I’m pretty excited about this season, you guys. By the end of spring, my active anime roster had diminished to basically just JoJo, leaving me wondering whether it was a genuinely weak anime season, or that I had simply lost my capacity for joy. But based on this summer’s fantastic slate of premieres, the problem definitely wasn’t me. Screw you, spring! How dare you make me doubt my sunny disposition!
Anyway. The spring season’s crimes aside, this past week has offered a satisfying array of anime premieres in a wide variety of genres, leaving me with much to watch and much else to recommend. Big shonen titles like Fire Force and Dr. Stone had premieres ranging from solid to transcendent, while high-profile adaptations like Vinland Saga and O Maidens have deftly captured the strengths of their source material. From idol shows to space adventures to cop dramas and beyond, the summer season is brimming with worthy anime – and having marathoned my way through nearly all of them, I’m eager to pass my findings on to you. My work on Anime News Network’s preview guide means I’ve already written extended reviews of basically everything, and it’s time at last to condense those reams of text into a highly reductive and hopefully informative breakdown, starting with the season’s most brightly glimmering gems, and running down to its most odorous piles of garbage. Let’s get to it!