Winter 2025 Overview

It’s sunny and the spring flowers are appearing – it must be the end of winter! And that also means the Winter Season is drawing to a close. We said farewell to Dragon Ball DAIMA (twenty episodes) at the beginning of March but some series, like Ameku M.D.: Doctor Detective are still lagging behind and won’t finish before the Spring Season gets underway, due to missed weeks for Various Reasons. Which series have been the top hits for our reviewers? Has Zenshu won us over as the weeks have gone by? We like to look on the bright side here and recommend the titles that excited and delighted us… but we might also mention some that didn’t live up to their initial promise. Which series have been your favourites? Do you agree with our choices? Let us know in the comments!

Darkstorm

Returning Champion

Please be aware that due to the production delays of the Season 2 finale, the thoughts below were written before the episode was released. 

I really loved Season 1, and was super excited for more episodes to see how Kiyoko and Miyo’s stories developed beyond what I’ve read in the manga. However, I’ve found My Happy Marriage Season 2 to be not as engaging as Season 1. I really enjoyed the opening three episodes, where we met Kiyoka’s family and see Miyo’s inner strength growing, post moving away from her abusive family. But after the opening three episodes, the issues with this season started to arise. For context, the first season covered only the first two light novels of the series (or the whole manga so far), however Season 2 covers FOUR light novels, so double the amount of content with the exact same amount of episodes as Season 1. So this season is full to the brim with plot, but little time to breathe. This is such a shame as the quieter moments and the development between Kiyoka and Miyo have been one of the series’ strong points. However, in Season 2, instead of being driven by internal factors, they’re pushed along by external threats. That in itself isn’t a bad thing, but when the plot is so rushed, and you have characters hastily moving from one plot twist to the next, it becomes tiring after a while. It also doesn’t help that the world building wasn’t very strong to begin with, so a lot of political issues between the royal family and the Gifted Communication aren’t really developed; there’s a clear class divide going on, with those without powers unable to see Grotesqueries, and yet those with powers are in the upper class of life. But we’re supposed to just accept that this is the correct way of the world, and no challenge to the status quo must be tolerated. I was hoping for some exploration into the regular people’s lives, and why the Gifted Communication is so powerful and with positive public reception, but none ever comes. The same goes for the arc where Miyo has a female bodyguard, Kaoruko, and the comments about women in the military; lip service is paid to the inequalities but very little depth is given to it. I’m going to assume/hope that the light novels give it far more detail and depth than the anime speed run, but I wish the series didn’t feel the need to rush through the amount of light novels that it did.

There are some elements I liked: Miyo developing relationships and friendships out of Kiyoka is instrumental to her personal and mental development, so the growth from meek girl to powerful dream sight user at the end of the season is a clear journey that’s well telegraphed and satisfying. I also quite liked the idea of the main villain of this season, Naoshi Usui, both his powers and past, but found it to be inconsistent. There’s an episode where they clearly state that his power has time limitations, but it never seems to come into play. Oh well!

Also the animation is still stellar, from the opening to the last frame, there’s little to no short cuts taken, and the show is clearly being taken care of by people who care about the source material, including the dub actors. 

My Happy Marriage is streaming on Netflix. 

Ian Wolf

Returning Champion

Having enjoyed the first series of Pokémon Horizons, I was hoping to get just as much joy from the second series, The Search for Laqua. I’m happy to say it has delivered.

When the preview went up, 11 episodes had been made available on BBC iPlayer. Since then, another 11 have gone online, meaning we now have half the 44-episode-long season. There’s plenty to delight in, with the main one I suspect for many being the addition of Larry, a character who became a surprise popular choice when he debuted in the games. One of the newer episodes sees him giving a test to Dot, which in turn leads to an important development for her. Regarding the rest of the series, arguably the biggest scenario concerns Amethio from the villainous Explorers, who in one episode is trapped in a cave with Liko. During the episode we learn more about him, which in turn leads to him becoming a more sympathetic character.

The BBC is certainly taking its commitment to the Pokémon franchise seriously, even if it doesn’t shout about from the rooftops. Something I’ve only just noticed when it came to writing this piece up is that the fact the iPlayer is now streaming the Pokémon Journeys series – i.e. the final series to feature Ash Ketchum. It means the BBC now has every Pokémon episode available since Generation IV. It something else to nostalgically indulge in.

Unexpected Diamond

The main series that attracted my interest when it was announced was Ameku M.D.: Doctor Detective. Since it has aired, the anime has had its ups and downs. For some critics, it has mainly been downs. I must confess that one of things that has interested me regarding the coverage of this show has been the episode reviews from Anime News Network. You get the feeling that reviewer Kennedy is hate-watching the series, due to a combination of plot, animation quality and several other factors.

Personally, I have been enjoying the series. Although I do admit that this series has not been without its faults, what with the obvious similarities to other programmes, there have been some positive highlights. Undoubtedly the peak of the series was Dr. Takao Ameku finally coming to terms with the fact that a young boy in her care is going to die, and if she cannot cure him then at least she can make things less painful. As I wrote in the preview, I doubted the show would be boring, and I feel vindicated.

This however could not be said about Babanba Banban Vampire. I have to admit that in the end the series did not work for me. While many people were already put off by the show premise and crude humour, in the end it just became rather dull for me, and ultimately I lost interest.

Pokémon Horizons is streaming on BBC iPlayer, with episodes being televised on CBBC. Ameku M.D.: Doctor Detective is streaming on Crunchyroll.

HWR

This anime season felt a bit more subdued than others, with a lot of the highlights being carryovers from the previous season, like Re:ZERO Season 3 and Rurouni Kenshin, but I did find a few new anime entries that stood out amongst a selection of more middling offerings.

Unexpected Diamonds (sort of)

When I heard that Sorairo Utility was getting an anime, I recalled its TV special from all the way back in 2021, which was pleasant enough, so when the full series was announced, I was curious to see what it had to offer, especially since Ooi!, Tonbo had fared well in recent seasons. Sorairo Utility tells the story of a Gatcha addict, Minami Aoba (Miyu Takagi), who ends up with a void in her life when her favourite game is shut down. Stumbling upon a golf range and people playing golf, she strives to find a home within this sport, despite being a complete novice.

A similar premise through-and-through, where Sorairo Utility stands out is more through its characters and their interactions. Novice Minami quickly becomes acquainted with Haruka Akane (Yurina Amami) a high-schooler who works at the driving range and has been playing golf since her youth, who acts as a mentor of sorts, helping Minami better understand golf and also practice her first-ever shot at the range. Though inexperienced, Minami shows enough promise for Haruka to gift her their old golf clubs, and introduce her to fellow golfer and model Ayaka Hoshimi (Gotou Ayasa), with whom a friendship is quickly forged.

This trio carry the series rather well, with the realities of golf, such as it being an expensive hobby being woven into the narrative when Ayaka helps Minami get a part-time modelling job after she realises how much Haruka’s old clubs cost. This also showcases the different reasons people get into the same hobby with the three leads each having their own motivations. As the series progresses and Minami moves into more extensive training, she makes for a likeable protagonist to root for. Although the introduction of a spoiled though talented brat in Hina Yoarashi (Maria Nananawa) challenging Minami to a golf tournament is a tad cliché, its showcase of Minami’s growth gives it some narrative weight. All in all, if this gets a second season I’d be all in, as even if it isn’t the most original or impressive of its genre it’s an enjoyable watch, and HIDIVE need more winners.

Another unexpected diamond (of sorts) from the season came in the form of Tasokare Hotel, an anime adaptation of the Japanese mobile game of the same name. This supernatural mystery story revolves arounds the titular hotel, which welcomes anyone stuck between life and death, wherein they, often oblivious to their current fate, must unravel their truths and regain memories of how they ended up near-death. The lead character here, Neko Tsukahara (Rika Momokawa), becomes the latest guest but opts to become a maid at the hotel, forming bonds with the long-standing staff like the flame-faced hotel manager (Kanehira Yamamoto), and also aiding new guests, all whilst gradually piecing together the pieces of her own truth.

Neko makes for a spunky and likeable character and VA Rika Momokawa provides a unique portrayal too. The mysteries on offer across the twelve episodes here aren’t all equal, but I’d say my favourites include guest Akari, who falls victim to a telemarketing scam – an ever-present crime regardless of country, and their descent into criminality despite having a young daughter, and the eventual reveal from the final episodes. I won’t spoil that here, but needless to say I was fairly satisfied as a viewer with how each arc was handled, even if some were indeed stronger than others. I find that mystery anime are perhaps rarer nowadays, so getting one of a more unique nature such as this incentivises a viewing, and when it pans out in a positive fashion as Tasokare Hotel does, it leaves me hoping for more of this and less repetitive isekai clutter.

Sorairo Utility (TV) is available to stream on HIDIVE, whilst Tasokare Hotel is streaming on Prime Video and YouTube.

Rui

I ended up enjoying this winter season a lot, in spite of all of the ever-increasing number of derivative filler titles which I had to wade through in order to find the quirkier material which better tickles my fancy. This shortlist doesn’t even mention Zenshu or Medalist, both of which I found great, nor the more average titles which I tuned in for each week but didn’t especially stick in my mind.

Hotly Anticipated

I wasn’t honestly expecting much from Ameku M.D.: Doctor Detective but as a medical ‘mystery of the week’ it felt as though it would be a safe watch. A shame then that between the chaotic schedule, plummeting animation quality and lacklustre storytelling, it was easily the weakest show on my shortlist. It’s hard to tell how many of its weaknesses come from the source material but I think that a more inspired adaptation could have done wonders for it; even the worst medical mystery has some basic entertainment value and the ingredients were all there. Unfortunately I usually worked out the twist of every episode within seconds of the initial information being presented, which wasn’t very fun, and the need to constantly escalate the drama behind the scenes made the plot increasingly ridiculous over time.

The scene-setting was also downright weird; there was no attempt to make any of the hospital staff actually seem busy or capable of doing their jobs other than the lead, which made everything feel weirdly indulgent and fake as trained doctors struggled with questions that even laypeople could answer – in order to make Doctor Ameku seem cleverer. Fans who really liked the female lead (and the script’s painful attempt at a layered portrayal of a neurodivergent woman in science, fatally hampered by the need to also make her a cute tsundere) might have been able to stay engaged but this could have been so much more than it was.

On the other end of the scale, Babanba Banban Vampire was surprisingly entertaining despite its horrendously problematic premise and wild tonal shifts. The goofy, horny physical humour (why is everyone always naked – or dressed like T.M.Revolution?) made me smile every time, as did the running gag of how oblivious everyone was, no matter how poorly Ranmaru hid his monstrous nature.

I also loved that the show was unexpectedly littered with fan service for Japanese history buffs; Ranmaru’s past repeatedly crops up in the present and a lot of the gags are (affectionately) making fun of tropes and legends about real historical figures. It’s the kind of referential, simplistic comedy setup that almost feels like a throwback to classic 90s anime and I’m always here for that!

While the extended cast of oddballs definitely had its charm, though, I think that the appeal of Babanba Banban Vampire lives or dies based on how much you like the lead character. I adored him; hapless, incompetent villains are always comedy gold. He has always lived alongside humans but the story makes it clear that Ranmaru still preys on humans and still – rightfully – considers himself a dangerous monster that others should fear. I love his feline haughtiness every time somebody underestimates him and the elaborate schemes that he comes up with in order to achieve his goals. It’s never going to be remembered as one of the greatest shows ever made, but Babanba Banban Vampire looks good and delivers exactly what it promised: it’s a crazy, farcical entry in a long line of vampire-themed sitcoms.

Returning Champion

This winter also brought us the second season of The 100 Girlfriends Who Really, Really, Really, Really, REALLY Love You, the cheeky romantic comedy about a youngster juggling more girlfriends than there are characters in a lot of other shows. The genre has hit some lows over the years but 100 Girlfriends is a refreshing exception; the love that the characters have for one another fuels the ongoing plot twists instead of impeding them, giving viewers a rare opportunity to explore what happens after a confession (while still introducing new girlfriends regularly enough that there’s always something going on).

Rentarou’s ‘family’ of lovers has been steadily growing over the course of the series (he’s up to eleven!) and while they’re definitely leaning on familiar tropes (the shy one, the vain one etc.) the joy is in how each of the girls interacts with Rentarou – and indeed, with one another. The series stands head and shoulders above most of its peers; it makes perfect sense that everyone loves Rentarou for his earnest, affectionate personality, and each girl is treated like as much a person as the lead, each with their own hopes and dreams (as well as their own deranged flaws) to add to the mix. And of course the comedic potential expands with each new addition to the cast, because each new set of tropes brings a whole host of genuinely funny, referential gags along with it. The first season of 100 Girlfriends was great and this follow-up cements it as one of the best in its genre. I still can’t imagine them actually getting to a hundred girlfriends but I’ll keep watching so long as the quality stays this high!

It would also be remiss of me not to express my joy that the second season of The Apothecary Diaries has been just as strong as the first, layering ongoing court intrigue over mostly-episodic mysteries, with a charming slow-burn romance vaguely drifting along underneath it all. Maomao is a delightful lead and the most humble of her co-stars are just as interesting; the slowest of episodes pass in the blink of an eye because everything is so glossy, well-considered and respectful of the viewer’s intelligence. If this show didn’t exist I’d probably have lowered my expectations for everything else, but the subject matter is similar enough that The Apothecary Diaries wipes the floor with series with similar themes (sorry, Doctor Detective). It has a better no-nonsense female lead, more imaginative medical mysteries and it never feels as though it’s pandering to its audience (even when it is)! Simply sublime.

Unexpected Diamond

While I’m not sure that it was entirely unexpected, given how much critical acclaim the manga has attracted, I was unprepared for how much I enjoyed Orb: On the Movements of the Earth, which ended up being my very favourite of all of the series which wrapped up this season. Its awkward English title and Netflix-exclusive simulcast have probably conspired to ensure that Orb passes under the radar for a lot of viewers, but this historical fantasy about the struggle for scientific truth is absolutely compelling viewing for anyone who likes their anime gritty and realistic.

It’s very difficult to capture the appeal of Orb in a brief summary: while the church has a stranglehold on what people can study and know, free thinkers come upon a different point of view and gradually begin to understand how the Earth might not be the centre of our universe after all. Orb is unforgivingly dark, miserable and full of despair – and yet just like the stars which glimmer over the dingy streets of medieval Poland, there is a constant thread of hope woven throughout the story which celebrates humanity’s perseverance against even the most impossible odds.

The story’s timeless message feels, if anything, even more relevant today given the constant doom and gloom in the headlines. And to make things even better, the ending is perfect. It’s a rare example of an anime adaptation with a satisfying, defined ending point to its run and even though it often seemed impossible for the narrative to wrap itself up properly along the way, somehow everything came together right at the end. The opening theme by sakanaction is amazing, as well.

The 100 Girlfriends Who Really, Really, Really, Really, REALLY Love You, The Apothecary Diaries and Ameku M.D.: Doctor Detective are available to stream on Crunchyroll. Orb: On the Movements of the Earth and Babanba Banban Vampire are streaming on Netflix.

Demelza

This season ended up being a mixed bag for me. The returning series I love continued to be highly entertaining, but a lot of the new shows left a lot to be desired. Even manga I enjoy like Medaka Kuroiwa is Impervious to My Charms ended up receiving quite poor adaptations (it takes the wrong kind of talent to make Daiki Yamashita sound as flat as he does in that show!), and the less said about the continued efforts with Unnamed Memory the better… Still, there was plenty I did enjoy so let’s take a look at those in more detail!

Hotly Anticipated

Adapted to anime by J.C Staff, I had high hopes for the Honey Lemon Soda anime. And to my delight, those expectations were met! This is a story that needs to be carefully balanced because what makes the original manga so compelling is the fact our heroine, Uka, is making confident steps toward rebuilding herself after the horrible things she went through in middle school. She may be in love with Kai, one of the most popular boys, but he is not the solution to all her problems. He will create opportunities for her and lend a hand when needed, but he never outright resolves the situation for her.

Too many romance manga and anime revolve around the male love interest being a solution to all of the female lead’s woes, or they fall so in love that nothing else matters. Honey Lemon Soda, however, never made the story just about the romance. Uka wants to better herself and overcome the emotions that have been holding her back. She wants to make friends, stand beside Kai and enjoy her high school life to the fullest.

The only real problem the anime specifically suffered is that two of the twelve episodes had some original content thrown into the mix. This was to pad out the anime so that it could end at a particular point in the manga (which is ongoing), and that’s not a bad idea in theory but it just wasn’t executed very well. Tonally the scenes in question feel very different to the original, very whimsical or comedic in a way that didn’t fit. I admire the attempts, but unfortunately, they just didn’t work out. Still, this isn’t a huge issue overall since it was only two instances in what was otherwise a fantastic adaptation.

Returning Champion

Technically Is It Wrong to Try to Picks Up Girls in a Dungeon? Season 5 was an Autumn series, but due to a host of production problems, several episodes were delayed into February and March. Still, in the end, J.C Staff made it to the end successively and left us with one of the better seasons of the franchise.

Unlike Season 4 Part 2, which adapted a single book, Season 5 took on 3 chunky volumes and squeezed them into 15 episodes. I wasn’t thrilled by this early on since it felt like we skipped some content I’d much rather have seen included (and we skipped the short story volume again entirely), but it’s hard to argue that the end product isn’t still a compelling watch. Particularly the final few episodes which saw a large-scale War Game, similar to what we’d seen in Season 2 but with an entirely different set of rules. And despite the varied production issues, these episodes came out as some of the best in the entire series with battle scenes of epic proportions.

I was a bit disappointed with the end of Season 4 which, like this one, had a pivotal battle to conclude the story. So, I was much happier to see Season 5 wrap up spectacularly, despite having cut corners elsewhere by trimming the content. DanMachi is a series that’s best experienced through the original light novels, but I still highly recommend the anime as an accompaniment. It’s not perfect, but it is still well worth your time even this many seasons in. Hopefully, there will be more of it soon (and with fewer production problems)…

Unexpected Diamond

I actually had a few different series in mind for this, but the one that ultimately won out was Zenshu. Telling the story of animator Natsuko Hirose, when this first started I’d been hoping for something akin to Shirobako, where anime production was part of the story. So, like many, I was somewhat put off when the first episode swerved into isekai and had Natsuko transported into the world of A Tale of Perishing, her favourite anime film.

However, I have to say that I was wrong to grow discontented so early on, as Zenshu quickly proved that there was value in the fantasy twist and that it had an important message to send to the viewer. At the very core of the series is Natsuko’s love of animation. She may have turned into a controlling director now, but that too is born out of her love for the craft. Through meeting the characters she loves in A Tale of Perishing and trying to save them from certain ruin (this film did not have a happy ending!), she also learns to lean on others and discovers plenty of things she didn’t know about herself in the process.

Natsuko is just like us viewers, who have stories that we love with all our hearts. The ones that encourage us to do our best, which led us down particular paths in life and that have left a lasting impression on us. And maybe it’s not an anime or a story, maybe it’s something else entirely – like an idol. Zenshu throughout its 12 episodes recognised there was power in all kinds of things that we love.

Honestly, Zenshu was the most fun I’ve had watching an anime original project in quite some time. While it does suffer somewhat toward the end due to running out of time, this was still immensely enjoyable from beginning to end. I hope anyone who dismissed it off-hand originally will come back and give it a second chance because it really does deserve it.

Honey Lemon Soda and Zenshu are available on Crunchyroll, while DanMachi S5 is on HIDIVE.

Cold Cobra

Hotly Anticipated

The big show for this past season for me was Sakamoto Days, another in the long line of Shonen Jump adaptations but with a different feel, due to its action and setting being more akin to action movies than super-powered melee fights (though there are some of those as well, to be fair) with a more fun and relaxing feel overall. The main premise is based around retired hitman Taro Sakamoto, who left the game when he fell in love, becoming an overweight dad who works at a simple little shop. Sadly for him, his old employers find out where he is and want him dead because “nobody is allowed to leave the business”, so they send psychic assassin and Sakamoto’s former protégé Shin Asakura to take him down but he instead falls for Sakamoto’s more peaceful and mundane life and actually joins him in working in the shop. This is then repeated with Lu Xiaotang, the daughter of a Chinese mob boss who was on the run from hitmen trying to kill her and who soon fights them off with Sakamoto and Shin’s help and she also ends up working in the shop.

This is where I left it when I previewed the show back at the start of the season and honestly, plot-wise, it doesn’t move on greatly. Sakamoto soon has a one billion yen bounty placed on his head and so the rest of this first cour was Sakamoto being targeted by weirder and more exaggerated hitmen while trying to continue to live his normal life. Shin and Lu often help by taking assassins on while our lead is having a nice day out at the local fair or at a park, though he is often the one who takes them down himself, though never lethally as he promised his wife that he’d never kill again, so there are often amusing scenes of him using otherwise harmless objects to knock out his opponents. In Episode 6 we’re introduced to Heisuke Mashimo, a freelance sniper and hitman who is down on his luck and who also ends up befriending Sakamoto and co, and although he doesn’t end up working at his shop, he becomes a semi-regular cast member.

We get a couple of two or three-episode arcs at the end revolving around our side characters’ backstories, one involving the lab that originally gave Shin his psy powers that features a really fun fight between Sakamoto and a cyborg on a train, and the last two episodes featuring Lu’s past as her family try and bring her back into the fold with a bunch of casino/gambling-based challenges that descends into a gunfight. They add a little more meat to the show’s bones though the cliffhanger reveal that four deadly serial killers have been released to specifically target Sakamoto shows us that the “villain of the week” formula isn’t about to vanish in Season 2.

A lot of talk about this show was based around how the animation was going to let it down as it’s not a big budget studio and the manga is full of detailed high-octane action, and I’m happy to say that I didn’t have an issue with these 11 episodes. I can imagine how some big scenes might have been better in the hands of legendary studios but then you can say that about anything not animated by legendary studios, so that’s not really saying much. The action does get heavier and more frantic as the manga moves on so maybe it will become an issue later, but for now I’m perfectly happy with this combination of slice-of-life comedy and John Wick-style gunplay and hand-to-hand fighting, and so I’m looking forward to Season 2 in the summer.

Returning Champion

Although it seems like ages ago now, the final six episodes of Dragon Ball DAIMA aired during this season, bringing an end as a whole to new Dragon Ball with Akira Toriyama’s direct involvement. Much like the Broly film a few years ago, DAIMA feels like Toriyama taking something non-canon he didn’t create, putting his own spin on it and then creating a “canon” version of it, in this case Dragon Ball GT. The original show had Goku’s body turned into that of his child self and then saw him explore space in search of a new set of Dragon Balls, while DAIMA saw the whole cast get their bodies reverted to children which leads to them having to search the previously-unexplored Demon Realm for a new set of Dragon Balls. Now I bring this up because after the first part of the show was full of original Dragon Ball series-style gags and light-hearted adventure. these final few episodes drop that quite quickly and instead it becomes something more like the Z part of the manga, heavily focused on the fighting to the point where the last four episodes were just one long battle against  a singular foe and a lot of the world building, plot threads and interesting villains were all pretty much dropped.

This was also exactly what happened with GT, and I may as well talk about it because if you’ve only had passing interest in Dragon Ball you would’ve seen it by now, it also features Akira Toriyama’s take of Super Saiyan 4, a form previously exclusive to GT. His “canon” design isn’t a million miles away from the original, just Goku has bigger forearms to give it more of an ape-man look and he made his hair the same colour as his body fur, but it’s still fun to see the original creator’s take on the old form. Now, once the dust settled, everyone became an adult again and the series came to an end, a lot of fans were left scratching their heads as the series is set in-between the end of the Buu arc and the start of Dragon Ball Super, but given the events of the series, there’s no way for this to have happened prior to Super. We’ve been down this road before though; when Super started, people complained that it didn’t match up with GT, which takes place later in the timeline, eventually accepting that Super and GT were different continuities, and so it looks like people will have to accept that DAIMA is now a third anime continuity.

On that note, the future of Dragon Ball hasn’t been this uncertain since that long stretch between the end of GT and the Battle of Gods movie over a decade and a half later. The rights to Dragon Ball have been split and the people who own the manga license probably want to continue Super with Toriyama’s understudy/the manga’s original artist Toyotarou while the rights to anime and game adaptations are in the hands of an entirely different studio who therefore might want to continue DAIMA as a new continuity free of the Super series they don’t have complete control over, or maybe both sides will come to terms and Super the anime will return to adapt the two manga arcs Toriyama had input into that were never animated. There’s even speculation that a remake of the original manga could be the next animated project similar to the new One Piece anime that will be airing on Netflix soon.

All I know is that whatever new Dragon Ball content comes out in the future will be without Akira Toriyama’s input, and that makes things just that little bit less special, so I’m happy to see DAIMA celebrate everything he liked about manga writing (especially the gags!) and then end with him getting to put his own stamp on a classic transformation from the series’ history. What better way to celebrate 40 years of Dragon Ball and the man himself.

Sakamoto Days is available on Netflix, while Dragon Ball DAIMA is available on both Crunchyroll and Netflix.

Onosume

Hotly Anticipated

In its opening episodes, BanG Dream! Ave Mujica looked extremely promising, doubling down on this very dark, trauma-driven era of music shows, and I’m glad to say it goes above and beyond on what it set out to do here.

More so than a straight-up music series, this is a psychological thriller told from the perspective of an appropriately themed band full of distrust, mind games and emotional damage. While these drama-driven shows have become popular, I was genuinely surprised at how hard Ave Mujica dives into things, as we haven’t really got to experience anything so extreme.

I rather welcomed the approach though, as I think the lighter, happy-go-lucky music shows have grown stale and far too similar to each other and you need something else to really drive these stories forward, whether that be a strong comedic idea, or going this route with raw drama.

For some viewers, Ave Mujica’s themes might be a bit too much, as it cuts to the bone of some sensitive topics amidst pushing the band past breaking point. As Sakiko demands more and more of the band members, they gradually fall over due to arguments and the rearing of past trauma and insecurities. This rise and fall is fascinating to watch as the show drags you through the mud as much as the characters, wrenching you across its raw plot points with emotional and engaging writing.

I’d commend it heavily for sticking true to its gothic themes, particularly with its musical performances which are full of gothic theatrics, along with music that is proper gothic metal with vibes you normally get from Nordic bands, just maybe with a bit of a more popular Japanese twist. Then in-between songs we are spun gothic tales as the members each adopt a different character, inspired by the moon and taking a lot from classical mythology. Yet as we see the plight of Doloris (Uika), Mortis (Mutsumi), Timoris (Umiri), Amoris (Nyamu), and Oblivionis (Sakiko) play out on stage, events in their real lives threaten to blur the lines between them and their gothic personas. I love how this makes you question everything about the cast and the fate of the band itself, and it gets really moving as it peels back the layers on each of their individual tragedies.

It does have its weaker moments, however. I think it drags the point around trying to resolve Mutsumi’s fugue-like state for a bit too long, and I would have liked it to be a bit more connected with MyGO!!!!!, who only really appear in the second half. There’s a big battle of the bands show at the end, and I think they could have done more to build this up, while it leaves it as an awkward place to end the show on, as we are now left waiting for a sequel to wrap things up.

Despite these issues I still loved it overall, and it’s clear that BanG Dream! is the big Japanese music franchise that is most “on it” right now. If you don’t mind the darker, gothic themes then I would highly recommend giving this a watch.

Returning Champion

This season saw Blue Exorcist continue with The Blue Night Saga, taking us and Rin back in time to witness the story of his and Yukio’s birth and the true story of the infamous Blue Night.

Going into this season, my initial expectation was that it would have some extensive lore-dumping and exposition before jumping back into the present-day action. Thankfully, this was not the case and it’s actually a complete origin story for the series, as it exposes and reflects on the lives of Yuri, Rin and Yukio’s mother, and their foster father, Shiro Fujimoto.

I thought this was really well told, with just the right amount of pacing and selecting the right moments in each of their lives to give us an eye-opening progression of their characters. Yuri is very much how I expected her to be and is always very true to herself, and her story is one of tragedy and betrayal by one she genuinely loved (bad choice picking Satan there!) which is moving to watch. Yet it’s Shiro who is the more interesting of the pair, going from this angsty kid angry at the world for how he came to be, to a very doting yet tough father who always has Rin and Yukio’s best interests at heart.

There are plenty of revelations throughout the tale, and it answers pretty much all of the questions from the last arc, showing us where we’ve come from and where we’re going. Now it’s just up to the continuation of the story to deliver on the promises set out here, as they look like they are going to be explosive.

One thing I didn’t like is the occasionally jumping back to the present, which it uses to drop some major bombshells that needed their own time to breathe outside of this particular story. The touch on Shiemi’s origins isn’t really relevant right now and could have been left for later, and I think the later nod to this without getting too into specifics would have been enough to give us all an “a-ha!” moment.

This arc of the story is obviously of a very different vibe than some of the more shonen action-heavy arcs we have had, but it might just be the best and most moving of the lot. Bringing this series around full circle was definitely the right choice, and I think, finally, these later seasons have come to stand on par with the 2011 A-1 Pictures adaptation after a slightly awkward transition in the 6-year gap between the different production teams.

Unexpected Diamond

After positively reviewing the first episode of Zenshu, I was surprised by the show’s early negative reception as I thought it had a cool concept for an isekai in terms of giving Natsuko a unique ability to change the world around her.

Now that the show is finished, do I still think that the show is cool and a lot of fun? Absolutely.

As Demelza mentions, I think what turned people off from this initially was the fact that it’s initially presented as a straighter cut series of an up-and-coming anime director finding her feet, producing a movie in a genre that she’s clueless about. When she is isekai’d, the rug gets pulled out from under everyone’s feet and understandably there’s some surprise and confusion.

Initially, Zenshu sells itself as a monster of the week show, as a new Void appears for the Nine Heroes to take on, and Natsuko has to bail them out when things follow the plot of the movie and push things to its bad end. I certainly didn’t mind this much at all when watching it, but I can absolutely agree with thoughts that this just wasn’t interesting. It was very reliant on Natsuko being out of place and having a cool transformation sequence, but ultimately for the first few episodes that needed to hook people in, it was rather thin on the ground in terms of plot.

Yet as time goes on, it picks up massively. There’s a lot of worldbuilding to unpick as it examines different areas of the world, how the mystical Soul Future works, and how the people who live in this world really feel about their predicament. It’s within this and digging deep into the lore that made it engaging for me. I wanted to know about these people’s lives and I, like Natsuko, wanted to see them saved from the very bad things that are happening to them. The fact that Natsuko’s powers altered the story and seeing how that changed things later down the line was cool, but important for adding a sense of hope, that maybe everything would work out.

Yet there’s always a twist, and it starts getting really interesting when the movie and its original director start fighting back. Mix in a burgeoning romance, allies sacrificing themselves to no avail, and tons and tons of massive monster action, and I think you’ve got something that looks very different to its initial episode, in a very good way. What was kind of empty and by the numbers becomes something that you can genuinely get invested in.

I’d agree however that the ending was rushed, and it doesn’t really give itself the time to really wrap things up. I wanted to understand more about how Natsuko’s adventures have affected her personally, and I don’t think it really delivered on that as it tends to live more in the moment and in the action rather than dwell on feelings.

Yet I still can’t help but come away impressed by the show, even if I’m not entirely satisfied at the end. It’s a cool concept that revels in that love for animation we’ve seen other shows take an approach on, and deliver the same feeling in a whole new way, all the while giving us solid action, character development and worldbuilding in a neat package.

I’m very much with Demelza on this one – if you dropped the show early on, please give it another go. It’s quite rare we get a brave original new project these days, and I think pieces like this, in an industry where a lot of shows just lack value or meaning, should be celebrated.

BanG Dream! Ave Mujica, Blue Exorcist -The Blue Night Saga- and Zenshu are all streaming on Crunchyroll.

Noemi10

Hotly Anticipated

A year on from the release of the first season of Solo Leveling, I had been impatiently waiting for Season 2 to come out. While I couldn’t complain about the anime so far, all anime fans know that future seasons can go either way—be amazing or disappoint so badly that they might put you off the anime. Thankfully Solo Leveling: Arise from the Shadow met and even exceeded my expectations, and now I’ll need to go back to the vicious cycle of hoping that the new season next year will be as good.

Season 2 covers up to Volume 7 of the manhwa, which can be considered the Jeju Island Raid Arc. After Jinwoo has his re-awakening, he keeps his powers a secret until he’s strong enough to protect the people he loves: his sister and mother. But now the cat’s out of the bag, and every South Korean is excited about the new S-rank hunter in their country. And with the Jeju Island raid coming up soon, it’s a good opportunity for Jinwoo to show off… well, if that’s his goal. The only thing he wants is to make sure his family and friends are safe, and when he sees the S-rank hunters on the raid being taken out one by one by an extremely powerful enemy, he can’t just be a witness anymore so he decides to intervene.

The anime continues to be full of action and gory scenes, as the animators, like the authors, don’t shy away from them. The fights leave viewers on the edge of their seats, and the animation and music that accompany them enhance the experience. Jinwoo is the only character so far that is undergoing personal growth, but there are indications that, in seasons to come, other characters will become stronger, pushed by Jinwoo’s growth.

The anime so far is pretty loyal to the manhwa with just a few minor differences that not many people will notice, unless they are obsessed with the series (like me!). Nonetheless, these differences don’t make the anime any less good.

Returning Champion

Let’s talk about A Terrified Teacher at Ghoul School!, which just aired the final  episode of Season 1. The anime released its first episode back in October 2024, and while I’m a big fan of the manga, I was somehow left disappointed by the anime.

Haruaki Abe is a human who ends up being a high school teacher at a yokai (demon) school. Haruaki is a wimp who is afraid of everything (even kindergartens!), so it comes as a shock to find out that his students are yokai. But the biggest surprise is that he’s Abe no Seimei’s descendant, the strongest exorcist that ever existed, and Haruaki has inherited Abe’s exorcism power. Now Haruaki needs to keep this power a secret from his students (lest he accidentally exorcises them!) while also becoming the teacher he has always wished to be. It’s not an easy feat as Haruaki is a magnet for trouble and his obsession with school uniforms makes the trouble he ends up in worse for him and more hilarious for us.

I don’t know if I’d call the anime series a ‘champion’ as (for me) it doesn’t live up to its manga counterpart. While the storyline of the anime remains loyal, quite a few elements were taken away, thus not keeping to the same comedy style of the manga. The manga readers will know that Haruaki’s obsession with high school uniform is what causes the messes for Haruaki and his class half of the time. The other half is usually caused by Haruaki himself, even if he doesn’t mean to. In the animation, Haruaki’s obsession is not prominent and doesn’t ‘translate’ as well—it’s a secondary element when it should be primary. Don’t get me wrong, the obsession is troublesome and raises quite a few red flags, but it’s such an important part in the series that I think it should have shown in the anime as well to bring that ‘comedy’ part that readers enjoy in the manga. As this part is less important in the anime, some situations are quite flat and not as funny as in the manga.

Moreover, I’m not a huge fan of the art. I feel that the illustrations, including the characters, are kind-of plain with simplistic designs that remind me of old anime from the 80s and 90s. This anime left a bitter taste in my mouth, but I’ll still give Season 2 a chance, if and when it comes out.

Solo Leveling: Arise from the Shadow and A Terrified Teacher at Ghoul School are both streaming on Crunchyroll. 

Sarah

Hotly Anticipated

Medalist has been a delight to watch, capturing all that makes the manga such an engaging read, from young Inori’s determination to be a medal-winning figure skater through her relationship with earnest first-time coach Tsukasa through all the trials of being a late beginner on the ice. We’ve seen Inori and Tsukasa convince Inori’s reluctant mother to encourage and support her younger daughter and met many of the potential friends and rivals of Inori’s age (almost all of whom are more advanced), including ‘Mittens’ (who’s her junior in age), Ema and awe-inspiring Hikaru.

There have been crises and nail-biting complications (most recently Inori forgot to bring her skates to the competition, leading to Tsukasa pushing himself to the limit to retrieve them in time) but, faithful to Tsurumaikada’s award-winning manga, the anime has concentrated on developing the characters. Whether it’s Tsukasa meeting his one-time idol Jun (who’s been coaching the prodigiously talented Hikaru in secret) and being confronted with some harsh truths or Inori struggling to pursue her dream while putting up with bullying at school, this emphasis has increased our involvement. Even the most wonderfully rendered 3DCG animation does not compensate at the end of the day for lack of underlying dramatic conflict and tension but luckily here we have both.

And the ice-skating routines are indeed breath-taking! We haven’t seen anything like it since Yuri on Ice and although YOI presents a very different human drama from Medalist, there’s no denying that when Tsukasa takes to the ice (especially in Episode 12 where he interprets reluctant student Rioh’s programme to try to motivate the boy) it’s one of the highlights of the series. The final highlight, though, is Inori’s free-skate programme in Episode 13 when she and Rioh are taking their Level 6 and everything’s on the line for them both. The young skater’s expressions are now all confidence, her eyes shining as she performs the routines she’s spent so long preparing with Tsukasa; we can see at once how much she’s improved, both technically and aesthetically.

Even though the music for the free skate routines has not been given the same prominence as in Yuri on Ice, composer Yuki Hayashi’s own compositions and classical choices have worked well. As for the attention-grabbing OP, “Bow and Arrow” by Kenshi Yonezu, we’ve now seen Japanese skating star Yuzuru Hanyu performing a dazzling routine to the song, probably the ultimate accolade!

Reaction faces/chibi are one of the unique ways that manga and anime bring an extra dimension to the way characters’ emotions, thoughts and interactions are conveyed (not so easy to do in Live Action!) and when it’s done well, as it is in Medalist, it’s a bonus.

No surprise, then, that Medalist has been renewed for a second season (arguably a more worthy candidate than some of the other titles granted this second chance). Even so, the first thirteen episodes have been carefully constructed so that, in delivering a satisfying conclusion, they could have ended the series here with no regrets for the viewers. If only other anime script writers/story-boarders could learn from this!

Returning Champion 

Even though Season 2 of The Apothecary Diaries continues into the Spring Season without a break, Episode 36 was big in revelations, ending on the confirmation of Jinshi’s true identity (which has been hinted at many times) but leaving matters open as to what those implications actually mean at the imperial court, going forward. He’s already been the recent target of an assassination attempt in which the assassin wielded a feifa (Western pistol) implying that agents outside the country might have had a hand in the attempt.

And yes, Episodes 35-6 contain the infamous frog incident (Jinshi, Maomao and… a frog). I won’t elaborate but just encourage you to watch as it’s very well done. This adaptation continues to entertain and enthrall the viewer, with as much care lavished on the characters and backgrounds when it comes to the animation as on the dramatic construction of the episodes and excellent VAs. If only other series could be so consistent!

Unexpected Diamond – Tasokare Hotel

HWR has already applauded Tasokare Hotel and this is one of the very few brand-new Winter series that I stayed with until the end because it delivered on its early promise, building steadily to a deliciously apocalyptic confrontation at the fiery gates of hell with a genuinely nail-biting cliff-hanger. And yes, it pulls off a satisfying ending – but no spoilers here; you’ll have to pop across to Amazon Prime (or YouTube) to find out what becomes of Neko, trapped in Tasogare Hotel between life and death, as she discovers how she came to be there. I’m not often a fan of anime based on games but – unlike the horrendously incomprehensible Promise of Wizard (Crunchyroll) – Tasokare Hotel is a good watch for those of us who are unfamiliar with the game.

Medalist is streaming on Disney+, The Apothecary Diaries is streaming on Crunchyroll (and Netflix) and Tasokare Hotel is streaming on Prime Video and YouTube.

A Musical Conclusion

After all these recommendations from our writers (with a few caveats!) I can’t move on from the Winter Season without mentioning the Openings and Endings that (in my opinion) have in some cases been better than the actual anime themselves. Honey Lemon Soda stands out with OP “Magic Hour” by &TEAM and ED: “Wonderful World” by &TEAM – but oh, what went wrong with the background score between these two absolute bangers? Did the composer record with his foot on the sustain pedal as he played the piano? It saps the energy out of many of the scenes. Go back, watch and listen – what kind of mood is the music creating and does it reflect what the characters are feeling and doing? (Although the appearance of Offenbach’s Can-Can at the Sports Festival – Episode 11 – was just weird and not explained away as diegetic/played by the school band.)

However, I defy anyone not to want to join in with the energetic earworm ED to A Terrified Teacher: ED “Yōkai Rendezvous” by REAL AKIBA BOYZ! But maybe my overall favourite is Dragon Ball Daima’s OP ‘Jaka Jan’ by Zedd, Yukinojo Mori, and C&K which is quoted and skilfully woven into the orchestral soundtrack by composer Kousuke Yamashita (Chihayafuru, Hana Yori Dango) to underscore moments of drama and emotion (especially the final episodes) with great effect. That’s the anime way to do it!