2021 Anime is Starting Off With a Bang!

2020 may have been a huge disaster for almost all of us, but it gave us more time to watch anime. Quarantine has been perhaps the largest reason why the anime community has grown so large.

Both old and new anime watchers could enjoy watching anime with the comfort of their bed as quarantine had essentially destroyed the concept of “normal life” for all of us. Going outside feels alienated and we’re all bound to our homes by this global pandemic making us all Otakus.

Although, Covid-19 is still prominent in most countries, at least this winter 2021 anime line up is amazing!

While 2020 was a desolate and barren year for anime, 2021 flipped the situation on its head and gave us a total of 10 returning shows in its first season.

Several series that had claimed the number one spots in popularity in their own respective seasons include returning titles such as Dr. Stone, Shingeki no Kyojin (Attack on Titan), Yakusou no Neverland (The Promised Neverland), Tensai Shitara Slime Datta Ken (That Time I Got Reincarnated As A Slime), Re: Zero, and much more.

This winter season of anime has series that anyone can enjoy, from high energy shōnen to slice of life.

 

Rui Xi Liu, a tenth grader, said, “This season is the best season we’ve seen in a whole year, and the number of returning shows is something to look forward to.”
This season is surely not one to miss out on! Here is a list of some of the most highly anticipated shows of winter 2021.

Quintessential Quintuplets Season 2

‘Quintessential Quintuplets’ follows the life high school life of Futaro Uesugi, who is hired as a private tutor of the quintuplets Ichika, Nino, Miku, Yotsuba, and Itsuki Nakano. Each of which have their own personalities; however, they all have one thing in common. They all need a tutor and perform poorly in terms of academics. This rom-com anime is an ongoing “Best Girl War” and it isn’t too late to join!

Beastars Season 2

Originally, described as a furry anime is actually an extremely deep slice of life anime tackling the flaws of society and a person’s own desires. ‘Beastars’ is set in a Zootopia a world that has tensions between herbivores and carnivores. We follow our main character Legoshi who grows feelings for Haru, a white dwarf rabbit. However, things complicate when he cannot control his predatory urges. With increasingly complicated circumstances, he must confront his own natural self and try to resolve the increasing tensions around him.

Dr. Stone: Stone Wars

‘Dr. Stone: Stone Wars’ is a continuation of Dr. Stone. Season one of the anime was about how human civilization had suddenly been frozen for several thousands of years. Any trace of humans existing had been engulfed by wildlife and had decayed. Senku, a teenage genius, and his friend Taiju are the first humans out of their stone shells that had kept them trapped. Senku had discovered a formula to uncase humans from these stone shells, however, out of desperation, uncases Tsukasa. Tsukasa does not want to rebuild society like Senku and becomes his rival. This is the battle between Tsukasa’s brawns and Senku’s technological genius is sure to be the climax in this next season.

Hataraku Saibou!! Season 2 (Cells at Work)

‘Cells at Work’ is an anime about the human body. The anime is about how 37.2 trillion anthropomorphic cells in your body work together to allow you to function. Each area of the body is represented by a city. Throughout the anime, we follow the main protagonist as a red blood cell that delivers oxygen from city to city. If you’re looking for an interesting shōnen comedy that is based on a completely new concept, then this anime is definitely worth watching.

Nanatsu no Taizai: Season 4 (The Seven Deadly Sins)

‘The Seven Deadly Sins’, is a returning show. We follow our protagonist Meliodas and his friends saving the kingdom from the threat of the demon race. This anime is filled to the brim with lore and backstories for each character. If you are the type to like anime with holy wars, tons of action, and banter between characters, then this anime is certainly for you.

Tensei Shitara Slime Datta Ken Season 2 (That Time I Got Reincarnated As A Slime)

‘That Time I Got Reincarnated As A Slime’ (Slime Issekai for short) is about a 37-year-old office worker named Mikami Satoru who lived a mundane life with a boring job. One day he dies and is reincarnated into another world as a slime. In almost all JRPGS the weakest monster is always a slime, however, Slime Issekai puts a twist. When Satoru is reincarnated, he becomes one of the strongest monsters in the world and retains no threat to his life despite being a slime. This hilarious Issekai is definitely worth a watch as it subverts viewer expectations and challenges the norms of what most Issekai present. An Issekai anime usually starts with the main character being transported to a world different from theirs.

Daphne G., another avid anime watcher in 10th grade, had described this season as, “closes a huge step up from the little amount of anime in 2020.” Nevertheless, no matter the circumstances, this season of anime is gonna be among the best we’ve had in a while.