Anime for 2013

In spite of my love for all things anime, I really have not posted about new anime in the works. I usually just post about shows I've watched or shows I have on my wish list.Well, here is a short list of shows I have on my radar. There are certainly others, but these are the ones I'm more interested in and I feel are deserving of a place here. Again, please keep in mind that I have not seen more than one episode of a few of these shows. This list is not a definitive judgement on any of these shows. I'm mostly going off what I see from plot summaries and news announcements and artwork. So, if you find yourself intrigued, then by all means check 'em out. A lot of shows can be streamed for free on CrunchyRoll or Funimation. They're in Japanese, of course. Far too new to be submitted for dubbing.

THE DEVIL IS A PART-TIMER - Imagine Satan being forced from the Underworld into modern day Tokyo where he finds himself devoid of almost all of his powers and his demonic form. Imagine Satan having to work in a fast food restaurant (MgRonald's) while his general Alciel (also a powerless human now) tries to find a way for them to reclaim their lost magic and escape from this bizarre place called earth. If that doesn't draw you then I don't know what will. Just the thought of Satan flipping burgers... if the first episode is any indication then this should be a great situational comedy with some potential for great drama and possibly more great action.

GHOST IN THE SHELL ARISE -This is a four part movie series that is a reimagining of the GHOST IN THE SHELL series. Basically the characters look different and the voice-acting is different, too. Not quite sure what purpose this will all serve, but some franchises have succeeded rather well after a makeover. We'll see if this is the case or not.


FLOWERS OF EVIL - This could very well be the "love it or hate it" anime for early 2013. Mostly for the animation style. They filmed the series in live action and then went back and animated the segments. So this anime has a bit of an ugly but realistic look. I mean, Japanese people actually looking like Japanese people? It's unheard of! I honestly don't know much about the story, but it's said to be a kind of creepy one. I believe it is about a highschool kid who gets caught taking the belonging of a student he really has a crush on. After that, I'm not sure. I'll give the first episode a shot and see what's what, but I think this one could be one to watch out for.

GARGANTIA ON THE VERDUROUS PLANET - Ah, those mecha anime shows. Either you love or hate 'em. This one certainly has the strangest title of any mecha I've ever heard of. I'm not sure how strange the story is, though. Essentially it is about a boy named Ledo who has known nothing about war all of his life and gets transported to this strange land called earth where everything is so different. Gargantia is a city of ships on this bizarre planet and it is there that Ledo awakens after being hurled through a space-time rift.

SPACE BATTLESHIP YAMATO 2199 - I've heard that this show is even more STAR TREK-ish than MOBILE SUIT GUNDAM was. Naturally, the year this show takes place in is 2199 and the human race has been crushed in a war with some alien species and now live in underground cities. A lot of the scientists claim that humankind will end in 3000. Bummer, right? But there is hope. A mysterious capsule is recovered and this capsule claims that a planet far away has the technology to destroy the alien douchebags. This is where the Space Battleship Yamato comes in. They are the ones entrusted with getting this technology but they only have one year to do so. Can they do it? Again, it sounds like something out of STAR TREK. I think it could be worth a watch depending on just how they handle the show and the characters.

ATTACK ON TITAN - I've heard that this show is in the vein of THE WALKING DEAD. That is enough to intrigue me, but story is not about zombies. It is about giants. The seven story tall giants drove humanity to near extinction because they just loved to eat people. Move over Purple People Eaters!

A small group of humanity has managed to survive by building a big-ass wall (even bigger than the tallest of giants) around the city. And this population was left in relative peace for about one hundred years. Then Eren and his foster sister Mikasa watch the city crumble around them as a super giant appears out of thin air and the smaller giants flood the city in its wake. After seeing their mother get eaten alive, Eren vows to kill every last giant.

Sounds like a mecha show to me. I don't know for sure but I think it'd be pretty hard to kill a giant without a big-ass robot handy.

THE SEVERING CRIME EDGE - Haimura Kiri is a boy who loves to cut hair and he has a pair of scissors that have been passed down from generation to generation. This particular pair of scissors is a called "Dansai Bunri no Crime Edge" and it is the only thing that can cut the hair of the hair queen. Mushiyanokouji Iwai is the girl known as the hair queen and she cannot cut her hair because her hair is cursed. When the two of them meet, an old game is sparked and the purpose of this game is to kill the hair queen using "killing goods."

I personally have no idea what the hell any of that means, but it sounds interesting. I think it is supposed to be some kind of dark comedy or maybe a romance. It certainly sounds weird and that means it has to be right up my alley.

PHOTO KANO - I've seen the first episode streaming on CrunchyRoll and my initial response is kind of lukewarm. There could be something here, but I see myself giving it only a few more episodes before I decide to stick with it or drop it. It's about a guy named Kazuya Maeda who gets a Canon camera from his dad. With this camera, he suddenly finds a freedom that he's never had before. But there are also untold perils to be cautious of. One of them is the Photography Club that delights in taking erotic pictures of the female students. Rather than joining the legitimate Photo Club (comprised of mostly women) to take pictures of rivers or scenery, Kazuya finds himself involved with the Photography Club. Naturally, this should provide some interesting conflict between him and his female friends, but I just don't really know what to make of this show. It looks like a harem and it sounds like a harem so it is probably a harem, but it seems a bit too serious for that. I also don't get any vibes from any of the female characters just yet. It just seems bland to me. It's either failing at being funny or not quite sure how serious it wants to be just yet. Like I said, I'll give it a few more episodes.

INU TO HASAMI WA TSUKAIYO - Weird concepts are a bit of a norm for anime (not that you haven't noticed this already, right?) and this one might or might not take the cake, but it's got to come close. This show is going to center around a boy named Kazuhito Harumi who is obsessed with reading. Unfortunately for Kazuhito, he is killed one day in a robbery and then he comes back to life in the form of a dachshund. That's right, he's a dog now. As a dog he is unable to read, but that isn't the worse thing. His owner is Kirihime Natsuno, a sadistic novelist who uses scissors to abuse poor Kazuhito. This show is billed as a mystery comedy and it was only recently announced so there's nothing available beyond a short trailer. It looks interesting, I'll say that. Eat your hearts out PETA.
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