 Shonen genre and figures have tended to dominate the anime landscape. However, this summer – whether it be a suspense thriller to an overly moe title – we will see a myriad of powerful female protagonists take the stage in what should be one of Crunchyroll’s biggest lineups to date!
First up on deck is YuruYuri, which is about four students who decide to occupy the room of defunct tea ceremony club, dubbing it the ‘Amusement Club.’ While the Student Council does its best to eliminate this club, their endless energy, happiness and comedy will keep audiences smiling all season long!
Our female protagonists here will provide the laughter and side-splitting comedy all summer long to cool you off from all those long, hot days. What might be perceived as airy and too light, this may be the perfect remedy and counter balance to so many heavy, action-packed shows.
 Speaking of action and thriller shows, Kamisama Dolls joins the Crunchyroll lineup with a fair amount of mystery and mystique to pique your interest till the very end. Kamisama Dolls follows Kyouhei, a college student who moves to Tokyo to escape his hometown. One night, he and Hibino discover a dead body and coincidentally Kyouhei’s sister appears with the doll she controls.
Yes, while our protagonist maybe a male, our powerhouse and Doll controller remains a female fatale! Anyone that can control and rock out a robotic ‘doll’ like that is bound to have some unfathomable power that I’m sure all you out there can’t wait to figure out.
 We’ve covered the laughs and action. Now let’s get to the story-intensive anime that will exercise your mind to ensure that it doesn’t get lazy over the summer. If you like STEINS;GATE and Gosick, then you are bound to like The Mystic Archives of Dantalian. This anime focuses on Hugh as he inherits a musty old mansion, along with the entire book collection contained within, from his grandfather - a bibliomaniac who once traded half his lands in exchange for a copy of a rare book. The only condition was that he also inherit the "Archives of Dantalian."
Having arrived at the mansion to put his grandfather's possessions in order, Hugh meets a girl of 12 or 13 quietly reading amongst the tall piles of books in the basement. She is dressed in jet-black, and wears a lock around her neck. Her name is Dalian, and she controls the gateway to the Archives of Dantalian, where the forbidden mystic books of demonic wisdom are kept...
 If that’s not enough to intrigue you and capture your interest with gusto, then I don’t know what will. Wait. How about actually watching it? Okay, THAT will capture you interest. If not, you better check your pulse.
Finally rounding out our Femme Fatale lineup, are a crime-fighting duo who would like nothing more than to bust the forces of evil. That’s right. Twin Angel is here to serve a dose of cold, hard justice to your face.
Twin Angel centers around Haruka Minazuki and Aoi Kannazuki, who are not your ordinary high school freshman. While during the day they are active in school activities and studying hard, outside of that they fight the forces of evil and injustice, as the Twin Angel team!
So there you have it.
Four very different shows with two threads of commonality: not only do all four shows feature strong female characters, but all can be seen right here on Crunchyroll!
 
At first there was nothing. Suddenly there was a gaggle of titles featuring numbers this season.
Feels like we’re in some kind of crazy, numerically out-of-sync countdown. Regardless, these three titles will definitely be gunning for the number one position this season as the most highly sought after title.
Without further ado, let’s get acquainted with the titles starting with:
#15
R-15: At a school full of geniuses from varying fields of study, Taketo Akutagawa has a special – albeit different – genius as well: writing harem novels. Now amongst the other geniuses, he aims win the interclass competition and be recognized as the world’s greatest harem writer!
Starting on Saturday July 16 at 9:30 am PST, R-15 will be available in North and South America, Sweden, Denmark, Norway, Finland, Africa and the Middle East.
 #7
Sacred Seven: Alma Tandoji lives a lonely life. One day, Ruri Alba, a girl accompanied by her butler and maids, visits him. Knowing the power of Sacred Seven is latent within Alma, she asks him to lend her his powers. However, he refuses and drives her away since he injured many with his unusual strength in the past.
Meanwhile, a fiendish Dark Stone creature suddenly appears in this peaceful town in the Kanto region. Only Alma’s power of Sacred Seven can fight against it. But Alma just lets his power run amuck and things begin to get worse. Ruri raised her gemstone in order to release his true abilities, “My Soul…I give to you.” With Ruri’s wishes engraved in it, will Alma be able to defeat the Dark Stone?
 Sacred Seven will air every Friday starting on July 8, at midnight to US and Canadian audiences only.
#6
No.6 takes us to a futuristic setting where our protagonist – Shion – lives in an exclusive area only known as No. 6. His life while immersed in privilege suddenly does a complete 180 on his 12th birthday as he rescues a boy who calls himself "Nezumi" who escaped from the city's Special Security Area…
No. 6. is set to air every Thursdays at 10:00 am PST for premium members in US and Canada only.
 #1
There can only be one number one best anime this season. Which one of these titles do you think will make it, or will they even make it at all? Let us know what you think will be the #1 best new title this season.
 From Femme Fatales to numerically based titles, seems like there’s a running theme going on over there in Japan. Cute animal-based titles that are out of this world!
Let’s start with: A Dark Rabbit Has Seven Lives which centers on freshman Kurogane Taito was always an ordinary, regular guy, except for a promise made to the beautiful vampire, Saitohimea nine years ago. However, when Taito is reunited back with Saitohmea, he and his group of friends are about to see their lives completely changed. Unbeknown to them, their destinies were already woven and foretold in an ancient prophecy...
Definitely out of this world with a nice fusion of animal influences and sci-fi elements, A Dark Rabbit Has Seven Lives will make this a truly interesting title to keep an eye on over the summer. While to date, we have only been able to see the promotional videos, it does look quite interesting and we can only speculate at this point that the title will definitely garner some positive attention going forward.
 While this has no physical bunny, character that turns into a bunny or anything of that sort, Usagi Drop’s title does hold a special meaning in relation to the overall development of the story itself.
Going home for his grandfather's funeral, thirty-year-old bachelor Daikichi is floored to discover that the old man had an illegitimate child with a younger lover! The rest of his family is equally shocked and embarrassed by this surprise development, and not one of them wants anything to do with the silent little girl, Rin. In a fit of angry spontaneity, Daikichi decides to take her in himself! But will living with this overgrown teenage man help Rin come out of her shell? And won't this turn of events spell doom for Daikichi's love life?!
 At this moment the interpretations of the title name in relation to the series itself is endless. It’s up to you to watch it and figure out what it all means. One thing we are sure about, is that when you watch this series you will fall in love with its honest and emotionally driven storytelling, coupled with soft, beautiful artwork.
Doing then a complete 180, Nekogami will turn those tears of sadness into tears of side-splitting laughter. Nekogami focuses on Mayu who is a nekogami (cat god) that leads a life of playing games while Koyama Yuzu runs an antique shop. Mayu will be visited by many other gods whom lead a life of enjoyment. Simple, yet effective, this is a light comedy that will chase those summer time blues right away.
Everything about this title screams light, enjoyable comedy. From the choice of vibrant colors to the curvatures in the general character design, Nekogami is set to bring a smile across your face when you watch it!
 Finally, one of Crunchyroll’s old school anime titles makes its triumphant return like a cat on nine lives. Natsume Yujincho, after quite a long hiatus, returns to Crunchyroll for its third season. For those that missed the first two seasons and somehow did not read the manga, Natsume Yujincho centers around Natsume Takashi who has the ability to see spirits, which he has long kept secret. However, once he inherits a strange book that belonged to his deceased grandmother, Reiko, he discovers the reason why spirits surround him.
The beauty of this particular anime is that it masterfully blends in the traditional Japanese beliefs and characters from the occult into a modern day piece. Perhaps that’s why this series has not faded into obscurity and remains on the tongues of many anime fans out there.
Like Natsume’s guardian cat figure, Nyanko-sensei, this series will transform from this quiet, purring series into a monstrous behemoth of a title that will soar through the proverbial skies of the anime world this season.
Oh my!
Naruto Shippuden ©2002 MASASHI KISHIMOTO / 2007 SHIPPUDEN All Rights Reserved., Soranowoto © Paradores/Aniplex/ 1121, Chu-Bra © Yumi NakataEFUTABASHA^CHU-BRA Partnership, Astro Boy, Dororo, Blackjack and Phoenix © Tezuka Productions All Rights Reserved, Nurse Witch Komugi-chan Magikarte Z © ADVFilms All Rights Reserved
Did you know Axis Powers Hetalia originally started off as a webcomic in 2006. Its worldwide fame has since created an official publication as well as a TV anime series.
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