Anime has been on a hot streak these past few seasons hitting us with quite a lot of good shows to savor but unfortunately, we may have reached the peak for the mean time as this season lacked that much of good shows to match up to the preceding season's line up. This is not a bad season but going by the trend this one definitely pales in comparison despite having some of the most anticipated shows lined up like One Punch Man, Attack on Titan and Bungou Stray Dogs. Well, that is how I initially felt (well I still feel that this season is lacking compared to the previous two) but after giving some shows a chance I found some of them to be quite enjoyable and I think I actually found one of the best show this year so far with Carole & Tuesday. There are also a lot of 12-minute shows airing this season and I personally enjoy those more than the full length ones.
Despite saying that this season is a lackluster, I still managed to make quite a long list (well most of them are just my personal bias though, catering to my degeneracy) so I will be splitting this list into four: first would be about shows from prominent animation studios, followed by my ultimate bias list, then anticipated returning anime list and finishing it up with the 12-minute list. That’s all for the introduction so let’s get down to business now.
Carole & Tuesday
Genres: Sci-Fi, Music, Drama, Romance
Studio: Bones
Stunningly beautiful is how I would acquaint you with this one. It has the visuals, the music, the atmosphere, the aesthetics, the characters, the setting, everything, it has everything that a good anime could possibly ask for and with studio Bones at the helm this is definitely going places.
I have seen a lot of anime these past few season with strong initial hook but only a handful managed to keep the fire burning till the end and I am staking it for this one. If I were to name a show that has me in the leash just as much as this one on recent memory, only A Place Further than the Universe comes to mind and that is 2018’s finest offering so that says a lot.
This is a show about two girls that shares the same passion - music. They have a fateful encounter (okay, definitely not original) and made one hell of a song. Currently all of the songs they have made are really good to listen to, I specifically loved their first piece but the ending song is a tough match with its bouncy and good vibe inducing beat.
I also love how this show goes the extra mile by actually hiring English speakers to do the songs, a very wise decision since anime has been infamous for its engrish (cawfee vs gween tea anyone?) but the extra mile doesn’t stop there, they added another extra mile within that extra mile, Carole and Tuesday has a legit Instagram account and I made an account just to see it for myself, yes that’s how much I am hooked to this one so you better give it a shot guys!
Kimetsu no Yaiba (Blade of Demon Destruction)
Genres: Actions, Demons, Historical, Shounen, Supernatural
Studio: ufotable
When it comes to action anime nothing tops ufotable, not even Bones or Madhouse could size up to them. That is ufotable’s greatest strength (tax evasion notwithstanding) and together with their faithful adaptation they have already made a name for themselves that when one hears of the name ufotable, the first thing that will come to mind is how the animation is sure to be of the finest quality as opposed to a certain animation studio that has recently gained infamy for wrecking established franchises by doing half assed animations.
Back to the show at hand, I know that by this time story of demons and vampires may have already started to become stale as they have been used in almost every show that all the possibilities for them may have already been explored and exhausted. This one is no exception, if I were to be honest the show has nothing new to add and is just the same old revenge story and protect my imouto show that most of us may have already seen numerous times by now. However, that doesn’t mean that this won’t be an entertaining one, it may not have the most original setting and story but the magic of ufotable is at work in here, by faithfully adapting the story, taking the pace just right and giving time for the characters to develop and mature, they managed to outdo most of the shows falling under the same category already, and that is even before including the superiority of the animation quality into consideration which would further increase the gap.
Speaking of animation, I just have to say it but god deym those sword slashes do stand out and I mean it in a really positive way. I know that people get thrown off when they see animation that feels out of placed just like bad CGI but this one is different, they chose to make those sword slashes stand out but doesn’t make them feel out of place, it is like a 3D animation in a 2D animation and it is real treat for the eyes. This just proves how important it is to pick the right animation studio, a good studio can make the best out of good and good out of the bad.
Fairy Gone
Genres: Action, Demon, Fantasy, Magic, Supernatural
Studio: P.A. Works
Truth be told, I am a huge fan of P.A. Works ever since I’ve watched Shirobako and Nagi no Asukara. They had been doing well lately too with their last year’s offerings like Tenrou: Sirius the Jaeger and IRODOKU: The World in Colors so I have fairly high expectation out of this show but I was outright shut down as early as its first episode aired. The show is not that good is how I would put it lightly, it is something I looked forward to because its P.A. Works but I think I may have put too much hope leading to a bigger disappointment on my end.
Animation wise this show comes second only to Kimetsu no Yaiba but that won’t be of much use if the delivery fails to click which unfortunately is what the pilot episode just did. The setting and underlying plot is not that bad, it is the execution that feels lacking as they just didn’t establish the characters and their stand well enough for me to care about them. Currently I am watching the series for the action and the beautiful animation but I also noticed that it is somehow staring to pick up the slack and may eventually be able to become a front runner show later on.
By the way the show is about soldiers that can summon stand bad CGI fairies to aid them in battle as they search for the Black Fairy Tome (which I have no idea why they need), they also have the Naruto/ Sasuke thing going on between the two female leads. In a nutshell this is Full Metal Bizarre Adventure: Shippuden… or maybe it is more like Naruto’s Bizarre Adventure: Brotherhood?
That’s it for the first part. I won’t be taking too much of your time but do look forward for the next part next week. Well then, that’s all from me today and see you again next time!
Ciao~