So, roughly 6 weeks have passed since the beginning of the 2015 summer anime season, which means we’re roughly halfway through and I’ll be sharing my thoughts on the shows I’ve been watching.
I’ve picked up a couple of new shows since the beginning of this season, but I’ll talk about those when I get to them. For now, here’s my thoughts on the anime series I’ve been watching during this summer.
Miss Monochrome: The Animation 2
Miss Monochrome’s struggle to become a super idol is still fun to watch, and the new characters make for some interesting additions. There isn’t much else to say, really.
Wakaba * Girl
Originally a manga written by Yui Hara – the same mangaka responsible for Kiniro Mosaic. This is only a series of shorts, but I think that works well in its favour. The Kiniro Mosaic DNA shines through, particularly with regards to a certain facial expression. Anyway, Wakaba * Girl is decent enough, even if it is making long for more Kiniro Mosaic…
GATE
I picked this up because I discovered that I share a first name with one of the characters. Of course, being an anime, the character baring the name Rory is a female who wears gothic lolita clothing and wields a giant axe. I checked it out for Rory Mercury, and found an interesting anime about the Japanese Self Defence Force entering a fantasy land through a mysterious gate that had suddenly appeared. Of course, medieval weaponry is totally outclassed by the modern military.
Fate/kaleid liner Prisma☆Illya 2wei Herz!
Three episodes of this has aired at the time of writing, and there hasn’t been a single magical girl sighting in any as of yet. There’s also the 8th Class Card waiting to be unearthed, but that’s all been put on hold for slice-of-life stuff. I’m sure it’ll become a little more interesting in due course.
Symphogear GX
Before getting back into Symphogear, I would have said Kill la Kill was my favourite anime series of all time. However, Symphogear GX has reminded of how much I love this show. The action, the music, the yuri… this has everything I love about anime. There’s never a dull episode, either – something is always happening and it is brilliant.
Fairy Tail Series 2
This has just hit episode 70 at the time of writing, still in the middle of the Tartaros Arc. I’ve seen my favourite part of that arc – Wendy vs. Ezel. Wendy’s my favourite character in Fairy Tail, and her fight against one of Tartaros’ demons proves her worth as a Dragon Slayer. I’ve been reading the manga, so I know what to expect from the rest of the arc, but I’m still looking forward to it nonetheless.
Gatchaman Crowds insight
The focus has mostly been on newcomer Gatchaman Tsubasa, and the alien Gelsadra. The pair of them have been taking steps to achieve peace. So far, things have been going smoothly. However, a few characters, including Hajime, are aware that things won’t work out that easily. I’m curious to see how things will pan out.
One Piece
Still in the Dressrosa arc. At the time of writing, the latest episode was a flashback to Trafalgar Law’s past. Though the flashback does interrupt the climactic fight of the arc, it has been interesting – we’ve been able to learn more about Law’s past, and his connection to the Donquixote family. Of course, the end of the arc is drawing ever closer, which means it shouldn’t be too long until we get to see Luffy fight Doflamingo.
Dragon Ball Super
This is a re-telling of the Battle of Gods film so far. The latest episode had Beerus utterly defeat Super Saiyan 3 Goku. I don’t know whether it’s going to be a straight re-telling, or whether it will be expanded upon – Beerus and Whis appear alongside a pair of lookalikes in the opening. Only time will tell, I suppose.
Go! Princess PreCure
This series is at the halfway point, more or less. A new Cure has been introduced – Cure Scarlet. Like Cure Passion and Cure Beat before her, she started off as an antagonist. So far, I think this series of PreCure is better than HappinessCharge. A highlight of any PreCure series is when the main antagonists are fought head on, and the ending – so there’s still those things to look forward to, as well. Also, the yuri subtext persists – Kirara and Towa had some nice scenes together.
Million Doll
A series of shorts about a girl who is able to help rookie idol groups become popular through the internet. I don’t really have much to say about this one – it just sort of exists as something I am watching.
Non Non Biyori Repeat
It doesn’t matter that the episodes slot neatly in between the chronology of the first season – it’s still new stuff focusing on Renge, Hotaru, Komari, Natsumi and the others. Plenty of funny moments, whilst still remaining idyllic due to the countryside setting. I can’t think of a better anime to watch to help one relax.
Bikini Warriors
Gags about elements of role-playing games wrapped in very little clothing. I’ve chuckled at the gags, though episode 6 is purely fanservice… I’m hoping that isn’t representative of the rest of the series.
Seiyu’s Life!
This has been pretty interesting so far. It seems that taking a look into the life of someone involved in the anime industry can make for a decent anime. Having the addition of well-known voice actors playing themselves is a neat touch, too.
Chaos Dragon
This one was kind of slow to get going – once the main cast was assembled, things picked up. Though Ibuki is the main character, the rest of the cast are definitely more interesting. Whether they will all survive until the end or not, though…
SCHOOL-LIVE!
I’m gonna say that this series has been the best surprise this season. The most recent episode finally confirmed something that was only hinted at – I won’t go into detail here due to spoilers. Actually, it’s kind of hard to discuss anything about this anime without spoiling it for any potential newcomers – just watch it, I highly recommend it. I particularly enjoyed the subtle hints that things were off at the beginning.
Ninja Slayer From Animation
Trigger’s barely animated ridiculous series continues, and I’m personally enjoying it. It’s just something to watch that kills 15 minutes on a Thursday.
That should cover everything I’m currently watching. I think this season has been quite enjoyable so far, but then I would say that when it does feature one of my all-time favourite anime series… Still, the other stuff mostly holds up pretty well too.
Rory Muses 
I hear that the artwork in Dragonball Super episode 5 is terrible.
From now on I will picture you as a loli wielding an axe.