What is the "Must Watch" anime this Summer?

[gmanr26]

What is a must watch anime for this summer???

so far i'd only say Jyu Oh Sei

[jedinat]

I'd say Black Lagoon, Suzumiya, Host Club, and Nana before Jyu Oh Sei.

[rooboy]

I dunno about all of that.
I'd definitely say Suzumiya, Higurashi and Host Club before Jyu Oh Sei, Nana doesn't seem particularly special (especially considering the weirdness involved with the episode that gets repeated). Other series I'd put at about the same level as Nana are xxxHOLiC, School Rumble season 2, the Third, and Utawarerumono.
It's definitely a pretty strong season though, any of the top five or so shows would have been my favorites in winter or fall of last year. My head feels like it's going to explode.

And, technically it's for the spring, not the summer.

EDIT: The only two shows I actually DO consider "must watch" from this season are Haruhi and Higurashi, both have a great deal of organic discussion growing up around them.
Ju oh sei would go in the very large next group with Nana, xxxHOLiC, Black Lagoon, the Third, Ouran High, Utawarerumono, and School Rumble season 2. But I haven't seen Saiunkoku Monogatari yet.

[physics223]

I love School Rumble 2. With this is Ouran High School Host Club and Black Lagoon. I plan to watch more ... but I got to burn these episodes on CD.

[NoSanninWa]

No, no, no! The must watch anime for this summer are:

Saiunkoku Monogatari, The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya and Higurashi no Naku Koro ni.

There are a bunch of second tier shows which are nearly as great (including some of the other ones mentioned above), but these are the absolute MUST SEE shows. IMHO

[Daniel E.]

I put another vote for Higurashi no Naku Koro ni & The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya.


Dont forget about Utawarerumono as well. Thats the one show that deserves more love around here.

[nixie]

Utawarerumono is terribly cliched. :x

Votes go to:
Ouran High School Host Club
Higurashi no Naku Koro Ni
The Melancholy of Suzumiya Haruhi
Black Lagoon

[yamikage]

I'll add another vote for Higurashi and Haruhi: the only two shows I'm religiously watching right now. Both are so refreshingly unique. And weird.

[Cyz]

Most watched IMO:

- Higurashi no Naku Koro Ni
- The Melancholy of Suzumiya Haruhi
- Utawarerumono
- Strawberry Panic
- Soul Link
- Air Gear (even though some people say it sucks)

[Vexx]

@nixie: calling Utawarerumono being "cliched" is kind of like saying Robin Hood or LordoftheRings is cliched or the classical samurai tales of the Edo period is "cliched".
The question is "is the story being told *well*?" My opinion at the moment is the tale is making a good "fireside story" as in the retelling of myths .... it hasn't been flawless (a bit predictable) but fireside stories aren't intended to blindside the listener so much as reinforce values the tribe holds dear.

Pertaining to the OP, most of the series being mentioned here are "spring release" series... so I'd not really call them "summer" anime. So far the only *summer* releases I've noticed are the two OVAs for Negima. Any other recommendations for what might be good starting after May?

[gmanr26]

Originally Posted by jedinat

I'd say Black Lagoon, Suzumiya, Host Club, and Nana before Jyu Oh Sei.

I just finish watching the first 3 episodes of Suzumiya and I laughed my @@@ off..... The first episode felt strange..... as if it wasnt meant to really be an episode.... and I found it funnyish.... but when I watched the next 2 ..... it felt more like a show.... and now I'm hooked....
I already like Black Lagoon , but I dont think I would call it a "must watch"
not really interested in Nana

[miaka]

I second with Saiunkoku monogatari
Aside from above mention..
Glass Fleet - animation by Gonzo
Nishi no Yoki Majo- action adventure fairy tale style
The third - action adventure

[C.A.]

Ah gmanr26, nice to see you enjoying Haruhi. But you're not a full Haruhist yet until you post at the Haruhi subforum lol

Besides Haruhi, I think Zegapain can be a worthy mention, though not really incredible or anything. It had some anticipation from mecha fans for some time and it didn't disappoint anyone, but it wasn't very outstanding besides its seemingly deep plot.

[rooboy]

Originally Posted by Vexx

@nixie: calling Utawarerumono being "cliched" is kind of like saying Robin Hood or LordoftheRings is cliched or the classical samurai tales of the Edo period is "cliched".

Well, I think it's also that we're somewhat spoiled in that this season has actually brought us a couple of NOT cliched shows (in my opinion, anime is almost always very unashamedly cliched). To me, anime has always strove to tell a cliched story well, rather than giving off a unique high concept. This season though, between Higurashi and Haruhi, we've gotten two pretty unique shows.

Also, I thought the Negima (and Full Metal Panic) OVA's were going to come out in the Spring season. I just assumed they wouldn't appear until towards the end of it.


And, of course, Keroro Gunso is must watch anime every season.

[Vexx]

yeah... I'm kind of disappointed in the lack of the Negima OVAs... I thought we'd get the first one in april... but no sign of it and we're already mostly through May.

I will say Higurashi is one of the more "unique" properties I've seen (at least for anime). Slasher psychological thrillers are not my usual method of diversion. I guess I'm watching it to see what the hell they're going to pull out of a hat next.

[Circular Logic]

Higurashi no Naku Koro Ni
Suzumiya Haruhi no Yuutsu
Kanon 2006 when it comes out.

Everything else is pretty standard fare.

[rooboy]

Originally Posted by Vexx

I will say Higurashi is one of the more "unique" properties I've seen (at least for anime). Slasher psychological thrillers are not my usual method of diversion. I guess I'm watching it to see what the hell they're going to pull out of a hat next.

Well, Higurashi's uniqueness is not it's slasher nature (Paranoia Agent has that, and it aired on Adult Swim). It's uniqueness is that we're not really provided with much in the way of answers. You have to figure it out yourself. As each iteration of the story arc has gone through, seemingly innocuous things change and lead to large-scale changes in what happens. Yet, if you're watching, the same events unfold around the main character. The thriller/horror aspects turn some people off (in the same way that romance aspects turn some people off of other things or religious aspects turn them off of others), but that doesn't change how unique it is to watch something where literally _no_ answers are provided that you can trust. Lots of them are provided, none seem to be 100% accurate.

Haruhi is very similar in this fashion. Lots of answers are provided, most of them are contradictory, we're forced to pick out the pieces that are accurate and discard the ones that don't. Instead of running through the same sequence of events over and over but changing little things, Haruhi is provided in a non-sequential order. So some clues (I'm assuming) will not be provided to the audience until later in the series (if at all), despite the fact that Kyon possesses them earlier chronologically.

In both shows perception affects the information the audience is provided. In over 95% of anime, the "hows" and the "whats" are provided. Usually if we have to figure something out, it's only the "whys". In Higurashi and Haruhi, we're never provided with all of the concrete "hows" or "whats" (much less the "whys"), so we have to exercise a little more mental muscle to figure it out. That's what I meant when I said that they were unique. That's also what allows so much discussion about them.

I've never wanted to play a game as badly as Higurashi, and I've never wanted to read a light novel as much as Haruhi. The only thing that makes me sad is I wish Kyo Ani had taken a shot at Higurashi as well as Haruhi.

[Vexx]

Now *that* would have been fearsome if KyoAni had done Higurashi.... ee godz.
Both shows are very strong and, like said, require some thought.

[raphaël]

Let's say it once more : Higurashi and Haruhi are the only must-watch at the moment.

Yet, I really can't tell about Saiunkoku Monogatari and Utawareru Mono ( sorry i won't say i disagree but...)

And as far as I'm concerned (well, watched ep.1.) Just like Cyz, I'd say Air Gear has something special to it, but it's just basic shônen afterall. lol
Soul Link is lame though ( sorryagain)


Then I wouldn't dare to mention Keroro Gunsô. rooboy666 did. ^^

[physics223]

I'm sorry, I simply didn't enjoy the first episode of Haruhi ... I dropped it instantly. I personally didn't find it funny.

You could try catching up on Ergo Proxy, but both its animation and character designs are reminiscent of Speed Grapher. The story's pretty strong, however, if you removed the henshin sequence, it'll be excellent.