Mid-Autumn 2023 Anime Ranking

It was very difficult to do a ranking this time.  All the shows we are watching are good enough to keep us coming back every week, but none of them stand out as something we can’t wait to watch.

01. My New Boss is Goofy (Atarashii Joushi wa Do Tennen) (Ep. 1-10) – Momose starts to heal from the workplace abuse that he suffered at his previous company with the help of his kind new supervisor.

My New Boss is Goofy is practically the spiritual successor to Play It Cool, Guys, right down to Umehara Yuuichirou voicing the airheaded ad exec. While I’m not in love with the show, it is consistently sweet, and silly, and it makes me smile.

(Streaming at Crunchyroll)

02. The Yuzuki Family’s Four Sons (Yuzuki-san Chi no Yonkyoudai.) (Ep. 1-11) – The Yuzuki boys are really endearing, especially Gaku, who is the youngest in age, but acts the most serious and mature.

There’s a lot of content here that I personally relate to, being from a family of 3 sisters, with a big age gap, and now orphaned too.

(Streaming at Crunchyroll)

03. Rurouni Kenshin: Meiji Kenkaku Romantan (2023) (Ep. 14-24)

(Streaming at Crunchyroll)

04. FRIEREN: Beyond Journey’s End (Sousou no Frieren) (Ep. 1-12)

(Streaming at Crunchyroll)

05. The Apothecary Diaries (Kusuriya no Hitorigoto) (Ep. 1-11)

(Streaming at Crunchyroll)

06. Paradox Live THE ANIMATION (Ep. 1-10) – Out of the 3 music-themed anime we’re watching, this one has the best music and the most compelling and dramatic story line.

(Streaming at Crunchyroll)

07. Firefighter Daigo: Rescuer in Orange (Megumi no Daigo: Kyuukoku no Orange) (Ep. 1-11) – Very realistic firefighter stories, but it’s kind of slow-moving; and the amount of recap at the start of each episode is ridiculous. It’s almost like the storytelling is so realistic that it happens in real time, which is totally unnecessary. Otherwise, Firefighter Daigo can be pretty exciting and suspenseful.

(Streaming at Crunchyroll)

08. JUJUTSU KAISEN -SEASON 2- (Ep. 35-45) – The Shibuya battle rages on, in all its destructive glory. I don’t know what to say. Two of our favourite characters bit the dust in 2 consecutive episodes. When another of our favourites entered the fray the next week, we were like, ‘no – what are you doing??’

(Streaming at Crunchyroll)

09. The Saint’s Magic Power is Omnipotent (Seijo no Maryoku wa Bannou desu) Season 2 (Ep. 1-11) – Now that her Holy Saint duties are winding down, the kingdom wants to see Sei settled down. Of course, Sei has always been more interested in her research than in romance, so Albert understandably hasn’t pressured her; but if he doesn’t make his move soon, he might miss his chance.

Well it’s still good, but somehow less magical than the first season. Even the romance/chemistry between Sei and Albert feels kind of lacklustre.

Actually, you know who the cutest couple is? The king and his attendant! Just from one brief scene, it’s obvious how much they enjoy each other’s company and that they have a rich shared history together.

(Streaming at Crunchyroll)

10. GOBLIN SLAYER II (Ep. 1-10) – Less action and gore compared to season one, but still entertaining, as somehow, Goblin Slayer’s fixation on goblins never gets old.

I’m appreciating Lizardman a lot lately. He’s getting to be as into the goblin slaying as Goblin Slayer! And the subtle jabs he sometimes takes at their leader are so funny.

I also really like the makeover for Farm Girl. Previously, I was weirded out by that vacant look in her eyes, but now she seems bright and cute.

(Streaming at Crunchyroll)

11. SPY x FAMILY Season 2 (Ep. 26-35) – At first it seemed like this cour was going to be more episodic filler, but we finally entered a long arc with Yor’s mission on the cruise liner, and that was a huge improvement for the show.

(Streaming at Crunchyroll)

12. HYPNOSISMIC -Division Rap Battle- Rhyme Anima+ (Season 2 Ep. 1-10) – I was never particularly enamoured of any of the HYPMIC guys, but you know, there’s just something cute about the way Samatoki is always irritable and so angry; to the point that even his closest comrades can’t tell if he is under someone’s influence, or suffering nicotine withdrawal, or just being his normal self!

(Streaming at Crunchyroll)

13. B-PROJECT: Passion*Love Call (B-PROJECT Netsuretsu*Love Call) (Season 3 Ep. 1-11) – Tsubasa’s workload increases as Gandara signs up a streaming platform duo called Ultras. There’s a learning curve since the company is not accustomed to representing this type of talent, and Ultras are not accustomed to being represented.

Unfortunately, the English subtitles for this show are frequently problematic. It’s obvious the translator wasn’t given any background information or just can’t be bothered about getting any of the names right. Gandara Music is misspelled every time with an extra ‘h’ inserted randomly; the group names are often preceded by ‘The’ and are pluralized, as if they can’t conceive that music group names do not always follow that format. This, despite the fact that the correct typeset sometimes appears right on the screen.

(Streaming at Crunchyroll)

14. BEYBLADE X (Ep. 1-9) – The best opening theme of the season (of the shows we are following) is “PROVE” by ONE OK ROCK! That is in fact the primary reason we are watching BEYBLADE X. I have never touched a bey, nor have I watched any previous Beyblade anime. Also, Saito Sōma voices one of the main characters, so that never hurts!

ALSO WATCHED:

Onimusha (Ep. 1-8) (Netflix)

Mid-Autumn 2018 Anime Ranking

Due to the demands of work and travel, I haven’t had much time for watching anime this season, never mind writing down my thoughts about what I have seen, which makes me sad. Unfortunately, that means this quarterly post might be a little bit more half-assed than usual.

Note: I am aware that two of the shows on my list are not technically anime, but whatever, it’s my blog, so I’ll put in whatever I want… even if it’s the top 3!


01. DOUBLE DECKER! Doug & Kirill (ep. 1-10) – So far, this show has simply been a lot of fun. DOUBLE DECKER! can be serious when it wants to be, but when it goes for funny, it hits the mark because it is always smart enough to recognize its own stupidity. It’s full of interesting and colourful characters; even the narrator has quite the personality! And more than any anime I’ve ever seen, DOUBLE DECKER! acknowledges the existence of things like workplace sexual harassment and LGBTQ issues while telling its greater story.
(streaming at Crunchyroll)


02. Thunderbolt Fantasy S2: Sword Seekers (Touri-ken Yuuki) (ep. 1-8) – It’s an incredible treat to get more of Urobuchi Gen’s Taiwanese puppet show! The writing is stellar and I just love these characters. The explanation as to why so many people have been crossing the Wasteland was so obvious in retrospect, I could have smacked my head. I fully expect that Sword Seekers will continue to surprise and impress me.

The music is always amazing in this series too. Well, it is Sawano Hiroyuki after all. The collaboration with Nishikawa Takanori for the OP and ED this time just takes it to the next level.
(streaming at Crunchyroll)


03. CASTLEVANIA Season 2 (ep. 1-8 complete) – Trevor kind of takes a back seat to his mates, Alucard and Sypha in this installment. And they all take a back seat to Dracula’s court, which is the main focus of this story. We’re introduced to Dracula’s crew, as they scheme and question the loyalties and competencies of their comrades. Meanwhile, our heroes prepare for battle by hunkering down to study with books…

The 4 episodes of CASTLEVANIA season one and these 8 episodes are hugely entertaining, slickly animated productions featuring dark, intelligent storytelling. I’m very glad there’s a third season on the way!
(streaming at NETFLIX)


04. Skull-face Bookseller Honda-san (Gaikotsu Shoten’in Honda-san) (ep. 1-8) – This is a hilarious short format anime. I think anyone who’s worked in retail or customer service can relate to Honda’s bookstore experiences. I love that the humour is in the situations and Honda’s reactions, and is not generally mean-spirited toward the customers that he encounters.

Saitou Souma is really great as the soft-spoken title character; and the frequent random English is funny as hell.
(streaming at Crunchyroll)


05. BANANA FISH (ep. 13-20) – I greatly enjoyed the thrilling hospital escape in ep. 16. But then I thought Ash seemed to give up too easily when Blanca came on scene. I would have expected him to maybe have some ideas on Blanca’s potential weaknesses, having known him and spent time together with him in the past.

I am also frustrated by Ash’s willingness to sacrifice himself for Eiji’s sake. He shouldn’t need to do that. It’s a little melodramatic, and if I were Eiji, I don’t think I would appreciate my own survival if it meant never being able to see my loved one again.


06. JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure: Golden Wind (JoJo no Kimyou na Bouken: Ougon no Kaze) (Season 4) (ep. 1-8) – Another season of JoJo’s brings with it another set of awesomely flamboyant characters. This represents Part 5 of the overall saga. I’m still getting to know the new cast, but JoJo’s is JoJo’s, and it’s as consistently entertaining as always.

The highlight so far was that impromptu torture dance on the ship. I have honestly never seen anything like that before! So good.
(streaming at Crunchyroll)


07. DAKAICHI –I’m being harassed by the sexiest man of the year- (Dakaretai Otoko 1-i ni Odosarete Imasu.) (ep. 1-8) – In an unlikely development, I’m watching two BL-themed series this season: BANANA FISH and DAKAICHI. Whereas BANANA FISH is a drama and its plot involves much more than the love story, DAKAICHI is basically a romantic comedy; and as such, it works well.

I was worried that there would be a lot of non-consensual shenanigans (just look at that title), but that hasn’t really been the case, at least not between the 2 leads. I am reasonably convinced that their relations are indeed fully consensual. Also, Takato (I love his snarky internal monologue) and Junta are great characters who have real chemistry together. DAKAICHI is a lot of fun and I actually find this relationship more interesting and compelling than the one in BANANA FISH!
(streaming at Crunchyroll)


08. GOBLIN SLAYER (ep. 1-10) – Through watching this controversial anime, I’ve discovered that this is my tolerance for objectionable content: brutal violence/rape (ep. 1) challenges my idea of entertainment, but is OK; gratuitous nudity (ep. 2) is eyeroll-inducing, but OK; insects – moving, up-close, with sound effects (ep.5) are NOT OK. I really wanted a lot more censorship in ep. 5!

Despite the fact that I have almost as many complaints about GOBLIN SLAYER as the next person, I actually sympathize enough with the characters that I would say I mostly like the show. In fact, if it were only the characters and the story, GOBLIN SLAYER might be vying for a spot in the top 5 right now. However, the distasteful aspects are significant enough that I would be hard-pressed to recommend this show; and even I, myself, would not relish the thought of enduring those difficult scenes a second time.

Of course, I am also watching because Umehara Yuuichirou is voicing the lead character, his first starring role since his return to work. He was in hospital for much of 2018 after being diagnosed with acute disseminated encephalomyelitis, and during that time it was uncertain whether he would be able to continue his career. So there was basically no way I was going to miss this!
(streaming at Crunchyroll)


09. Tsurune: Kazemai Koukou Kyuudou Bu (ep. 1-6) – Gorgeous KyoAni production about some high school kids in an archery club. What happens in it? Well not much actually; don’t ask me to describe the plot. Did I mention it looks great?
(streaming at Crunchyroll)

Also kinda sorta watching:

Boarding School Juliet (Kishuku Gakkou no Juliet)

IRODUKU (Irozuku Sekai no Ashita kara)

The iDOLM@STER SideM: Wakeatte Mini!
(streaming at Crunchyroll)