What I'll Be Watching During The Summer 2025 Anime Season
Man, it's been a while since I've written anything for this blog. I mean, I was going to do a post doing mini-reviews for some NaNoRenO 2025 visual novels, but I ended up putting it off; it's probably too late to do it at this point. Oh, well!
Anyway, it's June, and while spring isn't over yet, I think it's about time we started considering what seasonal anime we'll be watching during the summer. I've got 17 anime - including 3 Spring 2025 anime that are continuing into the next season - that I'd like to list, but first, I'd like to mention a few things. First of all, out of the "maybe watching" anime that I mentioned before the start of the spring season, I ended up getting around to Please Put Them On, Takamine-san (mainly because it's that anime's fault I forced myself to watch and review Spectral Force), The Shiunji Family Children (because it's not like I'm going to be watching Rent-A-Girlfriend season 4 this summer), and one more from that list that I will mention later. (Of course, I've been keeping up with the ones I said I'd be watching for sure the best I've been able to.) Second, I do have the Demon Slayer Infinity Castle movies on my PTW list, but I don't know exactly when I'll be able to watch the first one; thus, I don't feel comfortable putting it on the list. Third, Pokemon Concierge 2 will be coming out in September, and I intend on watching that; however, I'm pretty sure all of the episodes will be released at once, so I'm not including that on the list, either. Fourth....
I will not be watching Shinsei Galverse, whenever that might be coming out. I don't care how cool it looks with it looking like a throwback to classic anime from the '90's, and I don't care that Yui Horie will be voicing a main character in it; if I'm going to refuse to watch Kizuna no Allele because of its NFT-shilling, do you really think I'm going to watch an NFT-based anime? No? Good.
Now, onto the list, starting with the ones I'm continuing onto the next season!
Continuing Anime #1: Princess-Session Orchestra
I'm just going to say this now; considering the fact that this anime is supposed to air for a consecutive year, this is going to be on the continuing anime lists for fall 2025 and winter 2026 when those come around. Then again, the release schedule for English-subbed episodes hasn't been the most consistent, so I might actually end up putting it on-hold indefinitely at some point. That would be a shame, as although it's nothing particularly special, it's kind of a cute show with some decent songs. Also, in my opinion, Kagari has the best singing voice; whoever casted Yuri Fujimoto deserves a raise.
Continuing Anime #2: Summer Pockets
Ah, yes, Key anime are BACK, baby! Granted, this does have more fanservice than one might feel comfortable with, and given that this anime is following multiple different routes of the visual novel (a la Amagami SS), the pacing does feel a little off sometimes. That being said, however, I've been enjoying this a lot, and the emotional moments that one would come to expect from Key hit as well as they should! Also, Kamome is best girl so far; I just love her adventurous personality! (Also, she has the same birthday as me. That has nothing to do with why I like her; I just thought that was cool.) So far, the anime has only fully covered her route and is working on Tsumugi's, and I'm looking forward to how Ao and Shiroha's routes are adapted!
Continuing Anime #3: Witch Watch
Yep, this is the third anime on the "maybe" list that I ended up actually watching. I mean, it's nothing incredible, but it's been cute enough so far. It's also pretty well-animated (except for episode 6). However, I do feel like there's not enough of Nemu so far for her supposedly being a main character. Oh, well! I'm sure there will be more of her in the second cour!
Aaaaaand that's all of the continuing anime I'll be watching during the summer! Now, onto the new stuff!
You know, in recent years, there has been a decline in visual novel-based anime; if what I've seen on AniList is any indication, this could be the last season we see television anime adaptations of visual novels. Well, if I end up right, at least we're ending off with two anime adaptations of visual novels, both of which I'll be watching this season! One of them is 9-nine-; I haven't played the visual novel, but I'd already heard about it when the anime was announced. It's from the same company that made Mashiroiro Symphony, which I really enjoyed the anime adaptation of, so you better believe I'll be checking this one out. Maybe this'll make up for the anime there was apparently going to be for Sakura Strasse!
I actually didn't come to the conclusion that I wanted to watch this anime until pretty recently. I don't really have any strong reasons for that, either; it just seems pretty cute. That's all I really have to say. Also, is it just me, or is Saori Hayami in everything these days? I mean, I'm happy that she's getting as many voice roles as she has been getting these days, but anyone who decides to make a drinking game out of every anime Saori Hayami has a voice role in in recent years will most likely die before long.
Okay, me watching City was a foregone conclusion. No matter what it's about, if it's an anime done by Kyoto Animation, I'm going to watch and most likely enjoy it. This is also the first non-sequel anime KyoAni has released since the 2019 arson, so I naturally want to support them in this step forward! (I hope that Nijuuseiki Denki Mokuroku hasn't been cancelled as a result of the arson, though.) I also really liked Nichijou, so even if KyoAni wasn't animating it, I might have watched this, anyway. Also, I want to applaud the efforts KyoAni went to to replicate the artstyle of the original manga; I haven't read the original manga, but I can still tell that they really nailed the way Keiichi Arawi draws his characters these days!
4. Milky Subway: The Galactic Limited Express
Okay, this one was kind of random. For some reason, I decided to watch the original short, Milky Highway, at some point last month; I didn't think it was particularly good or bad, but since I had watched it, I kind of thought, "Why not?" Plus, the character designs are pretty unique, and the CGI animation in the short was far from the worst I'd ever seen. Yeah, that's pretty much all I have to say on this one.
Ah, yes! Now that's what I'm talking about!
You wouldn't believe me with how long it took me to get around to finishing it, but I loved the first season of Grand Blue; it's just so hilarious! Granted, it was less so as it went on, but the first episode probably had me laughing more than I had at any anime around that time (and also taught me, a non-drinker, that alcohol is flammable); even with that aside, it was fun to see what shenanigans the characters would get up to. One concern I have, though, is what streaming service it'll be on, if any, since it has been removed from Amazon Prime. Well, I'm at least sure that people will be subbing this anime faster than people have been subbing Princess-Session Orchestra!
Even before the anime was announced, I had been hearing about The Summer Hikaru Died quite a bit; thus, when the anime was announced, I just figured, "Why not?" I don't really know that much about exactly what it's about, but it seems to have an intriguing mystery to it. Well, once it starts airing, I'll get to learn more about it! I was meaning to read the manga before the anime came out, though, but I haven't gotten around to it. Oh, well.
7. The Fragrant Flower Blooms With Dignity
Okay, I admit it; I already knew the anime was coming. I came across a leak for the anime sometime before it was officially announced, and even if I hadn't come across it, the manga it's based on being as popular as it is shows that there would definitely be an audience for an anime adaptation. If the trailer is to be believed, it looks amazing, too! Let's just hope the fact that two other CloverWorks anime will be airing at the same time won't cause the animation quality to drop, though. (One of them is the new Seishun Buta Yarou anime, and the other one.... well, we'll get to that later.) I will be watching this when it comes out, and hopefully, it'll live up to all of the hype!
8. New Panty and Stocking with Garterbelt
Geez, it's been so long since Panty and Stocking's first season came out! Granted, I didn't watch it at the time it was airing - I still wasn't into anime at that point - but I did eventually watch and review it. I was going to rewatch it before the new anime came out, but I never got around to it. Oh, well. Maybe I should just finish reading the manga instead. In any case, I'm eager to see how this new anime will pick up on the cliffhanger ending that the first season had! (If it's not going to retcon that ending, anyway. I have a bad feeling that it will, given how long it's been.)
Okay, I'm not sure how this is allowed to start airing on TV in July. I mean, sure, there's a non-hentai manga adaptation of the original eroge, but from what little I've read of it, it sure is close to being a hentai! Not to mention the fact that you have to download an 18+ patch to play the English version on Steam; if you don't, you only get two hours of story, and while I can't confirm this for sure, I'm sure it was mangled beyond recognition! What Japanese animation studio would be willing to take Nukitashi on?!
....Okay, that checks out.
Well, regardless, I'm still curious about how this turns out. This is also the second of two visual novel anime adaptations that will be airing this season, which there are less and less of these days, so I've gotta take what I can!
You know, if I had a nickel for every sequel to an anime I've reviewed coming out this season, I'd have two nickels, and you know the rest of this meme. Sakamoto Days is a lot fresher in my mind than Panty and Stocking, though, given how part 1 just came out earlier this year. I had fun watching it when it did; as I mentioned in my review, it's off to a good start. Let's just hope that the second half can build on what the first established well!
11. My Dress-Up Darling Season 2
My Dress-Up Darling is a series that has surprised me in the best ways possible. When a friend of mine lent me the first volume of the manga sometime before the anime was announced, I was secretly expecting it to just be a trashy ecchi manga, and while it is certainly an ecchi manga, it turned out to be one of the better ecchi manga I've read, especially in recent years. I really loved Marin's character and her relationship with Gojo; there's a certain wholesomeness to it that I don't know how to explain that well. Of course, I was excited when the anime came out, but I wasn't expecting it to turn out as good as it did! With how much it took the anime community by storm when it came out, you can bet that it got a second season, which I will obviously be watching! I've since finished the manga, so I'm looking forward to how the anime adapts certain scenes. Again, though, I hope that CloverWorks working on this along with two others doesn't cause the animation quality to suffer.
Admittedly, I was a little hesitant to talk about this one at first. Not only is it only going to have six episodes, it's also just going to drop on different streaming services like Netflix and Amazon Prime; thus, I'm a little worried that it's all going to be dropped at once instead of airing on a weekly basis. Well, even if that's the case, the fact that there are only six episodes means that I can easily watch it alongside all of the other seasonal anime I'm watching, right? In any case, I've been intrigued by this for a while; it seems like it won't be an easy watch, yet it'll still be a worthwhile one.
13. Watari-kun's ****** is About to Collapse
The title of this anime has always been an enigma to me. What, exactly, of Watari's is about to collapse? His love life? His regular life? His sister? ....His di-
Ahem. Anyway, given the not-so-high ratings the manga has gotten and Staple Entertainment's not-too-impressive track record, I don't expect the anime to be that good. You know what, though? I'm going to watch it, anyway, because I'm just too curious about what the title is censoring!
14. There's No Freaking Way I'll Be Your Lover! Unless...
And finally, we've got the summer's one and only explicitly yuri anime! (Before you mention Bad Girl, I just want to say that for all we know, that could end up just being queerbait.) I've been aware of the original light novel series for a while, but I've never gotten the chance to read it; I'll just have to see how good the anime is before I decide whether or not I will read it. I also really like Eku Takeshima's art style; it's pretty cute! I just hope that the production doesn't turn out like the anime adaptation of a manga Takeshima-sensei wrote and drew herself. (Seriously, Whisper Me A Love Song wasn't bad, but the manga deserved better!)
Aaaaand that's all of the seasonal anime I'll be watching in the summer! I mean, I might end up picking up more titles as the season goes on....but then again, I probably won't, given how much I'm watching already. And hey, none of them are isekai! (One of them could have been if I ever got around to catching up on The Rising of the Shield Hero, though.... Oh, well!)
Comments
Post a Comment