I have had to find time to carry on with my regular column on TheOASG. This is because I have begun my training to get a internationally-recognized qualification to teach English as a foreign language, and as that will keep me very busy, watching anime has had to take a bit of a back seat until I complete it all. Still, the shows I have picked to watch this Spring should still keep me entertained nonetheless…I mean, I was quite surprised that I didn’t totally hate every single show I picked for the Winter.
I am aware of the several anime franchises that either begin or return this season (My Hero Academia, Sword Art Online, Food Wars, Persona 5, Full Metal Panic, Steins;Gate, Tokyo Ghoul, Legend of the Galactic Heroes), but I will purposefully be avoiding them…Persona 5 in particular, purely because I still haven’t completed the game and don’t want to spoil it.
Soooooooo, here’s what I will be watching for TheOASG this Spring:
Uma Musume Pretty Derby
Begins: Sunday. April. 01.
(Available on Crunchyroll)
P.A. Works’ next adventure, this time veering away from the SOL themes of Shirobako & Sakura Quest and moving towards the more surreal. Uma Musume (horse girls) are endowed with special running powers, and use their speed and beauty to become top idols for the popular entertainment show “Twinkle Series”. An anime based on a cult arcade game, with a script which may or may not have been conceived after a drunken night out, Uma Musume Pretty Derby will either be brilliantly stupid or stupidly brilliant. Time will tell. At least this show is not a victim of the infamous P.A. Works summer curse.
Tada-kun Never Falls In Love
Begins: Thursday. April. 05.
(Available on Amazon & HIDIVE)
Mitsuyoshi Tada, a boy who has never ever known love, encounters Luxembourgian transfer student Teresa Wagner. She found herself lost in the city, and as Mitsuyoshi helps her and brings her to his grandfather’s coffee shop, his definition of love is changed forever. Sound rather soppy, I know, but to be honest, I didn’t really fancy delving into any of the major anime franchises that come back this season. I have no idea who is who in My Hero Academia, or Tokyo Ghoul, and I would rather swallow glass than watch the Sword Art Online spin-off show.
Anyway, Doga Kobo (New Game!, Yuru Yuri) is responsible for this show, which is very curious, as they are a studio who are better known for slapstick comedy. Saying that, though, they did bring out the sci-fi romance Plastic Memories a couple of years ago, not to mention Monthly Girls’ Nozaki-kun, so it isn’t like they are going into unknown territory.
Hinamatsuri
Begins: Friday. April. 06.
I don’t actually know too much about this show; it was the promo video that sold me though.
Super-powered girl Hina suddenly arrives on Nitta’s doorstep. Nitta is a young initiate of the yakuza, and although she threatens him with her super powers on a regular basis, the two eventually end up living together. From the outset, this looks like one of those boy-meets-girl-and-live-together-as-a-unit comedy shows, and I honestly don’t mind if the idea behind this is as simple as that. If I end up dropping this, then so be it.
…[in fact, that applies to any of the shows I’ve picked…although I will be putting a poll up on which one of the new shows I’ve picked you think I’ll drop first]…
Darling in the Franxx
Continues from winter season
(Available on Crunchyroll)
Just continuing where I left off from last season, and the incredibly bland Hiro is still feeling sexually frustrated with Zero Two constantly clinging onto his arm, and Ichigo watching with envy in the background. Despite the really mediocre filler episodes this show has had (from beach episode to girls vs. boys), Darling in the Franxx has made some kind of progress. I hope that the second half of this show will answer a lot more questions. Where did Zero Two come from? How did she come about as having Klaxosaur blood? Will Ichigo ever be happy if Hiro chooses to be with Zero Two forever? Will we ever find out if Ikuno is gay or not? Will Mitsuru just leave the show already? Perhaps we’ll find out this Spring.
Finally, onto my classic/out-of-season show:
Princess Principal
(Available on Amazon & HIDIVE)
Oh, am I so glad you guys picked this show for me; I am really looking forward to watching this. Released last summer, this show tells the story of 5 girls in a fictional 19th-century country. The Albion Kingdom has monopolized a substance to help build heavily-armed airships to make them the most powerful military force in the world. As the Commonwealth seeks to replace the monarchy, the Princess makes a deal with 5 spies to help her become Queen. These 5 girls work as undercover students enrolled in the highly-prestigious Queen’s Mayfair school.
A co-production by the studios that brought you Flip Flappers & Girls Und Panzer, Princess Principal was a hidden gem found on Amazon/HIDIVE, and was quickly seen as a cult favorite, and with Sentai acquiring the rights for it in North America (and MVM Films in the UK), it should see a home video release soon.
And those are my Spring shows. What about you? What shows will you be watching this Spring? What about any of the movies that are making their way to Western screens? Have you made your summer anime con plans already? Feel free to comment below.