Our Winter 2016 Top Anime season is in full swing and while there are tons of anime for fans to enjoy in every genre, there are some real gems hidden within the group that you must not miss. Much like our picks for best anime of 2015, we go through our top picks for the new Winter season and discuss why you should be tuning into these great new series.
Plus, as always if you disagree with our list or think we missed something, don’t be shy! Comment below and tell us what we missed or what we got right and point us towards other great top anime of the winter 2016 season.
Boku dake ga Inai Machi – ERASED (Where To Watch: Crunchyroll – Subbed, FUNimation – Subbed) Suspense/Mystery
Don’t let the description of the series fool you into thinking its some boring story about a young manga artist, because its far from that. Erased immediately grabs you after the first 2 episodes and tosses you into a darker take on Steins;Gate with a similar feel of conspiracy. Only his ability to stop deadly things from happening isn’t something he created or knows how to control yet, and he calls it Revival. This one isn’t strong in the animation area but is very strong in its story telling and a catchy OP song.
Satoru Fujinuma is a young manga artist struggling to make a name for himself following his debut. But, that was not the only thing in his life that Satoru was feeling frustrated about…he was also living with a strange condition only he was able to experience. – REVIVAL A strange phenomenon where one is transferred back to the moment right before something life-threatening occurs. This continues to happen until the cause of the threat is erased. It is as if somebody is forcing Satoru to stop it from happening.
https://youtu.be/w0QS31-R2AM
Hai to Gensou no Grimgal/Grimgar of Fantasy and Ash (FUNimation – Subbed) Fantasy
Grimgar takes us back to the days of Log Horizon, Sword Art Online (Part 1) and .hack. I say SAO Part 1 because by part two we no longer had that sense of mystery or peril that we had in part 1 when everyone knew if they died in the game they were dead in real life. In this case we are not sure yet if the world they are in is a virtual reality or an alternate universe but they all awaken unaware of how they got there or where they came from. A-1 Pictures is behind the new series, who also did SAO, and the catchy OP song, interesting plot and nice animation make for a great fantasy anime to add to the winter 2016 lineup.
From A-1 Pictures, the studio behind Fairy Tail and Sword Art Online: When Haruhiro awakens, he’s in the dark surrounded by people who have no memory of where they came from or how they got there. As the darkness fades, a fantastic new world called “Grimgar” appears before them and their adventure begins—but first, they’ll have to choose their guild, class, and special abilities.
Divine Gate – (FUNimation – Subbed) Sci-Fi
Divine Gate is an interesting Sci-Fi drama that revolves around 3 young kids who have some pretty messed up pasts and how they attempt to reconcile that without fully understanding what their powers really are. The backstories are interesting and the mystery even more so, and only two episodes in it has me wanting to know more. Plus another catchy tune to go with it.
After the Divine Gate opened, our world and the worlds beyond became connected, bringing an era of chaos. To restore order, the World Council was formed and the Divine Gate fell into legend. Now, a select few have gathered to attempt to reach the Gate and remake the world. But what will they find when they open the door?
https://youtu.be/yLCC4JnQ4uU
Dimension W (FUNimation – Subbed) Sci-Fi
In the year 2071, the world’s energy problems seem solved by a network of cross-dimensional electric-field inductors- “coils” -that extract energy from a seemingly infinite source. That source is the W dimension, a fourth plane that exists beyond the X, Y, and Z dimensions.
In this world, unofficial “illegal” coils harness powers that the police can’t hope to counter. Dealing with these coils is the job of coil-hating repo man Kyoma, whose run-in with the unique coil android Mira leads the two to form a reluctant partnership.
The series has a bladerunner vibe to it right from the start and is widely believed to be the most anticipated new anime of 2016.
Other notable mentions for the winter 2016 line up as returning series include: Assassination Classroom Season 2 and the new prequel series Fairy Tail Zero.
So tell us are any of these on your list? Which ones didn’t make our top anime picks that you are enjoying so far?
