Fall 2018 Check-in

Considering what my expectations were coming into this season, the phrase “it could have been worse” seems like a pretty good fit for status report. None of the top tier have imploded, and a couple of series have legitimately over-performed thus far. Being an anime fan in 2018 has certainly reminded me of the virtues of small victories.

But with that said, the overall picture is still pretty bleak. The schedule lacks any outright masterpieces IMO, and nether Karakuri Circus or Kaze ga Tsuyoku Fuiteru have fully convinced me they’re year-end Top 10-caliber series (though Karakuri took a big step forward this week, and won’t be eligible until 2019 anyway). A couple of the sleepers I had hopes for have already flamed out, and even among the overachievers my expectations for something like Zombieland Saga were so low that overachieving wasn’t all that hard. I guess, to sum it up, we’re about where I expected to be for better or worse, and while I’ve been disappointed that a couple of shows I had hoped would raise the tide haven’t done so, we have seen one positive surprise with the potential to crack the top tier.

With that, to Fall 2018:

The Elite

None

Outstanding

Golden Kamuy Season 2
Episodes Watched: 3
Grade: A-
Comments: Golden Kamuy was certainly the safest bet for top series of the season, and that’s exactly how it’s turned out so far. No series currently airing brings so much to the table, and few in recent years combine highbrow and lowbrow, literary and absurd as well as this show does. I think it’s that tonal diversity that’s allowed it to become a minor commercial success, much to my surprise – so much so that a third season at some point probably isn’t outside the realm of possibility.

 

Very Good

Gurazeni Season 2
Episodes Watched: 4
Grade: B+
Comments: This category is the strength of the Fall schedule, no question about it. It’s a middle-heavy season that’s thin at the top, and I put Gurazeni at the head of that group because it executes what it sets out to do so flawlessly. It’s cheaply-made and a hard sell to get anyone not a hardcore baseball fan to look past that and embrace the series for its winning protagonist and superb writing and direction, but Gurazeni is an outstanding sports anime, plain and simple.

SSSS.Gridman
Episodes Watched: 3
Grade: B+
Comments: No doubt, SSSS.Gridman is Fall’s biggest surprise. I came in with a healthy suspicion of Trigger and no especial interest in tokusatsu, but so far at least this series has won me over. It reeks of classic Gainax in the Anno vein, the visuals are fantastic, and it’s managing to combine a very diverse group of influences into a very entertaining whole. I fear a shark jump at any moment – this is still Trigger – but especially since Gridman seems poised to be a major hit and spawn further anime, I fervently hope it closes the deal.

Karakuri Circus
Episodes Watched: 3
Grade: B
Comments: Karakuri Circus delivered pretty much as expected in its first two episodes, without totally blowing me away, but the third was a pretty big level-up. Things are happening awfully quickly and a couple of twists have been credulity-stretching, even for Fujita Kazuhiro. But the central cast has a lot of appeal and I’m buying into the core premise. Karakuri Circus seems like a solid bet to markedly improve, just as Ushio and Tora did.

Double Decker: Doug and Kirill
Episodes Watched: 5
Grade: B
Comments: I can’t really call Double Decker as big a surprise as Gridman, since I did like Tiger and Bunny a lot and much of the staff has returned. Still, given that so much time has passed and that T&B kinda lost its mojo late in its run, I didn’t necessarily expect to like Double Decker as much as I do. I still don’t know how this show is connected to Tiger and Bunny (if it is at all) but I do know it has a great sense of style and has been great fun. The fifth episode showed DD can handle serious crime drama too, so there seems to be a lot of potential working here.

 

Worthwhile

Radiant
Episodes Watched: 4
Grade: B
Comments: Radiant’s curious mix of European history and shounen convention is really working for me, even if the latest twist seems a bit premature. It’s not drawing much of a Western audience (though I don’t know how it’s doing in France) but there’s always room for a heartfelt and well-executed old-school shounen fantasy on my docket. With mangaka Tony Valente’s promise of more political material to come, I’m very much looking forward to seeing Radiant continue to develop.

Hinomaru Zumou
Episodes Watched: 4
Grade: B
Comments: Hinomarou Zumou is about as traditional as sports anime gets – right down to its focus on the incredibly traditional sport of sumo. But of course, school sumo has never (to my knowledge) been the subject of an anime before, and that alone lends this series a measure of interest, On top of that it seems to be quite good – patient in its storytelling and seemingly pretty realistic in the sport it depicts. This show is a fairly slow build but the appeal is already growing.

Kaze ga Tsuyoku Futeiru
Episodes Watched:
4
Grade:
B
Comments:
Run With the Wind hasn’t grabbed me as quickly as The Great Passage did. Part of that is my dislike of the main character, or at least how he’s conducted himself. That isn’t necessarily a problem in itself, but if the series takes the position that he’s been in the right the whole time (and it seems to be doing just that), Kaze ga Tsuyoku and I are going to have some real issues. I’m still a believer and there are a lot of things this show is doing right, but I have a certain wariness until we know just where we stand with Haiji.

 

Still Watching

Iroduku Sekai no Ashita kara
Episodes Watched: 4
Grade: C+
Comments: I sort of want to like this show better than I do – it’s a P.A. Works original from the writer of Tsuki ga Kirei, it looks great, and it’s set (rarely for anime) in Nagasaki. And there are things I like here, mostly the lack of emotional histrionics thus far. But I’m still on the fence about the female leads, and the premise hasn’t fully grabbed me yet. A bubble series if ever there was one, but the augers are not overly promising at this point.

Gaikotsu Shotenin Honda-san
Episodes Watched: 3
Grade: C+
Comments: Having managed bookstores for many a year, I’m amazed at how familiar the events of Gaikotsu Shotenin Honda-san often seem given that it takes place in a very different culture. This half-length show is quite fun, and you can really tell that the mangaka lived the experience of working at a bookshop – the authenticity level is high, even if there’s a ton of exaggeration for comic effect. I’m also amused that there’s no explanation whatsoever for the cast looking the way they do.

Tensei shitara Slime Datta Ken
Episodes Watched:4
Grade: C+
Comments: With Tensei Shitara Slime Datta Ken it’s as much about what it isn’t at what it is.  It’s not egregiously dumb or awash in adolescent admiration for fascism the way some LN adaptations are, and that counts for something.  It’s also a series whose heart is basically in the right place, and probably represents about the best the regrettable genre of isekai has to offer.

Zombieland Saga
Episodes Watched: 4
Grade: C+
Comments: There have been a few “alt” idol anime over the years, seemingly intent on satirizing or outright deconstructing the despicable industry. But they pretty much all chicken out after a few episodes, and while it’s too early to say that about Zombieland Saga, the last two eps definitely had the feel of a show that had lost its nerve.

 

Incomplete

Tsurune: Kazemai Koukou Kyuudoubu
Episodes Watched: 1
Grade: B
Comments: I can’t really slot Tsurune into any of the above categories after a single episode, which is all I’ve seen after the series’ late premiere. I enjoyed it – there’s potential here for sure, though my skepticism level with Kyoto Animation is pretty high at this point.

Dropped:

Goblin Slayer, RErideD, Tokigoe no Derrida, Jingai-san no Yome, Toaru Majutsu no Index III, Kishuku Gakkou no Juliet, Conception

 

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

Monday:
Definitely Blogging: Double Decker: Doug & Kirill
On the Bubble: Tsurune: Kazemai Koukou Kyuudoubu

Tuesday:
Definitely Blogging: Golden Kamuy Second Season

Wednesday:
Definitely Blogging: None
Probably Blogging: Kaze ga Tsuyoku Fuiteiru

Thursday:
Definitely Blogging: None

Friday:
Definitely Blogging: Karakuri Circus

Saturday:
Definitely Blogging: Gurazeni Season 2, Hinomaru Zumou, Radiant
On the Bubble:
Iroduku Sekai no Ashita Kara

Sunday:
Definitely Blogging: Gegege no Kitarou (2018)
Probably Blogging: SSSS.Gridman

Manga: Otoyomegatari, Hunter X Hunter

Watching For Now: Captain Tsubasa 2018, Zombieland Saga, Gaikotsu Shotenin Honda-san, Tensei shitara Slime Datta Ken

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31 comments

  1. Just a C foi Zombieland?
    I’m disappointed.

    Hey, aren’t you watching Bloom Into You?
    Always heard praises about this one. Now that I’m watching the anime I’m seeing that it’s really good. Good and well directed, a worth watch.

  2. C+. But the last two eps have felt very safe and too much like a straight idol show for me.

  3. But isn’t a idol show? Just with a little twist?

  4. M

    this looks bleak lol. and to think that Anime’s downfall and salvation have been an ongoing talk since early 2010….

  5. This season of Golden Kamuy has been a little too batshit nuts for my taste, but the recent one was the best of the lot.

    Overall though I think this season is pretty good, especially compared to the drought of shows in Summer.

  6. Volume-wise fall is normally better than summer, and I think there are more watchable to decent shows this year. But there’s nothing at the top I consider as good as Hi Score Girl or Planet With – so far.

  7. I’m looking forward to Zombieland Saga!

  8. The series that I am enjoying the most this season is Thunderbolt Fantasy Season 2. It gloriously celebrates the wuxia tropes and deliriously fun to watch.

  9. Unfortunately, not enough (female) dolls in this season.

  10. G

    Thunderbolt is a damn fun series to watch, just not for everyone’s tastes. People don’t realize the effort that goes into bringing puppets to life like that.

    I’m disappointed in Index this season. Its all over the place and not making a lot of sense. Unlike Enzo I am really enjoying Slime. Its not a masterpiece but it sure is fun to watch.

  11. It was a longshot I was going to feel anything for Index at this point, but it became obvious pretty quickly I just have no tolerance for it any more. As for Thunderbolt, I wish it clicked for me, I really do – it’s totally on me.

    I’m enjoying Slime too – I thought I communicated that. I just feel no compulsion to write about it.

  12. T

    i always find the differing opinions of individuals regarding the same subject to be eternally entertaining, and 2018 in anime is no different.

    I’ve heard a good number of people refer to 2018 (as of right now) as omen of the greatest years of anime in recent memory (by that I’m assuming the last 5 years so anime from 2014-2018).

    I can see their point, to an extent. Shows like Planet With and Golden Kamuy have earned critical praise damn near across the board.

    A lot of people refer to shows like the edutainment of Cells at Work, the emotion-driven shows like Violet Evergarden and A Place Further than the Universe, and the laughs of Hinamatsuri and Wotakoi as evidence that 2018 hasn’t been that bad of a year.

    Couple with that shows like Jojo Part 5, Aggretsuko, Devilman Crybaby, My Hero Academia Season 3, Megalo Box, and SAO Alternative, and 2018 is no longer a pretty good year, but an ELITE year in anime.

    I don’t know if I personally agree with that sentiment, personally I don’t feel like too many shows from 2018 have become all-time classics, but on the other hand I’ve found enough good anime to watch this year, so I don’t feel it was anywhere near a bust.

    I like 2018 more than 2017, if only because I’m a sucker for Gakouen Babysitter and the United States of Smash, but I don’t think I’d put it near the top of anime years.

    But what’s your opinion? Compared to recent memory, where does 1018 (so far) rank in relation to other years?

  13. My sense now is that by my criteria it will go down as the worst year of the decade. The best recent (post ’12, which was stellar) for me was ’16. But when I tot it up at the end I could be surprised to a degree.

    I’d also really disagree that Planet With was universally praised. I think it was pretty divisive.

  14. T

    I can see that, though 2018 does have some great shows, I feel like their greatness is dimmed by compromise (Planet With only getting 12 episodes to work with, and the production value of Golden Kamuy and Hi Score Girl for example), while 2016 did have a stellar combination of quality and diversity.

    On Planet With, maybe there was a divide between critics and general audiences, but I never really got the impression that it was divisive. I felt that it was largely ignored (how one can ignore a giant cat mecha is beyond me), but those few that have seen it, viewers and reviewers alike, seem to acknowledge the show’s merits, some even calling it the anime of the year.

    Speaking of Mizukami, in a perfect world, if you had to pick ONE Mizukami manga to be faithfully adapted, which would it be?

  15. Not even an instant’s hesitation, Spirit Circle. If I could name three unadapted manga by any author, ever, that would be one of the three.

  16. s

    To be honest, I’m already over fall of anime 2018; I just want to hop into 2019 already so i can get my Mob Psycho season 2. I was already hyped enough for it, but after hearing whispers of how ahead of production it is and some supposed bragging from staff about how proud they are of their work on it, I’m just ready as all hell to watch a tv production that reminds me of why I love anime so much

  17. b

    Do you plan on blogging HxH again, Enzo? I’ve finally started to warm up to the new characters, and am really worried about a couple of older ones.

  18. Dammit, y’all keep asking…. I mean to, just trying to find time. This was my week to catch up but then I got sick.

  19. b

    Sorry, sorry. I don’t mean to nag.

    Anyway are you going to cover Yagate Kimi ni Naru? because it’s really–
    /sarcasm

  20. Does it get a lot better after the first couple of eps?

    I don’t want to generalize, but I was fooled by a lot of people with B****a F**h, saying it was free of BL tropes and such. Yagate didn’t strike me as crass in the yuri pandering way, but honestly nothing about it struck me as exceptional.

  21. b

    If you don’t like all the meaningful reaction shots and saccharine music, then you probably won’t like the rest of the show. I would say it gets better, but that’s a really subjective statement. Assuming it follows the manga (and it shows every sign of doing so), Yagate will probably get a bit more serious/melodramatic in a few episodes. One of the characters has a complex psychological issue that slowly comes to light. The show doesn’t really lose its cheeriness, though.

    I haven’t watched much yuri, so I don’t know if Yagate escapes the usual tropes. What I like is that the show is respectful of its characters. The yuri element isn’t crass, or presented as a joke. The leads are just two people trying to find out why they feel the way they do. They communicate their feelings pretty openly, so there’s no annoying misunderstandings, either. Idk, Yagate’s a hard sell, and sometimes I wonder what my motives are for watching it.

  22. Fair enough. When a show is in a pandering minefield like Yagate, it basically has two hurdles to clear. It has to avoid the pandering, and it has to be entertaining. Yagate seemed mostly OK on the first one but stumbled on the second for me.

  23. M

    Well, what you find entertaining is completely subjective. But about it getting better, as a manga reader, I think the english title Bloom Into You is rather apt in many levels, when I started reading I also thought it was just a competent but average yuri story, but as it goes on, it grows slowly but very naturally into a rather unique direction, especially compared to other yuri manga, with a maturity in the characterization that I find extremely rare in any kind of manga.
    Regarding yuri tropes, you would have to be very nitpicky to say Yagate has pandering, but I think in a way Yagate purposefully presents the basis of elements common in the genre, like initial setting itself, but it never falls in the pitfalls of the genre by smartly approaching them with a focus on natural development of the characters.

  24. M

    Frankly, the most entertaining anime-related thing this season was Twitter reacting to Goblin Slayer. Hilarious shit.

  25. f

    I know you mentioned you have a cold but weakest season in a decade is… Rather out there. Hell your own top ten of 2013 includes Zetsuen no Tempest.

    I enjoy reading for the different perspectives, I especially enjoy comparing it against my wife’s opinions ( who is relatively new to anime ). For example she loved Yuru camp which is probably dismissed as CGDGT, which she expresses as ‘girls and friendship’, and is sports anime with mostly men all that different?

    Her favorite show this year would be Hakumei and Mikochi, and the only show this season she asks me is out yet is goblin slayer. For her winter 2018 was a high water mark.

    All this is to say that taste is pretty subjective and taste is certainly not a moral opinion, at least any student of history will tell us moral criticism of art is provincial dreck.

  26. ’13 wasn’t a great year or anything, but Zetsuen would probably be in my running for best show this year. I won’t know until I start compiling the list but I’ll be shocked if it isn’t the weakest since I’ve been blogging.

  27. k

    Highlights of the season ignored by G.E.:
    Yagate Kimi ni Naru, Thunderbolt Fantasy: Touri-ken Yuuki 2, JoJo no Kimyou na Bouken: Ougon no Kaze

    Great/good shows:
    DOUBLE DECKER! Doug & Kirill, Tsurune: Kazemai Koukou Kyuudou Bu, Golden Kamuy 2nd Season, Kaze ga Tsuyoku Fuiteiru, Karakuri Circus

    Flawed, but still pretty watchable:
    Tensei Shitara Slime Datta Ken, Seishun Buta Yarou wa Bunny Girl Senpai no Yume o Minai, Irozuku Sekai no Ashita kara, Hinomaru Zumou, Goblin Slayer

    Mainstream (ignored by me):
    To Aru Majutsu no Index III, Sword Art Online: Alicization, SSSS.GRIDMAN

    G.E.recommendations (also ignored by me):
    Radiant, Gurazeni 2

    Going by numbers it’s probably one of the strongest seasons in recent years (but we’ll still see G.E. complaining about it).

  28. Because my opinion is inherently less valid than yours, I presume?

  29. k

    For me your reasoning is flawed (my previous post should be enough to know why I think so), but other people can agree with you or just find your input valuable. I guess if we translate “a weak season” to “not as many animes, that scratch your particular itch, as you’d like to see”, it makes more sense.

    Should I really explain this? Or should I apologize for looking at thing from a different point of view (I noticed that you felt attacked by me doing that)?

  30. You de-legitimized my assessment of the season, and the only grounds you gave was that you like a lot of shows that I don’t (“going by numbers…”). I’ve stated my opinion on the season, and I’ve gone into great detail as to why I like and don’t like the shows that make it up. I don’t know what else you expect, but that’s about as far as I can take it.

  31. Watched the anime short, Jingai-san no Yome, and found the episodes so far are strangely.. cute in a weird way. Since it is a weekly short, may just continue watching.

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