It has been far too long since I rated a season like this. The spring season of anime has only just begun, so I hope that I’m not too late to the party. I stalled in watching Doctor Elise and Frieren: Beyond Journey’s End. In the case of the latter, I have been trying to catch back up and have reached episode ten. Maybe by the end of the spring season, you’ll hear my thoughts on Frieren and the unique way I decided to watch it. Three anime below have not yet finished their runs, so I will eschew rating as of yet. Five of them will received a rating on a scale of one to five stars. Five stars indicates a masterpiece. Unfortunately, this season included no masterpieces. The most recent anime I gave such high marks to were Dororo, Promare, and Karakuri Circus–all from 2019. So, that means it’s been five years since an anime has risen to that level of perfection for me. Feel free to tell me if you think that there’s something deserving which I have not seen between then and now!
The anime from this season were enjoyable but average. I can only see myself going back to watch four of them again. Other than one slice of life and one science fiction anime, the anime below all fall in the fantasy genre.
1) Bottom Tier Character Tomosaki
Stories where a character has checked out of really living always grab my attention. Tomosaki finds joy in playing a certain video game called Attack Families, in which he ranks #1 in Japan. But, he drifts through school and does not make many friends. However, he learns that the class president, Aoi Hinami, is the #2 player in Japan, and she resolves to teach him how to enjoy living and to put him on the road to being satisfied with life. To this end, she arranges several goals for Tomosaki, which leads to him becoming more active in his school and developing various relationships with his classmates.
This scenario reminds me of the movie, My Fair Lady, which itself is based on a play of George Bernard Shaw titled Pygmalion. However, with Bottom Tier Character Tomosaki, the sexes of the protagonists are reversed such that we have a woman tutoring a man on social etiquette. The characters are all quite likable, despite Aoi Hinami reminding me strongly of Hillary Clinton. Not in regard to espousing political positions, but in her personality type–the type willing to use all available means for success in this world. For me, this serves as a reminder that everyone has some good in them no matter how much this good becomes effaced over time.
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Medieval Otaku 