2025 Fall Premiere Digest

Fall is shaping up to be good eating for fans of shoujo and josei! Here’s hoping that trend continues.

Which shows do you review? 

We don’t review shows that are direct sequels, shorts, or (generally) for very young children. Anything not licensed and/or immediately available is off the table as well; series that are dropped in batches (the binge/Netflix model) won’t receive are a premiere review but are eligible for recommendations at end of season. Shows with late release dates will be reviewed separately from the digest.

While shows may change category as they continue to air, for ease of reference this is the order that will be used when discussing shows on our mid-season and wrap-up podcasts. Please note that any shows released in batches/by cour rather than weekly will not be discussed on the mid-season podcast.

How do you write the reviews?

Lizzie, Alex, Vrai, Cy and Tony split the majority of shows, with Chiaki stepping in to pinch-hit. The titles were divided by each reviewer’s preferred workload and choice. Caitlin is at ANN this season, so you can check out her reviews over there.

Once we have more funding, we’d like to change our current model to provide a wider range of perspectives on more episodes. We’re a long way from that goal, but it’s been a personal wish of ours since launch and we hope to make it happen someday.

What do your reviews focus on? 

This varies by writer to some extent (some of us are more focused on visuals, others on narrative, and so forth), but as a feminist site it’s of course essential that we raise any issues of intersectional feminist interest.

When you read an AniFem review, you’re likely to learn about female character designs, queer representation, analogies to real-world marginalization, and so on. If you think we missed something, please comment under the review and let us know!

Why do you categorize them?

The purpose of these reviews is to give you, our readers, information to help you decide if you want to try a show. There’s greater access to anime than ever before, and we want to help you find series you can truly love, without wasting your time on a show that contains an automatic deal-breaker, be that fan service, queerphobia, the sexualization of children, and so on.

Individuals can find value in any series, and we will never lead a boycott of a particular show, but we want to make it easier for you to get the most out of your limited time. In our digest, feminist-relevant themes and ideas take precedence, with overall narrative quality coming second and personal preference a distant(ish) third.

Premieres that seem to contain progressive themes are at the highest end and those featuring regressive ideas (or out-and-out hatefulness) are at the lowest. We expect some disagreement and welcome debate, so if you have any objections to our lists then by all means let us know in the comments!

I found a show I’m interested in! Where can I watch it?

This will vary depending on where you live, but you can browse Yatta-Tachi’s Fall 2025 Premiere Chart for the legal streaming sites carrying each series. Check to see if a show is available in your region!

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Fall 2025 Premiere Digest

The following titles are organized by categories, then alphabetically. Note that, because of the way premiere dates are staggered, we’ve had the chance to watch multiple episodes of some series. To give you a fuller picture of how much information we were working with when creating these rankings, we’ve marked how many episodes of each show we’ve seen.

Feminist potential

Premieres that so far seem to be addressing progressive ideas or themes and executing them competently. Please check individual reviews for more detailed content warnings.

• The Dark History of the Reincarnated Villainess (Episode 1): A loving parody of 90s shoujo isekai and being an edgelord middle-schooler.
• GNOSIA (Episode 1): “Find the traitor” sci-fi thriller with an explicitly non-binary protagonist.
• A Mangaka’s Weirdly Wonderful Workplace (Episode 1): Slice-of-life that’s both pretty gay and touches on being taken less seriously as a shoujo artist.
• May I Ask for One Final Thing? (Episode 1): Cathartic fantasy about a woman punching rich jerks in the face.
• Shabake (Episode 1): Historical fantasy murder mystery with a chronically ill protagonist.
• This Monster Wants to Eat Me (Episode 1): Very gay monster story about dealing with grief and suicidality.

It’s… complicated

Similar to the above category, but in addition to all those possible feminist themes, the show may be biting off more than it can chew or in danger of fumbling its chosen themes.

• Digimon Beatbreak (Episodes 1-2): Intriguing AI and cyberpunk elements to its set-up, but not clear how well it will handle that or its female characters on the whole.
• Mechanical Marie (Episode 1-2): could be doing something interesting with “loyal, emotionless fighter girl” tropes, but the power imbalance built into the central romance is unfortunate.
• Plus-Sized Misadventures in Love! (Episodes 1-2): Both a rom-com and a mystery thriller; good-hearted but vacillates a bit early on between celebrating its fat heroine and making tired jokes at her expense.
• Sanda (Episode 1-2): Horny Santa anime is definitely touching on multiple social issues, but Itagaki’s previous work suggests the execution might end up uneven. 
• With You, Our Love Will Make it Through (Episode 1): Lovely furry/human romance title using the ever-fraught metaphor of beast people as a marginalized group. 

Neutral zone

Very little to warn folks about, but also not a ton of progressive ideas to chew on so far either.

• Alma-Chan Wants a Family! (Episode 1): Two scientists become the parents of a deadly weapon in the body of a little girl.
• The Banished Court Magician Aims to Become the Strongest (Episode 1): Unremarkable reincarnation isekai with a descriptive title.
• Cat’s Eye (2025) (Episode 1): Remake of an 80s title about three lady cat burglars.
• The Fated Magical Princess: Who Made Me a Princess (Episode 1-4): a bit of a different spin on the villainess isekai with a charming lead.
• A Gatherer’s Adventure in Isekai (Episode 1): Isekai where the protagonist doesn’t escape his job but just finds himself with a new one.
• My Awkward Senpai (Episode 1): The titular heroine is enjoyable, but she can’t carry an otherwise leaden show on her own.
• My Status as an Assassin Obviously Exceeds the Hero’s (Episode 1): Exceptionally strong take on the “isekai’d with my classmates” premise.
• Pass the Monster Meat, Milady! (Episode 1-2): cute fantasy romance about two monster nerds nerding out together.
• Ninja Vs Gokudo (Episode 1): Stiff and unappealing take on the generational fight between ninja and yakuza.
• SI-VIS: The Sound of Heroes (Episode 1): By the numbers but extremely enjoyable idol/music series.
• A Star Brighter Than the Sun (Episode 1): Sweet shoujo romance about two tall kids falling in love.
• Tojima Wants to Be a Kamen Rider (Episode 1): A middle-aged man hasn’t given up on his dream of donning the Kamen Rider mask.
• Touring After the Apocalypse (Episode 1): Road trip title where two girls tour the countryside of a post-apocalyptic Japan.
• Wandance (Episode 1): A dance anime that looks absolutely beautiful…except for the dancing.
• A Wild Last Boss Appears! (Episode 1): Game reincarnation that’s totally uninterested in the gender-bending element of its premise.
• Yano-kun’s Ordinary Days (Episode 1): The story of a disaster-magnet boy and the extremely concerned girl with a crush on him.

Yellow flags

Premieres that weren’t actively hateful at the premise level, but still raised some noteworthy caveats or concerns.

• Dad is a Hero, Mom is a Spirit, I’m a Reincarnator (Episode 1): Marred by casual fatphobia and a disinterest in its female characters despite having a female protagonist.
• Dusk Beyond the End of the World (Episodes 0-1): Lays aside all its interesting worldbuilding in favor of a guy being horny over his (possibly already deceased) crush.
• Hero Without a Class: Who Even Needs Skills?! (Episode 1): claims to be about defying fate and becoming a hero on one’s own merits, but is mostly just a power fantasy with extra steps and some sexist cliches.
• Inexpressive Kashiwada and Expressive Oota (Episode 1): She turns the tables on him, but it’s still a rom-com based on a boy stalking and harassing his classmate.
• Let’s Play (Episode 1): Gamer rom-com that somehow whiffs every comment it tries to make on sexism, often by doing something worse in the process.
• Li’l Miss Vampire Can’t Suck Right (Episode 1): Mostly cute high school rom-com with some infantilizing undercurrents. 

Red Flags

The issues listed are intrinsic to the premise; or, even if the issue is isolated it potentially poisons the whole show.

• Chitose is in the Ramune Bottle (Episode 1): the protagonist’s crude misogyny towards girls who are supposedly his friends is rewarded by the narrative at every turn.
• My Friend’s Little Sister Has It In for Me! (Episode 1): Overstuffed rom-com that crams in little sister and bullying fetish, fake dating, and cousin incest in one episode.
• My Gift Lvl 9999 Unlimited Gacha: Backstabbed in a Backwater Dungeon, I’m Out for Revenge! (Episode 1): Another entry in the “broadly misogynistic revenge fantasy” genre.