Cells at Work
Best Anime of August 2018 You Should Watch
If you’ve ever wanted Osmosis Jones but with a more anime style, well, Cells at Work is tailor-made for you. The anime turns all of the cells within the human body into anime characters, displaying bodily functions and fighting off infection in dramatic fashion. The show focuses on a specific Red Blood Cell and White Blood Cell, as they encounter various threats and everyday happenings within the body.
Cells at Works is pretty brilliant about how it puts a spin on everything, such as Helper T Cell being a goofy military commander that communicates with the rest of the body via television, or Platelets being adorable little kids that just want to do the best job they can. Past its great sense of humor and quality animation, Cells at Work also goes into detail about bodily functions, providing context and explanation for whatever might be happening on-screen. The show is four episodes in right now, and you can catch new episodes on Crunchyroll. It’s off to a great start and is definitely one of the most unique shows of the year so far.
Angels of Death
Best Anime of August 2018 You Should Watch
Angels of Death is based on a Japanese indie horror game, which you can play right now on Steam actually. The anime follows a 13-year-old girl named Rachel who awakens to find herself trapped in the basement of an abandoned building. Dizzy and struck with amnesia she wanders the building until she meets a strange man named Zack, who has his entire body wrapped in bandages and wields a grim-reaper like sickle. Neither of the two has any idea where they are or why they’re there, but they’ll have to work together to make it out alive.
Angels of Death has some quality animation, and the narrative is gripping right from the outset. The dynamic between Zack and Rachel is fascinating to see play out, and the anime adapts the events of the game well even if it cuts out certain story elements. It may have some predictable story twists, but there are enough production value and character development in Angels of Death to make it worth a watch, especially for fans of horror anime. You can catch it on Crunchyroll or Funimation Now.
We Rent Tsukumogami
Best Anime of August 2018 You Should Watch
We Rent Tsukumogami should appeal to anyone that loves Yo-Kai Watch, as the two series have similar elements although the former is a little more mature than the latter. The show tells the story of two siblings that run a rental shop in Old Edo (present-day Tokyo), where you can rent anything from everyday necessities to expensive antiquities and pieces of art. In truth, however, the items at the shop are Tsukumogami – items that were so beloved by their owners that they’ve developed spirits and identities of their own. This results in Yo-Kai like creatures that listen to conversations around town and spread gossip, creating problems and conflicts. It’s up to the two siblings to resolve the conflicts and unravel the mysteries that spring up around town around the Tsukumogami.
The series is only two episodes in, but so far things are off to a pretty strong start. In addition to its strong main characters, the show is an interesting period-piece for an Edo era city and the first episode had a good self-contained story that paved the way for future episodes as well. We Rent Tsukumogami has an overall relaxing tone mixed with elements of human drama and the Yo-Kai-like antics. If the show piques your interest in any way it’s definitely worth checking out, and could serve as a good foil to the big action-focused anime of the season like Attack on Titan and My Hero Academia. You can watch it on Crunchyroll.
Flavors of Youth
Best Anime of August 2018 You Should Watch
The anime movie mega-hit had a huge impact all over the world in the last couple years, and fans of it should definitely be on the lookout for Flavors of Youth, which comes from CoMix Wave Films, the same studio as Your Name. The film looks like a fascinating combination of stories, showing city life in modern-day China.
Flavors of Youth will weave together three separate stories into one film, each focusing on a different character in a different setting. From the trailer, the animation looks fantastic, and there’s certainly an emotional tone that the film seems to be going for. It may not fill as much time as a new series would, but this is one anime film that anyone should be on the lookout for, especially considering the recent track record of CMix Wave Films. Flavors of Youth will be available to stream exclusively on Netflix on August 4.
Honorable Mention: The Night is Short, Walk on Girl
Best Anime of August 2018 You Should Watch
This one takes the form of an honorable mention as it won’t be as easy to catch as everything else since the film is only getting a limited release in US theaters. Still, anyone that loved Devilman Crybaby earlier this year should absolutely note the dates for The Night is Short, Walk on Girl, which comes from the same director Maasaki Yuasa.
The Night is Short, Walk on Girl uses Yuasa’s same eccentric sense of humor and style, and the animation aesthetic is just as wild as Devilman Crybaby. The film tells the story of a young girl known only as “The Girl with Black Hair.” As a group of teens goes out for a night on the town we see her experiences with the increasingly eccentric inhabitants of the city. At the same time, the girl is pursued by Senpai, a fellow student madly in love with her that comes up with increasingly fantastic and contrived reasons to run into her during the night. The animation is stunningly unique, and the film in general looks like one heck of an experience. You can purchase tickets right now on the GKids website, and The Night is Short, Walk on Girl will be showing in select theaters across the U.S. on August 21 and 22.
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