Fall 2016 Anime to Watch
10/4/16
Mobile Suit Gundam: Iron-Blooded Orphans Season 2:
(Available with subtitles via Daisuki Simulcast and Crunchyroll one week later)
Mobile Suit Gundam: Iron-Blooded Orphans continues the story of the newest iteration of the long-standing Mobile Suit Gundam franchise. Although the Iron-Blooded Orphans story is set in an original timeline, devoid of any relation to previous Mobile Suit Gundam series, it continues the 35 year-old themes of the drama and tragedy of war in a futuristic space setting, that of course features the enormous, mechanical, human-piloted suits known as Gundams. The second season of Iron-Blooded Orphans resumes the conflict between the adolescent members of Tekkadan, a Martian paramilitary group fighting to defend themselves from Gjallarhorn, the overwhelming Earth-based military force that has policed every human habitat for centuries.
Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure: Diamond Is Unbreakable (cont.)
(Available with subtitles via Crunchyroll Simulcast)
Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure: Diamond Is Unbreakable, also known as Jojo’s Part 4, follows the latest member of the Joestar lineage, Higashikata Josuke. As with all series of the Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure franchise, supernatural abilities, looming threats of serial killers and mutilation, exaggerated character reactions, and stunning artwork are abound in Diamond Is Unbreakable.
The continuing season finds Josuke and his comrades searching for the serial killer Kira Yoshikage, who has just mercilessly eliminated their friends Yangu Shigekiyo and Tsuji Aya. Although they know the identity of their enemy, he has now assumed the features and identity of another victim, Kawajiri Kosaku. As Josuke and company struggle to find Yoshikage, the spirit of his deceased father Yoshihiro begins to create new enemies to defeat them and protect his son.
Drifters:
(Available with subtitles via Crunchyroll Simulcast. Available in English via Funimation starting November 6th)
A new anime based on Hirano Kouta’s manga of the same name. This fantasy/historical series revolves around Shimazu Toyohisa, following the Battle of Sekigahara in 1600. While history says that Toyohisa perishes in battle in Sekigahara, Drifters has the wounded Toyohisa wander into a war-torn fantasy realm where he encounters other famous warriors, such as Oda Nobunaga and Jeann d’Arc, as allies and enemies.
Haikyu Season 3:
(Available via Crunchyroll Simulcast)
Haikyuu, the popular volleyball manga published by Shonen Jump, enters its third animated season. This season focuses on our protagonists, Karasuno High School, facing off against their greatest opponent yet, the nationally renowned Shiratorizawa Academy, in the finals of their Miyagi prefecture volleyball tournament. The winner will progress on to enter Japan’s national volleyball tournament as the representative for Miyagi. Karasuno’s team has overcome countless obstacles to reach this point, but it will surely take everything they have to defeat Shiratorizawa and their indomitable ace, Ushijima Wakatoshi.
Bungo Stray Dogs Season 2:
(Available via Crunchyroll Simulcast)
Bungo Stray Dogs follows the exploits and super-powered battles of the “Armed Detective Agency” in a fictional Yokohama, Japan. The story focuses on Atsushi Nakajima, who, along with characters such as Edogawa Rampo and Dazai Osamu, has supernatural abilities related to the famed author he is named after. The second season takes place following the events of season one, involving a newly introduced North American group called “The Guild” fighting the Armed Detective Agency (and possibly the antagonistic and super-powered “Port Mafia”) for dominance. The Guild’s members, like all characters from Bungo Stray Dogs, are named and have abilities related to famed authors, however The Guild specifically references American authors such as Mark Twain and F. Scott Fitzgerald.