One month into the season, and Spring has turned out to be an interesting one!
We’ve got some heavy hitters this time around. Demon Slayer is back for its third season, as is Dr. Stone. We’ve even got a Konosuba spin-off/prequel starring Megumin! What a time to be an anime fan!
Oh yeah, there are also some new shows. We can talk about those, I guess.
Oshi no Ko
Man, I thought this show was gonna be so fun. It looked bright and colorful and cute. To top it off, it was written by Aka Akasaka, the genius behind Kaguya-sama: Love is War! I thought this was gonna be a brand-new comedy king!
I have never been more wrong in my entire life.
While Akasaka-sensei’s signature brand of comedy can still be seen in this show, this is a wholly different beast from Kaguya-sama. It’s a much darker and more serious story. One that manages to sock you in the gut almost straight away.
The first episode – which is an hour long movie, by the way – has one of the most shocking and upsetting endings I’ve ever seen to an anime, one that had me genuinely baffled as to what was going to happen next! It’s powerful stuff that had my jaw on the floor! Punctuating this is some genuinely amazing animation and music.
I can already tell this show is gonna be special. If you’re not watching it, you’re missing out.
Hell’s Paradise
Christ, can MAPPA give its animators just one break? The camel’s back is doomed to break eventually, right?!
Issues of morality aside, Hell’s Paradise is an interesting show. Upon first glance, it just looks like another samurai action show. But hoo boy, is it anything but!
It’s been a long while since I’ve watched an anime with such effective and grotesque horror. Something about plant gore just really gets me. Combined with the interesting – and terrifying – monster designs, this show is downright creepy far more often than it is thrilling!
The show also quickly proved that it isn’t gonna go the safe path. Practically right off the bat, it establishes that this isn’t the kind of story you can see through immediately. It takes some truly shocking and sudden twists and turns, making it really hard to guess what’s gonna happen next!
Hell’s Paradise is another show that’s gonna be pretty special, I can tell. If it maintains its momentum all the way through, that is.
My Love Story with Yamada-kun at Lv999
Does anyone remember ‘Recovery of an MMO Junkie’? Yeah, it’s that. But for younger people.
This show is really cute. It’s got some fun characters, everything is really bright and colorful, and the whole thing has this cute, wholesome vibe to it. Each episode has put a big ol’ dumb smile on my face!
Surprisingly, the main thing that really grabbed me has been the music. The soundtrack has got this lo-fi hip-hop vibe, like something you’d chill or study to. It compliments the show surprisingly well, especially with the creative visuals and animation.
Plus, it’s fun to watch an MMO newbie learn the ins-and-outs of an MMO community. I dunno, as someone who grew up with the genre, something about that tickles me. Those games are less about the games themselves and more about the communities around them, so it’s nice to see an anime focus on that.
Better that than another generic isekai…
The Ancient Magus’ Bride Season 2
Holy shit, never thought I’d see this show come back!
I have a massive soft spot for ‘The Ancient Magus’ Bride’. The first season aired way back in the day, back when I first started blogging on Google Blogspot (ah, simpler days!) and I watched it every single week. Its story about learning to love yourself and love others really impacted me. To top that off, we had a show that was consistently gorgeous visually and musically, with some of the most creative uses of magic I’ve seen since my childhood days of reading Harry Potter!
And now, it’s back again! And it’s every bit as gorgeous and heart-warming as ever! It feels like reuniting with an old friend you’ve lost contact with! I still can’t believe it’s actually real!
Excuse me for a moment. I need to clean up all my tears.
The Dangers in My Heart
Two cute romcoms in one season? Man, I be eating this time around!
I don’t really have a reason for enjoying this show as much as I do. I just kinda… do. Something about seeing the short emo kid having shenanigans with the tall gluttonous school idol just puts a smile on my face.
What really took me by surprise was how genuinely wholesome this show was. There’s something about the dynamic between our leading duo that just feels comforting. Like the scene where he gives her a drawing he made of her instead of what he thought to be a sleazy note from another classmate. It’s really sweet and I like it!
Like I said, I really can’t say what I like about this show yet. I just sort of… do. Maybe that feeling will fade by the end of the season and I’ll be able to look at it more critically. Or maybe it’s just a bit of dumb and cute fun. Maybe that’s all it needs to be.
Conclusion
Those are the shows I’ll be keeping an eye on this season. But considering the sheer quantity of shows airing, I know I’ve missed some possible bangers.
And isekais. Lots of isekais.
What shows are you guys gonna be watching? Y’all have got no shortage of choices. What’s your pick? What have you been enjoying the most? Feel free to let me know, I’m genuinely curious!
Jonah's Daily Rants 