Saitama trained hard to be where he is today. 100 pushups, 100 sit-ups and a 10 kilometer run to end it off every single day. It may sound unimpressive, but he is able to win with just a single punch. Today, he is bored of always ending every fight with one punch. That changes when he meets Genos, whom he made disciple. Together, these 2 sets off in an eccentric action-comedy life learning and teaching each other. How does it feel to win every single battle and having not a single worthy opponent stand in your way? That was the thought that afflicts Saitama. Strong to the point of dominating his opponents with a single punch, Saitaima is starting to lose the drive of being a hero simply due to the fact of being overpowered. Even talented individuals will have to face problems in their own class, as is demonstrated between the 2 anime where Momonga has to decide where to use his insane magic skills appropriately and Saitama on finding an opponent that doesn't end with a single punch.

Jaded and scarred after being rejected by a girl online, Rusian vows never to trust another online girl. That was to change when he meets his current guild members. After deciding on an offline meet up, he was quite shocked to find out that all of them are females. Further, one of them has a crush on him and has even agreed to marry him. However, Ako seems to have a hard time differentiating the online world and the real world and it is up to the once jaded Rusian to guide her along. The characters of Netoge are given the freedom to traverse between the online world and the real world. Unlike the usual trapped in a video game trope, these characters lives are more or less fixated on the video game. Most of the anime highlights their journey in the video game realm. Their aim is to be the best guild in order to have their club recognised in school. If they trapped in a video game trope and the interactions between the characters are what interests you, this anime will not disappoint you!

When the online community of Elder Tale is suddenly trapped in their game, they are left bewildered and shocked. Except for Shiroe, who takes it in calmly. After the initial shock, he calmly analyses his surroundings. He learns to adapt to the new environment and negotiate with the NPCs to rebuild the city. When he is joined by other members of the game, he too must step up as a leader and lead them on during fights and raids as well. Log Horizon was one of the earlier animes to introduce the trope of being stuck in a video game. Now, the trope of being trapped in a video game is a commonly used trope that spawns many different varieties and variations with Overlord being one of them. Certain characteristics between these 2 animes are common as well such as the threat of actual death and surviving in a new world. Both characters will have to rely on their video gaming skills and disregard the world that they had left behind (or forced away from). So, if you are into the premise of being trapped in a video game, you can't get any further from Log Horizon!

A group of individuals not known to each other happens to be trapped in a new land. Without any knowledge or memories except for their name, they try to make heads and tails of their bearings. Left with little choice, they joined the Reserve Army as a soldier. These unlikely fighters have little time to learn to fight as a team. Either that, or they face the threat of death from anywhere and anytime. Both animes really highlights the desperation of being trapped in a foreign land. Both have characters the uses the skill of charisma to rally their troops. The stories of both animes have the themes of fantasy surrounding them as well. Although in Overlord, while Momonga is overpowered, the fighters from Grimgar have to start from rock bottom. Grimgar is essentially the reversal of Overlord in this way.

The Demon King and the Hero has always been heads on with each other since history. So it was quite a shock for the Hero when he found out that the Demon King is actually a female. Not only that, she is requesting the Hero for his assistance in something unprecedented - uniting both the societies of the demons and humans. With her vast knowledge, she explains that both sides have benefitted economically from the war much to the Hero's confusion. Nevertheless, he eventually succumbed and agreed to aid his former nemesis. Maoyuu Maou explores the concept of economics, bringing the ancient medieval world, a plot where the dynamics of trade and finances are heavily relied upon. Both main characters have just about the same goal in mind - to build an empire from scratch. In the case of Overlord however, it is through eliminating all threats from the new realm while in Maoyuu Maou, it is through the marketplace and foreign affairs. Both animes highlight a talented main character that is able to shape the future through sheer ability alone.

The name Demon Lord Satan is enough to strike fear into the hearts of men. With his vast amount of infantry, he was close to taking over the human world before being foiled by the hero Emillia. As he escapes into a portal, he never knew he was going to be transported into the very heart of Tokyo. Not before long, Emillia travelled to Tokyo too in order to finish her quest. She was shocked that the Demon Lord is now a fast food worker and living a very simple life. Whatever has happened to the once all powerful Demon Lord? The Devil is a Part Timer follows a unique story where the King of the Demons was wrongfully sent to Earth and had to subsequently work in a fast food restaurant in order to survive. There, he realizes that the new world is unlike his own and he has to adapt to the new environment in order to survive. Eventually, the new world changes his viewpoints such that his rival was even able to recognize him. Similarly to Overlord, Momonga was confined to the video game realm and was forced to live a life of the game that he had been playing. Slowly but surely however, he grew accustomed to the new place and even made plans for supremacy. Both animes shows the resilience a main character will take once they are suddenly transported into a new realm.

Junichirou Kagami was once a physics genius whose papers would frequently appear in academic juniors. Pretty impressive for a high schooler. However, he undergoes a drastic change after graduating from college; instead of pursuing bigger and better things, he becomes a shut in who spends his days watching anime, collecting figurines, reading manga, and surfing the web. It is only through both the assistance of his younger sister and convenient timing that he finds himself as a substitute at his former high school. Can Kagami actually help out the high school students who still revere him? As the title of the series implies, Kagami is much more of an otaku (someone focused on certain aspects of pop culture at the expense of their social skills) than a hikikomori. However, he does display some key hikikomori behavior, especially when he’s shut himself in and shut everyone out at the beginning of the series. The show demonstrates that sometimes the best way to get someone out of such a state is to force them into certain situations where they not only can’t rely on their isolation, but also rise to the occasion in order to solve whatever predicament they’re in. Not to mention realizing what they’re missing in the outside world. In this case, as Kagami helps each of the students solve their own problems, he eventually grows out of his stupor (even if his personality more or less remains the same). Definitely a show with a positive outlook to preventing the hikikomori lifestyle.

Sakurada Jun is a young boy who keeps contact with people to a bare minimum due to the psychological trauma he experienced while at school. Jun’s life, however, soon takes a turn for the strange when he mysteriously ends up with an antique doll named Shinku that comes to life and believes him to be her servant. As one thing leads to another, Jun eventually learns to socialize again while at the same time look to Shinku’s protection from her enemies… Another story of a shut-in who learns to socialize again, this time focusing on someone much younger than the average hikikomori. Hikikomori tend to be around high school/college age for the most part, if not older. For a child to want to isolate themselves early on in life usually suggests psychological trauma of some kind, as demonstrated by Jun. However, once again, sometimes a domineering person who is able to consistently get said person to be out in the open again can do wonders.

Unemployed, alone, and living with his mother, Ryouta Sakamoto’s only success in life lies in being the best Btooom! player in Japan. When Ryouta suddenly wakes up in the middle of nowhere with no memory of how he got there, he soon comes to realize that someone has placed him (and others) in a real life version of his favorite game. With his skills and some unexpected help, it’s going to take everything Ryouta has if he wants to return home… While this anime focuses a lot more on the “Hunger Games/Battle Royale” aspect in terms of its plot as opposed to being a hikikomori, the idea of turning to an engrossing video game for entertainment that can last months and even years on end is not lost on someone who is a hikikomori. The series starts with the idea that if given the opportunity, Ryouta would play this game for the rest of his life if he could, and it’s only by playing for real that he begins to change. While the idea of living out your favorite video game that you’ve obsessed over may seem appealing, the reality (as brutal as it may seem) is just that: it will never amount to more than just dreaming.

Apart from frequently attending anime conventions, Hajime Tsunashi is an otaku shut-in who is immersed in everything manga and anime. What sets his life apart from many others like him, however, is his marriage to Kaoru Tsunashi, a woman who works in an office, drinks socially with her coworkers, and overall someone who works hard to achieve what she has. Thi begs the questions: how does their relationship work? Again, we have yet another series that focuses more on the otaku aspect as opposed to the hikikomori aspect. However, the unique take of how someone that lives their life this way achieving success in finding someone that loves them is something that most series with this type of character cannot say they have. With each episode being about 5 minutes long as opposed to the normal length and focusing on humorous aspects as well as the emotional ones, it’s worth checking out this series.

Narumi Fujishima is not the first person you would think of if you were to describe the average high school student, as he is someone that grows more and more isolated from his peers every day. That soon changes when he makes the acquaintance of a girl who’s more reclusive than he is and possesses incredible hacking skills. As he is slowly sucked into a world filled with criminals, gangs, and drug dealers, Narumi tries to come to terms with what his life is turning into… This show focuses more on the idea of characters who are NEET, or someone who is Not Employed, being Educated, or in Training, as opposed to being hikikomori. That being said, the growing isolation that Narumi feels at the beginning and struggles with throughout the show as well as the lifestyle Alice sets up for herself are all familiar hikikomori themes. Even though there’s an interesting conflict in the sense that a NEET is actually working as a detective, this is a good series to watch in terms of seeing how the average hikikomori begins to get their start before the main plot gets underway.

Takumi Nishijou is an extremely reclusive high school student at the Private Suimei Academy who wishes nothing more than to remain engaged in his own world. But when mysterious murders begin happening around the city and strange people begin associating with Takumi, he’ll have to trust people he’s just met in order to figure out what’s real and what’s not… The unique aspect that comes into play with this series regarding hikikomori is the paranoia and the delusions. Hikikomori have been known to not only have extreme paranoia regarding the world around them, but also fall prey to their own delusions. Even though Takumi is a shut-in and an otaku, the twist that takes place regarding his paranoia and delusions suggests that given time he would have probably become a hikikomori had this have happened in real life. If you’re looking for a good look at the negative side effects an hikikomori can face, Chaos;Head definitely shows them.

Jinta Yadomi was spending his days as a hikikomori playing video games until Meiko "Menma" Honma, an old childhood friend who died years ago, suddenly shows up. Slowly believing that what he’s experiencing isn’t a delusion, Jinta sets out to reunite his old childhood friends who all grew apart after her accidental death. But as Jinta slowly reunites the group to help their old friend move on, things might get worse before they get better… Jinta Yadomi is by definition a hikikomori, but it’s not hard to see why hikikomori can sometimes be used interchangeably with NEET or otaku, as Jinta is mainly seen playing video game alone. Yet the death of Menma at a young age serves as an example of how sometimes trauma to someone young can lead to hikikomori-like behavior, like what happened to Jinta. This series also takes a much more realistic approach to recovering (even though it’s a ghost resulting in former friends reconnecting). If you’re looking for more realism as opposed to wish fulfillment when it comes to this lifestyle, Anohana is one of the more realistic anime touching on this subject.

Arata Kaizaki is a normal 27 year old who is single, unemployed, and has just been cut off financially from his parents. In dire straits, Arata accepts the crazy offer given to him by the mysterious Ryou Yoake: take his pill and revert in age by 10 years. Now 17 again, Arata finds himself back at high school with another shot to change things around… An interesting aspect that this series focuses on is whether someone would change things the 2nd time around if given the chance, and given that Arata has more or less lived his life as someone who isolated himself from others, it’s interesting watching him be faced with certain situations where he can strive to changes things for the better. The sad thing is coming to terms with the truth that (once again) reality does not work that way, and that the only time to change things for the better is now, not back then.

Sasami Tsukuyomi is a hikikomori who is struggling to complete her 1st year of high school. Luckily she is getting by with help from her older brother as well as viewing the outside world through her computer. But when her brother begins interacting with the 3 Yagami sisters, Sasami begins to notice some strange things happening… This series takes a turn for the magical pretty quickly and only gets weirder from there. With the number of supernatural events that take place as well as the unique storyline, it’s no wonder why Sasami wonders if she’s losing it at times. That being said, the struggles that Sasami deals with as a hikikomori couldn’t be more real, especially considering the fact that males far outnumber females when it comes to being hikikomori. If you’re looking for an anime that focuses on hikikomori issues with a new twist, then this would be the anime to check out.

Tatsuhiro Satou is a 22 year old NEET who has been a shut-in for 4 years. As a result, his paranoid belief in conspiracy theories has only gotten stronger over time, especially his belief that an evil organization called the NHK is responsible for spreading hikikomori culture as a whole. When Satou has a chance encounter with the mysterious Misaki Nakahara, he’s soon faced with the chance to not only step foot outside of his apartment regularly and get a job, but also defeat his fear of society once and for all. Was there ever any doubt what #1 was going to be? This series is primarily focused on the hikikomori lifestyle and nothing else. Therefore, if you wanted to learn anything about what’s it like to live as a hikikomori, this is the go-to anime. With a healthy mix of humor as well as sobering moments, you follow Satou’s struggle as he succeeds and fails to integrate back into society. If there was any anime that serves as the benchmark for a certain subject, Welcome to the NHK for life as a hikikomori would be it.

First up on our list is Turtwig, the Grass-type starter of Generation IV. Turtwig actually looks pretty cute at first glance: it’s a weird cross between a tortoise and some other reptile with a small tree sapling growing from its head. It evolves into Grotle and finally into Torterra where it becomes a mixed Grass/Ground-type Pokémon. So what do we have to say about this innocent looking tortoise? Among the three starter Pokémon of its generation, Turtwig has the best defense stats which might give you a benefit in the early game. After that, however, Turtwig doesn’t have much to offer; it’s a slow Pokémon without any special skills that only gains a second type at its last evolution. We have to admit though that Turtwig can learn Earthquake later on in the game and becomes pretty useful from that point on. That is why we put Turtwig at the very beginning of our Top 10 list.

Next up is Mudkip, the Water-type starter of Generation III. The creative minds behind Pokémon have definitely outdone themselves to make Mudkip’s design scream Water type. The fin on his head and tail, the gills, the blue color - they all play together rather nicely if you ask us. Mudkip’s evolutions don’t knock our socks off, but at least they stay true to Mudkip’s Water-type origins. Including Mudkip on this list is a very subjective decision. After all, some people call it the best starter for the Hoenn region since it’s a decent all-rounder that combines the advantages of Water and Ground type. We just feel like his counterparts Torchic and Treeko do a better job, are more innovative and in the end more fun to use than Mudkip. This puts the blue amphibian on the ninth spot of our list.

We are moving on to Generation V to take a closer look at the Fire-type starter Tepig. Opinions start to differ when it comes to Tepig’s design. Some people think that the little pig is quite charming; others are confused with the bunny ears and the big red ball at the end of its tail. At least when it comes to Tepig’s evolutions Pignite and Emboar many will agree: the fiery pig with the weird costume is not the prettiest piglet out there. Tepig’s design isn’t necessarily the reason why we included it on our list. Rather, it’s the third time in a row that we were presented with a Fire/Fighting-type combination. It is not necessarily a bad Pokémon - it can become quite powerful if you train it right - but there is nothing special about Tepig. It offers nothing that any other Fire-type starter Pokémon hasn’t done before (and better) and that is why he deserves the eighth spot on this list.

Even the original starters aren’t safe from our critical eyes, so it’s just about the time that we talk about the very first Grass-type starter Bulbasaur. No need to introduce you to Bulbasaur, right? The small Pokémon resembles a toad and has a name-giving plant bulb growing on its back. Nothing out of the ordinary here. Bulbasaur might have a charming smile, but it is often named as the least popular starter Pokémon among the original three. Bulbasaur actually impresses by being a dual Grass/Poison-type Pokémon from the very beginning. After that, however, it’s going downhill for Bulbasaur. Ivysaur and Venusaur are both slow Pokémon and one of the most powerful attacks of Venusaur, Solar Beam, takes a whole turn to do any damage. At least Venusaur gets to adorn the covers of both Pokémon Green and Pokémon LeafGreen as a game mascot which might help Bulbasaur get over the fact that it’s the seventh choice for our list.

Time to go back to more recent times with Fennekin, the Fire-type starter Pokémon of Generation VI. Fennekin’s design is not too bad, we have to say. True, some people are put off by the dark-red hair growing out of Fennekin’s ears, but that comes down to personal preference. After its first evolution, Fennekin gets up on two legs and turns into an eerie wizard/fox creature. The main reason why we included Fennekin on this list is its limited movepool which can make the beginning of the game rather one-sided. We have to admit though that Fennekin’s final evolution Delphox is pretty impressive. Its dual Fire/Psychic type is creative, to say the least, and it has more than just a few powerful attacks up its sleeve. Before you get to that point, though, you have to make do with an unspectacular little fox; that is why we put Fennekin in sixth place.

Tepig isn’t the only starter we have to criticize in Generation V; the Water starter Oshawott, too, has more than just a few shortcomings. Oshawott’s design was most likely inspired by some kind of sea otter which, fair enough, makes him look pretty cute. After that Oshawott seems to go through an existential crisis since its evolution Dewott is a weird blue cat wearing scallop pants and its final form Samurott is a sea lion with white whiskers. Oshawott never receives a secondary type and therefore remains a true Water-type Pokémon throughout the game. Further, there is nothing Oshawott does that other Pokémon couldn’t do better. Its movepool can convince neither us nor avid Pokémon fans and you are probably better off catching another, more powerful Water-type Pokémon during the game. Sorry, Oshawott, but you are number five on our list.

After Tepig and Oshawott it’s time to talk about - you’ve guessed it - the third member of this trio, Snivy. We like to think of Snivy as the diva of Generation V; with its pointy nose, slender built, and squinted eyes it constantly seems to judge you. This doesn’t have to be a bad thing though and at least makes Snivy stand out from the usual run-of-the-mill designs. So what do we have to criticize about this leafy gecko? Let us first clarify that we are not saying that Generation V is completely terrible; its starters simply cannot convince us when compared to other generations. Snivy, in particular, isn’t very useful with its low offensive stats and very limited movepool. Snivy’s defense stats might be good, but you won’t get very far by simply withstanding attacks. Snivy is too passive and defense-focused in our eyes; that is why we ranked it as our fourth choice.

We have entered our Top 3 and no other Pokémon would be more suitable to start with than Piplup. The Water-type starter of Generation IV is without a doubt one of the cutest starters out there. The disproportionally big head, small body, short wings and tiny feet - we cannot say that Piplup isn’t adorable. At least from its first evolution Prinplup though, this starts to change and the tiny creature turns into a cosplaying penguin. Similar to its Grass-type counterpart Turtwig, Piplup only gains a second Type (Steel) at its last evolution. Until then you have to make ends meet with an exclusive Water-type Pokémon. Also, it seems that more effort was put into making Piplup look adorable rather than making it a powerful fighter. Its stats aren’t that impressive and Piplup barely has anything to bring to the table that you haven’t seen before.

We are going back once more to the sweet, sweet beginnings of Pokémon to talk about the Generation II Fire starter Cyndaquil. Cyndaquil might best be described as a rodent with a long, pointy nose and fire burning on its back. That’s about as much as we can say about Cyndaquil since its design stays almost unchanged throughout its evolutions. As Quilava, this Pokémon finally manages to open its eyes and by the time of its final evolution Typhlosion you have an evil-looking badger on fire. What really put us off was the fact that even at its final evolution Cyndaquil does not have a secondary type. It’s the only Fire starter like that and makes us wonder what exactly we are supposed to be impressed by. Cyndaquil’s design, too, is more than sub-par and barely changes over the course of its evolutions. All in all, Cyndaquil is a snoozefest that is easily forgotten in the ocean of other starter Pokémon out there.

It’s time for our final choice, the worst starter Pokémon of them all. In our opinion, that is no other than Chikorita, the Grass-type starter of Generation II. What can we say about Chikorita’s design? Not much, unfortunately, since we aren’t even sure which animal it is supposed to resemble. All we can say is that it’s a green Pokémon with a huge leaf sitting on top of its head and buds growing along its neck. Chikorita’s evolutions don’t look any better in our eyes (sorry to all Chikorita fans out there) since they simply swap the huge green leaf for different forms of vegetation. Chikorita might be the most difficult starter Pokémon to use in the early game. The first couple of gyms you’ll encounter make you wish you’d chosen a different starter and it doesn’t get much better after that; Chikorita barely learns any useful moves and cannot overcome its low offensive stats. Chikorita is one of the few starters that make your life more difficult rather than easier and that is why we simply had to put it as our top choice.

Contrary to popular belief, despite being oversexualized in some cases, shota do not have to revolve exclusively around being the object of sexual desire. Yes, these lovable young boys don’t have to make you feel like a pedophile, girls! Sometimes, much like lolicon, it can be overexcitement over how moe the characters can be! And no, moe does not have to be all about sex either. Some people just really like shotas because of how cute they are and the energy they exude. Little boys are full of gusto! And the people who enjoy watching these little boys still count as shotacon because they may have a slight obsession over shotas. They just really enjoy doting on little boys, but do not mistake anyone who likes kids as a shotacon and/or lolicon. There is a fine line, but that does not mean it is easy not to cross it. Do not underestimate the power of cute. It could convert you into a shotacon as well!

Life has left Komiya Chihiro in a lurch after the death of his mother. He has no home or place to go, until one day, a rich stranger comes along and offers Chihiro a place to call home. This man is Takatori Madoka, supposedly Chihiro’s uncle. Chihiro agrees to live with Madoka and immediately makes himself the maid, determined to keep the entire mansion clean! And so, let us show you our first shotacon: Takatori Madoka! His obsession over his own little nephew just goes to show you how much of a shotacon he is, even if he does not dote on the other shotas that are in the anime, and boy, are there a lot of shotas! You can’t deny that Shounen Maid is a shota anime. However, our main focus is on the shotacon Madoka who would do anything for Chihiro! He even loves dressing Chihiro up in frilly outfits. Just look, Chihiro wears a maid outfit! Yet, it is the deep bond which Madoka and Chihiro form that really draws us in. Yes, Shounen Maid can be very silly, but the relationship between Madoka and Chihiro is one that you can’t miss even between all the punchlines.

There are shotas that are sure to confuse many of us. One such shota is the shota who is actually an older boy (or man…?) with the appearance of an adolescent child. Wait, what? Yes, you heard right. Some anime characters who may be older in age may still possess the countenance of a young child, but regardless of age, these anime boys still qualify as shota characters. Now, that may be alarming for many people who quite like the cute characters but stray from those who are young in age for fear of being deemed as a pedophile, which many would be quick to deny if they were a shotacon or lolicon. However, this does not have to be a sexual attraction at all. In fact, many shota characters who are actually older boys but have the bodies of younger boys can be quite moe! Why wouldn’t you just adore their tiny physiques and sunshine like disposition? Do you remember Momiji from Fruits Basket? Now, Momiji is most definitely a shota character that can turn many of us into shotacon with his bright personality and overeagerness!

Fujioka Haruhi is the scholarship student at the prestigious yet expensive Ouran High School. In an attempt to find a quiet place to study, Haruhi stumbles upon the Host Club where rich boys entertain bored rich girls for profit. Unfortunately, Haruhi accidentally breaks an expensive vase and must work for the Host Club to repay back the debt! Haruhi started off as the Host Club’s dog and then it was discovered just how attractive Haruhi could be if he were a host. However, Haruhi is actually a girl! Can she fool the rest of the school into thinking she is a male host to pay off her debt? While Ouran High School Host Club has featured two different shota characters and a loli character, the one we want to focus on is none other than Haninozuka Mitsukuni, otherwise known as “Honey-senpai!” Honey is an adorable young boy who uses his cute appearance to charm the Host Club’s guests and get cake. Lots of cake. However, do not forget that Honey is, in fact, older than the rest of the Ouran High School Host Club, which is why they all call him “senpai.” Man, Honey can be so cute! How can you even think about denying him or Usa-chan cake? It just is not right! With Honey being an older male anime character with the appearance of a vibrant young boy, do you think that might confuse a few guests? Well, the Host Club is meant to fulfill fantasies and for all the closet shotacon that are at the school, Honey has helped to fulfill the desires of all the shotacon guests to dote on his charming self. Just don’t forget to bring him sweets!

Shotacon are not as prevalent in hentai anime or even ecchi anime, but when it comes down to shoujo anime, there are quite a few shotacon and shota under the yaoi genre! That is not to say that shoujo lacks any non-BL shota pairings, but a vast majority of shota pairings in shoujo are in the BL genre. Yaoi, shounen ai, and BL are all genres or subcategories of anime that involve romantic pairings between male anime characters. We can take a look at the shounen ai anime Loveless where the main characters, Ritsuka and Soubi are partners that fight together as well as romantic partners. Ritsuka is the young shota character that Soubi develops a romantic interest in despite his more mature age. Soubi helps ripen and bring out the loving side of Ritsuka that he didn’t know before. However, Loveless is not the only anime in this genre to play around with the idea of a shotacon x shota pairing.

Pico is spending his summer working at Cafe Bebe, which is his grandfather’s shop. He is fairly effeminate and soft in nature. Then Pico meets Tamotsu, a salaryman who is discontent with his life. The two of them are drawn together by a strong feeling of lust, but can love spark from such a relationship? Boku no Pico is incredibly infamous in the world of anime from its shock value alone. Pico is rather feminine in nature, which tricks the audience to at first believe he is female, only to shock the viewer when it is revealed that he is a young boy instead! Tamotsu, on the other hand, is inexplicably drawn to the young pico, drawn in by his soft nature. As the two engage in a carnal relationship, it is more than evident that Tamotsu is a shotacon who does have a sexual attraction to young boys rather than possessing a desire to dote on them. This goes to show you that there are other facets to shotacon. They have many different natures and for Tamotsu, it is a sexual one! If you are interested in seeing just why Boku no Pico has taken the anime world through a flurry, you would have to watch and find out. However, just how willing are you?

Digimon has been with us for an extremely long time and is one of those shows that fans will never get enough of. Toei Animation invites us to jump into a world where AI lifeforms or “Appmon” live within our phone apps. As with a lot of Digimon seasons, a certain villain takes hold of a particular technology that allows him/her to hack and infect other systems. In Digimon Universe: Appli Monsters over villain is ‘Leviathan’ who, after hacking apps, begins to control the human world from the net. Although the premise doesn’t seem as interesting as previous ones, Toei Animation has proven itself capable of surprising its audience. There’s a reason why Digimon is still going after all.

Slated for 48 episodes, Monster Hunter Stories: Ride On throws us into an awesome world of monsters and humans. In this world, there are both those who hunt down the various creatures roaming the land as well as those who befriend these different species. Those who form special bonds with monsters are known as ‘Riders’ and this anime particularly follows the life and adventures of Ryuto, who wants to become the world’s best Rider. As of right now, the world and characters seem extremely vibrant and fun and it will be exciting to further explore this world.

Well, Regalia: The Three Sacred Stars started in July and then got pulled by episode four. It follows sister Yui and Rena who have had quite comfortable lives in the Enastria Empire. However, a giant mecha appears unexpected and begins to destroy everything. Accustomed to peace, although the country had only known peace for 12 years, Yui, the queen of her country must learn how to navigate an entirely new political scene as war erupts. So far the main topics being discussed are the level of instigation that demands military response as well as what it means to protect someone. It will be interesting to see how Studio Actas picks the series back up and finishes it this upcoming fall.

Time Bokan has been around for a very long time. It started in 1975 with Dr. Kieta sending himself to the prehistoric time period, which in turned forced his assistants to go on a wild goose chase through time and space. The last Time Bokan series was in 2000 and so it is exciting to see what studio Tatsunoko Production will bring to the table this time. In recent years they have really expanded their styles and range, taking on shows like Gatchaman Crowds and Ping Pong The Animation and even collaborating on Psycho-Pass 2. There’s a lot of potential for the series; and with Akhiro Hino (Yokai-Watch and Inazuma Eleven) acting as the creative producer, they’re definitely on the right track to creating an exciting and family friendly type program.

Studio SANZIGEN has produced pretty powerful dramas filled with lots of action over the past decade. One only has to look at Black★Rock Shooter and Arslan Senki to understand just how well the staff at SANZIGEN can perform. They know how to animate a fight and they know how to create characters that fans will love and they know how to revolutionize. Now, the first season of Bubuki Buranki might not have been as impactful as their other shows, but it was solid and held a lot of potential with the styles they were testing out. Deciding to go for Bubuki Buranki: Hoshi no Kyojin shows that they are now ready and confident to fully dive into this world. So let’s see how they continue the story of Azuma and our other Bubuki users. Not that the fight scenes were bad, but hopefully they slow down a little to flesh out its interesting cast.

Not much has been revealed about Cheating Craft yet. What we do now is that it focuses on the struggles of taking university exams. A lot of your life can be determined by this test and so people go to great lengths to achieve high scores. Many resort to cheating. However, this is the ultimate crime to those who have forcibly read and memorized everything they could. Thus, Cheating Craft pits “Cheating types” against “Learning types” in an epic scenario. Overall, the show sounds like it might be taking some cues from Baka no Test. Its animation style seems very promising too. There’s a certain freedom of motion to it that promises powerful moments of expression, whether that be in an outburst of emotion or possibly fists. However, it will most likely keep to games of deception.

Soul Buster will present to us the character Son Shin, who accidentally breaks a seal in his dream. This mistake of his actually has major real-life consequences as it effectively resets the Sanonkushi period to its beginning. Oh, and now he’s a part of that period and will have the opportunity to monumentally change the future for better or worse. Well, if he doesn’t die within the first few moments. As a sword and fantasy type show, Soul Buster couldn’t do much better than be backed by Studio Pierrot. They handle some of the biggest titles out there and a lot of those happen to be action, adventure type shounen with episode counts that are beyond counting. Looking at you guys, Bleach and Naruto. Either way, there’s no doubt that it will at least be entertaining and have solid animation.

Mobile Suit Gundam: Iron-Blooded Orphans was a solid continuation of the everlasting mecha series. It set up a complex galactic infrastructure with Earth’s four economic blocks and the dependency of outer colonies. It also took on some pretty powerful and contemporary topics with its inclusion, depiction and conversation around child soldiers, poverty, and imperialism. You can expect for MSG: Iron-Blooded Orphans 2 to not only take on such ideas once again, but to also expand the level of politics being played. There will also very likely be a deeper investigation of character dynamics, which will be much appreciated as the forming and disintegrating of relationships in a volatile environment has always been a point of interest for the Mobile Suits Gundam series. Following Kudella Aina Berstein as she tried to secure resources for the independence of her city on Mars, MSG: Iron-Blooded Orphans proved itself to be a show for both Gundam addicts as well as more casual and curious viewers. Though it will be useful to have watched the first season, you can expect similar appeal in this upcoming anime by Studio Sunrise.

Studios Creators in Pack seems to be taking a different direction from their comedy/slice of series with Bloodivore’s supernatural and action premise. This upcoming show throws us into a world where a certain medicine was produced to cure a wide-spread and peculiar case of insomnia. However, there was a problematic side effect to taking this medicine. It turned users into vampires, and so war erupted between humans and the newly born vampires. For the most part, vampires were wiped out. However a few survived and one had a child with a human. This half-human, half-vampire is Mi Liu, who represents the only hope for reconciliation between humans and vampires. Well, our boy here tends to be a bit of troublemaker, and after a bank robbery gets put into a special prison. In this prison, he befriends other vampires, is attacked by unknown monsters, and with them dives into the hidden mysteries of their prison.

Clearly people want samurais and swords for this upcoming fall season as evident by these top two. That aside, it’s about time Drifters got an anime adaptation. Serialization began in 2009 by Young King OURs, and Kouta Hirano has been writing gold since then. The series follows Shimazu Toyohisa, a powerful fighter, who after being critically wounded in a battle is transported to another world. In this world, he meets and joins a group filled with similarly powerful warriors known as the “Drifters”. Starring alongside Shimazu Toyohisa are the historical and godly Oda Nobunaga and Nasu Suketaka Yoichi so you know you’re going to get your money’s worth. However, they are not the only historical figures to have arrived in this world, which also happens to be filled with its own magical races. In the end, this show promises to be an extremely fun for action lovers and history buffs. It doubtlessly will follow the manga’s battle direction and not only give us strong fight scenes but thoughtful moments of strategy.