The Spring 2025 Anime Season Struggle - Renegade Animation #184
In this episode, Captain Kaye and the Animation Guru fight through the burnout to share their thoughts on the various new anime titles that Spring 2025 had to offer!
What’s going on, everyone? This is your Captain speaking, alongside my esteemed co-host, the Animation Guru! I can’t tell whether May just happened to be a particularly busy month, or, after 5 years of doing this podcast, Cameron and I are feeling burnt out. In spite of that, we are still excited to share this episode, because ultimately we love this medium, no matter how much it tries our patience. Without further ado, please tune into the podcast to hear the full discussion, or keep reading if you just want our top 5 anime recommendations!
Rock is a Lady’s Modesty
You guys know how much I love it whenever I see an anime about music sneak its way into these season impression podcasts, but this one hits a little differently. When I learned that Band-Maid would be involved in not only the music, but the motion capture for our main protagonists, I knew I was going to love Rock is a Lady’s Modesty! It’s a show that can easily balance it’s well written commentary on the rigid societal expectations of what it means to be a “proper lady” in high society with trashy innuendo during the girls’ aggressive jam sessions. In other words, there’s something for everyone!
To Be Hero X
Speaking only for myself, I have this and Rock is a Lady’s Modesty tied for the #1 spot. Because while the former has the best writing of the season, To Be Hero X has some of the best animation! This is a Chinese co-production between BeDream, Bilibili, and Aniplex, and is the third series in the To Be Hero anthology. In this world, heroes gain their powers through the “trust” of the people. For example, if the people you can fly, you can fly. With great action sequences, stellar use of mixed media, and music from the great Hiroyuki Sawano, how can I not recommend this one!
Apocalypse Hotel
Man, I love an original anime with a cool high premise such as this, that can still basically function like a slice of life workplace comedy. Apocalypse Hotel is set in the year 2157, one century after the entire human race has evacuated the earth after an airborne contagion rendered the planet uninhabitable. The only sign of civilization left is a hotel run by a staff of robots, led by Yachiyo, the gynoid concierge. The first episode establishes the world, but episodes 2 and 3 are a bit more episodic, as we see how the hotel staff tries to accommodate extraterrestrial guests, and hilarity ensues. These character designs are delightful, and there’s a nice underlying message about staying optimistic in the face of any obstacles in one’s way.
YAIBA: Samurai Legend
The last two recommendations in the top 5 are for anime old heads, and one of them in a nostalgia reboot of a classic 80’s manga. Yaiba: Samurai Legend is a ton of fun. Our titular character is basically Goku, if he was given a sword and had the personality of the Warner siblings, and it’s fun to watch all of the chaos he brings to anyone he comes into contact with. The main objective with these first three episodes is to establish the ongoing rivalry he has with Takeshi Onimaru, and their first real fight is amazing! Kudos to Wit Studio for bringing this back for a whole new audience.
Kowloon Generic Romance
Our final recommendation is a great stylistic throwback to anime from the late 80’s/early 90’s. Kowloon Generic Romance is anything BUT generic, there’s a compelling sci-fi mystery surrounding this fictionalized version of the Kowloon Walled City in Hong Kong. It’s a show about adults, which shouldn’t be as refreshing as it is, but I enjoy the dynamic between our two romantic leads. I want to see where this story goes, and learn more about what happened to Reiko’s memories, how she lost them, or if they were ever hers to begin with.
That’ll do it for this episode! Thank you all for joining us! We have provided a link to several GoFundMe pages in support of those affected by the 2025 Wildfires in LA. https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/10gvOxituYvxxknoY9IQa-YEqfK8WvCjcLBcg4hsmME4/edit?pli=1&gid=0#gid=0
