Summer has returned, bringing with it a fresh batch of anime to give you excuses to escape from the heat. It’s an interesting batch we have this time. If I had to call this season anything, it would be the Summer of Sequels, with continuations of the KyoAni boys love swimming anime Free!, the alien-hunting stylings of SPACE☆DANDY, the second season of everybody’s favorite magical girl spin-off Fate/Kaleid Liner Prisma☆Illya Zwei!, another arc of Nisio Isin’s Monogatari series in Hanamonogatari, and the colossally popular (and equally polarizing) second season of Sword Art Online. But there are originals as well, including the P.A. Works’ summer romance Glasslip, XEBEC’s mecha series Shirogane no Ishi Argevollen, and another mecha series in the Urobutcher/Aoki Ei collaboration ALDNOAH.ZERO. There’s even a bit of a resurgence in the horror/thriller category, buoyed by the highly anticipated adaptation of Tokyo Ghoul and the original series Zankyou no Terror. Last year’s summer season was surprisingly strong. Can this year keep the trend going? There’s only one way to find out. This is Random Curiosity’s Summer 2014 season preview.

* This preview will be kept at the top for the next while, so be sure to scroll past it, check the slider on top, or the Recent Entries on your right for new posts.

Another year of anime is drawing to a close, but not before the long-awaited fall season. While the number of shows pales in comparison to the 43 offered in spring, the quality of the 25 new titles is a lot higher. There are numerous sequels and spiritual successors: The third and final season of Shakugan no Shana, studio GONZO’s big return with a new Last Exile eight years later, the prequel to Type-Moon’s Fate/stay night, and more of our favorite squid girl, Ika Musume. In addition, we have plenty of original series, including a new Gundam and two noitaminA shows by BONES and Production I.G. Equally impressive is the fact that many of which are slated for two-cour. Anime fans everywhere should be excited. I know I am.

Note: I purposely left out Digimon Xros Wars: Toki wo Kakeru Shounen Hunter-tachi and Cross Fight B-Daman from this preview because they’re targeted towards younger audiences. If you’re interested in either, feel free to check out their official sites.

* A season poll is available on the sidebar. It will automatically close on October 1st at 12:00 AM PST to coincide with the start of the season.
* This preview will be kept at the top for the next while, so be sure to scroll past it or check the Recent Entries on your right for new posts.