Posted by 
Happy holidays, and welcome to week 7 of “Up to Snuff*”. Much of the season is wrapping up this week, but a few finales could impact next week’s numbers – among them Golden Kamuy, which has been in a steel-cage death match with Gridman for the top spot all season.
In the “Hidden Gem” department, Stilts gets all homey and nurturing…
This week’s special poll asks our writers which series this season has the best soundtrack, and the results are fascinating.
We’ll see you next week with the final Up to Snuff of the season! Without further ado, let’s get to this week’s results:
* Name subject to change
Weekly Staff Poll
SSSS.Gridman – 18 (3 first-place votes)
Golden Kamuy – 14 points (2)
Seishun Buta Yarou wa Bunny Girl Senpai no Yume wo Minai – 14 (1)
Tensei shitara Slime Datta Ken – 5
Sword Art Online: Alicization – 5
Bonus Question: Which currently-airing anime has the best BGM/soundtrack?
-
Sword Art Online: Alicization – 8
Double Decker! Doug & Kirill – 7 (1)
Tensei shitara Slime datta ken – 7
Golden Kamuy – 5 (1)
Karakuri Circus – 5
Goblin Slayer – 5
Stilts’ Hidden Gem: Emiya-san Chi no Kyou no Gohan
I planned to talk about Beelzebub-jou no Okinimesu mama. That’s a good show, you should watch it, it’s super fluffy and fun. But then, as I sat down after a hard day of work, I did what I’ve so often done over the past year, and wished for the gentle warmth of the Emiya home. Emiya-san Chi no Kyou no Gohan is a spin-off that could only work with a franchise like Fate/stay night. It requires the pain and drama of the original for the relaxed slice-of-life cooking episodes to level their devastating payloads. Ufotable’s delicious animation certainly helps, but it would be nothing without the inherent forlorn beauty of these fanciful glimpses into the peaceful everyday lives of characters we know will be tortured, harried, and ignominiously slaughtered in the “real” timelines. Emiya-san Chi no Kyou no Gohan is a lovely show on its own merits, it’s really well done from minute to minute and the recipes are legit (I make Tohsaka Rin-style fried rice all the time). But it’s undeniable that, without the lore and history of the Fate universe, it wouldn’t work so well. And that’s why it’s beautiful. These characters deserve this simple happiness, and I yearn to live it with them. It’s healing anime of a different sort; not healing of the day’s trials, but of the wounds inflicted by its predecessor. It heals nonetheless. Enjoy this last burst of sunlight before Heaven’s Feel subsumes all, and remember it when the darkness comes. We’ll need it where we’re going, as will these characters, even if the main timelines will deny it of them. We’ll remember the warmth of Emiya’s kitchen even more fondly then, and the simple kindness that infused its walls.
Appreciate the series covering weekly highlights and the other comments, but you give me a picture of Aggretsuko and then don’t talk about the special at all? How unfair…
Takaii??
Emiya’s Cooking is also one of my favorite slice of life anime this year!
So, we’ll have the usual AOTY polling soon, right?
Yes, that will be happening as per usual.
Love this new format!
No comment about the poll. But I just want to post this image because I find it very hilarious.
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/Dt-O_bRVYAAFfuC.jpg
I also want to celebrate the success of ZLS! It’s a big surprise of the season.
I don’t believe Zombieland Saga has made the polls on here has it? Despite the show being the biggest hit of the season in terms of sales in Japan. It’s sat at the number one site wide best sellers on Amazon Japan. I guess it’s another one of those shows that doesn’t get much attention in the west but is huge in Japan.
It did indeed crack the top 5 after the Lily episode.
Bear in mind, this is not a representative sample of Western anime fandom – just the collected views of a handful of writers on one website. I wouldn’t draw any conclusions about how popular any series is based on that.
I did vote ZLS as my top choice a few weeks back, but it’s been a challenge since I’ve been finding myself wavering between that and Gridman as far as my favorite shows have gone.