—from Alex, Julian, Kat, Philip, and Sherin (The RIOTUS Anime Lotus Society)
The leaves may be changing but our love for anime stays the same. And Crunchyroll is serving up some delicious anime appetizers to take us through the fall season in style. From yakuza princess predicaments to alien abductions to gentle killers, Crunchyroll really does have something for everyone—and the RIOTUS Anime Lotus Society sure is having a helluva time rounding ’em up. Get into our fall season anime picks and let us know your faves:
Dan Da Dan
the first 3 episodes
One of the most exciting anime adaptations is Dan Da Dan. From creator Yukinobu Tatsu, this is a high school romantic comedy mixed with alien abductions, occult happenings, and cryptid hunters all in one series. The main characters are Momo Ayase (Shion Wakayama) and Ken Takakura aka Okarun (Natsuki Hanae). Momo is a high school girl who believes in ghosts and other supernatural things because her grandmother is a medium. She ends up helping Okarun, when he gets bullied by their male classmates. The two bond and clash over their respective occult fandoms. He’s in UFOs and aliens and Cryptids and doesn’t believe in ghosts and spirits. Momo doesn’t believe in UFOs and Cryptids, so the two make a bet.
They go to an area known for inexplicable occurrences, and low and behold, they both have a crazy experience, causing a change in both. The art of this title is what really grabs people; it’s slick, detailed, and dynamic, along with really fantastic character designs. The aliens look weird, and ghosts and cryptids look weird and impressive. The art also does a tremendous job of building tension and an uncomfortable creepiness. This animation is done by the great and experimental studio Science Saru (Scott Pilgrim Takes Off, Devilman Crybaby, Inu-Oh). I’m not going to get deep into what happens in the story, but the first three episodes have a strong hook. That works as an excellent teaser to get you to watch the series. Y’all need to get into this early because Dan Da Dan is up next and going to be a major hit that works for many different audiences. Reading or watching Dan Da Dan is a great time, and I can’t wait to watch the full season. That’s a lot, coming from me because I don’t like watching adaptations of series I read regularly. (Julian Lytle)
Dan Da Dan S1 premiered Oct 3 with new episodes on Thursdays.
Blue Lock
season 2 premiere episode
Soccer is the world’s most popular sport and Japan wants to be the gold standard for the world. So what does this fictional Japan do? Go PLUS ULTRA and introduce the Blue Lock Project—a rigorous training program aimed at creating the ultimate soccer striker. Created by project director Ego Jinpachi, the project is ½ X-Men Danger Room, ½ Squid Game (minus the death but losing might as well be death), and ½ Hunger Games. Yeah, I know that’s three halves but Blue Lock goes full balls-to-walls (see what I did there) to create the ultimate player and spares no expense in blood, sweat, and tears.
Spoiler alert: Jinpachi’s win-win attitude will set the stage for the most unforgiving battle faced on a soccer pitch.
In the beginning of season two, episode 25, Blue Lock has taken the country by storm (and unlike American Football does not need Taylor Swift to be popular and relevant). The recruits have been whittled down to 35 from 300 (for you math nerds that’s less than 12% of the original recruits). We learn with every success comes new challenges, including a new match with Japan’s premier U-20 team, which is captained by the phenom Itoshi Sae. Now a makeshift team must be put together, trained, and get battle ready to face the goliaths on the premier squad. It’s win…or you go home and hope you get a call from Dancing With The Stars.
Blue Lock S2 premieres on Saturday, October 5.
You Are Ms. Servant
premiere episode
Sometimes an unexpected combination works. French fries and ice cream, bananas and peanut butter. We all have an absurd combo that makes us smile. Or a pairing of distinctly different flavors that are tastier together. So when Crunchyroll announced a teenage rom-com featuring an assassin, I said bring it on. Animated by Felix Films, the series starts with Hitoyoshi (Toshiki Kumagai), a high schooler living alone in a house weirdly full of white garbage bags. Something is wrong, but we’re not sure what. One morning, a girl with no name shows up at his door. She’s tall, elegant, and clumsy. She’s also wearing a maid’s uniform, and her former boss has sent her to Hitoyoshi for a job. Problems arise when he asks about her skills and she admits she only knows how to kill. Smartly avoiding a high-risk situation, Hitoyoshi realizes he can’t ask this girl to leave. Good decision. Best decision.
That’s how the lonely boy meets the repressed girl. He eventually gives her a name, Yuki (Reina Ueda), and the two begin to fill up the empty spaces in each other. Although I’ve never read the original manga, the themes and feelings in You Are Ms. Servant pop from the first episode. After a hilarious sequence where it becomes clear Yuki’s gracefulness is limited to assassin mode (otherwise she trips over air and emptiness), we get a peek into each character’s backstory. Both have a lot of healing to do: Hitoyoshi from his nightmares, and Yuki from her memories of blood. And yet, we see glimpses of what they might eventually mean to each other. With his love of food and her gentle killer demeanor, this pairing reminds me of an AU Loid and Yor from Spy x Family. If I’m right, You Are Ms. Servant promises lots of falling in love and into trouble with a sprinkle of healing swoons for us to savor. (Sherin Nicole)
You Are Ms. Servant premieres on Saturday, October 5.
Yakuza Fiancé: Raise wa Tanin ga Ii
premiere episode
Yoshino Somei (Hitomi Ueda) is living very demure in Osaka as a yakuza princess (with a self-confessed resting ‘b!tch face’ that keeps the boys at bay). Until her grandfather (Yoji Ueda) arranges a marriage with Kirishima Miyama (Akira Ishida), the flower boy heir to the Miyama crime family, and forges a union that settles a truce between the two major families. Yoshino warns her gramps that his plans aren’t very cutesy, especially when she finds out Kirishima is not the gentleman he initially seems to be. By that we mean he’s a psychopath. You can tell by his smile—all teeth, no eyes. No matter how much her fiancé’s sadistic nature horrifies Yoshino, she can’t tap out first. Gramps would lose face. The only way out of this toxic situation is to take control and get Kirishima to fall in love with her (or die trying).
Based on the manga by Asuka Konishi, Yakuza Fiancé is a “Nasty Girl” remix of The Taming of the Shrew – Tinashe x Shakespeare. The relationship twists and turns between Yoshino and Kirishima will definitely have you singing, “Is somebody gonna match my freak?” ‘Cause Yoshino is more than willing to match the madness and out maneuver her yakuza mate (or die trying). ‘Cause coming out on top is the best way to out-master a freak of Kirishima’s magnitude—and bring us back to the stream every Monday. (Kat Bittner x Sherin Nicole)
Yakuza Fiancé: Raise wa Tanin ga Ii
premieres October 7 with new episodes on Mondays.
Shangri-La Frontier
season 2 premiere episode
Shangri-La Frontier delivers a total knockout with its season 2 opener. When we rejoin Sunraku (Yuma Uchida) and his magical motley crew, they’re on a mission to fix up an ancient relic and find out the truth of this world, so they can officially go from trash gamers to AAA heroes. That requires teaching Bilac (Miyu Tomita) some new skills—and they’d better do it fast ’cause the world ain’t waiting around. Nothing can stop the gang from having their own internal squabbles, though. Bilac and Aramis (Hiromu Mineta) are hilarious as an unlikely duo—whether reluctantly (on Bilac’s part) or willingly so (on Aramis’ part)—you’ll delight in their sparring matches. The way Shangri-La Frontier collects video game archetypes and turns them into beloved characters is masterful and sets up the emotional stakes for what comes next.
It’s not long before S2’s premiere episode grabs you by the throat and shoves you headfirst into its most epic showdown yet. But hey, at least the reward drops are gonna be good…right? Right?! Still, it gives the gang a chance to show off their particular set of skills, including a spectacular ode to Sunraku’s newborn Decapitator sword. Each character’s special moves get their time to shine, pumping up your adrenaline as the action scenes leap off the screen and crash right into your brain. Ahh, that’s the good stuff. S2 of Shangri-La Frontier is a fiery contender in the video game anime genre that keeps on leveling up—make sure you’re locked in and ready to play with this one. (Alex Bear)
