The 20 Anime I Wanted To Watch In 2017: Have I Watched Them By 2023?

(Disclaimer: None of these images are mine, either!)

On New Year’s Eve of 2016, I wrote and posted a blog post where I listed 20 anime that I planned to watch in the coming year. (Well, 21, if you count an honorable mention.) However, I will admit that sometimes, not everything goes according to plan; some anime didn’t air until 2018, some anime I just didn’t get around to until later years, and some I still haven’t gotten around to at all. I should have made a follow-up blog post right when 2017 ended to list which ones I did and didn’t watch, but I didn’t really think about doing it until now. Thus, I’m here today to list my current watching status for the anime I said I would watch about six years ago and give my opinions on the ones I did watch (or at least, what I remember my opinions being at the time of watching). Without further ado, let’s get to the list!

1. Tari Tari (watched to completion)

I said in my previous blog post that I wanted Tari Tari to be the first anime I watched in 2017, and sure enough, it was. Heck, I watched the whole thing within the first week of the year! I even wrote a review for it after I watched it, where I praised its story, character development, and music, among other things; years later, it still holds a special place in my heart. I even find myself humming or singing the songs sometimes! I’ve also been interested in reading the manga, despite the lack of music there will obviously be, and given that it’s pretty short and a scanlation group known as Isla Execution Squad finished translating the manga into English earlier this year, I don’t have much of an excuse not to. If I manage to get out of my review-writing slump, I’ll definitely write a review for it; I want to see if I have a different opinion after all these years!

2. A Silent Voice (watched to completion)

Well, DUH, I watched it to completion; it’s a movie! Anyway, despite many things from the manga being cut out due to time constraints, my opinion on the movie was pretty similar to my opinion on the manga; it was a beautiful story with intriguing characters. Also, the animation was as beautiful as I expected; Kyoto Animation never disappoints in that department! To get to know my full opinion, you can read the review I wrote for the movie. (No, this won’t be the last anime on this list that I wrote a review for.)

3. Kobayashi-san Chi no Maid Dragon (watched to completion)

Like A Silent Voice, Kobayashi-san Chi no Maid Dragon was animated by Kyoto Animation, and also like A Silent Voice (and Tari Tari), I wrote a review for it after I watched it. When I watched it the first time, I absolutely loved it for the humor, animation, and characters, among other reasons. This series ended up getting a second season in 2021 - KyoAni’s return to making TV series after a certain fire happened - and to hype myself up for it, I ended up rewatching the first season. Admittedly, I didn’t enjoy it as much the second time around, although it might be because some of the controversy around it might have gotten to me. When the second season finally aired, though, I came to realize something; Kobayashi-san Chi no Maid Dragon is actually a funny and heartwarming show after all, Lucoa and Shota shenanigans and all. I didn’t write a review for the second season, but I did enjoy it a lot!

4. Attack on Titan Season 2 (watched to completion)

(SPOILER WARNING!)

Oh, if only the past version of myself could have known about the eventual shenanigans around the naming of the different parts of Attack on Titan’s final season. (Attack on Titan Final Season Part 3 Part 2: Eren-trical Boogaloo. Sorry, couldn’t resist.) Anyway, while I did watch the first episode of the second season when it came out, I didn’t get around to finishing it until years later; I guess since I was reading the manga, I didn’t feel an urgent need to catch up on the anime. As for my opinion on this season, I definitely liked it more than the manga; the animation and the sound definitely make the action sequences more compelling. I will say that I liked the way Reiner and Bertholdt were revealed to be the Armored and Colossal Titans were executed in the manga better, though; it was amusing to me how the panel where it was revealed had Hange and the other Survey Corps members front and center while Reiner, Bertholdt, and Eren were just in the background, with Reiner just making this HUGE reveal like it’s no big deal. Like, what the actual heck, Hajime Isayama?!?

On a side note, can we talk about how beautifully-animated the ocean scene at the end of season 3 is? Like, season 3 is the last season of Attack on Titan that Wit Studio animated, and they left us with something so freaking gorgeous!

5. Blue Exorcist: Kyoto Saga (partially watched)

Ah, here we go. Finally, we have an anime that I still haven't fully watched yet....though I am working on it! I watched episode 1 of this season back when it premiered, but for some reason, I never got around to watching more of it until recently to prepare myself for season 3. (As of the writing of this blog post, I am currently on episode 8 of season 2, and season 3 hasn't aired yet.) So far, I like it a lot; it's not quite as good as season 1, but the animation is definitely prettier here! Hopefully, I'll be able to finish it before season 3 comes out, but with a season 2 like this, I don't think I have much to worry about in terms of if I'll be able to catch up in time!

6. Saenai Heroine no Sodatekata ♭ (watched to completion)

(Oh, hey, a less risque picture this time!)

Continuing the original list's trend of second seasons is Saekano Flat, the second season of Saekano. I quite enjoyed the first season, despite not caring so much for episode 0 of it, so I was looking forward to season 2. For some reason, though, I started watching it late and finished watching it super late. Oops! Anyway, yeah, I also enjoyed season 2. Slightly more than the first, even; I didn't dislike episode 0 of season 2 as much as episode 0 of season 1! Since the second season ended, Saekano has also gotten a movie to conclude the series, although I didn't get around to watching it until last year. I regret waiting, though, since it was a great movie that gave the series a satisfying conclusion.

7. Netsuzou TRap (watched to completion)

UUUUUUUUUUUUUUUGH. I didn't even like the manga (although I did end up reading it all the way through); why did I have to watch the anime? For the yuri? PSH! I dropped Yuri Kuma Arashi before I even knew Netsuzou Trap was a thing, and that was a yuri anime, too! As you can probably guess from this reaction (and the review I wrote), I did not like this anime. In fact, I liked the anime less than I did the manga! At least the manga, if I remember correctly, didn't have Fujiwara explicitly say that he "hates girls but likes the sex"! (I don't care if that's a spoiler. It ticked me off so much when he said that, and it still ticks me off now.) I said back when I made that first blog post that I hoped that somehow, Netsuzou Trap would manage to be a good anime. Well, guess what, past me? IT DIDN'T. Moving on.

8. Citrus (watched to completion)

Now, here's a yuri anime that I actually liked! (At the time of watching, at least.) I said that I wanted to watch Citrus in 2017, but I didn't simply because it didn't end up airing until January 2018. When it did premiere, though, watch it I did; in fact, it was one of only two anime I kept up with that season and the only one of the two I was watching from the beginning! (The other one, How to Raise a Mummy, was one that I started later on and had to catch up on.) I ended up really liking it; I liked the drama and the progression of Yuzu and Mei's relationship, even if the fact that they're stepsisters made it kind of weird. I'm clearly in the minority of this opinion, though, as it has a score of 6.45 on MyAnimeList, which is not a good score by MAL standards. Oh, well! I personally liked it enough to buy a digital copy of the first volume of the manga, so there's that!

9. Full Metal Panic! Invisible Victory (watched to completion)

The fourth (third?) season of Full Metal Panic was similar to Citrus in that I couldn't watch it due to it not airing in 2017; it ended up premiering during the Spring 2018 season. Unlike Citrus, though, I didn't finish Full Metal Panic IV at the time it actually finished; the recap episodes after episodes 4 and 8 took a while to be added to MAL's database, and for some reason, that led to me putting it on-hold until earlier this year. At least I had the light novel series to read the entirety of during that time! (Hilariously, a sequel series about Sousuke in his 40's was announced literally the day after I finished the original light novels. Hopefully, it gets an English translation, because I kind of want to read it!) As for Invisible Victory, it was a solid adaptation of volumes 7-9 of the light novels, although it is one of the weaker FMP seasons, mostly due to the CGI mechs not looking the best. I guess the CGI thing was foreshadowing to Xebec shutting down in 2019. Or maybe not. Anyway, FMP is good and remains good with this season.

10. Eromanga-sensei (partially watched)

FINALLY, an anime I could watch during 2017! So did I watch it? Yes, I did - I watched a whopping one episode of it! You see, I kind of started Eromanga-sensei late in the spring 2017 season and ended up not getting around to catching up. Now, it sits in the On-Hold section of my anime list, at the risk of being dropped. Why do I say that? Well, earlier this year, I decided that, to cut back on anime I have to worry about finishing, I would start whatever anime I had on my On-Hold list and only had watched one episode of over and drop it if I decide that I don't want to watch it after two episodes. Eromanga-sensei is one of them, and it's at an especially high risk, since I remember not caring for the first episode that much. Perhaps I might revise that opinion if I started over? Either way, I still haven't finished Eromanga-sensei yet.

11. Suzuka (partially watched)

My opinion of Suzuka, as I remember it, is definitely more positive than my opinion of Eromanga-sensei, though I remember just finding it okay. Even so, to this day, I've only seen four episodes of it, and it has been On-Hold for years. I do intend to actually finish it, though, instead of possibly dropping it. I have to if I'm going to watch Fuuka at some point! (Well, maybe I don't actually have to, but in my mind, I have to!) Maybe I'll read the manga while I'm at it. I don't know.

12. Yuuki Yuuna wa Yuusha de Aru: Yuusha no Shou + Washio Sumi no Shou (haven't watched)

Well, in regards to the Washio Sumi part, I did watch the movie trilogy, but not the series. I mean, the movies have the exact same content, but even so, I do intend to watch it at some point. I just haven't yet. I haven't watched The Hero Chapter yet, either, though I do intend to. I don't know how I haven't watched either of them yet, though, given how much I loved the first season of Yuki Yuna is a Hero! *looks at how long it took me to watch each of the Washio Sumi movies* Oh, that's how.

13. White Album + White Album 2 (both watched to completion)

In my previous blog post, I put White Album and White Album 2 together because I wanted to watch both equally, but technically, I watched both of them at different times. I watched both seasons of the original White Album during winter break of my senior year of high school (so basically, the end of 2017 to the beginning of 2018); since I was going to audition to sing "Powder Snow" for a special performance during a choir concert, it only felt right to actually watch the anime it came from. Maybe it's the Nana Mizuki and Aya Hirano bias talking, but I liked it a lot more than most people would. (Yayoi can go die in a fire, though. Also, Touya can go sit in a dumpster for a night.) White Album 2, on the other hand, I started not long after finishing White Album 1, but for some reason, I put it On-Hold after episode 1 and didn't get around to finishing it until late last year. For me, it was either finish it or watch Abunai Sisters as the first anime I watched in 2023. (Unfortunately, I ended up watching Abunai Sisters, anyway. It just happened much later in the year.) I'm not sure if I would say whether White Album 2 was better than White Album 1 or not, but I did like it a lot. I also hope it gets the official English translation treatment like White Album 1 did! (Yes, I know an English patch exists. No, I don't care.)

14. Kamichama Karin (haven't watched)

Oops, wrong picture.

Man, I just can't get around to watching Kamichama Karin, can I? Like, I really liked the manga and have wanted to watch the anime for the longest time, but I just haven't done it! What the heck is wrong with me?! You know what? That's it! If I don't at least start watching Kamichama Karin by the end of 2023, I'm watching Shoujo Tsubaki! Yes, you read that correctly! I'm watching ero guro if I don't start watching this sugary sweet anime by the end of this year! SO THERE!

15. Higurashi no Naku Koro ni (watched to completion)

Well, the "watched to completion" part is only referring to the first season; I've started Kai, but I've only watched three episodes so far. In regards to the first season, though, I didn't watch it in 2017. I started it in 2020, when Higurashi Gou was announced, and after putting it On-Hold for a time, I got around to finishing it earlier this year. Despite the break I took in watching it, I did enjoy it quite a bit. The animation wasn't the best, but the story was interesting, and the characters were pretty likable when they weren't being psychos! I also like Higurashi Kai so far, and I would like to watch more of it at some point!

16. Fate/stay night: Unlimited Blade Works (partially watched)

Admittedly, I only marked it as "partially watched" because AniList says that since I watched episode 0 back in 2014, I have started watching Unlimited Blade Works; if it wasn't for that, I would have marked it as "haven't watched". Again, I don't know whether to blame Zero or Prisma Illya for that, since I still haven't finished either one. Well, at the very least, I can promise one thing; I will get around to watching Unlimited Blade Works before I even think about watching any other anime in the Fate franchise that I haven't watched yet. Hopefully, fate doesn't have other plans for me. (Yes, the pun was intentional.)

17. Rewrite 2nd Season (watched to completion)

Once again, the second season of Rewrite was an anime I started when it first came out but didn't get around to finishing until much later. Perhaps that break might have affected my opinion of it; I liked the first season of Rewrite, despite the fact that most people didn't, but I thought the second season was on the higher end of average for me. I don't really know why I feel this way; I just do. This opinion hasn't affected my desire to play the visual novel, though, and since Rewrite+ is available with an official English translation, I actually can now! I just need to get around to buying it....

18. Luck and Logic (watched to completion)

I wanted to watch this solely because NateWantsToBattle voices the main character in the English dub, and sure enough, I started watching it as soon as I found out the English dub was out. Admittedly, though, I don't remember a whole lot about it. I mean, I remember that it wasn't as bad as people said it was, but I also don't remember finding it anything special, either. It was just okay. In regards to any specific details, though, I don't remember a whole lot. Maybe that says something about how I really felt about it. Oh, well. At least Nate did a good job as Yoshichika!

19. Ichigo 100% (watched to completion)

I actually didn't get around to watching this until last year, and funny enough, I started watching this on Halloween! Like, this has to be one of the least spooky anime there is out there (unless you're scared of fanservice), and I started watching it on Halloween! Anyway, yeah, I can say that the manga was definitely better, even though it's been years since I read it. In fact, I think the anime made me gain a newfound appreciation for the manga that's a little bit hard to explain. In any case, this anime was not that enjoyable and was kind of rushed story-wise. I ended up liking the OVAs more than the main series, and that's not a good sign!

20. Inu x Boku SS (haven't watched)

Earlier this year, I read "Watashi no Ookami-san", a manga created by Cocoa Fujiwara, and thought it was pretty cute; however, I still haven't gotten around to watching the anime adaptation of one of her more well-known works, Inu x Boku SS. I don't even have any particular reason for this; I just haven't gotten around to it, despite the fact that I tried watching episode 1 years ago but never finished the episode. (I don't count myself as having started an anime until I've watched the entirety of episode 1.) Hopefully, I'll get around to it soon.

Honorable Mention: Nekopara (watched to completion)

I made the Nekopara OVA an honorable mention because I was unsure if it was even going to come out in 2017. Funny enough, it did come out in 2017 when two of the anime on the actual list didn't! Anyway, when the OVA was released on Steam, I bought it, watched it, and thought it was very cute. Since it came out, there has been another OVA and a TV series released. I watched the second OVA and also thought it was cute, but I haven't gotten around to watching the TV series yet. Maybe I'll get around to it once I get around to finishing the first volume of the visual novel series! Maybe.

Out of these 21 anime, I have watched 18 of them, with 14 of them having been watched all the way through! Given how much I tend to hold off on watching or finishing anime, as well as the fact that I've also watched a ton of other anime during all of that time since New Year's Eve of 2016, that's actually pretty impressive. Now, if only I can get around to watching the ones I haven't.... You know, maybe when New Year's Eve rolls around this year, I'll do another list of anime I want to watch in 2024! I'll just have to think of what I want to watch next year....