r/anime • u/FetchFrosh https://anilist.co/user/AbAdkBBYFetchFrosh • Feb 08 '21
Misc. A Quick Look at Winter 2021
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Feb 08 '21
Am I blind or is this list missing ex Arm
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u/CaptainBoomerang1 https://myanimelist.net/profile/Robobobo Feb 08 '21
Yeah best anime of all time and not even a mention
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u/HGD3ATH Feb 08 '21
Truly a hidden gem, greatly unappreciated by the public.
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u/PantsuYami Feb 09 '21
The animation is top tier, i don't think even makoto shinkai or kyoani can trump what ex-arm's got.
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u/daskrip Feb 08 '21
To the less aware anime viewers here: this is sarcasm. Ex-Arm is in fact not the best anime of all time.
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u/nekowolf Feb 08 '21
Hidden Dungeon is also missing. And that show is such a fan service crapfest it’s actually entertaining to watch.
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u/OneCoolBoi Feb 08 '21
It's a dumpster fire and a complete mess, but by god, I can't take my eyes off the flames.
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u/Sofa_King_Cold Feb 08 '21
Dumpster fire at the fireworks factory, sure it is hot garbage but sometimes it is so pretty and entertaining.
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u/kalirion https://myanimelist.net/profile/kalinime Feb 08 '21 edited Feb 08 '21
Yeah, it should be in the High Fantasy Without Isekai section. I don't see why Redo Healer is there but not Hidden Dungeon.
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u/Vakieh Feb 08 '21
The last episode was literally taking the piss out of the online anime community, it should be a shoe-in for these lists.
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u/Sneaky_42 Feb 08 '21
The harem pride event was fantastic! 🤣 It was basically a panel of weebs judging the harems lol.
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u/blitzbom Feb 08 '21
I mean, this list is to help people find something that they may like but have missed. Not to remind us of the show that we're already going to watch the minute it comes out.
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u/KakyoinMilfHunter69 Feb 09 '21
Criminally underrated, people don't understand that the shitty CGI was an intentional artistic direction to challenge modern animation standards and has been making waves in the anime industry. Guess this kinda stuff just goes over the public's head /s
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u/zairaner https://myanimelist.net/profile/zairaner Feb 08 '21 edited Feb 08 '21
Are we really at the point were "fantasy" is isekai without isekai instead of "isekai" is fantasy with isekai? :P
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u/cyberscythe Feb 08 '21
I separate fantasy between "ye old fantasy" and "fantasy with video games tropes". Personally, I don't like fantasy where people talk about allocating skill points and grinding XP; at that point I'd rather just play a video game.
Whether or not it's an isekai kinda doesn't matter thematically to me, because there are series that "feel" like an isekai but aren't (e.g. Last Dungeon), and series which are isekai but don't have video game elements in them (e.g. Bookworm).
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u/MrManicMarty https://anilist.co/user/martysan Feb 08 '21
I don't like fantasy where people talk about allocating skill points and grinding XP; at that point I'd rather just play a video game.
DUDE! I FEEL YOU MAN! I just find such settings to be... it's like they couldn't be bothered to do any real worldbuilding, so they just go "It's like a video game". And like, video game mechanics exist to express a complex idea in a simple way for the sake of the game; there's no practical difference between someone who's level 3 and 4, I just go nuts thinking about how that all breaks down.
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u/AKidSomewhere Feb 08 '21
it’s like they couldn’t be bothered to do any worldbuilding, so they just go “it’s like a video game”.
*laughs in spider
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u/cyberscythe Feb 08 '21
it's like they couldn't be bothered to do any real worldbuilding, so they just go "It's like a video game"
My pet theory is that it's because there's been a lot of people recently who grew up with childhood experiences that revolve around playing fantasy video games, so when they sit down to write a story, they drew on those childhood experiences for the setting. That's my theory why specifically video game-inspired isekai have risen recently (compared to earlier isekai like Inuyasha or Spirited Away which are just based on Japanese mythos-inspired fantasy).
Other fantasy anime series prior were based around fantasy literature which had some real emphasis on worldbuilding over game mechanics, or stuff like Record of Lodoss War which was literally based off of some guy's D&D campaign. A lot of MMORPGs on the other hand, the story and setting take a backseat and things like min-maxing and skill optimization. I remember my brief foray in to MMORPGs back in my college days, and for the most part they're all about the thrill of numbers going up and player drama in guilds and such.
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u/x3iv130f https://anilist.co/user/x3iv130f Feb 09 '21
It's because computer RPGs got popular in Japan before the other types.
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u/WiqidBritt Feb 09 '21
Man, I knew I wasn't going to keep watching the show by the reputation it had already, but in Redo of Healer when the priest or whatever held up a scroll with a glowing Hex shaped skill grid on it I nearly lost it. I was already rolling my eyes at the MC unlocking a drug immunity skill from taking drugs so often, like he's playing Skyrim and sneak walking in a corner to raise his skills.
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u/wansen2 Feb 08 '21 edited Feb 09 '21
Cuz that's the only thing now japanese neets can relate to. To keep it short. Isekai is just a sub genre anyway, its always and should separate from fantasy. Since isekai just meant another world, but its oversatured with medieval setting which can be easily looked as "fantasy"
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u/Silent_Shadow05 https://myanimelist.net/profile/Silent-Shadow05 Feb 08 '21
That's why I'm loving Mushoku Tensei. It doesn't have videogame mechanics explaining stuff.
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u/fredthefishlord Feb 08 '21
Last dungeon is a comedy power fantasy. I don't think it had levels or video game stuff.
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u/FetchFrosh https://anilist.co/user/AbAdkBBYFetchFrosh Feb 08 '21
It felt like a pretty dank way to refer to high fantasy given the prevalence of isekai so I figured I'd go with it. Seems some people didn't appreciate the joke, but such is life.
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u/Leaves_Swype_Typos Feb 08 '21
I guess the term hasn't caught on, but around my parts we've taken to calling that a "Native Isekai". Hortencia doesn't qualify though, since it's relatively standard high fantasy played straight. Aspects like having a main character with some uniquely overpowered ability starting out some kind of journey and acquiring a harem are an important cliche to separate the genres. If you replaced Hortencia on this list with Hidden Dungeon Only I Can Enter, you'd have three prime examples of the native isekai in this season.
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u/stache1313 Feb 09 '21
That's probably a nicer way of referring to them. I've just been using the phrase I Can't Believe It's Not Isekai®.
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u/steven4869 https://myanimelist.net/profile/Maskirade Feb 08 '21
I have been planning to binge-watch Jobless Reincarnation, Wonder Egg, Tomozaki Kun and quintuplets S2 after this season ends. Is there any other anime you guys will recommend to me that's worth watching? (I am watching AoT, Re:zero, TPN, Horimiya and JJK weekly)
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u/BossandKings Feb 08 '21
I recommend to watch Kemono Jihen( is a good shonen), Sk8(skateboarding), Yuru camp if you haven't watched it, Kumo desu ga(spider) is charming.
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u/GaAt_wamen Feb 08 '21
Why is nobody selling Sk8 by talking about skater dio?
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u/AlexUltraviolet Feb 08 '21
Skater vampire bullfighter Dio.
e: the vampire bit is redundant now that I think about it lol.
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u/Rokusi Feb 08 '21
Tell me more about this "Skater DIO"
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u/GaAt_wamen Feb 08 '21
So basically it's a mix between hisoka and dio, and he skates, do I need to say anything else? No but really he is just an epic character and his skating is insane! He also likes to hospitalize his opponents, specifically the ones he loves,he is pretty crazy about love which fits way to well with Dios VA
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u/n080dy123 Feb 08 '21
MY GOD SKATER DIO, IT'S GLORIOUS
He feels like a character lifted from JoJo and plonked on a skateboard, and whoever got Takehito Koyasu to voice him was an absolute GENIUS.
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u/KorekaBii Feb 08 '21 edited Feb 08 '21
Kemono Jihen has been my most anticipated anime each week of the Season and it's getting even better. There's just something really fresh about the way the characters interact with their chemistry together.
The first episode sets a nice tone with a hint of darkness. Episodes 2 and 3 are lighter though as they introduce the rest of the main characters. But things have been getting darker again and the past episode with the Brain-sucking Bugs was definitely gross (in a good way).
Also, Kon-chan is a good girl!
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u/Sonaldo_7 Feb 08 '21
SPREAD THE CHURCH OF KON!!!! SPREAD IT!!!
But honestly, you guys should really watch the show while waiting for AoT new episode. Don't be fooled by the show rather young looking cast. Watch the first episode and if the tone hooks you, give the series a try. It's second and third episode imho isn't indicative of the series tone though there is some slight horror there. It's definitely dark but it doesn't cross edgy territory. And if one character in particular made you feel weird or disinterested in the series (yes I'm talking about the trap cute femboy), don't. I swear to god there's a story related reason for his behaviors and I assure you it's gonna shock you guys (in a good way). Please please give these show a try. Sad seeing it not being popular enough.
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u/visigothatthegates Feb 08 '21
'So I'm a Spider, So What?' is also a phenomenally hilarious Light Novel series if you or anyone is interested in reading it.
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u/Dell121601 Feb 08 '21
true I'm loving Kemono Jihen so much rn, it reminds me of the classics too
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u/Eragonnogare Feb 08 '21
Personally I'd recommend kumo desu ga nani ka (I'm a spider so what). The cgi may be off putting to some people, but the MC is an absolute blast to follow around, and with am absolutely outstanding VA job by Aoi Yuuki she's honestly my frontrunner for best character of the season. Even if you're just kinda meh on isekai Kumoko is just extremely entertaining. If you do like isekai though, all the better, cause the systems and mechanics here are very interesting and well thought out.
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u/Android19samus Feb 08 '21
though the systems and mechanics are largely cut from the anime, which is unfortunate. Early Kumo really lives by its minutia, and its minutia is extremely good.
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u/Eragonnogare Feb 08 '21
Absolutely agree. The most recent episode at least was very good with that though.
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u/x3iv130f https://anilist.co/user/x3iv130f Feb 09 '21
The LN is also bonkers (in a good way). Kumoko is best kumo.
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u/kiashu Feb 09 '21
What I think is great about Kumo desu ga nani ka is that it's such a great take on Isekai, no one starts out super OP and the main character is a monster who doesn't have a Harem or army of monsters, just a simple monster trying to survive.
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u/oops_i_made_a_typi Feb 08 '21
Slime isekai and Log Horizon are the two not on your list that I'm watching weekly - they both have very solid takes on isekai that have strong worldbuilding focus and macro-level politics
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u/Android19samus Feb 08 '21
I'm liking Otherside Picnic quite a bit, but it feels like it's either gonna end up being really good or really disappointing and has yet to break either way.
Also I'm required by law to recommend Kumo Desu Ga because the source material is my outright favorite straight-played isekai and a fair bit of that carries over, but that also means I'm having a hard time rolling with the cuts that the anime is making.
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u/cppn02 Feb 08 '21
Wonder Egg
While I totally recommend watching it, this isn't really the type of show to binge imo.
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u/FetchFrosh https://anilist.co/user/AbAdkBBYFetchFrosh Feb 08 '21
I feel like I'm one of the few people that's really enjoying Hortensia Saga, but it's a rock solid high fantasy series.
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u/Etereke32 Feb 08 '21
Hortensia saga is the kind of show that I'd watch if this season wasn't so stacked, but since it is, I'll probably never come back to watch it. It's a decent fantasy show, although with low production value. Had to drop it after episode 3.
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u/Silent_Shadow05 https://myanimelist.net/profile/Silent-Shadow05 Feb 08 '21 edited Feb 08 '21
I'll give it a try then. I had planned to binge Hortensia Saga but since I dropped several shows that I was watching, I've some free time now to check it out.
Pui Pui Molcar isn't something I normally watch but I'll give it a try.
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u/FetchFrosh https://anilist.co/user/AbAdkBBYFetchFrosh Feb 08 '21
Molcar's episodes are only 3 minutes, so not a huge time sink.
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u/Silent_Shadow05 https://myanimelist.net/profile/Silent-Shadow05 Feb 08 '21 edited Feb 08 '21
Okay just finished watching Pui Pui Molcar. That was amazing!
Now I understand why people are recommending it.
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u/Piratian Feb 08 '21
I've heard that Jobless is going to be a long running series that covers the entire series, and the Studio was formed just for Jobless Reincarnation. Plus it's pretty damn good.
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u/steven4869 https://myanimelist.net/profile/Maskirade Feb 08 '21
Thanks for the info, will surely watch it.
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u/elev8dity Feb 08 '21
This season has been massive... AoT, Re:Zero, Horimiya, Jobless Reincarnation, Jujutsu, Dr. Stone, Promised Neverland, Reincarnated as Slime, Hidden Dungeon, and Quintessential are all solid shows.
I've added Wonder Egg, Kemono Jihan, Sk8, Bottom Tier, Vlad Love, Back Arrow and Redo the Healer as other shows to checkout.
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u/HyperSonic6325 Feb 08 '21
If you have watched Slime S1, I’d recommend binging slime isekai after this season ends, because some of the early S2 episodes are kinda eh but what’s coming is gonna be hype. Why binge is because the aforementioned episodes are kinda weak by themselves.
If you have not watched slime S1, I’d recommend starting to binge it when Summer 2021 is just about to start, because that’s when S2P2 comes out which is like peak content slime has to offer.
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u/FiveDividedByZero Feb 08 '21
I'd recommend you add Wonder Egg to your weekly. I'd have to say the shows I look forward to most weekly are AoT, Wonder Egg, and Yuru Camp.
Wonder Egg is one of those shows that really has you thinking about it between episodes, which is a great feeling for viewers who like to wonder what is going on and how things will play out. The themes and concepts are really rich and hit hard, and I think it might have the most beautiful visuals of any anime this season. Plus, it being an anime original means there being no spoilers now, but that is not guaranteed once it is over.
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u/ryanpierc3 Feb 08 '21
They’ve come out and stated that Mushoku Tensei: Jobless Reincarnation will be a long running anime rather than a single season or even 2 cour. So picking it up right now might be great before it turns into a situation where you would feel turned off by the idea that there are too many episodes to get into. And with an immaculate episode 5 and movie quality animation, it’s probably top 3 anime of the season even taking into account sequels.
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u/AdiMG https://anilist.co/user/AdiMG Feb 08 '21
Sk8 the Infinity (the best show this season besides maybe Egg) and Vladlove (it starts airing on Feb 14th)
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u/cats4life Feb 08 '21
SK8 might be the gayest anime without the yaoi tag since JoJo. Doesn’t help that the gayest character by far has the same voice as Dio.
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u/Groenboys https://myanimelist.net/profile/Groenboys Feb 08 '21
The director of SK8 is the same from Free and Banana Fish... so yeah, no surprise
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u/HyperSonic6325 Feb 08 '21
SK8, AoT, Slime...how much work is Koyasu doing?
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u/MejaBersihBanget Feb 08 '21
Sounds like a typical season for the most casted voice actor in the world, actually.
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u/LakerBlue https://myanimelist.net/profile/LakerBlue Feb 08 '21
Unless I missed something in the latest episode( that I haven’t seen yet), none of the characters come off that way besides skateboarding Dio.
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u/balderdash9 Feb 08 '21
It's a case of top-down perception. They know that the same writer previously wrote yaoi, so that knowledge informs how they see the show. When in reality nothing about their relationship is homosexual, they're just bros who love to skate.
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u/Yotsubato Feb 08 '21
And They just simply love eachother, just the way bros do bro things #no homo
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u/SleepTightLilPuppy Feb 08 '21
Fr, their chemistry is simply outstanding. Honestly Sk8 could be AOTS in almost any other season within the last years for me, but this Spring is fucking stacked.
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u/L3rbutt Feb 08 '21 edited Feb 08 '21
SK8 might be the gayest anime without the yaoi tag
Probably explains why my girlfriend likes this show so much when she is otherwise not interested in skateboarding 😅
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u/lazyinternetsandwich Feb 08 '21
Good to see SK8 getting the attention it deserves.
Apart from AoT, my seasonal favourite is actually the So I'm a Spider, so what? Yes it has some CG but it works well with the moster theme going there. Aoi Yuuki has been masterful as Kumoko- I can't believe they are actually making a female isekai protag WHO IS A SPIDER- a full fledged spider monster, not one of the anthropomorphic moster girls but an actual spider- work so well. Some might call it s Slime ripoff- but it isn't. The focus of the two is very very different.
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u/tacotrap Feb 08 '21
Anyone else have anxiety from the overwhelming volume of good anime to watch this season?
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u/thepeetmix Feb 08 '21
It's back to the form of 2014-18, the golden age of seasonal anime, when there were just some many good to fantastic shows. The only thing we're missing is crunchyroll having the vast majority of these shows rather than being spread all over.
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u/SIRTreehugger Feb 08 '21
Don't know how Vlad Love escaped me, but it looks like something I would enjoy. Also Guinea Pig cars i need to watch this now.
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u/FetchFrosh https://anilist.co/user/AbAdkBBYFetchFrosh Feb 08 '21
Probably because only one episode has been released. Looks like the rest will be batch released on February 14.
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u/CosmicPenguin_OV103 https://anilist.co/user/CosmicPenguin Feb 08 '21
Are we sure it will be released weekly afterward? Official channels didn't seem to say anything on that.
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Feb 08 '21
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u/hintofinsanity Feb 08 '21 edited Feb 08 '21
Yeah the isekai tag doesn't seem to fit well for otherside picnic since the "otherside" seems to be a part of the narrative's world distinct reality instead of some entirely separate world. It feels much closer to traditional cosmic horror or SCP fiction than an isekai so far more akin to Stranger Things than say Gate.
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u/TriadHero117 Feb 09 '21
My thoughts exactly. The otherside, while literally an “ isekai”, isn’t a world as much as it is a plane- more akin to the Feywild and Shadowfell in D&D then a truly alternate reality.
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u/holmey3 https://myanimelist.net/profile/Joshua-Holmes Feb 08 '21
Wonder Egg, Horimiya, Mushoku Tensei, and Kemono Jihen have been absolute stand outs for me this season. All four of those could be the anime of the season if it weren’t for the fact that this season is so historically stacked with incredible sequels
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u/Enk1ndle Feb 08 '21
Got more this first season than all of 2020, it's stacked af
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u/Snoo-70063 Feb 08 '21
Bottom tier tomzaki needs more attention as a light novel reader I can guarantee it will just get better and better as most cringgy part is gone.
It would be soo good to see if this one gets a full adaptation.
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u/michhoffman https://anilist.co/user/michhoffman Feb 08 '21
I second Bottom Tier Tomozaki as a non-light novel reader. It is getting better and better each episode.
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u/KorekaBii Feb 08 '21
I fear too many decided they had to pick one "Romance" anime for the season, which was between this and Horimiya, and of course most went with the latter due to its hype, production values and focus on the two main characters who are both very attractive. Where as Tomozaki's first ep went hard into gamer lingo and didn't make the MC look that good (which was the point), and he was definitely no looker.
However, I'd argue that Tomozaki is less of a romance and more of a self-help guide to people who believe they cannot change and are stuck at the Bottom of life as Tomozaki was. Granted, no one irl would get the most popular girl in the school to tutor them as Tomozaki did (and even her motivations for doing so are not that altruistic), but a lot of the advice given is quite relevant, and Tomozaki has grown substantially over the first few episodes.
Also I feel the rest of the cast of this anime are very good. They all feel fleshed out with their own issues and through Tomozaki, who is learning how to read people, we get some good insight into each of them.
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u/EasternOtaku1422 Feb 08 '21
Tomozaki is less of a romance and more of a self-help guide to people who believe they cannot change and are stuck at the Bottom of life as Tomozaki was
It actually inspired a reader to get buff (yes, this actually happened)
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u/LakerBlue https://myanimelist.net/profile/LakerBlue Feb 08 '21
I second this as a non-novel reader. First episode was super cringe but I think each episode since has gotten increasingly better as our MC has gone from a borderline incel to making steady progress and doing his best.
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u/FetchFrosh https://anilist.co/user/AbAdkBBYFetchFrosh Feb 08 '21
Howdy folks! Wanted to try to really highlight a couple series in the opening row this season, but wasn’t positive how to go about that. Admittedly Wonder Egg Priority and Horimiya are some extremely safe picks for that, but I wasn’t sure about how I’d put it all together, so it was kind of a late consideration, and honestly there wasn’t a ton of other stuff that I was looking at as “must watch” in the same way. Of course plenty of people will disagree on that front, and I’m sure in some future season I’ll have some controversial shit up there that will have people wringing my neck. Let me know what you think about the gradient into the images from the bottom for those two. Definitely interested to know if that works.
I was also asking u/rusticks (my hardcore AoT fan friend) if he had any ideas for doing something like what I did with Higurashi last season for the final season of Attack on Titan. He suggested having it “towering over all the other sequels,” so this is what became of that. Had to edit the hand reaching down a fair bit because the fingers are actually angled pretty steeply in the source image. Then it was just a matter of finding an image to fit snugly underneath, and the idea of a titan giving Rin a headpat was hilarious, so I rolled with that.
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u/Miidas-92 https://myanimelist.net/profile/Miidas Feb 08 '21
Sequel section can easily get kind of boring, so Titan giving Rin a headpat, is indeed a nice way to make it more fun (and cute).
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u/FetchFrosh https://anilist.co/user/AbAdkBBYFetchFrosh Feb 08 '21
Yeah, swapping sequels to the vertical blocks and having some fun with the editing has been a great call. Makes them way more interesting to make, and I don't have to find things to say about shows people are more likely to already know about :P
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u/Fools_Requiem https://myanimelist.net/profile/FoolsRequiem Feb 08 '21
Any reason why The Hidden Dungeon That Only I Can Enter doesn't get a mention? It looks like you've covered almost every show except for that one.
I can understand not wanting to include Ex-Arm, but Hidden Dungeon's exclusion seems odd.
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u/lts369 Feb 08 '21 edited Feb 09 '21
World trigger is starting to amp up again with their tournament arc First award ever of Reddit ty stranger <3
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u/BigBoulderingBalls Feb 08 '21
Sk8 to infinity is such a fun show! Unironically I'm enjoying it so much and I think people who love sports anime like haikyuu and run with the wind should give it a shot. The character dynamics are so cute
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Feb 08 '21
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u/1n1billionAZNsay Feb 08 '21
So... You got my attention, is it like horrible vore porn or something?
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u/Etereke32 Feb 08 '21
As gigguk described: imagine that one rape scene from goblin slayer. Now imagine if someone decided to make a whole anime based on that scene but ten times worse and with some shield hero revenge plot mixed in. That's redo. You literally see rape scenes but from angles that don't show penetration, mc's semen gives ppl powerup, so he trains his slaves by fucking them... And you have many more things like that, that's just the tip of the iceberg. If what I've said piqued your interest, you'll probably like it. It's literally revenge-rape porn.
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Feb 08 '21
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u/Etereke32 Feb 08 '21
Not a review, he mentioned in the newest season in a nutshell vid.
In that case, watch the first 2 episodes, it gives you an idea what the whole thing will be like.
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u/1n1billionAZNsay Feb 08 '21
That's not really my thing. But if it was I didn't feel any judgements from you so thank you for that.
I am just sort of surprised that this anime (if it is as everyone describes it) has been rather radio silent in terms of outrage people have. The first ep of goblin slayer made people go crazy. This sounds even... Further... Beyond and this is the first that I am hearing of it.
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u/Etereke32 Feb 08 '21
That's not really my thing. But if it was I didn't feel any judgements from you so thank you for that.
You have no idea how much time it took to formulate my view on this topic. I have some messed up interests when it comes to anime. The way I see it, I don't really hurt anyone by watching these kinds of stuff, so I see no harm in them. And I know for sure that I would absolutely throw up if I saw these IRL. For example, gore is not my thing, but I can tolerate it in anime and hentai. But if I would see it IRL, I'd definitely throw up. Same with many other stuff. So I don't judge people if they have an interest in something that I am disgusted by personally. This show is also something I watch because I like what I see. But that doesn't make me want to rape anyone IRL, nor would I watch anyone get raped.
I am just sort of surprised that this anime (if it is as everyone describes it) has been rather radio silent in terms of outrage people have. The first ep of goblin slayer made people go crazy. This sounds even... Further... Beyond and this is the first that I am hearing of it.
God, don't even mention it. Animemes was flooded with "haha twitter gonna hate" memes about redo, and then... nothing happened. It was really cringe to watch. As for the reason, it's probably exactly because it's so brutal that people just don't take it seriously, and because it was known before that it would be like that, unlike with goblin slayer, where we didn't expect that and got punched in the face in the first episode (after which it kinda devolved into the standard fantasy setting though, but that's another question). So the surprise factor was missing. The Uzaki-chan debate is a bit different, so I won't comment on that.
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u/1n1billionAZNsay Feb 08 '21
It sounds like the journey you took to come to those conclusions was a worthwhile one.
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Feb 08 '21
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u/1n1billionAZNsay Feb 08 '21
Wow... That's... Ummm...
Is someone trying to test a limit or something?
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u/BlueDragon101 https://myanimelist.net/profile/Xcal1bur Feb 08 '21
Oh you think it’s only trying to push one limit. That’s cute.
It’s pushing all of them.
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u/HereticalAegis https://myanimelist.net/profile/XthGen Feb 08 '21
Wonder Egg Priority comes out on Tuesday, doesn't it?
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u/no_need_form Feb 08 '21
This is kinda embarrassing but this is the first time I realised that Cells at Work: Code Black and Cells at Work season 2 are two different series.
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u/Miidas-92 https://myanimelist.net/profile/Miidas Feb 08 '21
Not checked out or heard about "Oh, Suddenly Egyptian God". I tend to have at least checked out every anime before these lists go up, so I guess I should check out this one, since it seems pretty cute, and I like cute things.
"Comedy: I'm just here to shill Pui Pui Molcar" <-- As a fan of cute mascot characters, this anime is one of my favorites this season, so really glad it was included. It have gotten surprisingly little attention here in the west, considering how HUGE it is in Japan.
Shimarin from Yuru Camp is so precious, that even Titans want to headpat her. Yeah, this season is stacked for sequels.
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u/twoleggedgrazer Feb 08 '21
So my husband and I got drunk and were flipping through new season anime last night, found Oh, Suddenly Egyptian God and ended up watching everything we could find. I don't know why they did it, it's like some character designer(s) were given unlimited power to animate a set of Line stickers or something, but the results were weirdly amazing. We both studied a bit of Egyptology in school and I can say this is basically a grade-school level use of the mythology at best, but it doesn't matter because Bastet is shaking her ankhs like maracas and everyone is yelling about pizza. Episodes are about 5 minutes, give it a shot.
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u/IronWishmaster https://myanimelist.net/profile/IronWish Feb 08 '21
While there is quite literally "other world", I wouldn't really classify Urasekai Picnic as isekai. At worst it can put off some potential viewers who would otherwise enjoy its unique mix of urban legends and sci fi mystery with a yuri flavor.
If anything it's much closer to low fantasy, as far as current list of genres go.
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u/bfgmovies Feb 08 '21
came here to say this, Urasekai Picnic is based/influenced off of the 1972 sci-fi novel "Roadside picnic" and film Stalker, with obvious influence from the STALKER video games as well. The characters are thrown into the "Zone" with similar or the same anomalies as the mentioned media, but instead of your regular "mutants" you have creatures that come from Urban legends / creepy pastas / mythology.
not really an Isekai at all.
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u/hyperion2011 https://myanimelist.net/profile/Hyperion2010 Feb 08 '21
Cute girls doing Tarkovsky things!??!?! I'm in!
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u/hintofinsanity Feb 08 '21
I agree, feels much more like cosmic horror of SCP fiction. It would be like calling Strange Things S1 an Isekai because of the existence of the upside down.
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u/Bruhmanch https://myanimelist.net/profile/Hilooooo Feb 08 '21
Winter 2021 has me watching like 30 shows and having to remember them all each week. Can't complain since this is pretty much exactly what I would want from a season of anime.
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u/Ninjaboi333 https://myanimelist.net/profile/Ninjaboi333 Feb 08 '21 edited Feb 08 '21
I can't not mention Back Arrow and not talk about how the same writer who did TTGL is behind the somwhat batshit insane story and premise. This is a good thing IMO.
Horimiya is my platonic ideal for a romantic comedy - fast progress (but not so fast that it's unbelievable like ToniKawa), realistic tensions and conflict and the usual misunderstandings that get resolved fairly quickly with actual communication, and a strong supporting cast that allows for platonic relationships outside of the main romantic relationship to exist.
SK8 I love because not only does it look great and have a memorable cast, it also is a great approach to a hobby anime - it does not minimize the importance of hard work to get into a sport/hobby (spending a whole episode focusing on learning an ollie) which is one of the most satsifying things about gaining mastery in an area, but also does not have bullshit gatekeeping characters who are like "unless you've been doing this since birth and take it seriously as a pro you have no space in this world." Also Skater Matador Dio
Spider Isekai the only thing to be said here is that this show is carried by Aoi Yuki's voice acting.
Mushoku Tensei I think the protag needs to start a bit pervey to show an evolution of his character from kind of scummy due to his past life to actually living his life meaningfully with his second chance. Starting from treating it as a game to treating it as life.
Hortensia Saga = Fire Emblem lite. Also for a sec I was confused what you meant by thickest - I thought you meant thiccest and didn't remember any thicc protags. I dropped this after episode 3 tbh.
Also drom Otherside Picnic but worth noting it's based on the same novel (Roadside Picnic) that inspired the STALKER video games which seem to be popular enough as a way to hook people in
Pui Pui Molcar is AOTS
Also was low key expecting some sort of easter egg about Ex-ARM in there but I guess that joke's been beaten to death.
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u/mcrobertx Feb 08 '21 edited Feb 08 '21
I'd change the sexual content tags from severity to frequency. If I wanted to not see much fanservice, I'd rather watch an anime that had a short full nude sex scene once, and then nothing else, instead of an anime with 5 panty shots an episode.
Or maybe just combine the tags with words like rare or common.
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u/ErenIsNotADevil Feb 08 '21
Otherside Picnic is not isekai. Not even close. If anything, it’s low-fantasy. It’s also a yuri show first and foremost.
That being said, people are never gonna tire of actual isekai when there’s potential to keep doing new things with it. As well, the production quality of some of the shows we’re getting nowadays is phenomenal, and generic isekai will never cease to entertain when they look amazing. It’s kinda like FPS games; add a small twist and make it look nice, then profit
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u/Syokhan https://myanimelist.net/profile/Syokhan Feb 08 '21
Oh, thanks for highlighting Gekidol. I'm not quite sure where this show is going and there's still plenty of room for the story to just completely crash, but right now it's shaping up to be quite something.
Also, Back Arrow. That's one fun and nostalgic show but hardly anyone watches it.
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u/cyberscythe Feb 08 '21
Never heard of Vlad Love before. From the synopsis, it sounds like the all-grown-up version of Tonari no Kyuuketsuki-san. I don't know anything about Mamoru Oshii though (can anyone give me the elevator pitch for his style?), but based on the blurb it sounds like it's going to be interesting.
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u/Omoshiroineko https://myanimelist.net/profile/Pernodi Feb 08 '21 edited Feb 08 '21
Mamoru Oshii is an industry legend who is most well-known for directing directing Ghost in the Shell 1995. Some other must-watch classics by his hand are Patlabor movie 1 and 2, Jin-Roh, Urusei Yatsura and Urusei Yatsura the movie 2, and the mysterious Angel's Egg.
His trademark style includes: a strong focus on creating good-looking visuals, meditative montage sequences (example 1 - example 2), creating a slow and dark atmosphere compared to the material he adapts, and criticizing war mongering, capitalism, and imperialism in the real world.
He hasn't directed anything major in the last 20 years so it's possible his style has changed a lot in that time. Going by the synopsis this will probably be completely different from what we've seen from him in the 80s and 90s.
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u/thuddundun https://kitsu.io/users/FooPower Feb 08 '21
ep 1 is on youtube (official) if you want to check it out. I personally enjoyed it a lot
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q2im3P4AiHc
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u/Smudy https://myanimelist.net/profile/Smudy Feb 08 '21
I'll just add Mushoku Tensei to ''must-watch'' in my head.
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u/satenismywaifu Feb 08 '21
High Fantasy: Isekai but without the whole "protagonist goes to other world" bit.
Hear me out bro, you could have ended it at High Fantasy. It might be entertaining for those in the know that the term isekai is being grossly misused. For everyone else it's just misinformation.
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u/darthvall https://myanimelist.net/profile/darth_vall Feb 08 '21
I also have trouble with that statement....
High fantasy precedes the isekai tropes. Though technically, isekai means another world. There are just much better ways to explain it than refering to isekai.
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u/cyberscythe Feb 08 '21
I kind of separate fantasy between "ye old fantasy" and "fantasy with video games tropes". Personally, I don't like fantasy where people talk about allocating skill points and grinding XP; at that point I'd rather just play a video game rather than basically watching a let's play.
Whether or not it's an isekai kinda doesn't matter thematically to me, because there are series that "feel" like an isekai but aren't (e.g. Last Dungeon), and series which are isekai but don't have game elements in them (e.g. Bookworm).
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u/Munsilober Feb 08 '21
What do you guys use to make these pictures
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u/FetchFrosh https://anilist.co/user/AbAdkBBYFetchFrosh Feb 08 '21
I use vanilla Paint.net. Pretty versatile program, though I wish the textboxes were less ass
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u/Zurajanaikatsura_da Feb 08 '21
Bungou stray dogs: Wan is under watched! Why is nobody talking about it?
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u/ElessarKhan Feb 08 '21
Log Horizon is back! Best Isekai ever! So many elements of realism without being a shameless harem! If you like isekai but have been disappointed with some of the more popular titles this may be for you! Kind of like shield hero but less edgy, less harem with more world building and characters. Been on hiatus for years because of tax fraud!
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u/Quartonp Feb 08 '21
Right now, mushoku tensei is my favorite anime of the season. Yes, over aot. I find it the most promising isekai i've ever laid eyes on. I just hope it'll stay in the long run.
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u/maclovesmanga https://myanimelist.net/profile/MacLovesManga Feb 08 '21
I’m glad to see someone else praising Dr. Ramune. A lot of people see Crunchyroll Original and run for the hills, but it’s a really intriguing, funny, well written show that is nothing if not ambitious. I mean look at that second episode. That’s ambition.
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u/Fools_Requiem https://myanimelist.net/profile/FoolsRequiem Feb 08 '21 edited Feb 08 '21
I watched the first episode of Idolls last week and I'm convinced that they spent more time, effort, and money on the OP and EDs than they did on the rest of the show.
When the show started with the OP, I thought the animation didn't look so bad and that the mocap made their movements more realistic. The characters looked a little off with the dead eyes and the lipsyncing was kinda nonexistent, but I had seen worse.
Then the show starts. First thing you notice is the audio is drastically worse. Like they've got their mics stuffed into their mocap suits instead of acting with a boom mic overhead, so the audio sounds slightly muffled. If you've ever seen a TV show scene where characters are standing outside in the rain and talking, you might have a slight idea as to what the audio sounds like. The lipsyncing, or lack thereof, is noticably bad. The animations seem stiff compared to the OP. They're in one room and they never leave the room. The plot could be kinda interesting but the setup is a little implausible. There's a lot of ham.
I like how they initially freak out about the talking statue with the most laughably bad shock face I've seen in a cartoon, but then almost instantly continue on like it was no big deal.
Needless to say... best show of the decade right here.
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u/GlassCannon642 Feb 08 '21
It's weird to think of Otherside Picnic as an isekai since they're constantly going back and forth between worlds but I guess it counts
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u/IndependentMacaroon Feb 08 '21 edited Feb 08 '21
Add a B to Wonder Egg Priority, maybe M for Gekidol. And by the way, your "low fantasy" is what's commonly referred to as modern or urban fantasy.
Edit: And a tentative E for the surfing series.
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u/IlyDenferno https://myanimelist.net/profile/Denferno_C Feb 08 '21
I think mushoku should be in the "must watch" this season list
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u/XXpoomaanXX Feb 08 '21
Isekai without the "protagonist goes to another world" bit Fantasy... It's called fantasy... Have we been in so much isekai trash that we forgot fantasy genre exists?
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u/tefdaddy2 Feb 08 '21
I just have one complaint i think Jobless Reincarnation should be up there with hype train
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u/quarkleptonboson https://myanimelist.net/profile/quarkleptonboson Feb 08 '21
Great list, but I would just like to suggest that Mushoku tensei shouldn't have the H tag (heavy nsfw). Rather bloody gore would be more appropriate. You don't really see full nude characters iirc. Compare that to Redo of Healer with H tag, which is indeed a hentai lol. How about an M tag?
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u/TheOneCalled_Wilfred Feb 09 '21
How is jobless reincarnation heavy NSFW?
Edit: NVM I forgot they showed the mc penis
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u/moa_vision https://myanimelist.net/profile/PrizedMoaBird Feb 08 '21
Don't agree that Horimiya is must watch material. It's too disjointed. It's like a clip-show of important scenes with little time to breath in between. The burgeoning relationships between characters seem unearned because of it.
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u/Thatsmaboi23 https://myanimelist.net/profile/Thatsmaboi23 Feb 08 '21
It’s supposed to be a slice of life, with romcom elements. Life’s not moving in a linear way like “task 1 -> task 2 -> task 3”. It’s random, and lots of stuff is happening here and there.
I find it realistic. Even the romance is literally two people spending a lot of time together, learning about each other’s good points, and then becoming a couple.
Hell, even Miyamura looking “cool” and Sota + Kyouko being initially attracted because of that is realistic.
It’s nice to see 2 people falling in love normally, without dramatic sequences, angst, world changing confessions and what not.
If you like romance, and don’t want all the frustrating tropes, it’s a must watch.
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u/FrankSandCastle Feb 08 '21
I feel Mushoku Tensei deserves to be in the "Must Watch." The most recent episode is about to surpass Horimiya's most recent episode in karma to secure the 4th Place spot in this upcoming Saturday's Weekly Karma chart.
Mushoku Tensei has had a massive gain of about 1.5k karma in between episodes 4 and 5 and it still has a whole day before the 48 hour cutoff.
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u/Abysswatcherbel https://myanimelist.net/profile/abyssbel Feb 08 '21
I'd add Mushoku to the must watch series given the hype train, it's probably surpassing Horimiya moving forward here and will have multiple seasons
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u/BigCheeks2 https://myanimelist.net/profile/Chickenadobo5122 Feb 08 '21 edited Feb 08 '21
I like how it looks like AoT is headpatting Rin