World Trigger

This is my first anime review, I want to start off with that to show how strongly I feel about this show. At first glance I felt iffy about starting World Trigger as the art wasn't anything special and people complained about the odd pacing/redundant recaps. But I was incredibly bored in quarantine and was looking for a "mindless" shonen battle show.... and it was the BEST decision ever. While I do agree that the pacing starts off stilted and slow, this lasted not even 3 episodes until the show rapidly sped up. The world building in relation to the storyline was solid and succinct; ... nothing ever happened randomly that contradicted previous set ups (something incredibly difficult to do considering how many characters, weapon types, battle skills there were.) Every episode, new characters are introduced while the old ones remained relevant. While others might not like these two points but one unique trait of World Trigger is that the protagonist indeeds add to the show but he does not receive overwhelming attention or screen time that slows down the story. Additionally, the show doesn't take itself too seriously in term of a dark thematic approach. There are little risks of grave injury or death so you don't have to fear for any tragic incidents, yet the battles are still thrilling and engaging (perfect for those with anxiety lol). Finally, the best part of the show is the battle strategies, specifically the tactical strategy within and amongst teams. I honestly don't know how the author does it as each battle round is 3-4 teams each with 3-4 members with distinct personality and weapon usage. That is up to 16 characters' actions to plan for at once, not even including the changing terrain (seriously if you don't believe me, search up World Trigger best battle vids on YT and you'll be hooked.) I honestly believe this show is way underrated and it would've been one of the most popular anime today if not for the slight rough start and the author's long hiatus. So please please watch WT and tell your friends too so this desperate fan can get herself a long awaited 3rd/4th season.

Im writing this from memory to see how much impact it made on me.

So If you can get past the first few episodes and the animation quality you're in for a treat.
The supporting cast is excellent whilst the MC is on the weak side you do see genuine effort to improve and it helps shows how strong other characters are. However this anime also demonstrates a keen awareness in teamwork.

The best part of this anime is the Rank wars in which 3 teams of 3 fight in different terrains and weather conditions to try and win and you see various tactics and strategies ... clashing for an exciting time.
To my knowledge season 2 has been confirmed despite the manga artists health issues which is good news.
side note: And with a season 2 they might be able to make a pretty good multiplayer game out of it with todays technology

This is by far the most underrated series! More people have to watch it. Let me tell you some small things which makes this anime even better the more you watch of it! (Check out the video review recommendation below!) There's one contra though why I can only give this season a weak 9 out of 10 and it's called "filler".

First of all let me tell you that I've finished season 3 right now! Don't worry about the anime getting bad at some point, since it maintains or even better raises the quality of the fights, story aspects and character development. The more you watch ... the more you're getting yourself invested into everything it has to offer!

First the fighting: over all these years, I've seen plenty of anime (over 13000 episodes) where the fights become either less relevant, more predictable and less logical over time! I could list a ton of anime which would fall under those criterias. World Trigger doesn't. It keeps the fighting aspect so interesting that I'm always learning something new, as well as technical or character wise. It strongly reminds me of Hunter X Hunter's kind of explaining techniques and how everything works, but even more accurate and resonable.

The characters I already mentioned are very complex since they all have different motives, character traits and therefore different fighting styles which always fit in their teams. Some characters are more shallow than the one who are standing more in the spotlight, but this is totally understandable. What I really like is their uniqueness. Nowadays anime tend to maintain their typical tropes which you'll find in World Trigger, too, but not so overdone and more scarce, what makes it more enjoyable to watch.

The artstyle fits perfectly the combination of serious fighting and relaxed, goofy moments. Especially the fights are very consistent animated and super enjoyable.

And now combine the well fitting and recurring music and sounds to get you more and more excited, especially as they are fighting! :D

At the end everthing fits perfectly together. I wouldn't enjoy the story as much as I do when there wouldn't be the rich development of the characters, since you need to get invested in them to empathize with them and their goals. And to top it you have those well explained and understandable fighting moments which not only helps to delevop the characters further, they maintain the suspense curve here and now, getting you hyped for more.

The only downfall is that the mangaka became ill at some point (but is getting better right now!). This is the reason why the other seasons came so late after the first one and why there are some filler episodes you can skip if you don't care for those.

I repeat, this is such an underrated anime, I strongly recommend it to everyone who likes a well explained / resonable world and fights. You need to watch it!

For those who still can't decide if they want to watch it, search for OniMaru's "The Anime That You'll Regret Skipping" video (it's not me, just found it while trying to get friends invested into this anime). It describes perfectly why you shouldn't miss out on this one!

This is such a great shonen. NEVER ANY DULL MOMENTS. It takes the familiar narrative of "gotta get stronger" but puts in fun twists and turns along the way. The storyline is pretty traditional but has new and fun elements which keep it interesting. There were almost no "filler" episodes and nothing that deviated too far away from the plot line. Really strong plot throughout.

The character development is really good and the characters themselves are relatable enough. There is a nice balance of mature vs. silly, love, growth, and all of the familiar elements you would expect from a shonen without being too ick. ...

The artistic components of this series are really good and really comfortable. Nothing too unfamiliar but still done quite well.

If only Toei had put more effort on it, it'd have been one of the best long-run modern shounen animes.
It is a series that does not rely at all on any sort of fanservice, breaking almost all of the stereotypes of the genre. It's one of the purest series out there, something which is quite admirable: no ecchi fanservice, no deranged characters, no hypersexualized girls, no inexplicable power-ups. Everything is about strategy and teamwork. Only some bloody scenes have been censored, for obvious reasons.
If only Toei had animated it properly. The studio tried to force it into a continuous series, slowing the pace of the ... episodes and adding five-minute long recaps, mixing it with a bad drawing quality. It feels as if all of the budget had been destined to sparkling transformations. Because of this, they were ven forced to include filler episodes when the mangaka started having health issues.
Nevertheless, the great voice acting, the originality of the characters and the epic soundtrack by Kenji Kawai make it an enjoyable series, provided the recap is skipped. The arc covered by episodes 15-40 is thrilling and it shows that the enemy is nowhere near the typical shounen one.
Definitely a series that deserves more love.