Happy New Year, everyone! 2025 saw us all watching less shows than usual but we still want to share our thoughts for the year. Scott and Su finally accomplished publishing their Game Journal write-ups! It’s been YEARS in the making. Thank you for following along with us here on our little site, and we look forward to another year of hopefully great anime and games.
| Scott – Red Awards |
| Best of 2025 | Apocalypse Hotel With such a simple premise (a team of robots runs a hotel after all humans have left earth), this show does so much and is so creative. With everything from chainsaw-wielding action scenes to brewing the perfect whiskey to wordless contemplation of nature’s beauty, Apocalypse Hotel excels at everything it tries. The characters are compelling and funny, the plots of episodes clever and varied. Top-notch animation quality doesn’t hurt either. |
| Most Pleasant Surprise of 2025 | Zenshuu Initially I wasn’t expecting much from “an animator gets isekai’d”, but in short order Zenshuu blew me away. An homage to famous techniques of early anime, a love letter to bizarre, unpopular anime with their own cult followings, and a heartfelt and dramatic story in its own right. The show has a wide emotional range but does well in preventing any whiplash. |
| Worst of 2025 | Can a Boy-Girl Friendship Survive? It’s too bad this show got this award, considering the first three or so episodes are nearly pitch-perfect. A romance that may never bud suddenly gets thrown into turmoil and the pot just keeps boiling more and more…! And then the whole thing simmers down to nothing for the rest of the show. I also hated that the main romantic story seems to play a distant fiddle to the extremely wealthy/powerful older siblings that toss the ostensible main characters around like toys. |
| Most Disappointing of 2025 | Lazarus In all honesty, Lazarus is fine, pretty good even. An interesting premise, a cool setting, characters that don’t fit into the standard anime tropes with a lot of backstory and growth potential. It just didn’t all come together. Not enough character growth for many characters, too many moving parts behind the scenes, and of course the director’s pedigree raising expectations sky high. |
| Best Short Form | Milky Subway If you’re looking for the best show you can watch in less than one hour, Milky Subway is it. A follow-up to a very fun video pilot (?), the show follows the misadventures of six delinquents serving their community service sentences aboard a malfunctioning interplanetary subway train. The dialog is snappy and funny, the characters immediately engaging, the plot silly and enjoyable. |
| Most Educational | Okitsura (Fell in Love with an Okinawan Girl, but I Just Wish I Knew What She’s Saying) Plenty of anime have an episode set in Okinawa or make reference to it (especially fan favorite Azumanga Daioh), but none have really set out to explain the idiosyncrasies of the island until now. Alongside a fairly pedestrian love triangle romcom plot, the show has its characters explain many facets of life on Okinawa – its food, specific cultural references, its car-focused culture, and especially its unique language. |
| Best Opening Theme Song Animation | Call of the Night S2 While the show itself is really good, taking a very different and more dramatic approach to the nocturnal vampire life than the first season did, the opening animation is definitely going to stay with me the longest. Stylish, cool, with dynamic action scenes that leave you wanting more, I recommend taking a watch. |
| Best Executed Twist on the Isekai Genre | A Wild Last Boss Appeared! A rare isekai that really changes up the normal structure and does well at it. The main character starts out at max level with all of the abilities she’s ever going to get. The plot revolves around finding companions and figuring out the mysteries of the game-like setting, and it’s much more interesting as a result. No grinding for levels, getting higher adventurer ranks, or stacking unlikely passive abilities here. |
| Most Interesting Twist on the Isekai Genre | Apocalypse Bringer Mynoghra For over half the show, I was enjoying it but not sure where it was going. The isekai twist this time is that the main character is basically running a country a la Civilization or Age of Wonders, researching technologies and building city upgrades and units. That’s already a pretty good difference from the usual, and the unusually dark setting also set it apart. SPOILERS What really made me sit up and take notice was the big twist – other players had also appeared, but they were using different video game mechanics. What happens when the Dragon Quest-like demon lord and his four lieutenants fight a strategy game-oriented army? What other genres are out there? I’m hooked, despite the very low production values on display. |
| Most Pleasant Twist on the Isekai Genre | Welcome to Japan Ms. Elf This show had a well executed and enjoyable two-track story. The main character can travel between a fantasy world and the real one every night when he falls asleep, and he discovers a way to bring his love interest, an elf, back to Earth with him. The story splits the time evenly between dungeon-crawling and exploration in the fantasy world, and romantic dates and food tourism on the Earth side. This works well and makes for a pleasant, slow-moving romance that still has time for action. |
| Worst Plot Structure | Flower and Asura While the show itself was mostly fine, absurdly unlikely beach pianos notwithstanding, the ending arc is simply badly placed in the overall plot. What should have been the climax of the show is somehow both too long and too short, taking a while to get going, building to a dramatic crescendo that seems to be over and done with much too fast, leaving an orphaned episode that should have been the start of a new arc as the final episode in the season. |
| Best Comedy Segment | Negative Positive Angler I liked this show a lot, but the best segment by far for me was a few minutes where the main character was trying out a new way to fish. He’s on his own, and providing running commentary in his mind as if he’s on a fishing TV show, with the director in awe of his techniques and asking questions as to his thought process. This would be great except he keeps messing up pretty badly, throwing lures into the water without strings attached and making pathetic casts. What had me laughing was that the “docu-drama” continued, with him explaining why these blunders were actually the work of a fishing genius. It may not be everyone’s humor but it really tickled me. |
| Most Impressive Genre Writing | My Dress Up Darling S2 In the middle of what is already a very good show, one of the arcs focused on the group dressing up as characters from a video game. Rather than just describe the game generically or show a couple of stills, they had a character play quite a few of the game’s scenes out. On top of that, those scenes were shown in a well-done pixel art style. Even the plot of the game was thought out. This made for a very engaging time as the group planned out how to make costumes and which scenes to re-enact, and I was right there alongside them because of the detail put into the in-universe game. |
| Most Confusing Audience Demographics | Mobile Suit Gundam GQuuuuuuX I cannot for the life of me figure out who this show is targeted at. Half of it seems to be trying to get a newer audience interested in Gundam, showcasing female protagonists and flashy tournament fights. The other half, however, is a deep cut alternate history retelling of the original Gundam, y’know, from the late 70s, and it requires excellent knowledge of that show’s plot to understand what’s happening. The problem is that these two plotlines are almost entirely parallel from each other, pretty much right up until the end. What 60+ year old is excited about watching a modern Gundam? What kid would have any idea what is going on in the alternate history parts? |
| Strangest Premise for a Tourism Ad Campaign | Touring After the Apocalypse This must have been a heck of a pitch meeting. “So, I want to have these girls tour Japan, seeing the sights of different regions.” “I’m following so far, we’ll get some local sponsorships.” “They’ll tour on a motorcycle, and lots of their journey will be about motorcycles.” “OK, nice, we’ll see if we can get Honda interested.” “Also it’s the post-apocalypse and there isn’t another living human in the show.” “…uh?” “No, it’s fine see, because one of the girls keeps having dream visions of what it would have been like if people still existed.” “Oh well that fixes every problem. Here’s all your money!” |
| Most Compelling Ad for a Videogame | GNOSIA For a concept that’s basically “Werewolf (the social deduction one) but innnnn spaaaaace”, GNOSIA is… really good. The setup does seem a touch contrived, but it holds together well enough and gives a plausible reason for repeated “games” to occur. The fact that the other “players” are characters with often very elaborate backstories for the protagonist to uncover, rather than simply being random faceless villagers, goes a long way to elevate the idea. By the end I was really interested in trying the game, so job well done! |
| Su – Green Awards |
| Best of 2025 | Dandadan Season 2 Are you surprised that Dandadan has taken the crown two years in a row?! Well, you shouldn’t be. It’s an incredible show with witty characterization, wild action, and a metric f*$k ton of heart. The writing in this show is also just so damn clever. The way our characters solve problems are as out there and varied as their personalities. The Evil Eye arc was incredible and forced our characters to grow and change in numerous ways that were exciting to watch. These cryptids are no joke and despite the levity in the show’s writing, you feel serious concern for Jiji and everyone around him. I haven’t read far enough into the manga to meet Kinta, but I was concerned about him joining the cast due to my husband’s descriptions of his introduction therein. Kudos to the anime writing staff for tweaking his character a bit so he’s just dweeby and adorkable (a perfect fit for the rest of our team). Also, of course we needed some GIANT MECH ACTION and Kinta delivers. The animation by Science Saru is gorgeous, as with Season 1, and I cannot wait for more of this show. I rarely get excited for shows anymore so to be this pumped for something proves it brings real joy to my life. If you are hesitating in any way, and can embrace some craziness (and some crudeness), I highly encourage you to jump on this bandwagon. |
| Most Pleasant Surprise of 2025 | Sorairo Utility I gushed about the glory that was Birdie Wing S1/S2, so it came as a shock when I fell in love with this show. Lead character Minami seeks to find her “something special” in life, and stumbles upon golf. She meets two other girls who support her journey to learn the sport and the trio experience the joy of golfing. No, seriously…that’s the plot. There’s no “golf cancer” or “Rainbow Bullet Shots”. No arch rivals, tragic backstories, or tournaments to save illegal immigrant orphans (guys seriously…watch Birdie Wing…just do it). There’s only three girls having fun learning golf and going on silly adventures while they expand their love of the sport. They all support each other and everyone’s personality compliments the others well. Heck, they even added the “token child” character in the last third of the show, and she wasn’t horribly annoying! Sorairo Utility has relaxing colors, laugh out loud moments, and just genuinely wants you to take it easy. I absolutely loved this show and looked forward to it week after week. It proved to me that great characterization can carry any story forward. I would 100% watch more golf adventures with Minami, Haruka, and Ayaka. Yes Hina…even you can tag along! |
| Worst of 2025 | Once Upon a Witch’s Death By the end of this show, I wanted to invoke the Mushu quote from Mulan: “How could you miss, he was THREE FEET IN FRONT OF YOU?!” This show had the simplest premise that makes for a good ol’fashioned heartwarming watch. Apprentice Witch Meg Raspberry turns seventeen and learns that she only has one year to live. A curse was put on her as a child and the only way to undo it is to collect 1000 Tears of Pure Emotion from fellow humans. Meg is lively and full of spirit so I was expecting a series of vignettes about her healing people’s hearts and growing as a person along the way. What I got was…not that…at all There’s geopolitical unrest due to the council of Seven Witches possessing too much power, some sort of witch Geneva Convention, random dark/violent episodes, and a freaking plotline about one of the witches committing GENOCIDE?!?!?! Show…what on Earth were you doing?! This show was a mess and even Meg’s optimistic attitude couldn’t save its abysmal plotting and lack of focus. |
| Most Disappointing of 2025 | Lazarus Oh Lazarus…the first two positive awards in this table were yours to lose. This show had the direction/writing prowess of Shinichirou Watanabe, and started out with a banger of a first episode. It did an excellent job of showing its ideas through imagery and not exposition dumps, which is a welcome concept for shows that have a political undercurrent. The issues on display felt relative to modern problems currently facing humanity, and all of this instantly drew me into the plight the Lazarus team had on their hands. The show had cool animation, a fun cast of misfits, and a ticking time bomb (literally) prompting them to save the world. Did I mention we had the cute hacker girl? Yeah, we had that. In fact, we had TWO of them. All the freaking elements were there. The show moved at a brisk pace but towards the end, it lost its footing and then straight up tumbled down a cliff. It focused on a steak-eating minor villain, tried to shoehorn in some plot about government conspiracy, and the big reveal about how our team came together was…downright awful. Not to mention finding the rogue doctor was a complete letdown. Everything about this show disappointed in the end and I was floored at how poor it all turned out. |
| Give this woman an Oscar | Shion Wakayama I really should have given this out last year, but better late than never. Shion Wakayama is simply incredible as Momo Ayase in Dandadan. She can swing from soft and vulnerable to crass and angry within the span of a few seconds. Momo’s dynamic characterization requires Shion to swing her tone not just emotionally but physically as well. Momo has a knack for just…yelling in times of action. No matter what is happening onscreen I am blown away by how amazing Shion is at conveying the energy needed to make Momo a reality. She is truly a treasure and in my mind, totally gets the Voice Acting Oscar (which I just invented just now) |
| The Best Worldbuilding | Sanda Okay listen up. I read the description of Sanda and I was like… WTF is everyone at Science Saru smoking, and how long did they smoke it?! I ate my words HARD as this show has incredible worldbuilding. Paru Itagaki weaves a wild tale of the pain of adolescence and the messy trail to adulthood, while also somehow having a shounen flair wherein Santa Claus is a freaking super hero. I know…I didn’t believe it either, but it works. While the plotting has some Swiss cheese sized holes I’m still scratching my head about, most of that isn’t important. What’s on display here makes you think about aging, dealing with the pressures of adulthood, sexuality, and how a society warped by worshipping youth becomes a police state. Throw in some body horror and surprisingly violent action and you have yourself a show worthy of a Literature class final exam paper. Almost every episode was something I could write an essay about. Chock full of intense themes, crazy character designs, and backed by the creative team at Science Saru (who is rapidly becoming my new favorite studio), this show has nothing predictable about it, and made me think a whole lot. |
| Most Likely to make me die of laughter | The Fragrant Flower Blooms with Dignity – Episode 07 Okay look, this might be a “just my husband and I” type of humorous moment, but I don’t care. I’m going to share it with you anyway. Episode 07 of Fragrant Flower has an intensely emotional discussion between leading ladies Subaru and Kaoruko at a playground from their youth. The topic is utterly innocent, but Subaru is so overcome with guilt and self-loathing that you can cut the emotional heaviness like a slice of red velvet cheesecake. Amidst this conversation filled with tears, friendship and caring, Kaoruko asks Subaru if she remembers the time Kaoruko fell off the monkey bars. There’s a short cutaway to a chibi scene and OH MY GAWD it’s freaking hilarious: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=18If772Ajrg. You need the buildup that comes from the episode so this may not hit you the way it hit us, but holy cow, we watched this scene like three times as we sat there dying of laughter. The sudden hard thud of toddler Kaoruko hitting the ground is a RIOT when the whole rest of the episode is serious drama. What makes it even better is that this flashback is being used to illustrate what a kind person Subaru is after she starts bawling, steeped in self disgust. The contrast is…just so incredible. I haven’t laughed that hard in a long long time. Thank you Fragrant Flower. I didn’t know I needed this scene, but it made my year. |
| Most supported ships in the harbor | Momo Ayase & Okarun (Dandadan) Subaru Hoshina and Saku Nakugawa (The Fragrant Flower Blooms with Dignity) Momo and Okarun are the cutest damn things and if you don’t think so…we are going to have a fist fight. Watching these two dance around each other is painfully adorable and the little ways they support and care for each other gives me all the cuddly feelings. Dandadan is already a ton of fun to watch but seeing these two slowly grow closer is such a joy to behold. The cuteness is definitely over 9000. Yeah yeah *Spoilers* I guess. If you watched Fragrant Flower, this was blatantly obvious though. If you are a manga reader, you are likely already foaming at the mouth (if Reddit is to be believed). I have a thing for the awkward pandas falling for each other. While Kaoruko and Rintaro are adorable, my sail is firmly hoisted in the Subaru x Saku ship. These two carry heavy emotional burdens that make it hard for them to connect with others and love themselves. Their journey to self acceptance and care for one another gives me all the cute feelies. |
| Su’s JPop Playlist of 2025* | 1.) “Kakumei Douchuu (革命道中)” by AiNA THE END (アイナ・ジ・エンド) (OP – Dandadan S2) 2.) “Stare In Wonder” by BE:FIRST (OP – Wandance) 3.) “Hyakka Ryouran (百花繚乱)” by Lilas Ikuta (幾田りら) (eps 1-12) (OP – Apothecary Diaries S2) 4.) “Adult Chick Children (アダルトチックチルドレン)” by yama – (OP Sanda) |
*Credits to MyAnimeList for the names of the songs and artists
| Dan – Blue Awards |
| Best of 2025 | ????? We will never know! It’s a mystery! |
| Most Pleasant Surprise of 2025 | ????? We will never know! It’s a mystery! |
| Worst of 2025 | ????? We will never know! It’s a mystery! |
| Most Disappointing of 2025 | ????? We will never know! It’s a mystery! |
| Brendan – Beige Awards |
| Best of 2025 | ????? Update coming sometime! |
| Most Pleasant Surprise of 2025 | ????? Update coming sometime! |
| Worst of 2025 | ????? Update coming sometime! |
| Most Disappointing of 2025 | ????? Update coming sometime! |
The Con Artists 
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