I’ll probably still do a first impressions for the vast majority of the shows on this list, but whether or not I’ll cover them? Well, here’s how this will likely work…
Definitely will cover
These shows will get weekly posts.
- You and I Are Polar Opposites Season 2
- Ghost in the Shell
You and I Are Polar Opposites can be a little boring at times — and the second half of the manga series is definitely a step down from the first — but it’s also the only romcom that doesn’t make me wanna tear my hair out. Ghost in the Shell is Ghost in the Shell. Even if it’s a train wreck, I feel like I gotta ride this one out.
Jury’s out
I’ll check out the first episode (or two) before deciding what to do with these shows.
- Black Torch
- Jaadugar: A Witch in Mongolia
- Daemons of the Shadow Realm
- Dara-san of Reiwa
- Goodbye, Lara
- Love Unseen Beneath the Clear Night Sky
- MEBIUS DUST
- Oh Boy, Was I Wrong About Her
- Please Excuse My Younger Brothers
- The Duke’s Son Claims He Won’t Love Me Yet Showers Me with Adoration
- The Oblivious Saint Can’t Contain Her Power
- The Ogre’s Bride
- Though I Am an Inept Villainess
- Victoria of Many Faces
- A Livid Lady’s Guide to Getting Even: How I Crushed My Homeland with My Mighty Grimoires
- The Frontier Lord Begins with Zero Subjects
- Sparks of Tomorrow
- Perfect Addiction
- Upperclassman Iwamoto’s Recommendation
- Let’s Go Kaikigumi
- Saved by the Ice Cold Prince’s Embrace
- My Mother-in-Law and Sister-in-Law Who Don’t Bully Me
I’m not really a fan of historical pieces, but Science SARU might still manage to make Jaadugar: A Witch in Mongolia interesting. Sanda was pretty good up until the disappointing last episode. I think I can only stomach one long-running shounen a season, so should I relegate Daemons of the Shadow Realm for Black Torch? I haven’t exactly loved Daemons of the Shadow Realm‘s pacing. Notice how whenever someone has a disability in a romance, it’s almost always the girl. So right off the bat, I’m a little wary of Love Unseen Beneath the Clear Night Sky. Please Excuse My Younger Brothers sounds like a reverse harem, so I’m predisposed to disliking it anyway. There are a handful of villainess shows every season. I’ll probably pick one to follow. Maybe it’ll be A Livid Lady’s Guide to Getting Even: How I Crushed My Homeland with My Mighty Grimoires if it can avoid pulling its punches. Victoria of Many Faces sounds like a more serious SPYxFAMILY? I’ve spent hundreds if not over a thousand hours in the Civilization games, so I have a soft spot for nation-building. I just hope The Frontier Lord Begins with Zero Subjects doesn’t devolve into a harem anime like that one isekai where the hero revived a failing kingdom. I can’t discern much about Sparks of Tomorrow other than that it’s sci-fi. Oh right, this is the KyoAni show. Might be good, might be bad, but it’ll definitely be gorgeous. Saved by the Ice Cold Prince’s Embrace sounds like anime Snow White. Maybe it’ll be a good companion piece with My Mother-in-Law and Sister-in-Law Who Don’t Bully Me.
Fodder for “Everything else”
I might casually watch and cover these shows. At the moment, the list is obviously way too long. I’ll have to do some judicious pruning, which always naturally happens through the course of any given season. Point is, these shows’ll get a paragraph of commentary at best.
- Trapped in a Dating Sim: The World of Otome Games is Tough for Mobs 2
- Hell Mode: The Hardcore Gamer Dominates in Another World with Garbage Balancing Season 2
- Skeleton Knight in Another World II
- Clevatess Season 2
- Hana-Kimi Season 2
- KAIJU GIRL CARAMELISE
- Smoking Behind the Supermarket with You
- Chainsmoker Cat
- The Exiled Heavy Knight Knows How to Game the System
- The Insipid Prince’s Furtive Grab for The Throne
- The Villager of Level 999
- The World’s Strongest Rearguard
- Young Ladies Don’t Play Fighting Games
- Heroine? Saint? No, I’m an All-Works Maid (And Proud of It)!
- Rich Girl Caretaker: I’m Secretly the Caregiver of the Most Popular Girl in This Rich Kid School
- From Overshadowed to Overpowered: Second Reincarnation of a Talentless Sage
- From Old Country Bumpkin to Master Swordsman Season 2
- I Became a Legend After My 10 Year-Long Last Stand
I’ve seen Trapped in a Dating Sim: The World of Otome Games is Tough for Mobs. The show sadly didn’t live up to its premise. Watching our “mob” get his revenge on the bullies didn’t really hit that hard unless you’re still a kid reliving your high school encounters in the shower. I don’t remember much about Skeleton Knight other than it strikes me as one of those shows where we’ll likely never get a satisfying ending. I thought Clevatess was incredibly mid. I hate-watched the first season of Hana-Kimi, and I’ll be glad to do it again. KAIJU GIRL CARAMELISE sounds ridiculous. I’ve talked about Smoking Behind the Supermarket with You before. The age gap and the male lead’s cluelessness both prevent the show from being cozy for me. And the smoking — god, the smoking. Sorry, but I find it disgusting. This applies to Chainsmoker Cat as well, but at least kitty over here is trying to quit. Earnestly? Well… Their tuna breath is bad enough. Imagine it being tainted even further with tobacco. Ugh. Any power fantasy automatically goes here. I just feel like I’m too old to really care about some teen boy’s dreams come true. Too much action? Also relegated. For the life of me, I can’t remember if I’ve seen the first season of From Old Country Bumpkin to Master Swordsman. These ossan series lost their uniqueness at some point and stopped standing out. All Works Maid might be another hate watch contender.
Leaning towards no
- The World Is Dancing
- My Classmate’s a Sexy Actress, and Now We Live Together?!
- The Cat and the Dragon
- Tomb Raider King
- The Forsaken Saintess and Her Foodie Roadtrip in Another World
- Iron Wok Jan
- Ushiro no Shoumen Kamui-san
- Red River
The one thing that gives me pause about The World Is Dancing is the fact that it’s a historical piece. Just not excited for 14th century Japan. In fact, a lot of shows are on this list just because they’re historical pieces. The Forsaken Saintess and Her Foodie Roadtrip in Another World sounds like one of those “chill” camping shows, which means it ironically won’t have much meat to sink our teeth into. But instead of, say, a gluttonous wolf named Fenrir, she’ll have a gluttonous but handsome ogre companion. Uh-huh. I wanna love a cooking show like Iron Wok Jan, but in practice, they usually don’t have a strong story. I’ve been let down too many times before. Ushiro no Shoumen Kamui-san sounds like one of those ecchi series. Probably trashy.
Hard pass
Nah. I won’t even do a first impressions post on these.
- Mushoku Tensei: Jobless Reincarnation Season 3
- Saga of Tanya the Evil II
- The 100 Girlfriends Who Really, Really, Really, Really, Really Love You Season 3
- One Piece
- Re:ZERO -Starting Life in Another World- Season 4
- That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime Season 4
- AzurLane: Slow Ahead! Season 2
- Bungo Stray Dogs WAN! 2
- Hanaori-san Still Wants to Fight in the Next Life
- I Want to Love You Till Your Dying Day
- Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha EXCEEDS Gun Blaze Vengeance
- Yoroi-Shinden Samurai Troopers
- Bleach: Thousand-Year Blood War – The Calamity
- Grand Blue Dreaming Season 3
- BanG Dream! Yume Mita
- Grow Up Show
- Magilumiere Magical Girls Inc. 2nd Season
- The Elusive Samurai Season 2
I’ve actually seen the first season of Mushoku Tensei. The last thing I remember was everyone being teleported to random locations. Unfortunately, I’ve heard… unsavory things about this show, so I’m not really interested in checking the rest of it out. Never seen it a second of Saga of Tanya. The whole salaryman-reborn-as-a-young-girl thing is unappealing to me anyway. Happy to skip The 100 Girlfriends Who Really, Really, Really, Really, Really Love You because harems are so 2000s. Enemies to lovers is always fun, but I’m not keen on student/teacher relationships. As a result, Hanaori-san Still Wants to Fight in the Next Life is out. Yeah, yeah, it’s pride month so I want to give I Want to Love You Till Your Dying Day a shot, but it sounds like depression porn from just the synopsis alone. I’ve never seen a Magical Girl Lyrical anything, so probably not going to stop now. Grand Blue is probably a decent time waster, but I’m just not caught up. I don’t care about the circus, so I’ll happily pass on Grow Up Show. Also passing on Magilumiere Magical Girls Inc. because I won’t catch up on it. I honestly considered giving The Elusive Samurai a shot, because 1) Cloverworks is behind it so it’ll at least look pretty and 2) I heard the manga became incredibly popular after the adaptation — so popular that they had to order a reprint. But I checked out the first episode, and right off the bat, a coup leads to a child being raped and murdered by soldiers. Hey, I am by no means questioning the show’s (and thus the manga’s) authenticity. I know Japan’s past is marked by brutality and wanton violence. But this isn’t the sort of thing I want to experience while engaging in my hobby. So hard pass.
I think that’s everything? I dunno, it’s pretty annoying to cross-reference Crunchyroll’s list with Anichart’s, because one uses English titles and the other one doesn’t. And of course, nothing is set in stone. I can always change my mind on some of these shows. Anyway, feel free to let me know what’s missing, and also what you think I should definitely check out.