Poster for The Wind Rises, Studio Ghibli's new production!

Elites! Apologies for not having blogged last Thursday (if you care). Let me make it up to you: here's the most exciting news I've read about these last couple weeks.

So, we are all caught up in watching spring anime, and we may also be watching a few other older titles we've either put on hold or have been planning to watch.  While we’re all itching for the next Shingeki no Kyojin episode, or enjoying the unique oddity that is Flowers of Evil, there isn’t enough adrenaline to spare into anticipating upcoming titles... or perhaps there is!

As new titles are continuously announced, I couldn’t help but to take a look at what’s about to be in store for us. I must admit that I’m not too impressed with the list so far, but I have found a few titles I'm interested in viewing.

So, what do you say, are you ready to take a quick look at this year’s summer anime list? So of course, the list is still growing and when all the titles have been released I will definitely provide the complete chart, and my own watch list. But for now, here are my highlights:

Blood Lad

This is a seinen about a vampire, Staz, who is crazy about humans, and a girl, Fuyumi, who becomes a ghost. Staz makes a promise to Fuyumi to bring her back to life; in return he would be able to visit the human world. Check out the promo for Blood Lad!

Brothers Conflict

Brothers Conflict is a shoujo cross-harem about a girl named Ema who moves into a mansion with her 11 (new) brothers because she doesn't want to be a burden to her father's new marriage; he marries the mother of her new brothers. Love and other types of relationships develop between her and her new siblings. So, I'd say this technically isn't incest, but it almost  is. The animation looks great so I'll at least give it one episode.

FREE

I've already expressed my view on FREE. I really can't wait to see it. The story revolves around a young man named Haruka. He and his friends had competed in a swimming tournament prior to graduating from elementary school. One day he gets challenged by an old friend named Rin to a swimming race. Rin wins, and in order to save face and beat Rin, Haruka puts together a swim club with his old buddies Makoto and Nagisa, and one new member Rei.

Gin no Saji (Silver Spoon)

This anime is based on the manga with the same name. It's about a young man named Yugo Hachiken who enrolls in agriculture school, all in hopes of having his own life apart from his family (every young adult's dream). Mr. Hachiken happens to be from the city and has to learn to adapt to 'agriculture life'. This should be interesting...

Watamote!

This seemingly awesome anime is about a gamer otaku named Toroko Kuroki who is popular in the otome world, and believes that her popularity will carry over in the real world. She finds out that, well, reality isn't like the otome games she plays, and that maybe she lacks social skills.

Gatchaman Crowds

The year is 2015. In Tachikawa city, 180 000 people reside, including Gatchaman: warriors with special powers who fight against alien criminals in order to protect Earth. These days, Gatchaman are up against a mysterious creature called "MESS".

I also want to mention that I just found out that Studio Ghibli will be releasing a new movie called The Wind Rises. The movie is based on Miyazaki's manga of the same name, which is about Jiro Horikoshi, the man who designed A6M Zero. I’m personally excited about this movie, being that I'm a fan of Ghibli. I have yet to see their most recent production though, From Up on Poppy Hill, which I read, from Otaku USA's May issue, wasn’t their best work; the writer felt as though Hayao's son, Goro, who has no background in film and animation, was just doing what others were telling him to do as oppose to creating his own work  and thinking for himself. I’m hoping the reviews for this movie will be more positive, considering Hayao himself is the director.

Have you seen From Up on Poppy Hill ? If so, what are your thoughts?