Ayy, Izz That Anime Roundup Time With Your Boii— (Spring 2017)

—WritingSpirit here! Thought of doing this for weeks now, being the anime-binging loser that I am. Have watched a lot of shows in the past season, so I thought why not, you know? Keep in mind that shows that are still ongoing wouldn't be covered, namely Boku no Hero Academia, Re:Creators, Shingeki no Bahamut: Virgin Soul, and Sakura Quest. Sagrada Reset, however, will be here for reasons one shall find out later. Reviews are all after the break!
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Attack On Titan, Season 2
Guess who's back~! Back again~!

Seriously though, it's great to be back in this show. Having read the manga, I've already seen all the twists and turns coming, but the action still kept me glued to the seat. There's a lot more talking in this one than in the previous one, which I know some people see as a flaw, but I have to give credit to the show being consistently leaving us hanging at the edge. As solid as the first one was, I felt it wasn't as developed as I liked it to be, but I love the direction of the show as it is heading now. Hopefully the next season (next year, so soon!) will find a balance of both.
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Zero kara Hajimeru Mahou no Sho
Mage girl with tiger mercenary. Fluffy times ensue.

Honestly, this show was alright. Nothing too dramatic, yet nothing too boring either. It's mediocre, but that doesn't take away the fact that the people who made this seem to sincerely enjoy what they were making. Pretty neat how they tied up all the loose ends in the show and living a single thread sticking out to hype up a potential second season. I'll have to give them credit for that.
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Kabukibu
High school kabuki club. Unconventional idea for a club. 'Nuf said.

Went into this show and came out getting exactly what I expected, which impressed me. I really enjoyed that it wasn't so much an in-depth expedition into the world of kabuki as it was a skinny-dipping session, amplified by the fact that the very characters are actually like that. They're doing kabuki for the love of it, not for anything else. That's plenty enough to win me over.
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Eromanga-sensei
Do I really need to talk about this one?

Skipped over this one, only because I knew what this show would entail. Not a big fan of such glorious pieces of work, so I didn't really bother. Think the only thing good that came from this show for me was the opening and ending songs, as well as the ending sequence, which is beautiful in its simplicity.
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Busou Shoujo Machiavellism
Girls school becomes open for boys. Scared girls form a vigilante group just because.

Another one I skipped over, mostly cause the premise is just... I don't know. The story exists if only because of that. There's not really much that I could see happening in this one, which was why I avoided it. Loved the opening though.
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Little Witch Academia
Girl inspired by her childhood idol studies to become a witch.

Really loved the two OVAs for this show and this one did not fail to disappoint. While some of the plot points are a little too nonsensical, I was admittedly really into the vibes that the show were giving off to ignore them entirely. The show has quite a number of filler episodes though, but when things began to really develop by the second half, I was absolutely floored with the execution. Definitely a worthwhile experience.
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Granblue Fantasy: The Animation
Nothing really much to say here.

Whole show was mediocre. The biggest gripe I had with the show is everyone kept on saying what they were thinking. Dialogue is utterly reprehensible that about halfway through, I'm just watching it to make fun of it. Narratively, it's alright though, but the ending was really off the wall. Not sure why they ended with that, though since it's based on a game, it's probably a teaser of sorts for those who delved into that.
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Alice to Zouroku
Magical girls, but a little more... sci-fi? I don't even know. Also, old no-nonsense dude too!

Pretty okay show. Was a little over the place at times, but I like it for what it is. There were some things that were done well, one of them being the characterization of everyone, though I think the narrative could be better to help embellish the cast even more. Nevertheless, was definitely above the 'meh' line for me.
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Fukumenkei Noise
Love triangles. Punk music. Childhood friends. The usual shtick.

Picked this up when it came out and was into the musical style they were showcasing. Loved the raw emotions of the song the band played on stage in the first episode with our main character just singing her heart out without a care for the world. It's when it came to pass that one of them just so coincidentally is the frontman of a famous band and the other coincidentally a often-sought-after music producer, my suspension of disbelief shattered and I dropped this show. Also, singing 'Twinkle Twinkle Little Star' in a screeching voice several times in a single episode might have something to do with it.
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Berserk 2nd Season
Don't know which idiot greenlit this.

Doesn't deserve a review. That's how bad it is.
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Oushitsu Kyoushi Haine (The Royal Tutor)
Royal tutor gets hired by king to teach his four sons.

Think I was into the comedy chops that the show brought upon when I first dived in, but when I realized it's gonna be going down the cycle of putting out 'problem of the week' episode, I immediately dropped it. As much as there are some shows which do it well, I think the linear progression of the main narrative isn't interesting enough to pin me to the screen.
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Sword Oratoria / Boruto / Saenai Heroine no Sodatekata ♭ / Natsume Yuujinchou Roku
The sequels that WritingSpirit had skipped over.

Didn't get into these ones, mostly because I wasn't even remotely interested in their prequel shows. In respective order: DanMachi wasn't my thing; Naruto is way too long for my good; Saenai is a harem show and I'm not a big fan of harem shows; Natsume Yuujinchou suffers from the 'new episode, new encounter' formula.
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Clockwork Planet
Title of the show is also a description. Think about it.

Nah, don't. Premise is ridonculous. I mean, the Earth died and some dude built it from clockwork. Right. Sure. As much as I like steampunk and clockpunk in particular, this is one of those shows where the story happens for the sake of telling a story, not much else. Didn't bother with this one.
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Shuumatsu Nani Shitemasu ka? Isogashii desu ka? Sukutte Moratte Ii desu ka?
What do you do at the end of the world? Are you busy? Will you save us?

Seriously, that's the English translation title. Nevertheless, the show by itself is definitely the most soul-crushing show of the season. Where Clockwork Planet failed to play on the post-Earth scenario, this one succeeded in all aspects. To put it simply, this show had the gall to use Scarborough Fair in its first episode and it worked without a hitch, so much so that when it appeared again in the last episode, I was shouting 'no' at the screen. Definitely recommend this.
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Seikaisuru Kado
Denis Villeneuve's Arrival, except it's an anime...

...to the point that it tore down the show. When it began, I was really sold on all the chips they piled onto the table. Even the animation, though 3D, looked great! This show remained consistently sound until two-thirds in, when it started trailing a little off-course. It did raise my hopes when they began one whole episode with what could only be an homage to Kubrick's Space Odyssey and showcased the best kiss of the season with another episode, but the ending... oh, the ending. Nevertheless, I commend the show for doing what it did. Baby steps, anime. Baby steps.
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Uchouten Kazoku Season 2
A show about foolishness, family, and just plain fun.

Absolutely adored the first season, yet somehow this one manages to one up it. The characters never, ever cease to amaze me in all their quirky little ways and the narration embellishes each and every one of them, major and minor. There's never a dull moment to be had in this show, even in their conversations, and that's what I really adore about this show. Definitely recommend this to anyone who wants to watch something fun with a lot of heart.
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Sagrada Reset
This could've been a season of JoJo.

That's what a lot of people say and I'm just putting it here, even though I personally didn't watch JoJo myself. Nevertheless, I really tried liking this show because the premise is a really attractive one, but the characters... oh my god, the characters are all as dull as they can possibly be. There's nothing that sets them apart and everything gets brushed over too quickly for me to even care. Dropped this one because in the end, I was just bitter thinking about what this show could've been.
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Tsuki ga Kirei
Personal favorite of this season. Alternate title — Stress: The Anime.

This show is a gem, in that it takes a conventional middle-school awkward romance and changes it into a show. That's it, no major anime-esque embellishments, no dramatization, nothing! It's perhaps the only show steeped in realism and it's the one show that won me over with how normal it is. The show vs. tell aspect of this show is too damn good to pass it over. I cannot stress enough how hard it is to make something normal as interesting as it could be, yet these guys done it. Every little conflict that arises between our main couple always makes me ever the more anxious for the next episode to just swing by and prove me wrong! I get nightmares about what this show could've been in my sleep! When it all finally comes to the ending of the final episode, everything is just perfection worthy of five gold stars. Watch this show if you haven't already!

So, those are my thoughts on the past season of shows and I'm already looking forward to the slew of shows I'll be watching in the next one! I'll be doing one of these posts by then too. There are some shows I left out, if only because I deem it too uninteresting and generic to word them out. If you wanna know about them, however, just leave a comment below and I'll share my thoughts of them with you!

WritingSpirit, signing out!

Comments

[Steadfast Hoof]

Geezlouweez you watch alot of anime! I've only seen part of the second season of "rage of bahamut" and the first season of the "how to pick up girls in a dungeon" one.

While I understand the length of the whole series is daunting. The first of the three, ("naruto" "naruto shinpuden" "boruto") naruto, is really well realized. Even I haven't seen the whole series but just thinking about the earlier episodes makes me want to go back and watch it.

Any shows you'd recommend?

[WritingSpirit]

4590094
Manga-wise, Naruto is well realized. It's the excruciating filler that really draws everything out unnecessarily, which was why I didn't want to get into it for the longest time until my Naruto phase just died out. Heard good things about Boruto though.

As for recommending shows, I've watched and liked too much anime throughout my life to just name something off my head. But specifically, for the past season, definitely Tsuki ga Kirei, Shuumatsu Nani Shitemasu ka and Uchouten Kazoku.

Next season? I'm a little wary cause stuff just started, but I did compile a list of shows I'm definitely watching.

• Kakegurui
• Isekai Shokudou
• Shoukoku no Altair
• The Reflection Wave One
• Vatican Kiseki Chousakan
• Centaur no Nayami
• Made in Abyss

Anything else from before these two seasons, I can recommend when I know what kind of show you're exactly looking for.