Although it is not common knowledge, most of anime airing is broken up into what are known as seasons. These seasons, which roughly correlate with the actual beginning and ending of climate seasons, contain around 13 episodes of content per cour, with a cour essentially being a large story arc. This season, there are a few shows that I think are notable enough to give a once over.

In terms of new airing series, there are two interesting shows: Spy x Family and Shikimori’s Not Just a Cutie (Kawaii dake ja Nai Shikimori-san).

Spy x Family is one of the largest action comedy manga in Japan in terms of consumption. This is mostly due to how appealing it is to a large audience, not specifically targeting a certain group of people, like other serializations aim to do. Spy x Family follows Loyd Forger, also known as Twighlight, who is a spy, on a mission to investigate a foreign politician. In order to succeed in his mission, Loyd adopts orphan Anya, and marries Yor, posing as a family to infiltrate society. However, while each of them hold their own secrets,  they come to realize that family is much more than blood.

The other new series, Shikimori’s Not Just a Cutie (Kawaii dake ja Nai Shikimori-san), follows high school couple Izumi and Shikimori in a comedic slice of life. The premise primarily focuses on Shikimori, who although seemingly being cute and fun, is also super capable and cool. Although not as prevalent as Spy x Family, it is still an up-and-coming show to look out for.

In terms of sequels to previously airing shows, season 3 of Kaguya-sama, Kaguya-sama wa Kokurasetai: Ultra Romantic, the second season of Komi-san wa, Comyushou desu, Komi-san wa, Comyushou desu. 2nd Season, and Tate no Yuusha no Nariagari Season 2 are the popular ones.

I have previously made posts about both Kaguya and Komi-san, but here is a brief synopsis. Kaguya is a romantic slice of life comedy where the Shuuchin Student council interacts with one another. The primary protagonists, Shinomiya Kaguya and Shirogane Miyuki, are in a constant battle to make the other confess to them. Komi-san is also a slice of life comedy, although with less focus on the romance. Komi Shouko has the goal of making 100 friends, and has Tadano help her. However, for the most part, she is unable to speak with people.

Tate no Yuusha no Nariagari Season 2 is the sequel to The Rising of the Shield Hero, which is a fantasy adventure isekai. Personally, I don’t like the show all too much, with certain themes being poorly executed and misrepresented. It is hard to get invested in a revenge plot where the characters act out in a way that makes them unlikeable.

Spring 2022 has a plethora of decent shows, as aforementioned, that are worth a watch. Although there are more shows that are possibly notable, I made it a point to reference the more popular and accessible series. After all, this season has great content and it would be a shame to miss it.

With the Winter 2022 season ending, many seasons draw to a close. Many notable sequels aired, such as for Shingeki no Kyojin: Final Season (Attack on Titan: The Final Season) and Kimetsu no Yaiba (Demon Slayer). However, one largely looked over series is Karakai Jouzu no Takagi-san.

Contrary to the more popular airing sequels, which are primarily action and drama focused, Karakai Jouzu no Takagi-san, typically referred to as Takagi for short, is a romantic comedy. Based in Junior High, Takagi focuses on the interaction and relationship between Nishikata and Takagi.

The premise of Takagi is simple. Takagi finds some way to tease Nishikata, whether it be through some sort of friendly competition or verbal jab. This anthological setting gives the creators the freedom necessary to do let their subtle jokes and nuances, as well as diverge from the canon material when necessary.

The first two seasons follow a fairly linear episodic format too. There is usually a school or after school based interaction where Nishikata tries to beat Takagi in some sort of competition,  loses, and gets teased. These moments are the foundation of the wholesome romance of Takagi. There is a general sense of adolescent like innocence that makes the series so endearing. However, in my opinion, the third season is a cut above the rest. It manages to take the already enjoyable premise and make it significantly better.

The third season of Takagi focuses more clearly on the romantic interests of both Nishikata and Takagi. While the previous seasons had romance as an underlying undertone, romance becomes a focal point of each episode.

This season has heaps of character development, with Takagi growing bolder by the day and Nishikata coming to realize both of their feelings. There are multiple callbacks to previous encounters, both from prior seasons and within, that make us realize that contrary to our initially thoughts, these characters do remember what they’ve gone through, and are growing from it.

The season itself follows the typical anthological slice of life format, but in two parts. That means that there are episodic moments that lead into a two to three episode plot thread. While this also happened last season, once again, these arcs allowed for immense amounts of development between the characters.

Takagi is beloved due to its fun wholesome nature. While at some points the series may seem cheap, even bordering nostalgia bait at times, it is a great watch for almost anyone looking for a simple adolescent romantic comedy.

On a slightly different note, Takagi’s voice actor, is particularly famous. Rie Takahashi, known for her roles as Megumin from KonoSuba or Emilia from my recently talked about Re:Zero, as always, does an exceptional job in the role. For some, this might be enough reason to check out the show on its own.

So TL:DR: good feel good show, romantic comedy, fun middle school nostalgia and interactions. Nine out of ten would recomend.

Within recent years the anime and manga industry has seen an unseal surge in what is known as ‘isekai’. The genre of isekai largely focuses on characters being transported to a different world via supernatural means. For the most part, this archetype allows for easy fantasy elements to be implemented where the author can design a world solely of their choosing.

One of the more relevant isekai of the past few years is Re:Zero kara Hajimeru Isekai Seikatsu, or simply Re:Zero for short. Most notable isekai series have some sort of gimmick to set them apart from the hoard of generics, and Re:Zero is no exception.

Natsuki Subaru, a teenager from modern day Japan, is transported into a fantasy world filled to the brim with magic and wonder. However, this world is not one of friendship and kindness, The world of Re:Zero is dark, with heavy themes of poverty and discrimination. There is theft, racism, war, politics, and so much more. In this world, Subaru must find a way to survive, lest he find himself dead.

While the slight divergence from normal fantasy world portrayal is interesting, the real novelty of Re:Zero is the protagonist’s, Subaru’s, ability. Through extenuating circumstances, Subaru realizes that when he dies, he returns to a previous point in time.

While it was airing, the darkness of Re:Zero was a breath of fresh air compared to the often funny and light hearted nature of isekai at the time. Other shows, such as No Game No Life or KonoSuba, focus on lower stake events where there is less tension. On the other hand, the thematic elements Re:Zero portrays was a stark contrast of the genre.

Currently, Re:Zero has 2 seasons, the second of which is split into 2 cours. The first season focuses primarily on world building and conflict setting, giving the audience a background as to why the world is the way it is, while adding some mystery and unanswered questions to the mix. The second season is slightly more character driven, with interactions being a more important medium of resolution.

For the most part, the animation quality is always up to par, which is to be expected from studio Bones. There are impressive clear and choreographed action scenes. Furthermore, the music supports the story well.

However, despite these praises, at some point the series still falls short. it aspires to be many things but at points still fails to follow its own rules. Sometimes, it falls into the typical traps of shounen and isekai tropes of plot armor and themes, during its resolution.

Similarly, the fanbase can be rather polarized when it comes to character, or more specifically their opinions on them. For the most part, people tend to enjoy the show.

TL:DR: Re:Zero is aight. would rate about a 7.5/10. If you like the idea of the show watch it.

Secrets. Every family has them, some worse and more harmful than others.  Oftentimes, parents are the ones to keep secrets from their kids, whether it be better or for worse, it is usually based in good intentions. While possibly harmless, secrets, with time, will eventually come to light.

Kakushigoto, a play on the name of the main character Gotou Kakushi, revolves around his life as mangaka. For those less informed, a mangaka is the term used to refer to the creators or authors of manga. However, in Gotou’s case, there is a catch: his daughter doesn’t know about his job.

Gotou is raising his daughter, Hime, as a single father. Every day, he pretends to go to work as a typical Japanese salaryman, where in actuality he is the writer for a hit ‘dirty’ manga, filled with inappropriate jokes and gags. This is where the cleverness of the title comes into play. While Kakushigoto refers to the protagonist’s name, it is also a Japanese pun. Kakushigoto itself can translate to ‘secret’, however, kaku shigoto roughly translates to drawing job, refering to Gotou’s secret, his job as an mangaka.

For the sake of avoiding spoiler, I will neglect to give too much context with regards to the ‘secrets’ depicted in the series, but rather the reasoning and symbolism associated with them.

Kakushigoto depicts the daily struggles of a single father in his endeavor to raise daughter in what he sees as a normal and healthy environment, all the while having his own personal issues on top of that. The dichotomy of Gotou’s life exists because of his decision to keep the secret from his daughter. He is limiting himself as a mangaka, because if he becomes too popular, he risks his daughter finding out, which would end up ruining her normal life.

Gotou himself sacrifices everything for his daughter, whether it be his career or his time, he tries his best to support her. Hime, like many children, is oddly receptive to this and makes an effort to help her dad as well, despite not completely understanding the situation. She, in her own childish naivety, makes decisions and comes to conclusions with the intention of making life easier for her dad.

The series itself is a comedic slice of life which properly concludes like many other slice of life, in a final arc in the last few episodes. However, despite the largely light and comedic tone, each episode as a sense of melancholy attached, all of which catches up to the audience at the conclusion.

Gotou’s seemingly harmless, well-intentioned secrets, eventually catch up to him, but at the same time are the roots for much of the humor and misunderstanding present in the show. For better or for worse, secrets will always have a place in our world. Kakushigoto represents a life of will intentioned secrets, all for the sake of family.

Tl;dr: title is funny pun, show is funny, maybe a little sad. would recommend for some light content. solid 7.5/10

There are times when media manages to capture the essence of something. Whether it be an energy, emotion, or something else, there is something out there relating to that specific thing. Having ‘recently’ graduated high school, I felt it was right to look back on a show that captures some of that youthful energy.

The Daily Lives of High School Boys, or Danshi Koukousei no Nichijou in Romanized Japanese, is an anime that aired in 2012 is just as its title says, the daily lives of high school boys. The show chooses to focus on the comedic and goofy nature that is often associated with teenage boys. The series follows a cast of boys through an anthology leading to their graduation.

Oftentimes, when looking back to reflect, people look towards their ‘youth’, which primarily consists of their early teens. This reflection focuses on those fond memories of the past, of fun and happiness, those that helped form them into who they are, whether they acknowledge it or not.

The Daily Lives of High School Boys follows a group of characters through their fun misadventures in their high school lives, whether that be alone in their room or together at a party. The diversity in characters and setting allows for a more realistic and overall relatable experience.

As you must have gathered, this show is a comedy where the humor is, for the most party, character driven. The interactions of the characters, whether it be socially or environmentally, are the set up and punchlines of jokes.  The seemingly mundane can become boisterous, because of the imagination and energy the cast has.

While it is obvious that this show has a very targeted demographic, that doesn’t mean that it is only enjoyable by them, nor is it only relatable to them. Those who lived through youth differently can still find something in this show, whether it just be laughs or small reminders, it is that feeling that makes it great.

Because of the diverse nature of characters and personalities, between the main cast of boys and the side characters, there is almost always some sort of insert available for the audience to live through. In fact, there is even a regular spin off in each episode following a group of girls that reflect those of the boys, building off of the set up and humor in the episode, oftentimes providing a second punchline.

I’m well aware that this type of content isn’t for everyone, so as a preface, if you bother watching it and don’t like the first episode, you should stop there. The rest of the show follows a similar format of shorts to that of the first episode.

Personally, I find The Daily Lives of High School Boys to be a great source of entertainment and sometimes even nostalgia. The show manages to give off a youthful energy that is sure to draw in any willing watcher, letting you relive youth through their eyes.

With that being said solid 8/10 maybe even 8.5/10 would recommend.

Fullmetal Alchemist, or FMA for short, is rather famous among not only Anime fans, but in popular culture in general. Being licensed during the 2010s by Funimation, Aniplex, and Netflix, Fullmetal Alchemist and its remake, Fullmetal Alchemist Brotherhood (FMAB), alongside some movies garnered quite a large audience.

FMA follows the Elric brothers, Edward and Alphonse, as they journey through the alchemy ridden Amestris. At a young age, due to malpracticed alchemy, Ed lost his right arm and left leg, while his brother, Al, lost his entire body, leaving his soul bound to a suit of armor.

While the series revolves largely around historical, political, and militaristic issues, most of that content contains need for heavy contextualization and spoilers. With that being the case, I want to focus more on the existence of two shoes for the same series, along with its social communities and impacts.

Beginning in 2003, the original Fullmetal Alchemist began as a loyal adaptation to its source material, the Fullmetal Alchemist manga. However, the anime got to a point where it caught up to the manga, and as a result, began going off the script. This isn’t to say that the show is bad for doing so, but this point is of key note for the modern context of the series. Moving into the endgame, the final arcs were anime original, not completely fulfilling the image that the author, Arakawa Hiromu envisioned.

A few years following the release of FMA, another adaptation of the Fullmetal Alchemist manga was released in 2009 called Fullmetal Alchemist Brotherhood. FMAB serves as a loyal adaptation to the manga, which was all but completed at the time of its release.

While having the same origins, both and FMA and FMAB greatly diverge in the final arc, resulting in what are essentially two different stories. Both are readily praised and accepted by their communities, but Brotherhood received a great deal more acclaim and recognition from anime fans.

Brotherhood’s community specifically, for the most part, consider it a masterclass in animation and storytelling. This ‘hegemony’ so to speak caused the community to become particularly toxic, predominantly among its western fans.

There have been many cases of fans review bombing other shows airing that seem to be well received, or even passing FMAB on widely used English site, MyAnimeList. However, it is important to note that this type of behavior is widespread through social circles, not only MAL or online.

In my honest opinion, I believe FMA and FMAB are great shows. While they in no way live up to the hype and acclaim preached by their most avid fans. The main topic of concern to me is the toxicity found in the community, or at least the loud minority. The level of obsession exerted is unhealthy for any reason. Harassing other communities and people online, for almost any reason, is unacceptable and should be recognized as such.

With that being said – Fullmetal Alchemist: 7/10 and Fullmetal Alchemist Brotherhood: 8/10 would probably recommend.

(Avoid engaging in the online community)

Coming back from our 6 week hiatus, I felt it was only right to talk about one of the most popular airing anime of the past season. In the Fall 2021 season, the largely beloved manga “Komi-san wa, Comyushou desu” (or Komi Can’t Communicate) received its first anime adaptation.

The series itself is a light hearted slice of life focused on the interactions and struggles of the protagonist, Komi, who has a communication disorder that makes her unable to properly verbally communicate with other people.  However, despite this setback, she still manages to be adored by her schoolmates and makes friends.

Komi has a goal: To make 100 friends. While generally simple, this goal has been a struggle for her due to her communication disorder. This, in and of itself, presents a message to the audience that is highlighted at the beginning of each episode, that is, that just because people are unable to socialize does not mean that they do not want to., but rather it is difficult for them to do so.

At the beginning of the show, Komi makes one friend, Tadano, who manages to understand her through writing, when nobody else in the class manages to do so. Tadano, despite fitting the normal main character stereotype, manages to do what almost nobody else could, understand Komi. It is because of this that they are able to foil one another, and become the main pair of focus in the series.

The topics of social anxiety, and to some extent personality quirks and disabilities, are prevalent to the series. While due to the nature of the medium, these issues are glorified for the sake of humor and tone, this also reflects a message regarding how these people not only wish to be treated, but also how the world has changed with regard to its views.

Social anxiety, to some extent, is not all that uncommon. People suffer to various degrees with social anxiety, often in significantly different ways. For instance, some people might be nervous around other people, or maybe just a large group of strangers. While there is an obvious difference in degree of both situations, both still classify as social anxiety.

Komi-san projects these traits, among other quirks, largely as personality traits that are accepted by not only the cast, but by extension the audience.  By seeing these traits in media, personality quirks and the topic of mental health become more normalized, allowing for social progression toward what is generally a more accepting environment.

Personally, having read the manga to some extent, I appreciate the transition of the artistic stylization into animation. Additionally, with Komi-san being one of the larger romance slice of life manga running, the adaptation itself had a lot of hype and brought even more people to the series, especially with it being one of the last of the popular 3/4 series to receive one.

Solid 7.5/10 give or take .5 go watch it for some wholesome content (might want to watch out for some weirdly sus content too)

Anime, as medium, is typically a visual adaptation of source material or an original narrative. While source of adaptation often carries a stigma, such as anime originals dropping the ball when it comes to ending or light novels being hit or miss,  the industry is largely geared to source material adaptations.

With that being the case, the most common anime source materials are manga and light novels, the former of which is basically Japanese graphic novels while the latter being novels light on content. However, there are still times where unusual sources are used, such as with Hyouka, the adaptation of the Japanese book series “Koten-bu”.

Hyouka focuses on a high school literature club, through which its members and their friends solve mysteries and intrigues in their lives. The show largely revolves around the characters and their interactions with each other, due to their unique personalities, and their environment, through which circumstances, both unique and mundane, occur.

Regarding the cast, the protagonist, Houtaru Oreki, in large part serves as a foil to the female lead Eru Chitanda. The former being rather lethargic and has a ‘go with the flow’ mentality.  He has a mantra, which is generally “if I don’t have to do something, I won’t, but if I have to do something, I will do it quickly.” The latter is rather airheaded and ‘curious’, following her whims and whatever she enjoys.

The interactions between these two characters and its dichotomy drives Hyouka’s plot forward in a natural and compelling way. This forms the primary genres, slice of life and mystery, although there are never and real stakes involved, nor are there ever any supernatural occurrences.

Additionally, they have two other friends,  Satoshi Fukube and Mayaka Ibara. Both are friends with Oreki and went to the same middle school together, playing off each other similarly to how Oreki and Chitanda do. Ibara specifically has been in the same class as Oreki for 9 years running.

Thematically, the show revolves around with how the characters react and interact with the conflicts in their lives, whether they stem from the mysteries or directly from themselves. Social conflicts, such as familial and interpersonal relationships, as well as societal conflicts are addressed, mostly with regards to the primary cast.

Hyouka’s source material allows the anime to take artistic liberties with regards to visuals, because for the most part, in novels, setting and actions aren’t described in excruciating detail. In fact,  the studio, Kyoto Animations, was able to create scenes like this due to the liberty.

Hyouka is largely regarded as a great anime, with amazing visuals, characters, and plot progression. The high notes stem from interactions between characters, all the while they are able to build off of each other. The characters develop due to one another, all the while not diverging from what makes them unique.

I would highly recommend, probably top ten to twenty five ish shows. Would watch again with a friend or read the books.

9/10 it is a pretty fun time

The idea of psychic abilities seems enthralling at first, and really, who wouldn’t want the ability to read minds or teleport? However, if your powers were too strong or had some comedic limitations how would you feel.

The Disastrous Life of Saiki K, whose title and name is a pun on the word ‘psychic’, reflects on these weird trivialities through a anthology of shorts, based on a  4-koma manga (a serialized manga with each chapter having 4 panels). Generally, each episode has 3 shorts, some of which are interconnected into larger arcs, revolving around Saiki’s struggles in his daily life, most of which include is psychic nature to some degree.

He chooses to either use his power for his own personal convenience, such as getting coffee jelly, or to stop some sort of disaster, such as a world ending explosion. Either way, this type of short often makes light of his abilities, and how it’s not always enough despite the circumstances, due to their own limitations.

Saiki also chooses to keep his psychic nature a secret from his peers, with only his family and other psychics knowing the truth. With this being the case, another common plot point throughout the anthology is Saiki attempting to conceal his power from other, while ironically using his powers more often than not.

Due to the series’ nature as an anthology, it is normally episodic and comedic in tone, while not really following to strict of a plot structure. However, with this being the case, it also ensures the audience knows there is no real stakes involved, seeing as Saiki would probably be able to solve the situation, or at least enact some sort of damage control.

The series genre as snippet of a slice of life also makes it a point to focus on character characterization rather than any overarching plot point, although there is continuity to be seen with character development and their personal identification traits.

For instance, Saiki becomes more comfortable talking to people about being a psychic, as well as helping them with his powers. He also becomes more aware of their emotions and how he should account for them. In doing so he becomes more sociable, even though people still seemed to gather around him either way.

There are still some thematic points addressed sparingly throughout the series, such as social relationships, power, responsibility, and morality. However, most of these points come as a conflict to be resolved during the short, and whether or not they can be interpreted as negative is an entirely separate matter.

The Disastrous Life of Saiki K is composed of 3 ‘seasons’ with numerous episodes (depending on what you consider episodes: the shorts, or the combination of shorts), all of which are available on netflix to my knowledge.

Any who fun show, super funny def recommend for a casual watching experience or a binge, whatever floats your boat it’ll probably be an overall good time.

So uhh i would give in a solid 8/10 would watch again maybe with some friends

Most series I’ve mentioned tend to engage with larger thematic representations or messages and motifs to tell a narrative. However, this isn’t how you need to interpret series, nor is it what most series actually go for. There are certain shows that are there just to entertain you and have fun.

Non Non Biyori may have thematic representations about friendships and how to live your life, but ultimately, it’s just a series about some girls who live out in the country doing country things, although if you really cared to look into it, this could be a theme too.

Non Non Biyori gives the audience a look into the daily lives of those living in rural Japan, without the stereotypical cities and culture. The girls go to school, hang out, and do whatever they want to, because they simply have the freedom to do so.

The show itself often engages with interpersonal relationships, whether it be between the girls or their families.  There are no real stakes and there doesn’t need to be. Even if you know that everything will probably work itself out in the end, the journey there is just as entertaining. The humor itself usually stems from the characters and their personalities or the setting itself, which is effective in subverting expectations for the average viewer.

There are entire sections and plot points dedicated to gags, such as   ‘removing your thumb’ or playing a table game. The humor hits because despite it largely comes in two forms, relatable and unrelatable. The relatable jokes are largely based around characters and them being children, meaning despite the difference in setting they still do things that you would expect kids to do. However, there are things such as rice planting or fruit drying that are much harder to relate to, but are still funny because they manage to subvert the audience’s expectation.

Non Non Biyori is slice of live comedy that follows 4 girls as they go about their daily lives in the country. Personally, I found it as simple entertainment that you would watch when you really didn’t want to think too much about the content you’re consuming.

Solid 7 out of 10 would recommend

if the genre is what you’re lookin for