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Princess Principal can possibly be one of the most underrated anime this season, or possibly this year. The premise around spy girls performing tactical espionage (or cute girls doing bad things) is pretty unique for this season, and something I didn't expect from Studio 3hz. The setup of 2 spy networks working for opposing factions on the brink of war, is pretty intriguing. Our main characters also face confilict, with each of them having goals in mind.

Art is pretty fantastic, there's much detail to just about everything. It's not to the level of animation like Made in Abyss, but it's one of the better looking ... anime this season.

The BGM is pretty unforgettable, but the opening, "The Other Side of the Wall" by Void_Chord is purely hype, and its pretty much a sin for me to skip the engrish opening.

The characters themselves are likeable, and they all have a power that helps the group during a mission. Every character (except one at the time of the review) are introduced properly and gives more detail to the characters themselves.

I've been really enjoying the work of Studio 3hz and Actas, and I can't wait to see where they go on with this show. If you're willing to break the bank for the laughable "Anime Strike" service by Amazon, then by all means watch this show. If you would like to use "other" ways to watch the show, then go right ahead. It would be a shame to miss out on this anime.

As someone who has been keeping up to date with the manga, Kakegurui was an anime I've been looking forward to this season. However, knowing that this is going to be a Netflix show made me pretty frustrated, but I went on to watch the show through other ways.

What do I think about Kakegurui? It's very faithful to the original source material. Kudos to MAPPA for getting much of what made the manga great, with the art and character expressions being accurate. Though not as interesting and suspenseful like other gambling anime, the show still keeps it entertaining throughout. Characters add so much emotion to ... the anime and basically carry it through predictably boring gambling scenes. This show is great gateway material and its good and exciting enough to hold up as one. Possibly the best OP of the season (and maybe the entire year), Kakegurui's OP is fantastic. It has so much symbolism and connection to the manga that it contests any JJBA anime openings. BGM isn't really something to write home about, but it does well to build up the tension and atmosphere. The ED might seem like fanservice at first, but there's a sort of hidden symbolism in it, representing the change of Yumeko as a character.

If you read the manga, you should definitely watch this. If you're coming in blind, I would recommend reading the manga first and watch it later (which you can actually do, since there's no legal way to watch it with english subs yet), since you won't be able to appreciate much of the what anime is doing right. Overall, if you're looking for an anime to watch this season, this definitely should be something that you need to consider.

(TEMPORARY REVIEW: This will be updated once the anime is finished)

For a while now, I believed Kyo Ani was slowly dying. A lot of mediocre and lackluster anime like Myriad Colors was coming out from the company, and many believed that Kyo Ani was a hollow shell of its former self that made classics like K-ON! or Haruhi. It goes without saying that I came in with low expectations for Kobayashi-san Chi no Maid Dragon, and boy did they surprise me.

Kobayashi is undoubtedly one of my favorite anime from the Winter season. There's a lot of charm here, and it's really out of the ordinary ... for Kyo Ani to make an anime like this. Without further ado, let's begin.

Story 8 - Mrs. Kobayashi lived a normal life. She would wake up, go to work, and then go home or occasionally get drunk. However, her life would change once she meets Tohru, a dragon that Kobayashi invited to live at her house in one of her drunken fits. Kobayashi would now begin her new lifestyle of taking care of cute, humanoid dragons.
The story isn't complex, but it has a simple but charming premise, like many other Kyo Ani shows. Not a lot to say here, it's Kyo Ani.

Art 9 - Opting for more of a chibi-like artstyle, the designs for characters look genuinely cute or well done. The clothes fit the personality of each character and their background info. I'm no art major, but there's a lot of color to show here, making the world feel alive and beautiful. Kudos to Kyo Ani, I love the art direction they took for this show.

Sound 10 - I simply adore the OP and ED. Aozora No Rhaspody by fhana perfectly fits the upbeat and adorable atmosphere of the show, the same with Ishuukan Communications performed by some of the cast of Kobayashi, in the typical Lantis way. Not a lot to say here, I just love it.

Characters 9 - Though most of the characters fit a lot of typical anime tropes, it's genuinely hilarious seeing the characters adapt to human society, after for a long time having negative views of them. Without going in too much in detail, it's cute to see the dragons interact with society and characters in the show.
The voice acting is great, with many great voices behind the characters. Talent like Daisuke Ono and Minami Takahashi really bring out the characters. Though I haven't seen the English dub for the show, there's great voices like Leah Clark doing VAs, so that's a plus.

Enjoyment 10 - Enjoyment is more about taste, but this show is so fun to watch. Everything works here, and it isn't annoying or dumb at times. There was a lot of care here from Kyo Ani, and it really paid off.

Kobayashi-san Chi no Maid Dragon is a must watch for this season. The charm the characters and art really blend here, and I've thoroughly enjoyed every episode that's been released by the time of this review. I hope that Kyo Ani can continue making great shows like this.

Love Live! is a pretty household name in Japan and pretty well known internationally due to brilliant marketing and overall rather great songs. Sunrise knew how to market the girls of Muse through anime, and it shows. Muse is now one of the popular idol groups in Japan, at the same level of even AKB48.

So now, why was Love Live! Sunshine!! so badly marketed? It seems as if Sunrise didn't know how to sell Aquors. The anime doesn't help either. It is almost a REQUIREMENT to watch the first 2 seasons of Love Live! to understand several references and jokes that the girls make in ... the show. Girls are like carbon copies of Muse, with the exception of You. Sunrise didn't have a direction for this show, and it tried to pander to fans and ignore the masses. They have a great concept, and I wish they can do better if a 2nd season is green lit.

Sunshine!! isn't really an anime to begin in the franchise. For fans, its an ok show with ok humor and rather great songs. It's disappointing, but the first season of Muse was like this, so I have high hopes that the girls of Aquors are something that can become likable.

Kimi no Na wa. (Your Name) is something that I can't really describe, but made me think about it a lot. It made me cry, smile, laugh. Every sense of the movie showed just how beautiful and powerful artistic media can be. It didn't make me believe that anime was saved, but gave me a deeper appreciation for the media.

The sound direction and artwork in this movie gives so much vibes. I usually don't mention the animation and sound while watching an anime, but the beautiful direction that was given made it hard for me to not notice. Without giving away too much about it's ... plot and characters, I would like to say that Shinkai's use of motifs of lines and time was absolutely genius. The way these two motifs work together create thought-provoking and beautiful moments.

With all these points and no step out of line, why did I give it a 9? To me, this made me feel as art and media can do so much more. Art has no boundaries, and this movie proves so. People have the power to create something powerful.

"Kimi no Na wa."is something to experience, not to criticize. It is something that can be ingrained in your mind as time passes, or to be simply forgotten.

Watashi ga Motete Dousunda is a great shoujo anime that mixes static characteristics and dynamic environments together in beautiful blend in this reverse harem romantic comedy.

To start off, this anime rarely acts as a harem. It's more similar to Watamote than anything else. Kae Serinuma is plunged into several situations she's never been in such as having an romantic relationship. Everything that she's learned about relationships, is from her insane BL/fujoshi lifestyle. To say that our main character is oblivious and unrealistic is wrong, and it puts a complete twist on the harem stereotypes. She isn't looking to screw one of these guys, but instead ... wants to see the guys screw each other. She's a static character in a dynamic environment.

That's what makes this anime great.

Serinuma is set in a situation with 5 guys + 1 girl in which she doesn't know how to handle, so she puts them in ludicrous scenarios (or the guys put themselves in ludicrous scenarios) where she can keep her BL lifestyle alive. It's the perfect protagonist for the intended audience.

The show makes it that every character is likable in someways. Our MC's disinterest in the others makes it so that this can spark conversation, shipping, etc for the fanbase. One episode even makes fun of that exact premise. Overall, the character interactions and humor is great. It's kinda like "One Punch Man", you either understand it or not. Not for everyone, but still a great show and I highly recommend it to anyone that understands fujoshi or BL culture.