It’s that time again. As we head into the Spring, there are, in fact, a whole bunch of new anime series. Like with most TV, many are bad, derivative, or appeal to the lowest common denominator. But a few are actually quite good. They are listed below.
Spring’s premieres are an interesting lot, and since there aren’t many sequels this time around, we’re left with quite a few under-the-radar oddballs. Post-apocalyptic hotels, sci-fi mysteries, toxic rock bands, machines that kill fascists, and an adaptation of an early 20th–century Canadian novel make up the best premieres in a season full of sleepers. Without further ado, let’s get into the best anime premieres of Spring 2025.
Honorable Mentions
Lazarus gets off to a slow start with a premiere that showcases energetic bursts of animation but little of its characters. Thankfully, having seen (and reviewed) its first five episodes, this central crew eventually gains much-needed chemistry as they work together to resolve an increasingly tangible doomsday scenario. Whether Lazarus can match Watanabe’s best work remains to be seen, but if it continues this upward trajectory, hopefully, it can at least come close.
The first episode ofWind Breaker’s second season immediately thrust our favorite high school delinquents back into the thick of it with an all-out brawl that reminded us of the series’ punchy action and heart-on-its-sleeve approach. If you want a show about guys getting into street fights that is also (probably accidentally) about the benefits of community-driven alternatives to policing, this is the series for you.
Witch Watch largely lived up to its absolute bop of an OP with a charming first episode that demonstrated its rom-com chops. Following two childhood friends—the witch apprentice Nico and the part-Oni Morihito—the pair immediately get into all sorts of hijinks after reuniting. Thanks to the bouncy dynamic between its leads, its good-natured humor, and all the weird situations its magic-fueled conceit will inevitably create, this one has potential.
Can a Boy-Girl Friendship Survive? is also a rom-com, and despite its bland title and less out-there premise than Witch Watch, it has many of the same strengths: some sharp gags and a great energy between its protagonists. While this is approximately the one-billionth anime that pairs the “loner kid and popular girl,” it finds its own particulars by showing how Yuu’s dedication to craftsmanship is what makes Himari interested in him.
Yaiba: Samurai Legend is here for your seasonal action fix, and the good news is that WIT Studio clearly brought their A-game, as immediately demonstrated by a flashy duel that calls to mind the maximalism of Studio Trigger. Sure, the main character is an irritating child tied to dated jokes that reveal the source material’s age, but this is a very well-animated action series that understands the battle shonen basics.
Related to the previous pick, My Hero Academia: Vigilantes’ writing won’t knock your socks off, but its superhero comic-influenced style and alternate angle into this familiar world make this spin-off worth checking out for those not completely burnt out on My Hero Academia.
Lastly, To Be Hero X rounds out this action-focused trio and is the most extreme of the batch because it arguably features the best animation and worst everything else. While this head-first dive into a society where heroes are marketed as commodities zooms through its plot points like it just scarfed down an unhealthy number of caffeine pills, thankfully, its Arcane-styled animation makes its visuals a punchy treat.
It’s always nice when a premiere doesn’t waste any time reaching its statement of purpose. Apocalypse Hotel is a perfect example, leading with a sharp intro that contrasts a chipper advertisement and escalating news coverage about a killer virus, sardonically cutting between the two as we witness the downfall of humanity and also learn that the Gingarou Hotel apparently offers “heartfelt hospitality” and “a wide variety of rooms tailored to your every need.” It’s a dichotomy further embodied by somber shots of overgrown cities that give way to a cozy hotel staffed by robots still performing their duties over a hundred years after humanity’s fall. Specifically, we follow the android Yachiyo, the acting manager of this establishment, as they’re fueled by the hope that humanity’s return is right around the corner.
There’s quite a bit of humor and charm here: our protagonist relatably has a mental breakdown about a minor inconvenience that doesn’t actually matter that much, and there’s a very good recurring gag where the deep-voiced, outwardly cool Doorman Robot simply cannot stop themself from repeatedly opening the front entrance even though this causes them to overheat. But despite the seeming high spirits of these diligent machines, there’s an intense loneliness underneath it all, as empty streets and a graveyard of decommissioned bots emphasize the unstoppable march of time. While I have no idea if Apocalypse Hotel will maintain this effective tone, which calls to mind series like Girls’ Last Tour, its strong introduction will keep me checking in for now.
It doesn’t take long to get the nagging feeling that there’s something more to Kowloon Generic Romance than initially meets the eye. While the worn street corners and densely packed food stands of Kowloon Walled City have an authentic, lived-in feel, in large part due to Arvo Animation’s detailed background art that captures the aesthetic of its real-world counterpart, protagonist Reiko Kujirai can’t shake the feeling something about this place is off. Her time working at a local realtor’s office is unremarkable on the surface as she passes the days with her co-worker Hajime Kudou, whom she happens to have a massive crush on.
But as indicated by weird inconsistencies, memory lapses, and most jarring of all, a giant metallic diamond in the sky created by a pharmaceutical company mentioned on the news, this isn’t the real Kowloon but a meticulously crafted imitation. It’s in mixing sci-fi mystery undertones and the intensely mundane activities of brushing your teeth, going to work, and falling in love that Kowloon Generic Romance finds a unique vibe. Even if it doesn’t offer answers anytime soon, its ruminations on the pull of nostalgia and its intriguing mysteries leave me eager to see wherever these winding Kowloon streets take us.
Another season, another very promising anime about girls in bands. While Rock Is a Lady’s Modesty undeniably fits into the ongoing wave of excellent series about women-only rock bands (BanG Dream It’s My Go!!!!!/Ave Mujica, Bocchi the Rock, Girls Band Cry, K-On, etc), this one has its own riff on the premise. The story follows Lilisa Suzunomiya, a young lady who attends an elite academy. On the outside, Suzunomiya is a model student looked up to by her peers, but on the inside, she has nothing but loathing for this place, as internal monologues detail how she feels like a bird trapped in a cage. Shot compositions frame window panes like the bars of a prison as we’re keyed into the exacerbating details of Suzunomiya’s life, like how she gave up her love of playing guitar because this wasn’t a “fitting hobby for a lady.” It all gets at the stifling gender roles and expectations of this school and Japanese society more broadly, something that our protagonist has convinced herself to accept so she can live up to the family name her mother re-married into.
Of course, that changes when she meets the most elegant girl at this academy, Otoha Kurogane, who is also hiding something: she loves the drums. Given how these kinds of stories usually go, you might assume that Suzunomiya and Kurogane would then wholesomely bond over their shared interest in music, growing closer as people. Nope! Instead, the two wage a no-holds-barred death metal battle brought to life with explosive animation and some genuinely unhinged imagery (you’ll know it when you see it). While I’m curious if the outright toxic relationship between the leads will prove too corrosive, Rock Is a Lady’s Modesty completely understands rock music’s long-held role as an act of social rebellion, both for its characters and in how the show itself pushes against “girls start a band” tropes.
After Hideki Anno finally escaped his decade-spanning creation with the release of Evangelion: 3.0+1.0 Thrice Upon a Time and its onslaught of reality-shattering insanity, it seems like this creator couldn’t resist the urge to get back in the robot. In a move that goes against the natural laws of the universe, Anno and his Studio Khara are tackling the mecha series that’s long been held as Evangelion’s diametrical opposite: Gundam. But despite committing a taboo, at least through its first episode, Mobile Suit Gundam GQuuuuuuX wows thanks to efficient storytelling alongside its healthy dosages of giant robots.
Set in an alternate version of the Universal Century timeline from the original Gundam series, we follow Amate Yuzuriha, a high school student trapped on a space colony she dreams of escaping. After crossing paths with Nyaan, a war refugee, she quickly finds herself in the pilot seat of a Gundam while positively laying out a gang of morally rotten robocops (this is how you know it’s a good television program). Even as someone who only has a passing familiarity with the OG Gundam series, this first episode communicates what really matters: Yuzuriha’s listlessness over a life spent in artificial gravity, the sprawling, layered architecture of the Side 6 space colony, and most pointedly, how the Mobile Suited military police callously exploit refugees before they’re confronted by our fiery heroine. It’s all held together by some relatively convincing CGI mechs (although it’s hard not to miss the old-school mechanical animation Gundam used to be known for) and a unique art style with plenty of memorable character designs. While this introductory episode throws a lot at the viewer, so far, GQuuuuuuX redeems itself for its truly tragic name.
Sometimes, you simply have to accept that the most promising anime premiere of the season is an adaptation of a 1908 Canadian novel. Thanks to Anne Shirley, this is one of those times. Admittedly, there being another anime take on this 100-plus-year-old book from the other side of the planet isn’t quite as weird as you would think, as the previous 1979 adaptation directed by legendary Ghibli director Isao Takahata was a cultural powerhouse in Japan that remains popular to this day. Fortunately, The Answer Studio’s take on this story has lived up to its source material so far, largely thanks to its thoughtful rendition of its protagonist. Once again, the story follows Anne, an orphan who is taken in by an older couple living in Green Gables, Canada. If there’s one thing that stands out off the bat, it’s the overwhelming personality of our imaginative lead, a young girl defined by a combination of joy, guile, and melancholy. On her trip to her new home, she conjures up fantastical explanations for her surroundings, conveying a genuine sense of wonder towards this countryside as each is animated to capture the power of her daydreams.
Anne can be funny and wholesome, but at the same time, she exhibits a cleverness that comes out when it’s needed most. For example, she plays to her potential new parents’ sympathies after they realize they only received Anne through a mix-up at the orphanage (these adoptive parents wanted a boy to help with housework). But while some of Anne’s tears are clearly performative, there’s also a very real sense of grief to the character, as expressed in a tenderly portrayed montage that depicts what happened to her parents. Frankly, you can often feel when an anime is adapting from an acclaimed novel instead of more typical trope-filled source material, and so far, Anne Shirley has shown just how far a complex central character can take you (and the sharp visual execution certainly does hurt, either).
Elijah Gonzalez is the assistant Games and TV Editor for Paste Magazine. In addition to playing and watching the latest on the small screen, he also loves film, creating large lists of media he’ll probably never actually get to, and dreaming of the day he finally gets through all the Like a Dragon games. You can follow him on Bluesky @elijahgonzalez.bsky.social.
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