Quick Impressions For Each Winter 2025 Anime*

(*that I saw, mostly)

Before I get three episodes deep into the Winter 2025 anime season and feel I can give a Top 5 recommended list for new anime, below I have quick, short impressions of those anime of this season I watched. Or started to. Or decided not to for very clear reasons. Anyway, here’s the skinny skinny on the current anime season, with how many episodes I’ve seen so far. At least, the new ones, or spinoffs of previous shows — no direct sequels.

Sakamoto Days
(2 Eps.) Funniest show this season, with lots of heart and great action as well.

Ameku M.D.: Doctor Detective
(3 Eps.) Pint-sized female House M.D. with moderately interesting medical mysteries.

Flower and Asura
(1 Eps.) Great animation, good character writing, outstanding portrayal of spoken poetry.

Momentary Lily
(0.01 Eps.) GoHands. ‘Nuff said.

I’m Getting Married to a Girl I Hate in My Class
(1 Eps.) Stupid premise, three episode rule likely in force.

I’m Living with an Otaku NEET Kunoichi!?
(2 Eps.) Unneeded narrator syndrome. Ecchi, but not enough to make up for that narrator. Looking forward to the cosplay, though.

I Want to Escape from Princess Lessons
(1 Eps.) Strong first episode but seems headed toward trope territory fast.

I Have a Crush at Work Can You Keep a Secret?
(1 Eps.) Need more episodes to see if it is more than a one-note joke, like it seems to be.

Honey Lemon Soda
(1 Eps.) Maybe the most shojo of shojo high school romance stories. Not a fan of “troubled girl needs saving by boy” trope.

Medaka Kuroiwa is Impervious to My Charms
(1 Eps.) Fun premise, good ecchi, interesting characters.

OKITSURA: Fell in Love with an Okinawan Girl, but I Just Wish I Know What She’s Saying
(2 Eps.) Unneeded narrator syndrome. Dialect-based humor tough to understand.

Possibly the Greatest Alchemist of All Time
(2 Eps.) Harem with good character designs but simple art. Anti-slavery stance in Ep. 2 might be just lip service.

I’m a Noble on the Brink of Ruin, So I Might as Well Try Mastering Magic
(2 Eps.) Pretty standard isekai harem power fantasy. Moves into Shield Knight slavery apology territory, labeled as a “familiar contract” with a human.

From Bureaucrat to Villainess: Dad’s Been Reincarnated!
(1 Eps.) Unneeded narrator syndrome. Almost doesn’t get in the way of the great concept and good laughs.

Headhunted to Another World: From Salaryman to Big Four!
(2 Eps.) Fun story that’s a critique of Japanese work culture in an isekai skin.

The Daily Life of a Middle-Aged Online Shopper in Another World
(1 Eps.) Way better than anything with this concept should be. Almost seinen in its approach to isekai.

Zenshu
(1 Eps.) Best alternative to truck-kun ever. Gorgeous art, great animation, killer sakuga. You know that Top 5 I mentioned above…?

Welcome to Japan, Ms. Elf!
(1 Eps.) Chill slice of life reverse isekai with an interesting premise, and a gorgeous female lead.

Bogus Skill (Fruitmaster) ~About that time I became able to eat unlimited numbers of Skill Fruits (that kill you)
(2 eps.) Interesting new take on the One Piece fruit trope, but terrible main character design.

Even Given the Worthless “Appraiser” Class, I’m Actually the Strongest
(0.2 Eps.) Can’t be all edge if you don’t have a whetstone.

I May Be a Guild Receptionist, but I’ll Solo Any Boss to Clock Out on Time
(1 Eps.) Great main character, both design and writing. Promising start, could fade to boring.

Übel Blatt
(1 Eps.) Edge done well, so far.

I Left my A-Rank Party to Help My Former Students Reach the Dungeon Depths!
(1 Eps.) World building is A+, lore is deep and intriguing, story and characters are mid so far. Full harem in the first episode, though.

Beheneko: The Elf-Girl’s Cat is Secretly an S-Ranked Monster!
(3 Eps.) Super ecchi (18+ rating) that is almost too like Inukai-san’s Dog but with a kitten. That’s really a behemoth monster. Fun until it likely goes too far.

Medalist
(0 Eps.) Just the description and trailer give me the same pedo vibes as The Ryuo’s Work is Never Done!.

BanG Dream! Ave Mujica
(1 Eps.) The emo Peter Parker of CG idol anime. Dropped.

Grisaia: Phantom Trigger
(1 Eps.) The fact that there is a second episode out and I haven’t watched it yet says all.

Magic Maker: Isekai Mahou no Tsukurikata
(1 Eps.) Sibling incest helps isekai boy make magic in a world where it doesn’t exist. OK, OK, they just hugged. Probably going to watch to see if it stays at that level.