It’s been a wild few months, y’all. Fell behind and never posted a Fall 2024 wrap up, so I’m just doing it all now. Here’s a combined Winter 2025 and Fall 2024 set:

Winter 2025 wrap up

Watched current releases:

• Zenshu - Surprise hit of the season for me. Incredibly creative animation throughout, good story, great characters. I think the finale could have been slightly workshopped, as it didn’t quite land for me as hard as I thought it would, but overall excellent. Easily on my short list for best of 2025. Teetering between 9 or 10/10 for me.
• Solo Leveling S2 - I had slightly lowered expectations for this for some reason. Maybe I was just expecting a second season slump or maybe it would draw out major plot points to milk more content. Nope: this was ridiculously fast paced and plowed through major reveals and moments so fast that it was hard to keep up. There were a lot of build up moments in between, while starting to introduce a lot of new characters and beginnings of a bigger plot that felt a bit rushed and less exciting. But overall I loved it. 9/10.

Watched past seasons:

• Kaiju No 8 - Holy crap that was sooo much better than I expected! I’m not sure why I thought this wouldn’t work for me, but it kept me super engaged throughout and action was nuts. One of my favorites of 2024. Definitely will check out future seasons. 9/10.

Dropped (from any season):

• Shangri-La Frontier - Tried first episode and it really didn’t click with me. Strongly disliked MC. Likely done.
• Guild Receptionist … - Watched 1/2 of season and dropped. Characters feel too archetypal and rigid, with no growth or feeling. Not interested in bigger plot and initial premise ran thin very fast.
• Sakamoto Days - Watched 3 episodes I think. It’s just fine. I want to click more with the characters, but something isn’t flowing well. I dunno.
• You And Idol Precure - Watched 1 episode from a recommended list. Super not vibing with me.
• Momentary Lily - Watched 1 episode from a recommended list. Really didn’t like the characters or the animation style.

Eventually watch from this season:

• Apothecary Diaries S2 - Watched a couple episodes before I realized this wouldn’t be complete this season. It’s excellent, but I’ll wait until it’s all out to watch at a quicker pace.
• 100 Girlfriends S2 - I like the meta and over-the-top absurdity, but really struggle with some of the problematic content. Maybe 1/2 through season? I’ll probably finish S2, but I’m guessing I won’t follow to S3.
• Fruitmaster … - My guilty watch of the season. I know it’s not great, but I’ll defend it that it’s not trash! About 2/3 done.
• Castlevania Nocturne S2 - Most of the way through and enjoying this a lot. Nocturne S1 was just okay for me and this is a big step up. I loved the OG S1-2 and these aren’t quite at that level.
• Medalist - Not typically my thing but it’s so highly rated that I should give it a try. Unfortunately, it’s trapped in Hulu jail. I’ll subscribe sometime this year for a month or two to catch up on a bunch I’ve missed out on the last couple years. Just really annoying to subscribe to both D+ and Hulu.
• My Happy Marriage S2 - Tried an episode of S2 and I’m close to dropping it. I find the politics difficult to follow and the main premise frustratingly overdone. I think the initial premise was way more fun and different and could have been a compelling short anime. I’ll probably give it another couple episodes.
• Beastars S3 - Waiting until the full season is out later this year.

Fall 2024 wrap up:

Watched current releases:

• Dan Da Dan - Easily my favorite of the season and on my short list of favorites for 2024. Wild story, awesome animation, great voice acting, just incredibly produced. I do have some significant complaints about plot points that almost made me nope out. Despite that, this is easily a top tier for the year. 9/10.
• Ranma 1/2 - I grew up watching OG, and wasn’t convinced this needed to exist. I was pretty interested after 1/3 of the season, but fell off again towards the end. I feel like the content is kinda dated and feels like an artifact of the time. I wasn’t ridiculously impressed by the animation quality, and they were going for a manga-style that didn’t vibe with me. It’s good, but I unfortunately didn’t love it as much as the OG, which I’m sure wouldn’t hold up today either. 7/10.

Watched past seasons:

• Wistoria Wand And Sword - Not top tier, but surprisingly solid. Animation is fun, characters decent, world is kinda interesting. It’s a good B tier imo. 7/10.

Dropped (from any season):

• 365 Days To Wedding - Tried a couple episodes. Didn’t click. I think I didn’t like either of the two main characters much and found it hard to relate.

Eventually watch from this season:

• Re:Zero S3 - Watched intro “movie” episode. It’s decent, but I’d forgotten so much context that it was hard to care too much. Decided to wait until the whole season is out before binging.
• Orb … - Tried one episode. Not sold on it, it feels really dark and not so fun. I’ll probably give it a good try now that it’s all out.
• Dragon Ball Daimo - I’d like to watch all the Dragon Ball shows eventually, but have never watched any. I think I’m going to participate in the OG rewatch that just started.
• Is It Wrong … S5 - I sorta liked the first couple seasons. Might get to this eventually.
• Blue Box - Not my typical thing but it’s reviewing well, so I’ll give it a shot some day. Probably try now that the full season is out.
• Arcane S2 - Not anime. Only watched some of it. It’s excellent, but I need to be in the right mood to totally appreciate it.

Well, I’ve been meaning to finally watch Dragon Ball at some point. Three episodes per week is a pretty manageable pace, although I’m sure there will be weeks I fall behind due to travel or busy plans. That’ll end up being 51 weeks to complete the 153 episodes, just about a year. I’ve only watched maybe half an episode of any Dragon Ball series ever, so I’ll be real fresh.