There were not enough evocative covers this summer for me to do a Preview, so this is just a review of the four that I watched all the way through. It therefore does not include the ones I watched but didn’t didn’t finish. Those are in the various TLDR’s.
Zom 100 For energy and sheer fun, I’d have to say that Zom 100: Bucket List of the Dead takes the prize. When the feared and hated zombie outbreak happens, all this salaryman employee of a black company can think is Hurrah, I don’t have to go to work today! Once the euphoria wears off, he decides to make a bucket list of all the things he’s wanted to do, and starts out to clear it before the zombies get him. On the way, he meets an old friend (who likes to get naked), a new friend (who is extremely logical, and not much fun (at first), and a German tourist (who knows more about Japanese culture than any of them).
I think the word zany was invented for this show. In almost every episode the studio found a way to twist the plot in unexpected ways. Due to continued schedule slippage, there was still three episodes to go when I got tired of waiting and wrote this, but even if they gooned the ending, this was still a good summertime show.
Reborn as a Vending Machine Last Fall, we had Reincarnated as a Sword. This season we had the second in what will likely be a new inanimate-object-isekai sub-genre Reborn as a Vending Machine, I Now Wander the Dungeon. Just as it says on the tin, it’s about a guy who gets reincarnated as a vending machine, only able to communicate by saying yes (Welcome) or no (Too Bad), plus a couple of other Japanese vending machine phrases. In the US, of course, they don’t communicate at all. His secret strength is that he can become any vending machine ever produced in Japan, dispensing gasoline, water, and feminine hygiene products, as well as coffee and ramen. Fun times ensue.
A good workmanlike program. It’s a one-trick pony, but they managed to hold my interest all the way through.
Undead Murder Farce has an interesting high concept — the detective is just a head in a birdcage, a woman who is looking for her body. Her companions are an expressionless, hypercompetent maid and a human-looking yokai, who likes to quote lines from rakugo. They travel from Meiji era Tokyo to London during the search, solving various mysteries along the way. The several dramatic arcs were interesting, and included encounters with various famous detectives (Sherlock Holmes), thieves (Arsene Lupine), and mystics (Alistair Crowley), among others. However, there was no overall conclusion. At the end, the detective is still missing her body.
This was obviously designed with a second season in mind. I liked the idea, the characters were well done, and the dialogue was entertaining.
The Devil is a Part Timer The Devil is defeated in his home dimension and flees to Earth. Having lost his powers, he gets a part time job at a fast food joint. A convoluted plot ensues, involving demons, angels, other-dimensional humans, office ladies and high school girls. Plus supernatural children responsible for the health of the planet. Or something.
The end of an almost ten year wait. The first season was released by studio White Fox in 2013, directed by Naoto Hosoda. The latest effort was by studio 3Hz and directed by Daisuke Tsukushi. From an artwork/animation standpoint it was not as good as Season 1, but it wasn’t terrible. I read the full light novel series, by Satoshi Wagahara. That was longer, better, and had a quite different ending. 3Hz tied up most, but not all, of the loose ends with a somewhat ambiguous finale. There’s a need for another season, but there’s not another seasonsworth of material. Maybe they will release an OVA.
Conclusion: A lightweight season, as are most Summers. All of these were entertaining, and none of them made you think. I guess that’s the definition of a good summertime watch.
*Yes, I originally said 2020. No, I don’t know why.
FoundOnWeb 