Anime Spotlight #41: Spotlightning Round (Part IV)
Article by Sean Wilkinson,
a.k.a. the Animeister
I'm still waiting, Ticketholders!
Natsume's Book Of Friends, That Time I Got Reincarnated As A Slime, and My Hero Academia are still putting out new episodes, even as a new anime season begins, and I didn't realize that Mushoku Tensei and Tsukimichi: Moonlit Fantasy had finished their second seasons until just now when I was writing this up, so since I had nothing that I really wanted to cover in full yet, I thought another Spotlightning Round was in order. Most of these are going to be one- or two-episode impressions because I wanted to have something to talk about this week. You'll see that a lot of the titles have "world" in them, and the last three selections are returning series.
As I decide which series with a finished second season I want to talk about next week and we wait for the aforementioned cross-season juggernauts to wrap things up amidst the slew of new anime dropping right now, please remember to Become A Ticketholder if you haven't already, leave a comment at the bottom of this post, help out my ad revenue as you read, and follow me on Tumblr, Reddit, Facebook, and LinkedIn to like what you see and receive the latest news on my rapid-fire content.
Why Does Nobody Remember Me In This World?: The isekai content continues with a series about a Kirito-looking soldier from a world where humanity survived a war with demons, dragons, and beasts because their hero (who has the super-intimidating and awe-inspiring name of Sid) got superpowers from a golden sword. By virtue of a dream that he touched Sid's sword when he was a kid (pause), our Kirito-alike winds up in an alternate history where was no Sid and his friends and fellow soldiers do the title. Throw in a soft-spoken blonde love interest with black-tinged angel wings, a silver-haired childhood friend who pretends to be a man for respect, a female demon "hero," and at least two other female characters with speaking roles, and it looks like I'm in for some basic harem trash. Also, there are hints that the entire series is taking place in a simulation, so things could get deeper, if not any more original, in the future.
Bye Bye, Earth: I honestly forgot what this series was about between the first two episodes, but that doesn't necessarily mean it's bad. In a fantasy world populated entirely by demi-humans, we follow Belle Lablac, the only known "featureless" (read: human). Bound to an anime-sized sword she found in prison and sent on a quest of self-discovery by her demi-human master as she dodges persecution and an army of undead who relentlessly follow those with aimless or solitary thoughts, Belle travels in search of other humans. While the title suggests more isekai, there's enough here in terms of fight choreography and animation, let alone story potential, to make it worth continuing.
Wistoria - Wand & Sword: What if Mashle wasn't funny or trying to say anything meaningful about brutal, class-based societies? What if Black Clover was boring? A guy with no magic who's really strong with a sword and almost useless otherwise enrolls in a magic school so he can be a strong mage and protect the world with his childhood friend. The animation and fight composition are pretty peak so far, but I don't expect to be invested in this for very long.
No Longer Allowed In Another World: This isekai is so meta that my face hurts and so dark that laughing at it makes me uncomfortable. A writer who intended to commit suicide with the love of his life by jumping off a bridge is unceremoniously run down by a truck and transported to a dangerous fantasy world where he draws the attention of a summoning priestess and a cat-girl because of his depressing personality, writer's wit, and the fact that his self-destructive nature has poisoned him so much that he can kill any monster he sacrifices himself to on contact. The animation might not give the audience much to look at (basic slice-of-life situational comedy and micro-harem squabbling doesn't require what an action series would), but the jokes hit hard and fast if you're familiar with the genre, and words cannot do justice to the off-putting brilliance of what I saw in the first episode.
Berserk Of Gluttony: Another fantasy world, another underappreciated, personality-void lump of kindness and dark, spiky hair. Fate (yes, that's his name) has a skill that makes him hungry, so he debases himself for whatever money will get him through his next meal...until bandits attack the city and his love interest misses one, so when he kills the runaway bandit, he learns that his Gluttony skill makes him stronger by giving him the skills of the people and monsters he kills. Armed with a talking sword he bought from the local market's discard bin, Fate begins his journey to becoming a bloodthirsty badass with a skill list that rivals the "protagonist" of Re:Monster. If I'm still yawning after the second episode, I won't feel compelled to devour the third.
The Elusive Samurai: Period anime aren't usually my cup of tea, but the animation in the first episode alone is some of the best I've seen outside of a Demon Slayer fight, and this may end up joining my OP/ED banger list going forward. A prince in a feudal Japan-like era has parkour and hide-and-seek skills that drive his instructors crazy with worry trying to chase him down. But when a former ally of his father betrays the empire and leads the slaughter of his people, the prince must team up with a hilariously over-animated fraudster shaman and a young apprentice priestess to prepare for a revenge battle so he can restore the empire and become a hero. I'm glad I didn't let this elude me.
As we end the new series on that strong note, it's time to talk about those returning series I mentioned above.
Our Last Crusade Or the Rise Of A New World: I reviewed this back in 2021, and although I know I enjoyed it, I can't remember much about it beyond what I put in my review. So far, the second season seems to have more of that, but now with the focus shifted to machinations on the witch kingdom side. The animation is weird and sort of flat and dated-looking, like it came from something in the early 2000s, or got remastered from an 80s or 90s anime, what with the sharp chins and odd facial angles in many shots. I'll probably watch more of this out of obligation until I tire of it because I don't feel as connected to it as I did when I was watching the first season.
Tower Of God: climbing up from the wreckage of the CrunchyRoll Originals brand that brought us the coke-nosed fighting tournament masterpiece God Of High School, and Noblesse and So I'm A Spider, So What? (which both existed), Tower Of God is finally back with a second season. As it mainly focuses on a whole new cast of characters, there's some disconnect besides the opening reminder that Rachel is a bitch and the thirteen Month weapons exist. Curse this Smarch weather! The animation is as good as I remember from the first season, and the new cast are pretty endearing. Climb the tower and give this a watch, but don't touch Willie.
SHY: Our favorite introverted pyromancer and her supporting cast of eccentric, stereotypical heroes are back for another season...now with ninjas. As a child of the 90s, I am sold on that combination alone, but the comedy, action, drama, and animation are also still on point from what last year's season had to offer, and with the major character stuff handled in the previous season, it looks like we'll be getting right to the action only four episodes into the new season. Don't be shy about giving this series a look.
And please don't be shy about remembering to Become A Ticketholder if you haven't already, leave a comment at the bottom of this post, help out my ad revenue as you read, and follow me on Tumblr, Reddit, Facebook, and LinkedIn to like what you see and receive the latest news on my rapid-fire content.
Animeister,
Out.
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