It’s a new season, and many anime streaming services are posting their anime lineups for summer 2018. However, only a few of these shows will receive English dubs. Luckily, this summer’s dubbed roster is pretty diverse, boasting more than just popular titles like Overlord. This year, we can expect some real gems and, hopefully, a ton of sunshine. So, beat the heat by watching these five English-dubbed anime this summer.
How NOT to Summon a Demon Lord
- Premiere date: July 25
- Studio: Ajia-Do
- Genre(s): Comedy, Fantasy, Magic
- Where to watch: Funimation
This summer, English-dubbed anime fans will learn that there isn’t a correct way to summon a demon lord after all. How NOT to Summon a Demon Lord follows Takuma Sakamoto, a legend commonly known as “Demon Lord” in the MMORPG Cross Reverie. Sakamoto’s world changes forever when he’s summoned to a world very different from his own. (Surprisingly, looks a lot like his in-game character from Cross Reverie.)
In this strange new place, he meets two young girls who claim to be his summoners. Before he knows it, they chant an Enslavement Ritual to turn Sakamoto into their summon. But due to Sakamoto’s powers, the girls are the ones who become enslaved instead.
While Sakamoto may be the strongest magician around, he doesn’t have the skills to communicate with other people in this world. His severe social anxiety leaves him no choice but to act like his character, Demon Lord, from Cross Reverie. Thus begins the epic (mis)adventures of Sakamoto and his two slaves.
Magical Girl Raising Project
- Premiere date: July 29
- Studio: Lerche
- Genre(s): Action, Supernatural, Magic, Thriller, Fantasy
- Where to watch: Funimation
The magical girl genre has gone through some serious changes these last few years. And the English-dubbed anime Magical Girl Raising Project is a testament to that fact. In the anime, there’s a popular social role-playing game called The Magical Girl Raising Project, where people can play as magical girls. But for a lucky few, the game has become a reality. One such player is Koyuki Himekawa, who is selected to become a real magical girl.
But one day, the admins announce that there are too many magical girls. To fix the magical energy problem, they’ll need to halve the total number of magical girls. So, the admins organize a competition. Each week, the contestant who collects the lowest number of magical candies — awards for their magical girl activities — will lose their powers. However, the rules quickly change, and this innocent project soon becomes a deadly battle for survival.
The Master Ragnarok & Blesser of Einherjar
- Premiere date: July 28
- Studio: EMT²
- Genre(s): Fantasy, Harem
- Where to watch: Funimation
There are countless urban legends out there, and most are best to leave untested. Unfortunately, Yūto Suoh didn’t get the memo. One day he and his childhood friend Mitsuki Shimoya test out one of these legends. Suou uses his solar-powered smartphone to take a selfie with the local shrine’s divine mirror, only to get transported to Yggdrasil, a world based on old Norse mythology.
In this new world, only the mightiest survive. And thanks to Suou’s knowledge and trusty phone, he quickly rises up the ranks. Now, he leads a troop of several thousand people, including a group of magic-wielding warrior maidens known as Einherjar. Together, they begin their conquest in The Master of Ragnarok & Blesser of Einherjar.
Attack on Titan (Season 3)
- Premiere date: July 11
- Studio: Wit Studio
- Genre(s): Action, Drama, Fantasy, Military, Mystery, Shounen, Super Power
- Where to watch: Funimation
One of the best anime of 2017, Attack on Titan is undoubtedly the must-see show of summer 2018. The highly anticipated new season continues to follow the exploits of Eren Jaeger and the Survey Corps. The previous season did answer a few burning questions like, “What’s in the walls?”
However, it also conjured up a laundry list of new questions that fans won’t get an answer to until season 3 starts. With Levi’s past finally catching up to him and the focus on human enemies, the new season will undoubtedly be epic. Thankfully, Attack on Titan fans won’t have to wait long as the new season will premiere on July 11th.
Anonymous Noise
- Premiere date: June 8
- Studio: Brain’s Base
- Genre(s): Music, Romance, Shōjo
- Where to watch: HIDIVE
Based on the first few English-dubbed episodes that have already aired, Anonymous Noise is in the running to be one of the best English shōjo of 2018. A weird girl named Nino Arisugawa wears a medical mask for no apparent reason and stands by the beach to sing her heart out. Years ago, she and each of her childhood friends — her first crush, Momo Sakaki, and Kanade “Yuzu” Yuzuriha who composed music for her — promised to someday come back to each other. The boys each individually insist that if Nino were ever separated from them, her voice would reunite them once again.
By the time we meet Nino, six years have passed since those heart-wrenching goodbyes. Now, the trio finds themselves attending the same high school. But things have changed. The feelings that Yuzu and Momo had for Nino are no longer there. Can the power of music draw the boys back to Nino? Only time will tell.
