Wherein the Review Staff look back upon a very interesting, if uneven, season. This time we have a large roundtable look at the past seasonal slate of anime as I’m joined by Kory Cerjak, Bryan Morton, Kestrel Swift, Kate O’Neil and Brian Threlkeld. Let’s dive in, shall we?
Season in a Nutshell
GBS: As seasons go, I was pretty satisfied with Summer 2015. Though all sequels or continuations, three shows are likely to have a place on my shelves in future (Food Wars and Non Non Biyori Repeat are guaranteed; My Love Story is a very strong contender;). One show that was new this season would be an instant purchase: Wakaba*Girl…and while it has been announced as licensed, up to this point few if any distributors have bothered to release shorts on disc. In addition, there were many good shows which gave a good deal of entertainment. Some came close to greatness (Classroom✩Crisis) while others provided very good entertainment value (Rokka: Braves of the Six Flowers, Monster Musume, Himouto! Umaru-chan, Overlord, Snow White Red Hair). It might not be a season filled with classics for the ages, but it offered a decent selection of genres and stories. I can’t complain, unlike those seasons where we have 5 light novel adaptations that all end up being the same exact story.
BCT: A packed, entertaining season. It’s hard to say, from what I finished, that there were any real disappointments, from comedy to drama, shorts to two-cour epics. So there is a lot to break down—and I think it’s worth resisting the impulse to over-categorize a generally solid all-around lineup, and to accept, perhaps for one season in a long time, that there was a lot to enjoy, that it was a good season. Not that I don’t have standouts. Non Non Biyori Repeat, in context to its first season establishing it, is as close to the lone “classic” I’ll support. But there were several other shows that did very interesting, somewhat risky (given typical audiences), and original things: Rokka and Overlord, both light novel adaptations, but of clever and well-conceived light novels, provided unpredictability. Of originals, Classroom✩Crisis did the same. Shimoneta and Prison School pushed the perverted tendencies of anime to new, er, heights, but with some verve and intelligence. More notable, perhaps, were conventional shows that were executed with skill, experience, and the right element of surprise. Food Wars, My Love Story! (both finishing from the Spring season), but also apocalyptic-moe action romp School Live!, zany comedies like Himouto Umaruchan, and slice-of-life tales like Seiyu’s Life, were all well-rounded and intelligent down the stretch, where it counted.
KC: I managed to find 12 shows to watch during the summer season, so it must have been alright at least. Eight of these actually premiered in the season and I really enjoyed five of them. I think there’s always at least one or two things that you’ll enjoy in a season if you’re willing to go digging…I’ve focused far too long on the numbers though. I agree with GB in that there isn’t anything that’s a classic here, but Gatchaman stands above the rest, for me at least. Standing atop the piles of carnage that Prison School left in its wake.
KS: To say that the most positive way in which I can characterize Summer 2015 is as Spring 2015 Part 2 isn’t to say that it wasn’t a fine season. Spring may have been the start of the two cours that many of the more memorable series spanned, but as should always be the case, the material got stronger as it approached the end, which meant the Summer season got the real meat. Gintama° hardly counts since it was always going to be the best thing I watched throughout these seasons, but for franchises new to this year, Shokugeki no Souma in particular reached the highest echelon of its ilk by the end.
KO: It was certainly a season with a little something in it for everyone. If you wanted to watch some anime, there was likely a show out there that appealed to you.
Seasonal Theme
KC: pushushushushushushu~ Between Wakako-zake, Food Wars, and the pastries in My Love Story, I found myself hungry after a lot of episodes. Add in Working!!! and we’ve got a trifecta of foodie anime that’s all sitting in one season for some reason. Contrast with Gangsta, School Live, and Prison School and you’re suddenly much less appetized though. Unless you’re into that kind of food in regards to Prison School.
BCT: If you’re going to make it food, this can’t go without mentioning Umaru-chan’s chips and COLA!, Wakaba’s ice cream…and, of course, Anna’s Cookies.
GBS: So, this past season was all just a plot to make us fat?
KC: I mean, we’re already on a couch/in a chair watching anime…
KS: Although this season was thankfully rather light on the glut of generic light novel adaptations that you’ll see in most seasons these days, it seemed to simply replace them with series that go for the sexual aspect enough to be considered ecchi. Several of them seemed to go further down that route than many I’ve seen in recent memory, but a few of those actually broke from the mold enough to earn solid spots on my weekly slate, making it that much easier a choice for seasonal theme from my perspective.
