Cautious Hero: The Hero Is Overpowered but Overly Cautious (dub)
The Hero is slow to fight monsters but quick to hit women. Having the summoning goddess be the point of view character seemed a refreshing change - for all of ten minutes. After that it soon sinks to being the worst of what isekai offers & then some. Just when you think there's no barrel left to scrape, Kadokawa find a way.
Africa Salaryman (dub)
An attempt was made at an animal mascot office comedy for men. When it works, it works. Often as not, though, it ends up being less an office sitcom & more a so loud, so random gag comedy that happens to be in an office. Might have benefitted from shorter episodes so they could have cut some of the weaker skits. VAs are all having fun with the characters, at least.
Time of Eve (film) (dub)
Alexa after dark. Takes the heady sci-fi ideas of Asimov, Dick & others, & compresses them into the more intimate setting of a cafe where the one rule is that within its walls, humans & andriods are equal. Definately one of the better sci-fi anime films of the decade; but it doesn't improve on the ONA version, which is arguably the better way to watch it.
The Ones Within (dub)
Livestreamers find themselves trapped in a livestream, only this time the livestream is real! I don't know what dirt Silver Link's CEO has on Oonuma Shin; but every year they find him something worse to direct & every year he does it anyway.
Cop Craft (dub)
Yay, another supernatural crime show made quick & cheap because they do well on Netflix & licensors ain't picky. Someone please tell Shoji Gatoh to let someone else adapt his novels. He's bad at it & wastes good ideas in the process. Pairing him with Shin Itagaki was a recipe for disappointment.
Fire Force (dub)
Another Shinbou protege steps out the SHAFT bubble, with underwhelming results. Squandered potential & wasted effort. What potential there was for a good, gritty shoenen series is soon squandered on rubbish villains, shallow characters, dull comedy & almost schizophrenic episode direction.
Demon Lord, Retry! (dub)
I think I get it now. I'm not a sad loser. I'm just trapped in another world where it's a good thing for an adult to watch crap cartoons on a Monday. That must be it!
Dr. Stone (dub)
Science is cool. Proves that there's a lot of life left in the shoenen formula, so long as you're willing to experiment a little. That said, it is pretty standard stuff; which means it takes forever to go nowhere, laughably villainous villains &, so far at least, it's not interested in questioning Senkuu's blind faith in technology or whether the technocracy he's built for himself is the best way to organise a society.
Fruits Basket 1st Season (dub)
Never listen to the complaints of manga fans. It's fine; but I can now confidently say that almost every cut, addition & alteration made in the 2001 adaptation was for the better - in terms of general pacing & style & removing some of the more cliche (even at the time) & egregious shojo drama excesses. Still: if it means we finally get a proper continuation of the story, then so be it.
How Heavy are the Dumbbells You Lift? (dub)
Hensuki (dub)
Kinky, kink-shaming comedy. There's something a bit off about its visuals & it would be hard to make treasure out of this trash. To be fair, though, it really does seem to be trying to be the best it can be within the narrow confines of a generic harem rom-com & the dub cast are good.
Bem (dub)
Another anime I'm convinced was originally made & shelved in the 2000s, only to be released now that streaming sites will buy the rights to literally anything. Starts out like it might be okay; but it's too joyless to enjoy "ironically;" & too cheap, trashy & stupid for all but the most committed teenage edgelords to take seriously. Music is pretty decent, at least.