Overall First Impressions + What I’ll Be Watching: Spring 2018 Anime Season

The Spring 2018 Anime Season is now fully underway, with the first chunk of episodes for each show now out and ready for everyone’s viewing pleasure. So what better time than now for me to give a rundown of what I think of the season so far.

As always I’ll be splitting everything into tiers, which are described below.

And as usual, outside of Lostorage Conflated WIXOSS, I won’t be watching any of these shows weekly because I kind of hate doing that.

So without further delay, here are the tiers.

The Tiers:

• Incredible – Will Most Definitely Watch: Shows listed under this tier will be shows that I’ll most definitely be watching as soon as possible. These are the shows that currently have me the most invested, that keep me glued to my monitor and that have me literally filled with excitement and suspense from beginning to end, every episode. Shows in here all have the potential to become a member of my favourites (although anything can change over time).
• Looks Interesting – Will Watch: Shows in this tier will be shows that I’ll be watching at some point because they seem like they could go in interesting directions and I’m looking forward to seeing where they will end up. These are shows that, while they had some issues or didn’t have me fully invested, are still engaging enough to warrant further watching.
• Decent – Will Carry On With It: Shows that had a lot of issues or didn’t really grab me will be under this tier. I’ll be watching these and enjoying them, but there’s a high chance I’ll be stopping and starting these frequently and taking my time with them.
• Meh – Will Watch Begrudgingly: Shows that are just pretty darn terrible but I feel I should watch for whatever insane or ridiculous reason will be listed here. Watching these shows will no doubt be painful, but I need to persevere for whatever excuse that I’ll no doubt forget upon reaching the halfway point. Of course, things can improve over time. Maybe these will?
• Not Feeling It – Will Stall For Now: I never drop shows permanently, because my goal is to watch every Anime ever. I’ll never manage to do that in my lifetime, but I’d love to get as close to doing so as possible. However, these shows made me feel nothing, were completely yawn inducing or just had nothing going for me so I’ve put them to the side for god knows how long. I may pick them up again, but it’ll be unlikely to be any time soon.
• I have Little To Say – The Rest: This is mostly reserved for stuff I generally have no comment on, shows I didn’t check out or second seasons to shows I haven’t seen/have yet to finish.

So let’s break these shows down!

Incredible – Will Most Definitely Watch:

My Hero Academia Season 3 – Is this even a surprise at this point? If for whatever reason you haven’t had the chance to watch any of My Hero Academia, I strongly suggest that you stop whatever you’re doing and give it a watch. It’s one of the best shows of the last decade, and is a near masterpiece of modern Anime that just keeps improving with each new season.

As someone who has always loved all things Shonen Jump and as someone who enjoys battle focused Anime about superpowered teenagers with heavy emotional stakes, My Hero Academia is everything I could ever want from this kind of series. It’s bold, it’s engaging and it’s still bringing new life to a genre that many have claimed is no longer capable of doing anything new and exciting.

It’s, simply put, amazing.

Magical Girl Site – I’ve had a pretty controversial stance on this show since it started airing, and after 3 episodes, I still stand by everything I’ve said. This show is great. I really enjoy it. I’m not bothered, or offended, in the slightest by its “dark and edgy” presentation of the Magical Girl genre, and I find it to be a far more refreshing watch than most of the boring drivel that it’s being negatively compared to.

I’ve been called a terrible person for enjoying this show. I’ve been told I support bullying because I like this show. I’ve even seen someone compare this show to Nazism, which is one of the most hilariously stupid things I’ve ever stumbled across on the internet.

I understand that this show isn’t for everyone. That’s fine with me. There’s plenty of reasons to dislike this show, and even more reasons to feel uncomfortable when watching it. But the show is for me, and I have plenty of reasons to like it and literally no reasons to feel uncomfortable when watching it.  So there you go. Let me enjoy my dark, edgy, fucked up Magical Girl show.

You can find my First Impressions for Magical Girl Site here.

Lostorage Conflated WIXOSS – WIXOSS is one of my all-time favourite Anime franchises, with the original series having a place in my Top 5 favourite series. And this most recent season has been an absolute blast so far by bringing everything full circle and reintroducing several members of the original series’ cast into the new story.

It’s incredible that we’re four seasons into this thing and it’s still proving to be an engaging story with incredible character writing and wonderfully handled emotional drama.

And this is also the only show I’m watching weekly, because I happen to be doing a weekly collab with Jon Spencer Reviews and Ayano Kitsune! You can find the first post in the collab here, and the second post here. Do check them out if you haven’t already!

Megalo Box – I did not see this one coming at all. In fact, after hearing that this was a 50th Anniversary Project for Ashita no Joe, a series I’ve never even considered watching, I wasn’t even going to bother checking this one out.

…Until Irina from I Drink and Watch Anime asked me my opinion on the show, and recommended I watch it because it was amazing. And it was amazing. It continues to be  amazing and actually has very little to do with Ashita no Joe at all aside from the fact that it’s about boxing.

The animation is spectacular and it’s just such good fun to watch. As someone who really enjoyed the likes of Hajime no Ippo, I can really get behind this one. It’s great and one of the biggest surprises of the season, maybe even the entire year.

Looks Interesting – Will Watch:

Sword Art Online Alternative: Gun Gale Online – HERPDY DERPPPPP! THE WORST ANIME OF ALL TIMES IS BACK GUYZZZZZ! WHY DOES THIS THE ANIME INDUSTRY KEEP PRODUCING THIS GARBAAAAAGE?!?

As many of you probably already know, I’ve never bought into the “Sword Online is a 1/10” meme that seems to be all the rage these days. I’ve been actively defending the show for years, and as someone who really enjoys it, Gun Gale Online is proving to be a good time so far.

Like much of Sword Art Online, it has its flaws, and it’s not exactly doing the best job of presenting a well designed game world with mechanics that “make sense”, but it doesn’t have to. It’s entertaining, it’s fun and it’s pretty engaging so far. I like it. For a spin-off that has little to do with the rest of the franchise, it’s doing a surprisingly good job so far and I’m having a blast with it.

Golden Kamuy – This one is good fun so far, with an incredible amount of tension and mystery to it and is a real stand out this season. The animation is a little rocky, and I’m a little concerned that the presentation of the series will go to complete hell down the line, but I’m really hoping that concern is proven wrong.

Golden Kamuy is great, and has the potential to become something amazing if it keeps up its momentum all the way to the end. Here’s hoping!

Dorei-Ku The Animation – I’m a huge fan of the original Manga for this one, and was very surprised to see that it was getting an Anime adaptation, given the incredibly fucked up and unsettling things that happen during the later parts of the series. But here we are apparently!

So far, it’s pretty great, and is surprisingly not as censored as I’d expected it to be. It’s early days, and there’s a lot more gruesome moments to come, but if it keeps doing what it’s doing, it could be among the best shows of the season.

And the Manga is completed too, so let’s hope this is a complete adaptation. Definitely one of the hidden gems of this season!

Legend of the Galactic Heroes: The New Thesis – Encounter: Hoo boy! The reaction to this one has been interesting! A lot of people, such as myself, are really enjoying this new take on this classic, while many others are very angry at the fact that a remake of their precious, hidden gem even exists.

Regardless of your opinion on the direction of this reboot, I consider it to be a good thing. Legend of the Galactic Heroes is a great Anime that is completely worthy of its status among the greatest Anime of all time. But it’s also 110 episodes long, is horrendously outdated in its presentation and is very inaccessible to a lot of newer Anime fans. This remake on the other hand, with its high quality visuals, better presentation and shorter, more easily digestible length of 12 episodes, is a lot more easy for newcomers to dive into. And I also hold the belief that it fixes a lot of the problems I’ve always had with the original series, such as the horrendously slow pacing at times, and the inconsistent, and sometimes ugly as sin, visuals.

If you’ve never watched Legend of the Galactic Heroes, I suggest starting here. It’s been a great ride so far, and if it continues to follow the original series, it’s only going to get better as it goes on.

Decent – Will Carry On With It:

Hinamatsuri – This one is pretty absurd and a little crazy, but it’s actually been quite fun in spite of that. It’s one of those shows that could honestly go just about anywhere, so I’m looking forward to seeing where it does go.

Magical Girl Ore – I’ve been having a decent time with this one so far. On one hand it’s hilarious and wacky and I love it, but on the other hand, it feels like it’ll get old very quickly if it doesn’t start doing something else beyond being hilarious and wacky. Guess we’ll see.

Kakuriyo no Yadomeshi – This normally isn’t my kind of show, but I’ve been enjoying it so far. The dynamic between the two main characters is entertaining and is reason alone to check this one out. That being said, it’s 26 episodes long, which seems a little lengthy for a series like this… Hopefully it doesn’t run out of steam.

Tada Never Falls in Love – This one is a pretty charming romantic comedy so far, with some excellent comedic chemistry between the two lead characters, and hints that things are likely going to get more dramatic and heartfelt down the line. This could develop into something very special.

Devils Line – This was better than I expected, even if it’s nothing exactly fresh or exciting. Hopefully it’ll do some more unique things later on, but I’ve seen worse I guess.

Gegege no Kitarou (2018) – Having never been exposed to this franchise before, I wasn’t sure what to expect at all, and… It’s alright I guess? There’s some interesting ideas in here, and the presentation is pretty awesome, but it’s not as entertaining as it should be… It could be worse though.

Shiyan Pin Jiating – The concept behind this one is pretty great and it’s proving to be rather funny so far, but I have a feeling it’ll get old pretty fast. But maybe not!

Last Period: Owarinaki Rasen no Monogatari – No one seems to be talking about this one, but I enjoyed it quite a bit. It’s a really interesting and wacky spin on Fantasy/Adventure genre, and could end up being great. Keeping an eye on this one.

Meh – Will Watch Begrudgingly:

Tokyo Ghoul:re – We’re a quarter of the way through this show now, and I still have no idea whether or not I’m on board with this one. It’s entertaining enough, and it clearly has some interesting ideas and a good story behind it, but the handling of this adaptation has just been horrendous. And I say that as someone who’s never read a single page of the Manga.

The pacing feels rushed, with the series flying between plot points faster than Killua’s Godspeed transformation. There are still massive, unadapted gaps between this :re and the original Tokyo Ghoul series that have yet to be properly explained to the large number of Anime exclusive viewers. And of course, there’s the ever worrying presence of that 12 episode run time that strongly suggests that this series is probably not going to go anywhere interesting or climatic unless it pulls an Anime original ending that probably nobody is going to be happy with.

I don’t hate this show, and I’m having a decent time with it, but it could be something great if this adaptation was just handled properly. I guess we’ll wait and see where this goes.

Persona 5 The Animation – Maybe it’s because I haven’t played the game yet, but I don’t really see what the deal is. Guess I’ll play the game?

Comic Girls – Cute girls making cute Manga. Character designs are nice I guess. Hopefully this improves over time…

Cutie Honey Universe – It’s nothing special unfortunately. Production Reed have so far failed to do the orignal work of Hideaki Anno and Gainax justice. I’m not sorry in the slightest.

Juushinki Pandora – I wasn’t feeling this at all when watching it unfortunately… But maybe it’ll get better…?

Not Feeling It – Will Stall For Now:

Uma Musume: Pretty Derby – Cute girls being cute reincarnated horse girls. I’m not feeling it. I’m sorry.

Full Metal Panic! Invisible Victory – God dammit Xebec!

Amai Choubatsu: Watashi wa Kanshu Senyou Pet – “R+ mild nudity” says everything I would feel the need to write about this one.

Souten no Ken Re:Genesis – This CGI shambles of a series gives the iconic Hokuto no Ken franchise a bad name. I just can’t get behind this one at all.

Alice or Alice: Siscon Niisan to Futago no Imouto – Incest is not wincest.

Fumikiri Jikan – This one doesn’t seem to be going anywhere interesting at all…

I Have Little To Say – The Rest:

Steins;Gate 0 – I haven’t seen the original Steins;Gate, so I gave this one a miss. Which is kind of a shame, since I’ve been told it’s amazing. Guess I should watch Steins;Gate.

Shokugeki no Souma Season 3 (Second Cour) – I really need to watch this fucking show.

High School DxD Hero – I’m actually going to start Season 1 soon, so I’m looking forward to getting around to this probably extremely graphic and fan-servicey series after so many years of not knowing anything about it.

Wotaku ni Koi wa Muzukashii – I forgot to watch this one.

3D Kanojo: Real Girl – See above.

Caligula – See above… A shame too, since I really like the sound of this one. I’ll get on it after this I guess!

Piano no Mori – Netflix continues to not understand Anime fans, meaning I can’t watch this probably great show.

Captain Tsubasa (2018) – I have never watched any of Captain Tsubasa, so I gave this a miss.

FLCL Alternative – As a fan of FLCL, I’m hesitant to check this one out. Is it good…?

Tachibanakan Triangle – I forgot about this one too. DAMMIT.

Amanchu! Advance – I haven’t seen Amanchu. I haven’t seen this. I probably should see both.

Nil Admirari no Tenbin: Teito Genwaku Kitan – It’s a Visual Novel.

Butlers: Chitose Momotose Monogatari – I didn’t watch this.

Lupin III: Part 5 – I still haven’t seen a single Lupin related thing in my life. Maybe I should change that.

Inazuma Eleven: Ares no Tenbin – I’ve never seen any of Inazuma Eleven before. So I skipped this.

Hoozuki no Reitetsu 2nd Season: Sono Ni – Did not watch Season 1.

Major 2nd (TV) – Did not watch Major 1st (TV).

Rokuhoudou Yotsuiro Biyori – Coffee is better than tea.

Gundam Build Divers – I assumed this was a sequel to Build Fighters which I haven’t seen.

Omae wa Mada Gunma wo Shiranai – Didn’t watch.

Lost Song – This got lost among everything else this season and I didn’t watch it.

Binan Koukou Chikyuu Boueibu Happy Kiss! – You’re off your head if you think I watched this.

Aikatsu Friends! – Cute visuals.

Wakaokami wa Shougakusei! – I forgot this existed.

Ladyspo – No comment.

Kiratto Pri☆chan – Seems cute. Didn’t watch.

Koneko no Chii: Ponponra Dairyokou – My cat will like this probably.

Beyblade Burst Chouzetsu – That’s BEEEEEYBLAAAAAAAAADEEEEEEE!!! BATTLE ON DRANZER!!!

Duel Masters! – This is still a thing it seems.

Future Card Buddyfight Battsu: All-Star Fight – I kind of want to get into this but… FIVE SEASONS. AHHHHHHHHHHHH!

Usagi no Matthew – It’s about a bunny. Called Matthew.

Shounen Ashibe: Go! Go! Goma-chan 3 – Did anyone watch this?

Oretacha Youkai Ningen G – What is this?

Kekkero Ke – KEK!

Annnnnd that’s everything. I think. Maybe.

If I did miss something feel free to flag it up.

As always I hope you all enjoyed hearing my thoughts on the season so far.

This season is pretty great so far. There’s some great sequels, some surprising new shows that I didn’t expect at all and some adaptations of a few of my favourite Manga that seem to be delivering in almost every day imaginable. It’s a great season, and a huge improvement over last season.

Things can change however, and I look forward to seeing how things do change by the end of the season.

What are your first impressions and what are you watching this Season? Let me know down below!