Another season has come and gone! The world outside is literally melting from the heat, but at least I got to watch a lot of anime this season. You know the deal—time to deliver some mini-reviews for everything I watched!
Witch Hat Atelier
AKA: Tongari Boushi no Atelier
Witch Hat Atelier is a beautiful show and undoubtedly one of the highlights of the season. Taking place in a world where only a secretive society of witches can use magic, the story follows Coco, a regular girls who desperately wants to be a witch. She manages to learn the secret behind magic and traces a glyph shown to her by a malicious witch—one that causes her home and her mother to become petrified. Coco is saved and adopted by Qifrey, a witch who takes her as his apprentice so she can become a proper witch and learn how to reverse the petrification spell.
First, let's address the elephant in the room—WHA is fucking beautiful. Almost every frame of this show is beautifully rendered. The show's stellar animation isn't just limited to breathtaking displays of magic and action, also being applied to many of the quieter moments, simple interactions between characters. It has a very strong visual identity—and for good reason, given one of the manga's main claims to fame is how gorgeous it is.
That said, WHA isn't just a pretty face, either; it also features one of the most ingenious magic systems I've ever seen. Spells are cast by drawing glyphs composed of specific shapes and symbols using a special ink. The system itself is simple and builds off of the established trope of magic symbols, but it's utilized in numerous unique ways and results in a world whose magic feels more real than any other I can think of.
Alright, so the animation and magic are really good; how does the rest hold up? Pretty good. The characters are all charming, there's an interesting mystery built up with the Brimmed Hat antagonists and Qifrey's grudge against them, and the show makes some really poignant statements about disabilities and what it means to be yourself. The plot isn't mindblowingly good like the visuals or magic are, but it's still quite solid. The biggest issue is really just that I want more—the season is only 13 episodes long and ends somewhat awkwardly on a mid-arc cliffhanger.
This cliffhanger ending seems to be the result of the show's slower pace and, based on reactions I've seen online, incredible faithfulness to the manga; other adaptations might cut content or shift things around to end the season at a more natural spot, but WHA just kept trucking through its story with unabashed confidence in itself. I've personally already picked up the manga, and I'm loving it. It should come as no surprise that I highly recommend you watch Witch Hat Atelier.
Verdict: 9.5/10
Go For It, Nakamura-kun!!
AKA: Ganbare! Nakamura-kun!!
I don't often watch boys' love, but when I do... well, so far the handful I've watched have been pretty decent. Nakamura-kun is a slice-of-life rom-com following the titular Nakamura, a very gay, very shy highschooler who is in love with his classmate, Hirose. The story follows his attempts to first become friends with Hirose, and then to try and build up the courage to confess—along with some wacky highschool hijinx.
Nakamura-kun is pretty standard as far as rom-coms go. The art and animation are good, but nothing that'll blow you away. Same with the music, the characters, the writing... everything in this anime is solid. It's very consistent in its quality, both in that everything about it is pretty good, and in that little of it really gets much better than that.
I enjoy my time with the series for the most part, though I feel like some aspects were underutilized. In particular, Hifumi falling in love with Nakamura made for a pretty interesting love triangle that I assumed would play a bigger role in the story, but aside from the one episode where she and the two leads get locked in a gym closet together (truly a plot point that nobody else has ever conceived of before), it pretty much never comes up. I also wasn't nearly as invested in the "general highschool hijinx" segments as I was in the actual main plot; I feel some of them could've done a better job of incorporating Hirose so we weren't just taking complete breaks from the main plot.
Something I do have to give credit for is how confident Nakamura is in his sexuality. The first episode has a very iconic line where he outright says, through narration, "I'm gay", and it's very refreshing to have a character in this day and age just come out and say it right from the get-go. Something I have to take away credit for is how Nakamura, while thinking about Hirose, describes him as having ethnic features that he doesn't actually have. I dunno what happened there, but it's weird as hell.
Overall, I think Nakamura-kun is pretty good. Most of the run is pretty standard quality-wise, but the last two episodes in particular were pretty stellar.
Verdict: 7.5/10
Farming Life in Another World Season 2
AKA: Isekai Nonbiri Nouka 2
FLAW... is a very unfortunate acronym, so I will henceforth be referring to it as Farming Isekai. Farming Isekai is a simple but fun story that follows Hikaru, a man who is reincarnated in the middle of a fantasy world's most dangerous forest and, using his trusty Omnipotent Farming Tool and the firepower of the wacky fantasy folks who keep happening upon him, builds a humble yet comically well-defended settlement.
The show doesn't take itself too seriously, primarily being a slice-of-life comedy which uses daily life in the village and the various tasks and problems that arise as a means to put its characters into fun situations. The cast is large, and quite a few of its members are too lacking in screentime to get much in the way of meaningful characterization, but for the most part they range from charming to inoffensive. The art looks good and I enjoy the music, too.
Ultimately, I don't really have a ton to say about Farming Isekai. There are plenty of problems with which I could tear the show apart, but none of them are particularly important when it comes to the moment-to-moment enjoyment of the show. It's a very simple, but quite pleasant, watch, and it doesn't really need to—nor want to—be anything more than that.
Verdict: 8/10
Dr. Stone: Science Future Part 3
What can I even say about Dr Stone that hasn't already been said ten billion times? This series has its problems, sure, but it stands out as one that is incredibly consistent in its quality. The mix of real-world science, creative strategy, and slightly superhuman characters used to solve problems is endlessly engaging, and the series's focus on teaching real science concepts makes for a truly unique experience.
This season is the final stretch of the story, detailing the crew's quest to start making serious headway on actually reviving the entire planet and work on building a rocket to finally solve the mystery behind Why-Man and the petrification devices. The answer is, I think, a rather interesting one, but I obviously don't intend to spoil it here.
If you enjoyed the previous seasons, you'll enjoy this one. If you've somehow not seen any of Dr Stone, I recommend giving its first season a try. That's about all there is to say about this one. We all know that it's good.
Verdict: 8/10
The Strongest Job Is Apparently Not a Hero or a Sage, but an Appraiser (Provisional)!
AKA: Saikyou no Shokugyou wa Yuusha demo Kenja demo Naku Kanteishi (Kari) Rashii desu yo?
Provisional Appraiser is an alright show with a handful of unique ideas and some decent comedy, but it isn't anything to write home about. It follows Hibiki, a young man with a serious case of babyface who gets isekai'd into a fantasy world but is granted the job of (Provisional) Appraiser and the ever-useful Tutorial skill by the Chief God. After being saved from the first monsters he encounters by Emalia, an elf and the unfortunate victim of far too much raunchy humor (we'll get to that), he embarks on a journey to try and find a way home, along the way meeting and helping to restore the powers of Claude the Hero and Lilian the Sage.
The biggest issue with this show is that it lacks focus. Episodes are largely split between Hibiki's adventure and events playing out with Emalia and Ivell, the sly and manipulative antagonist, as well as drama among the gods who are watching over Hibiki. As a result of this, Hibiki himself doesn't get nearly enough time to develop as a character. He's a good guy with integrity, but that's really all we get from him, and he doesn't even get to develop much on the strength side of things, either, despite a lot of screentime being dedicated to training. A weak protagonist could be an interesting twist on the isekai formula, but as with most of its ideas, Provisional Appraiser doesn't really commit to it one way or the other.
Hibiki's tutorial skill is personified as Sapo-chan, who has a cute design and features prominently in the intro and eyecatches, but doesn't actually appear in the anime itself until the penultimate episode. This feels like an awkward clash of direction, like the author wasn't sure whether or not she should physically appear or not. Similarly, the (provisional) part of Hibiki's class never actually comes up aside as a joke, despite apparently being an important enough gimmick to appear in the title. So much of the show feels like this—ideas that are half-baked and half-implemented, even if there is potential there.
The show is primarily a comedy. It tries to take itself a bit more seriously in the finale, but this is undercut by how it can't seem to help but continue throwing in jokes. I remember finding the comedy in some of the earlier episodes pretty dang funny—the main cast have fun dynamics, and the show wasn't afraid to be very silly and out-of-pocket. The humor started to feel more repetitive as it went on, though, and the horny stuff with Emalia is just... not very good. Raunchy jokes can work if done well (see: KoNoSuBa) but you need to make sure that the jokes actually have, y'know, set-ups and punchlines. "Haha, boobs!" isn't a punchline.
Overall, Provisional Appraiser is an okay series with some decent ideas, but it feels very half-baked. The humor is hit-or-miss and the action isn't great, either. The way we follow Ivell's evil plans form her perspective is a bit neat, and there are other ideas that are "a bit neat", but nothing here is really utilized to its fullest potential.
Verdict: 6/10
My Ribdiculous Reincarnation
AKA: Megami "Isekai Tensei Nani ni Naritai desu ka" Ore "Yuusha no Rokkotsu de"
In case the name didn't clue you in, Ribdiculous is a multimedia absurdist comedy about a reincarnator. The unnamed protagonist dies and meets an also-unnamed goddess and, in order to get around the wait time for reincarnation, chooses an oddly specific and absurd option—to reincarnate as one of the hero's ribs. On this and all his other adventures, he fails to pass on peacefully, instead returning to the goddess to report on his wacky adventure before getting reincarnated again.
A unique aspect of Ribdiculous is that the individual reincarnation stories are presented in a wide variety of different artstyles and mediums. In addition to quite a few different styles of 2D animation, there's 3D, claymation, live-action characters, and even paper dolls, making for a varied and unique viewing experience. Unfortunately, what's less varied is the content of the adventures themselves. Almost every single one falls into the same formula of a medieval fantasy litRPG world where a hero is sent to slay a demon lord, and that repetition gets old quick, even with all the wacky stuff the MC does.
I found myself getting a bit bored with the series around the halfway mark, as it felt like a lot of the stories were just rehashing the same ideas with fresh coats of zany antics. I do think some of the best stories, however, are in the later episodes, in particular the one following the hero Rian, which actually took its time enough to get me invested in that world's characters and tell a genuine story. The later episodes also tell an overarching story beyond the individual adventures, which I thought was... fine. The protagonist is also a bona fide pervert, though I didn't mind it so much; it fit the story being told decently well and was used in some genuinely funny ways in a few places.
This is a tricky one to rate. The low points around the middle feel very derivative and repetitive, but the adventures are all pretty fun on their own, and I really do have to applaud the multimedia approach. Overall, I think the show is just decent.
Verdict: 7/10
Reborn as a Vending Machine, I Now Wander the Dungeon Season 3
AKA: Jidou Hanbaiki ni Umarekawatta Ore wa Meikyuu wo Samayou 3rd Season
Reborn as a Vending Machine is the epitome of "this has no right to be good". I remember, years back, picking up the first season as a hatewatch because the premise was so strange. To my surprise, the series, while certainly not perfect, turned out to be a genuinely enjoyable watch. "I'm emotionally invested in a goddamn vending machine now," or so I lamented to my friends.
This series has a lot of heart, and I think that's why it works. The protagonist doesn't lament their fate of becoming a vending machine—they love it, because they're a "vending machine junky", a type of person that must actually exist because the author clearly is one. Unlike many similar series, the disadvantages of being a vending machine instead of a person are never just handwaved away, and the MC comes up with numerous creative uses of his powerset—though some of these come off as rather silly, like attacking enemies with the cola bottle + mentos combo.
I think what makes this series work is that it perfectly tows the lines between maintaining a lighthearted tone and not taking itself too seriously, while also knowing when it should take itself seriously. It committs 100% to its own gimmick and everything that entails, and the result is a story that's pretty charming. The show itself doesn't have much in the way of impressive visuals, and most of the story is pretty standard stuff, but I enjoyed my time with it.
Verdict: 7.5/10
Needy Girl Overdose
I really wanted to enjoy this show. The premise seemed interesting, and I was intrigued by its commitment to dark and serious themes and its occasionally artsy presentation. Despite that, something about the show just felt... off to me. I felt like I should be enjoying it, but I dreaded picking up each new episode. Eventually I put the next episode off for later, and then later kept becoming later than before, and eventually the spring season was over and I still hadn't picked up the next episode. It's incredibly rare for me to drop a series except, occasionally, after a particularly bad first episode. I'm honestly not entirely sure what my thoughts on this series are.
To put the thoughts I do have into words, I think this series suffered massively form two big problems: a lack of focus and a bad tendency to repeat itself. For the first point, there are essentially five different characters vying for the protagonist role, and that is far too many for a 13-episode show to handle. At first I thought the iconic OMGkawaiiAngel herself was the MC, but then for a couple episodes it seemed like it was actually Kache, but then she all but completely disappeared from the show for several episodes focused on the Karamazov trio. Perhaps this issue is less prominent in the second half of the season, but what I watched didn't really seem to have any sort of consistent plotline aside from Kache dumping her abusive boyfriend, and that made it a bit hard to get properly invested into the characters or anything that was happening. There's a reason you generally give the tragic backstory after we already care about someone rather than using it to tell us why we should care in the first place.
The second issue, as mentioned above, is the repetitive and verbose nature of the show's dialogue. Most of the episodes I watched consisted primarily of the main characters talking to each other about the philosophy behind streaming, the lives of influences, their impact on their audiences, stan culture, and general mental health struggles. That should make for very interesting topics to cover, but... well, it sort of felt, to me, that the show managed to say everything it actually had to say in the first episode or two. After that, it mostly just felt like the characters were repeating differently-worded versions of the same ideas in different scenarios. The whole thing came off as preachy, repetitive, and... just kind of boring.
I might give the rest of the season a second chance at some point, but for now, I couldn't really connect with what I watched so far. I'm willing to accept that that could have very well been the fault of poor localization rather than the show itself, and I'm sure some people will connect very strongly with what the series depicts, but I personally just couldn't bear to continue watching.
Verdict: 6/10
Petals of Reincarnation
AKA: Reincarnation no Kaben
Petals of Reincarnation is a really interesting series to me. The story itself isn't anything groundbreaking, but the way it's told seems to unabashedly violate a lot of the unspoken standards for how a shounen battle series "should" be handled. I think this approach had both its benefits and detriments, but at the least its a series that managed to stand out to me as 'different'.
PoR follows Toya, a young man who, after living in the shadow of his ultra-talented brother, is willing to do anything to compare to him. After meeting a girl named Haito, he gains incredible power by using a Branch of Reincarnation to become a Returner, a person blessed with the talent of a legendary figure of the past—in his case, the ability to "steal" anything, including others' powers.
Toya is a really great protagonist, in my opinion. Most shounen MCs tend to be pretty simple, straightforward characters with boisterous personalities; in contrast, Toya is more reserved and deeply complex. He changes significantly over the course of the series, and the particular arc of a character who starts out thinking they want to be an edgy manipulator only to realize they're a normal, kind person like anyone else is both fascinating and unique.
The plot of the series is a bit odd, one that I would best describe as "unfocused". Nothing that happens is illogical or poorly conceived, it just charges through different reveals and plotlines at an incredible pace and, as a result, lacks a bit of a feeling of cohesion. The story is very interesting, but I can't help but think it would have been better told over multiple seasons so that each individual part could get some more love and have some time to breathe. As it stands, many characters are introduced only to be killed off almost immediately, and it's hard to get invested in more than the few main characters due to the size of the cast and how little time there is to go around. The main antagonist is barely even in the show!
I find it difficult to really solidify my thoughts on PoR. When I try to analyze it critically, the plot is a bit of a mess and the cast is too big and things often just feel a bit off. It seems almost like the author just charged forward without thinking about what might come next, writing the most interesting reveals they could think of until they were several layers of complexity deep into the unraveling scheme. All of these should make for a truly terrible show, and the average reviews on MAL seem to agree with that, but it all just sorta works for me. The way things unfold and how the show repeatedly defies your every expectation is deeply engaging, and I can't think of any time I wasn't actively enjoying my time with the show.
Sometimes, the ways in which something is bad can help make it feel good for the right people, I suppose. PoR was a unique and fascinating watch, and I recommend it to anyone who wants to see something a little different.
Verdict: 7.5/10
The Warrior Princess and the Barbaric King
AKA: Himekishi wa Barbaroi no Yome
Himekishi is a show that's really good at what it's good at, but... iffy everywhere else. It follows Serafina de Lavillant, a princess knight who is defeated and captured by the barbarians she is leading a Crusades-esque campaign against. Her captor, Veor, is the leader of the barbarians; she expects him to torture her, but as it turns out, he actually wants to court her to be his wife. Through her time with him and his aide, Cersei, Sera learns about the barbarians' culture, and that they aren't actually as barbaric as she assumed.
Where Himekishi shines is undoubtedly with its worldbuilding and themes. The story explores themes of prejudice from multiple angles—both the societal expectations placed on Sera, who wants to be a knight but is pressured to be a "proper noble lady", and the false perceptions her nation of Illdoren have placed on the so-called barbarians, which nicely mirrors how the term "barbarian" in real life was just what Romans tended to call anyone who wasn't Roman. The various tribes, their cultures, and their connections to the land are explored in-depth, and this series truly does have some of the best worldbuilding I've seen in any recent fantasy anime.
Now, the problems. When the show is focusing on its themes and world and the budding relationship between Sera and Veor, it's pretty good; when it isn't doing that, things start to go downhill. The show is very obviously lacking the budget necessary to carry its action, and this is most apparent in the battle in the final episode—the CGI looks out-of-place, the movements are all slow and stiff, and the fight generally feels very awkward. There are also a few moments where it feels like a completely different show takes over, one with very raunchy humor that just doesn't match the tone of the rest. This is most apparent in the first episode; if you dropped the series there, I urge you to give it another go, as the bulk of it is really nothing like episode one.
Himekishi's highs are compelling, but its lows are just pretty dull. I do think it's a good show overall, but it's massively carried by its worldbuilding. I recommend giving it a watch if that's something you enjoy.
Verdict: 7/10
Marriagetoxin
Marriagetoxin follows the adventures of Hikaru Gero, a modern hitman and the heir to the clan of Poison Masters. He and his sister are the only members of their generation, but the bloodline must continue; Gero is anxious and terrible with people, but his sister is gay, so he resolves to find a wife and get married so that she can stay with her girlfriend. He soon meets Kinosaki, a marriage swindler who ends up becoming his marriage counselor. Under her tutelage, he begins taking on underworld jobs in order to meet potential marriage candidates and build his confidence.
The show's basic premise is incredibly unique and charming, and the first episode does a great job of establishing the world and endearing you to the characters. Gero and Kinosaki have great chemistry, and I appreciate both how the latter serves as interesting genderfluid representation and how her identity is never questioned after the initial reveal that she's "actually male". The rest of the cast are also likeable enough, and the show does a very god job at building up the potential love interests and giving them genuine reason to be interested in Gero. His budding relationships with each of them feel very earned and realistic.
While the romance acts as the linchpin of the premise and takes up the bulk of the downtime, Marriagetoxin is an action series at its core. Most of the fights are pretty dang good, though I found the last one to be a bit less enjoyable and a little contrived. My one complaint regarding the action is that Gero doesn't often make the most of his toolkit. You'd expect he'd pull off a bunch of interesting things with his poisons, but most of the time he just buffs his physical abilities and punches people really good.
Overall, I had a good time with this series, and I'm looking forward to its second season. I think it peaks with the second main arc of the season, but the whole thing was a good watch.
Verdict: 7.5/10
But wait, there's more!
There are a few shows this season which are running longer than your standard 12-13 episode anime cour. Strangely, most of these also aren't doing the standard-but-less-common ~24 episodes split between two cours. With several running for 19-ish episodes, I wasn't entirely sure what to do about them at first. I don't want to massively delay this article just for them, but I also want to include them here somehow, since they won't really fit into next season's article.
The solution I've settled on is simple. I'll do a round of even mini-er reviews than usual here for each of the in-progress seasons, just to establish my feelings on them so far. When they finish up later, you'll see my more in-depth thoughts in either an additional article or just the next season review. Now then, let's begin!
Re:ZERO -Starting Life in Another World- Season 4
AKA: Re:Zero kara Hajimeru Isekai Seikatsu 4th Season
Do you need me to tell you that Re:Zero is good? Because it's good. This series holds a special place in my heart, and I think it's a very strong one for a variety of reasons, but my love for Arc 6—which is what this fourth season adapts—extends beyond even that. I genuinely believe it is one of the best pieces of literature I have ever read.
Even if this weren't a mini-mini review, I couldn't really go into why I love this arc so much without massively spoiling it, so I'm gonna need you to just trust me on this one. The source material is great, and this season does an incredible job at adapting it. If you've watched the previous seasons, treat yourself to this masterpiece. If you've somehow never seen any of Re:Zero, also treat yourself to this masterpiece.
That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime Season 4
AKA: Tensei shitara Slime Datta Ken 4th Season
Tensura is an interesting series for me. When I'm actively watching or reading it, I enjoy it quite a bit, but when I try to look back at it, most of the series isn't particularly memorable aside from some of its obvious flaws. I think it works pretty good as popcorn fiction, and I plan to stick with it, but I can absolutely see why it has its detractors.
What I believe to be one of this series's biggest problems, and one that is especially clear in this season, is that it tries to simultaneously be both an absurd power fantasy and a genuine battle-shounen, and that just... doesn't work. Large swathes of time are spent building up these imposing villains only for them to usually just get completely dismantled and one-shotted by Rimuru. I think the political side of the series holds up better, at least. Still a fun watch, if it's your kind of thing.
Welcome to Demon School! Iruma-kun Season 4
AKA: Mairimashita! Iruma-kun 4th Season
Iruma-kun is possibly one of the most slept-on series out there. It's weird to me that I barely ever see this one pop up in online discussions. It clearly isn't due to poor reception, given it's on its fourth season and the manga is still going strong at over 400 chapters with no sign of slowing down.
To put it simply, Iruma-kun is just a really fun, really well-written series. What started as a gag comedy sort of just naturally evolved into a proper shounen series as it went on, but both the action and the slice-of-life portions are really great. The anime itself has clearly been working with a relatively low budget since the first season, but I think the core product is good enough that it shines through despite that.
I can't think of any other series I've seen be simultaneously valued high enough to get four seasons, but low enough to not get a budget increase throughout those...
Conclusion
And so ends another season of anime. Most of what I watched this season was just pretty average, but I enjoyed most of it. I do want to continue to try to expand my horizons with a wider variety of genres going forward.
As mentioned previously, the longer seasons that are still airing will get either their own follow-up article or just lumped into the next one depending on when they finish up. Thanks for reading, and I hope you enjoyed!
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