The Fall 2018 Anime to Watch

Radiant

This season is more jam-packed with big premieres than the past few, and one that's gotten the most attention is the brand new adaptation of the French manga, Radiant.

Created by Tony Valente in 2013, the series is a groundbreaking adaptation of a non-Japanese manga that's gotten a lot of attention for its cool character design, bright colors, great animation, strong voice cast, and interesting world. Fans of series like Fairy Tail, Black Clover, and other magical fantasy adventure stories will definitely feel at home with this one.

Radiant can currently be found streaming on Crunchyroll and will soon be available on FunimationNow. The series is officially described as such:

"Seth is an aspiring sorcerer from the Pompo Hills area. Like all wizards, he is an "infected," one of the few living beings who survived the contact of the Nemesis—creatures fallen from the sky that contaminate and decimate all those they touch. Being immune to them, Seth wants to become a Hunter and fight the Nemesis. But more than that, Seth wants to engage in a quest that goes beyond the simple hunt for monsters. He wants to find the Radiant, their presumed cradle. Aided by a faction of fellow sorcerers, he travels the world in search of the Radiant, under the harsh scrutiny of the Inquisition."

Zombie Land Saga

Zombie Land Saga is most likely going to be the only zombie horror idol series of the Fall season unless one of the other entries on this list takes a serious left turn. An original anime devised by Cygames, AVEX Pictures, and Studio MAPPA, this unique series follows Sakura Minamoto, a high-school girl who dreams of becoming an idol except she comes across a major speed bump...she dies.

Ten years after her death, she's brought back to life alongside six "legendary" idol girls from different eras by a mysterious man in order to form an idol super group (known as "Franchouchou") that will put Japan's Saga Prefecture on the map. The idol industry has been dying, but now these living dead girls will try and spring it back to life.

The first three episodes of the series have been as unique as its premise as it delivers on a stone-cold parody of the idol genre and the working conditions many of those in the industry find themselves in. With a headbanging debut, a rap battle performance, and a traditional CG idol dance under their belts, fans are going to want to keep their eyes on this series to see what this group of zombie idols will do next.

SSSS.Gridman

Studio Trigger and Tsuburaya Productions debuted the surprise collaboration of SSSS.Gridman, an anime series based on the popular tokusatsu series, Gridman the Hyper Agent, otherwise known as Superhuman Samurai Syber-Squad in the West.

The series combines the kaiju battles of the original series with Trigger's on point character design and animation, resulting in a fabulous looking series so far. There are transformation sequences, flashy battles, and cute characters at the center of it all as well. It's just begun, but is already setting itself up as a standout of the season.

SSSS.Gridman can currently be found streaming on Crunchyroll and Funimation. The series is officially described as such:

"You're not alone. On any day, anywhere. Yuta Hibiki, a first-year high school student living in Tsutsujidai, one day wakes up to find he has lost his memories. He meets the "Hyper Agent Gridman" on his old computer, and Gridman says that Yuta has a mission he must fulfill, so Yuta sets out to find the meaning to those words and his memory loss. Yuta's friends, Sho Utsumi, Rikka Takarada, and Akane Shinjo, would always help him and spend their days with him. But, their tranquil days are suddenly and easily crushed with the appearance of kaiju."

That Time I Got Reincarnated As A Slime

That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime started out as line of light novels written by Fuse with illustrations provided by Mitz Vah. The series provides a fun twist on the Isekai subgenre of stories by placing an office worker into a fantasy world after his death with a twist, he comes back as a slime.

The series follows Satoru, who lost his life defending his friend from a knife attack and with his last words wished for the kinds of hilarious things that put him in this particular predicament. Now as a slime in this new world, the newly named "Rimuru" uses his new given abilities to absorb and mimic anything he wants in order to find out more about his new life.

The first few episodes of Slime are incredibly refreshing as its slower introduction to the world allows fans to learn about it alongside Rimuru. Couple this will gorgeous animation, character design, use of color, and humor, this series could be an Isekai classic in the making if it continues to hold strong.

That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime can currently be found streaming on Crunchyroll and Funimation, and is scheduled for run for a hearty 24 episodes meaning there will be plenty of time for fun fantasy adventures.

JoJo's Bizarre Adventure: Golden Wind

The Fall 2018 anime season is full of major returns and premieres, and one of the biggest is a mix of the two. It's a new season premiere from Hirohiko Araki's JoJo's Bizarre Adventure series which fans have been wanting to see get an anime adaptation for as long as it's been in print.

JoJo's Bizarre Adventure: Golden Wind is the fifth part of Hirohiko Araki's series, and follows Giorno Giovanna, the son of former series villain Dio Brando, as he joins the mafia group Passione in order to change and reform them into reputable thieves and crooks from the inside.

The fifth era of the series features a different kind of character design, new Stand powers, wild new situations (such as sweat licking and urine drinking), and a brand new Joestar who's much different than previous generations of the hero. Not only is he the son of long time series villain Dio, but has a much more complicated outlook on the world than his predecessors due to his tragic upbringing.

To top it all off, the writing duo behind Neon Genesis Evangelion's "Cruel Angel's Thesis" returns for the series' opening theme, "Fighting Gold." You can check it out on Crunchyroll.

Fairy Tail: Final Season

Fairy Tail was once a series set in a fantasy world full of magic following Natsu Dragneel, a fire breathing wizard with the powers of a dragon who is in search of his missing foster father, the dragon Igneel. But it's a bit different for its final season, which is why fans have such a close eye on its return.

The final season brings fans into the fold after the events of the previous arc, which not only reunited Natsu with Igneel but tragically took him away. Natsu and Lucy are trying to get the band back together by reuniting with their now disbanded Fairy Tail guild members, and now are on a much tougher search than ever as Natsu seeks to not only face Zeref, but get the answers he (and fans) have about the mysterious "E.N.D."

The final season may be a strange place to jump in, but it definitely should be on your plate if you're caught up! Fairy Tail's final season can currently be found streaming on Crunchyroll and FunimationNow.

A Certain Magical Index III

Another major series fans were excited to see return was the third season of A Certain Magical Index as the second season of the series ended its run in 2011. It may be on a bit of a learning curve for new fans as it jumps immediately back into the narrative after Season 2, but its first few episodes make it essential viewing nonetheless.

A Certain Magical Index is set in a world where supernatural abilities are commonplace and follows Toma Kamijo, who has the ability to negate the powers of others with his right hand. When Toma meets the mysterious nun, Index, in the first season, Toma discovers the true dangers of society's super-powered state. The third season of the series takes it all one step further by placing the world on the edge of all-out war between scientists and the magicians of the church.

It's a popular series for a number of reasons, but the most of which is how refreshing of a protagonist Toma Kamijo is. Less willing to talk and more willing to punch enemies in the face, the series moves at a pretty strong pace throughout and it's already evident in the third season as it sets up the next phase of the story.

Besides, if you finally sit down with Index on Crunchyroll or FunimationNow, you'll be able to enjoy its side anime projects A Certain Scientific Railgun and the coming A Certain Scientific Accelerator as well.

Sword Art Online: Alicization

Sword Art Online was immensely popular when it first debuted in 2012, but it's been a long time since fans have seen the series last. Now that the series has returned for its third official season four years after the end of the second, it's setting up for its longest and most enticing arc of the series yet.

Adapting the "Alicization" story from the original light novel series, the third season puts Kirito in a brand new virtual world with plenty more mysteries to solve. That's especially true of the new heroine, Alice, who fans are curious to see develop over the course of the new season.

The first episodes of the season have debuted to great response from fans, and it's poised to continue this trend. Sword Art Online: Alicization can currently be found streaming on Crunchyroll, Funimation, and Hulu. The series is described as such:

"Where... am I...?" Before he knows it, Kirito has made a full-dive into an epic, fantasy-like virtual world. With only a murky recollection of what happened right before he logged in, he starts to wander around, searching for clues. He comes upon an enormous, pitch dark tree (the Gigas Cedar), where he encounters a boy. "My name is Eugeo. Nice to meet you, Kirito." Although he is supposedly a resident of the virtual world - an NPC - the boy shows the same array of emotions as any human being.

As Kirito bonds with Eugeo, he continues to search for a way to log out of this world. Meanwhile, he remembers a certain memory deep down within him. He remembers racing through the mountains with Eugeo as a child... A memory that he should not have in the first place... And in this memory, he sees someone other than Eugeo, a young blond girl. Her name is Alice. And it is a name that must never be forgotten..."