Upcoming anime releases in 2020
Image adapted from (clockwise from top-left): IMDb, Kimetsu no Yaiba Fandom, Shokugeki no Soma, Re:Zero
2020 has been a train wreck of a year, with the COVID-19 pandemic changing almost every single one of our plans for the year. It has also forced many anime studios to delay production, and many upcoming releases have been affected.
But amidst all the gloom and doom, there’s also plenty of good news to look forward to. We’ve compiled a list of the best upcoming anime series and movies in the second half of 2020. After the exciting releases of Haikyu! and Dorohedoro earlier this year, we just can’t wait for more to come.
Image credit: hippopadu via Reddit
Japan’s favourite pyrokinetic firefighters have returned for a second season, and they’re here to make summer even hotter than it already is.
Fire Force follows Shinra Kusakabe, a teenager with the ability to ignite his feet. This peculiar power has earned him the nickname of “Devil’s Footprints”. Enlisting in the Special Fire Force Company 8, a special division within the Tokyo Fire Brigade, Shinra joins other pyrokinetic firefighters in the battle against Infernals – spontaneously combusting humans.
Set to be released in July 2020, the second season will also be produced by David Production, the studio known for the JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure series.
Release date: July 2020
Available on: Crunchyroll, FUNimation, Netflix (Season 1)
Image credit: MyAnimeList
The fourth and final season of the critically acclaimed series, Attack on Titan, has finally arrived.
Attack on Titan is set in an apocalyptic future where humanity has been terrorised by giant man-eating humanoids for over a century. The humans cower from the Titans behind three great Walls, until they were broken down by a Colossal Titan on a fateful day.
Image credit: IMDb
Season 3 ended off with humanity finally finding a way to counter-attack and regain their freedom beyond the Walls. However, it also alluded to a much larger world than they’d ever thought existed, and a grander plot at work.
Image credit: IMDb
Season 4 will follow Eren’s shift towards becoming a tactician with a grand scheme to strike back at Marley and the rest of the world – but at a heavy cost. Readers of the manga will know the intensity of the final arc.
Image credit: IMDb
Attack on Titan was one of the most iconic anime series from the 2010s and caused waves right from its explosive premiere in 2013. The series finale is one of the most highly anticipated anime events in 2020. Rumours hint that the anime will end together with the manga, which is 95% complete at this point.
Image credit: ツンデレ via Tumblr
Fans have also been speculating about the change in animation styles. Wit Studio, which has been animating the previous three seasons, has handed over the production to Studio MAPPA. The latter is known for producing the Kakeguri XX and Yuri on Ice series.
Release date: October 2020
Available on: Crunchyroll, FUNimation, Hulu, Netflix (Seasons 1-3)
Image credit: Kimetsu no Yaiba Fandom
Demon Slayer, also known as Kimetsu no Yaiba, was one of the most hyped anime series released in 2019. It follows Tanjiro Kamado, a kind-hearted boy who had his entire family slaughtered by demons. To make matters worse, his younger sister was turned into a demon.
Tanjiro takes on the mantle of a Demon Slayer to protect others from tragedy and to save his sister from her plight.
The movie will pick up from where the anime series left off. Demon Slayers Tanjiro, Inosuke, and Zenitsu are sent onboard the Mugen Train to investigate the mysterious disappearances of its passengers. Several others were sent before them, but none of them have reported back.
Image credit: Kimetsu no Yaiba Fandom
On the Mugen Train, they find the master Demon Slayer Kyojuro Rengoku, also known as the Flame Hashira of the Demon Slayer Corps. They join him in investigating the occurrences. But unbeknownst to them, Enma of the Twelve Kizuki is also onboard and lies in wait. Will they also become demon fodder?
The film will be produced by ufotable, a studio known for animating elaborate action sequences, such as those in the Fate/stay night: Unlimited Blade Works series and the previous Demon Slayer season.
Release date: 16 October 2020
Available in theatres
Image credit: IMDb
Uzumaki is the latest and most exciting screen adaptation of Junji Ito’s work. Junji Ito, the renowned master of horror manga, has had his works adapted for the screen, but most of them fell short.
However, this 4-episode series has received Ito’s approval and we can expect a series that’s faithful to the source material.
Image credit: Adult Swim
Uzumaki is an adaptation of one of the creepiest manga ever made. It’s centred on a small Japanese town where supernatural occurrences involving spirals (uzumaki) happen. From large spiral cities to bodies twisting together, the events quickly spiral out of control. Expect plenty of gore and unsettling scenes that will leave your stomach in knots.
Release date: Fall 2020
Available on: Toonami
Image credit: Sword Art Online Alicization
Sword Art Online: Alicization is the 4th main arc in the SAO series. It’s set in the near future, where players can dive into virtual reality massive multiplayer online role-playing games (VRMMORPG). The Alicization arc follows Kirito and his adventures in the Underworld – a virtual world made to create independent beings with artificial intelligence.
Image credit: Sword Art Online Alicization
The series left off on a cliffhanger in 2019, when Kirito’s friends arrived in the Underworld to fight off the American players who wanted a piece of the Underworld and its AI technology for themselves.
Image credit: Sword Art Online Fandom
The second season is rumoured to cover the Great Underworld War between the American players and the forces of the Underworld, backed by Japanese players from ALfheim Online (ALO). It’ll likely see Kirito’s friends from both the Underworld and the real world come together for the finale.
Image credit: Sword Art Online Alicization
The series was meant to be released in April 2020 but was delayed due to the pandemic. The series will be released on July 11th, and simulcast on streaming platforms is expected.
Release date: 11 July 2020
Available on: Crunchyroll, FUNimation, Hulu, HIDIVE
Image credit: Shokugeki no Soma
The much-loved series, Shokugeki no Soma, returns with its fifth and final season. The series is known for over-the-top food battles that settle almost all of the disputes in Totsuki Academy, a cutthroat culinary school.
The Fifth Plate concludes Yukihira Soma’s adventures in the Academy. Soma has finally won the first seat at the prestigious Totsuka Ten Masters Council, but he can’t rest on his laurels.
“BLUE”, a culinary competition organised by the World Gourmet Organisation, has invited him to compete. Soma has to win the competition in order to rescue Erina from the villainous Dark Chefs, who have abducted her.
Image credit: Shokugeki no Soma
Shokugeki no Soma has made a name for itself with mouthwatering food scenes and hilarious tasting reactions that sees the characters’ clothes fly off, making you want to try those recipes out for yourself.
The broadcast of Season 5 was postponed to July after the second episode aired in April as COVID-19 delayed production.
Release date: 3 July 2020
Available on: Crunchyroll (simulcast), Netflix (Seasons 1-3)
Image credit: IMDb
Following in the footsteps of Tower of God and Noblesse, The God of High School is a well-received Korean LINE webtoon that’s getting an anime adaptation.
The story is centred on Jin Mo-Ri, a 17-year-old high school student. Mo-Ri, a Taekwondo expert, is invited to join a martial arts event that brings martial artists from high schools all over Korea together. The tournament, called “The God of High School”, will select three representatives for the World Tournament.
Mo-Ri joins the tournament, where he meets people with vastly different martial arts styles. The grand prize? To have a wish granted by the shadowy corporation behind the Tournament.
The anime series, produced by Studio MAPPA, will premiere in July 2020.
Release date: July 2020
Available on: Crunchyroll
Image credit: My Anime List
Re:Zero follows Subaru Natsuki, a good-for-nothing hikikomori – modern-day hermits that isolate themselves from society. He does nothing all day except for playing video games.
Image credit: Re:Zero
One night, while Subaru is on his way home after visiting a convenience store, he is suddenly summoned to a fantasy world where magic exists. With the summoner nowhere in sight, Subaru wanders around until he gets jumped by a group of street thugs. Thankfully, Subaru is saved by a strange silver-haired girl. He promises to repay her kindness by helping her search for her insignia, which was stolen.
Image credit: Re:Zero
That night, just as they located the whereabouts of her insignia, the pair were attacked and brutally murdered. However, Subaru immediately wakes up at the place where he was summoned to, and relives the same experiences he had the day before – getting confronted by the same group of thugs and meeting the silver-haired girl.
He realises that he can rewind time and respawn by dying, an ability which he calls “Return by Death”. Subaru uses this ability to save the silver-haired girl, but she has no idea of the events that transpired.
Image credit: IMDb
Subaru makes friends in this new world but they are inexplicably killed. He desperately attempts to save them by dying over and over again, but the constant suffering, reliving, and failure to rescue his friends eventually breaks his mind.
Image credit: IMDb
The second season of the Re:Zero series has been much-anticipated by fans as it’s been 4 years since the last season. It will likely be loosely based on the events of Arc 4 of the light novels. The trailer hints at an impending bloodbath in the capital city and fans can expect more to come in the following episodes.
Image credit: Re:Zero
The upcoming season was originally scheduled to air in April 2020, but it has been delayed to July. The first part of the season will air in July, and the second in 2021.
Release date: 8th July 2020
Available on: Crunchyroll, Funimation, Netflix (season 1)
Image credit: The Irregular at Magic High School
The Irregular at Magic High School is set in an alternate world where magic exists and is recognised as a branch of science. Magicians exist, but their numbers are limited to families with magic in their blood. After World War III, the world was divided into 4 superpowers – The United States of North America (USNA), the New Soviet Union, the Great Asian Alliance, and Japan.
Tatsuya Shiba and his sister Mitsuya are members of the Yotsuba Clan of magicians in Japan. They both enrol at the First High School, an elite magic high school that segregates its students into 2 courses.
Image credit: @mahouka_anime
Mitsuya is accepted into the first course after scoring exceptionally in the entrance exams, while Tatsuya is sent to Course 2 as he lacked the practical skills and was considered magically inept.
What he lacks in practical magic skills, he makes up for with technical knowledge, physical prowess, long-range magic, and a host of unconventional specialities. His genius intellect and abilities defy the school’s strict ranking system, causing him to be considered irregular.
Image credit: IMDb
Season 2, also known as the Visitor Arc, is set after the events in Season 1 but before the 2017 movie. We’ll see the Stars – elite magicians from the USNA – travel to Japan and infiltrate the First High School to seek out deserters of a failed black hole experiment, as well as the introduction of the Stars’ captain, Angeline Kudou Shields.
Image credit: Mahouka Koukou no Rettousei Fandom
After 6 years of waiting, fans were looking forward to the original airing date in July. However, the release date has been delayed and is now tentatively set in October.
Release date: October 2020
Available on: Crunchyroll, Hulu, Netflix (season 1 and movie)
Image credit: IMDb
The fourth and final film in the Rebuild of Evangelion movie series, the upcoming Evangelion 3.0+1.0 is believed to finally conclude the long-running saga.
Neon Genesis Evangelion is one of the most renowned anime series ever. High school students battling giant monsters in powerful mechas may sound a little cliche these days, but Evangelion is a cultural icon that continues to hold an influence over anime fans despite being released 25 years ago.
Some fans have speculated that the tagline of the theatrical release poster, “Bye-bye, all of EVANGELION”, alludes to the film being the final Evangelion-related project by Hideaki Anno, the creator of the series.
The movie has been a long time coming – it was first teased in 2012, but production was stalled. It was then set to be released in Japanese theatres in June 2020, but due to concerns regarding the COVID-19 pandemic, the release was further delayed. No new release date has been given – it’s safe to say that you will (not) watch this in 2020.
To catch up with the series before the movie comes out, you can watch the original Evangelion series and the movies on Netflix.
Release date: Unconfirmed
Image credit: IMDb
Set in the year 2045, the anime follows 11-year-old Emma, who leads a blissful childhood in the Grace Field House orphanage along with 37 fellow orphans. Their caretaker, “Mama” Isabella, ensures that they live happily by providing them with everything they could ever want.
Their idyllic lives come with a single caveat – they cannot venture beyond the gates to the outside world. The children never question this rule, until they stumble upon a horrifying sight – one of the orphans, who was sent to be adopted, was found dead at the gate.
Emma and the children finally understand the dark purpose behind the orphanage’s existence – they are raised humanely, only to be butchered and sold as meat to demons, much like free-range chicken. The children have to find a way to escape before they too are butchered.
The first season ended in 2019, and The Promised Neverland 2.0 will continue to follow Emma’s journey, as well as explain more about the sinister demons from the outside world.
Originally scheduled to be released in October 2020, production for the anime has unfortunately been delayed by the COVID-19 pandemic. The new release date has been shifted to January 2021.
Release date: January 2021
Image credit: IMDb
The final instalment to the Heaven’s Feel trilogy, Fate/stay night: Heaven’s Feel III will pick up where Heaven’s Feel II. lost butterfly left off. The film will follow Emiya Shirou’s fight in the Holy Grail War and his attempt to save Sakura from being consumed by the Shadow.
Image credit: IMDb
Along with Rin Tohsaka, Illya von Einzbern, and Sakura’s servant, Rider, they must stop Sakura from becoming the Grail and causing countless deaths.
Image credit: IMDb
The Heaven’s Feel trilogy is an adaptation of the Heaven’s Feel story route from the original Fate stay/night visual novel – it’s the darkest path out of the 3 main arcs. The story is set in a fictional city in Japan, where 7 magi summon 7 heroes of lore as servants to fight for the wish-granting Holy Grail.
Image credit: Fate/stay night USA
The movie is produced by ufotable, which is known for its high quality of animation. Notable works include Demon Slayer and the previous Fate/stay night adaptations. The movie will also feature a theme song by Aimer, who has made other notable themes for the series.
The movie was meant to be released in Spring 2020, but it has been postponed until further notice. Meanwhile, you can catch up with the other titles in the series, Fate/Zero (2012) and Fate/stay night: Unlimited Blade Works (2015) on Netflix.
Release date: Unconfirmed
This year may have been pretty dismal thus far, but we can look forward to these upcoming anime releases in the second half of the year to entertain us. Keep calm and watch anime!
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