Friday, April 10, 2020

Anime of Winter 2020, Ranked

I wasn’t able to write a “first impressions” post for winter 2020 anime, because I was busy catching up on my reviews for the anime of fall 2019 (on top of catching up on my reviews for a couple of 2019 movies), and by the time I was done with the task, it was about two-thirds into the season already.   Anyway, I only picked up five – a much lower number than what I had in previous seasons – new anime series from the winter 2020 slate.  Nevertheless, I still watched a total of 13 anime series during the season since there were a couple of carryovers from fall 2019 as well as returning shows.  Here are all of them, ranked from what I liked the least to what I liked the most.  Moreover, their titles are also color coded to identify what type of shows they are.  PURPLE is for new anime series that premiered in winter 2020.  RED is for anime from fall 2019 that continued into the new season.  And GREEN is for returning old shows that had new seasons.

Babylon
Click here for my full review.

Blade of the Immortal
Click here for my full review.

Ahiru no Sora
Click here for my full review.

Interspecies Reviewers
Click here for my full review.

Darwin’s Game
Click here for my full review.

Mairimashita! Iruma-kun
Click here for my full review.

BOFURI: I Don’t Want to Get Hurt, so I’ll Max Out My Defense
Click here for my full review.

Kabukichou Sherlock
Click here for my full review.

Haikyuu!!: To the Top
After more than three years in hiatus, the GOAT of sports anime returns for a 25-episode fourth season.  The 13 episodes that ran in winter 2020 have been fun and exciting.  It’s just such a pity that, since season 4 is a split-cour, we have to wait until July (start of the summer season) for episode 14.

Isekai Quartet
For season 2, Naofumi, Raphtalia, and Filo from The Rising of the ShieldHero have also joined the cast, although they are written as transfer students to the other class instead of the main class – probably so that the “quartet” in the title can still make sense somewhat, as the main class is still entirely composed of characters from the four original isekai shows that it featured (KonoSuba, Re:Zero, Overlord, and The Saga of Tanya the Evil).  Also, Seiya and Ristarte from Cautious Hero had a brief but delightful cameo in episode 11! Indeed, Isekai Quartet is sheer glee for isekai fans.  Moreover, I’m truly impressed by how it’s been able to showcase a variety of excellent comedic interactions that are logical to their canon personalities.  Can’t wait for season 3.

My Hero Academia
Honestly, I feel that season 4, while great, is not as strong as the previous two seasons.  Nevertheless, between Ejiro and Fat Gum’s battle with Rappa and Rengai, Izuko’s battles with Overhaul and Gentle Criminal, Sir Nighteye’s heartbreaking death, Class 1-A’s epic school festival concert, Eri’s moving first smile, and Endeavor’s  fist-pumping battle with Hood (the intelligent Nomu), season 4 has been a tremendous, visceral installment of the saga.

Smile Down the Runway
Click here for my full review.

Science Fell in Love, So I Tried to Prove It
Click here for my full review.

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