Welcome back to…Fandom Friday! As you know it’s been quiet around the blog what with so much of life and other projects going on. But despite all that, I did manage to watch anime last season–perhaps not all I had set out to, but certainly enough. Now, the only problem was that…not a lot of them left that big of an impression on me. So, instead of doing a top five anime of the season (because honestly, I would struggle too much), I decided to switch up the formula and just talk about some honorable mentions and choose our number one right off the bat. You know, keep it short sweet and to the point.
One anime that I rather liked, though perhaps Star didn’t quite agree on, was Skip and Loafer. This was pretty much the quintessential seinen of the season–and perhaps of the year. Okay maybe that is a little dramatic, but I really did enjoy it. What I had thought would originally be a slice-of-life romance, ended up being a slice-of-life drama. The story focused more on the budding relationships of all the characters as friends — friends you would never expect to even be friends. While the premise was so simple, it was done SO well. Literally going down as one of my favorite slice-of-life anime. By the end of the show, I wasn’t even trying to think of whether or not Shima and Mitsumi were ever going to be together as a couple, I was just happy they could lean on each other as friends.
On the opposite side of the spectrum, we have a show that Star really liked and I was only meh on. This show was Hell’s Paradise. Now, I know Star really enjoyed the action of this anime–loved how the main character had a love interest prior to the show that he held onto, uncomplicating his plot by getting rid of any romance, and the symbolism behind the overly sexualized plant gods on the island. I personally found Hell’s Paradise only alright. I enjoyed it sure, but I felt like we just didn’t get enough of a story for me to really like it–I need season two and more. Now I did do a quick search–not to spoil myself but instead to find out if there’s going to be more to the story than a simple battle royale and the simple answer is–no. It really is just a battle royale. But it is supposed to be like the best fantastical battle royale, so while it ranked high now, we’ll see about it in the long run.
When it comes to the best anime of the season, I think Star and I can agree on what the best was (and I would think other people agree). That show is none other than Oshi no Ko. This show was honestly SO good. It was an entirely unexpected hit for me–mainly because when I saw how long the first episode was, I was a little skeptical. I am under the belief that most anime first episodes have no business being an hour long unless there’s a REALLY good reason for it. And I’m going to be real–no hour-long first episode has been worth it…until Oshi no Ko. This show was a wild concept of isekai, idol life, and murder mystery and it really REALLY works. Everything about it is outstanding. The story is well crafted, the characters extremely likable, and the animation–good kami the animation! It’s so crisp and colorful. I can tell that Sentai Filmworks poured a lot into this anime due to its extreme popularity as a manga. Honestly, though, it’s a good use of effort because it truly does feel like a masterpiece through and through. I think the only thing that holds it back from that status is that it’s only season one and it’s a continuing series so who knows how long it’ll go on for? Still, if anything Oshi no Ko is certainly the best anime of Spring 2023.
Yeah so we might not have a top-five anime of Spring but we certainly have at least the top three. And most importantly, we have a best anime of the season to join Buddy Daddies as a nomination for best anime of the year. What did you all think though? Did you love Oshi no Ko or hate it? Or what do you think was the best of the season? Let us know what anime we missed out on!
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