Anime: Summer season favorites and dislikes

[redblood]

Every season we get around fifty new anime shows to watch, while around fifty old ones ends. The summer season is coming to its end, and the fall season is about to start in less than a week. So my questions to you are:

What anime from the summer season have you been watching this summer?
Which ones were your favorites (or top ten)?
Did you drop anything?
Did you finish something that you didn't like that much or at all?
Is there something you haven't been able to watch but want to watch eventually?
And if you haven't watched anything at all, is there something from this season you want to watch?

Try to not just write a list, write why you did or didn't like what you watched. A few words is enough. (Of course I will be answering this myself too ^^)

Clarification for what seasons means for those who doesn't know (and which anime counts for this discussion):
Every season (spring, summer, fall and winter) Japan starts airing around fifty new anime series (not counting OVAs and Movies). The first episode of every series usually comes out within four weeks after the first series has started to air and most series keeps going for 11-13 episodes, then the next season starts. There are also series that goes on for 24-26 episodes, thus airs for a two season span. 50 episode series goes over a four season (1 year) span.

This discussion is ONLY for series that started during the summer season, and does not involve series that started on previous seasons but has continued into the summer season. It doesn't involve series you've watched during summer but aired in a different year either. OVA's, movies, and series that started during the summer season is what this discussion should involve. If you're uncertain which series counts, you can check this anime chart: http://livechart.me/summer (If you've customized it to count all ongoing series, you skip all with the word leftover as they started during another season)

 

[Peter Feels]

I had no idea that anime had seasons or the like. I assumed they simply were, like the Judeo-Chistian god or Keanu Reeves.

 

[redblood]

What anime from the summer season have you been watching this summer?
Tokyo ghoul, Gekkan shoujo Nozaki-kun, DRAMAtical murder, Ao Haru ride, Re:_Hamatora, Love stage!, Kuroshitsuji: Book of Circus, Free! Eternal summer, Glasslip, Zankyou no terror, Rokujouma no Shinryakusha!?, Sword art online II, Barakamon, Akame ga kill, Sailor moon Crystal

Which ones were your favorites (or top ten)?
1. Zankyou no terror: It feels like it's a mash up between Death note and Tokyo magnitude 8.0, both series that I really like. The music is great, the story goes a bit up and down, but overall really good, and the animation feels just right, though a certain someones hair looks rather crazy. I really enjoy it and I do hope it comes more series like it. (Both series where you follow the supposedly evil people and series that shows catastrophes and make it feel somewhat real.)


2. Sword art online II (Or gun gale online): While the first season was pretty... meh, this season I think is incredibly good. I did think it was the worst part of SAO when I started watching it, mainly because it took such time before the main character actually got into the game and the plot got going for real, but once Kirito got inside GGO I thought the series became AWESOME. Which is funny considering fantasy is my favorite genre, but that part of SAO was.. not very good. Swords are really cool too, but that part was mediocre at best in my opinion. And guns... well I don't like guns or shows about guns very much, but GGO is still incredibly awesome. I think it's the darker tone that makes me like it so much. Now we finally get to see how Sword art online affected Kirito mentally, and the story generally just feels much darker even if all players aren't at risk of dying if they are killed in game.

3. Akame ga kill: At first I thought it was a bit too goofy in between the seriousness, but it's growing on me for every episode. It went from almost being dropped into being one of my favorites this season. Torture, assassins, and an insane person being in love with the main character and goes as far as to kidnap him, those are just things that my mind enjoys for some reasons.

4. Kuroshitsuji: book of circus - Best Kuroshitsuji season ever!
5. Tokyo ghoul - I just enjoy gore series :3 Btw, I think I heard that a second season is green lit. YAY
6. Gekkan shoujo Nozaki-kun - While the main couple aren't very interesting, the secondary characters are hilarious.
7. Barakamon - Enjoyable, cute, good pacing
8. Love stage! - While I do think they could have changed the style to be a bit less like the manga, I still enjoyed to see one of my favorite yaoi/shounen-ai series in anime form.
9. Re:_Hamatora - I did love the first season, and the second season is good too. Just not as good as the first one. There are elements I like much more than the first season, but the series as a whole doesn't get close to my love for the first one.
10. DRAMAtical murder - Pretty much my guilty pleasure of the season. It wasn't that good, and it had some problems... But I really enjoyed it anyways. I wanted more of the blonde twins brothers though.

Did you drop anything?
Sabagebu! - After two episode I just felt that it wasn't interesting enough.
Nobunaga Concerto - Three episodes in I got really tired of the animation, and the story wasn't good enough for me to pretend I didn't notice the animation.
Tokyo ESP - Usually I really enjoy humans with superpowers kind of shows, but I just couldn't get into the story nor did I like the characters. So on the third of fourth episode I stopped.
Shounen Hollywood - It was just boring. Dropped after two-three episodes.

Did you finish something that you didn't like that much or at all?
Glasslip - I don't know why I finished watching this. While I liked the premise I didn't actually enjoy the series. The first few episodes were alright, but then it became more and more boring. I guess I just hoped it would get more interesting if I gave it time, and while it did entertain me during a few scenes, I didn't find it overall enjoyable.

Is there something you haven't been able to watch but want to watch eventually?
Nope, I've watched everything I wanted to watch and a bit more

 

[redblood]

I had no idea that anime had seasons or the like. I assumed they simply were, like the Judeo-Chistian god or Keanu Reeves.

Hahah yeah, they've got seasons. It's probably more noticeable for those living in Japan whom watches it on TV. For everyone else they either have to notice it by constantly checking anime sides and realizing there's a pattern for when series comes out, or they stumble upon it when they find anime charts of upcoming series for the season. Or they might figure it out when being on an anime forum (or reading an anime related thread like this one) since they usually have a section for currently airing anime, which usually says summer season, winter season or whichever season they are in.

DVD-specials, specials, OVAs and Movies can come pretty much at any time during the season, while series usually comes within the four first weeks of the season start. Usually there comes between 1-5 new series every day for a couple of weeks before they become less and less until the last one has aired its first episode. Those with fewer episodes usually comes later as they will be over faster while those with more episodes comes out first. That way most series stop during the same week, or within a couple of weeks from each other. (Not always the case, but that's what I have observed so far from my seasonal obsession).

 

[Asena]

2. Sword art online II (Or gun gale online): While the first season was pretty... meh, this season I think is incredibly good. I did think it was the worst part of SAO when I started watching it, mainly because it took such time before the main character actually got into the game and the plot got going for real, but once Kirito got inside GGO I thought the series became AWESOME. Which is funny considering fantasy is my favorite genre, but that part of SAO was.. not very good. Swords are really cool too, but that part was mediocre at best in my opinion. And guns... well I don't like guns or shows about guns very much, but GGO is still incredibly awesome. I think it's the darker tone that makes me like it so much. Now we finally get to see how Sword art online affected Kirito mentally, and the story generally just feels much darker even if all players aren't at risk of dying if they are killed in game.


10. DRAMAtical murder - Pretty much my guilty pleasure of the season. It wasn't that good, and it had some problems... But I really enjoyed it anyways. I wanted more of the blonde twins brothers though.

First of all these kinds of posts really help me... Before I do my own little survey I wanted to comment on yours though. SAO II is soooo good this season! I really liked it the first season... up until ALO, then I was just watching it hoping it'd get better, I guess, haha. But I'm glad I stuck through with it for this.

And DRAMAtical Murder... well, I didn't start it because last summer (I think?) Danganronpa was a thing to watch, and when I started watching it, I thought it was meh but would make an awesome game. Then I realized it WAS a game, I stopped watching it immediately, and I played it and LOVED it. So I know DRAMAtical Murder is a game, so I'm trying to find time to play it instead of watching it, lol.

Anyway, as for my summer season, as I said I've been watching SAO II. I've also been watching Free! Eternal Summer which I'm not as crazy about as I was the first season, but I still find it hilarious and worth my time.

... As for anything else, I honestly haven't been watching any other current season anime. Why doesn't Sailor Moon Crystal count? :P

 

[Crab Claws]

What anime from the summer season have you been watching this summer?
If that ongoing Marvel anime counts, then that one.
Does Space Dandy count for summer too? If so then Space Dandy.
Re Hamatora
Akame ga Kill
Aldnoah Zero
Sengoku BASARA Judge End
Nobunaga Concerto
JOJO
Tokyo ESP
Prisma Illya
Which ones were your favorites (or top ten)?
Illya - Well its kind of hard to explain why I like it besides just saying I like the Fate series, but I like all the stuff put into it like a certain someone being the Archer card.
Space Dandy - Its pretty darn dandy man.
Nobunaga Concerto - Animation aside, I like that there's finally an anime about a guy who gets transported through time who DOESN'T know anything about the time period.
Did you drop anything?
Akame ga Kill - only because I had already read the manga and was watching it with a friend.
Momo Kyun Sword - I just sorta stopped, I don't know why
DRAMAtical murder - It didn't appeal to me.
Did you finish something that you didn't like that much or at all?
I'm about to finally finish Captain Earth, I'm still not sure whether or not I like it or not.
Is there something you haven't been able to watch but want to watch eventually?
I'll eventually get to Zankyou no Terror

 

[redblood]

First of all these kinds of posts really help me... Before I do my own little survey I wanted to comment on yours though. SAO II is soooo good this season! I really liked it the first season... up until ALO, then I was just watching it hoping it'd get better, I guess, haha. But I'm glad I stuck through with it for this.

And DRAMAtical Murder... well, I didn't start it because last summer (I think?) Danganronpa was a thing to watch, and when I started watching it, I thought it was meh but would make an awesome game. Then I realized it WAS a game, I stopped watching it immediately, and I played it and LOVED it. So I know DRAMAtical Murder is a game, so I'm trying to find time to play it instead of watching it, lol.

Anyway, as for my summer season, as I said I've been watching SAO II. I've also been watching Free! Eternal Summer which I'm not as crazy about as I was the first season, but I still find it hilarious and worth my time.

... As for anything else, I honestly haven't been watching any other current season anime. Why doesn't Sailor Moon Crystal count? :P

Dramatical murder the game, as far as I've heard, is mainly a yaoi sex game. I did some searching on it in the beginning of the season, and you simply take different routes and eventually ends up having sex with one of the males. (Even the dog is an option xD haha) In the anime it's mainly hints of possible romance/sexual feelings, but nothing that's really followed up upon.

I totally agree about Free. The first season was awesome, but the second feels a bit meh. It's not bad, but I don't think the conflict in the new series is as appealing as in the last one. And I don't really like Rin's old friend. He's a bit boring, but he has his moments I guess. What I do like however is the latest episodes when the pressure of what to do after their last year starts to haunt Haruka, and the conflict that creates between Rin and him. So I have a bit mixed feelings about it. Sometimes it's good, sometimes it's a bit boring and slow, but not bad. There's one thing they haven't answered in the series yet though, and I'm afraid we might never get the answer to it... How did Rin's teeth turn shark? They were fine when he was a child. xD

? Sailor moon crystal came out this season, so it counts. (I now realize I didn't put it in my list of series I'm watching though. It's hard to remember it because it only comes every other week xb) If you didn't see it on the Livechart, then it's because it's put under the OVA section. So it's not forgotten (except in my own watch list)

 

[Asena]

Dramatical murder the game, as far as I've heard, is mainly a yaoi sex game.

HAHA OMG I probably should've done some research before just blindly deciding to do whatever; that would've been a hilarious surprise.

I didn't check the OVA list either, so derp on my part. I a little unsure about Sailor Moon Crystal when I first watched it, mainly because the 3D stuff weirded me out, but the more I watch it, the more my inner fangirl freaks out with joy.

 

[redblood]

HAHA OMG I probably should've done some research before just blindly deciding to do whatever; that would've been a hilarious surprise.

I didn't check the OVA list either, so derp on my part. I a little unsure about Sailor Moon Crystal when I first watched it, mainly because the 3D stuff weirded me out, but the more I watch it, the more my inner fangirl freaks out with joy.

Hahah maybe I shouldn't have said anything :3

The 3D weirded me out too. It's okay in the intro song, but during the transformation it looks quite bad. Especially the hair. :( It looks like... Paper or something. Geh. Studio ghibli has made a season long anime that's made completely in 3D/CGI (it will air this fall). It looks really bad in the PV, so I'm quite scared. It's a pity really, since it's based on a really good children's book from my country. Why couldn't they just have kept to their normal style for their first full length show? So disappointed. I hope my inner fangirl will be able to overlook it when it's time o.O

 

[Kestrel]

What anime from the summer season have you been watching this summer? / Which ones were your favorites (or top ten)?

1. Zankyou no Terror, easily my favourite. It has got that tension and it's pretty clever without assuming the viewer is stupid. It has a show don't tell mentality, which is a godsent for an anime, sets a good atmosphere and pays attentions to just the right details to keep you invested without telling you more than you need to know. It might not have the most epic story or deepest characters, but's the execution is excellent.
2. Space Dandy , every episode it looks like the people behind it just say "Fuck all conventions, we're doing this." This leads to a surprisingly varied show that pulls off a ton of different ideas, themes and emotions very well. It's hard to describe the show because of that, because one episode is a zombie parody and the other about forging an unlikely but strong bond, and yet another is plain psychedelic visual art.
3. Tokyo Ghoul, in spite of this starting out with a dozen of GODDAMMIT SHINJI moments, it's building up into an interesting show. The first episode was fantastic and had good characterization, and it has a good dosage of violence injected also. The execution is a bit hit and miss, though, but good enough to keep me interested.
4. Tokyo ESP, very creative in the use of it's superpowers, but lacks creativity in terms of plot and characters. Solid series regardless.
5. Akame ga Kill, this starts going into guilty pleasure territory. I can't recommend the show for being a fairly generic shounen, but it entertains me nonetheless.
6. SOA 2… I'll be honest. I think it's bad. I think it's characterization is atrocious and it's development worse. It even disrespects it's own past and side-characters. Also while it has great visuals, it's fights rely on suspension of disbelief so hard it hurts. I dub it ass-pull the anime. It has the same issues as the first season, but the presentation is polished to try and make it harder to notice.

Did you drop anything?
DRAMAtical Murder, Aldnoah, Re: Hamatora. All of them for… Well, boring me. Captain Earth for being so inconsistent between the first and second episode it felt like I was watching something completely different.

Did you finish something that you didn't like that much or at all?
SAO2 isn't finished, but I watched all of it so far. Admittedly it gives me something to talk about and is funny in it's own unintended way.

Is there something you haven't been able to watch but want to watch eventually?
Nah.

 

[Hikari-chan (光ちゃん)]

I just wasn't "into" anime this summer.
The only summer show I managed to watch in whole was Love Stage.
It was a light hearted yaoi, based on a manga (that I had read earlier this year). It was entertaining, the anime was fluid, and the character designs were exact copies from the manga! Yay!
But, I thought it needed to spend more time on the relationship part of the show. I don't think the show had enough episodes!
Anyways, it was amusing to watch.
If I were to rate it out of 10, it would get a 7/10.
I look forward to catching back on anime. :D