Although winter is typically a pretty great season to watch anime, not everyone has the time to lounge around on the couch and give each anime of the season its fair shake, especially when there are so many established shows out there to tempt you away. However, if you want to know what anime series from the winter 2017 season was worth your time, look no further.
*Note: As always, this covers original series. So any second seasons like Blue Exorcist, Gintama, or KonoSuba won’t be counted. If you are a fan of those shows already, then you should, by all means, go watch those.
Best Winter 2017 Anime
Scum’s Wish
By all appearances, Hanabi Yasuraoka and Mugi Awaya look like the perfect couple. However, both of them are only together because they are both in love with someone else. Both of these other loves are unobtainable goals in the form of a childhood-friend-now-homeroom-teacher and the other an older tutor. While they each long for their respective loves, they found solace in each other’s arms.
Why it is Worth Watching – The romance genre is a stagnant cesspool of the same plots and tropes, and that works for some people. Essentially, Scum’s Wish adds something unusual to the genre by telling a story about two people who have sex to fill the void in their heart because they can’t have sex with who they want to. If you are into traditional romance shows, this might not be for you. The characters are scumbags, but in the most masterful way. That aside, there’s not a lot of non-hentai that features sex scenes, so if you wanted romance anime with actual (tastefully done) sex, that is another advantage this series has.
The Saga of Tanya the Evil
Once one of Japan’s most elite salarymen, Tanya is reborn as a little girl with porcelain skin, blonde hair, and blue eyes after pissing off a mysterious being that calls himself God. Now she uses the memories and experience from her past life to spread terror on the front lines of war, becoming one of the most dangerous people in the imperial army.
Why it is Worth Watching – In its first episodes, this series didn’t seem like much. However, it was one of those series that got better with each new episode. Sharing historical inspirations, this is a good follow up if you like characters with loose morality, like in last season’s Drifters. It’s fun when you let your characters be evil and adorable.
Gabriel DropOut
Gabriel was the top angel in her class, so Heaven had high hopes for her when she was sent to Earth. Unfortunately, she became a truant that spends her days playing online games all day.
Why it is Worth Watching? – Angels are kind of super played out, but less so when they are a lazy otaku that is kind of a jerk to everyone, like most members of the PC Master Race.
Interviews with Monster Girls
Demi-humans have slowly become an accepted part of human society, but the acceptance is not always completely there. Tetsuo Takahashi is a biology teacher with an interest in demi-humans and believes acceptance could be fostered by more knowledge. Unfortunately, he doesn’t know any demi’s to talk to. That is, until he finds three students at his school and a fellow teacher that is a demi-human.
Why it is Worth Watching? – Not only does it feature some of the more underused supernatural creatures out there, but this show is damn adorable while doing it. It is also refreshing to have a male protagonist that isn’t a complete wimp, but rather a composed older sensei. Stick around for the second episode and you will know why so many people got hooked.
Masamune-kun’s Revenge
As a child, Masamune Makabe was crushed when the wealthy and beautiful Aki Adagaki rejected him due to his chubby appearance. Retreating to his grandfather’s in the country, Masamune returns for high school a slim, handsome, and slightly narcissistic man. He intends to make Adagaki fall in love with him and break her heart.
Why it is Worth Watching? – Unlike Scum’s Wish that turns the romance genre on its head, Masamune-kun’s Revenge keeps things more traditional with its clichés and the predictability of its plot. However, some of the drama and crucial “aww” moments along the way are innovative and not yet completely played out.
Miss Kobayashi’s Dragon Maid
Kobayashi is a programmer and single office lady that lives alone. One morning, she opens the door to find a dragon named Tohru there. The dragon immediately turns into a busty maid and wants to repay her life debt to Kobayashi by cleaning, cooking, and doing other various things. Apparently, Kobayashi got drunk one night, wandering into the forest, and saved Tohru’s life, so she accepts the agreement.
Why it is Worth Watching? – Anime could use some more dragons, couldn’t it? Doubtless most people enjoy this series for Quetzalcoatl’s massive slab of chest meat, but that aside, it is an excellent slice of life comedy that features just the right of cute mixed with dragon lore.
Did you think any of the other original series from the winter 2017 series were worth watching? Let us know in the comments section below.
