I can’t remember the exact one, but the finale of Akebi’s Sailor Uniform continues to live rent-free in my head. The visual quality there is pure excellence.

  • HubertManne@piefed.socialEnglish
    4·
    9 months ago

    I did not know anything about to your eternity and was really blown away by how much I liked it. I also found cells at work as being surprisingly good considering how little kiddish it appeared.

  • mesa@piefed.socialEnglish
    6·
    9 months ago

    Laid-Back Camp.

    It surprised me because I was waiting for a Madoka Magica moment and…welll…never happened. My whole family loves the series.

  • Trihilis@ani.socialEnglish
    5·
    9 months ago

    My Dress Up Darling. There is no other anime that fills me with joy so much as that series does. I loved the manga too.

  • darthelmet@lemmy.worldEnglish
    2·
    9 months ago

    Some of my favorite shows of the last few seasons have been unexpected. Off the top of my head right now the two I’m thinking of are Apocalypse Hotel and Snack Basue. I’ll maybe add some more later when I have time to look at my list to remind me.

  • missingno@fedia.io
    8·
    9 months ago

    I watched I’m in Love with the Villainess fully expecting trash, only to think “wait wtf I’m actually invested why is this good?”

  • Unboxious@ani.socialEnglish
    5·
    9 months ago

    I’ve seen plenty of great shows over the years but the most surprisingly great one would easily be Gundam Build Fighters. Since it’s a show about kids building plastic models and using sci-fi magic to fight them against each other I expected it to be little more than a soulless ad for Gunpla. What I found was an earnestly-written ode to the greatness of Gundam with some of the most charming characters I’ve ever seen. It actually ended up tying with Mobile Suit Gundam: The Origin as my favorite Gundam show which is completely insane given how low my expectations were going in. I almost didn’t watch it.

  • ElPsyKongroo@sh.itjust.worksEnglish
    2·
    9 months ago

    BanG Dream It’s MyGO. I’ve played the mobile game since around 2019 and have also seen the three original seasons before MyGO had come out. So I was familiar with the franchise, and while I enjoyed the 3 seasons, MyGO is way better! I was expecting more of the same, so I was pleasantly surprised.

    The reason I’m not saying Ave Mujica as well is because, after MyGO, my expectations were raised, so Ave Mujica wasn’t a pleasant surprise, but rather, simply pleasant. It was no longer a surprise.

    Also, to a lesser degree, this year’s Zenshuu was more fun that I expected.

  • Rai@lemmy.dbzer0.comEnglish
    11·
    9 months ago

    Made in Abyss. It sounded cool, I knew it had its issues, but holy shit the worldbuilding is top-tier.

    • Dearth@lemmy.worldEnglish
      2·
      9 months ago

      I thought it was a joke. I put it on to have background noise while i engaged in other hobbies. Now im watching season 2 fully engaged and i can’t wait for the new episode each week

  • redsand@lemmy.dbzer0.comEnglish
    8·
    9 months ago

    I don’t know that I would call Madoka a pleasant surprise. Actually in that vein Gushing over Magical Girls was pleasant.

  • I Cast Fist@programming.devEnglish
    1·
    9 months ago

    Taxi Driver. Pretty low stakes as far as anime goes, several mundane stories intertwined over a murder mystery that’s being hushed, but they are shown in a very compelling manner.