Naruto Returns:

Itachi Shinden arc begins next week.  The winter season is cresting now that Naruto and Dragon Ball Super are both out of filler.  We're back up to 18 shows worth watching airing simultaneously.

Meanwhile, in the Bleach manga, Urahara Kisuke has finally revealed his bankai.  That's great news, but it's still not enough.  Yoruichi should also have a bankai, as should Isshin, Ichigo's father.  In addition, Aizen should have a bankai, though it is possible that he just created the illusion of having a bankai in order to be accepted as a captain and he may never have actually had one.  In that case I would at least like an explanation to that effect.

For that matter, not only is it weird that Isshin hasn't revealed his bankai yet.  It's weird that he's not actually here even though the world is at risk and his son is in the middle of the volcano.  I would like an explanation to that mystery on top of his lack of a bankai.

Bleach is steadily making progress in eliminating loose ends, but there's still an almost uncountable abundance of them left to work through.  I don't see the manga ending this year.

Fairy Tail has a lot of explaining to do now that Urtear has appeared back in her normal youthful state.  It was a very emotionally moving scene to see her as a grandma, so for her to get her youth back after she supposedly sacrificed it is total bullshit.

Fairy Tail and Naruto both have a huge problem in that none of their characters who supposedly die or get irretrievably injured actually remain dead or injured.  It's very frustrating to see these emotional bait and switches played on you over and over again.  It's almost to the point that Pretty Cure, which promises nothing but happiness and rainbows from the start, is a far more serious and honest partner of a show than these two franchises.  I also like Bleach, where dead characters stay dead, thus giving the fighting a patina of importance.  Unfortunately, all the characters who die in Bleach aren't shown dying in the anime because the anime never got to the 1,000 Year Blood War arc.  Go figure.

Trump won Nevada by a landslide.  Let's just hope this momentum continues into Super Tuesday.  It's pretty much settled that Trump will win the nomination by now, but there's still the election proper to worry about.  There's no point winning the primary if it doesn't also lead to the presidency.