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2024 Summer Anime Review
Oct. 3rd, 2024 10:48 pmKimi ni Todoke - The decision for this new season after so many years to be broken up into five double-length episodes instead of the usual 12-13 normal episodes is a bit baffling, but that was pretty much my only real complaint with the cour. Otherwise, it was just as lovely and charming as the previous seasons. I still can't believe we actually got more of the Kimi ni Todoke anime! And hopefully it does well enough for Netflix to invest in more, since we still haven't gotten to the end of the manga. At least we finally got to Sawako and Kazehaya's first kiss animated, but, come on! I want more!
Spice and Wolf: MERCHANT MEETS THE WISE WOLF - Hallelujah! At the end of this cour, we FINALLY got to a new arc that was skipped over in the first anime adaptation. To be honest, I kinda understand why they skipped over it. Not because it's bad -- in fact, I really liked it! -- but because it's more focused on world-building and exploring the tension between the church and villages who still cling to pagan ways, rather than the economics and money-making schemes that have been at the center of the other arcs. It would have made a strange choice to end the first anime on such an arc, but, fortunately, it was just announced that this new adaptation is getting another season, so as a bridge between seasons, the new arc works just fine. Looking forward to more in the future!
My Hero Academia - Last cour I said I didn't mind when MHA went into non-stop battle mode because the fights were easy to follow and fun to watch. This cour, however, things have become kinda confusing with all the separate battles. It doesn't help that the show keeps going back in time to show what was happening while something else was going on. I also don't think it was necessary to bring back literally EVERY single character that ever appeared on the show. (That may be an exaggeration, but seriously? They even brought back ( Spoiler ), two minor comic relief villains who decide to come fight for the good guys?) Deku should be the star of this final battle, but he's pretty much gotten lost in the shuffle because there are just so many characters also fighting. That being said, there were a lot of awesome moments as well. The entire Todoroki family coming together to defeat ( Spoiler ) was a particular highlight that left me in tears. And there are still a few more episodes left to go, so hopefully the series will stick the landing.
Mission: Yozakura Family - Again, just a fun, entertaining show about a wacky family of spies. I do wish the show had focused a little more on Taiyo and Mutsumi's romantic relationship, but otherwise, I can't think of much to say about it!
Twilight Out of Focus - I have to admit I was super-surprised that the main couple of Mao and Hisashi got together so quickly, unaware at first that this BL show was actually more of an anthology series. The first four episodes focus on Mao and Hisashi, the "friends-to-lovers" roommates. The next threee follow Jin and Ichikawa, the "rivals to lovers" directors. Lastly, Yoshino and Rei, who are basically the "opposites attract" couple, also get three episodes, with the last two episodes going back to finish Mao and Hisashi's storyline with a (very) minor focus on the other two couples. To my surprise, my favorite couple was actually Jin and Ichikawa. Friends-to-lovers is usually my thing, so you'd think I'd like Mao and Hisashi's story the most, but they got together so quickly that I didn't really get to enjoy them long enough as friends. They're also not the most interesting characters. (Actually, Hisashi's backstory as a victim of ( Spoiler ) could have been interesting to explore, but the show seemed reluctant to really dive into his character and how he felt about it, mostly sticking to Mao's POV. Considering that it's a fairly light-hearted show, I can see why they wouldn't want to go too deep into the subject, but in that case, why even include it in the first place?) Jin and Ichikawa, on the other hand) are much more dynamic characters and have the best chemistry of the three pairs. I also loved the little "twist" connecting their pasts. Anyway, I enjoyed the series! I just kinda wish they had stuck to one couple for the entire cour. I think all of the romances would have been better developed if they had more time.
SHY - Unlike the first season, which was broken up into several different arcs, this new season focuses on only one long arc, introducing the ninja, Ai. Though I liked the arc and Ai is a great character who I hope sticks around longer, I'm not sure it really needed to be quite so long. I admit part of my disappointment with the length is that Iko, being the only "normal" person in the main cast, obviously had to be left behind when Teru and the others went into battle, only showing up in the first couple of episodes and the last. Considering her friendship with Teru is one of the main appeals of the show for me, I really wish we could have seen her more! But it was nice to see Teru stepping into a leadership role, and the hints about the first superhero of Japan are intriguing.
Wonderful Precure - You know, this season might finally be winning me over a little. Or maybe I've just gotten used to the weirdness. I don't know. Don't get me wrong, I'm still not a fan of the premise and it's definitely one of my least favorite Precures so far, but this cour didn't bug me as much as the earlier ones. I think the fact that they haven't been shown going to school in a while helps. Also, the villains behind the possessed animals have finally appeared, and they actually have a pretty sympathetic reason for disliking humans, so I'm kinda interested in where they will go with it.
Code Geass: Roze of the Recapture - This Code Geass spinoff sequel is based on the series of alternate timeline movies that came out after the main series (in which ( Spoiler ) lives), but you don't really need to be familiar with them to watch Roze since it focuses on a new cast with only cameo appearances by the characters from the original series (and Akito of the Exiled). (I didn't even know Crunchyroll had the movies until I had already watched the first couple of episodes, so I'll get around to watching them eventually.) That being said, Roze basically comes across as a pale imitation of the original show, even copying some of the same story beats. The new characters aren't particularly memorable either aside from Roze and Ash (although I quite liked Natalia). The main issue, however, is that the series was originally broken up into four three-episode movies, causing some weird pacing issues that probably would have worked a lot better if the series had been allowed to be the normal 24-episode series it clearly should have been. It's a decent enough watch, but, eh, not really necessary viewing unless you're a mega fan of the franchise.
Delico's Nursery - This series kinda came out of nowhere. It just suddenly appeared on Crunchyroll a few weeks into the season, right around the Olympics when most of the series I was watching went on hiatus, so I decided to give it a shot since "hot guys taking care of children" is another one of my weaknesses. The "hot guys" in question are a group of investigator vampires at the Vlad Agency, tasked with solving a series of murders connected to the last remaining "true" vampire (called TRUE OF VAMP, otherwise referred to by the unfortunate portmanteau of TRUMP), but their recently-widowed leader Dali Delico is more focused on raising his two young sons after their mother's death than looking for clues. After complaints from the other agents, he decides to combine his job and parental responsibilities by having all the other fathers on the team bring their kids to work. It's a bit of a weird premise, but the kids are cute, and the series's take on vampires is actually pretty unique. (Aside from the immortal TRUMP, the rest are mortal and don't seem to need to drink blood to survive, although they can control people by biting them.) Unfortunately, the show seems to be rather a troubled production. It actually was supposed to start at the beginning of the season like all the other shows but got delayed, and now they've only aired six episodes, going into repeats until the second half of the cour starts at the beginning of the fall season. (Not sure why they didn't just wait until fall in the first place!) That doesn't sound promising, but, eh, we'll see what happens
The Magical Girl and the Evil Lieutenant Used To Be Archenemies - With a title like that, I was expecting a magical girl show with a bit of SenShi vibes. The actual show, however, is a romantic comedy series of half-length episodes (about 12 minutes), and Byakuya (the magical girl) and Mira (the evil lieutenant) have pretty much nothing in common with any of the SenShi pairings. I did like how far from stereotypical the two magical girls are - Byakuya is a near-emotionless orphan who only really cares about making enough money to survive, while her friend Hibana looks cute, but is super violent and drops F-bombs every other word -- and the budding relationship between Byakuya and Mira is pretty sweet. I just wish there were less ecchi moments. Byakuya's humanoid cat "mascot", in particular, is just awful, basically acting more like her pimp than a guardian or mentor, constantly sexually harrassing her and trying to get her to do dubious jobs. It doesn't help that Byakuya looks super young, especially next to Mira, who appears to be in his early 20s. She's living on her own (well, with her mascot) and doesn't go to school, so it's possible that she's an adult (and the fact that one of the jobs we see her do appears to be a hostess in a hostess club seems to indicate that), but Hibana is said to be 15 and I believe they were once classmates (although she was possibly an upperclassman), so who knows? In any case, if you want to watch a show about literal enemies becoming lovers, then I recommend the excellent Love After World Domination from a couple of years ago instead.
Oh, and of course I watched the Sailor Moon Cosmos movies. The first one had weird pacing issues, which considering that the manga version of this arc also has weird pacing issues isn't surprising, but I enjoyed the second movie more than I thought I would. For me, the manga never really properly conveyed the epicness of the battle against Galaxia, but I actually got that "epic" feeling during the movie. It was also fun to see characters like Sailor Heavy Metal Papillon finally animated. I just love her design. It's a shame they didn't get to use her in the original anime. She's one character I've always wanted more of.
Though this past season was rather sparse, the fall season looks to be rather jammed pack with shows I want to watch. Obviously I'll be continuing with Wonderful Precure, Delico's Nursery, and the last few episodes of My Hero Academia. There are also a lot of sequels this season -- so many that I'll probably put most of them on the back burner for now. I definitely plan to watch the seventh(!) season of Natsume's Book of Friends and the second season of After School Hanako-kun, but the rest (Blue Exorcist: Beyond the Snow Saga, Sword Art Online Alternative: Gun Gale Online II, and Re:ZERO -Starting Life in Another World-) can wait for a less packed season. As for new shows, Nina the Starry Bride, 365 Days to the Wedding, and Yakuza Fiancé: Raise wa Tanin ga Ii are on my must-watch list. There's also the 4 episode horror anime Uzumaki that just started airing on Toonami, just in time for Halloween. This isn't the first time Toonami has done the miniseries thing in October, but Uzumaki's catching a LOT of buzz online, so hopefully it'll be better than the dud that was 2022's Housing Complex C.
The Magical Girl and the Evil Lieutenant Used To Be Archenemies - With a title like that, I was expecting a magical girl show with a bit of SenShi vibes. The actual show, however, is a romantic comedy series of half-length episodes (about 12 minutes), and Byakuya (the magical girl) and Mira (the evil lieutenant) have pretty much nothing in common with any of the SenShi pairings. I did like how far from stereotypical the two magical girls are - Byakuya is a near-emotionless orphan who only really cares about making enough money to survive, while her friend Hibana looks cute, but is super violent and drops F-bombs every other word -- and the budding relationship between Byakuya and Mira is pretty sweet. I just wish there were less ecchi moments. Byakuya's humanoid cat "mascot", in particular, is just awful, basically acting more like her pimp than a guardian or mentor, constantly sexually harrassing her and trying to get her to do dubious jobs. It doesn't help that Byakuya looks super young, especially next to Mira, who appears to be in his early 20s. She's living on her own (well, with her mascot) and doesn't go to school, so it's possible that she's an adult (and the fact that one of the jobs we see her do appears to be a hostess in a hostess club seems to indicate that), but Hibana is said to be 15 and I believe they were once classmates (although she was possibly an upperclassman), so who knows? In any case, if you want to watch a show about literal enemies becoming lovers, then I recommend the excellent Love After World Domination from a couple of years ago instead.
Oh, and of course I watched the Sailor Moon Cosmos movies. The first one had weird pacing issues, which considering that the manga version of this arc also has weird pacing issues isn't surprising, but I enjoyed the second movie more than I thought I would. For me, the manga never really properly conveyed the epicness of the battle against Galaxia, but I actually got that "epic" feeling during the movie. It was also fun to see characters like Sailor Heavy Metal Papillon finally animated. I just love her design. It's a shame they didn't get to use her in the original anime. She's one character I've always wanted more of.
Though this past season was rather sparse, the fall season looks to be rather jammed pack with shows I want to watch. Obviously I'll be continuing with Wonderful Precure, Delico's Nursery, and the last few episodes of My Hero Academia. There are also a lot of sequels this season -- so many that I'll probably put most of them on the back burner for now. I definitely plan to watch the seventh(!) season of Natsume's Book of Friends and the second season of After School Hanako-kun, but the rest (Blue Exorcist: Beyond the Snow Saga, Sword Art Online Alternative: Gun Gale Online II, and Re:ZERO -Starting Life in Another World-) can wait for a less packed season. As for new shows, Nina the Starry Bride, 365 Days to the Wedding, and Yakuza Fiancé: Raise wa Tanin ga Ii are on my must-watch list. There's also the 4 episode horror anime Uzumaki that just started airing on Toonami, just in time for Halloween. This isn't the first time Toonami has done the miniseries thing in October, but Uzumaki's catching a LOT of buzz online, so hopefully it'll be better than the dud that was 2022's Housing Complex C.
