audience/fans a huge disservice of simply remaking the exact same thing. A Trigun: Brotherhood - at least to me - is just an inherently boring concept. And I don't see why Vash the Stampede can't get treated like Batman at this point - where you can take the basic framework/themes and create something new with it. The existence and performance of Robert Patterson's Batman doesn't diminish or invalidate Bale's Batman, or Keaton's Batman, or Conroy's Batman, or West's Batman. Variations on a similar theme can be a good time if you're open enough to the experience.
The pace of introducing Trigun ideas is pretty blistering in the first episode though, (The fact Vash has an artificial hand is introduced along with the character at the very beginning; the episode opens up with Vash and Knives escaping the crashing plant-ship; Meryl gets undeniable proof Vash is superhuman in the first episode) and it's going into uncharted territory so I'm worried they'll try to knock out major plot points from the manga at a far too rapid pace and make the show feel disjointed. But only time will tell if that'll be the case or not. So far though, really rock solid pilot episode.
I like most of the aesthetics of the show as well so far too.
The truly questionable choice I see so far is Knives' design. Which looks kinda silly. But we haven't seen much yet and I'll be patient and see where they go with that. Oh, and also the ED of episode 1 is apparently the OP. It's not a good OP. Probably should have stayed the ED instead.
All in all, not bad. I'll report back after a few more episodes to see if thing hold up or not, but so far I don't feel bad about recommending everyone (except Beat) give it a look and judge how it is for themselves.
I don't have much experience with the manga, and especially not Maximum. Changed aesthetics, different actors, and a few creative choices aside, it feels pretty faithful to the spirit of the Trigun I know and love.
It's also so far a pretty gorgeous show, especially for something 3DCG. If more 3DCG anime looked like this, I wouldn't have as much of a problem with it as a medium. Instead of being a jittery mess with no understanding of motion blur or trying at all to emulate smear frames, and/or a show looking like a bunch of wooden dolls translating rigidly across a screen in cold, calculated vectors... Studio Orange really knows how to actually animate a cartoon. They have a very solid understanding of motion and object transformation to imply movement and weight that is just missing from the vast majority of not just 3DCG cartoons, but cartoons/anime in general.
I think the jury will be out on some of the creative liberties Orange's show takes for a while, but so far I don't buy the argument that they don't understand or are butchering the source material.
The choice of making Meryl a reporter for example, I think stands a better chance of giving her a real reason to keep following Vash around versus being an insurance appraiser. The loss of Millie hurts because she's a fun character that I have a strong attachment to. But it's not like the original show did her character much justice either, reducing her character at the end to a grieving widow and then sidelining her completely. And so far her new partner Roberto offers a more interesting contrast to Meryl for her to bounce off of, and to temper/compare against her idealism/naivety.
The choice of creating a new, but similar scenario I think is not necessarily bad either. If you're taking a stab at a new adaptation, I think you'd be doing both yourself and the audience/fans a huge disservice of simply remaking the exact same thing. A Trigun: Brotherhood - at least to me - is just an inherently boring concept. And I don't see why Vash the Stampede can't get treated like Batman at this point - where you can take the basic framework/themes and create something new with it. The existence and performance of Robert Patterson's Batman doesn't diminish or invalidate Bale's Batman, or Keaton's Batman, or Conroy's Batman, or West's Batman. Variations on a similar theme can be a good time if you're open enough to the experience.
The pace of introducing Trigun ideas is pretty blistering in the first episode though, (The fact Vash has an artificial hand is introduced along with the character at the very beginning; the episode opens up with Vash and Knives escaping the crashing plant-ship; Meryl gets undeniable proof Vash is superhuman in the first episode) and it's going into uncharted territory so I'm worried they'll try to knock out major plot points from the manga at a far too rapid pace and make the show feel disjointed. But only time will tell if that'll be the case or not. So far though, really rock solid pilot episode.
I like most of the aesthetics of the show as well so far too.
The truly questionable choice I see so far is Knives' design. Which looks kinda silly. But we haven't seen much yet and I'll be patient and see where they go with that. Oh, and also the ED of episode 1 is apparently the OP. It's not a good OP. Probably should have stayed the ED instead.
All in all, not bad. I'll report back after a few more episodes to see if thing hold up or not, but so far I don't feel bad about recommending everyone (except Beat) give it a look and judge how it is for themselves.
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I also watched the first episode of Tomo-chan is a Girl! which is an insane thing I just typed. It's a fairly obscure webcomic that ended years ago, so it's wild that it's getting an adaptation in [current year]. It's a pretty stupid, mildly horny, romcom, 4-koma comic about a 'tomboy' who has a crush on her best friend, but he just sees her as one of the guys, so she makes (hilariously poor) attempts at being "more of a girl". The comic was frequently humorous, good natured, and wholesome for the most part. It was also pretty hetero, but in the long term, it did an acceptable job of challenging rigid Japanese gender roles. Can't in good faith actually recommend this show to anyone, but I enjoy it as a guilty pleasure.