Spring Of Magic (Girls) – 2018 Spring Anime Recommendations!

Spring Of Magic (Girls) – 2018 Spring Anime Recommendations!

Insofar that the Winter anime season was about Cute Girls Doing Cute Things (CGDCT), this season is about magic girls – some of which are just magic and some of which are actually girls. Of course, there is more to this season than just magic, which is why I have five series that I am recommending that you HAVE to watch right now, and about five others that are worth watching at some point!

So sit back, relax, and I really, really want to do the Summer or maybe Fall recommendations as a video. Look forward to it! Or don’t, so you won’t be disappointed. There are spoilers coming up, so either accept that and continue on or flee!

#1 TOP RECOMMENDATION: Hinamatsuri

So the top show in a theme about magic girls is technically a girl who kind of has magic powers, though they could be supernatural or alien. Regardless, this is an excellent anime that you cannot miss.

The gist of the story is that Nitta Yoshifumi, a member of the Yakuza, ends up with a middle-school girl aged Hina appearing out of nowhere. She’s some kind of magic alien who has psychokinetic abilities. They can come in handy for Nitta’s Yakuza work, but at the same time, they’re a bane upon his expensive vases. As well, if she doesn’t use them regularly, she’ll turn into a berzerker. Good times.

The anime can switch quickly from hilarity to HOLY FUCKING EMOTIONS. Especially when you get to an Anzu storyline. Don’t worry too much about Anzu though, life gets better for her eventually.

A large amount of the show’s comedy comes from Hina’s deadpan delivery of nearly anything. One of those situations where you have to see it in order to fully appreciate it. Reading about it doesn’t do anything justice. Reading is for losers.

The winner of the show, however, is Mishima Hitomi. She is the queen of reaction images and finds herself in situations where she’s not entirely in control. In a few years when she grows up, she will easily be a front-runner for best girl.

I’m not certain if this qualifies as a slice-of-life anime, but it needs to be watched if you have any interest in comedy. It’s on Crunchyroll.

Mahou Shoujo Site

From comedy and feels to OH MY FUCKING GOD WHAT IN THE NAME OF ALMIGHTY XENU IS HAPPENING????, we now come to Mahou Shoujo Site. I am not sure why this show appeals to me, I think it’s partially because it’s so edgy that it’s damned near comical. The first episode is squeamish as hell, but once you get past that (and the giant sperm in the end credits), it becomes watchable.

Apparently, there is a website that targets poor, unfortunate, suffering girls. Asagiri Aya happens to be one of those. She’s bullied to the verge of suicide on a daily basis by some of her classmates (and for about the stupidest reason you can think of once that’s revealed). She gets a ‘stick’ from the site in the shape of a gun that teleports people.

She meets another magic girl, Yatsumura Tsuyuno who has a stick shaped like a smartphone that can freeze time. The pair become friends and work together on trying to find out why the MSS exists; something regarding the end of the world and sperm heading towards a volcano?

It’s a weird show.

There’s some intentional comedy with one of the characters who’s a perky idol, for example, there are some hilarious Scooby-Doo sound effects when she’s around. None of the other characters have sound effects. Just her. Jenkies. Also her ‘magic stick’ is her panties.

I am not 100% sure whether or not I like this anime, but I keep watching it every week. They’re starting to get further into the plot – something that involves the end of the world and more of that end-credit sperm – rather than just trying to shock people, which is making me quite interested.

You can watch it via Amazon Prime Video.

Mahou Shoujo Ore

So on the complete opposite end of the spectrum, here’s a show about magic girls that turn into men when they activate their magical girl powers. The logic behind this is sound; men’s bodies are more sturdy than women’s. That’s not misogynistic, it’s just biology*. So the girls turn into boys. Boys with magical girl uniforms.

*I do not include female American Gladiators, MMA fighters, WNBA players, or the cast of Big Bang Theory in that statement.

There’s a squirrelly love triangle (which may actually be a tetrahedron), idols who actually aren’t good at singing, and demons who are bears. They kind of remind me of the bad guys from Excel Saga, which is always a good thing.

There’s not really much to say about this anime other than it is very hilarious.

MSO is on Crunchyroll!

Wotaku ni Koi wa Muzukashii

One of the problems of being an otaku is that you tend to be shunned by mainstream society. For instance, my coworkers all know that I’m an anime freak thanks to the Sailor Moon decal on my SUV. Thanks to that, no one will speak to me or provide me with CPR. Momose Narumi went through a similar ordeal at her old job, which is why she moved to her new one!

After going a whole day afraid of being outed as an anime-obsessed otaku, she finds out that her coworkers are all otaku themselves, including a childhood friend, Nifuji Hirotaka. He’s a game-obsessed otaku, but an otaku nonetheless!

Wotaku is a cute love story that shows that even otaku can find love, assuming he/she is attractive. I wasn’t a fan of this show at first, but like one of my honorable mentions, 3D Kanojo, it grew on me due to the amazingly likable characters and the fact that it’s really not trying to be anything more than an adorable love story.

Wotaku is on Amazon Video!

Comic Girls

Cute girls doing cute things was the overwhelming theme of last season, and it wouldn’t be an anime season without one CGDCT series. This season it’s Comic Girls, an anime about high school girls who are manga artists. Some are better than others. The four girls (which is the perfect number for a group – four girls in Yuru Camp, four girls in Slow Start, four Ninja Turtles) live together in a dorm for manga artists.

There’s not much to explain about this show. Each character has their own specialty when it comes to both manga and shenanigans. It’s cute. It’s hilarious. You should watch it.

Comic Girls is on Crunchyroll.

Honorable Mention

Darling In The Franxx

I mentioned this anime last time. It’s a neat mecha anime that has a pretty interesting backstory. The show is a 24(25,26?) episode show so despite it being a Winter anime, it’s still running for the rest of this season.

The plot’s taken many twists and turns, and it’s worth watching if you like mecha, post-apocalyptic worlds, love stories, kids who apparently got their sex education from teachers in Kansas, and Reddit memes. Click that last link at your own peril. DitF is on Crunchyroll.

Full Metal Panic – Invisible Victory

I have loved FMP for years. In fact, my Wayback Wednesday from a year ago talked about the most recent FMP – from all the way back in 2005. Yes, that’s right, we’ve waited 13 years for a follow-up to FMP – The Second Raid.

I have not liked this series as much as I thought I would mainly because there is literally no comedy in it. This is a drama and it’s one hell of a drama. I’m a bit upset that they’re only four episodes in, and they’re already doing a recap episode, but otherwise, I recommend this show, for no other reason than it’s FMP, and it’s already set itself up to have no one who is safe from death.

I find shows are much, much better when you realize ANY of the characters could die. Except for comedies. Then… well, no.

Anyway, FMP: IV is on Crunchyroll!

Sword Art Online Alternative:Gun Gale Online

Speaking of cute girls doing cute things, how about a cute girl with a cute gun killing cute people? GGO is this. A story about a really, really tall girl who hates being tall, so she joins GGO, a game where she can be a tiny little player-killing loli. She’s cute as hell with her pink machine gun, RyougaP-Chan.

So far the story has just followed her and her attempt to win – or at least not die – in an online tournament. GGO isn’t terrible like the recent seasons of SAO and seems to only mention SAO in passing. To be honest, I wish the world of SAO was real because GGO looks like an amazingly fun game to play.

This anime is both cute and cool and LLENN is an adorable and multilayered character who is very likable. It’s worth watching, even the recap episode they’ve had already as it’s narrated by two of the side characters and is hilarious. GGO is on Crunchyroll!

High School DxD – Hero

First, watch this video. In case you were curious, oppai means boobs. Dragon means dragon. That is a song sung by the main character of High School DxD, Hyoudou Issei, about himself. The Oppai Dragon.

You probably won’t enjoy Hero if you’re not a fan (teehee fan service!) of the HSDxD series, and I certainly would not recommend starting with this one. It’s an amazing series that has both a TON of fan service in it, as well as an amazing storyline.

If nothing else, be like me and listen to the Oppai Dragon song until you’re eyes bleed. It’s much better than listening to that fucking Laurel/Yanni clip. The censored version of the show is on Crunchyroll. If you’re into that kind of thing. If not, you have a bit of work to find the uncensored version.

3D Kanojo: Real Girl

Another romance show?! I know, I’ve become a sucker for these as I grow older. Maybe it’s because I’ve finally accepted my own loneliness and am now able to root for others to find happiness and sexual release.

3D Kanojo is a high school love story about Tsutsu, a gross otaku (I’m starting to get offended, Japan…), and a woman, Iroha, who is ‘well-traveled’. In what is likely the most unlikely fall-in-love moment, she falls in love with him. Of course, he falls in love with her. She’s hot! However Tsutsu has never had a relationship with a 3D real girl (haha see what they did there?) before, yet so far has managed to bumble his way through it (despite hanging out with a ‘boy’ who wears cat ears).

As another plot twist, Iroha only has six months to live……………………………… in the town where they live now. She’ll be moving away soon!

I almost gave up on this show, but the characters – except for the whiny cat ear freak – have become likable people to who at least some of us can relate. Real Girl is available on HIDIVE.

Miscellaneous

Another series you should watch if you find the time is Today’s Menu For The Emiya Family, a Fate spinoff all about Shirou cooking in a world where the Fate servants just hang around and get drunk. It’s short, wholesome, makes you want to eat Japanese food, and has a cute theme song. The only thing wrong with it is that you only get one episode per month. It’s on Crunchyroll.

Also, if you like your fan service served to you in 3-minute chunks, try Love To-LIE-Angle. I don’t know what this show is about, all I know is that it’s filthy as hell, has an all-female cast, and is freaking hilarious. It’s on Crunchyroll.

That’s it for this season’s recommendations! Be aware, this is not all the anime I am watching, but this would constitute the anime that I make a point every week to watch, and would recommend you do the same! To catch everything I’m into, feel free to check out my My Anime List AniList profile! Also, pay attention to my Twitter feed. I rant and rave about anime on there all the time.

See you in a couple of months!

ewink

Hi! I am a former, Emmy-winning, news photojournalist who is now working on my own business as a web developer. In case you didn't know, I love anime, anime girls, and talks on spacial relativity.

What say you, dear visitor?

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.