---
title: 'Summer 2025 Was Overrated'
source: 'https://youtube.com/watch?v=WZ3mv_Q6cmM'
video_id: 'WZ3mv_Q6cmM'
date: 2026-07-23
duration_sec: 1176
channel: 'Glass Reflection'
---

# Summer 2025 Was Overrated

> Source: [Summer 2025 Was Overrated](https://youtube.com/watch?v=WZ3mv_Q6cmM)

## Summary

The video discusses whether the Summer 2025 anime season was overhyped, with the creator arguing that while it was a good season, calling it the best in years is an overstatement. He then pivots to passionately recommending the short anime 'Milky Subway' as a standout hidden gem.

### Key Points

- **Questioning the Hype** [00:01] — The creator questions the widespread claim that Summer 2025 was the best anime season in years, noting that personal preference heavily influences such judgments.
- **Personal Viewing Experience** [02:55] — He only finished four shows from the season, with none being utterly amazing except perhaps 'Rudy Rocks', which he acknowledges isn't for everyone.
- **Sequels and Spin-offs** [03:51] — The creator excludes sequels from his seasonal hype because they are continuations of previous seasons, making it unfair to attribute their quality to the current season.
- **Non-Sequel Highlights** [05:45] — After removing sequels, notable non-sequel shows include 'Fragrant Flower' (though hindered by Netflix jail) and 'Summer Hikaru Died'.
- **Introduction to Milky Subway** [07:42] — Milky Subway is a 3D animated YouTube original series, 12 episodes of about 4 minutes each, totaling 45 minutes. It follows six delinquents doing community service on a malfunctioning subway train.
- **Storytelling in Short Form** [09:03] — Despite its short runtime, Milky Subway effectively develops seven main characters, tells a complete story, and balances humor with emotional arcs.
- **Anime of the Year Contender** [12:40] — The creator considers Milky Subway an anime of the year contender, praising its originality and the fact that it was largely created by one person.
- **Re-watchability and Dubbing** [14:33] — He has watched the series multiple times, noting the dub's minor flaw of voice actor doubling but overall high quality. The show is dubbed into multiple languages.
- **Theatrical Release Plans** [16:47] — Milky Subway is set to be combined into a theatrical feature, raising questions about how the short-episode format will translate to a longer runtime.
- **Final Verdict on Summer 2025** [18:49] — The creator concludes that Summer 2025 was overhyped unless one includes Milky Subway, which he argues elevates the season significantly.

### Conclusion

The creator ultimately finds Summer 2025 overhyped by most, but his discovery of Milky Subway makes it a standout season for him personally. He strongly encourages viewers to watch the series.

## Transcript

overratedness of any given season like I do, you can come at it from a couple of angles. First, in general, you have to see, well, was this season anticipated find out. You just got to go have a look at what people were saying before the
things like dropped one of the most stark seasons in years? >> And then you can come at it from the other angle of are people still saying that it was a great season even after the fact? And turns out
allegedly. >> Very good season for anime. I'd say >> I don't know if I go that far. >> One of the best of all time. I not of all time of like maybe the last few years. Taco P. Summer Hikaru died. Um uh
years. Taco P. Summer Hikaru died. Um uh Py and Stocking. Uh and Shirley. >> New P. Yeah, sorry. New Py and Stock and Yeah. Anne Shirley still going. Uh Mury Moody Rudy Rocks. >> Gotcha. Rory Rocks. Yeah, your favorite,
trying to determine whether or not a season was overhyped, just say, "Well, was it overhyped for any particular person? Because if a season was the best ever or the best for a long while, that is all personal
preference, right? Was there like x amount of shows this past season that spoke to you that were absolutely amazing more so than in seasons past?" For me, obviously the answer was no. Cuz that was kind of what brought this whole
video about to start, right? When I kept on hearing people say that not only was this past summer season of 2025 a good season, and I could agree with that, but I heard people saying that it was like the best season we've had in years. And
the best season we've had in years. And to that, I'm like, was it though? And I than I do. I might put uh less of a preference on certain shows than others, but just how prevalent this particular uh thought was that this past season has
been that good surprised me slightly cuz I look at any individual season and I judge its worth based on how many uh absolutely stellar lot of people use that exact same metric. The thing is is that people
determine what a superb show is differently from one another. I'm sure Clevitz a lot more than I did. I dropped it after I think seven or eight like that particular kind of dark fantasy, good for you. It just wasn't
for me. But if you did like it, well then there's one particular more notch on the this season is amazing list. And so for me, when I first heard that, I I okay, well, if one person says it's the greatest season ever, that's not too
season, depending on how things work. But then I just kept hearing it and then same seasons or am I just completely devoid of reality? It's probably the second one. So I looked up my list and I was just like, okay, well, what did I
Because, you know, as I do, uh, I like to make a video at the start of every season, going over a very brief overview of every show. In fact, that very video for this upcoming season is the thing that I'm procrastinating on by making
this video, but say Levie. And I looked back on it and I determined that like I only really finished watching like four shows. And I'm not even gonna say that the shows that I finished were utterly amazing with few exceptions. I watched
all the way through of Rudy Rocks. I love the Rudy Rocks. I would recommend Rudy Rocks for a lot of people and a lot of different reasons, but I also would not necessarily put it in like the pantheon of greatest things ever because
not everyone is going to enjoy a show about minology that happens to rely more on plot than plot. I don't begrudge it for doing that, but I can acknowledge looking at a season, I generally don't like looking at sequels. Like, when I do
my seasonal overview every 3 months, we don't talk about sequels. We don't talk spin-offs and generally that's because well to be fair I don't want to actually I've watched every season one ever when a new season is announced and it's not
fair of me to judge a second season based on a first season that I never so it just blanket it is easier not to do that but also like if I'm hype about a particular season it's usually not tied down to a sequel I almost claim the
hype that I feel towards a second season just towards the the season where the first one came out cuz it's just continuing on most times. It's just previous season. Dondon this season was like that. Dondon, amazing season.
Really good. Enjoyed the heck out of it, but I wouldn't put my excitement on it towards this season. Like, why would I do that? It is just continuing what season 1 from last year did with a worse OP. Arguably, I know at least one person
that has tried to argue me against that. He probably won't be the last. But and I'm not going to give spoilers to it, of course, uh it does not start the series, it does not end the series. It is kind of a midpoint, and it is still
great and exceptional all the way through, but like it started in a different season. It is going to end in another season. And I, for whatever reason, it just doesn't sit well with me to place the excitement I have for it
for this specific season. probably because there is going to be a time in the future where I forget that it was even part of this season cuz I will just attach it to everything else. It'll just be like, well, Don Don existed in 2024
and it will always in my mind exist within 2024 because the show just kept anything. That's just how my mind will process it. So then when you remove all of the sequels from summer, like what else do you have? Well, you have shows
insignificant amount of people that didn't watch Fragrant Flower because it was a Netflix show that got put in Netflix jail. And I know some people were following along with it week by week. And to you, I say, hi, I am also a
plunderer of the booty and not in the same way as Rury Rocks. That would have actually been a much more interesting segue. No. So, like with Fragrant season did have good shows, but I'm not here trying to figure out whether or not
the season was good because it was a good season. I just have issue when good season. I just have issue when people call it the best season because, you know, I don't think it was good season, good shows. Yes, Summer Hikaru
Died. You better be watching Summer Hikaru Died, even if you put it on hold became one of those shows that you don't want to watch week to week. Totally fine. we're all going to come back to it, right?
that try to tell me, well, a particular show is just so exceptional that it kind show is just so exceptional that it kind of blows away the boundary. So that even things, that's what makes it an amazing season ever. And chances are after I
were just like, "Well, you didn't really watch Dondon, did you?" because if you did, you would know just how amazing it was and why obviously this season is better because it exists. And to that I say, well, I mean, Dondon is great. I
loved Dondon, but it wasn't even the only show that had a spontaneous mech appearance in it. That was awesome, but it wasn't the only show to do that.
show was, and I think to myself, you know what? No, actually this season's been pretty peak. Surprise, we're talking about Milky Subway today. [Music]
Let's hijack my own video. Why not? Milky Subway is a 3D animated series that exists entirely on YouTube. Did you know it exists? I hope you did. And if you didn't, you know now. You're welcome. It is an extremely short anime.
It has got 12 episodes and each episode is only about 4 minutes long on average. And you know, normally I don't cover those shows. If you watch my seasonals, you'll know I don't watch the short series. I don't because honestly a lot
of the times they're not great. They are passable, but short anime have the of minutes. You only got like three or four minutes. And so what do you do with
actually meaningful, to make it impactful? And nine times out of 10, the going to adapt a fourcom manga, something that is like very short and quick. And uh the joke is there and can be done in like 3 or 4 minutes. The
problem with that, as with any comedy, as I've probably said a billion times broken record for people that have been following me a long time, comedy is subjective, and most of the time those four coma manga adaptations are trash.
However, Milky Subway is not that. Firstly, it's not an adaptation of a for manga. It's not an adaptation of anything. It's an original anime and it is fantastic. It is one of the best to me examples of how you can tell a story
in an extremely short amount of time. Not just a story, but how can you have entertainment? Cuz I mean really, if I think about it and if I wrote all the plot down of Milky Subway on a piece of paper, it probably wouldn't be all that
interesting. And that's kind of the genius of what I find with this show. It is not just a matter of it can tell a funny or an entertaining story. It's the fact that it tells a story and it introduces a not small cast of
characters and it lets development happen for all of them in an extremely short amount of time while also telling its story. The whole thing in total is only about 45 minutes. In 45 minutes, we have seven main characters that we
rotate through and that we talk to. We see flashbacks, we see flash forwards, meet up with one another for the first time. It is a fantastic series. So, what is it about? Basically, Milky Subway, in short, follows six delinquents who have
all been arrested for a lot of very different reasons. And because the prison system in the area is twofold, the local police officer assigned to their case, who is just exasperated almost at all times and tries to find,
you know, entertainment in in the small bits of life that she can, uh, she ends up bringing them to their community. service which they have to do in lie of being imprisoned. And their community service is cleaning up a particular
subway, not like the tunnels, a a subway train. And this subway train after they all get on it and begin their job ends up malfunctioning and taking them on an interesting journey to absolutely nowhere. The journey is not the point.
How these characters interact in the very small amount of time that we have is because they don't know each other. They are all differing levels of delinquency. But at the same time, they have enough to them that you get them.
So, I've had a problem with shows before that end up using cookie cutter character archetypes, and that's kind of all it is. Now, archetypes like that are useful for short series like Milky Subway because they can get a lot across
need to know much about a particular are obviously this archetype. You know who they are now." But Milky Subway, they I mean it starts with that, but then when each of them get their own
sort of character arc, as small it as it is, they're able to take that archetype and then just expand it beyond that point. I mean, I can give arguments for they didn't do well enough, but I mean, they 45 minutes, what do you expect? So,
like, uh there are two of the the male delinquents, Kurt and Max. They are probably the least developed of the crew, but also they rely more heavily on um particular Japanese stereotypes. And if you happen to know those stereotypes,
you understand it a bit more. Like just just the fact that one of their major introductions is both of them in a bathroom fixing their gelled hair. Like just that. Just start off with that. And now you kind of get where they're coming
that they've been smuggling. You learn later that they can do any job as long really well thanked all that much. And that's kind of like the whole point of their story. And it I'm finding myself limited in what I
characters because I don't want to spoil the damn thing for you, right? Because I could easily make a video talking about Milky Subway that is longer than all of Milky Subway. It makes far more sense for you to just go and watch the thing.
And as I probably put in the motion graphic that I haven't designed yet, but is living rentree in my head for this particular video that'll go up on my channel. Uh, this is an anime of the year contender, which blows my mind to
really think about. If you told me only a few months ago, hey, one of your anime of the year contenders is going to be a short anime. I would respond, I don't watch short anime, cuz I don't. I ignore them. And I ignored this for far too
long. Thankfully, I caught it on the tail end just as uh the final two episodes were coming out. But my god, am I glad I did because all it is is about these six delinquents. They're stuck on a train and how do they get off of the
train, right? How do they escape this situation and, you know, get back to the more than they already were for the various things that they were arrested for? How does the the police supervisor who's just had enough in her life
anymore, how does she handle all of delinquents? How do they interact with her or don't as cuz she's a cop? Like all of these little tiny interactions and the fact that largely this show is
just made by one guy. Like you can read the credits. It is a little odd to me uh when I do read the credits because there is one name that pops up everywhere vast majority of the work. But then also like this show has got like four
producers and executive producers. There is a lot of names there. It's not like it's just the one name listed for everything except perhaps voice acting. name for the original work, director, screenplay, character designer, and
screenplay, character designer, and production of the thing. So they did a lot and just like the idea that this whole thing was mostly made by one person, not a production committee, not a uh not a a manga who handed the reigns
of their story over to something else, which is the usual fair for anime of these days. It is just such a wonderful breath of fresh air. And it is so freaking good. It is. And it is entertainment. That's kind of the
the point that I've watched the whole thing multiple times now. I don't do that normally. Like even with shows that I utterly love. Currently, my favorite anime of all time as it stands as I am recording this is Firin at Journeys End.
I have watched that show in its entirety twice. Now, I've seen bits and pieces of the show, scattered episodes more than that, but as far as like actually thing twice. Now, Milky Subway is a little bit easier for that because, you
know, it's only 45 minutes long. So, two of those viewings were on the same night because I wanted to remind myself just how good it was and whether or not I actually would stand by putting it as an anime of the year contender. Spoilers,
watched the dub of it cuz the first time I went through it, I watched it in sub it in the original language in which it was created for and then I wanted to see pretty good. Uh it only had one major flaw to it in my mind which was uh some
of the roles are doubled up by the same voice actor which they do their best. Uh put that in as a bragging thing. It's one of those my ears can tell but not confirm in that if you have the if you have one actor that is playing two
characters in the scene. I didn't peg that it was the same actor doing both roles. My mind just told me something was wrong. That is the level of how much I I caught it. I'm not like graping like, "Ah, I knew all the time. You just
changed your voice ever so slightly for a different character, but I, the master of voices, have figured it out." No, I'm not like that. My mind just told me something's wrong here. And I can't quite pull my put my finger on it and it
course, when I went to double check who did the voices, I noticed that a couple like, "Oh, that's what my mind was trying to tell me. Now I understand." for it. But even then, I mean, that considering how this series probably had
next to no budget, which is the reasons why the one person did so much work, I the fact that they have it in like five different languages, they dubbed it in in in so many different languages. This thing is dubbed into English, into
Portuguese, Korean, Chinese, Thai, Indonesian, French, Hindi, Spanish, and Like, this is not a majorly backed series. Or at least I didn't think it was. Cuz if it was, what's it doing on YouTube? That's the other thing. this
it has gotten popular enough where apparently it is going to be uh combined and released as a theatrical feature which I'm interested to see. Um not only because I hope that when they do that it they they expand on it because if you're
hope it's going to be longer than the 40 45 minutes it is and they actually bump it up to like 90 90 would be great but then if you're going to do that well what are you going to add? What are you going to do? Also, not this show is very
of every four minutes work very well. The title card when it pops in every couple of episodes that they do it very well of just like it's part of the joke and I love that and I'm curious as to how that's going to change when you
don't have the title card cut in every four minutes. Like how's that going to But I mean all of this to say Milky Subway is absolutely amazing. This is my video on Milky Subway that I'm not going to title as such because why would I? No
hope I have convinced you to check out Milky Subway because if hey, if you've clicked on a video of mine before that's like 20, even 40 minutes long and you've my god, is Milky Subway going to be good entertainment for you? Click on the
description probably so it'll be nice and easy for you and you should go and months from now I'm going to be making my anime of the year video and Milky Subway is going to be in it. I don't know where. Um, it'll probably be in the
top five. It might be near the top. I don't know yet if it's going to be number one. We'll see. And I don't want to spoil what will be number one if it's not this. However, my god is this going to be in the top five. Unless, you know,
I get like five other things in this coming season, in which case this coming season is going to be the absolute best season of all time. Because if there are five shows that or four shows or however many shows that would top a Milky Subway
to kick it out of the top five that all come out in this coming season, my god, yeah, that'll be the best season ever. And it won't be overhyped or it will be for everyone else who's not me. So, was summer 2025 overhyped?
included Milky Subway in that when they were talking about it and still probably don't. Yes. If you're including Milky Subway, no. The summer 2025 was actually best that we've had in a number of years?
seasonal video later the month. And until then, stay frosty, my gentle viewers, and watch Milky Subway. I'm going to make it very easy for you, so you should do it. Okay,
footage off my phone because I'm doing this whole dual camera thing, and it's this whole dual camera thing, and it's probably going to look like