Is it a bit much? Yes. Have I outdone myself? Hell yes.
Reminder: Any and all statements made in this post are solely representative of my current mindset. All thoughts, criticisms, and scores given are likely to change as I have more time to consider my thoughts, feelings, and context of the final product. In other words, this is little more than my raw personal opinion at the season's end. Why anyone would want that opinion is beyond me but, regardless of whether I get it or not, this is my summary of the Summer 2019 season of anime.
Opening Statement:
To be blunt, this was probably one of the more divisive seasons in recent memory. For viewers like me, who are more interested in stories than "plot," this season had a few noticeable standouts but was still mostly filled with chaff. For the so called "men of culture," though, this was probably the best and strongest season they've had in a long time. With no fewer than five isekai titles, a decent helping of ecchi, and shounen garbage galore, there were plenty of offerings for that subset of the anime community. For me, though, that breakdown means I ended up watching very little--only ten titles making it to completion or moving on to another season. As always, each show will get its due attention and criticism as I work down my list of "good," "tolerable," and "downright terrible" titles I watched this season. The only difference this time is that I've decided to lump my dropped series with any of the other shows I decided to suffer through since I'd hardly say those titles are worth an honorable mention. If there are any series you feel I missed out on or should give a second chance, feel free to let me know via any of the means listed on the Contact Me page.
The Good:
Which is ALWAYS a good thing, to be clear.
Starting off strong, Given was more or less my sleeper hit of the season. I went into it expecting nothing and ended up getting one of the most honest and powerful shows of this entire year. At a glance, the series comes off as little more than your basic yaoi-bait title full of pretty boys and pent-up emotions that explode into homoerotic situations that never cross any lines. And, to a certain degree, that description does hold true with Given. The show's main cast is composed entirely of very pretty boys who are dealing with a variety of personal issues that stem from their troubled love lives. Yet, at the same time, calling it yaoi-bait would be unfair. Rather than playing out like Sanrio Boys, Touken Ranbu, or Tonkotsu Ramens, the drama of this series and the characters that drive it feel much more real than your basic yaoi title. It actually feels like it's more akin to titles like Yuri!!! on Ice or, to offer a better comparison, Beck: Mongolian Chop Squad. Like these two shows, Given centers around a group of characters who are connected by the show's main gimmick, playing music in a band. Bu unlike Moe titles that follow a similar structure, Given takes its gimmick much more seriously. For these characters, music is a passion that helps them relax from the stresses of the day-to-day while also being so personal that it can't help dredging up some thoughts and feelings they'd rather shove down and ignore. So, as the characters work to build their band and instruct their newest member, Satou Mafuyu, emotions and feelings start to crop up as Mafuyu's own tragic past stirs things up. To be clear, though, as much as I love this show's drip-fed drama and the emotional explosions that happen as tensions reach a pitch, the drama isn't the only thing the show has going for it. The steady, quiet, and often comedic tone of the characters everyday interactions are an absolute delight, adding just the perfect amount of levity to pad out the drama while also not going so far as to lose its down-to-earth feeling. Also, as an added bonus, unlike most anime with characters that act like they're the first people to discover that homosexuality is a thing, Given outright acknowledges the culture and treats it with a level of normalcy I'd honestly love to see more often.
Yeah, I know, it me.
Now, for better and worse, Araburu Kisetsu no Otome-domo yo (O Maidens in Your Savage Season) is a good example of a romantic dramady that lacks the down-to-earth feeling that made Given feel so great. Rather than giving us a series full of characters that felt grounded and real, Maidens functions off the goal of using satire and cringe comedy to offer some very read social commentary that would too heavy if it was played straight. Namely, this series focuses on highlighting the struggles of young Japanese women at a very specific point in their emotional development: puberty. Buffeted on all sides by the social pressures of their classmates "blooming" earlier than them, the puritanical values of modern Japanese society, and the roiling cocktail of hormones and emotions within them, the characters of Maidens are clearly dealing with a lot. In order to hone the focus of those personal and social pressures, though, Maidens specifically focuses on how these elements affect the five main female characters as they deal with their first loves. A lot of the characters' struggles are stereotypes at this point but the way the show engages these relationships with an edge of cringe comedy makes it feel fresh, fun, and more than a little off-putting. At the same time, though, while the show mainly contents itself with its comedy, it also makes it abundantly clear that this is meant to be a biting commentary, one that is often critical of Japan's puritanical conservatism. While we are encouraged to laugh at the misunderstandings and overt melodrama, we are also meant to understand that these situations aren't nearly as irrational as they seem. There are, after all, relationships that bud from childhood friendships. And, conversely, there really are girls whose lives become an absolute mess because they were made aware of their sexuality long before they should have. Despite the the reality of this show's situations, melodrama, and biting comedy, it should be noted that the show also goes out of its way to ensure that things will ultimately turn out well for this cast of troubled kids. Though its hard to say how their friendships and relationships will strain episode-to-episode, the reassurance that they'll each get a happy ending makes the series a lot easier to get through.
Can't stand awkward social situations? Eat strange, unidentified, potentially deadly fruit.
Either things will turn out well or it won't matter that you suck at talking anymore.
That kind of childish reassurance, incidentally, is also what makes the journey in Kanata no Astra (Astra Lost in Space) an absolute joy to watch. Part kids' show, part sci-fi adventure, and part mystery: Kanata no Astra stands as a series that has mastered both its method of storytelling and the use of its overall tone. Namely, from the word "go," I was immediately set to believe that this series would be just another half-baked kids' show that would be a fun watch but not something I'd need to pay much attention to. The bright colors and silly character designs all pointed to that simple conclusion. Yet, as the series unfolded, it became clear that my assumptions missed the mark but weren't all that far from the truth. Kanata no Astra is a series that thrives on the fact that it begs to be underestimated. While the initial premise of the story of nine kids getting lost in space and struggling to get back home might sound like prime drama material, the series mainly conducts itself like a kids show would. There are moments of tension and action but, for the most part, there is never any doubt that nothing bad will ever actually happen to these kids. We are assured early on that they will eventually make it home because of how laid-back and comedic the show feels. Rather than fighting for there lives on each new planet they encounter, the cast typically engages with each planet as if they were on a field trip. This lighthearted tone, then, reinforces the belief that Astra will be nothing more than your bog-standard, zero-consequence kids' show. As the story goes on, though, that feeling steadily changes as the show unravels its larger mystery. Starting with the realization that their getting lost was a botched assassination attempt, the story gradually reveals a number of other perception-shattering truths that were hidden in plain sight. Little character quirks and design choices that, at first, feel like nothing more than your basic trope or lazy design choice end up becoming clues to a much larger and more sinister mystery that the group is forced to contend with to ensure their survival. Yet, even while the show's larger story unfolds, we are constantly forced to re-assume the belief that this is still a kids' show at heart since the cast continues to act like the kids they are. But, quietly and steadily, the show plays this game of subversion where the series' tone forces us to constantly underestimate the maturity of its plot, making each new revelation feel just as shocking and unexpected as the last. All the while, these revelations slowly shift our perception of their journey until everything ends up flipped upside down. Namely, by series end, their journey home shifts from being a promise of salvation to the most tense and dangerous leg of their adventure yet.
Praise to the sweet, precious, and incredibly stupid pig boy.
Now, while I'm personally inclined to praise Kimestsu no Yaiba (Demon Slayer) for some of its efforts to use and subvert some standard shounen tropes, the actual reason this series stands out from the rest is the because of the effort UFOTable put into adapting it. Though I plan to talk about this more in another Book Talk, it is a simple fact that this series succeeded because the production team working on it managed to build on the backbone of what was already a solid shounen story. That isn't to say that the story of Kimetsu no Yaiba is bad without the flair that was added to the adaption though; quite the opposite. On its own, this series has a lot of great story points and characters that make it a really fun watch. While the story of Tanjiro putting his life on the line to protect his sister is already a shounen standard, getting to follow Tanjiro's struggles to save his little sister while Nezuko, herself, proves time and again that she's no slouch either makes their journey pluck those heartstrings without feeling forced or stale. Similarly, as the story goes on and Tonjiro acquires his traveling companions, the quirks and chemistry he shares with Inosuke and Zenitsu help flesh them out into some great characters. So, rather than succeeding through subversion, Kimestu no Yaiba succeeds as a series for two primary reasons. The first is simply the effort UFOTable put into the adaptation, making each and every fight scene a feast for the eyes. The second is the love and attention put into the series' cast of characters as they carve out their own identities through their unique fighting styles and endearing character quirks. On their own, though, neither of these particular factors can individually account for the show's overall success. It's the manner in which the show manages to marry UFOTable's efforts and the original story's more charming qualities that make it a fantastic shounen series and a strong competitor for My Hero Academia in the seasons and potentially even years to come.
The Tolerable:
I love this show's blatant and unapologetic stupidity. It's a kind of stupid I can respect.
To say I have something of a love/hate relationship with Dumbbell Nan Kilo Moteru? (How Heavy Are the Dumbbells you Lift?) might be both an understatement and an over-exaggeration. I like this series; that much I'm not ashamed to admit. Whether my reasons for liking it outweigh my reasons for disliking it, though, I'm still not entirely sure. On the one hand, I like this show's overall gimmick of using hot anime girls as visual examples of proper and proven methods of exercising. Even more, I really like this show's cheap brand of absurdist, referential comedy. Put these two factors together and there's never a dull moment with this series. Even when the jokes become repetitive and predictable, the sheer energy and audacity of it all still makes it a fun ride. On the other hand, though, the show's pointless and shameless use of ecchi honestly cheapened the experience for me. I know I'm likely in the minority with that opinion but the show's almost childish attempts at pushing the limits of what it can and cannot show just didn't appeal to me. It came across as little more than softcore porn that turned the show's silly and lovable characters into little more than sexual objects to be ogled--a problem women already have to deal with when going to the gym. The simple fact that the show played up that kind of objectification for cheap views rather than fighting that perception ended up leaving a sour taste in my mouth when all was said and done. Still, for its edutainment value and generally great comedy, I'm mostly inclined to look on this show favorably.
You know, I'm really sad that we didn't get more "sassy bitch" Waver from this series.
Oddly enough, it could be said that I have a bit of a love/hate relationship with Lord El-Melloi II-sei no Jikenbo: Rail Zeppelin Grace Note (The Case Files of Lord El-Melloi II: Rail Zeppelin Grace Note) as well. Like Dumbell, I have a couple things that I both like and dislike about the series but still managed to find a reason to enjoy it in spite of my problems with it. Namely, I was floored to get some more time with Waver Velvet. As the only non-asshole character that survived the story of Fate/Zero and the fact that he was our link to the best character in that entire series, Iskandar, I was excited to see how he came to become a teacher at London's Clocktower and a Lord to boot. What I ended up getting, though, was pretty much just a pointless spin-off that added nothing to the Fate/ universe and did nothing original with Waver's character since he's been turned into little more than a magic Sherlock Holmes. What's worse, his mysteries aren't even that engaging. Things just kind of happen that make the truth of each case reveal itself, rather than having Waver or his Saber-face assistant, Grey, puzzle things out. I suppose that was to be expected, though, since the magic in Fate/ isn't remotely consistent enough to turn into a proper mystery. For what its worth, though, the comedic interactions and action sequences of the Rail Zeppelin story make it an enjoyable enough watch.
Incidentally, I'm also a little sad that Cop Craft wasn't made up entirely of these kinds of one-liners.
Following that line of disappointment, I honestly don't think it's an exaggeration to claim that I never truly understood the meaning of "all flash and no substance" until I saw Cop Craft. Based on the concept of the "reverse isekai," Cop Craft functions on much the same premise as Kekkai Sensen in that beings from a magical world have started to take up residence in our own. Rather than taking the Re:Creators approach and using that premise to make anime characters fight each other, Cop Craft endeavors to take a more serious, hard-boiled tone. I say it "endeavors" to do so because, honestly, it utterly failed. With problems ranging from shit animation and inconsistent character design to an equally inconsistent tone and god awful pacing, Cop Craft's attempts at being a social commentary on humanity's dualistic capacity for cruelty and kindness and the villainy of racism resolved into little more than a grey, meaningless mess. As if that wasn't bad enough, though, one of my biggest issues with the show was its very blatant appeal to the lolicon crowd as it took every opportunity it could to turn the short and slim character of Tirana into a source of cheap fan service. Where things went wrong with this series, I'm still not entirely sure but I'm honestly inclined to, at the very least, recommend skipping pretty much any episode that pertains to the series' shit plot. What make this show "tolerable" rather than "terrible," are its gag episodes that feature Tirana and Matoba's buddy cop misadventures. Much like Bebop's sillier episodes, most of these "filler" episodes are a laugh riot just because of how dumb but telling they are in the larger context. From breaking up a porn mag smuggling ring to Tirana getting body-swapped with Matoba's cat, these episodes are absolute nonsense but that absurdism is pretty much the only thing that kept me coming back week-to-week. Were it not for that that level of entertainment, I probably would have dropped it like a sack of shit after the first few episodes.
The Downright Terrible:
Considering it's been over four years? Yes. Maybe just a little.
Speaking of dropping something like a sack of shit, I'll just outright admit that I couldn't stand the new season of Danmachi (Is it Wrong to Try to Pick Up Girls in a Dungeon?). Maybe it's just because I've gotten older and lost a lot of the patience I had for series like this. Maybe it's because Sword Oratoria spoiled me rotten with its efforts to better flesh out Danmachi's world and godly politics. Or maybe, just maybe, this was just a shit adaptation of what I understand to be some of the strongest arcs in the light novels. No matter what it was that broke this camel's back, though, the truth of the matter is that I could no longer stomach the bullshit this series was shoveling. It infuriated me to no small degree how this world and story used Bell Cranel as a character, shifting wildly between him being a powerless little shit and him being the chosen child of destiny, to suit its forced drama. Had the series stuck with recognizing Bell's growth by the end of Season 1 and built up from there, I wouldn't have minded so much. Because it decided to instead to lean on some incredibly forced development-- i.e. going full ham on laying Bell low and subjecting him and his new Familia to humiliation because of the whims of a villain who is villainous for villainy's sake just to build him back up to being a god among men that this city will bend over backward to please in the span of a single episode--I just couldn't stand it. Then, of course, following that up with an arc that can be summarized under the blanket moralization that "prostitution is evil" did it no favors either. Believe me when I say I tried to care about this series but, unfortunately, its incredibly rushed and juvenile approach to storytelling made it unwatchable.
Maybe it's just me, but I'd be terrified if my mother appeared surrounded by cherubs.
Ho boy, speaking of unwatchable, where do I even begin with Tsuujou Kougeki ga Zentai Kougeki de Ni-kai Kougeki no Okaasan wa Suki desu ka? (Do You Love Your Mom and Her Two-Hit Multi-Target Attacks?)? While not nearly as personally frustrating as Danmachi, this was yet another series that I just couldn't bring myself to tolerate after a point. It's a stupid show with an intentionally stupid premise but that's not that's not my problem. I can enjoy stupidity for its own sake. What bothers me is that this is one of those shows that wants to "have its cake and eat it too." Centered on a mother and son who have been sucked into an MMO so they can become closer as a family, I honestly might have preferred it if the show was just honest about it being a mother fetish title. Then, at least, I could respect it for its honesty. Since it opts to insist that the son isn't at all into his mom like that, though, the series' repeated attempts to sexualize the character of Mamako (yes, her name is a pun on Mama) just kind of soured the experience. Then add the fact that Mamako's personality is infantilized by the series, banking on her the appeal of her being hot but dumb as a sack of potatoes, and it starts to become clear how that sour feeling continued to grow over time. But here's the thing: I honestly believe I might have been able to look past those issues and simply enjoy this series in much the same manner I enjoy a good, stupid B movie were it not for the sheer, brazen cluelessness this series displayed in the name of simultaneously moralizing the importance of family and pushing its fetishistic gimmick. Namely, once the characters of Masato and Mamako are established, the series introduces a number of other characters who are also trapped in this MMO with their mothers. The reason they join Masato and Mamako's party, though, is because, instead of "deepening the bond between mother and child," the MMO instead ended up causing a catastrophic falling out. Seeing this as a problem that needs to be fixed, Masato and Mamako set about helping these other characters reconnect with their parents. The first of these is the character of Wise whose falling out was partially because she's your basic tsundere who can't be honest with her feelings and partially because her mother is a self-obsessed, neglectful, abusive bitch (and I do not use those words lightly). During the battle that is supposed to let mother and daughter vent their frustrations and reconnect, Wise's mother repeatedly tries to kill her daughter, claims that she wishes that Wise was never born, and bemoans how having a child took away her freedom in spite of the fact that the series made it clear beforehand that she was never a part of Wise's life in the first place. Yet, despite how toxic and harmful their relationship is, the series proceeds to moralize about how strong, unbreakable, and pure the connection between mother and child is. Pleading to Wise's mother to forgive her daughter's selfishness, Mamako repeatedly insists that nothing is more important than their duty as parents and the unwavering power of motherly love. Then, to finish things off, the series opts to just magically make everything better by having Masato beat the shit out of Wise's mother. No sooner than the dust of their battle has settled, though, that Wise and her mother start passing barbs and insults back and forth as the rest of the cast laughs about "how close they are." This entire exchange is fucking disgusting. It is so unconscionably oblivious to the reality of so many family situations that it beggars belief. This show's attempts to push this fetish-backed moralizing is nothing short of unforgivable when the truth of the matter is that there are so many people out there who desperately need to cut ties with abusive parents for their own well-being. Now, to be clear, I don't have any personal stake in saying this since I actually have a pretty healthy relationship with my parents but the stories I've seen and experiences my friends have shared make it clear to me that this "pure, unbreakable connection" is absolute horseshit. This kind of moralizing actively undermines the safety and security of people in abusive family situations--encouraging kids to put up with abuse and justifying a parent's "right" to abuse the children they brought into the world--when it clearly would be better to establish that a line needs to be drawn somewhere. I've gone on about this toxic dumpster fire of a show long enough, though, and desperately want to talk about anything else.
The Honorable Mentions:
Is that an exaggeration? Yes. Does it matter? Hell no.
Blessedly, Dr. Stone isn't that bad of a show. It's not great but it works well enough to at least be tolerable. Centered on your basic high school genius protagonist, Senku, Dr. Stone allows its lead to shine as he uses his smarts to bring science and technology back to the world after a weird green light sends humanity back to the stone age. Often regarded as the "Bill Nye the Science Guy of shounen anime," the series cuts its teeth on showcasing the thought and effort that led humanity to become the technological superpower it is. From making ramen from raw ingredients to find a way to safely extract sulfuric acid, these little experiments and advances in science make its otherwise drawn out and basic plot engaging. From what I understand, though, things only get better once the series gets past its obsession with the shounen formula made manifest with Senku's battle with this stone world's "king of brawn," Tsukasa. Hopefully, their inevitable clash will happen sooner rather than later so I can start enjoying this show in earnest.
Couldn't have said it better myself since I don't know what he's saying or why he's saying it.
Unfortunately, my tolerance for Enen no Shouboutai (Fire Force) and its very juvenile sensibilities are starting to wear thin the same way they did for Danmachi. Taking the common phase of "fighting fire with fire" to a more literal extreme, the series focuses on a team of characters who work to put and end to the threat of the Infernals, humans who have spontaneously combusted and been turned into fire-powered demons, with their own fire-based abilities. While the anime adaptation can be praised for its quieter, more thoughtful moments of reflection, most of these segments seem to be anime-original content that's trying and ultimately failing to age-up the show's aggressively juvenile tone. From characters screaming about how they're going to be heroes despite being social pariahs and plenty of pointless, objectifying of the show's female cast, this series is steadily proving to be everything I hate about the shounen genre masked with some legitimately solid and thoughtful character moments that almost make it worth the frustration. Depending on how it conducts itself in the Fall season, though, there's a 50/50 chance that I'll end up dropping it in favor of something more my speed.
Behold! I give you the most awesome viking anime ever. Pretty sure it's also the only viking anime but whatever.
Last but certainly not least, Vinland Saga is already stacking up to be the strongest contender for my favorite anime of the year. Full of character depth and an attention for detail, Vinland Saga presents itself as a less-than-typical revenge story set to the backdrop of the viking invasion of England and the eventual founding of the the Danish colony in America. As we follow the tragic adventure of Thorfinn where he ends up depending on and fighting for the viking mercenaries that killed his father in the hope that he'll one day be able to challenge and kill their leader, Askellad. Yet, the thing that makes Thorfinn's journey so engaging isn't his revenge story so much as how his story fits into the larger context of this specific moment in history. The death of his father, his learning to kill to survive, and his eventual rise to prominence in Askellad's army are all simply representative of the trails, tribulations, and brutality so many people had to deal with in that era. Despite being a work of historical fiction at heart, though, the series never grows so detached that we lose focus of who these characters are and their personal struggles which are, of course, absolutely fascinating in their own right. Thorfinn, for his part, offers a story that offers a lesson on the dangers of pride better than any other I've seen. Askellad, on the other hand, is an absolutely fascinating character full of loud charisma and quiet wisdom in equal measure, making him a positively magnetic leader that forces the audience to love him in spite of the fact that he's an absolute bastard. But the depth of characterization and perspective hardly stops with these two. Even the two-bit nobodies in Askellad's army are given their share of free time as they comment on everything from what they ate or raped the previous night to the pointlessness of their struggle to earn enough glory to enter Valhalla. Honestly, I can't praise this series enough for its critical worth or its honesty in showcasing even the darkest aspects of viking/Danish civilization. If you haven't been watching or reading this series, do your self a favor and pick it up.
Closing Thoughts:
As I said at the start, this was one of the more divisive seasons I've had the pleasure and displeasure of going through. Even though I ended up watching half my usual amount of anime this season, it still ended up being a roller coaster full of highs and lows. I found just as many shows I loved as I did ones that pissed me off to an unreasonable degree. So, all-in-all, it was just another anime season. Now, just to get this officially stated, I'm not planning on reviewing things the same way I've done up until now. Reviews will still be coming with a degree of regularity now that I've updated the site and worked through a few technical problems on my end but I'll be cutting it down to only one a week so that I'll have more time to work on each review and give them the attention they deserve. What's more, I'm going to limit myself to only reviewing titles I actually have something to say about beyond the comments I lay out in the Season Summary. So, titles like Dumbbell and Lord El-Melloi probably won't be getting the review treatment simply because their premise is the whole of the story or there just isn't enough content for me to criticize without outlining the plot. If, however, you'd like me to give some special attention to any particular series or simply want to get my thoughts on any titles I didn't formally review, feel free to just ask me. On top of all the usual means of reaching me from the Contact Me page, I'm almost always available to chat via the site's Facebook page if you ever want to comment, chat, or simply argue about how wrong I was about your favorite show.
Comments