I had a pretty fantastic viewing experience this season thanks to finally learning to skim through anime I’m just watching for certain scenes or aspects, while utilizing the extra time to stay on top of the main shows I’m actually enjoying. Plus it helped that we had some bangers this winter. My only regret is not finding time to give Bang Bang Bravern! a chance. The meme potential there seems incredible.

Undead Unluck Part Two

What started out as a story about joining a group of Espada has turned into a time-bending conundrum as our heroes are fighting against the very laws of the universe in order to challenge God. Nothing about this show’s premise was predictable in the beginning for me. And once a foothold was found and we moved into this second installment, I settled in and loved this production for its uniqueness. You won’t find many shounen willing to dish out such complicated story beats and character developments. I initially worried it might get a little too convoluted as we included temporal concepts like looping, but so far I’ve never felt left behind about the sequence of events. If you enjoy some nice shounen action but are craving a more original take on the genre, Undead Unluck does a ton to set itself apart from the crowd by balancing elements of comedy, romance, action, and mystery. I’m anticipating and expecting a season two announcement any second.

Hokkaido Girls Are Super Adorable

Not too bad of an ecchi. We had plenty of lewd moments and hypersexualized scenes paired with an MC that wasn’t too dimwitted or annoying. The show even had some nice messaging about being willing to try new things and expand your horizons. I honestly think they had a decent setup for an emotional ending (at least compared to the competition in the ecchi space) but they backed out of pulling the trigger right at the last episode. Apart from that missed opportunity this was a fun production to skim through to hunt down those sexy scenarios. It’s not really worth going back to for any non-horny reasons however. 

Solo Leveling

If you come into this for some hot-blooded action that still looks fantastic even amongst incredible competition from Jujutsu Kaisen last season, you won’t be disappointed here. The fights are buttery smooth and when Jinwoo fights a human opponent you’re in for some fantastic choreography. If you come into this expecting a masterpiece of writing because everyone was hyping up this manhwa, you will be disappointed. It’s a very basic and straightforward plotline where the MC is pretty much the only person in the whole production worth caring about. Even then, he’s basically a self-insert cool guy with little depth. Did I enjoy my time this season? Absolutely. The action powered through the lack of captivating narrative enough for me to stay entertained and the show does contain a few moments that focus on world building and explores how business and politics would be affected by the appearance of game mechanics in our reality. That shit is fascinating to me, albeit rare for the series to dive deep into so far. Essentially if you love action don’t miss this series, but don’t think this has great story/character writing like Sousou no Frieren just because people are talking about it and reviewing it well.

My Dark Heart Season Two

I think I fucked up. Season one had some amazingly pretty animation and a bunch of cute, comedic moments but nothing spectacular. I began season two but after a few more slower episodes I decided to skim through this under the impression that this would never really get that deep with conflicts to the romance or proper struggles that challenge our cast to develop. Welp… as this season progressed meaningful moments kept appearing. I had the sense that I was missing out as I was skipping through. If I had watched the episodes as intended there’s a good chance I’d really love and respect this anime. It’s clear that the second half of this season was of a higher quality and the conclusive ending completely resolved the state of the main romantic relationship. I’m not sure if it will receive or even needs a third season as to me everything seems in a perfect place to finalize the story. Basically, skimming through the scenes showed me that this season improved on many aspects of this anime, but I had already given up on such a level up occurring. Therefore I believe I missed out on a great romance though I can’t say for sure.

High Card Season Two

Okay uh, I’m not sure what happened between the first season and this one, but overall it definitely felt like a step down in terms of pacing and character building. Season one had some flaws but this second installment couldn’t seem to escape them. One of the biggest issues was the treatment of Vijay. In a team-centered show it’s very important to balance the attention to create that team atmosphere. If one or two members get shafted by the writers it quickly becomes apparent who the favorites are and who is just sorta there. By god Vijay certainly was there this season, but I don’t believe he did anything. Anything. The entire fucking runtime. Perhaps he told a joke or two and saved a few no name hostages from bad guys. His lack of development stuck out like a sore thumb and as the plot got more convoluted with more typical anime tropes sprinkled on top, I was very happy to see the season end. It wrapped up the main plotline decently enough and I hope this is the last of High Card we see for a long time because I still have a positive conception of it (barely) and I don’t know if that conception will remain if we continue with more seasons. Apparently the writers must have felt some type of way about shafting Vijay too because they announced a special OVA seemingly dedicated to him. I’ll peep that for sure, but let’s maybe wrap this one up while it’s still a fun watch, eh guys?

Gushing Over Magical Girls

By god, what a magical ecchi this was. I haven’t seen an ecchi that dared to go this sexy since Interspecies Reviewers. We’ve got boobs on full display, a variety of kinks, some polished visuals, and a splash of character development to tie it all together. It’s rare for a production to go this insane, especially one that’s for yuri lovers like myself. My dick was FEASTING on the sheer amount of lewd depictions they shoved into this season. My only complaint is that we seemingly established the final plotline around episode 11… and then proceeded to ignore it for the last two episodes? I’m crossing my fingers that loose end indicates another season is in store because otherwise we really shouldn’t have teased the audience with a big reveal only to throw it under the bus and pretend it didn’t happen. Regardless this is a must-watch for yuri fans and in general if you enjoy ecchi and missed this, I’d put your car in reverse and give it a go.

Bucchigiri!?

Uh, talk about a mixed bag. The standouts here were the comedy that employed recurring gags pretty well, the action that contained some slick choreography, and the color palette that brought a ton of vibrancy to the show’s world. The let downs were unbalanced pacing, slow and oftentimes very generic character development, and a barely fleshed out narrative that’s entirely predictable. Despite the mixed nature of this one I still enjoyed my time with it, albeit not by much. It’s like a solid 6/10. A cool time but dear god don’t give me a season two. The story, as weak as it was, is wrapped up and there’s no reason to open up another can of worms for another arc. It’s not worth going back for unless you’re just fiending for more action on your plate, but if that’s your craving you’d be better off with Solo Leveling.

Sousou no Frieren Part Two

Brilliant, amazing, captivating, animated well, educational, tear jerking, blah blah blah I could suck its dick all day long. Anime of the season. Characters and world-building far surpass others in the fantasy genre. Going into this I was worried I’d be bored to tears of the setting and plot as I’m ever so tired of seeing fantasy anime. That shit didn’t matter at all. The writing is so solidly constructed I’m attached to this world and the people in it regardless. If you only have time for one anime or missed this one, it has my full-fledged recommendation. Lately I’ve seen the term floating around called “media literacy check” meaning a piece of media that tests one’s ability to absorb, analyze, and decipher information from a piece of art. This experience was a media literacy check every damn week and I couldn’t be happier with it. Details for season two are expected soon.

Golly the next season is about to be underway and I’ve got to get caught up! Looks like my vacation of slowly meandering through my weekly anime is about to be over. Time to spring into action boys. What did you watch this season? What do you enjoy, and what did you drop? Do you have some reviews or recommendations? Throw your coat in the closet, take off your scarf, and say goodbye to Winter Anime 2024 in the comments below! 

BONUS - RWBY Volume 9 (Final Season?)

I sprung through this with Kinky after the Rooster Teeth shutdown was announced. Damn, it was pretty mid. The latter half definitely picks up but this self-proclaimed detour season certainly felt more like a fan-fiction than the official production for much of its runtime. The future of this IP is entirely uncertain and if this is the farthest we see it go, I hope Monty can rest in peace knowing his fight scenes will live on in the hearts of many. Few can compete with or even mimic his mastery of depicting battles between characters with wildly different combat styles. If we do see a return to form due to Warner Bros. wanting to continue onwards, I hope we get back on track now and the subsequent volumes tie up this series with a proper finish.