Author: SuperWooper

Jigokuraku S2

Short Synopsis: Season 2 of Jigokuraku, where we hunt down a bunch of Taoist immortal monsters for the elixir of immortality.

Lenlo: So like many sequels, I feel pretty comfortable saying that if you didn’t like the first season, the second won’t change your mind. Yes, this is where I feel Jigokuraku’s narrative starts to pick up a bit, with the Tensen taking center stage and many of the mysteries around Tao and the Island beginning to be answered. So if your main issue was that nothing was happening, then you might enjoy this more. But at its core, Jigokuraku remains a shounen battle series fueled by Taoism where our unlikely heroes team up and defeat a bunch of immortal monsters. In my eyes, so long as the animation is solid (it is) and the story doesn’t interfere with it (it doesn’t), then that’s all I need.
Potential: 40%

Oshi no Ko S3

Short Synopsis: Oshi no Ko establishes its new status quo now that Aqua is busy with his variety show and B-Komachi is gaining popularity.

Mario: Here we have the new, hopefully final, season of Oshi no Ko. I’d say that this episode is more of the same, as it still has insights into the Japanese entertainment industry (Aqua has to shoot 4 episodes of his TV show in a day), with some twisted drama and heightened romance, sometimes not in a good way. I’m still not sure why Aqua, for example, avoids Kana for fear that her reputation would be affected if they were dating (or worse, that a stalker might attack her like they did Ai), but is still dating Akane anyways? Doesn’t he hold the same concern for her? The aspect of this episode I do like is how it is told from Mem-cho’s perspective, as she has been overshadowed by her teammates in previous seasons. What’s the deal with the man Ruby seeks out at the end? I guess we will find out in the next episode.
Potential: 40%

Sousou no Frieren S2

Short Synopsis: Season 2 of Frieren, where a pair of children babysit a 1000 year old elf as they travel the world.

Lenlo: And so we come to the final show of the season. I have to say, I’m really mixed on this first ep. A lot of the highs are still there (Himmel was once again the best part of the episode), it’s animated beautifully, and something about Atsumi’s performance as Frieren just pulls me in. But… Man has it never hit the same highs as those first four episodes. I’ve already gone on a rant about the stupid crystals in Discord, how they found a palm-sized one on the side of the road but somehow no one has found or noticed the cave with literal billions-of-dollars’ worth of crystal like, 50 feet under the main road? Hey Wirbel, those demons? Walk 20 minutes down the road, you might find something to help! It’s stuff like this, or the exam arc, that don’t live up to the carefully crafted world and story that I initially fell in love with, which makes it difficult for me to really recommend Frieren. I think, overall, there’s still a lot to love and enjoy about the show, and it’s most likely going to be one of the prettiest shows of the season, but I can’t confidently say it’s going to be one of the best.
Potential: 60%

Trigun Stargaze

Short Synopsis: Trigun, but it’s not really Trigun, it’s a weird new Trigun, but man does it look really pretty.

Lenlo: Hey, Milly is finally back! I’ll admit, I don’t remember much about Trigun Stampede, as it was kind of all over the place. So a decent bit of this first episode made absolutely no sense to me, especially after how season 1 ended. Even with that hurdle though, I had fun. Studio Orange continues to make CGI work, with beautiful animation and incredible facial and full body expressions, Trigun really does look great. But outside that… I’m torn. I’m really not sure how much fans of the original show will enjoy this remake. If you’re able to separate it from the 90s anime, think of it as its own unique thing (which I suspect anyone still interested after the first season will be able to), then it should be a good, if confusing, time. If you’re not though, if you’re somehow still stuck on this being Trigun and not Trigun Stargaze, I think you’ll be put off by how different everything is. Personally though, Studio Orange go brr, I wanna see what their take on the series is and watch some pretty lights as they do.
Potential: 40%

Prism Rondo

Short Synopsis: The young adult heiress to a kimono boutique enrolls at a prestigious art school in early 20th century London.

Wooper: Prism Rondo (Love Through a Prism) may be the most Netflix anime ever to Netflix. I don’t typically bring up streaming services when doing these impressions, as they’re really just delivery systems for the shows themselves, but this one falls so neatly into one of its home site’s subgenres (young woman navigates life in a trendy European city) that I was taken aback. Not every anime set at an art college needs to match Honey & Clover’s level of oddity, but Prism Rondo falls on the opposite end of the spectrum, opting for total straightforwardness, and I wasn’t convinced by that choice. The school where protagonist Lili enrolls is quite traditional, so some amount of presentational simplicity is appropriate, but the “become the top student in six months” mandate from her parents offers too clear a path forward in my mind. On the plus side, the visuals are very nice, especially the background art, which is the biggest draw of this premiere. Yasuko Takahashi’s character designs, too, give everyone a striking appearance – even passersby on bustling London streets and within the halls of St. Thomas Art Academy. I’ll keep watching this one for its setting and female focus, but something tells me I won’t make it through all 20 episodes.
Potential: 30%

The Holy Grail of Eris

Short Synopsis: A young girl is possessed by the spirit of a disgraced dead noblewoman who helps the girl navigate the noble court.

Lenlo: So I guess we’re haunted by the spirit of a dead noblewoman because we witnessed her last moments, and she occasionally decides to help us out as we navigate noble society? If I’m being perfectly honest, I zoned out roughly halfway through Eris. Neither Scarlet nor Constance were particularly interesting to me, and the opening scenes of the execution and the ballroom that were meant to set the series up both fell flat. I guess if you’re looking for some kind of girl-boss rising through the ranks of the nobility with the help of Casper Scarlet the friendly ghost, this could be fun, but for me it was a whole lot of nothing. Still, there was nothing offensively bad about it or anything. It was just dull.
Potential: 5%

Shibou Yuugi de Meshi wo Kuu

Short Synopsis: Cute girls participate in death games for money, and no matter what happens so long as they survive they’ll be put back together.

Lenlo: I’m really not sure how I feel about Shibou. Narratively I’m probably in, decently executed death games with casts who take it seriously are fun, and Shibou seems to have just that. It wasn’t afraid to off people right from the start, and it managed to be brutal about it without being excessively gory or over the top. Visually though… Someone is trying something here, and I’m not convinced it works. Are we Monogatari, with the numbered scenes, pastel color palettes, and weird low-detail splotchy wide shots? Or are we Hand Shakers with the diffused lighting, rapid cuts and weird, excessively detailed eyes? I don’t know! There’s a distinct possibility that Shibou is blowing everything it has on its first episode with a double feature and that the rest of the show is nothing like this, it is Studio DEEN after all. But to figure that out I’ll have to watch more, so Shibou has at least succeeded at hooking me for a second episode, and that’s all you can really ask of a premiere.
Potential: 60%

Jujutsu Kaisen: The Culling Game

Short Synopsis: Season 3 of Jujutsu Kaisen, you know what this is at this point, don’t yell at me.

Lenlo: So the thing about JJK is, it’s really just a vibe at this point. The narrative, the characters, all of that is kind of mediocre to me, none of it is interesting or particularly well written, aside from a quick arc with Maki I do quite like. So the question then becomes, why bother watching it? Well because someone as MAPPA is clearly in love with it, because the production is bonkers, in more ways than one. Sometimes beautiful and fluid, sometimes incoherent and messy, JJK is never not visually interesting to look at. So many different color palettes, it’s not afraid to just splash some purple or green or red on the screen, some really stark lighting at times that I love, it just looks good. So as I said at the top, don’t watch this for the narrative, watch it because it’s a vibe and someone at MAPPA took drugs while animating parts of it.
Potential: 50%

The Case Book of Arne

Short Synopsis: An immortal, all-powerful vampire solves cases involving mysterious monsters, and then murders them.

Lenlo: I dunno, it’s fine? Arne feels like it can’t decide whether it wants to be a mystery thriller about a vampire detective solving supernatural mysteries akin to Undead Murder Farce, or an action series with an OP MC “Strongest vampire king” who utterly destroys and overpowers the “evil” supernatural forces. It’s clearly meant to be like, the endgame of each story is Arne defeating them physically after figuring out their scheme, but it doesn’t really work for me. Slap on a vampire obsessed child following our lead around, and the knowledge this is based on a mediocre video game, and I’m just not interested enough to try out a second episode. Still, there isn’t anything outright terrible about it, so maybe you can find some fun?
Potential: 10%

Champignon no Majo

Short Synopsis: A day in the life of a forest-dwelling young witch who is known for her poisonous mushrooms.

Mario: Woah, this show came out of nowhere and charmed my socks off. While witches are a common topic within anime, this one just breathes and feels different from these other shows. Heck, I don’t even know where Champignon no Majo is headed after this episode. For now it’s about Luna the Black Witch, who lives alone but not by herself, as she has a bunch of familiars and spirits whom she can talk to. Every time she heads to the nearby village though, everyone would be scared of her because poisonous mushrooms appear after every step she takes. The art style itself is soft and pleasant – the show doesn’t go big on animation but I feel the static shots work well in this context. The script is really big on narration, which isn’t a bad thing in this case as it communicates a lot about things we wouldn’t know otherwise (like how the apothecary and the librarian clean up everything she touches). While I don’t really know about the big picture, what we’ve seen of Luna’s life so far has already convinced me to continue watching it. At least I know I have a protagonist worth rooting for.
Potential: 60%

You and I Are Polar Opposites

Short Synopsis: A neurotic yet cheerful high school girl and her reserved seatmate kick off their new relationship after holding hands one afternoon.

Wooper: As far as romcom premieres go, this one was impressive – maybe my favorite since Komi-san’s first episode in late 2021. Polar Opposites (Seihantai na Kimi to Boku) has a narrower gap between its quiet and loud moments than that show, since its soft-spoken character actually speaks, and the personalities of its supporting cast aren’t as exaggerated (so far). But both have strong visuals, attention-grabbing character designs, and noteworthy OPs. That last point is especially true for Polar Opposites, as although it dabbles in the same smartphone theme as a lot of recent high school anime, its opening also throws in a handful of other styles for good measure, from manipulatives to chalk to Lego (both 3DCG and physical). The episode itself wasn’t as experimental, but its willingness to cartoon-ify its heroine made her relatable rather than merely quirky, and the wordless boldness of her crush pushed us into reciprocal romantic territory with a speed befitting a modern entry in the subgenre. There’s already a sense that Suzuki and Tani-kun are compatible despite their differing personalities, as she sometimes craves the sort of calmness he provides, and he appreciates her energy despite his own quietness. Theirs ought to be an amusing relationship, so I’ll be following it this season.
Potential: 70%

Yuusha no Kuzu

Short Synopsis: A bounty hunter (known as a Brave) is approached by two junior Braves to help them rescue their kidnapped friend.

Mario: I’m not sure if I can get behind this show’s main concept: there are people known as Braves who use their special powers (by injecting ether into their cheek) to fight monsters and save the world? Somehow we just get thrown in the middle of the story so it’s hard to navigate at times. What is clear is that our main character, a washed-up Brave, thinks differently than his peers about the so-called noble profession they share. Yuusha no Kuzu doesn’t skimp on the brutality, and the MC’s slippery personality contrasts well with the earnestness of the younger characters. This wasn’t that bad of a premiere, but I’m not that excited to watch more of it either.
Potential: 30%

The Darwin Incident

Short Synopsis: A human-chimpanzee student goes about his daily life while eco-terrorists plot in the background.

Mario: I suppose the reason for Darwin Jihen’s appeal is that we still don’t know where it wants to go with this premise. On the one hand, I do like Charlie as the main character and the way he navigates the world. He has a different point of view than a typical human protagonist, and he isn’t afraid to be who he is. On the other hand, the way the show blatantly delivers that message by having a lot of humans who say terrible or racist comments to him just for the sake of it is just… too in-your-face. I feel the plot is going to evolve much more than what we see here, but if the show can keep Charlie as the main protagonist, I am fairly confident that he can carry the show. Just maybe… ease up on the humans.
Potential: 30%

Lenlo: So like… When I first saw the key vis for this, I thought Darwin was about like, a monkey playing chess or something? But instead it’s about a human-chimpanzee hybrid going to high school with his best friend/love interest, and the animal-rights people who rescued him are now back as terrorists? I’m so confused. Why does this exist? Who made this? Why? Everything about it is kind of just weird, from his offputting design to this basically just being a loner story but there’s actually a damn good reason for this kid to be a loner this time. It’s kind of just an odd show. There’s nothing especially bad about it, but there’s nothing particularly good or noteworthy either. It sort of just… exists.
Potential: 15%

Osananajimi to wa Love Comedy
ni Naranai

Short Synopsis: A high schooler is torn between romancing either of his childhood friends, both of whom are head over heels for him.

Mario: This is the first of the harem shows I mentioned several posts ago, and to be brutally honest it’s even worse than the title makes it sound. This dude has two childhood friends who want to eat him alive, and we see things from both his perspective (acting cool despite being aware of their attraction), and the girls’ perspective. The MC having no personality is pretty much a given, but what’s worse is the blatant ways they try to seduce him in front of their class via the “childhood friend” wildcard. Looking at the OP, there will be a few other girls joining this harem as well. This is the first show I watched in 2026, and it wasn’t a good way to start the new year at all.
Potential: 0%

High School Kimengumi

Short Synopsis: Numerous five-person clubs full of oddballs vie for influence in a school where no one is expected to learn anything.

Wooper: I expected to rely on fansubs for this show (a remake of a comedy manga adaptation from the 1980s), but one streaming service or another actually picked it up despite its lack of western appeal. That’s unmistakably a good thing, but as for this premiere itself, it was unmistakably bad – more than that, it was one of the most obnoxious anime episodes I’ve seen so far this decade. It started innocuously enough, with a transfer student making a minor fool of herself during her introduction, then expressing her amusement at a Mad Max-parodying quintet who busted into the classroom afterwards. Coming into this episode, I knew their superdeformed antics would power Kimengumi’s comedy, so her interest in their club of dumbasses didn’t throw me. What did surprise me, though, was just how little breathing room the show left itself once these five pranksters got going. Trampling rival clubs, emerging from desks like Jack-in-the-boxes, stuffing bread down people’s throats while sprinting around campus, biking downhill fast enough to warp the space-time continuum – there was no rhyme or reason to anything that happened in this episode beyond the first few scenes. Even a comet bearing the label “GRADUATION” crashing to Earth and aging the characters up to high school wasn’t weird enough to serve as a conclusion, since the show went on for five painful minutes after that point. Even by gag manga standards, this was total trash.
Potential: 0%

The Demon King’s Daughter
is Too Kind

Short Synopsis: One of the Demon King’s lieutenants repeatedly tries and fails to rid his boss’s daughter of her kind-heartedness.

Wooper: There must be at least 50 Demon King-themed anime in existence by this point, so I didn’t think much of this show when I was going over the winter 2026 chart, but this episode surprised me with its charm. Misaki Kuno was cast as the king’s daughter for her trademark baby voice, I’d imagine (she also played Momo in 3-gatsu no Lion), and your tolerance for her delivery will be the biggest factor in whether you enjoy the show. Personally, I found it somewhat cloying, especially when combined with her character’s incorruptible innocence, but the daughter’s relationship to the rest of the cast made up for it. I like the concept of a ruthless demon who wants to conquer the entire universe, but has to put his plans on hold due to the soothing influence of his daughter (maybe I’m just at the age where I’m beginning to want a kid, even though I work with kids all day). On the older side of the spectrum, there was a subplot about an elderly human dollmaker, complete with flashbacks to her loved ones (now deceased) to whom the dolls had once belonged – that scene, along with the mutual love between the dollmaker and the demon princess, had me tearing up at a couple points. This show won’t bowl anyone over with its visuals or story, but it made me smile, and that’s worth a little something.
Potential: 30%

An Adventurer’s Daily Grind at 29

Short Synopsis: A traveling swordsman adopts an ordinary-looking orphan girl who turns out to be a succubus.

Wooper: Let’s address the Japanese elephant in the room upfront: the cute little kid adopted by this show’s adult protagonist is a succubus who transforms only at night, staring lustfully at her new caretaker’s sleeping form. Somebody had better check Freud’s grave, because this premise may have been Oedipal enough to bring him back from the dead. This plot twist doesn’t feel especially compatible with the show’s comedic tone, seeing as it’s packed with chibi cutaways and ironic on-screen text, but a bit of Googling tells me that this bit of bait isn’t particularly relevant to the overall story of the manga. Even so, I’m not interested in making Adventurer’s Daily Grind part of my Weekly Anime Grind, as its dungeon-crawling lite fantasy world is entirely nondescript. The animation maxes out at “competent,” which renders the humor ineffective – scenes of secret succubus Rirui failing to defeat a lowly slime monster, for example, might have been funnier if they weren’t composed mostly of still images. The edgy episode-opening flashback to adventurer Hajime’s unforgiving childhood didn’t do the show any favors, either. Guess it’s back to waiting for Frieren’s second season to rescue fantasy anime from their self-imposed hell.
Potential: 10%

Dead Account

Short Synopsis: A rage-baiting YouTuber harnesses his spiritual power to fight his dead sister’s ghost, born from her social media account.

Wooper: There are a bunch of anime subgenres and trends that I’m not into, but works themed around social media are near the top of the list, if not number one. Dead Account is one such series, opening with a narrator asking the audience what happens to deceased people’s social media accounts after they die. The real world answer is obvious, but we’re deep enough into the internet age that this question might captivate younger viewers, especially if they’re into the paranormal, since the show’s answer has to do with ghosts. Yes, Dead Account is yet another ghostbusting battle shounen, and one riddled with additional tropes on top of its already tropey premise: a protagonist who does dirty jobs to pay for a family member’s medical expenses, an antagonist with a narratively pointless verbal tic, a secret school where the hero will be taken to awaken his spiritual power. I found this premiere to be extremely tiresome, especially because it lacked the high production values of other shows in its niche (one of which is airing its third season this winter). It’s more plain than it is ugly, but the real killer is the writing – it’s a twisted coincidence that the show’s plot revolves around dead people’s SNS, since this episode may as well have been written by a corpse.
Potential: 5%