Just when you thought 2021's Anime couldn't get any more overwhelmingly awesome, Fall's arrived to prove you wrong!

Image for illustration purpose only.

Fall 2021 has descended upon the anime community like a grand piano upon a looney toon. So busy were we wiping our collective brow and dramatically catching our collective breath after narrowly escaping the dimly lit dynamite factory of spring, that by the time we noticed its ballooning shadow swallowing us whole,

we barely had time to look up, look down, look up again, hold up a little sign that said “mother,” and break into a sonic the hedgehog wheel sprint, causing the pavement

beneath us to spool up like a rumpled carpet behind us instead of propelling us forward, before it crushed us all.

Luckily, you’ve got me to guide you out from under this massive pile of hyped-up adaptations, hotly anticipated sequels, and exciting original experiments! I watched all 31 of the new full-length anime that is out this fall, and now, I’m ready to tell you the ten that are most worth your time. In no particular order, through

I did save the best one for the end, These are the Ones To Watch for Fall 2021.

📌All the mentioned anime are available on these Telegram channels:

• Anime Clan- @Anime_x_Clan
• Anime Complex- @Anime_Complex
• Anime Realm- @Anime_Realms

📺I adore anime like today’s first recommendation, Heike Monogatari. 

The Epic account of the Heike or “Taira” Clan’s fall in the 1100s is one of the foundational

works of Japanese literature – a story every schoolchild has heard told many times.

But rarely is it told as masterfully as it is here, under the direction of legendary

genius animation savant Naoko Yamada, working not with her usual crew at Kyoto Animation,

but rather with Masaaki Yuasa’s boundary-pushing digital animation house, Science Saru. Whose

tech and artistic technique have allowed them to create a show that looks EXACTLY like a

traditional Japanese watercolor painting comes alive! And how lively it is, with that

traditionally elegant brushwork and carefully applied motion smearing allowing for a remarkable

degree of smooth, dynamic motion.

This is one of the most beautiful anime you’ll

ever see. Or hear, thanks to its moving, traditional musical score from future chainsaw man composer

Kensuke Ushio and well-considered sound direction from Gundam legend Eriko Kimura. And this

is Naoko Yamada we’re talking about, so it goes without saying that the music and

motion unite in perfect harmony to form a seamless, captivating whole

The story, which pre-supposes the audience’s pre-existing knowledge of its events by framing itself around the doomsaying visions of a psychic orphan, is equally brilliant in its own, non-traditional way. K-on and Romeo x Juliet’s Reiko Yoshida penned the script, after all, and few can match her delicate mastery of character and pacing. 

Like Odd Taxi before it, I have a bad feeling most conventional anime fans will pass this one by without much thought, but if you appreciate the finer points of cinema or Japanese history, you won’t wanna miss it.

Those with a keen eye for high art – and anyone who enjoys high school melodrama, for that matter – are likewise likely to like

Magi Director Kouji Masunari’s adaptation of Blue Period. This is – among many other reasons to get hyped – the first Netflix anime since Violet Evergarden to get the simulcast treatment! And, it’s not the only one this season. 

But we’ll get to that. And all those other reasons. I just wanted to celebrate for a sec that they managed to close Netflix Jail before Guantanamo.

📺Anyway, Blue Period is a much-hyped seinen manga

about a stylish High School Second Year, Yatora Yaguchi, who, after a life spent pursuing popularity in a vain attempt to be happy, finally finds a path to true satisfaction, and self-expression, through his school’s art club.

The Anime based on that manga makes me want to paint – and do other artsy stuff like written – in exactly the same way that haikyuu and Baby Steps compel me to run around and yell. It is a crystallization of adolescent passion and angst – a triumphant tribute to artistic expression. Also, it’s pretty funny, I really like the characters and the dialogue is packed with subtext – unsurprisingly since this is another Reiko Yoshida script.

It is just a rock-solid anime drama. The animation varies a bit in its dynamism

and quality, but the background art is more than good enough to make up the difference.

The paintings at the core of the story, especially, are rendered with remarkable realism, and

clear appreciation for the unique quirks of different mediums, like Oil on Canvas, and

Watercolor. Just as the top sports manga exhaustively research the technical intricacies of their

respective physical activities, Blue Period faithfully captures the real technique and

skill it takes to make great art. And in doing so, makes that feel accessible and fun.

📺Speaking of GREAT ART. Lemme tell you about Sakugan.

Its title may not… actually have anything to do with Sakuga. It’s actually a portmanteau of “Sacks&Guns,” based on a contest-winning sci-fi novel… why am I going on about this.

The point I’m trying to make is, there’s more than a linguistically appropriate amount of Sakuga in Sakugan.

There’s also a rather stirring story in there about a man, Gagumber, and his daughter,

Memempu, who lives in an underground colony connected to a massive tunnel labyrinth that’s all the world mankind has ever known. The duo works as miners, using a special, customized mining mech, tricked out by Memempu who, despite being a Minor – the other kind – already has a college degree. And she’s got big dreams to go with it, of leaving the digger life and becoming a marker. One of the mech-suited professional adventurers who make their living probing the secrets of the great labyrinth.

But that labyrinth is full of Kaiju, and perhaps even worse dangers deeper in, so Gagumber is none too happy about the prospect of his daughter taking on such a dangerous vocation?

Therein lies the show’s central character conflict, while its central action conflict

will of course be about getting a giant robot past an entire world full of kaiju to the

labyrinth exit. 

This show is basically Made-in-Abyss meets A Goofy Movie by way of Gurren Lagaan,

and I feel like that’s all I need to say about it.

Speaking of precious daughters you’ll want to protect even if they don’t need it, 

📺Irina: Vampire Cosmonaut also has the potential 

to induce such feelings. 

Up until they put a dog collar on her, at which point, you’re gonna start feeling a different kinda thing that mutually excludes the other one.

Yes, perhaps in honor of the bloody cravings the species is known for, this show is THIRSTY AS ALL GET OUT. For soda water. But also for euphemisms, and especially for MOUTHS.

These animators like lips and teeth about as much as Nagatoro’s like hands. 

Which is a lot, if you’re not the kind of media-poisoned weirdo who notices these things.

Anyway, Irina would be quick to tell you that the whole bloodthirst thing is a gross and unfair stereotype pushed on vampires by humans.

Who they don’t eat. Anymore. They’re just a mostly ordinary group of mountaineering

people with no sense of taste, severe heat sensitivity, fangs, and near-superhuman athletic

ability, who are discriminated against by the people of the UZSR, (Lmao do mean: USSR?) for being different.

Which, for the Republic’s Regime, makes them an ideally expendable stepping stone between dog murder and boots on the moon in their Space Race against the UKA. (Does this seem suspicious?)

Who still almost certainly built their rockets with the help of Naz…o (well ofc they mean that forbidden word! 😂) scientists in this timeline, so no one’s hands are clean here.

And that’s exactly what I like so much about this show! Through a lightly distorted lens

of historical fantasy, it examines the dark and messy side of the space race - the political

power games and shady coverups. But it never loses sight, through the eyes of Irina and

her human handler Lev, of the simple, universally idealistic dream of touching the stars that

drove us up there, to begin with. 

If you’re space travel, history, or sci-fi enthusiast, you won’t wanna miss this anime, Of course, Vampire enthusiasts are famously hesitant to embrace any fiction that strays too far from the essential rules that have governed the creature ever since we made it up, so they may not be as enthused about Irina

But worry not! If you’re the sort of connoisseur who insists their bloodsuckers come with pointy

fangs and pointier hair, and crumble to dust when the sun so much as looks at them, 

📺The Vampire Dies in No Time has you covered. 

Especially on that last point.

Darius is an ancient, immortal, and invincible progenitor vampire who has been terrorizing

his town for years! Or at least, that’s what the local tour bus company puts in the

brochures, which is what leads world-renowned, social-media conscious freelance vampire hunter

Ronald to come knocking on his door. That and reports that he’d kidnapped a child…

which turned out to be grossly exaggerated,

as were the reports of his power. In reality,

the kid was just breaking into his house during the day to play Draluc’s video games, which

he has a lot of because he’s a hikikomori dweeb who turns to dust when ANYTHING so much

as looks at him.

Smells garlic? Dust. Sees across? DUST. A light pat on the back? YOU BEST BELIEVE THAT’S A DUSTIN. He does reconstitute about as easily as he disintegrates, so it’s not much of an inconvenience to him, but he is an inconvenience to everyone else. Especially Ronald he burns the count’s manor down and has to put him up in his office. Though, if I were Ronald, I wouldn’t look twice that gift PlayStation and adorable armadillo mascot in the mouth too quickly.

I’m rambling, though. As a high-concept sitcom, my recommendation of 'The Vampire Dies in No Time' ultimately boils down to a single sentence:

I laughed a lot, and if anything I just said sounds funny to you, you probably will too.

Now, if Human-Undead relations are a topic of interest to you, you might also want to check out 

📺The Faraway Paladin. 

Also if you like Isekai power fantasies, ‘cause it’s definitely one of those. Specifically, it’s

an Isekai in the vein of Mushoku Tensei. Not in the weird, horny kid sense – this reincarnated

nerd is more precocious and curious than anything – but in the rich, textured worldbuilding

sense, featuring a classically inspired, word-based magic system reminiscent of Earthsea, which

an extended period of the story spends fleshing out, along with the protagonist’s childhood.

What makes that childhood so interesting, in contrast to Rudeus’s self-driven growth,

is who’s doing the child-rearing: A trio of former – or should that be late? – heroes.

Boi has a Ghost Wizard for a Grandpa, a Mummy for a Mommy – specifically a mummy priestess

– and a Skeleton Warrior for a dad, who do their best to teach and take care of him

in the basement of a long-abandoned church.

Which is in turn surrounded by desolate wilderness

and the decaying husk of an equally abandoned city.

What happened to all the people there? Where did they all go, and why is Will still here?

What caused these clearly noble souls to linger so long in unholy undeath? What are the gods

of this world like, to leave this place in such a sorry state? 

These questions hang heavy above our hero’s journey from the outset and in grand fantasy role-playing tradition, they promise to give way to yet greater mysteries as he travels into the greater world and starts down the path to become a Paladin.

If you’re a fan of heady, rich fantasy…

I mean, you do already have season 2 of Mushoku Tensei to enjoy right now, but The Faraway Paladin has shown nearly as much promise in its early episodes.

Speaking of promise, Bojji, 

📺The protagonist of “Ranking of Kings” seems to show absolutely none.

This is a bit of a problem for him and his country, because the deaf, mute, physically weak young prince is next in line to be its king, and kings in this world have to fight orcs and monsters and stuff. From peasants to soldiers to his own queen stepmother, the land is full of folks who look down on Bojji and lament that the throne will be his by birth, instead of going to his taller, mightier half-brother.

But not all strength is physical, and the prince isn’t nearly as “feeble” or “simple” as all folks who can’t see past his disability so blindly assume. Undaunted by naysayers, his goal is to be a great king one day, and despite all the doubt, he might even become the greatest. That’s a long way off, though. For now, this anime simply follows him as makes new friends and comes of age against a backdrop of fairy tale fancy and devious medieval political maneuvering.

A backdrop that’s painted beautifully, and set behind characters animated with elastic fluidly by Wit Studio under the debut direction of Yousuke Hatta, former storyboarder and episode director on Death Parade, One Punch Man, and Acca 13. 

Don’t be like those villagers and let its cute, simple looks fool you – Ranking of Kings is a thoughtful, meaty, emotionally

potent anime that fantasy fanatics and animation lovers alike will adore.

Not that anime NEEDS an out there high concept to be fun. 

In the right hands, a great anime can be spun from an idea as simple as “a short-tempered short lady has to work with a tall guy who’s loud and annoying but also adorable in a Dick Gumshoe kinda way.” That’s about the whole plot of “My Senpai is Annoying”

– well, that and whatever’s going on between Futaba and Harumi’s coworkers, Souta and Touko. The antics of the various supporting characters around them. The general low-stakes

drama and tedious, repetitive work that comes with a salaryman gig. It’s an office comedy, you know how those work. A really good office comedy.

I honestly don’t know how much more there is to say about it. It’s got really cute character chemistry and nearly as cute character

designs. The animation has a lot of fun, characterful flourishes, and the storyboarding exudes a

keen eye for composition and a sharp sense of comic timing. If you watched Wotakoi, I

don’t even have to finish this sentence, because you started adding this to your Funimation

queue as soon as I said that. If you haven’t, does a heartwarming, realistic romance between

likable adults sound like fun to you? 

Then watch My Senpai is Annoying.

Also Wotakoi. And Aggretsuko. There’s a lot of good shows in this vein.

Senpai ain’t the only great com with a gentle

touch of rom in it this season, though.

I promised we’d get to fall’s other, bigger Netflix Jailbreaker, and here, in the penultimate slot, we are.

Komi-San can’t communicate is one of the most anticipated anime adaptations not just

of this season, but the entire year. The original manga, about an impossibly pretty, statuesque

high school girl named Komi who, despite being the automatic idol of her entire class, instantly

beloved by all, is utterly incapable of uttering a single word to another person.

Though everyone else assumes she’s standoffish and arrogant – after they get over hooting

and hollering over her cool beauty demeanor – her desk neighbor, Tadano Hitohito, who

specializes in reading rooms, accurately assesses what ails our heroine. And vows – via chalkboard

chatroom – to help her. Thus begins a touching, hilarious, surprisingly deep story about growing

up and opening up, which has been propping up the venerable Shounen Sunday Magazine for

the last 5 years. This anime is a big deal, in other words.

Thus, while I can’t see for myself exactly how good the anime itself is until Netflix

drops episode one on the 21st, I am going to make the educated prediction that it will

be of the season’s best shows and a possible anime of the year contender. Not just because

the manga’s good of course, but, because the folks animating it is BADASS.

OLM, short for… Oriental Light and Magic, has been around since you could name a company

that and is low key one of the most powerful anime studios in existence. Most people hear

the name and, if they think at all, they think “oh yeah, the pokemon anime guys.” But

have you seen Pokemon lately? I can’t show it for copyright reasons, but that shit SLAPS.

And they make it EVERY WEEK. Give them time to make a single season show, and they REINVENT

ART with odd taxi. Give them OVA resources, you get original berserk. If they take a show

seriously – and Komi’s trailer SCREAMS that they’re taking it seriously – it’s

gonna be seriously good.

The director, Ayumu Watanabe, is likewise

the type to thrive under the pressure of a weekly production schedule – just look at

Space Brothers. And much like OLM, when the given time and resources to make something

beautiful, he does. Just look at After the

Rain and DO NOT. ASK WHAT IT’S ABOUT. And

like all of his work, even the Ace Attorney anime demonstrates, he’s especially adept

at balancing awkwardly big, quirky casts of

characters, which is what Komi’s all about.

The manga’s in as safe hands as it possibly could be, and knowing that I can confidently

say, based on trailers and its quality as a manga alone, that Komi-san Can’t Communicate

will live up to the hype as an anime, and is a one to watch this fall. it is not, however, the fall anime I’m most

hyped for. 

As promised, I saved that for the end. And as is ordained by the dark lord of

listicles, before I say it, I am compelled to mention, honorably, some very good anime

that didn’t quite make the cut. Also, Platinum

End and Tesla Note, which are both very not

good in the best possible way. If the phrases “biggest, dumbest battle royale” and “bizarro

world ex-arm” perk your ears up, give those a look.

As for actually good anime, there’s Selection Project, an American idol-style competition

driven idol show with some really sharp cinematic sensibilities.

Digimon: Ghost Game, the latest iteration of the sophisticated 8 year old’s monster

franchise of choice, reimagines Digimon as fodder for creepy urban legends. Fun stuff.

Good Halloween viewing if you got kids.

Kids might also appreciate Muteking! THE dancing

HERO, a remake of an extremely retro anime about a musical, rollerblading superhero that

feels like vaporwave on Adderall.

As for kids who think they’re too cool for

that baby stuff, Build Divide: Code Black is a gritty, dark cyberpunk children’s card

game commercial with some pretty decent action.

Old, tired adults, meanwhile, will probably

appreciate “Banished from the Hero’s Party,

I Decided to Live a Quiet Life in the Countryside,”

a pastoral fantasy light novel adaptation about a former adventurer working as a small

town apothecary that’s got some really good character writing in it.

And slightly younger, more vigorous adults will likely get a kick out of The World’s

Greatest Assassin Gets Reincarnated In Another World as an Aristocrat, which solves isekai’s

boring protagonist problem by replacing kirito clone 42069 with Agent 47.

There’s also Rumble Garanndoll!, a fun mecha action deal about an army of Akiha Otaku staging

a revolt against a militaristic, ultranationalist, possibly alien-backed Japanese government

that’s banned anime, video games, and porn.

Luckily though, we live in a different timeline

where we can watch Mieruko-Chan, an adaptation of an exceptional horror-comedy manga that

doesn’t quite successfully translate the horror half of that equation to the screen,

but does try to make up for it by being 6.9/10

STUPID HORNY.

But before you check out ANY of those, you

NEED to see Takt op. Destiny. A semi-original anime produced by Bandai Namco Arts and DeNA

to promote their upcoming mobile game of a similar name, and animated in a joint effort

by MAPPA and Madhouse under the direction of Granblue Fantasy’s Yuki Itou. Sounds

like a setup for a mediocre cash grab, right?

And yet, Takt op. Destiny sings off the screen

with scene after scene of sumptuous sakuga timed perfectly, and classily, to classical

piano music.

In a similar setup to last year’s Listeners,

the show is set in an Americana world besieged by music-hating aliens who can only be stopped

by musically powered, hot-person-shaped personal anime weapons platforms. Unlike listeners,

however, this show is actually good. Instead of stringing together a series of pop music

references and calling it a plot, Takt Op weaves different styles of music – from

ragtime to Beethoven - into the fabric of its action and the emotional core of its story.

The stellar ambient sound design really sells the dystopian feeling of a world without music

to us, and because of the vast, contrasting negative space that creates, each and every

scene with music – which are almost always fighting – instantly pops like squid game

pink on the green. And all the while, the equally excellent animation takes full advantage of

that whole sound situation to send you into sakuga sensory overload. It’s just an incredibly

fun anime, and that extends from the action to the core cast.

Our hero, Takt the Conductor, is an aloof Genius Pianist who thinks only about music.

His “Musicart” partner Destiny is a cold, single-minded killing machine obsessed with

destroying the alien D2s. And stuck in a tiny sedan between the two, like the manager of

a particularly rowdy rock band, is Anna Schneider, the too-quiet voice of reason who must do

her best to get the two of them to New York in one piece, despite their best efforts.

The anime has delightful character chemistry tied up in an intoxicating road trip vibe

that feels vaguely reminiscent of Cowboy Bebop.

Which is about as high a compliment as I can pay an anime ensemble.

Takt Op. Destiny is one of those anime that

reminds me of why I love anime, and while Heike Monogatari may be more technically proficient

and better overall, that’s enough to make it my favorite of the fall.

And with that, you got the whole list. 

Tell me which one’s your favorite in the comments below and if I helped you find a new fav.