OK, it’s not quite that bad… But with everything else I’m working on I do have to admit to being sorely tempted to just leave it at that.
Anyhow, hit the jump and let’s take a look at my picks for next season.
As is the tradition here at the Apprentice Mages Lounge, not going to play coy. Just going to start at the top and work our way down.
Standard note: The shows that I am planning on watching are in bold, shows my wife and I are planning on watching together are in bold italics.
Sword Art Online: Alicization / Sword Art Online III
Anybody who knows me, knows I’m a fan of the franchise – so it should come as no surprise SAO tops the list.
The most interesting/amazing part of the series is the announcement that came out Sunday – they’re going to adapt the whole thing in one go… They’re planning a four cour series. Let that sink in for a moment, an entire year of SAO! I dunno if they’re brave or insane or both, but it’s gonna be a h_lluva ride.
A Certain Magical Index III
To be honest, I’m more of a Railgun fan than I am an Index fan… And I often find Index dense and perplexing, and not in a good way. But there’s some fun action sequences and the mythology/backstory is interesting (when it’s not being dense and perplexing), so I’ll be watching.
Release the Spyce
This season’s magical girl show (there’s one almost every season)…. But, the series was conceived and created by Takahiro, who also created Yuki Yuna is a Hero. So color me intrigued.
Iroduku Sekai no Ashita kara
This summer has been crazy busy, so I haven’t really had time to do my usual research… I didn’t even know about this anime until I saw a news item on ANN just now (while looking for SAO III article with the video above). It’s P.A. Works, and I always check out their offerings.
Tsurune
On the list on the basis that it’s from KyoAni, and like P.A. works I always check them out. (Plus I seem to be finding myself interested in sports/school club anime.)
Bloom Into You / Yagate Kimi ni Naru
Yuri Romance that’s getting a ton of buzz and has some serious weight on it’s staff. Yuri isn’t a genre I feel strongly about one way or the other, but so far this year has been seriously lack in good romances.
Anima Yell!
CGDCT – right in my wheelhouse.
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Heck… I usually have to cut myself off at ten previews, but this season I barely managed eight. If it wasn’t for SAO and couple of strong contenders, this would be seriously depressing. Doubly so since it comes on the heels of a generally depressing Summer 2018 schedule.
On the other hand, there are a few not listed here that I know I’ll be checking out if they get announced… so maybe there’ll be a hidden gem or three.
As usual, I’m not getting my hopes up too much in advance of the announcements of what’s getting a legal stream in the US.
Anyhow, what do you think of these shows? What are you looking forward to? Drop a comment and let me know!
Apprentice Mages Lounge. 
That screenshot makes me exceedingly happy.
I’m also more of an Railgun person, but Index is still decently entertaining.
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I just couldn’t not use that screenie… Struck me as funny. :)
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I didn’t see a lot that I wanted to watch outside of SAO 3. I’d watch Index but I’m not at all current with that.
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Yah, Index is not a show you can pick up in midstream. I’m pondering on whether I should re-watch parts of the 2nd season to get back up to speed.
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Yeah, I figured as much. Cool that it got a third season though. I seem to recall hearing people thought it likely wouldn’t get one awhile back.
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Well, it’s not going to be a surprise that I’m not keen on SAO, especially not if it’s running for an entire year. Also not going to watch index (seen 7 eps of the original, and it was okay; never seen any railgun).
Takahiro is a serious turn-off for me. I hated Akame ga Kill, and I had serious issues with Yuki Yuna. I did sort of, kind of like Girls Beyond the Wasteland, but even then I wanted to like it more than I did.
I always wanted to see an archery anime since I like the aesthetic, and KyoAni can be a great choice. I just hope it’s going to more Euphonium than Free.
PA Works – Check.
Anima Yeall, maybe. CGDCT + cheerleading may be overkill if it’s as kirara-typical as it looks.
Bloom into You looks pretty good.
I’m sort of curious about Tensei Shitara Slime Datta Ken, an isekai where a salariman gets reborn as a slime. It’s likely a completely typical isekai show, but could be fun.
Seishun Buta Yarou could be interesting, or could be a train-wreck. Looks like a harem set-up, with a clear favourite (like Clannad). We’ll see.
My CGDCT show this season is likely going to be Tonari no Kyuuketski san. If it’s not groanworthy, it could be fun.
Jingai no Yome looks rather cute from the art. I think it’s going to be a short?
And that’s pretty much all I got. I don’t expect next season to be worse than this one, but it looks like winter’s going to end up best season of the year by far.
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I admit to being curious about Slime and the bunny girl show too… But not much above the “meh” level. Other than that, none of the shows you list that I didn’t seem interesting (to me). But some of that may be because I’m just so freakin’ tired of late.
And you’re spot on, we were seriously spoiled by Winter 2018.
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Looks like your list is pretty much my list. I’m not into SAO, and Anima Yell doesn’t really interest me, but all of the others you listed I’m at least mildly curious about, along with Tonari no Kyuuketsuki-san (I normally avoid any shows with “vampire” in the description like the plague, but this one actually looks like it could be okay), and Radiant (a manga I’ve heard good things about + Yuki Yuna’s director/writer team of Seiji Kishi & Makoto Uezu + a good production studio in Lerche = a series I definitely want to check out). If I only end up watching my usual two or three, though, it’ll probably end up being some mix of Tsurune, Bloom, Radiant, and/or Spyce.
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I avoid shows involving vampires, period… Just can’t stand them.
Radiant, I think I’ll let the first reports filter in before making a choice. That plotline isn’t exactly unusual, but the source of the source material is.
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Oh man, I was so hoping you were going to take Scott’s suggestion and include your tweet. 10/10 for that.
Good picks too. I’ve been working on my own Season Preview and I can’t help but think Fall 2018 might end the year on a whimper. Somehow have 20 anime to list but it was tough deciding what to include.
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The more I thought about using that tweet/screenshot, the more I couldn’t resist. :) I almost just linked to the tweet, but then I realized that would be missing the point.
As I said above… Winter spoiled us. But maybe there’ll be a breakout or two. (Crossing fingers.)
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I’m very much looking forward to SAO and Goblin Slayer but otherwise haven’t really looked at everything coming out next season. From the quick scroll I did through a list of titles, there seemed to be quite a few I wouldn’t mind trying an episode of so I should have a busy first couple of weeks while I decide on my watch list.
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Looking at the premiere dates we’ve gotten so far we’re going to get hammered over that week… So I might wait and let other folks take one for the team and wait for them to weigh in. Wouldn’t be the first time.
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I always enjoy the first couple of weeks of the season while I catch up on first episodes. There’s so much that could end up being potentially good and even when something misses the mark, at least it is something new to try.
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Yeah, it looks like a pretty forgettable season. I guess most of the shows will be kinda ok but none of them are very likely to be remembered for long. Except SAO because that one is on its own level. Apart from what you mentioned I think RErideD can be an unexpected source of fun watching how bad Yoshitoshi ABe’s character designs and story ideas will be butchered by an unknown studio.
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Unknown studios can produce some real stinkers out of good source material… But they have to make their bones somewhere don’t they?
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True, you won’t ever succeed if you won’t try. Only some studios are luckier in that respect than others and it seems like there’re more unlucky ones.
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I just found out that the source for Kaze ga Tsuyoku Fuiteiru is a novel by Miura Shion, who also wrote The Great Passage. Instant interest.
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That was on my radar just below the “meh” level, mostly because (as I said) I’m getting more interested in sports anime.
And dammit, I need to find time to watch Passage. It’s sitting right there in my queue on Amazon.
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@SAO III: Love SAO but it’s so uneven. At its best (when there’s real-world consequences for in-game actions, when Kirito is not ridiculously overpowered, when Asuna is a featured character) it’s one of the greatest. Think first cour, and the Mother’s Rosario arc. At its worst, it’s just watching someone else play a video game, one of the most boring things I can imagine. Never read the light novels so don’t know if the anime team is just stuck with the quality of the source material.
Besides your list, also looking forward to season 2 of Golden Kamuy.
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Re:SAO III – there’s a lot of praise for this arc from folks who’ve read the LN… So I have high hopes.
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