The Goods (in no particular order)

• Smoking Behind the Supermarket With You - It’s sweet. I really love Tamaya’s manager and Sasaki’s coworker. Tamaya also knows how to have some fun, though Sasaki himself could use a little more personality.
• The Elusive Samurai Season 2 - The original manga was already pretty weird, but season 2 of the anime has solidly placed it in “batshit insane” territory, all while telling a good and coherent story. Honestly this one might’ve ended up with “the greats” if “the goods” section didn’t look so lonely.
• Jaadugar: A Witch in Mongolia - An excellent and very unusual anime. Cutest Mongols you’ll ever see. This is another one I wavered on when categorizing, but I just didn’t find myself looking forward to each new episode as much as I did with some other shows.

The Greats (in no particular order)

• Re:ZERO - This season had everything. New enemies and obstacles? Check. Ram reminding us she’s best girl? Check. Cool new fantasy environment? Double check. Subaru dying in horrible ways? Sooo many check. He did get some new clothes so he doesn’t look homeless anymore though, so good for him.
• You and I Are Polar Opposites Season 2 - Season 1 was incredibly cute and incredibly well-executed. Season 2? Also incredibly cute, also incredibly well-executed.
• The Ghost in the Shell - What can I say? I liked the 1995 film and loved Stand-Alone Complex, but this stands above even that for me. Truly a great Ghost in the Shell experience; I really hope we get more of it.
• The 100 Girlfriends Who Really, Really, Really, Really, REALLY Love You Season 3 - My favorite character (Naddy) has finally been introduced, and I’m extremely pleased with how she was handled. They also introduced another character I don’t care so much for, but overall this season was hilarious. An absolute riot.
• Goodbye, Lara - A very sweet Little Mermaid story. Feels more like a Miyazaki movie than perhaps any other non-Miyazaki thing I’ve ever seen. The ending wasn’t great, but it also wasn’t bad enough to ruin an otherwise excellent show.

The Rest (in descending order of goodness)

• Clevatess Season 2 - It wasn’t bad, but it also wasn’t as good as the first season. Probably my biggest disappointment of the season; I’m not certain I’ll watch a third season if they ever make one.
• KAIJU GIRL CARAMELISE - For such a fun premise this show was boring af.
• The Exiled Heavy Knight Something Something Something Something - I started watching because I wanted to experience the notorious GoHands cinematography. Oh boy did that first episode not disappoint; this might be the first time I’ve thought an anime was actually difficult to look at. Unfortunately there are other problems; the story is just the same dull isekai slop you’re likely imagining from the title and the pacing is awful. On top of that, recent episodes haven’t even been doing insane camera movements or any of the other weird shit that made this show pique my interest in the first place. Lately it’s just been kinda boring.

Not From This Season

• Devilman Crybaby - This has to be the most batshit insane anime I’ve ever seen, and that includes Mind Game. It’s the perfect show for anyone who wants to watch a very nsfw story about a guy trying his best to do what he can for a perilous world, accompanied by his friend Evil Tomoyo.