To say that the Winter 2021 season was a mixed bag for me would be an understatement. Some shows there will likely make my top 5, while others are ones I never ever want to see or hear about again. I wanted to see whether picking mostly sequel seasons would be cool, but that clearly meant nothing, and so I’ve gone back to my tried and tested way of picking shows I genuinely like the look of, instead of shows I almost feel obligated to watch. So I hope these three shows I’ve picked will balance out the mess that I had for the last season. These three shows really do look like great watches. While everyone else will be raving about the latest season of My Hero Academia, Fruits Basket and Zombieland Saga, I have the following to sink my teeth into…
SSSS.Dynazenon
Studio: Trigger
Begins: Friday. April. 02
(Available on Funimation)
Trigger’s Gridman universe returns, and its main director with it. Akira Amemiya is a Trigger mainstay, and better known for works that are less chaotic and crazy than shows like Kill La Kill or BNA: Brand New Animal. Despite all this, the man is still a mecha and kaiju nerd, and he will no doubt make it just as clear here as he did in SSSS.Gridman. This show will also be Trigger’s 10th anniversary project; kind of fitting for them to turn to a show related to the things that made them want to make shows in the first place, like Tokusatsu and mecha.
SSSS.Dynazenon is set in the same ‘universe’ as its predecessor. I remember that when that show was announced, Trigger were extremely tight-lipped on what the plot was going to be about; we didn’t see what kind of person Akane Shinjou was, who the main antagonist really was, or what the world around them was really like. Once again, they are still being extremely quiet about this show, and so I have next to no idea what to expect in this one, although I’m sure a lot of traits from its predecessor will return here. It was especially noteworthy how Trigger went in a different direction than what we’d expect in a mecha show; it was something I really enjoyed too, and so it’ll all return here, I’m sure.
I had made a point on my own blog a good while ago on how I was concerned that SHAFT were losing their touch and getting burned out after a insane amount of hugely successful shows and franchises. Well last year’s Assault Lily: Bouquet proved me wrong, and I’m hoping that their show for this Spring season will do the same.
Pretty Boy Detective Club
Studio: SHAFT
Begins: Saturday. Apr. 10
(Available on Funimation)
A show with an art style and mood like this, and you can only guess who originally wrote this. Yes, this is another Nisioisin adaptation. I had only heard of this by name and never looked further into it, but now I’m really hungry to know all about it.
A second-year student, Mayumi Dojima, has lost something: a star she once glimpsed as a little girl. Then along comes a mysterious sweet-talking boy, Manabu Soutouin, who claims he can help her. Turns out this mysterious sweet-talking boy is a part of the unofficial and highly secretive Pretty Boy Detective Club. ‘Able to solve any problem put in front of them’ is their claim. His honeyed words work on Mayumi, and she soon decides to let his club investigate. Now even though I’ve never read the light novels or manga, from watching the PVs I can tell that these 5 boys will be able to solve Mayumi’s problem along with many others, and all look gorgeous while doing it.
Assault Lily: Bouquet‘s director, Hajime Ootani, returns to take charge, and even with emperor Akiyuki Shinbou reigning over all this, the new guard at SHAFT are definitely taking over the studio now. I wasn’t so hot on the Zaregoto adaptation that disappeared into obscurity (and didn’t even make it to the West in its entirety either), and the Monogatari series is pretty much done and dusted now; it’s been a whole 13 years since Bakemonogatari first aired…umm, wow. Now SHAFT are just as capable of putting out mediocre shows, and that’s something we shouldn’t forget here. The pandemic has put a spanner in the works for a lot of studios, SHAFT included, and I still stand by what I said in my blog post about being careful and not thinking that just because it’s a SHAFT show, it’ll be perfect. Still, saying all that, this adaptation of Pretty Boy Detective Club looks both very stupid and amazing at the same time. It looks incredibly stylish, and my colleagues here at The OASG have been enjoying the light novels that have been translated so far too.
So I’ll be sinking my teeth into another Nisioisin show, but this season I’ll also be watching a show that’s highly anticipated and hyped.
To Your Eternity
Studio: Brain’s Base
Begins: Monday. Apr. 12
(Available on Crunchyroll)
This is a show that originally was meant to be shown in October but was pushed to this Spring season. It’s also developed a lot of hype in the meantime, but finally it’s here. To Your Eternity is an adaptation of a long-running manga by Yoshitoki Oima, the mangaka behind A Silent Voice, which alone made waves not just with its original manga but with Kyoto Animation’s adaptation. This time though, Crunchyroll were very quick to get rights to bring this to the West. Another ‘Crunchyroll Original’? Well, you decide on what that is really meant to mean…
To Your Eternity tells the story of an immortal being, Fushi, sent to Earth, who is able to shape-shift. Whilst they take the form of a wolf, they encounter a young boy roaming the Arctic regions of North America. Then on a journey of their own over the course of time, a mysterious hooded figure comes across them, claiming to be more powerful than them.
I’m afraid that’s about all I know about To Your Eternity, but this looks like such a deep and detailed fantasy show, and something we could probably use right now considering how many isekai shows get churned out each season. This does make me think of when the adaptation of the truly outstanding manga Land of the Lustrous came out, and that didn’t get the reception everyone was quite expecting, with some people really loving it and others not so much. I’m very much hoping we won’t get that here, since the studio seem to be very eager to flesh the story out. It plans to go on for a whole 20 episodes, meaning I’ll be watching this through the Summer season as well.
These are three shows that I’m looking forward to a lot. Also interesting how little I know about all of them; I suppose that makes them all the more enticing for me to check out. But with all this, I will be going back to my last out-of-season show, for its second cour.
A Lull In The Sea (Part 2)
Studio: P.A Works
(Available on Funimation, Netflix & home video)
So what’s happened with these dorks since we last saw them? Well people in the show have had to go into ‘hibernation’ in an attempt to stop any oncoming disaster that could affect both the sea and the surface. Instead of what a lot of 2-cour shows do and just carry on where the first cour ended, the second cour of A Lull In The Sea takes place years later. Characters in the show have gotten older and gained some kind of maturity. As well as that, this second cour brings both Sayu and Miuna closer into the fold, and makes them key characters of the show.
The first cour of A Lull In The Sea focused heavily on building the main characters, and the bonds they all have with one another. Now that a considerable amount of time has passed, these characters must focus on who they really are and what role they really play in the world. Apparently, Hikari has finally chilled out too, so that gives me reason enough to watch this second cour!
I was initially apprehensive when it came to Otherside Picnic, and I was extremely disappointed with season 2 of The Promised Neverland. I’m hoping that these 3 picks will get me back into avoiding nit-picking shows, and help me remember why I still enjoy this medium after so long. I’m especially looking forward to seeing what SHAFT’s new guard have brought us this time in Pretty Boy Detective Club and what Trigger’s latest project is all about, and as for To Your Eternity? Well I don’t know what to expect.
A lot of people will be watching the latest season of My Hero Academia, I’m sure. But what else is on your list this season? Will you be checking out this well-hyped adaptation of To Your Eternity? Did you think season 2 of The Promised Neverland sucked as well? Feel free to hit that like button and air your opinions in the comments below!