spring 2023 anime

this blog post goes through this list on https://www.livechart.me/spring-2023/.

introduction

winter 2023 was... definitely having less popularity than before. there are nearly no new shows that became insanely popular, so let's see what are we having for this upcoming april, which is commonly seen as the "big" season along with fall every year.

i will only list out the ones that i find myself interested in viewing. also, attack on titan final season final part 1 will not be included as it is a special episode already aired in march.

the following are listed in the order of its premiere date (i am aware that [oshi no ko] has already made its episode 1 premiere in japan cinemas, but i am counting tv premiere in here).

sequel/spin-offs

edens zero s2

i think i watched a few episodes of fairy tail as a kid when it used to air on tv, and the few things i remember from it was that blue cat (which i didn't even know its name) & the main character. so i found out that the same cat, now knowing that it's called happy, appearing in this not-so-fairytail anime, i decided to check it out by watching its first season. as of typing i am still a few episodes in, but i really like the space & sci-fi futuristic premise, and shiki is the type of anime character that 12-year-old me would fall in love with. so i hope i can finish all 25 episodes before the s2 airs this saturday night.

kuma kuma kuma bear punch! (s2)

honestly i have no idea why i decided to check out the s1 of this while being very much against isekai anime, but despite all of its overused isekai op mc tropes & how the whole vrmmmo system just reminds me a lot of sword art online, it did surprisingly feel good especially after a full day of work, it's just the show for turning off my brain to watch a bear girl fighting some monsters. the bear image is also cute, and i really like yuna's laid-back voice too.

 

konosuba - explosion spin off

good ol' konosuba - honestly, i remember nothing from the previous 2 seasons, well maybe the iconic takahashi rie "EKUSUPLOSHON!!" (and i had no idea who takahashi rie is when i first watched konosuba lol), and i remember having some really good laughs from it, so i might as well check out what comes next.

 

ancient magus' bride s2

honestly i already forgot most of s1 despite only watching it a few months back - but what i remember is that wit studio made wonderful visuals & the storytelling is just something else. chise also gave me chills for some reason. let's hope this newly set up studio kafka can continue with the amazing viewing experience like i had with s1.

 

tonikaku kawaii s2

the thing i like most about tonikaku kawaii is how it managed to put in a ton of anime references from over the decades. apart from that, the s1 is a pretty nice escape-from-reality watching experience by imagining myself getting married in the future lol. so let's see what s2 has to offer.

 

gundam - the witch from mercury s2

 

ever since the last scene of s1 became a meme, that particular scene has become the first thing that comes into my mind whenever i see the witch from mercury. i am looking for more twisted personality & conflicts between the characters as to what it offered us in s1, but at the same time i am wanting more suletta x miorine moments? idk im torn.

ranking of kings spin off/special

 

i still haven't watched the main series of this as of typing, but i have heard quite a lot of good stuff from this show, and the characters do look cute. and i am totally not putting this into my plan to watch list because of my favourite seiyuu voices one of the main characters. if i enjoy the main series, then i may as well check out this spin off (or special? actually i have no idea). im glad that its airing like 2 weeks into april so i still have the time to go through all 23 episodes.

new shows

heavenly delusion

damn, the pv looks intriguing as shit. on one hand you get to see kids living in a utopia - and on the other hand you see adults living in a dystopia outside of it. when will the 2 worlds collide? i am having high hopes for this to get good. and fuck disney+ for jailing this amazing show. also i see production i.g. then i am sure that it won't be fucked up. god, i am so looking forward to this.

 

hell's paradise

mappa making another dark battle fantasy anime after jujutsu kaisen and chainsaw man? hell yes. also it now should be called kobayashi's paradise cuz just look at how many kobayashi's in the already announced seiyuu cast list (jk). mappa i'm begging you to not fuck up the animation like what you did with all the cg in chainsaw man.

the dangers in my heart

i am simply here for yorushika's op. the premise does look interesting - but i hope the male mc won't cringe me out too much, given he's a chuunibyou. also, i am having hopes towards this as the production team of takagi-san is doing this. if everything turns out well, this should be one of the best romcoms in this season.

my clueless first friend

why isn't this talked about more? the characters look very cute and comforting to look at. judging from the pv & the animation style, i can already tell it's gonna be my weekly source of iyashi. pretty much looking forward to how it's gonna heal my soul.

my home hero

finally, an anime that has a cast of 30/40-year-old adults instead of high school teens. heard that the mystery is pretty good & it requires a lot of brain juice, so let's give this a try, and hoping tezuka production isn't going to fuck up the fight scenes.

 

skip and loafer

i got recommended this by a friend, and after checking out the pv, i feel like this is going to become my weekly source of turn-off-my-brain moments. i am always open for nothing but slice of life shows that puts focus on the slice of life. also for some reason the main girl just reminds me too much of baka from wasteful lives of high school girls, but it's probably just a me problem.

 

working for god in a clueless world

i was not particularly interested in this one until looking at the seiyuu cast - hm? isn't this basically tonikaku kawaii with enoki junya & kito akari voicing the main characters? also from my previous experience, isekai anime based on manga usually do stand out in their own way (e.g. fantasy bishoujo in winter 2022 & handyman saitou in winter 2023), and from the premise of this one it sounds like it's gonna be one of these shows as well.

opus.colors

at this point i don't really care about the story & premise as i know nothing about art, and the only thing i care about are guys looking good & the seiyuu cast. having nearly 0 expectations towards this, but let's see what will happen 3 months later.

the legendary hero is dead!

i heard that this is from a manga in 2014 that has ended for some time, so putting this into the overwhelming amount of isekai & yuusha & maou era, it would probably lose some of its potential fans, which is kind of a shame. seems like this is going to be a parody of this whole genre, so i am expecting myself to have some good laughters from this.

too cute crisis

i am a simple person. i see cute things then i'm totally in. THIS CAT IS SO CUTE ok that's it im gonna sit until the end of this.

 

mashle

this looks like harry potter and the magicless guy, expect the guy trains his muscles to a point where he overpowers everyone else with magic. this seems like it's going to be one of the most talked about shows as it comes from shounen jump - and is jump lately obsessed with western-inspired shows? as this gives me my hero academia vibes for some reason. this seems to be something that i can have fun with my family too.

rokudo's bad girls

this seems like a really fun comedy to have some laughs at. also im here for gang (although i'm not sure if this qualifies as gang?) fights.

magical destroyers

this gives me akiba maid war vibes, where it's also otaku culture and the main characters wanting to protect it. so far the premise looks interesting enough for me to check it out, and since it's an original anime, i'm expecting some plot twists.

death mount death play

for some reason i keep mixing up this with dark gathering airing this summer & undead unluck airing this fall, so why not just watch all 3? also the premise looks interesting - given reverse isekai is quite rare, and i am hoping that the fights will be good as i really like this kind of urban fantasy with a lot of fights.

insomniacs after school

satou gen voicing a romcom mc with insomnia? seems just like yofukashi no uta/call of the night. slightly off topic - but i was a crazy insomniac when i was in high school, so i am lowkey expecting myself to relate to the characters in terms of this, but no i did not fall in love because of it lol (sobs).

the marginal service

when the first teaser visual came out, twitter was going crazy cuz why is everyone naked??? my first thought was, damn cygames doing enough torture to girls now they're turning their target towards boys isn't it? then the seiyuu cast was announced - damn they sure are rich af to feature miyano mamoru, sugita tomokazu, nakamura yuuichi etc in the same anime, but then all the noise died down when the pv came out? why is that? do anime with a main cast of boys just automatically turn people away? but anyways i am here not just for the seiyuu cast, but also on how cygames would fuck up these boys.

[oshi no ko] 

from the comments of people who attended the episode 1 premiere in japan cinemas, it seems like the quality of this is going to be assured. i am also very exicted for this as there is FINALLY an idol anime that is 1. going mainstream and 2. tackles the dark side of the entertainment industry. the characters with stars in their eyes also make me physically uncomfortable - but i heard that it's on purpose - so i am trying so hard to avoid spoilers of this as i want to dive into it completely blind.

conclusion

honestly this spring does not make me as hyped as i was comparing to last spring & fall, maybe because i never watched kimetsu no yaiba & dr stone where these 2 being the most hyped up shows for this season, and all other anime are trying to avoid being in the same season as kimetsu no yaiba that the ones that i am interested at are all at summer, which is supposed to be a "weak" season, for some reason.

regardless, i am expecting myself for some pleasant surprises, and let's hope my expectations are fufilled by the end of this spring!