August 2021 is a big one for animation on Netflix. Of the nine entries in the following list, five will be streaming on Netflix. This includes two hit anime, which up until now had been stuck in the dreaded "Netflix jail" -- the purgatory between the original Japanese broadcast of an anime and its eventual Netflix release.
It's not just Netflix delivering promising new animation this coming month, though. Disney+ is debuting new short films and the first animated series in the Marvel Cinematic Universe; Adult Swim and Crunchyroll have teamed up for an original anime; and one of the weirdest American animated films in ages is coming to theaters. Here is a rundown of 9 must-watch animated series and movies to watch in August.
Short Circuit Season 2
Disney+ has been great for showcasing short films, and while none of the shorts from Short Circuit's first batch were Oscar contenders like some of Pixar's SparkShorts, it's still great to see Disney animators experiment with new styles. This season contains five shorts: Dinosaur Barbarian directed by Kim Hazel, Going Home directed by Jacob Frey, Crosswalk directed by Ryan Green, Songs to Sing in the Dark directed by Rhiannon Delanoy and No. 2 to Ketterling directed by Liza Rhea.
Short Circuit Season 2 premieres on Disney+ Aug. 4.
Vivo
Sony Pictures Animation's third film to be released on Netflix this year -- following The Mitchells vs. The Machines and Wish Dragon -- is Vivo, a colorful new musical featuring original songs by Lin-Manuel Miranda. Miranda also plays the title character, a kinkajou street performer who has to deliver a message all the way from Havana to Miami on behalf of his owner. On the journey, Vivo is accompanied by an energetic tween girl named Gabi with whom he struggles to get along.
Directed by Kirk DiMicco, Vivo features the voices of Lin-Manuel Miranda, Ynairaly Simo, Zoe Saldana, Juan de Marcos González, Michael Rooker, Bryan Tyree Henry, Nicole Byer and Gloria Estefan. The film premieres on Netflix Aug. 6.
Shaman King
Hiroyuki Takei's Shaman King manga, about a fighting tournament between shamans, is one of the classics of Shonen Jump. The first anime adaptation from 2001 was able to win over fans worldwide, even with a heavily censored English release from 4Kids. The new anime remake, animated by MAPPA, premiered in April on Japanese TV and is expected to run for 52 episodes. The first batch of episodes will finally be made available internationally in both dubbed and subtitled formats this month on Netflix.
Directed by Joji Furuta, Shaman King Season 1 premieres on Netflix on Aug. 9.
What If...?
Probably the most hyped-up cartoon on this list, Marvel Studios' What If...? looks to explore the many worlds of the multiverse created in the Season 1 finale of Loki. The Watcher, voiced by Jeffrey Wright, will guide viewers through timelines ranging from one where Peggy Carter becomes Captain Britain to one where the Marvel superheroes are zombies. Many actors from the mainline MCU will be reprising their roles, including one final performance from the late Chadwick Boseman as T'Challa.
What If...? premieres Aug. 11 on Disney+.
Fena: Pirate Princess
One of this summer's most anticipated new anime series, the Adult Swim/Crunchyroll co-production Fena: Pirate Princess, skipped out on the July premiere glut in favor of an international launch in August. The show, described as a hybrid of Shonen and Shojo styles, follows an orphaned girl rescued from an arranged marriage by a team of samurai pirates. Taking a very loose approach to historical accuracy, Fena: Pirate Princess looks like one of the season's most gorgeously animated new shows, with animation by Production I.G.
Directed by Kazuto Nakazawa, Fena: Pirate Princess premieres on Adult Swim Aug. 14 at midnight ET/PT and will stream on Crunchyroll the following day.
Cryptozoo
Those interested in animation for genuinely mature audiences will find much intriguing about Cryptozoo. The new movie from the filmmaking team behind My High School Sinking Into the Sea won Sundance's Innovator Award for its unique animation. The story offers a creative twist on the Jurassic Park formula, with cryptids subbing in for dinosaurs. CBR's review from Sundance described Cryptozoo as "an inventive but somewhat distant throwback to the general style of adult animation from the 1960s and '70s."
Directed by Dash Shaw, Cryptozoo features the voices of Lake Bell, Michael Cera, Angeliki Papoulia, Zoe Kazan, Peter Stormare, Grace Zabriskie, Louisa Krause and Thomas Jay Ryan. It premieres in theaters on Aug. 20.
The Loud House Movie
So, what exactly is Nickelodeon's streaming strategy? Nick's supposed to be the premiere kids brand for Paramount+, yet practically every new Nickelodeon project not related to SpongeBob SquarePants ends up on Netflix. The Loud House has been by far the most successful new Nicktoon of the past decade. The series' first movie sends Lincoln Loud and his huge family on a trip to Scotland, where they discover that they're actually royalty.
Directed by Dave Needham, The Loud House Movie features the voices of Asher Bishop, Michelle Gomez and David Tennant. The film debuts on Netflix on Aug. 20.
The Witcher: Nightmare of the Wolf
The Witcher: Nightmare of the Wolf is the latest "Netflix Original Anime" that isn't really anime if we're defining anime as animation made in Japan. Instead, it's a collaboration between American creatives from the live-action Witcher series and a director and animators at the South Korean Studio Mir. Mir's previous works include the likes of The Legend of Korra, Kipo and the Wonderbeasts and Dota: Dragon's Blood, so expect top-notch animated action in this origin story for Geralt's mentor Vesemir.
Directed by Kwang Il Han, The Witcher: Nightmare of the Wolf stars Theo James, Lara Pulver, Graham McTavish and Mary McDonnell and arrives on Netflix on Aug. 23.
EDENS ZERO
Fans of Hiro Mashima's past Shonen hits Rave Master and Fairy Tail have been hyped for EDENS ZERO. The manga has been simul-published by Kodansha since its debut in 2018, and the anime adaptation from J.C. Staff was one of the biggest premieres of the spring in Japan. The plot, about a boy, a girl and a robot cat traveling to different planets to find a goddess, is loosely connected to Mashima's previous series but is able to be enjoyed on its own without any background knowledge necessary.
Directed by Shinji Ishihara and Yūshi Suzuki, EDENS ZERO premieres on Netflix on Aug. 26.
