A new anime season is here, meaning it’s time for a quick look at some of the series running. Our Spring Anime 2025 Round-Up looks at several new and returning series to give you the information you need to find your next watch. From superheroes to slice-of-life and more, we have you covered.
To allow for an honest assessment of the show’s quality, we made sure to watch the first several episodes of each series we mention. Seeking a broad range of series and types, we hope to provide suggestions for viewers of varying tastes. From the heavy hitters to the lesser-known series, here are just some of the most noteworthy anime this season and why you should watch them or, instead, why they’re worth skipping.
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Fire Force
Animation Studio: David Production
Synopsis: The members of Fire Station 8 are ready to face off against the White Clad for the world’s fate. But as their enemies consolidate their power, they also seek to turn Japan against our heroes. Can Station 8 find the strength to save the day one more time?
What Works: Fiery animation, creative battles, and generally solid humor are the high points here, as they have been for the series as a whole. Adding to this is excellently crafted tension that sells the lead-up to the final battle.
What Doesn’t: Just as its strengths are familiar, so are its failings. Humor that only sometimes hits and fan service surrounding long-time character Tomaki pull the narrative out of its groove when they go too far or aren’t implemented with the right touch.
Odds of Success: Average
Guilty Gear Strive: Dual Rulers
Animation Studio: SANZIGEN Inc.
Synopsis: Tensions between Gears and Humans escalate as a new threat seeks to wipe the Gears from the face of the Earth. It’s up to Sin Kiske (Issei Miyazaki) and Sol Badguy (Jôji Nakata, Resident Evil 4), aided by their comrades, to stop the growing threat and bring peace back to the world.
What Works: As an adaptation of the popular fighting game franchise, this entry in our Spring Anime 2025 Round-Up understands the assignment. Wild characters, massive fights, and a great blend of humor and heart capture the weird essence of the game that inspired it.
What Doesn’t: While using a narrator (Tomokazu Sugita, Mushoku Tensei: Jobless Reincarnation) to catch people up with the unique concepts and history of the franchise is an effective touch, the show sometimes goes too far, giving information at inopportune times or giving too much, creating more confusion than anything else.
Odds of Success: High
TO BE HERO X
Animation Studios: Studio LAN, Pb Animation, and Paper Plane
Synopsis: In this donghua (Chinese animation), heroes are powered by the faith and trust people have in them. The more the public believes in you, the more powerful you become. But when Lin Ling witnesses the suicide of fan-favorite hero Nice, he discovers a side of hero culture he never could’ve imagined.
What Works: Building on concepts laid down by previous superhero shows, this Spring Anime 2025 Round-Up entry dives deeper into the potential of a superhero society with darker results. The revelations about what some do to keep heroes popular and the price many pay to wield the power the public’s worship bestows on them give the show a brutal quality that makes it stand out narratively from other series.
Its unique art styles also help it carve its place among the season’s offerings. Yes, plural. The series shifts from its primary 3D animation to different 2D styles to create a striking mix of visuals that augment the emotions and power of individual moments. The core 3D style is excellent enough, coming close to reaching the peaks the best have to offer, but by blending the additional art styles in, the animation showcases its confidence that it can deliver a more fluid presentation. One that adapts to any specific scene.
What Doesn’t: Four episodes in, and there is little to complain about. A single narrative misfire in Episode Two is the only noteworthy stumbling block for the show thus far.
Odds of Success: Extremely High
Food for the Soul
Animation Studio: P. A. Works
Synopsis: Mako Kawai (Hana Shimano, Atelier Ryza: Ever Darkness and the Secret Hideout) is a shy college student who loves cooking. When a chance encounter with a childhood friend sees her joining a campus club, Mako soon finds herself tackling her fears as she and her new clubmates enjoy their time together.
What Works: This Spring Anime 2025 Round-Up entry delivers laid-back energy with a light sprinkling of humor. Its slice-of-life stories bring enjoyment while remaining grounded. After three episodes, there is a good group dynamic between the core four girls, giving the series ample room to grow.
What Doesn’t: At this point, nothing drastic shows up as a problem. However, if the series isn’t careful, it could easily fall into a rut if it doesn’t expand its cast’s goals and activities as the series progresses.
Odds of Success: High
Zatsu Tabi -That’s Journey-
Animation Studio: Makaria
Synopsis: Chika Suzugamori (Hika Tsukishiro) is a struggling manga writer. After a set of drafts are rejected, she decides she needs new inspiration. She goes on an impromptu journey chosen by social media to find it. She soon finds herself enraptured with a new hobby as she discovers the warmth and excitement of travel.
What Works: Chika’s struggles in life and the modest quests she goes on to alleviate them make her feel relatable. As friends soon join in on her adventures, the story grows peaceful energy, basking in the warmth of good times, even when things go wrong.
What Doesn’t: Zatsu Tabi can be a bit boring, even for a slice-of-life anime. The light sprinkling of humor and minor setbacks in Chika’s journey leave the first three episodes lacking a real hook. It’s pleasant but lacks a draw that compels you to check out the next episode.
Odds of Success: Low
Witch Watch
Animation Studio: Bibury Animation Studio
Synopsis: Nico (Rina Kawaguchi, Dark Gathering) is a young witch returning to her hometown after training her powers in a far-off land. When she returns home, she is told to live with her childhood friend Morihito (Ryôta Suzuki, Sabikui Bisco). Unbeknownst to Nico, there is a prophecy foretelling a disaster coming for her, one that Morihito must try to avert. Which would be easier for him to do if she weren’t constantly endangering herself with her magic!
What Works: The two leads develop a strong chemistry together, selling the concept that they are childhood friends. Nico’s spells are frequently off the beaten path, as are how they backfire on her, giving the series a healthy dose of creativity.
What Doesn’t: While the details are creative, the general plotting isn’t. Four episodes in and the pattern is pretty fixed. Nico casts a spell, often against Morihito’s wishes, and it backfires, and he has to bail her out. These moments can produce humor, but they also frequently devolve into little more than hysterical screaming from Nico until she is rescued.
Odds of Success: Average
My Hero Academia: Vigilantes
Animation Studio: Studio Bones
Synopsis: Koichi Haimawari (Shuichiro Umeda) is a dull college student who aspires to be a hero but has given up on his dream. Although 80% of the world’s population has superhuman powers called Quirks, few are chosen to become heroes and protect people. Everything changes for Koichi when he and Pop☆Step (Ikumi Hasegawa) are saved by the vigilante Knuckleduster (Yasuhiro Mamiya) and get recruited to become vigilantes themselves!
What Works: The animation style offers a wonderful distinctive shift from the original series and series director Kenichi Suzuki brings a heightened sense of action. Visually pleasing and thrumming with kinetic energy, it demonstrates an apparent reverence for comic books with it’s split screen style and onomatopoeia. And Knuckleduster is an excellent addition to the vigilante formula.
What Doesn’t: While Knuckleduster is a standout character it’s taking a second for Koichi and Pop☆Step to grow on us despite some fun banter. Even more egregious is that, of the released episodes, three of them have had Pop in some form of peril and in need of saving by Koichi. Considering the strong ensemble of My Hero Academia and the success of the series, the characters have a high bar to me.
Odds of Success: High
Lazarus
Animation Studio: MAPPA
Synopsis: A miracle drug turns lethal, and humanity faces extinction. It is up to a team of outlaws known as `Lazarus’ to save the world. They have 30 days!
What Works: Stellar animation, immediately interesting characters, and strong, fluid action sequences. The score is a standout next to the animation. Kamasi Washington, Bonobo, and Floating Points provide the music for the series, which sets the tone but also enhances the action sequences, backing Chad Stahelski’s fight choreography.
What Doesn’t: Some may find the early stages of setting up the world tedious, but even that’s a reach.
Odds of Success: Extremely High
These are just a handful of the anime streaming right now. I hope our Spring Anime 2025 Round-Up helps point you toward a great watch! Did we miss something? Let us know on Bluesky at @butwhytho.net.
