Another series that stands out among the other new series of the summer comes from the studio Brains-Base. This new series is entitled Kamichu! Kamisama wa Chugakusei (in English, The Goddess is a Middle School Student). Kamichu! has the potential to reach the heights of some of the best anime series. This show has a lot of potential. Both the story and animation of this anime have the feel of a Miyazaki movie. The series follows a young girl named Hitotsubashi Yurie, who wakes up one morning and realizes that she has become a god. She goes to school the next day and tells her friends the good news. Her friends Shijo Mitsue and Saegusa Matsuri attempt to help her discover just what kind of god she has become. While on the roof of the school, Matsuri starts to encourage Yurie to try shouting different words to attempt to trigger her new godlike powers. Nothing appears to work, at least to their knowledge. But in reality, when Yurie shouts “Kamichu!,” a huge storm, perhaps a typhoon, is created not far from Japan and it is now heading their way. Yurie discovers her creation when watching the news, and must find a way to undo her mistake. This is simply the events that occur in the first episode. It is not the plot of the entire series. The real plot of the series is following Yurie as she discovers her new powers and her new role as a god, and the young girl’s fear of failure and uncertainty that she has the ability to perform her duties as a god properly. Her friends are not the only characters helping her with her troubles. Yurie also gained the ability to see the spirits or gods within all living creatures and objects, and she is able to communicate with them. These gods also try to lend a hand and help Yurie become a powerful, caring god. This may all seem odd to some of you, but let’s not forget that this is a Japanese show and this is part of their culture and beliefs. If you are looking to understand Japanese culture, this is the perfect series for you. I know that for me it is extremely interesting to watch such a series through my own American eyes. Now, as far as the animation is concerned, it is very detailed for both the characters and the environments. There are no traces of CG in this show, so it has an old school anime feel to it. This may discourage some of you from watching this show, but I assure you that the animation style really works well with such a character-driven series. The animation also flows seamlessly and is very fluid, and really helps to bring the characters to life. This show is definitely a treat for your eyes. I encourage you all to give Kamichu! a try and see what you think for yourself. You might find yourself intrigued and hooked on it. There have been no talks about licensing of this series in the United States, probably due to the heavy Japanese cultural content. So try to get your hands on a few episodes by any means possible.

One of my favorite new series of the summer is called Suzuka, and it is based on the manga with the same title. This series falls under the ecchi, school life, and comedy genres. Now, before you judge me, hear me out on this one. This is not your typical, dime-a-dozen ecchi anime series. Thus far, Suzuka has been fresh and different from the prototypical ecchi anime series. It is probably more of a romance drama than ecchi. Suzuka follows 15 year-old Akitsuki Yamato who moved to Tokyo alone to attend high school. Yamato was hoping the move to Tokyo would allow him to change his life for the better. He was always kind of absent minded and a bit of a late bloomer. While in Tokyo, Yamato lives in his aunt’s apartment building. The building is reserved for women tenants only, but since Yamato is family he is allowed to live there. He doesn’t have to pay rent as long as he does chores for his aunt. These chores usually contain cleaning the public bath area, which usually leads to awkward moments due to the 99% women population in the building. One day at school, Yamato gazes upon a beautiful girl practicing the high jump out on the school’s track. He is mesmerized by her beauty, and thinks to himself that he has to learn this girl’s identity. Later that night, to his surprise, Yamato discovers that this girl is his neighbor Asahina Suzuka (that’s right, the title of the show is her first name…amazing!!!). Suzuka also moved to Tokyo to attend the same high school, but she is attending the school to compete on the track team as a high jumper. She is extremely hard working and won’t let anything get in the way of her goals. She is very kind, but can be a bit stubborn and harsh at times. Though she is filled with optimism, we soon learn that she fears failure. Suzuka and Yamato begin talking and eventually become close friends. The main storyline of the show deals with Yamato coming to grips with being attracted to his new friend Suzuka. He spends a lot of time trying to figure out whether she feels the same way, and gathering the courage to confess his feelings. Though the story revolves around these two, they are not the only characters around. There are plenty of additional characters each with vastly different personalities to make for a nice melting pot of goodness. Hattori Yasunobu is Yamato’s childhood friend from the times he would visit his aunt in Tokyo. Yasunobu is a lazy slacker that only cares about girls, and constantly gives Yamato bad advice about life and girls. Honoka Sakurai lives at the local shrine with her family. She is Yamato’s friend, but wishes to be more. She is very timid and shy, especially around Yamato. She also receives some bad advice from Yasunobu from time to time. Miki Hashiba is Suzuka’s best friend on the track team. She isn’t introduced into the show till around the 7th episode. She is a free spirit with tons of enthusiasm, and clashes often with Yasunobu and his slacker persona. The characters and their individual personalities are what drive this show, as the story emphasizes the headaches of relationships faced by inexperienced teenagers. The vastly different personalities allow for enjoyable interactions, such as the clashes between Yasunobu and Hashiba. They also lead to a lot of comic relief moments, which helps to break-up the romantic drama perfectly. The interactions between the characters are what got me hooked to this great new show. Suzuka has a very realistic feeling, especially with the relationship issues of the characters. You won’t find any kind of ridiculous fairy tale moments that only happen in movies. Everything that we have (or will) experience in the awkwardness of teenage romance is touched upon. Nothing simply develops overnight. This show takes its time developing the story, so you have to have some patience in order to fully enjoy this show. The animation is nothing spectacular, but it is perfectly substantial for this type of a show. This is usually the case for anime in this genre. There is no reason to overspend on top notch animation when the biggest action sequence is a 100 meter race during the high school’s track and field competitions. If you are a fan of ecchi and romance drama anime series, then chances are you will love this new series. As far as those of you that don’t typically like this genre, this could be the series that might be the exception to the rule for you. I personally think that everybody should give this series a try, and judge for him/herself. I have not heard any news regarding a possible United States release, nor do I anticipate one to occur. I cannot rule out the possibility, but when there are a lot of anime released each year in this genre, not too many companies would spend the money on licensing unless it was a sure thing.

Now, the crème della crème, Full Metal Panic! The Second Raid is by far my favorite new anime series of the summer!!! I absolutely love this series, and I sometimes lose sleep from the anxiety caused by waiting for a new episode to premiere. For those of you have not heard or seen Full Metal Panic!, allow me to give you a brief explanation as to what it is exactly. Full Metal Panic! actually premiered back in 2002. So, yes, that means that The Second Raid is a new season of this amazing series. The first season of Full Metal Panic! followed the adventures of Sagara Sousuke and the secret anti-terrorist organization called Mithril. Sousuke is a soldier within Mithril, but he is actually only 16 years old. He grew up in a war-torn Middle Eastern country, so all he has every known is the battlefield. During the first season, Sousuke was given the assignment to protect a young high school girl named Chidori Kaname. Why would a soldier be assigned to protect a typical high school girl? Well, you are correct, she is a typical high school girl, or at least she thinks so. The truth is that Kaname possesses extreme secret powers that she doesn’t even know about. She is what is referred to as a “Whispered” (not to be confused with the crappy movie “The Horse Whisperer,” she doesn’t talk to horses), which is a select few individuals that possess secrets to advanced technology within their subconscious. Sousuke must protect her because there are multiple terrorist groups that would love to obtain the secrets within in her subconscious. In order to protect Kaname, Sousuke must go undercover as a high school student at her school. I think this is a pretty good background of the main story from the first season. If you wish to know more, put aside some time to watch it. It is available on DVD in the United States from ADV Films. So I bet you think that The Second Raid is the second season of Full Metal Panic!? Well, you are both correct and incorrect at the same time. How is that possible? Well, there was a second season of Full Metal Panic! made, but it wasn’t exactly a true second season. This series was called Full Metal Panic? Fumoffu. Fumoffu focused on random events that occurred during the school life portion of Full Metal Panic! Basically, Fumoffu was a comedy, plain and simple, but the events that occurred during Fumoffu took place in between the events of the first season. So, The Second Raid actually is the true second season of Full Metal Panic! as it continues from where the first season left off. If you are interested in checking out Fumoffu (which I highly recommend), it is also available on DVD in the United States from ADV Films. Anime3000’s very own Anthony (aka Kurosaki Ichigo) wrote an excellent review of the first volume DVD of Fumoffu. Go check it out. Alright, now that I have you up to speed, it is time to talk about The Second Raid. The Second Raid is based upon the popular Full Metal Panic! novel entitled “The End of Day by Day.” As I stated earlier, The Second Raid starts off right where the first season of Full Metal Panic! ended. In fact, the first episode of The Second Raid begins in the middle of a huge battle. The series basically just throws you right back into the world of Full Metal Panic! right from the get-go. If you have not seen the first season, you might be very lost and not understand what exactly is going on. The action is extremely intense, and is such a gift for my wanting eyes. Mithril has deployed troops into the Republic of Balik in an attempt to save refugees during a bloody civil war. Naturally, Sousuke and his Arbalest are a part of these deployed troops. During the battle, Mithril discovers that the Republic’s government army possesses powerful weapons that match the firepower of Mithril. This discovery opens up a whole slew of questions for Mitrhil. How did the Republic of Balik get their hands on this advanced technology? Did someone supply the Republic of Balik with these weapons? This is the main direction of the story in The Second Raid. A lot of questions from the previous season are addressed during The Second Raid. For example, Captain Testarossa gives a thorough explanation of the origin and meaning of the “Whispered.” So expect some interesting “ah-ha” moments during this series. Since the main characters have already been developed, the character development takes a back seat in this series. That doesn’t mean there is zero character development at all times, there are still plenty of key moments that help to develop the characters further. The character development is well paced, so as to gel perfectly with the action and the story. All of the villains thus far are brand new, and they are all interesting characters that are slowly being developed. The animation is absolutely beautiful, and it really shows in the battle scenes. The studio that deserves all the credit for the wonderful visuals is the highly talented Kyoto Animation. Kyoto Animation worked on Fumoffu, and they returned to work on The Second Raid. The seiyuu (voice actors) from the original series all returned for The Second Raid, and once again they do an excellent job. Tomokazu Seki nails Sousuke’s deadpan delivery perfectly once again, resulting in some more classic Sousuke/Koname moments. If you are fan of the original series, this is just what you have been waiting for, more Full Metal Panic! I highly recommend this series to any FMP fans, especially anyone that might have been jaded by the lack of action in Fumoffu. I also recommend to anyone that has not seen the first season of FMP to take the time to watch it. Then you could join us in the excitement that is watching The Second Raid.

Well, that wraps up the series that I felt were most notable from the summer midseason replacements. Please take the time to give these new series a chance, and develop your own opinion on them by watching them first hand. A new season is actually just around the corner in Japan, but I think I’m going to take a break from summarizing new anime series. In fact, I plan on focusing on anime premiering in the United States for a bit. Yes, that is correct, in the next “Cocaine Cowboy Corner,” expect to read my thoughts of the American premiere of Naruto!!! Since I am a huge fan of the Naruto anime and manga series, expect a thorough analysis of the Americanized version of the series. I promise not to go easy on Viz Media, and will only give my absolute unbiased opinion regarding the English dub, music, names, and any editing of the content. So, come back later in the week for a celebration of all things Naruto!!!