Winter 2016 – Season Preview

It was the best of times, it was the worst of times. It was the season of Light, it was the season of Darkness. It was the Spring Autumn of hope, it was the Winter of despair. Or rather, it was the Autumn 2015 anime season, it was the Winter 2016 anime season. Never have I seen such a stark, significant contrast in the types and content of anime between consecutive seasons, but we’re following up arguably the best anime season in recent memory with quite possibly the worst. If you haven’t checked, now might be a good time to see why I am so crestfallen with the anime airing this winter.

12 Days of Anime (2012) – Day 4 – Awakening to the Sports Genre

Unbeknownst to most, if not all, I am a passionate and fervent sports fan.  All throughout my life, sports has had a fundamental and irreplaceable role.  Even today, I spend more time watching, following, and discussing sports than all my time spent on anime, manga and this blog combined.  You figure it’d only be natural for me to be a fan of sports anime seeing how enthusiastic I am about sports.  Well, for whatever reasons, I never found myself interested or excited about any sports anime, save for Battle Athletes Victory back in the 2000.  In fact, I believe that was the last true sports anime I’ve watched (shows like Softenni do not count).  Then, in Autumn of 2011, I started Chihayafuru, an anime revolving around one girl’s love of competitive karuta.  It wasn’t until well into the second half before I realized I was watching a genuine sports anime.  Not only that, but I was loving it, too!