The birds are singing, the sky is clearing and winter is on its way out. Spring is around the corner and, as always, another season means new anime series as well. Hopefully this list of ten anime recommendations for this spring will help entertain and distract you all during this stressful COVID-19 pandemic.
We wish all of you good health, lots of (safe) fun and we hope you enjoy our picks!
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Koi to Yobu ni wa Kimochi Warui (恋と呼ぶには気持ち悪い)
Koi to Yobu ni wa Kimochi Warui (恋と呼ぶには気持ち悪い)Type: Anime
Studio: Nomad
Genres: Comedy, Romance
Based on the eponymous web manga by Mogusu.
Starts airing: April
Number of episodes: Unknown
Koi to Yubi ni Wa Kimochi Warui, or It’s Too Sick To Call This Love as it’s also known, is a love story with a bit of a twist. The series centers around Ryou Amakusa, a businessman who is a bit of a womanizer, and Ichika Arima, an otaku high school girl and the best friend of Ryou’s sister. Ryou instantly falls for the high schooler, but it’s not mutual, far from it. Ichika is disgusted by Ryou and his efforts to win her over, which he takes as her way of showing love.
Recommended by Yuki:
This romantic comedy seems to have the perfect setup for a funny, and at times maybe even adorable, series. The drawingstyle itself appeals to me as well. If you enjoy romance anime, but prefer ones with a storyline that’s a little unusual: be sure to add this one to your to-watch-list. You can find the trailer here.
Shaman King 2021 (SHAMAN KING)
Shaman King 2021 (SHAMAN KING)Type: Anime
Studio: Bridge
Genre: Action, Adventure, Comedy, Super Power, Supernatural, Shounen
Based on the eponymous manga by Hiroyuki Takei.
Starts airing: April 1st
Number of episodes: Unknown
You Asakura may seem like your average care-free middle school student, however he has the ability to see spirits. When his friend is attacked You ends up using a vengeful samurai spirit to defend his friend. Starting his quest to become the Shaman King.
Recommended by AlexD:
Shaman King is a show I have nostalgia for as one of my childhood friends was really into it and I watched a few shows at his house. As I didn’t have cable TV at the time, I never got to watch it properly and the reboot seems like a good chance to fix that!
Dinosaur Biyori (ダイナ荘びより)
Dinosaur Biyori (ダイナ荘びより)Type: Anime
Studio: Fanworks
Genres: Slice of Life
Starts airing: April 4th
Number of episodes: Unknown
Dinosaur Biyori centers around three dinosaurs, who share a room in the Dino Manor, or Dino-Shou apartment building complex.
Recommended by Yuki:
There isn’t much information about this series yet, but looking at the genre and drawing style I think it’ll be a nice light-hearted series to watch. A nice distraction and hopefully a fun one as well.
Sentouin, Hakenshimasu! (戦闘員、派遣します！)
Sentouin, Hakenshimasu! (戦闘員、派遣します！)Type: Anime
Studio: JC Staff
Genre: Action, Comedy, Fantasy
Based on the eponymous light novel by Natsume Akatsuki & Kakao Lathanum.
Starts airing: April 4th
Number of episodes: Unknown
Combat Agent Six, chosen by a roll of a dice, is the lucky agent chosen to explore an alien planet for the evil megacorp “Supreme Leaders of the Kisaragi Corporation”. After a smooth start of completing evil deeds, Six will need to up his game to get a promotion and raise. Luckily there is a group claiming to be the “Demon’s Lord Army”, and wiping out the competition can only be a good, well evil thing.
Recommended by AlexD:
As a big fan of Konosuba, this is a must for me. Natsume Akatsuki’s new series is another unique idea, bound to twist tropes and be filled with ridiculous. This is sure to scratch the Konosuba itch while we wait for season 3.
Mars Red (MARS RED)
Mars Red (MARS RED)Type: Anime
Studio: Signal.MD
Genres: Action, Military, Historical, Supernatural, Vampire
Based on a stage reading play written by Bun-O Fujisawa.
Starts airing: April 6th
Number of episodes: Unknown
Mars Red takes place in 1923, where Vampires have been existing for quite a while. But now, the number of vampires is increasing and a mysterious artificial blood source called Ascra has appeared.
In return the Japanese government creates “Code Zero”, an unit within the army having the task to take down the vampiric forces. And what better way to track vampires than by using vampires? This unit has historically been in the business of information war, but has been re-assigned to solve the vampire crisis.
Recommended by Hageshi:
Two of the main characters are voiced by Suzumaru, Kenichi and Hatanaka, Tasuku whom I both like a lot. Aside that the storyline seems interesting and it has been a while since I saw a anime with vampires.
Subarashiki Kono Sekai The Animation (The World Ends with You The Animation)
Subarashiki Kono Sekai The Animation (The World Ends with You The Animation)Type: Anime
Studio: Shin-Ei Animation, domerica
Genre: Action, Adventure, Fantasy, Thriller
Based on the eponymous game by Square Enix and Jupiter.
Starts airing: April 10th
Number of episodes: Unknown
Neku awakens suddenly in the middle of Shibuya with no memories of who he is or why he is there. The only clue is a pin in his hand and the strange new ability of being able to read other people’s minds. Then his phone goes off, telling him “Reach 104. You have 60 minutes. Fail and face erasure. -The Reapers” and a timer appears on his hand. Between the timer and the inability to delete the message, the danger becomes real and Neku has no choice but to participate in the Reapers’ Game.
Recommended by AlexD:
Having recently beaten the game, I can personally vouch for the great plot this show will contain. As it was originally on DS, there isn’t proper cutscenes and is text heavy so will be nice to see the plot in a more visual way and see the characters brought alive through animation.
86 (86―エイティシックス―)
86 (86―エイティシックス―)Type: Anime
Studio: A-1 Pictures
Genres: Sci-Fi, Drama
Based on the eponymous manga by Asato Asato.
Starts airing: April 11th
Number of episodes: Unknown
For a long time The Replubic of San Magnolia has been besieged by its neighbour, the Giadian Empire, which created a series of unmanned drones called the Legion. After years of research, the Replubic finally developed autonomous drones of their own, turning the one-sided struggle into a war without casualties.
There is no such thing as a bloodless war, beyond the fortified walls protecting the eighty-five Republic territories lies the “non-existent” Eighty-Sixth Sector. The young men and women of this forsaken land are branded the Eighty-Six and pilot the “unmanned” weapons into battle.
Directing these young Eighty-Sixers while on the battlefield is Shinn. While Lena is a “handler” who commands the detachment from the remote rear by special communication.
This is the beginning of their sad and severe farewell story.
Recommended by Hageshi:
I really liked the art from the trailers and I am curious about how the story of those “unmanned” weapons will be like. I have a feeling this is a no-happy-ending type of anime which really makes me excited, especially due to the way the plot is described. I myself don’t know the manga, but this has an interesting feel to it.
Edens Zero (EDENS ZERO)
Edens Zero (EDENS ZERO)Type: Anime
Studio: J.C. Staff
Genre: Action, Sci-Fi, Adventure, Comedy, Fantasy, Shounen
Based on the eponymous manga by Hiro Mashima.
Starts airing: April 11th
Number of episodes: Unknown
On one fateful day, Rebecca and her cat Happy arrive at an abandoned amusement park, Granbell Kingdom. Filled with robots, only one other human has even been here in 100, a boy named Shiki who jumps at the chance to make new friends. However, the robots start a rebellion forcing Shiki to flee with Rebecca and Happy, starting an adventure across the galaxy.
Recommended by AlexD:
After missing the boat on Fairy Tail, I decided not to miss out on Hiro Mashima’s next work and have been reading the manga since day 1. A solid series, it will be great to see the action scenes animated and particularly Shiki’s gravity attacks.
Yasuke (YASUKE)
Yasuke (YASUKE)Type: ONA
Studio: MAPPA
Genres: Action, Mecha
Starts airing: April 29th
Number of episodes: 6
In a war-torn feudal Japan filled with mechs and magic, the greatest ronin never known, Yasuke, struggles to maintain a peaceful existence after a past life of violence. But when a local village becomes the center of social upheaval between warring daimyo, Yasuke must take up his sword and transport a mysterious child who is the target of dark forces and bloodthirsty warlords. The story of Yasuke, the first African samurai who actually served the legendary Oda Nobunaga, will be released to the world.
Recommended by MetalHachiko:
What is better than a samurai tale? One that involves mecha and magic as well. This action driven series covers both fronts splendidly for a thrilling story. Not only that, but the events unfolding are heavily inspired by actual historical events of the first African samurai Yasuke. So a little bit of truth behind the madness!
Cider no You ni Kotoba ga Wakiagaru (サイダーのように言葉が湧き上がる)
Cider no You ni Kotoba ga Wakiagaru (サイダーのように言葉が湧き上がる)Type: Movie
Studio: Signal.MD, Sublimation
Genres: Music
Starts airing: June 25th
A popular video star, Smile, who wears a facial mask at all time to conceal her large front teeth and braces, meets a boy named Cherry. Cherry always wears his headphones and had problems communicating how he feels, or at least he does when he has to speak the words, writing haiku’s is one of his hobbies. They meet, by chance, in a shopping mall.
Recommended by Yuki:
The animation style and overall colourful trailer really spoke to me. Although romance isn’t one of the genres of this series, there does seem to be a little potential for something to grow between Cherry and Smile. Both struggle in their own ways and I think the story has great potential for a cute and uplifting movie.
Which serie(s) are you going to watch?
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