Spring 2020 Anime Awards

The spring season of anime may have got a little sidetracked due to a certain global crisis, but some shows were able to persist and there was stuff to enjoy within each of them. Admittedly it was only a handful shows, but enough for me to look back and share what I enjoyed.
The shows that I watched during the spring season, and managed to not get delayed:

• A Certain Scientific Railgun T (The Daihaisei Festival arc)
• Dropkick on My Devil!! Dash
• Kakushigoto
• Listeners
• My Next Life as a Villainess: All Routes Lead to Doom!
• Princess Connect! Re: Dive
• TAMAYOMI: The Baseball Girls

Some shows were not put on hiatus until a little way through the season, but it is just easier to focus on the shows that were able to stay on air. Potential spoilers for any of the shows listed above may be found in this post.

Best Opening Theme
“Shoujo no Route wa Hitotsu Janai!” by angela

Any song that manages to work in some classical music is all right by me, and the opening theme of My Next Life as a Villainess: All Routes Lead to Doom! does just that. Just an all round good tune.
Runners-up: “Never Let You Go” by Naho (TAMAYOMI: The Baseball Girls); “Chiisana Hibi” by flumpool (Kakushigoto)

Best Plot
Avoiding the doom endings
From week to week, watching Catarina Claes do all she could to avoid her impending doom in My Next Life as a Villainess: All Routes Lead to Doom! was consistently entertaining.
Runners-up: Kakushi’s secret (Kakushigoto); Adventures of the Gourmet Guild (Princess Connect! Re: Dive)

Best Protagonist
Catarina Claes
The densest material currently known to man is osmium, but even that is not as dense as Catarina Claes from My Next Life as a Villainess: All Routes Lead to Doom!. After figuring out she has been reincarnated into the world of an otome game as its antagonist, she sets about avoiding any ending that would doom her. She also happens to have several people – both boys and girls – fall for her in the process, but she has no idea. She is very entertaining to watch, though.
Runners-up: Yomi Takeda (TAMAYOMI: The Baseball Girls); Misaka Mikoto (A Certain Scientific Railgun T)

Best Antagonist
Mitori Kouzaku
Whilst not the leader of the antagonists in A Certain Scientific Railgun T‘s Daihasei Festival Arc, she is the one that does the most work. She has a good motive for doing what she is doing, and her ability as a level 4 Esper makes her a formidable opponent.
Runners-up: Kaiser (Princess Connect! Re: Dive); Sirius Dieke (My Next Life as a Villainess: All Routes Lead to Doom!)

Best Female Character
Pecorine
From Princess Connect! Re: Dive, Pecorine is full of energy and always hungry. She is a fun character, who also really appreciates her friends.
Runners-up: Yoshino Kawaguchi (TAMAYOMI: The Baseball Girls); Medusa (Dropkick on My Devil!! Dash)

Best Male Character
Kakushi Goto
A single father who absolutely dotes on his daughter, Hime. Also draws vulgar manga, but that is something that he keeps secret from Hime. Still, he does everything in his power to ensure that she has a good life, and that is worthy of respect.
Runners-up: Yuuki (Princess Connect! Re: Dive); Sogiita Gunha (A Certain Scientific Railgun T)

Best Cast of Characters
The Baseball Girls
Baseball is a sport that I’ve never really held much interest in. However, this show brought together a group of characters that were fun to watch, and put them all on a baseball team. There are some great personalities in here.
Runners-up: Catarina & her harem (My Next Life as a Villainess: All Routes Lead to Doom!); The Gourmet Guild (Princess Connect! Re: Dive)

Cutest Character
Hime Goto
It is pretty easy to see what Kakushi dotes on his daughter so much: she is adorable. Hime also happens to be incredibly sweet. She is such a pure soul.
Runners-up: Sophia Ascart (My Next Life as a Villainess: All Routes Lead to Doom!); Mimi (Princess Connect! Re: Dive)

Most Badass Character
Pecorine
Yes, more Pecorine! Turns out that when she has had a good meal, she is more than capable of handling herself in a fight. She may be a swordswoman, but if the need arises, she is happy to fight with her fists instead. Also, she doesn’t always need Yuuki’s power to fight effectively.
Runner-up: Kuroko Shirai (A Certain Scientific Railgun T);

Best Couple
Yomi Takeda and Tamaki Yamazaki
There’s actually a pretty healthy amount of yuri couples for this season to pick from, but Yomi and Tamaki just manage to edge out the others. Tamaki is the only one who can catch Yomi’s pitches: they are made for each other.
Runners-up: Catarina Claes and Maria Campbell (My Next Life as a Villainess: All Routes Lead to Doom!); Pecorine and Karyl (Princess Connect! Re: Dive)

Best Battle
Kuruko Shirai vs. Mitori KouzakuThis fight is a battle of wits as much as anything else, with Mitori’s Liquid Shadow ability allowing her to create a puppet to fight on her behalf. Kuroko has to try and track down Mitori herself, and that is no easy task. She gets by with a little help from her friends, though, and the climax of their battle is thrilling.
Runner-up: Pecorine vs. Mushroom monsters (Princess Connect! Re: Dive)

Best Finale
Defeating the Shadow

At the end of Princess Connect! Re: Dive, Yuuki’s memories have been restored and Pecorine’s origins have been revealed. That doesn’t matter, though, as the members of the Gourmet Guild all combine their might to take down a fierce foe in spectacular fashion.
Runners-up: Friendship ending (My Next Life as a Villainess: All Routes Lead to Doom!); Shin Koshigaya vs. Ryoyukan (TAMAYOMI: The Baseball Girls)

Best Ending Theme
“Plus Minus Zero Rule” by Shin Koshigaya Women’s Baseball Team

Just a really upbeat tune that I really like. TAMAYOMI: The Baseball Girls definitely got good opening and ending theme.
Runners-up: “Bad End” by Shouta Aoi (My Next Life as a Villainess: All Routes Lead to Doom!); “Love Satisfaction” by ZAMB (Dropkick on My Devil!! Dash)

Best Anime
My Next Life as a Villainess: All Routes Lead to Doom!Catarina is dense, but that doesn’t change the fact that her anime was an entertaining ride from start to finish. A lot of fun to be found here, and during a time when many people needed some kind of distraction, too. I’m Team Maria, by the way, in case anyone was wandering. Overall, a really fun season of anime, and this is the show that I’ll remember most.
Runners-up: Princess Connect! Re: Dive; Kakushigoto

Next season looks like it might be even quieter than this one, but I’ll probably still do this in some shape and form. So in that case, until next time.