The Most-Anticipated Anime Titles of 2018

When 2018 rang in, plenty of people used the new year to motivate their big resolutions. Millions banded together to lose weight or make budgets this year, but otakus have something totally different on their mind.

A new year doesn’t have to mean a new you. It also means a new slate of anime is on the way, and there are a lot of big shows coming out in 2018.

From Evangelion to Overlord, 2018 is packed with plenty of projects. Annual titles like Boruto: Naruto Next Generations and One Piece are chugging along as usual, but Dragon Ball Super plans to end this March. The hole has lots of fans panicking as they aren’t sure how they will fill the gap, but ComicBook has got you covered.

In the following slides, you can check out some of the most-anticipated anime titles of 2018. Some have just gotten their start while others are a few months out. So, if you need to fulfill you new year’s goal of binging anime, this is where you start:

Do you have any top anime picks for 2018 already? Hit me up on Twitter @MeganPetersCB to let me know and talk all things comics, k-pop, and anime!

Code Geass: Fukkatsu no Lelouch

It has been more than a few years since Code Geass wrapped its anime, but the franchise is gearing up for a long-awaited comeback. Yes, Code Geass has plans to debut its third season in 2018, and fans are all asking one very important question:

Seriously, how is Lelouch still alive?

The new season will be set after Lelouch enacted his ‘Zero Requiem’ plan back in season two. Fans will surely remember the plot as it was an emotional one for – well – everyone. The secret plan saw Lelouch purposefully act so awful that the whole would would come to hate him. With all eyes on him, Lelouch planned to have his friend Suzaku dress as the vigilante Zero and kill him before Lelouch could damn the world any further. The execution would give the world common ground over its hatred of Lelouch, giving its warring people a chance to bond, and his passing would atone his sins against those like Euphemia Ii Britannia.

But, here’s the rub: officials have confirmed season three will feature Lelouch alive and in the flesh. There is really no telling how the hero will pull this resurrection off, but fans are eager to learn how Lelouch pulled it off. 

Darling in the Franxx

When Studio Trigger and A-1 Pictures come together, only good things can happen. This year, the two will team up to give Darling in the Franxx a spin, and the mecha series seems to be living up to the hype.

The show’s story goes a bit like this: Darling in the Franxx is set in a distant future where mankind lives on a mobile fort city called Plantation. As the last vestige of humanity, the city protects itself with conscripted pilots who begin their careers as child soldiers.

Raised away from the outside world, these pilots are bred to do little more than fight. After all, Plantation is never free from the threat of attack as supernatural beings called Kyoryu tail after its movements. The city’s pilots operate mecha suits known as FRANXX to fight off the invaders. However, when a prodigal child name Hiro is unable to pilot his suit, he finds himself thrown to the dredges of society. That is, until a stranger girl named Zero Two appears before him with a proposition.

Tokyo Ghoul:re

Tokyo Ghoul has a rather controversial anime canon, but its poorly received second season isn’t holding the franchise back. This year, the series will drop its third season, and fans are interested to see how Tokyo Ghoul:re will undo the damage its predecessor wrought.

The new season will adapt the latest iteration of Sui Ishida’s manga. Tokyo Ghoul:re is set two years after the first season and focuses on a mysterious man named Haise Sasaki. The protagonist is a CCG investigator and member of the Quinx Squad, a team comprised of members who have essentially become half ghoul. Each of the CCG members have grafted themselves with their Quinque to take out ghouls, but there is something off with the one Haise wields. So, it doesn’t take fans long to learn that Haise is really just an amnesiac version of Ken Kaneki.

When the boy begins to remember his past, the identities of Haise and Ken become increasingly blurred. And, when others outside of the CCG learn about the half-ghoul’s survival, things become more dangerous for Ken than ever before.

Golden Kamuy

If you haven’t heard of Golden Kamuy, you do not need to worry. You have plenty of time to become acquainted. After all, its anime will debut later this year.

The series, which began in August 2014, tells the story of a man named Saichi Sugimoto. The man is a survivor of the Battle of 203 Hill from the Russo-Japanese War, and Saichi turned to a life of hard labor after being discharged from service. Working as a miner in Hokkaido, the hero works to provide for the family of a close comrade who died during the war. However, that all changes when Saichi hears about an illegal gold rush of sorts.

Saichi learns a special piece of Ainu gold was stashed by a criminal group, and he comes across clues to its location. The former soldier decides he will find the treasure for himself, but things go awry when the Imperial Japanese Army and other gangs try to throw him off track. So, Saichi agrees to work a guide named Aspira who can help him find the rumored gold.

Violet Evergarden

Kyoto Animation is largely recognized as one of Japan’s most talented studios, and it has a new series debuting this year. Violet Evergarden is the company’s latest endeavor, and its beauty has already got fans hyped .

The story, which is based off a light novel series, is a quaint one. Violet Evergarden tells the story of its titular heroine after she comes to work at CH Postal Company. Violet was one of many soldiers who fought in her homeland’s recent war, and she has since started working as an Auto Memory Doll to help others cope with the traumatic ordeal.

Of course, Violet is looking to mend her own mental wounds as well. The heroine lost her arms and memories during the war, but she still remembers her military superior Gilbert Bougainvillea fondly. Violet chooses to work as an Auto Memory Doll in order to learn what the phrase ‘I love you’ means as it was the last thing Gilbert said to her before the war ended.

My Hero Academia

My Hero Academia is quickly becoming one of Japan’s top series, and shonen fans are ready for its third season to drop. Luckily for them, the show is slated to return in just a few short months.

My Hero Academia is a top-notch show set in a world of heroes. The series follows a young boy named Izuku Midoriya on his journey to becoming the Number One hero he’s always dreamt of being. Born without any Quirk, Izuku catches the eye of All Might with his selflessly heroic behavior, and the Pro Hero bestows his legendary Quirk upon Izuku. However, using the power of One For All is easier said than done.

The anime’s upcoming season will pick up right when its last one left off The students of Class 1-A have finished working with their Pro Heroes and are ready to head into the summer. UA Academy will prepare a special summer camp for its students in the Hero Program, but things will not go as planned. When a mole leaks the location of the camp to the League of Villains, Izuku’s friends must band together to protect each other when they learn the baddies are after one very surprising student.