When I first started looking at this upcoming anime season list, I wasn’t entirely impressed. I’m still not as excited for it as I’ve been for other seasons. But looking at the list more closely, it does have some potential. Perhaps a few diamonds in the rough? Almost all my recommendations this season are supernatural in nature. I’d normally associate summer with the supernatural, but the winter can be creepy too. The only show that’s not supernatural is still a sci-fi. I think I’m looking to escape into a more fantastical world right now. Aren’t you?
Boogiepop and Others
This prequel to the very popular Boogiepop Phantom series deals with the sudden disappearance of several female students at Shinyo Academy. Couple this mystery with the sudden appearance of a mysterious apparition known only as Boogiepop, and even more questions arise in the mind of Keiji, a student who can see and converse with the strange spectre (Plot Summary from Anime News Network).
I still haven’t seen the original Boogiepop Phantom from 2000. I often jokingly say “Boogiepop” at random to my partner, even though I have no idea what it means. If I’m not mistaken, Boggiepop Phantom is a bit of a cult classic; it’s a horror anime about an urban legend called Boogiepop. That’s about all I know about it. But if Boogiepop is anything like the urban legend Celty in Durarara!! then the show might be my cup of tea.
Boogiepop and Others will be available to watch on Crunchyroll and Funimation.
Dororo
During the 1470s after the Wars of Onin and Bunmei in the Noto Peninsula of the Hokuriku District, Hyakkimaru, who lacks as much as 48 body parts, obtains a fake body and eliminates 48 monsters that were made from his body to retrieve his missing body parts (Plot Summary from Anime News Network).
Dororo was originally a manga created by the famous father of manga, Osamu Tezuka, the creator of the more recognizable Astro Boy. An anime based on the Dororo manga aired in Japan in 1969, so this is a remake of sorts. The original anime features a cutely drawn Dororo and the long-haired ronin Hyakkimaru, while this remake looks to be a lot more serious. I want to say I’ve seen random episodes of the original Dororo anime, possibly at an anime convention, and if I recall correctly, Dororo and Hyakkimaru have a comedic relationship, but I may be wrong. For some reason, I keep thinking they’re always seeking out their next meal, because, let’s be honest, who isn’t? But that assumption may be me mixing up Dororo with Tsukikage Ran, which is an entirely different show.
Dororo will be available to watch on Amazon Prime.
The Promised Neverland
Emma, Norman, and Ray are the three most brilliant children the Grace Field House has produced in decades. Unlike in a typical orphanage, they, and their fellow children, eat well and are given an intensive education. However, despite living in a peaceful environment with fun games and a caring mother, there’s something not quite right. When six year old Connie is “adopted” by foster parents, she forgets her favorite stuffed rabbit, and Emma and Norman sneak out to return it to her. When they arrive at the scene, the two realize exactly why they had always been isolated from the outside world (Plot Summary from Anime News Network).
When I first saw people talking about this show around the internet, I didn’t know what it was at first and thought it was about Peter Pan and Neverland. But if you go watch the preview, you’ll find that I’m very, very wrong. The Promised Neverland doesn’t appear to have anything to do with Peter Pan and Neverland. The only similarities are that the main characters are orphans, and that the word “Neverland” is in the anime title. That’s where the similarities end, I think. Shows about children haven’t really been my cup of tea lately, so I’m not sure I’m going to dive into this one right away. But it does have potential, being about a sinister secret involving demons, and part of the Noitamina time slot in Japan.
The Promised Neverland will be available to watch on Crunchyroll, Funimation, Hulu, and Hidive.
Revisions
Daisuke Dōjima is a second-year high school student and, along with his friends Gai, Lū, Marimari, and Keisaku, get wrapped up in the mysterious phenomenon known as the “Shibuya Drift.” The central area of Shibuya rises up and is transported at least 300 years into the “future.” What awaits them is a vast wasteland and forest dotted with ruins. There, they will work with the future people to operate giant mechanical monsters. Daisuke meets a girl named Melos. Melos informs Daisuke that he’s the only one who can operate the “doll weapon String Puppet” and protect Shibuya. Daisuke and his friends must take back the present by fighting the future in a town of isolation, against an unknown enemy (Plot Summary from Anime News Network).
Last but not least we have a mecha, time travel, dystopian anime, directed by Gorō Taniguchi, who directed Code Geass, one of the only mecha anime I really liked. Well, besides Evangelion, but that show is in a category of its own. Revisions is an original feature, so there’s no manga for me to reference for this one. I guess we’ll all just have to sample it to see if it’ll be any good for ourselves!
The simulcast for Revisions has not yet been announced.
[blocktext align=”center”]What simulcasts will you be watching this winter?[/blocktext]
[coffee]
