#Spring anime 2023

[mugiloves]

“Having a little bit of a cringe side will make you more endearing. I don't know why you're such a scared little mouse, but the chance to make real friends doesn't come around too often in life.” —Nao-chan

SKIP TO LOAFER (2023) —EPISODE 08

[hairunowa]

[flyby303]

Mist Hashira in action 🌫💙

[tamaki-ako]

yuri is my job! | episode 12

surprisingly accurate representation of the shame people, even your peers, can make you feel when you're a large-chested teen—pretty great final episode

[characterdevelopmentobsessed]

I can’t believe I haven’t done my Spring Anime review yet!! What happened to July!!!

1) My Love Story with Yamada-kun at Lv999

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5

AMAZING!!! I loved every minute of this show!! It made my laugh and smile like a fool. It is just SO SWEET!!! The animation was also beautiful!! LOVED this!!! definitely my favourite of the season!!!

2) Why Raeliana Ended Up at the Duke’s Mansion

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5

GREAT show! I really enjoyed the romance between our two leads, the characters were definitely the best part of this show. I loved both the main characters individually as well as liking them as a couple, and there was some amazing side characters (*cough* Noah *cough*) as well. My only criticism was the pacing, but the characters were good enough to overlook that.

3) The Ancient Magus’ Bride Season 2

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5

GOOD show! I really enjoyed this, I think they managed to capture the vibes from season 1 while still making it feel completely fresh and new in many ways with the new setting and characters. I love Chise’s character development and I’m excited to see where the plot goes next.

4) Dead Mount Death Play

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5

GOOD show! I really liked this show! Earlier in the season I actually would have given it 5 stars but it kinda stumbled at the end. I’m not even sure what my issue was with the last few episodes, maybe pacing, I dunno they just weren’t as amazing as the first 3/4 of the show. Still an amazing show though! I love the art and the characters!

5) Demon Slayer

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5

Eye candy. Need I say more? The animation is stunning!!! Demon Slayer always manages to crank out the most amazing fight animation!

6) Hell’s Paradise

⭐️⭐️⭐️/5

I really wanted to like this show more then I did. It’s gorgeous and has some really interesting characters and definitely made me cry ALOT but something about this show I just couldn’t get fully invested. I think it was a combination of the fact that there were so many different and interesting characters and they killed SO MANY of them so quickly that any time I got insterested in a characters story I was like oh now they are going to die. I get shock value and heart wrenching is what they were going for but it happened so often it became routine. Also, they built up all this mystery about the island and then info dumped everything in like 2 episodes 🫤it is still worth watching purely for the art though!

7) X&Y

⭐️⭐️/5

Ok this show disappointed me so much!!! I loved the first part, the mysterious vibes and the escape rooms with epic music and then I felt like they lost the plot part way through and never bothered to pick it up again. I kept watching hoping for a satisfying end, but they really fumbled this one.

8) Mashle

Dropped after episode 6

It was funny and made me laugh, but super repetitive and the characters were so one dimensional that I dropped it.

9) Summoned to Another World for a Second Time

Dropped after episode 7

This show had a cool premise and I kept watching it for awhile hoping that it would get better, but every episode just got worse. Dropped.

[vampkitty66]

2023 Spring Anime Season: My Thoughts Thus Far

Yamada-kun at Lv999 

Disclaimer!! These are just my opinions

Status: Currently Ongoing

Starting off we have Yamada-kun at Lv999. I will say after watching the first two episodes I immediately picked up the manga. It currently only has five episodes, and the final episode will be the thirteenth. This follows Akane, a college student who recently got dumped by her boyfriend for a girl he met in a online game they both used to play together. Wanting to make him jealous, she attends an event for the online game knowing that he’ll be there and meets a boy named Yamada. Yamada helps Akane out after she tripped and her ex boyfriend spots them together. Turns out her ex is a big fan of Yamada’s, and in an attempt to make her ex jealous she bribes Yamada to say that they are dating each other.  Since I am a shoujo lover myself, I felt super drawn to this series because it feels nostalgic. I think the characters are likeable and despite their age gap ( although I don’t find it a big deal as its only two years apart ) their relationship is healthy. Really enjoying it so far, I think its refreshing to see a romance anime nowadays with little to no fan service. If you haven't, I highly suggest picking up the manga.

Hells Paradise

Status: Currently Ongoing 

Completing the “Dark trio” we have Hells Paradise, I preface that I have not read the manga. With only five episodes so far, I've got to say that this might be one of the best watches for me this season. Mappa has really outdone themselves in my opinion, the animation is crazy. The story follows Gabimaru the Hollow who was captured and sentenced to death. With him practically being invincible, Sagiri, his executioner, gave him an opportunity to be pardoned. To be able to be pardoned he and other death row convicts have to find the elixir of life. I think the story is fantastic and the characters are all interesting. I’m really excited to see what comes next as the series continues, and we’ve already seen some development in some of the characters, as well as some of the backstories. Waiting for my girl Sagiri to be an absolute badass and prove everyone who doubts her wrong. Also just got to say that the opening song is  fire and its been on repeat for me. 

Skip And Loafer  

Status: Currently Ongoing   

Skip And Loafer, another romance anime with only five episodes so far (its very exciting to have so many wholesome animes come out this year) This one also feels like a very nostalgic shoujo, but its in fact a sienen. This one is based in high school and it follows Mitsumi Iwakura, a girl who lived on the countryside her whole life. Iwakura attends high school in Tokyo and even though she thinks everything will go smoothly, it turns out to be quite the opposite. Watching this made me cringe so hard not even going to lie, its awkward and goofy but that’s also what I like about it. Despite having to throw my phone to the other side of the bed because of the awful secondhand embarrassment I got, I'm definitely going to continue watching it. 

Why Raeliana Ended Up At The Dukes Mansion

Status: Currently Ongoing 

This was originally a manhwa that got adapted into an anime. I have not read the manhwa so I can’t base anything off of it, but so far I'm enjoying it. It follows Raeliana who was originally Park Eunha who had died in the real world and woke up to be Raeliana. The world that she is in as Raeliana is based off a novel she had read in her previous life, so lucky for her, she knows what's to come. There were a lot of isekai animes this season and to be honest, this is the only one I've watched. This seemed like an interesting concept, I don’t watch or read too many isekai series because a lot of them feel the same and I find some of them boring but maybe I should give it more of a chance? I digress, I like most of the main characters so far and if I were her, I’d totally jump on the duke bandwagon. The animation is a little iffy but I can look past it, overall I don’t have that many complaints about it.  

Honorable Mention

Oshi No Ko

Contains spoilers!!

Status: Ongoing

Note: This is an absolute mess of a review oops

Okay so I’ve only watched the first episode so far (I think there's two or three now??) The first episode was like an hour long and it was a lot. We start off meeting the two main characters in the hospital, the little girl and the doctor. We see Ai on tv and to be honest does no one else find it weird that the doctor is like obsessed with a teen idol? Yes I know its because of the little girl, she was his patient and she died blah blah blah. I just find it a little odd... I don't know, it’s fine, moving on. Ai is pregnant and the doctor gets assigned to her, turns out shes having twins and on the night that she is supposed to deliver, the doctor gets pushed and dies. The doctor and his little girl patient gets reincarnated as her twins but they are fully aware of their previous lives. So now a 12 year old girl and a 20 something year old man are Ai’s twins. Also forgot to mention, didn’t the doctor say something sus to the little girl before she died because didn’t she want to marry him??? Honestly I forget, anyways, fast forward the twins, Aqua and Ruby, get older throughout the episode. Ai has been doing her idol shit and what not and Aqua also dabbles into acting a bit. Ruby is dancing or something and all is swell until it all turned to shit. Ai is I think 20 years old now? There's someone who comes to the door and she opens it, he then stabs her and she dies. Oh and she finally tells her kids that she loves them. The episode is almost over at this point, Aqua asks this one guy to raise him or something and Aqua pretty much figures out that his dad hired someone to kill his mom so he’s in his revenge era now. This was a whole mess but its fine. I liked the characters designs a lot, I thought they were really pretty. I have some problems with this anime but I think I might continue to watch it and then do a whole review on it. Still baffled on how people claimed that this was the best first episode they've seen ( even topped aot ) I think it was a good episode don’t get me wrong and I liked the animation style and there were cute moments but I don’t think it was the best first episode I've seen. Ai’s song was fire though, I will say that.

[sakura2miaka]

Since I'm running uber late (how are we already on week 4?!), I decided to skip my usual anime pick livestream so I can catch up 😅

Here's what I'm watching for the Spring 2023 anime season. I'm kinda proud of myself for "only" having 18 picks this time compared to last season's 24 😂🤣

I'm excited to watch:

The Ancient Magus' Bride S2 - I've been waiting for this for a looooooong time!

Why Raeliana Ended Up at the Duke's Mansion - I was about to read the webtoon for this when I heard it was getting an anime!

Oshi no Ko - ANN kept posting about this on their social media and I can never resist cute twins in the first place 😆

My Love Story with Yamada-kun at Lv999 - Same story as Oshi no Ko, also, my rom-com picks from last season are all done and it left me wanting more 😍

My surprise picks:

Ranking of Kings: The Treasure Chest of Courage - Only a surprise cause I didn't hear about this.

Sacrificial Princess and the King of Beasts - I actually remember this being announced and totally forgot about it! I read the manga a long time ago, so this is one of those rare ones where I know exactly what I'm getting into

Tengoku Daimakyo - This is my attempt to get some culture in me since all I've been watching lately are trash 😂🤣

I'm expecting to drop:

The Aristocrat's Otherworldly Adventure - It's isekai trash so it'll totally depend on how cringe this harem is gonna be 😅

KamiKatsu - exact same reason as above 😆

Purple = I'm definitely watching

Yellow = I'm giving it 3 ep. to win me over

[misteria247]

Watch "死んだ!" on YouTube

So thanks to Crunchyroll, I'd been introduced to a new spring anime called The Legendary Hero is Dead! And holy shit it's wild. Yet I personally also find it really funny so there's that lmao. Anyways-!

The opening is a fucking banger.

[mugiloves]

GIRLFRIENDS ONLY

SKIP TO LOAFER (2023) —EPISODE 07

[hairunowa]

more mitsumi🤏 from episode 3 and 4

[flyby303]

MAPPA serving more perfection 🎋

[chococaramelon]

It’s been a while since I’ve been surprise by an anime, and I’m still not fine after that first episode 🥲

Anime : Oshi no Ko

[tamaki-ako]

yuri is my job! | episode 10

[xian1na]

buncha words 'bout some spring animes #3

Still here, still watching, still writing. Can't believe it's May already. I remember having this weird feeling last time I was watching seasonal anime - that I can't wait for the next episode to come out but once it does, I realise how time flies. It's almost scary! Many of the series that have only just come out are already at the halfway point. ...But let's not think about the inevitablility of time passing and instad talk about them animes. Enjoy!

Hell's Paradise (ep. 5) - After episode 4 I was a bit wary of where Sagiri's plot was going but episode 5 assuaged my worries somewhat. I used to get very annoyed whenever an action show would introduce A Sexist character. Why aren't the female characters just allowed to be badass without anyone putting them down, I was thinking to myself. Why can't I just have a nice escapist fantasy? But somehow I don't mind it here. I'm not sure why - whether it's because I changed or because (so far) Jigokuraku handled this subject better, or at least differently than other series I've watched. We'll see what comes next. As for the rest of the episode, I feel like the series is still at the phase of setting things up and I really hope the plot moves forward next time. Nurugai is Very Good.

Oshi No Ko (ep. 4) - I won't be a stinker this time, I quite liked this episode. We got to see Aqua acting and I got this great idea for battle-shounen like manga about acting, where the main character has to analyse their surroundings and gather data about their fellow actors to know how to rile them in front of the camera, so that they act well. (I'm going to pitch this to President of Anime whenever I get the chance.) I'm curious how will that reality TV show that Aqua got hired to act in go. As for the school plot... I don't watch many idol shows but I recall 'school of idols' is a recurring theme. Will Oshi No Ko subvert it somehow or play it straight? No idea. I'd assume the former if not for plethora of colour-coded female characters we've met already. I appreciate this series' commentary on show-business harsh truths a lot but it somehow doesn't feel grounded in reality because of the visuals, particularly character designs. And I REALLY hope there'll be more male characters in the main cast, although judging by the opening, that might not be the case.

Tengoku-Daimakyou (ep. 5) - We focus more on Maru and Kiruko this time, which is good because They Are Great. By the way, I've been reading a little about this series' production and I was surprised to learn that it's really speeding through the manga - but does it so well that it doesn't feel rushed or anything like that. It doesn't happen often in anime, I think. I'll probably read the manga once the series ends just to see how does the story unfold there (and to see all the quality K&M content that's been cut from anime). Also I absolutely need to cite one sentence from ANN's weekly review of T-D because it was simultaneously the best and the worst sentence I've read in a review in a while: "And while Maru's boner gets in the way of their hug, we can see that it's not getting in the way of their friendship." Absolute perfection.

Skip and Loafer (ep. 5) - I've already written how I appreciate what they do with Egashira in this series and episode 5 fleshes her out even more. I think my favourite moment was after Egashira's and Mitsumi's clash with the third-years in the gym - how Egashira made sure to remember the names of the students who were rude to them, while Mitsumi remembered the name of the one who helped them. It's a very telling character moment for them both. Skip and Loafer is really growing on me, it might even end up as my favourite series of this season. I'm literally feeling happier after watching every episode, it's that powerful.

My Love Story with Yamada-kun ar Lv999! (ep. 5-6) - As I thought, the matter with Runa is solved pretty quickly and she's already Akane's bestie in episode 6. That's pretty good in my opinion. Even if Runa's change of heart may be a bit sudden, I don't think she'd make a compelling long-term antagonist. That 'gamer guy' from episode 5 gave me massive creeps and there was some great direction in that scene in the toilet. I like that even though ultimately nothing bad happened, the guys from the guild immediately went to the rescue because they knew the potential danger. Then episode 6 is back to usual shenanigans and I thought it was very funny. And one important note: Kouki Uchiyama's acting when Yamada was talking to Eita right after waking up was Extremely Good.

And in the backlog section:

The Witch from Mercury (season 1, ep. 7-9) - You know guys... maybe it's because the Internet was screaming about Prospera lately (I didn't catch any spoilers, thankfully) but I'm starting to get a feeling she might be a bad guy! On a serious note, it's very interesting how Prospera is contrasted with Delling and papa Jeturk (whatever his name is, I don't even care). All three of them are shitty parents but whereas Delling and Jeturk are very openly shitty in how demanding, strict and cold they are towards their children, the way Prospera treats Suletta is just chilling. Only three episodes left in season 1, I have no idea what might happen in the finale but I'm definitely looking forward to find out.

Spy x Family (ep. 6-7) - As I knew that The Face was coming, I actually appreciated The Punch more - that was a real good piece of animation. Damian's developing crush on Anya (including the special romanticised version of her in his eyes) and Loid suspecting that Becky obviously must be plotting a political sabotage or something because he just doesn't get kids were hilarious. Also, I totally forgot about Yor's and Anya's time together (or maybe it wasn't in the manga, though I think it was). It was great! I'm not going to be original by saying that Yor often feels a bit secondary in this family, so it was real nice seeing her getting more screentime. Next episode Yuri will show up - I think his visit was the last thing I've read in the manga, so I have no idea what happens next.

Aaand that'd be the end of this week's musings and ramblings. I start a new job on Monday but I think I should be able to keep up with all the shows. At least I must find some time for more Skip and Loafer. Hope you enjoyed reading and see ya!

[comic-bastards]

An audio clip from our latest episode. Our summer first episodes is coming this weekend.