The fall season of anime was such a pleasure for fans to watch. While the fall season didn’t have as many anticipated shows as the spring season did, this latest season did not disappoint. There were a few big-named shows, reboots of older series, and many other shows in between. What was great about this fall season was that there seemed to be a show for every kind of fan out there. There was a wide variety of quality content, so any craving you might have had when it came to a show you felt like watching, this last season had you covered. With all of the great shows that premiered, are there any that Toonami should look into to air in the future? Of course! And this season had plenty to choose from.

*The Ancient Magus Bride will not be mentioned due to what Jason DeMarco said earlier about acquiring the rights to the show and Black Clover is already on the block.

Blood Blockade Battlefront & Beyond

Blood Blockade Battlefront & Beyond (Kekkai Sensen) had a fascinating first season with the delay of the finale. Thankfully, that didn’t reduce the popularity of the show. FUNimation even waited and gave fans a “Simuldub” of the final episode well after the season was over. It became a huge favorite among anime fans, and I was pleased that another season was produced after the first season had that odd delay. It was something that Toonami fans looked for as a show that should air on the block (a thought that Editor in Chief Sketch has), and I agree. It has the complete package that Toonami fans expect on the block.

For those who might not know about this series, we follow Leonardo Watch as he tries to survive in a New York City that has been taken over by supernatural beings, turning it into a new city called Hellsalem’s Lot. He was mistaken for a member of a secret society known as Libra, which helps keep the peace of the city. The unique thing about Leo is that he was given the “All Seeing Eyes of the Gods” and has special abilities thanks to these eyes. So we then watch as Leo and his new comrades do what they can the help save the world in fun, exciting, and funny ways which has resonated with fans.

Kekkai Sensen has a feel akin to Space Dandy and Cowboy Bebop, which can be a great combination when you look at the best aspects of those shows. I see a bit of Cowboy Bebop in Kekkai Sensen, due to the stellar music and ambiance as we explore the world of Hellsalem’s lot. It was what I thought of instantly after hearing the smooth jazz sounds that Kekkai Sensen provides. Plus, the comedy is the same as what you’d expect from Space Dandy, with the interactions of the main cast (mostly Leo and Zap). It also has the action that Toonami fans love (although the action isn’t as prevalent as some might like). But when fights did occur, they were both wonderfully animated and exhilarating to watch. I think this series tops the list of potentially available shows that Toonami should look into. It is a complete package that provides a little of everything to the broader audience. It isn’t shōnen, which I think might be another big selling point for a significant percent of Toonami fans. Some are fatigued with shōnen anime, and Kekkai Sensen can help alleviate that feeling. It isn’t purely action, since it has elements of other shows, and it’s just fun to watch.

(*You can watch Kekkai Sensen either on FUNimationNow or Crunchyroll).

Juni Taisen

I’ve been back and forth on whether Juni Taisen would make the list or not, due to how weird I felt the execution was. In this series, twelve warriors that represent the Chinese Zodiac all come together to kill one another in an event called the Juni Taisen. They battle each other to the death in 12 episodes to find out who will be the new champion. Usually, you’d think a battle royal series would fit right at home on Toonami. There are a wide variety of characters and all get some screen time to try and resonate with fans. Not to mention that they all get into a death battle throughout the show. However, it felt like an odd show with everything that was going on.

I would call Juni Taisen an action series, since characters do die. There have been episodes where there was a lot of action involving the warriors. There were also a lot of lulls in this series where backstories are explained (each warrior has one), and participants in the Juni Taisen are either strategizing or wandering around the deserted area. I wonder how fans would react to that, because even I felt the series came to a screeching halt at points. I felt more excited toward the beginning of the series when we watch warriors like Boar and Chicken get involved with other warriors reasonably quickly. That isn’t to say that things don’t improve at times. More fights come along that include warriors like the Monkey, Rabbit, Ox, and Tiger. But I felt that some were just too quick. It was as if Juni Taisen was trying to create 12 main characters when that doesn’t seem feasible when you only have 12 episodes.

But I think the allure of this series is that you do not know who is going to win the Juni Taisen. To be fair, the ending was predictable, but I think the mystery of who will win the battle royal would be enough for any fan to stick with it. I liked how different each character was, and while there are a few archetype characters, I enjoyed the cast. I loved the fact that we got to see each character’s backstory and what motivates them (that’s something that is rarely seen in anime). And with what fans were treated to at the end felt satisfying enough to where I think most fans would be okay with watching it on Toonami.

(*You can watch Juni Taisen on either FUNimationNow or Crunchyroll).

UQ Holder!

You can’t run away from shōnen, and this season I felt that UQ Holder! was the best shōnen that premiered (besides Boruto). It does have its generic moments, but, being the genre that it is, it can easily find a home on Toonami if it receives an English dub down the line. UQ Holder! is a tale where Tōta loses his parents to a tragedy and is then watched over by Yukihime as his guardian. They are attacked by a bounty hunter after Yukihime nearly kills them both. To survive, Tōta drinks Yukihime’s blood and becomes immortal and escapes this attack. The two then defeat the bounty hunter and go off on a journey to reach a massive tower that reaches space at a city called Shin-Tokyo (it was Tōta’s dream to go there). After meeting up with “friends of Yukihime” eventually Tōta learns about her group called the UQ Holders where she commands an army of immortal warriors. Thus Tōta and his new friends partake in missions that help benefit the organization.

I will say that if you haven’t watched Negima, you might be at a disadvantage in understanding every little thing or Easter egg that’s dropped in this show. Especially when we get further along in the series and find out more about Yukihime’s history, which involves a lot of what happened in Negima. But while I haven’t seen that series, I didn’t feel as lost as I thought I would (to be fair, I did read the beginning chapters of the manga on Crunchyroll). So while I wasn’t as lost, I think it might be best to watch that series beforehand (or read the manga). I’m sure I missed a ton of references, but that didn’t take away from my overall enjoyment of the show. I did notice that a couple of story arcs were mixed around when comparing the anime series to the manga (such as when Koroumaru explains his gender to Karin before they begin their first mission as opposed to where the anime placed it).

I liked UQ Holder!, as it had all kinds of aspects that I look forward to seeing when I watch a shōnen show. What jumped out at me was that the action of this series was surprisingly impressive. The fights that Tōta was involved in with were suspenseful and enjoyable to watch. I was saddened that there wasn’t more action in this series, considering how much I enjoyed those moments. The battles from Tōta’s first mission where high, and even the small gaps of action during the Mahora Martial Arts Tournament were enjoyable and exhilarating. I wasn’t expecting the action to be as cool as it was, and it was a pleasant surprise. So once I started to see the action, I thought UQ Holder! was impressive.

The fact that there wasn’t as much fighting in this series as I’d like does put a damper on this series. Plus, your taste on how much fanservice you can take can alter how much you enjoy UQ Holder!. Those who know more about this series probably didn’t like how fast things were paced. A lot of things were rushed, and it looks as if a story arc was skipped over entirely (Investigation Arc). It seems that some bits and pieces that made UQ Holder! a favorite among fans were either omitted or rushed through to try and fit as much as they could in 12 episodes. I didn’t think it’d be enough and it wasn’t. I try not to focus so much on that, however, because I enjoyed what I did see in the series.

(*You can watch UQ Holder on Amazon Prime Video)

Those are just three choices that I selected, but there are a ton of shows that could make its way to Toonami. That’s why I found the fall season to be a delightful one. So is there any show you think would be an excellent fit for Toonami that I didn’t mention? Feel free to comment on which series during the 2017 fall season you think would be great for Toonami.

C.J’s top-5 Simulcasts of the fall season

1). The Ancient Magus’ Bride
2). Black Clover
3). Blood Blockade Battlefront & Beyond
4). GARO: Vanishing Line
5). Kino’s Journey -the Beautiful World-

C.J Maffris is an editorial writer for Toonamifaithful.com. Feel free to follow C.J on Twitter @SeaJayMaffris