While it may be summer for a few more carefree weeks, soon our thoughts will turn to going back to school, harvesting sorghum crops, and watching a heaping helping of new fall anime. With so many choices out there, deciding what anime is actually worth your time can feel like a Sisyphean task. Fortunately for you, I don’t mind pushing rocks uphill for all eternity, so I’ve assembled a guide to the very best new anime that you need to see this fall.
Black Clover
Image: TV Tokyo
It sounds like the world’s lamest cologne, but really Black Clover is the story of two orphans, Asta and Yuno, who were raised in a world where magic is literally everything. Whereas Yuno is a magical prodigy, Asta seemingly can’t use it at all–or so they thought. At age 15, the duo were gifted grimoires, magical tomes that enhance their magical abilities, and it turns out that Asta is gifted in anti-magic, allowing him to repel his enemies’ spells. Now the childhood friends find themselves in a rivalry as they both strive to become the wizard king. Think Harry Potter meets Naruto.
Code: Realize ~Guardian of Rebirth~
Image: Idea Factory
Centering on a sickly woman named Cardia who lives in isolation due to a deadly poison flowing through her veins, Code: Realize is a show all about daddy issues. Specifically the issue of Cardia’s father going missing in 19th century London. However, Cardia soon finds herself forced into a wild world of adventure by Arsene Lupin, the gentlemen thief of French literary fame, and she encounters a host of other weirdoes ripped from the pages of classic literature like Victor Frankenstein, Abraham Van Helsing, and the bafflingly named Herlock Sholmes.
Dies IraeÂ
Image: Genco
World War II was one of the worst sequels of all time, but it has inspired countless works of TV, film, and–yes–anime. The latest in this long line of WWII anime is Dies Irae, which is based on a visual novel and follows a young, hospitalized man who has recurring nightmares about a roving band of murderers and black-shrouded knights who hunt them down. Little does he know that back in 1945, a group of Nazi officers performed a ritual sacrifice to resurrect an ancient warrior group known as the Order of the 13 Lances, and now they may or may not be stalking the land. (Spoiler alert: they totally are.)
Godzilla: Monster Planet
Image: Toho
It only took 63 years, but we finally have a Godzilla anime. Sure, we had to sit through whatever the hell Godzooky was, but it was all worth it to get Godzilla: Monster Planet. The film takes place in a future where mankind has fled planet Earth after it became inundated with all manner of colossal kaiju, seeking refuge in outer space. Except something went wrong and humanity got lost in hyperspace for approximately 20,000 years. Now they’re on a mission to reclaim their homeworld and dunk on Godzilla like so many Charles Barkleys in so many befuddling 1990s commercials.
Kino’s Journey: -the Beautiful World-
Image: Egg Firm
Time is a flat circle and we are doomed to repeat the past, rebooting anime left and right until there is nothing left to reboot, and then when that happens we’ll start back at the beginning and reboot it all over again. In spite of that somewhat bleak sentiment, there is a reboot that’s actually worthwhile coming this fall: Kino’s Journey. Based on the light novels that inspired a 2003 anime series of the same name, Kino’s Journey tells the story of a young boy named Kino and her talking motorcycle Hermes as they go on a road trip together, never staying in one place for more than three days at a time. Come for the gorgeous animation, stay for the deep philosophical rumination.
Inuyashiki
Image: MAPPA
This anime kind of feels like if that video game Roy: A Life Well Lived from Rick and Morty was a TV show. Basically, it’s about a 58-year-old dude whose family treats him like crap and gets diagnosed with terminal cancer…only to get caught in a mysterious explosion that replaces his week fleshy form with a sick alien robot body, enhanced strength, and the power to heal the sick. Unfortunately, he wasn’t the only one caught in the blast — a dang teenager was too, and now he’s murdering everyone in sight. What will millennials kill next? Apparently, the answer is “everything” unless RoboGramps can save the day.
Two Car
Image: SILVER LINK
On the small, sparsely populated Miyake Island, there are two girls who get along like cats and fire, which is to say not at all. Yet they somehow manage to make an amazing team in the high stakes world of motorcycle sidecar racing–whatever that is. This weird mix of high school drama and Road Rash looks like an oddball delight and something you absolutely need to add to your to-do list this fall.
Infini-T Force
Image: Tatsunoko Productions
Tatsunoko Productions is celebrating its 55th anniversary in style with a brand new CG-animated anime series that combines characters from Tekkaman the Space Knight, Casshern, Gatchaman, and Hurricane Polymar for an adventure story about a girl who survives a convenience store robbery and wills four heroes into existence with the help of a magic pencil. You know, because anime.
What anime are you most excited for this fall? What would you add to this list? Let us know in the comments below!
Image: Toho
Sources: MyAnimeList, AniChart, LiveChart.me
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Dan Casey is the senior editor of Nerdist and the author of books about Star Wars and the Avengers. Follow him on Twitter (@DanCasey).
Editor’s note: Today’s episode of The Dan Cave is sponsored by Squarespace.
