Lenlo: It’s here folks, another season is on the horizon! You might notice something different about this one. It’s just me! Don’t worry, I just assume everyone is busy. That or this place is mine now. Whatever the case, there are a decent number of series worth keeping an eye on this season. From returning behemoths like Jujutsu Kaisen and Mushoku Tensei to new blood like Helck and Zom 100, not to mention some weird originals like Ayaka. On top of that you have all the Isekais that I either refused to engage with when creating this post or that I just legitimately over looked. Lucky for me I watch at least one episode of everything when a season starts, so anything missed will be covered there. For now though, lets dive into what I will be paying attention to this season. And don’t forget to vote below and let me know what you’ll be looking out for as well!

Going to be a Dumpster Fire

The Girl I Like Forgot Her Glasses

Studio: GoHands
Director: Katsumasa Yokomine with Susumu Kudou as Chief Director
Series composition: Tamazo Yanagi
Source: Manga

The Premise: A highschool romance between an audience surrogate and a forgetful girl that never remembers to bring her glasses to school

Lenlo:  Now I’ll be honest, I have absolutely nothing against the original work nor have I read it. However TGILFHG (Jesus I need a better short hand) has one unfortunately funny thing going for it: GoHands is making it. GoHands is…  I’m not sure they’ve worked on a single project that didn’t become a meme. From Hand Shakers to W’z, this studio has a reputation for taking the most mediocre ideas and somehow bringing them down even further. It’s kind of hilarious how disastrous their productions are. And with them working on not 1, but 2 shows this season, both directed and scripted by the same people who did Hand Shakers… Well I can’t help but grab a bag of popcorn and look forward to the memes they produce. And hey, if we (Or GoHands) are lucky? Maybe this one will be watchable.

Going to be Contentious

Mushoku Tensei: Jobless Reincarnation Season 2

Studio: Studio Bind
Director: Hiroki Hirano
Series composition: Toshiya Oono
Source: Light Novel

The Premise: S2 of Mushoku Tensei, Rudeus continues his journey of just how many women he can assault and little girls he can groom! And also maybe some magic.

Lenlo: Alright, Mushoku Tensei. I’ll admit, this is going to be a contentious one, as I know a lot of people love this. And in a way I can understand why. The production is fantastic, far better then Mushoku Tensei deserves, it predates most, but not all, of the Isekai tropes giving it a different feeling then a lot of modern stuff, and it has a lot of young girls in skimpy outfits with a lead character who gets away with assaulting them. Honestly? If that last one didn’t bother me so much, I’d probably enjoy it. But the sad thing is that I, and many others, can’t. Mushoku Tensei is a show that basically OKs and supports child grooming and sexual assault, never once really punishing Rudeus for his behavior. Is it possible that changes? Maybe, I’ve heard some interesting things about this season in both directions. But if it does, I won’t be watching it to find out. As for the Mushoku Tensei fans? Enjoy yourself. Don’t let people give you a hard time. I personally can’t stand it, but don’t let my or anyone elses dislike of it stop you from enjoying your show.

Rent-a-Girlfriend Season 3

Studio: TMS Entertainment
Director: Shinya Une
Series composition: Mitsutaka Hirota
Source: Manga

The Premise: S3 of Rent-A-Girlfriend, the premier trashy harem romance show of the modern era!

Lenlo: Another show that I don’t watch, but that I can’t leave off the list because it’s just that important. Personally? I think the series is incredibly trashy and doesn’t have much going for it. There isn’t an ounce of genuine romance in the series for me. But I also know a lot of people who swear by this show, and love it. They love the trashiness, the more risque nature of it’s romance. And if you’re one of those people? Then just like the Mushoku Tensei folks, enjoy it. You’re getting another season, it’s probably going to look pretty good, and it’s definitely going to be one of the biggest shows this season in terms of discussion. My only regret is that I don’t have someone else here who has seen the show to really talk about it and let you know what you can expect. So if you’re a fan, if you’ve read the manga and know what’s coming, leave a comment and help your fellow fans out!

Middling Expectations

BLEACH: Thousand-Year Blood War – The Separation

Studio: Studio Pierrot
Director: Tomohisa Taguchi
Series composition: Masaki Hiramatsu and Tomohisa Taguchi
Source: Manga

The Premise: S2 of Bleach: Thousand Year Blood War. Picking up where we left off as Ichigo and co take the fight directly to the Quencies!

Lenlo: Here we get to the first show of the season I will be watching. Make no mistake, this is where Bleach’s story falls off a cliff. It wasn’t that great to begin with, but the opening section of the story at least sort of made sense. This? This is where it gets ridiculous. The only saving graces Bleach has at this point are Tite Kubo’s ability to make literally any fight kind of awesome and Shirou Sagisu’s musical talents. The first one it’s possible Pierrot will fuck up, and I’m kind of expecting them to. They’ve never been good at consistency, so I expect most of the show to look terrible while one or two awesome fights get all of their resources. Sagisu though? This man can do no wrong. Forget about his involvement with the 2016 Berserk, just focus on what he made for Evangelion and the original Bleach seasons. Seriously, I’m really looking forward to whatever he can pump out for us.

Rurouni Kenshin: Meiji Kenkaku Romantan (2023)

Studio: Lidenfilms
Director: Hideyo Yamamoto
Series composition: Hideyuki Kurata
Source: Manga

The Premise: Remake of the 1996 anime Rurouni Kenshin. Set during the Meiji Restoration, a former assassin has given up the sword and seeks to live a quiet life atoning for his deeds during the war. But he will soon find that he is not the only relic still walking the streets.

Lenlo: This is a weird one. I have very fond memories of the original Rurouni Kenshin. I view the Kyoto Arc as one of the best Shounen arcs ever made, with Trust and Betrayal as one of the best OVAs ever made. And as such, I generally don’t think it actually needs this remake. The original series still holds up, and the thought of redoing it without the original VAs, many of whom are iconic, just feels wrong. Yeah, this will no doubt move better. Animation as an industry has progressed a great deal, and the original series was never the height of animation. But I have my doubts on if it will actually be better as a sum product. The PV we got certainly doesn’t feel like Rurouni Kenshin, instead looking like its focusing on the action and not the heart of the show. But I’m still going to give it a shot. Maybe it will be good. Hopefully it will at least be fine and I can at least relive some childhood nostalgia. Worst case? It burns down my memories of a beloved older show. So… nothing big?

Atelier Ryza: Ever Darkness & the Secret Hideout

Studio: Lidenfilms
Director: Emma Yuzuriha
Series composition: Yashichiro Takahashi
Source: Video Game

The Premise: A fledgling alchemist sets out with her friends to achieve her dreams, becoming an adventurer of sorts.

Lenlo: I don’t actually know much about the Atelier games. In fact most of my exposure to Atelier Ryza is fanart and memes, specifically ones about thigh gaps. From what I understand, this isn’t a “Save the world” kind of series. Rather it’s a much smaller stakes “Go on an adventure” sort of series. Most likely there will be some action, some jokes and some ecchi, with the entire thing leaning more towards the wholesome end. Whatever the case, I’m going to give it a shot. If only to see just how thicc those thighs can get.

My Happy Marriage

Studio: Kinema Citrust
Director: Takehiro Kubota
Series composition: Takahito Oonishi, Momoka Toyoda and Ami Satou
Source: Light Novel

The Premise: A young noblewoman is married off to a supposedly heartless soldier. Can they open their hearts to each other? Or is the romance doomed like so many before her?

Lenlo: This probably seems like an odd one for me to be interested in, but bear with me. I have 2 reasons why I’m paying attention to My Happy Marriage. The first is that I enjoy non-traditional romance settings. Workplace, period pieces, really anything that isn’t an anime highschool. Our leads being adults is just the cherry on top, as I think that generally makes the romances much better and more engaging. Adults tend to have way more going on in their lives after all. And the second reason? Because the director, Takehiro Kubota, also directed Episode 6 of Ping Pong the Animation, which was the Christmas episode. And for those who don’t remember, that episode was fucking amazing. Those two facts are enough to make me at least have My Happy Marriage on my radar. Hopefully it works out.

My Tiny Senpai From Work

Studio: Project No. 9
Director: Mitsutoshi Satou
Series composition: Keiichirou Oochi, Satoshi Sugisawa and Yasuko Aoki
Source: Doujinshi

The Premise: An absolutely stacked short woman starts work at a company with a serious and doting senior employee. Also it’s based on a doujin.

Lenlo: Lets be upfront here, we all know why we watch shows like this. It says it right there in the “Source” section. This series is based on porn, and almost everything else the studio has produced is, at a minimum, ecchi. Because of that you might be wondering why the hell this is on my radar. Well that’s simple. Remember the last show we talked about, My Happy Marriage, where I mentioned I like non-highschool romances? Well this is set as adults in a workplace, which means it has at least a small bit of my interest. That and I also like short women, because I’m 6’1″. Do I expect this to be good? No. Do I expect to watch more then one or two episodes? No. But I will watch them. I just might not admit it.

AYAKA

Studio: Studio Blanc
Director: Nobuyoshi Nagayama
Series composition: GoRA
Source: Original

The Premise: One day an orphan is found by a disciple of his father. They then travel together to the strange land of Ayakajima, a land ruled by dragons and mysterious beings called “Mitama”. Can they bring harmony to the collapsing lands?!

Lenlo: The only original on this list, I am automatically at least a little interested in it. The production doesn’t look like much, which makes sense coming from Studio Blanc, and the actual story seems pretty straight forward. But the freedom being an original series gives means that Ayaka has the opportunity to at least do something interesting. At the very least it should hopefully sit above all the isekai shlock of the season.

And speaking of Isekai, you can shove all them being produced into this tier as well. Might one of them be decent? Yes. Will I bother watching or writing about them all? No chance in hell.

Shows We’re Anticipating

Helck

Studio: Satelight
Director: Tatsuo Satou
Series composition: Toshizou Nemoto and Mitsutaka Hirota
Source: Manga

The Premise: With the Demon King defeated by the legendary heroes, it is time for a new one to be chosen. Imagine the demons surprise when one of the competitors is the brother of that legendary hero, Helck.

Lenlo: I remember Helck fondly when I read the manga. It reminds me of One Punch Man in a lot of ways, though in a more fantasy setting. It’s a comedy series with a heart, all about an overpowered lead coming to live with a marginalized people (Demons). I think it’s rather cute in a lot of ways, a fun wholesome series with the occasional bits of action. Coming from Satelight I don’t expect it to be a visual powerhouse, but with Sakugan under their belt it should look decent. All in all, I’m looking forward to Helck. I just don’t expect it to be the best thing of the season.

Undead Murder Farce

Studio: Lapin Track
Director: Shinichi Omata
Series composition: Noboru Takagi
Source: Novel

The Premise: A woman without a body and a man born to a demon travel Europe solving mysteries.

Lenlo: This is my “serious thriller” of the season. I’m looking for mystery, some action, and a sexy ladies head talking down to me. I assume that Shinichi, the Kaguya-sama director, can at least give me that last one as it’s something he’s been doing for years. And as for the mystery? Well this is coming from a Novel, which gives me hope that it’s a tad better written then most of the Light Novel/Manga adaptations we get. So yeah, consider me interested.

Highest Expectations

Jujutsu Kaisen 2nd Season

Studio: MAPP
Director: Shouta Goshozono
Series composition: Hiroshi Seko
Source: Manga

The Premise: S2 of Jujutsu Kaisen, now featuring Shibuya.

Lenlo: This is a fun one, because I feel like I have very different expectations for it then Jujutsu Kaisen fans, yet we are both expecting it to be good. Fans are probably looking forward to what they view as one of, if not the best, arc of the series. One that has been lauded to hell and back. Personally though? I’m just looking forward to some awesome animation and spectacle. I actually don’t much care for the Shibuya arc, I think it’s perfectly fine and nothing more. That isn’t an insult, it’s a solid fun arc with some good segments. I just don’t think it’s anything legendary or culture shifting, I think Jujutsu Kaisen fans are overselling it. Anyways the point of all of this is: Expect a big event in the anime community and for MAPPA to, hopefully, bring their A-Game to bring that to life. If nothing else, we are going to get some absolutely wild action sequences.

Zom 100: Bucket List of the Dead

Studio: Bug Films
Director: Kazuki Kawagoe
Series composition: Hiroshi Seko
Source: Manga

The Premise: A Japanese salaryman welcomes the zombie apocalypse because it means one thing: He never has to go to the office again!

Lenlo: The key word to describe why I’m looking forward to Zom 100 is “colorful”. Everything about this PV looks like a fun, colorful, good time. Like something akin to the Zombieland films, where it’s just about jokes and the absurdity of a zombie apocalypse. I’m not expecting this to be a serious series, and I honestly hope it isn’t. I really just want a Dorohedoro sort of stupid insanity. Whatever happens though, I hope Bug Films knocks it out of their park, as this is the debut work of the studio. No doubt they are going to try and make a statement with it. So for better or worse, this will probably be a ride.