Hola Señors and Señoritas!
Another season is upon us, which means more anime to run through and dabble with in my free time. I’m gonna give you the potential bangers and personal choices I’m feeling in the early moments of the Spring 2022 season. And honestly, there was a lot to choose from this season.
Let’s go:
It’s about one of the only serious isekai I’ve been able to swallow and the 2nd season has taken north of 3 years to finally grace us with its presence. Naofumi and Co. witness a mysterious pause in the Waves they’ve been tasked to defend against and a mysteriously city-smashing foe has taken its place. The past few episodes have been doing a slow buildup to what’s going to be a cataclysmic battle that is bound to shake the world, as well as his personal village cohabited of humans and demi-humans, that Naofumi has been tasked to defend. Shenanigans ensue and I get more of Raphtalia: win-win!
By and far my favorite anime of the season: renowned spy codenamed Twilight is sent on a mission to keep tabs on a particular enemy of the state, but in doing so has to acquire not only a child to attend an illustrious private institution to get closer to his target but a wife to complete a full high class family, at least on paper. Twilight’s makeshift wife, Yor, a civil servant by day and deadly assassin by night, and child, Anya, an in-and-out foster child who just so happens to be a telepath, all must work together for each family member to get what they are hoping for: Twilight’s mission to be completed, Yor’s hope to blend into everyday life and avoid being taken away for suspicion, and Anya to have a family to finally call her own.
This series was one my roommate was reading before it made its way to TV and was singing praises way before the anime was announced, and I can absolutely understand why. Pitch-perfect humor with a generous slathering of coolness and heart that makes each episode so far such a treat to watch. Expect this show on a lot of End of Year lists as it absolutely bangs week-in and week-out.
Another season, another batch of the Slice of Life waifus. Yuu Izumi is a soft-spoken high schooler with an unruly amount of bad luck. Luckily his girlfriend, the fun and poppy Micchon Shikimori, is there to keep him from letting his luck bring him down. Giving him pep talks as much as having him dodge oncoming flying objects, Shikimori hits a new gear and brings out her dark and cool side when anyone messes with her man and makes sure he is the best he can be every day.
I’m not quite sure if this is your cut-and-dry Slice of Life with a little mystery attached to why Shikimori goes Super Saiyan at random points or if this is secretly kinda trash and is being carried by Shikimori being everything someone who watches shows like this wants their significant other to be. But honestly it’s got enough pros to outweigh the cons and I’ll keep a weekly eye on what goes on, especially since I’m starting to like the side characters Kyou Nekozaki and Yui Hachimitsu more than the main draw. Again, not sure if that’s a good thing or not.
So this is kind of a cop-out since it technically hasn’t started yet (it’s been ongoing for a few weeks in Japan, episode 1 hits Netflix in America on the 27th.), but I would be sorely mistaken not to include the follow-up to one of Fall 2021’s best anime (and a finalist in Anime of the Year in The 2021 Awards). Shouko Komi has amassed several friends as she continues her goal of having 100 friends and chiseling away her social anxiety that forces her to speak through written notes. Season 1 had gut-busting laughs and an amazing amount of heart and soul to skyrocket itself past the mounds of high school comedies that take place every year and I cannot wait to get right back into the shenanigans.
Badminton anime got its attention from me when Hanebado! made its way onto my screen and was just crazy enough to run me through the entire season. While I don’t expect Love All Play to even get close to that, this anime has found a way to make the sport an intense watch and an enjoyable 24 minutes when provided the right characters and set pieces to do so. Ryou Mizushima feels like your annual cookie cutter “I’ve got the born talent but I’m not sure if I can do it” protagonist with a side of My Hero‘s Midoriya where Ryou is gonna get into a prestigious school that has one of the best badminton teams on an academic recommendation instead of the easy walk-in via sports recommendation. Not sure where this will land in the long run, but I’m more than ready for more intensely animated badminton tourney matches.
Jesus Christ, what the fuck is this?
Ragtag swindler and “Grip it and Rip it” aficionado Eve (which…-quick note, Birdie Wing wiki has her at 15 years old and I’m calling a hellacious amount of bullshit. Seriously. Watch the first episode. Just do it. Tell me Eve is 15.) is a survivor of the city’s underground and scrounges whatever cash she can by running seedy gambling on 1-hole golf match bets. When Eve gets trounced by up and coming pro protégé Aoi, Eve pulls strings with the underground she knows too well to set up an official match between her and Aoi in the U15 (still don’t believe this.) National Golf Tournament.
This anime is ridiculous. You shouldn’t like it, but it’s so stupid in all the right ways. Eve feels like you gave Steven Seagal a shot at being an Anime girl who’s amazing at Golf. She has fighting names for her drive, approach, and putt: and it’s all just incinerating a golf ball. I can’t stop watching. Send help. Please.
I would also recommend watching Sorairo Utility even though it is just a 15 minute one-shot as a nice palette cleanser from all the craziness from Birdie Wing. It’s also made realize a few things:
It’s oddly coincidental we see two golf inspired animes almost a year to the date Hideki Matsuyama won the 2021 Masters in Augusta, GA, and it’s really cool seeing a new trend in sports anime not seen with nearly as much fervor as soccer/volleyball/etc. I do hope that there is some popularity and interest shown through audiences as Golf is dope and a lot of fun to watch and play. Seeing the sport expand to other audiences and mediums is a nice little treat.
Also, I’d like a new Hot Shots Golf game please.
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