My apologies for the lack of a proper season preview, but for obvious reasons it just wasn’t in the cards this time around. It’s the first one I’ve missed since I started doing them, so it irks me to no end. But I did want to at least put something together to give you an idea of what I’m looking forward to. Bear in mind, of course, that I haven’t even had time to research what’s coming as much as I normally would.
Let’s do this in tiers:
Highest Expectations:
Golden Kamuy – Simply one of the great manga of the 2010’s. Highly-regarded, and touches on something of a taboo subject in proudly homogeneous Japan (the treatment of the Ainu people). After Kokkoku I feel good about Geno Studio, and the previews look fantastic. Staff is solid – hard to see this missing, although the fact that it’s one cour is a huge disappointment.
Boku no Hero Academia Season 3 – No-brainer of all no-brainers here. This season should cover what I consider the very best stretch of this outstanding manga, so strap in and prepare to be Detroit Smashed.
Hoozuki no Reitetsu 2nd Season: Sono Ni – Another no-brainer. One of the best and most beautiful anime comedies ever has made the switch to Studio Deen without missing a beat.
Major 2nd – I’m a big fan of Mitsuda Tatsuya’s Major, which is now surely one of the best-selling franchises in manga history. I really like the sequel, which focuses on Goro’s talent-challenged son Daigo, but when you factor in that the great Watanabe Ayumu is directing, expectations are sky-high. We don’t know the length of the run yet, but it’s NHK and Major, so figure 2-3 cours minimum (and there’s enough material for that, probably). Looks like a good season for sports anime, and this one is the clear front-runner for me.
Piano no Mori – I liked the movie version of this but never read the manga, and I had no idea it even followed the kids into young adulthood. Fukushima Gainax producing is a complete wild card, but they seem to be trying to turn this into their debutante piece – I like the fact that they’re getting different real-life pianists for each of the characters to better reflect their styles.
Wotaku ni Koi wa Muzukashii – We’ll see if NoitaminA can achieve their first two show winning streak in years with this adaptation of a well-liked web manga about a fujoshi and otaku who knew each other in middle school, end up at the same company and start dating. Solid director in Hiraike Yoshomasa.
Mid-table:
Steins;Gate 0 – It might surprise some (maybe even me) to find this one in this category. Something just feels off about this sequel, as if it doesn’t have any compelling reason to exist apart from making money. Steins;Gate 0 is something of an “anti-sleeper” for me, but it’s mostly just a gut reaction and it won’t surprise me much if I turn out to be wrong.
Captain Tsubasa 2018, Megalo Box – Two updates of absolutely legendary sports manga is exciting, but with apologies to Moritaka Mashiro and Sergio “Kun” Aguero, I’m just not that huge a fan of either one.
Full Metal Panic! Invisible Victory – See above. It’s sadistic of me, but I did rather enjoy the fact that FMP fans were crying for years for Kyoto Animation to return to the franchise, and when they finally got their new series, they cried again when it was announced as Xebec. I don’t quite get why FMP is so beloved (it’s fine, don’t get me wrong), but really – enjoy the fact that the show is coming back and don’t obsess over the studio…
Hisone to Masao-tan – Apart from BnHA Bones has slipped just a bit in the past year or so, and this one doesn’t actually look all that interesting to me. Also not a great staff list, though some mid-tier Gainax talent is involved.
Also: Kakuriyo no Yademoshi, Ginga Eiyuu Densetsu: Die Neue These – Kaikou, Tada-kun wa Koi wo Shinai, Hinamatsuri, Koneko no Chii: Ponponra Daibouken 2, Wakaokami wa Shougakusei!, Shiyan Pin Jiating
Modestly Interested:
Shokugeki no Souma: San no Sara – Toutsuki Ressha-hen – It saddens me to have this show ranked so low, but the third season’s first cour was dangerously close to a shark jump.
Tokyo Ghoul:re – I think I’ve discovered that I’m more interested in Morita Shouhei than in Tokyo Ghoul, so if he’s not involved that’s a big net-negative for me. And that’s allowing for the fact that his style didn’t seem to mesh that well with the manga material.
Also: Gegege no Kitarou (2018), Uchuu Senkan Tiramisù, Gundam Build Divers, 3D Kanojo, Akkun to Kanojo, Guazeni, Devil’s Line, Binan Koukou Chikyuu Bouei-bu Happy Kiss!, Rokuhoudou Yotsuiro Biyori, Last Period
Sleepers:
Tada-kun wa Koi wo Shinai – This is an interesting one – an original about a Japanese college student who loves photography, who helps and befriends an exchange student from Luxembourg. Very solid staff here, including the director and head writer of Gekkan Shoujo Noazki-kun.
Wakaokami wa Shougakusei! – A “deep” sleeper perhaps, but my radar is pinging for this one. A Madhouse co-production (with DLE) with a very experienced and talented directorial pair (Mitsuyuki Masuhara and Tani Azuma) and writer (Yokote Michiko). It’s a LN adaptation and looks like a children’s show, but I suspect a surprise is brewing with Wakaokami.
Shiyan Pin Jiatang – This series has the distinction of appearing on my sleeper list twice (it was originally supposed to air last year and was delayed). I have no basis for this pick, as was the case the first time – I know nothing of the source material and this is actually a Chinese production. I just really like the look of the art and the premise intrigues me.
lHyDrAl
April 1, 2018 at 6:38 amOn Tokyo Ghoul: I always felt Morita Shuhei’s style meshed perfectly with the manga material and that he was the only person working on the adaptation that actually understood and appreciated the material. Episodes 1 and 12 of season one (the two episodes he actually directed) were a perfect illustration of this. Unfortunately root A was plagued with upper management issues and conflict of interests across the board. Morita gave some insight into this yesterday on an AMA he did on the anime subreddit stating:
“In order to complete Tokyo Ghoul √A’s aim of Kaneki joining Aogiri, we needed to make some changes. Ishida-sensei also urged me to change stuff and go a different route, which is where a lot of the anime came from. We had a massive bubble of ideas, but as to not affect the lore of the original manga, it constantly felt like those ideas were being chipped away at by those above me. I tried my best, and I honestly don’t have any regrets given the movement space I was allowed”.
With that being said though the most important person to Tokyo Ghoul is Ishida Sui just as Togashi is to Hunter x Hunter, rather than Morita and Koujina respectively. So if the plan is to be faithful this time around, RE should be something to look forward to, Morita or not.
Guardian Enzo
April 1, 2018 at 7:14 amThat’s interesting to hear. To be blunt, I don’t find TG to be all that compelling as a premise – most of the emotional buy-in for me came from Morita’s breathtaking directorial flourishes. TG is an interesting concept but to me, basically pretty juvenile. I like it, and I understand a bit part of the anime’s problems come down to the whole clusterfuck Morita refers to. But I’m not sure it can hold my interest for a full cour.
sonicsenryaku
April 1, 2018 at 9:39 amLooks 1HyDRAL beat me to it as i was just about to express that it always seemed to me that Morita understood what Tokyo ghoul was supposed to be about. Unfortunately his vision was hampered down by the higher ups, a truth that the rabid TG fans don’t seem to understand; instead, the result to blaming the shaky adaptations we received on the director. What i will say though is that i’m right there with you that Morita’s vision elevated Tokyo ghoul’s narrative, which pains me all the more to think about the potentially phenomenal anime we missed out on because the studio kept tying Morita’s hand behind his back. Even Ishida like Morita’s vision of his story so much that he was practically encouraging the man to mix up things up a bit….sigh….when i think about shit like this, it really does make me feel bad for creative visionaries who find their work being stifled by corporate meddling and an incessant need to pander to a particular audience for profit. I want to see the next anime the man directs but it seems like the guy just isn’t into tv anime and i wouldn’t be surprised if this experience pushed him away from the prospect of giving it another chance somewhere along the line; truly a shame.
Getting off that though and tackling something you mentioned: “It’s sadistic of me, but I did rather enjoy the fact that FMP fans were crying for years for Kyoto Animation to return to the franchise, and when they finally got their new series, they cried again when it was announced as Xebec.”
Enzo, you horrible, horrible person. On another note, maybe i can drop some quick insight as to why there is such a dedicated fanbase for FMP. I think there’s two critical factors that play a role in the love for this series: 1. many western fans were probably introduced to FMP at a time where they were teens really getting into anime. FMP was a series that released in ’02 in japan and was available for dvd’s in the states around ’04. This was practically the sweet spot for many teens growing up with anime in the early to mid 2000’s to get into a series. And with the show’s unapologetic mishmash of high-school hijinks and military intrigue, the show would leave an indelible impression on westerners being exposed to the weirdness that is anime at the time. For some, it defined what anime looked like and the whole highschool setting that would be 80% of the anime they would watch from then on. To those who grew up with FMP, it was the series that did the whole high-school action “genre” right and most cannot wait to see the king take up the throne once more. Follow that up with the hilarious Fumoffu and the competently directed second raid and you’ve established a fanbase who is more than invested in following the narrative threads of the series to completion like if Kaname and Sousuke will ever get together in the end. You know damn well nothing beats investing your audience into a story like a good “will they-wont they relationship.” Why do you think many fans stuck around with fairy tail for so long?
2. kyo ani’s stamp on the FMP series that elevated the material. Again, Fumoffu exemplified all the great qualities of the comedic side of the series while second raid demonstrated that it could be a very competent action-drama series when it wanted to. Both series had strong production values and remained in people’s mind as to what a studio like Kyo ani could do. There are kyo ani naysayers to this day who still consider FMP: fumoffu to be their best work and i can understand that argument extremely well even though that’s not my personal pick (though it’s high up there). For the series to fall into the hands of Xebec, a studio that doesn’t always get it right whether with its production values or its adaptations, it’s a bit disheartening. Still, I’m going to go in positively with the hopes things are going to be for the best. The cg for the mechs kills me a bit on the inside.
Oh and i see you didn’t mention flcl progressive. It airs june 2, which is still within the spring season. Don’t know if that was intentional or you just forgot seeing as these two season have been a non-factor for you ever since they were announced
Guardian Enzo
April 1, 2018 at 4:25 pmIn the interests of my sanity and interstellar harmony, I’ve more or less decided not to blog FLCL 2/3. And the first ep of FLCL Alternative did nothing to change my mind.
sonicsenryaku
April 1, 2018 at 5:27 pmyea after watching the first ep myself i figured you’d be of that mindset. All i could think while watching it was; “damn, this is going to be divisive as fuck.” For me……ehhhh….I…i…i know what this direction of flcl is trying to achieve and to some extent i like what it is doing; but there are things I was reeeeaaallly hoping it would nail it’s unfortunate to say that it did not do those things, to my heartbreaking dismay. This is a new generation of flcl, but for those who grew up with Gainax, a studio with such a distinct style that cannot be easily imitated, this won’t be “their flcl”….whether that’s alright or not…I’m still trying to figure that out. if anything, mob psycho is my mini flcl for this generation (the anime form any way). And as someone who has read the manga to its end, it deserves a spot as one of my favorite coming of age tales in anime.
Guardian Enzo
April 1, 2018 at 5:37 pmThe closest thing I ever saw to FLCL was Kyousougiga, though that was more in terms of style than theme. I love MP100 (obviously) and it definitely belongs in the “freaky symbolic take on puberty/adolescence” family with FLCL and Nazo no Kanojo X.
As for this reboot of FLCL… Just no. I would ask “Why?”, but I know why (and that makes it worse).
sonicsenryaku
April 1, 2018 at 5:52 pmDamn, how’d i forget about Kyousougiga?
sonicsenryaku
April 2, 2018 at 4:42 pmSo i watched flcl alternative’s first ep again and I had this cloying impulse to say a few statements regarding how i felt about it and how i currently feel about the “flcl” projects for any who will listen (though i mostly felt about bringing it up to you since you’re love flcl). Don’t know why but just thought i would. On repeated viewing, what this “flcl” was aiming to do clicked with me a lot more. I’m starting to understand why they decided to make 2 new seasons of it and have them air almost back to back rather than just making one sequel. No, i don’t think this was just a cash grab as they are a bunch of new animators/creative talent who have openly expressed their trepidation in making these flcl projects at the same time wanting to express themselves in the most insightful way they know how. I personally don’t like to use arguments like “made for money” or “soulless” unless there is convincing evidence pointing in that direction.
But moving on, both of these “flcl’s” seem to want to tap into/embody integral aspects about the nature of the original’s narrative. Progressive seems to be the one that wants to be more like the original flcl in terms of its superficial presentation (how kinetic and rapid it is visually and narratively) while alternative wants to be well…..an alternative take on the core aspects of flcl, focusing more on the subtext of the series in a more direct way instead of being overly allegorical (yoji enokido is the one we can thank for that) while peppering in some live action sensibilities (which makes sense when you take into consideration who the chief director and script writers are for these seasons).
Alternative aims to be an indie film about teenagers being teenagers; the feeling of wasting your time away and how fleeting comfortableness and complacency can be. Thinking about it now, it makes sense why japan has alternative airing before progressive; it’s because it’s the one that feels the least like flcl on immediate watch. They’d probably rather have the second season be the one to have a lasting impression on viewers as its the one that’s visually trying to pantomime gainax’s stamp on the original. I’ve seen impressions on alternative (both positive and negative) and one of the criticism from negative parties (and used as praise by some positive parties) that baffles me is how some people think alternative was trying to be so similar to the original. Like What? if anything, alternative does everything it can to not be like the original; everything feels different beyond a few nods and a song from the pillows coming in halfway throughout the episode. What it retains of the original is being a story of adolescence told in a way that is unconventional for anime (Original felt like a long music video; alternative feels like an indie film about four 17 year old girls)
Anyway i don’t want this to be long so ill just say this: i knew what alternative was trying to do. My initial thinking it was just okishly good i.e like a 6/10; but after another watch, im down for what its trying to sell and my opinion has changed to: t’s actually pretty good; a 7/10. I know that there are some that love flcl for it being crazy weird and out there and for those who are looking for that, you’re probably going to get that in progressive, hence the subtitle; it’s mean to progress what people immediately remember flcl for and you can tell that to be the case by some of the clips shown in the trailer. Compare the layouts and shots of progressive and alternative and you can clearly see a difference in visual philosophy. FLCL is an anime that is in my reserved list of 10 out of 10 anime. And while the sequels will probably not be 10/10’s, I’m perfectly fine with that; i didn’t expect them to be. I sure as hell don’t think ill ever change die hard gainax/flcl fans (like you Enzo) minds about them as we are just two ships at night sailing in different directions, nor do i think its necessary to do so; but i think they are valuable perspectives to have regardless
Guardian Enzo
April 2, 2018 at 5:52 pmThat seems like a lot of extrapolation to make based on one episode, no?
I appreciate you going out and trying to be positive about this. But even if we stipulate to the upside of your assessment – 7/10 – is one of the greatest and most seminal shows in anime history served by having such a sequel attach its name to it?
Also – and this is a big one for me – I don’t see anything even in your defense of “Alternative” that makes a case for why it or “Progressive” needed to be called FLCL in the first place.
sonicsenryaku
April 3, 2018 at 7:02 amCrap, i meant to respond right away but fell asleep doing some school work. Any who these are my spontaneous replies to the questions you have posited
“That seems like a lot of extrapolation to make based on one episode, no?”
Yes and no; when the alternative and progressive combo trailers dropped, one thing I instantly noticed between the two was that progressive was much more kinetic both in its animation and its attempts to call back to imagery from the original. Alternative on the other hand seemed much more restrained and relied less on harkening back to the original’s style. If anything, the first ep of alternative corroborated that suspicion even further. If you’re doubtful, check out the clips from the combo trailer and the bumper adultswim put out for progressive; the differences will slowly but surely jump out at you. in terms of extrapolating some of the themes of alternative, ep 1 says a good deal; i didn’t really have to reach to ascertain most of the things I’ve said. And just as an aside, not to toot my own horn (well, kinda) but my extrapolations tend to be on point a good deal of the time so im pretty confident in this assessment XD.
sonicsenryaku
April 3, 2018 at 7:06 amThere’s more to my comment above but i guess it’s not posting for some reason; perhaps because it’s long???
sonicsenryaku
April 1, 2018 at 11:15 am@1HYDRAl by the way do you mind sending me a link to that discussion if you can? For years I’ve been trying to diffuse the misinformation that has been going around the tg community about the fate of the anime adaptations but i’ve never been able to find the primary sources that backed up my arguments; only information found from others who i trusted talking about the shit that went down during production and my own intuition based on reading the staff list for eps
lHyDrAl
April 1, 2018 at 4:56 pmCertainly, here’s a direct link to the comment:
https://www.reddit.com/r/anime/comments/88fddm/im_shuhei_morita_the_director_of_anime_series/dwkcx3d/
sonicsenryaku
April 1, 2018 at 5:35 pmthanks man; this is some much needed ammunition
YesIam
April 1, 2018 at 10:25 am“I don’t quite get why FMP is so beloved (it’s fine, don’t get me wrong), but really – enjoy the fact that the show is coming back and don’t obsess over the studio…”
Didn’t you lament massively that Sangatsu no Lion was Shafted? FMP fans feel the same about Xebec
JJ
April 5, 2018 at 12:17 pmThanks for making the point for me YesIam, and far more succinctly than I would have.
Curiously, it’s the only discussion that has avoided so far. I find it hard to believe that GE has not have noticed the similarities between his position on Shaft and FMP fans’ on Xebec.
JJ
April 5, 2018 at 12:20 pmArgh, less inebriated posting for me.
“has been avoided,” and “has not noticed”. I wouldn’t normally bother to correct them on LiA (given how well spoken everybody else is), but I think my mistakes were significant enough to muddle the meaning of the sentence.
The wild guesser
April 1, 2018 at 4:35 pmConcerning Golden Kamuy, who exactly are the Ainu people?
Guardian Enzo
April 1, 2018 at 4:45 pmThat, I think, recommends a Google search and some reading – I can’t possibly try and answer it here.
In short – America has its native people, Australia has its Aborigines, Japan has the Ainu (and a couple of other small groups). And since the default in Japan is simply not to talk about shameful things (to be fair, that was the rule in the aforementioned other two cases for most of recent history too) talking about the Ainu is a major taboo.
The wild guesser
April 3, 2018 at 6:59 amOh, I see.
I’m gonna guess the Ainu were treated in a similar fashion to America’s Native Americans then.
Do you know any nonfiction books or any scholars regarding the Ainu? I don’t really trust websites unless I’m familiar with the subject enough to tell apart truth from fabrications.
Guardian Enzo
April 3, 2018 at 7:11 amThat’s a tough one, because it’s hard to discuss a case like the Ainu without being perceived as having a point of view. There are a ton of websites with lots of info, but if one perceived them as having an agenda (for what I view as telling the truth) I’m not sure they’re what you’re looking for.
MangaReader
April 1, 2018 at 8:45 pmWotaku ni Koi wa Muzukashii .
I feel the urge to somehow give some warning, this manga is too pandering.
too much fluff, low in content.
to give analogy, you might expect some Shounen Maid/Gakuen Babysitter level of substantial interaction but you might get repetitive,cloying story similar to Amaama to Inazuma/Yuru Camp.
Sam
April 2, 2018 at 4:15 amSo Golden Kamuy (and Boku no Hero Academia S3) are more or less expected to be great.
Didn’t know Kamuy was only one cour – there should be more than enough materials (Ch 153+) to cover 24 ep+, wonder why… It’s not like pacing is slow there as a plenty of stuff happens. Could it be that because it’s a seinen and has some gore – and more importantly tons of over-the-top funny homoeroticism humor theme (i.e. risqué), lol? Kamuy is definitely edgy to be a typical shonen, which is the way I like it. 🙂
Tons of cultural -Japanese and western- references and aforementioned homoeroticism humor is not at all mean-spirited but totally tongue in cheek IMO – although if the adaptation comes even close to faithful there, I would be interested in finding out what other think of it. Think it is the superior “Hokkaido Arc” than now-probably-never-be-released Nobuhiro’s, which wasn’t good and seemed to have jumped the shark IMO with little that came out before suspended.
As Hinamatsuri doesn’t seem to be popular at all here, once again if the adaptation does the justice, it should be one of funniest – am relatively optimistic as the preview looks decent enough.
It has that absurdity dialed to 20 humor (think of Danshi Koukousei no Nichijou but seinen and more coherent storyline and character development).
It’s hard when humor relies on facial expression on 2d drawings – which is why many gag manga doesn’t translate well into anime, but think it’s got more than that going. It is one of the funniest, definitely the funniest ongoing manga IMO, so my expectation is super high on this. 🙂
Other than than these 3, I did watch Steins;Gate 0 back when it came out, but probably will pass this sequel. Wasn’t keen on any OVA or movie sequel that came out and I too share the impression that it’s going into milking territory.
Guardian Enzo
April 2, 2018 at 4:31 amI’m assuming Golden Kamuy is one cour because it’s seinen, “artsy” and they figure it won’t make any money.
I have the defend the Hokkaido Arc a little – obviously we never got to see enough of it to make an informed judgment, but I liked what I read.
Sam
April 2, 2018 at 6:26 amProbably not too fair to judge based on 3-4 Chapters – as you mentioned -, but yeah perhaps too much time has passed (15+ years) and my taste may have changed. My poor impression won’t change how I enjoyed it during its original run though.
Also I am in camp that Kenshin, like many great manga, has more or less run its course with the storytelling when it ended and should have left as it was – even if am aware that some had been pining for years for that Hokkaido arc.
elianthos80
April 3, 2018 at 1:49 pmThanks for the preview in whatever shape form and size you have managed to present it
(it’ how you use it that matters, yadda yadda ). I’d say we have comfortably crossed the serviceable threshold – and the S one too. Indeed Enzo you horrible person thriving on FMP fans suffering XDDD.I have no worries left to give personally. Maybe because I’ve spoiled myself on the novels years ago hence if they really mean to stick to their plotline I know what to expect including the conclusion, ahah. It’s going to be a rollercoaster in any case– .The other two series I had voted for in the poll were Kamuy and Major btw. Out of the interesting & ‘safe’ picks quality-wise BNHA I really like but I am reading in manga form already and that’s enough with my time constraints ^_^” .
Matti
April 3, 2018 at 4:45 pmTada-kun wa Koi wo Shinai simply not being set in your usual Seishun Highschool makes the first ep a pick for me. Aside form that, Wotaku no Koi’s manga is decent enough, so I’ll probably give it a go. FMP peaked at Fomuffu, imho (probably KyoAni’s best work). The serious/mecha stuff was never as good as the comedy. Might as well check out Golden Kamui – manga seems to be well reviewed, but I never got down to reading it for whatever reason. Also the new Lupin, mainly for….. actually, I have no idea why.
Dein
April 5, 2018 at 8:32 amI noticed that anime comes and goes for me in periods sometimes. Some seasons, I’m all over it and others just pass by without me knowing much about them at all. In that regard this is definitely an OFF off season for me. I’m not necessarily saying it’s bad, but there’s precious little that interests me specifically (though having a music themed show is always a big plus). Hell, I got so caught up in real life stuff that I’m still trying to find the time to finish the excellent Koi wa Ameagari no You ni. But who knows, maybe something will grab me, for no other reason than to least be able to follow your wonderful coverage.
This is belated, but I wanted to say congrats on moving back to Japan. I’m very happy for you Enzo, and I wish you the best of luck in this new chapter in your life. Ganbatte!
Guardian Enzo
April 5, 2018 at 3:48 pmThank you so much for those kind words – with work starting it’s going to get a bit hit and miss here for a while until i get settled in, but I certainly appreciate everyone’s support.
Iki
April 6, 2018 at 5:02 amWhat is with Mashiro Moritaka and Sergio ‘Kun’ Aguero by the way? I’m pretty interested haha
Guardian Enzo
April 6, 2018 at 5:19 amWell, Mashiro is the protagonist of “Bakuman”, who said Ashita no Joe was his favorite manga. And Sergio Aguero is the Argentinian striker who loved Captain Tsubasa, took the nickname “-kun” and got a tattoo to that effect.
The wild guesser
April 6, 2018 at 4:26 pmIf I remember correctly, you mentioned Lupin iii part iv in your seasonal preview way back in 2015, but I never saw mention of it besides that. I’ve been curious ever since about your impression of part iv, if any. Since Part V is currently airing this season, I figured now would be as good a time as any to ask.
Guardian Enzo
April 7, 2018 at 1:07 amTBH, I never watched it. The first ep didn’t wow me and I just didn’t have the time at the time. How was it?
The wild guesser
April 11, 2018 at 7:03 amThe series was for the most part classic Lupin, mostly episodic and centered around Lupin evading Zenigata. There are a few episodes worthy of notice and an interesting plot began to unravel with the British Secret Service, but it wasn’t really fleshed out to a great degree.
The strength of the series lies with how much one likes/dislikes the main trio (Lupin, Jigen, and Goemon) and their adversary, Zenigata.
The art style was solid, and the soundtrack was pretty good, but not great. The OP/ED shown in the Toonami broadcast were fire.
Fun but not heavy or too layered, my only lament for the series was the fact that a few great characters were introduced that I KNOW will probably not appear again.
Overall, I’d probably give it a 7/10. No masterpiece, but definitely an enjoyable ride.