The upcoming anime previewed below will not be listed down in any particular order of preference, but rather according to the MyAnimeList.net's upcoming anime section.
The new year is upon us, for those of you celebrating Christmas, I wish you a merry Christmas! For those of you who don't, here's wishing you happy holidays. As 2018 dawns, new anime air in January.
Why is the title called Winter 2018? Because in Japan (Northern Hemisphere), winter usually falls between December in the previous year up till end-February the next year. Hence anime usually begins with winter season rather than Spring. Spring falls within March to May and is the second season of the year in Japan, followed by Summer from June to August and Fall/Autumn from September to November. The cycle repeats itself the following year with Winter anime season again.
Well, that was long-winded. On to the more important stuff! This coming Winter 2018 anime season brings uss the following 20 anime! Note that there are more than 20 anime, but listing and previewing them all (some of them total trash) would be unproductive.
1) Overlord II
What's with people and mmorpg animes? Granblue Fantasy, Tales of Zestria, Sword Art Online and now this. Not dissing on Overlord, but I don't really understand the popularity of RPG anime. Having not watched the first Overlord season, I am in no position to comment on the possibility of this being a success, and it is unlikely that I will pick this anime up because most MMORPG-based animes usually fall pretty flat. Except maybe King's Avatar and Grimgar: Tale of Fantasy and Ash
2) Nanatsu no Taizai: Imashime no Fukkatsu
This anime looks like its' been around for quite a while, this not being the first season. So its' unlikely I will pick this up either, but it really reminds me of One Piece or Akame ga Kill. Not really feeling it for this one, but given that it has quite a few sequels, this should be decent at least.
3) Fate/Extra Last Encore
Fate/Apocrypha sort of disappointed me with the bar being set quite high from Fate/stay night UBW and Fate/Zero, one of my favourite animes. So I'm slightly apprehensive about this installment in the Fate-universe. I would usually rate this higher, but the heavy fan-service element of the Fate series lately has been putting me on edge about this franchise. Still have hopes for this anime but given that it isn't produced by ufotable, it might not be the unlimited budget works hoped for. Will definitely watch at least a first few episodes of this anime.
Pre-watch rating: 7.75/10
4) Citrus
Not too sure what to feel about this. This gives me the Kuzu no Honkai vibes of forbidden love and secret trysts, but it could go south quickly and become a incoherent mess if not handled right. Have some expectations for this anime, but not a big fan of such themes but I will give this series a shot, hopefully it doesn't disappoint.
Pre-watch rating: 7.5/10
5) Dagashi Kashi 2
Another show with a prequel. Is it me, or are animes this season having quite a few sequels of which I have watched none of? Might be a good thing, this anime doesn't look too promising witht e premise being slightly wacky and weird. The vibes that this anime gives off isn't too great. But I could be wrong. I'd love to be proven wrong.
6) Cardcaptor Sakura: Clear Card-hen
Okay, I used to watch Cardcaptor Sakura way back when I didn't have the internet. That was a good 10-15 years ago. Not too sure what season I was watching, but it was on my local television channel and boy was it good. At that time at least. Not too sure if I'll watch this, because Cardcaptor Sakura has been around for a long time and I might have missed quite a lot in the years that I didn't watch this series. But I'll give it a shot!
Pre-watch rating: 7.75/10
7) Saiki Kusuo no Ψ-nan 2
Okay, this anime just looks plain weird. Not sure if its' going to be good, but it gives me the One Punch Man or Mob Psycho vibes. Given that this is a sequel, its' unlikely I'll ever touch this anime, unless its' critically acclaimed.
8) Death March kara Hajimaru Isekai Kyousoukyoku
This looks like another harem-fantasy RPG-like anime. Not up my alley but given that some shows like this can be quite comedic and interesting, I might give it a watch to see if it manages to enthrall me in its' fantasy setting.
Pre-watch rating: 7.25/10
9) Darling in the FranXX
A Gundam and Aldnoah:Zero mecha-themed anime? I'm watching it for sure! Looks interesting and sci-fi mecha anime with all the deus-ex machina has always appealed to the extreme side of me, and hopefully this anime will live up to my perceived hype and deliver all the robotic violent goodness.
Pre-watch rating: 7.5/10
10) Koi wa Ameagari no You ni
This anime seems like its' going to touch on some socially sensitive issues about love: the age gap - how big is too big of a gap? While I can see this anime becoming a silent masterpiece if handled correctly, things could also turn out horribly if the anime fails to describe the awkwardness and possible conflict the main character might have, if this anime seeks to address such issues in a real manner rather than something out of an author's sick fantasy.
Pre-watch rating: 7/10
11) Karakai Jouzu no Takagi-san
Being adapted from a manga, this anime proves to be something interesting. It might just be the Tsuki ga kirei (yes I love that show) of 2017 if done right. I haven't read the manga but I have high hopes for this slice-of-life school romance anime.
Pre-watch rating: 7.75/10
12) Beatless
Can I say that this anime looks a lot like the game Nier:Automata and similar related sci-fi mecha series? Here's hoping that it will have actual thrilling action rather than just degrading into a robotic love story, which may not necessarily be bad but mecha ain't mecha without good animation fight sequences.
Pre-watch rating: 7.25/10
13) Kokoku
The vibes that I'm getting from the plot synopsis and the poster can only mean two possible outcomes: total disaster or absolute genius. The premise seems interesting, but can quickly go down the drain of slippery slope arguments and warped logic morbid fantasy into a spiral of insanity. For all intents and purposes, I am hoping that this anime will bring something fresh to the table rather than be your average psychological, predictable anime. Let it not be the horror and incoherence that is Ousama Game (no offense to those to like Ousama Game, too twisted and convoluted for me).
Pre-watch rating: 7.5/10
14) Ito Junji: Collection
What can I say? This absolutely unnerves me. A collection of an author's works of horror can only mean short stories of fright and despair, which appeals to me because it should provide a glimpse into the author Ito Junji's mind. Horror can be jump scare cliche, but it can be Stephen King-level of scary. Hopefully it is the latter and not the former. Not hoping for much, might watch an episode or two.
Pre-watch rating: 7/10
15) Touken Ranbu: Hanmaru 2
Okay. I have never watched Touken Ranbu, so I can't give a rating or evaluation on this one, because it isn't a standalone anime. But I just have this feeling that it will fall into the realms of mediocrity and plain cliche fodder.
16) Yowamushi Pedal: Glory Line
Not a big sports-anime fan, the last one I watched was Days, and I didn't really enjoy it much. Whats more is that this is a sequel, which I guess should appeal to fans of Slam Dunk or cycling enthusiasts. Not my type of anime, so unlikely that I will pick it up, unless rave reviews pressure me to sneak a peek.
17) Ramen-Daisuki Koizumi San
Is this going to be the next Shoukugeki no Soma? Or is this going to descend into absolute chaos and become a trainwreck. Well, the poster seems enticing enough for me to watch at least one episode, if not all of it.
Pre-watch rating: 7.25/10
18) Mitsuboshi Colours
Looks like a happy show for happy people. Might skip this one unless people highly recommend it, the target audience seems like its' supposed to be for children ages 12 and under.
19) Yuru Camp△
Yuru Camp, or laid-back camp, seems to be your typical slice-of-life, chill story with two heroines camping out in the wilderness. Not expecting much from this anime, but I wouldn't be surprised if it offers a refreshing take on the overused premise of camping, outdoors and great adventure awaiting the protagonists. But again, not really expecting it to blow me out of the water. Rather, this anime seems more like what your might want to watch in-between other heavier, action-packed anime thise coming season as comic relief or just to unwind.
Pre-watch rating: 7.25/10
20) Gin no Guardian 2
Another sequel for an anime which I haven't watched the prequel, so I don't think I can give any rating on this one, might skip it for this season with all the other anime on my already filled plate.
Final Thoughts
Winter 2018 proves to be a season with some promising anime, others scandalous and even more mediocre-looking anime that I would drop in a heartbeat. While sequels abound as they always do for anime, most of the titles which I will be watching will mainly focus on single seasons, because for most of the titles I have not watched their prequels and hence cannot give a judgement on those. Not many heavy hitters (that I know of) which are airing this Winter, maybe a might be able to find a few diamonds in the rough this season.
Only time will tell.
Until next time,
Endblade
No comments:
Post a Comment