Anime Questions, Recommendations, and Discussion - January 02, 2026

I guess technically Notorious Talker counts, thoug the banished party aspect gets solved within a couple eps and isn't really a relevant point from then iirc.

this isn't an answer to your question, but i was thinking if there was something i had watched that could count as a "banished from the hero's party" anime, and the only answer that came to mind was haikyuu. i mean, think about it, kageyama is the strongest setter, but he gets "banished" from his team because nobody wants to work with him. so he has to go to a normal public high school to build up a new party...

unfortunately haikyuu isn't slop so this won't really help you

A-rank party and Notorious talker were both quite entertaining slop for me, I also liked My lvl 9999 from last season it's a fun revenge romp.

Agreed on the first and third spoiler boxes, but personally I *do* consider the shows in the 2nd box as time loop shows just as much as the first ones, don't really see much of a difference between them.

Tangentially related to \[final show mentioned\] >!You specify "time loop anime" as if it needs to be a main point to define it. Or at the very least make up a majority of the anime's content. I wonder how Endless Eight fits in. On one hand, the endless eight arc, while making up 2/3 of the anime and thus a majority, it is narratively not even 1/3 (actually I don't know this. I never watched past the endless eight but I'm going to assume there are at least 2 more different plots after it making the ratio only 1/3. I might be completely wrong here idk lol). So if we were to use the definition of simple majority, which takes priority? The raw content of it or the narrative content?!<

My criteria: It has a time loop. I don't need a ton of them, one will do.


Remake Our Life, A Returner's Magic Should Be Special, and Ragna Crimson would all qualify as much as Tokyo Revengers or Sakurada Reset.

> and then teared up again watching the actual horse racing historical footage

Watching S1?

The races are so captivating to watch, both in anime and real life. In [cour 2] >!Episode 15!< there’s a race I’ve rewatched countless times and the real-life version is almost more *anime* than the anime.

Best theme song of the year, hands down.

Haven't gotten around to watching Medalist yet as my schedule is booked atm, but by some miracle its releasing pretty late in the month (24th) so there's surprisingly still a lot of time to catch up if any of you guys haven't as well.

[Watanare TV special]>!I kinda like Renako picking both of them because Renako has been struggling to be "normal" so choosing both of them and not caring to be viewed as "normal" works for me. Also [this classic ProZD sketch fits so well](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jgFyCuKoEGA)!<

[Watanare Tv special cont]>!Mai leaving for good feels like a classic romcom trope where Renako realizes her feelings and that she can't just expect Mai or Ajisai to wait for her to make up her mind.!<

Can it be nominated for Anime of the Year?

If so, it should.

> Please win short of the year!

Not eligible for that. Short series are put in with full length series to make sure they never win anything.

8467 was a cutie though.

u/Abysswatcherbel u/Emi_Ibarazakiii u/zairaner you all might be interested! You three like the type of stuff I post to this sub, and I regularly see your usernames on my posts

Does hitman enjoy talking in the third person?

Are you ever going to make a horny post about guys?

Zanka is best character in that show for so many reasons.

Have you seen Hajime no Ippo? It starts as more of an underdog story but becomes one about top level athletes fairly quickly.

> as well as the zero sum nature of it all such that at the end of the day, only one person will ever come out on top, regardless of how hard everyone involved is giving it their all.

I don't think this is a good or accurate way of talking about high level sports. Whilst it's true that only one person/team can win any given competition, that doesn't mean they're the only one who comes out satisfied. The athletes may have personal goals other than winning (e.g. if you're generally ~10th best in the world, getting third is an excellent result). And this is before we consider that there may be many competitions throughout the year and different athletes in different parts of their careers.

One Piece

One that comes to my mind is Blue Drop, which stretched out a single five-chapter manga volume into 13 episodes. Such a shame too, considering that it looked like it could actually be interesting if it wasn't just so damn slow.

Beyblade X. But then again it's based on a monthly manga, so the anime needs to make their own stories before adapting more manga chapters because it's a year long series.


Doesn't mean it's a bad practice, though, we see interactions and battles we won't see in the manga due to this approach.

The overall top ten isn’t really surprising, more or less knowing your taste, but I didn’t expect Ninkoro to make the top 3 and TSHD all the way down at 10th tbh.

I'm just here to hype up Shoushimin.

Pretty unmistakable+- if you got pressured in to watching this oddball show. ;-)

Personally, I never rewatched/replayed an OP/ED for the visuals.

If the song isn't good, it's a "one-and-done" for me.

Depends on what you think is important.

Like any song, it's extremely subjective - you either enjoy listening to it or you don't, there's no objective good or bad song ^((except for jazz)). everyone's taste is different.

But as for good themesongs, it's gotta be something that sounds like it belongs in the series it's made for. Like, I'll never skip would be *Nichijou*'s [Hyadain no kakakata kataomoi](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qUk1ZoCGqsA) or Martian successor Nadesico's [You get to burning!](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LwQ0Swom6zU), just because they *sound* good to me and fit the tone of their respective series perfectly. *Nichijou* is positive, silly, etc. Hyadain is quite a character and the PERFECT artist to sing this. Same with *Nadesico's* song - it gets you the fuck going (tho the tone of the series is quite varied).

There are also productions which go the extra mile. Like, *Watashi ga motenai no wa dō kangaetemo omaera ga warui!'*s [Dou kangaete mo watashi wa warukunai](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PWOTQRduHeA), which has the protagonist's VA sing in the same style (which has to be murder on her voice, damn). Same with *Kamichu*!'s [Ice candy](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aW8zdDaQ5lg), featuring the VAs singing, but also a cute animation on an ema. Stuff like that is memorable.

So yea, like you said, it's those series where the opening/ending theme isn't just a lazy collection of fragments and it's treated respectfully.

Sometimes you don't need really good visuals if the song is good enough, see Naruto ED4 as example (it's a zooming shot of a picture)

I haven't watched it, but I've seen a lot of people recommend to play it instead.

I would say messy but good describes the games well. The show (adaptation of the first game) I didn't like at all.

perfect show for horned up edgy teens with quasi intellectual tendencies

https://anime-bingo.aikats.us/

It's what I like to call "and then everyone clapped" syndrome. It breaks my suspense of disbelief too much, normally, when it becomes obvious the characters are now mouthpieces for the author saying what they think the message should be instead of people acting as they normally should.

In fact I might go as far as saying that I prefer indirect over earnest communication in fiction, unless it's a one-time pouring out of your heart at the climax of an arc. Much more engaging to have to interpret what they really want to communicate from their words/actions rather than them just blurting it out with no interpretation necessary by the audience.

I've avoided it because I want my romances to be messy and horny and everyone just talks about how wholesome it is lol.

The anime adapted some parts of the story well like the one with his mother. But largely, yeah, it was just a bit too cloying for me. After a point I started skimming the manga just looking for side couple development. Seeing them animated was one major reason I watched the show, and that part didn't disappoint, but there wasn't enough of it.

I had a sort of epiphany while watching the last episode of Kimikoe that what Fragrant Flower was doing, Kimikoe does it better.

We shunned School Days, and this is our punishment. Truly sad. :(

It's like every time I hear a fan of the series talk about Kaoru Hana, it sounds like they talk about what I felt Skip and Loafer was. But Kaoru Hana itself was exactly what you described, hopelessly overplayed in how apologetic its characters are, so I ended up not making it anywhere close to 8 episodes in.

low effort answer: not really.

Depends on what you mean by “a similar feel”.

* If you’re looking for a story centered around mages that isn’t your typical “they go around fighting and casting spells and blowing things up”, *Secrets of the Silent Witch* was a great one from this past year.

* If you’re looking for a story about how a group is formed and their journey, *Delicious in Dungeon* is recommended. It’s got some fighting, but mostly it’s about finding a lost party member in the dungeon and enjoying food along the way.

* If you’re looking more for a personal journey, I cannot recommend *Apocalypse Hotel* enough. It might be too “spacey” for your tastes, but the story is so compelling and so well done. The series also has my favorite episode of any anime from this past year.

At the risk of being crucified I’ll rec Mushoku Tensei; the first season is the only anime that comes to mind in terms of \*really\* honing in on the party as more than a group of people who fight stuff well. It also does a great job at eliciting a sense of fantastical adventure like Frieren does. That only really applies to the first season though imo.

To Your Eternity might fit what you’re looking for too. It’s extremely character driven early on and also has that cozy adventure vibe. I would say again that this only applies to the first season but I also know there are a good number of people who are justified in feeling differently.

If you happen to read manga, there‘s one called ‘High Elf With a Long Life’ that’s really well written/translated and mirrors a whole bunch of the themes explored in Frieren, particularly concerning the mortality (and the weight that accompanies it) of a longed lived species living in a world dominated by the non-long lived. Also scratches the cozy adventure itch well. No anime for this one yet, but I’d bet my ears there will be.

None of these will be of the "party of adventurers" type of fantasy, but I tried to use your given terms as guidance. All of the below should be at least somewhat introspective with their cast, not too focused on constant fights, and more about the journey than the destination:

* Cowboy Bebop (bounty hunters in space)
* If too "spacey", try Samurai Champloo (two ronin escorting a young woman in feudal Japan. With a hip hop soundtrack.)
* Hell, see Samurai Champloo even if you watched Cowboy Bebop
* Made in Abyss (Beautiful but very dangerous fantasy world that is explored by a bunch of kids. Doesn't shy away from grim stuff, so be warned. Also the author is a freak and has inserted some of his fetishes into the series, but I feel it is still worth to check out. Just go in forewarned)
* Spice and Wolf (medieval merchant and an immortal wolf spirit meet cute and decide to travel together. The ultimate goal is taking her home, but its the journey, not the-- you get the idea. Two versions, of which I suggest the new one as that seems to be aiming for a complete adaptation with a sequel on the way)

People might be focusing too much on the magic side of it. Frieren is a battle shounen in essence, but what makes it unique is the way its travelogue set-up lets it switch from moments of heavy action to episodes or arcs defined by meditative, nostalgic mood building and ruminations on the passage of time and inevitability of all. If that's closer to what you're looking for, then here are some series that lean closer to that aspect of Frieren.

- Girls Last Tour
- Mushishi
- Violet Evergarden
- Yokohama Shopping Log
- Kino's Journey

Not a Hayamin fan, I guess? Both Tamon’s B-Side and Kunon the Sorcerer are in bottom tier. Cosmic Princess Kaguya is doing only slightly better in your prediction.

What‘s Milky Subway doing there? Afaik it’s only the episodes cut together as a movie, no new (or only minimal) new content I believe.

Also, A New Dawn, third from the ~~left~~ right on the „drop after 1 ep“ tier is a movie, so not like you could watch further anyway lol.

that site is new? cool let's do mine there

Why do I see Wash It All Away and Hanakimi on the bottom?

Pretty based prediction!

While there’s a lot of shoujo airing this season, bluntly speaking, I don’t particularly care for any of them except maybe The Holy Grail of Eris.

OnK S3, Shiboyugi, Roll Over and Die, and Android though, I’m looking forward to those!

you show me this and then tell me takopi is aoty, how can i ever trust you.

[](#foldedarms)

[Redline!](#grandhype)

Got some bangers on there. GITSAC, Tylor, and Rayearth in particular.

Fruits Basket was in the exact same spot of my 2023 [Bingo](https://i.imgur.com/oCYKPpI.png) and I think was the very last thing on it I watched beyond the one thing I ended up skipping entirely. Was easily the best anime I watched that year and an all time favorite. Hope you enjoy it as much as me!

Coppelion, Erased, Your Lie in April and Maquia are also quite good!

Nice, we both have Your Lie In April on our lists!

And I really liked Vivy, hope you enjoy it too.

[](#kannathumbs)

Nice batch there, hope you enjoy Tutu.

Lots of good stuff with Luluco, Princess Principal, Your Lie in April and Vivy. Prepared to be sad and weirded out by Bokurano!

That would make too much sense

I haven’t interacted with them, but considering the hate they were spewing towards the director before the season even aired, I can believe it. 

Honestly, these days I can’t think of too many “snob communities” left besides (ironically enough) *One Piece* and *Hunter x Hunter*. I haven’t had much issue with *Frieren* fans and nothing else that’s “snobbish” has a large enough footprint to feel relevant. I guess you’ve got those bastard *Milky Subway* fans who won’t shut up about how peak peak is, but yeah most fandoms I’ve interacted with outside Shounen are either chill or horny (which is a whole different can of worms). I guess the only one left is the “modern anime bad, classic anime good” community, but they’ve always been uptight snobs and honestly are also not something I run into all that frequently (besides, you guessed it, Shounen Bros).

I wrote my review on it talking about this.
My conclusion is that the work simply attracted that kind of person: One who doesn't watch that much anime and tends to have extreme views and reactions towards it.

Mal recently published their most popular anime of the year (https://myanimelist.net/stacks/76011). Know that while the average level of the people who use MAL forums is better, the level of those who use the website in general is just slightly better than the level of people on Twitter, which itself is slightly better than the level of people who use TikTok, etc

It's disproportionately low score is just the other side of the coin of everything else popular having a higher score than it should, in an almost "halo effect".
Note that the same doesn't happen with Mob Psycho 100, and there's a reason for that: Murata's naturalistic artstyle will attract the type of people who complains about DuChamp's "Fountain" and the banana in a wall, the type of people who thinks every game should be re-made on Unreal Engine 5 and doesn't play any game that is older than 10 years that doesn't have a remake. Compound that with the fact that the adaptations brought people who don't seem to understand this is a comedy series and start unironically discussing power-levels and all of that is predictable to happen.

It's what I called "sportsball mentality", think the type of most toxic sports fans that beat one another in the streets, whose teams victory is but a way for them to bully other people, and when their team starts losing they just go beat someone.
It's the same thing here: For a lot of people, OPM was just a way to flex how "the thing I'm into" (And also not really, because I'm pretty sure a ton of them didn't read or watch it, rather just sharing TikTok edits of it) was better than "the thing you're into", so the moment "the thing" invites the bullying they enacted into other people, they now hate it at a personal level.

Remember, people talked like it was an apocalypse that there wasn't a puff of dust in the background when Garou slid (He was also sliding in the manga), and I also saw stuff of the level of people just straight up lying about issues that didn't happen.

I'm unironically starting to believe that people should only be allowed to comment on anime after they have watched at least 100 titles (50, if I'm being generous).
Currently I'm watching the original Uchuu Senkan Yamato series, and there isn't almost a single episode without some plothole, inconsistency, animation error or a hair being on-screen. Yet you won't see that many people speaking negatively about Yamato online, simply because this type of anime already filters for another type of fan.

Star Driver's another early role of hers (I think done a year or two after this show) where she is incidentally enough, a shrine maiden again, in a love triangle with two guys and gets to sing several songs!

* Cologne
* Turbo Granny

Pretty much the same character.

God I can't wait for JJK S3.

[](#hypeoverload)

Didn't expect you to put Jigokuraku this high and Chained Soldier not in simulwatch.

[](#rengethink)

[](#attentivenote "Didn't know until now, I have said nothing to support/hype them")

I'll watch my first Fate if you'll actually watch Holy Grail of Eris.

I will throw out Gachiakuta and Tougen Anki. I personally think both are just mediocre, but we have some differences in our opinions based on the list you gave so worth at least giving a look.

JJk would be in my enjoyed with Kaiju 8 and Sakmoto would go down to the dropped for example. Dandadan and Windbreaker we agree. The others I haven't watched.

If you liked the Stands, you'll love the rest. Part 3 was just Araki moving away from Hamon and trying something new. Parts 4 and beyond take them in more interesting and creative directions.

Starting the last one now, it's an easy show to binge for me.

[](#lesbians)

Guess you're joining the Your Lie in April train with a few others.

Ooh, Erin and Lain.

[](#skyhype)

Yona of the Dawn and Tsukigakirei are great! It's also perfect timing for Yona with the sequel announcement. I liked A Place Further Than The Universe too, though it started slow for me - I much preferred the second half.

(And I'm one of the people who also has Your Lie In April on our bingo list.)

> [Worst case scenario, should be fine just rewatching your last episode and continuing](https://old.reddit.com/r/anime/comments/1q10to2/anime_questions_recommendations_and_discussion/nx6vbvs/?context=3)

[](#shirayukifuckinreally "At some point, people will listen to my isekai opinions")

Can't believe this spiritual imouto slander

A good way to start taking in a lot more of the medium is honestly taking a look at movies and older standalone OVAs that range from 1-4 episodes (lots of these from the 80s-90s). Plus, the time commitment on something that you may not like ends up being a lot less than if you try to get to "a good part" of something you're not enjoying.

[It's on Hidive](https://www.livechart.me/anime/10883)