Spring Anime Flowers Bloom: Season Preview, Part One - Animation #20
It’s time for another anime preview episode! As we are now in the season of Spring, it’s time for yet another bunch of anime to come out of the universal vortex and let their flowers bloom, as it were. Yes, that metaphor was forced. Let’s move on. Cam and Mike are joined by extra-special guest hosts Teresa and Haley as they embark on a 15-show preview journey! Let’s get it started!
Let us begin with the genre they call… SPORTS!
Battle Athletes Victory Restart (Funimation) (readily available) 💮💮💮
Mike’s thoughts: So I just learned that this is apparently a reboot of a late 90’s anime, which I may one day check out if I’m able to find it. But other than that, I had absolutely zero expectations, and I still don’t really know how to process what I just watched. It kinda feels like a madlib, with so many different misplaced elements, that it’s hard to really care about the competition the series is built around. Might pick this back up once the simuldub is complete, but for now, it’s hard to recommend.
Burning Kabaddi (Crunchyroll) (readily available) 💮💮💮
Mike’s thoughts: Kabaddi is a sport I’m very unfamiliar with, so on the one hand this series did introduce me to something new. And unlike Battle Athletes, the story here is far more straightforward, but if you’re not really into sports anime than this has nothing else to offer. The character designs are pretty good, but it’s pretty obvious that’s where most of the budget went, as the animation itself often looks cheap as hell. That being said, I kinda want to see where this is going, mostly because of the main character’s arc.
Farewell, My Dear Cramer! (Crunchyroll) (readily available)💮💮💮
Mike’s thoughts: I’d have an easier time getting into this series, if it wasn’t for the distractingly awful facial designs and other janky animation errors. On paper, there’s nothing wrong with the story. In fact, I kind of respect the main characters for how much passion they have for the sport. It’s really just the janky animation that’s holding this one back.
Bakuten! aka Backflip! (Crunchyroll) (readily available) 💮💮💮
Mike’s thoughts: Okay, this one is really good! I still contend that sports anime are kind of a hard sell, and never in a million years did I think I’d be this invested in a show about Rhythmic Gymnastics, but Backflip! has won me over! The animation is gorgeous, the characters are various degrees of likeable, and it just has an overall chill vibe, at least for now.
Bring forth… the armor of the FANTASY/ISEKAI genre!
I’ve Been Killing Slimes for 300 Years & Maxed Out My Level (Crunchyroll) (readily available)💮💮💮Mike’s thoughts: So, remember how last season I detested the fantasy/isekai anime that I watched? So far, things are off to a GREAT start with I’ve Been Killing Slimes for 300 years, and Maxed Out My Level, and the reason for that is quite simple. We start with the perfect foundation: a protagonist whom a lot of millennials can relate to, and a power fantasy world organically built around her. Whether it was intentional or by accident, this series is kind of the perfect metaphor for that feeling of imposter syndrome that everyone goes through at some point in their life. This is one I’m definitely going to try to keep up with till the end of the season!
Full Dive (Funimation) (readily available)💮💮💮
Mike’s thoughts: Now THIS is the sort of Isekai trash I was expecting, but to be honest, my thoughts are a little more nuanced. On the one hand, the first episode kind of tricks you into getting invested in this virtual reality world, and the idea of a fully immersive game like Kiwame Quest is kind of fascinating. However, things take a turn for the first almost immediately, and the protagonist being kind of a pill was already a hurdle. Things get so fucked up in episodes 2 and 3, that I don’t WANT to continue watching. However, like a flaming car crash, I feel compelled to see this through anyway.
The Saint’s Magic Power is Omnipotent (Funimation) (readily available)💮💮💮
Mike’s thoughts: So far, the fantasy/isekai series have been having the opposite problem of sports, in that only one of them has been terrible, while the rest have been great! This series in particular is just a really sweet romance that just so happens to take place in a fantasy setting. One thing that these seasonal anime previews have taught me is just how much variety the medium is capable of, even within a single genre. And I cannot stress enough how much of a vast improvement this is over the last two seasons.
Dragon Goes House Hunting (Funimation) (readily available)💮💮💮
Mike’s thoughts: Look, anime doesn’t have to make sense, nor does it need to have a sprawling mythology. Sometimes a dragon just wants to find the perfect home away from the meanies who call themselves “heroes.” Seriously though, I’m all for comedies that subvert all expectations the way this series does, especially once you understand everything the main character can and can’t do. If you’re like me and you have a silly sense of humor, then you’ll enjoy this series just fine.
Here it is… the nebulous genre known as OTHER!
Blue Reflection Ray (Funimation) (readily available) 💮💮💮
Mike’s thoughts: I think this might be the worst anime of the season, because it kinda feels like it only exists for the sake of existing. Anime is more than just an aesthetic, but the “rules” for what makes a good anime are no different than what makes any series compelling: a reason to care! Sure, I suppose this series has something to do with emotions, but these first three episodes do a terrible job at laying down the foundation of this story. And the worst part of it all is a main protagonist who is a downright black hole of personality. Passive characters in fiction drive me up a wall, and while learning empathy may be crucial to her character arc, that doesn’t make it any easier to root for her. At least with the sports anime, they were so incompetently produced that you could find endless things to make fun of. But Blue Reflection Ray gave me NOTHING to work with!
Pretty Boy Detective Club (Funimation) (readily available)💮💮💮
Mike’s thoughts: One of my favorite anime genres that apparently doesn’t get enough recognition is mystery. I’m a sucker for a good detective story, but I’m also apparently a sucker for gorgeous animation! Pretty Boy Detective Club has all of that in spades, but what makes this series work unfortunately highlights the biggest weakness in the idol anime from last season: that each member of this motley crew has their own unique personality. Out of everything I’ve seen so far, this is one of those shows that I HAVE to keep watching beyond the first three episodes, for it seems that’s merely the beginning of the story.
Vivy: Fluorite Eye’s Song (Funimation) (readily available)💮💮💮💮💮
Mike’s thoughts: Well this might be the most unique anime I’ve seen so far this season, which puts a lyrical spin on the typical sci-fi time travel epic. Our main protagonist is Vivy, an artificial intelligence android with a “mission” to sing on the main stage of the amusement park at which she works. She later encounters another AI named Matsumoto, who was apparently sent from 100 years in the future to stop an all out war between humans and androids. Based on the title of the anime, I was not expecting it to be as violent as it was, but the story and world building are so compelling that I have to keep watching!
Odd Taxi (Crunchyroll) (readily available)💮💮💮
Mike’s thoughts: I know this is going to sound weird, but OddTaxi is arguably the best Netflix anime to not actually premier on Netflix. Seriously though, much in the same vein as Zootopia, Beastars or BNA, this is another story set in an anthropomorphic world that follows Odokawa, a middle aged taxi driver walrus with a melancholic attitude towards life. This anime is awesome, far more compelling and relatable than I ever could have expected. Even in just the first three episodes, this world feels lived in, and each character we meet has a fascinating backstory. This could very well be the breakout hit of the season!
And now… the SLICE OF LIFE genre!
Super Cub (Funimation) (readily available)💮💮💮
Mike’s thoughts: On the one hand, I can appreciate the animation and the low key vibe the series is trying to accomplish. I even like its deliberate use of color and lighting once Koguma gets on her bike for the first time. But two things that really stop me from loving this anime are the snail pace and a main character who, I’m sorry if this sounds harsh, is a dumb sad sack devoid of personality. Episodes 2 and 3 get marginally better once we’re introduced to Reiko, a friend and fellow Cub rider, but that first episode is a chore to get through.
Fairy Ranmaru (Crunchyroll) (readily available) (readily available)💮💮💮
Mike’s thoughts: The best way I can describe Fairy Ranmaru is “chaos horny.” The first episode lays down the law, or rather, the 10 laws, and as I understand it, each episode basically follows a “monster of the week” formula with one of the fairies rescinding a taboo that goes against each law. On paper, it sounds a little mundane, but this is anime, and as we’ve discussed many times, it doesn’t have to make sense. Visually, once it’s time to “save the heart” of the client, things get wild in the best way! That alone is a reason to recommend this series, but by episode 3, they seem to be opening up a larger story thread, and I’m curious to see where that’s headed.
Shadows House (Funimation) 💮💮💮
Mike’s thoughts: There have been plenty of aesthetically pleasing anime this season, but only one of them has the gothic sophistication of Shadows House. From the studio behind The Promised Neverland and Wonder Egg Priority, the series follows Emilico, a living doll whose job is essentially to serve and give her loyalty to her shadow mistress Kate. It’s a little bit of a slow burn, but there’s a great sense of mystery that starts to develop as the series progresses. The characters are all likeable enough that I want to see how the rest of this story unfolds.
And thus, the first portion of our journey through the Spring comes to an end. Stay tuned for part two, with 15 more shows incoming! Our thanks to Teresa and Haley for guest-hosting with us yet again, and thank you for listening! Let us know how we’re doing in the comments below, and stay safe, Renegades!
