The writing and pacing of The Apothecary Diaries have always been skillful at providing some answers while continuing to raise other questions, and episode 41, “Fox Village,” is no different. It provides a couple of big reveals but nowhere near the full truth on what’s going on and redirects some previous mysteries.
Much of this surrounds Shisui. She’s always been a mysterious character, since despite being dressed as a servant girl, she seemed to have no specific job affiliation (we never did see her at work, unlike with Xiaolin) and came and went as she pleased. Hence the revelations that she never actually was a servant girl, but instead a spy all along, aren’t even mild shockers. The only surprise on that point is that her being a spy actually explains the presence of the cat Maomao, whose ability to get into the Rear Palace has always been a mystery but – until now – one of trivial importance. Her apparently being related to Suiren is more unexpected, though as Maomao points out, there was always a hint in the similar syllables in their names. (But given how many characters in this series have similar-sounding names, that’s a clue that, understandably, could be easily overlooked.) I especially liked how that reveal was presaged by Shisui shifting her position in the marching order to screen Suiren from the snake, a detail Maomao clearly noticed. Given the size of the population in the Rear Palace, that her presence as someone who didn’t belong went unnoticed for so long is also perfectly understandable, and that she never crossed paths with Jinshi also now seems more significant, rather than just a trivial detail.
So where does that leave Shisui, then? Her personality doesn’t change one bit after the reveal, so it’s safe to assume that the behavior we saw from her prior to this is at least mostly genuine. How much she likes Maomao also seems to be genuine, since she doesn’t stop behaving like Maomao is her bestie even once they reach the village. That raises really big questions about what her motivations are in all of this; why would someone with her temperament be acting like a spy? How much was she involved in Suiren’s schemes? And is there still someone else in the Rear Palace that she’s connected to? The presence of the envoy in the fox village certainly indicates a much bigger plot, and given hints that have been dropped to viewers over time, one particular person in the Rear Palace sticks out like a sore thumb as a candidate.
The other curious detail is the business with the snake. That a woman as composed and sharp-witted as Suiren is terrified to the point of hyperventilating over snakes seems uncharacteristic, so there has to be a story there. And given the way this series has been written so far, that story has to be relevant in some way.
On Maomao’s side, exactly why Suiren is going through all the trouble to coerce/bribe Maomao into going along peacefully remains a mystery at this point. Clearly Maomao has caught her attention, but what is she hoping to gain by bringing Maomao out to this village? Especially since she does seem to know who Maomao’s blood father is, and since she was posing as a court lady for a while, she has to know his reputation. (And I agree with Maomao: trying to coerce someone like Lakan by threatening his daughter is just asking for trouble, and Suiren probably knows it, so that is unlikely to be her motivation.) And why was Maomao allowed to keep the hairpin? If Suiren was targeting Jinshi, she must have known who he really is, and so should have recognized that token.
On the Rear Palace front, seems like Lakan’s scene last episode happened at some point after most of the scenes this episode, as Jinshi and the others are only gradually piecing together Maomao’s disappearance. This all makes me appreciate again how hardly anyone involved is treated as a fool. (Excepting the quack doctor, of course.) Luomen recognizes Maomao’s secret message and the silvervine, a type of fruit long known in East Asian cultures for medicinal and energizing properties and as a stronger version of catnip where cats are concerned. Jinshi is quick to make connections once provided with information, and Seki-u is apparently good at deciphering handwriting. By the end of the episode, they have already pinned down the exit route and have ideas on parties who might be involved, so it isn’t going to take Jinshi long to piece together at least some of the bigger picture. (Indeed, the Next Episode preview suggests that will happen next episode.) The most interesting aspect here is how Lakan is going to react and get involved.
Will taking Maomao along prove to be Suiren’s undoing? It seems possible, but she also has to know that such is a risk, so now I’m more curious than ever to see where this is going. (And surely I’m not the only person who wishes the scene with Maomao and Shisui sleeping with their heads against each other wasn’t in such poor lighting. . .)
I expected the intrigue to ramp up a bit with the return of Loumen to the Rear Palace, as a person with his insight, expertise, and experience is the kind of person who could be a catalyst for action even if he’s not directly part of it. Episode 40 shows how completely I underestimated the series on that point, however. In terms of the extent and intricacy of the intrigue in play here, this one matches even episode 19 as the most loaded of the entire series so far and represents a major escalation of the series’ overall plot. And unlike 19, it’s coming from more than one different direction. (Although it’s also entirely possible that both directions eventually wind back to the same source.)
There’s a lot to unpack here, but first let’s start with the scenes involving Lakan and Loulan’s father, Shushi. The latter is supposed to be one of the most powerful and wily men in court, but you wouldn’t know that from the way Lakan runs circles around him during their scenes together. Lakan may act on intuition, but he also knows exactly what he’s doing and seems to understand exactly how he’s perceived, and he takes full advantage of that. Even his rambling about his wife’s Go game may have been more than just his eccentricities showing; not out of the question that it was at least partly a ploy to unsettle Shushi. Clearly he suspects Shushi (those guns would have been too difficult for anyone of lesser station to acquire in secret), and while Shushi carefully avoided saying anything that could imply guilt, his answers were also a little too noncommittal. Shushi also essentially admitted that he was color-blind without saying so, which was unquestionably the point of Lakan’s grape juice stunt. Not entirely sure what he’s trying to prove with that, but color blindness has previously been established as a distinguishing trait of the imperial bloodline. . .
Equally fascinating is how what initially looked to be a more laid-back episode on Maomao’s side so quickly spun into something major from the mere impetus of Luomen innocently being clever about getting an advice notice copied for wide distribution. Much like episode 19, the way little tidbits of information from throughout the series (but especially season 2) gradually coalesced into Maomao getting a glimpse of an insidious conspiracy, and how the tension very slowly builds throughout that process, is a marvel of both source writing and production execution. So many little details that seemed innocuous at the time come together here, such as Shisui’s offhand comment in episode 29 about how there are so many insects around the Rear Palace that she’d “only seen in books.” It didn’t register at the time that a servant girl having access to the kind of books that would have insect pictures should be highly unusual, or the even earlier reveal that she had done sketches on paper. While how she ended up being involved in this incident isn’t clear yet, that Shisui has connections more substantial than most servant girls is clear, and someone with those kind of connections being a servant girl is seeming increasingly suspicious.
But not as suspicious as the old lady at the clinic. Maomao’s supposition reads like a conspiracy theory, and she know it, but details to support it are both present and credible: all the young girls sacrificed to the Emperor’s proclivities, the way them not being allowed to leave (or having nowhere to leave to) might breed festering resentment, and the way the safety notices Luomen distributed during his previous stint in the Rear Palace may have inadvertently given them ideas about how they could strike back forms a logical progression, and the way that no one currently in the Rear Palace seemed to know about poisonous face powder even though there had previously been warnings about it suggests that someone deliberately made sure that knowledge disappeared as servants, concubines, and eunuchs alike cycled in and out. Someone who had been around long-term also explains how knowledge about abortifacients got disseminated, and could have encouraged merchants in the caravan to carry the appropriate aromatic oils on future visits. If true, this is a scenario that’s been decades in the making and one that would be fiendishly hard to detect.
And then there’s the one other major revelation: that the “pretty eunuch” was actually Suirei in disguise. Really, this one shouldn’t have caught me by surprise as much as it did. After all, that Suirei was going to pop up again at some point was practically a given, and Maomao’s speculation back in episode 20 did place her dressing as a eunuch to leave inconspicuously after she woke up. She had both the height and build to pull it off, too. This does raise the question of whose grave she was looking at as episode 39 ended; could be her fake grave, but being involved in something like this suggests a much longer and deeper grudge. She knows how to box Maomao into cooperating without having to resort to violence, too. She clearly acknowledges Maomao as a concern, which makes what she wants to show Maomao all the more curious. Is she going to try to recruit Maomao? And does she understand how much attention she’s going to draw by coercing Maomao, especially given who Jinshi and her father are? Or is that part of the plan, too?
Whatever the case proves to be, the end of this episode is one of the series’ biggest cliffhangers to date. Also nice to see Ah-Duo making a guest appearance as a Jinshi stand-in; hopefully this is not the last we see of her for a while. The wait to see how this shakes out next week will be long indeed.
More so than most episodes of this series, this one is a composition of two completely different parts, one which has its serious aspects but is lighter in general and one which is almost completely serious and introduces a potentially major development for the setting’s status quo. The contrast between the two unrelated parts is so sharp that I’m almost surprised that the episode wasn’t given a split title.
The first part provides the episode title (“Ice”) and spins off the development at the end of last episode, where Xiaolin accidentally bumped a eunuch hauling a block of ice to Loulan, resulting in it being damaged and thus unsuitable to present to Loulan. The potential punishment for the eunuch is severe, so both his distress and Xaiolin’s terror at getting punished by extension are easily understandable. Naturally, quick-witted Maomao comes up with a plan: since the ice was meant to cool the concubine, disguise the damage by turning it into something edible which could serve the same purpose. In other words, she essentially makes ice cream.
The method Maomao is using here is what is classically referred to as the “pot-freezer method.” Since it’s not specified in the episode, what Maomao pours into the bowl of crushed ice is salt. Salty water freezes at lower temperatures, so it can more effectively draw out the heat from something being mixed in a container in it. Mixing the milk and firming agents (the other thing Maomao is seen pouring in before mixing) with a whisk is considered crucial if doing it by hand, and it must be done thoroughly. Without sugar available, flavoring it with chopped fruit is standard practice. This was the method generally used before hand-cranked churns came onto the scene in the mid-19th century, and there’s plenty of evidence that the method would have been known about in China, so Maomao having come across it at some point is not unrealistic. Her being able to get it made in the limited time frame presented in this episode is much more of a stretch; my parents made homemade ice cream from time to time when I was a kid, and I don’t remember it being that quick a process. It’s a tolerable stretch for dramatic purposes, though, especially given how cute the reactions to it are.
The episode’s second half starts a new matter that, to some degree, will probably take a few episodes to play out. (NOTE: This is now pure speculation, as this is the point where the storytelling progresses beyond what I’ve read in the manga version.) Ever since we learned that Loumen once served in the Rear Palace, I’ve wondered if the series wouldn’t find some excuse to get him back there, and that it would happen as part of a recommendation from Maomao was a natural assumption. That turns out to be exactly the case here, because Maomao has finally encountered a medical matter beyond her skill level: a potential breech birth for Gyokuyou’s second child. She knows enough to know the signs, but she’s also fully aware that handling such a matter – especially if it could necessitate a c-section – requires a trained and experienced doctor, not just a midwife or someone who has studied up on birthing techniques (as Hongniang did with Lingli’s birth). Loumen has those qualifications, has delivered royals before, and he’s a eunuch, too. With his Western training, Maomao actually probably isn’t exaggerating by calling him the best doctor in the country.
While Hongniang is understandably defensive – she clearly sees protecting Gyokuyou as her #1 priority – Gyokuyou is well aware of how capable Maomao is, so that she would trust a eunuch that Maomao personally recommends is no surprise. Nor is it a surprise that Jinshi would go along with the request; we know from the first season that he knows about Loumen, and even if Maomao wasn’t his favorite, she’s done plenty enough to justify trusting her recommendation. That does bring up a lot of interesting potential for future encounters, though, since it’s quite possible that Loumen would recognize Jinshi for who he is. That also raises the much more real possibility of Loumen encountering Lakan at some point, and indeed, the latter does show up in the Next Episode previews. In fact, Loumen’s presence could wind up being the trigger for any number of potentially interesting upcoming complications.
Particular kudos here go to Aoi Yuki (Maomao) and Misaki Kuno (Xioalan) for some excellent work varying voices appropriately for their characters’ more anxious states. And the humor near the end, where Gyokuyou’s ladies-in-waiting all ponder how Maomao ended up the way she did given her father was a welcome respite from the very serious concerns up to that point.
The ominous music in the final scene suggests that the pretty new eunuch paying respects at a plain grave suggests more strongly that there’s something going on with him. Is he part of a bigger plot or is this a private matter? We’ll see going forward.
In Alina Clover’s fantasy world, adventuring is a real (if dangerous) profession and an Adventurers Guild exists to manage job requests and dungeons left behind by a lost, more powerful predecessor civilization. Alina isn’t an adventurer, though, or at least not officially; she opted instead to become a guild receptionist, partly on the recommendation of an adventurer she knew in her youth and partly because it’s a safe, stable, well-paying job that – at least theoretically – has consistent hours, allowing her to afford a home where she can just laze around after work. She values a good work-life balance above all else, so she’s positively mortified by overtime caused by paperwork which can crop up especially heavily when new dungeons are discovered or adventurers take a long time to clear established dungeons. At times, her frustration about overtime boils over to the point where she decides to take matters into her own hands. And due to a quirk of fate, she secretly has the power to do something about that, something which Jade, the handsome tank and leader for top adventuring group Silver Swords, accidentally discovers. Now he’s trying to both recruit her to be the Silver Swords’ striker and woo her romantically.
Adventurers Guilds have been a staple in anime for at least a decade now, and so has the Guild Receptionist Girl. While GRGs can occasionally do more – Eina in DanMachi is also protagonist Bell’s dungeoneering coach and adviser, for instance – they’re usually just pretty faces who interact with adventurers and occasionally serve as potential love interests. This adaptation of an award-winning light novel series turns that stereotype on its head by making the GRG secretly be the setting’s most powerful adventurer. This is hardly a fresh gimmick, as the “innocuous person is secretly the strongest” trope goes as least as far back as the Clark Kent/Superman alter ego and has appeared in many other forms in anime over the years, but it’s the first time that it’s been done in this context. That alone gives this series a fresher angle than many of its contemporaries, but it also has the added twist of squarely focusing the titular character’s motivations on a proper work-life balance.
Alina’s near-obsession with avoiding overtime is somewhat of a double-edged sword, however. Her relentless emphasis on it leads to many of the series’ funniest moments, but in the later stages of this season it can also start to feel overdone. (This is the most common complaint I’ve seen lodged against the series, though I haven’t personally felt this way.) However, there’s also something eminently relatable about it for viewers old enough to be out in the workforce for a while, and doubtless that’s intentional. What working adult hasn’t shared laments similar to Alina’s comments about how it’s not work which gets her out of bed in the morning, but knowing that if she does her job then she can both relax at the end and have a place to do it? Who hasn’t said “been there, done that” on having missed out on cherished activities because work took too long to complete, or has never faced the prospect that if you don’t put overtime in on the work now, it’ll be even worse the next day? I know I’ve been in Alina’s shoes many, many times over the years.
And that’s where some of the series’ strongest appeal lies. Yeah, Alina’s almost singular focus could be seen as overdone, but to people like me, her Executioner alter ego is an avenging angel – or, as one character puts it after seeing her in action, a “dark god.” She’s a cute, snarky ball of rage and frustration who’s gained the ability to vent in violent fashion by obtaining one of her world’s most elite powers: a mythical Dia skill. It takes the form of a giant hammer (and the physical prowess to wield it effortlessly) and is aptly-named Dia Break, since it can shatter or strike down anything which gets in Alina’s path, and it’s the most direct and personal of the offensive-focused skills we’ve seen so far. That Alina gained this skill (as detailed in episode 2) doesn’t feel like a coincidence, either; while series has yet to dwell on this issue, there’s a definite sense that Alina getting this skill at that time was purposeful on some higher power’s part, rather than just a reward for her intense feelings. That isn’t all there is to Alina, as she does show a more caring side than she’s willing to admit as the series progresses and may not be as completely immune to Jade’s attempts to charm her as she acts like she is. This aspect gradually shows up more over time, so I don’t buy arguments that she’s too static a character.
The series also does well with its supporting cast. Jade is very likable as the young man trying his best to win Alina over on two fronts without being too pushy about it, and the two do have some chemistry developing. Lululee, the female healer in Jade’s party, also gets a surprising amount of attention and characterization in the middle episodes, as does Guildmaster Glen Garia in the season’s last quarter. And then there’s Laila, Alina’s junior at the guild’s reception desks, who crucially serves as both the coworker in need of guidance and the series’ most humorously ironic character; she idolizes the Executioner and thinks he’s a guy, and has no clue that the Executioner is actually Alina. (In one of the series’ most inspired gags, Laila imagines a male Executioner getting BL with Jade, when the truth is that it’s not far from happening in a hetero sense.)
While the series has been predominately character-driven so far, it does have a distinct (if somewhat thin) plot to provide it structure. Someone out there with a skill on Alina’s level seems to be manipulating circumstances to produce “dark gods” – i.e., bioengineered humanoid weapons from the past civilization which have Dia Skills themselves. Exactly who would want to do this, and why, are questions beyond the scope of these 12 episodes to answer, but each of the series’ three main arcs (which correspond to the first three source novels) have something to do with this. Why Alina seems to be special even among Dia Skill users is another mystery; is the way she can power up a manifestation of her particular Dia Skill or an indicator of the strength of the emotions fueling her actions? Through the course of these events, the series smoothly varies in tone from being lightly humorous through darkly dramatic and even at one point heartbreaking.
The production effort by studio CloverWorks doesn’t do anything terribly fancy, but there’s not a big need for that, either, since Alina’s fighting style is very direct and focused on overpowering rather than outmaneuvering foes. Still, fights use fewer cut scenes than many series in the same category do, and animation elsewhere is solid. Character designs make Alina look cheekier than normal, but while they give her a generous figure, the adaptation doesn’t flaunt it; her Executioner outfit is more practical than sexy and true fan service is kept to a minimum. Jade, meanwhile, is one of the more attractive recent male characters who still looks manly, rather than specifically bishonen. By comparison, design work on the dark gods is much less impressive, and nothing about presented monster designs stands out much. The series is arguably at its sharpest visually when magical and energy effect are in play, as background visuals are well-done but not exciting. Overall, this is an above-average but not spectacular series on the visual front.
The series is stronger on the auditory front. The musical score delivers a strong dramatic flair in action scenes while also maintaining jaunty signature pieces to back its more light-hearted moments. However, its theme songs are where it truly shines. Opener “Perfect Day” by 310 is a great, wistful song backed by full and detailed 3DCG animation primarily involving Alina interacting with and flying on a dinosaur-like bird, although one scene where Alina is walking on a city street with groceries is also fascinating for its detail work and staging; this is easily the early contender being the year’s top OP. Closer “Ashita no Watashi ni Sachi Are” is one of the most peppy and upbeat anisongs in recent memory, with an infectious energy and cutesy dance animation which can be catchy in an entirely different way. It’s also one to remember come end-of-year awards.
Crunchyroll was English dubbing the series on a two week delay, and the whole series is now available in dubbed form. Jill Harris (Noelle from Black Clover, Suletta from Mobile Suit Gundam The Witch from Mercury) tackles the title role with every bit as much gusto as original performer Rie Takahashi does, in the process using inflections which adapt Alina’s attitude into English form perfectly well. Kamen Casey (Duke Seeker in I’ll Become a Villainess Who Goes Down in History) also hits all the right notes as Jade. The rest of the cast, while not as spectacular, still suit and perform their roles mostly well, with the only minor weak point possibly being Silha, the first of the dark gods. Still, a strong effort overall.
Guild Receptionist does come up a bit short on the world-building front, and I’d like to see more about Alina’s background beyond just her interactions with the one adventurer as a child. (No mention is ever made of her family, for instance.) But those are far from being big enough flaws to interfere with how thoroughly I’ve enjoyed this series; I have probably watched each episode at least 3-4 times already. The final episode rounds out the current story arc but definitely leaves a big hook for future story developments, and at its current adaptation pace, enough content is available in Japan for at least one more full season. There’s been no indication yet on whether we’ll get another season of this one, but it will be quite welcome if it does come.
One of the neatest aspects of this series is the depth of its cast. Maomao and (to a lesser extent) Jinshi are clearly the stars, but all four of the high-level concubines also have their strong appeals: Gyokuyou is the clever and mischievous one (as we see again in this episode), Lihua is the noble one, Loulan is the mysterious (and possibly conniving) one, and Lishu is the childish innocent who’s in over her head. But all three of those aspect also make her one of the series’ most sympathetic characters, and that is fully on display in this episode’s main segment.
Last episode ended with Lishu claiming that her pavilion’s bath house was haunted, something that her new head lady-in-waiting confirms in this episode. As expected, the “haunting” turns out to be a combination of mundane occurrences coincidentally happening together. Heating or air conditioning vents making nearby curtains or wall scrolls flutter would hardly be unusual in modern-day homes, and I can attest from personal experience about how continual dampness can damage a wall in a bathroom, so the circumstances described here for how the curtains moved are entirely credible to me. The “magic mirror” is more unusual but a real-world thing, too, and it’s definitely not hard to understand how its image could be mistaken for ghostly if one isn’t familiar with its properties or other ways to project images.
But the mystery aspect here is really secondary to what this part of the episode says about Lishu (and to a lesser extent Kanan, her former taster/current lady-in-waiting), and how smoothly that is handled is a credit both to the source material and to the adaptation. Kanan didn’t get promoted to head lady-in-waiting by asserting herself; Maomao scaring her straight (and perhaps also her coming to understand that Lishu had legitimate reason for being picky about her food) made Kanan more loyal and sympathetic to Lishu personally, clearly the most so of any of Diamond Pavilion’s ladies-in-waiting. She’s focused more on being protective/supportive towards Lishu, so she either doesn’t have the time or the strength of will (and possibly both) to reign the rest of the staff in like Hongniang does at Jade Pavilion. This episode is also the first indicator we’ve had that Lishu is aware of the problem herself, but both her age and circumstances have prevented her from asserting her will here as well. Her comments about her mother this episode may well explain some of that; that’s one hell of a load of guilt to be carrying, though the gift of the copper mirror strikes me as something meant to be comforting rather than accusatory. For a girl who’s been isolated much of her life, and no longer has Ah-Duo around as a motherly ally, her desperation at clinging to such a keepsake is completely understandable.
This episode also reaffirms again that, while Jinshi may not be the master mystery-solver that Maomao is, he does know how to assert his authority in a way which amply gets the point across without being blunt. He may not be on Lakan’s level of deviousness and intimidation, but he’s becoming the kind of person whose bad side you wouldn’t want to be on. The only place where he’s lacking is in dealing with Maomao, and he seems to be becoming more forceful in his approach towards her since the charm he’s always relied on clearly isn’t working. Still, given who her biological father is, he has legitimate reason for being cautious about how he reveals things to Maomao and tries to win her over. But at least he can finally say her name now!
Next episode’s impetus looks to be less a mystery and more a problem to be solved, and while there’s no indication that the new eunuchs are going to come up again, I have to think that the recurring mention of them is eventually leading to something. And is that Loumen appearing at the end of the preview? Definitely interested to see where that is going.
Even The Apothecary Diaries isn’t free of the seemingly-ubiquitous bathing episode in anime titles, as this episode proves with Maomao, Xiaolin, and Shisui spending much of the episode in the Rear Palace’s baths or concerned with what goes on there. The difference here is that this may be one of the least sexy portrayals of such fare that you’re ever likely to see in a non-kiddie anime series.
That’s not to say that the episode is entirely without sexual elements; Maomao doesn’t hesitate to remark on how surprisingly well-endowed Shisui looks to be under her unflattering bathing clothing, but Maomao has never been prudish about such things (except when she’s in self-denial about a certain person’s “frog,” of course!), so her not remarking on something like that would have been out of character. But the episode otherwise avoids or glosses over nearly every opportunity to vamp things up, instead keeping its focus on what all is going on in the baths and why the trio is there in the first place.
In the period of the Roman Republic and Empire, bath houses were common places for politicians and the elite to conduct informal business, in part because they were innocuous places for people from disparate factions and families to gather. The same would certainly be true for the Rear Palace. While the highest-ranking consorts have baths in their pavilion, all the rest and the serving girls would come here on a regular basis, making it a prime place to dish and overhear gossip or make connections with those they wouldn’t normally meet in daily activities. The former gives Gyokuyou a convenient excuse to allow Maomao to go there regularly with her friends, as it kills two birds with one stone for the Emperor’s current favorite: she gets the entertainment she craves and can keep abreast of what all is going on in the palace for more strategic reasons. The latter is more the real reason why the trio went there in the first place, as the original goal was to help Xiaolin build up some connections that could lead to a job once her contract is up.
What comes out of those sessions doubtless will have both short and long-term story consequences. On the short term, Lishu showing up in the baths with her chief lady-in-waiting suggests a problem at her own pavilion, one which turns out to be a suspected haunting; doubtless dealing with this will be the main focus of next episode. On the longer term, there’s the matter of Loulan’s suspected pregnancy. This one I’m taking with a grain of salt for now, as we get further hints this episode that Loulan is quite the schemer and comments were made in the first season that the Emperor having a child by Loulan could be troublesome, something he would almost assuredly know himself. Definitely not ruling out that her acting in a way that could be interpreted as her being pregnant is merely a stunt on her part, though to what end she might be doing that is unclear at this point.
The episode isn’t lacking for the series’ traditional humor elements, either, though as always, those never get in the way of potentially more serious elements and are smoothly integrated in without missing a beat. In all, the episode finds a nice balance of fleshing out further world-building, setting up further storylines, and developing some supporting cast members further. (We get another indicator, for instance, that Shisui can be remakably smart and perceptive, and doubtless that will be important later on.)
Due to some production delays, not all Winter ’25 series that aren’t continuing into the Spring ’25 season have wrapped at this point; both My Happy Marriage and I Left My A-Rank Party still have episodes to air as of 3/31/25. However, with the Spring ’25 Preview Guide getting underway, I have decided not wait any longer, so those two will have slightly incomplete evaluations.
Because of the high volume of titles I followed, covering every one of them here would make this post cumbersome. Hence I am only covering those titles for which I have updated my grade since the Mid-Season Reports and/or have additional commentary to offer. I will also not be covering DanMachi or The Apothecary Diaries here, since I have covered those thoroughly in episode reviews, and Magic Maker and Guild Receptionist have gotten separate full reviews. Additionally, there will be no additional commentary on 100 Girlfriends since I gave up on that one after the Mid-Season Reports.
Other series from Winter Mid-Season Report part 1 which don’t get additional coverage here include Beheneko, Headhunted to Another World, I’m a Noble on the Bring of Ruin, andShangri-La Frontier. Please refer to the Mid-Season Report for evaluations of these.
Other series from Winter Mid-Season Report part 2 which don’t get additional coverage here include Arifureta 3 (which aired no additional content), Even Given the Worthless “Appraiser” Class, Sakamoto Days, and The Red Ranger Becomes an Adventurer in Another World. Please refer to the Mid-Season Report for evaluations of these.
Best of Season: Orb: On the Movements of the Earth
Rating: A
The end of the series brings the story of Orb to completion by transitioning from fictional characters to a real-world one: Albert Brudzewski, a polish astronomer and diplomat who would go on to influence Copernicus. In the process it cycles through additional protagonists and brings back some familiar faces (some more obvious than others – the priest in the last two episodes showed up in the first half, for instance), one of which may be meant metaphorically rather than literally since the story would require uncharacteristically accepting the supernatural otherwise. But the overall thrust of the plot – to show how the theory of heliocentrism struggled to grow in 15th century Poland – never wavers, nor does its focus on compelling characters and their widely differing beliefs. I also loved the irony that Badeni and those who followed in his path were ultimately proven right that Oczy’s book was a key to advancing heliocentrism, just not in the way that any of them expected. This is both a complete series and one of the most cerebral anime to come along in years, and despite some very harsh content, it gets my highest recommendation.
Other Titles
Bogus Skill <<Fruitmaster>>
Rating: C
My evaluation of this one hasn’t changed significantly since the Mid-Season Report, but I felt I had to bring this one up because of the odd turn it takes in its last third: it shifts the focus almost entirely to Lena and, unexpectedly, Dratena, who was the villainess in the undead affair. Taking villain characters and reforming them has been a standard anime practice for decades, but this is such a whipsaw turn (Dratena showed no hint of being a sympathetic character in the previous arc) that it’s hard to swallow. Stepping away from the titular character for a whole arc is also abnormal, but I have less of a problem with that since Lena is at least as interesting a character as Light and acquits herself well enough in the leading role. Some of the season’s weakest technical merits also continue to be a big negative here.
From Bureaucrat to Villainess: Dad’s Been Reincarnated!
Rating: B+
This was one of my two favorites among new series at the halfway point, and nothing in the second half of the series changes that. Through to its end (which is hopefully just a season break point!), it remains a remarkably clever and funny take on the otome game villainess genre. I especially liked how it shows the Elegance Cheat that Kenzaburo has been relying on throughout the series turns out to be a problematic limitation during the play, and the continued regular attention to the real-world side featuring Kenzaburo’s wife and daughter serves well, too, to provide an alternate perspective and framing device. There’s also the mystery about how much Grace’s mother actually knows about what’s going on and who (or what?) she’s talking to in the carriage scene. If another season of this gets animated, I will happily be back for it.
I Left My A-Rank Party
Rating So Far: B
Episode 9.5 certainly felt like an unplanned break, and a “next episode” preview is given at the end of episode 11 (to say nothing of being in the middle of something but not at a cliffhanger), so at least one more episode is clearly coming. Given how things are going at the end, though, I wouldn’t mind if we got another whole season of this one. While there’s nothing especially dynamic about this series, this has mostly turned out to be a remarkably wholesome, pleasant view (with one notable exception on each of those attributes). While one clear romantic attachment has developed, the series still shows no major sign of going the harem route, and the probable eventual addition of one or two new cast members is a plus. The cast is a delight, and there’s even enough mystery and world-building elements to keep the plot rolling even after a major early resolution, too. This is one of the season’s minor surprises.
I’m Living With a NEET Kunoichi
Rating So Far: B-
If the second half of this series’ first season proves anything, it’s that the series fares much better when it doesn’t take itself seriously. The low point of the season is when Shizuri has to temporarily abandon her NEET ways and the whole gang has to muster to fight off some demons (who are apparently becoming regular cast members, effective episode 13). The entertainment value improves markedly once the series goes back to being silly, enough so that I found the season’s last three episodes to be some of the most entertaining. The second half run also includes a startling revelation about the true “nature” of one of the established characters and introduces another semi-regular cast member in the form of Kanae’s younger sister, who’s appalled at how thoroughly Kanae has fallen into being the tsundere maid at the ninja-themed maid cafe. By the end of the season the series has settled into a good enough comedy dynamic that I can justify raising the series’ evaluation a notch. It’s going to be continuing into next season, and I’ll probably continue to watch, though I still can’t see it raising above a low-priority view.
I’m Getting Married to a Girl I Hate in My Class
Rating: C+
The addition of the fourth girl (who turns out to be the younger sister of Akane) adds the fairly standard Sexually Aggressive Girl to the the quasi-harem mix, but she doesn’t end up shaking up the dynamic much. The series still comes down to Akane struggling to strike a classic tsundere balance between being standoffish and possessive even as her feelings for Saito clearly continue to grow. (Or have her feelings actually always been that way? That’s also a standard tsundere gimmick, and the late episodes certainly seem to be pointing in that direction.) My main problem with the series, aside from Saito’s general blandness, is that any of the other girls seem like a better match for Saito than Akane does, and that’s a fatal flaw for a harem romcom with a clear intended favorite. Despite that, the series turned out to be fairly popular (it was 6th for the season on MAL, in line with 100 Girlfriends and ahead of both ZENSHU and My Happy Marriage), so an eventual continuation seems likely, but it’s not one I will be eagerly anticipating.
Ishura s2
Rating: B
At some point this series is going to conclude its set-up and actually get to the tournament that it’s now been building towards for two seasons, right? The characters introduced over the last two seasons who still survive do finally seem to be gathering in the last episode, but given the way this series has operated so far, we’ll see. Even after 24 episodes, it still feels like the story is just concluding its set-up, and the number of characters, mysteries, and plot threads which have been established requires a score card to keep straight, not the least of which is who or what the True Demon Lord we see in a last-episode flashback actually is. Many of the individual vignettes are done well enough that I’d love to see how this whole thing comes together, though I doubt that can be accomplished without a shonen action-length run. Hopefully more animation is forthcoming here.
My Happy Marriage 2
Rating: B+
While the artistry (especially on character designs) is always lovely, this series shines brightest when Miyo is at her most confident and showing the strength she’s gained over the course of the two seasons, which made episode 11 one of my favorite episodes of any series in the Winter 2025 season. On the downside, Naoshi Usui seems a little too generic as a villain, despite attempts to show that the way he is now was formed by his association with Miyo’s mother, and none of the big plot twists here are going to surprise anyone. That episode 12 was not available by the time I posted this (despite the schedule saying it should have been) and the season finale is delayed further also interfere with this one getting a full evaluation, hence the more conservative grade given here.
Solo Leveling
Rating: B
The biggest surprise of the season for me may well be how much my opinion of this one has improved over the course of the season. I still think it has a fair amount of issues, and its story execution is as generic as ever, but it executes very well on what it’s trying to do and never lacks for dramatic staging. A fair amount of the credit for this goes to its strong musical score, but it also continues to make quite the spectacle out of its featured action sequences and definitely hits on shaping Jinwoo into the ultimate cool stud. I can even give it credit for being at least a bit emotionally affecting in the business involving his mother, too. On the downside, Cha Hae-in is being almost criminally underused; she’s supposed to be among the most powerful hunters, but she doesn’t display anywhere near the sense of strength that the other S-classers, do. (In fact, in general the series seems to have issues with making its female hunters seem too strong.) The last episode drops a number of teasers for potential future plot threads, and this series is still among the most popular titles of the last couple of years, so presumably more will eventually be coming.
Übel Blatt
Rating: D
I almost let this one ride on my mid-season comments, but those do not provide a full appreciation of how badly this one drops the ball. The series does show at least some potential, especially in its setting design, but Koinzell is never convincing in his emotional displays and attempts to justify the behaviors of the Seven Heroes just make them look like even worse scum. And wow, it’s been a long time since I have seen a series be so inept in its use of humor as this one is. The production effort shows little expertise in disguising how limited the animation is, and even a decent musical effort doesn’t give the series the gravitas it aims for. This one is a major disappointment on almost every front.
Unnamed Memory act 2
Rating: B-
The first season was a disappointment, but the way the series ends calls for at least a bit of re-evaluation on the storytelling front. This is one of these stories where what happens early on doesn’t make full sense without the context brought about by the end, and once you find out what’s really going on, it casts a lot of what happened early in a new light. This doesn’t forgive the first season’s editing issues, but this is a more cohesive story than what it may appear to be, and by the end, the series’ title makes a lot more sense. However, the critical revelations come so late that I can completely understand someone giving up on this one early.
Welcome to Japan, Ms. Elf!
Rating: B+
While I wouldn’t go as far as naming this series as a favorite, I absolutely adored it nonetheless. Maribelle and Kazuhiro are one of the most charming anime couples to come along in years, and in the second half of the series Wridra makes more regular appearances, becoming a perfect complement as a motherly figure pushing them together (when she’s not throwing a fit about missing out on prime food or hot springs!) rather than being romantic competition. There is some action and a couple of bits of fan service in the second half, but those are and always will be secondary to the joy of the central relationship. The one ongoing negative is that this is far from the best-looking series of the season, but when it can lead to scenes like the one shown above, it doesn’t really matter much.
ZENSHU
Rating: B
All along, ZENSHU felt like it was building towards some kind of grand message, but what message does it actually send in the end? For all of its dramatics, for all of the efforts to avoid the somber fate of A Tale of Perishing, it ultimately seems to come down to just “Natsuko learns about love, and that allows her to make her next movie,” and frankly, that’s disappointing. It’s too clean, simple, and convenient an ending, and given the kind of movie Perishing is, it’s entirely too happy, too. This was always a series I more respected for its quality than actually liked, and this stumble at the end lowers it a notch overall. I will say, though, that the flashback episode was actually the series’ high point for me, as I loved the irony that a person struggling to tell a love story because she hasn’t experienced it inspired so much love from others as she grew up. And the series always does look great. Kudos also for a quality simuldub effort.
Note: With the addition of Go! Go! Loser Ranger! the Preview Guide is now complete.
Welcome to my seasonal Guide! (The debut schedule can be found here.)
Season 2 of The Apothecary Diaries is continuing with episode reviews from last season, so it is not covered here. Other series continuing from last season (I Left My A Rank Party, I’m Living With a NEET Kunoichi) are also not being covered here. Moonrise is also not being covered here since that dropped in its entirety on Netflix; it may get its own review in a couple of weeks.
Beyond those, 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. I will be covering the new Gundam series (its entry here is based on the preview in theaters), as well as the second seasons for By Bye, Earth,I’ve Been Killing Slime for 300 Years, and Go Go! Loser Ranger! I will not be covering the returns of Wind Breaker, Fire Force, Black Butler, SHOSHIMIN, Uma Musume, Himitsu no AiPri, Aharen-san wa Hakarenai, or My Hero Academia, since I am not current with those series.
Debuts are listed below in with the newest ones at the top.
Go! Go! Loser Ranger! s2 (ep 13)
Streams: Hulu on Sundays
Rating: 4 (of 5)
The qualification exams are over, and D, still posing as Sakamura, has passed, so he awaits his appointment. During a day out with Sakamura’s elder sister (aka Pink), he encounters a strange man named Chidori who seems to be investigating the string of recent disappearances but may not be what he claims. Later, he learns about his new assignment, and though it wasn’t what he expected, he’s not disappointed by it. Meanwhile, things are far from sympatico at the top, as the absence of Blue is throwing off normal routines (and poses!) and causing Red to lose his cool more than normal, and a string of recent disappearances suggests that additional boss monsters may be in hiding in the city.
Overall, the second half of the series gets off to a strong start. It smoothly calls upon details from the first half without actually doing a recap, gives us a good reminder about where many of the major players stand, and advances potential plot threads for the upcoming half. It also provides some additional insights into how the Dragon Keepers work as an organization; for instance, we knew from the first season that each of the colors has a specialty it focuses on, and now we know what Green’s focus is. It even has an amusingly different take on the “male character face-planting in a female character’s ample bosom” gimmick, and while the new OP and ED aren’t as strong as the ones for the first season, they’re not bad, either. If you watched out the first half, I see no reason why the second half will dissuade you from doing the same.
Food for the Soul
Streams: Crunchyroll on Saturdays
Rating: 3.5 (of 5)
First-year university student Mako Kawai was socially involved as a child but has become more timid as she’s grown older, leaving her without close associations at school and reluctant even to go to a sit-down restaurant on her own. (This point I can empathize with well, as I was initially uncomfortable with this, too, when I first moved away from home.) But that starts to change when she discovers that a former friend from elementary school is attending the same college and looking for a fourth person to start a Food Culture Research Club. Mako is a bit of a foodie, so after some initial reluctance she lets the prospect of exploring more good food entice her to join. But she’s shocked to learn that the club is not intended to be what its name states.
This is an original anime from the creator of Non Non Biyori (who is also making a simultaneously-published manga version) and studio P.A. Works, and it’s being co-directed by the director of the anime version of Non Non Biyori as well. Based on the first episode, it’s arguably the most promising-looking of the CGDCT-styled series this season. The base cast is immediately likable, the attention to food-related detail is done in an appealing way (and I’m personally a big fan of sauce katsudon, which is featured in this episode), and there’s even a sense of an actual plot complication in the twist at the end of the first episode. Most importantly, it’s easily the best-looking series of its type this season; P.A. Works rarely disappoints on the technical front, and the certainly don’t here. As a casual, relaxing view, this one looks more promising than mono, and having an ensemble cast from the beginning may give it a leg up on Zatsu Tabi, too.
mono
Streams: Crunchyroll on Saturdays
Rating: 3 (of 5)
In this adaptation of a manga by the creator of Laid-Back Camp, Satsuki got into her high school Photography Club because of a particular senpai, but she’s left adrift when that senpai graduates. A chance encounter that she and her best friend An have with Haruno, a manga-ka looking for inspiration for a new title, results in the girls experimenting further with new camera as Satsuki and An become the models for Haruno’s new 4-koma manga.
Advertising blurbs for the series mention a third high school girl in another club which is also short on members who joins with Satsuki and An to form a new, combined club, but none of that aspect is present in this episode. Instead there’s various antics involving a cat, but basically this scenario comes down to Satsuki expanding from just taking pictures of her senpai to getting more serious about her hobby. In other words, this is looking like it’s going to be similar in style and feel to YuruCamp, as it has a similar mix of laid-back charm and light, clean humor, but with a more blatant yuri vibe. (An is clearly enamored with Satsuki.) In the downside, its artistic effort is much shakier, especially on the character design and rendering front, which is why I can’t rate this higher. Lightly comedic fare that one can relax to is always welcome, though, so this one might earn another episode of two for a test-run.
Teogonia
Streams: Crunchyroll on Fridays
Rating: 3 (of 5)
In Kai’s world, a declining humanity must struggle for survival against demi-human races, though the blessing of a land god can help a select few become champions. Kai isn’t one of those (at least not yet); he’s just a grunt soldier who’s trying to get stronger to assure his survival. But he does have strange dreams of another, wholly different world, and those dreams inspire him to try to manifest magic. During a battle against orgs (think orcs), he discovers a way to use the spiritual energy that is present in this world to use fire magic. Meanwhile, the daughter of a local baron rues that she’s not allowed to join her brother in fighting to defend their village.
So this light novel adaptation is technically an isekai, but it’s one where the protagonist is not fully cognizant of the fact that he’s in an isekai situation; he’s not even clear that the dreams he has of a modern world and rice balls are a previous life. That gives this one more the feel of a shonen action fantasy title so far, albeit one with a distinctly stronger artistic effort than normal. (The animation effort isn’t quite as sharp but is still at least a bit above average.) Nothing about the plot or setting is boldly different, though the girl who wants to fight is shown prominently doing so in the OP and Next Episode preview, so perhaps she might rise to the level of co-protagonist? Either way, I’m ambivalent about this one after one episode, so I will give it one or two more to prove itself.
A Ninja and an Assassin Under One Roof
Streams: Crunchyroll on Thursdays
Rating: 2.5 (of 5)
Satoko is a naive, mostly incompetent, and definitely airheaded shinobi who just went with the flow when a number of her compatriots fled their isolated secret village. Konoha is a practical-minded high school student who is secretly a skilled assassin. The two meet by chance in the city, and Konoha discovers that, while Satoko isn’t very skilled as a ninja in general, she is very good at a few things that are invaluable to Konoha’s lifestyle and trade. Hence Konoha invites Satoko to live at her place, all while the two fend off hunters from Satoko’s village.
Although multiple characters get suddenly killed throughout the episode (including two shinobi who are designed elaborately enough that I expected them to be recurring characters), this manga adaptation is actually primarily a comedy series, albeit at times a rather dark one; Konoha has no compunction about killing the father of a girl portrayed as her closest school friend, for instance. In fact, juxtapositions of typical expectations for these kinds of series seems to be the point. The problem is that these sudden shifts can be more jarring than funny. That isn’t to say there isn’t anything genuinely funny here; there’s definitely a perverse humor in the notion that a ninja ability to turn things into leaves is handy for corpse and murder weapon disposal, for instance. Thus I can see this one working in the long run if the assassination/body disposal thing becomes a running joke, but it definitely isn’t going to be for everyone and it’s off to an awkward start.
Me and the Alien MuMu
Streams: Nowhere official (as of 4/9) on Wednesdays
Rating: 3 (of 5)
MuMu is a catlike alien who has crash-landed while investigating Earth, straight into the apartment of shy, socially anxious college freshman Sakurako. Because MuMu’s race devastated itself in a war where the smart people on both sides were targeted and killed off, his race no longer understands the advanced technology they have, so MuMu disassembles Sakurako’s microwave and refrigerator in a quest for understanding, much to Sakurako’s dismay. But she can’t exactly ignore MuMu, since the (cloaked) spaceship still imbedded in her apartment has enough destructive power to blow up the entire country.
This manga adaptation is most distinguished by one thing: Sakurako’s unconventional hair design. Beyond that, it takes an approach that’s light-hearted to the point of flippant even about some fairly serious topics (such as MuMu’s race having hand weapons that can vaporize a person), though mixed in amongst the humor are much heavier moments involving Sakurako’s social anxiety and what’s traumatized her over time. The episode has its moments on both fronts (the explanation for why cats are Earth’s dominant species is rather funny, and Sakurako’s past negative social experiences are not trivial), but it struggles to find a smooth tonal balance between the two aspects. The iron that MuMu could unintentionally help Sakurako with her anxiety is a potentially neat aspect, though, as is the seeming emphasis on figuring out how things work. Can’t see this one being a winner even if it does get picked up for proper streaming, but it does have at least some entertainment potential.
The Mononoke Lecture Logs of Chuzenji-sensei
Streams: Nowhere official (as of 4/9) on Mondays
Rating: 3.5 (of 5)
In 1948 Japan, Kanna is a second-year high school student who finds a purse dropped on a bus, but three people step forward to claim it. A sharp-witted man helps discern the truth of the matter, but he disappears before she can thank him. Kanna later discovers that the man is actually Akihiko Chuzenji, the stern new Japanese teacher at her school. They have another encounter later on when she meets him while trying to discern the truth of a supposed ghost in the school library. He wants to keep the library’s hidden room (where materials banned during the war were kept), she wants to ease the mind of a friend troubled by the ghost, so they work together on a compromise, albeit one that Kanna’s not too happy about and which will almost certainly result in them working together again on further mysteries.
This manga adaptation gives every sign of being a neat little mystery series where the girl winds up being the “front” while the teacher is the brains. Their personalities are already starting to clash in entertaining ways, and I loved how period details played into both the look of the series and one of the episode’s two mysteries. The episode also looks good, especially on the character designs, and moves along efficiently. If there’s one significant negative here, it’s a soundtrack which occasionally makes some odd musical choices, but that’s a minor factor here. Hopefully this one will get licensed, because it should find an audience in the West.
Apocalypse Hotel
Streams: Crunchyroll on Tuesdays
Rating: 3.5
In this original production from Cygames Pictures, the Ginguro Hotel in Tokyo’s Ginza district prides itself on being both cutting-edge in its use of service robots and always ready to provide an immaculate, five-star experience to its guests. That remains true even a hundred years after humanity has departed due to the planet becoming toxically uninhabitable. Though challenges in maintaining readiness have gradually grown with time, and though they have had no guests in a very long time, the staff is still ready to welcome humanity back.
This episode has only two voiced characters: a Doorman Robot who has a male voice and takes his role very seriously despite regularly overheating and a female front desk robot who has assumed the role of the hotel’s acting manager. The other robots just communicate with electronic sounds R2D2-style, which helps give the episode a certain cute aspect. Indeed, for the most part the episode takes on a light-hearted tone as the robots go about daily business that they are unable or unwilling to acknowledge is pointless, with the potential world-ending crisis being a missing shower cap. (Even in my visits to Japan, I don’t think I’ve ever been to a hotel which offers one of these.) However, the melancholy that all of this is pointless, and has been for a very, very long time, always lingers in the background. Robots have worn down and gone on “indefinite leave” over time, replacement parts and coolant are impossible to find, and so forth. How the establishment still has power after a century is an open question, but a mostly irrelevant one in establishing the hotel as the last desperate hold-out of civilization. Advertising art suggests that there will eventually be human characters, and there is an interesting development at the end of the episode, but this episode is, overall, all about the set-up of the premise, and it does a fine job at that, complete with a better-than-baseline animation effort. Definitely will be checking out more of this one.
Shiunji Family Children
Streams: Crunchyroll on Tuesdays
Rating: 2.5
The wealthy Shiunji family is known for the beauty of its seven siblings (five girls and two boys), all of whom are now teenagers ranging from 14 to 18 (two sets of twins are involved). That most of them look completely different and they all have different hair colors apparently doesn’t faze anyone, nor does how close together they are in age. Because none of the siblings minded these seeming inconsistencies themselves, they are caught completely off guard when, on the 15th birthday of the youngest, they are told that they are all adopted and mostly unrelated by blood to each other; only one of the sets of twins are actual twins, even. This sends a shock through the whole group, but it also presents an opportunity for youngest daughter Kotono, who has long had feelings for her brother Arata.
This series adapts a manga from the creator of Rent-A-Girlfriend and seems pretty direct about where it’s going: a semi-harem scenario where some romances which were previously forbidden because incest now suddenly aren’t, technically. It’s possible that the series could aim higher than that; third daughter Ouka is left to sort out whether the boy she’s always regarded as her “other half” can still have that status even if they’re not actually twins, for instance. Can she really continue to be as unguarded around Arata? However, the episode has just enough of a fan servicey edge to it to suggest otherwise, and the fact that them not being related by blood doesn’t mean they’re not siblings be damned. Doesn’t help that all of the girls are stock archetypes, either. I am a little curious to see how this one plays out, but it’s definitely a borderline case for following this season.
#COMPASS2.0 ANIMATION PROJECT
Streams: Crunchyroll on Mondays
Rating: 2.5 (of 5)
This series is an adaptation of the MMO battle arena game #Compass: Combat Providence Analysis System, which has existed in Japan since 2016. Its game play primarily involves 3v3 battles on various stages, and some of that is certainly evident in this episode, which features human players teaming up with a wide variety of heroes from the battle setting; while the hero fights, the human (represented by a miniature avatar) uses various power-up cards to aid the hero. There also seems to be a concert venue present in this (presumably digital) world, which may be a reference to the offshoot game #Compass Live Arena.
The plot here doesn’t amount to much: as a human newcomer is shown around by a host bot, and various concert and battles scenarios play out, a corrupting force from the outside seeks to attack the power cube at the heart of the setting, which initiates a call for all heroes to pause their normal activities and participate in the big event. Meanwhile, the rogue hero, 13, actively resists pairing up with a human. When push comes to shove in the middle of the battle, though, 13 reluctantly teams up with human newcomer Jin, who seems to recognize him from elsewhere.
In other words, the series looks like it’s trying to actively marry a storyline onto the standard game play. Even so, the story element is thin at this point, so we mostly just get one big CG battle with a vast array of possibly-interesting-looking characters. The action elements are handled well enough that I could see this attracting some attention, but without more devotion to the story going forward, it’s going to have a tough time garnering a fanbase beyond those who already play the game.
Summer Pockets
Streams: Crunchyroll on Mondays
Rating: 3 (of 5)
Hairi Takahara, who was apparently a competitive swimmer until something happened a year ago, has come to a (fictional) island in the Seto Inland Sea over summer break to help with the estate sale of his grandmother, who recently died. While exploring and adjusting to the island, he encounters a number of cute girls: one who’s practicing swimming under the moonlight in a school pool, one who’s taking a roadside nap, one who’s shooting shirtless guys with a long-range water gun, one who observes him from a lighthouse, and a younger girl who’s a distant relative and staying at the same house he is. (One more is shown in promo art but has not appeared yet.) Doubtless all these girls have some kind of problem for Hairi to solve, and maybe one of them can mend his wounded heart.
If you’ve been in anime long enough to be familiar with previous Key/Visual Arts VN adaptations, you’ll almost immediately recognize this as being one; its style, structure, and heavy moe flavor is just too similar to everything they’ve done before to ignore. How you reacted to their previous titles is a good litmus test for how you’ll likely react to this one, too. So far it’s sticking to standard formula – even down to its little bits of humor – for better or worse, which means that this episode is just a set-up that introduces a few key players and drops a few tantalizing hints. It looks good in stills and the girls are all pretty enough, though its animation is less impressive (especially some shown at the beginning), and the music is just the kind of light, lilting sound you’d expect from such far. Hard to say at this point if this one will do anything to stand out.
Zatsu Tabi -That’s Journey-
Streams: Crunchyroll on Mondays
Rating: 4 (of 5)
In this manga adaptation, Chika Suzugamori is an 18-year-old manga artist who won a major award for her first effort but has been struggling to come up with an acceptable proposal for her next. Inspired by a TV show, she decides to use some of her prize money to go on a journey, with a social media poll determining which direction she should go. After a bullet train ride, she winds up in Aizuwakamatsu, where she checks out the local hot springs in and a temple at the top of 1,225 steps, all in an effort to re-energize herself.
I’m a big fan of Laid-Back Camp, and boy, does this one give me a similar vibe. It’s not quite as cutesy as its predecessor (though only one girl has had more than cameo appearances so far), but it has a similar kind of look, animation style, and dedication to scenery porn, to the point that you could practically call it a travelogue, and a good-looking one at that. Chika is a appreciable as a young woman who’s looking for something to shake up her life and give her new perspective and inspiration, and I can very much relate to the way she marvels at unfamiliar sites. (I can also relate on climbing up a mountain staircase thing; I tried and failed to get to the topmost shrine at Fushimi Inari Taisha a few years go, so I respect Chika for succeeding.) Perhaps most importantly, the whole thing has a mellow, laid-back spirit to it; you wouldn’t watch this to get excited, but rather to relax and wind down after a long day. I can easily see it serving that purpose quite well.
Makina-san’s a Love Bot?!
Streams: OceanVeil on Saturdays
Rating: 2.5 (of 5)
Eita is a loner robotics geek, one who’s willing to even endanger himself to save his AI robot from serious damage, which is precisely why Makina Agatsuma, a popular, sexy classmate he’s developed a crush on, comes to see him at his home one night. He discovers then that she’s actually an AI-driven android specifically assigned for seduction (though her current assignment is just to assimilate into high school life), and she’s visiting because she was badly damaged by an explosion earlier this evening and needs someone with his isolation and expertise to help her with repairs. Since she’s aware of his crush, Makina even offers to reward Eita with sex. Meanwhile, an AI-specializing scientist (who may well be connected to Makina) is seeking a capable assistant.
This half-episode series is an AnimeFesta title, which means that nudity and sexual content can be expected; the former is certainly present in the first episode. While the entirety of the first episode is taken up just establishing the central characters and premise, there are hints of a bigger plot; Makina doesn’t know why she was made to be a seductress, and someone who likely knows what she is certainly tried to take her out by booby-trapping her apartment to explode. Hence this may not be just about the ecchi content. Its artistry is decidedly average and animation somewhat limited, so it’s not much to look at beyond the nudity, but I’m at least somewhat curious to see if any significant story will play out here.
Oh, and kudos to new streaming service OceanVeil for providing a legal English-language venue for such fare, though it is a bit pricey for what it has to offer at this point.
Kaiba: Samurai Legend
Streams: Netflix and Hulu on Saturdays
Rating: 1.5 (of 5)
Kaiba has been raised in a jungle to be a samurai, but chance brings him and his father back to Japan, where they encounter an old associate of Kaiba’s father and his teen daughter Sayaka. Kaiba’s never seen girls before, and has no common sense at all about life outside of the jungle and fighting, so all kinds of misbehavior go on before Kaiba encounters his nemesis in the form of the kendo champion of Sayaka’s school.
This series feels like a holdover from the early ’90s, which is exactly the truth; it’s based on an award-winning manga Gosho Aoyama did before starting Case Closed and was originally adapted into anime form in 1993-94. This appears to be a complete reboot, much like the recent new version of Ranma ½, which was a contemporary title and with which it shares some similar basic construction; I have to think it’s not a coincidence that both reboots are coming out so close together. This is a far less iconic or well-remembered series, though, and it’s not hard to understand why. Though the series doesn’t lack for energy, Kaiba is thoroughly obnoxious, and the stylized action scenes can’t hold a candle to Ranma‘s. The artistic and design elements are also far less attractive; this is one case where not updating its look may have hurt the series. (But to be clear, I was never a fan of the art style of Case Closed, either.) It does have standard shonen action silliness going for it, but absolutely nothing here encourages to watch more in a series with plentiful other titles to check out.
Yandere Dark Elf
Streams: HIDIVE on Sundays
Rating: 2 (of 5)
For the second straight season, we have a female elf with a similar-sounding name (Mariabell vs. Mariebelle) who makes her way from the fantasy world where the male protagonist first meets her into the modern world, initially appearing naked. That’s about all this series has in common with Welcome to Japan, Ms Elf! however. While Ms. Elf did have fan service, it was a minor and sparsely-used component, but here it’s the main draw – or it would be, if it wasn’t for the blatant censoring. (How did this happen when HIDIVE has freely aired a number of uncensored titles over the last couple of years?) And while Marie was sweet and charming, Bell here is batshit crazy for our hapless protagonist. But hey, since that’s in the name of the series, no one should be caught off guard by that, right?
The premise is simple: Hinata is a high school student who was transported to another world to defeat the Demon King, but he completed that job and so was sent back, leaving behind the three beauties who had accompanied him. One of them – a dark elf sorceress – was obsessed enough with him that she found a way to follow him back home and now is fully committed to being Hinata’s wife, whether he wants it or not. The half-episode format doesn’t leave much more time for developing anything than that, though it does look like a shy classmate being sweet on Hinata could be a future complication. While I suppose that the romcom possibilities here will sustain the series, I can see the yandere thing getting old fast, and the censoring prevents the nudity from adequately offsetting that. I might check out more, but not getting a positive vibe from this one so far.
Maebashi Witches
Streams: Crunchyroll on Sundays
Rating: 2 (of 5)
Five girls assemble at the behest of a frog plushie to open a magical shop where they will grant the wishes of their customers, who are able to come to the shop only because they seek something. Granting the wish seems to involve performing a song as an idol group, and their first customer is a girl struggling to figure out what path she should take in life.
I’ll say one thing about the opening episode of this new series from Sunrise: it doesn’t lack for energy or spectacle. And while it does lean heavily on its CG for the performance numbers, it actually looks pretty good overall. It seems to be aiming to land somewhere between traditional magical girl series and idol shows, without fully committing to either path in a structural sense. While that gives it a slightly fresher feel, it also leaves the series structurally wishy-washy. The girls so far aren’t distinguished by more than a basic trait (the energetic one, the dumb one, the mature one, the contrary one, and the practical one), but perhaps that will develop with time? I can see this one being successful with the right audience, but that’s not typical otaku.
The Gorilla God’s Go-To Girl
Streams: Crunchyroll on Sundays
Rating: 3.5 (of 5)
Sophia Reeler, the daughter of a country count, feels out of place at the Royal Academy, so she doesn’t want to stick out. But this is a world where all get a blessing from an animal god when they turn 16 (and an ability matching to that animal’s attributes), and Sophia has the misfortune to draw the most conspicuous one of all: the blessing of the Gorilla God, a once-in-a-couple-of-generations blessing which grants enormous physical capabilities well-suited to combat. While she tries to keep that a secret from her classmates, she’s obligated by royal order to try out to become a junior knight. And while she’d love to fail the test and return to normality, she soon proves way too capable for there to be much likelihood of that happening.
This adaption of a web novel very much plays to standard shojo stylistic elements, and indeed, everything about the set-up suggests that it will eventually be a reverse-harem story (even if one guy is much more prominently featured in the OP than others). It’s certainly not one of the season’s artistic darlings, either, though it does make good use of what it has, and how much fun the gorilla spirit which is often shadowing Sophia seems to be having is a regular source of amusement. In fact, that the episode as a whole achieves that spirit is the main reason I can mildly recommend it, as seeing Sophia learn to deal both with her new abilities and the impact they will have on her social situation should be entertaining enough to follow this one. But really, in the end, it’s all about the gorilla.
Witch Watch
Streams: Crunchyroll on Sundays
Rating: 3.5 (of 5)
Morihito, a descendant of a line of ogres, was childhood friends with fledgling witch Nico, but she left for the witches’ Holy Land to get proper training. Years later she’s coming back to town as a teenager to complete her training, and Morihito is being asked to be her familiar (which means she’ll live with him and he’ll be her bodyguard). While Nico does have much better control of her magic now, she’s still all kinds of trouble for Morihito, but due to special circumstances, that’s something he’s willing to live with.
This manga adaptation is primarily a comedy, and the first episode plays well in this regard, with some truly funny antics as Morihito tries to deal with the flighty (both figuratively and literally!) Nico. There is a startlingly serious aspect to it, too, which comes up at the end of the episode, and seeing how that element sits in the series’ background going forward should be interesting. More importantly, both of the leads are instantly likable, and the OP promises that a couple more regulars will eventually join the cast, too. This isn’t a spectacular artistic effort, and both the exterior design of Morihito’s house and his body proportions as a teenager felt a bit off to me, but it looks good enough to allow the humor to work. This should be a fun, mostly light-hearted view.
Lazarus
Streams: Adult Swim on Sundays
Rating: 4.5 (of 5)
In this newest offering from the creator and director of Cowboy Bebop, a brilliant scientist has developed a ground-breaking new painkiller, but not until after it’s been widely-distributed (and he’s gone into hiding) does he reveal its awful side effect: that after a certain amount of time, the drug will mutate and kill the user, and since it lingers in the body, anyone who has used it is subject to this effect. He claims to have a cure and challengers humanity to find him to get it within the 30 day time limit before the drug’s side effect starts manifesting. To try to find the doctor, a group named Lazarus seeks to recruit an agile convict, but the convict has other ideas and escapes on his own, forcing the group’s members to chase him across the city.
While the first episode does lay out the most basic particulars of the situation, it’s mostly just one prolonged escape and chase scene, one which allows young convict Axel to put his incredible athletic and acrobatic talents on full display, and the production backs that up with some of the best visual, animation, and choreography efforts so far this year. Setting aside the improbability of this near-future scenario playing out, this episode is going to invite well-deserved comparisons to Shinichiro Watanabe’s Cowboy Bebop, as the action and musical styles are similar and the Lazarus teach has a counterpart for each of Bebop‘s cast members: Axel is clearly a stand-in for Spike (albeit a much cheerier and more personable version) and there’s also a beefy black guy (Jet), a streetwise woman (Faye, though a blond in this case), and a girl who’s a computer expert (Edward, although this girl is much more timid). Added to that is a teenage boy who’s an apparent expert with drones and an older female lawyer. While the plot doesn’t feel like anything special, the cast is engaging and the execution certainly doesn’t lack for energy. This has the potential to be one of the season’s top performers.
Classic★Stars
Streams: Crunchyroll on Saturdays
Rating: 2.5 (of 5)
This series is the anime side of a cross-over project from the same creative team behind Uta no Prince Sama. As might be expected from such a pedigree, it’s another boy band project, this time with classical music as a uniting theme. In this case, Gloria Private Academy is one of those ridiculously-ostentatious schools for sports and performing arts that can only be found in anime. A young boxer comes to the school after he’s offered a sweet opportunity and surgery to repair a damaged eye, but his assumption that he’s going to be joining the sports program proves incorrect: he’s actually slated to be Beethoven of the music program’s Student Council, apparently because he has some kind of affinity with the favorite composer. (Other members are Mozart, Chopin, and Liszt.) Though he proves astoundingly capable at belting out a song, he’s not at all cool with being misled on why he’s at the school.
The music in this one is almost enough to carry the first episode even if you aren’t into generic idol group stories, as an early hard rock version of Beethoven’s Symphony no. 5 is quite impressive and the rock-tinged theme of the OP, ED, and second musical piece are all solid. But even aside from the still-unexplained business about affinities with famous composers, there’s this flashy, magic-like “emosion” machine for projecting the performers feelings as images to add an extra bit of unnecessary weirdness. And frankly, the entire case introduced so far is more annoying than endearing. This will probably work for those normally into the genre, but I can’t see it holding much appeal for those not normally enamored with such fare.
Kowloon Generic Romance
Streams: Crunchyroll on Saturdays
Rating: 3.5 (of 5)
In the city of Kowloon (a part of Hong Kong), 32-year-old Reiko works at a real estate office with coworker Hajime, whom she’s gradually becoming attracted to. But she’s also starting to pick up on some strange occurrences: her eyesight has suddenly gotten better, a waiter at a tea house mistake her for Hajime’s former girlfriend, and even Hajime seems to do the same once when he’s sleepy. She’s most startled, though, when she discovers a photo with her name and likeness standing with Hajime, a photo she doesn’t remember ever taking.
This manga adaptation is one of those cases where hints of weirdness only very gradually creep into the picture, and not until the very end of the episode can viewers confirm that something is truly off. Does it have anything to do with the new tech item floating in the sky? That’s unclear, but it being unclear is also the point. So is sex appeal, as while the camera shots aren’t especially blatant about it, some fan service is definitely sprinkled throughout. The first episode looks good and takes its time to set things up for the big reveal at the end, which does make it effective but not without dragging just a little. (And no, I’m not referring to the copious amounts of smoking in it.) Definitely a more mature-leaning series, but more will have to be going on in the second episode for it to keep my interest.
From Old Country Bumpkin to Master Swordsman
Streams: Amazon Prime on Saturdays
Rating: 3.5 (of 5)
In this light novel adaptation, Beryl Gardinant has operated a country dojo which teaches swordsmanship for 20 years now. He’s content with this low-key life, though his elderly father continually bugs him about how he’s never found a wife and started producing grandchildren. His life gets upended when a former female student who’s risen to become a Knight Commander comes to the dojo with a proposal that he become the sword instructor for her order. With much prodding (and some conniving by his father), Beryl reluctantly agrees to the role and moves to the capital. There he meets some other former students – one now an apprentice to the same order, another now a top-ranked adventurer – and while he feels out of his element, he quickly impresses on doubters within the knight order that the Knight Commander didn’t nominate him without good reason.
This one is the latest in the “middle aged guy doesn’t appreciate how good he is” gimmick, and it even includes former female students who now have skill and standing of their own but would still probably happily marry him if he asked (despite the age gap), so I wasn’t expecting much from what seemed like a mostly-generic set-up. However, the first episode surprised me a bit. Unlike contemporaries who are ridiculously OP, Beryl just has a wealth of skill and experience in his favor. He doesn’t overpower the vice-commander who challenges him; he adapts to his opponent’s fighting style and outclasses him with seemingly-simple tricks, like redirecting his blow rather than blocking it or moving with an opponent’s spin attack to wind up behind him. These aren’t flashy gimmicks but are definitely the kind of little moves that can outwit an opponent in a true fight, and I was quite impressed by the episode’s attention to detail on both the choreography and animation of the moves. The quality of the English dub, which uses an LA-based studio, is also a big step above Prime’s previous offering this season (The Dinner Table Detective). This series may not end up going anywhere excitingly different, but if it keeps its action focus on little details like it has so far and continues to commit to this animation level for its action scenes then I’ll continue watching.
Guilty Gear Strive: Dual Rulers
Streams: Crunchyroll on Saturdats
Rating: 2.5 (of 5)
The Guilty Gear franchise has been a staple of fighting games since the late ’90s, but while its game play has been featured in a couple of anime series over the years, this is its first anime adaptation. To be specific, this is supposed to be a sequel to the 2021 game Guilty Gear Strive. However, the first episode is clearly aimed at drawing in new audiences as much as playing to established ones, as the first few minutes of this episode set the stage and the background for how the story’s protagonist game to be.
In the backstory, magic replaced science at one point, which led to the creation of bioweapons called Gears that humans (naturally) eventually lost control of. A war resulted, and at its end one of the human heroes of that war, Ky Kiske, met and fell in love with Dizzy, the daughter of the Gear King. The result of their union was their son, Sin Kiske. But not everyone is happy that Ky is now, after many years, formally marrying Dizzy, and a young woman named Unika becomes the face of the anti-Gear faction when she attacks during a celebration of the impending marriage. She flees after Ky puts himself and Dizzy in a nigh-indestructible stasis to protect themselves from her potent attacks, but not before she catches the attention of Sin, who feels there’s more going on her than just a simple terrorist attack. (Or it could be love at first sight. Hard to tell at this point.)
Animation studio SANZIGEN is using a very distinctive, CG-heavy animation style which uses a lot of visual gimmicks and will certainly make this one stand out. And while it can be followed by franchise newcomers, it throws out a lot of bones for longtime franchise fans, too. Nothing about the premise so far seems all that special, and the prominence of Unika in advertising art suggests that she and Sin will have some kind of dynamic going forward. Overall, though, this one shows no inclination to be anything other than a pure actioner. Maybe it will amount to something in the long run, but it has failed to capture my interest so far.
Anne Shirley
Streams: Crunchyroll on Saturdays
Rating: 4 of 5
Though I’ve never read or seen previous adaptations of Anne of Green Gables, it’s still a story near to my heart since one of my nieces is specifically named after the titular character. The original 1908 novel was derived from a formula story about orphan girls that was common at the turn of the 20th century, but Anne insisting that her name is spelled with an “e” can be taken as symbolic of an intent to at least partially depart from the standard formula. That intent worked, as the source novel is now considered a classic of children’s literature and one of the most iconic of all “plucky orphan girl” stories. It’s also long been well-known in Japan, having received a previous anime adaptation in 1979 and regular productions in one form or another on an annual basis. This new version, from a studio probably best-known to Western anime fans for Flag and Golgo 13, clearly aims to draw in new audiences. Based on the first episode, I see no reason why the series won’t succeed at that.
The story takes place in the late 19th century on Canada’s Prince Edward Island and focuses on Anne Shirley, a red-headed 11-year-old orphan with a big imagination and a captivating level of enthusiasm. Siblings Marilla and Matthew Cuthbert, who are growing old together without either ever having started a family, are seeking an orphan boy to help around their farm, but Anne gets sent to them by mistake. Though strict Marilla is initially resistant to keeping Anne anyway, Matthew is quickly won over by her energy and joy for life, to the point that he declares that they should keep Anne more for what they can do for her rather than what she can do for them. Marilla eventually agrees.
I don’t know how this plays as an accurate depiction of the source material, so speaking as a franchise newcomer, the first episode nails its appeal. Sure, we’ve seen plenty of characters like Anne before, but she’s the most prominent early version of the archetype, and she’s a delight to watch in action; honestly, I probably had a smile on my face throughout most of the episode. The artistic style is just right for the content, the animation is pretty good, and VA Honoka Inoue, in her biggest role to date, voices Anne with deserved gusto. I may not wind up following this one, because this kind of story just isn’t my thing anymore, but this will find an audience.
I’ve Been Killing Slimes for 300 Years and Maxed Out My Level 2
Streams: Crunchyroll on Saturdays
Rating: 3 (of 5)
Killing Slimes is one of the rare isekai series to pull off being both a power fantasy and a slice-of-life fantasy, and it did so in its first run by consistently maintaining a light-hearted, upbeat attitude even when engaged in action scenes or dealing with dragons or demon kings. The debut of its second season shows absolutely no inclination to change up that formula, and it retains the artistic and design merits of the first season. In other words, if you were a fan of the first season then nothing should dissuade you from enjoying the start of this season, too.
Since it has been four years since the first season, the episode opens with a very brief recap of the premise and major events from the first season before seguing into Azusa discovering rice and an equivalent to azuki beans on an herb-gathering expedition to the south. She decides to use the latter to make manju, and after some experimentation produces a slime-themed version which proves to be a hit product in Flatta. Later, she travels to the capital to meet a goddess who is making personal appearance, and the goddess turns out to be remarkably familiar. . . But that’s really about it. Nothing particularly exciting is going on here, but the charm of this one has always been in Azusa and her makeshift family doing things together, so that’s not necessarily a negative. The ED suggests that a new regular will be joining the crew eventually, so that’s something to look forward to.
The Dinner Table Detective
Streams: Amazon Prime on Fridays
Rating: 1.5 (of 5)
Reiko is the heiress of a major conglomerate, but she also has a double life as a rookie police detective, assisting Inspector Kazamatsuri. (Really, only the Inspector doesn’t know about this; all of her friends do.) When a murder happens at a party she’s attending, she quickly shifts identities and helps try to crack the case, but both she and Kazamatsuri struggle to pin down the culprit despite some description provided by the victim before she dies. Fortunately for them, a smart-mouthed butler at the party, who is to become Reiko’s personal servant, has cracked the case.
This anime adapts a three volume novel series from the early 2010s, one which has previously had a live-action adaptation. I have to think it worked better in that format because this debut is a near-disaster. The set-up isn’t necessarily bad, and I somewhat liked the idea of a smarmy butler being the real brains, but the writing takes a much too flippant tone for what should be a serious investigation of a murder and direction feels incapable of properly using its comedic elements, to an almost painful degree. There’s also little sense of tension, especially in the scene where the victim dies. The artistic style is a decided departure from anime norms, though arguably not for the better, either. While the episode is dubbed in English, I do have to recommend watching it subtitled, as the dub comes from a studio based in South Africa and features a bunch of voice actors who are clearly not familiar with how to properly or consistently pronounce Japanese names. I’m not a fan of pure mysteries stories, but even if I was, I can’t see me following this one.
Bye Bye, Earth s2 (ep 11)
Streams: Crunchyroll on Fridays
Rating: 3.5 (of 5)
The first half of this series (fully reviewed here) was notorious for being so over-the-top on its world-building that viewers had to struggle to make sense of it, and the first episode of the second half shows no immediate sign of changing that. In fact, it prominently features the funeral of one prominent character who was not shown having died during the battle at Katakombe but apparently did pass on at some point after that; Belle going to the funeral in the second half of this episode is the first that the viewer finds out about it.
In general, and despite a brief recap of major events from the first half, I highly recommend watching the last half or so of the first half before continuing with this one, as a number of other factors won’t make sense without late-season details fresh in your mind. Understanding how Bennett/Benedictine fits into the picture, and the nature of mermaids in this setting, is especially important for the scene where Belle wakes up and gets to briefly have a reunion with Benedictine, which takes up the episode’s first half. Mist (the face-tattooed female Underdog from the Katakombe battle) also reappears, and we get to see what an Underdog funeral looks like in this setting – and as everything in the first half, it’s its own thing, too. Significantly, Adonis doesn’t appear at all and is only mentioned brief when Mist talks to Belle while traveling to the funeral.
I always felt like this one cut off at a somewhat awkward point, so I’m glad to see it back and with no drop-off in creative or technical merits. This one is a definite follow for the season.
Can a Boy-Girl Friendship Survive?
Streams: Crunchyroll on Fridays
Rating: 3.5 (of 5)
In this light novel adaptation, shy Yu loves to make accessories based on flowers but had no talent for selling them. During his middle school years, pretty, outgoing Himari glommed onto him and helped him sell his accessories, and the two became friends. Two years later in high school, they’re still best friends, though Himari insists that there’s nothing romantic about it. (She claims to not understand romance, as she attributes both dating and dumping would-be paramours in the past to boredom.) That insistence may soon be put to the test, as another girl who also seems to understand what Himari likes about Yu (i.e., his focus on and passion for his creations) has come into the picture.
Wasn’t expecting much from this one, and Himari can easily be over-the-top with her physicality towards Yu. However, I did find the first episode to be quite genuinely funny at multiple points and greatly appreciated that we saw from the perspectives of both Yu and Himari, enough to know that neither of them currently acknowledges any romance in their relationship. Whether Himari’s feelings about Yu are just possessive friendship or repressed romance is a standard conflict in romcoms, but by the end of the episode I can see at least some potential in watching this develop, and Yu’s one male friend (who previously dated Himari) is a lively addition, too. I’m not sold yet on this one making my seasonal watch list, but it’s at least earned another episode or two.
Rock is a Lady’s Modesty
Streams: HIDIVE on Thursdays
Rating: 4 (of 5)
When Ririsa’s rock musician father dies and her mother remarries to a real estate mogul, Ririsa leaves behind her passion for rock guitar so she can pass for being a proper lady at the prestigious Oushin Girls Academy. Her goal is to become the school’s top student, the Noble Maiden, but a chance encounter with the seemingly-elegant Otoha, and the discovery that Otoha was carrying around a guitar pick, leads to Ririsa finding out that Otoha secretly plays drums to heavy metal music. Since Otoha knows that most girls at the academy wouldn’t know what a guitar pick was, she baits Ririsa into jamming with her, a session which seems to awaken a fiercely competitive streak in both girls.
The biggest negative to this manga adaptation debut is that Ririsa may have some of the most ridiculously overblown twin tails ever seen in anime form. (Really, how does she get through most doorways with those?) But against the rock elements of the episode, things like that and the deliberately-generic elite girl’s school design don’t matter. The musical part sizzles, to the point that I’ll forgive it occasionally leaning on some CG in some shots in the animation of the musical duel; this is still one of the most thoroughly-detailed instrumental performances that you’ll see in any anime. But the even bigger treat may be Otoha’s reaction to their jam session. Add in more than a tinge of yuri-baiting, music from the rock band Band-Maid, and some not-so-subtle use of symbolism and you have an episode that may start slow but winds up being a sizzling viewing experience. This was a highly-anticipated series, and it absolutely proves to be a keeper.
The Brilliant Healer’s New Life in the Shadows
Streams: Crunchyroll on Thursdays
Rating: 2.5 (of 5)
In a setting where healers are formally trained and licensed, Zenos is a talented and fair but unlicensed healer who operates an underground clinic in the slums of a major city. He certainly doesn’t have any problem getting the attention of the ladies, whether it’s the elf girl and ghost he lives with or the trio of different types of beast people who hang around his clinic. He can handle himself in a fight, too, though he’s strictly against killing, and seems to believe in only charging what people can pay.
This seems to be an in media res start, as nothing here explains how Zenos came to be where he is or associated with any of these girls/women, or how he learned to heal or handle himself in a fight when he didn’t have formal training. Presumably that will come starting next episode, as the intent seems to have been to show off his harem and skills. Unfortunately, that also makes for a very bland, stale first episode, and artistic and technical merits that are only average don’t help. A recent review of the first five source novels shows that there’s actually quite a bit more to this series than what shows in this episode, so maybe next episode will show more merit, but this isn’t a promising start.
Your Forma
Streams: Samsung+ TV on Wednesdays
Rating: 3.5 (of 5)
In a setting where androids called Amicus are commonplace and cyberized brains are apparently not unusual, Echika Hieda is an investigator who specializes in diving into people’s memories. No human assistant can keep up with her, so she’s paired with a cheeky Amicus named Harold. Their newest case strikes close to home, as it seems that an Amicus from the same model line as Harold is going around attacking people, which should be impossible, and Harold’s owner(?) is caught up in this.
This light novel adaptation is one where you’ll want to a bit of reading up on it before watching the first episode (if you can find it), as the episode explains almost nothing and gives the feel of jumping into the second chapter of the story. (I’m all for “show, don’t tell,” but this one could have used some exposition if they’re going to start it like this.) It’s going to invite comparisons to Ghost in the Shell, although it is taking a bit different dynamic approach; the first episode of this one shows no signs of the more action-oriented, militaristic aspects of its predecessor, instead favoring more of a “buddy cop” kind of approach, one where Echika is teamed up with a smarmy Amicus and will defend him even though she’s apparently not fond of them. The series earns points for its thoughtfulness on the design of a cyberized world and for the designs of Echika and Harold (really, character designs in general, but especially those two), and technical merits in general look pretty good so far. It’s not doing anything spectacular yet, but it might be worth following if it gets picked up by one of the regular streaming services. Oh, and there’s a series of chibi shorts which is going to be paralleling the main series.
The Beginning After the End
Streams: Crunchyroll on Wednesday
Rating: 3 ( of 5)
In this adaptation of a web novel, Arthur was a mighty king in previous life, one who apparently started as an orphan and came to power of an advanced technological empire through conquest, but then died mysteriously. Now he’s the baby son of parents in a world where magic exists, albeit with his mental faculties intact. While he’s dismayed about the limitations of his new body, he gradually comes to understand that what he learned about Ki in his previously life is applicable to magic in this one. Perhaps more importantly, he also learns that being part of a family might not be so bad after all.
This is one of the more frugally-animated series so far this season, and very little about the set-up is at all fresh; it will doubtless remind many viewers of Mushoku Tensei, albeit without the more skeezy aspects of that one. This is also a very slow start for a series which is apparently going to focus more on Arthur when he gets into his preteen or teen years. However, the first episode does lay its foundation adequately enough and Arthur’s deadpan reactions to his limitations as a baby are a bit funny. Most importantly, it shows Arthur – a man who was too busy being a king in his previous life to just appreciate life – starting to understand the importance of family, and there’s already a sense that this is going to be a foundational element to him going in at least a partially different direction this time around. I’m not feeling like one episode is a sufficient enough sample in this case, so I will check out an episode or two more before deciding if it’s a keeper or not.
The Too-Perfect Saint
Streams: Crunchyroll on Wednesdays
Rating: 3 (of 5)
In Philia’s world, Saints are national-grade resource deemed essential for a country’s defense and prosperity. Her country has two – herself and her younger sister – and of the two of them, second prince Julius prefers her much more personable sister Mia, to the point that he’s willing to break off his engagement with Philia and trade her to another country lacking a Saint for a pile of money, something her parents are in favor of as well since they’ve also long favored Mia, too. All of this is despite the fact that Philia is acknowledged as the most powerful Saint ever, but the prince perceives Philia’s expressionless way of handling things as arrogance that he can’t tolerate. That leaves Philia, who has worked hard to be an ideal Saint, wondering why she ever put in all that effort, put perhaps the change of scenery will be good for her, since her new country seems to be welcoming her with open arms. . .
This is essentially a variant on the “banished from the hero’s party” concept, where those around the protagonist are so arrogant and unbelievably stupid that they feel they can do without a critical support element; it’s just happening on a national level rather than a party level. In the case of this light novel adaptation, there’s a bit more to it, since Mia is by far the more charming and charismatic of the sisters, and that’s enough to get the prince to contrive excuses to get rid of Philia. (And while the first episode tries to be dodgy about how Mia might feel about all of this, the strongest indications are that she’s not going to be as happy about it as the prince claims.) Like with other banished stories, I fully expect that Philia’s going to find her new home to be warmer and more welcoming, while her former party kingdom flounders without her presence, but Philia comes across as a sympathetic enough character that it’s hard not to root for her. The series also has an interesting background art style and good musical support in its favor. This may not be the freshest take on the concept, but the first episode does just enough to convince me to watch more.
Please Put Them On, Takamine-san
Streams: Crunchyroll on Wednesdays
Rating: 2 (of 5)
High school student Koushi sees himself as being on the diametric opposite end of the talent and social spectrum from Takane Takamine, the student council president and star student, so he normally wouldn’t expect to associate with her. That changes when an accidental peeping incident leads to him later noticing her using some kind of gimmick to perfect her Math test score. When he confronts her about it, he discovers that Takane can shift in time by removing her undergarments, and she’s long been using this trick to maintain her perfection. The problem is that the undergarments vanish when she does this, so she seeks to turn him into her “closet,” a person who will provide her with replacements as needed. And she’s willing to resort to extreme coercion to accomplish this.
This manga adaptation is clearly going to be one of the season’s premier fan service titles, as the first episode has both uncensored nudity and other provocative content to go with the lurid premise. I’m completely fine with that aspect and the nonsensically bizarre time travel gimmick, but there are some other potential issues here. For one, I’m not a fan of the character design style, especially the very angular look of Takane’s face. The second is that Takane is not a very likable character. She knows she’s superior and is essentially cheating on trivial points to seem like she’s even more superior, and she’s clearly toying with Koushi. That’s not necessarily a problem, as being dominated by a sexy woman isn’t an unusual fetish and this series certainly looks like it’s going to play to that. The biggest problem, though, is the method Takane uses to get Koushi’s compliance: she fakes a sexual assault when Koushi won’t agree outright to her proposal, then uses her time travel gimmick to get him out of it when he capitulates, with the understanding that she can always undo it. This left a bad taste in my mouth, as it damages the credibility of actual sexual assault claims. This is not looking like it’s going to be an animation darling, either.
For all the negatives, though, it does play to its fan service aspect pretty well, and I am a bit curious to see how this dynamic plays out. There are also a couple of suggestions that Koushi hasn’t been as invisible to Takane as he think he is; granted, this is a pretty common gimmick in romcoms, but I am curious to see how fits in this case. Despite the low rating here, I’ll probably watch more.
Catch Me at the Ballpark!
Streams: Crunchyroll on Tuesdays
Rating: 3 (of 5)
All sorts of people gather at ballparks to experience professional baseball games. These are their stories.
As trite as that description may sound, that does, indeed, seem to be what this comedy manga adaptation is all about. The gyaru Ruriko, who’s apparently a fledgling beer vendor girl at one such park, is the series’ poster girl and present throughout all three of the first episode’s vignettes, but both the third vignette and the series’ OP and ED suggest that the series is going to feature more than just her enticing downtrodden corporate slave Murata into becoming a regular customer. Other vendor girls, players, mascots, announcers, cheer section fans, and even security guards (who are featured in the third vignette) look like they will be in the mix, too. That’s not a negative, as there are all kinds of potential stories here. Ruriko is also an potentially interesting case herself, as moments where we see her inner thoughts show that she’s far less confident and self-assured than she comes across.
The technical merits for this one aren’t going to impress, but content like this doesn’t need anything flashy to succeed. Definitely there’s some entertainment value to be found here, but I heavily doubt this is one that I’m going to follow unless I’m desperate for a sweet comedy fix this season.
Once Upon a Witch’s Death
Streams: Crunchyroll on Tuesdays
Rating: 3 (of 5)
In this light novel adaptation, apprentice witch Meg Raspberry gets a very unfortunate proclamation for her 17th birthday: her master and guardian, the renowned witch Faust, tells her that she has only one year before she starts rapidly aging, and won’t last a month past that point. This is a curse akin to a congenital disease, so there’s only one way Meg can avoid this fate: collect 1,000 crystalized tears of joy. The one blessing here is that Meg is the type of girl who can naturally play to the emotions of others, as she does here with helping a little girl find a particular type of flower to put on her recently-deceased mother’s grave.
If I were in Meg’s shoes, I’d be asking a LOT more questions about this curse than what she does here, as it very much feels like Faust is being disingenuous about it, even if Meg agrees with her master’s logic about waiting until only a year out to tell Meg about it. But based on the presentation of the first episode, that doesn’t seem like the direction the series is going. It looks much more like it’s going to focus on vignettes where Meg goes around helping people. That aspect, at least, plays out well in this episode, though its far less serious start makes for an awkward shift in tone. Still, there is at least some world-building potential here (Faust’s house has a satellite dish, so this is a modern setting that also has magic) and it does have a pretty solid OP. I have mixed feelings about this one, hence the middle-of-the-road grade.
Sword of the Demon Hunter
Streams: HIDIVE on Mondays
Rating: 4.5 (of 5)
In 1830 Japan, Jinta flees with his sister Suzune (who’s apparently at least half-demon) after the latter was cast out of their home. After being found by a traveling warrior, they wind up being raised in an isolated mountain village, where Jinta follows in his adoptive father’s footsteps by growing up to become one of the two sentinels charged with protecting the village’s miko, Itsukihime, the latest version of which is the girl he grew up alongside. While duty constrains their relationship, a pair of demons with a long-term plan have other ideas that involve both of them and Suzune, and that sets the stage for a quest for vengeance that will extend into modern day.
Yes, by all appearances, the nearly hour-length debut episode is merely the prologue for the main story, which takes place 170 years later. It’s a classic tale of bloody tragedy borne from love, jealousy, misunderstandings, manipulated emotions, and a very Japanese sense of prioritizing duty over personal desires, but the familiar story beats don’t hamper the execution one bit. This is a well-paced, sharply-animated, and gorgeously-depicted adaptation of the source light novel, one which convincingly establishes the emotional ties at the heart of the tragedy while also providing a few interesting twists, such as how demons are driven by a sense of purpose that they’re willing to die to achieve and how one character illogically doesn’t seem to age. (Why this is so is explained before the episode’s end.) This is a very graphic presentation at points, including some nudity concealed under a demonic aura, but even these aspects are well-done. The only minor negative is that certain parts could be a little clearer that a time skip has happened. We’re going to have to wait for episode 2 to see how the actual main story will play out, but the series has laid a strong foundation with this opening.
The Unaware Atelier Master
Streams: Crunchyroll on Sundays
Rating: 3 (of 5)
In this latest LN-originating iteration on the “banished from the hero’s party” premise, kind-hearted teen Kurt is dumped from his top-level party because he’s unable to contribute in combat; indeed, all of his fighting skills are at the lowest measurable rank. However, both he and his former party are unaware that his skills in everything else are mind-bogglingly stellar; he can build a log cabin in just a day, is so good at repairing a city wall that he’s fired after three days to prevent putting everyone else out of work, and can make top-quality magic crystals with seemingly-impossible speed. Yulishia, who employs Kurt to help with some mining, is quickly starting to realize that he may, in fact, be dangerously-talented.
A reference at the end of the episode suggests that this may be a scenario similar to Suppose a Kid From the Last Dungeon Boonies Moved to a Starter Town or Beast Tamer, only with the twist that Kurt’s specialty is non-combat skills. That would seem to limit potential future action elements, so I’m a bit curious to see where the series is going to go from here. The first episode, at least, does its job sufficiently enough to establish the premise and two of the central characters (advertising art prominently features a second girl who has yet to be introduced), and it doesn’t look bad in the process; I particularly like Yulishia’s design, with her very feminine appearance but dressed in clothing that might be more expected of a male noble. Not expecting great things from this one, but cautiously optimistic that it could be low-key fun for the season. Also, for inexplicable reasons, it’s getting simuldubbed, and the English casting choices so far are very solid.
I’m the Evil Lord of an Intergalactic Empire!
Streams: Crunchyroll on Saturdays, starting 4/5
Rating: 3.5 (of 5)
Technically this one doesn’t debut until 4/5, but Crunchyroll is streaming three “preview” episodes (i.e., ones without the official OP or ED) already as of 3/30, so this look at this LN-based isekai series is based on those.
In Liam’s previous life he was a corporate slave, but he put up with it to provide for his wife and darling daughter. His life is ruined when his boss screws him over and his wife and daughter leave him (for the boss!), so when he expires from illness not long after, he vows to spend his next life screwing other people over. He discovers that he’s been reincarnated as the son of irresponsible nobles in a far-flung interstellar empire and, at a young age, essentially abandoned by his good-for-nothing parents to deal with his home planet’s crushing debt. But that doesn’t faze him this time. With the help of an AI maid, he starts down the path towards becoming a magnificently evil lord. . . though in the process he’s also cleaning up the corruption dogging his planet. Meanwhile, a spacefaring warrior-princess (whom we know from an in media res opening scene will eventually fall in with him) is getting screwed over herself by assorted betrayals.
The first episode really lays the tragedy on thick, which is why I hope this is a double-episode debut in its proper time slot. It seems to be heading down the “accidentally becomes a good ruler while trying to be evil” path while also making some statements about concerns about AIs, but it’s taking a slower approach to its set-up than it may be able to get away with. Still, I like the direction it’s heading and the scenes showing commoners dubiously regarding their new lord even as they acknowledge that things are starting to get better under him. There’s also a bevy of potentially interesting additional characters, like the god-like Guide who’s the truly evil one as he seeks to stir up trouble to feed off the suffering of people or the guy who presents himself as a samurai master but is partially or totally a fake. I will, at the very least, watch a few more episodes to see how this plays out.
Mobile Suit Gundam GQuuuuuuX
Streams: Amazon Prime on Tuesdays, startin 4/8
Rating: 3.5 (of 5)
This original animation project is the newest installment in the Gundam franchise. The first episode in particular heavily references the foundational events of Mobile Suit Gundam, but strictly speaking, a viewer does not have to be familiar with that series to follow what’s going on here. Such viewers will just experience the series as fairly standard space-based mecha fare (much like Witch From Mercury), rather than the massive gimmick that long-established fans will recognize it as being.
[Spoilers Start Here] The gimmick is that this is a “What If. . .?” level revisionist tale, one which imagines how things might have turned out differently if Char Aznable, rather than Amuro Ray, was the one to find the revolutionary Gundam at the beginning of the original series. The first episode entirely consists of playing out this scenario, while the main story – and true main heroine – debut with episode 2. Amane is a high school student living in a space colony five years later. An encounter with a war refugee named Nyaan leads to her getting mixed up in an underground mobile suit dueling sport known as Clan Battles and discovering that she’s a Newtype. That also leads to her getting involved with Shuji, a boy with memory issues who pilots a mysterious mobile suit being sought by both the police and military.
All signs are pointing to this being an action-packed mecha blowout with some politics thrown in; in other words, it’s classic Gundam fare. The movie debut looked quite sharp, so this is clearly going to be a prestige collaboration for studios Khara and Sunrise. Hard to tell yet if it’s going to achieve the kind of impact that Witch From Mercury did, but it’s got at least a fighting chance. While being on Amazon Prime may limit its viewership some, I still fully expect this to be one of the season’s top titles.
Since writing the review for episode 35, I’ve seen some discussion from those familiar with the source material which advocates that last episode would have been better-served running about a minute farther into the scene in the cave than it did. I didn’t agree with that assertion at the time, and I disagree with it even more strongly after seeing how this episode handled the continuation of that scene. The matter with the “frog” plays much more smoothly when taken all in one shot.
The “frog,” of course, is Maomao’s defense mechanism for not wanting to admit what she really accidentally put her hand on between Jinshi’s legs. Unlike many anime girls around her age, though, her aversion isn’t at all about the sexual aspect of it; she’s being dodgy in admitting it out loud because of what it means in the bigger picture that Jinshi isn’t a eunuch. That would make him the only intact man other than the Emperor allowed in the Rear Palace (though she’s still unaware that this also applies to Gaoshun), and the explanations for why Jinshi might be allowed such status are very limited indeed. She knows full well that’s dangerous knowledge, the kind of thing that people would literally kill to learn to obscure, which is why she’s always stopped herself from reasoning it out in the past. This is herstiffest challenge yet on that front.
The way Maomao handles the aftermath of the incident in the cave says a lot about Maomao. Though distressed in the moment when Jinshi suddenly got aggressive, she doesn’t seem particularly bothered by it later. There are a lot of possible explanations here: she knows Jinshi wouldn’t normally do something like that, she’s fully aware that she contributed to the situation by teasing him at the worst possible time, and almost certainly she’s seriously underestimating how strongly Jinshi actually feels about her as a woman, not just a tool. The last one is perfectly understandable; she was raised in a brothel, so she’s quite well aware of what kind of women men normally go far, but that’s nothing we didn’t already know before. The new insight here is that she feels those circumstances contributed to her being bad at reading people emotionally. That might seem like an odd viewpoint to a modern viewer, who would probably more assume the opposite, but people in this setting don’t even have a concept for what it means to be “on the spectrum,” so even someone as knowledgeable as Maomao can’t identify what her real issue is. In this case, though, it does contribute to her rather amusing ongoing assumption that Jinshi is miffed about the “somewhat large” comment rather than his effort to reveal his identity to Maomao going disastrously wrong.
Compared to the wonderful tension of the cave scene, getting out of the hole and dealing with the culprit behind the assassination attempt is practically an afterthought. Lihaku has always been a borderline-joke character, but he isn’t rising through the ranks without reason, and this episode shows him at his best. The method seems almost too simple: have Lihaku’s dog sniff out the lingering scent of fired gunpowder while tricking the lead culprit into a panic. The one issue I have with the adaptation here is that it doesn’t make clear that a message from Jinshi – basically, “trust this guy” – was written on the scrap of cloth Lihaku first handed to Basen, which is how Basen knew at least generally what Jinshi wanted. But at least the adaptation is consistent on the follow-up. The guy they catch is just the on-site commander; he’s clearly working for a higher authority, but who? And since the weapon came from the west, do the two envoys have something to do with this? Maomao’s probably on the right track thinking that something like these flintlock pistols may have been what the mystery Gaoshun described about the annex room was really about. The intrigue in the after-party also provides some good additional insight.
For all that happens in the episode, though (including learning Jinshi’s true name and the kind of status Gaoshun has), the clinching scene for me is the one depicted in the screenshot above. The split view of Jinshi and Maomao both leaning against the same door from opposite sides encapsulates so much about the state of their relationship. So does the way Jinshi completely loses Maomao’s attention when he hands over the ox bezoars. Really, he should have known better, but these two have never been completely on the same page. And that’s totally fine for their relationship.
While the episode still looked good, animation restraints showed a bit more in this episode compared to many. And fortunately, we won’t have to wait long for more; the series is continuing directly into next season without pause, so I will be back to review episode 37 next Friday.
I was not originally planning to give a separate review for this series as a whole, but this is easily the most underrated and underappreciated series I saw in the Winter 2025 season, so I’m doing this review in part to call attention to the merits of a series which is more unconventional than it might seem at first glance.
The initial premise doesn’t seem like anything special: an unnamed man in the modern world dies with the disappointment that magic did not manifest for him when he turned 30 and was still a virgin. When he finds himself reborn in a new world as Shion, the only son and second child of country nobles, he looks forward to learning magic but soon discovers that even the concept of magic doesn’t seem to exist in this world. Dejected but undeterred, he draws his doting tomboyish older sister Marie and her commoner friend Rose into his efforts to try to find any phenomenon in his new world that might resemble magic, which he eventually discovers in a magic-like effect in the breeding habits of fish. From that basis, he gradually builds a rudimentary understanding and control of magic as he ages up through childhood, despite the fact that most can’t perceive the magic phenomenon at all. (Fortunately, Marie and Rose are two of the few people who can both see it and, to a degree, use it themselves.)
The “build a magic system from nothing” aspect is what separates this series from other contemporary isekai reincarnation titles, and how important that is in shaping the series cannot be overstated. Shion doesn’t have some OP skill and isn’t instantly powerful; indeed, there’s no game-like system or even magical tradition to draw on. Revelations late in the season establish that this is, indeed, a setting where magic has been lost over time rather than never existing, and there are hints scattered throughout the series pointing in that direction, but since this isn’t current knowledge, Shion has to develop a new magic over time rather than just time-skipping into becoming powerful. The only advantage he has is some knowledge of modern science which helps with the energy manipulation aspects of what he’s doing, but most of the first half of the series involves trial and error to figure out how to gather enough magical energy to generate effects, how to standardize methods that are essentially spells, and how to fashion rudimentary magical devices. And yes, this is more interesting in execution than it may sound.
The other interesting aspect is present throughout but gets developed more in the second half: that not everyone can even perceive magic, much less control it. The affinity for magic in this setting naturally varies dramatically; people who do have some are unusual but definitely present throughout the local populace. Only people with a high affinity for magic can even perceive it unless it creates concrete effects, which becomes a big issue in the second half of the series when monsters which can only be perceived by magic-sensitives (or within the scope of a magic light) appear. The presence of a sickness which seems to only affect magic-sensitives (which may actually be caused by complete mana depletion) adds an additional wrinkle to this and becomes a major plot driver, with strong suggestions that it’s connected to the entities which can’t be seen without magic. All of that leads to an actual villain, who wasn’t necessarily orchestrating the challenges Shion faces in the last third but is certainly both connected to them and a gateway to some bigger truths of the setting which get revealed in the final episode. So while he’s functionally a boss villain, he’s not a mastermind.
Surprisingly, the occasional action elements in the series are at least a mild plus. An early encounter with a goblin is one of the most harrowing uses of a such a creature that you’ll see in any fantasy anime, and Shion and Marie’s desperate struggle against it is a tense affair which sets the standard for other battles later on. Later battles against the creatures only perceivable by magic offer further thrills, but the true spectacle is the battle between Shion (with some help from others) and the boss, which composes the entirety of episode 11. It isn’t the animation spectacle that one of the featured fights in Solo Leveling or DanMachi is, but it doesn’t lack for dramatic staging or musical support and serves well as a climax for everything that has come before.
Characterization is more of a mixed bag but leans towards the positive overall. Shion carries the series as a boy (he ages up to 13 by the end of the season) whose obsession with developing magic sometimes leads him into somewhat goofy mannerisms but never keeps him from caring deeply about others; nothing dramatically different from other isekai protagonists, but a well-realized balance nonetheless. Supporting cast quality varies more; Marie has been accused of a devotion to her little brother that borders on incestuous, but that’s over-reading her relationship to Shion. She seems to see herself more as Shion’s champion. By contrast, the writing seems not to know what to do with Rose; she’s underused, even though she can also use at least basic magic and becomes a fledgling adventurer alongside Marie and Shion. Some supporting characters who appear later on are more stereotypical, even bordering on cartoonish to a tonally dissonant extent; this is the series’ biggest flaw, as it otherwise takes itself generally seriously. The series does get a plus for having Shion’s parents both present and actively involved, and a smith who’s a friend of Shion’s father, and helps Shion with item creation, is easily the best-developed and most likable of the adult characters.
The technical and artistic merits of the series are above average, with highlights being its depiction of energy displays, its use of color schemes in situations which require alternate lighting, the way character designs are advanced as the child characters age, and the very creepily distorted way the goblin threat early on is depicted. Musical support is solid, though neither the opener nor the closer is memorable.
For inexplicable reasons, this was one of the few series in the Winter ’25 season that was simuldubbed. For the most part the English dub is a very solid one, especially Rowan Gilvie (Wizard Boy in Goblin Slayer II, Guideau in The Witch and the Beast) as Shion and Dalton Tindall as the smith Grast. The one odd casting choice and performance is Whitney Rodgers as the young female knight Raphina; if they were aiming to make the character sound obnoxious, they succeeded, but I’m not so sure that was the intent.
On the whole, Magic Maker isn’t a spectacular effort, but it spins its tale well enough to be a satisfying and distinctive view. The final episode delivers some major developments which open broad paths for future developments. I’ll certainly be returning if more is animated, though that seems unlikely, since this series seems to animate the first two of the three novels released so far. In other words, if a sequel is coming, it won’t be anytime soon.
USA Anime 