Fall 2019 Review
Hello! I watched 16 shows this season, so here they are in a ranked list with some paragraphs about them.
1. Vinland Saga
Vinland Saga is damn great. I would go on about how each of its aspects are great, but I don’t have that kind of time. It’s faster to say nothing is bad, or even average; it’s all fantastic. Watch it.
2. High Score Girl II
High Score Girl is really good. It’s a cute love story and a love letter to arcade games. The art style is pretty weird, and combined with 3DCG characters the show will turn off a lot of people. But the story is worth it! I don’t care if you read the manga instead, even though that way you’ll miss out on real video game footage that matches to the story. Like, the main characters actually play real video games with each other; Street Fighter, for example, features heavily throughout. Nothing is bad, everything is good, except there’s no real sakuga, but who cares, give it a watch.
3. Kabukichou Sherlock (First Half)
This incarnation of Sherlock Holmes is surprisingly excellent. There’s a huge variety of characters, and they all get their chance to shine. The episodic mysteries are often funny and sometimes serious, and the first arc’s story about Jack the Ripper hits pretty hard by the end. The production quality is almost always high, such that I don’t remember anything I can complain about. The only caveat is that this is a really weird show, so it’s definitely not for everyone. I highly recommend watching Rakugo Shinjuu first not only because it’ll help you get some of the comedy in Kabukichou Sherlock, but also because it’s probably a better show. Not that Sherlock isn’t worth your time, because it is.
4. Shinchou Yuusha: Kono Yuusha ga Ore Tueee Kuse ni Shinchou Sugiru
Cautious Hero is way better than it has any right to be. It’s very cartoony, but it carries some emotional weight. The art is nice, and Aki Toyosaki does an absolutely amazing job voicing Ristarte. It’s not a masterpiece by any stretch of the imagination, but it’s a fun, complete show that doesn’t leave you wanting, and sometimes those are hard to find.
5. Sword Art Online: Alicization - War of Underworld
There’s some really good animation here, when it’s not getting dimmed for TV. There’s also a lot of average, but there’s a lot of downtime in this story between the fights, so I can’t knock it too much. The art, sound, and voice acting are all excellent, and the OP and ED are fantastic. Plot’s the best SAO’s given us so far, but I assure you it doesn’t stay that way. (Progressive is legit good, I hope we get that animated next.) Alice is best girl.
6. Honzuki no Gekokujou: Shisho ni Naru Tame ni wa Shudan wo Erandeiraremasen
Ascendance of a Bookworm is quite good in places, but slow in others. This applies to the animation, as well as the plot, and—why not—the characters too. (The art and sound are mostly nice.) Overall I enjoyed my time with it; aside from SAO and High Score Girl, this was actually the show I consistently watched the fastest as soon as it came out each week—partly because I wanted to see what happened next, and partly because it’s an easy watch, whereas I often put off Vinland Saga and Hoshiai no Sora because they are rather heavy shows. I think I can safely recommend Bookworm to anyone who wants a slow-burning realistic isekai (this really isn’t like most of the other isekai trash that gets tossed at us each season).
7. Houkago Saikoro Club
I cried too many times to count while watching Afterschool Dice Club. Not because it was incredibly sad or anything, but because it was so heartfelt and happy and fun, and Miki finally found friends, and they are all such good friends with each other, and oh no, now I’m gonna cry again. ;_; I think the reason I enjoyed it so much was because I related to Miki and Midori, the introvert and the aspiring game author. Thinking back on it, I don’t know if I can reasonably say they are nuanced characters or not, but the four mains do feel like real people. While watching the final episode I was thinking to myself that the show might be a little on the sappy side, but I think that’s ok in moderation. The real stars of the show are the board games showcased in each episode and littered throughout the background. There’s also some real board game design discussion in some places. Production-wise, the art is comfy (and shows off all the board games very well), the animation receives a passing grade, and the voice acting is mostly good. Final verdict: Good. Definitely watch if you want a comfy slice of life or a show about board games that are better than Monopoly.
8. Babylon (First Half)
He has a mug that says “Keep Calm and Serve Justice.” And ultimately, that mug is pretty ironic for reasons I don’t want to spoil. Let’s just say after episode 7 you’ll be anything but calm. There was a huge break after that episode, so that’s when I’m writing this from. Babylon is a fantastic mystery thriller detective show, and I can’t tell you if it ends strongly or not. But that may not be important, with what it’s been like so far. Because it’s really strange, for really strange reasons, and I can’t really figure out how to put what I want to say about it into words. Just… if you can handle disturbing themes and images, you should probably watch Babylon.
9. Dr. Stone
I’m glad Dr. Stone got a good reception. It’s got some silly shonen tropes, but it’s above all a fun and heartwarming show. The animation is pretty low-quality throughout, but everything else is good or great. I can’t really complain. There’s a season 2 already confirmed, so maybe the production quality will ramp up. That’d be awesome.
10. Boku no Hero Academia 4th Season (First Half)
My Hero Academia is pretty damn established at this point. This season felt a little slow and bad until episode 8 or 9, when it picked up and I felt better about watching it. And it does get very hype in the most recent episodes. This season could very well be the best season of MHA, if it keeps this up.
11. Hoshiai no Sora
Wow Stars Align. The fact that it got axed halfway through really threw a wrench in its works. Everything plot-wise is half-finished except the actual tennis, which ended on a nice note. Most of the characters are strong (Mitsue and Oji are my favorites), there’s a lot of interesting camera work, and it tackles some real issues. However. The production quality is overall on the low side, the pacing is poor, and it’s a little bit on the unrealistic side of things. I like Hoshiai no Sora, because it’s such a real show and it celebrates diversity and the characters are so cute. But unfortunately I can’t recommend such an unfinished mess.
12. Watashi, Nouryoku wa Heikinchi de tte Itta yo ne!
Noukin is rather silly. The main character is an otaku raised by otaku parents, enabling all sorts of anime references in every goddamn episode. JoJo, Doraemon, Dragonball Z, Rose of Versailles, Hyouka, and Pokemon are referenced, and that’s just what I can think of off the top of my head in one minute. So if you’re expecting the right thing, Noukin is really fun. Otherwise, though, it’s sort of middling. The animation is on the good side of average, the art is colorful, and the voice acting is fine. But… the tone flip flops, and the plot is … very weak. I hear the book is slower-paced and goes into more detail, which intrigues me; it feels like the anime is a different type of story entirely. Anyway, you’ll probably know if you’ll like Noukin. Just do yourself a favor and watch the OP if you haven’t, it’s arguably the best part.
13. Ore wo Suki nano wa Omae dake ka yo
Oh my god the tone is all over the place. Wacky convoluted scheming in the first three episodes is followed by a bunch of complicated feelings getting in the way of anyone doing anything, and then the last episode is pretty good, but doesn’t even end the current plotline. To be continued in an OVA? Animation quality is come and go, artstyle is over-saturated, and the characters are obnoxious more often than they are funny. Go watch Gamers! instead.
14. Enen no Shouboutai
Fire Force is absolute tripe drip-feeding worldbuilding and animation to try to keep audience attention. Most of it is bad. The first two episodes are great but you can stop there, it gets so much worse. If you’re a shonen fan, watch Dr. Stone or My Hero Academia. Do find the best clips from sakugabooru though, some of them are positively awe-inspiring.
15. No Guns Life
I think No Guns Life is a little too silly for its own good. The comedy bits and absurd cyborg bodies don’t always mesh well with the very serious story being told. Its style is pretty strong, but the quality drops off after the first couple of episodes, and episode 11 in particular is sort of a trainwreck and made me drop it right there. The OP is the best part. I bet the manga is better.
16. Hataage! Kemono Michi
Overall a disappointment. You can feel the Konosuba in the writing (it was written by the same guy) but the animation doesn’t back it up; it’s all pretty average except for some of the fight scenes. With a cast of gremlins this obnoxious and the production values to back it up—making the jokes snappier—this show could have been great. As it stands, it’s terribly average.
PS - The 5 best bits of animation are on sakugabooru, so I linked them here for your perusal:
https://www.sakugabooru.com/post/show/103486
https://www.sakugabooru.com/post/show/108118
https://www.sakugabooru.com/post/show/108119
https://www.sakugabooru.com/post/show/108120
https://www.sakugabooru.com/post/show/108121
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