Forum - View topicThe Best and Worst Anime of Winter 2022
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tintor2
 Posts: 1820 |
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Nice to see some Vanitas love (that came out awkward) but it's a shame the finale still hasn't aired yet.
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FilthyCasual
Posts: 2190 |
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Best: Sono Bisque
Runner-Up: Arifureta Worst: I only watched good things. |
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#Synaesthesia
Posts: 157 |
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really no mention of Akebi-chan? it was absolutely the batter of the CloverWorks anime this season
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cchigu
Posts: 250 |
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Best: Kotarou no Hitorigurashi
Worst: AoT Final Season |
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Kirki
Posts: 296 |
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No AoT? Really? That's surprising since the series reached its peak this season. Then again it's a downwards ride from here on and having that knowledge possibly contributed to this.
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KitKat1721
 Posts: 953 |
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Similar to Fall, I didn't watch too many seasonals, but got something out of almost everything I did stick with (only dropping Tribe Nine & Requiem for the Rose King - the latter of which I might still marathon or read the manga). Plus I do want to check out Akebi-chan, Sasaski & Miyano, and Orbital Children still since all three got some decent-to-great word of mouth.
Best: While my top two are pretty closely ranked, I can't deny that The Case Study of Vanitas was one of my favorite shows to tune into every week. Plus it ever felt empty enough to just be considered popcorn entertainment like a lot of other shows where I share a similar "gotta watch the next episode like yesterday" enthusiasm. It's been talked about enough in the article (particularly its aesthetic), but I love the different character dynamics and how their individual moments of growth are tied so intrinsically with each other (holding out for Domi getting a moment in the finale). Much like many of my favorite character dramas (see Fruits Basket), it truly feels like no one in this show would have been able to move forward from their traumas in a vacuum, but at the same time the show never feels like they're just throwing characters in situations to accomplish a writing goal (even the most "totally fanservice-y on paper" moment in Ep 2 at least only got to that point because of Vanitas' and Jeanne's own actions prior, neither of which I could see them doing early in S1). While I hope it has a satisfying enough ending this week, even if I know the source material is unfinished, I've already went ahead and started buying the manga which says a lot about how invested I am in this story. Runner-Up: While I agree that its second half wasn't quite as strong as its first, man Ranking of Kings is still a wonderfully fantastic and emotionally impactful series. Yes, it had a couple minor slip-ups (unfortunately two of which could have easily been altered and the show would lose almost nothing) but its strengths, particularly its "simple at a glance" storytelling, complicated characters, and gorgeous production quality and artistic vision, are high enough to outshine them. At the start, I expected just Boji and Kage's friendship alone with their "us against the world" mindset to be the heart of the show, but by the end [broad finale spoilers]spoiler[it felt like the heart of the show was found in how everyone came to together to support and lift Boji up to save the kingdom and accomplish his dreams. And the only thing more powerful than a child, especially someone like Boji, having that one person who's always there for them no matter what is seeing an entire community, against all odds or audience preconceptions, rally behind them. ] Worst: Given that the three other shows I finished are Attack on Titan, Demon Slayer, and Dress-Up Darling... it feels a little unfair to say one of these was the worst. If we're counting shows I only watched a couple episodes of, I'd probably give it to Tribe Nine, but I can't help but feel like that's cheating haha Last edited by KitKat1721 on Wed Mar 30, 2022 1:53 pm; edited 1 time in total |
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darkchibi07
 Posts: 5469 |
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Sadly, I think the voyeuristic shots in the beginning episodes really made lots of people rightfully uncomfortable; The more squished-up faces of the character designs didn't really help much; they look like the designs found in the bygone era of the turn-of-the-millennium. There were significantly less in the middle episodes, and those could have made a much better impression though it kind of creeped up near the back end of the series. I will agree that this was by far the most consistently well-animated show I've seen from CloverWorks in quite some time. |
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ThatGuyWhoLikesThings
Posts: 1008 |
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I don't care for Dress-Up Darling and even I think this is the most absurd take of the season. Akebi-chan is just badly disguised fetish fuel, with even fans who practically thrive on cute SOL with yuri subtext (so, not me) thinking it was poorly written, with a protagonist who isn't anywhere near as cool, charming and interesting as the show really wants you to think. Dress-Up Darling is also fetish fuel in a few ways, but it's not at all dishonest about it. |
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killjoy_the
 Posts: 2459 |
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My opinions this season are pretty boring. Attack on Titan was the best of the season (though worse than the previous two seasons, better than seasons 1 through 3-1). Then there was 86 finishing really well (if it counts), and Ranking of Kings. The only anime that's not a sequel that started this season that I liked was Requiem of the Rose King, everything else I either dropped (Dress-Up Darling, Harem) or didn't enjoy over 2/3rds of my time on them (Genius Prince, Bisco, Realist Hero)
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Blazi
 Posts: 501 |
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Best: Dress Up Darling
Runner Up: Vanitas tied with Sabikui Bisco Worst: Shuumatsu no Harem Honorable mention: The last 2 eps of 86, cause man the delay was worth it. |
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Saeryen
 Posts: 891 |
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I have to choose Delicious Party Pretty Cure as the best of the season. Great characters, very joyful and kind vibe, and very cute, all of which are Pretty Cure hallmarks. It is definitely the series I enjoyed the most.
Runner-up would be Sasaki and Miyano. It's such a sweet romance and the character and relationship development of our two leads is awesome. Plus there was a cute cat (a manifestation of their love?) wandering around for no apparent reason and that makes me smile. |
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Covnam
 Posts: 3650 |
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Best overall: Sono Bisque Doll
Best visuals: Demon Slayer Worst: Leadale - It wasn't terrible, but definitely the most disappointing series I watched Special mention to Hakozume (since that wasn't reviewed this season), which is a terrible comedy, but great at a more realistic/grounded police slice of life that deals with a lot of terrible (as in dark, not bad) topics and situations I agree with Richard that Wiseman's Pupil didn't do enough with it's set up potential, but I still enjoyed the world and magic as I watched each week. |
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Key
Moderator
 Posts: 18188 Location: Indianapolis, IN (formerly Mimiho Valley) |
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I've rarely been on the same page as staff members for these exercises over the years, but this time there's no avoiding it.
My Dress-up Darling was only barely on my radar going into this season, and I didn't expect to even keep following it despite after a strong opening episode. However, each week it exceeded expectations and proved a constant delight. Marin's an early frontrunner for Character of the Year from me, but I agree with various staff that Gojo was nearly as big a contributor. I didn't mind the fan service, the controversy over the skin-darkening was a non-issue for me, and the details on cosplay were vastly more involving than expected. The relationship building between the two leads and the message sent by the clear respect each has for the other's interests are important factors, too. It's easily the best new series of the season in my book. For continuing series, it would be 86 if I could base it on just two episodes aired, as the series finished very, very strong. Based on a whole season's content, I found Attack on Titan to be consistently stronger and more compelling, with Demon Slayer a close second. Cannot comment on Vanitas, since I didn't watch the first season, and have to somewhat disagree on the high placement of Sabuki Bisco. Despite some neat gimmicks, I found it generic enough in execution that I gradually lost interest. The Worst award is easy: World's End Harem. I've long said that there is such a thing as a bad fan service series even when compared to others of its type, and this is a classic example of that. Watching one of the guys gradually descend into perversity was morbidly fascinating, but the attempts at plotting - or, really, any believable reactions to the situation - were a nightmare. Especially not worth watching in censored form, though even the uncovered T&A doesn't help much. |
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MagicPolly
 Posts: 1577 |
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I didn't have time to watch as many shows as I wanted but:
Best: Sasaki and Miyano. I read the manga so I knew it was gonna be good but the adaptation itself ended up being great as well. Excited for the OVA and unknown sequel! (prays for HiraKagi adaptation) Runner up: Salaryman's Club. Got kneecapped by a late start so it didn't appear in the preview guide, never appeared in "Best and Worst of the week", and Crunchyroll didn't even decide to tell anyone that they were dubbing it. Refreshing to have a team sports anime about adults for a change. Worst: Tribe Nine. Coming off the heels of Akudama Drive is a tall order, but I just did not enjoy it all that much. Rusted Armors would go in this slot if I watched more than 3 episodes, or possibly Requiem of the Rose King (watched a couple episodes with my friend before we both agreed to just read the manga instead) |
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Takkun4343
 Posts: 1499 Location: Englewood, Ohio |
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Well it is Japanese in origin, the offensive nature of blackface and other manner of skin-darkening isn't as big a concern to them as it is to us Americans and other nationalities uncomfortable with the practice, I guess. But even with that baggage, My Dress-Up Darling was easily the best show I watched this season, both because with one exception it was the only show I watched this season, and it's really that good on multiple fronts. Just with Gojo was less prone to freaking out than he was... Still a great product, and I eagerly await the inevitable second season. The other show I'm watching this season is Shenmue the Animation and while it has its awkward spots - no surprise, being Shenmue and all - it's still a fun and intriguing show that really captures the spirit of the game while being more about the story than the sandbox mechanics it introduced to its medium of origin. Easily worth checking out, even just for a single episode. I don't have much to say on the back half of Blade Runner: Black Lotus, but it had a better ending than Fena, which is solid enough for me. I'm still lagging behind on Platinum End thanks to the stupid decision to spoil myself on the ending, though I plan to put the series on indefinite hiatus once I reach the end of the Metropoliman saga, so the Yoneda saga and its droning-and-dragging nature will smartly be saved for a later date, if at all. (I could just drop it, yeah, but... there's a complicated and autistic explanation behind all that, and I won't bother sharing it with you unprompted.) |
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