‘Tis the season for romcom. A development I only partially caught going in – in the preview I talked about ‘lots of school/romance/SoL”. But this goes beyond that – the schedule is just packed with romance series. Some of the ones I’ve blogged I previewed and some I didn’t. I do appreciate the genre, though good examples of it have become less common in recent years. Looking at this batch as a whole, I’d have to describe it as something of a mixed bag. Which is (as is more often the case than not) true of the season as a whole.

Once more it’s a season that mostly bunches up in the middle. The bubble is pretty crowded (though maybe less than I thought a week ago). Nothing is really great apart from Nige Jouzu no Wakagimi and Sengoku Youko, but we have had a couple series really exceed expectations so far (including Nige Jouzu, ironically). That’s partially offset by a couple of shows I had pretty high expectations for underperforming, with the net result being a season that’s tracking pretty close to what I expected.

One of those underperformers was one of my sleepers, but so far both Rising Impact (yes, I know it was dumped in full but I’ve only watched 6 episodes) and Katsute Mahou Shoujo to Aku wa Tekitai shiteita. look like they deserved that tag. It’s hard to rate a season with so few series in the top three categories as a good one, but I think the book on the summer ultimately comes down to whether the overperformers can keep the magic going, and whether one of the disappointments steps up and claims a place at the table.

 

Onward, then, to Summer 2024:

The Elite

Nige Jouzu no Wakagimi
Episodes Watched: 3
Grade: A
Comments: It’s weird to have one of my top-ranked shows in terms of expectations also be one of the biggest surprises of the season. But that’s the case with The Elusive Samurai, which has exceeded every expectation I had for it. CloverWorks is doing for this series what Production I.G. did for Tengoku Daimakyou in delivering an adaptation that maximizes the appeal of the source material in every way. The difference is that you kind of expect that with I.G.. That, and in this case it seems to be giving Nigewaka a new lease on life commercially, offering it the chance to level up in a big way as a money-maker for Shueshia. If CW can keep it up this could be one of the great success stories in animanga of recent years.

 

Outstanding

Sengoku Youko
Episodes Watched: 2
Grade: A-
Comments: Only not higher because it started so late, frankly. It’s nice to know Sengoku Youko is going to be with us for 22 more episodes, tbough I’d actually hoped it might be more. The next several weeks are going to be a cavalcade of memorably character introductions, and a chronicle of Senya growing into his role as the best protagonist of the season. If the adaptation follows the source material Sengoku Youko really should wind up atop the pile for summer anime, but the sheer brilliance of Nige Youzu no Wakagimi’s adaptation will make that an interesting battle to watch.

 

Very Good

Make Heroine ga Oosugiru! 
Episodes Watched: 3
Grade: B+
Comments: Along with Nigewaka the biggest upside surprise of the season. It’s also an A-1 production (CloverWorks is a sub-studio) so it’s clear good things are happening over there. Makeine is based on a light novel and character designer Imigi Muru is really the only name involved with the production that I knew going it, but the results have been absolutely gorgeous (no less than Shinkai Makoto has praised the series’ visuals). I find the writing to be pretty decent thus far too, though as with any LN adaptation that represents a huge risk to Makeine’s staying power.

 

Worthwhile

Katsute Mahou Shoujo to Aku wa Tekitai shiteita. 
Episodes Watched: 3
Grade: B
Comments: Pretty darn close to cracking “Very Good”, Katsute Mahou Shoujo has performed admirably for a half-length series. It has elements of Inu x Boku SS to it unsurprisingly, and also Kyuujitsu no Warumono-san. Bones is delivering on the visuals as you’d expect (the transformation sequence is one of the most beautiful in mahou shoujo). And with Fujiwara Cocoa writing it’s hard to pin down exactly what we’re seeing in terms of the story. Soon enough though the anime will be transitioning to original material, so that constitutes a real test for the production.

Rising Impact 
Episodes Watched: 7
Grade: B
Comments: 2024’s second golf anime makes quite a contrast with Ooi Tonbo!, but I rather like Rising Impact too. It’s fun and silly in a very shounen sort of way, without making light of its chosen sport in the fashion of something like Prince of Tennis or Kuroko no Basuke. Gawain is a very likeable protagonist and the supporting case both of youngsters and adults is a good one.

Ramen Akaneko  
Episodes Watched: 4
Grade: B
Comments: Red Cat Ramen has hit pretty much as I expected, with quirky workplace humor and lots of cute cat minutiae. I’m enjoying it a lot, and it certainly represents the leading “that niche” candidate for this season. But damn, I want to go to a cat-run ramen-ya so damn bad…

Tokidoki Bosotto Russia-go de Dereru Tonari no Alya-san
Episodes Watched: 4
Grade: B
Comments: In the absurdly crowded pack of summer romcoms, Alya-san stands out as one of the more promising players. I’ve liked the interactions among the main characters in the main, though Yuki has raised some yellow flags to be sure. I’ve started to get a bit of a Mashiro-iro Symphony vibe with Roshidere (thanks to Masha mostly), though nominally they have little in common. As much as I liked that show I consider that a good thing.

Shoushimin Series
Episodes Watched: 3
Grade: B-
Comments: Hyouka it’s not. But in fairness, it doesn’t have to be. Shoushimin Series is the classic Yonezawa Honobu slow build, but the third episode saw it starting to grow on me a bit. I’m curious what the deal with the two leads and this whole “being ordinary” obsession is, but as characters they’ve yet to really make much of an impression on me. I’d feel better if the series had more than ten episodes to make its case.

Oshi no Ko Season 2
Episodes Watched: 4
Grade: B-
Comments: I recognize that Oshi no Ko is very good at some things. It excels at the how the sausage is made side of the Japanese entertainment industry, and as such the “Toyo Blade” arc would seem to give it a good chance to be at its best. But knowing Akasaka will hedge his bets and wind up going the apologist route takes some of the bloom off the rose for me. OnK has no obligation to fulfil my expectations of what sort of series it ought to be. But likewise I have no obligation not to be disappointed by that.

 

Still Watching

Giji Harem
Episodes Watched: 4
Grade: C+
Comments: The biggest disappointment of the season for me so far, only because I had a strong sleeper vibe. But the third episode showed a spark of life I found lacking in the first two, so maybe there’s hope. I don’t dislike anything about Giji Harem, but it just doesn’t have enough to it that pops (and I would include Hayami Saori’s performance in that). A clever premise but pretty modest execution, so far at least.

Kami no Tou: Ouji no Kikan
Episodes Watched: 3
Grade: C+
Comments: Kami no Tou is certainly a piece of work. I enjoy it in spite (or perhaps because) of all its love of excess, but it doesn’t give me a lot of grist for the writing mill even before it jumps the shark. That won’t happen this season at least, but knowing it’s coming probably reduces the amount of credit the series has banked.

Atri: My Dear Moments
Episodes Watched: 3
Grade: C+
Comments: This one is about as VN as anime gets, with all that implies. I think Atri has its heart in the right place but I don’t see a lot of reason to think it’s going to hold my interest for an entire cour.

Tensui no Sakuna-hime
Episodes Watched: 3
Grade: C
Comments: Even if P.A. Works doesn’t have the lustre it once did, there are still an awful lot of big names involved with Sakuna-hime. As such it’s surprising just how mediocre it is so far. The premise is somewhat interesting to me and it’s not bad or anything, so I’m sticking around for the moment in the hope that the pedigree will start to assert itself.

Bye Bye Earth
Episodes Watched: 3
Grade: C-
Comments: Hanging on by a thread here, but truthfully I find Bye Bye Earth to be pretty vapid. Lidenfilms’ take on Guilty Crown (same writer) without quite as much flash.

 

Dropped:

Senpai wa Otokonoko, 2.5-jigen no Ririsa, Shikanoko Nokonoko Koshitantan, Boku no Tsuma wa Kanjou ga Nai

 

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

Monday: None

Tuesday:
Probably Blogging: Katsute Mahou Shoujo to Aku wa Tekitai shiteita.

Wednesday:
Definitely Blogging: Sengoku Youko: Senma Konton-hen
On the Bubble: Tokidoki Bosotto Russia-go de Dereru Tonari no Alya-san, Oshi no Ko Season 2 

Thursday:
Definitely Blogging: Ramen Akaneko
On the Bubble: Giji Harem

Friday:
Definitely Blogging: None
On the respirator: Bye Bye Earth

Saturday:
Definitely Blogging: Karasu wa Aruji o Erabanai, Boku no Hero Academia Season 7, The Fable, Nige Jouzu no Wakagimi 
Probably Blogging: Make Heroine ga Oosugiru!
On the Bubble: Shoushimin Series

Sunday:
Definitely Blogging: None
On the Bubble: Kami no Tou: Ouji no Kikan
On the respirator: Atri: My Dear Moments

Manga: Otoyomegatari, Hunter X Hunter (hiatus ending?)

Watching For Now: Rising Impact, T.P. Bon, Tensui no Sakuna-hime

 

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