Back in 2018, I did a first for myself and selected four
titles that were then recent to the Spring/Summer 2018 Season and decided to
watch them every Saturday as my own little Custom Toonami Block. Those four titles were Gundam Build Divers;
Legend of the Galactic Heroes: The New Thesis; Full Metal Panic: Invisible
Victory and My Hero Academia. It’s one
of the few times in my Anime life I’ve tried to keep up with very current shows
on a weekly basis and since then, the only show I’ve continued to watch week
after week whenever it airs is My Hero Academia. Everything else, I usually just binge. Well, as of right now, I’ve written a nice
chunk of my reviews for 2022. Barring any extra piece to throw in, everything
up through Mid September is good to go (just talking reviews, not Top 5
Wednesdays or First Impressions…though all FIFs for 2022 have been written
too). Ergo, I’m gonna start another
round of this weekly Anime watching/Custom Toonami Block experiment as a way to
give reviewing a bit of a rest and just enjoy Anime to enjoy Anime…we’ll see
how long that lasts cause I’m always trying to think of review slots to fill
for the rest of 2022 and you better believe I’ve been planning 2023. These are my Top 5 Anime I’m Selecting for
Custom Toonami Block Round 2. This’ll be
a proper mix of currently airing shows and ones I’m finally getting around to
catching up on. Chances are I’ll run
through some of these quicker cause I don’t have to wait a week for new
episodes but I’ll see how long I can commit to this lineup (I did pretty good
with my 2018 selections, finishing 3 out of 4 shows).
#5-Blade Runner: Black Lotus As a life long fan of Blade Runner, I owe it to myself to
see this one all the way through.
Only
problem…what I saw wasn’t very good.
Sure the animation looked fine when it came to the overall setting.
It felt like I was back in that rain ridden,
neon lit metropolis that was Los Angeles 2032.
And yeah, lead character Elle looks super cute.
But the story was slow and plodding and I
feel like this could’ve been a 6 episode miniseries but it was stretched all
the way to 13.
Chances are this is one
of the only titles on this list that will get a full review later in 2022
(November maybe?
It’ll either be this or
Ghost in the Shell…which I might hold off on til 2023).
Either way, this might be the toughest title
on this list to get through.
#4-Haikyuu: To the Top
Back in 2020 I think I was watching Haikyuu weekly…or I
just waited and binged a huge chunk of it until I was caught up…and then idk, I
just stopped and never picked back up on it again.
Which is a shame because Haikyuu’s Fourth
Season is a strong continuation of the story and has great advancement in the
characters of Kageyama and Hinata.
Thus,
I’ve decided that instead of picking up where I left off and having no idea
what the heck is going on, I’m gonna start Season Four over and finish it up
properly this time.
Who knows, maybe by
the time I get to the end of whatever tournament Karasuno High finds itself in,
Season Five might not be too far off.
#3-Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaibia (Entertainment
District Arc)
Honestly, my excuses for not being up to date on this
already are pretty flimsy, though I’ve been good at avoiding spoilers.
Part of me not getting right on Demon Slayers
return is the controversial decision to start Season Two off with a TV Edit of
the Mugen Train movie, which makes no sense to me and I have no desire to watch
what’s easily a 2-3 part arc stretched into seven episodes.
So yeah, it’s time to play catch up and see
if Tanjiro and party can survive a host of beautiful but deadly Demons and
hopefully not losing another Hashira in the process.
From what I hear though, the fight during the
Season Finale might actually top the spectacular closer from the Mugen Train
movie…and that was a pretty damn amazing fight.
#2-Spy x Family
While I’ve got a First Impression coming this Friday on this one, I’ve gotta say, the premise was interesting but the first
episode had me hooked.
The best spy in
the world, pretend married to the worlds deadliest assassin, both of whom have
adopted a telepathic daughter who is well aware of who they both are but it so
excited…only in an Anime can such a wacky premise work so well.
The comedy is going to be the real driving
force and I loved the dynamic between Twilight and Anya in the first
episode.
Plus between a James Bond level
spy and a gorgeous assassin, the actions gotta be great too right?
Whatever happens, I’m all here for all the
adorable Anya memes, seriously one of the cutest little sisters in Anime (she
and Nezuko from Demon Slayer would love one another).
#1-The Rising of the Shield Hero (Season 2)
One of the few Isekai I actually don’t have a problem with,
I made it pretty clear in my First Impression that I am all in on Naofumi’s quest
to save a fantasy world from invasion from other worlds alongside his bevy of cute
fighting girls.
I’m curious about what
mysteries will be explored, which might be answered but really, I’m just ready
to watch more of Naofumi’s great character growth and see him continue to stick
it to the society that has vilified him and the “heroes” who don’t want
anything to do with him.
Anytime Naofumi
gets a win is a massive moment in Shield Hero.
Considering how stand offish, stubborn and just plain douchy the other
heroes are, maybe the theme song for Season Two should be “We Don’t Need
Another Hero” by Tina Turner…or make it an ED since it was the end theme to Mad
Max: Beyond Thunderdome…anyway, bring on Season Two and eventually Season
Three.
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