The show I ended up loving the most was the show I almost didn’t watch… All that and more in the first batch of Winter 2025 premieres.
Hit the jump and let’s get rolling!
The shows that I’m watching are in bold, shows my wife and I are watching together are in bold italics, strikethrough marks dropped shows and (*) marks shows that are watched but not regularly reviewed.
Grisaia Phantom Trigger
Despite the bombastic tone of the recap (of the OVA series which are not available to us)… The actual episode is oddly slow paced. More slice of life than full throttle action and definitely lacking the darker elements that have previously defined the franchise.
They also threw a ton of characters at us. I had a hard time keeping track, so we’ll have to see how it goes. Hopefully they’re not all MCs.
But then… the cliffhanger. Looks like the second episode will really get things started.
Status: Keeper, for now.
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Momentary Lily
In the comments to my anticipation post, I mentioned that Momentary Lily was indeed on my radar. However… I hadn’t realized it was a Studio GoHands production. Once I realized that, I preemptively dropped it from consideration. (Since you can’t actually drop a show you haven’t actually watched any of.)
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I’m Getting Married to a Girl I Hate in My Class
Within the first minute I was already internally screaming at MC-chan “will you just shut up for five seconds?” Five interminable minutes later, neither she nor MC-kun had given my poor ears so much as a moment’s rest. I thumbed the “home” button on my Roku remote and sat there in the sweet, sweet silence.
And did I mention the tropes? Dammed thing is just crawling with them.
Status: Dropped with no regrets.
I’m Living with an Otaku NEET Kunoichi!?
NEET Kunoichi to Nazeka Dousei Hajimemashita
Interesting twist right there at the start… but slowly drifted downward thereafter. Both MC-kun and MC-chan are broadly drawn stereotypes, and MC-kun doesn’t even have enough personality to qualify as a potato. More like a coma patient. And really, in some ways, he was barely present at all as most the plot centered around MC-chan.
And that’s where the real problems begin – in the last five minutes of the episode. The “Psycho Lesbian” was… Yuck. I hate the stereotypes that the setup in the last few minutes promise to deliver to us.
Status: Keeper, under the 3 episode rule. Though, since it’s two short skits uncomfortable crammed into single full length episode… That’s actually two weeks rather than three.
Medalist
I am very highly conflicted at the moment. On one hand, Tsukasa annoys the eff out of me. He’s very loud and overbearing and had no self control. On the other, poor Inori elicits a bit of pity. She’s very driven, and unusual for these types of show, not actually a prodigy… But she’s also quashed by her mother and now stuck with that loud, shouty (and not a little self centered) a$$hole.
However, the show isn’t without it’s potential and charm. On top of Inori, Tsukasa does understand her feeling and does show some potential as a teacher…
Status: Keeper, for now? Or Three ep rule?
OKITSURA: Fell in Love with an Okinawan Girl, but I Just Wish I Know What She’s Saying
Okinawa de Suki ni Natta Ko ga Hougen Sugite Tsura Sugiru
Oh, for crying out loud – a third, loud, shouty show? One where the loud shouty character isn’t even properly translated? Give me a break.
Worse yet, MC-kun has obviously known MC-chan for some length of time, professes to be in love with her, but hasn’t exerted the effort to learn anything.
And what he hasn’t learned, they have to tediously explain to us the audience.
Status: Dropped at the eyecatch. Blessed silence. Sweet relief.
Sorairo Utility
I guess I was gun shy after Birdie Wing and Tonbo… I saw this was a golf show, and went “yep, not gonna”. Now of course I always watch other people’s comments on premieres, and doing so it became clear that I needed to at least check it out.
And I found that I had nearly made a disastrous mistake… Because damm, this is a very Derek show.
I love Haruka most of all, how she’s honest, takes no crap from Minami, and won’t let her walk away without even trying. The latter is Minami’s big flaw, she’s not big on investing time or effort to get good. I also love how the grandpas at the driving range have already adopted Minami as a mascot and something of an honorary granddaughter. I get the feeling she’s only got the one school friend and is hovering just barely this side of being a hikikomori/NEET. (Maybe there’s a touch of social awkwardness that she’s covering up for?)
But what I most love about it – it’s not a school club! That (hopefully) means it’s going to be more CGDCT, derping around, and pure sport without the often psychopathic drive to get to the Nationals at all costs!
Status: Keeper!
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Not a lot of shows so far, but after tomorrow the pace picks up and it looks like there’s another week before the next natural break. I just didn’t want to wait that long or write that big a post. The bigger the post, the bigger the pain.
Anyhow, I’ve watched everything I intend to through Monday PST (GMT -8), so that’s all fair game.
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So, that’s it for me then… Over to you! Drop a comment and let’s chat about the new shows or whatever else is on your mind!
Apprentice Mages Lounge. 
Let me see. Grisaia Phantom Trigger went away as soon as the recap ended. Too much to take in, not enough to interest me.
Momentary Lily wasn’t much better, but I lasted through the first episode at least. May not continue for much longer. What is wrong with GoHands from your perspective? Mostly, I see people criticize their use of CGI, which it wasn’t great in the show but not “preemptively avoid” bad. I’m going to give it one or two more episodes to grow on me some more.
I was most happy with Ave Mujica – The Die is Cast – in this opening week. It’s part of the whole BanG_Dream! thing, this time about a Visual Kei band, which is fun for me.
Finally, TASOGARE HOTEL turns out to be on Prime, so I’m going with that. The first episode was interesting enough, and it looks like the show is about unraveling the circumstances of people who find themselves on the edge of life and death from partial information and determining if they are better off continuing one way or the other.
Coming up next week, I’ll be adding Promise of Wizard, Honey Lemon Soda, the second seasons of The Apothecary Diaries and Toilet-Bound Hanako-kun, and Mahō Tsukai PreCure!! ~MIRAI DAYS~, the “Full Bloom” series that follows on Mahō Tsukai PreCure!/Witchy PreCure! and tells of the young adulthood of Mirai, Liko/Riko, and Kotoha/Ha-chan.
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re: GoHands It’s their hyperkinetic animation style, I just can’t watch it. (Plus, they have a track record of less than stellar writing and direction.)
re: BanG_Dream! At some point, I’m going to have to go back and give that franchise a second try. I can’t even remember why I noped out in the first place.
Yeah, HLS is very high on my anticipation list. The trailers look good, and there’s good buzz from people whose opinions I respect.
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Yeah, no Momentary Lily for me. I did click play on the trailer, but that was instant motion sickness. I did manage to watch both Masterful Cat and Girl Forgot her Glasses a couple of seasons ago (though not the first episodes, which were too risky). There’s no way I’ll risk this for Momentary Lily.
Hate was low-middlefield fine for me, but the set-up is annoying. I do wonder whether girl’s best friend is into guy or girl?
Okinawa show… what a disappointment that one was. I expected the tourism advertisement stuff, but I didn’t expect it to be that in your face. Then there’s barely any animation, and while you do on occasion get nice shots, there’s not enough scene composition to make up for that. What did I say about high-mid expectations being risky? I should keep my fingers in check and not type stuff like that; it tempts the anime Gods to play a trick on me…
Neet Kunoichi was somewhere between fine and annoying. Nothing much to say either way.
I liked Medalist. I’d agree that the trainer is annoying, though. I don’t expect him to get better; just hopefully less prominent once the cast expands.
Sorairu Utility was good fun. The vibes I’m getting is a lesser Do It Yourself, and I can’t go wrong with that. Also, I remember a couple of seasons ago, this show had a one-shot OVA, which I mistook for a new show (saw it at the beginning of some season), and was disappointed that there wasn’t more. This first episode was better than that, maybe because it’s set-up? Best new show so far.
I also watched Tasogare Hotel, which was also one of the better premiers so far. The mystery’s come and go with the energy of a point-and-click adventure (could this lone book in that huge empty space here be a hint?). I like the main character, and that non-human bar patron is interesting. Everything else is servicable, and so is the show.
So far this feels the same mid-tier bloat like last season, but a tad weaker. We’ll see.
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re: Medalist I didn’t dislike the show, I disliked Tsukasa. Whether I stick with it or not entirely depends on whether or not he cools his jets. The scene where he was testing Iori’s skating skills gives me hope. (And the sudden it’s bothering me… Where is dad?)
re: Sorairu Utility Yeah, I agree, strongest premiere so far. There’s a reason why it got the biggest write-up. If it follows in the footsteps of DIY as you theorize, it could be a very good show indeed. Please, please, no tournament arcs!
Re: NEET Kunoichi It wasn’t bad per se for most of the episode(s), just kinda OK in the “potential drop in a busy season” sense. It was the last five minutes that changed my opinion. That’s when it went from “kinda OK” to “oh boy, this isn’t looking good.”
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@Medalist: I don’t worry much about the father, so far, mostly because I can’t recall a scene where I’d have expected him to be present. If he’s a Japanese salaryman we’re likely to not see much of him, even if he’s there. If he’s not there? Died? Single mother? (Have seen a breakfast scene yet? I don’t remember. That’s where fathers show up the most during the week in anime.)
@Sorairu Utility: I’d rather not have a tournament arc, either, but there are signs towards that, too (e.g. the main character’s villager A comment – wanting to be special in a school setting is usually tied up with competition).
I’ve actually now seen a premier I like more than SU. Looking forward to part 2, to see if it’s on there.
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re: Medalist That was less a “why haven’t we seen Dad” question (and you’re right, we haven’t really had a scene were we’d expect him to be)… And more of a rhetorical “what is Dad’s role in all this?”.
I’ll give you a quick peek behind the curtain… Yes, we watched Hana and Asura and will be watching Honey Lemon Soda (tonight, after my wife gets home from work). And if you know me, I’m betting you can guess my reaction to the latter. But more on that next week(ish).
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As usual I’m still digesting the many offerings this season (And almost had to go for an antacid to get through some of them).
Of the ones everyone has mentioned:
Okinawa de Suki: I actually liked this. I liked how it recognizes that Okinawans have their own language and customs (as apart from the usual depictions of them being just tanned versions of mainland Japanese). I also enjoyed the gentle send ups of Okinawan customs and folkways too. That’s enough to hook me. I did find Kaana’s unrequited love for Teeru (MC) charming too. I’m also wondering if the author is an Okinawan? It would make sense if they were. It is a challenging anime to subtitle – even the official subs didn’t always keep up (and an “unofficial” sub I saw was even worse) but I didn’t mind the frequent translations: It certainly made what was going on more understandable. The animation is static and simplified at times as others have said. I wouldn’t be surprised if an anime about Okinawa didn’t draw a big budget which would help explain that. . Either way, I’m sticking with it. I might even try experimenting with making Sata Andagi yet too!
Grisaia Phantom Trigger: I havent watched Grisaia since the first series which I really liked. After two or three Ova/short series and I think a movie or two, Grisaia is back with a new cast of assassins or whatever they are. I thought it was a fair opening episode and didnt do much but introduce some of the new characters. I do have a compilation of all the previous Grisaia series/movies so I might binge them to catch up. On the strength of the first series Im treating Grisaia as a keeper for now.
I’m Getting Married etc Watched the first episode and it’s on my “to be dropped unless it rapidly improves” list.
NEET Kunoichi: I kind of liked this until the obsessed yuri kohai showed up. Hopefully they keep her screen time to a minimum. This trope is done to death and usually drags down most shows that feature it. For now Neet has three episodes.
Sorairo Utility: I thought this a relatively low key opening with the usual aimless first year high school girl finding her purpose in life. Now that she has it will probably run the path of most high school sports anime (there is sure to be a tournament arc of course). I like shows like this so Im happy to go along for the ride.
Ave Magica: The latest of the third generation BanG Dream series featuring the antagonists of the previous season, “Its MyGo!!!!!”. It was a pretty solid start with an unexpected twist for seasoned BanG Dream watchers. It was a solid episode and Sanzigen’s animation as usual is very good.
Derek, If you are going to watch BanG Dream, you could probably skip seasons 1, 2, and, 3 (which I suspect you won’t enjoy) and go straight to “It’s MyGo!!!!!” (which I think you might like). You can do this as “Its MyGo” is not dependent much on the previous series’ (apart from situational contexts) and previous characters are mostly peripheral to the story. I rated “It’s MyGo” as one of the best shows from 2023 and one that was massively underrated until word of mouth spread about its quality.
There are the usual block of isekais this season but only one stands out which is Mappa’s “Zenshuu”. My first impression was its not a new premise, and owes something to “Re: Creators” perhaps. The first episode was pretty good I thought. I will keep watching this one and see how it develops. The rest of the isekais are the usual generic fare to the point that they blend into each other in my memory.
“Medaka Kuroiwa is Impervious to My Charms” is another school rom-com and alas the female MC is more annoying than charming. It’s one of those shows where the whole situation could be resolved if someone had the insight to ask one simple question – “Why don’t you react to my (her) advances?” Of course so far no-one has and 24 minutes of forced hilarity ensues. Oh well, maybe Honey Lemon Soda will be better…
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Re: Grisia I’ve seen the first and second series, and that’s why I’m sticking with it for the moment. Having seen the 2nd ep, that stickiness is ebbing though. I’m here for girls with guns, not talk, talk, talk. I don’t recall the original being so g*damm talky.
Re: NEET Kunoichi Yeah, I suspect you and I are in strong agreement. What could have been a not actually bad show stands a high chance of going nowhere but tropeville. And there’s just not enough there to carry that dead load.
Re: Sorairo Utility As much as I keep saying “no tournament arc”, I don’t think that would destroy my interest in the show unless it completely warped Minami’s personality. My hopes are pinned mostly on the OVA being a fair representation of the show’s intent.
Re: Bang Dream I’ll check out “It’s My Go!!“, because TBH – I didn’t enjoy S1 and dropped it pretty early on. And I’ve avoided the franchise ever since.
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PS: I did watch Momentary Lily too but it didn’t hook me. It didn’t seem as “GoHandish” as other shows from that studio I thought. Im thinking its a first episode drop as it just wasn’t very interesting.
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