Anime season spring 2018 so far

I have neither the time nor the interest to go through every single anime airing this season, so this is far from a comprehensive overlook of the season, but I figured I'd write some of my thoughts on the anime series I've checked out.

3D Kanojo
Dropped after 1 ep. I know, too early to judge, but I just couldn't take the sheer embarrassment I felt for the MC. Almost every single action he took in that episode made me facepalm. A shame, really, since the FMC was actually somewhat interesting and has an attractive design. Anyway, from what I can tell, it's a simple romcom with little to offer for people looking to use their brain while watching. Which is not to imply that I only watch anime that require the use of a brain, I can enjoy brainless entertainment just fine. I'm just really not good with embarrassing protagonists.

Ginga Eiyuu Densetsu -Die Neue These-
4 eps watched, enjoying it a lot so far. I haven't watched the old anime, but from what I've been told, this one seems a bit more condensed, which may be a good thing, as the old one was apparently perhaps even a bit too slow-paced. Aside from that, this adaptation comes with much improved animation and modernised art style. There seems to be quite a bit of depth to the central characters, and I'm liking both protagonists. From what I've seen so far, the space battles look good and are pretty entertaining to watch, but tactically they're pretty simplistic. It feels like the main characters are made to look like geniuses by making everyone else around them into idiots. Well, even so, I think this anime has a very high potential, and especially if the political dimensions of the plot are well explored, I look forward to watching more.

High School DxD HERO
5 eps watched. If you liked the first three seasons of DxD, you will... probably not be too happy with the fourth season. It's not that the quality of the source material has dropped, it's just that the anime adaptation changed hands from TNK to Passione, and while the seiyuu are the same, the rest of the staff involved are apparently not, and it shows. Much of the charm of this anime series always came from its extremely high quality ecchi (which is why many refuse to watch it until the uncensored BDs come out), and in my opinion, the new character designs are absolutely inferior to the old ones. Not only that, the animation and the directing are inferior, too. Even so, it's still the same story, and some elements I enjoyed remain in this fourth season. It's still ridiculous and fun, with likeable characters and entertaining fights.

Hinamatsuri
 I... couldn't even make through the first episode. The brat annoyed me like you wouldn't believe, and the comedy was definitely not my cup of tea. That said, I wouldn't recommend skipping it without giving it a shot first. I have some friends who are enjoying this a lot. If you happen to like the comedy, then it's probably an entertaining watch.

Persona 5 The Animation
6 eps watched. Well, it's decently interesting and entertaining, but I get a strong feeling that it's nowhere near reaching the potential granted by its source material. It's much too rushed. Granted, I haven't played the game, so I can't say for sure, but that's the feeling I get. Persona 4 The Animation, while I doubt it's a perfect adaptation either, felt much less rushed and spent much more time on slice of life stuff, allowing the audience to really get to know the characters. Apparently there are also various philosophical themes that go almost unexplored by this rushed adaptation. The battles are unimpressive, and the MC is spectacularly bland. Still, it's worth watching, particularly if you, like me, don't have the option of playing the game.

Saredo Tsumibito wa Ryuu to Odoru
3 eps watched. Well, what to say. I give this props for daring to tackle pretty heavy themes, such as religious faith and grief over lost loved ones, but somehow I doubt they have the skill to handle them properly. The dialogue is pretty weird at times, and the pacing feels amateurish. That said, the plot and characters hold reasonably high potential, so I feel like it's worth giving this a fair shot to see if even half of it gets fulfilled. The political landscape feels very confusing so far, I wish they'd explain more, because the world and its politics seem quite interesting.

Tada-kun wa Koi wo Shinai
7 eps watched. Pretty good slice of life / romance, with some pretty visuals (since it is, after all, in part about photography). Likeable characters with a bit of roundness to them. Highly predictable, with some stereotypical characters, but the slice of life is great, so in the end, the show is quite entertaining. Romance-wise... well, the MC and FMC are warming up to each other very, very slowly. Which might be too slowly, since the FMC has a limited time to be in Japan, and she has a fiancé, who's a ridiculously nice guy and holds genuine feelings for her. It might be building up to a spectacularly dramatic finish, but I'm not ready to discount the possibility that, as the name of the show claims, Tada-kun might never fall in love, after all. At present, as the protagonist pair are so romantically oblivious, it's more interesting to follow the secondary characters and their budding romances. Everyone is kind of slow, though, so the meat of this story is in its excellent slice of life content, rather than its meager romantic drama. Oh, and the MC's cat is the best character in the show.

Wotaku ni Koi wa Muzukashii
6 eps watched. With the possible exception of the anime I'm going to write about next, this is the show I'm enjoying the most in this season. The comedy is mostly right up my alley, the characters are quirky and lovable, the banter never gets boring, and the romance, while not terribly dramatic, has a much stronger presence than that of Tada-kun. I love how chill the male lead is, makes for a great contrast with the highly expressive female lead. Definitely a recommendable SoL/romcom.

Darling in the FranXX
I actually stopped watching this at 15 episodes, I'm waiting for the show to finish, so I can marathon the rest for maximum enjoyment. This is the kind of show that's at its best marathoned: a dramatic, emotional rollercoaster, with a decent plot to boot. Great action and nicely rounded characters. Interesting setting, with a strong feeling of dystopia and creepy secrets about it, reminds me of Shin Sekai Yori. It's chillingly creepy, how the people in this world, aside from the central characters, seem to have forgotten how and why to live: they forgo pleasures of food and sex (preferring artificially induced happiness), human relationships (marriage is nothing but an old custom to them, partners barely ever interact) and basically anything but what is deemed "necessary". Children are brought up in facilities (they're not even given basic sex ED, so they don't know how they were made), brainwashed into literally religious worship of the leader figure of humankind, and made to fight for the adults against the monsters populating this world (I have a theory that the adults have reached some kind of immortality, and kids never actually make it to adulthood anymore). There's some unnecessary (but not too intrusive) fanservice, and perhaps a tad overdone teen drama, but those are minor flaws in an overall great anime. This is probably one of the best original anime series I've seen in quite a while.