It’s only Monday and we’ve already started the week with disappointing news – there’s no episode of One Piece coming out this week. Why? To make space for coverage of the Japan elections, which has a knock-on effect for what international fans can see too.
Don’t panic just yet, though. It’s the perfect time to catch up with any previous episodes you’ve not yet seen on Crunchyroll, or switch over to Netflix for the live-action version before further One Piece season 2 announcements start to roll out.
But what if you’re not in the mood for more of the Straw Hats’ shenanigans? Even though One Piece is undoubtedly one of the best anime shows of all time, it isn’t the be all and end all. New anime shows are also paving the way for unmissable TV this year, and I think there’s three you absolutely cannot miss this week.
The Apothecary Diaries
Having just wrapped up its explosive second season, The Apothecary Diaries is a must-see anime you might not have heard of. First airing back in 2023, the show follows Maomao, a young pharmacist kidnapped and forced into servitude in the emperor’s palace. That sounds pretty bleak, but even though the story is inspired by ancient China, what we see on screen is all about unravelling conspiracies.
Maomao uses her medical knowledge to solve the mysteries haunting the palace, where a dangerous political landscape begins to be revealed. By the end of season 2, the suspicion turns on Maomao herself, embroiled in a kidnapping case she had nothing to do with. No spoilers here, but there’s also a huge identity reveal you need to keep your eye out for, and it’s directly related to Maomao’s romantic relationship with Jinshi.
The Beginning After the End
If you’re looking to start a series that’s brand-new in the 2025 release slate, look no further than The Beginning After the End. Our leading man King Grey dies and is reincarnated as Arthur Leywin, essentially beginning a second life again as a baby. It’s this kind of off-the-wall narrative thinking that I really love in an anime series, and this one strikes the perfect balance between unique intrigue and taking things too far.
Season 1 is only made up of 12 episodes, so you can easily binge it within a week while One Piece is AWOL. There’s a great balance between plot action and anticipation. It also scratches a little deeper under the surface than other new anime shows have tended to. If you’re looking for endless epic fight sequences, though, you won’t find them here, but that is far from a bad thing.
Dr. Stone Science Future
Dr. Stone Science Future is the ideal choice for anime fans who want to jump into the same level of pre-existing lore that One Piece has built up over the years. Rather than functioning as a spinoff from the main series, Science Future is just another title for the main show’s fourth and final season. We’ve already seen half of it and the second cour premiered on July 10.
This time around, our gang of misfits is focused on establishing a new nation with a million inhabitants, called Corn City. The Perseus crew and the Americans, led by Brody, are working together to build it, with Senku and Stanley playing their ideologies off against each other. It’s likely that future episodes will show the pair working harmoniously together, but it’s going to be a messy and chaotic ride in order to get there.
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