As we huddle in our homes, there’s a new season of anime coming to keep us entertained. Among the 56 new anime hitting the airwaves this spring, here are the five I am the most excited for.
Image source: TRIGGER Inc. on Twitter
BNA: Brand New Animal
Genre: Animal people social commentary
Studio: Trigger
Premiere date: March 21, 2020
What it’s about: In a world much like our own, beast people–anthropomorphic animals–continue to be the subject of violent racism throughout Japan. For the past 10 years, this has caused most of them to congregate in their own city–Anima City.
Michiru is a young Tanooki woman new to the city and completely unprepared for what she finds there. Most beast people choose to remain in human form most of the time–but this doesn’t mean that they act human. Anima City, for all its human trappings, follows the law of the jungle and ultimately might makes right. Michiru has a tough time accepting the savagery that everyone takes for granted–and well she might. After all, unlike the rest of the beast people in the city, she was actually a normal human until a few short months ago.
Why I’m excited: Written by Kazuki Nakashima (Gurren Lagann, Kill la Kill, Promare) and directed by Yoh Yoshinari (Little Witch Academia) there is certainly enough talent here for something great. But what’s really interesting about this one is that it is a story of racism told from the viewpoint of the oppressed living in an apartheid system–especially given that its made by and for people who have grown up in a nearly homogenous culture that has never been forced to confront racism as a concept. I’m excited to see how it will be received. Will its anti-racism message–and how it applies to the ever growing foreigner population in Japan–change a few hearts and minds or will it simply fly over most viewers’ heads who are content with just seeing the cute talking animal people?
Watch it if you like: Beastars, Promare, Kill la Kill
Where to watch: Netflix (which likely means it’ll hit non-Japanese Netflix in early Summer)
Image source: やはり俺の青春ラブコメはまちがっている。 on Twitter
My Teen Romantic Comedy SNAFU 3
Genre: High School Drama
Studio: feel.
Premiere date: April 10, 2020
What it’s about: Hachiman is a deadpan snarker who is smart enough to know that if he keeps his head down and does the bare minimum, he can get through high school without issue. Unfortunately, when his teacher realizes his untapped potential, he is forced into the school’s “service club”–a club that helps anyone who asks with whatever they need. The only other member of the club is Yukino, the smartest and most beautiful girl in school–who is as socially isolated as Hachiman himself.
What follows is a story about the fakeness of highschool, the weighty pressure caused by the expectations of those around you, the knowledge that the easiest way to unite people is to become the villain they unite against–and the damage that all this can cause to a young person’s soul.
Why I’m excited: No other anime is quite as “real” to me as My Teen Romantic Comedy SNAFU. In high school, I was the jaded kid who thought he had everything figured out while everyone else was just fooling themselves with superficial relationships. Of course, I was also longing for those relationships–though I’d have been loathed to admit it. Seeing these characters struggle to find something “real” and meaningful–even when they aren’t sure what they are looking for–hits home in a way that shakes me to my core. And watching them learn and grow–even if the lessons are learned the hard way–reminds me that even though we may cringe when thinking about the past, without those experiences, we’d never be who we are today.
Watch it if you like: ReLife, Daria, WataMote: No Matter How I Look At It, It’s You Guys’ Fault I’m Unpopular!
Where to watch: TBA
Image source: 「乙女ゲームの破滅フラグしかない悪役令嬢に転生してしまった…」TVアニメ公式 on Twitter
My Next Life as a Villainess: All Routes Lead to Doom!
Genre: Comedy, Fantasy
Studio: Silver Link.
Premiere date: April 5, 2020
What it’s about: After being hit on the head at age eight, noble girl Katarina remembers her past life as a Japanese school girl–and realizes she’s the villain of a girl’s dating sim that she played in her past life. Knowing that all routes in the game lead to either her death or exile, she decides to do all in her power over the next few years to avoid her impending doom–be that mastering the sword or learning a trade.
Why I’m excited: For the past year, “reincarnated as the villainess in a dating sim” has been my favorite overly-specific Japanese fiction genre. While some are serious (like the excellent Accomplishments of the Duke’s Daughter), My Next Life as a Villainess is a comedy through and through.
Katarina may have knowledge of the future, but that doesn’t mean she is particularly intelligent. Worse yet, having her memories return at such a young age completely overrides her personality–leaving her unable (and unwilling) to act like the noble woman she is supposed to be. But of course, the main joke is a simple one: despite all she does to alter the future by making friends and helping others, she refuses to believe that her doom isn’t still lurking right around the corner–even as her own harem grows and grows.
Watch it if you like: Accomplishments of the Duke’s Daughter, It Seems Like I Got Reincarnated into the World of a Yandere Otome Game, The Daughter of the Albert House Wishes for Ruin
Where to watch: Crunchyroll, Animax Asia, Muse Asia
Image source: アニメ ソードアート・オンライン 公式 on Twitter
Sword Art Online: Alicization – War of Underworld (2nd Season)
Genre: Trapped in a video game
Studio: A-1 Pictures
Premiere date: April 26, 2020
What it’s about: In the fantasy world known as Underworld, the forces of light fought the forces of darkness in a final battle for the fate of their world. Now both sides are being slaughtered by mysterious, homicidal invaders from another world. Even magical powers and trained warriors aren’t enough to stop the sheer numbers they face. Humanity’s champion, the knight known as Alice, has been captured by the fleeing evil emperor. And to top it all off, the one man who might be able to save this collapsing world is little more than a broken, mindless husk.
But all is not lost for the people of Underworld. For a call has gone out across the multiverse: to a world of gunslingers; to a world of fairies; and to the survivors of a world known as Sword Art Online.
Why I’m excited: This is finally it: the ultimate climax of Sword Art Online. Everything that has come before has led to this. Everything that has come before has a vital part to play in this. Our heroes have gone from being trapped in a death game to being the last line of defense in saving the population of an entire world–a world filled with a new and wonderful kind of intelligent life. The stakes couldn’t be higher nor could the danger. And each of our heroes will have to overcome one final challenge before the story reaches its final, satisfying conclusion.
Watch it if you like: Log Horizon, .hack//sign
Where to watch: Crunchyroll, Funimation, HIDIVE, Hulu, Muse Asia, AnimeLab (AU/NZ), Wakanim (EU)
Image source: 「波よ聞いてくれ」TVアニメ公式 on Twitter
Wave, Listen to Me!
Genre: Slice-of-life
Studio: Sunrise
Premiere date: April 3, 2020
What it’s about: Minare is a foul-mouthed twenty-something woman who works at a low-end curry shop. One night, she gets drunk, meets a guy, and rants at him about her latest failed relationship. The next day, she discovers that their conversation had been recorded–when she hears it being broadcast over the radio. Soon Minare finds herself as the star of an experimental radio program–and a newbie in a dying industry she knows nothing about.
Why I’m excited: There’s nothing out there quite like Wave, Listen to Me!. On one hand, it’s a deep look into the dying radio industry, exploring its prominence in Japan and its past from back before television was invented. On the other, it’s the story of an aimless millennial just trying to make ends meet–with no real goal or future in mind–who somehow makes it into an industry she had no interest in and didn’t even know existed.
Moreover, Minare is a deeply flawed person–superficial and opinionated. However, she has just enough going for her that you’re rooting for her to become a better person even as you revel in the troubles she faces as her new career leads her into situations that border on the surreal. All in all, it’s a story that you, like Minare herself, will have no idea where it is going to go next.
Watch it if you like: Silver Spoon, Blade of the Immortal
Where to watch: Funimation, AnimeLab (AU/NZ), Wakanim (EU)
Top image source: TOHO animation チャンネル on YouTube
Be First to Comment