This is the first anime season I've actually kept up on start to finish, and I gotta say, it's been worth it. Last season I hopped in near the beginning, but I didn't explore much of what was available due to not looking far and wide as I did this season. With that said, I'm just going to go through everything I've watched this season and give a mini-review and a rating. I haven't seen the final episodes of a couple of these quite yet, but if said episodes amend my rating, I'll be sure to edit the blog. With that said, let's start.
Is It Wrong to Try to Pick Up Girls In a Dungeon?
The title of this one is ridiculous, but it ended up being a really good show. The best description I have is that it's like a lighthearted version of SAO with a greater focus on the harem but set in a land that is pure fantasy, removing the drama that came with SAO's virtual world of death. With that said, this show had likeable characters, especially the main character. You see him go from barely being able to survive at the beginning of the show to becoming skilled faster than any other warrior. Characters in this universe are adventurers that serve under a god or goddess in their familia. If they choose to be an adventurer in a familia, they begin adventuring through the dungeon which was created by gods and goddesses as a trial for humanity to take on as they desired to. They level up (albeit very slowly), gain stats in a kind of "what you use is what you get" way, and get money by trading in crystals dropped by every monster that vary in size and quality.
There are a lot of lines of that can be drawn between this one and SAO, but I feel it stood out on its own and set itself apart with some excellent combat and a climactic ending to the season. A certain character becomes little more than an annoying cockblock for the main character about halfway through the season, but she doesn't damage the overall feel of the show to a significant degree.
8.5/10
Yamada and the Seven Witches
Technically a harem anime, but with an obvious harem killer. This one focuses around a high school delinquent named Yamada who after a certain mishap discovers that he was able to swap bodies with a kiss. I don't want to be too specific to avoid spoiling. I didn't go into this one expecting much, but it was a great balance of comedy, the fantasy aspects of the "witches", and the occasional bout of feels. I don't really know how to describe this show without going to spoiler town, so I'm just going to leave it here.
8/10
Ultimate Otaku Teacher
This one I honestly had no idea what to expect from. I went into the first episode unsure, found myself wanting to watch the second, hopped immediately to the third, and I found myself hooked. This focuses around a genius NEET who describes himself as YD, as he only does what he Yearns to Do. What he primarily yearns to do though is watch a lot of anime and keep up his top ranking anime blog. He is recruited as a temp teacher at the insistence of his sister, and although he loathes having a job, he finds passion in changing the lives of the students around him one at a time, as changing these lives is what he Yearns to Do (even if he often complains about the actual teaching part of his job). The show is funny, weird, and ended up being a real treat to watch.
7.8/10
Gunslinger Stratos
This anime is based off of a game apparently, and my overall opinion of it was that it was okay. The general premise is that two worlds exist parallel to one another across dimensions, and the same fighters in each world end up recruited and have to face off against each other in a battleground in 2015, one hundred years before the show starts. They compete for energy cubes which can evolve their technology, and compete at the behest of the Timekeepers. The action is decent, and the story is interesting enough to keep watching. At the same time, the climax before the season finale felt slightly more final than the pointless bout that made up the finale. The art also took a couple episodes before it was able to shake off some small imperfections. The character design takes some getting used to as well.
6.5/10
Plastic Memories
In the world of this anime, extremely human androids exist called Giftia. Were you not aware they were synthetic, they could easily pass for normal humans as they aren't exactly mechanical in nature. The caveat to these machines is that they only have a nine year life span before their mind begins to rapidly degrade and they begin to enter frenzied and overall broken states of mind. That's where Terminal Service comes in, a service the protagonist of the series ends up working for. They set out to retrieve Giftia's at the end of their lives, shutting them down to have their minds wiped, their software replaced, and resold as a new giftia either to the same person or to a new one. I don't want to say too much about the characters the show focuses on, as I'd have to delve into plot details. I'd rather leave this one to be experienced in full. I personally loved the way the show builds you up only to tear you down. It's not even from curve balls, really. It's just a well put together show that made me feel the feels quite a few times.
9/10
Seraph of the End
In the world of Seraph of the End, the world has been overtaken by a virus that wiped out the majority of humanity. The virus breaking loose gave opportunity for the vampires to come out of hiding, and they proceeded to enslave many children, as children widely were not affected by the virus. The children believed humanity was dead and that there was nothing beyond the walls of the city they found themselves in as little more than livestock. Enter the protagonist who I honestly kind of hated all the way up until the last episode of the season. After a certain event that leaves him all alone, he makes it outside of the city to find that humanity isn't gone after all, just greatly diminished. He spends the years training to be a vampire killer in a human settlement that is part of a series that have set up a military force by which to combat vampires, with his ultimate goal being to take vengeance against all the vampires.
The story was okay, but it was painfully obvious that they intended for the show to be a 24 episode run from the start as this season explains almost nothing. You'll see the protagonist cry a lot, get angry, and force his way to getting what he wants. By the final episode, I only liked a couple of characters, and the final episode was so anticlimactic it should be a crime. I enjoyed it well enough for what it was, but I don't recommend it easily.
It is getting a season two in the Fall season, which may augment my overall score for the series.
6/10
High School DxD Born (Season 3 of High School DxD)
High School DxD is as harem and ecchi as anime gets. The first two seasons have more bare boobs than I've seen in every other anime show I've ever seen combined. With that said, I won't bother explaining the plot, suffice it to say that the series focuses around Issei, the Red Dragon Emperor, who becomes a devil in Rias Gremory's household waaaay back at the very beginning of season one. This season focuses on bringing in other mythologies and continues to build off the plot of the first two seasons. This season was actually surprisingly plot heavy with a lot of the "plot" seeming to be more obligation than anything else. Comments indicate that this season veered off course a bit from the light novels, but I found it pretty enjoyable.
Season score: 7.8/10
Series score: 8.5 boobies/10
Mikagura School Suite
The protagonist of this show is a super lesbian who struggling to pick a school, ends up picking one at the behest of her cousin (and because she thinks the main girl in the school catalog is super hot). As it turns out, at this school, everybody must be in a cultural club, and these clubs hold battles every so often with special powers that they have. With that said, combat becomes a secondary aspect of the show very quickly with the focus being on the protagonist and how she interacts with those around her, making friends and sorting through her own comical problems. The show is decent. It doesn't excel in any single way, but it's decently funny, fun to watch, and overall a good time.
7.2/10
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The only other anime I watched was The Heroic Legend of Arslan, which is only half done as it has a 25 episode season (totally worth watching, by the way), and I'm still about a half season behind on Blood Blockade Battlefront, although it is a great show from what I've seen of it so far. I ended up skipping the more slice of life stuff, as it's not really my style, and I'll get to The Mysterious Disappearance of Yuki Nagato at a later date, as I did enjoy The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya. I should eventually watch the second season of Unlimited Blade Works as well, but I have to wait on my roommate for that.
With that said, did I miss out on anything worth watching? For the most part, what I skipped out on seemed somewhat average from the descriptions I read, but if there was something good I missed, I'm willing to give it a shot.
If you watched the same shows as me, do you agree with my ratings? Did you think something I liked totally sucked? Do you think something I gave a lower score was better? Did you just hate this season?
All that aside, I'm looking forward to what surprises the Summer anime season may bring.
Is It Wrong to Try to Pick Up Girls In a Dungeon?
The title of this one is ridiculous, but it ended up being a really good show. The best description I have is that it's like a lighthearted version of SAO with a greater focus on the harem but set in a land that is pure fantasy, removing the drama that came with SAO's virtual world of death. With that said, this show had likeable characters, especially the main character. You see him go from barely being able to survive at the beginning of the show to becoming skilled faster than any other warrior. Characters in this universe are adventurers that serve under a god or goddess in their familia. If they choose to be an adventurer in a familia, they begin adventuring through the dungeon which was created by gods and goddesses as a trial for humanity to take on as they desired to. They level up (albeit very slowly), gain stats in a kind of "what you use is what you get" way, and get money by trading in crystals dropped by every monster that vary in size and quality.
There are a lot of lines of that can be drawn between this one and SAO, but I feel it stood out on its own and set itself apart with some excellent combat and a climactic ending to the season. A certain character becomes little more than an annoying cockblock for the main character about halfway through the season, but she doesn't damage the overall feel of the show to a significant degree.
8.5/10
Yamada and the Seven Witches
Technically a harem anime, but with an obvious harem killer. This one focuses around a high school delinquent named Yamada who after a certain mishap discovers that he was able to swap bodies with a kiss. I don't want to be too specific to avoid spoiling. I didn't go into this one expecting much, but it was a great balance of comedy, the fantasy aspects of the "witches", and the occasional bout of feels. I don't really know how to describe this show without going to spoiler town, so I'm just going to leave it here.
8/10
Ultimate Otaku Teacher
This one I honestly had no idea what to expect from. I went into the first episode unsure, found myself wanting to watch the second, hopped immediately to the third, and I found myself hooked. This focuses around a genius NEET who describes himself as YD, as he only does what he Yearns to Do. What he primarily yearns to do though is watch a lot of anime and keep up his top ranking anime blog. He is recruited as a temp teacher at the insistence of his sister, and although he loathes having a job, he finds passion in changing the lives of the students around him one at a time, as changing these lives is what he Yearns to Do (even if he often complains about the actual teaching part of his job). The show is funny, weird, and ended up being a real treat to watch.
7.8/10
Gunslinger Stratos
This anime is based off of a game apparently, and my overall opinion of it was that it was okay. The general premise is that two worlds exist parallel to one another across dimensions, and the same fighters in each world end up recruited and have to face off against each other in a battleground in 2015, one hundred years before the show starts. They compete for energy cubes which can evolve their technology, and compete at the behest of the Timekeepers. The action is decent, and the story is interesting enough to keep watching. At the same time, the climax before the season finale felt slightly more final than the pointless bout that made up the finale. The art also took a couple episodes before it was able to shake off some small imperfections. The character design takes some getting used to as well.
6.5/10
Plastic Memories
In the world of this anime, extremely human androids exist called Giftia. Were you not aware they were synthetic, they could easily pass for normal humans as they aren't exactly mechanical in nature. The caveat to these machines is that they only have a nine year life span before their mind begins to rapidly degrade and they begin to enter frenzied and overall broken states of mind. That's where Terminal Service comes in, a service the protagonist of the series ends up working for. They set out to retrieve Giftia's at the end of their lives, shutting them down to have their minds wiped, their software replaced, and resold as a new giftia either to the same person or to a new one. I don't want to say too much about the characters the show focuses on, as I'd have to delve into plot details. I'd rather leave this one to be experienced in full. I personally loved the way the show builds you up only to tear you down. It's not even from curve balls, really. It's just a well put together show that made me feel the feels quite a few times.
9/10
Seraph of the End
In the world of Seraph of the End, the world has been overtaken by a virus that wiped out the majority of humanity. The virus breaking loose gave opportunity for the vampires to come out of hiding, and they proceeded to enslave many children, as children widely were not affected by the virus. The children believed humanity was dead and that there was nothing beyond the walls of the city they found themselves in as little more than livestock. Enter the protagonist who I honestly kind of hated all the way up until the last episode of the season. After a certain event that leaves him all alone, he makes it outside of the city to find that humanity isn't gone after all, just greatly diminished. He spends the years training to be a vampire killer in a human settlement that is part of a series that have set up a military force by which to combat vampires, with his ultimate goal being to take vengeance against all the vampires.
The story was okay, but it was painfully obvious that they intended for the show to be a 24 episode run from the start as this season explains almost nothing. You'll see the protagonist cry a lot, get angry, and force his way to getting what he wants. By the final episode, I only liked a couple of characters, and the final episode was so anticlimactic it should be a crime. I enjoyed it well enough for what it was, but I don't recommend it easily.
It is getting a season two in the Fall season, which may augment my overall score for the series.
6/10
High School DxD Born (Season 3 of High School DxD)
High School DxD is as harem and ecchi as anime gets. The first two seasons have more bare boobs than I've seen in every other anime show I've ever seen combined. With that said, I won't bother explaining the plot, suffice it to say that the series focuses around Issei, the Red Dragon Emperor, who becomes a devil in Rias Gremory's household waaaay back at the very beginning of season one. This season focuses on bringing in other mythologies and continues to build off the plot of the first two seasons. This season was actually surprisingly plot heavy with a lot of the "plot" seeming to be more obligation than anything else. Comments indicate that this season veered off course a bit from the light novels, but I found it pretty enjoyable.
Season score: 7.8/10
Series score: 8.5 boobies/10
Mikagura School Suite
The protagonist of this show is a super lesbian who struggling to pick a school, ends up picking one at the behest of her cousin (and because she thinks the main girl in the school catalog is super hot). As it turns out, at this school, everybody must be in a cultural club, and these clubs hold battles every so often with special powers that they have. With that said, combat becomes a secondary aspect of the show very quickly with the focus being on the protagonist and how she interacts with those around her, making friends and sorting through her own comical problems. The show is decent. It doesn't excel in any single way, but it's decently funny, fun to watch, and overall a good time.
7.2/10
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The only other anime I watched was The Heroic Legend of Arslan, which is only half done as it has a 25 episode season (totally worth watching, by the way), and I'm still about a half season behind on Blood Blockade Battlefront, although it is a great show from what I've seen of it so far. I ended up skipping the more slice of life stuff, as it's not really my style, and I'll get to The Mysterious Disappearance of Yuki Nagato at a later date, as I did enjoy The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya. I should eventually watch the second season of Unlimited Blade Works as well, but I have to wait on my roommate for that.
With that said, did I miss out on anything worth watching? For the most part, what I skipped out on seemed somewhat average from the descriptions I read, but if there was something good I missed, I'm willing to give it a shot.
If you watched the same shows as me, do you agree with my ratings? Did you think something I liked totally sucked? Do you think something I gave a lower score was better? Did you just hate this season?
All that aside, I'm looking forward to what surprises the Summer anime season may bring.
