Wow, they really went all out on this episode. Best and highest production value since the first.

Early impressions:

Good:

• A Ninja and an Assassin Under One Roof - Wow, just wow. I had no expectations for this, the title sounded like it could be fun. But no, the animation, style, humor, timing, everything was awesome. I watched it twice. If the rest of the series keeps up with this first episode it will be a classic, but I’ve been let down before…
• Apocalypse Hotel - Really enjoying this so far. The setting is fun and the mix of humor, whimsy, and a touch of melancholy, work for me. I love how alien the alien actually was, and the conflict within the robots of both expecting to break down working for people who will never return and remaining optimistic that more guests will come.
• Aharen-san - I forgot how much fun this one was. The animal crossing joke went too long, but otherwise it has picked right up and the new character is a great addition to the cast
• I’ve Been Killing Slimes… - First half of the first episode was rough, but then it picked back up to what I remember from the previous season. Fun, low stakes, comfy show.
• The Too-Perfect Saint - Anime has been good so far and an improvement over the light novels. Hopefully that continues.

TBD:

• Once Upon a Witch’s Death - I like the overall settings, concept, etc. but the complete lack of urgency from a character which a ticking time clock on her life is just off-putting. I’m still not sure what to make of it. It sort of feels like an overly drawn out intro to a wandering/travel anime.
• Summer Pockets - I’ve enjoyed it so far, but few anime like this keep my attention for long. Seems like something always ruins the story.
• Witch Watch - First episode was rough, second was much better. Too early to get a feel for this one. Needs a little more chemistry within the cast and a little less slapstick, but that should develop over time.
• The Unaware Atelier Meister - I generally enjoy this sort of silly humor and unaware op main characters, but it has declined a bit from the first episode and I’m not sure how long the same jokes will work.
• The Gorilla God’s Go-To-Girl - I did not have high expectations for this, but it has been pretty good so far. The humor works, the harem aspect is not being forced to hard (yet…), the main character is fun.
• The Beginning After the End - I always enjoy the overpowered baby trope… Using the main characters new life to force reflection on his past and slowly unwinding that story while moving through the present, can work well or blow up. Hopefully this one continues strong.
• Kowloon Generic Romance - I’m at least one episode behind… Been awhile since I watched a mind screw style anime. Done well it could be excellent. Hopefully the underlying mystery is more profound than what has been implied so far.

May Drop:

• The Brilliant Healer… - First episode was a mistake (skip it) second was much better, but I don’t have a lot of hope for this one.
• Anne Shirley - I’m an episode or so behind. Not really familiar with the source even though it may be one of the most commonly adopted stories ever… Seems pleasant and fun, not sure it will have much of a plot.

Dropped:

• The Shiunji Family Children - Watched part of it without any prior knowledge, and even before the “plot” something about it just was annoying and unlikable to me. Then I find out it is a technically not incest sibling romance story from the same person as Rent-A-Friend and it all made sense.

Wow, this might be the most I’ve enjoyed a series premiere since spy x family. Hope it holds up.

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I hope this is well written and lands at a satisfactory conclusion. Seems like it has a lot of potential. The memory theme is strong, especially with the goldfish. the bit about how that area is supposed to be nostalgic hinting that it could even be staged. Then that brief flash to a ruined version of the tea house. So many hints and hopefully a bit of misdirection.

Random superlatives:

So Stupid it Hurt - Bogus Skill “Fruitmaster”
I wanted to like this one, and stuck with it way to long. Finally dropped it when the utter dumbness of the characters and story starting to cause me actual pain. 2/5

Most Improved from Launch - Magic Maker
The first few episodes were mid tier at best and I nearly dropped it, but that turned a few episodes in and it developed into a fairly decent show. 3/5

Top of the heap - Possibly the Greatest Alchemist of All Time
There were a bunch of adventure themed anime with isekei and harem themes this season, and I think this was the best of the bunch. Still fairly average, but the one I’d most like to see more of. 3/5 (Runner’s up: Middle aged Online Shopper and Left my a-rank party)

Better as a Light Novel - I May be a Guild Receptionist…
I don’t think this adapted well to anime. The novels are very episodic and a bit repetitive without a lot of substance, and the anime just highlighted those problems. 3/5

Best Returning - Solo Leveling
This is very, very close between Solo Leveling, Apothecary Diaries, and Re:Zero, but I give the edge to Solo Leveling. Each episode was satisfying and while it is a power fantasy, it does that very well. Re:Zero was a bit fragmented (partially due to scheduling/production) and did not end nearly as strong as the last season, and Apothecary Diaries, while still excellent, is mainly setting things up for later. All three 5/5

Most Surprising - Welcome to Japan, Ms. Elf
Knowing nothing about this, I expected something more lewd and fanservice like. Way, wrong! This was wonderfully wholesome. Somehow it managed to balance both the light adventure aspects of the fantasy world with the reverse isekai cultural discovery aspects of the Japan side. Maybe the best new show of the season. 4/5

Most Disappointing - Zenshu
This looked like it could be something really special. The art, theming, concept, etc. were all solid. The plot, just wasn’t meaningful in any way, at least not before I dropped it. 3/5

Yep. The frame story, character designs, etc. seem interesting, but the sob story of the day was cliche and predictable. Hopefully it will develop beyond this and have more range, but I’m not optimistic.

The light novels are very formulaic and the anime does nothing to smooth it out. The meta plot does progress and the anime should end in a decent spot, but yeah, the slice of life overtime moping gets old, fast.

Yeah, they are named after stars and Subaru shares his name with a star cluster. That has to mean something…

Watching Headhunted to Another World This one has been surprisingly enjoyable so far. They made the office worker serving the demon lord gimmick work. The characters are fun, but generally more mature than in typical anime, with pretty good chemistry. Episodes do follow a roughly repetitive format, but so far that is not an issue. 4/5

I’m a Noble on the Brink of Ruin, So I Might as Well Try Mastering Magic It is still ridiculous how easily everything falls into place for the main character, but that seems less silly and annoying in the anime. There does not really seem to be much of a plot and none of the characters really stand out yet, but it holds my interest just to see how much crazier the power creep goes. 3/5

Zenshu So far the good is outweighing the bad, but I’m not sure how long that will last. I love a lot about the show. The throwback vibe of the character designs, the art style, the overall concept… but something about it just feels empty. Like it is more of a picture book than a story. I hope that improves, but as is… 3/5

Solo Leveling I enjoyed the first season well enough, but this season has really amped things up. I binged the first few episodes, and really enjoyed them. Seems like several parts of the story are developing in the background. 4/5 maybe even 5/5.

The Apothecary Diaries The first season set such a high bar, I worried this one would be a let down. It is not. Everything, story, art, music, attention to detail, etc. picks right back up where it was. Having read some of the novels, it is amazing to see how many little details and concepts were teased earlier on than I realized. The writing is probably the best of any anime. I mean, there will be little side conversations, set pieces in corners, unnamed side characters seen only once, many of which end up mattering later and get expanded on in one way or another. 5/5

I Left my A-Rank Party… I’ve seen several versions of this same anime lately… This one is doing it better than most. It was nice to see the main character stand up for himself and leaving on his on instead of being kicked out for once. Can’t say it is doing anything especially good, but it isn’t doing anything annoying either. 3/5

Welcome to Japan, Ms. Elf For some reason I was expecting this show to be more sexualized, so I’ve been pleasantly surprised that it has kept the stereotypical fanservice to a minimum. The characters have good chemistry, the overall concept is fun, there is a hint of a bigger story, the world jumping gimmick is working so far. This one definitely exceeded my unfairly low expectations. 4/5

I May Be a Guild Receptionist, but I’ll Solo Any Boss to Clock Out on Time This is another one that might work better as an anime than a novel, at least the overtime complaining has been less annoying so far. The plot is decent but slow moving. The light novels follow the same basic formula of presenting an overtime based problem that leads to a bigger issue, that then resolves to reveal another piece of the meta plot. Very formulaic. The anime seems to be handling this well. 3/5

The Daily Life of a Middle-Aged Online Shopper in Another World I was not sure what to expect of this one, there was a similar anime a while back that I found incredibly dull, but so far this has been kind of interesting. The contrast of bringing in modern stuff that makes no sense in the context… reselling modern goods in the fantasy world market, base building, etc. has been interesting enough as are the characters. 3/5

From Bureaucrat to Villainess On paper, this looks ridiculous, but somehow it works. Much better than I expected, and a fresh feeling take on this whole sub genera. 4/5

Close to dropping:

Possibly the Greatest Alchemist of All Time Hmm, I know I’ve watched this, but nothing notable comes to mind. 3/5

Magic Maker: How to Make Magic in Another World This one started weird. The whole: adult reincarnated as a child using (probably not pedophilic/incestual) love to unlock magic angle was concerning, but thankfully the show seems to be moving past that. Pacing has been incredibly slow so far, but the last episode finally had a good plot and felt much more impactful. Hopefully we are past the intro arc and things will pick up. 2/5

Even Given the Worthless “Appraiser” Class, I’m Actually the Strongest The typical" betrayed, dropped in a dungeon, and became absurdly strong scenario. I like some of the designs, especially the gremlin monsters, and it seems like it should be a good show, it just none of the characters are any good. The doormat MC, meek and nearly silent love interest, and cheeky abusive guide… maybe once they add a few more characters and get the next arc going it will improve. 3/5

Bogus Skill <<Fruitmaster>> Not completely terrible, but not great. The big battle of the first arc ended very underwhelmingly, the MC is becoming increasingly stupid, none of the characters really stand out in any meaningful way. 2/5

Dropped

I’m Living With an Otaku NEET Kunoichi There is nothing to this other than absurdly lewd characters and fan service. No real plot, characters barely have any personality outside their kinks, humor falls flat. 1/5

I want to escape from princess lessons The very first episode, by itself, was excellent. The rest is trash. Not only is the main character denied any agency (with clear foreshadowing that she will be abused/Stockholm-syndromed into “falling in love” with the prince) but she is presented as a clown with all the people around her, who are forcing her into this relationship, presented as the normal/rational ones. Apparently the audience is supposed to side with them and laugh at the “foolish” girl who does not want to spend the rest of her life as an emotionally stunted doll that exists only to be seen and admired by others. 2/5

Farmagia Tried watching this one recently. There might be elements of a good show in there somewhere, but they are buried under a pile of aggressively annoying nonsense. Far too much pointless slapstick, far too little of anything else. Basically everything I disliked about FairyTail without any of the stuff I liked. 2/5

Promise of Wizard I did not even make it through the first episode as it was clear I’m not in the target market for this. No plot, just an endless parade of forgettable characters. Apparently this was made to promote some sort of gatcha game. 1/5

Failing so hard you unlock super easy mode, then using cheats to one shot a boss does not deserve victory music… I’ll give it one more episode now that we are out of the intro arc, but I’m losing interest. Other anime seem to use these same tropes so much better…

I was close to dropping this, but that was actually a fairly solid episode.

I was really hoping for “explosion” there at the end.

I love the gremlin design. The one eye, goofy but fierce smile, batty elements, sound effects, etc. hope this isn’t the last of them.

Plot and pacing seem really slow and it has yet to give me a reason to keep watching. I’ll give it one more since the tease at the end seems meaningful, but I’m not feeling hopeful.

Binged the first two episodes. It’s about 33% funny and enjoyable, 33% infuriating, and 33% nails on a chalk board. If the setup wasn’t so stupid, the mains were not such push overs, and the arguments were toned down a touch I would like it better, but as it is… looks like they are either going to gaslight each other into a relationship or endlessly bicker and neither is for me.

The tavern scene with side character reminiscent of some one from the real world gave me a sort of Wizard of Oz vibe, which is how I realized the Wizard of Oz was an isekai… It does seem likely this will all resolve as having been essentially a dream.

Hopefully now that we are passed the intro and her usefulness is proven to the team the show can develop past the generic monster of the day formula.

As much as I loved the first episode I hated the second. The fourth wall breaking was fine once, maybe twice, then horribly annoying. None of the “comedy” landed for me, especially when it all derives from the girl desperately trying to escape from a cage with everyone around her seeming working against her. Hopefully the next episode will be better.

Lots of nice details in this… That nostril flare animation… the way the music immediately cut out when they reached the castle… all the camera focuses on the instructor’s stick but without any scenes of abuse… the lifeless, but not completely dead look in her eyes after the time skip…

I’m not sure how it will transition out of the prolog, but this episode could stand alone as a short.

Ah yes, the Maryest of Mary Sues, where everything he tries either succeeds (with some effort) or fails in a way that actually works out better. I don’t think I’ve ever come across a character with more luck and good fortune.