Days
Synopsis : The anime centers on two boys who were never meant to meet: Tsukamoto Tsukushi, who has no special skills but secretly hides a passionate heart, and Kazama Jin, an isolated soccer genius. On a stormy night, the two meet, and that meeting creates a whirlwind in the world of high school soccer.
Thoughts : As you probably know by now, or not, I'm a huge sports anime fan. Last season sadly lacked in that department but Summer 2016 brings us DAYS and Battery. DAYS has that whole main guy working hard and trying his best appeal that I enjoy so much.
Amaama to Inazuma
Synopsis : Having lost his wife, math teacher Inuzuka Kouhei is doing his best to raise his young daughter Tsumugi as a single father. He's pretty bad at cooking and doesn't have a huge appetite to begin with, but chance brings his little family and one of his students, Iida Kotori, together for homemade adventures. With those three cooks in the kitchen, it's no wonder this dinner table drama is so delicious.
Thoughts : Amaama to Inazuma is one of those shows that from the get go, pulls on your heartstring, but also heals you with laughter and it's cuteness. Ask yourself this, Why aren't you watching this?
Orange
Synopsis : When sixteen-year-old Takamiya Naho receives a mysterious letter claiming to be from her twenty-seven-year-old self, her life is suddenly thrown into flux. The letter tells her that a new transfer student by the name of Naruse Kakeru will be joining her class, and that she should keep her eye on him. But why? Naho must decide what to make of the letter and its cryptic warning, and what it means not only for her future, but for Kakeru's as well.
Thoughts : Orange is most probably going to be The Tearjerker of the season, though I am hoping that Naho somehow changes the future, but I also know that it's that glimmer of hope that I hold that will make this even more emotional.
91 Days
Synopsis : The time is 1920, five years after National Prohibition Law took place at a city called Lorel in the United States. Main character Avilo arrives to join the Vampiro family mafia undercover in order to seek revenge of killers who killed his parents and brother in this mafia. A Killing starts kills. Revenge starts new revenge. A story of vengeance and sorrow starts now.
Thoughts : You probably thought I was just going to list emotional or cute anime eh? 91 Days's first episode was Dark but also very cool. I'm curious to see if our protagonists' revenge is worth it in the end.
Amanchu!
Synopsis : Hikari Kohinata is an overwhelmingly cheerful and outgoing 15-year-old girl who has spent all her life in a small and beautiful seaside town on the Izu peninsula. On the first day of high school, she meets Futaba Oki, a slightly introverted girl who has just moved from Tokyo. Before she knows it, Futaba gets dragged along into Hikari's passion for scuba diving. And from there, Futaba gradually starts to come out of her shell, and learns how to take challenges and dive into the ocean of life.
Thoughts : Amanchu! is from the author of Aria, and those of you that know me, know Aria is one of my favorite anime franchises of all time. Needless to say Amanchu!'s timing couldn't have been better after the hole of seeing the Aria franchise come to a complete halt has left me. Amanchu! is pure fun, but also breathtakingly beautiful at times. It remains to be seen if it can charm me as much as Aria or not though.
That concludes my list of top picks from the New anime for Summer 2016. Now on to the rest.
Regalia - The Three Sacred Stars - Had a pretty average first episode but nothing really stood out in it.
Alderamin on the Sky - The premise seems really cool, and it might be a pretty good adventure anime. Heck might even crawl it's way to the list of "Best of the Season" But that remains to be seen as there is some stiff competition.
Qualidea Code - Enjoyable first episode, but it might go either way. Hopefully it gets better as it goes on.
Ange Vierge - Initially had a kind of Strike Witches vibe to it, but the rest of the first episode was mostly just bath scenes.
Hatsukoi Monster - Started off with an unexpected twist and even more unexpeted jokes. Could be this season's dark horse.
Rewrite - As much as I love Key Visual Arts related anime, so far Rewrite has been...a let down
Arslan Senki S2 - I absolutely loved the first season of Arslan Senki, so am quite amped to see how the story unfolds further.
Fukigen na Mononokean - Quite a fun first episode, kinda reminded me of Natsume's Book of Friends
Active Raid S2 - Active Raid's first season surprised a fair bit of people who didn't believe my list by becoming one of the more popular shows of it's season. Will season 2 improve? Remains to be seen but it had a great start.
Mob Psycho 100 - Created by One Punch Man author ONE, set in the same universe as One Punch Man, surely it's a shoe in for best show this season? Well no, the first episode was lackluster in both the animation itself and the fighting. The jokes felt uninspired as well. But let's hope future episodes does it's "roots" justice.
Taboo Tattoo - After watching two episodes of Taboo Tattoo I'm still undecided about it. It has promise to be something worthwhile, but it can also turn into absolute drivel. As always I am optimistic though.
New Game - New Game is adorable and funny, I thoroughly enjoyed watching the first 2 episodes. It's not Anime of the Season material yet, but it's going to be a fun watch regardless.
D.Gray-man Hallow - It's been nearly 10 years since D.Gray-man got canceled. And it's BACK! D.Gray-man Hallow seems to continue where the first season fizzled out, first 2 episodes have been quite...uninteresting though. I might watch it, but I might also drop it. I'll give it a few more episodes to sway my mind.
Cheer Danshi!! - An anime about a male cheerleading club? I am slightly curious, but so far the first 2 episodes haven't really grabbed me yet.
Servamp - Probably the most Edgy anime this season, but also the most gay. The yaoi undertones are strong in this one.
Masou Gakuen HxH - Features a lot of "PLOT" then again what do you expect from a show where girls powerup by doing lewd things with the main character.
Tales of Zestiria the X - UFOTABLE animation makes this a treat to look at, but Tales of Zestiria is a far cry from a good "tales of" game. It remains to be seen if this adaptation will be good or not.
Fate Kaleid Liner PRISMA ILLYA 3rei!! - The third season of the magical girl spin-off series based on Fate/Stay Night's Illya. And in typical Fate Kaleid style, things take a turn for the worst for our heroine. I know this franchise has some big fans who will be pleased by this third season.
Battery - Sports! Baseball! I have hopes that this show will be good, but so far the main character is a little shit.
Kono Bijutsubu ni wa Mondai ga Aru! - A cute romcom set in Art Club with wacky characters, first two episodes were quite fun.
Planetarian - The whole limited "battery" lifetime thing in Planetarian kinda reminded me of Mahoromatic, except not nearly as good so far.
Berserrk 2016 - FINALLY a continuation of Guts' story. Yes I know for manga readers this is old hat, but I'm still quite amped. It's just a shame the use of CGI messes up some scenes.
Time Travel Shoujo - I really enjoyed the first two episodes of Time Travel Shoujo, seems like there are two concurrent stories going on in the anime. One of a ditsy girl going back in time to search for her missing father, and the other involving a seemingly shady organization after her father as well. I'm sure this will most probably intertwine later on though. The anime also has some educational elements in it.
Handa-kun - Handa-kun is based on the highschool life, of a character from the beloved Barakamon Anime. First episode was a bit meh, but the second episode was an improvement. I'm just hoping Handa-kun gets half as good as Barakamon.
Momokuri - Momokuri is cute but also disturbing. Initially it looks like just a warm fluffy romance anime, but the main girl is more than just a bit obsessed.
Shokugeki no Soma S2 - Soma and the gang are back with their lewdfewd and overdone reactions. Great two episodes so far! I want more!
Love Live! Sunshine!! - A new Love Live! set in a different school with new girls, will the original gang make an appearance? Probably.
I didn't bother writing about any of the shows I dropped on the first episode, in case you were not seeing a name on here. What are your thoughts on the season thus far? And what shows are you following?
