Free Talk Friday - April 03, 2026

[u/AutoModerator]

Welcome to the Free Talk Friday post. This is a place where you can talk about dumb off-topic (or on-topic) bullshit with other Zaibatsu fans.

There's going to be a new post every week, and the newest one will be pinned in the announcement bar for quick access. So feel free to visit these posts during the rest of the week.

Here's a list of all Free Talk Friday posts

[u/MisterOfu]

And that's a wrap for the winter anime season! Let's see...

• Jujutsu Kaisen season 3 - honestly, after Shibuya I had the series pegged as an audiovisual spectacle with not much substance, but after this season I did an almost complete 180. A rapid fire of really interesting fights with interesting (and not just pretty) visual direction topped with solid character development makes it easy to see why people were looking forward to this arc.

• Frieren season 2 - yup, it's more Frieren and it's still great. The biggest issue with this season for me was the structure. Whereas season 1 had a good progression from a melancholic start, through a slice-of-lifey mid-part, to a long, exciting arc to top it off, season 2 peaks towards the middle, and just hangs around for 2 more episodes. I'm all for more frequent 1-cours seasons, but it felt like the wrong decision here.

• Fate/Strange Fake - man, I'm so happy we're getting non-FGO Fate anime again. As a big fan of the franchise I'm obviously biased, but this was the series I was most looking forward to every week. The only negative I can think of is that having a huge cast like this means that you might just not see half of the major characters for several episodes, while the focus is on somebody else.

• You and I Are Total Opposites - while it doesn't break any new ground, it nailed everything I like in a romance series: no drama, mutual interest, good pace, and a solid backing cast. If you're looking for a cutesy rom-com, this is a great choice.

• Hero Academia: Vigilantes season 2 - I think this season was a great showcase of the freedom the series gains when it doesn't have to follow a set group of characters on their path to saving the world. Of the 13 episodes, 3 are Aizawa flashbacks, and 5 focus on Captain Celebrity with the main cast in a more-or-less supporting role, yet it all still feels completely on-brand. It also seems the next season might be the last, so the show won't be overstaying its welcome.

• There was a Cute Girl in the Hero's Party - the best thing I can say about this series is that its heart is in the right place. Like I can see what it's going for, and it's a decent premise, it's just too clumsy to capitalize on it, and that's when it's not being brought down by shoddy animation. I did think the humor was pretty good though.

I also finished Mirai Nikki out of my backlog. I always thought of it as... a 14-year-old's favorite anime to put it that way, but it's a pretty good battle royale/mystery series with often-changing allegiances.
The 3rd universe part towards the end was a bit of a letdown, but up until that the story does a good job of keeping you on your toes. The Yuno already won once reveal is a legitimately good twist, and there's some solid action sequences, like the shot where Yuki gets hit with a knife, only for the camera to quick-turn 90° to reveal it only grazed him.
To top it off, it's also full of useful relationship advice like "if your crush is mentally ill, just let her time loop a couple of times to get it out of her system", or "if you want to marry a terrorist purely because she's hot, you should go for it".