I am interested in what can only be described as a strange number of shows airing next season, so why don’t we take a look at them? Combing through the folds of my gray matter will surely prove more edifying than reading r/anime posts arguing that MyGO!!!!! is lacking in domain expansions.

For the record, the only series from winter season that I am still following is Bravern. It is kino, and peak, and poggers, and all of those other neologistic superlatives the younger generation is so enamored of.

Let’s go down the list on kansou.me, then.

終末トレインどこへいく？ – An anime original, meaning that for better or worse it is an unknown property. And indeed, the promotional materials for this one are frustratingly coy in a way that promotional materials for anime originals oft are; we know that something has befallen the residents of some town, somewhere, and that the protagonist embarks on a journey by train with other girls, but that’s really about it. That said, it has a pedigree, if nothing else―it’s by the director/writer duo that brought us Shirobako. I know it will be pinging on many people’s radar for that reason alone. I’m personally not very well versed in Mizushima Tsutomu’s oeuvre, but it’s a (seemingly) well produced anime original with an all-female cast, so I deem it worthy of an episode or two.

ゆるキャン△ SEASON3 – The Yurucamp movie was, quite frankly, rather banal, but we’re back to adapting manga content with this, so I have no misgivings on the writing front. Said manga content is being adapted by a new team at a different studio, though, so it remains to be seen how it fares on a production front. The first two seasons weren’t exactly the Jujutsu Kaisen of Frieren when it came to sakuga, but they were very competently put together, eliciting atmosphere and pathos. This was in large part due to effectively utilizing Tateyama Akiyuki’s score; in terms of enhancing the visual content, I’m inclined to say Yurucamp seasons one and two have among the best soundtracks in all of anime. Tateyama is in fact returning for season three, so I’ll be keeping my ears tuned just as sharply as my eyes with Eight Bit’s take on the material.

ガールズバンドクライ – I, too, am a fan of BanG Dream! It’s MyGO!!!!!. All right, I realize that’s not fair―this project has been in motion for years, and really, “there are girls in a band and a lot of angst” is a genius concept that we, collectively as humans, should milk for all it’s worth. Of course, I would be lying if I said the approach this series is taking to 3DCG spoke to my soul; or rather, it speaks to my soul in the way a Lovecraftian horror might. The CG out of space, if you will. Perhaps it will worm its way into the depths of my being, perhaps it will merely remain uncanny―either way I am committing to every episode right here, right now. Not simply because it is an angsty girls’ band show, mind you, but because it is written by Hanada Jukki. I consider both Yorimoi and Granbelm to be among the greatest modern anime (don’t try to hit me with an alternative definition of modern, either―even Yorimoi is only six years old), so him doing an original that isn’t merely a new branch in the labyrinth that is Love Live? Yeah, count me in.

Shiny Colors shows up next on the list, and while I’m not watching that, I would like to know whether or not Romeo actually wrote the noctchill scenario one of these epochs. I will wait until the end of time for you to bare your heart to me, Bamco…

夜のクラゲは泳げない – I, too, am a fan of BanG Dream! It’s MyGO!!!!!. Wait, shit, uh, I know how anime is made, this one must have been in the oven for some years too. How do I save face here while demonstrating my deep knowledge of otaku culture in suitably cynical fashion, shit, shit, think… I know. Let’s try that again.

夜のクラゲは泳げない – I, too, am a fan of Niigo from Project Sekai featuring Hatsune Miku. Yeah, there we go. Much like Girls Band Cry, this has girls, a band, and crying, with the additional bonus of sakuga. Yuri fans on my TL are already going gaga for this based on the prescreening, so really my hands are tied here. The writer for this one is the author of the Tomozaki-kun LN series, which I’ve heard a fair amount of praise for―with the caveat that it takes several volumes to get good. In other words, it’s one of those series where people who have only watched the mediocre anime adaptation of the first few volumes look at you side-eyed when you profess your love for it. I’m sure everyone has their own series like that, don’t lie. I bring this up because Tomozaki-kun is the Ryuuou no Oshigoto of fighting games, and Ryuuou itself is the Sakura no Uta of shogi, and the YoruKura trailers give me vague Sakura no Uta vibes, so by law of association with Sakura no Uta we can reasonably infer that YoruKura will be kami. I hear the haters out there typing furiously away as they compose scathing polemics taking big Moogy to task for comparing everything involving creative expression to Sakura no Uta and/or Musicus. Too late, though; my lobbying efforts have already won over the legislators.

声優ラジオのウラオモテ – So what did I say about mediocre anime adaptations of light novels? I’ve read the first few volumes of this and liked them; the series demonstrates deep love and respect for the seiyuu profession, but isn’t afraid to criticize its working conditions. If you’re a seiyuu fan, it’s an easy recommendation. I don’t expect to have much to say about the anime, though; it will likely not add anything to the novels other than featuring the voice talents of the author’s favorite seiyuu. Perhaps that’s reason enough for it to exist, though?

この素晴らしい世界に祝福を！3 – The Megumin spinoff did not have the sauce, but the trailers for this are promising when it comes to sauce. Sauce is unfortunately a metaphysical concept, not easily defined, but I think that if you try licking your screen as you watch the trailers, you will come to appreciate their distinct flavor. I have fond memories of groupwatching season two with friends; hopefully we can realize that with season three as well. This is my way of determining who in my friend group has enough love in their heart to read my blog posts, so if any of them do not comment on this entry, I will know who is an emotionless husk and must be culled…

ささやくように恋を唄う – I, too, am a fan of… uh, well, the band elements are honestly pretty light, so… I, too, am a fan of Yagate Kimi ni Naru? No, it’s not similar to that beyond the barest initial premise either. Do you mean to say I must engage with fictional works on their own terms, not paint them with prejudice that I may file them away? That aesthetics cannot inform you of execution? Preposterous, I say, preposterous. But preposterous as it may be, I have read the entirety of the Sasakoi manga, and thus I know it to be true; while the producers are likely banking on the band theming, I’m not so sure that’s the meat of the series. For more detailed thoughts, please refer to this Twitter thread I wrote a few weeks ago, because anything more I said here would simply be reiterating it.

ブルーアーカイブ The Animation – Equal parts apprehension and anticipation. There are few things in this world I love more than Blue Archive, but the most recent trailer consists entirely of closeups with almost no motion while the shareware demo version of Unwelcome School plays. The previous trailers have looked acceptable from my perspective, but my proverbial needle is firmly lodged in the “it’s so over” half of the spectrum as I’m writing this. Certainly, I believe the anime will function as fanservice for existing fans no matter what, no matter how many wheels on the bus may come off, but it has the potential to be so much more than that, to expand Blue Archive’s cultural purchase even further. Will it accomplish that? Well… it would be nice if it did. Let’s leave it at that.

Well, that about wraps it up. It’s time to return to the world of FF7, where Aerith may or may not die this time. I can’t know until I reach the end of Rebirth; in that sense, she’s similar to Schrodinger’s cat, if you think about it.