Winter Anime 2021: Sequel Season!

This season is firing on all cylinders! So many shows are coming back for another go, it’s crazy! And that’s all without mentioning the new shows!

None of which I find interesting. Besides, I’ve got more than enough sequels to talk about. So… we’re just gonna talk about all of those. Am I being close-minded? Maybe. But I can’t watch everything.

(Let me know if any of them are worth it; I’ll give ’em a shot eventually.)

But real quick! Here’s a list of shows that I won’t be talking about since I never finished their first seasons. I know that I should and I definitely want to. But I just never got around to it. They are:

• The Promised Neverland
• Dr. Stone
• Re:Zero
• Beastars
• Cells at Work
• Probably some more that I’m forgetting

Got all that? Good. Let’s talk about:

Attack on Titan Final Season

I’m not ready for this one, guys. Attack on Titan’s been around for as long as I’ve been a weeb. I still remember when I watched the first episode (alone, at midnight, wrapped in my blankets, fourteen years old; not a great idea) and being blown away. The wait for season two was my first big patience-tester in anime!

Am I sad that it’s ending? Not at all. A story is only as good as its ending. No, I’m not sad. I’m just scared that it’ll fall flat on its face at the last second.

Don’t you fuck us, MAPPA!

That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime Season 2

Never thought I’d be invested in an Isekai again, but here we are.

Slime Reincarnation (as I shall call it for the sake of brevity) took me by surprise. I was expected something dumb and fun that I could forget in a day. What I got was a chill, heartwarming story about a slime making a peaceful kingdom for monsters.

Which all the trailers are threatening with destruction. Please don’t kill my monster friends.

I’m not expecting some masterpiece. The first season was far from perfect. But if it’s chill and enjoyable, then I’ll be there every week.

Quintessential Quintuplets Season 2

I’m so sad I had the manga spoiled for me. Because now I know who wins and it sure ain’t best girl.

That doesn’t stop me from being excited. This is one of the few harem shows that actually managed to engage me. The characters weren’t just one-dimensional sex objects that were drawn to each other like magnets. They all had their own personalities, goals, and even story arcs! It was surprisingly compelling and I can’t wait to see where the story goes!

My only hope is an improvement in animation. Because lets be real: nothing in the first season was all that impressive. It was very stiff and awkward most of the time. If that improves, then I’m all in.

Seven Deadly Sins Season 4

You mean season three didn’t kill it?! Thank god! Maybe now they can redeem themselves!

Season 3 of Seven Deadly Sins was the most disappointing thing I think I’ve ever seen. At the very least, it was the ugliest. Seriously, I doubt I’ve ever seen art and animation so laughably rushed, choppy, and unconvincing.

Unfortunately, it isn’t laughable. I will never forgive them for what they did to the Escanor-Meliodas fight. That was the reason to watch this season and they totally butchered it. There are fan animations of that fight that are better! I know that’s a common joke, but it’s true!

It’s not the animators fault, of course. The show changed hands plenty of times and ended up with an incredibly strict, limited schedule. The poor artists probably only had about a week, maybe less, to produce each episode. I blame the higher-ups, not the people who actually made the show.

Which is why I have a bit more hope for season 4. If these guys had the time they needed, I’m sure they could make it look good.

Or I could be wrong. Which would be equal parts depressing and hilarious.

World Trigger Season 2

Wait, what?! They’re bringing this show back?! I could’ve sworn it was dead!

I remember enjoying the first season of World Trigger. I never finished it, but I thought it was a lot of fun! It had a cool sci-fi aesthetic and a pretty cool setting! Plus, it’s fun to see the primary protagonist struggle to win with his wits cause he’s such a weak loser and he’s completely reliant on this tiny white-haired god child.

Unfortunately, that was… hold on… *goes to Google* Jesus, six years ago! At this point, I’d have to go back and watch the whole thing again to get context. And considering the first season was… hold on *goes to Crunchyroll* Jesus, seventy-three episodes long! I don’t have time for that! I have too much other stuff to do!

*Goes to read more One Piece*

Conclusion

All of that barely scratched the surface of what this season had to offer. I left out every single new show on the lineup, of which there are many. If you tried to keep up with every single one, you’d probably be watching anime all day every day for the whole season. There are just so many!

It’s definitely refreshing. Last year, we weren’t exactly given much to talk about. 2020 did the anime industry dirty. It’s nice to see them coming back at full force for the new year.

The question is: can they keep up the momentum? Is 2021 gonna be anime’s monster year? Only time will tell.

I sure hope so, though.