The J-List Guide to the Spring 2018 Anime Season

Being an anime blogger sounds like a fun job to have, and it is, but it can also be quite a lot of work. As to anime increases in popularity, with more and more series being made each season, it becomes a physical impossibility to watch all of the major and a series, or even half, or even a quarter. I have to get quite strategic about what shows I plan on following. Let’s take a look at some shows I plan on watching in the spring 2018 anime season.

Wotaku ni Koi wa Muzukashii

The story of two otakus working together in a company, who find love together. I’m a fan of stories that explore and define otaku culture, so this looks interesting. Another similar (?) show this season is 3D Kanojo: Real Girl. I wonder which one will be the better show?

Mahou Shoujo Site

I tend to obsess over “post-modern” magical girl anime shows, by which I mean “post-Madoka” magical girl shows, and enjoy the deliciously dark Magical Girl Raising Project a lot. I’ll keep an eye on this show and hope that it’s good.

Mahou Shoujo Ore

Wow, the multiple medical girls show in the same season! Considering the popularity of Ore, Twintail ni Narimasu, a show about a boy who transforms into a magical girl with twin tails, this one might be good. It’s about a girl whose mother was a former magical girl who contracts with the yakuza to get magical girl powers… although she transforms into a magical boy.

Uma Musume: Pretty Derby

I latched onto the Uma Musume: Pretty Derby animation short when it was first released a few years ago, to promote horse racing in general (which is huge in Japan) along with some mobile game. Now it’s getting a full-fledged anime, so naturally, I’m excited. As a guy with a centaur fetish — we even publish an adult game featuring one — I guess it’s just natural.

Shiyan Pin Jiating

A Chinese anime about a family where the parents are mad scientists who have experimented on their children. Being a student of the anime industry, I’ll certainly give this one a try, just as I was when that interesting Korean Winter Sonata anime was released.

Comic Girls

The daily life of up-and-coming female mangaka living in a dormitory. Judging from my paste taste, it’s safe to say I’ll watch it if the fandom turns the girls into raging lesbians.

Persona 5 the Animation

The only thing harder than watching all the major enemy releases in a season is finding time to play the games/read the novels/read the original manga. So when a major anime like Persona 5 comes along, I will be paying attention.

High School DxD Hero

I find as a fan, I’m quite loyal to certain animation studios who have made amazing works in the past, such as JC Staff, Madhouse and Kyoto Animation. As an anime retailer, unfaithful to shows like High School DxD, which are unique because they get lots of sexy figures made, which help us keep the lights on at J-List. So I’ll certainly be watching the new series!

Shokugeki no Souma

If you’re a fan of food, and love anime, this series is for you! It’s based on a fifteen-year-old kid named Souma Yukihira who has helped his father by working as the sous chef in the restaurant his father runs and owns. Throughout the years, Souma developed a passion for entertaining his customers with his creative, skilled, and daring culinary creations. His dream is to someday own his family’s restaurant as its head chef. This shonen food-based series is a must watch

Boku no Hero Academia 3rd Season

The third season of Boku no Hero Academia is here and it’ll be based on the School Trip Arc, Hideout Raid Arc and Hero Licence Exam Arc.who could deny everyone’s favorite frog girl?

Sword Art Online Alternative: Gun Gale Online

On the one hand, I really enjoyed most of Sword Art Online, and I positively hate the tendency of fans to love a thing then immediately turn on it and hated once it gets popular, so I’ll probably watch it as a protest to “stupid fan hipsterism.” On the other hand, I’m not on board with animation studios trying to milk something profitable until the end of time, which is what Hollywood is there for.

Ginga Eiyuu Densetsu: Die Neue These – Kaikou

Now the anime is popular again, there’s a big race to revisit all the classics and remake or update them. This season we get new Captain Tsubasa (the classic soccer anime), new Cutie Honey, more Full Metal Panic, plus this amazing gem: a frigging reboot of the Ginga Eiyuu Densetsu (Legend of Galactic Heroes) saga. A classic sci-fi anime from back in the days when anime series all had hundreds of episodes, Ginga Eiyuu Densetsu is filled with characters with names like Reinhard von Lohengramm, Otho von Braunschweig, and High Admiral Willibald Joachim von Merkatz. It’s worth watching just for the names…

Lupin III: Part V

One of the joys of raising kids in Japan is watching Lupin the Third with them as they grow up, my family has a lot of love and respect for series, especially the Castle of Cagliostro masterpiece by Hayao Miyazaki. In recent years there have been a lot of new Lupin series: an experimental one centered on Fujiko growing up as a girl, an outstanding series set in Italy from 2016, plus the best new Lupin in years, the Gravestone of Daisuke Jigen, which took my breath away. In the new series, Lupin returns to his homeland of France for new adventures.

Steins;Gate 0

As the publishers of the Steins;Gate game on PC, we naturally feel a close connection to these characters, so naturally, I will be watching. Sadly, as the “long tail gets shorter” phenomenon continues in the industry, ~~the series will only be 13 episodes, instead of a full 24.~~ [EDIT] Readers reported that it’s to be a full 2-cour series, yay!

We hoped you enjoyed the J-List Guide to the Spring 2018 Anime Season. What surprises will the season hold? What new waifus will we be in love with a few weeks from now? What memes will be sharing? Check this space to find out!