Anime Questions, Recommendations, and Discussion

Anime Questions, Recommendations, and Discussion - January 15, 2026

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Commentaires

ActualRound76992026-01-15 11:16

I’m really happy with the current season. I think it’s the first one where I am not watching older/finished shows, because there are so many I am following.

Korkez112026-01-15 11:47

How good is Blue Orchestra compared to Hibike Euphonium?

cppn022026-01-15 12:33

Not nearly as good.

mekerpan2026-01-15 14:36

Also totally sucks compared to Nodame Cantabile. Terribly disappointing series.

VoidEmbracedWitch2026-01-15 13:16

Can't even begin to compare going by what I watched of Blue Orchestra

Retromorpher2026-01-15 13:47

Like pitting a middle school orchestra against a professional one. Hibike Euphonium is a much better experience basically the entire way through.

Time_Fracture2026-01-15 11:48

Regarding Winter 2026's OP/ED, it's an unique situation this season.

Normally I found one or two artists doing anime theme songs for two different anime, but this season alone I found 4 artists doing theme songs for two different anime.

* TOMOO for Journal With Witch OP and High School Kimengumi OP (with BREIMEN)
* Isekaijoucho for Kaya-chan Isn't Scary OP and Kunon the Sorcerer Can See OP
* SAK & TAO for Kaya-chan Isn't Scary ED and Reincarnated as a Dragon Hatchling ED
* Kaori Ishihara for The Demon King's Daughter Is Too Kind!! OP and The Invisible Man and His Soon-to-Be Wife ED

What's also surprising is that there are also 4 artists doing OP and ED for the same respective anime, excluding Tamon and Dark Moon which the artists are the part of their own respective project.

* UNISON SQUARE GARDEN for In the Clear Moonlit Dusk
* YOASOBI for Hana-Kimi
* Ayahi Takagaki and Yu Shirota for The Villainess Is Adored by the Prince of the Neighbor Kingdom
* HoneyWorks, specifically MARUMOCHI, for An Adventurer's Daily Grind at Age 29

Abysswatcherbel2026-01-15 12:08

Shiboyuki not as good as the premiere but that's expected, the designs are still amazing, can yuki look ugly? Is she the new Elaina?

And oh, that's the opening, that's the most P opening I've seen in a while

alotmorealots2026-01-15 13:25

> Is she the new Elaina?

Needs a bigger hat!

SSjjlex2026-01-15 12:25

Prism Rondo out. Rips say episode 1-20 are out but the netflix site (I don't have a sub) and discussion threads only go up to 10. Can anyone confirm which is true? (well the rips are indeed true, they're on my drive right now, but who knows if they did some weird shit to get the second half)

Also funnily enough the dub is specifically titled as [British English Version](https://cdn.imgchest.com/files/ca70504f73b2.png) lol. Is that normal?

cppn022026-01-15 12:32

I know it was announced to have 20 episodes. No idea why there are only 10 threads. Maybe ask in the meta thread?

IXajll2026-01-15 16:05

Just checked, all 20 eps are out on Netflix.

alconnow2026-01-15 12:37

I would have preferred a weekly release schedule for **Love Through A Prism**

somethingonabed2026-01-15 12:49

Hi guys was randomly thinking about the Selector Wixoss anime from 2014! Does anyone remember it? Anyone know if the anime was completed/correct watch order?thanksssss :D

alotmorealots2026-01-15 13:29

After watching the first episode of *Kunon the Sorcerer Can See*, I'm now quite curious if /u/_ridley has seen it, and if not, then whether or not it would be some form of felony to recommend she watch it just to see how infuriated its depiction of congenital blindness would make her lol

That said, without watching said travesty of an episode, one can't properly appreciate the beauty of the five minute short that /u/mgedmin linked in the comments as a counterpoint: https://www.reddit.com/r/anime/comments/1q3qovz/majutsushi_kunon_wa_mieteiru_kunon_the_sorcerer/nxsykyz/

qwertyqwerty45672026-01-15 13:56

Putting being Peak^TM aside, Rent a Girlfriend getting rebranded as season 5 instead of season 4 part 2, is the single best decision anyone could have done.

It's about time this industry realizes this whole "part 2/3/n" shit is highly brainlet wojaked and puts an end to it.

[](#mug2)

SSjjlex2026-01-15 15:19

They should be proud of how many seasons they have

Yuukikoneko2026-01-15 14:11

I tried One Piece, watched like 12 episodes, but I just don't see the appeal. What am I missing?

Nomar_952026-01-15 14:48

I can't think of many long-running battle shounen that hit the ground running right from the beginning. It's not that you're missing anything, it's just that you haven't seen enough. It has an alright start, and gets better later.

But totally cool if you can't get into it. Plenty of other shows to watch that have more engaging beginnings.

Wanderingjoke2026-01-15 14:52

The other 1100+ episodes.

But seriously, if it's not for you, then drop it.

Yuukikoneko2026-01-15 14:54

Yeah, one of the most popular anime in the world, and I got bored / put off after like 1% of the episodes.

Gotta be something I'm just not getting.

Wanderingjoke2026-01-15 16:23

It's ok to not like a show other people enjoy if it doesn't work for you. You'll only drive yourself crazy if you force yourself to like something you don't like.

One_Bend74232026-01-15 16:39

It's "just" another shounen story. There's too many of those. Like, I didn't care much for *Bleach*, so I dropped it after they got to Heaven or whatever. But I did watch Dragonball Z and Naruto.

You can't watch all of them, it'll rot your brain. Like you said, it's mostly just characters screaming their next attack, followed by training, a tournamen, a new big bad, more screaming, etc.

Blackheart5952026-01-15 14:52

I'd say the main appeal of this early One Piece is its pure optimism and positivity. Its exaggerations are simple fun and help to perfectly capture the sense of wonder that's at the centre of adventure - the first arc is not called Romance Dawn without reason, alluding to the romance of adventure. And Luffy's can-do attitude perfectly aligns with that, while further combining it with sheer confidence and his emphasis of people over norms.

How about you, do you think you can more precisely pinpoint what didn't work for you? Of course, regardless of that it's entirely fair to say that One Piece just isn't the right kind of story for you, or perhaps for your current mind of state.

Yuukikoneko2026-01-15 15:07

Optimism and positivity? I found it horribly dark and edgy behind a goofy facade.

As for what put me off... I can make a list you'll probably disagree with.

* Like I said, it's really really edgy and dark underneath the goofiness. So many people are obsessed with death, [Early One Piece Spoilers] >!they're about to execute a little girl in one episode , the whole thing with the dog missing its owner who died, Zoro who I assume is living out the dream of his dead childhood friend,!< and etc.

* The art just looks bad even for its time period, and I checked the newer art and while it looks a little better the fan service is way worse.

* It's kind of just random and nonsensical in a way that's offputting, maybe it settles down a bit later.

* The voice acting (sub and dub) hurts me, I don't know if that improves later.

* The story feels disjointed, jumping between time periods without warning.

* The screaming of attacks every two seconds is kind of goofy.

I'm sure a lot of these things are considered positives by some people. But it's what stood out to me.

Blackheart5952026-01-15 15:37

Hm... I don't remember ever seeing One Piece be described as edgy and dark, but I actually think you have a point there. Something that I've observed in many stories is that overall bright stories can often dive into darker depths than overall dark stories, and overall dark stories can often climb to brighter heights than overall bright stories, because the overall tone of the story helps to both emphasise and balance out these extremes. And One Piece happens to be a story that is overall bright with some very dark depths.

More specifically, One Piece is all about showing that people can overcome these depths. But in order to do that, it does also have to features those depths.

To put thing in perspective, I think Berserk and One Piece are very alike in a lot of ways, but their tonal approach is entirely reversed. Where One Piece is an overall bright show emphasising warmth and the ecstasy of liberation, Berserk is an overall dark show emphasising the heavy weight and burden of fate.

The jumping between time periods is nothing specific to One Piece, that's just how flashbacks are done in most shows.

The usual recommendation for budding One Piece watchers is to watch at least up to episode 44, at which point the show will have found and featured its standard formula for the remainder of the story. That being said, if the show with its randomness, its comical are style and proportions, and its constant attack names is a tonal mismatch for you, then that's entirely fine. There's nothing wrong with a popular show not working out for you.

flamethrower22026-01-15 16:12

There was this "One Piece is political" discussion a while back. But everything is political, so there's that.

In the case of One Piece Romance Dawn arc, the message seems to be that the government is incompetent, and even if they were competent, they would actively work against you rather than helping you. Seems more Republican - aligned but most closely matches anarchism.

awesomenessofme12026-01-15 14:16

Weird thing about Shiboyugi E2. It felt just as slow-paced as the first, but for some reason time just zipped by while watching it. The "skip outro" button popping up felt out of nowhere. Not sure whether or not I'd call that a good thing, necessarily.

(Also, that was the OP all along? I thought it was just an overly long establishing shot, which fit into the series' overall pacing. I'm not sure I've heard a less OP-sounding OP.)

SSjjlex2026-01-15 15:17

Admittedly the [OP song sounds really nice ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VP7mmc_FVNo)(gonna legitimately crash out if that is legitimately the whole song and not just a TV edit).

but yea genuinely what the fuck were they thinking with it. I can glaze just about anything else about the anime but I am genuinely at a loss for the OP in every aspect of it.

Btw_kek2026-01-15 22:25

[The latest PV](https://youtu.be/wq8O-IvF35I?t=52) has a shot of the OP's setting with a character in it, so I imagine it's referencing something specific in the story

vancevon2026-01-15 14:29

I finished the first arc of Classroom of the Elite. What struck me the most was how the show didn't stick with the premise that this was, well, a classroom of the elite (or, indeed, where true skill rules supreme as the Japanese title says). Very few of the students at the school strike me as being particularly "elite." I mean, they even have a bunch of babboonish delinquents running around for some reason. You'd think there would be at least *some* baseline of intelligence and self-preservation instinct, but I guess not.

[Classroom of the not-so elite] >!It's really funny that the method the government uses to "nurture" these kids is lying cheating, stealing and tolerating those who do. The most important lesson you can learn as a young man is that if your effort to deceive and defraud the authorities, the next step is to bribe them. Maybe the point of the story is to show that the "elite" of our society are rotten, thieving scum, and that "meritocracy" is really just a measure of your ability to game systems. But this point would have been better made if the students showed even the tiniest veneer of social or educational eliteness.!<

Also, the way that all the female characters are drawn in this series is just... so weird. Especially the boobs. They look like they've been attached to their bodies after the fact, rather than being a natural part of them.

mekerpan2026-01-15 14:33

I think the books are better than the anime, but even there the illustrations treat female characters "oddly". The series would probably be far less commercially successful without its illustrations, but I feel these actually do a disservice to the story and its female characters.

alotmorealots2026-01-15 15:04

> Very few of the students at the school strike me as being particularly "elite." I mean, they even have a bunch of babboonish delinquents running around for some reason

Whilst I think that's probably just a reflection of the LN's author's "disposition", I actually went through a government run parallel system (i.e. took place in a normal high school alongside other regular classes, just that our classes focused on trying to extend us) where it was a select group of students based on intelligence test results, and it was filled with the most unlikely mix of kids ever, including some delinquents.

> a classroom of the elite

That's because it's actually elite *thighs*, not intellectual elitism!

https://www.reddit.com/r/ClassroomOfTheElite/comments/162zeqh/remember_when_we_removed_the_thighs_banner_so/

https://www.reddit.com/r/ClassroomOfTheElite/comments/w3opr4/still_thigh_banner_is_an_alltime_classic/

https://www.reddit.com/r/ClassroomOfTheElite/comments/uyx3jw/name_the_thighs_of_the_old_banner_thanks/

vancevon2026-01-15 15:52

I don't think that the problem is that he's a delinquent. Of course you can be a delinquent and also smart, but he's just not smart. He's extraordinarily unintelligent. Not just in terms of academic skills, but, like, in terms of his ability to survive in the world. And he's not the only one - most of the class seems to be remarkably stupid. But yes, the thighs are all certainly very elite.

TheBlessedBoy992026-01-15 15:23

Yeah, the whole organization of the school isn't so much about getting the best of the best, which would mean that the whole school would just be like Class A but on a gradient of getting slightly worse as you go down to Class D. Now, it's been a number of years since I've kept up with light novels, but from what I remember, it seemed to me like that the focus is on getting students who are elite in at least one aspect. So, for Class D, the students are very good at one thing, that may or may not be useful, and lacking in everything that makes them well-rounded or a decent student. Such as Ryuuen, he's excellent at basketball but is also a hot-headed idiot. \[LN Spoilers/Speculation as of Y2V4\] >!Actually, I remember the story getting into another reason for why the school is set up that way as I stopped reading, but it wasn't fleshed out when I caught up to the translations three years ago.!<

>Also, the way that all the female characters are drawn in this series is just... so weird. Especially the boobs. They look like they've been attached to their bodies after the fact, rather than being a natural part of them.

Yeah, the illustrator is a former hentai artist.

vancevon2026-01-15 16:19

It's certainly not impossible that there will be some compelling explanation later on in the series, but my immediate reaction to what you're saying is that putting an elite basketball talent in a school for people who are talented in other things is rather suboptimal. You'd probably want to put him with other basketball talents, no?

Shimmering-Sky2026-01-15 15:08

I didn't know Sentenced to Be a Hero was going to have an OP by SPYAIR! That was a very pleasant surprise while watching today's episode.

[](#delighted)

Ham_PhD2026-01-15 15:28

>This is the place!

My favorite OP of all time is here.

theangryeditor2026-01-15 15:49

[](#seasonallisten)

flamethrower22026-01-15 15:58

I watch a fair bit of anime. I didn't watch this one (not even one episode), but that Walrus character is like the face of his anime, very unique and recognizable.

wloff2026-01-15 16:51

Heck yeah.

I'm currently halfway through the show and loving every second of it. One of those I want to savor and not binge too quickly, I want to be in the right mindset when I'm sitting down for some OddTaxi.

cosmiczar2026-01-15 15:28

Seems like I gotta drop more seasonal anime so I can allocate time for a VOTOMS rewatch.

Juliomorales69692026-01-15 16:27

any recommendations like sentenced to be a hero WITHOUT the pedo/loli sheet? i just hate the trope and the kid is irritating enough that im considering dropping the show even tho everything else about the anime i like.

qwertyqwerty45672026-01-15 17:01

I cant believe half my top 10 didnt even make it into the top 100 list, let alone the top 25. I am extremely shocked.

[](#laststraw)

Zeallfnonex2026-01-15 17:19

We're beating the horni allegations (a little)

qwertyqwerty45672026-01-15 17:29

we are not beating the "r/anime was a mistake" ones

oedipusrex3762026-01-15 17:21

Today’s Eris episode is a 10/10 because of the \[Ep2\] >!title drop.!<

Jokes aside, the production feels better than episode 1, which is funny since it’s usually the other way around.

DoseofDhillon2026-01-15 17:24

I've been watching Fruit Basket Seasons 1 and 2. On S2 E18 of FruBa.

FruBa, as it's called, is a hard show to talk about and place to talk about. It's not mainstream enough these days to be talked about anywhere anytime, unlike Bleach, which makes conversation places just within that specific fandom, which can be good or bad depending on what you want to talk about.

FruBa S1 is, imo, not that great? It's a ton of setup, but it's not very compelling setup. I don't think FruBa comedy is very good, and a lot of the Zodiac are pretty wooden. I love Momiji stuff; Yuki is a great character and Kyo does have decent character development moments, tho as someone where cute doesn't do TOO much for me I was a bit blah on him. The arcs with the friends are also great. But with a lot of ups and downs, I can't say I would have continued it if seasons 2 and 3 were already out, but in its current form, i took it as a slow set up to the real shit, which I'm fine if the real stuff is good. And it was!!

Season 2 I'm almost done, which is, however, far better. With the setup done, we can now tell stories and develop things. A lot of lingering questions do make more sense. Kyo becomes a well-written character fully, Yuki takes a really cool character path, albeit with some sacrifices made, but still a great one, and some zodiacs do improve. Rin is great. The character development in general for a lot of the main characters is also really strong. I do like the fleshing out of dynamics and giving Tohru a bit more is appreciated. I do think feeling like anger or fear or hesitation wouldn't hurt the character and perhaps even make her acts of kindness winning out stand out even more, but they did develop her in interesting ways in S2. Yuki and his arc being such a based highlight.

It's a great season actually, but there are things that just hold it back. Uotani becomes a bit of a dumpster fire with [Fruit Basket]>!Seinfeld creeping on high schoolers over there. Even if he was 18 and not a 26 on a 16 year old, it's still just a love-at-first-sight???? thing that doesn't work and gets melodramatic before emotions can properly get there!<. A sudden character revelation as they now know exactly what emotions they feel and dump them to you, story telling can be a bit sloppy. In concept, most of these work but as a narrative, I find a portion of them to just be dumped on you.

Then you got weird with season 2. See, this show does something I have never seen another show do this early, this well, but also make very awkward. This show, 1000% before the beach arc, was a clear love triangle with Tohru Kyo and Yuki. In fact, the character that is in line to lose this love triangle now clearly, to me, was the much stronger candidate from an interpersonal character relationship level and had much stronger and more interesting chemistry and dynamics with Tohru. Basically, [Fruit Basket]>!Kyo realizes he's in love with Tohru and we just hard stop all Yuki x Tohru stuff!<

It's fine since the loser here does have a bit of a writing reason that works super well and makes them a much more dynamic and well-written character to me; however, the relationship between him and Tohru is basically kind of halted and weird. This is also kind of throwing away a lot of development they had before, intentionally not having them betogether and doing whatever the show can to have their one-on-one scenes be as short as possible and run away from anything becoming too deep. These two characters interactions beaome one of the biggest highlights to me, though now they now seem rushed.

Note [Fruit Basket]>!Yuki has PLENTY of extended and scenes that are very romantically coded with Tohru; most of them are, tbh, and they are way better than Kyo's. Hell, before the Yuki ship crashes in season 2, within this very season his romantic scenes with Tohru are the better ones!< now its like maybe they'll share like 3 lines with each before they smile and Loser-Kun is like "i still care about you a lot tho"

Vs. the other character, who now has a much more developed relationship with Tohru and perhaps a much better case for "final lover," but I would argue has now become basically a Tohru bot and although there's been a ton of good development for these characters to feel what they feel, they have really stilted chemistry. There are little gestures here and there but when they're together, it's just nice people being nice to each other. Its wholesomechungus64 but quickly became diminishing returns for me. I even think [Fruit Basket]>!Kyo has better chemistry with Uotani. If they wrote that relationship to be romantic, I think it would be wayyy stronger and maybe just as wholesome and way more entertaining to watch Get Uotani out of that fucking trash fire she's in!<

Perhaps I'm just a bit salty at my ship dying? Maybe, but I do think it's a rather interesting study of how this show did its love triangle. It would have been way worse to drag out the "maybe she'll go for the other, who knows," when clearly she wouldn't but this is also doing a lot of setup still. It's not like I ship Tohru with Momiji; there's nothing there. With Kyo and Yuki, there clearly is something. It's almost just a net neutral to me, rather than a positive or negative, which, considering how much time these 3 have spent together, is quite a curious case. They are, however, still individually great characters. ~~Now you know why i'm posting here and not in the fruitbasket sub~~

I will be finishing FruBa. There's a lot to talk about but also the fan base from what I keep reading, has been around for a long time and super dedicated, so that should be fun!!

Quiddity1312026-01-15 18:29

For me it took around 5 or 6 episodes for me to really get into it, and even throughout much of the first season I was questioning the more formulaic aspects of the show, namely that a new Sohma family member would be introduced and we'd get a "sob story" of their past (something also extended to Tohru's friends, although I think Hanajima's leaned a bit more into comedy). But with one exception (Ritsu Sohma, whose over the top apologizing made him the most annoying character imaginable) I think that ultimately worked out for the show's better as it did build up a lot of sympathy and care for these characters. At the end of the day Fruits Basket works or doesn't work not based on its plot, but based on whether you truly care about the characters. And I can say by early season 2 I was definitely in that state with the show, something that elevated all the more as we got into later season 2 and the final season.

This part may get into stuff that ends up occurring after season 2 episode 18, so you may want to wait to read.
[FruBa - Uotani]>!My recollection is that the show actually handles this quite well as Uotani and Kureno don't get into a relationship, in fact he rejects getting into one and then later after she's graduated they get together. Once someone is an adult I could care less about any age gap. If someone is an adult they can make their own decisions on who they are in a relationship with and everyone else should mind their own business.!< [FruBa prequel movie]>!How Tohru's parents got together is a whole different story...!<

I also have thoughts on Yuki - Kyo, but this may also be something that is a little bit later so I will also spoil tag it. I am quite certain it occurs before season 2 is over though [FruBa]>!I'm fairly happy with where they ultimately went and it did make sense to me, Yuki's love to Tohru is essentially viewing her as a surrogate mother to him, which really does soil romantic feelings (or at least I think it should, I know there are some who have a mother complex...)!<

Tag me if you share any more thoughts! When I watched it for the first and only time a couple of years ago there was so much of it I wanted to talk to people about it with.

DoseofDhillon2026-01-15 20:56

Oh yeah for sure, I'll get to it as I go on, if something like this catches my mind net I'll tag you!! Season 2 has been very good despite some of my weird feelings. I'll see oh Uotani works out for myself but as of now, yesssh yeah this is a hard hill to get over.

I did read this when I realized, "oh so he's not getting with Tohru" and as of now where I'm at least least [FruBa]>!Untill the realization Kyo was in love with her, I feel like it could have actually went the other way around. Kyo whole thing with his real form was the gaslighting from his mother and the hole in his heart his mother left him. While with Yuki as i see now does have mother issues but already has a bit of a surrogate parent in Ayame (BASED AYAMAE). Sure thats your brother and not mother but I think the symbolism and lines aren't that hard to connect for the parent-teacher interview. Kyo biggest issue as we see thus far was his mother. Not to say mothers and parents don't play a big role with both but the whole bracelet incident is a way bigger moment and its all connected back to Kyo issues with his mom's love, and now he's getting a legit version of that with Tohru. I haven't finished it yet so I can't judge fully but from where I'm at, i think Kyo maternal issues connect far deeper with Tohru than they have with Yuki. Yuki issues all go back mostly to Akito and trusting himself and people, not AS MUCH as mother issues. He's working through them really nicely and I'm very happy for that, but as of now it does make it awkward transition into that for me.!<

Dull_Spot_82132026-01-15 18:31

I always liked Yuki more than Kyo as a character, not necessarily because of his dynamic with Tohru, but just his character in general resonates more with me. Of the three main characters, I empathized with his story.

Though, my entry to Fruits Basket was the 2001 anime as a kid, and I found Tohru annoying then. I was a baby gay seeing some of my first explicitly queer characters on screen and Haru was my guy. Thinking back then, my favorite characters were Yuki, Hatori, Haru, Shigure, Aya, Uo, and Hana. There was no Rin or Kureno in the original anime. The manga was ongoing and took a lot longer to get the English volumes from what I remember. They were harder to get stateside back then.

The anime original ending of Fruits Basket 2001, how they handled Akito, and everything was a bit different, and I think the comedy was better overall in the original anime series. Season one of the remake felt too sterile to me when I watched it, like something was missing. It looks aesthetically fantastic and much better than the original, but it felt toned down and had less heart, to me.

That could be because it was my second experience with the series and I wasn’t a kid anymore, but I still prefer the original over the remake for season one. Two and Three are much more compelling because we’re getting into the meat of the story, but I stand by the original 2001 anime being a better show overall than the 2019 remake’s season one.

_Ridley2026-01-15 18:48

> I was a baby gay seeing some of my first explicitly queer characters on screen and Haru was my guy.

I never understood why so many people stuck to [Fruba ships] >!Yuki x Tohru for their non-canon pair when there's a perfectly good Yuki x Haru right there.!<

Dull_Spot_82132026-01-15 19:14

[Furuba] >!Haru and Yuki was a moment, and the banter between Shigure, Hatori, and Aya, thought this was post Sailor Moon cousins, Shinji and Kaworu, and Gren from Cowboy Bebop for me, and I think I had seen Gravitation around the same time as Fruits Basket. But Haru’s character made things crystal clear. That, and he’s just a consistently good dude.!<

Queue_Jumping_Quack2026-01-15 17:36

Damn you Crunchyroll, already two series with no English subs for today... its constant amateur hour with that bunch.

Wanderingjoke2026-01-15 17:52

I want to check how much the best anime of [year] poll by u/FetchFrosh corresponds to the r/anime awards, but that's so much effort I could be using to catch up on my seasonals.

VoidEmbracedWitch2026-01-15 19:42

Last year the poll was very accurate in predicting public nominations for aoty and every genre. Wonder if this year will be the same.

_Ridley2026-01-15 20:32

Since Hikaru came in tenth, it's going to be yet another year of my own AOTY not getting nominated at all, I bet.

[](#taigasigh)

VoidEmbracedWitch2026-01-15 21:26

What was yours last year? My favorite show (Dunmeshi) got in via the public even, but my second place, Bravern, was where it missing the nomination hurt the most.

[](#frustration "and I was on the jury, so that's doubly rough")

_Ridley2026-01-15 21:50

Last year was Yatagarasu, year before that was Skip and Loafer, and before that was Mob Psycho.

[](#lifeishard)

VoidEmbracedWitch2026-01-15 22:55

[](#therethere)

Skip and Mob were the cursed double 6th where they barely missed on both sides

BiggieCheeseLapDog2026-01-15 22:12

Hikaru is way more popular and widely liked than Yatagarasu so I think it’s likely to be nominated for AOTY.

_Ridley2026-01-15 22:24

I thought that about Skip and Loafer, Mob Psycho, and Fruits Basket, and we saw what happened there.

vancevon2026-01-15 18:07

[maid president 21] >!omg a childhood friend literally just falling out of the fucking sky, so perfect. this is how you write a good romance!<

Salty1452026-01-15 18:20

You know maybe money can solve all problems.

*Sentenced to Be a Hero* doesn’t feel like it’s doing all that much different from a more mid-tier fantasy, but has enough money thrown at it that it can have a good production and score to really polish things up as much as possible, and honestly that little bit extra is enough to make it work.

I can see a world where this same story is stuck to an 5-6/10 seasonal slop series, but luckily we don’t live in that world.

Edit: actually, that’s not totally true. So far it hasn’t committed the cardinal sin most Narou do and spend way too much time explaining everything despite their best efforts to cut to the chase. That’s an important distinction for sure.

AppleOwn3542026-01-15 18:41

reckon its more because these people genuinely want to work on it than it having thrown big money at it

Salty1452026-01-15 18:45

That’s part of it, but from the musings I’ve heard it also did have a ton of money thrown at it lol. KADOKAWA knew they could get a hit out of this one and threw money at the problem to patch up holes in a production that might otherwise have imploded without it.

At least, that’s what I heard.

Money can’t always fix the problem, sure, but it sure helps to keep things on track when things so awry.

nsleep2026-01-15 19:41

Money can make people check it out, the story being good or not is entirely dependent on its merits. But turning eyes to your work is the first step to make something big, that's why they threw money at something they knew would sell.

Just in this season, I feel like a lot more people would be watching Mayonaka Heart Tune if they gave it a better adaptation. What we got feels like such a wasted opportunity when it's the first school harem series people are really into the manga since Quints.

Salty1452026-01-15 18:42

I question a lot of things about CR’s leadership, but not having MHA Final Season, *Gachiakuta*, or now JJK S3 be same-day dubs certainly is a choice.

I’m sure having *Fire Force* and *Dark Moon: The Blood Altar* be same-day dubs was really worth it.

And yeah ok, “don’t watch dubs, subs are better anyway”. That being said, a lot of people (and a lot of people who watch these shows specifically) only watch things dubbed and I would think its better for your market penetration to maximize how many people can be discussing your biggest releases at once, since this two-week delay shit effectively means I (speaking generally) am locked out of engaging with discussion about the show with others.

I mean… I get it in a way. Anything remotely interesting doesn’t get dubbed because the people looking for it will find it anyway. Big shows don’t need to be dubbed immediately because people will watch it with time and its shelf life is long beyond the season. Isekai ABSOLUTELY must be dubbed because nobody is gonna go out of their way to watch it without it and we need to maximize reasons for people to watch it. That seems to be the strategy, but is noteworthy that everyone else does not seem to do this. *City the Animation* and GQuuuuuuX got a same day dub, *Dan Da Dan* was on Netflix and got a same day dub, other things probably got one too that I can’t remember. It seems when most people that can do a same-day dub have a big title, then they do what they can to make it happen. Crunchyroll on the other hand, does not.

Dull_Spot_82132026-01-15 19:31

This is one of those things that I never worry about being basically sub only, and as a long time fan, it’s not an issue for the medium. It’s been this way for decades and anime is popular because of its place of origin, which includes the language.

Your dedicated fan base is going to watch the content no matter what is available, and, in my experience, that fanbase is watching mostly subs. I’m not out here to argue over which is better, since that’s a personal preference, but when creators talk about keeping anime anime, the language is part of the identity.

Salty1452026-01-15 20:03

I mean it more from CR’s perspective. There’s certainly an argument for which is better, but in practice there is absolutely a market for dubs and from the perspective of a company that is trying to have anime reach as many people as possible (to buy their service) it just seems like a bizarre decision.

Dull_Spot_82132026-01-15 20:09

In practice, I don’t think the English dubs are why people are buying the service in the first place, because the dedicated fan base, which is going to make up most of your revenue, is going to watch/subscribe regardless of which few shows get a dub, let alone a simuldub. Dubs are secondary consideration. And a show doesn’t need them to generate revenue or interest in the original product.

awesomenessofme12026-01-15 20:26

Crunchyroll has said that >50% of people who watch anime on their platform watch it dubbed. And so has Netflix, for that matter.

Dull_Spot_82132026-01-15 20:50

I can and have watched things dubbed and subbed on Crunchyroll. So what do you do with those numbers?

awesomenessofme12026-01-15 20:53

I'm not sure how that's supposed to be a response to what I said or relevant to this conversation at all.

Dull_Spot_82132026-01-15 20:58

Because how are they allocating that 50%? Does that mean the internal data shows people exclusively watching one or the other, or are we taking a sample from the entire group? What if they watch both? Do you only need to watch one dubbed show to be counted or do you need to watch the majority? There’s a lot of factors at play.

awesomenessofme12026-01-15 21:09

I found the exact quote, and it's even more clear-cut than I remembered. They didn't say that more than half of users watch dubs, they said less than half of users watch subs. Assuming [this article I found](https://animecorner.me/crunchyroll-more-fans-watch-anime-unsubbed-than-subbed/) is an accurate portrayal of the interview, they said that 48% of viewers in the UK watch subtitled anime and that every other region in the world has a lower percentage. The stat I found for Netflix is a bit more ambiguous, but they said over 80% of users "prefer" dubs.

Dull_Spot_82132026-01-15 21:43

I don’t doubt the numbers, especially among younger/newer viewers who I would expect to watch in their native dub language as they’re first getting into the medium, but how do you allocate the numbers for a group that watches both? At what point do we get to “preferred” and is that the same as saying a majority watch dubs while only 48% of that majority also seek out subs. Netflix is also not an exclusively anime platform, so I would expect the number to trend toward dubs for anyone not familiar with medium or just that general audience/group of subscribers.

How much of the dubs are being watching in English, Spanish, any other language etc? Do you count them as one group or multiple individual groups in your dub grouping? How do the numbers differ by country? This is something I genuinely don’t know because those are internal numbers that could be anything. And I don’t think these percentages, and how the numbers are being calculated, are the full picture of how people consume the medium, or particularly relevant to what actually gets produced in the first place. Japan is always going to make anime in its original language first and foremost. The wider community and their language choices are still a secondary consideration. And, as others have mentioned, the logistics of actually getting the episodes out on time are hard enough without having to think about securing a dub for foreign sensibilities/consumption.

Salty1452026-01-15 21:14

Counterpoint: the dedicated fanbase is going to watch your service so long as you don’t do anything to actively anger them. Who CR is interested in reaching are the edge cases, the casuals who aren’t subscribed yet and who they want to bring onto their platform. The kinds of people that heard of JJK or *Solo Leveling* from a friend and who want to check them out. Those are the people who will be more flaky and who CR is eyeing to court, especially if they want to expand, and these people are predominantly interested in watching dubs.

Dull_Spot_82132026-01-15 22:08

I can’t speak for what an individual business like Crunchyroll wants (other than maximizing profit), or who they’re trying to reach or retain. But as far as production goes, their hands are tied to what Japan puts out and when. The foreign market, language or otherwise, is not the primary factor or consideration for Japanese creators. And trying to cater to a foreign audience is something that I think does not benefit the medium as a whole. It starts to lose what made it appealing in the first place, as opposed to English cartoons or any other country’s animation. Language/culture has a lot to do with that, imo.

cosmiczar2026-01-15 19:46

You are completely ignoring the logistical reason as to why something can get simuldub: the producers need to provide the episodes to whoever is dubbing it in advance.

This industry is famous for the fact that sometimes episodes are only finished mere hours before their broadcast, and the shows that get simuldub are pretty much the exceptions. City, for one, is by KyoAni, who famously finishes their shows ahead of time. GQuuuuuuX, for another, was finished even before the time the movie version of the first few episodes was screened.

Fire Force's case is related to the fact Crunchyroll is literally in the show's production committee (inhereting it from Funimation), meaning that they can, if the rest of the committee agree, help set a release date for the show that will help the studio deliever the episodes in time for them to be dubbed. Don't know anything about Dark Moon, but it has the vibe of something CR would help financing, thus it would be the same case as FF.

MHA, which was always a problematic series for studio Bones as they had an entire substudio working on it as if it was an weekly show so they could deliver two cours of episodes every year (as they avoided outsourcing) and JJK, which is by goddamn MAPPA, of all places, are definitely examples of shows that you shouldn't expect simuldub at all lol

Psyduckisnotaduck2026-01-15 20:34

I wish everyone who likes to comment on anime industry practices would watch Shirobako first, lol. Anyone who has would know that some productions do be delivering episodes at the last moment.

Dull_Spot_82132026-01-15 22:59

If you watched Kijin Gentosho in the Spring/Summer we got unfinished episodes streamed. It was rough, but I still really enjoyed that show for the writing. I can only imagine what was going on behind the scenes, and, at the same time, I’m glad any platform was bringing it over here. Hidive’s user interface is unforgivable though.

awesomenessofme12026-01-15 20:25

It's quite literally not a choice at all. If they can't get the episodes at least 2-3 weeks ahead of time, they can't dub it and that's that. Whether it's because of tight production schedules or the studio just doesn't feel like it or whatever. You can see through things like delays, occasional voice actor changes, etc, that same-day dubs follow essentially the exact same schedule as regular ones, just staggered differently. In the case of JJK, the issue is probably the production timeline.

Salty1452026-01-15 18:53

250 episodes into OP and it’s now starting to sink in that the worst is yet to come.

I am increasingly interested in seeing what WIT does with *The One Piece* because even through Water 7 I’m really starting to feel the time distortion kick in, and we’re still about 3x as fast as some of the later arcs get.

There is a solidly 8/10 story and world in here, but when every arc is dragged to a crawl, all sense of urgency is removed. The worst thing was feeling like we were about ready to be done with Water 7 and there’s still 20+ episodes of it.

_Ridley2026-01-15 19:31

> 250 episodes into OP and it’s now starting to sink in that the worst is yet to come.

I don't want to tell you how to live your life, but this just isn't a healthy way to approach this. You've still got most of the series iconic moments ahead of you. You haven't even hit Enies Lobby yet.

Salty1452026-01-15 20:04

In what way is this unhealthy? The bingeing or remarking on how the pacing gets worse?

_Ridley2026-01-15 20:27

The constant worrying about the pacing getting worse in the future isn't healthy. Look at what's in front of you right now, and don't worry about what you've heard people say.

theangryeditor2026-01-15 19:34

> 250 episodes into OP and it’s now starting to sink in that the worst is yet to come.

[I on the other hand do want to tell you how to live your life](https://i.imgur.com/2WPluqd.jpeg)

Salty1452026-01-15 20:05

Two responses deep and I’m still not even sure what I’m doing wrong here 😭

AnythingBacon2026-01-15 19:02

Crunchyroll delayed/lack of subtitles is making me question why I'm paying for this service

TehAxelius2026-01-15 22:53

Because they have barely any competition, have exclusive rights to most of the popular shows each season and fansubbing is dead.

Heda-of-Aincrad2026-01-15 19:09

Just found out that April Showers Bring May Flowers was added to Amazon Prime today. No dub unfortunately (at least for now?) but I'm glad there's an option now for anyone who wants to watch it legally.

BaytaCosmico2026-01-15 20:32

I want to once again urge everyone to give this a chance. One of the best written shows in recent times. If you liked Yano-kun and/or are a fan of Hayamin, do give it a go.

ThePhilosopherKing932026-01-15 19:50

I finished the latest season of Kingdom and now I'm sad cause I have to wait for the next part. Does anyone have recommendations for an anime with military strategies and an amazing cast?
P.s. seen Legends of Galactic Heroes already.

OmegaVirgin942026-01-15 20:00

[Maybe you've heard of this hidden gem.](https://anilist.co/anime/80/Kidou-Senshi-Gundam/)

ThePhilosopherKing932026-01-15 20:10

Seen it x.x

I was hoping for some more recent shows cause l wasn't watching anime for about six years and want to know if I missed any gems like Kingdom

OmegaVirgin942026-01-15 20:21

Ah, I don't really watch much new anime so I wouldn't know, but I don't think it's a type of series that gets made much now-a-days. Even the new Gundam anime are smaller scale.

qwertyqwerty45672026-01-15 19:58

I guess It is my turn to be the manga reader everyone hates, because Chained Soldier is both anime of the year and a massive disappointment where the manga is a lot better than the anime.

[](#thoughtful)

Emi_Ibarazakiii2026-01-15 20:12

So, almost all the shows have aired...

What's your best anime day of the week?

[](#ama)

To me, it's not even close; Wednesday's Oshi No Ko & Shiboyugi!

(Oshiboyu?)

Durinthal2026-01-15 20:24

Sunday and Thursday (again) are the busiest days for me and the former has the most shows that I'm looking forward to based on their first episodes.

awesomenessofme12026-01-15 20:29

Most dubs haven't started yet, but I can say already that my days aren't going to be spread out enough for me to be able to fairly call one day better than another. (5 on Saturday, 4 on Sunday, 2 on Friday, 1 each on Tuesday-Wednesday-Thursday.)

AngleRepulsive54702026-01-15 20:30

It's Saturday for now, Gnosia and Scum of the Brave.

octopathfinder2026-01-15 20:41

Monday: Golden Kamuy and Tis Time for Torture Princess

Friday and Saturday are gonna be good too when Frieren and Medalist start airing.

qwertyqwerty45672026-01-15 20:48

Well, I am watching the most [shows](https://cdn.imgchest.com/files/18b554d67175.png) on thursday so thats what it is.

cppn022026-01-15 21:30

Sunday is both my busiest (together with Thursday) atm and has my two favourite shows so far so it's gotta be that.

zsmg2026-01-15 21:45

Saturday and Sunday although I'll probably move some shows to later in the week to make things more bearable.

Abysswatcherbel2026-01-15 21:53

A tie between Shuboday, jjkday, Francesca day and jigoday

Ocixo2026-01-15 22:15

Probably… Wednesdays?

It got a pretty strong lineup going with Oshi no Ko, Shiboyugi and Tamon’s B-Side. Which are all shows that I’d (currently) rate at least an 8/10.

_Ridley2026-01-15 22:45

Sunday for me. It has so much good stuff going on, including multiple shoujosei, and two nicely animated shounens.

No_Team_50422026-01-15 20:59

Help please :( :( :( please

Anime title from a scene of foreign blonde woman wearing while sleeveless shirt and khaki shorts in traditional Japanese residence, she frightened for some reason when she saw someone that she stumbled and fall behind before standing up to run away

Then she opened one of the rooms shojo doors during her escape and saw a big built nearly bald man (I think) wearing white Taekwondo attire in dojo training hall standing but didn’t say anything to her and there is a shadow across his eyes (you know the type who doesn’t want anyone to see how his eyes look, like a mysterious person) and she walks toward him asking help but before she register what happened he wrapped his arms around her and bite her that immediately died and didn’t scream much

Moments later two people walk in a women with long hair tied in ponytail wearing aikido hakama (white top and red bottom) shocked and behind her a man with eyeglasses (I think) with an foxy cunning smile.

The anime in modern era and the three characters plus the foreign woman are adults

(I saw the clip of this scene but don’t remember if it’s on fb or instagram) and I am still searching but the scene I described intrigued me that I want to know the anime name :’( :’(

gothxo2026-01-15 21:01

i guess Love Through a Prism did get the batch release treatment. i thought it was interesting, but not interesting to watch not weekly (if that makes sense). guess i'll see what people think about it

BaytaCosmico2026-01-15 21:15

Finally watched the first two episodes of Champignon Witch and damn, I did not expect it to leave me feeling so forlorn. It is so beautifully done though that I will keep watching and getting my heart broken. Love the music. The OP especially is lovely and very fitting. Also love the little touches like the mushrooms. This is a definite keeper.

M8gazine2026-01-15 21:22

Been re-watching *Akame ga Kill* with the boys for the past few weeks. Apparently they've never seen it though. I think this show might've been one of my first 5 anime ever or something back in like ~2014 or so...

Still super entertaining to me, 9 episodes into it. It might not be the greatest anime ever but it's an *enjoyable* sort of edgy show. I'm having fun watching it, and that's all that matters to me!

vancevon2026-01-15 21:45

[Scum's Wish 5-6] >!Hell yeah, they start going out "for real" this time (as though they weren't to begin with, idiots) only to literally instantly cheat on each other. Hana continually imagining her fucking music teacher of all people mocking her for her lack of sexual prowess (and also the way that her fucking music teacher mocks her for her lack of sexual prowess) is just amazing. And then in the end when Mugi is just positively giddy about the fact that Hana is a scummy piece of shit, like, he's never sounded happier in the entire show... ah man I can't stop gushing about this show. These characters are all unbelievably amazing, especially Mugi.!<

[](#mugiwait) [](#mugiwait) [](#mugiwait)

Korkez112026-01-15 21:53

Honestly I'm surprised that Nana didn't get popular in the West because I'm 11 episode deep and there's still not many Japan-specific elements. Tokyo in this anime isn't that different from New York and Nanas' everyday struggles - from everyday struggles of American college students. Nana really can pass for some sort of Daria spin-off.

_Ridley2026-01-15 21:59

How are you defining "the West"? Because Nana's super popular in the US. It's one of a handful of shoujo manga men will admit to reading, and ANN included the 25th anniversary reissue as part of their best new manga of 2025.

Miserable_Ad_74852026-01-15 21:53

So, I had a question about the new Netflix anime called Love Through a Prism. To my understanding, the MC, Lili Ichijoin, is Japanese and is going to the UK, yet in the English dub her accent is British. Wouldn’t it make more sense for her accent to be Japanese?

Abysswatcherbel2026-01-15 22:03

JJK cooked today with the creativity, next week is my favorite part of the whole series, let's go

cppn022026-01-15 23:00

>JJK cooked today with the creativity

Is this sarcasm?

[](#harukathink)

Ocixo2026-01-15 22:31

While this year’s list of r/anime’s favourite anime is pretty solid overall, it’s only too bad that I dislike 3/5 titles in the top 5. You cannot have everything, I suppose.

IXajll2026-01-15 22:54

How can you dislike them if you haven‘t even watched them?

Ocixo2026-01-15 23:08

How you can give exceedingly low scores to anime of which you’ve only watched the first episode at most?

It’s the same sort of thing. I’ve seen enough of the show to realise that I won’t like it. And I *did* unfortunately [watch Dandadan](https://www.reddit.com/r/anime/s/uFPva5b5xT).

IXajll2026-01-15 23:33

There is a tremendous difference between judging a show that you actually watched an episode of vs. superficially judging an anime based on, what, a KV and three lines of synopsis text. With that little info you can at most ascertain whether a show may be your cup of tea or not, but to go further and say that you outright dislike them feels kinda close minded and biased. And even then, you‘d normally just shrug and move on, but going like „you can’t have everything“ about 3 shows you haven‘t even watched just comes across as a bit petty.

And obviously low scores for shows I dropped only judge the episode(s) I‘ve seen and not the entire anime, nothing wrong with that.

Edit: wrote this before I saw your edit. You can to some extend make that point about sequels, but not really new shows.

Ocixo2026-01-16 00:03

You’re not going to like this, but my dislike of the aforementioned shows is *also* strengthened a considerable bit by my annoyance with the fans. That’s how something not being one’s cup of tea turns into general aversion.

Is that petty like you said? Perhaps. But that’s how I feel. I don’t have to be fair in this respect.

My opinion of a series isn’t exclusively dictated by the work itself. I’ll never watch Rurouni Kenshin because of the author’s past actions either, for example.

Heda-of-Aincrad2026-01-16 01:45

At least they picked a good number one. I didn't see/vote in the poll, but I also watched less than 10 seasonals last year. Glad to see Apothecary, SpyFam, Fragrant Flower and Medalist all made the list though. There are only a few others in the top 25 that I'm somewhat interested in, most of of them aren't for me.

Edit: Oh wow, I just checked and it turns out I *did* vote in the poll but just forgot. (It's been a long week.)

[](#azusalaugh)

qwertyqwerty45672026-01-15 22:52

Voting for superlatives is harder than anything. I cant even think of 1 entry for most categories

[](#bigthink)

cppn022026-01-15 23:01

Want me to tell you what to vote for?

Wanderingjoke2026-01-15 23:16

I rarely recall specific episodes well enough to determine a "favorite."

qwertyqwerty45672026-01-15 23:17

tbh, my previous years I've had episodes that have impressed me so much i'd taken note of them, it just didnt happen in 2025.

Emi_Ibarazakiii2026-01-16 01:56

More often than not, my favorites are first or last episode, so easy enough to remember!

But yeah, when it's in the middle of the season it's tougher, unless it's one of those series I rewatched 15 times.

awesomenessofme12026-01-15 22:52

In 99% of cases, I have no issue with the use of modern slang in anime dubs as long as it doesn't feel out of place, but Uncle From Another World makes me ask the real questions like "Did they say 'simp' or 'touch grass' in 2018? I honestly can't remember."

qwertyqwerty45672026-01-15 23:01

Most definitely did.

awesomenessofme12026-01-15 23:06

To be honest, you could tell me most internet slang is anywhere between 1 and 20 years old and I'd believe you unless I really thought about it. This all blurs together.

vancevon2026-01-15 23:26

this is why you should always write all anime characters like victorian gentlemen

Emi_Ibarazakiii2026-01-16 01:50

*You're pretty sus, Senpai!*

[](#slowgrin)

mekerpan2026-01-16 04:43

"Touch grass" is hardly a new expression.

"simp" as a noun (generically for someone who is foolish) is pretty old. It probably had been used for someone excessively or foolishly over-devoted by 2018 -- but I'm not sure. Ditto for its use as a verb version of this newer more specific meaning.

theangryeditor2026-01-15 23:04

[Champignon no majo]>!The bird magician is the enigmatic gale?! I'm not sure if Luna should feel blessed or cursed!<

Rotorscope2026-01-15 23:14

I think we need to talk about how WIT just dropped this high quality of an effort on a 20 episode original shoujo-esque anime about art students in early 20th century London. We'll see if the story itself is special but man the first episode of **Love Through a Prism** was truly a delight to the senses.

Donnie-G2026-01-16 00:30

The manga adaptation is also running, I think the first chapter dropped ahead of the anime.

I was very unimpressed by the manga however. It was just so cookie-cutter shoujo. Maybe the animation will change my mind. After Great Pretender, I have been looking to WIT for new original shows. Still need to watch Moonrise sometime but I have heard only mixed things about it.

Rotorscope2026-01-16 03:09

I don't really mind cookie cutter to start out, and the production in the anime as well as the setting are enough to give it a fairly unique tone imo. A lot of stories start at the same point and then diverge into their own unique thing as they get deeper into the nuances.

Don't bother with Moonrise though. It's not the type of mixed where some people loved it and some people hate it; it's mixed in that almost everyone was completely bleh about it haha.

mekerpan2026-01-16 04:36

A little more staid than Yoko Kamio's Hana yori dango -- but it looks promising. I wish someone had adapted her first post-HYD manga Cat Street (which I had to consume in Japanese).

GondolaMedia2026-01-15 23:52

Watching *Is the Order a Rabbit??* and got jump scared by a [comment face](https://i.imgur.com/kD8WGM2.jpeg)

collapsedblock62026-01-16 02:08

[Great show](#chinosmirk)

Ok-Rutabaga-33622026-01-16 00:05

What is your most anticipated anime of 2026? I think k it’s tough, but I am quite stoked about Black Clover season 2 :)

Shimmering-Sky2026-01-16 00:22

That isn't already airing? The fourth Madoka Magica movie for sure. I've been waiting for that for nearly a decade.

[](#concealedexcitement)

Durinthal2026-01-16 00:24

More Ascendance of a Bookworm.

[](#shhh)

IXajll2026-01-16 00:30

Excluding winter since that’s already in full swing by now and excluding shows not guaranteed to release in 2026:

* Witch Hat Atelier
* Youjo Senki S2

vancevon2026-01-16 00:34

i sort of can't help but to look forward to angel next door even though i didn't like season 1 very much. there's just something about that couch... it calls to you in ways that cannot be comprehended

alotmorealots2026-01-16 00:55

> there's just something about that couch... it calls to you in ways that cannot be comprehended

Found the US Veep's reddit account...

vancevon2026-01-16 01:14

not gonna lie, i've gotten a bit less fond of my last name this last year or so

VoidEmbracedWitch2026-01-16 00:46

~~more episodes of Shiboyugi~~ Madoka Magica Movie 4 and Awajima Hyakkei

TehAxelius2026-01-16 00:56

The Science Saru *Ghost in the Shell* with *Ascendance of a Bookworm* short after. *Bookworm* I know the story is gonna be good, and Wit is usually a competent studio. But Saru adapting my formative manga? That's a strong one.

Emi_Ibarazakiii2026-01-16 01:47

This season's Oshi No Ko...

Or Gushing, depends how horny I am.

[](#bigthink)

Quiddity1312026-01-16 03:54

Fate Rewinder, if it actually gets released in 2026 (it has been announced, but no release date). First new Rie Matsumoto anime TV show in 10 years.

And if that doesn't come out, then the new Madoka Magica movie.

mr_beanoz2026-01-16 04:51

Finale of Bleach. Can't wait what kind of adaptation would we have for the show's climax.

Salty1452026-01-16 00:33

I completely forgot that *Re:Zero* aired new content in 2025.

Honestly, I think that tells me all I need to know.

Mr_Rock-haley2026-01-16 00:35

I'm starting Makeine (episode 2), and I'd like to know if it will continue with this comedic tone or if it will get to that painful part about being a losing heroine

entelechtual2026-01-16 00:36

yes

vancevon2026-01-16 01:18

what do you think, is heartbreak painful?

Mr_Rock-haley2026-01-16 02:32

Hell yeah
I asked because everything's been really funny so far, even the way Anna just accepted it just like a sitcom. But it's good that things are going to heat up!

_Ridley2026-01-16 01:00

This season of anime is so queer, and I love it for that. We've got:

* Cross-dressing, baby gays' first crushes, and a sarcastic gay nurse who loves drama in HanaKimi.
* A cis girl with gender dysphoria in Moonlit Dusk
* Fuck or die two episodes into Bean Counter.
* [Anyway, I'm Falling in Love S2 E2] >!One of the boys in the harem kissing the fellow harem member he's had a crush on.!<
* Whatever is going on in Roll Over and Die, which is just too bunny boiling grimdark for me.
* Some thick subtext in Gentle Noble's Vacation.
* A side character with a boyfriend in Invisible Man, judging by the OP and a comment he made about having a partner.

I'm probably even forgetting something. What a time to be alive.

theangryeditor2026-01-16 01:17

> sarcastic gay nurse who loves drama

[best boy](#utahapraises)

_Ridley2026-01-16 01:52

Jun Fukuyama is playing him perfectly. He's a delight whenever he's on screen.

theangryeditor2026-01-16 02:26

His voice is music to my ears

[](#seasonallisten)

Dull_Spot_82132026-01-16 02:51

>Jun Fukuyama

Well, I just changed my mind about adding Hana Kimi to my growing list.

_Ridley2026-01-16 02:57

Just keep in mind how old the manga is. It is, as the kids say, problematic af.

Dull_Spot_82132026-01-16 03:05

If it’s from the 90s/2000s, I would be surprised if there wasn’t something “problematic”by today’s standards. I’m way more harsh on contemporary works with questionable culture stuff, and usually only when they’re playing the bit straight in a serious drama or something. Otherwise it’s all fair game. I remember the old days and what was got up to then. Shit was wild.

Durinthal2026-01-16 03:45

> Anyway, I'm Falling in Love S2 E2

[](#blankblink)

Huh, guess I should get back to that one.

_Ridley2026-01-16 04:58

I mean, it's only been two episodes, but S2 has been much more interesting than S1. I'm seriously into it now.

qwertyqwerty45672026-01-16 01:13

well, tougen anki certainly was one of the anime of 2025

Emi_Ibarazakiii2026-01-16 01:36

I was quite hyped for Roll Over and Die, and I still am, to an extent...

But the one worry I had in the first episode is beginning to concretise more and more; [Roll over and die]>!I couldn't care less about Sidegirl, and her entire personality so far is "Oh master, am I really worthy of breathing this air, when I am but a lowly slave?", and it's not that interesting. And yes, I know, it makes sense for her character given her life before this, but 'it make sense' doesn't make it any more interesting to watch, so I kinda hope it wraps up quickly!<

Fancy_Pompieru2026-01-16 01:40

i’ve been trying to find some good anime inspired clothing that is very subtle and doesn’t look like a sin against clothes , anything that looks remotely like these clothes that i found on a scam website (would also be cool if anybody knows where to get the warden hoodie). So yeah , i would really appreciate it if anyone can drop their site or seller

Puddo2026-01-16 02:20

Yoshiki Imazu did the [opening for some NHK drama](https://x.com/nhk_toyotomi/status/2011566933863497830). Man I love his animation style so much. Didn't even really like his [Fluffiction](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VacSS8EaOXo) when I first saw something from his. What was I even thinking then. [Andersen](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bOw2XdrsatI), [A Never Ending Love Song](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4gzhrPEDFis), [Nekko](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jz8O2t2r8Gs), [Otogibanashi](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DMnonKk1rYs), hell even a [jam commercial](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tDIpgSZKObY) becomes lovely. The dream would be him directing a whimsical magical fairy tale as a (short) film and not just a MV. It's such a perfect style for it.

Wanderingjoke2026-01-16 02:35

Watatabe completed.

This is a show that had competing qualities for me. I generally don't watch or like supernatural, yokai, etc., and even just starting this one is an accomplishment. On the flip side, it's a character drama exploring depression and suicide, and that gets me in the door. It also helps that for much of the show you'd never know it was supernatural. Plus fox girl.

So yeah, it's good for what it is, but the genre puts a ceiling on my enjoyment. 7/10. Shocking, as this is higher for me than Summertime Render, which has time travel. Consider it a testament to the drama.

Dull_Spot_82132026-01-16 02:48

Miko and the music are the only things I liked in that show. And I usually love depression dramas and the supernatural and thought I’d love this one. I was very wrong.

theangryeditor2026-01-16 02:55

https://i.imgur.com/UQdkni4.png

I was hoping to like it more as well

Cretviones2026-01-16 02:44

I can't find the Sentenced to Be a Hero thread, so imma say it here, this was a pretty good second episode

alotmorealots2026-01-16 02:49

This one?

https://old.reddit.com/r/anime/comments/1qdjmeq/yuushakei_ni_shosu_choubatsu_yuusha_9004tai_keimu/

Cretviones2026-01-16 02:50

Thanks, Idk why I couldn't see it!

qwertyqwerty45672026-01-16 03:00

Now that the tougen has been anki'd, I guess its time to go back to One Punch ^^^^^^wo Man

[](#mugiwait)

tripleaamin2026-01-16 03:05

All you need is kill got its release in US, I don’t see a thread for it.

entelechtual2026-01-16 03:08

Tom Cruise ain’t an anime character bro he just act like one.

CerberusZX2026-01-16 03:25

I'm enjoying 20 shows this season and I can post 1 more clip within 30 days, but no scenes have stood out as particularly clippable.

vancevon2026-01-16 03:28

you should post that clip of the one girl eating a strawberry from k-on, i don't think it's been on the front page enough

alotmorealots2026-01-16 04:04

The [~~Roll Over and Die~~ Holy Grail of Eris E1] >!possession scene with enough run time for before/after possession?!<

CerberusZX2026-01-16 04:08

I don't recall that happening in ROaD. Did you mean Holy Grail of Eris?

EDIT: Assuming you meant Holy Grail, the scene is a bit long and has a noticeable commercial break as well as an expository mental monologue that severely breaks up the flow when reduced to a clip. It seems better suited to a video edit. Still, a simple split and trim is way easier than adding subs myself like I did with the Grisaia clips, so I may end up doing that if I don't come up with anything better between now and Saturday morning.

alotmorealots2026-01-16 04:17

Oh yeah, oops! Sorry, post-lunch fugue state lol

thisisdropd2026-01-16 04:38

The scene in Chained Soldier where Yakumo tried to calm Bell down but that's borderline H.

Desolation-Row4202026-01-16 04:05

I need some help finding merchandise.
About 2 years ago or so, after the release of JJK season 2, I saw someone on Instagram selling jjk themed Juicy Tracksuits.
I remember one of them being baby blue, with Gojos Domain in place of Juicy on the pants.
Can't find them anywhere, does anyone know which site sells these?
(They also had Toji and Sukuna variations in other colors, but the domain part on the pants stayed the same.)

Expert_Platypus6542026-01-16 04:09

\[Kizoku Tensei: Megumareta Umare kara Saikyou no Chikara\]>!How many romantic interests does the protagonist have, and who are they!<

Honey_Mizo2026-01-16 04:28

I don’t know why smoking makes a character so attractive. It’s one of the least appealing traits to me irl.

mr_beanoz2026-01-16 04:45

"Getting Lung Cancer Behind The Supermarket With You"

mr_beanoz2026-01-16 04:46

It is still funny to me to see the U-17 fetishist somehow tells himself that he's the better one than the guy who seeks all girls' attention.

Salty1452026-01-16 04:52

There is something about Glass Reflection’s Best Anime of 2025 list that lives rent-free in my head, and that’s how apologetic he almost sounds at points in that video. As if he’s pre-addressing some kind of backlash to his list. Like, is the state of the community that bad that you feel the need to do that?

I know I give Geoff Thew a ton of shit, but honestly after looking through some vid topics in my own time, I realize that he probably is the best that can viably exist on the platform. I tend to grossly underestimate how prevalent the Shounen normie is and how much they dominate the algorithm and dictate who’s skipping meals this month and who isn’t until I have to dig through it myself.

AniTube really is cooked more well done than I thought. Hell, its basically charred and inedible at this point.

Dull_Spot_82132026-01-16 05:00

First episode of Prism Rondo is good. This one’s streaming on Netflix and all 20 episodes are already up. I like how much visual character this one has already, and the protagonist, and the show in general, gives off very Anne Shirley vibes, only as a Japanese art college student studying abroad in England. I like it already.

Queue_Jumping_Quack2026-01-16 05:22

I really liked the first episode as well. Its a shame that Netflix is so insistent with that batch release model of theirs since it kills discussion about series pretty effectively. I hope it manages to find an audience...

Dull_Spot_82132026-01-16 05:42

I hope so too, because this one flew under the radar for me, until pretty recently. It looks like it’s going to be good.

theangryeditor2026-01-16 05:34

I've added it to the watching list

[](#mugiwait)

Dull_Spot_82132026-01-16 05:46

I think this will fill the historical vibe that Shabake didn’t last season. It’s already got the advantage of being set in one of my favorite eras and art periods.

theangryeditor2026-01-16 05:59

In addition to that I'm excited to finally see an original this season

[](#concealedexcitement)

Dull_Spot_82132026-01-16 06:13

I am two minutes into the second episode and my girl is have vivid dreams about art Satan (our other main character) and it is beautifully animated. The voice actors got me hooked too. I now love this.

theangryeditor2026-01-16 06:30

[](#rengehype)

Salty1452026-01-16 05:14

To be honest, I don’t know if I personally agree with the idea of “trickle down economics” as applied to anime production.

I mean, from everything I can see, anime’s been getting bigger, releasing more titles per year, and making more money with every passing year, and the way the business models are set up, you’d think that trickles down to the smaller shows (I mean that’s how they describe it).

However, if I’m being brutally honest and speaking totally anecdotally, I don’t think the amount of “smaller” titles outside of the Shounen tentpole that I’ve really enjoyed has gone up *that* much over the last ten years, at least compared to gains in revenue and investment capital over that same time period. It’s stayed mostly consistent, if not trended slightly downward off of weak years in 2022 and 2024, and if we factor out films, ONAs and other non-TV formats, I suspect that number is absolutely trending down.

Now this is obviously all just my opinion based on a data set of my opinions, and you can certainly disagree. I’m just saying that, from my perspective, this whole system doesn’t seem to be panning out.

Donnie-G2026-01-16 06:50

From the looks of things production committees at the top end up taking most of the cash and when it actually goes down to the actual animators, things remain rough.

I'm not 100% sure what happens down of course but it feels like the studios themselves remain low on the pecking order, which is something that needs to change. Why isn't the studio itself part of the production committee?

It feels like for a lot of anime projects, the thing is funded by like some source material publisher or some advertising company and the objective is not necessarily the success of the anime itself. Like the material publisher would seek to increase sales of their thing. The advertisers just hope more people tune into that TV slot because the anime is good. The studio is paid to do a thing and all they get is what they were paid and little else. I hear they rely on stuff like disc sales for additional profits, but that's increasingly less of a thing. I'm not sure if I'm that correct, but that's the impression I have.

Also unlike something like games where there's clearly a 'per unit' transaction, anime isn't really sold in that traditional sense. Films do have ticket sales but I have no idea how streaming/broadcast success translates into direct profit for the anime studio if any.

alotmorealots2026-01-16 06:59

> Why isn't the studio itself part of the production committee?

There are a few reasons for this, but the most common one is that they don't have the available capital to make the investment required to be on the PC.

There are some initiatives out there to try and provide them with lines of credit to enable this, but that overlooks the fact that doing so substantially increases the financial risk to the studio.

With the fee per service model (i.e. studio not on PC), a bad performance by the anime in terms of revenue has no negative financial consequences (in theory) provided they met their production obligations.

This contains the financial risk for studios to merely being "can we deliver what the contract stipulated for the fee we were paid" which is something that the studio management can exert control over.

I'm not saying the current system is a good one, but it's more complicated than first meets the eye.

baquea2026-01-16 07:43

Think about it this way: when you hear about new people checking out anime for the first time, it is almost always with the big-name titles like Frieren and Apothecary Diaries, not with niche-interest stuff. Likewise, one of the biggest indicators of the growth of the global anime audience has been with the unprecedented number of people attending the Demon Slayer movies and the like. If the anime industry is able to expand so much by basically just continuing what it was already doing, then what's the point in investing in more experimental stuff? Hardcore anime fans like yourself would love it if they did, but you're presumably already watching and spending about as much already as you'd ever be likely to do, so aren't a demographic worth trying to target.

Salty1452026-01-16 11:07

Yeah but the concern ends up being, what happens when that “normie” base becomes so large then that it becomes unviable to get a large scale more niche title.

I question if many of these newer fans are transitioning to more niche titles when they run out of the big guys. In my experience, a lot of newer fans are more likely to just not watch anime if SL or JJK aren’t airing and instead use the time on other hobbies. So there’s not as much of a trickle down effect for audiences either.

ExpiringMilknCheese2026-01-16 05:27

Is the smoking behind supermarket post getting botted?

2k karma in 1 hour for an anime I’ve never heard of is crazy. That’s like Frieren and JJK levels

theangryeditor2026-01-16 05:32

Oh shit it's getting an anime?!

[](#rengehype "this is how i find out lmao")

theangryeditor2026-01-16 05:34

[](#seasonalthink "wait no I vaguely recall seeing the announcement ages ago. I must've forgotten about it. Or I'm gaslighting myself now")

qwertyqwerty45672026-01-16 05:50

it was announced a while back

theangryeditor2026-01-16 05:59

I must've forgotten about it completely then

[](#mindmelt)

bandannadann2026-01-16 05:44

Just check out the r/manga discussion threads from 2022, it was [really popular](https://old.reddit.com/r/manga/comments/tk6c3i/disc_a_story_about_smoking_at_the_back_of_the/)

baquea2026-01-16 06:11

And for context that is literally the 25th most-upvoted chapter discussion thread of all time on the sub.

qwertyqwerty45672026-01-16 05:49

the manga is extremely popular

baquea2026-01-16 06:08

> That’s like Frieren and JJK levels

Not even close lol. KV posts always get a bunch of upvotes, even if it is random shit that only a handful of people are going to watch. By comparison, the Frieren S2 visuals got [20.5k](https://www.reddit.com/r/anime/comments/1j40yb6/frieren_beyond_journeys_end_season_2_new_teaser/) and [18.6k](https://www.reddit.com/r/anime/comments/1nqxhdi/frieren_beyond_journeys_end_season_2_visual/) karma.

Donnie-G2026-01-16 06:39

I dunno if its being botted but a lot of us old time male anime fans are getting to about the same age/position as the main character of that.

zairaner2026-01-16 10:16

It was really popular a while back.

Senior-Step-66272026-01-16 07:36

is kyo from tate no yuusha voice actor and gatherer adventure in another world mc same voice actor ? Y'all think it has similar voice or not ? Just curious nothing important

Durinthal2026-01-16 15:34

You don't have to guess or learn Japanese to read the credits, we have databases for that and [Kyo](https://myanimelist.net/character/208630/Kyo_Ethnina) and [Takeru](https://myanimelist.net/character/272855/Takeru_Kamishiro) have different voice actors listed. I haven't seen either so I can't speak to whether they sound similar.

AnimeMod2026-01-16 12:15

Hello /r/anime, a new daily thread has been posted! Please follow
[this link](/r/anime/comments/1qec1wb/anime_questions_recommendations_and_discussion/) to move on to the new thread
or [search for the latest thread](/r/anime/search?q=flair%3ADaily&restrict_sr=on&sort=new).

[](#heartbot "And don't forget to be nice to new users!")

Ok-Rutabaga-33622026-01-17 12:42

Who is for you.. the most motivating and inspiring anime character? For me, it might be Shikamaru Nara