Best New Anime to Watch (Fall Season 2021)

Angels, spider mechs, and demon-slaying are just some of what you can expect this Fall 2021 anime season. We have a good amount of new anime for the Fall such as the action-packed JoJo's Bizarre Adventure: Stone Ocean, hilarious Komi Can't Communicate, and the beautifully animated takt op.Destiny. We're also seeing the return of one of the most popular anime series in recent years with Demon Slayer Season 2: Entertainment District Arc. Across Crunchyroll, Funimation, and Netflix, as well as others, there are a lot of places to enjoy anime at the moment.

Check out some of our favorite picks in the video above or the slideshow gallery below, followed by the full list of new Fall season 2021 anime in the U.S. and their respective streaming platforms. Anime listed are available now unless otherwise stated.

Best New Anime to Watch (Fall Season 2021)

Platinum End (Funimation, Crunchyroll, VRV)

Calling all Death Note fans! The original Death Note writer and manga artist are the same team behind the Platinum End manga series and we’re now getting an anime adaptation! Platinum End follows Mirai, an orphaned student who attempts to take his own life. Just before Mirai does, an angel saves him because he wishes to be happy. The angel bestows special powers to Mirai and informs him that he’s a candidate to be the new God. Yeesh! Death Note writer Tsugumi Ohba is at it again! Am I right? Platinum End has been pretty intense so far and we can only imagine it will get more intense as the series continues to explore the meaning of life and death. The series is now available on Crunchyroll and VRV.

SAKUGAN (Crunchyroll, VRV)

Best New Anime to Watch (Fall Season 2021) - IGN (2)

Sakugan follows Memenpu, a young girl who dreams of exploring the world outside her underground colony home. Her father forbids her from going but a life-changing event takes the pair down a different path. Sakugan gives off some emotional and shocking Made in Abyss vibes and we’re here for it. The series just recently started but it goes from 0 to 60 real quick. We’re looking forward to where this father-daughter adventure takes us as the season goes on. You can watch Sakugan now on Crunchyroll and VRV.

Mushoku Tensei: Jobless Reincarnation Part 2 (Funimation)

Best New Anime to Watch (Fall Season 2021) - IGN (3)

Mushoku Tensei: Jobless Reincarnation is back this Fall to continue the rest of the season. The series follows Rudeus, a jobless slob who becomes reincarnated as a newborn baby in a world full of magic and monsters. The first half of the season explores his acclimation to this new body and world whereas in the second half we see Rudeus using his newly learned experience in a different environment. Mushoku Tensei: Jobless Reincarnation is arguably the most popular isekai anime this year. If you want to see what all the hubbub is about, you can watch the newest episodes of the series now on Funimation.

Ranking of Kings (Funimation)

Best New Anime to Watch (Fall Season 2021) - IGN (4)

Ranking of Kings is one of the most heartwarming surprises this season. The series follows a young deaf prince, Bojji, who constantly gets ridiculed for his disability. Even his father, a giant king, insists that he become stronger for the kingdom’s sake. Bojji ends up meeting a sneaky shadow figure, Kage, and befriends him because he’s able to understand the young prince. The two begin an unlikely friendship that we’re eager to see more of as the season goes on. Ranking of Kings has a unique art style and vibe that’s reminiscent of Studio Ghibli’s work on the game, Ni no Kuni: Wrath of the White Witch. To top it off, Wit Studio is producing this anime, and we love their previous work on Attack on Titan and Vinland Saga. We can already see ourselves getting onto the emotional roller coaster that this series may bring. Ranking of Kings is available to watch now on Funimation.

JoJo's Bizarre Adventure: Stone Ocean (Netflix | Dec 2021)

Best New Anime to Watch (Fall Season 2021) - IGN (5)

ORA ORA ORA! JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure is back with Stone Ocean or Part 6 of the popular shonen series. For those that don’t know, the series follows the Joestar family line beginning with JOnthan JOestar. You can kind of see where JoJo comes from in the series title now. Because this is an intergenerational storyline, we’re now finally seeing the anime adaptation of Stone Ocean with Jolyne Cujoh which takes place over 100 years after Part 1 of the series. JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure is known for its intense action, wild art style, and cultural music references. That’s right! Music references. If you like action with a lot of weirdness, JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure will be worth a watch. We recommend watching the previous seasons which are all available on Crunchyroll before jumping into Stone Ocean. The series will premiere on Netflix this December.

Komi Can't Communicate (Netflix)

Best New Anime to Watch (Fall Season 2021) - IGN (6)

Komi Can’t Communicate is a highly anticipated slice of life anime this Fall season. The series follows Komi, a popular student who as the title says “can’t communicate”. She meets a classmate named Tadano who notices her predicament and offers to help. The anime series has a unique style which takes Komi’s struggle of communicating right off the manga panels. Komi Can’t Communicate is produced by OLM, known for ODDTAXI and numerous Pokemon series. It’ll be interesting to see how this relationship unfolds as the season goes on. Komi Can’t Communicate is available now on Netflix.

Aggretsuko Season 4 (Netflix | December 2021)

Best New Anime to Watch (Fall Season 2021) - IGN (7)

The karaoke loving career red panda, Retsuko, is back for season 4 of the series. Aggretsuko takes place in a world full of anthropomorphic animals. The series follows Retsuko, our red panda protagonist, who goes about her day to day with the occasional chaotic predicament. At this point in Aggretsuko, Retsuko has formed deeper relationships with the people in her life. Judging from the poster art, there are a few characters to watch out for this season. If you’re looking for a fun slice of life this fall season, check out Aggretsuko. Season 4 of the series premieres this December.

takt op.Destiny (Crunchyroll, VRV)

Best New Anime to Watch (Fall Season 2021) - IGN (8)

takt op. Destiny is an original anime announced alongside a game of the same series name. The series follows Takt, a pianist in a world where music is banned because it attracts monsters that inhabited the planet years ago. With these monsters came a special ability to fight them in the form of Musicarts, mysterious weapons that use the power of music. Takt op. Destiny is produced by two well known studios. MAPPA, known for big shonen titles like Jujutsu Kaisen and Attack on Titan’s Final Season, and Madhouse, which you’ll know from One Punch Man season 1 and Hunter x Hunter. Between these two studios, we’re getting amazing fighting animation from what we’ve seen so far. If you like shonen anime, check out takt op. Destiny which is available now on Crunchyroll and VRV.

86 EIGHTY-SIX Part 2 (Crunchyroll, VRV)

Best New Anime to Watch (Fall Season 2021) - IGN (9)

86 is back for part 2 this Fall season! This intense mecha anime kicked off earlier in the year and now it’s hitting its stride. 86 follows Lena and Shin as they navigate a war with AI mechs called the Legion. Lena is the handler of the 86 squadron that Shin leads. Through this arrangement, Lena learns about the history of the people designated 86. With tensions being high between Lena’s people and the 86, it’ll be interesting to see where part 2 ends up going as the season progresses. If you’re into political mech drama that’s reminiscent of the Gundam series, 86 is worth checking out. The series is now available on Crunchyroll and VRV.

Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba Entertainment District Arc (Funimation, Crunchyroll, VRV | Dec 5)

Best New Anime to Watch (Fall Season 2021) - IGN (10)

And finally, get ready Demon Slayer fans! The wait is almost over! The highly anticipated Entertainment District Arc is premiering this Fall 2021 season! Not only that, but we get a deeper look at Rengoku and the Mugen Train Arc in a 7 episode release leading up to the premiere. For those who have been living under a rock and missed the biggest anime in recent memory, Demon Slayer follows Tanjiro, a kid who unfortunately gets thrust into the world of demons after the murder of his entire family. His sister, Nezuko survives but turns into a demon herself. Tanjiro makes it his goal to save his sister from this affliction by hunting down the source of all Demons. The Demon Slayer Mugen Train movie broke multiple box office records for goodness sake. There’s not much else to say other than check out this amazing anime already! Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba Entertainment District Arc premieres Dec 5 on Funimation, Crunchyroll and VRV.

Those are some of our favorite new anime available to watch this fall 2021 season.
If you’re looking for some anime recommendations, check out our Best Anime on Netflix Right Now.
And also our list of the Summer 2021 anime in case you missed the last batch of new series.

All the New Anime Arriving in Fall 2021

Here’s the full list of anime coming out in Fall 2021 that will be available to watch in the US:

Crunchyroll

Funimation

Netflix

Aggressive Retsuko Season 4 (Dec 2021)
Blue Period
Bright: Samurai Soul
JoJo's Bizarre Adventure: Stone Ocean (Dec 2021)
Komi Can't Communicate
Scissor Seven: Season 3
Super Crooks (Nov 25)
The Seven Deadly Sins: Cursed by Light
The Way of the Househusband: Season 1 Part 2

Best New Anime to Watch (Fall Season 2021) - IGN (2024)