Wooper: Last season, I couldn’t even scrape together 10 shows to preview, but this time we’re doing more than 20. The number one reason for that is variety, since there are fewer fantasy anime on offer this spring, leaving room for a bit more of everything else. Mystery fans will be pleased to learn that there are several entries in the genre kicking off this April, while action enthusiasts have a gorgeous remake, a high profile spinoff, and even a Shinichiro Watanabe original to look forward to. Speaking of originals, there are more airing this season than usual; several of them are sci-fi, including a new Gundam that looks like nothing the franchise has ever produced. And the craziest thing is that there are a handful of promising projects we couldn’t even squeeze into this post, though you might find some of their titles in the poll at the bottom. Let us know what you’ll be watching this spring – my list threatens to be longer than it has been in years, and I hope yours is looking good, too.
Apocalypse Hotel
Studio: CygamesPictures
Director: Kana Shundou
Series composition: Shigeru Murakoshi
Source: Original
The Premise: The robotic staff of a Ginza hotel await their first guest since the disappearance of the human race.
Wooper: An original series from a studio known mostly for gacha adaptations? Now that’s a change I can get behind. Not a lot of concrete info has been released about Apocalypse Hotel – even auto-translating the dialogue in the trailer mostly yields talk about the importance of emotions – but there’s something inherently appealing about post-apocalyptic tales that has me interested in this one. The background art of an overgrown Ginza district looks pretty, and the PV’s periodic shots of ruined robots beg the question of just what the hotel staff went through to keep their workplace operational. Staff-wise, I’m not concerned about the first-time series director, as she’s been in the industry for nearly two decades; it’s Shigeru Murakoshi on script duty that worries me, since he’s overseen some major falloffs in recent years (Taiso Zamurai and especially last year’s Ninja Kamui). Still, his experience with original works (including the more warmly received Zombie Land Saga) ought to be helpful, and even if the show’s writing suffers its own apocalypse midway through, I’m hoping for a decent start.
Lenlo: Lenlo also endorses this one as something to keep an eye on, as any Original always has a shot at being great, even from the most unexpected of places, and the general setting and idea of the show look interesting.
Guilty Gear Strive: Dual Rulers
Studio: Sanzigen
Director: Shigeru Morikawa
Series composition: Norimitsu Kaihou
Source: Video game
The Premise: World peace is threatened by conflict over the coexistence of humans and magical creatures called Gears.
Wooper: I know absolutely nothing about Guilty Gear as a franchise or Strive as an entry therein, so all the existing character relationships and the lore about the Crusades will go straight over my head when this show premieres in April. There’s only one reason I’m interested in Dual Rulers: to watch buff guys and cute girls beat each other to within an inch of their lives (buff girls and cute guys are also welcome). 3DCG anime have finally reached the point where I can not just tolerate them, but actually enjoy them, and the action in Dual Rulers’ trailer is certainly enjoyable – the art style they landed on is a good match for what little I’ve seen of Guilty Gear’s gameplay, despite some stiffness here and there. I doubt I’ll follow this show for its entire run, though the Akudama Drive series composer is on board, so his deftness with overpowered characters may compel me to watch beyond the first few episodes. Either way, I hope to enjoy some of the logic-defying fights this adaptation has in store.
Your Forma
Studio: Geno
Director: Takaharu Ozaki
Series composition: Kazuyuki Fudeyasu
Source: Light novel
The Premise: A human information diver and her android partner race to stop a technological epidemic from spreading across the globe.
Wooper: The use of the term “dive” in this show’s synopsis reminded me of Real Drive, a 2008 anime where “cyber divers” explored humanity’s shared consciousness. It remains to be seen whether people’s minds will be similarly linked in Your Forma, or if its ‘brain police sift through people’s memories’ premise will be the limit of its in-universe tech. Either way, its sci-fi slant is my kind of thing, so I’ll be checking it out, though it doesn’t exactly look like the next Psycho-Pass (or even the next ID:Invaded). The PV contains shots of a dying message written in blood, an explosion in an office building, a hooded figure wielding a knife in the rain – all stuff we’ve seen before, but for good reason. The character designs, on the other hand, are plain enough to defy description, and not for any reason other than a lack of imagination. If the writing is competent, I’ll happily watch Your Forma beyond its initial episodes, but if not, its dull-looking protagonists won’t be able to keep me around.
Teogonia
Studio: Asahi Production
Director: Kunihiro Mori
Series composition: Tomoyasu Ookubo
Source: Light Novel
The Premise: A small village boy joins the military to fight demi-human hordes, and in the process awakens memories of another life. Will they help him to survive, or will they be a curse?
Lenlo: I’m normally not interested in whatever the latest isekai is, they are just so similar with so little to differentiate them that if you’ve watched one, you’ve watched them all. But Teogonia seems to be trying something slightly different with the lead simply remembering things from another world, another life, rather than being some dweeb otaku dropped into another universe. Combine that with some “Last bastions of humanity fighting against a tide of monsters” plot, and I’m willing to give it a shot. Neither the studio nor the director give me much faith Teogonia will end up good, but I want to see what it can do at least a little before I write it off. Who knows, maybe I’ll be pleasantly surprised.
Hibi wa Sugiredo Meshi Umashi
Studio: P.A. Works
Directors: Yuu Harumi, Shinya Kawatsura
Series composition: Yoshihiro Hiki
Source: Original
The Premise: Five college freshmen spend their days studying, hanging out, and most importantly, eating delicious food.
Wooper: I didn’t find out about this show until a week before this post went live. Spring has so many original series (compared to the average anime season, anyway) that it’s hard to keep track of them all! This one is as slice-of-life as it gets, centering on five young women in their first year of college who like to eat, yet remain miraculously thin no matter how much they indulge themselves. Truly, a fantasy for us all. Not only do they stay skinny, they also look at least five years younger than they really are, thanks to character designs by the mangaka of Non Non Biyori, who created this show as well. Despite the mismatch, I’m glad that the story is set in college, since it means the scripts won’t be as rigid as they would be in a high school setting. Speaking of Non Non Biyori, its director is also leading Sugiredo’s production, which is a good sign in my book – hopefully we get some of NNB’s observant stillness in the storyboards here. The few backgrounds on display in the character-centric PV were appealing, and if the food looks good too, this show could serve as a nice palette cleanser between all the action and sci-fi shows premiering next month.
Ninja to Koroshiya no Futarigurashi
Studio: Shaft
Director: Yukihiro Miyamoto
Series composition: Fuyashi Tou
Source: Manga
The Premise: A part-time assassin invites a cute ninja to become her roommate after witnessing her object transformation skills.
Wooper: Fun fact: Ninja to Koroshiya’s director holds the same title on the still-delayed Madoka Magica sequel movie. Why he took this side job in the midst of a beleaguered, high profile production like Walpurgisnacht Rising is anyone’s guess, but a pessimist (certainly not me!) might speculate that things got so backed up in that film’s pipeline that he had time to direct a whole-ass TV anime in the meantime. We’ll see whether or not that was a good thing when Koroshiya premieres – it seems like the sort of thing that’d be hard to mess up, leaning on a big name seiyuu (Kana Hanazawa) and a simple art style to depict the violent hijinks of cute anime girls. I saw one pseudo head tilt in the PV, but apart from that it didn’t look very SHAFT-y at all. Depending on who you talk to, that could be a good thing – personally, I’m just glad the studio is taking on something lighthearted in the midst of all its more serious works. What really matters is whether it’s amusing enough to pass the time, and while the show is giving me ‘one episode wonder’ vibes (akin to My Deer Friend Nokotan), I still want to give it a shot.
Moonrise
Studio: Wit
Director: Masashi Koizuka
Series composition: Masashi Koizuka
Source: Original
The Premise: In the distant future, an Earth Army investigator seeks vengeance against the Moon Rebels for killing his family.
Wooper: This is one of those shows that I’m not particularly excited for, but as an original sci-fi anime produced at a strong studio with some big staff names attached, I feel obligated to preview it. My lack of enthusiasm was cemented by the radio silence surrounding the project between late 2022 and just yesterday (March 21), when a new PV finally launched. Admittedly, that trailer looks pretty cool, even if its midair combat smacks of Wit Studio trying to recapture its Attack on Titan glory. Hiromu Arakawa’s fingerprints are visible on the character designs in said trailer, but I expect much of that influence to be lost in motion – motion that ought to be professionally assembled, but not particularly arresting, if the main animators (who last headlined the so-so Vampire in the Garden) are anything to go by. Meanwhile, Tow Ubukata’s presence as original creator is a red flag, at least for me – his contributions to famous sci-fi franchises like GitS and Psycho Pass have always lagged far behind their original seasons. He’s not technically on series composition, however, and the Gundam-inspired “Earth vs Moon” concept is a reliable plot starter, so maybe writer-director Koizuka (of Attack on Titan sequel fame) can elevate things from there.
Wind Breaker Season 2
Studio: CloverWorks
Director: Toshifumi Akai
Series composition: Hiroshi Seko
Source: Manga
The Premise: Season 2 of Wind Breaker, an action shounen about delinquent highschoolers protecting their community from worse delinquents.
Lenlo: I remember being pleasantly surprised by the first season of Wind Breaker. After Bucchigiri, I hadn’t expected much from this much more classically shounen delinquent fighting anime. It only really had decent designs and good fight choreography going for it, the actual narrative felt pretty straight forward, at least at first. But as the season went on, it became clear that Wind Breaker, for all of its faults, had a plan. It wasn’t just about highschoolers beating the crap out of each other, and it stayed relatively grounded, at least as far as a shounen anime can. Looking at the trailer for season 2 however, I’m not sure if that will still hold true. It looks like we’re escalating to full on gang warfare, with bats, knives, genuinely life threatening stuff that feels like the first step in the classic problem of shounen scaling. Add onto that some less exciting production, and while I’m going to check it out I can’t help but be worried for where Wind Breaker is about to go. Hopefully the series learned from the ending of Season 1, but only time will tell.
Uchuujin MuuMuu
Studio: OLM
Director: Tomoya Takahashi
Series composition: Keiichirou Oochi
Source: Manga
The Premise: A floofy-haired college student takes in a cat-like alien with an interest in Earth’s home appliance technology.
Wooper: After having fun with last year’s Astro Note, I’m hoping that Uchuujin MuuMuu (another post-high school comedy with a not-so-secretly alien character) can scratch a similar itch. The scratching part is guaranteed, at least, since one of the two leads is a cat – or closely resembles one, at any rate. I poked around online for scanlations to see what the tone might be like, but came up empty, which I’d argue is a positive sign, since it means lesser-known properties are still being adapted. That left me with only the PV to go by, and it didn’t particularly impress me – not only was the animation limited, but the textures applied to some background elements were distracting (at least to my sensitive eyes). I did catch an interesting detail in the auto-translated subs, though; apparently, all the engineers and intellectuals of this cat-like species were wiped out in a war, leaving only idiots alive. That’s an excellent excuse for some dumb feline fun, so I’ll be trying out Uchuujin MuuMuu this spring. It’s got much narrower appeal than Ninja to Koroshiya, but something tells me I’ll end up watching more of it, aesthetic shortcomings be damned.
Witch Watch
Studio: Bibury Animation
Director: Ikehata Hiroshi
Series composition: Deko Akao
Source: Manga
The Premise: A teenager with the strength of an ogre and a witch with unpredictable magic begin living together for the latter’s protection.
Wooper: I intended to sample the Witch Watch manga before writing this blurb, but maybe it’s better that I didn’t. As a Shounen Jump comedy, there’s probably not a wide variety of humor across its pages, and the anime would feel even less fresh if I knew what gags were coming. Still, Ikehata Hiroshi is a notable name in the comedy and romance fields, having directed the Mahoujin Guru Guru reboot and Tonikaku Kawaii franchise, respectively, so this new show might be worth a watch. Its supernatural aspect will make the character introductions more interesting than the average high school anime, at least, since it’s not only the primary duo who are more than human. As far as that duo are concerned, they’ll be perpetuating the eternal “living under one roof” trope, which recently hamstrung the early episodes of Blue Box (another WSJ title – their editors are well-trained, it seems). Together with the plot thread about a “prophecy of doom,” I’m sensing several potential pitfalls in Witch Watch’s path, but perhaps the premiere will pull a chuckle or two from me. We’ll see.
Shin Samurai-den Yaiba
Studio: Wit
Director: Takahiro Hasui
Series composition: Touko Machida
Source: Manga
The Premise: Two ancient and powerful swords awaken in response to a clash between a kendo practitioner and a young samurai in training.
Wooper: I’ve neither read the Yaiba manga nor seen its 90s anime adaptation, but it already feels familiar to me with those Goushou Aoyama character designs. Yaiba actually predates Aoyama’s Detective Conan by a fair margin, so its source material is nearly 40 years old at this point, making its wannabe samurai hero a closer cousin to Goku than any modern shounen protagonist. I expect it’ll have a boisterous tone to match its vintage look and decades-old plot, but putting all that aside for a moment… how about that staff list? The sole fact that Yoshimichi Kameda is chief animation director is incredible – he’s responsible for some of the best cuts on works like FMA Brotherhood and Mob Psycho, and his skill has earned him spots on recent films by directors like Anno and Miyazaki. Speaking of Mob Psycho, the man who took the reins on that show’s third season is overseeing this one, plus we’ve got an elite art director in Yuusuke Takeda, whose resume is way too long to boil down here. With all this talent on board, I’m expecting this remake to dazzle new fans – though I have doubts about whether its story will be twisty enough for their post-Dragon Ball sensibilities.
Ranger Reject Season 2
Studio: Yostar Pictures
Director: Keiichi Satou
Series composition: Keiichirou Oochi
Source: Manga
The Premise: Season 2 of Ranger Reject, a story about the goons of a Super Sentai series rising up and striking back against the villainous Rangers!
Lenlo: Season 1 of Ranger Reject was a good premise that wasn’t entirely sure what to do with itself and middling production. The actual idea behind it, that of a Super Sentai goon rebelling against a conspiracy by the Rangers, was solid. So the only question I have for this season is, can it regain its focus and reinterest us in the conflict between the mooks and the Rangers? Having read the manga, I’m actually pretty hopeful for this season. It introduces a lot of my favorite characters, and gives us a much closer look into how the Rangers operate, and what actually went down between them and the executives. Narratively, I think it should be pretty good! The main thing that will hold it back will be the production. Assuming it doesn’t improve from the first season, things could get rough, but if Ranger Reject can figure that out, I think it should be better than the first.
Anne Shirley
Studio: The Answer
Director: Hiroshi Kawamata
Series composition: Natsuko Takahashi
Source: Novel
The Premise: An orphan girl grows up in a rural Canadian province after being adopted by an elderly pair of siblings.
Wooper: In 1979, Isao Takahata headed the first anime adaptation of Lucy Maud Montgomery’s classic novel, Anne of Green Gables. I’ve seen (and loved) 35 of that series’ 50 episodes, so this new version isn’t technically a “show I’m anticipating” – given my fondness for the original, I’m not likely to watch Anne Shirley beyond its first week. Still, the source material is a landmark work in the coming of age genre, so it’s something that seasonal fans ought to have on their radars, especially if they’re averse to “old” animation and won’t permit themselves to enjoy anime produced before 1995. The most important staff member here is series composer Natsuko Takahashi – her recent output has been uninspiring, but she’s an industry veteran, which counts for a lot where a show like this is concerned, plus the reduced episode count (24) should help to keep her on the right track. I’m less optimistic about the art direction, which is destined to fall short of the standard set by Takahata’s classic, but at least the pair of brief PVs contain some bits of youthful character animation. Bottom line: Anne Shirley won’t be spring’s biggest show, but there’s a good chance it’ll tell the best story.
Mono
Studio: Soigne
Director: Ryouta Aikei
Series composition: Youko Yonaiyama
Source: Manga
The Premise: A high school’s photography and video research clubs combine their rosters to avoid being shut down.
Wooper: I lost interest in Yuru Camp midway through its third season, so the arrival of its successor Mono a year later feels like good timing, as it’ll bring a new subject matter and cast of characters to get acquainted with. There’s no staff overlap between the two projects; what links them is their shared mangaka Afro, and his dual fascination with Japan’s scenery and local delicacies. Rather than camping in the midst of that scenery, Mono’s club members will be photographing it using various methods: attaching cameras to drones, kites, and possibly skateboards? (I dunno, I saw skateboards in the PV.) One of the main reasons I’m interested in this one is the presence of first time series director Ryouta Aikei, whose resume includes a lot of action series – JJK, AoT, and Fire Force chief among them. He’s got experience in other genres, too, but I’m wondering if and how his recent shounen streak might help Mono to stand out from the slice of life pack. And speaking of first times, studio Soigne has never run point on a TV anime before, so this humble CGDCT show has a lot riding on it. Maybe I’m too optimistic, but I think it’s got a shot at making minor stars of its creative team.
Bye Bye Earth Season 2
Studio: LIDENFILMS
Director: Yasuto Nishikata
Series composition: Hiroyuki Yoshino
Source: Novel
The Premise: Season 2 of Bye Bye Earth, no I still don’t have any idea what this show is about, but I’m down for it.
Lenlo: Bye Bye Earth is… God I still don’t understand this show, or have any idea what the hell it’s about. The world is interesting, and there’s so much care and specificity in every turn of phrase and visual that it’s clearly about something, I just don’t know what. Considering the manga is finished, I have hopes we’ll get a lot of answers this season, that this should be enough to cover the remainder of the story. From everything I’ve seen and heard though, if you didn’t jive with the first season, you won’t with the second. I’ve been told things are going to get a lot weirder, and that there’s no guarantee they will make sense. For me though? That’s ok, because there’s nothing else quite like Bye Bye Earth.
Rock wa Lady no Tashinami Deshite
Studio: Bandai Namco Pictures
Director: Shinya Watada
Series composition: Shougo Yasukawa
Source: Manga
The Premise: Two outwardly demure teenage girls meet at an elite private school and form a band as an outlet for their crazy personas.
Wooper: The all-girl band anime train has been picking up steam lately, from Bocchi the Rock to Girls Band Cry to the Bang Dream franchise. As much as I prefer these shows to their idol-centric counterparts, their tendency to focus on their characters’ personality defects has always struck me as undercooked. That’s a big part of why I’m interested in Rock Is a Lady’s Modesty, since it seems less interested in poking at its band members’ flaws and more concerned with rocking the fuck out. They might bicker, scream, or make unhinged facial expressions (as the show’s plethora of promotional material has taken pains to emphasize), but they’ll be united in frustration with their school’s rigid rules and expectations, for which their band will serve as a pressure valve. The snippets of music I’ve caught as part of the show’s rollout have been markedly heavier than what you’d expect from a typical girls band series, and I imagine that the full tracks will play quite well over the intense on-screen performances promised by the PVs. I’m less optimistic about the animation outside of those moments, so I’ve got my fingers crossed that the show’s scripts will center its music as much as possible.
Lazarus
Studio: Mappa
Director: Shinichiro Watanabe
Screenplay: Watanabe and Friends
Source: Original
The Premise: Five secret agents search for an elusive doctor after he secretly unleashes a killer drug upon the world.
Wooper: My feeling about Shinichiro Watanabe is that he functions best as a beacon around whom talented people can gather. If he builds a universe where those people can tell whatever sort of story they want (Bebop, Champloo, Dandy), you get a classic. If he builds a highway where those people are locked into a linear story (Terror in Resonance, Carole & Tuesday), you get a car crash. Lazarus’s high concept plot would seem to put it in the latter camp, but I’ve already made my peace with its potential narrative missteps; I’m just here for the top tier production and the soundtrack, the latter of which is looking to be primarily electronic (Bonobo, Floating Points) with some jazz influence (Kamasi Washington). All of the show’s PVs look great, especially the lighting – Mitsuhiro Satou may do the best work of his career on this series, and after the photographic direction he provided on Pluto, that’d be saying something. Also, I’ve got a friend who would take my head off if I didn’t mention that Chad Stahelski, director of the John Wick films, is credited as Lazarus’s action supervisor. His actual level of involvement is anyone’s guess, but the main character’s flips, kicks and jumps do look awesome, so there’s that.
Kowloon Generic Romance
Studio: Arvo Animation
Director: Yoshiaki Iwasaki
Series composition: Jin Tanaka
Source: Manga
The Premise: In a future version of what was once Hong Kong’s Kowloon Walled City, two realtors fall in love despite their missing memories.
Lenlo: Between the older style designs, the adult characters, and this almost… science-fiction, dystopian-esque feeling being laid over the top of it all, I can’t help but be interested in Kowloon Generic Romance. And once I heard it was originally written by Jun Mayuzuki, the creator of After the Rain, I knew I would be checking this out. As good as After the Rain was, I can’t wait to see what sort of time and crime shenanigans the author will get up to now that they have been freed from the halls of highschool. Hopefully the science-fiction, giant glowing octahedron in the sky doesn’t end up detracting from the actual romance, for all that I’m a shounen head I do love well written romances that avoid the trappings most highschoolers fall into. Suffice to say, Mayuzuki earned my trust years ago, the staff seem competent, the designs and locations are beautiful, and I can’t wait to see how she rips my heart out this time.
The Dinner Table Detective
Studio: Madhouse
Director: Mitsuyuki Masuhara
Series composition: Mariko Kunisawa
Source: Novel
The Premise: A wealthy female detective and her sharp-tongued yet brilliant butler solve cases for the Tokyo MPD.
Wooper: There are a lot of good signs surrounding Dinner Table Detective: it’s based on a series of novels, has josei-leaning character designs, and is being led by one of Madhouse’s more reliable directors. The sign that really snagged my attention, though, is that its books are illustrated by Yuusuke Nakamura, original character designer for The Tatami Galaxy and its related works. Nakamura’s ukiyo-e-influenced pop art style has thus become a mark of quality in my mind, so I’m hoping that the novels will prove to be worthy source material for this adaptation. Mystery isn’t one of my favorite genres, but in instances where its cases double as kindling for sharp characterization and dialogue, I’m happy to read or watch one. Sharpness seems to be the point where Dinner Table is concerned, as the heroine’s butler is said to possess cutting wit and equally impressive intuition, so if we’re lucky, his repartee with the Kana Hanazawa-voiced protagonist will be one of the highlights of the season. That’s assuming Mamoru Miyano’s pompous investigator doesn’t prove too excruciating a third wheel (the guy’s acting gets hammier with each passing year), but “overconfident detective” is such a classic trope that he just might pull it off.
My Hero Academia: Vigilantes
Studio: Bones Film
Director: Kenichi Suzuki
Series composition: Yousuke Kuroda
Source: Manga
The Premise: Five years before the events of MHA, an unlicensed hero and a superpowered street performer are recruited to become vigilantes.
Lenlo: For all of my complaints about My Hero Academia, I’m actually really looking forward to Vigilantes. A fan of the manga, it’s almost everything I wanted the original series to be. A down to earth, street level story of heroism from the perspective of someone with an almost genuinely useless quirk. An actual look into the discrimination those with weird or weak quirks suffer through, more than the lip service the original series gave us early on. Even a peek into the lives of many characters who we never truly got the backstory of in the main series. Remember Aizawa’s whole thing with Kurogiri? What about the origination of the Nomus? Vigilantes covers all of this while never really escalating any larger than a single neighborhood in scale, and I absolutely love it. Think of it like this: Vigilantes is to My Hero Academia what Spiderman is to Superman. If you’ve gotten tired of the world threatening antics of the original series, but still want some classic super hero shounen, I think Vigilantes will do just that.
Mobile Suit Gundam GQuuuuuuX
Studios: Khara, Sunrise
Director: Kazuya Tsurumaki
Series composition: Youji Enokido
Source: Original
The Premise: A high school girl’s connection with a new Gundam model propels her into the world of illegal mobile suit battles.
Wooper: This probably shouldn’t be in the Highest Expectations tier, as I nearly fell asleep in the theater while watching its compilation film last month, but I can’t resist the prospect of a Tsurumaki-directed, Anno-supervised Gundam anime, no matter how stupid its name is. Based on my half-conscious understanding of that film, GQuuuuuuX is set in an alternate universe where Zeon, rather than the Earth Federation, triumphed in the One Year War, and where their hero Char mysteriously disappeared before he could complete his vengeful campaign against the Zabi family. The ripple effects of those changes will play out in GQX’s present, featuring underground mech battles and a Diebuster-esque cast, meaning familiarity with the original Gundam series will be helpful (but not mandatory) in getting the most out of this one. The show’s presentation will be very modern if the movie was anything to go by – the 3D mech choreography was improved from that of Eva 3.0+1.0, and the rounded character designs were expertly set in motion by the animation staff, which includes a bunch of Khara and Trigger names. If you dig giant robots, this should absolutely be on your watchlist this spring – and if you want extra credit, check out the first two episodes of Gundam 0079 for some added context once Char appears in GQX.
