Lenlo: And so ends one of the most packed seasons we’ve had in a while. From the drama and artistry of Dance Dance Danseur to the wholesomeness of Deaimon, the grand finale of Kaguya-sama‘s third season to the rising star that is SpyXFamily. It’s going to be hard to top that moving forward, but let’s turn our eyes to the future and see what is has in store for us. Like every season you have the usual batch of sequels, some big some small. Overlord returns for its 4th season of anti-hero Isekai while Made in Abyss will once again toe the line between tragedy and the grotesque. What is surprising though is the sheer amount of originals. Engage Kiss, Lycrosi Recoil, Bucchigire and Ongakutai Witches to name a few. For anyone wanting something new, you’re spoiled for choice. I just hope you don’t want anything good. And of course the big surprise of the season for me is RWBY actually becoming a real anime now. You hear that Reddit?! You can’t stop me from talking about it on r/anime anymore! Who has the power now?! ahem Like I was saying, there’s a lot of decent looking stuff this season. So join us and read on as we take a look at the ones that stood out to us. And make sure to vote on the poll below for what you’re looking forward to!

Middling Expectations

Isekai Ojisan

Studio: Atelier Pontdarc
Director: Shigeki Kawai
Series composition: Kenta Ihara
Source: Manga

The Premise: An Isekai protagonist is transported back to Earth only to find 2 decades have passed, and now it is up to his nephew to help him fit back into the world.

Lenlo: The only reason I’m even remotely interested in this is because I think the concept is interesting. So many Isekai are just wish fulfillment for the young Otaku, pandering to the lowest common denominator. And while Ojisan still might be that, probably is to be frank, the idea of seeing him re-integrate with the real world after his Isekai adventure is one I’m very interested in. Very few Isekai actually tackle the implications of disappearing from the real world, with even fewer actually returning to said world. So while I expect this to be just another seasonal Isekai dumpster fire, I’m willing to at least give it a shot and see if it can’t do something more with this concept. On top of that it’s also Shigeki Kawai’s Directorial debut, so I’m always curious about a new talent getting their first shot at the big leagues. Who knows, maybe their desire to leave a mark will work out here!

The Devil is a Part-Timer S2

Studio: 3Hz
Director: Daisuke Chikushi
Series composition: Masahiro Yokotani
Source: Light novel

The Premise: The continuing adventures of Satan the McDonald’s shift manager and his entourage of cute anime girls.

Wooper: There’s been a recent wave of revival announcements for long-dormant anime properties (Spice and Wolf, Trigun, Mononoke), and The Devil is a Part-Timer is near the top of that list for a lot of fans. I wouldn’t count myself among their number, but it’s certainly significant that this supernatural comedy is returning to TV after nine years, especially since it preceded so many of the ‘angel/demon lives among humanity’ shows of the last decade. As I have no knowledge of the light novel series, I can only speculate that season 2 will be like the first – more skewering of the fast food industry, more misunderstandings caused by the knowledge gap between humans and higher beings, and more ill-advised attempts at tackling dramatic material. What really interests me are the staff, some of whom are returning from the first season (including composer Ryousuke Nakanishi, whose music will be an important touchstone for returning fans), but most of whom are brand new. That second group includes director Daisuke Chikushi, whose previous work was the widely-mocked Isekai Cheat Magician, and who’ll be leaning on a chief animation director with almost no experience in the role. My guess is that this second season won’t feel much like the original – even putting aside the new character designs, the pieces don’t seem to be in place for a triumphant comeback.

Amun: Don’t listen to the naysayers – I’m beyond hyped for the return of this series. “Devil is a Part-timer” is responsible for many of the modern isekai trends – focusing on the “devils” side, showing how supernatural characters live in modern society, etc. Despite the decade or so interlude, I can’t wait to see this “Devil” take back his rightful throne.

Yowai 5000-nen no Soushoku Dragon, Iwarenaki Jaryuu Nintei

Studio: Studio LAN
Director: N/A
Series composition: N/A
Source: Light Novel

The Premise: A 5000-year old vegan dragon cannot get rid of a young girl who showed up in his cave and offered herself as a sacrifice.

Mario: I’m not sure when this will come out (MAL says it’ll be aired on July 30th) and I’m not even sure if it’ll be any good, but it’s worth mentioning anyways given Yowai 5000-nen no Soushoku Dragon is one of the first anime produced entirely in China. It’s a Bilibili original, made by Studio LAN who is most well-known for Link Click last year – a gorgeous looking show by all standards. Watching the trailer, however, it looks like the production won’t be as strong as that show, with dull color palette and the plot runs a bit like Dragon, Ie wo Kau AKA Shy Dragon just a couple of seasons ago. The show’s charm is definitely in the hands of the young girl and the Dragon and how they bounce off each other, so hopefully they can sell me on it.

Lucifer and The Biscuit Hammer

Studio: Naz
Director: Nobuaki Nakanishi
Series composition: Yuuichirou Momose
Source: Manga

The Premise: A lizard recruits an apathetic boy to save the world from getting smashed by a giant hammer.

Aidan: Here is [a Reddit post] detailing how for twelve long years Satoshi Mizukami wished to see an adaption of his work Lucifer and the Biscuit Hammer. For any other Mangaka I would consider it arrogance to even expect one but Mizukami has penned two of my favourite manga of all time, one of which being this very adaptation. If there is a mangaka who is well overdue recognition then it is this man. So I was overjoyed to see him finally get his wish and well looking forward to it. I mean Biscuit Hammer didn’t need One Punch Man levels of animation, even if they matched Planet With from a few years back that could have sufficed.

It was a funny feeling watching that trailer, seeing not a frame of animation, washed out colours and the aesthetics of an early 2000’s anime where animators were still getting to grips with the digital process. To know that the mangaka wished for this for so long and this is the result is a tragedy on the level of Berserk 2016. I wasn’t even angry or not even disappointed. I just felt hollow, as though I finally made my peace that I would never see a proper adaptation of his greatest works. I would like to believe that perhaps this is not a representation of the final work as Naz has at least worked on shows like ID:Invaded which I really liked. But if this trailer is representative of the final work then I cannot in good faith recommend it, even if the story might carry it to passable. It is my hope that I should prove to be wrong and the show turns out to be a fantastic adaptation of the work, finally giving Mizukami his deserved kudos and potentially greenlighting an adaptation of Spirit Circle. But well at this point…at least I still got Chainsaw Man.

Bucchigire

Studio: Geno
Director: Tetsuo Hirakawa
Series composition: Tesuo Hirakawa
Source: Original

The Premise: Seven criminals are chosen to hunt down and kill the Masked Demons terrorizing Kyoto.

Lenlo: I was a lot more interested in this before I saw the PV. The promotional artwork actually looks cool, and combined with the concept I thought we might get something along the lines of Hell’s Paradise: Jigokuraku. But the more I look at this the more it looks like generic shounen shlock. Everyone has glowing swords, shitty hair styles, bright color coding and fight gimmicks. About the only thing of interest left is that its coming from Twin Engine, but they haven’t done anything good since their work on Dororo almost 3 years ago. Suffice to say, the more I looked into this series, the more my interest waned.

Shoot! Goal to the Future

Studio: EMT Squared
Director: Noriyuki Nakamura
Series composition: Mitsutaka Hirota
Source: Manga

The Premise: Atsushi Kamiya is a former captain at Kakegawa High School and the world-renowned “courageous captain” for a famous Italian soccer team. Hideto Tsuji is a student at the same school, who seems uninterested in the now-weakened soccer team. Their meeting is the start of a new legend…

Mario: I was a fan of the original Shoot manga (it doesn’t age well, unfortunately) and I was disappointed at the 1993 anime adaptation of Shoot (lackluster animation, uneven tone) so I am mildly surprised by the announce of this sequel. Shoot! Goal to the Future is a sequel (around 20-30 years later from the original) which features an original story and a brand new cast, along with the now-adult Kamiya as a coach. Kamiya was my favorite character out of the old cast, so the inclusion of him in this new installment is all good… but seriously, I still don’t see the merit of this sequel at all. The Shoot franchise was considerably popular in the early 90s, but it would be hard-pressed to think that it’ll be successful in the present time. The PVs I watched is a mixture of both goods and bads, some animation was strong but the rest looks shaky, and the staff doesn’t bring me much confidence. The director was storyboarder many Yugioh’s works before and pretty much nothing else of note. I will still be checking out the first episode, even if it’s only for nostalgia’s sake.

Lycoris Recoil

Studio: A-1 Pictures
Director: Shingo Adachi
Series composition: TBA
Source: Original

The Premise: Four cafe employees fulfill odd customer requests, including those for zombie and monster battles, while maintaining their day job.

Wooper: Lycoris Recoil’s concept reminds me a bit of Release the Spyce, that 2018 series where a group of high schoolers moonlit as spies, only this time the cast’s secret occupation is far more broad. I only made it a few episodes into Spyce before Releasing it from my watchlist, and Lycoris will more than likely share that fate, but there are a couple things about it that caught my interest. Number one was the potential for diversity in its subject matter, with the characters’ side jobs ranging from childcare to teaching Japanese to fighting supernatural creatures. How that’s going to work I have no idea, but depending on the show’s direction, it could even change genres based on the story it wants to tell each week; the art style makes it look pretty well-rooted in cute girl territory, but with a question mark of a premise like this one there are no guarantees. The other thing that drew me to LycoReco was its first-time director Shingo Adachi, an industry veteran most famous for his character designs. Adachi has been in the business for over 25 years, so the fact that his talent has been rewarded this way is encouraging. The show’s first PV had an appealing energy to it, so he knows how to put together a team on the aesthetic front at the very least – let’s see whether his leadership translates to a consistently entertaining series.

KJ File

Studio: ILCA & yell
Director: Akira Funada
Series composition: Takashi Iitsuka, Mitsuhiro Sasaki
Source: Original

The Premise: Kaiju have appeared and now humanity must learn to either fight them or live alongside them.

Lenlo: Sadly as of writing this we still don’t have a PV or any real promo art for this original. The only thing we have is an image of a Kaiju, a handful of key staff names, and the two studios working on it. But even then that doesn’t tell us much since this is Studio yell’s first project and Studio ILCA has done nothing but mediocre horror shorts for the past decade. I want to talk about this show. But I have nothing to talk about until it airs.

Classroom of the Elite Season 2

Studio: Lerche
Director: Yoshihito Nishouji
Series composition: Hayato Kazano
Source: Light Novel

The Premise: High school kids are given way too much autonomy, power, and money just because they’re good at random things.

Amun: I enjoyed Classroom of the Elite…even if I barely remember it from five years ago. I think a more recent comparable series would be “Talentless Nana-san”, just with less supernatural and stabbing. Five years ago, the overpowered classrooms weren’s as prevalent in isekai, so the premise didn’t feel as overused; however, here in 2022, it’s hard to get excited. Classroom settings like this almost certainly mean following many different storylines, which it looks like Classroom S2 will be doing. I don’t think that’s a great idea, since the characters really aren’t strong enough to begin with – diluting their screentime just feels bad. Plus, we just finished out the fantastic “Kaguya-sama” – the Classroom comparisons are unavoidable. Finally, I’ve also heard the story derails a bit further in (similar to Promised Neverland), so I’m very concerned. As far as staffing goes…it somehow got worse than the first season. This season’s director Yoshihito Nishouji (who I believe is the director, despite two “chief directors” being listed…do you guys know what the word “chief” means?) hasn’t done much of note outside of working on Assasination Classroom – which is actually pretty relevant for this series. Composer Hayato Kazano has very little experience outside of a few episodes for “Killing Bites” and “Rumble Granndoll”. So we have a concerning premise, source material that seems to get worse, and inexperienced leadership. I’ve watched about 90% of Lerche productions (still waiting for that next season of “Unbreakable Machine Doll”), but this is one show I’m not sure I’ll finish.

Ongakutai Witches

Studio: Shaft
Director: Shouji Saeki
Series composition: Shouji Saeki
Source: Original

The Premise: Witch idols.

Lenlo: Witches, Idols and Ecchi? Sign me up! Ok but seriously, don’t sign me up. Absolutely nothing about this series engages me whatsoever. Studio Shaft is working on it, which is kind of cool. I hope it doesn’t take resources from RWBY but hey, that’s probably going to be a shit show anyways regardless of how much I hope it’s good. Anyways, back to the witches. Ongakutai looks like a CGI Idol mud show. Lots of flying through the air where they don’t have to worry about ground comp or interaction, lots of dance and singing numbers, absolutely nothing in the way of an engaging plot or thought provoking question. If you want some junk food I think this will fit right up your alley, but I’m going into the first episode of this with the lowest expectations imaginable.

Isekai Yakkyoku

Studio: Diomedéa
Director: Keizou Kusakawa
Series composition: Wataru Watari
Source: Light Novel

The Premise: A world-famous medical researcher dies and reincarnates in a world where medicine and health-care are overlooked.

Mario: Yes, it’s an isekai and the setup looks uncannily like all other isekai we have watched before. This kid wakes up with the knowledge of present time, an overpowered skill and a set of harem girls. Despite all that, there are two factors from this show that keep me curious. First, from what little I had read from the source, “Isekai Yakkyoku” is more “Bookworm” than “Jobless” – it’s more focused on the medical side than “leveling-up” his own power. Second is the involvement of Wataru Watari. Yes, the guy who wrote OreGairu. While he didn’t originally pen this, you can expect witty dialogue and better characteraction than your typical isekai.

 

Shows We’re Anticipating

Yurei Deco

Studio: Science Saru
Director: Tomohisa Shimoyama
Series composition: Dai Satou
Source: Original

The Premise: A benevolent hacker group works to uncover the truth behind their city’s digitally controlled society.

Wooper: Now that Science Saru is no longer synonymous with Masaaki Yuasa, there’s room for younger talent to spearhead projects of their own at the studio. In Yurei Deco’s case, that younger talent is Tomohisa Shimoyama, who directed their short series Super Shiro a couple years back. I was fond of Super Shiro, so I’m interested in this new full-length project, but its themes are just as precarious as they are intriguing. Virtual worlds and social credit systems are certainly worthy subjects in isolation, but anime as a whole has already offered a deluge of commentary on them, so Yurei Deco will need to meet a higher than average bar if it wants to stay relevant beyond its brief stint on TV. The detail of individuals’ place in society being determined by the number of likes they receive (“love” in this universe, a pun on the title’s “rei”) feels especially dated, and we’re only 15-ish years into the social media age. I do like the western-leaning visuals in the PV, which feature varied character designs and virtual reality staples like labyrinthine libraries and people with pixelated faces. The animation looks to be on the limited side, but it comes from a studio whose economy of motion is generally strong, so I’m expecting consistency (if not excellence) throughout the show’s run. Overall I’d say I’m looking forward to Yurei Deco, but I doubt it’ll be the surprise hit of the summer.

RWBY: Ice Queendom

Studio: Shaft
Director: Toshimasa Suzuki
Series composition: Tou Ubukata
Source: Western Cartoon

The Premise: Four girls go to school to learn how to become Huntresses, defenders of humanity. Also everything is a gun.

Lenlo: Dear god, I cannot believe it is happening. I’ve been following RWBY for almost a decade now, I was there at RTX when the first episode aired. It’s been a part of my life for a long time now. And I can confidently say… It’s alright. It has a lot of issues, from an often questionable CGI pipeline to the loss of Monty Oum, its original creator, resulting in a new era of writers not everyone likes. Yet in spite of this, something about it has resonated enough to keep it going. I still like the characters, the world, the idea of RWBY. So I’m really excited to see what the concept can do in the hands of someone else. As for who that someone else is… Studio Shaft is an interesting choice. Sometimes they put out works of art like 3-gatsu no Lion and the more recent Monogatari series. Other times its Magia Record or Pretty Boy Detective Club. I’d like to be able to point and say it’s just Shinbo, he makes the good stuff. But even if that was true, he’s not involved in this project at all. Instead we get Toshimasa Suzuki who, while they have a storied history as a unit director, hasn’t done anything impressive on his own projects. What does this mean for RWBY? If I’m being hopeful, a unique and fun take on the concept. If I’m being honest though, it’s probably going to be a mess. Either way, I’m here for it.

Rilakkuma’s Theme Park Adventure

Studio: Dwarf
Director: Masahito Kobayashi
Series composition: Takashi Sumita, Makoto Ueda
Source: Original

The Premise: A thirty-something career woman and her sentient stuffed bear enjoy themselves at an amusement park.

Wooper: Rilakkuma’s Theme Park Adventure is neither 2D nor 3DCG. It won’t air in a late night TV slot for 12 episodes before disappearing from the public consciousness. It doesn’t even forego characterization in favor of JRPG mechanics and terminology – why is it part of this seasonal anime preview? Well, it’s 1) Japanese, 2) animated via stop motion, and 3) the first season was great. This new batch of eight episodes won’t appear online until late August, but it’s sure to be one of the cutest, most soothing shows you watch all year (and maybe even one of the most fun, given this season’s theme park setting). Amusement parks are often split into different zones, each of which can be decorated completely differently, so I’m looking forward to seeing the show’s excellent set design in simulated motion once again. Troublemaking bear Rilakkuma and his friends will surely encounter new characters in each section of the park, as well, from no-nonsense employees to lost children to generous ice cream vendors. If there’s one aspect of this sequel I’m unsure about, it’s the potential for a prolonged amusement park visit to comment on modern work culture and singledom as the first series did. Kaoru’s human character was the conduit through which those topics were originally raised, so we’ll see whether she plays that role again this season; either way, I’ll be delighted to have new episodes to watch in two short months.

Soredemo Ayumu wa Yosetekuru

Studio: SILVER LINK.
Director: Mirai Minato
Series composition: Hitomi Mieno
Source: Manga

The Premise: Two kids tease each other until one of them confesses their love before the other. Sounds strangely familiar, right?

Mario: So this is Souichiro Yamamoto’s third manga adaptation, just right after Kunoichi Tsubaki last season and Takagi-san the season before. If you’re familiar with his previous stuff, yes the forehead is hard to miss. Ayumu basically borrows the same formula of Takagi-san, with the “will they, won’t they” scenarios, albeit this time they are pretty much on the same level. Silver Link is a reliable studio, and the director had done another rom-com before (Masamune-kun no Revenge) so I believe he can bring justice to this show. I’m not terribly in need of another Yamamoto adaptation, especially right after his other two, but fans of rom-coms will have a good time here.

 

Highest Expectations

Cyberpunk Edgerunners

Studio: Trigger
Director: Hiroyuki Imaishi
Series composition: Yoshiki Usa
Source: Tabletop RPG

The Premise: An orphan living on the street takes up cybernetic mercenary work in order to stay alive.

Wooper: I haven’t played the Cyberpunk video game and I don’t care about the Cyberpunk video game – I care about [this PV] and its fabulous visuals. It’s only a teaser, but it showcases some of the best compositing I’ve ever seen from Trigger, with lighting and camera movement capable of both hypnotizing and dazzling the viewer. And that’s to say nothing of the color work, which I’d characterize as ‘brooding psychedelia’ – sometimes soberingly dark, sometimes violently bright. This is director Hiroyuki Imaishi’s first full-length series since Kill la Kill, and it looks like he’s learned a lot in the nine years since then. His distinctive visual style makes the man’s return a cause for celebration, provided he and his team maintain a baseline of decent character animation throughout the show’s run – which is by no means a guarantee. There’s an unvoiced 50 second clip floating around on YouTube that raises a few questions about how far he’s going to push his love for static movement, but Imaishi’s name will also attract strong action specialists, who should get to strut their stuff at multiple points throughout the series’ ten episodes. I don’t know precisely how long it’ll be before Cyberpunk shows up on our screens, as the current release window is just “September,” but my hope is that it’ll serve as the animated high point of that month.

Made in Abyss: The Golden City of the Scorching Sun

Studio: Kinema Citrus
Director: Masayuki Kojima
Series composition: Hideyuki Kurata
Source: Manga

The Premise: Two children delve even deeper into the terrifying Abyss, encountering untold horrors along the way.

Lenlo: Ah Made in Abyss. The premier show that’s really good, up until it sticks a tube on a child’s wee-wee. That get your attention? Good. Made in Abyss is returning with most of the same team that did the movie, which I think is pretty good. The movie looked fantastic, the team has a lot of experience with the series, I think that Made in Abyss will be one of the more visually incredible works of the season. I’m not concerned about that. Instead, I’m more concerned with the subject matter. For anyone who doesn’t know, Akihito Tsukushi, the author of Made in Abyss, is an open Lolicon. Like… an extreme one. Just look at some of the extra art for the recap movies or manga he has made, he makes no secret of it. And you can see this reflected in the series itself, with Dawn of the Deep Soul having some of the most egregious bits (cough Papa’s Rod cough). Now I don’t bring this up to try and discredit the series, I think it’s really good when it’s not busy with its hands down someone’s pants. There’s a lot of humanity, a lot of interesting questions and tragic tales, in this series. But what’s going to make or break this season for me is whether or not I end up on an FBI watch list for enjoying it.

DanMachi Season 4

Studio: JC Staff
Director: Hideki Tachibana
Series composition: Hideki Shirane
Source: Light Novel

The Premise: White haired boy and big boobed goddess earn money in a mysterious, dangerous dungeon and find friends along the way!

Amun: Come on, you didn’t really think you’d get away without me talking about my pet series, DanMachi, did you? I’ve been biding my time, conserving my energy, just to bring you the absolute best write-ups for this superlative show. And on paper, things are looking good. The same director and composer are back for another season, and the rest of the staff seems largely unchanged. As you can read on this blog, I had major complaints about season 2 and major praises for season 3. Good news: this season looks to be staying with the strengths of the show. Most of the drama, which will invariably feature other adventurers and deities, seems to take place where it should – the titular dungeon. Everything is pointing to a successful season…EXCEPT ONE THING. And this is a huge problem. Possibly season breaking. Did you notice it? There is no new footage or mention of Ais Wallenstein. I have a terrible feeling she won’t be heavily featured in this arc. While that would be a disaster reminiscent of season 2, I’ll keep my chin up, as I try to bring you the weekly (possibly bi-weekly) reviews of my favorite franchise.

 

Anime Movie Previews

Mario: Sorry that I missed previewing movies of the last season. I consider this Summer Season a bridge between 2 better seasons (as in the last few years). The same goes with the films releasing this season. On the movie front, we have a lot of TV movies this time, such as Sword Art Online, Bakuten, Tsurune. I won’t be previewing them though, as my affection for the series has waned for the former and I couldn’t finish the series for the latter. Instead, I have 3 films to report on; hopefully there’s something for you to look forward to once they’re available on DVD.

Yuru Camp△ Movie

Studio: C-Station
Director: Yoshiaki Kyougoku
Script: Mutsumi Itou
Source: Manga
Release date: Jul 1, 2022

The Premise: A grown-up cast from the series reunites to build a campsite.

Yuru Camp has grown in its popularity and became one of the most successful CGDCT shows in recent years, and it helped boost the outdoor activities in Japan. It is inevitable, then, that a movie would follow up its success. Featuring an original story that covers the adult cast, this movie should bring the nostalghia home. The staff from the original series all return for this movie gig, and with the upgraded budget, you have all the right reasons to believe the gorgeous background art as well as more comfy atmosphere and the loveable cast bouncing off each other.

Natsu e no Tunnel, Sayonara no Deguchi

Studio: Studio CLAP
Director: Tomohisa Takuchi
Script: Tomohisa Takuchi
Source: Light Novel
Release date: Sep 9, 2022

The Premise: Two friends get stuck in a mysterious tunnel that defies space and time. Each of them have their own past and motivation to be lured by it.

I would love to have a closer look at this film’s visual but all we got so far is just a 30-second teaser with little key frames. The small bits on that teaser look decent, though, and there are other factors that look pretty promising to me. Studio CLAP is best known for last year’s Pompo the Cinephile and I am game to watch more from them. Moreover, the source – a sci-fi mystery light novel – is well received and has won several Light Novel awards. Last but not least, Tomohisa Takuchi has a respectable resume, being the director of Persona 3, Persona 4 and Kino’s Journey the Beautiful World. With him serving as both director, writer and storyboarder, it also means that he gets more creative control for this project, which is all the more reason that I am hyped for.

Ame wo Tsugeru Hyouryuu Danchi

Studio: Studio Colorido
Director: Hiroyasu Ishida
Script: Hiroyasu Ishida
Source: Original
Release date: Sep 16, 2022

The Premise: Two kids get caught up in a mysterious phenomenon. When they regain consciousness, they see an entire ocean before them as their housing complex has drifted into a mysterious sea with other kids in it.

I have gained lots of respect for Studio Colorido. They have been constantly producing feature films for a while now, with positive results. Even their middling work like A Whisker Away remains ambitious and at times, affecting. Although this film is an original, you can easily make a connection to their previous effort Penguin Highway. They both feature a young cast with a touch of magical realism, and both are handled by the wonderkid Hiroyasu Ishida, who has already made a name for himself despite young age. This might not be an install hit like Shinkai’s latest (which will come next season), but give this film a chance if you have the time. It’d be a good alternative.