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This was the best anime of the season. Who would have thought that a plot that initially seemed so generic would surprise us so quickly? I started paying more attention to the animation, and every detail is incredible. We have long sequences with a perfect transition from one shot to the next. The continuation of the same angle in the middle of a scene change during a battle is impressive. Small details that, if you pay close attention, leave you completely speechless. A LOT of passion was put into this adaptation. The soundtrack is also a standout, making tense moments even more intense—perfect in every ... aspect.

Will doesn't just win through brute strength, and he's not just a talented swordsman. Will wins with intelligence; he studies, prepares, analyzes his opponent, and in the middle of a fight, he's able to do this in milliseconds thanks to his instincts. It’s incredibly satisfying when things that seem unrelated come together throughout the story.

The characters are captivating, and the animation is flawless. My congratulations to the studio and the entire team for the result. There’s still much to be revealed so we can better understand some points of the story, especially about the tower and the "Magia Vander."

Let's see how this unfolds in the second season, but my expectations couldn’t be higher!

THE BIGGEST DISAPPOINTMENT OF THE SEASON!

BEFORE
Khun, I knew you’d never disappoint me! I was a bit anxious about this new arc and the new characters, but when he showed up, it was incredible. Great job on the script for fooling us for a moment, even if we were a little suspicious—after all, we're talking about the freaking Khun. Kudos to the staff; everything has been flawless so far. I also think they nailed the animation this time, and Bam’s new badass look is truly awesome.

I can't express how happy I am that Khun knows everything and has a plan. Rachel, brace yourself because ... your worst nightmare is named Khun Aguero Agnis. I’m really pumped for this season!
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AFTER
*Rectifying everything I said earlier: The anime declined very quickly. The animation is full of flaws, and the fights are horrible and very poorly choreographed. A real disregard! Maybe it hasn't even declined; it was me who was too excited at the beginning to notice all the mistakes.*
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I’m giving it a 4 purely out of sentiment for the first season because I should be giving it a 1.

I waited until episode 10 to write my review. For those who weren’t familiar with the manga, the first episode was totally misleading, and I loved it because it was a very faithful adaptation of the initial pages.

I love that Kaiju No. 8 brings a complex discussion about evolution—both ours and our enemies’—as something natural. To win a new war, humanity will have to prepare to do something it doesn’t want to and would never think of doing under normal circumstances: becoming its enemy. And that’s exactly what happens with Kafka when he turns into a Kaiju. It’s an interesting and somewhat disturbing view that ... perhaps, to defeat what we fear the most, we need to become one of them. How far can we maintain our humanity? Even using our enemy’s evil tactics, do we remain ourselves? Are such powers justifiable when used for our cause, or should they be banned no matter how good our intentions are? These are many questions.

Throughout the episodes, we see Kafka view his new powers as a gift, a way to achieve his dream of becoming a warrior in the Japan Defense Force alongside Mina Ashiro, while also helping humans turn the tide and defeat the Kaiju. But at the same time, we see his friends, Leno Ichikawa and Kikoru Shinomiya, keep the protagonist grounded, reminding him that in society’s eyes, a monster is still a monster, and good intentions don’t matter. If you look like the enemy, you will automatically be treated as one, so caution is necessary.

The soundtrack is amazing; both the opening and ending songs, as well as the episode tracks, are energizing and give the viewer a sense of danger and urgency mixed with the thrill of fighting giant monsters (the only thing that doesn’t sit well with me is that opening with the bizarre CGI, but Abyss is truly excellent sound-wise, it just deserved a better opening animation). Hopefully, they took it as an experiment that wasn’t well-received, and other studios won’t try to replicate it.

The animation is beautiful and fluid but overuses slow motion. Something very recurring that started to bother me over the episodes was the almost static frames that pause the fight at an epic moment, like when one of the characters is about to get hit. The hit comes in slow motion, the character’s thoughts are narrated, and then the hit resumes at full speed, leaving no time to savor the movement and emotion, but it’s forgivable.

Kaiju No. 8 brings a good story of giant monsters, interesting dilemmas, well-constructed characters, and electrifying action scenes. A true revival for the genre that many of us had forgotten we loved so much. Episode 10 was pure CINEMA! Impeccable from start to finish. Without a doubt, Kaiju No. 8 is the anime of the season.

A mix of The Boys and Power Rangers, it couldn't be bad! However, beneath the shiny surface, there is a darker reality. The leader of the Dragon Guardians, the Red Guardian, bears some striking similarities to Homelander from The Boys. Both present themselves as noble heroes loved by the public. But, in truth, they are narcissistic, violent, and cruel, committing horrible acts in secret when out of the spotlight. The Red Guardian looks down on the alien minions, derogatorily called "Dusters," just as Homelander views humans as inferior. The cruelty of the Guardians has earned them the enmity of Infantryman “D,” one of the minions ... seeking revenge against his oppressors, similar to Billy Butcher's personal vendetta against Homelander and Vought in The Boys. Although it superficially appears to be a light action comedy, it clearly aims to deconstruct the Super Sentai archetype, showing how power and fame can corrupt. The animation studio Yoar Pictures, despite being relatively new, delivered an impressive quality of animation that skillfully balances darker tones with colorful Sentai-style action and humor.

To begin with, WIND BREAKER has nothing in common with Tokyo Revengers; anyone who says otherwise either hasn't watched one or hasn't watched the other. It is undoubtedly one of the best this season. The animation is excellent and doesn't lose quality for the sake of fluidity; the fights are perfectly choreographed with complex, well-rehearsed movements. The episodes that are entirely about fights are very good. I feel like this anime is what we've been missing for a while. The characters are VERY charismatic and well-developed, and the protagonist is not an idiot. It's also worth noting that the humor is very good without being ... overdone. I got goosebumps while watching some of the fight sequences because the animation is so good. They spared no effort to deliver something so well-made.

I'm not the biggest fan of isekai, but this one innovates in most aspects, bringing a good protagonist who makes mistakes and is not invincible. The soundtrack and animation are strong points in this anime. Everything else is very well developed, from the character's restart to his adulthood. The humor is very enjoyable and perfectly balanced, making the most of every second of screen time, giving time to things that need it and being energetic when necessary. The depth in the character's development concerning his past life, which makes him empathetic and aware of the importance not only of the people around him but of ... everyone, is very well conveyed. We can notice how he now sees each person as unique, with their own feelings, worldview, and way of interpreting things. For many people, some scenes may be a bit uncomfortable, but it doesn't bother me because there is no superficiality if you can understand the message.

SHOWING THAT CLICHE ISN'T A PROBLEM IF WELL SEASONED!

The story follows Usato, a high school student who runs into the student council president and a classmate on his way home. Unexpectedly, the three are transported to another world by a magical circle, called upon to become heroes, except for Usato, who is there by accident. During the plot, Usato discovers he has knowledge of healing magic and is kidnapped by a woman claiming to be the leader of the rescue squad. Up to this point, it seems like just another common isekai, but things take a turn. There, when his affinity for the extremely rare ... healing magic is discovered, unfortunately, it makes him the center of attention.

At first, I thought, you thought, anyone who didn't think is lying, "there's no way he's just a mere healer; there's more to it... 🤨". And nothing grabs attention more than something new, like when they take something we've all seen before and turn it into something unique. The wrong way to use healing magic skillfully accomplishes that. The basic approach to healing magic is so good that it's amazing no one else has done it.

The way Rose trains Usato to use healing magic is different. Instead of focusing all his training on mental skills, Rose encourages Usato to become physically stronger. Running, jumping, and endurance training are imposed on the young mage for hours each day. Whenever he begins to stumble, he gets healed, allowing the physical training to continue. This way, Usato quickly becomes a physical powerhouse.

When she is initially introduced, she seems like a monstrous person. Everyone who sees her, including the king, trembles at her approach. She is harsh with her language and brutal with those who fail in their duties. As Usato's training continues under her watchful eye, he and the viewer come to see a different side of the character. She is tough on Usato because she sees the great things he can accomplish. Furthermore, while she understands that people will die in the upcoming war, she will do everything in her power to keep the number of casualties as low as possible.

The series blends serious preparation to save the world and light romance elements with a solid dose of fun. The other members of the Rescue Squad bring manic energy to Usato's days as they cheer and tease him. After all of them have gone through the brutal training he receives, his comrades encourage him, without ever reaching the point of feeling cruel. This ridiculous energy helps alleviate the tough training, making the series feel lighter than it would otherwise.

All the crazy energy and tough lessons are delivered through excellent visual performances. All the exaggerated emotions expected from this style of comedic anime arrive excellently. On the few occasions when combat occurred, "The Wrong Way To Use Healing Magic" manages to keep the momentum engaging.

In the end, the art is good, there's comedic relief with honest humor that really gets good laughs without being that annoying and forced thing. The premise is different from the usual, despite being ANOTHER ISEKAI, it seems to escape very well from saturated plots. I also like episodes set in forests with the protagonist training to evolve. Another one of my bets for this winter season!

The anime explores a world where humans and androids collaborate on a mission to Mars led by Rouge Redstar and Naomi Orthmann. At the beginning, it reminded me a lot of Blade Runner.

Bones has a solid legacy with Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood, Mob Psycho 100, and My Hero Academia, so high expectations for the animation were already in place. The anime manages to be precise in its placements, not rushing to explain what's happening. This only makes you more eager to keep watching. The fights are very well done, without exaggeration but still maintaining the action. Just not recommended for those who are used to spoon-fed ... storylines.

I'm in love with the anime. The direction makes a difference, and if there's an anime where you can notice that, it's this one. The animation is beautiful; Yuki's purity calls for pastel tones, brightness, calmness, and lightness, and all of this the anime's environment conveys in a sublime way. But it's not in the character design, photography, or even animation that captures my enthusiasm; it's in the direction and sound design. The scene on the subway/train was so delicate and careful in depicting, by comparison, the world of listeners and non-listeners that leaves anyone moved. In a story where small gestures are of immense ... importance, paying attention to "sound" while telling the story of a deaf protagonist is an extremely important detail. When Yuki is surrounded by people talking, and we only hear her voice and a faint background melody... The silences, the juxtaposition of the current noise of the café vs. what she "hears," are all essential details to show the viewer how significant Itsuomi's actions are for Yuki.

Another feature that I value even more in the animation is the lips! In anime, there aren't exactly "lips" unless in certain scenes focused on them. Here, the presence of lips is part of the character design, which, coming from a work whose protagonist reads lips, is a detail that warms our hearts.

It's definitely a must-watch anime for everyone – even if just for the first episode! It's a beautiful work of art, and it has the animation, direction, and photography to leave any anime lover speechless. Moreover, the story warms the heart.

Give it a chance and be happy!

To start this madness, we are introduced to a world where all human beings are born with the gift of magic, but this changes when a child without this ability emerges, Mash Burnedead, a teenager full of muscles but devoid of magic. Considered an aberration, Mash takes refuge in the forest until one day he is caught and forced to attend a magic school a la Hogwarts.

"Mashle" combines references to Western works with situations and key concepts seen in other successful anime, many of them like One Punch Man. Similar to the protagonist Saitama, Mash was born without any special ability and achieves strength that ... surpasses any magic through training. What limits him is his nonchalance, another established element that "Mashle" adapts in its pastiche; Mash's monumental disinterest makes everything extremely comical in the anime. Whether it's his compulsion for profiteroles, his ability to work out in any situation, or his poor performance in mathematics, everything is a pretext for a punchline.

The series doesn't make much effort to invest in suspension of disbelief and presents the most absurd climaxes and outcomes possible. Initially, we see Mash dealing with his problems in the Saitama style: with just one punch. As the episodes progress, the character's life becomes more challenging, and he needs to rely on other muscles to overcome his obstacles. The commitment with which the series embraces satire and the ridiculous surpasses the lack of complexity. It's already one of the best surprises among the anime premieres this year, an unpretentious entertainment that only a good underdog can sometimes provide.