Fall is here, and amid the witchy fashion statements and an onslaught of pumpkin spice-infused beverages comes yet another crop of new TV anime. What’s good? What will suck? That remains to be seen, but after checking out all the new trailers we’re starting to get some ideas. The fruit of our labors is the following handy guide to this season’s bounty of fresh anime to help you cut through the noise and cherry-pick shows to add to your watchlist. We’ll let you know where you can stream them, too.
Unlike last season’s show lineup, which had way too many isekais and collectively felt like a bit of an afterthought when airing alongside supernatural shonen juggernaut Jujutsu Kaisen, this season’s crop of anime looks to shake things up with long-awaited adaptations of beloved manga like Naoki Urasawa’s Pluto, whatever the hell Nier creator Yoko Taro’s typically bizarre new battle royale anime series has to offer, the return of Netflix’s Castlevania series, and the anime adaptation of the new Shonen Jump action-romance series Undead Unluck.
Suffice it to say, you’ll walk out of here with at least four shows added to your watchlist. Without further ado, here’s your fall anime guide.
16bit Sensation: Another Layer
Studio: St. Silver
Genre: Comedy
Premiere Date: October 4
Where to Watch: Crunchyroll
What It’s About in One Sentence: A part-time computer store clerk named Meiiko Uehara is tasked with making an erotic video game that’ll make players “fall in love” with a rag-time team of game developers.
After-School Hanako-Kun
Studio: Lerche
Genre: Comedy, Supernatural
Premiere Date: October 10
Where to Watch: Crunchyroll
What It’s About in One Sentence: A ghost named Hanako and his human helper Nene Yashiroo maintain peace between the spirit world and students at Kamone Academy—that is whenever they aren’t slacking off.
The Ancient Magus’ Bride Season 2 – Cour 2
Studio: Kafka
Genre: Drama, Fantasy, Romance
Premiere Date: October 5
Where to Watch: Crunchyroll
What It’s About in One Sentence: After living a life devoid of love and rife with abuse, a girl named Hatori Chise becomes the bride of a powerful sorcerer and enrolls in a magic academy that harbors dark secrets.
The Apothecary Diaries
Studio: Toho Animation, OLM
Genre: Drama, Mystery
Premiere Date: October 21
Where to Watch: Crunchyroll
What It’s About in One Sentence: After being sold into servitude to a Chinese emperor, an apothecary girl named Maomao garners a reputation for solving medical crises and catches the affection of a eunuch named Jinshi who promotes her into the emperor’s high court.
Arknights: Perish in Frost
Studio: Hypergryph Studio Montagne, Yostar Pictures
Genre: Action, Fantasy
Premiere Date: TBD
Where to Watch: Crunchyroll
What It’s About in One Sentence: An anime adaptation of the popular free-to-play mobile tactical RPG Arknights follows a girl named Amiya coming to grips with failing to save her friend and a faction called Rhodes Island’s struggle to find the cure to a deadly disease.
Berserk of Gluttony
Studio: ACGT
Genre: Action, Fantasy
Premiere Date: October 1
Where to Watch: Crunchyroll
What It’s About in One Sentence: A lowly castle guard named Fate cursed with the “talentless” skill of gluttony becomes a revered warrior for preventing bandits from invading his kingdom’s caste.
Bullbuster
Studio: Nut
Genre: Action, Sci-Fi
Premiere Date: TBD
Where to Watch: Crunchyroll
What It’s About in One Sentence: An inventor named Testuro Okino and his robot, Bullbustter, must exterminate creatures terrorizing locals on a small island without going over their tech company’s spending budget.
Butareba – The Story of a Man Turned into a Pig
Studio: Project No. 9
Genre: Comedy, Fantasy
Premiere Date: October 7
Where to Watch: Crunchyroll
What It’s About in One Sentence: An otaku is reincarnated into a fantasy world as a pig after falling asleep while eating raw pig liver and joins the party of a mind-reading adventurer named Jess who plans on eating him—eventually.
Castlevania: Nocturne
Studio: Powerhouse Animation
Genre: Action, Fantasy
Premiere Date: September 28
Where to Watch: Netflix
What It’s About in One Sentence: Richter Belmont, a descendant of Trevor Belmont and Sypha Belnades, must stop a “vampire messiah” who’s aligned with nobles during the French Revolution from blotting out the sun and enslaving humanity to vampires.
The Eminence in Shadow Season 2
Studio: Nexus
Genre: Action, Comedy, Fantasy
Premiere Date: October 4
Where to Watch: Hidive
What It’s About in One Sentence: A guy named Cid and his legion of loyal followers (who believe he’s a terrifying villain when in reality he’s just a weeb who got isekai’d into a fantasy world) investigate a village where a vampire is rumored to be resting before bringing the blood moon and the end of humanity.
The Family Circumstances of the Irregular Witch
Studio: C2C
Genre: Comedy, Fantasy
Premiere Date: October 1
Where to Watch: Crunchyroll
What It’s About in One Sentence: A witch named Alyssa adopts a baby named Viola who, after growing up, is mistaken for Alyssa’s mother because of how diminutive the single-parent is in comparison to her human teenager.
The Faraway Paladin: The Lord of Rust Mountains
Studio: OLM, Sunrise Beyond
Genre: Action, Adventure, Fantasy
Premiere Date: October 7
Where to Watch: Crunchyroll
What It’s About in One Sentence: An adventurer named Will and his party must prevent a prophecy about a fire that’ll wipe out a dwarven city named Tetsusabi Sanmyaku from coming true by ridding the forest of terrifying creatures.
Firefighter Daigo: Rescuer in Orange
Studio: Brain’s Base
Genre: Action, Drama
Premiere Date: September 30
Where to Watch: Crunchyroll
What It’s About in One Sentence: Three high-spirited firefighters unite to save Japan from a crisis that’ll put the entire country in danger.
FLCL: Shoegaze
Studio: Nut, Production I.G
Genre: Action, Comedy, Sci-Fi
Premiere Date: September 30
Where to Watch: Adult Swim, Max
What It’s About in One Sentence: Two rebellious high schoolers break into a secret government facility and save their town from destruction by aliens thanks to some avant garde sci-fi tech that serves as a thinly veiled metaphor for the sexual frustration teenagers go through.
Frieren: Beyond Journey’s End
Studio: Madhouse
Genre: Action, Drama, Fantasy
Premiere Date: September 29
Where to Watch: Crunchyroll
What It’s About in One Sentence: An elven mage named Frieren returns to the village her party disbanded in after defeating a demon king and copes with her human allies’ short life spans by fulfilling their last request for her to continue adventuring and make new friends.
A Girl & Her Guard Dog
Studio: Project No. 9
Genre: Romance
Premiere Date: September 28
Where to Watch: Crunchyroll
What It’s About in One Sentence: Keiya Uto, a bodyguard for the Senagaki crime family, goes undercover as a high school student to shadow Isaku Senagaki, the granddaughter of his boss, to protect her from boys while harboring unrequited feelings for her.
Girlfriend, Girlfriend Season 2
Studio: SynergySP
Genre: Comedy, Romance
Premiere Date: October 6
Where to Watch: Crunchyroll
What It’s About in One Sentence: A high schooler named Naoya Mukai decides to min-max his love life by accepting the confessions of multiple female classmates at once and now they have to spend their summer vacation together.
Goblin Slayer II
Studio: Lidenfilms
Genre: Action, Adventure, Fantasy
Premiere Date: October 6
Where to Watch: Crunchyroll
What It’s About in One Sentence: A newbie adventurer priestess somehow pulls a man known simply as the Goblin Slayer, who’s known for his extrajudicial unaliving of goblins over more heroic goals like saving the world from calamity, into her party.
Good Night World
Studio: NAZ
Genre: Comedy, Drama, Fantasy
Premiere Date: October 12
Where to Watch: Netflix
What It’s About in One Sentence: A dysfunctional and reclusive family of four becomes a world-renowned virtual reality game team known as the Akabane Family.
HYPNOSISMIC -Division Rap Battle- Rhyme Anima PLUS
Studio: A-1 Pictures
Genre: Drama
Premiere Date: October 6
Where to Watch: Crunchyroll
What It’s About in One Sentence: A rap group known as The Dirty Dawg disband and form rival groups who rap battle in turf wars to take over Japan.
I’m Giving the Disgraced Noble Lady I Rescued a Crash Course in Naughtiness
Studio: Zero-G
Genre: Comedy, Fantasy, Romance
Premiere Date: TBD
Where to Watch: Crunchyroll
What It’s About in One Sentence: A sorcerer named Allen Crawford, believing he’s kindred spirits with a noblewoman unnamed Charlotte Evans who’s exiled under false pretenses, attempts to corrupt her further by teaching her about the vices of life.
I Shall Survive Using Potions!
Studio: Jumondo
Genre: Fantasy
Premiere Date: October 7
Where to Watch: Crunchyroll
What It’s About in One Sentence: A girl named Kaoru Nagase is reincarnated as a potion user into a fantasy world devoid of magic and uses her past lived experiences to sell her highly sought-after wares.
I’m in Love with the Villainess
Studio: Platinum Vision
Genre: Comedy, Fantasy, Girls Love
Premiere Date: October 2
Where to Watch: Crunchyroll
What It’s About in One Sentence: An otome game fanatic wakes up inside her favorite game, Revolution, and makes it her life’s mission to use her knowledge of the series to date its antagonist, Claire François.
KamiErabi GOD.app
Studio: Unend
Genre: Action, Sci-Fi
Premiere Date: October 4
Where to Watch: Crunchyroll
What It’s About in One Sentence: A group of high school students compete in a supernatural battle royale game of death on their phones to become a god.
The Kingdoms of Ruin
Studio: Yokohama Animation Lab
Genre: Action, Drama, Fantasy
Premiere Date: October 6
Where to Watch: Crunchyroll
What It’s About in One Sentence: Adonis, a human raised by a witch, takes revenge against a civilization that turned its back on magic for science and, in the process, took his mother away from him during the witch trials.
MF GHOST
Studio: Felix Film
Genre: Sports
Premiere Date: October 1
Where to Watch: Crunchyroll
What It’s About in One Sentence: In the future of 202X, where self-driving cars dominate the world, an old-school racing circuit grows in popularity for the novelty of it with human drivers competing against each other in expensive sports cars.
Migi&Dali
Studio: Geektoys, CompTown
Genre: Mystery
Premiere Date: TBD
Where to Watch: Crunchyroll
What It’s About in One Sentence: The Sonoyama family adopt a boy who is secretly twins pretending to be one “perfect” child.
My Daughter Left the Nest and Returned an S-Rank Adventurer
Studio: Typhoon Graphics
Genre: Action, Adventure, Fantasy
Premiere Date: TBD
Where to Watch: Crunchyroll
What It’s About in One Sentence: A former adventurer named Belgrieve retires and adopts a child named Angelie who trains to become a high-ranked adventurer just like he once was.
My New Boss Is Goofy
Studio: A-1 Pictures
Genre: Comedy
Premiere Date: October 7
Where to Watch: Crunchyroll
What It’s About in One Sentence: After leaving his abusive job to work in sales at an advertising agency, a once-stress-riddled worker named Momosse discovers that his new boss is kind of a goofball and is a pretty chill person.
Onimusha
Studio: Sublimation
Genre: Action
Premiere Date: November 2
Where to Watch: Netflix
What It’s About in One Sentence: An anime adaptation of Capcom’s action series Onimusha directed by Takashi Miike (Ichi the Killer, Blade of the Immortal) recounts the legend of the famed samurai, Miyamoto Musashi.
Overtake!
Studio: Troyca
Genre: Sports
Premiere Date: TBD
Where to Watch: Crunchyroll
What It’s About in One Sentence: A high schooler named Haruka Asahina sets his sights on becoming a Formula 4 racing champion with the help of a sports photographer named Kouyaa Madoka.
A Playthrough of a Certain Dude’s VRMMO Life
Studio: Maho Film
Genre: Action, Adventure, Comedy, Fantasy
Premiere Date: October 2
Where to Watch: Crunchyroll
What It’s About in One Sentence: A gamer named Tanaka Taichi takes the road less traveled in a VRMMO game called One More Free Life Online by learning the most useless skills the game has to offer.
Pluto
Studio: Studio M2
Genre: Action, Mystery, Sci-Fi
Premiere Date: October
Where to Watch: Netflix
What It’s About in One Sentence: An investigator named Gesicht must track down Pluto, a robot behind the systematic killings of the world’s best robot heroes who once participated in a world-ending war.
Protocol: Rain
Studio: Quad
Genre: Action
Premiere Date: October 7
Where to Watch: Crunchyroll
What It’s About in One Sentence: A group of high schoolers attempts to save their town’s esports cafe, Fox One, from closing due to debt by using their gamer skills to win a tournament.
Ragna Crimson
Studio: Silver Link
Genre: Action, Fantasy
Premiere Date: October 1
Where to Watch: Hidive
What It’s About in One Sentence: A young dragon hunter named Ragna joins a mysterious party called Crimson whose goal is to rid the world of tyrannical dragon monarchs.
A Returner’s Magic Should Be Special
Studio: Arvo Animation
Genre: Action Fantasy
Premiere Date: October 7
Where to Watch: Crunchyroll
What It’s About in One Sentence: A mage named Desir is sent back in time to aid six heroes who failed to save humanity from destruction.
The Rising of the Shield Hero Season 3
Studio: Kinema Citrus
Genre: Action, Adventure, Drama, Fantasy
Premiere Date: October 6
Where to Watch: Crunchyroll
What It’s About in One Sentence: A hero named Naofumi assembles his party to stop a massive spirit tortoise from destroying the world.
Ron Kamonohashi’s Forbidden Deductions
Studio: Diomedéa
Genre: Comedy, Mystery
Premiere Date: October 2
Where to Watch: Crunchyroll
What It’s About in One Sentence: An odd-couple detective duo investigates a series of mysterious crimes.
The Saint’s Magic Power is Omnipotent Season 2
Studio: Diomedéa
Genre: Fantasy, Romance
Premiere Date: October 3
Where to Watch: Crunchyroll
What It’s About in One Sentence: A workaholic named Sei tries to find love after being summoned into a magical world as a highly-valued potion maker.
Sasaki and Miyano: Graduation
Studio: Deen
Genre: Boys Love, Romance
Premiere Date: September 28
Where to Watch: Crunchyroll
What It’s About in One Sentence: A high schooler named Miyano’s life takes a turn when he starts dating a classmate named Sasaki.
Shangri-La Frontier
Studio: C2C
Genre: Action, Adventure, Fantasy
Premiere Date: October 1
Where to Watch: Crunchyroll
What It’s About in One Sentence: In a future where games that aren’t VR are considered “crap” a gamer named Rakuro Hizutome set his sights to 100 percent a new VR game called Shangri-La Frontier.
Shy
Studio: 8bit
Genre: Action, Drama
Premiere Date: TBD
Where to Watch: Crunchyroll
What It’s About in One Sentence: Shy, a young girl who’s charged with maintaining peace in Japan as its superhero, must overcome her crippling anxiety.
Spy x Family Season 2
Studio: CloverWorks, Wit Studio
Genre: Action, Comedy
Premiere Date: TBD
Where to Watch: Crunchyroll
What It’s About in One Sentence: A spy named Loid, an assassin named Yor, a mind-reader named Anya, and a future-seeing dog named Bond form a super-secret family to maintain peace between warring nations.
Stardust Telepath
Studio: Gokumi
Genre: Comedy, Girls Love, Supernatural
Premiere Date: TBD
Where to Watch: Crunchyroll
What It’s About in One Sentence: A shy high schooler named Umika and Yu, an alien transfer student with telepathic powers, build a rocket to space so they can make new friends.
Tearmoon Empire
Studio: Silver Link
Genre: Comedy, Fantasy
Premiere Date: October 7
Where to Watch: Crunchyroll
What It’s About in One Sentence: After being reincarnated as a 12-year-old girl, a princess named Mia (who was executed in her past life) attempts to rid her kingdom of the corruption that led to her demise.
Undead Unluck
Studio: David Production
Genre: Action, Comedy, Supernatural
Premiere Date: October 7
Where to Watch: Hulu
What It’s About in One Sentence: A girl named Izumo Fuuko, has been cursed with bringing bad luck to anyone who touches her (especially if she loves them), meets an undead dude named Andy who wants to see if he can finally pass on if he gets her to love him.
Under Ninja
Studio: Tezuka Productions
Genre: Action
Premiere Date: October 5
Where to Watch: Crunchyroll
What It’s About in One Sentence: A high schooler takes on the part-time job of being a modern-day ninja, as you do.
The Vexation of a Shut-In Vampire Princess
Studio: Project No.9
Genre: Comedy, Fantasy
Premiere Date: October 7
Where to Watch: Hidive
What It’s About in One Sentence: A scrawny vampire named Komari wakes up from a three-year sleep to discover that he’s the commander of an army whose soldiers hate taking orders.
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