It’s a miracle, folks – for once, I can’t really say “how are we already approaching the winter season.” By all accounts, 2018 has been one of the longest years on record, spanning for actual decades and leaving us all withered and creaking. Remember Violet Evergarden? That actually came out this year. Hell, remember Planet With? That only ended a couple months ago! With each new day in the real world offering some fresh disaster and further hastening the End of History, it feels like I’ve lived fifty years over the last ten months, and 2018 still isn’t over. Fortunately, though the real world may be perpetually on fire at this point, anime seasons have maintained a welcome solidity, and given us all something to look forward to.
On that note, let’s get to the shows! Winter anime seasons seem to have a tendency to have the lightest schedule and fewest heavyweight releases, but this one’s actually looking pretty rich on potential pickups. And with both JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure and Run with the Wind continuing into the new year, we’re certainly not going to be having an anime shortage any time soon. As usual, I won’t run down every show of the new season here – you can check out anichart for a list like that. Instead, I’ll just be covering the shows I’ve got genuine expectations for, along with whatever tipped me off to their potential quality. Starting with my most anticipated new shows, let’s see what winter 2019 has to offer!
Starting at the top of the list, we have the sequel to one of 2016’s absolute best shows, and my personal pick for the best action show in recent memory. Mob Psycho’s first season dazzled through evocative direction, gorgeous animation, and some surprisingly heartfelt character arcs. Written by the same mangaka as One Punch Man and brought to life by the profoundly talented Yuzuru Tachikawa, Mob Psycho’s first season was a stunning accomplishment, and with the core staff returning for season two, I have every reason to expect this to be another winner. Mob Psycho has already proven its merits, and seems ready for a thrilling victory lap. If you like action shows or shows with unique visual appeal, you really can’t skip this one.
Kouya no Kotobuki Hikoutai
Kotobuki Hikoutai isn’t based on any renowned source material, and to tell you the truth, its CG animation already looks like crap. All that’s not enough to diminish my enthusiasm for this project though, and for exactly one reason: it’s being directed by Tsutomu Mizushima. Between Girls und Panzer, Shirobako, Witch Craft Works, and Prison School, Mizushima has consistently demonstrated he’s one of the strongest directors working in anime, and possesses a profound understanding of how to best convey narrative drama. Mizushima’s works aren’t flashy at all; they are workmanly demonstrations of fundamentally strong storyboarding, character work, and storytelling, consistently showing how direction encompasses more than just constructing evocative compositions. With a new original project in his hands and long-time collaborator Michiko Yokote on series composition, I’m excited to see whatever tale Mizushima regales us with next.
Here’s the PV.
Kemurikusa
Speaking of shows with dubious visual pedigrees, next season will also be featuring the anime-original Kemurikusa, a show whose CG art seems… well… look, it’s the director of Kemono Friends. Having been unceremoniously dumped off of his own project’s second season, Tatsuki is now rallying back with the mysterious Kemurikusa, which seems to fall even further into his engaging dystopian interests. Tatsuki and his small team’s astonishing mix of slice of life and scifi turned a dead-in-the-water mobagame tie-in into one of the best series of 2017, and I’m excited to see what he can accomplish with even more creative leeway. It’s wonderful to see new creative voices getting a chance to shine!
Based on a manga that I can personally attest is some Serious Shit, The Promised Neverland is basically a guaranteed thrill ride, promising to entertain just so long as its adaptation holds up. As far as that goes, I have some reservations – director Mamoru Kanbe has directed the phenomenal Sora no Woto and also a huge pile of total crap, while the decision to go with the same studio as My Hero Academia for Neverland’s backgrounds seems seriously misguided. Neverland demands a delicate, ornate touch, and the wrong adaptation could easily rob this story of its tonal and aesthetic beauty. That said, the fundamental material being adapted here is undeniably strong, and so even if it’s not the measure of its source, Neverland is still very likely to be an entertaining ride.
I have to confess to never having seen the original Boogiepop Phantom, though I’m certainly aware of its esteemed general reputation. Regardless, this new adaptation already seems well worth checking out, boasting a strong PV and a stronger director in Shingo Natsume. Natsume’s biggest claim to fame at the moment is likely One Punch Man, but he’s been involved in a number of impressive projects in recent years, and beyond his own directoral touch, it’s clear he’s got strong relationships built up with great animators all throughout the industry. I’m excited to see how his vision and connections elevate this venerable franchise.
Here’s the PV.
Based on a manga by Osamu Tezuka and adapted by an experienced team at one of anime’s hottest studios, Dororo has a whole lot to recommend itself. Director Kazuhiro Furuhashi has worked on shows spanning from the original Hunter x Hunter to Urusei Yatsura, and even directed the classic Trust and Betrayal Kenshin OVA. When you couple that with an experienced composer and the show’s already-impressive OP, you end up with a production that’s absolutely worth keeping an eye on. If you’re in the market for old-school action this winter, Dororo looks ready to provide.
Here’s that PV.
To be honest, as a gimmicky will-they-or-won’t-they high school romance, Kaguya-sama looks totally skippable to me on premise along. The only reason I’m keeping an eye on this one is that its director is Shinichi Omata, whose Rakugo series was one of the top highlights of the last few years. Omata is a genuine force, and all of his shows bear a distinct and evocative visual style. Whether Omata alone can make Kaguya-sama succeed is basically an open question, but I’m eager to find out.
Here’s the PV.
And that about covers it for me! I’ve already got a pretty varied spread for the winter, and am sure that the actual season premieres will offer even more surprises. I hope you’ve found something to look forward to in my list, and please let me know what else you’re all looking forward to in the comments!
Haven’t got a lot of hope for the adaptation, but the Kaguya manga is a lot better than it sounds. One where it fully understands the genre it’s working in, and knows both when to skewer the tropes and to play them straight.
Woah, your list quite awesome. I hope you like black clover too. I know you do because anime is something we live for. Don’t you think?
I wouldn’t write off The Promised Neverland’s adaptation looking on the staff list, in fact I feel quite the opposite way about it! Don’t know how the situation looks behind the scenes, but Kanbe/Shimada combo (+Yuichi Fukushima as the producer) seems to place the series right in the Imas people territory – a lot of talented folks whose work I like could potentially appear here (personally I keep fingers crossed for some Noriko Takao episodes that finally won’t make me suffer through bad writing just to watch them….)
Kaguya is actually a pretty good comedy manga in my opinion, which I’m sure you of all people understand is pretty rare in a world that relies mostly on vaguely comedic situations and bog-standard tsukkomi acts. It’s one of the few series I’ve read that can consistently make me laugh out loud. I would also say it’s one of those comedies that understands that the audience actually has to care about its characters before you can get anything done.
That said, adapting manga to anime is always extremely tricky because of how timing-dependent humor is, so I could definitely see this anime flopping hard. And for this series in particular, the early chapters can be a bit repetitive, so a straight panel-by-panel adaptation would probably end before it even hits its stride. On the other hand, as you say the director is a reason for optimism, so my hopes for this are pretty high. Honestly looking forward to it even more than Mob Psycho right now.
Here’s to a bountiful winter season
“To be honest, as a gimmicky will-they-or-won’t-they high school romance, Kaguya-sama looks totally skippable to me on premise along.” I read the first volume and god it was a slooooog.