The Sizzling 2024 Summer Anime Season Was Brat - Renegade Animation #156
In this episode, Captain Kaye, The Animation Guru, and Teresa share their overall thoughts on what is often the most unpredictable anime season of any given year.
What’s going on, everyone? This is your Captain speaking, alongside my co-hosts, The Animation Guru, and Teresa! One of my favorite things about the Summer anime season, at least compared to the rest of the year, is that it feels like more risks are allowed to be taken. Sometimes those risks pay off, and while other times they don’t. So how does this summer compare to previous years? You’ll have to tune into the podcast to find out! If you just want a handful of recommendations, then keep reading for our collective top 5.
Bye Bye Earth
A perfect example of risk taking you’ll often find during the summer is an original anime with a phenomenal premise such as this. Bye Bye Earth follows the adventures of Belle Lablac, one of the only humans in a world of anthropomorphic animals, who sets off on a quest to become a nomad and find others like her. This anime has fantastic world building, and the story hits home for anyone who has ever felt that deep sense of loneliness. It’s a series that is guaranteed to have you hooked by the first three episodes!
Makiene: Too Many Losing Heroines
I may not have loved all the romantic comedies from this season, but at least there were plenty to choose from, each with their own unique flavor. Makeine: Too Many Losing Heroines has a lot going for it, but the main appeal is its colorful cast of characters. Our main protagonist, Kazuhiko Nukumizu, is a loner otaku who’s a member of the school’s Lit club. He provides emotional support to various girls in his class who are rejected by their crushes, while getting into all sorts of shenanigans. This show has a great sense of humor that ramps up to eleven in places you may not always be ready for. Upon further reflection, this might just be one of the funniest romcoms I’ve seen all season.
Mayanaka Punch
Between this and another anime called VTuber Legend, we’ve been seeing some very positive representation of those who are in the business of content creation, whether that’s YouTube or Twitch streaming. Mayanaka Punch has the added value of vampires in this colorful cast of characters, and vampire anime usually has a pretty good track record with the three of us. So if you’re looking for a series with a great sense of humor and one of the most striking visualizations of “toxic” YouTube comments, then Mayanaka Punch comes highly recommended!
No Longer Allowed in Another World
Look, we know that isekai aren’t going away anytime soon, so there’s no need to keep complaining about them every season. Instead, why don’t we let a series like No Longer Allowed in Another World do the “complaining” for us, as it actively critiques the usual power fantasy tropes and clichés. I have to issue a content warning, as our main protagonist is a suicidal writer who was transported to this fantasy world after forming a death pact with his significant other. His nihilistic view of the world makes him a great foil for the rest of the cast, as he can right through their facades. The first two episodes are really good, but the next two are great!
The Elusive Samurai
And of course, we have saved the best anime for last! That, or I’m just having too much fun with a historical fantasy adventure like The Elusive Samurai, which follows Hojo Tokiyuki, a young samurai who’s seeking revenge on Ashikaga Takauji for betraying his family and destroying his home. This anime is packed with style, plenty of memorable characters, and some of the best action choreography of the season. Tonally it can be a little chaotic, switching casually from dramatic to ultra silly. And yet it all works, thanks to a strong creative vision! The Elusive Samurai is THE anime that best represents Summer 2024!
That’ll do it for this episode! Thank you all for joining us! We have provided resources for those who wish to support the victims of the Israel-Hamas war: https://www.jewishvoiceforpeace.org/, https://www.ifnotnowmovement.org/, https://itch.io/b/2120/games-for-gaza, https://www.instagram.com/palestineredcrescent/, https://buildpalestine.com/2021/05/15/trusted-organizations-to-donate-to-palestine/, https://www.npr.org/2023/10/13/1205235922/help-israel-gaza-humanitarian-organizations.
