I probably sound a bit silly saying this now considering how much I’ve talked up this season previously, but looking back on it I don’t think it was as great as I made it out to be. That’s not to say it was a bad season by any stretch; I still enjoyed the vast majority of what I watched, and there were a decent amount of great shows in there. But considering how many of the shows I finished turned out just okay, and how it feels like those great shows could have turned out even better, I can’t say the season as a whole turned out great in the end.
Wonder Egg Priority
Any attempt to do a conclusive write-up of WEP at this point is a fool’s errand, considering the show is not actually over. But the proper finale does not air for another three months, and I can’t exactly put off writing this post for that long, so I might as well write what I can about it for now. The first and foremost thing to mention about WEP is how tremendous its production is. That’s held as true since the very first episode and manages to be consistent for the entirety of its run, which is no mean feat. There’s such care put into every aspect of the series, from the animation to the color work to the backgrounds, that much of the series’s thematic heft comes from that alone. The character animation sells the cast as truly alive, brimming with personality on their own and bouncing off every other character organically. The action animation is consistently stellar, selling the life-and-death stakes the characters find themselves in and making their triumphs all the more poignant. The spaces they inhabit also bring out the best in them, the tactile way they interact with their surroundings helping sell both them and those locations as alive. All these facets come together to elevate the story leaps and bounds, and even without that production the story still manages to be plenty engrossing. To be honest, I’m not as high on the story as I once was. The last few episodes especially often feel like they cross a point of giving the cast a trial to overcome to just being miserable for its own sake. That plus the drama separating the characters feels undercooked in some respects, making those character beats feel much less earned than the rest of the series’s character developments. Honestly though, I’m willing to give the series the benefit of the doubt, both because the last episode could resolve those issues in part and because in spite of them, I still find myself plenty engrossed by the story. A few character beats feeling unearned does not undo the rest of these developments the cast undergoes, showing how they grow individually and together. That camaraderie is core to much of the series’s appeal and to the messages it imparts, showing the systems that normalize and sweep away abuse and exploring how important it is that people band together to fight against them. Likewise even if its depictions of that abuse feel occasionally excessive or tasteless, the characters managing to fight back against and overcome them still feels gratifying, both because of the characters involved and because of the uplifting message it imparts. WEP may not be over yet, but I’ve seen enough of it to say that even if it’s not the flawless, gleaming masterpiece I hoped it would be, it’s nonetheless a tremendous show in every regard, and I’ll be eagerly awaiting that proper conclusion to it.
Yuru Camp
I initially wasn’t sure where the last stretch of season 2 would go, honestly. Obviously there was the big group camping trip the series was building up to, but I didn’t think it would actually be enough to sustain the last five episodes of the series. All the previous camping trips were two or three episodes, and so I figured there would end up being something else afterward. But the series proved me wrong, with that last camping trip not only being five episodes, but managing to make it consistently entertaining throughout. It doesn’t do anything new to accomplish this, relying on what’s made it great up to this point: the gorgeous backgrounds, the fun characters, and the endless ways those two elements intersect. Both building up to and all throughout the Izu camping trip the cast talk up how big it is and how much there is to see, and the series makes sure Izu earns that reputation in spades. Not only is every geospot the characters visit entrancing to look at in and of itself, the sheer breadth of locations they manage to visit in these few episodes is mind-boggling. I tend not to mention the narrator much when talking about Yuru Camp, but now more than ever is the presence of one appreciated. The history given of each geospot enriches the glimpses we get of it, however brief they may be, and the sum of those bits of history improves this set of episodes immeasurably. Besides how much more expansive the Izu trip managed to feel due to its length, not a whole lot changed about Yuru Camp in this last set of episodes. At its core it’s a remarkably simple and consistent show. That’s by no means to its detriment, because at the end of the day it knows what it wants to be and executes upon that exceptionally. It’s about appreciating the world around you, expanding your horizons, and learning to make friends all along the way. All the best moments in both its world crafting and character building expand upon that theme in spades, and as a result the series is so fully realized I can’t help but love it. They announced a movie for the series on the day the final episode aired, and unless it’s an April Fool’s joke they’ve just let simmer for several days at this point, I could not be more excited for it.
Show by Rock!! Stars!!
I’m of two minds about Stars ending. On one hand I feel there’s no end of complaints you could lob at it. From the production suffering disproportionately for what was supposed to be an all-star season, to the overarching narrative being basically nonexistent between its introduction in the first few episodes and the finale, to any number of criticisms you could make about the stories of individual episodes. In spite of all that though, I can’t help but love it as a whole. For one thing is its focus on Mashumairesh, who quickly became the best part of Show by Rock as a franchise in their introduction season and continue to shine all throughout Stars. Each member of the band is engaging on their own and bounces off every other member so effortlessly, making for an incredibly strong core cast. They’re also all very versatile characters, being able to swing between the zaniest of comedy and the most morose of drama at a moment’s notice without it ever feeling jarring. Everything that made them great in their debut season is present in Stars; the season manages that in spite of their reduced screen time by relating their growth throughout the season to each of the other bands they meet. As I’ve said before, Stars manages to smartly balance its enormous cast through giving each of them focus episodes in turn, which manage to reintroduce them, relate them to Mashumairesh’s growth, and get some growth of their own. The sheer breadth of tones and stories in these episodes speak to the versatility of Show by Rock as a whole, and at the same time the narrative threads connecting each of them help the show feel united. The finale is a great example of how important that versatility and unity is to the franchise, because frankly I was lukewarm on much of it. It felt like a pretty paint-by-numbers ending without the production needed to make it work, but as all the bands got together for the final song, which led right into the epilogue showing where each of them went from there, I couldn’t help but get emotional. There’s a feeling of finality to how Stars ends, and for all the warts the season has along the way I can’t help but think it feels earned. For as much as I would love to see more of Mashumairesh and the other bands animated, I think this is really the best way the Show by Rock anime could go out; it’s not a perfect ending, but it’s one that just makes you appreciate the journey there all the more.
Horimiya
Horimiya wraps up its run by hammering home just how much the budding relationships among its cast came about purely due to happenstance, which is really the best possible way it could end. For as much as it jumps around in the lives of these characters and how uneven those segments could be in quality, that summation of their lives does a lot to tie the whole show together wonderfully. To some extent that idea has always been how the show has operated, showing how these seemingly random occurrences in the cast’s lives build them up into the fully realized characters they become by the end. But by focusing so much on that idea in the finale it sands over a lot of the show’s rougher edges, making the experience as a whole stronger. It makes each of those myriad experiences feel more valuable, and it reinforces just how much the characters were able to reflect and grow just through living their daily lives. That’s not to say it magically improved individual scenes that were lacking on their own, but considering my primary criticism of Horimiya before was how discordant some episodes could feel due to the seemingly random collection of scenes, this finale does a lot to alleviate that. The series argues that even the most random or insignificant experiences help define who we are as people, and so the placement of many seemingly random out-of-place scenes makes more sense. I don’t think this finale alone fixes that issue completely, but it addresses it enough that it no longer feels like the one major, glaring issue with the show. Of course Horimiya also still has a wealth of issues beyond that pacing. Like I said already many of those scenes are noticeably weaker, dragging the series as a whole down, and the comedy tends to be especially hit-or-miss. None of these issues are enough by themselves to hurt the series significantly, but together they’re enough to stop the series just shy of being great. But even in spite of that the series is able to have some truly fantastic moments that help sell both individual characters and the strength of the cast as a whole. As a result even if I can’t say I consider Horimiya great on the whole, there are enough great moments in it that I can’t help but look back on the whole fondly.
SK8 the Infinity
For better and worse, ADAM as a character represents everything SK8 is about. On one hand he’s totally audacious, off-the-wall, and hilarious, befitting the series’s more ridiculous setpieces and how enthralling it manages to be in those moments. On the other the more serious parts of his character range from uninteresting to uncomfortable, reflective of how uneven the series can end up being. That’s not to say all or even most of the drama in SK8 is bad, but the series is at its best when being totally off-the-wall. The moments in races where the characters showcase their absurd skating techniques are where the production shines most, and even if the production weren’t as strong as it is many of those moments would be able to coast on their sheer audacity. Even outside of the actual skating SK8 manages to be a pretty consistently fun series, the cast having well-defined dynamics that make each of their interactions fun to watch. The drama isn’t as consistently gripping, but there are enough good moments sprinkled throughout to make most every character arc engaging on the whole. Unfortunately I say most because ADAM’s arc is the weakest of the bunch, and is also the one forming the lynchpin of the series’s central narrative. Part of that is the number of parts to his conflict that end up mattering little if any to the rest of the show, making them feel divorced from the narrative as a whole. It also doesn’t help that there are several more important characters that could help inform his arc, but they end up barely getting any real interaction with him. His avoiding them is part of the point, but when it feels like the rest of the cast literally has to pry his arc out of him, it makes his arc more frustrating the longer it goes on. At the very least it’s not all bad; even with those issues to his arc the races involving him are consistently exciting on spectacle alone, and him being so divorced from much of the cast means his arc does little to negatively impact theirs. So while the core narrative is honestly one of the weakest parts of the show, everything else around it on both a production and writing level is entertaining enough that the show hardly suffers for it. I’m not super attached to SK8 as a whole, but I was rarely bored by it, and that made it a nice show to look forward to every week.
That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime
I enjoyed season 1 of Tenslime a fair amount, but it felt hard to get all that invested in it as a whole. Between its pacing and how many plot threads it built up simultaneously, much of season 1 felt like build-up that it didn’t actually pay off that season. Thankfully season 2 rectifies much of that, with grand movements in Tempest and the landscape of the series’s world as a whole. Those movements feel as significant as they do because of all the time season 1 dedicated to set-up, so while I’ve enjoyed season 2 more moment-to-moment, I can’t really say it’s better than season 1. The fact of the matter is the two seasons are equally important parts to the whole of Tenslime, and so frankly it’s difficult to judge season 2 in a vacuum. All that said, the climax of this season does a great job of utilizing all the moving parts the series has spent so much time building up. Rimuru is obviously the focus of the show and gets plenty of time to show off, but seeing some spotlight on their followers is also refreshing, letting the audience see how capable they are, even if they’re not as freakishly powerful as their master. The way the show facilitates it is also cathartic, giving them more personal stakes in the immediate conflict and helping show that all the characters form a whole as the nation of Tempest. Finally while the antagonists aren’t especially interesting in and of themselves, the series does a good enough job of setting up both their threat level and their personality that their defeat feels cathartic. This climax isn’t perfect, however; the foremost issue with it is that several of the revelations for defeating them don’t feel like they had as much build-up, so having those mixed in with Rimuru’s eventual triumph cheapens it a bit. I feel like part of that is just the season wanting to be at a very specific point by the end, especially considering season 1 ran into similar issues at its end. That does mean this will likely be a recurring issue with the show going forward, but the ride is fun enough otherwise that some parts being not as built up doesn’t hurt much. There’s also the fact that this isn’t much of a conclusion, much of the last episode setting up future conflicts more than anything, but considering we already know exactly when the next part of season 2 airs that doesn’t really bother me at all. Overall Tenslime season 2 does a great job of building upon season 1, and while I still wouldn’t say I’m a huge fan of the series as a whole, I am more excited than ever for the next part airing in summer.
Otherside Picnic
Otherside Picnic ends in about the safest way it could have, which frankly makes sense considering the source material is ongoing. The arc covering the last couple episodes brings the supernatural horror to the forefront while also building off an earlier arc, drawing explicit parallels to show the growing knowledge the cast have of the Otherside. It then caps that off with a denouement showing the cast have also grown emotionally, both individually and in their relationships with one another. It’s a perfectly serviceable finale for where the series was at, but I can’t help but think it leaves the series feeling incomplete. Part of that is obviously down to the nature of incomplete adaptation, but while the finale does tackle a lot of what the series is about, it doesn’t feel like it builds on any of it in a meaningful way. It does give context to a previous arc, but that arc never felt especially important to the landscape of the Otherside as a whole, which isn’t helped by even the characters ignoring most of what happened in that arc until these last few episodes. And while it does address Toriko and Sorawo’s changing relationship, it only happens in a scene where they ponder on it apropos of nothing; the sequence as a whole frankly feels tacked on. But at the end of the day a lot of this is just nitpicking for a finale that is by and large serviceable. Otherside Picnic has always worked by blending episodic mystery, the overarching narrative, and the budding character relationships, and it maintains a steady balance of all those throughout its run. I wouldn’t say it’s stand-out at any one thing, but that balance does improve the show as a whole, and I was never bored when watching it. I do hope it gets a season 2 at some point just so we can see those overarching plot threads get more development, but worst case scenario I might have to actually read the original novels. God forbid.
Uma Musume: Pretty Derby
Previously I praised season 2 of Uma Musume despite my initial low opinion of it, saying the emergence of its central theme recontextualized prior scenes I took issue with and elevated the show as a whole. Honestly though, after a point it feels like it runs out of things to actually say about that theme, and so it settles for retreading the same few instances of it ad nauseam. I took note of this to a degree already, saying the ways Teio and McQueen coped with losing big races ended up playing out pretty much the exact same way, lessening the impact of both scenes. That repetition really comes to a head in this last third of the season though, where the drama boils down to “Teio injures her leg… again!” and is followed immediately by “This time, McQueen injures her leg!” There’s so many more ways Uma Musume could contextualize the frustration of losing and the loss of will or inability to race, but it settles with just exploring the same few ways over and over again, cheapening each successive instance of it. In theory it feels like that’s what the myriad support cast is supposed to be there for. Rice Shower is there to represent the frustration of losing in an upset, Team Canopus are relegated to eternal losers who can rarely get the satisfaction of a win, and BNW show up in the last third to act as an insurmountable obstacle that makes winning seem impossible. But none of those characters are utilized meaningfully; Rice Shower comes the closest due to her focus episodes that are easily the best part of the season, but even then she gets nothing to do for the rest of the season afterward. The final episode best highlights this issue, since the climactic race seems initially interesting due to how it gives equal focus to most of its competitors to raise a legitimate question of who will win. But then the involvement of most of those competitors ultimately just comes down to thinking really hard about how much they want to win, and then of course Teio takes it. I’m not surprised or disappointed that Teio wins the final race because of course she does she’s the main character, but it’s more an issue of everything happening so fast it doesn’t leave any real impact. With all the big races season 2 tries to cover it ends up blazing through a lot of the set-up, and absent that set-up the races end up feeling empty. The final episode feels that most just because of the number of important characters involved, but it’s not a new issue at all. Honestly in spite of all my complaining I don’t even dislike season 2. It still has some really good moments, and even its weakest parts have kernels of something good in there. But considering how much more enjoyable season 1 was overall and how ambitious season 2’s narrative is in comparison, seeing it fall flat in so many ways is more than a bit frustrating.
Lasdan
Lasdan is one of the most thoroughly okay anime I’ve ever watched. It doesn’t necessarily fail at anything it sets out to do, but at the same time it’s so unremarkable in how it goes about it that a lot of the time spent watching it feels like dead air. It continues to be comedy-focused for most of its runtime, and while it never gets aggressively unfunny, it also very rarely elicits more than a smile. As a result there are a fair few gags that amuse me in the instant, but I’d be hard-pressed to think of any of the gags from the series if pressed. Not helping that is how often the series tries to have its cake and eat it too, in that it’ll try to use the exact same narrative beat as a gag and an emotional moment in the same scene. It frequently asks you to be invested in the plights of its characters while using them as the butt of countless jokes, and that dichotomy makes it hard to ever get invested in the series on a level beyond its sillier comedy. Nowhere is this more apparent than in the last episode, where many of the side characters make a big deal about not being carried by Lloyd, but as soon as Lloyd shows up none of them make a single mention of that resolution. There are admittedly some potentially interesting plot points buried in the series, but considering how many of them only get introduced in the last few episodes, it almost goes without saying that nothing really comes of them. That’s the nature of the beast with adaptations of incomplete source material, but I can’t help but be at least mildly annoyed every time it happens. So while there’s nothing egregiously wrong with Lasdan (its middling at best production aside), it’s also hard to commend it for anything beyond being an okay way to kill time. I thought it was alright enough in the moment, but I can’t imagine I would ever want to revisit it for any reason.
Azur Lane: Slow Ahead!
Slow Ahead ends about as you’d expect, with nothing of note having really been accomplished, but being generally pleasant throughout nonetheless. For a slice-of-life series it’s not especially novel or exceptional in its execution, but at its worst it’s only marginally uninteresting. What it has going in its favor is its large cast and generally attractive production. None of its cast is especially interesting on their own, but Slow Ahead does a good job of balancing the core cast with new girls of the week to give rise to situational comedy that is usually mildly amusing. The production also largely works in the series’s favor, never being stand-out in any one regard but the character designs, color work, and backgrounds all coming together for an all-around pleasant-looking show. The show is unabashedly horny, but it’s Azur Lane what do you expect. And to its credit even at its most horny it never feels out-of-place, keeping consistent enough with the tone and characterization that those moments don’t feel shoehorned in. So overall Slow Ahead doesn’t really excel in any regard, but it never pretends to be more than a pleasant, mildly amusing slice-of-life, and its shorter runtime means its attempts to be that never feel protracted. I can also say with complete confidence that even at Slow Ahead’s absolute worst, at least it was never as bad as the other Azur Lane anime.
The sheer number of shows I watched this season and the fact that none of them ended up outright bad mean I can’t really call the season as a whole bad by any stretch of the imagination. But honestly with how many shows ended up disappointing, just okay, or both, I’m honestly kind of confused why I spoke so highly of it for the past couple months. It might’ve just been my few favorite shows elevating the season as a whole for me, and when I stopped considering those enough to carry the season by themselves, the cracks in the other shows started showing more. I did still have fun with this season as a whole though, so I guess there’s no point dwelling on it too much.
