So, the anime seasons have been a bit in fluster lately due to the SARS-COV-2 halting production on a few series. However, we're still seeing some decent releases! Although, I haven't really been watching as much as I used to, I decided to dive back into some old habits and subject myself to some awful anime just to talk about it.
So, at first, I decided to check out two series to see if they were prime trash-ime (trash-ime just being a portmanteau of trashy anime). Typically, a trash-ime series heavily leans on ecchi, but there are other reasons that a series could be considered less than stellar (e.g. far too formulaic).
Peter Grill to Kenja: This series is about Peter Grill, the first human to win the fighting tournament in centuries. Now that he's considered the most powerful fighter in the land, everyone wants to have his baby! Unfortunately for them, Peter is very much into his incredibly prude, naive girlfriend. Overall, I found this series more cringy and boring than anything. I don't mind a bit of ecchi with humor, but this just isn't funny, but rather it's very formulaic. Although, I guess you could say the series does throw a very quick twist into the mix: Peter actually ends up sleeping with the two ogre girls in the first episode rather than remaining faithful.
HxEros: This series is about an invading alien force that feeds off perverse energy, which the act of leeching it appears to leave a person completely and permanently(?) devoid of any perverse feelings. The series follows a group given the ability to convert their perverse energy into strength to fight against the alien force. The main focus is on two childhood friends where the male keeps trying to get his female friend to open up more. Although, he's served a shocking twist when he finds out that she wasn't fully drained of her perverse energy as a kid, but rather, just felt so embarrassed that the alien scolded her for being TOO perverse. Overall, this series was far more watchable than Peter Grill, but it was still a bit too cringy and lacked humor. For me, most of the cringe just came from far too much ecchi such as a 5-10 second scene where a female's naked bosom just flops around covered by large, censor stars. Although, that censorship did lead to one humorous moment where an idol girl had a wardrobe malfunction, and a fan commented about her bosom being "so bright".
I do consider the following one to be a bit more trash-ime, but not because of ecchi or really anything lewd. On the flip side, it's just because there is so little of substance that it's really more of a "turn your brain off" sort of show.
Maou Gakuin no Hangyakusha: This series is about a demon lord that is simply tired of being so darned awesome and killing everything in his way that he decides to end his reign of tyranny as a means to bring peace to the lands... however, he notes that he will likely resurrect in about two thousand years. (He's just that darned powerful!) Upon resurrection, he finds that he is just ridiculously overpowered compared to his fellow demon descendants. This show hasn't really done much so far outside of the demon lord claims he's powerful, someone disagrees and tries to show him up, the demon lord demolishes them. Although, the series does take the "demon lord is actually not a bad guy" path, which can be kind of interesting at times (makes him into a bit more of an anti-hero). Overall, I consider this show is decent enough to be "filler".
Now, onto some more normal shows...
The God of Highschool: This show follows Jin Mori as he takes part in a tournament to find the strongest highschool student. Similar to Kami no Tou from last season, this is another show based on a Manhwa (Korean comic) that is featured on the platform Webtoons, and I can assure you that the show will not let you forget that. While last season's Kami no Tou focused heavily on world-building, this show doesn't really seem to take that approach as it literally jumps into what could be considered a tournament arc within the first episode. So, while Kami no Tou was a bit more of an atmospheric show, this one definitely leans a lot more toward being a shounen series, but it leaves enough mystery to make you at least a bit curious.
There are a few others that I've been meaning to check out such as Deca-Dence, but I just haven't gotten around to watching them yet. I'm also waiting for Appare-Ranman (the anime version of the old Hanna-Barbara cartoon Wacky Races), which is supposed to come back at the end of the month. Of course, there's also the new season of Re:Zero, which was delayed from last season and the last season of Yahari Ore, which I haven't had a chance to start yet. In regard to Yahari Ore, I just hope it's a bit more like the first season and less like the second.