The Obligatory Summer 2019 Seasonal Wrap-Up Post

I’ve been a bit lazy about posting this season… partially due to still being in recovery from my surgery. But I felt I should at least make a post talking about this Summer 2019 season, touching on the good, the bad, and the ugly of everything I saw this season… as well as some other comments I feel need to be made.

This was kind of a strange season for me, honestly. I felt like I didn’t have much motivation to actually stay up-to-date on shows, and in fact, I only managed to reliably follow 2 shows this season, intermittently playing catch-up on some of the others that I actually bothered to even watch at all. I don’t know if this speaks to the overall quality of the shows this season, or simply my own personal attention span taking a dive… but either way, I didn’t finish very much this season.

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The Good

Astra Lost in Space:

This show ended up as my absolute favorite show this season. I went in not really knowing what to expect, and came out with far more than i’d bargained for. While presenting itself as a space survival show on the surface, the actual “survival” part really takes a backseat to the true meat of the show: the characters.

Good heavens, I love these characters. Each episode takes one or two of the characters and explores their past, their feelings, their relationships… laying everything bare, and usually ending up with quite a bit of character growth by the end. Each of them has their own circumstances, their own dark past, but together they fight to overcome that darkness and make up for each other’s weaknesses.

While there are some points in the overall story that I felt were a bit unnecessary, especially a plot point or two that’s dropped on us in the last episode, Astra Lost in Space is a story about the characters. I love each and every one of them very deeply. And you can really tell that a lot of love was put into making this show as good as it is. While it’s not the prettiest looking show this year, it’s possibly the most consistent in terms of constant quality. It always looks good, the soundtrack is lovely, and the double-length episodes as both the first and last episode of the series both help it start off strong, and end in a way that leaves everyone satisfied.

If you need just one show to watch from the Summer 2019 season, I highly recommend Astra Lost in Space.

Demon Slayer (Kimetsu no Yaiba):

I’m a huge fan of the Demon Slayer manga, and as such, have been greatly enjoying Demon Slayer over the past couple seasons. Not only did Episode 19 of this show hit #2 trending on global Twitter for being one of the best single episodes of anime all year, but the show overall just reeks of painstaking quality and love. It’s beautiful, it’s got some epic battle scenes, and a fun story overall.

Demon Slayer suffers a bit from pacing problems when not focused on battles, and there is a certain character that’s a bit… obnoxious. So it’s not without it’s flaws. However, Demon Slayer truly has something that tugs at your heartstrings, especially when showing the beautiful familial bond between Tanjiro and his sister Nezuko.

Basically, if you need some utterly gorgeous Shounen action to gorge yourself on, look no further than Demon Slayer.

If it’s for my Daughter, I’d even defeat a Demon Lord:

This is a simple show for simple pleasure. The production quality isn’t very high, and it’s pretty cheesy at times. However, as I predicted as a reader of the Light Novel series, Demon Daughter ended up as an utterly adorable, heartwarming popcorn show about a doting father and his cute little adopted daughter, Latina. It doesn’t do much to keep you riveted, but if you need something cute to heal you after a long day, consider giving it a try.

Lord El-Melloi II’s Case Files:

You guys know I love Type-Moon. This is a somewhat atypical entry into the Fate franchise, focusing more on the mages of the Clock Tower than on the Holy Grail War. Waver Velvet, a main character from Fate/Zero, takes center stage here, along with several of his students, as he works to uncover various magical mysteries and crimes. It’s fun, it looks nice, and it’s Fate. All good things.

Cop Craft:

Cop Craft is a bit of an ugly duckling on this list. Suffering from frequent drops in quality and a somewhat inconsistent pacing overall, Cop Craft still manages to tell an interesting, gritty crime-fighting story. It’s sometimes a bit hard to get through, but I did manage to finish it in the end.

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The Bad

Arifureta:

This pains me. This seriously pains me. I love the Arifureta Light Novels. I’ll recommend them until the end of time, because they’re fantastic. I was SO, SO very excited to see this series getting an anime adaptation. However…

It looks like crap.

They butchered the characters.

They cut out important plot points.

This isn’t Arifureta. This is a shallow imitation of Arifureta, a steaming pile of ruined potential, and it can go sit on the time-out bench right next to Berserk 2016. They’ll be good friends.

Okaasan Online:

I can’t be the only one who found this show a bit… creepy. I’ve heard people talking about it being wholesome, adorable, etcetera… but I really had to drop this one. I can’t be the only one who was a bit disturbed by the sexual undertones of this show, especially when the sexual tension was directed from the mom towards her biological son…

Maou-Sama Retry:

I do feel a bit bad about putting this show here. After all, it’s not exactly BAD, per se… It’s just… average. OVERWHELMINGLY average. Average animation quality, a pretty basic story, generic characters, pretty standard setting. It’s a lesson in outstanding mediocrity. The kind of show that was allocated exactly the amount of time and effort that was needed… to get the paycheck, that is.

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I honestly didn’t watch all that much this season. Everything in the “good” section is stuff that I’ve managed to finish by this point, and everything in the “Bad” section is stuff that I ended up trashing with gusto. Just assume that most of the other shows from the season I either never touched, or am still working on at this point.

What shows did you guys love this season? What shows did you hate? And what shows did you find dull, boring, or just plain average? I always love hearing what everyone liked in a given season, so please let me know down in the comments! Thank you all so much for reading, and as always, I’ll see you all in the next post!