The Great Anime Marathon of 2020! #1 – #5: A Quartet of Isekai

It’s funny how things work out, you think you’re going to have just another ordinary year and then everything goes to hell before you know it. That said, why not take advantage where you can?

Since the whole coronavirus outbreak has gotten everyone quarantined, including myself, I’ve ended up catching up on A LOT of anime. We’re talking anime of all different kinds, some good, some not so good and some that were simply excellent.

I’ve ended up watching a little over 70 different series so far, with a hell of a lot more lined up. With that in mind, I’ve decided to post my thoughts about all of these different anime on this site, since I haven’t posted in a hell of a long time.

I’ll be posting up a series of entries with 5 anime listed in each. This list will contain exactly what I’ve seen from these series, including OVAs and movies, etc. I’ll also be giving each series a rating out of 5 as a recommendation of whether to watch or skip different series.

So, let’s get into it!

The following is a spoiler-free list of anime I’ve seen this year in no particular order:

#1: Saga of Tanya the Evil

• Season 1: Complete series to date (dub)
• Saga of Tanya the Evil: The Movie (sub)

I absolutely love everything about this series, from its premise down to the way it’s executed. Everything about the Saga of Tanya the Evil is done so well that I can watch it over and over again and still be entertained by it.

This story about a Japanese salaryman who gets reincarnated as a little girl who has magical powers, set in an alternate World War I era Earth, is a gift that keeps on giving. I’ve never wanted the main characters to be defeated so much, yet be scared that the main characters may be defeated at the same time.

On top of that, the climax of the movie following the TV series has Tanya face off against, what should be considered the good guy, but you feel so conflicted during their battle against each other.

This anime is so strange in that, on the surface it looks like it invokes a lot of anime tropes, but it plays everything so dead serious that it somehow works. The music, the animation, everything about this series is so on point that it’s easily among my most favourite anime of all time.

It’s too bad there’s no news of a second season ever coming out, but, I love what I’ve gotten so far.

#2: Overlord

• Seasons 1 – 3: Complete series to date (dub)

Speaking of anime that follow the bad guy, Overlord has a similar theme in that regard, however, Ainz only plays the bad guy on the surface.

Overlord plays with the idea of “being the bad guy” but doing good things in the grand scheme of things. The whole cast of characters, from Ainz himself, to all of his subordinates works so damn well as a vehicle for that theme. Plus, it’s so enjoyable watching such overpowered characters absolutely decimate their enemies and Overlord plays into that power fantasy really well.

On top of that, the interplay between all the characters is so enjoyable to watch. There is some genuinely good comedy in this show, some of which is based solely on how sincere the characters are in their reverence for Ainz and their mistaken view that he is a supreme being.

I’m really glad that Overlord is getting a fourth season because this series has been consistently enjoyable all the way through.

#3: Re:Zero − Starting Life in Another World

• Season 1: Complete series to date (dub)

The third isekai on the list is where things start to go downhill in terms of quality. While the premise of Re:Zero sounds great on paper, the execution, at least in anime form, isn’t so great.

My biggest complaint about the series is that the main character, Subaru, is such an idiot throughout the entire series. But then, all of a sudden, he becomes intelligent in the way he makes decisions in the latter part of the season simply because he had a heart to heart.

The change was too sudden, there wasn’t any natural progression of watching Subaru learn from his mistakes, rather he just went from an idiot loser, to an idiot loser who suddenly makes smart decisions in the blink of an eye.

I’m also not a big fan of Rem since she creeps me out a little, but in terms of main characters, Subaru is pretty meh himself… especially his obsession with Emilia which seems pretty forced, to be honest.

We’ll see how things progress into season 2, maybe things will improve. With all the complaining I did, the story still has a pretty strong premise.

#4: KonoSuba – God’s Blessing on this Wonderful World!

• Seasons 1 – 2, including OVAs: Complete series to date (sub)
• KonoSuba – God’s Blessing on this Wonderful World! Legend of Crimson (sub)

Out of the series I’ve talked about so far, KonoSuba is hands down the most fun you could possibly have watching an anime. The comedy is so spot on and the characters so well made that it’s hard to believe everything came together this well.

From Aqua’s incompetence, Darkness’ masochistic tendencies and Megumin’s stubbornness, Kazuma has found himself in the kind of nightmare in isekai form where he totally belongs. Watching the four of them completely fail, yet somehow succeed is so much fun.

Somehow, for a show about a bunch of losers who are horrible toward each other and everyone around them, it has the most heart of them all, and you really do feel like the entire group are meant to be together.

Watching through the two seasons, OVAs and the movie that came out recently, you laugh your ass off all the way through. I really can’t wait for more KonoSuba in the future.

#5: Isekai Quartet

• Seasons 1 – 2: Complete series to date (Season 1: dub / Season 2: sub)

With the powers of the four isekai already listed combined, we get Isekai Quartet, a fun little gathering of all the Kadokawa anime properties under one strange roof.

This is one of those anime that requires you to watch the previous four anime listed in order to understand all the gags and jokes. From character interactions to the smallest of details, all of which are played with pretty well in this series.

For the most part, it’s pretty funny, but some of the jokes do land a bit flat. It also doesn’t help that in Season 2, the addition of the Shield Hero and Cautious Hero cast feels like a bit of a letdown since they’re criminally underused… especially the two from Cautious Hero, wow.

That said, it’s a fun little show for those who have seen the other Kadokawa properties, a bonus extra of sorts. It’s also nice to see that it’s popular with folks since a third season is already on its way… I wonder if we’ll get a little bit more of Cautious Hero in there.