Hello, everyone! In this post I am going to go over and review the anime I watched during the Spring 2017 season. Most of these shows fall under “cute” shows, such as shows with kawaii girls, slice-of-life, cute girls doing cute things, magical girls, chibi artwork and so on.

The shows I watched in their entirety were: 

Hinako Note
Twin Angel Break
Alice & Zorouku
Sword Oratoria
Granblue Fantasy
Akashic Records of Bastard Magical Instructor

As a side note, there were some series from this season I was not able to finish (you can see listed them at the bottom). I have only rated the ones I fully finished. I know that there are other great series this season and I will comment on them at a later time when I have time to watch them.

The Best: Hinako Note

This was my favorite cute show of the season. For personal reasons, I absolutely adored it. The show is cute, funny, full of yuri subtext, and has other relatable themes. However, it did not receive the best reviews because of its fan service. If you are a fan of slice of life, cute girls, yuri, or are a very shy person, I recommend this show to you. I gave it 9/10. You can read my full review, and my personal thoughts and reactions to it here.

The Worst: Twin Angel Break

Although I enjoyed this show, it has some issues. Twin Angel Break is a magical girl anime where two girls are given special powers and need to come together to fight evil. It starts out very well. I like the two main characters Meguru and Sumire (especially Sumire <3) and the main mascot who is a little hedgehog. She was soooo cute! (I am obsessed with rodents). I also like the other side characters, such as the cross-dressing boy and the chuunibyou fortune teller. Overall, the themes of the show were good. Meguru wanted to be a hero, but she was very klutzy. Then, there is Sumire who doesn’t like to interact with other people. By working together, the two of them are able to improve themselves, become friends, and improve each other.

The problem with this show is the story. Halfway through, the story became very strange. From the beginning, the villains were all oddballs, which gave the show a quirky vibe. But things got a little too weird and unbelievable for me. I believe some of the strangeness was meant to be satire, such as the idols that carve tuna during their performances (this episode killed me honestly). But the story began to focus more on the side characters, which took away from the relationship of the two main girls. And then things just got more strange from there. I think part of it is that I couldn’t take the villains seriously. It was hard to enjoy the more emotional or intense parts because the weird villains and situations took away the urgency from them. Part of me feels like this show was more geared toward children, which would explain the silliness. But then there was fan service… So I don’t even know what they were trying to do.

Overall, I give this anime a 7/10. It has some good elements and characters, but they get lost in the end. It is something cute and silly you can watch if you like magical girls, but it isn’t essential the way other magical girl anime are. A recent magical girl anime that is more unique than this is Magical Girl Raising Project.

Most Surprisingly Good: Akashic Records of Bastard Magical Instructor

Going into this anime, I knew it was going to be a harem anime, which I don’t always like. I also saw that the first episode didn’t get the best reviews. However, I was interested in the cute girls, so I decided to at least check it out. I admit that the first episode was really bad. There was unneeded fan service and I found Glenn incredibly annoying. I decided to keep going, though, because I liked the animation and the character design, and I am interested in education. Some of the later episodes are problematic, but overall, the series gets much better.

The story gets pretty dark at some points (I love dark series) and other parts were deep or emotional. Glenn becomes less annoying as time goes on because he starts to enjoy his job as a teacher (which is interesting to me because I had a terrible time when I was teaching). I particularly liked how he focused on his students’ individual strengths and helped foster them. He still has his cocky attitude, but it is more tolerable and quite funny at times. I also like the other characters. Sisti is a very strong and independent female character. Rumia is a sweetheart and gorgeous (another waifu added to the list). And Re=L is quirky and adorable, but also has dark backstory. I love all three of them. There are harem elements, but they aren’t as bad as you would initially think. The fan service isn’t that bad either. The show also has an interesting and different outlook on magic. Once Glenn went into a grammar lesson, I was thrilled. My main complaint (this is from the feminist in me) is how Rumia was always kidnapped and how Sisti was always being manipulating by male characters.

Despite some of its flaws, I really enjoyed this series. I give it a 8/10 and I hope there is another season. If you like magic, some haremy elements, or cute and strong female characters, check out this series. I promise it is worth it if you can get past the first few episodes.

Most Yuri Filled Series: Sword Oratoria

I watched Is It Wrong To Pick Up Girls In A Dungeon as it aired, so I knew going into this series that the goddess Loki had strong yuri tendencies. But I really didn’t know anything about this spin-off and I certainly wasn’t expecting such strong yuri. Lefiya, one of the main characters, is a precious, little gay elf. She says she looks up to Ais as a role model, but I believe she has feelings for her. She constantly imagines cuddling or flirting with Ais, and wants to receive endless headpats from her. She also constantly goes out of her way to help Ais or “catch up to her.” Her crush on Ais is practically canon.

There is another yuri ship between Lefiya and Filvis. Filvis is an elf that is distant around other people because of her insecurities, but Lefiya tries her hardest to open up to her. The two become close friends and many blushes occur between them when they talk. It’s adorable. Then there is Loki. She is downright gay and always going after the girls. It is pretty funny, but sometimes it can be a little much.

Outside of the yuri, I enjoyed this series. The animation has a unique, airy look to it and was excellent overall. The thing that stood out to me the most was the audio. The sound effects were fantastic. You could hear the crunch of monsters and the clang of weapons. The story was the weakness of this show, though, in my opinion. It starts out kind of slow, but when things do pick up… I found it very confusing. I don’t know if this is because I haven’t read the light novel or because my memory of Is It Wrong To Pick Up Girls In A Dungeon is a little fuzzy.  Either way, I just found it very confusing. At the end, they did explain everything, which was very helpful. However, being confused through the whole series was unpleasant. Overall, I give the show a 8.5/10.

Best Loli: Alice & Zorouku

Sana from Alice & Zorouku is adorable. She made this series. This show is very different. It is an interesting mix of science fiction and slice-of-life. It goes from a plot-driven narrative to a slice-of-life narrative and then back again. Because of this, though, I felt that the story was rushed at times. In my opinion, the first half ended too quickly and everything wrapped up too easily. It left me with a lot of questions. I also found the arm lady creepy… But the second half of the show is very strong. If you couldn’t get through the first half, I promise the second half is worth watching. The story is much stronger, and the animation is better. It also explains more about Sana’s past, and dives into a world of imagination and intrigue. There are obvious themes and allusions to Alice In Wonderland, which I enjoyed, having read the book.

Deep down, this show is very psychological. Sana is a child who has trouble adjusting emotionally to certain situations. Most of the series is her adapting to everyday life in human society. When she doesn’t understand something, she feels “frazzled” and overreacts. I believe she is experiencing anxiety and doesn’t know how to deal with it.

Altogether, the show has themes of family, acceptance, and finding one’s self. It was a very heartwarming series and I enjoyed it very much. I give a 8.5/10. Without some of the hiccups in the story, it probably would have received higher.

Best Ambiance: Granblue Fantasy

I have been meaning to check out this game for a long time (which I still haven’t done -.-), so I was excited when I found out the anime was premiering. My favorite thing about this show was its aesthetics. I liked the ethereal feeling of the animation and music. I found the entire series very relaxing. It always put me in a such an airy mood.

I heard some complaints about the story of the anime, but I personally liked it. It was kind of like a slice-of-life anime; it showed the day to day adventures of the characters. At times, the plot did pick up and things became more intense. And yet, somehow, the show always felt so light. It did not feel serious until the end and it still felt light at those parts. I enjoyed this about the anime, though. It was a weird, enjoyable combination. Like I said, I found the whole thing very relaxing, and it always calmed me down.

Aside from this, I liked the characters. Io is a bundle of joy. I can’t take her cuteness. Vyrn, the dragon, was almost too cute for me to handle. Then there was Lyria who was so sweet and innocent. Katalina was a strong, earnest female night 😀 The male characters are great as well. Gran is determined yet modest, and Rackam is a quirky pilot with the same voice actor as Klein from Sword Art Online. I couldn’t help but like him.

This is another series that gets a 8.5/10 from me. It may not be the most groundbreaking, thrilling adventure show ever made, but I found its airy look and story very enjoyable.

Shows I did not finish:

My Hero Academia Season 2

This anime was a total of 25 episodes so it is continuing into the Summer 2017 season. So far though, it is amazing. It will most likely get a 10/10 from me. If you haven’t watched it, go get started. Now.

Sakura Quest

This is another show that is running for 25 episodes and isn’t completely done yet. I enjoy this show so far because of its workplace themes. I haven’t had the best experience with working at in-person jobs, so I find it incredibly relatable.

 

Attack On Titan Season 2

I am a huge fan of Attack on Titan. Such a huge fan that I have read every chapter of the manga, including the most recent ones. Because of this, I decided to marathon the second season. I already know all of the events that happen and I know that the anime is going to be incredibly intense and brilliant. Therefore, I thought marathoning it would be a better experience. When I do get around to watching it, I will try to write up a post on my thoughts 😀

Little Witch Academia

I recently watched the first half of Little Witch Academia and LOVED IT. You can read a brief summary of my thoughts here. I am waiting for the second half (which aired during the Spring 2017 season) to officially premiere on Netflix. When it does, I will give my overall thoughts :3

Other shows I want to check out are:

WorldEnd / SukaSuka

ReCreators

Also, check out my favorite and least favorite shows from previous seasons:
Summer 2016 // Fall 2016 // Winter 2017