1. Zero Kara Hajimeru Mahou no Sho

Things hit the ground running in Zero Kara hajimeru Mahou no Sho rather quickly which endeared the main characters to me. We already had Zero with Mercenary in Episode one and then loli magician Albus aka the granddaughter of Sorena was there before we knew it. The other major benefit of the series is that it gives off big Spice & Wolf vibe which made fans warm up to it a lot faster than expected. Truth be told, the story was good and was also giving me Berserk vibes to a certain extent with 13 being a witch hunter as well. Of course too, the series was not all doom and gloom as there were comedic and slice of life moments.

I think that while the characters were all enjoyable to an extent, the best and binding glue, though he was dense often, was Mercenary. Just imagine using him as a pillow like Zero did or riding on him like she does. It would be awesome! I think the story too, up until the final part, was excellent and engaging. There were almost no dry points and the story moved along steadily. If there had to be one thing that could be improved on, it would have been the way Number 13 suddenly had a change of heart and become an ally. Overall still worth the watch. B+

2. Warau Salesman NEW

Not even going to lie, I was going to pass on this one because the art for Moguro is creepy. Now that is not to say that I find it paralyzingly terrifying, it’s just creepy. This series had to be introduced by a friend, for me to check it out, and as stereotypical as it sounds, I am SO GLAD that I did. I love nothing more than a character that is a firestarter. He reminds me a lot of Haruhara Haruko from FLCL with how he meddles in everything. True, Haruko had goals and aspirations within the series, but what is great about Moguro is that he just wants to sit and watch the world burn.

Like pulling off a scab that you should leave to heal but you do it anyway, the way Moguro pulls back the masks of people and gives them the means to achieve their goals is so satisfying. They always give into their desires, but it is great to see the struggles of the everyday person. This at the same time shows the duality of society whether it be western, african, or asian. It’s very rare that we see an anime that deals entirely with a critique of Japanese society. Sure, anime may talk about a topic like bullying, gossip, or something like that, but every single episode deals with an issue that is ever-present in Japanese society. At the end of the day, I think the fact is that while he is creepy, the morals and struggles that people deal with are very real and relatable. This was one of the very few shows I dropped everything in spring to watch, and I never was disappointed. I am sad that it’s off air now, but now I have a reason to go and check out the old season which has like 100-ish episodes. For this series I would give this a solid A- overall.

3. EroManga Sensei

Oreimo 3! Just kidding. The look into Masamune as he looks in on his shut-in step-sister Sagiri, and their adventures as he realizes that she is the artist drawing all of his illustrations for his novels. Suddenly their world and relationship has changed. Then, to add salt to an open wound, Elf Yamada, Masamune’s rival moves in next door and causes all sorts of havoc for Masamune and Sagiri. Eventually a few more characters are introduced and we are playing with a full deck of cards. Well kinda… there are still a few different characters that come, but they are rather necessary for the story! Then it’s all down to a writing competition to get a new book deal so that Masamine and Sagiri can keep living together and afford their lifestyles.

EroManga Sensei more than anything else, made us laugh. Was it gut-busting laughter? Nah. Was it enough to keep us coming back for more? Absolutely. The story was amusing and funny, mostly because of Sagiri’s reluctance and unwillingness to interact with anyone and refusal to go outside. It also left us ready to see what Elf was going to do to stir the pot further. They go through little adventures and we get to see Masamune struggle as he tries to build himself up a bit further in his career, but it’s an enjoyable viewing. Overall B+ for me.

4. Attack on Titan 2nd Season

AoT FINALLY was back after four years of them teasing us that it was coming. Now putting any and all personal feelings, let’s talk about AoT 2nd Season. It was great! Though, it was a rough first half of the season, overall, the series was good. It did a lot of things that I did not think it would including talking about mental health, the struggle of bearing a heavy burden, and what that burden can do to one’s psyche. The story opened with a lot of jumping around that sadly, really marred the experience that I had with the first season. I could not tell what the main part was until we learned that there were titans among the humans behind the walls! Talk about a plot twist and a good one at that. Suddenly, all of the other plotlines were forgotten as we tried to focus on what Ymir knew when it was revealed that she too was a titan.

The rest of the season focused on the rest of the corps trying to catch up and rescue Eren and co. While we cannot spoil it for you, the remainder was good and very interesting. However, the beginning of the season did cheapen the experience overall. Now that is not to say that you are going to hate it, but keep in mind, that while we did get a good second half of the season that was interesting and addicting, we still do not know why the titan was in the wall, why the walls are made up of titans, what the church knows, and how those who are, were turned into half-titan human beings. Overall B. If the score was based on the first half of the season, then it would have been a C for how many unanswered questions it left us with, and how it just dropped everything to save Eren. The second half would get an A because of how good, engaging, and overall kickass that it was. Plus, Ymir!