Posted on 4th Jan, 2018 in Anime
Happy New Year everyone! It's been a while since I've written a seasonal recommendations list but with the brutal cold tormenting the US, now is the perfect time to shun human interaction and stay home to watch anime. So let's jump right in to it! This season has 40+ offerings so I've taken the liberty of breaking them down in to categories and recommending my top picks.
Cute Girls Doing Cool Things
As I write this blog post from the heart of Siberia a bomb cyclone, there's no way I can pass up the chance to recommend what's sure to be the coolest show of the season. Uchuu yori mo Tooi Basho / A Place Further Than the Universe is a series that follows the clumsy and directionless Tamaki Mari (voiced by Minase Inori) who wants to do something now that she's in high school. By chance she meets a strange girl who's obsessed with Antartica, Shirase Kobuchizawa (voiced by Hanazawa Kana). That's where their journey to "a place further than the universe" begins. The series starts off like your typical CGDCT show but by the end of episode 1 its strong sense of adventure and purpose shine through.
KyoAni Finds A Way
If you had a cold reception to the idea of a trip to Antartica, then this next recommendation will likely warm your heart. KyoAni's contribution to this season is an anime adaptation of the first ever grand prize winner in the annual Kyoto Animation Awards, Violet Evergarden. Often opting to declare no suitable candidates to win their highest honor, KyoAni is known for the extreme selectivity of their awards. Violet Evergarden is set in a world where a scientist invents the Auto Memory Doll in order to help his blind wife write novels. Initially these dolls simply translated speech in to text. However, as the technology matured, people developed Auto Memory Dolls with military applications. The titular character, Violet Evergarden, is one of these new Auto Memory Dolls. She is rented out to the CH Postal Company where she works as she seeks to learn the meaning of "certain words" given to her when she was a soldier.
Giant Robots
There are only 2 candidates in the mecha genre this season but there is no contest here. If you have to pick one, it's definitely going to be, Darling in the Franxx. The series takes place in a post-apocalyptic future on the mobile fort city, Plantation. In Plantation, there is a facility known as the "birdcage" where children are raised and trained to pilot giant robots. Their mission is to fight mysterious giant lifeforms known as the Kyouryuu. The story follows a boy named Hiro who was once a genius pilot but has fallen behind his peers.
Darling in the Franxx is practically guaranteed to be a visual spectacle. It's a joint project between studio Trigger (Kill la Kill) and A-1 Pictures (Sword Art Online). It is being directed and composed by Atsushi Nishigori who has previously held similar roles on the first Rebuild of Evangelion film, The Idolm@ster series and Panty & Stocking with Garterbelt. Hiroyuki Imaishi who both directed and handled the mecha animation in Gurren Lagann will be overseeing the Action Animation. Combining such a power house team with the production resources of A-1 Pictures is likely to make this one of the most highly anticipated series this season.
The Year of the Sequel
If that's not enough to get you excited about the Winter 2018 anime season, then rejoice at the astonishing wealth of sequels. There are a whopping 11 sequels making up over a quarter of this season's anime. However, the most notable entry in this category has to be Card Captor Sakura: Clear Card-hen. It's been almost 18 years since the original TV anime finished airing in Japan, but that doesn't mean its fans have been forgotten. This newest entry in to the TV series adapts the Clear Card manga which is set after Sakura graduates from elementary school.
As for the other titles that have returning entries this season, here is an exhaustive list.
- Gin no Guardian 2
- Gintama. Gin no Tamashii-hen
- Hitori no Shita: The Outcast 2nd Season
- Ling Qi: Bond of the Underworld
- Overlord 2
- Nanatsu no Taizai: Imashime no Fukkatsu
- Saiki Kusuo no Psi Nan 2 / The Disastrous Life of Saiki K. 2
- Yowamushi Pedal: Glory Line
- Zoku Touken Ranbu: Hanamaru
Horror
For a change of pace, you may want to start the year off with a good scream. If that's the case, we've got you covered with the latest adaptation of, renowned horror mangaka, Ito Juni's works. Each episode of Junji Ito: Collection will adapt one of his horror stories. In the past many of Ito's works have been adapted for film such as Tomie, Uzumaki or Gyo: Fish Attack. If you enjoyed those you'll enjoy this series as well.
Non-Traditional Romance
If horror isn't your cup of tea, you might find something in the non-traditional romance of Koi wa Ameagari no You ni / Love is Like After the Rain. After an injury causes Akira Tachibana to quit her high school's track team, she takes a job at a family restaurant. There she develops a crush on her manager, a 45-year old divorcee who has a young son. The series is being animated by Wit Studio (of Attack on Titan fame) and is airing as part of the Noitamina animation block (which is known for its top-notch seinen programming). Now that Anime Strike is no longer double-paywalled, I'd recommend giving this series a look. It's almost certain to have great artwork and strong writing.
Time-wimey Action
Finally, my last recommendation is for those looking for something a little more exciting. Kokkoku is a supernatural action thriller which follows Juri Yukawa who lives with her family. One day her brother and nephew are kidnapped for ransom. With only has 30 minutes to get the kidnappers the money, she realizes it's impossible to meet their demands and sets out to rescue them herself. That's when her grandfather stops her and uses a mysterious stone to halt the flow of time. They then head to the kidnapper's hideout in a perfectly still world. Once they arrive though, they realize that they're not the only ones able to move while time is frozen.
That's all for now folks! If there's anything I missed, that you feel really strongly about be sure to let me know in the comments down below. As more and more anime is produced each year, it gets harder and harder to cover all the promising titles before they air.
Editors Note: This post has been updated to reflect that Anime Strike is now bundled in to a regular Amazon Prime subscription.
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