Summer 2026 Mid-Season Report, part 2

Continuing from part 1, this part features series which hit episode 7 on or after 8/15. I had originally intended to also include a look at the resumption of Re:Zero‘s season 4, but this has taken long enough to prepare, so I will wait and do that at the end of the season.

A Livid Lady’s Guide to Getting Even

Rating So Far: C+

While I don’t mind a good revenge tale, I’ve continued to have the same issue with this one from the beginning: the extremity of Elizabeth’s quest for revenge seems incongruous with her personality. While using economic manipulation to harass her former country seems an entirely natural fit, the most recent episodes show that she can be gruesomely bloodthirsty, too, to the point of not being above killing soldiers who haven’t directly wronged her just because they were with someone who did. (The series is also capable of delivering some shockingly graphic violence – shocking in the sense that the series had shown no hint of being that graphic before.) She’s shading more towards being a true villain than just a woman out for revenge, and how intentional that is isn’t clear. The two details I do like is that one group of mercenaries she goes up against shows that they actually have functioning brain cells when matched up against her (they use coordinated group tactics and retreat when it’s clear that there’s no advantage anymore to them sticking around, rather than after she’s pummeled them) and that she actually wears sensible adventuring clothes (including both pants and a leather cuirass) when out in Adventure Mode, something you see remarkably little of in fantasy anime. Basically, the main problem is that the series can’t seem to settle on exactly how dark it wants to be. Still, I intend to stick with the series to see if it ever sorts that aspect out.

Ascendance of a Bookworm s4

Rating So Far: B+

While I continue to see complaints from novel readers about how the anime version is condensing things, I’ve had no trouble following along with this one and have been impressed both by the more expansive world-building (the thing with the volcano in episode 7 is particularly interesting) and how this season’s episodes have gradually infused more political elements into the story while continuing both Rosemyne’s progression into the world of nobles and the advancement of her business ventures (which now include a hand water pump). The series has even made a bit of room for some romance, too; seeing Damuel and Brigitte potentially becoming an eventual couple has been a treat. The whole “gather the materials” arc does feel a little cumbersome, but at least that’s diffused amongst all the other events going on. Overall, the series isn’t doing anything spectacular, but it’s still performing solidly on all fronts.

Clevatess II

Rating So Far: B+

While this season isn’t quite as strong so far as the first one, it’s lost surprisingly little as it enters its magic school arc. That’s partly because this is far from a typical execution for such an arc; instead of being about day-to-day life at the school, everything which happens here is loaded with intrigue as the school becomes the focal point for the agents of numerous great powers, including all of the Dark Beast Lords and human factions as well. the exact nature of magic, and what Drell was doing there, also come into play, and if Alicia is cute as a button as a Heiden teenager, she’s arguably even cuter when she ends up in a rat-like dark beast form. The Otherworld she sees, which looks like a distorted version of the real world to her, is also an interesting concept. Th one downside here is that the expansive addition of new characters can make it hard to keep track of everyone and tends to spread the story a little too thin, but those are only minor detriments. It’s still a strong performer on technical and artistic fronts, still has the season’s best English simuldub, and is grace with arguably the season’s best closer, too. Though it’s not #1 this time, I’d still put it among the top five for the season.

From Old Country Bumpkin to Master Swordsman s2

Rating So Far: B-

While there are other significant developments this season, arguably the most important one is the proof that Beryl has been selling himself short for some time now: his father let him take over the dojo because he was convinced that Beryl had finally surpassed him in swordsmanship, and a duel between the two proves the father right. Of course, this is just forcing Beryl to recognize what everyone around him has known for some time now (i.e., that no one is more deserving of the title of “master swordsman” than him), but it’s still a big step for such an unfailingly humble and self-deprecating man. Helping Ficelle establish magic swordsman training has also been a big part of this season, as was an attack on the academy by magical monsters and a wild beast culling while visiting his father. Aside from the academy attack, it’s generally been a more low-key season, but advertisements about the arc which started with episode 7 suggests that’s about to change. Sadly, it’s also still saddled with one of the season’s weakest English simuldubs (Cory Yee is perfect as Beryl, but many other roles are either more awkward fits or occasionally stilted in delivery) and potential for romance still lingers, but it’s still watchable enough.

Goodbye, Lara

Rating So Far: A-

While I’m not a fan of the old-school artistic style or many of the character designs, that detracts very little from the quality storytelling we’re seeing here. Lara’s real struggle here is not to find love but to figure out what “true love” is, and there’s an increasing suggestion that pursuing that through romantic love may be leading her astray. A casual, almost off-handed reveal in the most recent episode – that it’s the “love of the sea” from a princess that has traditionally helped sustain the mermaid race – supports this, and so does the timing of the starry flashes and the activity of that giant fish-sword. I’ve seen discussion that Mari might be her actual “true love” and Lara just hasn’t realized her yuri heart yet, but I’m not convinced that’s an accurate read on the situation, either. Lara has been struggling to find love because of her fears, and it’s when her feelings overpower those fears that we see a reaction. It might not be loving Mari or this new prince stand-in specifically that’s the key to saving the mermaids, but humans in general. Perhaps that was the intent of the witch all along? If so, then Lara’s sister is utterly misguided in her actions – though given what she’s experienced, that’s understandable. The production also deserves credit for its excellently-animated boxing sequences, but the strongest draw for me is how wide-open the possibilities are for how the crisis will resolve itself. Overall, this series easily belongs in the discussion for the season’s best titles.

I Want to Love You Till Your Dying Day

Rating So Far: B+

Darkly-shaded yuri series are hardly unknown in anime, but I’m hard-pressed to think of another one which can gut-punch its viewers as hard or effectively as this one can. As much of a combat terror as Mimi is, she’s not indomitable, and her immortality doesn’t prevent her from sometimes ending up as a mangled corpse; unlike the other girls sent out to fight and die, though, she can come back from it thanks to (tragically) forbidden magic. That doesn’t make seeing her like that any less jarring, however. Nor does the harshest punch to date – the death of a major character in episode 7 – being wholly telegraphed with all sorts of death flags (including the series’ title!) lessen its impact or the desire to see how devastating it is next episode to the main cast. With the war effort only getting worse, I can’t see this one having a happy ending, but it is setting itself up well for a tragic conclusion.

Oh, Boy, Was I Wrong About Her

Rating So Far: B-

This one is merely the latest in a long line of “the friend I thought was a boy as a little kid turned out to be a girl” series, but unlike the previous entry with this gimmick (the Winter ’26 season’s Ren Arisugawa is Actually a Girl), this one isn’t hentai or even ecchi; in fact, it’s been remarkably tame on the fan service front so far, instead focusing on how Hayato and Haruki falling back into familiar patterns around each other (and Hayato’s sister, who also knew Haruki well). But while Hayato clearly still sees Haruki as a friend, she’s clearly upgraded her feelings about him (or maybe always liked him that way). This is all pretty typical, and of course there’s another girl Hayato has been getting friendly with much to Haruki’s consternation, but the series keeps things interesting by examining how Haruki seems to feel the need to put up a front at school and being dodgy about how both Hayato and Haruki have special circumstances which have led to their unexpected reunion. (Hayato’s involve the health of his mother and have mostly been revealed by the time of this writing, but Haruki’s have only barely been hinted at.) The way Haruki’s body language is distinctively different when only Hayato’s around – distinctly more boyish, in fact – is also interesting to watch and something rarely seen in these kind of set-ups, and there are a few good jokes about adapting to city life after being raised in the country. The series hasn’t been a world-beater, but it doesn’t look bad and has kept the character dynamics interesting enough to hold my attention.

Skeleton Knight in Another World 2

Rating So Far: B-

With a character like Arc around, the series will never be dull, but much of what has transpired this season feels less fresh. Chiyome having limited appearances until the last couple of episodes also has hurt some; the series does seem to work best when the full trio of her, Arc, and Ariane are together, and the presence of Ponta isn’t enough to make up for that. And while there definitely are some bigger political wranglings going on, they too often feel too disconnected from what the main cast is doing (even if that isn’t exactly true). Still, learning that Arc’s skeletal status in this setting is more than just an ordinary curse is interesting, and watching Ariane try to deny that she’s falling for Arc is rather cute. The series isn’t currently a high-priority view but it is still a solid keeper. So is the English simuldub.

That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime s4

Rating So Far: B

This one certainly took its sweet time getting to major developments, but after a lengthy set-up and an underwhelming foe in the series’ first half, it’s finally gotten interesting again. All it took for that to happen is for Granville – a true Hero, albeit from centuries earlier – to finally make his big, direct play in the wake of Mirabell’s defeat and death. And this time it’s a big enough scheme to not only make Rimuru seem threatened but also bring other Demon Lords and Primordials into play in potential conflict – easily one of the franchise’s most dramatic power escalations. It’s even gone as far as apparently killing off a major character, too. Granted, the franchise has done this before only to bring those characters back later, but this time may be different, and I’m actually a bit surprised at who was chosen to be eliminated. The hints which have been dropped practically since her first appearance that there’s something more special about Chloe than just her being brought here from another world are also finally starting to coalesce into a major twist, too. For the one of the rare times in the last couple of series from this franchise, I’m actually eagerly looking forward to how things are going to play out next.

The Duke’s Son Claims He Won’t Love Me, Yet Showers Me with Adoration

Rating So Far: C

Of all of the series that I’m still actively following, this one is probably my lowest-priority view on any given week. Part of that is some of the season’s weakest visuals (especially in character designs) and a very ordinary animation effort, but the content is also so very banal that I’m not quite sure why I’m still bothering to keep up with it, especially given that it comes out on the season’s busiest day (Saturday). The only real difference between this one and a number of other period romances where the female lead must gradually win over the emotionally distant high noble marriage prospect is that Elsa and Julius are married before the end of episode 1, which does create some slightly different dynamics in various situations. The most recent episodes have even shown wholly-predictable hints of potential building intrigue involving another handsome noble and his sister, who had been fixated on winning Julius over. It is a sweet little series with some effective light humor, so it’s mildly watchable, but one I doubt I’ll remember well once the season is over.

The Forsaken Saintess and Her Foodie Road Trip in Another World

Rating So Far: C+

Is foodie fantasy titles becoming its own subgenre? While there is an RPG-style adventure aspect to the series, that’s practically an afterthought compared to the emphasis placed on the “foodie” side of the title. I do get a good chuckle out of how the adventuring group Rin joins is called Smorgasbord because all the members love to eat (even though all of them are completely incompetent at cooking) and how stupidly specific Rin’s camper-summoning power is, but also appreciable is how the entire group realizes the value of what Rin can do in a strategic sense and how they quickly come to consider her an indispensable and beloved member even though she can’t contribute in fights. (Heck, her curiously-slanted Survival skill – which always mentions how tasty a monster is – alone would almost be enough of a contribution.) On the downside, the game-like item drops of monster meat detract some compared to other shows with overlapping gimmicks (like Delicious in Dungeon or Pass the Monster Meat, Milady!), and the the overall plot beyond the foodie aspect is both thin and not particularly compelling. However, Rin’s cheery personality (and possible bi leaning?) and the lovable members of Smorgasbord help maintain the series’ mild appeal regardless.

The Ogre’s Bride

Rating So Far: C+

Frankly, I’m at a loss for how I let this knock-off version of My Happy Marriage suck me in enough that I’ve actually bothered to watch it week-to-week. Though it shares a similar structure and story beats to MHM, it’s nowhere near on the same level in writing, characterization, or especially technical and artistic merits, and it doesn’t take full advantage of the peculiarities that make it different; it only barely touches on what happens if the chosen bride isn’t interested, for instance. (One episode uses flashbacks to show that Yuzu’s friend Touko wasn’t immediately or easily won over by Nyankichi, though she did eventually accept that she loved him back.) The series does at least earn some credit for exploring how having a bride can be both a blessing and a curse for a demon: it’s a blessing in the sense that a demon with a bride will get perceptibly stronger, but it’s a curse in the sense that the demon can become so obsessed with his bride that he can lose all common sense around her and capitulate even to requests from his bride that he knows are dangerous.

The other problem here is that the series still seems to want to use some stock elements even though they don’t fit well with the particulars of this scenario. For instance, how Yuzu is a commoner being married into the effective equivalent of a noble house is stereotypically a matter of consternation for the clan, but that’s at odds with the fact that the clan leader becomes stronger for having found his bride, which seems like it should be a big enough deal to override such concerns. That brides can be chosen as teenagers (or even younger!) is also a little messy, and the age gap between Reiya and Yuzu wouldn’t be overlooked in most other situations. And at the end of the day, this scenario hasn’t strayed far from being pure wish fulfillment. Despite its flaws and average (at best) visuals, it’s just compelling enough in its dramatic presentation to keep me watching.

Though I Am an Inept Villainess

Rating So Far: A-

If I was just rating this series on its first 3-4 episodes then I might grade it a notch lower, but it has been on an absolute tear since the dance sequence that was the highlight of episode 5 (and, frankly, one of the great individual scenes of the year so far). The irony the Reirin is actually enjoying the body swap dominated the series early on, but that is gradually being replaced by the irony that the body swap may be providing a window to a much greater level of dangerous intrigue within the court, intrigue that may well have its roots more than two decades in the past. The big question now is whether the intrigue is playing out because of the body swap, or is the body swap just revealing a scheme that already existed? Certainly the switched souls are having an impact here, as the real Reirin wouldn’t have been able to recognize the curse that Keigetsu does, while Keigetsu’s body allows Rin to act more freely than she would have been able to otherwise. Connect that with a good animation effort and some of the season’s best visuals and you have a title that’s become a strong contender for my #2 position this season.

Saga of Tanya the Evil II episode 7

Episode Rating: A

Even if you discount Tanya’s size, age, gender, association with Being X, and status as a cross-gender reincarnation, she’s still an aberration on other fronts. Some of that is a dramatic lack of empathy that she carried over from her previous life, which only reinforces her very studious pragmatism, but it’s also her lack of perspective. In her current life, she’s only really known the orphanage and the military, and so has spent little to no time in a genuine civilian capacity. Hence she doesn’t truly appreciate how the public thinks, and thus why that’s at the core of the disconnect between the country’s leadership and its military.

In Tanya’s understanding, the military is struggling because they don’t have clear criteria for what “victory” means; the goalpost for what constitutes enough to win the best possible concessions keeps getting moved back without additional support for the advancing goals, hence making a situation like the ultimate failure of Operation Andromeda (due to a lack of sufficient supplies) practically inevitable. None of Zettour, Rudersdorf, or Rerugen disagree with her on this point, but the two generals in particular understand what Tanya doesn’t: that the root cause of this isn’t politicians with unrealistic expectations (although they are part of the problem), but instead the public that they are, to some degree, beholden to. Though the soldiers lose their lives on the battlefield, the public has suffered, too. They’ve watched funeral processions of empty caskets carried by wounded soldiers become commonplace, they’ve dealt with the deprivations of a wartime economy, and they’ve become drunk on the propaganda used to bolster national spirit. They can endure if there’s something concrete to be gained from it all, which is why a return to the status quo simply isn’t enough. They must believe that they’ve won, that they’ve achieved “victory,” even if what that actually entails in this situation is a nebulous concept. That’s a very dangerous position for any country – but especially a military power like the Empire – to be in, especially with morale being pushed to the limit, as is shown in Tanya’s encounter with Col. Ulger.

How devastatingly this situation get revealed to Tanya, through her encounters with various familiar military leaders, is what makes this episode so incredible and a big part of why I’m giving it such a high rating. The storytelling isn’t carrying all the weight, either; the scenes with the blood rain over the funeral, where Being X steps in to do some commentary, make a sharp visual impression with a stark contrast between the blood and the gray backgrounds. In the face of such stress, such madness, how many would naturally reach out for religion even if they were otherwise rational, modern men?

That’s not the only thing going on in this episode, either. To this point, the military leaders featured in this series have all been stalwarts dedicated to service to the Empire, but even they are starting to accept how untenable the situation is becoming. Tanya is quick to notice that Zettour’s line of questioning is heading in a potentially dangerous direction and politely heads it off, but I don’t buy at all that Zettour was merely conducting a kind of loyalty test there. She seems to less well pick up on Rerugen’s vague intimations in the same direction at the train station; if the military were to attempt some kind of coup, Tanya’s 203rd Aerial Battallion would undoubtedly be intended to be a key player. Those vague suggestions add an additional chilling undertone to the situation, and I can’t think that Tanya’s comment at the end of the episode – about how she can’t meet her ultimate goal here, in the rear – is an idle one. (And to be clear, I haven’t read much beyond this point in the novels, so this should be treated as pure supposition rather than any kind of hint.)

Despite the lack of action, and despite the usual supporting cast not being present at all, this is still the best episode yet in what’s already proven to be a strong season for this franchise. Admittedly, the series doesn’t take itself entirely seriously (as the epilogue scene shows!), but it wisely sections off its humor so it doesn’t interfere at ll with the powerful thematic points it’s making. Few anime series ever made have done this effective a job at portraying how a war effort can consume not just the soldiers on the front line but the home front as well.

Summer 2026 Mid-Season Report, part 1

We’re at the midpoint of the Summer season, with earlier-starting series hitting episode 7 (or in a couple of cases, even episode 8!) this week, so it’s time to get the ball rolling on what a wide swath of series have been doing so far this season.

With the return of Re:Zero to action this week, I am now attempting to fully keep up with a whopping 26 series this season – maybe the most I’ve ever done. And that doesn’t include The Ghost in the Shell (despite having seen all previous iterations of the franchise, I bounced off of this new one hard) or the return of Bleach (I’ve seen all the previous episodes and movies, but just can’t muster enough enthusiasm to engage with this supposedly-last chapter). It also doesn’t include two series which are continuing from last season which I was following: MAO and The Classroom of a Witch and a Black Cat. The former is a simple time crunch, and I won’t rule out eventually going back and getting caught up on it, but I was losing interest in the latter towards the end of last season anyway, so it was an easy drop. I also didn’t end up engaging with a few titles that I rated highly in the Preview Guide, including The World is Dancing, Kaiju Girl Carmelise, and (most surprisingly to me, given the historical context) Jaadugar: A Witch from Mongolia. I did end up following a handful of titles that I didn’t rate highly at the start, and not because they got better; as you may have noticed if you’ve been following this blog for a while, mindless trash tends to make up about a quarter to a third of my viewing list in any given season, and this one is no different. I make no apologies for that, as those titles are my de-stressing fare.

One additional point on this front: I did watch multiple episodes of Red River, but I dropped off on this one after episode 4 and don’t feel inclined to get caught up. It may be based on a classic, but it’s just not a good adaptation in any sense.

This first part entirely covers shows which have aired seven or more episodes as of 8/15/26. Not all shows which I’m following which hit episode 7 on 8/15 are included here.

Black Torch

Rating So Far: B-

No title this season more purely falls into the shonen action stereotype, complete with a secret anti-mononoke organization and a mononoke faction mustering to fight against them, but at least this is a respectable execution of the concept. It helps a lot that the cynical Jiro and crabby Rago make a great pair in the central duo, while Ichika serves well enough as a probable tsundere type and Reiji is staking out territory as a traditionalist who’s a bit arrogant. Although Ichika never wears skimpy outfits and rarely shows much skin, the camera still takes every opportunity to ogle her body (especially her butt), which I only mention because it’s done to a purposeful and nearly distracting degree. That aside, the action scenes and plot development are good enough to maintain this one as a weekly but not priority watch. The English simuldub is also one of the better ones this season.

Daemons of the Shadow Realm

Rating So Far This Season: B

While I like this series quite a lot (and especially Yuru as the lead protagonist), I have to mark the series down a bit for way under-utilizing Asa, even if she does get distinctly more screen time in the last couple of episodes. Seeing Yuru start to come to a reckoning with some of the people responsible for tricking him back in the village is also good to see, as is the way that the traitor in the Kazemori clan was foreshadowed in a much earlier episode if you knew what to look for. The timing of its humor could still use a little work, but overall it’s still a solid-performing shonen action scenes with a couple of interesting angles to play.

From Overshadowed to Overpowered

Rating: C

The one thing this series has going for it is some pretty good character designs. Otherwise this is a very rote play on the “I’ve been reincarnated centuries later to a time when magic is weaker, so now I’m super-OP” concept. It even has a former apprentice who’s still around centuries later, and yeah, let’s not forget the sexy teenage sex slave. (Though to the show’s credit, the series is working on building her up to be something more and putting a couple of interesting spins on things like slave crests and generational curses.) It’s been watchable and mildly entertaining, and even offers a bit of fan service at times, but that’s about it.

Heroine? Saint? No, I’m an All-Works Maid (And Proud of it!)

Rating So Far: B-

How do you put a big twist on the standard “reincarnated into an otome game” concept? Have the protagonist be oblivious to the fact that she’s in an otome game (much less its intended heroine!), have her channel her OP magic into her obsession with maids from her previous life and resolutely pursue the path of a maid rather than a heroine, in the process inadvertently wreaking havoc on the storyline both directly and indirectly, such as by reforming a girl who’s meant to be a tragic boss figure into being the “Fae Princess,” giving her a dress capable of sustaining a blow from the main antagonist, or unwittingly putting the whole city to sleep in an effort to tame the spirit of the main antagonist, who’s become trapped within a puppy (but she’s not aware of that, either). And that’s just for starters. On top of that, there are two major characters who are also reincarnates and do know the otome game inside and out, and a newly-introduced character is strongly-implied to not only be another reincarnate but also one from a much later real-world time period than the previous three. (Or is it just three?) And that’s just the tip of the iceberg for all the odd, sometimes very silly twists this story can deliver.

On the downside, the first few episodes of this adaptation are fairly weak, and the sharp-witted narration which was a major feature of the original novels is being downplayed a lot here. The series distinctly improves with episode 5, though, and is better from that point on, so the rating here leans more towards episodes 5-8 than 1-4. While I don’t feel this is the source material’s best possible adaptation, and the humor isn’t quite as sharp in its absurdity as might be hoped, it’s still doing enough interesting things to be worth a dedicated watch.

I Became a Legend After My 10-Year Long Last Stand

Rating So Far: C

Yes, one of the characters is a (non-verbal) chicken called Exalted Gerbera, whose clucking has the power to destroy vampires in mid-transformation. That’s not the only slightly weird element in this series about a venerated hero who is now wandering around pretending to be a low-ranked adventurer because he got de-aged (another character is an also-non-verbal spirit dog), but it doesn’t help enough to make this one stand out. It’s still running hard with the “protagonist builds a makeshift family” approach, one that currently includes the dog, the chicken, the chicken’s demon handler, the daughter of one of Luck’s adventuring companions, a beast girl, and a new orphan girl who just turned up with the last episode, and it still fully embraces the “I’m super-powerful though I don’t look it” line. With ordinary visual and action elements, it’s not doing anywhere near enough at this point to be memorable.

Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha EXCEEDS: Gun Blaze Violence

Rating So Far: B

As it turns out, very little familiarity with the Nanoha franchise is needed to keep up with this one, as Nanoha, Fate, and especially Hayate are all supporting characters rather than lead plot drivers here. (I currently suspect that this may be a case where they’ve hopped into this world for a long-term mission and are pretending to be natives rather than an alternate timeline story.) That’s fine because Shiina and Towa are carrying the story well enough on their own. They’re following a fairly typical progression of becoming friends without each realizing that the other is actually a Diaboli from a not-yet-aligned organization, down even to them finally meeting in battle forms at the end of the most recent episode, and naturally there’s a complication which is going to put them at odds even though EXCEEDS and the Diaboli Slayers are both working towards the same end goals (albeit from different angles). So the series gets docked a bit for lack of originality, but it makes up for that with cool action scenes and some impressive power displays.

Magilumiere Magical Girls Inc. s2

Rating So Far: C+

Is it a coincidence that the season’s two worst simuldubs are both on Prime Video? Probably not since both have the same director/scripter/caster. The dub job for this one wasn’t great during the first season but seems to have gotten worse, especially with stilted delivery and lines that don’t match well to lip flaps being frequent throughout. That’s the biggest drag on what is still a neat, corporate-focused take on modern magical girls, but it’s not the only one; the pace of the storytelling is sagging badly this season, too. On the plus side, the series has introduced how classical magic-using miko fit into the scheme in this setting, though I’d like to see a bit more commentary on how classic-form spellcasting morphed into technologically-supported spellcasting. Definitely will continue with the series but may be switching to the Japanese dub and subtitles.

Mushoku Tensei s3

Rating So Far: B+

This season’s episodes are only getting a B+ so far because, frankly, the story has been a little too much on the slow, domestic side even if it has been covering a lot of necessary bases, such as finally showing what Eris has been up to, Sylphiette and Roxy settling into their dual marriage with Rudeus, Cliff and Elinalise getting married, Rudeus finally coming to terms with his past experiences with Sara, and Pursena and Linia graduating with a duel for clan leadership since neither found an acceptable husband. All of this has been handled with the excellent artistic and technical merits seen in previous seasons and Rudeus is coming across as far less of a creep now that he’s taken on more adult responsibilities. (That aspect isn’t entirely gone, though. . .) And it definitely looks like a much more exciting arc is upcoming. This is still a standard bearer-level isekai series.

The Frontier Lord Begins with Zero Subjects

Rating So Far: B-

This one has been a bit controversial so far because of the age gap romance (a 15-year-old is earnestly seeking to be the wife of a mid-30s man, although he seems uncomfortable with it because of her age), the emphasis on manliness being a predominant attracting factor for a woman’s mate in Alna’s culture, and the semblance of colonizing a land inhabited by an indigenous population, but I find those concerns to be overstated. This has mostly been a fairly standard civilization builder scenario so far, though there are some distinct background elements of Dias being caught up in political intrigues involving a succession struggle within his kingdom, and it turns out that the twin girls featured prominently in the OP and ED are adopted not-elves, not Dias and Alna’s kids after a time skip (as I first suspected). On the plus side, Alna is among my favorite characters of the season; I very much like that she is an indispensable partner to Dias rather than just window dressing, and he fully acknowledges her on that level even if he’s not ready yet to engage with her in other marital aspects. The plot is shifting in some interesting directions even as the cast continues to build (you don’t have to be a furry lover to appreciate the appeal of the new female dogkin!), so this one may be on a slight upswing going into its second half.

The Cat and the Dragon

Rating So Far: A-

To be clear, the “Winged Uncle” doesn’t even appear at all in some episodes of this semi-anthology series, and he’s often in a supporting role when he does appear, with each episode past the first typically focusing on a different cat (although some cats, like the mother cat and the hero black cat, have now made more than one such appearance). However, that hasn’t stopped this series one bit from being the season’s most adorable title. The most remarkable thing about the series so far is that every episode generates a different kind of appeal, a different way to make the viewer smile and chuckle, rather than just relying on standardized gimmicks. The production staff has thought this one through wonderfully well, too, such as how the “next episode” dialogue is voiced all in meows or the mind-bogglingly cute scenes of the dragon at full size playing with Cait Sith kittens. And while there isn’t exactly an ongoing plot, there is a definite continuity, with earlier characters and events sometimes influencing later ones. No other series this season is anywhere near as much of a pure, unadulterated, heatwarming delight to watch as this one is.

The Oblivious Saint Can’t Contain Her Power

Rating: C+

On the downside, this one has only mediocre artistic and technical merits and Carolina is far from impressive or compelling as the heroine, even for one who was oblivious to the nature of her divine power for the first four episodes. However, it has made at least some attempt to build up a greater sense of intrigue as Carolina’s powers come to light, and the amicable relationship she has with her husband (and that the series didn’t dawdle on getting her and Edward married) provides a nice contrast to her nasty older sister. I’ve been curious enough to see how the power dynamics play out to stick with this one, though it’s hardly doing anything fresh.

Saga of Tanya the Evil II episode 6

Episode Rating: A

The last few episodes have had a more tactical “big picture” focus, leaving this season so far much lighter than the previous one on direct battle sequences. That changes with this episode as both Tanya and even Zettour get into the thick of things. The result is arguably the season’s best episode to date, one which beautifully balances tactical movements with the gritty, personal battle sequences frequently seen in the first season, all while maintaining a remarkably high level of constant tension. And for the first time since the earliest days of her military career, Tanya faces a manifest (rather than theoretical) life-or-death level challenge to her own safety. Even Mary Sue in the movie didn’t push her as hard, or come as close to actually killing Tanya, as Mikel does here.

While Rerugen has long been the one who seemed to best understand who Tanya is as a person, this episode shows that Zettour is the one who best understands how she thinks. He knows exactly how sharp she is, how she can see and take advantage of the bigger picture (even if she does sometimes get a bit carried away at it), and so he knows that she’ll react a certain way if he does the right set-up moves, even if they haven’t planned things out in advance. He knows that an officer bold enough to raid the Dacian capital (in an intimidation play) or the Federation capital (to force the Federation to pull back in defense) isn’t going to miss an opportunity to go on the offensive to complete a pincer maneuver, even if the original plan was for her forces to be playing the defense. And damned if he doesn’t have guts enough to put himself in harm’s way to carry the task out, with the assertion that his death could serve the purpose of shaking things up back on the home front. Honestly, he even seems to be enjoying himself even when things start to look grim. He also seems to have decided that if the Empire is going to ill-advisedly push forward with this war then the top brass should share the risk.

Meanwhile,Tanya runs into a different challenge: a mage who’s every bit as wily as she is and has a coordinated group around him which is at least as capable as the 203rd Aerial Battalion; in other words, this is the first foe Tanya’s faced who’s not going to underestimate her or get reckless, has support at least as good as hers, and can’t be overpowered by her normal gimmicks. The Federation mages also seem to have quality magical jewels, too. (The anime version doesn’t get into this point, but the source novel for this part clarifies that Federation jewels tend to be stronger on defense but weaker on offense compared to the versions used by Tanya’s forces.) That leads to an impressive display of coordinated battle tactics in a fantastic action sequence, one which fully realizes a flowing three-dimensional battle. The direction also smartly uses Tanya being the one to lose her cool in the face of a calm enemy (a juxtaposition of the norm for this series) to help promote the high level of tension throughout both the initial engagement and the regroup. The way Mikail just calmly and gracefully flew off when he had to retire from the battle (presumably because of not being able to maintain altitude without his jewel) was also a slick reminder that, for as capable as Tanya is, he’s the real veteran here. Someone being called “Devil of the Rhine” isn’t going to throw him off his game.

The episode had some other great moments, too. Serebreyokov’s decoy mission to draw off the Allied forces mages was a perfect bit of execution, and the scenes in the Federation camp were use efficiently to show that, while the Federation may have strong dedication in its structures, they sacrifice flexibility to maintain it. But my favorite scene may have been the one shown below, where Tanya and Zettour wind up fighting back-to-back after Zettour’s invite to tea after the battle, a statement whose irony he surely intended. It’s a wonderful bit of symbolism, with the “old guard” soldier using a bolt-action rifle while the vastly younger Tanya fights with a more modern gun, but both are ultimately soldiers in the end:

The series doesn’t forget to include its now-traditional light-hearted post-credit scene, either, this time showing Zettour pulling rank to snag the overwhelmed Grantz’s chocolate. Who knew Zettour had it in him?

Even with Re:Zero being back on starting with this week, this is still the top-performing series I’ve been following through the seasonal halfway point.

Movie Review: The Ribbon Knight

Osamu Tezuka’s 1953-56 manga Ribbon no Kishi (known in English as Princess Knight) is arguably the seminal work of modern shojo manga, as it was the first to apply narrative structure to manga aimed at girls. Its 1967-68 TV series anime adaptation is also easily one of the most influential of all anime titles; nearly every action heroine in anime arguably owes at least something to Sapphire, the princess born with the heart of both a boy and a girl who would dress and fight as a boy in order to protect her kingdom. She also inspired a wave of androgynous heroes/heroines and is certainly the direct predecessor of characters like Utena Tenjou. The original manga has seen a number of republishes and presentations in different formats over the years, including stage plays and musicals, and now director Yuki Igarashi and his new studio OUTLINE have produced an ambitious 109 minute movie version for Netflix.

To be clear, The Ribbon Knight makes no attempt to be a direct adaptation of the original story, instead using some character names and concepts from the original to tell a vastly different tale about a princess of Silverland named Sapphire, who must flee the destruction of Silverland when it is attacked by the indomitable monster Nergal. With the “genius creator” Zirco in tow, she must find her way to Goldland and try to make a living there, but an incursion by a smaller version of Nergal unwittingly spurs her into transforming into the Ribbon Knight (so called because she wears – and seems to get her power from – a gigantic red ribbon) to try to fight it off. But there are complications along the way, as Sapphire doesn’t initially understand the true nature of Nergal (which the authorities in Goldland do seem to understand, or at least to a greater degree), and she is thrown mightily when she learns that the destruction of Silverland may have happened because her parents weren’t prepared to sacrifice her to Nergal. Only with the help of friends and allies she meets along the way – especially the girl Pine – can she eventually face the ultimate challenge presented by Nergal and try to avoid the fate of the countless heroes who went before her.

If you’re looking for any degree of narrative or thematic complexity, you won’t find it here. The story is so streamlined that at times it feels like it was edited down from a longer piece, resulting in a work which focuses almost entirely on establishing the exuberant Sapphire and giving her plenty of opportunities to get in action scenarios, with only bare hints of world-building to give the minimal amount of foundation to it all and minor logical leaps in several places. The writing doesn’t seem interested in explaining any of the mechanics, either; yeah, the recurring heart motif is pretty obvious in its implications, and a full explanation for why Sapphire has the power to transform that she does is hardly necessary when the movie is clearly leaning into magical girl trappings as well. However, the exact nature of Nergal, and why sacrifices can fend it off for a time, is never fully explained, and the corrupting influence of its presence, which is so prominent early on, is largely ignored in the late stages. The story also seems to largely forget that it gave Sapphire an artificial left arm, too.

In other words, this is one of the productions where you’re better off not thinking too hard about what it’s doing and just go with the flow. Taken that way, it can be a rousing action story, filled with fantastical fight scenes where the transformed Sapphire is leaping all around like gravity isn’t a factor. On the character front, Sapphire carries the story with verve to spare in both Sapphire and Ribbon Knight forms, but no other cast member is especially well-developed; there’s the girl Pine, who’s eager to claim Sapphire as her first friend her own age, and a knight defender of Goldland who doesn’t sound effeminate but certainly looks and dresses that way. Zirco is little more than a mascot, and a few other characters have distinct personalities but don’t stand out enough to be memorable.

The artistic effort is rich in eclectic detail, with a background style which has shades of fairy tale elements applied to a more gritty fantasy setting. It populates its world with a number of bizarre variations on standard critters, and that’s without considering the monstrous Nergal. The overall visual style shifts at times, sometimes evoking scenes reminiscent of a puppet play, but in default form it mostly strives for an older-school character design style, one where Sapphire’s Ribbon Knight form essentially modernizes the original Princess Knight look but her day-to-day appearance is entirely different, complete with that big, goofy, oversized hair ribbon. The CG animation of the Nergal doesn’t always blend perfectly with the character animation, but for the most part this is a slickly-animation production which emphasizes a wealth of motion and some spectacular use of color. The two full scenes where Sapphire is shown transforming also go hard-core magical girl theme, complete with the movie’s sole scenes of near-nudity.

The English dub was used for this review. It’s anchored by veteran anime VA Courtney Lin (Panty in New PANTY & STOCKING with GARTERBELT, Kana in Magilumiere Magical Girls Inc.), who hits exactly the right note as Sapphire, but none of the other casting choices or performance will be found wanting. Per the norm for Netflix productions, numerous other languages are also available. All dubs are backed by a fine, mostly symphonic musical score.

The story is told in a series of several numbered Acts, perhaps in a callback to the original story’s theatrical origins. (Tezuka drew inspiration for the original manga from Japan’s legendary Takarazuka Revue.) That keeps the pacing brisk and helps smooth some of the more jarring transitions. Overall, that helps this one work well as a lighter – though definitely not always light-hearted – viewing experience.

Overall Rating: B+

Saga of Tanya the Evil II episode 5

Rating: B+

After an episode which focused heavily on Rudersdorf, it’s no surprise that episode 5 shifts the focus to Zettour. What happens to Zettour here would have been expected even I didn’t already know it was coming from the novels (and thus spoke incorrectly about its timing in an earlier review): in speaking to practicalities, he defied the will of “the people,” which is all-too-often far from rational. Rudersdorf, even though he initially advocated the same, did flip and capitulate to that will, which is why Zettour’s being sent east instead of him, and they seem to both understand that even if Rudersdorf doesn’t want to admit it. It’s a foolish move on the part of the Empire’s leadership, as they seem to be grossly underestimating how critical a role Zettour plays in keeping the war effort going, but as Tanya often laments herself, soldiers don’t make policy; they carry it out. They both understand that, too.

And it’s not like Zettour’s going to go down without a fight. He’s a crafty enough bastard that the Allied forces working with the Federation all but put a bounty on his head, and Tanya is certainly no match for him. Aoi Yuki once again earns respect for Tanya’s squeaky, nervous vocalizations during that wonderful scene, where Tanya’s world is symbolically falling apart around her as her long-term career plans start to crumble. (And kudos again for the production team for Tanya’s wonderful expressions and the way she scampers backwards in shock at one point in that scene, as well as a later scene where Serebreyakov almost casually catches Tanya as she’s about to be blown across the room by an explosion.) But like Zettour, she’s got an impossible job to do herself. And it’s just been made harder by the Federation mages finally coming into play and their leader, at least, proving that he’s on a level with Tanya’s elites. Does make one wonder how much better the Federation would be doing if it hadn’t shot itself in the foot by initially persecuting its mages, doesn’t? (Although there’s also a bit more going on here, as you should eventually see.)

This episode (and presumably the next, too) are a condensed version of novel 8, which almost entirely focuses on Operation Andromeda and the battle at Soldim 528 in particular. That’s still fine, though, as the original novel get bogged down a bit in the minutiae of the urban warfare scenario, while the anime is more firmly retaining its focus on broad strokes and individual character moments. In other words, this is still a case where not being a slavishly-loyal adaptation is ideal, as evidenced by the scene of Mary playing with the dog in the background as Drake is speaking to his uncle. That scene nicely reinforces that Mary is still an ordinary girl when she doesn’t let her vengeance-driven side taken hold of her, unlike what’s likely to happen next episode when she (presumably) crosses paths with Tanya again.

While this episode isn’t quite as crisp in execution as the previous few have been, it’s still another strong entry for the series.

Saga of Tanya the Evil II episode 4

Rating: A-

One thing that this franchise has never previously delved into is the personal costs of the war to anyone on the Empire side. (It has certainly dealt with the personal costs to the Sue/Sioux family, though!) That is one thing new that episode 4 offers. Rudersdorf’s visits to an unspecified grave (possibly that of his son-in-law) are used as a framing device for the episode, and the mention that his wife and daughter currently live elsewhere due his daughter’s distress over the combat death of her husband further offers poignant commentary on how even the top generals aren’t immune to being affected by the war. And that helps set up the episode’s great irony.

To be fair, this series has never been a stranger to irony; much of its humor is based on that, in fact. However, never before has its irony seemed as painful as it does here. Operation Iron Hammer was planned and orchestrated with the idea of giving the Empire a stronger bargaining position in peace negotiations, since the leadership knew that a mere return to the status quo wouldn’t fly with the public given the war’s costs. In line with that, a great victory is, indeed, achieved by significantly whittling down the enemy’s forces with another clever encirclement maneuver involving Tanya’s forces infiltrating behind enemy lines – only this time joining paratroopers already there. However, the first irony comes in that Rudersdorf, who led the plan, has at least partly fallen into Tanya’s own trap of being a victim of his own success. That success has convinced civilian leadership that even more can be accomplished. It doesn’t matter how thin the military stretched itself to see this pulled off; the civilians only see the results. And those results tell them that they don’t need to be satisfied with the more favorable offer that the Federation makes in the wake of Iron Hammer.

Reaching for too much has ever been the undoing of a military power, and historically speaking, that’s especially true where Russia is involved. Maybe the military was underestimating the strength of public opinion (or the foolishness of the politicians) on this matter, but Rudersdorf was sunk the moment he said “difficult” rather than “impossible,” not anticipating that the politicians would take him literally rather than reading his implication. And now he’s trapped by a combination of that and his own feelings concerning whoever’s grave he’s been visiting. He must now push forward to achieve whatever standard of victory the politicians and public will find acceptable, even if the additional cost of trying to achieve it will make it nearly impossible to achieve enough gains to offset the costs so far. It’s a damning situation for the leadership.

The other interesting aspect of this episode is the infusion of some military elements more in line with World War 2 than World War 1. Although the first paratrooper missions technically happened during the latter, they weren’t used as a primary military maneuver until the former. The concept of soldiers riding forward on tanks also wasn’t introduced until WW2, although that one’s just Tanya applying some modern-world military knowledge. The way the tension of the infiltration mission was maintained and yet still infused with slight offhand doses of humor (Victoriya and her candy bars!) also was well-executed.

So not much true action this episode, but it certainly didn’t lack for drama. The other shoe’s going to drop on the Empire at some point here, and it increasingly feels like it’s just a matter of how soon it happens.

Saga of Tanya the Evil II episode 3

Episode Rating: A-

In World War 1, Italy started out neutral despite being part of the Triple Alliance with Germany and Austria-Hungary, using the excuse that the Alliance was a defensive pact and Austria-Hungary had gone on the offensive to start the war. Though they claimed to still being allied to Germany and Austria-Hungary, they were secretly convinced to join the Triple Entente’s side as part of the Treaty of London in 1915. They were won over by a promise of territorial gains that they never actually got after the war; ironically, this was a big contributing factor to fascism being able to take root in the country in the 1920s. Italy’s stand-in for this setting, Ildoa, seems to be on a similar trajectory. And though their presence has largely been ignored to this point, they are now stepping up to have a much bigger role.

Essentially, Ildoa is being portrayed in an opportunistic light. They still want to maintain the appearance of being allied to the intimidating Empire, but they’re definitely trying to hedge their bets and set themselves up to make out big in the war’s aftermath with only minimal risk to themselves. That’s at the core of their activity here, where they’re proposing to negotiate peace between the two sides. To determine how best to pitch the deal, they send a military observer to the Empire’s eastern front, while Rerugen is sent to Ildoa to observe them first. (Sending military observers like this was a common practice in the real world in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.) In one sense the Ildoans are fortunate, in that there are individuals within the Empire military hierarchy who would like to see the war resolved soon. However, the Empire’s leadership isn’t stupid or naive, and they’re much too disciplined to fall for veiled threats and slick promises. Even more simply, Ildoa doesn’t have a proper understanding of how the Empire – and especially its more ruthless elements like Tanya – operates.

And that’s one of the most significant aspects of the middle scenes involving Ildoan Colonel Gassman visiting the Salamander Kampfgruppe. (He’s incorrectly identified as General Calandro, his superior, in the subtitles in the scene at the eastern front camp.) Tanya has always been shown to strictly follow the letter of military law, but only the letter. She’s too much of a pragmatist to give any weight to the spirit of the law, and that catches Gassman off guard. Perhaps seeing someone so young be so callous is partly throwing him off, or perhaps the field experience he’s had so far (Rerugen observes that he’s not just a pencil-pusher) hasn’t been with full modern warfare. Overall, he seems a little too idealistic for the role he’s being asked to serve here, though his boss Calandro seems like more of a sly old fox. But even he turns out to underestimate the Empire on this.

This all leaves Tanya in an interesting situation. She absolutely wants peace, even more than Zettour does, but this is hardly the first time where her taking the utterly pragmatic view on how wasteful war is butts up against the reality that war – especially in the early 20th century – isn’t a pragmatic endeavor. National honor was a big factor going into World War 1, and it was certainly a contributing factor to how the war was waged (especially in its early stages) and how it was resolved. Although Tanya has repeatedly given lip service to this in her motivational speeches, she continues to underestimate just how important this is to many of the combatants. Sure, it may be most practical to end the senseless burning of resources and just return to where everything started, but that also means that all that effort – all those resources and lives spent – ultimately gained nothing. And that’s hard to take, especially for people truly driven by national pride. (Ironically, the Federation seems more in line with her views on this point., though them being happy to get out of this situation with no real territorial losses is probably a factor in that.)

The Concorde effect – aka Concorde fallacy aka sunk cost fallacy – that Tanya refers to at this point is the practice of continuing an endeavor, project, or investment because of the resources spent on it, even if the continuing cost outweighs the potential benefits. That’s absolutely what’s going on here, and it was a contributing factor to why the Treaty of Versailles was written the way it was. The negative consequences of this were borne out by history, but recognizing this from within can be very difficult. That means that groundwork is already being laid for how things might go at the end of this version of the war. That also means the official response to Ildoa’s efforts from the top brass – literally “eat shit” – is predictable.

What, exactly, is this version of Operation Iron Hammer going to look like? It our world, is was a joint operation during the Iraq War in 2003 between American military forces and Iraqi Civil Defense Corps, but clearly it’s going to take on a different character here. We’ll have to wait for next episode to find out. And hopefully it will be as well-constructed an episode as this one is, with its parallel storytelling elements and strong visual support. While it did seem like the episode was condensing some element (especially concerning Gassman’s observations at the Salamander base), it didn’t feel like any important details were sacrificed; we still saw plenty enough to understand why Gassman behaved the way he did. That’s the kind of efficiency I’ve long come to expect from this franchise.

Saga of Tanya the Evil s2, episode 2

Rating: A-

NOTE: For the review of episode 1, see its Preview Guide entry.

Nine years ago, when I was still writing for Anime News Network, I did episode reviews for the first season of Saga of Tanya the Evil, so continuing them for this new season only felt natural. And it’s a thorough delight to have the franchise back in series animation, too, as the first two episodes remind me quite well why I fell in love with this franchise.

Even at the time it first aired, Saga of Tanya stood distinctly apart from other isekai reincarnation fare in three important ways: it used a variant of early 20th century Europe for its setting rather than a pure fantasy setting, its reincarnator was a middle-aged businessman with a distinct philosophy rather than an otaku and/or younger individual who was mostly an audience insert, and it focused primarily on a military setting in a modern-style war. In the nine years that have passed since the first season aired, those distinctions have only become even starker, allowing the series to continue to easily stand out in the crowd; hardly any isekai title in the intervening years has even come close to imitating Saga‘s approach. And that’s only a small part of what makes the first two episodes of this new season so impressive.

Animation studio NUT has gone on to headline several other anime since Saga, but Saga is the title which built its reputation, and the studio is gloriously back for the second time around. If anything, these first two episodes look even sharper than the original. Episode 2 doesn’t provide any opportunity to show off the series’ animation quality, but the detail work on the settings and uniforms, instances of background animation, and the expressiveness of various characters (especially Tanya, of course) all still stand out, and new-to-the-franchise director Takayuki Yamamoto doesn’t miss a beat on retaining the franchise’s signature visual style and rich but still earthy color schemes. (It probably helps the most of the rest of the principle staff from the previous season, including – most importantly – scripter Kenta Ihara have returned.)

MYTH & ROID is also back doing the opener. Original OP “Jingo Jungle” is a hard act to follow, but the new “Why? RED induction” is a fair effort to replace it, especially on the visual front, with imagery that conveys the dark, ugly business that Tanya finds herself stuck dealing with. However, the new closer, the techno-styled “Weiter! Weiter!” (“Further, Further” in German) is the real stand-out this time. It’s sung in-character by Aoi Yuki (the voice of Tanya), which is quite a feat considering the soaring vocals it achieves, but it also looks fantastic. It’s likely to be on the short list when it comes to the year’s best OPs.

Content-wise, so much is going on in episode 2 that I’m amazed that they were able to stuff it all into one episode without it feeling rushed. (That’s a true sign that they chose the right person to be the director for this installment.) On the home front, Generals Zettour and Rudersdorf confirm something that’s long been implied: that they are lifelong best buds. Both are also clearly aware of how strained the Empire’s position is, though they differ in Rudersdorf leaning towards a “we have no choice but to move forward” philosophy, while Zettour ever remains the absolute pragmatist. What the episode doesn’t make clear – and which may confuse anime-only viewers – is that Zettour is now more directly involved in the administration of the Eastern Front, which is why Tanya is able to go see him later in the episode. The one writing flaw in the first two episodes is that this point isn’t made clearer.

The episode also takes a peek at what various other involved parties are doing. In the Great Britain stand-in Allied Kingdom, leadership is scheming to use the Federation (Russia stand-in) against the Empire (Germany stand-in), while the Federation is seeking to use the Allied Kingdom against the Empire, a relationship more similar to the grudging alliance of the two countries in World War II. That’s not the only place where the series is fudging on comparing its timeline to actual history, either, as NKVD director Loria (who was first introduced in the movie) is clearly modeled on Lavrentiy Pavlovich Beria, Stalin’s longest-serving secret police chief, who was sometimes described as a “Russian Himmler,” but in our history he didn’t come into that role until the lat 1930s. The anime depiction isn’t exaggerating at all here; Beria was reportedly every bit as ruthless and as much of a disgusting creep as Loria’s is shown to be here (his rape victims may have numbered into the hundreds, and the remains of young women he killed when they resisted him were still being found decades later), down even to the way he scouted out his female victims (as depicted in the movie).

But he’s not the only significant figure on the Eastern Front. This episode introduces two characters who will be regulars for probably all of this season: Political Commissar Liliya Tanechka and Colonel Mikel, a Federation mage called back from the Gulag when Loria convince Stalin that they couldn’t do without mages after all. Lt. Colonel Drake, who was seen extensively in the movie, is also back and will have a big role this season, and Mary Sioux (now being spelled Mary Sue in the subtitles – guess they stopped pretending and decided to be literal?) is also back, though how big a role she’ll have depends on how much liberties this season takes with the novels.

But the bigger, more immediate development is on the Empire’s front lines. Tanya has been so wrapped up in fighting Commies that she failed to realize that many of the troops the Federation is throwing at them aren’t actually Commies; they’re nationalists, locals subsumed by the Russy Federation who are fiercely loyal to their local territories instead of party dogma. And anyone who’s studied any degree of military history (as the man who became Tanya clearly had) knows that the best way to deal with nationalists resorting to guerilla tactics to defend their homes is to win them over rather than try to wipe them out. Assuming that the Russy Federation is fully based on a mix of Russia and the Soviet Union, that probably means that there are numerous ethnic groups who have suffered under Communist purges who wouldn’t need a hard nudge to rebel if befriended and given a degree of autonomy. Zettour’s pitch to the leadership of the territories the Empire has already conquered may well prove to be the key to the Empire stabilizing its situation going into the winter.

(As a sidebar, the “Horatius at the Bridge” reference that Zettour makes during his speech refers to a famous event from early Roman history, where a Roman officer named Horatius single-handedly holds a choke point on a bridge as it’s being dismantled behind him, thus preventing an invading army access to Rome. Serebryakov’s later description of coffee is also a famous quote.)

Not all of the episode is grim and serious, though. This series wouldn’t be what it is without occasional lighter moments, and this time around they’re at the end of the episode, including another post-credit scene.

Looks like Ildoa (the Italy stand-in for this setting) may finally soon be coming into the picture as well. That provides another potential plot angle going forward, and we’d expect nothing less. This is a strong start to the new season, and while I personally feel that the novel eventually descend into drudgery, we’ve got a while before we get to that point.

Springs 2026 Wrap-Up

Now that the Spring season is fully over and all of the series I’ve been following have either ended, gone on hiatus, or (in a handful of cases) are continuing into next season, it’s time to look at how the series I followed finished out.

My Ribdiculous Reincarnation will not be covered here because I have been covering it in a separate series of articles. I will also skip commenting on a few other series where my opinion/rating on it hasn’t changed since the Mid-Season Report and/or I don’t have anything more to say about the series beyond the comments I made then.

Titles from Mid-Season Report part 1 that I will not be covering here include MAO, The Beginning After The End s2, and The Strongest Job is Apparently Not a Hero or a Sage. . . Please see that article for thoughts on these series.

The one title from Mid-Season Report part 2 that I will not be covering here is Re:Zero s4. Please see that article for thoughts on that series.

Overall, this seemed like another fairly strong season, though this time I didn’t end up following some of the other highly-lauded titles (like Akane-banashi or Nippon Sangoku). However, the ratio of weak titles seemed a bit higher this time around.

BEST OF SEASON: Needy Girl Overdose (#1), Witch Hat Atelier (#2)

Series Rating: A for NGO, A- for WHA

Witch Hat Atelier is unquestionably a production masterpiece and does a stellar job with its world-building, but it is also very much a “safe” choice. Its approach, characters, and storytelling are conventional; hardly bad or boring, but nothing which in any way challenges a viewer or would tremendously stand out without its technical merits to back it up, and its season ends at an awkward point. NGO, on the other hand, is fantastically bold and daring even up to its final epilogue scenes. It goes into some very dark places (domestic abuse, depression, drug overdoses, self-harm, and suicide) as it employs rampant symbolism and all manner of movie and literary references to take a very critical look at Internet streaming cultur, in particular how it can provide salvation for some while exacerbating the insecurities of others. The climactic duel in episode 11, where the streaming group Karamazov seeks to take down the #1 streaming star, is an eye-popping spectacle, but the follow-up in the next episode, where the loser melts down in the wake of defeat, is the true work of art. (And that’s not to say that there isn’t some pretty incredible content before and after that, too.) It’s a legitimate Best of Year contender and will almost certainly be in my Top 5 at the end, while WHA will likely make my Top 10.

The Rest:

Agents of the Four Seasons

Overall Rating: B-

This series continues to have a number of significant flaws, including rehashing some points ad nauseum, stretching out scenes way too much, having phone conversations under illogical conditions, having terrorists pop up in situations that don’t always make sense, and most importantly, not even hinting at the terrorists’ motives until near the very end (and even then they’re ill-defined). For all the flaws, though, I do feel that the series delivered well enough on its emotional core. That matters because this was ultimately much more a story about emotion than anything else. In the end it was far from a perfect series but I was satisfied enough with it.

Always a Catch!

Series Rating: B+

This remained one of the most fun titles of the season to its very end as Maria successfully endures a few challenges and succeeds at formally being declared as Renato’s betrothed, all done in a fashion all Maria’s own. Ultimately this one is second only to the title below it for having the season’s most satisfying ending.

An Observation Log of My Fianceé Who Calls Herself a Villainess

Overall Rating: B+

Isn’t it great to see one of these series tell a complete-feeling story in just one season? That’s exactly what we get here as Heronia’s efforts to push the narrative back to the original course fall apart and Cecil comes to understand exactly why Bertia has long been talking up her villainess role, even if she seems increasingly apprehensive about the cost to her for fulfilling it. Cecil’s unwavering determination to convince Bertia that yes, he really is serious about her being the person who will ultimately make him happy leads to one of the most satisfying endings I’ve seen for an anime series in quite some time. This is one that I can easily see myself coming back to rewatch multiple times.

Ascendance of a Bookworm s3

Overall Rating So Far: B

I almost didn’t include this one here since most the second half of the season could be described as “more of the same,” but with the last couple of episodes the politics which have long been hinted at have finally started to rise to the forefront. This is an aspect that Rosemyne has largely been distanced from, but with her formal debut into noble society, even staying at the cathedral is not going to entirely separate her from it; she is the Aub’s adopted daughter, after all, and thus automatically a candidate to succeed him. Getting to see Rosemyne in all the fancy new outfits is also pretty sweet, as is the way she continues to twist noble expectations even while playing along with them. I have seen some complaints from those familiar with the novels that the series is speeding through content, but that isn’t as evident for an anime-only viewer (or at least one who hasn’t gotten this far in the novel), so the production continues to be a delight.

Daemons of the Shadow Realm

Overall Rating So Far: B+

Although this one doesn’t do anything dramatically different as supernatural actioners go, it’s been widely-regarded as among the season’s best series because it executes pretty well on what it does do. A fair amount of the credit for this goes to the portrayal of Yuru, who comes across as unusually pragmatic and no-nonsense for a male character in his position. While he doesn’t hesitate to take action, he never does so recklessly if he can avoid it, and that lends a decidedly more mature feel to the content. I’m much less impressed with Asa; after how hardcore she seemed in the first episode, she’s regressed to being too soft in appearances since, but I do like the series’ implication that she’s just traded one cage for another in leaving the home village. Developments in the most recent episode are also promising for future plot developments, so this one is a definite keeper going forward.

Farming Life in Another World s2

Overall Rating: B

This series can’t really be evaluated by the same standards as other fantasy series because it has an entirely different goal: to foster the creation of a congenial (if also absurdly powerful) society. By the end of the series the Great Tree Village has a fourth village in the form of a floating castle, and setting that up and securing it provided one minor plot string. So does the imprisoned archfiend, but in typical series fashion that problem is conquered without anyone ever realizing the full extent of the problem. The series is still a delight, and I’ll happily come back for more if another season is ever made.

Gals Can’t Be Kind to Otaku?!

Overall Rating: B+

This one wound up being one of the minor surprises of the season, primarily because it provided convincing reasons why confidence-deficient Takuya could wind up hanging with the two girls widely-regarded as the class’s idols. It also made the love triangle which forms as a result feel natural (and adorably awkward!) rather than forced by plot convenience. Honestly, it’s one of the better recent series of its type, and having one of the season’s best OPs certainly doesn’t hurt. While I don’t think the series needs a second season (it’s fine where it stopped), I would certainly be back if more is animated.

Ghost Concert: Missing Songs

Overall Rating: C

I labeled this one “confusing as hell” at the halfway point concerning the plot and world structure, and the second half of the series only made those problems worse. The last episode does finally explain the mechanism by which MiucS took control of music, and it’s a bit concerning that something to passively draconian isn’t outside of the realm of possibility, but that doesn’t compensate for the way the plot resolved making no sense or how erratically the motives of one key character seemed to shift. There might be a decent story somewhere in here (the extended flashback in the last episode is actually one of the best parts of the series in a narrative sense), but the series isn’t put together well enough to tell it.

Reborn as a Vending Machine s3

Overall Rating: C+

I will give this last installment credit for staying true to its spirit through to the end and for finding creative ways to allow a vending machine to be a hero, but by this point the premise is wearing thin and reveling in its own absurdity isn’t enough to compensate. Doesn’t help that certain supporting characters have proven not to work in the long run. It does at least deliver a decently-interesting final battle (if also one which makes all characters but Boxxo amd Lamis irrelevant) and maintains a generally coherent plot throughout.

Snowball Earth

Overall Rating: C

Gotta knock this one back down a notch, not because of the CG but because of how horribly it drags things out. (Nearly half of the series is one long action scene interspersed by lengthy flashbacks.) Its last episode does at least reveal the more monstrous villain that’s actually been lurking in the background the whole time in disguise, thus setting up a suitable challenge for Tetsuo and Yukio in the upcoming second season (which was announced at the end of episode 13).

That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime s4

Overall Rating: B-

A lot of the debate over evaluating this season as a whole has been over whether or not Mariabell makes a sufficient foil for Rimuru. I think she was even if she didn’t have a power level to truly challenge Rimuru in the end because her actions reinforce that Rimuru’s one vulnerable point is still someone attacking him sideways with scheming. If he can solve the problem with forceful action then he’s virtually unbeatable at this point, but he still struggles some with being outmaneuvered. This approach does result in the most action-light season so far, but I’m fine with that in the end because it does vary the challenges he faces some.

The Classroom of a Black Cat and a Witch

Overall Rating: C

There’s only minimal (literal!) cat ass-kissing and some revelations about the villain organization which seems to be targeting Spica, but none of this changes what is otherwise a bog-standard magical school series. It doesn’t help that one of the new antagonists is such an over-the-top disgusting creep that his portrayal descends into the realm of parody. This series is continuing into a second half, but me continuing to follow it isn’t going to be a high priority.

The Most Heretical Last Boss Queen

Overall Rating: B

I actually don’t have a lot new to say about this one, and haven’t updated my grade, so I’m including it here for precisely two reasons: to acknowledge how sharp Pride and Tiara look in male military uniforms and to express my annoyance at where the season cuts off. Unlike the first season, there’s no sense of closure at the end of this one, just a march off to war (or more precisely, to thwart the invasion of an ally). If there is isn’t a stray follow-up episode to come then there had best be another season announced sooner rather than later.

The Warrior Princess and the Barbaric King

Overall Rating: B-

While I like this series quite a bit (and in particular how Serafina is gradually warming up to Veor), it’s not without some problems. The series is still woefully underusing Cersei and some odd world-building choices – like this world’s version of dwarves having developed machine guns – feel anachronistic. The nun Alyssa doesn’t add much to the mix, either, beyond providing the viewpoint of someone who has yet to gradually warm to barbarian culture, and there’s still that nagging issue of how Veor’s people have made a decades-long custom of kidnapping female warriors from the battlefield to become their brides. If they’re won over the way Veor is trying to win over Serafina, that’s fine, but reality suggests this can’t always be the case. As favorably as barbarian culture and inter-racial relations are regarded compared to “civilized” lands, this is still a glaring fault, and the series has largely avoided addressing Serafina’s criticisms about how barbarian culture seems a bit too cavalier about death. But it’s still been more fun that not, and seeing Serafina fight on equal terms with Veor given equal equipment is a delight, so I will happily watch more if another season is made.

This Angel Spoils Me Rotten s2

Overall Rating: C+

I still like Amane and Mahiru as a couple, and it is kind of neat seeing their relationship progress through territory that anime relationships usually either skip over or simply don’t get to, like discussions about living together, eventual marriage, and even having sex, which (surprisingly!) Mahiru seems more eager for than Amane does. However, that can’t overcome the fact that there simply isn’t much tension here. It’s not especially funny, either, and Mahiru’s version of cute only goes so far. The back half is perfectly pleasant but simply too bland, so I must downgrade the grade even further.

Wistoria: Wand and Sword s2

Overall Rating: B

Honestly, this grade is largely on the strength of technical merits because the story though the second half does nothing special. But man, can this series excel on spectacle, especially the battle between Elfaria and fellow Magia Vendar Zeo over Will, which takes up most of the next-to-last episode; that is a top-tier mage vs. mage slugfest. This half also brings us the long-awaited Will/Elfaria reunion and explains better (with some flashbacks) why the two are so strongly emotionally connected. The story leaves a lot of loose ends with its finale, but that’s fine since a third season has now been announced.

That’s it for the Spring 2026 season! Be sure to check out the ongoing Summer 2026 Preview Guide if you haven’t already.