Top Upcoming Action Anime Series 2021

Shaman King by Hiroyuki Takei

A remake of a series from around twenty years ago. The big different this time around is the fact that the manga is now finished and the anime can followed the story instead of having to diverge into its own anime content because it had no more content to adapt after a certain part.  This series is incredibly nostalgic for me as I watched it during my childhood alongside many others series. However, if you have not watched this series or read the manga, it features Asakura Yuu who together with the spirit of a dead samurai fight together to become the Shaman King. 

It is a great series with many good moments, the action is exquisite and there are various different characters with different fightings style that provide various sort of fighting scenes. The old series mimicked the manga style and it fit incredibly well because his style is distinct and it gives the series its stylish feel. This is a definite must watch for its style and action for any shounen lovers. 

Studio Bridge will be overseeing the animation which is reasonable, not excellent. The director has experience but I wish he had more with action series. The rest of the staff seems decent but nothing impressive. I still think they will show us an good end result but I do think it might be lacking in the technical department. 

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Ultimate Summoner by ASK Animation

Ultimate Summoner is an interesting work that catches my attention because the studio that makes the webcomic will be also doing its animation. Of course, this is probably the best thing since the group that handles it will be the most aware of how they should treat the animation of the series. At the same time, this could also mean they might be unable to see how their own work could be improved. I do realise that probably not everyone in the studio works in the comic and not everyone might be singular focused on just animating the comic and not making changes that possibly could make it better. Wawayu for example adapted their own work Cooking Princess and that was an excellent work and whilst Wawayu had done many works previously and probably has a lot more experience, I am confident in ASK animation and the PV only make me more confident. I can rest ease that the positives of someone animating their own work will probably outweigh the negatives.

The series itself is an action packed series focused on Adger, a youth that forms a pack with a spirit and becomes a summoner. He subsequently discovers a new world that holds many dangers but also about his own past. The series is and I apologise for using the Iapanese term, a fast paced action shounen series. It holds many grand sized fights and the PV gives a taste of this which is why if you like this sort of story, I am sure you should look out for this series. 

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Pipe Wrench Boy by Yu Yanshu

Pipe Wrench Boy in many ways is a nostalgic work. It is not a new work in fact it started way back in 2008, over 10 years ago. Perhaps what stands out to me from this series is the sci fi setting involving many 'engineers' people who create various mechanic weapons and tools to fight. The story focuses on two brothers Suya and Subi who both want to receive the grand engineer title by winning the World Engineer Tournament. The story beings in a small village and they both set out in their own journey to attend school to be able to become better engineers. 

The story seems very shounen-esque and that is on purpose this a series featuring the themes of those type of series, hot blooded, passion and effort. In a sense, many adults nowadays grew up with Naruto, Bleach and One Piece the likes and Pipe Wrench Boy whilst it might not reach the height of those series it can touch people in a similar way to those series. It has  and passionate fights which will look great animated and whilst it might have a simple story that is not always great, it has heart and people that want should check this one out. 

The animation in the PV, I admit does not look particularly awesome. It features a blend of 3D CGI and 2D, in a way that somewhat resembles Studio Orange and Lidens Films works. It is the first time the studio MH Heros is handling a full series and alongside Pipe Wrench Boy they are also working in a series called Shanghai Melody. This might be a worry but I am hopeful. 

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Ousama Ranking by Sousuke Touka

A incredibly peculiar series and a surprising one at that since it began first as a web serialisation in Manga Hack, a site where anyone can publish their series. This is probably part of the reason this series has such an unique aesthetics for manga. it resembles instead some western comics, in that it has a simpler art style but one that nevertheless meshes very well with its story. 

The main character is the first prince, Bojji who is deaf and spends his day playing and hence he is looked down by the king's aides. The setting itself might not sound specifically interesting but how Bojji is rather small and how huge much bigger the other characters are especially the kind showcases his weakness. However, this is not a story about him getting revenge or really going against the people who think little of him but of Bojji himself growing. It is not an underdog story of Bojji proving his doubters wrong but about how his shadow friend and Bojji trains himself and gets stronger, not just physically but emotionally to overcome the obstacles and become king. 

WIT studio will be in charge of animating this excellent work. Wit usually delivers good works but i am hesitant to affirm this without knowledge of the staff but the visual gives me hope. They have very good content to adapt in this series which goes a long way in itself, so this is one to watch out for. It is a very good series with a lot of personality that I feel a lot of anime nowadays simply can do hope to have. 

The Blade of The Guardians by Xu Xian Zhe

A bloody manhua with a historical setting and some supernatural elements in the mix as well which has also been published in Japan in Manga DX. It features a man and a child travelling the world gathering bounty to pay their debts whilst looking for a man and a deeper story unravels during their travels. 

However, what I think is the big marking point of this series is the sword hacking action, the story is decent as well of course, but I believe the great point of the animation will really be how it showcases the fast and bloody sword fights. The first Preview Video showcases this well and hopefully the rest of the anime is as well animated as it promises. 

The studio behind this show is Coloured Pencil which has been in charge of The King's Avatar. The staff of The Blade of The Guardians has not been announced yet but Coloured Pencil has shown itself to be very competent. So if you are looking for some fast paced hack and slash action, this series is one to watch out for. 

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The Country of Rare Treasures by 2:10 Studio

An interesting original work that has a rather interesting setting. It features a data world and the word world there is literal, it is another universe that holds all information corresponding to the real world. In this world the relics gained sentience and with together with a group of spirits formed the country of rare treasures. A virus that seeks to devour everything emerges as their enemy and the treasures and spirits together with the restores, who seek to find their origin, have to work to destroy it.

Since this is an original show, I have no further information to base myself on. However, the PV looked interesting and well animated and the setting is intriguing. Hopefully it can touch on many relevant themes like the digital world and the storing data and the threat of viruses and hacking. A lot of our lives are placed in digital databases nowadays and of course the idea that this data can be misused is a threatining one. Also the studio behind this show 2:10 is an excellent studio that like many Chinese studios has done a lot of outsourcing work for Japanese companies, and more recently have handled managing the animation themselves and their works have been rather decent technically speaking. The PV of The Country of Rare Treasures I think illustrates this well.