Featuring premieres during the first two weeks of April, the anime spring season of 2023 has just barely started. Following a year filled with some of the biggest and most groundbreaking anime, like Attack on Titan, Blue Lock, and Bleach Thousand Year War, the year of 2023 as a whole has big shoes to fill. This spring season features a wide variety of new shows, sequels, and anime drawn from uncommon sources, and has the potential to shock fans in the community. This list will cover some of the most anticipated anime in the season, as well as some less talked-about shows that have the potential to make a splash. 

Hell’s Paradise, Jigokuraku

Introducing itself as the final member of the Dark Triad, Hell’s Paradise, or Jigokuraku, is one of the most anticipated anime in the entirety of 2023. The Dark Triad is fan-defined as the closest Shonen Jump (a publisher of manga aimed at teen boys) has ever gotten to publishing Seinen (manga aimed at adult men) which, in other words, is the industry’s response to the anime community wanting shows that tackle topics in a mature and nuanced way. As such, the members of the Dark Triad are the anime that fit the bill, featuring mature topics like death, grief, and manipulation, as well as offering deeper insight into other topics like friendship and romance. 

As the last member of the Dark Triad to get an anime adaptation, Hell’s Paradise doesn’t disappoint in its potential to make waves. The story follows Gabimaru, a boy raised from birth to become an assassin, being captured and sentenced to execution by the Shogunate. Before being killed, Gabimaru, and other death row convicts, are given the chance to live if they successfully retrieve the elixir of life from the Buddhist land of purity, Sukhavati. Embarking on this journey with him is his overseer Yamada Asaemon Sagiri, an executioner that has consistently failed to kill. The story follows themes like the human spirit, the meaning of immortality, and the intrinsic will to live, while entertaining readers with action and relatable characters, proving its potential to be anime of the year.

Mashle

Imagine a world where Harry Potter got the letter to attend Hogwarts and went through all the effort of enrolling and attending there, while all along he could never use magic in the first place. Oh, and he’ll also get put to death if anyone figures out he can’t use magic. This insane premise is the setting of the upcoming anime Mashle, where Mash Burnedead, a boy with no magic, decides to become the strongest wizard in the world, with only his muscles. The manga has so far surprised fans with a mix of slapstick humor and comedic irony, as Mash has to continually pass numerous magic-based classes through brute force, as well as making references to popular anime like Naruto. With the book series projected to end soon, fans are excited for the anime adaptation to relive the story. 

Oshi No Ko

As this season’s signature twist anime, Oshi No Ko is a story dedicated to subverting expectations within the very first chapters. This story initially follows Ai Hoshino, a popular J-pop Idol who suddenly got pregnant by an unknown father. The doctor that treats her, Taiki Himekawa, turns out to be one of her fans, and when his death comes soon after, he finds himself reincarnated as one of the twins Ai had. 

For a few blissful chapters, Taiki, now named Aquamarine, and his twin sister Ruby, who was also a fan of the idol, simply enjoy their lives as babies, until a single event turns the show into a murder mystery, with the spotlight on the corrupt inner workings of the entertainment industry. Oshi No Ko has continually kept readers on their toes, and as an anime adaptation, is in the running for one of the best mysteries of the year. 

Shiro Seijo to Kuro Bokushi

Four-panel mangas are a staple of the manga industry, yet they are also one of the more overlooked parts. The main reason for this is the way four panels are formatted. They’re structured in a way that only allows for four panels of drawings published on a weekly or bi-weekly basis, usually featured in magazines or newspapers. This medium acts restrictively, providing little room for an overarching story, but that’s the exact reason why fans are always eager for an anime adaptation. The new medium allows the story to adopt a greater plot, as well as more character focus and interaction, which is integral to the story of Shiro Seijo to Kuro Bokushi. 

Shiro Seijo to Kuro Bokushi follows Cecilia, a saint who is tasked with helping her village in the name of her goddess, while Pastor Lawrence watches over her in the church. Unfortunately for Lawrence, Cecilia has two sides to herself, the neat, kind, and reliable side that she shows to the village, and the lazy and slobby side that she shows only to Lawrence. And unfortunately for Cecilia, Lawrence just can’t seem to take the hint that the reason she’s comfortable showing her true side to him is because she likes him. As an upcoming rom-com filled with potential, fans are excited to see the series’ eleven volumes of stories introduced to a new audience.

Dr. Stone New World, Season 3

The hit anime Dr. Stone, released in July of 2019, starts off with the shocking premise of every human on earth being petrified for over a thousand years, and one of the main characters, Senku Ishigami, being freed from his stony prison. The introduction itself was enough to hook viewers, but it was the careful execution of the plot that kept people watching. 

Senku Ishigami, the main character, powers his way through a newly primitive world with his extensive knowledge of all things physics and chemistry in the world, and viewers could watch as he created devices like gramophones and makeshift cell towers with just some glass and ore. Season three continues to follow Senku, as he tries to find a way to save everyone else on the planet, leaving the petrified Japan, to try and find other living humans in the Americas. 

Mobile Suit Gundam: The Witch from Mercury Season 2

Though older generations of anime like Revolutionary Girl Utena, Sailor Moon, and Cardcaptor Sakura feature lesbian couples and ships, finding them in modern anime is an increasingly harder feat. Coming in to break that losing streak, in October of 2022, the Gundam franchise makes a comeback by releasing a hit action thriller featuring two girls fighting to love each other in a world scarred by war and violence. Along with its anti-war narrative, The Witch from Mercury featured a commentary on capitalism, as it takes place in a new timeline where the Gundam universe is governed by various mega-corporations, and the characters have to fight back against the unwanted control. 

As season two starts, the anime community has full confidence that the continuing series will have no lack of intense action and captivating story.

Birdie Wing: Golf Girl’s Story 2

The unnaturally high-stakes anime about girls playing golf through moving trains, action sequences, and more, returns for a second season this spring with a promise to continue its eccentric action.  

The story follows two girls, Aoi Amawashi and Eve, or “Rainbow Bullet”. Season one followed these two girls meeting each other through an underground golfing ring, and vowing to have a tense rivalry as they make their way through the golfing world. As an original anime, Birdie Wing has been able to historically surprise fans with story arcs like the mafia arc and the tournament arc, and the suspense about what will happen next had only grown when season two was announced. 

Both fans of golf and fans of anime have stayed excited for season two of Birdie Wing, as the anime community prepares for another season of shocking golf.