January - March • 222 anime
Winter 2019 was one of those seasons where films and TV adaptations crowded the lineup, but a few shows actually stuck. Dororo offered a grim, kinetic samurai retelling with bold visuals, and Boogiepop and Others returned as a knotty, unsettling mystery that lingered.
My take on Winter 2019: it wasn't about quantity so much as a handful of projects that really tried something different. Dororo leaned into a raw, gothic take on its source—the animation and soundtrack gave Hyakkimaru's journey real weight, and the pacing let the darker moments land. Boogiepop and Others embraced a fractured, anthology approach; it wasn't always tidy, but its voice acting and eerie direction made the puzzle rewarding.
The season was unusually film-forward, so a lot of the big moments came in theaters. Fate/stay night: Heaven's Feel II showcased Ufotable-level polish and pushed the story into much darker territory, while My Hero Academia the Movie 2 stuck to what worked for fans—tight action and character beats for the main cast. There were comforting sequels too (Saiki and Code Geass brought nostalgia), and studios like Bones, Kinema Citrus and Production I.G all had moments where craft really showed.
