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…
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Obskura And Then Some 