Okay, it's time to see how the current season is shaping up.
Beast Tamer (ep. 1-3) Another disappointing case of a supposedly underdog character having to fend for himself only to discover that he's actually over-powered. I stuck with this for a few episodes because there was the occassional flicker of the protagonist having to use his brain, but it mostly settles into typical power fantasy territory. It also doesn't help that it falls into the uncomfortable cute-girls-enjoy-being-slaves-(honest) sub-genre of harem anime, and the way the girls spend all their time gushing about how wonderful the mediocre protagonist is just became cloying. Dropped.
Mobile Suit Gundam: The Witch from Mercury (ep. 0-3) After a classic UC-style Gundam prologue in episode 0, this surprisingly turns into Revolutionary Gundam Utena from episode 1 onwards. The show wears this influence on its sleeve, with everything from the student council fighting duels to decide who winds up engaged to a certain character, all the way to having a character called Chuchu with hair that looks like Mickey Mouse ears. It works better than I hoped, tonally sitting somewhere between the school aristocracy vibe of Gundam Wing and the duel-of-the-week structure of G Gundam. Also the music is fantastic. Watchlist.
Raven of the Inner Palace (ep. 1-2) This came out of nowhere, and has quickly become a contender for one of the season's best shows. It's a stylish period drama/mystery series with some supernatural elements, set in Imperial China. I was a little surprised that it's not in Mandarin, but this appears to be based on a Japanese source manga. Watchlist.
Urusei Yatsura (ep. 1) Aside from the updated visuals, this feels authentic to the original so far. This means that your enjoyment will depend on how you feel about mid-showa-era comedy. It's heavy on slapstick, as UY always was, but it's handled well. As a lifelong fan of the series, I'm glad it seems to be in good hands. It's great to have the OG waifu back. Watchlist.
I'm the Villainess, So I'm Taming the Final Boss (ep. 1-2) I quite enjoyed My Next Life as a Villainess, so I thought I'd give this a try, but I'm just so tired of protagonists getting reincarnated into their favourite dating sim that it's facing an uphill struggle to keep me awake. It's okay, but fails to stand out in what's turning out to be a strong season. If it had come along during the weak summer schedule, I'd probably be more inclined to keep watching. On probation.
Do It Yourself (ep. 1-2) Aside from overusing that tired gag about a character constantly called someone by a nickname they don't like, this is decent. Not sure if it will hold my interest for 12 episodes though. On probation.
Chainsaw Man (ep. 1) The monster designs are interesting, but aside from that I'm scratching my head as to where the massive amount of hype is coming from. This just looks like another Bleach clone like Fire Force. I presume it's going to follow that typical pattern of having several episodes of monster-hunting followed by several hundred about in-fighting between various monster-hunting factions. On probation.
More Than a Married Couple, But Not Lovers (ep. 1-2) The annoying characters almost made me drop this in episode 1, but episode 2 was pretty funny. On probation.
Spy x Family (ep. 13-15) Still great. Watchlist.
Bocchi The Rock (ep. 1-2) Another pleasant surprise. This K-On-meets-crippling-social-anxiety comedy is a lot better than I expected. Then I saw the CloverWorks name pop up in the end credits and it all made sense. Watchlist.