Doctorkev’s Thoughts on the Spring 2024 Anime Season Part 1: Sequels and Ongoing Shows
Once upon a time it seemed like few TV anime — even popular shows — got sequels. Each season maybe one or two shows would be sequels, but the rest would be new things. How times have changed! The Spring 2024 season is jam-packed with myriad sequels, and a few ongoing shows too! There’s so many, but we’ll start with those that I won’t cover in detail this time.
Firstly, at the time of writing, the dub for My Hero Academia’s 7th season hasn’t yet started, so although a couple of subbed episodes have aired, I haven’t watched it yet. (Blame my 13-year-old son who refuses to watch subs.) Demon Slayer’s Hashira Training Arc has only released one episode so far, and I already watched that as part of this year’s naked cash grab. You couldn’t pay me to watch that snoozefest again.
Kyoto Animation’s beloved Sound Euphonium has returned for a long-awaited third season, but I’ve not yet watched the first two, and Crunchyroll refuses to stream the essential movie and OAV that bridge the gap between second and third seasons in the UK, so until they do I’m going to pretend this show doesn’t exist. Both Bartender and Spice and Wolf are well-regarded shows from 2006 and 2008 respectively, but I want to watch their originals before their modern remakes streaming this season.
Other currently streaming sequels to shows I have no intention of ever watching include: Black Butler, Date A Live, The Misfit of Demon King Academy, Tsukimichi — Moonlight Fantasy, and The Irregular at Magic High School. There’s not enough time in the day for me to even try catching up on these things, none of which sound like they’re up my street anyway.
So what sequels have tickled my fancy this season? I keep meaning to get around to the four-episode Great Pretender: Razbliuto on Crunchyroll, but I’ve never found a good time to do so. I enjoyed the first season on Netflix, though I can’t help but wonder why they passed on streaming rights for this story arc… Anyway, here are my current choices for more-or-less worthwhile sequels and ongoing shows for Spring 2024:
Undead Unluck — Disney + — episodes 1–18 of 24— Wednesdays
So you North American readers may be wondering why this Fall 2023/Winter 2024 Hulu show is included in my rundown for Spring. Well, Disney in all their infinite, unfathomable wisdom, royally screwed over this show internationally with their impenetrable stop-start belated streaming schedule. Everywhere outside of the US is now a full season behind, and Disney continues to pretend the anime on its service doesn’t exist. Disney+ is where great anime goes to die. This bonkers show should have been a breakout international hit, instead Disney strangled it at birth. I can’t believe the rights holders believe they’ve got their money’s worth from Disney’s exclusive streaming licence.
Although I enjoy Undead Unluck, I’d hesitate to say I love it. There are a few too many characters now, I can’t remember who they all are, nor what their powers are. Hey Disney, this might not have been a problem if you hadn’t randomly stopped streaming after episode eleven for more than a month! Most episodes feature big flashy fights with demented dream logic battle strategies, and lots of things explode. It’s a lot of fun, especially as the intricately constructed lore of the setting is gradually revealed. It seems like the Undead Andy and his Unluck-wielding friend Yuko, along with their friends, are now on a JRPG-esque quest to kill God. Ok then. It’s enjoyable watching to see what unhinged insanity will be unleashed with each successive episode.
Konosuba Season 3 — Crunchyroll — episodes 1–6 of 11 — Wednesdays
My opinion on Konosuba has really taken a big 180 after fellow AniTAY podcaster Requiem essentially threatened to subject my family to a neverending marathon of terrible anime in his Home Cinema Dungeon of Pain. (Req’s taste in entertainment is famously dreadful.) Motivated by terror, I picked up the first two seasons of the show on discounted blu-ray and re-watched the first few episodes I had previously rejected. I guess the first time I watched it I must have been in a bad mood or something, because this show is incredibly funny. The characters are all so unbelievably dumb, but they sure make some hilarious facial expressions, and the ridiculous scrapes they fall into have never failed to bring a smile to my face. Yes, protagonist Kazuma is an irredeemable puddle of human wreckage, but that’s ok. He deserves everything coming to him.
Season three picks up directly after the movie Legend of Crimson, which like the series (and its OVAs, irritatingly absent from the UK blu-ray releases), thankfully also streams on Crunchyroll. Kazuma is still traumatised by his time with terrifying chimera woman Sylvia and her… um… “non-standard” genital anatomy. Starting with a hilarious episode that adapts material from the source light novels missed out by the film, we’re then onto a new story arc where Kazuma makes friends with the kingdom’s very impressionable young princess Iris (who inexplicably wears a bunch of grapes as a headpiece).
Of course Kazuma quickly squeezes the benefits of palace living for all they are worth, taking advantage of his good fortune and generally letting all of his bad personality traits run rampant. This is ok for an episode or two, but gets old rather swiftly. Thankfully once the other characters step in, the comedy mostly returns to normal. As the dull Megumin spinoff show also demonstrated, in order for Konosuba to function correctly, it must feature all four idiot protagonists bouncing off one anothers’ quirks to truly succeed.
Urusei Yatsura Season 4 — HIDIVE — episodes 1–6 of 11 — Thursdays
Urusei Yatsura remains a psychedelic candy-coloured retro-flavoured comedy period piece that is very much an acquired taste. I’ve been reading this manga since the mid 1990s, but it first started in the 1970s. The story content can be very dated, considering how many of its tropes have been endlessly iterated upon by countless successor series in the past few decades, but David Production gives everything a lovely coat of modern paint. The character designs remain pleasingly faithful to the manga, and even if the humour doesn’t always hit, the show is fast-paced madcap fun.
The past few episodes have barely focused on central couple Ataru and Lum at all, instead following a bunch of eclectic weirdos from the enormous supporting cast. At least some of these are adapted from chapters never featured in the original version of the anime from the early 1980s. In general I like most of UY’s strange ensemble, but this season has regrettably chosen to focus on the creepy Asuka and her incestuous infatuation with her brother Tobimaro. I don’t find them or their situation at all funny. Much better is the relationship between Shinobu and bunny costume-wearing Inaba. I’m glad Shinobu has found a love interest away from the despicable Ataru, and Inaba is quite loopy in his own way.
Hopefully we’ll have a bit more development of the stop-start romance between Lum and Ataru before season’s end. Although mangaka Rumiko Takahashi is famously terrible at properly concluding most of her long-running stories (the incredible Maison Ikkoku notwithstanding), these two deserve some kind of closure after almost fifty years!
Delicious in Dungeon — Netflix —episodes 1–20 of 24 — Thursdays
The first part of a Thursday evening anime double-bill with my eldest son, I always look forward to each new episode of Delicious in Dungeon. What started as a relatively light-hearted fantasy romp focusing on exploration, cameraderie, and weird cooking has become something altogether much deeper, more serious, and emotional. Although Laios, Marcille and friends succeeded in resurrecting their dragon-digested companion Falin, the fallout has been nothing short of… viscerally horrendous, with literal bloodbaths and massive death counts. These higher stakes have really shoved a lightning rod into the show’s sense of direction and urgency.
With these darker developments, the show takes the opportunity to dig deeper into its characters’ damaged psyches, illuminating their psychological hangups, fears and prime motivators. The character writing is subtle, at times brutal, and always compelling. Also we have a new cat girl friend so thumbs up from me!
Studio Trigger haven’t made a poor-looking anime yet, and although it doesn’t quite share the same aesthetic with most other stereotypically “Trigger” shows, the action animation is full of life and movement. The dungeon feels like a living breathing place, and the characters are animated so well, with so many little details like changing hairstyles, clothing, posture, body language… It’s clear that the folks making this show love the source material and are doing their absolute best to make the anime the best they can. It’s a highlight of the season.
Laid-Back Camp Season 3 — Crunchyroll — episodes 1–7 of 12— Thursdays
Our second Thursday anime is the return of the ultra-comfy Laid-Back Camp, one of my son’s favourite anime of all time (though I love it too, of course.) Since the second season and subsequent movie, the anime has changed production studios which has resulted in some subtle character design modifications, and an increased reliance on barely-altered photographs for the backgrounds. Sometimes this results in odd-looking compositing, but it’s not a dealbreaker for me. This is still the same delightful show featuring an adorable group of happy-go-lucky schoolgirls who have caught the camping bug.
Much of the first half of this season has followed Rin and Nadeshiko on a journey into the mountains to camp with their mutual friend Ayano. Different segments focus on Rin and Ayano travelling on their scooters, or Nadeshiko on the train. These kind of fun travelogues, full of delectable little details about local snacks, or bath houses, or restaurants makes me desperate to follow in their footsteps. That’s probably entirely the intent.
For a supposedly relaxing show, there’s been a significant focus on tall suspension bridges and the characters stressing out while crossing them. As a fellow heights non-enjoyer, I found myself empathising a little too enthusiastically in their terror. The most recent episode is a masterpiece of demented postmodern loopiness as the other girls who didn’t get to go on the trip relate (with bizarre additional digressions from Nadeshiko) what they got up to instead. I love this weird little show.
That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime Season 3 — Crunchyroll — episodes 1–7 of 24 — Fridays
Do you like meetings? I mean really like meetings? Especially meetings that could have been emails instead? Great! Because the first six episodes of Slime season three could have been a goddamned email. Look, Slime has never been my favourite show, but it’s mostly succeeded at maintaining a baseline level of mild entertainment. This season has been a trial by boredom. I almost dropped it, until I decided to watch episode seven where something happens — or at least almost happens.
How did this get past script approval? Scene after scene after scene of different groups of characters all sitting around tables, talking about other groups of characters, who are also sitting around tables, talking about yet more characters. Including name dropping characters we haven’t met yet, or don’t know (or care) the importance of. Like “the holy seven” or “magnificent three” or “mysterious sixty-eight” or “constipated ninety-four”. I don’t know, I probably made some of those up, I barely managed to survive through any of these episodes to their endings with my full consciousness remaining. Season three of Slime could be dried up, ground into capsules, and sold as a foolproof insomnia cure. It’s been incredibly boring.
The show had better shape up over the next few episodes, or I really will drop it this time. You hear me, Rimuru? Get the hell on with it!
The Duke of Death and His Maid Season 3 — Crunchyroll — episodes 1–6 of ?— Sundays
A season three that’s far from boring — The Duke of Death and His Maid makes a most welcome (and final) return. I’m so happy that this show will get the conclusion it deserves, adapting the entirety of the source manga. I know the animation has never loked great, but sometimes the bargain basement jank adds to the wonky charm of this utterly delightful show.
Although romance is the main driver of events, there’s a strong backplot about witches, magic, and curses that has become ever more relevant. Finally, it seems we’re close to getting answers about why the titular Duke was cursed, why Alice’s mother fell into an enchanted sleep, and just what makes sinister deceased witch Sade tick.
Every relationship in the show is progressing nicely — from the Duke and Alice’s love, to younger brother Walter’s blooming romance with disfigured witch Daleth. This second couple threaten to steal every scene they’re in during the two part “Dance Party” story. I want so much for them to have a happy ending. Loopy little sister Viola remains a hilarious source of chaos, and even severe-looking mother Gerbera has seen some sympathetic development.
Along with random music numbers interspersed through some episodes, The Duke of Death is a whimsical delight. I wish more folks could look beyond the admittedly iffy visuals to see the beating heart of good-natured comedy and frustrated romance beneath. I love this silly, heartfelt show so much.
Mushoku Tensei Season 2 part 2 — Crunchyroll — episodes 1–6 of 12 — Sundays
Like Slime, this was another show I came dangerously close to dropping this season. The problem is main character Rudeus. I cannot stand him. His actions during the first cour last year were indefensible, though thankfully so far in this chunk of the story he hasn’t done anything too disgusting. What mostly keeps me watching is a combination of the interesting world building, varied and entertaining side characters, and ongoing, engaging plot. It’s a shame that most of that plot pivots around the reprehensible main character.
Mushoku Tensei always looks really good — it has an earthy, classic adventure feel to it unlike almost any other currently-running anime. It’s high quality without looking glossy, with a lovingly hand-drawn aesthetic to it. If you told me the production team had returned to using old-style cel animation, I’d almost believe you.
Rudeus is now happily married to his former childhood friend Sylphiette, following almost a dozen episodes of mistaking her for a man (oops). He’s much happier now, as Sylphie helped him overcome the trauma of his apparent abandonment by Eris at the end of the first season, and as a result cured his erectile dysfunction. I’m so glad that plot is over and done with because I found it excruciating. That’s not to denigrate men who do struggle with this issue, but I found its foregrounding in the plot tiresome.
The next story arc looms, with Rudeus being forced to make a very tough choice by the Man-God (whom I do not trust as far as I could throw him), and I can only imagine more trials and heartbreak will follow. I’ll keep watching for now, but if Rudeus returns to the kind of disgusting actions he committed in the first cour of this second season, I’ll drop Mushoku Tensei and never look back.
That’s it for sequels and ongoing shows for now, I’ll be back tomorrow with a short rundown of the new shows I’m currently watching. Thanks for reading!
