I’m not the biggest fan of watching seasonal anime. I don’t have anything against it, but the last time I decided to watch seasonal anime I ended up getting quite disappointed.

I’m the type of guy who doesn’t consume tons of media. I guess I’m a bit pickier than most. I don’t like consuming a piece of media if I know that I probably won’t be thinking about it in a month. I like forming connections with stories, and I want those connections to stick.

Still, I figured I’d give it another shot. At the very least, I wanted to pick out a few shows and watch at least one episode each. I took a look at livechart.me and ended up with six titles that I plan on checking out next season.

I should also note that I haven’t seen any of the trailers for any of these, and have done very little research. That’s on purpose because I want to go into these fresh. If you’re looking for a post that gives more insight to the anime airing next season, you’d have to look somewhere else. But if you’re just curious to see what I’m going to be watching and why I picked them, then stick around!

Contents:

  1. The Devil is a Part-Timer! Season 2
  2. Call of the Night
  3. My Stepmom’s Daughter Is My Ex
  4. The Maid I Hired Recently is Mysterious
  5. The Yakuza’s Guide to Babysitting
  6. Tokyo Mew Mew New

1. The Devil is a Part-Timer! Season 2

The second season of Hataraku Maou-sama!.

Source: AniList
  • Alternate Title/s: Hataraku Maou-sama!!
  • Studio/s: Studio 3Hz
  • Genre/s: Comedy, Fantasy, Romance, Slice of Life
  • Source: Light Novel

This is one of the most looked-forward to anime of next season, so I figured I might as well get in on it. I watched the first season in preparation and I made a post on my first impressions. I’m currently working on my full season review. While I’m not crazy about the show, I have decided to at least watch one more season, if only to take part in the community.

This show getting a second season almost 10 years later actually gives me hope that some of the anime I like might also get another season. In particular, I’m still hoping to get another season of Bloom Into You. It’s one of the best anime adaptations I’ve seen and all it really needs is one more season to adapt the entire manga. Here’s hoping…

2. Call of the Night

  • Alternate Title/s: Yofukashi no Uta
  • Studio/s: LIDENFILMS
  • Genre/s: Comedy, Psychological, Romance, Slice of Life, Supernatural
  • Source: Manga

Wracked by insomnia and wanderlust, Kou Yamori is driven onto the moonlit streets every night in an aimless search for something he can’t seem to name. His nightly ritual is marked by purposeless introspection — until he meets Nazuna, who might just be a vampire! Kou’s new companion could offer him dark gifts and a vampire’s immortality. But there are conditions that must be met before Kou can sink his teeth into vampirism, and he’ll have to discover just how far he’s willing to go to satisfy his desires before he can heed the Call of the Night!

Source: Anilist

This was the title that caught my eye the most. Glancing at the poster from afar, I thought it was going to be some kind of action anime. When I actually read the description, that’s when I got excited. The list of genres alone is enough to make me want to watch it. Call of the Night is a psychological supernatural comedy romance slice of life… with vampires. That sounds so freakin’ awesome!

I didn’t want to find out too much about the story to keep my experience as fresh as possible. Just by looking at the manga’s AniList page, it seems pretty well received.

To me, the description sounds like Tokyo Ghoul but as a rom-com slice of life (of course, the term “romance” in anime genres tends to be used quite loosely so this doesn’t necessarily mean that the show will heavily showcase romance).

I appreciate slice of life stories that take on a different setting than just regular high school. Violet Evergarden, Girls’ Last Tour, and School-Live! come to mind.

School-Live!, in particular, is also a slice of life with a psychological edge. That particular aspect of the story made it one of the most unique manga I’ve ever read, though it’s not really wise for me to assume that Call of the Night going to be anything similar.

I expect this show to be the one I stick with for the entire season. Of course I don’t want to raise my expectations too much, but I’m cautiously optimistic.

3. My Stepmom’s Daughter Is My Ex

  • Alternate Title/s: Mamahaha no Tsurego ga Moto Kano datta
  • Studio/s: project No.9
  • Genre/s: Comedy, Romance
  • Source: Light Novel

Ah, high school. Is there any better place to start fresh after a horrible middle school relationship? Nope! Not unless your ex ends up at the same school as you and is now your stepsibling. What was supposed to be a sanctuary of peace where I could avoid ever seeing her again has become a living nightmare! Everywhere I look, I see her—in my house, in my school, in my class. There’s no escape! She even claims that she’s the older sibling. Like hell she is! But I won’t lose to her. After all, I’m the older brother in this new family situation. That’s right, we’re family now. No matter how much we may have thought we loved each other before, we saw one another’s true colors and realized we weren’t meant for each other. That’s why even though we may keep up a buddy-buddy sibling act for the sake of our parents, things will never go back to the way they used to be.

Source: AniList

Okay, this one sounds spicy. Before everything though, first I have to ask, did the guy who came up with this title forget about the word “stepsister”? Why is it called “My Stepmother’s Daughter Is My Ex” instead of “My Stepsister Is My Ex”? Were they trying to reach a light novel title length quota? Or is it somehow important that the audience knows that the male lead both has a stepsister and a stepmother? Judging by the amount of degeneracy in this community, I think it might be the latter case.

Also, since this title is fairly long and doesn’t really have a catchy abbreviation, I decided to look for what the Japanese abbreviation was. Apparently its hashtag is #連れカノ which reads Tsurekano, so I’m gonna assume that’s the proper abbreviation for the show’s title and I’m gonna use it to refer to the show from now on. If someone could tell me whether or not this is correct, that would be great.

My first instinct was that this was probably gonna be another Domestic Girlfriend, but that doesn’t seem to be the case. First of all, they dated before they became stepsiblings, and it seems from the premise like they’re not really interested in starting things back up again. Also, this one’s a comedy as opposed to being a drama, so I expect this to go in a very different direction.

Whether or not romance still exists between the two protagonists, I think it’ll be an interesting ride. It could either be a wholesome experience of them learning to become siblings after having been lovers (“wholesome”, in this case, being a relative term) or it could be extra spicy by having them get back together. Either way, I’m here for the wincest! And yes, I am indeed a degenerate!

I almost wish this was ecchi to make it even spicier, despite the fact that I’m not the biggest fan of the genre. I figured, if this was gonna be trashy, they might as well go all in! The trailer’s thumbnail seems to feature the female lead flustered and lying on the floor wearing only a towel, so we might be on the right track!

4. The Maid I Hired Recently is Mysterious

  • Alternate Title/s: Saikin Yatotta Maid ga Ayashii
  • Studio/s: BLADE, SILVER LINK.
  • Genre/s: Comedy, Romance, Slice of Life
  • Source: Manga

There’s something really strange about the maid I just hired! No normal person could be so beautiful, or cook such amazingly delicious food, or know exactly what I want before I even ask. She must be using magic—right, a spell is the only thing that can explain why my chest feels so tight whenever I look at her. I swear, I’m going to get to the bottom of what makes this maid so…mysterious!

Source: AniList

I’m gonna be honest… the only reason I added this to my list is because of the cute tanned maid on the poster. This has romance as one of its genres and age-gap as one of its tags, which makes me nervous. All I can hope for is that it doesn’t get too weird. Like I said though, “romance” in the genre list tends to be used quite loosely so this very well might not actually be an age-gap romance. The romance could just be one-sided with the kid liking the adult, which would be fine by me.

The source material’s ratings aren’t the highest. At best, this might just be a decent comedy, but with the fact that all of my picks this season are comedies, just being decent might not be enough for it to stand out. Though, it does have the really cute tanned maid going for it—easily the cutest girl from any of these anime. Will that be enough to get me through the season? I guess we’ll see.

The Yakuza’s Guide to Babysitting

  • Alternate Title/s: Kumicho Musume to Sewagakari
  • Studio/s: bilibili, Studio Mausu
  • Genre/s: Comedy, Slice of Life
  • Source: Manga

Kirishima Tooru is the right-hand man of the Sakuragi crime family. For him, the job is a perfect excuse to let his violent instincts run wild, earning him the nickname “the Demon of Sakuragi”. It seems like nothing will stand in the way of his vicious nature. But then one day, he receives an assignment like never before from the boss—babysitting his daughter! This is the heartwarming (or is it bloodcurdling?) story of a little girl and her yakuza caretaker!

Source: AniList

This one’s title reminded me of The Way of the Househusband. While I did enjoy that manga, it wasn’t really enough to get me to read more than a volume or two of it. This seems to be the least popular of the bunch (aside from Tokyo Mew Mew new, but that one is a reboot of a somewhat popular anime). This is also the one I’m least interested in.

I do have a soft spot for stories about people taking care of little kids. A guy taking care of a little girl just happens to be my favorite permutation of that pattern. If this show manages to nail that dynamic then I might really enjoy this, though I don’t really have high expectations. As of now though, this is the one I’m least excited about.

Tokyo Mew Mew New

The scientists of the μ(Mew) Project use DNA of endangered species to create a team of heroines imbued with amazing super-human abilities. One of them, Ichigo Momomiya, awakens to discover she is armed with all the skills of a Iriomote cat. Ichigo must band together with other Mew Mew girls to repel an alien incursion, all the while hiding their thrilling double lives from friends and family.

Source: Anilist

I don’t know much about Tokyo Mew Mew. I know the original anime is somewhat of a classic, but I haven’t seen it and haven’t really heard much about it. I know there was some outrage among fans of the original about the main character’s hair being red in this version instead of pink like in the original. That’s about all I know.

It obviously looks like a very girly anime, but I’m not a very manly guy anyway. I say, bring on the sparkles!—at least, I’m assuming this is gonna be sparkly.

Mahou Shoujo is something I’ve been interested in getting into for a while now, though they’ve more often missed than hit with me. The only mahou shoujo show that I’ve really liked is Madoka, but that isn’t really representative of most mahou shoujo anime. Somehow, I doubt this is gonna be as substantial as that show, but I’m still willing to give it a fair shot.

I’m usually fairly skeptical towards reboots, but anime reboots are really interesting. A lot of older anime tend to be riddled with filler or deviate completely from the source material. Modern anime adaptations tend to be more faithful (sometimes to a fault), and reboots give us a chance to see just that, and hopefully, give justice to the original creator’s vision. The most popular example of this probably being Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood. Although, I am a fan of both versions.

The way I see it, this could end up going one of two ways: this could become the new definitive adaptation just like the Fruits Basket reboot—or this could suck out all the magic and charm of the original, just like the Sailor Moon reboot.

I also want to point out how Tokyo Mew Mew New is either one of the best titles ever or one of the worst titles ever—probably depends on how I end up feeling about this show.

Final Thoughts

One popular anime that’s getting a new season is Rent-a-Girlfriend, which I’ve decided not to continue. Though I did really like the first season, I haven’t heard the best stuff about what’s to come from the manga readers. I’ve always thought the show was only one step away from a trashy dumpster fire anyway, so I don’t mind not continuing with it.

I don’t really have a particular connection to any of the characters either. This might be a hot take, but I think Chizuru is kinda boring. She seems to be written purely to be a “perfect” girl which just ends up with her feeling bland. I know people are in love with her and all, but it ain’t for me. I’m also not really a fan of ecchi and found that element distracting in this show.

I realize some of the stuff I just said about Rent-a-Girlfriend contradicts some of the stuff I said about Tsurekano. For the record, trashy stories isn’t my thing but I’m also just interested in seeing how Tsurekano plays out.

That’s about it for my thoughts on upcoming Summer 2022 anime. I’d love to know what other people are looking forward to next season. Is there some that I’ve overlooked? Probably.

A Tangent on Anime Title Abbreviations

Short names for anime kinda interest me. As I mentioned earlier, the short title for My Stepmom’s Daughter is my Ex seems to be Tsurekano which comes from it’s Japanese title Mamahaha no Tsurego ga Moto Kano datta.

Apparently, one of Rent-a-Girlfriend’s hashtags is #かのかり, which reads Kanokari and also comes from it’s Japanese title. I’ve never really heard of anyone refer to it like that since the title isn’t really that long, but it is a bitch to type so I almost want to refer to it by Kanokari instead. I think these tend to be unofficial abbreviations but sometimes they make their way to the official title.

Some English titles that I find interesting are when they use the short Japanese title (usually an abbreviation) as the main title and then add a subtitle that’s either an English translation of the full Japanese title or completely original.

Examples of these are Konosuba – God’s Blessing on This Wonderful World!, Re:ZERO -Starting Life in Another World-, Kaguya-sama: Love is War, and TONIKAWA: Over the Moon for You. I think this is such a cool idea and I think more anime should do it. It allows both Japanese and English-speaking audiences to use the same terminology for the same show. Though it does risk the title being too long and clunky, but that’s why we leave out the subtitle when talking about the show.

Of course, this doesn’t work for every show though. Quintessential Quintuplets doesn’t really have a short title that they can use. I guess they could do “Go-toubon: Quintessential Quintuplets”, but that doesn’t really work since the subtitle is catchier than the main title.

It’s also interesting to see where the the abbreviations for a lot of these come from. In English, when we want to shorten a title we usually just use an acronym, taking the first letter of each word. In Japanese however, they seem to prefer taking syllables from certain words and combining them together. Konosuba comes from Kono Subarashii Sekai ni Shukufuku wo!. Tonikawa comes from Tonikaku Kawaii.

So, what’s the point of this whole tangent? Not much. I just thought it was interesting. What’s the point to anything I post?