Top Upcoming Anime 2021

Jue Ding by Xiao Xin Yu

A great Wuxia comedy series that people have compared to Cromartie High School. I can see why but there is a key difference, Jue Ding actually has a serious setting whilst Cromartie setting is wacky from the beginning. In Jue Ding in this serious martial arts world, the characters are goofy.  It is precisely this contrast between the serious setting and the cast of goofy characters that makes this a brilliant comedy. The main character is incredibly strong and is the leader of a fearful gang but he is insecure over his baldness. His baldness and overall presence means he is often mistaken as just a henchman and not the actual boss. A mistake that only serves to grow his insecurities. In order to resolve this, his right hand man a man with white long hair who is instead often mistaken as boss shaves his head and that of many of the gang members. This means people mistakenly believe they have become buddhist which is a joke in itself which is played in the boss when he visits a temple to speak to someone. To resolve this once and for all the main characters seeks a formula to grow his hair again and along the way meets many wacky characters in many different situations. In one for example a man seeks to challenge the gang leader and attacks the vice-leader instead who responds in a dramatic way that he is not the leader.

This is a surely to be a great comedy series in a genre that is not usually shown in anime. The art of the manhua is excellent and if the anime replicates that it is surely to going to be great. 

This is a Chinese work and Chinese studios are much newer but the one in charge of this is QI Ling Shi - or Seven Stone Entertainment.  They have done a lot of animation work for Japanese works before and more recently have been in charge of a couple of Chinese works themselves. Their latest works in 2020 were Wuxian Shaonu 48, Jieyao. The former was an fantasy idol shows with girls from different dimensions and with many powers whilst Jieyao was a boy's love drama series. Both seemed seemed perfectly decent shows so I do not think this series should have technical issues though we do not have any staff news yet.

The Vampire Dies in No Time by Bonnoki Itaru

What can I say about a series where the main character dies at the drop of a hat. Draluc is a vampire but he is incredibly weak and dies easily in fact almost every chapter even multiple times sometimes to the level that a counter of his death is one of the running gags of the series. 

There are many wacky characters to match Draluc, one of these characters is Ronaldo. The vampire hunter and writer who is living with a vampire, Draluc. Ronaldo is usually the straight man but he often also plays along in many hijinks. His editor that carries a large axe with is usually involved in those moments as rightfully so Ronaldo fears him with all his heart. There are many others characters that are very iconic and wacky but i will leave it to the anime to show them off. 

The primary reason you should watch for this series if you like comedy is that most of the jokes in this series are visual. Hence, they will work even better than in manga form in the anime. In addition, to the voices and interplay between the straight man and boke and the vast amount of ridiculous situation involving vampire hunters and vampires will have your laughing out loud. A must watch for fans of gag comedy like Osomatsu-kun and the likes. 

The studio in charge of it is Madhouse but most importantly it has an experienced director and other key staff members. So, in the technical side it should be a decent show as well.  

Ousama Ranking by Sousuke Touka

An incredibly peculiar series and a surprising one at that since it began first as a web serialisation in Manga Hack, a site where anyone can publish their series. This is probably part of the reason this series has such an unique aesthetics for manga. it resembles instead some western comics, in that it has a simpler art style but one that nevertheless meshes very well with its story. 

The main character is the first prince, Bojji who is deaf and spends his day playing and hence he is looked down by the king's aides. The setting itself might not sound specifically interesting but how Bojji is rather small and how huge much bigger the other characters are especially the kind showcases his weakness. However, this is not a story about him getting revenge or really going against the people who think little of him but of Bojji himself growing. It is not an underdog story of Bojji proving his doubters wrong but about how his shadow friend and Bojji trains himself and gets stronger, not just physically but emotionally to overcome the obstacles and become king. 

WIT studio will be in charge of animating this excellent work. Wit usually delivers good works but i am hesitant to affirm this without knowledge of the staff but the visual gives me hope. They have very good content to adapt in this series which goes a long way in itself, so this is one to watch out for. It is a very good series with a lot of personality that I feel a lot of anime nowadays simply can do hope to have. 

Pipe Wrench Boy by Yu Yanshu

Pipe Wrench Boy in many ways is a nostalgic work. It is not a new work in fact it started way back in 2008 over 10 years ago. Perhaps what stands out to me from this series is the setting a sci fi setting involving many 'engineers' people who uses various mechanic weapons and tools for fight. The story focuses on two brothers Suya and Subi who both want to receive the grand engineer title by winning the World Engineer Tournament. The story starts of in a small village and they both set out in their own journey to attend school to be able to become better engineers. 

The story seems very shounenesque and that is on purpose this a series featuring the themes of those type of series, hot blooded, passion and effort. In a sense, many adults nowadays grew up with Naruto, Bleach and One Piece the likes and Pipe Wrench Boy whilst it might not reach the height of those series it can touch people in a similar way to those series. It has  and passionate fights which will look great animated and whilst it might have a simple story that is not always great, it has heart and people that want should check this one out. 

The animation in the PV, I admit does not look particularly awesome, It features a blend of 3D CGI and 2D. In a way that somewhat resembles Studio Orange and Lidens Films works. It is the first time the studio MH Heros is handling a full series and alongside Pipe Wrench Boy they are also working in a series called Shanghai Melody. This might be a worry but I am hopeful. 

Yang Yao The Spirit Catcher - Xiao Shi Li & Shi Zi Qing

Another manhua adaptation to look forward for 2021. This series reminds me of Mushishi and Natsume no Yuujinchou in its feel for the former and its theme for the latter. What does this mean you might ask?Let me explain, In regards to the former the resemblance in theme is pronounced in the usage of paintings to capture spirits and to control them. Yang Yao the protagonist as the title suggest does this and similarly to Natsume no Yuujinchou it involves many emotions rather than just a plain fight to beat the evil spirt. 

The Mushishi feel is also linked in away to how the series is formed by small arcs involving characters which makes it feel somewhat episodic. In addition, the entrance of Yang Yao is sometimes the catalyst for the events but these small story involve more so the people he involves himself with him which is something prevalent in Mushishi. However, unlike Mushishi it has an overarching story that unveils over these smaller arcs. 

The PV does not show much but it does show some decent animation and the studio in charge of it is Thundray. A studio that has not been in charge of many works till now, they have a lot of experience working as subcontractor in japanese works. More recently, they also worked together with Blade, a japanese studio on Cooking with Valkyries.  they also are headed the project for Chu Feng SOE which a series that has a nice level of production and  hopefully they deliver on Yang Yao too. 

To Your Eternity by Yoshitoki Oima

This is a great series with a clear theme. It focuses on a being that appears into the world, but most significantly is that the fact it is immortal and whilst it takes the shape of a wolf at first it takes the form of a boy later. It dies many times but regenerates and learns after every death. In a sense it this being completely broken away from the characters in the rest of the series that are mortal and can die. It learns from the humans, their emotions, and how to talk and the likes whilst witnessing their struggles with living in a harsh world. It is a interesting setting primarily because the main character is primarily set up as figure that observes

The series does involve other characters but the main character is the focal point of the narrative but the story is not about him per say but what he is witnessing. This is perhaps ironic because this being was cast onto the word by someone that wants to witness its story into the world and this is an invitation for us as well to do the same. I believe this provides for a very interesting narrative and it allows itself to focus on the experiences of others from the unique perspective of a immortal being. For fans of mystery and human drama this series hit the right notes.

Brains Base will be handling the animation for this series whilst that in itself is not too important, what is more important is that it has an experienced director. The PV feels just like it should be and I am excited to 'observe.'

Maiko-san Chi no Makanai-san by Aiko Koyama

A series that will illustrate a particular part of Japanese culture that perhaps is misunderstood in the western world and more widely. In Maiko-san, we have the main character Kiyo who is living in a lodge with many other aspiring geisha which are called maiko and that is where the title comes from. For Kiyo, however, the dream is over but her love for it and her friends made her stay and work instead as a caretaker for the lodge. The story follows her as she lives with these apprentices and shows us how the life of not only these maiko attempts to become geisha but also of actual geisha. It is an incredibly enjoyable experience for someone interested in learning other cultures. 

It is perhaps because of that that it is not surprising to see that this series is produced by NHK, Japan public network. I say that because it is a work that talks about Japanese culture and in a sense Maiko is made for that but it embeds it into a sweet story of friendship as well which is where the slice of life aspect appears. It is not a dramatic series even though Maiko could not achieve her dream because she is happy to be in the part of the life of geisha and seeing her friends succeed. It is a wonderful warm work that will make you cozy and happy whilst telling you a lot about something incredibly interesting which is the culture of geisha. 

Let's Make A Mug Too' by Planet

A series that resembles another one i have put in list prior, Rescue Academia. It is likewise that series a project primarily driven to promote tourism of Tajimi and the local specialty ceramics and its own customs.  It unlike that show however, is based of a manga which was creature back in 2012 and has been on going since then and it has been created for the same aim. You might be wondering what's the point of putting series like this? First, this series is rather enjoyable in itself, it is rather soothing slice of life series dealing with a girl adjusting to a new environment and experience the local culture and making friends whilst at it. These sort of setting and story line is rather common but it is a prime setting to explore a new environment and teach and show the viewer the wonders of the local places in a way that fits the wider narrative.

Secondly, and perhaps more personally my interest on this series like Rescue Academia originates from my interest in learning different cultures. Like Rescue Academia is also interesting to see how cities have to adjust themselves to a new age where they have to look things like anime, social media to appeal people to visit the town. It has shown to be effective in a way with shows like Yuru Camp driving many people to the places the girls camped. 

In regards to animation this series will be handled by Nippon Animation, one of the oldest studios in japan and one that has done many series throughout the year. The director Kamiya Jun is rather experienced with many differences genres so this series is in safe hands. This is likewise the case for the rest of the main staff. So If you want a warm series and see new places this is the series for you.