The Best and Worst Anime of Spring 2023

Spring was stacked with day-of viewing like Mobile Suit Gundam: The Witch from Mercury and heartfelt rom-coms, like Skip and Loafer. Our team picked a wide variety of series for their favorites this season, but there were some clunkers among the magic moments, too. Here are the Spring 2023 anime recommended by our editorial staff (and the ones you should probably avoid).

Note, the commentary below may include spoilers.

Richard Eisenbeis

Best: Yuri Is My Job!

Yuri Is My Job! is an anime with an amazing setting, a café where all the workers are improv actors. Instead of visiting an ordinary Tokyo café, customers find themselves inside the student-run café at the fictional Liebe Girls Academy. Every day the waitress acts out yuri-tastic scenes in front of the customers, slowly progressing an ever-evolving plot centered around the girls and their relationships. It's an improv soap opera.

This creative setting is then used to delve into the minds and relationships of the café's cast. The story centers around Hime—a girl who portrays a fake persona modeled on the "cute, perfect, innocent girl" cliché in her everyday life. Unfortunately for her, the manager of the café can exploit Hime's façade to force her into working in the café. There she meets a beautiful young woman who treats her kindly—but only when they're onstage. Pathologically driven to have everyone like her, Hime pushes on but only succeeds in worsening the backstage situation.

In other words, it's a story of two atypical individuals trying to understand how the other thinks and failing as often as they succeed. Each character, even those beyond the main leads, is complex and nuanced. No one is exactly who they appear to be on the surface, and everyone has issues and traumas they are struggling to overcome. If you like highly cerebral interpersonal drama, this anime is for you.

Runner-Up: Oshi no Ko

It's funny. At first, I thought I would have trouble writing about what makes this anime great without going too deep into spoilers. But when it comes down to it, the supernatural setup and twists in the first few episodes aren't really what this anime is about. While those events are the impetus and driving force of the story (and are great in their own right), the setting is the real star of this show.

This anime is all about the Japanese entertainment industry—especially regarding children entering it without knowing what they're getting into. On one side, we have Aqua's story about being surrounded by the darker aspects of the business. His story has common themes: corruption, backroom politics, and the "machine" that cares only about profits and not the people involved. We see numerous people's souls torn apart—all at once or little by little—in tales that are torn straight out of real-world headlines.

Yet, on the other side of things is Ruby's story. If Aqua is a pessimist able to see only the darkness of the industry, Ruby is the opposite. She is a person whose life was made worth living by an idol, and now she wants to return the favor. She sees only what is good about the industry and its people. She is willing to do anything to reach her dream. While some people raise themselves by pushing others down, she wants to lift those around her so they can find happiness together.

It's the dichotomy of these stories that make this show so great. We see characters move between Aqua's world and Ruby's—both siblings helping those they can in whatever ways they can. Together, they may even be able to accomplish their goals—but only if each can accept that they live in a world full of both darkness and light.

Worst: I Got a Cheat Skill in Another World and Became Unrivaled in the Real World, Too

As always, here's a little disclaimer: This is probably not the worst anime of this spring season. It is, however, the worst one I watched from start to finish—and by a landslide. On the story side, this show is a male preteen nerd's wet dream… perhaps literally, in this case. We have an overweight kid, bullied by his family and classmates but retaining a heart of gold despite it all. Then one day, he stumbles into a fantasy world and gets super-humanly strong with a supermodel body to match. Soon, all the pretty girls of two worlds want him as he keeps saving the day and looking fabulous. The story is just a string of predictable clichés—from saving a princess from monsters to saving his friends from a department store fire. Nothing here hasn't been done before (and better) in some other anime.

Then there are the visuals. This anime is what would happen if you wanted an anime that always looks good in screenshots but doesn't have the resources for actual high-quality animation. We have an endless string of highly detailed-yet-static shots for the camera to pan across—or extreme closeups on people's eyes so nothing else needs to be animated. If the camera can focus on non-moving scenery at any point, it will—even in action scenes. And when it absolutely must show action, the detailed designs are replaced with sub-par CG models. It's a real mess of a show, but I'll say this: it knows its audience well and is willing to do everything it can to pander to them.

Nicholas Dupree

Best: Vinland Saga Season 2

The first half of Vinland Saga's second season was great, fantastic even. It expertly and deliberately transitioned from the thrilling and indulgent violence of the first series into a slow and broiling character drama, with a perfect grasp of its tone and themes. Yet, somehow, the second half managed to take what was already one of the best things you'll watch all year and build something even stronger. With the rich foundation of its central characters in place, it ratchets up the tension, tragedy, and pathos to a near-breaking point – delivering some of the most heart-wrenching moments you'll find in fiction. While its slow, deliberate pace could be a weakness in a different story, here, it allows every character choice and emotional beat to feel as powerful as possible.

It's such an impactful viewing experience that it's hard to focus on any aspect for fear of ignoring others. The story essentially pulls off a magic trick, turning the crowd-pleasing violence of the first season into brutal, mortifying horror in an organic way – mirroring Thorfinn's journey from warrior to pacifist as he truly realizes the cost of violence. It vocalizes and exemplifies a vision of pacifism that is inspiring and feels practically transformative in its rejection of systematized violence alongside the personal kind. It features some of the most arresting vocal performances I've heard in decades, with special mention going to Mayumi Sako, who imbues Arnheid with a personal and authentic humanity that made the tragedy of her story physically painful to witness. I already adored all of this material in the manga, and the anime still surprised me – to the point of inspiring tears, cheers, and awe – with how it brought these characters and their life journey to the screen. It is, without question, some of the best television out there.

Runner-Up: The Ancient Magus' Bride Season 2

I'll be straight with you: a whole lot of this second season was set up. The lion's share of these twelve episodes is dedicated to gradual and deliberate place-setting for a second season that (at the time of writing) has yet to be announced. While Chise meets many new characters and starts adapting her new role at magic school, this season only occasionally lets us catch glimpses of the surface and dig into those new characters and settings. Even then, it only happens towards the very end. The rest of the time is spent tying up emotional loose ends from the previous season, re-analyzing Chise's extremely messy central relationship, and establishing the parts of this world that will presumably be important later on. Judged on a rubric of "how many important things happened," this season is pretty slight.

So it's good that I adore these characters and would be happy to watch them contemplate their relationships and place in the universe for dozens more episodes. Chise and Elias form a fascinating pair of binary stars, held in orbit and constantly shifting one another with every move they make. The world around them is as tantalizing as it is dangerous, and every new bit of folklore or pagan myth that gets brought into the mix made me giddy. What little we get of the new characters is also great – from swiftly-melting ice queen Lucy to awkward half-gorgon Zoe to the trembling pile of broken glass that is Philomela, all of these kids feel as rich and complicated as our heroine. I don't blame anyone for feeling frustrated by the deliberate pacing of this season, but for me, the strengths far outweigh the weaknesses, and I was more than happy to let things simmer all season.

Worst: The Legendary Hero is Dead!

I know—I'm shocked it's not KamiKatsu too. However, for all that show's many deficiencies, its particular mix of poor construction and purposefully crass comedy at least leave an impression, if a fleeting one. The Legendary Hero, on the other hand, leaves no impression. This show was as dead-on-arrival as its zombified protagonist. The characters aren't people so much as they are one-note homunculi who shamble between plot points, delivering the same canned punchlines ad nauseum and occasionally being forcibly undressed for cheap, poorly illustrated fanservice. The animation starts with one foot in the grave and only sinking lower into the earth. I finally fall apart for good just in time for the story to become deathly dull as it tries to take itself seriously. It's the worst of both worlds—a show trying to balance humor and drama and winding up incapable of making either work.

Gunawan

Best: Mobile Suit Gundam: The Witch from Mercury Season 2

Serving as a conclusion to the latest Gundam title, it offers plenty of sweet, sweet payoffs to the setups laid by the first season. There are a lot of character developments, tragedies, trauma, death flags, shocking (obvious) revelations, plot twists, and so on. At the time of this writing, Witch from Mercury has just aired episode 22. The remaining two episodes could change my opinion drastically, but I'd still say it would be my favorite since I love the characters too much to dislike the series. Every new main Gundam title always tries to bring new elements or new ways of presenting old elements. This time, the first season didn't feel like Gundam for the most part, mainly because of the background location, which is a school, and the romance aspect has been quite engaging to the viewers (based on comment sections on Gundam.info's YouTube channel). On the other hand, the second season has managed to follow up on the story threads of season 1 and hammered the fact in a good way that you are still watching a Gundam series. To people who dropped the series midway through season 1 due to the series not feeling like a mainstream Gundam series, I recommend continuing to watch. I'd say it will be worth your time.

Runner-Up: Hell's Paradise

This one feels like a direct competitor to Demon Slayer, as both occupy the fantasy-action sphere. It offers a simple story of a group of death-row criminals sent to fetch an elixir of immortality on a secluded island. As a reward, the shogunate will pardon their crimes. The problem ahead isn't just the competitiveness among the criminals, since only one of them may get the reward, but also the inhabitants of the seemingly uninhabited island initially believed to be either demons or deities. Hell's Paradise is an adaptation of a finished manga, and it is way shorter than Demon Slayer, so it's a good choice for those who don't want to add any more lengthy anime series to their watch list. The only things dragging this title down are its lackluster action scenes in certain parts (can't expect every fantasy action anime to be Demon Slayer and Jujutsu Kaisen) and the side characters' stories. With just 13 episodes and many characters introduced at the story's beginning, only a handful could factor into the main plot, and only a few could leave an impression on viewers. Nevertheless, Hell's Paradise is still an enjoyable series for fans of the fantasy genre. One more thing, Gabimaru is a unique main character as he is married and is proud not only of his wife but also of his status as someone's husband. He is also a very loyal person, and no amount of seduction can get through to him—truly a breath of fresh air among typical main characters nowadays.

Rebecca Silverman

Best: Skip and Loafer and My Clueless First Friend

I just can't choose between these two. In one sense, that's not surprising—both Skip and Loafer and My Clueless First Friend tell stories about people coming together and finding that their lives are richer for it. Shima in Skip and Loafer and Nishimura in My Clueless First Friend are both isolated in different ways, Shima of his own volition (as a way to cope with his difficult past as a child actor) and Nishimura as the result of bullying. Shima, of course, doesn't appear to be all that unhappy, but as the story goes on, we learn that he's putting on a front of affability, burying his pain under an easy-going smile. But he's hurting just as much as Nishimura—and Mitsumi and Takada help them find a way to be happier, more comfortable people.

Both series also have a lot of respect for their characters. No one's concerns are just brushed away as trivial, and, in both shows, people are shown having multiple sides. Mean characters are just as developed as nice ones, which isn't something you can usually say about any single show in a given season, let alone two. In Skip and Loafer, Egashira and Ririka both have reasons to be the way they are—and if Ririka doesn't precisely learn from her mistakes, she's shown to be fully aware of them. In My Clueless First Friend, Kasahara learns to stop being a bully to Nishimura—and her evolution stands as a counterpoint to Kitagawa, who is a jerk to the end. But the major thing that stands out about good and bad characters is that everyone has to come to their realizations and revelations on their own. The others can help them. But at the end of the day, they're the ones who have to put in the hard work. Nothing just “happens” unless the person in question is willing to stand up like an anteater intimidating a predator—no matter how uncomfortable or afraid they might be.

In Skip and Loafer, Mitsumi's lyrics for the ending theme (Shima gets the opening) talk about how every time she stumbles, she picks herself back up, dusts herself off, and keeps going. If there's a central message to these shows, it's that. Things aren't always easy. People hurt us, and getting out from under the bullies and the jerks is hard. But if you keep going and find someone who not only believes in you but helps you believe in yourself, you can carry on. Both Skip and Loafer and My Clueless First Friend show us that in different ways—and both are guaranteed to put a goofy smile on your face when the tears or frustration are gone.

Runner-Up: Soaring Sky! Pretty Cure

Is it the advent of an official boy Cure that makes this so good? Or an adult Cure? The isekai factor? The fact that Ellee isn't annoying? The answer isn't any one of these things—each of which would make the series stand out on its own. It's how all of them combine to make one interesting, exciting magical girl show. Although Soaring Sky! Pretty Cure is doing many remarkable things, the plot doesn't let us focus on anyone as a gimmick. Instead, it functions as a solid magical girl story with good characters, an interesting world, and a plot that tries to give each character their due. Even though Sora/Cure Sky is the nominal leader of the bunch, she doesn't feel as underdeveloped as the leaders from the past two seasons (poor Yui was drastically less interesting than her teammates). Each Cure has a personality and goal that manages to combine with their powers and transformations to make them feel more organically whole. Cure Butterfly as the defense is a perfect touch—Ageha's study of early education makes her arguably the defender of her small charges. Meanwhile, Sora's aspirations to be a royal guard put her as the chief attacker. Tsubasa is treated just like the other characters and not “the boy,” which is important because he and Ageha don't always get along. Add in fun transformations, dynamic fights, and Ellee's developmental progression, and this is just a delight to watch every week. It's a fitting anniversary season and something I look forward to, no matter what.

Most Bland: A Galaxy Next Door

I always feel a little mean with these choices, which goes double this time. In almost any other season, A Galaxy Next Door would be a much more engaging show; it has charming leads, a romance that actually moves, and it looks nice to boot. But in this season, with so many other series with strong couples (if not actual romance plots), this is too nice to make an impression. The supernatural angle has little reason to exist, but even beyond that, there's no real tension to the storyline. Shiori's nice. Ichiro's nice. The kids are cute—and also nice. Even the potential rival is… nice. It's perfectly fine but lacks the spark it needs to make an impression. Nice is all well and good, but it also isn't enough to build an entire series on. It'll probably fare better to watch it during a season with few or no stories about more interesting couples.

James Beckett

Best: Vinland Saga Season 2

My top pick for the best anime of the Spring 2023 season will surprise absolutely nobody, but I will never turn down an opportunity to sing the praises of Vinland Saga, so let me take this opportunity to once again shout as loud as I possibly can that each and every person reading these words ought to drop whatever it is that you're doing and go watch Vinland Saga right now. Its first season was an excellent historical epic, but this second season, which follows our wayward hero Thorfinn's journey from a life of wretched slavery to one devoted to finding a peaceful land that is free of slavery and war, has been operating on a transcendent level of heart-wrenching, mature storytelling.

I can't recall the last time a season had such a long and consistent run of nearly perfect episodes demonstrating a studio of artists, writers, and performers operating at the peak of their capabilities. MAPPA has produced its fair share of blockbusters in recent years, but even when you account for the likes of Attack on Titan and Chainsaw Man, this second season of Vinland Saga might be their masterpiece.

Runner-Up: Mobile Suit Gundam: The Witch from Mercury Season 2

In any other season where Vinland Saga wasn't dominating the competition, Mobile Suit Gundam: The Witch from Mercury would be my clear-cut pick for the number one spot, so let its position here as my runner-up speaks to how stuffed this spring was with freaking awesome cartoon shows. The Witch from Mercury has come into its own with this second season, taking all of the simmering political tension and rich character drama that got set up in that first run of episodes and blowing all of it up in the best and most Gundam ways imaginable. Not only has it been incredibly entertaining (and stressful) to watch Prospera's sew all manner chaos and warfare between the Earthian rebels and the Spacian megacorps, but Witch from Mercury's complex web of conspiracy and backstabbing has made us just as invested in all of the action that doesn't involve giant robots punching the hell of each other, which is crucial to elevating any Gundam series from being simply "good" to downright legendary.

Granted, the season technically isn't done yet as of my writing this, so there is a chance that I will end up disappointed with the finale, given just how much the show has to wrap up in its final episodes. Still, everything leading up to that finale has been such a blast that I don't for a second regret naming it one of the season's best anime.

Worst: Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba Swordsmith Village Arc

Before any of you begin furiously typing out your angry comments, let me just say that I like Demon Slayer, generally speaking. At its best, it offers some of the best raw anime spectacles in the biz, and it can even toss in some satisfying (if fairly simplistic) drama and pathos, to boot. However, this season's Swordsmith Village Arc is far from the best that Demon Slayer has to offer. It's easily the worst material the series has ever produced, suffering from issues far deeper than just the thin characterization and formulaic storytelling. For one, the pacing of this season is atrocious. Across its eleven episodes, two of which are three times as long as usual for no reason, The Swordsmith Village Arc manages the impressive feat of feeling agonizingly overlong and busy even though very little of consequence even happens for the vast majority of the season. After a couple of episodes of setup and slapstick, the majority of the season is devoted to a single fight between Tanjiro's group of heroes and two demons, both of which are probably the weakest villains we've met this far.

The new heroes we meet are not much better, either; Genya gets almost nothing to do, Mitsuri is afforded even less material to work with, and Tokito is…well, I guess he's fine, but “fine” hardly gets the job done with every other element of the season is just as underwhelming, if not worse. Demon Slayer, thankfully, is a series that operates on such an episodic level that the failures of this season don't necessarily spell doom for future arcs, but it sure did kill a lot of the remaining hype for me, all the same.

Christopher Farris

Best: Mobile Suit Gundam: The Witch from Mercury

The Witch From Mercury has been an imperfect experience. Several recap episodes and off-model characters sapped enjoyment during the series' run. And its seeming commitment to wrapping up its story properly by the end of this season may leave many threads unresolved. But what are the things we love, if not imperfect? And it's that overall love for G-Witch that's carried through to make it my most consistently engaging viewing experience of the season. How can I stay disappointed in a series that regularly rippled through most of my online circles and social media feeds in a way I haven't seen in quite some time?

The experience of watching a show is part and parcel to our perception of it; That's one of the reasons I still have such fond memories of anime like Madoka Magica or Samurai Flamenco. It's not just that G-Witch is a rich ride of dense character analysis and thematic work propelled by sick-ass robot battles. It compels so many others to excitedly discuss the series. Would ChuChu be half as fun if I didn't get to go along with tons of others in cheering and meme-ing her mean right hook? Would I have understood the real power of the writer's ability to elicit emotional responses to the deaths of Sophie and Norea had I not seen so many of my friends demonstrate how strongly they were also made to cry for these devils? Would I have found Suletta more annoying and less endearing had I not been treated to scores of fanart of her as a cute lil tanuki? It's impossible to say because it's baked into the experience that brought me to being wholly on board with this show, even as it hurtles towards uncertainty. That's why, regardless of how it all goes down, I can be grateful to the series for everything it's given us up to this point. So thanks, G-Witch. For better or for worse, I'll never Suletta Forgetta you.

Runner-up: Birdie Wing

There were plenty of other great anime this season. My review card alone was graciously stacked with winners like My Love Story With Yamada-kun at Lv999, plus I made time for other strong showings like Yuri Is My Job!. But in the end, how can I not give one last shout-out to my favorite gonzo golf show? Birdie Wing's transition from unhinged life-or-death roguelike golf gimmickry to tours and tournaments played straight (as "straight" as anything can be in this rainbow-drenched, Pride-Month-airing extravaganza) happened so naturally it never even felt like a concession. That trademark insanity powering the show is all internal, predicated as it is on outlandish soap opera-logic reveals of secret parentage plots and debilitating golf-based medical conditions. When a character can turn to the camera and monologue, "My life, the person I loved, my child…golf is killing them all." with a straight face, you know you're witnessing something special. As with G-Witch (which this series serves as a companion show to, which isn't even in the top ten craziest things about it), Birdie Wing has yet to air its ending as of writing this. But it's been so calculated and consistent in its craziness through this second cour of episodes that I am certain it will sink the final putt as expertly as it whacked all those other balls into holes.

Worst: Hulu's airing of Heavenly Delusion

We may have started taking this streaming thing for granted. Easily accessible, mostly solidly subtitled episodes of simulcasted anime through outlets like HIDIVE and Crunchyroll have made hits out of all sorts of deserving shows. Do you know how cool it was to see Gundam hit it big with the fresh-faced masses this season? So it only stings that much more when a major entry, one whose presence in the market has been iffy for a while now, so soundly fumbles what should have been a slam-dunk of a release. Heavenly Delusion as a series has turned out to be its own wild mess of a thing, but that was only half the story for me, as Disney's release of the show here through Hulu turned it into a mess of initial release confusion and awfully timed captions to try and catch. I talked up top about the experience playing into the enjoyment of an anime, and nowhere is that more crystalized than in the mishandled "Tengoku Daimakyo" and the utter failure of the network streaming it to tap into the zeitgeist that could have positioned it alongside any of the other hits this season. This amateur-hour action made me nostalgic for Amazon's Anime Strike. If this is what Disney intends to do as they awkwardly elbow their way into the anime streaming game, we could be in for some dark times in future seasons.

MrAJCosplay

Best: The Dangers in My Heart

Can I just say that we, slice-of-life romance fans, were eating well this season? I cannot remember the last time I watched so many distinct and high-quality slice-of-life series that left me emotionally invested and satisfied by the end of their seasonal run. It got to a point where picking a favorite was hard, but I have to tip my hat to The Dangers of the Heart. What initially seemed like a sort of edgy slice-of-life anime quickly turned into an exploration of adolescence, insecurity, and anxiety. Our protagonist Kyotaro is extensively a wallflower that keeps his distance from everybody, always assuming the worst. But he ends up getting close to someone who is his opposite in every single way. The setup is incredibly cliché, but the execution is so well-written and genuine that I was invested in almost every single episode. I think it helps that every episode did have a social and romantic progression from Kyotaro coming out of his shell, to slowly realizing his growing feelings, to conquering his issues for the sake of recognizing that he does deserve a lot of the things in life that he thinks is far outside of his reach. Combine this with immaculate production values and a very ambient soundtrack that taps into those little anxious voices we hear in our head sometimes, and what you're left with is a series that I cannot wait to continue next year when season two comes out.

Runner-up: Insomniacs After School

While The Dangers of The Heart has a very conventional setup, Insomniacs After School has something rather specific and unique. This is a much quieter and arguably more realistic slice-of-life series. The character designs are a lot more toned down, and there are times when the soundtrack is so subtle it might as well not even be there. But the leading hook for the show is in its name as Insomniacs After School tells the story of two teenagers suffering from insomnia and slowly eating away at their disposition. Upon finding each other and realizing they provide a comfort they never really had, they do everything in their power to preserve whatever little space they manage to carve out for themselves. This leads to some incredibly wholesome and sweet moments while also leading to some rather heartbreaking ones as our leads are forced to confront the sources of their anxiety that caused their insomnia in the first place. A lot of it is heartbreaking, but these two are such genuinely good kids that you just want them to overcome these things individually and together as a couple. Plus, while the series' production values are much more toned down compared to other shows aired this season, some genuinely breathtaking scenes left me feeling incredibly emotional. I wouldn't say the series was as consistent as The Dangers of the Heart, but I think its high points were among some of the best this season.

Worst: A Galaxy Next Door

This is honestly one of the first anime seasons in a while where most of what I watched was, at worst, just OK, so finding the worst show of the season is more about nailing down which show didn't speak to me as much as the others and unfortunately, A Galaxy Next Door did leave me feeling a bit disappointed. I love the setup of two young adults looking for an unconventional romance due to unfortunate family situations. On the one hand, we have a young man trying to pick up after his parents and look after his two younger siblings. On the other hand, we have a young woman who never got to experience a lot of the world due to a sheltered family and customs. By the end of the season, I think the show manages to find a good balance of establishing a believable romance while also tackling some pretty interesting themes about growing up, the presence of family, and individuality. My problem with the show is that leading up to that point, I don't buy the romance aspect as much as I think the show wants me to. A lot of it comes down to how quickly I think the show tries to establish an emotional connection between our two leads. I'm all for a show breaking the mold and having its two leads get together sooner rather than later because sometimes exploring a relationship can be just as interesting as everything that happened before the relationship started. However, while the chemistry between our two leaders is fine, I think the show bites off more than it can chew by trying to accelerate the progression and dedication of the romance in such a short amount of time, especially when there's a supernatural snag that gets thrown in that is treated as a huge deal at first as it could potentially affect the emotional state of the characters. Still, that same element acts as a passing thought throughout the rest of the show. Not terrible, but not something I feel like revisiting or checking up on the source material like almost every other show I watched this season.

Steve Jones

Best: Birdie Wing Season 2

Those gosh-darned golf girls got me again. Part of me wants this show to go on forever. Imagine twelve episodes per year of melodramatic mayhem on the links, brought to us through Aoi and Eve's bright eyes as they take every tournament in the world by storm. Look at how far The Fast and the Furious has come in two decades. Birdie Wing could outstrip their exponential growth in ridiculousness and drive us to the end of the universe. That's how I feel after nearly finishing this season. Our heroines may be battered and bruised (by golf), but they look dazzling and unstoppable.

Nevertheless, I'm happy that Birdie Wing will instead conclude after two nearly perfect seasons of golf crimes, Gordian Knot family trees, bone-shattering chip-ins, friendly neighborhood snake girls, and blisteringly homoerotic athletic rivalries. Yōsuke Kuroda wrote a masterpiece that will forever change how I look at a nine-iron. It's not that I've come to like golf more, nor that I like golf at all. Golf means something entirely different to me now. It's not a sport anymore. It's not the thing my grandpa always had his TV tuned to. It's not something I can watch, or play, or describe. Golf is a far grander crucible, and privileged are the few who might catch a glimpse of its glory, refracted, perhaps, in the peripheral glint of a wedge gleaming in the evening sun. I know two girls who have seen it, and I hope they live out the rest of their days happily on those rolling green hills.

Runner-up: Heavenly Delusion

There are about half a dozen anime I'd be comfortable slotting into spring's number two slot. We've been quite lucky as viewers to choose between the mature mastery of Vinland Saga, the offbeat barbs of Oshi no Ko, and the sheer fun of waking up early every Suletta Sunday. I believe, however, I have to go with my gut, and no other show has wormed its way into my innards as deeply and uncomfortably as Heavenly Delusion.

It's by no means perfect. The writing is not always as sensitive as it should be, nor as thoughtful as it would like to be, and my overall impression of the story hinges a lot on how it ultimately handles some especially nasty recent developments. However, I love its weird and breathless energy. I respect the reckless abandon with which it sprints through its post-apocalypse, sampling nearly every sci-fi trope and thought to experiment it can think of along the way. The sneaky plotting tees up eureka moment after eureka moment. As they piled up in my brain, the only thing I wanted to slap more than my forehead was Masakazu Ishiguro himself. He's a wily one, but he makes the story fun to follow and speculate about. And all of this is buoyed by a tremendously deft translation to the screen, aided by an unholy conglomeration of talent and creative voices. The manga is good, to begin with, but the anime is scarily good at finding and executing embellishments and improvements to the source. It's not a series I recommend lightly or without content warnings, but if you're attuned to Heavenly Delusion's precise frequency, you're in for an unforgettable time.

Worst: Kizuna no Allele

I don't know how to say this without being too mean, so I won't bother trying: Kizuna no Allele is one of the most nakedly cynical and corporation-poisoned anime projects I've ever seen. It's so vacuous, it's downright icky. Don't get me wrong; I like VTubers, and am sympathetic to the frequently unforgiving world that those in major agencies have to navigate. It's all show business, and even a dry behind-the-scenes look at the industry has a lot of interesting avenues to explore with the rise of the virtual idol. But Kizuna no Allele is vehemently not that kind of exposé, and it's barely even about VTubing. It is instead a lame and perfectly smooth piece of boardroom propaganda for a model of VTuber that the scene already blitzed past years ago. It's deliberately devoid of substance and obnoxiously self-congratulatory. Its few nuggets of actual information deal with hot-button alphabet soup topics like AI, NFTs, and IP ownership, and it deals with all of these in pretty much the skeeviest way imaginable. Nothing about this anime speaks well for Kizuna Ai's legacy or the new crop of VTubers under her company's umbrella. If you absolutely, by any means necessary, have to watch an anime about VTubers, then I will point a haggard finger in the direction of Virtual-san Looking. Just stay away from this slop.