The Best and Worst of the Spring season

crashmatt

crashmatt

Death Scythe
Its been a really busy season for me so as it draws to a close what did folks rate and hate?

Great/ Excellent

Hinamatsuri -the big suprise of the season. The chemistry between Hina and Nitta is hillarious, really hope there is another season

Food Wars S3 pt 2 - We have actualy had character development this season which is great, the current arc has been really good as well.

Steins Gate 0 - Its been a long time since I watched the original but the series has succeed in pulling me in so far.

Golden Kamuy - Despite poor production values, sloppy art and shonky CGI bears the series has been a real breath of fresh air. I dont think ive seen an anime like it. The character are intresting and the plot is enguaging. Really needs a season 2 though.

Full Metal Panic Invisible Victory - Even though its been a long time I still love FMP and Xebec have done a good job so far. Still better than many newer franchises.

Seven Deadly sins Revival of the tean comandments - more of the same but with a weaker story than season one. Still one of the best shounen out there.

Good/ decent

Wotakoi - How refreshing to see adults in a relaionship and having a good time. Nothing ground breaking romance wise but the characters are relatable.

Darling in the Franxx - could go either way after last weeks eps will very much depend on the final eps as to my opinion of it. Cant help but feel the story has took a turn for the worst

Record of Grancrest war - Despite its poor start the story has improved but its far too ambitious to squeeze such an epansive story into 24 eps. It feels like a 50 episode show. Shame the animation has dipped in recent weeks as its been a pretty enjoyable overall.

Legend of Galactic Hero's -Best OP of the season and an intresting watch but definatly not the king of Space Opera's for me (see Space Battleship Yamato)

Sword art online GGO - has certainly improved now we get to the in game action and its been entertaining.

High School DxD Hero - The king of ecchi harem shows returns. The art style took some getting used to and its hard to remember all the side characters at times. still good to see it back.

Lupin 3rd pt 5 - Great in places, desperatly dull in others. best described as inconsistant as im not a fan of the slapstick episodes. Love the sexy ED but it just reminds me how wasted Fujiko is as a character

Poor/ Awful

Beatless - poor show developed by a poor studio (Diomedea) the story is all over the place, throw in lots of technobable, and lot and lots of recap episodes and you get this half baked mess. The MC is week and his sister annoying. It could and should have been much better.

Tada Never falls in love - Bland characters (and designs) and a romance that leaves it to the last few eps to develop by which time I didnt care and would rather watch something else. Garbage

Real Girl (dropped ep5) - Look at what a looser the MC is! but isnt he a nice guy whos a bit of a geek and shy? yes but he's such a massive looser. The show revels in making the MC suffer I had no intrest in continueing. Sadly its getting a season 2
 
Anime of the year already

Hisone to Masotan - I love absolutely everything about this...

What is even going on here?

Darling in the Franxx - Is this like the secret sequel to Pop Team Epic? Am I supposed to understand? Miyazaki memes? What? Also I get a bit sad everytime there's a scene that looks like it could be from Diebuster if I squint.
 
Great/Excellent
-Hinamatsuri. A very funny and simultaneously mean-spirited and heart-warming series that never fails to amuse me from week to week.

-Food Wars! The Third Plate 2nd Cour. This is a franchise that's been consistently great across its three seasons for me, and this showdown of chefs is no different.

-Hozuki's Coolheadedness 2nd Season 2nd Cour. Under appreciated and always incentive, this series offers fun adventures in hell with an array of eccentric characters in weird and darkly humorous situations. Watch it if you haven't already.

-Megalo Box. A gritty and stylish boxing anime that really showcases its violence and themes quite well. I love the recurring motifs and the heightened sense of impending death with each of Joe's fights.

-My Hero Academia 3rd Season. Probably the best continuation this season, MHA continues to be a superb anime that lives up to its hype and praise.

-Wotakoi: Love is Hard for Otaku. A quirky romance series with realistic and likeable couples and some great in jokes and references. A shame it's only 11 episodes.

Very Good
- Comic Girls. CGDCT with a healthy dose of suffering. Seriously Kaos suffers more than the average shounen protagonist. This was fun, and gave an insight into how mangaka and their works are created.

-Darling in the FranXX. As sh*t continues to go down I'm sticking with this until the end. It hasn't always been great but it's kept my attention each week in anticipation for what could happen next.

-Full Metal Panic! Invisible Victory. A follow up worth the wait so far, I'm looking forward to seeing how the plot progresses.

-Steins;Gate Zero. Okabe's suffering intensifies as the timey-wimey plot progresses and more is revealed. Can't wait to continue this through to next season.

Decent/Good
-Boruto. Now they're finally adapting the movie the series feels stronger, and lately has been more enjoyable. I'm glad I've stuck with it through the rough patches.

-Kakuriyo -Bed&Breakfast for Spirits- A fun and comfy fantasy series so far, even if it does like to put its heroine in danger only to resolve it rather quickly. I sense a few underlying plot development in the horizon so hopefully the second half can build upon what's been established.

-Tokyo Ghoul: re A decent adaptation with lacking animation and questionable cuts to story and character development.

-Yotsuiro Biyori. A comfy series about a tea shop and the guys who run it. A nice breather anime with a pleasant atmosphere that I enjoy with my anime sometimes.

Meh/Okay
-Amanchu! Advance. Weaker than the first season and featuring a lacklustre fantasy arc and an underwhelming character in Kokoro. This just hasn't done much for me which is a shame.

-Black Clover. The latest arc proved that this series has some potential, but most of it has been just okay at best. I'm almost just stubbornly watching each week since it's nearing the end of its current run.

-Persona 5 The Animation. An okay adaptation but lacking the soul and charm of the game. Unlike the P4 and P4G anime this lacks a real identity and so far just hasn't been anything special.

-Space Battleship Tiramasu. This has picked up a bit, but it's nothing special, just a short distraction really.

-Railroad Crossing Time. Some of the stories are touching, others are just forgettable

-My Sweet Tyrant. Some funny stuff here and there but the main tsundere character dynamic just isn't that enjoyable.

Dropped
-Dances with Dragons Couldn't get into this at all just wasn't feeling it.

Unexpected Surprises
-Uma Musume! Pretty Derby This was a very enjoyable sports anime that managed to be tense when it needed to be and had a nicely developed roster of characters.

-Magical Girl Ore. A ridiculous concept that was taken and given effort to maintain a quality of silliness and fun action throughout.
 
Good

Hozuki's Coolheadedness S2 P2

My Hero Academia S3


Bad

Darling in the FranXX - A train wreck that gets way too much praise for how terrible its story development has been, and how its plot twists have turned out.
 
Great
Steins; Gate 0

Very Good
Captain Tsubasa (2018)
Hinamatsuri
Hisone to Maso-tan
Megalo Box
Rokuhoudou Yotsuiro Biyori
Sword Art Online Alternative: Gun Gale Online
Wotakoi: Love is Hard for Otaku

Good
Persona 5
Tada Never falls in love
Uma Musume: Pretty Derby

Disappointing
Amanchu Advance
Golden Kamuy

More of the same but still enjoyable
My Hero Academia 3rd season
Food Wars 3rd season 2nd cour
Yowamushi Pedal: Glory Line
 
How do people keep up with so much stuff? Geez.

Something of Grave Importance

Lupin III: Part 5

It's not without fault, but this has been a real highlight to me. It's addressed basically every complaint I had about Part 4 and finally recovered some of the swagger that's been so desperately missing from the last decade of lacklustre TV specials. It's a shame that they've sacrificed some of its family-friendliness in the process, but if that's the price we have to pay, so be it.

A Superior VHS

Megalobox

The sheer simplicity of its story has begun to bother me a little in the past couple of weeks, but this was a pleasant surprise - it's been a short, sharp shock in the best possible way. Looking forward to seeing the conclusion this week.

My Bear Don't Like People Laughin'

Golden Kamuy

Yes, there's a lot that could be improved upon in the production, but I think the quality of the source material shines through. It perfectly captures the shlock storytelling of the spaghetti westerns, but still forges its own, uniquely Japanese identity. The pacing bugs me a little though - I feel it tries too hard to end every episode on a cliffhanger, and I find that draining.

Go ONEGAI

Cutie Honey Universe

A shakey start, and its apparent determination to recreate the bad parts of the 70s viewing experience, along with the good, will no-doubt alienate many. Yet, if you can get past the tin-eared dialogue, there are some solid ideas lurking underneath and I've found it genuinely affecting at times. Not the franchise's finest hour, but an honourable misfire.
 
Best:
Food Wars
My Hero Academia
Wotakoi
Magical Girl Ore

Okay/good:
Devil's Line
Persona 5
Cardcaptors Clear Card (which finally finished this season)
Darling in the Franxx
Uma Musume: Pretty Derby
Tokyo Ghoul: Re

Worst:
Magical Girl Site (Dropped at episode 1)
Caligula (Dropped at episode 4)
Real Girl
Tada Never Falls in Love
Amanchu Advance

Unexpected surprise: Magical Girl Ore - Did not expect this one to be anywhere near as fun as it turned out.

Biggest disappointment: Amanchu Advance - after how good season 1 was I never would have expected S2 to take an unexpected turn into the supernatural. It really broke the warm feeling the show used to have and just left me confused. ^^;
 
Before I get to ranking the 1 cour shows I watched there are a few other categories to run through, although most only have one entry.

The 2 Cour Series Which Adapts a Source I Actually Know!
Persona 5 the Animation - Its doing an OK job, but its not great.

The 2 Cour Series Which Adapts a Source I Don't Know
Kakuriyo - Bed and Breakfast for Spirits - Again its OK. I like the MC although she does have a propensity of getting into trouble and having to be rescued.

A 2 Cour That's a Sequel, Equal or Prequel. Depending Where You Are On the Timeline
Steins;Gate 0 - I'm liking it so far. Seems to have a bit more mind f***ery than the first, but where I am now it seems to be slowing down a bit.

A Sequel That's Not a Sequel Because it Ignored the Previous Series So Could be Called a Re-adaptation But Not Because it Adapts Different Source Material and Forgot to Go Back to the Point Where the Adaptation of the Previous Material Ended to Fill in the Gap and Expected You to That Yourself
Tokyo Ghoul:re

Shorts
  1. My Sweet Tyrant
  2. Crossing Time
  3. Love To-Lie-Angle
MST takes it, just, because each one is fairly consistent whereas CT was a bit up and down.

I could have made more categories with a spin off, a re-adaptation and a spiritual successor to other shows, but I included them in my single cour list:
  1. Hinamatsuri
  2. Uma Masume: Pretty Derby
  3. Magical Girl Site
  4. Golden Kamuy
  5. SAOA:GGO
  6. WotaKoi
  7. Megalo Box
  8. TadaKoi
  9. Comic Girls
  10. LotGH: Die Neue These
  11. Caligula
Quite a few of these are interchangeable in the mid-table positions. Overall it was a fairly middling season, none of the shows beat my top 3 from Winter.

Awards
Anime - Hinamatsuri

Animation - Hinamatsuri

Writing - Hinamatsuri (although shout out to the writer/s of Uma Masume for taking a strange premise and making it into a good story)

Best OP/ED song - quite a lot of good songs this season. I liked both from P5, Caligula, WotaKoi, and Golden Kamuy, plus the OPs of Kakuriyo, Uma Masume and LotGH and the EDs of TadaKoi, TG:r and SAOA:GGO. I'm going to give this to Man With a Mission with Winding Road from the Golden Kamuy OP:

Best OP: Kakuriyo. I like the way the music and visuals fit together and how it shows the characters and the themes with giving much away (I'm looking at you Hinamatsuri OP!) Caligula was a close second.

Best ED: TadaKoi. Lovely song by the VA of the female lead with the visual the male lead underwater in various locations and the female looking down at him. Seems to show the theme of the show better than the show does itself for the most part. Not on YouTube unfortunately.

Best New Girl: Anzu from Hinamatsuri. Shout outs to the rest of the girls from the same show, Asirpa from Golden Kamuy and Spe-chan from Uma Masume.

Best New Boy: Shout out to Junk Dog and Yuri from Megalo Box, but my vote goes to:
Screenshot_20180704-125332.jpg
 
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The whole Tokyo Ghoul: re situation was quite messy for anime onlys, hopefully season 2 won't muddle things further.
 
Best anime for me was Hisone and Masotan. Okada At her best and I know people will skip it on Netflix.
Worst this season I havent dropped anything so its not worst for me its not living up to expectation and thats MHA s3
 
Best:
My Hero Academia
Food Wars
Hinamatsuri
Wotakoi
S:G o

Enjoyable and good:
Katana Maidens
My sweet tyrant
Samurai master and ninja girl
Boruto
Persona 5

Worst:
Darling in the franxx
Real Girl ( Dropped at episode 5 or 6 I think )
 
Worst of the season is a tie between Dances with the Dragons, Butlers x Battlers and Libra of Nil Admirari.
All three have stupid plots extremely poor animation and are flat out boring.
Easily three contenders for worst anime of the year, though that would be a difficult crown to take from Hakyu Hoshin Engi
 
The following anime watched during the Spring season:
Amanchu! ~Advance~
BEATLESS (2nd cour)
Cutie Honey Universe
DARLING in the FRANXX (2nd cour)
Food Wars! The Third Plate: Totsuki Train arc
Golden Kamuy
High School DxD HERO
HINAMATSURI
Legend of the Galactic Heroes: Die Neue These
Lupin the Third Part 5
Magical Girl Site
MEGALO BOX
My Hero Academia Season 3
PERSONA5 The Animation
Steins;Gate 0
Sword Art Online Alternative: Gun Gale Online
Tada Never Falls In Love

Bold titles are the ones I consider to be the best of that category, the rest of nominations.

Best Opening - Song:
"Binary Star" by SawanoHiroyuki[nZk]:Uru (Legend of the Galactic Heroes: Die Neue These)
"Bite" by LEO Imai (MEGALO BOX)
"BREAK IN TO BREAK OUT" by Lyn (PERSONA5 The Animation)
"Fatima" by Itou Kanako (Steins;Gate 0)
"Ryuusei" by Eir Aoi (Sword Art Online Alternative: Gun Gale Online)
"Winding Road" by MAN WITH A MISSION (Golden Kamuy)

An interesting set of opening songs throughout this season and there were some really good ones (judging by my music tastes). Out of all of them Winding Road was the most replayed song in my tracklist. Honourable mentions goes to BREAK IN TO BREAK OUT thanks to Lyn's great music to the Persona 5 series and a good shoutout to Binary Star and Fatima. Bite felt like a classic song from an old Guitar Hero game and it works in its own way, while Ryuusei slowly builds up to its good chorus segment.

Best Opening - Visuals:
HINAMATSURI
Legend of the Galactic Heroes: Die Neue These
Lupin the Third Part 5
My Hero Academia Season 3
PERSONA5 The Animation
Steins;Gate 0

Like the music, the visuals in the opening song for each anime were all good but the six titles I have mentioned were my favourites that I felt stood out more. HINAMATSURI takes the top spot for its great transitions and showcases all of the characters, plus it even changes throughout the series if you pay attention. Honourable mentions goes to Lupin the Third Part 5 and Steins;Gate 0.

Best Ending - Song:
"Hibana" by THE SIXTH LIE (Golden Kamuy)
"INFINITY" by Lyn (PERSONA5 The Animation)
"Kakatte Koi yo" by NakamuraEmi (MEGALO BOX)
"LAST GAME" by Zwei (Steins;Gate 0)
"Seine no Kaze ni... (Adieu)" by Miyuki Sawashiro (Lupin the Third Part 5)
"WISH" by ELISA (Legend of the Galactic Heroes: Die Neue These)

MEGALO BOX's ending song was just perfect for the show and the full version is even better. The rest were solid as well. WISH, INFINITY and Hibana grew on me over time. Honourable mentions goes to Lupin the Third Part 5 and Steins;Gate 0 once again.

Best Ending - Visuals:
High School DxD HERO
HINAMATSURI
Legend of the Galactic Heroes: Die Neue These
Lupin the Third Part 5
Steins;Gate 0

To be honest not much stood out to me in terms of visuals in terms of the ending themes. Some were great but the animation wasn't too spot on for the sequence. I think overall I'll give it to Lupin the Third Part 5 because the sequence itself was just so good to look at and it blends well with Miyuki Sawashiro's lyrics. Honourable mentions goes to High School DxD HERO for its fanservice and Steins;Gate 0 were being true to the show's tone.

Best Animation:
Amanchu! ~Advance~
Golden Kamuy
High School DxD HERO
HINAMATSURI
Legend of the Galactic Heroes: Die Neue These
Lupin the Third Part 5
MEGALO BOX
My Hero Academia Season 3
PERSONA5 The Animation
Steins;Gate 0
Sword Art Online Alternative: Gun Gale Online
Tada Never Falls In Love

This is a pretty controversial choice I have selected for this category because a couple of these actually have average animation but they still stand out in some cases so they're honourable mentions (Golden Kamuy, High School DxD HERO, PERSONA5 The Animation, Tada Never Falls In Love). The series that I'll be giving best animation for is quite honestly MEGALO BOX for its unique direction of making the anime look like a classic series and the visuals work really well with the tone of the show. HINAMATSURI is an honourable mention and that's only because I felt it was a bit rough in places (I can't tell if the Crunchyroll stream just feels upscaled or not, which is why I didn't pick this one for the best slot). Other honourable mentions are Legend of the Galactic Heroes: Die Neue These, Lupin the Third Part 5 and My Hero Academia Season 3.

Best Soundtrack:
DARLING in the FRANXX (2nd cour), composed by Asami Tachibana
MEGALO BOX, composed by mabanua
PERSONA5 The Animation, composed by Shoji Meguro

This one is a bit of a cheat as we have the same nomination from the previous season and we have a nomination for what is essentially a rehash of the video game soundtrack. Either way they don't win because mabanua blows it all the way out with MEGALO BOX and it is so good that it's now on Spotify.

Favourite Anime of the Season:
#1: HINAMATSURI
#2: MEGALO BOX
#3: My Hero Academia Season 3
#4: Golden Kamuy + Legend of the Galactic Heroes: Die Neue These
#5: Sword Art Online Alternative: Gun Gale Online + High School DxD HERO

A last minute addition to the simulcast backlog ended up being the best show of the season. HINAMATSURI is not perfect, it has some moments that I didn't like but a majority of the series was a great fun to watch and I hope there's more anime to come (the manga has been licensed by One Peace Books on the plus side). If it weren't for HINAMATSURI, MEGALO BOX would have taken the top spot for its great boxing scenes and an ending that I felt was a satisfactory conclusion to the series. My Hero Academia Season 3 is still on-going but it offers plenty of fun addictive moments especially with All Might's scenes near the half-way point of the show.

Now here's where things once again where I make controversial choices. I have decided to combine two shows for the same slot twice. Golden Kamuy and Legend of the Galactic Heroes: Die Neue These both have their ups and downs but as they have more to come in terms of continuations I felt they were both on the same level in terms of my favourite. The same went for Sword Art Online Alternative: Gun Gale Online and High School DxD HERO as they each have their ups and downs but I still enjoyed watching it all the way.

Weakest Anime of the Season:
Amanchu! ~Advance~
BEATLESS (2nd cour)
DARLING in the FRANXX (2nd cour)
Tada Never Falls In Love

So let's talk about the weakest shows of the season. Both Cutie Honey Universe and Magical Girl Site just narrowly dodge this as they had their own enjoyment values to them but they're not perfect shows either. Let's start with Amanchu! ~Advance~, now I know many are aware that I like the first season a lot but this season just dropped the ball in terms of content due to its fantasy episodes that just feel out of place and dragged out for longer than it should. The episodes that didn't have it were as good as the first season but because of the fantasy bits I decided to nominate it for this category. Tada Never Falls in Love also suffers from being dragged out and while I like the characters they aren't fleshed out as much as they could and the main story is not focused on until the last minute. BEATLESS did manage to get somewhere but the story isn't over yet due to production issues but it's nothing special and it does have some stupid moments between Arato and Ryo.

So what's the weakest anime of the season you may ask me, better not hate me for this because I'm going to select DARLING in the FRANXX on this one. The show's first cour was not bad, not good but average throughout however this second cour became such a mess that you can tell they realised that they were running out of time to tell their story and had to rush it out like mad. The story goes bonkers out of nowhere in a bad way, the development for the characters are a complete mess (with the exception of Hiro, Goro, Kokoro and Mitsuri), and while references to older works are cool there were way too much in this series it kinda ruins the originality overall (it's like they went from going with an original concept to simply remaking older Trigger/Gainax works instead which is effectively making things rather predictable). If you like or love the show then by all means feel free to do so I'm not going to hate you for it everyone has their own opinions, heck it is addictive to watch so I'll give the show credit for that. This is the most disappointing show of the season and I just don't think this is a good series overall. Zero Two deserved better than this.
 
NormanicGrav said:
Indeed, I even mentioned it in my explanation!
Click to expand...
Oh, yeah. I think I must have read all the other explanations apart from that one.

On the Hinamatsuri OP, as good as it is, do you not agree that it is a bit spoilerific for what plot there is to the show? Especially Anzus arc! That's why I couldn't give it best OP.
 
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D1tchd1gger said:
Oh, yeah. I think I must have read all the OTHER explanations apart from that one.

On the Hinamatsuri OP, as good as it is, do you not agree that it is a bit spoilerific for what plot there is to the show? Especially Anzus arc! That's why I couldn't give it best OP.
Click to expand...
I guess so but honestly I kind of let it slide. My choice was mainly down to how it presented the characters and gave them a shine to appear, rather than teasing what events were about to occur.
 
The Anzumatsuri OP is a little spoilerific but the music is so uplifting and the whole OP is rollercoaster of emotions which I personally really enjoyed. Plus I give them props for updating and changing the OP and ED based on events in the episode as the series goes along.
 
I cannot help but feel that 'DARLING in the FRANXX' was Studio Trigger's reaction against the super family friendly 'Little Witch Academia' that they produced before. In the process to get back to being 'edgy', things went a bitt awry
 
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