2024 Summer Premiere Digest

It’s a summer of love, ranging from sweet to very, very messy.

Which shows do you review? 

We don’t review shows that are direct sequels, shorts, or (generally) for very young children. Anything not licensed and/or immediately available is off the table as well; series that are dropped in batches (the binge/Netflix model) won’t receive are a premiere review but are eligible for recommendations at end of season. Shows with late release dates will be reviewed separately from the digest.

While shows may change category as they continue to air, for ease of reference this is the order that will be used when discussing shows on our mid-season and wrap-up podcasts. Please note that any shows released in batches/by cour rather than weekly will not be discussed on the mid-season podcast.

How do you write the reviews?

Lizzie, Alex, Vrai, Cy and Toni split the majority of shows, with Chiaki stepping in to pinch hit. The titles were divided by each reviewer’s preferred workload and choice. Caitlin is at ANN this season, so you can check out her reviews over there.

Once we have more funding, we’d like to change our current model to provide a wider range of perspectives on more episodes. We’re a long way from that goal, but it’s been a personal wish of ours since launch and we hope to make it happen someday.

What do your reviews focus on? 

This varies by writer to some extent (some of us are more focused on visuals, others on narrative, and so forth), but as a feminist site it’s of course essential that we raise any issues of intersectional feminist interest.

When you read an AniFem review, you’re likely to learn about female character designs, queer representation, analogies to real-world marginalization, and so on. If you think we missed something, please comment under the review and let us know!

Why do you categorize them?

The purpose of these reviews is to give you, our readers, information to help you decide if you want to try a show. There’s greater access to anime than ever before, and we want to help you find series you can truly love, without wasting your time on a show that contains an automatic deal-breaker, be that fanservice, queerphobia, the sexualization of children, and so on.

Individuals can find value in any series, and we will never lead a boycott of a particular show, but we want to make it easier for you to get the most out of your limited time. In our digest, feminist-relevant themes and ideas take precedence, with overall narrative quality coming second and personal preference a distant(ish) third.

Premieres that seem to contain progressive themes are at the highest end and those featuring regressive ideas (or out-and-out hatefulness) are at the lowest. We expect some disagreement and welcome debate, so if you have any objections to our lists then by all means let us know in the comments!

I found a show I’m interested in! Where can I watch it?

This will vary depending on where you live, but you can browse Yatta-Tachi’s Summer 2024 Premiere Chart for the legal streaming sites carrying each series. Check to see if a show is available in your region!

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Summer 2024 Premiere Digest

The following titles are organized by categories, then alphabetically. Note that, because of the way premiere dates are staggered, we’ve had the chance to watch multiple episodes of some series. To give you a fuller picture of how much information we were working with when creating these rankings, we’ve marked how many episodes of each show we’ve seen.

Feminist potential

Premieres that so far seem to be addressing progressive ideas or themes and executing them competently. Please check individual reviews for more detailed content warnings.

• Dead Dead Demon’s Dededede-Destruction (Episodes 0-7): Darkly comedic science fiction show that incisively critiques the Military Industrial Complex through the eyes of messy teenage girls

• MAYONAKA PUNCH (Episodes 1-2): Comedy about a cancelled YouTuber who agrees to let a vampire drain her in exchange for a million subscribers; seems to be building a queer romance.

• Narenare -Cheer for You!- (Episode 1): Sports series that takes cheerleading seriously as an athletic endeavor, with a focus on sports injury trauma.

• Twilight Out of Focus (Episodes 1-2): High school BL romance with subtle, intimate writing; examines the predatory implications of a teacher dating a student.

It’s… complicated

Similar to the above category, but in addition to all those possible feminist themes, the show may be biting off more than it can chew or in danger of fumbling its chosen themes.

• ATRI -My Dear Moments- (Episode 1): Juggling a lot for a one-cour seafaring adventure story, including its protagonist’s disability and a climate change-induced apocalypse; there’s also always a bit of hesitation with a pwecious little girl robot who calls you “Master.”

• Makeine: Too Many Losing Heroines! (Episode 1): Rom-com with an excellent messy heroine that’s walking a fine line between satirizing “all girls compete (over boys)” misogyny and possibly falling into it.

• Senpai is an Otokonoko (Episodes 1-2): A boy and girl crush on a gender-nonconforming boy (who later comes out as non-binary in the source material); earnest about discussing gender pressures and dis/euphoria, but framing the lead through his friends’ desire for him makes for a few uncomfortable moments.

• Suicide Squad ISEKAI (Episodes 1-3): DC anime adaptation that’s about colonizing another world for resources; seems thoughtful about Harley Quinn’s portrayal, but having Amanda Waller as the main antagonist may end up fraught.

Neutral zone

Very little to warn folks about, but also not a ton of progressive ideas to chew on so far either.

• Dahlia in Bloom: Crafting a Fresh Start with Magical Tools (Episode 1): A reincarnation story about an overworked Japanese office worker who’s reborn into a fantasy world and recreates modern technology together with her loving father. 

• Dungeon People (Episode 1): Chill fantasy series about a thief with a rough childhood doing admin work behind-the-scenes of a dungeon-crawling dungeon.

• I Parry Everything! (Episode 1): A cozy and simple adventure story about an adventurer who wants to help people. 

• A Journey Through Another World: Raising Kids While Adventuring (Episode 1): A boring isekai about an adventurer raising twins as a single parent.

• Love is Indivisible By Twins (Episode 1): Twins pining after the same (nondescript) guy, though the execution of the premise is better than average.

• My Deer Friend Nokotan (Episode 1): Mile-a-minute comedy about a deer-girl inadvertently tormenting the only classmate who notices something weird is going on.

•  Quality Assurance in Another World (Episode 1): An intriguing take on the “immersive VR” style of fantasy title.

• The Ossan Newbie Adventurer, Trained to Death by the Most Powerful Party, Became Invincible (Episode 1): A man in his 30s gets a fresh start in a new field; pretty chill vibes.

• Ramen Akaneko (Episode 1): A woman leaves an abusive job to work at a ramen joint run by cute cats.

• Sakuna: Of Rice and Ruin (Episode 1): A lazy deity gets fired from her post and must work her way back up again.

• SHOSHIMIN: How to Become Ordinary (Episode 1): Very pretty but emotionally distant mystery series.

• The Strongest Magician in the Demon Lord’s Army was a Human (Episode 1): Fairly average grimdark fantasy series.

• TASUKETSU -Fate of the Majority- (Episode 1): Death game that meets the low bar of not being actively awful to its female characters.

• Why Does Nobody Remember Me in This World? (Episode 1): Standard alternate timeline story with a bland protagonist.

• Wistoria: Wand and Sword (Episode 1): Competent fantasy story with great visuals and action sequences. 

Yellow flags

Premieres that weren’t actively hateful at the premise level, but still raised some noteworthy caveats or concerns.

• Alya Sometimes Hides Her Feelings in Russian (Episode 1): the leads have good chemistry, it just remains to be seen if the show will continue to fall back on fan service gags.

• Bye Bye, Earth (Episode 1): Story about fantasy racism with a strong female protagonist whose source material was written by an alleged domestic abuser.

• Days with My Stepsister (Episode 1): Wants to put off the vibe of a grounded drama about blended families, but is destined to become a step-sibling rom-com.

• The Elusive Samurai (Episode 1): It has potential to be a great story about a boy reclaiming his rightful position, but it doesn’t shy away from the brutal realities of war—especially sexual violence against women.

• Failure Frame: I Became the Strongest and Annihilated Everything With Low-Level Spells (Episode 1): Standard power fantasy isekai with fan service.

• A Nobody’s Way Up to an Exploration Hero (Episodes 1-2): Standard fantasy series that’s kind of creepy about the little girl whose job is to follow his every command.

• Pseudo Harem (Episode 1): Drama club rom-com where the heroine plays a bunch of 2D archetypes to try and meet her crush’s wish for a harem.

• VTuber Legend: How I Went Viral after Forgetting to Turn Off My Stream (Episode 1): potentially a great exploration of the freedom that comes from shedding traditional, “marketable” femininity… but mostly uses the protagonist’s sapphic attraction as a bawdy punchline. 

Red Flags

A whole lotta yikes.

• 2.5 Dimensional Seduction (Episode 1): Cosplay series about how it’s cool for girls to like things, as long as they’re hot and don’t challenge you in any way; heavy fan service.

• My Wife Has No Emotion (Episode 1): A guy falls for his human-shaped appliance, with a lot to unpack about the feminization of labor and AI.

• No Longer Allowed in Another World (Episode 1): A dude who committed suicide got isekai’d instead, and said dude is based on a real author who still has living children; also has fan service.