This year, more so than any other year since I began watching anime, the scheduling gods have been benevolent towards me. I’ve received a bounty of sequels to some of my all-time favourite shows and a wealth of amazing anime greenlit for next year.
This year we were fortunate enough to get more Steins;Gate, Tokyo Ghoul, Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure, Attack on Titan, FLCL, Free, and My Hero Academia. Save for Tokyo Ghoul:re (which, thanks to its garbled storytelling, was a bitter disappointment – and I’m just a casual fan of the franchise!), all were satisfactory, if not excellent! I loved seeing a more mature Okabe in Steins;Gate 0 and the series held up surprisingly well even without a flesh-and-blood Kurisu, whilst I was initially disappointed with the lack of titans in the earlier half of Attack on Titan Season 3, the pay-off (with the disgusting Rod Reiss titan) more than made up for it, and FLCL, whilst incomprehensible, was a treat for the senses!
During 2018 we also received word from above that we were soon to be blessed with more One Punch Man, My Hero Academia, Attack on Titan, Chihayafuru, Free, and Made in Abyss. Not only that, but also a Fruits Basket reboot! What a time to be alive. I’m especially excited for the third season of Chihayafuru and the Fruits Basket reboot. Chihayafuru, with its passionate characters and stunning animation, has long held a special place in my heart and I was always disappointed that Fruits Basket (2001) went for its own original ending instead of adapting more of the manga, which grew steadily darker as it progressed. In preparation for next year I’ve already rewatched Made in Abyss, treated myself to the premium box-set of Chihayafuru Season 1 (which I also plan to rewatch), and begun re-reading the Fruits Basket manga. I actually cannot wait!
All of this has been especially satisfying in light of the fact that I never thought that some of these sequels would ever see the light of day! It’s been seven years since the first season of Steins;Gate, 17 since the first season of Fruits Basket, and a whopping 18 years since the first season of FLCL. I bet that’s older than a good handful of you reading this! Also relevant is the fact that rarely before have I been so lucky with sequels. I suppose, as my tastes have slowly aligned with (or have become less edgy and pretentious than) those of the vast majority of anime fans, the likelihood of shows I like getting sequels has incrementally increased! All I need now is the conclusion to Spice and Wolf, a Claymore reboot, and more Food Wars (feed me moooaaar) and I can die happy!
Watashi Wa Bucho!! 