The Fall Anime 2025 Preview Guide - Wandance

Kaboku has always just gone with the flow, marching in step to the drumbeat of the expectations of those around him: parents, school, plans for the future. It feels predictable, safe, and… empty. But one night, Kaboku's at school late, and he happens on a girl alone, moving wildly, turning a blank space of concrete into a canvas. This is Hikari Wanda, a member of the hip-hop dance club. Kaboku is immediately smitten, but the road to stepping out of his shell is a long one. The club is almost entirely girls, and they're all, well, way better than him. What's ahead is unknown, and that's terrifying, but it also means, for the first time in Kaboku's life… a taste of freedom.

Wandance is based on the manga series by Coffee. The anime series is streaming on Hulu and Disney+, depending on your region.

This was very nearly a five-star review. Wandance, like many other series, made it onto my list of most anticipated series based entirely on vibes alone. Madhouse is one of the most respected studios in the industry for good reason, but the director hasn't made anything notable. It caught my eye when it was announced that each character would have their own “dance actor,” ensuring that they would have their own physicality and way of moving. It sounded perfect for a story about dance as a form of self-expression.

I probably should have paid attention to the other studio listed for animation production: Cyclone Graphics, the folks behind the ugly, weightless 3DCG animation of Kengan Ashura. The 2D animation was beautiful: not flashy, but it was clear that it was made by people who understood the craft. Bodies with motion and topography moving through space, interacting with objects, and light shining on them from different angles. This description may sound basic, even clinical, but there's pleasure to be found in observing the fundamentals.

But then Wanda started dancing, and I murmured, “Oh no,” to myself. I know you can make 3DCG motion-capture dance animation look beautiful – if you couldn't, KPop Demon Hunters wouldn't be smashing records left and right – so I'm not sure exactly what happened here. Her body moves fine, but the thick black outlines around her body and the folds of her clothes emphasize her separation from the environment, while her hair waves her in ribbons. Her facial expression remains frozen, doll-like and uncanny. It's rough.

And it's too bad because everything else about Wandance is excellent. You can see how Kaboku's disorder has informed his life and choices – going along with the crowd, smiling and nodding along with his friends, who are idiots in the same way most teenage boys are idiots. He's tall and handsome, which makes him stick out, but in the end, only contrasts with his appearance and his difficulty expressing himself verbally more pronounced. His classmates ask invasive questions and make hurtful assumptions, such as that his stutter is caused by nervousness or his thoughts being jumbled, when it's the result of a neurological disconnect between his brain and the physical act of speaking.

As premieres wind down, Wandance stands easily as one of the top five first episodes of the season. If nothing else, it'll be memorable for incorporating the music video for “Scatman” into the episode, a totally unexpected moment. However, a dance anime with poor CG dance animation could be a deal-breaker.