Summer 2018 Week 2

Week two and I hate to say it but Summer is looking to be a bit of a slow season. While there’s plenty here that might end up being fun enough to watch, there are very few if any shows I’m going to recommend any time soon. There’s just so many other great anime titles out there, and this season seems very slim on anime that I’ll even remember the name of in two season’s time. Of course, it is early days and anything can happen. Hopefully some of these shows will find their feet over the next few weeks.

With that said, I’d love to know your early predictions for the anime of the season so be sure to let me know in the comments below. Right now I’d probably put my money on Banana Fish or Angolmois, but there’s plenty of room for both of those to crash and burn.

What I watched

100 Sleeping Princes and the Kingdom of Dreams (Episode 2)

The heroine is called to a fantasy world (the Kingdom of Dreams) to awaken the princes and fight the evil dream eaters. It’s all very fairy tale like and the logic only works provided you just kind of nod and go with it, but if you happen to like that kind of thing it is decent. I guess I’ll see how it develops as there are some potentially interesting points.

Angolmois: Record of Mongol Invasion (Episode 2)

For something I wasn’t planning on trying, the first two episodes of Angolmois definitely got my attention. Whether or not I remain interested in this particular historical drama remains to be seen, but comparatively this was one of the better starts to the season that I’ve seen this Summer so I’m actually kind of optimistic so far.

Angels of Death (Episode 2)

Rachel had potential to be an interesting character and the setting was perfect for some actual psychological horror. Instead we have look at this thing and then look at that thing moments separated by what I guess counts as banter between the two main characters but it isn’t really all that compelling. Pity really, given there was a lot of potential here.

Banana Fish (Episode 2 – Not Reviewed)

This is quite the compelling story and while it is playing heavily on the usual gang and gang related cliches, it is actually fairly intriguing. They aren’t above playing the ‘feels’ card though in episode 2, so if you are worried about a show casually knocking off its characters, this may not work for you.

Cells at Work (Episode 2)

This continues to be quite a lot of fun to watch with exuberant characters, a clear focus, and a general understanding of how to balance information with entertaining viewing. While it may very well run short of ideas before the end of the season, I have to say that these first couple of episodes have been fantastic.

GeGeGe no Kitaro (Episode 16)

Episode 16 was a bit of a miss for me. It was functional as an episode but probably expresses the problem with this show in general. It isn’t overly exciting at times as it routinely falls back on formula and, particularly in this case, neither the antagonist or even some of the victims get enough development to have much impact.

Holmes of Kyoto (Episode 2)

They should go back to the antiques as they at least had interesting backstories. Episode 2 pretty much sent the characters on a quest to solve a mystery without establishing why they would do that or why we should care. And then the mystery was so lame it wasn’t even worth the mention. All and all, this has one episode left to convince me not to drop it.

How Not To Summon a Demon Lord (Episode 3)

There was something of an improvement in episode 3 compared to episode 2 in terms of just how much fan-service was thrust at the viewer. And with the plot seeming to kick off well and truly during episode 3, the writers are definitely hoping the cliff-hanger will push those of us sitting on the fence into continuing to watch.

Island (Episode 3)

I said this might be amazing or terrible but after episode 3 I’m leaning very firmly toward the side of terrible. What little of interest there is in this show is getting buried under some incredibly flat moments that if executed better might be amusing or coy or exciting or whatever else that scene was going for, but instead it just kind of feels like it exists.

Kakuriyo no Yadomeshi (Episode 16 – Reviewed for Patrons)

Average seems to be about all this show is going to manage as it delivers another episode fairly consistent with everything else so far. While it works, it is also very forgettable and while the sweet thought that good cooking may solve a lot of problems works well enough, at this stage it feels more than a little bit forced at times.

Lord of Vermilion: The Crimson King (Episode 1)

This has all the makings of a truly dreadful viewing experience. It dumps the viewer into the midst of things and then backtracks but it seems like one of those shows where explanations only come in exposition dumps and you’ll still be mostly confused about what is going on. That said, it might get better now that it’s had it’s opening act.

Phantom in the Twilight (Episode 2)

While I’m still not expecting much from this one, I will admit I liked the second episode a great deal more than the first. This seems to be going more into the supernatural creatures and their origins than it seemed at first and that was kind of fun. If the characters get fleshed out a bit more, this could end up being decent, though it could still just fall completely flat.

Steins;Gate 0 (Episode 14)

While this week offers us some good movement forward with the plot, I’m still not really feeling a sense that we’re getting anywhere here. There’s certainly plenty of intrigue but a lot of the spark is definitely gone and while Maho returning to Japan will definitely be a turning point, it probably won’t be enough to kick this into high gear at this point.

The Master of Ragnarok & Blesser of Einhenjer (Episode 2)

I’m still tossing up between this one and How Not to Summon a Demon Lord and this one may have slightly picked up an edge with episode 2. That said, other than a battle sequence where they highlight once again that Yuto is using his research of battles to win wars and then we get a bath sequence and a proposal. So not exactly unmissable viewing.

My Hero Academia (Episode 14)

My Hero Academia continues on its merry way as the kids learn their ‘ultimate’ moves. Admittedly, this is pretty much some down time for the series but it is laying the foundations for future events and building on previous character dramas so its still working well even if it isn’t quite as thrilling as this series has been previously.

Episode of the Week

Character of the Week

Dropped or On Hold

• Hanebado (Episode 1)
• Harukana Receive (Episode 1)
• Planet With (Episode 1)
• The Thousand Muskateers (Episode 1)

If you want to join in the conversation on Twitter be sure to follow along: Summer Anime 2018

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Thanks for reading.

Karandi James

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