Live molave reaction to Summer 2025

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Summer 2025 is the strongest since Winter 2018 (with #2 best Violet Evergarden, #4 best A Place Further Than The Universe, and Yuru Camp), and the strongest since I started serially watching anime (Winter 2022). It’s got:

Takopi’s Original Sin - my new best anime. I never thought anything could upstage Violet.

My Dress Up Darling S2, The Fragrant Flower Blooms With Dignity, and Rascal Does Not Dream of Santa Claus - Cloverworks trifecta, all highly-regarded and some of the studio’s best output yet!

Baan - It’s… really good, given it’s an indie production that Gigguk bankrolled

Dan Da Dan S2

The Summer Hikaru Died

Call of the Night S2

Grand Blue S2

Silent Witch

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Again, can I glaze some more on KaoruHana and MDUD?

While I had to ground my expectations on KaoruHana, they knock it out of the park with episode after episode. My gut tells me Cloverworks was cooking something the moment I saw its poster, simply because it’s got the same artistic quality as Akebi’s Sailor Uniform. I can’t glaze that one enough either as it’s one of the best-looking works in all anime. Unfortunately, the studio had to cut corners in KaoruHana, but they didn’t where it mattered. And in those scenes, they matched and exceeded anything the staff put out in Akebi, multiple times, in each episode. I’m as happy as Kaoruko there. Yay also for the romance iyashikei story it tells.

Bocchified MDUD is not in my bingo. It has OP of the season no doubt, and I think it’s the perfect way to adapt the series.

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Other nonseasonal highlights I watched during Summer 2025:

Lost in Starlight - Insterstellar-esque mature romance story with nigh-flawless execution with the Shinkai art style I’m biased in favor of. 10/10

Redline and Promare - acid trips of watches there. Would recommend. Both 9/10

The Dangers in My Heart - the chemistry between the MCs is off the charts. Part of the reason why the story of KaoruHana felt more mundane to me, lol. 10/10. Best romance strictly because of the romance. I have higher-ranked romances but it’s because of other things. BokuYaba, for instance, is just below Your Lie in April because the latter’s drama is so good and it impacted me in a personal way.