This summer’s season of anime was better than I'd expected at the outset. Of the four series I enjoyed the most, three were complete surprises.
First, as to the series that are continuing. I’m on episode 5 and finally enjoying Sailor Moon Crystal. Since it’s the original magical girls anime, now I see where certain conventions of that genre came from, like the moment when the girls “power up,” announcing their special names and striking a pose. ;-)
I’m most intrigued by Tuxedo Mask (I keep wanting to call him Tuxedo Moon), and apparently his story gets told next in episode 6, so I’ll look forward to that.
I’m still watching Yamishibai S2, those little five-minute paranormal creepfest episodes. I’m currently behind on Naruto Shippuuden by about nine episodes, so I’ll have to block off time for a marathon. And Crunchyroll is such a one-stop-shopping experience these days with all their licenses that I’m behind on Space Dandy S2, which I have to keep remembering to watch on Funimation.
I watched the first episodes of Shonen Hollywood and Zankhou no Terror and then got swamped by my writing schedule and never continued with either, though both looked decent. They’ll go onto my on-hold list rather than the dropped list, because I may pick them up again in future.
Bakumatsu Rock ended on the same wild note it played through the whole series, with the bad guys setting up gigantic speakers all over Japan to hypnotize the populace with their dastardly “Heaven’s Song.” Of course Ryoma-kun and his merry band of rockers save the day at the end...
Haikyuu deserves its own post and I’ll write one at some point. I’ll just say here that it’s an example of how a sports anime can be good even if you focus solely on story and character growth at the expense of fan service (there is none) and the fan pandering that you see in most other sports animes.
I continued to enjoy The File of Young Kindaichi Returns this season in its second cour. Some of the crimes Kindaichi solved this season were quite dark and brutal, which slightly dampened my enthusiasm for the show, but it was still good.
Finally, the four that rocked me this season.
The one of the four that didn’t surprise me was Love Stage, which of course I loved. :-)
Love Stage was a sweet BL series. I hesitate to call it yaoi: it’s a soft and fluffy love story with only light touches of angst here and there. Compared to heavier stories like Sekai-ichi Hatsukoi or Junjou Romantica, Love Stage was like a spring breeze.
And it was so funny. It was more of an outright comedy with a BL romance pairing than it was a BL story with some comedy. Love Stage made me laugh out loud many times, which puts it right up there with Monthly Girls Nozaki-kun this season.
If you want to dip your toes into yaoi/BL waters, Love Stage is a perfect introduction to the genre.
There’s still one more episode left of Nobunaga Concerto, but this show rapidly grew on me this summer and I can already say – along with many commenters on Crunchyroll – that this was the most underrated series of the season.
A time-travel historical story done as a straight-up drama, Nobunaga Concerto has a beautiful look even though – or perhaps because – it’s entirely CGI. The main character, modern schoolboy Saburo who finds himself subbing in for the real Nobunaga in the Warring States era, looked at first like he was going to be obnoxious, but he settled down and became a complex and engaging character in a solidly-told story.
Like Nobunaga Concerto, I threw Dramatical Murder onto my watchlist at the last minute, not expecting too much of it. It became one of the series that I always made sure to watch each week despite having a busy schedule this summer.
Dramatical Murder is based on a video game. Set on the island of Midorijima sometime in the future, the main character is Aoba, a young man who can’t remember too much of his past.
Aoba works in a junk shop and has one good friend, Koujaku. Midorijima is run by gangs who play a virtual fighting game called “Rhyme.” The real controller of the island is a dictator named Toue, who rules from his futuristic tower in the center of the island.
Each person has his own “All Mate,” an AI computer built into what look like pets. Aoba’s All Mate is Ren, a small blue dog whose pink tongue perpetually hangs out.
The episodes seem unrelated at first as the show follows one character’s path from the video game and then another’s. But eventually the greater story unfolds, and then you’re hooked.
Actually, I got hooked early on by the great character designs, fantastic costumes, cute AI pets and generally hip and cool presentation of this universe. Dramatical Murder initially comes off as a Durarara or K type of anime, too-cool-for-school and style over substance. But like those other two series, it builds to a mystery that has you impatiently looking forward to each new episode. There were some deep and poignant moments too. It’s a much better show than you’d think just from its description and I recommend it.
And finally, the series I enjoyed the most this season.
I always watch anime series about mangakas because I find the manga industry fascinating. With Monthly Girls Nozaki-kun I also got a great comedy series, which I wasn’t expecting.
Petite red-haired Chiyo Sakura has a crush on the stone-faced Umetarou Nozaki. Her crush turns out to be a professional manga artist despite still being in high school, and Chiyo begins assisting him with his art work.
She meets his other part-time assistants like Hori, the talented but short actor in the school’s drama club, and Wakamatsu, who plays on the basketball team.
There’s plenty of comedy just between Nozaki and Chiyo with his manga work and her crush on him, but what really made the show funny were the gender reversal pairings of Hori and Kashima, and Wakamatsu and Seo.
Hori is the drama club’s director, and he’s constantly frustrated in dealing with Kashima, a tall glamorous girl the other girls call “Prince.” Their relationship involved so much gag violence, confusion and misunderstanding that I couldn't tell if it was supposed to be a romantic pairing or not. They either liked or hated each other – I couldn't tell which – but they couldn't let go of each other.
The funniest couple was Wakamatsu and Seo.
Seo is one of my new favorite female anime characters. Totally lacking in grace or the decorum that young women are supposed to possess, she’s loud, insulting, physically violent and clueless about others. She also has a beautiful singing voice, giving her the nickname “Lorelei.”
Wakamatsu, on the other hand, is Mr. Nice Guy to the point of insipidness, and Seo’s victim. She targets balls at his head during basketball practice and harasses him until he can’t take it anymore and asks Nozaki for advice.
He finally decides to challenge Seo to a duel on the school roof, only to say things and take actions that make it seem he’s in love with her instead. At one point, his voice rising hysterically, Wakamatsu accuses Seo of throwing balls at him, and making him carry her stuff home from school, and then taking him to a family restaurant and treating him and giving him gifts and...
... At which point Nozaki, hiding and listening to this, thinks, “Actually, I think she likes you.” Seo is like the boy who picks on and teases a girl because he doesn’t know any other way to show his crush. It’s a truly funny role reversal and even better in that neither seems to get that they do, in fact, like each other.
Compared to the two supporting couples, Chiyo and Nozaki were almost dull, but still funny. I did appreciate how Chiyo is still in love with Nozaki at the end, despite experiencing his weirdness and weaknesses close up. ;-)
Monthly Girls Nozaki-kun is now on my anime DVD to-buy list.
