Autumn 2025 Overview

At first glance, back in October, Autumn 2025 seemed to be filled with an abundance of titles. But at the end of the season, it’s turned out to be rather thin on the ground with worthwhile watches, with a few notable exceptions, including the final episodes of My Hero Academia. Which of the series stayed the course and which ones ran out of steam (or never had any to start off with)? The writers at Anime UK News are here to deliver their verdicts!

Onosume

Hotly Anticipated

In a season full of quite middling shows, Shabake certainly stands out as something different, being a period drama with a touch of the supernatural. Set in Edo-period Japan, the series follows Ichitaro, the sickly son of a rich apothecary merchant family who can see and interact with spirits. After witnessing the murder of the town’s head carpenter, Ichitaro becomes embroiled in a weird string of crimes where the killer is after a certain scent, one that seems to linger around Ichitaro himself.

I found this to be a really enjoyable series for the most part. However, it’s not told in the way you’d expect as it’s written more like a live-action Japanese drama rather than an animated series or a more western-style whodunnit. This puts it in a bit of a weird spot as you come in with certain expectations, but it doesn’t meet those in perhaps the right ways. I initially thought there would have been more focus placed on finding the killer, but this often takes a back seat and is more woven into the overall narrative, which turns out to be a mostly character-driven piece focusing on Ichitaro’s family and ultimately his spiritual origins.

I didn’t mind this too much though as I loved how each of the characters change over time, becoming completely different by the time the series ends. Ichitaro, in particular, comes along in leaps and bounds, but you also see his stern guardians become dear friends while his father opens up to correcting his own past mistakes.

It’s very true to the period as well, with great costume and character design, yet due to that, it’s visually very brown and muted in terms of its colours, although it does serve to highlight more vivid things like red Torii gates or brighter makeup on certain characters. All the different spirits serve to spice things up in that department too!

I think in that sense, if you like more period Japanese pieces or are interested in the more mythological side of Japanese culture then this will really appeal, falling into the same sort of category as series like The Heike Story (both are period dramas), The Apothecary Diaries (both protagonists are pharmacists by trade), or even Dororo (both protagonists share a similar fate in being born with a deal from the gods).

So, even though this may seem quite niche, it’s still definitely worth a look!

Returning Champion

The third season of Spy x Family I feel has been pretty decent but hasn’t achieved quite the same highs as some of its previous outings. It’s been more of the same, which isn’t a bad thing where you’ve got something as good as this, but it’s just been lacking that extra sparkle to take it from just being good to being great.

If I had to put a finger on why, I’d say that this is because it’s first of all had to get the main meat of the backstory out of the way, which is serious stuff and doesn’t leave much room for laughs, and secondly hasn’t had the wriggle room to be able to play with all its characters.

Loid’s backstory is fascinating, but it’s of a very different mood from the rest of the series, pushing back the goofy antics for a more sober look at the war kicking off and Loid’s life getting torn to shreds as he loses everything. It’s not a surprise he’s ended up where he is as there was literally nothing else he could have done except lie down and die.

So yeah, it’s good to know but it sure is depressing stuff and it’s not really what I enjoy most about the series. Because that, for me, is Anya and her stupid hijinks. While still in the comedic space, we do veer again into more serious stuff with the busjacking plotline, but I thought this was the highlight of the series because it gives Anya an opportunity to really step up. Sure, she’s still coming up with hilarious ideas and trying to manipulate things so she’s in Damien’s good stead, but it’s great to see her stand up in the face of danger and try to save her friends.

So, we’ve got good stand-out moments for Loid and Anya, but Yor and Bond get left by the wayside here. I didn’t really like the whole “be a more typical wife” shtick they were trying with Yor, as I feel she’s a lot stronger than that, and the focus was really just elsewhere this season without giving her anything to really show the best of herself. It feels like they swapped her around for Fiona/Nightfall who spends a lot more time with Loid this season as they tackle the various plots they are pitted against.

Overall, as I said in the preview, this season is a solid continuation but it’s hard to pinpoint standout moments other than the busjacking incident because of its focus on building out Loid’s character this time around.

Unexpected Diamond

While I really hit it off with Gnosia at the start of this autumn season, I feel its first half has been rather uneven as it struggles to make a lot of the mechanics from the video game work in an anime format. My main issues with it so far have been how repetitive it is in terms of both story and concept as, due to the time loop, you have to sit through a very similar set of events every episode; meanwhile there is a slow drip feed of information about the characters, and they often aren’t explored enough for you to really bond with them.

The repetition is probably the bigger issue here, as this puts the show in the situation where one week you’ll get a really banging episode, but the next week might be a bit of a dud. Where it excels is where it looks deeper into individual characters and explores their reasons for being on the ship as it really broadens your perspective on them. I’ve really come to like SQ not just because of how cheeky and flirty she is with the rest of the crew, but also because of how she’s shown to overcome the bad hand she’s been dealt in life. Similarly, Comet has a good focus episode which lays out her desire to explore the universe.

So, you’ll get these really good moments, then it’ll follow that up with some random nonsense, or introducing a new mechanic to the ‘game’ which it’ll then try to explain to you fifty million times. I exaggerate here but I think it treats you, the viewer, as a bit dumb sometimes. I want to figure things out for myself and work out what’s going on, not be told directly why they shouldn’t eliminate the doctor or engineer roles at the start of the game.

This is probably a fault of the video game (which I haven’t played) but it feels like the anime would be stronger without the time loops and played as a more traditional game of Werewolf as it throws one too many things into the mix where it feels like it doesn’t know what it should really focus on. Are we here to beat the Gnosia or do we want Yuri to bust out of the time loop?

That’s why it’s so frustrating though, as it’s so good elsewhere. The character designs are very wild, unique and space-age, with so many different personalities. It’s super queer and has a positive and diverse take on both gender and sexuality which is rare but really nice to see. Then you’ve got great aesthetics in both visuals and sound that really sell the setting (and that opening, heck yeah!).

There is still another half of the series to go, and I’m hoping it can continue to throw in those curveballs and focus on the good meaty character stuff rather than doing too much of telling instead of showing. The last episode of this half was a shocker, so if they can keep doing more of that then I am here for it. My gut feeling though is that this is going to come off more as a mixed bag, or a ‘what could have been’.

Shabake, Spy x Family Season 3, and Gnosia are all streaming on Crunchyroll.

HWR

This autumn season wasn’t one of the strongest but did have some solid titles here and there.

Hotly Anticipated

I’ll keep this fairly brief as I discussed these titles at length in the Autumn Preview, but Kingdom’s Sixth Season maintains the strengths and tension that preceding seasons have established, as Xin (Masakazu Morita) and his men build, maintain, and improve their chances of victory, with various factions and strategies being executed, and the desperation reaching ever higher towards the end of the season’s run.

If I had any complaints I wish this season could have been two cours, and that a battle towards the end was actually shown (this is how the manga panned out as well), but otherwise this was a great season and was well-paced too – I’m keenly anticipating Season Seven!

Elsewhere, I’ll resist talking about Uma Musume: Cinderella Gray Part 2 too much, except to say that whilst I think Part 1 was slightly better, this series has easily been one of the best of the 2020s so far!

Other continuations this season like Spy x Family Season 3 were fun additions to the line-up, though I did personally find this to be the weakest season so far. Elsewhere, Kakuriyo: Bed and Breakfast for Spirits 2 and Isekai Quartet 3 were middling continuations that didn’t leave too much of an impression on me, and the production issues with One Punch Man Season 3 have been discussed aplenty (and are addressed by Cold Cobra below).

To finish on a noteworthy point, we also finally saw the ending (for now) of One Piece as Egghead Island concluded and the production moves into a seasonal model, which I hope is beneficial in the long run – it’ll take some getting used to not having an episode almost every Sunday!

Unexpected Diamond (ish)

This season’s original offerings weren’t exactly the most inspiring for the most part, with Dusk Beyond the End of the World being a contender for one of the worst anime of 2025 full stop as it fell apart towards the end.

SANDA and the Gintama spin-off were interesting/fun enough watches but again didn’t move the needle too much, though I did find some comfort in the mangaka-focused adult cast comedy A Mangaka’s Weirdly Wonderful Workplace.

Though I daresay this isn’t the most accurate depiction of manga creation we’ve had in anime, I quickly found myself enjoying this story thanks to the characters and their work/personal relationships, with Nana Futami (Yuuko Natsuyoshi) being a likeable enough lead, and Kaede Satou (Sora Amamiya) and Mizuki Hazama (Miku Itou) filling out the supporting roles as her editor and assistant.

I don’t think this series broke any new moulds as such, but by the end of its run, I found myself hoping for a continuation, just to spend more time with these characters and their workplace.

Kingdom Sixth Season and A Mangaka’s Weirdly Wonderful Workplace are streaming on Crunchyroll, Uma Musume: Cinderella Gray Part 2 is streaming on Prime Video.

Sarah

Hotly Anticipated

SANDA turned out to be one of the most compelling (although also disturbing) watches, helped by Science Saru’s striking animation and mangaka Paru Itagaki’s controversial subject matter set in 2080s Japan. When missing student Ichie Ono reappears, it turns out she’s undergone puberty and is now an adult. Her best friend (and crush) Fuyumiya is distraught and confused – and the hideous headmaster Oshibu (who’s had so much plastic surgery to keep looking young at 92 that he’s covered in concealed scars except for his hands which betray his real age) says she must leave. The children (in scarce supply in this future Japan) are kept from puberty in his school by never being allowed to sleep all the way through the night. The underlying theme is – in the anime, at least – the preservation of youth and youthful appearances at all costs. Fourteen-year-old Sanda – who turns into adult and buff old man Santa Claus whenever he wears red – has to grant children’s wishes, no matter what they might be. And so he finds himself in some impossible situations, oscillating between his ‘child’ self and his ‘old man’ alter ego – ultimately taking on Oshibu in a thrilling duel (which brings out the best from the Science Saru animation team).

This makes SANDA sound exciting and it often is – but it’s also (because Paru Itagaki) warped, thought-provoking: sometimes funny, sometimes unbearably sad. Aging and puberty are some of the issues explored here and even though a satisfying conclusion is reached, I was genuinely surprised to discover that this anime only covers the first five volumes of the manga which is ongoing (and currently at twenty-two volumes in Japan?!). The mangaka makes the occasional cameo appearance, once as a teacher, also using her chicken-head avatar). Sometimes the extreme violence comes across as self-indulgent and OTT to no meaningful end. The anime looks incredibly stylish, relying on dark palettes and, of course, a lot of red for blood and Santa himself – and the music is apt too, composer Tomoyuki Tanaka using ‘Joy to the World’ in a warped minor key version at suitable moments to bring out the maximum irony. The imagery for the ED is especially touching as it evokes an idyllic childhood for the main cast through the seasons.

Tarnished Diamonds

This season has been especially heavy with series whose premises don’t stand up to too much scrutiny – even if they look, at first glance, as if they’ve got something to say. May I Ask for One Final Thing, which started out as one of the better fantasy/isekai offerings this season, gives us Scarlet El Vandimion, an elegant and beautiful young woman blessed with strength by a god, enabling her to biff, ‘scrobble’, punch, demolish etc. any villainous individuals who stand in her way. A guilty pleasure, I said when first reviewing the series. But after more episodes of vicarious violence, I had to wonder if we should be cheering Scarlet as loudly as we’re invited to do. She solves all her problems by knocking the living daylights out of her opponents, leaving them broken and bloodied. But they’re all Really Bad People, the story tells us, so that’s All Right! And most of the Bad People in this story (with two notable exceptions) are old, ugly and male. Perhaps, you could argue, the ugliness is an outward expression of the darkness in their souls: they’re all overweight, choleric, balding etc. etc. So that’s fine, isn’t it? All the orcs and trolls also look hideous so we don’t need to feel guilty when killing them and anyway, they attacked us first.

The other issue I have with this series is that although it looks good (even if the animation suffers a little later on) the storytelling is horribly unbalanced. Scarlet is pitted against pink-haired Terenezza (the Alice-themed ED is all about her) who represents a rival goddess and turns out to be the one isekai’d from contemporary Japan. Terenezza believes she is the heroine of the story and must therefore destroy the villainess, Scarlet. This is a fun premise (in isekai terms) but the anime introduces it in a haphazard way (and mostly at the very end) when – if it could have given us both sides’ viewpoints much earlier, it could have been a much more interesting story. We’d be asking ‘Perhaps Scarlet is in the wrong? Who’s the real villainess here?’ There are also some muddled revelations as to who the real Saint Diana is and why (all told backwards again). So, I’m disappointed by the way this anime frittered away its dramatic resources by making it all about Scarlet punching people. (Yes, we might feel frustrated enough to want to punch other people at times but resorting to brute violence is never the answer, children!!)

And talking of outward appearances, Plus-Sized Misadventures in Love just can’t make up its mind where it’s coming from, with plus-sized heroine Yumeko who, after a supposed suicide attempt, wakes in hospital with amnesia and a new, highly positive attitude about herself. Which is fine and good except the script can’t decide whether we are laughing with Yumeko or at her as she assures everyone she’s so attractive that surely no one would ever want to bully her about her size. The character designs for Yumeko are far too close to cartoonish compared to the way everyone else is portrayed and her enthusiastic attitude to food is endlessly played for laughs, especially in the OP. (The fat girl loves her food. So funny!) And yet the series also wants to assure us that Yumeko is a real heroine; she has brains which means she comes up with brilliant ideas in the office setting and she has a kind nature. She didn’t attempt to end her life – someone tried to murder her and two police detectives begin to shadow her to see if they can identify the culprit before they strike again. Meanwhile, Yumeko and the young, good-looking company VP have met by chance in the park and formed a genuine friendship. Yet he’s hiding a secret. Surely, he couldn’t be the one who tried to murder her? Perhaps the biggest cheat of all, though with this strangely addictive series (the OP is OTT Bad Taste but the ED is quite sweet) is the ending…which is not an ending, with none of the mysteries properly explained, a new character introduced and the last words: ‘To Be Continued?’. Based on an ongoing manga (based on light novels?) by mamakari currently available digitally.

Unexpected Diamond

However, the ‘Voracious Villainess’ in name only, Melphiera (Melphie) Marchalrayd in Pass the Monster Meat, Milady! has devoted herself (taught by her mother) to removing dangerous magical toxins from monsters, thereby providing a delicious and nutritious source of food to feed the people. When she meets Aristide, the ‘Blood-Mad’ monster-hunting, dragon-riding Duke of Galbraith, it’s a match made in heaven, as they understand and complement each other perfectly (he loves her wild red hair too!). This series (also based on a light novel and its manga) could be criticized for not doing a great deal over twelve episodes but – in spite of its wildly inappropriate OP – I was won over by its charms. Melphie is an intelligent, resourceful young woman and when she and the duke fall for each other, it’s believable and touching. (How good to have a fantasy anime in which the main couple get on well together and are obviously delighted to have found each other!). Suffering from (I suspect) a smaller budget than May I Ask for One Final Thing, the animators are as resourceful as their heroine and managed to suspend my disbelief as Melphie and her fiancé fight monsters and then prepare them for the pot! I’d happily watch another season of this but for now, I’ll be reading on in the manga (from Kodansha; the original light novels are not currently available in English).

Returning Champion

Kakuriyo – Bed & Breakfast for Spirits took quite a while to get going and although still charming, suffers from a general lack of energy and (I assume) a small budget; there have also been complaints among fans about the character designs. The underlying plot is a good one: the Master has been whisked away and imprisoned by the king of the ayakashi. As in the best of classic folk ballads and fairy tales, his mortal fiancée, the resourceful Aoi Tsubaki, pluckily sets out to rescue him, aided by the other ayakashi and yokai staff of Tenjin-ya but hindered by his enemies who are delighted with the current state of affairs.

But genuine peril doesn’t arrive until the final episodes and it’s all a little dull, sadly – and utterly overshadowed by the (very different) cookery/fantasy anime like Campfire Cooking in Another World with My Absurd Skill  which delights with its positive energy, fascinating and delicious-looking meals skilfully created by human Mukohda to feed his three voracious familiars – and general good-natured atmosphere. There’s no real peril (Fenrir/Fel is ridiculously powerful, baby slime Sui is fast growing into an astonishing range of abilities and new familiar pixie dragon Dora-chan is no slouch) so most of the fun comes from watching Mukohda’s reactions to each new scary situation (he does actually wield his mithril sword for the first time). So, while I still hold affection for Kakuriyo, it needs at least another twelve episodes to resolve the current story and things were left very much in media res. And at the time of writing, I haven’t seen confirmation that there’s any more to come while other series have been trumpeting their continuations loud and clear (yes, even One Punch Man which you could argue really doesn’t deserve any more episodes any time soon or indeed, ever, on the disappointing evidence of the recent new season).

SANDA is available on Amazon Prime Video; May I Ask for One Final Thing?, Plus-sized Misadventures in Love, Pass the Monster Meat, Milady! and Kakuriyo – Bed & Breakfast with Spirits Season 2 are available on Crunchyroll.

Cold Cobra

In the preview article I picked two shows that even then it was clear were on the opposite ends of the quality spectrum, animation-wise, and as we’ve reached the end of the season I can confirm that hasn’t changed, in fact you can even add writing-wise to the list as well…

Returning Champion

My Hero Academia aired its final season, and with it ended an extremely strong run in both storytelling and presentation, with good-to-great animation, voice acting and OST throughout, a very rare thing for a shonen adaptation. The previous season ended on the two “big bads” in One For All and his forced-apprentice Tomura Shigaraki fighting famed hero All Might (in an Iron Man-like battle suit due to losing his powers) and his happily-joined apprentice Izuku “Deku” Midoriya (who inherited All Might’s powers). The battle between All Might and All For One comes to a conclusion first, with the appearance of Deku’s once-rival-turned-ally Katsuki Bakugo being the turning point. The focus then shifts to Deku and Shigaraki, a fight where the former is desperate to call out to the frightened little boy Shigaraki once was and prove that even the very worse villains aren’t beyond redemption.

I won’t go heavily into the spoilers but the final fight includes some flashbacks, some rather brutal and graphic battle damage and an ending that can only be compared to fusing the classic “on your left” portal scene from Avengers: Endgame with the body-shock horror of Akira. It’s fittingly dramatic as a finale for the whole series and is followed by a trio of episodes nicely tying everything up and even giving us a “several years later” flash-forward to see what the main cast end up becoming, which is always a fun way to do an epilogue. Overall I was very happy with the finale and how it capped off an extremely strong run of episodes for the series.

Returning…. Show

The second show I picked was One Punch Man Season 3 and… yeah. In the preview I put my most positive foot forward and tried to look at the few bright spots while still addressing the elephant in the room when it comes to the show’s lack of budget leading to poor animation (or straight up non-animation in a lot of cases…) but I have to say by the end of it I was happy to see it go, in fact there were several episodes I ended up just skipping with an annoyed sigh. It’s not just the often shocking production values and the meme culture that has sprung up around it but honestly even the writing as, although they promised some interesting wrinkles with anti-hero-in-waiting Garou looking to become a top villain, all that really happened was a repeat of Season 1’s plot with top-ranked heroes struggling with battles until either just winning or our lead Saitama or one of his immediate allies arriving. I mean that’s been the whole premise of the show/manga and really a big part of the shonen stories the series parodies, but it worked in the original season because the combat animation was so stunning; here it’s the opposite so it comes off as just dull.

Now while I can’t defend the poor quality, I will say that some took it too far, as certain vocal sections of fandoms can do, to the point where the director deactivated his social media accounts after being harassed so much which is just unpleasant and unnecessary. Criticise, make amusing gifs of Garou sliding down a hill with zero movement and all that but let’s not personally attack the people trying to work around what little budget and time they’ve been given. To many people’s surprise this was actually just Cour 1 of 2 for Season 3 with the second half to come in 2027 but honestly I doubt I’ll watch it. Nothing about Season 3 has convinced me that continuing the show would be a good idea, from the show’s production values and writing to the unfortunate online culture that has sprung up around it. One Punch Man should’ve stayed a one and done series, as it turns out.

My Hero Academia and One Punch Man are available on Crunchyroll.

Demelza

Hotly Anticipated 

My hotly anticipated pick at the start of the season was A Star Brighter Than the Sun, which was based on a manga by popular creator Kazune Kawahara. And as the season went on, this remained one of the shows I looked forward to the most as we followed the growing romance between Sae and Koki.

Unlike a lot of the other newcomers that fizzled out halfway through, A Star Brighter Than the Sun remained consistent in what it was delivering to viewers week after week. The romance was a slow-burn, but always enjoyable to watch. Both Sae and Koki grew as individuals through the new challenges they faced in high school, as well as through the time spent with one another. And knowing this is renewed for a second season, I’m looking forward to seeing what the future has in store for the two.

However, the problems this show had in the first few episodes persisted as well. Although we see quite a lot of our duo’s friends and classmates, it never felt like there was enough of a focus on them for us to get to know them truly. This isn’t going to be a deal breaker for a lot of viewers, but it is a shame in a year where we’ve seen plenty of other romance anime with a more rounded approach to developing the side cast as well, such as The Fragrant Flower Blooms with Dignity. Still, perhaps the focus will shift to them next season.

Returning Champion

At the start of the season, I picked out the third season of Isekai Quartet for this category. And really, there’s not a lot to say about that I didn’t previously. It was entertaining all the way through and left the door open for a continuation, even if nothing was announced.

And while there were some other sequels I enjoyed, like Campfire Cooking, it was undoubtedly My Hero Academia that stole the season. Cold Cobra went into detail about this season above, and I am in total agreement. Personally, it was hard for me to watch HeroAca come to an end after all this time. Especially given how high-quality Season 7 and 8 have been. People often complained that the HeroAca adaptation over the years wasn’t very good (which I largely disagree with on the whole), but you absolutely can’t say that about these two seasons. They’re so obviously filled with love and passion from the production team and the seiyu; it really brought the whole project together in a way that was necessary to stick the landing for the end. With a special episode still to come that will adapt the extra epilogue included in the final volume of the manga, I’ll be happy to see the cast again for one final time later in the year.

Unexpected Diamond (Sort of)

My original choice for this was Chitose Is in the Ramune Bottle, but unfortunately, the series was hit with production issues just a few episodes in, and that threw the schedule out of whack. Because of delayed episodes, we’ve ended up in a situation that means Episodes 11-13 won’t be aired until the Spring season (when the second cour was supposed to start, but I imagine it’s also delayed now…). And that’s a shame because this was shaping up to be a much better way to experience the earlier content of the light novels. So with Chitose going unfinished for now, I’m turning to my other unexpected success of the season: The Banished Court Magician Aims to Become the Strongest.

Based on a light novel series by author Alto, this one was brought to life by studio Gekkou (Grandpa and Grandma Turn Young Again) and followed Alec Ygret, who’s exiled from his position of court magician for only knowing support magic. He then reunites with former comrade Yorha Eisentz, who invites him to rejoin the legendary party Lasting Period that once made history.

Ultimately, this doesn’t have anything particularly original going for it, but if you’re looking for a new fantasy series, it’s still well worth a look. The animation is great for all of the many battles the party get themselves into, and I appreciated the bright palette of colours, as opposed to some of the more dark and dingier presentations these kinds of stories get stuck with. There were some excellent casting choices, too. Toward the end, we saw Kisho Taniyama (Chuya in Bungo Stray Dogs) step into the role of a villain, which was great fun. Alec is also played by rising star Shuichiro Umeda, who is proving he’s capable of taking on a wide variety of roles, having just taken on Hikaru in The Summer Hikaru Died in the Summer and juggling Akira Himegami in this season’s Dusk Beyond the End of the World.

This one might not end up being particularly memorable, but it was at least fun if you’re a fan of the genre. In a season where so many shows were overly ambitious and ended up all the worse for it by the time they concluded, there’s certainly something to be said for an anime like this, which knows what it is and manages to be consistently good even if generally generic.

A Star Brighter Than the Sun is available on Amazon, while My Hero Academia and The Banished Court Magician Aims to Become the Strongest are both on Crunchyroll.