With the start of a new anime season I wanted to quickly give my first impression on the select anime I have started this season. As the season continues to start over the following weeks I will be adding more and more anime onto this list. Be aware that I am in no way planning to continue the majority of anime that I watch the first episode of for this series, I might continue some but this is simply to get my thoughts out there on the most that I possibly can. Series will be ordered from a-z using their english names when applicable.
Are You Lost?
This is the type of show I normally wouldn't even try to check out but for the sake of seeing most things this season and a runtime of only 12 minutes I decided to give this one a try. Following 4 girls who are trapped on a deserted island this is a mixture of fan service and comedy that I am sure plenty will like. Clearly a lot of the engagement this show is trying to have with it's audience is with its fan service, though being a gay man it really didn't do a lot for me though that is due more to concept than execution. The characters were all also really bland for me, they are stereotypes who feel uninspired and failed to really engage me on any level. The comedy however was really the only thing here that I enjoyed, sure not a ton of it landed but when it did I found it to be legitimately funny, not funny enough to have me give this a few more episodes but enough to where I can say safely it's probably not my least favorite anime of the season.
Arifureta: From Commonplace to World's Strongest
The only thing even notable in the slightest about this show is the op which is pretty solid. Past that this is your standard isekai bullshit that does nothing fresh or interesting to even stand out as bad. It is such a bland concept of a story and a world and it doesn't help that the characters are annoying. They try to have a deeper main character being someone who is trying to overcome his personal weaknesses and struggles but that falls completely flat. The animation is bad and does a terrible job at not only getting you invested in this world and what is happening but even showing it at all. It is dark and has weird shot compositions to the point where I never felt like I even got a good idea of where we were or what this world looked liked. This was completely forgettable in nearly every way and will be a show I cannot name in a week, hell I cant even remember the title as I write this.
Astra Lost in Space
In my quick search of which anime were coming out this season Astra Lost in Space actually was one of the few that stood out to me. I had become aware of the manga some time ago but not being an avid manga reader never got around to checking it out. I was excited to finally see the story through the anime which is why this has to be one of the more disappointing anime of the season for me. So far this was easily the most painful anime to get through and I even ended up quitting halfway in (though a lot of that is due to the 40+ min runtime of the first episode). Everything in this show screamed generic and dull, all the characters are as simple as you can get and lacked really any chemistry with each other. It does a terrible job keeping you invested, the first few minutes are suspenseful and pretty decent but after that it falls apart into the most simple and basic story and dynamics. The animation also really failed to stand out, sure they use a more unique and cinematic aspect ratio but that gimmick only goes so far. The designs are all good but the animation itself just looks off. All the characters feel like artificial models moving and it just looked bad. I was bored out of my mind watching this so when I felt like it was going long and discovered that the first episode was actually a special 40+ minute episode I knew there was no way I was going to stick around for another 25 minutes of this pain.
Business Fish
Easily being the weirdest anime of the season so far there is no doubting the entertainment quality of Business Fish, following this young man who happens to be a fish as he navigates everyday life including work and relationships this had that special quality to it that made it really stand out as a fun time. The cgi animation looks terrible but also works really well when creating this out of place and campy atmosphere and all the jokes landed quite well. My only issue is that the episode felt a bit long, similar to the approach anime such as Aggretsuko and Are You Lost? took earlier in the season this really could benefit from cutting it's episode runtimes down to around 10 min to keep it's gimmick and world feeling fresh. It does fall flat towards the end but still overall I had a fun time with Business Fish and if you want something entertaining and completely different from anything else this season I would recommend it.
Cop Craft
Where this is a show that has become pretty popular and liked at least in the context of this season I didn't really see the appeal at all. Sure the world is decent but it's not like it brings anything new to the world being also inhabited by monsters gimmick that has been done time and time again. The plot is also a bit intriguing but again was nothing overly new, these elements were simply "fine", nothing terrible but nothing incredible either. What wasn't fine was the animation which I couldn't stand, the movements in this show looks so awkward and unnatural. It was to the point where the animation would take me out of the story that already didn't have a great hook to it.
Dr. Stone
Being the biggest hype show of the summer by far I really had no expectations for this show. Normally these shows absolutely suck in my opinion and rarely catch on with me as they do for so many. Following a group of people who are waking up years after everyone was turned into stone and figuring out what is going on the concept also didn't do a ton to intrigue me. Where this isn't full shit like some of the other hype shows I have seen it also is far from my favorite of the season or even being a show I enjoyed. The artwork feels over produced with some really questionable shading that was done to make the animation feel like it was a higher quality but just left it feeling artificial. I also hated the over the top character designs quite a bit. The story also failed to grab me at least for now, the show started with some interesting ideas but soon became cliched and ended up feeling like filler despite it being a first episode. I will give this show 1 more episode just so I can be a bit more informed on my thoughts of it considering the conversation around it is going to be so bit but I doubt this is one I will stick with past next week.
Ensemble Stars!
With shows like this its hard to be disappointed considering you know exactly what you are getting yourself in for. A young girl joins basically an all boys idol school and thats about all you need to know. If you are a fan of idols and will enjoy the stereotypes and fan service moments then this is a show for you. I don't so this show is clearly not for me. It also is ugly as hell with awkward character movements and generally choppy animation that made it hard to watch. The characters are not the worst I have seen and have some decent chemistry between themselves but still, this is a show that is not meant for me and won't be one I continue watching.
Fire Force
Going into this season Fire Force was easily the show I was most hyped for and it really delivered. Finally there is a show this season that I can say I really loved and easily this is my favorite thing so far from what I have seen. The animation is absolutely stunning with incredible uses of color and cgi, the character designs are simpler but also are really effective and enjoyable. I also loved the characters themselves, they are a ton of fun and the main character has some good depth that we learn about in the first episode. I will say the actual story they are setting up and some of the dynamics are not that interesting but the characters are fun enough and the animation is breathtaking enough that I absolutely will be sticking with this show.
Given
I was a bit worried going into Given that this would just be another fan service musical boy show similar to Ensemble Stars! which I already covered this season but luckily it wasn't. The first thing to strike me about this show was the animation which is really unique and impressive. The way they decide to use color and shade the designs adds a cinematic level to the animation which ends up feeling really high quality. Also being a show about music I thought the music featured in episode one to be really enjoyable both with score and the music the characters play in the show. I will say that some of the character dynamics feel a bit rough but overall this show was overall enjoyable and a high enough quality to have me coming back for episode 2.
Gorgeous Butterfly: Young Nobunaga
I feel the need to say that this is a historical drama about a person in history I never even heard of before this anime so I did not bring and knowledge or expectations into this show. At least the first episode followed the teen life of Oda Nobunaga, a famous warlord who fought his brother or something? Again I have no knowledge on this so I am judging it strictly off what I saw in this first episode and honestly I think it is fine. Knowing that there will be later conflict with his brother they clearly start to set up that relationship which I do think will have a pretty decent payoff by the end of the show. The animation wasn't terrible and the characters were all pretty much likable but in the end considering I can only watch so many shows each season this didn't quite have the pull needed to keep me coming back for more. If this show does grow a following and name for itself I can easily see myself checking out the rest down the line, but just for now its going to be a drop.
Granbelm
This show was weird, seemingly being the mecha show of the season it had everything I could ask for. The world was unique and the characters were all likable and fun. The animation was stellar with some really solid usage of cgi that never looked distracting and a vibrant color pallet. This show seemingly had everything yet it failed to engage me in the slightest. I am going to give this another episode in case it was just the mood I was in while watching it but for whatever reason it just did nothing for me. I can respect the good technical aspects of the show but I was waiting for the episode to end. Hopefully another episode will be enough to grab me but for whatever reason despite being able to identify all the good in this show it did nothing really for me.
How Many Kilograms are the Dumbbells You Lift?
Even after not enjoying Are You Lost? so many people were looking forward to this anime this season and even though I saw nothing of value in it for myself personally I decided to give the first episode a go and the strangest thing happened, I actually found myself not hating this show. Following a high school girl who is joining a gym to get into better shape this is a show that on the outside seems like just a fan service show. Where it defiantly is that to a point there is a legitimate comedic value to the show. Unlike Are You Lost? that had specific comedic moments that really worked this one has much more of a general fun tone that continues through pretty much the entire runtime which actually had me enjoying my time watching it at least to a point especially when they showcase and play into the over the top elements of the story. Overall yes, this is going to work best if you enjoy the visuals of it's characters and its fan service elements but there is at least some smart comedy throughout and I appreciate that. It's not enough for me to continue with the show but it's enough for me not to look down upon it.
Maidens of the Savage Season
Following a group of high school girls who are coming to terms with their sexualities now that they and their classmates are developing more and more sexual feelings for each other this show easily could have turned into fan service bullshit that completely failed to connect to me. Yet I found myself throughout this episode having a great time with it. The characters are all fun and likable and there are so many legitimately funny moments throughout. I do worry about the longevity of this humor as already the gimmick of the sexual based jokes and overreactions to these feelings are starting to run their course and if they keep this same humor all season I see it getting old quickly, but at least for now it is enough to have me come back again. My only other issue was the animation, everything was clouded in this white blur that looked truly awful. This show is nearly unwatchable on a visual level due to this but like I said, I am willing to keep up with it at least for now based on the humor and characters.
Maou-sama, Retry!
We finally got our first isekai bullshit of the season! This was absolutely miserable in pretty much every way. Despite adding a semi new take on the genre by having the main character be the person who made the game the concept really adds nothing new to the show and they go nowhere with it at least here in the first episode. The animation is stiff and bad while the dialogue and script is even worse. This was pure and utter shit in my opinion easily being the worst thing I have seen in this season so far.
The Ones Within
I don't really even know how to talk about this show, basically being a Sword Art Online ripoff where the only real difference is that our main characters are live streamers who have to beat the game and gain more views while playing it this seems like a very standard and boring anime following the tropes of this new genre that has spawned after the huge success of SAO but the actual craft of the show is so messy and questionable that it avoids feeling dull because of those cliches and just feels like a drug trip influenced by them. This anime throws you head first into it's plot and world giving no context or background into these character or this world which instantly creates a disconnect as not only do you not understand what is happening but you are also given no reason to care. The plots and levels themselves are also not only weird on their own but also feel so rushed and disorienting because if their pacing. I was never able to get invested or really come to respect the levels and challenges as it always felt like such a headache racing between them. As I mentioned even if the show was better as far as the actual craft and had a basic competence of storytelling this still would just be a cliched generic show, it just decides to trade one poison for another.
To the Abandoned Sacred Beasts
Taking place in the time of a major civil war we follow a group of soldiers who have the unique ability to turn into monsters which is a major plus during combat. Everything seems to be going fine until one day one of these soldiers loose themselves to their monster side and end up attacking the same people he is supposed to be fighting for. He is killed yet the damage is done, people are concerned that this could happen again and want to make sure that doesn't happen. It's the story that this anime starts to build that easily is the best part for me, not only is this concept unique with how they execute it but I also just found it effective and interesting. The characters are all likable and have some really good back and forth that sure isn't that deep or poetic, but effective enough to establish their relationships which does lead to some pretty solid emotion. The animation is also overall a high quality though I will say that the overall look of the show was dull. The character designs were unmemorable and there really wasn't any creativity with the shot composition or cinematography of the show. I also do worry a bit about where the show is going from here, where I am curious and engaged with learning more about these soldiers and their relationship to their monster sides it seems like it's main focus isn't going to be exploring this world but rather a revenge plot which I can't say I am fully on board with. I also hope to see some more development on this world and this war as both are very basic at the moment, for now there is enough for me to continue with the show at least for a few more episodes at least to figure out what this show will really end up being but as of now I will proceed with caution.
Vinland Saga
Despite being a hugely popular manga that people have been waiting years to have turned into an anime I went into this show with no expectations. I don't really read manga so it's not like this is a story I knew anything about. Following a group of vikings who now live in Iceland after getting chased out of Greenland multiple generations ago who now are going about their lives. We really don't get a huge sense of what this story is going to end up being about from this first episode but I will say that I am interested in where it goes from here. This is a brutal story story centering currently on this boy living in this community as he learns more about where they came from and living a normal viking kid life looking up to his father Thor who is the biggest and most badass person in the village. Without giving much away there is some great action in this first episode and I found how they set up these characters and this story to be pretty intriguing. I will say the animation is easily the biggest issue I have with the show so far due to some really awkward uses of cgi especially in character models but beyond that this is an amazing looking show, it just has some weird looking movements but I can look past that. This defiantly has my attention and is one I will continue to watch for now.
Wasteful Days of High School Girls
This is a show that I went into not having any clue what it was even about and for the first few minutes I was actually having a decent time with it. As you can pretty easily tell by the title this follows the casual adventures of some high school girls and I found them to be charming and their relationships to be humorous. Sure none of them as characters or any part of the plot are that interesting or even really fresh but it was enjoyable nonetheless. Yet then it kept going, and kept going, and kept going. This is a show that really could of benefited from a 12 minute per episode runtime as it's gimmick and charm can only last for so long and it quickly starts to feel dull. It also doesn't help that the animation is quite ugly and low quality.