Anime Column] Anime writers' picks for the five most noteworthy spring 2018 anime!

Spring is said to be the season with the most new anime releases of the year, and in 2018, according to "Anipota", there are more than 70 titles available. In this issue, we have lined up five must-see works from among them. Gegege no Kitaro," a monster anime by Shigeru Mizuki, "Grazeni," a money-themed baseball anime, "Jyujin Kiki Pandora," the latest work by Shoji Kawamori, "Hizune to Masotan," an original anime by Shinji Higuchi, and "Die Neue These KAIKOU," an anime adaptation of a best-seller that has sold a total of 15 million copies. The Legend of the Galactic Heroes: Die Neue These KAIKOU", which is the second anime adaptation of the bestseller that has sold 15 million copies!
⇒The latest information on 2018 Spring Anime is here!
⇒Results of the users' "Spring 2018 Anime Popularity Poll"!

Gegege no Kitaro

The sixth series will be broadcast in 2018, the 50th anniversary year of the anime adaptation. The character design of "Kitaro" has changed along with the renewal, and this time, the cat girl has become a slender and beautiful girl. In the fifth season, Neko Musume was so cute as she worked hard at her part-time job that a selection DVD titled "Neko Musume of Nyanya Neko Musume" was released.

New members of the cast, led by Miyuki Sawashiro as Kitaro, have been recruited. The most notable is Masako Nozawa, who played Kitaro in the first and second seasons. This time, she will play the role of his father, Oyaji, who is also the father of Kitaro. How will the veteran actor, who has been playing the same role in the 9:00 Sunday morning slot since "Dragon Ball Super," portray the famous character of yesteryear?

Grazeni

A TV anime adaptation of a baseball manga serialized in "Morning. The original is a unique work that focuses on the money of professional baseball players, and carefully depicts not only the games, but also contract negotiations with the team and life after retirement. The main character, Natsunosuke Bonda, is not a star player, but a relay pitcher in his eighth year as a pro with an annual salary of 18 million yen. He struggles to earn money on the baseball field where all players' salaries are stored.
The lead role is played by Fukutsugu Ochiai, whose father was the first professional baseball player to earn 100 million yen. A live-action version of the key visual is also available, with Ochiai in costume, perfectly recreating the character of Bonda. In addition, he fully cooperates in the promotion of the game by telling episodes from his boyhood in the PV on the official website, and by playing a baseball game against each other on a baseball board. The casting is also linked to reality, with announcer Hideo Matsumoto, a well-known baseball commentator, appearing in a role modeled after himself.

Jyujin Kiki Pandora

A new robot animation by Shoji Kawamori, general director of "Macross" and "Aquarion. Set in the year 2031, when the world has collapsed due to the outbreak of a next-generation energy device, it depicts a battle between humans on the verge of extinction and a peculiarly evolved creature called "B.R.A.I (Bly)". Kawamori's works are known for the appeal of the songs that are played during battles, but this time he dared to use his signature technique. At the event, he expressed his enthusiasm, saying, "It has been a long time since I have depicted a battle scene without using songs. The main mecha, "MOEV," was designed with a sense of gravity, with live-action and special effects in mind. Expectations are high for a battle with a different taste.
Since a giant crustacean, B.R.A.I., appears in the first episode, the company collaborated with the seafood restaurant Red Lobster. A unique advertising plan was developed in which director Kawamori visited the restaurant and came face to face with the giant lobster. The director, who saw the approximately 1-meter lobster up close, was very excited by the beauty of the sculpture.

Hishine and Masotan

Shinji Higuchi, director of the movie "Shin Godzilla" and Shinji Okada, screenwriter of the movie "We Still Don't Know the Name of the Flower We Saw That Day. and Mari Okada, the screenwriter of "Ano Hi Mita Hana no Namae o Bokutachi wa Mada Shiranai. The film adopts the novel setting in which the Air Self-Defense Force manages dragons by mimicking them into fighter planes, and depicts the interaction between a rookie crew member, Amakasu Hirine, who is appointed as a D-Pilot (Dragon Pilot), and the dragon Masotan.
Higuchi, who is involved as general director, has depicted the Self-Defense Forces in special effects films before, so the military depiction is also likely to be a point of interest. Manga artist and illustrator Toshinao Aoki is in charge of character design. The dragon is also portrayed in a cute manner. The role of Masotan will be played by Matsunosuke Kanda, a famous storyteller. The cast's performance, which is being performed by a prescreening crew, is also a must-see.

The Legend of the Galactic Heroes: Die Neue These KAIKOU

Yoshiki Tanaka's science fiction novel "The Legend of the Galactic Heroes" has once again been adapted into an anime. It is a space opera set in the distant future, where mankind is divided into the Galactic Empire and the Alliance of Free Planets. Production I.G is in charge of animation production. The film adaptation will begin with the first volume of the original work, "Reimeihen. A total of 12 episodes of the TV series and 3 chapters of subsequent event screenings have already been decided. The old series was a long hit with more than 160 episodes produced, including the external story, so it will be interesting to see how much of the series will be adapted to film.
The new series will feature all new character designs. In the second PV, we can see the bitter expressions of the middle-aged men and the fleet battles with beams flying around. The main cast includes Mamoru Miyano as Reinhardt and Kenichi Suzumura as Jan. Since there are many characters in this work, the additional cast members to be revealed in the future should not be overlooked.

(Text by Katsunori Takahashi)
(C) Mizuki Production, Fuji Television Network, Toei Animation
(C) Yuji Moritaka, Keiji Adachi / SKY PerfecTV! Kodansha Ltd.
(C) 2017 Shoji Kawamori,Satelight / Xiamen Skyloong Media
(C) BONES, Shinji Higuchi, Mari Okada / "Hishine and Masotan" Tobi Jitsu-dan
(C) Yoshiki Tanaka / Shochiku, Production I.G