Wow, this has been a weak season of anime hasn’t it? I almost never drop a show even if it’s bad. I usually watch them through so I can post thoughts and have a point of reference in conversation. Or maybe some shows get better later, which has happened before. Some shows do a slow burn for 6-7 episodes and then crank it up like Seraph of the End did which is now one of my favorite shows.
This season has brought on a lot of weak shows and a lot of the short ones too. I usually watch the short ones but this season has a bunch of bad ones that just didn’t catch my eye at all. Another thing that is bothering me with this season is this new term which I guess is popular in Japan? There are characters ending sentences with “I think”. Now this could be a translation issue but it’s not like it’s one show, it’s a few of them. It’s used in some awkward ways, like “I’m going to kill that guy, I think”. Not exactly that but close enough.
This is the type of stuff that had me stop watching for a while. During that time though, I did miss a lot of good ones. Maybe it let me appreciate it more by being away from it?
Shows I’m Still Watching
(Note: This does not mean the show is good but I am watching)
Since I already mentioned Seraph of the End, let’s start there. Season 2 starts off exactly where season 1 ended and it’s a very good starting point. I don’t want to give any spoilers but there are new characters and a consistent plot from the first season. You get a little more personal with some of the characters and learn a bit about their background. If you liked the first season then you won’t be disappointed. The Broadcast Dubs have started for this season and as usual, Funimation has done a good job with this.
Gundam is already greenlit for 25 episodes so no worries about a chopped up story or a rush job. The show is solid, all the way around. This is my favorite of the season and stands far ahead of everything else with Owarimonogatari and Seraph rounding out my top 3. Something is lacking in this season and Gundam is it’s savior.
Comet Lucifer is a decent show but I have mixed feelings about it because the characters in it. It does kind of remind me of a Gurren Lagaan type of show with the mix of characters from serious to cutesy. There is still a lot of mecha action mixed in so it doesn’t try to be something it’s not, it’s just some of the characters feel out of place for me. This is anime so anything goes and I guess for me some of them don’t click but it happens. Still like the show for the most part.
Heavy Object, yes I’m getting the mecha stuff out of the way first since I’m watching all of them. This one is also greenlit for 24 episodes but it’s not one overarching plot like Gundam and Comet Lucifer. Here you have mini plots that are 2-3 episodes at a time. This one adds some comedy to the mix though it is a more serious type of show. 2 “mechanics” or seem to be mechanics who work along side a dominatrix of a squad leader and a princess who pilots the ‘Object’ of their division, sounds more like the plot of an ecchi show but it is indeed a mecha show. This is one that probably had people on the fence. This is currently in the Broadcast Dubs so you can watch in English or read the subtitles.
Noragami Aragoto is pretty much a continuation from the first season and they didn’t miss a step. The god without a shrine is back and up to his old tricks, with Hiyori and Yukine still by his side. This season is a little more serious than the first but still has the comedy formula down.
World Trigger: Fugitives is just more World Trigger. This is an arc that is not in the manga and so far I think it’s pretty good for something they just spitballed together. Still awkward how the first season didn’t really end and just rolled into this one but as you can guess by the name, there are fugitives involved and while they’re not the easiest characters to like, they do add a new dynamic to the show.
Owarimonogatari is just more Bakemonogatari goodness. Has the same artistic stylings, well not the exact same but same off the wall animation and style. Still has the occult, mystery thing going for it and we finally get to see Ougi, not just a cameo like last time. There is a lot of Ougi and Ougi definitely makes it interesting. Don’t recall where I read that the series may be coming to an end but there is at least 2 more seasons of stuff coming and I read something about movies coming but those may be the other adaptations. This season will end with the Shinobu Mail arc, which they just started and the rest of Owarimonogatari is already scripted and planned for a later date. Koyomimonogatari is also being planned.
Testament of Sister New Devil BURST is more of the same from the first season. Pretty much just continues from where they left off. Still raunchy as hell and I’m sure there will be an uncensored version for those that it matters to. Only 10 episodes so it’s going to end soon.
Hidan no Aria AA is a bit awkward. A clumsy girl wants to be a butei and wants Aria as her amica. The show follows her but it seems like everyone falls for the clumsy girl which turns it into a yuri-ish show with little crime fighting and more in fighting between the girls. Definitely a departure from the first season. I think I’m watching more for continuity purposes because it’s not really holding my attention.
Speaking of yuri, holy mother of yuri. Valkyrie Drive is a lot of yuri action with some fighting or is it fighting with some yuri. Either way, yuri stuff is heavily involved. No that’s not the main point of watching. Had no idea what the show was before watching it but daaaaaaaaaamn, there’s some serious visuals, and it comes in an uncensored version too if that’s your thing. Basically, an innocent girl is “infected” with some “disease” and gets shipped to an island. An island where others with the same issue reside. There’s more than one faction on this island which leads to all the fighting. Reminds me of Freezing or Sekirei but with yuriness. It even has a plot to go with the PLOT like the ones I mentioned. It has an episode or two which could be called “fan service” though, well people call everything “fan service” these days, they’ll probably call the whole show, fan service.
Gakusen Toshi Asterisk and Rakudai Kishi no Cavalry are so similar I will have to watch them again in marathon format at the end of the season. I kept mixing up the sub characters for these two at the beginning. Both start off with a guy walking in on a tsundere princess who’s getting dressed, then they’re teamed up with the tsundere and have to make the best of it. I like Rakudai a little more for characters. Stella is just so much more likeable than Julis. Both are fantasy shows based in school with pairs who fight using weapons and magic.
Taimadou Gakuen 35 Shiken Shoutai seemed to be everyone’s Chaos Dragon for this season. Not sure why people hated Chaos Dragon right away but same thing here. People talking about dropping it after one episode. I’m still watching. It’s similar to Asterisk and Radukai in some ways like magic and swords and minor ecchi content.
Dragon Ball Super though it’s really a summer show, I wanted to give it some attention here. They say it’s planned for 100 episodes with an option for 100 so you know it’ll be 200. Though it has run into some animation issues which blew up the internet. Not every show is going to be perfect every time but they were glaring issues. Battle of the Gods was the first arc with some severe changes but I think in the end it came out well and felt like the Z shows with the filler episodes and all that.
Ore ga Ojou-sama Gakkou ni “Shomin Sample” Toshite Gets♥Sareta Ken is about a boy who gets kidnapped so he can be the “sample commoner” for a school of stuck up rich girls. It’s just your typical haremy fun. I could live with out one of the characters who is probably there because the lolicons.
Kind of Watching These
Lances N Masques is so dry and boring and lame but for some reason I’m still watching it. Main characters are so bad that it’s painful. Maybe it’s just to watch until completion but it’s not a good show.
K: Return of Kings is okay I guess but why do they have to look like glitter boys. Think I’m just watching to see where it ends. Like the music on this one. It’s one of the shows slated for 25 episodes.
Komori-san Can’t Decline is one of the short shows from this season. She is supposed to be a junior high student but she obviously has developed much more than the others. The show is only 2 minutes and usually has people getting her to do some task since she can’t refuse.
Tantei Team KZ Jiken Note the show about kid detectives being kids and solving kid mysteries. It’s a short show but does the job in it’s timeframe.
Is This Order a Rabbit? Sequel when I saw this show up as the top show ranked by Japanese males, I had to see what was going on. It’s just more cute girls doing cute things. I wonder if they mixed up the lists and it should be females not males? Just like the first season, the show is well put together and all that but it really is the epitome of moe. It does have it’s funny moments. But why does this show seem like it’s 40 minutes instead of 20? More shows need to do whatever it is that they do to make it feel that way. Anyway, nothing new here, but I usually watch to the end of something so……
Yuru Yuri 3 watching for continuity reasons. This ranks high with males too in Japan and I think it may have something to do with their loli fetish. Nothing wrong with the show technically, it’s just cute girls doing cute things. Has some funny moments but nothing to make it take a high spot from shows in a poll, that are just better in terms of having a plot and art and all that good stuff.
One Punch Man seemed like it was going to be horrible and well…it’s not that good a show but someone mentioned it after I dropped it so I gave it another chance. It does get better even though it’s still bad comedy.
Haikyuu!! I need to go back and finish the 1st season then watch this but looks good from what I saw.
Teekyuu 6 is Teekyuu. 3 minutes of zaniness every week. As the seasons progressed, it seemed like it started lacking the punch in the punchlines. Could just be me but it doesn’t seem as funny as it used to.
Utawarerumono: Itsuwari no Kamen is similar to the first season. A guy with no memory is found by a girl who nurses him back to health. Since they’re animal like, the guy pulls her tail to see if it’s real, in both seasons. At first it looked like it might be a completely different story but around episode 8, things start to intertwine into the first season including some familiar faces who happen to be older and grayer.
Sakurako-san no Ashimoto ni wa Shitai ga Umatteiru and Perfect Insider are the bigger mystery entries for this season and both are hardly watchable. The main characters are unlikeable and that right there hurts the shows. Sakurako is a 20 something woman who is petulant and has an unhealthy obsession with bones. She flies into tantrums and besides a few moments, she really isn’t very likeable at all. It sucks that this was one that I was waiting for. Perfect Insider has unlikeable mains also and didn’t get to the meat of the show for a few episodes which is fine but when you have 11 episodes, it makes it a bit hard because then you have to rush to the end like Ranpo Kitan, which also was not a good show because the mains and the rushed plot. It’s close to the end of the season so I’ll finish them off but I can’t see them recovering.
Dropped Like a Hot Potato
Young Black Jack just didn’t catch me at all. Seemed like a decent premise but maybe I’d like it if I watched the original? Who knows but it’s not for me.
Diabloik Lovers More, Blood is just a no. Looks like a BL festival with sparkling vampires. They call the girl a sow, bitch and whatever else. Just a tough one to even consider watching further than that one episode. If that was their “shock value” to get me to watch past the first one, they failed.
Fushigi na Somera-chan is so bad. Supposed to be short and funny like a Teekyu or show of that nature but it’s not funny. Not at all.
Anitore! EX, I watched one to see what it was since I had no idea going in. It’s little girls doing exercises. File this one under pedophile bait.
Kagewani is yet another short show (so many this season). I watched 1 or 2 and I couldn’t even tell you what they were about. It was THAT forgettable. The mystery stuff from this season is really just not up to par.
Kowabon is a rotoscorped horror show that seems like The Ring. Was just not good.
Concrete Revolutio seemed to be like Charlotte with someone looking for super powered people but then they went straight to some goofy kiddie character and the show just went downhill from there. I’ll probably go back and watch when the season is over just so I know why I stuck around for 6 episodes.
Soukyuu no Fafner: Dead Aggressor – Exodus 2nd Season – Haven’t watched the first season so…not sure if I’m lost or the first episode was boring. Will have to go back and watch because 1 episode is usually not enough to make a decision. There’s fighting and all that so it has to have some value…right? maybe? Same thing with Garo but I never gave the original a chance so that might be the reason.
JK-Meshi! is another short show with cooking and friends as the main premise. Just seems like too much to ram into a short show. Has some janky flash animation like style which wouldn’t be bad if the show worked better. Most of the show looks puppet like with deformed styles. Just too…unfinished feeling.
Haven’t watched but might
Hacka Doll the Animation and Miss Monochrome the Animation 3, both are short shows (under 10 minutes). Some of the cast names are familiar and I USUALLY watch the short ones just for reference purposes. These days keep popping up in conversation so I’d like a reference point. Plus I recognize some of the voice cast. Just goes with one of my sayings, “Know a little bit about everything instead of everything about one thing. Even if you’re not too bright, at least you’ll be able to hold meaningful conversations.”
DD Hokuto no Ken 2: Ichigo Aji+ is a Fist of the North Star parody. Not sure how I feel about that. That is the reasoning for my passing on Attack on Titan kiddie version which you see in the “Just not watching” section.
Just not watching
Neko Nanka Yondemo Konai just doesn’t catch my interest.
Lupin just didn’t interest me. Haven’t seen the last seasons either for the same reason.
Mini Vanguard 2nd Season have made no attempt to watch
Itoshi no Muco doesn’t seem like something I’d consider.
Kyoufu! Zombie Neko just no interest.
Doushitemo Eto ni Hairitai no interest.
Brave Beats still not a fan of the music shows.
Cardfight!! Vanguard G: Gears Crisis-hen not interested.
Ketsuekigata-kun! 3rd Season yeah….no interest.
Shin Atashinchi. Nope.
Kindaichi Shounen no Jikenbo Returns (2015) just didn’t catch my interest.
Dance with Devils is also on the “not going to try list”.
Osomatsu-san, don’t care enough to watch.
Ameiro Cocoa: Rainy Color e Youkoso!… nope.
Peeping Life TV: Season 1?? Does not seem like a show I’d watch.
Shingeki! Kyojin Chuugakkou is a no. I just can’t watch Attack on Titan characters become cute kids.
Yeah I’m not watching High School Star Musical either.