2024 Seasonal Anime

[dr. b 492]

I must say, I’m not super hyped for the winter season. But we’ve gotta have a seasonal thread, so here we are 

 

Links:

• MAL Winter 2024
• AniChart

 

 

I’ve looked over the MAL page a couple times now and honestly nothing is jumping out at me. Once I know what Crunchyroll will have streaming, I might take a closer look at a couple things. I think I would love to watch a good slice-of-life or light-hearted teenage romance story (e.g. something along the lines of Horimiya or Skip and Loafer) this winter. I’m not sure if anything new is going to scratch that itch though. This winter might end up being a backlog-catch-up season instead. 
 

Is there anything you are looking forward to?

[Psycho666Soldier 283]

I'll still be watching Undead Unluck, but not seeing anything that I recognize looking at the list.  Will probably just wait and see if any of you point something out as good and decide from there.

[dr. b 492]

I still need to try to get a first look at Undead Unluck…

 

Yubisaki to Renren (A Sign of Affection) sounds like it could be a nice feel-good story for this winter. Crunchy had it in their lineup. 
 

Quote

Yuki Itose is a hearing-impaired university student whose world has been shrouded with silence since birth. She has lived in the same place her whole life, and rarely interacts with others save for her best friend, Rin Fujishiro. During her commute one day, she meets the silver-haired and multilingual Itsuomi Nagi, a mutual friend of Rin. Unlike most, Itsuomi is unwavering when he learns of Yuki's impairment; this, along with his experiences abroad, fascinates and touches her. After they part, her fondness of him starts to grow. A new world begins to open for both Yuki and Itsuomi as they learn about each other's different lives.

Yubisaki to Renren is a lighthearted, romantic comedy that illustrates the silent life of a university student and how one man sharing his world starts to change her own.

[Tassifox 418]

Okay now that things holiday wise are finally slowing down and I can take a moment to type. My list:

Def excited for the returning of Tsuki ga Michibiku, Urusei Yatsura, and High Card. Totes freaking excited for more Blue Exorcist, I should rewatch that so I can refresh myself since it's been a minute from that series. Not sure if I like Mashle enough to keep watching. It's funny in it's own sense but I can't help but feel the big Shonen trope of adding way more characters and more backgrounds to keep track etc. Maybe.

I am giddy for Dungeon Meshi. DnD with wholesome food porn? Sign me up! And continuing Kusuriya no Hitorigato  for the second half of that show. 

 

Ones that I'm curious about but trailers aren't giving me any UMPH in them.
Majo to Yajuu
Metallic Rouge
Shaman King Flowers (I may not considering it's just continuing on with new chars like Yu-Gi-Oh and all that)
Ishura
Sengoku Youko looks cute.
Meiji Gekken:1874

Depending on how the other half of that list fares. Might be a quite winter season for me and maybe check out some of the shows that friends are telling me to see.

 

[Tassifox 418]

Already in love with Dungeon Meshi and i want moar.

[dr. b 492]

I checked out a couple of new shows tonight and I think they’re both keepers. 
 

Metallic Rouge has a nice mix of sci-fi and action. Very solid animation and production from Bones. Definitely got my attention. 
 

A Sign of Affection is exactly what I hoped it would be. Love the main character already  I am really looking forward to see where things go in the next episode. 

[dr. b 492]

Second episode of A Sign of Affection was more feel-good, comfy stuff  Yuki is a truly likeable main character  

 

I also got started finally on Frieren last night. Holy smokes, can’t believe I slept on this show all last season. I love the style and aesthetics, very nice work by Madhouse, and I immediately connected with the characters. I look forward to binge watching this to get caught up

[dr. b 492]

Very quickly got up to episode #10 in Frieren. Still enjoying it a lot! It’s a thing of beauty. 

I knew those demons were up to no good right away, just like Frieren did. I loved the fight between Fern, Stark, and the two demons (Linie and Lugner?) The way Frieren dealt with Aura was awesome too. 

Stark has been a nice addition. Frieren and Fern are both very subdued characters, a bit dull at times, so Stark brings up the energy a bit. 

[dr. b 492]

I’m now up to episode 16 of Frieren—just two episodes away from being caught up. Sein has been a nice addition to the squad. Still loving this show. 

[Tassifox 418]

i just watched ep 19 this week so you might have 3 to catch up on. The next arch gets super fun!

[dr. b 492]

Ye, I saw episode 19 dropped on Crunchy on Friday, so I’ve only got a couple episodes to go to get fully caught up. I watched #17 on Friday night. I wanted to keep going but I was getting sleepy. I don’t want to nod off and miss part of this show. I’ll watch more tonight if I have time.

 

It was unfortunate to see Sein go off in a different direction in episode 17, but it feels like they will link up with him again before too long.

[Tassifox 418]

So far with the new stuff of Metallic Rouge and Majo to Yajuu I'm enjoying it. I also still really enjoy Dungeon Menshi but I can see why a couple of my friends bailed on it after ep 2
 

Spoiler

Their reasoning was that there's no sense of urgency to save their Sister healer from being digested by the dragon. If they wanted to go a more casual route with the food portion of the dungeon there's a few different ways they could have done the story so that it didn't just blow the wind out of it from saying "we gotta go save Falin!" and then take their sweet time going through things. And I get that. I'm still in it for the wholesome cooking but I will agree with them on that argument.

Ishura tho I'm gonna bail. The first handful of episodes are spent introducing a lot of characters and talking about a lot of political stuff that I feel is still missing some context unless you had an outside source of information like playing a game or reading the manga. Makes it hard to want to get into it as a whole.

As for continuing stuff still loving High Card, Urusei Yatsura, the Apothacary one, and Frieren. Mashle is still kinda fun but I might not continue it depending on how this season ends. FUCK I've missed Blue Exorcist tho and I really need to rebinge the previous seasons. 

[dr. b 492]

I randomly started watching the first season of Mashle this week out of boredom and I quickly finished the first 12 episodes. A bit surprised how much I’m enjoying it! I’m looking forward to getting caught up in the second season. 
 

I am still enjoying Metallic Rouge and especially Frieren. 
 

also A Sign of Affection is lovely  

[dr. b 492]

Frieren #23

Frieren falling for Mimics is never not funny You see the joke coming a mile away and it’s still funny. I am really enjoying the First Class Mage Exam. The dungeon they’re all crawling through right now is great. 

[Eizan 126]

I'm waiting for Frieren to finish before watching all the 2nd half. It's what I did for the first half.

 

Aside from that only thing I've been watching is The Dangers in my Heart. Which I had to give another chance, because the first couple of episodes are a bit rough and I orignally dropped it, but I'd say from Episode 4 onwards it's been absolutely fantastic. The character development is really great and the show has a lot of minor details that reoccur from previous episodes that makes it pretty enjoyable.   

[dr. b 492]

You’re gonna enjoy the rest of Frieren! It’s been great. 
 

A Sign of Affection keeps impressing me. It’s such a charming and heart-warming show. Feels so good to watch it every week  I am gonna be bummed out when it’s over. 

[dr. b 492]

Wow these seasonal threads are getting quiet  

 

Anybody else watching A Sign of Affection? It’s very heart-warming and charming  

[Psycho666Soldier 283]

I honestly having watched any of the new series this season.  I've mostly been watching Undead Unluck and then my girlfriend and I finally started JJK.  I might give some of these others y'all have talked about a shot once those are dried up.

[Eizan 126]

On 2/25/2024 at 9:14 PM, dr. b said:

You’re gonna enjoy the rest of Frieren! It’s been great. 

Huh 28 is a weird number of episodes. I already caught up thinking it was done, but it still has 2 episodes. 

 

It's been really good though. 

[dr. b 492]

6 hours ago, Eizan said:

Huh 28 is a weird number of episodes. I already caught up thinking it was done, but it still has 2 episodes. 

 

It's been really good though. 

Yeah the first “half” of the series was a bit longer than usual. IIRC four episodes dropped all at once at the start of the Fall season. Not that I am complaining—I want more!

[Tassifox 418]

20 hours ago, dr. b said:

Wow these seasonal threads are getting quiet  

 

Anybody else watching A Sign of Affection? It’s very heart-warming and charming  

Welcome to RL taking over and we kinda don't really debate or go full in depth on discussion when watching seasonal stuff. We usually say the same remarks and move on. Most of my anime talk has been with close friends outside the forums. Plus there are times when I know I'm behind on watching eps and I avoid this thread of new comments in case of any hint of spoilers.

As for the latter, nope. Wasn't feeling up for something like that and I've got plenty of series both continuing and new to keep me busy with content to watch. The 2 new series I've really been enjoying has been Majo to Yajuu and Metallic Rouge with Dungeon Menshi being 3rd runner up.

Continuing series top faves have been Kusuriya no Hirogoto and Frieren, I felt the same surprise that there was some more eps than initially thought but also not complaining especially after ep 26.
 

Spoiler

Fucking figures after they totally beat the crap of the Frieren double with that fucking absolute epic battle, what does she fucking do? Get caught in ANOTHER fucking mimic.

 

 

[dr. b 492]

I’ve been enjoying Metallic Rouge a lot too. Lots of twists and turns to this story. I’ve found it hard to follow at times watching weekly. It will be a great binge-watch show once all 13 episodes are done. 
 

The mimic gag never gets old in Frieren

[dr. b 492]

Only one episode left of Frieren. I’m gonna be so bummed out when it ends next weekend

[dr. b 492]

Starting to look ahead to the Spring season. There is some good stuff coming up! Rather than make a new thread for each season, I was thinking of renaming this one to “2024 Seasonal Anime” and just have one thread for the year. Any objections from you three?

[Psycho666Soldier 283]

No objection from me!  I think that works too because I tend to watch some stuff out of season and don't really see a reason to not keep it to the same thread.

[Tassifox 418]

I mean we already have a thread for out of season anime watching. As long as spoiler comments are better covered /even if they don't seem like spoilers to you/ I'm fine with it.
And if you're gonna do it, do it soon because with what's already crossing over from Winter and new seasons of continuing series my list is already halfway full of what I'm watching and gonna closer inspect the new new shows and see if they're gonna be on my spring list or wait until later.

[dr. b 492]

Done!

 

Let the Winter 2024 season discussion continue — but let’s also look ahead to Spring. Here are some of the usual links:

• MAL Spring 2024
• AniChart Spring 2024
• Crunchyroll Spring 2024 lineup

What are we all looking forward to this spring?  

[Tassifox 418]

I was double checking episode #'s and I'm kinda surprised Dungeon Menshi is gonna be 24 eps. Be interesting to see where else they take this but I thought with the story plot it was gonna end roughly at 12/13 eps.
Same thing for Sengoku Youko. I wasn't surprised it would be a long series but the weird # is stops on. 37 eps. I can't remember the last time a series ended on a weird number like that. I'll def be sad when Frieren and Apothacary Diaries ends this week but they were both wonderful series.

SO FOR SPRING LINEUP: As I mentioned between what's carrying over from Winter season and what series are doing new seasons I'm already packed in what I'm watching. I have a handful of titles from new content to see if it might be worth adding to watchlist but I was not impressed by much of it.

Carrying over from Winter season:
Tsukimichi S2
Sengoku Youko
Dungeon Menshi
Urusei Yatsura S2

NEW SEASONS OF FAVE SERIES:
Konosuba S3
Demon Slayer S5
Jobless Hero S2 Pt 2
Slime Datta Ken S3
Hero Acadamia S7
NEW BLACK BUTLER

New Content/Maybes:
Kaiju no. 8
Sentai Daishikakku
Kaii to Otome to Kamikakuji (this one I'm especially curious because dark horror genre)
Re:Monster (gives me big Re:Zero vibes and not just because of the name)
Karasu wa Aruji wo Erabanai

[Psycho666Soldier 283]

I'll be watching Kaiju No. 8 but I think k the art feels a bit neutered compared to the manga art.  The character designs don't look quite right and I think it makes the subject matter look a bit lighter than it actually is. Still, some great action that'll probably look awesome animated.

[dr. b 492]

So far this is what I have on my watch list for spring:

• KonoSuba: It’s been long enough since the last season that I’m looking forward to seeing these characters in action again. Should be lots of laughs.
• Kaiju No. 8: I keep saying I’m going to pick up the manga… then I never do it  So I will start with the anime and then continue with the manga wherever the anime leaves off. 
• Hibike! Euphonium Season 3: I am SO HYPED for this one!   Absolutely loved the first two seasons  
• Bartender: Kami no Glass: Sounds like something I will enjoy. 
• Yoru no Kurage wa Oyogenai (Jellyfish Can’t Swim in the Night): Anime original by Doga Kobo. They’ve done some other originals that I enjoyed quite a bit. Sounds like something I might like based on the vague synopsis. Here’s hoping. 
   

I’ll see if anything else be piques my interest on Crunchyroll. TBD. 

[dr. b 492]

Frieren #28 — No spoilers, but I’m general this episode felt like a very fitting ending to what I thought was a fantastic series. I loved the story and pretty much the whole cast. Madhouse did incredible work with the animation. I’m sad it’s over. 

[Tassifox 418]

Frieren
 

Spoiler

I love how you still get to learn interesting little things about the other mages even when it's the last ep. Like how Serie called out the other one with the "you're probably drinking tea right now you mthfkr" XD like dude. That's ballsy af not to even be there at the actual mage test (possibly) this whole fucking time. And the small background story with Denken and his wife. And Serie being petty to ban Frieren from the ceremony Gotta love the cranky older elves.
Stark would make a great bard with how easy everyone is charmed by him.
Frieren with the stack of grimiores is me with books in general. *looks at TBR pile I currently have*

Overall I'm glad my friends talked me into giving this series another try. It was beautifully animated especially in the fight scenes. The subtle character interactions and how the relationships grow. I appreciate that FernxStark wasn't done over the top in their romance but just small things of their small attitude changes or facial expressions. Or how you knew Frieren and Fern would be in a "fight" from how they interacted.
I seriously hope we get another season since they are still on their way on their journey.

 

[dr. b 492]

11 hours ago, Tassifox said:

Frieren
 

  Reveal hidden contents

I love how you still get to learn interesting little things about the other mages even when it's the last ep. Like how Serie called out the other one with the "you're probably drinking tea right now you mthfkr" XD like dude. That's ballsy af not to even be there at the actual mage test (possibly) this whole fucking time. And the small background story with Denken and his wife. And Serie being petty to ban Frieren from the ceremony Gotta love the cranky older elves.
Stark would make a great bard with how easy everyone is charmed by him.
Frieren with the stack of grimiores is me with books in general. *looks at TBR pile I currently have*

Overall I'm glad my friends talked me into giving this series another try. It was beautifully animated especially in the fight scenes. The subtle character interactions and how the relationships grow. I appreciate that FernxStark wasn't done over the top in their romance but just small things of their small attitude changes or facial expressions. Or how you knew Frieren and Fern would be in a "fight" from how they interacted.
I seriously hope we get another season since they are still on their way on their journey.

 

 

Yeah, I also liked how we were learning interesting tidbits about all the characters right until the end. I grew to like quite a few of the other test takers. So many good characters in this story in general. 

I loved Fern’s choice of spell to learn from Serie. That’s so like her  

And the last couple flashbacks to Frieren’s time with Himmel were perfect. 

I would love to see another season—if all the same people are working on it. I know they teased at the end of the episode that the story continues, but I don’t think more anime has been announced. And Madhouse doesn’t seem to do a ton of sequels. The after-credits note might have just been to get people reading the manga… but I will still hope for more anime. 

[dr. b 492]

Here’s one more I’ll have to add to my watch list. Not sure how I missed it the first time scrolling through the Crunchyroll lineup page!

 

RoOT/Route of OddTaxi. 
 

It's live action interpretation of OddTaxi. I liked the trailer. Should be fun. 

 

[Tassifox 418]

1 hour ago, dr. b said:

  Hide contents

Yeah, I also liked how we were learning interesting tidbits about all the characters right until the end. I grew to like quite a few of the other test takers. So many good characters in this story in general. 

I loved Fern’s choice of spell to learn from Serie. That’s so like her  

And the last couple flashbacks to Frieren’s time with Himmel were perfect. 

I would love to see another season—if all the same people are working on it. I know they teased at the end of the episode that the story continues, but I don’t think more anime has been announced. And Madhouse doesn’t seem to do a ton of sequels. The after-credits note might have just been to get people reading the manga… but I will still hope for more anime. 

Spoiler

Dude if I was able to get a spell to keep my clothes fucking clean at adventures I would die happy! How to other fantasy stories not introduce shit like this!?

 

[dr. b 492]

I checked out the first episode of Train to the End of the World (Shuumatsu Train Doko e Iku?) last night. It is a weird anime original. The start is pretty trippy. I was not expecting this much weirdness just from reading the synopsis  Weirdness in a good way IMO. I thought it was pretty interesting. Good enough to give it a couple more episodes, anyways. 

[dr. b 492]

First episode of RoOT is out! I rather enjoyed it. OddTaxi was awesome. I’m looking forward to seeing the story retold in live action

[dr. b 492]

The ending of Metallic Rouge was pretty good. Maybe a couple loose ends. But I was happy with it overall. Bones did some great work with this show! The aesthetics and style were fantastic. I will miss seeing and hearing the OP every week  It’s a throw-back kind of tune. Definitely heavy inspiration from 80s and 90s music. 

 

Naomi = best girl   

 

I also checked out the first episode of Bartender: Kami no Glass. It was fun and chill. It is not AOTS material but I think I will enjoy it anyways. 

[dr. b 492]

Hibike! Euphonium is back in my life and I could not be happier  Fantastic first episode back. I was smiling ear to ear throughout   

[dr. b 492]

On 4/2/2024 at 2:47 PM, dr. b said:

I checked out the first episode of Train to the End of the World (Shuumatsu Train Doko e Iku?) last night. It is a weird anime original. The start is pretty trippy. I was not expecting this much weirdness just from reading the synopsis  Weirdness in a good way IMO. I thought it was pretty interesting. Good enough to give it a couple more episodes, anyways. 

Watched the second episode last night and I’m still enjoying the vibes of this one. Definitely a keeper for me this season. 

[dr. b 492]

First episode back of KonoSuba was a barrel of laughs  I missed these crazy characters. 
 

I enjoyed the first episode of Kaiju No. 8 a lot too. It was a bit more silly than I was expecting (not in a bad way). Definitely looks like a keeper. Then I’ll pick up the manga from wherever the anime ends. 

[Tassifox 418]

Shit should get fairly interesting after ep 3 of Konosuba.

From new content Kaiju 8 Gou and Go Go Loser Ranger are pretty fun. I like the turn around of the "bad guy" angle vs the trope heros. I've also been enjoying Wind Breaker even though that one wasn't on my radar from the list but gave it a shot. And Re:Monster is kinda like Reincarnated Slime but with Goblins instead and a touch more gruesome. Some of the other new ones on my list are okay but won't know for sure how good until a bit later.

[dr. b 492]

I was curious about Loser Ranger... buuuuut it's on Disney+ so that's a bit of an obstacle for me. I am basically Crunchyroll-or-bust, except for the occasional Netflix series. I'm also pretty bummed out that Jellyfish Can't Swim at Night is on HIDIVE and not Crunchy. Fortunately, everything else I was looking forward to is on Crunchy, and--so far so good--I am enjoying everything.

 

RoOT has not been as good as the O.G. OddTaxi, but that's a pretty high bar to try to clear. I still think RoOT is enjoyable. It's an interesting and different spin on OddTaxi.

 

Hibike! Euphonium is probably AOTS for me. Animation is as beautiful as before. I still love the characters. Some of the new first-year characters seem to be fun so far too. I'm so happy this show is back.

 

Train to the End of the World is really quirky and weird. Probably kind of a like-it-or-hate-it kind of show. I am in the LIKE camp.

 

It's only been one episode so far of both Kaiju No. 8 and KonoSuba. Liked what I've seen so far.

 

Bartender is probably the weakest of the bunch for me this season, but I enjoy it for the chill atmosphere and all the booze talk  

[Tassifox 418]

The Grimm Variations started on Netflix today. GODS DAMN I forgot how much i missed CLAMP's art style

[dr. b 492]

I really love the Konosuba S3 ending tune. 

 

 

[Tassifox 418]

At ep 5 of Re:Monster. I think i might put this one on the backburner and come back to it as a filler when i got nothing else to watch. It's an ok series. They try to play it similar to Slime Datta Ken with world building, RPG stats stuff and fun characters. Leans on the gruesome a but kinda like Goblin Slayer in battles and such. But there's no hint any key storyline and the blips they hand out get overshadowed by

1. Fan service of the harem trope

2. Treating the day to day like a diary which was haha funny like Among Us vibes but got old.

3. Basically it's just seeing how Super Saiyan we can stack this Goblin with God-mod abilities.

 

[dr. b 492]

I never got round to checking that one out. I don't think I will bother.

 

I'm still enjoying everything that I signed up for this season. Hibike! Euphonium S3 and Kaiju No. 8 are tied for my top spot so far this season. RoOT and Konosuba S3 are fairly close behind them. Bartender and Train to the End of the World are not AOTS material but are both pleasant watches. Train to the End of the World is very kooky.

[dr. b 492]

 

Spring 2024 season has nearly wrapped. 
 

Hibike! Euphonium S3 was easily my favourite thing to watch this season. The final episode is this weekend. Will they finally win at The Nationals???  My guess is no, because we don’t often get the perfect ending in these kinds of stories. But I’m hoping for it anyways   

 

Kaiju No. 8 and KonoSuba were runners-up for my favourite. I’m looking forward to continuing the Kaiju No. 8 manga. The last few episodes of KonoSuba were solid too. The ending was fairly predictable but well executed anyhow. I enjoyed the mini-drama with Darkness leaving the party. 
 

Train to the End of the World had a weird ending / non-ending that kind of made me question what was the point of even watching any of it  It was a weird and at times fun ride I guess. 
 

Bartender was a good-but-not-great, comfortable watch. 

 

———————
 

Summer season incoming!

 

Links:

• MAL Summer 2024 page
• AniChart Summer 2024 page
• Crunchyroll Summer 2024 Lineup

I’m not gonna watch a lot this summer. I’ll check out S2 of Tower of God even though I hardly remember anything about the first season at this point  Mayonaka Punch sounds like it could be fun too. Nothing else is jumping out at me. 

[dr. b 492]

Sweet Jesus. The ending to Hibike! Euphonium was perfect. Absolutely perfect. I am dead   The final episode, particularly the second half of it, a masterpiece. God damn I love this story and these characters  

[h2ojunkie 96]

Not sure when it came out, but my sister and I have been watching Mushoku Tensei: Jobless Reincarnation. There are cring parts that just make us laugh out loud.