SnowGator

I’ve been watching anime since the 90s, but have a few very popular series that I missed out on for one reason or another. Finally planning on watching this major blind spot for me with this rewatch group: Dragon Ball! I think my grand total experience is half an episode I watched years ago, and I have no idea which series it was!

For some reason, the way Dragon Ball was advertised at the time and the Toriyama art never appealed to me. Interestingly, after watching a few episodes, I am totally sold on the Toriyama style. Seeing it in motion and context gives such a vibe that I’m struggling to describe. There’s something cozy, innocent-yet-dark, and beautiful about the way the show embraces its spirit of adventure, and super does not care if things don’t make sense or happen just because they’re cool or fun.

Again, I’m just starting this journey with almost no prior knowledge (only one or two major late story spoilers I unfortunately caught over the years…), so perhaps my feelings will change, but I’m loving the first three episodes.

A few more thoughts:

• I love how innocent Goku is. I have no idea why he is how he is. I’m sure there’ll be more backstory eventually.
• The frequent lewd thoughts, dialogue, and actions are a bit much, definitely verging on sexual assault at times. Master Roshi is hard to tolerate in particular. It’s saved by the framing of Goku’s absolute innocence and his completely different (or lack of) understanding of gender, nudity, boundaries, and autonomy. I’m sure this’ll be a recurring theme, but initial impressions feel like it was being edgy to be catchy and I’m not totally onboard how it’s being handled so far.
• This world is really weird. Dinosaurs, guns, motorcycles, anything-in-a-capsule, magic clouds, etc. Wow.
• I’m really surprised how many Dragon Balls they have already! I’m sure something will happy to scatter them or lose them or something, but it makes it pretty engaging to feel like they’ve already made so much progress so quickly.
• I was expecting more padding of episodes. I worry this’ll be a problem later on when it got more popular. I was kinda expecting My Hero Academia level pacing, which I found rough a lot of the time.

I super appreciate how everybody is being very careful about spoilers in this thread. I know very little and would prefer to keep as limited as possible to enjoy it fresh. Thanks y’all!

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

Winter 2025 wrap up

Watched current releases: 

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

Watched past seasons: 

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

Dropped (from any season): 

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

Eventually watch from this season: 

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

Fall 2024 wrap up:

Watched current releases: 

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

Watched past seasons: 

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

Dropped (from any season): 

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

Eventually watch from this season: 

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

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

Barely been able to watch lately. At least finished a few things I’ve been tinkering at for a while:

• Ranma 1/2 remake S1 - It ended up being just fine for me. I’m not sure what it would’ve taken for me to love this like I loved the OG when I watched it decades ago. I appreciated the better pace and less time wasting fluff and recaps. I bet I’d find the OG nigh unwatchable these days, anyway. I guess I was hoping for a more interesting contextual update considering modern times, but instead it was even more faithful to the OG manga. Still fun and worth watching imo.
• Kaiju No. 8 - Wow that was a fun and entertaining ride. I loved it. Definitely will continue watching future seasons.
• Fruitmaster - I know this is bad and universally panned. But I’m weirdly enjoying it. Pls don’t judge me lol.
• Sakamoto Days - Only a couple episodes in. It’s good, but not blowing me away.
• Receptionist… - Couple episodes. Good, also not blowing me away.

Definitely plan on catching up with several more seasonals when they get closer to wrapped: Solo Leveling S2, 100 Girlfriends S2, Re:Zero S3, Apothecary Diaries S2, Happy Marriage S2.

Thanks for all the work y’all have put into this place. I’ve enjoyed participating here. I certainly post quite a bit more than I ever did on /r/anime. Hope to keep this place around.

I’m not following a ton weekly this season. Dandadan is the clear winner and is amazing, a real contender for AOTY imo. Also watching Ranma 1/2 and it finally clicked in episode 3 for me. I now think it’s vastly outperforming the OG, mostly because of the improved pacing and minimal padding.

I’m waiting for Re:Zero S3 to mostly wrap before jumping in. I’d rather watch it a little quicker than weekly.

Only watched a bit lately. Just keeping up with 3 so far: 

• Dandadan - Holy crap this is a ride. Like others said elsewhere, the first episode threw some major flags for me, but apparently that kind of thing is extremely rare, so I’m strapped in for the rest. Also that OP is #1 for the year imo. 
• Re:Zero S3 - That first 90 minute episode should have been more exciting, but I spent most of it trying to remember who everybody was or why I care about all these meetings and that somebody is being rude to somebody. The last 15 mins and the second episode finally got me hooked again. 
• Ranma 1/2 - Heavy nostalgia for me. I’m not convinced this is better than the OG anime so far. I really love the old style (even after watching several comparisons) and miss the old OP. I’ll probably finish it just for curiosity if nothing else.

Surprisingly great season. Actually had a good amount of time to watch new and catchup too. A bit heavy on romance, but so many variations that it didn’t feel too repetitive for me. 

Completed/almost-completed new releases: 

• Oshi No Ko S2 - I think there’s another episode or so left in the season. Great season, lots of character development and overall plot movement too, although didn’t land quite as hard as S1 for me. 9/10
• Makeine - Surprise hit of the season for me. Really loved it. One episode left that is a new anime-only story written by the original writer iirc. I do wish it had simply avoided a few tropes completely, but that’s about my only complaints for this gem. 9/10
• Pseudo Harem - Another surprise. Loved this adorable couple, and almost didn’t give it a shot because the title didn’t sound like something I’d be interested in. Beautiful complete series in only 12 episodes. Honestly one of my top romance animes all time. 8/10
• I Parry Everything - Another out of nowhere really fun show. I really enjoyed this, in a silly what-is-happening way. Reminded me a lot of Helck, in a good way. 7/10
• Dungeon People - Filled the gaping hole left by Frieren and Dungeon Meshi. Very good, although the art style made me think this would be more chill than it ended up being. Some surprising violence and adult content. 7/10
• Days With My Stepsister - Shocked this turned out so good. It’s one of the most nuanced and careful presentations of young adults trying to make the best choices they can. I wish it didn’t have the titillating premise, because I’d love more romance anime that took its characters this seriously. 7/10
• Alya Sometimes Hides Her Feelings … - I think I’m tapping out after this season. I found the political intrigue not engaging and several of the characters grating or extremely unbelievable. It’s fine, just not for me. 6/10

Tried/dropped new releases: 

• My Deer Friend … - Too hit or miss. 
• Plus Sized Elf - Not for me. 

Previous seasons shows completed: 

• Dungeon Meshi S2 - Current frontrunner for AOTY, edging out Frieren cour 2. Absolutely loved it. 10/10
• Scavenger’s Reign - Not-anime but excellent. Gripping and engaging bizarre world. 9/10
• Cyberpunk Edgerunners - Phenomenal production, but not my favorite world. Still great though, maybe 8-9/10? 
• Hell’s Paradise - Grew on me over time. Really enjoyed the last episodes and looking forward to S2 eventually. 8/10
• I Was Reincarnated As The 7th Prince … - Silly fun and light. Enjoyed a lot. 7/10
• Carol and the End of the World - Not-anime, but very interesting. 7/10

Future wrap-up from this season: 

• Terminator 0 - Haven’t been in the right mood. 
• Wistoria - 5 episodes. Good animation, great action, and fun story. Probably finish. 
• No Longer Allowed … - I’ll give it another shot, but might drop soon. 
• Spice & Wolf - Only watched a couple episodes. Interested in more when I have time. 
• Nier Automata - I’m currently playing the game, so after that I’ll probably watch the anime. 
• Slime-San S? - Eventually. 
• Konosuba S3 - Eventually. 
• MHA S? - Eventually.

Looking ahead to next season, it’s a bit light for me. I’ve been watching a lot (for me), so might chill a bit and maybe catch up on other stuff. Or maybe I’ll follow the charts and try out whatever bubbles up. I dunno! But I’ll definitely be watching: 

• Re:Zero S3 - I’ve liked the previous seasons quite a lot. 
• Ranma 1/2 - I grew up on OG Ranma 1/2 and have watched most of it. I loved it. I’m really hoping this is good, especially since some of the content is going to be pretty dated. But I at least feel confident it will be as well produced as possible since it’s being made by MAPPA. I’m kinda sad so few others are mentioning this. Maybe I’m too old haha… 

Current releases, following weekly (roughly organized by decreasing interest): 

• Oshi No Ko S2 - Decent start to a new arc. Several good moments. 
• Makeine - This mini arc didn’t hit as hard for me as some of the others, but still enjoyed it. 
• Pseudo Harem - Great episode again. This couple is adorable. 
• I Parry Everything - Still good. I think there are more episodes, but it feels pretty wrapped up? 
• Dungeon People - Caught up this week. Sometimes a bit hit or miss, but still enjoying throughout. 
• Days With My Stepsister - Caught up this week. I have mixed feelings on it. It’s verrrrrry slow and deliberate. Sometimes this lands well, but a lot of the time I’m waiting for anything to happen. The characters are likeable and their feelings seem realistic. It’s decent, and I’ll at least finish this cour. I don’t know if there will be more. 
• Alya Sometimes Hides Her Feelings… - I’m gonna finish this season, but I probably won’t follow future seasons. 

Watched part of, but not up to date: 

• Wistoria - 5 episodes. Good animation, great action, and fun story. Probably finish.

Completed: 

• Hell’s Paradise - Well the big surprise was I thought this was a single season show. It mostly definitely is not. Still, I ended up much more satisfied than I was for the first half. Initially felt like an excuse for extreme bloody violence. By the end, I liked several of the characters quite a lot and am very curious where the story goes. If there’s a season 2, I’ll likely continue. 

Current releases, following weekly (roughly organized by decreasing interest): 

• Oshi No Ko S2 - No new episode. 
• Makeine - Still great. The curious thing for me in this anime is it flirts with common tropes, but then subverts it somehow that makes it not bother me. I wish it just avoided certain situations completely, which would make this a much easier recommendation to non-regular-anime-watchers. 
• Pseudo Harem - Great episode. This couple is adorable. 
• I Parry Everything - Another episode where the stakes just keep going up, and it gets beyond the level of absurd I thought it could do. 
• Alya Sometimes Hides Her Feelings… - More anime tropes I find very boring, but at least it was only part of the episode this time. When it focuses more on the relationship of the main couple, it’s much better. 

Watched part of, but not up to date: 

• Dungeon People - 6 episodes. Fun and easy watch. The content sometimes surprises me. It looks like it’d be relatively safe for kids, then something happens or is referenced and I realize it’s more adult than it looks. 
• Days With My Stepsister - 4 episodes. Watched because it keeps hitting very high on the weekly charts. I’m super leery of the subject, but it’s surprisingly mature and realistic. Veerrrry slow though. It’s good enough I’ll keep going, because I think it started really climbing the charts for its later episodes. 
• Wistoria - 3 episodes. Watched because it’s been higher on charts. Fun story, good animation, likable characters, interesting world. Ya I’ll probably keep going. 
• No Longer Allowed In Another World - 1 episode. Watched because charts. The obsession with suicide is very off putting (I don’t think this subject should be handled to lightly…), and then I learned the MC is based on a real person (who actually died by suicide) and that made it feel really icky to me. I’ll admit, I laughed several times in the first episode. But I dunno if I’ll keep going.

Current releases, following weekly (roughly organized by decreasing interest): 

• Oshi No Ko S2 - Finally hit the climax I’d been waiting for. Really nailed it between the last episode and this one, then hooked in for exciting plot progression. Great episode.  
• Makeine - Looks like focus is shifting to a new character again, with a new accompanying (excellent) ED. It was a bit of an exposition episode, so a bit less exciting than the last few, but still excellent. 
• Pseudo Harem - A bit slower episode for me. Still good. 
• I Parry Everything - Caught up this week. It’s great. Tension and scale keeps escalating and the silliness keeps outclassing what I thought was peak absurdity. Characters are very likable and animation is serviceable. Try a couple episodes! 
• Alya Sometimes Hides Her Feelings… - Ya, mostly just finishing because I’ve watched this far. The general conceit of the series feels mostly forgotten, and is largely the type of anime I wasn’t really here for from the beginning.  

Watched part of, but not up to date: 

• Hell’s Paradise - 10 episodes. Alright I was kinda iffy for a while, but I’ve really enjoyed the last couple episodes. Finally filling in story a bit and setting up an overall plot that is fun and understandable. I’m definitely finishing now. 
• Dungeon People - 4 episodes. Got some time to try it out more and it’s excellent. Surprisingly darker than I expected, based on the animation style! But very silly, fun exploration of dungeon crawl tropes, and a low stakes mood. Really nice easy watch that slightly mollifies the gaping hole that finishing Frieren and Dungeon Meshi left.

Completed: 

• Scavenger’s Reign - Not anime, but so good. Super strange world with bizarre but just realistic enough creature designs, great animation, great sound effects. Y’all should check it out. It’s a wild ride from start to finish, and I’d be ecstatic if it gets picked up by somebody for a second season. 

Current releases, following weekly (roughly organized by decreasing interest): 

• Oshi No Ko S2 - The last few episodes have been excellent. I thought they’d get to a mid season climax sooner and move on to other plot, but nah it seems to keep adding in backstory and side stories to fill in on many of the characters. It’s been great, but I’d like it to finally get to the climax. 
• Makeine - Surprise hit of the season. I’m absolutely loving it. Probably more than Oshi No Ko, if I’m being honest. Seriously worth checking out. 
• Pseudo Harem - That previous episode was such a fake out not-ending. I had to look up details to make sure I hadn’t missed something. No, it really has like 5 more episodes planned. Then this week just picked up and kept going lol. It’s been great and gives me such cozy early-relationship feelings. 
• Alya Sometimes Hides Her Feelings… - Previous episode kinda threw me. I wasn’t expecting certain tropes to be in this kind of show and I don’t know what I think of it. Then the current week episode kinda kept going on that. I’ll probably finish out the season, since I’m this invested already but it’s sorta losing me. Surprisingly, Yuki was my favorite part of this week’s episode! 

Watched part of, but not up to date: 

• I Parry Everything - Almost caught up. Really enjoying this one a lot! Feels similar quality and tone to Helck and I really enjoyed that one. 
• Hell’s Paradise - 8 episodes. Still a bit graphic for me, but I’ve enjoyed it enough to keep going. Animation is quite impressive. 
• My Deer Friend Nokotan - 3 episodes. I haven’t felt like returning to it. I think I may drop it for this season, since I’ve read it doesn’t really improve from this point. 
• Dungeon People - 1 episode. I’ll probably make time for this soon after I finish catching up with Parry Everything.

Oh nice. I’ve been verrrrrrry slowly watching OG Trigun over the last year. I think I’m also at episode 13. It hasn’t really clicked for me, hence the ultra slow watch. But I’d like to finish it and get to the new version. Maybe I’ll prioritize it a bit more since you’re watching and can bounce thoughts off of.

Last I remember, there was finally some character development exploring Vash’s motivations. But I just can’t shake the feeling of it being off brand Cowboy Bebop and not as cool or fun. And definitely agree on struggling with outdated norms of humor.