The extensive Spring 2021 anime lineup is filled with hyped releases. Returning favourites like My Hero Academia and the last season of Fruits Basket are expected to be heavy-hitters but fans can also look forward to watching newcomers, like Godzilla Singular Point, the reboot of Shaman King and To Your Eternity. Here's a look at the most anticipated series of the season.
My Hero Academia (Season 5)
The fifth season of My Hero Academia will focus on some in-school training, pitting the two Hero classes against each other: Class 1-A and 1-B. The former has a lot of real-life experiences dealing with villains and are expected to come out as victors but Class 1-B has been doing their own training to sharpen their Quirks. After encountering the previous users of One for All in Season 4, Izuku Midoriya realizes there are a lot of hidden secrets about his Quirk that he'll need to unlock.
The highly-anticipated fifth season will air on March 27 and, although not confirmed yet, fans can expect to watch it on Crunchyroll and Funimation as the first four seasons were all streamed there.
How Not to Summon a Demon Lord (Season 2)
The first season of How Not to Summon a Demon Lord introduced a gamer named Takuma Sakamoto who gets dubbed as the "demon lord" for how powerful he is in the MMPORG game Cross Reverie. When he gets transported into the game itself, taking on his avatar of Diablo, he finds himself caught between the Elf Shera and Pantherian Rem who want to enslave him. But it backfires as they end up becoming his slaves. The second season, called Omega, will have Diablo meeting Lumachina, a High Priest of the Church who is being chased by a Paladin.
The second season will broadcast on April 8 with Crunchyroll streaming the series after.
Zombie Land Saga: Revenge
The MAPPA original anime Zombie Land Saga turns the idol concept on its head when high school student Sakura Minamoto gets killed just before she can submit an application to be an idol but she comes back to life as -- plot twist -- a zombie. Sakura joins six other zombie girls to create a rock band called Franchouchou. The first season was praised for its originality and trans portrayal. The sequel Zombie Land Saga: Revenge is shaping up to be just as entertaining as the first. Though it's called "Revenge," this might be more of a rock concert cry than an actual revenge.
The series will premiere on Crunchyroll with the English dub on Funimation on April 9.
Fruits Basket: The Final
Fans who have watched the original version and/or the first two seasons will be both thrilled and sad to watch the third and last season of Fruits Basket. The second season ended on a cliffhanger with Akito's big reveal and Kureno's curse being broken, leaving everyone wondering if the Sohma curse will be broken once and for all. The trailer reveals some intensely emotional scenes between Tohru and Kyo, as well as Akito's misery and insecurities as she struggles to keep the Sohmas bound to her through the zodiac curse.
Fruits Basket: The Final is set to premiere on April 5 but FUNimation released the first episode, English dubbed, on March 19.
Shaman King
It's been a long time coming but it's finally here: the reboot of the popular Shaman King will air this April. The original series aired from 2001-2002. The story follows a shaman named Yoh Asakura whose goal is to become the Shaman King. As King, he can command the Great Spirit which will grant him the power to reshape the world as he sees fit. The only way he can do that is to participate in a merciless tournament called the Shaman Fight that happens every 500 years.
Netflix will be streaming Shaman King sometime this year while the premiere date in Japan is set for April 1.
Godzilla Singular Point
Adding to the Godzilla franchise is the animated television series Godzilla Singular Point. Researcher Mei Kamino and engineer Yun Arikawa are brought together by a mysterious song and monsters are popping up everywhere around the world. Jet Jaguar, the Ultraman design-based robot, is prominently featured in the trailers along with Rodan, Hedorah, and Kumonga -- indicating that the series is trying to bring back some kaiju from Godzilla's past. Godzilla is noticeably absent, but most likely, the series is saving the titular character for its grand entrance after it starts to air.
Netflix will be streaming Godzilla Singular Point beginning on March 25.
Don't Toy With Me, Miss Nagatoro
Meet Hayase Nagatoro, one of the two main characters of Don't Toy With Me, Miss Nagatoro, who tortures and teases her quiet and introverted senpai. The senpai in question can't seem to figure out why she's doing this to him. Is she genuinely being mean? Is she just doing this because she wants to get a reaction out of him? Or could it be because she's harboring a secret crush on him? The series promises to be lighthearted and funny as the two of them embark on a rather unusual relationship.
Don't Toy With Me, Miss Nagatoro will broadcast in Japan on April 10.
The Slime Diaries: That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime
The spin-off to That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime chronicles the daily happenings of Rimuru and those living in Jura Forest who aren't seen in the main series. Although some fans might be disappointed that it's not a new season, The Slime Diaries offers some slice-of-life moments that will be just as funny and entertaining as the main series. The animation has undergone a significant change but this is most likely due to the nature of the series being a spin-off, making it look much cuter.
Crunchyroll will simulcast The Slime Diaries starting on April 6.
Moriarty the Patriot (Second Cour)
Moriarty the Patriot was one of the most underrated anime last year, focusing on Sherlock Holmes' nemesis William James Moriarty as he and his brother scheme to bring down the class system. The first cour ended with Moriarty and Holmes using different ways to solve a crime. Holmes's brother Mycroft is also introduced and is given permission by Queen Victoria to retrieve some important missing documents. The second cour's trailer opens with Moriarty inviting Holmes to "Catch me if you can" as well as someone ordering to have Moriarty and a woman named Irene Adler killed.
The second cour is set to premiere on Funimation on April 4.
I've Been Killing Slimes for 300 Years and Maxed Out My Level
One of the most popular genres out there, this isekai focuses on an office worker named Azusa Aizawa who dies from being overworked and is reincarnated as an immortal witch. You can pretty much glean what the rest of the plot will be like from the title: she spends 300 years killing some rather adorable-looking slimes and finds herself "maxed out" after becoming the strongest in the world. Her problem is is that she just wants to live a nice and simple life but with everyone seeking her out to fight her, that might not be so easy to do.
You can catch the series premiere on Crunchyroll on April 10.
To Your Eternity
Fans of A Silent Voice, prepare your tissue boxes because you're going to need them for Yoshitoki Oima's latest work To Your Eternity. This is a fantasy series about a cosmic being's journey of growth and loss. This being, known only as "It," lands on earth without a discernible identity. In the beginning, It was an orb but takes the form of whatever it encounters, whether that is a rock, moss, or even an injured wolf. It meets a boy who is living in the Arctic by himself who desires to be reunited with his loved ones who had set off to find "paradise." However, when disaster strikes, It now must figure out how to live in the world amongst humans.
To Your Eternity will premiere on Crunchyroll on April 12.
Welcome to Demon School! Iruma-kun (Season 2)
Most of the time, when a series premise is of a child who gets sold to demons by his parents, you wouldn't expect it to be utterly hilarious -- but that's what Welcome to Demon School! Iruma-kun does. After a demon, Sullivan, adopts him and enrolls him in Demon School, Iruma has to make sure nobody ever finds out he's a human or he'll die. The first season ended with Iruma looking very different from his usual kindly appearance, leaving fans on a cliffhanger for a whole year when it aired in 2020.
Season 2 of Welcome to Demon School! Iruma-kun premieres April 17 on Crunchyroll.
Edens Zero
Those who like Fairy Tail and Rave might find themselves drawn to Edens Zero. Although not a sequel, Edens Zero does have many elements that can also be found in the earlier two series but ultimately stands apart on its own. The series is about a young boy named Shiki who lives on a planet named Granbell which is inhabited by robots. He meets a young girl named Rebecca and her cat companion Happy. Soon the three of them embark on a journey to look for the goddess of the cosmos Mother.
Japan will be broadcasting the series starting on April 11 with Netflix releasing it sometime in August.
86-Eighty-Six
86-Eighty-Six, a highly-acclaimed light novel, is set in a world where the Republic of San Magnolia is fighting a war against the Empire of Giad using a drone army. Most people think they're being protected by machines but, in fact, a sect of human soldiers called 86 who are not even considered humans are forced to fight. The series deals with issues like racism, discrimination, and trauma and focuses on Shinei Nouzen, the leader of a squadron of 86, and the Republic's Major Vladilena Milizé who is assigned to be his squadron's handler.
The first episode will broadcast in Japan on April 11.
Tokyo Revengers
What do you get when you throw delinquents and time-traveling together? You get Tokyo Revengers: a surprisingly heartwarming story that initially begins with the protagonist, Takemichi Hanagaki, going 12 years back in time to save his girlfriend. After he spends some time with the Toman gang -- the ones responsible for his girlfriend's death in his timeline -- Hanagaki realizes that something must have happened to turn Toman into the crime syndicate that they're known for today. Now it's up to him to try to save not only his girlfriend but everyone he cares about.
You can watch the first episode on April 11 on Crunchyroll.
SSSS.Dynazenon
The sequel to the 2018 series SSSS.Gridman introduces a whole new set of characters to the Gridman Universe. Although it's noted as a sequel, it might not be directly connected to SSSS.Gridman and may just be set in the same universe. Little is known about the synopsis but fans can catch a glimpse of characters like Gauma, Yomogi, Yume, Koyomi, and Chise in the trailers. The five friends all band together to find Dynazenon, the Dyna Dragon from the 1993 series.
The first episode will air on April 2 in Japan.
