News: Summer 2015 Anime Based on Light Novels

(pictured: Overlord)
(pictured: Overlord)

Here are the anime based on light novels currently airing in Japan this season (with links to their English simulcasts). What shows are you going to watch over the summer?

For a general chart on summer anime, visit AniChart.net.

Durarara!!x2 Ten (part two of the second season)
In Tokyo’s downtown district of Ikebukuro, amidst many strange rumors and warnings of anonymous gangs and dangerous occupants, one urban legend stands out above the rest--the existence of a headless “Black Rider” who is said to be seen driving a jet-black motorcycle through the city streets. Ryuugamine Mikado has always longed for the excitement of the city life, and an invitation from a childhood friend convinces him to move to Tokyo. Witnessing the Black Rider on his first day in the city, his wishes already seem to have been granted. But as supernatural events begin to occur, ordinary citizens like himself, along with Ikebukuro’s most colorful inhabitants, are mixed up in the commotion breaking out in their city.

Gate: Jieitai Kanochi nite, Kaku Tatakaeri
The military fantasy series begins when a gate appears in Tokyo’s Ginza district sometime in the 21st century. From the gate pours out monsters, knights from middle-age Europe, and other fantasy-like beings, and they kill many of the citizens of Tokyo. This event is known as the Ginza Incident. The government sends a small group of soldiers from the Japanese Self-Defense Forces (a replacement for Japan’s military) to the alternate world beyond the gate. Led by otaku soldier Youji, they find that the villages in the world are being attacked by a dragon. An elf girl who is a survivor from the dragon’s rampage joins the group in their travels across the dangerous new world.

Overlord
The story begins with Yggdrasil, a popular online game which is quietly shut down one day; however, the protagonist Momonga decides to not log out. Momonga is then transformed into the image of a skeleton as “the most powerful wizard.” The world continues to change, with non-player characters (NPCs) begining to feel emotion. Having no parents, friends, or place in society, this ordinary young man Momonga then strives to take over the new world the game has become.

Rokka: Braves of the Six Flowers (Rokka no Yuusha)
When the Majin awoke from the depths of darkness, the deity of fate chose six heroes and bequeathed them with the power to save the world. Adlet, a boy who proclaims himself the strongest on Earth, has been selected among the Rokka no Yuusha (Heroes of the Six Flowers), and he goes to the rendezvous point. The heroes suspect that someone amongst them is an imposter, and the initial suspicion falls on Adlet.

Shimoneta: A Boring World Where the Concept of Dirty Jokes Doesn’t Exist
(AKA Shimoneta to Iu Gainen ga Sonzai Shinai Taikutsu na Sekai)
Sixteen years after the “Law for Public Order and Morals in Healthy Child-Raising” banned coarse language in the country, Tanukichi Okuma enrolls in the country’s leading elite public morals school and is soon invited into the Anti-Societal Organization (SOX) by its founder, Ayame Kajou. As a member blackmailed into joining by Ayame, Tanukichi ends up taking part in obscene acts of terrorism against the talented student council president Anna (for whom Tanukichi has a crush on).

Sky Wizards Academy (Kuusen Madoushi Kouhosei no Kyoukan)
The story is set in a world where humanity, driven off the land by the threat of magical armored insects, now live in aerial floating cities. Thus wizards--aerial combat mages who fight the insects with magical powers--came into being. Kanata Age is a young man who lives on the floating wizard academy city of “Misutogan.” He was once celebrated as the “Black Master Swordsman,” the elite ace of the S128 special team; however, he is now despised as the “traitor of the special team.” One day, he is assigned as the instructor of E601, a team that has suffered ten consecutive defeats. E601 has three girls--Misora Whitale, Lecty Eisenach, and Rico Flamel--with one or two peculiar quirks.

10 thoughts on “News: Summer 2015 Anime Based on Light Novels

  1. I really hope someone picks up Overlord and GATE for us here in America. I also enjoy Sky Wizards Academy, episode 1 and those close ups on the best part of the lead in those cute underwear, need more please.

    GATE is just fun and enjoyable while Overlord is kind of fun too, Lord Ains is cute.

    1. I have not tried Overlord or Gate, but they do seem like they could be bringing something new to their respective subgenres. (The illustrations for both LN series is also quite nice, I noticed.)

  2. Rokka no Yuusha is one of my favourite Light Novels (I have read 3 volumes so far), the biggest surprise of all is that Studio Passione known for Rail Wars!, maybe thanks to Spice and Wolf director, managed to make a faithful adaptation, it looks like only1 or 1.5 volume will be used for season!
    Overlord – usually I don’t like “gamer” novels, but third episode changed my mind, I think I will pick up novels after season, or maybe earlier.
    Gate is OK.
    Kuusen Madoushi Kouhosei no Kyoukan sound so generic and cliché as is possible. So for me it rather bad one unless proven otherwise.

    1. I did try Rokka, but it seems to not be my cup of tea, despite my interest in the Aztec-style aesthetics. The pacing actually might be too slow for an anime, to be honest (especially for an action series). Lovely animation and music though; I especially loved how the starry skies were portrayed.

  3. I’m watching Rokka, Gate, & Sky Wizards which I didn’t realize was a light novel. I hope to give Overlord a try if I can squeeze it into my schedule. Of the 3 I’m watching, Rokka is my favorite so far with Gate coming in on as a close second. Unlike Gate, Rokka anime has made me want to read Rokka novel. I don’t normally read fan translations. I try to stick to licensed material exclusively. But the idea of reading Rokka is tempting. Very, very tempting.

    1. English text for the Rokka LNs is available via NanoDesu Translations, I believe. Probably worth giving a try, if you’ve been enjoying the anime!

    1. You can likely find the Japanese books on sites like Amazon, Kinokuniya, or YesAsia. (Try searching the Japanese title, which you can copy and paste from its Wikipedia page.) If you are asking for an English translation, I don’t know of any available yet. It is not licensed, but there may be a fan translation in the works.

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