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Hey everyone! It's been awhile and I'm still not back to writing full time or anything. Xewleer is still stuck in his own life's troubles and I in mine. I haven't totally abandoned this blog and will at least do these season anime previews for the people that look forward to that. Cheers!
YES
*DIABOLIK LOVERS - This series has actually already started airing and I really enjoyed the first episode. The premise is a traditional Otome/reverse harem genre but all the guys seem to be vampires. From what I know and all the hints, it seems that all of the guys have dark secrets and the girl may not be a normal human either.
*LOG HORIZON - From the creator of the Maoyuu Maou Yuusha series comes another trapped-in-a-fantasy-MMORPG anime. It seems that the popularity of SAO might start a big trend of these works being adapted/created. Knowing how good Maoyuu was, makes me pretty excited about this as it's another take on this genre (trapped in game), though without the danger of death/coma, I wonder how there will be a sense of danger. Otherwise, I'm told the story is more party-centric and isn't all just about the main protagonist.
*OUTBREAK COMPANY - The plot of this one is a bit iffy and involves the protagonist being a "moe" ambassador to some other world thanks to him being such a hardcore otaku. Alot of people are saying this show is a dark horse as no one knows how it will go, but Studio Feel (responsible for Miname-ke) has proven they can do comedy well.
*IS: INFINITE STRATOS 2 - Sequel to one of the better harem anime in recent memory. Infinite Stratos follows Ichika in a near-future setting as he becomes the first male to be able to pilot an I.S. (Combat Exoskeleton, think Mecha) and all the girls from his past/future that fall in love with him along the way. He's dense like most harem protagonists, but the mecha combat from the first season was actually pretty good and I like most of the potential partners for him as well.
*NAGI NO ASUKARA - Set in a universe where humanity once lived in the sea. The world has become divided as people choose to live on land or stay in the sea and this follows a bunch of kids that are forced to go to school on land. The premise seems a bit boring, but the all-Star cast has me interested and P.A. Works recent track record with RDG: Red Data Girl and Uchoten Kazoku (The Eccentric Family) gives me hope this will turn out amazing as well.
*KILL LA KILL - A school fighting anime that has gotten quite a bit of buzz thanks to former-GAINAX members along with the creators of Gurren Lagaan being behind it. I'm not too fond of the art direction, but I know the studio will push out a quality product just from their portfolio.
*SEKAI DE ICHIBAN TSUYOKU NARITAI! (WANNA BE THE STRONGEST IN THE WORLD) - Probably one of the big fanservice shows of the season. This focusses on a former idol that joins the realm of pro-wrestling to avenge her friend. There's big names in this show including Tomatsu Haruka (Asuna from SAO) and Eri Kitamura (Sayaka from Madoka), which is the main reason I'm watching for now.
*DAIYA NO A (ACE OF DIAMOND) - A baseball anime, but one that I've heard soo many good things about. With animation powerhouses Madhouse (Redline/Summer Wars/High School of the Dead/Trigun) and Production I.G (Ghost in the Shell/Guilty Crown/Blood+/Eden of the East/FLCL/Psycho-Pass) behind it you know it will turn out well.
*KIKOU SHOUJO WA KIZUTSUKANAI (UNBREAKABLE MACHINE-DOLL) - An adaptation of a series I've been somewhat following for years. This one centers on a world where puppeteering of automatons has become big and the main character Raishin is aiming to obtain the title of "Wiseman" aka greatest puppeteer. The series' source is unfinished, which makes me a bit sad as that usually means an anime-original ending or abrupt cutoff.
*GALILEI DONNA - The big NoitaminA show of the season. This follows three female descendants of Italian astronomer Galileo who find themselves under attack by an unknown organization. This is leaking soo many Read or Die vibes and the fact that it's a NoitaminA (Anohana, Psychoo-PAss, Shiki, Robotics;Notes) show makes it worth keeping an eye on already.
*MAGI: THE KINGDOM OF MAGIC SEASON 2 - Sequel to the awesome first season, this show is essentially a arabian inspired fantasy and has many of the legends of that area mixed in. I'm fairly excited as I really enjoyed the first season.
*TOKYO RAVENS - Normally I would be watching this show for Kitamura Eri, but the fact that I actually enjoy the source material has me excited as well. This show follows Tsuchimikado Harutora as he is pulled into the world of spirits thanks to his childhood friend Natsume.
*KAKUMEIKI VALVRAVE 2ND SEASON - Sequel to one of the biggest shows of this year. Valvrave is one of Sunrise's (Gundam, Code Geass etc) new mecha works and follows Tokishima Haruto as he becomes the unfortunately (or not) becomes the pilot of a Valvrave. Tons of things have kept this show from being part of Sunrise's standard mecha flare (which isn't bad either) and the fact that Code Geass write Okouchi Ichiro wrote it begins to put sense into everything. From the vampiric outbursts, body hijacks, betrayals, defections, deaths and sexual assaults; this series isn't holding back on the curveballs. Let's just hope the second season can hold up as I hear there is a big time skip awaiting our characters.
*SAMURAI FLAMENCO - NoitaminA's other show this season is a bit more experimental as it involves a male model who balances a life as a superhero and that of a model. The major piece of information that has been leaked is the anime's taglines which are: "To those 'adults' who don't want to become adults " and "Hero will never give up, never hide, never be defeated, never accept evil."
*MISS MONOCHROME THE ANIMATION - Based on a Virtual Singer that appeared at one of Horie Yui's concerts. Apparently this character got popular enough and now she is getting her own mini-series. I don't think this will be any good, but it's definitely something I'm interested in watching just to see how it turns out.
*AOKI HAGANE NO ARPEGGIO ~ARS NOVA~ (ARPEGGIO OF BLUE STEEL) - Probably my most anticipated show of the season. The story is as follows: By 2039, the seas will rise, the lands will mostly be lost, and a global conflict will be born. The Fleet of Mist, warships surrounded by mystery and mist, will cripple the naval freedom of humanity through force, preventing any sort of safe naval travel or trade. However, one submarine, I-401, will one day defect from the terror fleet and help a lowly cadet, Gunzo Chihaya. Through the submarine's organic humanoid interface Iona, I-401 will assist humanity in fighting back against their biggest enemy, and of course the other humanoid interfaces that will taunt them along the way.
What has me interested is the idea that WWII era ships (at least in looks and names) are given form by female (Probably because all ships are referred to as female) humanoid-A.I. interfaces. The trailers for this have looked very interesting (despite the somewhat offputting CGI) and I've always enjoyed naval combat.
*GOLDEN TIME - A college setting romcom made by J.C.Staff (Index/Railgun/Henneko/Toradora/Honey and Clover), what more could I ask for? Story follows Tada Banri who has just started law school and gotten himself lost before orientation begins. He then meets and befriends a fellow freshman, Yanagisawa Mitsuo. However, Mitsuo isn't just an ordinary law student; he has run off to Tokyo in the hopes of shaking off his past, a very beautiful and seemingly "perfect" past by the name of Kaga Kouko, who's followed her childhood friend and fianc(despite his attempts to escape) and enrolled in the same school. From the author of Toradora comes this romantic comedy about the "golden time" that is the college experience.
*STRIKE THE BLOOD - 2-cour (2 Season) length series about a guy who becomes the "Fourth Primogentor" aka Most Powerful Vampire in History, and the Sword Shaman girl sent to keep him in check. The big credential this series has is that it won the Japanese Sci-Fi Rookie of the Year in 1999 award and the creator Mikumo Gakuto also created Asura Cryin' and Dantalian no Shoka.
*KYOUKAI NO KANATA (BEYOND THE BOUNDARY) - Brought to you by Kyoto Animation (Chuuinbyou/K-On!/Clannad/Full Metal Panic/Haruhi) is a series from their internal light novel division. The story follows Kanbara Akihito, a normal-looking boy who is actually an immortal half-demon whose heritage caused him to be ostracized from his underworld peers. One day Akihito meets first-year Kuriyama Mirai when it looks like she's about to jump off the school roof. Mirai also feels isolated due to her ability to manipulate blood, which is as unique among underworlders as it is feared. Along with friend and Akihito's fellow club member Nase Mitsuki and her chronically cold older brother Nase Hiroomi, disturbing events begin to unfold after Akihito saves Mirai. I use to be skeptical of Kyo-ani when they attempted to try new genres, but after seeing Hyouka and Clannad, I have confidence, that they will be able to pull off this show which is supposed to be dark fantasy.
*COPPELION - The year is 2016. Following the meltdown of a nearby nuclear power plant in Odaiba, the Japanese government is forced to relocate its capital and evacuate Tokyo. Despite this, over 90% of Tokyo's citizens perish following the incident, and the city becomes a ghost town. Two decades later a sudden distress signal leads to the deployment of "Coppelion," a special forces unit within the Self Defense Force. Composed of three high school girls in Fukusaku Aoi, Naruse Ibara, and Nomura Taeko -all of which have been genetically engineered to withstand radiation-the girls are sent to the city to find and retrieve any survivors. Amidst a city reclaimed by nature and filled with nothing but the remnants of the past, the girls find themselves searching for people that shouldn't exist, all the while unraveling the mysteries of a land long abandoned by mankind.
One of the top 3 shows I'm looking forward to this season and I'm surprised as it seems right on the heels of the whole Fukushima disaster. I've always been interested in series that involve manmade disasters and have always thought that an after-Chernobyl anime would make a great series. From what I've seen of the source, the show will be amazing!
*ORE NO NOUNAI SENTAKUSHI GA, GAKUEN LOVE COMEDY WO ZENRYOKU DE JAMA SHITEIRU (MY MENTAL MULTIPLE-CHOICE POWER IS COMPLETELY RUINING MY SCHOOL ROMANTIC COMEDY) - From the absurdly long name, many will be able to guess that this is a light novel adaptation. The premise centers around Kanade Amakusa, a boy cursed with the mental power of "absolute multiple-choice"--a multiple-choice quiz will suddenly appear in his mind, and the choice he makes will become his reality. For example, he would have to choose between going nude from the waist up or the waist down in school. While in school, he is given another choice: 1) A beautiful girl will fall before him or 2) he will fall from the rooftop in female clothes.He chooses option 1, and a blonde girl named Chocolat falls before him.I think this is interesting, though the premise reminds me a bit of Date A Live's multiple choice scenes; we'll see how it goes though.
*WHITE ALBUM 2 - Sequel to the first that occurs a decade later. This one features a whole new cast (though the cast isn't as good as the first seasons') and a bit of improvements on every-front. In particular, this is likely to be the big romance centered series of the season and good news for newbies is that you don't need to have seen the first!
*LITTLE BUSTERS! ~REFRAIN~ - Sequel to the first season which I'm told was basically a prequel for this. The story is supposed to make a much darker turn and I'm excited to see where that will go. Maybe we'll reach Clannad levels of feels.
*YOZAKURA QUARTET ~HANA NO UTA~ - Another reboot of the Yozakura Quartet franchise. I have mixed feelings on the prior ones and still think that the authors other works (Baccano/Durarara!!) deserve sequels/more adaptations before this one.
*WALKURE ROMANCE - From the same people that brought us Princess Lover! comes a jousting anime about a guy who has to give up his dream of becoming a knight due to an injury. Instead he will now assist one of the many beautiful and competent girls around him in realizing their own dreams of becoming knights. I've played a bit of the game this is based on and depending where they go this could end up good or bad. There's only 1 or 2 routes I would consider good adaptations and if they pick one of those we should be in for a pleasant romance series, but if they go open ended then this will probably fall into mediocracy.
*SUPER SEISYUN BROTHERS - Slice of life about 2 pairs of siblings that are friends and share an otaku lifestyle under the motto that "those of a feather should stick together." Not exactly an A ranked show, but I liked the character designs and I always have room to enjoy a good slice-of-life series.
*NEPPU KAIRIKU BUSHIROAD - Bushiroad (Weiss Schwarz/Cardfight!! Vanguard) has been pushing this for awhile now and apparently it was the inspiration for the company name. Source material is by the creator of Trinity Blood and the show is a mecha-scifi set 500 years in the future.
*KYOUSOUGIGA - This series is finally getting a full-length show of its own. The sad part is that I hear the episode are a bit short. I've heard comparisons of this show to the crazyness that is FLCL and I believe that to be true.
*PUPA - Horror anime about a pair of very close siblings whose already shattered lives take a turn for the horrific. Utsutsu and Yume Hasegawa are victims of domestic abuse, children who only have one another for support, but when the siblings meet a mysterious woman who warns them to go home before they "see the red butterflies and it's too late", Yume is transformed into a man-eating monster, and it's up to Utsutsu to try to protect his precious little sister. I'm not big on horror anime and I'm told the gore/cannibalistic themes in this aren't for the weak hearted, but boy am I interested. I think Ghost Hunt may be the only horror anime that ever seriously gave me some shivers and maybe this can do that too.
*BLAZBLUE ALTER MEMORY - I've always been of the opinion that the Blazblue games would make great animes. The story of the original at least (haven't played the sequels) was what kept me playing it and now that I can get it retold in anime form; I'm ecstatic! Let's hope more games get anime adaptations of their stories in the future as some of the ones in recent memory have been quite good (Valkyria Chronicles/Persona 4).
*YUUSHA NI NARENAKATTA ORE WA SHIBUSHIBU SHUUSHOKU O KETSUI SHIMASHITA (I, WHO DIDN'T BECOME A HERO, RELUCTANTLY DECIDED TO FIND A JOB.) - RomCom set in a fantasy-ish setting. The story revolves around a boy named Raul Chaser who did not become a hero because the demon lord was defeated just before his hero exams. With his dreams crushed, Raul is now working at a magic shop in the capital. One day, a girl named Phino Bloodstone comes in looking for a part-time job and it turns out she is the former demon lord's daughter! So begins the fantasy work comedy of a former hero-in-training and the daughter of the demon lord.
TOP 5 (NON-SEQUELS)
Below I have detailed my top 5and included a PV or CM for each of them.
AOKI HAGANE NO ARPEGGIO ~ARS NOVA~ (ARPEGGIO OF BLUE STEEL)
COPPELION
GALILEI DONNA
4~5
Golden Time
Outbreak Company
GOLDEN TIME and OUTBREAK COMPANYare very close behind the top 3. Note that I am still watching every show (mostly) and those marked with YES are just ones I am FOR SURE following and there are also sequels I may enjoy above my top 5 picks. I just don't like to include sequels when doing my most anticipated shows.
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