2017 ends tomorrow, so what better way to put a pretty little bow on the year than to talk about what we’re most looking forward to in 2018?

EvilBob: So. Now that our recap of this fall’s anime season is done with, what do we have to look forward to, next season?

CVoyage: A lot. We already know we’re covering a ton of stuff, this winter. Even a few we’re planning to actually cover together, for a change.

EvilBob: Wait… was that your way of making sure I wouldn’t get all the good ones again?

CVoyage: For example, we’re definitely covering Nanatsu no Taizai: Imashime no Fukkatsu (Seven Deadly Sins).

EvilBob: Oh. Being ignored.

CVoyage: The first season was a lot of fun, visually awesome, and hilarious. Here’s hoping the next season will deliver on that same level.

EvilBob: Oh, definitely. And we’ve gotta cover Cardcaptor Sakura: Clear Card-hen.

CVoyage: Pretty sure Rila would throttle us if we didn’t… But, uh… there is one show we’ve definitely gotta cover.

EvilBob: Oh yeah.

C&B: Dagashi Kashi 2.

CVoyage: Dagashi Kashi was a giant junk food ad in the form of an anime. It’s nothing but bad for me, and I love it.

EvilBob: It’s like one long Superbowl commercial.

CVoyage: A shamelessly Japanese Superbowl commercial… with a plot. Here’s hoping the second season will be just as good, despite being halved in episode length and moving over to a new studio. I’m liking what I’m seeing from the preview videos, but they’re still not a whole lot to go on.

EvilBob: But aside from that, we’ve gotta cover some stuff individually. And speaking of Dagashi Kashi, I’m kinda looking forward to Ramen Daisuki Koizumi-san. It looks like it’s basically going to be a glorified ramen ad. So I’m hoping it’ll be sort of like Dagashi Kashi – a completely nonsensical romp that knows it’s an ad and runs with it. Bonus points if it has an actual plot and all that.

Oh! And dibs on Saiki Kusou no Ψ-nan 2nd Season!

CVoyage: Oookay?

EvilBob: Season 1 was hilariously self-aware. And ya gotta love how Saiki’s internal monologues completely contradict his situation. It’s like Mob Psycho 100, which is awesome enough on its own, but the exact opposite. Anyway, what about you?

CVoyage: Hm… well, still looking forward to us covering the second season of Overlord. The first season was pretty cool. It was no Log Horizon, but it was pretty solid. It had some pretty funny moments, a unique visual style, and the thought process of the central character was interesting to see unfold. The situation’s a bit of a different spin on the “trapped in a video game” scenario, too. Lately, it’s usually that a huge population or small group is stuck in there, but this time it’s just the one guy. And that’s refreshing in its own way. I’m looking forward to seeing how things will progress and he’ll figure out what’s actually going on that has him in this situation.

EvilBob: Oh yeah. Forgot about Overlord II.

CVoyage: How… did you manage that?

EvilBob: I’unno. Probably the same way I forgot that I was still going to be covering Mahoutsukai no Yome, this season! Hey, Chris. Don’t you have something carrying over from last season, too?

CVoyage: …Bob.

EvilBob: What?

CVoyage: Shut up. Anyway, I have a ton of stuff on my own list, actually. Really looking forward to Toji no Miko. I haven’t seen any of the preview videos of it, or anything, but the description makes it seem like a pretty cool battle anime. And if it’s not, it’s not. But I’m expecting to see some awesome sword duels, at least.

Then there’s Märchen Mädchen, which looks really interesting in its premise. I like the blending of all these fables and fairy tales into one story. And seeing the sort of “avatar” characters representing each story’s magic should be pretty awesome. No clue how, exactly, they’re going to go about it just yet, but I welcome any series that lets us see the magic of our favorite childhood worlds bleeding into one another.

EvilBob: Wait a minute… how much action does my solo list even have on it?

CVoyage: Psh. Plenty…

EvilBob: You… you jumped on everything that sounded cool before I had a chance!

CVoyage: Whaaat? I’d never do such a thing. Speaking of things that sound cool, though, I’m really looking forward to Darling in the FrankXX… buuut I’m also extremely nervous about it. On the one hand – STUDIO TRIGGER!!! On the other hand… mecha…

EvilBob: Ooh…

CVoyage: Yeah… Mecha anime are… complicated for me. The fact of the matter is that I’m usually not all that into them. The one exception, thus far, was the first half of Gurren Lagann. Because it was such a departure from the usual formula. But then the second half of it basically just surrendered to it (on top of having what has to be one of my most despised endings in all of anime). But the genre has this tendency of getting all pseudophilosophical to the point of outright pretentiousness. And a lot of the time the scale is used as an excuse to be kill-happy. Probably not the usual issues people have with the genre (which I know is a long debate, had by many an anime geek), but it’s a reasonable concern on my part.

EvilBob: Actually… what aren’t we looking forward to, next season?

CVoyage: Not really much on my list. I’m covering Beatless, which is a Sci-Fi, Romance, Action/Drama involving an android or something. Those tend to end in horribly depressing fashion. I mean, there’s the non-action variant in Plastic Memories, which wound up being little more than emotional manipulation with scarcely anything to warrant it, in the long run. “Oh, but it’s such a beautiful story!” Sure. But I watch/read things to be entertained, not bummed out. If I wanna be sad, I’ll watch the news. Nothing’s wrong with stuff that’s designed to make you feel sad or angry or whatever. It’s just not something I generally want to spend my time on.

There’s also Death March kara Hajimaru Isekai Kyousoukyoku, which is yet another parallel world story (hence the “Isekai” in the title). It isn’t so much that I expect it to be ba. I just don’t really have especially high expectations of it. It’ll probably be horribly generic at worst, and a pleasant surprise at best. You?

EvilBob: Weeell… I’ve got Gin no Guardian 2. Not really looking forward to that.

CVoyage: Why?

EvilBob: I just wasn’t really impressed by the first season. I actually quit in the middle of it. Just didn’t really hold my interest. Why am I covering it again?

CVoyage: Because it’s either you or me, and I know it isn’t me. I didn’t watch half of it. So unless you know someone else who’d wanna do it…

EvilBob: Right… guess that one’s on me. Well, that’s basically everything, right?

CVoyage: Everything that stands out. There’s other stuff on the list, but I’ll be publishing that later. And there are a ton of things coming later this year that I cannot wait for. Date Alive 3, Layton Mystery Tateisha: Katori no Nazotoki File–

EvilBob: Geez, that’s a mouthful…

CVoyage: And… ahem… BOKU NO HERO ACADEMIA 3!!!!!

EvilBob: He’s excited. Can you tell he’s excited? Because he is. Excited, I mean.

CVoyage: Quiet, you. Anyway, that’s about it, I guess.

EvilBob: Yeah. We’re actually covering a lot more than just that, but you guys will have a full schedule of all that stuff soon. In the meantime, that’s all we’ve got for you today, people.

CVoyage: Thanks for reading, folks. As always, keep up the awesome.

EvilBob: And keep it classy.

CVoyage: Take care.