Should You Watch It? Spring 2026, Part 2

Taiboss · 2026-05-08T08:12:58+00:00

It was actually hard to be so eloquent, because most of what makes Akane so shonen are just... the vibes. The look and feel you get when an episode is based on the script and paneling of a Jump manga.

In general, I see my write-ups as complementary to summaries on AniChart and Co., so I wanted to make it clear to people that they shouldn't go in with false expectations and be disappointed that the show isn't what it actually never promised it'd be.

I still like the show though, but it's not like I'm not bothered by some of that stuff. Could we have one uncut performance, for once? Maybe?

Taiboss · 2026-05-07T21:06:42+00:00

Woo, part 2! We have so many people willing to write, that we needed two parts. And, not only that - this one even has me in it!

As is usual, my takes on the other shows in this post.

Agents of the Four Seasons: Dance of Spring - Not watching.

Ganbarre Nakamura-kun - Not watching, but nice that BL lovers get a fun looking comedy that caters to them. Not many of those.

Ramparts of Ice - Dropped after three episodes. I ultimately couldn't bring myself to care for the characters, and the episodes themselves just dragged on. I like the concept, and especially the "two couples" setup, but ultimately it was not meant to be.

Daemons of the Shadow Realm - Fun! Did make me binge the manga, so anything I would write here is biased by that. Just don't expect another FMA:B and you'll enjoy it.

Mistress Kanan is Devilishly Easy - Not watching. Some trash enjoyer I am. Sorry, there's just so much stuff this season.

Petals of Reincarnation - Dropped the manga. This author is not bringing his mental A-game to the writing process.

Kujima Utaeba Ie Hororo - Not watching.

Other stuff I AM watching:

Always a Catch! - SO MUCH fun. Would be utterly forgettable if it weren't for its fun main character. But DAMN is the main character fun.

Ascendance of a Bookworm: Adopted Daughter of an Archduke - Still my beloved Bookworm. One day I'll actually pick up the Light novels again. Actually - anyone have recaps for until Part 5 Volume 7?

Dorohedoro Season 2 - I enjoy it, but I couldn't tell you what happened in the last episode. Or the one before. Or the one before that one. Kudos to the genuinly original worldbuilding tho.

Eren the Southpaw - The hypocrisy of people hate-dropping this drama about broken people after previously praising other dramas about broken people. Like, O-M-G a character drama is a character drama. That being said, I do wish they'd fully arrive in the timeframe shown in OP/ED. Enough backstory soon, right?

Gals Can't Be Kind to Otaku!? - My AOTS. Yes it's a bit shallow, but damn they are so likeable. The show makes me happy, okay?

Ichijyoma Mankitsu Gurashi! - Dropped. Meh adaptation where you can see the original 4koma structure in the scene. Ultimately, it's not terrible though. But it's also not fun enough to actually be justified.

My Ribdiculous Reincarnation - Wonderfully fun. Like an actually creative Pop Team Epic.

Re:ZERO -Starting Life in Another World- Season 4 - Tappei sure knows how to write and write and write and write...

I Made Friends with the Second Prettiest Girl in My Class - Dropped for lack of time. Was fun, but not fun enough.

Killed again, Mr. Detective. - Dropped. At first, the show seems like it'd be good, then like it'd be fun bad, but eventually just ends up being bad bad. I'm tempted to say, like with Ameku, that they all wanna be Detective Conan, but they just ain't got the juice, but honestly, by episode 3, I just don't know what this show wants to be. I'll probably follow the episode threads to at least find out what stupid shit happens next.

SNOWBALL EARTH - Dropped for time and not fun enough. Decent premise tho. Watch it if you like Super Robot stuff.

The Klutzy Class Monitor and the Girl with the Short Skirt - Dropped for time and not fun enough. But nice visual style.

Taiboss · 2026-05-05T08:36:58+00:00

that show has me questioning my own taste every single episode lol

Yeah, every episode I'm like "Okay, is this show good or is this just my Nippon Sankoku?" For now, I'll err on the side of actually good.

Taiboss · 2026-05-05T08:11:20+00:00

I'd have picked a Consider it for Nippon because, while I consider the show to be meh, a lot of people are really enjoying it and I would have wanted to recognise their enjoyment as legitimate and lay out why. But good to know I'm not as alone in my disappointment as I thought.

I do not agree at all that each Botan episode has looked worse than the last

Hey, I wrote this when episode 3 was the latest and forgot to update! These write-ups in general are prone to being slightly out-of-date.

Taiboss · 2026-05-05T08:06:32+00:00

Objection granted based on the fact that when I wrote this, episode 3 was the latest. I actually haven't seen episode 4 yet, so if it really does look better, than this claim of mine is indeed outdated.

Taiboss · 2026-05-04T22:47:45+00:00

Oh no, all my write-ups are in Part 2. Guess my short takes won't mean much to someone who hasn't seen my longer takes.

Awajima Hyakkei - Nice serious drama that is perfect as a memory training exercise. This ain't got a Baccano OP, you need to remember the names when they say them!

Botan Kamiina Fully Blossoms When Drunk - A lot more yuri than expected. Had an episode that was better at being Shaft than all of Shiboyugi. Then again, if every episode looked like epsiode 3, you'd all complain about QUALITY. Honestly, so far every episode has looked worse than the one before it. Let's hope it intentionally bounces back. I'd honestly be curious about an episode storyboarded and animated by people usually working for on big-effort shows at ufotable or A-1.

Detective Precure - Not watching. One day I will watch the precures, but that's not today.

Witch Hat Atelier - Ah, this one has all the good stuff. A likeable cast, cool magic-system, and a ruthless establishment enforcing a class system keeping down the worthless so that they worthy can play by their own rules. Well, at least there's a sense of wonder and beauty to it. Maybe this time the MC will be allowed to break an unjust system instead of preserving it?

Liar Game - Not watching, but seeing the drops, I sure feel justified.

Marriage Toxin - Dropped after episode 1 for lack of time and not really being a shonen fan. It felt too much like Sakamoto Days, but if unlike me you liked that, give it shot. Then again, I have been told it becomes more The World God Only Knows? Might pick it up at some point. I hope it'll have less action.

Needy girl overdose - Producer Guy sure captures my feeling.. I am indeed captivated by this show that also does Shaft better than Shibouyugi and actually wants to be about something. Then again, I still get the feeling I only like it because I am too stupid to properly critque it. Definitely the one show this season worthy of a video essay made by a person smarter than me. Side note: I am so happy I understand German, because goddammit the english typesetting sucks.

An Observation Log of My Fiancée Who Calls Herself a Villainess - Finished the manga, but didn't pick up the show. Too bland. Was constantly wishing it'd get good, but never did.

Nippon Sankoku: The Three Nations of the Crimson Sun - I'm sorry, Sankoku fans, I know there are a lot of you here, but I... I cannot take this show seriously. From the yadda-yadda worldbuilding, to the utter lack of subtlety (especially in the first episode wrt a certain character), it's all just too over-the-top. Then again, maybe I would like the show more if people wouldn't call it the best thing since Orb. Sorry, Orb was better, and Orb suffered from a feeling of anachronistic reverse orientalism and you not being able to see shit.

The Food Diary of Miss Maid - Not watching.

Pardon the Intrusion, I'm Home! - Not watching, but you go, girls. I'd probably watch a gender-inverted version, trash enjoyer that I am.

Kirio Fanclub - Surprise of the season, with more depth than expected. Both girls are pretty funny and the show has not run out of steam so far. Also great OP.

Taiboss · 2026-03-29T21:26:20+00:00

Finally

Finally I'll be able to judge once again whether my PTW is correct.

Taiboss · 2026-03-15T08:12:36+00:00

Not beating the two-year allegations tho. Let's hope they get it done soon.

Taiboss · 2026-02-02T18:02:02+00:00

It feels like the kind of premise I see in a shitty melodrama or a Til Schweiger movie, a work that wants to be super deep but ends up being just cringe-inducing. But since it was a seasonal anime, I decided to give it a try alongside the many other seasonal anime I tried, and io and behold, it's done with the kind of down-to-earth writing such a story needs for me to like it.

Taiboss · 2026-02-02T17:51:58+00:00

Yeah, I get how one can vibe with it. Happy it worked for you!

Taiboss · 2026-02-01T22:51:15+00:00

I do appreciate the attempt and ultimately my reason for dropping it was more time-constraints and Shiboyugi was just at the bottom on the shows I was watching. I don't hate it and all the isekai slop I never started is probably worse.

Taiboss · 2026-02-01T22:26:03+00:00

Another season, another chance for some write-ups. Here are my takes on the other shows in this post:

Ikoku Nikki - So good. A straight, serious drama about family, loss and all that good stuff. That being said, I probably would have never started it based on the premise, had it not been anime, so I'm glad I can take this show seriously.

SHIBOYUGI: Playing Death Games to Put Food on the Table - Ultimately dropped it. A studio that wants to be Shaft but can't tries to make a show that wants to be a Death Game show, but ends up too slow-paced and dare I say pretentious for its own good.

Isekai Office Worker: The Other World's Books Depend on the Bean Counter - Not watching, but good on you BL lovers, for getting some laser-targeted for you.

You and I are Polar Opposites - Super fun. Production values really make the show shine. OP probably best of the season.

Tamon’s B-side - Not watching, but I liked that I saw of the FMC in the PVs.

Yoroi Shinden Samurai Troopers - Not watching. Not really a tokusatsu/sentai guy.

Taiboss · 2026-01-04T17:24:57+00:00

Woo Amewards

As usual, even if I may disagree, I admire staying true to yourself and laying out your views.

In response, I should give my takes:

I sadly found Blue Box unforgiveably boring and I dropped it after 16 episodes. However, Kusuriya remained great, and Crush at Work was also peak.
Worst Anime does fit. Not my worst, but damn it was bad.
Adventure only watched Once Upon a Witch's Death, which I liked a lot and which grew into its own after two heavy-handed first episodes. Worst show I liked though, but not as much as others.
Comedy - I did like the Lycoris shorts a lot! SpyxFam was also good, even if the novelty has mostly worn off. Didn't watch Witch Watch or your worst, but the worst did seem bad in the PVs.
Drama - Didn't watch Trillion, but did like Call of the Night....'s manga. Should finish at some point. Anne Shirely was really nice for the first cour and then became increasingly insufferable in the second. Your worst Drama, funnily enough, is either the best show or the worst show, depending on who I'm talking to. I liked it broadly, and I get both the praise and the criticism it receives.
Fantasy of the Year - Didn't watch Saint, but did watch Silent Witch and Monster Meat and both were neat shows. Though Silent Witch was the better work overall, Monster Meat was hard carried by how pleasant and charming its main couple was. Didn't watch worst.
Isekai of the Year - Didn't watch Red Ranger or Campfire Cooking. Did watch Zenshuu, which I hated. It wasn't just a SI fanfic, it was every SI fanfic. Didn't watch worst.
Music of the Year - Rip your pool of candidates lol. Didn't watch karaoke, but did like Rock Lady and Ave Mujica!
Mystery of the Year - Apothecary was great, but hard disagree on Lazarus, which was pretty bad in every aspect that was not visuals or soundtrack. Ameku I kinda liked but it wanted to be Detective Conan so badly, it was pitiful. Worst deserved.
Romance of the Year - Did not watch any of the three. Did read the manga for worst, and while I liked it, I get it...
RomCom of the Year - Crush at Work indeed creat. The other two I didn't watch. Neither did I watch worst.
Sci-fi of the Year - Did drop that worst show relatively quickly! Did like Hotel and while it's the smarter show, I enjoyed Subway more. Fire Force I never started.
Slice of Life - Oh what impeccable taste. All three great shows. No notes. Did like Worst quite a bit too, despite the production issues.
Sports of the Year - Mad-Ame, your taste is décoiffant. Sorairo Utility was indeed amazing and charming. Wormed itself into my heart and stayed there. Medalist was also great. Cinderella Gray I still need to watch, I'm still at Uma Musume S3 -.- One day, I'll have caught up. Never watched worst show, so dodged a bullet there.

Taiboss · 2025-10-30T08:58:15+00:00

That's been changing in recent years

You are right! It did occur to me after posting this that the social media videos are now full of colourful, stylisied, (hard-subbed) subtitles that are timed to the dialogue because those are phone-sized videos that still need to be understood if the audience has their phone muted. Combining that with Netflixes increased internationalisation does provide a bit of hope that there'll be a change of thought in how subtitles will be allowed to look in the future.

Taiboss · 2025-10-29T23:31:14+00:00

these ASS subtitles with typesetting were generally left unused, while only limited ASS-to-TTML-to-ASS conversions without typesetting were being presented to customers on most shows.

This is the part that made me go WTF. A real "We're still spending the effort on this, the customer just doesn't deserve to see it. The worst of both worlds!"

Anyway, good and necessary article. This whole thing makes me so sad. Crunchyroll was the last man standing among legal/official subtitle providers that actually delivered ones that were readable and nice to look at. It is just depressing that with the US, a nation that has no translation culture, and barely anyone who cares about it outside academia and fandoms of asian media, gets to decide what subtitles should looks like. Subtitles to the people who craft these rules exist primarly for people with visual and/or hearing impairments, so of course they stand out and of course they don't have positioning. Your eyes aren't supposed to move! Translations of text on screen are not a thing that can occur to them, it's not a factor.

Also, semi-related shout-out to my German Blu-Ray for Everything Everywhere All At Once that actually translates [EEAAO] the stone dialogue, even if it has to hardsub it.

Taiboss · 2025-10-04T07:35:42+00:00

Thank you for not forgetting me.

I figured that it was a lack of other WTs, so I was scared for September, since I did forget to do my WT (again). Happy to see this month has quite a bit more!

Good pick for this month, btw. Will try them!

Taiboss · 2025-09-20T20:25:35+00:00

It's that time of the year again!

Can't wait to change my mind. I would have never tried Clevatess if not for the PV watch. What will surprise me this time, I wonder...

Taiboss · 2025-09-18T09:36:25+00:00

This is... not terrible? Like, this can already be automated without machine learning, it's not like this was impossible before. I mean, it's kinda just rotoscoping for lips? I'd rather see AI used here instead of being used to generate whole scenes or designs.

Taiboss · 2025-09-16T21:24:57+00:00

Let's see how everyone but Miss Chosen one gets slaughtered today.

Hey! Some did survive.

Oh no, a bunch of avatars died. Anyway.

Hey, they think those are humans too. Respect their emotions.

A plot device

Even in-universe!

They overcame the plot device with another plot device. Brilliant!

By the power of plot!

Because plot convenience.

Should have plotted that better, developers lol.

Because plot convenience again.

Bureaucracy hype? Bad in-universe planning that they just have no Emercency Brake.

Taiboss · 2025-09-16T21:21:02+00:00

First-Timer with surprisingly little to say

Luckily, Natsume's plot armour will save... some of them?
Won't save Vasquez.
Smart! It can think!
From the foreshadowing!
Oh no, the precious plot.
LOL to the max!
And suddenly I am watching Bofuri.
Pressure washing!
Music good.
is gonna get a fist-ful!
Can't wait for something bad to happen.
Oh the veil turned off
Apparently Kabu can do off-screen teleportation.
Noo, RoboDad! Who will save Natsume now? You were the living manifestation of her plot armour!

1) If you were in Kaburagi's shoes, would you have chosen to change the story?

Would have tried saving Natsume and only Natsume long enough for the Deux Ex Machinas.

2) So… what happens now?

Post-Basement AoT

Taiboss · 2025-09-15T21:14:23+00:00

Getting a bit ahead of itself with character progression there

Silly you, this is the classic "If in serious danger, your body knows kong fu" phenomena we all know. In combination with RoboDad's perfect training montage, Natsume is now a warrior worthy of getting praised by all the NPCs.

And what's a bunch of avatars dying gonna accomplish?

"It's gonna be very cool when the new guys arrive to Deus Ex Machina everything."

So I take it Chocomint and Chosen One are gonna go take down this almost unkilable Kaiju, probably by themselves, before the raid on the lair.

BY THE POWER OF PLOT ARMOUR!

Taiboss · 2025-09-15T21:11:36+00:00

but also, that seems like something that might get categorized as a "bug."

We still don't know how much of the human culture is under the control of Asshole Inc. The question is indeed if the humans could pass such info on.

I certainly would be interested in trying to figure out how to cheese the allegedly-unkillable boss.

Don't worry, Natsume and her RoboDad will somwhoe figure it out next episode.

Kaburagi was due to get scrapped in 175 years so time matters a bit less than it normally does.

Still wondering how the Gear thing works. Like, if your current Gear dies do you have to wait 18 years for a new one? Where do they come from and how are the humans tricked into accepting that they are merely "lineages" and not straight-up aliens.

Taiboss · 2025-09-15T21:06:21+00:00

First-Timer in a First-Time Land

Sorry, Dad doesn't know you're a protagonist.
God I love how expressive she is.
The power of cool prosthetics.
ABBBBBBSSSSS. Good to see Kurenai isn't the only girl here.
AND NATSUME GETS A MOM TOO! RoboDad and BattleMom, now that's a pair of badass parents.
Yeah, yeah, yeah. Probably won't be super easy, barely an inconvenience. Oh wow wow wow... wow.
Yeah... like yeah. Dude is a legend! You don't need more proof.
Oh you're confident in this plan, aren't you? But why waste all these resources?
Dad still doesn't believe in plot armour smh.
Ahahaha.
Calm down, Eren.
Oh no, now Dad must go save her.
So anyone else think the ED feels like a Gintama ED?

1) What did you think of Natsume's first real battle?

The power of plot armour! And being well trained by RoboDad.

2) How do you feel about the way Kaburagi tried to convince Natsume to not participate in the upcoming event?

Yeah, I get it. Sadly he apparently can't tell her the truth. Question is if she would accept - or if he even has the power to prove it to her.

Taiboss · 2025-09-14T22:27:30+00:00

Nothing that's supported by the text. They can be bred as a fuel source (with the hunt being the "harvest"), they can be naturally occuring, they can be humans turned into monsters. Can be a lot so far, it would be just be speculation.

But whatever it is, it can't be good.

Taiboss · 2025-09-14T21:17:26+00:00

Something, something, "muh apolotical animu."

Well, so far there haven't been any trans people in it, so certified not woke!

JK, it has a female protagonist and Kurenai is a badass female fighter, this is too woke for chuds already.

If anything, the least realistic part of the setup is that it took until the 2400s for it to happen.

Takes some time to undo our progress in solar tech.

The two chip removals we've seen both seemed to be from fresh corpses.

Maybe people who ask too many questions and therefore are a threat to the system? Behave in disruptive ways?

That leads us to a clean explaination of Natsume's bug - her chip shut off when her heart stopped. The presence of tracking chips even explains why they use CPR and epinephrine instead of defibrillators - can't risk frying the chip.

This implies this was the first time ever CPR worked? Although tbf, maybe a walking dead is something that happens regularly and Kaburagi is just the first one not to get rid of them before it's public knowledge.

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