This has been a very strange anime season. It started out pretty normally back in January, with everyone picking various anime shows that looked interesting to them. But before we knew it, the world was on lockdown from a terrible virus and we were told that staying home and watching more anime was the only way to save the world. What a strange situation for us to be in!
I thought I’d go over the Winter 2020 anime season and pick out the shows I really enjoyed, and recommend them to you!
A Certain Scientific Railgun Season 3
I’ve always been a fan of this series, and having it return after so many years was a really welcome thing. It had some delays due to the virus affecting the animation schedule, which means we still have a few more episodes to enjoy!
Science Fell in Love So I Tried to Prove It
A charming show about two rikei — meaning “science type,” as opposed to bunkei which would mean “literature-and-humanities type” — university students who fall in love with each other. But because they’re so hung up on science, they insist on doing experiments to make sure they’re really in love. It’s adorable to watch it all unfold. My write-up on the show is here.
Smile Down the Runway
A show that took me by surprise in the winter 2020 anime season, since I have no knowledge or interest in the world of fashion. Runway de Waratte is the story of a height-challenged girl who wants to be a supermodel, and two other characters who want to become fashion designers, and how they help each other. I especially like the way the characters progress towards their goals in a realistic way, rather than some over-the-top story that could only happen in a manga. Read my post about the show here.
Bofuri: I Don’t Want to Get Hurt So I’ll Max Out My Defense
A cute show about a girl playing inside a Sword Art Online-style fantasy world, but because she’s afraid of taking damage in-world, she maxes out her defensive stats. This enables her to become the most powerful character in the game. It’s a very soothing show for these troubled times! Read my post about the Bofuri anime here.
One gem from the current anime season has been Keep Your Hands Off Eizouken, about three girls who want to make anime. The star of the show has been Kanamori, the business-obsessed member of the trio, who can teach us about the importance of social media in reaching customers. pic.twitter.com/B9wYGFWXMz
— Peter Payne (@JListPeter) March 27, 2020
Keep Your Hands Off Eizouken
A show I liked so much, I blogged about it twice (here and here). It’s a charming story of three girls who decide to create an anime. The show obsessively captures the passions of the three founders of Studio Ghibli, and has a lot of important things to say to us about animation in general.
A memorable moment from Ishuzoku Reviewers. I’ll never look at mayonnaise the same way again.
Browse today’s top #ecchi items here https://t.co/UGtrSEmmy8
(NSFW tweet) pic.twitter.com/OYv2amkWvY
— Peter Payne (@JListPeter) April 6, 2020
Ishuzoku Reviewers
Finally, there’s a show that made a big splash by getting canceled, Ishuzoku Reviewers (aka Interspecies Reviewers). which got pulled from Funimation as well as most Japanese broadcast channels for having a higher level of sexy content then they were comfortable with. It’s the story of residents of a fantasy world who go on “adventures” to brothels where they have sex with various races of monster girls, then write Amazon-style reviews about their experiences.
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