Once more, quantity reigns supreme over quality this Winter.

2017 as a whole was a pretty top-heavy year, but the last couple of seasons have been more the other end of the spectrum – a good number of decent series, but nothing much on the top side. I don’t have any new shows in the “Elite” category for the second season in a row, and this time around I don’t think anything came especially close.  In fact it was a near thing whether anything would even be in “Outstanding” – though one series did just barely make it.

Taken as a whole, then, this season looks a whole lot like Fall 2017 did – the bulk of the shows are bunched up in the middle.  The main difference is that the top series don’t seem to be as good this time around – I don’t see anything I’d rate as highly as Mahoutsukai no Yome or Kekkai Sensen, though there’s still enough time for that to change.  I’ve had really bad seasons before, where I couldn’t finish a single non-sequel, and this definitely isn’t that.  But a month in it looks to be the very definition of mediocre.

Once again, I’ll say Winter 2018 looks like a season of continuity.  2017 was a fair-to-midland anime year at best, and there’s nothing going on this season to change the pattern (and spring doesn’t look like the cycle-breaker, either).  The lack of really elite stuff at the top is especially concerning, given that it was the sheer quality of the top three shows that made 2017 a fairly average year on the whole.  Without those series it would have been probably the worst on record, and the last two seasons have mostly been lacking top series.

On the genre and demographic front, my take at preview time still rings true for me – there does seem to be an uptick in sci-fi generally, though it’s not especially noteworthy sci-fi on the whole.  Apart from that it’s a pretty familiar ratatouille, with cute girls being cute shows asserting their dominance more than ever (casting them as insect-sized or as world explorers seems to be what passes as variety in anime these days), and cute generally on the ascendancy.  The continued (and potentially growing, given their recent agreement with Bones and Production I.G./Wit) influence of Netflix and how the industry changes as a result of it is probably the most interesting storyline to watch going forward.

 

Onwards to Winter 2018:

 

The Elite

None

Outstanding

Gakuen Babysitters
Episodes Watched: 4
Grade: A-
Comments: I don’t know that I’d ever had a season with nothing in either the “Elite” or “Outstanding” pool (no time to check) but Winter 2018 came very close to being the first.  Gakuen Babysitters snuck in after a stellar fourth episode, and I can’t deny that a desire to have something make the cut may have been a factor – along, of course, with the fact that I’m rather predisposed to like this series given my affection for the manga.  This adaptation isn’t perfect but it’s legitimately excellent, and does capture the essence of why this is such an engaging series.  Gakuen Babysitters is adorable, certainly, but there’s a lot more to it than that.

 

Very Good

Koi wa Ameagari no You ni
Episodes Watched: 3
Grade: B+
Comments: My discomfort with the premise of Koi wa Ameagari has eased just a little as the series has shown it’s going to approach that premise in a restrained and thoughtful way.  I’m still not sure what to make of it, but I find the characters engaging and the assured style of director Watanabe Ayumu does wonders for the series’ watchability.  It’s also gorgeous, another really stunning bit of production from Wit.  But for me to buy into a romance between a 45 year-old father and a high school girl, a lot of heavy lifting still has to be done.

Kokkoku
Episodes Watched: 4
Grade: B+
Comments: Kokkoku is probably the biggest pleasant surprise of the season for me.  The premise looked potentially interesting, but the manga isn’t especially well-regarded and I didn’t know much about the series apart from the synopsis.  But this is good, smart and well-executed seinen – a bit reminiscent of another seinen supernatural thriller, Kamisama Dolls.  Kokkoku sports an interesting cast of characters and a complex, carefully structured mythology – two very strong building blocks for this sort of series.  It wasn’t even on my sleeper list going on, but Kokkoku is a keeper.

Yowamushi Pedal: Glory Line 
Episodes Watched: 4
Grade: B
Comments: Yowapeda is back, and I suspect in the end this is going to prove a stronger season than Grande Road.  It’s still suffering from a lack of Onoda but the dynamic at the front of the pack between Midousuji, Naruko and Imaizumi has been fascinating to watch play out (especially if one follows professional cycling).  And almost no Teshima so far is definitely a good thing.

Karakai Jouzu no Takagi-san
Episodes Watched: 4
Grade: B
Comments: As with Gakuen Babysitters, I think Karakai Jouzu no Takagi-san is doing a solid job of capturing what makes the manga special.  That isn’t going to be to everyone’s taste, but this is a series with which a little patience is likely to be rewarded – I think it takes a while to buy in to what the mangaka is going for with these characters (especially Takagi-san).  I could live without Kaji Yuuki in the title role but he’s not a deal-breaker, at least.

Miira no Kaikata
Episodes Watched: 3
Grade: B
Comments: Along with Gakuen Babysitters, Miira ni Kaikata is almost impossibly kawaii yet somehow manages not to be cloying.  I don’t sense that there’s anything especially deep or profound going on with this show but it is just quirky and bittersweet enough to keep it feeling fresh.  It gets a lot out of the anime format, too – I haven’t read the manga but it’s hard to imagine it being this effective without the sound and screen effects were Mii-kun is concerned.  A solidly entertaining and heartwarming teddy bear of a series.

 

Worthwhile

Devilman Crybaby
Episodes Watched: 3
Grade: B
Comments: Given its pedigree, there was reason to hope that Devilman Crybaby would be something truly special – one of those elusive “elite” series.  I don’t think it is, but it’s certainly interesting and presents a contrast to the vast majority of anime on the schedule.  Director Yuasa Masaaki is an auteur and a genius, and Nagai Go is always a font for interesting ideas – but right now Devilman Crybaby seems more like a pushback against the gentrification and homogenization of modern anime than a genuinely compelling story in its own right.  But it’s a feast for the senses, that’s for sure (including the ears, as the rap is excellent).

Dagashi Kashi 2
Episodes Watched: 3
Grade: B-
Comments: Many manga readers wanted a Dagashi Kashi anime that was more like the manga, and I think they got it.  For me it’s lost something – under Takayanagi Shigehito it genuinely worked as a full-on story, but now it’s basically an on-screen gag manga.  It’s a good gag manga, and can still shine when it focuses on the three-way character dynamic between Coconuts, Saya and Tou.  But compared to the first season, it’s mostly empty calories.

Cardcaptor Sakura: Clear Card-hen
Episodes Watched: 4
Grade: B-
Comments: The nostalgia bomb has been a pleasure, certainly.  I’m not getting enough that’s new, though, to really embrace Clear Card-hen as a series.  To this point it’s really been the original except the kids are slightly bigger, and I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t hoping for more.  But the good thing is it’s a two-cour series and there’s still plenty of time for that to turn around.

Itou Junji: Collection
Episodes Watched: 4
Grade: B-
Comments: This is an odd one, but the horror tales contained within are more often than not creepy and/or funny enough to be engaging.  A picture of the novelist is starting to emerge through the tales he spins, and Itou-sensei seems like a very odd and interesting fellow…

 

Still Watching

Hakata Tonkotsu Ramens
Episodes Watched: 3
Grade: B-
Comments: I was pretty convinced Hakata Tonkotsu Ramens was going to be a quick drop after the so-so premiere, but it’s turned out to be surprisingly interesting.  It’s entertaining in its breezy way, a preposterous underworld farce not at all concerned with realism.  The plot is quite coherent given how convoluted it is, and the characters are distinctive enough to have established their own presence.  This show isn’t anything great but so far at least it’s quite entertaining.

Darling in the FranXX
Episodes Watched: 3
Grade: C+
Comments: I’ll say this for Darling in the FranXX – it takes the “sub” out of the usual subtext with mecha anime.  If I dislike this show just a bit less than some Trigger efforts, it’s because it’s a bit clumsy and comes across as rather more earnest than usual as a result.  But it’s still incredibly derivative and sexist, and so far at least it’s not offering any compelling reason to consider it a notable addition to the mecha genre.

Violet Evergarden
Episodes Watched: 4
Grade: C+
Comments:This series was riding the hype train pretty hard going into the season, being a Kyoto Animation show adapted from a self-awarded grand prize-winning LN.  It’s a touch more restrained than the usual KyoAni fare and the visuals are lush and detailed, but ultimately I find the whole package to be soulless and a little dull.  There’s a very much by-the-numbers quality to the writing and even the visuals, lovely as they are, lack any spark of inspiration.  I really wanted to like Violet Evergarden, but so far at least it’s mostly a miss for me.

Beatless
Episodes Watched: 3
Grade: C+
Comments: There’s a lot that’s familiar about this tried and true premise, but not much notable in the execution.  Beatless is s show that’s trying really hard to be hip and cool but just ends up looking kind of silly to me when it does.  I sort of like the main human-A.I. relationship but not much else about Beatless.  This one seems like a strong candidate to be the season’s next casualty.

 

Incomplete:

Hakumei no Mikochi
Episodes Watched: 1
Grade: N/A
Comments: I’ve only watched one episode of this series (on the recommendation of several commentators) so I don’t feel right about giving it a grade.  I enjoyed the premiere – it was cute and reasonably sharp-witted, with an interesting visual style.  My favorite part of the episode, though, was Evan Call’s soundtrack.

 

Dropped:

Pop Team Epic, Ryuuou no Oshigoto, Dame X Prince, Hakyuu Houshin Engi, Sora Yori mo Tooi Bassho

So with that, here’s this season’s blogging prospectus:

Monday:
Definitely Blogging: Karakai Jouzu no Takagi-san, Yowamushi Pedal Glory Line, Osomatsu-san 2

Tuesday:
Definitely Blogging: None

Wednesday:
On the Respirator: Violet Evergarden

Thursday:
Definitely Blogging: Koi wa Ameagarti no You ni, Miira no Kaikata
Probably Blogging: Dagashi Kashi 2

Friday:
Definitely Blogging: Devilman Crybaby (complete)
On the Bubble: Itou Junji: Collection, Hakata Tonkotsu Ramens

Saturday:
Definitely Blogging: Mahoutsukai no Yome 
On the Respirator: Darling in the FranXX

Sunday:
Definitely Blogging: Gakuen Babysitters, Kokkoku
On the Bubble: Card Captor Sakura: Clear Card-hen

Manga: Otoyomegatari, Hunter X Hunter

Watching For Now: Hakumei to Mikochi, Beatless