A kid finds a monster egg and suddenly the entire power structure of his world becomes a lie he has to live with. The show treats this discovery like a secret that could get him killed, then asks what it means to actually befriend something everyone else calls your enemy. Seventy-five episodes means it has time to let relationships breathe, to show a Rider and their monster learning each other instead of just bonding in a montage. The JoJo staff brings that same commitment to bizarre character moments and genuine goofiness, so even the training arcs feel earned instead of obligatory. This is a show that believes in its own world enough to take a ten-year-old's choice seriously.

Humans and monsters share a world where most people hunt monsters, but a hidden few called Riders live alongside them instead. Using Kizuna Ishi, or Bonding Stones, Riders draw out the hidden strength of their Otomon, the monsters they have bonded with. Ryuto, a boy from the Rider village of Hakum, has just turned 12 and dreams of becoming the greatest Rider of all. Before the ceremony that grants him his own stone, he heads into the forest to find a partner, joined by his gentle childhood friend Cheval, his curious friend Lilia and his companion Naville. There he has a remarkable meeting with a Rathalos. Adapted from Capcom's Monster Hunter Stories game, this is a fantasy adventure about the bond between people and monsters.