I’ve been watching anime since the 90s, but have a few very popular series that I missed out on for one reason or another. Finally planning on watching this major blind spot for me with this rewatch group: Dragon Ball! I think my grand total experience is half an episode I watched years ago, and I have no idea which series it was!

For some reason, the way Dragon Ball was advertised at the time and the Toriyama art never appealed to me. Interestingly, after watching a few episodes, I am totally sold on the Toriyama style. Seeing it in motion and context gives such a vibe that I’m struggling to describe. There’s something cozy, innocent-yet-dark, and beautiful about the way the show embraces its spirit of adventure, and super does not care if things don’t make sense or happen just because they’re cool or fun.

Again, I’m just starting this journey with almost no prior knowledge (only one or two major late story spoilers I unfortunately caught over the years…), so perhaps my feelings will change, but I’m loving the first three episodes.

A few more thoughts:

• I love how innocent Goku is. I have no idea why he is how he is. I’m sure there’ll be more backstory eventually.
• The frequent lewd thoughts, dialogue, and actions are a bit much, definitely verging on sexual assault at times. Master Roshi is hard to tolerate in particular. It’s saved by the framing of Goku’s absolute innocence and his completely different (or lack of) understanding of gender, nudity, boundaries, and autonomy. I’m sure this’ll be a recurring theme, but initial impressions feel like it was being edgy to be catchy and I’m not totally onboard how it’s being handled so far.
• This world is really weird. Dinosaurs, guns, motorcycles, anything-in-a-capsule, magic clouds, etc. Wow.
• I’m really surprised how many Dragon Balls they have already! I’m sure something will happy to scatter them or lose them or something, but it makes it pretty engaging to feel like they’ve already made so much progress so quickly.
• I was expecting more padding of episodes. I worry this’ll be a problem later on when it got more popular. I was kinda expecting My Hero Academia level pacing, which I found rough a lot of the time.

I super appreciate how everybody is being very careful about spoilers in this thread. I know very little and would prefer to keep as limited as possible to enjoy it fresh. Thanks y’all!

It’s been a wild few months, y’all. Fell behind and never posted a Fall 2024 wrap up, so I’m just doing it all now. Here’s a combined Winter 2025 and Fall 2024 set: 

Winter 2025 wrap up

Watched current releases: 

• Zenshu - Surprise hit of the season for me. Incredibly creative animation throughout, good story, great characters. I think the finale could have been slightly workshopped, as it didn’t quite land for me as hard as I thought it would, but overall excellent. Easily on my short list for best of 2025. Teetering between 9 or 10/10 for me.
• Solo Leveling S2 - I had slightly lowered expectations for this for some reason. Maybe I was just expecting a second season slump or maybe it would draw out major plot points to milk more content. Nope: this was ridiculously fast paced and plowed through major reveals and moments so fast that it was hard to keep up. There were a lot of build up moments in between, while starting to introduce a lot of new characters and beginnings of a bigger plot that felt a bit rushed and less exciting. But overall I loved it. 9/10.  

Watched past seasons: 

• Kaiju No 8 - Holy crap that was sooo much better than I expected! I’m not sure why I thought this wouldn’t work for me, but it kept me super engaged throughout and action was nuts. One of my favorites of 2024. Definitely will check out future seasons. 9/10. 

Dropped (from any season): 

• Shangri-La Frontier - Tried first episode and it really didn’t click with me. Strongly disliked MC. Likely done. 
• Guild Receptionist … - Watched 1/2 of season and dropped. Characters feel too archetypal and rigid, with no growth or feeling. Not interested in bigger plot and initial premise ran thin very fast. 
• Sakamoto Days - Watched 3 episodes I think. It’s just fine. I want to click more with the characters, but something isn’t flowing well. I dunno. 
• You And Idol Precure - Watched 1 episode from a recommended list. Super not vibing with me. 
• Momentary Lily - Watched 1 episode from a recommended list. Really didn’t like the characters or the animation style. 

Eventually watch from this season: 

• Apothecary Diaries S2 - Watched a couple episodes before I realized this wouldn’t be complete this season. It’s excellent, but I’ll wait until it’s all out to watch at a quicker pace. 
• 100 Girlfriends S2 - I like the meta and over-the-top absurdity, but really struggle with some of the problematic content. Maybe 1/2 through season? I’ll probably finish S2, but I’m guessing I won’t follow to S3. 
• Fruitmaster … - My guilty watch of the season. I know it’s not great, but I’ll defend it that it’s not trash! About 2/3 done. 
• Castlevania Nocturne S2 - Most of the way through and enjoying this a lot. Nocturne S1 was just okay for me and this is a big step up. I loved the OG S1-2 and these aren’t quite at that level. 
• Medalist - Not typically my thing but it’s so highly rated that I should give it a try. Unfortunately, it’s trapped in Hulu jail. I’ll subscribe sometime this year for a month or two to catch up on a bunch I’ve missed out on the last couple years. Just really annoying to subscribe to both D+ and Hulu. 
• My Happy Marriage S2 - Tried an episode of S2 and I’m close to dropping it. I find the politics difficult to follow and the main premise frustratingly overdone. I think the initial premise was way more fun and different and could have been a compelling short anime. I’ll probably give it another couple episodes. 
• Beastars S3 - Waiting until the full season is out later this year. 

Fall 2024 wrap up:

Watched current releases: 

• Dan Da Dan - Easily my favorite of the season and on my short list of favorites for 2024. Wild story, awesome animation, great voice acting, just incredibly produced. I do have some significant complaints about plot points that almost made me nope out. Despite that, this is easily a top tier for the year. 9/10. 
• Ranma 1/2 - I grew up watching OG, and wasn’t convinced this needed to exist. I was pretty interested after 1/3 of the season, but fell off again towards the end. I feel like the content is kinda dated and feels like an artifact of the time. I wasn’t ridiculously impressed by the animation quality, and they were going for a manga-style that didn’t vibe with me. It’s good, but I unfortunately didn’t love it as much as the OG, which I’m sure wouldn’t hold up today either. 7/10. 

Watched past seasons: 

• Wistoria Wand And Sword - Not top tier, but surprisingly solid. Animation is fun, characters decent, world is kinda interesting. It’s a good B tier imo. 7/10. 

Dropped (from any season): 

• 365 Days To Wedding - Tried a couple episodes. Didn’t click. I think I didn’t like either of the two main characters much and found it hard to relate. 

Eventually watch from this season: 

• Re:Zero S3 - Watched intro “movie” episode. It’s decent, but I’d forgotten so much context that it was hard to care too much. Decided to wait until the whole season is out before binging. 
• Orb … - Tried one episode. Not sold on it, it feels really dark and not so fun. I’ll probably give it a good try now that it’s all out. 
• Dragon Ball Daimo - I’d like to watch all the Dragon Ball shows eventually, but have never watched any. I think I’m going to participate in the OG rewatch that just started. 
• Is It Wrong … S5 - I sorta liked the first couple seasons. Might get to this eventually. 
• Blue Box - Not my typical thing but it’s reviewing well, so I’ll give it a shot some day. Probably try now that the full season is out. 
• Arcane S2 - Not anime. Only watched some of it. It’s excellent, but I need to be in the right mood to totally appreciate it.

Well, I’ve been meaning to finally watch Dragon Ball at some point. Three episodes per week is a pretty manageable pace, although I’m sure there will be weeks I fall behind due to travel or busy plans. That’ll end up being 51 weeks to complete the 153 episodes, just about a year. I’ve only watched maybe half an episode of any Dragon Ball series ever, so I’ll be real fresh.

Barely been able to watch lately. At least finished a few things I’ve been tinkering at for a while:

• Ranma 1/2 remake S1 - It ended up being just fine for me. I’m not sure what it would’ve taken for me to love this like I loved the OG when I watched it decades ago. I appreciated the better pace and less time wasting fluff and recaps. I bet I’d find the OG nigh unwatchable these days, anyway. I guess I was hoping for a more interesting contextual update considering modern times, but instead it was even more faithful to the OG manga. Still fun and worth watching imo.
• Kaiju No. 8 - Wow that was a fun and entertaining ride. I loved it. Definitely will continue watching future seasons.
• Fruitmaster - I know this is bad and universally panned. But I’m weirdly enjoying it. Pls don’t judge me lol.
• Sakamoto Days - Only a couple episodes in. It’s good, but not blowing me away.
• Receptionist… - Couple episodes. Good, also not blowing me away.

Definitely plan on catching up with several more seasonals when they get closer to wrapped: Solo Leveling S2, 100 Girlfriends S2, Re:Zero S3, Apothecary Diaries S2, Happy Marriage S2.

Thanks for all the work y’all have put into this place. I’ve enjoyed participating here. I certainly post quite a bit more than I ever did on /r/anime. Hope to keep this place around.

I’m not following a ton weekly this season. Dandadan is the clear winner and is amazing, a real contender for AOTY imo. Also watching Ranma 1/2 and it finally clicked in episode 3 for me. I now think it’s vastly outperforming the OG, mostly because of the improved pacing and minimal padding.

I’m waiting for Re:Zero S3 to mostly wrap before jumping in. I’d rather watch it a little quicker than weekly.

Only watched a bit lately. Just keeping up with 3 so far: 

• Dandadan - Holy crap this is a ride. Like others said elsewhere, the first episode threw some major flags for me, but apparently that kind of thing is extremely rare, so I’m strapped in for the rest. Also that OP is #1 for the year imo. 
• Re:Zero S3 - That first 90 minute episode should have been more exciting, but I spent most of it trying to remember who everybody was or why I care about all these meetings and that somebody is being rude to somebody. The last 15 mins and the second episode finally got me hooked again. 
• Ranma 1/2 - Heavy nostalgia for me. I’m not convinced this is better than the OG anime so far. I really love the old style (even after watching several comparisons) and miss the old OP. I’ll probably finish it just for curiosity if nothing else.

Surprisingly great season. Actually had a good amount of time to watch new and catchup too. A bit heavy on romance, but so many variations that it didn’t feel too repetitive for me. 

Completed/almost-completed new releases: 

• Oshi No Ko S2 - I think there’s another episode or so left in the season. Great season, lots of character development and overall plot movement too, although didn’t land quite as hard as S1 for me. 9/10
• Makeine - Surprise hit of the season for me. Really loved it. One episode left that is a new anime-only story written by the original writer iirc. I do wish it had simply avoided a few tropes completely, but that’s about my only complaints for this gem. 9/10
• Pseudo Harem - Another surprise. Loved this adorable couple, and almost didn’t give it a shot because the title didn’t sound like something I’d be interested in. Beautiful complete series in only 12 episodes. Honestly one of my top romance animes all time. 8/10
• I Parry Everything - Another out of nowhere really fun show. I really enjoyed this, in a silly what-is-happening way. Reminded me a lot of Helck, in a good way. 7/10
• Dungeon People - Filled the gaping hole left by Frieren and Dungeon Meshi. Very good, although the art style made me think this would be more chill than it ended up being. Some surprising violence and adult content. 7/10
• Days With My Stepsister - Shocked this turned out so good. It’s one of the most nuanced and careful presentations of young adults trying to make the best choices they can. I wish it didn’t have the titillating premise, because I’d love more romance anime that took its characters this seriously. 7/10
• Alya Sometimes Hides Her Feelings … - I think I’m tapping out after this season. I found the political intrigue not engaging and several of the characters grating or extremely unbelievable. It’s fine, just not for me. 6/10

Tried/dropped new releases: 

• My Deer Friend … - Too hit or miss. 
• Plus Sized Elf - Not for me. 

Previous seasons shows completed: 

• Dungeon Meshi S2 - Current frontrunner for AOTY, edging out Frieren cour 2. Absolutely loved it. 10/10
• Scavenger’s Reign - Not-anime but excellent. Gripping and engaging bizarre world. 9/10
• Cyberpunk Edgerunners - Phenomenal production, but not my favorite world. Still great though, maybe 8-9/10? 
• Hell’s Paradise - Grew on me over time. Really enjoyed the last episodes and looking forward to S2 eventually. 8/10
• I Was Reincarnated As The 7th Prince … - Silly fun and light. Enjoyed a lot. 7/10
• Carol and the End of the World - Not-anime, but very interesting. 7/10

Future wrap-up from this season: 

• Terminator 0 - Haven’t been in the right mood. 
• Wistoria - 5 episodes. Good animation, great action, and fun story. Probably finish. 
• No Longer Allowed … - I’ll give it another shot, but might drop soon. 
• Spice & Wolf - Only watched a couple episodes. Interested in more when I have time. 
• Nier Automata - I’m currently playing the game, so after that I’ll probably watch the anime. 
• Slime-San S? - Eventually. 
• Konosuba S3 - Eventually. 
• MHA S? - Eventually.

Caught up on a few current seasonals and enjoying them a good amount. Frieren, Solo Leveling, and Dangers in my Heart have all been good to great. A smidge behind on Delicious in Dungeon and Apothecary Diaries, but all super good.

Started Vinland Saga from the beginning, and realized that I think the Netflix auto summary (which I accidentally read while trying to start the series) spoiled a major S1 plot point because it was teasing S2. But I’ve never watched any of it, so that super sucks.

Finally got to watching Suzume. I really liked it. Your Name is one of my all time favorites, and Weathering With You was good but not great, so it was really nice that this almost got to some of Your Name’s highs for me. I love the magical realism of Makoto Shinkai’s movies. And this one jumped right into it from the beginning in such a way that I had no idea where it was going to go for such a full length movie. Animation was excellent and I found the characters and journey more believable and relatable than Weathering. It’s on Crunchyroll. Strongly recommended if you haven’t made time for it yet!

I’d prefer episode discussion here. I love seeing discussions about an episode I just finished. And it seems like this season we’re seeing a bit more activity? To me, this is the most important content I come here for. Perhaps it’d be okay to be separated, but it hardly feels spammy if it’s only for popular shows that most/many people are watching.

Comment bot seems not worth the effort compared to a google search.

Didn’t even know about the old Wiki. I just google that stuff.

Yea. I kinda get why they’re doing this exam, but also kinda don’t see why Frieren isn’t just “f that” and go anyway. Feels like they’re not making progress towards their goal, which feels meh.

And any episode that heavily features Fern pouting as a plot point (which has been a surprisingly commonly used point) I find a little tedious. Just an IRL thing I find very frustrating too. Modeling poor communication in anime and movies is a pet peeve.

Still enjoying Frieren a bunch though. Just not 10/10 definitive AOTY for this cour.

Caught up on Dangers in my Heart, Frieren, and Solo Leveling.

Honestly… I’m kinda not feeling this season as much. They’re all good, but not super great. Dangers, in particular, I found much more impactful last season. Not sure if it’s production quality, or just where the story is at. Or me…?

Even Frieren hasn’t been hitting the same highs. I didn’t realize the current arc was going to be so drawn out. It still kinda feels like absolutely nothing is happening, but then something really cool happens. I dunno. Maybe winter is getting to me.

Of the three, I think I’m enjoying Solo Leveling the most, so maybe I’m just looking for some dramatic action or something.

Been busy, haven’t watched much. Only thing I really watched the last couple weeks is I finally finished Pluto. It was… fine. I was expecting more, based on the hype. There’s a lot I liked and a lot that should have been cut or changed from the source (in my opinion). The episodes are quite long, the pacing is all over the place, the story progression is flawed, and way too much happens to service the needs of the plot. Still, it was well produced. I liked the animation, style, music, characters, Japanese voice acting. I think it’s about as good as the source could allow. I think this opinion is kinda controversial, so hopefully not offending anybody too much.

Good week.

• Wrapped up Helck S1. It was good. Didn’t end super strongly, but I was satisfied. Overall, it ended up way higher rated than I was expecting and really enjoyed it. It’s silly, but has a lot of heart, and the world is better thought out than I was expecting. I hope they make a S2!
• Frieren still super good. It’s a shame the episodes are only 2 minutes long… or at least they feel that way…
• Solo Leveling finally got to its premise. I’m all about goofy video game life stuff. Enjoying it a lot.
• Apothecary Diaries - slowly catching up. I love the gravitas to everything. Maomao is a gem. I love the very very minimal fan service, considering how often brothels are a major part of the story.
• Pluto - about halfway. I dunno, it’s good, but I also kinda find it boring. I want to like this more than I am. The way the plot is progressing makes it hard to cheer for anybody, or even feel like we’re (as standins for the protagonists) actively learning and doing anything. It feels so reactionary and passive. The world is cool and I like a lot of the characters… but every 15 minutes it’s like oh hey here’s brand new people that are super important and there’s no way you could’ve known any of this.
• Still enjoying The Dangers in my Heart and Delicious in Dungeon a bunch. I’m definitely finishing both of these.

Actually had a decent amount of time this week to watch. Enjoying several of the new shows.

• Delicious in Dungeon - First two episodes were a urprisingly fun and well animated. Had no idea what this was and really liking it!
• Frieren - Still really good. Although I do miss having some small arcs instead of mostly self contained episodes. Feels like things haven’t been moving much lately.
• Solo Leveling - First two episodes were pretty good. Not sure where it’s going. Hasn’t blown me away.
• Apothecary Diaries - Still catching up. Somewhere in first cour, and it’s really good.
• 100 Girflriends - Finished S1. It was okay. I liked the completely absurd moments, and did not at all see some pivotal moments coming, which was fun. But the harem itself is hard for me to care about. I strongly dislike the child-like girlfriends. It’s hard to shake the yuckiness of those.
• The Dangers in my Heart - First episode of S2 so far. I love the vibes of this show. It feels so relatable and touching. This is likely a must-watch for me. I always feel so cozy after one of these.

More happening this season than I expected!

Wait they nuked those weekly threads? Wtf?? There goes about my only meaningful contribution. Guess it’s dead to me. I really like having a history of my thoughts on various shows, and if there’s no trust that it’ll exist in the future, then there’s no point posting.

Haven’t been able to watch much over holidays.

I did start a few episodes of Apothecary Diaries and instantly loved Maomao. Looking forward to catching up on that.

Wrapped up Girlfriend Girlfriend S2 and it was okay. I’m not sure I’ll continue if they make more.

I feel the same! I’m wrapping up world 6 and wondering when there’s going to be any challenge or clever secrets! There’s only been a handful of stages with double exits, every wonder flower is damn near unmissable, and there’s been maybe a couple times that I grunted “oh that’s clever” when seeing a hidden something. I like the creativity of each wonder flower being different, but I was definitely expecting a lot more based on the extremely positive reviews! I haven’t finished the challenge world (I think I’ve discovered 4 so far?) and only one of them took me more then 2-3 tries. Almost every level I’ve 100% cleared on my first try. I’m not a platforming savant, I swear!

Been a very busy week so haven’t had a lot of time to watch.

I did manage to get HiDive working after the update, so caught up on Eminence in Shadow and enjoying the new season a lot.

Only a bit of progress on clearing my HBO Max catalog before sub ends. Only Yesterday was a really interesting look into what Japanese life looked like in 70s and 80s, with an enjoyable cast and story. I really liked the art style of the memory sections. Glad I made time for it.

I had been planning on continuing to catch up with Helck and try out the new Eminence in Shadow, but my Apple TV updated, and now the HiDive app won’t work. I’d say I hope they’ll fix it soon, but I have very little faith in the HiDive app team to do anything at all. Best bet is to figure out another device that can at least get it streaming…

Otherwise, I’m trying out new releases like Kanojo mo Kanojo, SpyXFamily, Frieren, and Shield Hero. I think I may finally drop Shield Hero though. That last arc was rough and I’m not blown away by the start of this one. Also watching the new Castlevania.

Oh I’m also trying to blast through the remaining anime on HBO Max because my sub expires later this month. Tried Ride Your Wave and The Secret World of Arrietty. Both were good, but not top tier classics. And Earwig and the Witch. It wasn’t as bad as some had made it out to be, but… that’s about the best I can say. I think I have 7 more I need to watch.

I’ll be honest: I thought Campfire Cooking looked like another generic low effort isekai anime, so I didn’t even give it a try. With your input, I’ll give it a shot. I’m looking for a lighter good feeling show to cap evenings, and this might be just right.