Forum - View topicThe Best (And Worst) Anime of Summer 2020
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Connor Dino
Posts: 354 |
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I, for one, am here for the comments of The God of High School defenders racing to decry these opinions. Mainly with the defense of "read the webcomic." Ignoring the fact that better source material does not change anything when it comes to terrible adaptations, my hot take is, as someone who slogged their way through the 100 or so chapters that the anime adapted, that no....it really isn't that much better in the source material. Does the story make more sense? Sure. Is it pitifully more boring as a result? Absolutely.
Basically, all those questions you anime-only folks had about the combat, plot, etc, I am sorry to inform you that none of the answers are particularly interesting. If you have head canon the makes it more fun, I'd say stick to that, move on to other things, and remember the amazing animation mappa can bring to the table as it adapts other projects in the future. This isn't to say that GoHS doesn't get good in future arcs or interesting things don't happen, but as a reviewer in this article mentioned, life is too short to wait for it to get good. Especially when it has a foundation that is basically a yawn, a yikes, and a big capital Y. |
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FilthyCasual
Posts: 2415 |
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I can't believe Theron stiffed Railgun like this.
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tfwnoymir
 Posts: 326 Location: Hungary |
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Since CoViD happened, there were not many seasonal shows I was interested in; it was 5 plus Breakwater. Besides Rent-A-Girlfriend, which was a total waste of my time, all of them were various levels of good. Oregairu S3 wins by default for me, Deca-Dence was also there and Re:Zero S2 has not ended yet so I wouldn't rank it yet, but I liked what I've seen so far. Lapis was a bit of a rollercoaster, but it landed on its feet in the end and had some strong episodes, so I came out of it positively: I hope it gets a sequel. Breakwater is also good for what it is, although I prefer the manga visuals; it was a very conservative adaptation in the end.
Also I ended up dropping Uzaki-chan after 2 episodes, so I can't comment on whether it gets better later on, but I felt like it was not for me. |
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ThatGuyWhoLikesThings
Posts: 1037 |
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Best: Re:Zero S2. I came into this already knowing it would be my AOTY. A wickedly compelling, harrowing journey filled with unexpected and memorable twists and turns, with just as strong a cast, with Echidna being the standout character of the entire anime season. A genuine rollercoaster of emotions that no other show this year will be able to compare with. The production values aren't as stellar this time around, but every episode always leaves an impact. The first season is my favorite anime of all time, and the sequel is giving it a run for it's money. I just wish we didn't have to wait 3 months for the conclusion.
Runner-Up: The Misfit of Demon King Academy. Many of the mechanics of the world were underexplained, the early episodes are a bit too in love with making Anos look like the coolest guy ever, and Misha unfortunately gets the proverbial shaft in the final episodes. But by god, was this show fun, with an overarching story that ended up being a thousand times more intriguing, satisfying, and even unexpectedly wholesome than I would've ever thought to give it credit for. Worst: Rent-A-Girlfriend. The girls are cute and it's sometimes funny. That's about all the praise I can give it. Kazuya is not only insufferable, he undergoes zero meaningful growth throughout 12 entire episodes. His interactions with the female cast are so hollow and bereft of any substance in large part because of his repulsive personality and single-track mind, and the girls hardly ever interact with each other. The series also ultimately has nothing to actually say on the idea of a rental girlfriend, and with how everyone in the show seems to talk as if it's "not a real job" or how it's something to be ashamed of, I'm liable to think it has a pretty low opinion of rental girlfriends. Just an insipid show. Most Disappointing: Deca-Dence. Now this is an anime that truly went on for longer than it needed to. Once it revealed it's entire hand as early as it did, I was worried it would just start spinning it's wheels for several episodes until it arbitrarily decided it was time to actually confront the problem. And I was right! But throw in a bunch of flat supporting characters and an entirely weightless conclusion, and you have something that I was expecting so much more from. But thankfully the very strongly characterized duo, the remarkably enjoyable production values, and the poignant but ultimately clumsily handled themes do salvage Deca-Dence from total mediocrity. Summer was an okay season, but I'm expecting great things from Fall. Higurashi, Tonikawa, and Warlords Of Sigrdrifa I'm expecting to be the standouts. Last edited by ThatGuyWhoLikesThings on Mon Sep 28, 2020 1:56 pm; edited 1 time in total |
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Thespacemaster
Posts: 1173 |
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Its rather unusual for a series like the Misfit Demon Acadamy to be either someones top or runner up title for best of the summer. It must be better than most other Magical Acadamey series, i should give it a shot when i have the time.
Well the only real show i can say is the best is Re:Zero 2nd season part 1, As everyone pointed out this summer season had been pretty lacklucster as so many go pushed of to later dates and not much was available. Hopefully Fall Season can be a bit better but we shall se. |
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Seagloom
Posts: 298 |
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I'm glad Rebecca picked Mr Love: Queen’s Choice as a runner-up because it's a decent show I doubt will be mentioned much outside of otome game forums. It's been a good while since I've seen a reverse harem that's clicked with me. And unlike Phantom in the Twilight, I've enjoyed the story way more and actually like characters other than the protagonist. As for my picks this season...
Best: Major 2nd A show that has been going from strength to strength. While I think the plot is on par with the first season rather than an improvement as some seem to, I've really enjoyed the characterization on display for almost everyone in the cast. Seeing Daigo's growth from the embittered kid he was in the first season to an effective leader of his new team has been particularly gratifying. The animation, while suffering a bit in the latest episode, has also mostly taken a significant step up as well. It's the most gorgeous Major has looked to date. Runner-up: Monster Girl Doctor My second pick mostly because of how wholesome it could be when it wasn't desperately shoehorning ecchi scenes into an episode to meet an arbitrary quota. It's not a show that I would choose if I were trying to be critical. What it was, was a show with a positive energy that really helped me relax after a long, stressful week. Worst: Gibiate I only made it four episodes into this before deciding it didn't quite reach 'so bad it's good territory' in my eyes. Easily the most nonsensical plot and worst animation of anything in 2020 so far. So bad in fact, I won't be surprised if it pops up on various 'worst anime of all time' lists someday. |
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Brack
 Posts: 292 Location: UK |
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In a season that includes Ninja Collection, a candidate for all time worst anime, it seems cruel to pick anything else.
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invalidname
 Contributor Posts: 2485 Location: Grand Rapids, MI |
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Gotta say I’m surprised to see Re:Zero on here only once, and SNAFU not at all. Apparently Appare-Ranman and Deca-dence are that good?
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Abraham Omosun
Posts: 158 |
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If there is something good coming out of God of Highschool, they are
a) Someone is going create an AMV of its best fights with some catchy music that I might watch 100 times 2) Sunghoo Park and his team at MAPPA have shown that they can regularly deliver cool action scenes which I hope transfers to Jujutsu Kaisen i |
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Marzan
 Posts: 519 |
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Gibiate would like a word with you. At least Ninja Collection has the decency to keep episodes to under 5 minutes. As bad as God of High School was, it doesn’t hold a candle to the pain of watching an action sequence for Gibiate. I had CD-Rom games in the early 00’s that had better CGI and I’m not joking. |
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killjoy_the
 Posts: 2485 |
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If I count all the other episodes spanning the whole rest of the year, Railgun would be my pick for Best. If I don't, then no, because Dream Ranker (the arc that actually aired this season) is actually pretty weak to me. Not Saten-with-a-bat-beating-a-robot weak, but still.
SNAFU 3/Climax/OreGairu 3/Kan/How many names does this even have would be the runner up. I still prefer the second season as I thought this one in particular was often circular, with its incredible vagueness being upped way too much for my suspension of disbelief, but it's still a very strong cast, incredible banter writing, and landed the ending too. I didn't watch anything that was bad this season, so no Worst for me. From the few I watched the one I liked least was Deca-dence, but it was still fairly decent, if a little disappointing at times. |
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Sisyphusson66
Posts: 96 |
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Best: Fruits Basket Season 2. I loved the first season of this when it aired, and I think I might actually like this season even more. When anime give more time to "side characters," or characters that may or may not be integral to the main plot, and the level of quality is still there, that is an indicator, for me, of a strong anime. Fruits Basket was able to balance the independence and stories of all of its constituent parts and not only give us new dynamics, but show that everything that was going on was important, no matter how insignificant. Fruits Basket Season 2 was everything I could want in an anime done almost perfectly. And while it is a testament to the strength of the source material, the production quality was always high and was able to set an atmosphere that made Mondays a lot better.
Runner-Up: My Teen Romantic Comedy SNAFU Climax. Another continuation of a series I have loved, and another full adaptation of its source material. While I don't think it hit the emotional heights of Fruits Basket, largely due to the nature of its characters and their ability to complicate everything with their intellect, its ending was highly satisfying and emotional beats were strong. It focused not only on its romance, but on the issues it would cause the relationship of the service club members. It gave great closure to certain characters, as well as providing hope that, while some things may eventually end, it can give way to the beginning of something better. There were some side characters that were given moments that, while nice, just made me wish they had been given more time, but other than that, this was a fantastic end to a wonderful series. Worst: Uzaki-chan Wants to Hang-Out. It would have been Rent-A-Girlfriend, but it had relatively high production values and quality in its directing, and I can't really blame the anime for the story, since its problems and characters come straight from the manga. Uzaki-chan, on the other hand, was a massive failure. I was actually looking forward to this series before it aired. I love the manga, and I thought it would have been a nice little show with low stakes that I could just sit and enjoy. What we got was something completely different. Everything about the story and production screamed, to me at least, that it should have been a short anime. Instead, we were given a full length season (and now a second!) with comedy stretched way too thin and paced way too slowly. What should have been a cheap, snappy comedy about a charming annoying kouhai turned into a long slog of trying to figure out which character was actually the most annoying amongst a cast made more annoying than its manga counterparts. Biggest Disappointment: Appare-Ranman. I still really liked Appare-Ranman, but it suffered from being too short and from making its villain boring. There were so many interesting and colorful characters in the cast, but they were given very little time to really interact with each other in lasting and fun ways. It didn't help that the main villain, for me, just failed to live up to the zaniness of the rest of the anime. He was cool, yes, and was given a great voice actor, but his motivations and actions felt too calculated and standard. He was much more interesting the less we knew about him. For a show featuring a cross-country race, there was very little of the country explored. It could have used another 12 or so episodes, because we were not given enough time for every aspect of the show to meet satisfaction. |
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Zhou-BR
Posts: 1462 |
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I'm sorry, but Gibiate got robbed. Granted, it's not like I watched every single show that aired this season, but I doubt any of them served up anything as bad as Gibiate's 11th episode. You'd think the show couldn't get any worse, and then it hits you with spoiler[aliens. I mean, I knew they wouldn't get Shuichi Ikeda just to voice a mild-mannered scientist, but did they have to make him an evil alien who brought the Gibia plague from his home planet to Earth?]
Last edited by Zhou-BR on Mon Sep 28, 2020 5:08 pm; edited 1 time in total |
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Hagaren Viper
 Posts: 792 |
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When I first heard about Great Pretender I felt like it was going to be a breakout hit, when I saw the trailer I thought it was going to be a breakout hit, when I watched the first episode I felt like it was going to be a breakout hit. So of course literally nobody is talking about it. Glad to see it get some love in this article, it really deserves it.
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harminia
 Posts: 2064 Location: australia |
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Best: Re:Zero
Runner Up: Muhyo & Roji S2 Worst: well... I only watched those two shows. I had been intending to watch Deca-dance and Appare some time but not sure if I'll ever get around to it. |
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