Spring 2024 Wrap-Up

With the last handful of titles for the Spring 2024 season having now aired (except for the title whose last two episodes have been delayed), let’s take a summative look at what worked well and what didn’t this season.

Because of the high volume of titles I managed to follow this season, covering every one of them here would make this post cumbersome. Hence I I will only cover those titles which meet one or more of these conditions: it earned some seasonal honor, I have updated my grade for it since the Mid-Season Reports, or I I have additional commentary to offer. I will also not be covering Spice & Wolf (2024) or The Archdemon’s Dilemma: How To Love Your Elf Bride here, since both have been covered in separate episode reviews.

The following titles from Spring ’24 Mid-Season Report part 1 will not be covered here, so refer to the original post for opinions: As a Reincarnated Aristocrat, I’ll Use My Appraisal Skill (beyond it getting a second season); Laid-Back Camp 3; Studio Apartment, Good Lighting, Angel Included; That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime 3; The Irregular at Magic High School (beyond it getting a movie for its next arc).

The following titles from Spring ’24 Mid-Season Report part 2 will not be covered here, so refer to the original post for opinions: Chillin’ in Another World With Level 2 Super-Cheat Powers, KONOSUBA 3. I did not finish Jellyfish Can’t Swim in the Night, so it will not be covered here, either.

Best of the Season: Delicious in Dungeon

Rating: A-

This was much more of a sure thing for top honors than anything in the previous few seasons (albeit admittedly because of a lack of stiff competition). Though other series achieved some strong content, this one was consistently fun and looked great while doing so. Izumi is a strong new addition as a regular cast member, we got to see a lot more of what makes some cast members other than Laios tick, and this part displayed a greater sense of ongoing plot. It still had its foodie moments and supreme goofiness (the duplicates and the race changes were both inspired ploys), too! This series has been a big enough hit in the fan scene that cosplays of it were common at a convention I attended last month, and that level of attention is warranted.

Worst of the Season: The Banished Former Hero Lives as He Pleases

Rating: D

This actually ended up being a closer call than I initially expected, since one other title almost dropped to its level, but this one isn’t one of the lowest-rated titles on multiple prominent anime sites for nothing. Rarely have I seen a series so completely fail on nearly every artistic, technical, and writing level, and Allen is easily one of the blandest of all OP protagonists through to the end. An ED that is among the season’s best continues to be its one positive merit.

Most Disappointing: Unnamed Memory

Rating: C-

I can’t list this one as the worst because it did have at least some good content, and I still really want to root for Tinasha and Oscar as a couple. However, this adaptation drops the ball badly. Content trims hurt the plausible development of their relationship, while pacing and plotting issues interfere with smooth story progression. In general, the series too often feels like something’s missing, and the way this season’s ending calls into question everything it has striven for up to that point leaves it on one hell of a cliffhanger. I still feel like there’s a good story possible here, so I will be back for its announced second season and hope that the series can get its act together.

The Rest

A Salad Bowl of Eccentrics

Rating: B

If I had to choose which series this season had the best cast of characters from top to bottom, I would probably choose this one, even over Delicious in Dungeon or An Archdemon’s Dilemma. I love the way Sara is able to cheerily roll with any circumstance without ever feeling like she’s a victim of them and just seems to be enjoying life in general, or how (for example) a cult leader can wind up being a girl band keyboard player before being arrested for insider trading, or the sardonic female butler of the lady lawyer or. . . well, you get the idea. The series never does manifest much of what could be called an actual plot, but that’s fine. I’m perfectly content to watch the antics of this bunch of eccentrics as they live their lives. This season looks like it adapted the first three of six currently-available novels, so I do hope we’ll see more, even though its popularity numbers are relatively low on both Crunchyroll and MAL.

Date A Live 5

Rating: B

This arc essentially wraps up all of the plot lines to date, and the end of episode 12 would be a fine stopping point for the franchise as a whole. (There are actually three more novels which could be animated, but the way episode 12 ends leaves things ambiguous as to whether or not that’s going to happen. Frankly, based on the synopses I’ve read for them, I hope they don’t get animated, as they seem like needless additional complications.) Though I’ve never been a big fan of the franchise, I must give the series some credit for how well it brings things together at the end, including the emotional resolution involving Mio.

Demon Slayer: Hashira Training Arc

Rating: B-

This rating is a compromise, with episodes 1 and 8 pulling up a grade that, if given for episodes 2-7 alone, would only be a C. Sure, it never stops being one of the best-looking shonen action series ever, but this arc stretches the storytelling out even worse than the previous two arcs did, all to allow some exploration of the backgrounds for most of the Hashira who haven’t been addressed to date. Sure, that gives some extra insight into why certain characters are the way they are, but how much of that is actually needed to appreciate the last two story arcs? And let’s not forget that most of this arc outside of the first half of episode 1 and all of episode 8 is just training sequences, either. Yes, Muzan has been plotting something, which gets revealed in episode 8, but so has the leader of the Demon Slayers, and that makes episode 8 (rather literally) explosive. but even their pivotal confrontation drags in the way it plays out, all to relate a few more details that, while interesting, don’t seem like they will have much effect on the plot, either. At least everything does somewhat pay off with plenty of spectacle, which sets up the trio of movies that will compose the Infinity Castle arc, but the franchise’s day as a top-caliber title on anything other than technical merits has passed.

Go! Go! Loser Ranger

Rating: B+

I originally had this series graded at a B, and on reflection, I feel that was too conservative. Taking itself mostly seriously has played out favorably, allowing the series to explore the dynamic between the peon monsters and their bosses and how, in some senses, it isn’t that much different from the dynamic between the Dragon Keepers and their subordinates. It also allows for the development of other forces besides just the monster bosses who are looking for any opportunity to take a shot at the Dragon Keepers. Most importantly, D is coming into his own as a character, a monster peon who was never fully content with his role and doesn’t find that attitude changing much when a monster boss shows up. A second season has been announced, and I will definitely be back for it.

I Was Reincarnated as the 7th Prince

Rating: B-

I was not a fan of this series for most of the season, primarily because Lloyd is an irritating little bastard and stupidly OP on top of that. However, my opinion on that started to change a bit as Lloyd got involved with the assassins and thus came into contact with the demons. This not only led to the series’ biggest and flashiest action sequences – which were fairly impressive by general standards, not just this series – but also turned the series decidedly more serious for a while, including not ignoring the status of the assassins after the big fight is over. In short, the series turned from something that was just an afterthought to watch to something I actually looked forward to watching for the final couple of episodes. I’d rate the last third of the series higher, so consider this score to be an overall average rather than a consistent quality.

Kaiju No. 8

Rating: B++

Boy, this one made a hard push as the season progressed! Even early on, it had peak moments which justified all the excitement and promotion that it was getting, but those moments started becoming more frequent as the story progressed. A big plus was showing that Kafka didn’t have to transform to solve all of the Kaiju problems; he’s got some quite capable people around him, too, and he can contribute meaningfully in other ways even without taking on Kaiju form. The series also reached its best non-action moments as Kafka’s secret comes out and other intriguing tidbits – what, exactly, No. 9 is and why the thing inside Kafka seems so dead-set on destroying Kaiju – but its understanding of how to dramatically present monster fights is the true highlight. The only minor negative, aside from being a bit formulaic, is the flat faces in the character designs.

Mission: Yozakura Family

Rating: B

This one started as a pure fluff piece of spy-themed fun, and it hasn’t entirely pulled away from that in its second half. However, more recent episodes have started to take a more serious bent as the broad outlines of a plot gradually coalesce, one which implies that Taiyo’s parents may have been at least peripherally connected to the Yozakuras, and so their deaths may be connected to a shadowy organization which has been targeting Mutsumi. This is hardly a stunning revelation, since Taiyo’s background smelled fishy from the beginning, but it does give a bit more depth to the story. This one looks to be continuing, and it’s proving interesting enough to be worth continuing to follow.

Mushoku Tensei s2p2

Rating: B+

And honestly, this may be underrating the series, because it’s done some wonderful character development work this season, to the point that this is either the #2 or #3 series for me this season (along with Kaiju No. 8). Roxy finally reunites with Rudy, Zenith is finally back in the picture (sort of), and Rudeus doesn’t come out of it fully intact. It also had one of the season’s best action extravaganzas in the hydra fight in episode 22. There’s also a lot of grief to be managed, with a major character death which directly impacts almost everyone, but the series did an especially fine job of handling that. I still hear some complaints about how the writing seems to constantly set up Rudeus to be able to get away with everything in the end – including, in this case, taking a second wife – but that’s selling short how delicate the character development has been for Rudeus. Things did not work out for him without a lot of complications, suffering, effort, and learning as Rudeus grows into being a father figure. I’m also a fan of Sylphy’s new hairdo. More animation is coming, and I will definitely be back.

Re: Monster

Rating: C+

This one was always a naked power fantasy, one where the protagonist was destined to have a sizable and diverse harem in addition to being the strongest around. That the series never shows anything more than that is the main reason why I have lowered the grade. Well, that and the severely truncated time frame, which bothered me more and more as the series wore on; consider that, in just a little over four months, Oguro has gone from being born to being a powerhouse and a father multiple times, as well as having a palatial remodeling of his home cave. There is a slight mystery aspect afoot in some of the ominous advancement messages, but that isn’t enough to maintain my flagging interest. This series has been at least moderately popular, so I can see it getting another season, but I won’t be eagerly anticipating it if one is announced.

The Many Sides of Voice Actor Radio

Rating: B-

While I continue to like this one in general, its progression has not always been smooth. The last quarter or so of the series involves Yumiko struggling with getting her acting to be sufficient for a big role, and yet the exact nature of her acting deficiency is never clearly defined for the audience. Earlier on, a challenge that could bring an end to the voice acting careers for Yumiko and Chika strays too much into melodrama, resulting in a walk that composes the series’ least credible scene. Technical merits are never more than mediocre, either. Also, the light yuri tease never goes away but also never shows any concrete signs of being anything more than that. Still, I found Yumiko’s struggles to be involving enough to come back each week, and I can give the series a mild recommendation overall.

The New Gate

Rating: D+

While there was at least a slight bit intriguing about the basic concept of a “what if” spin on SAO, this series has not done much with it to stand out throughout this season; Schnee’s commentary on how she felt she had no free will back during the game time is a little interesting, as is the way things have developed since the game time and the late revelation that other players may be present in this setting, but that doesn’t make up for the mound of deficiencies. Shin never progresses beyond being a bland Kirito knock-off, few of the newly-introduced characters have much spark to them, and the action scenes lack for dynamic energy even without factoring in the deficient animation. Worse, the series struggles badly at times to stay on model, especially in the last few minutes of the last episode. (The screen shot above is from that period.) This is second only to The Banished Former Hero as the worst of the season among series I finished.

Tsukimichi: Moonlit Fantasy 2

Rating: B

After the first half, I had felt that this one had dropped off a bit, since the exuberant spirit which characterized the first season had dropped off some in the process of what essentially amounts to empire-building. It also has the knock of being a blatant power fantasy. Despite that, its second season’s second half carries itself on the strength of somewhat more involved plot developments, general attitude, capable cast management, and a good sense for staging high-powered conflicts. Having Makoto realize that he knows the female hero from his previous world also promises to put an interesting twist on future events, and there will be more; a third season has been announced. I’ll definitely be back.

Whisper Me a Love Song

Rating So Far: B-

I dislike having to dock an otherwise-strong series just because of shaky technical merits, but there’s no helping it in this case. The animation has been minimalist all season, and the most recent episodes have also shown a pronounced problem with keeping characters on-model and (especially in episode 10) avoiding distorted facial expressions. The problems have reached the point of big scheduling delays; the series had to take a week or two off mid-season, so episodes 11 and 12 will probably not air until sometime in September, if past series with these kind of production issues are a guideline. That’s a shame, because on the storytelling front, the series even had a good, ready answer for where it would go next once the hurdle of establishing Yori and Himari as a formal romantic couple was cleared: delve into why there was an opening in the band for Yori in the first place, and why the former singer is so antagonistic, with Himari (who associated with parties on both sides) as the bridge. (Short version? Yuri feelings are involved there, too.) I still like the core romances, personalities, and character dynamics here, so I hope the extra time allows the remaining two episodes to be more fine-tuned on the artistic and technical fronts.

That’s it for now. A separate review for the Netflix series Grimm Variations, which I have finally finished, is probably forthcoming later this week on a slow day, but otherwise the next dozen or so days are mostly going to be about the Summer 2024 Preview Guide, so check that out as it gets updated!