Spring has sprung, and I’ve finally seen three episodes of enough anime to start up the discussion. In case you’re new here, we take this time to dive into some seasonal anime and give some first impressions, and I follow up at the end of the season to see how things have improved… or declined. With the buzz some shows have been making this season you probably already have an idea of what you’re watching, but hey where’s the harm in one more guy telling you to watch SPY X FAMILY eh?
Shield Hero Season 2
Shield hero arrived and instantly caused controversy with its “different” opening to an isekai story and I was onboard immediately. Lately I'm a bit scared whether it will continue to be so bussin’ in this second season. One fear is damn…there’s a lot of GIRLS in this dude’s party these days. You can totally have a cast that’s more female-led than male-led, but it’s starting to get that classic, overdone, harem feel to it. You’re telling me EVERY person in his party right now is a chick, and they all think he’s super cool and awesome? (Which he is, but still). I mean there is one girl in the party that’s in love with someone else but they’re setting it up that she’s going to fall out of love with him one day anyway. Aside from that there’s apparently a good amount of content being cut and rearranged here and there and sometimes I can feel it. I’m still overall having a good time and the twist at the recent episode pulled me back in, but I’m starting to see cracks in the armor. All I’m saying is I hope the MC brought his Flex Tape and that these smaller issues don’t stack up into a bigger disappointment.
Love Is War Season 3
This is the other returning anime alongside Shield Hero and it still has few enough episodes overall that I thought I should cover it again. And hey, I’m glad I did because it’s still great. This show takes the “mind games” of love to the next level and constantly has me smiling and saying “thanks for the article idea this week buckos”. You won’t really find anything life changing or deeply moving except say once every six episodes, but if you’re ready to just relax and vibe out with the casts’ hijinks then I see no reason you wouldn’t enjoy this. AKA Kaguya is still the same Kaguya.
SPY X FAMILY
Okay let’s just get this out of the way. The manga mongoloids struck diamond with this recommendation. After My Dress-Up Darling somehow got popular I was ready to believe that these days the kids don’t know what good shit is. Then boom everyone is sucking the ole Spy dick every two seconds and I’m thinking “Am I ready to be hurt again? Will this be another disappointment?” Not this time. We’ve started off with an immaculate cast, sprinkles of action, a compelling CONFLICT (ay I heard that’s important), cool animation, blah blah blah it’s the best of the season. If you’re on a busy schedule and can only watch one, here ya go. It’s just as cute and heartwarming as everyone says while still having some weight to it. Plus Anya is in it and she likes peanuts, but hates carrots so it’s an automatic must-watch.
My Girlfriend’s Not Just A Cutie
Oh boy, it’s like I’m watching Darling all over again. Bland ass male character who I don’t give a shit about mixed with literal goddess girlfriend who has no flaws and thus I don’t give a shit about. Albeit at least they try to give some characters flaws in this anime, but so far they haven’t really done much besides hint in the opening as to if those flaws will actually be addressed. And even then, will they address those bitches in a competent way? Probably not. This season has TOUGH competition in terms of comedy and romance and I think this show just gets dominated by the other contenders. In a less competitive season I might try to stick with it to see the end, but as of right now I’m probably one or two episodes away from dropping out on this one.
Aharen-san wa Hakarenai
Even in a tough season for comedies, this one manages to stand out for me. The humor is dry. Bone dry. League of Legends hardstuck bronze player in 2022 who Discord mods on the side kinda dry. But I think the anime does a good job of using that to its advantage and building up jokes over time. At first I thought I might drop out but after episodes 3-5 that brought new additions to the cast as well as some funny bits, I think I’m here for the long haul. Be warned, this may look like a romance but so far those elements have been pushed heavily to the wayside so if that’s what you’re looking for go back to SPY X FAMILY and have a blast. On the contrary, if you find most anime too “loud” and in your face with their comedic choices, this could be a refreshing change of pace.
Summer Time Render
Mystery. Death. Boobs. Intrigued? This story follows Shinpei, a guy returning back to his home island after his childhood friend died. He returns to attend her funeral, and then things get a bit messy. Now don’t be fooled, this is a mystery but we have supernatural elements at play. A lot of times this can get fucky because the fun of mysteries is trying to stay on your toes and solve them alongside the cast, however you can’t do that when you’re up against a DeMONic SpIRt whose powers and skills are unknown. Still, this show has kept things in balance so far and god damn the main character is doing some SMART shit for an anime guy. For instance, he finds the supernatural being and IMMEDIATELY records it to prove to his friends that it exists and needs to be dealt with. In another anime that’d be episode six if you’re lucky. At this point as long as they don’t lean too much into the supernatural I’m very down for this story. Oh, well, and there is some mind-numbingly shitty fanservice that makes me want to kill myself with how much it takes me out of the moment but ay that’s just good business I guess. Still overall if you enjoy mysteries… what the fuck else is there to watch this season?
Tomodachi Game
Man. What an amazing premise, followed up by some absolutely lame execution. A group of friends having to learn and accept the worst parts of each other through games where the loser gets a ton of debt stacked on him/her? Interesting stuff if that friend group is down to earth and has relatable problems. If you read my previous article you already know I’m afraid they went too edgy with this one. You can have a character be a bad friend, sure. But when they’re a crazy stalker boy who makes those wild anime EVIL faces and does the most unrealistic shit for a high schooler, I just lose interest. Sure give the debt to him, what do I fucking care fellas. At this point I’m enjoying the anime, but that’s because this is a Kinky and Snooze DUO watch. So really I’m enjoying roasting it and complaining with him. If you have a friend who watches these “game” anime I could see y'all having fun with this one, or even if this is just usually your gig. But if you’re not already convinced by the idea, I don’t see how this would be the one that makes you a “game” anime fan.
That covers it for the anime I tried out this season. Yes, I know. I never understood when Komi Can’t Communicate season two came out, how many episodes came out, where it came out besides Netflix, I have no clue and I’ve been too busy to investigate so it’s missing. I also fucked up and missed Kongming and I’m ready to be crucified. At least let me slide a little bit on that one though, I mean it LOOKED like it would be horrible, and by the time I was informed it was actually slapping I was already a good chunk of episodes behind. -Insert something about nostalgia and having more time here-. What did you pick up this season? Did anything surprise you, or let you down? How bad did I fuck up by missing Kongming? Smell the roses, feel the spring breeze, and say hello to Spring Anime 2022 in the comments below!
