I initially told myself that, other
than the first title in this list, I won’t be watching any new anime this
Winter 2021. I already have a lot on
my plate. Winter 2021 has a plenty of returning favorites – Beastars
(season 2), Cells at Work! (season
2), The Promised Neverland (season
2), That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime (season 2), Log Horizon
(season 3), Dr. Stone (season 2), Re:Zero (second cour of season 2), and The Quintessential Quintuplets (season 2) – and I was already committed to watching all of them on top of Fall 2020 carryovers Jujutsu
Kaisen and Attack on Titan: The Final Season. But in the end, I couldn’t help adding a couple of
new shows into my watchlist. Here they are, arranged in the descending order of how much I enjoyed them:
Cells at Work! Code Black
In a nutshell:
A spin-off of Cells at Work!, it basically follows the same premise as the original, but with the red and white blood cell characters gender swapped and set in a body with an unhealthy lifestyle.
Number of episodes as of writing: 4
My initial thoughts:
I’ve never read the manga, but I’ve been looking forward to an anime adaptation ever since I learned of its existence (which was also around the time I was watching the first season of Cells at Work!). This spin-off is as fun and informative as the original. But since it deals with more mature health issues (those that relate to stress, vices, and sex), it makes more room for dark comedy, tension, and poignant drama. Watching Cells at Work! Code Black side by side with the second season of the original Cells at Work! (new episodes from the two usually come out in the same day) has been a great weekly treat.
A spin-off of Cells at Work!, it basically follows the same premise as the original, but with the red and white blood cell characters gender swapped and set in a body with an unhealthy lifestyle.
Number of episodes as of writing: 4
My initial thoughts:
I’ve never read the manga, but I’ve been looking forward to an anime adaptation ever since I learned of its existence (which was also around the time I was watching the first season of Cells at Work!). This spin-off is as fun and informative as the original. But since it deals with more mature health issues (those that relate to stress, vices, and sex), it makes more room for dark comedy, tension, and poignant drama. Watching Cells at Work! Code Black side by side with the second season of the original Cells at Work! (new episodes from the two usually come out in the same day) has been a great weekly treat.
Suppose a Kid from the Last Dungeon Boonies Moved to a Starter Town
In a nutshell:
Despite being the weakest in their village, Lloyd decides to leave it and go to the kingdom’s capital in the hopes of finally becoming a soldier, which is his life’s dream. However, the thing is, Lloyd’s village is located near a dungeon that contains the world’s strongest monsters, and the fact that the villages can handle them as if they’re normal animals indicates how extremely powerful they are. Lloyd is oblivious of this fact, and thus, thinks of himself as a weakling. In reality, even though he is the weakest in his village, he’s still technically one of the most powerful individuals in the world.
Despite being the weakest in their village, Lloyd decides to leave it and go to the kingdom’s capital in the hopes of finally becoming a soldier, which is his life’s dream. However, the thing is, Lloyd’s village is located near a dungeon that contains the world’s strongest monsters, and the fact that the villages can handle them as if they’re normal animals indicates how extremely powerful they are. Lloyd is oblivious of this fact, and thus, thinks of himself as a weakling. In reality, even though he is the weakest in his village, he’s still technically one of the most powerful individuals in the world.
Number of episodes as of writing: 3
My initial thoughts:
Lloyd’s ignorance to how strong he really is and the constant shock from the people who perceive his true power prove to be a winning recipe for some terrific comedy. More than that, the execution of the comedy is delightfully Konosuba-esque. Hopefully, the rest of its debut season will end up being as hilarious as its first three episodes.
My initial thoughts:
Lloyd’s ignorance to how strong he really is and the constant shock from the people who perceive his true power prove to be a winning recipe for some terrific comedy. More than that, the execution of the comedy is delightfully Konosuba-esque. Hopefully, the rest of its debut season will end up being as hilarious as its first three episodes.
Heaven’s Design Team
In a nutshell:
A fictional twist to the Creation story, this comedy depicts a department of angels who are tasked to design and build the animals that will populate the Earth.
Number of episodes as of writing: 2
My initial thoughts:
This anime simultaneously amuses and educates, as it provides wacky but logical origin stories on why certain animals look the way they are or function the way they do, and in the process, also explores the reasons why it’s impossible for mythological creatures like pegasus and unicorns to exist.
Bottom-tier Character Tomozaki
A fictional twist to the Creation story, this comedy depicts a department of angels who are tasked to design and build the animals that will populate the Earth.
Number of episodes as of writing: 2
My initial thoughts:
This anime simultaneously amuses and educates, as it provides wacky but logical origin stories on why certain animals look the way they are or function the way they do, and in the process, also explores the reasons why it’s impossible for mythological creatures like pegasus and unicorns to exist.
In a nutshell:
Fumiya is arguably the best gamer in Japan. However, in real life, he’s pretty much a loser. For him, if life is a game, it is trash. His classmate and fellow gamer Aoi Hinami, however, begs to differ. For her, life is a god-tier game. To help him realize this, she decides to provide him a “walkthrough”, so that he can finally “play” the game of life the right way and experience getting wins.
Number of episodes as of writing: 2
My initial thoughts:
Horimiya is the hottest new high school rom-com this season (might also check it out if the hype train gets hyped enough), but it was Bottom-tier Character Tomozoki that caught my interest. I found the premise unique, and the execution so far shows it has the potential of becoming a thoroughly satisfying feel-good anime
So I’m a Spider, So What?
Fumiya is arguably the best gamer in Japan. However, in real life, he’s pretty much a loser. For him, if life is a game, it is trash. His classmate and fellow gamer Aoi Hinami, however, begs to differ. For her, life is a god-tier game. To help him realize this, she decides to provide him a “walkthrough”, so that he can finally “play” the game of life the right way and experience getting wins.
Number of episodes as of writing: 2
My initial thoughts:
Horimiya is the hottest new high school rom-com this season (might also check it out if the hype train gets hyped enough), but it was Bottom-tier Character Tomozoki that caught my interest. I found the premise unique, and the execution so far shows it has the potential of becoming a thoroughly satisfying feel-good anime
In a nutshell:
That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Spider
Number of episodes as of writing: 2
My initial thoughts:
Honestly, I’ve yet to see something remarkable about this isekai. So far, it seems a lesser version of That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime. Nonetheless, it has a decent amount of entertainment value. It kicks off with the MC starting out from zero and working her way up. She’ll probably become overpowered eventually, as that is the default for any isekai MC. And I often find such arcs enjoyable.
Mushoku Tensei: Jobless Reincarnation
That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Spider
Number of episodes as of writing: 2
My initial thoughts:
Honestly, I’ve yet to see something remarkable about this isekai. So far, it seems a lesser version of That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime. Nonetheless, it has a decent amount of entertainment value. It kicks off with the MC starting out from zero and working her way up. She’ll probably become overpowered eventually, as that is the default for any isekai MC. And I often find such arcs enjoyable.
In a nutshell:
A NEET in his 30’s. Truck-kun. Reincarnation. A sword-and-sorcery world. Power fantasy. Ecchi. Harem. It’s the stereotypical isekai.
Number of episodes as of writing: 2
My initial thoughts:
A NEET in his 30’s. Truck-kun. Reincarnation. A sword-and-sorcery world. Power fantasy. Ecchi. Harem. It’s the stereotypical isekai.
Number of episodes as of writing: 2
My initial thoughts:
It seems to be the most clichéd
isekai ever, and for that reason, I initially didn’t care for it. But as it turns out, the reason why it’s
packed with isekai tropes is because it (or rather, the original light novel) is
the “grandfather of isekai.” It actually
established many of the tropes that the modern isekai genre is known for. When I learned this piece of information, I
just had to check this anime out.
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