Winter 2021 should be in the running for best anime season
ever. It was so stacked with quality
anime. Sequels to several reputable
anime titles simultaneously dropped this season. On top of that, there were also a good deal of notable new titles to choose from. I
really had my hands full watching anime this season. In total, I ended up watching 18 shows this
season – the most since Fall 2019 (although, I did drop two, so I only finished with 16). And those aren’t even all the anime I wanted
to watch. I never got around to watching
Beastars season 2 (I hope to catch up
to this soon) and SK∞, which is supposedly one of the
absolute best new anime of Winter 2021.
Same as always, I will be enumerating here all 18 anime I watched,
arranged from the worst to the best for me.
The Promised Neverland 2nd Season
The second season of The Promised Neverland pulled off one of the most
shocking twists in anime history: it sucked.
I haven’t read the manga, but I just knew that there was something off
with it around episode 3 or 4. Then, I
learned from the Internet that its story had proceeded to dramatically divert from
the manga, cutting off many of the things that made the manga special. This made me lose any motivation to watch
beyond episode 5.
Apparently, according to what I heard, it only got worse from there. The version of the story that the anime opted
for is not only radically condensed, but is also plagued by stupid writing – a
far cry from the intelligent script of season 1, which was a bona fide masterpiece.
And I think that’s why the second season seems worse than it really
is. It’s because it betrayed one of the
greatest single seasons of anime of all time.
The Promised Neverland season 2 will surely go down as one
of the most atrocious anime adaptation botches ever.
Redo of Healer
And this is how you can tell my intense displeasure with The Promised Neverland season 2: I ranked it below the godawful Redo of Healer.
To be honest, I did at one point genuinely become intrigued of this anime. Look at this show’s poster above. It looks so innocent. Yet this revenge fantasy/power fantasy anime
is actually packed with extreme NSFW content. The
weirdness and absurdity of it all compelled me to check it out.
The morbid curiosity eventually led me to read the manga. But after reading the manga, since I already
knew how the rest of the story would go, there was no real reason for me to
continue watching the anime, so I dropped it.
* * *
I had one of my best anime seasons with the remaining 16 anime series in this list.
So I’m a Spider, So What?
It’s carried over to Spring 2021, and I’m still watching. It’s a decent isekai.
Cells at Work! 2nd Season
It was actually great. But it only had 8
episodes. So, I don’t think it deserves
to be ranked any higher.
Dr. Stone: Stone Wars
Frankly, I think I enjoyed this arc more when I read it in the manga for
the first time. Reliving the experience through
anime didn’t do anything much for me. Dr. Stone season 2 was still pretty
good, though.
Heaven’s Design Team
Click here for my full review.
Horimiya
Click here for my full review.
Log Horizon: Destruction of the Round Table
Really glad to see the greatest MMORPG-based isekai back. I just wish season 3 kept “Database” as OP
(to be fair, the new one isn’t half-bad), and that it also had 25 episodes like
the previous two seasons.
Bottom-tier Character Tomozaki
Click here for my full review.
Suppose a Kid from the Last Dungeon Boonies Moved to a Starter Town
Click here for my full review.
5-toubun no Hanayome ∬ (The Quintessential Quintuplets 2)
Best stylized season 2 title ever?
Best stylized season 2 title ever.
Best harem anime ever? Best harem
anime ever.
Cells at Work! Code Black
Click here for my full review.
Wonder Egg Priority
Like Horimiya, Wonder Egg Priority was not one of the
new anime I picked up at the start of the season, but since it was generating
so much buzz about being one of the best of Winter 2021, I was compelled to
check it out. I’m glad I did. It’s gorgeous, unconventional, and delightful.
I still haven’t reviewed it, since the story isn’t complete yet. There’s a special scheduled on June, but I don’t know if that will wrap things up. Or it could turn out being just a side story, and it will be announced afterward that a new season will continue the main story. Either way, I’ve decided to watch that special first before I write my review.
Mushoko Tensei: Jobless Reincarnation
Among the initial six new anime series I picked up at the start of Winter 2021, Mushoko Tensei was
last. In the end, it turned out being the best of
the lot. Yes, it has problematic
elements. But, in general, it’s simply an extremely well-crafted fantasy anime.
Only 11 episodes ran during Winter 2021. Being a split-cour, the second half of this debut season is set for Summer 2021. My full review will come after that.
Jujutsu Kaisen
Click here for my full review.
That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime 2nd Season
Season 2 was originally meant to be a double cour, and would have gone on during Spring 2021. However, its second
cour was eventually pushed to Summer 2021, making it a split-cour instead. No matter, as long as the second cour end up
being as great as the first cour.
Attack on Titan: The Final Season
Although Winter 2021 was filled with many noteworthy anime, the
conversation was nonetheless dominated by the final season of Attack on Titan – and rightfully so. AoT
is not just any popular anime now; it has become a pop culture icon. And taking into consideration everything from
season 1 until this point, it’s been a legit masterpiece. Hopefully, the second half, which is set to
air in 2022, will nail the landing. Honestly, there’s
some cause for worry, as the ending of the manga is somewhat of a mixed
bag. However, I’m still optimistic that
the anime will still be able to make something utterly special out of that
source material.
Re:Zero – Starting Life in Another World 2nd Season Part 2
Okay. Attack on Titan: The Final Season will probably go down as Anime of
the Year. However, I genuinely think
that the second cour of Re:Zero’s
season 2 was just as absorbing, stimulating, and emotionally resonating. Technically, the two shows are tied for first
place here, but I decided to put Re:Zero
last – the place of honor – so that I can get across how much I really loved it.
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