Last season's top 3

[Y]

I watched three shows in total recently.

They are Mashle, Frieren and Dungeon Meshi.

Three good shows, wow. No shit.

[neflight86]

While not a bad season, per say, I watched and finished a mere fraction of my typical unhealthy consumption of anime (and remember even less), so this is gonna be sparse (by my standards):


3. Dungeon Meshi: I really wish I enjoyed this more, but somewhere after the peak of fighting the dragon halfway in, Dungeon Meshi returned to incidental scavenging with low tension, and if I had to hear Senshi say “coat it in batter and fry it” one more time… That is to say, the creative juices weren’t flowing as strongly (see what I did there?). Yes, the scenarios were varied, but all of the activities (and cooking) paled in comparison to the greater mysteries at play. The characters did continue to carry my interest, but only barely. There was genuinely no hook so finishing out the season took more effort than it should have.


2. Tensei shitara Dainana Ouji Datta node, Kimama ni Majutsu wo Kiwamemasu- What does it say if my second favorite show from last season is on my ‘will finish it later’ list? Tropes and fanservice galore, but they both stay out of the way of the fun power fantasy, and the animation was truly great.


1. Kaijuu 8-gou: Some of my least favorite character designs (everyone’s facial features are so rounded and interchangeable), but the shounen spark is strong. Funnily enough, the first arc resembles My Hero Academia enough to be comical, but after that quickly morphs into its own thing. Good fight animation, some catchy tunes (english OP and ED?) and plenty of story progression, even if the timing is sorta convenient. I looked forward to nothing more each week.

_____________________________
Due to recent budget cuts, this season’s special awards have been downsized accordingly:


Kono Subarashii Sekai ni Shukufuku wo! 3 gets the ‘robbed’ police sketch: If the core narrative were more compelling, this could have easily been number 2, as the laughs were pretty good. The degenerate characters bouncing off each other is as fun as ever, and little goes according to plan. Old jokes are remembered and what passes for a plot did actually advance by some measure. Great stuff, but better binged.


Astro Note gets retro tankobon: All the feel-good qualities of a yesteryear ‘cute girl is actually an alien’ show from the 80-90s. Simp-kun volunteers to cook for an apartment complex while the owner is an alien on a vague mission that will be completed exactly when the story needs to enter the final stages for some tension. Not gripping, but a good time if you’re feeling a bit nostalgic.


KENKA DOKUGAKU gets the ‘youtube subscriber plaque’: This is "Hajime no Ippo" for Zoomers, and I just can’t get into the cynicism after so many episodes. Obviously a Korean manhua adaptation (from the socks with sandals to the ‘localized’ names that don’t match the phonetics you can plainly hear, to the shoestring animation… yep… not exactly the red carpet treatment…) That aside, if you like a good underdog fighting/martial arts series; you could do worse. Bullied kid tries starting a ‘newtube’ channel to get views and money for his mom’s hospitalization and hits every obstacle along the way. Some good fights but all the rest is just money worship.


Go ahead and pack some store brand ranch for Henjin no Salad Bowl: The first episode was pretty fun as a reverse isekai fish out of water story, reminding my of Hinamatsuri, but the luster quickly faded as the show quickly ran out of introduction and the actual hijinks didn’t hold up, even if Livia is the best girl of the season (give just her the ranch, actually).


I award Shuumatsu Train Doko e Iku? with the punched train ticket: If you’d asked me what show is most destined for greatness after one episode this season… this right here. The bizarre world building and cute characters (that had some good dialog) felt like a sure hit, but something about the episodic narrative drained my enthusiasm as it chugged along (train humor), leading to a quiet drop into the ‘maybe later’ pile.


Tensei Kizoku, Kantei Skill de Nariagaru was a casualty of circumstance, so it should really try filing a claim for this: This was off to a petty good start for a nonconventional isekai power fantasy. Boy must surround himself with people of great ability to stave off impending disaster instead of beating all the bad guys by himself. The best compliment I can give is I forgot why I didn’t get around to finishing it.


Yozakura-san Chi no Daisakusen: I’m seeing a pattern here… another strong start with a wacky family unit entangling an outsider into their tightly wrapped (light) drama and hangups, this time in the paint of a spy thriller… My major hangup is/was that spycraft usually doesn’t translate well to a simple good guys versus bad guys shounen template when deception and gray morality are staples of the genre. Also, killing is largely downplayed and that feels out of place when there are serial bombers and mid-day car chase shootouts. Not bad, overall, but know what you’re getting into.


WIND BREAKER gets a school jacket themed around something cool: Another casualty of running out of steam, Wind Breaker is the correct answer to the question a disgruntled viewer of Tokyo Revengers might ask: “Where are the good school gang anime at?” School boys bravado and talking things out with their fists- just the kind of escapist entertainment I can only find in anime. While my interest waned after the first major arc, it was a good time while I watched. Recommended.


Unnamed Memory gets the amnesia award because I can’t hardly remember a single thing about it!


Sentai Daishikkaku gets the bronze brush award: What a disappointment. A deconstruction of villain mooks being enslaved for entertainment by the virtuous sentai team is ripe for exploitation (slave humor?)… yet we get an annoying, weak, hot headed imbecile with almost no redeeming qualities in his quest to finish taking over the earth because… reasons. Aided by disgruntled sentai support staff and other delusional members of the broken machine, this feels like a story that would happen even if Sentouin D weren’t involved, which didn’t do much to hold my interest. It feels like a story happening around the protagonist (who I didn’t like at all) instead of one being shaped and influenced by him- and that’s why this is one stain worth the scrub off the bowl.


And for Kimetsu no Yaiba: Hashira Geiko-hen, we bestow some convenience store sushi; banzai!: How commodified has Demon Slayer become? I see figures at my local grocery store, and that commercial success means it is no major consequence if the quality of storytelling never again reaches the drastic highs of the best arcs of DS. While not as outright eye-rolling as the swordsmith village arc, the Hashira training arc was the prettiest padding I’ve ever seen. For sure, though, I’ll be watching the final movies!


Catch ya next season!

[Buffalobiian]

Dungeon Meshi
Likable characters (by the end - elf was annoying for the first 2 episodes), food (always good), adventure and interesting lore.

Hibike Euphonium S3
Finale to the story. Tense drama with characterisations that aren't just usual tropes. Kyoani draws really pretty characters.

Konosuba 3
A few of those episodes had me cackling. They could do with a little more adventure and demon lord stuff, but this was a more "political" adventure than a real one.

Jiisan Baasan Wakagaeru was also quite nice feel-good anime for me this season. It'll be rather forgettable in the next few years so I didn't add it as a top 3.

[KrayZ33]

Mushoku
Kaijuu
Konosuba

but didn't watch the Spice&Wolf remake yet, nor did I watch Dungeon Meshi.

edit: just realized, haven't watched a lot of shows that I did at least want to give a try.
Guess next few seasons leave time enough to change that.

[MFauli]

Mushoku
Karasu wa Aruji wo Erabanai
Kaiji 8 gou

[shinta|hikari]

Karasu isn't over yet. Newest episode just came out.

[MFauli]

Karasu isn't over yet. Newest episode just came out.

Still my top3 favorite of the past season.

Btw next episode in 26 days. wtf

[Dark Dragon]

1. Cross Games: pretty much what everyone else said, it's just that good. It's not even my favorite Adachi manga either.

2. Regios: I'm a big fan of overpowered main character that doesn't need a bunch of power ups to be able to beat random grunt #2.

3. FMA: I didn't like the original FMA, but i am a big fan of the manga. It's always a plus to see faithful anime adaptation since i'm still bitter about quite a few unfaithful ones.

Other good series: Guin Saga, Hayate 2, Ippo, K-On and Hatsukoi.

[Uchiha Barles]

Spring 2012:

1. Fate/Zero
2. Sakamichi no Apollon
3. Tasogare Otome x Amnesia

Summer 2012:

1. Jinrui wa Suitai Shimashita
2. Kokoro Connect
3. Natsuyuki Rendezvous

In hindsight there are a few things I should've watched over the summer that I didn't give a shot to. SAO was just SO bad that it really turned me off to anything that was remotely like it.

[Ryllharu]

Well, I'll forgo a long writeup in order to do a quick catchup. As usual, series ending in the time period.

Fall 2012:
Girls und Panzer - Surprisingly entertaining tank warfare.
Jormungand: Perfect Order - Sequel to previous season, good tactical action.
Robotics;Notes - Subdued and mostly realistic "let's build a giant robot" anime
[ added here because Fall 2012's two-cour series were really strong and I ran out of room, see below. ]

Winter 2013:
Shin sekai yori - Strong fantasy series, Espers and monsters. One of the best series of 2013.
Zetsuen no Tempest: The Civilization Blaster - A legitimate adventure series. Contemporary fantasy, great characters.
Mondaiji-tachi ga Isekai kara Kuru Sou Desu yo? - Another entertaining fantasy series where ridiculously overpowered protagonists are transported to another world where they can wreak even more havoc.

Spring 2013:
Chihayafuru 2 - Sequel to the surprisingly tense antics of the karuta-playing high schoolers.
Suisei no Gargantia - Science fiction series where a space pilot and his AI mecha find themselves sent to a water-covered Earth.
Kakumeiki Valvrave - Surprisingly good mecha series with a unique different take on its pilots. Lots of politicking, not Gundam, but doesn't take itself that seriously either.

Honorable mention: Hataraku Maou-sama - Demon Overlord expelled from his world, gets a job at a burger place on Earth. Comedy.

Summer 2013:
Gin no Saji - Agricultural School series. Protagonist learns to find himself at an unconventional school. Created by the FMA mangaka, and the quality in the writing shows.
Servant x Service - Civil Service Office comedy.
Uchouten Kazoku - Fantasy series about the family life of tanuki in modern day, and their interaction with humans (who are fond of eating them at the end of the year), tengu (who theoretically run the area) and a particularly capricious demi-goddess.

Honorable Mention: Rozen Maiden (2013) - Reboot of the series to realign it with the manga. Very well done, but seeing the original series (despite their different take on the story) is a bit of a requirement to follow along.

Fall 2013:
Kakumeiki Valvrave (2013) - Sequel to the above.
Sekai de Ichiban Tsuyoku Naritai! - Excessively trashy girls wrestling series. I have to admit that it was pretty engaging, in the end.
Kyoukai no Kanata - Story about an immortal half-youma boy and the exorcist who is trying repeatedly to kill him.

Things you could be watching right now (ongoing and quite good):

Kill la Kill
Golden Time
Nagi no Asukara
Log Horizon