Disclaimer: These rankings are purely a reflection of our own opinions and tastes, which are admittedly rather different from your average anime fan. Just because we don’t like a particular show doesn’t mean you won’t enjoy it. Your mileage may vary, etc etc. However, if you do have a different opinion about a show, by all means post a comment so that people reading have more than one opinion to go by.

Summer often gets a bad rap as the “filler” season in between the generally much more packed spring and fall anime seasons. This season, however, summer boasts an excellent crop of new shows for fans of all different genres. Although I’m ranking these shows numerically according to my favorites, almost all of them are enjoyable in at least some respects.

Almost all.

17. Element Hunters

Send it to hell, Marge, send it to hell.

No seriously. Usually I try to give a series at least 3 or 4 episodes before making a judgment call, but this show had me pulling my hair only minutes into the first episode. I still watched a few episodes so that I can say I’m not making a premature judgment, but man that was torturous.

The plot is something along the lines of:

Earth is in crisis because our precious elements are disappearing! As it turns out, they are being stolen by an evil alternate dimension known as “Nega Earth”! Yes, that’s right. They are coming to earth and stealing our elements. Like, one at a time. An element.

And! And the only way to stop them is to transport teenagers in spandex outfits to Nega Earth to fight and bring back our elements! On account of grown ups can’t go to Nega Earth. No seriously. It’s because of science! Yeah…

So they go to Nega Earth, and there’s lot of emo bullshit and teen angst, and then they fight a monster using strategies that sound like some kind bad science project. And the element is captured in their “Pokedex”. Gotta catch ‘em all.

And everybody lives happily emo after.

16. Fight Ippatsu Juuden-chan

Another typical fanservice fest, and one with an incredibly sketch plot to boot.

Well, maybe I shouldn’t call it “typical”. I understand this series really pushed the envelope in terms of what you can get away with and still be on broadcast television, what with masochism and urination in every episode. Or so I hear anyway. I couldn’t deal with the insipid plot long enough to even find out if that claim is true.

15. Aoi Hana

Yuri. That’s the only term that this show can really be described with, and also its only “redeeming” quality.

If you’re into that you might enjoy it, but beyond that gimmick the plot doesn’t really offer anything interesting or substantive. The characters are incredibly one-dimensional, and not in a good “one-dimensional funny trope character” way. And did I mention that the one dimension is yuri?

Sigh…

14. Kanamemo

This series is so ridiculous and creepy on so many levels, I can’t even begin to describe it. The constant loli yuri fetishism was emphasized to a degree that I found downright disturbing, and the plot alternated between cringe-inducing awful and yawn-inducing boring.

The only bright ray of sunshine were the vocal performances of Kugimiya Rie (Shana, Sanzenin Nagi, Louise), who is practically a requirement these days in any series with a loli tsundere, and Mizuhara Kaoru (Misao from Lucky Star), who really needs to get more roles, because her voice is incredibly awesome.

13. Umineko no Naku Koro ni

Sigh. I really wanted to like this show. I tried very hard.

The show has most annoying cast of characters I’ve seen since Code Geass R2, which is saying a lot. The dialogue comes across as extremely forced, the characters are all wholly uninteresting, and most of the plot and pacing feels as though the scriptwriters just grabbed random text from the game and stitched it together slapdash.

12. Umi Monogatari

I actually like this show quite a bit, surprisingly. It’s fairly typical magical girl fare with a side of fanservice, but it’s delivered with solid animation, an excellent soundtrack, and a rather tongue-in-cheek approach that makes it a bit more memorable than most similar shows.

11. Sora no Manimani

A predictably slow tale of highschool life and budding romance, Sora no Manimani won’t knock anybody’s socks off. It does, however, manage to provide a good amount of random humor, some cool astronomy lessons, and the occasional heartwarming moment.

10. NEEDLESS

This show is trying to be Gurren Lagann so hard it hurts. Not only does their logo look nearly identical, the main characters bear a very suspicious resemblance to Kamina and Simon, albeit in appearance only.

The sad part, as much as I hate NEEDLESS for having a name in all caps and being essentially one huge rip-off, it’s actually a halfway decent series. The production values are above average and the show features a colorful cast of super-powered blowhard badasses beating the crap out of each other. There was supposedly some kind of larger plot involved, but I wasn’t particularly interested in it, and judging from the way the show progresses I kind of get the feeling that the production team wasn’t either.

9. Zan Sayounara Zetsubou Sensei

Season one of Sayounara Zetsubou Sensei was legendary. Season two was lesser, but still hilarious. Season three seems to be lowering the bar even further. While still vintage Shinbou comedy, this season is really missing a lot of the magic that made this show great in the past.

SHAFT seem to have their best animation squad committed to Bakemonogatari right now, so the visual caliber of the series has taken a noticeable dive. Beyond that, however, the humor just doesn’t seem quite as fresh as it as was in previous seasons. For better or for worse, the format is exactly the same as it always has been, but the jokes are less original and the scenarios less creative.

That’s not to say it’s bad; by no means. I still watch SZS and laugh at it. Compared to some of the other awesome shows in this season’s line-up, however, I have a hard time justifying giving it a higher spot.

8. GA – Geijutsuka Art Design Class

GA is this season’s obligatory “slice-of-life, day to day adventures of a group of high school girls” anime. I’m pretty sure that Japan is legally required to make sure that at least one show like this is airing at all times.

As a typically slow-paced slice of life show, it features the usual cast of unusual moe characters doing silly things in silly ways. Given the subject matter of the series, the natural inclination is to compare it to Hidamari Sketch, and in that respect I’d say it measures up extremely well. Not only are the production values much better than Hidamari, GA has more consistent humor. It also puts much more of an emphasis on (gasp) the actual art and related artistic endeavors of the cast, so it’s both entertaining and educational.

I’ve enjoyed Geijutsuka Art Design Class so much, in fact, that I went out to the local Kinokuniya and bought up the tankouban collections of the original 4-koma series the anime is based on.

7. Taishou Yakyuu Musume

This is the real sleeper hit of this season.

Set in 1925, during the transitional Taishou period in Japanese history, this show follows the misadventures of a group of school girls as they try to form their own baseball team and compete on even terms with the boys. The story starts off extremely slowly, but quickly develops into an endearing tale of failure, success, perseverance, and personal growth that really epitomizes the Japanese spirit of teamwork.

I’m a huge fan of jidaigeki, or Japanese period dramas, and Taishou Yakyuu Musume has quickly become one of my favorites in this sort of genre because of its slice-of-life approach to storytelling, as well as its interesting progressive perspective on the changing role of women in society during this pivotal period in Japanese history.

For more info, check out 2DT’s great write-up about the series.

6. Princess Lover

I was actually expecting Princess Lover to be terrible, mainly because of the name, as well as the number of overgenerously proportioned females featured in the promo art. I’ve ended up been pleasantly surprised by this series, fortunately.

Make no mistake, this show is completely ridiculous, but that just serves to make it incredibly hilarious. The story of a young man who is taken in by his incredibly rich grandfather when his parents pass away, Princess Lover covers everything from school hijinks at Yuppie Academy to random international intrigue. It doesn’t shy away from the fanservice, but it also manages to do it in a sort of tongue-in-cheek manner that doesn’t turn me off from the series.

I also have to give them mad props for including an awesome Kaiji parody, as well as the many other lulzy moments of the hot springs episode. The director is just having way too much fun making this series.

Also the grandfather is voiced by Wakamoto Norio (Emperor Britannia, Vicious, Narrator from Hayate no Gotoku), so how can you not enjoy this show, really?

5. The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya S2

I don’t know which is more surprising to me – that I’m actually ranking a Haruhi season as low as number 5, or that I’m still loyal enough to have it this high on the list considering everything that has happened this season.

Just for reference, by the way, the reason I’m including it in the rankings this season is because last season was almost entirely recap material, and thus I skipped it in my Spring Rankings post.

In any case, I still enjoy the Haruhi franchise, and while the hype has died down considerably and the newer episodes aren’t anything special, the series still manages to deliver consistent, predictable fun. As long as Haruhi dominates all life, Mikuru cowers, and Kyon facepalms and provides his characteristic dry narration, I’ll continue to be well entertained by this show for a long time to come.

For more Haruhiism, nobody does Haruhi posts better than Jason Miao.

4. Bakemonogatari

If you’re a regular reader you know that we’ve already said quite a bit about Bakemonogatari, some of it negative and some positive. Just like Sayounara Zetsubou Sensei, this series is classic SHAFT x SHINBO, with all of the quirks and visual oddity that that combination fosters. As a result, it probably will not appeal to everyone.

That said, if you can get past the odd visuals, even weirder music, and even more bizarre characters, this show is a real gem. The visual style, however, while creative, just serves to set the stage. Dialogue is really the soul of this show.

The incredibly clever banter between Araragi and the various supporting characters is witty and sarcastic, at times innuendo laden, and always off the wall. It really makes it fun to watch, and paired with all the kooky audiovisual trappings serves as a textbook case of surreal, wacky humor.

Add in the unique wit and charm of Bakemonogatari’s leading lady, Senjougahara Hitagi, and it’s no wonder that this “Senjougahara Fascination” craze has started to dominate the otaku mindshare.

To supplement your Bakemonogatari crazy, I recommend checking out Kurogane’s posts on the subject, as well as our summary.

3. CANAAN

After a ton of initial hype surrounding this Type-Moon produced series, it seems like many people felt somewhat let down by CANAAN. I think most of the disappointment stems largely from the fact that the anime tries to cultivate a very “serious business” vibe in the beginning, but then quickly shows its true colors as a somewhat goofy, if beautifully animated, action series.

That said, I think CANAAN is brilliant at what it does. If you’re looking for a show with a moody, gritty realism to it, CANAAN is probably not your show. If you just want to see awesome gunfights and have no interest in character exposition, CANAAN is probably not your show. If all you’re interested in is yuri-goggle fodder… well ok, CANAAN might still be your show.

Ultimately, however, CANAAN’s appeal doesn’t rest on it’s action scenes or any potential yuri-bait that may or may not exist. It’s about the characters and the way they somehow come together to create a hilarious, quirky, and entertaining story that is greater than the sum of its parts.

For more on this series, Kabitzin has the best episode summaries. We’ve got several CANAAN related posts here at Epic Win, as well.

2. Tokyo Magnitude 8.0

I simply have no words to adequately describe this series. It’s gone beyond all my expectations, pulled relentlessly at my heartstrings, and spun a fascinating tale about courage, cowardice, hope, and despair.

Most disaster films really try to play up the spectacle of a disaster for entertainment value. Many of them try to play up some kind of romance subplot. And unsurprisingly, they’re mostly pretty terrible.

Tokyo Magnitude 8.0 strays away from the traditional disaster flick style of presentation for something much more down to earth (so to speak). Focused on the story of two children caught in the quake far from home, and the woman who helps guide them back, this series is about a surprisingly simple and personal story that portrays the very human reactions that we all exhibit when the world we know breaks apart. It’s a story about hope through the most despairing of circumstances, and persevering through difficulty with the promise of a brighter future.

I really just can’t properly convey how awesome this show is. So instead let me refer you to someone much more qualified to do that, who has written extensively about this series and its many ups and downs.

1. Spice & Wolf II

Spice & Wolf is a rare kind of story. It’s one in which there are no grand large scale plots, no clear beginnings or endings. It can’t even properly be called a romance story. And yet, it is exactly that lack of many normal or stereotypical elements that makes Spice & Wolf a very unique and enjoyable tale.

I’ve been a fan of the novels and the manga that inspired this anime for a long time. The first season of the anime, although lacking in a few areas, was brilliant and captured most of what I liked about the series. This second is now following in its footsteps, except now under the direction of a new studio and with a larger budget it’s become better in every aspect.

Horo and Lawrence’s hilarious yet heartwarming hot-and-cold relationship is endlessly entertaining, and the rich dialogue the show features reveals an incredible depth and uniqueness in its multi-faceted protagonists that is rarely matched.

For more on Spice & Wolf, check out DarkMirage’s review, or Martin’s excellent write-up.

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“Sometimes even to live is an act of courage.” – Seneca the Younger

It’s no mistake that Yuuki’s name means “courage” (勇気). Throughout the story of Tokyo Magnitude 8.0, Yuuki more than anyone else has been the one who held on to hope, who had courage in the bleakest of circumstances.

And now, even in death, Yuuki leaves behind his namesake.

For reasons that largely baffle me, many people seem to have been really bothered by the developments of the last few episodes. I have to wonder if perhaps some of it is an issue of being “lost in translation”. I watch this show raw in Japanese, as I do with most series that don’t employ ridiculous specialized vocabulary, and I felt the dialogue that was used (or not used, in some cases) made it pretty clear from the beginning that Yuuki had passed away and was no longer actually there.

They didn’t come out and say it overtly, but many of the nuances of the Japanese seemed to make it fairly obvious. I had actually written up a longer post specifically on this issue, but it was eaten by my word processor and I didn’t have the heart to re-write the whole thing from scratch. Sigh.

In any case, I don’t see the direction the story has taken as some kind of “trick” or “gimmick”. The past two episodes were never about the so-called “Mirai delusion”, or some kind of story contrivance to keep the viewer in suspense.

It was a passing of the baton.

The story of Tokyo Magnitude 8.0 opens by emphasizing Mirai’s self-loathing and lack of desire. Mirai hates herself, her own 未来 “mirai”, or future. To her there is nothing to look forward to, nothing to hope for, so in the present she is rudderless, just drifting through life without the will to swim against the current.

She longs for the wholeness of the round cake that represents the unity her own family has lost, but she does nothing to try and repair the fragmented relationships. Instead, she simply wishes that the world would break.

Yuuki, on the other hand, fondly remembers better times, when the family was whole. To him the memories of Odaiba Bridge and Tokyo Tower serve as a link to those happier days. His desire to go back there with everyone echoes his hopes that the family can also return to the way it was.

Even when the very symbols of his hope – Odaiba Bridge and Tokyo Tower – crumble to the ground, he remains courageous, constantly striving to lift others up, to try and rebuild those “burned bridges”.

Courage has never been simply about having no fear or feeling no pain. It is accepting those difficulties and finding ways to overcome them. It is about holding on to hope even when everything you rely on falls away.

Yuuki brings back Mirai’s phone when she throws it away. He encourages her when she loses hope. He guides her to find Mari’s family. Whenever Mari is unable to support them, he leads the way and guides Mirai onward himself.

And through these experiences, gradually his courage passes on to Mirai. He still leads in many ways, but Mirai begins to follow less reluctantly. She stops panicking and starts acting more level headed during emergencies. She is able to take the initiative and save others.

And yet when Yuuki passes away, Mirai still isn’t quite ready to stand on her own. So Yuuki remains.

The questions of how it happens, or whether he is a ghost or a figment of her imagination are irrelevant. The point is, he leaves Mirai his “yuuki”, his courage to go on even when hope has disappeared, when she is unable to continue.

Ghostlightning calls it a “lie”, but I don’t think this is quite a fair way to view this story arc. Yuuki remains because Mirai needs him; she needs courage to keep going, but hasn’t yet found that strength within herself. Yuuki stays until Mirai is able to continue on her own.

In episode 10, Yuuki asks Mirai, “If I died, what would you do?”

“If you died, papa and mama would probably cry themselves to death. I would too.”

Mirai isn’t ready yet to accept the truth. She doesn’t quite have the courage to face that reality. And so Yuuki remains.

Every time Yuuki drifts away, Mirai begins to cry. And every time, Yuuki returns to comfort her. He doesn’t push the issue by forcibly trying to confront the “elephant in the room”. He simply remains and waits until Mirai is ready.

The scene in the classroom is the defining moment for Mirai. When she learns Yuuki’s true desire for going to Odaiba she begins to understand the kind of courage he possessed – a limitless hope for the future. When she sees the “mirai” kanji he drew, she comments that she can tell he “really put everything he had into drawing it”.

Yuuki’s notebook reflects his attitude. It’s a picture of  the as yet unfinished Tokyo Sky Tree, the 333 meter tall communications tower that will soon replace the aging Tokyo Tower.

Even though Tokyo Tower may have fallen, Tokyo will soon rise again, even stronger than before, with the Sky Tree serving as a symbol of hope to the people – a reminder that even though the world may broken, as long as courage does not fail it can be rebuilt.

I think it’s through this understanding of Yuuki’s true character and courage that Mirai  finally begins to find the strength to continue on her own.

Mirai demonstrated some courage of her own by acting calm during the aftershock and protecting Itsuki – a far cry from her cowering reactions earlier in the show. Perhaps at least a little of Yuuki’s “yuuki”, or courage, has finally passed on to her.

All that remains is to see what Mirai does with this courage, what kind of future she decides to make for herself. Throughout the last couple episodes, there have been many times where Mirai has turned around and said, “Yuuki was right here a moment ago.”

Hopefully, in the final episode, Mirai will instead be able to point to herself and say, “Yuuki (courage) is right here.”

R.I.P. Onozawa Yuuki

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