The summer anime season has a decent amount of good series, but none of them really strike me as amazing. Honestly, that’s how I’d sum up 2012 anime so far. Last year there were so many fantastic series that came out, from Madoka Magica to Mawaru Penguindrum. This year just doesn’t seem to have any truly epic series. A shame…I’m hoping the Fall season will manage to impress me more. In the meantime, here’s my thoughts on the Summer anime season as it hits the halftime mark:

Arcana Famiglia

Since episode one, I can actually say that this series has had next to know development at all. This series has managed to accomplish so little in its run so far. It has plenty of material to work off, but it choose to just make every episode seem like a filler. The series also made Liberta and Nova the main male focus, which is a shame because they’re the dullest characters in the show. Also, this anime needs more Debito. He’s still the only character I actually like.

Binbougami ga!

This anime has had its ups and downs, but ultimately, I’d add it to the list of genuinely funny anime comedy series. At first I was hesitant that this plot would be able to hold up past three episodes, but much to my surprise it has yet to lose much steam. It’s a lot of fun to watch every week. My only problem is when it tries too hard to actually add depth to the characters. A comedy like this one doesn’t need it.

Chitose Get You!!

EWWW. This is a terrible anime, and I’ll admit I only continue to watch it because it’s three minutes long, and I’m far enough in that it’d be pointless to drop. Horrendous-low-budget-animation aside, the jokes are terrible. Not once have I come close to chuckling. At best, this series manages to be creepy and uncomfortable.

Hunter x Hunter (2011)

This series has nearly been airing for a year now, but its clear it’s starting to pay off for the viewers. The anime is starting to enter a really interesting arc right now, and it’s so close to getting to the material the old series never got to! Though, this remake has already proved how it’s worthy of existing with the fantastic fight scenes we’ve been graced with that definitely outshines the old show. From here on out, Hunter x Hunter looks to be getting only more and more interesting and I plan to be with this show till the end!

Hyouka

I’ve enjoyed this anime ever since its first arc, but it finally managed to really show its true potential in the school festival arc. The mystery and its resolution was fantastic! Not to mention, the episode all about the cooking competition was fantastic too! It’s weird to think this anime only has four more episodes left, but I’m most definitely interested in seeing how this anime will conclude.

It managed to create enough character development that I really hope doesn’t go to waste in the final episodes! At the moment, all the characters pretty much feel they’re inferior to someone else in one way or another, I’m curious to see if maybe that’s what this anime will decide to spend at least some time on. It’s anyone’s guess…

Jinrui wa Suitai Shimashita

This anime has some flaws, but I’m still always interested to see more because it has a certain appeal to it where I’m always left filled with curiosity. Nothing is ever quite as it should be in the world this anime created, and out of nothing I’m trying to piece together the reason why humanity has declined. It’s an anime that always leaves me wanting to discuss it, as well simply wondering what hidden messages it wants me to find.

I can’t help but love its ability to show so much more under the surface, and I applaud it for all the crazy shenanigans it’s pulled out of its hat thus far.

Kokoro Connect

Since the first episode, Kokoro Connect has actually managed to rise up to become one of the best series this season has to offer. It had an interesting concept, but after episode six it even managed to elevate its own story to show it still has some tricks up its sleeves. From what I understand, the series is now listed to have 17 episodes.

This seems to be the latest trend for series that turn out to be more successful than expected, so hopefully this will end up benefiting the series. At this point, this series has already managed to impress me much more than I expected, but it still has yet to reach it a point where I’m actually wowed.

Kuroko no Basket

This is an anime that continues to prove that the sports genre can be interesting, too. It never has a dull moment! The new characters that have been introduced in the past five episodes have all been fantastic, and I’m also enjoying the plot development. It seems this series does have direction to where it wants to go in its final episodes, which is relief because ongoing source materials with 150+ chapters usually don’t leave much hope for decent anime conclusions. And yet, I have faith to see one in this!

Moyashimon Returns

I’m kind of disappointed by this sequel. It focuses a little too much on the info dump and the actual plot lacks the charm the first season had. At least in the festival episodes in this season, it managed to bring me back to the good old days, but it’s still not enough for me to be satisfied with what this season’s offered. Among other things, it doesn’t really have a sense of what to put emphasis on in the plot.

By that I’m implying that in the first few episodes when Hazuki was trying to discover the mysteries about the tunnel only to find out there wasn’t much of a mystery to it at all. It just doesn’t work as a “trolling” because there wasn’t enough focus on that story for anyone to care about the outcome anyway. And now we have this other story about raising money to go find Hasegawa. Talk about a flawed plan! It just doesn’t seem all that well though out, and the episodes aren’t as well executed as they could be.

Natsuyuki Rendezvous

This series continues to grow more and more on me. The most recent development with the body borrowing has been really interesting.  This is one of those series where it’s the ending that’s really going to seal the deal on whether the show is truly good or not, and I’m hoping it succeeds!

Poyopoyo Kansatsu Nikki

This three minute anime actually has some quality. On one hand it’s adorable, and on the other it can actually deliver decent comedy. What more could you want?

Shirokuma Cafe

I never quite know what to say about this series. It just is what it is and I’m never quite sure whether I’m laughing ironically or not. The only thing I’m going to bother to critique on, is that Grizzly needs to be in every single episode!!

Sword Art Online

What the hell happened to this series!? Since the first episode, it’s just been going downhill from there. Supposedly it’s just because the last 6 episodes were all dedicated to side stories, but what was the point on focusing on them at all? They were laced with plot holes and really didn’t add much to the story. Hopefully as it starts to show some of the actual plot, it’ll be able to pick up the slack. This anime clearly had a lot of potential, too bad it had to waste it.

Tari Tari

I enjoy this anime, but it feels it still needs to take that extra step to become something great. I’m glad the arc about Wakana is over because it didn’t really add much to her character besides making me like her less…And now it seems we’ll be entering the Sawa arc. At least Sawa is more interesting than Wakana, but the characters I’m more curious about are the two guys. It’s not too surprising that the series is choosing to focus on the girls instead of the guys, but I’m still hoping they’ll at least get some more spotlight at some point.