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Summer 2016 Anime Season:
Orange is easily my favorite of the summer season. I’d been hearing about the manga for a long time now, and it was always on my list of “manga I need to read someday”. Then I heard they were making an anime so I decided to just wait for that. I know I can’t make an educated judgment on the show as an adaptation, since I didn’t read the manga, but as a fan of shoujo anime, I can confidently say it’s fantastic. The premise instantly hooks you: a young girl begins receiving letters from her future self, outlining all her regrets and pleading with her to change them, especially when it comes to the handsome new transfer student, Kakeru, whom the letters inform her is “no longer with us”. This whole concept of dealing with the regrets of your past is a powerful one. Pretty much everyone alive has at least one major regret in their lives, and the fear of regretting something so strongly that it still haunts you ten years into the future is a universal terror. It’s why I still think the episode of The Twilight Zone called “Spur of the Moment” is one of the most frightening stories in the series. Instead of taking the horror approach, Orange takes the dramatic, heart-wrenching route. And it works. I’ve already lost count of how many times this show has made me cry. There’s a quiet, subtle beauty to it. Everything feels so natural, even though the core concept of the series is supernatural. It helps to ground the whole thing firmly in reality. And even though the protagonist, Naho, could practically be subbed out with any other generic shoujo heroine (she doesn’t actually have that much personality), it’s her story that will move you. Her attempts to erase the regrets that plague her future self make her admirable and easy to root for, not to mention relatable. The show touches me on an emotional level that few other stories, of any medium, manage to reach.
Morose Mononokean has such nice, clean art and beautiful colors that it instantly drew me in. I often find myself drawn to shows that feature the friendship and/or rivalry between a blonde boy and a dark-haired boy. The leads here are Abeno and Ashiya, and the chemistry between them makes for a fun show as they help various youkai and visit the Underworld. There’s a rather rich mythology here, which begins to take shape around episode four. The series is episodic in nature, at least for now, with the overarching plot mostly centered on the growing friendship between the two boys. It’s fairly light-hearted, making for a charming, easy-to-watch series. It’s pretty high on my watch list and an early favorite this season, behind Orange.
Active Raid Season Two is, so far, a little more interesting than season one was at this point. Probably because I’m already familiar with the colorful cast and I can reasonably predict the levels of fanservice I’m going to be subjected to (quite mild in this show, in case you’re wondering). I find the opening and ending themes as boring as I did season one’s, but the animation is fairly consistent and the action scenes are well done. I’m a little disappointed that the heroine from season one, Asami, has seemingly been relegated to a supporting role (in the narrative, not in terms of her role in the team - she’s actually been given command of her own unit). I liked her a lot, so it’s not quite as fun when she’s not around (and the new characters aren’t as interesting). Hopefully she’ll play a bigger role in future episodes. For now, the series is solidly watchable.
Lightning & Sugar is just a big ball of heartwarming fluff. Featuring a single father trying to raise his adorable young daughter and learn to cook meals for her instead of just feeding her boxed lunches from the convenience store, this series is designed to make you sigh and say, “Awwww” every few seconds. And it works incredibly well. There’s also a “food porn” angle, as the series spends a lot of screen time on the loving preparation of meals and then displaying the results in such a way that you’ll definitely feel hungry while watching. Get yourself a snack and sit down to try this sweet, endearing show.
Cheer Danshi is one of the shows I was most looking forward to this season. Over the years I’ve come to love sports anime, and this season there were two sports I hadn’t experienced in anime: Soccer (in DAYS, and yes, I’m aware there have been other anime about soccer but I haven’t watched them), and mens’ cheerleading in Cheer Danshi (and I’m fairly sure there hasn’t already been an anime about this sport). There’s a certain novelty to the idea of an all boys cheerleading team, but the show takes its sport seriously enough to make you root for the characters but not so seriously that it forgets to have fun with it. I also like that the characters are in college, meaning they’re adults. Adults simply have different priorities and values, so it’s interesting to see a sports anime that’s not about teenagers. The art is great, with nice, varied character designs (we even have a positively portrayed fat character!) and the music is upbeat and fitting. Very high on my watch list.
Servamp is a series I was a little iffy on before watching the first episode. After watching the first episode, I was hooked. The art and animation are very attractive. I love the design work and the lighting. It all looks great. The characters are a lot of fun, and despite some serious moments and truly tragic back stories, the series has so far avoided being bogged down with angst. It has a fairly original take on vampires (and that’s an accomplishment these days). The opening and ending themes are energetic and exciting. Overall, it’s a quality show. My only minor gripe is the lack of lady characters, but I’m guessing that will be addressed as more characters are introduced. High on my list.
Tsukiuta is one of two series airing this season about male idol groups. To be perfectly, totally honest, I’m having just a bit of trouble keeping the lineups of characters separate. I suspect this problem will get easier to deal with as more episodes roll by and I get more into the casts. For now, I think of Tsukiuta as “the slightly more realistic one” while the other, B-Project, is “less crazy UtaPri”. Both series follow a large group of male idols that are divided into smaller groups, and are basically about the efforts of these young idols to move up in the entertainment world by taking on jobs like acting in plays, shooting commercials, etc. The main difference is that B-Project is an otome series, so we get a lone heroine for the boys to fawn over, while Tsukiuta is pretty much all about the boys, and provides a lot more BL undertones. There’s also a slight difference in tone. Tsukiuta is a bit more serious (even with an actual ghost episode), with the idols themselves being less overblown caricatures and a little more like actual people. This makes them easier to relate to and root for, but also a little more boring. Tsukiuta also employs CG for the elaborate dance numbers. It doesn’t look as horrible as you might expect. In fact, the CG models are extremely close to the 2D models. The songs are good, and we get a new ending song every week, so that’s nice. It’s a charming, easy-going show.
91 Days is set in the Prohibition era, which gives it a unique vibe (reminding me of Baccano!, at least in the setting/clothing). It’s a mafia revenge story following a young man named Angelo tracking down the men who slaughtered his family when he was a child. The story feels very American (and not just because it’s set here). It’d be easy to assume the people behind this series were huge fans of the Godfather movies. That being said, the show looks fantastic, has great music, and has genuinely surprised me numerous times. It’s definitely not your average anime series, and it’s so refreshing to see shows like this that don’t follow the usual anime tropes. My only complaint is the lack of significant ladies, but like with Servamp, I’m banking on the hope that this problem will be addressed as more characters are introduced.
Handa-kun is the prequel to Barakamon, which aired a few seasons back. It’s important to note that while Barakamon definitely had humor, it also had some serious moments that allowed its characters to grow and develop, even having some rather sad and poignant moments sprinkled lightly throughout. This prequel series is a straight up comedy that has no interest in anything remotely serious, so if you enjoyed Barakamon and are looking for more of the same, you’re out of luck. But if you’re looking for a genuinely funny comedy, pull up a chair. Other than the boring first half of episode one (what were they thinking with that overplayed sketch that wasn’t even funny?), the jokes work most of the time. Handa’s extremely neurotic nature makes for some truly funny moments, and his constant misunderstanding of the intentions of everyone around him never gets old. Likewise, his admirers constantly misunderstanding Handa’s awkwardness as cool rebellion also never gets old. The animation is fine for a comedy and the music fits the show.
Alderamin on the Sky has become one of my favorites of the season, despite having a somewhat meh first episode. There’s something to be said for a show that gets progressively better with each episode, because those are the shows that usually end up being fantastic overall experiences. I was talking with a friend and fellow Alderamin watcher the other day and we both remarked that we had grown attached to these characters unusually fast. I was genuinely invested in them as of episode two, which is rare in anime (especially in fantasy anime based on light novels, which have a stigma of being generic harem trash). The protagonist, Ikta, is actually interesting, as opposed to being a bland viewer stand-in. And then we have Yatori, probably my favorite lady character of the season. She’s so badass that her ferocity is legitimately frightening. I’m so used to other anime or manga where I’m constantly told a female character is strong and capable and yet, we either never see her in action or, (even worse), when faced with a chance to prove her strength, she ends up easily defeated or needing to be rescued by a male hero. I won’t name any characters, but I’m sure everyone can think of a few. So I was truly surprised and delighted that Yatori’s strength was not nerfed, and instead we’re finding out more and more how truly awesome she is. Great characters aside, the show is gorgeous to look at, with some eye-popping uses of lighting and color. I wasn’t particularly impressed with the music, but that’s such a subjective thing. Probably the only show that could end up edging out Orange as my favorite of the season.
B-Project is the other show about male idols I mentioned above. Since it’s an otome series, of course it’s going to remind me of Uta no Prince-sama. It’s less ridiculous than UtaPri though, which means it’s also a little less fun. Still, the music is good and the art is serviceable. The characters are fairly interesting so far, though it’s been a little hard for me to remember which members are in which of the three sub-groups. The heroine is, as per usual, pretty generic, but she’s likable enough. The show doesn’t really bring anything new to the genre, but it’s entertaining and worth a watch, especially if you’re an UtaPri fan who’s had a void in your life since it stopped airing.
Hitori no Shita: The Outcast is, well, different. It’s a bit muddled and weird but I’m watching primarily for two reasons: 1) a badass heroine who isn’t at all sexualized or glamorous (yet) and 2) copious night-time scenes that usually include zombies or well-executed battles. It also has great opening and ending themes. I wish the show would spend a little more time developing the characters aside from the protagonist, because many of them are interesting but a bit... blank. Like the female lead, whom I really enjoy but would like to know more about. I know a sense of mystery is important, but pretty much every single character besides the protagonist is a mystery. As much as I like some of the ideas behind the show, I sometimes find myself “tuning out” while watching. Which is not a good thing. I really hope it picks up more in the last half.
First Love Monster is one of those shows with such a ludicrous premise that telling someone about it will either immediately hook them or immediately turn them off. It’s basically, “cute petite high school girl falls in love with tall, handsome dude and they agree to start dating before she finds out he’s in elementary school”. Just by reading that, you’ve probably already decided whether or not this show is for you. It’s pretty much what you’d expect from that setup. Lots of bawdy (but not too bawdy) humor, cute doki doki moments, and a sprinkling of angst. The charm of the show lies in the fact that it simply can’t follow all the standard shoujo romance tropes, because they just don’t make any sense when the love interest is a fifth grader. This means the show isn’t totally predictable, which is nice. It’s also hilarious. It takes a joke that should have been overplayed by the end of the second episode and somehow keeps it funny the whole way through. This is helped by the fact that the love interest, Kanade, has two friends his age who also look like college students. The absurdity of these tall, lanky fifth graders with their deep, manly voices never fails to crack me up. Especially when they genuinely act like fifth graders (and dress like them...), playing silly games and talking way too much about their private parts. The show also has a fantastic cast of supporting characters who are each interesting enough to have their own series. And even though the show is primarily a comedy, it has some legitimately touching scenes as well.
DAYS is the soccer anime I mentioned above. While there have certainly been soccer anime before this, DAYS is my first soccer anime, and so far it’s a great one. Like with Yowamushi Pedal before it, the true charm of this series comes from its extremely likable underdog protagonist. You want to see him succeed, no matter what. There’s also the usual assortment of quirky, handsome teammates and the obligatory female character who works as the team manager (which seems to basically be a gopher). This manager is pretty fierce though, so it’s fun to watch her interact with the team. The art is fine and the music is good. I wish we saw more actual soccer being played, instead of essentially showing us the highlights. But I suppose the games will get more intense and more detailed later on, when they play against tougher teams. Overall, I’m enjoying it very much. High on my watch list.
Orange is easily my favorite of the summer season. I’d been hearing about the manga for a long time now, and it was always on my list of “manga I need to read someday”. Then I heard they were making an anime so I decided to just wait for that. I know I can’t make an educated judgment on the show as an adaptation, since I didn’t read the manga, but as a fan of shoujo anime, I can confidently say it’s fantastic. The premise instantly hooks you: a young girl begins receiving letters from her future self, outlining all her regrets and pleading with her to change them, especially when it comes to the handsome new transfer student, Kakeru, whom the letters inform her is “no longer with us”. This whole concept of dealing with the regrets of your past is a powerful one. Pretty much everyone alive has at least one major regret in their lives, and the fear of regretting something so strongly that it still haunts you ten years into the future is a universal terror. It’s why I still think the episode of The Twilight Zone called “Spur of the Moment” is one of the most frightening stories in the series. Instead of taking the horror approach, Orange takes the dramatic, heart-wrenching route. And it works. I’ve already lost count of how many times this show has made me cry. There’s a quiet, subtle beauty to it. Everything feels so natural, even though the core concept of the series is supernatural. It helps to ground the whole thing firmly in reality. And even though the protagonist, Naho, could practically be subbed out with any other generic shoujo heroine (she doesn’t actually have that much personality), it’s her story that will move you. Her attempts to erase the regrets that plague her future self make her admirable and easy to root for, not to mention relatable. The show touches me on an emotional level that few other stories, of any medium, manage to reach.
Morose Mononokean has such nice, clean art and beautiful colors that it instantly drew me in. I often find myself drawn to shows that feature the friendship and/or rivalry between a blonde boy and a dark-haired boy. The leads here are Abeno and Ashiya, and the chemistry between them makes for a fun show as they help various youkai and visit the Underworld. There’s a rather rich mythology here, which begins to take shape around episode four. The series is episodic in nature, at least for now, with the overarching plot mostly centered on the growing friendship between the two boys. It’s fairly light-hearted, making for a charming, easy-to-watch series. It’s pretty high on my watch list and an early favorite this season, behind Orange.
Active Raid Season Two is, so far, a little more interesting than season one was at this point. Probably because I’m already familiar with the colorful cast and I can reasonably predict the levels of fanservice I’m going to be subjected to (quite mild in this show, in case you’re wondering). I find the opening and ending themes as boring as I did season one’s, but the animation is fairly consistent and the action scenes are well done. I’m a little disappointed that the heroine from season one, Asami, has seemingly been relegated to a supporting role (in the narrative, not in terms of her role in the team - she’s actually been given command of her own unit). I liked her a lot, so it’s not quite as fun when she’s not around (and the new characters aren’t as interesting). Hopefully she’ll play a bigger role in future episodes. For now, the series is solidly watchable.
Lightning & Sugar is just a big ball of heartwarming fluff. Featuring a single father trying to raise his adorable young daughter and learn to cook meals for her instead of just feeding her boxed lunches from the convenience store, this series is designed to make you sigh and say, “Awwww” every few seconds. And it works incredibly well. There’s also a “food porn” angle, as the series spends a lot of screen time on the loving preparation of meals and then displaying the results in such a way that you’ll definitely feel hungry while watching. Get yourself a snack and sit down to try this sweet, endearing show.
Cheer Danshi is one of the shows I was most looking forward to this season. Over the years I’ve come to love sports anime, and this season there were two sports I hadn’t experienced in anime: Soccer (in DAYS, and yes, I’m aware there have been other anime about soccer but I haven’t watched them), and mens’ cheerleading in Cheer Danshi (and I’m fairly sure there hasn’t already been an anime about this sport). There’s a certain novelty to the idea of an all boys cheerleading team, but the show takes its sport seriously enough to make you root for the characters but not so seriously that it forgets to have fun with it. I also like that the characters are in college, meaning they’re adults. Adults simply have different priorities and values, so it’s interesting to see a sports anime that’s not about teenagers. The art is great, with nice, varied character designs (we even have a positively portrayed fat character!) and the music is upbeat and fitting. Very high on my watch list.
Servamp is a series I was a little iffy on before watching the first episode. After watching the first episode, I was hooked. The art and animation are very attractive. I love the design work and the lighting. It all looks great. The characters are a lot of fun, and despite some serious moments and truly tragic back stories, the series has so far avoided being bogged down with angst. It has a fairly original take on vampires (and that’s an accomplishment these days). The opening and ending themes are energetic and exciting. Overall, it’s a quality show. My only minor gripe is the lack of lady characters, but I’m guessing that will be addressed as more characters are introduced. High on my list.
Tsukiuta is one of two series airing this season about male idol groups. To be perfectly, totally honest, I’m having just a bit of trouble keeping the lineups of characters separate. I suspect this problem will get easier to deal with as more episodes roll by and I get more into the casts. For now, I think of Tsukiuta as “the slightly more realistic one” while the other, B-Project, is “less crazy UtaPri”. Both series follow a large group of male idols that are divided into smaller groups, and are basically about the efforts of these young idols to move up in the entertainment world by taking on jobs like acting in plays, shooting commercials, etc. The main difference is that B-Project is an otome series, so we get a lone heroine for the boys to fawn over, while Tsukiuta is pretty much all about the boys, and provides a lot more BL undertones. There’s also a slight difference in tone. Tsukiuta is a bit more serious (even with an actual ghost episode), with the idols themselves being less overblown caricatures and a little more like actual people. This makes them easier to relate to and root for, but also a little more boring. Tsukiuta also employs CG for the elaborate dance numbers. It doesn’t look as horrible as you might expect. In fact, the CG models are extremely close to the 2D models. The songs are good, and we get a new ending song every week, so that’s nice. It’s a charming, easy-going show.
91 Days is set in the Prohibition era, which gives it a unique vibe (reminding me of Baccano!, at least in the setting/clothing). It’s a mafia revenge story following a young man named Angelo tracking down the men who slaughtered his family when he was a child. The story feels very American (and not just because it’s set here). It’d be easy to assume the people behind this series were huge fans of the Godfather movies. That being said, the show looks fantastic, has great music, and has genuinely surprised me numerous times. It’s definitely not your average anime series, and it’s so refreshing to see shows like this that don’t follow the usual anime tropes. My only complaint is the lack of significant ladies, but like with Servamp, I’m banking on the hope that this problem will be addressed as more characters are introduced.
Handa-kun is the prequel to Barakamon, which aired a few seasons back. It’s important to note that while Barakamon definitely had humor, it also had some serious moments that allowed its characters to grow and develop, even having some rather sad and poignant moments sprinkled lightly throughout. This prequel series is a straight up comedy that has no interest in anything remotely serious, so if you enjoyed Barakamon and are looking for more of the same, you’re out of luck. But if you’re looking for a genuinely funny comedy, pull up a chair. Other than the boring first half of episode one (what were they thinking with that overplayed sketch that wasn’t even funny?), the jokes work most of the time. Handa’s extremely neurotic nature makes for some truly funny moments, and his constant misunderstanding of the intentions of everyone around him never gets old. Likewise, his admirers constantly misunderstanding Handa’s awkwardness as cool rebellion also never gets old. The animation is fine for a comedy and the music fits the show.
Alderamin on the Sky has become one of my favorites of the season, despite having a somewhat meh first episode. There’s something to be said for a show that gets progressively better with each episode, because those are the shows that usually end up being fantastic overall experiences. I was talking with a friend and fellow Alderamin watcher the other day and we both remarked that we had grown attached to these characters unusually fast. I was genuinely invested in them as of episode two, which is rare in anime (especially in fantasy anime based on light novels, which have a stigma of being generic harem trash). The protagonist, Ikta, is actually interesting, as opposed to being a bland viewer stand-in. And then we have Yatori, probably my favorite lady character of the season. She’s so badass that her ferocity is legitimately frightening. I’m so used to other anime or manga where I’m constantly told a female character is strong and capable and yet, we either never see her in action or, (even worse), when faced with a chance to prove her strength, she ends up easily defeated or needing to be rescued by a male hero. I won’t name any characters, but I’m sure everyone can think of a few. So I was truly surprised and delighted that Yatori’s strength was not nerfed, and instead we’re finding out more and more how truly awesome she is. Great characters aside, the show is gorgeous to look at, with some eye-popping uses of lighting and color. I wasn’t particularly impressed with the music, but that’s such a subjective thing. Probably the only show that could end up edging out Orange as my favorite of the season.
B-Project is the other show about male idols I mentioned above. Since it’s an otome series, of course it’s going to remind me of Uta no Prince-sama. It’s less ridiculous than UtaPri though, which means it’s also a little less fun. Still, the music is good and the art is serviceable. The characters are fairly interesting so far, though it’s been a little hard for me to remember which members are in which of the three sub-groups. The heroine is, as per usual, pretty generic, but she’s likable enough. The show doesn’t really bring anything new to the genre, but it’s entertaining and worth a watch, especially if you’re an UtaPri fan who’s had a void in your life since it stopped airing.
Hitori no Shita: The Outcast is, well, different. It’s a bit muddled and weird but I’m watching primarily for two reasons: 1) a badass heroine who isn’t at all sexualized or glamorous (yet) and 2) copious night-time scenes that usually include zombies or well-executed battles. It also has great opening and ending themes. I wish the show would spend a little more time developing the characters aside from the protagonist, because many of them are interesting but a bit... blank. Like the female lead, whom I really enjoy but would like to know more about. I know a sense of mystery is important, but pretty much every single character besides the protagonist is a mystery. As much as I like some of the ideas behind the show, I sometimes find myself “tuning out” while watching. Which is not a good thing. I really hope it picks up more in the last half.
First Love Monster is one of those shows with such a ludicrous premise that telling someone about it will either immediately hook them or immediately turn them off. It’s basically, “cute petite high school girl falls in love with tall, handsome dude and they agree to start dating before she finds out he’s in elementary school”. Just by reading that, you’ve probably already decided whether or not this show is for you. It’s pretty much what you’d expect from that setup. Lots of bawdy (but not too bawdy) humor, cute doki doki moments, and a sprinkling of angst. The charm of the show lies in the fact that it simply can’t follow all the standard shoujo romance tropes, because they just don’t make any sense when the love interest is a fifth grader. This means the show isn’t totally predictable, which is nice. It’s also hilarious. It takes a joke that should have been overplayed by the end of the second episode and somehow keeps it funny the whole way through. This is helped by the fact that the love interest, Kanade, has two friends his age who also look like college students. The absurdity of these tall, lanky fifth graders with their deep, manly voices never fails to crack me up. Especially when they genuinely act like fifth graders (and dress like them...), playing silly games and talking way too much about their private parts. The show also has a fantastic cast of supporting characters who are each interesting enough to have their own series. And even though the show is primarily a comedy, it has some legitimately touching scenes as well.
DAYS is the soccer anime I mentioned above. While there have certainly been soccer anime before this, DAYS is my first soccer anime, and so far it’s a great one. Like with Yowamushi Pedal before it, the true charm of this series comes from its extremely likable underdog protagonist. You want to see him succeed, no matter what. There’s also the usual assortment of quirky, handsome teammates and the obligatory female character who works as the team manager (which seems to basically be a gopher). This manager is pretty fierce though, so it’s fun to watch her interact with the team. The art is fine and the music is good. I wish we saw more actual soccer being played, instead of essentially showing us the highlights. But I suppose the games will get more intense and more detailed later on, when they play against tougher teams. Overall, I’m enjoying it very much. High on my watch list.