With all that’s going on in the world today, you can be forgiven for wanting a distraction or two. Luckily, the summer anime season has just wrapped up–giving you a ton of potential new series to marathon. Here are the five you should not skip out on.
Image source: TVアニメ「デカダンス」公式 10/28 BOX上巻発売！ on Twitter.
Deca-Dence
Genre: Post-Apocalyptic Survival
Studio: Nut
Number of episodes: 12
Premiere date: July 8, 2020
Non-spoiler plot summary: In the far future, humanity is nearly extinct and monsters roam the earth. The last remnants live inside a giant mobile fortress: the Deca-Dence. There the people live split into two casts–the “Gears” who fight the monsters/gather the things needed for survival and the “Tankers” who support them.
The story follows Natsume, a one-armed Tanker girl who dreams of becoming a gear, and Kaburagi, a former gear who spends his days cleaning the outside of the Deca-Dence–and his nights doing the even dirtier work that keeps the giant city running as intended. However, neither suspect their burgeoning friendship will put in motion events that will forever change the fate of humanity as a whole.
Why you should watch it: Ok, spoiler time (of the first two episodes, anyway). The twist that sets Deca-Dence apart from other similar “last group of humanity fighting monsters to survive” story is that this is not what the story is about at all. Rather, it is the story about a future where humans are treated as NPCs in a real-world “video game” for artificial intelligences to play on their downtime. The “Gears” (or at least 95% of them) are just AI’s in temporary cloned avatar bodies looking to have a good time killing monsters. Of course, this means there is literally no hope for humanity. No matter how hard they fight, they will never win–the game, like all MMOs, is made to run forever. There will always be another last boss.
The way this setting affects the personal drama is excellent. Kaburagi is a former player now tasked with eliminating bugs in the “game system”–both the AI kind and the human kind. As he forms a personal connection with Natsume, he has to deal with the fact that all her struggles are pointless by design–yet, some part of him wants to see her succeed–even though that will likely end in not only her death but his own.
Watch It If You Like: Attack on Titan, Infinite Dendrogram, Sword Art Online: Alicization
Where You Can Watch It: Funimation, Wakanim
Image source: やはり俺の青春ラブコメはまちがっている。 on Twitter.
My Teen Romantic Comedy SNAFU Climax!
Genre: High School Drama
Studio: feel.
Number of episodes: 12
Premiere date: April 10, 2020
Non-spoiler plot summary: Hachiman is a jaded high schooler looking for a real human connection. Yukino is a girl hoping to overcome her own codependent tendencies and strive for a dream that she gave up on long ago. Yui is a girl who’s decided to stop being a “yes man” for the sake of popularity and strive to get it all–both the boy she loves and her best friend (who also loves the same boy). But before these three can truly achieve any of these goals, there is one thing that must be ended first: their friendship.
Why you should watch it: This, the third and final season of My Teen Romantic Comedy SNAFU, joins the previous seasons in being the most painfully realistic look at the mindset of high schoolers put to animation. It’s about growing and changing–and how going for what you really want often means losing other things that are important to you. It’s honestly a brilliant emotional rollercoaster where you are rooting for all those involved–because even if they don’t get all they want, you at least hope they find a semblance of a happy ending when all the dust settles. It’s rare for a series like this to stick the landing but My Teen Romantic Comedy SNAFU Climax does it with flying colors.
Watch It If You Like: ReLife, Daria, WataMote: No Matter How I Look At It, It’s You Guys’ Fault I’m Unpopular!
Where You Can Watch It: Crunchyroll, HIDIVE
Image source: 『Re:ゼロから始める異世界生活』公式 on Twitter.
Re:ZERO -Starting Life in Another World- (Season 2)
Genre: Time Travel, Trapped in a Fantasy World
Studio: White Fox
Number of episodes: 13
Premiere date: July 8, 2020
Non-spoiler plot summary: After numerous time loops and equally numerous horrible deaths, Subaru has finally managed to save those he cares about from the evil witch’s cult–only to discover this isn’t exactly the case. Now, struggling with his failure, he and Emilia travel to the nearby beastman village of Sanctuary. Soon the two realize that leaving is a lot harder than entering–and death lurks around every corner.
Why you should watch it: The first season of Re:Zero was Subaru learning that he wasn’t the hero of his “transported to another world” story–destined to always save the day and get the girl. He basically came to accept that the people around him were living, breathing, complex people–and in doing so started to rebuild himself from the ground up. The second season is all about him taking the next step: realizing that he is more than just a tool to get everyone a happy ending through his repeated deaths. After all, for “everyone” to be saved his soul must be saved as well.
Add to this a ton of lore related to the Witch of Envy (and the other witches as well) plus some major motivation revelation for some of the series’ most mysterious characters and you get a season of anime you’d be a fool to miss out on.
Watch It If You Like: Steins;Gate, Erased, The Rising of the Shield Hero
Where You Can Watch It: Crunchyroll, Animax Asia
Image source: Sword Art Online on Twitter.
Sword Art Online: Alicization – War of Underworld (Season 2)
Genre: Trapped in a video game
Studio: A-1 Pictures
Number of episodes: 11
Premiere date: April 26, 2020
Non-spoiler plot summary: Alice, the world’s first true AI, has been kidnapped by a special ops team bent on ripping her from her digital fantasy world. While Sinon pursues, Asuna is left to fight against an ever-increasing number of foes who think they are logging into a new game–unaware that each enemy they kill is an AI with a human soul. Yet as Asuna fights to protect them, one of her greatest foes appears from the shadows, determined to finish what he started so long ago in Sword Art Online.
Why you should watch it: This is the final climax to everything that has come before. It ties in all the previous arcs of the story and uses them to add even more stakes to an already dire situation. Nearly every character gets their time in the spotlight–including characters that hadn’t been created when the original novel was published. Most of it feels like one giant action scene–and it looks great while doing it. However, it also makes room for the epilogue, giving ample time to show the real-world fallout of this adventure and set the stage for what is to come.
Watch It If You Like: Log Horizon, .hack//sign
Where You Can Watch It: Crunchyroll, Funimation, HIDIVE, Hulu, Muse Asia, AnimeLab (AU/NZ), Wakanim (EU)
Image source: TVアニメ「魔王学院の不適合者 ～史上最強の魔王の始祖、転生して子孫たちの学校へ通う～」 on Twitter.
The Misfit of Demon King Academy
Genre: High School Fantasy, Mystery
Studio: Silver Link.
Number of episodes: 13
Premiere date: July 4, 2020
Non-spoiler plot summary: 2,000 years ago, Anos, the Demon King, gave his life to bring an end to the war between demons and the other races of his world. Now, he has been reincarnated and is eager to explore the new, peaceful world so he enrolls in the Demon King Academy. However, soon enough he discovers that all is not what it seems. Someone or something has tampered with the history books to replace Anos with a different demon king who is expected to be reincarnated soon as well. Thus, Anos works to uncover the mystery of what has happened in his absence and teach this world who the true Demon King really is.
Why you should watch it: On the most surface level, The Misfit of Demon King Academy is a power fantasy pure and simple. Time and again, people try to beat down or otherwise embarrass Anos and every time he turns it back on them. He is quite literally the most powerful being in existence (besides the hero) and watching stuck up or foolish people get their comeuppance is always cathartic.
Beneath this is a pretty good mystery that is made all the more interesting by the supporting cast. No one is as one-dimensional as they first appear. All have their own goals and motivations and even when the story arcs that focus specifically on them come to an end, they continue to develop as the series moves on. If nothing else, it’s a fun ride from beginning to end.
Watch It If You Like: The Irregular at Magic High School, Akashic Records of Bastard Magic Instructor
Where You Can Watch It: Crunchyroll, Wakanim (EU)
Top image source: Sword Art Online on Twitter.
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