The Spring Season of anime for 2021 was full of quite a lot of incredible new shows and continuing series. FromMy Hero Academia’s 5th season to the massively underratedOdd Taxi, there were plenty of amazing shows to watch week by week, some of them even continuing into the Summer season as well.
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And, while Summer 2021’s season isn’t quite packed as tightly, there are still a few standout series that people may be unknowingly missing out on. So, from least to most underrated, here are our picks.
10Battle Game In 5 Seconds
First up is a long-awaited manga adaptation of another “trapped in a deadly battle royale” setting. While it involves the main character being “transported” to somewhere fantastical, it’s still the real world so it technically doesn’t count as “isekai”.Battle Game In 5 Secondshas much more in common with shows likeGantz,Btoom,Darwin’s Game, orDeadman Wonderlandthan it does with the more “fantastical” type of isekai anyway.
This series features a cast of characters transported to another “world” with captors that give them oddly specific superpowers and put them in various situations that force them to use these abilities to the utmost.Battle Game In 5 Secondshas violence, a unique main character, inventive abilities, and much more.
9How A Realist Hero Rebuilt The Kingdom
One of the only “big” gripes aboutHow A Realist Hero Rebuilt The Kingdomis the fact that the studio (J.C. Staff) decided to completely rework the original art style of the manga it was adapted from.Sometimes the anime adaptations improve upon the original work, but this sort of feels like the opposite. Other than that, this series is a perfectly serviceable (and relatively unique) take on the oversaturated isekai genre that is much more in line withLog Horizonthan it is something likeSword Art Online.
Souma, as per usual for the genre, is an intelligent and well-meaning MC who is summoned to an isekai world to be their hero. Yet somehow, right after arriving, the king of the nation who summoned Souma decides to abdicate his crown to the protagonist! From there, this anime has all the stereotypical concepts. But, it’s all viewed through the lens of a guy (with a surprisingly sad backstory) trying to use his political and socioeconomic know-how from the modern world to save this kingdom that was thrust upon him.
8The Dungeon Of Black Company
Compared toHow A Realist Hero Rebuilt The Kingdom,The Dungeon Of Black Companyisn’t quite as “good”, but it’s a lot better than it might appear at first. While Souma focuses on making money honestly and efficiently for the good of the Kingdom, Nonomiya will use anything and anyone to greedily make cash and claw his way back towards the “Ultimate NEET” lifestyle he had so proudly accomplished before being whisked away to an isekai world. Frankly,he’s a villain in his own way.
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The two shows are in the same genre, but they couldn’t be more different in style, tone, and sense of humor. But, because of that, people can watch both of these anime without getting too burnt out on isekai for the year (probably).
7Kageki Shoujo AKA “Opera Girl”
Finally, it is time to dive into some of the more adorable anime of the Summer Season, starting withKageki Shoujo, the showwith two of the most memorable female protagonistsof recent seasons. But, Sarasa (the secondary lead) isn’t a typical “shoujo” character, she’s incredibly tall and a big ball of chaotic energy, making her a perfect complementary contrast to the calm and collected Ai Narata (the actual lead).
This series takes place at a fictional prestigious Japanese Opera Academy, and it uses that setting to say a lot about Japan’s Entertainment industry, the pressure of performing, and many more surprisingly adult topics.
6The Aquatope On White Sand
Anyone familiar with P.A Works instantly addedThe Aquatope On White Sandto their watchlist as soon as they saw they were the ones making this series. This animation studio excels at beautiful compositions, meshing fantastical elements with very “realistic” characters/situations, and visual spectacle in general.
Aquatopemainly revolves around two characters, Fuuka Miyazawa (a failed idol who ran away to Okinawa) and Kukuru Misakino (the granddaughter of an aquarium owner), as they try and figure out how to keep the Gama Gama Aquarium from closing down. And, if that sounds like a unique concept, it really is, and it makes for a very relaxing yet interesting watch.
5Tsukimichi Moonlit Fantasy
This is the last isekai series to make the cut, thankfully. While anime has been completely oversaturated with this genre in the past couple of years, there are some standout examples now and then.
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Protagonist Makoto Misumi’s back and forth with his “servants” Mio (a cataclysmically powerful spider monster) and Tomoe (a greater Dragon obsessed with Japanese history) are hilarious, and the character takes the “overpowered isekai MC” trope to new heights. To be more precise,Tsukimichi Moonlit Fantasyis a show about a characterwho is “supposed” to be an underdogquickly becoming someone able to take on the gods themselves.
4Remake Our Life
The wish-fulfillment trope that makes isekai-type shows so popular and the tropes about characters getting to have a “second chance at life” usually go hand-in-hand. Well, unsurprisingly,Remake Our Lifeis one of those stories, but it’s a realistic anime, rather than one focused on magic and monster-slaying.
As one would expect, this show is incredibly comfy, heartwarming, and uplifting to watch; in fact, it’s just well-made in general. So, for anyone who has ever had an interest in the fine arts, art schools, game design, or any kind of “craft”, this might be the perfect show for them.
3The Idaten Deities Know Only Peace
Moving on to a controversial inclusion, it’sThe Idaten Deities Know Only Peace, made by Mappa studios. Now, this series is one of the rare ones on Crunchyroll to get a “mature” rating and a warning before each episode, and that’s primarily from a certain horribly untasteful scene in the first episode.
And, while these misguided “jokes” do pop up again from time to time, the rest of the anime showcases a unique new concept animated by a fantastic studio that also has quite a memorable art style. Granted, it won’t be everyone’s cup of tea, and the story’s writing isn’t the best, but this is the perfect “popcorn” show just to watch cool fights happen.
2Sonny Boy
The only reasonSonny Boyisn’t first is that it’s, admittedly, an incredibly weird show. It’s also incredibly good, but this anime is the type of oddity that doesn’t exactly appeal to the widest demographic. That said, for those who are fans of Madhouse’s past works or the past directorial/writing work of Shingo Natsume (AKASpace DandyandOne-Punch Man),Sonny Boyshould be right up their alley.
It has weird superpowers, larger-than-life characters with obviously deep flaws, one of the most interesting settings seen in years, and a lot of great dialog moments. This show is easily a shoo-in for top anime this Summer Season, but that’ll differ from person to person.
1The Case Study of Vanitas
Onto the final inclusion on this list,The Case Study Of Vanitas. Now, as far as production and source material goes, this show is anything but underrated considering it’s animated by Studio Bones (AKA the studiobehind mainstream Shonen serieslikeFullmetal AlchemistandMy Hero Academia). But, more than that, it’s also written by Jun Mochizuki, the renowned mangaka behind Pandora Hearts.
Yet, despite all that hype, the show doesn’t seem to have that many people talking about it on social media. Every vampire is as memorableas some of the best characters from Castlevania, the mystery is engaging, the setting is awe-inspiring, and the dialog is so over the top in the best way.
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