“Kanye for President” jokes aside…can you believe it? We’re almost at 2020!

The roadtrip I kept mentioning? It got suddenly cancelled. It was far too hazardous on part of the planned route and one of the motels my dad had tried booking into was uncontactable (presumably) because of the same hazards, so…that’s why you’re (unexpectedly) stuck with me over Christmas! Happy holidays.

You know the drill by now: best to worst for all lists.

Bold is for Funimation/my local streaming service. Underline is for Crunchyroll. Strikeout is for anything outside my access (Netflix, HiDive, Amazon).

Carryovers/To Catch Up

• BnHA s4 isn’t really at the top of its game like it was for seasons 2 and 3, but that’s to be expected for a long-runner like this: your expectations get tempered over time.
• Iruma-kun can really only get better. It’s sat in the bottom half of my rankings for the entire time it’s been there, which is actually very commendable considering it wasn’t even on my radar before it came into my life and has now become one of my subjective favourites of the fall 2019 season (even if only because I willingly read spoilers)!
• Kabukicho Sherlock: I’m of two minds when it comes to this show – the rakugo and visual presentation is good, but the comedy and treatment of Mrs Hudson not so much.
• Bang Dream! s3: The only new entrant this season…if I ever manage to catch up, that is.
• FGO Zettai Majuu Sensen Babylonia: Catching up using Fate/Stay Winter. If I’m fast (and desperate!) enough, I might be able to squash this in there too.
• Chihayafuru s3: Still gotta watch whatever’s out there right now before I can get to this.
• Radiant s2: I paused this when s1 was airing. I’ve heard literally no one talk about it (aside from shoulder surfing and seeing someone watch it at the start of the fall 2019 season), so if you can vouch for Radiant in the comments, then all the better.

New Entrants

• Magia Record: Madoka Magica Gaiden: It’s (in one way of speaking) the return of the anime that shook up magical girl anime forever, so it’s a must-watch for me.
• ID: Invaded: The premise sounds interesting…I wonder if it’s Funimation-exclusive…? (I hope not.) The preview proved it’s for both Funi and my regional streaming service, plus it’s a must-watch! Hooray!
• Housekisho Richard-shi no Nazo Kantei: I added this on to the AniList database myself, so I know how gorgeous the novel artwork is! It sounds so chill and yet about 75% up my alley. The bits that doesn’t jive with me are the fact Seiji seems a bit plain, plus SoL doesn’t always agree with me, so the character of Richard will have to do a lot of the “heavy lifting” for the anime to really work for me – notably, Senku from Dr Stone achieved such a feat in the past 2 seasons, so it can be done!
• Dorohedoro: I’d heard of this through Detective Conan’s manga’s advertising. It does sound interesting, but it has the obvious caveat – *shakes fist at sky* NETFLIX!!!
• Pet: the fact we’ve been waiting for it is worrying…otherwise, my thoughts for it can be seen on the fall 2019 post.
• Kuutei Dragons: More restrictions. Then again, this is a high fantasy x cooking show – the former I’m a bit happier with (in general) than the latter, but both genres have their stinkers, so it might actually be useful to cull this show. (Is that a man in the centre of the AniList cover image…? If so, he’s pretty hot…)
• Plunderer: 1) Ume! 2) That premise does look kinda interesting, but the woman:man ratio + ecchi tag is slightly unnerving…
• Kyokou Suiri/In/Spectre: I seem to remember hearing about this before it got an anime…hmm…this could really go both ways.
• Orphen: I’m putting this on the list based on the fact I remember my mother watching the original series years ago (and she put it on my library card, since I found a record for it), although how much of an entry point this new series will be will be up for debate once it actually comes out…
• ARP Backstage Pass – I throw my hands up at exactly how many high school age idols there are…but hey, I’d rather this with the janky animation and a better hit-to-miss ratio on how hot the guys are than a main idol whose face – which is used as the logo for the game – low-key freaks me out (which is one reason I never tried A3).
• A3! Spring and Summer: More idols. The useful thing about this series is that it’s got another season coming already (that covers winter and autumn).
• Infinite Dendrogram: More isekai…? Do we need that? However, J Novel Club might be producing physical volumes later, so I do this for the sake of testing out their releases.
• Somali to Mori no Kamisama: It sounds alright. There’s a sort of out-of-season Halloween vibe coming from the artstyle that kinda puts me off about this series, though.
• UchiTama: Moar Ume, plus Shirai. The anthromorphic pets/mascots from 40 years ago angle kinda squicked me out, but the seiyuu brought me back. Plus, just looking at the credits…ooh, MAPPA and Lapin Track (combo from Sarazanmai)?! Tom-H@ck (from OxT – I’ve liked all the music I’ve heard from them) on music? I’m sold!
• Zenonzard the Animation – Moar Ume. Hopefully that killer Nanase Matsuoka x Kirisame Undertaker track from episode 0 comes back! If you have no idea what I’m talking about, here you go (full version on YouTube) and you can find the Spotify version below.

• A Destructive God Sits Next to Me/Boku no Tonari ni Ankoku Hakaishin ga Imasu. – sounds like Tonari no Seki-kun x Chuubyou Gekihatsu Boy…? It sounds like an inferior version of those and Iruma-kun. (Then again, that Seton Gakuen anime from winter 2020 also sounds like an inferior version of Iruma-kun…accept no substitutes when you want to stick with the original, amirite???)

There’s only one TV short I’m mildly interested in and that’s:

• Heya Camp: Episode 0 implied there was a “prequel” element to this and no focus on Rin…Rin was an integral part of what made YuruCamp so great, so I’m abandoning it if there’s no Rin altogether.

There’s only one movie this time and that’s:

• Twittering Birds Never Fly: The Clouds Gather: …Oh, this was on the fall 2019 list as well (see the link above in Pet‘s entry for it). It must’ve been delayed or something.

What are you looking forward to for winter 2020? Does anyone want to make a case for one of the sequels I’m behind on?