Fall 2016 Season Wrap

Let us all breathe a sigh of relief that I have finally finished the fall anime! Thanks to my three-week honeymoon and a terrible throat infection/fever, I had a lot of catching up to do after returning home. There were a ton of wonderful shows this past fall that I was almost sorry to complete. 2016 as a whole was actually a great year for anime, and the fall season capped it beautifully. I hope you enjoyed the season and year as much as I did, and that you’ll share with me your thoughts and personal favorites!

• Bungou Stray Dogs 2nd Season
• Days (TV)
• Fune wo Amu
• Gi(a)rlish Number
• Haikyuu!!: Karasuno Koukou VS Shiratorizawa Gakuen Koukou
• Hibike! Euphonium 2
• Keijo!!!!!!!!
• Magic-Kyun! Renaissance
• Natsume Yuujinchou Go
• Shakunetsu no Takkyuu Musume
• Shuumatsu no Izetta
• Udon no Kuni no Kiniro Kemari
• ViVid Strike!
• Watashi ga Motete Dousunda
• WWW.Working!!
• YURI!!! on ICE

Fall 2016 Set Menu

Here comes my favorite season, with its cooler weather perfect for cozy hats, mittens, and scarves and its turning colors of purple, red, and yellow. This season is also when I start craving soups and stews, and my hot beverage intake skyrockets. We also have our fair share of rainy weekends leading up to the winter months, so that hopefully means plenty of time for anime and gaming.

Right now, KWoo and I are working our way through the final portions of the PS3 version of Tales of Graces F. I had played it several years ago, but never finished it. He’s liking it much more than Tales of Symphonia, which we completed earlier this year. I actually found a rough draft for my initial review of Graces F, so I’m hoping that I’ll have the time this second play through to actually write about it.

But back to this season’s choices in anime. As usual, this “set menu” is subject to change as the weeks progress. For now, this is what I have chosen:

• 3-gatsu no Lion
• All Out!!
• Bungou Stray Dogs 2nd Season
• ClassicaLoid
• Gi(a)rlish Number
• Haikyuu!!: Karasuno Koukou VS Shiratorizawa Gakuen Koukou
• Hibike! Euphonium 2
• Keijo!!!!!!!!
• Long Riders!
• Magic-Kyun! Renaissance
• Mobile Suit Gundam: Iron-Blooded Orphans 2nd Season
• Natsume Yuujinchou Go
• Occultic;Nine
• Shakunetsu no Takkyuu Musume
• Shuumatsu no Izetta
• Stella no Mahou
• Udon no Kuni no Kiniro Kemari
• Watashi ga Motete Dousunda
• WWW.Working!!
• Yuri!! on Ice

Winter 2016 Season Wrap, Part 1

It’s finally here!!! I’m so relieved to have made it through almost half of my winter anime now that Sakura-Con is over and the spring season looms ahead. This season didn’t strike in my target zone as frequently as ones previous, but there are still a handful of series worth noting.

• Kono Subarashii Sekai ni Shukufuku wo!
• Boku dake ga Inai Machi
• Haikyuu!! Second Season
• Diamond no Ace: Second Season
• Utawarerumono: Itsuwari no Kamen
• Akagami no Shirayuki-hime 2nd Season
• Ao no Kanata no Four Rhythm
• Dimension W
• Ojisan to Marshmallow

Fall 2015 Mid-season Menu

With my all-too-long summer list and my recent personal announcement, I hope you can forgive the late menu offerings. Consider this more of a mid-season review of where I am so far. Not all the shows are up to date, so there still stands a chance that some of them may be dropped before the end of the season. There’s also the fact that I’m looking forward to the upcoming Anime Secret Santa recommendations (all three of which are excellent) and the 12 Days of Anime.

• Comet Lucifer
• Dance with Devils
• Gakusen Toshi Asterisk
• Garo: Guren no Tsuki
• Gochuumon wa Usagi Desu ka??
• Haikyuu!! Second Season
• Heavy Object
• Noragami Aragoto
• One-Punch Man
• Onsen Yousei Hakone-chan
• Owari no Seraph: Nagoya Kessen-hen
• Rakudai Kishi no Cavalry
• Sakurako-san no Ashimoto ni wa Shitai ga Umatteiru
• Starmyu
• Subete ga F ni Naru: The Perfect Insider
• Utawarerumono: Itsuwari no Kamen

On the 6th Day of Anime — A Year of Sports Anime

Sports have never been my forte either in real life or in my viewing preferences, but I do tend to have one or two a year that I end up enjoying. That’s how I’ve found some favorites like the baseball anime Cross Game. This year, however, there was a torrential downpour of sports anime. I ended up watching much more than I have ever before within a year. Below are my choices, some of which are still airing.

Summer 2014 Season Wrap

This is probably the closest in a while to the end of a season ending that I’ve been able to finish on a timely basis and blog my final thoughts. Nineteen of the shows I’m watching finished up for the summer, with only four continuing on into the fall. The summer was full of its fair share of surprises, from Aldnoah.Zero’s and Zankyou no Terror’s endings to Nozaki-kun’s and Sabagebu!’s brilliant comedy.

Summer 2014 Set Menu (really, mid-season thoughts)

Summer is in full swing, and I’ve got the ridiculous shoe tan to prove it (thanks, TOMS). Along with the insistent sunshine and 80-90 degree weather, this summer has proven to be significantly busier than the previous, with friends’ weddings, festivals every weekend–currently it’s SeaFair here in Seattle–hiking, and a whole slew of new anime to watch. I’ve downloaded the VLC app to my iPhone to try and keep up with the shows while on my commutes to and from work. So far, this is what I have pinned down for my Summer Set Menu, and included are some mid-season thoughts:

Spring 2014 Set Menu

Spring is in full swing, the sakura have long since bloomed, and I’ve got a bustle of new shows to fill my spare time. Happy Spring, everyone! New shows include:

• Baby Steps
• Black Bullet
• Blade & Soul
• Bokura wa Minna Kawaisou
• Gochuumon wa Usagi Desu ka?
• Haikyuu!!
• Hitsugi no Chaika
• Kamigami no Asobi
• Kiniro no Corda: Blue Sky
• Love Live! School Idol Project 2nd Season
• Mushishi Zoku Shou
• Ryuugajou Nanana no Maizoukin
• Selector Infected WIXOSS
• Soredemo Sekai wa Utsukushii
• Soul Eater NOT!