The first episode attempts to slam through 2-3 episodes worth of setup in a 24-minute whirlwind of bizarre backstory flashes and awkward exposition dumps, yet this overload still manages to provide nothing of actual substance. I guess every season needs its adaptation abomination… But blanket statements like that completely undermine shows that are on their own sub-level, and Arifureta Shokugyou de Sekai Saikyou has become one of them in spectacular fashion despite its well-received source material. This isn’t entirely unreasonable: genuinely creative spins on the genre that’s pumping out multiple shows per season are becoming few and far between. I’m sure a number of you subscribe to the belief that all isekai anime are to be overlooked regardless of quality or enjoyability. Summary: Araburu Kisetsu no Otome-domo yo.‘s premiere promises a compelling character drama that handles its mature themes appropriately, but focuses into what would be uncomfortable territory for some. There isn’t anything overly groundbreaking in this first episode, but it’s one of the best of this season for telling you what you’re watching and why you should continue. With each of their sexual awakenings and mostly realistic responses, this should all hopefully lead into even more interesting character drama, but it could just as easily underperform if it strays away from its themes into tasteless ecchi. It’s not a comedy, but the show injects just enough humour to remind you that these are teenagers and that growing into adults will always have its awkward and amusing moments. What is sex in our modern society? Kazusa and her friends in the literature club each form their own sexual interests and attempt to explore these desires, using everything from message boards to books. And unlike other sexually-driven dramas such as Kuzu no Honkai, it approaches the theme of sex in a dignified manner. It’s not every day you see a girl walking in on a dude pleasuring himself to lewd images and think “oh damn, nice.” To clarify, I am celebrating this show’s lack of hesitancy for mature scenes that aren’t designed to arouse or humiliate, but rather illustrate. I walked away from it with satisfied expectations and a healthy desire for more while also wondering what on earth I just watched. I think this was the first time I’ve seen such a straightforward curveball thrown at me in an anime’s first episode. Literature club obsessing over sex? Check. Literature club solving mysteries? Check. Literature club with supernatural powers? Check. You can find out where shows are simulcasting here.ĭisclaimer: all impressions are based on premiere episodes only, and represent the writers’ personal opinions. However, we’ve found that first impressions can do wonders for weeding out the bad… while also bringing special attention to the good.įor the purposes of this article, we’ve excluded sequels like DanMachi Season 2 and direct spin-offs like Toaru Kagaku no Accelerator. Of course, our previews won’t be able to tell you the whole story (shows can get better or worse over time, after all).
To help you make the best selections for your Summer 2019 watchlist, we went through the premieres for 27 of this season’s shows, both bitter and sweet, and provided our detailed first impressions here.
Romance, isekai, comedy, shounen - there are so many different choices on offer, each with their own unique flavors, and it’s hard to know just which ones to watch.īut don’t worry. The Summer 2019 anime season is here, and we’ve been hit with another wave of exciting new shows to sort through.