Dear lord, is the season really halfway over already? Well folks, we’re somehow here, and I think it’s about time to take stock of the season so far. Traditionally, I’ve used these halfway point articles as a way to informally rank all my ongoing shows; more recently, I’ve decided that particular gag has far outlived its theoretical charm, and am now happy just to break down my overall thoughts on each seasonal contender. The seasonal halfway point is a pretty silly time to rank shows, but it’s actually a very reasonable time to more generally assess them; with shimmering premieres long in the past and thrilling finales far in the future, it’s at this point that shows demonstrate their true stamina, their ability to keep us engaged week after week.

As for this particular season, I’m still more than content with my sturdy mix of sports dramas, action spectacles, and SSSS.Gridman’s tokusatsu-slanted weirdness. I’m not sure this season has one highlight I love as much as summer’s Planet With or winter’s Violet Evergarden, but the overall quality of my watch schedule is very high – this is a season marked not by highs and lows, but by perpetual consistency. That doesn’t mean I don’t have much to talk about, of course; even if everything I’m watching is pretty darn good, it’s all pretty darn good in its own unique way. With that, let’s start with this season’s most venerable franchise, and break down Fall 2018!

I heard a lot of trepidation leading into this season of JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure, as Golden Wind seems to have something of an ambiguous reputation within the JoJo catalog. Six episodes into the new season, I have to assume that if Golden Wind truly is a bad arc, it’s hiding its badness somewhere far down the line. Golden Wind is so far easily one of the best JoJo arcs to date, building on both Araki’s increasing creativity when it comes to Stands and improved writing when it comes to characters to present a story that’s as wild, inventive, and emotionally engaging as any JoJo so far. Giorno himself is possibly the single most compelling JoJo protagonist we’ve met; a sympathetic rogue with a sympathetic motivation, uniquely analytical approach to combat, and welcome streak of ruthlessness.

Beyond what Araki brings to the table, Golden Wind’s shift in adaptation aesthetic has turned out very nicely as well. I was initially worried Golden Wind’s linework-heavy approach would be unsustainable over a long production, and that still may turn out to be true, but stunners like this most recent boat fight have more than demonstrated the unique appeal of Golden Wind’s look. Golden Wind has hit the ground running and offered top-tier JoJo shenanigans from episode one, and I’m eager to see where Araki takes us next.

Continuing from JoJo itself to one of JoJo’s most thrilling successors, this season of Thunderbolt Fantasy has also proven itself to be a rip-roaring good time. The second season’s first few episodes struck me as a little slow and talk-heavy, but now that this season established all of its various pieces, it’s been basically one breathless series of over-the-top arguments and thrilling battles since. Gen Urobuchi’s ability to write dialogue that is simultaneously hilarious, full of personality, and genuinely thought-provoking at the same time is really something, and productions like this almost make me feel like he’s actually more suited to silly drama than the heavy stuff. Meanwhile, it feels like Pili International Multimedia have also stepped up the quality of their direction and effects work, leading to dynamic fight scenes that legitimately keep me on the edge of my seat. From its wonderfully larger-than-life characters to its tongue-in-cheek humor and outrageously good puppet acting, Thunderbolt Fantasy’s sequel may actually be on track to eclipse the original.

Moving over to the sports dramas, in a season defined by consistency, Run with the Wind feels like consistency’s own mortal avatar. The show demonstrated convincing dialogue, strong sound design, and an overall compelling sense of atmosphere throughout its first episode, and ever since, it has continued to very steadily demonstrate all of those specific things. The show’s drama moves slowly, and it often proceeds more with the pacing and priorities of a slice of life than a high-stakes sports show, but all of that feels very appropriate to its own meditative thoughts on running. Run with the Wind is not a show about coming in first – it’s a show about more fully connecting with the spaces and people around you, and discovering the joy of simply pushing yourself to places you didn’t think you could go. The show rarely dives all that deeply into any one character’s psychology; it’s happier to celebrate the incidental moments they share and quiet bonds between them, creating a sense of camaraderie that pulls me right there onto the track with them. I suppose the best praise I could give for Run with the Wind is that every time I watch an episode, I am almost inescapably compelled to go out on a jog of my own.

Meanwhile, Tsurune hasn’t demonstrated quite the consistency of execution that Run with the Wind manages seemingly without effort, but has still offered its own share of engaging highlights. The show hasn’t really been able to match the aesthetic glory of its premiere since, but even a second-string Kyoto Animation production is still full of lively character acting and evocatively composed key moments. My biggest issue with Tsurune so far is that I feel the show is somewhat stranded between a few priorities that don’t all necessarily work together. Tsurune’s recently slowed pacing and focus on endearing but relatively simplistic friendships all feel appropriate for a slice of life show, but that appeal doesn’t feel terribly compatible with either its close focus on Minato’s psychology, or its pretensions as a sports-focused drama.

The show’s priorities seem to be slice of life stuff first, Minato second, archery third, and because of that, I haven’t really felt engaged by the show’s actual archery-focused sequences. Meanwhile, the archetypal goofiness of characters like Kaito feels pretty out of place next to Minato’s more serious narrative, and results in some awkward tonal disconnects. These issues have kept me a little emotionally distant from Tsurune, but I’m hopeful that the upcoming archery composition will pull together all its various strands into a greater whole. And meanwhile, I’m happy to enjoy beautifully illustrated squabbles between these endearing archery idiots.

Finally, SSSS.Gridman is the season’s true wildcard, grappling with a strangely compelling and often absurd merger of carefully observed coming-of-age drama and enthusiastic tokusatsu excess. It’s almost like the show is two shows; Rikka’s melancholy journey to finding friends and enjoying her life, contrasted against Yuta’s thinly characterized clashes with a variety of giant rubber monsters. You can probably guess which of these two shows I like more, but the show’s recent turn towards explaining its own worldbuilding could very likely form the bridge between these modes. In the meantime, Rikka’s half by itself is probably one of my favorite shows of the season – I love how well Gridman illustrates the tedious anonymity of her hometown, and how well it captures all the distinct shades of hope, malaise, and cynicism that encompass the teenage experience. If Gridman can eventually extend the same thoroughness of characterization to Yuta that it consistently offers Rikka, it could turn out to be a genuinely great and lasting production. In the meantime, I’m still pretty okay watching the Being A Teen Is The Worst/Giant Robots Are Awesome double feature it’s currently offering.