Selected Summer Anime

In recent months, I picked up a habit of watching anime on my laptop late into the night... or on occasions, into the hours of dawn. Hey, if there is no need for me to wake up at 9 AM in the morning, why not enjoy some entertainment while I can?

Two series that I have been working on lately are still broadcasting in Japan. Usually I take a few days to watch an entire series in a couple of sittings, but after I started these two series, I had no choice but to settle for a weekly excursion.

Four other series (amongst many) I have already finished watching and have enjoyed them immensely. Yes, there are some that I watch and decide to go, "Eh," to and move on, and obviously I won't be writing about them. Equally, there are some that I watch and say, "Hmm, that was pretty damn good" - which I will write about.


1. Pandora Hearts

Last week, the first season ended with a minor cliffhanger, which obviously left me in a state of resentment. Fortunately, I only have to wait until this Friday for the start of the second season.

When I first saw the series' promotion earlier in the summer, my initial reaction was noting how similar the anime looked in comparison to Disney and Square Enix's Kingdom Hearts video game series. With a little research, it looked like Square Enix happens to sponsor this anime. And with a little taste of Disney and Kingdom Hearts as a bonus, the entirety of this anime plays with elements from the classic tale of Alice in Wonderland (the main heroine's name turned out to be Alice, as well). Characters such as the Cheshire Cat and the Mad Hatter also show up, albeit in peculiar forms. I can only imagine what other interesting aspects would be included in the future.

As with any standard linear story, there are elements of action, comedy, romance, and drama. Unfortunately, the comedic portions of the anime have become somewhat of a nuisance since the series' staff did not seem to incorporate the "funny" moments correctly. A scene could be turning out quite dramatic and hair-raising until an awkward comedy moment completely demolishes the mood. Still, I found a liking to this series and have decided to continue with the second season.

2. Hayate no Gotoku!!

Also known as, Hayate the Combat Butler!!, in English, despite the Japanese title being directly translated closer to "like the wind." Anyway, my younger brother recommended the first season, titled Hayate no Gotoku!, to me at the beginning of the summer, which I promptly went forward to watch. Well, note the two "!!'s" in this title. This is the second season, a work still in progress as the summer continues.

In comparison to the longer 52-episode first season, the planned 26-episode second season has toned down the action and parody elements that was prevalent in the first season. Instead, the second season boosted the comedy, romance, and drama aspects that was usually fleeting in the original run. I did not expect it, but as of the most recent episode, I was watching a standard dramatic, comedy-romance series, a.k.a. "dramedy."

Truthfully, this anime is rather addicting. Most of the characters are unmistakably unrealistic, but the humor levels of the series pretty much trample any potential plot-holes or tilted, confused heads the audience may have. In summary, we have Hayate, the main character, who has found himself being the love interest of three different girls in his life. He is oblivious to their feelings, of course, or else this would not be funny. One happens to be the girl that he works for as a butler, a kajillionaire that parodies any real-life antisocial, stay-at-home, video game and comic book fanatic with a knack for misunderstanding every situation. Another girl, an old friend of Hayate, happens to be a very, very, very normal, shy girl that you can probably find anywhere on the planet. And finally, there's the girl that's the typical school council president, the one with the A+ student brains and looks of a supermodel, the athleticism, the wits, and hidden femininity that befriended Hayate in the first season. Let's see how this turns out.

3. Utawarerumono

Translated to "the one being sung" in English. Starting from here, these series have ended a while back. I just decided to watch them out of boredom... and I'm pretty satisfied with the fact that I did.

By the looks of it, the series seems like a fantasy-war story, which is quite accurate from a stand-alone point of view. That's fine, since I originally thought it was just another fantasy series that dealt with war elements. Even as the episodes flew by, I still thought the same. Surprisingly, though, towards the latter half of the series, I realized that was not the case.

Of course, I don't care whoever reads this decides to go on and start watching these anime series, but I'm not in favor of spilling the beans to any major plot developments in a story (ha... ha...). Much like any good story, there's action, drama, romance - and just a hint of comedic elements for this series, though done far better than what another staff did for Pandora Hearts.

4. Code Geass: Lelouch of the Rebellion (Seasons 1 & 2)

I'm saving the best ones for last. Rarely do we see any original anime that is not based on a manga, a visual novel, or a video game. And because of this, I was able to enjoy this series that much more.

The gist of the story goes as follows: At a point in the future, Japan is invaded and conquered by a European nation of Britannia, leaving the once proud country without freedom and identity. Then we have a very intelligent student named Lelouch who steps up and leads a very straighforward, yet highly complicated rebellion against, not just Britannia, but pretty much the entire world. He becomes the forever intriguing anti-hero, someone the audience eventually grow to love and hate on balanced levels.

The first and second seasons are linked, and thank God for that. Had I started watching this series as it was being broadcasting in Japan, the ridiculous cliffhanger at the end of the final episode of the first season would have driven many people, including me, insane. Forunately, I had archived the first and second seasons on my external hard drive many months before I decided to go with this series.

This can probably qualify as a masterpiece. If you've ever watched some sort of dramatic series before, the moments right before, during, and after the series' climax (or in this case, climaxes) when your eyes open up a bit more and you say, "OHHH... whoa," then you know that satisfying feeling. I must admit, the storyline's really genius. Highly recommended.

5. RahXephon

I think someone kept telling me to watch this series a couple of years back and I told him I would eventually. I managed to put it all off until a month ago when I randomly decided I might as well start.

A tri-pronged attack of action, drama, and romance: that pretty much sums up the series. An all-or-nothing fight against the world. An unrelenting, unforgettable past love. And let's not forget everything in the middle. Character development and growth, psychological advancements and degeneration... this is deep stuff. Furthermore, mecha, mecha, mecha. Giant robots, Mayan and Egyptian culture, classical music, alternate dimensions, without missing modern popular culture, trends, and fashions; all of this tied into the aforementioned tri-pronged attack of action, drama, and romance, if I say it's not mind-blowing, then I need a mental checkup.

I should add that I managed to complete this 26-episode series within two days. It's fairly fast-paced, thus forcing poor me to keep moving episode after episode...

6. Clannad (Seasons 1 & 2)

I was dead serious when I said I'm saving the best for last. It may be a while before I can find anything else that may match the enjoyment I got out of this series.

Let's start with basics: the animation was pretty much flawless. Everything, from the movements of the characters to the background, everything was done extremely well. Renders were beautiful, the environments were astounding, and even the abstract aspects were perfected to a point where nothing seemed odd or out of place. Absolutely amazing. Kyoto Animation deserves many kudos for their efforts.

The music did not need to be intricate to stand out. In fact, the background music throughout the series was kept relatively simple. However, the selection of music was what was important. Each simple piece was concisely in line with the scenes. I cannot count how many times have I watched a heartwarming or some sort of mood-triggering scene that was blatantly ruined by poorly incorporated music. And because this series did not have such an issue, I was able to get the most out each important scene.

But by far, the greatest aspect of this anime was character development. I'm not just talking about how a character is dynamic and changes throughout the series, but quite literally, a character's mental and physical growth. I should mention that this is a series about life. The first season focused on school life, the making of friends, the bonding of family, and all the things, good and bad, that come in between. The second season, subtitled After Story, shifted its central plot structure around entering adulthood, finding work, searching for and maintaining an independent home, starting a family, and facing and conquering hardships.

This series was truly an emotional rollercoaster. At times it was ridiculously cheesy, to a point where I could seriously slap my forehead and go, "Geez..." But then there were the honest, heartfelt moments. There were times that were wildly hilarious - a side-hurting, laugh out loud comedy. Equally, especially towards the end of the second season, it was traumatizing and and downright miserable. Clannad was a monumental series, and not just as an anime, but as a piece of media in general. This was the very first time in my life that some "story" drew tears out of my eyes. And on more than one occasion, as well. Not to worry, though, the series had a supernatural, fairytale-like happy ending (minor spoiler, sorry).

A work of art with elements containing family, school, and growing up themes, in combination with comedy, drama, romance aspects within supernatural and psychological genres. With all these features lined side by side with each other, how the creators got them to work perfectly with each other is beyond me. But obviously the result was the most important part. These guys created a true masterpiece. I feel fortunate that I got a chance to experience it.