Summer Anime TV Guide, Part 2

Part two of our Summer Anime guide continues. This time we have another fifteen series, so strap in and let’s see what else the season has in store.

Cells at Work: From the geniuses over at David Production comes the anime version of Osmosis Jones! Yes, a series where we learn about all the cells working hard within our bodies to keep us alive, and the drama which goes on between them.
Thoughts: This has a lot of potential. I’m sold on at least the first couple of episodes, and from what I’m hearing so far it’s as good of a time as this trailer seems to be.
Premiering: July 8th.

The Master of Ragnarok & Blesser of Einherjar: When Yuuto Suou uses his phone to take a picture of himself with his local shrine’s mirror, he gets teleported to a different world. Using his solar powered smart-phone, he starts bringing the people who found him, the Wolf Clan, to greater and greater heights.
Thoughts: I actually watched the first episode of this, and it’s…something. It feels like Sekirei at first, with the main character defeating other people who have Einherjar, special magic wielding women, and recruiting them into his clan. The main character is a little more assertive and self-assured than most harem protagonists, but this is still very much a harem. I’m actually not sure if I’m going to keep watching, but it’s earned a second episode shot.
Premiering: July 8th.

Asobi Asobase: A high school comedy centered around three girls: Hanako, a great athlete with a strange fashion sense, an American transfer student known as Olivia, and their classmate Kasuki, who hates games thanks to always losing against her sister and being mocked for her lack of skill.
Thoughts: This looks like one of those over the top comedies most longtime anime fans love ’cause it’s so offbeat and referential..but unfortunately, from the trailer alone it doesn’t do much for me at all. I’m going to pass since a lot of anime comedies don’t really hit home with me, but it’s so far gotten fairly strong reviews from around the web.
Premiering: July 8th.

Planet With: Soya Kuroi is a young boy with amnesia, who’s still managing to live an enjoyable life despite having no memory of who he is. But eventually, he gets pulled into battle with a giant machine called a “Nebula weapon”. Strangely though, he manages to become the antagonist of the people trying to save the city! Are the answers for his actions inside his lost memories?
Thoughts: Because the world needs more giant robot anime, and 2018 is behind on its quota to compete with other years of anime. Planet With is notable because of its creator, Satoshi Mizukami, who’s best known for a much more popular manga series he’s done that they’re not adapting for some reason.  Still, from everything I’ve heard there’s been a great response to this show so far–but most mecha start off good before falling off a cliff, so I’m not falling for it.
Premiering: July 8th.

Gintama. Silver Soul Arc Season 2: The long running action-comedy shonen continues. The Silver Soul arc is meant to be the very last story for Gintama, meaning after fifteen years this story is finally going to come to an end.
Thoughts: Gintama is one of those series with so many episodes you’re either into it or you aren’t. It’s got a unique style of humor and takes a while before it finally gets into its “plot”, so for many it isn’t worth the time investment. For me, I’m so far back I’d never catch up before this finishes, so for now I’ll just put the series on hold and return after it’s finished.
Premiering: July 9th.

Aguu: Genius Dolls: Ai and Machi are both dancers, but where Ai is just average, Machi is a genius. Ai frequently gets bummed because of Machi’s incredibly ability, but eventually learns about Aguu, small beings who give genius ability to people who hold them. Machi eventually becomes a Seamstress to make more Aguu, and to save her Ai becomes a Savior, beings who’ve fought Seamstresses throughout the generations.
Thoughts: This trailer throws a lot at you all at once, and does look like a magical girl series that’s not quite a magical girl show.  It’s got gorgeous animation and is being received surprisingly well so far. Despite that, the art style is a little too simplistic and this seems borderline edge for the sake of, so this is looking like a pass on my part.
Premiering: July 10th.

Phantom in the Twilight: A young girl travels to London for the purpose of studying abroad, and eventually runs into “Cafe Forbidden”, a cafe which only opens up at night. While there, she runs into the men who work at Cafe Forbidden, which turns out to be a place where the guardians that separate the human and shadow world meet.
Thoughts: What’d I say about otome shows? They really go all out with their concepts. Anyway, this is an excellent trailer–awesome song, and it gives us an idea of the series concept without giving away too much. Still, this feels like a less captivating version of Bungou Stray Dogs, and I wasn’t much into that. Nonetheless, if all you want is a lot of action and some pretty guys, this seems about as good a choice as you’re going to get.
Premiering: July 10th

Jashin-chan Dropkick: A slapstick comedy series, Jashin-chan follows Yurine, a young girl who summons a demon girl named Jashin. They’re stuck together until Yurine figures out a way to send her back…or until Jashin kills Yurine.
Thoughts: This trailer does the best job of subverting expectations I’ve seen since Seven Arcs did Dog Days back in 2012. It’s all super serious and feels like that of a completely different anime series for two minutes, then the last twenty seconds or so show you what you’re actually watching, which is pretty cute. If there’s a flaw it’s that they could’ve spent a bit more time in the world of the show afterwards, but this is fine. I’m not a terribly big fan of slapstick shows like this, though.
Premiering: July 10th.

Holmes of Kyoto: Mashiro Aoi is a high school girl who meets Yagashiro Kiyotaka, the son of an antique shop in Kyoto’s Teramachi Sanjo shopping district, and after some events Aoi winds up working at the shop part-time. While there, she learns Kiyotaka is actually referred to as the “Holmes of Teramachi Sanjo” due to his ability to read people and she starts working with him to solve odd cases around the district.
Thoughts: Hapless teenage girl meets stunningly gorgeous man and they solve mysteries together! It’s like Doctor Who but with a more attractive male lead and much, much less sci-fi. Well, presumably. This seems like it could get pretty rote, but on the upside it’s based on a novel series, so presumably the writer would have had to put quite a bit of work into the mysteries if it got popular enough to become an anime. A little too slice-of-life-y for my tastes, but this could be fun for a lot of people–so long as you don’t mind the reverse-harem potential.
Premiering: July 10th.

Overlord III: Third season of the popular series where a MMO player Momoga decides to remain in his favorite game’s world after the servers go down, only to learn that the world itself continues to exist, with the NPCs starting to develop personalities outside their strictly programmed ones.
Thoughts: Like with most series with multiple seasons split over several years, there’s not much to say about this. You’re either interested or not, really. The first season of this was very much wish fulfillment at its finest, as the main character was a max-level player in a world that was meant to cater to player characters to begin with. If you’re interested in a world where the main character is kind of an amoral dick, this is the series for you.
Premiering: July 10th.

Angolmois: Record of Mongol Invasion: The Mongolian Empire was thought to be unstoppable during the 13th century, as it rapidly conquered lands. Historians would eventually claim their homeland was the home of the Great King of Terror, Angolmois. And in 1274, the Mongolian Empire would finally notice Japan and begin the Bun’ei Invasion. This series follows how the people of Tsushima would rise up and battle one of the most powerful forces in history.
Thoughts: The only thing I know about this is what I’ve gleaned from two trailers of Ghost of Tsushima. Historical action series are usually not my thing, but this does look hype. Seems like the people of Tsushima had to use some underhanded tricks to fight off the Mongol Invasion, with a pirate army being forced to combine with a bunch of helpless villagers or risk being put to death. Pretty cool, and the reception for it so far has been positive.
Premiering: July 11th.

The Genius Bakabon: Eighteen years after it’s last anime, the Genius Bakabon has made a return. The story follows Bakabon and his family, along with Mr. Policeman and many of its other famous characters, now in a modern setting.
Thoughts: I definitely have no love for gag shows like this, but if that’s your thing there’s a full cour of this happening for the next twelve (well, nine now) weeks.
Premiering: July 11th.

Free! Dive to the Future: Dive to the Future covers the Third Year of the Iwatobi Swim club. The group is still enjoying their lives together as much as ever, but graduation is close and they’ll have to figure out their futures soon. In the meantime, they’ll make new friends and run into old ones–will the team continue to survive into graduation?
Thoughts: By now you know whether or not you’re into pure boys swimming or not. It’s a well animated sports show that operates as positive comfort food.
Premiering: July 12th.

Tenrou: Sirius the Jaeger: In 1930, a group of people called Jaegers appeared in the Imperial Capital of Tokyo. Carrying musical instrument cases, they arrived to hunt vampires.  Among them is Yuliy, a werewolf who had his home village destroyed by vampires, and together with the Jaegers he intends to fight against the “Arc of Sirius”.
Thoughts: The visual design for this series is on point, and it’s always fun to see anime do period pieces set outside of Edo period because they don’t happen nearly often enough. I was actually going to pass on this show but this is one of those cases where the trailer sold me. Though unfortunately, it looks like Netflix has a hold of this series so it might be awhile on my end.
Premiering: July 12th.