During this past weekend, Anime Expo took place in Los Angeles, the largest anime convention in the US. This is an occasion where many animation studios take the opportunity to showcase their upcoming projects, leveraging the international spotlight. It’s also a platform for other companies to announce what they have in store for their catalog throughout the year. That’s exactly what Netflix did, using Anime Expo to unveil its lineup of anime and live-action series for the rest of the year, along with a quick glimpse of a major release planned for 2024.
Zom 100: Bucket list of the Dead
“Zom 100: Bucket List of the Dead” is the adaptation of the manga of the same name by Haro Asō and Kōtarō Takata, which is also getting an anime release on Crunchyroll. The story revolves around a young man named Akira who wakes up one day to discover that the world has been taken over by the undead, specifically zombies. While this would normally be a tragedy, Akira sees it as an opportunity to escape his hated job and pursue the things he truly desires: completing a bucket list of things he wants to do before he dies or becomes a zombie himself. We can expect to witness this exciting journey very soon, as the series is set to premiere on August 3rd.
One Piece
Although the live-action adaptation of One Piece has been in production for a long time and expectations were low, we have to admit that it doesn’t look bad at all. The actors resemble the characters, and all the trailers released so far seem to capture a similar vibe to Eiichiro Oda’s popular manga and anime. Furthermore, with the announcement of the series premiere date on August 31st, there’s another piece of news that will thrill fans: the original voice actors from the anime will provide their voices for the Japanese dub of the series. So, if you want to double down on faithfulness and relive the feelings you had during the early seasons of the anime, you can always watch the series with the original Japanese dub.
Pluto
Naoki Urasawa is one of the most renowned mangaka in history. In Pluto, he adapted a storyline from Astro Boy, one of Osamu Tezuka’s most well-known manga, known as the father of manga, to create a manga about a world where robots are a common occurrence and a robot appears to be indiscriminately killing humans and robots alike. With M2STUDIO and GENCO handling the animation, and Tezuka Productions providing assistance, this is one of those anime adaptations that, by staying true to the manga, already has everything it needs to succeed: an excellent script and incredible designs. It will consist of 8 one-hour episodes and will premiere on October 26, 2023. And if you can’t wait for its release, Netflix has another adaptation of Urasawa’s work, the excellent Monster.
Pokémon Concierge
Although we got a first glimpse in February of this adorable series by dwarf, a Japanese animation studio that previously created the excellent Rilakkuma and Kaoru for Netflix, the streaming platform has confirmed that the series will premiere in December of this year. Following the experiences of a human who works as a concierge in a Pokémon hotel and has a Psyduck as her assistant, the series stands out for its stop-motion animation and the adorable portrayal of the Pokémon. If we add to that the evident sense of humor displayed in the trailers we’ve seen so far, this is definitely one of Netflix’s premieres to look forward to for the remainder of the year.
Beastar
The great but somewhat expected surprise is that Beastars is returning in 2024. Although there is no specific release date yet, it is only partially surprising because, ultimately, this anime has worked very well for Netflix and has proven to be a flagship series for the company in its past seasons. As this is now the final season, which takes place after the climactic battle in the second season, Beastars fans will finally get to see the conclusion of the series after over three years of anticipation. It’s a long-awaited finale that many have dreamed of, and it is finally arriving with the support of Netflix.
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