Japanese anime, January-March 2023

by jrl anime

We will now review the animation up to last month.

Blue Lock

The anime is based on a manga serialised in Shonen Magazine. It is a survival anime in which 300 people engage in friendly competition to become the only ace striker, rather than the friendship, hard work and victory football manga that is common in shonen manga.

It depicts team members with too many personalities coming together as a team from a mere collection of individuals. Personally, I am not a fan of anime with a lot of explanation, but this anime spiced up the fun even if you don’t know much about the rules of f-football.

Tsurune – The Linking Shot

This is the second season of an anime that aired in 2018, making it the Kyoto Animation slot for this season. The depiction of each high school’s archery is superb, with detailed drawings that are typical of KyoAni.
Also, as in a club activity anime, the conflicts and the process of overcoming these conflicts were easy to watch.

To Your Eternity　Season 2

This is a continuation of the previous school. Prince Bon supports Hushi, who tries to protect his humanity by giving his own life, while his own death is too light for Hushi, who tries to use himself as a tool to protect humans from knockers. The story then continues to the present day.

Buddy Duddys

This is this season’s PA Works frame. Two hit men happen to take in their target’s daughter. The story is about the start of child rearing. There are some overlaps with SPY x FAMILY, but unlike Anya, Miri doesn’t have supernatural powers and doesn’t know to doubt people.

Even though she doesn’t know it’s her real father, I’m wondering if Miri is not traumatised by the death of her father in front of her eyes, and there are some clunky parts in the development at times, but the story is not too heavy or light and I was able to watch it with ease.

Tokyo Revengers – Holy Night Battle

This is a continuation of an anime that was broadcast in 2021. The main plot of the story is not bad, but the Christian setting of Shiba’s Christianity seemed to be just for the sake of creating a scene where they fight in a church.

That, combined with the lack of movement in the fight scenes that had been bothering me since the bloody Halloween Arc, also bothered me. However, I like the work itself rather well, so I will watch the Tenjiku Arc in the future.

Onimai: I’m Now Your Sister!

The anime is based on a manga serialised in Monthly ComicREX. The story is about a reclusive NEET brother who gets a sex change after being drugged by his younger sister, and then becomes a part of the everyday life of a girl.

She is forced to undergo a sex change against her will, and although she is confused in places, she gradually adapts. The content of the film is a dirty anime, but it is impressive that the drawings are unnecessarily good, and give the work a more graphic quality.

This month we will start watching ‘Demon Slayer – Swordsmith Village Arc‘ and others.