Summer 2021 was a bit of a mixed bag of anime shows with some strong sequels airing like That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime, Miss Kobayashi’s Dragon Maid S, and of course the continuation of Higurashi. Whilst there were some great original series airing, overall this wasn’t the most memorable of seasons in anime.
Initially, looking at what was airing this upcoming season, there wasn’t really a lot that stuck out for me. After watching all the trailers however, there are definitely quite a few shows which caught my eye. So much so actually, that I struggled to go with my Top 5 anticipated shows for the Fall season, and upped my number to ten instead. All of these caught my eye in some way, and they all promise something just a little bit different – so without further ado, here are the Top 10 most anticipated series for Fall 2021!
Takt Op. Destiny
I thought I was looking at the next Fate/ series anime when I first saw the promo image for this but actually this show looks to be a very different type of action show. Set in a futuristic America when monsters have taken over, it follows a group of people who use music to fight against them. The animation is absolutely gorgeous, produced by both Madhouse and MAPPA but given the lack of content produced by the director thus far, this could be a hit or a miss.
Komi can’t communicate
Easily one of the most hyped show of the season looking around the various forums online, Komi can’t communicate runs off the back of a popular manga series. The series follows a boy who helps his beautiful but socially awkward classmate achieve the goal of making 100 friends. The trailer looks suitably zany and there is sure to be a crazy cast of characters to liven things up.
Yuuki Yuuna is a Hero Season 3
Falling in the shadow of it’s sister series, Madoka, Yuuki Yuuna is a Hero never quite gained the amount of popularity that the other magical girl show obtained. If you haven’t checked this series out yet though, you’re missing out – it mixes beautiful character relationships and dark themes which are found in the Madoka series but takes the storyline in a totally different direction. Season 3 looks to potentially bring the events to a finale at last, and it’s sure to be an epic and emotional one.
Paladin of the End
This series follows a boy who is raised in rather unusual circumstances – by three dead people. The trailer looks like this is going to be an emotional series, with lots of character depth. Based off a light novel originally, it looks to be an intriguing take on the typical fantasy genre.
Sakugan
An original sci-fi series, this follows a father and his daughter struggling to survive in a brutal underground world. This one looks to have some stunning animation and a real heartfelt and genuine relationship between the two which could make this one something of a sleeper hit.
Moon, Laika, and the Bloodsucking Princess
This anime is about a vampire who becomes… an astronaut? Sounds ridiculous, right? The trailer actually looks like the series will be focusing more on the drama of her becoming an astronaut, whilst struggling with racism from other applicants.
Deji Meets Girl
The gorgeous animation of this series caught my attention – it looks to be a short slice of life series about a high school girl who works at her family’s hotel.
The Heike Story
Based on the epic ‘The Tale of Heike’, the art style for this one is very reminiscent of Ghibli. Directed by Naoko Yamada, (K-On!; A Silent Voice), and scripted by Reiko Yoshida (Aria; Violet Evergarden), this has a lot of prestige behind it already and the trailer is stunning.
Lupin III: Part 6
The Lupin series is pretty well known but has slipped off the radar in recent years – the last part aired in 2018. It follows gentleman thief Lupin III, the grandson of the infamous Arsene Lupin and his exploits along with a crazy cast of characters. This will also be the first time that the role of Jigen (Lupin’s partner in crime) will be performed by a new voice actor as the previous actor has now retired after voicing the character for 52 years.
Platinum End
This series looks to be one of the more edgier one of the season, but if dark battle royale style stories are your thing then it’s definitely one to check out. The story follows Mirai who is chosen by an angel to be a candidate to become a God – he isn’t the only one however and there are twelve others also vying for the position.
Honourable mentions:
Banished from the Hero’s Party, I Decided to Live a Quiet Life in the Countryside – Seems like a typical fantasy show initially, but the premise of an adventurer getting kicked out of the heroes’ party and trying to settle down in the country instead could be interesting. There looks to be a lot of drama between the old party member’s and the protagonist and a sweet romance.
Ousama Ranking – The art style of this anime is very reminiscent of old fashioned series, and despite the ridiculous premise (a baby becomes a King and gets help from a shadow demon), it looks charming and likely to have a lot more substance to it then might first appear.
Muv-Luv Alternative – Based off a very famous visual novel game, this one is sure to have a big fanbase excited to check it out, but strangely, this is actually a sequel game of the main series which is being adapted rather than the original, so it’s likely to alienate new viewers.
Jobless Reincarnation Season 2 – Okay, the controversial one. I’m mentioning it anyway as I’m sure for many people this will be their top anticipated show. The first season was incredibly popular, with gorgeous animation and an in depth storyline but I personally had some real issues with the actions of the protagonist in the series which is why it’s not in my Top Ten.
Blue Period – A slice of life drama show about artwork as a high school boy discovers the joy of painting.
Mieruko-chan – A high school girl is able to see dead people and does her best to ignore the horrors around her every day – a horror-comedy that has an interesting premise but I’m not convinced from the trailer yet that the anime will hit the mark with it’s comedy.
Deep Insanity: The Lost Child – Not a lot is known about this series yet, as only a short trailer has been released but this is being produced by Square Enix as part of a multimedia project so there is sure to be a lot of hype around this one.
