Summer's finally here, and the new season of anime is coming up fast. This season has a lot of hype surrounding it, thanks to some highly anticipated sequels and remakes as well as new adaptations for popular series as well! Alongside the carryovers from last season, I'm planning on picking up ten new titles from the Summer season.
Ao Haru Ride
I haven't watched a good shoujo in a while, and I've heard positive things about this manga. I do have some high hopes for this one, but I'm keeping it in check since the last time I got hyped over a shoujo adaptation I was burned bad by My Little Monster. There's no reason to expect that this will be another situation like that, though. I'm really liking the whole "reinvent myself" part of the premise. Will that mean opening her true self up for the whole world to see, or just hiding behind a different mask so that she'll be excepted? And in that case, will her suitors love the "real" her? I love character exploration stuff alongside my romance, so I'm hoping that this will be something like that.
Bakumatsu Rock
The synopsis reads: "The story is set in the Bakumatsu era, at the end of the shoguns' rule over Japan in the middle of the 19th century. The Tokugawa shogunate uses the brainwashing Heaven's Songs by the top idols in Shinsengumi to subjugate the country and its people. ...Sakamoto Ryouma and the other rockers rise up and change the world with rock 'n' roll for freedom and justice." Sounds stupid. I'M IN.
Sailor Moon Crystal
The highly anticipated remake is finally airing! It's been kinda funny watching the merchandise hit a little too early (read: when this show was supposed to be airing before the delays were announced), but Viz's license announcement was enough to get my excitement up again (even though that announcement was about the original). It'll be really interesting to see how Sailor Moon will work as a current anime adaptation. Will it be strictly faithful to the manga, or will it try to blend the original material along with some of the fan-favorite elements from the 90s TV series? Either way, this is the must-watch show of the season.
DRAMAtical Murder
I've gotten so close to making this game work on my computer, but I'm finally giving up. I'm just going to watch the anime instead. From the few spoilers I've heard, this should be...interesting. For those of you who have not been exposed to this yet, Dramatical Murder is based on a BL visual novel, so if that is not your jam, it might be best to skip this one. As for me, I can't wait to get context for all the stuff I've heard about the dog...
Fate/kaleid liner Prisma Illya 2wei!
This is on my list for the sole reason that the first season had the best fight scene that I watched last year. Otherwise, I'm setting the bar pretty low since the series makes it obvious that it's a doujin series directed towards a certain audience. In its defense, it's also pretty obvious that its creators never remotely expected it would turn into an anime. But hey, maybe the second season will change that impression.
Free! Eternal Summer
I did start to wonder if the "see you next summer" endcard was too optimistic, but KyoAni is delivering just as promised! I can hardly wait to blog about this series again. Time to refill my Fanboy Tears mug.
Black Butler: Book of Circus
I was surprised when this got announced, since I haven't heard much of anything about Black Butler in recent years. I noticed some excitement from the manga fans on Tumblr, but that was nowhere near the explosion of rage that the non-canon second anime season inspired (which is still my favorite example of troll advertising). Maybe this was approved from a marketing standpoint, to try to drum up the fanbase to its former glory again? Anyway, I'm pretty ambivalent on this series, but I enjoyed the first two seasons enough that I want to take a look at this. I can't deny that I like watching that hell of a butler.
Space Dandy 2
So, are we going to get more random stand-alone episodes showcasing some of the best talent in the industry or will there be a plot while still showcasing the best talent in the industry? I'm mainly in this for more autotuned robot, so I'm fine with either.
Tokyo Ghoul
Kind of a last-minute addition since I wasn't really sold on this until I saw the trailer. Looks like this will be the hyper-violent grimdark distopia of the season. Barring the possibility that the premise will go completely off the rails, this is my action pick for the summer.
Knights of Sidonia
I know I put this down last time, but I wasn't aware that the Netflix stream wouldn't start until July, so I'm adding it again. I'm really excited for this one. Do you know how hard it was for me to avoid breaking and watching fansubs? DO YOU?
And that's what my watchlist looks like so far! What titles are you excited about seeing from the new season?
Images from MAL and Google Image Search. Series information from Anichart.
