Posted by 
Welcome to week 5 of “Up to Snuff*”. It’s pretty much a given that this season’s top places are going to be a two-show battle – when the new one starts in January we should see some serious dynamism to the rankings as the new series establish themselves. But as to which anime comes out on top for Fall 2018 – and which ones secure the spots behind the top two – that’s very much up in the air.
This week’s special poll takes a look at our favorite single episodes of anime this season, and it proved to be a wide-open battle to say the least (though dominated by familiar faces). And Choya steps up to the plate for this week’s Hidden Gem, a romantic comedy which has mostly flown under the radar. As always, thanks for stopping by and please share your thoughts and suggestions in the comments section!
Without further ado, let’s get to this week’s results:
* Name subject to change (but Up to Snuff Is still in the driver’s seat)
Weekly Staff Poll
Golden Kamuy – 14 points (2 first-place votes)
SSSS.Gridman – 13 (2)
Sword Art Online: Alicization – 9 (1)
Tensei shitara Slime datta ken – 8
Goblin Slayer – 6
Bonus Question: Best Single Episode
-
SSSS.Gridman 06, “Se-tsu Sawa” – 7
SSSS.Gridman 10, “Kuzure” – 6
Golden Kamuy 18, “AnI Nekko” – 5 (1)
Golden Kamuy 13 – “Edogai-kun” – 5 (1)
Zombieland Saga 08, “Go Go Neverland Saga” – 5 (1)
Tensei shitara Slime datta ken 10, “Ooku Roodo” – 5 (1)
Choya’s Hidden Gem: Kishuku Gakkou no Juliet
I’m not sure if this would be considered a hidden gem, but I’ve been enjoying how Boarding School Juliet is turning out. It could’ve just been another “by-the-numbers” adaptation of Romeo & Juliet, but rather than trying to make sure it hits all of the beats of the original Shakespeare classic, they do their own thing by adapting it as a rivalry between two boarding school gangs in a West Side Story-esque love story. But rather than being painted as a tragedy, the tone is light and comical with our main couple trying to keep their relationship on the DL to avoid their rival gangs catching their leaders snogging. It also helps that Romio in this adaptation is a tough guy who has cute lovesick puppy tendencies around Juliet. But the fun comes both from their attempts to maintain a secret relationship and the side characters that populate their respective gangs. My personal favorite is Char, Juliet’s sadistic best friend. If you want something cute, wacky, and romantic, you can’t get anything that checks off all three as well as Boarding School Juliet.
I am clearly puzzled by the selection of EP 1 of
Tensei shitara Slime datta ken when clearly every episode
should have taken all top six slots. Just sayin’ ☺☺
I like this RC feature, it gives an interesting cross-sectional
view of the current season. Hopefully you’ll continue
and it’ll evolve as time goes on …
Going by the title it’s ep 10 and it was just typo.
Wait ’till they watch EP 11 …
Again, having SAO on this list is insulting.
There are no right or wrong opinions when it comes to things like this. It all comes down to taste, which is subjective. What you may find awful, someone else may love.
Exactly right. Which is why it’s interesting to see how others may be thinking (and often be surprised by it).
Too Bad :^)
Tensei shitara Slime datta ken is clearly the AOTS. Its insanely popular and with good reason.
I like Tenshura, but the first part of your supposition is not directly related to the second IMHO.