Has the summer heat completely depleted your energy? With the newest batch of anime already in full swing, go ahead and settle down with some snacks and an ice-cold drink. Here are some anime that are worth giving a chance this summer.
1. Welcome to the Ballroom
Sports anime have traditionally been about the more popular sports such as basketball, tennis, and baseball. So whenever there's a new anime that depicts the less common sports (Yuri!! on Ice, Chihayafuru, Free!, and Ping Pong the Animation come to mind), it always elicits some sort of buzz among the anime community. Welcome to the Ballroom gives competitive ballroom dancing its turn in the spotlight. Here, we watch the young Tatara Fujita's first steps into the world of dancing as a way to find purpose in life and to become more confident in himself. His chance encounters with a professional ballroom dancer and a dancing prodigy inspire him to reach new heights and improve even further.
2. Fate/Apocrypha
The Fate series has become a common appearance on the anime scene, spawning various adaptations ever since the overwhelming success of Type Moon's visual novel, "Fate/Stay Night." Fate/Apocrypha takes its bread and butter from the original setting and plot but is set in an alternate timeline from the "Fate/Stay Night". Due to unforeseeable circumstances, the Fifth Holy Grail War never happens and the Grail is in the hands of a Yggdramillennia magi family. The Mage's Association takes action to take the Grail back, initiating a new Holy Grail War with 14 Masters and Servants in total. The two factions—the Red Faction of the Yggdramillennia and the Black Faction of the Mage's Association—battle it out for possession of the Grail. You don't really need to to have watched any of the prior Fate adaptations before jumping into Apocrypha since it works just fine as a standalone series. Just note, it will be making references that could fly over your head if you haven't been introduced to the terminology.
3. New Game!!
New Game!! is technically the second season of the series. It follows the everyday life of Aoba Suzukaze, who became the newest member of Eagle Jump, a video game development company. It takes a look into the realm of production and the gaming industry. It's not a fully realistic realistic depiction since it revolves more around the fun interactions that Aoba and her coworkers have with each other. Nevertheless, if you're in the mood for something upbeat and quirky, then New Game!! won't disappoint.
4. The Reflection
Are you a comic book fan? Then here's something that might pique your interest. The Reflection is a anime that is produced by none other than the legendary Stan Lee! This is Lee's most recent work in the anime industry ever since Heroman a few years back. The Reflection focuses on the aftereffects of the mysterious Reflection Event, when the world was shrouded in darkness under a thick black smoke. Those who survived the catastrophe gained superpowers, creating a new human society of heroes and villains. This unique blend of Japanese anime and American superheroes is certainly one that stands out from the crowd this season.
5. Isekai Shokudou
Food is something that never fails to bring people together, even residents from different worlds. Isekai Shoukudou, or Restaurant to Another World, is a lighthearted anime of a simple chef, delicious food, and very special customers. In a corner of a busy shopping corner lies a little hidden gem of a restaurant called “Yoshoku no Nekoya” that serves food that is guaranteed to please just about anyone that walks in for a meal. Every Saturday, the restaurant is closed to the public and is opened to denizens of other worlds, ranging from dragons to demons. You won't have the same level of ridiculousness that's in Shokugeki no Soma, but the reactions from many of the special guests that come in on Saturdays make for a good laugh. Plus, there's enough food porn that will leave you craving more.
6. Nana Maru San Batsu
Nana Maru San Batsu, or Fastest Finger First is an interesting seinen anime with fast-paced game show vibes. Shiki Koshiyama is a meek person by nature, who likes to spend his time reading. Upon entering high school, Shiki learns about the school's Quiz Club but dismisses it as being “too nerdy.” He picks up one of the club's 100 question quizzes and manages to answers most of them with ease thanks to his wealth of knowledge. After a brief, yet intense quiz session with the club president, Shiki quickly realizes that he has a knack for the game and decides to give competitive quizzes a chance.
7. Katsugeki/Touken Ranbu
Touken Ranbu is insanely popular browser game in the East, in which the player can transform various swords into humans. Wait, what? Yup, that's right. There's even more to the plot twist. The army of sword boys that you summon actually aid you in your quest to prevent a mysterious evil force that wants to change the course of history. I'll admit that it's pretty far-fetched, but it works. But if there's one reason why Touken Ranbu is so popular, then it would have to its visual appeal with a gratuitous amount of handsome young men. What's even better is that Ufotable is the studio in charge of Katsugeki. This means there's a very high production quality and consistency in every action-packed scene.
This summer season has a good amount of promising anime to watch. I've only mentioned a few, but it's going to be a long summer anyway. So why not relax with some anime before classes start up again?
