It’s summer. It’s hot. Why go outside when there’s so many great new anime to look forward to in airconditioned comfort? Here are the ones I am most excited for.
*Note: Entries are listed in alphabetical order.
Image source: 『よふかしのうた』TVアニメ公式 on Twitter.
Call of the Night
Genre: Vampire, Romantic-Comedy, Action
Studio: LIDENFILMS
Release date: July 8, 2022
Non-spoiler plot summary: Disillusioned with his young life, middle schooler Kou stops going to school and begins wandering the streets at night. It’s during one such excursion that he meets Nazuna, a vampire who spends her time gaming (and giving massages to make ends meet). Dazzled by the freedom she has in her life, Kou decides he wants to become a vampire too. There’s just one problem: to become a vampire he must first fall in love with one—and neither he nor Nazuna have any real idea about what “love” truly is.
Why I’m excited: Growing up, my first job was a paper route. Each morning at 3am, I’d wake up and walk the streets, folding and throwing papers. It was a somewhat surreal experience. Busy streets deserted, all the windows dark—it truly felt like I was the only person in the world. This is the story of someone the same age that I was discovering this strange world that exists alongside the waking world. Add to this a fun supernatural vampire story alongside a coming-of-age tale about two people trying to understand love and you get a show with both heart and depth.
Watch It If You Like: Monogatari Series,
Where You Can Watch It: HIDIVE
Image source: TVアニメ「はたらく魔王さま！！」公式?2022年7月14日より放送開始‼️ on Twitter.
The Devil is a Part-Timer! (Season 2)
Genre: Reverse Isekai, Comedy
Studio: Studio 3Hz
Release date: July 14, 2022
Non-spoiler plot summary: After his defeat by the hero Emilia, Demon King Satan escapes through a magical portal to our world. With his magic power all but depleted, he takes a job at popular fast-food chain MgRonald’s to make ends meet. Soon he become fixated on conquering this world he has found himself upon—not through violent conquest but through climbing the corporate ladder by being the best damn employee the company has ever seen.
Why I’m excited: While there’s a ton of great comedy to be found in The Devil is a Part-Timer!, there’s also a fair bit of fantasy deconstruction going on as well. Emilia may be the hero, just and strong, but humans in general are anything but pure good and the demons anything but pure evil—Satan included. And with both the hero and demon king absent from the fantasy world, the dark underbelly of that world seems to keep bubbling to the surface—making the two former enemies the only thing capable of saving not only their world but likely ours as well. And now with a mysterious child entering the picture, who’s to say what is to come.
Watch It If You Like: Miss Kobayashi’s Dragon Maid, The Great Jahy Will Not Be Defeated!, Gabriel DropOut
Where You Can Watch It: TBA
Image source: アニメ「賭ケグルイ双」公式 on Twitter.
Kakegurui Twin
Genre: Gambling, Psychological
Studio: MAPPA
Release date: August 4, 2022
Non-spoiler plot summary: Mary is a bright young girl from a normal family. Little does she know the high school she is attending has become twisted—a place where classes aren’t important and all that matters is how good of a gambler you are. Of course, as Mary is quick to learn, while there are games of chance aplenty, few of them are fair—and a lifetime of slavery awaits those who can’t cover their debts.
Why I’m excited: When we first meet Mary in the original Kakagurui, she is already the queen bitch of her class. Jaded and cruel, she rules over the others with an iron fist. But what took a normal young girl and twisted her into that form? This is that story. But more than that, this anime is set to add some much-needed context to the main anime. To see what Mary is becoming there, we need to first see what she once was—what broke her—so that her experiences with Yumeko could reforge her anew.
Watch It If You Like: Kakegurui, Death Parade, No Game No Life, Kaiji: Ultimate Survivor
Where You Can Watch It: Netflix
Image source: オーバーロード／TVアニメ公式 on Twitter.
Overlord IV
Genre: Reincarnated in a Fantasy World
Studio: Madhouse
Release date: July 5, 2022
Non-spoiler plot summary: Transported to a fantasy world and reborn in the body of his MMORPG character (alongside his fortress filled with evil NPCs), Ainz Ooal Gown has attempted to lie low and learn about the world. But now, he and his forces are out in the open—having shown the world that if they choose to fight him, they will have unearthly horrors released upon them. Yet, that hasn’t stopped the inhabitants of this world from conspiring—some to use him and others to destroy him. And it’s only a matter of time till they make their moves.
Why I’m excited: While this isn’t exactly the most epic or interesting arc of Overlord, it does set the stage for what is to come (which is unquestionably the best arc in the series). We also get a lot of what we had early on with Ainz himself taking center stage—going on his own adventures and accidently acting as the perfect demon lord that everyone either fears or admires. In other words, it’s more Overlord. What’s not to like?
Watch It If You Like: Maou-sama Retry, How Not to Summon a Demon Lord, So I’m a Spider, So What?
Where You Can Watch It: TBA
Image source: TVアニメ『RWBY 氷雪帝国』【公式】 on Twitter.
RWBY: Ice Queendom
Genre: Fantasy, Action
Studio: Shaft
Release date: July 3, 2022
Non-spoiler plot summary: In the world of Remnant, the monstrous Grimm wander the lands while humanity is largely isolated in four major, and largely prosperous, city states. Each of the countries has an academy for training young hunters and huntresses to be capable of fighting the Grimm through a combination of technology and magic. It’s in one such school, Beacon Academy, that our story takes place—where four young women begin their journey to one day save their entire world.
Why I’m excited: The original RWBY is what happens when a group of American anime fans try to make their own anime—finding great success in the process. With Ice Queendom, this anime-inspired cartoon is being remade by an actual Japanese anime studio. But more than that, the creators behind this adaptation are some of the biggest names in anime—i.e., the minds that brought us Psycho-Pass among many other critically acclaimed works. It will be fascinating to see what happens when this anime ouroboros finally hits the airwaves.
Watch It If You Like: RWBY
Where You Can Watch It: Crunchyroll
Top image source: 『よふかしのうた』TVアニメ公式 on Twitter.
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