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Hey! It's Kyoya with my Impression on Winter 2018 Anime Season. This time around, I have decided to pick my Top 5 for the Winter Season. Take a look!





After a brilliant Season 01 and a 4-episode special filler which paved the way to the prelude to the Great Holy War, first episode of S02 picks up right after the events that lead to the signs of the Holy War which were narrated in a four-episode special prior to the airing of the Second Season. This season focuses mainly on the struggles and past of the Seven Deadly Sins and creating a better connection with their actions and motivations.

At the beginning we see the struggles of Ban, which lead him to leave the Seven Deadly Sins after failing to accomplish his dream of saving his loved one. It also gives a peek at Ban’s past prior to becoming one of the Seven Deadly Sins and his childhood when he meets up with his foster father. Besides Ban, King goes through his struggle of accepting his mistake for failing to perform his duty as a brother and as the Fairy King. We also discovers Diane’s past and about her home.

In this season, we are introduced to power level system which is used to define each character based on the sum of their Magical, Physical, and Spirit Power Levels. With this new way of defining the fighting level, we discover that the Ten Commandments are crazy strong with ultra high power levels..

In any case, having read the manga and having watched the first half of the second season, I find the new power-ups of the group are reasonable which was inevitable due to the situation. It was a pleasant surprise that the power level between the Commandments and the Holy Knights of the new era had such a big difference but I guess that was expected considering the state of the current era compared to how it was 3000 years in the past.

The new opening titled ‘Howling’ by FLOW and GRANRODEO was somewhat a downer considering the hype for the second season but it was not bad. I liked it! Honestly, I am not saying that the lyrics or the singing is bad but it’s just that the music video animation could have been better.

This season includes 24 episodes and is only half done so I am looking forward to the battles between the Seven Deadly Sins and the Ten Commandments. Specially, the battles involving Meliodas and Escanor, who is the last member of the Seven Deadly Sins and also the strongest of the group presumably.






Koi wa Ameagari no You ni or After the Rain is a Romance Drama which is mainly about the character chemistry between Tachibana and Kondou who find themselves struggling to understand one another. This show is focused on a high school student named Tachibana Akira who develops feeling for her middle-aged boss Kondo at the restaurant where she works as a waitress, after he cheers her up from feeling depressed due to the events that lead to her leaving the school track team due to an injury. Honestly, one thing I loved about this show is the fact that the show was rather subtle and sensible in the approach of the development between Tachibana and Kondo without getting too dramatic or insensible.

The show mainly focuses on relaying in the struggles and feelings of both main characters as they try to understand one another. At first, Akira tries her best to slowly become closer with Kondou, which however puts Kondou in a difficult spot as someone who is much older than her and also as her manager. Kondo, only sees himself as a man who is past the prime of his life and is someone who is only trying to find meaning in being a good father to his son.

Despite everything, Kondou finds himself unable to turn down Tachibana due to her charm and due to the fact that she is truly genuine with her feelings. Through these events, Kondo finds himself re-discovering his past as a young man, who was in the golden time of his youth pursuing love and affection. He is also reminded of the literature he once stopped pursuing and as he revisits his passion of writing again.

As the show goes on, we see that Kondou tries to reposition himself out of the picture believing that Tachibana is wasting her youth on him and tries to be a good friend instead of a lover. Throughout these event which lead to another, we are introduced to other supporting characters such as Kase who tries to dishearten Tachibana for trying to pursue Kondou. Besides Kase, we also get to know about Haruka who is Tachibana’s best friend and also her teammate on the old track team. She is shown to be unhappy for the absence of Tachibana and tries to get Tachibana back to track team for her own selfish reasons.

I really loved the art and animation of the show. The style and animation style felt really stunning and beautiful and it gave off a really good feeling through the whole show which made the feeling quite realistic. The sound was particularly quite pleasant and it’s light yet not so dramatic style gave off a special feeling. Specially, I really appreciated the OP and ED. I found them really fitting for the show specially the ED song ‘Ref:Rain’ by Aimer, with its melancholic yet dejected feeling for love and affection.

Overall, Koi wa Ameagari has been one of my personal favorite for 2018 so far. It is one of the most unexpected and interesting romance animes out there and I must say that I really loved this interesting show of new found love, identity, failure and expectations. The premise might not be very appealing to some but those who are interested in romance and what it has to offer it is definitely a must watch in my opinion.






After a filler season of jumping off the track for the long-awaited final arc, Silver Soul Arc starts off with the battle for the defense for the Earth. Once again, Gintama proves that it is not just about random jokes, showing improvement in its serious and comedic parts in the series. Except for some jokes and actions which I found a bit too old and refuse to talk about, I found myself laughing a lot every single episode. Not only it’s comedy, the show also managed to deliver strong and remarkable battles and events which made the show even more impactful along with the usual comedy which helped to lighten up the show and made the show even better.

Due to the fact that this is going to be the last arc of Gintama, this season brings back almost every supporting character which played a big role alongside Gin-san and others for the final battle. More than 350 episodes has been aired and it was a lovely surprise to see them come back together as they support the main cast to defend their home from the invaders.

In terms of art and animation I really liked how they seemingly kept up the usual quality throughout the whole season. As for music, as expected it was good as always and I must note that the OP ‘Katte ni My Soul’ and ED ‘Hanaichi Monme’ was really nice and is easily one of the Top 3 OP/ED of Gintama series. Specially, the ED was really nice with highlight to the most loved characters of the series and flashes into past events which gave off that ‘final arc’ feeling.

As Gintama is trying to reach a conclusion with this arc, the show literally pulls out the setting of ‘The whole universe is our enemy but since this is our home we should try protecting it anyways’. And then there was the poop joke episode and the antenna jokes episode which was hilarious and also felt a bit too much but this is Gintama so I guess it is normal. ^.^

First half of the final arc is over and next is the second half which would be the actual conclusion and I must say that I am really looking forward to it!!! But who knows the final arc might be a bad prank played by Sorachi and it might have a continuation afterall. ^~^





The Overlord Season 02 had a rocky start but the foreshadowing to the world, its power in the beginning and seemingly new take on the show by taking the view as a parallel world instead of the usual game-like world focused solely on the protagonist worked pretty well in my opinion. The first half of the season was focused on the Lizardmen tribe, which is one of the official demi-human races that are introduced in the world of Overlord.

The new outlook on the threat known as Ains ooal Gown is narrated in the Lizardman’s POV which was pretty fresh in my opinion. Surprisingly, unlike some people who found Season 01 more appealing compared to Season 02, I found the new season more likable in terms of its character, events and development. Although, I did find it a little frustrating that Albedo did not get much screen time compared to other Guardians.

Even so, I am satisfied with the developments in 13 episodes of Overlord Season 02. The feeling of despair which lead to hope and yet resulted in many deaths and more despair and darkness. Interestingly, we got a peek at the fighting power and strength of Cocytus, Sebas and Demiurge which is pretty good gain in my opinion.

This season also focuses somewhat on the protagonist, Momon or also known as Ains ooal Gown who is regarded as a world threat by the Old Monsters of that world who are likely connected to the world of Yggdrasil. Sometimes, it makes you wonder why the MC is being so cautious with his actions but after the events which lead to Shalltear being mind-controlled by one of the being known as Tsa it is no surprise that Ains is being wary thereby making the story development slower than expected.

The Second Season might not have the best start for an anime sequel and might have a rocky start, but if you can have some patience and be a bit more open-minded then I daresay that you will like it! Specially Ep.12 and 13 were a really good touch with Black Hero Momon joining the battle to spice things up. Looking forward to Season 03 of Overlord in July!!






Violet Evergarden was one of the most hyped anime of the season because of its stunning animation and also because it was animated by KyoAni. Hopefully, as most fans expected, the show was a pleasant surprise with an interesting setting and a fascinating take on what seemed to be a Slice-of-Life Drama with its fantasy feel.

From what I observed when the show started some people commented that Violet is bland and boring. But in my opinion, the same could be said for the Chise from Mahoutsukai no Yome when the show started, but as the show went on we grew to like her character even more. The same goes for Violet, she is introduced as a soldier who grew up in wars and is taught to kill and due to an accident, she is relieved off duty by the request of her superior who is also her love interest.

On that note, this show goes into more depth on her past and her new life as Violet Evergarden. She shows that although she isn’t very expressive she has a great influence on others through her little actions. As we go on watching, we see how she struggles to understand and learns from experience working on writing letters expressing the feelings and emotions from one person to another.

Like most fans, one thing I really appreciated about this show was its amazing visuals as expected from KyoAni. I am not someone who is partial on specific studio or their shows but I truly loved the job KyoAni has done with it. I am actually glad that they focused on art and animation for this show considering that Violet is not very expressive and thereby the superb art and animation truly conveyed extra color and feeling to it.

Compared to most Slice-of-Life, this show felt a bit slow paced which might not sit well with most people but if you have the patience for such shows then this is good pick for you to check out. I suggest trying to be more open-minded and give the first 3-episode a try and see if it is for you or not.





Aside from the 5 shows mentioned above, Darling in the FranXX was an interesting watch without a doubt. It is depicted as a Post-Apocalyptic world with underground cities along with mobile fortress cities that acts as messengers from one city to another. These cities are defended by FranXX, which are piloted by ‘Parasites’ as a pair of a boy and a girl. The story is pretty intriguing and is well-executed in my opinion. The characters were quite likable. Specially the pair of Hiro and Zero-2.

Zero-2 was pretty unique and it is difficult to dislike her. She is selfish and is pretty straight-forward which makes her character more interesting. Compared to her, Hiro felt like the usual wimpy generic MC at first but he had good character development which was pretty satisfying in my opinion. This show has a lot of inconsistencies but without a doubt this is an interesting watch for sure.

Hakata Tonkotsu Ramens was another interesting watch of the season which I liked quite a lot. Set in the city of Fukuoka, where 3% of the population are killers, this show was quite exciting with a lot of events that lead to another. What appealed most to me about this show were its characters. There isn’t many animes where a cross-dresser can be one of the leading characters but interestingly Lin from Hakata Tonkotsu Ramens actually manages to pull it off! Aside from Lin, Banba was a fascinating character. He is easy-going, casual and his love for Pollock roe and ramen truly makes the show more light-hearted than it is expected.

This show gave the feel of Kekkai Sensen due to its jazzy music and as an anime it is similar to Durarara!! because of its setting in a city and its group of strange and interesting characters such as Niwaka Samurai, Mushroom-head, and Submarine Ninja. If you are interested in a show with a hilarious and eccentric bunch of characters involved with underworld business with lots of ramen this your anime!






Overall, Winter 2018 Anime has been a real treat until the very end. I truly enjoyed the usual serious comedy in Gintama. Koi wa Ameagari was an unexpected winner which truly made the season worthwhile. The interesting take on Overlord in exploring the new world through various POVs and other supporting characters was strangely appealing which was fresh compared to Season 01. The action was non-existent but Violet Evergarden was a real treat this Winter with its breathtaking animation and amazing storytelling through Violet.



So, What are your favorite shows of Winter 2018 Anime Season?