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The Summer 2020 Preview Guide
by The Anime News Network Editorial Team,
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!
Shiki's bombastic Oni powers can turn blood into a weapon. Read our reviews of Tougen Anki in the Preview Guide! Plus: New Panty and Stocking, The Summer Hikaru Died, Toilet-Bound Hanako-kun, Gachiakuta, My Dress-Up Darling Seaosn 2, and more!― Welcome to Anime News Network's Summer 2025 Anime Preview Guide sponsored by Crunchyroll! Here's how it goes: our team of critics writes up their impression...
On its most basic level, this first arc of episodes is a story of the rich exploiting the poor, and the poor accepting it.― This first set of eight episodes is the story of a heist gone wrong—or one gone right, depending on your point of view. Gear, our starry-eyed youth, is a kid enraptured by the idea of an outlaw lifestyle who is being held back by his love for his sickly father figure. However, ...
Film based on game franchise premieres on May 7, 2027― Nintendo announced on its Nintendo Today! app on Wednesday that the live-action film of The Legend of Zelda franchise will star Bo Bragason as Zelda and Benjamin Evan Ainsworth as Link. Series creator Shigeru Miyamoto also announced the news on X/Twitter. This is Miyamoto. I am pleased to announce that for the live-action film of The Legend of Z...
"When I'm watching Hollywood movies with car chases in the theater, I get so excited by the speed that I feel like I can't breathe."― While anime is often thought of as being created by Japanese people by definition, this isn't always the case. Take, for example, Sunghoo Park. In recent years, this South Korean man has garnered no small amount of acclaim as the director for Garo: Vanishing Line, The...
45th volume ships on July 23 with manga running for nearly 18 years― Amazon is listing the 45th compiled book volume of Chūya Koyama's Space Brothers (Uchū Kyōdai) manga with a cover showing that the manga will end in the 46th volume. The 45th volume will ship on July 23. Koyama previously reported in January 2022 that he planned to start the final arc of the manga that year. In December 2022, Koyam...
As the Uma Musume game races to the top of the popularity charts, Steve and Chris explore the reasons why horse girls are perennial favorites.― Steve and Chris explore the reasons why horse girls are perennial favorites. Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed by the participants in this chatlog are not the views of Anime News Network.Spoiler Warning for discussion of the series ahead. Uma Mus...
After an impressive start, this period supernatural show is hampered by terrible action scenes and squandered potential, but it's still watchable and interesting.― We're midway through Sword of the Demon Hunter, with the two-cour series due to resume on July 15, and it's still tricky to evaluate as a whole. As the amusingly generic title suggests, it's a period supernatural drama, mostly set in 1850...
TV editions of 1st 2 compilation films begin airing in October― The official website for the Puella Magi Madoka Magica franchise unveiled on Tuesday a new trailer and visual for Puella Magi Madoka Magica The Movie: Walpurgisnacht: Rising- (Gekijōban Mahō Shōjo Madoka Magica: Walpurgis no Kaiten), the official sequel to the Puella Magi Madoka Magica The Movie Part 3: Rebellion film, and they reveal t...
Don’t pick up I Tamed My Ex-Husband’s Mad Dog if you’re looking for a light, romantic read.― It may seem disingenuous to say this, but I Tamed My Ex-Husband's Mad Dog is one of those stories that gets very dark, maybe darker the longer it goes on. Certainly, the covers make that case, although as we all know, you can't always judge a book by one. (Or by their titles, for that matter.) But even among...
Anime talents behind Frieren, The Elusive Samurai, & Your Name reflect on industry hardships and whether unionization could be the key to lasting reform.― At Anime Central 2025, Anime News Network sat down with four of Japan's rising anime talents—director Keiichiro Saitō (Frieren: Beyond Journey's End, Bocchi the Rock!), producer Takafumi Nakame (The Garden of Words, Your Name), and animators Kaoru...
If there's a director who embodies the childlike wonder of believing that a man can fly, look no further than Hiroshi Nagahama.― If there's a director who embodies the childlike wonder of believing that a man can fly, look no further than Hiroshi Nagahama. While speaking at Otakon last year, the Mushi-Shi and Flowers of Evil director was so passionate about his work, he ended up having to leave the ...
Saekano's Kanta Kamei directs original anime at A-1 Pictures' new label― Aniplex, A-1 Pictures, and Psyde Kick Studio announced the original anime project Grow Up Show: Himawari no Circus-dan (Grow Up Show: The Sunflower Circus Troupe) on "Sunflower Day" on Monday. The work will debut in 2026. Kanta Kamei (Oreshura, Dimension W, Saekano: How to Raise a Boring Girlfriend) is directing the work, and K...
Story of man living peacefully surrounded by gods launched in 2021― Kadokawa announced on Monday the television anime adaptation of Enju's Kusunoki's Garden of Gods (Kami no Niwatsuki Kusunoki-tei) light novel series slated to debut in 2026, and also revealed its teaser visual: The original novels' illustrator ox and the manga adaptation artist Akira Anzai both drew commemorative illustrations for t...
Unfortunately, for all of its improvements and refinements, this Director's Cut cannot truly be called the definitive version of Yakuza 0.― Going back to Yakuza 0 after all of these years was a fascinating experience. On the one hand, this is a decade-old entry in a franchise that has since exploded in its popularity and ambitions, all of which is thanks in large part to this particular prequel's su...
Deadverse Reloaded to run for 1 quarter on broadcast TV instead of online― Monster Strike: Deadverse Reloaded, the first anime series based on MIXL's mobile role-playing game franchise to premiere on broadcast television, will launch in October. It will run for one cours (quarter of a year) on Tokyo MX and 44 other channels throughout Japan. MIXL launched the original game on iOS and Android devices...
