Goodbye, summer — and hello, fall! October will kick the new season off with several new and returning series. Spell-casting alchemists, samurai showdowns, and even grief-stricken vampires will soon light up our screens, and we can’t wait to be entertained. Here are October’s five must-see anime.
Ulysses: Jeanne d’Arc and the Alchemist Knight
- Premiere date: October 7
- Studio: AXsiZ
- Genre(s): Action, Fantasy
The Hundred Years’ War gets an anime adaptation in the form of Ulysses: Jeanne d’Arc and the Alchemist Knight. Lasting from 1137 to 1453, the war consisted of a series of conflicts between the Kingdom of England and the French House of Valois. It lasted for over 100 years and claimed countless lives.
The new fantasy anime will mix this historic event with animated characters to tell the story of Montmorency, a French Nobleman’s son and alchemy student. However, England’s unexpected victory during the Battle of Agincourt turns his life upside down.
Not only does his Parisian school shut down, he also loses everything. While on the run, he meets a mysterious village girl named Jeanne, and thus begins the tale of Joan of Arc and her quest to take back France from the British.
Dakaretai Otoko 1-i ni Odosarete Imasu.
- Premiere date: October 6
- Studio: CloverWorks
- Genre(s): Drama, Romance, Shounen Ai
The idol industry is a harsh world where only a select few make it to the top. One of them, Takato Saijou has won the “Most Huggable” award for five consecutive years and hopes to win again. That is until actor Junta Azumaya steals the spotlight. Fans seem to prefer Azumaya’s sparkling smile to Saijou’s bluntness.
The whole ordeal pushes the veteran actor over the edge, leading to a drunken night where he catches the attention of the last person he wants to see — Azumaya. But to Saijou’s surprise, the young actor doesn’t use this info to further his career but to get physically closer to Saijou.
Naoyuki Tatsuwa (Nisekoi and Gourmet Girl Graffiti) will lead this project along with Yoshimi Narita (Saint Seiya Omega and Beet the Vandel Buster), who will compose the shounen ai series. Dakaretai Otoko 1-i ni Odosarete Imasu will premiere early this October.
Bakumatsu
- Premiere date: October 5
- Studio: Studio Deen
- Genre(s): Action, Historical, Samurai
Love and war take center stage in the fall anime Bakumatsu. Based on the smartphone game of the same name, the historical romance follows a young woman who’s sightseeing in Kyoto. However, her innocent trip takes a turn for the worse when a mysterious man hands her a weird-looking pocket watch. Suddenly, she finds herself 150 years in the past, at the end of the Edo era. Now, she must find a way to get back to her own time before she’s captured by a group of samurai.
Although the smartphone version focuses on the romance between the main characters, the anime will take a different route. The series will instead focus on the many battles that take place during the Edo period along with the sci-fi aspect of the story. Masaki Watanabe (KADO – The Right Answer) will helm the series and Studio Deen (Fate series) will produce. Masahiro Yokotani, of Re:ZERO -Starting Life in Another World- fame will handle the series composition.
Castlevania (Season 2)
- Premiere date: October 26
- Studio: Netflix
- Genre(s): Drama, Horror, Fantasy, Action, Adventure
After a successful run on Netflix, the streaming giant renewed Castlevania for a second season. The series picks up where Season1 left off. Our hero, Trevor Belmont, the last surviving member of the disgraced Belmont clan, has awoken Dracula’s dhampir son Alucard. Together along with magician Sypha Belnades, they’ll go on a dangerous journey to stop Dracula’s army of demons. However, the grief-stricken vampire isn’t alone. He has gathered several generals to aid him in his quest to punish humanity for their sins.
All the actors from Castlevania’s first season will return — along with showrunner Adi Shankar and writer Warren Ellis. Castlevania Season 2 will have twice the number of episodes as the first, bringing the total to eight. The animated vampire series will premiere at the end of October, just in time for Halloween.
JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure: Golden Wind
- Premiere date: October 6
- Studio: David Production
- Genre(s): Action, Adventure, Shounen
The adventures of JoJo continue in Part 5: Golden Wind. This time, the anime will take us to the early 2000s. The story follows Giorno Giovanna, the illegitimate son of DIO, the archenemies of the Joestar family. However, Giorno isn’t like his father. After saving a gang member, he learns to trust and be kind to others. As a result, he aspires to become a Gang-Star (a combination”Gangster” and “Superstar”) to restore virtue to the mafia. But as luck would have it, he gets into trouble with Passione, the organization that controls the Italian mafia.
Once again David Production (Cells at Work! and Level E) will produce the new season, and Yasuhiro Kimura (Three Leaves, Three Colors) and Hideya Takahashi (Keijo!!!!!!!!) will direct. Leading the animation team will be Takahiro Kishida (Baccano!), who’s in charge of the flamboyant character designs, and Takahito Katayama (Seraph of the End: Battle in Nagoya), the Stand designer also in charge of animating the action.
