It’s that time of the year again when I count down the top ten anime of the spring season. Take note once again that these are anime that I watch, and have by now reached around six or seven episodes. Whether they remain high on my year-end list remains to be seen. But, that’s a story for another day. Here we go…
I’m Quitting Heroing
At number ten is “I’m Quitting Heroing’. This is a fantasy anime with an op character in Leo who defeats the forces of Demon Queen Echidna. Later, Leo decides to join the forces of Echidna to fight the humans that he once protected. It’s entertaining enough to be on my list though the storytelling pace is a bit slow. Still, there is a mystery behind Leo as to why he IS that powerful. That plus his sincerity to help Echidna, and her forces who are in fact not-so-bad keeps me interested. Moving on.
Kyoukai Senki
At number nine we have “Kyoukai Senki”. The only mecha anime on my list is cour two of the first season. Cour one came out last year, and this second cour is actually better than the first. There are parallels to Code Geass here, but that’s to be expected with Sunrise (the animator of Code Geass). The mecha also looks a little Gundam-like. Regardless, the story brings to the table something new to the mecha genre, and that is the existence of AIs that help pilot the robots here. The icons for these AI are cutesy to mask just how deadly they are in battle. This is the second best mecha anime of the year so far. So, if mecha is your genre, give this a shot.
The Rising of the Shield Hero
At number eight we have “The Rising of the Shield Hero”. I’ll be honest. I was expecting this to be higher on my list with the return of Naofumi after three years. However, the storytelling has slowed down, and the animation from Kinema Citrus is not as up-to-par as the first season. Makes me wonder if they are saving all that energy (and animation) for “Made in Abyss” which is coming this summer. People say that it follows the story in the written material. That shouldn’t be an excuse for this anime to be in my lower ten for the season. Good enough to be on my list. Sad that it’s not any higher.
Skeleton Knight in Another World
At number seven we have “Skeleton Knight in Another World”. This is the better of the the two fantasy isekai on my list, and it is entertaining as Arc. The animation tapered off from the first episode, but the entertainment value did not. If it had maintained it’s animation, it would be higher on my list. Arc is an op Paladin-like character who got transported in a fantasy world in a skeleton body. It’s the reason why he keeps that armor on. Arc is overpowered because he is a paladin with mage/sorcery skills. I mean, come on guys, when you give a paladin (in D&D) access to teleportatin spells ASIDE from cleric healing spells…THAT IS YOUR DEFINITION OF OVERPOWERED. However, this is part of what makes this anime so entertaining. Ponta is a cute spirit creature too so that helps.
Love After World Domination
At number six we have “Love After World Domination”. This reminds me of another Super Sentai parody that came about last year with a different approach. The intro song reminds me of “Miss Kuroitsu and the Monster Development Department”, and rightfully so because it’s upbeat and funny. Unlike “Miss Kuroitsu”, here we have Red Gelato aka Fudou who falls in love with Desumi, the Reaper Princess. Both characters are on opposite sides in the Super Sentai war of good vs. evil. As a result, they hide their romance from their co-workers which leads to all sorts of hilarious situations. Poor Desumi. If only she came out in a different anime year she would have a chance for best girl of the year. That’s almost impossible considering the current competition. More on that some other time.
Summertime Render
Starting our top five is “Summertime Render”. One of two OLM studios entries on my top ten list (more on that later), this follows the reincarnation trope that has become popular in anime. Reminds me a lot of “Re:Zero“, but a lot drearier, and “Summertime Render” is set in modern times. Unlike Subaru, Shinpei Ajiro has a limited number of reincarnations so he is forced to make his decisions with a little more sense of urgency. I mean, if he doesn’t then the world gets engulfed by these mysterious shadow creatures. Talk about pressure. This spring anime has beautiful visuals to accompany its mystery thriller story. Watch it to find out what the mystery is all about.
Legend of the Galactic Heroes
At number four is “Legend of the Galactic Heroes”. I really hate it when Production IG scheduled this anime. They put it near the end of the winter season, and thus this is one of the first anime ending in the spring. It has done this before in “Fena: Pirate Princess“. Having said that, this is one fine space opera that follows in the footsteps of its origninal run. There are lots of intrigue, dogfights, misidrections, and on top of all that beautiful visuals that Production IG has worked on so well. No mecha here, guys. Just ships, and power suits. You don’t get a lot of great space opera anime around nowadays, and this should be one of those you should be watching.
Komi Can’t Communicate
At number three we have “Komi Can’t Communicate”. The second entry from OLM studios on my list is a slice of life anime that is better than its first season. Why do I say that? Because, Komi is actually putting some effort in communicating here. It was so frustrating during the first season seeing her get into situations where she just shuts down. In the second season, she has shown how much she has grown, and how willing she is to overcome her communication difficulty. Communication disorder is a real problem, guys. “Komi Can’t Communicate” shows us how it can be overcome with a certain degree of effort, and help from the people around us.
Ya Boy Kongming!
At number two is “Ya Boy Kongming!”. I love this anime from P. A. Works. This blindsided me, and since I starting watching, it didn’t disappoint. Combining tropes from both isekai, and idol anime, “Ya Boy Kongming!” just has such a beautiful message to it. Through Kongming, we see that this is an anime about believing in yourself, and what you can do. In the case of Eiko, the other main protagonist, she is the one who is holding her musical dreams down, and Kongming is helping her realize just how special she is. And, how many times have you NOT succeeded because YOU are the biggest obstacle to your own success? I think many people can relate to this. Heck, other characters in this anime can relate to this. The animation matches the mood while the memorable soundtrack is so good that it’s making waves around social media. I am loving the message of “Ya Boy Kongming!”, and I’m not alone in loving this spring anime hit. Still, that is not enough to make it to my number one spot.
Spy x Family
At the number one spot on my list is “Spy x Family”. This is one of those anime that a lot of people had high expectations for including me. This anime has a beautiful, and well-loved manga that carries the burden of doing good in its anime adaptation or else. In that regard, Cloverworkds, and Wit Studio have shown us how two juggernaut studios can come up with arguably the best anime of the year (Yes I’m saying that now!). Did they crumble under the pressure? No. Did the anime look like it was made by two separate studios? No. Did they do justice to the “Spy x Family” manga? That is a big YES. Think about it guys. These are the studios that came up with “Ousama Ranking”, AND “My Dress-up Darling”. Think of Bojji (Anya), and Marin (Yor) in the same anime. Then you have the dashing, and suave Loid to hold it all together. It’s unfair actually if you look at it. Though, with two high profile anime studios, you’d think that there would be a lot of egos flying around to ruin the material. That is not the case here. The transition from one studio’s production to another is so flawless that you can’t even tell which anime is responsible for each episode. “Spy x Family” was a concerted effort, and it shows.
Add to that the message of the anime itself, and I’m not forgetting about that. “Spy x Family” focuses on family. Family does not just mean blood relations. Family will help you out in times of trouble. Family will be there in your ups, and downs. Put that theme on family with the entertaining story, and gorgeous animation; and you have “Spy x Family” as my number one anime of the spring season.
I apologize in advance that this will be a long post. When I reviewed this year’s best summer anime, I did mention that it appeared like it was the calm before the storm of the avalanche of beautiful fall anime to come. I was right, and I love it when I’m right. In which case, it would be unfair for me to come up with a reduced top ten list. Instead, I’m putting ALL OF THEM here in this article. So brace yourselves. This will be a long, but entertaining read. I’ll start off with an anime that fell between the cracks of the summer and fall seasons.
‘Fena: Pirate Princess’ is part of this review, but not part of my fall list of anime to watch. Why is that? Well, when I review anime for each season, I give it around six episodes to determine my rankings so I have a decent sample size. Fena, came much later than my normal review time, AND ended before I got to the six episode mark of the fall season. Weird as it may seem, this put the series in purgatory. Still, this anime deserves mentioning because of its gorgeous animation by Production IG, and its historical revisionism. Granted, Fena is more princess than pirate, and is oftentimes annoying, but she is the driving force of the story. Plus, this series has one of the best ending songs for the year. So, ‘Fena: Pirate Princess’ is my FIRST interim season anime.
Now that I’ve given Fena the mileage that she deserves, I’ll proceed to the actual list of fall anime. This all starts with…
….’Muv-Luv Alternative’ at number sixteen. The first of four mecha anime on my list, this is a combination of Gundam and Evangelion clone. The character designs are reminiscent of Eva, while the mecha designs are like those on Gundam. Nevertheless, this is a pretty good mecha anime to watch. It appears that this year has been a resurgance of mecha anime, and this is one anime that I gave a chance to view. It didn’d disappoint so it makes my list. There are a lot of great mecha fight scenes here. The plot can be a little bit confusing with so many references to an alternate world that is(was?). Though the science of this fiction is intriguing enough for me to stick around.
At number fifteen, we have ‘Kyoukai Senki’. My second mecha anime on this list reminds me a lot of Code Geass. Made by Sunrise Beyond (also a part of Sunrise), the story is about Amou Shiiba who joins a resistance force using his mecha (AMAIN) to free the Japanese people from the oppression of the various blocs that rule over it. Yes, it just reeks of Code Geass…which was also made by Sunrise (Hmm…). Just like ‘Muv-Luv Alternative’ this is a pretty good mecha anime even though it has some generic mecha tropes in its storyline. So why don’t you join the resistance (sorry, couldn’t help it), and see how Amou Shiiba takes this story further.
At number fourteen, we have ‘Yashahime: Princess Half-Demon’. This is the second act of the series continuing from last year’s first season. I’m a huge Inuyasha fan, and I’m very happy that the fantasy baton has been passed on to these three ladies of the next generation. Mind you that this was isekai before isekai even became popular. The Inuyasha franchise was one of those anime that paved the way for the juggernaut that is the isekai trope. The story takes off directly after the events of the first season, and it doesn’t slow down with the action. The story and animation is good enough to make my list of regular series to watch as well.
At number thirteen, we have ‘Aquatope of White Sand’. Slice of life anime isn’t really my thing yet this current list has three of them, and this is the first amongh them. This anime is a carry-over from the summer season because it has twenty-four episodes. It’s very rare nowadays to find seasons of twenty-four episodes with majority of anime going the twelve episode route. Aquatope continues its gorgeous animation by P.A Works while showing the growing pains of our cast of mainly adolescent characters led by Kukuru and Fuuka. There’s a lot to love about the relationship building in this anime which is the reason why it’s on my list.
At number twelve, we have ‘Moon, Laika, and the Bloodsucking Princess’. The premiss of this anime is outlandish. The Republic of Zimitra (reminiscent of the former USSR) wants to beat its rival, the United Kingdom, in the space race. To accomplish that, they are sending out Irina, a vampire, as a test subject cosmonaut to space before they send out an actual human to see how their tech will work out for humans. Training Irina is an out-of-favor human named Lev Leps who himself dreams of heading to space. Vampires in space, right? What a formula. It works here, and the budding romantic relationship between Lev and Irina grounds the spacey (hihi) premise. The series tackles the negative effects of racism as well which adds to why this anime is worth watching.
At number eleven, we have ‘The Faraway Paladin’. Isekai in form, but mainly a fantasy series, this series is all about the development of William G. Maryblood. He is raised by three undead characters namely Gus, Mary and Blood (which form part of his name). Not much is mentioned early on with the origins of his former life, and the focus is more on his training by his three undead teachers into becoming, well, the faraway paladin.
William or Will has all the tools to become a powerful paladin, and it’s actually a bit unfair how his character is set up for success. I mean, his undead family were powerful characters when alive so he gets to inherit their knowledge and skills. That’s a bit biased from a character genration standpoint if you ask me. Still, the animation is beautiful, and I’m sucker for a well-presented fantasy story.
Finally we have reached our top ten with ‘Platinum End’ at number ten. This anime is bloody, violent, and definitely not for children. I don’t think that’ll stop kids from watching it. Thirteen god candidates are chosen by angels to be the next god. Of these thirteen candidates, Mirai Kakehashi is our main character chosen by his angel, Nasse. The god candidates are given special powers to prove they are deserving to be the one true God. However, these cnadidates are chosen from people who want to end their lives. Did I mention that this anime shouldn’t be watched by children?
More disturbing is that the angels find all the god candidates in Japan because, according to the anime, Japan has the highest suicide rate. The anime reminds me a bit of Death Note. In spite of its disturbing themes, the anime’s cerebral approach keeps you on edge well enough to keep you going.
At number nine, we have ‘Sakugan’. This is the second to the last mecha anime on my list, and THE father-daughter anime of the season for me.The Labyrinth is a expansive space found underground which father, Gagumber, and daughter, Memempu, want to explore. Big Tony is the mecha they pilot together to explore the Labyrinth. The banter of father and daughter is entertaining and quite hilarious. Memempu plays the genius daughter while Gagumber plays the protective semi-deadbeat father. Unlike ‘Platinum End’ which can be stressful to watch at times, ‘Sakugan’ is a fun ride, like a roller coaster.
At number eight, we have ‘Komi Can’t Communicate’. The second of the slice of life anime on this list, this anime is about Shouko Komi who has a communication disorder. In short, Komi has trouble talking to people. She literally freezes (hilariously) in the anime, and is more comfortable writing to people when she gets the nerve. Other than that, everyone in her school thinks that she is the perfect girl with her looks, skills, and intelligence.
Helping her with her communication problem, and her goal in reaching one hundred friends is Hitohito Tadano. Unlike Komi, Tadano is a nobody. This leads to a lot of knee-slapping situations that I laugh out loud sometimes. However, communication disorder is no joke, and is an actual learning difficulty.
Even though the series presents it in a funny manner, it doesn’t take the disability lightly. The anime can even serve as inspiration to those who do have the same disorder as Komi. Yes, it’s funny. But, the humor is used to highlight solutions to a very real social difficulty.
At number seven, we have ‘Blue Period’ which is the last of my slice fo life anime. This is an anime about visual arts. ‘Blue Period’ is a reference to Picasso’s blue period n which he painted several monochromatic paintings consisting of different values of blue and blue-ish green. Main character Yatora Yaguchi wasn’t really interested in art at first. In fact, he was even making fun of it as he ddidn’t see it as a practical profession to pursue. He changed his mind, and is now passionately practicing his art to get into a college art school. I’m learning a lot from this anime about art that I didn’t know before.
This anime can be used to teach an actual art class. It has a lot of factual information about art. It also shows that, even if you have little talent, with enough passion and hard work, you can accomplish your goals. Any anime that tells you to pursue your dreams in the right way deserves to be on my watch list.
At number six, we have ‘Kimetsu No Yaiba: Mugen Train Arc’. If this were not a movie that came before, it would be higher on my list. This would probably be sacrilege to die-hard Demon Slayer fans that this is at number six. I’m a fan of this anime too, but that doesn’t mean I’ll be blinded by my love for it to affect its ranking. To be fair, I think this serial approach is better than the move that came out (more sacrilege). It has enough to make it this far in my top ten. The animation is spectacular, even the new material added to the story. You have excellent opening and ending songs. But, and there are probably a lot who don’t agree with me, it isn’t enough to break into my top five.
We begin my top five with ‘The World’s Finest Assassin Gets Reincarnated in Another World as an Aristocrat’. That title is a mouthful. I really hate long titles that have become the norm of some anime nowadays. That won’t stop me from appreciating this series. I was intrigued with this anime when it was solicited because it came from the same creator of a rather…brutal and sexual anime that I watched and dropped (which I won’t mention here). This anime promised to be something different. I jumped in with low expectations. Needless to say, I was blown away from the first episode of this isekai. Similar to ‘The Faraway Paladin’ the main character, Lugh remembers his last life as an assassin. He is offered by a goddess to live a new life in a world of sword and sorcery provided he kills the hero of that new world. After that, Lugh can do whatever he wants with his life.
So what does Lugh do before he is born? He provides his new human form with the abilities he needs to defeat the hero who has far more abilities than he has. I absolutely like the mind of this guy. I mean, he uses magic to create firearms in a world that has none. Read that again. FIREARMS. Lugh is a deliberate and calculating genius. He knows he can’t succeed in killing the hero alone so he surrounds himself with people who can aid him in his task as he grows up. It’s a bit contrived that all his assistants are female (and gorgeous to boot), but that just adds to the appeal of this anime. Think of this as a James Bond anime with magic instead. Oh, and that backward spell-casting reminds me so much of Zatanna from DC Comics that I was grinning ear-to-ear when it was first used.
At number four, we have ‘Takt Op. Destiny’. This was one anime that I already knew was going into my fall anime viewing list. I even had it pegged as making number one on my list. You have the powerhouse studios of MAPPA and Madhouse tag-teaming to create this series. The character designs are drop-dead gorgeous. The animation flows beautifully from the characters to the background. And, the major theme involves using music as a weapon. That takes me back to Macross, and all of these elements hooked me, and kept me going.
With Takt as the conductor, and Cossette/Destiny as the musicart to rid the world of D2s who have more or less eradicated the use of music from the world, the music-powered combat skills of the musicarts are all that stand between humanity being decimated by the D2s.
Why isn’t ‘Tak Op. Destiny’ at the top of my list? Because it doesn’t have as great a story as the top three on my list starting with…
…At number three, we have ‘Ranking of Kings’. This anime is from Wit Studios, the same studio that came up with Vivy:Flourite Eye’s Song. You know, that anime that came out of nowhere to get to the top of my spring anime list. Since Vivy impressed me so much, I was looking forward to the next Wit Studios production that I could find which was this. I’ll be honest. I was in the middle of watching the first episode, and said to myself, ‘what the hell it this?!’ I was ready to drop this series at the first episode then BOOM. The first episode ended with me saying to myself, ‘WTF just happened?!’ So I watched the next episode. Then the next. And just like Vivy, though to a lesser degree, I was hooked on the story of the deaf and dumb Prince Bojji.
The story of Prince Bojji in his quest to become the greatest king in spite of his disability is truly inspriring to watch. It’s far better than the story of Komi since we are looiking at a child who has these physical disabilities with the additional burden of royal expectations on his young shoulders. Granted, the animation isn’t as good as many of the anime on this list though it sticks true to form to the visual feel of the manga. However, the storyline of ‘Ranking of Kings’ is just too intriguing to ignore, and everyone is beginning to realize just how beuatiful the message of this series actually is.
All these qualities of ‘Ranking of Kings’ make it truly a top-notch anime of not just the fall season, but also of the year. However, the two anime that rank higher than it on my list have great stories as well, but with better animation.
At number two, we have ’86’. This is the last mecha anime on my list, and I can’t say enough on how good this series is. The first season of this anime was number three on my spring anime of 2021.With all due respect to that excellent season one, season two is turning out to be better. For one, it’s more hopeful than the first season. Shin and company are still fighting. He’s still The Reaper. The difference is Shin and the rest of the surviving 86 are fighting for something more than survival. They’re fighting for humanity, and with insanely mad mecha combat skills.
Like season one, ’86’ highlights the presence of discrimination. These teenaged warriors of ’86’ are made of stern stuff. Even in their new environment, they are seen as monsters in the battlefield. The story shifts back and forth between Shin’s group and Lena who doesn’t know that Shin and company are still alive. Everybody can talk about the romance of their favorite couple in their anime, but the relationship of Lena and Shin blows all of those away. The build-up of these two protagonists finally meeting is something worthy of the anticipation. Of course, the threat of death is all around, and we’re not really sure who gets to live or die moving forward (no spoilers from the manga).
Excellent story. Excellent animation. Better than ‘Ranking of Kings’. Why is this still not number one? Well because…
…Mushoku Tensei: Jobless Reincarnation’ is at number one. Did you know that Studio Bind was a special studio created by both White Fox and Egg Firm to specifically make ‘Jobless Reincarnation’? White Fox as in Re:Zero. Egg Firm as in Sword Art Online. The two production companies wanted to have a team to focus on this isekai and it has paid A LOT of dividends.
Did you know that the opening music for each episode changes depending on the location of the story? When the location changes the background intro music changes as well. That’s a very nuanced detail to use consistently.
Did you know that the story of this anime is optimized by incorporating visual elements in the opening sequence which are unique for each episode? The result is there are more story elements put in each episode.
Did you know that this anime creates different languages for different races ASIDE from the regular language used which is Japanese? You are treated to a fictional lingustics feast when new races communicate differently.
To top it off, there is excellent character development, and in-depth world building to draw you into this enchanting world. Rudeus is lucky to be reincarnated in such a beautiful magical world. He’s given a second chance at life, and he is making good use of it. However, his troubles are only beginning as he know begins on a new quest to find his loved ones.
What makes this better than ’86’? Aside from what I’ve already pointed out, a great fantasy story trumps a great science fiction story in my book. All hail Rudeus Greyrat!!!
Do you agree with my choices? Disagree? Let me know in the comments.
Obskura And Then Some 