Surviving The Summertime TV Slump: Anime Recommendations (Part 2)

Surviving The Summertime TV Slump

At the end of the may we went over a few animes to help get you through the desert that is summertime television. Yes there’s shows like Dark Matter and Killjoys that are back for their third season. Even Game of Thrones recently returned. But if those shows aren’t your cup of tea, we have more anime shows to recommend.

Outlaw Star
If you grew up during Toonami’s original run, then you should be familiar with Outlaw Star. Besides this show just being awesome, the reason it makes the list is because the Blu-ray boxset was recently released in the US. If you’re not familiar with it, Outlaw Star is a space opera meets spaghetti western. It follows the adventures of the main protagonists, Gene Starwind and his friend James Hawking. Think Guardians of the Galaxy meets Firefly. Whedon even lifted a scene from Outlaw Star for Firefly. Don’t want to give too much away if you’ve never watched it. But if you like action, fantasy, martial arts, and gunplay; Outlaw Star is all of those in one action packed package.

Attack on Titan 

Attack on Titan just wrapped up its second season with 12 episodes, bringing the total episode count to 35 between the two seasons. Season 3 has officially been announced for Spring 2018. Which means you have plenty of time to either start the show or run through the 12 episode season season. If getting through the first season seems too much for you, there’s plenty of synopsis videos and wikis floating around the internet. Season 2 is where it really gets real. And as someone who covers combat sports, Attack on Titan has one of the best animated fights of all time. Not only is it well animated, everything is mechanically sound. It’s obvious that the animation team watched a lot of video in order to get the fight right. The first two seasons can be watched on sites like Crunchy Roll.

Boruto: Naruto Next Generations

The Naruto manga ended back in 2014, and Shonen Jump didn’t hesitate to start a sequel to the popular series. For those who don’t know, Boruto is the son of Naruto and Hinata. The show is about the children of the protagonist of the original series, and follows similar arc patterns. If you’re a fan of the original series, you’ll likely like this series. Boruto is a bit more likeable than Naruto was at his age because he does have two parents in his life. That’s not to say he doesn’t come with his own unique set of issues. New episodes are simulcast on Crunchyroll every Wednesday.

Castlevania 

And lastly, we have what is likely the biggest tease of the summer. A few months ago, it was announced that Netflix would be releasing a Castlevania anime. What they didn’t tell anyone was that the first season would only be four episodes. It’s only going to take you roughly two hours to get through all four,  but its worth it.  The series performed so well with audiences that a second season was announced the day after it was released. If you’re not familiar with the video game series, Castlevania is mostly about the Belmont family and their own going beef with Dracula. There are a few titles that move away from the original storyline, most recently the Lords of Shadow series in which Gabriel Belmont becomes Dracula. However, this one sticks closer to earlier titles. The Outlaw Barz and Scream Squad podcasts have great episodes dedicated to the show. Beware, there are spoilers. Castlevania has excellent voice acting, music, and animation. Its easily one of the best new releases this year.