With summer coming to an end in Japan, there are plenty of new Anime series making their way onto televisions across the island nation. We take a look at some of the latest anime currently doing the rounds, as well as some of the series expected to land during September and October.

Japanese Summer Anime (currently airing)

Sword Art Online II

A-1 Pictures 

In what is expected to be one of the most anticipated anime sequels, Sword Art Online II follows the storyline from the Elfheim Arc of the original MMORPG-style series. This time round, we are teleported into the Gun Gale Online Arc of the story where our hero Kirito investigates the link between in-game deaths that coincide with those in the real world. Viewers are in for a treat as we meet new characters like Sinon, a girl with a dark past, as well as seeing how some of the other series regulars have fared since we last saw them. 

If you're an avid fan of MMO-style fantasy anime like .Hack//Sign and Log Horizon, check out the trailer below for a better look at Sword Art Online II.   

Tokyo ESP

Xebec

A solid addition to the sci-fi fantasy genre is Tokyo ESP, a series that follows the supernatural exploits of Rinka, a poor girl who lives with her father in modern-day Tokyo. While returning home from school one day, she has a chance encounter with a flying penguin and glowing floating fish, which she then decides to chase. Suddenly the fishes passes through her and in so doing, grants her abilities otherworldly powers, such as intangibility (the power to slip through solid objects).

Along with Rinka, viewers are also introduced to a wild and mysterious world filled with oddball characters. This anime should particularly appeal to fans of series like Bleach. 

Zankyō no Terror (Terror in Resonance)

MAPPA

If anime set in an alternate Earth is your thing, Zankyō no Terror is a new series worth keeping an eye out for. The series kicks off as parts of Tokyo are decimated by a terrorist attack, with the only clue being a rather weird video that's uploaded to the internet. Paranoia ensues, as the public and the police have their hands full trying to understand why the attacks took place, as well as fearing a follow up attack. The criminals responsible for this are two boys that call themselves ‘Sphinx’ and the terrorist attack itself is just the beginning of a complex and compelling story.

Apart from being set in an alternate Earth, Zankyō no Terror explores elements of the human psychology expertly, drawing comparisons to acclaimed series like Paranoia Agent. 

Tokyo Ghoul

Pierrot

Joining the ranks of dark fantasy, Tokyo Ghoul a young man named Ken Kaneki, a college bookworm that meets a girl at a cafe and becomes close friends with her, not knowing that she is in fact a ghoul, and that humans’ flesh are a ghoul’s primary food source. When a part of her gets transplanted into Kaneki after an accident, he becomes a ghoul himself and trapped into a dark sinister secret world where the rule is eat or be eaten. In many ways, this series is a reinterpretation of the age old vampire mythology, as Ken deals with the need to survive as a monster.  

For an interesting take on what makes one human, as well as the battle between mind and body, Tokyo Ghoul is well worth considering.  

Bakumatsu Rock

Studio Deen

Ready for a mix of rock and roll in an alternate history of Japan? Then this anime might just be the one for you. Set in the Bakumatsu era at the end of the Shogun rule over Japan (19th century), the Tokugawa Shogunate is using Heaven’s Song to brainwash the citizens of Japan and rule the country. In order to fight the Tokugawa Shogunate's reign, a group of Rock and Roll freedom fighters take up their musical instruments and battle for the freedom of Japan's people.

If you favour your anime with a heavy kick of rock and roll, Bakumatsu Rock is certainly for you.  

What's to come (September-slated anime)

Terra Formars

Liden Films

This soon to be released series takes place in the year 2577, hundreds of years after well-intended scientists sent cockroaches to planet Mars to terraform it and make is suitable for human life.

Manned ships land on Mars and to their shock encounter large humanoid cockroaches with superhuman (or is that super cockroach?) strength that then wipe the landing party out. As a result humanity sends a group of elite warriors to exterminate the cockroach creatures.

Certainly one of the more original sounding anime concepts, check out the trailer (Japanese) below. 

Shingeki No Bahamut: Genesis

Mappa

It is an anime based on the Rage of Bahamut game, not much is known of the anime’s storyline yet, and so far it seems the game is exclusive to Japan, but if you look at the anime’s trailer it could prove to be just as entertaining as Attack on Titan.

Have a look at this awesome trailer below. 

Last word

This concludes the Know Your Anime series in TechSmart, if you want to know more about anime come and read more about it at AnimeFanatika on Facebook as well as the AnimeFanatika Blog or follow us on Twitter.