So, I am definitely ready for autumn weather. Cooler days, cozier nights. What I’m not ready for is this upcoming anime season. This summer has been so busy, I feel as though I haven’t had much time to watch the anime already on my watch list! Luckily, for me at least, there don’t seem to be too many shows I’m particularly excited about watching this fall. Here are the top four that caught my attention the most as I reviewed this upcoming anime season.
Bloom Into You
Yū has always loved shōjo manga and awaits the day she gets a love confession that sends her heart aflutter with bubbles and blushes, and yet when a junior high classmate confesses his feelings to her, she feels nothing. Disappointed and confused, Yū enters high school still unsure how to respond. That’s when Yū sees the beautiful student council president Nanami turn down a suitor with such maturity that she’s inspired to ask her for help. But then the next person to confess to Yū is Nanami herself (Plot Summary from Anime New Network).
It’s been a long time since I’ve watched a show like this, and I’m not sure if I’m in the mood for it, but from the little I’ve seen of it, Bloom Into You seems like it has potential. The few yuri shows I have sampled have mostly been written more for a male audience than for a female one (i.e., Strawberry Panic!), so to watch something that’s actually meant for someone like me might be a lot of fun. Bloom Into You reminds me a bit of Kase-san, which I saw an AMV of at this year’s Nan Desu Kan. I haven’t watched Kase-san either, but it looks really cute.
Bloom Into You will be available to watch on HIDIVE.
Golden Kamuy (Season 2)
In the early twentieth century, Russo-Japanese War veteran Saichi “Immortal” Sugimoto scratches out a meager existence during the postwar gold rush on the wild frontier of Hokkaido. When he stumbles across a map to a fortune in hidden Ainu gold, he sets off on a treacherous quest to find it. But Sugimoto is not the only interested party, and everyone who knows about the gold will kill to possess it. Faced with the harsh conditions of the northern wilderness, ruthless criminals and rogue Japanese soldiers, Sugimoto will need all his skills and luck—and the help of an Ainu girl named Asirpa—to survive (Plot Summary from Anime News Network).
Somehow when I recommended this past spring season of anime, I missed the excellent historical drama Golden Kamuy, and I recommended Devils’ Line instead, which was terrible…I guess I can’t be right on what I think will be good every time! Golden Kamuy was a gem for me back in the spring. It has everything I’ve ever wanted in a good historical drama: action, adventure, a spunky female lead, friendship, and depictions of the Ainu people, the indigenous people of Japan. It’s an accessible historical drama, which cannot be said about all historical anime.
Golden Kamuy (Season 2) will be available to watch on Crunchyroll and Funimation.
JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure: Golden Wind
Naples, 2001. Giorno Giovanna is a small-time crook with one big dream—to become a “Gang-Star.” No ordinary thief, Giorno has a connection to the remarkable Joestar bloodline, and possesses a Stand named Gold Experience. His dream starts to become reality when he meets Bruno Buccellati, a mobster from the gang Passione and a fellow Stand user himself. Realizing that they share similar ideals, and both disagree with the gang’s harmful affairs, Giorno reveals his goal to Bruno: with Bruno’s help, he will reform Passione by overthrowing the boss. As Giorno becomes a member of Passione, and is inducted into Bruno’s squad, he discovers that it is no simple gang; its numbers are teeming with Stand users. Now confronted by other squads of differing loyalties and unpredictable caliber, their goal to change the gang from the inside out will be a tough one. Taking on these adversaries, Giorno attempts to rise through the ranks and inch closer to the boss, a man who is shrouded in mystery (Synopsis from MyAnimeList).
Honestly, I can’t believe I’m recommending JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure, a definite “problematic favorite,” but here I am. My partner has watched this show since the start, beginning back in 2012 when the 25th anniversary JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure was announced, and while I’ve caught bits and pieces of the show over the years, I didn’t start actively watching it until the third season. This was because JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure: Diamond Is Unbreakable’s ending theme, “I Want You” by the pop group Savage Garden, spoke to my ’90s teen heart. This upcoming season is apparently some of JoJo fans’ favorite arc.
JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure: Golden Wind will be available on Crunchyroll.
Tsurune
Minato Narumiya is beginning his freshman year at the local Kazemai High School. Mr. Tommy, adviser to the Japanese archery Club, is keen to recruit Minato, as well as his childhood friends Seiya Takehaya and Ryohei Yamanouchi. Ryohei convinces the reluctant Minato to attend the Club’s orientation, where he also meets Kaito Onogi and Nanao Kisaragi. Singling Minato out, Mr. Tommy introduces him as a rare Japanese archery talent and asks him to demonstrate in front of everyone. However, Minato’s arrow fails to hit the mark because he is afflicted by a serious condition (Plot Summary from Anime News Network).
Like Bloom Into You, Tsurune looks like a heartbreaking, heartfelt slice of life anime. As a sports show, it promises to include lots of information about Japanese archery. It also promises to include stories about friendship, which is mostly why I enjoy a good sports anime.
The simulcast for Tsurune has not yet been announced.
[blocktext align=”center”]What simulcasts will you be watching this autumn?[/blocktext]
[coffee]
