July - September • 178 anime
Summer 2020 felt scattershot but memorable — 77 titles showed up and a handful actually landed. Re:ZERO Season 2 leaned hard into Subaru's trauma and political intrigue, while Deca-Dence flipped from quirky setup into an unexpectedly smart sci‑fi twist.
My take was simple: the season relied on familiar names to hold attention while a bunch of originals tried interesting risks. Re:ZERO's return was grim in the best way — it leaned into emotional consequences and political maneuvering instead of just repeating earlier shocks, so the stakes finally felt different. Deca-Dence started like a light adventure and then pulled a genre switch that paid off with neat worldbuilding and sharp visual direction.
On the streaming/ONA side, The God of High School brought kinetic, frame‑heavy fight animation that made a few episodes genuinely thrilling, and Japan Sinks 2020 used its disaster premise to explore family and societal collapse with a surprisingly timely focus. Studio Colorido’s A Whisker Away offered a softer counterpoint — whimsical animation and an earnest coming‑of‑age heart that stuck with viewers. Films and ONAs filled a lot of summer slots, so even if the season wasn't uniform, it had real moments where creators took chances that paid off.
