How many anime can a person watch in one season? I already have my hands full with ‘Berserk’, ‘D.Gray-man Hallow’, ‘Qualidea Code’, ‘Tales of Zestiria the X’, ‘Danganronpa 3’, ‘Amaama to Inazuma’, and ‘Fate/kaleid’.

But with so many series out each season, I try to at least see the first episode of each and then decide which to follow. I must admit that this season I haven’t had the time to see every single first episode, but the following list has a few that I singled out.

I am keeping this spoiler-free.

91 Days

©91Days

Genre: Crime, Drama

• Direction: Hiro Kaburagi
• Writer: Taku Kishimoto
• Music: Shōgo Kaida
• Animation Studio: Shuka

’91 Days’ had me from the very first minutes. It’s a tale of revenge set (probably, since the first episode doesn’t say) among Italian Mafia families in the USA during the Prohibition. It’s a story about family values, money, and power. I really like the way it starts: like a movie, it wastes no time in telling us who the protagonists are and what their raison d’être is.

“That kid will never forget about us as long as he lives”

The opening theme song, ‘Signal’, is performed by TK from Ling Tosite Sigure, while the closing theme, ‘Rain or Shine’, is performed by ELISA. The soundtrack score is heavily inspired by Magia-gangster tunes reminiscent of ‘The Godfather’.

You can read reviews and news here.

Mob Psycho 100 (モブサイコ100)

（C）ONE・小学館/「モブサイコ 100」製作委員会

Genre: Supernatural, horror comedy

• Direction: Yuzuru Tachikawa
• Writer: One, Hiroshi Seko
• Music: Kenji Kawai
• Animation Studio: Bones

Do you like ‘One Punch Man’? What am I saying, of course you do. Who doesn’t (really, is there someone who like anime and doesn’t like this ONE – pun intended)?

ONE’s second manga called ‘Mob Psycho 100’ is adapted for an anime by Bones instead of Madhouse, but many of the same people work for both studios and that is evident in the style of the drawings and the animation. It also shares the same silly but highly enjoyable humor as its brother title.

The protagonist, Kageyama Shigeo, is an average middle school boy whose nickname is Mob (which in Japanese means minor character). He is a very powerful psychic who is working as the student of a fake paranormal hunter.

The opening theme song, titled ‘99’, is performed by Mob Choir, while the ending theme song, titled ‘Refrain Boy’, is performed by ALL OFF.

You can read reviews and news here.

New Game! (ニューゲーム)

キャラット８月号誌面にてTVアニメ「NEW GAME!」の放送情報が初掲載となりましたー！ いよいよ7/4（月）よりTVアニメ放送スタートです！（C.T） pic.twitter.com/O7NakbQkQ7

— まんがタイムきらら編集部 (@mangatimekirara) June 28, 2016

Genre: Comedy

• Director: Yoshiyuki Fujiwara
• Writer: Shōtarō Tokunō, Fumihiko Shimo
• Music: Hajime Hyakkoku
• Animation Studio: Doga Kobo

‘New Game!’ is a lighthearted anime based on a four-panel manga series by Shōtarō Tokunō. It’s about Aoba Suzukaze, a high school graduate and videogame fan who begins working at her favorite game’s developer, Eagle Jump, as a CG artist.

This is one of those behind-the-scenes stories. It’s a lite version of ‘Shirobako’ focusing more on the comedy. It’s more similar to ‘Seiyuu’s Life!’, but for videogame digital artists. From the references to the obligatory fan-service, this is a great series for every serious Otaku fan.

The opening and ending themes are ‘Sakura Skip’ and ‘Now Loading!!!’ both performed by Fourfolium.

You can read all the latest news here.

Orange

©高野苺・双葉社／orange 製作委員会

Genre: Romance, Slice of Life

• Director: Hiroshi Hamasaki
• Writer: Ichigo Takano, Yūko Kakihara
• Music: Hiroaki Tsutsumi
• Animation Studio: Telecom Animation Film, TMS Entertainment

‘Orange’ has a very interesting premise. Naho Takamiya, a second-grade high school student, receives letters from her future self to help her prevent the greatest regret of her life. The only thing she knows is that her greatest regret is connected to the new student from Tokyo, a boy named Kakeru Naruse. From the first episode, it seems like the main themes of the story will be about love, friendship, regretful decisions, and Kakeru’s battle with depression.

A live-action film was released last year with Tao Tsuchiya and Kento Yamazaki as the main characters. It was directed by Kojiro Hashimoto and written by Arisa Kaneko.

The opening theme is ‘Hikari no Hahen’ by Yu Takahashi and the ending theme is ‘Mirai’ by Kobukuro.

You can read reviews and news here.

Planetarian: The Reverie of a Little Planet (planetarian ～ちいさなほしのゆめ)

（C）VisualArt’s/Key/planetarian project

Genre: Drama, Post-apocalyptic

• Director: Naokatsu Tsuda
• Music: Magome Togoshi, Shinji Orito, Donmaru, Tomohiro Takeshita
• Writer: Naokatsu Tsuda, Shogo Yasukawa
• Animation Studio: David Production

‘Planetarian’ is based on a popular Japanese visual novel developed by Key, the studio behind ‘Planetarian’. Since I’m not a visual novel fan, I’ve never played any of their games, but there was so much hype behind ‘Planetarian’ that I had to give it a chance.

I was impressed. Despite its short run (only 18 minutes) the episode had some impressive animation, amazing character designs, and voice acting that could go on to win awards. I am pretty excited for the remaining episodes and the movie right after.

Manga.Tokyo had a very interesting interview the director, Naokatsu Tsuda and the producer, Hiroyuki Aoi. Read all about it!

You can read all the latest news and reviews of the episodes here.

Conclusion

Which series are you watching this season? Let me know in the comments below.

P.S. Manga.Tokyo wants to become your No1 stop for all things Otaku. We want to do things different and focus on appreciating both the creators and their products of love. If you have any feedback or suggestion, feel free to send us a message here. This is your Otaku site.