2018 is going to be an incredibly packed year. Not only are anime fans getting a ton of new shows, 2018 sees the return of many franchises fans have wanted more from for quite a while.
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Fans have been waiting so long, in fact, that the most anticipated shows of 2018 are sequels to fan-favorites.
Fans in Japan were polled as to which shows they were looking the most to, and while there are a few new series and new productions they wanted to keep an eye on, the top five choices in the poll are all either sequels or a new entry in a popular franchise.
The poll results are as follows:
- The Disastrous Life of Saiki K.
- Fate/Extra Last Encore
- Cardcaptor Sakura: Clear Card
- Overlord II
- Zoku Touken Ranbu: Hanamaru.
- Karakai Jลzu no Takagi-san
- Violet Evergarden
- Ryลซล no Oshigoto!
- The Seven Deadly Sins: Revival of The Commandments
- A Place Further Than the Universe
- Dagashi Kashi 2
- Pop Team Epic
- Idolish 7
- Yowamushi Pedal Glory Line
- DARLING in the FRANKXX
- Death March to The Parallel World Rhapsody
- Basilisk: ลka Ninpลchล
- Koi wa Ameagari no You ni
- DameรPrince Anime Caravan
- Slow Start
As you can see, while new shows like Trigger and A-1 Pictures’ science fiction weirdness, Darling in the FRANKXX, and Kyoto Animation’s incredible looking Violet Evergarden managed to make the list, they were overtaken pretty easily by the second season of Dagashi Kashi and a new Yowamushi Pedal series.
But the top five series fans are looking forward two are undoubtedly major releases. The most surprising of which is Zoku Touken Ranbu: Hanamaru, the second season of the series, only missing for two years. Overlord II is also as surprising given that series seemed to come and quickly go when it first released its batch of 12 episodes in 2015, but perhaps that it is because it’s been such a long span of time in between seasons.
The rest of the top selections will certainly match fan perception in the West. Cardcaptor Sakura: Clear Card is a long awaited sequel to a fan favorite series in the 90s, Fate/Extra: Last Encore, is a brand new adaptation of one of Fate/Stay night‘s spin-off video games and has a popularity gained from Fate/Stay‘s successful anime adaptations already released, and the second season of The Disastrous Life of Saiki K is a highly anticipated gag series.
What are your most anticipated series of 2018? Talk to me @Valdezology.