I picked a fine amount of shows. A lot of shorts. I'm enjoying the season quite nicely, not in the level of winter and the main reason may be the big amount of sequels that I chose to ignore since there's too much stuff I'm not caught up with. But it has a bunch of series I'm looking forward to.
Alice or Alice: Yeah forget about this one. Burn it. Erase its existence. What a disgrace of a show. The longest three minutes I torture myself with each week.
Comic Girls: Must be in part my natural fascination towards all things slice of life but I'm growing fonder of this show than I could ever predict. The production values are excellent, the character chemistry and dynamics are great and have only got better, the comedy gets more solid by the minute and the occasional emotional touch is better handled than expected. A show that has steadily grown from an erratic introduction to a solid contender among the best of the season.
Fumikiri Jikan: My favorite short this season. It's less funny than I'd like it to be, but I stay for its genuine and unique sense of humor, it's like it exists in is own universe and doesn't need to refer to typical comedic tropes. A curious watch, and its highs are quite high. Irregular but always enjoyable at least.
Hinamatsuri: My second favorite of the season. I didn't expect it to be as consistently hilarious and its deadpan comedy really feels unique, I like the feeling that I'm watching a watered down performance of Gintama and it somehow finds its own identity and succeeds in equal terms. The two main characters are lovable and both Hitomi and Anzu can absolutely carry the entire show whenever they are on the main focus. It's also more moving and emotional than it should have any right to be.
Hisone to Masotan: Well, with the latest few episodes I'm less enthusiastic than I initially was, but it is still my favorite of the season. What a strange artifact this show is. I don't know what to do of it. Its production is stellar, it looks well in every department. Its writing is consistently witty and it has some of the best comedy of the season. The storyline seems to go for the playful mood instead of taking itself seriously, and at this point I'm uncertain due to a bunch of potential red flags but at the same time this is so wild and unpredictable that I feel I can keep watching and just accept everything it throws. This is an original story and it absolutely feels like it. A lot of fun, and the single most quotable, quirkiest, loveliest, best character of spring 2018 and not even close to the second, Hisone.
Megalo Box: It's very high in my list of the season as well. And it's an oddity because: 1) I don't like boxing, 2) I don't dig the artstyle nearly as much as all those who were absolutely into it from the beginning and 3) I feel like I know every single step of this story. But its atmosphere is engaging, its execution is great and it has a lot of energy overall as your stereotypical hero journey done right. Due to personal preference I can't place it as the very best of the current airing along with shows that speak to me in ways that I feel more personally attached or primarily fascinated to, but I'm surely going to remember this ride as one I enjoyed a damn lot with highs that were, perhaps, the highest of the season.
Rokuhoudou Yotsuiro Biyori: The obligatory "iyashikei of the season I need to watch because iyashikei" and well… it kind of shows the difficulty of making this seemingly easy and immediate subgenre work because it's not nearly as effective as some of its contenders, particularly after a season that had Yuru Camp (my AOTS of winter, and pretty safe bet for AOTY) and Hakumei to Mikochi (consistently lovely and warm). Something about the characters doesn't manage to click well enough. And it's not like the potential doesn't exist; particularly episode 6 is brilliant and manages to evoke the right kind of atmosphere to bring a powerful soothing experience. Too bad it's not consistent at this. I'm enjoying it, but sadly at a lower rate than I'd like.
Tachibanakan Triangle: A yuri harem with a lot of fanservice. It's bad, but at least it knows what it's doing. Not that it matters much, because what it's doing is still pretty lackluster. Another three minutes that I waste each week.
Uchuu Senkan Tiramisù: Lately it has got a bit stagnant but I was first surprised by how much I was enjoying this little show. It's absolutely dumb, but it's the kind of dumbness I can get into every week, to enjoy the absurd and the non sequitur.
Wotaku ni Koi wa Muzukashii: A likeable quartet of characters and a very positive social commentary on otaku and gaming culture that could survive through the good vibes it transmits alone, but it has also its amount of wit, good comedy and dynamic interactions. The episodes are more irregular than they should at this point, some jokes, particularly the gaming jokes, don't fit my tastes, and the visual production is absolutely abysmal, but hey, it's a fun experience I'm always looking forward to.
