While it’s already blisteringly hot and summer seems to have started ages ago, it’s only now that the spring anime season has finally come to an end. So for all you binge-watchers out there, here are the anime from last season that you should not miss out on.
Oh, before we get into it, a little disclaimer. If your pick didn’t make this list, that doesn’t mean it’s bad in any way. It means that I chose to highlight just five anime and the ones below are the ones that made my personal cut.
7SEEDS
Genre: Post-Apocalyptic Survival
Studio: Gonzo
Number of episodes: 12
Premiere date: June 28, 2019
Non-spoiler plot summary: Five groups of seven young adults awaken scattered across Japan to find the world far different from how they left it. Giant insects roam the woods and other dangers lurk around every corner. Cities have been reclaimed by the environment–some are completely underwater. But most telling of all is, apart from these isolated groups, humanity is completely extinct.
Why you should watch it: 7SEEDS is a story brimming with mystery: What happened to the world? Why were these teens chosen? What are they supposed to do beyond “survive”? Are they really the only ones left? And can they really trust any answers they find? In this new world, finding the truth is just as dangerous as the strange-yet-familiar creatures that roam the land.
But what keeps 7SEEDS interesting is the characters. Each group has its own story–their own ways of surviving. But that doesn’t mean that all the members of a given group get along. Sometimes the groups split. Sometimes they encounter other groups. Seeing how the characters react and grow with each interaction is the key to the story–especially as it becomes clear that many of the characters are not as unrelated to each other as they first appear.
Watch it if you like: Lost, The Lost Village, Danganronpa
Where to watch: Netflix
Image source: ＴＶアニメ「キャロル＆チューズデイ」(公式) on Twitter
Carole & Tuesday
Genre: Music, Slice-of-Life, Idol
Studio: Bones
Number of episodes: 24 (currently at 14)
Premiere date: April 11, 2019
Non-spoiler plot summary: On a terraformed Mars in the not too distant future lives Tuesday, a rich girl and the daughter of a politician. Carole, on the other hand, is an orphan, struggling to make ends meet. Yet, despite their differences, the two of them share a love of music–music that comes not from AI and algorithms, but from the varied emotions of the human heart. This is the story of Carole and Tuesday–how they find each other and how the music they make together changes the face of Mars.
Why you should watch it: The music. The hardest thing about creating a story about someone becoming a popular singer is to make it believable musically. Their music can’t be normal: it has to be something you’d expect to hear topping the charts. And, somehow, the vast amount of Carole & Tuesday’s soundtrack reaches that lofty level.
But more than that, each song shows insight into the character singing it–be that Carole and Tuesday, their rival Angela, or any of the numerous other artists they cross paths with. While we may see how a person acts on the outside thanks to the events of the plot, their songs tell us of their inner feelings–their wants, dreams, or who they pretend to be when standing in the spotlight. It’s brilliant storytelling in addition to being pure ear-candy.
Watch it if you like: Cowboy Bebop,
Where to watch: Netflix (From August 30, 2019)
Image source: 『異世界かるてっと』公式 on Twitter
Isekai Quartet
Genre: Comedy, Other World Fantasy
Studio: Studio PuYUKAI
Number of episodes: 12
Premiere date: April 10, 2019
Non-spoiler plot summary: Four ordinary people were pulled from their lives on earth and were transported to different worlds filled with conflict and magic. Young slacker Kazuma found himself in your typical fantasy of knights and wizards along with a literal goddess–and decided he’d just rather laze about than do any real work. The man known as Ainz Ooal Gown was brought into a similar fantasy world–though as his MMORPG character, an evil Litch with god-like powers. Teenage Subaru came to be in a much darker kind of fantasy world where death awaited him around every turn–though each time it comes for him he finds himself days in the past with a chance to undo his fate. And lastly, an amoral office worker finds himself reborn as Tanya, a young girl with phenomenal magic powers, in a world on the edge of its first-ever world war.
Now, these four–along with their various companions–have been pulled into yet another parallel world against their wills. But this time, it’s not a world of magic, but rather one of a typical Japanese high school. Not knowing how they arrived or how to get back, they have no choice but to play along as they try to figure out what exactly is going on.
Why you should watch it: This anime basically throws the characters of Overlord, Konosuba, The Saga of Tanya the Evil, and Re:Zero in a room together and waits to see what happens. Now, of course, there is a lot of silliness–mostly due to the Konosuba characters as they are from a comedy anime. However, this does not mean that the characters have become parodies of themselves.
What matters to the characters in their original stories still matters to them here. Aqua can’t stand the undead. Tanya is more than willing to murder anyone standing in between her and “Being X.” Emilia still worries about whether she is cut out to be a leader. And Ainz, well, he still fears what will happen the day his demonic underlings learn he is a human playing a character and not the dark god they believe him to be. This means that for all of the (admittedly hilarious) gags caused by the four clashing groups, there is also a real sense of danger. One wrong word or unfortunate misunderstanding and this “happy school life” could come toppling down in an instant.
Watch it if you like: Overlord, KonoSuba: God’s Blessing on this Wonderful World!, The Saga of Tanya the Evil, Re:Zero − Starting Life in Another World
Where to watch: Crunchyroll, Funimation, Aniplus (Asia)
Image source: アニメ「進撃の巨人」公式アカウント on Twitter
Attack on Titan Season 3: Part II
Genre: Gas Punk, Fantasy, Horror
Studio: Wit Studio
Number of episodes: 10
Premiere date: April 11, 2019
Non-spoiler plot summary: All that remains of humanity huddles in fear behind a set of enormous walls. On the other side live massive, mindless, man-eating titans. The outermost wall has fallen–leaving humanity on the brink of extinction. However, thanks to our heroes, there is now hope. For the first time in a century, humanity sets out to counterattack–to take back the titan-infested lands and repair the broken wall. However, hope alone won’t be enough–not to protect them from the threat they now face.
Why you should watch it: After 6 years and 50+ episodes, it’s time to find out what’s in the goddamned basement.
Attack on Titan Season 3: Part II brings the story as we know it to an end. It is the action climax to beat all-action climaxes as our heroes put it all on the line against the Armored, Colossal, and Beast Titans. There is danger and loss–and no guarantee any of the characters we know and love will make it out alive.
Moreover, the anime delves deep into the numerous mysteries the series has set up over the years and answers all of them: What are the true motives of the Armored, Colossal, and Beast titans? Where did they come from? What was Eren’s father trying to do? What’s outside the walls? Why has the King been brainwashing the people for generations? All you need to do is watch to find out. And when the season comes to an end, only one question remains: What now?
Watch it if you like: Attack on Titan, Kabaneri of the Iron Fortress, Seraph of the End
Where to watch: Crunchyroll, Funimation, Animelab (AU/NZ), Aniplus (Asia), Wakanim (EU)
Image source: TVアニメ『Fairy gone フェアリーゴーン』 on Twitter
Fairy Gone
Genre: Industrial Revolution Fantasy
Studio: P.A. Works
Number of episodes: 24 (Second half begins in October)
Premiere date: April 8, 2019
Non-spoiler plot summary: 10 years ago, a war of unification waged across the continent. While thousands died to gun and sword alike, in battle, nothing was more feared than a fairy soldier–a person who had a fairy’s organs transplanted into their bodies so they could manifest a monster to fight by their side.
But now in this era of peace, fairy soldiers have no place in the world. Some have become mercenaries, others crime bosses–but a select few have become agents of the government, hunting down any who abuse their fairy powers for evil. Fairy Gone follows two such agents, haunted by their respective pasts and hunting those they once called friends.
Why you should watch it: Fairy Gone is a surprisingly personal tale–despite the obviously high stakes of the continent being on the edge of a new civil war. Marlya sees herself as cursed–those around her seem destined to die. Now she is torn between her feelings for her one remaining friend who saved her (and then abandoned her) and the new family she is building with Dorothea. On the other side of the coin is Free, a soldier and war hero who suffers from survivor’s guilt–sure that if his friend would have lived through the war instead that the world would be a better place. Only together do they have any hope of getting over their respective traumas.
On a much wider scale, Fairy Gone is a fantastical look at a real-world problem. All too often, young men and women are sent off to war. When they return, they have problems adjusting to civilian life. This is only worse when, like with the majority of the characters in Fairy Gone, they were on the losing side. Even a decade out from the war, many have still not been able to find a place in society and instead are forced to work outside of it (or on the very fringe) to survive.
Watch it if you like: ACCA: 13-Territory Inspection Dept., Gangsta, Black Lagoon
Where to watch: Funimation, Hulu, Wakanim (EU)
Top image source: 『異世界かるてっと』公式 on Twitter
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