The Summer 2024 Anime season has been absolutely excellent, with big-hitters like Oshi no Ko season 2, Tower of God: Return of the Prince, Fairy Tail: 100 Years Quest, and Suicide Squad Isekai leading online discussions within the anime community.

One of the resident rom-com additions to the season, Too Many Losing Heroines, has proven itself to be the perfect subversion of many of the standard tropes found in shonen rom-coms, and from everything that’s been released from the anime so far, it’s looking to be the summer season’s best.

Too Many Losing Heroines Gives Shonen Rom-Com Fans Everything They Could Ever Want

Produced by A-1 Pictures, the anime adaptation of Too Many Losing Heroines by Muru Imigi and Takibi Amamori follows Kazuhiko, a friendless and plain young man who unexpectedly catches the cool and popular Anna Yanami getting friend-zoned by her childhood friend. In an interesting domino effect, all the popular girls at Kazuhiko’s school are getting rejected left and right by the guys they like.

Kazuhiko subsequently ends up surrounded by said popular girls, and his boring, quiet high school life gets flipped on its head as he helps keep the shockingly eccentric girl-failures’ spirits up in the face of heartbreak. While the plot may initially sound pretty standard for an anime in this genre, the execution of Too Many Losing Heroines makes it stand out in an oversaturated genre for the performances delivered by the main cast and the show’s incredible writing.

Hikaru Toono, the voice actress that plays Anna, is particularly talented, perfectly bouncing between the typical “popular girl” persona and being a total eccentric when she thinks nobody’s watching. The rest of the cast feel equally lively, and when pairing this with A-1’s vivid and stylish animation, the anime has been nothing short of incredible.

Of course, for anime fans not keen on shows that delve into harem tropes, this one may be a miss. While it definitely focuses more on the struggles of the girls after being rejected and moving on, there is still just a hint of a harem brewing beneath the surface. Whether the show will commit to this or truly subvert the genre by staying removed from the harem trope has yet to be seen. Despite that, though, Too Many Heroines’ first three episodes have been infectiously fun and any fan of rom-coms should give it a try.

Big news for Goblin Slayer fans as Crunchyroll has announced it’s bringing Season 2 of the series to Blu-Ray in October.

The post Crunchyroll Announces Goblin Slayer 2 is Getting a Blu-ray Release appeared first on 8Bit/Digi.

Blue Lock has quickly become one of the biggest sports anime in the world, and after the success of the Episode Nagi film, fans all around the world were excited to see new updates regarding the 2nd season’s release.

In an exciting new teaser trailer uploaded by EMOTION Label Channel and a post made on the official X (formerly Twitter) accounts revealed that Unison Square Garden will be returning to perform the new opening song, as well as showing off some flashy new footage from Blue Lock season 2.

When Will Blue Lock Season 2 Release?

The second season of Blue Lock is slated to release during the Fall 2024 Anime Season, on October 5, 2024. Just like the first season, season 2 will be streaming on Crunchyroll, subbed and dubbed. The new season will be featuring some new additions to the voice cast, including Satoshi Hino as Oliver Aiku, Kakeru Hatano as Nijiro Nanase, Eiji Mikami as Yo Hiori, and Akihisa Wakayama as Shuto Sendo.

The Summer 2024 Anime season has introduced anime fans to a variety of new and returning series that have more than lived up to the hype. With obvious heavy-hitters that were guaranteed to draw in fans

My Deer Friend Nokotan

My Deer Friend Nokotan brings back the same style of comedy anime that the community had been missing out on once the 2010s came and went, filled with slapstick reference humor that resonates with fans of every genre. Poking fun at properties like Dark Souls, the original Spider-Man trilogy, and other anime, it seems as though there’s no limit to the different places My Deer Friend Nokotan will draw inspiration from. Plus, the opening theme is infectiously catchy and hard to avoid.

The Magical Girl and the Evil Lieutenant Used to Be Archenemies

Based on the manga series of the same name by the late Cocoa Fujiwara, The Magical Girl and the Evil Lieutenant Used to Be Archenemies is a light-hearted spin on the classic Magical Girl – or mahou shojo – genre. The series takes place in a world where the villains have taken over, spearheaded by the son of the evil overlord, named Mira. Their plans for domination begin to struggle when the organization is contested by a magical girl named Byakuya, who turns Mira’s world upside-down when he finds himself falling in love with the enemy. As the two begin growing closer, their relationship becomes more complicated.

Perfectly capturing the classic enemies-to-lovers trope without all the angst but plenty of pining, The Magical Girl and the Evil Lieutenant Used to Be Archenemies may not have had a proper serialized ending, but the unlikely adaptation from Studio Bones may give the series the closure it deserves after all these years.

Twilight Out of Focus

One of the biggest BL releases in the last year, Twilight Out of Focus is a wonderfully well-produced anime that, despite some issues with its initial release in the west, has been met with overwhelming positivity from fans of the genre. Opening by following a school film project that blossoms into young love, the series’ two leads are easy to care about and root for as their relationship develops. The build up is done perfectly throughout the show, and each episode is laden with romantic tension.

Senpai is an Otonoko

Anime that explore nuanced LGBTQ concepts aren’t a rarity in today’s landscape, it is rare when one comes along that’s able to captivate an audience beyond its target demographic. Senpai is an Otonoko is a show that’s hit how with anime fans around the globe for discussing the complex journey that comes with navigating one’s gender identity and how we choose to present ourselves to the world. The show is filled with incredibly heartfelt moments discussing the topic of gender expression and learning to accept oneself despite what society may think, and it’s truly stood out this season because of that.

Wistoria Wand & Sword

The non-isekai high fantasy anime of the season, Wistoria has, so far, managed to draw in a sizable audience with a bright, colorful artstyle and high quality magic battles. Adapted from the original series written by the creator of Is It Wrong To Try and Pick Up Girls In a Dungeon?, Wistoria has an arguably stronger premise while still holding on to the same “dungeon crawl” inspiration that made the creator’s first series so successful.

Fairy Tail: 100 Years Quest

Fairy Tail was a long-running shonen series that got popular for its world-building and characters, but it’s been a while since the series received any new anime content, with the final season of the original series coming to an end in 2018. However, the shonen fantasy has made a big comeback with the release of the 100 Years Quest anime adaptation, and to the delight of longtime fans, Fairy Tail hasn’t lost any of the charm that made it so popular when it originally released.

NieR:Automata Ver1.1a (Cour 2)

Video games being adapted to anime have always had a dicey track record, with other A-1 Pictures’ attempts at this, like Persona 5: The Animation missing the mark on what makes the source material so special. Luckily, the studio has been taking back their reputation with their animated adaptation of NieR: Automata, which has done a decent job at adapting the game’s storyline and bringing its complicated characters to life. The first cour performed excellently among fans, and Cour 2 has, so far, been a strong sequel that keeps up the same quality and consistency as its first half.

Makeine: Too Many Losing Heroines!

While the anime is gaining a solid audience, Too Many Losing Heroines is absolutely the Summer Season’s sleeper hit anime. Despite its initial set-up being the typical “plain male lead surrounded by cute girls”, Too Many Losing Heroines! succeeds in actually shaking up this formula in a compelling way. The leading lady of the show, Anna, is a hilarious subversion of the standard “popular girl” trope, and the anime’s sense of humor perfectly encapsulates what makes these characters so fun to follow. It wouldn’t be surprising to see this show receive a 2nd season once the season comes to a close.

Oshi No Ko Season 2

After the unprecedented success of Oshi no Ko‘s first season around the world, it shouldn’t be surprising that a second installment was quickly greenlit and thrown into production. Oshi no Ko season 2 keeps the same level of quality from the first, and is focused on adapting one of the manga’s best story arcs, which has its audience absolutely enthralled. As the anime begins to dig deeper into its psychological crime thriller themes, fans are more devoted than ever to follow Aqua’s journey to unmask his mother’s killer.

The Elusive Samurai

The anime adaptation for The Elusive Samurai was initially met with a small level of excitement from longtime fans of the original manga, but from the moment episode 1 released, the series exploded in popularity. Complete with CloverWorks’ signature colorful animation style and striking color palette, and paired with an extremely well executed story, the anime has seen an extreme amount of success with only a handful of episodes currently available to stream.

Yoshihiro Togashi’s Hunter x Hunter is a staple shonen series, with both the manga and 2011 anime adaptation having a huge impact on the industry. Due to the original creator’s health, though, the series has struggled to continue, but it looks as though Gon and his troupe of friends will finally be making a comeback.

With frequent updates from Togashi, an upcoming 3v3 fighting game, and a brand-new tankoban release confirmed by Shueisha, Hunter x Hunter is making a huge comeback in 2024.

Hunter x Hunter’s Indefinite Hiatus May Finally Be Coming To an End

With a record of taking multiple breaks due to his health, Togashi placed Hunter x Hunter on an indefinite hiatus in early 2023 due to his ongoing health and personal issues after the release of chapter 400. Though saddening to many fans, they’ve regained hope that the series could potentially begin serializing again after Togashi’s X (formerly Twitter) account had begun putting out multiple updates from the end of 2023.

These increasingly frequent updates have featured page numbers, and even fully-colored artwork. His most recent post at time of writing is a full color illustration of Chrollo from the Phantom Troupe.

In addition to this, Shueisha recently volume 38 of the manga for a Fall release on September 4, 2024. Togashi has also made posts stating that the new chapters are ready to hand off chapters 409 and 410 to his assistants, and has teased progress all the way through hapter 416. Despite the long break Togashi has taken, fans are elated for any potential updates, and are rooting for the mangaka to continue monitoring his health while working hard on the upcoming chapters.

The Upcoming Nen x Impact Game Has a Lot of Promise

While anime fighting games are often hit or miss with critics, the upcoming Hunter x Hunter video game project, Nen x Impact, looks incredibly promising, and the promotional videos showing of the game’s roster have been anything but bland.

From Arc System Works and Bushiroad Games, Hunter x Hunter: Nen x Impact features a variety of iconic characters from the series, including the core protagonists, and most recently announced the addition of Feitan and Meruem to the roster. While anime tie-in fighters often have lower budgets, it’s still interesting to see the amount of marketing Nen x Impact is receiving, so hopefully the project will have something for hardcore Hunter x Hunter fans to enjoy.

Hunter x Hunter‘s anime adaptation can be streamed on Netflix, the official manga can be purchased from retailers like Amazon.

The Summer 2024 Anime Season has introduced a variety of exciting new shows to the community, including the zany comedy My Deer Friend Nokotan, and shows like Suicide Squad ISEKAI the reimagine classic characters in a new way.

A surprising hit from this season, however, has come in the way of CloverWorks’ adaptation of The Elusive Samurai, which has a remarkably high score on MAL despite only having one episode available at the time of writing.

What Makes The Elusive Samurai So Sensational?

While CloverWorks has solidified themselves as a solid and reliable studio, producing standout hits like Horimiya, Black Butler -Public School Arc- and My Dress Up Darling, from time-to-time their new releases can get buried amid a season filled with other promising titles. While there weren’t many anime fans talking about The Elusive Samurai before episode 1 dropped, it’s now become hard to avoid seeing Tokiyuki’s face all over the internet.

It’s clear that CloverWorks is putting a lot of love into this adaptation, with many fans of the original manga commenting on how well the studio has done to re-contextualize small details that were left in dialogue boxes in the source material, as well as offering the studio’s signature fluid animation to the show.. The characters and setting are fun and refreshing, with the series taking place during Japan’s Nanboku-cho period (1333), and following the up-and-coming successor of the Kamakura Shogunate. Historical fiction isn’t uncommon in anime, but it is rare to see something that sticks so closely to the era it’s attempting to portray.

Not to mention, watching the first episode, it’s fun to see child characters that actually behave like curious children, instead of having their personalities aged up. All around, The Elusive Samurai is a gem of a series, and we can’t wait to see where it goes from here.

Fans interested in getting caught up with The Elusive Samurai can stream the show on Crunchyroll.

We’ve seen a ton of streaming services institute price increases in the past few years, with the likes of Disney Plus, Netflix, and Hulu all hiking subscription fees. The anime-focused Crunchyroll has resisted this urge since 2019, but all good things must come to an end.

Crunchyroll has announced a price increase on its website this week (h/t: The Verge), affecting its middle and top tiers in “Argentina, Colombia, France, Portugal, the United States and select additional countries.”

In a move that should surprise absolutely no one, Crunchyroll, the Netflix-esque repository for all the anime you could probably ever need, is increasing its prices. The price hike, however, only affects the two most expensive tiers in certain countries. But regardless, it’s the first price increase Crunchyroll has…

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A series centered around a superhero without actual powers— leave it to anime to give us that. My Hero Academia has given us six whole seasons of action, with both heroes and villains getting satisfying arcs.

Is My Hero Academia going to enter the final arc of its manga? Are we going to get a seventh season? Find out what we know about the My Hero Academia season 7 release date and where the plot is taking us next.

And here we go again. We’ve had many, many posts over recent years discussing how, in the digital age, you often don’t actually own what you’ve bought. And before the comments section gets filled with perplexed but rather educated folks talking about how the all these cases involve products in which the terms of service clearly outline that this is a license and not an actual product being bought, just stop. We all know that barely anyone reads a ToS these days and the confusion and anger that occurs in the public is proof of it. So clearly companies are not doing nearly enough to inform their customers of what they are actually purchasing. And if you think that problem is easily solved by staunchly insisting that Nancy down the street steep herself in legalese, then you’re completely divorced from reality.

Which brings us to Sony. Late last year we discussed how when Sony’s deal with the Discovery network ended, it caused a bunch of content to simply disappear from PlayStation owners who bought the content in the PS Store. Due to something completely outside of the public’s control, people who bought content, or thought that’s what they were doing, suddenly lost that content. Without refunds. Or an apology.

And now it’s happening all over again, due to Sony’s acquisition of Crunchyroll all the way back in 2021. Sony-owned Funimation is shutting down its app and website in April, with the company converting Funimation accounts to Crunchyroll accounts instead. All good right? Well…

Funimation, a Sony-owned streaming service for anime, recently announced that subscribers’ digital libraries on the platform will be unavailable after April 2. For years, Funimation had been telling subscribers that they could keep streaming these digital copies of purchased movies and shows, but qualifying it: “forever, but there are some restrictions.”

But soon, people who may have discarded or lost their physical media or lack a way to play DVDs and Blu-rays won’t have a way to access the digital copies that they were entitled to through their physical copy purchase.

Funimation’s announcement is roughly as tone-deaf as it gets. They explain all of these libraries won’t carry over to Crunchyroll because that platform doesn’t support Funimation’s digital content and then makes some vague comments about how Crunchyroll is continuously looking to make itself better. Which, whatever, because that doesn’t change the fact that a bunch of people bought a bunch of digital content that was pitched mostly as being theirs “forever” only to have it all nuked into oblivion as a result of a Sony acquisition. Good times.

Here again, we see that people don’t actually own what they’ve bought, much to their confusion.

Funimation’s support page for digital copies (which, as of this writing, says it hasn’t been updated in four years) notes that Funimation’s idea of forever includes restrictions and links to Funimation’s Terms of Use. Those terms state that Funimation can “without advance notice… immediately suspend or terminate the availability of the Service and/or content (and any elements and features of them), in whole or in part, for any reason.” It also says that the Funimation website, apps, service, and all of its content are owned by Funimation and its partners.

So even if you, understandably, thought you were buying a “forever” digital copy, the wordy truth is that you never really owned it. Yet, it wouldn’t be surprising to hear that someone relying on digital copies to preserve their purchased media didn’t properly understand (or read) those terms before discarding their physical copies.

Thanks for the money, suckers! Hope you enjoyed the years-long forever!