Friday 4 October 2019

Anime Spotlight : Summer 2019 Let The Good Times Roll

Summer 2019 has come to an end, and I'm glad to say it's been a pretty good season, sure there were a few stinkers, but generally the quality of shows was pretty good. As usual my writeup will only contain anime that have in fact ended with the Summer 2019 season, so ongoing shows won't be mentioned. As usual I'll start with the 5 Anime I found to be the best of the past season. And then I'll share my thoughts on the rest of the anime I watched.

Carole & Tuesday

Synopsis : Fifty years have passed since mankind began migrating to the new frontier: Mars. It's an age where most culture is produced by AI, and people are content to be passive consumers.

There's a girl. Scraping a living in the metropolis of Alba City, she's working part time while trying to become a musician. She's always felt like something is missing. Her name is Carole.

There's a girl. Born to a wealthy family in the provincial town of Herschel City, she dreams of becoming a musician, but nobody around her understands. She feels like the loneliest person in the world. Her name is Tuesday.

A chance meeting brings them together. They want to sing. They want to make music. Together, they feel like they just might have a chance. The two of them may only create a tiny wave. But that wave will eventually grow into something larger...
Thoughts : What do you get when you take a flawless Soundtrack, direction from acclaimed Watanabe Shin`ichirou, an all star cast with even Megumi Hayashibara, great story telling and loveable characters? A contender for Anime of the Year for sure. If by some reason you didn't watch Carole and Tuesday, Do yourself the favor and get to it.

Mix: Meisei Story

Synopsis : Thirty years after Uesugi Tatsuya and Kazuya brought Meisei High School to their only appearance and championship at the National High School Baseball Championship, a pair of highly talented stepbrothers, Tachibana Touma and Souichirou, bring the possibility of a return to the Koshien, as they learn of the Meisei High sports heritage of their fathers.
Thoughts : From the creator of the anime with the most memorable first episode "Cross Game" comes Mix : Meisei Story, a fantastic light hearted baseball and family anime. Not nearly as emotional as Cross Game but still worth every second. Fans of slice of life anime would also enjoy Mix Meisie Story.

Kimetsu no Yaiba

Synopsis : Since ancient times, rumors have abounded of man-eating demons lurking in the woods. Because of this, the local townsfolk never venture outside at night. Legend has it that a demon slayer also roams the night, hunting down these bloodthirsty demons. For young Tanjirou, these rumors will soon to become his harsh reality...

Ever since the death of his father, Tanjirou has taken it upon himself to support his family. Although their lives may be hardened by tragedy, they've found happiness. But that ephemeral warmth is shattered one day when Tanjirou finds is family slaughtered and the lone survivor, his sister Nezuko, turned into a demon. To his surprise, however, Nezuko still shows signs of human emotion and thought... Thus begins Tanjirou's request to fight demons and turn his sister human again.
Thoughts : Easily the most popular anime this season, and with good reason. UFOTABLE did a fantastic job on this action packed show. Let's face it, unless you live under a rock you've seen all the Nezuko memes as well as the all the cosplay at cons. If you crave some good shounen for once that doesn't get lost in filler episodes or suffer terrible production standards. This is for you.

Fruits Basket 1st Season

Synopsis : After a family tragedy turns her life upside down, plucky high schooler Honda Tooru takes matters into her own hands and moves out...into a tent! Unfortunately for her, she pitches her new home on private land belonging to the mysterious Souma clan, and it isn't long before the owners discover her secret. But, as Tooru quickly finds out when the family offers to take her in, the Soumas have a secret of their own--when touched by the opposite sex, they turn into the animals of the Chinese Zodiac!
Thoughts : I adored the original Fruits Basket anime but this remake of Fruits Basket blew my expectations and heart away. Having an even bigger emotional impact than the original many anime fans, myself included, loved. Took a lot of work, I'm also happy to know that they plan to adapt the entire manga this time around so we can finally see it all animated :D

Kanata no Astra

Synopsis : The year is 2061, when space travel is now possible and commercially viable, and the students of Caird High School embark on their Planet Camp.

But soon after Group B5 arrived at their planetary camp site, a mysterious and unforeseen sentient light sphere warps its 9 members into outer space, stranding them 5012 light years away from their home planet.

With the discovery of an old, unmanned spaceship nearby, the students must stay strong, manage their limited resources and remain united in the darkness of space, so that all of them can survive their long and likely perilous trek back home aboard the Astra.
Thoughts : Astra lost in Space got me hooked initially due to how much it reminded me of Uninhabited Planet Survive, a classic anime I'd easily recommend to anyone, but I stayed for the great story, characters and the twists. Oh the twists. So well done, It has a few flaws but what show doesn't?

That concludes the five anime I thought stood out as the best from the past season. Now my thoughts on the rest.

Kono Yo no Hate de Koi wo Utau Shoujo YU-NO : This anime took my by surprise, in a good way. Even though it has a lot of dimensional travel/time travel elements. It tied most of the loose ends up nice. A fair warning for sensitive people, it does contain some scenes you might find disturbing.

Dumbbell Nan Kilo Moteru : A great mix of training exercise and comedy, at first I wasn't sure what I was getting into, But I thoroughly enjoyed it. 

Uchimusume : A fun fantasy anime about an adventurer that takes in a demon girl and gets a bit over protective of her ;) It's mostly an enjoyable anime except for that episode with the Sister....


Machikado Mazoku : I absolutely loved this cute anime about a demon girl that has to defeat the magical girl to free her family from the seal. A real feel good anime.

Symphogear XV : You know, I'm glad the Symphogear franchise has come to an end, not because I didn't enjoy it, But it did get a bit tiring with a "new hidden enemy" every season. If magical girls and idols are your things, be sure to give it a watch. It has good fight scenes, some emotional parts too.

Re Stage! Dream Days : Speaking of idols, even though the characters in Re Stage! are on the young side, the music isn't bad and the problems the obstacles they face seem fairly realistic. A fun watch all in all.

Cop Craft : Ever wanted a good ol Cop Buddy story with some isekai vibes thrown in? Cop Craft has you sorted, unfortunately it did suffer from some shoddy animation in parts

Arifureta Shokugyou de Sekai Saikyou : Speaking of isekai, although not as terrible as "Isekai Cheat Magician" Arifureta was still pretty darn bad, watchable at least

Toaru Kagaku no Accelerator : After the mess that was A Certain Magical Index III I wasn't sure if I'd enjoy Accelerator, turned out my doubts were misplaced. Fans of the "toaru" franchise will enjoy this.

Okaa-san Online : Is one of those isekai anime that takes all the normal tropes, mixes them up, adds a fair bit of fun and never takes itself seriously. Well worth the watch.

Bem : This anime is a bit of a guilty pleasure for me, it's not really good in anyway, but I kept finding myself watching it...I'm unsure if it was the setting or just the entire premise of the show

Katsute Kami Datta Kemono-tachi e : Starts off with a civil war vibe, turns into your average revenge anime with people turned monsters. Forgettable for the most part.

Tejina-senpai : A short gag filled anime about a girl that can't do magic and her assistant that keeps getting dragged into her messes. Has a fair bit of fanservice and it's short episode length worked

Sounan Desu ka : Better than any Bear Grylls episode by far, and just as informative, with the added bonus of cute girls.

Joshikousei no Mudazuka : Gag anime of the season, also had the best OP. For people looking for laughs this is what you need.

Hensuki : I quite enjoyed this ecchi romcom anime. A bit predictable at times, but not at first, especially not for our poor protagonist.

Nakanohito Genome [Jikkyouchuu] : An anime about let's players/streamers stuck by some mysterious alpaca forced to take part in games to rack up a view count? Yes absurd but I loved it.

Lord El-Melloi II Case Files : A spin off from Fate/Zero and a great one at that, especially for fans of Iskander. I'm hoping they make more of this.

Araburu Kisetsu no Otome-domo yo : From the author of Kodomo no Jikan comes this powerhouse of an anime about a bunch of literary girls being thrust into the world of "adolescence" . It just gets better with every episode.

Danmachi Season 2 : A pretty good season of Danmachi, and even though some people will disagree. Hestia is still wurst grill.

Karakai Jouzu no Takagi-san 2 : I was looking forward to the second season of Takagi-san, this second season exceeded my expectations. Also liked the added touch of the short "future" vision in it.

And that wraps up the Summer 2019 anime season, all in all I feel that the season was pretty good, and Autumn 2019 has a lot to look forward to. Which anime did you enjoy most this past season?