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homesickmillenial · 2 years

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Winter 2021 Anime Worth Watching!

Since 2020 basically sacrificed itself to give us the most stacked anime season of all time, I’m currently buried under the weight of almost 20 shows airing per week. So for anyone who’s looking for some anime to watch this winter, here’s some first impressions! I’m speed running my list this time by only talking about the new shows…because otherwise this would be my great American novel.

If anyone’s interested, I have master lists for both 2020 anime and 2019 anime, because there’s no shortage of fun things to find.

New Shows!

And before anyone asks, So I’m A Spider, So What? isn’t on here, because CG spiders freak me out.

Cells At Work Code Black: This…less comedic spin off of Cells At Work (made by a different studio) takes the wholesome concept of Osmosis Jones meets cute anime girls and turns it on its head. In this much more depressing version, we follow a rookie red blood cell who works in the body of an overly stressed, alcoholic smoker who puts every strain on the body imaginable. I love Red Blood Cell AA2153 and his co-workers, but man am I glad we get the regular Cells At Work airing this season too, because I need something fun and uplifting after seeing my sweet son go through hell every episode.

*Heaven’s Design Team: Have you ever wondered how God came up with some of the weird ass animals that live on this planet? Like, what’s the deal with giraffes? And why can’t we have dragons and flying horses? Well this is a comedy about the engineers and designers in heaven creating the new animals that are going to inhabit the Earth. That’s it, that’s the show. It’s kind of in the same vein as Cells At Work, having comedy blend with a surprising amount of educational information. If you want something light and funny, this is the show for you (though I don’t think it needs to have full length episodes). I’m just hoping there’s an episode about how the hell the platypus was created. Also it’s the only new one available on Crunchyroll.

Horimiya: A romantic comedy about a girl named Hori who fits the image of a perfect queen bee and a quiet bespectacled boy named Miyamura who never makes an impression at school. When the two meet by chance outside of the classroom, we see that Hori is practically raising a younger brother by herself, and Miyamura is actually a sweet guy who happens to be covered in tattoos and piercings. This show is an exercise in breaking down the images people have of others in their minds, and it’s a concept that really hits home in a fun and meaningful way. Honestly, this has become one of my immediate favorites. The characters have great chemistry, and I can’t wait to see more of them!

Monster Incidents (Kemono Jihen): When big shot Tokyo detective Inugami is called to a rural town to investigate a series of strange animal deaths, he finds a mysterious boy with the nickname Dorotabo who has been shunned by the other children in town. As the detective gets closer to Dorotabo, he discovers that there may be more…inhuman secrets to the boy than he realizes…and Dorotabo discovers that Inugami has some secrets of his own. This is a hard show to sell without spoiling the first episode, but it had twists and turns that kept me engaged from start to finish. I’m really interested to see where the plot goes, because I thought this was going to be something totally different just from the PV and series summary. If it plays its cards right, this could be a great paranormal detective show!

Wonder Egg Priority: A psychological drama about a girl named Ai who starts having dreams about a mysterious egg that promises to give her what she wants most in the world…a true friend. Before long, she begins to see how the dream world and reality are tied together, and trippy antics ensue. It’s hard to say more without spoiling anything, but I had to go back and add this one in because I made the mistake of thinking it was an OVA when it’s actually a full series. And what a series it’s starting out to be. This anime has all the psychological discomfort of a Satoshi Kon product with the beauty and style of something from Kyoani (even though it’s made by Clover Works). It’s really one of those anime you just have to see to understand.

Sk8-∞ (Skate the infinity): An original skateboarding anime from Bones, featuring a typical sports anime protagonist who takes a new transfer student who has never skateboarded in his life under his wing. Together they compete in dangerous races and take the skating community by storm. The character designs rival Appare Ranman’s in outlandish creativity, and I can smell the main characters’ ship dynamic a mile away (considering they’re exactly the same as the protagonists from Robihachi). If you’re looking for some wild and crazy fun with top notch skateboarding animation, don’t skip this!

2.43: Seiin Koukou Danshi Volley-bu (Seiin High School Boys Volleyball Club): Yes, it’s another volleyball anime. And no, it’s not just a clone of Haikyu. This story follows Yuni Kuroba, a physically built but emotionally weak teenager who finds out his childhood friend Hajime is moving back to their hometown for high school. Yuni discovers Hajime has become an exceptional volleyball player and they join their school’s volleyball club hoping to turn the unknown team into a rising star. If anything, this anime is much more like Stars Align or Free, where the sport is a backdrop for letting the characters explore their personal problems. Or at least it seems that way after the first episode. I went into this show ready to throw it in the trash because how could anything compete against my beloved Haikyu, but I found myself really enjoying the dynamics of the main duo and I’m curious to see what the rest of the team is like.

And speaking of sports anime rip-offs…..I can’t believe I’m including this but…

Skate Leading Stars: The show where the animators clearly wanted to design another throw away idol anime but saw how popular Yuri On Ice was so they decided to make whatever the hell this show is instead. It revolves around a fictional team sport called skate leading, and we follow the world’s most insufferable main character, a former figure skater named Kensei who wants to return to the ice and join his school’s skate leading team after he finds out his childhood rival is going to compete in the sport. Look, this show is just trashy enough to get a certain type of audience hooked, and it mainly has to do with the best boy of the winter season, Hayato Sasugai, the aspiring team “coach” who pulled most of us into watching this show with his punk appearance, snide comments and smug personality. He’s basically the lovechild of Izaya Orihara and Shizuo Heiwajima in a high school sports anime setting. The show treats itself with the perfect amount of sincerity to get away with being absolutely ridiculous most of the time without making you feel like you’re watching it from a dumpster…like Try Knights. You will know after one episode whether this show is for you. All I can say is, Hayato is worth the watch, and I haven’t seen any 3D animation used for the skating scenes (yet) so that’s a win for me.

Honorable mention:

Jobless Reincarnation ( Mushoku Tensei): Yet another isekai where the main character is hit by a car (big surprise) and gets reincarnated into a fantasy world…but he happens to remember his previous life and narrates himself growing up as a jaded adult. I’m only including this because it looked amazing animation wise, and I love the opening where getting hit by a car and dying is actually traumatic. And I love the protagonist’s parents (who are retired adventurers who just want to bang all the time). But honestly…the main character is the fucking worst, and I don’t know if I want to keep watching it because of how creepy and weird he is. Like…he’s the hit on your fantasy mom as a baby kind of creepy and weird. But for anyone who wants a cool looking isekai that had an amazing PV, it’s worth checking out.

Continuing Series!

Because the real gold of the season is in all the established anime getting their next seasons, I’m just going to list some of the things that are also amazing and definitely worth checking out if you haven’t already (because I’ve already talked about most of them at some point and don’t know what else to say).

Attack On Titan season 4

The Promised Neverland season 2

Beastars season 2

Log Horizon season 3

That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime season 2

Re: Zero season 2 (second cour)

Dr. Stone season 2

Cells at Work season 2

Osomatsu-san season 3 (second cour)

Higurashi New (second cour)

Jujutsu Kaisen (second cour)

Not to mention all the shows I don’t watch that everyone else loves…like World Trigger (which I have seen quite a bit of, but long shounen shows are too much for me now) Quintessential Quintuplets, and Non Non Biyori.

So there’s just some of all the anime airing this season. Hopefully, someone can find something they like. Here’s to a great year…well, of anime at least…

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homesickmillenial · 2 years

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Summer 2021 Anime Worth Watching!

It’s time once again to see what new shows the anime gods are gracing us with this season. This is the part where I tell you what’s out there if you’re looking for something to watch this summer, but this season is like…90% isekai anime that I usually skip over. So if you’re looking for something that’s NOT an isekai (well…okay maybe just a couple) here’s just some of the shows that look interesting so far.

I’ll put a * by the shows that are on Crunchyroll…but spoiler alert, they literally only have one of the new shows that I’m listing. My trust has been betrayed.

Here are my lists for the 2021 seasons so far

2020 Anime Worth Watching

2019 anime Worth Watching

New Shows!

*The Aquatope On White Sand (Shiroi Suna no Aquatope): Grab your box of tissues, because PA Works is at it again with an original anime that’s going to tug at your heartstrings from episode one. When former idol Fuuka Miyazawa has a quarter life crisis after losing her job, she ends up working at an aquarium in Okinawa (which is apparently run by an 18 year old). Together, the two of them must keep the dwindling business afloat and help each other on their journeys of self discovery. Like most things from PA Works, it’s bursting with color and full of life, with characters you feel instantly attached to. Their shows are always worth looking into no matter how many tears you shed.

And speaking of ex-idols…

Opera Girl!! (Kageki Shoujo!!): A school comedy/drama about an ex-idol named Ai Narada who is accepted into an extremely elite performance school famous for its top tier acting and musical productions. But rooming with the cool, indifferent Ai is the boisterous, 178 cm tall Sarasa Watanabe. The style is great, and all the girls have such distinct, dynamic personalities (which, for some reason, is a rarity in any piece of media). It bothers me a bit that this all girls school seems to have a majority of male teachers. But I’m curious about each character’s background, and I want to see more of their dynamics together. Also there is no way any of these girls are straight.

Sonny Boy: An original sci-fi mystery from Madhouse that follows a group of 36 students whose school is suddenly swept into another dimension in order to awaken their hidden superpowers. It basically feels like what would happen if Satoshi Kon made Wonder Egg Priority. I love the power dynamics between the students and the mystery behind everything, but I have so many questions! Where did their food come from? Why are there cats everywhere? What causes their powers to awaken? This seems like the kind of show that may answer everything…or just say “don’t worry about it, it’s just part of the atmosphere.” It’s definitely the anime with the creepiest vibe of the season.

Vanitas No Carte (The Case Study Of Vanitas): Have you ever wondered what would happen if a vampire hunter decided to cure vampires instead of kill them? Well, I hadn’t before, but I’m into it now. I don’t want to reveal too much of the plot, so just trust that it’s one of the standouts of the season for me. It’s set in a slightly steampunk 19th century Paris, with one main character whose style is reminiscent of early Welcome To Night Vale fanart of Cecil Palmer and another who is constantly roasted by everyone around him. It’s gripping and has unique takes on vampires, without taking itself too seriously. There’s a good balance of comedy and drama, and Bones rarely lets me down when it comes to story, characters, and great animation.

The Detective Is Already Dead (Tantei Wa Mou Shindeiru): A hot mess of a teen mystery anime that follows Kimizuka Kimihiko, a middle schooler with a habit of attracting trouble who gets roped into working as an assistant to an ace detective named Siesta. While it starts out as a run of the mill detective anime, it starts to delve into the supernatural, with more going on behind the scenes that meets the eye. It gets a little too caught up in trying to add rom-com elements when they don’t really need to be there, but lots of people will probably enjoy it for that. It’s stupid, very stupid, but in an enjoyable, laugh at it not with it kind of way (at least so far). It feels like In:Spectre’s weird cousin that has the exact opposite kind of pacing issues.

Re-Main: The only show this season in which the main character is involved in a car accident and DOESN’T end up in a fantasy world. No, it’s actually an original sports anime from MAPPA (so I’m already on board), about a boy named Minato who ended up in a coma and losing his memory due to a car crash in his last year of junior high. After he wakes up, he realizes he was apparently an ace at water polo, and he finds himself surrounded by people in his new high school pressuring him to join their team, despite the fact that he wants nothing to do with the sport and doesn’t remember the rules anyway. It’s certainly the most unique set up for a sports anime I’ve seen lately. It’s goofy with a fun family dynamic, so I’m already hooked.

Uramichi-oniisan (Life Lessons With Uramichi-Oniisan): A comedy slice of life about a children’s television program with the world’s most unsettling host: an emotionally unstable millennial who happens to be a former gymnast (whose only hobby is keeping his gains and intimidating his co-workers). I had no idea what to expect going into this, but the characters are tons of fun. Uramichi is very relatable, and there’s some important subtext woven into the comedy, like how not taking breaks affects one’s mental health. This is the kind of show that’s easy to pass over, but it’s definitely worth checking out if that kind of comedy is your thing.

Continuing Series!

*My Next Life As A Villainess-All Routes Lead To Doom! (season 2): Out of all the isekai anime airing this season, this is probably my favorite. Yes, even more so than Reincarnated as a Slime. In case you missed it last year, this lighthearted “harem” comedy follows a girl who has been reincarnated into her favorite otome game…as the rich, bitchy villainess Catarina, who only has terrible ends at the end of each route. In order to avoid being killed off or exiled, Catarina ends up befriending all the potential love interests, including the heroine of the game, and everyone gets up to fun shenanigans at their magical version of Ouran Academy. It’s a super a sweet, relaxing, fun time, and it looks like the magic system is expanding to areas outside of the school, which I’m into.

Also Catarina was the Best Girl of 2020 in my heart.

*To Your Eternity (Fumetsu no Anata e): I’m just going to copy what I said last season, because I still don’t have a better way of explaining this masterpiece. This is the epic, atmospheric story of a magical orb that can turn into different things, from moss, to giant bears, to people. Just trust me. It’s still best to go into this one knowing as little as possible. But with over 12 episodes under its belt now, it’s one of the best shows I’ve ever watched, and it’s something that will stick with you for a long time. Everything about it hits perfectly, from the music and animation to the voice acting, to the grounded world building, to the ever growing cast of characters we follow over the years. It’s my contender for anime of the year if it nails the ending.

*Tokyo Revengers: An action/drama shounen anime where our main character Takemichi uses time travel to go back to his days as a middle school delinquent in order to prevent the death of his old girlfriend at the hands of a vicious gang. This show was such a stand out last season, which is really saying something when it had to compete with 86, Fruits Basket, To Your Eternity, and Shadows House. It’s very difficult to make a wimpy character likable, but Takemichi is the picture of character development, and I’m super excited to see where the show goes. This is definitely not one to skip, so catch up now!

*That Time I Got Reincarnated As A Slime (season 2-part 2): It’s exactly what it says in the title. We’ve all at least heard of it by now. This wholesome slice of life isekai is getting more stressful by the episode. Now that the groundwork has been laid after a full season of worldbuilding, the sense of conflict is becoming more urgent, making every episode more engaging. However, it doesn’t abandon its comedic roots, and Rimuru is still overpowered as fuck (sometimes in a terrifying way, sometimes in a funny way), but if the first part of season 2 was anything to go by, I can see things getting much darker as it goes along. So out of the ten million isekai shows floating around, this is one of the few that’s worth getting into.

*Miss Kobayashi’s Dragon Maid S (…just call it season 2): Pretty self explanatory: a slice of life comedy in which an ordinary salary worker named Kobayashi…has a maid who is a dragon. Shenanigans ensue, and cute girls do cute things as is par for the course. And it’s KyoAni, so even when there’s no big action sequences, they make everything look 100% God Tier. The fluid animation, the popping color palette, the performances, everything is styled to perfection (even if I’m not into the fanservice of the character designs). If you want a chill, fun comedy that’s slowly becoming a classic, this is the show for you.

Honorable Mention

Shinigami Bocchan to Kuro Maid: The ecchi version of Pushing Daisies, where a boy is cursed with killing everything he touches, and his maid is constantly trying to get him to touch her. If you don’t mind 3D animation and incredibly weird love interests, the story is interesting enough to want to get into. Maybe this is a sign to just read the manga.

So there’s some of the new anime that look promising so far. There’s also the second season of the Higurashi reboot/continuation, if you want more cute girls doing murdery things. And Peach Boy Riverside had a great concept, but the character design drove me up the wall, so there’s that too if anyone’s looking for a fun adventure show.

See you next season!

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