Blogging Like it’s the 2000s (Part 2) – Final Spring 2025 Anime Impressions
Back in April, I wrote up some first impressions of the Spring 2025 anime season. This is something I hadn’t done in over a decade, but the initial promise of the shows I selected inspired me to put some digital ink to digital paper. Now that these shows have concluded, I will do something I’ve never done–take a look back at the season for me as a whole. Sure, while I’ve reviewed individual shows after their initial runs, looking through what I watched for an entire season is a first for this blog.
But anyway, enough preamble–on to the reviews!
Kidō Senshi Gundam GQuuuuuuX
Now that it has concluded, fans’ appraisal of GQuuuuuuX has settled into being widely mixed, if not leaning towards general negativity–but I think one thing we can all agree on is that the show did an amazing job of proving any given fan take or prediction wrong at every turn. Hell, looking back at what I wrote about the first episode 3 months ago, I assumed GQuuuuuuX could potentially act as a gateway for new and younger Gundam fans. Of course, now the record shows that what we got instead was an extremely convoluted UC Gundam fanfic, which is nigh impossible for civilians to understand. Watching this one in real time, I can understand the criticisms leveled at the show for not giving the new cast enough development, but in the now never-ending era of the Netflix binge watch, I’m willing to bet that the characters may shine brighter on a more concentrated watch. The character moments are still quite strong in the first half of the show, and perhaps those moments will stick in the mind more untied from the weekly broadcast schedule.
However, like many others, I strongly feel that the show was entirely too short. I think we should have either gotten an awkward 18-episode (or so) run, or the staff should have worked harder to trim some of the more superfluous details. I feel like Diebuster–also directed by Tsurumaki Kazuya–managed to tackle the same challenge GQuuuuuuX faced when it came to building a complex world, while also trying to tell an emotional character story in a short amount of time. However, in my assessment Diebuster succeeds, due to its aggressive editing and prioritization of important character and story beats. With a full TV run, it felt like Tsurumaki and writer Enokido Yōji got indulgent, letting go of their sharp sense of editing, opting instead to bite off far more than they could chew. Thankfully, despite the messy back-half, I think GQuuuuuuX came together in a grand and satisfying fashion for the finale, which is quite the feat. And anyone who knows me knows that I love messy fanservice, so I can see myself coming back to this one far more than I will return to watch something like G-Witch[1]Also, Machu is cute!.
Lazarus

But hey–you want to talk about a mess? At least GQuuuuuuX managed to pick up most of its pieces. Meanwhile, Lazarus just fell apart. As mentioned in my initial post, I was immediately suspicious at the prospect of a serialized narrative directed by Watanabe, because they don’t have a history of going down well. From the very first episode, the time-sensitive nature of the story didn’t feel super urgent when we knew it was going to be spread across 13 episodes. I get it–they wanted to lean into the classic Yamato format–but unfortunately for Lazarus, it was quite poorly executed. Since Watanabe’s strengths lie in curating a bunch of cool one-shot stories, many of the early episodes could have been great if they simply stood on their own, rather than arbitrarily tying back to the group’s hunt for Skinner. It felt like the series was coming together as it got to the back-half, but unfortunately the final episode came and went with a whimper. Of note, now that we all live in a post-covid world, and know how long it takes for a vaccine to be developed and distributed around the world, certain aspects of the finale felt quite tone-deaf. Like, c’mon guys!
However, as mentioned in my post from April, the characters did start to grow on me by the end, but it feels like the show should have taken more care in developing them and laying out their backstories. I feel a more punchy approach for Lazarus would be to explore all of the main cast’s backstories via some one-offs during the first half, then drop the real story about Skinner in the second, and build momentum from there. As it exists in reality, I don’t think I’ll be watching Lazarus again–especially when I can just watch better shows like Cowboy Bebop, Samurai Champloo or Space Dandy again.
Kowloon Generic Romance

Wow, this show sure was something! It was a treat to see a show focusing on adults–of multiple sexual persuasions–enjoying time with each other both out on the town, and in the bedroom. Having not read the source material, I can’t comment on the quality of the Kowloon Generic Romance anime as an adaptation, but it certainly felt like they were trying to cram in a lot in the middle. That said, this is just a minor quibble, as the show managed to keep me engaged on the strength of the mysteries it was untangling, and the characters. Unfortunately, what the show clearly lacked was strength in its animation. Despite how amazing that scene of Reiko walking out to her balcony in episode 1 was, the animation dipped in ways that were noticeable. But who knows–maybe that’s all a part of the 90s charm the show was trying to put forth in its character designs, complete with the choppy animation from that era to match.
While I realize the source material probably has far more going on, as a self-contained adaptation, I commend Kowloon Generic Romance for actually delivering a satisfying ending. I much prefer this approach over the typical “just read the manga for the rest” route many adaptations tend to go in[2]Also, Reiko is cute!.
Ballpark de Tsukamaete!

I wish I could write this one up but… unfortunately it fell through the cracks as the weeks went by. I still enjoy it, and throw on an episode at the end of the day when I’m nice and drunk, but during this season it wasn’t quite appointment television between entries like GQuuuuuuX, Lazarus and Kowloon. However, it did get me out to the ballpark for the first time since the pandemic, so that’s something! Anyway, I look forward to getting to the end of Ballpark de Tsukamaete! at my own pace, as it remains cute and funny every episode[3]And of course, Ruriko is cute!.
And that’s it for Spring 2025! I won’t go too deep into what I’m watching this season, as two of the three shows I’m watching are sequels but… ah, what the hell, let’s do a lightning round!
New Panty & Stocking with Garterbelt: The bastards did it! They made me feel 22 years old again! It’s incredible how the dudes at Trigger picked up exactly where they left off 15 years ago, and I’m here for whatever else they got in store for us.
Osomatsu-san 4: While Osomatsu-san kind of lost its way during its second season and that first film[4]Also I didn’t realize there were two other films…, season 3 felt like a decent return to form, and the first episode of this new season had me laughing, so I’ll stick with it. More than anything, I hope they find an excuse to do Yaritai Deka again, now that I’m a dyed-in-wool Abunai Deka fan.
City: This one looks great, but maybe half-length episodes are better for this kind of thing? The first episode kind of wore me out. City’s on probation for now, but I’m also apparently one of the weird people who really enjoyed KyoAni’s Nichijo anime, so maybe there’s something wrong with me.