It’s Summer, which means that intolerable humidity is hanging over the Midwest causing me to sweat myself to death. So it’s a great time to stay inside and watch some anime! Below are some impressions of upcoming series that seem interesting to me. Will all of these pan out? Probably not. Will some shows surprise me later on, even if they’re not on my gotta-watch list? Probably. Every season brings with it something new and interesting. Even though the Summer anime season tends to be pretty small in comparison to Spring and Autumn, there are still likely a few gems waiting to be discovered.
One interesting development that’s occurred in the past few months is what seems like a partnership of sorts between Sentai Filmworks and Amazon’s Anime Strike. While Anime Strike is controversial on its own due to being cloistered behind a pricey double paywall (first you pay for Amazon Prime, and then you pay a few more dollars to add Anime Strike to your channel list), it seems like this might be a big boon to Sentai Filmworks, who hasn’t had a go-to home for its acquisitions. I can’t say I’m happy having to add to my many video streaming subscriptions (Hulu, Netflix, Crunchyroll, Funimation… there are so many) but I see what they’re trying to do and I’ll play along for the time being, even if I think that it doesn’t set a good precedent for either convenience or price
Anyway, here’s a hastily-assembled list of the new shows I think might be interesting:
Welcome to the Ballroom/Ballroom e Youkoso
Begins: July 9th
Streaming At: Amazon Anime Strike
Synopsis: The setup seems typical for a sports or sports-type anime; the protagonist, a middle school student named Tatara Fujita is kind of mediocre at most things that he tries (sports in particular). He’s “rescued” from his mediocrity (and his bullies) by Kaname Sengoku, a professional ballroom dancer. It’s this encounter that draws Fujita into the realm of ballroom dance, perhaps something where he’ll discover his talent (spoilers: I’m guessing he’ll end up being pretty good at it).
Impressions: This is the show this season that I’ve been anticipating the most, for reasons that are as simple as me being interested in more offbeat takes on the sports genre and liking to look at attractive dudes doing fancy things. The various trailers have featured great music, sharp animation, and more elongated necks and bodies than you can shake a stick at. According to Sakuga Blog, there are some pretty big names associated with the project as well. It’s kind of fascinating to be in the fandom at a time when we get to see series that have clout with both fans of popular anime, and fans who like to follow individual creators and the animation process. I think this show will at least satisfy on looks alone.
Dive!!
Begins: July 6th
Streaming At: Amazon Anime Strike
Synopsis: The Mizuki Diving Club is in dire financial straits and in danger of being shut down. Their only hope for keeping things running is to send one of their divers to the next Olympic Games on the Japanese team.
Impressions: I was just about ready to call this one a poor rip-off of Free!, but the novel and manga predate KyoAni’s bishounen cash-cow by a few years, so that’s probably misguided. Remember what I said above about anime that revolves around unusual sports? This is another series that might scratch that itch. Judging from the PV I just watched, the visual presentation isn’t quite as clean and crisp, but there are an awful lot of rippling abs on display, so the anime junk-food quotient for someone like me, a not-quite-but-kinda fujoshi, might be enough to keep it interesting, if there aren’t also some decent character moments (which is something that’s hard to get a sense of during a 2 minute preview where the characters are speaking in metaphors about “flying” and telling each-other how cool they looked).
A Centaur’s Life/A Centaur’s Worries/Centaur no Nayami
Begins: July 9th
Streaming At: Crunchyroll
Synopsis: Himeno is a centaur girl with a sweet, quiet personality. All of her friends and classmates are also supernatural or fantasy creatures, with wings, tails, horns, and other physical traits that set them apart from the human beings we’re used to. This is the story of Himeno’s daily school life.
Impressions: I like monster girls a lot. From the time I was a sullen teenager doodling in my sketchbook, to the current day during which I mostly just appreciate the art of others, I’ve thought female characters with demon horns or snake bodies or mermaid tails were just the cutest. But I’m still waiting for a really good “monster girl” anime to come down the pipeline. Monster Musume was gross, Interviews With Monster Girls started to give me a bad feeling a couple of episodes in, and Kobayashi’s Dragon Maid, despite having its good moments, still managed to bungle the good will it had built with a couple of non-con scenes that turned me off (I love that it’s inspired a lot of really cute cosplay, though). I’m hoping that this will just be kind of cute and innocuous and give me my fix. I haven’t decided whether or not the fact that there are also monster boys in the characters’ school will be positive or negative, but I’m willing to give the show a chance.
The anime is produced by a Chinese animation studio (though it seems to be managed by Japanese staff), and their track record isn’t the best (I see the dismal Spiritpact on their rap sheet – not a good impression to leave). If anything, I’m interested to see if the end result of this particular endeavor is any more pleasing to the eye or satisfying to the soul.
Katsugeki!: Touken Ranbu
Begins: July 1st
Streaming At: Amazon Anime Strike
Synopsis: It’s 1863 in Japan, an era during which forces loyal to the Shogunate and those wishing to bring its power to an end were clashing. Historical revisionists from the future begin to invade in order to change the force of history, but they’ll have to get through two sword warriors who have come to Edo to defend the sanctity of the true timeline.
Impressions: So you’ve heard of guys who use swords, but how about guys who are swords? This series, one of two anime based on a collectable card style smartphone game, personifies historically significant blades as hot warrior dudes of various personalities. A more comedic take, Touken Ranbu: Hanamaru, premiered during the Autumn season last year, and this version appears to be a more “serious business” take on the concept. Considering Ufotable’s involvement, it’ll probably look pretty slick (it’s difficult to say for sure, since the most lengthy trailer I could find was mostly animation sketches put to dramatic music). I can’t predict how much staying concept the central premise might have, but at least the characters are attractive and the action might be fun.
Made in Abyss
Begins: July 7th
Streaming At: Amazon Anime Strike
Synopsis: The Abyss is an underground cave system, the last bastion of unexplored territory in the world. It contains treasures and relics from long ago that current humans cannot re-produce. It’s Rico’s dream to become a cave explorer like her late mother. One day she finds a robot who has the appearance of a young boy.
Impressions: Whereas there’s a lot on this list I think I can probably take or leave, I’m actually really excited about Made in Abyss. I found the trailer to be absolutely haunting, and the plot synopsis suggests that the story might take place after humanity has undergone some kind of technological decline, which is one of my favorite set-ups (see: Nausicaa, Sound of the Sky, Humanity Has Declined, and many others). There’s an edge to this one that makes it seem a little spooky in spite of its lush setting and cutesy character designs, which is another production aspect that gets me excited. It’s a little bit difficult to put my feelings into words any better than that, since this type of show really hits me in a deep place that’s based in old 1980’s sci-fi and fantasy that I saw as a small child, but maybe there are some of you out there that can relate.
Hell Girl 4/Jigoku Shoujo: Yoi no Togi
Begins: July 14th
Streaming At: Amazon Anime Strike
Synopsis: The fourth season of the long-running supernatural horror revenge story. Those seeking revenge on those who have caused them harm may access a secret website to call upon Hell Girl. She drags her targets to Hell itself, in exchange for the immortal souls of those who call upon her to help them. This season will feature 6 new episodes, and 6 “reminiscence” episodes.
Impressions: Hell Girl is one of those properties I’ve always been aware of but which I’ve never watched much of. From the time the first season aired it’s cropped up as a favorite pick at anime club Halloween events and so I’ve seen several episodes here and there because of that, but never entire seasons. I do, however, enjoy stories about human nature, even those bits and pieces of it which are uncomfortable to look at and experience, and this series is notorious for presenting those kinds of stories. The titular character doesn’t judge on morality, she just does a job; it’s up to the viewers to understand and interpret who’s in the right or wrong in each situation, and that can be unsettling.
Kakegurui – Compulsive Gambler
Begins: July 1st
Streaming At: TBA
Synopsis: When you’re a child of the mega-rich, normal school sports and clubs don’t teach you the tools you need to keep your position in society. At Hyakkao Private Academy, the students’ education is geared specifically towards the skills of negotiation, manipulation, and deception – the students participate in a rigorous curriculum of various forms of gambling where the winners end up at the top of the class and the losers are punished accordingly. Yumeko arrives on campus and decides to show her classmates what a real gambler is capable of.
Impressions: This is a situation where I find the plot concept of the anime sort of interesting, but I have a strong suspicion that the execution will end up being too grotesque and/or mean-spirited for my personal tastes. The trailer features the protagonist in a kind of weird sexualized ecstasy that I suspect might get old (I’m not big on cruel sadism, and this feels like it might be toeing the line there as well). But hey, maybe there’ll be a little bit of Kaiji in there somewhere, too. I’m definitely game (ha!) to give it a try.
Restaurant to Another World/Isekai Shokudou
Begins: July 3rd
Streaming At: Crunchyroll
Synopsis: Yoshoku no Nekoya is like any other normal restaurant during the week, and is patronized by the working people of Japan. But on Saturdays, when it takes a day off, it becomes a gathering place for people from another world. When members of non-human races patronize the restaurant, they find that even the most mundane of Western-style dishes seem exotic and wonderful.
Impressions: I like stories about cooking and I enjoy light fantasy elements, so this series which seems to combine both things looks like it might be kind of episodic and cute. It’s amusing to think about how an elf or a demon might react to something commonplace like chicken soup. I’m also heartened to see that this is sort of a twist on the “isekai” sub-genre that’s been so popular lately; instead of some loser dude making his way into a video game or fantasy world and having several women hot for him, the people from another world are finding their way into ours. I can’t help but think that might be an improvement.
How about you? What have you been looking forward to this Summer? Let me know in the comments!