A new year brings with a new season of anime. That means I’ll be sharing my initial impressions of each show I have chosen to watch as usual.
With nothing else to add, let’s just dive straight in.A Place Further Than the Universe
I really enjoyed the first episode of A Place Further Than the Universe. I knew it involved going to Antarctica in some way, but other than that I really didn’t know what to expect. This first episode is about taking the first step of that journey: something that Mari Tamaki is eager to do, but struggles with due to various fears.
However, meeting Shirase Kobuchizawa and learning why she wants to go to Antarctica gives Mari that push she needs.
There are also some great visual things scattered throughout the episode – the backgrounds seem to be pretty aware of what is going on with the characters.
Ms. Koizumi Loves Ramen Noodles
Well, this show is exactly as the title says: Koizumi does indeed enjoy eating ramen. That’s what I pretty much expected from it, and that’s what it delivered. But it also had amusing characters. Yuu’s repeated attempts to get closer to Koizumi were fun, and her optimistic reactions to being turned down were amusing.
Ms. Koizumi Loves Ramen Noodles‘ first episode was surprisingly more fun than I thought it would be.
Laid-Back Camp
This was pretty much an all-around pleasant experience. There isn’t a whole lot I really have to say about it; the first episode of Laid-Back Camp was charming and delightful. I look forward to seeing more.
Katana Maidens ~ Toji No Miko
I enjoyed the first episode of Katana Maidens ~ Toji No Miko. The lightning-quick sword fights were fun to watch, and I enjoyed the interactions between Kanami and Mai, who are pictured above.
citrus
At this point, I don’t really have much to say about citrus. I think I’ll need to see Yuzu and Mei’s relationship a little more before I actually start to enjoy it. For now, I’m mostly watching out of curiosity and because I want to support yuri anime whenever possible.
Pop Team Epic
I have no idea what I watched, and I loved every minute of it. Pop Team Epic just kind of defies explanation.
Slow Start
Well, Slow Start may just be one of the most adorable shows this season. It is more cute girls doing cute things, and that is exactly what I like. I look forward to more from this one.
Mitsuboshi Colors
This was a fun premiere. Weekends will be pretty cute with both Slow Start and Mitsuboshi Colors to watch. Out of the three main characters, I already like Kotoha best – the blue-haired girl who seems to be a little sadistic and is rarely ever seen without her games console. The other two girls are fun as well.
Maerchen Maedchen
It only took a single episode for me to fall in love with Maerchen Maedchen. It probably helped that I was pretty hyped for it to begin with, but it definitely lived up to my expectations. I adore main character Hazuki, and there other elements that just tick boxes for me: the magic world, what are effectively magical girl transformations, yuri. There is a lot for me to like here.
Hakumei and Mikochi
This show is so very charming. Only one episode in, and I can tell that Hakumei and Mikochi already have great chemistry together. The setting for the show is great as well, and it just helps that there is quite a whimsical feeling to this one.
Takunomi
Short but sweet is how I would sum up Takunomi. It’s quite simply about a group of women who live together, and enjoy drinking. It is effectively another slice of life anime, and that is something that very much appeals to me.
That covers almost everything I intend to watch this season. Two shows don’t start until the end of January – they are Fate/Extra: Last Encore and The Seven Heavenly Virtues. Since there are still a couple of weeks until they start, I decided to not include them in this post. I’ll probably tweet my reactions to the first episodes once I’ve seen them.
There’s a lot going on for those of us who love slice of life and cute girls doing cute things, so I feel fairly comfortable in saying that 2018 is off to a very good start in terms of anime.
My top five picks for shows (baring in mind this is still the beginning of this season) are Pop Team Epic, Hakumei and Mikochi, Laid-Back Camp, A Place Further Than the Universe, and Maerchen Maedchen.
I look forward to seeing what the rest of this season will bring us.
Rory Muses 
This is kind of funny as with the exception of Maerchen Maedchen everything else on your list for the season are shows that I tried and decided they just weren’t for me. I’ll probably try to pick up A Place Further Than The Universe once it is done because it did have a very strong first episode and if I’m not waiting a week between episodes I’ll probably get through it and might even enjoy it, but I’ve decided not to cover it while it is streaming.