I don’t tend to review a lot of shows on Anilist because I’m required to make the review at least a certain length, when usually I only have about a paragraph’s worth of things to say at most. For those I’ll just put them in notes. That and whenever a review isn’t preaching to the choir, say a negative review of something that is viewed positively, no matter how good of a point they make, it’s usually downvoted irregardless of review quality. Now sometimes it’s a case of a review actually being bad, my 20th Century Boys review spent way too much time talking about the negatives for something I gave a 9/10. But I wanted to bring all of this up because I do not expect people to like this review. This is a VERY positive review of a show that people don’t really like.

But I don’t care because I need to explain why this might be the most underrated anime I’ve seen so far in my life.

I didn’t think that when I first started, I doubt anyone did. I saw the first episode a few months ago, thought it was nonsensical trash but ENJOYABLE nonsensical trash. So I put it on my Plan to Watch because I thought I would like it in the same way that I like Future Diary, Killing Bites, or Ben-To: as dumb fun. Episode 2 follows suit, another HILARIOUSLY edgy episode that put a big smile on my face. Then the show kept going. And eventually I realized that 18if wasn’t trying to be edgy, at least not anymore. I started to understand what it was trying to do.

There are 13 episodes in 18if. Only the last three are connected. But most follow the same structural idea: Haruto Tsukishiro is a “dream lord” (there’s no actual name for what he does, but it’ll do for this review), who works with Katsumi Kanzaki to help bring girls out of “sleeping beauty syndrome”. That I did not make up for this review, they call it sleeping beauty syndrome when in reality it’s just a coma but all the patients are girls. Every episode is about these two “dream lords” going into the dreams of girls in comas and trying to get them out. Past that, there’s no real connected plot. Like real dreams, there are no rules. Anything, AND I MEAN ANYTHING, can and will happen.

The best way to categorize 18if is as an anthology series. But in the way that Space Dandy and Paranoia Agent are anthology series. The main characters stay the same but the situations and the people they meet are all up to whatever that week’s director feels like doing. Which makes sense when you consider who the chief director is: Koji Morimoto. This is the only TV series that he’s ever done, what he’s known for is his work in anthology movies. Robot Carnival, The Animatrix, Short Peace, Genius Party Beyond. He did the Magnetic Rose segment of Memories, which is most people’s favorite of the film. That should give you an idea that this is not about continuity. It’s about giving directors money and a 22 minute runtime to do whatever the hell they feel like.

So it should come to no surprise that a chief director who doesn’t care about continuity making a show about dreams leads to one of the most insane anime that I’ve ever watched.

THIS. SHOW. IS. FUN. If you take anything away from this review, it’s that this show is fun. Episode 3 is the only one that I would say has any semblance of normality. The rest are just crazy. Either the episode at its core is bizarre or it’ll be a heartwarming story with the MOST WTF ENDING! There is more than one episode like that! 18if gives me the feeling of a hypnotic fever dream that so many anime try to succeed at but end up failing somewhere down the road.

I haven’t really talked about the episodes themselves, mostly because that would spoil the fun. If you don’t need any more convincing then just go now, gather as many friends as you can, add alcohol if that’s what you’re into, and have a blast. But for those who need/want more convincing, I’ll vaguely say what my favorite episodes are.

• Episode 2 was the funniest episode. It’s super edgy, the editing was hilariously bad, if the whole show was like this I still would’ve liked it.
• Episode 5 told the best overall story. It’s the classic “fame is a nightmare” story but it’s portrayed well here. Probably my favorite 18if episode period.
• Episode 6 had the funniest ending. It was so monumentally dumb, I loved it.
• Episode 7 had the best visuals. IT WAS BEAUTIFUL! If you only watch one episode, make it this one.

18if is not perfect, but it took me on a journey that I’ll never forget. People say it’s hit or miss but the hits vastly outweigh the misses for me. If you want something different in your anime, well there’s nothing here that you’d be able to predict. When it wasn't dumb, it was gorgeous. Above all else, I had fun with 18if.