Hello ladies, gentlemen, and others! Welcome to Anime Rants with Mono (7Mononoke). The spring season is just around the corner, so I figured it was time to mention the anime series that look good to me. Before I present my list, however, I want to give a few announcements and brief update about this blog.

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Announcements and Changes

A few days ago was the five-year anniversary of Anime Rants. I’ve had a lot of fun with the blog these past five years and I’ve written nearly 1000 posts. I wouldn’t have kept blogging if not for the readers and visitors showing interest in my site. So, to everyone who visited Anime Rants – especially those who have subscribed – thank you so much for making this worth it for me.

On a related note, there are now about 500 subscribers to Anime Rants. I couldn’t be more grateful to you all for letting me reach this milestone. Arigatou gozaimasu!

I’m going to change things up on Anime Rants starting in the Spring. I’ll be more open to collaborations, more involved in comments, and perhhaps more open to blog challenges. Additionally, I’ll set up some new Paypal, Patreon, and Kofi buttons. I hope that growing the blog and receiving more support will help me a little as I continue trying to pay for the expensive WordPress plan.

The main change you’ll see is related to the the type of content on Anime Rants. For Spring 2024, there will be no standard episode reviews like I’ve tried to do in the past. Although I like the idea in theory, keeping up with so much anime has turned out to be something of a chore. That’s why I will primarily focus on daily or weekly writing prompts. The prompts may be supplied by WordPress or subscriber requests, or else I’ll just come up with random ones myself.

For these frequent prompts, the focus will be on currently- or recently-airing anime series. I want to incorporate as much modern anime into the blog as possible, as I still plan to watch a lot of anime each season. In addition to the prompts, you can expect slightly less frequent posts – often about older anime series – in the formats that you’re used to seeing. This includes Thoughtful Thursday analyses, Random Rants, MBTI content, and Sunday Select Seven anime lists.

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My Shows for Spring 2024

Now that I’ve rambled enough about announcements and changes, let’s switch gears to look at some anime that will be starting soon. There are ten on this list that I’m most interested in watching. A few other shows of interest didn’t make it on the list because I plan to watch them sometime in the future. (For example, Demon Slayer: Hashira Training Arc.) I have a few comments on each entry. Enjoy!

1) Train to the End of the World

Starts airing: April 1st

Notes: The starting concept sounds intriguing and reminds me of Girls’ Last Tour, which I thoroughly enjoyed. I’m not sure if this new anime will be all cute and whimsical, or if it will get dark at certain points. I hope to see some good character psychology, but if not, the art-style is very cute, so I should enjoy it either way.

2) Spice and Wolf: Merchant Meets The Wise Wolf

Starts airing: April 2nd

Notes: When I saw a new Spice and Wolf title on My Anime List, I thought it might be some kind of OVA special. In reality, it seems like this will be a remake of Spice and Wolf (2008) by a different team of staff and animators. I’m way out of the loop, because I haven’t heard of this till now. Since I loved both seasons of the older version, I’m both excited and skeptical about the revamp.

On a final note, the Japanese voice-actors seem to be the same as in the 2008 version. That’s a big positive for me personally.

3) Bartender: Glass of God

Starts airing: April 4th

Notes: I assume this is a remake of the anime Bartender from 2006. However, I haven’t seen this older version, nor do am I informed about related news. The new anime might be a sequel or something. Either way, I’ll check it out. It looks relaxing and potentially interesting, since we’ll see anthology-style episodes where a variety of characters show up for mixed drinks.

4) That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime: Season 3

Starts airing: April 5th

Notes: On the off-chance that someone hasn’t seen season 2 yet and has somehow avoided the flood of online spoilers, I won’t offer many notes about the third season. Let’s just say the world is reacting to Rimuru’s significant decision from season 2. I’m looking forward to seeing more of my favorite squishy reincarnation.

5) The Crow Does Not Choose the Lord

Starts airing: April 6th

Notes: I love the idea of people that can transform into crows. If only for that reason, I need to at least try this anime. I’m skeptical that I’ll like the two main characters and their master-servant relationship. I can already smell fujoshis shipping the prince and his servant despite their significant differences in age and power. We’ll see. I might be pleasantly wrong.

6) Tadaima, Okaeri

Starts airing: April 8th

Notes: I was originally going to watch Unnamed Memory, but Tadaima Okaeri won me over after I watched the first episode on a whim. It’s an absolutely adorable BL anime set in the Omegaverse. I will be writing about it in some capacity soon.

7) Mysterious Disappearances

Starts airing: April 10th

Notes: The art-style jumped out at me immediately when I saw the trailer. I love it! The story also sounds super interesting. Based on the trailer, it seems like the female protagonist will be sent back in time to when she was a child. That, or she’s just been reverse-aged back into a child’s body. In this state, it’s going to be hard to solve the supernatural mystery. It reminds me of Erased. I’m very exicted!

8) Black Butler: Public School Arc

Starts airing: April 13th

Notes: Black Butler is one of those guilty pleasure shows for me, like my anime “junk food.” I say that because it definitely has problematic elements – namely, the teased relationship between Sebastion the demon and Ciel the young boy. Nevertheless, I can still enjoy the non-problematic aspects and acknowlegde that it’s not great. The trailer alone for this anime made me laugh twice, so I think I’m going to have a good time.

9) Kaiju No. 8

Starts airing: April 13th

Notes: I’ll try almost any anime if it’s got a studio I love playing a major role in its creation. Kaiju #8 doesn’t sound exactly like my cup of tea, but it has potential, and it was made by Production I.G. I think it will be good as a semi-comedic sci-fi action show. The urban setting should also be refreshing – it’s not a fantasy isekai! 😮

10) Whisper Me a Love Song

Starts airing: April 14th

Notes: I have a history of appreciating Girl’s Love and yuri, assuming it’s not too problematic from an ethical standpoint. The main issue with yuri is that the characters are underage. Even in more mild Girls Love anime, underage girls are sexualized too much. I hope that Whisper Me A Love Song will be more romantic than sexual in nature. In the best-case scenario, it might actually be good representation for LGBT+ audiences.

~Thanks for reading~

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