I feel like with every great season of anime always comes a bit of a lull. Spring was a great anime season, so summer was a bit… Meh. Aside from Girlfriend, Girlfriend which inflamed a fiery hatred in me that likes of which I’ve not felt in sometime with its pure incel fantasy, there wasn’t any particularly bad shows, but nor were they especially amazing either. However, if you are hard up on new things to watch, here were the shows that I believe were of some quality.
Best Summer 2021 Anime
Sonny Boy
One normal day during summer vacation, the school and the 36 students inside began to drift into another dimension. Once there, many of the students begin to develop supernatural powers. At first, the school is surrounded by blackness, but their world soon changes, and as they drift, they find their new realities bound by certain rules.
Why It Is Worth Watching – For those that require a certain complexity of plot, Sonny Boy is really the only anime that offered that this season, and even then, it is a bit of a slow burn about it. It presents an interesting mystery to unravel and some excellent surreal animation.
The Aquatope on the White Sand
After abandoning her career and dream as an idol, Fuuka Miyazawa flees to Okinawa and wanders until she ends up at the Gama Gama Aquarium. She finds that this small aquarium is on the verge of closing down, meaning the granddaughter of the owner, Kukuru Misakino, is going to lose her dream. Seeing the magic and having nowhere else to go, Fuuka gets a job at the aquarium and she and Kukuru work tirelessly to bring it back from the brink.
Why It Is Worth Watching – P.A. Works does a lot of the same slice of life, but there is no doubt that they do it well. It looks good, the characters are both interesting and cute, and the seaside visuals of Okinawa will blow you away on a gentle ocean breeze.
The Idaten Deities Only Know Peace
800 years ago, as terrifying demons pushed mankind to the brink, they prayed to the gods and called for their aid. Emerging from these prayers, battle deities called Idaten came forth. With great strength and endurance, they defeated the demons, sealing many of them away. Now, in a long era of peace, the present generation of Idaten have grown soft, save for a spare few that endure the brutal training of Rin, the last Idaten from the demon war. However, the Zoble Empire seeks to resurrect the demons and it seems these peaceful Idaten must remember their original purpose.
Why It Is Worth Watching – It has been a hot minute since we had one of those high energy action shows that spends as much time being a bit wacky as it does being violent, but they always pop up eventually. It’s one of those shows that is kind of hard to sell people on, but if you enjoy the unexpected mixed in with big shounen style fights not so steeped in reality, this is really one of the top of the season.
The Detective is Already Dead
Kimizuka Kimihiko is a magnet for bad events. He constantly gets caught up in everything from witnessing drug deals to getting kidnapped. This time, he was forced to carry an unknown package on a flight by criminals, which leads him to an encounter with the legendary detective, Siesta. After helping this beautiful girl unravel a case surrounding a mysterious organization she is hunting, he becomes her assistant. Fast-forward four years later and Kimizuka attends school aimlessly. After four years of international adventure, he is without purpose now that Siesta is dead. However, after meeting a girl that received Siesta’s heart from an organ transplant, this leads him right back to his mystery-solving days.
Why It Is Worth Watching – This series ended up differently than I thought it would, but it didn’t end up in a bad place. As a mystery show, it does a good job crafting its cases to be unexpected, and that’s usually all a mystery show needs to do. However, because of the whole organ transplant thing, it makes the character relationships feel complicated, but it is intriguing to see where things will end up.
The Duke of Death and His Maid
After being cursed by a witch as a child, any living thing that the young duke touches will wither and die. Feared by his mother, he is sent to live in a mansion in the woods. While secluded, he is not entirely alone. He was accompanied by his aging butler Rob as well as his maid, Alice. Despite not being able to touch him, Alice enjoys teasing the young lord and her lack of fear allows them to grow closer, eventually spurring the duke’s desire to lift his curse.
Why It Is Worth Watching – It’s a bit painful to watch sometimes with whatever JC Staff is trying with the animation there, but it is only sometimes and not as distracting as it could be. Regardless, it’s a pretty cute little show with an interesting premise. However, go in expecting some cute flirting and not so much a deep wellspring of plot, then you won’t be disappointed.
The Case Study of Vanitas
Scorned by his vampire peers for being born under a blue moon, it is said that the vampire Vanitas created a powerful grimoire known as the Book of Vanitas that would bring retribution to all crimson moon vampires. On his way to Paris, Noe is searching for this fabled book. While traveling aboard an airship, he is saved from a vampire attack by an eccentric man that claims to posses the Book of Vanitas and uses it to cure the attacking vampire that was driven rabid by a progressing event afflicting vampires called the Charlatan’s Parade.
Why It Is Worth Watching – Supernatural series, specifically those about vampires, have a miraculous ability to be rather unremarkable. However, while not immediately noticeable in the first few episodes, The Case Study of Vanitas manages to build a unique and interesting supernatural world with enough intrigue and action to keep one engaged. While you are warming up to the story, which does take time, it helps that it is rather lovely to look at.
Fena: Pirate Princess
After tragedy at sea left her stranded and orphaned on an island, Fena was raised to be pleasure slave for soldiers of the British Empire. However, after being broken from her chains by members from her past, she sets out to the sea in order find a place she can be free and unravel the mystery behind Eden.
Why It Is Worth Watching – This aired crazily late in the season. So late that it makes me think my overall impression of the season would have been improved if it aired with the rest of the pack. Then I probably would have watched Girlfriend, Girlfriend and Mother of the Goddess’ Dormitory and been quickly soured on things. Regardless, Fena is… A lot like watching a Disney movie sometimes, if I’m honest. However, it presents a good adventure story and delivers interesting characters.
Do you have more anime series from the Summer 2021 season that you think are worth the watch? Let fans know in the comments section below.
