Last Update: 3:32 p.m. 10/14/25

Welcome to my seasonal Guide! (The debut schedule can be found here once it’s been posted, which I hope to have done by Friday 9/26.)

I expect to cover every full-episode series that will be debuting this season and is available in streaming form, including many of the sequels/returning series. The ones I will NOT be covering (because I’m not caught up on the franchise) are the new seasons of Kakuriyo -Bed & Breakfast for Spirits, Kagaku x Boken Survival!, Kingdom, My Hero Academia FINAL SEASON, To Your Eternity, Blue Orchestra, Campfire Cooking in Another World with My Absurd Skill, and Uma Musume: Cinderella Gray. I will also only cover the GINTAMA spin-off if it looks like a sufficient stand-alone that someone with only passing familiarity with the franchise can follow it. Isekai Quartet 3 is a special case: it will not be covered here because I am taking it straight to episode reviews.

As always, the entries are posted below in newest to oldest order and multiple updates per day should be expected on busier debut days.

Note: With the addition of With You, Our Love Will Make it Through, this edition of the Preview Guide is largely done. One final update may be done when Monster Strike: Deadverse Reloaded debuts on 10/21 if that series proves to be a standalone.

With You, Our Love Will Make It Through

Streams: Crunchyroll on Tuesdays

Rating: 3 (of 5)

High schooler Mari is running late for school when she bumps into new transfer student Tsunagu, who’s also late because he got lost. He’s different, but she’s quickly swept up by his gentle nature and taken in by a later peek at his sexy abs. Though he faces significant discrimination, Mari finds herself attracted towards Tsunagu, and he seems to be attracted to her as well. . . maybe a little too much. That he’s a dog-headed Beastfolk (who normally live in a physically segregated community from humans) doesn’t seem to matter at all to Mari after the initial shock of meeting one for the first time.

Love across cultural, racial, social, or religious divides has been a staple of romance stories since time immemorial, and this adaptation of a shojo manga looks to be just the newest iteration on the concept. Mechanically, the first episode plays out like a completely typical example of its type, showing that a bit of fur and a dog head is no barrier to mutual attraction. In the episode’s edgiest moment, it even engages in the standard trope of animal instincts starting to override human reason – which, honestly, isn’t a stretch, since humans have repeatedly proven over time that you don’t have to have literal animal urges in order to lose your head to attraction. That puts a question mark (and lowers the rating) on what it otherwise a pretty solid opening episode for its type. Just can’t shake the impression that this is at least half-intended as an ode to the furry fetish, though!

One-Punch Man 3 (ep 25)

Streams: Hulu on Sundays

Rating: 1.5 (of 5)

Wow, how the mighty have fallen! This may not be the worst debut of the season, but it’s easily the most disappointing. Someone seems to have forgotten that the foundation of this series is Saitama personally doing some cool-ass shit, not watching a bunch of characters who mostly aren’t Saitama sitting or standing around strategizing about the conflict between the Hero and Monster Organizations.

To be fair, an episode like this was needed after all of the battles that made up the latter half of season 2. (And rewatching the last few episodes of s2 before watching this episode is highly recommended.) However, given that more than six years have passed since season 2 aired, some recap or at least a greater amount of reflection on previous events would have been warranted. Instead, this episode jumps right in to discussions on the hero side about putting together a rescue team and trying to track down the Hero Hunter, while Blizzard goes to pay Saitama’s crew a visit to clue them in. On the monster side, they are looking to formally recruit Garou and monster-upgrade the speedster guy.

The biggest storytelling problem is too little Saitama. While he may be one of the blander personalities in the cast, he’s still what makes this series tick. However, the episode also suffers from some narrative jumps which give the impression of scenes having been skipped over. Artistically, it doesn’t look bad, but there’s nothing special about the animation, either – and that’s not good enough given the standards this series set early on. (Frankly, I never thought the second season looked that much worse, but it was being compared to something special.) I’ve heard that Saitama’s direct presence decreases even further as the story progresses, and that’s not a positive sign for this season.

Li’l Miss Vampire Can’t Suck Right

Streams: Crunchyroll on Sundays

Rating: 3 (of 5)

Even at a school where supernatural entities aren’t rare, Luna stands out as the cool and alluring vampire girl who captivates male and female students alike. Only her very ordinary seat neighbor Tatsuta knows the truth: she actually sucks at sucking blood, and a constant stream of snacks sometimes isn’t enough to fully offset her hunger from avoiding taking blood. Though initially apprehensive about this discovery, Tatsuta soon decides to help Luna out by allowing her to practice on him, which she’s initially reluctant to do. And so a relationship is born.

Although I like the way this manga adaptation just casually throws in other supernatural beings in both the foreground and background (Luna and Tatsuta’s school has a guardian deity, for instance), the premise has way too many logical holes to be appreciable. Why can’t Luna get blood packets to drink? How did she make it to this age while being so truly incapable at sucking blood? The setting seems to assume that the simple work-arounds seen in so many other vampire series set in modern times aren’t options here. Get past foundational issues like these and you do have a cute, sometimes legitimately funny school comedy series which promises several potentially lively and eccentric supporting characters and a minor mystery abut whether or not Luna really shrinks down to chibi size while drinking blood. Technical merits aren’t anything special (though the thing about how Tatsuta’s mouth disappears in most scenes is kinda weird), but I expect that this one will find an audience.

Gnosia

Streams: Crunchyroll on Saturdays

Rating: 3 (of 5)

The Gnos are a little-understood alien scourge who can invade a person’s body and co-opt the person. The resulting entity, called a Gnosia, can behave perfectly normal as it goes around surreptitiously disposing of normal humans around them. So dangerous and invasive are they that standard protocol when one is detected on a ship is to self-destruct the ship. Yuri is awoken from a medical capsule on a spaceship which is in exactly that situation, but he has no memory of who he is or what’s going on. He must interact with four others to vote on who the Gnosian infiltrator is within their ranks and put that person into cold sleep. If the selection proves not to be the right one then the Gnosian may attempt to kill someone overnight and a new vote is taken the next day. Yuri winds up being one of the last two, but the other is the Gnosian, so he perishes. . . or so it would seem, until a reset starts to happen.

This adaptation of a social deduction RPG video game was one of the season’s most-anticipated titles, and while I don’t share in the hype, I can understand why it was anticipated. It’s essentially a sci fi variation on social deduction games like Werewolf and Mafia, complete with a roster of colorful characters to sort through. (It starts with only five so the first go-around can be carried out in one episode, but the apparent OP shown at the end reveals the rest, who will presumably show up next episode.) It builds its suspense on classic body snatcher-type tension, where no one knows who the real enemy is and every quirk might or might not be a sign that the person is an alien, and it has an interesting visual style heavily dependent on remarkably vivid coloring for an eerie sci fi setting and a freely-roaming camera. The problem I have with this, and the reason I may not be able to appreciate this series, is the shaky and even sometimes ridiculous logic on which this is all based. The ship’s AI can detect that a Gnosia is present but not who it is or where it is? How does that work? You have to be able to ignore that in order to get into this one, and I just can’t.

Wandance

Streams: Hulu on Wednesdays

Rating: 4

Kaboku Kotani is a tall boy who’s always gone with the flow, partly because he doesn’t like to stand out due to his stuttering problem. He particularly shies away from dancing due to an embarrassing incident with it in middle school, but his attitude on that changes when he meets classmate Wanda and observes her dancing. He’s won over the by the sense of freedom in her dancing and how she doesn’t judge him for his stuttering (and that she’s gorgeous doesn’t hurt), and she seems interested in how he looks beyond the surface. She may well be the impetus he needs to get into dancing himself.

I’ve seen some criticism for this one over the use of CG in its dance scenes, this isn’t truly bad CG and getting too hung up on that misses the point here. As someone who had issues with stuttering as a kid, I was pleased with how the series tackles the topic, especially its accuracy in the stuttering. (Many current or former stutterers, like me, can get hung up on initial sounds but are often fine once we get going.) Stuttering is very much a rhythm thing, too, which is why it’s not unusual for stutterers to be able to sing more clearly than they can speak; the video clip of Scatman John (see the full version here) was an especially nice touch. And while dance routines in anime are hardly unusual, this is one of the much rarer cases where it feels more like a mode of expression than just a work of entertainment. Those elements have enough appeal to me that I might consider watching more.

The Dark History of the Reincarnated Villainess

Streams: Crunchyroll on Wednesdays

Rating: 3.5 (of 5)

Throughout her middle and high school years, Konoha wrote an otome game-like fantasy story as prep for an expected summons to an alternate world, but by adulthood she’s set it behind her. . . maybe too soon, for ironicially, the isekai experience she once longed for actually happens. Now her very survival depends on her remembering as much as she can about the “dark history” she wrote because she’s found herself in the world she created – and not as the heroine she imagined herself to be, but as the heroine’s jealous younger sister, who’s effectively the story’s villainess. And she wants to not only save her own skin but protect her beloved heroine as well.

Of the villainess or villainess-like series this season, this manga adaptation is easily the weakest on both artistic design and animation fronts (aside from Iana’s dress). However, it’s still quite the fun presentation, enough so that it’s certain to make my seasonal viewing list. The twist of Konoha being in a world she created is a neat one, as it provides Konoha/Iana with greater pause than normal for reflection; isekai protagonists having to consider that characters in what was a game for them are actually real is hardly unusual, but she also has to ponder that it was her own manipulations which set everything up this way, so she’s literally responsible for everything that happens. But the first episode doesn’t dwell too much on the serious aspects of that, as it has too much fun showing Iana have to figure out how to avoid the assassination she knows is coming and the bishonen around her trying to second-guess her motives. Its OP is also of a starkly different style than you’d normally expect and a contender for being one of the season’s best.

Ninja vs. Gokudo

Streams: Amazon Prime on Tuesdays

Rating: 1.5 (of 5)

In Shinoha Tanaka’s version of modern-day Tokyo, ninja still exist who secretly combat the gokudo (read: yakuza), as they have for hundreds of years. Shinoha is secretly a young ninja who ruthlessly deals with gokudo members but has trouble smiling or making friends. That may change when he crosses paths with Kiwami Kimura, an executive who turns out to be a fellow big fan of Shinoha’s favorite magical girl franchise. The two really it if off talking about their mutual interest, to the point that Kiwami even offers to be Shinoha’s first friend. The long-term problem is that neither is aware that the other is on the opposite side of the eternal ninja/gokudo conflict.

This manga adaptation teaches us one important lesson: that severed heads can still carry on their dialogs for a few seconds after being detached from their bodies. That’s the level of non-ironic ridiculousness that this series will apparently traffic in, and that makes it hard to take anything else about this first episode seriously. Ultimately there’s not anything more to this than an ordinary set-up about two individuals on opposite sides of an ancient battle who come to like each other before discovering they’re enemies. Despite the severed heads and general graphic content, the animation is limited, and you’re best off not even being aware that the English dub exists. While this might play okay as an action title, I see little potential here.

Chitose is in the Ramune Bottle

Streams: Crunchyroll on Tuesdays

Rating: 3.5 (of 5)

High school student Saku Chitose lives by the motto “If I don’t live a beautiful life then I might as well be dead.” Indeed, he’s the most popular guy in school, enough so that he’s either loved or hated by everyone, and his friend group includes both top athletes and many of the school’s prettiest girls, some of the latter of whom are clearly romantically interested in him. He’s also dependable and supremely self-confident, which is part of the reason why his homeroom teacher assigns him to reach out to Kenta, a classmate who has been absent for months. Saku makes a couple of attempts to do so, each time with a different member of what other students refer to as his “harem,” before deciding that more drastic measures are required.

Although this light novel adaptation begins with what looks like a double-length debut episode, the actual animation is only 34 minutes, with the rest of it being a live-action extra where two of the key voice actresses visit Fukui (where the series takes place) and check out some of the restaurants that will apparently be featured prominently in the series. (None of them appear in the first episode.) As unusual an approach as this is, it was the right call, as the extra 10 minutes of animation allows the story to get to its pivotal scene without rushing any of the carefully-crafted set-up. A lot of debate could be had about whether or not Saku is really the right person for this job, since he seems like the complete antithesis of Kenta, but that study in stark contrasts may be the goal here. The writing takes on an almost poetic flavor at times as it engages in the mix of light humor, witty dialog, pretty girls, and undercurrents of more serious issues akin to the Rascal Does Not Dream franchise, and Saku might invite comparisons to Masachika from Alys Sometimes Hides Her Feelings in Russian, so if that vein of writing style doesn’t normally appeal to you then this one probably won’t either, but I am curious to see how the consequences of the last scene play out and especially curious to see how the series’ name gets explained, so I’ll be sticking around.

Plus-Sized Misadventures in Love

Streams: Crunchyroll on Mondays

Rating: 3?

Yumeko is an overweight young adult woman who hated herself, so when she’s gravely injured in a fall (it’s initially implied to have been suicide,but evidence later arises that it may not have been), she wishes to be reincarnated as a different person. She gets her wish – sort of. Instead of a true reincarnation, she suffers from retrograde amnesia when she wakes up. She only knows the person she was before from the hints she left here and there, but now she has a much more positive, take-charge on everything, even including her own appearance. As she returns to work, she encounters the young man her former self had been practically stalking and shocks everyone around her with her new attitude and assertiveness, including her more conventionally pretty cowoker Tamai. But not everyone is necessarily thrilled by the new her.

This manga adaptation is the trickiest series so far this season to rate, as I can see viewers responding to it in dramatically different ways. In some senses Yumeko’s fresh new take on life is heartening; this was a woman who was plenty creative but too anxious to make her ideas known and once loathed herself so much that she broke any mirror around her, so seeing her acting so confident and cheerful is practically dazzling. However, just about everything in this episode is also deeply layered with subtext, and I could easily see Yumeko’s new attitude being regarded as escapism. Just about every scene can take on some degree of social commentary if looked at certain ways, even down to how Tamai fits into the office environment. (She is, at best, the office’s eye candy, and she’s painfully aware of that.) And oh, yes, there’s a possible murder-mystery afoot, too. In more than one sense, Yumeko’s return to work may be stepping into a lion’s den.

Honestly, the approach taken here is so odd that I’m tempted to see how this plays out. If you’re looking for something different this season, this one might surprise you.

A Manga-ka’s Weirdly Wonderful Workplace

Streams: Crunchyroll on Mondays

Rating: 3.5 (of 5)

25-year-old Nana Futami is working on her first published manga but she’s a neurotic wreck about it, as well as being prone to wildly fantasizing about the love life of Kaede, her editor. Highly competent assistant Mizuki helps keep her in line and be the voice of sanity and reason, though it’s quite the task. Kaede, meanwhile, has her own quirks that don’t necessarily make her the easiest person to work with, either.

This manga adaptation could probably most simply be described as a madcap workplace comedy, albeit one where much of the work (at least in episode 1) takes place in a home studio. Much of the episode’s humor involves Nana wallowing in her fantasies and neuroses about things like the proper timing and wording for emails (the latter of which I can relate to, as I tend to obsess over that myself) and her assistant calmly trying to guide Nana through while dropping the occasional bit of snark. While that could be entertaining on its own, it would also grow old rather quickly, so the series also wisely makes her editor also contribute to the character foibles in a much less spastic fashion. All of it ends up being mildly entertaining, and it’s supposed by vividly-colored, attractive artistry, too. Not sure if I’ll end up following this one, but it looks like a work comedy series with some potential.

My Status as an Assassin Obviously Exceeds the Hero’s

Streams: Crunchyroll on Mondays

Rating: 2.5 (of 5)

Note: Simuldubbed

Akira is the kind of person who fades into the background in school, so it’s no surprise to him or others that he gets the Assassin class when his entire class is summoned to a fantasy RPG-based world. However, he’s also wary, because his stats are secretly vastly stronger than those of the classmate who became the Hero and he has a maxed-out Conceal skill to start, which he later learns is practically unheard-of. He also immediately distrusts the king who summoned him, and talking with a Royal Knight who takes an interest in him and trains him convinces him that things are not as simple as they were made out to be. Indeed, when the first dungeon crawl of the summoned students starts to go south, the king’s female attendant seems to be responsible for it.

Not every series warrants a two-episode introduction, but this one could have probably benefited a lot from it, as the first cuts off at a rather awkward point and without fully establishing the premise. To be sure, plenty of hints are dropped that something unsavory is afoot here, and it’s not entirely clear who the good guys are in this new setting (if, indeed, any of them are). The episode also feels like it’s rushing events along, which makes the stopping point all the more curious. Balanced against the potential intrigues is very rudimentary execution on other fronts, including character and setting design, world mechanics, and cast personalities. Really, there’s not much here that you wouldn’t have seen in series like Arifureta or Failure Frame. Not holding out high hopes for this one, but I’ll probably give it another episode or two to see the obligatory sexy elf show up and see if the plot amounts to enough to carry the series.

Ranma ½ s2

Streams: Netflix on Saturdays

Rating: 3.5 (of 5)

Male Ranma finds himself the subject of a stalker; specifically, it’s Hikaru Gosunkugi, a student who’s largely invisible to his classmates but has long had a crush on Akane. And Gosunkugi is determined to find Ranma’s weakness. Despite Ranma’s insistence that he doesn’t have a weakness, he actually does. . . and as one might expect, Genma and his bizarre notions on training methods has everything to do with that weakness. Also as one might expect, everything goes to hell when Gosunkugi tries to exploit that weakness.

The first episode of reboot’s second season starts slow, but by the end it’s gotten up to the frachise’s signature zany antics – surprisingly, with female Ranma having very little to do with it – and is thus just as much fun as always. The antics also lead to the momentous scene shown above. Long-term, the new OP and ED indicate that we will eventually see Happosai this season, despite some speculation that he might be edited out because his character wouldn’t go over as well with current audiences. We’ll have to see how that plays out, but for now, the series seems to be back to its usual routine.

Hands Off: Sawaranaide Kotesashi-kun

Streams: Crunchyroll and OceanVeil on Sundays

Rating: 3.5 for fan service, 1.5 in general

One of the most common gimmicks for sexy harem romcoms over the years has been the young male character becoming the manager for what is otherwise an all-female dorm. That’s exactly the premise in this half episode-length, with the specifics in this case involving Koyo Kotesashi taking on the job at a dorm which houses several of his new high school’s top athletes. We’ll ignore for now the seeming incongruence of top performers living in a rundown building; that’s beside the point when you have a whole building full of sexy athletes and the male lead having reason to be in physical contact with them. That’s because Koyo is seeking to make a career in massage therapy, and has already enough from his parents to be practically a miracle worker. And naturally his massages can induce orgasmic reactions in the ladies he treats.

Yeeaaahhh. At least the first episode does offer full-on nudity, and arguably of a higher visual quality than what Tales of Wedding Rings presents. (And this is true in Crunchyroll’s surprisingly-uncensored stream, too.) That’s really the only reason to watch this one, as the story doesn’t go anywhere, but if that’s all you expect from it then you likely won’t be disappointed.

Dad is a hero, Mom is a spirit, I’m a reincarnator

Streams: Crunchyroll on Sundays

Rating: 3 (of 5)

In her original life in the modern world, Ellen was a top-tier scientist. In her new life after reincarnating, she’s the now-8-year-old daughter of the Hero who once saved the kingdom and the Spirit Queen, who carried the Hero off to the spirit realm when he fell after triumphing in battle. (Whether or not her parents are aware she’s a reincarnator is unclear.) Because her father became a half-spirit, Ellen is a full spirit herself, with her power manifesting in the ability to manipulate substances at the atomic level. Ten years after her father left the land he saved, he has returned, though he’s not particularly happy about it. And he may have reason for that, since he doesn’t relish either being lauded as a hero or dealing with the fiancée he left behind, a princess who was always a difficult woman and who went on to marry his younger brother.

The most interesting twist about this light novel adaptation is that Ellen’s father is as much at the center of events as Ellen is herself, though how long that will last remains to be seen. What also remains to be seen is where the story will go from here. Ellen is a special child in all kinds of ways, and both her power and her parents’ stations (in both the spirit and physical words) could make her a nexus for all kinds of intrigue, though the light tone of the first episode doesn’t suggest too dark a path. The series does have inviting central character designs and a well-established foundation in its favor, so I’m willing to give this one a bit of time to see how it plays out.

Alma-chan Wants to Be a Family!

Streams: Crunchyroll on Sundays

Rating: 2.5 (of 5)

Two genius scientists – one a female mechanical expert, the other a male AI expert – have collaborated to create Alma, a top-tier combat android who looks like a little girl. Alma, who’s still learning about many things, calls them her parents, which the scientists have a hard time accepting since they claim that they cannot stand each other’s personalities. This leads to many humorous misunderstandings on everyone’s part.

Boy, this is a season for inexpressive girls, isn’t it? Essentially, this manga adaptation is looking like a light, sweet comedy about Alma learning many things and doing “missions” while her “parents” try to get along. The first episode isn’t much to look at but does offer a few genuinely funny and genuinely sweet moments, and the OP promises complications from further androids getting thrown into the mix. The series isn’t a hard pass, but at least for me, it’s going to get washed out by all the other titles available over the weekend.

Mechanical Marie

Streams: Crunchyroll on Sundays

Rating: 3 (of 5)

Arthur, the heir to his country’s largest conglomerate, has become such a misanthrope (due to repeated assassination attempts by envious family members) that he can’t trust anyone, so he’s ordered a robot maid. Enter Marie, a top-tier martial artist known for her utter lack of outward expressiveness, who has agreed to pose as a robot maid in exchange for her debts being covered. Though Marie inwardly fears being discovered, Arthur accepts her at face value and even starts to trust her, and the softer, lonelier side he shows only to her appeals to her, too. Her exploits in rescuing him from danger during a kidnapping attempt further forge the bond between them.

As sharp as Arthur seems otherwise in this manga adaptation, he’d have to be an idiot to not notice that Marie is human. But the suspension of disbelief on that is a key part of this gimmick and the series doesn’t work if you don’t overlook it. Despite a rather flat and unexciting artistic look, there is potential here, as the relationship between Arthur and Marie is already a bit sweet and its humor balances pretty well with its more dramatic elements. I could easily see this one getting lost in a very busy weekend this fall, but it shows enough potential to be worth checking out a little more.

SI-VIS

Streams: Crunchyroll on Saturdays

Rating: 3?

Enthusiastic Minami seeks to leave the countryside and join top coed musical group SI-VIS, where his second cousin (who trained him to sing and dance during family visits) is a leading member. However, he is utterly unaware of what he’s getting into, since SI-VIS isn’t just an idol group; they also use power gathered from their live performances to fight off the incursion of alien/extradimensional constructs, under the guise of the fights being special promotional events.

Honesty, I’m not fully sure what the hell is going on here based on the first episode of this original creation, as the writing doesn’t explain anything. It’s not even clear who the lead protagonist is going to be, as Minami wasn’t in the original advertisements for the series and one of the always-advertised SI-VIS members seems out of thepicture by the end of the first episode. What is clear is that this is part idol series and part super-powered action story and rhe first episodemakes a decent go as mish-mashing the two normally-disparate genres. I will reserve judgment on this one in the hopes that episode 2 will explain things better.

Let This Grieving Soul Retire s2 (ep 13)

Streams: Crunchyroll on Saturdays

Rating: 3.5 (of 5)

On the fifth anniversary of her meeting and being rescued from would-be kidnappers by the Grieving Souls (which was, of course, initially an accident that Krai got them involved), Tino passionately reminisces about the experience to anyone and everyone – much to the amusement or consternation of all present.

This serves as a good beginning to the season’s second cour, as it both explains a key bit of backstory (i.e., why Tino idolizes Krai) and offers at least cameos by many of the supporting characters introduced throughout the first cour. Most significantly, it shows a bit of what the armored Grieving Soul (who was conspicuously absent in current-time and action scenes during the first cour), which suggests that he may show up more this season. The one interesting quirk here is how the flashback content is indicated by being set in a different aspect ratio rather than by applying a filter or one of the normal gimmicks. Otherwise this is pretty standard antics for a series that was never spectacular but always consistently entertaining.

Spy x Family s3 (ep 38)

Streams: Crunchyroll on Saturdays

Rating: 3.5 (of 5)

Lloyd, Anya, and Nor are back for another round of capers, in this case involving Anya trying to secretly clue in her parents that Bond has foreseen a frazzled construction worker running amok during their park outing. But other characters are also back in action, including Franky teaming up with Nightfall to help her get in contact with a capable forger (that’s not Lloyd).

Overall, these two vignettes are perfectly part for the course for series, though atypically, the one that doesn’t feature the Forgers may actually be the more entertaining one. Sure, seeing to construction vehicles duel it out was kinda neat, but Franky’s “undercover” antics and especially Nightfall’s action scenes near the end had more pop to them. While this isn’t the series at its strongest, established fans should have little to complain about.

Tales of Wedding Rings s2

Streams: Crunchyroll on Saturdays

Rating: 2.5 (of 5)

The game is back on for Satou and his assemblage of Ring Brides, with Hime’s sister Morion – an accomplished mage – having shown up to teach the Ring Brides more about using the mana inherent in their rings. That proves particularly challenging for Hime (who should have magic through her family lineage but has never developed it) and Granart (who may not have any). Hime eventually overcomes her limitation with a kiss, while Granart may be more of a work in progress. Morion also seems to take particular interest in how Satou is getting along with her sister.

The strongest points in this series’ favor during its first season were the wide variety of ladies in Satou’s harem and the uncensored nudity it featured. The second season doesn’t let you forget that, as the OP has more nudity in it than any series in many years and the regular episode content has a couple of additional scenes of it, too, not to mention lesser types of fan service, too. That’s really the main reason to keep watching this one, as the technical and artistic merits beyond the nudity are still thoroughly mediocre and the plot isn’t doing anything interesting. Maybe the more saucy Morion will shake the dynamics up a bit, but I’m not expecting more than we’re already getting.

My Friend’s Little Sister Has It In For Me

Streams: Crunchyroll on Saturdays

Rating: 2.5 (of 5)

High schooler Akiteru, an aspiring game designer, is all about efficiency, so there’s currently no place for romance in his life. Despite that, he’s found himself involved with two young women. One is Iroha, the younger sister of his best friend, who teases/torments him mercilessly, even flirtatiously at times. The other is Mashiro, a cousin he often played with when they were both kids. Her father (Akiteru’s uncle) is looking for a fake boyfriend to deflect romantic attention from Mashiro as she transfers to Akiteru’s school, and he’s set Akiteru doing that as a condition for Akiteru and his whole game development team being allowed to join the uncle’s game company on graduation. Iroha is less than pleased with this, but also knows that going along with this is a condition for her father to accept her transfer.

This one adapts a light novel series from the same author behind Days With My Stepsister, though it has such a markedly different feel that most wouldn’t suspect the connection. Everything (including both the OP and ED) points towards this being a love triangle where the main protagonist is caught between two difficult girls, neither of which is going to openly admit to (currently or eventually) liking him, though probably do/eventually will. The first episode does have some mild bits of fan service and hints at a little depth in the unspoken reasons behind why Mashiro is transferring, but the make-or-break point on this one is more likely to be how intolerable (or not) you find Iroha. Her kind of character really grates on my nerves, so I’m probably not giving this one more than one more episode unless episode 2 shows something more to latch onto.

Tojima Wants to be a Kamen Rider

Streams: Crunchyroll on Saturdays

Rating: 3.5 (of 5)

As a kid, Tanzaburo Tojima obsessed over the ’70s tokusatsu show Kamen Rider, to the point that he strove to be a Kamen Rider himself. That wound up isolating him, even scaring off a girl in high school who had started to take a liking to him when he “became” Kamen Rider to fight off ruffians. By age 40, he was strong enough to fight off a bear but all alone, and was starting to accept that his dream would never happen. That changed when a wave of crimes inspired by the Shocker villains from the series started happening, including one incident which happens at a festival right in front of him. Despite fearing how people would react, he buys a mask and takes on the role of Kamen Rider to fight off the hoodlums disrupting the festival.

This series adapts a manga by the same manga-ka who originated the early 2000s series Air Master, using an old-school art style which emphasizes thick, heavy lines and features stereotypical delinquents. It also winds up being more involving than expected. Tojima’s passion is easy to understand and sympathize with, as is how much that passion costs him over times, so seeing him finally get to do what he always wanted to do – i.e., use his strength to fight of “Shocker” (or, more accurately, Shocker posers) – was remarkably cathartic. The gangster who always admired the Shockers more was also an interesting way to explain their presence, and the woman at the end who apparently also aspires to be a hero adds a further wrinkle. This may be a more involved series than I expected at first, and while I don’t thinking I’ll be following it, it’s worth a look.

Touring After the Apocalypse

Streams: Crunchyroll on Saturdays

Rating: 4 (of 5)

Before some kind of apocalyptic event, Yoko’s “Big Sis” went out on a motorbike tour of Japan. Yoko is determine to follow in her sister’s footsteps with pictures from the original tour as her guide, so she slips out of a shelter and goes on a trip on an electric box with the girl/android/cyborg(?) Airi. Their first destination is Hakone, where they discover food supplies, clean up in a hot springs, and deal with an AI-controlled military vehicle which isn’t quite dead even though its occupants have long since passed.

By far the most amazing feature of this manga adaptation is its gorgeous scenery; in fact, this may be one of the prettiest, most colorful post-apocalyptic tales ever, as great care has been taken in showing the way nature has beautifully overtaken the wreckage of civilization. Strong animation support is another feature, top, but that’s not all this one has going for it. Rather than spell out what apocalypse happened or how – which I initially saw as a weakness – the episode throws out all sorts of of tantalizing clues, some of which you have to pay close attention to catch. (The damaged, steaming Mount Fuji is obvious, but there’s also top-tier combat equipment out, a radiation warning, and some kind of dinosaur-like sea creature in a background shot.) Something strange happened here, and I get the sense that figuring out what the apocalypse was is part of the story here. Airi’s nature is another interesting mystery, too. I was concerned about this being a retread of Grils Last Tour, but this one should stand fine on its own.

The Banished Court Magician Aims to Become the Strongest

Streams: Crunchyroll on Saturdays

Rating: 2 (of 5)

Alec Ygret was warned by the person who trained him in magic not to become a court magician, but after seeing his mentor dismissed he decided to try it anyway, with the goal of reforming the court magicians from the inside. That plan ended in failure when the crown prince dismissed him from his dungeon-delving party partly because Alec only did support magic and partly because Alec was a commoner. (The class divide in Alec’s home country is huge.) That gives Yorha, a friend from magic school, a chance to recruit Alec into the party Last Period, which he helped form in his school days and which continued without him for the four years since. The arrogant prince doesn’t know what he’s missing, since Alec apparently (as the only commoner in the prince’s party) never showed that his real specialty wasn’t support magic, but attack magic.

This light novel adaptation actually looks pretty decent, and I love both Yorha’s character design and outfit and the way she’s shown quickly syncing with Alec’s magical style when the two do a dungeon level together as a warm-up; that they once worked together and implicitly trust each other is quite clear. However, the series suffers greatly from providing absolutely no fresh twist on the standard “banished from the Hero’s (or in this case Prince’s) party because the Hero didn’t appreciate his contributions” set-up and execution.The first episode also provides no hint of interesting visual style or world-building, either. It’s not an awful series, but little here leads me to expect anything from it.

Inexpressive Kashiwada and Expressive Oota

Streams: Crunchyroll on Saturdays

Rating: 3.5 (of 5)

When it comes to expressiveness, middle schoolers Kashiwada and Oota are polar opposites. She is supremely stone-faced no matter what emotion she’s actually feeling, while he constantly wears his heart on his sleeve. Oota is dead-set intent on getting some kind of reaction out of Kashiwada because he claims the her lack of doing so bugs him, though it actually seems like he’s interested in her. Kashiwada, meanwhile, seems to like the attention even if she doesn’t show it. Meanwhile, their classmates watch on with varying degrees of amusement.

The first episode of this manga adaptation presents it as a promising light comedy. (It even promotes that feel with a light color scheme and a playful musical score.) Its one negative is that it does walk a bit of a fine line, as some of Oota’s tactics border on bullying, but none of them are truly mean-spirited, and the tsundere-like behavior of Oota (who visually reminds me a lot of Kyo from Fruits Basket) seems to suggest that he finds her more interesting than he cares to admit. There are hints that the series may eventually show a bit more depth, too; seeing Kashiwada invited to participate in the pool water fight in the second half was oddly satisfying, and an off-hand comment about how she’s always alone seemed meaningful. Not sure if I’ll follow this one, but if you’re looking for a replacement for Witch Watch this season, this one should satisfy.

I Saved Myself With a Potion: Life in Another World

Streams: Nowhere legally on Thursdays

Rating: 2 (of 5)

In this half-length “light anime,” Kaede is a Japanese teenager who suddenly awakens to find herself in a world where the tech level is medieval but humanoid races and potions exist. A book tells her that she was shanghaied here and should treat this like a game, though she can die. The book also tells her how to makes potions, which gives her a means to earn some initial income.

As expected, the anime for this light novel adaptation is quite limited, and nothing much is special about the artistry or designs, either. Story-wise, it’s a pretty typical isekai series in a vein similar to I Shall Survive Selling Potions, with a focus which looks like it will emphasize its heroine’s industriousness rather than action elements. It’s not horrible, simply nothing special, and not being on a mainline streaming service will further hurt its potential appeal.

Shabake

Streams: Crunchyroll on Fridays

Rating: 4 (of 5)

In Edo-era Japan, Ichitaro is the heir to one of the largest stores in Nihonbashi, but he’s always been sickly. He does, however, attract spirits, and is both friendly with them and attended by two fairly powerful ones. As he gets older, he sneaks out one night on a day he feels well. During his travels he meets a friendly female spirit but also a robber seeming out for blood. In escaping from the robber, he comes across other dead bodies. Someone is going around committing bizarre murders.

This is the newest anime adaptation of a novel series which dates back to 2001. (It was originally adapted as a one-shot ONA in 2021.) It looks like it’s headed towards being a supernatural version of a period murder/mystery, and this first episode does an excellent job of both establishing that and providing a colorful array of different spirit designs for Ichitaro to contend with. Most significant, the series looks great; it’s easily one of the prettiest series so far this season, is rich in period detail, and even has respectable animation quality. The one minor knock is that the female spirit Ichitaro leans almost incongruously much into a more stereotypical anime look. While I doubt I’ll follow it (I’m not generally a fan of mystery stories), it’s worth a look if mystery or supernatural stories are your tthing.

SANDA

Streams: Amazon Prime on Fridays

Rating: 2 (of 5)

In a future Japan where seasonal change no longer happens and Christmas is a thing of the past, the identity of Santa is actually a family curse that student Kazushige Sanda tries to keep hidden. But classmate Shiori has somehow figured out both that he has the curse and how to awaken the Santa identity – which is that of a giant, muscular superhuman with white hair and a beard. She desperately needs him to help locate a classmate and close friend who has gone missing and been declared dead, and she’s willing to force Kazushige to transform if need be.

This one is a big “nope” for for one simple reason: I absolutely hate the visual style. Yeah, the animation is pretty fluid and will no doubt dazzle many, but I find it distractingly ugly, enough so that it overpowers the somewhat interesting premise. If that doesn’t bother you so much then you might find this to actually be and odd, entertaining romp, but I struggled enough to get through the first episode that I can’t see myself watching more of it.

May I Ask for One Final Thing?

Streams: Crunchyroll on Fridays

Rating – episode 1: 5 (of 5)

Rating – episode 2: 4 (of 5)

In an otome game-like set-up that shows no signs of actually being an otome game, Scarlet, the daughter of a duke, would be the villainess. Indeed, that’s certainly how her fiancée, the second prince Kyle, and the supposedly-bullied girl who has won his heart see it, so he gleefully and publicly annuls their marriage during the party. Scarlet, who’s had to put up with Kyl’s crap for years now because of their arrange marriage, proceeds to calmly don spiked gloves and beat the crap out of Kyle, his new love, and the whole room of sycophants present, much to the amusement and delight of the Julius, the first prince, who’s taken a teasing interest in Scarlet. Rather than being punished for her actions, Scarlet finds herself being lauded as the Blood-Stained Lady, as her actions inadvertently exposed the corruption of numerous nobles. But there’s still work to be done on that front. The biggest source of corruption, the Prime Minster who was backing Kyle, still needs to be pinned down, and Scarlet intends to get involved personally.

This adaptation of a web novel was one of the season’s most-anticipated new titles, but its spectacular first episode far exceeds any expectations I had for it; its first episode gets a rare top score from me because I’m not sure how it could have been done better. I was mostly won over by the time Scarlet starts to throw her first punch roughly 3½ minutes in, and was fully won over when the great opener (the aptly-named “Flower of the Battlefield”) showed Scarlet donning spiked gloves. Most of the first episode is spent in a flashback showing how things got to this point, which helps lay out why Kyle deserved what was coming to him and his followers here and why this wasn’t actually out of character for Scarlet. Most importantly, it establishes both Scarlet as fierce young woman who could easily become a fan-favorite character and Prince Julius as a wonderfully perverse foil for Scarlet. (And as strong a character as Scarlet is, the concept wouldn’t work as well without Julius.) The orgy of violence which followed the flashback could easily be remembered as one of the season’s highlight scenes, and the follow-up in episode 2 establishes that there’s plenty enough story options to carry the concept forward. Kudos also go to a fabulous English dub led by long-time veteran Morgan Lauré and somewhat newer Reagan Murdock as Scarlet and Julius, respectively. This series is a delight that will be one of my top-priority views for the season.

Backstabbed in a Backwater Dungeon

Streams: HIDIVE on Fridays

Rating: 2 (of 5)

In Light’s fantasy world, humans like him are on the low rung of the nine humanoid races, but he still strives to become an adventurer to help support his family. He does have a special ability – Unlimited Gacha – but it only seems to summon random useless things. He learns the hard way that the reason for that is because there’s not much mana on the surface. But in the deepest depths of the world’s most dangerous dungeon, where he ends up after being betrayed and nearly killed by the multiracial party which took him on, he can accomplish much more with it, like summoning a level 9999 maid who’s immediately swears fealty to him. (In this setting, strong adventurers have levels in the 300-500 range, so her level is utterly ridiculous.) But rather than have the maid Mei wreak vengeance for him, Light seeks to get stronger so he can do it personally.

It was inevitable that we’d eventually have a protagonist whose power was Gacha-related, wasn’t it? And the first episode of this light novel adaptation doesn’t even pretend like it’s not just borrowing a common mechanic of mobile games, as card imagery is an integral part of Light using his ability. The concept does try to make things a little more interesting by applying the very-sensible notion that more magic present = better potential results (effectively equivalent to paying to draw from an exclusive deck) and implying that the Concord of the Tribes which screwed Light over had more motive than just being evil bastards, but this is still a bottomfeeder revenge porn premise at heart, complete with almost comically evil villains and sexy ladies utterly loyal to the protagonist. (Only the maid has been introduced so far, but the ED makes it clear that more are coming.) I might give this one an episode or two more to see if does anything more with the concept, but I’m not expecting anything from it.

A Star Brighter Than the Sun

Streams: Amazon Prime on Thursdays

Rating: 3.5 (of 5)

Sae has always been the biggest girl in her class and has always been a bit self-conscious about that. In elementary school she befriended a boy named Koki who always shined brightly to her but was largely ignored by other girls. During junior high, though, a growth spurt turned Koki into a tall bow no one would overlook, something which Sae has conflicted feelings about even as she starts to accept that the crush she’s had on him for a long time may be full-blown love, and she finds out that he at least still sees her as cute. When she learns that they will be going to the same high school together, she resolved to admit her feelings.

I’m told that this first episode is just the prologue for the actual story, which will start properly with episode 2. It firmly lays the foundation for the romance that will apparently be at the core of the story, but only in its final scene is there a hint of the complications that will rise. That’s perfectly fine, as the episode does a strong job of establishing Sae and Koki’s background together and where her feelings lay. The artistic side can deliberately be a bit rough at times, but the visual effect all works well to support the episode’s sentiment; the only concern is some distinct inconsistencies in body proportions,. It’s also available with a solid English dub, though Isabaella Crovetti’s performance as Sae clearly outshines complete anime newcomer Maxwell Donovan as Koki. Not clear yet if this is aiming to be more of a romantic drama or a romcom, but it looks like it could a respectable entry in the teen romance category.

Pass The Monster Meat, Milady!

Streams: Crunchyroll on Thursdays

Rating: 4 (of 5)

In this light novel adaptation, Melphiera is a count’s daughter of marriageable age who’s gained an unfortunate nickname – the Voracious Villainess – because of her odd hobby: she likes to find ways to safely prepare and eat monster meat. This predilection leaves most in Melphiera’s circles aghast, because monster meat that isn’t prepared properly can easily sicken or even poison people. However, it doesn’t seem to faze Aristide of Galbraith, the notorious “Blood-Mad Duke,” who saves her when a rampaging monster attacks the dinner party she was attending. To Melphiera’s great surprise, he actually seems intrigued by the notion of trying monster meat, even to the point of offering to hunt something specifically for her request, and he’s quite the handsome fellow, too. Though Melphiera tries not to get her hopes up, he could be the ideal potential husband that she was supposed to be looking for.

Of the two full-blown romantic comedies airing on Thursdays this season, this is the one that I am going to be following. The notion of finding someone with whom she can potentially share her very unusual hobby is a geek’s dream, and it resonated deeply to me. But even that might not have worked with out the fine byplay between Melphiera and Aristide, and the artistic work on each’s expressions get a lot of credit for that. The value of good pacing and an understated but highly complementary musical score shouldn’t be underestimated, either. This one isn’t going to be an animation wonder, but between its designs (the sunflower dress Melphiera changed into was quite lovely) and little touches, it doesn’t need to be to carry the series. This series may not end up being super-special, but it’s giving me one of the most promising vibes I’ve seen so far this season.

My Awkward Senpai

Streams: Cunchyroll on Thursdays

Rating: 3.5 (of 5)

In this manga adaptation, Azusa Kannawa is a cool and capable ace employee for her company’s Publicity department. She acts brusquely with everyone to hide how socially awkward she is, but even she’s not comfortable acting that way towards her new charge: Yuu Kamegawa, a promising new recruit whom she’s been asked to mentor. Though her initial attempts to change her approach fail miserably, Kamegawa seems to at least partly see through the awkward outer image she projects.

Nothing about the content of this episode is explicitly romantic, as Azusa is shown to be nervous about whether or not she can properly mentor Yuu, not the fact that he’s handsome and likable. (She really only thinks about that aspect in the context of how asking him out to lunch in a mentorly fashion could be perceived as something else.) However, things are clearly trending in a potentially-romantic direction, and that Azusa is distinctly well-endowed is hard to ignore, so this one will likely play out as a workplace romcom. Such fare isn’t usually my thing, so I probably won’t follow this one, but the first episode does lay out a firm foundation for future developments and Azusa is a likable enough character both visually and personality-wise. So is Yuu. Naming the series so it seems like it’s from Yuu’s viewpoint but showing the whole first episode from Azusa’s viewpoint is also an interesting quirk; will the series perhaps alternate viewpoints? I can see this series being successful with more mature audiences, hence the higher-than-average grade.

This Monster Wants to Eat Me

Streams: Crunchyroll on Thursdays

Rating: 3.5 (of 5)

Hinako, a morose teenager who attends an ocean-side school, hates the summer and is really just going the motions of life since her parents (and possibly brother, too) died in what’s implied to be an ocean-related accident. Her best friend Miko tries to look out for her (while she claims it’s for other reasons, there’s some sense that she’s aware of Hinako’s mindset), but Hinako’s heart longs to be with her family. Her life is shaken up by meeting Shiori, a long-haired beauty whose presence reminds Hinako of the sea, and it turns out that Shiori is secretly a mermaid who has her sights set on Hinako, specifically with the intent of eating her. (Hinako’s body is apparently unusually delicious to monsters, Shiori claim, and a sea monster trying to attack Hinako lends credence to that.) But Shiori’s not going to eat Hinako yet, and seems intent on defending her from other monsters until the proper time comes. Rather than fearing Shiori, Hinako sees Shiori’s ultimate intent as the solution to her desire to die.

The first episode of this manga adaptation displays very well how setting the proper tone can allow an anime series to overcome even significant technical limitations. Music, voice acting, and visuals which both portray the dead look in Hinako’s eyes and suggest that she often feels underwater all combine to effectively establish the melancholic reality of Hinako’s not-really-a-life. The impact that Shiori’s presence has on her is also effectively displayed, even without considering Shiori’s blood-splattered appearance after fighting off the seas monster or the (well-used) brief flashes of her partial transformation. There’s also a sense that, while Shiori might literally mean what she says, she could also be speaking metaphorically; the strong yuri vibe their meeting gives off is no doubt intentional and likely a focal point. The episode does a reasonable job of masking its animation limitations – the fight scene mostly happenings off camera, with just hints of how graphic it is, and Hinako’s fellow students mostly being still and eyeless around her could be construed as an artistic effect rather than limitation – but that’s enough to make me cautious about grading this one even higher. Overall, though, this one establishes its concept plenty well enough to be worth following.

Cat’s Eye (2025)

Streams: Hulu on Fridays

Rating: 2.5 (of 5)

NOTE: This series actually debuted on 9/26, but I somehow didn’t notice it at the time.

By day, the three Kisugi sisters operate a café called Cat’s Eye, which is a favorite hang-out for Toshi, a young police detective (partly because one of the sisters, Hitomi, is his girlfriend). Unbeknownst to the clueless Toshi, the trio collective are also the mysterious, notorious cat burglar Cat’s Eye, whom Toshi is regularly being outsmarted by in various heists. (Yeah, Toshi’s really that dense.) In the span of the first episode, Cat’s Eye gets away from him multiple times, though he does eventually discover that Cat’s Eye is actually a woman when he accidentally cops a feel on a masked Hitomi during a heist.

The early ’80s manga on which this series is based was an earlier work by the same manga-ka who would go on to create City Hunter, and where some of that franchise’s style comes from can be seen quite clearly here. It saw a 73-episode adaptation back in the mid-’80s (which I reviewed here when it was released in the States in 2008), but that version never received an English dub. This reboot, however, is both simuldubbed and, to an extent, updated for current times; smart phones, social media, and a rock-climbing center are among various more modern innovations seamlessly worked in, though the convenient lack of ubiquitous security cameras seems inconsistent.

But even with the updates, this is still an old-school series at heart, one which emphasizes a mature sexiness with the ladies’ sleek bodysuits when on the prowl. All three of the sisters are solidly-built and even somewhat masculine in feel despite their curves, but both that and some shaky consistency in maintaining character designs were present in the original animation, too. Nothing is special about the design of the capers, and they still lean as heavily on Toshi’s incompetence as they do on the skills of the three sisters. The animation quality is a bit better this time around, but nothing spectacular, either. The original was consistently mildly entertaining as long as you turned your brain off, and I’m expecting much the same from this version.

Let’s Play

Streams: Crunchyroll on Wednesdays

Rating: 2.5 (of 5)

Sam is a young, single college graduate who works a low-ranking job at her father’s company but will eventually inherit it, though she’d rather be a game designer. She’s even designed her own game that gets positive ratings initially. That all goes in the toilet when a popular VTuber who (it’s implied) misunderstands what type of game it is gives it a scathing review. Sam is crushed, but now she’s going to have to deal with that same VTuber moving in next door.

This one is based on a webcomic originally published on the Korean platform WEBTOON, but it is being turned into an anime by studio OLM and director Daiki Tomiyasu, who’s mostly known for work on assorted Pokemon titles. It’s clearly trending in the direction of being an adult-focused romance story, with at least two (possibly three) potential suitors for Sam having already been introduced, including a handsome barista, an even hunkier section manager at her dad’s company, and possibly the bishonen VTuber, too. Most of the episode actually takes itself pretty seriously, with some minor bits of humor awkwardly inserted in, which makes for an uneven feel on the tone. An artistic style and somewhat simplistic look that some may find off-putting also doesn’t help. I do see some characterization potential here but can’t see this one having enough appeal to be successful.

Yano-kun’s Ordinary Days

Streams: Crunchyroll on Tuesdays

Rating: 1.5 (of 5)

In this manga adaptation, Kiyoko is used to being the medic for her much younger siblings, so she takes an interest in classmate Yano, who is perpetually coming to class with one injury or another. Though she suspects something worse, he turns out to just be that much of a klutz (he crashes headlong into a wall while running out of the path of Truck-kun, for instance), but he still is good-natured about it and at least a bit handsome, too, under all those bandages. Kiyoko has to face up to the reality that her concern for him is morphing into attraction, so she resolves to fully support Yano in his wish to lead as ordinary a school life as possible.

At heart, this is a sweet little romantic comedy centered around a singular gag: Yano has epically bad luck. The problem is that its sweetness does not prevent it from also being outright boring; I struggled to finish the whole episode, which feels like a collection of gag strip bits strung together under a loose narrative. This approach can work in anime form, but here the gag wears thin too quickly. Maybe this could still work if the perpetually-injured gag gets relegated to more of a supporting role than the focus, but I’m not optimistic.

A Gatherer’s Adventure in Isekai

Streams: Crunchyroll on Mondays

Rating: 1.5 (of 5)

Takeru is living an unfulfilling life as a single corporate drone when he apparently dies for no particular reason and encounters a being who casts himself as a divine middle manager, who is seeking to use Takeru to create “ripples” in a world the being is managing that just isn’t going well. Naturally this means Takeru will be giftered with a few choice items and OP magical power, including a supreme “Search” skill which will allow him to support himself as a Gatherer. His first true gathering job leads him to an encounter with an Ancient Dragon, who drafts Takeru (whom he recognizes as an equal magically) to help hatch his son, who is going to journey around with Takeru as the “cute companion” he requested from the god.

The basic premise to this light novel adaptation sounded uninspired when I first saw it, and the anime’s execution doesn’t help. Seriously; this series would have to actively try to get off to a more bland and uninteresting start as an isekai power trip, but at least it doesn’t dawdle at getting to the meat its premise. How abnormally tall Takeru is in this setting is an odd little quirk, and the way Takeru makes various attempts to get his magic to work before hitting on the right (English) command is slightly interesting, but the only factor which makes this episode even slightly watchable is that the visuals actually aren’t bad. They’re completely going to waste here, though, to the point that I can’t find any reason to recommend this one.

A Wild Last Boss Appeared!

Streams: Crunchyroll on Saturdays

Rating: 2.5 (of 5)

An unnamed man was top-tier character Lufas Maphaahl (The Black-Winged Tyrant) in a popular MMO known for writing characters’ actions into its foundational story. Lufas became an effective boss villain in the story, but after being defeated in a satisfying epic battle, he’s given the option to play a new role in the game. He’s not aware up front that this involves being transported into the game as Lufas, who has accidentally been released from being sealed 200 years after her epic defeat. Reveling in the freedom actually being in the game allows, Lufas decides to track down former underlings and the surviving members of the Seven Heroes who defeated her, though she has to keep a low profile since she’s still quite infamous to the public.

The execution on this light novel adaptation actually isn’t bad; it opens with a well-designed epic battle, convincingly shows how powerful Lufas is compared to contemporaries, doesn’t piddle around with needless exposition or staging, and has much stronger-than-average musical support (including a heavy closing piece that I’m guessing will be the regular opener. Lufas’s design is also that of a more mature-looking beauty, which is distinctly different than the norm. However, I can’t give this one more than a mediocre grade because nothing about the set-up here covers any new ground, and the only slight twist on the base concept is that the protagonist was formerly playing as a villain – and that’s honestly not that much different than How NOT to Summon a Demon Lord. I did watch through similar-concept titles In the Land of Leadale and New Gate and would currently put this one between them on an appeal scale, so I’ll give it an honest try, but it’s not looking like one of the season’s break-out titles.

Dusk Beyond the End of the World

Streams: HIDIVE on Thursdays

Rating: 4 (of 5)

At age 7, Akira lost his parents in an automobile accident and was taken in by a colleague of his father and Towasa, the colleague’s genius daughter, who’s a year older. Ten years later (in 2038), Towasa is an internationally-recognized expert in AI who’s gradually found herself becoming romantically attracted to Akira, and he also wants to advance from just regarding her as “big sister.” But Towasa’s standing has gained her dangerous attention as well, and on the cusp of both a step forward in her relationship with Akira and a big leap forward in AI planning, tragedy strikes. Badly injured, Akira passes out, only to wake up in a wholly unfamiliar environment suggestive of apocalyptic events.

This is actually episode 0 of this original anime from studio P.A. Works and thus apparently serves as a prologue to the premise described in advertisements for the series, a premise which is only barely hinted at in this episode’s ending scene. It’s written and directed by Naokatsu Tsuda, who’s probably best-known for helming several of the 2010s Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure installments but also led the wistful planetarian, and the vibe this one gives is much more similar to the latter. While the central romance may raise some eyebrows, this episode is as much about the very timely issue of concerns over the advancement of AI, which I have no doubt is part of the foundation of the future content starting next episode. It’s a compact and efficiently-told set-up which feels like it’s delivering a lot of foreshadowing, and I’m already heavily-invested in seeing where this all goes. Despite being a prologue, it’s still a firm start for a series that will absolutely be on my viewing schedule this season.

Hero Without a Class: Who Even Needs Skills?

Streams: HIDIVE on Wednesdays

Rating: 2 (of 5)

In Arel’s world, everyone gets assigned a class by the Goddess at age 10, which gives them access to skills. Arel, however, seems to be the exception: he is judged “classless,” which theoretically should put him at a major disadvantage. However, his mother was once known as the Sword Princess and his father was an Archmage, so he has genetics on his sides and has diligently trained under the strongest person around, so he’s quite capable of holding his own against those who do have the Swordsman class and even learning techniques that mirror those skills, as the red-headed child of the local town guard captain learns the hard way. (I say “child” here because the person is pitched as a boy but in all likelihood is actually the red-headed girl shown in older form in promo art.)

Boy, could the schedulers have picked a much blander series to start off the season with? Yet that’s the main problem with this light novel adaptation: there’s no real spark to it so far. The skill-less/powerless/classless aberration concept has been done a few times before and with much, much stronger hooks than this one offers. The notion that classes and the skills offered by them may just be rigid assists which can be equaled by diligent work and determination (and exceeded in terms of flexibility) is a somewhat interesting one, but will the series commit enough to exploring that to hold an audience? So far, I can’t see that happening, and the mediocre technical merits give the series no crutch to fall back on. I’ll give it another episode or two to prove itself, but so far it’s looking like a pass.

SPECIAL: Room of Guilty Pleasure

Streams: OceanVeil on (see below)

Rating: 2.5 (of 5)

Note: This was available on 9/12 as a special preview ahead of its regular debut on 10/5

In this AnimeFesta short (7 minute episodes), Sasaki is a harried young high school teacher who is starting to question his career choice. As he locks up at midnight one night, he experiences what he thinks is a dream: an opportunity to pick one girl at the school (by choosing her picture on her shoe locker) and go into a room to have sex with her. He ends of picking Mai Hoshino, a busty blonde who has a standoffish attitude but secretly aspires to be a fashion designer And after a little teacherly coaching, they do, indeed, have (limited) sex.

Not all OceanVeil titles are full-blown hentai, but this one is, and it’s completely uncensored. It’s passable for what it is, but the limits of its short running time are a serious constraint both on executing its sex scene and getting to any explanation of what’s actually going on or why there was a scenario limitation on the chalkboard. The prospect of at least some plot makes this one just barely worth checking out if you’re into this sort of thing.