01. GANGSTA. (ep. 1-9) – Expert storytelling and exposition; GANGSTA. shows us how it’s done. It reveals just enough information to pique your interest and keep you on the hook for more. Every once in a while, there’s a touch of humour – sufficient to endear you to the characters and to keep the story from being completely bleak.
Worick and Nicolas are not your typical anime leads. Not only are they in their 30s, but one of them is blind in one eye and the other is deaf. The show features gangs and violence and prostitution. Distastefully, Worick and Nic do murder, among other things, for money. And yet, I was invested in them from the very first episode.
It seldom happens that the show I’m most hyped about before the season starts actually ends up being my favourite. That’s definitely been the case for GANGSTA. this summer, and by a wide margin too. Episode 8 marked the first time that I felt even a little disappointed and really noticed the animation shortcomings. Otherwise, week after week, I have been absolutely floored by just how good this show is!
(streaming at FUNimation and DAISUKI)
02. PRISON SCHOOL (ep. 1-9) – GANGSTA. may have its share of objectionable content, but it’s got nothing on PRISON SCHOOL!
Here’s what you can expect: ridiculously crude, gross-out humour, gratuitous boob and crotch shots (censored), absurd situations which may variously involve things like incontinence, hemorrhoids, and bleeding canker sores.
I’m not usually into bathroom gags or fanservice, but this shit is funny as hell. Perhaps surprisingly, there actually is a smart, substantial plot; and it helps that the humour is not particularly mean-spirited either.
(streaming at FUNimation)
03. THE HEROIC LEGEND OF ARSLAN (Arslan Senki) (ep. 14-21) – Most of this cour has been about Arslan’s group getting involved in the royal power struggle of nearby nation Sindhura. While this arc may not be directly relevant to the main plot, it has been fairly enjoyable anyway. The Sindhurian princes and their father, the king, were compelling, flawed characters.
I was really affected by ep. 17, which had Daryun in a death match against a monstrously strong opponent. As a viewer, of course I am aware that Daryun is protected by all kinds of plot armour. But this episode was successful in getting me to see things from Arslan’s point of view. I was worrying right along with him. What if Daryun should fall? And for such a reason, which had nothing to do with their cause, even!
Also worth watching: ep. 16’s war elephants!
(streaming at FUNimation)
04. Ace of Diamond (Diamond no Ace) SECOND SEASON (ep. 14-21) – Other than some conflict between Miyuki and Zono, this has been more of what we know and love. Seido has to face increasingly tough teams and, sometimes, tough crowds too.
It’s nothing earth shaking, but all said, Ace of Diamond remains one of the shows we look forward to and enjoy the most each week.
(streaming at Crunchyroll)
05. Aoharu X Machinegun (Aoharu x Kikanjuu) (ep. 1-9) – A girl who is often mistaken for a boy gets involved in the world of survival games. Ultimately, the plot is pretty thin, but the show is consistently fun to watch anyway.
I like how the main character just happens to be androgynous and comfortably wears boys’ clothes. I fervently hope she doesn’t end up having to dress like a girl to try and get the guy, or for any other reason!
(streaming at Crunchyroll)
06. Food Wars! Shokugeki no Souma (ep. 14-21) – Somehow, this culinary battle anime is getting better and better.
Can you believe we’ve actually planned our meals around this show? After having to sit through the first karaage episode fried-chickenless, we made sure to have some karaage dinner at the ready the following week.
(streaming at Crunchyroll)
07. Snow White with the Red Hair (Akagami no Shirayuki-hime) (ep. 1-9) – This anime shares a name with and makes some casual references to a much-reviled (according to yours truly) fairy tale. Fortunately, this Snow White (Shirayuki) is nothing like that other one. Shirayuki is a hard-working herbalist who is dedicated to her craft and her studies. One of the main reasons Prince Zen seems to be attracted to her is because she is determined to make a useful contribution to society and has no interest in pandering to royalty.
The show has had its ups and downs for me; but a definite highlight was ep. 4, which covered Shirayuki’s court herbalist exam and featured some great interaction between her and Zen.
(streaming at FUNimation)
08. Rokka –Braves of the Six Flowers- (Rokka no Yuusha) (ep. 1-9) – Every few hundred years, six powerful braves are chosen to prevent the rise of the Demon God. When seven braves show up at the meeting this time around, all bearing the mark, something is obviously amiss. Since the fourth episode, when all of the braves had assembled and found themselves trapped within a barrier, it’s pretty much been a whodunit to discover the identity of the fake.
The mystery aspect works well for Rokka. It’s also a good-looking anime, most of the time. And despite his tiresome habit of constantly declaring himself “the strongest man in the world,” our main guy Adlet comes across as an earnest and likeable hero.
(streaming at Crunchyroll)
09. DURARARA!! X2 Ten (The Second Arc) (ep. 13-21) – This is the middle cour of DURARARA!!’s planned 3-part sequel. The final cour will air in January next year. There are still way too many characters (and more being introduced all the time!), but so far, I’m enjoying Ten a lot more than the first arc, Shou.
My favourite episode has been #14, which awesomely dispelled the notion that Mika and Seiji were nothing but a couple of single-minded, love-struck idiots.
(streaming at DAISUKI and Crunchyroll)
10. Baby Steps 2 (ep. 14-21) – Eiichirou’s been getting a taste of the types of players he might have to handle if he goes pro, including a really likeable opponent who is strongly favoured by the crowd, as well as a sneaky player who utilizes dishonourable tactics.
Yukichi, the guy from STC who calls Ei-chan “Aniki”, has been really cute lately. He’s usually sweet and easygoing, so it’s great seeing him all riled up and pouring the hate on Ei-chan’s recent opponent.
Unexpectedly, there’s actually been some development on the romance front too, though it hasn’t had any huge impact so far on Ei-chan’s goals or performance.
(streaming at Crunchyroll)
11. MY love STORY!! (ORE MONOGATARI!!) (ep. 13-21) – Takeo and Rinko’s wholesome romance continues. Some of their friends are getting infected by the love bug too.
The current arc covers the new addition to the Gouda family. I have intimate knowledge of what that’s like, as my family also welcomed a new baby when the older kids were almost grown. However, I don’t recall my baby sister being even half as well-behaved as the new little Gouda!
(streaming at Crunchyroll)
12. SCHOOL-LIVE! (Gakkou Gurashi!) (ep. 1-8) – Novel concept of cute schoolgirls plopped into a zombie apocalypse thriller. It is actually very effective and genuinely frightening. Well, horror and moe are not really my thing, which is the reason for my personal lack of adoration for the show; but for anyone who goes for this stuff, I give SCHOOL-LIVE! a very high recommendation.
(streaming at Crunchyroll)
13. CLASSROOM CRISIS (ep. 1-9) – The first 5 or so episodes were pretty underwhelming. It’s only recently that the characters have started to grow on me and I’ve developed some interest in their personal dynamics and back stories.
If you’re going to watch this, it’s necessary to not think too much about the pseudo-science it presents. Don’t question the space travel and the colonized-every-planet stuff. Just let it go.
(streaming at DAISUKI and Crunchyroll)
14. GOD EATER (ep. 1-6) – Because of its sporadic release schedule, apparently due to frequent production delays, there have been fewer episodes of GOD EATER compared to the other summer shows. It’s still hard to tell if it’s good or not. The main premise of a gifted kid fighting monsters for the sake of saving humanity is nothing special.
On the plus side, the action scenes have been spectacular and the oil-paint-like visuals are nice to look at.
I do question the feasibility of that Aegis project they’re working on. Unless they figure out a way to safely and efficiently farm for cores, it seems very likely all humans might be extinct before they are even half done building the thing.
(streaming at DAISUKI and Crunchyroll)
15. WORKING!!! (WAGNARIA!!3) (ep. 1-9) – This series has always been mildly amusing and it’s easy to watch when you’re busy with other things, like eating dinner, so I’m back onboard with season 3. This is supposedly going to be the last installment and we can expect things of import to really happen this time around.
How much one enjoys WORKING!!! probably hinges a lot on how much one likes or tolerates Yamada. I think I’ve made no secret of the fact that I just don’t. I have to admit I was amused when, in ep. 5, she showed surprising self-awareness by actually stating that her presence could feel like a punishment to others.
(streaming at DAISUKI and Crunchyroll)
16. GATE: Jieitai Kanochi nite, Kaku Tatakaeri (ep. 1-8) – For whatever reason, most anime seem to feature teenaged protagonists. It’s a novelty when we get a show about college students or young adults entering the workforce. This season, however, we are fortunate enough to have not one, but two, series with 30-something main characters: GANGSTA., of course, and this one, GATE.
When a portal to an alternate world opens up and monsters attack Tokyo, the Japanese Defense Force fights back by sending a team through the gate. On the other side, they encounter humans as well as fantastical beings.
GATE’s not bad when it focuses on the politics and military strategy taking place in both worlds. I also like that Itami takes his job seriously, though he works primarily to support his otaku habits. I am notably less interested in the fantasy girls that the team has picked up.
(streaming at Crunchyroll)
17. Seiyu’s Life! (Sore ga Seiyuu!) (ep. 1-8) – The sort-of sister show to SHIROBAKO, this slice of life anime follows the exploits of 3 young voice actors trying to make it in the entertainment industry.
While the girls have a number of positive experiences, where they get a chance to learn and grow, a lot of what they go through is quite unglamorous. They sometimes don’t know when or if they’ll be offered another gig; they work second jobs to make ends meet; even when they get the opportunity to form a musical unit, they basically have zero say in the direction of the project.
Seiyu’s Life! provides an informative inside glimpse of what goes on behind the scenes, but unfortunately, I just don’t care that much about these characters.
(streaming at FUNimation)
Notable Drops:
Ushio and Tora (ep. 1-4) – I’d heard some good things about Ushio and Tora, so I gave it a try for 4 episodes. I found it to be a competent production, but felt pretty meh about it overall. I think I was hoping for a little more depth or some adult humour; instead, it was largely predictable.
If you happen to be a fan of old-school shounen, you can certainly do a lot worse than this show. But outside of that, I don’t think there’s much crossover appeal.
(streaming at Crunchyroll)
AQUARION LOGOS (ep. 1-2) – If the first episode had not been prefaced by an Aquarion EVOL special, I don’t know if I would have tuned in at all to this show.
The many characters are poorly introduced and I just found it impossible to connect with them. Especially when the premise is stupid, it’s important to have likeable characters to carry the proceedings. Although, it’s uncertain whether any amount of quality characters or interactions could actually make up for something this stupid.
The word-monster of the week concept actually manages to be more lame than the intentionally lame adversaries in Cute High! With that show, and EVOL, what both had in spades was a self-aware and over the top sense of humour, something LOGOS sorely seems to lack. Wish I hadn’t wasted my time on this.
(streaming at FUNimation)
Ranpo Kitan: Game of Laplace (ep. 1-2) – Based on the first arc, mystery anime Ranpo Kitan seems to want to be edgy and provocative, but to me, the story was just so completely out there that it strained all credulity. Sure, it’s not uncommon for people to want to be immortalized as furniture after they die, even if they have to die prematurely. Yeah, happens all the time.
(streaming at FUNimation)