The Summer 2017 season seems to have a wider range of outcomes than per usual.
Owarimonogatari (2017)
SHAFT
Source material eroticism: It goes without saying.
Owarimonogatari‘s 2nd season. There’s been so many ‘gatari series now that this show is way beyond requiring introduction. I’m sure someone will cover it, as these series consistently bring high quality artwork and SFW service.
Battle Girl High School
SILVER LINK
Source material eroticism: Minimal. Based off a social media game.
About 99% of the time, game adaptations are kept as safe as possible with regards to sexual content, so I wouldn’t expect a nude service surprise here. That said, if any company were most capable of such a surprise, it would be SILVER LINK. And even though I know nudity is extremely unlikely, I can’t help but feel a hint of promise from the Strike Witches / Vividred Operation style of character designs.
Kakegurui
MAPPA
Source material eroticism: Erotic non-nude service.
These days I spend more time reading manga than watching anime, one reason being that nipples are much more common in manga (and in general, manga have a bit more expressive freedom than anime have). I’ve been tracking Kakegurui for a while now with some interest. As of seven volumes, Kakegurui has yet to show nipples, but has teased nudity many times and it wouldn’t shock me if there is a breakthrough down the road.
Would I expect nudity in this anime? No. But if MAPPA really wanted to have nipples here, the source material is racy enough to justify it. It’s the same thing with Fuuka a couple seasons back, the material was non-nude but pretty erotic, enough that the anime version felt within its own authority to add nipples on blu-ray.
Hajimete no Gal
NAZ
Source material eroticism: Intensely erotic non-nude service.
Hajimete no Gal is in my opinion the sexiest manga to receive an adaptation this year, despite the fact that nipples have yet to appear in the manga’s first three volumes. It’s a rare manga that has the feel of a soft-porn ecchi despite the absence of nipples, which leads you to wonder how long that trend will continue before the mangaka unleashes them.
Sometimes it takes a few volumes for a series to work up the nerve, or sometimes the mangaka gets flat out bored with non-nude poses. Or maybe the creator of this series just really, really loves tease.
As far as the anime goes, the same logic that applies to Kakegurui and Fuuka applies here as well. I wouldn’t expect nipples, but if the production company decides they want to spice up the blu-rays with nudity, they wouldn’t be totally out of bounds given the undeniable erotic elements of the source material.
But even if Hajimete no Gal remains non-nude as expected, don’t be surprised if a lot of people call it the sexiest anime of the season. Especially for those fans who actually enjoy getting blue balls.
Hina Logi: From Luck & Logic
Doga Kobo
Source material eroticism: Not sure. But a related anime had nudity.
Some surprise nudity from Luck and Logic’s blu-rays saved a 14 year industry long streak of nipple sightings in TV anime a couple of winter seasons back. That streak is still going, now at 15+ years.
While it’s not clear if Hina Logi, a spinoff-prequel, will offer the same nude service as its predecessor, it’s worth noting that the first episode has already aired with a couple of bath scenes, with some long shot odds of underwater nudity. This is certainly a series worth keeping an eye on, as at the very least it has established a preference for censored service.
Netsuzou TRap
Creators in Pack
Source material eroticism: Nipple sightings (sort of).
As the name oh so cleverly highlights, this is an NTR series. The twist this time is that the NTR occurs not with a girl and two different men (or vice-versa), but with two girls cheating on their boyfriends with each other. Shoujo-Ai.
While the story is meant to be taken seriously, and the target audience may very well be female based on the shoujo styled character designs of the manga, there is a lot of sex play in this one. And in chapters 3, 14, and 18, the outer edges of areola are visible, confirming the existence of nipples in this manga universe.
It’s hard to predict what we’ll get here. There is significantly more license for nudity here than some of the shows covered above, but the nudity is slight enough in the manga that it would be understandable if the anime didn’t include it.
One thing that I would consider a positive sign – the production values are not that great. Usually higher production value series tend to correlate to anime with nobler aims, and the reverse is generally true as well.
Centaur no Nayami
Haoliners Animation
Source material eroticism: Nipple sightings.
Yes, there are several chapters with nipples shown in the manga source. And this series shares some surface level similarities to Monster Musume. But before anyone gets too excited, I should mention that the theme of the manga is decidedly non-erotic, despite the occasional sexy tankobon cover. This is basically a slice of life type of story, and even when nudity happens, it’s usually done with little detail or attention.
In other words, don’t be too shocked if the anime ditches the nipple sightings to stay consistent with the slice of life themes.
But if it stays completely true to the manga, then there should be a few fun scenes to look forward to.
Skirt no Naka wa Kedamono Deshita.
Magic Bus
Source material eroticism: It’s an ero manga. Lots of sex and nudity.
This is pretty much the exact same concept as Souryo to Majiwaru Shikiyoku no Yoru ni from the Spring season – an ero manga put into a 5 minute episode TV version rather than as a traditional hentai. Expect plenty of happy sex. If you enjoyed Souryo you will probably enjoy this series too. I offer just one word of advisement before watching – bear in mind that the hot blonde is actually a guy.
If nothing else, this series likely ensures that the Summer season will have at least a little to show for itself.
Overall thoughts on the Summer 2017 season
While it is pretty unlikely this season will surpass the Spring 2017 season as the strongest of the year, it should still be a fun season to get through as is there is an inordinate amount of intrigue. Not that there is anything wrong with uncensored, obvious nudity, there’s something to be said about watching shows and wondering… speculating… about potential blu-ray contents. So for me I find myself looking forward to this season ever so slightly, even if it is likely to be a mostly dry offering.
