IF YOU WANT… NOSTALGIC, FAMILY-FRIENDLY FUN YOU MIGHT LIKE… DRAGON BALL DAIMA
There’s never been a better time to be an anime fan. With a frankly gobsmacking amount of variety and quality, the kinds of shows once limited to very obscure Japanese imports are now widely available via the massive libraries of dedicated streaming platforms like Crunchyroll — often on the same day, or near enough, to the original Japanese release. With this year’s autumn season promising massive high-profile blockbuster hits, here are three shows that ought to be on your anime-radar.
Dragon Ball hardly needs any introduction. Spiky-haired martial arts hero Son Goku has been battling foes and gathering Dragon Balls for four decades — and still looks as fresh-faced as ever. The latest show in the franchise, Dragon Ball DAIMA, marks the 40th anniversary of the series, as well as the final project creator Akira Toriyama worked on before his death earlier this year. This time around, Goku and his pals have been transformed into children — a proper return to the series’ starry-eyed roots. There’s something for everyone here. Younger newcomers will be spellbound; older fans will simply get nostalgic.
IF YOU LIKE… INTENSE SPORTS THRILLS YOU MIGHT LIKE… BLUE LOCK 2nd Season
The beautiful game has rarely had as intense or exhilarating a treatment on the small screen as BLUE LOCK. (Match Of The Day, this ain’t.) The series — set in an intensely stressful football academy, in which 300 of Japan’s best young strikers compete to make it to the national football team — was a huge hit back in 2022. With many of the players eliminated, never to play for Japan again, Season 2 sees the heavily whittled-down BLUE LOCK roster compete against Japan’s U-20 national team. It sets the stage for the most enjoyably, nail-bitingly stressful football match since the last World Cup; your nerves are likely to be as shredded as hero Yoichi Isagi’s right foot.
IF YOU LIKE… EPIC MONSTER-HUNTING YOU MIGHT LIKE… SOLO LEVELING SEASON 2
Solo Leveling, appropriately enough, levels up in its second run. Based on the South Korean novel series, it follows Sung Jinwoo, the weakest hunter in a world where monsters — including golems, hobgoblins, giant ants, and an especially grumpy three-headed Cerberus — are constantly up to no good. The first season saw our hero level up his powers, video-game-style, thanks to a handy bit of software known as the System; Season 2 will see him rise up the ranks even more. If you still need to catch up on things, the film version — Solo Leveling – ReAwakening — neatly packages Season 1 and the first two episodes of Season 2 into one giant big-screen offering, out on 6 December. Giant ants included at no extra cost.
