Alright, let’s look at the upcoming Fall 2017 anime season. I was actually hoping to get this post out a lot sooner but when I looked at the line-up a few weeks ago, it dawned on me that Fall is a bit heavy on sequels (Gintama, Shokugeki no Soma, Love Live!, etc.). It’s great news for the fans of those anime but unfortunately for me, I’m one of those people who either haven’t seen it or is horribly behind on it. I actually spent the past few weeks playing catch-up though that that’s easier said than done when you have a lot happening in your personal life. I’m still trying to get through all of Love Live! so that I can watch the second season of Sunshine!! but I unfortunately couldn’t accomplish that in time for this post.
As for the new premieres, there are a couple of shows that interest me. I also did more research this time around by reading some of the source materials this season is adapting and that helped a ton with finding shows to look forward to. Most of them are largely adaptations however; I’ve only found one original property to be super hopeful for. Honestly, I feel like Fall 2017 is more about the sequels anyway; all the more reason why I need to catch up on some shows.
Only time will tell though and I do want to be a bit more optimistic since I feel that I horribly underestimated Summer 2017.
With all that said, let’s take a look at Fall 2017’s lineup.
Hype Level Breakdown:
- High – Anime that I really want to watch right now but alas, I must wait for it to air on TV. The one show that stands out the most, even in this group also gets “Most Anticipated” added to its hype level.
- Mild – The show just looks pretty good or fairly average to me for one reason or another though I’m nevertheless still interested in it.
- Surprise Me – The show frankly looks bad to me or I’m just very skeptical about it. It’s still attracting a modicum of attention or the premise still got my attention so I gave it a spot on the preview.
Black Clover
| Premieres: October 3 at 18:25 JST | Genre: Action, Fantasy, Shounen |
| Studio: Studio Pierrot | Source: Manga |
| Streaming: Crunchyroll, Funimation | Hype Level: Low |
| External Links: Official Website | Twitter | ANN | MyAnimeList | Wikipedia | |
I wasn’t terribly impressed with what I’ve read of the Black Clover manga and the general consensus seems to be that it’s competent but horribly derivative. I mean, the very plot centers around a boy with terribly low magical aptitude, living in a society centered around magic. That premise has been done so many times now. I guess any anime based on a Weekly Shounen Jump title is at least worth checking out but I don’t really have my hopes up.
Shokugeki no Souma: San no Sara
(Food Wars! The Third Plate)
| Premieres: October 4 at 0:30 JST | Genre: Ecchi, School, Shounen |
| Studio: J.C. Staff | Source: Manga |
| Streaming: Crunchyroll | Hype Level: High |
| External Links: Official Website | Twitter | ANN | MyAnimeList | Wikipedia | |
Speaking of Weekly Shounen Jump anime, Food Wars! is coming back! You’d think a cooking show following the story beats of traditional shounen would be weird but it really does work. The cast is endearing, the cooking is tantalizing, and the visuals are really stylish (easily one of J.C. Staff’s best efforts). Sure, the show is borderline softcore porn with how sexual the simple act of eating food can get but it’s more silly than gratuitous. All the key staff members seem to be back on board and I’ve heard little complaints about the next arc in the manga so I feel like someone would have to try to make Season 3 godawful.
Just Because!
| Premieres: October 5 at 21:00 JST | Genre: Drama, Romance, School |
| Studio: Pine Jam | Source: Original |
| Streaming: Amazon | Hype Level: Mild |
| External Links: Official Website | Twitter | ANN | MyAnimeList | Wikipedia | |
Of the original properties premiering this season, Just Because! interests me the most. It sounds dead simple on paper – four high schoolers awaiting for their graduation as a new student transfers into the same class – but there’s potential for some really engaging drama and the PVs looked pretty good. This is also being written by Hajime Kamoshida of The Pet Girl of Sakurasou fame and that’s certainly been an appealing aspect for a lot of people (I personally still need to watch it but it’s been on my watch list for a while).
Shoujo Shuumatsu Ryoukou
(Girls’ Last Tour)
| Premieres: October 6 at 21:00 JST | Genre: Adventure, CGDCT, Slice of Life |
| Studio: White Fox | Source: Manga |
| Streaming: Amazon | Hype Level: Mild |
| External Links: Official Website | Twitter | ANN | MyAnimeList | Wikipedia | |
Shoujo Shuumatsu Ryoukou is a show about cute girls doing cute things….in a post-apocalyptic wasteland. Really, any CGDCT anime set outside of modern-day Japanese high school will grab my attention. I also read a few chapters of the manga and found it to be pretty enjoyable. It has a strangely pleasant atmosphere in spite of the setting and I like how the two main characters interact given the fact that they’re largely alone together. Hopefully, these qualities will translate well into animation.
Kino no Tabi: The Beautiful World – The Animated Series
(Kino’s Journey – The Beautiful World – The Animated Series)
| Premieres: October 6 at 22:00 JST | Genre: Adventure, Fantasy, Slice of Life |
| Studio: Lerche | Source: Light Novel |
| Streaming: Crunchyroll, Funimation | Hype Level: Mild |
| External Links: Official Website | Twitter | ANN | MyAnimeList | Wikipedia | |
I haven’t read the light novel or watched the original Kino’s Journey anime but I’ve heard really good things about this property. Hopefully, this anime will be a nice entry point for newcomers like me (but if anyone thinks I should watch the original first, feel free to tell me in the comments). Lerche animating this does have me skeptical (I haven’t been a fan of their recent shows) but hopefully the strength of the source material shows through.
Dies Irae
| Premieres: October 7 at 1:05 JST | Genre: Action |
| Studio: ACGT | Source: Visual Novel |
| Streaming: Crunchyroll, Funimation | Hype Level: Surprise Me |
| External Links: Official Website | Twitter | ANN | MyAnimeList | Wikipedia | |
Dies Irae sounds like Fate/stay night but with Nazis and already that’s a combo that irks me. Anime has a strange tendency to humanize Nazis far too much and anything resembling Fate makes me an instant skeptic. The visual novel does seem to be well-liked (84% of Steam user reviews are positive) so maybe this anime will prove me wrong.
Houseki no Kuni
(Land of the Lustrous)
| Premieres: October 7 at 21:30 JST | Genre: Fantasy, Sci-Fi, Seinen |
| Studio: Orange | Source: Manga |
| Streaming: Amazon | Hype Level: Mild |
| External Links: Official Website | Twitter | ANN | MyAnimeList | Wikipedia | |
My biggest takeaway from glancing at the Houseki no Kuni manga is that it’s plain weird. The story is set in the distant future where Earth is now populated with genderless beings called Gems. The protagonist, Phosphophylitte is a Gem tasked with documenting his/her people’s efforts to protect Earth from otherwordly beings. And in case anyone asks: yes, this premise does sound an awful lot like Steven Universe (and I believe Houseki no Kuni came out first). I don’t know if I’d say I was impressed with what I read of the manga but it was engaging and that’s enough to pay some attention to the anime adaptation.
Two Car
| Premieres: October 8 at 0:00 JST | Genre: CGDCT, Sports |
| Studio: Silver Link | Source: Original |
| Streaming: Crunchyroll | Hype Level: Mild |
| External Links: Official Website | Twitter | ANN | MyAnimeList | Wikipedia | |
I have a feeling Shoujo Shuumatsu Ryoukou will cover the seasonal CGDCT niche for me (either that or Love Live! Sunshine!! when I finally catch up on it) but Two Car could potentially get a spot on my watch list. I like that this show is about motorcycling (sidecar racing to be exact) and the character designs do look pretty appealing. This is also the 10th Anniversary project for studio Silver Link so that prospect alone has me a bit interested.
Blend-S
| Premieres: October 8 at 0:30 JST | Genre: CGDCT, Comedy, Slice of Life |
| Studio: A-1 Pictures | Source: 4-koma Manga |
| Streaming: Crunchyroll | Hype Level: Mild |
| External Links: Official Website | Twitter | ANN | MyAnimeList | Wikipedia | |
Again, there’s plenty of CGDCT shows to go with this season but Blend-S does have an amusing premise that could be worthwhile. The show is about a group of girls who work at a maid cafe; the catch is that they are typecasted into several archetypes. The main girl in particular is forced to act as the cafe’s “sadistic girl”. Honestly, there’s potential in possibly exploring the concept of typecasting and social expectations. Of course, that might be me jumping to conclusions but I hope the show is at least fun to watch.
Mahoutsukai no Yome
(The Ancient Magus’ Bride)
| Premieres: October 8 at 1:30 JST | Genre: Fantasy, Shounen, Slice of Life |
| Studio: Wit Studio | Source: Manga |
| Streaming: Crunchyroll, Funimation | Hype Level: High – Most Anticipated |
| External Links: Official Website | Twitter | ANN | MyAnimeList | Wikipedia | |
Here’s my most anticipated anime of the season. I haven’t read the manga but I really loved the prequel OVA, Those Awaiting a Star (click here for my review). It was emotionally engaging in spite of its short episode count and visually, it was a delight from beginning to end. I’m not quite sure how much of what I liked about the OVA will translate into the actual television series but the PVs do have me very hopeful. At the very least, it doesn’t seem like Wit Studio intends on slouching on the visuals just yet. Regardless, the prequel had me really curious about how Chise came to meet her mysterious teacher, Elias, and what the setting of the story is exactly like so I have to give this show a shot.
Anime-Gataris
| Premieres: October 8 at 22:00 JST | Genre: Comedy, School |
| Studio: Wao World | Source: Original |
| Streaming: Crunchyroll, Funimation | Hype Level: Surprise Me |
| External Links: Official Website | Twitter | ANN | MyAnimeList | Wikipedia | |
I’ve never heard of studio Wao World and the staff and cast largely consists of newcomers so it’s tricky to be overly excited for Animegataris. But an anime about an anime club is so amusingly meta that I have to least try it.
Kujira no Kora wa Sajou ni Utau
(Children of the Whales)
| Premieres: October 8 at 23:00 JST | Genre: Drama, Fantasy, Sci-fi, Shoujo |
| Studio: J.C. Staff | Source: Manga |
| Streaming: Netflix | Hype Level: Mild |
| External Links: Official Website | Twitter | ANN | MyAnimeList | Wikipedia | |
I read a few chapters of the manga and there was a quite a lot of intriguing things going on. The story centers around a group of people who travel on a mobile island in a sea of sand. Some of these people have special powers but die a young age. And the main character is an archivist who’s life gets turned upside down when he encounters a girl from an entirely different culture. I’m not entirely sure how all the dots connect but I’m definitely interested in the anime adaptation. Both the director and writer attached to the project have pretty good track records too.
Boku no Kanojo ga Majimesugiru Sho-bitch na Ken
(My Girlfriend is Shobitch)
| Premieres: October 12 at 0;30 JST | Genre: Comedy, Romance, School |
| Studio: Diomedea | Source: Manga |
| Streaming: Amazon | Hype Level: Mild |
| External Links: Official Website | Twitter | ANN | MyAnimeList | Wikipedia | |
I will admit that this is a weird anime to preview. I mean, the title includes the word “bitch” so all signs are pointing to this show being unbelievably crass. The story is even about a boy dating a popular girl who takes the concept of sex way too seriously; a lot could go wrong with the execution. But I don’t know; I read a little bit of the manga and I actually thought it was pretty funny. I’ve also enjoyed some of Diomedea’s recent work so maybe this anime will be worth my time.
Inuyashiki Last Hero
| Premieres: October 13 at 0:55 JST | Genre: Action, Psychological, Sci-Fi, Seinen |
| Studio: MAPPA | Source: Manga |
| Streaming: Amazon | Hype Level: Mild |
| External Links: Official Website | Twitter | ANN | MyAnimeList | Wikipedia | |
Inuyashiki is the Noitamina show of Fall 2017 though that label really doesn’t mean much. I mean, the only 2017 Noitamina anime I really like is Saekano Season 2 and that’s as far away from the channel block’s intentions as it gets. Really what’s a point of interest for Inuyashiki is the fact that it stars a poor old man who becomes a cyborg after getting struck by a meteorite. It’s really weird but the manga is a lot moodier and edgier than I expected and I believe it becomes a psychological thriller after a few chapters. The show is definitely worth checking out but it could be too weird or pretentious for my liking.
3-gatsu no Lion (Season 2)
(March Comes in Like a Lion (Season 2))
| Premieres: October 14 at 23:00 JST | Genre: Drama, Seinen, Slice of Life |
| Studio: Shaft | Source: Manga |
| Streaming: Crunchyroll | Hype Level: High |
| External Links: Official Website | Twitter | ANN | MyAnimeList | Wikipedia | |
Last but certainly not least is the second season of March Comes in Like a Lion. I plan on writing a review for Season 1 but I’ll just say it: I love, love, love it. Some of the stylistic choices are bit excessive but I really love the show’s cast of characters and its use of tonal shifts to depict personal anxiety and depression. I’m so glad that this is getting a second season since that original ending for Season 1 just wasn’t enough. I’ve heard largely great things about the next arc in the story and since it seems that the staff is largely the same, I’d be shocked if I didn’t like Season 2.
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