The first culling is upon us. Which anime will survive to the second round of our little tournament?

Preamble

For our first order of business, we’ve decided to officially name our little tournament Anime TKO. It’s going to be incredibly fun, moving forward with this for the season, and the seasons to come. Watching and covering all this anime has been… stressful, but a good time, nonetheless. So, now it’s on with the show.

Selection Battle Placements

All right. Here’s how we’ll do this. Each of our shows will take home a placement from 8th to 1st. The Bracket Cuttoff will be everything below 4th place, meaning only the top four from each list get to advance to the next round. So, without further ado, let’s decide which series will move on and which ones are getting kicked off the island… potential resurrections notwithstanding.

8th Place: Conception/Kishuku Gakkou no Juliet

Voyager: Well, I’m sure this surprises absolutely no one.

EvilBob: Conception is…

Voyager: A dumpster fire?

EvilBob: Yes! But a dumpster fire with potential! If it’d just get rid of that one infuriating character, it’d be pretty decent!

Voyager: Hm? Letting one character bring down the entire series for you? How petty.

EvilBob: …Sword Art.

Voyager: …touche. Meanwhile, Kishuku Gakkou no Juliet is actually good! I like it! Yeah, it’s typical shonen hotblooded nonsense, but it’s genuinely funny! And it’s actually got a pretty good handle on most of its characters. I’d definitely recommend it. Just don’t go looking for much more than dumb fun. And that’s why it’s at the bottom of the list, more or less.

7th Place: Uchi no Maid ga Uzasugiru!/Tensei shitara Slime Datta Ken

EvilBob: Hm… what to say about UzaMaid?

Voyager: I’ve got one. Thank god it’s not a 1-1 adaptation of the manga. Good lord that would’ve been cringe-city. And I mean in the creepy way. *shudders*

EvilBob: I actually like the show, too. But… well… like you said with your last one. It’s pretty much just dumb fun. It’s trying to have a slightly deeper story in there. But that’s definitely secondary. Still. Probably a good example of the adaptation being better than the source material… for several reasons.

Voyager: As for Tensei shitara Slime Datta Ken, I do think the show has a lot going for it. It’s setting up an interesting world and all. But it’s just so damn slow! I get that the current focus is on Rimuru building up a lil monster community, but not much of interest has happened yet, and very few characters stand out. So yeah. That’s why the show isn’t higher. It’s definitely going to pick up. But I’m just not sure it’ll do so in time for the tournament’s conclusion. So, at least for now, it’s getting put on the boat.

6th Place: Tonari no Kyuuketsuki-san/Radiant

EvilBob: I mean… it’s cute. It’s funny. But… not a whole lot happening, here. That’s not really a bad thing. But a Slice of Life can be more engaging than this. Or if it’s not gonna do that, it should at least be balls-to-the-wall crazy and hilarious. This one isn’t. It’s just kinda… laid back. It’s really only above UzaMaid because it doesn’t have the creep factor… ironically. For a show about a vampire.

Voyager: How messed up is it that a maid is scarier than a literal undead monster? Anyway, then there’s Radiant. Unlike the 7th place spot, stuff actually happens in this show’s first few episodes. Really the only thing holding it down is that it’s still all very standard Shounen fair. Not without a certain degree of heart and genuineness, but it still doesn’t stand out a terrible lot. So while the show’s definitely fun (and probably at least slightly more worthy of the billing “new king of Shounen” than the last thing granted that title), it’s not doing much of anything to warrant getting it any higher than this in the placements.

5th Place: Beelzebub-jou no Okinimesu mama./Release the Spyce

EvilBob: Full disclosure. I really adore this show and wish I could’ve kept it in the running, buuut… let’s be honest. Look at Voyager’s list, then look back at mine. Do you see this one surviving his list? Exactly. Neither did I. I will still be watching it, though. And I’m pretty sure he’s doing the same.

Voyager: So CUUUUUUTE!

EvilBob: Call it a hunch.

Voyager: *Ahem* Meanwhile, there’s Release the Spyce. I know, right? “Whaaaat? This isn’t in your top four?! Butbutbut-!” So here’s the thing. Yeees, it was made by two creators I absolutely love. And I still don’t entirely trust that it’s not gonna wind up getting incredibly dark by the midway point. But. On the chance that it doesn’t, it’ll just wind up being, as I’ve taken to affectionately calling it, “Yuru Yuri: Spy Edition“. And while I adore Yuru Yuri, well… let’s just put it this way. Look at EvilBob’s list, then look at mine. If Release the Spyce does end up just being that, then there is no way in hell it is competing with half of his list. I’m not a betting man. So I won’t be taking that chance. I’ll bring it back later if it makes some kind of radical shift. But, for now, it’s time to say goodbye.

4th Place: Akanesasu Shoujo/Irozuku Sekai no Ashita kara

EvilBob: Just a nice school drama about some teens in a club, discovering magical connections with one another… but enough about his show. Dimension-hopping magical girl battle series.

Voyager: So, Flip Flappers.

EvilBob: …shut up, Chris. Anyway, battling monsters through space, time, and reality. Brings back memories. Oh. And that OP, tho.

Voyager: God, that OP’s awesome. Aaaand then there’s mine. Well… he already gave you the basic rundown and… yeah. On top of being a serious contender for “Prettiest Anime of the Season,” it’s also just really doing a good job of slowly building up the relationships and setting up the character development. I’m really liking it and I think, based on who’s behind it, it’s probably going to hit some serious emotional highs and lows that are gonna help it really make its mark… hopefully for the better.

3rd Place: SSSS.Gridman/Yagate Kimi ni Naru

EvilBob: Hey. Voyager. You think I should fanboy over this one?

Voyager: God, our lists are so incredibly opposite to one another…

EvilBob: So. I actually watched the American version of the original show. I might be just a wee bit nostalgic about this one… even though this… this is not that. At all. This is much, much better. From the combinations to the fights, everything is just so much better than the show I watched. I do like how everything does have consequences… for now. I just can’t wait to see what kinds of ridiculous combinations they’re gonna use next.

Voyager: Wow.

EvilBob: What?

Voyager: Nothin’. So. My show’s about a case of high school love between two girls.

EvilBob: Where are the giant mechs, dude?!

Voyager: Probably hidden beneath all the awesome character development and interactions. In case it wasn’t clear why this managed to get this far.

2nd Place: JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure: Golden Wind/Seishun Buta Yarou wa Bunny Girl Senpai no Yume wo Minai 

EvilBob: *Ahem*

Voyager: Wait. Bob, don’t-

EvilBob: JOOOOOOOOOOOOOOJO!

Voyager: …sigh.

EvilBob: OH MY GOD! VOYAGER IS SIGHING AGAIN!

Voyager: This idiot loves JoJo… in case that wasn’t obvious. Did he make it obvious enough? Just checkin’.

EvilBob: I’m just so happy it’s back! In all it’s excessively macho, ridiculously over-the-top fashion.

Voyager: …So my show’s about a guy who sees a senpai walking about in a Bunny Girl costume, one day, and no one else seems to be able to see her.

EvilBob: Yeeeah. It’s a weird one.

Voyager: To be fair, that’s only the first arc. But its awesome character interactions and chemistry carry the otherwise pretty tame series right up to the high points of the tournament. The intrigue is also handled really well, and I like that it’s jumping around between different cases, instead of spending all its time on one thing. It’s definitely one of the best of the season.

1st Place: Golden Kamuy/Toaru Majutsu no Index III

EvilBob: The treasure hunting adventure with the weird faces has returned in full force. And it just keeps getting sillier! It doesn’t seem to have let up since the last time, which is awesome. But I highly doubt it’s going to end with this season.

Voyager: And speaking of things that don’t let up…

EvilBob: Here it comes…

Voyager: A Certain Magical Index is back, baby! Hell yeah! And it’s like it never left! The same lovable characters, awesome action sequences, and super intriguing world finally make their return!

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

Brackets

Now let’s work out the brackets. For full disclosure, these are decided entirely at random. The bracket determines which series go head-to-head with one another for the second culling, ahead of the semifinals. Here, it’s anyone’s game, as the lists are set loose on one another, rather than themselves.

Bracket 1: JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure: Golden Wind/Seishun Buta Yarou wa Bunny Girl Senpai no Yume wo Minai 

EvilBob: Well… this is gonna be interesting. Two of the weirder shows, against each other. Something tells me this is gonna be, uh…

Voyager: One hell of a debate?

EvilBob: Yeah… yeeeah…

Bracket 2: Toaru Majutsu no Index III/Akanesasu Shoujo

EvilBob: Well… there’s only one thing to say about this one…

Voyager: Heh.

Bracket 3: Golden Kamuy/Yagate Kimi ni Naru

Voyager: …sigh. Just… here.

EvilBob: To be fair. This one has a better chance of an upset than that last one.

Voyager: …I don’t need your pity.

Bracket 4: SSSS.Gridman/Irozuku Sekai no Ashita kara

EvilBob: Well then…

Voyager: An epic clash is upon us. The battle for prettiest anime of the season. At the end of this day, one shall stand and one shall fall.

EvilBob: Why throw away your pride so recklessly?

Voyager: That’s a question you should be asking yourself.

Trades

EvilBob: So. Um, Voyager… wanna trade Index for Shoujo?

Voyager: That depends. You wanna trade Bloom into You for Golden Kamuy?

EvilBob: …

Voyager: …

EvilBob: It appears we’re at an impasse… again.

Voyager: Indeed.

EvilBob: So I guess trading’s out?

Voyager: Damn right.

Updated Schedule

Before we check out for the day, here’s the updated anime schedule, as well as a couple of minor announcements, featuring what’s up next.

EvilBob’s Anime Recaps

Sunday – SSSS.Gridman
Monday – N/A
Tuesday – Golden Kamuy 2nd Season, Akanesasu Shoujo
Wednesday – N/A
Thursday – N/A
Friday – N/A
Saturday – JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure: Golden Wind

Voyager’s Weekly Anime Redux Lineup

–Seishun Buta Yarou wa Bunny Girl Senpai no Yume wo Minai
–Yagate Kimi ni Naru
–Irozuku Sekai no Ashita kara
–Toaru Majutsu no Index III
–Black Clover*
–Noragami*

Voyager’s Next Full-Series Review

All right. Time to properly announce this. The new Full-Series review drops this Saturday! And what might it be? Well, for the two people who didn’t figure it out…

Stay Too- wait… uh… keep an eye out for that!

Conclusion

Voyager: And that’s that.

EvilBob: So. Time for trash talk, now?

Voyager: Nah. That’s later, before I shatter your hopes, dreams, and aspirations in the finals.

EvilBob: Oh, okay! …wait.

Voyager: Keep up the Awesome, guys!