I have also been posting more casual anime content on TikTok. Go check the videos out if that’s your thing! www.tiktok.com/@geoffthew?_t=8XXvvzpbZos&_r=1

I am not ashamed to admit that the idea of a custodial robot following a girl around because it thinks she’s trash made me laugh.

Video Idea: Good Ninja Anime That Isn't Naruto

My favourite thing about Akiba Maid War is that it wouldn't be half as fun if it didn't deliver its bizarre carnage with a completely and totally straight face. The ED for the show is literally one of the maid girls singing a slow jazz ballad about how she - and I quote - "goes to the pigsty to get my moe moe kyun". The crucial thing is that as far as the characters in the show, and the show itself for that matter, are concerned, NONE of it is played for laughs, and all of the comedy is on the viewer. It pretty much gaslights you into believing that there's an underground war of cute maid girls by presenting it to you like you're a fly on the wall, and I cannot stress enough how much that adds to how hilarious and bizarre the show is.

What some people might miss about Akiba Maid War is it's specifically a yakuza fiction parody. People who are familiar with the tropes of yakuza fiction would recognize that everything is mapped from yakuza fiction, they just replace "yakuza" with "maid." For example, the scene in the first episode where the main characters are given money to eat ramen before sending a message to a rival group office, it's a specific yakuza trope of a goon given money for last meal before being sent to their death attacking a rival group's office. How each maid cafe is under a publishing group is how Yakuza families are part of specific yakuza group with certain hierarchies. That kind of thing.

"I am ATOMIC" is simply one of the best quotes I have ever heard. That powerful whisper, the pizazz he puts on it, and the beautiful purple lights dancing across the screen with increasing intensity really make it amazing. But the thing that makes it so perfect is the surprise aspect. I was almost 100% sure he was going to say "powrar" again, so when he delicately whispered that beautifully pronounced "atomique" in my ear, I could not help myself from laughing in surprise. Great anime.

The best part of Shinobi no Ittoki was that it inspired me to finally watch the entire first season of Spy X Family so that I could feel something again.

I LOVE The Eminence in Shadow. So many good screencaps from the manga. "The chuuni protag's delusions are actually real and he thinks he's just gaslighting everyone" is just an amazing concept. Asshole protagonists are hard to get right but this one 100% does just that.

"I Am Atomic!" must be the coolest and also the cringyest catch phrase I've ever heard in anime. But he always says it during the coolest times in the webnovel, I've fallen in love with it.

Akiba maid war seems like it's going to run it's joke of "what if mobster underworld stuff but they're all dressed like maids" dry pretty fast. However, then you come to realize the critical factor that you didn't really understand in the first episode or two. This factor being that the entire protagonist cast are complete dipshits, being just streetwise enough to get themselves into trouble but nowhere near smart or competent enough to get themselves anywhere but *further* into trouble. It's beautiful every time.

I don’t think it counts as a drinking game if everyone would have alcohol poisoning before the end of the first episode

I am wildly 50/50ing over whether Love Flops is genius-level satire or the natural endpoint of harems trying to one-up each other to be the haremiest

I can’t believe they managed to make modern ninjas do boring.

Good to know the grey/silver-haired, boy-who's-secretly-a-girl harem trope is alive and well.

You know an anime is a true gem when it lands a spot in both the recommendations video AND the Hottest trash video!

The ironic thing about Beast Tamer is that you can occasionally see how a writer with less wish-fuliment tendencies could have taken the same setting/charecters and made a really solid shonen battle story out of it.

It is impressive how much Geoff can convey about an anime by describing a dumpster.

I love how this has become a staple series of the channel.

BABE WAKE UP! GEOFF JUST DROPPED HIS SEASONAL TRASH VIDEO

Akiba Maid War's kanji is a play on "Meido" which sounds like Maid but actually means "Underworld/Realm of the Dead". It's brilliant

Can I just say, that thumbnail choice is pure art.

That second anime started off so promising when you started describing the concept, of how being kind and selfless will get you way further in the long run than just being focused on strength and power. Cause all of that concept seemed to be really watered down to "my old party may have been stronger than me, but I will become stronger thanks to convenient buffs handed to me on a silver platter"

Art vs trash debate has been my most favorite discussion recently

Renai flops went off the fucking rails. It's amazing. Eminence in shadow is also absurd. I'm not sure if it's actually self-aware or not, but it's pretty great. I feel like I am the only person not watching Chainsaw Man. Been waiting for the season to end before I watch it and mob psycho 3 all at once.

I laughed way too hard about the love flops one. A girl treated like a trash and the guy literally deflowered TWICE by a dog lmao how crazy does it gets x'D

I have to admit, I appreciated the visceral frustration of not being able to hang up by slamming down the phone in the opening skit.

The fact that all the gratuitous violence of Maid War doesn't need a drop of censoring, but you can never tell if you've put enough censoring for even the slightest of ranchy anime scenes, says so much about what advertisers think is viewer friendly.

the manga for eminance in shadow is actually incredibly entertaining, without too much lewd stuff. Its actually funny, stll has good action, and has a surprisingly decent plot with a whole bunch of Irony. The whole series is based off the idea that "if you act like you know what you are doing, people will think you know what you are doing."

So I kinda binged Love Flops for... research. Episode 7 took it from extremely horny to 'WHAT THE HECK IS GOING ON' in less than 15 minutes. I am actually interested what's gonna happen

Akiba Maid war is one of the most pieces of art this year

I do like how this is less about "hey these shows are all rubbish and you shouldn't watch" and more "they are for a certain kind of fan, some will love, others will just laugh at"

"the one from the thumbnail" God that is the best and most perfect chapter I've ever seen on a KZfaq video. And it's exactly what I was looking for thank you

I started watching Love Flops just because I wanted some fun garbage show to enjoy. & then the beach episode happened & I realized… *oh no* *I’m invested*

Ok but if Love Flops actually goes the matrix route and is in a simulation, it’d be pretty sick. Update: Holy shit it actually did go the Matrix Route.

The tone shift Akiba Maid War has pulled in the last few episodes has been insane. The characters are better written than I wouldve expected

This was PROFOUNDLY entertaining. You've got yourself a hell of a style.

Love Flops is not harem anime. It is Doki Doki Literature Club the animation with ARG elements. A hidden gem so to say.

Every single line you said about Love Flops increased my trash hype for it by 100 fold.

Love Flops is the kind of harem where the makers said, "Let's just have some fun, screw making any basic sense." They took known tropes and ran with them to their logical conclusion. And as bad as it is, it'd be one of those anime you watch just to see what crazy and stupid thing they'll do next.

Coming back to this after having watched the latest episodes of Love Flops and PLEASE you guys need to watch it.

At the Start, I was right there with you on "eminence in shadow". However, I got carried away and started reading the manga. In so doing, I discovered its fatal flaw. When the running gag hits its expiration date, it goes from funny to rage inducing real quick. At that point, it also turns super depressing with how bad you start feeling for the shadow garden girls. In summery, I have now reached a point where any mention of this series makes me moan in emotionally induced nausea. So, for those of you who like this show, please be on the lookout for this threshold, and run the moment you reach it.

Akiba Maid War is my pleasant surprise of the season. I never in a million years would have thought an anime that mapped yakuza media plots/tropes/characters one for one to maids would exist, much less be this good. Plus the OP and the ED are delicious icings on the cake.

Beast Tamer is Dismissed from the hero's party meets Suppose a Kid from the Last Dungeon Boonies.

Love Flops' ending got me, man. Some of it is just so insane (the magic girl familiar got me and I seriously questioned my life choices) but it pulls your heartstrings like a ventriloquist.

Coming here after watching the most recent episodes of Love Flops. I started watching this show expecting hot garbage, as MB implies by putting it on this list - and it 100% starts out that way. But if you've ever seen what happens in Doki-Doki Literature Club, you might want to check out this anime as well.

I'm amazed you threw in Cid's "I am..." line, but it's so damned good that I have a hard time getting it out of my head.

Okay, I love how the ninja one pushed me from grossed out when you started, to “okay wait that actually sounds kinda funny”mana the premise got more ridiculous, to “nope never mind” when it got to the ninja school, to “wait oh my god I’m actually curious” once you got to ninja supply chains and the ninja economy.

Now that Love Flops episode 7 and 8 is out, I would like to suggest pushing it away from this list because now episode 1-6 makes so much sense it's depressing

When you just fucking dropped that whatever studio made Tears to Tiara I literally jumped and screamed. I have been looking for that fucking anime ever since middle school when I first watched it. No I don’t remember anything about the fucking plot I just wanted to listen the opening a million times again. It’s insane how I just randomly stumbled upon it now after 10-11 years with no luck and no idea of how to find it. God bless you. Anyways gonna finish watching the video jow

My mom's thoughts as we watched this together: During the ad: "Am I too old to get into video games? I like Animal Crossing and Doom." First anime: "Why are harems always straight? I know I'm not a wibble-" "You mean a weeb?" "Yeah, that. I know I'm not a wibble, but surely there's some bi people in Japan. Also, why aren't there every any interesting animal people? I'm tired of cats. An iguana now and again would be nice, you know?" Second anime: She paused the video and squealed at 7:36 because of the bear with a backpack, then went, "I want this guy's powers! And he seems like a nice guy. I hope he gets married, has a wonderful cottage on the outskirts of the village and lives happily ever after." Third anime: "This entire plot could be resolved with a threeway marriage between him, the girl he likes and someone from the ninja clan trying to kill him. But I guess that'd ruin the fun fight scenes." Fourth anime: "Did a fourteen year old write this? This feels like something I'd find in your computer history from when you were that age." "MOM!" "What? It's fine, I read VC Andrews books when I was that age." Later: "Ilya needs a hug. And therapy. I know I'm not licensed to practice in Japan, but she could just come here. Poor kid." Fifth anime: "Oooh. This anime is pretty. And I like the army being mostly women. That's nice. Um, not sure about the suicide bit, though. That's... well, I guess that lands differently in Japan. But if there's a psychologist he can find in his new universe, he might want to talk to them for a bit." Sixth anime: "This anime looks like being sleep deprived and anxious feels. Which makes sense. That was what the 90's were all like for me." "Mom, that's super concerning." "No, that's just college." PSA: "That sounds like a 90's riot grrrl band whose lead singer is a prettier boy than actual boys."

Akiba Maid War is genuinely such a fun anime lkadjflakjdfkd Also, thank you for cursing me with the knowledge that Vadge Rock exists.

To think that Akiba Maid War managed to somehow unironically earn top billet on both the "things to most watch" and "things to most avoid" lists.

It's gotten to the point where you can just glance at the design of the main character and tell if it's an Isekai or not

First exposed to Eminence in Shadow through the manga, I was quietly disappointed that the anime (which is unfortunately adapting the source light novels) wasn't as over-exaggerated as the manga. The anime does a satisfactory job but the manga truly elevates the ridiculousness to a whole new level whilst keeping the tension of the franchise's more serious moments. If anyone was mesmerized by this relatively unique show and doesn't mind looking at still pictures, I would personally recommend checking the manga out as a fresh medium to experience this show.

17:49 wait this is actually a brilliant character gimmick holy

Man I wish the third ones pitch stopped before the ninjas. it sounded like a legitamitly amazing concept about a kid wanting to experience being a high schooler, like imagine this really amazing popular kid who has perfect grades and dodges trucks but is severly naive because he’s never gotten to do normal teenage things fumbling trying to date this girl he’s never talked to before. I could see a really good romance coming of age anime anime there

Really surprised you didn't mention Akiba Maid War's amazing cold openings. They're so insane you have to watch the episode.

I have to say that Akiba Maid war is hilariously insane and absolutely batshit crazy, but very entertaining!

As if anyone is capable of outrunning Truck Kun, if Truck Kun wants you dead he'll run you over even if you're fleeing the galaxy at a thousand times the speed of light.

the thing that annoys me the most in shonibi no ittoki is that they expect a kid that didn't know ninjas existed to be able to do ninja stuff, his childhood friend litteraly ignores him when he asks for help with his equipment, because he should naturally know how to use it, somehow. It made me feel pain every time he would screw something up because i knew the whole situation could have been avoided if his clan just taught him all the stuff he needed, like every other clan did.

Beast Tamer is unironically one of my top 5 anime of the year partly because of the cat puns, but also because it's just so fun.

you know, when he said "If a pretty girl invites you back to her room on the first date, you probably aren't the first guy to be there, and there's probably still other guys hanging around." I assumed he meant that the protag was getting non-consentually pulled into a couple's cuckhold fantasy. Not that there were ninjas hiding under the bed waiting to kill him. 15:38 idk I think that custodial robot is probably onto something. It has malfunctioned in such a way that it has managed to pull back the veil, realize that it is in a shitty harem anime and has correctly identified that the love interests are, shocker, garbage. Its random bullshit like this that makes me constantly come back to the hottest trash videos despite the fact that I neither watch nor care about anime anymore.

Ya know Jeff ... Every season I watch a ton of anime and I try to figure out ahead of time if it's one that will appear on this list. I have been right exactly 0 times. Your pervasive skills at find and outlining what is the hottest trash is mind boggling and impressive. I look forward to this each season and then indulge is these anime. Thank you for your time and effort.

"We don't have battletoads" hiding there in the chapter titles like an ancient spell of meme judgment.

"I am ATOMIC" is arguably the best scene of the season. It was *chef's kiss*

The Eminence in Shadow is such a great show. It reminds me so much of The Misfit at Demon King Academy and frankly, thats a good book to take a page or 3 out of

15:44 I’m *sooo* tempted to make a white girls joke.

Yo, Renai Flops just finished and I gotta say, when _that_ moment happened in one of the prior eps, I was actually pretty thrown for a loop. No spoilers, but it actually ended up being pretty good. Well played on the writers, honestly.

As the first original series done by Troyca since Re:Creators, I was incredibly disappointed by "Not a ninja learns ninja things while everybody shows him how to be a ninja using ninja tools". Luckily, Akiba Maid War was the next thing I decided to check out. Holy hell, that first episode did not disappoint.

His Eminence in Shadow and Maid War look like they could be actually fun I got to say. An isekai that proved surprisingly decent this season is Reincarnated as a Sword. I did not expect much of it but it turned out to be a pretty good watch so far.

Your vids are soooo much better than most of the anime that you review - quicker and more fun! Thankyou and don't leave the basement!

i know its been a while, but i really just have to say, i love this segment. im so glad you started doing it.

Akiba maid girls is basically an side quest from the Yakuza series stretched out in a series. So it's glorious as expected.

*Regarding Shinobi no Ittoki* It made no sense for the mom to leave her son in the dark about being the heir to the ninja clan. Her terrible decision left him utterly uninformed, untrained, and unprepared, leaving him at a complete disadvantage against any and all opposing clans that she knew that he inevitably had to face.

The absolute glory and complete lack of irony that the team tackling 'Eminence in Shadow' approaches everything they present is pure gold. I'm glad the dumpsters are golden and I'm glad you recommended the show early in the season.

I really enjoyed that intro… well done my friend 👌🏾👨🏾‍🍳

love how the final two entrees were also in the best fall 2022 vid, goes to show how proper comedy makes everyone happy

I can’t tell you how happy I am that you talked about Akebi Maid War (again). Great video!!

No lie, what caught my attention about Beast Tamer was that the catgirl’s panties remained unseen no matter how many flip kicks she did. Honestly refreshing.

Bro your videos are always one of the best parts of every anime season. So thank you bro

17:18 We were on the verge of greatness. We were this close.

I forget the name of the show, but there’s an anime from I think 2016 or 2017 that was a pastiche “inside story” about an anime production studio that made a show that bombed spectacularly. I’d love for Geoff to do a clinical dive into stories about anime that had everything going for it, but some factor like direction, budgeting, marketing, or just plain not finding an audience, led to its downfall on the market.

12:09 thats a fucking 900 degree twist

I love Beast Tamer. Except the part where the main character "tames" sentient creatures. The girls all love him because he's the sweetest guy, and forming contracts with powerful creatures is an Isekai trope (see Moonlit Fantasy), but it still seems wrong. Fortunately it's so clean and wholesome that a few dirty jokes by one of the fairy twins is enough to make everyone blush. It's reminiscent of "Banished from the Hero's party" except that the entire party bad mouths Rein, whereas Gideon just had the crazy mage. What they did with the "hero" in Beast Tamer is fairly unique, too. My biggest problem with BT is not that Rein is OP, it's that he keeps pulling powers out of his butt. Not the borrowed abilities of his ultimate friends but new Beast Tamer abilities. First it was just that he's able to form temporary contracts with multiple creatures. Then he can also tame insects, then he can project his mind into one of his creatures, he can overwrite another's tamer's bond, and so on and so forth. Every new episode, he keeps breaking the rules of his class. If the writers wanted him to be able to do these things, they should have led into it, instead of just revealing it when it's needed. Anyway.... Beast Tamer is not trash, it's just another harem anime with some writing problems.

This get better and better. You are slowly merging “hottest trash” and “roast of” in places and I am here for it! (Though you owe me the cleaning bill for my shirt after I laugh/cough/choked/spat out my tea during the Ninja Hogwarts bit). A tip of the cap and a like button pressed for you my good man

Dodging Truck-kun is sacrilegious!

In France we have the uncensored version of Immoral Guild on ADN!

The Robot that identifies the girl as trash is the Technology this world needs, but doesn't deserve.

"the only point he got wrong is that the girls have demon blood, not hero blood" All i can say about this is HAHAHAHAHA Also Futoku no guild has some surprisingly good animation scenes for some fucking reason

Eminence in Shadow is the best comedy anime of the season and nobody can convince me otherwise

I just got here from your featured short. I'm entertained. Well played. I follow.

thank you for using the haruhi ost in this, brought back memories

Akiba made war is art. Glorious art

I appreciate you acknowledging just how wholesome Beast Tamer is. Sometimes we just need something nice that isn't groundbreaking but still fun/enjoyable and there's nothing wrong with that.

15:52 Probably the need to go to a hospital and question which deity I amgered that morning.

I really REALLY did not need the image and context behind 18:21 .

Eminence in Shadow is one of my favorite manga still in production. I cant get enough of its intentionally over-the-top plot twists and action scenes, cut with pure distilled edgelording.

I checked out the manga of The Eminence in Shadow and they were right, the director of the anime played everything completly straight but it is supposed to be a parody of edgy isekai mc's

The thing I don't get about "protagonist is kicked out of the hero's party for being weak only to become extremely overpowered within the next five minutes" is that it completely invalidates the entire plot. I remember one story had a guy get kicked out because a curse was causing him to become weaker over time meaning that he was actually becoming a burden to the party. The very next chapter he runs into a girl that cures his curse and he becomes super powerful again. You could have had an interesting story of a guy going on a desperate adventure to lift his curse with him becoming increasingly weaker and how he overcomes that with even a decent explanation on why the protagonist would suddenly get a massive powerup at the climax as his curse is lifted. Instead the plot is completely resolved within the first couple of chapters and it becomes a generic power-fantasy. In the case of this beast tamer anime it is even dumber. As you pointed out, the tamer has a wide range of abilities that make him an extremely useful in supporting the main fighters so the idea that the rest of the hero's party wouldn't realize that is ridiculous. There is also the question of how he even got recruited into the party in the first place if all the heroes value is combat ability. The cursed guy at least made sense as he started out very strong and would have eventually reached a point where he was a liability as his main method of contributing became more and more diminished. The only time I ever saw a story (I don't remember the name) use this plot in a mildly interesting way was a comedy. The two main characters were kicked out of the hero's party for not being strong enough so they swear to get revenge by becoming strong enough to overshadow the hero. The plot actually revolves around this as each fight is specifically seen as a way for the two characters to become stronger. The hero is also very strong as he is shown to be soloing monsters that would easily beat the characters at their current strength making him an actual goal and measuring stick for the protagonists to compare themselves to.

15:15 THE PROPHECY IS TRUE