At New York Comic Con, Crunchyroll announced its upcoming anime lineup. Included in these announcements are two new series and a second season for the isekai anime, By the Grace of the Gods. Anime fans will have plenty to look forward to when the New Year hits as two of the three will be debuting in early 2023.
Crunchyroll has been releasing some of its schedule for the upcoming Fall and Winter seasons. From simulcasts of classic series to brand-new series - and surprising continuations - anime is bringing plenty of new offerings for the near future. The latest anime announcements from Crunchyroll include original series as well as light novel-inspired series which received manga adaptations.
Revenger, The Iceblade Sorcerer Shall Rule the World, and By the Grace of the Gods 2 have all been announced at NYCC. These series range from revenge story to slice-of-life quiet living, providing a range of options to fit fans' moods and interests. Synopses for each anime have been provided by Crunchyroll, though By the Grace of the Gods 2's synopsis doesn't provide much info about what the new season entails. It is a general overview of the isekai show, based on the first season. The second season continues Ryoma's quiet life as he moves to a new town while caring for slime and researching them. The show was based on a novel series written by Roy, which was later adapted into light novels and a manga which is illustrated by Ranran and published by Square Enix in Manga UP! The other two offerings appear to have a much faster pace.
Winter Anime Preview: Revenge and Post-War Magic Schools
Nitroplus, a Japanese company known for its visual novel games, and partner for the project Shochiku, have kept many details about the new anime, Revenger under wraps. Thus far a brief teaser, a synopsis, and a key visual are all that has been revealed. The synopsis reads as follows:
As master assassin Usui Yuen looks into a series of assassinations made on the grand samurai clan, the Satsuma, he encounters Kurima Raizo, member and survivor of one of the attacks. Together, they discover the true nature of these murders is bigger than over stolen resources. As they get closer to the truth, will they come out alive to exact revenge?
Nitroplus is known for having darker work, so this is a huge tonal shift from By the Grace of the Gods 2. It is an original anime and the teaser trailer shared on YouTube by Crunchyroll Collection is only fifteen seconds long, so fans don't have a lot to go on just yet.
The Iceblade Sorcerer Shall Rule the World will be released in January 2023. The series' protagonist, Ray White, will be voiced by Junya Enoki whose work includes being the Japanese dub voice for Tom Holland in the MCU films starring Spider-Man. He has also provided voices for Komi Can't Communicate, Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba Mugen Train Arc, and Jujutsu Kaisen. The series blends post-war scars with a magic school and a mysterious organization. It was originally a novel and light novel series written by Nana Mikoshiba, which was later adapted into a manga with illustrations by Norihito Sasaki. It is still being serialized by Kodansha in Magazine Pocket after debuting in 2020. The series synopsis reads:
The Iceblade Sorcerer is hailed as the most powerful sorcerer in the world. The one who inherited this title, Ray White, struggles to deal with his own immense power. After fighting in the Far East War, his last accomplishment, he vanished from the battlefield along with a deeply scarred psyche. Three years have passed since then, and Ray has enrolled at the Arnold Academy of Magic, a school attended by elite sorcerers from around the world. Ray is the first "Ordinary" to attend this academy since it was founded, so he's greeted by looks of scorn and contempt from its noble-born students. And now, he and the priceless friends he has found there are about to become entangled in multiple schemes. So begins the story of the most powerful sorcerer's school life filled with both friendship and hardship.
It's surprising that By the Grace of the Gods has received another season, proving isekai's resilience within the broader manga and anime markets. Yet Crunchyroll is doing a good job of blending its offerings in terms of genre, to maintain variety with each broadcasting season. Fall is bringing fans staples they love, while Winter keeps things both cozy and icy with just a dash of revenge. January will bring the majority of Crunchyroll's latest New York Comic Con anime announcement to fruition.
Source: YouTube/Crunchyroll Collection (By the Grace of the Gods 2, Revenger, The Iceblade Sorcerer Shall Rule the World)