Summer Lovin(?): Summer 2022 Anime Season Impressions Vol. 1 - Renegade Animation #72
Tonight on Renegade Animation, Captain Kaye and The Animation Guru are joined by Haley and Teresa as they begin to review a smorgasbord of recent anime! For Volume 1, they look at those that fall into the genres of Romantic Comedy and Action/Adventure.
What’s going on, everyone? It’s that time of the year again, where myself, Cameron, Haley, and Teresa take a dive into the anime pool, and see what they have to offer. Summer has not exactly been my favorite season lately, and of the two years we’ve been doing these anime impressions, this year’s been the weakest. However, it hasn’t been completely without its merits, so stay tuned to hear more about which shows we recommend, and which ones are better left forgotten.
Engage Kiss
“There is a good premise here somewhere, but at the end of the day, what bogs this series down is a main protagonist who’s just the fucking worst. Anything good that happens to him is entirely because the plot said so, yet nothing about his actual personality makes him deserving of any of it. I do not wish to continue this series, and I hope Shu steps on a thousand Lego bricks!“ -Captain Kaye
My Stepmom’s Daughter is My Ex
“Wow, what a surprise, an anime with a premise this borderline creepy and uncomfortable was based on a light novel. Calling this a “romantic comedy” is generous, cause it’s neither romantic or comedic outside of a chuckle here or there. It’s nowhere near the worst anime I’ve seen this year, but it’s also not one I ever need to return to.“ -Captain Kaye
Call of the Night
“Well, if there’s one thing this show has that the previous two lacked (other than vampires), it’s style! Call of the Night is a Liden Films production, which means they poured as much as they could into the animation to make this look drop dead gorgeous. They really get to play around with the lighting here, creating a cool atmosphere. But most importantly, the dynamic between our main protagonist Ko Yamori and potential love interest Nazuna Nanakusa is fantastic. I can’t wait to see where this story goes!“ -Captain Kaye
Extreme Hearts
“Anime has two different appeals. On the surface, you have the unique visual aesthetics, the worldbuilding, and a high concept. Then, on a deeper level, you have the characters and their internal conflicts, compelling themes, and social and/or political commentary. Extreme Hearts has, at the very least, a combination of a unique high concept combining the music industry with a very anime schmorgus board of ALL the sports, with characters you genuinely want to root for. I’m not going to pretend like this is perfect. One could argue that they pressed the gas a little too hard by rushing through the entire titular tournament in just the first three episodes, when most anime would have made that the entire arc. However, I’m aware there’s still more story to tell, and I want to see what lies ahead for this trio.“ -Captain Kaye
Yurei Deco
“It would be so easy to end my quick thoughts by asking “what if Ready Player One was actually good,” but that would undersell the genuine brilliance of Science Saru’s latest original anime! Set in a location known as Tom Sawyer Island, this series really does play like a cyberpunk Mark Twain-inspired adventure. This anime is packed with all the good stuff, from the gorgeous animation, to unique worldbuilding, characters that are overflowing with personality, and an intriguing mystery driving the narrative. Not all original anime are guaranteed to be good, but when they are, they deserve all the attention!“ -Captain Kaye
Lucifer and the Biscuit Hammer
“My feelings on this one are, um, complicated. On the one hand, the absolute worst thing about it is how butt ugly some of these character designs look, especially the monster they fight each week. And I wasn’t completely enthralled by the main protagonist in the first episode either, at least not until we learned a little more about his backstory. Episode 3 goes deeper into why Yuuhi is kind of a wet blanket, and the show does address the concept of emotional abuse among family members. However, it’s hard to take all that seriously when the anime is surrounded by all this fantastical absurdity. I don’t know if I’ll actually continue watching Lucifer and the Biscuit Hammer, but at least I wasn’t bored by the first three episodes.“ -Captain Kaye
Smile of the Arsnotoria the Animation
“I’ll just file this one under “not for me.” Unless this gets more exciting after the first three episodes, there isn’t exactly anything here that grabbed my attention. Now, I say that about the main plot, but what’s interesting is how much of a tonal whiplash this show receives when it cuts to a much darker, more violent B-plot that apparently takes place outside the magical school. I’m sure these two plots will coalesce, but right now it genuinely feels like oil and water. I hope to be proven wrong, and things pick up after these first three episodes, otherwise I cannot recommend this one.“ -Captain Kaye
Shine On! Bakumatsu Bad Boys
“For better or for worse, this is probably the most “classic” Shonen anime of the bunch. On the positive side of things, it has a very stylized comic book aesthetic, especially for an original anime series. For the most part, everyone on this motley crew has a unique personality, as demonstrated effectively in the first episode. Where I can kind of see things falling apart is with the tonal inconsistencies, but that’s par for the course with most Shonen battle anime. For example, our main protagonist Ichiban Boshi is hell bent on getting revenge for the death of his parents at the hands of a group referred to as the Masked Demons, yet he’s bound by the “Naruto complex.” Your mileage may vary when it comes to that archetype, but other than that and a content warning for Akira’s backstory in the third episode, I mostly enjoyed this one enough to want to continue the rest of the season.“ -Captain Kaye
Lycoris Recoil
“This is me once again shilling for an original anime series, and a damn good one at that! Lycoris Recoil follows Takina Inoue, a high school girl who was sanctioned from the DA and transferred to an elite branch of the agency working under cover of a café called “LycoReco.” Not every new anime needs to reinvent the wheel, sometimes all you need is a rock solid hook, characters you can easily root for, some badass action sequences, and a genuinely compelling mystery involving political intrigue. This is one of the easiest shows this season to recommend, and I certainly intend on seeing it through, off the strength of these first three episodes!“ -Captain Kaye
Thank you for joining us for Volume 1! Come back next week for our thoughts on the Fantasy (mostly Isekai) and Slice of Life titles that debuted this season.
