As we took a look a few weeks ago with Part 1 of this, I figured part 2 we ought to cover a few more animations that really made this particular season shine, some of these you’ll be surprised at for certain. Before we continue these are solely my opinions and recommendations, so be advised before reading this piece.
The Magnificent Kotobuki [Finished]
I fell in love with this one from the first episode, let me tell you for a short 12 episode anime, this series did a lot of good first impressions. The series follows a squad of 5 ace fighter pilots, all female fighter pilots as well on their adventures while working for the lovely Madam Loulou who runs the Hagoromo airship and is the one who makes all the business decisions while running the Kotobuki squadron which consists of Kylie, Emma, Kate, Reona and Zara respectively.
The series is very enchanting as most of the action is based in old school fighter planes from the past, as the world of the Magnificent Kotobuki is set in a world where there is no oceans and all of the major trade is run through Airships and other vessels. They pilot the very famous Hayabusa planes in combat and each episode is a treat to watch as the air combat, all the way to the plot is very interesting to watch.
Each episode is roughly the standard 24 minutes in length, with the animation licensed by Sentai Filmworks respectively. You should easily be able to cruise through this on Crunchyroll in about a day or two at the most, like Spec Ops Asuka from Part 1. The Magnificent Kotobuki aired from January 31st to March 13th, 2019 being it’s final episode
Note: There will be a review of this series down the line, probably next week so please keep a eye out for it.
The Price of Smiles [Finished]
I came into this 12 episode series with very few aspirations, but was pleasantly surprised with the quality of how it was handled to be quite honest. The Price of Smiles follows the young princess Yuki Soleil of the kingdom of Soleil. Being a young but able princess she is to protect her people and the entire kingdom from the might of the Imperial Army of Grandiga who wishes to take over the kingdom from her.
During the 12 episode series we are shown various events that tell the story of this timeline quite well, leading up to the final climax episode which I shall not spoil, The Price of Smiles aired on Crunchyroll respectively, with the license of this series falling to Sentai Filmworks, the series officially ran from January 4th, 2019, to March 22nd, 2019. I cannot recommend this short, but amazing series enough with it’s charming characters, story and few heartbreaking moments which will leave you in tears.
Kakegurui Season 2 [Finished]
One cannot forget about the highly anticipated season 2 of the compulsive gambling series, Kakegurui which finished it’s English Subbed run a few months back. This season kicks off the student council president campaign where the Momobami clan makes their presence known in the school, allowing for a series of even more deadly games to take place in the halls of Hyakkaou Academy.
This particular season’s games are quite intense because of the sheer danger some of them pose, trust me this isn’t for the squeamish that is for sure. The series of gambles with betrayal, pain, suffering and a whole lot of pride on the line took center stage again as it aired between January 8th, 2019 to March 26th, 2019 in Japan, with a roughly subbed version airing on Japan’s major networks. a Official western release date is due for later this year, with the English Dub version coming with it.
My Roommate is a Cat [Finished]
You ever wonder if there was a anime with a Cat and a Human in the same residence, well fear not as My Roommate is a Cat [My Housemate Is on My Lap, But Sometimes, on My Head] as it is translated into has arrived. Meet Subaru Mikakuzi, a author who recently lost both of his parents in a tragic traffic accident and is going through a rough time. However as he is visiting their grave, a strange gray cat emerges and goes after the food, with Subaru taking him home to his residence.
Not knowing how to take care of a cat, he is dependent on the help of friends and close acquaintances to assist him and teach him everything he needs to know, however before that Subaru has to come up with a name for the cat, naming her Haru which means Food in her eyes, being a stray cat and the eldest of 5 siblings. The series focuses on grief, loss and adjusting to said loss more so then anything as each episode features from two different points of view, one from Subaru, the other from Haru’s point of view with narration provided by Haru’s VA’s.
The 12 episode anime aired between January 9th, 2019 to March 27th, 2019 with it’s final episode, airing on both Crunchyroll, Funimation and Universal Pictures UK in the UK with both the subbed and dubbed versions airing at the same time. This series is not to be overlooked as it’s cute, but very deep lessons are things we often take for granted in life, with the fact it is focused more so on animals and the lives they share with their human friends.
Demon Slayer: Kibetsu No Yaiba/Blade of Demon Destruction [Ongoing]
Where do I even start with this one, wow I am actually very impressed with this, set in Japan, while following the life of one Tanjiro Kamado, the eldest male son of the Kamado family. He comes home to find his family brutally murdered and his sister, Nezuko turned into a Demon but somehow has retained her humanity. Now Tanjiro must find the one who did this to his family and bring him to justice before anything else happens to his sister or anyone like her.
The series is currently airing in most regions with the western release being handled by Crunchyroll, Funimation and Hulu respectively for the western audience. Currently the series is set for a 26 episode run and has started airing on April 6th, 2019, while the series has aired 7 of it’s 26 episodes to this date as of this writing. I do highly recommend checking this out if you are interested in demon type animes or any type of supernatural based animation in general.
The Quintessential Quintuplets [Season 1 Finished]
Imagine if you will a family with 5 siblings, then imagine those 5 siblings are all girls and are identical quintuplets. This is the main premise of the anime known as the Quintessential Quintuplets and the fact that the main character of this series Futaro Uesugi whose family is in massive debt, however is managing to get by with his good grades and rather stingy lifestyle. During the course of the series we are introduced to the 5 girls, Ichika, Miku, Yostuba, Nina and Itsuki who aren’t doing so well in terms of their schooling.
So their father decides to hire Futaro for tutoring his 5 daughters and this is where things get started. With the series being licensed by Crunchyroll and Funimation respectively to be aired for western audiences, this 12 episode series was perhaps the most hyped one to air to date. The Quintessential Quintuplets aired from January 10th 2019 to March 28th, 2019 with a second season being planned for a 2020 release.
That is pretty much it for Anime I can recommend this year thus far, when I find a bunch more to recommend I will be writing a part 3 of this due to how many are planned for official releases. Until next time however, this is Vergil signing off.