Spring is here in all its glory, and the spring anime season is here in—well, I don’t know if I’d say glory, but it’s definitely here.
This season the anime gods have bestowed upon us a stable of quite exciting sequels, which I’ll get into further down, as well as a heap of rather less exciting but still quite watchable new shows. If there’s anything I’ve learned in the last few seasons, it’s that beggars can’t be choosers. As usual, I’ve watched a dizzying number of premieres and come to you, dear reader, with only the best: three new shows that you can start streaming right this moment. Oh and hey, did you know Attack on Titan is back?
Re:Creators
High school student Souta Mizushino (Daiki Yamashita) is stunned when he is transported into the world of his favorite anime, Elemental Symphony of Vogelchevalier. He’s quickly returned to modern Tokyo, but the protagonist of the show, a beautiful warrior named Selesia (Mikako Komatsu), comes with him. It turns out she’s not the only character to be yanked from her fictional universe: a mysterious woman wearing a military uniform and wielding far more swords than is strictly practical has used her power to bring all manner of anime and game characters into the real world, from cocky villains to magical girls. What will happen when these characters meet each other—and their creators—in our nonfictional world?
An anime-original project from director Ei Aoki (Fate/Zero, Aldnoah.Zero), this fantasy action show is just anime as hell. Obviously there’s the fact that it’s an anime about anime characters coming to life to meet an anime fan, but then there’s also the fact that the first episode features a girl who uses a sword to play an enormous gun like a violin. The show, produced at studio TROYCA (Aldnoah.Zero), looks pretty slick, and the characters are generally likeable, well-defined, and fun to pit against each other. Oh, and the whole thing is backed by a trademark bombastic Hiroyuki Sawano (Attack on Titan, Kill la Kill) soundtrack, which really adds gravitas to rogue magical girls destroying Tokyo skyscrapers with giant pink hearts. Re:Creators is no masterpiece, but it’s a well-executed not-masterpiece—the kind of show where if you don’t think too hard about the sort of dumb premise, you are almost guaranteed to enjoy yourself.
For fans of: Fate/Zero, The Devil is a Part-Timer!, GATE, Drifters
Watch it now on Anime Strike*
*I would like to take this moment to apologize for including two shows on this list that are exclusively available on Amazon’s Anime Strike. I’m not happy about it either, but here we are.
Sakura Quest
Yoshino Koharu (Ayaka Nanse) is a recent college grad looking for her first grown-up person job, with little success. After failing dozens of job interviews, her luck seems to turn when she gets a call from her old modeling agency. They inform her she’s been requested by the tourism board of a rural town, which is hoping to revitalize its faltering economy by hiring someone to drum up publicity as the honorary town “Queen.”
After the deserved success of Shirobako, animation studio PA Works (Shirobako, Hanasaku Iroha) comes out with another anime-original project about young adults trying to make it the workforce. This is a trend I can get behind, although so far Sakura Quest hasn’t totally sold me on this particular iteration. Our protagonist Yoshino is quite endearing—after flunking her interviews (hey, we’ve all been there), she’s making the best of her wacky accidental career, and watching her try to find her own little space as a semi-ridiculous town mascot is what makes the show worth tuning into every week. On the other hand, I’m not that attached to the supporting cast yet, and the overall objective of reviving this town is not one that Sakura Quest has managed to make me care about deeply in the first few episodes. A pleasant show featuring adults wearing hokey costumes.
For fans of: Shirobako, Hanasaku Iroha, Barakamon, Poco’s Udon World
Watch it now on Crunchyroll
Rage of Bahamut: Virgin Soul
Ten years have passed since the world narrowly avoided destruction at the hands (claws?) of the great dragon Bahamut. A powerful new ruler, King Charioce (Yuuichiro Umehara), has consolidated power, laying gods and angels low and enslaving demons to work in human cities. One masked vigilante, known only as the Rag Demon, causes chaos night after night by killing demon-oppressing humans and freeing their slaves. When the cheerful Nina Drango (Sumire Morohoshi) arrives in the capital, she hopes to make her living as a bounty hunter and odd-jobber but becomes accidentally embroiled in larger events whilst pursuing the infamous Rag Demon.
Okay yes, this is technically a sequel, but I think I can be excused for putting it on here because I’m fairly certain you can watch Virgin Soul without ever having seen Rage of Bahamut: Genesis. Virgin Soul dives right in with a fantasy racism/vigilante plot that, while less than nuanced, provides a compelling backdrop for both familiar and new characters. Nina is the most significant addition to the cast, and I’m really enjoying the chaotic energy she brings to the show (doubly welcome since we have yet to lay eyes on FAVAROOOO). While I do miss the more swashbuckling, lighthearted tone of the previous season, Virgin Soul is more than living up to what I thought another Bahamut anime would be. And it’s also managed to look pretty while doing it—polished art and animation from MAPPA (Yuri!!! On ICE) sets Bahamut apart visually from other moderately pleasant fantasy offerings tis season like Grimoire of Zero and SukaSuka.
For fans of: Rage of Bahamut: Genesis, Saga of Tanya the Evil, Coffin Princess Chaika, Maria the Virgin Witch, disembodied hands in overalls
Watch it now on Anime Strike (again I am so sorry)
Sequels Worth Waiting For
The highest quality goods this spring are all in the sequels department: besides Bahamut, which I have completely cheated by including above, we’ve got the long, long, long anticipated continuation of mega-hit Attack on Titan, though it’s apparently only with us for another twelve episodes. Superhero battle shonen My Hero Academia returns for a thrilling second season as well, and the consistently wonderful Natsume Yujin-cho graces us with its presence for a sixth season. Perhaps most exciting to me is the second season of The Eccentric Family, a lovely, richly complex show about a family of tanuki living in a modern Kyoto populated by flying tengu, trickster tanuki, and sorcerous young women.
So? What are you watching this season? Let us know what you’re loving (and hating) in the comments!
Kelly Quinn is a children’s librarian and professional anime watcher. You can find her talking about picture books and manga on Twitter.
Little Witch Academia is still ongoing, and looks to be getting into the heavier plot this cour after using last cour for world- and character-building.
I’m enjoying Alice & Zoroku, which is about a reality-warping magical girl who gets taken in by a grouchy old man with no patience for magic-powered child vigilantes.
The Royal Tutor is about a small-but-mature tutor hired to whip four socially maladjusted princes into shape (in case their older brother dies). It seems to be aiming for the same branch of absurdist comedy that once gave us Ouran High School Hosts Club.
I have no idea why I’m watching Kado but there you go.
Basically just The Eccentric Family and My Hero Academia this season. These both seemed to drop right back into the feel and charm of their first seasons. I never actually expected a continuation for eccentric family, so it was a nice surprise.
Not much in the way of great new material this year so far; I’ve only watched one non-sequel to completion, which was maid dragon. I’m not terribly connected to what upcoming seasons have to offer, but sequels seem much more popular this year going forward as well.
Biggest thing for my fandom recently was the confirmation of the sequel for March comes like a lion to come as early as this fall. I loved everything about the Shaft adaptation, and the characters are just the best.
I’d also throw Tsukigakirei into the mix. It’s a wonderfully awkward high school romance that’s actually moving along at a good clip (and the characters act like real high school kids). Just ignore the CG monstrosities they try to pass off as crowds.
And yeah, I’ve been enjoying KADO too. Who knew a series about negotiating with an alien (read: all they do is talk) could be so interesting. They do get their CG right at least.
My God there are so many good shows this season! I have to have a calendar to keep up with them:
Monday: Little Witch Academia- This show is amazing. I hope if doesn’t get swept under the rug because Netflix
Tuesday: Akashic Records- It isn’t its first episode. I’m loving the characters and their (non-sexualized!) relationship with their teacher.
Sukasuka- This one is heartbreaking and we’re barely into it. The last human alive is mentoring some living weapons and preparing them for their deaths. T__T
Royal Tutor- The tutor is great, a bit like Miles Vorkosigan, and not just because of his height. The boys are bland but maybe that will change.
Natsume (sequel)- one of the greatest shows ever
Wednesday: Boruto – It brings all the fun back that Naruto used to be.
Sakura Quest- It’s a bit standard slice of life with a few girls obsessed with one thing and that and friendship changes all their lives. But I like the girls and their attempts to find things of worth in a small old town in the Japanese countryside.
Girls beat Boys- This is a short, but it’s about a girl kicking boys’ butts to become the leader of a school full of delinquents. I love it.
ID-0 – This show is so much fun. The animation is fantastic and the story doesn’t stop moving. It’s about a woman scientist who becomes a pirate after her evil scientist mentor leaves her to die after a mining disaster in space.
Thursday: Kado- A cube extended from higher dimensions into our 3D one contains a life form that wants to improve our lives. There has to be a catch, right?
Tsukigakirei- This is a surprisingly moving young teen romance with all the hesitation and sweetness and awkwardness that kids that age feel. The characters are kind of shiny 3D but the story is really cute.
Friday: Is it wrong to blah blah: Oratoria- I loved the original but I have to be honest that this spin-off is letting me down.
Rage of Bahamut: Virgin Soul- As good as the first, and that’s saying a lot. For those who like operatic, melodramatic fun.
Saturday: Attack on Titan- Even my husband watches this.
Granblue Fantasy- This is fairly standard fantasy, but there isn’t enough of that normally. This season is full of it. This one has a beautiful style to it.
Re: Creators- Seriously, stop with the Re crap. Really original and a bit meta, with anime creations coming to life and trying to make their creators change them.
Sunday: The Eccentric Family- I love this show so much I wish I could reach up and pluck a full moon from the sky and hand it to them. It’s magical and heartfelt and realistic even though it’s about families of tanuki and tengu.
Alice and Zoroku- Lots of typical magic girls being used by the government. What’s great about this show is Zoroku, the crusty old man who just cuts right through all the bullshit.
Atom the Beginning- For anyone who loved Astro Boy, this is a prequel.
So, yeah, watching a lot. I’ve dropped a couple of shows, like the fantasy about the tiger (bear?) guy and the witch, and the slice of life about the actresses. And the one with the naked guys being creepy with the camera POV haha. Best season in a while though.