Top Upcoming Anime for Spring Season 2021

The World Ends WIth You

Synopsis - 

Neku Sakuraba, a 15-year-old boy with a hobby for music and graffiti, wakes up in what seems to be the Shibuya shopping district of Tokyo, Japan. With no idea why he's there, he opens his hand to realize he is holding a strange black pin. After flipping it with his hand, the thoughts of the people surrounding him begins to flow into his head at once. Surprised, Neku discovers he is able to read the minds of others and assumes it has something to do with the black pin he is holding.

A cell phone starts to ring in his pocket, and he can't tell whether it is his or not. A text message appears: "Reach 104. You have 60 minutes. Fail, and face erasure. -The Reapers." After discovering he can't delete the message, a timer of 60 minutes imprints onto his right hand. Neku is in Shibuya to play the "Reapers' Game," which spans a total of seven days. All Players of the Reapers' Game have a black pin with a skull embedded on it.

[Source - Wikipedia]

An original anime based on the cult classic game from back in 2007. After a very long time the game finally will be receiving a sequel later this year and this anime is an attempt to promote it but also expand the series into a franchise. 

The game was a cult classic for a reason, its story and its pop art style and gameplay. The gameplay is not relevant for the anime but the other too are. The PV showcase incredibly well the adaptation of the pop art style which makes this look like a faithful adaptation and likewise hopefully the story is as well adapted. 

The studios in plural working on this will be Shin-ei animation and Domerica. In themselves both these studios do not standout but the director Ichikawa Kazuya has a lot of experience and likewise the series composer Gotou Midori is also experienced in his role. Others aspects like the music will be hugely important for this series like it was for the game but there is no need to worry about this since the composer of the game will be working on the anime. Look out for this since its style will captive you. 

Combatants Will be Dispatched!

Synopsis -

Always bring a gun to a sword fight!

With world domination nearly in their grasp, the Supreme Leaders of the Kisaragi Corporation—an underground criminal group turned evil megacorp—have decided to try their hands at interstellar conquest. A quick dice roll nominates their chief operative, Combat Agent Six, to be the one to explore an alien planet...and the first thing he does when he gets there is change the sacred incantation for a holy ritual to the most embarrassing thing he can think of.

But evil deeds are business as usual for Kisaragi operatives, so if Six wants a promotion and a raise, he'll have to work much harder than that! For starters, he'll have to do something about the other group of villains on the planet, who are calling themselves the "Demon Lord's Army" or whatever. After all, this world doesn't need two evil organizations!

[Source: Yen Press]

A comedy series by the the author of Konosuba. Like that series this one is filled to the brim with wacky characters all with their own specific traits. It is clear that for this series the author wanted to make the main character be more morally ambiguous in a way to make him like Kazuma but with a clearer reasoning for his 'vile' actions. The setting for this series as the synopsis is a lot more open than Konosuba fantasy's for this sort of thing too which gives the author more leeway for the same sort of  comedy from his previous work.

This series has not quite found the same level of popularity of Konosuba prior to that series own anime, I believe the anime for Combatants Will be Dispatched will not disappointed in the comedy.  The studio JC Staff is a not a bad choice though it also not a good one in my eyes since they are usually rather bland in their animation. The staff more importantly is reasonably experienced especially the director Hiroaki Akagi though not so much with a series so comedy focused as this one. So there is a room for worry here but I still think the comedy will pull through for this series. 

ODD TAXI

Synopsis -

In a city which should be familiar, there is the feeling of something a little different.

Kotokawa is a taxi driver who lives an ordinary life, taxing some quirky customers around. A slightly eccentric stranger who has no relatives nor any relations with other people, Kotokawa's hobby is to listen to Rakugo on the radio before going to bed. For the time being, the only people he can consider as friends are his family doctor Gouriki, and his high school classmate Kakihana.

Kabasawa, a college student who wants a buzz, Shirakawa, a nurse who's hiding something, comedian group Homo Sapiens, who isn't selling well, the city hoodlum Dobu, and the rookie idol group Mystery Kiss—the conversations with these people, which should not have meant much, lead to a girl who disappeared.

[Source: MAL News]

An anime original that features a society of anthropomorphic animal where things are not as they seem at a glance. It looks incredibly intriguing and the story is surely going to deliver since Kadzuya Konomoto is penning it. This is his foray into writing anime since his manga days and his second time handling the script for an original project after the drama Black School in 2019.  

Konomoto excels at slice of life stories that have a subtle touch into much deeper and sometimes darker topics. He explores the slice of life aspect through conversations and that probably comes from his deep interest in Rakugo. This rakugo interest have become part of his story telling, in Setoutsumi for example conversations built the story and this likewise will be the case here with the story unfolding through the characters interactions in the taxi. This sort of story telling is vastly missed in anime and I am looking forward to seeing more of his subtle story telling unfold. 

This is PICS first project and therefore its the first project for most of the staff. However, the PV have shown good animation and the music has been on point as well so whilst there is worry over how well it will turn out over the run on tv, i am it will it will end up well. 

Shaman King 

Synopsis - 

Shamans are extraordinary individuals with the ability to communicate with ghosts, spirits, and gods, which are invisible to ordinary people. The Shaman Fight—a prestigious tournament pitting shamans from all over the world against each other—is held every five hundred years, where the winner is crowned Shaman King. This title allows the current incumbent to call upon the Great Spirit and shape the world as they see fit.

Finding himself late for class one night, Manta Oyamada, an ordinary middle school student, decides to take a shortcut through the local cemetery. Noticing him, a lone boy sitting on a gravestone invites Manta to stargaze with "them." Realizing that "them" refers to the boy and his ghostly friends, Manta flees the terror. Later, the boy introduces himself as You Asakura, a Shaman-in-training, and demonstrates his powers by teaming up with the ghost of six-hundred-year-old samurai Amidamaru to save Manta from a group of thugs. You befriends Manta due to his ability to see spirits, and with the help of Amidamaru, they set out to accomplish You's goal of becoming the next Shaman King.

[Source - MAL]

A whole new series of the manga series. The big different this time around is the fact that the manga is now finished and the anime can follow the story instead of having to diverge into its own anime original content because it had no more content to adapt after a certain part.  This series is incredibly nostalgic for me as I watched it during my childhood alongside many others series. However, if you have not watched this series or read the manga, it features Asakura Yuu who together with the spirit of a dead samurai fight together to become the Shaman King. 

It is a great series with many good moments, the action is exquisite and there are various different characters with different fightings style that provide variety of fighting scenes. The old series mimicked the manga style and it fit incredibly well because the style was distinct and it gives the series its  own unique stylish feel. This is a definite must watch for its style and action for any shounen lovers. 

Studio Bridge will be overseeing the animation which is reasonable, not excellent. The director has experience but I wish he had more with action series. The rest of the staff seems decent but nothing impressive. I still think they will show us an good end result but I do think it might be lacking in the technical department.

To Your Eternity 

Synopsis -

It, a mysterious immortal being, is sent to the Earth with no emotions nor identity. However, It is able to take the shape of those around that have a strong impetus.

At first, It is a sphere. Then, It imitates the form of a rock. As the temperature drops and snow falls atop the moss, It inherits the moss. When an injured, lone wolf comes limping by and lays down to die, It takes on the form of the animal. Finally, It gains consciousness and begins to traverse the empty tundra until It meets a boy.

The boy lives alone in a ghost town, which the adults abandoned long ago in search of the paradise said to exist far beyond the endless sea of white tundra. However, their efforts were for naught, and now the boy is in a critical state.

Acquiring the form of the boy, It sets off on a never-ending journey, in search of new experiences, places, and people.

[Source - MAL]

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 is a 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 a 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.'