When the Q3 2013 anime season started early last month, I told you a little bit about each anime and where to watch them. However, with 36 new anime available to watch, that raises the question: Which of them should you be watching?
Now, as we hit the half-way point of the season, I have finally emerged from my dungeon fully caught up on all the most well-recommended anime and a few others that just happened to catch my eye.
Also, keep in mind that these are simply the anime that should not be missed this season. There are many more airing currently that are perfectly watchable, but these are a clear cut above the rest.
The Eccentric Family
Currently at: Episode 6 (of 13)
Genre: Modern Japanese Fantasy, Comedy
Non-Spoiler Plot Summary: Modern Kyoto is filled with three different kinds of creatures: the shape-changing Tanooki, the high flying Tengu, and normal humans (who aren’t even aware of the other two). Yasaburo is the middle child of a renowned Tanooki family — though he couldn’t care less about his status. He’d rather just wander around town in the form of a school girl; visit his old Tengu teacher; or play a dangerous game of cat-and-mouse with Benten, an old lover-turned-enemy — who may just cook him in a pot and eat him if the whim takes her.
Why You Should Watch it: The Eccentric Family has a colourful cast of characters and showcases a fantastical world happening within the shadows our own. The question of what exactly happened between Yasaburo and Benten permeates the series and makes her into one of the most mysterious and intriguing characters in anime. But beyond that, the whole series is tied together with the kind of mystical whimsy you tend to find in only the best of Ghibli movies.
Where You Can Watch It: Crunchyroll
Silver Spoon
Currently at: Episode 6 (of 11)
Genre: Slice of Life, Comedy
Non-Spoiler Plot Summary: Running away from his life in the city, ordinary student Yugo enrolls in an agriculturally focused high school deep in rural Japan. There he finds that his city upbringing has left him woefully unprepared for a whole new world filled with farming, ranching and the occasional cow.
Why You Should Watch it: Silver Spoon is a show about challenging misconceptions — both Yugo’s and your own — when it comes to farming and ranching in the modern world. Moreover, it is one of the few anime out there that actually manages to teach you something and make it entertaining at the same time. And while it is clearly set up as your typical fish-out-of-water comedy mixed with a slice-of-life tale, it is never over-the-top in either its comedy or drama.
Where You Can Watch It: Crunchyroll
Sunday Without God
Currently at: Episode 6 (of 13)
Genre: Post-Apocalyptic Fantasy
Non-Spoiler Plot Summary: One day, God abandoned the world. Now, 15 years later, no one can die — that is unless a special type of person, known as a gravekeeper, buries them. This is the story of a young gravekeeper who sets out into the world, hoping to bring eternal peace to those who need it.
Why You Should Watch it: Sunday Without God presents a serious fantasy tale in a post-apocalyptic world unlike any other. It takes great pains to explore the multitude of implications in its world without death — be that the love/hate relationship that the remaining humans have with gravekeepers or the changes in human society when a large portion of the population is quite literally rotting away (as they long since should have died).
But beyond the setting, this anime is one of the few that realistically portrays a young girl as the lead. A girl whose sheltered upbringing and youthful optimism often depressingly clash with the reality of the world around her, while at the same time bringing a measure of hope to the hopeless.
Where You Can Watch It: Crunchyroll
Gatchaman Crowds
Currently at: Episode 5 (of 12)
Genre: Superhero, Action
Non-Spoiler Plot Summary: The universe is a dangerous place filled with millions of worlds and countless dangerous aliens. Luckily Earth has the Gatchaman to protect us from the shadows. When a new enemy secretly comes to Earth, young eccentric teen Hajime must join the team and battle for the fate of our planet.
Why You Should Watch it: Gatchaman Crowds presents a world in the near future where social media has turned being good into a game. Help a person who is having trouble at home? 300 points. Help a person who has gotten into a car accident? Get 500 points. It then explores the question, in such a world, is there really a need for super heroes?
And beyond that, Hajime is an excellent female lead. While in many ways she appears simply insane, she may, in fact, see the world far more clearly than everyone else. And in a day and age where super heroes all seem to be dark and gritty, the sheer amount of fun she has in simply being one is a joy to watch.
Where You Can Watch It: Crunchyroll
Monogatari Second Season
[*Note: This series is preceded by Bakemonogatari, Nisemonogatari and Nekomonogatari: Black]
Currently at: Episode 6 (of 26)
Genre: Modern Japanese Fantasy, Comedy
Non-Spoiler Plot Summary: Our world is filled with spirits, gods, vampires, mystical priests, curses, and all kinds of supernatural occurrences we never see. Surrounded by all this, a young high schooler named Araragi finds himself driven to help those entangled with the supernatural, while at the same time living a (somewhat) normal life and finding love.
Why You Should Watch it: Monogatari is an excellent character-driven anime. The characters are complex and multifaceted and each supernatural situation they are thrown into not only develops them but also lets us experience their rich backgrounds first hand. Moreover, the art style is beautiful, with an excellent use of light, shadow, and solid colours that keep the anime visually exciting even when nothing is happening beyond a lengthy chat between two characters. And while lengthy conversations — often about things only loosely connected to the overall plot — are quite commonplace, this is in no way a downside as Monogatari is hands-down one of the most cleverly written anime out there.
Where You Can Watch It: Daisuki, Crunchyroll
Now that you’ve read my recommendations for what anime you should be watching this season, you may wonder why your favourite series is absent. There are four potential reasons: (1) I think it is terrible (or just plain average); (2) it is the second/third/fourth season of an anime and I haven’t seen the first; (3) it is an anime continuing fromlast season; or (4) it simply didn’t cross my radar.
But if you feel I have left out an anime that’s something special, feel free to give me a heads up in the comments and tell me why you feel that way. Oh, and if you need even more anime, be sure to check out the five anime of Q2 2013 you should have watched.
Comments
26 responses to “The Five Anime Of Q3 2013 You Should Be Watching”
I’m definitely going to have to look up “Sunday Without God”, as that sounds amazing.
I love anime that delves into the differing psychological reactions of people in situations. It’s why I loved the first half of “Sword Art Online” as an examination of reactions when stuck in a videogame. The second half was drivel as it abandoned that premise in favour of fanservice, no real threat to self, and that stupid semi-incestuous love plot.
I’d recommend Sunday Without God. It’s not the best I’ve seen, however I will give it a lot of points for originality and not being predictable.
I also have much the same feeling toward Sword Art Online. First story arc is one of my favourite things I’ve watched, had some real depth behind what it was trying to portray if you stopped for a moment. Likewise the 2nd half was a travesty by comparison, just episode after episode of cliche and anime tropes.
This is pretty much my list except replace Sunday without god and Silver spoon with Danganropa and Watashi.
Eccentric Family: Boring and Pretentious. ( Still better than most airing shows)
Silver spoon: Read the Manga instead.
Sunday without god: Boring, not very good.
Gatchamon Crowds: Entertaining.
Monogatari: Show of the season, but much too watch before it, and you should wait for Kizumonogari first.
Also you forgot to mention the second best show of the season, Watamote, shame on you.
I guess I’m growing old or something. I prefer Eccentric Familiy way over Watamote. I’ve read the manga for Watamote and considering that fact that there is zero character development for her (at the moment), the anime just didn’t appeal to me.
One anime that was left out that deserves a mention is Genshiken. Like Monogatari, if you like the previous seasons then you’ll like this one.
As if not mention Watamote. I thought that would make the list for sure.
Also despite seeming very generic at a glance, Stella Womens Academy High School Division C3 Club is actually pretty amazing, so I’d definitely recommend checking that one out.
Oh yeah, I forgot to mention, possibly 3rd best of the season.
Watamote: Identifies with far too many people for it’s own good
Monogatari: Ararararararararagi-kun. Also, next arc is going to be mcfuckin’ amazing.
Silver Spoon: It’s.. on par with the Manga, but they’re both equal amounts of interesting and boring.
Gatchamon: Should get around to watching this.
The other two I do not care for.
I completely agree. Watamote is almost painful to watch sometimes purely because of how easy it is to identify with.
I’m surprised that anyone likes Watamote. If you’ve been there, it’s not fun to watch, just a series of constant reminders. If you haven’t been there, I can’t see what would be entertaining about it.
I’ve liked Sunday Without God so far – the first few episodes weren’t afraid of springing unpleasant surprises. The last three have been a bit less interesting IMO, but still good.
Silver Spoon I deserted after the first episode. I have trouble believing anybody is that aggressively ignorant of farm life.
I have been tracking Dog and Scissors. Hard to say what I like about it, except that almost every character (with the exception of the girl clerk at the book store) seems to be certifiably insane.
We’re all masochists I guess.
In my opinion Attack on Titan is worth a mention. It’s probably the best anime series in 10 years. Although, you can’t watch it from the normal places. Maybe something worth remember for when it gets released with official English subs.
I think this was mentioned in the last one that was done before.
Just ignore this list and make your own ideas on what to watch. The author renegs on the list halfway through the season with a “sorry I didn’t say this one was any good” stories.
About 50% of Kotaku’s content for the last 48 hours is about anime, cosplay, etc.
Congratulations on perpetuating as many cliches about gamers as possible.
While we’re talking about perpetuating gamer clichés, don’t forget the story about COD players being only man-children that can’t interact socially and have no hope with women.
because this website is meant to be a haven for people who like ANIME, COSPLAY AND GAMES. seriously how long have you been on this website…
Interesting. I guess that’s why the ‘about’ page says “At Kotaku Australia, we’re carefully trying to build a reputation for creating the strongest, most engaging content surrounding games and gaming culture.”
And I guess that also explains why the main sections are “PC”, “Xbox”, “Playstation”, “Mobile”, “News”, “Retro”, and “In Real Life”, with no mention of anime or cosplay.
No mention of anime or cosplay. LOL
What is “Kotaku” derived from then, if not “Otaku”?
Can’t spell Kotaku without Otaku.
Space Battleship Yamato 2199
That is all.
I’ve only seen the first episode of Silver Spoon and it was glorious. I look forward to seeing more in the future.
No Attack on Titan?
ive just read all the way up to the current Manga chapters and now starting the anime. pretty awesome stuff.
I agree, Attack on Titan is probably the one I most look forward to each week, but maybe cause there arn’t any licenced streams it doesn’t count?
yeah, you’re probably right.
Close but it’s not included because it was a Q2 not Q3 anime (see: reason 3 in the article)
And also Madman have a licensed stream going now for it.