It’s the middle of July and by now, there are a bunch of new and continuing anime that are streaming on sites like Crunchyroll. So, let’s have a quick look at what’s continuing, and what’s new.

CURRENTLY AIRING

To Be Hero X
Animation studio: BeDream (co-production between Bilibili and Aniplex)



To Be Hero X is a new series of the To Be Hero franchise, and has been airing for a few months already. Estimated to have around 24 episodes, this anime focuses on the trials and tribulations of the Top 10 in the hero world, and how they managed to reach their respective ranks. It also considers each hero’s attempts to reach the top spot and become the infamous Hero X.

What makes this anime interesting to watch is the colourful world in which the series is set, and the various animation styles that have been used for the series. The different characters and their stories are also heartwarming and tearjerking in their own individual ways. Heads up – each character has a few episodes for their backstory before it switches to a new character, so pay attention to the dates at the start of each episode.

Anne Shirley
Animation studio: The Answer Studio



Based on the novel Anne of Green Gables by Lucy Maud Montgomery, Anne Shirley is pretty much an anime adaptation. It follows Anne Shirley, an eleven year old orphan, who moves out to the countryside and whose cheer and optimism helps to change the perspectives of those she meets. A gorgeous waterpaint-style serves as the background to the characters and their movements, while the character animation itself is sharp in contrast, and the music is light and whimsical, to match Anne’s curious and imaginative mind.

WITCH WATCH
Animation studio: Bibury Animation Studios



WITCH WATCH follows the story of two childhood friends, Morihito Otogi and Nico Wakatsuki, who reunite in high school. The twist is, Nico is a witch-in-training, and Morihito is inhumanly strong, and thus is commissioned to protect Nico from all sorts of dangers that can arise when one is a witch-in-training. The animation style is bold and bright, reflecting Nico’s bubbly personality, and what I like about it is how they show that using magic in the world has consequences, which is a great aspect of worldbuilding which some media don’t always get right.

NEW AND AIRING

Most of the new and airing anime are new seasons of previously released anime, which will be listed below:

· Kaiju No. 8 Season 2
· Dan Da Dan Season 2
· My Dress-Up Darling Season 2
· Dr. Stone Science Future Cour 2
· Reborn as a Vending Machine I Now Wander the Dungeon Season 2
· Rent-a-Girlfriend Season 4
· The Rising of the Shield Hero Season 4
· Toilet-bound Hanako-kun Season 2
· Rascal Does Not Dream of Santa Claus (not quite a new season, but a continuation of Rascal Does Not Dream of Bunny-girl Senpai)

Lord of Mysteries
Animation studio: B.CMAY PICTURES



So, about a year or so ago, there was a clip circulating around on social media, where commentors were saying that the animation style would send studios such as MAPPA, WIT, and ufotable running for their money what with how detailed the animation was. Above is the trailer for the anime, because there is no way a single screenshot can capture the beauty of the animation.

That clip was from Lord of Mysteries, and I am so, so excited to finally see it airing. It has steampunk elements, it has gods, it has secrets, it has epic battles – what more could you ask for? On top of that, the animation is excellent and has moments where you just cannot imagine the amount of time that went into the detail.

This is a donghua adaptation (Chinese anime), so the voice acting is done in Chinese, but that doesn’t detract from the story, characters, or worldbuilding at all. I am at an impasse as to whether to watch each episode as it airs, or wait until it’s finished airing and then binge it… but sadly, spoilers abound.

Nyaight of the Living Cat
Animation studio: OLM



If you thought you had seen every possible kind of apocalyptic situation – zombies, plagues, environmental disasters, and so on – think again. If we ever reach a point where cats carry a viral disease that turns humans into cats, as in Nyaight of the Living Cat, then a cat I shall become. This anime is everything an apocalyptic anime would be, except the survivors all want to pet the kitties! This shows how the domestication of cats, and the subsequent love we show them, can have a negative effect, and such is the issue the survivors are left with. With a gritty background, solid character design, and the amount of effort put into animating many, many cats, this is shaping up to be one funny but thought-provoking anime this season. Also, shoutout to the wordplay!

Gachiakuta
Animation studio: bones film



With only 2 episodes as of time of writing, Gachiakuta is looking to be one heck of an anime. When Rudo, a tribesfolk from a clean world where wealth is separated by how clean an area is (extreme wealth wearing clean white and living in white buildings, while the poor wear dirty white and live in shacks) is framed for murder, he is cast down into the Pit, an unknown area where criminals are sent to be punished. The animation is really gritty and rough, and the eyes of the characters are not the standard animated eyes – they appear almost soulless. This fits into the world that is being built, a world where survival of the fittest is true, and commentary can be made about the disparity of wealth amongst populations.

Hotel Inhumans
Animation studio: Bridge



We’ve had a hotel for dogs, an apocalyptic hotel, and now a hotel for inhumans, otherwise known as “killers for hire”. In Hotel Inhumans, we follow the lives of the two concierges who serve their guests, Ikuro Hoshi and Sara Haizaki (English way of name and surname), and receive glimpses into the lives of their guests and how they became killers-for-hire. Hotel Inhumans has a crisp animation style, with a softer background. The characters Ikuro and Sara are proficient in what they do and the services they offer, but they also have some quirky personalities which stand out in their hotel for killers.

Written by Samantha Crerar