The must-watch anime to look out for in fall 2024

We’re finally here: the final quarter of 2024, with a set of exciting new series set to cap off an already stunning year for anime releases. With the fall anime season (which runs from October through December) coming fast, there’s tons of highly anticipated anime premieres to look forward to, so let’s take a peek at what’s new on the horizon!

While the summer season ends on a bang with the premiere of the highly anticipated, and much delayed, anime adaptation of Junji Ito’s Uzumaki from director Hiroshi Nagahama (Flowers of Evil, Mushi-Shi), the fall season boasts the debut of several other exciting shows like Dan Da Dan, the latest supernatural sci-fi anime produced by Science Saru, the long awaited return of the Dragon Ball franchise with Dragon Ball Daima, Blue Lock season 2, Ranma 1/2, and much more!

While the summer season ends with a bang with the premiere of the highly anticipated, and much delayed, anime adaptation of Junji Ito’s Uzumaki from director Hiroshi Nagahama (Flowers of Evil, Mushi-Shi), the fall season boasts the debut of several other exciting shows. Dan Da Dan, the latest supernatural sci-fi anime produced by Science Saru, debuts in October alongside Dragon Ball Daima, the long-awaited follow-up to Dragon Ball Super. That’s not even mentioning the second season of Blue Lock, Ranma ½, and many more titles set to premiere later in the season!

We’ll continue to update this list as we get a clearer picture of everything this fall anime season has to offer, but in the meantime, here are some of the most exciting anime airing this fall that you should look forward to.

Our most recent update added Bleach: Thousand-Year Blood War Part 3 — The Conflict.

Release date: Sept. 28
Where to watch: Adult Swim, streaming next day on Max

The long-awaited anime miniseries based on Junji Ito’s supernatural horror manga is finally bursting its way onto television screens this season! Directed by Hiroshi Nagahama (Mushi-Shi, Flowers of Evil), Uzumaki follows the story of Kirie Goshima and Shuichi Saito, two high school sweethearts living in the rural Japanese town of Kurouzu-cho. When a mysterious “spiral curse” begins to afflict the townspeople through a series of disturbing, inexplicable incidents, Kirie and Shuichi must find a way to survive these horrors before they become the curse’s next victims.

Ito’s manga is known for its grotesque, violent imagery and disturbing sense of pacing, and from the look of the latest teaser trailer, Nagahama seems intent on faithfully realizing those elements in their full gruesome detail. We’ll have to see just how gnarly the series gets when it premieres at the end of September. later this month.

Release date: Oct. 3
Where to watch: Netflix, Crunchyroll

Science Saru, the acclaimed animation studio behind such celebrated anime as Devilman Crybaby and Keep Your Hands Off Eizouken!, returns with a highly anticipated adaptation of Yukinobu Tatsu’s supernatural sci-fi manga Dandadan.

The series follows Momo Ayase, a high school student from a family of spirit mediums, who befriends “Okarun,” an ostracized classmate who’s obsessed with aliens. When an argument breaks out over the existence of ghosts and aliens, the two dare one another to visit locations associated with unexplained phenomena in an effort to convince each other of their own beliefs. However, the unexpected occurs: The pair discover that both aliens and ghosts exist! After gaining strange new powers from their respective encounters, Momo and Okarun must work together to survive the frightening implications of their mutual discovery.

Release date: Oct. 3
Where to watch: Crunchyroll

As fantastic as it is to see adaptations of fan-favorite manga and the return of beloved franchises, it always warms my heart to see new ideas and stories being given their opportunity to shine through the medium of anime. Case in point: Mecha-Ude: Mechanical Arms, an original anime series created by animator Sae Okamoto, which spawned from a Kickstarter-funded pilot short released in 2019. The premise resembles 2013’s Kill la Kill, albeit with characters who choose to become hosts to semi-sentient mechanical arms instead of scantily clad heroines sporting semi-sentient school outfits. While yes, that might sound derivative, the footage f

Release date: Oct. 4
Where to watch: Crunchyroll

Sword Art Online Alternative: Gun Gale Online finally returns with a second season more than six years after the first! The anime spinoff of Sword Art Online based on the light novel series by Keiichi Sigsawa (Kino’s Journey) centers on Karen Kohiruimaki, a tall and socially awkward woman who begins playing an online battle royale shooter in order to live out her fantasy of being a cute short girl who kicks ass.

While the details behind the plot are still unknown, the trailer for the upcoming second season depicts Karen (aka “LLEN”) and her teammates facing off against other players in the 3rd Squad Jam, a free-for-all tournament only open on the Japanese server of Gun Gale Online. Let’s see if LLEN can snatch victory from the jaws of defeat once more!

Release date: Oct. 5
Where to watch: Hulu

Bleach: Thousand-Year Blood War returns this fall for the third of its four planned batches of episodes! For those unfamiliar: this anime series adapts the final arc of Tite Kubo’s Bleach manga, which was previously unadapted in the original Bleach anime produced from 2004 to 2012. Bleach: Thousand-Year Blood War follows Soul Reaper Ichigo Kurosaki and his comrades as they face off against the Wandenreich, a secret army of supernatural beings lead by a vengeful king known as Yhwach. I’m not a fan of Bleach, but I’m nevertheless happy to see fans of Tite Kubo’s supernatural action series so excited about the return of one of their favorite anime.

Release date: Oct. 5
Where to watch: Crunchyroll

The 2022 anime adaptation of Muneyuki Kaneshiro’s hit sports manga returns this fall with a brand-new season! Picking up after the end of the first season, Blue Lock season 2 opens with Yoichi Isagi and the rest of the program’s finalists set to face off against the Japan U20 team for not only the fate of their careers, but the future of the Blue Lock program itself.

Release date: Oct. 5
Where to watch: Netflix

Hot on the heels of 2022’s Urusei Yatsura adaptation, Rumiko Takahashi’s beloved action rom-com manga is also getting a new TV anime adaptation courtesy of MAPPA! Ranma 1/2 follows the story of Ranma Saotome, a teenage martial artist who, after experiencing a mishap while training, transforms into a girl whenever he’s splashed with cold water and back into a boy when he’s splashed with warm water. That’s not all, as Ranma’s father, Genma, has a similar situation, though transforming into a panda instead of a girl. Like Urusei Yatsura, Ranma 1/2 is considered a formative classic of ’80s anime slapstick comedy, so it’s exciting to see the series return with a fresh new adaptation from one of the most prolific anime studios working today.

Release date: Oct. 11
Where to watch: Crunchyroll

Dragon Ball finally returns to television for the first time in over six years! Toei Animation has been tight-lipped as to the details behind the story of Dragon Ball Daima, but what we know so far is this: It takes place after the events of Dragon Ball Super, and Goku and his friends have been transformed into little kids due to some bizarre circumstances. Sounds a bit like Dragon Ball GT, albeit more lighthearted and now canonical.

Dragon Ball Daima will be the last Dragon Ball anime to feature the direct involvement of series creator Akira Toriyama, who passed away earlier this year.

Release date: Oct. 17
Where to watch: Netflix

Prepare to return to the Universal Century with Gundam: Requiem for Vengeance, the new CG-animated series from Sunrise and studio Safehouse! Set in the final days of the One Year War, the series follows a Principality of Zeon pilot named Iria Sorari and her comrades as they attempt to fend off the Earth Federation Forces’ onslaught along the European front. That’s not all they’ll have to contend with, as a mysterious enemy known as the “White Devil” also lays siege to Zeon’s ground forces. Will Iria and her comrades find a way to survive?

Release date: December (TBA)
Where to watch: Netflix

Beastars finally returns for its third and final season this fall! The coming-of-age mystery drama set in a world of anthropomorphic animals has steadily grown to become one of the most compelling long-form anime dramas in recent memory. And from the looks of the trailer for the upcoming season, the series is aiming to go out with a bang!

When we last saw Legoshi, the gray wolf protagonist of Beastars was on the verge of dropping out of school, a decision that might result in the end of his relationship with Haru the white dwarf rabbit. With the perpetrator behind Tem the alpaca’s murder finally behind bars, the students at Cherryton Academy are forced to process the end of this prolonged trauma while preparing for their impending graduation into adult life.

The final season of Beastars will be split into two halves, with the first premiering on Netflix this December and the second premiering sometime early next year.