2018 has been a great year for anime. From series like “A Place Further Than The Universe” to “Shingeki no Kyoujin Season 3” to “Grand Blue” and more, it has been a superb and emotional ride. However as the year ends, a new year of anime starts and Winter 2019 looks stacked.
There will be some leftover shows which started to air during Fall 2018 spilling over to the new season, such as “Sword Art Online: Alicization” and “Tensei Shitara Slime Datta Ken” to name a few.
For the purposes of this article, we will only be highlighting non-sequel shows that will air for the first time this season. There are some series that should already be on your list, such as “Kemono Friends 2”, “Kakegurui xx” and “Mob Psycho 100 II”, but these are our top non-sequel picks that you also should watch!
Tate no Yuusha no Nariagari
Naofumi Iwatani, an uncharismatic Otaku who spends his days on games and manga, suddenly finds himself summoned to a parallel universe! He discovers he is one of four heroes equipped with legendary weapons and tasked with saving the world from its prophesied destruction. As the Shield Hero, the weakest of the heroes, all is not as it seems. Naofumi is soon alone, penniless, and betrayed. With no one to turn to, and nowhere to run, he is left with only his shield. Now, Naofumi must rise to become the legendary Shield Hero and save the world! (Source: One Peace Books)
So I guess we still can’t go a season without a new isekai anime, as a new isekai protagonist drops into another fantasy world – again! Still, this series is one of the most highly anticipated isekai anime since its adaptation was first announced a couple of years ago. Kinema Citrus will be handling the adaptation and with their recent track record with “Made in Abyss” and “Shoujo Kageki Revue Starlight”, this will be a series to watch.
Yokusoku no Neverland
Emma, Norman and Ray are the brightest kids at the Grace Field House orphanage. And under the care of the woman they refer to as “Mom,” all the kids have enjoyed a comfortable life. Good food, clean clothes and the perfect environment to learn—what more could an orphan ask for? One day, though, Emma and Norman uncover the dark truth of the outside world they are forbidden from seeing. (Source: VIZ)
“Yokusoku no Neverland” or “The Promised Neverland” is one of the most critically acclaimed manga series from Shounen Jump to have an anime adaptation and it’s going to be a wild ride. The manga made waves as it was the least Shounen-like series to be featured on Shounen Jump, it being more supernatural with a lot of mystery that viewers will get to look forward to. It is up to CloverWorks to try and convey the correct tone of the show to the audience. Either way, this is one that no one should miss out.
Kaguya-sama wa Kokurasetai: Tensai-tachi no Renai Zunousen
Kaguya Shinomiya and Miyuki Shirogane are the members of the incredibly prestigious Shuichi’in Academy’s student council, asserting their positions as geniuses among geniuses. All the time they spend together has caused the two of them to develop feelings for each other, but their pride will not allow them to be the one to confess and become the submissive one in the relationship! Love is war, and their battle to make the other confess begins now! (Source: MU)
This romantic comedy will make your heart flutter with how Kaguya and Miyuki flirt with each other and how their relationship blossoms. The rest of the cast are all bubbly characters that will elevate the two main characters of the series to new heights as the relationship between them develop complexly. This series will definitely make your heart go doki-doki!
5-Touban no Hanayome
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_gLAk3OvlyI
One day, a poor high school second-year named Futaro Uesugi comes across a private tutoring gig with good pay. But his pupils are his classmates!! And they’re quintuplets!! A-and they’re all gorgeous girls, but they’re also troublemakers who hate to study and are on the verge of flunking out! And his first task is simply gaining the sisters’ trust?! Every day is a party! The curtain is rising on the Nakano quintuplets’ quirky romantic comedy with five times the cute!! (Source: Kodansha Comics)
Another rom-com where outrageous things will happen to the main character, Futaro. Things will blow out of proportion as he struggles to make sure he and his classmates don’t flunk their studies. Watching the character development for this series is such a treat and it will make your heart go doki-doki at the same time. Overall, it sets a nice pace for a season with so many great series.
Revisions
“This is a prediction. An extreme crisis will befall the five of you someday. At that time, you five will protect everyone.” Daisuke Dōjima is a second-year high school student who, as a child, was kidnapped. Daisuke, along with his friends Gai, Lū, Marimari, and Keisaku, get wrapped up in the mysterious phenomenon known as the “Shibuya Drift.” The central area of Shibuya rises up and is transported at least 300 years in the “future.” What awaits them is a vast wasteland and forest dotted with ruins. There, they will work with the future people “revisions” to operate giant mechanical monsters. (Source: Anime News Network).
There have not been many mecha series over the past few years and this looks to be a gorgeously rendered CGI series with a story that may or may not break people hearts. Putting out a fully 3D CGI series is one of the few ways to do a proper implementation of CGI. There are alot of shows that screw up simple CGI and hopefully this will not be one of them. The characters and the animation do look interesting to say the least. Hopefully the action and story will also grab the viewers’ hearts.
So there you have it – our top picks for the Winter 2019 season! We hope you will enjoy our recommendations as well as the other anime series that we did not mention.
What are you personally looking forward to? Do let us know in the comments below so that we can check out your favourites as well!
