You folks enjoying this summer season? ME NEITHER. FUCK this summer season, we deserve better than this, we’re throwing it out and starting over.
Seriously though, this summer season’s actually been pretty great, but time’s cruel grinding of gears creaks ever onward. With only three weeks left in our current season, it’s time once more to turn our gaze forward, as we examine the approaching highlights of the fall season. Some anime seasons are defined either by larger-than-life creators or ambitious new productions, but for Fall 2019, the biggest stories for me are a pair of long-awaited sequels. My Hero Academia’s fourth season will finally be arriving, and even more importantly, friggin’ Chihayafuru is at last getting its third season! Chihayafuru is one of my absolute favorite recent anime, and having never gotten the chance to watch it as it was airing, I’m absolutely thrilled to experience season three alongside all of you.
Those two shows are likely the biggest stories, but as always, there are plenty of other properties with strong potential or talented creators attached, and every season ends up offering some welcome surprises (like the excellence of this summer’s Granbelm). Per usual, I won’t be summarizing every single upcoming show here – you can check out a site like anichart for something like that. Instead, I’ll just be highlighting the shows that actually catch my attention, with an explanation of what element of their production team or source material or whatnot caught my eye. Without further ado, let’s preview the top prospects of the upcoming season!
As the third season of one of the best sports anime around, Chihayafuru hopefully needs no introduction. Centered on the relentlessly passionate Chihaya, a girl with a unique talent for karuta (a sort of reflex-based card game), Chihayafuru embodies all the best qualities of the genre, from its deeply endearing cast to its intelligently executed tactical drama and roaring tournament arcs. Chihayafuru’s core production team have remained intact through all three seasons, so there’s no real concerns as to the quality of this one; Chihayafuru S3 is undoubtedly going to be one of the best shows of the season, and I couldn’t be more excited to see it.
My Hero Academia’s fourth season is another extremely safe bet, as BONES’ consistently impressive team take on one of the manga’s most ambitious and action-packed arcs so far. My only real concern for My Hero Academia is how well the anime will be able to capture the visual drama of this upcoming arc. Past sequences like the Training Camp arc have at times demonstrated a frustratingly conservative approach to translating manga panels into more cinematic drama, and a panel-for-panel adaptation approach would in my view be a disservice to the theatrics ahead. That said, my concerns are mostly a question of “exactly how great will this season be,” and I have no doubts that My Hero Academia’s fourth season will be brimming with spectacular fights either way.
You can check out the season PV here.
BEASTARS clocks in as my top new prospect of the season, riding a wave of positive press for its source material. I’ve heard pretty much universally good things about the BEASTARS manga, and the real question here is: will studio Orange’s CG animation work with this material? Though Orange have already demonstrated their CG is best-in-industry with the phenomenal Land of the Lustrous, that show’s simplified designs naturally lent themselves to CG modeling, while BEASTARS’ story of anthropomorphic school drama might be less of an easy fit. We’ll have to see the first episode to truly know if this combination works, but I have a lot of hope for this one.
Here’s the PV.
Stars Align is one of the fall’s more unique properties, an original sports anime both written and directed by the famed Kazuki Akane. Though he hasn’t directed much in recent years, Akane’s catalog includes beloved shows like The Vision of Escaflowne, Noein, and Birdy the Might Decode, and he’s clearly a talent to watch out for. Stars Align’s PV is already demonstrating some gorgeous art design and animation, full of beautiful backgrounds and expressive character animation. This show could easily turn out to be one of the sleeper hits of the season.
Here’s the excellent PV.
A fresh adaptation of a beloved manga classic, Blade of the Immortal is starting from a pretty high floor, and is furthermore blessed with a highly talented director. The limited preview pretty much only demonstrates that director Hiroshi Hamasaki (Steins;Gate, Texhnolyze, Orange) is still totally obsessed with desaturated colors, but you don’t really need to present a hard sell in your previews with a pedigree this strong.
Here’s the PV.
Though I greatly enjoyed the first season of Psycho-Pass, there’s a reason its third season isn’t standing up there with my top seasonal prospects. Psycho-Pass S2 was one of the worst anime I’ve ever watched, and nearly killed my interest in the franchise altogether. Whether Psycho-Pass S3 is worth checking out will come down to one obvious factor: whether Gen Urobuchi is back as lead writer. The franchise simply doesn’t work without him, as season two demonstrated, and quickly devolves into mean-spirited murder porn without his strong thematic scaffolding. If he’s around, season three has potential; if not, it’s an easy skip.
Look, I’m well aware that a story about a man with a gun for a head sounds like a parody of the kind of stories I tend to have no interest in. That said, No Guns Life’s manga has a pretty positive reputation, and this adaptation’s director Naoyuki Itou is an accomplished veteran, having directed episodes of shows ranging from Casshern Sins to Kyousogiga to Ojamajo Doremi. The PV’s background designs also look quite nice, and though Madhouse’s name doesn’t carry the clout it once did, they still have an accomplished studio team. This one could easily disappoint me, but it’s at least on my radar.
Here’s the PV.
Based on a long-concluded manga from fifteen years ago, and promoted with a trailer that’s heavy on live action goldfish and light on any actual show footage, basically all I have to go on for this one is its director. Takahiro Oomori has directed a wide variety of acclaimed productions, having worked on Baccano!, Natsume’s Book of Friends, Kuragehime, and my own favorite, the legendary Samurai Flamenco. I frankly don’t expect much of anything from this production, but Oomori’s name at least sparks my attention.
Here’s that entertaining-but-useless PV.
And that covers it for me! We’ve got a pretty varied list this time, with top prospects ranging from action shows to character pieces to sports dramas and beyond. I hope you’ve found something new to anticipate from my previews, and please let me know what you’re all looking forward to in the comments!
Great list! I will definitely check out the shows you mentioned. Additionally I think Kabukichou Sherlock has a chance to be really good. It’s an original, it’s production I.G. and the pv’s look good with both humour and Drama and generally a lot of energy. Also it has already released 4 pv’s which I take as a sign that the production and schedule are very good.
P.S. the ascendence of a bookworm might be pretty good for an isekai light-novel. It has an interesting premise and I heard it´s supposed to be quite different from most isekai…..
This might prove to be a promising season, and consequently a good year in anime. The summer season’s line up was pretty good. I don’t follow Bnha manga, and although the anime is definitely a work of art, the storyline never grabbed my attention unlike let’s say, Naruto, despite all its flaws (Again, I’m not counting the generous amount of fillers).
But since you’re calling it one of the best arcs in tbe story, I’m definitely more interested now. I have faith that Bones will do it justice.
I’ll keep n eye out for Chihyafuru and Psycho Pass too.