Happy New Month guys!
Welcome to July, and welcome to the second half of the year.
It's a brand new anime season: Summer 2023!. But let's talk about last season and how it performed.
As yet another Pride month came to an end, Anime fans can take a bit of pride themselves having experienced yet another amazing anime season.
In Spring 2023, we got a slice of Heaven, which took form of some life-changing revolutionary anime content as well as shows with just the right amount of fun to take the edge off of life's stresses.
Whether it came down to Sequels or New shows, we got banger after banger, and you're bound to have found shows that resonated with you whether you watched only a few of those or the lot of them.
This is a season we got anime cours that are already worth being called all-timers, and this was true for both the sequels, new shows and continuing shows.
Several fans made complaints about the sequel's tone, pointing out that it was less action-packed and engaging than the first season.
To everyone who feels that way, I honestly feel that you fail to understand the point of the show.
Vinland Saga's Farmland Saga arc took a visceral and cathartic approach to develop Thorfinn into one of the most compelling main characters in all of anime.
The writing is simply impeccable.
A once revenge-driven child viking who's only goal was killing his father's slayer, feeling the weight of his murderous sins and now seeking to change the world into a victimless utopia. It's a story of a man led astray by his own rage finding his way back home, and through the magnificent direction from the staff at MAPPA, this captivating story was represented in the most beautiful form.
If you're sleeping on this anime, I advise you to wake the hell up!
Gundam Witch made its debut last Fall, and it already showed promise to become a major player in the mecha genre.
This season however solidified its spot as one of the best sci-fi animes of all time.
Picking up where the first season left off and delivering even greater climaxes through high-staked, extravagantly animated action sequences as well as immersive character developments second only to Vinland Saga in level of impact.
It's a show that peaks on its mecha battles but doesn't let it ride the entire story. Every element of the plot comes into play at every point; including the several political and interpersonal motivations of the characters and how they all collide with eachother.
Season 3 has been an absolute treat as it delivers the very aesthetics that got us in love with the show in the first place.
The wholesome feeling of accomplishment everytime the characters led by our enigmatic protagonist cross another milestone in their scientific revolution was a rekindled flame this season, as well as the major plot developments concerning the mystery behind the world's petrification.
It's a sequel that went back to its roots, and with even more amazing characters proved to be immensely enthralling.
With everything we've seen from the Demon Slayer adaptation so far, especially as regards to the animation quality and high octane battle sequences, one would normally expect it to either maintain or surpass that level of entertainment with every arc it gets.
But unfortunately, with season 3 that wasn't the case.
The Swordsmith Village arc, although maintaining the heated well animated fights as other seasons, faltered in almost all aspects of its direction.
While fans might make the abundance of CGI sound like the major flaw, the actual greivances I had with the season was due it its awkward pacing which even stalled the fights and the horrendous antagonists of the arc.
Gyokko and Hantengu are absolute garbage in all aspects of writing as they not only lack the charisma and personality one would expect from an upper ranked Demon, but also have terrible abilities that made the fights overall less thrilling than those in the previous arcs.
One could only hope that the 3 arcs left would be better adapted than the Swordsmith Village arc.
Birdie Wing was a show I once dumped after its pilot episode and labelled as a sad attempt to make golf entertaining.
Boy, was I wrong.
Birdie Wing is an absolutely delightful sports anime that represents everything we love about anime itself; the over-the-top battle sequence emulations, the colourful visual effects, the wild characters as well as an underdog story, all integrated with the game of golf to make for an exhilarating show.
The second season took it to even greater heights as the story itself got deeper and paved way for even more passionate golf matches that rocked my world.
Ancient Magus Bride season 2 proved to be a step up from the first season, both visually and narratively.
Ranking of Kings released a collection of wholesome and captivating side stories, that did nothing more than increase the thirst for an actual second season.
Kuma Kuma Kuma Bear and In Another World With My Smartphone also got second seasons this spring, and both Isekai sequels were just as fun as expected.
And the final relevant sequel on my list is Eden's Zero Season 2, which has been really entertaining.
We again got over 30 new shows comprising of highly anticipated adaptations which lived up to the hype, as well as unforeseen bangers that delivered premium content to the vast majority of fans.
In terms of variety, we got action, mystery, drama, music, fantasy and a whole lot of romance this season, with a good amount of the roster bring absolutely worth the engagement.
But among all the numerous new shows this season, there were 20 I find worthy of recommending as the top of the season.
TOP 20 BEST NEW ANIMES OF SPRING 2023
(Comedy, Supernatural)
Koito Koganei turns 16 and while facing her school life, she's now tasked with the responsibility of being a Shrine Maiden and taking care of a sacred Elf named Elda who was summoned from another world 400 years ago.
But said elf is nothing but a shut-in whose only interests is playing games, collecting figures and eating snacks.
The two grow closer as Koito now tries to bring Elda into the light and give her more unforgettable experiences.
However it doesn't do much to keep your attention or distinguish itself from the numerous animes of similar settings.
It's literally just vibes, so if you're up for that, give this show a try.
(Action, Ecchi)
A perverted farmer named Touka is stunned when the legendary hero - Shion accidentally falls into a trap he set for demons and dies. This left the world without a hero, but luckily a charming necromancer named Anri salvaged the situation by forcing Touka's soul into Shion's corpse.
Now having to play the role of the legendary hero, Touka and Anri alongside his childhood friend Yuna embark on a journey to save the world.
The best thing about this show is its opening track.
"Shinda!" by Masayoshi Ooishi is an absolute banger, and the very thing that made this show prominent.
Fitting the vibes of the opening, this anime is quite enjoyable, though it's pretty much a walking Ecchi trope.
For a show whose selling points is majorly its fan service and action, it doesn't shine very brightly in those aspects, at least not compared to the similar shows above it on this list, but it still is a fun watch.
(Romance, Supernatural)
Ichirou Kuga is a guy who works full-time as a shoujo manga artist while having to take care of two younger siblings in place of his late father.
When he starts to get pressed down by all the pressure, he finds salvation in form of a devoted assistant named Goshiki Shiori.
He soon discovers Goshiki's connection to the Supernatural, and she reveals to him that they're engaged.
Now Kuga builds a relationship with Goshiki while also tackling his responsibilities as a manga artist.
With a supernatural backdrop and a worklife setting, this vanilla romance proved to be plausible, only held back by its lack of gripping content that would've made it more engaging.
(Music, Drama)
Haijime Aono is an award winning violin prodigy who quit the venture after his father got involved in a scandal that made his family victims of social media harassment.
Now a final year middle schooler living with his mom, while struggling to find a new path, his love for the violin gets rekindled by the sound of his classmate- Ritsuko Akine.
Setting his sights towards joining Umimaku high school and its orchestra, he allies himself with Ritsuko and makes effort to overcome his trauma and move forward in his musical career.
With an emotionally driven backstory to make our main character's quest compelling, as well as amazing musical scores and great character work, it looked to be a top player in the music genre this decade.
However, this show suffers from lacklustre visuals. The basic animation style isn't really bad, but the consistent use of bad CGI in climactic music performances drastically reduce the quality of this anime.
Speaking of failed potential...
(Action, Magic)
In a world where all forms of weebism has been banned; where all products related to anime, manga and video games have been seized and the fans have been arrested by an elite army; a group of Otaku lead by a man only known as Otaku Hero and his 3 magical girls- Blue, Pink and Anarchy fight to take the world back from its oppressors.
With quirky characters, outstanding visual quality which gives the feel of a studio Trigger production, sparkly fights and references to profound works, Magical Destroyers proves to be very entertaining.
The story however doesn't deliver, so it's really just about the fun.
I can't help but wonder what this show would've been if it slapped both visually and narratively. It could've been Anime of the season material, but it's only enjoyable enough for a 16th spot.
(Mystery, Psychological)
Yup, we have a Chinese anime that stepped up this season. In fact, as you can see later on in this list, we have a couple of those.
Aiyou's Secret Room or Aiyou De Mishi or X&Y is centered on Yan Yuechu, an office worker who decides to visit the XY Escape Room and gets dazzled by the owner- Xi Aiyou.
However, the more he got to know her, the more strange things kept happening around him, most of it being illusions of escape rooms similar to the XY.
Yan now tries to solve the mystery behind these events surrounding him and his peers.
It does everything it aims to do just right. It presents a genuinely immersive mystery plot loaded with brainteaser scenes which showcase its incredible cinematography and overall visual quality.
The one thing that makes it this low on the list is the fact that each episode feels too short. Within the runtime of 10-15 minutes, barely anything gets added to the mystery in each episode, so it would be unfair to put it above full-length anime shows that actually deliver entertaining content every episode.
But this is an anime that's definitely worth giving a try, even if the Chinese voice-acting can make it a bit hard for new viewers to get engaged.
(Action, Comedy)
Mashle is set in a magical world where people who don't bear the facial mark of a magic user and can't use magic are ostracized and exterminated.
A young musclehead named Mash Bournedead who was living far away from the city with his father soon gets into trouble with the authorities after they discover his lack of magic.
But after an impressive showing of his abilities, he is offered the ultimatum of becoming a 'Divine Visionary' in order to be accepted by everyone instead of being hunted down. He accepts this and enrolls in the prestigious school named Easton Magic Academy where he chases that goal while overcoming all the challenges he faces with his superhuman strength.
With something this hyped looking this good, it's only fair to wonder why it didn't at least crack the top 10.
We've talked about the stunning fights, but the truth is, most of what the show offers is just that.
And during these fights the main character performs feats that are way beyond the capabilities of a normal human, and the story makes no effort to at least explain what makes Mash so special.
Normally it'd be safe to pass this on as "turn your brain off entertainment", but even the fights all typically go one predictable way. So given that the story fails to provide a proper background for the main character as well as his abilities, it wouldn't make sense to put this show much higher in the rankings, at least not yet.
(Ecchi, Comedy)
After the passing of his grandmother, Hayato returns from Tokyo and inherits her Café named Terrace.
He fully intended to demolish it and transform it into a parking lot, but then he meets 5 girls housed by his grandmother - Ami, Akane, Shiragiku, Ouka and Riho who refused to give up the Café due to the deep bond they shared with Sachiko.
Hayato now aiming to carry on his grandmother's legacy, employs the 5 girls as maids referred to as "goddesses" of the Cafe and the 6 form an even deeper bond as they work together.
Given its initial presentation, it's normal to write a show like this off as plain Ecchi, and yeah it does have a lot of horny scenes, but what sets it apart from the other cheap erotic shows this season is actually good storytelling.
The show amazingly develops each character before further developing the bond they share with eachother and with the protagonist.
I'm not gonna sugar-coat it, this is a Love-hexagon harem with lots of fan service, but one with actual narrative worth.
(Comedy, Fantasy)
He then engaged in a deadly ritual to overthrow the his father and become head of the religious cult, with the belief that the goddess they worshipped Mitama will save him.
Unfortunately he drowns but wishes with his last breath that he gets reincarnated into a world without gods or religion.
That actually happened, and while the world he woke up in was atheist, it was even more flawed as citizens were killed at random by the government.
In an attempt to save the girls he befriended in the new world from this fate, he gets killed, but a little girl appears from the sky, revives him, and introduces herself as Mitama.
Now he aims to build Mitama's followers and power by making the people worship her, but faces a bunch of threats along the way.
While the latter has the amazing production treatment by A1, Kamikatsu falters greatly in terms of its visuals.
It in fact has some of the worst CGi you'll ever see.
And I can't believe I'm saying this, but that's okay, because the actual story is better than Mashle's so far.
Kamikatsu has one of the most unique approaches to the Isekai genre we've seen in years. With a genuinely interesting premise it offers loads of fun as it delivers nonstop amazing comedy content as well as unapologetic displays of degeneracy from its wild characters.
It's a show that stuns you with how bad It looks yet keeps you constantly entertained through its story.
It's a sleeper-hit Isekai and although I can't call it a must-watch, it certainly is the most crazy anime of the season.
(Romance, Comedy)
This romance story follows Ichikawa, a reserved kid who fantasizes about killing his adorable classmate- Yamada so he could "own" her body.
Upon meeting her and interacting with her, he realizes she's just an airhead who's mostly interested in munching on snacks at the library.
Overtime, the two frequently run into eachother and grow closer and Ichikawa's murderous dreams transition into a affection and a desire to protect her at all costs.
But that just makes it all the more special when you do end up loving it.
In terms of delivery as an romcom, it takes an approach that's familiar but not generic to deliver an oddball relationship that captivates you in the most unlikely of ways.
With every moment this edgelord and airhead spend with eachother, the wall between them gradually cracks, and this romantic development is also accompanied by a personal development of each character.
(Action, Historical)
Dao Ma is an extremely skilled swordsman who works as a government sponsored mercenary known as an 'Escort'. He seeks to pay off the debt he owes to a man named Mo who took care of him and his child- Xiao Qi.
On his way back to Mo's town from a job, he encounters a man-eating demon known as a "Rakasha".
This adds to the numerous problems that now arise for Dao Ma on his quest.
Speaking of production, this anime features some of the most mind-blowing action sequences of the year, with crystal clear visuals backed up by some of the most stunning fight choreography you'll ever see.
And the show is really action packed so it's pretty much an exhilarating visual feast every episode.
The story itself introduces you to a world progressively plunging into chaos in such an immersive manner.
Compared to the rest of the shows this season which have already completed their cours, Biao Ren only has about half that number of episodes and is only setting up its story, hence it couldn't go further up the list.
But I definitely see this being a top player in the action genre this decade as even just the initial part of its story is enough to get it into the Top 10.
(Action, Supernatural)
In a fantasy world, a hero named Calamity Crusher fought the ultimate battle against an immensely powerful necromancer named Corpse God. The hero ended up killing the Corpse God, only for the necromancer to get reborn into the body of a young, previously dead boy named Shinoyama Polka.
While still trying to process the situation, Corpse God gets in a heated battle with Misaki, the girl who previously killed Polka.
He kills her, but soon after brings her back to life using his powers, and after meeting the rest of the team at her organisation, he decides to work with this shady group while learning more about the world and uncover the mystery behind his reincarnation.
The battle that initiated the story in the fantasy world looked as visually stunning and epic as a proper fantasy final fight looks, and the big twist of the Corpse God's reincarnation gives an inkling of how wild this story gets.
After delivering such a banger first episode, it went on to build an even deeper mystery while introducing several vital characters which were all written in a way that makes them instantly engaging. It's technically an Isekai, but it's completely devoid of Isekai tropes or even fantasy elements in its genre as it focuses on developing a supernatural thriller. The first season mostly built things up but it's certain this show is going to get more heated in the future and definitely more entertaining.
(Romance, Drama)
Following up an Isekai with yet another Isekai.
After an unexpected death, Rinko Hanasaki is reborn as a character in a novel she read, Raeliana, the daughter of the Nouveau-riche baron whom according to the story was meant to die at the hands of her fiancé - Lord Francis Brooks.
Raeliana is now determined to prevent that from happening at all costs, hence she makes a deal with the Duke Noah Wynknight- the male protagonist of the novel for them to get engaged.
She succeeds with this, and while she and the Duke transition from an unlikely union into a real relationship, death still looms around the corner for her, and she must use all the knowledge she has of the Novel's plot to avert that.
While fans of the source material have been waiting for an adaptation of this for years, it still feels this anime went wildly under the radar of many anime fans this season due to its presentation.
At first glance it seems like yet another copy paste "All Routes Lead To Doom" type story like Hamefura, I'm The Villainess So I'm Taming The Final Boss and Trapped in a Dating Sim, and while it does have a similar story structure to those shows, this feels like the best one yet.
For one thing, the romance is a big win.
It develops a genuinely entertaining dynamic between the main couple while steadily building towards a compelling love story between them without failing to give them proper characterization.
That just adds to the intensity of watching Raeliana do all it takes to survive in that world to make for good entertainment. The stakes feel much higher in this show than the previously mentioned works, and with all the twists and turns it still delivers some of the most harmonic moments of the season.
(Comedy, Fantasy)
This is it guys, the Megumin spin-off we've all been waiting for. At least the cultured bunch of us.
The story begins when young Megumin sees something that shakes her to her core. A certain powerful wizard unleashing an extremely powerful blast of explosion magic.
Since then Megumin has dreamt of nothing more than to wield that magic and become the most powerful of the crimson demons.
She enrolls at Red Prison, a prestigous magic academy for crimson demons where she learns a lot about magic, makes a couple of new friends and even a close ally/rival named Yun Yun.
With everything she's gained she pushes forward to one day master the most powerful magic of all, Explosion magic.
Megumin deserves her own spotlight. Doesn't she?
We all knew what to expect from this. The typical Konosuba wild comedy content due to the crazy characters as well as a couple of explosive fight scenes.
This anime delivered all that extremely well.
Megumin is arguably the most interesting character amongst the protagonists, so seeing how her story began was a big treat. And what was even more of a treat was seeing the incredible animation flexes by studio Drive during her "Explosion!" Scenes. Every single passionate magical outburst by Megumin felt special and straight up awesome. The dynamic between the characters were wholesome as well as comedic and it was overall one of the most fun animes of the season.
(Comedy, Romance)
Akane Kinoshita is left broken after her boyfriend suddenly leaves her for another girl.
Her only refuge was playing video games, particularly the one she used to play with him, Forest of Savior.
She devises a plan to get back at her ex boyfriend through a meetup for the game, and there she meets Akito Yamada- a gaming legend who was apparently her ally in the game as well.
Akane begs Yamada to go through with the facade of them dating in order to make her boyfriend jealous and the antisocial gamelord reluctantly agrees.
After that, the two run into eachother a lot more times both in and out of the game and a close relationship blossoms between as they get to know more about each other.
Yeah, I know the whole concept of gamers falling in love feels unreal and something explored more deeply in shows like Bottom Tier Character Tomozaki Kun and some Isekai, but this anime shows just how beautiful a simple vanilla romance can be.
For one thing, it's amazing how this show portrays the characters as their awkward imperfect selves. It's rare to find a romance where the girl is just a mess, and this speaks to how realistic this show is willing to get.
Lots of college girls as reserved as they might seem do love romance in their lives as well as simple pleasures like drinking, social media and friendly chats, and Akane embodies all that. The character that's much closer to being a Mary Sue is Yamada, and even he feels more like a typical introvert as he's reserved yet expressive and concerned when he needs to be as opposed to just being dense or edgy.
It's the most charming romance this season as it has amusing and heartwarming moments of bonding between its characters and the romance progresses in a relieving manner.
(Romance, Drama)
Ganta Nakami is a high schooler who has a severe case of insomnia and hence couldn't sleep at nights, yet during the day at school he finds several conspicuous locations to nap.
He one day tries napping in the school's abandoned astronomy club where he runs into Magari Isaki, a friendly girl who coincidentally had similar sleeping problems as he did, and was already napping there.
She agrees to share her space with him, and the two Insomniacs take comfort in eachothers company in a friendship that guardually blossoms into something more.
The show takes its time developing a bond between Magari and Nakami as well as the other characters in the story with a refreshing ambiance, and this makes the dramatic scenes that much more impactful.
There are several scenes where phenomenal cinematography is showcased, illuminating an already romantic moment into something that captivates the soul.
It has a mature and refined approach to laying out a romance narrative which isn't surprising given that it is a seinen, but it's great that you end up loving every episode not for cheap romcom tropes, drama or anything typical but rather just how pure the romance is between the two Insomniacs.
(Action, Fantasy)
Gabimaru is a ninja nicknamed "hollow Gabimaru" has he spent his life committing brutal murders, and for this he was sentenced to death.
All methods the shogun and his men implored to kill him failed, leading them to believe he was immortal, at least until they bring in an executioner of the Yamada Asaemon clan named Sagiri to kill him.
She diagnoses that he won't be killed because he's deeply in love with his wife and wishes to return to her.
She instead brings up the idea for him to be pardoned for his crimes.
In exchange for their freedom, Gabimaru and 10 other death row inmates have to bring the "Elixir of life" from the extremely dangerous and mysterious Island of Shinsenkyo, commonly referred to as Hell.
This is a place where not a single visitor has returned with a sound mind. So the inmates and their assigned executioners now risk their lives in an unknown world, while Gabimaru fights to see his wife again.
Hell's Paradise has cemented its spot as not only the most action-packed anime of not only the season, but the year so far.
It delivers back to back exhilarating fights illuminated by MAPPA's incredible animation prowess with intensity and gore that represent just how deadly the hellish island is.
One of the best elements of the show aside the action is the mystery, as the characters are literally in a world of monsters and death with beings and concepts beyond their imagination, and the show does a splendid job of making its reveals as climactic as possible.
The show also does great character work. Even though many characters are quickly disposed of, the extra effort was put in to make them feel relevant even as they died.
It's a full package of fun and bloody thrills that promises to be a lot more in its coming episodes.
(Drama, Romance)
Mitsumi Iwakura is a small time country girl who has big dreams of making an impact in Japan. That took her away from her countryside hometown to Tokyo where she enrolls in a prestigous college with confidence of success.
However things seemed to go the opposite way when she gets lost on her first day of school. She meets a cheerful boy named Shousuke Shima who was in the same situation. It turns out he was in her class and after they make their way to school together, Mitsumi leaves a rather embarrassing first impression on her other classmates.
It soon comes to light that she's befriended the popular Shima and the fruitful highschool life she yearned for began to take flight.
It has an incredibly authentic narrative approach towards a school-life drama, which is remarkable given the oversaturation of cheeky romcom animes.
It's a show that aims to shower you with nostalgia by taking you through the easy-going highschool adventures of its amazing cast.
The show gives signs that it's ultimately leaning towards a romance but doesn't take a bullet train to get there.
Between the main duo the first cour was spent building an organic friendship between them while showing them gradually take interest with eachother beyond that friendship.
The moments of high drama are really captivating, and how it switches from wholesome to delivering heart -gripping content without losing any of its charm is simply brilliant!.
Also the melody and dance sequence in the opening really slaps.
(Drama, Music)
Okay guys let's talk about the big one.
AI Hoshino is a 16 year old pop star who's part of an Idol group named B Komachi.
She has tons of fans around Japan including one gynecologist at the countryside named Gorou Amemiya.
Gorou is actually a super fan and one day wishes to meet Ai in person. That dream came true but certainly not in the manner he thought, as she arrived at his hospital pregnant with twins!. Gorou decides to do everything in his power to ensure that his idol delivers her kids safely, but he wasn't prepared for the twists that came soon after.
Honestly, there's a lot more to the premise, but revealing anymore would be spoiling for people yet to watch, so it's better you go in blind on this one.
Oshi no Ko was able to move the hearts of many through the power of sheer impactful storytelling, and it did this right from the first episode.
The show gave a visceral exposure into the life of stage celebrities, highlighting how dark and chaotic the entertainment world actually is.
Behind the glistening stage lights, the warm smiles of the performing artists, the flashy costumes and performances, there's a lot of emotional strain and turmoil, and this show represents that in the most captivating of ways.
This is honestly the best thing Doga Kobo has ever produced. The character designs and animation are all just beautiful and shine more brightly than any other performing arts based anime show ever.
Episode 1 of Oshi no Ko is genuinely the best pilot episode in all of anime, as it delivers this exposure insightfully while climaxing in the most heart-breaking crescendo.
The rest of the show manages to introduce even more significant characters, each written developed impeccably as the show progressed.
However one show this season didn't just stay at the summit after reaching there, but shattered the entire mountain with a Kiruko laser beam.
Yup, The Number 1 Anime of Spring 2023 is none other than...
(Sci-fi, Mystery)
Fifteen years ago, a disaster struck mankind and man-eating monsters were left roaming the earth, endangering whatever survivors remained.
However a group of kids are safe from this threat, as they are housed and nurtured within a high-tech facility and live peaceful lives. However, the kids find out about the world beyond the walls of the facility and their curiosity grows deeply.
Meanwhile, in the outside world, two teenagers Maru and Kiruko band together to search for a place called Heaven.
On this trip they face numerous threats, mostly consisting of man-eating monsters but also thugs and several opposing factors. But they still remain determined to uncover the mystery behind the state of the world and their painful lives.
This isn't the kind of show you jump into for quick entertainment, but rather a show that slowly but surely immerses you into this chaotic world and the many mysteries associated with it.
There's lots of action, mystery, drama, thriller and sci-fi explorations, but the show never hinges on just one of these to stand out, rather it streamlines all of them together to build a compact narrative that excels in every way.
It presents an apocalyptic world in such a prolific manner.
Right from the get-go, you get to feel not only how dangerous these man-eating monsters that roam the earth are, but how twisted the world itself has become following this apocalypse.
Production IG delivered levels of animation and direction beyond anything they've ever done.
Beautifully choreographed high staked fight sequences that got bloody when they needed to be, as well as some of the most creative use of art-style transitioning in all of anime.
There's a lot less action in Tengoku Daimakyou than Hell's Paradise, but whenever a fight came up in this show, it was a visual feast unlike anything you could ever get from the MAPPA's dark fantasy or anything else this season.
Don't get me wrong, the animation may not be as clean and explosive as Demon Slayer's or Gundam Witch, but in terms of direction and overall sequence direction, it's pretty much on another level.
The show immerses us into a world we know absolutely nothing about, and throughout its run we're presented with mind-blowing twists and mild revelations of what actually happened with the world.
It doesn't rely on heavy information dumps to reveal a bunch of the plot secrets, but rather delivers top quality foreshadowing in a way that makes us feel part of the journey.
We aren't made to feel stupid by how complicated the world is, but rather steadily given enough insight to connect the narrative threads and uncover the many amazing aspects of the plot.
The fact that it's a multi-layered story that literally presents itself on two coexisting fronts and still managed to make both stories equally compelling is a thing to be applauded.
It presented and developed many vital characters from both ends of the story and sometimes reached emotionally resonant climaxes.
And even with everything we've seen already in this story, it's clear that there's a lot more significant developments to come, and those would probably link everything up in a more phenomenal manner than it's already done.
So if you haven't seen this show, you really should, and it's really important that you do so with an open mind and not jump to conclusions based on its slow start.
So there you have it guys, the best new anime of Spring 2023 is none other than Heavenly Delusion.
We also have My Home Hero which seems interesting but got butchered by an appalling adaptation; My Clueless First Friend which is cute but doesn't offer much more than that cuteness; The Sacrificial Princess And The King Of Beasts which is actually very good in terms of its story, but delivers almost nothing new or entertaining.
Kawaisugi Crisis is a very charming new show that's basically just a collection of cat worship scenes.
The Marginal Service looked special but its story failed to deliver in any way.
Summoned To Another World For The Second Time and The Aristocrat's Otherworldly Adventure: Serving Gods Who go too Far are honestly no different.
Yuri is My Job seems charming but is nothing but softcore lesbian content; Rokudou's Bad Girls looked to make for another entertaining delinquent based show, but isn't entertaining enough to make the cut.
Alice Gear Aegis and Kizuna no Allete are just embarrassing shows to think about.
Welcome to Summer 2023, a season which promises to be more explosive and impactful on the anime community than spring.
There are loads of bangers on their way this season and amongst that stacked roster, I'll list the ones I'm most excited about.
15) My Tiny Senpai
14) Reborn As a Vending Machine
13) The Girl I Like Forgot Her Glasses
12) The Duke of Death And His Maid Season 2
11) Masamune's Revenge Season 2
10) Horimiya Piece
9) Rurouni Kenshin (2023)
8) Zom100: Bucketlist of The Dead
7) Baki: Son of Ogre Season 2
6) Foghill of Five Elements Season 2
5) Bleach: Thousand Year Blood War Part 2
4) Link Click Season 2
3) Bungou Stray Dogs Season 5
2) Jujutsu Kaisen Season 2
1) Mushoku Tensei: Jobless Reincarnation Season 2
Thank you.
Wonderful review as always. I haven't watched most them but I'll definitely pick up heavenly delusion soon
ReplyDeleteIf it wasn't for Climax I'd have missed all these gems
ReplyDeleteGreat review and if you're hyped about this new season then so am I.
Boss speaking facts as always, I picked up heavenly Delusion cause of you and I don't regret it, next I'm gonna watch Gundam, never had been a fan of mecha anime but I'll give it a try anyway.
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