The best anime you need to catch up on in 2023

We’re only one month into 2023 and already anime fans have a bevy of exciting new premieres to look forward to all year round. You can find more from Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba Jujutsu KaisenYou can find more information here Attack on TitanThe return of many beloved anime series, as well as other anime, is only a few steps away. There’s still more to come. It can be hard to keep track of just what exactly one should catch up on in order to be prepared for this year’s biggest premieres to come, let alone keeping up with the release of new episodes of anime currently airing right now. That’s why we’re here to do it for you!

Below is a short list of all the biggest anime series set to return this year, when they’re scheduled to be released, and where you can catch up on the previous episodes. There’s likely more major announcements of returning anime series to come in the weeks and months ahead, but for now — here’s our rundown on all the anime you have to watch and when you should watch them by. Enjoy marathoning.

Attack on Titan

Number of Episodes: 87

Image: MAPPA/Crunchyroll

Attack on Titan, the colossal (and controversial) epic dark fantasy anime based on Hajime Isayama’s acclaimed manga, will return this March for the 1.Half of Final It is a part of the Fourth Final season (I know, it’s complicated — don’t think too much about it). If you somehow haven’t seen this massively popular anime about a group of humans fighting an apocalyptic war of survival against a horde of man-eating giants and other humans (again, it’s complicated), you TechnicallyYou still have plenty of time between now (and the start of this season) to catch up with the latest episodes and find out what the buzz is all about.

Attack on TitanThe series is streaming online on Netflix, Crunchyroll, Hulu, and YouTube. With the premier of the new season, the series will be back. The first half of its last seasonIn March

Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba

The number of episodes is 44

Image: Ufotable/Aniplex

Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba, the shonen martial arts fantasy anime based on Koyoharu Gotouge’s popular manga, is returning for a third season later this year. The upcoming season of Swordsmith Village will cover events that took place after last season. It follows Tanjiro’s journey with his sister Nezuko to an enigmatic village of swordsmiths. While there, Tanjiro will fight alongside Muichiro Tokito and Mitsuri Kanroji, the “Mist” and “Love” Hashira captains of Demon Slayer Corps respectively, as they take on Doma, the second most powerful lieutenant of series’ antagonist Muzan Kibutsuji’s personal demon army.

Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no YaibaIt is streaming on Netflix, Crunchyroll and Hulu. Rejoin us for another seasonIn April.

Fire Force

There are 48 episodes.

Image: David Production/Crunchyroll

Fire ForceThe shonen dark fantasy anime series based on Soul Eater creator Atsushi Ohkubo’s manga of the same name, is coming back for a third season later this year. For those not familiar, the series takes place in a post-apocalyptic Japan where spontaneous combustion is the norm, transforming ordinary humans into murderous supernatural creatures called “Infernals.” In order to combat this threat, special fire brigades made up of similarly gifted individuals are tasked with fighting back against Infernals and securing the safety of society. Fire ForceShinra Kusakabe is a third-generation orphan pyrokinetic pyrokinetic who joins Special Fire Force Company 8 to find and kill the Infernal responsible.

Fire ForceIt is currently available for streaming on Netflix, Crunchyroll and Hulu. A third season will be added later in the year.

Jujutsu Kaisen

Number of Episodes: 24

Image: MAPPA/Crunchyroll

Jujutsu Kaisen, the wildly popular shonen anime based on Gege Akutami’s dark fantasy manga, will return with a second season set to premiere this July. The season will jump back and forth between the past and present day, following the story of Satoru Gojo’s time as a student at the Tokyo Prefectural Jujutsu High School while also picking up after the events of last season’s exciting conclusion. Jujutsu Kaisen follows the story of Yuji Itadori, an athletically gifted high school student who becomes the unwitting host to a powerful cursed spirit named Ryoumen Sukuna who wishes to take over Yuji’s body and conquer the mortal world. Yuji has no choice but to choose Jujutsu as her only option to save others and expel this evil spirit. And if you’re already caught up on Jujutsu KaisenYou can find nine more anime that are similar to this one here.

Jujutsu KaisenIt is now available on Crunchyroll, Hulu and will be back for another season in the latter part of this year.

Kaguyasama: Love Is War

Total number of episodes: 37

Image: A-1 Pictures/Aniplex

A romantic comedy anime Kaguya Sama: Love Is WarIt concluded last summer its third and presumably final season. “Wait — if Kaguya Sama: Love Is War just wrapped up, why do I need to prioritize watching this year?” That’s a great rhetorical question, hypothetical reader! The answer is: Because there’s a feature-length anime film, Kaguyasama: Love Is War, The First Kiss That Never Stops, coming to American theaters for Valentine’s Day! If you’re not familiar with one of the best, if not arguably the best, anime rom-coms in recent memory, here’s how my colleague Petrana Radulovic summed up the show’s premise and appeal:

After learning that everyone on campus thinks they’d make a cute couple, class president Miyuki Shirogane and vice president Kaguya Shinomiya independently decide to get the OtherTo confess their love. They both believe that They will most definitely not fall for the other — and that ends up spectacularly backfiring, as they both end up with massive crushes on one another. But of course, they can’t lose their self-imposed game, so it turns into the sort of battle where every win is also a bit of a loss.

Kaguyasama: Love Is WarCrunchyroll allows you to watch it online. On February 14, Kaguyasama: Love Is War, The First Kiss that Never Ends will be available in U.S. cinemas.

Mobile Suit Gundam: The Witch From Mercury

There are 12 episodes.

Image: Sunrise/Crunchyroll

The bloody, climactic finale of the first season was followed by the second. Mobile Suit Gundam: The Witch From Mercury This year’s series will be back with the second part of the series set to air sometime in the spring anime season (April-June). If you’re not yet familiar with the series and would like to know more before diving in, here’s the elevator pitch: Mobile Suit Gundam: The Witch From Mercury is the first stand-alone Gundam series since 2015’s Mobile Suit Gundam. Iron-Blooded OrphansIt follows Suletta Mercury, a mech pilot who is just starting to get close with her classmate. However, she becomes embroiled in a Machiavellian scheme of deceit against a group of megacorporations. It’s Revolutionary Girl Utena meets Mobile Suit Gundam —You could not ask for more.

Mobile Suit Gundam: The Witch From MercuryCrunchyroll streams the anime and it will be available for streaming on Crunchyroll.

SK8 The Infinity

There are 12 episodes.

Image: Bones/Aniplex

This anime is the original sports drama about coming of age. SK8 The InfinityThe show returns this year with an all-new season. Reki was a second-year student at high school who had a love for skateboarding and made friends with Langa, Langa’s new classmate, who also has an exceptional knack for it. As the two navigate the highs and lows of competing in the underground skateboard racing tournament “S,” these two fast friends face the challenges of not only rising to the top but overcoming the hurdles of life that come with growing up.

SK8 The InfinityCrunchyroll and Funimation have it available for streaming. A second season will be released later this year.

Tsurune

There are 13 episodes.

Image by Kyoto Animation/Sentai Filmworks

Tsurune, the anime adaptation of Kotoko Ayano and Chinatsu Morimoto’s young adult light novel series about a group of boys who join their school’s archery club and befriend one another, is already partway through its second season, titled Tsurune. The Linking Shot. That doesn’t mean you can’t (or shouldn’t) catch up on it, though. Tsurune is steadily proving to be one of this winter season’s most impressive anime, with exquisite character animation, beautifully rendered backgrounds, and a storyline that expands on the themes of adolescence and finding one’s way in the world that were present in the original manga series. If you haven’t watched Tsurune yet, you absolutely must make the time to do so — it’s more than worth the time investment.

TsuruneCrunchyroll has the second season available for streaming. This is the second season. Tsurune: The Linking ShotThe simulcast of ‘The Greatest Showmanship in Television History’ is being streamed on Hi-Dive.