Here is finally the autumn season awaited by all fans of Japanese animation. We no longer count the “bangers” that the studios offer us. The unmistakable title is undoubtedly chain saw manadaptation of Tatsuki Fujimoto’s phenomenon manga.
It’s almost surprising to see so much competition, when the rest of the year was ultimately quite calm. Crunchyroll certainly offers us the best exclusives, but ADN remains without its wake, with a program made up of new releases and older, but unreleased titles (Hyouka, which we did not expect to see arrive in France). On the other hand, we regret the absence of communication from Disney on the distribution of Bleach. Both for the original series (which is no longer on DNA), and for the final arc which has just started.
Exclusives on Crunchyroll
chain saw man
We have had The attack of the Titansthen Demon Slayer and Jujutsu Kaisen. Here is now the new darling of the public, chain saw manmulti-award winning manga by Tatsuki Fujimoto (Fire Punch). In a world where humans coexist with demons, Denji, a young man without money, works for a mafia. With the help of Pochita, a demon-chainsaw dog, he hunts down demons to pay off his debts. One day, he dies violently, but the contract that bound him with Pochita brings him back to life. He is now the chainsaw man…
With such commercial potential, it makes sense to see Japan’s biggest animation studio, MAPPA (Jujutsu Kaisen), take care of the adaptation. For the quality of the animation, we do not worry. The first episodes already validate this. However, the transposition of the manga promises to be complicated between the extreme violence and the quirky tone so particular to Fujimoto’s work. The 11 volumes of the manga (first part) are available from Kazé. The series, or season probably, will have 12 episodes.
Blue Lock
You have loved Ao Ashi ? That’s good, the other current flagship football manga, Blue Lock by Muneyuki Kaneshiro and Yûsuke Nomura, is also entitled to its adaptation. The timing is perfect, since the broadcast will take place in the midst of the excitement of the World Cup, in which Japan is involved. Precisely, the story begins after the elimination of the country in 2018, in the round of 16. This failure prompted the Japanese federation to create a revolutionary training center, the Blue Lock, supposed to detect the best attackers in the country. The manga already has 21 volumes, the first 10 of which are available in France from Pika. Produced by 8bit (Me, when I reincarnated as Slime), the anime will have 24 episodes.
Mobile Suit Gundam: The Witch From Mecury
Five years after the excellent Iron-Blooded Orphansthe Gundam franchise returns to the small screen (we will deliberately forget Build Miscellaneous…). It is the friend of the author Mari Okada, Hiroshi Kobayashi who realizes (Kiznaiver, Spriggan) and Ichirô Ôkôchi takes care of the scenario (Code Geass, Sk8 the Infinity). The story is completely independent of other Gundam works, as it takes place in a new era called “Ad Stella 122”. We follow Suletta Mercury, a young girl from Mercury, who arrives at the school of Asticassia, run by a group that dominates the Mobile Suits industry…
The Sunrise has put the means in view of the first episodes (including the prologue). The production is impressive and the soundtrack epic. Not to mention the ambition to make this Gundam a progressive and feminist work where the heroines rise up against a paternalistic world. It is frankly for the moment one of the best starts of the season. The series will be split into two parts, with a break in between, for a total of 24 episodes.
My Hero Academia (season 6)
The Bones series is switching creameries and leaving DNA for Crunchyroll. The last season had disappointed a large part of the fans. But, good news, this 6th season begins with one of the best arcs of the manga: the Paranormal Liberation War. Time for action, as all the heroes attack the villains together. On the program: epic confrontations, revelations and a much more dramatic general tone… The arc should cover a good part of the 25 new episodes, because it spans 53 chapters, the longest of the manga.
Other suites are also available with season 3 of Mob Psycho 100season 2 of To Your Eternityseason 4 of Golden Kamuiseason 5 of Yowamushi Pedal and the second part of Spy X Family.
Finally, for those who have not seen the trilogy Berserk: The Golden Age (available on Netflix in particular), you can take advantage of the “Memorial Edition”, a cut-out in TV series format of feature films with a few additions.
Anime to watch on Anime Digital Network (DNA)
Urusei Yatsura – Lamu
Broadcast between 1981 and 1986 over 195 episodes, Lamu (Urusei Yatsura in VO) by Rumiko Takahashi (Ranma 1/2) is entitled to its remake by David Production (fireforce). One day, aliens arrive to invade Earth. However, they decide to give humanity a chance by organizing a game. It is Ataru, a loose and obsessed high school student who is chosen. He must grab the horns of Lamu, a young and pretty alien. To everyone’s surprise, Ataru wins the game. He saves the world, but at the same time seals his union with Lamu… No Mamoru Oshii for this new modernized version. Nevertheless, the production is entrusted to the duo Hideya Takahashi and Yasuhiro Kimura, to whom we owed JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure: Golden Wind. The series will have 46 episodes
Among the other titles of the season, The galaxy heroes are already back for a fourth season. If you like big space epics with political intrigue and huge battles, this is the ideal series. For isekai fans, you will find your happiness with Reincarnated as a Sword. Finally, we briefly talked about it in the intro: the platform has made available Hyouka, nugget of Kyoto Animation from 2012, hitherto completely new to us. Just for this title, the subscription is worth it.
What’s new on Netflix
Cyberpunk: Edge Runners
Netflix has already put its two major titles of this end of the year online since September. The first is Cyberpunk: Edge Runnersnew series by Hiroyuki Imaishi (gurren lagann) taking place in the game world Cyberpunk 2077. Night City, David Martinez is a young student at Arasaka Academy. He stands out among his comrades, because he does not come from a rich family. His mother works hard so he can have a better future. But, her life changes the day she dies. He abandons everything and joins a group of mercenaries, the Edgerunners. Looking for this year’s animated gem on Netflix? Last year it was Arcane. In 2022, it is Cyberpunk: Edge Runners. Imaishi and the Trigger studio deliver here a more sober work than usual, while offering a strong tribute to a whole section of Japanese animation of the 80s and 90s. We are not about to forget the couple David/Lucy…
JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure: Stone Ocean (Part 2)
The other must-see series is of course the second part of Stone Ocean6th “season” of JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure. Jolyne Kûjô finds herself this time in the high security section of the prison in search of a Dio bone that the priest Pucci, dangerous owner of the Stand White Snake, also covets. The wait was long, since it took 9 months between the two parties. A broadcast choice that is difficult to understand for those who have been following the series since 2012, then broadcast at the time at the rate of one episode per week. Fortunately, Netflix has understood its mistake, because the third and final part arrives next December.
In addition to these two behemoths, the platform offers the second parts of BASTARD‼ -Heavy Metal, Dark Fantasy- and Tiger & Bunny (season 2). From October 27, we will also be entitled to the adaptation of Romantic Killer, manga by Wataru Momose, about a hardened bachelor who finds herself in a world populated by beautiful kids. Finally, icing on the cake, the first series Berserkclassic of the 90s, and Parasite will arrive on the platform on November 30.
