It’s pretty ripe with isekai tropes, but That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime does it right, well, and even a bit differently. That Time I Got Reincarnated as a SlimeMikami Satoru used to be a regular old Japanese office worker… until he was murdered and reincarnated as a Slime with extraordinary abilities in another world. Watching an eclectic group of people come together is inspiring to watch as we continue to cheer them on for whatever comes next. Run with the Wind beautifully portrays the struggle of overcoming the roadblocks of life and pushing yourself to move forward. Instead of focusing the majority of the anime on the action and technical aspect of the sport, which is marathon running in this case, the focus turns towards the members involved. Run With the WindRun With the Wind is different than your typical sports anime, and it shines because of that. But what’s best about The Promised Neverland is that the show never lets up on that initial momentum, and despite it being a show with very little actual action, each episode is dripping with tension, building towards one hell of a climax that satisfyingly wraps up the season while also leaving us waiting with bated breath for what comes next. Its first episode shocked us in ways we haven’t been shocked since watching Higurashi no Naku Koro Ni way back in 2006.
The Promised NeverlandWe’re going to try to remain as vague as possible here, because going into The Promised Neverland with absolutely no idea what to expect was one of the best moments of anime in 2019. And though Kaguya-sama is set in a school and does play along with certain elements of it, the segmented sketch structure of each episode allows it to bypass a lot of the day to day logistics to let the comedy shine.
Kaguya-sama also features great supporting characters including a great narrator who keeps track of the winner of each round. However, they're both unwilling to confess their feelings and instead take to mind games and trick to get the other to confess. Protagonists Kaguya Shinomiyua and Miyuki Shirogane are not only the leads of their school's student council and the smartest among their classmates, but they also have massive crushes on each other. Kaguya-sama: Love Is WarThe buildup to a romantic confession in anime lives or dies by its drama, and Kaguya-sama: Love Is War is jam-packed with hilarious antics that blow most anime about a budding romance out of the water. Its first season largely retells events that were already covered in the 2001 anime, but the improvements in art, animation, and a closer adhesion to the manga’s original story put it head and shoulders above what was already a classic. It succeeds as both a feel-good high school romance comedy with an excellent love triangle dynamic, and as a dramatic tale of a family steeped in trauma, abuse, and darkness.
It’s fascinating to watch Senku and friends slowly move up the ladder of technology, and the show’s wild displays of scientific ingenuity are enough to make us want to get up, bust out some carbonated water, cilantro, lime, and honey, and try to make some cola.įruits BasketFruits Basket is an all-time great when it comes to shoujo manga, and its 2019 remake is an incredible reminder of why the story of Tohru Honda and the Sohma’s resonates so deeply with anime fans.