New Monday, new week, new season of anime. It’s time for fresh beginnings! The very first summer shows have already aired, but the bulk of them are starting over the course of this week. Also happening this week, where I am from, it is a holiday (July 4th in the US). So, if you are like me and will be out on the beach a lot this week, then here’s to us, enjoying an irl beach episode.
In any case, please use this thread for all your anime discussion needs. I want to hear what your thoughts on the new batch of shows are. Thanks in advance for letting me know what to watch vs. skip when I get back from vacation!
As always, remember to be mindful of spoilers. If you want to know more about how to handle spoilers in this community, check the guide here (also linked in the sidebar).
Here are my thoughts on some series I have watched recently.
Kaiju no. 8
This is the third anime of the season that I’ve completed (the other two being Konosuba and Dungeon Meshi). I’m surprised that I did not drop it before the end, given that it is quite a brainless battle shonen. I guess it helped that I cheated by skipping over the boring and filler scenes, and by turning my brain off for the rest of them.
I love the soundtracks though, especially the insert song Never Break Down which played during the climax.
Good enough to get a 5 / 10 from me.
Solo Leveling
I was planning to ignore this series based on its synopsis and its genres + tags. I decided to give it a go now because of its high rating, and because friends assured me its not battle shonen.
Big mistake, because it’s way worse than any generic battle shonen. This series screams wish fulfillment.
I can see how people who are not doing well in their lives can easily project themself onto the protagonist. Like, you are suffering because you drew the short end of the stick and life, and others look down on you. Then you got your big break in life, and yadda yadda yadda.
What takes the cake was
Solo Leveling
the rant he made before dying. That was peak loser behaviour.
It was so frustrating to watch that even skipping scenes and turning my brain off doesn’t help, and eventually I dropped it at episode 5.
I’m giving it a 2 / 10. Its only saving grace is that it serves to elevate the top-tier series that I have watched earlier: Odd Taxi, Violet Evergarden, Heavenly Delusion, and 86.
Mob Psycho 100 (season 1, 2 and OVA)
I decided to try it out since I’ve heard good things about it. Once I started watching it, some of its art style and humor seemed familiar to me. When I checked, sure enough, the author is also the one who wrote One Punch Man.
It feels like a mix of One Punch Man and Saiki K, combining Saiki Kusuo’s psychic powers and desire to be low-key with the flashy battles plus humor of One Punch Man. It’s good, but I don’t find it as funny as either of them though.
I’m still planning to watch season 3.
On average, it’s getting a score of 7.5 / 10 from me - for now.