The Winter 2020 Anime You Should Check Out

The 2010s were a huge period of growth for anime as toward the end of the decade, anime has become largely more prevalent within general pop culture. More anime — for better or worse — is being produced each year, and this means that there are more anime series vying for your attention with each new season. As we kicked off the 2020s, anime has quite a lot to live up to as we head into a new era of originals, adaptations, and potential sequels. By the looks of the Winter 2020 anime season, things are starting off on the right foot.

There seems to be a little of something for everyone as not only are fan favorite series such as Haikyuu and A Certain Scientific Railgun making their return, but we are getting the premieres of brand new adaptations for series such as In/Spectre and Keep Your Hands Off Eizouken! Not to mention the completely original anime projects such as Isekai Quartet and ID: Invaded.

ComicBook.com is here with a handy guide as to what you should be keeping an eye out for over the next few weeks, so read on below for eight of the standout series thus far. There are too many to cover them all, of course, so let us know what you’re looking forward to in the comments!

Re:Zero Director’s Cut

Release Date: January 1st (Crunchyroll) 

One of the most anticipated returns of the year overall is the long awaited second season to Re:Zero -Starting Life in Another World-. While the series is most certainly a fan favorite, it’s been quite a while since the first season, so there’s most likely quite a few who don’t remember every single development from the narrative thus far. But luckily, the series has begun a fun experiment in which a re:edit of the first season will be airing in the weeks leading up to the second season’s premiere. 

Re:Zero Director’s Cut will be editing the first season into hour long episodes, and promises new scenes to help it all flow together. If you have yet to watch the series or need a refresher, this will be the best way to do so before Season 2 arrives. 

Magia Record: Puella Magi Madoka Magica Side Story

Release Date: January 4th (FunimationNOW, Crunchyroll, HIDIVE)

Puella Magi Madoka Magica’s impact on anime is still being felt to this day for its more intense take on the magical girl genre, and while the series has received official continuations through films and other small releases, it’s been quite a while since the franchise has debuted an anime series. That changes this year with a new series adapting a story from the mobile game of the same name, Magia Record. 

Featuring some ties to the original series with familiar faces and characters making an appearance in some fashion, this is a completely different set of characters and story in the universe. So it may not be a sequel to the original anime, but seeing more adventures in the Madoka Magica universe will definitely be welcome!

Funimation officially describes the series as such, “Few people know the truth: the world is safe thanks to the Magical Girls who are forced to slay Witches. Even though these girls are putting their lives on the line for a wish, rumors say they can be saved in Kamihama City. That’s where Iroha Tamaki is headed in search of answers. She can’t remember the wish she made to Kyubey, but a shadowy figure haunts her dreams.”

ID: Invaded

Release Date: January 5th (FunimationNOW with same day Simulcast and SimulDub release) 

As Funimation continues its effort to provide strong anime licenses, some of the more standout releases have been the increasing amount of completely original anime projects that aren’t based off of a manga, light novel, or video game of some sort. The Winter season is no exception as one of the more interesting releases from Funimation’s current slate is ID: INVADED. Funimation has been showing a lot of support for this new series, and even offered a brief preview last year for a limited time. 

So that makes this anime all the more enticing with Funimation even offering a Same-Day SimulDub release, which is often saved for big franchise hits such as My Hero Academia. While little is known about what this original series will have to offer, there is an official synopsis that reads as such:

“Set in a virtual world, the visually stunning ID: INVADED follows Sakaido, a detective looking to solve the grisly murder of Kaeru, a young girl. But solving this case is unlike any other as the world begins to twist and turn around Sakaido, challenging what he thinks and believes.”

Keep Your Hands Off Eizouken!

Release Date: January 5th (Crunchyroll) 

Masaaki Yuasa is one of the most notable directors in anime following critical darlings Ping Pong: The Animation, Lu Over the Wall, Ride Your Wave, and Devilman Crybaby, so fans have been waiting to get their hands on the adaptation of Sumito Owara’s Keep Your Hands Off Eizouken!. After initially being published in Big Comic Spirits in 2016, this manga will soon be coming out swinging in 2020 with this new anime adaptation written and directed by Yuasa alongside a live-action film. 

Featuring many of the wacky characters designs, effervescent world, and high energy concepts that fans have come to love from Yuasa’s works, Eizouken already seems like it might go down as one of the year’s favorites. Crunchyroll officially describes the series as such: 

“First year high schooler Midori Asakusa loves anime so much, she insists that “concept is everything” in animation. Though she draws a variety of ideas in her sketchbook, she hasn’t taken the first step to creating anime, insisting that she can’t do it alone. The producer-type Sayaka Kanamori is the first to notice Asakusa’s genius. Then, when it becomes clear that their classmate, charismatic fashion model Tsubame Mizusaki, really wants to be an animator, they create an animation club to realize the “ultimate world” that exists in their minds.”

Haikyuu!! To The Top

Release Date: January 10th (Crunchyroll) 

Following its truncated third season in 2016, there’s been a lot of anticipation bubbling for what many consider to be one of the best sports anime of the 2010s. After managing to defeat Shiratorizawa in a tough and drawn out match, the boys of Karasuno are heading to the Nationals proper in the the fourth season. This first half of it, however, will be used to introduced some of the most skilled players in the series to date as Kageyama heads to a youth camp for the best players in Japan. 

Crunchyroll officially describes the fourth season as such, “”National Spring High School Volleyball Tournament, Miyagi Prefecture Preliminary Qualifiers: The Karasuno High School Volleyball Club advances to participate in the long-desired National Tournament after a fierce battle against Shiratorizawa Academy. While in preparation for the upcoming National Tournament, the news of Kageyama’s All-Japan Youth Training Camp invitation came to them.

In addition, Tsukishima will also be invited to the Miyagi Prefecture First Year Selection Training Camp. However, Hinata who is flustered with the difference between the 1st years, makes a sudden appearance at the Miyagi Prefecture First Years’ Training Camp?! Towards the National Tournament, Hinata, Kageyama, and the Karasuno High School Volleyball Club will begin facing further challenges!!”

A Certain Scientific Railgun T

Release Date: January 10th (Crunchyroll), January 24th (Simuldub with FunimationNOW)

After the major third season return of A Certain Magical Index and debut of brand new spin-off A Certain Scientific Accelerator, the next big return in the pipeline is the third season of A Certain Scientific Railgun. Much like the rest of the A Certain universe, fans have been waiting quite a while to see more of this series, and although it was delayed from its originally planned 2019 release, now the new season is finally upon us! 

Crunchyroll describes the new season as such, “An enormous city with a population of 2.3 million spreads out over western Tokyo. In this metropolis, known as “Academy City” due to roughly 80% of the population being students, the development of supernatural abilities—anomalous phenomena which turn the world’s natural laws on their ear—was taking place.

Students who underwent the unique curriculum and attained esper abilities were subjected to a System Scan, a physical examination which scored them into one of six rankings, from the powerless Level 0 to the super-powered Level 5. There are seven individuals who are considered to have reached this pinnacle super-powered level.

One of them is Mikoto Misaka. Nicknamed “Railgun” thanks to her status as the highest-ranked user of “Electromaster,” the ability to freely control electricity, Mikoto is a 14-year-old who attends the prestigious all-girl Tokiwadai Middle School. One of her underclassmen is Kuroko Shirai, a member of the disciplinary organization Judgment. Kazari Uiharu is her colleague, who aspires to be a proper lady, and the urban-legend-loving Ruiko Saten is their friend.

The Daihasei Festival, an event held once a year, loomed large over the peaceful, run-of-the-mill, ever-so-slightly unusual daily life enjoyed by the girls. It was an athletic festival held over the span of seven days, which pitted esper schools against each other in fierce competition. A portion of Academy City was opened up to the public for the duration of the festival, and everyone was in high spirits during the lead-up to the event, which would be telecast for the whole world to see. But they were completely unaware of what was in motion behind the city’s festive scenes…”

In/Spectre

Release Date: January 11th (Crunchyroll)

As Crunchyroll continues to expand its anime licenses, it’s also beginning to expand its number of co-productions. The Winter 2020 season has an interesting one as the adaptation of Kyo Shirodaira and Hiro Kyohara’s original light novel series In/Spectre, continues to look both more mysterious and more enticing with each new look. The manga adaptation of the series has been a big hit ever since it launched in 2015, and soon we’ll see just how far the anime will go! 

Crunchyroll describes In/Spectre as such, “Iwanaga Kotoko became the god of wisdom to the supernatural beings and spends her days solving problems for them. However, the boy who she fell head over heels for, Sakuragawa Kuro, is someone that is feared by all supernatural creatures. The two of them face various mysterious incidents involving the supernatural in this love x romance x mystery series. Where will these fantastical incidents lead them and what will happen with Kotoko’s crush?”

Isekai Quartet Season 2

Release Date: January 14th (Crunchyroll), January 28th (SimulDub with FunimationNOW)

After surprising fans last year with a hilarious new crossover between Kadokawa’s biggest light novels turned anime franchises, the second season of Isekai Quartet will soon be upon us. This isn’t going to be the biggest anime of the season, admittedly, but seeing fan favorite characters from series such as Konosuba and Overlord while official new seasons of those series hang in the balance will certainly be a breath of fresh air in between the high octane action of other offerings this season. 

This chibi crossover series will be shaking things up in Season 2 with the addition of the recently mega popular The Rising of the Shield Hero, and teases that even more of Kadokawa’s Isekai anime series will soon join the crew as well. These ten to twelve minute episodes will certainly be a great palate cleanser! 

Which anime will you be checking out this season? Talk to me about all things anime and other cool things @Valdezology on Twitter or let us know your picks in the comments!