The Fall anime season kicks off in a big way this month with the return of several blockbuster series, and the premieres of some highly-anticipated new ones. Leading the pack is the second season of espionage comedy Spy x Family, as we continue to follow the Forgers through the deadly missions and mundane challenges of maintaining a sham household. Plus, popular franchises such as Goblin Slayer and Dr. Stone will also be launching their long-awaited follow-ups this October. But if you’re looking for something different, sequels aren’t the only thing on the menu, with new intriguing freshman shows slated to make their debuts.
Spy x Family
The funniest and most wholesome anime of 2022 is finally back! This animated take on Tatsuya Endo’s beloved manga revolves around a Westalis super spy working in Ostania as Loid Forger. In order to maintain his everyman cover, Loid is forced to form a phoney family. Therefore, he rushes into a marriage with Yor, a civil servant who moonlights as an underworld assassin.
Neither knows each other’s secret, except for their adopted daughter Anya, a telepath who must also hide her powers. Season one of Spy x Family found a fantastic balance between the dangers of both adults’ covert jobs, and the domestic humour of a new household learning to care for each other. Season two continues in that vein with a fan-favourite arc that forces Yor to confront her double life while the Forgers are on a cruise vacation.
Spy x Family season 2 premieres on October 7 via Netflix.
Goblin Slayer
Goblin Slayer wasn’t just one of the biggest anime hits of 2018, it was also one of the most controversial. However, criticism of the show’s wanton brutality and violence only served to increase its notoriety. Go figure. Adapted from Kumo Kagyu and Noboru Kannatsuki’s light novels, season one showcased our titular character, an adventurer who possesses an ardent hatred of goblins.
Despite a multitude of evil monsters populating this fantasy world, Goblin Slayer insists on only hunting goblins, and eradicating them with extreme prejudice. He’s joined by Priestess, a young healer who is initially disgusted by his ruthlessness. Five years later, Goblin Slayer is finally ready to make its comeback, and boy, if you thought the first go-around was intense, season two looks to be even more hardcore.
Goblin Slayer season 2 premieres on October 6 via Tokyo MX, AT-X, BS11 and Sun TV.
Undead Unluck
Zom 100 might seem like a lock for supernatural action-comedy of 2023, but an unlikely contender emerges in the form of Undead Unluck. Based on Yoshifumi Tozuka’s manga, this new anime centres on Fuuko Izumo, a young woman cursed with bringing grave misfortune to anyone she comes in contact with. Thus, Fuuko has been living in seclusion for a decade. When her favourite manga concludes, and she has nothing left to live for, Fuuko decides to commit suicide.
But before she can kill herself, a man named Andy touches her and is promptly hit by an oncoming train. Much to her surprise, Andy revives, revealing that he’s undead! Now he seeks her unlucky assistance to find a way to end his immortality. Meanwhile, unbeknownst to them, a villainous corporation plans to use their powers for their own means.
Undead Unluck premieres on October 7 via MBS/TBS Network.
Dr. Stone: New World Part 2
As our prodigious protagonist, Senku Ishigami likes to say, “This is exhilarating!” Indeed, you’d be hard pressed to find a post-apocalyptic anime more exciting than this one. Dr. Stone is set in a world where a strange phenomena in 2019 petrifies nearly all human life. In 5738, Senku is revived and begins to study the mystery, with the goal of building a new civilization centred around science.
The first part of season three, subtitled New World, found the Empire of Might joining forces with the Kingdom of Science to build a ship capable of sailing across the ocean. Part 2 will conclude the “Treasure Island Arc”, which finds Senku forced to rapidly invent new technologies in order to solve a myriad of problems, such as the petrification of his comrades.
Dr. Stone season 3 part 2 premieres on October 12 via Tokyo MX, KBS, SUN, BS11 and TVA.
The Apothecary Diaries
Natsu Hyūga and Touko Shino’s best-selling light novel series will soon be making its transition to the small screen! The Apothecary Diaries tells the tale of a humble pharmacist named Maomao. Unfortunately, her life is upended when she’s kidnapped and sold as a servant to the Imperial Palace.
Although she plans to keep her head down until her bondage is over, her curiosity gets the best of her when the Emperor’s children are stricken with an unknown illness. Maomao successfully cures them using her medicinal skills, which attracts unwanted attention. Now known to certain influential figures, Maomao is unwantedly drawn into palace intrigue, where she’s forced to use her quick wit to crack various mysteries.
The Apothecary Diaries premieres on October 22 via Nippon TV.
Pluto
Osamu Tezuka is not only known as “the Father of Manga,” he also pioneered anime with his 1963 TV show, Astro Boy. Obviously, a modern riff on the genre’s progenitor comes with lofty expectations, but if anybody could do it, it would be Naoki Urasawa, the acclaimed creator of Monster. Pluto, which began as a manga, was Urasawa’s darker, tech-noir reimagining of Astro Boy.
The revered series was an anti-war allegory following a robot detective investigating a string of murders that might have been committed by one his own kind. Intriguingly, the targets appear to be seven of the most scientifically advanced robots in the world. Praised for its emotional depth, masterful storytelling and thought-provoking themes – this anime adaptation of Pluto has a lot to live up to. But judging by its beautiful and explosive trailer, it very well could.
Pluto premieres on October 26 on Netflix.