This may come as a shock to those of you who have read me before but don't know me in real life, but I'm not-so-secretly obsessed with anime. Now, I'm not so fixated on the genre that I own body pillows and go to every convention dressed as my favorite Sailor Senshi (and I promise I'm not shaming anybody for doing that, God knows, I'm addicted to "Star Wars"), but I definitely know way more about and have watched more than is healthy when it comes to Japanese animation. While Netflix series like "Jessica Jones," "Marco Polo," and "How to Get Away with Murder" has consumed most of what I glue my eyeballs to, one of my New Year's resolutions is to put some time into anime again. The problem is, until recently, I had no idea what I should watch this year, so, for the benefit of you, dear reader, as well as my inner otaku, I did some research. Here are the top 15 anime you need to be on the lookout for in 2016.
1. "Erased"
Right off the bat, this is the anime that stuck out the most to me. Usually, I hate time travel as a narrative component in fiction. Most people screw it up and either make it too technical or too vague, so that the audience has no idea what's going on and the plot ends up going out the window. But this tale of a young manga author named Satoru Fujinuma who is forced to "revive" at random moments and save people is utterly fascinating. I'm eager to see what kind of suspense and mystery A-1 Pictures can generate from this "Quantum Leap" setup.
2. "Ace Attorney"
I've only got one word for you: Objection! Longtime fans of the series will be glad to hear that A-1 Pictures is releasing an anime adaptation of the popular manga and video game series about the outlandish and over-the-top Phoenix Wright's legal crew. But honestly, everybody needs to be on the lookout for this anime. I'm incredibly excited to see this series in anime form.
3. "Prince of Stride - Alternative"
Even with the long history of sports anime and underdog protagonists, I've never really gotten into this side of the medium. What changed my mind? Well, the idea of a reverse harem (where men are the harem instead of women) anime with relay races and an upstart high school club is pretty interesting. Plus MADHOUSE is producing the animation, and they made "Death Note," so it can't be all bad.
4. "Sushi Police"
This anime is exactly as bizarre and amazing as it sounds. Imagine a world, if you will, where the 2020 Olympic Games are coming up (held in Tokyo, of course), and people are trying to capitalize on this by serving sushi -- bad, and probably inauthentic sushi. Who will save us from poorly made raw fish? The Sushi Police! Restauranteurs hate them, and the people love them. Obviously, this isn't an anime that looks like it'll be taking itself too seriously, which is why I'll be watching every episode.
5. "Active Raid"
Another police anime, fighting crime, but the real kind with criminals who probably kill people for a living. Only the cops have power armor. Let me repeat that and let it sink in for a minute. The police serve and protect a division of crime-ridden Tokyo in Powered. Armor. It's called "Willwear," and the main protagonist Asami Kazari is a sort of Internal Affairs type lady charged with whipping the 3rd Mobile Assault Division into shape. Hijinks ensue. Again, with power armor.
6. "Norn9: Norn+Nonet"
Don't let the odd title fool you, this shojo fantasy has "mind-blowing" written all over it. In the near future, a young boy Suzuhara Sorahara follows a song (musical time travel?) back to a Meiji Restoration Japan and ends up on a magnificent ship in the sky, a floating globe called the Norn, and goes on a journey with three girls and nine other boys. Weirdly specific details while conveying almost no plot? Count me intrigued.
7. "Ajin"
What do you think would happen if our world discovered immortal beings? What if there were a very limited number of these people? We'd probably throw them into government labs to be horribly experimented on to find their secret. At least, that's what happens in this anime, and these people are called Ajin. A la Tokyo Ghoul, unassuming wannabe doctor Kei Nagai dies and comes back, learning he is an immortal Ajin. Of course, this effectively makes him a fugitive from Ajin and humankind alike. Glad to see that the horror anime genre is alive and well in 2016.
8. "King of Prism"
A movie about the ultimate contest -- to win the hearts of girls everywhere! Who will become the greatest boy band of all time? This movie answers that question with "King of Prism." Normally I'm not that much into idol anime, but I'm pumped to see a "Face/Off" style animation.
9. "Dragon Ball Super"
The legendary Akira Toriyama anime is back! Son Goku's story returns to pick up after he defeated Majin Buu and follows his crew's adventures as they try to protect Earth from cosmic evil with martial arts, ki, and pure goodness of heart. I'm interested to see how Goku will deal with the higher powered enemies and adversaries ever since "Battle of Gods." Also Gohan is skinny and nerdy now. Let's hope he starts working out again.
10. "Go Eater" (Continuing, finishes this year)
It is the year 2071. Horrible monsters called the Aragami have ravaged our world into an apocalyptic wasteland. Agents of the "Fenrir" organization rise up to combat the menace using weapons called "God Arcs." Recently, these agents, dubbed "God Eaters" gained new power with their God Arcs, being able to switch between gun and blade weapons- those God Eaters that gained this ability are called new types. A lot to remember, but this animation based on the Bandai-Namco PSP game of the same name sounds worth any action geek's time.
11. "World Trigger" (ongoing)
Mikado City was invaded by alien entities from another dimension- these "Neighbors" seemed intent on destroying the city with their superior technology until the "Border" organization arrived and repelled the invasion. Over time, Border became entrenched in Mikado City and a teenager named Osamu goes to school as a part of Border. But one day, a student transfers to his school wielding a Trigger weapon (something only Border agents have) and says he is from the other dimension. I didn't learn about this anime until this year, but I'm glad to catch up and see the new episodes.
12. "NARUTO SHIPPUDEN: ITACHI SHINDEN-HEN"
As a long time "Naruto" fan, I'm immensely excited to see my favorite character get his own anime. That being said, almost next to nothing is known about the plot of this one-off, although it's likely that this will deal with Itachi's time in the criminal organization Akatsuki and the period after the Uchiha Clan massacre. Here's hoping it lives up to the hype.
13. "Kumamiko: Girl Meets Bear"
The sheer adorableness of this animation is why this gets to be my pick for the anime I most want to watch in 2016. A little slice of life animation based on an original manga, this anime details the trials of Machi, a shrine maiden, as she struggles to overcome the challenges her guardian bear spirit, Natsu, gives her in order to teach her survival skills so that she can go to school in the city. I'm very much interested to see the relationship between these characters and how this plot synopsis plays out.
If you think I missed anything, let me know on Twitter -- I always need more anime to watch. Hopefully, I've narrowed down your list for New Year's a little bit.
