Fifteen. Wow. That’s the most number of new anime shows I’ve
checked out at the start of a season so far.
Of course, that doesn’t mean I’m going to continue watching all of them
down the line (but I have a feeling I will end up watching most).
As usual, I’ve listed them down from
best to worst, per my impression of their first few episodes. But this time around, I’ve also categorized
them into three parts.
I’m following…
(These are the new anime series of
the summer season that I’m absolutely watching on top of spring carryovers Carole & Tuesday, Kimetsu no Yaiba, and Fruits Basket.)
Dr. Stone
One day, a bright light engulfs
the world and turns everyone into stone.
Thousands of years go by, and almost all vestige of civilization have
been swallowed up by nature. In the year
5738, high school friends Senku Ishigami and Taiju Ōki finally break free from their
state of petrification, and with the former as “The Brain” and the latter as
“The Brawn”, the duo kicks off humanity’s second journey out of the Stone Age.
Number of episodes as of writing:
3
My initial thoughts:
Appealing science fantasy
premise, interesting characters, amazing animation, and brimming with promise, Dr. Stone rocks (bad pun intended).
Vinland Saga
A badass Viking anime that features both fictional and historical characters and events.
Number of episodes as of writing:
3
My initial thoughts:
It’s giving off Game of Thrones vibes – gritty,
thoughtful, well-crafted, and addicting.
Fire Force
It follows an elite team of fire
fighters who put out “Infernals” – victims of spontaneous human combustion who
turn into fiery demons afterwards.
Number of episodes as of writing:
2
My initial thoughts:
It’s a fresh, exciting,
beautifully animated shonen that seems to have as much heart and depth as
quality action.
Actually, Dr. Stone, Vinland Saga,
and Fire Force are interchangeable with
their spots. Each one is the possible “Anime of the Season”, and all three can
end up in my year-end top ten list.
Are You Lost?
Are You Lost?
It’s a short-form anime series
about a quartet of high school girls who miraculously survive a plane crash but
get stranded in a remote, desert island. Fortunately, one of them is a Bear
Grylls-like survival expert.
Number of episodes as of writing:
3
My initial thoughts:
It’s not necessarily great. But the premise mightily intrigued me. I’m also finding it quite educational.
Do You Love Your Mom and Her
Two-Hit Multi-Target Attacks?
Basically a typical isekai. But this time, the MC’s mother is also
transported to the MMORPG fantasy world with him.
In addition, it’s not the MC who ends up becoming OP, but his mother.
Number of episodes so far: 2
My initial thoughts:
Do You Love Your Mom and Her Two-Hit Multi-Target Attacks? doesn’t
necessarily offer anything notably fresh; the clichés are evident. But among the four new isekai series this season,
it’s the one that has the craziest spin on the formula, and thus, is the most distinct. The comedy is also on point. So, if I find myself in a situation where I
only have the time for one isekai this season, this is my choice. Also worth mentioning: the eponymous “mom”,
Mamako, rivals If It's for My Daughter,
I'd Even Defeat a Demon Lord’s Lalatina for the title of “most adorable
character of the season.”
Speaking of If It's for My Daughter, I'd Even Defeat a Demon Lord…
If It's for My Daughter, I'd Even
Defeat a Demon Lord
While on a mission in the deep
forest, a young adventurer encounters a little devil girl who oddly bears her
kind’s mark of a criminal and who appears to have been recently orphaned. Feeling compassion, he decides to adopt her
as his own child.
Number of episodes as of writing:
3
My initial thoughts:
Even though it doesn’t
look like it will have anything remarkable to offer, it’s just too delightful and darling to skip. And it’s mostly due to that
“little devil girl” mentioned above – Latina – being so winsomely adorable. It’s easily the feel-good wholesome show of the season.
But wait a minute...
While Googling for an image of this show for this blog post, I came across the covers of the light novel series which suggest that it might not be so wholesome after all...
 |
| Uh-oh... |
 |
| No... |
 |
| NO! |
 |
| NOOOO! |
Oh, well. Anyway, as far as the first few episodes go, it’s simply sweet and cute and heartwarming. Who knows. Maybe the anime won’t take the same direction.
How Heavy Are the Dumbbells You
Lift?
A comedy about girls going to the
gym and lifting weights.
Number of episodes as of writing:
3
My initial thoughts:
It’s not necessarily hilarious,
but it’s probably the new anime this summer season that made me laugh the
hardest so far. The shtick with the girls’
trainer, Naruzo Machio, never fails to make me chuckle. I also find the regular delivery of weight
training exercise trivia fascinating.
The ED is pretty catchy, too.
I’m on the fence about…
(These are the new anime series
that I may or may not stick with. As of
writing, I’m still going to watch a few more episodes before I make up my mind.)
Astra Lost in Space
While on space camp, nine
youngsters encounter a mysterious orb that teleports them into deep space,
floating in orbit around an unknown planet.
Fortunately, there’s an abandoned spaceship nearby, and they pull
themselves in. To their shock, they
learn that they are 5,012 light years away from home. Left with no choice, they decide upon using
the ship – which they named Astra –
to cross the expanse, hoping to replenish their limited supplies from the
planets they come across along the way.
Number of episodes as of writing:
3
My initial thoughts:
It’s okay. It reminds me a bit of Vandread, Farscape, and Star Trek: Voyager. But going into it, I
was kind of expecting something more.
I’m somewhat particular when it comes to hard sci-fi.
Arifureta: From Commonplace to
World's Strongest
An isekai in which an entire
class is summoned to a fantasy world where they need to save humanity from
being wiped out by demons. But while his
classmates get cool job classes with powerful magical abilities, the MC – an
otaku-type character, an isekai cliché – is stuck with the job class who’s only
capable of a low-level transmutation skill.
During a dungeon raid, he’s betrayed by one of his classmates, and he
plummets to the bottom of the dungeon, where strong monsters lie. He survives, and while on his a way to escape
his predicament, he gradually becomes stronger, learns new skills, creates
powerful weapons, and meets and frees an imprisoned vampire princess, who
becomes loyal to him.
Number of episodes as of writing:
2
My initial thoughts:
It’s apparent that, despite
having a character arc that’s somewhat similar with The Rising of the Shield Hero, it’s based on a very intriguing
isekai source material. Unfortunately,
even though I haven’t read the manga, it’s also rather apparent that this anime
has botched up adapting it. You can
sense it. It looks rushed. It’s seemingly made without any intention of
being a worthwhile anime on its own but just to serve as an advertisement for
the manga. That being said, it seems
like that the mere glimpse of how good it could have been is enough to keep me
watching… for now.
Hensuki: Are You Willing to Fall
in Love with a Pervert, as Long as She’s a Cutie?
A high school boy finds out that
his wish of getting a girlfriend might finally be coming true soon when he
receives a love letter from an anonymous sender. However, strangely accompanying the letter is
a pair of panties. As he investigates
the girls whom he suspects of being the sender, he discovers that each one is
hiding hilarious fetishes.
Number of episodes as of writing:
2
My initial thoughts:
I don’t know. It could end up being an entertaining, hysterical trashy ecchi. But I find the tone to be distractingly
uneven at times.
Wasteful Days of High School Girls
A slice-of-life comedy centered
on a class of quirky girls who have just entered high school.
Number of episodes as of writing:
3
My initial thoughts:
It’s funny. It has made me chuckle a couple of
times. But it hasn’t had me in stitches
yet… which I hoped it would consistently do when I picked it up.
Demon Lord, Retry!
Demon Lord, Retry!
A young working adult is transported into a fantasy world as his video game character. Now, with the abilities and appearance of a gangster-like “Demon Lord”, he saves the life of a lame girl ostracized by her village. He befriends her, and they set out on a journey in this world, encountering various challengers who want to take on this “Demon Lord.”
Number of episodes as of writing: 3
My initial thoughts:
The script is a hodgepodge of isekai concepts. And it’s visually dull because a lot of short cuts were made with the animation. It’s objectively mediocre at best. However, there’s a hint that the MC is going to undergo a “expanding his influence, collecting subordinates, and building a kingdom” arc that’s similar to Overlord and That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime. And, at this point, that’s somehow keeping me slightly curious of what’s going to happen next. But, yeah, this is the likeliest of being dropped.
I’m dropping…
I’m dropping…
(These are the new anime series
that I’m no longer watching beyond their pilots.)
Maidens of the Savage Season
An American Pie-ish coming-of-age comedy following the members of an
all-female high school literature club.
Number of episodes as of writing:
3
My initial thoughts:
It’s actually pretty good, and an
argument can be made that it’s better than many of the anime listed above. Still, it’s just not my cup of tea. Also, if ever I stick with Wasteful Days of High School Girls,
following both shows seems redundant. I
only have room for one high school girls-centered anime comedy.
The Ones Within
Eight teenage “Let’s Play”
streamers are abducted and forced by a strange man in an alpaca mask to
participate in a multi-stage reality game.
Number of episodes as of writing:
2
My initial thoughts:
The pilot has parts that
intrigued me. But it hasn’t given me
much to make me add it on my watchlist.
Isekai Cheat Magician
While on their way to school, a
high school boy and a high school girl are magically transported to another
world. After a group of adventurers save
them from a monster, they decide to work as adventurers themselves while they
are in this world. But when they are
being tested for their aptitude, it is discovered that they actually possess
remarkable magical gifts. If this had
been a game, it would be as if they have “cheats.”
Number of episodes as of writing:
2
My initial thoughts:
It’s the blandest and most basic of the four new isekai series this season. Hence, it’s the least worthwhile of
watching. The pilot’s clichés and lazy
writing made me groan a lot that I almost stopped watching midway through.
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