Welcome to Anime News Network's Winter 2021 Preview Guide! Here's how it goes: our team of critics write up their impressions instantly, to be posted here as they go along. Each critic will cover as many shows as they can handle, giving you alternate takes on most every show.
The guide is ongoing, organized by series and updated multiple times a day. Throughout the next week or two, we'll be updating as often as possible with new perspectives on new episodes from our team of critics. New reviews will be posted as soon as they're written, with each critic's name being added to the roster beneath the show's title. Check back a couple of times every day during the guide, and you're likely to see new shows pop up with multiple takes to enjoy!
Please remember that this is a preview guide. It is designed to give you a taste of the first episode of a show with a preliminary opinion and a few thoughts on whether or not the show has potential. These are not intended to be blanket judgments of these series as a whole. All reviews use the same ratings scale: 1-5, with 1 being the lowest.
Click on the survey at the top of each show's page to vote for your personal score and see how other people scored the show!
Sakurai’s characters are so well-crafted, empathetic, and amusing, that I’d happily read a manga where they do nothing but watch paint dry.― For fans of The Dangers in My Heart's excellent TV anime adaptation, we're into uncharted waters now. Although the recently released (mostly) recap movie features just under ten minutes of new material, it adapts at most a handful of short chapters from volume ...
Tap to the music and move to the beat as the social recluse Qtie in this insane denpa pop rhythm adventure. Dive into the digital realm and show your devotion to Yunyun!― Yunyun Syndrome!? Rhythm Psychosis, the insane rhythm adventure from publisher Alliance Arts and developer WHO YOU, uploads deranged slop posts on PC via Steam today at 9:00pm PDT for $16.99 USD with a limited-time 10% launch disco...
Chris and Lucas try their luck in the quarterly roundup of the season's new romcoms.― Chris and Lucas try their luck in the quarterly roundup of the season's new romcoms. Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed by the participants in this chatlog are not the views of Anime News Network.Spoiler Warning for discussion of the series ahead. Crunchyroll streams Haibara's Teenage New Game+, Mistress...
Film by Yuuki Igarashi, OUTLINE studio debuts on Netflix in August 2026― Netflix announced on Thursday that it and Twin Engine are producing a new anime film titled The Ribbon Hero, based on Osamu Tezuka's Princess Knight (Ribbon no Kishi) manga that will debut on Netflix worldwide in August 2026. Yuuki Igarashi (Star Wars: Visions "Lop & Ocho," Jujutsu Kaisen first ending sequence) is directing the...
Manga launched in January 20212; K MANGA, Seven Seas publishes manga in English― Kodansha announced on Thursday that Naruki's Glasses With a Chance of Delinquent (Megane, Tokidoki, Yankee-kun) manga is inspiring a television anime. Kodansha did not reveal any further details about the anime adaptation, but Naruki drew the below illustration to celebrate the anime's announcement.Seven Seas Entertainm...
For something with “heart” in the title, this anime doesn’t express a whole lot of it.― Tune in to the Midnight Heart is such a visual disasterpiece that I'm amazed my eyes could get through it all. And I knew what I was in for by the time the second episode rolled through. As if not being cursed with PowerPoint Presentation-styled animation wasn't bad enough, the anime pours more salt in the wound ...
"I grew up reading shōnen manga and didn't read much shōjo manga, so I felt there was potential in being able to draw for a shōnen magazine. I didn't want to miss my chance."― To celebrate Toward the Terra's manga author, Keiko Takemiya, winning the Tokyo Anime Award Festival 2026 Lifetime Achievement Award, three episodes of the 2007 anime were screened at the festival. Afterward, the now 76-year-o...
Riko Akechi, Shunsuke Takeuchi star in anime by Mamoru Kanbe, Cloverworks― Kadokawa announced on Wednesday that En Mikami's Antiquarian Bookshop Biblia's Case Files (Biblia Koshodō no Jiken Techō) novel series is inspiring a television anime by Cloverworks that will premiere in 2027. The cast for the television anime includes:Riko Akechi as Shioriko ShinokawaShunsuke Takeuchi as Daisuke GōraMamoru K...
Takayuki Inagaki directs anime of Yasukiyo Kotobuki, Johndee's novels at YANCHESTER― Kadokawa announced on Wednesday that Yasukiyo Kotobuki's The Diary of a Middle-Aged Sage's Carefree Life in Another World (Arafō Kenja no Isekai Seikatsu Nikki) light novels are getting a television anime. The company revealed a visual and the staff: Takayuki Inagaki (Rosario + Vampire) is directing the anime at YAN...
Mizuki Tsujimura writes without turning emotions into gooey sentimentality, capturing humans’ inner lives in all of their bruised beauty.― “It is a gift,” the last person Ayumi helps in this sequel to Lost Souls Meet Under a Full Moon tells him, “to live in the world at the same time as the person you have in your heart.” These words are a distillation of Mizuki Tsujimura's duology. Although everyon...
With access to creators only an @ away, does social media do more harm than good?― With access to creators only an @ away, does social media do more harm than good? The views and opinions expressed by the participants in this chatlog are not the views of Anime News Network.Spoiler Warning for discussion of the series ahead. @RiderStrike @BWProwl @LucasDeRuyter @vestenet Sylvia Coop, it brings me no...
A major anniversary event for Honkai Star Rail, some weird crossovers, and bad news for members of Doki Doki Literature Club's Google Play members are just a few of the things Josh has to talk about in a packed TWIMG.― This week's This Week in Mobile Gaming has a sponsor! It's pixel art anime RPG Grand Summoners! Learn more about Grand Summoners and its latest crossover event
with That Time I Got Re...
Toei Games' initial lineup to be announced on Friday― Toei announced on Tuesday that it has established its own game brand Toei Games. Toei revealed the new brand's logo along with a pixel animation of Toei's trademark "Wild Waves and Rocks" opening sequence, as created by game developer Kairosoft.˗ˏˋ 🌟東映ゲームズ はじまる🌟 ˊˎ˗本日より、東映株式会社が展開するゲーム事業「東映ゲームズ」が始動いたします🌱この公式Xでは、東映ゲームズに関する色々な情報をいち早く、時にはゆるりとお届けしていきた...
VISUAL ARTS Scripts brand to launch Sayagatari -Promise of the Cursed Blade- this year― The company Visual Arts announced on Tuesday its new visual novel brand VISUAL ARTS Scripts, and also announced the new brand's first game titled Sayagatari -Promise of the Cursed Blade- (Sayagatari -Yōtō no Yakusoku-), slated for release this year. The game will first get a physical release, followed by a Steam ...
Goro Miyazaki, Akihiko Yamashita direct short debuting in Ghibli Park on July 8― Studio Ghibli announced on Tuesday that it is producing a new short anime titled "Majo no Tani no Yoru" (A Night in the Valley of Witches) that will debut on July 8 exclusively at the Cinema Orion in the Ghibli's Grand Warehouse, located in Ghibli Park. Goro Miyazaki (Tales from Earthsea, From Up on Poppy Hill, Earwig a...
I never felt entertained for more than one moment every five episodes, and the gimmick overstays its welcome quickly.― I love romantic comedies, and I will always jump at the opportunity to watch or review the latest ones each season. Despite that, I was never super fond of the childhood friend trope. While it can sometimes play into speed-running relationship-building between two characters, since ...
What is donghua and will it ever take off in the same way anime has? Jerome digs in.― A Reader asks: Dear Answerman, There seems to be a lot more Chinese animation on streaming platforms these days compared to a few years ago. Crunchyroll has added several titles I'd never have expected to see there, including To Be Hero X, which reached #8 in ANN's 2025 Spring Season rankings. Do you think that Do...
An arranged marriage doesn't quite go as planned in the yuri fantasy Marrying the Dark Knight (For Her Money)! Plus a charming new fairy tale-style fantasy, a magical girl, and the inevitable Junji Ito short story collection as the Manga Guide continues.― Welcome to Anime News Network's Spring 2026 Manga Guide! You may have seen one of our seasonal Anime Preview Guides, where a team of critics writ...
"Watching [Venus Wars] again after such a long time, I felt it wasn't so bad after all."― After the recent theatrical screening of the 1989 classic anime Venus Wars at the Tokyo Anime Award Festival 2026, its writer and director, Yoshikazu Yasuhiko, gave a lengthy talk about not only the movie but his work on Gundam and his thoughts on AI art. While Venus Wars has long been available in the West (ev...
