The Best Anime to Watch This October

As anyone who even mildly enjoys anime knows, it’s an exhausting medium for fans to keep up with. Back in the olden days of the ’80s, ’90s, and 2000s (ages ago, we know), American anime releases were mostly confined to whatever Toonami or a few other cable channels were playing, along with the odd DVD release. Now? At least 20 new series start up every month for fans to watch, due to the advent of streamers like Crunchyroll and HiDive which premiere new shows as soon as they air in their native Japan. That’s not even getting into the new anime series that are exclusive to Netflix, Adult Swim, or other streamers, making staying on top of everything new in the anime-sphere increasingly impossible.

It doesn’t help that there aren’t that many resources or recommendations available. Anime has boomed into a massive industry in the United States, with massive, very active fanbases for the biggest shows like “Jujutsu Kaisen,” “My Hero Academia,” and “One Piece.” But mainstream media coverage of new anime shows is rare, sometimes nonexistent, with coverage limited to specialty or fan sites. That’s a shame; some of the greatest artistic achievements in TV history are anime but don’t receive the recognition or credit from critics that they deserve.

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That’s where this guide comes in. Every month, IndieWire will rummage through streaming libraries and theatrical release plans to select some of the hottest anime series and movies to watch right now. For October, we’ve got a ton of returning series to catch up on, like action-horror sensation “Jujutsu Kaisen” or comedy espionage hit “Spy x Family.” Then there are some new shows that you might want to keep an eye on, including sad fantasy series “Frieren,” “Astro Boy” riff “Pluto,” and the bizarre-looking “KamiErabi God.app.” Don’t have time to watch a show weekly? There are also theatrical releases worth looking out for, including the jazzy GKIDS release “Blue Giant” and the rerelease of one of Studio Ghibli’s most beloved films — for those who want to pregame the highly anticipated “The Boy and the Heron.”

Whether you’re a hardcore anime fan or someone whose only exposure to the medium is Studio Ghibli but wants to delve deeper into the overwhelming fandom, this guide is for you. Read on for the 10 anime shows and films to watch this October. Entries are unranked and listed in order of U.S. release date.

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