LIST: Non-Simulcast Anime Wildcard Round for Anime of the Year Nominees

October 27, 2021

Before the Wildcard polls begin on November 15, 2021, we would like to spotlight a number of anime in the first part of the wildcard round, which will be considered for nomination for Anime of the Year in the 8th Anime Trending Awards. Competing in this round are all the anime that were not released in the usual simulcast format or those that were not officially released on a weekly basis. Consider giving them a watch before the polls begin!

Beastars S2

At a high school where the students are literally divided into predators and prey, it’s personal relationships that maintain the fragile peace. Who among them is a Beastar—an academic and social role model destined to become a leader in a society naturally rife with mistrust?

Last night at Cherryton Academy, an herbivore student was killed and eaten. Among the members of the drama club, the herbivores’ suspicions naturally turn to their carnivore classmates… The prime suspect? Legoshi, a large wolf. But he wouldn’t hurt a fly—or would he? And will dwarf rabbit Haru bring out the beast in him? Or are his feelings for her…something else? [Source: Viz Media]

Studio: Orange (Land of the Lustrous)

Starring: Chikahiro Kobayashi (That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime), Senbongi Sayaka (Kabaneri of the Iron Fortress), Yuuki Ono ( Jojo’s Bizarre Adventures), Junya Enoki (Jujutsu Kaisen), Atsumi Tanezaki (Vivy: Fluorite Eye’s Song).

Available on Netflix

EDENS ZERO

It is the year X492, an age in which people freely travel through the universe. Rebecca, a video-creating B-Cuber, visits the robotic world of Granbell and meets a young man with special powers: Shiki, who’s lived his entire life among machines. Soon Shiki is exploring the cosmos with Rebecca, encountering new places, people and things, and making friends along the way. [Source: Netflix]

Studio: J.C. Staff (Bakuman, A Certain Scientific Railgun)

Starring: Takuma Terashima (Log Horizon), Mikako Komatsu (Nisekoi), Shiki Aoki, Hiromichi Tezuka, Rie Kugimiya (Toradora!), Shiori Izawa (Made in Abyss)

Available on Netflix

Godzilla: Singular Point

Brought together by a mysterious song, a grad student and an engineer lead the fight against an unimaginable force that may spell doom for the world. [Source: Netflix]

Studio: Bones (My Hero Academia, Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood), Orange

Starring: Yume Miyamoto (SSSS.GRIDMAN), Shouya Ishige

Available on Netflix

Shaman King (2021)

In the world of Shaman King, shamans possess mysterious powers that allow them to commune with gods, spirits, and even the dead…and Manta Oyamada’s about to learn all about them, because his class just welcomed a new transfer student: Yoh Asakura, a boy from way off in Izumo…and a shaman in training! [Source: Kodansha]

Studio: Bridge (Fairy Tail:Final Series, Talentless Nana)

Starring: Youko Hikasa (K-ON!), Minami Takayama (Detective Conan), Megumi Hayashibara (Neon Genesis Evangelion), Romi Park (Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood), Katsuyuki Konishi (Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba), Iruko Inuyama (Pokemon), Takehito Koyasu (Jojo’s Bizarre Adventures)

Available on Netflix

The Seven Deadly Sins: Dragon’s Judgement

While Meliodas absorbs the Commandments so he can become the Demon King and save Elizabeth, Ban roams through purgatory to save his captain’s soul. [Source: Netflix].

Studio: Studio DEEN (Konosuba, Showa Genroku Rakugo Shinju)

Starring: Sora Amamiya (Mieruko-chan), Tatsuhisa Suzuki (Free!), Yuki Kaji (Attack on Titan), Tomokazu Sugita (Gintama), Jun Fukuyama (Code Geass), Misaki Kuno (Kiznaiver), Yuuhei Takagi, Aoi Yuuki (The Saga of Tanya the Evil), Maaya Sakamoto (Re:Zero – Starting Life in Another World)

Available on Netflix

The Non-Simulcast Wildcard Round is just one part of the Anime of the Year nomination process. The winner of this round will advance to the final wildcard round on December 25, 2021. It will then compete with the winners of the seasonal leftover polls, including the anime proclaimed as the Last Week Advantage beneficiaries^[1]of their respective season. The winner of that final wildcard round will then join the final list of nominees for Anime of the Year in the upcoming 8^th Anime Trending Awards.

The characters from these anime will also be part of the qualifying polls for Boy and Girl of the Year. Polls will be mixed and will not be divided into a male and female character poll. Characters that become part of the Top 5 in the final tally will advance to the next round where they will compete with TV anime characters that ranked #6 to #15 in their respective seasons.

Don’t forget to mark your calendars for November 15!

LIST: Anime of the Year Final Wildcard Round Nominees

Notes:

[1] Last Week Advantage beneficiaries are the anime that never reached the top spot of Anime Trending’s weekly anime rankings and did not meet the first requirement to be nominated for Anime of the Year. These anime are the highest ranking anime of the final week of the seasonal polls behind anime that did meet the first requirement^[2 (e.g. In Spring 2021, Fruits Basket, Vivy: Fluorite Eye’s Song, HIGEHIRO, and 86 EIGHTY-SIX met the first requirement for qualification based on the final overall tally. In the final week (Week 11) of that particular seasonal polls, Tokyo Revengers was the highest ranking anime next to the four anime mentioned, therefore, it’s the one that will be declared the beneficiary)

[2] The first requirement to be nominated for Anime of the Year is to win the seasonal polls, or if not, have a vote percentage difference^[3] of not more than 5% behind the winner.

[3] The vote percentage difference is calculated by subtracting the vote percentage attained by the winner per each anime. See the formula below.