3×3

3×3 have taken this community by storm as of recent. And after literally no thought at all I decided to do it. To think I could take 9 anime that define my taste as a person, throw that trash online with a simple breakdown of each series! Free real estate!

Oh, wait, I have shit taste. Am I about to defend furries, child murder, child abuse, substance abuse, yuri lolis making out, heartbreak, and incest? You bet your ass I am, buckle up!

(These are in no specific order. I “may” do a list later but as of this writing this isn’t my 1-9)

1) To think, a young man with silver hair can royally fuck up a deal, I mean, THE HAIR is supposed to show wisdom and intelligence. But as it turns out sometimes even the best merchants need an assist from a god. Spice and Wolf holds a very dear place in my heart. It is quite literally wolf waifu teaches economics and the whole series is beautiful, from the animation all the way to the world. Spice And Wolf should be a series any anime fan should experience and it was an easy choice for my 3×3

2) Have you ever seen a distressed 10 year old repeatedly bash her head into a knife while a mutual watches crackling? Well, then you have seen some of this series. Higurashi When They Cry was my first real dabble in psychological horror and good god am I glad it was. A dark, violent, mystery that plagues a royal village that within itself seems to obey medieval rule. Higurashi’s world matched with the mystery was a perfect balance and I believe an all-time classic.

3) Your Lie In April made me cry a lot, I mean there isn’t a whole lot I can say about it. It told you what it was going to do, did it, and still destroyed me. Add the beautiful storytelling, animation, and overall premises, there is no way this heartbreaking banger wouldn’t be on this list.

4) Kiznaiver was one of the first trigger shows I was waiting for and watched weekly. With crisp animation, on-point OP, and a generally interesting idea of these kids sharing pain, it had the recipe. Then it mashed them together, threw in some spice, and made one of the best series in the last 5 years. And, I mean, Nori, what else would one want in life?

5) Oh yeah, Kirino. OreImo is without a doubt one of my all-time favorite series and I mean that unironically. What was written off as a sis con incest show I felt something different entirely. Yes, I mean, the main brother and sister clearly vibe, um, a lot, but what the series does well is showing otaku culture and how socially damning it could be. Add Kirino being the most adorable tsundere on the planet, a smart ass older brother Kousaka and a hell of a line up of supporting cast, it really bums me out how this series gets played off as a meme. Though this is coming from someone who watched OreImo 2 OVAs and fangirled, I might be broken.

6) Rascal Does Not Dream of Bunny Girl Senpai is actually a series I watched in 2020 even though it came out a while ago. I knew it was penned by the same author who wrote Pet Girl of Sakura Hall which I enjoyed, I also knew it blew the fuck up when it came out. So eventually coming around to it I was pleasantly surprised when I fell for the series, more so the Mai and Satuka. The banter, the characters, all of it I found it charming, funny, and overall enjoyable.

7) Darker Than Black was the show that captured my adoration for studio Bones, sci-fi action, and then broke my heart with one of the worst second seasons I can even fathom. Add with Hei is the only person I’ve ever cosplayed, this balls to the wall world full of contractors with different abilities really did leave an impression on my mind that I joyfully reflect on from time to time now, 11 some years later.

8) Fate/Kaleid Liner Prisma Illya, ah my second hot take behind OreImo, I am actually trying to kill my blog it seems. Being a Fate spin-off this series follows Illya, but instead of being obsessed with her bro Shirou (wait no she still is) she is a magical girl! The series follows her and two other magical girls as they overcome different things that occur in the fate spin off-world. Illya is just fun for me, it’s full of fan service, cool abilities, and fight scenes. It is one of the few series I think back on and is like “I don’t think I was ever bored with it”

9) Bleach, the one that started it all. By no means was Bleach the first anime I ever watched, but it was the one that hooked me. Watching one of the earlier episodes on Toonami one night something clicked. I immediately went to my computer, started from episode one pulling an all-nighter, then it was downhill from there.

And there you have it! The 9 anime I can confidently say I not only loved but would re-watch at any given time. Actually, as of writing this I have finished OreImo season one for the third time and started on OreImo 2, you know reviews will be following soon. And by all means, have a 3×3 yourself? let me know! I’d gleefully check them out. ‘

As always, thanks for the read!