It\u2019s back, baby! Space Dandy<\/em> burst onto the scene earlier this year and immediately started more forum arguments than one person could feasibly count. Was this continuity-smashing series an absurd, cartoonish disaster or a brilliant exercise in creative storytelling? After some genuinely brilliant episodes, it became increasingly obvious that Space Dandy<\/em> was the latter of the two. As with the first season, the English dub airs on Cartoon Network, while the subtitled version can be found on Funimation<\/a>\u2019s streaming service. Whichever language you prefer, strap in and hold on for some manic, beautifully animated fun with a wealth of clever ideas hiding just beneath the surface.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Wait! Stop! Hear me out! Yes, the latest installment of the infamous swimming anime is primarily concerned with showing off the ripped physiques of its handsome male characters. Yes, I\u2019m the polar opposite of its target demographic and have no business enjoying it. But here\u2019s the thing: even if you aren\u2019t interested in the good-looking dudes, Free!<\/em> is an absurd amount of fun to watch. The humor hits all the right notes, the animation is superb, and the competition sequences are intense and thrilling. There\u2019s some heavy dramatic lifting to be done further down this list, so Free!<\/em> is exactly the kind of uncomplicated entertainment you\u2019ll need to balance out your simulcast queue. You can watch it through both Crunchyroll<\/a> and Funimation<\/a>.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n With the fun and games out of the way, it\u2019s time to move on to the shows everyone will be talking about. First up is Sailor Moon Crystal<\/em>, the long-awaited remake of the mother of all magical girl shows. Whether you grew up watching the original on TV or just need a little therapy after the great but heartbreaking Madoka Magica<\/em>, you\u2019ll want to give Crystal<\/em> a shot. It\u2019s bound to ruffle a few feathers amongst long-time fans at one point or another, but it\u2019ll make for a fascinating discussion that you\u2019ll want to be a part of. You can watch Sailor Moon Crystal<\/em> all over the Internet, including Crunchyroll<\/a> and Hulu<\/a>.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n I wasn\u2019t a huge fan of the original SAO<\/em>, partly because I never played enough MMORPGs to fantasize about saving the (virtual) world with my awesome sword\/magic skills. The new season drops our heroes into a new game called Gun Gale Online, which sees Kirito and company swapping out blades for bullets. Maybe my inner Halo<\/em> fanatic will get caught up in the franchise\u2019s tidal wave of fandom this time around. I really just want a Borderlands<\/em> anime series, but I\u2019ll take what I can get in the meantime. You can join in on the phenomenon on Crunchyroll<\/a> or Daisuki<\/a>.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n You know what Attack on Titan<\/em> needed? Giant robots getting into space fights with creepy alien monsters. Knights of Sidonia<\/em> shares the same \u201cdesperate fight to protect the last bastion of humanity\u201d theme as Titan<\/em>, but swaps out the walled city for a big spaceship and gives its short-lived heroes flashy flying mechs. I could toss up Battlestar Galactica<\/em> references all day long, but it wouldn\u2019t take away from the fact that Sidonia<\/em> is a damn solid series. It asks some intriguing sci-fi questions and offers some impressive visuals. Sure, it lacks some of Attack on Titan<\/em>\u2019s raw emotion, but Sidonia<\/em> makes up for it with deeper insights. The best part? You can binge-watch the whole thing with English or Japanese audio on Netflix<\/a>.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n While Knights of Sidonia<\/em> comes with a popular manga series to recommend it, Aldnoah.Zero<\/em> relies on a name-drop to bring in curious viewers: Gen Urobuchi. The guy who ripped your heart out of your chest in Madoka Magica<\/em> and Fate Zero<\/em>, then made your brain explode in Psycho-Pass<\/em> is trying his hand at full-scale apocalyptic space opera. The first episode suggests that no holds are barred and no punches will be pulled, so get ready for a serious piece of science fiction. As long as it doesn\u2019t collapse under its own dramatic weight, Aldnoah.Zero<\/em> could be one heck of a ride. Give it a shot on Crunchyroll<\/a> or Daisuki<\/a>.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n I\u2019m throwing a bit of a curveball with this homegrown indie darling. From the company that brought us Red vs Blue<\/em>, RWBY<\/em> offers an American perspective on teenagers fighting evil with a mix of magic and high-caliber weapons. The first season of short episodes focused on establishing a likable cast of heroines and building up a world for them to save. Early previews suggest that the new season will go full steam ahead with evil organizations and epic showdowns. I\u2019m looking forward to seeing how the creators can carry out these grander storytelling ambitions, and I have every confidence that they\u2019ll succeed. Head over to the Rooster Teeth<\/a> website and get pumped for the new season at the end of the month.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Will all of these summer shows hold up over the course of the season? Will I regret not putting Terror in Resonance<\/em> on this list? Only time will tell.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Kawaii Overthink is written by Paul Jensen. You can follow his ramblings about anime and manga on\u00a0Twitter<\/a>. Check back every Wednesday for new articles.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Summer 2014 is packed to bursting with A-list anime titles, from popular sequels to intriguing new series. In order to make your life easier, here are a few of the big names to keep an eye on. Space Dandy Season 2 It\u2019s back, baby! Space Dandy burst onto the scene earlier this year and immediately [Read more…]<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[10],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/sharkpuppet.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1292"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/sharkpuppet.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/sharkpuppet.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/sharkpuppet.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/sharkpuppet.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1292"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"http:\/\/sharkpuppet.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1292\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1295,"href":"http:\/\/sharkpuppet.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1292\/revisions\/1295"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/sharkpuppet.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1292"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/sharkpuppet.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1292"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/sharkpuppet.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1292"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"SpaceDandyS2\"](\"http:\/\/sharkpuppet.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/07\/SpaceDandyS2.jpg\")
<\/a><\/p>\nFree! Eternal Summer<\/em><\/h3>\n
<\/a><\/p>\nSailor Moon Crystal<\/em><\/h3>\n
<\/a><\/p>\nSword Art Online II<\/em><\/h3>\n
<\/a><\/p>\nKnights of Sidonia<\/em><\/h3>\n
<\/a><\/p>\nAldnoah.Zero<\/em><\/h3>\n
<\/a><\/p>\nRWBY Volume 2<\/em><\/h3>\n
<\/a><\/p>\n