We have this one glorious season left before we fully start noticing the havoc COVID-19 has wreaked upon the already desperately tight anime industry. Thankfully, it temporarily goes out in a blaze of absolute glory with one of the more stacked seasons in recent memory. As much a blessing as a curse; such barrages of exciting projects forces me to choose and sideline many honorable mentions that would’ve made it in weaker seasons.
There’s the overabundance of popular sequels: Kaguya-sama: Love is War?, Fruits Basket, and Ascendance of a Bookworm all receiving their sophomore entry. There’s also the fifth Shokugeki no Souma season by J.C. Staff, whose dedication to fully adapt a manga that had soured years ago draws some of my misplaced admiration. Finish what you started, I guess. Finality we won’t get in the long-awaited Neon Genesis Evangelion‘s Rebuild series, looking to be delayed yet again.
As are practically all other theatrical releases — big bummer for Heaven’s Feel fans — but I’m disappointed having to wait longer for Nakitai Watashi wa Neko wo Kaburu; written by Mari Okada and directed by Junichi Satou (Sailor Moon). Although romantic melodramas aren’t up my alley, I was excited for studio Colorido’s ambitious visual style they’ve rapidly defined themselves with. There is also Omoi, Omoware, Furi, Furare, adapting Io Sakisaka (Ao Haru Ride)’s dramatic shoujo romance. Not my thing per se, but would’ve loved to see A-1 Picture’s strengths on the big canvas.
And my god, there’s so much more. Yesterday wo Uttate, a 90s seinen manga adaptation and a director’s passion project tackling heavier themes like self-loathing and post-graduation blues. Mewkledreamy, a sugary mahou shoujo about selling cutesy plushies, finally picked up by a subgroup. LISTENERS sees Dai Satou and Hiroaki Ando collaborating for an apparent hate-it-or-love it affair, tapping into early-00s aesthetics and drawing comparisons to Eureka Seven and FLCL. Hiroaki Samura receives his second adaptation in a short while with Nami yo Kiitekure; whose explosive pilot has impressed many friends. There’s Shadowverse adapting the titular mobile collectible card game. Arte, a joyous series about becoming an artist in 16th century Florence. And Gleipnir…
But now for the real meat of the article, the series that I did pick, ranked and written up appropriately:
Studio CygamesPictures
dir. Takaomi Kanasaki (KonoSuba, Kore wa Zombie desu ka, Tokyo Ravens)
Adapting a popular mobage legally unavailable in the west.
Crunchyroll
For fans of: KonoSuba
Princess Connect! Re:Dive will fit right up KonoSuba fans’ alley: both deride its humor and share similar comedic timing from its casts idiocy; but where the latter is mean-spirited, Princess Connect! is blissful in its stupidity. It immediately asserts levity with a premier focus on wholesome character relations, basking in a warm color palette and summery setting. However, Princess Connect! frequently indulges into its boring by-the-numbers fantasy setting, requiring the viewer to have a large tolerance for generic isekai, even if its action is visually impressive.
5/10
Diary of Our Days at the Breakwater
Studio Doga Kobo
dir. Takaharu Ookuma (debut)
Original manga by Yasuyuki Kosaka
Funimation
For fans of: Doga Kobo
Houkago Teibou Nisshi is exactly what you would expect a Doga Kobo cute-girls-doing-fishing adaptation would be: wholesome with lesbian undertones. Unfortunately, it looks like a lesser entry lacking the aesthetic polish and expressive character acting that set apart the studio’s key works. However, most frustrating is its sudden otaku humor: in one scene an octopus assaults the main character for laughs and later she comments on another’s breasts. Those are typically minor offenses but Houkago Teibou Nisshi squanders its uplifting aura knowing perverted jokes can pop up any moment. Despite its blemishes, it remains a recommendation to those enjoying the tried and trusted Doga Kobo formula.
5/10
Studio Toei Animation
dir. Masato Mitsuka (Dragon Ball Super: Broly, Mahoutsukai Precure!)
A remake of the 1999 anime sharing the same name
Crunchyroll
For fans of: the original Digimon Adventure, Pokemon
Whereas the direct competitor and concurrently airing Pokémon has excelled in a comfortable and immersive low-fantasy setting, Digimon Adventure:‘s world and designs are awkwardly convoluted. That weakness could just as easily morph into its key strength with abstraction allowing for more ambitious worldbuilding and its ambient alienation for greater narrative gravitas. Digimon‘s premier weakness yet is its dulled color palette, exuding a lifeless and cheap look. Toei’s ace animator Ryo Onishi alleviates that with his explosive and weightier action cuts injecting dynamism where it’s desperately needed, but one man can’t key animate every sequence in a long-running series…
5/10
Studio A-CAT
dir. Toshinori Fukushima (Major series)
Original manga by Mountain Pukuichi
Funimation
For fans of: Hachigatsu no Cinderella Nine, Harukana Receive
Tamayomi is almost adorably generic, with its openers hitting every plot beat you would expect a high school sports club anime to. When not animating thighs it is visually unimpressive with inconsistently stocky character models, awkward CGI, and conservative storyboarding. In spite of its glaring writing flaws and middling production, Tamayomi carries genuine heart that lends for authenticity and offers legitimate potential if it develops its relationships and matches properly.
6/10
Studio Telecom Animation Film
dir. Takashi Sano (debut)
Original WEBTOON by SIU
Crunchyroll
For fans of: Hunter x Hunter; Made in Abyss
Likely the boldest and most exciting newcomer this year is Tower of God whose extensive and mysterious worldbuilding makes for immense potential. Most curious is its departure from typical battle shounen tropes. Where friendship would be power, forced alliances are now arbitrary and susceptible to infighting. Where contemporaries would encourage hard work to achieve greatness, Tower of God emphasizes luck as the critical attribute needed to complete it. The eccentric production is further characterized by Kevin Penkin’s thumping soundtrack and rougher art direction, but has failed to impress with its choreography; explosive moments like Anak vs Hatz have fallen flat by simplicity and frenetic editing. If it improves on its action sequences whilst keeping up its high-paced storytelling momentum, Tower of God could easily propel itself to the season’s top spot.
7/10
Brand New Animal
Studio Trigger
dir. Yoh Yoshinari (Little Witch Academia)
Original anime
Netflix
For fans of: BEASTARS, Kill la Kill
BNA feels more subdued than the rest of studio Trigger’s explosive catalog. That’s not to say it lacks its dynamite charm: action director Hiroyuki Imaishi regularly bounces punched villains up from concrete as if rubber with cartoonish glee and Yoh Yoshinari continues emphasizing the joy of animation with exaggerated character acting in dialogue-heavy scenes. However, delicate themes like identity discrimination will always concern me. While its premiere did contain a deeply cathartic and unexpected festival scene, one misstep could easily sour the entire experience. A risky instance occurs near the first episode’s end with Michiru’s plea for moderation in a situation hardly justifying it. Nevertheless, BNA is yet another exhibition of Trigger’s stylistic experimentation (and flexing) that defines their exceptionally talented team of aestheticians and is a worthwhile seasonal even if just to awe at pretty animation.
7/10
Gal & Dino
Studio Kamikaze Douga
dir. Jun Aoki (Pop Team Epic)
Original manga by Moriko Mori
Funimation
For fans of: Pop Team Epic
Gal to Kyouryuu‘s episodes are split: the first half being glacially paced slice of life chapters enjoying the mundane like binging a TV show with your friend or getting ramen noodles. Its casualty nigh borders into iyashikei territory with kind energy and happy palettes simultaneously playing in and paying no mind to the concepts absurdity.
The second half, where Gal to Kyouryuu becomes live-action — the titular gal now played by an older man —, takes on its own life. Although its begin innocuously rehashes its first half’s energy (now with a cacophony of hilarious MLG-compliation airhorns on cuts) it quickly develops a melodramatic time manipulation story involving some type of death note. How this ties in with a dinosaur moving into a gal’s apartment? No idea. Yet Team Jun Aoki’s dedication to expanding upon such novel idea’s universes tapping into extreme camp is admirable and makes Gal to Kyouryuu the most eccentric pick of the season.
7/10
Studio Ajia-Do
dir. Yuuta Murano (How Not to Summon a Demon Lord)
Original manga by Kouji Kumeta (Sayonara Zetsubou Sensei)
Funimation
For fans of: Sayonara Zetsubou Sensei, Barakamon
Kakushigoto is at its most hilarious when deviating from its formula: it boasts a captivating side cast, builds upon its running gags, and often cracks meta-jokes about the insufferable mangaka life. Kouji Kumeta’s irregular comedic timing is key; he has no trouble swiftly moving from explosive slapstick to slower jokes, all of them exaggerating our mundane reality. Through its energetic comedy shines a down-to-earth slice of life about a father admirably attempting to understand his clever daughter, leading into its most affecting moments. However, as expected from the author behind Zetsubou-sensei, Kakushigoto‘s episodes take melancholic detours hinting towards an unfavorable conclusion. It further carves its personality with outstanding production values: its background art is delightfully breezy and the star-studded voice cast’s excellent performances bring its simple yet unique character designs to life. Kakushigoto is a complete package and achieves the rare feat of being a seasonal I actually ache weekly for. Watch it now!
8/10
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