YouTube preview is here<\/a>!<\/p>\n Spring has sprung. Or at least I hope it will by the time you read this (it\u2019s barely above freezing as I start writing \u2013 and snowing in Tokyo). As I look at the new anime announcements over the past several months, I\u2019m reminded of the words of Newton N. Minow from his landmark \u201cTelevision For the Public Interest\u201d speech in 1961:<\/p>\n \u201cKeep your eyes glued to that set until the station signs off. I can assure you that what you will observe is a vast wasteland.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n It\u2019s been the worst stretch of series announcements since I\u2019ve been doing this without a doubt \u2013 and there have been some mighty bad stretches. That impact is not going to be felt only in Spring 2025, or even primarily. It tells a tale of what the entire anime year will be like, and even the early part of 2026. That\u2019s just how the cycle works. But Spring 2025 will certainly reflect that reality, because in any given year spring is statistically likely to be the strongest season. And if it is, 2025 is in big trouble (though I think that\u2019s pretty much a lock either way).<\/p>\n As LiA readers know, spring and fall are typically the biggest seasons of the year. That\u2019s flattened out a fair bit in recent years \u2013 Spring 2025 has 57 series, but that\u2019s barely more than winter\u2019s 53. Last Spring had 54, so we\u2019re more or less steady (read, too many) on that front. Where do we come in on the usual Enzo one-third rule? On the nosey, as Igor would say. I\u2019m previewing 19 of those 57 shows, exactly one-third. Nineteen is a relatively big number for a preview (exactly the same as last spring), but a good chunk of those are shots in the dark.<\/p>\n In point of fact it\u2019s kind of a wonky, hourglass-shaped preview. I have four \u201cHighest Expectations\u201d series, which is a perfectly fine number. But there\u2019s almost nothing in \u201cMid-table\u201d \u2013 only three shows, which may well be among the smallest number ever (note: I wrote that before Moonrise<\/em> was announced for Spring freakishly late). That leaves a whopping 12 entries in \u201cModestly Interested\u201d. That tells me it could be a season where finding shows to cover is a stretch, especially as I don\u2019t see a lot that has sleeper potential.<\/p>\n If I look for a bright side, at least there are only 11 LN adaptations, which is a fairly low number by recent standards (though the growth in isekai manga adaptations continues). There are quite a few originals in fact, though few of them spark my interest on paper. Nothing jumps out genre or demographic-wise. Shounen dominate, and as usual CGDCT and isekai have a large footprint. A shoujo or two, a decent smattering of seinen (enough to give me a bit of hope for surprises).<\/p>\n One more note \u2013 I\u2019m moving at precisely the time I normally release the preview, so it\u2019s going to be a crazy month for me. As such the preview (and preview video) may be somewhat abbreviated compared to the norm.<\/p>\n This is my 56th (I think) Season Preview here at LiA. Thanks to everyone who\u2019s joined me for part of that ride. Here\u2019s hoping efforts to make the site financially sustainable bear fruit, and these previews will continue to be free for anyone who finds them useful and entertaining. As you know my costs continue to skyrocket \u2013 hosting alone is more than doubling this year \u2013 so more than ever I\u2019m going to be dependent on your financial support to keep LiA alive. To everyone who\u2019s pitched in to help that cause \u2013 you have my sincere gratitude.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n Let\u2019s move on to Spring 2025.\u00a0 As usual, the poll is in the sidebar \u2013 please go vote!<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n Highest Expectations:<\/strong><\/p>\n Vigilante: Boku no Hero Academia Illegals \u2013 Bones<\/strong>: (PV<\/a>) The arrival of Vigilante<\/em> is definitely one of those Newman \u201cWhat took you so long?\u201d moments. I was expecting an adaptation of this HeroAca spinoff manga years ago. It was reasonably popular, well-received by fans, and attached to one of the most popular animanga franchises of the 21st Century.<\/p>\n Why the Illegals<\/em> anime finally arrived years after the manga ended (and right after the parent series did) is a mystery to me. But thank goodness it\u2019s here, in the midst of that horrible run of announcements. And in Bones\u2019 hands there\u2019s no reason to expect anything less than a rock-solid adaptation (and maybe a lot more). Fans tend to reflexively dismiss spinoff series, but this one is different. Mangaka Betten Court and Furuhashi Hideyuki are established and talented in their own right. More than that, they \u201cget\u201d Boku no Hero Academia<\/em>, and reportedly worked with Horikoshi Kouhei to make sure their series jibed with his vision for the mythology.<\/p>\n As a story, Vigilante<\/em> explores a different side of the BnHA<\/em> universe. Not heroes, not villains, but those in-between. Men and women who take the law into their own hands, often because they\u2019re not deemed worthy of being \u201cofficial\u201d heroes. The protagonist is a loser college student named Haimawari Kouichi who uses his quirk for small-time good deeds, until one day larger events swallow him up. It\u2019s a really strong addition to the mythology. 2025 is a big year for My Hero Academia<\/em> and for Bones, and this series is a big part of that.<\/p>\n Kowloon Generic Romance \u2013 Arvo Animation<\/strong>: (PV<\/a>) I\u2019m a big fan of\u00a0 mangaka Mayzuki Jun\u2019s Koi wa Ameagari no You ni<\/em>, though I went in with a healthy skepticism about its premise. Kowloon Generic Romance<\/em> is a highly-regarded manga (not least by my podcast co-host Samu), and while Arvo is not a glamor studio this adaptation has a pretty solid and experienced staff.<\/p>\n Kowloon<\/em> is the story of two mismatched co-workers in a realty office in the walled city of Kowloon, sometimes in the distant future. He longs for the Hong Kong of the romantic past, she loves everything new and groundbreaking. There are sci-fi elements involved here, though as I haven\u2019t read the source material I\u2019m low on details and keen to keep it that way. The whole thing has a bit of a Satoshi Kon vibe for me. I can\u2019t call Kowloon Generic Romance<\/em> a sleeper because most expect it to be really good, but my expectations are certainly high.<\/p>\n Kuroshitsuji: Midori no Majo-hen \u2013 CloverWorks<\/strong>: (PV<\/a>) Jibaku Shounen Hanako-kun<\/em> passes the GFantasy baton back to Kuroshitsuji<\/em> this spring. This has been the shortest wait yet between Kuroshitsuji<\/em> seasons, so hopefully Hanako-kun<\/em> will follow suit and not make us wait nearly so long until its third season. I like that series even more than this one but they\u2019ve both been consistently excellent examples of darkly comic fantasy, and shounen aimed primarily at female audiences (though wildly popular generally).<\/p>\n The \u201cEmerald Witch Arc\u201d finds Ciel and Sebastian headed to Germany at Queen Victoria\u2019s behest (as usual), this time to investigate a series of mysterious deaths connected to a \u201cwerewolf forest\u201d. Generally speaking I put a fair amount of trust in Toboso-sensei where the quality of major arcs is concerned, so I\u2019m confident Black Butler<\/em> won\u2019t drop the ball here. As always the big variable will be how much the characters who tends to have her indulge her excesses the most (like Grell) are present. Hopefully the change of venue will mean not so much, which was the case with the excellent \u201cPublic School\u201d arc and the pinnacle of the show so far, \u201cBook of Circus\u201d.<\/p>\n Aharen-san wa Hakarenai Season 2 \u2013 Felix Film<\/strong>: (PV<\/a>) All four of the shows in this category were basically a tie for me. Aharen-san wa Hakarenai<\/em> didn\u2019t quite crack the top 10 (as Kuroshitsuji<\/em> usually has) in a deep year, but I developed a real love for it. It\u2019s a romantic comedy with the focus on the comedy, no question, but that doesn\u2019t mean Aharen-san<\/em> couldn\u2019t deliver on the romance front too. It\u2019s a bit sneaky in that the real hook isn\u2019t the title character\u2019s inaudible speech patterns, but male lead Raidou Matsuboshi\u2019s hilariously wild imagination (which said speech patterns give license to run wild).<\/p>\n The manga has ended since the first season aired, but that season covered just 67 of its 167 chapters. I don\u2019t think the series is hugely<\/em> popular \u2013 I was kind of surprised to see a sequel greenlit \u2013 so my suspicion is we\u2019re going to see the remaining chapters crammed into this season rather than split into two cours. That would require a slowdown in the pacing anyway, which makes it even more unlikely. Maybe a best case scenario would be a second season plus a couple of OVAs, but to be frank I\u2019m thrilled to take whatever I can get of this immensely charming series.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n Mid-table:<\/strong><\/p>\n Lazarus \u2013 MAPPA<\/strong>: (PV<\/a>) Having ported over to Bones for a stretch Watanabe Shinichirou is back at MAPPA, where he helmed Zankyou no Terror<\/em> and Sakamichi no Apollon<\/em> (Tezuka produced two episodes). And no question, Watanabe-sensei is the main reason why Lazarus<\/em> is here, because given his place in anime history anything he does is by definition an important work. So why isn\u2019t this one even higher up the preview? Frankly I haven\u2019t been that impressed with his last few projects (Carole & Tuesday<\/em> and a couple of mediocre films). I also find Watanabe to generally be a better director than writer, and he\u2019s the main writer here (though the venerable Dai Satou is on-board as well).<\/p>\n As usual sci-fi is Watanabe\u2019s muse here. Lazarus<\/em> is set in 2052, in a future where a scientist named Skinner has invented a cure-all drug which has eliminated disease. But he disappears for three years and then turns up announcing to the world that the miracle drug will cause anyone who took it to die within three years. And given that pretty much everybody did<\/em>, that amounts to something close to an end of the world scenario.<\/p>\n I\u2019ll reserve judgment on the story \u2013 it could certainly be great, who knows. With Watanabe it\u2019s probably pretty safe to assume you\u2019re going to get top-shelf visuals even given the MAPPA crapshoot, and an interesting soundtrack (though he\u2019s not working with his frequent collaborator Kanno Yoko and the music in C&T<\/em> was pretty execrable \u2013 a big problem in a music series). Without a doubt the biggest wild card on the spring schedule given the stature of its creator and the wide range of quality in his filmography..<\/p>\n Anne Shirley \u2013 The Answer Studio<\/strong>: (PV<\/a>) Anne of Green Gables\u00a0<\/i>is certainly a staple of Western children\u2019s literature. But in addition to all the English-language adaptations, anime has had several bites of the apple itself, dating back almost 50 years. So why did a production committee decide there was a need for another one now? Beats me. It\u2019s the sort of thing you might have expected to see on \u201cWorld Masterpiece Theater\u201d, back when that was a thing \u2013 which it hasn\u2019t been since 2009. In fact Meigeki<\/em> (as it\u2019s commonly called) did a 50-episode adaptation called Akage no Anne<\/em> in 1979.<\/p>\n Well, whatever the reason, they did. NHK had to have been at the heart of it \u2013 they are \u2013 and this time around we\u2019re getting 24 episodes. The Answer Studio has been around for quite a while but I\u2019ve seen very little of their work. As for the story itself, I\u2019ve never-read Lucy Maud Montgomery\u2019s novels and I haven\u2019t seen an English adaptation of them since I was a kid myself. But this tale of a spunky Canadian orphan girl\u2019s upbringing on the farm is widely considered to be one of the best of its breed, so I\u2019m broadly expecting this series to be pretty good.<\/p>\n Kijin Gentoushou \u2013 Yokohama Animation Laboratory<\/strong>: (PV<\/a>) Kijin Gentoushou<\/em> is about the closest thing to a sleeper in a season largely devoid of them. Anime based on novels are a better than average bet for starters, and it\u2019s a historical fantasy to boot. And it\u2019s even about a miko, which is a subgenre I have a bit of a thing for. Giddy-up.<\/p>\n On the other hand, I\u2019d never heard of the source material before the anime announcement and there\u2019s nothing in the staff pedigree that particularly stands out. Kijin Gentoushou<\/em> is the story of a demon sword-wielder who acts as the protector of a shrine maiden, possibly with a time travel element thrown in for good measure. A relative crapshoot just like everything from here downwards, but the novel aspect nudges it into the mid tier.<\/p>\n Moonrise \u2013 Wit<\/strong>: (PV<\/a>) To say Moonrise<\/em> was a late announcement for this season is an understatement, but Netflix will do that occasionally. Just as much an understatement to say this Ubukata Tow project has been in development for a while \u2013 Netflix originally announced it in 2022. But it\u2019s certainly much needed given how 2025 looks so far \u2013 anything with potential is welcome.<\/p>\n A mecha series from Wit is of serious interest, for starters. And Ubukata is certainly a major player in anime, having been the creative force behind many sci-fi shows. Now to be fair most of them haven\u2019t been to my taste, but he\u2019s no hack at least. Wit and Netflix have a good history together (Great Pretender<\/em>) as well. The story finds humanity being governed by an A.I. called \u201cSapienta\u201d, which makes Earth peaceful by sending its criminals and hazardous waste to the moon. Obviously this leads to a huge disparity in living conditions, which further leads to the birth of a lunar rebellion. Classic boilerplate sci-fi right there \u2013 let\u2019s see how it pans out.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n Modestly Interested:<\/strong><\/p>\n Saikyou no Ousama, Nidome no Jinsei wa Nani wo Suru? \u2013 Studio A-CAT: <\/strong>(PV<\/a>): To be blunt everything in this category is pretty interchangeable for me as a prospect \u2013 I could put these in just about any order. I\u2019m putting this one first just out of the novelty factor of it being based on an American comic book called \u201cThe Beginning After the End\u201d, which I\u2019ve seen some decent reviews of. It has a very good director in Motonaga Keitarou (Jormungand<\/em>) as well. Looks to be a fantasy coming-of-age story about a powerful king. It\u2019s also an isekai, which is no draw in itself but given the origins adds to the novelty factor.<\/p>\n Summer Pockets \u2013 feel.<\/strong>: (PV<\/a>)\u00a0 I\u2019m hit-and-miss with Key VN adaptations. As far as I can tell Summer Pockets<\/em> isn\u2019t especially one of their most beloved, but it comes from a studio that tends to do more interesting work than average. You know how these things work \u2013 a teenage male protagonist (a city boy moved to an island in this case) and a bunch of moeblobs.<\/p>\n Nazotoki wa Dinner no Ato de \u2013 Madhouse<\/strong>: (PV<\/a>) Once more we\u2019re in shot in the dark territory here. And once more the main reason this series is here is that it\u2019s based on a novel. But it\u2019s also Madhouse and about working adults, so there might be something here (and NoitaminA, whatever weight that still carries). Nazotoki wa Dinner no Ato de<\/em> is a comedic mystery about a couple of rich folk working for some reason as police detectives, and the butler who solves the actual cases. TBH the premise sounds kinda dumb to me, and Kaju Yuuki and Hanazawa Kana are not typically my preferred lane. But there\u2019s enough here to be interested, especially with Shirokuma Cafe\u2019s<\/em> Masuhara Mitsuyuki directing.<\/p>\n Sentai Daishikkaku 2nd Season \u2013 Yostar Pictures<\/strong>: (PV<\/a>) Sentai Daishikkaku<\/em> was one of those shows I didn\u2019t preview and picked up based on some good buzz, and I wound up kind of liking it. It was an interesting semi-satire of the tokusatsu genre, not afraid to go very dark and very weird. I also really liked Kobayashi Yuusuke\u2019s performance in the lead role and the visuals could often be quite interesting.<\/p>\n Witch Watch \u2013 Nilbury Animation Studios<\/strong>: (PV)<\/a> Witch Watch<\/em> is kind of a funny one for me. It seemingly should rank higher based on how much I liked mangaka Shinohara Kenta\u2019s Kanata no Astra<\/em> (the adaptation cracked my top 10 list in 2019). But I haven\u2019t really liked anything else he\u2019s done (including his biggest hit, SKET Dance<\/em>). And what I\u2019ve read of Witch Watch<\/em> \u2013 his lowest-ranked series on the aggregator sites \u2013 didn\u2019t wow me either. But it\u2019s a WSJ<\/em> adaptation and a fairly successful one, so I\u2019ll check it out. It\u2019s a mostly-comedic tale of two teen witches (the girl crushing on the boy) who wind up living under the same roof.<\/p>\n Kidou Senshi Gundam: GQuuuuuuX \u2013 Khara, Sunrise<\/strong>: (PV<\/a>) This show being way down here may be a head-scratcher to some. I mean, The titans of Gainax \u2013 Khara\u2019s Anno and Tsurumaki, the creators of Evangelion<\/em> and FLCL<\/em> (two of my top three anime of all-time) \u2013 gattai with Sunrise and Gundam<\/em>? So what gives? To be honest, the premise looks dumb to me. And I\u2019m not a Gundam<\/em> fan, as a rule \u2013 I\u2019ve never found Tomino\u2019s heavy-handed moralizing and teen death porn to be especially arresting. And the modern updates to the franchise (in the cute girls doing mecha things vein) leave me cold.<\/p>\n But\u2026 It\u2019s Tsurumaki directing a project conceived by Anno and Tomino. It\u2019s Khara (co-) producing a TV anime. It\u2019s Enokido Youji \u2013 one of the lead writers on many Gainax and especially Bones classics including FLCL<\/em> and NGE<\/em> \u2013 on series composition. I have a strong inkling I\u2019m not going to like GQuuuuuuX<\/em> (even the title annoys me) but I can\u2019t possibly ignore it or the possibility that it could actually be great. The premise is Gundam<\/em> bog standard, apart from two of the three main pilots being female, so it\u2019ll all come down to execution.<\/p>\n Miru: Watashi no Mirai \u2013 Various<\/strong>: (PV<\/a>) A bit of an odd duck here. Miru<\/em> is a five-episode \u201comnibus\u201d series with each ep coming from a different studio and director. Each episode follows a time-travelling robot called Miru who helps humans from its past cope with their future. A total crapshoot here of course but there may be some upside potential here.<\/p>\n Chuuzenji-sensei Mononoke Kougiroku: Sensei ga Nazo wo Hodoite Shimau kara. \u2013 100studio<\/strong>: (PV)<\/a> This one is here for its modestly interesting premise. Chuuzenji-sensei<\/em> is a supernatural mystery set in 1948 Tokyo, following the exploits of a Japanese teacher and high school girl who team up to solve, well- supernatural mysteries. Not quite up to the sleeper level but possibly a whiff of something interesting here.<\/p>\n Zatsu Tabi: That\u2019s Journey \u2013 Makaria<\/strong>: (PV<\/a>) Seinen manga adaptation about a struggling mangaka who decides to go on an intentionally rough journey to seek creative enlightenment (or something). Sounds pretty trite and there\u2019s a \u201chealing\u201d risk in that premise, but it\u2019s a seinen with an adult protagonist so I\u2019ll give it a punt. The title is also some of the most hilarious Engrish I\u2019ve seen in a long time.<\/p>\n Uchuujin MuuMuu \u2013 OLM<\/strong>: (PV<\/a>) Another seinen manga adaptation, this one about a cat alien who comes to Earth to learn home appliance technology and winds up bonding with a female college student. Sounds just random and 80\u2019s enough to have an ounce of potential, and anything with cats is worth at least a look.<\/p>\n\n
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