Summer anime is upon us at last, but while temperatures in the northern hemisphere are inching upward, my feelings about this season’s offerings are lukewarm at best. While we’ve got a few notable sequels—Gatchaman Crowds Insight, for one, along with the first new Dragon Ball series in almost twenty years—most of the season is struggling to squeak above utter mediocrity. Still, as always, there are a few worthy contenders among the new shows this season, including a picturesque fantasy romance, a lively 90s throwback, a gritty crime story, and a quirky supernatural school comedy.
With simulcasts in full swing, there’s no reason not to dive in. Crank up the A/C and check out these top picks for the summer season.
Snow White with the Red Hair / Akagami no Shirayuki-hime
Shirayuki (voiced by Saori Hayami) is a humble herbalist in the country of Tanbarun who was born with striking apple-red hair. When her unusual locks catch the unwanted attention of Tanbarun’s prince, Shirayuki opts to flee her home rather than become his concubine. Shirayuki heads for the neighboring country of Clarines, where she runs into a mysterious young man, Zen (Ryota Ohsaka). When the prince sends his men to retrieve Shirayuki, Zen interferes, revealing that he is a prince of Clarines. With Zen’s help, Shirayuki escapes Tanbarun, and sets out to build a life and career in her new country.
This fantasy romance, based on a popular manga by Sorata Akizuki, has a quiet kind of charm. Shirayuki is a resourceful protagonist who is driven by her desire to choose her own fate, and Zen, a somewhat naive and impetuous prince, is earnest and steadfast in his friendship with Shirayuki. Akagami is not the kind of series driven by thrilling plot developments, but by the slowly evolving relationships between the characters. With seasoned director Masashiro Ando (Sword of the Stranger, Blast of the Tempest) helming production at Bones (Blood Blockade Battlefront, Space Dandy), the series is in good hands, and the clean and colorful visuals make this show a pleasure to watch. If a laid-back romance sounds up your alley, there’s no better option this season than Akagami.
For fans of: Soredemo Sekai wa Utsukushii/The World is Still Beautiful, Akatsuki no Yona/Yona of the Dawn (not really in tone, but hey, they both have red hair), Spice and Wolf
Watch it now on Hulu and Funimation
Ushio and Tora / Ushio to Tora
Middle schooler Ushio Aotsuki (Tasuku Hatanaka) is the son of a temple family, and has grown up hearing stories about his heroic ancestor, a man who defeated a powerful demon with a weapon called the Beast Spear. While cleaning out the temple’s storeroom, Ushio stumbles upon a hidden cellar, where (to the great shock of no one who has ever watched shounen anime) he finds the monster himself, pinned down by the legendary spear. Unfortunately for Ushio, it’s not as simple as shutting up the cellar and walking away—the unsealed monster has attracted heaps of smaller demons. Ushio is forced to release the creature, who he names Tora (Rikiya Koyama), in order to defeat the demons—but pinning him down again will not be so easy. Thus begins the grudging partnership between Ushio and Tora.
This fantasy action show, a belated adaptation of an award-winning 90s manga, is brought to us by studio MAPPA (Rage of Bahamut, Punchline) and director Satoshi Nishimura (director of another 90s favorite, Trigun). Ushio to Tora virtually oozes 90s, from the character designs to the cartoony slapstick comedy, not to mention the completely straight way they run at a premise that we’ve been seeing variations of for the last twenty years. That said, Ushio to Tora is pretty darn fun. The show has great energy, and the more raw, retro look sets it apart from slick and shiny fantasy shows like Rokka no Yuusha and GATE this season. Ushio and Tora have good chemistry, and Rikiya Koyama’s performance as Tora, which flips from terrifying monster to pathetic whining in a matter of seconds, is especially entertaining. The series is so far following a supernatural-abomination-of-the-week formula, but the two-cour length promises some meatier developments down the line. A good watch for those craving 90s nostalgia and hot-blooded shounen.
For fans of: Inuyasha, Natsume Yuujinchou, Kekkaishi, Yu Yu Hakusho
Watch it now on Crunchyroll
GANGSTA
In the slums of Ergastulum, protagonists Worick (Junichi Suwabe) and Nicolas (Kenjiro Tsuda) work as “Handymen,” accepting dirty jobs that even the mafia and police prefer not to touch, from taking out rogue gangs to delivering money or drugs. When the cops ask them to deal with a pimp and his gang encroaching on the mafia’s territory, Worick and Nic take pity on a prostitute working for the gang, Alex (Mamiko Noto), and save her life by claiming her as a reward for the job. With nowhere to go, Alex joins the Handymen as a secretary—but her new bosses have plenty of secrets of their own, and falling in with them may be more dangerous than life on the streets.
Gangsta definitely falls into the “dark and gritty cartoons for adults” brand of anime, with its focus on violence, crime, and the general viciousness of its pseudo-European setting. Although this isn’t a category I usually find myself drawn to, I’m liking Gangsta more than expected, a development I mostly attribute to the characters. Worick is a smooth talker who knows when to turn on the charm, and Alex is sympathetic as an audience stand-in trying to make sense of her new companions. But the most intriguing character is Nic, a deaf assassin who communicates primarily through sign language and limited speech. I’ve been quite impressed with the way the show has handled this aspect of the manga source material, and Kenjiro Tsuda gives an excellent performance in Nic’s small amount of dialogue. Animation production by Manglobe (Samurai Flamenco, Deadman Wonderland) is so far competent and consistent, and will hopefully remain that way for the twelve episode run. If you’ve been craving a serious anime with mature themes and a high body count, you’ll want to check out Gangsta this season.
For fans of: Black Lagoon, Michiko to Hatchin, Jormungand
Watch it now on Hulu and Funimation
Actually, I Am / Jitsu wa Watashi wa
High school student Asahi Kuromine (Natsuki Hanae) is notorious amongst his friends for his inability to keep a secret. Not only does this mean his friends swindle him in poker games, it’s also obvious to the whole class who he’s crushing on: Youko Shiragami (Yuu Serizawa), a mysterious girl who keeps to herself at school. When Kuromine musters up the courage to confess his love to Shiragami in an empty classroom, he accidentally walks in on her unfurling a rather unmistakable pair of bat wings. A mortified Shiragami explains that she is actually a vampire, but will have to leave school if her secret is discovered. Kuromine solemnly swears to keep her identity secret, but it’s obvious that’s going to be a uphill battle for a kid who wears his heart on his sleeve.
Jitsu wa Watashi wa is a supernatural school romcom based on a manga with a bit of a cult following. Although the premise is not terribly original, the show has a wacky energy to it that’s surprisingly fun. And while this show is nothing special visually—the character designs are a bit crude, the colors a bit lurid, and the animation doesn’t exactly make my heart pitter patter—Jitsuwata makes up for what it lacks in polish with terrific comedic timing, goofy reactions, and a certain pure-hearted sincerity from its characters. Kuromine’s awkward honesty is particularly endearing (voice actor Hanae is certainly in his element in these roles), and Youko and the others have so far mostly resisted typical harem archetypes. If the enthusiasm for the source material is any indication, Jitsuwata should be an interesting watch this season.
For fans of: Yamada and the Seven Witches, Rosario to Vampire, Majimoji Rurumo, Witch Craft Works, Haiyore! Nyaruko-san, Blood Lad
Watch it now on Crunchyroll
Nothing here catching your eye? Check out the full summer roster here, and be sure to let us know what you’re watching this season in the comments!
Kelly Quinn is still pretty upset that Aquarion Logos is nothing like Aquarion EVOL. Tell her how bad her taste is on Twitter.
I wasn’t able to get much out of Actually, I Am. I think this is the very first show I’ve had to entirely reject solely because of its art; it felt like I was looking at someone’s first attempt after reading one of those How to Draw Manga books that were so popular in the early 2000s.
For my mileage Gangsta is certainly one of the two biggest stand-outs, but the other was an even bigger surprise. Prison School and Monster Musume were very heavily hyped as the big ecchi shows to watch this season, so much so that despite my personal distaste for the genre I even gave them both a try before finding them wanting. Shimoneta, on the other hand, is absolutely everything I’ve ever wanted from a dirty comedy. The entire plot is built to be an exaggerated social commentary on censorship and sex shaming, taking the concept to its absolute extreme to present a world where even curse words and the knowledge of how babies are made are absolutely forbidden. (“When two people love each other very much, it just sort of happens” is taught in high school. *facepalm*) The populace is forced to wear dystopian necklaces that track them for use of illegal words and actions, forcing a bizarre sense of “morality” that spreads ignorance as much as it does good behavior.
The protagonists, naturally, rally against this unnatural state of affairs, and try to force sex ed on the populace by any means necessary. It’s actually done a lot more tastefully than it sounds; the panty shots and cleavage you’d usually expect are entirely absent, and big goofy censor logos cover anything the setting itself might find improper down to the smallest hand gesture. This works in the show’s favor, and both the visual censorship and bleeps that cover bad language work to make the show much funnier than it would be if delivered straight.
The male lead is often stuck playing the straight man, but the real stand-out of the show is Ayame Kajou, aka the “dirty joke terrorist” Blue Snow. Vulgar to the extreme and a master of innuendo, she can sneak in three-minute windows of obscenity via a loophole in the government’s system and she makes damn sure to get some mileage out of it. Overshadowing every other character in any scene she appears, her unrelenting nature and the ever present string of bleeps that cover her language are a large part of the show’s humor. Seeing her slowly “corrupt” the student body is probably one of the most enjoyable things I’ve ever seen in a comedy, especially one in this genre.
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@1.ZetaStriker – I get you about Jitsuwata. Actually, I am (har har) a pretty superficial anime fan myself, and have been known to drop things (or pick them up) for art or animation, so I see where you’re coming from. Having the seen the manga around but never been particularly attracted to it for the above reasons, I was pretty skeptical myself going in, but the show’s totally won me over in the first three episodes.
Now Shimoseka didn’t quite work for me though, so I guess we are on opposite ends of the spectrum this season! I enjoyed the first episode more than I expected, but by the end of the second I felt like the joke was already a bit tired. On the other hand, I’m still watching Prison School, both because I’ve heard the manga is bonkers and because the director is Tsutomu Mizushima, who (besides directing the excellent Shirobako most recently) was the director of another dirty comedy I enjoyed immensely, Yondemasu yo, Azazel-san. So far I’m not that impressed, but I’ll give it the old three-episode rule. Thanks for bringing up Shimoseka here, I know a lot of people are enjoying it this season!
I am a pretty big anime fan I am scared that Yona is not getting a new season that is sad. I hope that Snow White with the red hair is an as good strong woman show but it looks like it may not be. The title is odd is that a direct translation does anyone know? It is not unlike the Japanese to take new looks at Western properties or history (they did a very interesting show around a real French medieval spy that was a cross dresser and Ganketsuo (likely misspelled) a retelling of the count of Monte Cristo is a classic, Fairy Musketeers is a great retelling of many western fairy tails) but not seen one where the title is this interesting though. Out of these Ganksta sounds the most interesting. Thanks for doing this! Animevice where I used to get this info has gone away … sigh.
Chevalier D’eon and Gankutsuo, yeah. I’m a huge fan of both series, and the latter still holds a treasured place on my shelf even after slimming down my collection during a recent move.
Is anyone here watching Gate? That’s the “portal to a fantasy world opens in Tokyo and an army of orcs/dragons pours out of it” series, or alternately “Outbreak Company taken seriously”. I can’t say it’s the best thing I’ve ever watched but it is solid, and I’m a sucker for modern weaponry absolutely destroying medieval/magical armies. I just hope that it eventually does get a chance to tackle cross-world politics at some point as well, that’s honestly something that really interests me.
@3.dwcole – Sadly it’s pretty rare for shoujo adaptations for get second seasons…but there’s always room for hope! Shirayuki is a strong protagonist, but her strength is of a far more subdued kind than Yona’s, and is more about self-determination and perseverance. I have also seen the title rendered in English as Red-haired Snow White, so yes, it’s pretty literal. I wouldn’t go in expecting a fairy tale though: the show has very little in common with Snow White besides the set up.
@@.-@.ZetaStriker – I watched a bit of GATE, and I thought the first episode especially was very polished, but I couldn’t work up much enthusiasm for it. I’m still watching Rokka no Yuusha, the other semi-generic LN fantasy adaptation this season, though I couldn’t exactly tell you why. I do like the sort of Mesoamerican setting, it’s original at least.
I’d give the second episode of Gate a watch, if only because the first episode is basically just all backstory to what the rest of the series will be about. Like I said, it’s not the best thing airing this season, but the first episode isn’t an accurate depiction of the series either. It’s not until about halfway through episode 2 that the main character gets a squad and is given reign to take charge and do things.
I loved the OAV series of Ushio and Tora when it came out. I’m happily anticipating getting to sit down and watch the new series.
@@@@@ZetaStriker
I’m watching gate and I actually do think this is the best show this season so far.
I like the fact that there taking it slow on the back story.
I like the fact that we have an older more established character. I especially like in EP 2 that while he is a little laid back he is a competent officer.
I like the fact that the politics and military so far feel realistic. The fact that they take six months to go through the gate because they take the time to get everything in order gives me high hopes rather then just have them charge through.
I like that everything is part of an organization so far. The characters aren’t charging off solo to save the world. Everyone on both sides have long standing relationships to to the structures around them which they don’t ignore.
My main concern with gate is when we meet the three female characters from the opening it will turn into a harem Anime. I’m much more interested in a political Anime.
I admit though, anime like 12 Kingdoms and Demon King Maoyu where it is about economics and politics are things that I really enjoy so that is coloring my perceptions.
akagami no shirayuki-hime 赤髪の白雪姫
赤髪 akagami: red hair
の no: attributive particle
白雪 shirayuki: white snow
姫 hime: princess
Snow White is my favorite of the season. I love the visuals, and I love Shirayuki and Zen and their relationships. It is truly a relationship to yearn to have, with both sides being equal and supporting each other’s dreams.
I like Gangsta a lot too. The more I watch it, the more I’m convinced it’s strongly aimed at women. I know the women in it are all dressed for the male gaze, but the camera lingers over the men in a way that reminds me of Free! to be honest. And if those two guys aren’t supposed to be slash material, then I don’t know anything about anime.
The other shows I’m enjoying (aside from sequels like Non Non Biyori and Gatchman 2):
Junjou Romantica- It seems to be really politically incorrect to still like this show, but I adore all the couples, even the main one that people say never changes. They do, just in tiny steps. It’s typical for manga romance of any kind. It takes 20 volumes to get to the point where they can even admit liking each other. The inbetween moments are annoying at times, but those moments when their feelings are crystallized on screen are the sorts I read romance for.
A Seiyuu’s Life (or whatever it’s called)- it’s not a great anime by any means, but it is teaching me things about a voice actor’s job that I find interesting. I may not last the season
Classroom Crisis- it’s kind of typical except all the students are gear heads who love engineering. I can’t help watching because of that.
Aoharu x Machinegun- This is just fun for me, pretty guys and guns and a possible romance or two. It’s probably not for most people but it’s aimed squarely at me (no pun intended).
Himouto! Umaru-chan- This just makes me laugh. The sister is horrible but that awful chibi version of her is really funny to me.
Rokka- I wasn’t going to watch this but the animation is so pretty I’m sticking with it for a while. The story isn’t that compelling but it may get better.
Already dropped: I don’t like Gate because it’s so nationalist, distastefully so to me. The sex comedies just left me bored. Rampo Kitan irritated me because the stories the episodes are based on deserve better treatment.