It’s that time of the year again. A new season of anime has started up and I think it is time to tell you watch my thoughts are on the first episode of everything that I have seen so far. If you are here to come looking for descriptions on shows then you are looking at the wrong post, if this is the case then I suggest you check out my What Will I Watch? Summer 2017 Anime Season post. Instead, what you will find in this post is what my thoughts are on the shows and whether or not if I will be continuing it for here on out.
Best Opening Theme Song: Welcome to the Ballroom
Best Opening Theme Animation: 18if
Best Ending Theme Song: Welcome to the Ballroom
Best Ending Theme Animation: Vatican Miracle Examiner
Best Cinematography: Castlevania
Best Artstyle: Made in Abyss
Best Soundtrack: Made in Abyss
Favorite Male Character: Aoyama-kun from Cleanliness Boy! Aoyama-kun
Favorite Female Character: Riko from Made in Abyss
Biggest Surprise of the Season: Cleanliness Boy! Aoyama-kun
Biggest Disappointment of the Season: Kakegurui: Compulsive Gambler
Favorite New Series: Made in Abyss
Favorite Spring Leftover: Shingeki no Bahamut: Virgin Soul & Sakura Quest
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Anime: 7O3X Fastest Finger First
Viewing Status: Dropped
Similar Anime/Movie Recommendation: Chihayafuru and Quiz Show
Reaction: Quiz Bowl is a term that I had heard of in the past; it is not something that I knew too much about, but is an activity of someone to whom I am very close friends with who regularly participated in the activity on a weekly basis.
When I first read the synopsis of the show, I knew it was something that most people would just glaze right over and forget it even existed… meanwhile I thought it might be a nice change in pace from the same old same old seasonal tropes most shows have nowadays such as the infamous isekai trope. So I went into this show genuinely in hopes of finding a hidden gem… however this is not the case. The episode was dull, and the only thing that kept me interested in it was the cute main girl in the show. And about the trope comment I mentioned earlier, of all shows this season that I was expecting to see a girls pantie joke being used… this certainly was not that. It was not funny at the moment it occurred, and it was only more and more cringy the five other times the episode referenced this moment. The jokes all fell completely flat and the questions asked all seemed incredibly dull with the exception of the last one, which was actually quite clever.
Anyways, I am rambling on too long about this show. The episode was not enjoyable and the comedy fell flat and the overall theme of the show just is not interesting at all. I was willing to try it out because of my friend, but ended up with a horrible viewing experience.
Anime: Altair: A Record of Battles
Viewing Status: Watching
Similar Anime Recommendation: Arslan Senki and Kingdom
Reaction: Not too much to say about this show, I will watch literally any series MAPPA makes with the exception of a few series… luckily this is not one of them.
I went into this series expecting Arslan Senki 2.0; that is exactly what I got. Nothing too majorly happened in the episode other than how everything that went on was just setup for the future and introduction to far too many characters to remember. I am hoping to see a great war series in the future of this anime, just hoping and praying that all the soldiers won’t be horribly cgi’ed.
Anime: Castlevania
Viewing Status: Watching
Similar Anime Recommendation: Hellsing Ultimate and Shiki
Reaction: Pre-warning, this comment will be strictly on the FIRST episode. Now with that being said, let’s move on with my thoughts on it.
I’m going to be straight up honest with you all. I do not own a netflix account, so in order to watch this show when it first came out I had to do so via other means. Due to these certain limitations, I was only able to come across the Japanese dubbing of the show. But even tho I was unable to hear the English dub for the show, I was still really really impressed with the level of quality that the Japanese voice actors were able to portray.
The show itself may very well be the greatest video game adaptation I’ve ever seen for an anime. The story is fascinating, the art & animation were beautiful to look at, characters seem extremely interesting, and the soundtrack is fantastic. I loved everything about this first episode. My only concern is that it is only four episodes long… luckily there is second season already announced at least.
Anime: Classroom of the Elite
Viewing Status: Dropped
Similar Anime Recommendation: Baka to Test and OreGairu
Reaction: This show is completely and utterly boring. Sorry, but there really is nothing that I enjoyed about this first episode at all.
Anime: Cleanliness Boy! Aoyama-kun
Viewing Status: Watching
Similar Anime Recommendation: Giant Killing, Sakamoto Desu Ga?, and Tanaka-kun is Always Listless
Reaction: I don’t know if I am alone on this opinion, but I was really enjoying myself while watching Cleanliness Boy! Aoyama-kun . I was laughing my ass off during different parts of the show, the comedy for this series really worked for me personally. Think of the comedy akin to the likes of if Sakamoto (From Sakamoto Desu Ga?) was a germaphobe. Tho it’s a little disappointing to see the show receive below a 7/10 on MAL. Just goes to show how people when going into this series should expect to first watch a comedy series, and secondly a sports series. Instead of expecting it to be only a soccer anime, which isn’t even the main focus of the show. Anyways, I know for a fact that I will be continuing this show regardless of what others think of the show.
P.S. That end credits scene made me die of laughter for like a solid 5 minutes.
Anime: Dive!!!
Viewing Status: Dropped
Similar Anime Recommendation: Free!
Reaction: I personally really enjoyed watching Free!… however, this show was not an enjoyable watch at all. It was slow, boring, and anticlimactic. Seriously, whoever created the tiny little splash sound effect for whenever someone enters the water should legitimately be fired. The show has this sort of buildup every time someone hits the water, but when they land it is so disappointing. I expect a loud splash every time, but the sound I get is the same sort of sound one might hear when you drop a ping pong ball into a bathtub. Also who in the right mind thought it was a good idea to have this huge panup from the pool to the diving board whenever someone is about to jump. We get it, it is high up. But can you at least just put the building, pool, and diving board all in the same frame.
Anime: Fate/Apocrypha
Viewing Status: Watching
Similar Anime Recommendation: Fate/Zero, Kara no Kyoukai, and Re:Creators
Reaction: I went into this Fate adaptation full and well knowing that A-1 Pictures was taking a hold of the project, and was willing to be optimistic to see what they could do with the property; I was pleasantly surprised to see the level of quality that the show had received. I am really loving this whole concept of a legitimate war for the Holy Grail War instead of it being an outright Free-For-All battle. Also being able to seeing there be double the amount of servants in this war, sounds like one hell of a time. Overall, I am just excited to see what this incarnation of Fate has to offer for us.
F.Y.I. Fate/Grand Order is hella lot of fun to play, and highly recommend other people check out the new mobile game. Here’s my Friend ID incase if anyone was interested… 580,168,633.
Anime: Kakegurui: Compulsive Gambler
Viewing Status: Dropped
Similar Anime Recommendation: Kaiji and No Game No Life
Reaction: I know, I know… Don’t get the pitchforks out so quickly and just hear me out on this. I went into this series with the expectation to get a more edgy and twisted take on gambling, and that is exactly what I got. My problem isn’t about the story or characters; the problem lies with the production quality of the show.
If any of you reading this know me personally, you would know I am a total fanboy for Studio MAPPA shows, hell, they are even my current favorite animation studio working today. But since they are my favorite studio, I hold them up to a certain standard… A standard that Kakegurui just did not meet. For Studio MAPPA shows I expect to usually see a great soundtrack but more specifically great animation quality. Animation is something I expect for every series be at least fluid and smooth looking, whether it be by a fast paced action series or a slow and relaxing Slice of Life series. I am not asking for sakuga level of quality but something that just flows from beat to beat in a non-distracting manner. However, for Kakegurui it felt like a choppy forced form of animation that consists of 85% still images and the other 15% being little bits of low quality animation just to glue things together and all around was just extremely hard to watch. It got to the point where I just couldn’t take any more of the episode and had to just shut it off mid-way through, which is a real shame because I was extremely looking forward to this series. I would much rather read the manga for this series over watching the anime or just watch Kaiji in its place.
It is clear to me that MAPPA only saw this show as a quick cash grab and did not put their best effort into it. The budget series must be the one that got the little bit of crumbs remaining while Shingeki no Bahamut: Virgin Soul takes the majority of the budget and Altair: A Record of Battles i has the the second largest portion of budget this summer of anime season.
Just for a point of perspective, the last (and only) time I ever dropped a show due to piss poor animation was back in 2014 with the show World Trigger.
Anime: Katsugeki/Touken Ranbu
Viewing Status: 3 Episode Rule
Similar Anime Recommendation: Sword of the Stranger
Reaction: Ufotable. A studio that consistently puts out the best looking shows each season they air and yet is typically always lacking in the storytelling and character-development department with the exception of Fate and Kara no Kyoukai. I can see this series losing my interest really quickly after the first couple of episodes to the point where I just stop watching.
Not too much to stay about the series since I know virtually nothing about any of the characters or what is going on. All I can complement it on at the current moment is the how it has good production quality and good fight sequences… But that is the case for every Ufotable series.
Anime: Love & Lies
Viewing Status: 3 Episode Rule
Similar Anime Recommendation: Romeo x Juliet, Scum’s Wish, and Shimoneta
Reaction: A more futuristic version of Romeo and Juliet is an interesting thing to see. Of course, pre-arranged marriages isn’t an original concept for both media, but also real life. However, it is the first time I’ve ever seen it being implemented into an anime. Am interesting to see where this series is planning on going into the future, and to learn more about the marriage system… such as “how does it work?”, “what happens when someone is caught with another person?”, “what the fuck was going on with the text message?”, “what happens if someone refuses marriage?”. Anyways, you get the gist. I have questions. Overall, I was really surprised with seeing that the series was bold enough to have the two main characters kiss on the first episode of all things. Anyways, I am really looking forward to seeing more in the future.
P.S. Why are those eyes so damn big!!!
Anime: Netsuzou TRap
Viewing Status: …Watching…
Similar Anime Recommendation: Citrus
Reaction: ……
Anime: Made in Abyss
Viewing Status: Watching
Similar Anime Recommendation: Kaiba, Magi: The Labyrinth of Magic, Shinsekai Yori, and The Dragon Dentist
Reaction: Made in Abyss is a series that I have been anticipating ever since I first saw the poster of this show. I was fascinated by the excellent attention to detail, the character designs looked fresh and unique, and some sort of weird mysterious monster running behind them, not to mention the setting appearing absolutely beautiful and mysterious. It was the perfect design of a poster. However, when I first saw this poster I wasn’t too entirely sure on if the series would be a kids show or not just by judging the character designs.
To my surprise this series was not a kids show in any meaning of the words. The show made it very clear on how how dangerous this world will be, by seeing someone almost being eaten in the first few minutes of the episode and how the main character almost broke their arm. And most importantly how the main character’s bedroom is quite literally an old torture room. This world and society is not as happy go lucky as the poster or story synopsis makes it out to be.
As for the world itself, it jaw-droppingly gorgeous to look at. I honestly want to jump into this world and explore every corner of that abyss. And the soundtrack is pure and utter bliss, perfection at it’s finest. The art, animation, character designs, cinematography, and music are all on a cinematic level of quality.
If this show does not somehow miraculously turn to shit in the end, I will seriously consider writing my first anime review in a long long time for this series. Easily my favorite show of this season so far, and could potentially be a contender for Anime of the Year.
Anime: Princess Principal
Viewing Status: Dropped
Similar Anime Recommendation: 91 Days, Gosick, Noir, and Steamboy
Reaction: This is indeed an interesting series, I will not deny it. Some of the steampunk elements of the series were extremely intriguing to me and I wonder what else this series can think up. The music in this series was good considering the fact how it is Yuki Kajiura, however this is probably one of her weakest soundtracks to date. Also it is really strange seeing a character named Ange, since whenever I hear that name I always think of Cross Ange.
As for why I dropped it? I just found the episode to be really hard to finish. I don’t hate the show at all, I hope it succeeds and if it ever does grow to become something really great. Tell me. I will pick the series back up, and marathon it to the very end if this is the case.
Anime: Restaurant To Another World
Viewing Status: Watching
Similar Anime Recommendation: Bartender (Find my Review of it Here), Death Parade, and Shokugeki no Souma
Reaction: Ahhh, simplistically bliss. Right off the bat this series is giving me some major Bartender vibes. I’m not too entirely sure as to where this series will go, I’m expecting more of a slice of life/sit-down-and-talk sort of series over an action heavy sort of series. Either way, I expect to see this series end up being my calming series of the season to compensate for all the action that I will be watching.
Anime: The Reflection
Viewing Status: Dropped
Similar Anime Recommendation: My Hero Academia, One Punch Man (Find my Review of it Here), and Tiger & Bunny
Reaction: Nope, nope, nope, nope, nope!!!!!
Horribly boring and forgettable first episode with horrible art/animation to back it up. Sorry Stan Lee, but this series is garbage. Not even your name is enough to convince me to watch any more of this. At least the photographer is hot.
Anime: Tsurezure Children
Viewing Status: Dropped
Similar Anime Recommendation: Momokuri and Tsuki ga Kirei
Reaction: This show just isn’t the type of romance series I am interested in. I can see why people may enjoy it. The show is short and cute, but I just never cared for it. Sorry.
And besides, I already got my fix for my romance show this season in Love and Lies.
Anime: Vatican Miracle Examiner
Viewing Status: Dropped
Similar Anime Recommendation: Mouryou no Hako
Reaction: I know, I know. This show is one I don’t believe most people will drop. But hear me out on this. Vatican is the first show of it’s kind where I have ever seen the main premise be all about the Catholic Religion, tho personally I am Lutheran Christian but that’s beside the point. I appreciate how the show tries to tackle down the topic of Religion, however for this particular series I was bored by it. I don’t hate the series at all, and can see it potentially becoming good in the future but as it stands, I just don’t have any interest in this series. In case if anyone were to approach me once the series is all over and is able to convince me about how great the series is, then I would be more than willing to pick back up from where I left off.
Also this doesn’t matter at all, but I could personally see the show becoming episodic in the future.
Anime: Welcome to the Ballroom
Viewing Status: Watching
Similar Anime Recommendation: Haikyuu and Yuri!!! On ICE
Reaction: Yes! Finally another great sports series to behold before us. The introduction to this series is very similar to the likes of Haikyuu, but is about a sport that is very similar to the likes of Yuri on Ice which is why so many may be comparing the two. I love the MC’s determination to succeed no matter how simple the task is such as learning the box step. The animation was solid and great first impressions to all of the characters. Definitely one of my favorite series this season and will be for sure continuing this one until the end.
Magnitude Reviews 
Ah so that’s your denomination. I’m aware that the Lutherians follow the NT since they are apart of the Protestant branch.
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