My AC has not stopped running for a month straight, which means it's time to hop into the first impressions for Summer Anime 2024! As is typical it's filled with a ton of isekai that I'll be skipping plus several romances that I'll probably allow to fly under my radar. Anywho there are some productions I'm excited about so let's get those bathing suits ready and dive into the new pool of anime!

Suicide Squad Isekai

I'm not ashamed to admit I expected the absolute worst from this collaboration. Anything with the world "isekai" in the title tends to give me a headache. On top of that, when Americans handle Japanese IP or vice versa I fear for the life of every staff member involved as there's a ton of room for miscommunication which leads to misrepresentation of characters and ultimately weird projects that fail to capture the appeal of the original creation. I haven't seen the original Suicide Squad movie or read the comics, but as far as I can tell this is a decently accurate representation of the DC cast. It's incredibly self-aware of the isekai format and tropes too which helps to keep this from feeling generic, at least in the tone and atmosphere department. The plot is pretty much a basic excuse to allow the Squad to kill a ton of creatures, and the characters aren't really growing at all. Still, the action is spectacular and anytime Harley is on screen I love the way she's animated. Due to the early front-loaded release schedule I'm already on episode 6, and it seems like this is going to remain a fun brain=off watch. It's essentially a summer blockbuster, but in anime.

Tower of God Season 2

We are so not back. I'm not sure what happened but it's like everybody on the production team stopped caring about this project during the break between seasons one and two. The animation lost its original unique style and coloring. The OST doesn't slap as hard to heighten the tension of scenes unless an old track from the previous season is selected. We're focusing on a bunch of characters that weren't a part of the original cast and feel lackluster by comparison. It's a rough start in every sense of the word and I'm not sure if they're going to recover from it. I surmise Crunchyroll has something to do with this fall-off. I really loved the first installment of Tower of God and thought it would legitimize the process of adapting manhwa. So far these new episodes are delegitimizing the idea. I'm praying for a quick recovery to turn things back around.

Oshi no Ko Season 2

We are so back. This season we're focusing on the process for adapting a manga into a theatrical play, and why plays are so big in Japan in the first place. I am injecting this edutainment straight into my veins. The depictions of prominent positions in the process like the mangaka, editor, and script writer are portrayed so well to where you understand why each one is struggling in the current industry landscape and production pipeline. If you enjoy behind-the-scenes kind of information you'll be in high heaven with this arc's introduction. Plus it helps that the characters are still fun to follow and extremely human. People say the manga goes downhill but I don't see how that foretelling could include this arc with such a strong start. I'm hoping to at least enjoy this one start to finish before we enter whatever portion of the manga is supposed to go south.

The Elusive Samurai

I don't know where the hell we scrounged up such a tremendous budget from when it comes to the animation for this project, but god bless these animators. Not only is the scene-to-scene art filled with a ton of bright colors and exaggerated character expressions, however the combat too reaches ridiculous levels of gorgeous if you're a fan of a sketchy art style. The fight in episode two left me speechless as I considered it to be of movie quality. The plot itself is interesting too as we follow a young lord of feudal Japan whose main talent is dodging and escaping. By forming bonds with his retainers (who can actually squabble) he embarks on a journey to retake Japan and enact revenge on those who slaughtered his village. It's not the most thought-provoking production so far, but the beautiful spectacle and serviceable cast are more than enough to keep me coming back for more.

My Deer Friend Shikanoko

I think this comedy is highly regarded, so let's keep this impression between you and me, okay? I can't stand this shit. It's the equivalent of a little kid constructing one (1) joke and then retelling the joke 50 different times by changing one or two words of the punchline every time. "She loves crackers because she's a deer!" "She loves to be brushed because she's a deer!" "Oh deer, she fell for a trap like a deer would fall for one!". I don't enjoy many anime comedies so take my opinion lightly, but holy shit I can only describe this script as "rawr xD" style writing and it doesn't strike my funny bone in the slightest. I've dropped it after three episodes.

Shoushimin Series

I'm pretty flabbergasted. On one hand, this show has a pretty lifeless cast with robotic dialogue that doesn't resemble a normal human conversation in the slightest. On the other hand, I keep coming back to watch it, and said aforementioned robotic dialogue may actually be proper foreshadowing. This is a mystery series that follows two teens trying to be "ordinary". The mysteries are pretty calm so far. Episode one depicted a theft that turned out to be a mere attempt for attention, and in episode two the mystery was literally how someone managed to make hot cocoa in the laziest way possible. I'm not sure what to say here. It's hard to recommend something so niche, and especially something where the quality appears to hinge heavily on the latter half of the season. This production will either blossom into a unique mystery anime that stands out amongst its contemporaries, or an incredibly boring tale that fails to grasp the viewer over time thanks to its deadpan presentation (most of the scenes don't even have any background music playing). At this point it's a gamble that I'm willing to take.

Mayonaka Punch

I flip flop so hard on this series. One minute I'm ready to quit and give it up, the next I'm giggling at some dumb joke Ichiko made. The plot is already a ridiculous start from the beginning: an ex-YouTuber girl is canceled for punching one of her co-stars (she probably had a good reason) and then must regain her prior fame by... starting up a new channel with a squad of vampires. Comedy and hijinks ensue, of which find varying degrees of success. On rare occasions the show will dish out some infotainment about social media careers and I wished those components occurred far more often than they do. I'm not sure if the main focus on jokes will be able to carry me through to the end but I'm not ready to give up on this one just yet. Episode three finally found its stride in punchlines so crossing my fingers that the writers can maintain that quality moving forward and I don't make a mistake.

I'm seriously considering picking up Make Heroine ga Oosugiru about a guy who interacts with a bunch of girls that represent common romance tropes in anime. The animation looks gorgeous and it's got a decent buzz from the community. Anyway, I've got to stop writing and get back to watching this batch. What's your most anticipated production? What anime are you watching this season? Which did you drop, and which do you think is underrated? Film a YouTube video, solve a mystery, and become a deer in the comments below!