Whilst the summer movie season is pretty much nothing but sequels, superhero films, and stoner comedies, the summer anime season…isn’t any better.
It’s that time of the season when I’ve reviewed pretty much all the popular anime and thus am forced to talk about mediocre dreck that no one cares about until the shows this season wrap themselves up. Well, there is the new Girls Und Panzer film, but I don’t think my opinion matters in regards to that. Cute girls. Tsutomu Mizushima. The concept of tanks in general. The fact that it’s just the series all over again except attached to a paint-by-the-numbers sequel plot to try (and fail) to make it more epic in a manner that almost rivals the new X-Men movie. That’s not my speed in the least bit. I mean I did watch it and could complain about the stupid use of in medias res so that we have to see the characters fight a random team for twenty minutes without any clarification on why I’m supposed to care and how it mattered to the plot in any way, but apparently we live in a world where a guy cheering that his house got blown up is considered funny, so fuck that.
But I’m not really up for reviewing Haruchika right now either, so instead let’s look at the upcoming season now that everyone is starting to take notice of it. It’s…well I won’t say it looks as bad as last year’s summer (although that season had Rick and Morty, which automatically makes it better than most seasons), but I don’t see it being an improvement on Spring. Keep in mind I’m not covering the shorts since I don’t watch them, nor the movies due to issues with getting them subbed and all.
Also, special thanks to Anichart for providing access to all the material I plagiarized for this post.
What I’m Avoiding Like The Plague
Love Live! Sunshine!!
Synopsis: Do I really have to give a synopsis for Love Live at this point in time?
If you want a blog that talks about the majestic-ness of idols, go somewhere else.
Arslan Senki: Fuujin Ranbu
Synopsis: The Heroic Legend of Arslan event “Yashasiin! Carnival” announced on Sunday that a new television anime will premiere in 2016.
Didn’t keep up with the first season because of my fantasy-bias. Heard the production let it down in a “more tolerable but still not good” Crimson Moon kind of way. For those who stuck with the show, I hope the studio improves things with this installment.
D.Gray-man HALLOW
Synopsis: It is announced at the Jump Festa 2016 event that a new TV anime adaptation of Katsura Hoshino’s dark fantasy action manga series D.Gray-man is in the works for a 2016 premiere.
I never liked D. Grayman as a kid. As soon as Allen joined that Soul Society-esque organization, my interest dropped like a rock and I never even finished the first volume or tried out the anime. And there’s no way I’m gonna try to get back into it now.
Fate/kaleid liner Prisma☆Illya 3rei!!
Synopsis: Direct sequel to Fate/kaleid liner Prisma☆Illya 2wei Herz!.
Hell. No.
BINAN KOUKOU CHIKYUU BOUEIBU LOVE! LOVE!
Synopsis: Season two of Binan Koukou Chikyuu Bouei-bu Love!
Nah.
FUDANSHI KOUKOU SEIKATSU
Synopsis: The comedy depicts the daily life of Sakaguchi, a high school boy and also a “fudanshi” who loves boys-love stories. Fudanshi is a wordplay on fujoshi (literally, “rotten girls”) — the slang for women who love boys-love/yaoi stories.
Unless this show is really funny, which I seriously doubt, then I don’t see a reason for me to watch this. Don’t care about BL and I never will.
Amaama to Inazuma
Synopsis: Having lost his wife, math teacher Kouhei Inuzuka is doing his best to raise his young daughter Tsumugi as a single father. He’s pretty bad at cooking and doesn’t have a huge appetite to begin with, but chance brings his little family and one of his students, Kotori Iida, together for homemade adventures. With those three cooks in the kitchen, it’s no wonder this dinner table drama is so delicious.
I think Bobduh is praising this in his own season preview (which he put out the same time as mine. Prick). Go ask him to write about it. I personally can’t be assed.
Ange Vierge
Synopsis: The story of the Ange Vierge trading card game follows what happens when “Hairou” portals suddenly open, fusing three different worlds together. As a result, various mysterious “Exceed” powers are awakened in teenaged girls. An academy for these so-called “Progress” girls is built on the isolated Seiran Island in the Pacific.
I don’t even like the battle harem stuff. Why on earth would I like it when you remove the male from the equation?
NEW GAME!
Synopsis: Meet Aoba Suzukaze, a fresh high-school graduate easily mistaken for a middle school student who joins the game company that produced her favorite game as a 3D artist, and her cute antics as she gets her way through work and deals with her rather wacky co-workers.
Not watching a cute girl show.
Hatsukoi Monster
Synopsis: When fifteen-year-old Kaho Nikaidou leaves her sheltered home to start life anew in a Tokyo high school dormitory, the last thing she expects is to nearly get hit by a truck! Saved in the nick of time by a handsome stranger, Kaho falls head over heels for him and, after finally tracking him down, boldly confesses her feelings. Turns out Kaho’s mystery savior, Kanade, is the son of Kaho’s new landlord! The handsome object of Kaho’s affection agrees to go out with her, but her newfound bliss is short-lived when it turns out that her new boyfriend…is a fifth-grader?!
This show lost me the moment I read those last three words.
handa-kun
Synopsis: Anime adaptation of the manga that takes place six years prior to the events of Barakamon, detailing the life of Seishuu Handa as a high school student—and a very interesting life it is. In Handa-kun, Seishuu Handa is admired by his peers as a calligraphy genius and given the utmost respect, but Handa-kun himself is under the mistaken impression that the deference and attention he receives from the other students is actually bullying. Handa just wants to live a quiet life, but hilarity ensues as one character after another challenges his position as the school idol, and somehow comes away as a fan all while Handa is horrified and clueless.
Oh god no! I didn’t last two episodes into Barakamon, so why the hell would I last watching a prequel focusing on some random side character from the original series? But a lot of people keep telling me this show is funny. Seriously? Where?!
Servamp
Synopsis: When a stray black cat named Kuro crosses Mahiru Shirota’s path, the high school freshman’s life will never be the same again. Kuro is, in fact, no ordinary feline, but a servamp: a servant vampire. While Mahiru’s personal philosophy is one of non-intervention, he soon becomes embroiled in an ancient, altogether surreal conflict between vampires and humans.
Brains Base are so mediocre these days I can’t even summon up any energy to hate their shows.
Cheers Danshi
Synopsis: The story revolved around members of a cheerleading squad at a men’s university.
Brains Base + male cheerleading = no.
Puzzle & Dragons X
Synopsis: An anime adaptation of the Nintendo 3DS game Puzzle & Dragons X.
Self-explanatory.
TSUKIUTA. THE ANIMATION
Synopsis: An anime adaptation of Tsukiuta, a music and original drama CD series about anthropomorphized months, has been green-lit.
*****
What I Likely Won’t Enjoy, But Will Try Anyways
Active Raid: Kidou Kyoushuushitsu Dai Hakkei 2
Synopsis: A bunch of unfunny jackass cops are screwed over by a bunch of other people you only root against because they’re even bigger jackasses than our douchey leads.
Welp, let’s see if this second cour is an improvement on the first or whether it gets even worse from here on out.
Danganronpa 3: The End of Kibougamine Gakuen – Mirai-hen
Synopsis: The anime is the conclusion of the “Hope’s Peak Academy” series’ original story and will air in 2016.
I should really play the games sometime now that they’re on Steam. Anyways, I thought the first Danganronpa was juuuuuuust…camp enough to get away with its video game-y nature, but I’m not sure if the sequel will be the same. Remember how Persona 4: Golden ruined everything about the first Persona 4 anime? Yeah, there’s a reason you don’t.
DANGANRONPA 3: The End of Kibougamine Gakuen – Zetsubou-hen
Synopsis: The prequel to the 2012 PSP game, Danganronpa 2: Goodbye Despair. It will tell the story of the Remnants of Despair, a group featured in the game, while the other anime airing alongside (Mirai-hen) will act as a sequel to the game.
Um…okay? I don’t exactly know why we’re getting two Danganronpa anime at the same time, but Kishi has gotten so unpredictable these days he could suddenly drop into my apartment and I wouldn’t bat an eye.
Shokugeki no Souma: Ni no Sara
Synopsis: Second season to the Shonen Jump adaptation that I’m not sure whether we’re supposed to hate or not.
I caught up to this show when I heard the new season was airing this summer. Got to keep up with all the cool kids after all.
Amanchu!
Synopsis: Hikari Kohinata is a cheerful 15 year-old girl who lives near the ocean and she spends much of her time diving as a result. On her first day of high school, she meets a teacher who also likes scuba diving. There’s also a 16 year-old classmate, Futaba, who gets dragged along in Hikari’s maelstrom as soon as they meet at school.
I honestly have no idea what to think of this show. Slashe will probably enjoy the fact that Kenichi Kasai is finally doing something new again whilst some anime friends I occasionally interact with are probably going to watch this for Junichi Sato, but my main problem is that I don’t understand what the show is going to be about based on the synopsis alone. Is it a slice-of-life? A romance? A drama? A catastrophe? The last one is highly probable, but I could say the same for every other show on here.
Days
Synopsis: The manga centers on two boys who were never meant to meet: Tsukushi Tsukamoto, who has no special skills but secretly hides a passionate heart, and Jin Kazama, an isolated soccer genius. On a stormy night, the two meet, and that meeting creates a whirlwind in the world of high school soccer.
Well it was about time that Mappa get back into the sports genre just like they did back when they were at Madhouse. Yeah they did the new Hajime no Ippo, but that’s a sequel to something they technically already owned. This is a new tried-and-true sports show with the director of One Piece on-board and it looks like everything from the genre ever except now centered on soccer (yes I know about Whistle, guys. Don’t comment on it). It doesn’t look bad, but it’s not really my kind of thing. I’ll stick with it for a bit, but if this goes on for longer than 1-2 cours, I doubt I’ll finish it.
Battery
Synopsis: Asano’s novels revolve around Takumi Harada, a young man who moves to a mountain town in Okayama prefecture during the spring break before he enters middle school due to his father’s job transfer. Takumi is a pitcher, and after the moves he loses faith in his own talent, when suddenly his classmate Kou Nagakura appears in front of him. Kou has a strong desire to form a “battery” (a combination of a pitcher and catcher) with Takumi.
The other sports show of the season as well as the resident noitamina thing I’m not sure we’re supposed to hate or not. Like Days, the director’s resume is solid, and he’s apparently doing the writing as well, so it seems like a good debut for newbie studio, Zero-G. It also looks less stereotypical than Days, but other than that I don’t really have much to go on other than it’s a baseball show and I’ve yet to enjoy one of those.
Masou Gakuen HxH
Synopsis: Hida Kizuna possesses the HHG (Heart Hybrid Gear) ability, but it is not strong enough to make him particularly important. His older sister calls him to transfer to a strategic defense school, where many of the students (many of which are large-breasted girls) use their HHG abilities to fight invaders from another world while wearing extremely skimpy pilot outfits. Kizuna’s fighting ability doesn’t measure up, but his sister has another plan; getting the girls to have erotic experiences with Kizuna, so that it will allow them to replenish their energy or power-up. It looks like his new school life is going to be full of embarrassment!
Looks like this is going to be my retarded LN adaptation of the season.
Scared Rider XechS
Synopsis: In the otome game, a world of godless people was being menaced by Nightfly O’Note, a mysterious alien invader from a crimson world via the crimson barrier Scared. To counter the Nightfly O’Note’s threat, the humans establish the LAG defense agency at the Ryūkyū Islands. The anti-Nightfly O’Note fighting unit Scared Rider valiantly stood against the threat, but was completely wiped out five times.
Otome game adaptations have never impressed me, but they can occasionally be fun to talk about given the right circumstances, so I’ll try maybe one episode of this. Any more, I can’t promise.
orange
Synopsis: Everyone has regrets in life. So who wouldn’t take the chance to change the past if given the opportunity? When sixteen-year-old Takamiya Naho receives a mysterious letter, claiming to be from her twenty-seven-year-old self, her life is suddenly thrown into flux. The letter tells her that a new transfer student by the name of Naruse Kakeru will be joining her class, and to keep her eye on him. But why? Naho must decide what to make of the letter and its cryptic warning, and what it means not only for her future, but for Kakeru’s as well.
This is the one show that people seem to be the most interested in and it’s got a good premise as far as shoujo romance anime are concerned. There are all sorts of teenage issues that are ripe for analysis in regards to classmates helping each other out of their own depressions, and similar shows have been the highlights of their respective seasons this year (even if they ultimately ended up falling apart). The only downside I can see is the team doing this. Hiroshi Hamasaki is no slouch and TMS Entertainment seem reliable, but I’m not a fan of the writer’s resume. But yeah, I’ll join in the hype for this a little. Just not enough to take it out of this category.
Qualidea Code
Synopsis: The anime takes place in a world where humans are continuing to fight a war against an enemy called UNKNOWN. UNKNOWN invaded several decades ago, and children entered a cold sleep to escape the invasion. When the children awoke, they found themselves with supernatural powers. The children set up defense cities in Tokyo, Kanagawa, and Chiba in order to protect the country from the UNKNOWN, who appear through the Tokyo Bay Gate.
From what I remember, this is a collaboration between a bunch of light novel dudes in order to create the most light novel-y original anime of all. And who better to produce such a giant pile of blandness than the studio whose name has become synonymous with the definition of “bland” at this point, A-1 Pictures? My god this studio is terrible.
Berserk (2016)
Synopsis: The first 2016 issue of Hakusensha’s Young Animal magazine is announcing on Friday that a new anime adaptation project of Kentarou Miura’s Berserk manga has been green-lit.
Miura comments in the magazine that the anime project will depict Guts in his “Black Swordsman” appearance, which is only revealed in parts of the manga that go beyond any previously animated Berserk story, and is only briefly hinted at in the first and last episode of the 1997 television anime series.
Berserk is alright and all, but I wasn’t exactly looking forward to more after I had finished the first anime from the 90s. Its just typical dark fantasy stuff that doesn’t really break the mold in any particular way, apart from that really weird ending. Apparently, this is going to be animated in the same style as those CG films, which I haven’t seen, but I’ve heard they’re alright. I’ll definitely check this out given its popularity and the fact that it’s one of the few shows on here that look watchable, but I’m not expecting much.
Rewrite
Synopsis: Rewrite is set in the fictional city Kazamatsuri, where treeplanting and afforestation have caused the city to become overgrown with trees and flowers in much the same way that other cities are filled by buildings. However, while most of the city appears to be rural, there are many traditional city elements as well. While set in a modern setting, the city also gives off a strange sense of nostalgia.
Tennouji Kotarou lives here. He’s a high school student who has the ability to rewrite his own body; he can become stronger and faster at any time he chooses. He investigates supernatural mysteries with five girls from his school.
A Key anime by the guy who gave us Grisaia. I never watched that show, but from what I heard, their style is a great fit for Key’s melodrama and Romeo Tanaka’s weirdness, so maybe this combination will work out for the fans. Me personally? I know a lot of people don’t like Key as a company, but my problems with them are minimal compared to how much I hate visual novels as a medium and I especially hate how many problems visual novel writers go through when getting their stuff translated to anime – mainly, that “setpieces first and then come up with plot around them” style that they all use. And with everything I’ve seen of this adaptation, I don’t think Rewrite is going to be one of the exceptions.
Nejimaki Seirei Senki: Tenkyou no Alderamin
Synopsis: The Katvarna Empire is at war with the neighboring Republic of Kioka. In the Katvarna Empire, the lazy, woman-admiring Ikuta hates war, but due to certain circumstances, he grudgingly takes the High Grade Military Officer Exam. No one would have expected that this 17-year-old young man would eventually become a soldier called a great commander by others. Ikuta survives this world engulfed in war with his superior intellect.
How many light novels written about the military are there anyways? What, has military become a trend just like MMOs now?
Mob Psycho 100
Synopsis: The story revolves around “Mob,” a boy who will explode if his emotional capacity reaches 100%. This boy with psychic powers earned his nickname “Mob” because he does not stand out among other people. He keeps his psychic powers bottled up so he can live normally, but if his emotional level reaches 100, something will overwhelm his entire body.
I know that the guy behind One-Punch Man wrote the original manga for this, but otherwise I have no idea what this show is about. Judging by the synopsis though, I’m guessing this is another one of Bones’ attempts to cash-in on the superhero/power boom, which is fine with me. Whatever keeps them away from mecha is always a plus in my book. The director of Death Parade is doing the adaptation, so with his talents and Bones’ production values, it should at least look decent. Still, there’s too little for me to go on to really get excited for it, and I’m not interested in checking out the manga right now.
Time Travel Shoujo: Mari Waka to 8-nin no Kagakusha-tachi
Synopsis: Time Travel Shoujo is based on a 1983 book titled Jishaku to Denki no Hatsumei Hakken Monogatari by Japanese educator Kiyonobu Itakura. It is part of the Hatsumei Hakken Monogatari Zenshuu series which describes the story of various scientific discoveries and inventions throughout history. The 1983 book focuses on discoveries related to magnetism and electricity.
I can’t find a PV for this thing but man, this show’s art is ugly. Like really ugly. That’s not an automatic pass in of itself, but I can’t find anything else to talk about regarding this show other than it’s by a director who hasn’t made anything good, as well as the fact that the synopsis looks like edutainment. Yeah, something tells me I’m better off watching The Girl Who Leapt Through Time again or something.
ReLIFE
Synopsis: The story follows Kaizaki Arata, a 27-year-old jobless man, who fails at every job interview he had after quitting his last company. His life changes after he met Yoake Ryou of the ReLife Research Institute, who offered him a drug that can change his appearance to 17-years-old and to become a subject in an experiment for one year. Thus, he begins his life as a high school student once more.
The premise isn’t bad, but the disappointment of ERASED is still too near and I’m not sure what ReLIFE is actually going to do with this whole “man relives childhood” thing anyways. Is it a love story? A chance at redemption? Can’t tell without reading the manga, and I don’t want to do that. Also, I just noticed this, but how many anime are TMS Entertainment making this season anyways? Four? What, did their success with Lupin give them a confidence boost the size of Jupiter?
91 Days
Synopsis: The “classic mafia drama” takes place during the prohibition era. In the Lawless district the law has no power, the mafia rule the streets, and the illegally made liquor flows freely. At one time Avilio lived in this district, but after a mafia dispute ended in the murder of his family, he went into hiding. Later, Avilio receives a letter from a mysterious person that ignites his passion for revenge and leads him to return to Lawless. There, he infiltrates the Vanetti family and gets close to Nero.
I guess the director’s resume isn’t bad, but Studio Shuka being involved makes me worry for the production value side of things. Even more than that though, the synopsis doesn’t make this show out to be anything more than another Prohibition gangster piece, and after sitting through stuff like Once Upon a Time in America and Boardwalk Empire, I just don’t care for that genre anymore. Still, it looks unique enough to write about at the very least. Just hope it’s actually good in the process.
Fukigen na Mononokean
Synopsis: Ashiya has spent the first seven days of high school stuck in the infirmary because of a youkai attaching itself to him. He ends up asking the owner of a small tea room called the “Mononokean” for help. This is a tale involving the very morose owner of Mononokean guiding the youkai that happened to wander into this world go to the next world.
I literally can’t think of a single thing to say about this one other than the director is the guy who gave us Letter Bee.
Saiki Kusuo no Ψ Nan
Synopsis: The manga centers on a high school boy named Kusuo Saiki. He possesses supernatural powers that cause unfortunate events in his everyday life.
This might be a short. I’m still not sure and I don’t care either way, as this looks to be an anime comedy and I can’t remember the last time one of those were actually funny.
TABOO TATTOO
Synopsis: The manga which this will be based off follows Justice Akazuka (nickname Seigi), a young man who is good at martial arts. Seigi rescues a homeless old man on the street one day from some thugs, and the man gives Seigi an object that imprints a tattoo on his palm. However, it is not an ordinary tattoo, but a special weapon that gives Seigi supernatural powers such as warping space-time. Seigi then meets a female American agent named Ijii, whose duty is to recover the tattoos. Seigi decides to help her and gets wrapped up in a cross-national conspiracy.
Shonen action garbage. Next!
Tales of Zestiria the X
Synopsis: Sorey is a human youth who grew up among the seraphim, spiritual beings not visible to humans. Sorey believes in the folklore that says “long ago, every human was able to see the seraphim” and dreams of unraveling the ancient mystery to make the world a place where people and seraphim can live together in peace.
One day, Sorey visits the human capital for the very first time. He becomes embroiled in an incident during which he pulls out a holy sword embedded in a rock and ends up becoming a Shepherd, one who casts away calamity from the world.
He begins to realize the gravity of his mission, and his dream of coexistence between mankind and the seraphim becomes more intense—
And thus, the Shepherd embarks on a journey with his companions.
Never bothered with the game because I’ve gotten kinda tired of Tales’ constant fantasy settings and plots with no real variety to the formula after lord knows how many years. Heard it was pretty boilerplate, which doesn’t surprise me in the least bit since I know a lot of other people share my opinion. I seriously doubt ufotable will do much to improve the source material, but you never know. Although given how long it took for them to finish God Eater, I know enough to predict that this show will suck.
****
What I Might Enjoy
Ummmm…yeah I’ve got nothing. Let’s just wait till the shows come out and hope one of them surprises me.
****
Okay, so it’s not a very exciting crop, but I’m hopeful that I’ll at least like one of them. If I had to pick the one I’m most hyped for, it’d probably be orange, but I’ve been proven wrong in the past (usually not to my benefit). Other than that, it looks to be the same as last season. I’ll watch a bunch of shows, probably find a few mildly enjoyable, find the bad ones really fun to write about, and end up not loving a single one by the time they end. And I’m still keeping up with Re:Zero and Kurumukuro as well.
*Sigh*. I wonder if there are any good American/British shows airing this summer?
Minor Quips
I checked MAL and yep, the Girls Und Panzer film is in the top 50.
In retrospect, maybe orange and Mob Psycho 100 belong in the third category.
Oh yeah, I forgot the third season of Bojack Horseman comes out in late July