Persona 5 The Animation
Best Anime of April 2018
Persona 5 made a huge splash last year when it released in the west, and as is now series tradition, it’s getting an anime adaption this month. The adaption is made by the renowned A1 Pictures, responsible for shows like Fairy Tail, Blue Exorcist, The Seven Deadly Sins, and the adaptions of both Persona 4 and Persona 3.
The Persona 5 anime follows the story of the game and even retains the original Japanese voice cast, although certain elements will, of course, have to be cut out. The series is getting a 24 episode run and features some absolutely gorgeous animation. Even better, the anime’s director recently teased that there’s a “big surprise” coming in the show soon. This could mean any number of things, one of which could be that the show is splintering off from the game somehow. We’ll have to wait and see, of course, but it gives even those that have completed the game a reason to watch.
The first episode of Persona 5 The Animation is available to watch right now on Crunchyroll, and the rest of the series will be SimulCast through the provider on Saturdays. Just keep in mind that Crunchyroll is a paid subscription unless you want to watch with ads and wait a while after the SimulCast.
My Hero Academia Season 3
Best Anime of April 2018
My Hero Academia has surged in popularity after its second season, and its the latest in a string of quality Shonen series. The show takes place in a world where superpowers are the norm, and most people have some kind of power known as a “Quirk.” Izuku Midoriya is a boy born without powers, but his life changes when the most famous superhero in the world chooses him as a successor of the All For One power.
Fast forward two seasons and we’re at Season 3 of My Hero Academia, with Izuku and his fellow classmates continuing their rigorous hero training at U.A. High School. My Hero Academia has an incredibly colorful cast of characters, and its equal parts humorous and action-packed. The third season sees the League of Villains pose an even greater threat than ever before to the students and pro heroes, and there’s sure to be plenty of epic showdowns.
Season 3 will run for 25 episodes and can be watched in a SimulDub on Saturdays on both Crunchyroll and FunimationNow. If you haven’t boarded the My Hero Academia hype train yet, now’s the perfect time to get on that.
Steins;Gate 0
Best Anime of April 2018
Steins;Gate was a hit anime released in 2014, based off of a visual novel of the same name. The series follows Rintaro Okabe a self-proclaimed “mad scientist” who inadvertently discover the secret of time travel. Steins;Gate has a twisting and turning narrative that loops in actual time travel theory, forcing Okabe to come to terms with the consequences of his actions. The series was incredibly well received due to strong writing, animation, and a gripping main narrative.
Steins;Gate 0 continues the mind-bending series, and is based on the visual novel sequel also named Steins;Gate 0. The series explores an alternate worldline where Okabe abandons time travel completely. Things aren’t as simple as that, of course, and while trying to move on from past traumas he meets an AI that reopens old wounds.
Steins;Gate 0 premiered on April 11 in Japan, and the first episode can be watched right now on Crunchyroll. The series will SimulCast on Crunchyroll, and there is a SimulDub planned for FunimationNow. However, Funimation has yet to announced a date for when the SimulDub will start.
Megalo Box
Best Anime of April 2018
Megalo Box is actually based off of the classic boxing series Ashita no Joe, which started syndication in Weekly Shonen Jump all the way back in 1968. The series completely reimagine Ashita no Joe in a futuristic setting, where boxers use a kind of mechanical exoskeleton during matches. The characters from the series return, but like the show, in general, are reimagined with new roles.
The main character goes simply by the moniker “Junk Dog” and he has a knack for rigging Megalo Box matches with his friend Gansaku Nanbu. The futuristic setting and reimagined characters are fascinating to see from the classic series, and the action in boxing matches is well animated and exciting.
Two episodes of Megalo Box have aired this month so far and you can watch them now on Crunchyroll. The rest of the series will SimulCast on Crunchyroll.
Aggretsuko
Best Anime of April 2018
Aggretsuko is like the adorable older sister of Hello Kitty; the adorable, crazy, beer-swilling older sister. Aggretsuko does come from the company behind Hello Kitty, Sanrio, but it’s quite a bit different. The anthropomorphised red panda works as an administrative assistant in a Japanese business, and the high stress of the job leads to her relieving said stress in colorful ways.
Aggretsuko goes out drinking, gets angry, and sings death metal at karaoke bars. As you can imagine this leads to plenty of chaotic situations, and it’s this sort of randomness that is one of show’s main selling points. While the art style is similar, Hello Kitty this is not. Aggretsuko will be available to stream on Netflix on April 20.
Gundam Build Divers
Best Anime of April 2018
Gundam is one of the longest running anime series out there, and it found a new niche to cater to when Gundam Build Fighters released, focusing on using Gunpla models in mock battles. Gundam Build Divers continues on the same line that Build Fighters and Build Fighters Try created, but translates it into virtual space. Think something like Sword Art Online meets Gundam Build Fighters.
Middle school students Riku and Yukia recruit a classmate named Momoka to play in the Gunpla Battle Nexus Online. They soon meet a girl named Sarah who has an incredible sensitivity to Gunpla, and a mystery develops from there. There’s plenty of classic Gundam battles to be found in Build Divers, and transporting the series to a virtual game is an interesting twist that seems a bit meta, considering how many Gundam games and properties exist out there.
Gundam Build Divers can be watched in SimulCast on Crunchyroll, or you can watch it through the site Gundam.info or Gundam.info’s YouTube channel. Right now the first two episodes of the show are on Gundam.info, but it’s unclear if the entire series will continue to air there.
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