The Summer Hikaru Died
Short Synopsis: One summer Hikaru went into the mountains on a hike, but what came back down wasn’t the same person.
Lenlo: I really enjoyed Hikaru. It perfectly straddled that line between Iyashikei about grieving and processing the death of a friend, and Invasion of the Body Snatchers horror. The first half almost tricks you into thinking there won’t be anything sinister, that it really is just about learning to let go and move on after someone’s passing. But through some fantastic camera work and direction, the horror slowly starts to bleed more and more into Hikaru. Suffice to say, this is exactly what I’ve been looking for, and as much as I’ve been enjoying the Umamusume game recently, I’m glad to see CyGames putting their incredible talent towards something a bit out of their usual wheelhouse. Hopefully it holds up, because right now it’s definitely my favorite thing airing this season.
Potential: 80%
Fermat no Ryouri
Short Synopsis: A failed math genius turns his hobby into cooking.
Mario: One thing I didn’t expect from watching this cooking show: the cook staff designs are right at home with badass heroes in My Hero Academia. Perhaps it’s an apt comparison given how cooking in this show is like a battle itself: you fight or you die. If you think of it that way, you can forgive the unsubtleness of the unfair treatment the principal gives to our leading man. This show does offer something different than your usual cooking anime, as our main character has a math background, so it’s more likely he would find unorthodox ways to experiment with the food. As he is at the bottom of the pack with low self-esteem, it’d be interesting to see how he picks up from here. It’s just too bad that the episode just kind of ends without us seeing how well he makes his assigned noodle dish. So far, I’m interested to stick around just to see the reactions of the guests regarding the Napolitan and how the principal will react.
Potential: 35%
Turkey!
Short Synopsis: A five girl bowling team nearly gets downgraded to a quartet due to its members’ differing priorities.
Wooper: Turkey’s premiere contains a major twist that I’ll be spoiling in just a few sentences, so if you want to go in blind and all you’re looking for is a yes or no recommendation, it’s a no from me, dawg. There’s a bit of visual interest to the show, as it occasionally engineers bursts of semi-detailed motion or thickens its linework for emphasis’ sake, but it’s by and large a second tier effort, especially during the numerous quarrels between its teenage bowlers. I don’t know which was more damaging: the stiffness of some of their body language during those arguments, or the repetitiveness of the most talented girl’s complaints. The aforementioned twist was surely the most notable thing about this episode, since it transported the five major characters from a modern day bowling alley back to the Sengoku period. That makes Turkey a twofer in anime bingo terms – not only does it feature cute anime girls in an attempt to make bowling marketable, but it also sends them to what might as well be another world, even if it’s more time travel than isekai. Maybe it’s the cynic in me, but I imagine the producers of this show (an anime original) didn’t have much confidence in the project if this is the direction they landed on. Perhaps I’ll be proven wrong, but I’m expecting mostly gutter balls from this one.
Potential: 10%
The post Summer 2025 Impressions: The Summer Hikaru Died, Fermat no Ryouri, Turkey! appeared first on Star Crossed Anime.
