This week we have Demon Lords resurrecting, armies on the march, Titans rising once again, and the return of Hououin Kyouma; what is not to love about week 10? It is like someone reminded these shows they are either hitting their mid-season point or the end of their run and suddenly they are all bringing out these incredibly dramatic moments. Which is mostly making those shows that haven’t really delivered much of anything stand out even more and not for the right reasons. Below are my thoughts on this week in anime but I’d love to know what you are still watching and what you have enjoyed this season.
But more than that, if you have a moment be sure to jump over to my poll where voting has commenced for the best and worst of Summer 2018.
What I watched
100 Sleeping Princes and the Kingdom of Dreams (Episode 10)
Alright, this anime started out fairly average but had a few fun moments and a lot of fairy tale charm. This far along it really is just kind of a drag to watch but there’s one plot thread I’m interested enough in to keep watching. I’m certainly not going to be recommending 100 Sleeping Princes any time soon, unless you’re wanting to catch some sleep.
Angolmois: Record of Mongol Invasion (Episode 10)
Angolmois is going to end up a pretty mixed bag by the time it is done, but I’m not regretting watching it. While there are plenty of points your could raise against it, the main point in its favour is it remains fairly interesting to watch even if only because it at least isn’t another anime set in a modern day high school or an isekai story. Novelty does wonders sometimes.
Attack on Titan Season 3 (Episode 8)
A fairly solid episode all round with some great individual moments and some moments that seem to be bringing more of this story together. There’s little to complain about as we return to the titan threat in a fairly spectacular fashion, have characters making big choices, are reminded of past plot threads, and seem to be moving forward at a quick pace.
Banana Fish (Episode 11 – Not Reviewed)
A much calmer episode than last week’s firefight but one that is fairly necessary in seeing how the characters are emotionally dealing with the fallout of everything that happened. Despite that, the plot is still ticking along and we see that even in his downtime Ash is planning his next moves and that leads to some interesting developments by the end of the episode. Really enjoyable.
Cells at Work (Episode 10)
The focus back on Red Blood Cell and her encounters with other red blood cells, White Blood Cell, platelets and germs and this episode of Cells at Work is actually really fun. I do feel the concept has now gone about as far as it is going to and I’m starting to feel this show has run its course, but this is still one of the most enjoyable shows this season.
Frankenstein Family (Episode 2)
This came out on Crunchyroll and with the number of drops I’ve had on my schedule this season I decided to give it a try. It isn’t great by any stretch of the imagination but its kind of cute and the family dynamic is working well in these first two episodes. I just wish they’d cut the episode down to just the anime though because I don’t think the other stuff adds much.
How Not To Summon a Demon Lord (Episode 11)
With one episode to go, How Not To Summon A Demon Lord seems like it intends to give us a fairly decent final. The build up this week was certainly well done bringing together everything we’ve seen so far and taking it to the logical conclusion for a season final. That said, I’ll still put a high fan-service warning on this one for people who are concerned about it.
Kakuriyo no Yadomeshi (Episode 24 – Reviewed for Patrons)
The getting better in these final episodes continues and with two to go, I’m kind of hopeful for a slightly above average ending from this show that has been decidedly average during most of its run. At the very least, these last two episodes have stepped up a bit and been more engaging. There’s a sense of movement and I’m looking forward to the ending.
Phantom in the Twilight (Episode 10)
Right, so this one I’m putting down as my surprise love for the season. The first episode interested me but filled me with a fair sense of caution as I more or less expected it to be generic, fairly ordinary, or worse to just fall apart. Instead it has continued to build on its strengths for most of the season and now we have a pretty compelling set up for a final.
Steins;Gate 0 (Episode 21)
Right, so Steins;Gate 0 is pulling out all the stops to make this a pretty memorable ending. While it isn’t quite enough to make me feel that everything that came before it was as worth while as the original series, it is certainly doing a lot to make me happy I stuck with the show. This episode is pure joy to watch and it certainly sets up for an interesting final couple of episodes.
The Master of Ragnarok & Blesser of Einhenjer (Episode 10)
While there’s a little bit about how Yuuto made it into the past this episode there’s a quite a bit of down time in the first half with the girls and Yuuto. Second half however kicks things into full gear with yet another invasion and this time it looks like Yuuto may actually be out-manoeuvred though I guess we’ll see next week.
My Hero Academia Season 3 (Episode 22)
The exam has finally come to an end. Hooray! Now let’s see if we can get back to the plot and episode 22 is an excellent starting point for that with pretty much all the plot threads coming back into the front of our attention. We’ve got the villains plotting, All For One making ominous predictions, Bakugo and Midoriya dealing with their issues. It was a pretty good episode comparatively.
Episode of the Week
Character of the Week
Dropped or On Hold
- Angels of Death (Episode 4)
- GeGeGe no Kitaro (Episode 19)
- Hanebado (Episode 1)
- Harukana Receive (Episode 1)
- Holmes of Kyoto (Episode 9)
- Island (Episode 4)
- Lord of Vermilion: The Crimson King (Episode 4)
- Planet With (Episode 1)
- The Thousand Muskateers (Episode 1)
- Yuna and the Haunted Hotsprings (Episode 1)
If you want to join in the conversation on Twitter be sure to follow along: Summer Anime 2018
Thanks for reading.
Karandi James
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Steins;Gate 0 sure has been a bumpy ride, but things seem to have done a complete 360 (for the better), especially after that horrendous, what was it, episode 18? Glad to see our resident mad scientist back in action. Same goes for Attack on Titan—while I’m actually one of the few who enjoyed season 2 more than this third one, I do feel the stronger elements of this franchise are finally coming together, as you say (and god bless Historia).
Free! DF, Banana Fish, and My Hero Academia continue as strong as ever, so not much to point out there except for the fact that I’m somewhat glad the Ikuya drama from Free! and the hero license stuff are over.
And lastly, as one of the brave few who have stuck around with Grand Blue . . . yeah I haven’t got anything to say. That show is DUMB. Glad we both seem to be enjoying the summer season!
Summer has been a very mixed season but with so many choices available there’s still been enough to enjoy even if other stuff hasn’t worked out so well. Only a couple of weeks to go and we’ll be starting to pick our new line ups (though a number of these shows will roll over).