Sonny Boy

On August 16, midway through a seemingly endless summer vacation, middle school third-year student Nagara, transfer student Nozomi, classmates Mizuho, Asakaze and their entire class are suddenly transported from their tranquil lives to a school adrift in an alternate dimension. They must survive with the super powers that have awakened within them.

Sonny Boy (2021) is a Japanese animated science fiction series created for TOKYO MX and KBS Kyoto, produced by Madhouse. Across twelve 24-minute episodes, a middle school class led by third-year student Nagara and transfer student Nozomi is pulled from a languid summer vacation into a school adrift in an alternate dimension. Classmates Mizuho and Asakaze are among those who must survive with super powers that awaken within them. Voice actors Kenjiro Tsuda, Yuka Ozaki and Ayana Taketatsu lead a large cast around the students. The engine of the show is the struggle to endure a world where time is messy and the rules do not always apply, so episodes drift between uneasy survival and quiet, philosophical wandering. The result is a single continuous season with a strong sense of unease hidden inside a bright, ordinary summer. Its tone is dreamlike and melancholic, with absurd humor and eerie stillness. Fans of Serial Experiments Lain and Summer Wars will find resonance in its surreal, adolescent, uncanny atmosphere.

Viewers find the surreal alternate-dimension premise bold and atmospheric, though the mystery and character writing divide opinion.

• Serial Experiments Lainsurreal coming of age, dreamlike psychological tone, school-age ensemble cast
• Summer Warsstudents stranded in a strange otherworld with awakened powers, survival in an uncanny setting
• Ghost Huntensemble of teens navigating a bizarre closed world, eerie quiet melancholy and mystery

Release Date

2021-07-16

Episode runtime

24 min

Rating

7.7 / 10 (94)

What is Sonny Boy about?

Middle school students on a endless summer break are suddenly transported to a strange alternate-dimension school where they must survive using newly awakened powers.

What is Sonny Boy like to watch?

Ember's analysis rates the pacing of Sonny Boy as measured, its intensity as moderate and its storytelling as dense.

Is Sonny Boy violent?

Only mildly. Ember rates the violence in Sonny Boy as mild.

What did critics think of Sonny Boy?

Viewers find the surreal alternate-dimension premise bold and atmospheric, though the mystery and character writing divide opinion.

Which shows are like Sonny Boy?

Shows with a similar feel include Serial Experiments Lain, Summer Wars, and Ghost Hunt.

How long is Sonny Boy?

Sonny Boy: 1 season, 12 episodes.

Is Sonny Boy still running?

No, Sonny Boy has ended.

Where can I watch Sonny Boy?

In United States, Sonny Boy streams on Hulu, Crunchyroll, Crunchyroll Amazon Channel.