The anime shows of Spring 2021 have started and along with them the painful wait for weekly episodes. On the other hand, Winter 2021 anime have concluded and you can now binge-watch them to your heart's content. To ease the agony, why not take a look back on some of the good shows last season? You might have missed a few.
After watching a couple of episodes of titles with promising plot summaries, I've been able to weed out the good shows from the bad. For Winter 2021, or anime that started airing from December until March, the number stacks to around ninety shows. That's a lot! So what were the shows worth watching last season?
Picking only a dozen out of a hundred is pretty daunting. Agreed that there's plenty of interesting shows out there that cater to different kinds of people, but due to my other life responsibilities, I can only watch so much.
I made this list because I'm sure you're also busy with IRL stuff- better to have someone else do the grunt work, right? If our tastes match and you enjoy these shows, then great!
Without further ado, here's my Top 17 last season:
NEW ANIME:
Mushoku Tensei: Jobless Reincarnation
Japanese: 無職転生 ～異世界行ったら本気だす～ / Mushoku Tensei: Isekai Ittara Honki Dasu
Genre: Drama, Magic, Ecchi, Fantasy | Studio: Studio Bind
Summary: Despite being bullied, scorned, and oppressed all of his life, a thirty-four-year-old shut-in still found the resolve to attempt something heroic—only for it to end in a tragic accident. But in a twist of fate, he awakens in another world as Rudeus Greyrat, starting life again as a baby born to two loving parents.
As Rudeus' second chance at life begins, he tries to make the most of his new opportunity while conquering his traumatic past. And perhaps, one day, he may find the one thing he could not find in his old world—love.
Horimiya
Japanese: ホリミヤ
Genre: Slice of Life, Comedy, Romance, School, Shounen | Studio: CloverWorks
Summary: On the surface, the thought of Kyouko Hori and Izumi Miyamura getting along would be the last thing in people's minds. After all, Hori has a perfect combination of beauty and brains, while Miyamura appears meek and distant to his fellow classmates. However, a fateful meeting between the two lays both of their hidden selves bare. Even though she is popular at school, Hori has little time to socialize with her friends due to housework. On the other hand, Miyamura lives under the noses of his peers, his body bearing secret tattoos and piercings that make him look like a gentle delinquent.
Having opposite personalities yet sharing odd similarities, the two quickly become friends and often spend time together in Hori's home. As they both emerge from their shells, they share with each other a side of themselves concealed from the outside world.
Wonder Egg Priority
Japanese: ワンダーエッグ・プライオリティ
Genre: Drama, Fantasy, Psychological | Studio: CloverWorks
Summary: Following the suicide of her best and only friend, Koito Nagase, Ai Ooto is left grappling with her new reality. With nothing left to live for, she follows the instructions of a mysterious entity and gets roped into purchasing an egg, or specifically, a Wonder Egg.
Upon breaking the egg in a world that materializes during her sleep, Ai is tasked with saving people from the adversities that come their way. In doing so, she believes that she has moved one step closer to saving her best friend. With this dangerous yet tempting opportunity in the palms of her hands, Ai enters a place where she must recognize the relationship between other people's demons and her own.
As past trauma, unforgettable regrets, and innate fears hatch in the bizarre world of Wonder Egg Priority, a young girl discovers the different inner struggles tormenting humankind and rescues them from their worst fears.
Cells at Work! Black
Japanese: はたらく細胞BLACK / Hataraku Saibou Black
Genre: Action, Drama, Seinen | Studio: LIDENFILMS
Summary: Due to poor lifestyle choices, a certain human's body is in constant turmoil. With germs, bacteria, and foreign substances abound, the jobs of various cells become increasingly difficult and dangerous. As some of the unfortunate ones who matured in this chaotic environment, Sekkekkyuu AA2153 and Hakkekkyuu U-1196 strive to fulfill their duties—even if it means seeing many of their fellow cells lose their lives in duty.
Set in an environment vastly different from its parent story, Hataraku Saibou Black portrays the cells' struggles as they try to maintain the body's health. However, the human's condition continues to deteriorate, and whether or not these efforts will amount to something concrete depends on the cells!
Redo of Healer
Japanese: 回復術士のやり直し / Kaifuku Jutsushi no Yarinaoshi
Genre: Ecchi, Fantasy | Studio: TNK
Summary: When Keyaru acquired his powers as a Hero who specialized in healing all injuries regardless of severity, it seemed that he would walk the path to a great future. But what awaited him instead was great agony; he was subjected to years of seemingly endless hellish torture and abuse. Keyaru's healing skills allowed him to secretly collect the memories and abilities of those he treated, gradually making him stronger than anyone else. But by the time he reached his full potential, it was far too late—he had already lost everything.
Determined to put his life back on track, Keyaru decided to unleash a powerful healing spell that rewound the entire world back to the time before he began to suffer his horrible fate. Equipped with the anguish of his past, he vows to redo everything in order to fulfill a new purpose—to exact revenge upon those who have wronged him.
RETURNING ANIME:
Jujutsu Kaisen
Japanese: 呪術廻戦
Genre: Action, Horror, Demons, Supernatural, School, Shounen | Studio: MAPPA
Summary: In a world where demons feed on unsuspecting humans, fragments of the legendary and feared demon Ryoumen Sukuna were lost and scattered about. Any demon who will consume those body parts will gain the power strong enough to destroy the world.
To balance the scale, there exists a mysterious school of Jujutsu Sorcerers who protect regular unsuspecting humans. Yuuji Itadori is an athletic high schooler who would rather hang out with the outcasts in the Occult Club. One day, the club manages to get their hands on a sealed cursed object that would change their lives forever.
Attack on Titan: The Final Season
Japanese: 進撃の巨人 / Shingeki no Kyojin The Final Season
Genre: Action, Military, Mystery, Super Power, Drama, Fantasy, Shounen | Studio: MAPPA
Summary: Gabi Braun and Falco Grice have been training their entire lives to inherit one of the seven titans under Marley's control and aid their nation in eradicating the Eldians on Paradis. However, just as all seems well for the two cadets, their peace is suddenly shaken by the arrival of Eren Yeager and the remaining members of the Survey Corps.
Having finally reached the Yeager family basement and learned about the dark history surrounding the titans, the Survey Corps has at long last found the answer they so desperately fought to uncover. With the truth now in their hands, the group set out for the world beyond the walls.
In Shingeki no Kyojin: The Final Season, two utterly different worlds collide as each party pursues its own agenda in the long-awaited conclusion to Paradis' fight for freedom.
The Promised Neverland S2
Japanese: 約束のネバーランド / Yakusoku no Nebārando
Genre: Fantasy - Thriller | Studio: CloverWorks
Summary: Surrounded by a forest and a gated entrance, the Gracefield House is inhabited by orphans happily living together as one big family, looked after by their "Mama," Isabella. The children are free to spend their time as they see fit as long as they do not venture too far from the orphanage.
One fateful night, an orphan named Conny is sent away to be adopted, but Emma and Norman follow her after noticing that she had left her stuffed toy back at the house. Sneaking out, they find Conny dead, and it is revealed that the orphanage is actually a farm where human children are raised as livestock for demonic creatures.
Dr. Stone S2: Stone Wars
Japanese: ドクターストーン STONE WARS
Genre: Sci-Fi, Adventure, Comedy, Shounen | Studio: TMS Entertainment
Summary: Senkuu has made it his goal to bring back two million years of human achievement and revive the entirety of those turned to statues. However, one man stands in his way: Tsukasa Shishiou, who believes that only the fittest of those petrified should be revived.
As the snow melts and spring approaches, Senkuu and his allies in Ishigami Village finish the preparations for their attack on the Tsukasa Empire. With a reinvented cell phone model now at their disposal, the Kingdom of Science is ready to launch its newest scheme to recruit the sizable numbers of Tsukasa's army to their side. However, it is a race against time; for every day the Kingdom of Science spends perfecting their inventions, the empire rapidly grows in number.
Reuniting with old friends and gaining new allies, Senkuu and the Kingdom of Science must stop Tsukasa's forces in order to fulfill their goal of restoring humanity and all its creations. With the two sides each in pursuit of their ideal world, the Stone Wars have now begun!
Re:Zero − Starting Life in Another World S2 Part 2
Japanese: Re:ゼロから始める異世界生活 / Re:Zero kara Hajimeru Isekai Seikatsu
Genre: Drama, Fantasy, Psychological, Thriller | Studio: White Fox
Summary: After dying countless times, Subaru finally ended the threat of the White Whale and defeated the Witch Cult's Sin Archbishop representing sloth.
But shortly after overcoming said tragic ending and reuniting with his beloved Emilia, Subaru learns that Rem has been erased from this world- having fallen victim to the White Whale's Fog of Elimination in the midst of his death loop. With the White Whale now gone, Subaru and Emilia are forced to confront a reality far greater than their worst fears.
That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime S2
Japanese: 転生したらスライムだった件 / Tensei Shitara Suraimu Datta Ken
Genre: Fantasy - Isekai | Studio: 8-Bit
Summary: Corporate worker Mikami gets the short end of the stick when he is killed by a distressed criminal while on the busy streets of Japan. The next thing he knows, he is reincarnated in an alternate world as a slime. Not just your usual weak slime, but one who can devour and copy abilities of anything in that world. After a peculiar encounter with a group of weak goblins being attacked by wolves, he unknowingly set out to build his own country that welcomes all races as long as they contribute or work their due.
The Quintessential Quintuplets S2
Japanese: 五等分の花嫁∬ / 5-toubun no Hanayome ∬
Genre: Harem, Comedy, Romance, School, Shounen | Studio: Bibury Animation Studios
Summary: High school student Futaro has achieved excellent grades but leads a difficult life otherwise: no mother, no friends, and a father struggling with large debts while he and his younger sister Raiha often go hungry. An opportunity presents itself when the rich Nakano family arrives in his school and Futaro is hired as a highly-paid tutor.
But he discovers his five students — charming identical quintuplet sisters of varied personalities — have abysmal grades and zero interest in studying. Some are against having an unknown male in their apartment, but Futaro's diligent tenacity gradually convinces those girls to reduce their attempts to have him poisoned or arrested, and to advance in their studies so he can lift his family from poverty.
Cells at Work! S2
Japanese: はたらく細胞!! / Hataraku Saibou!!
Genre: Comedy, Shounen | Studio: David Production
Summary: The cells of the human body never rest for too long; there's always something new to do and learn every day. At least, that's what Hakkekkyuu U-1146 feels as he rushes to and fro, searching for any pathogens that could cause harm to the body. Despite his dangerous line of work, it's all worth it to protect the happy smiles of Sekkekkyuu AE3803, the platelet crew, his fellow neutrophils, and the other cells he meets along the way.
In his latest pathogen-hunting adventures, Hakkekkyuu U-1146 discovers how important cells can sometimes make mistakes, and that not all bacteria are actually bad. Everybody has their bad days, but everything eventually works out when their comrades have their backs. In the end, it's just another normal day for these hardworking cells!
Log Horizon S3: Destruction of the Round Table
Japanese: ログ・ホライズン 円卓崩壊
Genre: Action, Game, Adventure, Magic, Fantasy | Studio: Studio Deen
Summary: In the blink of an eye, thirty thousand bewildered Japanese gamers are whisked from their everyday lives into the world of the popular MMORPG, Elder Tale, after the game's latest update—unable to log out. Among them is the socially awkward college student Shiroe, whose confusion and shock lasts only a moment as, a veteran of the game, he immediately sets out to explore the limits of his new reality.
Shiroe must learn to live in this new world, leading others and negotiating with the NPC "natives" in order to bring stability to the virtual city of Akihabara. He is joined by his unfortunate friend Naotsugu, having logged in for the first time in years only to find himself trapped, and Akatsuki, a petite but fierce assassin who labels Shiroe as her master. A tale of fantasy, adventure, and politics, Log Horizon explores the elements of gaming through the eyes of a master strategist who attempts to make the best of a puzzling situation.
Sorcerer Stabber Orphen S2
Japanese: 魔術士オーフェンはぐれ旅 / Majutsushi Orphen Hagure Tabi
Genre: Action, Adventure, Fantasy | Studio: Studio Deen
Summary: In a world of magic and monsters, Krylancelo Finrandi and his foster sister Azalea Cait-Sith were once promising sorcerers at the famous Tower of Fangs. But due to an experiment gone horribly wrong, Azalea is transformed to a violent dragon. Elders at the Tower—more interested in preserving their reputation rather than their students' lives—drive off the transformed Azalea and cover up the incident. Outraged, Krylancelo drops out on his own, taking the new name of "Orphen" and vowing to return Azalea to her normal state.
Five years later, a chance encounter brings Orphen face to face with Azalea again, but he still has no way to restore her body. And with a hostile group of sorcerers hunting her down, he may be running out of time. The past and present collide as Orphen tries to find how to save Azalea from their former teachers and friends.
Higurashi: When They Cry S3 – Gou
Japanese: ひぐらしのなく頃に業 / Higurashi no Naku Koro ni Gou
Genre: Dementia, Horror, Mystery, Psychological, Supernatural, Thriller | Studio: Passione
Summary: New kid Keiichi Maebara is settling into his new home of peaceful Hinamizawa village. Making quick friends with the girls from his school, he’s arrived in time for the big festival of the year. But something about this isolated town seems "off," and his feelings of dread continue to grow. With a gnawing fear that he’s right, what dark secrets could this small community be hiding?
Yashahime: Princess Half-Demon
Japanese: 半妖の夜叉姫 | Hanyou no Yashahime: Sengoku Otogizoushi
Genre: Action, Adventure, Comedy, Historical, Demons, Supernatural, Magic, Fantasy | Studio: Sunrise
Summary: The daughters of Sesshoumaru and Inuyasha set out on a journey transcending time. In Feudal Japan, half-demon twins Towa and Setsuna are separated from each other during a forest fire. While desperately searching for her younger sister, Towa wanders into a mysterious tunnel that sends her into present-day Japan, where she is found and raised by Kagome's family.
Ten years later, the tunnel that connects the two eras has reopened, allowing Towa to be reunited with Setsuna, who is now a Demon Slayer working for Kohaku. But to Towa's shock, Setsuna appears to have lost all memories of her older sister. Joined by Moroha, the daughter of Inuyasha and Kagome, the three young women travel between the two eras on an adventure to regain their missing past.
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