The Best of Spring 2014

As the Spring anime season comes to a close, we take a look at five of our favourite series. This list is based on series that are being streamed legally in the UK.

No Game No Life

No Game No Life followsthe brother and sister duo Sora and Shiro, two hikikomori’s whotogether call themselves “Blank”. They’re legends on the internetwho have never lost a game. A God from another world notices theirabilities and summons them to an alternate world where everything,including national borders, is decided by games.

The series hasfantastic characters, a talented voice cast and extremely colourfulvisuals. With it’s endless references and awesome story, this is truly a series that stands out this season and isdefinitely one to watch. Oh… there is a little bit of fanservicetoo.. just a little bit, honest….

You can watch No Game No Life for free at Crunchyroll!

Haikyuu!!

Haikyuu!! follows Shouyou Hinata, an aspiring volleyball player, throughout middle school Hinata never got the chance to compete in a tournament until his final year, due to being the only member of the volleyball team. Joined by some willing friends Hinata finally gets his chance only to be crushed by instant rival Tobio Kageyama. Vowing revenge Hinata enrols at Karasuno High School only to find that Kageyama has also enrolled at the school, turning Hinata’s plans for revenge upside down.

Haikyuu!! is based on the manga of the same name currently running in Weekly Shonen Jump, by Haruichi Furudate. While usually being extremely wary of anime adaptations of Shonen manga for fear of unneeded filler, Haikyuu!! stands out among the rest. Beautifully animated by Production I.G, it really brings to life the fierce competition of volleyball and the relationship between all of the Karasuno volleyball team members.

You can watch Haikyuu at Crunchyroll now!

JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure: Stardust Crusaders

JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure: Stardust Crusaders is the third part of the long running JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure series. Stardust Crusaders follows the delinquent known as Jotaro Kujo, the grandson of Joseph Joestar, who is forced to travel the world in order to reach Cairo, Egypt and take on evil at every turn to save is mother’s life. Jotaro, like his grandfather and companions have awakened to a power known as “Stands” all set into motion because of the accidental revival of an old foe that harbours evil intentions towards the Joestar family.

Stardust Crusaders while not my favourite of the JoJo stories, it certainly contains some of the best characters and with the studio David Production in charge the visual quality is some of the best this season.

Watch JoJo here!

Love Live! School Idol Project 2nd Season

Love Live! follows the newbie school idol group μ’s as they attempt to become the greatest in Japan, this is done by winning the popular Love Live, an event they have to win before 3 of their members graduate from High School.

Love Live’s 2nd season successfully brings back the girls of μ’s. I’m not ashamed to say that I love this series and it’s certainly a huge deal here in Japan. You’ll see plenty of people playing the free mobile game on the train (myself included), you’ll hear their music everywhere in Akihabara…. and it’s awesome.


You can watch Love Live! for free at Crunchyroll! You can also download the English version of the game on iTunes and Android .

Black Bullet

Black Bullet takes place in a world where humans are being tormented by viral parasites named Gastrea. As members of the “Civil Security” organization, Rentaro and his partner Enju must fight against these awful creatures, a normal part of their everyday lives. That is, until Rentaro meets a creep in a mask and their routine is broken.

Black Bullet is one of those shows that has it all. Badass main characters, boobs, panty shots, creepy masks and distgusting monsters. Check out our review of the first 6 episodes here!

You can watch Black Bullet for free at Crunchyroll right now!

There has been so many great shows this season, it’s was quite hard narrowing them down. Has there been anything you’ve disagreed with? What are your top 5? Let us know!

Written by Fraser and Nick