Favorite Anime of 2020

      Hope everyone had a happy new year. It's now 2021 and I hope it'll be a better year. I felt like I've watched less anime last year. It was a slow year too because many of the show productions were delayed. There were tons of sequels came out. A few popular Korean webtoon got turned into anime and I venture into watching dongua (Chinese animation) too. 

The sequels that I enjoyed last year were:   

Boku no Hero Academia 4th season (finish in winter 2020. Nice arc.)

Re:Zero season 2 (It's finally back. The second half will start Winter 2021. The witches were finally introduced.)

Haikyuu!! To the Top season 2 (The inter high match was great. I'm getting use to the new character design.)

Golden Kamuy season 3 (I've been waiting for this show to come back. I'm glad to see Asirpa and Kishimoto again.)

Fire Force season 2 explore the lore and more character. (It was really good.)

My favorite anime of 2020

Here's my favorite anime of last  year

Best Sci-fi/Comedy

Dorohedoro

Dorohedoro was gory and quirky and really good in all the right places. It's a dark comedy with awesome action scenes. Caiman and Nikaido had great chemistry. They were hilarious when they were together and the side characters in the show were entertaining too. The world  building of Dorohedoro was really neat. There're a few unsolved mysteries so I can't wait to find out what will happen next.  

Best Action

The God of High School

This webtoon turned anime was fun. The God of High School had high school kids fighting each other in order to receive a wish. The character design was really nice. I like the comedy that's sprinkle throughout the show too. The first season ended and there may be a bit cut out from the original webtoon. The backstory of different fighters were nice. The fight sequences  were smooth and fun to watch. MAPPA produced many good shows this year. Hoping it'll get another season and continue the story. 

Best Supernatural

Jujutsu Kaisen

MAPPA did an awesome job into adapting this manga. It was stylish, dark, and cool. It's a nice touch on exorcist type show. The show will continue through winter 2021 season so I'm hoping to see how it evolves.

Best Mystery

Yuukoku no Moriarty

It's time to see Moriarty side of the story. This manga adaptation took the back story of  how Moriarty came to be and why he's doing the things he do. It's filled with murder mystery, revenge, and lots of bishounen. It left me questioning whether Moriarty was really a bad person or not.

Best Anime of 2020

Id:Invaded

This show was different. I had no idea what to expect. I happened to be playing AI Somnium files a bit before watching this show and I thought how they both were really similar. The idea of diving into criminal unconsciousness was intriguing. I've been craving to watch murder mystery anime for a while and this show had me hooked. The story and character made this anime unique and entertaining. I'd figured out who the main antagonist was but the direction leading to that reveal was fantastic. Id:Invaded  shines in creating a psychological thriller atmosphere which left me wanting more. 

That's it for now. These were anime that stood out to me last year. Unfortunately, there were a bunch I didn't get to finish watching. Anyways, hope everyone have a great year and stay safe. I'm looking forward to what  2021 anime season will bring. Take care.

2020 Anime Impressions so far...

Hi everyone. 2020 has been a strange year so far. It's October now. Hope everyone is doing okay during these difficult times. Please stay safe. It'll take time for things to get better but we'll be ok.

Let's talk anime. This year felt like it's the year of sequels. Many anime got pushed back. Some shows delayed their productions. However, there were some new anime that I thought were really good too. 

 
For sequels:

Boku no Hero Academia had a great season 4 run. 

Haikyuu! season 4 part 1 came back with a bang. Part 2 just started in fall so I'm hoping it'll be good too.

Re:Zero season 2 made a great return in the summer. The 13 episodes was very emotional and I can never tell if things will turn out ok for Subaru or not. I empathized with him. 

Fire Force season 2 came back and is still ongoing. The animation in this show is great. More story and world building is happening. The action scenes are very nice.

Golden Kamuy returned a few weeks ago so I'm hoping to watch that soon. 

Webtoon turned anime: 

Webtoons series from Korea are turning into anime. Crunchyroll picked up quite a few popular webtoons and are turning them into anime with the help of many animation studios.

Tower of God premiered in spring and it was pretty fun. The animation was ok but the story and the characters were quite entertaining. I have to go read the webtoon to see what happen next. 

God of High School came out in the summer and was produced by MAPPA studio. The animation and fight scenes were really impressive. The story was fun too. I'm always down for watching fighting tournament related anime. I'll also have to go read the webtoon to see what happen next. 

Noblesse just came out a few weeks ago this fall. It's interesting so far. The animation is ok. I'm hoping for more actions in the next few episodes. 

New series: 

Id: Invaded was a good murder mystery sci-fi show. It's a good psychological thriller also. I enjoyed seeing what's inside the mind of different characters. 

Dorohedoro was a manga turned anime. It's season 1 was strange but really interesting. I'm hoping to see what happen next.

I just finish watching Deca-Dence and thought it was really well done. I like the world and the characters and their relationship. It seem like something that's been done before but with a twist.

I've only started a watching a few new shows for Fall 2020 anime so I can't say much about a lot of these shows. I'll try to talk about some of my favorite fall show when I wrap up at the end of the year.

That's it for now. Hope everyone have a great day. Till next time.

Favorite Anime of 2016

Hi everyone. Hope you had a Happy New Year and welcome to 2017. I can’t believe it’s February already. I thought 2016 was a good year for anime. There were lots of manga and light novel adaptations. More live actions of anime and manga came out too. A few anime actually exceeded my expectation. I also notice an increase in sports anime, musical anime, foreign anime from China and Korea, and isekai anime. Last but not least, anime movie has never been better for Japan in 2016.

With all the excitement in mind, it’s time to recap the anime goodness that happened last year. I post the list of my favorite anime shows for the past few years now. These shows either premiered in 2016 or ended in 2016. These are my personal favorite anime of last year. I did not get to watch every anime that came out last year so there may be some that won’t make this list. Like always I don’t rank my favorite anime series but I chose them by categories.

If you want to see my favorite anime of 2015, please visit here.

Let’s begin.

My favorite Anime of 2016:

Best Historical

91 Days

There’s something cool about this show. It’s a story about a young man joining a gangster family that killed his parents and brother. The purpose of this show is to see if the main character will go through with his revenge. The variety of characters made 91 Days shine. From time to time you might end up rooting for the bad guy or vice versa. 91 Days also had a good amount of bromance too. We get to see the bonds of mafia family and tough choices Vigilio has to face as the show progress. The animation has dim and darker tone befitting the prohibition era. It may be slow pacing but the payoff at the end was worth it.

Honorable mention: Joker Game-The D Agency guys were awesome. The Joker game short was fun too.

Best Storytelling

Shouwa Genroku Rakugo Shinjuu

It took me a bit to understand what Rakugo is but once you get the gist of it, it’s really interesting. I give props to the seiyuus for being able to do rakugo and making it interesting because it's really hard to do. This show has a great story, great characters, and beautiful animation. I’m looking forward to watching season 2.

Best Slice of Life

ReLIFE

I actually binge watch ReLIFE. This show is very good. Wouldn’t you want to change your past self if you could go back to high school and try to make your life better? It’s the characters and the relationship in this show that got me hook on it. It’s funny to see how the main character reacts to high school friends. There’s a twist at the end that was pretty neat. What’s super cool was that each episode of ReLIFE has different ending songs that were popular songs from the late 1990’s and early 2000’s (my time lol). I think ReLIFE manga is still ongoing and there’s going to be a live action movie this year too \(^0^)/. I’d love to see what happen next to the characters in this show.

Best Game Adaptation

Touken Ranbu Hanamaru

Yes. It was the pretty sword guys that attracted me to this show. I have played Touken Ranbu before and it’s really cool to see them in anime form. The animation was solid. The story was simple and lighthearted in most episodes. Different swords got to go battle the bad guys so that history won’t change. I had fun watching the bishounen sword's daily life. There were little history lesson about the swords too since each of the sword came from Japan’s history. There’s going to be another Touken Ranbu movie from a different animation studio (Ufotable) this year that I can’t wait to see.

Best Tactical Fantasy

Alderamin of the Sky

Not many people talk about this show but I thought it was really well done. It’s the cool military tactics and crazy action scenes make this show really fun. The animation was nice. I like the character design too. I wish there were more episodes.

Best Action Fantasy

Drifters

Drifters is a manga turned anime from the manga artist who did Hellsing. By knowing this, you’ll probably guess it’s going to be a crazy and corky show with lots of action and funny characters. That is so true. In this show famous historical figures died and got transported to a fantasy world. The Drifters were brought to counteract the Ends, famous historical figure who want to destroy the world. There’s also magic, elves, and dwarfs in this world. Many of the Drifters will have to use their wits to survive. Drifters is really entertaining. It’s bloody, dark, and the action was immensely cool. So many questions unanswered. I need more season.

Best Isekai (a person in another world)

Re: Zero kara Hajimeru Isekai Seikatsu & Kono Subarashii Seakai ni Shufuku Wo

Re:Zero will come up again so we’ll talk about it later ;)

KonoSuba cracks me up. It gets my honorable mentions for best comedy. It was way better than I expected. If anything in the MMORPG world can go wrong, Kono Suba will have it. The characters are crazy and wacky. Some of the quests they go on were hilarious. It’s a refresher from the many isekai anime that’s been out lately. Season 2 is out now and I’m still cracking up when I watch it.

Honorable mention: Hai to Gensou no Grimar-More of a realistic portrayal of people getting stuck in an MMORPG world.

Best Mystery

It’s a tie between Boku no Dake Ga Inai Machi and Bungou Stray Dogs

We’ll talk about Boku Machi (Erased) later because it will pop up again ;)

Bungou Stray Dogs

The animation in this show is beautiful. The action and the writing were really good. This show reminded me a bit of Getbackers but darker. The Armed Detective Agency was like a mercenary for hired and they solve different mystery cases. I love how the characters in this show were based on authors or fictional book characters. They also have cool superpowers. There's a lot of stories going on between the Armed Detective Agency, the Port Mafia, and the Guild. Watch the show and you'll know what I mean. Season 2 ended with a cliffhanger. I’m hoping it gets another season.

Honorable mentions: Haruchika-the mystery in this show is quite interesting.

Best Sci-Fi

Ajin

Ajin is intriguing. The 3D character animation is more fluid and not choppy. I really enjoy this show. The story is dark. The action sequence was spectacular. I can’t recommend this show more.

Best Comedy

Saiki Kusuo no Ψ-nan

Saiki doesn’t talk and the people that surround him just make the show really humorous.

Honorable mention: Kono Suba and Nanbaka

Best Action Comedy

Mob Psycho 100

The first half of Mob Psycho 100 was slow but afterward it kept getting better and better. Mob’s mangaka is the same mangaka as One Punch Man. The animation style here was a little rough and trippy but the characters really brought the show together. If One Punch Man had a story, it would be Mob Psycho 100. The show got funny when Mob try to help his sensei solve paranormal cases and they'll end up in a crazy predicament. Its action sequences was top notch. I’m hoping we’ll get a season 2 for Mob Psycho 100.

Best Shonen

Boku no Hero Academia

Comic book boom has been going on for almost a decade now so here’s a superhero anime with heart. It’s the story of the underdog working his butt off to become something great. Midorikawa is just one of those kids with a big heart and was really lucky to inhearit All Might's power. The students and the teachers at the Hero Academia are fun too. Studio Bones did a great job with the animation and the action sequences. Definitely can’t wait till the next season.

Best Supernatural

Natsume Yuujinchou season 5

I love Natsume Yuujinchou and season 5 did not disappoint. This season explore more back story of Akira-san and Matou-san and a bit more of Natsume’s past. There're always many heartwarming episodes in Natsume Yuujinchou. I love Natsume and I love Nyanko-sensei.

Most Relaxing Anime

Tanaka-kun wa Itsumo Kedaruge

Listless Tanaka-kun is really fun to watch. The friends around him made the show more fun. It’s a cute relaxing anime to watch.

Honorable mention: Shonen maid

Best Mecha Anime

Mobile Suit Gundam Iron Blooded Orphan

While season 1 ended and season 2 is still going. I really like the story and the characters in this show. Mika and Orca bromance is really good and the other boys in the team are fun and entertaining. They fight to survive and they will lose comrades along the way. The mecha fight is great and we get to see the older gundam models too. I rarely watch mecha anime but this show kept me hooked.

Honorable mention: Mobile Suit Gundam Thunderbolt and Kuromokuro

Best Sports Anime

This was a tough one. There were so many sports anime this year. My favorite is a tie between Haikyuu!! Season 3 and Yuri on Ice.

Haikyuu!! season 3

Haikyuu!! 10 episode arc build up from its previous season 2. We get to see them fighting for the inter high. I love Hinata and Kageyama duo and all the other members of Karasuno. More members got to shine in this season (Tsukishima). It has a great story, great animation, and great character as always. I’m hoping season 4 won’t be too far away.

Yuri on Ice!!

I did not expect this show to be this good. The Yuri on Ice!! phenomenon is crazy. Male figure skating competition has never been this fun before. Yuri and Victor and Yurio are great leads. There’s love for diversity in this show too. You see Yuri and Yurio blossom into a great figure skater with the help of Victor. For a 12 episode show, Yuri on Ice!! was really good. Yuri on Ice!! had earned a place in my heart as one of my favorite sports anime. See you next level.

Honorable mentions: Days and Cheer Danshi

Best Anime Movie

Kimi no Na wa (Your Name)

Without a doubt Makoto Shinkai has created a wonderful animated movie that was well written with great characters and aesthetically beautiful. It ended up being one of my favorite films of 2016. Kimi no Na Wa is beautiful and the characters are amazing. Shinkai continues his theme from his previous works. I’ve seen quite a few body swapping movie and I have to see this is one of the best one. The two leads were great and the side characters did not lag.

Honorable mention: Doukyusei and Mahou Tsukai no Yome

Favorite Anime of 2016

It’s a tie this year again. My favorite anime of 2016 is Boku Dake Ga Inai Machi (Erased) and Re: Zero kara Hajimeru Isekai Seikatsu. Both of these two shows were excellent.

Boku Dake Ga Inai Machi (Erased)

Boku Machi is time travel anime done right. To save his classmate from getting killed by a serial murderer, the main character goes back to redo his past and save her. The story in BokuMachi was really good. The animation is well done. The mystery of this show kept me on the edge of my seat. I figure out the killer halfway into the show but I was still immersed in the world until the ending. The ending was not what I expected but I think it was sufficient. Overall, BokuMachi is a really good murder mystery/ psychological thriller. I highly recommend it.

Re: Zero kara Hajimeru Isekai Seikatsu

Re:Zero is also my favorite light novel adaptation of 2016. This show is something I haven’t seen before. It kept me guessing till the end. Some episode start out lighthearted and ends up gouging you in the heart. Things were never as expected. I feel sorry for Subaru because he dies and come back so many times. You see his personality corrupt and he tried to find solace. You see his character grow to becoming someone better through each death he faced. I also like Emilia and I totally adored Rem. This show also has many cool side characters and bad guys. I really hope this show get more seasons because there are so much more stories to be told.

That’s it for my favorite anime of 2016. What were your favorite anime of last year?

Looking at 2017 anime…More anime sequels are returning (Attack on Titan, Gintama, Shingeki no Bahamut: Virgin Soul, and many more). I'm also very excited for the many live action adaptation that will come out this year (FMA, Gintama, and Tokyo Ghoul). It’s gonna be a great year. Till next time guys.

Sekai no Owari (End of the World) Concert at the Roxy Theater

I had a great time at the Sekai no Owari concert at The Roxy Theater yesterday. They were using the name End of the World for this show which is pretty much their name but translated to English. It’s their first live in LA (maybe even in the US). I’ve always like their music. I love the happy yet whimsical an d unique sound of their songs. I was amazed that they did their whole set list in English. They were dressed in suits and formal dress. The atmosphere was mello and chill. There was a sense of a classic theme to this concert. The venue fit maybe 300-400 people but very intimate. It was awesome seeing them so close ^o^.

The crowds were good. I saw a lot of people of various ages. There were a few kids too. Kudos to Fukase for sounding just as great singing in English as his Japanese. The rest of the group were great too. I wish I can see Saori more but I was more toward Nakajin side and DJ Love was in the middle. I came a little later so I couldn’t get too close on the stage.

They sang songs like Anti-Hero, Dragon Night, Starlight Parade, SOS, Mr. Heartache, and a few more. All the performances were fun and people were jumping with all the upbeat songs too. It was probably a 45 min set. I was kind of sad that they didn’t have encore performance. They came out a bit later after the last song to say goodbye again. I think the rest of the time was for VIP ticket holders meet and greet sessions. I wish they would have sing their Japanese songs too. It’s probably tough to do all the songs in English. Maybe their next concert out here will have both languages.

Overall Sekai no Owari (End of the World) concert was a great introduction live concert for the people in the US. I’ve enjoy listening to their songs for a few years now and it was a treat for a fan like me to see them this close. I know that they do really elaborate concert in Japan so I’ve hoping they’ll gain more fans in the US and have a spectacular concert here in the future.

Spring 2016 Anime Impression

Spring is a usually a good season for anime. We are a little over half way through the season right now. Here's some of my impression on Spring 2016 anime:

Boku no Hero Academia

watched: ep 1-6

It's a super hero anime show. A teenage boy who has no power name Izuku who will inherit the greatest super power of all. This is his story. Studio Bones really did a great job with this show. It's a manga turned anime so I'm hoping they stick to the manga. The character design is great. I like the comic book feel this show has. I want to keep rooting for Izuku. It's going pretty well.

Verdict: Will continue watching

Bungou Stray Dogs

watched: ep 1-6

I adored this show. The character design and animation is top notch. There are corny/funny humor in this shows plus a little bit of quirky characters, which is makes it fun and exciting. It kind of reminds me of Getbackers but with literature characters(many of the characters are named after literature characters).

Verdict: Will definitely keep watch watching

Endride

watched: ep 1-3

I wanted to give this show a chance because it has this whole boy warped into a fantasy world premise. The character design is pretty good. However, after watching a few episodes, I feel like the story is very average and I think the animation could have been better. It got awesome OP and ED though.

Verdict: Maybe pick up later

Big Order

watched: ep 1

I watched one episode and I don't know. I'm not into having the main female lead being a psycho who tries to kill you. The manga artist previous series Mirai Nikki had that and that really creeps me out. The animation is OK and the character design kind of look the same as Mirai Nikki.

Verdict: Probably not

High School Fleet

watched: ep 1

Cute girls controlling war ship and this one crew just got screwed really bad. It reminds me of CanKolle but a little different. The animation is good. The character is generic stereotypes. I might have to watch more to see if what happen and if there will be character development.

Verdict: Maybe

Mayoiga

watched: ep 1-3

There are a lot of characters in this show. A lot of them want to escape the world and go live in this lost village. I think the characters are just yelling and screaming a little bit too much. I'm still awaiting for some horror, murder, and mystery to happen. The hard part is to make use of that whole lot of characters. I'm hoping it'll be a mix of Higurashi and Another but not sure if I can bear the yelling and screaming in this show.

Verdict: Will try to continue

Tanaka-kun wa Itsumo Kedaruge

watched: 1-5

I'll pick this fluffy show up because it's cute. This is the show where all the supporting character shines because Tanaka is so listless.

Verdict: Pick up

Shounen Maid

warched: 1-5

I'll also pick this fluffy show up because it's cute. This slice of life show is heart warming at time and funny at other times.

Verdict: Pick up

Sakamoto Desu Ga?

I'll pick up this show because Sakamoto is too cool for school \(^o^)/ The over the top stuff that Sakamoto do is priceless.

Verdict: Pick up

JoJo no Kimyou na Bouken: Diamond wa Kudakenai

watched: ep 1-5

I know Jojo is popular and I'm gonna try to catch up by watching its previous arc. I decided to this Arc on a whim and I actually really like it. I think it's because the setting of this show is in high school and the bright color background really attracts me to it. I like Jousuke and his pals. The comedy in this show is great. Can't wait to see more action scenes. This season Jojo just looks fun and I'm hoping to see more.

Verdict: Pick up

Gyakuten Saiban: Sono "Shinjitsu", Igi Ari! (Ace Attorney Phoenix Wright)

watched: ep 1-3

I've played Ace Attorney a few years back and was really happy it got an animated series. The story follows the game but not as detailed as the game. The animation is OK. I like its opening song a lot. It's hard for me because being a fan of the game I wanted more. It ended up being OK so I'll continue watching it.

Verdict: Will watched

Joker Game

watched: ep 1-6

I like stories about spies and espionage. This shows gives me all the stuff I wanted in a spy anime. Production I.G. animation is excellent and the character design is really good. I like its ending theme too. The setting is before World War II I think and this spy agency train men in Japan to send them out overseas. Each episodes has different spy's stories. I'm hoping we can see a bigger arc where all the guys are involved but I have a feeling we won't. Really want to see what happens next.

Verdict: Pick up

Kiznaiver

watched: ep 1-6

After 6 episodes, I'm still not really entirely sure what they are fighting for. Studio Trigger did a great job with the animation and character design in this show. The premise is about the teens sharing pain. The bad guys is about to appear I think and there must be some sort of mystery behind our main character not feeling any emotion. There are still a lot of unanswered questions. I'm curious to see what happen next.

Verdict: Will continue

Kotetsujou no Kabaneri

watched: ep 1-4

There's a lot of resemblance of this show with various other shows. It's like if Attack on Titan was set in steampunk Edo era and the titans got swapped with zombies. The animation and the character designs are amazing. It has excellent OP and ED theme. I'm hoping to see a little more development in the story. I really like Mumei. She's a badass.

Verdict: Will continue

Macross Δ (Delta)

watched: ep 1-3

There were a lot of characters introduced in this show in its first episode. I'm liking the bad guys of this show right now. The music in Macross Δ is awesome as always but I'm hoping to see more development in our lead characters. It might be because I missed the Macross Frontier characters that I'm expecting a lot from Macross Delta's main characters. Also with the Walküre, I'm hoping lots of beautiful songs will come out.

Verdict: Pick up

Re:Zero kara Hajimeru Isekai Seikatsu

watched: ep 1-6

I'm surprise at how good this show has become. I feel so sorry for the main character, Subaru, because he has to die so many times. This show is about a normal teenage boy coming out of a convenient store and gets warped into an alternate fantasy world but luck is not on his side and he gets kill. But every time he dies, he comes back to restart that day again. I was thinking it might be like Boku Machi (Reverse) but in the fantasy world but it's not. I think it's a really good light novel adaptation so far. I like the characters and the animation is very well done. Can't wait to see more.

Verdict: Pick up

Winter 2016 Anime Impressions

Winter 2016 anime started in January and a bunch of shows premiere. Winter is a low key season. This year's not too bad. More shows come out during spring and fall. Not sure what to watch this season? I've sampled a bunch of them and here's my honest first impression.

Tabi Machi Late Show
Watched: ep1-4

Looks to be short stories about relationships in each episodes. I was scared it's gonna be a show about cooking anime but from episode 2 on it was different.

Verdict: Will keep watching.

Mahou Shoujo Nante Mou Ii Desukara
Watched: ep1-2

What is this short anime??? That creature that grant her power is too pervy. The girl transforming into bathing suit is not for me. That's not a magical girl at all. I'm definitely not the target audience for this show.

Verdict: Drop

Ooyasan wa shinshunki
Watched: ep1-3

Short episode of a guy moving into an apartment with the young middle school girl as his landlord. Slice of life probably. The episodes are so short to see what's going to happen in the story. It's ok.

Verdict: Maybe.

Yami Shibai Season 3
watched: ep1-3

I marathon season 1 & 2 with my friends a few years ago. They are just short spooky and creepy Japanese scary stories. This season starts off creepy. I'm watching for the spookiness and not the animation. Not bad.

Verdict: Will keep watching.

Oshiete! Galko-chan
watched: ep1-2

The topic the girl talk about in this anime becomes more personal and raunchy. Not my cup of tea.

Verdict: Drop

Sekkou Boys
watched: ep1-3

Can statues become male pop idol groups. This short episodes anime is strange and silly. I'm curious how the statue will project their emotions since they can't really change facial expressions. You get the see idol life and it's not bad.

Verdict: Will keep watching

Nijiiro Days
Watched: ep1-3

This manga to anime is pretty fun. See the typical shoujo but reverse it with the main characters being guys. I like how each guy have their own love interest. Can't wait to see more.

Verdict: Will pick up

Prince of Stride
Watched: 1-4

Otome Game turned anime. It's a sport anime with bishounen( definitely a plus). They are running track and field + par kor. It's always nice to see lots of bishies. The story is interesting. I like the animation and chara design. I'm hoping to see the character develope. I doubt it'll have a love story cuz most of the otome shows tend to not have a main guy.

Verdicted: Pick up.

Norn 9 + Nonet
Watched: ep 1

I was actually playing Norn 9 games a few week before this started. There's a lot of cliques in this show since it's an otome game turn anime. I'm hoping they pick out the good story arc from the game to turn to anime. Character design is not as pretty as the game. The seiyuu casts are amazing. The animation is not bad. I'll probably check out a few episodes of this and if it's not good I'll go finish the game.

Verdict: Will try

Hai to Gensou no Grimar
Watched: ep 1-4

Teenagers being brought to MMORPG world and having amnesia. They learn the gritty life of survival. It shows that the enemies that they fought have feelings too. Survival of the fittest in an MMORPG world. O wow. Looks like ep 4 on might be a darker show than I thought it was ..>o<.. This LN adaptation is interesting and another take to similar shows like Sword Art Online and Log Horizon. Verdict: Will pick up Kokaku no Pandora
Watched: ep1-2

Robot girl fighting with another robot girl and possible shoujo-ai. The animation is ok. There's quite a bit of fan service. I seriously don't like what the main girl has to do to transform. By the end of ep 2, I just don't want to see it anymore. I'm definitely the target audience for this show.

Verdict: Drop

Saijaku Muhai no Bahamut
Watched: ep1

I sum this show up to Knight + mecha + fan service. The character design is nice. The animation is good. The show does feel like other fantasy shows. I don't like how the main girl show the guy her mark at the end of ep 1. A normal person would not do that. Maybe.

Verdict: Maybe

Nurse Witch Komugi-chan R
Watched: ep1

I felt like I've seen these type of magical shows before. Wasn't there a nurse witch anime in the past too? I guess this is the remake or something. This one is just ok. The animation is ok. The character is ok. It's really too generic for me.

Verdict: Drop

Schwarzesmarken
Watched: ep1

This was suppose to be a prequel to Muv Luv Alternative: Total Eclipse I think. I can totally tell by the girl's metallic outfit lol. The first ep just show chara intro and possible bad guys. The main guy in this anime is not a likable character and complains a bit. I'm hoping his character develope. The girls in the show are good so far. I thought the monsters they were fighting were generic but their mecha were cool. There will be more death and blood in this show.

Verdict: Will try

Divine Gate
Watched: ep1-3

I don't really know the focus of this show will be about. The animation is unique. Sometimes the drawings look good and sometime it doesn't. I got this feeling where this show is going to be sad. There're so many characters in this show to keep up. All I know is they want to reach the divine gate and they all have superpowers. I might check out a few more episodes to see if it's worth it.

Verdict: Probably

Dimension W
Watched: ep1-4

A guy who's stuck in the past and a mysterious robot girl that's very human like meet as duo and they continue to find illegal coil. The main character look like he's a trained soldier and likes to do things with less technology. I think there's some psycho trauma he's dealing with. His sidekick robot girl is cool too. I'm curioius to see the crazy shenanigans they'll get into. The animation is pretty as well as the character design.

Verdict: Pick up

Bubuki Buranki
Watched: ep1-3

It's like 2.5D animation. Sometime the character's expression is really weird. The premise is interesting. I'd love to see the bubuki fighting more. I just wonder where the main chara's sister went?

Verdict: Will continue

Dangashi Kashi
Watched: ep1-2 (1.5?)

It's a manga turn anime. It's a show that talks about Japanese snacks. The premise sounds really interesting and the animation is good. The first episode was a good intro to the Japanese snack world. But half way into episode 2 I just felt it was dragging. Maybe I was watching it late at night. Will try to pick it up again.

Verdict: 50/50 Maybe

Boku Dake ga Inai Machi (Erased)
Watched: ep1-3

I heard about this manga. The story involve time traveling and fixing the wrong. I'm curious to see if the main character can actually save the girl. First ep totally got me wanting to watch more. Suspense + thriller + murder mystery = totally my type of show. Love the animation and chara design. Asian Kung Fu Generation is doing the OP theme too. Lots of potential.

Verdict: Definitely will pick up

Haruchika
Watched: ep1-4

I thought this might be a mix of Sound Euphornium and Hyouka but it turned out to be more mystery solving like Hyouka. The lead two chara will most likely not end up with each other. It's episodic where a lot of the cases are solve at the end of each episode. The flow of the story is good. The animation is really pretty. Character design is good. I wonder if this will be a 13 ep series since there are a few more characters who hasn't show up with and will the short length be enough for this show. Really like the mystery in this show.

Verdict: Definitely will pick up


I think it's definitely Boku Dake ga Inai Machi (Erased) and Haruchika that top my favorite anime in winter 2016 so far. Each episode leaves me with enough feeling of wanting to see the next one. What's your favorite this season so far? Any cool one that I missed?

Ni No Kuni II: Revenant Kingdom - First Trailer

Can't wait to play this. It look so pretty.