We’re gonna pretend that I mustered enough motivation to get this post out of the blocks like two or three whole weeks ago like I’d intended to,,,, but just like last season I figured there are a few shows I wanna talk about that I won’t necessarily review, and a few people interested in seasonals but not necessarily interested in wading through the muck at the bottom of the pile to uncover the handful of gems that really do deserve everyone’s notice. So here we are, and the same rules as last time apply: I am not going to be talking about anything that’s a direct sequel or spinoff to anything else because that inherently has more of a barrier to entry than any seasonals you should otherwise be able to casually hop into. So technically no Gquuuuuux posting allowed, though I don’t actually know that I would have it here anyway, this season is stacked.
Also obvious spoiler warning, I am going to try to sell you on these shows, so I do lean on a few specific potentially spoilery details, though I do tend to self-limit on that front.
1. To Be Hero X
You too, can To Be Hero X,,,,,
The first name on the list logically feels like it should go to the single show that is the most obvious but important (at least to me) recommendation out of all the shows I could recommend this season. Last time around that was Medalist, but there actually isn’t a clear leader to me this season, it’s much more about personal taste, so if you enjoy a good superhero story as much as I do then To Be Hero X is probably right at the top of your list too! This show was not even vaguely on my radar heading into this new season, but it won me over almost right away, and made me reconsider my personal threshold for what “good anime” even looks like, which is the second time in the last few months that Li Haoling, the director and creator of To Be Hero, has been responsible for that particular kind of reflection, as he is also the lead director for Link Click, which is always in the running for anime of the year any year we’re lucky enough to get a new season. Returning to the point, just the first episode of this series takes you through the complete range of human emotion, effortlessly cycling between moments of despair, fear, love, loss and pure fantasy over the mini-arc which establishes its unique angle on the age old formula of the superhero story. And that rollercoaster just does not let up in any of the episodes that follow.
I am being deliberately scant on details regarding the narrative, the characters, any real specifics, only because I feel a good part of the appeal is experiencing it yourself and having it force you to keep guessing or stay at the edge of your seat for what it may throw at you next. In that sense, the thing to get you to watch it may just have to be the pedigree of its primary creator, Li Haoling, who crafted and helmed the most satisfying and engaging mystery series I have seen possibly: ever, in Link Click, especially its second season. He brings some of that ability to create gripping cliffhangers and tense moments here, but To Be Hero is also much lighter in tone (though not necessarily in subject matter, there are still on-screen deaths here), and I think has the more rewarding character dynamics in part thanks to that, because we get more of a mix of the kind of humour and ordinary human experiences and perseverance than Link Click itself allows for. We can spend a couple of episodes following someone working up the courage to ask their crush out on a date, or celebrate with a character relieved of the pressures of a constant facade we saw chipping away at them. It takes the proposition that “anyone can be a hero” further, to meaningfully show that every “hero” is only human. With that in mind, it does show some pretty glaring flaws in its hero-centred world and the kinds of heroes or people in general it can create, but unlike something as cynical as The Boys can be, those flaws aren’t in and of themselves the whole point. So yeah, I love this anime, I hope more people watch it because it’s great, and even if you’re only there for the spectacle it’s probably the best looking show airing right now, with its mix of arcane-style 3d animation for most of the show and flashes of some of the best 2d action animation you’ll ever see in your life when it needs to raise the hype levels up past 9000. Also possibly worth mentioning is that this has one of the better english dubs out there and certainly my favourite this season, if you are someone who prefers dubs in general.
2. Mono
Cute girls falling victim to the categorical imperative to do cute things
The second anime up on the block is Mono, this anime is probably the best looking show out right now if you’re doing yourself the disservice of sticking with strictly 2d animated shows, but it is absolutely beautiful in all fairness. And fittingly so, since the lead characters are the only remaining members of their school’s photography club, looking to justify its continued existence and spend time pushing the boundaries of their own skill/investment in a craft they’re passionate about. This is not a high stakes or high intensity anime by any means, but in some respects that might have the effect of making it that much more real, relatable and plain: fun. It is (at least so far) entirely episodic in nature, taking its main cast from one idyllic view to the next and putting in the effort to make those experiences feel every bit as breathtaking for the viewer as they are for the characters actually immersed in those moments. Mono is probably worthwhile just off of the pure visual feast it provides, but its cast of characters are all pretty charismatic and dynamic in ways that make their interactions genuinely engaging, from the loser lesbian that is Kiriyama, coasting off of her friends’ effort while providing the heartbeat of their whole operation, to the pretty laid-back mentor figure in Haruno Akiyama, directing their curiosity/energy in constructive paths (to her own vicarious benefit). I would say its combination of wanderlust and occasional absurd humour fueled by its dynamic main cast makes it feel a bit like a cross between Insomniacs After School and Train to The End of The World. You may be thinking the more obvious comparison might be something like Yuru Camp, but fun fact: I never bothered to watch that ! So I can’t just lie and claim they do fit together,,,, I will say though that for someone who usually isn’t especially into slice of life anime or “cute girls doing cute things” as a sorta subgenre, this show is cute without being tedious, at least for my tastes.
In any case, being built around a real thing you can go and do yourself, the anime also provides a pretty cool window into hobbies that might spark something in you, or at least leave you with more knowledge about life than you entered it with. It does, again, remind me a fair bit of Insomniacs in this respect, though that anime was focused on nighttime photography and astronomy more specifically rather than photography at large. I personally derive a lot of my enjoyment from this show just from how much it broadens my perspective on things i really knew next to nothing about, even aside for my appreciation of its main cast, and I think it’s probably even better if you’re into vlogging, photography, even writing, because then you get more than just the vicarious experience or ambiguous “cool” factor. Definitely pick this up if you liked any of the shows I’ve compared it to, or if you’re looking for some Japan tourism propaganda (positive), or otherwise looking to have something to relax with every week, as it takes you on different trips, different experiences and different looks at the world we live in, wrapped in a story about its young protagonists coming into their own in life.
3. Apocalypse Hotel
Basically what it’s like when you’re the oldest kid in the house and your parents leave you in charge for a century or two
Apocalypse Hotel is the next name on my list, and probably the one with my favourite first episode of any of them, just off the fact it managed to make me feel genuinely emotional. It is a post-apocalyptic setting where a hotel staffed exclusively by robots endures centuries after humanity abandons the earth, and the robots in question are essentially forced to find some kind of purpose, any kind of meaning, in the face of their isolation and inability to fulfill what they were quite literally programmed for. You don’t have to be a robot to relate to the feeling of being left behind, the fear of being unwanted or worthless, and this show’s set-up does an incredible job at humanising its android cast by pulling on those universal experiences. It’s not all doom and gloom though, and there is a lot of humour to be found in how unfailingly honest and direct the androids staffing the Gingarou Hotel all are, with Yachiyo, the protagonist, obviously standing out even more in that respect. This show was a stronger recommendation after its first episode than it is now, after its fifth has aired, because it may get to feeling a little formulaic, but I still think it has done plenty enough to separate itself from the crowd and gain a measure of trust in its ability to do more with its initial promise by the time it concludes its 12 episode run.
Possibly worth mentioning is also the fact that this seems to be the debut of Kana Shundou as a lead director, at least according to a quick Anilist check, and if that is the case then I will certainly be watching her career with great interest. From a production standpoint, this is definitely a cut above your average seasonal, though still far short of the visual splendour of shows like Mono and To Be Hero X.
4. Your Forma
Would you believe me if I told you this wasn’t just my fourth pick for the pun,,,,
Okay so next up is Your Forma. This one is maybe a more difficult choice to explain,,,,, I could more easily recommend Anne Shirley,,, which I guess I do recommend in any case, as a compelling adaptation of Anne of the Green Gables that sticks with literary dialogue unusual for an anime but perfectly suited for its setting and tone. Nonetheless, stealth recommendation aside, why: this? At a glance, it is pretty much every sci-fi detective series ever influenced by the concept of Asimov’s laws of robotics. It might do that concept very well (and I’d argue, it does, well enough I like it better than Pluto from a couple of years ago already), but what makes it meaningfully stand out from the crowd? If I decided not to lean on such a vague statement as “I like how the dialogue is written” (which I do), I would definitely emphasise the dynamics between its main cast of characters, especially Echika and Lucraft who are the human/android detective pairing here. I would say the characters don’t feel nearly as dramatised or over the top as anime characters can sometimes get, it doesn’t beat you over the head with what they’re thinking or feeling at any given moment, it instead lets you experience it all in I think a pretty raw form, with minor details and patterns meaning: everything. I like the detective stuff to an extent, but I’m here for the story of two people straining to build trust with each other, against their own inability to express themselves. I tend to argue that love – in any form – is a commitment, a series of conscious choices to put yourself aside in the name of a bond more important than anything else in your life. It’s scary, you might be unsure that exposing yourself to the negative risks of that would be worthwhile, and that uncertainty is where the relationship between Echika and Lucraft lives, at least so far, and there’s a tension there that I appreciate, as they pull apart and draw together in phases, that makes it so meaningful and so satisfying in the moments that either of them try to break through that.
Another component to the writing in this anime, that adds to the precarity of the dynamic between its main duo, is the android-shaped elephant in the room. I personally greatly appreciate the perspectives that it’s put in its foreground with regard to “artificial intelligence”, what that potentially looks like and means for human society. AI is, meaningfully, different from a human mind, which you don’t need me to tell you, but how much does that difference matter in how we relate to or even conceptualise it? Echiko and Lucraft’s dynamic is a microcosm of these and other questions, but all this also forms the basis of a lot of the conflict brewing under the surface, pitting those who reject the encroachment of androids into “our” world on principle, against those who make use of androids and see the Q-anon style conspiracy anti-android theorists as backwards and close-minded, but neither side Truly understands (nor wants to understand) what the future may yield if the status quo holds. Your Forma is an endlessly engaging show, one of the highlights of my week, and Criminally underrated (at least judging by anilist scores), so I: recommend it, if you’re looking for good anime. It also has the advantage of having reasonably interesting aesthetics, even if it doesn’t have anything near the production value of the other anime mentioned so far.
Anyway, there ya have it, four anime that are Hopefully worth your time if your tastes happen to align with mine. This season is amazing, and has so much more depth in quality than last season did, I mean I’m not even watching shows like Rock is a Lady’s Modesty or even Lazarus just because it’d be more effort than I want to expend over the next few months, and I’m Certain that both those shows are otherwise worthwhile. Nor did I mention the swordsman anime that’s scratching my itch for cool close-quarters, technical combat that anime at large is Sorely lacking, let alone with swords. There’s lots to choose from!
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