2019 Winter Three-Episode Check-In
The weather outside may be frightful, but some of these winter anime are pretty darn delightful.
The weather outside may be frightful, but some of these winter anime are pretty darn delightful.
The fall shows have had some time to show their colors, so let’s see how they look a few weeks in!
The summer shows have had some time to stretch their wings, so let’s see how they’re shaping up!
It’s time to check up on the spring shows and see how they’re doing three(ish) weeks into their run!
We’re continuing the informal three-episode “check-in” roundtable that we started last season, this time with the long list of promising Winter 2018 titles.
We’ve decided to try a new, informal “check-in” roundtable to talk about the currently airing shows and our thoughts three episodes into the season.
If I had a nickel for every anime MAPPA made about a promising middle school athlete starting high school with amnesia, I’d have two nickels. That’s not a lot, but it’s weird that it’s happened twice.
It’s okay, but so far the leads’ chemistry isn’t terribly convincing.
Viral Hit is a show about frustrations with the medical system and exploitation when working online—something that’s sadly relatable across cultures.
Strap in, everyone, because we have a lot to unpack here.
There are plenty of stories that sound sketchy but come out on top thanks to thoughtful execution. But I’m not sure from this first episode whether it has the chops to sell its romance convincingly.
Despite leaning hard into the absurdity of its premise, Go! Go! Loser Ranger! feels like it has some earnest regard for the genre it’s parodying. Plus kick-ass action direction.
I would love to be able to recommend this show as a fantasy of domestic life for queer people, but it doesn’t even really function as that. Its portrait of queer domestic life has all of the depth of a Hallmark greeting card.
This coming-of-age drama is easily the stand-out of the season so far, barring a couple significant stumbles.
Toni leads Vrai and Peter on a watchalong through the first eight episodes of the late ‘00s collaboration between NIsioisin and Studio SHAFT that was as infamous as it was influential, Bakemongatari!
If this premiere wasn’t so sodden with fanservice I’d be inclined to call this charming and be intrigued for more, but as it is I’m left a little wary and weary.
Sakura Haruka already seems like a great addition to the “teen gangster with a heart of gold” squad.
The opening is impressively bad, and the rest of the episode has the gall to settle into mediocrity.
This is an anime-original project written by Yokote Michiko. With this one sentence, a non-insignificant number of you will be able to make up your minds about whether to check out this premiere.
Play a game with the gods and take a gamble on this just okay premiere about gods playing games and humans playing against gods that debuted with a day one dub in multiple languages.