9 Anime to watch during the year-end and New Year's holidays! 9 anime recommended by Akiba Research Institute professional reviewers

In fact, "professional reviewers" such as writers, anime-loving musicians, and TV personalities are posting their reviews there one after another.

So, this time, we will introduce the reviews of "especially recommended anime" selected by these professional reviewers from among the reviews they posted in 2023. If you are curious about what kind of anime these reviews are about, please read them in their entirety at the links below, and after watching the full-length anime, please write your own reviews!

Shinichi Yanamoto / Writer

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Freelance writer who loves the outpouring of individuality and power. Author of "Super Shit Games" and "Super Nintendo Entertainment System" (both co-authored). He also writes articles on games for Akiba Research Institute.

Active in the subculture scene, including anime and games, Mr. Arjamoto's reviews are truly strong style! He is an anime fan's choice for anime fans, and you can't go wrong with any of the works he reviews. He has chosen a well-balanced selection of old and new works.

Mobile Suit Gundam: MS IGLOO -Revelation 0079- Vol. 1 "I Saw a Sea Field Above Jaburo

(Review excerpt) This work is a story of people struggling in the midst of destruction. The war in "Mobile Suit Gundam" has ended in the defeat of Zeon, and the fantastic weapons do not make a spectacular appearance.
For Gundam fans, this is a historical fact that needs no reiteration. The members of the test unit and the test pilots involved in the fantastic weapons are all human and sympathetic people. Knowing the historical fact of their demise, we can feel their radiance and love for them.

Jojo's Bizarre Adventure: Golden Wind

(Review excerpt) Even those who cannot live honestly have beliefs and willpower, which shimmer in the darkness of private battles. There is a melancholy drama in this film, and this melancholy is the clear difference between the previous "JoJo's" and this film.
Hirohiko Araki, the author of the original manga, is a movie buff who has written several books on movies, and this time he has brought the mood of a gangster movie into shōnen manga.

Chargeman's Lab!

(Review excerpt) Perhaps due to the low production budget, the short 10-minute program was frequently oversimplified and unnecessarily stretched. In order to settle the story in a short period of time, every aspect of the story is affected.
The most striking example is the character of Ken. He is a child attending what appears to be an elementary school, but he is terrifying because he can overpower a boxer with a history of murder with his bare hands, shoot dead a Dural alien without mercy (even if he was disguised as a human just before), and instantly dump a bombed-out human from a plane. The Dural aliens, who are supposed to be the invaders, are more human than the Boxers.

Iriksan Samejima / comedian, DJ

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The "non-frieza" of the comedy duo BAN BAN BAN, Ichirokuzo and his partner launched the anime song DJ event "Anime Song Disco" in 2010, playing anime songs at various venues both in Japan and abroad. He is a member of Yoshimoto Kogyo.

Mr. Samejima, who is active as a comedian, is also the leader of the anime song DJ event "Anime Song Disco. He meticulously checks out anime each season and incorporates respect for the full-length anime into his DJ performances. His reviews are written in a unique style, basically recommending anime to his mother. She says, "What? You're recommending this to your parents? to the reviews that will make you cry a little, check out his ever-changing style of writing!

Wandering in Another World with Outrageous Skills

(Review excerpt) I felt the essence of cooking when I watched this anime. (Excerpt from the review) When I watched this anime, I could somehow feel the essence of cooking. I felt that anything is fine as long as it makes the other person happy.
Now that your father is long gone, I wonder what your mother eats every night. I'd be happy if she's eating something she enjoys.
I haven't been home at all, but the next time I do, I'm going to have dinner with my mom instead of going out to eat with my friends.

Buddy Daddies

(Review excerpt) This anime stars two "hit men" who happen to take care of a 4 year old girl.
The setting sounded interesting, so I started watching it. I was expecting that the two guys would join forces to protect the girl! I was expecting a story like that, but it wasn't. But it wasn't.
In the beginning, they both want to be free from child-rearing as soon as possible, but gradually they become fathers. But then they started to become fathers, and they became more and more aware of their fatherhood.
Watching this anime, I began to wonder if I was doing a good job of being a "parent. I never thought I would feel that way after watching an anime.

The big brother is finished!

(Review excerpt) Mom. Have you seen this for a minute? I'd like you to take a look if you want.
Well, I was a little hesitant about asking you to watch it, but I feel like my reviews are no good if I don't recommend something like this. There's no point. It's so good. You're done, bro! This is so good!
I think my review will only make sense if I write something that makes your mom want to watch this anime.

Natsuki Sakamoto / Musician

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After playing in the bands Chirinuluowaka, She Her Her Hers, and Over The Top, Sakamoto has worked as a studio musician and producer for Creepy Nuts, DE DE MOUSE, HOME MADE Family, reGretGirl, Sour Girl Sayuri, Shiori Niiyama, Hoshimachi Suisei, Minami, and many others.

Active at the forefront of the music industry, Sakamoto is no stranger to anime. In particular, in 2023, Subway Daydream worked on "Mouichipon! He worked with the band on the arrangement of the OP theme "Stand By Me. Since he actually worked on the anime song, his review also uses the song as a hook. The review is a must-see, as it reminds us once again about the relationship between the main anime and the anime songs!

Jigoku Sensei Nube

(Review excerpt) In addition to the traditional Jump concepts of friendship, hard work, and triumph, the story incorporates horror, urban legends, ghost stories, romantic comedy, culture, and sex appeal, with a rich variety of plot twists and turns, and a cast of highly individualistic characters. Now that I am an adult, I am watching from the perspective of Nu~Bee, and I am always moved by the story.
Such a mixed worldview, to use a musical term, is strongly expressed in the OP song "Bari Bari Saikyou No.1.

Kaguya-sama ga Kesshirasai -Ultra Romantic-.

(Excerpt from the review) The amount of effort that went into creating the ED video, which was specially composed separately from the main story, is breathtaking.
Generally, the ED images are linked to the lyrics and contents of the ED songs, but in the case of the Kaguyasama series, I feel that they are composed as music to color the images. That is why you can enjoy the series not as a mere ED but as a visual work of art.

Unemployed Tensei II ~If I go to another world, I'll get serious~ (Cool 1)

(Review excerpt) LONGMAN sings with a realistic passion that makes you feel that it is because they are a band that the main character, Rudeus, has taken a step forward while struggling and suffering.
Anyway, the chorus is so good! The melody, which anyone can hear and be attracted to as a chorus, and the lyrics, which make the melody groove more comfortably with words that make you want to hum along, are all pushed and fused together to such a degree of hardness that the message penetrates deeply. It is not "penetrate," but "permeate. Because it fills you up and stays with you, it makes you feel hot to the core.