Okay, I admit that I’m somewhat late in posting my Fall 2016 Anime Must-Watch List. For the past few weeks, I’ve been busy with rewriting my first novel, The Diary of Modern Cinderella.
I’ll be posting about it soon. But for now, let’s take a look at what I’m currently watching in this season.
As usual, the order of the anime is in the chronological order. So, the order isn’t based on what anime I like the most.
All Out!
If you already know my penchant with sports anime, then it’s not surprising at all that All Out! is on this list. Even if you’re not into rugby or sports anime in general, I highly recommend you to watch this anime. There are so many life lessons you can get just by watching this anime.
Bungo Stray Dogs
Well, I’ve watched the first season of this anime, so it’s obvious that I’ll be watching the second season as well.
The second season starts off with Dazai’s past, so it may take awhile to get into the main story. Nevertheless, it’s still enjoyable to watch.
Chi’s Sweet Adventure
I was excited to find out that there will be the third season for Chi’s Sweet Home anime. In fact, this anime is the anime that I’m so looking forward to.
Unlike Chi’s Sweet Home and Chi’s New Address, Chi’s Sweet Adventure is in 3DCG. When I heard about this anime will be in 3DCG instead of the usual 2D anime, I started to think that it might be as horrible as Ajin.
But I’m glad that the animation quality is better than Ajin. Not to mention, Chi looks much cuter in 3D than in 2D. I guess that making this anime in 3DCG is the best thing to do.
This anime is a must-watch if you’re a cat lover or an animal lover. The anime is only less than 15 minutes, just like the last season.
While I usually recommend people to watch from the first season, I think that it’s fine if you just want to jump straight to watching Chi’s Sweet Adventure without watching Chi’s Sweet Home and Chi’s New Address.
But then again, it’s better for you to watch the first two seasons first before watching Chi’s Sweet Adventure for better understanding.
Drifters
To be honest, I didn’t have much expectation when I began to watch this anime. But surprisingly, I enjoy watching this anime, since these historical figures have their own crazy antiques.
Unlike any other anime I’ve watched, the art style for Drifters doesn’t look like the typical anime-looking style. The art style feels like the one you see in the western comic book. But it still doesn’t hinder me from enjoying this anime.
If you’re into seinen anime with a bunch of historical figures under one roof, then give this anime a try.
Fune wo Amu
To be honest, I have no idea why I’ve decided to watch this anime. Well, the anime itself is focusing on a dry subject. And that is about publishing a dictionary.
While this anime isn’t the sort of anime that gets me excited for the new episode, I kind of enjoy watching this anime since it gives us a glimpse into the publishing industry.
Sure, publishing a dictionary is different than publishing fiction and non-fiction books. In fact, publishing dictionary costs a lot of money but doesn’t bring a massive profit at all.
Well, that’s what I found out thanks to Fune wo Amu.
Now I begin to appreciate the people’s effort to compile words and turn it into a dictionary.
It seems that we’ve taken the dictionary for granted.
Girlish Number
Girlish Number is similar to Sore ga Seiyuu! since this anime is focusing on about the role of seiyuu in the anime industry.
But unlike Ichinose Futaba who is a seiyuu who is dedicated and willing to work hard, we have Karasuma Chitose. She’s the sort of person who never wants to work hard to become a famous seiyuu. She thinks that she can become a famous seiyuu without doing all of the hard work.
Just like any other anime-industry centric anime like Shirobako, this anime gives us another glimpse of the anime industry, from Chitose’s cynism attitude.
This anime also highlights another thing that seems common in the anime industry. But you have to watch this anime to discover what it is.
And yes, it bothers me a bit since the practice itself affect the original creators the most.
I’ll be writing about what I notice from Girlish Number in a later blog post. So, stay tune!
Haikyuu! S3
Well, it’s the continuation from the Season 2. From the look of it, the whole season seems to be dedicating to Karasuno’s match with Shiratorizawa.
For some reason, I have a feeling that the Season 3 will be much shorter if the anime only covers the final match with Shiratorizawa.
Can’t say for sure, but it’s not surprising if it’s true.
Natsume Yuujinchou Go
To be honest, I’ve never expected that there will be a new season for Natsume Yuujinchou. But just like any other fan, I’m also excited with the news and can’t wait to watch this anime.
If you’re a fan of Fukigen na Mononokean, then you will also love this anime.
Just like Chi’s Sweet Adventure, it’s perfectly fine to watch the latest season right away without watching the first four seasons. But it’ll be good if you start from the beginning if you’ve never watched it.
But fret not, each season only has 13 episodes. So, it won’t be long for you to catch up with the latest season.
Occultic; Nine
The reason why I watch this anime is that it’s by the same creator for Steins Gate. Unlike Steins Gate where the premise of the anime is about time traveling, this anime emphasizes more on the scientific perspective of the supernatural occurrence.
Just like Steins Gate, expect that there will be scientific theories thrown around throughout the story. So, it may take a while to let the ideas to sink in.
Surprisingly, the pacing for this anime is much faster compared to Steins Gate. Maybe it’s because I assume that it follows more or less the same pace like Steins Gate.
Whether you’re a fan of Steins Gate or not, give this anime a try especially if you love anime with the occult theme.
Soul Buster
Well, this anime gives me the same vibe as Fate/Stay Night, with the exception that these warriors are the Chinese warriors. And the name of the characters is in Chinese.
In case you’re wondering, this anime is a collaboration with the Chinese animation studio. So, that explains why the animation style is different than the usual animation we always see in the anime, where they have animated photo filter on top of the animation.
Okay, I admit that calling it a photo filter seems wrong. But as far as I remember, I don’t see this kind of animation style anywhere else. I bet that those creative spin must have come from the Chinese animation studio.
And it looks great too.
The anime is only under 10 minutes long, though. I’m not sure how anime with a deep storyline like this can wrap things up under 10 minutes.
But so far, they seem to be doing a good job.
Stella no Mahou
Last season, we had New Game!, which is an anime about the video game industry. Sure, the anime was only focusing on the visual aspect of the game. At least we get a glimpse on how a video game from a famous franchise is produced.
But for this season, we’re shifting our gear to indie games. And that’s what Stella no Mahou comes is all about, which is behind the scene on how to create an indie game.
Just like New Game!, Stella no Mahou also shows that all members have to burn the midnight oil just to meet the deadline.
But in their case, I think it’s even worst since they probably have nothing to sell during the event like Comiket if they didn’t meet the deadline.
And it doesn’t help that the deadline is only a few hours away.
To be frank, I’ve never created a game myself. So, I can’t say for sure how realistic the anime is. But one thing I know for sure is that it’s possible to create a video game with only a few people.
Of course, the kind of game you can create with a few people is limited. But hey, I think that’s a good start if you always dream of creating your own game.
And this anime proves it all.
Udon no Kuni no Kiniro Kemari
Initially, I thought that this anime would be the udon version of Shokugeki no Soma. But that doesn’t seem the case to me after watching a few episodes.
Somehow, this anime feels more like promoting Kagawa prefecture instead of focusing on the udon restaurant business.
Sure, the anime is different from what I expect. But at least it gives me this warm and fuzzy feeling after watching this anime.
And it doesn’t look bad at all.
Yuri!!! on Ice
Apart from the fact that it’s sports anime, the reason why I’m watching this anime is that it reminds me a lot of Ginban Kaleidoscope.
The only difference is Yuri!!! on Ice is focusing on the male figure skating, whereas Ginban Kaleidoscope is focusing more on the female figure skating.
Unlike any other sports anime I’ve watched, I won’t deny that the fanservice is indeed in-your-face kind of approach.
So, this anime is NOT for you if you’re not comfortable with in-your-face BL-ish looking fanservice.
What’s your Fall 2016 Anime Must-Watch?
I know that what I recommend here is only a tip of the iceberg. But feel free to share with me what you watch this season if the anime you watch is not on my must-watch list.