The Spring 2019 Anime You Need to Check Out

'Ultraman'

Premiere Date: April 1 (Netflix)

Tsuburaya Productions was recently met with success when it released a new anime upgrade for Gridman the Hyper Agent in SSSS.Gridman. Following in its footsteps is an anime overhaul of its most popular franchise, Ultraman. Taking place 40 years after the events of the original 1966 series, this new anime outing follows the son of the original Ultraman as he faces off against new and familiar alien threats.

Directed by Kenji Kamiyama of Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex and Shinji Aramaki of Appleseed Alpha for Production I.G and SOLA Digital Arts, there's a lot of promise for this series leading the Spring 2019 anime season. It's just one of many of the major anime efforts Netflix is helping bring to life this year, so here's hoping everything gets off on the right foot.

Netflix officially describes Ultraman as such, "Several years have passed since the events of Ultraman, with the legendary "Giant of Light" now a memory, as it is believed he returned home after fighting the many giant aliens that invaded the Earth. Shin Hayata's son Shinjiro seems to possess a strange ability, and it is this ability, along with his father's revelation that he was Ultraman, that leads Shinjiro to battle the new aliens invading the Earth as the new Ultraman."

'Fruits Basket'

Premiere Date: April 5 (FunimationNOW, Crunchyroll)

Natsuki Takaya's Fruits Basket first made its anime debut 18 years ago, but while the series was a fan favorite it was just as notable for deviating from the events of the original manga. The series will be getting an anime do-over, and plans to adapt the manga more closely. With an all-new staff, cast, and art style, the new anime will feature executive supervision from series creator Natsuki Takaya.

For those unfamiliar, the series follows a sweet, young, orphaned girl named Tohru Honda who ends up living with a few members of the mysterious Sohma clan when shenanigans ensue. Things get out of control when Tohru learns the family has been cursed to transform into zodiac animals whenever they are hugged by someone of the opposite sex. Sworn to secrecy, Tohru decides to help break the cyclical curse, and the girl falls in love with a special someone along the way.

This essentially serves as an anime "reboot" for the franchise, and soon fans will be able to experience the series' story as it was intended. Though the Japanese cast is brand new, the English dub of the series will sound pretty familiar. Many of the original English cast members are returning for the reboot, so it'll be like getting to know all your old favorites again.

'Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba'

Premiere Date: April 6 (Crunchyroll, FunimationNOW, Hulu)

Shuiesha's Shonen Jump will be seeing many of its recently hot titles make the jump to anime, and one of the major efforts is Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba. Though the manga is a cult favorite, the anime may very well be what puts it on the map.

Originally created by Koyoharu Gotoge, the plot and art of the series stand out among other efforts. Couple this with ufotable, the production studio behind series such as Fate/stay night: Unlimited Blade Works, the anime is teasing all sorts of slick looking action. This has dark horse contender for fan favorite written all over it.

Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba is officially described as such, "Since ancient times, rumors have abounded of man-eating demons lurking in the woods. Because of this, the local townsfolk never venture outside at night. Legend has it that a demon slayer also roams the night, hunting down these bloodthirsty demons. For young Tanjiro, these rumors will soon to become his harsh reality. Ever since the death of his father, Tanjiro has taken it upon himself to support his family. Although their lives may be hardened by tragedy, they've found happiness. But that ephemeral warmth is shattered one day when Tanjiro finds his family slaughtered and the lone survivor, his sister Nezuko, turned into a demon. To his surprise, however, Nezuko still shows signs of human emotion and thought… Thus begins Tanjiro's request to fight demons and turn his sister human again."

'One-Punch Man' Season 2

Premiere Date: April 9 (Hulu)

It's been quite a few years since the first season of One-Punch Man debuted, and it has since gotten a ton of attention from anime fans and non-anime fans alike. The passion for the series just leapt off the screen and it was undeniable that the first season was something special. So there's potentially more hype for this series' return than anything else this season.

Unfortunately, some of that pre-release hype has been marred by the series' first trailer. The stiff animation and characters have made fans worried about the anime's return. Whether this turns out to be the best season ever or the worst, this will undoubtedly be one of the most talked about anime of Spring 2019. Viz Media has licensed the season for an English release, and they describe One-Punch Man Season 2 as such:

"Saitama is a hero who only became a hero for fun. After three years of "special training," he's become so strong that he's practically invincible. In fact, he's too strong—even his mightiest opponents are taken out with a single punch. Now, the great seer Madame Shibabawa's prediction about the Earth being doomed seems to be coming true as the frequency of monster incidents escalates. Alongside Genos, his faithful disciple, Saitama begins his official hero duties as a member of the Hero Association, while Garou, a man utterly fascinated by monsters, makes his appearance."

'We Never Learn: BOKUBEN'

Premiere Date: April 7 (Crunchyroll, FunimationNOW, Hulu)

Like Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba and The Promised Neverland, Taishi Tsutsui's We Never Learn is one of the Shonen Jump titles that's gotten pretty popular in recent years. That popularity has quickly spurned a new anime series, and it just may end up as one of the standout romantic comedy series of the Spring 2019 season.

We Never Learn follows Yuiga, a student coming from a poor family who's seeking to earn a recommendation to get into a good secondary school. He'll get that recommendation on the one condition that he tutor the school's legendary geniuses, the science prodigy Ogata and the literature prodigy Furuhashi. Despite their strong knowledge of their respective fields, both of them are seeking a future in the complete opposite of their strong suit. Naturally, this set up leads to all sorts of shenanigans fans of romantic comedy anime all know and love.

Yoshiaki Iwasaki, director of Love Hina, will directing the series for Studio Silver and Arvo Animation. Fans of that famous romantic comedy should take note of We Never Learn just in case this series turns out to be one of the next rom-com hits.

'Bungo Stray Dogs' Season 3

Premiere Date: April 12

Bungo Stray Dogs caught fans by surprise in 2016, and fans have been wanting to see it continue with a third season for a while. Fans got their anime return with its big movie outing in Dead Apple, but nothing beats seeing a whole new batch of episodes. The series will be making its big comeback with its third season, and much of the staff and cast will be returning.

For those unfamiliar, the series follows the members of the Armed Detective Agency, a group full of individuals with super powers and use them to solve mysteries, and carrying out various missions for the mafia. The series is most well known for naming its characters after famous literary authors like Edgar Allen Poe, Agatha Christie, Mark Twain, and Akiko Yosano.

Not much has been revealed about what the new season will cover, but there has been a new addition to the cast of characters with Kenichi Suzumura as Katai Tayama, a former Armed Detective Agency member who now lives as a shut-in hacker.

'Rilakkuma and Kaoru'

Premiere Date: April 19 (Netflix)

San-X's Rilakkuma is one of the most well-known mascots in Japan, and soon the mascot will get its first stop-motion animated series. Launching in 190 countries worldwide, the new Netflix series will follow an adorable soft toy bear named Rilakkuma who surprisingly comes to live with a girl named Kaoru.

The 13 episode series will follow the cute duo, along with Kaoru's pet bird Kiiroitori and a small white bear cub named Korilakkuma, as they got on even cuter adventures. Stop-motion animation is incredibly rare these days, and thankfully this new series will be animated by one of the most prolific stop-motion animation studios, dwarf inc. (the company behind another popular mascot Domo).

Original creator Aki Kondo will be helping with the story development for San-X, so the series seems to be in good hands. It's definitely going to be one of the major standouts of the Spring 2019 anime season, and if all goes well, one of the standouts of the year.

'Attack on Titan' Season 3 Part 2

Premiere Date: April 28 (FunimationNOW)

Attack on Titan's third season was one of the most well-received by fans and critics alike. It shifted the series' action from humans versus the Titans to humans versus other humans. Eren and the Survey Corps found themselves in the middle of a huge military coup, but what was almost as big of a surprise was the third season going on hiatus.

Returning for the final half of the third season, the anime is gearing up for a major return to the Titan action as Eren and the military head to Shiganshina in order to get it back under their control. But little do they know, Reiner, Bertoldt, and the mysterious Beast Titan are there waiting for them. There's a huge battle on the horizon, and characters won't be the same after. It's going to be an exciting Spring all around.

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