Summer Season Preview

+ Not Really Looking Forward To + Zero no Tsukaima: Futatsuki no Kishi Summary: “Meet Louise, a budding magician. The students at the Tristein Academy call her “Zero Louise”, due to her current record of zero successes with magic. In fact, her magic tends to go spectacularly wrong. Now, as an important test of her aptitude for magic, she must summon a familiar to be her servant. At this critical moment, she summons up all her magic and wishes for a familiar that is “devoted, beautiful and powerful”, and gets… Hiraga Saito, an ordinary Japanese boy. It’s difficult to say who is more surprised and dismayed, but the rules don’t allow for second attempts. Louise is stuck with her strange familiar, and he with her.” – (taken from Anime News Network) Thoughts: I remember hating the first episode of the original series, back when it aired. It was just oh so similar to your standard harem, where the main character would be surrounded by a bunch of pretty stereotypes. When I later read that at some point, he gets his own personal maid to play with, I knew that this wouldn’t be a series I’d like. Moetan Summary: “Moetan originally was a game, aimed at otaku to help them study english.” Thoughts: This concept can only be saved when this anime starts to heavily parody the English language. Otaku-based shows have been rather notorious with me for the lack of an interesting storyline and a preferred focus on cute girls, rather than substance. The director did Getsumen to Heiki Mina and Hayate the Combat-Butler, two series which got stale really fast. The guy behind the screenplay and series composition also wrote the manga “To-Love-Ru”, which features a boy who finds a naked magical alien girl in his bathtub, also convinces me that this’ll most likely become a trainwreck. Tokyo Majin Gakuen Kenpucho: Tou Summary: “In the night of Tokyo, mysterious deaths involving the ‘Reborn Dead’ occur. Mysterious transfer student, Tatsuma Hiyuu, and delinquent student, Kyouichi Houraiji, fight these undead every night. They, along with the rest of their group, soon realize that a greater threat, that involves even more powerful demons, is near.” – (taken from Anime News Network) Thoughts: I remember dropping this series, back when it aired, because it was too boring. I might pick it up again, I might not. Buzzer Beater Summary: “Hideyoshi is a homeless boy living in New York in the near future, who survives by hustling other kids in basketball games. But now he’s been drafted into a pro team-a pro team with a very unique goal. There once was a time when humans dominated the game of basketball. But times have changed, and now the physically superior alien players have taken over the game, and there are barely any human players next. But Hideyoshi’s team-the first all-human team to compete in the Space League-intends to change all that, and bring the championship back home to Earth.” – (taken from Anime News Network) Thoughts: Okay, I don’t really get this. I already wasn’t excited by the fact that this is a sports-anime, but this appears to be a remake of a series that aired back in 2005. Why the heck would ANYONE want to remake a show that aired such a short period of time ago? The story also sounds everything but exciting. Nanatsuiro Drops Summary: “Tsuwabuki Masaharu, or Haru as is friends like to call him, is your normal middle school student. Now in his second year, his friends push him to speak with his classmates whom he have yet to speak to, but this was still a difficult thing for Haru due to his clumsy nature. One afternoon, his life met with a 180° during a strange encounter in the hallways of Hoshigaoka School. During that fateful encounter, he accidentally drinks a magical potion which transforms him into a stuffed animal sheep during the night! Through later events, Haru learns that in order to return to his original self, he needs to collect “star droplets” that fall from the sky. However, being that his innards are now made of cotton, he will need the help of a “special person,” little did he know that special person was someone from his class. Living a double life between his day self and his sheep form “Yuki-chan”, page one of his story, her story, and the story of Nanatsuiro Drops begins~” – (taken from Anime News Network) Thoughts: Ah, what have we here? Another harem. This time, the main character is a goat and he needs to get intimate with a girl from his class in order to change back. The main character himself is a perfectly ordinary boy who is a little clumsy. Yup, sounds just like all those other harems out there. There’s just one thing that intrigues me: the guy behind the series composition worked on several of the later World Masterpiece Theatre-series, as well as Kaze no Shoujo Emily. Will he be able to save this series alone? I doubt it, though. + Shows with Small Potential + Doujin Work Summary: “Doujinwork is a story about the main character’s exposure and adventure into the world of doujinshi. We follow Osana Najimi, a high schooler tempted into becoming a doujin artist after seeing how much her friend can make at a convention. A sucker at drawing, Najimi soon learns that the road inside the doujin world is not paved with roses as she expected, but, as she attends more conventions and meets more people, manages to find a group of very interesting friends.” – (taken from Cardcaptor’s Blog) Thoughts: Probably another romantic comedy. With all series of this genre, I have to see it work first before I’ll start to see any potential in it, as most series who attempt this are just a bunch of trainwrecks. Wangan Midnight Summary: “When high school student Akio Asakura loses a high speed race to Tatsuya Shima, he goes to a junkyard to find parts for his car – only to discover a blue first-generation Datsun Fairlady Z (S30), which he buys. Akio later discovers that not only is the Z tuned to 620 bhp, it’s had a dark history of unfortunate accidents with its previous owners. Behind the wheel of the Devil Z, Akio now poses a threat to Shima and his “Blackbird” Porsche 911 Turbo.” – (taken from Anime News Network) Thoughts: A long-running manga is finally getting animated. If I recall correctly, it’ll feature high-speed highway-races. It should prove to be a decent action-series, but I doubt that the story and characters will receive a lot of attention. Code Geass Episode 24 and 25 Summary: Episodes 24 and 25 have been extended to a special, to air in the summer-season. Thoughts: Now that I managed to finish watching the first series, I’m too far in to just drop it, but I do hope that these episodes will fix the many mistakes that the original series made. Something, however, tells me that it’s going to try to be as spectacular and drawn-out as possible, almost like a soap-opera. Kenko Zenrakei Suieibu Umisho Summary: “Kaname Okimura, a student of Prefectoral Umineko Shougyou High (”Umisho” for short), joined the school’s swimming club in order to learn how to swim, but the club is filled with weirdoes, let alone teach him swimming. Then, a sunny, happy-go-lucky girl named Amuro Ninagawa who was transferred from Okinawa joined the club. Her extraordinary underwater speed and unorthodox swimming style (plus her personal habit of nude swimming — a powerful magnet to teenage boys) surprised every club member, especially Okimura, because she reminds him a mermaid-like creature he saw only once in his early childhood.” – (taken from Anime News Network) Thoughts: Wow, I first believed that this would definitely become the worst show of the season, but the people behind the screenplay actually do show some potential. They both were involved in Himawari!, one of them was behind the script of Tsukikage Ran, some episodes of Fruits Basket, while the other did the script of Deltora Quest and a few episodes of Popolocrois. While I usually loathe romantic comedies like these, this does have potential to become rather funny. Now let’s hope that the manga itself doesn’t limit them. Potemayo Summary: ? Thoughts: I still don’t know what to think of this series. It looks like a comedy where five children get to take care of two rather eccentric chibi-witches, but the question remain whether it’ll actually become funny enough to not get boring. School Days Summary: “The story is about a love triangle between the male protagonist Makoto, and the two heroines Kotonoha and Sekai. Makoto develops a love interest in Kotonoha, a girl in the same year but different class. Although they both take the same train to school, she is unaware of his existence. His classmate, Sekai, manages to put the two together despite holding strong feelings towards Makoto.” – (taken from Anime News Network) Thoughts: You know, the concept of a horribly bloody ending is nice and all, but do you really think the people behind Amaenaideyo and Yumeria will be able to pull this off well? Right now, it looks like this is just going to be your usual romantic comedy-harem with an unorthodox ending. I first have to see this before I’ll start believing that something good might come out of this. + Interesting-Looking Series + Zombie-Loan Summary: “When a human is marked to die, a faint gray line that is invisible to most appears around their neck. As time passes, that ring becomes darker and darker, until it is eventually black, and that person dies. Kita Michiru has an unusual gift, she posses “Shinigami eyes,” which allow her to see these rings. When Michiru notices that two of the boys in her Class, Akatsuki Chika and Tachibana Shito not only have rings, but that they’re jet black, they reveal to her that the were supposed to die in a tragic accident six months ago. With the help of the Zombie Loan loan office, they were given a second chance at life, should they be able to pay for their debt by doing the work of Shinigami and killing malicious zombies. They petition Michiru to assist them in their efforts, and she finds her everyday life changing dramatically.” Thoughts: While the concept is garbage, I admit that I like the director, he’s currently directing Hitohira, he did Rumic Theater in the past (a series I recently finished and really liked) and the storyboard of none other than Gintama. Unfortunately, the series-composition is done by the same guy who did Good Witch of the West, and probably was the one responsible for its rushed story. Let’s hope he’ll be able to learn something from the director. Armored Trooper Votoms: Pailsen Files Summary: “Caught up in an illegal mission to steal military secrets, Armored Trooper Chirico Cuvie is on the run from his own army. Left to die by his traitorous commanders, Chirico makes his way to Uoodo City – a hive of criminals and refugees – where he`ll need all of his battlefield-honed skills to survive. Driven by the image of a mysterious woman whose destiny is linked to his own, Chirico begins a quest that will shake the foundations of the entire galaxy! (U.S. Manga Corps)” – (taken from AniDB) Thoughts: The interesting thing about this anime is not only the fact that nobody seems to talk about it, it’s also the director who can send it into a really interesting direction: Ryousuke Takahashi. He’s worked on many series in the past, but most importantly: he directed Bakumatsu Kikansetsu Irohanihoheto, Flag and Hi no Tori. This means that we can expect an extremely solid and realistic piece of work here. Mushiuta Summary: “In near future in Japan, there appear grotesque monsters called “Mushi”, who parasitize people and give them supernatural powers. “Mushitsuki”, the hosts of “Mushi”, are frightened, hated, and abandoned from the society. The story features a high school student Kusuriya Daisuke, who encounters a girl on his way to school on the first day he transfers. Somehow, he and the girl, Anmoto Shiika, stand near the railroad crossing and feel attracted to each other. As if they are seeking for something missing in themselves, their relation gets close rapidly. However, Shiika is a fugitive from GARDEN, a secret asylum of “Mushitsuki”. Tokkan, or Special Environment Preservation Agency, which is responsible for finding “Mushitsuki” in order to put them into the asylum orders Kakko, their top agent and strongest “Mushitsuki” to hut down Shiika. However, there are people who fight against “Tokkan”. The resistance, Mushibane, is looking for “Mushitsuki” whose existence is deleted from the society. The female leader, Lady Bird, orders the member to save Shiika before Tokkan finds her. The fights between “Mushitsuki” and “Mushibane” over Shiika, breaking normal life, their super natural powers sparkle. During the fights beyond one’s imagination, young people are losing their lives miserably. However, the Mushitsuki have the destiny they cannot escape from. The mushi eats the host’s dream in exchange for of giving him supernatural power. When, the mushi eat up host’s dreams, he will die.” – (taken from AnimeNfo and corrected some obnoxious spelling and grammar-errors) Thoughts: I’m no big fan of the boy and girl who get together, teenage romance is so easy to screw up. The rest of the premise, though, does show promise for a tragic story, but I’m a bit disappointed that the “Mushi” turned into huge monsters instead of the buzzing creatures that I originally thought they were. I’m also intrigued by the person behind the series composition: Reiko Yoshida. He or she (?) really has a huge amount of experience, and worked on lots of excellent series in the past, like Saiunkoku Monogatari, Popolocrois, Ghost Hunt and Deltora Quest. But the character-designs are done by the same guy who did them for Bakuretsu Tenchi? I fear. + Definitely Looking Forward To + Shigurui Summary: “Based on a seinen manga by Yamaguchi Takayuki, serialised in Champion RED. We are in the sixth year of the Kan’ei era (1629), at the beginning of the Edo period. The story takes place inside the castle of Suruga. The first duel of a tournament which, in contravention of all existing laws, allows the use of real swords, brings together for the last time two mighty swordsmen whose intertwined past is as beautiful and gruesome as the wounds upon their bodies… An exceptional manga artist decides to tackle the forbidden work by the last giant figure in samurai literature, only to give birth to a colossal period drama filled with unspeakable tragedy and cruelty!” – (taken from AniDB) Thoughts: Even though it sounds rather bloody, I’m actually really excited about this. Apparently, the manga isn’t afraid at all to show mature themes, which might turn out pretty interesting if handled well. Sayonara Zetsubou-sensei Summary: “Sayonara Zetsubousensei is a episodic manga that plays around with japanese terms/parodies/popular culture and anime culture kinda like the author’s previous work Katte ni Kaizou. The protaganist is Itoshiki糸色 Nozumu 望but when you combine the kanji for itoshiki and nozumu, it becames zetsubou (despair) 絶望 hence the title of the work. The supporting cast is made up of dysfunctional students(each having his/her own unique character) from his class and he is not teaching at an all-girls high school.” – (taken from Meikuuzanshouken) Thoughts: That main character sounds like a very interesting character, and while I’m not too fond of the all-girls high school he ends up in, I can see myself enjoying seeing him getting tortured by his students, and worry about his situation at the same time. The director did series as Pani Poni Dash and Le Portrait de Petit Cosette, so he should know how to handle the despair of Nozomu. Tetsuko no Tabi Summary: “This is a slightly odd sort of manga: basically the “story” is that a manga artist is asked by her boss to accompany him and a travel-writer on various train trips around Japan and draw a manga about it. The kicker though, is that it’s completely non-fiction — the creator really did go on all these trips, and the manga simply records what happened, with no embellishment. There’s a little disclaimer at the front that says “This is non-fiction, so I apologize for the lack of drama,” and indeed, it mostly is just about them riding trains from place to place, waiting on platforms, etc.; there’s none of the silly artificial melodrama that sometimes accompanies info-manga. Despite the disclaimer, however, it’s really very entertaining.” Thoughts: The character-designs that can be found on the official site made me probably even more enthusiastic than I already was about this anime. I’d love to see whether such a concept will actually work, and by the looks of the characters, they might actually pull it off. + Top-5 Looking Forward To + Code-E Summary: “The story of Code E deals with a new female highschool transfer student who has the strange ability to disrupt electronic equipment.” – (taken from AniDB) Thoughts: Why am I so excited about this series? Well, it’s all about the people working on it. The director, Toshiyuki Kato previously did epics as Full Moon wa Sagashite, he did a few episodes of Simoun (episode 16 included, an episode I just can’t stop praising for its awesomeness), and he also did Ginga Densetsu Weed, which had some truly remarkable death-scenes. Junji Nishimura is one of the people behind the screenplay for Code-E, and he was the one who directed Simoun, and did a whole bunch of episodes for that series as well. Another guy who will do the screenplay is Toshifumi Kawase, or the guy behind the script of Higurashi no Naku Koro ni and The Law of Ueki. With people like these behind it, how can this possibly go wrong? Tales of Symphonia Summary: “The story follows Lloyd, who among others accompanies a chosen girl, who will bring salvation to the a fictional fantasy-world. At least, that’s what he originally thinks. As the story unfolds, the problems the world is currently currently suffering from will really become clear. It’s a story to save people who can’t live anywhere without being shunned and looked down upon.” Thoughts: When I started this blog, there were two major anime that played a big factor in it. The first is obviously Mahou Shoujotai, and the second series was Tales of Phantasia. Now that a sequel of the game it’s based on is getting animated, is there any way for me not to blog it? 🙂 I’m just a bit worried about the official site, though, since all important characters have been removed from the main-page apart from Lloyd and Cosette. I don’t hope that the creators will make their love-relationship the biggest focus of the story, since the parts that focused on racism and the protection of loved ones were much, much more interesting. Baccano! Summary: “Baccano is Italian for noise, but Narita translates it as “stupid commotion.” Each of the stories in the series involves several unrelated plots intersecting and crossing each other as events spiral farther and farther out of control. Immortal alchemists, mafia operated speakeasies, and many other elements of pulp fiction mashed together for a world straight out of the movies.” – (taken from Anime News Network) Thoughts: I already knew that this anime was going to be produced, and I quite liked the art. But when I read the premise above, I fell in love with it. A collection of stories, unrelated to each other, crossing each other, playing in the 1930s, with trains and immortal alchemists? Directed by the people behind Jigoku Shoujo? Sign me up!! Higurashi no Naku Koro ni Kai Summary: The anime consists out of a number of arcs. In each arc, certain characters will live the same time-line, but their actions and focus is totally different. The first season featured the first six arc, now the second season will feature the last three arcs, including one that is completely original, and serves as a bridge between the first and second season. Thoughts: Even though the first season may have had its bumps, its good parts were really good, and I adored its huge degree of mystery. I’m so glad that the second season is finally getting near. Mononoke Summary: “The spin-off of Bake Neko, the third part of Ayakashi ~ Japanese Classic Horror” Thoughts: Bake Neko already was pure awesomeness, and now we get it in 12-episode format. I seriously can’t WAIT for it to air!]]>