Now that the fall season is almost upon us, most of the summer anime from the 2016 season are wrapping up their runs. While for many watchers part of the fun is discovering which series were worth the watch, not all of us have the time to juggle a couple of anime series. So instead of sitting down weekly, you end up picking a series and binge watching the crap out of it after it is over. If you are looking for something from the summer 2016 anime season, here are 8 series that are worth binging this weekend.
This list covers original series, so there are no second seasons or continuations here. Naturally if you are a Berserk, D.Gray Man, Food Wars!, Love Live!, Seven Deadly Sins, ect fan, you should go watch those new series that came out in Summer 2016.
If you are already gearing up for future seasons, here are some good anime series you can expect to enjoy in 2017.
Best Summer 2016 Anime
ReLife
After an incident at his job, 27-year-old Arata Kaizaki ended up quitting after only three months. Now unable to look like a respectable employee to other companies, he lives as a NEET. However, after a night of drinking, he meets a mysterious many that offers him a pill to turn him 17 again so that he can redo his life. Through connecting with his new classmates, can Arata get a new start to his life?
Why It Is Worth Watching – Released in one big batch at the very beginning of the summer season, a lot of people overlooked this series at first. However, it ended up not only presenting a nice slice of life/school series that teaches you about overcoming your problems with just a dash of nice romance, but it ended up being the best shows of the season.
Sweetness and Lightning
Since his wife’s death, Kouhei Inuzuka, a high school math teacher, has been doing his best to care for his young daughter Tsumugi. However, after a twist of fate and months of eating convenience store meals, he ends up taking her to one of his student’s restaurant. While the owner, her mother, isn’t there, his student, Kotori, does her best to feed them despite not knowing how to cook. After that day, Inuzuka, Tsumugi, and Kotori all learn to cook by cooking together.
Why It Is Worth Watching – At first it seemed like the spiritual successor to Usagi Drop, but instead of focusing solely on the trials and tribulations of being a single father, it is actually a cooking anime. It is heart-warming and stomach-rumbling at its best. Additionally, Tsumugi’s hair is some of the best anime hair.
Alderamin on the Sky
The world is currently embroiled by war between the Katjvarna Empire and the Kiorka Republic. Within a corner of the empire, a young man prepares to take his High Grade Military Officer Exam. He is lazy and lecherous, but no one would expect his name would go down in history as a legendary military general. This is his story.
Why It Is Worth Watching – You likely overlooked this show because of the typical nonsensical anime title and all the “throw scrabble tiles down the stairs” names in the series. However, while not on the par of Log Horizon, Code Geass, or Death Note, if you love tsundere females and male main characters with brilliant tactical minds, this actually ends up being a pretty good watch.
Orange
On the first day of school, Naho receives a letter that claims to be from herself ten years in the future. When the events it describes come true, she has no choice but to believe it to be true. The letter wants her to erase her regrets that surround the new transfer student, Kakeru.
Why It Is Worth Watching – There’s been a bit of a romance drought in anime for a while. While not an absolutely mind-blowing romance, Orange is a good way to sate your thirst. It is also a nice story about regret, and how you should consider your decisions carefully.
91 Days
Set during Prohibition, a man named Avilio returns to Lawless, a town famed for brewing illegal liquor, after the murder of his family by the mafia. A mysterious letter prompted him to return and infiltrate the Vanetti family to get his revenge. This anime tells the story of 91 days leading to the tragic end between Avilio and Nero Vanetti, the Don’s son.
Why It Is Worth Watching – Baccano introduced us to the Prohibition setting, and then it was never seen again. However, the setting isn’t just what makes this anime good. It is bloody vengeance, killing, and tragedy all told in an unraveling storyline and fluid animation.
Mob Psycho 100
Kageyama Shigeo, AKA Mob, is an 8th grader with psychic abilities. He can bend spoons and lift objects, but because of the negative attention it brought him, he decided to stop. Now all he wants is to be friends with Tsubomi, a girl in his class, and to realize his purpose in life.
Why It Is Worth Watching – Being created by the same author as One Punch Man, Mob Psycho 100 immediately got a fair bit of attention. However, it is no overnight success like the other series. In fact, it may be the weakest entry on this list. Regardless, it is a funny slice of life show with just the right amount of supernatural bint.
Cheer Boys
Disheartened by judo, college student Haruki Bando is invited by his childhood friend to join an unprecedented all-male cheer team called the Breakers.
Why It Is Worth Watching – Generally, it is hard to get into sports anime, but occasionally there is one so obscure that it kind of lures you in. Cheer Boys is like that because it is about cheerleading. It is no Bring It On, but it is surprisingly not bad. If you were a fan of Free!, it is of a similar nature, but the boys keep more clothes on.
Amanchu!
Hikari Kohinata grew up by the sea and as a result developed a deep love of scuba diving. On her first say of high school, her hobby and her relentless cheerfulness sweep up those around her in a maelstrom and they all cultivate a love for diving.
Why It Is Worth Watching – Remember how in the Spring 2016 anime season, Flying Witch was the most chill anime that you could just watch and relax to? This is of a similar nature. It is slow, deliberate, and not at all action-packed. It got a little overshadowed by all the other hype, but it is a good show to lift your spirits whether you want it to or not.
These are just a small handful of the anime series that came out in the Summer 2016 season. Did you think any other series were worth the watch? Perhaps hidden under a weirdly low rating or got better later into the series? Tell us about it in the comments section below.
You lost me one the all-male cheerleading anime. That’s when I knew this was written for girls by girls.