Hey guys Justin here, welcome to another edition of the Otaku Corner. Today’s OC is gonna be a quick one and we’re talking about the summer anime of this year. As I was cruising the internet I stumbled upon an article from IGN where editors named their 7 best anime of the summer. Out of curiosity I decided to check it out and what I saw was laughable (article here: http://www.ign.com/articles/2015/10/02/the-7-best-anime-from-summer-2015?read). Now no offence to the editors as this is just their opinion and everyone’s entitled to their opinion but this list is bad. In fact, two of the animes listed shouldn’t even be on the list since they originally began in the spring and just continued into the summer. So after seeing this list it got me thinking on what I thought the 7 best anime of the summer were and after careful thinking and in the spirit of fairness I decided to post the 7 animes I thought were the best this summer. These 7 animes go in no particular order and it’s not me trying to pick a fight with anyone from IGN it’s just me sharing my own opinion.
Akagami no Shirayuki
This has to be one of the best romance animes I have ever seen (and this is coming from the perspective of a guy). I love the animation in this anime, the characters are great. Shirayuki is one of the best female characters I have ever seen. I’m. . .honestly in love with her. I don’t normally do that whole anime waifu thing but if I did it would be her. She is my waifu and nobody else. The romance between her and Zen is beautiful, it’s build up perfectly, and leads to a perfect relationship between the two characters. The side characters are also good as well as each one has their own personality and relationship with the two main characters. The anime has already been greenlighted for a second season so I’m looking forward to seeing where Shirayuki and Zen’s relationship goes from here.
Shimoneta
This was an anime I originally was going to skip. When I first read the overview of the anime I thought it was going to be mindless fanservice that really went nowhere. So one day curiosity got the better of me and I decided to check out. What I saw was not only one of the funniest animes to come out this year but also an anime that served as social commentary. In this anime the government of Japan has rid itself of anything considered dirty (i.e porn, dirty jokes, sexual images, the teaching of sex ED, etc.) thus creating a society full of students who are ignorant about the whole concept of sex, dirty images, and how to handle their sexual urges. In this world the ero-terrorist Ayame (aka Blue Snow) blackmails our main character into joining her terrorist group to fight for a world where people are free to be dirty. As I said before this anime is just funny from beginning to end. The dirty jokes make me laugh, the use of censorship is some of the funniest I’ve seen done, and its good social commentary on the whole idea of ignorance is bliss and what we don’t teach our kids won’t harm them in the future. It’s unclear if a second season is in the works but hopefully this anime gets a second season because this anime is just straight up funny and if you haven’t watched it yet check it out online or on Funimation’s Youtube page.
Gangsta
Yeah one of the more talked about animes of this past summer. Gangsta takes us into a world of drugs, gangs, prostitutes, guns, and action all rolled up into one. This anime pulled no punches with its story treating its audience like adults and delivering us a very good and deep story using its three main characters and the world they’re set in. I don’t want to spoil too much about this anime but if you’re looking for something more mature and won’t pull any punches check this anime out. Is it getting a second season? Don’t know. With the recent shut down of Manglobe (the studio behind Gangsta) the anime’s future is in the air but I have faith that the anime will get picked up by another studio soon. Hopefully Bones.
Gate: Jieitai Kanochi nite, Kaku Tatakaeri
Here’s an anime that slipped under the radar this summer. Gate is a series that I consider to be the older brother of Outbreak Company (I did a review on this anime, you should check it out). While Outbreak Company was concerned with bringing the otaku culture into a new world, Gate is more focused on bringing the military aspect into this new world. In the series Japan has been attacked by people from another world. After repelling the attack, Japan sends its soldiers into the gate of this new world where everything we’ve seen in fantasy animes/mangas comes to life. This anime has two keen factors that make it worth watching. One is the modern warfare vs medieval knights aspect. Japan obviously has the advantage in this war and they show it. The battle scenes in this anime are great to watch. The aspect is so great that I’m surprised no other anime has done this yet (it’s shocking to be honest). The other keen factor are the characters. So far my two favorite characters are Yuuji our main character who is an otaku in his 30s who despite his looks is a badass military man whose military experience is equal to that of a green beret and has a pretty tactical mind as well. My second favorite is character Rory a demigod who appears in the form of a seductive Gothic loli who gets off killing and fighting. There’s also a good list of side characters each with their own personality and funny moments throughout the series as well that will make you chuckle. The anime even catches me by surprise by introducing Yuuji’s ex-wife which is something I have never seen an anime do. This anime will continue into the fall and really got me interested in the manga. If you’re in a hurry to see what happens next check the manga out (it’s a good read).
Prison School
Probably the most popular anime to come out this summer. Prison School takes us into the story of 5 boys going to an all-girl school that recently became co-ed. Once there the boys get in trouble and are forced into the school’s prison where they will be treated as prisoners for one month by the Underground Student Council who have plans to have the boys expelled from school and make them suffer. Once again we got a funny anime with a great concept like Shimoneta but the difference is Shimoneta derives its humor from its concept. Prison School derives its humor from the characters and their situation. We have a hot dominatrix vice president who’s always torturing the boys, a secretary who’s a master at karate and wants to pee on one of the boys (it’s complicated), a president whose father is a huge pervert with a butt fetish as well as the headmaster, and a group of boys each with different personalities that just keeps you laughing and who you want to see come out on top. Right now there’s been no word of a second season but with the way the first season ended and the popularity of the series there’s no doubt a second season will come next year (I’ll be shock if it doesn’t get a second season).
Monster Musume
Another popular series this summer. Once again the animation is great in this anime. This anime was done by a new studio that got started a few years ago and for them to deliver an anime of this high quality is amazing. In this anime monster girls are real and our main character has been forced into a cultural exchange program where he must serve as a host for numerous monster girls. I do like how the anime didn’t go with the basic monsters and instead introduced all new monsters that aren’t that well known or you don’t see that often. We have a lamia, harpy, centaur, slime, mermaid, Arachne, and a dullahan along with a bunch of other side characters who are also monsters you don’t normally see. It’s the setup for a basic harem anime but with the addition of monster girls instead of regular girls it adds something new the mix. The main character is your basic nice guy but he does have a few moments where he’s badass and I do like how he’s accepting of all the girls despite their appearance. To him they’re all just regular girls and should be treated as such. The girls surprisingly don’t follow the harem clichés of girls. They all like him but they each have their own unique interactions and relationship with him that separates them from each other. Some are passive, others are aggressive, some are childish while others are more adult, and some are just straight up weird. All in all it’s a good comedy harem with some good fanservice and a set of characters who you’ll enjoy that deliver something new to the genre.
Overlord
And the final anime is Overlord. Next to Prison School this was the one anime I always heard everyone talk about. If you’re a fan of SAO or Log Horizon you already know the story. Players get trap in a game for some unknown reason and have to fight their way out. What separates this anime from the ones in its genre is that instead of multiple players it’s just one lone player and NPCs. Another interesting factor is that the main character comes off as more of a villain than a hero. His character model isn’t that of a holy knight, a skilled wizard, or a rogue swordsman but instead a lich and his NPCs are all creatures either of the undead or some association with evil. Everything he does he does for himself and no one else. To him, everyone in the game is just a stepping block for him to use on his way to the top. The only people he cares about are the NPCs of his guild since they were all created by his longtime guild members who were his only friends in life. He’s overpowered, a brilliant tactician, always thinking ahead of his opponents, and has a sadistic streak that reminds me of Alucard from Hellsing Ultimate. If you’re looking for an anime where the bad guy is the main character than check this anime out.
Honorable Mentions
Here are a few honorable mentions I think were also good from the summer:
Rokka no Yuusha
Ushio to Tora
To LOVE-Ru Darkness 2nd
Joukamachi no Dandelion
Himouto! Umaru-chan
Durarara!!x2 Ten
Gatchaman Crowds insight
School-Alive
Lupin III (2015)
And if you want to add in ongoing anime from the spring I say Food Wars and Arslen Senki
Well that’s my list. I hope you enjoyed, and if you would like leave a comment and let me know what your favorite anime from the summer was. Thanks for reading and I’ll see you next time on Project Nitsuj where we begin Ani-ween. This year’s gonna be fun. I won’t spoil anything but let’s just say I’ll be reviewing something that’s been long overdue.
Thanks for reading. As always feel free to leave a comment, feedback, or request down belong or send to iamprojectnitsuj@gmail.com.