Summer 2018 in Review

Looking back at this season, I am still agreeing with a lot of things I said in my mid-Summer anime commentary. I do think that from a perspective of shows that appeal to me, this season isn’t as strong. If there are a few shows to watch, a season is good. Still, Spring 2018 was exceptional for me. With the Legend of the Galactic Heroes remake, FULL METAL PANIC!!!!, Hinamatsuri clicking for me extremely well, Golden Kamuy was fun, and some other series hit my taste in ways that most seasons don’t. Not to mention My Hero Academia season three and Lupin the third: Part five that ended their two cour runs this season. I’m not used to seasons clicking with me like that. Do I need to say anything more about how I see things from my perspective? Probably not. That might be boring.

I am only going to lay down some rules here. I am only going to talk about shows that finished during this season. That means no Attack on Titan season three and Banana Fish. Ok fine, how about three sentences for each of them?

Attack on Titan Season 3:

This show has been blowing my mind every episode. While it’s not an action heavy season so far, the reveals and politics being put into play are so interesting that I can’t take my eyes away from the screen. Then the action scenes come around and they are amazing.

Banana Fish:

I’m think I am going to drop this show now. It’s gotten to that weird balance of street gang violence and James Bond Villain warfare and I don’t think this show is actually good at that balance at all. Also, that whole Eiji and Ash stuff isn’t capturing me anymore and the pace of this show is just so weird. None of it really jells together at all, though the show is pretty to luck at. Goodbye Banana Fish.

There, happy? Probably not, but oh well. With those shows out of the way, that leaves not many other shows to talk about. I don’t think that’s a bad thing at all. There are plenty of good stuff here and possibly my anime of the year.

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Watch These Right Now:

Planet With

It’s not very hard for me to say this right now, but I think that Planet With could be my anime of the year. As a mecha fan, everything is clicking for me. The first half was almost flawless in building the world’s conflict at a break neck pace and the second half was amazing in exploring the characters and themes that were laid down in the first half. Not an original concept, but fighting for love is something that always gets to me on some level. Also, the mech designs were a lot of fun and I did love the mech fights from a choreography and sound design perspective. It just clicks for me on so many levels.

Please click here for more of my thoughts.

Lupin the Third: Part 5

I still agree with everything I said during my Summer 2018 at the Half Way Point when talking about this show. The characters are still the original lupin characters, but they are being put into new situations that made them feel more fleshed out then usual. I also particularly like how the final mini arc explored how relevant Lupin’s old thieving ways are with the advent of advanced technology and smart phones. He isn’t as invisible to the naked eye as one would think. Gives me something to think about.

I want to write about this more. Please wait a week for me to dig into this further.

Then These:

Asobi Asobase

While its episodes are very inconsistent and sometimes have content that I am not a fan of myself, I like these characters. I like seeing their multiple sides inside and outside the classroom, I like seeing them bounce off each other in nonsensical gags that always get out of hand, and I like seeing how they have a good connection with each other. Oh and the faces. The faces in this show are amazing. Besides the problems that I already mentioned, the thing that weighs is down is the humor itself. It’s a very inconsistently funny show. Not many episodes have been as funny as first episode and it hurts the overall flow of the show itself. Still, it’s a solid comedy show.

Cells at Work

Here we are with the most unique show of this season. Having a show centered around the cells of the human body is a lot of fun. Seeing how the human body works from an anime character perspective and seeing all the threats that attack the human body dealt with in shonen action style. Still, I do have to wonder if any of the episodes are out of order. While the show is episodic in nature, I can’t help but think the episodes are out of order because there isn’t a real narrative flow. I mean, I did say that it’s episodic, so I don’t feel like that argument has water. Oh whatever. Still, this show is fun. Has a lot of cute moments and emotional moments that balance each other out.

My Hero Academia Season Three

I am going to start by saying that I like this show quite a bit still. I love the characters and its world that is developed. It’s just that after the very inspired first cour of this season with everything centered around All Might and his struggles, everything else has fallen a little flat. The provisional license exam has been lacking in a lot of ways. It didn’t have as much of an emotional punch as much as we’ve come to expect from My Hero Academia. Maybe the shows long running length is weighing down on the show a little bit. There are better than bad in this show so far, but we really need to get through all this set up stuff to get to the show’s meat again. Meat that I hope is in season four that will undoubtably be announced soon.

While the provisional exam did introduce some more characters and world build a little more, there has been a better way to do it then another tournament arc. Especially one that is lacking compared to the school tournament arc that was always engaging and taught us who 1-A and other people were? We are meeting people that we aren’t sure we are going to see again, so there doesn’t seem to be as much of a focus on it. Why should I care about these other people besides wanting to see more heroes in this world? Also, the fact the second part of the exam was only two episodes instead of four we got from the first part makes the whole thing feel very uneven. Maybe give us another episode or two to put other characters in the spot light so we don’t have this almost pointless drama in the center of it? That would have helped that arc’s narrative quite a bit.

Mixed/Alright:

Gundam Build Divers

So many mixed feelings for this show. It started out as a fun show where see our characters that start playing this MMO called the Gundam Build Network. They are supposed to work hard to gain some skill in the game then get involved in some conflict. The show’s last arc centered around artificial intelligence and fighting beyond the impossible for its right to live. The whole show jumps around a lot in terms of character development and plot progression because it skips a lot of things. It skips seeing our two main characters, Riku and Yuki, developing their skills. At one point the show decides that they are good enough players that start their own group (Gundam Build Divers) and fight against bugs to the server for their own arc. It wasn’t that great of stuff really.

The second cour was arguably better for me because I don’t think this show has strong characters at all, but I like seeing these characters enjoy themselves playing the game. There are plenty episodes that center around action pieces that are mind blowing and we follow these basic characters in hopes they win. Standard stuff, but there is a reason why it’s so standard. The show’s final arc is interesting in the sense that I like the exploration of A.I. plots a lot, but why didn’t anybody question Sarah’s existence until recently? The whole arc relies on the audience’s connection with Sarah over its two cour run which is effective. Just need to have characters that are developed enough beyond “win at all the things” – kun to carry this show’s drama. Still, I liked the show enough to follow it all the way through. Just wish that it developed its core cast more than it did.

Angolmois

Well, here is the Japanese vs Mongols anime. Here we are with this show’s I feel the magic of the show’s first episode which the hype was building on left it near the end of it’s run. The first episode was so propulsive in action and character that it kept up the hype for me until half way through its run. By that point, I finally noticed how just generally ok the execution of this anime is. I feel like I have some sort of understanding with the main character and his motivations and Princess Teruhi, but every other character is kind of there. Maybe you remember their names, maybe you don’t, but they don’t really matter. The conflict is interesting still, but the action scene through still frames and action lines don’t sell it all as well as it could? Still has some interesting moments revolving around cutting people’s heads off though which is always fun for me. The show is decent, but I doubt I will remember after it’s done. Kind of like…. I don’t know. Already forgot. Haha.

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So a fun season, huh? Yeah, I think so. Every season needs its questionable stuff. With that thought in mind, I am going to back away from airing series a little bit. I am going to limit myself to eight or nine series a season instead of everything that interests me. Not stopping this at all because I like airing series, but it’s not as big of deal for me as it is for other people. I also like watching older series and that will allow me to focus on them a little more. Let’s see how that works out in the end. We shall see how long that lasts.