Udon no Kuni no Kin`iro Kemari
Synopsis : Souta Tawara is a web designer working in Tokyo. When he visits his family's Udon place in his hometown Kagawa Prefecture, he discovers a young boy. Upon confronting the boy, Souta soon learns his secret and decides to quit his job in order to take care of the boy, Poko. The daily adventures of the two slowly enfold as Poco energetically navigates his way through Kagawa, the "Udon Kingdom," along with Souta.
Thoughts : Poco's Udon World shares a fair bit of similarities with great slice of life anime like Barakamon and Amaama to Inuzuma, but it's more than just a "clone". It features a funny mix of characters, especially that old granny! A very fun Opening song and it seems a fair bit of soul searching.
Occultic;Nine
Synopsis : The "paranormal science" story follows nine idiosyncratic individuals, linked by the "Choujou Kagaku Kirikiri Basara" occult summary blog run by 17-year-old second-year high school student Gamon Yuuta. Little incongruities that occur around these nine eventually lead to a larger, unimaginable event that may alter what is considered common sense in this world.
Thoughts : Sharing the same sense of Mystery,Fantasy and "science" as Robotic;Notes, Stein's;Gate and Chaos;Head. Occultic;Nine has a lot of promise, and the first episode started off quite strong, unlike some of the other anime it shares a ; with ;)
Long Riders!
Synopsis : The story follows Kurata Ami, a first year college student with no special qualities. One day she happens to notice someone riding a folding bike, immediately falls in love with it, and uses all her savings to buy one. She eventually gets introduced to the world of long-distance bicycling and road racer bikes, and she forms a cycling team called Fortuna with four other female college students from the same school. Their goal is to ride in a "brevet" or long-distance event called Fresh.
Thoughts : Cute girls doing things meets CYCLING, well long distance cycling. Long Riders! has more than just cute girls, it also features some solid biking information in general. Well worth the watch, even just for the great scenery visuals.
Shakunetsu no Takkyuu Musume
Synopsis : The world of middle school girls' ping pong enters an age of heated rivalry as the throne at its apex is surrendered... Tsumujikaze Koyori, a girl who loves ping pong, has just transferred to Suzumegahara Middle School. Along with her friends who strive to be the national champions, can Koyori bring the winds of change to the school?! The curtain is about to rise on a scorching hot tale of girls who love ping pong!
Thoughts : Scorching Ping Pong Girls promises some hot blooded ping pong action with some ecchi elemens, much in the same vein as Saki, just seemingly without the drama factor. Should make for a fun sports anime to watch.
Yuuri!!! on Ice
Synopsis : Katsuki Yuuri carried all of Japan's hopes on his shoulders to win at the Gran Prix Finale ice skating competition, but suffered a crushing defeat. He returns home to Kyushu and half feels like he wants to retire, and half feels like he wants to continue ice skating. Suddenly the five-time consecutive world championship ice skater Victor Nikiforov appears before him with Yuri Plisetsky, a young Russian figure skater who is already defeating his seniors. Victor and both Yuris take up the challenge on an unprecedented Gran Prix series.
Thoughts : First let's address the elephant in the room, yes Yuuri on Ice does have some overtly effeminate characters, and will probably also feature a bit of shounen-ai undertones. But I do also feel that, preconceptions that even I have might have people missing out on a really promising anime.
Keijo!!!!!!!!
Synopsis : Keijo is a sport where contestants stand on platforms floating on the water and use their butts and chests to fight against each other in order to push each other off the platform. Kaminashi Nozomi is a high school student who aims to join the sport after she graduates. Nozomi was raised in a poor family and hopes to make lots of money by playing Keijo. She grew up training in gymnastics, and she has good balance and flexibility. After high school, Nozomi joins a training boarding school and enters the world of Keijo.
Thoughts : Yes this is an anime about butt sumo, Yes it's perverted. But it's also brilliantly animated, has a great soundtrack, a good cast of seiyuu and it's fun. You aren't fooling anyone by acting all "ecchi stuff is bad" on the internet ;)
Fune o Amu
Synopsis : The publication of a new dictionary titled The Great Passage progresses. Majime Mitsuya, originally from publisher Genbu Shobo's sales department, has been recruited by Araki Kouhei, a veteran editor of the dictionary department who is looking to retire soon. The dictionary department is known internally as the "money-eating insect," but Mitsuya uses his perseverance and attachment to the words in order to become a great editor. Mitsuya, who has poor social skills, finds himself working with another man named Nishioka Masashi, who is able to express himself better.
Thoughts : And here we have a show that's the complete opposite of Keijo, Fune o Amu is a beatifually made, relaxing anime that takes the viewer into a slow cruise of the world of words. This is not your typical anime. Miss it at your own peril.
Drifters
Synopsis : Shimazu Toyohisa, while involved in the Battle of Sekigahara, manages to mortally wound Ii Naomasa, but is critically wounded in the process. As he walks from the field wounded and bleeding, Toyohisa finds himself transported to a corridor of doors where a bespectacled man at a desk waits for him. This man, Murasaki, sends Toyohisa into the nearest door where he wakes up in another world. There, Toyohisa meets other great warriors like him who have been transported as well, to be part of a group known as Drifters.
This world contains both native humans and a number of fantastical races, including elves, dwarves, and hobbits. However, the world is at war, with the humans waging a losing war against another group of great warriors, the Ends, who wish to take over the world and kill all the Drifters. Under the Ends' command are many terrible creatures, including dragons, which they use to destroy everything in their wake. At the start of the series, the Ends' army has control of the northern part of the continent and is currently trying to invade the south through a pivotal fortress at the northernmost tip of a nation called Carneades. Meanwhile, the Octobrist Organization, a group of human magicians native to this world, attempt to bring together the many individual Drifters to save their world from the brutal Ends.
Thoughts : ReVelske said it best "Wanna watch historical figures brawling it out in an Animu? I mean, without genderbent Arthur 'n Friends running around trying jerk off teen boys? How about Nobunaga commanding a legit troop of gay Thebes men vs Akechi? Some historic kamikaze pilot fighting a dragon? Butch Cassidy and Sundance Kid vs army of J<SPOILER>? Scipio and Hannibal buddying up? Some obscure Sengoku era samurai vs Joan of Arc? In a world filled with Tolkien nonsense too for good measure? Maybe give Drifters a try."
Watashi ga Motete Dou Sunda
Synopsis : Serinuma Kae is what you'd call a "fujoshi." When she sees boys getting along with each other, she loves to indulge in wild fantasies! One day her favorite anime character dies and the shock causes her to lose a ton of weight. Then four hot guys at school ask her out, but that isn't exciting to her at all — she'd rather see them date each other!
Thoughts : Kiss Him, Not Me is great, I haven't had so many laughs in a reverse harem anime since Ouran Highschool Host Club. Watashi ga motete dou sunda also features a lot of reverences to anime like JoJo and Attack on Titan.
Shuumatsu no Izetta
Synopsis : In 1940, a devastating power witch named Izetta wakes up during the war, after a long sleep.
Thoughts : A super vague synopsis I know, Someone at AniDB has been slacking it seems. Izetta: The Last Witch is a great mix of the supernatural in an alternate World War 2 setting. Also first episode has a Corgi, nuff said.
3-gatsu no Lion
Synopsis : This is a gentle tale about people trying to regain something. And it is a tale of battle.
Kiriyama Rei had lost his family in an accident when he was young. Now he is a 17-year-old pro shogi player who is burdened with deep loneliness. Rei lives alone in an old town in Tokyo, but after becoming acquainted with three sisters, Akari, Hinata and Momo, he begins to change little by little...
Thoughts : March Comes In Like a Lion completely took me by surprise, the massive contrasts between the depressing and happy scenes, the fantastic music that not only sets the mood but also transports you deeply into the setting of this very strong contender for Anime of the Season. Be prepared for a very emotional ride with this one.
That concludes my list of Don't Miss anime from the Fall 2016 Anime season. Keep in mind that there are a fair bit of other anime that's not on this list that I'm also watching and enjoying, tons of good sequels and spin off series this season. So far in general for me, Fall 2016 is a lot better than the summer Anime season this year.
Feel free to share your thoughts or picks for the season in the comment section below, or on facebook or twitter. It's always good to hear what other people are enjoying!
