Holy shit on a stick grab your pencil, swipe up that pen, and let’s get started people we’re already running behind. This season of anime is the most stacked I’ve seen in a while. I know it’s big when I see anime content creators, well, actually talking about currently airing seasonal anime for once. With time this short let’s dive right into sharing impressions because lord knows someone somewhere is probably already behind on something they should be watching. Besides me of course.
Vinland Saga Season Two Second Half
We’ve been down this road many times before so I’ll be brief. We have now completed the much needed Thorfinn development arc which many fans complained about for not having enough “viking action” as if the big brain writing happening on screen every episode wasn’t worth watching, but even they should be happy as things are now heating up again for our cast. At this point I’m comfortable saying this will go down in history as an anime masterpiece as long as they don’t screw up the ending, so definitely give this the chance it deserves if you haven’t already.
Hell’s Paradise
The newest MAPPA shounen on the block is here, and so far it’s solid. I’m not really feeling the humongous hit potential of its brother shows like Chainsaw Man or Jujutsu Kaisen. While very violence heavy like those shows, so far this anime has lacked the same level of character depth and charm. That being said, if you stick a bunch of people who at least look cool on the outside on an unexplored island with demon/animal hybrids and then let the characters kill whatever they want on sight, I’m gonna at least show up once a week to peep the episode. Essentially if you want to see a “fight to survive” shounen then it’s worth checking out, but keep in mind how packed this season is before you commit to it for certain.
Skip and Loafer
Okay for my romance and slice of life audiences out there, look no fucking further than this anime. I have loved every second of it so far. While the plot is about as basic as it gets, our main girl wants to grow up and get a stable job leading the government, the characters themselves are so well-written and lifelike here. Everyone has more to them than first meets the eye, and in group conversations you’ll often find yourself needing to scan multiple characters at once to determine how each person is responding to the conversation. You know, like in real life. I haven’t seen a slice of life this good since Horimiya came out and that’s some damn high praise. Based on the quality of the comedy and relationship building alone I’m pretty confident this is worth checking out as I don’t see how it could fall on its face. Hell it’s already done more than 75% of most romances, which is to get the audience to first give a shit about the characters in the first place. A charming relaxed artstyle and voice acting that stands out even for a non-Japanese weeb like me push this show into the “great” category to me and anyone who typically peeps this type of show should be racing to their streaming service of choice to get caught up if necessary.
Heaven’s Delusion
To be clear, this has nothing to do with Hell’s Paradise and it’s kinda weird to have such a perfect title dichotomy in the same season be unrelated. Anyway, if you want some action, lovable characters, an interesting state of the world, and a wild adventure but don’t want to watch another shounen then boom you’re covered. The story follows our two main MCs as they explore a post-apocalyptic world looking for “heaven”. We gain backstory on their past as well as a look into a facility that doesn’t look post-apocalyptic at all. Two stories unfold as we learn about our heroes’ journey as well as the lives of those being shielded from the current state of the world. Beautiful animation brings life to the expressions of our cast both in times of peace and combat. I mean, what’s a post-apocalyptic world without some monsters? This may currently be my most highly anticipated weekly release. I simply hope the plot doesn’t get too convoluted or contrived as we approach the ending, as that’s where many similar anime have fallen apart.
My Home Hero
This anime has been the definition of a great story with characters you root for mixed with the budget of a logo artist during the rise of A.I. The animation here clearly doesn’t match the level of writing quality as it looks stiff and outdated. If you can get past the ugliness, I think you’ll quickly be captivated by the cat and mouse game between our daring father Testuo as he attempts to outwit a dangerous criminal organization in order to hide the fact he killed one of their members to save his daughter from an abusive relationship. That may sound like a huge spoiler but baby we move fast, that’s merely episode one. Essentially this anime has provided a reverse Death Note scenario so far. Cat and mouse games are hard to say no to when done right, and so far both sides have shown solid judgment and cunning. Unlike Light though, I’m still rooting for my man Testuo to win at every turn. Thriller lovers, I’d definitely take the time to investigate this bad boy.
A Galaxy Next Door
My first drop of the season. God damn what an absolute pile of dogshit. From the description I thought this anime was going to depict a struggling young man attempting to pay rent for his younger two siblings while also balancing trying to achieve his dream in life of becoming a manga artist. When he meets a certain girl who becomes his assistant, he finds the strength to push forward and develop a plan to accomplish both goals thanks to her. Sounds pretty captivating to me. Except when I actually watched the series, I learned the girl is an alien space princess or some shit. And my man doesn’t seem to be struggling that much outside of normal manga artist dilemmas. Great. What should have been relatable ordeals that push this couple to their limits turns into episodes where our MC and space girl spend the twenty minutes trying to work around her fucking galactic princess space laws that govern their relationship. For example they can’t be too far apart and he can’t make her feel bad and other dumbass shit like that. Throwing this in the dumpster after three installments and never looking back. Even for fans of the genre, there are much better romances this season. Refer to Skip and Loafer.
Mashle: Magic and Muscles
Listen, it may be due to the stiff competition that it faces this season, but I’m going to drop out of this one after episode four. This show essentially combines Harry Potter and One Punch Man in a plotline where the MC is a muscle bound god who takes on and defeats a bunch of wizards at an anime Hogwarts to rise to the top for the sake of his grandpa. Of course the MC is about as dead inside and uninteresting as your “powerful guy” stereotype. Unfortunately to me the action here is clearly outclassed by both Heavenly Delusion and Demon Slayer, and Magical Destroyers does a better job of executing parody-based jokes. Don’t get me wrong I’ll find a laugh here and there every so often, but to me it’s not worth sitting through the rest of the 15 minutes per episode to see the same shit happen on a cycle. Guy or challenge shows up to pressure the MC. MC uses his muscles to beat the obstacle. Rinse repeat. If you’re a big Harry Potter fan or One Punch Man fan I think you’ll be right at home and this would be worth a watch. Otherwise there’s too many other anime this season with more compelling characters and story.
Oshi No Ko
Speaking of a fantastic story, look no further than this idol anime. Oh I know that sounds bad, but trust me this isn’t your younger sister’s horrendous idol anime. I’m talking a murder mystery that explores the dark side of the entertainment industry. I’ve been looking for an anime like this for years now as I’ve always found idol culture interesting. Then boom out of nowhere comes this thriller that follows our two MCs as one of them works to uncover the one who allowed a bloody murder to take place by revealing the victim’s location. I was a bit worried when I saw that the first episode was A FUCKING MOVIE that obliterated my anime consumption rate for the day, but thankfully the production here was polished enough that the time flew by. Based on the buzz alone most people are likely already watching this, but if you haven't I believe it’s going to be a top show this season that’s at least worth a look.
Insomniacs After School
Man this anime is pretty. The visual staff didn’t have to try so hard for such a relaxed story, but they went above and beyond for very small details and environmental polishes that are worth appreciating. Still, beauty isn’t enough to carry an anime and this falls right on the edge for me. The story follows a boy and girl who can’t sleep and join their school’s astronomy club so that they can sleep in the observatory room. However in order to keep the school happy they learn they need to develop some real astronomy skills to ensure the club isn’t shut down. It’s about as basic as it gets but it serves to keep the story from feeling absolutely aimless and lost at sea. I’m going to stick with this one as I enjoy the character interactions and learning about the sky at night. If it sounds interesting to you then go for it, however I’m not expecting anything grand and I don’t think it’s something that anyone NEEDS to watch.
The Dangers In My Heart
This anime about a young kid brainstorming how to kill his classmates would never fly in the US for obvious reasons, but here we are. Rest assured, this initial premise is soon eroded away as the young edgelord is mesmerized by the beauty and charm of the classmate he first intended to kill. Rather than acting out on his desires, it becomes clear he actually just likes her and does several small actions to help his love interest out. The girl, Yamada, is a cute little airhead and the contrast between them has got me sucked into this romance. We’re certainly leaning more toward the comedic side and I don't foresee any impactful character developments like I do with Skip And Loafer. Regardless, the animation is clean and their back and forth has charmed my heart to at least blow past the three episode rule and continue onward. Not the best romance this season, but worth a peep for the genre fans. Leagues better than the shitty galactic space princess.
Blue Orchestra
When an anime’s most useful purpose has been to remind you to watch Your Lie in April sometime, that’s not a good sign. I picked this up because Blue Period was a fantastic look into the art world from a Japanese lens that featured loveable characters and relatable dilemmas. This also had blue in the name so I figured I was set. So far the joke’s on me as our emo MC is suffering from violin PTSD that his musically gifted but very strict father inflicted on him. That may sound good on paper but it’s about the most common musical anime trope I can imagine. I think the main problem here is that this anime is WAY too slow to get to the meat and potatoes. To my understanding this manga sold well because it depicted how the classic music world operates and what work goes into creating a proper orchestra. Sounded like a good time to my ass. Yet three episodes in all we’ve done is give our MC a boring backstory and develop his relationship with the female lead. Not a single orchestra appeared until the third episode and while I’m not usually a CG hater… look it was pretty stilted and ugly. Especially for a scene whose purpose is to introduce this orchestra and how amazing they are to behold and listen to. Ultimately I plan to drop this, but I may see how Kinky feels on it around episode 6 and if he deems the pacing improves, I’ll do a little marathon one night to get back on track. So far if you enjoy music shows, there’s no reason whatsoever to watch this before making sure you witness Bocchi The Rock which has better production, characters, comedy, and growth so far.
Magical Destroyers
It would be a disservice to try and encapsulate my entire feelings on this ridiculous ride into one paragraph, so here’s a link to an article I did focusing solely on this anime. It’s a parody of the “magical girl” genre but fear not, The scope isn't so narrow as it has attacked a wide array of anime stereotypes so far. The animation is ridiculously beautiful considering the tone of the show, and the comedy manages to land the vast majority of the time for me. The story is garbage but personally I surmise that’s on purpose given the self-aware nature of the production. Some seemed to be bothered by that and dropped the show. To me though this anime is a breath of fresh air that calls out plot devices and characters we’ve seen a million times over. It has no right to have such a banging OST either. This is hands down my pick for comedy of the season, though you might be surprised to see how amazing the action is too.
BONUS
I broke this season and fell behind on the latest Gundam episodes. That show was practically made for me with yuri and robots so I don’t know how I let this happen. Maybe one day I will catch up. Demon Slayer is not included here because it’s been running long enough people already know if they’re watching it or not, but god damn I’m hype for this arc now that the new demons are here and ready to scrap. Dr. Stone: New World is continuing the same format the series is known for. If you love it you love it, if you don’t it hasn’t changed one bit.
Holy shit, is it over? My fingers are about to fall off after writing all that. Good thing it’s time to rest up and watch some anime. Fucking hell it’s ALWAYS time to watch something this season. Have you been able to balance this crazy lineup? What are you watching, and what did you drop? Did I miss an anime you've been enjoying or hating? Bust out the t-shirts, turn the A/C back on, and say hello to Spring Anime 2023 in the comments below!
