Anime fans can expect a stacked fall 2021 anime season, with hyped and notable releases including “Demon Slayer” season two, “86” season two, “Chainsaw Man”’s anime debut, “Jobless Reincarnation” season 2, and “Komi Can’t Communicate”. Anime continues to gain traction in mainstream entertainment year after year, despite following the full brunt of the pandemic. Not long after its release, “Demon Slayer: Mugen Train” broke a long-time box office record previously held by “Spirited Away”, reaching $452,974,619 as of October 6th, 2021, beating its predecessor’s $355,705,529. 

“I’m looking forward to the new Jujutsu Kaisen movie coming out this December. I love chapter 0 and I’m excited to see it animated. I can’t wait until Attack on Titan’s last part of this season to come out along with Chainsaw Man. Also, Jojo’s part 6, can’t wait for that. I’m absolutely in love with this end of the year,” junior DeMarcus Stokes said.

Demon Slayer: Entertainment District Arc

This hit series first dropped on April 26, 2019. The series made headlines after its initial release, solidifying a spot among top shounen series including “My Hero Academia” and “Black Clover”. The story begins in the Taishō period of Japan. Tanjiro Kamado, his sister Nezuko Kamado, and the rest of their family live a peaceful life in the mountains. One day, after selling charcoal in a nearby town, Tanjiro comes home to a horrid sight: he witnesses his family lay dead and brutalized as a demon flees the scene. He discovers Nezuko still alive but transformed into a demon. The two then entangle themselves with the Demon Slayer Corps, an organization that has waged war against demons for centuries. After the events in the first season and the movie, the plot of season two follows Tanjiro and his party as they intercept a demon in Yoshiwara, a red-light district in Tokyo. The first episode launched on October 10, 2021, and viewers can watch season two on Funimation or Crunchyroll. The first four episodes adapt the movie, so movie-goers can refresh themselves on what happened in prior moments in the series and show-only viewers can fully enjoy the movie how they want.

86 Part 2

A recent addition to mecha and sci-fi fans’ to-watch lists, this show takes fans back to other dystopian titles including “Attack on Titan” and “Darling in the FranXX”. The story focuses on the conflict between the fictional nations of The Republic of San Magnolia and the Empire of Giad. After the empire deployed fully autonomous combat machines to aid in its efforts, the republic followed suit, developing mechanized units. The republic markets and hails those units as autonomous, but in reality, it utilizes the “86,” or the Colorata, a racial minority within the republic to pilot their mechanized units. The dominant Alba race and Alba-dominated government eventually deemed all Colorata as officially subhuman. An Alba noble, Major Lena, speaks out against this mistreatment along with the deception by the government towards its citizens over the nature of its military. The military places her in charge of the Spearhead Squadron, a unit notorious because of its previous handlers falling into insanity or committing suicide. Viewers can watch and follow both seasons on Crunchyroll.

Chainsaw Man

The first new series on this list, fans anticipate “Chainsaw Man” as the next hit show to watch. The manga plot details a world in which Devils born from human fears roam the planet, and their power scales proportionately with the fear they incite. A boy named Denji adopts a dog he names Pochita, aka the Chainsaw Devil, and the duo makes a living as amateurs hunting other Devils. After an altercation with the Zombie Devil, Denji incurs mortal wounds and nearly dies until Pochita fuses with Denji’s heart to save his life. An organization called the Public Safety Devil Hunters recruit Denji to professionally hunt Devils and to keep him under custody to protect the world from his newfound powers. A bloody, unfiltered series, this manga breaks the mold with typical shonen series. Denji does not act like his fellow protagonists within the genre; he thinks and acts closer to a teenage boy than similar shonen leads. Overall, the story showcases freakish and outcast characters who cannot live normal lives but strive for normalcy all the same. MAPPA, the animation studio that released hits including “Jujutsu Kaisen” and “Attack on Titan Final Season”, will animate and release Chainsaw Man which followers expect to occur this season of anime before 2022 begins.

Mushoku Tensei: Jobless Reincarnation Part 2

Similar to 86, “Jobless Reincarnation” received a season two soon after its first season run. Falling under the ever-popular Isekai genre, this show sparked controversy and satisfaction alike through its mature and risque themes. Where people hail this series for slowing down the typical Isekai format and allowing viewers to witness their favorite characters grow up, others criticize the main character’s tactless thoughts and actions. The story follows a young peasant boy named Rudy in a fantasy world full of magic and the otherworldly. The twist? Rudy originally lived in present-day Japan and died as an adult. While possessing a mature, intelligent adult mind, Rudy begins magic training from an early age. The series follows Rudy’s life, so far exhibiting his youth through season one and up until the most recent episodes of season 2. Those interested can watch this show on Funimation.

Komi-san Can’t Communicate

The only non-action item on this list, “Komi-san Can’t Communicate” makes a splash in the Slice of Life and Comedy genres. At the renowned Itan Private High School, the titular character Shouko Komi finds herself at the top of popularity among the student body after just one day at the school. Despite her sudden fame, Shouko cannot overcome her social anxiety and fear of rejection by her peers. This worry leaves her unable to speak normally with her classmates. Hitohito Tadano, a classmate of Shouko who also sits next to her, befriends her after the other students leave, and promises to help her accomplish her dream of gaining 100 friends. A light-hearted, comedic series, Komi-san brings fun and laughs throughout its story. Tied in with moments of compassion and the enjoyable dysfunctionality of the cast as a whole, Komi-san lives up to its hype as one of the “Most Wanted Anime Adaptations”. This series boasts accessibility on this list, with availability on Netflix as part of the company’s Original Series line and new episodes weekly.

The most anticipated anime this season consists mainly of action titles and a close second by comedy shows. Undated shows fans look forward to include “Kaguya-sama: Love is War Season 3” and “The Devil is a Part-Timer Season 2”. “The Devil is a Part-Timer” released its first season eight years ago in 2013, so it comes as a huge surprise to a majority of anime fans that it will return for another season.