The schedule. New season new luck and how lucky I got this time but first summer clean up. Transformers: War for Cybertron was mediocre but I at least finished all 6 eps. No sequels for me. Watch Transformers Prime, also by Polygon, instead. Dragon's Dogma isn´t the trash fire some feared but is equally mediocre. My brain checked out halfway through ep 2 but I still quickly sampled ep 3 and 7. Goblin rape is now genre tope it seems. Both get a 5/10.
Noblesse had a good 2nd arc in the webtoon btw and that´s it. So just like Bleach but from Korea. On to things worth talking about.

Golden Kamuy S3 The show´s lack of budget, the shoddy animation and the breakneck pacing all sting but better this than nothing. Especially after the shit show that was Blade of the Immortal 2019.

Higurashi: When They Cry - New The original was nothing special in hindsight and fully ran out of steam after S2 but there was at least a gimmick. This on the other hand is about as tiered as the current Disney remakes. The old VAs even returned and the “new” character designer also did key animation on the last round of adaptions so what´s the point? Am I too stuck in a time loop? There is nothing here to judge. Same anime, different coat of paint. 5/10 but more like But Why.

Osomatsu-san S3 The shorter S2 and the film didn´t quite reach the height of S1 but were still fun and good on the studio for taking breaks. Cue The Boys Are Back In Town.

Shingeki no Kyojin: The Final Season I hope that Mappa´s decision to start in early December means that they did the math and saw that more than 26 eps will be needed. Or they will just rush it like always. Hopefully not as this prolonged final act is the manga´s finest hour and I am glad that the studio switch finally lead to the anime using the manga´s grittier designs.

Ultraman S2 will hopefully launch this fall for real. Superhero 9/11 should be this season´s topic.
I wonder if the 2 mangaka watching Man of Steel caused this but aliens trashing NYC is the genre´s bread and butter. Now in CG.

Gekijouban Gundam G no Reconguista Movie 2 reworked ep 6 to 11. These movies won´t turn heads but they are the better versions of G Reco. Josee to Tora to Sakana-tachi is a total wild card. I´ll give it a chance. Golden Kamuy is also getting a 4th OVA.

Last edited by residentgrigo at 2:49 am, Dec 24 2020

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I also read EU/US comics and am a librarian.
Manga-Masters, My ANN-Lists + Imdb

I won´t wait till December to see all the noteworthy pilots there are this season so let´s do this.

Akudama Drive I expected nothing from this take on Karas (2005) starring Batman villains but he hacks at Pierrot of all studios and a bunch of nobodies at the helm managed to pull out an amazing looking pilot with lots of style. It’s another matter altogether if the fully original show has enough steam to stay good. Ep 2 certainly proved that fear. The story failed to advance at all, the budget already shows major signs of dropping out (a fight is skipped for example) and a groan inducing way to cheat death is introduced. The strong censorship isn´t helping either. Ep 3 will be my last if 20 semi-promising minutes are all the anime is worth for. 6/10 but likely less.

Golden Kamuy S3 Ep 25 adapted 4 chapters, that´s 80 pages! The anime continues to be paced like a cocaine rush but the meager animation seemed less terrible than usual. More on model than last time too, I think, and ep 26 followed that trend. Continue viewing this as a supplement to the award-winning manga so nothing much changed. 6,5/10

Higurashi: When They Cry – Gou (True) It was revealed when ep 2 aired that the now renamed show is both a reboot and sequel due to the time loop nature of the IP. It only shows how dry the udder is. Which again raises the main question: Who is this for? Newcomers now have over 60 eps to catch up on before starting with the non-reboot and old fans have to give up on the conclusion(s) they once saw. Doesn´t Exist/10.

Osomatsu-san S3 had another wacky pilot that likely won´t be a good way to judge the overall season but it was still lots of fun. I am not worried even if the heights of S1 will remain as the peak of this (top to bottom) reboot. 8/10, for now.

Shingeki no Kyojin: The Final Season begins December 7th. Just in for the anime of the year vote.

Taiso Samurai started alight and then fell off a cliff right before the halfway mark of the pilot. The anime has no idea what it wants to be and neither do I. 5/10

Ultraman S2 is still scheduled to drop in 2020.

Yuukoku no Moriarty The Jump manga and the a bit changed IG adaptation are ok but I am at least 15 years too old for the kiddie pool version of From Hell meets The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen. Funny how 2 anime this season adapt a manga featuring Jack the Ripper but Golden Kamuy is Seinen so it can go all out with him when/if S4 is made. 6/10

One legit anime is already airing and will be trumped by AoT S4 at the end of the season. Undeniably an improvement on the last 2 seasons that were plagued with mediocrity and production delays. Anime is on its way back.

Jiang Ziya: Legend of Deification is a Chinese production but could become the highest-grossing film of 2020 so it´s worthy of being mentioned. Its set in the same universe Ne Zha (2019) is set. That one was basically Naruto x Dreamworks and the somewhat more serious indirect follow-up prominently features the original Chinese version of the Nine-Tailed Fox. Hm. I liked the 2019 film so I am optimistic. The IP is China´s answer to the MCU and the series is only days away from crossing the billion-dollar mark so there is blood in the water. China´s animation output will likely begin to dramatically expand in the coming years so keep an eye out.
The anime industry made 2.3 billion in 2019. A Post-COVID China could catch up soon due to its size but quality control is another question entirely. Stuff like Ling Long: Incarnation or Scissor Seven begin to show basic competence so progress is being made.

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I also read EU/US comics and am a librarian.
Manga-Masters, My ANN-Lists + Imdb

thank you for this detailed information. That is intensive!