This year’s summer anime roster has many heavily anticipated shows. We have the return of Dandadan, Kaijuu No.8, Panty and Stocking, and My Dress Up Darling. We also have the debut of highly anticipated shows such as The Summer Hikaru Died, The Fragrant Flower Blooms with Dignity, and Gachiakuta. However, the season’s roster also includes shows with a cult audience or potential for one.
Binan Koukou Chikyuu Bouei-bu HAIKARA!
Cute High Earth Defense Club LOVE! is a magical boy series that follows three generations of high-school boys who get magical powers from an alien creature. When the first season came out in 2015, it received a lot of attention for its premise of magical boys while keeping the aesthetics of shows like Precure, Madoka Magica, and Ojamajo Doremi without turning it into a joke. Since the end of season two, the series relaunched with new protagonists, and it hasn’t seen the successes of the first two seasons since. Maybe this new season will be the turning point?
Osomatsu-san
The Osomatsu-san anime from 1962 was a series that followed the Matsuno sextuplets as they got into misadventures as children. The 2016 series ages the sextuplets up and presents them as NEETs, Not in Education, Employment, or Training, who spend their days mooching off their parents and wandering around the city getting into a series of misadventures. When the reboot series first aired, it was arguably one of the most popular shows at the time due to the eccentric brothers and their comedic antics. However, as the years have progressed, the fandom has shrunk. Now, with the release of season four, it is seen as a cult interest rather than the powerhouse it was in 2016.
Solo Camping for Two
Solo Camping for Two is a new cult summer anime. This series follows Gen Kinokura, a 34-year-old man who enjoys camping alone. While camping, he meets Shizuku Kisano, a 20-year-old college student who is relatively new to camping. The show touches on the complexities of adult life in the background of two people sharing a growing love for camping. While it’s not a super popular show this season, it’s worth watching for the relationships between the main characters and their stories that lead them to camping. The show also gives viewers a lot of tips about camping in the real world and references to real brands that are excellent for it.
Reborn as a Vending Machine, I Now Wander the Dungeon
Reincarnated into another world after being smashed to death by a vending machine is certainly an interesting way to start an adventure. While this series started on the right foot, as the first season progressed, it lost more and more viewers. However, the fans that remain stand by it as a fun show to watch. They do advise stopping when you lose interest in it. What starts as a fun isekai adventure turns into a comfy show. Now with the premiere of season two this summer, fans expect more comfy watching.
Dekin no Mogura
This cult summer anime follows eccentric hermit Mogura, who cannot go to the afterlife. To regain access, he wanders the globe collecting the ‘lamps’ of spirits for his lantern. An unwanted result of this is that the people Mogura comes in contact with start to see unfathomable phenomena. It becomes his mission to help them out and exorcise the spirits into his lamp. However, as a hermit, Mogura struggles with human interaction. Through his comedic misadventures, Mogura learns relationships are important and not everything needs to be done alone. This story, paired with its grainy art style and eccentric comedic nature, won’t hit connect with everyone, but those it connected with appreciate Mogura’s story.
