With the first days of summer finally upon us, the most fun time of year can get started. Am I talking about sunny beaches, pools, or cookouts? Of course not. I’m talking about sitting for unhealthy amounts of time every day with your face superglued to a screen. Also, I’m talking about binging new anime series until it becomes a legitimate concern. Most of all, I’m talking about the real best part of summer: new anime and plenty of time to watch them. Funimation and Crunchyroll are in the process of making a joint co-announcement on upcoming summer titles.

The announcement includes continuing and brand new anime. Everything we’ve heard about so far sounds amazing and will certainly complement the ongoing seasons from Spring. Check out the continuing and new anime series below:

Continuing Anime:

MY HERO ACADEMIA

Anime’s golden series isn’t done quite yet! MY HERO ACADEMIA has absolutely astounded fans week by week. In a world where superpowers are commonplace, one teenager was born with no special ability. Season 3 of MY HERO ACADEMIA continues to follow Izuku Midoriya’s journey to become the world’s strongest hero. The summer portion of this season will showcase Midoriya honing his power and finally venturing out into the real world of crime. Combing amazing action with strong character development, MY HERO ACADEMIA is a series you need to watch if you aren’t already.

STEINS;GATE 0

STEINS;GATE 0 offers fans an alternate look into the ending of an amazing anime. Main character Okabe transitions from a series ending hero to a tragic protagonist. Dark black clothes and deep emotions complement the tragic mood of the series. By creating this alternate ending as its own anime, STEINS;GATE 0 manages to create a narrative even more compelling than the original. The contrast between the original’s ending and STEINS;GATE 0’s beginning makes this a must watch continuing into summer.

KAKURIYO

KAKURIYO follows Aoi, a girl with the uncanny ability to see spirits called ayakashi. One day, Aoi is approached by an ogre with some rather harsh demands. Aoi inherited her ability to see spirits from her grandfather, but apparently, there are plenty of other things he passed down too. Her grandfather owed a massive debt to the ogre. As repayment, the Ogre demands that Aoi marry him, but she promptly refuses. Instead, she works for a bed and breakfast to pay off the debt. The series is very fun and easy to fall in love with. There are a lot of gags and jokes pulling directly from Japanese folklore. In this regard, KAKURIYO is a fantasy animedefinitely worth beginning your way through.

BLACK CLOVER

Wizard NARUTO is definitely a strong contender for the new big three of shonen anime. While the basic premise of magical battle isn’t new, BLACK CLOVER combines it with an underdog story. The anime uses two brothers as dual protagonists, contrasting the simpleminded, strong-willed Asta with the prodigy Yuno. Asta was born without much affinity for magic in a world where anyone can use it. To compensate, he trained himself physically and became quite formidable despite his stature. The story follows both brothers on their path to becoming Wizard King. Fans of FAIRY TAIL, NARUTO, or even BLEACH will find echoes of all the best shonen series scattered throughout BLACK CLOVER.

New Anime!!!

ATTACK ON TITAN SEASON 3

As someone who has read through the manga multiple times, I can tell you this will be the best season yet. ATTACK ON TITAN delighted anime fans years ago when we first met Eren, Mikasa, and Armin. The trio live in a world where undying, giant, man-eating monsters called Titans threaten humanity’s existence. Season’s 1 and 2 chronicle Eren’s journey of survival. He and his friends join a faction of the army exploring beyond the walls of humanity’s last city. Once out in the world, ATTACK ON TITAN reveals tons of secrets, crafting heart-pounding mystery unlike any other. Season 3 goes even deeper into that mystery, exploring the root of Eren’s incredible power and the world’s state of ruin. It’s a must-see for any anime fan, especially watchers of the older seasons.

ANGELS OF DEATH

ANGELS OF DEATH is an amazing anime based off of an equally amazing video game. While the game was great, the anime should be an even better masterpiece. The story follows protagonist Rachel Gardner and the chance encounter that changes her life. She randomly wakes up in the basement of a strange building right beside a deadly serial killer. This madman, Zack tries to kill her almost immediately until she narrowly escapes to another floor. Meeting potential allies, Rachel quickly has to deduce whether her possible friends are truly foes. The video game positions Rachel as the subject in a strange and depraved experience. Like in the game, she’ll have to move through multiple ‘stages’ and avoid twisted, horrible fates along the way. Since the video game version of ANGELS OF DEATH focused heavily on user control, the anime will likely have a strong narrative with tons of detail.

Rather than some other new summer anime that transport a protagonist into a video game, ANGELS OF DEATH simply is the game itself. That means we get all the great appeal of a fantasy horror game without needy the exposition of an isekaianime. Thankfully, taking a horror video game and transforming it into a thriller anime is sure to work well. You can check out the trailer here for some great visuals. The bizarre partnerships that form between dissimilar characters are sure to make an amazing anime.

OVERLORD III

Nowadays, there are a lot of isekai-style anime taking place within video games. Overlord takes an explorative spin and masterfully crafts a story for itself. In the near future (Year 2138), virtual reality gaming is a massive industry with countless titles. Especially popular is YGGDRASIL, an online game with a massive community at the time of its launch. In degrees significantly more impressive than most games, YGGDRASIL had countless customization options and stories to explore. But, like all games, the fervor eventually died down along with the game.

OVERLORD follows one player, Momonga, who decides not to log out of this full virtual reality game. He becomes his avatar as the game shuts down and finds himself in a new existence. Also, the world of the game shifts in OVERLORD, with NPCs gaining emotional capacity and Momonga gaining an adventure. This animeis amazing because it shows a game that progresses toward realism. OVERLORD III airs in July.

HOW NOT TO SUMMON A DEMON LORD

In yet another new isekai anime, HOW NOT TO SUMMON A DEMON LORD takes a more comedic, harem spin. Takuma Sakamoto finds himself transported into his favorite MMORPG “Cross Reverie”. He becomes his character Demon Lord Diablo once an elf and pantherian summon him. The two girls make an effort to enslave Takuma with a special spell, but it rebounds (of course). The result is a rather classic setup for a harem anime. Takuma, a shy male protagonist, takes on the persona of his “Demon Lord Diablo” character as he learns to survive in Cross Reverie. As a former player, he has massive amounts of knowledge and naturally high stats. Like any isekai video game protagonist, Takuma is pretty damn powerful. The story combines his own personal character development with a journey to remove the collars from the young girls who summoned him.

With a serious case of social anxiety, Takuma decides to act like his character while interacting with others, and makes use of his high stats and vast knowledge of Cross Reverie’s lore to survive in his new environment, traveling along with Rem and Shera to look for a way to remove their slave collars while helping them with their own, personal issues that led them to summon him in the first place. Check out a preview here.

THE MASTER OF RAGNAROK & BLESSER OF EINHERJAR

More isekai? More isekai. Yuucho Suoh changes his life forever when he tests out an urban legend with a friend. After using his cell phone to snap a picture with a divine mirror at a local shrine, he teleports to a new world. Unlike the video game or sci-fi themed anime out there, this series brings in Norse mythology. Yuucho’s abilities and knowledge don’t stem from hours of video gameplay or unusually overpowered reflexes. He’s able to use the knowledge he gained via his studies to bring a warrior clan up to fame in a new world. On top of that, his cell phone is solar powered, meaning he has some degree of access to encyclopedic real-world knowledge. In thesecond PV, we can see Yuucho studying up on a few ancient war tactics! THE MASTER OF RAGNAROK & BLESSER OF EINHERJAR premieres July 7th.

Plenty to Watch with Crunchyroll and Funimation!

This is hardly an exhaustive list. You can find tons more anime once summer starts and plenty more are being announced every day. If you’re torn between checking out these new series on Funimation or Crunchyroll, fear not. Fans can view Crunchyroll on VRV and get the best of both worlds for a low price! We’ve got about two weeks until these amazing shows start hitting our screens. In the meantime, let us know what you’re most excited about in the comments!