Winter 2023 Anime Reviews
Thoughts on the Winter 2023 season of anime
Before we get into it, shout out to Kiran’s newsletter, AnimeBuff. He writes about anime and draws cute little pictures to go along with his words. Recently, Kiran is encouraging us to draw inspiration from Bojji (Ranking of Kings) when it comes to believing in ourselves to achieve our goals.
I started writing reviews for each anime that I watched from Winter 2023 but found my to-do-list was quickly getting longer and longer and I had no way of being able to keep up while working my day jobs. So my solution was to create a post that was just my thoughts on each series I watched this season.
Oniichan wa Oshimai!
Onimai was one of my favourites this season, and for good reason. A series that was a meme before it even started, people were expecting trashy fanservice and pandering characters. But the show ended up being a beautifully animated commentary on gender, identity and relationships.
Recommended / Mixed feelings / Not recommended
Ijiranaide, Nagatoro-san 2nd Attack
Season 1 of Nagatoro-san was generally well-liked amongst anime fans, and season 2 was no different. With many of the same gyaru x nerd shenanigans, it’s amusing, cute, and there’s a bit more romance in there too.
Recommended / Mixed feelings / Not recommended
Fumetsu no Anata e Season 2 (To Your Eternity Season 2)
After the emotional rollercoaster that was Fushi’s existence in season 1, To Your Eternity S2 has been somewhat of a let-down. This season tries to speed through a story that seemed very intentionally slow-paced at first. The pacing in season 1 was a refreshing break from all the isekai nonsense going on around it, and it was nice to delve deeply into a character that was trying their best to become human. Season 2 struggled to find itself the way that season 1 did.
Recommended / Mixed feelings / Not recommended
Cool Doji Danshi
Cool Doji Danshi originally started in October of 2022, but if you’ve been following along for the past 24 episodes, you’ll know it was an awesome ride. It follows four guys in their daily lives and how being hot and clumsy is a personality trait. It’s not the most well-animated series and the characters aren’t deep at all, but it was 10 minutes a week of silliness that was appreciated after a long day.
Recommended / Mixed feelings / Not recommended
The Magical Revolution of the Reincarnated Princess and the Genius Young Lady
I’m just gonna say it. I’m so sick of magical fantasy anime. Done. I’m not sure if it’s because I’m older and I prefer slice-of-life shows now, but if I see one more character living in a world where people cast spells I’m going to write a strongly-worded letter to Fumio Kishida explaining how tired I am of fantasy anime. They’re all the same. There’s always a character that’s good at magic and a character that’s shit at it and they have to learn to be responsible. I don’t care anymore. MagiRevo was supposed to be the yuri anime of the season but it didn’t even do that right. I was putting this anime on in the background while I played League of Legends ranked because I couldn’t sit through an episode without falling asleep.
Recommended / Mixed feelings / Not recommended
The Vampire Dies in No Time Season 2
Now this is podracing. It’s actually the second season of one of my favourite manzai animes. Draluc and Ronaldo are once again being silly, goofy guys with their cute armadillo roommate, John. KyuuShi is in my top 10 comedy anime of all time thanks to the constant switching of the straight man and funny man played by a vampire and a vampire hunter — genius.
Recommended / Mixed feelings / Not recommended
If you’re looking for more good anime content, make sure you check out AnimeBuff! You can also find AnimeBuff on Twitter. Or me, if you like what I have to say.
Let me know in the comments what I missed from the previous season and what you’ll be watching during the current season!