3 anime we want more of

You know those one-off anime series? The ones that come around every other season and deliver a genuinely enjoyable experience, one that you remember fondly as being a pleasant surprise? Something that you weren’t expecting, but left feeling very happy with what you got? Those are the types of series I want to talk about today — specifically, series that I would really love to see a follow-up for.

I’m going to try and avoid some of the usual suspects like No Game No Life or Panty and Stocking, but with the return of The Devil is a Part-Timer after its first season finished back in 2013, I thought it would be fun to go through and list some series I would like to see some more of.

Interviews With Monster Girls (Demi-chan wa Kataritai)

This was such a fun and wholesome series that took the theme of monster girls and put it into a real, modern world setting — but it didn’t go over the top with the whole concept. The series focused on the handful of monster girls that made up the main cast and looked at how they manage throughout their daily school lives. 

We follow the main character of the series Tetsuo Takahashi, a high school biology teacher who is fascinated by the “Demi” people, the half-human half-monster individuals who have completely integrated into society. He decides to feed his curiosity by interacting with each of these girls and interviewing them to better understand their abilities and how they find their daily lives amongst normal humans in society.

While his curiosity is what kickstarts his meeting with these girls, as he interacts with them more he comes to understand just how “normal” these girls are despite their extraordinary characteristics. 

I really enjoyed this series and found the characters to all be likeable and interesting. The way that the series took the concept of monster-girls and placed them into more realistic settings, in combination with the slightly more serious message of “how are these people finding life as Demis” was a wholesome, fun experience from start to finish. Also, I demand to see more of the growing romance between Tetsuo and the half-succubus teacher Satou-sensei!

Maoyuu Maou Yuusha

Set in a fantasy world with a history of the ongoing war between humans and demons, a legendary hero advances on his own deep into the heart of the demon kingdom and confronts the Demon Lord. To his surprise, he finds that the Demon Lord is a red-haired woman of incredible beauty who doesn’t want to fight with the hero or humans, but rather seeks their help.

With a strong desire to end the war between humans and demons, the hero refuses the request of this demonic beauty. However, she begins to describe just how much good has come from the conflict between the two races — prosperity, wealth, increased population, and most importantly a unity between people — and that if the war with the demons were to come to a sudden end, then hell would break loose in society. And so, she comes up with a plan to bring the war between humans and demons to a close without causing a civil war between the people. 

This is a really interesting series that I never in a million years thought I would have liked quite as much as I did. Originally a light novel, I first discovered the series through its manga adaptation, which then spurred me on to check out the anime. The series explores war, politics, and economics in an interesting way that doesn’t drag on or feel like you’re sitting through a lecture. With the addition of the romantic elements growing between the two main characters, I would love to one day see more of this unique and awesome series.

Amaama to Inazuma (Sweetness and Lightning)

This was another series that came out of nowhere. I gave it a chance, and then there I was on the verge of tears as I watched an anime single father weeping as his daughter enjoyed her freshly cooked meal. This series was so wholesome and made me feel such a surprising amount of emotion from a story that really wasn’t doing anything other than exploring how a struggling single parent tried to do their best for their child. They meet some wonderful people along the way, and a bond forms between these characters that does nothing but put a huge smile on your face. 

The series centers around Kouhei Inuzuka, a single father who is doing his best at trying to provide for and look after his daughter, Tsumigi. Due to his busy life as a teacher and lack of any real skills in the kitchen, all he can do is provide simple ready-made meals for himself and Tsumigi.

One of Kouhei’s students, Kotori, requests that he bring his daughter to their family restaurant so that she can make them a fresh, nutritious meal. On their first visit to Kotori’s restaurant, he finds her eating alone as her mother is often out of the house for business — and from this point forward Kouhei makes an effort to visit the restaurant and learn about the values of a home-cooked meal. 

This is one of those series that focuses on a subject that can often be taken for granted or not even considered because it’s something too normal and mundane to us — a home-cooked meal. However, this anime mixes in those values with the characters and their family situations created something relatable to a lot of us, and that in turn pulls at the heartstrings and results in a genuinely great series that I would love to see more of.

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What are some of your favourite “one-shot” anime series that you’d love to see more of? Let us know down in the comments, or via the usual social channels!

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