Welcome to the first of a three-part article series, where I'll be closing out the season with a detailed statistical breakdown of which shows kicked ass and which bombed spectacularly. In this inaugural volume of the Summer 2020 Round-up, I'll be diving into episode discussion thread poll data and replies from every episode that aired in Summer 2020. This includes second cours and postponed shows from Spring that restarted in Summer!
You'll notice a few shows missing due to lack of sufficient data or tampering, but these will still be covered in later editions about overall score, favorites, and popularity.
In every episode discussion thread, there's a poll where you can rate the episode out of 5, which I calculate into an average. Though this article is sorted by the highest average episode score, the focus is on the highs and lows (or lack thereof in either direction) of every show according to a total of nearly 90,000 votes!
Example:
🗳️ Join the conversation and vote in our episode discussion threads for Fall 2020!
1. Toaru Kagaku no Railgun T
A Certain Scientific Railgun T
Best Episode
"Frenda vs. the Sniper, obviously the highlight of this episode, was incredible, possibly the best one-on-one battle we've had this season! Seriously though, the blend of witty tactics you'd expect from the Underground, antics of the characters along with the occasional comedic bits and finally the glorious animation was just 10/10 material. Fudging lit! "
– MushiRock11
Worst Episode
"The dream sequences felt surreal but also comically funny with the way it's executed. I think the serious elements will pick up more next time but I facepalmed myself a few times for this week's episode."
– Stark700
2. Fruits Basket 2nd Season
Fruits Basket Season 2
Best Episode
"I feel so sorry for Rin; she was such a kind, gentle and compassionate girl and the world around her just completely broke her. However, even though it may appear that she changed after Akito pushed her out the window, she never really did; everything she's doing and the entire reason that she's shut everone out is completely for other people. She's still so selfless and beautiful and she's one of the best written characters of this anime. "
– katie_potaty
Worst Episode
"I still stand by the fact Yuki is the best-written, most "human" character in the series. The other members of the student council aren't the most interesting to me, but I can tolerate them because those episodes inevitably shine a spotlight on Yuki-kun Yun-Yun."
– axel360
3. Re:Zero kara Hajimeru Isekai Seikatsu 2nd Season
Re:ZERO -Starting Life in Another World- Season 2
Best Episode
"Really happy to see they are fully using the quantity of episodes they have to completely adapt the source. This was another powerful episode with another powerful song at the end, wow. And finally, Subaru can open his heart to cry out as he finally was able to tell (the only 'person') that he is Returning by Death.
The rabbit scene was way too detailed and unsettling, it's really disturbing to be honest (Just in case; TV Version). But on the other side, it really gives you the point of view of Subaru and what he has to go through..."
– Koito91
Worst Episode
"The little conversation between Subaru and Beatrice was probably the highlight of the episode for me. Who knew Beatrice had ties to Betelguese. Ending the episode off with the introduction of the Witch of Greed only heightens my anticipation for next week. Also, I really liked the OP! It is my favorite one so far from the series in terms of the visual aspect of it."
– BlackCicero
4. Houkago Teibou Nisshi
Diary of Our Days at the Breakwater
Best Episode
"New episode, new fishing style, and new fish to get showed. Nice! Its even nicer when i knew some information about Ohno senpai in flashback. Her experience about the first time fishing, and the reason why she was wearing the life saving jacket everytime when they were fishing. Such a cute story she had there, and she just looks like Hina in the present time. Thats why she looked so worry about Hina's activity there and before. Lmao. How adorable!"
– badabass
Worst Episode
"As someone who got dragged around by their dad to go fishing a lot as a kid and still not a fan of it, I can relate quite a bit to Hina's reactions this episode.
Show itself feels like something is missing. It wasn't particularly funny nor was exactly 'cute'."
– Paul
5. Yahari Ore no Seishun Love Comedy wa Machigatteiru. Kan
My Teen Romantic Comedy SNAFU Climax!
Best Episode
"Best confession of all time.
A confession without saying "I love you"
A confession with making a promise to stay together for lifelong.
A confession where they both crossed the line together."
– NakolHira
Worst Episode
"Yuigahamamama and MeruMeru senpai brought a warm smile to my heart. Great scene at the graduation party.
I'm not going to get into any shipping wars (I really like both girls), but I do have to say that not including any monologues whatsoever did really do Yukino a disservice this season. Specially last episode, they really should have given more of an inkling of why she thinks and acts the way she does. And why she sent Hachiman on this course. She really is more generous and kind hearted than the S3 might suggest until now. That's all I have to say on the matter."
– Farabeuf
6. Appare-Ranman!
APPARE-RANMAN!
Best Episode
"Jesus, Sofia sure can drink. We also got more info about her relationship with Al and even though she says they are like siblings, I still want to see something develop between them.
Really fun episode, especially the onsen part. Of course, very appreciated for some Xialian and Sofia fanservice too!"
– SkyLETV
Worst Episode
"I enjoyed the comedy and the I think the two main characters have a nice relationship dynamic so far. Still not too entirely sure what to expect, but due to the comedic nature of this series, I'm thinking there will be some randomness here and there, so it should be fun. Definitely got a few chuckles out of me. It's not serious and plot heavy(?) like Fairy Gone, which I wasn't interested in enough to finish. Although Sirius was also serious (heh), but I liked that one. I still think PA Works' strength is in slice of life/drama, but so far, I have a good feeling about Appare-Ranman. I'm hoping it stays that way :')"
– tingy
7. Fugou Keiji: Balance:Unlimited
The Millionaire Detective – Balance: UNLIMITED
Best Episode
"The virgin Bruce Wayne vs the chad Kambe Daisuke.
I was sitting thinking “no way he drives the car into the ocean” and he goes and does it, absolute madlad. Great episode overall, enjoyed seeing Haru’s backstory and the PTSD theme was really well done.
Really emotional. I think that will pay off in the end with him getting the final kill. We also got confirmation that Daisuke’s dad is most likely behind everything, which we pretty much already knew. Gonna be fun to see how this plays out."
– Marinate1016
Worst Episode
"The entire time I was watching the first episode, I kept wondering "who is this for?" and by the end I still have no idea. Personally, I think this season's pretty damn good so I can't really envision this show of all things to be anyone's top pick.
The biggest issue I had was with the millionaire detective himself, who comes off as a spoiled brat at best. Which, to be honest, I don't always mind if they're entertaining or well-written, but he's just a boring asshole. The new VA isn't even doing that bad, it's just a poorly written character.
.....All that being said, the man's a snack and a half, 2/5."
– minniemoon
8. Deca-Dence
Deca-Dence
Best Episode
"This was a fantastic episode. It was like a good movie. Sark, having been seduced to join the wrong side, finally found some purpose in his worthless existence, and went out like a hero. Taking out the traitor at the same time. Excellent.
All the characters were great. And finally Natsume will find out the truth. What a shock it will be. It is hard to imagine now what the world looks like from the perspective of the ordinary humans. How do you even begin to tell her? How do you do it quickly without leaving anything out?"
– Hegar
Worst Episode
"I'm kinda conflicted. I want to think of this as an interesting twist and truly, imo this has more potential than the supposedly initial premise, but the episode wasn't engaging enough.
Well, I'll keep an open mind."
– FMmatron
9. Enen no Shouboutai: Ni no Shou
Fire Force Season 2
Best Episode
"This episode is probably the best from the whole series. The direction was great and the fights were fluid and fun. Joker and Benimaru are my favorite characters in the show after this episode. It seems that Captain Burns actually sides with the Church and could possibly be a villain."
– RobinTheKing
Worst Episode
"Didn't really like this episode, wasn't bad but it was underwhelming I was ready for a big fight, that last episode teased. Also, I am starting to actually dislike Tamaki now before I just didn't care for her but now she is just getting annoying with the fanservice jokes stuff. Anyways at least I got 2 fights to look forward to."
– nrh205
10. Uzaki-chan wa Asobitai!
Uzaki-chan Wants to Hang Out!
Best Episode
"I've gone from liking this show to loving it. The progression of their relationship has been so fantastic and even though there wasn't a confession, this could have been the season finale and I would have been satisfied. Can't wait for more Uzaki-chan!!"
– ninigotmac
Worst Episode
"It was ok. I really liked the premise. A college loner isn’t something that’s shown too often. Uzaki seems like a nice person for trying to help the MC out, it’s great to have a friend that wants to do something with you.
I liked the chemistry between the two, even if was mainly the MC getting annoyed at Uzaki’s closed-mindedness. Quite a bit of bottom-of-the-barrel humour. I didn’t laugh much, but still enjoyed it. "
– Davr
11. No Guns Life 2nd Season
NO GUNS LIFE
Best Episode
"Holy crap. In what can only be described as a miracle this show finally enacts show, don't tell! Quite the powerful realization Juzo made after blasting those other gun slave units to bits."
– ProofByColor
Worst Episode
"The heavy CG use kinda threw me off, but I like the ending of it. This makes me think this parts gonna end like the last cour, climactic battle before the final episode, and next week will have the more slow paced transitioning episode to the next arc. If we get a future season that is."
– Ignota
12. Lapis Re:LiGHTs
Lapis Re:LiGHTs
Best Episode
"I am sure LIGHTs will be back again one day with even better performance than their first orchestra. Their bond is stronger than the bond of marriage by far. Really impressing how they hold to each other.
Well time for my hot ice coffee I guess... Lavie is simply so funny"
– dlxuniuniu
Worst Episode
"Oh wow, that was a unique first episode. I only knew it would be an idol-anime; I didn't check out any of the PVs, so it was quite a surprise to see a medieval-esque anime with magic. The colourpalette is of course shining bright just as you might expect it from an idol-anime, but it also fits the world so far. Food and flowers are of course something that almost always looks good, but somehow it stood out even more this time.
Looking forward to more episodes in the future. I'm probably not as hyped as others here but with this season being more on the slower side for me this will probably make for a good show to enjoy."
– RobbiRobb
13. Monster Musume no Oishasan
Monster Girl Doctor
Best Episode
"I've been really enjoying this show, although there's always at least 1-2 ecchi scenes that make me pretty uncomfortable in each episode.
That was kind of shocking though, that the "hostage" Sapphee was actually given orders to kill their whole family if negotiations fell through. Who was really the hostage in this situation? Damn.
The bed scene was really cute except for when the "poison" made her go crazy for 30 seconds..."
– Vysarine
Worst Episode
"Ngl I thought this was gonna be way more lewd, but in the end it was pretty tame with a bit of moaning here and there... I wonder if things might get more lewd though, but I am not going to be surprised if this is more on the wholesome kind of ecchi.
Not too much to say from this episode itself, other than that the art/animation quality isn't so good! I will stick with it, just to see where this will go."
– CeddyyBearr
14. Koi to Producer: EVOL×LOVE
Mr Love: Queen's Choice
Best Episode
"I agree that the story has been rushed a lot, however I can't deny that I feel excited seeing Shaw in the anime!! I thought we wouldn't have the chance to see him animated... So far so good. Can't wait for how much more of the story they're gonna cover! "
– NellyV96
Worst Episode
"This episode was... far from good. It wasn't clear. Who is the black queen? Why the hell even her dressed were dyed? What happened to Kira (Kiro)? Who did he join in the end? Why Shimo (Lucien) was with the Black Swan to begin with? Why now he acts like everything is normal? Why does she act like nothing ever happened with him? And why do you say it's only the start when it's obvious there won't be second season?"
– EfiChan
15. Kanojo, Okarishimasu
Rent-a-Girlfriend
Best Episode
"Beyond the appearance of the lovely Sumi. I liked the push that was given to the plot this chapter. A necessary twist prompted by Mami-chan. I was starting to get fed up with the eternal disagreements between Kazuya and Chizuru. It is appreciated that with this episode the story begins to unfold."
– KennyAlhuay
Worst Episode
"Misunderstandings can be fun sometimes. But when it's whole episode of watching obviously mistaken fool getting more and more awkward, its not really nice.Tho I'll admit I rather expected him to be family member and phone talk to be entirely unrealted (maybe some pet he is selling?).
Ruka deserves better too."
– Panzer92
16. Sword Art Online: Alicization - War of Underworld 2nd Season
Sword Art Online Alicization War of Underworld Part 2
Best Episode
"The big point of this episode by far was the Bercouli vs. Vecta fight which was very impactful for our side because in the end, Bercouli is not with us anymore. Bercouli was the real man in the fight who endured so much just to be able to slash Vecta with the time-splitting sword. His dragon even helped out and sacrificed its own life just for him to be able to take down Vecta.
The conclusion to his story was so impactful, beautiful, and just amazing to the very end and we got to see Quinella smiling in his memories. I really do feel for Alice and Fanatio crying and it definitely got to me too. "
– Kyle_Kirchner
Worst Episode
"Reki Kawahara's overusage of sexual assault as a plot element to create drama for shock value as a crutch is a joke. How many times does he have to play this card for multiple seasons of this franchise. I don't enjoy stuff like that in ecchi anime although I understand why its there, but this is a series that's presenting itself as this action packed drama-fantasy anime that's taking itself very seriously with its storylines, and then pulls shit like that off constantly to create angst rather than actual compelling stuff. Have some variety atleast.
Other than that, at least it was nice to see Sinon again. OP song is good, but man this episode and arc as a whole continues to just to limp towards the finish line."
– animejas
17. The God of High School
The God of High School
Best Episode
"What a great premiere, even better than Tower of God, I must say. A Korean mangaka, with MAPPA's Korean director Park Seong Ho, really hit it out of the park!
Seeing protagonist Jin Mori doing his eccentric stuff, it all screams comedy aloof, AND I LOVE IT. Adding to it, Yu Mira's hot entrance, and Han Daewi's astounding presence, and these 3 students are in for a tournament arc of their lives, starting with a battle royale for the "last man standing". And it's a battle with no rules, ANYTHING AND EVERYTHING GOES LIKE NORMAL."
– KANLen09
Worst Episode
"Everything was going well til Mira's marriage. I mean that was brought up so abruptly that I thought I was watching wrong episode or OVA. I haven't seen the source material so I don't know if the thing were rushed or some scenes were deleted when making this episode but one assured thing is that it really feels weird ep to me. I still need some information about the black robed guys and what really happened to Daewi's past as well."
– zyrus43
18. Dokyuu Hentai HxEros
SUPER HXEROS
Best Episode
"I can't believe the censored the panty shot at the beginning of the episode. This was one of the hottest episode of Hentai HxEros so far and they have done a good job of adapting chapters 14 and 15 from volumes 3 and 4. Shiko has fallen for Retto and has her eyes set on him, so Hoshino has to step her game up and confess to Retto before Shiko tries to steal Retto away from her. "
– AddaeAkono
Worst Episode
"This last episode had a lot of ecchi in it but still the censorship totally ruins the fun. Gonna have to rewatch all episode after blue ray release."
– MegamiRem
19. Shokugeki no Souma: Gou no Sara
Food Wars! The Fifth Plate
Best Episode
"This is an amazing episode. I know the results of Saiba and Yukihira's match were extraordinary but it seems like Erina and Yukihira's match caught my eye more. Several scenes of Erina's childhood are also shown here, finally we know the reason why Yukihira, Aldini, and their friends are at Totsuki Gakuen."
– Syureria
Worst Episode
"This was beyond rushed. I feel that the match of Megumi against the assassin Noir, the revelation that the Bookmaster is Erina's mother and the matches of Erina/Takumi - Asahi/Megumi (with Takumi and Megumi jobbing once again) could have been their own episodes. The final result was a mess.
Anyway, if I have to say something positive about the episode, is that the scene with Erina's mother falling in front of Souma and the rest due lack of nutrients was funny. "
– Illyricus
20. Gibiate
GIBIATE
Best Episode
"Looks like they threw us a bone and gave us some feel good vibes. Was nice seeing the peeps bonding over saki and curry before what I can only imagine is the oncoming storm. And the doctor dude, I just cant help shake the vibe he's evil as fuck. I mean I know hes trying to make a cure to save the world but every time he onscreen I just get chills like there is something not quite right about his motives! "
– Roch2001
Worst Episode
"Oh god, from how that end looked, they prob want a season two lol. Please no.
Only like of this show was the historical elements at parts, and our MC looking cute. More so in later episodes. "
– Ellenwitch
