Pondering which anime series of Spring 2019 are worth watching?

Then look no further as Seasonal Prattle has once again spent an obnoxious amount of time consuming and ranking every airing show all based upon their total construction, hopefully providing guidance to your viewing choices as the end result.

Bottom line: If you’re looking to see how all the anime this Spring stacks up for your watchlist, then read on.

 

 

With that said, let’s dive in!

 

 

Tier List FAQ

 

 

 

A-Tier

The cream of the crop this season. These anime tend to demonstrate greater acuity in their visual craft, narrative fundamentals, and written structure in relation to their respective genre spaces. They have a large range of attractive features and are highly likely to be an entertaining pickup to a wide patch of audiences. Very safe choices to add to your watch list.

 

Shingeki no Kyojin Season 3 Part 2

In a day and age where audiences are looking for seasonal anime that pack upfront wow factor, not just in the way they set their narrative hooks to reel you in but in physical construction as well – Attack on Titan’s latest entry is a perfect fit for that role. Season 3 part 2 is easily one of the most explosive shows in Spring’s crop, and likely this the whole year – presenting an envious level of visual proficiency and telling that is crucial to bombastic titles like this, all while remaining firmly in control of the atmosphere it cultivates and plot beats it unrolls. Hands down standout work.

B-Tier

Not as strong or safe as titles that would fall in the previous tier, but still worthwhile choices for the right individual. The following anime have their limitations be it textually, visually or otherwise. However, those limitations aren’t blatantly detrimental. Let’s unpack a few.

Carole & Tuesday

Carole & Tuesday is like a complex burgundy, with powerful notes of sharp visual craft and smooth storytelling clearly at play among various other delicious sensations.  It fits in snuggly so far as another shiny piece in Shinichirō Watanabe’s catalog with plenty appeal both in its base writing and physical composition. Conceptually, Carole & Tuesday doesn’t rattle too many boxes: What it’s trying to achieve is fairly straightforward on the surface, but the fashion in which it does makes it rather rewarding to watch unfold – lending it a great deal of strength in the long run. A very natural blend of comfortability and functionality both when voicing key plot beats or painting its world, making it a very worthy pickup for its DNA alone.

Bungou Stray Dogs 3rd Season

Sarazanmai

Make no mistake, Sarazanmai is a narratively bizarre, yet beautifully crafted work – having more than its fair share of sequences and layouts to praise. However, for all its gorgeous exteriors, it’s really concerned with emotional interiors, and it goes about exploring them with a dense layer of devices that can be expected from an Ikuhara lead anime. This, already compounding on a very eccentric script that may push viewers away in its own right, leads to some natural accessibility issues for wider audiences – as its layered approach isn’t everyone’s cup of tea. Be that as it may, its trade-off is a treasure of thematic pulp worth embracing. A niche watchlist pick-up that brimming with a ton of upside.

Fruits Basket (2019)

One Punch Man 2nd Season

Contrary to the overblown criticism surrounding its production, One Punch Man 2 is actually a pretty solid work when you look past the skin – bringing a lot of the same tools and trinkets that made the first season shine, just with a less mind-blowing visual effort and a more typical one instead. OPM’s knack for understanding the timing and necessary pop when it comes to pulling off its gags is still plenty strong, and pairing with that is a batch of writing that’s arguably more formidable than its first run – showcasing a higher grasp of patience, balance, and proper acceleration when it comes to its scripting. Don’t be scared by its discourse, this series is still a fine prospect for any list.

 

C-Tier

Mileage will certainly vary. The following anime either unashamedly ride on tropes and cliches, often struggle to really stand out among their genre spaces, or just flat out lack the toolkit to consistently accel beyond a reasonable watch. All in all, these are “fair” shows that carry a decent risk of coming away with a mediocre experience. We’ll discuss a couple and let you explore the rest at your own discretion.

 

Midara na Ao-chan wa Benkyou ga Dekinai

Sewayaki Kitsune no Senko-san

Hitoribocchi no Marumaru Seikatsu

Diamond no Ace: Act II

Kono Oto Tomare!

Senryuu Shoujo

The show’s consistently solid chemistry and charm allows it to pull off sequences and plotting that wouldn’t be as engaging had it emerged from a lesser work. Unfortunately, it’s conceptually limited for its genre space – still underlined with very standard romance scenario writing from episode to episode keeping its ceiling fairly low.

Mix

Kimestsu no Yaiba

Sleek aesthetically, gets in and out of sequences well, inherent nose for combat choreography and magnitude – Kimestsu no Yaiba’s production is never really in question. However, its inadequacy textually – with unimaginative scripting, flat characterization, poor exposition choices, and stale dialogue concerns – have forced it all the way down here as opposed to what its visual craft would suggest. This work is very much a generic Shounen at its core just decked out in pretty wrapping paper.

Kono Yo no Hate de Koi wo Utau Shoujo YU-NO

Kiratto Pri☆chan 2nd Season

Isekai Quartet

Bokutachi wa Benkyou ga Dekinai

Not an ideal candidate to regularly be tasked with delivering a level of writing beyond the bare minimum for harems. Routinely 20 minutes of poorly fleshed out bishoujos with forgettable names fawning over a puddle deep lead, supported by a narrative that’s all too familiar, and backed with tepid comedy. Absolute banality when it comes envisioning plot hooks and scenarios.

Nande Koko ni Sensei ga!?

Yatogame-chan Kansatsu Nikki

 

D-Tier

Hardly worth describing individually. Just be aware that the following anime are heavily limited in their structure and pose a fairly high risk of being underwhelming. Do take caution in adding these to your watchlist.

 

RobiHachi

Fairy Gone

Kenja no Mago

Abrasive in a lot of categories and very underwhelming in others, Kenja no Mago is an Isekai anime that shows faint flashes of visual competence, only to quickly remind viewers that its storytelling and corresponding mechanics is as tasty as a mashed up cigarette at every turn. Extreme lack of ingenuity, weak narrative instincts, and an overall cast that’s skimpily textured are only a handful of red flags that this show vigorously waves. Calling its content generic would be very charitable, as it’s sloppy with even executing the most tired Isekai notions and hallmarks. If you’re very desperate for a title in its genre space then this could be an asset for you.

Chou Kadou Girl ⅙: Amazing Stranger

Gunjou no Magmel

Hangyakusei Million Arthur 2nd Season

Shoumetsu Toshi

Aikatsu Friends!: Kagayaki no Jewel

Beyblade Burst Gachi

Mayonaka no Occult Koum

Araiya-san!: Ore to Aitsu ga Onnayu de!?

Shounen Ashibe: Go! Go! Goma-chan 4

Namu Amida Butsu!: Rendai Utena

Bakumatsu: Crisis

Joshikausei

 

 

F-Tier

Blatantly atrocious in at least one aspect and complete dumpster water in others. The following anime are better off being avoided outright for the sake of your mental health and time. 

 

Hachigatsu no Cinderella Nine

Nobunaga-sensei no Osanazuma

 

Strike Witches: 501 Butai Hasshin Shimasu!

 

 

Here’s What’s Next…

This list doesn’t end here. Seasonal anime is consistently evolving with each passing week; What may have looked to be a poor series unworthy of your time can eventually show signs of value, and of course, the exact opposite can happen too.

With that in mind, one of the biggest issues with content like this is that creators often don’t update them.

There’s plenty of articles, guides and videos out there suggesting a handful of current titles for you to watch. However, most of those pieces of content tend to be outdated and based upon an extremely limited amount of episodes (sometimes as few as only one or two) in the first place.

When it comes right down to it, that’s the last place we want to be. This list isn’t perfect or definitive by any means, and there’s bound to be readers out there who disagree with certain rankings – which is perfectly fine. Be that as it may, we would still love to keep this updated. So follow us if you haven’t already and stay tuned for future updates!