My Spring 2019 Anime Watchlist

From the list of anime that is provided in My Anime List, there are nine shows that I am curious about when it comes to the 2019 spring season. This piece will take a brief look at them in minor detail from the studio, director, or premise, and generally why I am interested in the show.

'One Punch Man' Season 2

While the first season was produced by Madhouse, and was directed by Shingo Natsume, the second season is produced by J.C.Staff, while being directed by Chikara Sakurai. J.C.Staff was behind some noteworthy shows such as Toradora!, Shakugan No Shana, Shokugeki no Soma, and A Certain Magical Index. Sakurai’s past work include his directorial work in Waiting in the Summer. The studio and director makes me optimistic, as both have made work that I have enjoyed in the past, and One punch Man was a show that I enjoyed thoroughly when it was airing. My main sources of apprehension comes from the fact that it is not Madhouse and Natsume that is returning for this second season. The two combined gave us a visual treat with a punch to the show that made a lasting impression. It is a tall order to live up to, and I hope that J.C.Staff pulls it off.

'Fruits Basket' (2019)

This show is produced by TMS Entertainment, the studio behind the shows, D.Gray-Man, Megalo Box, Orange, and ReLIFE. It is also directed by Yoshihide Ibata, who had previously directed episodes of Haikyuu, and Kill la Kill, while being the co-director of FLCL Progressive. The original Fruits Basket was a show that aired just before I got into anime, and was a show that I was interested in, but never got to watch. And now that this remake is airing, it gives me the chance to watch it while airing.

'Kimetsu no Yaiba'

When reading the synopsis for this show, a young boy and his sister fights to make her human again after being turned into a demon, it very much felt as if it was a diet version of Dororo, which is currently airing at the time of this writing, and so, I was close to discarding it. However, seeing that it was produced by ufotable, I was immediately interested, as I loved what they did with Fate/Zero, and the Kara no Kyoukai films. In addition the soundtrack is composed by Yuuki Kajiura, who is one of my favourite composers in anime. This is a show I put on the list solely because of the studio and, oddly enough, the composer involved.

'Fairy Gone'

This is a show done by P.A.Works, the studio behind Angel Beats!, Another, Charlotte, and the film Maquia When the Promised Flower Blooms. Compared to what the studio usually does, this seems to be a bit of a departure as it appears to be more of an action heavy concept with an almost Golden Compass-esque narrative. What gets me really excited is the fact that it is directed by Kenichi Suzuki who directed Drifters, and the final episode of Hellsing Ultimate.

'Carole & Tuesday'

On the surface this show might not stand out all that much, it is about two girls playing music on the streets wanting to be musicians. Only it is on Mars, and in addition to that, the show is produced by studio Bones, the studio behind Mob Psycho 100, Sword of the Stranger, Wolf’s Rain, Fullmetal Alchemist Brotherhood, Kekkai Sensen, and My Hero Acadamia to name a few. Plus it is directed by Shinichiro Watanabe, who gave us Cowboy Bebop, Samurai Champloo, Space Dandy, and Terror in Resonance. Two points that makes it an automatic watchlist entry regardless of the premise. The pedigree behind this show alone is enough of a reason for me to watch it.

'Shōumetsu Toshi'

This is an anime that is based on a game, and is produced by Madhouse. However, looking deeper into the narrative it becomes quite intriguing. The concept of a city disappearing, and two people going on a journey to find said city is interesting. I have not played, or even heard of the game before, and so I will be going into this show completely blind, as is the case for much of these new shows.

'Ao-Chan Can’t Study!'

This is a show that is produced by Silver Link. studio and this show makes my list purely based on the concept. A girls father is a famous erotic author, and so she studies hard to get to a good university to distance herself from his reputation. After being confessed to by a boy, she starts to have dirty thoughts. I am very curious about this show as the set up gives ample amounts of content to derive comedy from, which is a nice change of pace, when compared to the other shows involved, as it seems this will be a comedy series first and foremost.

'Robihachi'

This is an original anime that is produced by Studio Comet, and is directed by Shinji Takamatsu. Takamatsu directed a bulk of the early Gintama episodes, and what drew me to this show when scrolling through My Anime List is the poster, and the premise. A futuristic world where a 30 year old has everything in his life that CAN go wrong, go wrong.

'Shingeki no Kyojin' Season 3 part 2

Why they call it season 3 part 2, and not simply season 4, I do not know. Shingeki is an anime that I have slowly been waning in interest, as the initial bombast starts to fade away the longer the series goes on. That being said the previous arc that they covered in the anime was my least favourite part of the manga, and now that we are done with it, I am excited to jump back on the Shingeki train. Studio Wit, the studio behind the previous seasons, Owari no Sereph, Kabaneri of the Iron Fortress, Hal, and Empire of Corpses combined with Tetsuro Araki who directed Death Note, Highschool of the Dead, Guilty Crown, and Kabaneri of the Iron Fortress returning to direct, always gets me excited. Therefore regardless of how many seasons of Shingeki we get, I will be there to watch it.

While these are the shows that I plan on watching, it is not entirely clear at the moment what I will be able to watch and what I would not be able to, as there is the issue of living in the UK, and waiting to see what is available to stream here. due to licensing, and the four different anime streaming services with their segregated content; Crunchyroll, Funimation, Netflix, and Amazon Prime. As such there will be a follow up article in one month's time giving brief initial thoughts on the first episode of the shows that I was able to watch.