It doesn’t feel as if Summer is over at the time of writing this, but the Fall season is just around the corner! It’s always fun looking ahead since one constant of anime is that new shows are always starting up. There’s always a chance to find a new favourite that will stick with you for years to come. I’m sure Fall will do that for some people since Fall and Spring are the two bigger seasons for shows coming out. I’m curious how this season will shake out since there are quite a few shows I don’t have much knowledge about besides their trailers and summaries.

Bleach once again brought it this summer. The upside of them taking their time with this final arc is that the quality is high and we’ll get to enjoy more Bleach for quite some time. The downside…is that we’re going to be waiting a bit for that next part of the story. Masamune-kun no Revenge S2 had a good return and I’m glad that story got the conclusion it deserved. So many anime are left unresolved and this avoided that fate. Ryza no Atelier was enjoyable as I was hoping, and Rurouni Kenshin’s reboot has been fun to follow. Thankfully I also gave a show like Helck a shot since that’s been quite fun too. A good mix of comedy with bursts of action.

As always, the preview will be referring to information listed on LiveChart and AniChart. This certainly won’t be a comprehensive preview of what is coming up. It will just be a list of the shows I’m interested in. Everyone can feel free to talk about the shows they are hyped about in the comments, even if I don’t mention them here. There will be shows I don’t know that much about their source material so any discussion on what can be expected there (minus spoilers) sounds good to me.

Series of High Interest

These are the shows I’m the most excited about. Odds are that’s because I’m familiar enough with a previous season/source material. But I may just have gotten excited by the summary or trailer. If these don’t turn out to be good that will be rather disappointing.

There was no doubt that this would be among my most anticipated. It feels a bit weird to call this season two since the original season was a split cour. But in the end, I’m glad to have this show back. Yor, Loid, and Anya were a fun trio and we only just got to see their life as a family begin. So, I’m looking forward to seeing them grow closer and probably get into wildly dangerous situations at the same time. There’s something to be said about the concept of found family and this series taps into it. All these characters have great talents, but also reasons that they couldn’t find a normal family situation. 

I expect a season that is utterly ridiculous with some sweet moments mixed in there. I don’t expect a major shift in their situations like their secrets getting exposed. But they all potentially live dangerous lives so there’s always the potential for things to get a bit crazy. This is a safe bet to be an enjoyable show. So long as I get the expected fun from this cast then I’ll be there to talk about it. 

I know nothing about this show minus the trailers and summary. But the potential for this one is really high. The setup is kind of tragic. You have this elf who lives a very different life from even her fellow heroic allies. But she only really feels that once it’s too late. Honestly this makes me think of Arwen from Lord of the Rings. It just feels as if this show will partially tackle the tragedy of a near immortal being having to figure out what to do with herself while knowing that her friends are all going to be gone before she knows it. Hopefully whatever adventure she goes on helps give her a sense of peace looking to the future.

Here’s hoping the first episode of this one isn’t quite as intense as the previous season! Honestly though, I expect this show to be a good bit of grim fantasy. The first season more than set up how horrifying goblins are and how this setting is extremely dangerous. Goblin Slayer (the character) will go around slaying goblins…and other things with techniques he’s saved for goblins. Honestly, I’m not exactly sure where the second season is going to go, but I’m sure it will be memorable. The cast overall is a good one and so long as they return I’m sure the story will figure itself out. I’m looking forward to seeing the Priestess, Elf Archer, and more supporting characters like the Cow Girl. With that I also look forward to calling these people by descriptions instead of names since the show just doesn’t do names XD.

Series of Moderate Interest

Now to the shows I’m somewhat excited for. While not as excited about these as the category above, I’m still pretty interested in watching these. Some have intriguing premises that if done right could make for great shows. While some have source materials that I’m sort of familiar with, but not extremely interested in. Some of these could easily turn into my favorites. That uncertainty factor can turn into a positive surprise.

This “being reincarnated into an otome game” niche within the isekai genre has continue to go strong each season! I’m glad the people behind these things are finding different ways to tackle them. This time we’ve got a girl who is not reincarnated as the villain…but the protagonist and totally wants to ship herself with the villain! There are elements there that I’m curious about. Could she really love the villain so much that she’d play a game where the only possible love interests were the male lead? Is that something people tend to do? I’d probably get annoyed and find another game honestly.

Anyways, I’m looking forward to seeing how this goes. If she really loves the villain then why not go for it? I guess it depends on how evil she is. Since…if Claire is extremely evil then it’d probably be a bad idea to really pursue her. If she’s just kind of a jerk then it might work out. I’m guessing the villain will turn into a total tsundere that will steadily be worn down by a lead that is probably a bit of a masochist.

The setup for this one is kind of interesting. You have a somewhat familiar setup with a demon lord reincarnating. But this guy is doing it…because he lost. It’s basically ducking the defeat in hopes that when he comes back there will be a chance to turn things around. So, he’s dropped into a young body and now must face a tricky situation. He may have wanted to get back at humanity for defeating his forces…but humanity itself is in a bad spot. So, he’ll have to decide what he wants to do. I presume it’ll involve developing ties to some very nice girls XD. The visuals look good in the trailer and I think this is something I can get into.

I honestly like the setup of this. In other shows you have a girl reincarnating as a villainess and wanting to avoid their fate or make things better in the world. This isn’t an isekai since Mia isn’t from another world. But the protagonist is set up in the same position of knowing what will happen in her future. The best part here is that she’s not really acting to make the world better…she just doesn’t want her head cut off again! I can support that idea! Of course, she’d act from a self-interested perspective. Seems as if she’ll make closer ties to people like the maid that comforted her near the time of her demise. But in the end she will be acting to avoid the worst-case scenario. This one could be fun…minus the whole getting killed by a guillotine thing that will undoubtedly be in the first episode.

I have read a lot of the manga (though I’ve kind of fallen off with it lately), so I fully expect this to be a fun show. You have a main girl with the power of insanely bad luck and a guy who cannot die. Not to mention that guy that can’t die…really wants to see if that bad luck can be the thing to kill him. I enjoyed Andy and Fuuko in the manga and it will be kind of nostalgic to see them at the beginning of their character arcs once again. 

I think David Production can do great work. So, the visuals should deliver and the first season (however long it will be) should have some great fights. There will be some crazy abilities and some very interesting usage of immortality as a weapon! Not the show I’m most excited to see this season, but I’m looking forward to it. It’s not going to surprise me, but I am curious to see how the anime handles a few specific moments. And if nothing else, a good source of action is nice to have.

Series of Lower Interest

These are the shows I’m still interested in, but it’s a lot weaker than the tiers above. Either the previous seasons were mixed bags for me or I just don’t have enough to work. They still get mentioned because I still think the potential is there to really surprise me. Which is more than the shows I’m not going to mention at all.

I like the potential of this show. One thing I’m going to hold against Precure (including this season) is that the episode length can work against it. Sometimes the shows just don’t have enough to say to warrant a whole year’s worth of episodes. Considering Hirogaru is still going on, I don’t think this sequel is going to get that many episodes. Instead, it could and should be a much tighter story that doesn’t need any filler. 

And that could be fun. Seeing an adult group of magical girls tackling some sort of issue could be enjoyable. There have been adult magical girls in other series (like Symphogear) so I’m sure this can work. This isn’t as high for me because I’m just not a huge fan of this specific season of Precure. But I’m curious to see it just to see how Maho Tsukai Precure’s sequel might turn out.

Nice to have Dr. Stone back. This will just be continuing the situation that started up last season. A nice island battle where Senku’s people have to win out against a portable petrification weapon. The previous season was alright. It had some pacing issues, but this one will be starting in the middle of the conflict. So at the very least it should be able to get underway quickly. The trailer was awesome. It really gives a feeling that this battle is going to be extremely difficult. Senku and company really charged into a hornet’s nest here!

I remember reading a little bit of this one, but I didn’t spend that much time on it. The concept could be entertaining or just a bit weird. It has a weird element to it. This guy is put into a situation where he has to make a harem or the girls will die! I suppose you could say the girls are in the worst position of all. They have fallen hard for this guy and have no choice but to end up in a harem. Can this guy really return the affection of basically 100 girls? I have no idea, but good luck to him in figuring things out. He’s either got to pull it off or break the powers of the god that created this situation so at the very least no one will die.

This could be a decent drama of medical mysteries. I feel for the girl in that her life was thrown upside down for a position she didn’t want. Being a servant at the palace just isn’t what that girl dreams of doing. Thankfully…people get sick and her chance to chase her real dream is presented to her. Hopefully the mysteries are good and the main character is likeable. Depending on how accurate the diseases she’s investigating are there is some potential to learn a few things. Or it won’t be and the mysteries themselves might be what carries this thing.

I’m surprised it’s already been 2 years since the first season. It doesn’t feel that long since I last saw it. But I guess time really does fly. This was a perfectly decent female led isekai story. The reverse harem was solid enough with Sei growing close to her main love interest Albert. I’m curious to see how Sei’s powers will mature this season and what kind of situations she’ll find herself in? There’s also the girl Aira that was summoned to that world alongside Sei. I kind of hope the story finds something interesting for her to do. Obviously, she isn’t the main character and doesn’t have the same powers, but if she’s been dumped into this world I’d want her to have some hope.

The concept here isn’t a bad one. A good guy finds this girl and raises her as his own daughter. He can’t go on adventures himself, but she grows up with the talent needed to rise to great heights in her own right. Kind of sweet that despite all her powers she honestly just wants to see her father again.  

I’m curious how the story will play out. How often will she get to see her father and what sorts of things will get in the way of her doing that? Will she be able to communicate with him via letters/magic? And what will the father be doing most of the time? The big question for me is how the story itself will function. But Saori Hayami is a great voice actress and I’m sure she’ll handle the lead character just fine. The first episode will probably establish the pattern of the story, so I’ll be waiting for that.

This seems like a decent fantasy romance here. Two characters that have suffered betrayals in their life find solace in each other. The whole “teaching her bad things” sounds a bit silly, but maybe it just means he’ll teach her to be more selfish. Which is probably a good idea considering she was mistreated and betrayed. Taking care of herself first might be the best thing he could do. Again, Saori Hayami makes for a great female lead. Combined with Tomokazu Sugita I’m sure this show will be at least reasonably entertaining. I’ll be curious to see just what situations these two get involved in, but it sounds like a cute show.

Here’s another case of being reincarnated into a weird situation! It’s probably going to be better than being reincarnated into a vending machine (though that wasn’t terrible). Mostly because they seem to have the ability to communicate! I’m a bit uneasy about the female lead being ok with eventually eating this pig that clearly is sentient. But clearly that won’t happen, so it’ll be fine. I’m curious to see what kind of dark destiny is waiting for the female lead (Jess). What is she getting into and how will a sentient pig be able to solve her problems?  

This show could get a bit weird since the main character is a human reincarnated into a pig. So, he’ll have all those human desires…just in a pig. If nothing else, having the voice of Yoshitsugu Matsuoka (voice of Kirito, Bell Cranel, etc) reacting to his ridiculous situation should be entertaining. He’ll have to carry the comedy and I wish him luck with it. This might be dumb, but it could be fun too.

Conclusion

Fall isn’t looking bad at all. As expected, there are some heavy hitters that will be filling the void left by shows like Bleach. Spy x Family is back, and we can count on the Forger family to mix fun with bits of action too. Plenty of Shonen Jump sourced shows with Undead Unluck prepared to throw some crazy action at the screen. It’s funny that we’re mostly keeping up with the “reincarnated as a villainess” niche with Watashi no Oshi wa Akuyaku Reijou and even less so with Tearmoon Teikoku Monogatari. Neither one precisely fits, but they are close enough for me to think of the genre. 

There are a ton of shows I have no idea if they’ll be good, but I’m hopeful. Sousou no Frieren is a show that feels as if it will bring a ton of emotional drama with it. And as usual we’ve got a weird isekai show with Buta no Liver wa Kanetsu Shiro. That genre will keep finding strange options so long as it remains popular. I’m not sure how much further the genre can go. But I’m sure they’ve still got some wild ones saved up. 

I look forward to being surprised by Fall. If there are shows people are hyped for then I’d love to hear about them. I’m always taken by surprise when it comes to a new season. I bet there will be shows I don’t even list here that I’ll keep up with as the season goes on. As usual I can’t pick up that many shows since Hirogaru isn’t ending quite yet! Though we are getting closer to Precure reaching it’s end point. For now though, I look forward to one or two shows that I can get absorbed into talking about for the next few months.