Summer 2015, aka the season of too many awesome new series to watch:
Aoharu x Kikanjuu♥
I’ve seen it described as “Ouran with guns”; I’ve never seen Ouran so I can’t comment but it’s a sports/comedy with gender confusion. The sport of choice is original- survival games, hence the guns. That in itself was enough for me (I love sport/comedy), and after seeing only Ep1 I was hooked. I like the animation, the plot and especially the characters: the MC Hotaru, who punishes evildoers with superb fighting skills and punches strong enough to dent walls, and who despite her looks is actually a girl as we find out 3 minutes in the episode; her new, suave-looking neighbour who accidentally drops guns on the floor and goes all sparkly when she punches a hole in the door next to his face… and that’s not even counting their bizarrely unique third teammate.
Ranpo Kidan: Game of Laplace♥
I’ve never read the book(s) this series was based on, but I love mystery, detective stories etc. so I checked it out. It’s fantastic. The MC Kobayashi is a boy who looks like a girl (the reverse of Hotaru from Aoharu), and his personality… well, it’s something one has to see for themselves. He’s smart, and weird, and his inappropriate reactions to the events around him are disturbingly adorable, or adorably disturbing. He kinda reminds me of a more extreme version of Mikado Ryuugamine from Drrr. Personally I adore him and this entire show. One minute you get creepy silhouettes and a bloody corpse, the next there’s a teacher in cat-loli outfit and a medical practitioner who strangles Baymax-like puppets on an autopsy table equipped with neon lights. I love it.
Gate Jieitai Kanochi nite, Kaku Tatakaeri♥
Recommended to fans of “a game world/ fantasy world meets the real world” genre. I checked it out because the summary reminded me of Outbreak Company, an anime I was really looking forward to but ended up dropping because while the idea was superb, the actual show… was not. The imo wasted potential upset me, but I feel vindicated now as Gate Jieitai is everything I’ve wished OC to be. Battles between modern army and a medieval-like army are shown in a realistic manner, although the modern side has their troubles too. I really like the MC, he can be a bit awkward and his priorities are hobby-oriented (a portal to another world opens and spits out a giant army and he’s upset the doujinshi event might be cancelled 8D), but he’s great at working under pressure and his heart is clearly in the right place.
OverLord♥
Again, a series for fans of “a game world/ fantasy world meets the real world” genre. The MC wanted to say goodbye to his guild in Yggdrasil, a game who was to be shut down that day at midnight, so he stayed logged in… but, instead of being ejected from the server, he found that the world aroung him became real: NPCs gained independence and personalities, he can’t log out/ message anyone etc. What makes this one different is that his avatar isn’t human, but this scary-looking skeleton dark lord… which is at odds with the guy’s kind nature (he conjures drinks for his subordinates, gives them gifts etc). Eventually he decides to find out if there are any other former players out there, by… conquering the world. Ambitious guy, and his subordinates are a hilarious crew. Plus, I love both the OP and ED.
Classroom☆Crisis♥
The synopsis made it sound like it’d be similar to Mouretsu Pirates, a comedy about female high school student / space pirate captain which I remember very fondly. There are some similarities, what with space travel, the comedy angle and highschoolers being involved. The series starts off with a bang, with a kidnapping, a space race complete with dodging asteroids and crash-landing a super-expensive space-racer prototype, and the kidnappee, who managed to free himself anyway, announcing his plans to shut down the class the main cast are a part of. There’s a bit of everything: slice of life, spaceships, power struggles within big companies, political manoeuvers and manipulation, an idealistic teacher plus his unique students trying to keep their class from being dissolved… and the vibrant, diverse characters who make it all work.
Rokka no Yuusha♥
I’ve always liked fantasy, so I had to check this one out even though I’m still watching Arslan Senki. The two are different despite both being fantasy with a little magic thrown in, but RnY is more to my taste so far because there’s more humor. The story revolves around 6 heroes chosen by the goddess of fate to defeat a demon army. The heroes introduced so far are great. They do have cliche points - arrogant MC, naive princess - but these tropes are developped in an interesting way that broadens our understanding of the characters. The summary actually spoils the plot, as after 2 episodes we’ve only met 4(?) heroes and the main conflict will apparently start after all of them are introduced… still, there’s a lot going on already, so I’m looking forward to more.
Gakkou Gurashi!♥
At first glance this series seems to be a sugary sweet, slapstick comedy set in high school, just as Puella Magi Madoka Magica seemed to be a sweet story about magical girls fighting witches. The illusion remains for the most part of the first episode, but the audience is given clues that something is not quite right, and at the very end of the episode we learn that this series is… well, the summary spoils it anyway, but it’s only sugary sweet if you like to eat human flesh, apparently… The pink-haired senpai is the POV character for the majority of the episode, and she’s not all there, which explains the huge difference between reality and her delusions. Some of the strange actions of the three kouhai begin to make sense in hindsight, but this is just the first episode and there’s still much to figure out.
Akagami no Shirayukihime♥
This one was a must-watch as soon as I learned they were making an anime. I’ve read the manga (though I’m a bit behind as of now) and it’s definitely one of my favourite shoujos. The main character is a red-haired herbalist who cares about people, so much that she willingly injures herself just to show a stubborn patient that her medicine isn’t poison (ironically, the guy was immune to most poisons). The title is misleading - Shirayuki is no princess, although she may become one as her romantic interest is a prince. Not a pompous, entitled one like the prince who wanted to force her into being his concubine just because of her unique hair (to which she cut off her hair and left it for him to find… I love her), but a down-to-earth prince who mingles with his people and likes to forget that paperwork exists.
Jitsu wa Watashi wa
The summary made this series sound a bit like Toradora, which I dislike for several reasons, but I really wanted to check out at least one episode in spite of this. I was pleasantly surprised. The main characters have their faults and cliche points but are likeable, and the secondary characters, Asahi’s friends tbe, were also interesting, especially the one wearing glasses. The supernatural element is imo the main reason why this show is attractive - having watched 2 eps, I want to know what other non-human beings are wandering around the school and what misunderstandings/ problems will arise because of their identities. A fun, light comedy, thankfully with much less fanservice than I expected.
God Eater
Post-apocalyptic setting’s been popular recently… God Eater was
on my to-watch list since I first learned of it. The OP song is by OldCodex, the people who made Rage On from Free!, which I really liked. But the main reason I wanted to watch GE is my quest to find a post-apocalyptic series I can honestly wholeheartedly enjoy. Attack on Titan and Owari no Seraph didn’t make the cut - liked some characters, hated others, ended up dropping both. God Eater seems like it might be it, but after only one episode it’s hard to tell. The plot is slowly being revealed and the characters are only beginning to be fleshed out. The art and animation are different, with some weird slow-motion scenes at odd times, but it’s interesting (and reminds me a little of This Boy Caught a Merman, only less colorful). I definitely want to watch more episodes, but considering my history with this genre we’ll see if that lasts.
OMG ten new series… good thing it’s the summer X3