A total of 41 new anime this winter season is nothing to scoff at. So if you’re looking for a few series to keep an eye on for week-to-week watching, here are the five I am most looking forward to and why.

Image source: TVアニメ『ブギーポップは笑わない』公式 on Twitter

Boogiepop and Others (Boogiepop wa Warawanai)

Genre: Murder Mystery, Superhero

Studio: Madhouse

Premiere date: January 4, 2019

What it’s about: Something stalks through the night, preying on the students of a certain school.

A young woman with a messianic complex finds herself driven to be a “champion of justice.”

A normal high school girl carries an abnormally huge duffle bag everywhere she goes.

A corporation delves into secrets better left unknown.

A man speaking only in echoes finds himself tormented by the human experience.

And all the while the strange being known only as “Boogiepop” wanders the streets, whistling an odd tune.

Why I’m excited: The Boogiepop series forever changed both Japanese literature and anime. Before Boogiepop, “light novels” simply didn’t exist–they weren’t even a concept. Now they are a million dollar industry and light novels serve as the source of many of the most popular anime each season.

Part of the reason for its popularity is because of the way that Boogiepop weaves its story. Instead of a single direct plot, following a single group of characters, Boogiepop is a series of vignettes. At first, they seem largely unrelated. However, taken all together, they form a complex, interconnected narrative that is part sci-fi, part horror, and part superhero story.

Watch it if you like: Boopgiepop Phantom, Serial Experiments Lain, Paranoia Agent

Where to watch: Crunchyroll, Funimation, Aniplus (Asia)

Image source: TVアニメ「賭ケグルイ××」公式 on Twitter

Kakegurui××

Genre: Gambling, Psychological

Studio: MAPPA

Premiere date: January 9, 2019

What it’s about: At Hyakkaou Private Academy, your place in the pecking order isn’t decided by wealth or social status, but rather by just how good you are at gambling. However, with the arrival of transfer student Yumeko, the social order has been completely upended. As the best gamblers in the school are toppled one by one, it looks like even the unbeatable school president may finally have met her match.

Why I’m excited: Yumeko’s insanity is both terrifying and oddly captivating. The other students gamble for understandable reasons: status, connections, control, or the simple allure of cash. But for Yumeko, none of that matters. All she wants is to feed the hunger inside of her–the hunger that can only be satisfied in that brief moment of ecstasy where everything is on the line and only luck stands between glorious victory and ruinous defeat. But what truly makes her scarey is the simple fact that she can’t comprehend that others–be they friends or enemies–don’t necessarily feel the same way.

Watch it if you like: Kakegurui, No Game No Life, Death Parade

Where to watch: Netflix (Kakegurui×× will likely be released on non-Japanese Netflix soon after it finishes its week to week airing in Japan.)

Image source: アニメ『マナリアフレンズ』公式 on Twitter

Mysteria Friends (Manaria Friends)

Genre: Fantasy

Studio: CygamesPictures

Premiere date: January 20, 2019

What it’s about: In a world where gods, demons, and humans war, there is one place where they live together in harmony: Mysteria Academy. It is here at this famous magic school that an unlikely friendship is made between two princesses, one human and the other half-dragon.

Why I’m excited: Mysteria Friends takes place in the same world as Rage of Bahamut: Genesis and its sequel Rage of Bahamut: Virgin Soul. Both of these anime were simply fantastic. On the grander scale, they weave complex narratives in which none of the three sides is truly good nor truly evil. And on the smaller scale, they tell unlikely love stories that serve as a backdrop to explore the heavy topics of prejudice, organized religion, and the cyclical nature of revenge.

Watch it if you like: Rage of Bahamut: Genesis, Rage of Bahamut: Virgin Soul

Where to watch: HIDIVE

Image source: モブサイコ100 on Twitter

Mob Psycho 100 — Season 2

Genre: Superpower comedy

Studio: Bones

Premiere date: January 7, 2019

What it’s about: Diminutive high-schooler Mob is probably the most powerful psychic on the planet. There’s just one problem: he doesn’t want to be. Instead, he’d rather be normal–that is to say have a buff body and be able to pick up chicks. Unfortunately, destiny seems to have great plans for him. No matter how hard he tries to stay out of the psychic world, he just keeps getting dragged back in.

Why I’m excited: While the comedy in Mob Psycho is excellent, what keeps me interested is just how relatable Mob is. While others envy him and see him as “exceptional” and “amazing,” he only sees himself as “different.” Wanting to be accepted as normal, especially in high school, is a feeling that anyone who was a geek, nerd, or other type of social outcast can easily identify with. But there is also hope in the story. After all, he has a chance to learn what most of us do: that which makes you different is also what makes you you.

Watch it if you like: Mob Psycho 100, One Punch Man

Where to watch: Crunchyroll, Funimation, Animax Asia (Asia)

Image source: TVアニメ『盾の勇者の成り上がり』 on Twitter

The Rising of the Shield Hero (Tate no Yūsha no Nariagari)

Genre: Dark Fantasy

Studio: Kinema Citrus

Premiere date: January 9, 2019

What it’s about: Average Japanese Otaku Naofumi is summoned to a fantasy world as the Shield Hero–one of the four heroes destined to save the world. Yet, just as his story begins it becomes something far darker than he could have expected. Falsely accused of raping his only companion, he is treated as pariah and outcast. Emotionally destroyed and full of an unending hatred for those who wronged him, he nonetheless sets out to save the world alongside the only person who will party with him: the sickly slave he purchased as a disposable weapon.

Why I’m excited: The Rising of the Shield Hero is a cathartic tale–you’re on Naofumi’s side from the start. Thus, every win he gets, every obstacle he overcomes–and every time he rubs the other heroes noses in it–feels great. However, the real enemy isn’t the woman who lied about him or the other heroes that condemned him: it’s himself.

Naofumi is a broken man, unable to trust any around him. He hates the fantasy world and all those within it. Yet, there is still a core of good within him that pushes him forward on his quest. This is the story of him learning to trust again. The only question is, can he do that and forgive those who wronged him in time for them all to band together and save the world? Because the threat they face is one that none of them can face alone.

Watch it if you like: Overlord, Grimgar of Fantasy and Ash, That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime

Where to watch: Crunchyroll, Funimation, Aniplus (Asia)