Category: Miscellaneous

Top 5 Anime of 2023

Top 5 Anime of 2023

Honorable Mentions

Well, it’s the final day of 2023. And, looking back on the year, there was a decent amount of good anime. But, was 2023 better than 2022? The stats are in, and the answer is no. At least, not in terms of the anime I watched.

I watched 46 anime that aired in 2023, which is up from the measly 37 I watched in 2022. However, my average rating for the year decreased to 6/10 in 2023 from 6.3/10 in 2022. It looks like those extra anime I watched this year didn’t help.

Now, before we get into my top 5 anime of the year, I have a single honorable mention. This list only includes anime that started and finished between January 1 and December 31, 2023. That means Frieren: Beyond Journey’s End didn’t qualify for this year’s list.

But, if Frieren was allowed to be on the list, I’d put it in the #3 spot. So, let’s take a look at what it would have bumped out of my top 5.

5. The 100 Girlfriends Who Really, Really, Really, Really, Really Love You

The 100 Girlfriends Who Really, Really, Really, Really, Really Love You anime series cover art
The 100 Girlfriends Who Really, Really, Really, Really, Really Love You

That’s right, Hyakkano made it onto my top 5 for the year since Frieren didn’t qualify. To me, this was the biggest surprise of 2023. I was not expecting this anime to actually be any good. But, it is.

Hyakkano might be the new best harem anime. It has everything you could want. It’s funny, it has a wide variety of cute girls, it has good ecchi content, and every girl wins. It doesn’t matter who your favorite is, she’s going to come out on top.

Though, if your favorite isn’t either Hakari or Karane, you’re objectively wrong. At least out of the first six girlfriends. Maybe some of the other 94 we haven’t met yet are better than those two. But, so far, the original two girlfriends are my favorite.

4. Mushoku Tensei: Jobless Reincarnation Season 2

Mushoku Tensei: Jobless Reincarnation Season 2 anime series cover art
Mushoku Tensei: Jobless Reincarnation Season 2

Mushoku Tensei Season 2 is very good. But it has two pretty different halves. And one of those halves was much better than the other. In the first half, we have adventure stuff. And in the second half, we have magic academy stuff. Guess which half I like more.

The main reason why I like Mushoku Tensei is the adventure. I love exploring the world, going on quests, fighting monsters, and meeting adventurers. That’s the cool stuff. And, to its credit, this season had some great adventure content at the start.

Then, we get to the Ranoa University of Magic. Don’t get me wrong, I still think this part of the season is good. And I’m sure it’s building up characters and subplots that are going to be important later. But, it’s not nearly as interesting as following Rudeus’s adventures.

3. Vinland Saga Season 2

Vinland Saga Season 2 anime series cover art
Vinland Saga Season 2

Was there any question that Farmland Saga was going to make it into my top 5 anime of the year? Vinland Saga Season 2 was easily the best drama anime of the year. And, yes, the drama in this season is better than the action in Season 1.

Now, there is one thing Season 1 has over Season 2: Askeladd. But, he still makes some appearances in this season via Thorfinn’s nightmares. And, we get a lot of other good characters in this season to make up for Askeladd’s absence. So, overall, I think this season is better.

The main focus of this season is on how war hurts everyone. It hurts the winners, losers, and innocents who get caught up in it. And this season does an amazing job of illustrating this on an individual level.

2. Jujutsu Kaisen Season 2

Jujutsu Kaisen Season 2 anime series cover art
Jujutsu Kaisen Season 2

I’m sure Jujutsu Kaisen Season 2 is the #1 anime of the year for a lot of people. It was a fantastic season. Not every episode was a banger. But, there were a lot of them. And a lot of those great episodes were back-to-back.

The first arc of the season was a flashback arc featuring Gojou’s and Getou’s backstory. It serves as the prequel to Jujutsu Kaisen 0, which itself is a prequel to the second arc of this season. This flashback arc was good. But, the main draw of the season was the Shibuya Incident arc.

I’d heard that the Shibuya Incident arc was the best of the series. And, now that I’ve seen it, that checks out. The start of this arc was a bit slow. But, once it got going, it was almost non-stop action with great animation.

1. Heavenly Delusion

Heavenly Delusion anime series cover art
Heavenly Delusion

Of course, I had to have a controversial #1 anime of 2023. Heavenly Delusion was the only anime I rated 9/10 this year. The others on this list all got 8/10. But, it’s not like I thought this was going to be my top anime of the year when I watched it back in the spring.

Hyakkano might be the anime that surprised me the most. But, Heavenly Delusion was the one I went into expecting it to be a toss-up. Based on the synopsis, I thought it could either be great or terrible. And, it ended up being great.

This series follows two teens as they explore a post-apocalyptic world. They fight monsters, meet other survivors, and uncover dark secrets. If you’re into mystery adventure series, I highly recommend checking this one out.

Final Thoughts

What were your top 5 anime of 2023? I’m assuming a lot of peoples’ top 5 include Mushoku Tensei, Vinland Saga, and Jujutsu Kaisen. But, did Hayakkano make your list? What about Heavenly Delusion? Let me know in the comments.

If you enjoyed this end-of-year article, remember to share it with everyone you know. Also, follow me on your social media of choice so you don’t miss out on any future articles — links are in the footer.

Finally, I’d like to thank Roman and JasonHK for supporting DoubleSama.com at the Heika tier this month. And, I’d like to thank Pepe and Rob for supporting at the Kouhai tier. To learn more about supporting this blog, check out DoubleSama.com/support.

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Akane Class Tier List (In the Heart of Kunoichi Tsubaki)

Akane Class Tier List (In the Heart of Kunoichi Tsubaki)

12 Teams, 36 Kunoichi

In the Heart of Kunoichi Tsubaki is an anime about kunoichi (female shinobi) in training. All the girls in the series, except the two teachers, are in Akane Class. This class includes 36 kunoichi split into 12 teams.

You might expect that to mean that there are 12 teams of 3. But, that’s not the case. There are actually 10 teams of 3, 1 team of 2, and 1 team of 4. That breakdown will be important later on in this article when I rank the teams.

But, before we get to that, we need to rank all the girls individually on a tier list. The tier list I used features the following tiers, from best to worst: S, A, B, C, and D.

Akane Class Tier List from the anime series In the Heart of Kunoichi Tsubaki
Akane Class Tier List

Obviously, the higher up on the tier list a character is, the better she is. However, I did not rank the girls against each other within each tier. Their placement within the tiers is random.

Also, what metrics did I use to rank the girls? The primary metric is simply their character design. If a character has a design I like more, she’s ranked higher. But, that’s not all. I also took their personalities, jutsu, and even screen time into consideration.

With a quick glance at the tier list, the character design bias seems pretty clear. More colorful characters tend to be toward the top of the list. And the less colorful, more masculine characters tend to be toward the bottom.

S-Tier Kunoichi

The 5 girls I’ve ranked in S-tier are Benisumomo, Mokuren, Shakuyaku, Housenka, and Touwata. That’s right, not a single girl from Dog Team (the main team of the series) made the cut.

Benisumomo is one of my favorite characters of the series. She has a cute character design, of course. But, I also like her personality a lot. She’s one of the strongest kunoichi of Akane class. Most of the other girls think she’s naturally gifted. But, Benisumomo is actually one of the hardest-working students.

Mokuren is my other favorite character. While I like her character design, that’s not the main reason I like her. Instead, I like her personality and ability. Mokuren is a nice girl who acts as the medic of Akane Class. She can heal injuries by slapping people on the forehead.

Mokuren playing with some birds from the anime series In the Heart of Kunoichi Tsubaki
Mokuren playing with some birds

Shakuyaku isn’t a character who gets much screen time. Because of that, there’s not much to say about her personality and abilities. We know she’s strong and bad with directions. But, not much aside from that. However, I think she has the best character design in the series.

Housenka is my favorite of the younger girls. Akane Class is split into two groups. There are the older girls and the younger girls. of the younger girls, Housenka is the cutest. I also like that she’s always hyper and likes to play pranks. She’s a fun character.

The final girl in S-Tier is Touwata. She has a bit more of a traditional kunoichi design than most of the other girls. And I think she makes it work. Along with her character design, I like how she always wants to challenge Dog Team for their team name.

A-Tier Kunoichi

6 girls made it into A-tier. They are Azami, Tanpopo, Suzuran, Sazanka, Ume, and Mizubashou.

Azami and Tanpopo can be grouped together. They’re on the same team, but that’s not why. The real reason is that they’re a character pair. You’re never going to see one without the other. And what makes these girls unique is that they’re gals. Because of that, they have fun designs and personalities.

Suzuran is kind of a surprise pick for A-tier. Her design isn’t all that special — though I do still find her cute. Instead, the reason I put her here is her personality. Suzuran, like Mokuren, is a sort of motherly figure. Though, that only extends to Ajisai, whom we’ll get to.

Azami and Tanpopo from the anime series In the Heart of Kunoichi Tsubaki
Azami and Tanpopo

Sazanka is the highest-rated girl from the main team of the series. She’s a petite girl with a feisty personality. Before watching In The Heart of Kunoichi Tsubaki, I would have put Sazanka in S-tier based on her design. However, her personality isn’t my favorite, so I dropped her down a tier.

Ume is kind of like the A-tier version of Housenka. She’s a cute, younger girl with a lot of energy. And she‘s often seen with Housenka. But, Ume‘s relationships with other characters aren’t as good as Housenka’s.

Finally, we have Mizubashou. I didn’t expect to rank her this high. But, I like her almost librarian look and how she manages her teammates. She’s always doing damage control for Benisumomo and Touwata since they can be a bit abrasive.

B-Tier Kunoichi

The 8 B-tier girls are Ajisai, Fuki, Hagi, Suzushiro, Tsuwabuki, Kibushi, Tachiaoi, and Higiri. B-tier is for the girls who I like enough, but aren’t anything special.

Ajisai is the baby of the kunoichi. She’s the smallest, and possibly youngest girl of Akane Class. But, what makes her a baby is how her teammates treat her. They’re always doing everything for her and giving her sweets.

Fuki is one of Ume’s teammates. Despite their team being made up of only younger girls, Fuki is pretty mature. Or, maybe she only seems that way because of the other two.

Hagi is a depressed-looking girl who always wants to take the safe, predictable route. She’s the exact opposite of her teammate, Higuruma.

Suzushiro has twin tails, and that’s all I actually remember about her. She’s one of the older girls.

Tachiaoi wiping her brow from the anime series In the Heart of Kunoichi Tsubaki
Tachiaoi wiping her brow

Tsuwabuki is another one of the older girls. She’s on the same team as Mokuren and Housenka. And she’s often the one Housenka pranks. Tsuwabuki also has a nice character design and is dependable.

Kibushi is cute, which is the only thing I have to say about her. That’s enough to put her in B-tier.

Tachiaoi is a pretty average girl. I was going to put her in C-tier. But, I actually liked her little character arc. She learned to be more dependable as a team leader.

Higiri is on the same team as Suzushiro. And like Suzushiro, I don’t remember anything about Higiri. But, her character design is pretty good.

C-Tier Kunoichi

C-tier has the most girls in it, with 10. These are Asagao, Dokudami, Uikyou, Kikyou, Shion, Tsubaki, Rindou, Sumire, Higuruma, and Hinagiku.

Asagao is one of the four members of Dog Team. She’s a very big girl, but she’s also one of the younger girls. Her favorite activity is eating and she’s not the brightest.

Dokudami is a pretty cool character. Her design resembles an oni and she fights using a club. She’s also one of the strongest characters. But, she’s not cute and I’m not much of a fan of her personality.

Uikyou and Kikyou are twins who make up Snake Team. They do the typical, annoying twin things, like finishing each other’s sentences. Also, they use a jutsu that can hypnotize people.

Shion’s a fairly forgettable character. But, she’s teammates with Suzuran and Ajisai. Like Suzuran, she babies Ajisai.

Kikyou and Uikyou from the anime series In the Heart of Kunoichi Tsubaki
Kikyou and Uikyou

Tsubaki is the titular character of the series. Her defining physical trait is that she has the largest forehead. And her defining character trait is that she’s a teacher’s pet.

Rindou, like Dokudami, is a pretty cool character. She’s not cute, though, which is why she’s down here. What I like most about Rindou, though, is her jutsu. She can summon other people, usually Mokuren.

Sumire is another teacher’s pet. She’s the leader of Rooster Team, which means she has to deal with the gals Azami and Tanpopo.

Higuruma is the opposite of Hagi. Their personalities are opposites and the things they want to do are always opposing. Higuruma will want to go climb a mountain while Hagi will want to go home.

I almost put Hinagiku in D-tier. She views herself as the cutest. But, she‘s just annoying.

D-Tier Kunoichi

There are only 7 girls in D-tier. These are Aogiri, Itadori, Hasu, Oniyuri, Mukuge, Kagetsu, and Hototogisu. These girls are the worst of the worst, mostly because they’re not as cute as the others.

Aogiri isn’t cute at all. She dresses like a samurai, which isn’t a cute look, even if I like samurai. And she has an eyepatch. Eyepatches aren’t cute, either.

Itadori has short hair, which she loses points for automatically. But, the worst thing about her is the giant scar on her head.

Hasu is another one of the forgettable characters. And it doesn’t help that she looks very similar to another D-tier character, Mukuge.

Hototogisu, Kagetsu, and Mukuge practicing their music from the anime series In the Heart of Kunoichi Tsubaki
Hototogisu, Kagetsu, and Mukuge practicing their music

Oniyuri has some strong male energy, which again, isn’t cute. She’s on the same team as Hinagiku, though. So, I guess it makes sense to pair the most masculine and most feminine characters together.

The final 3 characters of D-tier are all on the same team. These are Mukuge, Kagetsu, and Hototogisu of Rabbit Team. I’m pretty sure these characters are only in a single episode. Well, other than times when they’re just in the background.

They all play instruments and are in a band together. Their episode focused on their band and I couldn’t have cared less about it. The only good thing about them is that Hototogisu is cute. But, not cute enough to overcome the other issues keeping her in D-tier.

Which Team Ranks the Highest?

Now that I’ve put all the girls on a tier list individually, let’s rank the teams from best to worst. I came up with this ranking by averaging the placements of every member of each team.

In the #1 spot, we have Sheep Team, featuring Benisumomo, Touwata, and Mizubashou. This makes sense since both Benisumomo and Touwata are S-tier kunoichi.

Monkey Team is #2. This team includes Mokuren, Tsuwabuki, and Housenka. Mokuren and Housenka are also S-tier kunoichi. But Tsuwabuki is only B-tier.

Rooster Team, made up of Sumire, Azami, and Tanpopo is #3. And Ox team, with Shion, Suzuran, and Ajisai is #4.

We then have a 3-way tie for positions 5, 6, and 7. But, I still decided to rank them based on how I felt. The #5 spot goes to Dokudami, Aogiri, and Shakuyaku of Boar Team. They got this spot because Shakuyaku is an S-tier Kunoichi.

Touwata, Benisumomo, and Mizubashou sleeping from the anime series In the Heart of Kunoichi Tsubaki
Touwata, Benisumomo, and Mizubashou sleeping

Tiger team, featuring Fuki, Ume, and Itadori, is #6. And Rat team, with Tachiaoi, Hagi, and Higuruma is #7.

The main team of the series, Dog Team, comes in at #8. The 4 members of this team are Tsubaki, Sazanka, Asagao, and Rindou.

Suzushiro, Higiri, and Hasu of Dragon Team are #9. And after them, we have another tie, this time between the Horse and Snake Teams.

Horse Team, with Kibushi, Hinagiku, and Oniyuri came in 10th. Meanwhile, Uikyou and Kikyou of Snake Team came in 11th.

And in last place, we have Rabbit Team. Mukuge, Kagetsu, and Hototogisu were all in D-tier.

Conclusion

What do you think of my tier list and team rankings? Where would you place the girls of In the Heart of Kunoichi Tsubaki? And which team is your favorite? Let me know in the comments.

If you enjoyed this review, remember to click the like button down below. Also, follow me on your social media of choice — links are in the footer.

Finally, I’d like to thank Roman and JasonHK for supporting DoubleSama.com at the Heika tier this month. To learn more about how you too can become a supporter of this blog, check out Patreon.com/DoubleSama.com.

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Top 5 Anime of 2022

Top 5 Anime of 2022

2022 Anime Recap

Now that we’re at the end of 2022, it’s time to look back at the best anime of the year. But, before we get to that, there are a few things we need to go over to add context to the top anime.

First, I only considered anime that both started and ended in 2022. If an anime started in 2021 and continued into 2022, it didn’t make the cut. And the same is true for anime that started in 2022 and will be continuing into 2023.

Apparently, I only watched 37 anime from 2022. That’s far fewer than the 54 anime I watched from 2021. But, I enjoyed what I watched more this year than last year. My average score for 2022 was 6.3/10 compared to 5.6 in 2021.

Why is there such a large discrepancy, though? Were the anime in 2022 that much better than those in 2021? No. The simple answer is that I intentionally avoided more anime I knew were going to be bad this year.

And, we should keep in mind that these numbers don’t tell the whole story. They don’t include anime that cross between years. And they only represent the new anime I watched, not all the older anime I also watched.

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5. Made in Abyss: The Golden City of the Scorching Sun

Made in Abyss: The Golden City of the Scorching Sun anime series cover art
Made in Abyss: The Golden City of the Scorching Sun

My #5 anime of 2022 is Made in Abyss: The Golden City of the Scorching Sun. I love Made in Abyss. Specifically, I love the adventure, the world, the atmosphere, the lore, and the music.

But, this season of Made in Abyss is actually my least favorite. I prefer both the first season and the movie Dawn of the Deep Soul. In my opinion, The Golden City of the Scorching Sun was a bit slow. We spent a lot of time in one place rather than exploring the 6th layer.

However, with that said, this season gave us a lot of great lore. And some of the best parts of the season were when we got to go back in time and follow the Ganja Party.

You’ve been missing out if you haven’t seen Made in Abyss yet. And if the reason you haven’t seen it is that it looks childish, let me assure you it’s not. It’s very dark and graphic. The abyss is not for the faint of heart.

4. Call of the Night

Call of the Night anime series cover art
Call of the Night

Somehow, I feel that Call of the Night being at #4 on my list isn’t going to be the biggest upset. But, I can understand why some of you might not agree with this anime making the list at all.

The OP and ED are quite possibly the best parts of Call of the Night. I admit that. But, they’re also some of the best OPs and EDs of the entire year. Other than that, what does the series do that’s special? Well, the answer is, not much.

So, why is it on this list? To me, Call of the Night was one of the most fun anime to watch this year. Every episode is good. The characters are enjoyable. It’s easy to watch. And I’d love for there to be another season at some point in the future.

Also, I can’t leave out the fact that this is the only anime with Nazuna Nanakusa. If you’re looking for an anime featuring a cute, vampire NEET, Call of the Night is the series for you.

3. Akebi’s Sailor Uniform

Akebi's Sailor Uniform anime series cover art
Akebi’s Sailor Uniform

Now, this is probably the most controversial anime on my list. When it was airing, it didn’t seem like many people gave Akebi’s Sailor Uniform a chance. But, as you can tell from its placement, I’d say it’s one of the best anime to come out of 2022.

Akebi’s Sailor Uniform has a lot of great characters. And that’s important because it’s a slice of life series. The “plot” isn’t that special. It’s about Akebi becoming friends with all the other girls in her class. But, the characters are what make this series special.

Also, I think this is the best-looking anime of the year. And I don’t mean it has the best animation. Though, it does have pretty good animation. I mean that the art of this series is the best. It’s the prettiest anime of 2022 like Violet Evergarden was in 2018.

The last thing I’ll say is that the OP song, “Hajimari no Setsuna” is my favorite OP song of the whole year. Sure, other anime on this list have better OPs including their visuals. But, if I’m only going by the song, this is my favorite.

2. Chainsaw Man

Chainsaw Man anime series cover art
Chainsaw Man

Did you think Chainsaw Man was going to be #1? Well, it’s not. It’s definitely a good anime. But, it’s not the best anime of 2022. In fact, I only gave Chainsaw man and the anime before it on this list 8/10s. The actual #1 anime of the year scored higher than that.

Now, I was expecting to be able to say that Chainsaw Man was the most popular anime of 2022. But, that’s not actually the case. Both Spy x Family and Attack on Titan: The Final Season Part 2 were more popular.

However, I think Chainsaw Man is better than those anime. Sure, I also think it’s pretty much just Jujutsu Kaisen x No Guns Life. But, that’s a good combination. Chainsaw man pulls it off well. And it looks good, has a fun cast of characters, and has an interesting power system.

One of my main complaints about this series is that I would have liked to binge it. Since I was reviewing it weekly, that wasn’t possible. But, if you haven’t watched Chainsaw Man yet, I’d recommend binging it.

1. Mob Psycho 100 III

Mob Psycho 100 III anime series cover art
Mob Psycho 100 III

If not Chainsaw Man, Mob Psycho 100 III had to be my choice for the best anime of 2022. And as I hinted at earlier, this was the only anime of the year that I rated higher than 8/10. I gave Mob Psycho a 9/10.

The previous 2 seasons of Mob Psycho were very good. So, it’s no surprise that this season was very good, too. And what I love most about this series isn’t the great animation. It’s how characters you’d never expect to make you feel something do.

For example, I never expected I’d actually care about Dimple. And yet, in Episode 6 it happened. Somehow, I became emotionally attached to Dimple, the most unlikeable character. But, that’s why Mob Psycho is so good.

Now, I’m not sure if this season was the end of Mob Psycho. The season felt like it wrapped everything up well. And I don’t only mean everything from this season — I mean everything in the series. But, if there is more coming, I’m sure it’ll be great.

Conclusion

What were your top 5 anime of 2022? Do our lists have any series in common? And should I rank the worst 5 anime of the year in a future article? Let me know in the comments.

If you enjoyed this review, remember to click the like button down below. Also, follow me on your social media of choice — links are in the footer. And, come join our Discord server to discuss anime with other members of the community.

Finally, I’d like to thank Roman and Key Mochi for supporting this blog at the Heika tier this month. To learn more about how you too can become a supporter, check out Patreon.com/DoubleSama.

My Top 5 Anime of 2023 article is available now!

DoubleSama’s Fall 2022 Watchlist

DoubleSama’s Fall 2022 Watchlist

Introduction to Fall 2022

There are a lot of anime airing during the fall 2022 season. How many? I don’t know. And I’m not going to count. But, I do know that I plan to watch 11 “new” anime airing during the season.

By “new” anime, I mean seasonal anime starting in October. Of course, I’m going to continue watching and reviewing Boruto each week. But, that’s a continuous anime, not a seasonal anime. So, don’t worry, there won’t be any more Boruto talk in this article.

Today, I want to go over the 11 fall anime I plan to watch. I’ll give a vague overview of each one (I know pretty much nothing about some of them). And, I’ll also give my initial impression of them. Then, at the end of the season when I do my reviews of the anime, we can laugh at how wrong my first impressions were.

Fall 2022 seasonal anime cover art collage
Fall 2022 seasonal anime

4-nin wa Sorezore Uso wo Tsuku

I’m going through these anime in alphabetical order (Japanese titles). So, 4-nin wa Sorezore Uso Wo Tsuku is first. At this moment, it doesn’t seem to have an official English title. But, “Four People and Their Respective Lies” is one translation.

Basically, there are four girls who each have a secret they keep from the others. One girl is an alien, who dresses like a WWII general, for some reason. Another is a ninja. The third is a psychic. And the final girl has the darkest secret of all — she cross-dresses as a boy.

Or, maybe she’s a boy who cross-dresses as a girl? Based on the trailer, I assume it’s the former. But, I don’t know.

Anyway, it’s a slice of life comedy series aimed at the shounen demographic. I don’t expect it to be anything too special. But, it doesn’t seem like it’s going to be bad, either.

Akiba Maid War

Akiba Maid War has the potential to be a terrible anime. I haven’t watched the trailer, and I don’t think I will. I want to go into the series almost entirely blind. So, all I know is the general synopsis.

It’s about a girl who wants to be a cute maid (so far so good) and so she applies to work at a maid cafe known as the Pig Hut. I don’t know if that’s supposed to mean the maids who work there are ugly. But, the fact that people call this maid cafe the Pig Hut definitely piqued my interest.

The real name of the cafe is Ton Tokoton. That’s probably where the name Pig Hut comes from. But, I like to think there’s going to be some sort of twist.

Bocchi the Rock!

Bocchi the Rock! sounds like a cross between Hitoribocchi no Marumaru Seikatsu and K-On! It’s about a girl named Hitori who has no friends, but who’s learning to play the guitar. She then joins a band and makes friends in the process.

I’m going to make a bold prediction and say that I’ll be rating this series as a 5/10 by the time it ends. It doesn’t seem like it’s going to be all that unique. But, I can’t always be reviewing good anime — that would get boring.

Oh, and the four main girls of the series don’t have particularly interesting designs. So, what’s going to make this series stand out? It’s music? Or maybe nothing.

My Hero Academia Season 6

I can’t say I’m particularly looking forward to watching My Hero Academia Season 6. I’ve given most of the seasons pretty high scores so far. But, my primary enjoyment of the series comes from discussing the various quirks. I don’t care much about the plot — or at all about the main characters.

With that said, I plan to review new episodes of My Hero Academia on Saturdays throughout the fall season.

I don’t think there’s much else I need to say about MHA at this point. We all know what it is. If you’re a fan of the series, hopefully, you’ll come back for my episode reviews once they begin. It looks like the first episode airs tomorrow (October 1). But, that may be a recap episode, in which case there won’t be a review.

Chainsaw Man

Surprisingly, I know very little about Chainsaw Man. I know everyone has their own favorite girl. And I know the four options are Power, Makima, Kobeni, and Reze. So, based on that alone, I can safely assume it’s a harem rom-com like Rent-a-Girlfriend.

Okay, so I know it’s not actually a harem rom-com. It’s an action series. But, I’ve never seen or heard anyone talking about it in that way. They’re always only arguing over who the best girl is. And based on these arguments I’ve witnessed, I don’t know who my pick will be.

Power is a poor man’s Zero Two. Makima seems like she’ll dominate me. And I have no idea what the difference between Kobeni and Reze is. I think one of them wants to be dominated, which is cool. So I guess that means the other one must be the vanilla option.

I have pretty high expectations for this series because of the hype. Let’s see if it lives up to them. Oh, and I’ll be reviewing new episodes every Thursday.

Do It Yourself!!

Do It Yourself!! is a “cute girls doing cute things” slice of life comedy anime about girls doing DIY projects. I don’t know what the run time of the episodes is. But, it kind of sounds like a short to me. I’ll be a bit surprised if it’s a full-length series.

This is also another one that I’m not expecting much from. It’ll probably end up in the 4-6/10 range. And, you know what? There’s nothing wrong with that.

I also need to point out that the name of one of the girls is Juliet Queen Elizabeth VIII. Best girl already confirmed?

To Your Eternity Season 2

To Your Eternity was one of my favorite anime from 2021. So, I have some pretty high expectations for To Your Eternity Season 2. But, I know nothing about what this season of the series is going to cover. And, since I’m going to be reviewing the episodes every Monday, I want to keep it that way.

In case you aren’t familiar, the series follows Fushi, an immortal being. Fushi has the ability to take on different forms. Specifically, he can take the form of living things that have left an impression on him.

Mob Psycho 100 III

I don’t really remember how Mob Psycho 100 II ended. I kind of feel like it ended at a decent stopping point. But, I’ll still gladly take more Mob content. Whatever Mob, Reigen, and Dimple get up to next, I’m sure it will be entertaining.

What’s a bit surprising to me about this season is how much competition Mob Psycho 100 III is going to have. If it came out last year, I’m sure a lot of people would have called it anime of the year. But, even if we only look at fall anime, it has some stiff competition this year.

Chainsaw Man is the obvious competitor. But, I think the next anime on this list is the dark horse that could take the crown.

Pui Pui Molcar: Driving School

My prediction for the best anime of the season — and the entire year — is Pui Pui Molcar: Driving School. This is a criminally underrated and underappreciated series. Pui Pui Molcar was my pick for the best anime of 2021. And I can’t wait for it to earn that title 2 years in a row.

For those who don’t know, Pui Pui Molcar is a stop-motion animated series with 2-minute episodes. It’s about molcars. What are molcars? I’m glad you asked. Molcars are guinea pigs that evolved to resemble cars.

I know the series might sound stupid. But, trust me. It has way more character than most other anime. And even though it uses stop-motion animation, the animation is surprisingly clean.

So far, we have 12 Pui Pui Molcar emotes/stickers in the DoubleSama Discord server. I’m looking forward to adding more from this new season. And, I even have a Molcar figure on the way, in case you were doubting my commitment to the series.

Spy x Family Part 2

I’m going to say it, Spy x Family is overrated. I’m sure Spy x Family Part 2 is going to be good. But, I’m also pretty confident that it’s not going to be as good as people claim. Because of that, I’m not looking forward to this season of the series all that much.

Unfortunately (for me), I’m planning to review new Spy x Family episodes every Tuesday. I considered dropping it from my weekly review schedule. But, there’s not exactly another anime airing this season that I’d want to replace it with. So, I’m stuck with it.

However, I also know that it’s a popular series. I’m sure there will be some people who are glad I’m reviewing the episodes weekly. If that’s you, remember to like those reviews so I know they’re worth making.

Urusei Yatsura

Urusei Yatsura is one of the classics. The original series began airing back in 1981 and has 195 episodes. I planned to watch that (and I still might, eventually). But, now that this reboot is happening, I can hold off on watching the original.

While I haven’t seen the original series, I am familiar with it. And from what I remember, Lum, the female lead, was the first tsundere anime girl. That’s right, this is the series that started it all. We wouldn’t have tsundere queens like Asuka from Evangelion or Rin from Fate without Lum.

Also, if you’re familiar with To LOVE-Ru, you’ll probably notice some similarities. To LOVE-Ru is pretty much just a modern version of Urusei Yatsura. The whole situation with Rito and Lala is based on Ataru and Lum.

Anyway, I’m looking forward to watching this Urusei Yatsura reboot. And while I did consider adding it to my weekly review schedule, I didn’t want to commit to 46 episode reviews.

Conclusion

As always, I may end up adding other anime to my watch list as the series progresses. I’m not going to update this article if that happens. But, you’ll find out when I write reviews of the anime I watched at the end of the season.

What anime are you planning to watch this season? Are you watching any of the series I plan to watch? Let me know in the comments. And also let me know which anime you predict will be the best of the season.

If you enjoyed this article, remember to click the like button down below. Also, follow me on Twitter @DoubleSama so you don’t miss out on future content. And come join our Discord server to discuss anime with other members of the community.

Finally, I’d like to thank Roman and Key Mochi for supporting this blog at the Heika and Senpai tiers. And I’d like to thank Eban, Pepe, and Rob for supporting at the Kouhai tier this month. To learn more about how you too can become a supporter of this blog, check out Patreon.com/DoubleSama.

YumeTwins Magical Moon Festival Box

YumeTwins Magical Moon Festival Box

What’s In the Box?!

YumeTwins was kind enough to send me their September 2022 box to review. This box’s theme is Magical Moon Festival. That means all the goods within the box connect to the Tsukimi (月見 / つきみ) holiday in some way. In case you aren’t familiar, tsukimi is the Japanese word for moon viewing.

If this is your first exposure to YumeTwins, it’s a monthly subscription box service. Every box has a different theme and comes with 5-7 items. This Magical Moon Festival box is my second YumeTwins box. Last year, they sent me their Magical Level Up box.

YumeTwins Magical Moon Festival Box
YumeTwins Magical Moon Festival Box

It’s time to answer the big question, what’s in the Magical Moon Festival box? This box includes the following:

  • Magical Moon Festival Booklet
  • Rilakkuma Dango Plushie
  • Rilakkuma Rabbit Candy Bottle
  • BT21 Cooky Magnetic Cable Wrap
  • Mt. Fuji and the Moon Sticky Notes
  • Kirby Japanese Pattern Stationery

Before getting into these items, I want to mention how the box itself has changed since last year. The Magical Moon Festival box is slightly smaller than the Magical Level Up box. But, the quality of the box increased. The cardboard is thinner, yet sturdier. The design on the box looks nicer. And their logo is actually reflective (though you can’t tell in the picture).

Something I like about YumeTwins is that the packaging itself is aesthetically pleasing. They’re not sending a boring brown or white cardboard box. That wouldn’t be very kawaii. They take the time to make the box look good.

Magical Moon Festival Booklet

Once again, the booklet that came with the YumeTwins box impressed me. Everything about these booklets is great. And I love how every box gets a unique logo that’s displayed on the cover of the booklet. The Magical Moon Festival logo is clean.

YumeTwins Magical Moon Festival Booklet
YumeTwins Magical Moon Festival Booklet

Inside the booklet, there are pages that describe the products found within the box. That’s great and all, but what makes these booklets so special are the other pages.

For example, there are 2 pages that explain what Tsukimi is, its origins, and how it’s celebrated. You’ll also notice that there are quite a few Rilakkuma products within this box. Well, the booklet also contains 2 pages explaining the character Rilakkuma.

Another page in the booklet tells the story of The Rabbit on the Moon. This page includes a blurb about something I’ve written about before. That’s the fact that Sailor Moon’s name, Usagi Tsukino, comes from this story. Unfortunately, there are no Sailor Moon products this time around.

Lastly, the booklet contains instructions for making your very own Tsukimi Dango. Now, I’m no chef, but these instructions seem easy enough that even I could make them. If I do, you’ll see it on Instagram.

Rilakkuma Dango Plushie

Rilakkuma Dango Plushie from the YumeTwins Magical Moon Festival Box
Rilakkuma Dango Plushie

Every YumTwins box comes with one item that’s a YumeTwins exclusive product. This month’s exclusive product is the Rilakkuma Dango Plushie. It’s 22cm (8.7in) long, making it the largest item found within the box.

There’s not really much else to say about this item. It’s a plushie, it’s cute, and it’s not edible despite being dango.

What I will say is that while this is an exclusive item, some months feature an original item instead. The Magical Level Up box I got last year included a YumeTwins original Magical Nyan Nyan Plush. And next month’s box includes an original Magical Nyan Nyan Halloween Plush.

Rilakkuma Rabbit Candy Bottle

The Rilakkuma Rabbit Candy Bottle is easily my favorite item from this month’s box. It’s a small, glass jar with a Rilakkuma character (bunny version) rubber stopper for a lid. There are also four possible characters you could get. These are Rilakkuma, Korilakkuma, Kiiroitori, and Chairoikoguma

Rilakkuma Rabbit Candy Bottle from the YumeTwins Magical Moon Festival Box
Rilakkuma Rabbit Candy Bottle

As you can see, I got the Rilakkuma bottle, which is actually the one I like the most. Kiiroitori seems like the best character. But, I think the Rilakkuma lid looks the best of the four options (shown in the booklet).

Something else I like about these lids is that the character’s legs are sticking out from the bottom of the lid too. This isn’t a Rilakkuma lid. Rilakkuma is the lid — or is at least stuck within the lid.

Oh, and since this is a candy jar, it actually comes filled with individually wrapped candy. They’re peach hard candies with Rilakkuma branding on them. I’m not much of a sweets person, but I tried one and they’re pretty alright. If you’ve had peach candy before, that’s what they taste like.

I’m not sure what I’m going to put in the jar once the candy runs out. But, it’s going to stay on my desk regardless of what I use it for.

BT21 Cooky Magnetic Cable Wrap

BT21 Cooky Magnetic Cable Wrap from the YumeTwins Magical Moon Festival Box
BT21 Cooky Magnetic Cable Wrap

Next, we have the BT21 Cooky Magnetic Cable Wrap. Apparently, Cooky is a character created by Jeon Jungkook of the K-pop group BTS. Don’t cancel me for this, but I know nothing about BTS. I’ve never heard a BTS song, and I probably never will.

I guess I could use this item to manage the cables in my office. Currently, I’m using binder clips to hold my cables together. But, the issue with using Cooky as intended is that he’d be behind my desk and out of sight. For now, I have him hanging off one of Rilakkuma’s bunny ears.

Mt. Fuji and the Moon Sticky Notes

Mt. Fuji and the Moon Sticky Notes from the YumeTwins Magical Moon Festival Box
Mt. Fuji and the Moon Sticky Notes

I know you’re supposed to use sticky notes to write things down. But, I think I’d have a hard time writing on and tearing off these Mt. Fuji and the Moon sticky notes. I’m the kind of person who doesn’t want to mess up how nice they look by using them.

The sticky notes are contained within a cover that has gold or silver foil stamping. Not only does this protect the notes inside, but it also makes it look nicer.

If you’re wondering why the moon is orange on these sticky notes, the booklet has an explanation. I wasn’t aware of this before, but in Japan, they view the moon as orange. The more you know.

Kirby Japanese Pattern Stationery

Kirby Seigaiha Wave Pattern Notebook from the YumeTwins Magical Moon Festival Box
Kirby Seigaiha Wave Pattern Notebook

The final item in the Magical Moon Festival box is a Kirby Japanese Pattern Stationery item. There were 3 possible stationery items to get. There’s a Kirby Dango Notebook, a Kirby Seigaiha Wave Pattern Notebook, and a Kirby Dango Drawstring Pouch.

As you can see, I got the Kirby Seigaiha Wave Pattern Notebook.

Before I went through the specific items in my box, I wanted the drawstring pouch. But, once I actually had the notebook in my hands, I realized I like it more than the pouch. I don’t have any use for the pouch. I do have uses for notebooks.

Conclusion

Once again, I had a great time opening my box from YumeTwins. Yes, the items within the box can be fun or even useful. But, for me, the best part about receiving a YumeTwins box is the experience of opening it. It’s fun.

The next box’s theme is Kawaii Halloween Party. So if you’re interested in that, you’ll want to subscribe to YumeTwins before October 15, 2022. And if you subscribe via one of the links on DoubleSama.com, you’ll be helping to support this blog.

If you enjoyed this review, remember to click the like button down below. Also, follow me on Twitter @DoubleSama so you don’t miss out on any future content. And come join our Discord server to discuss anime with other members of the community.

Finally, I’d like to thank Roman for supporting DoubleSama.com at the Heika tier this month. To learn more about how you too can become a supporter of this blog, check out Patreon.com/DoubleSama.