Blistering Hot Summer 2023 Anime Season Impressions - Renegade Animation #118
In this episode, Captain Kaye, The Animation Guru, and Teresa take a look at all of the new anime titles that premiered in Summer 2023!
What’s going on, everyone? This is your Captain speaking, and it’s that time once again! This podcast is going to be a little different, and the reason we decided not to split it up into two parts was because there were just too many isekai that we had to barrel through. I know I make it sound like pulling teeth, but out of the 24 new titles that Cameron, Teresa, and I discussed, there were enough to genuinely recommend. Tune into the podcast to hear the full discussion, and keep reading for our collective top 5 anime recommendations!
Dark Gathering
It’s not often that we get a horror anime that’s genuinely scary, but this one certainly delivers the goods! This supernatural adventure sees a boy with a cursed right hand who hates ghosts, and a girl with Polycoria (two pupils in the same eye) teaming up to find and captures evil spirits. This anime has some ghoulish imagery, and yet balances the scares with a playful tone. Anyone with an affinity for the supernatural should definitely seek this one out!
Helck
Because I never read the manga, I had absolutely no idea what to expect with this anime, and still can’t quite put into words why I love it. Helck has somehow found a way to be both incredibly silly and serious at the same time, without ever feeling disjointed. The silly stuff is mostly in the first two episodes, where Lady Vermilio and Hon are plotting ways to prevent our titular hero from winning the tournament through ridiculous competitions. However, the serious overarching narrative concerning a mysterious new threat to the Demon Realm is what has my attention, and whether or not Helck is connected to them. The fact that a show like this exists means that fantasy anime still has gas in the tank.
My Happy Marriage
Ok, this has to be one of the best romance anime I’ve seen in quite some time, one that just happens to push all the right buttons. Yes, it is a slow burn, and yes, a genuine argument could be made for who has the most despicable step mother ever between Miyo and Cinderella. But it’s not until the third episode where My Happy Marriage really hits you emotionally. It’s honestly disarming how gorgeous the animation is, and how great the music is in both the OP and ED. I can’t wait to see where the story goes from here.
Undead Girl Murder Farce
Here’s an anime that would most likely appeal to fans of Sherlock Holmes, Penny Dreadful, or The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen (the comic, not the movie), sprinkled with a dash of the macabre. No top 5 list would be complete without a show with as great a trio of protagonists such as the half-human, half-oni Tsugaru Shinuchi, the disembodied head of Aya Rindo, and her maid Shizuku Hasei, who embark on a quest to seek revenge on the man who beheaded the young yokai woman.
Zom 100: Bucket List of the Dead
There’s no two ways around it, Zom 100 is THE anime of the summer! Every season we have that one show that hits the sweet spot, and this is that to the nth degree. If you hate your job so much that you’d rather be chased around town by zombies, then you will absolutely relate to the main protagonist Akira Tendo. And if you watch the English Dub, Zeno Robinson voices Akira, and gives one of his very best performances in the third episode. I shouldn’t have to say any more to get you hooked, you’ll need to experience this one for yourself.
That’ll do it for this episode! Thank you all for joining us! Please visit https://entertainmentcommunityfund.org/ and donate under the designation of Film and Television if you wish to support those that are effected by the 2023 WGA and SAG-AFTRA Strikes!
