Horimiya: I knew I wouldn't like this series going in, but I thought in the interest of fairness I should give it a chance. As expected it sucks. The main boy is a thuggish monstrosity, bedecked in tattoos and piercings. The girl is awful enough to like him for that, which is somehow even worse. And then on top of it she's a violent gorilla that's constantly hitting him for no reason. In my ideal world anyone who either had tattoos or liked people with tattoos would be shot. Fail.
Kemono Jihen: Is this a horror? A mystery? A gay sex fantasy? It's hard to say, but it's about as visually offensive as possible either way. Everything is way too disturbing. Fail.
Mushouku Tensei: I tried the manga of this series and didn't like it, but I dropped the manga due to a scene after what occurred in this episode. This ep was perfectly nice. The anime is very well funded and very well executed, so maybe it can succeed where the manga failed. Supposedly this was the original isekai story which kicked off the whole trend, even older than Death March, so it's nice to see it being given the credit its due. Pass.
Idoly Pride: Idolm@ster meets Cross Game, or perhaps Anohana? In any case it's a really good combo. There are so many idol series these days but this one stands out in quality. I'm totally hooked. This could even make my rankings (though do my rankings really need yet another idol show. . .?) Pass.
Wonder Egg Priority: Another horror show, only better drawn than Urasekai Picnic. Again there's no rules, phantoms chasing you in your dreams that can actually kill you in real life, unclear win conditions, and a life that's totally out of your own control, in the palm of the hand of supernatural manipulators. Everything I disliked about the previous series applies here too. Fail.
Redo of Healer: I can't be bothered to remember the longwinded Japanese name. This is about as bad as a show can get. A 'healer' whose powers are so vague and undefined that they can accomplish seemingly anything, including time travel, is not a healer. So even the name of the series is a lie. Then, this guy uses some lame desire for revenge to justify an abominable mindset and lifestyle that doesn't even make any sense. How the hell does sleeping with lots of women help him get revenge? It's never specified. But it sure is a convenient excuse to be able to sleep with lots of women. How does using drugs help steel yourself against the allure of drugs in the future? Isn't the effect generally the opposite? Whatever, the excuse doesn't have to make sense, the point is this character wants to use drugs so use them he shall. It's not even clear that his revenge is justified. The heroes of mankind were fighting to expand their empire at the cost of the demonrealm. Is this really such a bad thing? Especially for humans, of which he is one? He was a worthless coward so they made use of him in the only way they could as a slave. Is that wrong? Sounds more like a proper utilitarian philosophy to me. In a war where everyone is putting their lives on the line, surely he can't think that his freedom or comfort is somehow sacrosanct? We all must sacrifice for the greater good, this just happened to be what was needed of him. The others also gave their all for the fight. What right does he have to run away?
Besides, it's now clear that if he isn't enslaved, all he does is sleep around, take drugs and plot harm to the kingdom, so perhaps the heroes were simply engaging in proactive self-defense? Oh well, to be nice we'll say that the heroes are bad guys and should be tortured to death by our time traveling hero. That doesn't mean the story is in the least interesting or engaging even if it is morally right. Let's say, for argument's sake, that a wise, good, just man would also sleep around, take drugs and torture princesses, in these specific circumstances. Does that still mean I have to watch this story? Or could I say that I find this twisted plot demented whether justified or not? Like, how many pretzels do you have to twist yourself into to want to even engage with such a ridiculous situation?
It doesn't even work as pornography. All the choice bits of the ladies are shrouded in darkness. The story would have made at least a little sense if they'd just gloried in the sex scenes, but they won't even give the viewer that pleasure. I can't believe a story with a plot this dumb still wants to take the high road and pretend it isn't gratuitous. So on top of its stupidity it's also arrogant enough to still imagine it isn't stupid. To lack self-awareness on top of everything else! Fail.
That's everybody, the full winter lineup. In summation, the series I'm currently following and looking forward to the most are in this order:
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