Seasonal Anime Wrap-Up: Summer 2024

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Ach ja, with this being my fourth consecutive season, I suppose one can start calling me a seasonal anime watcher… took me only ten years. This season brought us a lot of good stuff. We got a plethora of non-action anime with great productions, some unexpected favorites, and a lot of good openings and endings. No, seriously, Oshi no Ko continues to be on top of its game, Alya Sometimes Hides Her Feelings in Russian went above and beyond what one would expect of a classic RomCom, Shoshimin’s OP is deceptively simple, and Mayonaka Punch pays homage to soon-to-be 20 years of YouTube and online video creation. And this isn’t even mentioning Too Many Losing Heroines and its hat-trick of EDs, Alya and VTuber Legend going full karaoke, or all the great songs that accompany many more anime. After being a bit disappointed so far this year in this regard, my favorite opening and ending post will greatly appreciate this season.

However, not all is good in the land of anime. Almost simultaneously with the beginning of the season, Crunchyroll removed their entire comment section feature for what seems to be the indefinite future, which is especially sad, since every single anime I have watched this season was released on the very same streaming service. While I basically never commented myself, I greatly appreciated the thoughts some other people decided to share. From their own takes and analyses to the source material readers pointing out the differences, and even the simple ones time-stamping their favorite moments. Dear Crunchyroll comment section, you will be missed, but not forgotten.

Lastly, I am genuinely amazed at how good this season turned out for me, especially since I was mostly uncertain about like half the entries here, which made watching the anime weekly with my group of friends a very pleasant experience. With that out of the way, here is my rundown of all the anime I have seen from summer 2024.

The one that didn’t make it

Normally, this would be the place for all the anime I have dropped mid-season. As already mentioned, even the ones I would have only given a few episodes turned out to be to my liking, which is why we have one singular entry. I suppose one could take it as an honor.

My initial impression of Atri -My Dear Moments- could basically be summarized as “Visual Novel but Anime”. From the character designs to the general vibe, the trailer didn’t really give me much faith that I wouldn’t just be better off playing the source material. A few weeks later, the first episode aired, and I couldn’t help the feeling that I am indeed simply watching an animated and condensed version of a visual novel. It’s not like Studio Troyca didn’t put any effort into the adaptation, but given how little this one episode made me care for the characters, as well as it simply not being my thing, I have no regrets about dropping it after the initial first episode. Also, I found out the scenario writer is the same guy responsible for If My Heart Had Wings… which… which just tracks.

Alya Sometimes Hides Her Feelings in Russian

I’ll take it back, there was one anime I will not look back on too fondly. I really wanted to like Alya, both the anime in its entirety and the titular heroine as well. However, it just wasn’t meant to be for me, I guess. What first looked like a trope-aware, almost meta, romantic comedy with a snarky main couple dynamic eventually devolved into just another generic RomCom of the kind I am mostly indifferent towards. I have almost no doubt that part of my extreme reaction comes down to the unfortunate translation from the light novels into an animated form, but oh boy, do I not care about its characters at all. Masachika can be fun at times, but it almost always comes to the detriment of Alya, who, sans her gimmick, is just a really bland girl with a character arc I have seen done better several times elsewhere. I liked Yuki when her role in the story was an element of chaos in the relationship between the two leads, but she eventually became insufferable once the focus shifted toward the student council election. The maid is a nothing burger, the rest of the student cast doesn’t really cut it for me either, and I really wish we would have gotten a bit more from the adults, since we constantly get teased about the source of half the drama being a result of the difficult family situations they are in.

It was around episode five that I had to make a decision about whether I wanted to continue watching the anime or not, since I actually wondered what I was even still doing here at this point. I don’t hate the anime, but I just eventually grew tired of it, especially with two other anime airing that do make interesting comments about their genre. It seems I was just constantly complaining about minor details or things I would like to be different, instead of properly engaging with what the anime does have to offer. Hell, there might even be a universe out there where this story does hit the marks I care about and eventually hooks me in a way that makes me finally care about the cast, but as it stands right now, it just doesn’t. Maybe I will take a shot at the second season, but I doubt Alya will ever catch me in the way it wants to.

Days with My Stepsister

This was the pleasant surprise I was talking about. As one might have already guessed, and without trying to sound too much like a completely pretentious idiot, I would consider myself to be an “ideas” guy first. Have a story explicitly be about “something,” like an abstract theme or concept, and I will lend you my ear. So framing an otherwise slow-burner of a romance through the lens of sibling relations and as a commentary on other “little sister”-themed romance titles did pique my interest, though it’s not like I am necessarily in a position to accurately comment on this sub-genre myself. If a little sister is part of the harem, it feels more like the inclusion of yet another stock archetype to the mix, but not as a real possible choice for the end and the only real “Guy wants to romance his sister (blood-related or not)” anime I have seen is Eromanga Sensei.

What essentially settled the deal for me is the slow and tactful approach the series takes not only towards its topic but especially towards its main character duo. Yuta and Saki are two teenagers broken and disillusioned by fundamentally pretty mundane circumstances, to the point that the reality of their situation only really catches up to them halfway through the season. It also helps that both of them are fully realized characters in their own right, with Saki struggling to find her own identity and a way she wants to present herself to the people around her, and Yuta coming to terms with his own mixture of complicated feelings regarding the different women around him. The extended cast is also nice, considering how few scenes we actually get from them, with Fujinami being especially efficient. Also, while the anime adapted only the first four light novels, I am strangely content with how it ended. Obviously, it would be great if we got more, but if not, I am very much fine with that being the finale.

What makes explicitly watching this anime another treat is the phenomenal direction. This is clearly not the strongest outing in pure animation prowess, background art, or compositing, but the way everything is framed and shot makes it really engaging to watch, at least for me. From the long, uninterrupted scenes of characters being shown isolated and on their own to some of the fancier visualizations, like Saki’s flashbacks being presented as if shot on old 8mm film. There is also a mix of subtle and not-so-subtle visual metaphors, which at times emphasize the feelings of the characters more than dialogue ever could, though I do feel ashamed to admit that it took me way too much time to realize the sock puppets in episode 11 were most likely a play on the hedgehog’s dilemma. If you want to read more about this anime’s production, Sakuga Blog released a great article about how the director uses the audio-visual medium to elevate the source material.

Pseudo Harem

There isn’t really a lot I can talk about Pseudo Harem. It is exactly what is written on the can: a cute and small romance with the gimmick being that the girl is playing several archetypes for the boy she has a crush on, kinda like a… whatchamacallit… faux romantic ensemble, an imitation entourage, or even an illusory love circle. The gimmick itself doesn’t really distract from the romance at hand, and the series as a whole mostly plays itself more akin to a slice-of-life than a drama, which keeps everything a lot more lighthearted and easy to digest, even if the relationship lacks a certain amount of depth as a result. Though I doubt this was ever the intention, since it is essentially written in the form of smaller vignettes being loosely connected through a steady sense of progress, which probably works better in manga format than full-length anime episodes. Also, if you are a fan of a high school romance continuing outside of the school setting, you are in luck. In general, I would assume that anyone who would like this series will know so pretty fast. For what I am concerned, it wasn’t quite my thing, but I would be hard-pressed to go out of my way to complain about it in more detail.

Shoshimin: How to Become Ordinary

This might be obvious, but deception can be a mystery’s biggest strength. Not just for the moment-to-moment puzzles that need to be solved, but also for what it will all eventually lead up to in the end. And I have to tell you, I did not and never could have predicted what all these fun little mysteries and sweet detours would lead up to. But this is not the right place to discuss this.

Shoshimin had big shoes to fill, given any comparisons to Hyouka were bound to be inevitable, though I like the author’s comment on how Hyouka and Shoshimin are different in the same way “soft-boiled” and “hard-boiled” detectives are to be differentiated. Kobato revels in the thrill of the mysteries he solves, his ego on full display, while Osanai simply pretends to follow him around and wears the mask of a bystander. All this is framed through the simple premise of both of them trying to change an aspect of themselves, which they barely try to deny, and it is really fun to see both their idiosyncrasies shine through moments of the utterly mundane.

You can most likely enjoy the specific brand of mystery the anime provides on its own. After all, while they are the opposite of high-stakes, I consider them rather fun, and the characters interact in satisfying ways. It is also just pretty to look at. But where it really shines is the way it characterizes the subjects. From the obvious contradiction of Osanai and Kobato’s promise of becoming ordinary and the slow lead-up to how their relationship has to change, to the way the visuals emphasize the characters' headspace and understanding of the situation at hand, or the creative use of putting everyone in different environments with specific meanings we only later fully understand their significance of. Disregarding any given mystery, I still always had tons to think about, because it never just ends with the culprit and the way the crime is exposed. Behind the mysteries, there is a rich character drama going on in the background, which better not be overlooked. And the payoff is a fascinating finale that makes me reevaluate almost the entirety of the anime. I am seated for the second season.

Too Many Losing Heroines!

Just look at her looking at you. Some paintings truly say a thousand words.

I have a feeling Too Many Losing Heroines! has bewitched me with the same curse as so many other anime before it: From episode to episode, there is so much to talk about, from all the events of an episode to even just specific scenes, but when everything is said and done, I really struggle to formulate more general thoughts about the series at large. Of course, I could talk about how focusing on the losing heroines in an otherwise generic RomCom setting makes for some great meta-commentary, but simply praising the premise for being what it is feels too shallow. I already have, and am always willing to, talk about how great the anime looks, but then again, Sakuga Blog has us covered. And I can only get away with it so many times in a single post by simply writing that I really like it. So…

Too Many Losing Heroines! is so fucking funny. Yanami going for the straw and taking a big sip is both perfectly shameless and embarrassing at the same time… just phenomenal, altering my brain chemistry and all-around peak. Achieving enlightenment by going so hard off the rails that the material reality bends before your delusions needs to be studied too. There is this one time where Asagumo frames Nukumizu’s shirt, so it spells out “NTR”, which is one of the most genius displays of visual comedy I have seen and just a stunning marvel of a scene all things considered. And then there’s Shikiya’s entire existence, which goes from the uncalled to the horrific in what I can only describe as an orchestra of confused and surprised melodies… you should really take away my access to a dictionary… to get back on track…

I am a big fan of otherwise mostly comedic series being able to fully commit to their more dramatic and serious moments. Your first love will be brutal, even more so when it doesn’t turn out the way you have hoped, and the portrayal of the three losing heroines really nails all the ugly feelings involved. In the larger picture, it is nothing major, and purely from a statistical point of view, it is more than likely that it will happen again. But even if you do recover, in that very moment, it feels like your entire world is collapsing in on itself. There will be scars, there will be lingering feelings, and there will be the shame of your first romance not blooming to fruition. But you will also be able to stand up again and learn to carry that weight, because, at least as far as Yanami, Lemon, and Komari are concerned, they are heroines, not losers.

Come for the comedy, stay for the comedy, but also enjoy and appreciate everything else this ride has to offer, because it is much more profound than simply shining a light on those left behind. It is about getting to know them, sharing their pain, but also about celebrating their moments of delight.

Mayonaka Punch

If I had a nickel for every anime this year about a young girl rediscovering her passion for art by joining a group of eccentric weirdos giving their best to reach an arbitrary goal in an explicit internet context, I would actually have more than two nickels… but this one is about YouTube and way more comedic, so let’s ignore all the parallels I could make toward Jellyfish Can’t Swim in the Night and indulge in how horrible (in a KonoSuba sense) the cast and the culture around YouTube are.

Misaki is actually kind of human garbage. She gets kicked out of her channel, as she eventually became a hassle to work with, got canceled over punching another member of the group and, instead of apologizing, immediately created a new channel and tried to remake the first video idea they ever had, only to get absolutely bombarded by hate. She is also the kind of person who will gladly throw away her integrity to chase the newest trends instead. In short, she is perfect, with just a hint of girl-failure, if it weren’t for the fact that she is really good at the grift and grind. Accompany her with a hysterical cast of vampires, and you’ve got the perfect recipe for riffing on the contemporary YouTube and video creator landscape. Also, not sure where else to say it, but… Tokage is an alcoholic, constantly broke, gambling-addicted onee-san type character with an otherwise pretty hot design, whose sex appeal gets constantly undermined by making her vape or act like the biggest slop, and I think it is actually more funny than tragic :D

Despite being a mostly over-the-top comedy, the series absolutely has its moments. Misaki goes through a really satisfying arc about how to handle the reactions from her old and new fans, Fuu’s episode is just a great encapsulation of sharing a creative passion with another person, and the way the series basically abandons its main premise to land on a satisfying emotional finale certainly took me for a loop. There are just several small things that kept bothering me. While the anime has a very firm and accurate grasp on the YouTube game in general, I think the progression of their channel, especially as far as their popularity is concerned, gets a bit muddled down by the otherwise great message of why people decide to do YouTube in the first place. Another thing that made their group specifically a bit unrelatable to me is their specific brand of content. In short, they are the guys you would find on the trending page, i.e., overproduced vlogs, challenges, and other popular hype topics, which just isn’t the type of videos I tend to watch. But the spirit gets through, so I would still recommend it to anyone who isn’t that clinically online.

VTuber Legend: How I Went Viral after Forgetting to Turn Off My Stream

You know, maybe sometimes all it takes for someone to “get it” is just this one scene, which connects with you in a way that you didn’t think was possible, but opens your eyes to a wonderful new world. I was aware of VTubers as a concept that exists, as well as their rise to popularity in the last couple of years, but it’s not like I actually know something about a specific VTuber, much less actually watch any of them. This probably won’t change in the near future, too, most critically, because if I were to find a VTuber whose gimmick is being this timid and demure snow princess but starts going completely off the rails upon the consumption of a liberal amount of *insert alcoholic beverage*, I would most definitely forfeit all my mortal possessions to them.

Needless to say, I thought the premiere was pretty funny. You forget to log off, get sloshed on Strong Zero™, go on unhinged tirades about how your office job traumatized you, and sexually harass your gen-mates in front of an ever-growing live audience, pass out drunk, wake up several hours later, and barf your brains out. No one does it like Awayuki… or I guess it was more Shuwa-chan in the moment. VTuber Legend really nails the vibe of messing around with your friends, and I doubt I would have found it nearly as consistently funny if I weren’t also sold on all the other personalities we get to know along the way. It is just girls having fun. Surprisingly, it is also mostly written from the perspective of the VTubers themselves and not their audience, which shifts the focus from “watching VTubers is fun” to “being a VTuber is fun” and manages to be pretty profound at times when VTubing as an artistic career is discussed.

I have no doubt this series will probably not leave its mark on the greater anime history, but watching it weekly was always a treat.

My Deer Friend Nokotan

Sometimes, the idea of something is way more enjoyable than the real deal. My Deer Friend Nokotan had a really fun time leading up to the airing of the first episode. From the 1-hour Shikanokonokonokonokokoshitantan Loop to some really out-there and bizarre advertisement campaigns, it kinda had it all. Then, the first episode actually aired, and it was… fine.

Considering it hyped itself up as something where you would lose half your remaining brain cells from just being in close proximity to it, it turned out almost tame in how weird it would get. In the end, it just became an otherwise pretty unremarkable comedy anime. It absolutely has its moments, but it is neither as consistently funny nor smart as… almost half the anime on this list. Add to the fact that my biggest takeaway from this anime is that some people will proudly have the dumbest takes on subtitles or the localization progress and will make it everyone else’s problem, made it a rather underwhelming experience altogether.

What’s left?

Actually, there is one anime not just left, but straight-up missing from this post. Due to watching Senpai is an Otokonoko with a specific combination of friends, as of now, I still only have seen five episodes and the next opportunity to finish the season probably won’t come anytime soon. So while the header image might still adorns the middle of the thumbnail, the entry itself is unfortunately missing and since the rest of the post is already sitting effectively completed for what is almost an entire month, I figured I might just publish it now and either add my thoughts postscript, or give the missing entry its own post, because I certainly have thoughts about the anime.

With that out of the way, with the exception of the second season of Oshi no Ko, I am pretty content. I basically picked out everything I was interested in and watched it all the way through. Here and there, I heard something interesting about Dungeon People, but I doubt I will check it out. And as much as The Elusive Samurai looks absolutely breathtaking, I think the clips I have seen on Twitter were enough for me.

And that’s about it. We will see us at the end of the year for what might be a pretty mixed fall season.