The year continues to fly by as Summer is just around the corner! Of course, I’ve been looking forward to this season because of a few shows in particular. But it’s been easier than I expected to wait for Summer since Spring has been strong this year. I doubt anyone reading this is unaware of how Oshi no Ko has really blown me away. That show alone has made it easy to focus just on spring itself and not worrying too much about when Summer would roll around. But it hasn’t just been one show. I’ve had a good time enjoying Megumin’s antics in Kono Subarashii Sekai ni Bakuen wo! And that’s to say nothing about the impact of Kaguya-sama: Love is War – The First Kiss That Never Ends. This season hasn’t been boring.

In a sense though that means Summer has a high bar to clear. There’s a lot of good shows wrapping up soon and only so many carryovers. But that’s the nature of season anime. Good shows start, good shows end, and you are left hoping that the next batch of shows will be equally good.

As always, the preview will be referring to information listed on LiveChart and AniChart. This certainly won’t be a comprehensive preview of what is coming up. It will just be a list of the shows I’m interested in. Everyone can feel free to talk about the shows they are hyped about in the comments, even if I don’t mention them here. There will be shows I don’t know that much about their source material so any discussion on what can be expected there (minus spoilers) sounds good to me.

Series of High Interest

These are the shows I’m the most excited about. Odds are that’s because I’m familiar enough with a previous season/source material. But I may just have gotten excited by the summary or trailer. If these don’t turn out to be good that will be rather disappointing.

No surprise that Bleach falls into this tier. It might be one of my most anticipated shows of the year. The return of Bleach last year was a roaring success. It really shows what Studio Pierrot can muster when they take time with their work. The previous was well worth the long wait and I’m sure the same will go with this continuation. Obviously half a year is not on the same level as over a decade. But there are times in the past few months where it has felt like it! 

This is going to be a blast. Ichigo went through a lot in the first part of the Thousand-Year Blood War. The stage has been set for some spectacular fights coming up. If they can nail some fights on the level of the Yamamoto fight, then this season could be equally impactful. I was excited for the return of Bleach. I’m probably more excited for this part since the standard has been set and it’s a high one. There’s no other show I’m more excited to see this season. 

I can’t get as crazy for this as Bleach, but I am happy to have this show back. Plus it is another sequel coming surprisingly long after the original show aired. Even the manga has been concluded for a while now. But I’m not turning this down. I like Makabe and Aki. And I’m curious to see how this “revenge’ tale is going to play out. If nothing else I expect they’ll manage to cover enough material to conclude the story this time. If nothing else it’s nice when shows get a sequel and aren’t left perpetually hanging. Sign me up to see if Silver Link can let this story end on a positive note.

This isn’t a show I would have bet to have in this section before the first season aired. But honestly the first season really worked for me. Even if it wasn’t the best animated show of all time the characters kept me engaged. It managed to handle the concept of a lead that had a strong reason to be angry and want revenge without saying he should simply let it go. Hyouma and Botan had pretty good chemistry and it leaves me excited to see how they’ll grow as the second season plays out. Even more so since it appears this time that Hyouma’s awaited foe is going to interact with them this time. I’ll have a good time with this one.

Series of Moderate Interest

Now to the shows I’m somewhat excited for. While not as excited about these as the category above, I’m still pretty interested in watching these. Some have intriguing premises that if done right could make for great shows. While some have source materials that I’m sort of familiar with, but not extremely interested in. Some of these could easily turn into my favorites. That uncertainty factor can turn into a positive surprise.

You know, it feels like we haven’t had a zombie show to enjoy in a while. I guess with isekai shows being all over the place that genre would slip to the sidelines a bit. The concept just seems fun in a dark way. And it works even more so in the culture of Japan. This poor guy has been working in a brutal environment and was basically broken when the apocalypse broke out. I like the idea of this guy running around trying to complete his personal bucket list before he gets killed in a zombie apocalypse. The kind of free living that can only happen when the world around him falls apart.

I’m sure this show has some mixed feelings built up. Re-adapting a famous manga is never easy. The original adaptation from the late 90s had decent scores as far as I can tell. It wasn’t a show that was ever on my radar though. So, for me this is a chance to experience a story that I just never got into. Of course, another challenge is going to come from the amount of episodes. The original adaptation did get over 90 episodes. Not a lot of shows get that treatment anymore. And if it happens then it probably would be in parts spread out over a few years. Fingers crossed that this is both a good adaptation and the kind of show that I’ll have a great time diving into.

This show just seems like it will be extremely cute. I honestly think this year has been pretty good for cute romcoms like this. The summary just sounds like a silly comedy with a saint who is secretly lazy. But honestly the trailer makes it look more like a saint that loves this guy and acts out to keep his attention on her. Lawrence seems like a bit of a dense guy that doesn’t get how much this girl likes him, so that might be the biggest hurdle to these two getting together. At the very least Cecilia seems cute and I’ll enjoy seeing her try to win this guy’s heart. A nice silly romcom can be good for unwinding during the week. I also fully expect Doga Kobo to handle this just fine considering how they’ve been knocking it out of the park with [Oshi no Ko].

This is a franchise that has been on my radar for a while. The games have floated around and every now and then I’ve been tempted to get into them. But I just never have gotten around to it. This seems like a pretty good opportunity. Obviously, adaptations of games can be a bit hit or miss and that’s been clear over the years. LIDENFILMS can make pretty good-looking shows so I’m not super worried about that. Reisalin seems like a cute lead and it will be fun seeing what has appealed to people about the show. Hopefully it wasn’t just the gameplay XD.

Series of Lower Interest

These are the shows I’m still interested in, but it’s a lot weaker than the tiers above. Either the previous seasons were mixed bags for me or I just don’t have enough to work. They still get mentioned because I still think the potential is there to really surprise me. Which is more than the shows I’m not going to mention at all.

I didn’t intend to talk about so many romcoms. But I might as well! This seems like another cute show that will keep me smiling during the busier times of the week. There’s been a good amount of romcoms involving Senpai and Kouhai the past couple years. I can get behind Shiori as this super cute and small senpai. Even if I can totally see silly “drama” online over it. However, the whole thing will depend on her chemistry with Takuma. The trailers were cute and I’ve got a good feeling about it.

This is a show that I expect to be high quality and well received. But I’ll admit that a lot of the current gen of Shounen series haven’t really landed for me. I thought season 1 was fine. It had good action and certainly they leaned into the horror/messed up nature of dealing with curses. But the tone didn’t quite work for me and the cast was just generally solid. But I still expect this show to be well made and I’m curious if I’ll love season 2 or if I’ll just decide to pass on it. A show that fans will check out and I expect they’ll love it.

It has the feel of a show that could really be quite sweet if they handle it well. It immediately makes me think of Taishou Otome Otogibanashi. Although in this case the trailer seems to be focusing heavily on how tough Miyo’s life has been to this point. Honestly getting shipped off to mary a soldier of poor reputation almost seems like a win compared to what she’s been living with. Doesn’t seem to be much love for her at home. So in that sense the title is a huge win since it reflects how happy her life is going to be going forward. Seems like a nice little historical romance set in the past. Those can be nice.

This is a show that truly represents having low expectations for it. I was happy to hear that this show was getting a second season. The original was decent and had some fun elements to it. But season 2 just didn’t land very well for me. Maybe I’ve changed or maybe the adaptation wasn’t as good this time around. But it kind of dragged on. So now we have part 2 of season 2 and we’ll see how this one plays out. It’s the same studio as season 2 so I shouldn’t expect much to change. But maybe the story will be stronger for this second part?

Romcoms are holding strong this summer. This one seems like another solid option. I like the idea that the main girl wears glasses but often forgets them. The result being a “scary” face that is still thrilling to look at. Life should be entertaining for Komura. Her straining to see things should make me feel sympathy, but I’m honestly with the MC in thinking she just looks cute that way. It just feels like a solid looking romcom with a premise that works well enough.

So, this show has returned! I thought the original season was fine, but I didn’t necessarily fall head over heels. Mostly because I just don’t love the animation style used here. But the characters and story should carry the show just fine even if I feel that way about what I’m looking at. And I just feel for the main leads. They care that much about each other, but his condition leaves him in such a difficult spot. It does leave me hoping they figure out a way to deal with this curse before it all ends.

I won’t complain about getting an action show involving a magic school. It’s a safe and effective location for some fun shows. The summary and trailer don’t offer much to differentiate it from the rest of the pack. But for that reason, I’ll be sure to at least watch a few episodes. J.C. Staff can be good so I’ll give them a chance here. The main cast seems reasonably sizable and have good designs. That’s about all I can say about them at this stage though.

We’ve reached this stage I see! Finally gotten to the point of a main character that’s been reincarnated as a vending machine! The trailer kind of tells the whole story really. This is a guy that loved vending machines way too much! Feels like the kind of person people would mock saying “if you love them so much you should marry a vending machine!” And I’d say he just took it to the next step. Still, this could turn out fine. I ended up loving seeing a guy be reincarnated as a sword, so this could work too. Although this does feel like a tough one. Since the main character doesn’t appear able to hold normal conversations with his female companion. That could be a solid barrier to forming real connections.

The trailer alone has me willing to check this one out. Yayoi seems like an interesting girl! Not sure if I’ll love the dynamic, she has with Keitarou or just feel sorry for this guy. Dragging someone that for good reason has left the supernatural behind can be a tricky thing. You can’t make people feel too sorry for that guy for getting dragged back into it. I’m not sure if this show will be able to make that work out, but I’ll hope for the best! Seems like a show that will be creepy but could be fun too.

Another isekai adventure with the main character both having and not having OP powers. He’s seemingly got one good skill and the rest of his stats are going to suck. That setup can certainly work. But it will depend on Satou as a lead. Will he be fun or the kind of “weak” protagonist that gets annoying to watch? At the very least it seems like he’s a bit more aggressive than other leads in his position would be. One would think his companions would have to make up for his low stats, but so far the trailer showed him fighting a lot. But that may simply be because he needs to get the last hit in for his skill to give huge drop rewards. Fingers crossed this doesn’t go badly.

The summary for this sounds like a romance with a tsundere that’s gone badly. Sajou has been chasing after this girl but eventually loses hope that it will work out. Then Aika gets uncomfortable with his reaction and starts to go after him instead. How long can a setup of two people that think their love is unrequited go? I don’t know, but hopefully the show doesn’t get dull if they drag that out too much. Either this romance will be fun or it will wear out its welcome in a hurry. Here’sh oping it’s the former and not the latter.

This show returns once more! I thought the first season was ok. It was at its best during the first episode though. I liked the tension of Lily wanting to save her friends from what seemed like certain death. But the show was a bit awkward past that point. There was a ton of focus episodes for a few different girls. Some got a few episodes to show off their charms and others were just ghosts. I hope the show finds a better way to tell a story than awkwardly cutting back to the past for several episodes. But that all remains to be seen. And personally, I hope Lily gets to shine a bit more than she did at points in the first season.

I’m just happy to have more mecha shows to talk about. While we haven’t been completely dry on those types of shows the past year or so, I still want more mecha shows! This has decent potential. You have a post-apocalyptic world where mechs are the answer to a few of the problems the characters are facing. But the show also seems keen to present some cute AI characters that will be part of those mechs. Throw in a bit of mystery and that’s a solid enough premise. The one reason I might not watch though is due to the whole connection to a game that is still coming out “sometime in 2023.” Do I want to experience the world through the anime first or play it for myself? But if the anime is just a story set within that overall setting then it shouldn’t be a problem.

Conclusion

I honestly think Summer is looking good. There is a huge advantage going for it of course with Bleach having a new season ready to blow me away. But that isn’t the only good show coming up. I’m excited to see some shows I really enjoyed in the past like Masamune-kun no Revenge getting another season. And the number of potential surprises is numerous. There’s a lot of shows that in theory could really win me over, but I just don’t know enough about them right now. Mononogatari only ended up as high on this season’s list because the first season completely caught me by surprise. That does make it a bit tricky since there’s no telling which shows will be the surprise of the year. 

This season has a good mix going for it. While there are still isekai, I don’t feel like the percentage is unreasonably high this Summer. On the other hand, romantic comedies seem to be pretty darn popular and ended up sprinkled throughout my preview. We even have another mecha show to keep the ball rolling! 

As always, I’m curious about what shows people are most excited to see. It feels like a season where I’ll be surprised by any responses I get. I could see a lot of shows that didn’t even end up catching my eye, being the shows that people are most excited to see. It’s always fun looking through the season before it comes out and trying to predict which shows I’ll truly love. Only time will tell if this will be another season where I’m completely wrong and it’s the last tier that ends up with my favourites.