The summer anime season has arrived and these are the series you can’t miss

There are only three sure things in this life: death, taxes, and every anime season starting in January, April, July, and October. That means the summer anime season has started and we have some recommendations for you. Of course, sifting through dozens of anime is hard: there are a lot of anime and picking just a handful is even harder, but that’s our job. So you can stick to only the best. And these are our picks.

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Smoking Behind the Supermarket with You

Available on: Crunchyroll

Probably the series that’s had people talking the most before the season even started, because it began in June. Quite an anomaly. A simple, light romance, but with the twist that, even though it deals with a notable age difference, it never feels at any point like something predatory or inappropriate. It’s sweet, it’s fun and above all, its characters feel more real and complex than whether they end up getting together or not.

With short episodes, ranging between 8 and 15 minutes, it has been and still is one of the most talked-about and successful anime of the year. And that doesn’t seem likely to change anytime soon. And while it doesn’t seem like it’s going to be a landmark anime, it’s undeniable that it’s an anime that warms the heart and shows that, sometimes, that’s enough.

THE GHOST IN THE SHELL

Available on: Prime Video

Few stories have had more impact on the history of anime than Ghost in the Shell. Both inside and outside Japan, it’s one of those names spoken with reverence. And not without reason. Mamoru Oshii’s film adaptation is brilliant and its subsequent series, Stand Alone Complex, is equally brilliant for different reasons. Later adaptations haven’t been as good, but they’ve never been dreadful, but they all share one thing: they’ve never been faithful adaptations of the original manga. Until now.

This new adaptation, called simply THE GHOST IN THE SHELL, aims to do exactly that. With a retro feel and changing things here and there, it wants to be the most faithful version possible of the manga. That means, in many cases, changing things radically compared with the original work. Don’t be fooled. This is not a 1:1 copy of the manga. But as an adaptation of it, it’s marvelous and above all, if the first chapters are any indication, we can finally talk about a new adaptation of the work on the level of the original films and SAC.

Chainsmoker Cat

Available on: Netflix

If we started with a series that makes smoking seem sensual, mysterious, even a little attractive, it’s time to remind you that smoking is none of that and that if you’ve been thinking about quitting, if you do, now is a good time to do it. And Chainsmoker Cat is a series about a catgirl who’s addicted to tobacco. Not addicted to tobacco in the sense that she smokes a pack a day and gets nervous if an hour goes by without smoking. Addicted to tobacco in the sense of: she can’t finish her work shift without suffering a serious anxiety attack because of the physical need to consume nicotine.

With scatological and fairly dark humor, the anime knows how to combine a hard and complex subject perfectly with little wisecracks that ease the tension. Something that adds darkness to the whole, but also helps lighten things up. Which shows that its creators perfectly understand the most basic essence of drama: there is no subject that can’t be dealt with, as long as you know how to relieve that tension. And for that, maybe you need your character to smoke a cigarette she found stuck in a piece of shit in the street. Even if that generates controversy.

Jaduugar: A Witch’s Life in Mongolia

Available on: Crunchyroll

Anime isn’t the place we’d recommend turning to in order to learn history, but that doesn’t mean you can’t. In some very particular cases. For example, with Jaduugar: A Witch’s Life in Mongolia. A story that takes place in 13th-century Persia after the Mongol invasion and follows a girl, Sitara, who takes the name Fatima, and how she seeks revenge against the Mongols after they enslave her.

Meticulously researched, with beautiful animation and a singular setting that we don’t usually see either in anime or in any other medium, it’s the most unusual anime of the season. A very interesting historical drama that, from its very first episodes, shows an astonishing attention to detail that, if it follows the manga, is only going to go further.

Goodbye, Lara

Available on: Crunchyroll

To wrap up, there’s nothing better than a bit of retro nostalgia which, on top of that, is the series with the most potential to go unnoticed. Sayonara Lara is a series created to celebrate studio Kinema Citrus’s 15th anniversary, known for series like Black Bullet, Made in Abyss or The Rising of the Shield Hero. And while their best-known anime lean more toward shonen, they’ve decided to celebrate it with a somewhat different adventure.

This is the story of a mermaid princess who, after two hundred years of sleep inflicted by a curse, awakens with a single purpose: to find her true love. With a retro aesthetic, a very sweet style and an intelligent reinterpretation of The Little Mermaid by H.C. Andersen, the original story and not Disney’s adaptation, it may be one of those anime that turns out to be a pleasant surprise. And it shouldn’t surprise us, because if the underrated Revue Starlight, also by Kinema Citrus, taught us anything, it’s that when they make stories about girls fighting for justice and love, maybe they don’t get the credit, but they’re genuine geniuses.