Winter 2019 Anime Reveiw (+Best of Fall 18)

[DeathscytheX 9,732]

ZOMBIE LAND SAGA

4/5

I've never been a fan of sports/profession anime... I guess idol anime falls into that category even though it's its own massive subcategory. The twist this series presented peaked my interest and it did not disappoint. SAGA follows 7 different girls that became zombies after passing away in various time periods. All of them save one was an established idol in their past life. Their mysterious and wacky manager Tatsumi Kōtarō bring them together to form a new idol group. How they became zombies and if Tatsumi had a hand it making it happen is never explained. None of that matters. The series follows the girls as they try to establish a fanbase while also trying to avoid having their skin color makeup wash off in public. The majority of the series dedicates an episode to each girl and their personal story. Surrounding that is great comedy, and outstanding character chemistry. Each member of the band is interesting and unique. The art work and animation is very well done. My only knock on the series is the subpar CGI work done to save money on the dance routines the girls do when performing. A lot of the girls have long detailed hairstyles and they become as hard as plastic when they move in CGI form. There is an episode which they actually animated the performance and it was outstanding. If you don't think you'd ever watch an idol anime, I encourage you to watch this one. Its really good.

 

SSSS.Gridman

4/5

This is a Trigger anime that actually starts out off the rails, so you never get that jarring sense of a coherent story that just goes into the deep end abruptly. Its a wild ride all the way through, and that's what makes it outstanding. The series follows Yuta Hibiki, a young boy who finds himself with amnesia, not remembering anything about himself, his past, or anything from the day before and beyond. He by chance comes across an old busted computer in his friend's/love interest's mother's thrift shop. The computer contains "gridman" an entity that gives Yuta the power to go full Jet Jaguar when Kaiju attack the city. The weird part is when the battle is over, the city goes back to normal the next day with all traces of damage from the battle gone. Sometimes people die, and they don't comeback when the city is restored. Only Yuta, and his two friends Rikka and Sho remember anything that happened and the people that are gone. Every episodes has a crazy Mecha vs Kaiju battle. These fights are animated in a very Gurren Lagann-esque style. As you get to know Yuta and the supporting cast, the mystery of what is happening in the city slowly unravels until the truth is revealed in the end. Its all crazy as hell and its just a good time overall. Its no Lagann, and its not as dark as FRANXX. Its it's own crazy trigger production and its worth every minute of your time. If Power Rangers and Ultraman had a child, and Lagaan was an uncle.... this is it right here.

 

Goblin Slayer

4/5

This anime started in a heavy storm of controversy. The first episode IS pretty brutal to watch for those jumping into anime for the first time and even veterans. Sadly in an age where western society jumps to conclusions off some beat writer with an agenda, there are many who will never even touch this show. Their loss. It's not like this is the first instance sexual assault in anime was used as a plot device. The series was really good IMO. It follows "Goblin Slayer" a young male who's extremely traumatic past sticks him in a mental state of bloodthirst for revenge against goblins. We never really know his real name, he's a loner that always wears a suit of armor. Goblins are the weakest class of enemies in this world, but they are often underestimated because of this, as in large groups they are extremely dangerous. As a young child GS' family was murdered and his town was pillaged by Goblins. So he spends his days making money as a low ranking adventurer only taking quests that deal with Goblins. As the story progresses, Goblin Slayer's character slightly and slowly evolves as he meets new adventurers that team up with him. The series is violent and bloody, but at the same time within the darkness, the supporting cast bring a sense of warmth to the story, which is what leads to Goblin Slayer slowly becoming.. well not such a loner. Get past the first ep, its rough, but it establishes Goblins as pure evil and why the main character does what he does. It's not glorying anything.

 

That Time I got Reincarnated as a Slime

5/5

The best way to describe this show is a vibrant, happy go lucky version of Overlord.   In all seriousness though this show is so much fun. This is now my favorite isekai anime. The story starts with your average joe blow Satoru Mikami who is almost immediately stabbed by a robber and dies only to be reincarnated into an alternate world as lowly slime monster. Under his new identity Rimuru Tempest, he quickly becomes ultra OP by absorbing many extremely powerful entities. Along the way he gains many allies and forges alliances as he builds his own community with various monsters. This anime is full of lightheartedness and tenderness. The supporting cast is great, the story is great, and it has plenty of action and comedy. As a fan of mismatch absurdity I love demon lord Milim since shes a tiny girl that's 10x stronger than Rimuru. Her punches make a DBZ nuclear dome, and its just great as Rimuru balances scolding her for going overboard and keeping her happy. Shes probably my favorite character next to Souei who's just badass. While I did compare it to Overlord because Rimuru and his companions are super OP compared to most, unlike Overlord they aren't the strongest beings in the realm. As I just stated Rimuru isn't as powerful as most demon lords and even some cataclysm class monsters pose problems for him. So there is a sense of danger at times, but all the fighting and action is sorta secondary to Rimuru's goal to give all monsters a community where they can be safe. If you had to pick a single anime to watch from this group, I'd choose this one hands down.

 

My Roommate is a Cat

5/5

I'm not done with this series yet, but my god is it adorable. I don't own a cat, as I am semi allergic to them. But I have friends that have them, and I know all about all the cat tropes, stereotypes, and memes. This series lives off that, and executes it perfectly. The story starts with the funeral of Subaru Mikazuki's parents. Subaru is a socially awkward introvert who writes novels for a living. With his parents gone, hes left to live alone. At first his only human interactions are with his publishing manager and a childhood friend. This changed after one day when visiting his parent's grave site he comes across a stray cat and decides to take it in. From there the show slowly progresses Subaru's character as he learns what it means to take care of someone else. He's forced out of his comfort zone by having to interact with other people like a lovely pet store worker who happens to be a close neighbor and her older brother who loves his writing without knowing he's the author. Each episode follows a similar format with the first half being about Subaru's day from his perspective, and the other half from Haru that cat. This show juggles so many things at once so well because you really get into the story watching Subaru grow as a character but as you see Haru do things and act certain ways, you cant wait to get to the second arc of the ep to see what shes thinking and why shes doing what shes doing. There are many laughs and many feels as Subaru flashes back to memories of his parents and the regrets he struggles with. This show was made for cat lovers, but even if you don't love cats, I'd still highly recommend it.

 

Meiji Tokyo Renka

4/5

Can this season get any more adorable? Yes it can... we're not even close to done. This is another lighthearted series that follows Mei Ayazuki, a strange girl who grew up with a strong connection to the paranormal. Growing up, her friends were ghosts who she frequently communicated with until she realized it wasn't normal and people thought weird of her for it. She quickly became a loner that always wore headphones to drown out the calls of spirits she once befriended. By chance she runs into a magic show and a mysterious magician named Charlie sends her into the past at the start of the Japanese industrial revolution... or Meiji period. There she interacts with several historical figures in an innocent reverse harem I guess you'd call it? Although Ogai Mori is clearly the best boi from start to finish and no one else has a chance.. Mei quickly adapts to her new surroundings while forgetting about her life in the time she came from, but her memories slowly boomerang back. While this happens, her character develops from an unsure timid girl to a supportive and confident young lady as she helps her new found friends with paranormal conundrums. This anime is really charming, it has some light inspiration from Ghost Hunt and Mushi-Shi, but you really couldn't compare them as Renka is way more cutesy and not dark at all. Its more about Mei learning what it means to love and have friends... and even to become a proper Meiji era lady. If you're feeling some light romance and a solid story, this is a good one to check out.

 

ENDRO!

3/5

This is a moe adventure anime about a group 4 four girly heroes quest to take down the demon lord. Yuusha the wielder of the hero's sword, Seira the priestess, Fai the brawler, and Mei the mage battle the demon lord in the first ep, barely defeating "him" with a forbidden spell that causes all of them to be thrown back in time to relive their journey to heroship... the twist is the demon lord is now their teacher at adventurer school. As demon lord Mao in her true form as a chibi girl with bat wings plots to flunk them out and never let them become heroes, everything she does backfires and advances their path to legend. Honestly there is nothing particularly outstanding about this show. As Strider would put it, its just a show about cute girls doing cute things. There isn't a lot of action, its more about the friendships and what not. I found it to be HIGHLY enjoyable. But I don't think I could pass out recommendations to everyone, you've just got to like this kind of stuff to like it. Its got a lot of innocent comedy and a heartwarming story.

 

The Quintessential Quintuplets/ 5-Tōbun no Hanayome

4/5

You probably already know I love this show. This is the most underrated show of the season IMO. People will cast it off because all they see is harem from the outside. But honestly its the best damn harem anime ever. The fan service is very mild. Wrapped in bath towels is as raunchy as it gets. The story is everything and so are the characters. The story starts with Futaro Uesugi.. socially awkward boy genius who is tasked with tutoring 5 beautiful sisters... who are academically challenged, and absolutely hate studying. Futaro is from a very poor family and cares dearly for his little sister. The Nakano sisters are from an extremely rich family and their father is paying Futuro handsomely as long as all five don't flunk out. Although Futaro also dislikes the idea of tutoring such an insufferable bunch, he wants to provide a better future for this sister. Futaro starts out on the wrong foot with a few of the sisters causing trouble from the start as most of them despise him and want nothing to do with being taught by the likes of him. Eventually he gains the trust of a few and spends each ep trying to cobble them all together to succeed. As the series goes on his relationship with the sisters develops as each being to warm up to him and even start to fall for him without him noticing since hes such a block head when ti comes to romance. The thing is, the series starts out telling you he will marry one of the sisters in the future... so you are left to guess which one it is as the story unfolds. Another wrinkle is thrown in as it's revealed pretty early one of the sisters was a childhood friend of his unknown to both. This series is just a joy to watch. The humor is a great, Futaro's struggles with dealing with easily distracted girls who in turn give him a hard time about being so smart makes for great chemistry. Each sister has their own personality and shine in their own way, but together they have great chemistry interacting with poor Futaro. The show is just a lot of fun... and yes #TeamMiku I'm on that best girl train

 

Date A Live III

3/5

You have to be a fan of this series to even get into season 3. Its a corny harem anime where main character Shido helps beautiful spirits escape destruction from a military organization. Its mildly fanservicey, relying more on implied lewdness rather than actual bewbs. If you love the series, this season doesn't disappoint. It's got everything you'd expect from Date A Live.

 

Boogiepop and Others

3/5

Honestly I don't know WTF is happening here. I'd normally say this isn't worth watching when this happens, but It kept my interest the whole time because its so bizarre. I couldn't even write a proper review for this because I don't know how to explain it. Boogiepop is some kind of powerful spirit that goes around protecting the world from danger. The show is full of supernatural stuff, but my favorite arc was the whole thing with Spooky E, Aya, and Masaki. I will say it has an outstanding OP and ED... though they get barely edged out by my favorites of the season(s).

 

Magical Girl Spec-Ops Asuka

3/5

Ah yes, there you are my guilty pleasure. This show is what I thought Magical Girl Raising Project was going to be... but there are no moe girls here, its all busty bombshells saving the world from evil. This show is such a mess but I love it. You have magical girls fighting evil stuffed animal looking creatures from another dimension, all the while fighting off evil magical girls and terrorist organizations. There is bloody gore, F bombs, fan service, action, torture, MGS rip off commercial break screen cards, girly friendship, and high school. The story follows Asuka Otori, one of the magical five that saved the world from the Disas. With the war over, Asuka leaves the magical force to try to live a normal life, make friends, go to school, and be a normal girl. Her past is traumatic as she lost many fellow magical girls under her leadership, and even her parents thanks to the Disas. Her former commander appears from time to time to try and convince her to come back as even though the war is over, the threat is still out there. Eventually Asuka is forced back into it to protect her newly formed friendships with her classmates. If I had to guess without looking it up, I believe the show was animated by the same team that did the last Basilisk with heavy thick dark outlines for the characters. It worked better for Basilisk, but this show is more about the fights, dismemberments, and profanity than anything else. If you want to see a bunch stuff that doesn't belong in the genre, this is the anime for you. I'll be all about season 2.

 

Best Opening winner... I gotta cheat because this is a season and half full of reviews. Plus I didn't review Fairy Tail's final season because its not over... and you either love Fairy Tail or you don't. The opening is just so damn good. So the winners go to Fairy Tail and SAGA.

 

 

The ending winner was super close! Boogiepop's is so damn good but I gotta give it to Quintessential because its the most stick in your brain catchy song I've heard since Chobit's opening, and they execute it so good in the episodes transition to the credits.

 

 

 

 

 

[Strider Hiryu 2,704]

See I just can't agree with not putting Shadowgraph and Whiteout as your favorite OP and ED, they're just so damn good that no song beats them out (I have not been this in love with an OP/ED since Violet Evergarden's Sincerely and FMP's What If). Then again I am loving Demon Slayer's OP from this season so that may change.

Zombie Land Saga is such a wonderful show and I didn't even think I'd like it until I watched Mother's Basement video on the top anime to watch of that season. Much like you I'm not into the whole idol anime craze that's been big for the last few years (hey, I love a good cute girls anime but they all honestly fall flat for me) but this show makes fun of the whole genre while being it's own idol anime. Such lovable characters (Saki is best girl, I'll fight whoever doesn't agree (yes I love Tae but Saki is just to fucking awesome)), the OST is amazing, and while the CG is kind of jarring in quite a few places it's still damn good. Overall one of the best shows of it's season and I really hope they bring out a second season of this amazing show.

Goblin Slayer I wasn't overly impressed with. Yes it's a good show but I feel it got way to much hype for the first episode and everyone just loved it for it's gritty take on the fantasy genre (the original author is a big fan of D&D so this entire show plays out like a D&D campaign). I love the characters (especially Dwarf and the Lizard dude), the animation is really good, fight scenes are very well animated and gritty as fuck, and the OST is pretty damn good but honestly after I got over the hype I just don't see why everyone is head over heals for it (I love a great dark and gritty fantasy story but this just didn't do it for me). Honestly I think shows like Grimgar are worthy of praise for being a darker take on the fantasy genre but keeping it more grounded and not using things like rape to sell it's premise.

That Time I Got Reincarnated As a Slime is such a great show and I'm extremely glad it's getting a second season (which is going to be quite a bit darker then what we've had so far). Rimuru is such a great character and such a compassionate person/slime. I honestly don't know what else I can say about it other than this is probably one of my favorites from it's season because of the mix of humor and seriousness.

Gridman is such a blast as I've said before. This is what a Super Senshi show should be, completely off the wall with a completely bonkers plot that fucking just works. I honestly didn't think I'd like it because I normally don't go for these types of shows (I grew out of my Power Rangers and Ultraman faze a long time ago) but this was a fun ride from start to finish. I really wish I could get my hands on the live-action Gridman show because this is apparently a sequel to it and I'd love to see the original story. I loved the characters, the kaiju were amazing, this is probably the only show I've seen in recent years that uses CGI effectively with traditional animation, as mentioned above the story is pretty out there and off the wall but that didn't diminish my enjoyment of the show, and the OST is pretty killer in its own right. Definitely a show worth watching.

As it stands Boogiepop is currently my anime of the year because it's such an amazing show and deals with a lot of heavy shit once you start reading into it a lot more. While I've never read the source material (which I'd love to, just need to get my hands on the books) I instantly fell in love with the show because of it's eccentric story and generally relatable characters. Plus each arc was interesting in its own way (though I think I enjoyed the 3rd arc the most when they introduced the origin of Boogiepop's name) though some are quite a bit better than others (I wasn't a huge fan of the arc you liked, interesting but I thought it was the dullest of the four). It also helps that I've seen the original anime sequel for the books (Boogiepop Phantom) which in itself is a huge trip. I'd say if you like shows like Serial Experiments Lain (meaning shows that make you think outside of the box) this is definitely a show up your alley and as I mentioned above that OP and ED are fucking amazing.

I really wish you'd of gotten the chance to watching Bunny-girl Senpai since it's such an amazing show (and if you want a catchy OP this ones got your back). Sucks it didn't get a simuldub but it'd definitely be one of the shows I'd say to watch subbed if you can. Can't wait for the movie since it'll wrap the entire story up.

I really need to sit down and start watching My Roommate is a Cat because I've heard nothing but good things about it but I was wrapped up in watching Boogiepop, SAO, and Slime to find the time. Maybe once I get through the current show I'm watching I'll start it, Quintessential Quintuplets, and The Promised Neverland. I still need to also find time to watch Kaguya-sama, Magic Girl Spec-Ops (yea, for some reason I want to watch this mess due to the shitty reviews it's been getting), and the first Peacemaker Kurogane film (the anime was freaking amazing so I really want to watch this and I'm so happy CR got the streaming rights for it).

[DeathscytheX 9,732]

I'm sure Bunny-girl will get dubbed eventually even if its a year from now, once it does, its an instawatch for me. I watched a few reviews, I think MB and Glass Reflection's and they spoke very highly of it confirming my interest. Promised Neverland is on that list as well.

Magical Girl Spec-Ops is a trainwreck you can't look away from. Seeing magical girls perform brutal acts of violence is amazing while trying to keep that campy mushy stuff in there as well. War Nurse is closet bat shit psycho... The whole premise is absurd, and the hilarity of them trying to be so serious with military affairs at times. I can definitely see how its getting shat on, but its way more entertaining than a lot of other garbage tier and snoozefest anime that's come out in the past few season. To name a few Conception, Lord of Vermilion, RErideD, The Master of Ragnarok & Blesser of Einherjar, and Ulysses: Jeanne d'Arc and the Alchemist Knight... where freakin' Caster from Fate/Zero is the main hero.. a pedo child murder. WTF I dunno why i suffered through all of these.

My Roommate is a Cat is a MUST. Just like Sledge needs to watch Evergarden, you need to watch that. 😛

Yeah yeah, I get you on the OP and ED, They are top tier and on my commute playlist, but there were a lot of top teir OPs and EDs for me this season... even Quintessential's opening was a top contender for OP, but I didn't want to over do it. Goblin Slayers OP is chillingly beautiful and matches the tone of the series. Gritty wins out these days, that's mostly why AoT is such a hit despite the extremely poor management of the anime series release time frames... maybe they aren't the best, but there isn't enough of it currently... so people gravitate towards any bone they're thrown. Grimgar is superb and emotionally driven with more substance, its definitely the better story of the two, but GS is more visceral at its core.  People love senseless violence... myself included which is why I love me some Magical Girl Spec-Ops, Gantz, and Jūni Taisen.

 

[DeathscytheX 9,732]

My Roommate is a Cat concluded. It was sooo good, even though I predicted the theme of the finale. honestly this could have been a 24 ep series. I'd want to see Subaru grow more, but I don't know how much more cat shenanigans they can pull off before it would get old and redundant. I'd def watch a season 2 but I don't see it happening.

Quintessential Quintuplets had a really safe ending... which kinda makes me sad because it tells me they don't have faith in being renewed for another season. There is so much more do to in this story, I'll probably pick up the manga now. Even though I already feel like Futaro will end up with Itsuki because shes first girl, and the most boring of the bunch currently. Miku isn't going to win as much as the overwhelming majority of the fan base wants her to... because best girl never wins. But if it wasn't Miku, Ichika would be way better. I think Futuro and Ichika actually have the best chemistry of all of them.  

[Strider Hiryu 2,704]

As a cat lover I enjoyed My Roommate is a Cat way more then most people would of (I'm that crazy old cat guy that can't have cats because I'm deathly allergic). God damn is the show so fucking adorable and Haru is so freaking cute (how she sees Subaru is adorable and her need to protect him is just so freaking cute). So glad I watched this show and it got the rare 10/10 from me just because I enjoyed it so much (not just for Haru, I honestly found the story rather good and seeing Subaru's growth as a character over the course of 12 episodes was good (especially how he comes to view Haru and those around him). Reminded me a lot of Barakamon and how Honda grows as a character throughout the show (similar to Subaru in a lot of ways)). I could see this getting a second season if there's enough material considering how obsessed the Japanese can be with cats (I think the manga did very well over there, not sure how the anime has done though) and would definitely drop everything I'm doing to watch it.

Now I just need to sit down and watch the other 3 I need to watch, sigh so much shit to watch and not enough time to do so.

[DeathscytheX 9,732]

Yeeeessssssssssss Season 2! https://www.crunchyroll.com/anime-news/2019/05/05/the-brides-are-back-for-quintessential-quintuplets-season-2

 

[DeathscytheX 9,732]

Still my favorite scene.