I don’t know yet if Spring 2021 was an aberration in being quite a strong anime season.  Given that overall trends have been in the opposite direction that was perhaps the most logical speculation, but sea changes have to start somewhere.  The first real bit of hard evidence we have to go on is of course Summer 2021.  And honestly, it does nothing to discourage that speculation.  It’s much more in-line with where things have been – but even by that measure, it’s a pretty barren schedule.

I only previewed a dozen shows this time around, so the pool of contenders was pretty small to begin with.  As usual I’ve watched a lot of premieres for series I didn’t preview, and some of them have been decent – enough so to watch further at least.  But none of them have really impressed me, and nothing in the core group has dramatically exceeded expectations.  I’ve gotten about what I expected out of the season so far, but I wasn’t expecting much.

The upside, I suppose, is that I don’t have to consider dropping any shows I really like in order to preserve my sanity and health.  We do have some carryovers of course, as is common from spring and fall anime seasons.  But believe me – anything decent from summer, I’m keeping it.  As is that’s likely to only be three or four series, but that would still keep Summer 2021 clear of the seasonal low ebb (Winter 2013) where I only finished one new series.

 

Onward, then, to Summer 2021:

The Elite

None

Outstanding

None (and that’s a first)

 

Very Good

Sonny Boy 
Episodes Watched: 2
Grade: B+
Comments: It’s too early to know what we have with Madhouse and Natsume Shingo’s Sonny Boy.  But it’s the most interesting series of the season just the same, both visually and narratively.  A patchwork of influences – Lord of the Flies, The Drifting Classroom, Kon Satoshi – are clearly discernible in these first two episodes, but which way Sonny Boy leans is still unclear.  Natsume has noted that he intentionally kept exposition to a minimum, and that’s certainly how the series comes across – we have to do an awful lot of speculating to try and complete the picture.  But it’s going to be interesting to see how much of that speculation hits close to the mark.

Shinigami Bocchan to Kuro Maid 
Episodes Watched: 3
Grade: B
Comments: If any series were ever ill-suited to CGI, it’s Shinigami Bocchan.  With its Victorian fairy tale motif it should be depicted in lovely hand-drawn animation and backgrounds, but that is what it is – this is what we’re getting, and only 12 episodes of it at that.  The adaptation – like this team’s take on Hi Score Girl – isn’t putting a foot wrong story-wise.  It’s just that so little of that story is going to see the screen, and the visuals don’t fit.  That said, this is still a really sweet and funny romcom, and the best part of the series – the supporting cast – has barely made an appearance.

 

 

Worthwhile

Vanitas no Carte 
Episodes Watched: 4
Grade: B
Comments: I was pretty worried about Vanitas no Carte after two episodes.  The humor wasn’t working for me at all and neither was Vanitas as a character, and the directorial style was coming off as extremely twitchy.  For whatever reason it all seemed to start coming together in the third episode, and at this point I feel fairly confident the series will be worth following.  I have a fair amount of faith in Mochizuki Jun as a writer after Pandora Hearts, which as I rememeber also got off to something of a mixed beginning.  As vampire tales go I still prefer something in the style of Mars Red (not that there’s a lot in the style of Mars Red) but I’m still hopeful that this premise has legs.

Bokutachi no Remake 
Episodes Watched: 4
Grade: B-
Comments: Bokutachi no Remake has probably outperformed my (admittedly modest) expectations more than any new show this season.  There are obvious parallels to be drawn with ReLIFE, which for me is the more thoughtful and subtle work, but I like the spin Remake is putting on the roughly similar premise.  A protagonist surrounded by artists whose skills are mainly organizational is interesting, and so is the series’ take on the creative process. There are enough yellow flags here to keep me very cautious, and the fourth episode was definitely the weakest so far.  But I find myself looking forward to new episodes of Bokutachi no Remake quite a lot, and that’s usually a positive sign.

 

 

 

Still Watching

Heion Sedai no Idaten-tachi
Episodes Watched: 2
Grade: B-
Comments: Yes, a series I didn’t even preview and have only a half-decent premiere to go on is 5th on the chart – that’s a reflection of what kind of season this is.  That said, I did rather like Heion Sedai no Idaten-tachi’s double-length opener, mainly because of the tremendous cast and the abjectly Gainax feel.  Whether the story itself has any legs is another question (and the key one) but at least this show isn’t a mass-produced model – in 2021 anyway.

Higurashi no Naku Koro ni – SOTSU
Episodes Watched: 5
Grade: C+
Comments: Too much of the early part of Sotsu‘s run has been spend rehashing material which is familiar to the audience.  Still, I think the series is going to tick upwards once it gets to resolving the current situation as regards Satoko and Rika, if for no reason than that it’s going to take the anime into virgin territory for the franchise, and that in itself is pretty rare.  For right now, though, I’m having a hard time seeing why these answer arcs even need to exist.

Uramichi Oniisan
Episodes Watched: 4
Grade: C+
Comments: I still haven’t quite figured out what Uramichi Oniisan is – a black comedy I suppose, though it’s more black than comic.  I did find the third and fourth episodes somewhat more amusing than the first two, but a lot of the humor strikes me as curiously dry and the protagonist is thoroughly unsympathetic.  Another week or two seems like a good investment but I’m not super hopeful even with that minor uptick.

RE-MAIN
Episodes Watched: 4
Grade: C+
Comments: Original sports anime are a relatively new thing as far as anime trends go.  Unfortunately they seem to be increasingly generic as they increase in frequency.  RE-MAIN isn’t bad but while the premise of a water polo whiz who’s lost his entire memory of junior high school has some bite, the execution is pretty indifferent.  The humor rarely clicks and none of the characters are especially distinctive.  These sort of shows seem to be mostly about checking the same boxes in 12 episodes, and RE-MAIN so far is no exception.

Night Head 2041
Episodes Watched: 2
Grade: C+
Comments: If I ever saw an episode of the original anime (Night Head Genesis) I don’t remember it, and I know I’ve never seen the live-action drama.  But this story of two esper brothers who escape after 15 years in a lab to find a world demonizing those like them is quite watchable.  It’s CGI but I’ve seen worse, and for this sort of story that’s not a huge drawback anyway.

Megami-ryou no Ryoubo-kun.
Episodes Watched: 2
Grade: C
Comments: A near-hentai that’s pretty open about what it is, and actually has a couple of relatively likeable characters (including the lead).  Probably not gonna stay with it for long but it’s that kind of season.

D_Cide Traumerei
Episodes Watched: 3
Grade: C
Comments: Game adaptation and full CGI, but pretty competent in terms of execution.  See above for prospects.

Ore, Tsushima
Episodes Watched: 3
Grade: C
Comments: It has Ootsuka Akio as a talking cat.  But honestly, I struggle to see the point of two-minute anime.  Each episode is a tweet, basically.

 

Dropped:

Peach Boy Riverside, Shiroi Suna no Aquatope

 

Here, then, is this season’s distinctly modest blogging prospectus:

Monday:
Definitely Blogging: Shinigami Bocchan to to Kuro Maid

Tuesday:
Definitely Blogging: Fumetsu no Anata e, Kingdom Season 3

Wednesday:
Definitely Blogging: None

Thursday:
Definitely Blogging: None

Friday:
Definitely Blogging: Sonny Boy, Higurashi no Naku Koro ni – SOTSU
On the Bubble: Heion Sedai no Idaten-tachi

Saturday:
Definitely Blogging: Boku no Hero Academia Season 5, Mairimashita! Iruma-kun 2nd Season
Probably Blogging: Vanitas no Carte

Sunday:
Definitely Blogging: Tokyo Revengers
On the Bubble: Bokutachi no Remake

Manga: Otoyomegatari, Hunter X Hunter (hiatus)

Watching For Now: Uramichi Oniisan, RE-MAIN, Night Head 2041, Ore, Tsushima, D_Cide Traumerei, Megami-ryou no Ryoubo-kun.

 

One more thing before I wrap.  Of course you’ve heard me say it before, but the need for financial support for LiA is greater than ever. Everything has gotten more expensive again this year, and it gets more and more difficult to justify the time I have to put in to make the site one I feel proud of.  I know times are tough right now but if you’re inclined to consider helping out, please visit one of the links in the sidebar. Patreon patrons, Paypal subscribers or one-time contributors  – you all have my everlasting gratitude.

Please check out the LiA YouTube channel for manga recommendations, from the vault anime, Japan journeys and more!