Sweet Dreams

SPY x FAMILY: Still love, love, love! This cour was perhaps slightly weaker than the first with a lot that could be considered "filler" (though very fun filler!), but this show has really shot to the top of my favorites, not just this season, or even this year. I'm talking about all-time! Well, I probably would still say Kaleido Star is my ultimate favorite, but seriously, I haven't fallen for a show like this since...well, Kaleido Star! I even bought an Anya Mini Figuarts figure during Crunchyroll's Black Friday sale (although I'm still waiting for them to actually ship it... Gotta give them props for not only giving everyone affected by the back-up free express delivery upgrades, but also a $25 off coupon!). So happy that another season has already been confirmed, along with an anime-original movie!

 

Bocchi The Rock! - This was not on my initial list of shows to watch this season, but the good reviews it got during ANN's preview guide convinced me to give it a try, and I'm so glad I did! I tend to love series about people forming a band, and this one was no exception. So, so hilarious, and Bocchi's social anxiety was very relatable, but not to the point where it felt cringy like in some shows I've watched. (I'm thinking specifically of It's Your Guys' Fault I'm Not Popular (or whatever it's called).) The music scenes were also really well done, feeling realistic for a new, relatively inexperienced band.

 

Raven of the Inner Palace - I always love a good historical fantasy shoujo, and bonus points if it involves the supernatural, so Raven was right in my wheelhouse. I loved watching Shouxue gradually opening up to other people (especially her love interest, Emperor Gaojun), and the character and costume designs were beautiful, even if the animation itself was nothing special. I also thought the mythology in the show was really well-done and interesting. Definitely hoping for another season!

 

My Hero Academia - It's battle time! Pretty much the entire cour was taken up by an epic stand-off between the heroes and the League of Villains, and I was quite surprised by how well it managed to keep my interest throughout the entire arc without any real breathers. I actually somehow managed to keep unspoiled about Dabi's true identity, so I really enjoyed the reveal and the effect it had on Endeavor. The one part I hated, though, was when ( Spoiler ). Having her moment to shine essentially stolen by a male character just left a bad taste in my mouth...

 

Welcome to Demon School! Iruma-kun - I'm a huge fan of this series, but I have to admit, this cour seemed a bit weaker than the past cours. I just wasn't all that interested in the Harvest Festival hunting, and it's a shame that Iruma, Asmodeous, and Clara were separated into different groups. Their friendship is the real heart of the show, and while I guess it's nice to let Iruma interact with some of the other characters more, I just don't care much about Lead, who is his partner during the hunt. It's still a pretty good cour, but, yeah, not the best, at least in this half of the season. Another cour is following into the Winter season, so hopefully things will pick up!

 

IDOLiSH7 - On the other hand, IDOLiSH 7 redeemed itself a little from the last cour, which I found a bit lackluster. This cour still isn't quite as good as the earlier seasons, and I'm just not interested in ZOOL at all, but it was cool to see TRIGGER try to reestablish themselves after a scandal led to them being dropped by their label, and of course, the music is always great, especially Re:Vale's "Esperanza". Interesting that they're taking a month long break, then actually finishing the cour in February with the last four episodes. They certainly ended this week's episode with quite the cliff-hanger!

 

Delicious Party Precure - Still fun, still cute. I don't really have much more to say!

 

I'm the Villainess so I'm Taming the Final Boss - With a title like that and a similar premise, comparisons to My Next Life as a Villainess: All Roads Lead To Doom are inevitable, but they're actually fairly different once you get past the surface. For one, Aileen has it way more together than Bakarina, being smart, cunning, and ambitious (traits that unfortunately get her labeled a "villainess"). Also, while Next Life goes the harem route, with all of Caterina's friends falling in love with her regardless of gender while she's mostly oblivious to their romantic intentions, Aileen's pretty set on Claude, the title "Final Boss", once they fall in love. Unfortunately, while Aileen herself is a great character, the story she's thrown in...is not the best. It's not horrible or anything, but the pacing is rather fast, and I don't think her romance with Claude is all that well developed.

 

To Your Eternity - I feel a bit like a broken record saying this, but while this cour wasn't as great as the beginning few arcs, it was a lot better than the last arc that ended the first season. While Bon started off annoying, he grew on me as the arc went on. I'm not sure how long this cour is supposed to be, but it does seem like it's going to run into the next season, which makes sense considering it started later than most shows.

 

Housing Complex C - This four episode mini-series was...not good. Way too confusing with too many red herrings, and for supposedly being a horror series, it wasn't very scary at all? Yeah, a definite dud.