Seasonals of the Abyss - Summer 2026

Seasonals of the Abyss

* Summer 2026 *

 

Sound the alarm.

I may have underestimated this season despite the apprehension I expressed at the end of the Spring 2026 post. That statement in of itself may be selling the situation short. There was a clear understanding that my schedule would be a smidge tighter than usual as I marveled at the variety of interesting projects and sought-after continuations that were mingling in this quarter-year span of time. Yet, there's no denying that I made a few assumptions that turned out to be anything but the truth. My initial process of deciding the shows I would pick up this season was generally the same as always. I scoured through a database list and made a few passes on all the scheduled anime. The first pass is a quick overlook where I reconfirm the shows I've already decided on. Most of these are either sequels or works I had prior interest in before the seasonal lineup was solidified. The second pass is when I scrutinize every entry from the surface level through the key visuals, the brief overview of the premise, and the studios producing the work. Original projects get more leeway in this process due to my own preferences. The final pass involves watching the PV uploads and looking through the staff list of each anime that made it through the previous phase. This is where the necessary culling comes into play to ensure that I have a nice, lean cut of shows to watch that are likely to capture my attention and keep me coming back every week for more.

When this process failed to cut out nearly every anime I selected, a strategic pivot became necessary. I opted in for a first episode sampler to get a direct taste of each experience. Once the true colors of a show become clear, then any hesitance toward the decision of continuing or dropping it from the schedule typically fades to clarity. Surely, I thought, this would ease things up right out the gate and push out a few stragglers in favor of the strongest material. I was wrong. In fact, I almost picked up a completely different show that didn't make it past the pre-airing screens and had to stop myself because the danger zone had long been breached at that point. My final cope came in the form of believing that I'd get tired of some of the weaker links in the chain and cut them out after getting a satisfying enough fill. Now, with over half the season behind us, none of the anime I picked up have been trimmed from the herd. Every single one of them made it. Shows that aren't even that good made it because they fascinate me in some oddball way and refuse to grow dull. Truly, I am my own worst enemy in this scenario. My schedule is loaded with only a single day of the week cleared up for picking away at my backlog.

Here's the situation. I'm watching twelve shows this season. Technically, it's thirteen if I count the second cour of Re:Zero season 4, but I already wrote about that last season in length so it will take its place in the footnotes. Seasonals of the Abyss has never reached a double digit anime count before, so I'm adopting a new strategy this time around. I've always tried to discuss each show to a certain degree of length even if my personal enthusiasm differs considerably between them. However, I can't afford to do that this time around. This will be a blatantly obvious expression of preference. The anime I care the least about, or have less to remark on than others, will come first with shorter entries than I typically aim for. This will be a good exercise in writing concise impressions that trim the usual fat from my work, but the truth is that I want to keep the post length down more than anything else. It's a two-way street to avoid burdening myself with a huge workload while also preventing readers from being overwhelmed by a massive wall of text. Everything that comes after will be closer to the typical length I aim for when writing entries for Seasonals of the Abyss, but not so much that it takes the word count overboard. We'll see how well this pans out, but there's little else I can do other than throw myself into the wilderness and try to make it out unscathed on the other side.

Seasonals of the Abyss is an abyss of variable size that correlates with how many anime I'm watching. It's quite a black hole this time around. Thanks for reading.

 

Mebius Dust

Produced by Dogakobo

I picked this up out of curiosity when I saw Dogakobo was producing their newest original work since the middling Yoru no Kurage wa Oyogenai in 2024. Turns out I got more than I bargained for. Mebius Dust is the third anime to be produced from a collaboration between Japanese broadcasting companies known as Project ANIMA. All the way back in 2018, ideas were crowdsourced from the general public for specific categories and whittled down by a panel of judges until only the best candidates remained. The winning ideas were then contracted to a studio for anime production with the promise that they would be released within the 2020s. This held true with Satelight producing the subterranean mecha series Sakugan in 2021 and J.C. Staff following suit with 2024's MahoNare, a fantasy series that seems especially inspired by Little Witch Academia. One of the Project ANIMA categories was called "Kids/Game" which prompted for submissions with adolescent protagonists that were tailor-made for video games, mobile games, trading card games, and so on. The winning candidate was an original concept called Möbius Dust that followed young trainees of a Japanese counter-terrorist group in a time of social upheaval triggered by a meteorite related disaster. The initial announcement in 2019 confirmed Dogakobo's involvement in the project. In the seven years that followed, many details of the original concept would be tweaked including its own name.

Mebius Dust still follows the aftermath of a meteorite impact, but the terrorism and social conflict elements have been scrubbed out. Instead the focus is on five groups of teenagers who have been affected by the titular dust and bestowed Ramus - special abilities born from the transformation of their bodies by the meteorite's particles. The downside? They can't venture outside town beyond the veil of dust or their augmented biology will be completely erased. Tough luck if you're like the girl with enhanced lungs. As an outlet, these five groups decide to bide their time by competing in games with their powers to claim turf across town. This attracts the attention of the ethically dubious Dr. Yuda who offers to sponsor the games and unlock the limiters on everyone's powers in exchange for research data. His promise to discover a way to make the cosmic particles portable attracts the attention of Araki, a timid and self-conscious boy who is obsessed with finding a way to leave town. The brunt of the story centers around his role in the team Polis Hopper as the team strategist. Due to the dust transforming his prefrontal cortex, his cognitive perception is heightened and - after the limiters are removed - he is able to perceive future events. However, Araki also has an inexplicable ability to conjure a Not-Stand in the form of a hooded grim reaper and ritually deploys it every night for reasons that have only recently become relevant to the story.

It's a bizarre fusion like Charlotte meets Tribe Nine and comes off like an adaptation for a mobile game that doesn't exist. Its incredibly lopsided balancing act has ceded most of the anime's real estate to the game related antics and barely anything to developing its characters. There's more than thirty names in the cast here! Araki's friction with his "sister" and fellow teammate Stella, the ghostly effeminate boy Kurusu, and Dr. Yuda's scientific endeavors are primary vectors for the plot and any character development. Brief glimpses of the team dynamics are shown off but rarely get the spotlight barring an episode where Araki helps the dog-boy Shippo Marimo avoid his team, the Scarlet Wolves, to get out of a social obligation. Now we're knee deep in a twist that has put Araki in a morally compromised position while fleshing out the "villain" team led by Kurusu known as Diabolic Ghost. The plot is a scattered mess, the visual direction is frequently subpar, half the cast barely has presence or personality, and the pacing is marred by confounding choices to prioritize the show's gimmick over developing its mystery. Despite this, I still found myself being suckered in by its twisted novelty. I can't think of many anime that serve as a theoretical adaptation for nonexistent source material. This isn't a multimedia project situation either. It's an advertisement for something that will never materialize. Its untethered nature as an original project allows it to take wild swings even if it rarely takes advantage of that opportunity. My curiosity is the sole reason I keep tuning in for this one. I wonder if we'll ever know why they altered the original concept so significantly. Surely there will be an amusing resolution at the end of all this!

  

Tsuihou sareta Tensei Juukishi wa Game Chishiki de Musou suru

Produced by GoHands

There isn't another soul in the blogging sphere with the same level of reverence I have for GoHands. The highly polarizing studio that was once well-regarded for their long running adaptation of Seitokai Yakuindomo and the collaborative efforts of K Project bet all their ambitions on a future with 2D characters animated in elaborate 3D spaces with controversial camera work and layered post-processing effects. For better or worse, Hand Shakers turned GoHands into a one-of-a-kind powerhouse that have been uncompromising in their vision. In fact, they proudly embrace their evocative visual style that attracts equal measure of awe and disgust. After sharpening their teeth on a string of original projects, the studio has firmly returned to the space of adaptation work which has largely drawn more positive reception in comparison to their in-house projects. That leads us to an inevitable outcome in the modern anime industry - a contract job for producing an isekai series. Yes, it's the beast that never truly dies. Fatigue and oversaturation have yet to blunt the presence of this highly diverse yet trope-ridden genre in the Japanese creative sphere. Not only has GoHands been locked in for their own isekai adaptation, but it's one of the first two-cour anime the studio has produced in their entire body of work. It was a terrifying proposition, but my ironclad loyalty brushed away the haze of doubt and embraced the chance to witness one of my favorite studios try their hand at a fantasy premise that I am largely uninterested in.

Tsuihou sareta Tensei Juukishi wa Game Chishiki de Musou suru (The Exiled Heavy Knight Knows How to Game the System) is an absolute mouthful of a title that clearly outlines the type of series it is. This is a certified tensei (reincarnation) isekai that takes place in a fantasy world with game mechanics. Tensei comes in two flavors - aware and unaware. Aware means the protagonist is still fully cognizant of their previous identity as they inhabit their new body. Youjo Senki, which we'll be talking about later, qualifies for this category. Unaware tensei involves a protagonist that is fully immersed in their new identity but gains the ability to tap into a hazy pool of memories from their past life sans context. For the noble son Elymas Edvaughn, most of his young life has been spent training to succeed his father as a master swordsman. The day he turns fifteen, he must undergo a ritual that will decide what job class he'll be permanently saddled with. In the moments before the ritual, he has a sudden epiphany from a time long before he was born. He was reincarnated as a sentient being in a MMORPG with the most generic name of all time that his past self was obsessed with to the extent of becoming a meta minmax gaming savant. Thanks to this, he knows that the most SHIT AND PISS BLASTED lower than trash bottom tier class in the game, the Heavy Knight, is actually secretly busted with a highly specific kit build and skill spec. And, because he's the luckiest man in the world - an isekai protagonist - this is the exact class that's chosen for him at his RPG Job Giver Gender Reveal Party. Except this is a world where everyone has internalized how WORTHLESS and DOGSHIT Heavy Knights are and his dad seethes so intensely that he disowns him in front of his entire family and spontaneously adopts a woman with an evil smile named Malice who might just be the least obvious sociopath of all time.

Yeah, whatever. Everyone is here for his jester girl sidekick, am I right fellas? Anime clown women are a hot commodity nowadays. Though, it did take several episodes for Ruche to show up after being in the majority of the OP and ED from the very beginning. All the action sequence practice that went into Momentary Lily pays out here with more of the studio's distinct 2D visual animation within a 3D modeled world. They aren't deploying as much cockroach cam in the storyboards this time around, but they've employed a new trick where they sometimes maneuver the camera underground and point up at the action with a see-through wire frame effect for style points. The real twist is that I'm enjoying it more than I expected. I think when you look past the veneer of the premise and the obvious power fantasy interpretation it cuts clear to the author's real intentions. This is a junk food presentation for someone's investment in MMORPG systems over many years distilled into palatable entertainment. There's an entire episode about rare drop chances and dungeon mob behavior patterns. There's constant percentile attack and defense calculations running through Elymas' inner monologues. We see multiple dungeon boss encounters with classic MMO mechanic systems and clear conditions. This is some dude's daydream from roleplaying in an online game. I find that to be its most endearing quality and often gives me an excuse to just accept the bullshit as the cost of entry. Elymas and Ruche are a fun duo and I get the feeling they'll get a couple more party members at some point. The pacing is surprisingly lax and GoHands seems to be making liberal use of flashbacks which I assume is a consequence of having double the workload of episodes than their usual productions. The process of Elymas putting his build together is drawn out wisely to savor his climb up the ranks because it wouldn't be very fun if he won it all too soon. Ruche is there to make cute noises and be a jester. It's not so bad.

 

Honoo no Toukyuujo: Dodge Danko

Produced by Cue

Honoo no Toukyuujo: Dodge Danko (Flaming Dodgeball Girl Danko) is a classic Japanese kodomomuke series reborn in the Reiwa era. I don't often watch anime geared toward the single-digit age demographic but stranger things have happened. All the telltale qualities are here. Cartoonish bloody violence. Nudity as an instrument of humor. Dick jokes engineered to make young Japanese boys laugh. A sports-centric premise with hype beast shounen power-ups, death fake outs, and carefully orchestrated drama farming. And you can be sure whoever wins has the stronger Friendship Power coefficient. Despite beginning its publication in 2022, this series has roots that stretch much further back to the dawn of the 1990s. In an era where Akira Toriyama's Dragon Ball was well into publication, Dodge Danpei followed the young aspiring dodgeball player Danpei Ichigeki and his loyal friend Chinnen Kobotoke as they aimed for the top in a brutal uphill climb through the competitive sport. It was a testosterone fueled sports thriller for ten year olds and almost certainly appealed to its target demographic. The culture of children's entertainment has changed much in the last few decades; a shift that Dodge Danko is firmly wedged between. The cast is now dominated by young girls with designs straight out of the 2000s moe boom with huge eyes and wildly differing body types. They make for a real collection of dodgeball freaks when grouped up together. Just about everyone is a descendant of a character from Dodge Danpei which means that daughters have dominated the birth rates in this universe. Yet, their souls still burn with the flames of their ancestors as they seek to enshrine dodgeball as the most beloved sport of all time while honing their own skills in an arena situated in the margins of life and death.

Danko Ichigeki inherited her late father's love for dodgeball and, together with her childhood friend Chinko Kobotoke (in case you were wondering where the dick jokes were coming from), seeks to revive the Tamagawa school dodgeball club that Danpei proudly led to greatness. Unfortunately for her, dodgeball has been banned in the Reiwa era because of the frequently dangerous matches that took place. Thanks to her fiery nature and the fact that her dad's spirit is housed in a comically towering gravestone for moral support, Danko refuses to give up and instead attempts to recruit willing participants into her unsanctioned dodgeball team with Chinko's help. After a convoluted set of trials on school grounds, our duo attracts the attention of several colorful characters. There's the chubby bubblegum pink sweetheart Mochiko with her distinctly octopus-shaped hairdo and her loyal half-American friend Susan Canon. The lonely tech-savvy Honey goes from running surveillance for the school principal to using her mechanical bees to help even the playing field for her new friends. When the existing dodgeball club members Hayami and the extremely noodle-like team captain Hako test the group's mettle, they are swiftly impressed and courted into serving as the team's leaders. With a full team of prospective talent, the Tamagawa Dodgeball Club wastes no time jumping into the fray at a secret underground tournament that takes place beneath an amusement park. Meanwhile, the rival team Saint Arrows keeps tabs on our heroines, particularly Danko's rival Peiko who is an unhinged woman that imposes her strange dodgeball fantasies on the group and drools over Danko's very existence in a manner that could only be described as "down bad". Honey has to contend with the meddling of Moa, a fellow tech genius with a spider motif that often spies on the group and has no qualms with doping her enemies and allies alike with strange drugs. In this world of dodgeball, ethics are largely questionable and nobody is bothering to ask.

This is children's entertainment, so naturally the dodgeball matches themselves are filled with insane power-ups and aura farming with little to offer in the vein of strategy. Well, it's not like I expected any different! The first match against Saint Arrows was a clear indicator of how this series conducts business. Everyone is at their most powerful when they're pushed into rage mode after their friends have been hurt or eliminated. This author seems to enjoy writing women who can go ultra instinct buff mode with twelve pack abs. One of the enemy groups was essentially an American football team and the leader went through Green Goblin style experiments to have natural roid strength. There's a killer dodgeball group straight out of Mad Max who trained with spiky blow-your-head-clean-off dodgeballs in the wild frontier against ruthless bandits. Everyone has a backstory and they range from heartwarming (Susan becoming friends with Mochiko after defending her from school bullies) to wildly fantastical (Danpei saving an entire school bus of children from plummeting into the water by throwing a dodgeball at it really hard). There's no point overthinking the execution here. For a studio that has little track record to speak of, Cue has been doing a fine enough job keeping the visuals active and adhering to the style of the source material. It's not the sharpest animation work of the season but it's serviceable enough. Much of my initial desire to pick this up was curiosity over the art style and the efforts of a classic kids manga author trying to find a new stage for old tricks. Mochiko's breasts are a literal weapon. Somehow there's a match where everyone's uniforms explode and this is treated as normal. Hako endures being mind-broken by hostile energy because her talent is dodging attacks. It's stupid and juvenile but there's an inner child with my name who is fascinated with a show like this being produced. Not a single English licensing company picked this one up, either. Japanese kids media is simply built different and the global audience fears what they're capable of. It makes me a bit wistful to see fansubbers stepping in to do the job when it is so rarely necessary nowadays. Well, I'll make sure their hard work doesn't go to waste. Cute show, no frills attached.

 

Koukaku Kidoutai

Produced by Science Saru

My experience with Koukaku Kidoutai (The Ghost in the Shell) as a sprawling franchise is admittedly very slim. I've seen the 1995 film a couple times and disembodied scenes from Stand Alone Complex but never delved into the source material or the other adaptations that have cropped up over the years. However, I became familiar with Masamune Shirow's writing style through an unconventional vector - the anime adaptation of Koukaku no Pandora (Pandora in the Crimson Shell) in 2016. This is how I learned of Shirow's penchant for mixing philosophy, political commentary, and walls of technobabble with lean cut action sequences and perverted sci-fi comedy. The main character, a full cyborg named Nene, works with a combat android named Clarion and taps into her innate powers by reaching into Clarion's pussy compartment to access the miraculous Pandora Device. By fingering her cute kitty-themed assassin sidekick, Nene becomes a force to be reckoned with. It's thanks to this experience that I had no misguided expectations going into Science Saru's attempt to properly adapt The Ghost in the Shell with all of Shirow's idiosyncrasies left intact. Mamoru Oshii's vision as explored through the 1995 film became the dominant lens in which this series has been depicted for twenty years and it's easy to see why. Oshii himself is a peculiar mind, but there was far more weight leveraged on the melancholy philosophizing and the cinematic direction with much of Shirow's playful character banter and indulgent monologues stripped clean from the equation. The quirks that define the source material also define it as a work for real enthusiasts with less widespread appeal. Science Saru is a studio I have much respect for, so it surprises me little that they desired to put this to the test. Much like Devilman Crybaby, the studio decided that ten episodes would be enough to cover the material and sell the vision all in one go.

In the distant technologically advanced future of 2029, Motoko Kusanagi is a nearly full synthetic being with a shrouded past that wields the guise of a mass produced cyborg model to blend in with society. After executing a trade representative who was responsible for the assassination of the Japanese Prime Minister, this bold woman convinces the Minister of Internal Affairs within the government that a special forces unit will be necessary to handle the rising tide of cyberterrorism and abnormal crimes. This leads to the formation of Section 9 led by Daisuke Aramaki, an officer working for the National Public Safety Commission who witnessed her handiwork. Taking on the rank of Major, Motoko assumes the role of squad leader and takes on assignments with the help of her fellow agents. The most notable members of this crew are the ex-military cyborg Batou, the sparsely augmented police detective Togusa, and Motoko's longtime counterintelligence associate Ishikawa. While many of the early operations seem self-contained in nature, each one leaves a dangling thread that later converges on the mysterious Puppet Master - an individual who is believed to be a master hacker that can manipulate the "ghost" that exists within people who have cybernetic brains. Ghost in the Shell maintains an admirable balancing act of punchy action sequences, political intrigue, and existential monologues. It is a wildly self-indulgent piece of work where sobering questions on the nature of humanity coexist with the Major illustrating the scientific power of being pleasured by two other women in the realm of her mind palace. There's quite a bit of science fiction world building at play and so many walls of unspoken text explaining conceptual ideas that viewers will have no choice other than to pause if they wish to peer into the more nuanced aspects of this series. For better or worse, Shirow loves to expound upon the material factors that created his fictional world.

I'm somewhat ashamed to admit that I don't have a lot to say about this show as a whole. To put it plainly, I liked it but didn't love it. Honestly, it's not much different than how I feel about the 1995 film despite its impressive cinematography. I have much admiration for Ghost in the Shell conceptually and there's plenty of merit for both Shirow and Oshii's take on the premise, but that's the strongest feeling I'm left with. Generally for something of this caliber, especially in the realm of science fiction, I prefer to have something to chew on when the curtain closes. Maybe it's more accurate to say I'd like to experience the force of compulsion to linger on what was experienced after it's over. In the moment, this show was plenty enjoyable and I appreciated what it was bringing to the table despite its breakneck pacing. The variety of expression in this series is well adapted by Science Saru and lovingly put together with sharp animation, choreography, and a burning desire to accurately portray the material with as little compromise as possible down to closely emulating the retro designs. Yet, after the great philosophical revelations and the climactic showdown with the Puppet Master, all I can muster is nodding my head and remarking, "that was pretty decent". It satisfied my curiosity regarding Shirow's original vision and that food for thought is enough to convince me that it was time well spent despite everything. I'm curious if there's any intention from the studio to pursue adapting the sequels or even other works in Shirow's catalogue that are connected to this, but considering Science Saru's schedule I can only imagine when that would materialize. For anyone who is curious or has some vested interest in this series, I can assure you that this is worth experiencing and not a huge time sink considering it's only ten episodes long. Despite my surprise, I think they made the right choice with the episode count being just short of a typical cour. Other than that, I don't have much else of interest to mention here. The work speaks for itself.

 

Hanaori-san wa Tensei shitemo Kenka ga Shitai

Produced by LIDENFILMS

 

Hekiru Hikawa, the genius mind behind the spastic gag comedy manga PaniPoni, has finally scored his first adaptation in two decades since SHAFT worked with him to produce Paniponi Dash! back in 2005. I'm woefully unfamiliar with much of the manga work he's done in the time between then and now, but a quick glance at his body of work shows that he certainly wasn't lazing about. When I learned that his newest series was getting an anime, I was both thrilled and somewhat apprehensive. The last time a mangaka I respected had their work adapted for the first time since their prestige was Tamiki Wakaki of Kaminomi fame. In the Fall 2024 season, Ashi Productions animated his then-recently concluded romance manga Kekkon suru tte, Hontou desu ka. I dropped it eight episodes into its single cour run. Despite months of joyful anticipation leading up to its debut, my blissful lack of awareness of the source material led to me getting blindsided by its dull and lifeless cast and hamfisted romance. It was a sobering reminder that all artists are simply human and susceptible to diminishing creative returns. Not everyone who can muster up a lightning strike in their career can make it flash a second time. The deja vu I felt with Hikawa's return was more ominous than exciting, and this was exacerbated further when I learned that his newest work was a reverse isekai romantic school comedy that would undoubtedly be playing around with alternate universe fluff nonsense and all the trims one would expect from these story elements mingling about. Ultimately, this cautious approach turned out to be unnecessary. Hanaori-san wa Tensei shitemo Kenka ga Shitai (Hanaori-san Still Wants to Fight in the Next Life) pulls from the same bag of tricks that shaped PaniPoni with a modern twist that is further augmented by its supernatural fantasy trims. Ultimately, it's a bonkers romcom that periodically decides to have a plot because it's the best excuse for these reincarnated characters to show off a little.

Ryuusei Narukami is a lazy NEET going through the motions of life, but he was once a powerful mage in a fantasy world where the trauma of losing his princess drove him to become a spiteful necromancer. As the designated "demon king", the forces of nature pulled a brash female warrior known as Meteor Hanaori to his doorstep as his fateful rival. After years of conflict between the two, Meteor accomplished her goal of becoming the hero and sent him packing to the cycle of reincarnation. In a world that seems normal on the surface, Ryuusei listlessly watches the days go by until he learns that his rival is a woman so troublesome that she basically chased him into the next life. Meteor ridicules his shut-in lifestyle and convinces him to get a job so he can properly return to society. With the power of the red string of fate, Ryuusei conveniently lands a teaching position at an all-girls high school where Meteor is a student. These two eternal rivals are pitted against each other yet again, but our heroine struggles with a case of severe denial as she realizes her feelings for Ryuusei are stronger than she thought. This is witnessed with great dismay from her fellow classmates who, to some extent, can peer through the fourth wall and realize they're now accessories to a romcom story. This series wastes no time compounding elements together to create a smorgasbord of folly with an ensemble cast to match. Hikawa's mandated plain girl Mako and the mature glasses girl Matsurika are the first members of the supporting cast to debut before it turns out that this average universe is actually a magnet for disaster that keeps pulling in unsavory characters from all over the multiverse. Ryuusei and Meteor's existence attracts the attention of the self-proclaimed romcom enforcer Mana and the mob-faced brat Minto who are members of Oz, a secret mage society aptly led by a woman named Dorothy that handle supernatural incidents behind the scenes. The group learns that another student named Ayame is actually an isekai hero who inadvertently returned to her original world and has torn the fabric of spacetime open trying to claw her way back to the world that admired her. Now goblins, ghouls, and monsters with no conscience keep stirring up trouble while our protagonists are trying to enjoy their bubbly school life!

This show is a tapestry of Hikawa's preferences and interests, and I only need PaniPoni as reference to say that with confidence. One of the characters is a bespectacled magical girl named Eriko and she's essentially the successor to PaniPoni's Behoimi. Most of the episode titles are film references and one of them is Pulp Fiction because he's a huge Tarantino fan (one of the most iconic PaniPoni visuals is child genius Rebecca Miyamoto cosplaying as Uma Thurman's charcter in Kill Bill). He still has a penchant for giving certain characters very specific catchphrases. There's a killer robot who acts like a cute girl like if Mechazawa from Cromartie High School had a moe personality. The greatest comfort that came from watching this show was realizing this creative mind hadn't changed much at all. The real tragedy with Wakaki was that his newer writing was so deprived of the joy and indulgence that made Kaminomi great with its undying devotion to galge history and icons of the otaku subculture. All that was left was miserably dry and awkward adult romance with the aura of being written by someone who was recently divorced. Just a dreadfully mirthless offering. Hanaori-san thrives on its vibrancy as a colorful and carefree experience that shifts the mood of the story around at will and drops in mob characters to set up gags and myriad situations. My greatest surprise is that the show tries to have a dramatic plotline mixed within the chaos. Many of the characters pulled from other dimensions, Ryuusei included, are searching for deceased loved ones who may have reincarnated in other worlds. This may seem a bit heavy for a gag comedy of this caliber, but I think it does a well enough job selling the character relationships and motives while often using comedy as a tool to reset scenes back to the status quo. It's a thoroughly enjoyable anime and that is more than enough for me. It's no Paniponi Dash, but very few shows are! I came in with the appropriate level of expectation and was pleasantly fulfilled by its expression and whimsy. It gets bonus points for the OP and ED sequences which are a visual treat with earworm themes to match. Hanaori-san is a reliable slice of mindless fun in the weekly schedule and sometimes those are the backbone of any seasonal experience even if it's not the strongest offering in the lineup.

 

Nijusseiki Denki Mokuroku: Eureka Evrika

Produced by Kyoto Animation

 

Kyoto Animation is a studio with a name that, whether through lover or hatred, is guaranteed to attract eyes to a project - and like any great veteran anime studio of our present era, they went through a fundamental paradigm shift in the infancy of the 2010s. Their transformation was sparked by frustration with Kadokawa over the production of Nichijou in 2011 which met its boiling point after disagreements regarding the BD physical release. This was a notorious financial disaster where twenty six episodes were distributed in pairs on thirteen wildly expensive limited edition packed Blu-ray discs and they bombed miserably in the Oricon charts. KyoAni took a major loss on the project and, excluding Hyouka which was well into production at the time, would never again put out TV anime release that was longer than a single cour. After fulfilling an agreement to adapt Amagi Brilliant Park in 2014 - which they primarily accepted due to their relationship with Full Metal Panic! author Shoji Gotoh - they have to date avoided working with Kadokawa on a single anime project since then. But the most consequential result of that frustration was the decision to pull the trigger on forming their own light novel imprint - KA Esuma Bunko - the very same year Nichijou aired. The idea had been gestating since they began publishing a web magazine in 2007 after wrapping up production on Lucky Star. They crowdsourced submissions for original concepts in 2009 with tentative desire to produce them in some form. But it wasn't until 2011 that they formally declared their intention to publish light novels with two releases already in the pipeline - Yuuyake Toudai no Himitsu and Chuunibyou Demo Koi ga Shitai! - the latter of which would become the first anime adaptation of a self-published work the studio would produce. 

Since 2012, the majority of KyoAni's anime works are adaptations of their own light novels. There are exceptions, of course. They have a good relationship with Kodansha that bore fruit with the Naoko Yamada directed Koe no Katachi (A Silent Voice) in 2016 and their long awaited reunion with Nichijou creator Keiichi Arawi last year with City the Animation. They got a highly favorable production agreement over Hibike! Euphonium which defined their output for an entire decade. Coolkyousinnjya's Kobayashi-san Chi no Maid Dragon has two seasons and a recent feature film. Hell, they're adapting RuriDragon and that's straight from Shounen Jump! We should be grateful for that. KyoAni genuinely enjoys putting their chips down on amateur writers with the opportunity to hone their ideas in anime form, and their faith in those ideas is unwavering. That's a very admirable quality. I just don't think a single one of them has been very good in the writing department. I say this with affection, but the studio genuinely enjoys polishing a turd more than anything else. It's something they've been doing openly since K-ON! had a second season and film that were primarily anime original material. Efforts like Kyoukai no Kanata and Violet Evergarden were visually gorgeous in the studio's distinct style but were engaging in the herculean effort of taking mediocre light novel writing and refining it as much as possible within its own constraints. One might think they enjoy solving the puzzle of this process in a roundabout way. 

Nijusseiki Denki Mokuroku: Eureka Evreka (Sparks of Tomorrow) is no exception to this. Originally announced in 2018 with the novel's publication and heavily delayed following the brutal arson at Kyoto Animation Studio 1, the project was revived seven years later and handed to veteran studio animator Minoru Oota as their directorial debut. It tells the story of two teenagers living in 1900s Kyoto in an alternate world where technological progress was heavily impeded by international wars and nations still rely on steam power. Kihachi Sakamoto is a bitter crybaby that's afraid of the dark and resents his older brother Seiroku, also known as The Guy Who Everybody Loves, for disappearing because nobody came to tell him that his brother got shot and killed in trench warfare. Inako Momokawa is the youngest daughter of a deceased sake brewer and devoutly prays to the gods for salvation because her caricature of a father is trying to wipe their debt by forcing her to marry Yosuke Mizoe, the heir to a major steam engine firm who is also the Most Homoerotic Man Who Ever Lived. These three characters are intrinsically tied to the titular 20th Century Electrical Catalog, a book of concepts to promote the advancement of electrical power that Kihachi and Seiroku worked on together. Kihachi wants to usher in the age of electricity. Inako wants to learn to brew sake like her dead mom instead of cashed in to save the failing business. Yosuke wants to stop seething but not even his extremely loyal butler can help him. But none of that matters because it's all just an excuse for them to do some electricity related antics with other less important side characters while Yosuke yells and screams and makes homoerotic gestures. The most interesting episode has been when Inako and her school friends form a band and she gets to play an electric shamisen on stage while accidentally doing death metal vocals thank to a scuffed microphone. Another one involves bootleg Zetsubou-sensei trying to prove that a romantic compatibility machine actually works so he can ask Inako's friend out. Whenever this show tries to be about the plot it is an absolute wash. Seiroku's war buddy Kengo has to have five completely unprompted freak out moments before he'll tell Kihachi that his brother got domed. Kihachi and Inako have state mandated forced drama conflicts. Half of those people aren't even real characters. 

But there's no denying that it looks gorgeous. The animation is playful and expressive with mixed media elements and heaps of stylistic ambition. The OP visuals changed every episode during the first half of the show and were uniquely animated until they settled on a traditional one. The storyboarding is bold and reflects the masterful control over perspective and framing that the studio is known for. I can tell the director had some ambition with this project, but I can't even fathom how much this source material was wrangled and twisted to get it to be even this passable. I like the concept and some of the characters are fun but the execution of its ideas are drowning in the most pitiful melodrama sludge you can get from a light novel writer. It's genuinely difficult to take seriously but it doesn't completely deprive me of enjoying what's on display. I have no doubt that many of the best moments here were probably anime original because I cannot imagine the band episode being a part of the original novel even if it was published under their own wing. It is a 2010s KyoAni project in just about every way. Put it next to Kyoukai no Kanata or even Musaigen no Phantom World and it will slot right in. There's a serious effort here to convert style into substance and I don't think it ever results in a truly great thing. It's a fascinating compulsion from one of the most defining anime studios in the business. They think they can turn the brownest note into a golden classic with just enough effort. Now here's some food for thought - imagine if another studio tried to adapt these. It would be so much worse. In a relative sense, this is the best version of Nijusseiki Denki Mokuroku that will ever exist. As a not-so wise man once said, I'll just keep drinking that garbage. Can you truly love a studio if you're not willing to entertain their dreck?

 

Youjo Senki II

Produced by NUT

A self-proclaimed god, desperate to siphon faith from nonbelievers, targets an atheist salaryman in Japan who revels in his comfortable standing on the corporate ladder. His free pass in life is thoroughly voided when his recently terminated subordinate pushes him into an oncoming train. Thus begins the wager between a cold, calculating social-Darwinist who rejects the concept of divine intervention and a higher being trying to assert its existence as objective fact. The punchline is Youjo Senki (Saga of Tanya the Evil), a tensei isekai following the twisted young girl Tanya Degurechaff in alternate 1900s Europe where humanity has still drifted toward a global war but this time magic exists and has military applications. The first season of the series was produced by NUT nearly a decade ago and shortly followed by a film in 2019, but the later announced second season took more than a handful of years to re-emerge. This series has always been an interesting entry in the modern isekai canon and, as someone who has actually read some of the source material, is one of the densest written light novels I have ever seen. Author Carlo Zen is no doubt a military otaku who is especially well read on historical conflicts and geopolitical movements in Europe and much of that has been injected into the blueprint of this premise. There aren't many modern isekai that aim for an alternate history premise, and its integration of magic is much firmer in the realm of science than the spiritual magic that is typical in most fantasy stories. Most of all, I really enjoy this setup that culminates as a House of Cards style thriller where, rather than trying to scheme into the apex of power, Tanya is trying to worm her way into the same kind of position she held as a Japanese man; high enough on the ladder to have real power, but low enough that she won't be asked to do any of the dirty work. She wants a padded seat at a desk with a nice view and generous paycheck. Tanya is no hero, but she isn't someone so despicable that you'd want her to lose the gambit immediately. The fun is wondering how many times she can endure the whirlpool of conflict before the consequences of her actions inevitably catch up to her. How many suicide missions can she overcome? How many enemies can she make? How much self-determination can she conserve while being toyed with by the disembodied presence she bitterly refers to as "Being X"? The frantic wartime action and the frequent political meddling internally and between nations acts as a vector for this tumultuous balancing act where everything could collapse in the blink of an eye.

This season picks right up off the heels of the film with Tanya's scheme to hide out in the rear under the guise of combat research backfiring on her when she's handed the reigns to a combined arms unit and flung back into the front lines. As an accomplished soldier of the Empire - a country that may or may not resemble Germany - our protagonist's accolades have earned her much praise at home but made her a loathed figure in the eyes of her enemies. A female soldier in the US Army named Mary Sioux (say that name out loud) is desperate to get revenge on Tanya for killing her father and has been cosponsored by Being X to be Tanya's eternal rival. Loria of the Russy Federation, a man heavily modeled after Soviet politician and notorious pedophile Lavrentiy Beria, is madly obsessed with Tanya and will do just about anything to bring her into captivity. If that isn't bad enough, the Empire is hemorrhaging massively as the primary target in a global war, yet the Imperial government is demanding honor and glory when mere survival is only barely sustainable. Tanya's schemes are hitting roadblocks at every turn. The avatar of Being X - a traditional nutcracker doll - appears with every setback to silently taunt her for struggling to come out on top in this rigged game. She doesn't spend long wrangling her subordinates before deciding on a new course of action. If the Empire can't win the war, then an exit from the conflict is the next best thing. This puts Tanya in a delicate position of balancing her duties, maintaining her position, and nudging the forces at play to ensure that the Imperial Army leadership has no choice but to concede and face the reality of the situation. Naturally, this is no small feat to accomplish. The path to unsteady peace is cluttered with landmines both at home and abroad.

The most polarizing aspect about this new phase of the story is its heavy focus on diplomacy, political manipulation, and the internal schism taking place within the Imperial military arm. As a result, there is a significant decrease in the flashy and intense combat operations that were a mainstay during the first season and film. The ratio has completely flipped and most episodes are heavily loaded with lengthy dialogue sequences concerning war strategies and political drama. A huge portion of the second season has been dedicated to the neutral nation of Ildoa and its intent as a neighboring country to shepherd the Empire toward peace for their own benefit. Tanya has to break bread with Ildoan peace liaison Virginio Calandro who witnesses firsthand how the Imperial military conducts its business on the battlefield. A clear contrast of morale between the two nations is made evident when Tanya later visits Ildoa and witnesses their thriving society firsthand while the specter of death and sorrow haunts the Empire's streets. The biggest surprise is that Tanya's scheming often takes a backseat to the strained relationship between two major figures in the Imperial command - Chief of Staff Zettour and Chief of Operations Rudersdorf. These two have been significantly involved in Tanya's ascent through the ranks, but now their steadfast friendship is being put to the test. Zettour is reassigned to oversee Tanya's Salamander unit while Rudersdorf is forced to find a path forward under the intense pressure of Imperial leadership and his fellow countrymen. There's a stark focus on nationalism and how it can push people to the brink even in the most unreasonable circumstances. This becomes a wedge that ideologically separates the very Empire itself, with Zettour and Rudersdorf settling on opposing sides as the window for meaningful diplomacy rapidly deteriorates.

Reading a handful of volumes of the source material helped prepare me for this shift, and I find it to be a nice change of pace that reflects the author's attention to detail regarding the machinations of war and the human element that drives them. It's crystal clear very early into the season that nobody has the right answer. What kind of ending does the Empire deserve after a massive war with the earth stained red beneath their feet? Is dignity and purpose more important that ensuring the survival of one's nation? How do you guarantee the dead that their sacrifices are not meaningless? It's an onslaught of reckonings that push everyone to the brink. Tanya not only has to navigate this tumultuous development, but also strives for an opportunity to push the situation forward in her favor. She's not called "Tanya the Evil" for nothing! Weaponizing the doubts and struggles of her superiors comes naturally to her and allows us to peer at her real face while she acts out her role as a prideful soldier. The climax of this season is rapidly bubbling up to a major development that could turn her situation completely on its head, and I'm interested to see how that will play out. The dry war drama and social commentary is not going to be everybody's cup of tea but I found it to be a cleverly balanced thriller. And, despite what I said earlier, there are still a good handful of explosive action sequences and combat operations to keep things moving. The most admirable quality of this show is its consistency above all else, and that applies to the production as well. Even with such a long gap between the film and this season, the show barely looks any different than its first TV season. They even got MYTH & ROID back for the OP (it's pretty good but it's hard to beat Jingo Jungle) and Aoi Yuuki works her chops yet again to sing in character for the ED song. If you're like me and generally enjoyed Youjo Senki for the whole package, then there's plenty in this second season to sink your teeth into.

 

Sayonara Lara

Produced by Kinema Citrus

The Little Mermaid is a classic fairy tale penned by renowned Danish playwright Hans Christian Andersen that many are familiar with through the lens of its less bittersweet adaptation by Disney Animation. It's a classic story about an atypical mermaid that yearns for the surface world and, after saving a prince from drowning during a storm, dreams of a life on land with humanity. With the help of a mysterious sea witch, the mermaid acquires a potion that allows her to become human at the price of her voice and enduring phantom pains for the rest of her life. But such a price is minuscule in the face of true love and the chance at acquiring an immortal soul that can reach the heavens. What transpires afterward is a tragedy of self-sacrifice that is subverted by Andersen's spiritualism as someone who was raised in a Protestant household, allowing the mermaid both deprived of true love and family to attain the eternal soul she wished for after the death of her physical body. Someday, all of our good deeds will be rewarded beyond suffering. This fairy tale has touched the hearts of countless people since it was published nearly two centuries ago. One of those many individuals is Takushi Koide, a key animator at Japanese animation studio Kinema Citrus. Since joining the studio in 2015 while they were producing the season season of Gochuumon wa Usagi desu ka? (Is the Order a Rabbit?), Koide had a dream to write a story of his own that was a modern retelling of The Little Mermaid and expanded on its themes of love and belonging in the face of cruel circumstances. In 2024, this desire became reality in the form of a concept trailer for an original project. Just two years later, the concept would be realized as a fully formed TV anime.

Sayonara Lara is not unlike Disney's take on the fairy tale, but it has far more reverence for the tragic characteristics of the original story and takes careful steps to preserve those elements while expanding and tweaking the existing details. Lara is a mermaid princess in an undersea kingdom that is sustained by the ethereal "light" - a source of energy born from true love. After a tumultuous period of struggle where the kingdom did not have a proper heir, Lara's birth is a symbol of hope for the future of her people. The merfolk fear humanity and the sea king Rowan has decreed that they are forbidden to make contact with humans on the surface. To his disdain, Lara is fascinated by humans and curious about the surface world despite warnings from her sisters. Like the original fairy tale, she ventures to the surface and saves a prince who was drowning in the waters above. This act lands her a trip to undersea prison, but the sea witch Grace intervenes and offers Lara the potion that will allow her to become human. If she doesn't secure true love with her prince before the potion wears off, then she will turn into sea foam and cease to exist. Naturally, Lara takes the risk and abandons her people in the pursuit of happiness only to be met with despair. Right as she is about to harness the light of true love, Lara's legs revert to her mermaid form and the prince violently rejects her true self. Her light mutates into a twisted knife that threatens to pierce the prince, but she prevents further tragedy and accepts her fate as her body fades into bubbling mist. The illumination of the undersea kingdom fades and the world of merfolk comes crumbling down. Yet, centuries later, Lara is reborn from a seashell and tasked by Grace to reattempt the trial of true love and restore the kingdom. With no other path forward, Lara accepts and is physically launched out of the waters of Lake Biwa into the modern world of 2026. Landing in the capital of Shiga Prefecture, she is knocked out by aspiring high school boxer Mari Otsu after a near collision.

This anime is a retro stylized shoujo work that does an admirable job emulating the colors and appearance of cel animation. The OP actually has a few cuts that are legitimate cels and done the old fashioned way, but the majority of the show is digitally animated with an impressive level of effort invested in achieving its visual style. From a story perspective, it's a tale that takes the phrase "fish out of water" quite literally as Lara awkwardly stumbles through modern human civilization and tries to make sense of it all as a complete outsider while coming to terms with her traumatic past. With no home on the surface, she is taken in by the Otsu family and learns that Grace is not only still alive but living as Mari's pet fish "Gon-chan". Meanwhile, Lara's sister Lisa has also been micro-dosing on her own brew of the witch's potion and blending in with society as she waited for Lara to reawaken. The early episodes are defined by Lara's journey to understand humanity as she is influenced by the perspectives of Mari and Grace along with her own experiences. She witnesses firsthand Mari's passion for boxing. She goes to school and experiences the ups and downs of youthful romance through a vicarious lens. She gets a job at a bakery and trains under a strict mentor while forming genuine friendships. These whimsical antics are where the anime shines brightest, exhibiting its greatest strengths during these small adventures while exploring Lara's connections with other humans. This is further contrasted by the other major characters and their views on humanity. Mari is a human but struggles with a pervasive loneliness following the death of her mother. Lisa is a staunch misanthrope who was abused by humans until being rescued by her anglerfish-turned-human companion Kouta. Grace is trapped in between worlds, knowing all too well the cruelty that humans are capable of but still yearns to bridge the gap between them and the merfolk with Lara as physical proof of her ideals.

This is a beautifully rendered anime with gorgeous visuals, evocative colors, and an emotionally potent soundtrack that is well utilized across the board. It's just a shame that meticulously crafted aestheticism and sound design is not enough to shore up its weaknesses. This is a greatly conflicted work and this is made evident the very moment Luca steps into frame for the first time. Our male lead looks exactly like Lara's prince from centuries ago, triggering a change within her that sets the drama timer off for the rest of the show's runtime. It was inevitable that a story built on a classic tragedy would return to its roots in the second act, but it's at this point that I began having qualms with the narrative's direction. Luca is the physical embodiment of Lara's trauma that evokes the deep seated resentment for humans that she inherited from her people. After desperately searching for true love for half the show, Lara believes that Luca must be the one who will revitalize her light despite her emotions suggesting otherwise. The writers structured this story in a way where Luca could not show up until the second half, but his lack of meaningful presence beyond symbolism adds a layer of detrimental friction to the experience. He's an artist and has a quirky effeminate looking brother, but his fascination for Lara is where his character begins and ends. Luca is a sacrificial pawn for Lara to realize the obvious subversion of this narrative - that the fairy tale concept of "true love" is a prison that she must escape from to gain true independence. She is trapped by her role as the "princess of light" and the weight of expectation that deprives her of discovering love without the veneer of storybook romanticism. Everyone demands that she be the heroine in their personal struggles instead of writing her own path. I'm perfectly content with the messaging, but the execution is wrought with melodramatic developments that left me tilting my head in dull bewilderment. Then they pulled a Madoka Magica with the penultimate episode being a lore important flashback sequence before finishing the ideas they already had on the whiteboard.

Andersen was clear that his fairy tale was supposed to dispel the notion of salvation through the love of another, and Sayonara Lara demonstrates clear understanding in that regard. This anime fulfills its title call and crests on a bittersweet note much as its predecessor did. In the same way Luca remarks that he is never able to see Lara's true face, I find myself wondering if Lara was a character or just another symbol etched out through thematic necessity. Mari, Grace, and Lisa are by far the most defined characters in this anime and their critical junctures kept the experience afloat even when the luminous beauty of its visuals and direction was not enough to captivate me. At its worst, this anime was a surgical exercise in creating something vaguely artistic and profound when it was expressing painfully obvious sentiments like "love doesn't have to be romantic" while trying to deconstruct the concept of a fairy tale altogether. At its best, it was a pleasant experience where the visual directors and animators proved that it was a labor of love above all else. The anime simply failed to stoke any strong feelings within me and left me with an air of vague confusion as it sputtered out unceremoniously at the finish line. My disappointment is only so strong because I had fairly high expectations coming off the debut episode just to learn that it's another anime original that has very little idea how to steer the ship after leaving the dock. I would still consider it to be worth watching for the art and sound design alone, but its chance to be a truly powerful work has been thoroughly voided in my eyes. I'm only so harsh because I saw real potential here that was squandered in the most frustrating manner - only partially. If you ask me, a complete dumpster fire always trumps a middling experience that just barely falls short of greatness. Mari may have avoided saying "sayonara" in the last moments of the show, but I sure as hell didn't.

 

Grow Up Show: Himawari no Circus-dan

Produced by Psyde Kick Studio

A-1 Pictures was once the premier animation studio under Japanese entertainment giant Aniplex, but has largely fallen to the wayside in favor of its sister studio CloverWorks which has remained an industry darling for many years. Yet, it seems that the talent left at A-1 grew wise enough to realize that they needed a new wave of ambitious creators to carry on the studio's legacy as the veterans of the industry shift closer to retirement with every passing year. As such, they made the decision to form an internal label now known as Psyde Kick Studio with the intention of being an environment that cultivates freedom for younger creatives to discover their mode of expression while also experimenting with the structural workflow of producing anime. This is one of the smartest initiatives that Aniplex has taken in recent history; further proof that even the major players in the industry understand that there is no healthy future for the medium if they don't secure the next generation of animators to carry the torch. Psyde Kick Studio is an experiment that only began to bear fruit this year starting with the film Kusunoki no Bannin in January. Shortly after being established in July of last year, the studio made the ambitious decision to boldly pursue an entirely original TV anime project from the ground up with a 2026 release. The label followed through on their promise this season with Grow Up Show: Himawari no Circus-dan (Grow Up Show: Sunflower Circus) - a story set in the Japanese post-war economic boom of the late 1950s. In this world, circus troupes are a beloved source of live entertainment and attracted aspiring performers both at home and abroad to participate in the rapidly growing industry. It's a culture defined by big tents, charismatic ringmasters, and ambitious talents that strive for greater heights to create a small world of joy and excitement that captivates their audience.

Mizuka Tsurumaki is the young daughter of the legendary Black Lotus, a famous ringmaster of the acclaimed Lotus Circus that long dominated the industry with their breathtaking performances that pushed their physical abilities to the limit. She received direct tutelage in the art of circus performing from her father and his fellow troupe members, instilling in her a sense of family and desire to one day perform alongside them as a proper member. Her dreams are put to the test when her father abruptly shutters the Lotus Circus and disappears from the public eye, leaving young Mizuka alone without a path forward. She later receives correspondence from her deadbeat dad with an address and the promise that she will be taken care of. With no convenient means of travel, she attempts the long journey on foot and promptly collapses near her destination. She is promptly rescued by members of the struggling Sunflower Circus, but Mizuka has grown bitter toward the circus industry and promptly tries to make her exit. Too bad for her, because not only is the Sunflower Circus her destination, but her father used her as collateral in a debt and she is now at the mercy of circus ringmaster Maria and her merry band of performers. Our quirky brat of a heroine is not at all pleased with this arrangement and will do anything to avoid performing, so Maria breaks the ice by letting her critique their performance. The faster Mizuka can help improve the Himawari Circus, the more profitable the show can become which means clearing the debt from the ledger. It's not long before trapeze artist Ouka Kawasumi sets her sights on Mizuka's suppressed talents and plays the long game to thaw out her shell so the two can perform together. Working alongside them is the magician Imari, the twin jugglers Aoi and Akane, the fiery acrobat Isuzu, veteran trapeze catcher Shizuku, and the aerial silk performer Svetlana. Meanwhile, the stressed out accountant Rin is doing everything in power to keep the troupe from collapsing in debt.

What really makes Grow Up Show a charming anime is that it's a simple premise with an extravagant costume. It's a hobbyist slice of life series with plenty of extra steps. They bond over their shared love for the circus. They perform together and plan out activities related to their respective skills. Every member of the cast has their own focused episode that delves into their upbringing and relationships with the other members. This all culminates in the tried-and-true competition arc where the group puts their hard work to the test. There's a concentrated effort to build these characters up and contextualize their roles in the performance which I found to be quite lovely. Despite its grandiose presentation and committal to being a period piece, there's very little in its base DNA that separates this from other slice of life works focused around performance art. As you should know if you've read my past writing, I'm a certified sucker for this particular formula and it should be no surprise that I'm yet again easily won over by the same song and dance with more instruments in the arrangement. The characters are fun and expressive in their own particular ways. Mizuka is the bratty protagonist and I love her goofy forced grin that is such a distinctive symbol of her personality. Ouka is a perfect foil for her as an earnest, ambitious performer that is equally absent-minded. Aoi and Akane have the classic twin sisters relationship that echoes the cherished legacy of moe anime and further reinforced through their juggling act. Imari and Isuzu are childhood friends with a fractured relationship that still manage to support each other. Shizuku and Svetlana are the designated veteran performers with a storied history and surprisingly intimate relationship. Rin's role as accountant is tied to her deep friendship with Maria who is an individual that defies her appearance as a small and bubbly girl. Maria's personality comes off like a far more reasonable version of Kate Hoshimiya from Sekai Seifuku: Bouryaku no Zvezda which A-1 Pictures produced as an original work over a decade ago. I'm not just saying that because they're both enigmatic little girls.

As an amateur project, it's natural that Grow Up Show isn't always firing at full power in regards to its visuals. There's a noticeable presence of stylistic shortcuts - a tool that some productions leverage to achieve ambitious visuals while also saving time on key frames and cuts by simplifying the elements on screen. Shiboyugi is a great recent example of this, with director Souta Ueno making liberal use of minimalistic backgrounds and silhouettes to evoke style while reducing internal pressure during production work. I don't think this inherently reduces the quality of the show, and I would rather have the result of a healthy production over one that's going to grind the workers to dust. As an environment seeking to cultivate young talent and bring them into the industry at large, it would be foolish to crush them under the weight of the historically demanding process of producing anime. They made a wise choice to distribute their greatest efforts to key moments while compressing the visual representation down to something more manageable in other instances. For example, the actual circus performances in this anime are often depicted through classic camera pans over specific frames with visual effects added for flavor. However, there are more critical moments where the act is fully animated with fluidity and great detail. This is most common with Mizuka and Ouka's aerial act, but generally every part of the performance gets at least one detailed sequence throughout the show's run. Another stylistic shortcut I personally enjoy quite a lot is how they deal with backgrounds. There are plenty of shots with proper background work, but many of the comedic moments and casual scenes are marked by the characters on a single color background. It's like a highly minimalist version of the pop art backgrounds that defined Hidamari Sketch, taking the characters out of the world at large and putting them in their own self-contained frame where the viewer's eye is drawn to their poses and expressions. It's a decision that grew on me quickly and I think it's done far more good for the anime's visual identity than being a detractor to the overall quality of the work.

There's no denying my bias for this show both in regards to its genre but also the meta factor of it being representative of where anime is heading as a medium. This may surprise you, but I genuinely love anime. It is a form of expression that has defined my life. As such, a project like this that encouraged fresh talent to craft their own original idea and bring it to fruition inspires a warm optimism within my tired heart. If even the producers at A-1 Pictures can see that this is a necessary step toward the future of Japanese animation, then maybe we're on the right track. It isn't a flawless effort by any metric. Sometimes they abbreviate too much of the visual action. It certainly has its own second half pivot into drama and tension but I think it deserves credit for how the major developments have been handled. Most importantly, I can tell that the creative minds behind this show really harnessed their passion for the concept and did their best work while learning how to better refine their ideas for future projects. Even if I cut out all the emotional and meta concpetual bullshit, fun things are just plain fun. This is a fun anime and it has made me smile and laugh instead of groan and grimance. There's no need to be greedy when a good thing is already well off. Plus, there's a wonderful OP and ED sequence in the package to enjoy every week! What else does an otaku need these days? Here's hoping that Psyde Kick Studio continues to have more opportunities to produce more entertainment in the future, because there are never enough original works to brighten up the seasonal lineup. Or darken it, I suppose. Both can be blessings if you think hard enough about it!

 

Seihantai na Kimi to Boku 2nd Season

Produced by Lapin Track

I would first like to direct you to my previous write-up on the first season of Seihantai na Kimi to Boku (You and I Are Polar Opposites) from the Winter 2026 edition of Seasonals of the Abyss. It'll save me the trouble of rehashing the finer points of this show and excessively repeating myself. I say excessively because I will certainly repeat my praise for this series in more ways than one. Let it be no secret that I believe this is one of the greatest modern depictions of youth romance in the medium. Koucha Agasawa is an undeniable talent that has dominated 2026 with adaptations of this and their other series Koori no Jouheki (The Ramparts of Ice) serving as pillars in every anime season this year has to offer. What a pleasure it is to have thirteen more episodes of this wonderful anime.

It's been six months since the social butterfly Miyu and the emotionally reserved Yuusuke became a proper couple, experiencing the ebbs and flows of young love in high school among friends. Although there are still plenty of defining moments left in their relationship, the spotlight has pivoted in this second season to focus on two other pairs that have yet to bloom. First we have a duo with contrasting levels of energy. Kentarou Yamada, a lively boy in Miyu's class that's easy to get along with, finds himself drawn to the shy library assistant Natsumi Nishi from the next class over. Kentarou is the kind of guy who can speak freely and interact with others without restraint, but the socially awkward Natsumi is trapped in a vicious cycle of overthinking her words, feelings, and gestures that short circuit her self-expression. The only one she can truly confide in is her best friend Rikako Honda, a blunt and emotionally tough girl who forged a genuine bond with Natsumi after a negative first impression earlier in their school life. If you can believe it, this pairing is even more sugary sweet than our main duo like a spoonful of frosting straight from the tub. Despite its richness, it's such a wonderful aftertaste. The most gratifying element of these "opposite" pairs is how they affect each other in profound ways, altering their perspectives and opening them to new experiences. Kentarou's typical nonchalance is strained when he grows more self-conscious about his words and actions around Natsumi, while she grows more selfish and bold to secure a true romantic relationship with him despite the struggle she is constantly waging with her inner voice. The author takes great lengths to explore this relationship through their individual perspectives, defining the two with a much different chemistry than we saw prior with Miyu and Yuusuke.

Kentarou and Natsumi's relationship is adorable with a heap of fluffy developments and surprisingly insightful moments that exhibit the masterful character writing this author is known for. That being said, I need to make some room to gush here. Not to imply they are less interesting, but there is another duo that I have been highly anticipating since the first season who are finally gaining ground in the climactic second half of the series. Shuuji Taira is a self-absorbed young man trapped in a prison of anxiety formed from traumatic social experiences. Shino Azuma is an easygoing woman who rarely lingers on negative memories, placing more value on going with the flow and maintaining social hierarchy over her self-worth. These two by far have the most interesting contrast in personality due to their complicated perspectives and friction. Despite having a wildly different social outlook and Taira's natural aversion to those who have climbed the social ladder, these two find themselves frequently interacting with each other. Instead of the bubbly warmth that surged with the previous two relationships, the dynamic between Taira and Azuma is more reminiscent of the complex emotional maelstrom that is more prevalent in Koori no Jouheki. Taira, who actively avoids voicing his inner thoughts, has an uncharacteristic outburst in response to Azuma casually shrugging off a memory of being mistreated by her old friend group. His impassioned remarks are the catalyst that triggers a gradual change in her outlook, sowing the seeds for a major development that is now emerging in the second season. The two have their own inner reckoning, with Taira terrified of growing closer with Azuma while she struggles to determine her feelings for him after struggling with romantic experiences in the past. There's this star-crossed tragedy at play in their own heads, with Taira temporarily avoiding her out of fear that their relationship may permanently change while she questions if her emotions are genuine or just a phase.

This dynamic is the apex of romantic drama. I'm not going to claim the false title of romance expert, but I've watched and read quite a few fictional romances in my time and most of them are cute at best but not exceptionally moving. That's fine though; cute is still cute. But when a romance can get me feel that yearning of investment, where I'm emotionally tethered to the state of the relationship and the turbulence between its peaks and valleys, that's how I know it's something legitimately special. My heart will self-destruct like a nasty IED if Taira and Azuma do not realize their feelings for each other. It's such a beautiful tension but both characters are truly good, deeply empathetic people who deserve mutual happiness. Do not call Taira a "chud", he is a depressed teenager still trying to get over a puberty-induced inferiority complex and works part time at a gas station to give social meaning to his life. Azuma is finally discovering her self-worth after complying in advance to the social environment and has found someone who genuinely sympathizes and enjoys spending time with her. They've been held back by the inertia of self-defense mechanisms and are relearning how to be vulnerable again. The best part is that I know this author won't let me down no matter how this concludes. All the chemistry and layers of emotional fluctuation will harmonize in a satisfactory way. Koori no Jouheki sealed the deal on me being a true believer after the first season of Seihantai was already so good.

It's no suprise the visual quality is largely on par and perhaps even exceeds the first season at many points; the source material is hitting its climactic stride and the studio has sharpened up the boarding and direction to meet that crest. I think the new OP is fantastic even if it doesn't quite beat the first season, but the ED is significantly better in my opinion and serves as a great bookend for each episode. Just take these words to heart. If you ever find yourself at the ass end of some miserable romance slop that leaves you wishing you could actually feel something, watch this anime. It's a chaser - it will clean you out. You will remember why you keep giving romance anime a chance when there are so many incredibly dull and clumsy shows with characters that have negative personality. Keep it for a rainy day and you get twenty five episodes out of it. I will be weeping when this concludes in a few weeks but I'm also very excited to see the rest of Koori no Jouheki which will be back for the next seasonal post. It's not over until it's over, fellas. Even in a season like this one, this is one of the strongest offerings one can find.

 

Tenmaku no Jaadugar

Produced by Science Saru

 

It's been over half a decade since Naoko Yamada ended her long tenure at Kyoto Animation to join Science Saru, furthering her ambitions in the process. In 2022, she directed an adaptation of Heike Monogatari - a classic Japanese epic surrounding two warring clans at the end of the 12th century. It's a sprawling historical account that Yamada took on the challenge of compressing, having to fit its massive scope and sprawling cast of characters in just eleven episodes of standard length TV anime. While it was undoubtedly a visual spectacle with her sharp eye for camera work accompanied by a gorgeous soundtrack, I came away from it feeling like too many concessions were made to sell its grand vision. It felt too much like a polished novelty. Four years later, Yamada's fascination with historical dramas has not dulled a bit. Spanish animator Abel Góngora, a longtime employee of Science Saru, is back in the director's chair with Tenmaku no Jaadugar (A Witch's Life in Mongol) and Naoko Yamada is supporting his vision as chief director of the project. Góngora went through his initiation ritual as co-director on the second season of Dandadan just last year and proved himself to be an exceptional talent. It's no surprise that Tenmaku no Jaadugar might just be one of the best anime this studio has produced, and has some of the finest work both he and Yamada have done in recent history. Writer and illustrator Tomato Soup has an art style that sits between Japanese and Western art; a perfect fit for the studio that still carries on the spirit of its former president Masaaki Yuasa who took more than a few cues from guys like Tex Avery. Naturally, this style is rendered wonderfully by the animation talent at Science Saru with highly expressive characters and environments punctuated by its historical attention to detail.

Sitara is an Muslim orphan turned slave in the Persian city of Tus who is bought by a family of scholars. Raised to manipulate prospective buyers into purchasing her, she is convinced by the family matriarch Fatima and the young Muhammad to further her education. She learns to read and write under their wing, studying books and immersing herself in worldly knowledge. Unfortunately for her, it's the early 13th century. Genghis Khan and the Mongol Empire has been consolidating power in the region for over a decade now. Diplomacy between the Mongols and the Khwarazmian Empire, which Tus was part of, was rapidly deteriorating. In the blink of an eye, over a hundred thousand Mongols tore through the region in one of their most gruesome conquests. Not long after Muhammad's departure from Tus, young Sitara's life is upended as a Mongol detachment led by Genghis Khan's youngest son Tolui sacks the city. Despite taking shelter in a hidden compartment with Fatima, the two are easily found by the Mongol invaders. One of the books in Fatima's possession - Euclid's Elements - catches the eye of Tolui who steals it and kills Fatima in the process. Her family and friends are either killed or die during the march to the Mongol camps, robbing Sitara of her home and filling her heart with deep hatred. With the encouragement of a young Persian interpreter named Shira, she decides to live for her revenge instead of giving up in the face of despair. Thus begins the scheming of Sitara, taking on the name of her late mentor Fatima, as she worms her way into the inner workings of the Mongol Empire. Using her scholarly knowledge, she offers to teach Tolui's wife Sorghaghtani the material in Elements while waiting for her opportunity to strike. After the death of Genghis Khan in 1227, Sitara searches for a way to take advantage of the power vacuum and incidentally becomes acquainted with Töregene - the sixth wife of Genghis Khan's third son Ögedei. Töregene shares Sitara's disdain for the Mongols after her experience in the defeated Merkit tribe and the two join forces to destroy the empire from within.

Tenmaku no Jaadguar accomplishes something critical that Heiki Monogatari fell short on - building up a wide, diverse cast of characters with their own ambitions that are highly memorable. Sitara may be the protagonist that defines the perspective of this story, but there are more than a handful of characters that have their own smaller narratives weaved between the major developments. As a historical work, I appreciate the care put into portraying the nuance of the situation. What happened to Sitara was tragic and undeniably begets sympathy, but it's not long before even she is tempted by the humanity of the Mongols on their own turf. The struggle to maintain the fires of hatred within her is a constant element of the story as time moves forward and she eventually spends more of her lifetime with the Mongols than she did as a slave in Tus. We get to see the close relationship of Genghis Khan's sons and how they genuinely wished to improve the quality of living for their people. After Ögedei becomes Khan, he seeks to reshape the empire with knowledge and science over conquest. Yet, even as Sitara inches closer to fulfilling her desire for revenge, her heart is not satisfied. No matter how much kindness she is shown in her new life, nothing can erase the sting of cruelty she experienced. It's a tragedy of complex engagements that makes one question if this is a scenario where it's possible to neatly define the line between good and evil.

Despite the tragic nature of this story, the art direction and visual design manage to generate some whimsy and comfort in the moment to moment experience. It's not all doom and gloom - another reminder that humans are extremely adept at adapting to their circumstances. It's fun to see Sitara interact with the prince's wives and other slaves thanks to how expressive the characters are. Even in its most dramatic moments, there's a sense of warmth lingering in the background. I enjoy the complex entanglements as the ambitions of various characters clash together with Sitara often getting caught in the mix. This comes to a head after she heals the ailing empress Boraqchin who seeks to diminish the growing strength within the House of Tolui. The show is impressively paced and has a very satisfying progression in the way it links its events across the timeline and develops the characters in parallel. It's an entertaining drama that explores its own historical roots with plenty of intrigue while providing a feast for the eyes. The detail oriented designs, backgrounds, and visual elements blend wonderfully with the stylized art and colorful environments. This is refined further thanks to the expert directing work from Góngora and Yamada that has elevated this anime to one of the strongest efforts I've seen this year. Every new episode was another highlight of my week. Science Saru is a studio that rarely ever lets me down, so I appreciate that they continue to reward me with quality television. Above all else, I'll miss Sitara making cute expressions and being an entitled brat. Perhaps next time she'll summon the storm that she promised and become a real witch like the title suggests.

 

Yani Neko

Produced by Bibury Animation Studios

I want to meet Yani Neko at its level. No pretenses. No poeticism. No working the backstory. No build up at all. Flat palmed, in your face, like a firm slap. This is a low brow, highly inappropriate, and wildly gross comedy for adults; only as clever as it is profoundly stupid. Yani Neko is a tribute to vice and all the ugliness that comes with it. It's a black comedy revolving around a discriminated subspecies of humanity and their daily lives. Yaniko is a chainsmoking nicotine addict who lives in a dirty apartment room and shits herself while her devoted little sister Imoko watches in horror. Yakuko is a struggling drug addict with a bad home life. Aruko is an alcoholic who nearly drowns in her own puke and is on the precipice of brain death every other day. Hameko is a streamer with mood swings that frequently pisses herself from pleasure. Kaoruko "Kansai" Nishi is a comedian who can't make anyone laugh. Penpen is a hobo who pretends to be one with nature while suffering immensely. Yomuko is a failed fanfiction writer. All of them are beastfolk - human animal hybrids that once fought with humanity but now live alongside them. One of their only human friends is an erotic mangaka named Saori Tatsuno. Their landlord Ootani is a nice guy defined by his massive, throbbing erection that is frequently used as a punchline because he's only attracted to beastfolk. Some of them are debatably good people but most of them are complete scum of the earth. You love to hate them and you hate to love them. And somehow, in its putrid squalor and cheap laughs, this bizarre comedy anime is the best thing I watched all season. I almost didn't watch it because my expectations were far different than the reality that presented itself. Thankfully, I avoided the consequences of my own actions.

This is the closest thing to Panty and Stocking with Garterbelt without the western cartoon pastiche applied. The body fluid humor, the cultural references, the frequent moral failings of every character involved - all of these elements are mixed into a concoction of debauchery and manic sequences involving these depraved beings. Yaniko's nicotine addiction was inherited from her mother Shizue and she spends much of the show discovering new ways to acquire cigarettes after running out. Yakuko is her druggie kouhai from school who still admires her even after seeing her true personality. They live in the same apartment complex with the other characters and influence each other to partake in absolute nonesense together. The landlord endures this because he's an easily aroused freak with a heart of gold. Nobody is safe from their own foolishness. Hameko goes overboard registering her name at city hall and gets her surname legally changed to Easygoing Anal Angel. Kansai has Yaniko broadcast her explosive farts from a van during a job. Aruko gets piss drunk and wanders off into the night, only to be found because Yakuko plants a GPS tracker on her. The landlord has to escape a mochi-related time loop by hanging his dick and balls out. Yaniko blows up a factory she was temporarily working at due to her smoking addiction and then scares away a demon with her vile living conditions. This the stuff Yani Neko is made of - cartoonish madness that is consistently crass, crude and crusty. It's somehow the most sophisticated grossout comedy I've ever seen.

I've seen a scatter of productions from Bibury Animation Studios and they're an interesting bunch. Mahou Shoujo Magical Destroyers was the most memorable as an original work that was fairly abnormal in execution for better or worse. Yani Neko feels like an extension of that in a medium that has largely avoided gross humor and blatant depictions of drug use. It really has the aura of a golden age Adult Swim program. No matter how dumb and immature it is, there's an innate charm that never fails to make me laugh and enjoy every moment the show has to offer. Some of the humor stems from the fact that some characters simply deserve to be ridiculed. Hameko is loud, annoying, judgmental, and farms attention constantly so it's naturally funny when she's humiliated on stream. Yaniko straddles the line between being a sympathetic figure and a nicotine addicted jerkoff that just wants to get high without considering the potential consequences. Then there's examples of the inverse where a character is genuinely too nice to survive in this world. Kansai's only crime is that she really loves manzai humor and nobody around her enjoys her material. Yomuko just wants to write a good story after being inspired by Saori but can't seem to get anyone's approval. The landlord is extremely generous and supportive of his beastfolk tenants but endures all their filth and his worst crime is boning a dutch wife shaped like a dog woman every night. He was also cursed with the massive cock of a character in an ero-doujinshi and physically cannot suppress its existence, almost hitting Penpen in the face with it at one point after learning she's naked under her tattered hobo rags. This is not an anime for the faint of heart or the squeamish. It is a putrescent den of low brow situations to give thirty year old adults something nonsensical to laugh at.

The best part is that it looks so good doing it. It's a highly animated experience that exagerrates and intensifies its already bizarre material to the next level. The visuals are both consistent yet varied with episodes that have stylized segments and frequent punch lines that involve the animators messing around with established designs. It's not hard to see why a show like this would be polarizing when it's so deliberately offputting to court a niche audience of freaks. Well, the Japanese must be loving it because I've seen plenty of fan art. I shed a tear after a recent segment where Saori wears a skimpy magical girl outfit and it turns out she's chubby and out of shape and the artists did not disappointment with their reaction. This is a sign that the proper community was formed around this anime and I am firmly a part of it. If you see beauty in the disgusting, maddening existence of fictional characters that have nothing to lose, then this is a call to arms. Even though I'm not particularly fond of this specific strain of gross, mean-spirited humor, it manages to really win me over if it happens to be good. Yani Neko is straight up great and wildly creative  with its shameless box of tricks. Only this show is so brave to depict a high school girl gifting a small turd to her classmate. Multiple people in this show have literally eaten shit. Why can't I stop watching? Why can't I look away? With questions like this, I can only admire the hidden genius at play that has seriously taken me captive.

If that wasn't enough, Yani Neko has secured both OP and ED of the season in my heart without even trying. The opening animation is essentially like the one from Chainsaw Man as its riddled with cinema references, but it's the visual direction and its exceptional harmony with the OP theme that blows me away every week. Then it ends with an equally wonderful ED sequence set to a fun j-pop banger like the spirit of nano.ripe meets Motion City Soundtrack with stylish flair. The only bad part about it is the realization that the episode is over and that I have to wait another week for more peak. My love for this show is an expression of how my brain works. In a season with historical epics from acclaimed talent and highly anticipated sequels, my favorite show is the poopy piss puke stained comedy about catgirl addicts. I can't explain this any further than I have already. Sometimes love defies conventional logic and words simply aren't enough to introduce sense to the equation. There's no need to question joy. Just writhe in it. Get in the dirt and be filthy. Yani Neko is a show for true animals that understand the profound implication of having to wash the dirt and detritus off our gangly bodies lest we become a vessel for the byproducts that plague our existence. This is best understood through Yaniko's nickname "Yanikasu" which translates roughly to "Tar Scum". Simply put, you are what you eat. This is a show for those who drink beer to get drunk or smoke weed to get high. There isn't even a point to the game. It's Yani Neko, and it's art. No other words are necessary. 

 

Thank you for scrolling all the way down here. I'm tired. You're tired. Anime Jesus wept. I don't want to cut my usual postmortem for the previous season, so I will instead provide a highly compressed single sentence wrap-up for each show to keep up the compact writing exercise. There will be more than a few shows to look at next season but it will be significantly less than this. It's been a hell of a year for Japanese animation, that's for sure. Let's get on with the last rites.

Yowayowa Sensei - Cute ecchi fluff that succeeds at being mindless entertainment but won't be making it to the hall of fame.

Ichijouma Mankitsugurashi! - Not the strongest Kirara adaptation but the characters and Marika's butt saved it from mediocrity.

Otaku ni Yasashii Gal wa Inai!? - Wish fulfillment is good when two gyarus are involved and they come with a free spiritual little sister that wears glasses and trolls you.

Re:Zero Season 4 - The second half of this is still airing but with a couple episodes left I can firmly say it's the second best season, only narrowly losing to the first season which I'm still very fond of.

Koori no Jouheki - I don't even need to say anything because it will get plenty of attention in the next seasonal post when the second season airs and enshrines this as another modern classic.

And that's all I've got. Until next time, stay moe, friends.