These are my seasonal anime impressions, starting with the 2026 Spring season.
First, I post a prediction, then short episode 1, 2, etc reviews until I drop or complete it.

2026 Spring

春夏秋冬代行者 春の舞		Prediction: This is a shoujo anime with great studio (Wit Studio), staff and budget. Sakuga incoming. The genre is fantasy but it looks original. Maybe it will be a big hit, maybe close to Witch Hat Atelier.
メイドさんは食べるだけ		Prediction: Meido protag gourmand series? Warmly waiting for this one. She is very cute, she and the foodstuffs will be drawn with love. Gourmand iyashikei is in my top 3 favourite genres.
NEEDY GIRL OVERDOSE		Prediction: I love the VN, but why did they fire Nyalra for the anime? Nyalra is a highly sensitive and intelligent writer, and he created Needy Girl Overdose in the first place. In any case, the PV is well-animated and seems good, (you can see Ame-chan's childhood and home life, and the new characters seem appealing) hopefully it's not a travesty. I'm looking forward to seeing more original works from Nyarla in the future. "Sister, Other, Paranoia" looks like an interesting VN (seems to be a spin on Catcher in the Rye, Holden Caulfield placed his little sister on a pedestal as well) with a nice visual style and a cutely designed imouto. 1. The game is superior. Mixed feelings on this first episode. The new characters seem decent, but let's see. I understand that Nyarla was trying to set the tone. But there is a lot of exposition and soliloquies. It's a little heavy-handed, and this episode is quite packed full with not much room to breathe. It's easy to understand because it's spoonfed to you. Why are there so many comments saying "I didn't understand what was going on"? Are they not very smart, or am I intelligent? Let's hope it's the latter. The game is great because it has many choices, you as P-chan can control what happens. The various endings can be happy (albeit bittersweet) or tragic. You can also make Ame avoid doing anything bad. I couldn't prevent the self-harm or assault scenes in the anime. Nevertheless, I will continue watching. But it better have a happy ending: because if a social satire offers only complaints and offers no solutions, it is an artistic and moral failure. Even still, I have high hopes for Nyalra's next game: "Sister Other Paranoia", at his new company HazeDenki.
おねがいアイプリ		プリdiction: Pretty Series' newest entry! "Please Idol Princess". Secret Idol Princess was a little different to what I want from Pretty (full-throttle wackiness or melodrama), it was too down-to-earth and A*katsu-esque for my taste. Even still, these new girls look cute and will sing well. The blue puppy girl reminds me of Sapphy from Jewelpet. Both of them, the human one and the mascot one. There's going to be a cute green called Gumi with a candy theme (like gummi candies). She seems like a Pop type. AiPri is selling extremelyy well, even outselling PriPara, Pretty Series' crown jewel. Onegai is more AiPri, with new characters. I wonder what Pretty Series' next entry after AiPri will be like? 1. Cute! The protag Inori is super cute and silly. The OP is cute, happy, silly and lighthearted. The only bad thing, is that typically of Pretty Series, it's visually flat and cheap, not dynamic like Precure. It's on-model and consistent, but a bit bland. "INORI NORINORI!" "I PRAY FOR YOUR HAPPINESS!" Pray is pronounced Puri now? Inori means Prayer. One of the first things she does is pray to the story's god. Inori is cute, happy and innocent. I love her running like an airplane in the first scene and proclaiming she loves her town and sea. Her song is quite cute. It's not as funny as PriPara or PriChan or as dramatic as Pretty Rhythm or PriMagi. But I may keep watching.
魔法の姉妹ルルットリリィ		Prediction: Pierrot Majokko is back on the menu! Or is it...? When I found out it was split-cour, I was worried. When I found out it was late-night, I was dismayed. Little girls are asleep at 1 am. Who is it for? Is it a late-night otaku anime? What's with the Korean opening song? I assumed that Pierrot majokko shows were made to promote the Japanese idols who voiced the protagonists. By the way, the seiyuus of Creamy Mami and her boyfriend will appear, as undisclosed characters (but it's obvious who they will be). Nevertheless, I am still waiting warmly, because the blue and pink sister protags look very cute and cuddly, and maybe there will be good songs and classic Creamy Mami showbiz melodrama. Since it's late-night, maybe they will "tackle hot-button issues" or something like that. It seems to have a delicate psychological drama with the two sisters. Hopefully it will be sensitive and intelligent with lots of adorable moments and song and dance. 1. Excellent first episode! The gentle introspective drama, of a tween girl worrying that her sister is growing distant and her friends are growing up, and not wanting to be left behind, is tastefully portrayed. It is realistic and down-to-earth with no melodrama. There is a mellow dreamy feel with no "loud comedy" or drama. There will be some show business drama later, but not to the level of Oshi no Ko. I have seen a little of Creamy Mami and Magical Emi, and while they have dramatic episodes, they are generally slice of life stories about normal little girls who gain a magic power. True to the Pierrot Majokko tradition, there is no serious "magic system" like that in CCS. The "magic" is like in a dream, or a child's imaginative play, free and easy and can change at will, unbound to hard structure. And since it's an original anime with 26 episodes, who knows what will happen? The two heroines are both very adorable, drawn in a cute cuddly style that is a combination of Creamy Mami and something like AiPri. Fuu is like Yuu (Creamy Mami) of the Reiwa Era, and Creamy Mami herself makes a beautiful cameo in a dream. There are many Creamy Mami references, and it is very 'fancy' (ファンシー) and Showa Retro in aesthetic and sound. The OST is quite nice. The animation is good, smooth and consistent. The OP is absolutely full of adorable shots of the two sisters. The ED is a 2D-animated (unless it is 3D with some sort of overlay) dance sequence that is quite enjoyable as well. I also like that the sisters' parents own a wagashi store. I love Japanese confectionery, and it's a nice nod to the protag's family in Creamy Mami running a crêpe store called Creamy Crêpes. This episode was a beautiful dream. It went above and beyond my expectations. Eagerly awaiting the next episode! 2. Another lovely episode. Fuu takes the train to Harajuku and strolls around Takeshita Street, transformed into her big form. She buys clothes, and a 'creamy crêpe' (reference to Creamy Mami's family store), rainbow candy floss, and candied strawberries. Eventually she gets a bit tired of walking around, but then, she gets scouted as a pop idol, by a blonde pop idol named Touko. Touko is in a new pop idol company. Fuu gains a stage name: Konpeito Lily. At first she has stage-fright, but then remembers singing with her sister and how happy they were together. This gives her the courage to give a lovely performance, with special staging too. Everyone loves the performance. Meanwhile, Rui stays home with her pink cat Azuki. She seems happy to stay home, but when she sees her sister's performance, she feels inspired to become like her.
とんがり帽子のアトリエ		Prediction: The anime that will probably be most people's AOTS. Great manga and studio, high fantasy with strong worldbuilding. Most importantly, the characters are cute and have tall funny hats. とんがり帽子のメモル almost has the same name (in Japanese), I want to see that classic too, I love fairies and the 2 protags are peak Showa moe. I hope Witch Hat Atelier is a beloved new animated classic, enjoyed by everone in the world.
淡島百景		Prediction: Takarazuka kino is back on the menu...! (※ I still haven't finished Sakura Taisen, Revue Starlight, or Kageki Shoujo) This will be directed by Morio Asaka, legendary director of CCS and more acclaimed shoujo series. The PV looks exquisite and it's a proper Madhouse production. The mangaka is beloved. Waiting warmly. 1. It is a charming, elegant, bittersweet drama about actress students aiming to become Takarazuka Revue-esque stars. Takarazuka-esque anime has a long history, starting with Tezuka's Princess Knight (リボンの騎士). The young Takarasiennes navigate a cutthroat environment, full of cattiness. There's a bittersweet atmosphere, but there is sweetness too. I was moved by the scene where, the snobby student who was crying earlier because she didn't want to share her bath with the other girls, was singing in her exquisite operatic soprano voice. Everyone was speechless. They didn't call her snobby anymore after hearing her beautiful voice... they allow her the privilege to be a primadonna, ehehe. I hope there will be lovely music and performances. As it is now, it's a low-key interpersonal drama. I like this too.
上伊那ぼたん、酔へる姿は百合の花		Prediction: Sakuga gourmand wine connoisseur CGDCT! Waiting warmly because this one has great sakuga-drawing staff from the YamaSusu animation production team. I can't wait to drink sake while enjoying this vino wino kino. 1. A top-shelf sakuga anime about the joys of drinking with your precious friends. It's by the new studio Soigné, who did a splendid job adapting Mono to animation. A wonderful studio full of talented artists who worked on Yama no Susume and Do It Yourself, two wonderful CGDCT anime which I also recommend highly. I had a little saké and enjoyed it so much while watching. But this premiere was beautiful and sentimental. The script is also intelligent. These girls are not bimbos. They are clever even when drinking. This anime makes drinking and university look so glamourous. I hope there will be gourmet scenes as well. The characters are all likeable, they look very cute and lovely with their expressions and gestures. Lots of love and care is put into their appearances as well as the technical precision of the drink and food drawings. The first scene is in a gorgeous flower field, apparently just on the outskirts of Tokyo. The leisurely pace and attention to beautiful details is lovely. This and Maid-san are my favourite iyashi-kei this season. This anime may become risqué, so please use discernment and discretion.
一畳間まんきつ暮らし！		Prediction: Kirara adaptation, I love these, hoping it's good. If it's ecchi I'll drop it like a piece of garbage. 1. Well, I may have to drop this one, sorry... It's quite charmless, I know Kirara adaptations can be hit of miss. You get great hits like Bocchi, Yuru-Camp, K-ON, Hidamari, KinMosa, GochiUsa (and Puella Magi Madoka Magica is technically a Kirara series) and more, and good 1-season series, but you also get flops like Stella no Mahou and others. The premise and setting is not so good. The protag was a country girl living in a lovely farm town straight out of Non Non Biyori. But she moved to the city into a hole-in-the-wall manga cafe. It looks cold and bare, but it's well-stocked with Kirara manga. The cafe is connected to an elite all-girls school, but it doesn't feel elegant. The characters are a bit unlikeable. I like the protag and the gamer, a little bit. There are a few more characters coming, but they aren't what I personally find cute. Most of all, it's too ecchi (risqué). It makes them less cute. I don't think 'naughty girls' are cute. I like demure 'shrinking violets' and think they are the cutest. In any case, it's not very sexy, because there's no mystery. Song of Solomon and other love poems have mystery and subtlety. Also, the animation is very cheap, from a no-name studio. This is a sakuga-less anime. The direction is not-so-good. It has a breakneck pace, and the jokes don't land. This is just my personal taste, but I prefer CGDCT to be on the iyashi-kei side, rather than the wacky gag comedy side. All in all, Mankitsu seems like a paint-by-numbers early 2010s CGDCT. What I really want is for Shiawase Toriming, or even Gokigenyou, Ichikyoku Ikaga to get an anime adaptation. Toriming is a very popular Kirara manga about birdwatching, I believe it may become as popular as Yuru-Camp if it gets a nice adaptation. Gokiugenyou is about mahjong at an elegant all-girls school. I love 'jong anime (Saki, Akagi) (Pon no Michi wasn't very good though). Even still, I might see episodes 2 and 3.
キャンディーカリエス		Prediction: New stop-motion anime by the director of PUI PUI MOLCAR, this is a children's anime about dental hygine. Caries, the cavity goth girl is super cute. Kids will see her and want to get cavities so they can get a little friend like her, so maybe it will cause cavities. The director went from directing cavy cars, to cavity Caries.

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