Seasonal Anime Report: Summer 2018
Well, I guess I can't deny it any longer. Summer is over, bringing another season of anime to an end. Evidently, I have been very busy over this summer (hence the lack of posts coming from me), but I did keep up with a decent amount of anime. That being said, there was a few that I missed out on and will need to check later. Regardless, here's a look at what I looked at this Summer 2018.
What I Watched Airing This Season
Steins;Gate 0
This being the headline anime should come as no surprise to anyone who even remotely knows what my favorite series are. I am a huge Steins;Gate fan. I have played both the visual novels that the anime adapts multiple times, as well as rewatched the first Steins;Gate anime enough that I almost remember the exact numbers for each of the world lines. Heck, I even did an Okabe Rintarou cosplay at Fan Expo this year. So does that make my short review bias? Probably, but I did have very high expectations for Steins;Gate 0, considering the first anime was a 10/10 for me. White Fox had a huge task ahead of them when adapting the S;G 0 visual novel into an anime, most notably due to the fact that the VN has multiple canon endings than result in one final ending. Sounds confusing right? So how did White Fox do? They nailed the adaption so well it made me emotional at certain points, but not without a couple of large changes. Cuts were made to certain plot lines, and one side antagonist is nearly completely gutted from the story, but the cuts meant a strengthened focus on more important plot beats, and more use of characters from Steins;Gate that strangely played very minor roles in the S;G 0 visual novel. Overall, I am very pleased with the changes White Fox made to constrain the VN to one complete story line while staying true to Steins;Gate as a whole, and even make an ending that worked better. While Steins;Gate 0 is not the same wild ride that Steins;Gate was, it is fantastic for anyone who is fan looking for more.
9.5/10
Boku no Hero Academia 3rd Season
Boku no Hero Academia continues to be a strong contender for one of the all time greatest shounen anime out there, putting it in leagues with even Fullmetal Alchemist. Much like Fullmetal, BnHA uses every trope in the genre at its disposal, and either perfects them or subverts expectations of them. I have written plenty of praise for Boku no Hero in the past, and none of its strengths have changed much since then, so I won't elaborate too much. Season 3 in particular has been the biggest season by far for the series, thanks to a first half which has one of the most memorable arcs in anime. While the quality of the anime as whole has continued to meet expectations, this pursuit of quality has resulted in one specific negative side effect: odd pacing. The first half of season 3 was indeed a juggernaut, and if that was as long as the season went for it would be an easy 10/10 for me, however Bones opted to continue the series for two cours. Which is fine, but the second half of season 3 ends very abruptly due to finishing partway through an arc. I'm glad Bones didn't force a cliffhanger where they didn't need to, it just feels like the season end on a very anti-climatic note compared to how intense much of the rest of season was.9/10
Overlord III
Overlord is a fun series. To me it feels like watching a solo D&D session where the dungeon master has the best world building and NPC interaction to ever exist, and the player just get a natural critical on every roll. Ainz Ooal Gown continues to be an interesting overpowered character, and everyone below or against him continue to have interesting interweaving plots that make a permanent impact to the story and the world that Ainz is trapped in, sometimes in ways that are not immediately foreseeable. This season has been much better at balancing out episodes that focus on Ainz and the Tomb of Nazarick, and episodes that focus on different factions, empires, and other characters that Ainz has interacted with. The big drawback this season, and one that can't be ignored, is the drop in animation quality. Many fans have called much of the animation this season, specifically the heavy usage of CG instead of hand drawing scenes, a disservice to source material. While I would agree many scenes (fights and war scenes in particular) in season 3 would have benefit from being hand drawn, I can understand from a budget perspective why Madhouse had to make some sacrifices in quality. As someone who stomached his way through the awful CG mess that was the recent Berserk adaptation, I feel that the use of CG in Overlord III is at least serviceable and unoffensive, but still disappointing nonetheless. Despite this dip in quality, I enjoyed everything else as much as I have with previous seasons of Overlord, and I look forward to the next season.
8/10
Hataraku Saibou
Biology has always been my least favorite science growing up. I'm not someone who is squeamish when gore comes up in media, but something about bodily functions and medical procedures always makes me cringe. So I have to give credit to Hataraku Saibou (or Cells at Work!) for teaching me things about human cells and viruses that I would have never paid attention to in high school. That being said, I'm pretty torn with Cells at Work as an entertaining anime, rather than an educational one. While the concept is creative, and the animation and voice acting are strong, I found myself bored halfway through the season. Nothing really gave me a strong reason to watch each week besides learning something new. I never felt attached to any of the characters or their relationships, and the topic-a-week format got stale. I'd go as far as saying that Cells at Work is probably the most overrated anime of the Summer, but it's hard to tell if fans are just praising it as part of its meme status. Regardless, Hataraku Saibou is at least a solid anime, but it wasn't one I was willing to stick around for.
Dropped
Hanebado!
I had Hanebado as an anime I planned to watch in my last seasonal report, but in truth it was never really on my radar until after the first episode came out and people were raving about the animation. Yeah, it's a pretty good looking sports anime alright. I've never watched any professional level badminton, but the animation in Hanebado looks so clean and authentic. There is just an incredible amount of attention to detail, and motion in every little thing down to the thigh muscles, and the sweat. Yet as if a mirror image of Overlord III, the plot and characters fall behind the animation, in what is otherwise an exceptional sports anime. At the start of the season, Hanebado is noticeably melodramatic but sill bearable to an extent. At the center of this melodrama, and of the plot's core, is the relationship between the main character, Ayano Hanesaki, and her mother. As the season went on, this relationship felt like it got way less progression than it did setting up Ayano's mother as a bad parent that gets away with it. The badminton match ups were at least enjoyable, but the motivations and actions of certain characters got less believable as Hanebado came to its whelming finale.
7/10
When I heard about this anime coming, and what it was about, I binged the entire manga nearly in one sitting. College comedies are kind of rare, if not less popular in Japan in favor of high school, so finding a really solid one is nearly impossible. Grand Blue is one of the best comedy manga I've read, with impeccable comedic timing that is complemented by an exaggerated, Attack on Titan-esque art style. It's the best Japan has to offer for jokes about getting drunk and stripping, failing exams, being a scumbag in denial, the freshmen lifestyle, and sometimes diving. So how does the anime adaptation stand up? I was pretty impressed with the voice casting, and the amount of risky content from the manga that managed to still squeeze into a TV show, but the things I mentioned that made the manga so great were not as strong in the anime. Perhaps the nature of the comedy in Grand Blue, which paces really snappy when you read it, is just too difficult to adapt to anime. Although there are still scenes that were as funny (if not funnier) in the manga, there were a couple of parts in the anime were the humor feels kind of slow and awkward. Maybe I was just expecting the jokes, so they didn't hit as well. Additionally, the unique art style of Grand Blue doesn't come out quite as powerful in the anime. Overall, I'm not necessarily disappointed with Grand Blue - it should still be a funny show for people who haven't read the manga - but it's definitely not as good as it had the potential to be.
7/10
Shingeki no Kyojin Season 3
I used to really think that Attack on Titan was overrated back when season 1 was airing, and to be fair, it wasn't exactly the most impressive start to a popular series that still has merch in freaking Hot Topic. That changed completely in season 2, and continues to this current season. The pacing is so much better, flashbacks are more appropriately used, the political and character development is just as interesting as the action, and the twists always throw me through a loop. Season 3 in particular has been the strongest season by far, and if you're someone who was part of the first season hype that everyone was on, but never got around to watch season 2 and onward, I highly recommend you get caught up.
Still Airing
What I Am Watching Next Season
My plan to watch list is maybe a bit more ambitious for Fall 2018, but Attack on Titan is the only carry over from the Summer, and I should have more time to watch stuff.Zoku Owarimonogatari
At some point I want to write a blog post of some kind about the Monogatari series. I really want to recommend it to more people, it's just very difficult to accurately describe what makes the series so enjoyable. Regardless, Monogatari is another one of my all time favorite anime series, so naturally Zoku Owarimonogatari is at the top of my plan to watch list. I think this is supposed to be a one-off episode that's more like a straight to television movie. Shaft has always done incredible work, so I have faith in whatever format Zoku Owarimonogatari comes in.
Tensei shitara Slime Datta Ken
Yet another "transported to another world" anime, and who can blame anime studios? Sword Art Online is somehow still going strong, with an anime airing this season even. That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime looks promising in concept, a salary man in his thirties dies and is reborn as a slime (a staple enemy in many JRPGs) in some fantasy world. Though slimes are generally weak, this slime has abilities that makes him more powerful than most. The first episode has already aired, and is off to a decent start.
Seishun Buta Yarou wa Bunny Girl Senpai no Yume wo Minai
I have really high hopes for this one. The first episode of this just aired as well, and so far I'm getting strong Monogatari-lite vibes from it. There is strange, supernatural stuff happening around the main character, Sakuta Azusagawa, and he is suddenly pushed into confronting it after meeting Mai Sakurajima, a girl who used to be a child star that now walks around dressed like a bunny. Beyond having a similar plot setup, the chemistry between Sakuta and the bunny girl works really well, and reminds me a lot of the relationship Araragi and Senjougahara in Monogatari. The writing is less heavy on the literary devices, and much easier to digest than Monogatari though. Also, despite the fact the show is focused on a bunny girl, there hasn't been too much fan service.
SSSS.Gridman
It's a new Trigger anime with mechas, so I don't know, hopefully it's better than Darling in the Fraxx turned out. Let's say I'm cautiously optimistic for this one. Should be a fun watch, regardless.
Goblin Slayer
There's a lot of hype surrounding this anime in particular for the Fall. I actually don't know a lot about Goblin Slayer, but it seems like it could be pretty badass. Something about the main character being mentally ill, and just going around killing only goblins in this fantasy world. It looks really edgy, but in a good way. As a Berserk fan, I have a soft spot for edgy fantasy stuff.
Tonari no Kyuuketsuki-san
Yeah, I'm admitting to watching some less than original moe trash this season. So what? Maybe I'll drop it after three episodes, you don't know if it'll turn out good. I'm not ashamed of the part of me that likes a show about cute anime girls. Look, I just finished Yuru Camp which is a top tier cute girls doing cute things show, and I'd feel deprived if I didn't watch one this season. Besides, I'm watching a bunch of other normal stuff, so what's one moe anime?
Kishuku Gakkou no Juliet
OKAY SO MAYBE THIS ONE HAS A BIT OF MOE TRASH IN IT TOO, BUT AT LEAST THIS ONE IS MORE ACTION FOCUSED. Besides, it supposed to be a Romeo & Juliet style story, so there won't be a harem and maybe a bunch of people will die. It could be cool, you don't know. I don't have a problem. You're the weeb.
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