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animebw · 2 months ago

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Seasonal Reflection: Summer 2024 Anime

In my experience, summer tends to be the weakest season for anime basically every year. Not entirely sure why: maybe everyone saves the biggest shows for spring and fall, so the space between gets stuck with the also-rans? Whatever the case, as long as I've been covering anime, summer has reliably been the season with the most disappointments and the least true gems. Except for this year. My god, except for this year. In defiance of the trend, summer 2024 has been absolutely stuffed with exciting anime, so many shows that delighted me in unexpected ways. I'm truly stunned by how many shows I watched that felt like nothing else I've seen before. Anime isn't just coasting through this summer on good enough; it's experimenting, pushing the boundaries, evolving the capabilities of visual storytelling in this medium. Maybe it's not an all-timer season, but it feels fresh in a way I haven't felt in quite some time. And even though the two best shows haven't quite finished yet (Monogatari Off/Monster and the back half of My Hero Academia's seventh season), there's more than enough for me to recommend you a full course of worthwhile anime. So let's buckle down and sort through the shows I watched this season to figure out which ones are worth your time and which ones should be discarded without a second thought.

(And if you see one show conspicuously missing from this list, don't worry- it's just around the corner...)

My Deer Friend Nokotan: Dropped at 7 Episodes

Normally I save discussion of the shows I dropped for brief snippets at the end of my seasonal wrap-ups. But this time, I got far enough into a couple shows before realizing they sucked that I figured I should let you know upfront so you don't get suckered into wasting your time like I did. Because I care about you. So if you were as excited by the batshit crazy meme marketing surrounding My Deer Friend Nokotan as I was, then you should know the actual show completely fails to live up to that bonkers energy. Oh, it certainly tries, but in execution, all the "lol so random" comedy and forced fourth-wall breaks makes it come off like a tryhard reddit troll so irony-poisoned they've forgotten what makes actual people laugh. And that's before it drops a godawful siscon imouto in the second episode, and all the jokes centered around humiliating the protagonist for being a virgin... god, I stuck with this piece of crap way longer than it deserved. If you want an actual hilarious slapstick comedy with batshit off-the-walls energy, just go track down Nichijou and experience the single funniest television show this side of Gintama. You'll have a much better time.

Sengoku Youko: Thousandfold Chaos Arc: Dropped at 7 Episodes

Man, Satoshi Mizukami is turning out to be the most overrated cult artist out there, huh? Sure, I liked Planet With a lot, but between this and the faults in Biscuit Hammer that you couldn't blame on the shitty production, all the beloved works his fans rave about like they're Shakespeare-level literature have completely dropped the ball. And I was excited for Sengoku Youko! The first season was pretty good! And the second season has a really interesting timeskip that reorients the story around a new protagonist and shakes up the kinds of ideas it can play with! But all that's let down thanks to one of the worst written female co-protagonists I've seen in a long time. God, Tsukiko is the worst. She's introduced as the strongest swordsman in her village, but all she does on screen is lose, get captured, act subservient to all the men around her, get captured again, and fall instantly in love with the guy who bisects her father in half. But don't worry, just wait until she's all grown up! Then we can add in gross sexual assault comedy complete with boob jiggles! Wow, what a mature and life-changing treatise on the human condition! Yeah, eat me. This is sexist garbage plain and simple, and there's too much good anime to waste time on the ones that can't clear the astronomically low bar of not being degrading to women.

ATRI: My Dear Moments: 3.5/10

There is so much I wish I could like about Atri. Its vision of a post-climate disaster world rebuilding from rising sea levels feels like the Studio Key/Ghibli crossover I've been dreaming of for ages. And it pulls at so many interesting threads; the meaning of community, the purpose of progress, disability, transhumanism, all wrapped up in a suitably sappy emotional package. And none of that matters. Because it's all secondary to the true purpose of this anime: justifying a romance between a near-adult and a robot girl who doesn't read any older than ten, complete with writing than infantilizes and sexualizes her at the same time. Because god forbid any of this high-concept melodrama be allowed to stand without making you feel like you should be put on a watchlist for engaging with it. Luckily, most of those worldbuilding philosophical ideas also pretty much fall apart by the end, so at least you don't have to feel conflicted about skipping this one wholesale. Christ, I miss Jun Maeda more every day.

Suicide Squad Isekai: 4/10

So this feels like it should've ended up either way better or way worse than it did. I mean, an unholy amalgamation of anime's absolute worst subgenre with the laughingstock of mainstream Western comics, written by the author of Re:Zero of all people? This should've either been a trainwreck of apocalyptic proportions or somehow wrapped back around to being an genuine lightning-in-a-bottle masterpiece. Or both! But instead, it's just sort of... there. It exists. It's DC supervillains transported to an isekai world to fight other DC supervillains and fuck around with fantasy nonsense, and I can barely think of anything else to talk about. I guess the isekai world itself is a lot more creative than the usual Dragon Quest knockoff? Character banter's alright? But it feels like all the effort here went into a very select assortment of things that the creators actually cared about- Harley's character design, a handful of genuinely awesome fight scenes- and everything else was just left flailing by the wayside with the laziest and least interesting execution, on a story and production level alike. You're better off just looking up clips of the best fight scenes on Youtube or wherever and giving the rest a pass.

Sakuna of Rice and Ruin: 4.5/10

This is one of those frustrating shows that doesn't really do anything wrong, but never manages to amount to more than that. It's a solid little tale about an immature young harvest goddess banished to an island somewhere in Heaven to learn maturity by growing rice, coming to terms with her grief for her lost parents and coming to respect the mortals who worship her along the way. And every stop of that character journey makes sense, with the progression from brash, arrogant hothead to mature, kind protector never feeling rushed or shortchanged. But ultimately, I think Sakuna just skews to young to be of interest. It's too basic in its moralizing and messages, as well-handled as they are, always taking the simplest and most obvious story route to get where it's going as if it assumes this is your first time watching anime and it doesn't have to try to be more complex than that. Well, there's that one weird episode where aliens randomly show up for a minute and are never addressed again, but that's not the good kind of complexity. I guess if you've got young kids, this is a perfectly fine show to put on for them; they might even get a lot out of it! But if you're over the age of, like, seven, you can get everything it offers better elsewhere.

Bye Bye Earth: 5/10

I've been staring at the screen for minutes trying to figure out how to properly describe Bye Bye Earth. But no matter what, nothing I come up with feels adequate to capture just how much of an incomprehensible fever dream this show is. The best way I can think to describe it is "Show Don't Tell" taken to its absolute extreme, a fantasy world where almost nothing is explained in clear terms and none of your preconceptions can be taken for granted. Swords that grow from roots, a city split into good and evil, battles that play out like giant orchestral processions, gender-shifting mermaids, elder gods that forbid travel between countries, girls hatching from eggs, an army of spiritual emptiness, plants that are more like animals than vegetation, so many insane and unique concepts that are treated as if they're commonplace facts any layperson would know. It feels like a show beamed in from an alternate dimension where the world's basic logic just does not function in the same way ours does, as if all these wild worldbuilding ideas are as familiar and universal as the sun in the sky and the moon at night. Does that make it a good show? A bad show? I honestly don't think it matters. All I know is that as utterly inscrutable as Bye Bye Earth is, I was glued to the screen every week wondering what demented sights it would show me next. At least until the penultimate episode had an astonishingly horrible rape scene that ended the whole affair with a black, bitter taste in my mouth.

Spice and Wolf (2nd Cours): 5/10

Good news, everyone: new Spice and Wolf is finally out of the material already covered by the first show and onto the new stuff! It only took nineteen goddamn episodes, but there's finally a reason for this new adaptation to exist beyond poorly regurgitating the timeless stories already covered back in 2008! Was it worth it? Honestly, jury's still out. The one new arc we get at the end of this season is a solid Spice and Wolf entry with all the slow-simmering romantic tension and well-realized economic conflict that makes this story so enduring. But considering how much time we wasted getting here, I still can't shake the feeling that this whole endeavor has been the most pointless remake in the history of anime. It would've been a much better idea to pick up were the original show left off and jump right into the new material rather than waste a whole season repeating what's already been done. So who knows, maybe I'll feel different once season 2 rolls around and we actually get all that new, previously unadapted story this remake supposedly exists to cover. I hope it's good! But I'll probably still recommend skipping all but the last six episodes of this season, cause even at its best, it just doesn't hold a candle to the original's sense of lived-in atmosphere and subtle majesty. Just go watch the original, it's still a classic and deserves to be celebrated on its own terms.

Dead Dead Demons Dededededestruction: 6/10

Okay, look: is this a good show? Absolutely. Should you watch it? No, you should not. Why? Because after the penultimate episode, I cracked and read the manga, and it's just better in every conceivable way. Better artwork, better pacing, more detail that provides critical thematic and emotional context for most of the big political machinations, and a sheer mastery of the form that this mostly straightforward adaptation just can't measure up to. Whatever criticisms I have of Inio Asano as a writer, there's just no one else who can use the medium of manga in such heartbreaking, evocative ways. Even the moments I liked most from this show become so much more spectacular under his guiding pen. But most importantly? For some unfathomable reason, this adaptation takes one of the manga's penultimate arcs- a huge, paradigm-shifting flashback that completely recontextualizes the entire story in explosive and jaw-dropping ways- and shoves it close to the very beginning. It's one of the single most baffling choices I've ever seen in adaptation, completely robbing the arc of its context and ruining the impact it was originally intended to have. For that reason alone, I can't possibly recommend watching Dededede over reading the manga. And at least that way, you can totally skip the disappointing final volume that feels like a half-baked sequel pitch cut short halfway through development!

Mayonaka Punch: 6.5/10

Do you guys remember Ya Boi Kongming? That show from a few years back that somehow took the premise of "3rd century Chinese war strategist becomes a modern pop idol's manager" and turned it into a genuinely wonderful time? Well, the same writer and director have reunited for the first original work- and it's about cringefail lesbian vampire Youtubers. If I have not already sold you on Mayonaka Punch from that description alone, I'm afraid you're a lost cause. This is the most delightfully chaotic show of the season, buoyed by an endlessly dynamic cast of losers, misfits and morons who put the "suck" in "bloodsucker" in all the best ways. But even moreso than the constantly creative ways it finds to mash vampires and Youtube together, what's most impressive about Mayonaka Punch is how damn well it understands the influencer age. More than any other anime I've watched, it really gets the intricacies of the content grind, parasocial relationships, toxic comments, cancel mobs, and the thousands of contradictions that underline the simple desire to create something awesome and share it with millions worldwide. Because this team is simply that damn good at exploring the full, genuine ramifications of even the most insane premise imaginable. Sadly, its emotional moments aren't nearly as strong as Kongming's (save for one truly tearjerking episode in the first half), and the ending feels like a half-conclusion trying to keep things open for a sequel. So here's hoping we get a season 2 at some point that tightens up the screenwriting and lets this show blossom into its full potential.

Twilight Out of Focus: 6.5/10

There are two things anime desperately needs more of: good BL romance, and couples that actually explore sex in their relationships. Luckily, Twilight Out of Focus is here to give us both at the same time, three times over. This is a sweet, sensual anthology series about three gay couples that develop in the same high school film club over the course of a couple years, each one refreshingly different in personality and what aspects of film-making the story explores with them. I do wish it dived a little deeper into the more technical aspects of the craft at times, but that's not really where its focus lies (heh). It's more about how the various characters interact with film-making than the art itself, and what those interactions say about them as people and parts of a couple. And with evocative direction, charming voice acting, and a clever script that packs a lot of development into twelve episodes without feeling overstuffed, it's more than effective in its goals. Just be aware the first arc tackles some heavy topics like abuse and pedophilia, so watch tactically if those are sensitive or triggering subjects for you. They're handled well, to be clear, but just be prepared.

Days With My Stepsister: 6.5/10

I'm of the firm opinion that you can make a good story out of anything. Doesn't matter how tawdry, trashy, lowbrow, juvenile, or inherently distasteful the subject matter; with the right execution, any starting point can be shaped into something wonderful. Or maybe that's just what I'm telling myself to justify how the show about step-siblings falling in love ended up one of the most captivating anime I watched all season. But can you blame me? I don't know what kind of wizardry first-time director Souta Ueno pulled, but it's clear he understood exactly what can make a story like this so compelling, and he delivered that vision with some of the most immersive, mesmerising, and downright poetic cinematic storytelling in TV anime. Cinematography that sinks you into the characters' feelings like a stone plunging into an abyssal pool, symbolism that makes even the most basic lines of dialogue bleed with unspoken nuance, fuck, even the sound mixing feels like it's communicating hidden depths beyond the simple words on the page or development of the plot. It's a tour-de-force powerhouse of directoral talent that left me in awe every week, even as the side characters fall victim to much tropier writing and the inevitability of the oncoming incest romance makes the back half buckle with discomfort. I'd be hard-pressed to call Days With My Stepsister a masterpiece, but it is absolutely an achievement worth celebrating, and I look forward to seeing where Ueno takes his talents next.

Too Many Losing Heroines: 7/10

You know that feeling when you watch a show and it makes you mad not because it's bad, but because it doesn't seen to trust how good it is? That's the feeling I got over and over again watching Too Many Losing Heroines. It's bogged down by the kind of tasteless, degrading fanservice you usually see in bottom-tier light novels, written by authors who know they're crap and try to paper over their mistakes with accidental pervert scenes. It's the kind of desperation that screams of a show shooting for the lowest common denominator because it knows it has nothing of actual substance to offer. Except Too Many Losing Heroines is actually really fucking good and doesn't need these scenes at all? It's blisteringly funny, outrageously silly, often tasteless in actual fun ways, and a genuinely sincere exploration of the many forms romantic rejection can take and how people process it. I'm not kidding, this show almost made me cry at multiple points with how it embraces the power of friendship in the face of adolescent angst. So why do we still have these stupid fucking boob jiggles and accidental gropings that contribute nothing except making it infinitely harder for me to recommend this to normal people? Why does so much anime just not trust itself on its own merits when it has something truly worthwhile to offer?

Shoshimin: How to Become Ordinary: 7/10

Like many anime fans, I have struggled to accept the cruel reality that Hyouka is likely never getting another season. KyoAni almost never returns to a series after leaving it dormant for this long, and with the director's tragic death in the 2019 arson attack, I doubt the surviving staff who knew him would want to take on such a heavy burden (before you ask, Dragon Maid season 2 was already in production before Takemoto passed). So if you've been missing author Honebu Yonezawa's penchant for meta-commentary mysteries as much as I have, then good news, here's another one of his works adapted to animation! Just don't expect it to be as warm and comforting as Hyouko, because whereas that show was all about the joy of seeking the extraordinary within the ordinary, Shoshimin is equally obsessed with the consequences of it. It's the story of two viciously abnormal high school students who know the way they interact with the world is alienating them from it, but just can't stop themselves from enabling each other's thirst to puzzle and out-think and understand. It's like watching two serial killers struggling to assimilate into normal society, except their only weapons are their intellect and their biggest victims are their own ability to feel at home in the so-called "ordinary" world they constantly find excuses to shut the door on. This is, hands down, one of the most fascinating series of 2024, and while its unhurried pace might be a bore for some people, if you've got the patience to let the vibes sink into you, I can't recommend it enough.

The Elusive Samurai: 7/10

There are moments watching The Elusive Samurai when you will swear it's the most beautiful work of animation every produced. Stunning moving backgrounds, jaw-dropping stylistic flourishes that bend the rules of reality, so much fluid detail and shifting perspectives, insane and mind-twisting editing choices... I can't count how many times this show left me staring dumstruck for minutes on end as it piled on moment after moment of the most striking visual artistry I've seen all year. It doesn't manage that level of consistency throughout its run, sadly; there are definitely moments where you feel the shortcuts taken, especially whenever the garish CGI horses are on screen. But there's enough of that brilliance that even if the story was complete garbage, I would still recommend checking this show out for its animation alone. Luckily, the story's pretty good too! It's a bizarre genre-blending historical meta comedy epic that's sort of similar to Gintama in tone, except it's more shooting to sucker-punch you with the most extreme juxtaposition of stupid comedy and gruesome, horrific violence imaginable. It's a tonal whiplash that does not always work, but it manages to weave a shockingly lovable tale of a runaway heir to the throne seeking to rebuild his kingdom not through violence, but through well, elusiveness and choosing the pursuit of life over the glory of death. Add a cast of charming sidekicks and some of the most comically loathsome bad guys in recent memory and you've got a recipe for a very good time. Now please let the cute halberd girl do more stuff in season 2. It's what the people deserve.

Senpai is an Otokonoko: 7.5/10

Love triangles are a trope I've struggled with for as long as I can remember. Most times it pops up in a story, I feel my skin crawling back into my bones trying to escape the cringe. So how do you get a love triangle I don't just love, but actively root for all three possible outcomes? Well, placing it at the heart of a queer coming-of-age story with a trio of kids grappling with self-loathing and the desire for acceptance certainly helps. Doubly so when that story is executed with as much love, understanding, and joy as Senpai is an Otokonoko. What seems like a fraught premise at first- a girl confesses to her female classmate before finding out she's actually a cross-dressing boy- quickly evolves into a genuine exploration of Japan's queer identity, from the stigma of being seen as gay to the struggle to understand one's own gender identity, to even asexuality! And it's always handled with genuine affection for the people at hand, seeking to uplift queer experiences and prove that no one, no matter how "different," is deserving of a place to belong in this great big world. The production values may be modest and a little too reliant on chibi cut-in gags, but out of all summer's offerings, this is the show that spoke to me the most, and I can't wait for the recently announced movie finale to bring Aoi, Makoto and Ryuji's story to a close.

Dropped:

Tower of God Season 2- Dropped at 2 episodes for being a butt-ugly downgrade of the first season with all the same writing problems.

Narenare: Cheer For You- Dropped at 2 episodes for being utterly vapid.

The Magical Girl and Evil Lieutenant Used to be Arch-Enemies- Dropped at 2 episodes for having the dullest submissive doll of a protagonist.