Anime I've Loved so Far From Summer 2014

Let me start off with letting you know, I haven't been keeping up with that many anime lately because while I was away at camp I got into the habit of only watching an episode or two at night before going to bed. Well, now that I've gotten a lot more times on my hand I recently caught up on a few shows and have plans to try out some other ones. Below is a list of the shows I am really enjoying so far. Oh, before I start you're probably wondering why you won't see Sailor Moon Crystal on here. Well, I'm actually liking that one the least of all. I feel like the original Sailor Moon worked really well for it's time, but now that we've had some much darker mahou shojo shows such as Madoka the Sailor Moon version of mahou just doesn't really work anymore.

Monthly Girls, Nozaki-kun

While there is nothing particularly special about this anime, it has taken the top spot on my favorites of anime playing right now. I've enjoyed the silly character interactions, the "over-the-top" expressions characters give off, the up beat/happy op and end themes, just the overall feel of this show! It makes me so happy when I get to watch a new episode. The show doesn't really go any where and the conflicts are pretty minimal but this has been a really fun ride so far. I haven't like a romantic comedy anime this much since... the last time I watched any of The World God Only Knows. I highly recommend this one for those of you looking for something that is just fun to watch but you don't really have to think too much while watching.

P4: The Golden

What I've realized by watching this anime is that if I hadn't played Persona 4 or watched the previous anime I would not be as attached to these characters as I am. As of posting this I've seen 7 episodes; while there is an underlying plot not much has been done with it even though this anime is currently only slated for 12 episodes. There is a BD exclusive episode coming out titled "Another End" but that's probably just an alternative ending so I wouldn't expect too much more story from it. Anyways, much like Nozaki-kun this series is just shenanigans all over the place that is not much more than fun to watch, but in this case you do have to have either played the original Persona 4 game (or the Golden remake) in order to know who these characters are. I was hoping this series would do a better job of introducing new comers to the series, but it hasn't. So far the anime has only really done a good job of introducing the new character (Marie). While the plot description says it "retells the events of the original" so far this has not really been the case. I do love this anime, it's just I can't recommend it by itself.

Bakumatsu Rock!

Let's be honest, I'm only 2 episodes into this show so far and like the first two this one is just fun to watch... even though of the 3 this one does have the most plot revealed so far by this point. I love love love the animation, and it's a pretty boy anime so I have some nice eye candy to feast on. Now, people are probably going to start saying "well you must be a fan of yaoi if you're watching this show." Let me stop you there, I actually don't like yaoi at all even though some of the shows I watch or have watched in the past may suggest this (07-Ghost, No.6, Free!, etc); in fact most of these shows just have undertones and never really take the yaoi approach. They are mainly about being best bros, not bros in bed. Anywhos, I'm liking this anime so far. I normally don't like music driven anime but this one seems interesting.

DRAMAticle Murder

Speaking of yaoi, this is probably one of the few shows I've gone into knowing it'll probably have a lot of the bro love... but I decided to watch it for one HUGE reason- it comes from Nitro+ who has created some of the best stories IMO lately. I'm only 3 episodes in so far but the animation has been top notch and the music has been pretty fantastic. I'm hoping there's more focus on the fighting than the love making (I did watch  Togainu no Chi only for the fighting).

 Free! Eternal Summer

Speaking of just a basic plot and eye candy! I've loved Free! since the first season was out. While the show has no real plot other than friends reaching a common goal, the animation is why you should be watching this show. It was the first time ever a show was made because a huge crowd of people petitioned for it, so for a second season to have been made is ground breaking. This is just a fun anime (as seems to be the case with a lot of what I'm watching right now).

Tokyo Ghoul

I probably would have put this one a lot further up on the list the less episodes I had seen, but after catching up on this one I have to say the plot is pretty weak and even the guro aspect doesn't save the series for me. The animation is pretty good, but I went in this series hoping it be as exciting if not more than that of a Gen work (Song of Saya, Mardock Scramble, Fate/ZERO) but so far it has disappointed me on many levels. The characters aren't all that exciting and the plot seems to be there just to give the characters an excuse to be violent. This anime had so much potential that so far it seems to be wasting.