\n<\/p>\n
For Anime Trending\u2019s first compilation of Summer 2026 anime early impressions, I\u2019ll be checking out the debut episodes of <\/span>The World is Dancing<\/span>, Chainsmoker Cat<\/em>, Grow-Up Show<\/em>, and Sparks of Tomorrow<\/em>.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n The World is Dancing<\/span><\/p>\n \u00a9Kazuto Mihara, KODANSHA\/\u201cThe World Is Dancing\u201d Production Committee.<\/p>\n Episodes watched: 1<\/span><\/p>\n Storyboards: <\/span>Toshimasa Kuroyanagi 1374. While Japan is being contested by the Northern and Southern Courts, young Oniyasha is having deep thoughts over why humans bother to dance. If you ask me, it\u2019s an amusing and charming trait that, in conjunction with his googly-eyed funny faces, makes Oniyasha an endearing character. Unfortunately for the boy, he is the son of Kan\u2019ami, a popular performer of the Sarugaku theater, and his disinterest in the performing arts does not do him many favors in his life.<\/span><\/p>\n Oniyasha is also fated to become Zeami, a major figure in Noh theater, and the inciting incident that sets him on that path \u2014 the Shirabyoshi dance mentioned in the credits \u2014 serves as the stunning climax of <\/span>The World is Dancing<\/span>\u2019s first episode. The episode is never lacking in visual splendour \u2014 in addition to the appealing colors and the high baseline quality of its character art\/animation and backgrounds, there are beautiful painting-like sequences, memorable depictions of Kan\u2019ami\u2019s disciplined performance and Oniyasha\u2019s nimbleness, and absurdly breathtaking sunset atmosphere. But that dance, presented in a surrealistic, expressionistic manner that calls to mind the style and prowess of <\/span>Shinya Ohira, is so breathtaking, and so in contrast to the performance seen earlier, there is nothing to do but to surrender yourself to the sight. A must-watch premiere.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n Chainsmoker Cat<\/span><\/p>\n \u00a9\u306b\u3083\u3093\u306b\u3083\u3093\u30d5\u30a1\u30af\u30c8\u30ea\u30fc\u30fb\u8b1b\u8ac7\u793e\uff0f\u30e4\u30cb\u306d\u3053\u88fd\u4f5c\u59d4\u54e1\u4f1a<\/p>\n Episodes watched: 1<\/span><\/p>\n Storyboards: <\/span>Taku Kimura \u00a0 Chainsmoker Cat<\/span>\u2019s premiere uses fairly pretty visuals to portray decidedly unpretty content \u2014 a series of comedic vignettes depicting the miserable life of Yani, an impoverished catgirl who is incorrigibly disastrous and seems to live only to smoke. How unpretty is it? Well, the <\/span>avan<\/span> (pre-opening song section) ends with Yani\u2019s landlord pleasuring himself after inadvertently seeing her in a state of undress, while our protagonist poops her brains out (you get to glimpse a pixelated torrent of diarrhea) after smoking a trash-sourced cigarette.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n Some of the jokes worked on me to a decent degree, with the best of these featuring someone entering Yani\u2019s filthy quarters in a hazmat suit. Others left me wanting with the execution and timing. There were times when I failed to see the appeal of a protagonist like Yani, but then I\u2019d end up feeling amused by the scenes where she crushes her reliable younger sister\u2019s hopes with extremely short-lived attempts to quit smoking. The end of the <\/span>avan<\/span> was the only time I felt completely perplexed by the humor, though I suppose Yani\u2019s toilet episode deserves credit for being memorable and out there.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n I think most people will either hate or love this episode, but I finished it with a mostly neutral feeling; the moments of entertainment I got cancelled out budding suspicions that the show is better at being plain depressing than at delivering dark humor. What pushes it very slightly into positive territory for me are the production values, especially the drawing quality for both the grounded and cartoonish renditions of Yani. (I have mixed feelings about the realistic and unflinching environmental detail, however, since they create a sobering feeling that a comedy like this probably doesn\u2019t want to harness.) I\u2019m not sure if I\u2019d remain interested if the visual quality drops heavily later in the series, but I\u2019ll stick around for now.<\/span><\/p>\n Grow Up Show<\/span><\/p>\n \u00a9\u30ad\u30eb\u30af\u30b9\u30b3\u30ec\u30af\u30b7\u30e7\u30f3\u5354\u4f1a\uff0f\u300c\u30b0\u30ed\u30a6\u30a2\u30c3\u30d7\u30b7\u30e7\u30a6\u300d\u88fd\u4f5c\u59d4\u54e1\u4f1a<\/p>\n Episodes watched: 1<\/span><\/p>\n Storyboards: <\/span>Kanta Kamei Mizuka Tsurumaki<\/span> has hated circuses since she was young, thanks to her circus performer father forcing her into unwanted practice that include being a target for knife-throwing. Unfortunately for Mizuka, her dad\u2019s trickery leads her into the arms of the Himawari Circus, a struggling traveling act whose members are composed of orphans, and into fateful contact with the talented acrobatic performer Ouka Kawasumi.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n There are parts of <\/span>Grow Up Show<\/span>\u2019s first episode that jolted some life into me, mainly Mizuka\u2019s bluntness and some of its visual gags (particularly an eyeball-based one near the end). Generally, it just feels inoffensive, offering a decent experience but lacking a special spark in its visuals and writing. Since the premiere plants the seeds for some potentially compelling character arcs and relationships, <\/span>Grow Up Show<\/span> could grow into something worth remembering with time, but it doesn\u2019t feel noteworthy right now.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n Sparks of Tomorrow<\/span><\/p>\n (C)\u7d50\u57ce\u5f18\u30fb\u4eac\u90fd\u30a2\u30cb\u30e1\u30fc\u30b7\u30e7\u30f3\uff0f\u660e\u6ecb\u96fb\u6c23\u5546\u5de5\u4f1a<\/p>\n Kyoto Animation\u2019s latest original takes us to a what-if time of steam technology, and into a stunningly beautiful yet uncomfortably smog-choked Meiji-era Kyoto that makes you want to reach out and feel its textures. A book known as the 20th Century Electrical Catalog carries hope for an electric future, but vanishes when its owner leaves for war with it. A few years later, said owner\u2019s younger brother Kihachi Sakamoto, who tinkers with machinery and electrical inventions, has an unexpected encounter with Inako Momokawa, the clumsy youngest daughter of a sake brewery owner who takes pride in her ability to believe. This in turn leads to an even more unexpected reunion with the Electrical Catalog, as well as a crossing of paths with Yosuke, a powerful individual with a possible connection to Kihachi\u2019s past who has been searching for the book\u2026<\/span><\/p>\n The first episode of <\/span>Sparks of Tomorrow<\/span> serves as a solid introduction. We\u2019ve got an interesting MacGuffin, a likeable enough lead pair who aren\u2019t quite on the same wavelength, and an impeccably dressed, foxy-faced antagonist who exudes delectable swagger when he\u2019s not giving in to his manic, desperate desire to claim the 20th Century Electrical Catalog. On top of that, the visuals here are magnificent, and also contain variation. There\u2019s a scene that sucks out almost all color in its depiction of a pitch-black enclosed space, with white linework giving its inhabitants a spectral form, while a surreal sequence has puppet caricatures representing the imagined audience.\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n There are also instances where the visuals noticeably embrace being<\/span> fun<\/span>, like when Kihachi\u2019s mouth morphs into a beak-like form while talking about a voice recorder, or when antagonist Yosuke\u2019s arms become floppy appendages while reaching out for the object of his desire. These moments are delightful, and they complement everything else in the premiere to make <\/span>Sparks of Tomorrow<\/span> feel like the kind of entertaining adventure show I\u2019d want to put on at night to forget about the world for a while. I hope this feeling persists throughout the series.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" For Anime Trending\u2019s first compilation of Summer 2026 anime early impressions, I\u2019ll be checking out the debut episodes of The World is Dancing, Chainsmoker Cat, Grow-Up Show, and Sparks of Tomorrow. The World is Dancing \u00a9Kazuto Mihara, KODANSHA\/\u201cThe World Is Dancing\u201d Production Committee. Episodes watched: 1 Storyboards: Toshimasa KuroyanagiEpisode direction: Naru HosomaShirabyoshi dance choreography by: […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":33436,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/anitrendz.net\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/Chainsmoker-Cat-Episode-1-screenshot.png?fit=1920%2C1080&ssl=1","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[11622],"tags":[195,10303,523,1725,23476,1555,522],"class_list":["post-33435","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-animeplug","tag-anime","tag-corner","tag-july","tag-june","tag-minireview","tag-summer","tag-week"],"rttpg_featured_image_url":{"full":["https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/anitrendz.net\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/Chainsmoker-Cat-Episode-1-screenshot.png?fit=1920%2C1080&ssl=1",0,0,false],"landscape":["https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/anitrendz.net\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/Chainsmoker-Cat-Episode-1-screenshot.png?fit=1920%2C1080&ssl=1",0,0,false],"portraits":["https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/anitrendz.net\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/Chainsmoker-Cat-Episode-1-screenshot.png?fit=1920%2C1080&ssl=1",0,0,false],"thumbnail":["https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/anitrendz.net\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/Chainsmoker-Cat-Episode-1-screenshot.png?fit=1920%2C1080&ssl=1",150,150,false],"medium":["https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/anitrendz.net\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/Chainsmoker-Cat-Episode-1-screenshot.png?fit=1920%2C1080&ssl=1",300,300,false],"large":["https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/anitrendz.net\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/Chainsmoker-Cat-Episode-1-screenshot.png?fit=1920%2C1080&ssl=1",1024,1024,false],"1536x1536":["https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/anitrendz.net\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/Chainsmoker-Cat-Episode-1-screenshot.png?fit=1920%2C1080&ssl=1",1536,1536,false],"2048x2048":["https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/anitrendz.net\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/Chainsmoker-Cat-Episode-1-screenshot.png?fit=1920%2C1080&ssl=1",2048,2048,false],"post-thumbnail":["https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/anitrendz.net\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/Chainsmoker-Cat-Episode-1-screenshot.png?fit=1920%2C1080&ssl=1",370,265,false],"kava-thumb-s":["https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/anitrendz.net\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/Chainsmoker-Cat-Episode-1-screenshot.png?fit=1920%2C1080&ssl=1",150,85,false],"kava-thumb-s-2":["https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/anitrendz.net\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/Chainsmoker-Cat-Episode-1-screenshot.png?fit=1920%2C1080&ssl=1",230,230,false],"kava-thumb-m":["https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/anitrendz.net\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/Chainsmoker-Cat-Episode-1-screenshot.png?fit=1920%2C1080&ssl=1",400,400,false],"kava-thumb-m-vertical":["https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/anitrendz.net\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/Chainsmoker-Cat-Episode-1-screenshot.png?fit=1920%2C1080&ssl=1",370,500,false],"kava-thumb-m-2":["https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/anitrendz.net\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/Chainsmoker-Cat-Episode-1-screenshot.png?fit=1920%2C1080&ssl=1",570,450,false],"kava-thumb-l":["https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/anitrendz.net\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/Chainsmoker-Cat-Episode-1-screenshot.png?fit=1920%2C1080&ssl=1",1170,650,false],"kava-thumb-xl":["https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/anitrendz.net\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/Chainsmoker-Cat-Episode-1-screenshot.png?fit=1920%2C1080&ssl=1",1920,1080,false],"kava-thumb-masonry":["https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/anitrendz.net\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/Chainsmoker-Cat-Episode-1-screenshot.png?fit=1920%2C1080&ssl=1",600,999,false],"kava-thumb-justify":["https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/anitrendz.net\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/Chainsmoker-Cat-Episode-1-screenshot.png?fit=1920%2C1080&ssl=1",640,640,false],"kava-thumb-justify-2":["https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/anitrendz.net\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/Chainsmoker-Cat-Episode-1-screenshot.png?fit=1920%2C1080&ssl=1",1280,640,false]},"rttpg_author":{"display_name":"#RiseCelestialStudios","author_link":"https:\/\/design-providers.com\/rise\/author\/ralph-c\/"},"rttpg_comment":0,"rttpg_category":"ANIME PLUG<\/a>","rttpg_excerpt":"For Anime Trending\u2019s first compilation of Summer 2026 anime early impressions, I\u2019ll be checking out the debut episodes of The World is Dancing, Chainsmoker Cat, Grow-Up Show, and Sparks of Tomorrow. The World is Dancing \u00a9Kazuto Mihara, KODANSHA\/\u201cThe World Is Dancing\u201d Production Committee. Episodes watched: 1 Storyboards: Toshimasa KuroyanagiEpisode direction: Naru HosomaShirabyoshi dance choreography by:…","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/design-providers.com\/rise\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/33435","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/design-providers.com\/rise\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/design-providers.com\/rise\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/design-providers.com\/rise\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/design-providers.com\/rise\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=33435"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/design-providers.com\/rise\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/33435\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":33437,"href":"https:\/\/design-providers.com\/rise\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/33435\/revisions\/33437"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/design-providers.com\/rise\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/33436"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/design-providers.com\/rise\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=33435"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/design-providers.com\/rise\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=33435"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/design-providers.com\/rise\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=33435"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
Episode direction: <\/span>Naru Hosoma
Shirabyoshi dance choreography by: <\/span>Mikiko Kawamura
Shirabyoshi dance storyboards and key animation: <\/span>rui<\/span><\/p>\n
Episode direction: <\/span>Taku Kimura <\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n
Episode direction: <\/span>Satsuki Takahashi<\/span><\/p>\n