It was clear for a while that Fall was going to be a huge season. But as time has passed that certainty has only gotten strengthened. Tastes will always determine whether a season is minor or amazing. So others might look at this Fall season and not see that much worth getting excited about. For me though, this season looks amazing. It has the potential to have many the shows that will be in my top 10 shows of the year. If it can deliver on most of this potential, then we are in for a great ride.

I will give Summer some credit though. This wasn’t a season that I was hyped about going into it. My past season review would attest to that. But it really surprised me in the best of ways. My top show for the season in Lycoris Recoil, wasn’t even in my preview at all! I hadn’t seen enough to really get excited about and yet it just took over my attention for the entire summer season. That’s why we’ve got to watch the shows. Of course, I still enjoyed shows like My Stepmom’s Daughter is My Ex, DanMachi S4, Soredemo Ayumu wa Yosetekuru, etc. I’ll miss all of them. But Lycoris was a reminder for me how shows can surprise if you give them a chance.

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.

This is a show I’m absolutely hyped for. The first part was easily one of the highlights of Spring and I haven’t forgotten that even as Summer provided plenty of entertainment. The Forger family is a lot of fun to watch. They all have their skills, and they are all idiots in their own ways. Animation was a big strength of the first part and I’m sure that will continue into season 2. But the core of it is this family. There’s something about a group of people getting the family connections they’ve either lost or never had that makes me smile. Loid’s mission is important, but the truly valuable thing is just seeing how this group interacts and grows in response.

The excitement of Bleach coming back can’t be understated. It is a classic from my perspective and showed how good shounen anime can be. The original anime started back in 2004 and stopped in 2012. It lasted almost a decade and took a decade for us to get it back. The adventures of Ichigo are ones I still remember now. There’s just a strong feeling of nostalgia keeping me excited for what is coming. And for once it doesn’t feel as if nostalgia is leading me astray. The trailers have been so full of personality and the animation just looks good. On top of that this isn’t a reboot or anything else. It is completing a story that has been sitting and waiting for the viewers to experience it.  

Part of me also thinks the gap between seasons will help the story. Bleach originally was part of that ‘never ending anime’ group with One Piece (still going) and Naruto. Filler was part of the equation. Although Bleach at least kept its filler mostly contained to entire filler arcs. But this time there’s no reason to drag things out. They can absolutely add things to further flesh out the story, but they don’t need to take a break in the middle for a filler arc this time. That should allow this season to be all excitement from start to finish. 

I hate that I have to add to this preview after writing all the positive stuff above. But the news that Disney is not going to simulcast this series is depressing. This is the return of a legitimate classic. I’m sure people reading this preview know how to find shows outside of the official channels. And I love the work that fansubbers do. If it wasn’t for them, I probably wouldn’t be here today writing about anime. But it’s sad that they have to carry the load again while these massive companies try to stamp them out. Give people the shows they are willing to pay for! And it is too bad that discussion on this show might slip to the background because a lot of people are going to be stuck waiting…who knows how long for an official version of Bleach to watch. 

Gundam is a franchise that will always be special to me. It can go all over the place with each series mostly being contained to itself. Obviously, there are exceptions to that rule, but a lot of my favorites fall into that category. There is usually a long wait between Gundam seasons, but I’ve felt the wait this time. Iron Blooded Orphans ended back in 2017. So, we’ve been waiting a while for the next one. Of course, the obvious discussion point here is the protagonist being a female for (I believe) the first time in the franchise. I do think that’s a nice thing to note. And I mostly say that since Gundam’s female side characters can be hit and miss when it comes to being effective in fights. This time the main female character will have to be good XD. 

There isn’t that much for me to comment on in this preview when it comes to the trailers and summary. The era is unsurprisingly a new one so there’s little previous connections to examine. The most I can immediately comment on is the lead being voiced by Kana Ichinose (Elsa from Symphogear, Maki from Kaguya-sama, Ichigo from Darling in the Franxx). She’s a good voice actress and should do just fine as the lead for this show. I’m still absolutely hyped. Not every Gundam series is a hit for me. But I go into each one hopeful that they will be a hit. 

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.

I’m sure for others this is a show that falls into the first category of hype. But I’m going to admit that I haven‘t read the manga and therefore don’t have much to base my hype on. At the same time the trailer was impactful and I wouldn’t be surprised if this is one of the best shows of the season. MAPPA can deliver on the action and on that front I’m not worried. I expect it to be crazy, over the top, and very bloody. My impression is that it falls into the category of shounen like Jujutsu Kaisen. And by that, I mean it’ll be dark, a bit messed up, and probably not very optimistic.  

Not that I’m taking shots at Jujutsu either. They aren’t my absolute favourite in terms of anime, but I get the appeal. At the same time, I don’t want to judge this show too early. There are reasons people are hyped and I’m looking forward to finding out just what those are.

A few years ago, I would have found it inconceivable that Boku no Hero wouldn’t be in my top category for a preview. But the last couple seasons haven’t really amazed me. I didn’t much care for Endeavor’s parts in the previous seasons, the impact movies have clearly had on the production, the moving around of entire story arcs, Deku’s quirk getting extras, etc. There are a lot of things I could gripe over. But at the same time this is a franchise that has great animation, good action, interesting powers, and a solid plot. If it can pick itself up then season 6 could be amazing. But I can’t say I’m going into this season with full hype because that would be a lie. I’m more hoping that it won’t disappoint me than hoping for it to contend for anime of the year. Fingers crossed that they do well.

I still remember how much drama the first season of this show managed to generate from some parts of the online world. And I still can’t believe it. This is just a solid series about a silly pair of leads. Uzaki can go too far and be a bit much. This isn’t my absolute favourite of the “teasing girl” grouping of shows. Far as I’m concerned it will be a nice little romcom that will provide a nice jolt of comedy into what could be an action heavy season. Hana will be a good bit of fun to watch and I’m curious to see how much closer she and Shinichi can get. Sometimes you just need some fun and this should provide it.

This show looks like it has the potential to be fun. I’m not sure how far the concept of the lead not realizing that his organization is really fighting against an evil cult. That can probably last for a while, but it feels like the comedy would run dry fast on that. But it should have a nice amount of action, the voices sound good, and the concept could be fun if done well. We are getting into seemingly another isekai show but those can be done well. I’m curious to see what Nexus will bring to the table with this show. The key will be whether the lead is enjoyable and how his supporting cast holds up. My fingers will be crossed that this one is at least fun.

There is something inherently funny about this guy taming a bunch of beast…girls. But beyond that humorous angle, the show looks fun. It feels like the whole “kicked out of the hero’s party” type of show is becoming the next common sub-genre. Maybe this time the main character will be legitimately kicked out and not simply leave because he was mildly encouraged to do so XD. I’m kind of glad it looks to be a standard fantasy show and not just an unnecessary isekai concept. The cast looks good, the girls are cute, and the MC traveling around with a bunch of powerful beast girls could be fun. There’s just a positive energy coming from this show that has me excited to see where it goes.

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.

Any time a classic show gets remade/rebooted I’m a bit uneasy. There’s been too many times when that hasn’t worked out. But this is a show that I never actually got into. Obviously, part of it was this show literally being before my time airing in 1981 through 1986. In that sense I’m kind of curious how this show will play out. It could feel particularly old school. It also makes me wonder if they’ll try to update the material at all or have it take place closer to modern times. They could easily keep it set right where it is supposed to be and let the story stand for itself.  

David Production can do some amazing work as we’ve seen from Jojo and many other shows. Rumiko Takahashi is a well known creator behind works like Inuyasha, Ranma ½, etc. So there seems plenty of quality in place for this. The show just needs to deliver on that potential.

I still remember the original KanColle anime and thought it was alright. Considering the first season ended in 2015 this wasn’t a show I expected to see come back. With the Azur Lane anime having up and downs I really didn’t think similar ship girl shows would be coming back. But I think it has the potential to deliver if ENGI can bring their best stuff. We’re talking about ship girls, battles, and a good kind of drama. No guarantees that it will end up being a good sequel. But I’m willing to give it a shot and see if the characters are enjoyable enough to keep me watching.

We have officially entered the “being reincarnated as a strange object” part of the isekai boom. The main character didn’t show up in this world to be the sword wielding hero…just a sentient sword. Now admittedly that does allow for the female lead to really stand out since she’s the one wielding him. But it is odd. If treated seriously it would probably be horrific. Nothing quite comparable to being reincarnated into a new world in a body without limbs! But the trailer seemed pretty good and the dynamic between the leads could work. I don’t expect this show to be anything special. But it could be a fun way to kill time during the week. If nothing else seeing this girl wield her co-lead while cutting down slavers could be fun.

There’s no question I’ll be watching this one. I’m not at a loss about what this season will be about. We’re going to see more journeying, dramatic intrigue, fights over gold, and eating the weirdest things imaginable! There is no question the main cast will be eating the brains of some random animal. Golden Kamuy has its own sense of comedy, and you really must be able to roll with it. This show has never been my absolute favourite and that’s why it is down here. But I am curious to see where the story goes next. Asirpa and Sugimoto are a cute pair and if nothing else I’ll enjoy seeing them together again.

This show looks bright, cute, and should be a solid romcom. That’s my impression from the summary and the trailers. It has a familiar premise at least in terms of two leads who are interested in different people, but still end up spending a lot of time together. The only question I have really is whether our main pair will end up together by the end or if they’ll end up with the people they originally wanted. My expectation would be for them to give up on those old crushes and embrace what they have together. But you never know.  The trailer looks to be heavily leaning on them ending up together, but it is just a trailer. We’ll see if the animation holds up since studio MOTHER did do some inconsistent work with Arifureta. But I am curious and willing to give this show a shot.

Honestly what originally got me here was the trailer looking pretty good! But I was immediately hesitant since studio A-CAT has done some inconsistent work on shows such as Kenja no Deshi wo Nanoru Kenja and Deatte 5-byou de Battle. So I’m not completely sure if that first impression is genuinely how good the show will look. But at the very least the concept seems fun. You have a main character with all kinds of power but also just wanting to farm XD. In some ways the concept makes me think of the Rune Factory series of games. You get a mix of fantasy action alongside just farming. If nothing else having this farmer wreck monsters and demons could be fun. I’ll give it a shot.

In some ways I’m not sure what to say on this one. And since it is an original anime there’s even less for me to say than usual XD. Of course, after Lycoris impressed I really don’t want to disregard original anime that catch my attention even briefly. The summary feels like the most standard of harem setups. The main character runs into all these girls and romantic hijinks start from there. But the trailer gives me hope. Not only does the show look pretty good, but they give one girl making her move right away. Maybe it won’t be exactly what I expect. It could be even better than that. If nothing else though, the girls look cute and seem likable. If the lead isn’t a completely frustrating person then it could be a winning combination. There’s not much for me to focus on quite yet for this show. But I’m hoping it will be another solid romcom for the season.

Conclusion

Fall is looking to be a solid season. There are some big sequels landing. Although I’m not sure if I count Spy x Family as a sequel since it just took one season off. But regardless we have the return of Bleach, a new Gundam series, Boku no Hero, Uzaki, Golden Kamuy, etc. There are always a lot of sequels to be had in any given season of anime. But it is nice to have so many sequels that I’m at least reasonably excited to see. Bleach is especially exciting to have back just because it has been so many years since the original anime ended. 

As always there is a decent amount of action focused series and romcoms to be had. I’m always up for either of these genres so that’s not a bad thing for me. Of course, it depends on how many of them end up being great, but that’s something that can’t be known until the shows really get going. There’s a lot of potential with some big action shows like Boku no Hero, Chainsaw Man, and Bleach bringing the flashy action. But it’s also nice that mecha makes another return with a fresh Gundam series. Can usually count on those to provide great action and good animation. 

I’m honestly excited to get Fall underway. I’m going to miss Lycoris Recoil, but overall Fall just looks strong. There should be enough certainty going into the season with still the chance to have a show surprise me like Lycoris did. So long as the big shows deliver, I think this season will be a lot of fun. Fingers crossed it is everything we can ask for.