The new decade of anime is fast approaching with the winter 2020 season starting in January. Anime over the past years has been some of the best its ever been and hopefully the new decade keeps it going. This list looks at 10 series that are getting an adaptation sometime in 2020.
There are some upcoming series that have been announced but won’t make the list if a 2020 release date isn’t confirmed. Every anime on this list has been announced for 2020 but can still be delayed. The anime on this list are all new adaptations and not sequels. Some of the anime haven’t been confirmed for a specific season yet.
10 Project Anima: Sakugan Labyrinth Marker - 2020
Kicking off the list is Project Anima. Satelight studio gives us the mecha science fiction anime coming next year. The story takes place in the future where humanity has moved to an underground labyrinth. Each labyrinth has a different condition whether it has high temperatures or made from different ores. The anime focuses on a colony named Pinyin where Memempuu lives. Memempuu wants to search for her mother. She leaves the labyrinth with her father Gaganbar, who works as a marker. The two venture into the labyrinth together to search for Memempuu’s mother.
9 Adashima: Adachi and Shimamura - 2020
The slice of life school-romance anime follows Adachi and Hougetsu Shimamura, two friends that met in school. The two are close, but Adachi wishes they were closer. Having dreams of kissing Shimamura, Adachi isn’t sure what to feel when it comes to her. All she knows is that she is drawn to Shimamura. Adashima is a yuri series following two girls love and will be broadcasted on TBS (Tokyo Broadcasting System) sometime in 2020.
8 Hamefura: I Reincarnated into an Otome Game as a Villainess with Only Destruction Flags… - April 2020
Upcoming for the spring 2020 season is Hamefura. The anime is being adapted by Silver Link. studio and is a fantasy-drama anime. Having a long title and being an isekai can only mean one thing. The anime is based on a light novel. Hamefura follows Katarina Claes, an eight-year-old girl who suffers a tragic accident when she hits her head on a rock.
This causes her to remember that she is really an otaku who has died in a past life. She remembers that her favorite game was Fortune Love, an otome game (Story based game targeted at women). When she comes to, Katarina realizes she has been reborn in Fortune Love as the villainess.
7 In/Spectre – January 2020
Being adapted during the winter 2020 season is In/Spectre. The supernatural-mystery anime is being adapted by Brain’s Base studio. The plot follows Kotoko Iwanaga an eleven-year-old girl and protagonist of the show. After being abducted by youkai she becomes their God of Wisdom and mediates the spirit and human world. This didn’t come for free as Kotoko gave up her right eye and left leg. When 22-year-old Kurou Sakuragawa encounters a kappa (youkai), Kotoko makes her appearance with the intent to marry Kurou.
6 Brand New Animal – 2020
Studio Trigger’s new fantasy series, Brand New Animal is expected to be released sometime in 2020. The anime will be an original series and was announced at Anime Expo 2019. Brand New Animal’s plot hasn’t been announced yet, but the visuals are enough to make this list. Studio Trigger most recently received success of their anime film Promare and are known for series such as Little Witch Academia, Darling in the Franxx, and Kill la Kill. Be sure to keep an eye out for this one.
5 Sing “Yesterday” for Me – April 2020
Sing "Yesterday" for Me is a slice of life drama anime being released during the spring 2020 season. The show is being adapted by studio Doga Kobo and follows Rikuo Uozumi. Rikuo doesn’t have much motivation to do anything in life. He works at a convenience store counting the days as they go by. A mix of excitement is thrown into his day by day work life when he runs into his ex-girlfriend Haru Nonaka and her pet raven.
4 Plunderer – January 2020
Upcoming for the winter 2020 season is Plunderer. The anime is being adapted by GEEKTOYS studio. The ecchi-fantasy series is set in a post-apocalyptic world where a concept called Numbers exist. Numbers are given to each human to represent their Count which pertains to an aspect of their life.
Nothing good comes from having a count of zero. Hina has a count of 441. She inherits her mothers’ quest of searching for the Legendary Red Baron, after her mothers count reached zero. On her quest she meets Licht Bach, a swordsman with a low count.
3 Pet – January 2020
Also being released in the upcoming winter 2020 season is Pet. The psychological-mystery anime is being adapted by Geno Studio. A new type of person is introduced into the world of Pet. There are people who can control other’s memories. This power is quite helpful for solving cases, but in the wrong hands is used for assassination. The power comes with a drawback. When used there is a chance that it can destroy the user’s heart. To prevent this, chains are used to protect people with weak hearts.
2 Nekopara – January 9, 2020
After the successful OVA special was released, Nekopara is finally getting a full series adaptation. Set to release in the upcoming winter 2020 Nekopara is being adapted by Felix Film studio. Based on the popular visual novel, Nekopara follows Kashou Minazuki, who wants to open his own bakery. Helping him run the bakery are six catgirls and his sister Shigure. Together they work to make La Soleil successful. The Nekopara OVA was released on December 22, 2017.
1 Uzumaki - 2020
Rounding out the list is Uzumaki. If you’ve been in the anime community for a while now, you’re probably aware that Uzumaki was being adapted for 2020. The psychological-horror anime is being adapted by Production I.G studio. A master of the horror genre, Uzumaki was originally created by Junji Ito. The anime is set in Kurouzu-cho a town where Kirie Goshima lives an ordinary life with her ordinary family. On her way to meet her boyfriend she passes her father staring at a snail. Shuuichi Saito, Kirie’s boyfriend, also says that his father was acting strangely. An epidemic revolving around spirals has broken out in the town causing residents to go mad. If there is one anime on this list that you do not want to miss, it's this one.