Here we are, at the end of my summer season reviews with a heart heavy at saying good bye, but also excited to see what’s in store for the ones we may see again someday. I cried and laughed a lot this season, including in some of the shows below, and I’m hoping if you do watch any of the ones I did that you also share your reactions, good and bad.
Yun: “…isn’t Yagami-san gonna get chosen anyway? She’s super talented. This competition’s just so that no one can complain. But it’s a foregone conclusion.”
Aoba: “That may be true, but I’m fine with failure so long as I know the results were deserved.”
(“Cos-purr-lay.” New Game!!)
How you tackle opportunities in life can determine your position and future endeavors, and there are often countless approaches to take. Picking the right one for your own happiness can be tricky; doing so may result in the unhappiness of others. This is the dilemma faced in the second episode of New Game!!, “This Is Just Turning Into Cos-purr-lay!” With a new project on the horizon, Eagle Jump creates a challenge to all employees to win the position of Lead Character Designer.
Despite Yagami Kou’s promotion to Art Director, it’s assumed by everyone that she will take part in the competition as well. Some employees, like Yun, view this as a fixed race and shy away from confrontation. Others, like Aoba, are more than eager to have this rare chance. Her gut reaction to give it her all shows just how much she’s improved since the first season, when she looked up to Yagami as a near unreachable figure. Now she’s excited to challenge her, even if the outcome is certain.
Summer has arrived in full force, slamming us not only with heat and humidity, but also with an endless supply of shows, many average and a couple extraordinary. Made in Abyss and Princess Principal top the lot, but shows like Nana Maru San Batsu and New Game!! follow closely in ranking. We are still at the start of the season, though, so my opinions are subject to change.
I ended up with far too many, as usual. I’m at 29 shows this summer, including hold overs from the spring, so hopefully I’ll have plenty of material for topics of interest and maybe even get back to the kitchen! If there’s anything in particular you’re interested in seeing me blog about, please let me know.
Somehow I made it through this busy summer with more shows than I expected, though I did drop a handful that I had originally intended to keep, like Kyoukai no Rinne and Binan Koukou Chikyuu Bouei-bu LOVE! LOVE! When I found myself repeatedly choosing other series over these to view each week, then faced the large number of un-watched episodes near the end of the summer season, I realized that I had zero interest in either. I already had my hands full with so many other series! Here is the first part of my summer season review, with more to follow.
Better late than never, right? This is less of a start-of-the-season round-up of my choices, and more of a progress report now that we’re a little more than quarter of the way through the summer. My list is woefully long despite my crazy summer schedule that includes a ton of family and friend events in the weeks and days leading up to my wedding. I’ve only been able to keep up thanks to my daily commute which takes up almost two hours of my time every work day. There are plenty of gems this season across multiple genres to pick from, and below are my choices in alphabetical order:
Anime B&B 