3. Ishuzoku Reviewers: Raunchy soft-core premise aside, the art of review and the context brought with it is adequately explored in this piece. While dialogue had to pull double duty expositing the criteria that the various… girls met or did not to grant the advertised experiences kept the proceedings interesting. The world building and context (for the ‘adventures’) established outside of the sex implicit scenes also kept what could have quickly become boring from ever really approaching it.

2. Boku no Hero S4: The sometimes unfortunate tempo of a MHA season (alternate a villain arc and end with a low stakes training/certification/world build arc) was thankfully ended in stride by a fiery (pun of course intended) confrontation at the by the new number 1 hero. Still going strong, as far as shounen series are concerned.

1. Eizouken ni wa Te wo Das una!: This was actually difficult to finish, as it lacked a strong unifying narrative aside from the girls striving to make animation a viable pursuit. That being said, nothing felt more satisfying to watch and did actually showcase some good creative animation and Miyazaki-style hijinks. World building seems to be a theme this season, and Eizouken was at the top of its game in that regard. Highly recommended for wannabe animation aficionados.

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I’m told that special awards are a part of my being now, so I don’t want to rock the boat too much…

The “mood casualty” urn is presented to Runway de Waratte: If my mindset were turned just a little bit, I can imagine this could have bene a contender for anime of the season. Most similar in recent memory to Welcome to the Ballroom, this is an example of the new age ‘drama shounen’ that I can certainly get used to. Half plucky challenger, and half reality check, the characters struggling against a world seemingly designed to keep them from their dreams was very interesting, when the subject (high fashion) was decidedly not so.

The ‘edgy death game’ trophy is non-conforming for Darwin’s Game: There is always room for a series like this, because the audience who might find it fresh isn’t old enough to have seen any of the better efforts of previous years, while those who watch this in spite of knowing what it is by the nature of its audience are clearly damaged anyway. Various characters kill each other via games with super powers managed on their smart phones. Topical. At least the shedding of innocence was handled well enough here to give me hope if another season comes out.

The “is this funny to anyone else” chuckle stick went to ID: Invaded: Part Inception, and part butt-pull mysteries, the real takeaway here is how often characters referred to themselves as ‘brilliant detective’. I guess everyone needs to psyche themselves up every now and again. Unfortunately, mysteries weren’t ‘properly’ structured, meaning the audience could only wait for characters to piece together clues and logic not presented to the viewers to advance the story. Not really satisfying, but somewhat different.

The (un)prestigious ‘clean conscience’ award is split between Pet, Hatena Illusion, and Plunderer: Three shows sharing nothing but boredom and a nagging suspicion that someone out there who is just getting into anime could like them. Pet was the most high concept (and potential to be good) with memory manipulation, and if you don’t mind a lot of exposition- I actually recommend it. Hatena Illusion is another boring slog through nonsensical contemporary fantasy that felt too pedestrian to grip. Plunderer is only notable in that it sprung to mind when I wondered what the worst anime I saw so far this year was. Generic fantasy setting made to serve as a groundwork for arbitrary rules that ensure fighting, fanservice, and a cool dude main character shaking up the established order… I’m pretty sure I copy-pasted that from some other clumsy wish fulfillment piece years ago. All three shows gave no discomfort to simply cease watching…

“Number one derp” helmet is presented to Murenase! Seton Gakuen’s Lanka. Great voicework by Hina Kino, this character actually sounds really stupid, as I hope was the intent.

“Grinding” timed event trophy goes to Itai no wa Iya nano de Bougyoryoku ni Kyokufuri Shitai to Omoimasu: While perfectly adequate as yet another fictional videogame story, two episodes in it felt like a titular grind to progress, as the main character was rewarded for simply continuing to spend stat points on defensive ability, and there were no signs of that strategy being challenged. Low tension, low interest.

Somali to Mori no Kamisama gets on the ‘watch list’: While time doesn’t permit completing it now, the first episode did show enough promise to add it to the ever growing backlog. I like the dangerous undertones that the other races aren’t perhaps being fully honest/informed about the reasons for the delicious humans’ disappearance.

The “lunchtime” show award goes to Rikei ga Koi ni Ochita no de Shoumei Shite Mita: Cute rom-com about two scientists exploring and (failing to) quantify their mutual affection makes for good episodic eat-while-you-watch anime.

The ‘neglect’ award goes to Haikyuu!! To the Top: Years I waited for a follow up to the spectacular season three, but alas, I had read the manga since and that drains my desire to watch by at least half, though what I saw looked as good as ever.

The ‘sweaty tryhard’ soaked towel goes to Mairimashita! Iruma-kun: I gave it my all. At least 11 episodes I think- they blur together- given in hopes that this would be/get better. No such luck. Watchable with some gags you’ve seen before in other shows- tripe.

The “Capstone” award goes to Psycho Pass 3 First Inspector ovas: If you loved Phycho Pass season 3 (like me), these ovas, essentially three extra episodes, conclude its story arc properly AND set up the next potential one. Highly recommended.

Lastly, the “two thirds” rule goes to Drifting Dragons: In a silly sort of way, I see that anime can excel for me in three major areas: plot, character, and production. Being as I am essentially racist against CG anime, this fell short of the last one. I still can’t get over the sometimes awkwardly animated 3d models, but the rest of the show is a pleasure to watch. I like the setting, episodic story, and characters, but the act of visually perceiving CG anime always offends me just a bit. A nice enough show, but I wouldn’t want my daughter dating a CG character. Recommended if that doesn’t bother you.

A weaker season, but some goodies buried in there if you wade through enough.