Fall 2025 – Settling in and looking forward!

OK, as promised I’m back…  And <knock on wood, crossing fingers> things should be back to normal around here.  Though of course, “normal” is a word used advisedly any time I’m involved.  So, first up a bit of a catch up on what’s been going on in my life and then we’ll dive into the new season.

All this after the jump!

Ok, it has been a long few months and it’s been a hell of ride…

Back in March our landlord told us they wanted to sell the place we’d been renting…  And that put the stress meter to the peg.  Even though they offered it to us at a more than fair price, it was beyond our means.  And that kicked off weeks of searching for a place that didn’t suck that was within our means.  And doing so within our deadline.  Which we managed, but then faced the byzantine process of getting financing, etc…. etc…  In the end, we beat the deadline but only just.

So, now we’re all moved in and it’s looking like smooth sailing going forward.  (Crossing fingers, it is an older place.)  I’ve got a long project list, but such is being a homeowner.  On the flip side, I also have a computer/craft room/office again, but also a lawn to mow.

So, no longer being quite so stressed, writing and blog should return to normal.  And maybe I can tackle some of the projects that I mentioned when weekly coverage ended.

That being said…  this isn’t exactly a great season for my “triumphant” return.  It’s looking even more thin than usual, and there almost nothing on my “actually anticipated” tier that isn’t a sequel.

So…  Let’s dive in!

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The Sequels:

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Umamusume Cinderella Grey

I… just can’t resist the horse girls. Some of the other series in the franchise I’ve been a little down on, but I just keep coming back.  And honestly?  Cinderella Gray justifies that.  In terms of story, it’s about as solid as it comes.

Plus I just plain love Oguri Cap.  It’s not so much she does things her own way, but that… she so oblivious to so much around her and that there might be other ways.  She’s like the Nadeshiko of horse girls.  (And probably one of the few anime characters that could out-eat Nadeshiko.)

Even though I’m not sure I like where the trailer indicates a possible tonal shift, this is probably my most anticipated show this upcoming season.

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My Hero Academia FINAL SEASON

Boku no Hero Academia FINAL SEASON

I’ve had my complaints about MHA here and there, but mostly it’s been pretty solid.  (The movies however, are garbage.)  And always, in the ups and the downs, it’s had the weird ability to hit me in the feels.

And I watch the trailers, and all I can think is…  this is going to hurt.  Isn’t it?

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SPY X FAMILY Season 3

More Anya! More Frankie! More Bond-san!  (Also more Nightfall, but I guess you can’t have everything.)

Did you guess I’m kind of pumped?  Yeah, I’m, kind of pumped.  Though story wise and execution wise, this franchise has always been all over the place, I still enjoy it.

And what other series could pull off something like this with such self confidence?

And yes, I am looking mostly forward to more Yor.  If it weren’t for Oguri Cap, Yor would already be far in the lead for this season’s Best Girl.  I could fill half this post with clips…

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Other Shows:

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Touring After the Apocalypse

Shuumatsu Touring

All alone after the end of days, two girls ride through the desolate ruins of Japan—but they’re not about to let the collapse of civilization get in the way of sightseeing! From the hot springs of Hakone to the massive Tokyo Big Sight, they’ve got the run of the country’s most popular tourist spots all to themselves, so why not make the most of it?

Source: Touring After the Apocalypse Anime Adaptation Announced

OK, cute girls doing cute things, and what appears to be what happens when you blend Girls Last Tour and Yuru Camping…  This is undoubtedly a Very Derek Show.

It’s also pretty much the only show that I’m looking forward to enough to want to write much about it…  I’ll run through the rest pretty quickly.

  • SI-VIS: The Sound of Heroes

    Music and superheroes?  Sounds like a Symphogear rip-off, but the genre is actually much older than that.  Let’s see what they can do with this.  Besides, it looks so good.

  • A Mangaka’s Weirdly Wonderful Workplace
  • Alma-chan Wants to Be a Family!

    Found Family, and if it’s as lightly comedic as the trailer hints, it could be good.

  • Wandance

    My weird romance/school club pick for this season.  Not the only of either of those I’ll check out of course, just the tip of the iceberg.

  • Tojima Wants to Be a Kamen Rider

    Strong My Hero Academia: Vigilantes vibes…  And kind of an isekai without being isakai-ed?  If that makes any sense at all.  It doesn’t to me, but that’s what the show feels like.

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And that’s it folks!  Of course, as always, I’ll check out a ton of shows and keep an eye open for buzz…  And who knows?  Maybe there’s a gem or two I missed.

So, drop a comment!  What do you think of these shows?  Of the possibilities for this season?  Anything I missed?

21 thoughts on “Fall 2025 – Settling in and looking forward!”

  2. Welcome back!
    The only show in this rather generic season I know I will be watching is Uma Musume Cinderella Grey 2. I thought Cinderella Grey 1 was the best anime of its season.

    Like a lot of recent franchise-based anime, Bandai Namco decided to attempt a tonal and artistic shift with Cinderella Grey. And they pulled it off wonderfully. Season 2 will continue the Oguri story and from what the teaser from Season 1 shows, we will see another strong challenger from overseas showing up, as well as her continuing battle with Tamano Cross and the master chef of the Tracen Academy cafeteria kitchen!

    I havent followed My Hero Academia and lost interest in Spy X Family so wont be following them.

    The others I will check out as they air I think.

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    1. If Spring 2025 hadn’t had Rock Lady and the first part of Anne Shirley, I think I’d agree with you about Cinderella Grey running away from the pack… But even so, it was certainly up there.

      I’m just a bit concerned because historically the Umamusume franchise hasn’t handled tonal shifts well. S2 and S3 both eventually worked out and shone brightly… But both had very rough starts resetting the tone. (Esp S2, trying to build on top of the very lightweight S1.)

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      1. I thought Rock Lady was very good, particularly on a second watch, where I was more used to some things that distracted me the first time I watched it. It might be my love for the franchise biasing my response but I thought the shifts Bandai Namco made expanding the Uma universe and the focus away from the privileged Tracen umas was a brave move and was nicely executed. In fact I would love to see an entire series based in that part of the Uma universe in the future.

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  3. For me, the only thing that really interests me this season is SPY×FAMILY, so I’ll be letting my CR sub lapse until January, when I’ll catch up on it and watch Frieren, plus probably other things. This season, I’ll probably watch fansubs of stuff I wanted to see but weren’t carried by streaming services, like Princession Orchestra, 9-Nine: Ruler’s Crown, and older stuff that isn’t carried like Mahō no Angel Sweet Mint, the Vampire Princess Miyu TV series, or whatever. Not sure how I’m going to keep up with You and Idol Precure♪, but I’ll figure something out, or catch up next season.

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    1. Darn, low overlap between us isn’t uncommon, but I think this is the first season with no overlap at all.

      The winter season also has Medalist S2, and I recommend S1 if you’re at all into sports.

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      1. Well, not no overlap, we’ve both got SPY×FAMILY, even if I’m putting it off. And, I mean, everything else I’m doing is older series, even if last season in a couple of cases. Sweet Mint is from 1991, I think, maybe 1992, and the Miyu TV series was late ’90s. So, those hardly count.

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      2. As for sports anime, I gave Gymnastics Samurai a try and wasn’t really impressed with the type. So far, the only sports I’ve liked much in anime is Tankery.

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        1. Gymnastics Samurai wasn’t… the best sports anime ever. It was so awful, I dropped it in the middle of the 2nd ep.

          If you’re ever interested, I could drop you a full list of some of the (IMO) best. If your HiDive sub is still active, you could try Ippon Again. I’d suggest Mix, but it’s 48 eps to tackle before your Crunchy sub expires.

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          1. I finished it, at least, but maybe a better show could grab me. If there’s one you’d recommend on Prime, I could give that a try.

            Dawnstorm’s post reminds me that I need to put together a wrap-up, but I essentially agree with them on Clevatess and Silent Witch, and with you on Rascal and Anne Shirley. I do know that my show of the season is going to be one of Clevatess (most likely), Silent Witch, Anne Shirley, or DAN DA DAN, and Hanako-kun this season is only running slightly behind those (but enough behind to take it out of the running). HOTEL INHUMANS was pretty uneven, but still has turned out to be rather a surprise for me, with the final (current) story being the best of them. I was really happy with Dress-Up Darling, but it didn’t hit my top 5. WITCH WATCH was generally pretty funny, but not uproariously so, and occasionally only dorky, but not charmingly so. Summer Pockets was intriguing, and frankly baffling, up until the twist became apparent. I’d say more, but it’s a spoiler. The takeaway is that it becomes less intriguing after that, though it does make the final arc at least thought-provoking. You also have to just roll with a couple of really glaring story changes that are not foreshadowed at all, are really sudden, and make zero sense until the twist is revealed. Oh, and You and Idol Precure has turned into one of the better Precure series. On a mildly related note, and looking back a season, I look forward to finally catching Princession Orchestra in fansubs. Also, Maebashi Witches is a must-see for magical girl/magical idol fans, and maybe even for shōjo fans in general, with some unusually insightful story going on.

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        2. I’m not seeing anything on Prime… Truth be told, seems like 3/4 of their anime section has vanished since they partnered with Crunchy.

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    1. That sounds… potentially ominous. :) But yeah, the hint that we’ll finally get Loid’s (unhappy) backstory… It’ll be interesting to see how it handles somewhat ‘heavier’ material than is it’s norm.

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  5. As so often, sequels: SpyXFamily is going to be fun. (No MHA or Uma Musume for me, since I dropped out early).

    But for me, there’s quite a surprise on offer: Kukuriyo Bed and Breakfast for Spirits gets a second season. I quite enjoyed the first one, but never ever expected a second season. How did that happen? Anyway, happy to see it back.

    And then there’s the present day season of Fumetsu no Anata e coming up. I really quite like that show, even if not every arc hits home quite the same, and I’m curious how they go to the present.

    And apparently Let this Grieving Soul Retire gets a new season; it was quite a fun oddball show.

    The Apocalypse tour and Alma do look quite fun. As usual, I’m just going to click play on anything that doesn’t immediatle turn me off or bore me, so I haven’t really informed myself (I skimmed maybe once). So the other shows you mentioned? Maybe, we’ll see.

    I don’t really have anything of my own to add. I expect next season to be lighter than this one, which for me was a really, really good one.

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    1. I struggled through the first season of Bed and Breakfast… mostly because in a one bedroom apartment I couldn’t get away while my wife watched! But she’s not planning on coming back for the 2nd and neither am I. It just seemed to get into a bit of a rut, repeating the same basic plotline.

      I don’t think this season (Fall 2025) would rate among the greats… But with Sono Bisque and Bunny Girl it was certainly up there. Not to mention my beloved Grand Blue and the unexpected delight that is Ruri Rocks.

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      1. I forgot Bunny Girl Sempai even aired. I didn’t much care for season one. And I had personal issues with Grand Blue. I thought Bisque Doll fell behind the first season in terms of production; felt like a completely different show to me (which is strange, since it’s the same director…). More chibi-reactions, more focus on superficial draws (like, say, blushes); and the odd info dumps in the middle of some episodes… Huh. I still liked it quite a bit.

        I didn’t watch Ruri Rocks beyond the first episode; might come back for it one day, but I didn’t much like Ruri, and that with the female-form-exaggerating character designs… None of that on its own is a dealbreaker, and I’ve heard enough good things about the show that I might come back. For me the new shows of the season look like this:

        With You and the Rain – This is what slice-of-life should be; it’s up there with Flying Witch and Rokuhodou Yotsuiro Biyori for me. It’s been too long since a slice-of-life show hit me that much.

        Secrets of the Silent Witch – When you’re overpowered protagonist’s main conflict is her own shyness there’s a lot anime can mess up, but this show just nailed it.

        The Fragrant Flower Blooms with Dignity – A feelgood romance mostly, with a modicum of Drama (the capital letter is deliberate), but really well executed. Characters are well-written and stay plausible within their characterisation. Above all, it’s one of the shows where students wear school uniforms only at school and have more than one outfit (and occasionally hair-do).

        Clevatess – Too often the inhuman character seems to develop a human heart; not here.

        And more. There were few disappointments (City had a really good first episode but fell off almost immediately; can’t think of anything else), and quite a few pleasant surprises. I initially skipped Bethrothed to My Sister’s Ex, but then – after hearing good things – binged the first four episodes – far more charming than I expected (also much, much better written characters).

        Not to mention all the continuations like Blade of the Demon Hunter, Bisque Doll, Osomatsu san, Hanako-kun, Vending Machine. Other than Demon Hunter (which was a two-cour), pretty much all of those came with diminishing returns, but they did provide nice texture.

        Not an elite season, but certainly a very good one. Fall’s unlikely to be better.

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        1. Yeah, I almost dropped Ruri after the first ep because she was such an unlikeable brat. But I felt it had potential, and you know I have a weak spot for out of the ordinary CGDCT. I am with you on the fanservicey bits though. Absolutely unnecessary.

          Rain – Absolutely, it was top notch. More need not be said.

          Fragrant flower, I’ve got to find time for. Hearing a lot of good things. Need to check with my wife and see if she’s interested first.

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  6. I enjoyed Ruri Rocks, despite the fan service and overpowered gem hunting. It was a relaxing watch and it was good to see actual adults taking the lead in an CGDCT type show. Its geology content was mildly informing too.

    My favorite shows for the season just ending were Bad Girl and Meet Me In the Food Court, which only had six episodes. Its simple format was both insightful and very funny often.

    Bad Girl I thought was very funny and managed to keep its jokes fresh to the last episode, a rare thing with anime comedies many of which run out of steam by episode 5.

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    1. I enjoyed Ruri Rocks too… Of the other two, the only one I watched was Food Court, and I noped out after the first episode.

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