Summer 2019 Anime Tier List: Best & Worst Series

Pondering which anime series of Summer 2019 are worth watching? Maybe just curious to see how they’ve all shaken out so far?

Then look no further as Seasonal Prattle has once again spent an obnoxious amount of time consuming and ranking every airing show all based upon their total construction, hopefully providing guidance to your viewing choices as the end result.

So bottom line: If you’re looking to see how all the anime this Summer stacks up at this point, then read on.

With that said, let’s dive in!

Tier List FAQ

What’s eligible for the list? – Every Summer 2019 anime released at the time of writing that’s subbed, and not an OVA, ONA, film or continuing series from the most previous season.

How do the tiers work? – The tier itself has a description that denotes the anime’s value. Anime listed ahead of another in the same tier shouldn’t be thought of as “better” to a large extent, rather, their level of quality is generally just a step ahead of the immediate work beneath it.

How are the anime evaluated? – We’re really looking at how the anime in question leans on commendable construction and good use of base storytelling mechanics to propel itself. Entertainment value is, of course, a factor too.

A-Tier

The cream of the crop this season. These anime tend to demonstrate greater acuity in their visual craft, narrative fundamentals, and written structure in relation to their respective genre spaces. They have a large range of attractive features and are highly likely to be an entertaining pickup to a wide patch of audiences. Very safe choices to add to your watch list.

Vinland Saga

Projects like this take a considerable level of touch and nuance to hit home, both of which are graciously delivered here. Vinland Saga is easily the most structurally gifted anime this Summer season, mingling crisp instincts for storytelling with a palpable level of craft to wonderful effect. It’s highly applaudable right out of the box and has a muscular reputation behind it that reassures quality over the long term. While the narrative is relatively straightlaced, strong delivery makes even passive beats of Thorfinn’s journey and growth engaging. Good use of leverage and momentum to keep its cast in favorable positions and a fine sense of pace round out this blue-chip prospect. Effortlessly head of its class.

B-Tier

Not as strong or safe as titles that would fall in the previous tier, but still worthwhile choices for the right individual. The following anime have their limitations be it textually, visually or otherwise. However, those limitations aren’t blatantly detrimental.

Dr. Stone

Dr. Stone certainly isn’t the most beautifully composed, but it’s fundamentally sticky enough in its writing and concept to hold both its own weight and an audience’s attention with little hassle. Beyond its intriguing workhorse of a premise, a lot of Stone’s value comes off the back of Senkuu, who has shown the versatility and competency to be an enjoyable lead from a batch of tonal positions. Sadly, the rest of the core cast isn’t nearly as flexible, with some coming across as overbearing and one-note in their characterization – limiting the effectiveness of particular gags and dynamics the series likes to routinely deploy. Be that as it may, when the dust settles the pros outweigh the cons by a good amount, making Dr. Stone a fine pickup with a bit of rough trimming around the edges.

Given

Given operates with a level of poignancy and sharpness that makes it more profitable for viewers as a well-rounded character piece than one may think at a glance. Good mix of light comedy and charming character sequences are opening strengths here, but they’re not alone. Minute to minute interactions feel sincere and there’s ample care given to this show’s dramatic floor – laying out a healthy foundation for future tonal notes that it wants to hit. Given is sneakily calculated in the levers it pulls and worth a solid look.

C-Tier

Mileage will certainly vary. The following anime either unashamedly ride on tropes and cliches, often struggle to really stand out among their genre spaces, or just flat out lack the toolkit to consistently accel beyond a reasonable watch. All in all, these are “fair” shows that carry a decent risk of coming away with a mediocre experience. We’ll discuss a couple and let you explore the rest at your own discretion.

Fire Force

It doesn’t take long to realize Fire Force is a gorgeous work at face value, ripe with imagery both piercing and purposeful that serves as an immediate award for viewers. Unfortunately though, that level of beauty doesn’t extend to any of its textual facets. Fire Force is noticeably limited both in its script and character writing – staying well in the quality confines of a typical action shonen as it marches along. For that, it’s very much a serviceable show with pretty lacing as an upside at the moment.

Araburu Kisetsu no Otome-domo yo

For an anime series that’s branded as an honest attempt at illuminating teenage sexuality with a level of realism, perception and dramatic efficiency – Araburu’s aptitude in actually doing any of that is muddy at best. This series’ degree of writing isn’t even remotely as sophisticated as its often advertise: Falling victim to slow-burning indecisive love triangles, tedious misunderstandings, inept boys, awful decision making and a bundle of other tired hallmarks that have bloated the romance/school/drama spaces for some time now. Where Araburu tends to be the most consistent in its payoffs is when it dabbles in comedy, an aspect that it has fine eyes for. However, that doesn’t carry a big enough shadow to block out the Kuzu no Honkai tier of drama this show wallows in.

The rest of “C-Tier”:

Kanata no Astra

Nakanohito Genome

Granbelm

Lord El-Melloi II Sei no Jikenbo: Rail Zeppelin Grace Note

Senki Zesshou Symphogear XV

Karakai Jouzu no Takagi-san 2

Dungeon ni Deai wo Motomeru no wa Machigatteiru Darou ka II

Dumbbell Nan Kilo Moteru?

Machikado Mazoku

Cop Craft

Kawaikereba Hentai demo Suki ni Natte Kuremasu ka?

Uchi no Ko no Tame naraba, Ore wa Moshikashitara Maou mo Taoseru kamo Shirenai.

Toaru Kagaku no Accelerator
Sounan Desu ka?

Joshikousei no Mudazukai

Katsute Kami Datta Kemono-tachi e

Tsuujou Kougeki ga Zentai Kougeki de Ni-kai Kougeki no Okaasan wa Suki Desu ka?

D-Tier

Hardly worth describing individually. Just be aware that the following anime are heavily limited in their structure and pose a fairly high risk of being underwhelming. Do take caution in adding these to your watchlist.

Bem

Isekai Cheat Magician

Starmyu 3rd Season

Tejina-senpai

Ensemble Stars!

Yami Shibai 7

Try Knights

Re:Stage! Dream Days

Business Fish

Hakata Mentai! Pirikarako-chan

Kochouki: Wakaki Nobunaga

Yubisaki kara no Honki no Netsujou: Osananajimi wa Shouboushi

F-Tier

Blatantly atrocious in at least one aspect and complete dumpster water in others. The following anime are better off being avoided outright for the sake of your mental health and time.

Arifureta Shokugyou de Sekai Saikyou

Maou-sama, Retry!

Here’s What’s Next…

This list doesn’t end here. Seasonal anime is consistently evolving with each passing week; What may have looked to be a poor series unworthy of your time can eventually show signs of value, and of course, the exact opposite can happen too.

With that in mind, one of the biggest issues with content like this is that creators often don’t update them.

There’s plenty of articles, guides and videos out there suggesting a handful of current titles for you to watch. However, most of those pieces of content tend to be outdated and based upon an extremely limited amount of episodes (sometimes as few as only one or two) in the first place.

When it comes right down to it, that’s the last place we want to be. This list isn’t perfect or definitive by any means, and there’s bound to be readers out there who disagree with certain rankings – which is perfectly fine. Be that as it may, we would still love to keep this updated. So follow us if you haven’t already and stay tuned for future updates!