The must-watch anime to look out for in fall 2023

2023 has already been a great year for anime, and it’s only going to get better. The fall anime season (which runs from October through December) is right around the corner, and with it comes some of the most highly anticipated premieres of the year, and some cool new releases flying slightly under the radar.

The long-awaited premieres of anime adaptations of Naoki Urasawa’s Pluto and Bryan Lee O’Malley’s Scott Pilgrim will finally debut on Netflix, the final final part of Attack on Titan’s final season finally comes to Crunchyroll, and a slew of other exciting releases are due, like the second season of Spy x Family, Frieren: Beyond Journey’s End, Under Ninja, and more.

We’ll continue to update this list as we get a clearer picture of everything this upcoming anime season has to offer, but in the meantime, here are some of the most exciting anime airing this fall you should look forward to.

Pluto

Release date: Oct. 26
Where to watch: Netflix

The long-awaited anime based on Naoki Urasawa’s fantastic Pluto manga is almost here.

The passion project of legendary anime producer Masao Maruyama, this limited series follows the story of Gesicht, a robot detective on the hunt for the serial killer responsible for the murder of the world’s strongest robots. Based on Osamu Tezuka’s iconic manga Astro Boy, Urasawa’s neo-noir sci-fi thriller is considered one of the best manga of its time, so expectations are high for this new anime to knock it out of the park.

Directed by Toshio Kawaguchi (animation director on Ghost in the Shell: Arise) and co-produced by Studio M2 and Tezuka Productions, each of the eight episodes of the series will run approximately 60 minutes. From the looks of the teaser trailer released to announce the premiere date, this massive production over six years in the making is shaping up to be more than worth the wait.

Spy x Family (season 2)

Release date: TBA
Where to watch: Crunchyroll

The Forger family returns this fall for another season following the breakout success of Spy x Family’s premiere last year. The second season of the anime is confirmed to adapt the Cruise Adventure Arc of Tatsuya Endo’s original manga, following assassin Yor accepting an assignment to protect a client aboard the Princess Lorelai cruise ship. Both Loid and Anya win tickets to ride the same ship, so Yor must find a way to complete her job without revealing her true identity to them. Feels like a lot trouble could be circumvented by just having a straightforward conversation, but what do I know? I’m not a secret agent, a killer for hire, or a clairvoyant little girl with a mean right hook.

Attack on Titan Final Season: The Final Chapters Special 2

Release date: Nov. 4
Where to watch: Crunchyroll

Finally, the final final chapter of Attack on Titan’s final season is nearly upon us. With Eren’s choice to trigger the Rumbling and embark on an omnicidal campaign across Earth, his former allies Mikasa and Armin must make a difficult decision: Kill Eren and stop the Colossal Titans from decimating the planet, or allow Eren to create a new empire for the Subjects of Ymir as the cycle of violence continues unabated. We already know how the manga ends, but it’s not yet entirely certain what the anime will choose to alter as we march toward the series’ apocalyptic conclusion.

Scott Pilgrim Takes Off

Release date: Nov. 17
Where to watch: Netflix

Over 13 years since Edgar Wright first brought Bryan Lee O’Malley’s romantic action comedy series to the silver screen, Scott Pilgrim returns this fall with an anime adaptation courtesy of Science Saru (Keep Your Hands Off Eizouken!, Devilman Crybaby).

Although based on O’Malley’s 2004 graphic novel series, Scott Pilgrim Takes Off will not be a beat-for-beat adaptation of the 20-something bass player’s journey to defeat the seven evil exes of his new girlfriend, Ramona Flowers. “If you think you know what you’re going to see, you don’t,” executive producer and co-writer BenDavid Grabinski said in a recent Los Angeles Times interview.

Whether this new take on the character will be the “Rebuild of Evangelion” for the Scott Pilgrim franchise is unclear, but what is clear is the amount of talent attached to this latest adaptation. Not only is Abel Góngora of Star Wars: Visions fame directing Scott Pilgrim Takes Off, but the entire cast of the 2010 Edgar Wright film is returning to reprise their characters, including Michael Cera, Mary Elizabeth Winstead, Chris Evans, and Jason Schwartzman. No matter how you look at it, Scott Pilgrim Takes Off is sure to be one of this season’s biggest anime premieres.

FLCL: Grunge

Release date: Sept. 9
Where to watch: Adult Swim, Max

Five years since the premieres of FLCL: Progressive and FLCL: Alternative, the third sequel to Kazuya Tsurumaki’s surreal sci-fi coming-of-age anime arrives this fall in the form of FLCL: Grunge. Like the original series, FLCL: Grunge follows the story of a teenage boy who crosses paths with Haruko Haruhara, an anarchic extraterrestrial with a proclivity for mischief and clocking people upside their heads with her left-handed electric bass guitar.

Where this new series breaks with previous entries is in its 3DCG animation style. Initial impressions and reviews of the series’ premiere episode have been mixed so far, but only time will tell how FLCL: Grunge will live up to the lofty heights of Tsurumaki’s original series. In any case, an additional series, FLCL: Shoegaze, is currently in production and set to premiere sometime in the near future.

Phoenix: Eden17

Release date: Sept. 13
Where to watch: TBA (likely Hulu)

Based on Astro Boy creator Osamu Tezuka’s unfinished, generation-spanning fantasy manga, Phoenix: Eden17 follows the story of Romi, a young woman who flees from planet Earth aboard a spaceship bound for the alien planet of Eden17 with her lover, George, to establish a new home. Discovering the planet to be barren of life, Romi embarks on a journey across space and time in an effort to reunite with her loved ones and see Earth just one more time. Produced by Studio 4°C (Tekkonkinkreet) and directed by Shōjirō Nishimi (MFKZ), Phoenix: Eden17 is shaping up to be a faithful and beautiful tribute to one of the most celebrated stories by one of the most pioneering anime creators of all time.

Frieren: Beyond Journey’s End

Release date: Sept. 29
Where to watch: Crunchyroll

What happens to the heroes after “happily ever after”? Frieren: Beyond Journey’s End, the new anime based on Kanehito Yamada and Tsukasa Abe’s ongoing fantasy adventure manga, will attempt to tell that story when it premieres later this month.

Produced by studio Madhouse and directed by Keiichirō Saitō (Bocchi the Rock!, ACCA: 13-Territory Inspection Dept. Regards), the series follows Frieren, an elf mage who traveled alongside a group of heroes to defeat a demon king that threatened to enslave the world. After completing their journey, the heroes part ways, with Frieren setting out on her own to find a new purpose in life. As the years pass, Frieren finds herself questioning her past choices as she reflects on the value of her past experiences and friendships.

KamiErabi GOD.app

Release date: Oct. 5
Where to watch: Crunchyroll

What do you get when you get Godzilla: Planet of the Monsters director Hiroyuki Seshita, Soul Eater and Fire Force creator Atsushi Ohkubo, and game designer Yoko Taro of Nier: Automata fame together in a room to produce an anime? You get KamiErabi GOD.app, a new original series about a group of young combatants known as “Influencers” who are battling it out for the prize of achieving Godhood. Sounds similar to Death Note creator Tsugumi Ohba’s manga Platinum End, doesn’t it? From the looks of the trailer and the particular talent attached to this production, audiences can probably expect one or two dozen surprises from the get-go when the series premieres later this season.

Under Ninja

Release date: Oct. 5
Where to watch: TBA

This action comedy follows a high school loner named Kurō Kumogakure who is approached with quite the part-time job offer: Become a modern-day ninja and complete international assassinations on behalf of a shadowy organization. He’s not alone, either; Kurō will cross paths with a number of fellow young assassins as he completes assignments, relying on them and often even fighting against them as he works to earn a living. Produced by Tezuka Productions and directed by Satoshi Kuwabara (Yu-Gi-Oh!: The Dark Side of Dimensions, Black Jack), Under Ninja is based on the ongoing manga series of the same name written and illustrated by Kengo Hanazawa.

Akuma-kun

Release date: Nov. 9
Where to watch: Netflix

This supernatural comedy series follows Shingo “Akuma-kun” Umoregii, a fifth grader with a prodigious amount of occult wisdom who, unbeknownst to his friends and family, is the reincarnation of a child prodigy reborn every 10,000 years. Seeking to create a world without strife for humans, Akuma-kun summons host of spirits and demons to do his bidding, which often backfires in a number of hilarious ways. If you count yourself a fan of the Addams Family comics or the humorously macabre works of Jhonen Vasquez, Akuma-kun should be right up your alley.