a***@bell.net
2020-03-30 18:39:19 UTC
Anime in the Time of Pandemic… This season’s anime gave me a few hours of pleasant time to ignore the News and instead relax with fantasy. Almost everything that I followed this past season finished – only Meitantei Conan and One Piece continue on despite the passing of ages.
There was one completion of note: “Gegege no Kitaro (2018)” finished at episode 97. This remake of the classic manga and anime franchise was generally entertaining throughout its run and finished with a bang. My final rating is a solid B.
“Mairimashita! Iruma-kun” finished at 23 episodes. The manga is far from done so it is likely that there will be more seasons of this light-weight shounen comic fantasy but I won’t be watching them. My final rating is B-.
“Chihayafuru 3” finished at 24 episodes. This continuation of the marvelous series about competitive karuta games was a delight through and through. Every episode grabbed me from start to finish. One can only hope that more of the manga will eventually be animated. My final rating is A.
“ID: Invaded” finished at 13 episodes. This was an imaginative original sci-fi series that was hampered by animation that didn’t quite meet the expectations set by the ambitions of the story line. Likewise, the story line couldn’t quite match its own expectations in the end, but overall it was a worthwhile attempt. My final rating is B.
“Jibaku Shounen Hanako-kun” finished at 12 episodes. There was obvious potential in the story of urban legend spirits but I could never warm up to the characters or their situations. The manga goes on for quite a ways and there likely will be a sequel to the anime but I won’t bother with it. My final rating is C+.
“Ishuzoku Reviews” was a Blast for its entire 12 episodes. It was vulgar, cynical and funny as Hell! If you watched the censored version you wasted your time. My final rating is A.
“Kyokou Suiri” was just like the manga – talky and slow. I also didn’t care for the male lead. But it was still watchable, particularly for Kotoko. My final rating is B-.
“Dorohedo” was spectacularly good for its entire 12 episodes. I didn’t know what to expect from this batshit fantasy and I was totally blown away by its outrageous imagination and humour. Only 40 out of 190+ manga chapters were covered in this adaptation and it desperately needs a continuation. My rating is A+ and I’m now reading the manga and enjoying every chapter just as much.
And for the leftovers and dregs:
I gave up on “Sorcerous Stabber Orphen 2020” after 4 episodes. It was just too mediocre to bother watching any more. My final rating is C. I also gave “C”s to “Somali to Mori no Kamisama” and “Pet”, but I gave up on them after only the first episode. I also gave up after the first episodes of “Rikei ga Koi ni Ochite no de Shoumei Shitemita”, rating it D, and “Plunderer”, giving it a D-.
Dave Baranyi
There was one completion of note: “Gegege no Kitaro (2018)” finished at episode 97. This remake of the classic manga and anime franchise was generally entertaining throughout its run and finished with a bang. My final rating is a solid B.
“Mairimashita! Iruma-kun” finished at 23 episodes. The manga is far from done so it is likely that there will be more seasons of this light-weight shounen comic fantasy but I won’t be watching them. My final rating is B-.
“Chihayafuru 3” finished at 24 episodes. This continuation of the marvelous series about competitive karuta games was a delight through and through. Every episode grabbed me from start to finish. One can only hope that more of the manga will eventually be animated. My final rating is A.
“ID: Invaded” finished at 13 episodes. This was an imaginative original sci-fi series that was hampered by animation that didn’t quite meet the expectations set by the ambitions of the story line. Likewise, the story line couldn’t quite match its own expectations in the end, but overall it was a worthwhile attempt. My final rating is B.
“Jibaku Shounen Hanako-kun” finished at 12 episodes. There was obvious potential in the story of urban legend spirits but I could never warm up to the characters or their situations. The manga goes on for quite a ways and there likely will be a sequel to the anime but I won’t bother with it. My final rating is C+.
“Ishuzoku Reviews” was a Blast for its entire 12 episodes. It was vulgar, cynical and funny as Hell! If you watched the censored version you wasted your time. My final rating is A.
“Kyokou Suiri” was just like the manga – talky and slow. I also didn’t care for the male lead. But it was still watchable, particularly for Kotoko. My final rating is B-.
“Dorohedo” was spectacularly good for its entire 12 episodes. I didn’t know what to expect from this batshit fantasy and I was totally blown away by its outrageous imagination and humour. Only 40 out of 190+ manga chapters were covered in this adaptation and it desperately needs a continuation. My rating is A+ and I’m now reading the manga and enjoying every chapter just as much.
And for the leftovers and dregs:
I gave up on “Sorcerous Stabber Orphen 2020” after 4 episodes. It was just too mediocre to bother watching any more. My final rating is C. I also gave “C”s to “Somali to Mori no Kamisama” and “Pet”, but I gave up on them after only the first episode. I also gave up after the first episodes of “Rikei ga Koi ni Ochite no de Shoumei Shitemita”, rating it D, and “Plunderer”, giving it a D-.
Dave Baranyi