by Winter anime that you can’t help but watch
With the start of the winter 2025 anime season, some works are exciting with unexpected developments and direction. However, the continuous suspense may be exhausting if you are not used to watching anime regularly. Especially for those in their 40s and above, many people are looking for laid-back development and comedy rather than excitement.
For example, “Sorairo Utility” is a story about a high school girl looking for something that will make her “special” and discovering the sport of golf and learning the fun. In work, the main character “Aoba Minami (CV: Takagi Miyu)” lives a peaceful daily life with “Akane Haruka (CV: Amami Yurina )” and “Hoshimi Ayaka (CV: Goto Ayasa ),” whom she met through golf.
The story depicts how Minami’s golf skills, which were beginner’s, gradually improved through practice, making the story more realistic and closer to a daily life anime than a sports anime. People who like the anime “Oi! Tombo” are especially into it. Although the number of drinking parties is decreasing due to the COVID-19 pandemic that has continued since 2020, there are still company drinking parties such as New Year’s, year-end, and welcoming and farewell parties.
A work that reminds me of such drinking parties is “A Salaryman Goes to Another World and Becomes a Four Heavenly King” (omitted). The title might suggest that it originated from an online novel posting site like “Let’s Become a Novelist.” Still, the work is based on the same manga (original story by Benigashira, art by Muramitsu) and is not a “Narou” type.
The story is about the protagonist, “Uchimura Dennosuke (CV: Ono Yuki),” an office worker who struggles with repeated overseas assignments but is summoned by the demon king of another world and demonstrates the negotiation skills he has cultivated in the human world. Uchimura does not have the cheat abilities that are common in other-world anime. When Uchimura, who is stuck, fantasizes about a scene in an izakaya, a Showa era pop song is used, and in the first episode, Shizuka Kudo’s “MUGO・ん… 嬉しいぽっしー” plays. You may feel sick to your stomach watching Uchimura’s work not going well, but the melancholy izakaya scenery and the casual conversation between Uchimura and the manager will soothe you.
Another popular show is “The Villainess Reincarnated Uncle,” in which the main character, Tondenbayashi Kenzaburou (CV: Kazuhiko Inoue), is reincarnated as Grace Auverne (CV: M.A.O), a villainous young lady who appears in an otome game played by his daughter. This comedy is based on the manga of the same name (written by Michio Kamiyama ), and since it airs on the same Monday, it seems that viewers of “Salaryman Shitennou” are watching it back to back. Grace’s cheat ability is “elegant cheat,” which converts her words and actions into elegant manners, befitting a young lady.
The way Kenzaburo solves things with his years of experience is very different from other stories set in another world. Also, scenes where Kenzaburo, who has become Grace, watches over the heroine with a parental eye and rejoices that his worries, such as farsightedness, have been resolved by becoming younger, are likely to evoke heartwarming emotions and sympathy. Incidentally, the ending song was a surprising choice, a duet cover of Matsudaira Ken’s “Matsuken Samba II” by Kenzaburo and Grace, which attracted much attention on social media when it was first broadcast. All of the work can be enjoyed without tiring you out. They may be the perfect companions to watch while eating or drinking in the evening.
