Springtime: it’s the season of the birds and the bees and the time to enjoy the sunshine conspicuously absent during those long winter months. Except we’re all stuck inside thanks to viral pandemic as hand sanitizer runs off the shelves and the global economy burns; fun times right? Never fear though, because spring also heralds the start of a new batch of anime, and while some heavy hitters were postponed at the last minute (*cries in Re:Zero*), there’s plenty to tide you over while Corona-chan does her thing. Several major fan favourites are making their return, from the likes of Sword Art Online and Shokugeki no Souma to beloved romcom powerhouses Kaguya-sama and Oregairu, and even the second seasons of supernatural comedy Tsugumomo and sci-fi smash hit No Guns Life. New adaptations aren’t neglected either, as the widely popular Korean webtoon Kami no Tou sees its first anime appearance, alongside the acclaimed otome isekai twister Otome Game and mystery thriller Gleipner, while slapstick comedy Jashin-chan resurrects for a surprise sequel. And if that wasn’t enough, P.A. Works returns with adventure-esque Appare-Ranman alongside a new Ghost in the Shell ONA while brand new seasons of Digimon and Yu-Gi-Oh help keep those childhood memories alive. The world may be falling apart around us, but at least we have anime to help save the day! This is Random Curiosity’s Spring 2020 Preview.

With winter already upon us and the third year of the Tyranny of Stilts set to begin, it’s time to introduce you to the upcoming anime season. Last season was strangely weak for fall, with many of the most highly anticipated series ending in disappointment while only a few dark horses stepped up to pick up their slack. Can winter, traditionally one of the weaker seasons, do any better? I think it may be able to, and that’s not just my eternal optimism talking. This season is pleasantly plump with original series, including the anime-saving space adventure SPACE☆DANDY, the ridiculous interplanetary mecha brawl Nobunaga the Fool, the world dominating loli fantasy Sekai Seifuku ~Bouryaku no Zvezda~, and the magical courtroom procedural Wizard Barristers: Benmashi Cecil. Notable adaptations include the magical fantasy mish-mash Witch Craft Works, the airborne epic Toaru Hikuushi e no Koiuta, the Shaft harem romcom Nisekoi, and another ridiculous Nobunaga-based sci-fi romp in Nobunagan. There are encouraging sequels as well, including a second season of the perverted slice-of-life comedy Seitokai Yakuindomo, another season of ridiculously awesome mahjong with Saki Zenkoku-hen, the second cour of the deep agriculture coming-of-age story Gin no Saji, and the second season of KyoAni’s delusional romcom Chuunibyou demo Koi ga Shitai! There’s a lot of enjoy this winter, so join me for Random Curiosity’s Winter 2014 Season Preview. Read on to find out what you should be watching.

* This preview will be kept at the top for the next while, so be sure to scroll past it, check the slider on top, or the Recent Entries on your right for new posts.

In light of the earthquake and tsunami that Japan is still recovering from, most shows were postponed for a week. As a result, the premiere dates listed in this preview are likely to get pushed out by at least a week. Some series’ homepages have already reported new start dates, which I’ve highlighted below by writing the date in red. You can expect more dates to be updated in the upcoming weeks.

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Please read: The start of the spring 2011 season marks the one-year anniversary of my tenure heading Random Curiosity. Looking back, it’s been a rather ambitious year that was never short of sleepless nights, so I’d like to believe that I’ve taken things in a positive direction after the site was about to shut down. It definitely hasn’t come without a cost though, as I haven’t taken a proper day off and have even used my vacation days to work on season previews and year-end posts. As such, I’m contemplating taking the entire season off to unwind and recharge. The idea is to take one season off and then ease my way back into things in summer.

Unfortunately, it comes at somewhat of a bad time given how busy this season is, but the other writers will still be covering a handful of shows on a regular basis while I’d be shifting to a more administrative role. I know some people are going to see this as an opportunity to help, so I want to make it clear that I’m not looking for any more writers since I’m happy with the reliable ones I currently have. I’d only make an exception if you’re an avid anime fan with a lot of dedication, good writing skills, insightful input, and fairly fluent Japanese so that you can cover raws on my behalf. If this sounds like you and you’d like to help contribute, please e-mail me.

At the moment, I’m just heavily considering taking a break or risking overworking myself, hence why nothing is marked as a guaranteed blog. If you feel opinionated about it either way, feel free to share your input in the comments. As always, I’ll be reading.

* This preview will be kept at the top for the next while, so be sure to scroll past it or check the Recent Entries on your right for new posts.