Sure, you could go outside and play but wouldn’t it be more fun to check out the awesome anime from last season? In fact, here are five you should absolutely check out!
Image source: TVアニメ『86―エイティシックス―』【公式】 on Twitter
86
Genre: Sci-fi, War, Social Commentary
Studio: A-1 Pictures
Number of episodes: 11
Premiere date: April 11, 2021
Non-spoiler plot summary: The Republic of San Magnolia has been at war with The Legion—an unstoppable army of autonomous robotic war mecha—for years. To combat this, The Republic developed their own “unmanned” mecha, ensuring a bloodless war of attrition. However, what the people of The Republic choose to ignore is that at the core of each of their “unmanned” mecha is a pilot—one of the many undesired minorities the country is more than willing to see wiped out.
Why you should watch it: On one side, this is the story of a woman of extreme privilege trying to help the oppressed—and discovering that the only reason she can help at all is due to that oppression. Worse yet the meaningful help she can provide is minimal at best as none of her countrymen have any interest in changing the status quo—whether out of self-interest or fear of the establishment.
On the other side of things, it’s the story of an ever dwindling group of young people attempting to find meaning in a hopeless situation. The pilots of Spearhead Squadron are simply destined to die. So in the time they have left, they live every moment to the fullest. But that doesn’t make their tragedy any less painful. All in all, it’s a truly emotional story guaranteed to pull on the heart strings.
Watch It If You Like: Code Geass: Akito the Exiled, Aldnoah.Zero, Mobile Suit Gundam: Iron Blooded Orphans
Where You Can Watch It: Crunchyroll
Image source: TVアニメ『戦闘員、派遣します！』公式@最終話放送中！ on Twitter
Combatants Will Be Dispatched!
Genre: Transported to a Fantasy World, Superhero
Studio: J.C.Staff
Number of episodes: 12
Premiere date: April 4, 2021
Non-spoiler plot summary: Evil organization Kisaragi has the Earth’s heroes on the ropes and is one step away from world conquest. To prepare for what comes next, they send their best henchman, Six, and his android partner, Alice, through a dimensional portal to scout out their next invasion target: a fantasy world full of knights and magic. All too soon, the pair are drafted into the war between humans and demons. However, neither side truly understands the most important fact: Six and Alice fight dirtier than the demons do.
Why you should watch it: This anime is built around one thing and one thing alone: shock humor. This anime is filled with objectionable content—from misogyny and sexual harassment to cannibalism and murder. But that’s kind of the point comedically. Six is more evil that any of the people in the fantasy world—be they human or demon. And while he does horrible things, he rarely gets away scot-free.
It also helps that, while Six is not a good person, he does have one redeemable aspect to his personality: he truly cares for his companions. He will put his life on the line to protect any of them. This makes him a surprisingly likeable character. Add to that the other characters—each of whom are deeply flawed in one way or another and you have a cast built for dishing out the comedy. Simply put, if you enjoy shock humor, this one is a wild ride.
Watch It If You Like: KonoSuba, Kamen Rider
Where You Can Watch It: Funimation, AnimeLab (AU/NZ), Wakanim (EU)
Image source: 『NOMAD メガロボクス２』公式 on Twitter
Megalobox 2: Nomad
Genre: Sports, Social Commentary
Studio: TMS Entertainment
Number of episodes: 13
Premiere date: April 4, 2021
Non-spoiler plot summary: Six years ago, “Gearless” Joe took the world by storm by winning the biggest megaloboxing fight in history: Megalonia. Yet, soon after, he disappeared from the public eye. Now he roams the land, fighting in underground boxing matches while being haunted by his past mistakes.
Why you should watch it: For a boxing anime, Nomad is not really about boxing. Rather it is about loss, the fear of loss, and the stupid things we do in the face of loss. Joe is a man who came from nothing to gain it all—only to lose one of the things most important to him. Unable to deal with this, he lost his way—abandoning all the other things he cared for in the process.
However, the moral of the story is quite clear: it’s never too late to try and make amends. Sure, it won’t be easy—hell, it might even be impossible—but there is value in the attempt alone. And, moreover, while it’s not possible to turn back the clock, it is possible to create a new future that builds upon the past to make something both different and equally meaningful.
Oh and if you like watching wonderfully animated scenes of people punching people in the face, it’s got that too.
Watch It If You Like: Ashita no Joe, Rocky, Creed
Where You Can Watch It: Funimation, AnimeLab (AU/NZ), Wakanim (EU)
Image source: アニメ『不滅のあなたへ』NEP公式 on Twitter
To Your Eternity
Genre: Low Fantasy
Studio: Brain’s Base
Number of episodes: 20 (Currently at 12)
Premiere date: April 12, 2021
Non-spoiler plot summary: One day a mysterious being cast an orb down to Earth. The orb became a rock, then moss, then took the form of an artic wolf as it breathed it’s last breath. It then met a boy, left alone in an abandoned village. But little did the orb realize that this was but the first step on its journey through the centuries.
Why you should watch it: This anime is all about the tragedy built-in to immortality: you may not be able to die but that’s not true for all those around you. While the orb starts off as a creature of instinct, it slowly but surely learns about what it means to be human. This, in turn, means it learns about what it has lost—and the consequences of its actions from back before he even understood that concept.
But more than being about the orb, it’s about the people it meets along the way. For better or for ill, it effects the lives of those around it in massive ways. And while these people’s ends are often tragic, that doesn’t change the moments of joy, beauty, and triumph along the way. Or to put it another way, it’s a real tear-jerker.
Watch It If You Like: Lost Odyssey, Maquia: When the Promised Flower Blooms, Dororo
Where You Can Watch It: Funimation, AnimeLab (AU/NZ), Wakanim (EU)
Image source: 「Vivy -Fluorite Eye’s Song-」（ヴィヴィ-フローライトアイズソング-）公式 on Twitter
Vivy -Fluorite Eye’s Song-
Genre: Sci-Fi, Time Travel
Studio: Wit Studio
Number of episodes: 13
Premiere date: April 3, 2021
Non-spoiler plot summary: Matsumoto is an AI with a singular goal. Sent 100 years into the past, he must team up with the first autonomous AI, Diva, to stop the robot apocalypse. Together, they must work to overturn key moments in history to hamper the further development of AI while at the same time changing as little as possible so that they can still use their knowledge of the future to their advantage. There’s just one problem with this plan: Diva is not exactly a combat model. Rather she is a songstress AI working at an amusement park who cares about nothing beyond singing.
Why you should watch it: Vivy is one of those great high-concept stories that could only come out of science fiction. Rather than being governed by Isaac Asimov’s Laws of Robotics, Diva is driven by her singular mission to make people happy through her singing. Yet, even a simple goal such as this can be twisted. After all, people must be alive to be made happy, thus isn’t it part of Diva’s mission to help Matsumoto prevent the destruction of humankind?
Watch Diva develop over her century-long story is a delight. Each set of two or three episodes is centered around one of the turning points in history and from the humans and AI she encounters in each, who she is as a person is irrevocably altered. Her life is one of joy and pain but by the end of her journey, it’s hard to not see her as anything but “human.”
Watch It If You Like: I, Robot, Terminator 2
Where You Can Watch It: Funimation, AnimeLab (AU/NZ), Wakanim (EU)
Top image source: 『NOMAD メガロボクス２』公式 on Twitter.
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