When it comes to seasonal anime, sometimes we are gifted with a buffet of fresh programs, making it difficult to pick what we’ll keep on our plate, and sometimes we find ourselves in a food shortage. Unfortunately, the latest round of shows has more in common with the latter case, and while there’s still some exciting new stuff, there isn’t as much to choose from as usual. Those who enjoy horror schlock will be excited to hear that Halloween has come early with a bundle of tales focused on the supernatural and ghastly. But if you don’t, well, it’s a good time to catch up on the classics you’ve been meaning to check out.
Honorable Mentions
Filling in the gaps left by its breakneck 2021 adaptation, Horimiya: The Missing Pieces is a collection of cut scenes that weren’t included in the original run of this high school rom-com. Fans of the source material or original show will likely be happy to reunite with these characters, and CloverWorks does a commendable job portraying the connections between these lovesick goobers. That said, between its somewhat disjointed format and its disinterest in reintroducing its cast, I had a hard time remembering the status of relationships and more, which I imagine will be the case for many who aren’t diehard fans of the manga.
While it doesn’t seem like Helk has shown its full hand yet, the first episode has plenty of amusing gags alongside implications that this story has a lot more in store. After the Demon Lord is slain, a tournament is held to determine who will take up the mantle of demonkind’s next ruler. Strangely enough, the frontrunner for the position seems to be Helk, a human warrior who declares he wants to help wipe his people off the map. Throughout the premiere, the jokes around this premise come fast as our beefy lead charms his way into the hearts of demon onlookers with his skill and sportsmanship. So far, the contrast between these staccatos of humor and questions about our hero’s sordid past has piqued my interest, implying that there may be more here than meets the eye.
The Gene of AI is a grounded sci-fi tale that has already posed plenty of interesting ethical and societal questions about the proliferation of technology, conveying not only the specifics of its world but also how these changes affect people emotionally. The story follows Dr. Hikaru, a black-market medical professional who serves artificially created beings stuck in legally murky situations. Like any good work of science fiction, it’s already set up thought-provoking hypotheticals and is largely only held back by its relatively stiff animation.
5. My Happy Marriage
In its debut, My Happy Marriage successfully places us in the dismal home life of its protagonist, conveying the everyday cruelty she endures as it hints at the possibility of a better future. Although it isn’t as fantastical as most of the other entries on the list, it does resemble one exceedingly famous fable: Cinderella. We follow Miyo, a young woman treated as a servant by her own family due to the influence of her callous stepmother and half-sister. Her only genuine human connection is with Koji, a kind boy from a well-to-do family. But that all changes when Miyo is sent off to be married to Kiyoka Kudou, the incumbent head of Koji’s household, whose several previous marriage arrangements ended with his fiancées fleeing.
While the first half of this episode is a little overbearing in its adherence to evil stepfamily tropes, as the members of Miyo’s household are almost entirely defined by their wickedness, it does a much better job of depicting the nuances of its lead’s feelings. In a particularly affecting flashback, we see her grief over the loss of her mom, this pain exacerbated by her increasing estrangement from her father and her eventual uncharitable treatment from her new family members. We witness how these misfortunes influence her through moments of subtle character animation, such as how mournful expressions or hunched shoulders communicate her thoughts non-verbally. Similarly, the background art beautifully captures the details of this Meiji-era setting, the idyllic cherry blossom trees and lavishness of this estate contrasted against our heroine’s trying circumstances. Between its impressive production value and pivot towards focusing on more interesting characters, My Happy Marriage has promise.
4. BanG Dream! It’s MyGO!!!!!
There are many reasons why BanG Dream! It’s MyGO!!!!! will inevitably fly under the radar. For one, it’s an entry in an expansive multimedia series, meaning many will assume that prior familiarity is required to understand what’s happening here (at least so far, this isn’t the case, as this is apparently an all-new cast). Additionally, it can easily be misinterpreted as another show about musical idols (this is not true either), which isn’t everyone’s cup of tea. And then it also utilizes 3D-CGI over most anime fans’ preferred 2D animation and has an admittedly ridiculous title that is difficult to remember. However, for me, these roadblocks were negligible.
Through its first four episodes, It’s MyGO has proven to be an affecting music melodrama that treats the breakup of its central band with the gravity of a dying sun, convincingly portraying why this unfortunate circumstance is weighing so heavily on its former members. We follow Anon Chihaya, a transfer student who ends up at an all-girls school where playing music is the quickest way to become popular. As a hilariously calculating would-be social climber, she makes an effort to form her own act, but in the process, ends up bumping into a group of girls reeling from the breakup of their band. Although at first glance, the cast seemingly slides into the exaggerated personas that define many characters in this type of K-On!-inspired “girls form a band” narrative, each is imbued with details that reveal layers of depth.
For instance, the direction keys us into mannerisms that imply their true feelings, like how the outwardly cheery Soyo nervously twiddles her thumbs while thinking about things that could have gone differently, or how Anon’s heavily considered behavior seems to hide a secret from her past. This approach reaches its apex in episode three, where we witness a nearly unbroken 24 minutes from the perspective of Tomori, a girl who has always struggled to fit in, as she finds catharsis and camaraderie in making music. It’s a gut punch of a sequence that communicates the emotional arc of its protagonist with care, and at least for me, came across as deeply empathetic instead of condescending.
I will be honest that the dramatic inclinations of this one feel laser targeted at my brain, as I would count the similarly melancholy musings of other anime like Liz and the Blue Bird among my all-time favorites—meaning I don’t think its particular register will land with everyone. However, if you are a fellow fan of emotionally earnest music-oriented stories, you owe it to yourself to check out the season’s biggest surprise.
3. Undead Murder Farce
In a season that is feeling a little lifeless, Undead Murder Farce is a much-needed jolt of energy, a wonderfully ghoulish period piece elevated by an impressive degree of craft. We follow a misanthropic carnie named Tsugaru living in an alternate history of Meiji-era Japan. He plays the role of an “Oni Slayer,” someone who kills supernatural creatures for others’ amusement. The subject of previous experiments, Tsugaru is part-monster, and is content to while away his days until he transforms into something fully inhuman. However, after meeting Aya, an immortal being reduced to a talking head after her body was stolen, he resolves to help her track down the evil Brit (who may be Moriarty from Sherlock Holmes?) that has taken from them both. This mildly outrageous premise is elevated through the series’ stylish compositions and punchy dialogue. Director Mamoru Hatakeyama (also known by the pseudonym Shinichi Omata), who previously helmed the gorgeous adaptations of Kaguya-sama: Love is War and Descending Stories: Showa Genroku Rakugo Shinju, helps deliver a visually interesting premiere that presents its extended conversations just as dynamically as its sleek fight scenes.
As Aya explains the setup for the plot, we’re treated to striking shots, comic-styled paneling, and cutaways that break up the exposition. Unsurprisingly, its first big action scene is afforded the same degree of creativity, smooth animation combined with clever visual tricks, like when a sudden cut places the camera inside the barrel of a gun, as Tsugaru pours beer into his opponent’s musket to render their weapon useless. This snappiness is also reflected in its writing, with repartees between Tsugaru and Aya conveying an acerbic back and forth that has already proved amusing. Oh, and on top of its showmanship, this episode also introduces some fascinating thematic threads, like how in this version of Japanese history, a surge of Westernization coincided with efforts to purge all native supernatural beings in the country, a metaphor for how colonialism can stifle local cultures. Undead Murder Farce may be heavily riffing on Gothic literature touchstones, but its interesting undercurrents and fantastic execution give it an identity of its own.
2. Zom 100: Bucket List of the Dead
Any premise can work with the right execution, and Zom 100: Bucket List of the Dead’s barnburner of a premiere does everything in its power to sell us on its hook. Akira is a twenty-something office worker shackled to a grossly exploitative company, forced to pull endless overtime and endure verbal abuse as his job consumes his life. However, one day everything changes, and as a zombie outbreak rips through the populace, he finds himself reacting to this crisis in an odd way; instead of being horrified about the impending end of the world, he’s elated that he doesn’t have to go to work anymore! While this sounds like a somewhat unusual reaction to an undead apocalypse, and one that would usually be relegated to more comedic material, this episode documents the drudgery of our protagonists’ existence in such excruciating fashion that it’s easy to slip into his headspace. The color drains from its compositions as Akira’s initial optimism over landing his first gig out of school dissolves amidst increasingly oppressive circumstances. This sequence demonstrates how this kind of company culture sucks in its victims, as co-workers brag about who has accumulated the most unpaid overtime and sleep under their desks to meet unreasonable deadlines. We watch as our bubbly main character is reduced to a husk of his former self, the link between his shambling mannerisms and the story’s premise not lost.
So, when the outbreak starts, and our former athlete finds himself chased through streets by a horde of fast-moving corpses, viscera rendered with fluorescent paint splotches as he literally tears away the letterboxing that has been crowding the frame, his exuberance over Armageddon is less a silly punchline and more a moment of triumph. This final stretch is animated with stunning verve, impact frames capturing Akira’s joy as he smashes through the late-stage capitalist hell-nightmare he’s been enduring. Only time will tell if the series can maintain its pairing of a vibrant tone and grave setting, and I hope its other characters are eventually afforded the same amount of interiority that the protagonist was granted (Akira’s office worker crush is particularly shorted in the episode), but if nothing else, Zom 100: Bucket List of the Dead’s premiere is a showstopper.
1. Jujutsu Kaisen Season 2
In its first episode in almost three years, Jujutsu Kaisen’s long-awaited return lived up to the hype, delivering a gripping haunted house sequence alongside the introduction of a fraught new conflict. Instead of reuniting us with the main cast, this premiere thrusts us into the past, following the central characters’ teachers back when they were students. However, despite the time shift, the basic premise is the same; in a world where negative emotions can physically manifest into dangerous monsters known as Curses, an order of Jujutsu Sorcerers channel Cursed Energy to protect an unknowing populace from these creatures. In the first segment, Utahime and Mei Mei investigate an abandoned mansion infested with spirits, a stretch brought to life with rock-solid horror filmmaking. The tone is set by a mission briefing depicted with the theatricality of a ghost tale, the explanation of a former tragedy presented alongside a distorted VHS recording. The pair creep through abandoned corridors, fish-eye lenses and wide-angle shots set behind debris generating unease.
Much is made about how there is an absence of effective horror anime due to the high degree of technical craft it takes to make animation suitably unsettling, but MAPPA successfully levies every cinematic trick to pull this off. All this is to say, the show is looking incredibly impressive so far, with a lively new art style and degree of cinematic flourish that seems like it may be difficult to maintain through the upcoming 23-episode run, but that wows in this debut. After this, we are thrown into the school lives of teenage Jujutsu Sorcerers Satoru Gojou, the main character’s eventual mentor, and Suguru Getou, who we know will eventually turn into one of the great enemies of humankind. We can already feel the story playing with dramatic irony as Gojou and Suguru’s worldviews appear virtually swapped from where they will end up. So far, I’m enjoying how lengthy this flashback sequence is, and it’s clear that they want to give enough room to explain why these people change so much from here to the present. It seems likely that the mission Gojou and Suguru are assigned, one that showcases the cruel, utilitarian principles of the organization which presides over the sorcerers, will be what drives a wedge between these two.
Despite furthering the lengthy absence of its central cast, Jujutsu Kaisen’s second season has already pulled me back in, its formidable aesthetics and hefty foreshadowing setting the stage for another trip through this grim world.
Elijah Gonzalez is an assistant TV editor for Paste Magazine. In addition to watching the latest anime and prestige programming, he also loves videogames, movies, and creating large lists of media he’ll probably never actually get to. You can follow him on Twitter @eli_gonzalez11.
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