Summer 2016 – First Half in Review

It may be mid-August, but the summer anime season is convinced we still have half a summer to go. I appreciate that kind of optimism, and appreciate even more just how sunny this season has been in general. While this summer has lacked a character drama with the poignancy of Rakugo Shinju or a message show with the complexity and spirit of Concrete Revolutio, it’s made up for that by being stacked with shows that are just damn good entertainment. JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure and Thunderbolt Fantasy are both excellent camp-action spectacles, Mob Psycho 100 is consistently elevated by solid writing and terrific execution, Love Live Sunshine is consolidating everything that is fun about Love Live, and Sweetness & Lightning is a consistent dose of heartwarming family moments. It seems silly to rank a set like that – they’re all so different, and all such positive experiences, that classifying them as “better or worse” than each other seems pointless and inherently jaded.

Of course, I’m gonna do it anyway. That’s what traditions are for! As usual, I’ll be ranking the summer’s shows for the first and only time here at the halfway point, where it should be inescapably obvious that any sort of ranking is an entirely meaningless gesture. Like a series that makes its point in the first season and then just sort of staggers on through mediocre renewals for a while, the halfway point season rankings will proudly continue. Let’s start at the top and RUN ‘EM DOWN!

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Planetarian – Episode 5

Planetarian ended in likely the most easy way to predict, but that’s not a bad thing – it was a tightly designed narrative and it rode to a satisfying and well-earned conclusion. I even got to be surprised by how well the show pulled off a legitimate action sequence, elevating through smart plotting and sound design what it couldn’t sell entirely through animation. Looks like I can finally say I’m a fan of a Key work!

You can check out my full review over at ANN, or my final notes below.

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Summer 2016 – Week 5 in Review

Oh god how are we already nearing the halfway point what the fuck. Soon enough we’ll be past that and entering the final stretch and I can’t even imagine how I’m gonna handle Why It Works and preview week at the same time what the fuck have I done to my life. It’s all out of my hands. I can’t hold onto it anymore. It’s slipping away and I can’t write fast enough and I need to sleep but when I sleep I fall behind and then I wake up and it’s all there again and what am I going to DOOOO.

Hey guys! Wednesday again. You know the drill. LET’S RUN ‘EM DOWN.

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Planetarian – Episode 4

Yumemi and the Junker ventured out in the rain this week, in an episode that basically put giant sirens on both their heads to announce the emotional contrast being drawn. That’s perfectly okay, though – the show isn’t unsubtle in a way that at all harms its storytelling, and Planetarian’s clear focus is actually one of its greatest strengths. While I do tend to prefer shows that give their characters time to come alive through texture, archetypal stories like this told well are also a fine type of storytelling.

You can check out my full review over at ANN, or my notes below!

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Planetarian – Episode 3

Planetarian continued to be its hopeful, melancholy self in this third episode, as Yumemi’s long-awaited projection served as a painting of mankind’s hopes etched on a canvas of its dire failures. Planetarian is a very small-scale version of exactly the kind of stuff I like, and though its somewhat flat aesthetics and limited characterization don’t allow for any truly soaring heights, it’s still a very competent and engaging production. I am having a good time with this sad robot.

You can check out my full review over at ANN, or my notes below!

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Summer 2016 – Week 3 in Review

Dear lord, one week after the retrospective and we’re already a quarter through the season. This season ended up offering a stronger collection of shows than I was initially expecting, meaning I get to be fairly discerning in choosing what I actually keep up with. At this point, I’m legitimately excited about everything I’m watching – we’ve got a great mix of pure fun (Love Live, Thunderbolt Fantasy) and engaging drama (Orange, Planetarian), with Mob Psycho offering a dash of action and visual creativity. Let’s start with those new Love Lives and run this week down!

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Planetarian – Episodes 1-2

I’m really enjoying Planetarian so far. As I say in my review, I appreciate a show whose storytelling tightly matches the scope of its premise – there’s a whole world being implied here, but Planetarian has one very specific story to tell. Yumemi’s character manages to thread a difficult path between inert cliche and maudlin overselling, coming across like a sympathetic person without the show having to harp on the tragedy of her situation. I’d love to see more small dramas like this; the 12 or 13 episode season can often result in unfocused narratives, but five episodes is a very manageable amount of time.

You can check out my full review over at ANN, or my episode two notes below!

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Summer 2016 – Virtually Every First Episode Retrospective

I think we’re gonna make it through, everybody. I was a little worried for a while there, as the first half of this season’s premieres made it seem like I wouldn’t hit even half a dozen potential shows. But the second half rallied with a few very necessary surprises, and so now I’m at the point where it should take me a good three or four weeks to determine that anime is terrible once again.

The season’s highlights slot into a solid variety of genres, leaving us fans with at least one thing to enjoy regardless of whether we’re fans of drama, slice of life, idols, or Toonami, the four core pillars of anime. Last season’s lack of a strong character-focused show will hopefully be made up for by this season’s Orange and ReLIFE, and it’s great to see that Sunshine actually seems to be improving on the Love Live formula. As usual, I’ll be breaking this season’s premieres down into flawlessly objective tiers for your perusal, and including links to all of my longer reviews over at ANN. We’ve got a whole lot of anime to fight through, so let’s get right to business and RUN THIS SEASON DOWN.

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