FEATURE: The Anime I’m Looking Forward to the Most in 2023
A plethora of brand-new anime premieres will start in the next year. Running through the list of forthcoming productions and trying to decide which are deserving of your limited free time may be a bit overwhelming, whether you’re restricting yourself to the next season or looking at the full year. Fortunately, I’ve been busy compiling a list of the year’s most exciting potential releases by scouring previews and trailers. There are a wide variety of fascinating anime projects on the way, ranging from eagerly anticipated sequels to famous adaptations and even some originals. Let’s go through some of the anime potential high points of this year!
Let’s start with a less well-known show that yet ranks among my most eagerly awaited programmes of the next season. Early previews for The Fire Hunter initially piqued my interest since they gave me a peek of a stunning, depressing world that was brought to life with detailed animation and ominous hues. Checking up with the show’s core personnel provided some quick insight into the distinct tone of the production: it’s a partnership between series composer Mamoru Oshii and director Junji Nishimura, who have been working together ever since Oshii’s Urusei Yatsura days. The Fire Hunter seems to be a fitting continuation of both of their legacies. These anime giants have been raising everything they touch for decades. I can safely say that I’ll be in line for the first episode.
Although the crew credentials of The Fire Hunter first drew my attention, other programmes benefit from drawing inspiration from well-known and cherished sources. The same is true with NieR:Automata Ver 1.1a, an adaption of what is, in my opinion, the greatest videogame ever created. We’re in for a very gratifying trip if this season’s adaption of Automata can even somewhat match the brilliance of the transhumanist masterwork Automata. Can a linear, non-interactive storytelling medium successfully transmit Automata’s recursive, agency-dependent drama? I honestly don’t know, but I’m curious to find out.
This spring season will include the adaptation of Hell’s Paradise, an Edo-era action drama about a gang of condemned criminals ordered to collect the elixir of immortality. This adaptation strikes a balance between cherished original material and artistically alluring previews. According to the recent previews, this adaptation will successfully portray the manga’s fierce action and otherworldly atmosphere. The manga’s intriguing concept allows for a range of desperate conflicts and supernatural spectacles. Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba benefited greatly from the fact that you grounded your fantastical action in historical reality, therefore I’m looking forward to seeing how Hell’s Paradise creates its own far-off setting.
I’m also looking forward to the release of Pocket Monsters: Mezase Pokémon Master, even if it will certainly be accompanied with a hint of sorrow. I’ll be saying goodbye to a character that has been with me for almost my whole life and who lead one of the first anime I ever saw since the short series is touted as Ash’s last farewell as the main character of the Pokémon anime. Although I’m sure this season will treat him fairly, I can’t guarantee there won’t be any tears, especially if Team Rocket is also leaving us—Jessie and James are for life!
Naturally, there are also the follow-ups. A dizzying variety of sequels, from loud action spectacles to intense character dramas, will be thrown at us in 2023. I think JUJUTSU KAISEN’s second season has every intention of duplicating its predecessor’s smooth, brilliantly storyboarded action scenes if you’re searching for wonderfully animated battles in the next year. A fresh visual aesthetic will be added to one of the most recognisable adventures of the 2000s with the new Trigun adaptation, which will symbolise the old guard of animated mayhem. The second season of Vinland Saga, the continuation of Makoto Yukimura’s moving manga masterpiece, is, nevertheless, the best option if you enjoy your action with a substantial garnish of history and humanist philosophy.
This year will also see the triumphant return of Tsurune, one of Kyoto Animation’s most recent and best character dramas, in addition to the ongoing action series. Tsurune’s debut season was a subtle animation and directing triumph that carried on the studio’s aim of vibrant realism as seen in works like Sound! Euphonium while simultaneously delivering a moving personal tale. The second season of Tsurune really seems to be surpassing the artistic grandeur of its predecessor, enhancing the brilliant use of colour and symmetry in the first season with presentational and lighting techniques that give each scene a surreal hyperreality. You can always rely on Kyoto Animation if you’re looking for the height of animated beauty.
Or maybe all you want is a sweet, cosy adventure? The second season of BOFURI: I Don’t Want to Get Hurt, so I’ll Max Out My Defense, about a girl who doesn’t want to get struck so she puts all of her characters’ stat points in defence, is the final sequel I’d want to suggest to you in that situation. If you’re looking for something easygoing and nice, BOFURI is your choice. It’s breezy, warmhearted, and really approaches MMO drama in a rather sympathetic way. Whatever your tastes in animated content, it is obvious that 2023 has something to offer almost everyone. I hope one or two of the shows on my list have caught your attention, and if not, please let me know what else you’re looking forward to in the comments!
FEATURE: The Anime I’m Looking Forward to the Most in 2023
- Reference Sites:
- https://animesee.com/
- https://www.crunchyroll.com/
- https://www.animenewsnetwork.com/
- https://www.cbr.com/
