A Moment of Reflection! (Seasonal Anime Updates) – Winter 2024

A Moment of Reflection Winter 2024 Seasonal Anime Update

I watched a total of fifteen seasons from the Winter 2024 schedule and since I’ve just finished my final one, I’m going to take a moment to look back and give you my brief thoughts on each of them! Let’s do it!

A Moment of Reflection! (Seasonal Anime Updates) – Winter 2024

The Spring Anime season is coming to a close and that means I’ll begin to watch those soon since I prefer to binge-watch seasons over a couple of days. I’m not sure if that makes me like them more, but if the Winter season was anything to go by, it certainly seems to be that way. Anyhow, I ended up watching fifteen shows which is probably the most I’ve done from a single season in a long time. Does that make my opinion of them any more important? No, not at all. But, I’m going to tell you what I thought about each one in a nice easy-to-handle format.

Well, it’s going to be a long post as there are fifteen seasons to talk about, but each opinion will be short and sweet, and there will be a link to the full season review if you want to know more. I’ll start with the three shows that I covered episodically as they aired and then the rest in the order I watched them. Anyhow, let’s get on with it.

Episodic Reviews

Frieren: Beyond Journey’s End (Season One) – Sousou no Frieren

Frieren Beyond Journeys End Title

This was the standout series for me. It started back in the Fall of 2023 and ran for twenty-eight episodes. This series was full of fascinating characters and spent a lot of time looking at the meaning of life. There were questions about time and reflections on how quickly our lives will be forgotten once the world has moved on. It was incredibly humbling and left me thinking long and hard about what I want to be remembered for. This is a fantastic epic for the ages.

Chained Soldier (Season One) – Mato Seihei no Slave

Chained Soldier Title

This is the latest series from the creator of Akame ga Kill! so I had to give it my full attention. However, while I did enjoy it, in retrospect, I should have picked another show to focus my time on. Of course, we can’t schedule our lives based on retrospect so it is what it is. This is a fun series that has loads of fan service and some great action sequences.

Solo Leveling (Season One) – Ore dake Level Up na Ken

Solo Leveling Title

I’d read the first book of Solo Leveling long before it was announced that it would get the anime treatment, so I was excited to see what they did with it. Knowing what was coming definitely got me through the first episode which was quite slow and full of exposition, however, the series stepped up massively from there. This is an action-packed series with a promise of much more to come. I loved this one.

Season Reviews

The Unwanted Undead Adventurer (Season One) – Nozomanu Fushi no Boukensha

The Unwanted Undead Adventurer Title

I almost didn’t watch this series which would have been a big mistake. The first time I tried, I was tired and wasn’t really paying attention, however, I decided to give it another go when I was feeling more alert and then I very quickly ploughed through the rest of the season. The central character is key to the success of this story. He’s calm and clever, but helpful and well-mannered. Seeing someone like that coming to terms with becoming an undead monster was fascinating. I would definitely watch more in this series. A thoroughly uplifting adventure series.

Tales of Wedding Rings (Season One) – Kekkon Yubiwa Monogatari

Tales of Wedding Rings Title

I almost committed to doing episode reviews of this season after the first episode, but after watching the second one I decided not to. This started incredibly well with a protagonist who made the decision to be Isekaied in order to follow the girl he loved to another world. Finally, a series with a protagonist who isn’t afraid to go after the girl he wants. At least, that’s what I thought! Soon after arriving in this new world, he turned into the usual protagonist who is cripplingly afraid of girls and any sort of contact with them, even if they are his wife and the girl he’s loved his entire life. It wasn’t a bad series, but had they continued with a more confident protagonist (the one we saw in the first episode) it would have been much better.

Gushing over Magical Girls (Season One) – Mahou Shoujo ni Akogarete

Gushing Over Magical Girls Title

This was excellent. I laughed and laughed and laughed and was also surprised by how good the story was. It wasn’t just magical girls in lewd and inappropriate situations, although that was a big part of it, but it was far more positive about those situations than I was expecting. It also left me wondering just who the villain was. I really enjoyed this mix of dark humour and fan service.

My Instant Death Ability is So Overpowered, No One in This Other World Stands a Chance Against Me! (Season One) – Sokushi Cheat ga Saikyou sugite, Isekai no Yatsura ga Marude Aite ni Naranai n desu ga

My Instant Death Ability is So Overpowered Title

This series had some great ideas, however, it also had too many ideas and as a result, struggled to focus on anything for longer than an episode. This was another series that I liked, but wouldn’t go out of my way to watch more. I’m also not sure who I would recommend it to as it was such a mix of ideas and tropes.

The Witch and the Beast (Season One) – Majo to Yajuu

The Witch and the Beast Title

This is one of the seasons that I wish I had covered episodically instead of Chained Soldier. I loved the world in which this series took place and how dark and gothic it felt. The stories were incredible and it made really good use of the characters. Then, it ended with an absolute bombshell of a revelation. I absolutely need more of this series and may one day come back to dive into the episodes again. One of my favourites of the season, without a doubt.

The Wrong Way to Use Healing Magic (Season One) – Chiyu Mahou no Machigatta Tsukaikata

The Wrong Way to Use Healing Magic Title

This is another show that I will be revisiting at some point in the future. I’ve already added all the manga to my to-read list as I need to find out what happens next. I loved the characters and the world. The hook is one of the best I’ve seen in ages and they managed to put it in the title – just what is the wrong way to use healing magic? This was a great season!

Hokkaido Gals Are Super Adorable! (Season One) – Dosanko Gal wa Namara Menkoi

Hokkaido Gals Are Super Adorable Title

After the intensity of The Witch and the Beast and The Wrong Way to Use Healing Magic, I decided to pick something a little more light-hearted. Little did I know that I would completely fall in love with this series too. I’ve got a soft spot for Gals or Gyarus and this series just hammered that home. I also found a lot of things to relate to about moving from Tokyo to Hokkaido. Ironically, mine was Auckland to Thunder Bay, but the similarities were staggering. These Gals really are adorable!

‘Tis Time for “Torture,” Princess (Season One) – Himesama “Goumon” no Jikan desu

Tis Time for Torture Princess Title

After the first couple of episodes, I was worried that this series was going to get incredibly repetitive. They had a gag involving torture that wasn’t really torture and they did it over and over again. However, not once did I get bored. In fact, I loved every moment of it and found the entire series to be incredibly wholesome. The biggest surprise for me was just how much I loved the Demon Lord’s approach to life and running his domain. This was a huge surprise and I’ll reveal that secret without the need for torture!

The Strongest Tank’s Labyrinth Raids -A Tank with a Rare 9999 Resistance Skill Got Kicked from the Hero’s Party- (Season One) – Saikyou Tank no Meikyuu Kouryaku: Tairyoku 9999 no Rare Skill-mochi Tank, Yuusha Party wo Tsuihou sareru

The Strongest Tank's Labyrinth Raids Title

This series borrowed a lot of ideas from other Isekai stories most notably The Rising of the Shield Hero, however, it was still a lot of fun. It was not one of the strongest shows that I watched, but I don’t regret the time I spent watching it either. It’s a nice easy show that you can sit back and just enjoy.

7th Time Loop: The Villainess Enjoys a Carefree Life Married to Her Worst Enemy! (Season One) – Loop 7-kaime no Akuyaku Reijou wa, Moto Tekikoku de Jiyuu Kimama na Hanayome Seikatsu wo Mankitsu suru

7th Time Loop Title 2

I don’t tend to hunt down the latest romance series, but I’m also not afraid to watch them. On top of that, I’m also prepared to tell you when I love them and this was one of them. The storytelling was fantastic, especially how it managed to incorporate all of her previous loops into the one we were following. It was very well done and I would absolutely watch more.

Villainess Level 99: I May Be the Hidden Boss but I’m Not the Demon Lord (Season One) – Akuyaku Reijou Level 99: Watashi wa Ura-Boss desu ga Maou dewa Arimasen

Villainess Level 99 Title

Again, this is not my typical go-to series, but once more I had a great time watching it. It wasn’t as polished at 7th Time Loop but similar to The Strongest Tank in that I enjoyed it and didn’t regret watching it, not even for a moment.

Metallic Rouge (Season One)

Metallic Rouge Title

So, it came down to the final series for me to find one that really disappointed me. Well, I say that but it was fine. It started well but then lost sight of the story it was telling and bombarded us with too many ideas. Given what was involved, this should have been a great series, so to only come away with a fine rating is a big disappointment.

What next?

Before the Spring 2024 schedule started, I listed out the shows I was planning to watch which included three shows that I would cover episodically in this post – It Might Happen! (Seasonal Anime Updates) – Spring 2024. Other than the episodic reviews, I haven’t started on any of those series yet and since there are a couple of two-cour seasons, I won’t be finishing anytime soon. I’m also taking a break for July so I probably won’t start on any of the other shows that I’ve selected until August. Either way, I will get on with watching those in due time. First, however, I have to make my selections for Summer 2024. It’s always fun getting some early predictions in when I know nothing about the series. So keep an eye out for that.

Did you watch any of these shows? Were there any shows I missed that you would recommend? Anyhow, thanks for reading!


Lynn Sheridan The Otaku Author Header

2 Comments

    • Agreed. I was surprised by how many I absolutely loved and wouldn’t have watched had I not come up with this crazy plan. Need to try to do it for Spring now!

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