Anime Spotlight Fall 2013 – The List

Aladdin, Alibaba, and Morgiana’s adventures continue in the magical Kingdom of Magnostadt, a country ruled by magicians, and the Reim Empire, which is protected by the Magi Scheherazade.

Based on a manga by Yūji Terajima, the story follows eijun Sawamura, a pitcher who joins an elite school with a catcher named Kazuya Miyuki. Together with the rest of the team, they strive for Japan’s Koshien championships through hard work and determination.

Makoto is the heiress to a shrine that was built in honor of Inari, the Japanese fox deity. Even though Makoto’s father manages the shrine, Inari’s messenger Gintarō suddenly apepars, marking her as the true successor. Gintarō is lazy and unmotivated, but has the power to help people. The series follows Makoto and Gintarō as they help the people who come to the shrine, and make new friends.

The story takes place in the near future when Gunpla Battles, competitions that pit plastic Gundam models against each other, are once again popular in the “Second Gunpla Boom.” Sei Iori is a first-year middle-school student who is the only son of a model shop owner. He’s talented at building Gunpla, but inexperienced in the Gunpla Battles. He meets a mysterious boy named Reiji who happens to be an accomplished Gundam Fighter. Together, they aim for the Gunpla Battle World Championships.

The second season of Valvrave the Liberator starts off where the first season ended, and depicts a future where 70% of the human population lives in space. The world is divided into two main powers, the Dorssia Military Pact Federation, and the Atlantic Rim United States. Caught in the struggle between the two powers is JIOR, a nation that is suddenly attacked by Dorssia. Everything changes when a high school student named Haruto discovers the Valvrave, a mysterious humanoid weapon.

In the third season of Phi Brain – Puzzle of God, a girl named Raetsel challenges Kaito and his friends to a puzzle. At the same time, a name named Enigma, who is in charge of the genius “Master Brain” that is attacking Root Academy with a puzzle also appears. Both are connected to Kaito’s master Jin Makata, who has lost his memories, but still remembers Raetsel.

Adapted from the manga of the same name, Sekai de Ichiban Tsuyoku Naritai! (Wanna Be the Strongest in the World) follows a woman named Sakura, who was previously the main vocalist of the nationally renowned idol group Sweet. One day, she decides to quit the group and become a female professional wrestler.

The story takes place in 2061 AD, a time when global warming is a thing of the past, and a glacial era has just begun to cover the world. Three descendants of Galileo—Hozuki, Hazuki, and Kazuki Ferrari—are suddenly attacked by a mysterious organization and find themselves on international wanted lists. With no idea what’s going on, the three sisters must join forces to overcome the crisis. However, their personalities are too different, making this no easy task.

This is the second season of Kuroko’s Basketball, a series about a high school basketball player named Tetsuya Kuroko, who was a former member of a legendary middle school basketball team known as the “Generation of Miracles.” He teams up with ace player Taiga Kagami to defeat the other members of the Miracle Generation, who’ve gone on to play basketball at other high schools.

BlazBlue Alter Memory is set at the end of December 2199. Amidst the holiday celebrations, word spreads that Ragna the Bloodedge, an SS-class rebel with the highest ever bounty on his head, has appeared in the 13th Hierarchical City of Kagutsuchi. His goal is the destruction of the system that controls the world. In order to collect the bounty, a motley assortment of fighters converge on Kagutsuchi.

This series follows two teenagers, Manaka Mukaido, a middle school girl who is indecisive and prone to crying; and Hikari Sakishima, Manaka’s caring childhood friend.

Yui Komori’s father moves abroad, so he sends her to live in a new town with the six Sakamaki brothers. When she arrives at their mansion, she discovers that they are vampires. They abuse her psychologically and physically, often feeding off her. While she optimistically accepts her situation, she unravels mysteries both of their past and her own.

This tale of “ultimate sibling love” follows the younger sister Yume Hasegawa, who turns into a monster; and her elder brother Utsutsu, who becomes her food.

In the “Great Disaster,” Japan has been thrown into chaos by onmyouji (a kind of magician). Harutora Tsuchimikado was born into an onmyouji family, but has no power whatsoever. His childhood friend Natsume (another member of the Tsuchimikado family) appears to him one day to take him up the promise he made long ago to become her shikigami (familiar). A battle between onmyouji is about to begin.

With the most recent expansion package to the online fantasy RPG Elder Tales, 30,000 players have been trapped inside the game. Unable to die and forced to eat flavorless food, a group of players must struggle to adapt to their new lives.

Based on a drama CD series, Meganebu! (literally, “Eyeglasses Club”) is about a high school club for students who wear eyeglasses. Club president Akira Soma categorizes humans into three groups: “glasses,” “those who don’t wear glasses,” and “the ladies.” He chastises those who wear contact lenses, calling them “weaklings.”

This adaptation of Ricotta‘s adult PC game centers around Takahiro Mizuno, a student training to become a begleiter (knight’s assistant) at an academy for aspiring knights. He previously entered the academy to train as a knight, after becoming the unrivaled junior champion in his home country, but an injury in the tournament finals forced him to withraw. Instead, he decides to become a begleiter to one of the academy’s maiden knights.

This school action fantasy story centers around Kojo Akatsuki, a boy determined to be the world’s most powerful vampire, and Yukina Hirameki, a girl entrusted with watching over the vampire and hunting him down if necessary.

By 2039, global warming had caused sea levels to rise and large amount of territory to be lost. As though in response, a mysterious group of warships clad in mist, “the Fleet of Mist,” appeared in every corner of the ocean, and began attacking human ships. In spite of humanity mustering all their strength, they were utterly defeated by the Mist’s overwhelming force. All of humanity’s trade routes were blockaded by the Fleet of Mist, their political economy was destroyed, and the human race was steadily beaten down. Seven years later, the Fleet of Mist’s submarine I-401 appears before cadet Gunzo Chihaya. The humanoid life form that pilots the sub, who should be their enemy, is instead offering her services to mankind.

Ryuuko Matoi carries a large weapon shaped like half of a pair of scissors. She’s looking for the woman with the other half, who killed her father. Satsuki Kiryuuin, student council president of Honnouji Academy, is said to know the woman’s identity, so Ryuuko transfers there. Those who arrive at the school receive a special “goku uniform,” and Satsuki has used that power to rule the school in fear.

Infinite Stratos (IS), a weaponized exoskeleton system, has become the dominant tool of warfare and conflict. Unfortunately for the men in society, only women are able to operate Infinite Stratos…with very few exceptions. One of those exceptions is Ichika Orimura, an orphan raised by his older sister, who is herself a famous IS pilot. When his compatibility with Infinite Stratos is discovered after he accidentally touches one at the age of 15, he is given a scholarship and enrolled in a school that specializes in training IS pilots. Which means an interesting life surrounded by girls for this shy, unassuming boy.

At last, the baseball team of the Little Busters! has reuinted, with many new friends among old ones. However, peace for the fun-loving students would not last forever. As Riki Naoe learns the truth behind his narcolepsy and the other mysteries around campus, he realizes that the dream must come to an end, and everything that had stopped starts to move.

Continuing the story of young pro boxer Ippo Makunouchi, this third series picks up right after he wins the Japanese Featherweight champtionship.