Spring 2019 Preview!

Preview by Stars

It’s not often that you get to see the lives of the sons and daughters of heroes play out. Usually the audience would much rather follow the hero on their adventures rather than their offspring, which is why Gohan from Dragonball Z got a couple focus episodes and a stint as Saiyaman without ever fully taking the spotlight. Ultraman, however, is taking its cue from Western comic books and introducing us to Hayato Shinjiro, the son of a former Ultraman. The series takes place well after Shinjiro’s father has already saved the Earth from monsters, which means the pacifistic Shinjiro is entirely unprepared to bear the mantle, yet will have to regardless. This sets up a somewhat standard character arc for him that I’m sure readers of Shimizu Eiichi and Shimoguchi Tomohiro’s manga sequel to the 1966 television series—or really just anyone who’s ever read a comic book—will be familiar with, but you know what they say: If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.

In other news, Kamiyama Kenji from Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex and Aramaki Shinji from Appleseed Alpha and Blade Runner: Black Out 2022 are both lending their directing talents to the series. Given this stellar line-up, the 2019 series should serve as a great introduction to the world of Ultraman for those who, like myself, missed the bandwagon the first time around. Another big plus for newcomers is the use of Netflix as a platform. For those who like to dive right in, the binging capabilities are endless. Though traditionally the week-long wait for episodes has always been a integral part of the anime-watching experience, there are benefits to immediate gratification, such as the flow not getting interrupted during a multi-episode battle. This has added a lot to my enjoyment of Netflix shows in the past, though I’m also a binge monster with zero self-control, so take that for what it’s worth. And since Ultraman’s starting us out with a passing of the hero mantle, fans new and old will be able to sink their teeth into this latest addition to Ultraman’s proud legacy.

Preview by MissSimplice

The first act of Diamond no Ace began in 2013 and spanned two series, resulting in over 120 episodes. The series focuses on Sawamura Eijun (Osaka Ryota) during his first year in high school as the pitcher for Seidou High’s baseball team. In this second act, the story picks up shortly after the end of the first. The team is competing at the Koshien tournament, with Eijun, now in his second year, pitching for his team during their first championship game.

Popular battery Miyuki Kazuya (Sakurai Takahiro) and Sawamura Eijun return to the screens alongside second year pitcher Furuya Satoru (Shimazaki Nobunaga) as they go up against old and new opponents on their journey to claim the national title. Most of the cast will be returning this season, but fans will have to say goodbye to their favourite third years as they graduate from Seidou High. Both the manga and anime Diamond no Ace have huge followings, whether viewers are baseball fanatics or not. Madhouse’s production didn’t disappoint, getting 75 episodes approved for their first season and 51 for the latter. It’s no wonder. The passion these young men convey by trying to achieve their dreams is contagious. Might be a good idea to add this to your roster this season (and look to catch up with previous ones if you haven’t yet!).

Preview by Passerby

High school student Arima Takuya (Hayashi Yuu) never got along with his father. While Arima Koudai was a renowned historian with scores of celebrated papers published, he was also a strict and reserved man, and when Takuya’s mother died while he was young and Koudai remarried, father and son could only drift apart. But then, one day, Arima Koudai disappeared. He is presumed dead, perhaps killed in one of his eccentric experiments, and it hits Takuya hard. But then, a strange package arrives at his door. It contains a curious device constructed from a set of mirrors and a letter talking about the nature of time, a theory about alternate dimensions, and how those dimensions might be manipulated. Such science is beyond Takuya, but he knows one important thing: the letter was written in his father’s hand. As bizarre incidents begin to occur around Takuya and he digs deeper into the mystery of his father’s disappearance, he will be dragged into an adventure that will span multiple realities across time and space.

Back in the early 90s visual novels were garbage. This was before they garnered a reputation for complex plots and unconventional writing; VNs of the day were short, lazy affairs with any story being an excuse for smut. Along came one Kanno Hiroyuki, who decided he could do better. And he did, writing and producing visual novels with a focus on narrative, especially drama and mystery. The time-travel epic YU-NO was one of those works, and it set a standard for the industry that has held to this day, and without which we certainly wouldn’t have visual novels like Steins;Gate and adventure games like the Zero Escape series. Of course, YU-NO was still smut — sex sells, and it was difficult to convince investors otherwise in a time before companies like Key proved (largely to themselves) that it wasn’t core to visual novels. But YU-NO had ambition and emotional resonance and made an appeal to the reader’s intellectual curiosity instead of just their libido. It actually has been recently remade for modern consoles sans explicit material (and the original writer and music composer, who have unfortunately passed away), which is why this anime exists. I’m not entirely confident in the adaptation — Hirakawa Tetsuo is in charge of direction and series composition and he doesn’t have much notable directing or writing experience to his name. YU-NO is also a monster of a game, full of twists and turns and text, and would be difficult to adapt even in the best of circumstances. At least we know that there’s two cours of anime to do it in, as nothing less will suffice. Still, YU-NO is a show worth checking out on the strength of its source alone.

Preview by Zephyr

It’s taken nearly four years for it to happen, but the sequel to One Punch Man is finally here. With its arrival comes the continued tale of Saitama (Furukawa Makoto), a man whose training regimen caused him to sacrifice his hair in exchange for the strongest of punches. Unfortunately, his ability to dispatch enemies in just one punch leaves him bored and looking for stronger enemies. After a chance meeting with 19-year-old cyborg Genos (Ishikawa Kaito), Saitama joins the Hero Association with his new disciple and ends up having to fight off an alien invasion led by Boros (Morikawa Toshiyuki). Having been told by a prophet that he would find a worthy opponent on Earth, Boros arrives to fight Saitama, and the latter’s victory culminated the series’ first season. One Punch Man 2 will see a focus on Garou (Midorikawa Hikaru), a former Bang disciple turned villain. Madhouse makes way for J.C. Staff as the production studio, with Sakurai Chikara (Majimoji Rurumo) replacing Natsume Shingo as director.

It feels like just yesterday that everyone was going around screaming “ONE PUNCH!” or repeating the opening theme’s phrase of “POWER! GET THE POOOWER!” As one of the most popular series of the last decade, one of the biggest surprises regarding One Punch Man was how long it has taken for its sequel to arrive. Now that it’s finally here, fans can breathe a sigh of relief—or at least, that’s what I would’ve liked to say. Unfortunately, One Punch Man 2 arrives with a different studio at the helm and significant staff changes. That’s not to say that J.C. Staff hasn’t shown an ability to give us memorable series, but One Punch Man isn’t the type of series we’ve been accustomed to seeing from them, and Sakurai Chikara’s lone directorial role in Majimoji Rurumo is worrisome despite significant experience in other roles. The fact is that Madhouse and Natsume Shingo did a great job with the first season and I’m not too sure that things will be the same without them. I’d say cautiously optimistic would be the best phrase here.

Preview by Choya

Nagoya. The capital of the Aichi Prefecture renowned for their innovations in the automotive and aviation industries, their traditional ceramics and porcelain, and the distinction of being one of the fifty largest urban areas in the world. This illustrious city is the new home of high school student Kaito Jin (Ichiki Mitsuhiro), who moved to the Aichi Prefecture from Tokyo. After he transfers to his new school, he meets Yatogame Monaka (Tomatsu Haruka), who has a heavy Nagoya accent and doesn’t appreciate the habits he picked up from his life in Toyko. From here, Kaito joins the Photography Club to learn from Yatogame and her friends about the culture, customs, and cuisine of Nagoya.

Yatogame-chan Kansatsu Nikki has the distinction of being one of the few anime to capture the Nagoya life. While Denpa Onna to Seishun Otako, My Neighbor Totoro, and the Johto region of Pokémon pay homage to the regional flair of Nagoya, Yatogame-chan Kansatsu Nikki is more dedicated to addressing what makes Nagoya a special place for locals and tourists alike. The more promising aspects of the series dive into the cultural differences for residents of Nagoya with the culture shock that Yatogame has about Kaito’s personality traits he picked up from the big city. However, this clash also creates a lot of potential for the series to go beyond its efforts to examine Nagoya by giving us background and development on the cast as Kaito makes friends with his new classmates. The effort that is put into making the art style cute and appealing is also promising as it hints toward the crossover appeal the anime will have to reach out to those who want a fun, intriguing slice-of-life. And with talented voicework from Tomatsu Haruka, it will be no problem for Yatogame-chan Kansatsu Nikki to breathe even more life into the city of Nagoya.

Preview by MissSimplice

Operation Han-Gyaku-sein Million Arthur is an adaptation of Square Enix’s MMORPG of the same name. Loosely based on the Arthurian legend, six Arthurs from parallel worlds, whose excaliburs grant them unique powers, team up to restore balance to Britain’s original timeline. In order to reach their objective and bring history back to its normal state, they must go up against another one million Arthurs who have emerged in old Britain, all with their own respective powers. After leaving us with quite a large plot twist in the previous cour, Arthurs Danko (Amamiya Sora), Tekken (Kakihara Tetsuya), Yamaneko (Taketatsu Ayana), Renkin (Minase Inori), Kakka (Hanae Natsuki), and Ruro (Nakamura Yuichi) return this season and must go up against a new foe, one possibly much stronger than the original one million Arthurs combined.

Series such as these are usually created in order to promote established video games, which often results in substandard plots and one-dimensional characters. That makes it hard for me to establish objectively whether this series is worth adding to your personal roster. The animation by J.C. Staff (Toradora!, Shokugeki no Souma, Golden Time), the music (including OP and ED theme songs), and the general pacing are all pretty standard and well done, so there isn’t much to say about that. Based on the first season, it seems to be the type of show with steady entertainment and strong character dynamics, so there might yet be room for this series if you’re looking for a light throwaway show to watch.

Preview by MissSimplice

Adapted from the otome game Renai Bakumatsu Kareshi, Bakumatsu returns for its second season this spring following the duo of Takasugi Shinsaku (Nakamura Yuuichi) and Katsura Kogoro (Eguchi Takuya), characters based on historical figures heavily involved in the Meiji Restoration. The previous season carried viewers through an action packed adventure in an alternate timeline of Japan’s bakumatsu era where our protagonists are tasked with retrieving a ‘timepiece’ said to be able to alter time. As (bad) luck would have it, someone else steals it from them which consequently disturbs the space-time continuum. Regardless, the pair moves ahead with their plan to destroy the artifact and restore their world back to its former state. We come back this season in the aftermath of a fatal loss and the question of how they can achieve their goal.

I’m not much of a fan of adapting video games, especially smartphone games, but if anyone is looking forward to watching one this season it should be because Satou Mitsutoshi will be bringing his experience from directing episodes in notable series such as Shokugeki no Souma, Bakuman 2, and Naruto to replace Watanabe Masaki for this second season. That definitely is enough to pique my interest. The series is non-romantic unlike the video game, but that doesn’t mean viewers missed out on watching young, handsome and sometimes even topless samurai fight one another in the earlier season. Studio DEEN’s adaptation is mediocre at best throughout the first season, but with Watanabe at the helm, the story might develop into something with a little more depth. I can’t promise that this is a series you’d need to add to your must-watch list, but I’d be willing to give the first few episodes a watch before making an official decision.

Preview by Stars

The original 2001 adaption of Takaya Natsuki’s shoujo manga, Fruits Basket, was lightning in a bottle. Its simplistic and, at times, stiff animation style lent itself to great comedic moments, without ever detracting from the emotional beats. I still remember laughing over the antics of Honda Tooru (original: Horie Yui, new: Iwami Manaka) with Souma Yuki (o: Hisakawa Aya, n: Shimazaki Nobunaga), Souma Kyou (o: Seki Tomokazu, n: Uchida Yuuma), and Souma Shigure (o: Okiayu Ryotaro, n: Nakamura Yuuichi) during their struggles to accommodate Tooru in their home after she lost her mother to illness. If that sentence gave you whiplash, you haven’t seen nothing yet. Though the first adaptation of this series was given an original ending due to the manga being incomplete at the time, it seems this one will not only be receiving updated animation quality, but will encompass all 23 volumes of the manga.

Kishimoto Taku will be writing this adaption. Even if you haven’t heard of him, you’ve probably heard of 91 Days or Boku Dake ga Inai Machi, and some of you anime veterans might even recall Usagi Drop, an excellently paced and expertly written series about a young girl with no immediate family able or willing to take care of her, who was ultimately raised by an unprepared yet well-intentioned guardian. Similarly, Fruits Basket is more about family than romance. It’s about growing up, finding out who you are and who you want to be. These are themes and topics Kishimoto has tackled expertly before, and I am sure he will do it again. The vocal cast for this remake has a mixture of experienced and up-and-coming talent, including veterans like Kugimiya Rie and Sakamoto Maaya taking on major roles, though it should be said that there are no minor characters in Fruits Basket. Each one is vital to the plot, and grows as an individual over time. The 2003 adaption was really only the tip of the iceberg when it comes to the struggles these characters will have to face. With an all-star staff, the 2019 series definitely has the potential to be the Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood of the shoujo genre.

Preview by Zaiden

Enter Busujima Eiji (Hatanaka Tasuku), a guy who looks tough and troublesome. But really, he’s a softie deep down with an inexplicable passion for haiku. As part of his quest to spread haiku throughout the world, he elects to join the literature club. There, he’s accompanied by Yukishiro Nanako (Hanazawa Kana), a cute and cheerful girl who doesn’t speak at all. Instead, she exclusively expresses herself by writing down haikus! With these two oddballs and their senryuu obsession, you’ll soon discover that inspiring haikus can be made from even the most mundane and unexpected of things.

Senryuu Shoujo is a light and fluffy manga by Igarashi Masakuni that makes you feel good, week in and week out. Although the episode lengths will be quite short, I’m pleasantly surprised this series got an anime, considering its niche theme. But it makes me happy to see such a unique and wonderful series receive a deserved adaptation! Also, who wouldn’t be excited to hear Hanazawa Kana make all sorts of cute and weird noises? Jinbou Masato (Isekai Shokudou, Prisma Illya, Shomin Sample) brings along a plethora of experience as a comedic director, and I’m confident he can establish a delightful ambiance in Senryuu Shoujo. That said, most of my concerns aren’t geared towards the production committee itself. Rather, the biggest challenge going forward is how translators will capture the 5-7-5 syllable structure, without losing out on meaning or beauty from the original haikus. If licensed distributors can nail those translations, then I have no doubts that Senryuu Shoujo will prove a reliable source of weekly, entertaining fluff throughout the spring season.

Preview by Stilts

When Horie Ao (Waki Azumi) was in kindergarten, she smiled wide as she told her classmates how her father (bestselling erotic author Horie Hanasaki (Tsuda Kenjirou)) chose her name: “A as in apple and O as in orgy!” That day still haunts her ten years later. Now she lives her high school life with a single goal in mind: get into an elite university and achieve independence from her father. She has no time for youth, and even less time for boys … until her classmate, “King Normie” Kijima Takumi (Terashima Junta), approaches her with a shocking confession of love. She tries to tell him she doesn’t like him, but she keeps failing … and as her mind runs wild with perverted thoughts, she realizes her perverted mangaka father has totally influenced her after all.

Ao-chan Can’t Study! is amusing because of the duality of Ao: she’s serious, but also perverted. She doesn’t want to be in a relationship, but actually she does. She wants to turn Kijima down, but all of her actions point the other direction. It’s this duality that keeps the romance from feeling either repetitive or squicky (mostly), because the tension is less about Kijima chasing Ao and more about Ao’s internal struggle between who she thought she was and who she might actually is. Also, seeing her wondering how big of a package Kijima is sporting is funny! I do have my concerns, because though this is a Silver Link production, the promo videos weren’t the best I’ve seen, and this is director Inoue Keisuke’s first time in the hot seat. He’s backed up by prolific series composer Yokote Michiko though, which should help. Over all, I’m tentatively excited about this anime. It could be a lot of fun, as long as the pacing is on point and the voice actors can really sell a high school love life full of hijinks and perverted thoughts.

Preview by Stilts

Hitoribocchi no Marumaru Seikatsu follows the trials and tribulations of Hitori Bocchi (Morishita Chisaki), a girl who suffers from extreme social anxiety, who isn’t good at talking to people, takes pretty extreme actions, is adept at avoiding people, whose legs cramp up when she overexerts herself, who gets full of herself when she’s alone, and will vomit when exposed to extreme tension. Basically, she’s a shy girl with a lot of issues. She’s now entering middle school, and her only friend, Yawara Kai (Kohara Konomi), is attending a different school. So she breaks off her relationship with Bocchi! Otherwise Bocchi will never make other friends, so Kai issues her a challenge: Bocchi must make friends with everyone in her class over the next three years, or Kai will never talk to her again.

The Hitoribocchi manga is a delightfully heartwarming thing. Mostly a slice-of-life 4-koma about Bocchi’s quest to make friends, the story and the other characters steadfastly avoid being mean to Bocchi. This premise could so easily be frustrating and cruel, but instead it’s full of cute moments and patient friends as we bask in Bocchi’s minor triumphs and cheer her on through her struggles. None of this is surprising for a manga by Katsuwo of Mitsuboshi Colors fame, which is an understated and adorable series. This anime is being produced by C2C, which hasn’t taken the lead on many productions, which can also be said of director Anzai Takefumi, though with the stellar Hanada Jukki on series composition, there’s some bona fide star power on the staff. The animation also looks pleasant, silly, and faithful to the adaptation. All in all, I’m excited about this one! It’s a good slice-of-life story, so if all goes well, the manga will translate into a pleasant anime indeed.

Preview by Guardian Enzo

There are some seiyuu I like better than others, certainly. But I think there’s only one who could take a show down an entire expectation level on their own, and that’s Kaji Yuuki, the Shaft of voice actors. Aside from my disappointment at his being cast as protagonist Tachibana Touma, though, I’m quite looking forward to Mix. Like all of Adachi Mitsuru’s best work, it’s a sports manga that uses the sport as the canvas on which to paint a character-driven story, not the painting itself. It’s also full of Adachi’s trademark self-deprecating humor and subte and nuanced human interaction. Adachi series often get labeled as “old-school” sports manga and I suppose in a way they are, but the thing is, nobody else writes manga like Adachi does. It may be an old school, but he’s the only pupil.

It’s a shame about that seiyuu caveat, as this is the first Adachi anime since Cross Game, comfortably in my top 10 anime (and manga) ever. And it’s a sequel to Touch, by many measures the most popular anime of all time (I actually thought it might finally get a reboot, to end when Mix began, but that was not to be). And Mix (the manga doesn’t have the “Meisei Story” subheading, but I assume the production committee insisted so there’d be no overlooking the Touch connection) is an excellent manga, vintage Adachi – not the masterpiece Touch or especially Cross Game are, but solidly (so far) on-par with most of his work. It’s been placed in the hands of OLM, one of the oldest studios around and one who knows baseball (they did the excellent Major 2nd adaptation last year). Staff is solid too, so even with Kaji as an albatross around its neck Mix should be pretty good. What we don’t know is how long it’s going to be, and what it will do for an ending since the manga is still ongoing (monthly this time around). It’s baseball, it’s Adachi, I even blogged the manga for a time – of course, I’m in. But I can’t be unreservedly enthusiastic under the circumstances.

Preview by Choya

For hardcore otaku Bouida Haruto (Hatano Wataru), real women do not appeal to him. In his mind, he’s accepted that once you accept a 3D woman in your life, “there’s no turning back”. However, such concerns don’t apply toward 2D girls or figurines. Haruto was more than delighted to buy a figure of Nona, his favorite character from the anime “Girls→Planetary Investigation”. But on that night, the Nona figure came to life (Kinoshita Suzuna), and with her new-found sentience she begins her couple-like hijinks with Haruto.

Finally, a love story that transcends the boundaries of fiction to depict the relationship between a man and his toy. Chou Kadou Girl ⅙: Amazing Stranger is banking on the high concept of its premise with an otaku being granted the gift of a sentient waifu figurine, just in time for Toy Story 4. Much like Woody and Buzz Lightyear, Nona is animated through the power of computer animation, as we see in the promotional material where she navigates around a desktop. With several human characters and animated figurines coming into the fold, it appears that Chou Kadou Girl ⅙: Amazing Stranger has yet to show all its cards just yet. It should be fascinating to see whether the anime focuses solely on the bond between Haruto and Nona or becomes a transformative anime that goes above and beyond to encapsulate the very best of what anime as a medium has to offer.

Preview by Choya

“One day, a girl who loves me will suddenly appear before me”. These are the famous last words of middle school teacher Oda Nobunaga (Sakai Koudai) as he fantasizes about being whisked away into a situation straight out of a gal game. The girl who would appear before him, however, is Kichou (Uehara Akari), the actual wife of Sengoku-era warlord Oda Nobunaga. Upon being time-shifted into the future in the form of a 14-year old girl, she mistakes the present-day teacher Nobunaga with her feudal lord husband and urges him to conceive a child with her. With a cast of other students and teachers who find themselves attached to the teacher, this age-difference romantic comedy aims to capture the relationship between a teacher who loves his gal games and a Sengoku-era princess.

It sounds like an eyebrow-raising concept to have a young girl demanding to have a child with an adult, but from what the promotional video suggests, it seems to focus more on the time-travel scenario of Nobunaga having to encounter someone who thinks they’re married to him because he shares her spouse’s name. One distinction that Nobunaga-sensei no Osanazuma has is that it’s one of the first manga by Azure Konno to be adapted into a TV anime. Because his output has been very highly NSFW, the only other one that’s been adapted was the OVA series for his eroge voice-acting manga Koe de Oshigoto!. Knowing full well what that manga was like, the ecchi of Nobunaga-sensei no Osanazuma is likely to impress. It may also put some skeptical viewers at ease to know that there is a well-endowed colleague of Nobunaga who is among the girls who approach him. It fits the niche of a high school ecchi anime, but for those curious about the premise or interested in seeing how far the ecchi goes, Nobunaga-sensei no Osanazuma could be a pleasant surprise.

Preview by Choya

Rumors of carnivorous, man-eating demons lurking in the woods have surfaced since ancient times. Such fearsome stories have influenced local townsfolk to stay away from the outdoors at night. Legend has it that a demon slayer has been combing the forests in pursuit of bloodthirsty demons. For young Kamado Tanjirou (Hanae Natsuki), these rumors are his brutal reality. After his father died, Tanjirou helped to support his family and offer them happier times in the face of tragedy. In a devastating twist-of-fate, Tanjirou came home one day to find his family slaughtered and his sister Nezuko (Kito Akari) turned into a demon. To reverse the spell and turn his sister human again, and to achieve vengeance for his family, Tanjirou begins his quest to slay demons.

For fans of Weekly Shounen Jump, 2019 is shaping up to be an eventful year. Between Yakusoku no Neverland, this spring’s Bokutachi wa Benkyou ga Dekinai and the upcoming adaptation of Dr. Stone, this year is helping to usher in the next generation of Jump vanguards. Kimetsu no Yaiba is exciting because of both its story and its pedigree. There are very few concepts that are as irresistible as a supernatural action narrative inspired by the feudal era. The darker themes of vengeance and demonic possession also help to boost the momentum and intensity throughout Tanjirou’s quest. What gives Kimetsu no Yaiba its biggest jolt is being produced by Ufotable, the studio behind every big budget Fate production and the Kara no Kyoukai film series. For a Weekly Shounen Jump action series, it’s impressive that they were able to attract a studio which has carved out their niche with polished, glossy action anime. It will be fascinating to see what their trademark touch provides to such a series and how it will help enhance the action and intrigue of Kimetsu no Yaiba.

Preview by Choya

The late father of third-year high school student Yuiga Nariyuki (Osaka Ryota) always told him that a useless man should always strive to be useful. Because of this advice, Nariyuki has taken it upon himself to improve his poor grades to become a high-achieving student. His primary goal is to provide his impoverished family a better life by obtaining a special VIP nomination that acts as a scholarship to cover any of his future university tuition fees. While the dream nomination is within his grasp, math whiz Ogata Rizu (Tomita Miyu) and literature extraordinaire Furuhashi Fumino (Shiraishi Haruka) overshadow his abilities in both subjects. Nariyuki has the fortune of being nominated, but on the condition that he tutors Rizu and Fumino so they can enter their respective university of choice. Tutoring geniuses may seem like a walk-in-the-park, but with Rizu’s terrible performance in liberal arts courses and Fumino’s panic over the slightest math question, Nariyuki has his work cut out for him. As the university application submission date draws nearer and the girls reveal that they want to pursue careers in their worst subjects, Nariyuki must formulate a battle strategy to tutor them effectively or else.

If you feel like something’s missing without Go-Toubun no Hanayome, then have no fear because Bokutachi wa Benkyou ga Dekinai will be more than happy to give you more tutoring antics, and then some. What sets it apart from its winter counterpart is its comedy. With a deeper focus on humor, it spends plenty of time diving into the hilarious scenarios that Nariyuki finds himself entangled in as he tries to support Rizu and Fumino. As more classmates are compelled to reach out to Naruyuki for help, further hijinks ensue as he has his hands full with the clashing personalities and quirks he must face on a regular basis to ensure smooth sailing into college. Its status as a Shounen Jump series alongside the next generation of shounen hits also gives the anime an edge by building on the manga’s rising popularity and allowing it to come into its own as a potentially huge IP. For those seeking a funny school comedy with a dash of romance, or looking to get their tutoring anime fix somewhere, then you don’t want to miss Bokutachi wa Benkyou ga Dekinai.

Preview by Guardian Enzo

It says something about the relative weakness at the top of the table that Kono Oto Tomare! is atop my spring expectations list. It’s not that I’m not extremely fond of it, but I’m quite sanguine about the fact that it’s no masterpiece – just a very good shounen (with an at-times very shoujo feel) about yet another interesting niche in Japanese culture, the koto. Mangaka Sakura Amyuu is clearly passionate about her subject, and she tells a consistently engaging story while generally (though not totally) managing to avoid the narrative trip-wires too common to sports/club manga.

I do have some issues with Kono Oto Tomare! – it seems obvious that Sakura changed her mind at some point (or was forced to change it) about who the protagonist of this series was, and that transition has never stopped being awkward. And it does fall into traditional gender stereotypes a bit too often for my liking. But it’s heartfelt, with good characters, and the koto is an interesting subject for a series like this. The club dynamic is certainly nothing new, but this series is a good take on it. That the main staff and even the studio are relative unknowns is a worry, as is the fact that the manga is ongoing, but with two (split) cours I think it should be able to give viewers a good taste of the series’ charms.

Preview by Stilts

One day, in the midst of a terrible storm season, a miracle occurred in the middle of the pacific ocean: an entirely new continent appeared out of nowhere! Filled with mysterious new creatures, plants, and precious resources, the new continent of Magmel is ripe with wealth for the taking … if one can survive its horrors. The story follows the mysterious young man Inyou (Kawanishi Kengo) and his assistant Zero (Ichimichi Mao), who work as relief workers known as Anglers who rescue explorers in the wilds of Magmel.

Based on the Chinese manhua of the same name—wait, don’t go away! The idea behind this anime had me really pumped before I heard it was a manhua. And yes, manhuas have a stigma in anime circles, because, as source materials go, they’ve yielded even fewer successful adaptations than video games have, and that’s not a high bar to clear. But hear me out. I checked out the source material, and … it was fine. It was serviceable, with replacement-level weird magic stapled onto a vibrant setting that’s about a quarter of the depth of the original Dragonball, and with much the same aesthetic. The idea of a new age of exploration got me really pumped, this is a great idea, but the source material was only okay. Mitigating factor: not much is translated right now, so I couldn’t read far. The anime is being produced by Studio Pierrot, with Naruto director Date Hayato as the top dog and Tokyo Ghoul (all four seasons and the OVA) script writer Mikasano Chuuji on series composition, which isn’t a sentence that inspires confidence. This is a series I’d approach with your shields up, for here the old wisdom rings true: If you temper your expectations, you’ll either be pleasantly surprised, or you’ll be correct. Gunjou no Magmel is looking to bring fantasy adventure fans in, I just wouldn’t give it my heart until it proves itself worthy of our love.

Preview by Pancakes

On one plain, ordinary day, an entire city—concrete and humans both—disappears. In the aftermath three years later, Yuki (Hanazawa Kana), the only survivor from that day, meets up with a contract courier Takuya (Sugita Tomokazu), and together both head toward the missing city, driven only by a cryptic message left by Yuki’s missing father. What seems like a simple task, however, quickly proves anything but, as both Yuki and Takuya run headfirst into a mysterious organization with direct ties to the city’s disappearance and its aftermath, and an underlying conspiracy linked in more than one way to Yuki’s father and his written message. With events only growing stranger and increasingly dangerous threats making their acquaintance, Yuki and Takuya have their investigative work cut out for them, but together they’ll unravel the mystery of missing city, one way or another.

Before that mystery thriller premise gets your hopes up, best know that Shoumetsu Toshi is a mobile game adaptation. That’s right, mobile game. We’ve had a few of these of late, and while some have been noticeably better than others, these adaptations are still notoriously hard to get right, and Shoumetsu Toshi likely won’t prove to be an exception. Besides almost certainly being promotional material (the source game is gearing up for its third update this fall), game mechanics are never the easiest thing to represent in narrative fiction, and the central story here is notably drama (read: melodrama) heavy. Yet there are two big positives under all that uncertainty: staff and cast. No matter how much Shoumetsu Toshi is running uphill from the start, anything pulling the likes of Madhouse, Blood Lad’s director Miya Shigeyuki, and the friendzone champion herself Hanazawa Kana together has something seriously good going for it. Maybe not enough to remove all the doubts, of course, but there’s no reason to think this one will be trainwreck material right from the get-go. While expectations should naturally be kept in check, don’t go pre-emptively passing this one over—Shoumetsu Toshi easily has all the pieces required to turn into one of this season’s biggest surprises.

Preview by Pancakes

A long ways away, in a world not quite the same, small magical creatures called fairies roam free. Possessing a unique power capable of possessing animals, fairies are considered valuable, for when the organs of possessed animals are transplanted into ordinary humans, they become Fairy Fighters, individuals able to invoke the power of the fairies. While the potential of this power abounds, Fairy Fighters naturally find their best use on the field of battle, but after the most recent war ends and peace returns, many suddenly have nowhere to go. In this delicate postwar world it falls to Mariya (Ichinose Kana) and Dorothea, the anti-fairy crime agency, to help keep the peace. With war memories still fresh and many fairy-related grievances outstanding it’s a difficult job at the best of times, but Mariya is determined to help find justice for those left at society’s wayside, one way or another.

Disclaimer: if you think Fairy Gone will be about actual fairies, you’re in for a bad time. Much like Sirius the Jaeger, Fairy Gone is P.A. Works’ latest anime original gander into supernatural action/thriller, invoking the likes of werewolves and other assorted creatures (via some fairy middlemen), except now in a less vampiric manner. Similar to Violet Evergarden and Hitsugi no Chaika, Fairy Gone is going the postwar critique route, seeing how individuals literally built for war survive and thrive in a world no longer needing (or desiring) their existence. Whether Fairy Gone can stack up to those examples is of course the question, considering the debatable quality of P.A. Works’ latest array of productions—i.e. Glasslip syndrome—but considering Grimgar’s author Jyumonji Ao is scriptwriting and Suzuki Kenichi of Jojo and Drifters fame is doing director duty, it’s hard to see how this one could fall on its face. Hedging bets will be recommended, but should Fairy Gone successfully leverage its stacked staff and deliver on its intriguing premise, this will be one show to pay some close attention to this season.

Preview by Stars

The second I realized this series would involve youkai, my ears perked and my face lit up like the night sky during a harvest moon. Even narrowing the field to shows involving Abe no Seimei and onmyouji, it would still include a lot of anime I’ve enjoyed such as Nurahiyon no Mago, Tokyo Ravens, and Shounen Onmyouji. However, the general feel I got from the trailer was that Tamotsu Youko’s Mayonaka no Occult Koumin would be closer to a procedural drama mixed with elements of urban fantasy than the next Inuyasha.

The series revolves around Miyako Arata (Fukuyama Jun), a civil servant assigned to work in the Shinjuku Ward’s Nighttime Regional Relations department, which is tasked with dealing with otherworldly creatures. After all, somebody’s got to keep those pesky youkai in check. Unfortunately, Arata can understand what these creatures are saying, and one of them thinks he must be the reincarnation of the powerful Japanese onmyouji, Abe no Seimei. It’s also always exciting to have Fukuyama Jun on board, since his performances are stellar with characters who exhibit a certain amount of duality. From what I’ve seen of the animation, the character designs are want for creativity of expression and fluidity considering the array of supernatural creatures they’re portraying, but on the merit of the vocal talent alone and because I’m a long-time fan of Fukuyama Jun and his “sexy voice,” I’d say it’s worth giving it a chance. If ends up being in the vein of Psycho Pass with angels and demons for flavoring, I’d be pleasantly surprised.

Preview by Choya

Satou Ichirou (Suzuki Ryouta) is your average high school student just trying to go about his daily routine. However, he keeps finding himself in one sticky situation after another when he regularly stumbles into perverted situations with his teacher, Kojima Kana (Uesaka Sumire). This erotic romantic comedy explores the several mishaps that befall their daily lives and examines how Ichirou and Kana choose to handle the compromising positions they find themselves in. Along the way, new couples are introduced to spice up the story’s flirty and quirky sense of humor. Which one will be your favorite? Regardless of what your answer may be, Nande Koko ni Sensei ga!? will be more than happy to deliver its salacious love stories to audiences this spring.

We all know why we’re watching this series. An erotic romantic comedy directed by the maestro behind Seikon no Qwaser starring a thick, well-endowed teacher is bound to be the right cup of tea for ecchi aficionados. What makes this series compelling is how the perspective switches toward other pairings as later chapters switch from story to story, and with the promotional material showing off several different characters, the anime is definitely planning on alternating between couples. Whether it means the anime will race through one couple’s arc or feature several different pairs in one episode is still up in the air. However, with the visual appeal the anime’s promotional videos have as well as the manga’s risqué artwork, Nande Koko ni Sensei ga!? will have just the right amount of flair to pull off the lewd material with grace. As a bawdy comedy with ample titillation and a diverse cast of characters, Nande Koko ni Sensei ga!? is aiming for the title of this season’s go-to ecchi anime.

Preview by Stars

Publishers Akatsuki and Kadokawa’s Cinderella Nine in August started out as a free mobile game for iOS. From that, a four-panel comedy spin-off was made, as well as a novelization and a four-episode ONA. The game starts with the player choosing a male or female protagonist who, after an injury, cannot continue to play baseball. Resolving to never enter the world of baseball again, they move to their grandmother’s hometown, enroll in the local high school, make friends, and end up becoming the baseball team’s manager anyway, through the power of peer pressure.

Judging by the promo video, the visuals in this anime are certainly of decent quality. The animation looks fluid, which will come in handy when it comes to animating those baseball scenes. While I wouldn’t put this on the same level as Haikyuu!!, Kuroko no Basuke, or Free! as far as sports anime go, I would tentatively compare it to the Persona anime franchise. While Persona stems from a series of role-playing games, it also involved a protagonist moving to a new city for a time, and ended up being a surprisingly engaging show even for those without any prior knowledge of the game. Hopefully, Hachigatsu will prove capable of standing on its own as well. As far as staff goes, Tanaka Jin will be working on series composition. He has a good deal of experience when it comes to adapting games to anime, and has written for One Piece, as well as for the first season of Tokyo Ghoul. With him at the helm, those looking forward to this can expect a quality script which, when coupled with fluid animation, should make for a pleasant watch.

Preview by Passerby

Buddhist teachings are about denying worldly desires, reaching enlightenment, and escaping the cycle of suffering. In that vein one of the main satanic bad guys of Buddhism is Mara, the Evil One, who deceives mortals, misleads them with temptations, and generally stands in opposition to enlightenment. Buddhist mythology goes that when the Buddha was meditating Mara attempted to seduce him with a vision of beautiful women. But the Buddha was not swayed; instead, he touched the fingers of his right hand to the ground, calling forth all the gods of heaven and earth to bear witness to his enlightenment, defeating Mara. Namu Amida Butsu!: Rendai Utena has, er, something to do with that, it seems. In Namu Amida Butsu! it’s been some years since the Buddha aka Shaka Nyorai (Morikubo Showtaro) brought enlightenment to the masses and ushered in peace and prosperity. But Mara (Ootsuka Takeo), seeking revenge against Shaka Nyorai, makes a pact with the devil to destroy this enlightened age. It’s up to a group of thirteen pretty boys calling themselves The Thirteen Buddhas and their patron deities to do battle with Mara and protect the world from these evil machinations.

So, Namu Amida Butsu! is supposed to be an adaptation of a browser game. It has only recently been released Japan-side, I haven’t played it, and I can’t really tell you what it’s about. Is the anime a bona fide adaptation of the game story? Or is it supposed to be a supplement? Even game players probably can’t say at this early point. Obviously the anime was made to promote the game and likely produced in parallel, which is not usually a good sign for adaptations. How are you supposed to capture the spirit of the source before even having access to the source? This is on top of the usual shadiness that adaptations of games come with, which is enough to make me cynical. It doesn’t help that the production staff doesn’t look particularly outstanding, except maybe Fujisaki Yoshiaki on music, who usually does good work. Still, Namu Amida Butsu! may interest you with its mythology, which seems to be the main thrust of the premise. Japan has an interesting native blend of Buddhism and Shintoism, and Namu Amida Butsu! seems to itself be some syncretism of Eastern religions. If comparative religion is your kind of thing and you’d like more of it in your anime with a side of bishounen action, then I guess Namu Amida Butsu! has the niche filled.

Preview by Passerby

If aliens ever found Earth and they, implausibly, don’t try to invade and destroy famous landmarks for no particular reason, what might happen? Well, in RobiHachi it’s been 50 years since first contact and humans have experienced an incredible technological uplift. Faster-than-light travel is now common and Earthlings have taken to the stars, joining an intergalactic commonwealth of space-faring species. It’s not been good times and new horizons for everybody, though. 30-year-old freelance writer Robby Yarge (Nakai Kazuya) is down on his luck. His most recent contract had been terminated, his girlfriend dumped him, he almost died in a traffic accident, and now he’s on the run from the loan shark Yang (Sugita Tomokazu). Robby manages to take a ship and escape into space, but stowed away on board is 18-year-old Hatchi Kita (Koumoto Keisuke), a passing acquaintance of Robby’s who is now part-timing for Yang to collect Robby’s debt. Robby and Hatchi are polar opposites and rub each other the wrong way, but they both agree that their current lifestyle isn’t particularly glamorous. So they decide to ditch it, instead planning to seek out the legendary planet of Isekander, said to bring happiness to whomever travels there. So begins their sightseeing tour across the galaxy in search of a distant utopia, with goons and law men hot on their heels.

The original writing for RoboHachi is given to one Umatani Taiga. I honestly have no idea who that is, and neither does any of the usual sources I turn to, so we’ll have to look at the director instead. Takamatsu Shinji is a fairly notable name in anime by now, and he’s most known for comedies like Gintama, Sakamoto Desu ga?, and School Rumble. So it’s a good bet that RoboHachi will be a comedy as well. At least, the premise does sound like it’d lend itself well to a comedy, and from the looks of the promotional materials I would expect mostly episodic fare. I suppose a full-blown space opera is not out of the question. But it doesn’t have to be; a fun, soft sci-fi romp is perfectly good anime, and even if that kind of show is a bit retro we could certainly use more of them.

Preview by Stilts

Return once again to the King of Prism franchise with the latest iteration, Shiny Seven Stars. Consisting of four theatrical releases also broadcast as a television series, it will follow the singing, dancing, and skating idol boys who are all competing to become the Prism King. The first film/three episodes will feature Tachibana Yukinojou (Saitou Souma) and Kougami Taiga (Hatanaka Tasuku); the second will feature Juuouin Kakeru (Yashiro Taku), Takadanobaba George (Sugita Tomokazu), and Takahashi Minato (Igarashi Masashi); the third will feature Saionji Leo (Nagatsuka Takuma), Suzuno Yuu (Uchida Yuuma), and Yamato Alexander (Takeuchi Shunsuke); and the fourth and final quarter will feature Kisaragi Louis (Aoi Shouta), Ichijou Shin (Terashima Junta), and an unknown character.

Basically, Pretty Rhythm with boys. Don’t know what Pretty Rhythm is? Then you’re probably not a 13-year-old Japanese girl, or haven’t been one lately. Which isn’t a slight against 13-year-old girls, it’s merely a statement of fact; target markets are a thing. Pretty Rhythm is an idol anime aimed at preteen girls where the heroines sing, dance, and ice skate in elaborate competitions. The King of Prism spin-off is almost certainly designed to follow those girls as they begin looking more at the boys, and keep that big mommy-and-daddy’s-money revenue flowing in. Hey, I ain’t one to judge! I just calls it as I sees it. And the Pretty Rhythm anime, from my oddly long track record of previewing them, have always been pretty good, though the abrupt transition to CGI when the dancing/skating begins has always been jarring, and doesn’t appear to have improved in this day of improved CGI. Probably that would be too expensive, and entirely unnecessary. Still, if you’re a teenage girl who enjoyed the Pretty Rhythm anime but has started to outgrow it, this is the brand extension for you. Which probably doesn’t include much of Random Curiosity’s audience, so I’m going to leave it there.

Preview by Pancakes

Isekai universes are a dime a dozen these days, but be honest, have we truly seen the most alternate worlds can offer? Have you witnessed an isekai in an isekai, a coming together of RPG fanatics and slothful goddesses? Maybe the merger of crazed military masterminds and less than scrupulous skeletal horrors? How about cute sidekicks battling equally important waifus? That’s right boys and girls, you haven’t, but never fear, because Isekai Quartet is here. When a big red button appears before the likes of Overlord’s Ainz (Hino Satoshi) and Albedo (Hara Yumi), Konosuba’s Kazuma (Fukushima Jun) and Aqua (Amamiya Sora), Youjo Senki’s Tanya (Yuuki Aoi) and Visha (Hayami Saori), and Re:Zero’s Subaru (Kobayashi Yuusuke) and Emilia (Takahashi Rie), all of them indulge their button pushing curiosity and quickly find themselves transferred together to a brand new world. Everyone is suddenly back at the start in a new world demanding exploration: it’s time to find out what it’s like when isekais collide.

Yup, your eyes aren’t deceiving you: we have an isekai crossover on our hands. While the concept is nothing new for anime (see Shounen Jump’s various examples), crossovers have been noticeably absent from its most popular genre, until now. Isekai Quartet at heart is effectively Kadokawa’s Dragon Ball Z x Toriko x One Piece: it blends Kadokawa’s four most popular isekai franchises together in chibi form, throws the mix into a new world, and sees what lighthearted fun and games (read: carnage) results. By its nature it won’t be touching directly on any of these franchises’ main stories (at least outside of sly references), but if you’ve been missing seeing some ionic characters doing isekai things in cutesy animated form, you’re in the right place. While only a 15-minute short, with the chibi petite master Ashina Minoru both directing and script writing, and the major cast members of all aforementioned isekai franchises carrying over, Isekai Quartet is one show that won’t be lacking when it comes to alternate world entertainment. After all, anything mixing the likes of these isekai heavy hitters cannot be a bad thing.

Preview by Pancakes

In an alternate 20th century world, Earth is invaded by alien beings called Neuroi who, through their power, force large swaths of humanity to flee their homes. Standing against them are the Witches, girls wielding magical abilities capable of countering and defeating the Neuroi. In the midst of this battle for survival the young Miyafuji Yoshika (Fukuen Misato) joins the 501st Joint Fighter Wing, a motley collection of Witches from various nations devoted to defending the British Isles from Neuroi invasion. By 1944 however, with the war at a stalemate, there’s not much for the 501st to do militarily, so instead the girls partake in some more conventional tasks: cooking and cleaning. It might not be what Yoshika signed up for, but with comrades like hers, even the simplest of chores won’t lack for fun.

Ah Strike Witches, this franchise has certainly come far. As one of the first successful mecha musume series, Strike Witches helped spark the wave of magical, fantasy-esque series we keep getting to this day, and while the show itself only received a sequel back in 2016, it’s been running strong in written form since. And now? Yeah, the witches are back for more. Butai Hasshinshimasu is just the first of new three Witches works in production, and although not technically “true” Strike Witches—i.e. serious stories and beating up aliens—a bit of levity isn’t so bad. Much like Type Moon’s lighthearted Emiya-san Chi no Kyou no Gohan, this Strike Witches will be all about slice-of-life shenanigans, cute moments, and plenty of humour. It may only be a 15 minute chibi-esque short, but I don’t imagine too many fans will be disappointed seeing the original 501st back in anime form. After all, as a taste of things to come, Butai Hasshinshimasu is more than up to the task of helping reintroduce everyone’s favourite witches to the world at large.

Preview by Stilts

Nakano (Suwabe Junichi) is exhausted every day. He works for an exploitative “black” company that works him to the bone, with absolutely no care for his well-being. When he’s at his most run down, he meets Senko (Waki Azumi), an 800-year-old little fox girl/god who has but one mission in mind: to spoil Nakano as much as possible. Whether it be cooking, cleaning, or special service(?), she’ll heal his exhaustion with her tender care.

Billed as a healing anime where an 800-year-old “legal loli” takes care of a salaryman, I feel like I’ve already said enough for you to decide if you’ll watch this. That’s a niche right there, yes siree! The manga is exactly what it sets out to be: a healing anime, with a light patina of comedy over the fluffy, fuwa-fuwa core. Animated by Doga Kobo, with newbie director Koshida Tomoaki in charge, I was most heartened by the involvement of script writer Nakamura Yoshiko, who also did the series compositions of several excellent comedies, Gekkan Shoujo Nozaki-kun chief among them. That said, I don’t expect this to be more than what it seems, at least from the manga I read. If it executes on its source adequately, it should be a relaxing anime to wind down the day with. If that’s what you want, Sewayaki Kitsune no Senko-san is here to pamper you.

Preview by MissSimplice

Fifteen year old Shin Walford (Kobayashi Yuusuke) is of no ordinary descent. Although raised by magi Merlin Walford (Yara Yuusaku) and Melinda Bowen (Takashima Gara), his consciousness is that of a typical Japanese man transported to a world far beyond his imagination. Leaving his mundane life in modern Japan behind, Shin is now surrounded by magic, mystery and fierce beasts alike. Like in most isekai, protagonist Shin navigates this fantastical world with memories of his past life still present. However, having been brought up in a secluded location, Shin was never given the tools necessary to understand the world within which he now finds himself. With strong abilities and no knowledge of the society beyond the woods he calls home, Shin must learn restraint and discipline all while being a student at the Earlshide Advanced Magic Academy.

The Silver Link production staff have taken the adaptation of this light novel series under their wing, and although there’s nothing original to the premise, there might be room to create something worth a watch. When I checked out the source material, it exposed me to some pretty unexpectedly graphic content. This could make room for Silver Link to explore outside of their traditional animation style. There’s a reasonable amount of violence and action, perhaps even a solid romantic subplot that could give this series a positive touch. There are a lot of ‘ifs’, though, so I’ll remain conservative and vote it an average choice for anyone looking to watch another isekai series this season. If you’re looking for something new, fresh, and innovative that’ll keep you glued to your chair, this might not be the series you want to get into.

Preview by Passerby

It has been 50 years since mankind colonised Mars. It is now a world that could easily be mistaken for mother Earth, but much of the old world has been left behind. The same advanced technology that allowed the terraforming of the red planet has made many human functions obsolete. In particular, mass media no longer requires any human input, and is instead generated by artificial intelligence. Culture has become a product of complex algorithms that can calculate universal appeal in ways no mortal mind can. But there are still those in whom the creative spark burns. In the slums of a bustling metropolis a street urchin struggles to scrape together a living with her music. In an affluent provincial town the scion of a wealthy family despairs that nobody understands her aspirations toward music. Her name is Carole (Shimabukuro Miyuri). Her name is Tuesday (Ichinose Kana). By chance the two meet and they decide to write a song together. That song may just be a tiny ripple in the water, but from one ripple shall grow a towering wave that will wash over the planet.

Hopefully, director Watanabe Shinichiro needs no introduction. He has his name on anime ranging from sci-fi classics like Cowboy Bebop to controversial thrillers like Zankyou no Terror to bizarre fun like Space Dandy. Now Watanabe is bringing back a dash of the sci-fi to combine with his lesser-known love: music. I think we can already assume that Carole & Tuesday is going to be something different. For one, the music is not being scored by Watanabe’s frequent collaborator Kanno Yoko. The last time we’ve seen this was with the anachronistic counter-culture of Samurai Champloo, and it gives Carole & Tuesday a notable contrast to Watanabe’s previous music-focused anime, Sakamichi no Apollon. In interviews Watanabe has said that he wanted to emphasise the global nature of music and therefore he enlisted the aid of record label FlyingDog and Canadian musician Mocky. Other than the music we can only guess at how Carole & Tuesday will go, but it looks very promising overall. Animation production is with BONES and they simply do not make bad anime, especially not with Watanabe. The only hiccup may be that this is going to be a Netflix show, which will likely be disruptive to our weekly viewing habits, but otherwise Carole & Tuesday is definitely the anime to look out for this season.

Preview by Choya

Taking place in the Asakusa district of Tokyo, Sarazanmai follows three second-year middle school students, Yasaka Kazuki (Murase Ayumu), Kuji Toi (Uchiyama Kouki), and Jinnai Enta (Horie Shun). One day, they meet the self-proclaimed heir to the throne of the Kappa Kingdom named Keppi (Suwabe Junichi). Keppi transforms the three students into kappa by forcibly taking their shirikodama, a mythical ball said to contain one’s soul that kappa steal through a person’s anus. Keppei tells the students, “If you want to return to your former selves, you need to connect in ‘that way’ and you must bring me the shirikodama of zombies.” Will the three boys assist Keppei by connecting in “that way” and taking the shirikodama of zombies? As we seek out this answer, we are also given a glimpse into the lives of two policemen, Niiboshi Reo (Miyano Mamoru) and Akutsu Mabu (Hosoya Yoshimasa). They are planning something at the police box where they are stationed, but will their fates align with the students and Keppei’s journey? Find out how the world of Sarazanmai expands this spring.

For those who are unfamiliar with the anime auteur known as Ikuhara Kunihiko, he’s a director who uses bizarre, quirky concepts to critique social order and analyze the performative nature of human expressions such as love and hatred. His most iconic work has been Revolutionary Girl Utena and Sailor Moon S, but over the years, he’s built up his repertoire with high-concept experimentation from the psychological political intrigue behind Mawaru Penguindrum to the symbolism behind Yuri Kuma Arashi’s perspective on girls love. With Sarazanmai, speculation as to its content can only be made through its relationship with his other anime. From the premise’s exploration of references to connecting in “that way” as well as the shirikodama’s presence in the narrative, it seems to be taking pages from Yuri Kuma Arashi in creating a sexual dynamic through same-sex bonding. Swapping out bears and girls with kappa and boys could give Ikuhara the chance to dabble in the subject of male relationships that he hasn’t had to explore as much since Utena and a small portion of Penguindrum. While his other works have tended to bring out the fantastical elements of the cast’s surroundings, Sarazanmai has the distinction of using photo-realistic backgrounds to create an artstyle that feels like the characters are interacting with the real world. Whether you are a staunch fan of Ikuhara’s anime or into eccentric and thought-provoking anime, Sarazanmai should provide enough intrigue and mystery to add some zest to this spring season.

Preview by Zephyr

Two seasons and a movie later, Bungou Stray Dogs returns for another go around, bringing us back into anachronistic world of mangaka Asagiri Kafka. Looking back to the first season, Bungo Stray Dogs started off with a chance meeting between the luckless Nakajima Atsushi (Uemura Yuto) and serial suicide attempter Dazai Osamu (Miyano Mamoru). Atsushi is recruited into the Armed Detective Agency, where he joined other individuals with supernatural powers as they attempted to solve abnormal cases the police could not handle. Atsushi’s powers eventually bring him into the sights of the Port Mafia, an international crime syndicate. All the while, Dazai’s past begins to unravel as he discovers new clues regarding the disappearance of an old friend—clues that link to new arrivals from America calling themselves The Guild. The second season saw a three way battle commence between the organizations as they attempted to outmaneuver one another for their own respective goals. The third season will bring with it the aftermath of their conflict and the arrival of yet another underground organization called “Rats in the House of the Dead.”

Well, that was a lot to digest, wasn’t it? It goes to show just how much has happened over the past two seasons of Bungou Stray Dogs and this has been a ride that’s only gotten better over time. There’s an argument to be made that its many plot lines have made its pacing go awry from time to time, but this is a series that manages to piece together things when it counts, and there’s a bit to like for everyone. We’ve got supernatural powers leading to action-packed moments, mysteries leading into devious plots, a diverse cast of stylish characters, and top-notch animation in a way only BONES could provide. The fact that we’re even getting a rare third season should give you an indication of how well the series has been received, and this could be an underrated gem for the spring season. If you haven’t watched the previous seasons yet, now would be the time to do so.

Preview by Pancakes

After returning to critical acclaim late last year, the smash hit Shingeki no Kyojin is back to finish what it started during its previous season. Based on the immensely popular manga by Isayama Hajime, SnK takes place in a world where humanity lives in perpetual fear of man-eating behemoths called Titans. Forced into an interconnected ring of walled cities for survival, human civilization managed to eke out a century of peace from the monsters, until the sudden arrival of one Colossal Titan ended those happy days. In the midst of the ensuing chaos two children—Eren Jaeger (Kaji Yuki) and Mikasa Ackerman (Ishikawa Yui)—find themselves at the centre of humanity’s struggle to survive after joining the Survey Corps, the military group dedicated to exploring and reclaiming the land outside the walls. Involved in everything from hidden conspiracies to political revolution during their military service, Eren and Mikasa now face their biggest test yet: returning to where the Colossal Titan first appeared, repairing humanity’s broken defenses, and finally determining the truth behind the Titans once and for all.

Well, it may not be the blockbuster hit it once was, but the SnK train keeps chugging along. No matter one’s opinion on the franchise (and oh boy are opinions set in stone now), there’s no denying SnK has truly made its mark on anime as a whole, breaking across boundaries in ways few other series have, and arguably setting the bar for all action/thriller-esque popcorn entertainment for years to come. While the series somewhat lost its way in its second season (thanks in part to the long delay in premiere), SnK quietly turned the ship around last fall, focusing hard on the shock and intrigue helping drive its initial popularity, and setting up for the critically important reveals set to arrive this season. It’s the moment many fans of the franchise have been eagerly waiting for, and with all cast and crew carrying over again, you can expect the same adaptation quality and success continuing as before. SnK may not be everyone’s cup of tea, but if you loved what happened previously best stick around to see what this cour brings, because the world of SnK will never be the same again.

Preview by MissSimplice

The long-standing franchise Mobile Suit Gundam comes to NHK Terrestrial this spring to mark their 40th anniversary with a re-edited 13-episode compilation of the theatrical release Mobile Suit Gundam: The Origin (OAV). The broadcast was announced alongside four other projects to commemorate the franchise’s milestone. This is an opportunity for fans across the globe to rekindle their love of the series and of antagonist Char Aznable (Ikeda Shuuichi) from the original 1979 series. The original OAVs were released in theatres across Japan between 2014 and 2018, with six hour-long episodes adapted from the original manga by Yasuhiko Yoshikazu. They establish the origin for the One Year War, develop influential characters as well as the political schemes mentioned in the original, and they have a particular focus on Char’s backstory, showcasing the seeds of his revenge against the Ziba lineage.

Prequels rarely find themselves on the same playing field as originals. However, with a team like Sunrise, Bandai Namco Holdings, and Sotsu, it’s no wonder they received strong reviews. As a fan of the Gundam animated series, I think this particular strand deserves a spot amongst the best within the franchise. The soundtrack, the combined CG and classic animation style, as well as the story and character developments were all key factors that turned this into a Gundam must-watch. It doesn’t really matter if you’re revisiting as a loyal fan or discovering the prequel out of curiosity. No matter, there’ll be a classic within our midst this season, which will include music producers LUNA SEA and SUGIZO. Plus, with the more classic/less moe animation style, you’ll be adding a dash of nostalgia to your weekly anime intake.

Preview by Passerby

Last time, on the Monogatari series: it finished! After all, Owarimonogatari was supposed to be the ‘End Story’. And it ended. Loose ends were tied up, character arcs reached their natural conclusion, the story got its denouement. Yet, here we are again, for another round in Zoku Owarimonogatari. If you recall, everyone’s favourite half-vampire half-degenerate teenager Araragi Koyomi (Kamiya Hiroshi) had just finished battling his inner demons, escaping the wrath of a crazed snake-god, and taking his university exams. Now Koyomi finds himself in a state of Limbo, done with being a high-school student but not yet a university student, perched on the boundary between adolescence and adulthood. It’s on one of these aimless days that he finds himself accidentally wandering into a world very much like his own, but off. A world through the looking glass. A world where everything seems just a bit wrong. Or, considering how all his old friends seem happy and content and free from all their past traumas, is this mirror world actually the right one?

For some perspective on how long the Monogatari series has been going, when I joined Random Curiosity back in 2014 one of the earliest shows I blogged (badly) was Hanamonogatari. That was supposed to be an epilogue to the series. Now, almost five years after the end of the end, we’re still here! Maybe not for much longer, though. Zoku Owarimonogatari was originally a theatrical release and is now being broadcast as a six episode series, all at once, on television. What it offers is a retrospective on Koyomi’s character and ties a bow around the philosophy that has underpinned this entire saga. If the Monogatari series is supposed to be about Koyomi’s adolescence then it’s only appropriate that he gets an opportunity to bid it farewell. As you may have guessed, this is going to be a highly introspective chapter (not that Monogatari ever isn’t), but it just means that director Simbo Akiyuki gets to go nuts with the abstract visuals again. This being a theatrical production, it’s bound to look good, so no worries there. But honestly, I shouldn’t need to sell you on Monogatari at this point. If you’ve followed it this far, of course you need to see it through.

Preview by Stars

From the long-running manga 7 Seeds by award-winning author Tamura Yumi comes one of this season’s most anticipated Netflix anime adaptations. Since much of what occurs in this series is very hush-hush, as the backstories of this cast of extraordinary characters are revealed through a labyrinth of twists and turns, I’m going to do my best not to spoil anything, so bear with me. To give a general idea, the plot revolves around five groups of young people who wake up in capsules to find that everyone and everything they once knew is gone. In order to survive in a post-apocalyptic world, they must utilize their skills and wits to the fullest, working together to find the seven supply caches left to them by the Japanese government to help them survive. Summer Team B is the main focus at the beginning, with Iwashimizu Natsu (Touyama Nao), an ordinary girl, along with the kind and compassionate Aota Arashi (Fukuyama Jun) and the wild Asai Semimaru (Konishi Katsuyuki). It’s a set-up that sounds a lot like your typical shoujo, but believe me when I say this series is anything but. Originally, 7 Seeds was geared toward an older audience, and it shows. Its story always toes the line between struggle and tragedy, painting agony, death, and rebirth with grace and poignancy.

In 2007, this series won the Shogakukan Manga award. Further proof that the source material for this adaptation is as strong as it gets. Machida Touko will be in charge of series composition, and while she’s made quality contributions to series such as Arslan Senki and Hataraku Maou-sama!, this will be a great opportunity for her to further demonstrate her skill. Takahashi Yukio has worked on episodes from Moribito and Last Exile: Ginyoku no Fam, but for 7 Seeds is the sole director and I can’t wait to see more of her style. With the combined talents of these ladies and a fine voice acting cast, I’m confident in saying this is a series to anticipate.