The Anime You Should Have Watched in Fall 2013

Sometimes with anime, don't you think there can be too much of a good thing? Look at the Fall 2023 season , including ongoing shows; around seventy new anime episodes are premiering weekly. That sheer volume of animated entertainment is impossible for all but the most unhealthily dedicated fans to consume. Looking back a decade to Fall 2013, there were still an impressive forty-something shows premiering that season, plus eighteen movies — more than enough to sate any fan. And what an incredible season it was—conceivably one of the strongest in living memory.

Hulu in the U.S., and on Crunchyroll in the U.K.)

Continuing the fantasy theme, One Thousand and One Nights-inspired Funimation in the U.S. but is unavailable in the U.K.)

Anime Insanity

On October 4, 2013, OVA episode (25) — depending on the streaming service, it doesn't always stream alongside the rest of the T.V. show.
(Kill la Kill streams on Hulu, Crunchyroll, and Funimation in the U.S. and Funimation in the U.K.)

Equally bonkers is FLCL OVA, it begins in media res with a barely-explained world full of colorful explosions, floating oddities, stylized characters, and little coherence. Stick with it, however, and it reveals itself to be a masterfully-planned fantasy and family drama. I'm not ashamed to it that towards its conclusion, Kyousougiga made me cry like a baby on no less than four occasions. Perhaps it's because this sort of thing hits harder when you have kids yourself, but seeing a long-estranged family reunite and heal their deep emotional scars together while they attempt to save a whimsical multicolored multiverse from catastrophic destruction is an incredibly moving experience. I cannot recommend Kyousougiga highly enough. Also, Bunny Mom is hot.
(Kyousougiga streams on Crunchyroll in the U.S. and U.K.)

Depending on who you ask, Anime Limited's Region B Blu-ray release, this is the one time there's an advantage to being a U.K. anime fan.
(Samurai Flamenco streams on Funimation in the U.S. and U.K.)

Romantic Dramas

Fall 2013 was good for fans of overwrought and emotionally devastating dramas, with three all-time great examples. First — HIDIVE in the U.S. and U.K.)

From the prolific pen of screenwriter P.A. Works. A love-polyhedron-filled coming-of-age tale set in a slightly fantastical world, it's a show that will make your heart ache for a world that doesn't exist. In this version of Japan, underwater towns dot the coast, populated by people who can breathe both below water and above land. When a group of underwater children come to the surface to enroll in middle school, they develop complex relationships within and with their tightly-knit friend group. A simple school drama gradually evolves into something more profound as disturbing environmental and societal changes conspire to rip families and friends apart. It's languidly-paced, though never dull, and like the majesty of the sea, the narrative eventually swells to a powerful climax—very worthwhile watching. I wish I could breathe underwater and visit A Lull in the Sea's gorgeous subterranean landscapes.
(A Lull in the Sea streams on Crunchyroll in the US and UK.)

An adaptation of only the first arc from its source visual novel, White Album; all that connects them are the setting and some shared musical tracks. As with so many of these stories, everything begins pleasantly with a trio of final-year high school friends — a guy (Haruki Kitahara) and two girls (Setsuna Ogiso and Kazusa Touma) who practice together and stress about their school cultural festival musical performance. Only once the festival ends their friendships are tested as long-suppressed emotions bubble to the surface and erupt into a painful, messy love triangle. Of course, Haruki objectively chooses the wrong girl, and the plot fallout is almost hilariously apocalyptic in the final episode, which is full of missed communication, poor choices, confused feelings, and devastating loss. White Album 2 is "Emotional Violence: The Anime," and in a way, I'm glad the rest of the visual novel wasn't adapted because I don't think I can take any more. Anyway, if you enjoy the sensation of having your heart hollowed out with a sharpened ice cream scoop, White Album 2 is exactly what you need to empty your feelings and stamp on them repeatedly.
(White Album 2 streams on Crunchyroll in the U.S. and U.K.)

Fantasy and Strange Worlds

Although I've written about the cour during Fall 2013. Comprising five arcs of between four and six episodes each, this second season is the favorite of many fans. I prefer the third season personally, but this season provides plenty of character development for Monogatari's extensive and varied female cast, all depicted in studio Shaft's distinctive head-tilting, psychedelic, and mesmerizing style.
(Monogatari Second Season streams on Crunchyroll in the U.S. and U.K.)

Top tier studio Beyond the Boundary that received a concluding movie in 2015. KyoAni's art design and animation always look spectacular, and with pretty girls wielding enormous blood swords and fighting weird monsters, what can go wrong? It's… just not that interesting. Despite his supernatural abilities, Protagonist Akihito Kanbara isn't the most dynamic of leading men. As a "half-yomu," he harbors a poorly-explained power that could potentially end his world, but we're told so few details about this world it's difficult to care. Although the female lead Mirai Kuriyama is incredibly cute, she's also quite annoying, and I never found the central relationship engaging. Add an underwhelming villain and a vague non-ending; it all amounts to a series where I can barely recall any details despite watching it only recently. It's not bad, exactly, merely… unremarkable, which isn't how one would typically describe most KyoAni productions.
(Beyond the Boundary streams on HIDIVE in the U.S. and U.K.)

In a similarly underwhelming vein comes studio Girls' Last Tour— a group of teenage girls explore a ruined post-apocalyptic city looking for survivors — unfortunately, it's nowhere near as interesting. Although it begins promisingly, it never goes anywhere with its setting, and I found it boring. It doesn't help that Aoi, one of the leading trio of girls, spends almost every episode whining, hiding, or crying. GoHands as a studio is infamous for its… questionable… aesthetic choices, and much like their previous show K (2012), every frame of Coppelion is drenched in a distracting color filter that makes everything look wrong — and not in a good way. I have to hand it to GoHands for managing to make something that looks like it has both too many and not enough colors simultaneously. Every character looks dangerously overexposed and anemic; their complexions are so pale, while the lower half of every screen looks like an accident at a screenprinting plant with solid blocks of green, blue, or purple wash. Who thought this would look good, and why? Considering their recent output, I don't think anyone at GoHands has ever thought to question their godawful house style.
(Coppelion streams on Hulu in the U.S. but is unavailable to stream in the U.K.; the KAZE/Manga Entertainment DVDs are long out of print.)

An excellent example of entertaining fantasy anime is BL and thigh gaps. Although this sounds like an idiotic premise, it is a lot of fun, especially when it becomes clear that Shinichi's employers don't have the purest intentions. The subject of cultural imperialism goes from subtext to text, as importing Japanese culture into the fantasy world is only the first step in a plan that will eventually culminate in economic dependency and subjugation. It's a fascinating about-turn in a show ostensibly about spreading the good word of anime, manga, and video games, demonstrating how these things could be used for evil. Shinichi's solution is ingenious and worth watching until the end.
(Outbreak Company streams on HIDIVE in the U.S. and U.K.)

Slice of Life

The final TV anime I want to mention is the delightful Non Non Biyori, a gentle and pure slice-of-life comedy set in a rural Japanese village, following the "adventures" of four girls of varying ages. Their tiny school has only five pupils, one of whom is a boy who never speaks. Youngest girl Renge is the breakout character with bizarre expressions, odd philosophy, and funny misunderstandings. Renge's relationship with the sweet shop lady is particularly heartwarming, and the episode where Renge is unexpectedly separated from her summer holiday friend tugs at my heartstrings. The other characters are similarly fun, particularly prematurely-developed fifth-grade transfer student Hotaru and her intense fixation on older student Komari (to the point where she fills her bedroom with hand-sewn effigies of her beloved "senpai"). Komari herself has an extreme complex about her height and lack of physical development and is complete — and adorably — dense regarding Hotaru's crush on her. Non Non Biyori got a second season in 2015, a movie in 2018, and a third season in 2021.
(Non Non Biyori Season 1 streams on HIDIVE in the U.S. and U.K.)

Movies

2013 was a big year for Land of the Lustrous.
(The Tale of Princess Kaguya streams on Max in the U.S. and on Netflix in the U.K.)

Fans of Tubi T.V. in the U.S.)

GKIDS in the U.S. and Anime Limited in the U.K.)

2011's Gekidan Inu Curry to create this follow-up. The fan reaction was… mixed, to say the least. I think that Puella Magi Madoka Magica The Movie Part 3 is a fantastic sequel that expands Madoka Magica's world in fascinating and troubling ways. Most hate is directed toward the ending — which wasn't initially what Urobuchi had in mind. Originally, he intended a completely happy ending, a total resolution where the god-like Madoka would raise suffering time-traveler Homura to Heaven with her. However, Urobuchi's colleagues wanted the film to end on a cliffhanger to provide a hook for a possible future sequel. Therefore, the downbeat shock ending we received is what Urobuchi scrambled to concoct from the wreckage of his original premise. That he managed to produce such a psychologically scarring ending that remains thematically appropriate and true to the characters is nothing short of remarkable. I salute him as a writer for this single act of narrative acrobatics alone. Now with 2024's Madoka Magia: Walpurgis Rising, we'll finally see if this gamble paid off…
(Puella Magi Madoka Magica The Movie Part 3 is available to rent or buy from many U.S. streaming services but is unavailable to stream in the U.K. The U.K. Manga Entertainment Blu-ray is still available.)

Finally, studio MVM's emails about a U.K. release.
(The Garden of Sinners/recalled out summer and Extra Chorus are available to stream on Crunchyroll in the U.S., but not in the U.K. What's your problem, Aniplex?)

Conclusion

With a couple of notable exceptions, most anime in this article is still readily available to either stream or buy — at least if you live in the U.S. Availability in the U.K. is much spottier, and this is at least partly due to an early-to-mid 2010s licensing mess left behind by the exit of Manga Entertainment's European partner Kaze from the U.K. market and the reabsorption of the short-lived Right Stuf International's amalgamation into the U.S. Crunchyroll store (who won't ship anime outside of North America), apart from the occasional license rescue from Anime Limited, the outlook for U.K. fans seeking physical anime releases looks grim.

Of the other shows I considered covering for this article, Twitter @Herrdoktorkev. His accent is real.

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Disclosure: Kadokawa World Entertainment (KWE), a wholly owned subsidiary of Kadokawa Corporation, is the majority owner of Anime News Network, LLC. One or more of the companies mentioned in this article are part of the Kadokawa Group of Companies.