Fall 2023 Anime Season / Summer 2023 Wrap-Up
October 3, 2023 2:30 AM - Subscribe
Here are the lists of what's airing Fall 2023:
As always, if you want some subjective opinions or some guidance on what to prioritize, there's
Anticipated: Early Episode Reviews: Given that overall the club is pretty quiet, I was thinking we could also use these seasonal posts to do some wrap-up recommendations for or against the things that we watched the previous season.
Anticipated: Early Episode Reviews: Given that overall the club is pretty quiet, I was thinking we could also use these seasonal posts to do some wrap-up recommendations for or against the things that we watched the previous season.
This season is making me want to resub to one of the anime streaming services. Frieren and Delicious in Dungeon (coming next season I think) are my two favorite fantasy manga. And if The Apothecary Diaries does the source material justice it will be amazing.
And it looks like the otome isekai trend is continuing with Tearmoon Empire this season, Dr.Elise & Villainess lvl.99 next season and apparently even a Who Made Me a Princess? anime at some point.
I'm also giving 100 Girlfriends Who Really^5 Love You a shot because the premise sounds funny. If it turns out to be a funny or smart deconstruction of the harem genre, I'm 100% in. If it does the tropes in a straight-faced way I'll probably be out after a couple of episodes.
Deconstruction? More like it takes the tropes, stacks them all on top of each other and then vibrates manically on top after eating an entire bag of pixie sticks. I wouldn't call it straight-faced but it sure as hell wasn't self-reflective.
posted by charred husk at 7:36 AM on October 4, 2023
And it looks like the otome isekai trend is continuing with Tearmoon Empire this season, Dr.Elise & Villainess lvl.99 next season and apparently even a Who Made Me a Princess? anime at some point.
I'm also giving 100 Girlfriends Who Really^5 Love You a shot because the premise sounds funny. If it turns out to be a funny or smart deconstruction of the harem genre, I'm 100% in. If it does the tropes in a straight-faced way I'll probably be out after a couple of episodes.
Deconstruction? More like it takes the tropes, stacks them all on top of each other and then vibrates manically on top after eating an entire bag of pixie sticks. I wouldn't call it straight-faced but it sure as hell wasn't self-reflective.
posted by charred husk at 7:36 AM on October 4, 2023
This season is making me want to resub to one of the anime streaming services. Frieren and Delicious in Dungeon (coming next season I think) are my two favorite fantasy manga. And if The Apothecary Diaries does the source material justice it will be amazing.
Apothecary Diaries is the one that's on my waiting list that'll come off the bench if I see enough positive buzz as the episodes air. Good to know that the source material is strong!
Deconstruction? More like it takes the tropes, stacks them all on top of each other and then vibrates manically on top after eating an entire bag of pixie sticks. I wouldn't call it straight-faced but it sure as hell wasn't self-reflective.
Haha, I think taking the tropes to a ridiculous level of hyperbole is going to be close enough to a deconstruction for me. Either way I'm interested to see how I'll feel about the first few episodes.
posted by C^3 at 8:05 PM on October 4, 2023
Apothecary Diaries is the one that's on my waiting list that'll come off the bench if I see enough positive buzz as the episodes air. Good to know that the source material is strong!
Deconstruction? More like it takes the tropes, stacks them all on top of each other and then vibrates manically on top after eating an entire bag of pixie sticks. I wouldn't call it straight-faced but it sure as hell wasn't self-reflective.
Haha, I think taking the tropes to a ridiculous level of hyperbole is going to be close enough to a deconstruction for me. Either way I'm interested to see how I'll feel about the first few episodes.
posted by C^3 at 8:05 PM on October 4, 2023
I found Undead Girl Murder Farce to be surprisingly enjoyable. What I liked the most was the banter between Tsugaru and Aya, there was this vibe of an old couple laughing at each other's private jokes, and Shizuku grudgingly putting up with them. Tsugaru's delivery of lines was rakugo-esque - and he did recite rakugo at times - which perhaps isn't surprising given that it shares directors with Shouwa Genroku Rakugo Shinjuu.
Helck is continuing from the summer. I felt the pacing and direction were excellent in the first cour. It wasn't the most high-budget production, but it felt like money and attention were being paid in the right places, making the most of what they had. I'm not as pleased with second cour but we'll have to see how much of the story they decide to cover.
posted by needled at 1:36 PM on October 20, 2023 [1 favorite]
Helck is continuing from the summer. I felt the pacing and direction were excellent in the first cour. It wasn't the most high-budget production, but it felt like money and attention were being paid in the right places, making the most of what they had. I'm not as pleased with second cour but we'll have to see how much of the story they decide to cover.
posted by needled at 1:36 PM on October 20, 2023 [1 favorite]
What's everybody's hate-watch this season?
Mine is The Kingdoms of Ruin - the individual pieces are not bad, such as character design and world building so far, but how they're put together, ha. Watching to see how bad / nonsensical it can get. I'm not familiar with the source material but from the comments I've seen online the manga is apparently not much better.
posted by needled at 6:08 AM on October 24, 2023
Mine is The Kingdoms of Ruin - the individual pieces are not bad, such as character design and world building so far, but how they're put together, ha. Watching to see how bad / nonsensical it can get. I'm not familiar with the source material but from the comments I've seen online the manga is apparently not much better.
posted by needled at 6:08 AM on October 24, 2023
No hate-watches here, though Pluto was kind of a struggle for me to get through despite the high amount of praise it's gotten online. Some great ideas for sure, but it failed to coalesce into an interesting story IMO.
I'm surprised by how much I'm liking both Frieren and Apothecary Diaries. Especially Frieren, after episodes 9 and 10 knocked it out of the park in completely opposite ways. Don't have easy access to 100 GFs in my area, and not motivated enough to go looking so no comment on that show.
posted by C^3 at 2:39 AM on November 14, 2023
I'm surprised by how much I'm liking both Frieren and Apothecary Diaries. Especially Frieren, after episodes 9 and 10 knocked it out of the park in completely opposite ways. Don't have easy access to 100 GFs in my area, and not motivated enough to go looking so no comment on that show.
posted by C^3 at 2:39 AM on November 14, 2023
I'm enjoying Frieren and The Faraway Paladin, and I appreciate the melancholy mood in both. How to put it, they both take their characters seriously, without cynicism or disdain.
I feel more mixed about Apothecary Diaries. Part of my bias comes from having watched a good deal of Chinese costume dramas and Chinese animation, and the aesthetics of the Apothecary Diaries feel off to me. The direction also seems unclear on how to present Maomao, it's like they're barely resisting the urge to turn her into a typical cutesy character. Thank goodness they didn't give her a VA with a high-pitched voice.
posted by needled at 2:02 PM on November 15, 2023
I feel more mixed about Apothecary Diaries. Part of my bias comes from having watched a good deal of Chinese costume dramas and Chinese animation, and the aesthetics of the Apothecary Diaries feel off to me. The direction also seems unclear on how to present Maomao, it's like they're barely resisting the urge to turn her into a typical cutesy character. Thank goodness they didn't give her a VA with a high-pitched voice.
posted by needled at 2:02 PM on November 15, 2023
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Zom 100 still isn't done due to production issues pretty much every week, with delays, forced recap episodes, and scheduling conflicts that came as a result of the delays. The show never really managed to rise above just ok for me, and I don't think I'll be following S2 for this show either though it's ok enough for me to finish S1.
For Fall 2023, I did check out the 4 episode drop for Frieren (Sousou no Frieren / Frieren: Beyond Journey's End) and it's a strong start. A premise based on the age-old question, "What happens to the long-lived elf in the adventuring party after the adventure is over?" I'd recommend this show to anyone that's ever thought about that after a tabletop session or beating a dungeon crawler or finishing a fantasy novel. It's slow in a deliberate kind of way, ruminating a lot on the passing of time, missed opportunities, and regret while still looking forward and being open to new people and new experiences.
I'll also be following Spy x Family S2, and I'm expecting more fun sitcom vibes there.
I'm also giving 100 Girlfriends Who Really^5 Love You a shot because the premise sounds funny. If it turns out to be a funny or smart deconstruction of the harem genre, I'm 100% in. If it does the tropes in a straight-faced way I'll probably be out after a couple of episodes.
posted by C^3 at 3:30 AM on October 3, 2023