Welcome to Anime News Network's Summer 2020 Preview Guide! Here's how it goes: our team of critics write up their impressions instantly, to be posted here as they go along. Each critic will cover as many shows as they can handle, giving you alternate takes on most every show.
The guide is ongoing, organized by series and updated multiple times a day. Throughout the next week or two, we'll be updating as often as possible with new perspectives on new episodes from our team of critics. New reviews will be posted as soon as they're written, with each critic's name being added to the roster beneath the show's title. Check back a couple of times every day during the guide, and you're likely to see new shows pop up with multiple takes to enjoy!
Please remember that this is a preview guide. It is designed to give you a taste of the first episode of a show with a preliminary opinion and a few thoughts on whether or not the show has potential. These are not intended to be blanket judgments of these series as a whole. All reviews use the same ratings scale: 1-5, with 1 being the lowest. Shows that are available streaming online will be indicated as such.
Click on the survey at the top of each show's page to vote for your personal score and see how other people scored the show!
Chapter in Tuesday's issue of Weekly Shonen Jump will be final chapter― The official Twitter account for Shueisha's Weekly Shonen Jump magazine announced on Twitter on Monday that storywriter Tatsuya Matsuki and artist Shiro Usazaki's act-age manga is canceled. The chapter that will appear in the magazine's combined 36th and 37th issue, which will ship on Tuesday, will be the final chapter. Shueisha...
"If you're a fan of the franchise in general, Strike Witches: 501st JOINT FIGHTER WING Take Off! is must-view content."― The Strike Witches mixed media franchise began in the mid-2000s with a series of magazine illustrations, a three-chapter manga, and an OVA, but it really took off with the first anime TV season in 2008. Over the dozen years since then its has maintained its popularity through a se...
COVID-19 might have put a halt on the annual Pokémon GO Fest gathering, but Niantic still found a way to bring Trainers together virtually.― In a normal year, Pokémon GO Fest would have returned to Chicago in July to celebrate the fourth anniversary of Niantic's most popular game. Responding to the pandemic, we instead participated from our own parks, backyards, and couches. No gatherings of thousan...
The three stars of God of High School reveal the show's appeal—and what they'd wish for if they won the tournament.― Pictured: Ayaka Ohashi, Tatsumaru Tachibana, and Kentarō Kumagai The webtoon God of High School has captivated viewers with its thrilling choreography and and no-holds-barred fight sequences. The anime, helmed by MAPPA director Sunghoo Park, stars three martial artists vying for the ...
This light novel series changes up the formula by focusing on a regular fantasy world denizen and a summoned hero who is NOT interested in saving the world.― It's a truth that most iterations of the isekai genre focus on the summoned heroes. Equally true is that they're usually relatively okay with having been summoned – and if they're not, they still manage to find their niche somehow or at least t...
Caitlin revisits The Universe of the Four Gods in the newest Fushigi Yuugi spin-off following the Priestess of Byakko.― When I was first getting into anime in seventh grade, back when high-speed internet and legal streaming were only a distant dream, it was common practice for my friends and I to lend each other manga and anime VHS tapes. After all, we were only twelve and these things weren't cheap...
Mujirushi: The Sign of Dreams is the sort of bizarre story that only someone who has mastered his craft could really pull off, and it's a definite credit to Urasawa that he did― Naoki Urasawa is only consistent in that all of his stories are good in both art and story – the settings of those stories, as well as their genres, vary widely across his bibliography. Mujirushi: The Sign of Dreams is the s...
Jaylon Martin articulates his frustrations with Trigger's handling of its themes of oppression and "correct" protest.― What could a movie about fire spewing mutants and a show about Beastmen playing baseball have in common? Well, they're both made by Studio Trigger, are a lot of fun to watch, and get a little messy with their metaphors. In 2019, Studio Trigger gave the world Promare, the studio's f...
If you've ever thought about role-playing as one of the Demon Slayers from Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba, then Bandai is releasing a toy just for you. The "Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba DX Nichirintō" toy is a recreation of the Nichirin Blades from the series. There are two different types of blades that you can attach to the hilt in order to recreate the Water Breathing Technique or Sun Breathi...
Anilog streams Black Jack, Future Boy Conan on launch in Japan― The Variety entertainment trade magazine reported on Friday that Toei Animation, Kodansha, and other anime content providers are collaborating to start a YouTube channel named Animelog, or Anilog. The channel is currently available in Japan, but the staff also intends to provide subtitled content in English and Chinese for overseas fans...
All of ANN's coverage of works hit by new coronavirus disease― Here is all of ANN's coverage of the series, films, manga, and games that the new coronavirus disease (COVID-19) has affected. Note: Asteroid in Love, Bungo & Alchemist, Darwin's Game, Fate/Grand Order Absolute Demonic Front: Babylonia, Hatena Illusion, Jewelpet: Attack Travel, Kukuriraige -Sanxingdui Denki-, Mushoku Tensei: Jobless Rein...
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