It’s already almost November, and with the spooky season soon behind us it’s time to get cozy and start preparing for the cold winter. At least over here it still gets a bit cold in winter, although not as much as when I was younger. Damn you global warming. But it’s still a good time to bring out your candles and your mood lighting, make a hot drink and snuggle up to watch your favorite anime. And what better to accompany it than the best of the new season. And I’ll help you out by recommending 5 shows that I think are worth your time. This isn’t the first time we’re doing this, you know what to expect, so let’s open the door to a new season!

A Quiet life in the Countryside

I don’t even have to look it up to know that this anime is a light novel adaptation, seeing as its full name is Banished from the Hero’s Party, I Decided to Live a Quiet Life in the Countryside. That’s definitely up there with some of the longer names for shows, but I don’t think it’s a record per se. The anime follows Red, brother of the hero and former member of the hero’s party. He was kicked out by one of his teammates, much to the chagrin of some of the other members. He then decides to go chill in the countryside and become a pharmacist. Not long after is he joined by Rit, who is a princess and a former member of their party. She left the house so as to avoid a fight over the throne and keep the peace. Together they set up shop and they get along well. What I appreciate about this show is that not only is it not an unnecessary Isekai, it’s also featuring characters who seem fairly mature. Last season had a similar anime, but it just felt underwhelming because of the characters to me. This seems to flow a lot nicer, and I adore Rit and Red’s interactions already. Definitely recommend this if you’re looking for a nice flowing slice of life fantasy!

Blue Period

I’ve always had a soft spot for art. And I take the term art very broadly. Classical art isn’t quite my thing, but I am very jealous of people who can draw amazing things, or play instruments. Maybe I should learn to play an instrument at some point. Putting that aside, Blue Period follows Yatora’s journey from a complete beginner in art to aiming to get into art school. What pleasantly surprised me so far is the interesting array of characters. They all seem very different and believable nonetheless. The drama hits you hard from the very start, and I won’t spoil anything, but I’m a big fan of Ruka as a character already. I hope we get to see a lot more of them. There isn’t much to say about this show, it’s good, it’s interesting, and it makes you feel really invested immediately. Definitely give it a watch if you like a good drama show.

Taishou Otome Otogibanashi

This show is just undeniably adorable. Tamahiko gets disowned by his father after he loses the use of one of his arms in an accident which also takes the life of his mother. He gets sent off to a family vacation home in the countryside. He also gets sent a bride, because this is early 1900s Japan, so anything goes. His bride is a few years younger than him, but not by too much. I’ve seen weirder shows for sure.
What I really like about this show is that not only is it very laid-back, but the characters so far seem to act their age. They’re very much still a bunch of children thrown into a strange situation and making the best they can out of it. Yuzu is undeniably mature for her age, and Tamahiko and his sister, Tamako, who shows up in episode 22, also show that they grew up in a household that was cold and unloving. I definitely want to see more of this, and I’m curious to see the introduction of the other characters in the opening.

The Faraway Paladin

I wasn’t sure if I was going to include this show initially because the first two episodes, although interesting, didn’t really wow me per se. The third episode felt a lot more solid, and I thought it was cool to finally see what this prologue of the series was leading towards. Will grew up in a ruined city, raised by three undead creatures. Gus the ghost, Mary the Mummy and Blood the Skeleton. Of course, because it’s 2021 and this is an anime, Will has his memories from before reincarnating, and it so far seems to be completely irrelevant except for the fact that he was conscious for the first few years when he was a baby. I don’t even remember the circumstances around his death in the first place, that’s how forgettable it was.
Having said that, everything that happens after that moment has been good. The worldbuilding has been slow but interesting, and the three undead caretakers seem to have very interesting personalities as well. At the conclusion of episode 3 we see things kicking up a gear in speed and at this point I’m definitely invested. If you like fantasy shows, give this a shot since it definitely looks promising!

Komi-San can’t Communicate

So I’ve seen images from this manga pop up for a couple years now, and it’s always piqued my interest a little bit but not enough to pick up the manga. I do know that it’s been quite popular, so when I heard it was getting an anime it definitely stayed on my radar. I don’t know what platform is picking this up, since with my very limited availability of anime over here I generally sail the high seas out of necessity. It also seems that the websites where I usually watch shows don’t upload it on a proper schedule yet, so it’s been a bit hard to come by. Having said that, I am enjoying it so far!

And that really is all there is to it this season. I know there are some good sequels airing right now. I’m personally watching Mushoku Tensei, Demon Slayer, Isekai Shokudou and more, but I tend to keep these posts to new shows as much as possible. I’m not watching a large amount, but I’m catching up on some old shows as well, so I don’t have a large “stalled” list going into the new year. Are there any shows I didn’t talk about that I should? Let me know in the comments, and I hope I helped you find some shows to watch!