Anime of Spring 2020, Ranked

Spring 2020 wasn’t necessarily packed with great anime, but I really had fun with this season as a whole.  In addition, many of the OPs have been absolutely terrific – namely those from Kaguya-sama, Kakushigoto, Wave, Listen to Me!, My Next Life as a Villainess, Fruits Basket, and Appare-Ranman! (when it was airing).  Speaking of Appare-Ranman!, while it was my favorite new show at the start of the season, it’s not included here since it got postponed after episode 3 because of the COVID-19 pandemic (it’s returning this summer 2020, starting with episode 1 again).  Also, the color coding of the titles, which I first did for the winter 2020 rankings, will apply: PURPLE for new anime series that premiered this season, RED for leftovers of previous seasons, and GREEN for returning old shows.

So, here are all the spring 2020 anime I watched, arranged per usual in the ascending order of how much I enjoyed them…

Ahiru no Sora

After three cours, Ahiru no Sora has yet to give Kuzuryu High a win.  Moreover, the protagonists can’t catch a break as tragedy after tragedy just keep on befalling them.  Man, not only is this anime a slog, it’s also kinda depressing.  It’s like an NTR sports anime.

I started wondering if this was indeed going to be worth it, so I decided to look ahead of the story by checking out the manga (for the record, I discovered that the manga isn’t that much advanced of the anime).  And, what do you know – they are also going to lose their next game in the anime!  Yep, 150 chapters in, and Kuzuryu High has yet to win in the manga.

It’s frustrating, really.  But I’ve come to like these characters, and my gut is still telling me their arc’s going to pay off eventually.  Thus, I’m going all in.  I plan to see this through till the end – both the manga and the anime.  Hopefully, it won’t be a waste of time.

Princess Connect! Re:Dive

Click here for my full review.

Gleipnir

Click here for my full review.

Wave, Listen to Me!

Click here for my full review.

Fruits Basket

It continues being an excellent anime shojo drama.  In fact, I’m finding season 2 (which is carrying over into the summer season, btw) to be more engaging than season 1.  Moreover, as I mentioned in the intro, its OP is terrific – definitely the series’ best one yet (unfortunately, for its summer half, it has a new OP that isn’t close to being as memorable and stirring).

Tower of God

Click here for my full review.

Kakushigoto: My Dad’s Secret Ambition

Click here for my full review.

My Next Life as a Villainess: All Routes Lead to Doom!

Click here for my full review.

Ascendance of a Bookworm

It’s confusing that the second half of its split-cour is often being presented as a “season 2.”  Anyway, my opinion of this anime greatly improved during its run this spring.  I considered it good in my initial review, but now, I think it’s great.  It’s definitely not only refreshing as an isekai because of its  novel twists to the formula and smart writing overall, but also because it explores some very worthwhile themes.  I’m seriously considering making a second review to fully express my reassessment of it (I usually write a second review only when the show is over).

Kaguya-sama: Love Is War

I enjoyed its debut season, but I didn’t necessarily fall in love with it.  But now, I utterly love this anime, for season 2 has been so superb, it’s impossible not to.  It’s significantly more entertaining and hilarious than season 1, in my humble opinion, and has more depth as well.  In addition, its OP is every bit as catchy and lovable as season 1’s banger of an OP.  As a result, I think it’s my favorite anime of the year so far.