Well, it’s time to start looking at what the next season has to offer again. The summer-season is again going to be relatively small, but there are quite a number of potential gems in it. There’s also a wide variety of different genres; there’s slice of life, action, adventure, mystery, romance, comedy, detective, there are historic series, there’s fantasy and science-fiction. It’s going to be a pretty diverse series, and I’m glad to see people as Ike Yoshihiro make their return as well. I’ll update this list when more anime get announced.
+ Not Really Looking Forward To +
Ikkitousen Great Guardians
Summary: Loosely based on the novel ‘Romance of the three kingdoms’, modern day Japan sees a similar struggle for power between different rival schools with the three strongest being; Kyosho Academy led by Sousou Moutoku, Nanyo Academy by Sonsaku Hakufu and Ryuubi Gentoku from Seito High School. Together these three tousei, each with their own mangatama, fight for the honour of becoming ikki tousen and fulfilling their fated destiny through battle and conquest. – (Taken from AniDB)
Thoughts: Oh god, not another one. Why this airs at 9:30 in the morning is beyond me. In any case, this one will most likely be the obligatory depth-less fanservice-show that every season seems to have.
Antique Bakery
Summary: Tachibana, grandson of a rich businessman and newbie in the world of managing; Ono Yuusuke, famous pastry chef and even more infamous “devilish homosexual”; Kanda Eiji, a retired young boxer with a thing for pastries; Kobayakawa Chikage, servant friend of Tachibana and current romantic interest of Ono, who is clumsy yet serious and stoic to a fault (most of the time). Together, these four men maintain a small yet elegant cafe known as “Antique”, where they and all their customers can come together to cherish one of the few but truly important things in life: cake. – (Taken from Anime News Network)
Thoughts: Okay, I have no problems with Junjo Romantica, but there are borders. I’m fine with Shounen Ai. But please let this be more than just a bunch of freakin’ bishies who like to serve cake. -_- The director of Bedaman doesn’t promise much good either, and I don’t think that even Natsuko Takahashi will be able to save this series.
RoboDz Kazagumo Hen
Summary: RoboDz Kazagumo Hen is an upcoming anime, co-produced between The Walt Disney Company and Toei Animation. It is currently scheduled to begin airing on Japan’s Toon Disney starting in June, 2008, with a possible chance of airing in future Asian Markets. Despite the close release date, little to no information has been given about the project. What is known at this point and time is the episodes will be animated in 3D. – (Taken from Wikipedia)
Thoughts: Well, this series is so obscure that even Anime News Network doesn’t have an entry about it. There’s just one thing you should really know about it: it’s being directed by the director of Dragonball Z. Stay away from this one at all costs!!!
Sekirei
Summary: Minato is a total loser. He’s failed to make it into college twice, he’s unpopular with women, and he’s unemployed. But suddenly one day he met a girl dashing inhumanely fast down the road he walked, chased by 2 bandits with electrical powers. From that day on Minato’s life changed forever. The Girl, Musubi was not any ordinary girl she was a “Sekirei”, and suddenly she just bestows Minato with the power of an Ashikabi, one of a mysterious set of “masters” in an awesome battle royale between hordes of cute girls (and males) with individual special powers called “Sekirei’s”. Eventually Minato’s true capabilities will release his useless self into truly understanding all of the Sekirei’s that he embarks to gather, and his own strength. – (Taken from Anime News Network)
Thoughts: Produced by the same animation production who worked on the Mahou Shoujo Lyrical Nanoha trilogy. They also seem to have brought over the same director and the music composer. The screenplay will be done by someone who’s been behind various fanservice-series as Dragon Destiny, Kakyuusei, Sky Girls OVA, Zero no Tsukaima, Mezzo, DearS, etc. With such a premise, is there really any hope for this thing?
Hidamari Sketchx365
Summary: Yuno has just begun school where she always wanted, Yamabuki High School. She moves out and into an apartment by herself in a complex called Hidamari-so, which is right in front of the school. There, she meets a classmate, Miyako, and a senior student, Hiro. Yuno’s days become hectic as she begins meeting the strange artists that live in her complex. Although she’s not used to her new life style, she begins to actualize her dream while being with these gentle friends. – (Taken from AniDB)
Thoughts: Shinbou’s next series, though I never really got into Hidamari Sketch when it first aired. Slice-of-life fans will love this, though.
+ Shows With Small Potential +
Nogizaka Haruka no Himitsu
Summary: Based on a light novel series by Igurashi Yuusaku, illustrated by Shaa. The main character, Ayase Yuuto is your average boy without any special traits. He attends a private high school where he is one of the many and doesn’t stand out, until, one day, he happens to discover the secret of the school princess Nogizaka Haruka, and his life changes drastically from there on. Haruka, the school’s most unattainable girl, is so idolized in the school for both, her looks and intelligence, that her classmates nickname her Nuit Étoile (The Silver Star of the Night) and Lumière du Clavier (The Shining Princess on the Piano). However, nobody knows that it is only a fake role she assumes to hide her true nature. In reality she is a die-hard fan of anime, manga, and otaku culture. Promising Haruka to keep this a secret, Yuko becomes her advisor and confidente of some sort and hangs out with her more, though earning some viciously envious glares from his fellow schoolmates. – (Taken from AniDB and Anime News Network)
Thoughts: Well, it doesn’t get any points for originality, but it does look better than the regular premise of a shounen romance. Studio Barcelona (the ones who did Kodomo no Jikan and Nanatsuiro Drops) is behind this piece that’ll probably never be anything special. The director who did Otoboku seems to confirm this.
Slayers Revolution
Summary: The May issue (released on March 19) of Fujimi Shobo’s Dragon Magazine has announced the official title of the upcoming fourth anime television series in the Slayers fantasy comedy franchise: Slayers Revolution. The announcement also hinted tongue-in-cheek, but not stated, that the character Xellos will be the main character instead of the popular female lead Lina. A major announcement will be made in Dragon Magazine’s July issue, which goes on sale on May 20. (Dragon Magazine has moved to a bimonthly schedule starting this month.) Dragon Magazine published Hajime Kanzaka’s original light novels that started the franchise. – (Taken from AniDB)
Thoughts: I’m a Slayers-noob: I’ve never seen anything whatsoever about the franchise. This series could be a good way to check whether the rest of the series are worth watching. I’m not at all positive about the director, though: apart from Slayers, he directed Shakugan no Shana, Ikkitousen and Lost Universe. Interestingly enough, he also did Boogiepop and wrote the storyboard for Death Note, but by the looks of the overly moe-ified promo-art, I’ll remain sceptical for now.
Koihime Musou
Summary: ???
Thoughts: Eroge adaptation alert! I took a look at the promo of the original game, and this seems to be a fantasy series where a bunch of cute teenaged girls ended up being the commanders of a huge army. Agh, why must these things be so lazy in their explanations!? Interestingly enough though, the director of Mahoujin Guru Guru is going to be directing this one. I hope that he realizes how hopeless the original premise of this series is, and ends up parodying it.
+ Interesting-Looking Series +
Chocolate Underground
Summary: “From 5 o’clock this evening, chocolate is illegal.” It is an amazing law. The story takes place in some present-day country. The Good For You party has won the elections and announced the Chocolate Prohibition law. They prohibit all sweet things, including chocolates, because they are harmful to one’s health. “We can’t stand such an absurd rule”. Two boys, Huntley and Smudger, stand up to fight against the law. With help from Louise and other friends, they begin to bootleg chocolate. – (Taken from AnimeNfo)
Thoughts: Production IG continues its string of series with very weird premises, though I think that Trans Arts is going to be doing all the work again. Still, I must say that the prohibited chocolate has more potential than that of Library Wars at the moment. Ironically, both series share the same director, and this “ONA” also shares a lot of staff members with Sisters of Wellber. Should prove to be interesting.
World Destruction
Summary: From the creators of Xenogears, it seems. An RPG and anime will be released at the same time. “The story revolves around two main characters named Kyrie and Morute who become a part of an organization called “Destruction of the World.”” – (Taken from Destructoid)
Thoughts: Production IG keeps coming with strange premises, which you wouldn’t expect from such a major animation company. Still, I like how they try to think beyond the box. World Destruction can go anywhere, all depending on how they’ll end up interpreting the “world destruction”-part of the title. The director of the Prince of Tennis and Tsubasa Chronicle OVAs will direct the thing, the supervision and scriptwriting will be done by the scriptwriter of Himawari, Reideen and Deltora Quest and Yoshihiro Ike (one of my favourite musicians) will be doing the music. I’ll keep my fingers crossed and hope that this won’t be another lazy RPG-adaptation!
Strike Witches
Summary: The world had received the attack from the existence of the mystery that appeared suddenly. Only girls who have magic can fight against them. They install arms in an own body, and fight in the sky, the land, and the sea. Fights of girls who defend the world start now. – (Taken from AniDB)
Thoughts: The first episode still has me intrigued, as in that it was nothing like I expected. I’m interested whether the creators can carry that style further in a fully fledged TV-series, and I hope that they keep the short episode-length. The director has never directed before, which means that this series really can go anywhere, depending on his skills. This seems to be backed up by the fact that this will be another Gonzo series.
Mahou Tsukai ni Taisetsu na Koto: Natsu no Sora
Summary: Yume Kikuchi, a girl who can use magic, goes to Tokyo to be an apprentice mage to the handsome Masami Oyamada (a professional mage). In Tokyo, Yume learns about magic, helping people, and various other things on her way to being a mage. but she soon also finds out that even just magic alone isnt enough to make someone truly happy… – (Taken from Anime News Network)
Thoughts: I’ve been doubting whether or not to check out Mahou Tsukai ni Taisetsu na Koto for ages, and this seems a good opportunity to check whether the original series is any good. Hal Film Maker is behind the animation, and the original mangaka will be doing the scenario, which always helps. The director will be the director of Paradise Kiss, Kimagure Orange Road, End of the World, Beck (which I haven’t seen yet, but it seems to be awesome), the seventh episode of Kemonozume and the infamous fourth episode of Gurren Lagann (but NOT the original MTnTnK). The art director will be the one from Good Witch of the West, and the music will be done by the guy who did Vampire Knight. Honestly, I have no freaking idea what to expect from this series.
+ Definitely Looking Forward To +
Natsume Yuujin-Chou
Summary: Natsume Takashi has the ability to see spirits, which he has long kept secret. However, once he inherits a strange book that belonged to his deceased grandmother, Reiko, he discovers the reason why spirits surround him. Containing the names of these spirits, a binding contract was formed between the spirits and the owner of the book. Now, Natsume is determined to free the spirits and dissolve the contracts. With the help of a spirit cat, his days are filled trying to return the names to these spirits. – (Taken from Anime News Network)
Thoughts: Brains Base is busy this year. This’ll be their next series, and it can really go both ways, depending on how interesting the creators can make the demons that Natsume encounters. For this series, it’ll really depend on the quality of the scriptwriters, and having the director of Jigoku Shoujo and Baccano really helps! The series composition is done by Kenichi Kanemaki, who worked on series as Pani Poni Dash, Jigoku Shoujo, El Cazador and various Hiroshi Watanabe-series. This could prove to be very interesting!
Mission-E
Summary: Chinami Ebihara is girl with a strange ability to generate electromagnetic waves when her emotions run high. However, since this ‘ability’ affects anything electrical, it resulted in her having to transfer from school to school when she was younger. As Chinami, now 18 years of age, transfers to a new school, she once again affects the electronic devices in the school, but this time, when another student, Kotaro Kannagi, sees her do this, he becomes obsessed in studying her “TYPE-E” ability. – (Taken from Anime News Network)
Thoughts: About the only really bad thing of Code-E was its ending, so I’m really glad to see the sequel. I seem to be one of the few who actually liked the first season, though. It had a cast of really charming characters and for that I’m more than eager to check out the sequel. The retro promo-art makes me even more intrigued as to what the creators have in store.
Ultraviolet: Code 044
Summary: Main character “044” is a female warrior who is genetically engineered with high combat skills and ordered by the government to annihilate a vampire army. – (Taken from AniDB)
Thoughts: The trailer looks really promising. The main female lead is drawn without any attempts to make her moe, and the music sounded great. This could be the next great 12-episode series from Madhouse. Osamu Dezaki is also a very experienced director who may have been behind some of the big flops in anime, but also directed rumoured excellent series as Rose of Versailles, Oniisama E, the original Ie Naki Ko and the Snow Queen. Let’s hope he goes back to his roots for this series. Just let it be more than “Vampire of the Week”.
+ Top-5 Looking Forward To +
Yakushiji Ryouko no Kaiki Jikenbo
Summary: Based on a series of light novels written by Tanaka Yoshiki and illustrated by Kakinouchi Narumi. The story revolves around Ryouko Yakushiji, a 27-year-old multilingual investigator that graduated from Tokyo University’s elite Department of Law, and the bizarre cases she faces while working for the Tokyo Metropolitan Police. Yakushiji not only has to deal with supernatural beings in her line of work, but also her rival Yukiko Muromachi, another equally talented and beautiful police investigator. – (Taken from AniDB)
Thoughts: Another police-series covering the supernatural. Sounds good! The writer of the original novel also wrote the novel for Legend of Galactic Heroes, which is supposed to be awesome beyond belief. The director can go all kinds of ways again. He did a bunch of random episodes on series as xxxHolic, Full Metal Alchemist, Gurren Lagann and Ghost Hound, and he was the episode director of Ookiku Furikabutte. This has the potential of being the surprise hit of the season.
Telepathy Shoujo Ran
Summary: Ran is a bright and energetic first-grader in junior high school who possesses supernatural abilities. Together with Midori (her friend who also has supernatural powers) and Rui, the threesome is constantly embroiled in mysterious circumstances. Ran is troubled by her powers because it seems to spark off the ill intentions of people in contact with her. However, with the support of her family and peers, Ran learns to deal with her ‘other’ side and accepts who she is. The threesome also learn how to team up as a whole and solve these mysterious events. – (Taken from Anime News Network)
Thoughts: Mystery? 26 episodes? Count me in! I’m really happy to see the musician Yoshihiro Ike in action again. His soundtracks are always subtle, yet awesome. Interestingly, the director for this series is still unknown, but the series composition will be done by the guy who did the script for the Snow Queen, among a bunch of other anime I’ve not seen. I’m interested to see what he can do with this concept.
Blade of the Immortal
Summary: Manji is a crass, violent samurai with a special ability: he cannot die. Cursed with immortality by the nun Yobikuni as punishment for his ruthless deeds, he has grown weary of his ageless life. The only way to lift the curse is to slay 1,000 evil men. So Manji wanders Japan, shedding the blood of the wicked on his quest to finally die. – (Taken from Anime News Network)
Thoughts: What? I’m a Bee-Train fan, so I’m obviously biased about this one. I’ve not read the manga, but I’m really interested in how Bee-Train’s style will work with such a bloody premise. An experienced writer (Hiroyuki Kawasaki) is behind the series composition, and the music is this time done by none other than Kou Outani, who did the music of Haibane Renmei, Gunslinger Girl Il Teatrino, Popolocrois Monogatari, Ayakashi Ayashi and Gundam Wing.
Detroit Metal City
Summary: Souichi Negishi is a shy young man who came from the rural Ota Prefecture to Tokyo for college and wished to become a kindergarten teacher. However, for some reason he became the singer and songwriter of a metal band named “Detroit Metal City,” with a stage name “Johannes Krauser II.” Whenever he wears the heavy makeup, Negishi becomes a completely different person, shouting the most vulgar profanities beyond anyone’s imagination. With the popularity of DMC increases, Negishi starts worrying his double personalities can have negative effects on his (romantic) life off stage. – (Taken from Anime News Network)
Thoughts: Another Studio 4C television series? Hell yeah! These guys always surprise me when I least expect it. I admit, that the idea of a metal-band sounds really promising, and it attempts to explore settings that don’t often get featured in anime. The fact that this is directed by the director of none other than MUSHISHI makes things even better. Really, I can only imagine what will happen when this guy and Studio 4C join forces!
Birdy the Mighty Decode
Summary: While pursuing a criminal, the pretty but reckless interplanetary police officer Birdy Cephon Altirra accidentally kills Tsutomu, an earthling high school student. To make amends, Birdy is forced to share her own body with Tsutomu’s spirit so that he can continue his own life. At first, Tsutomu knows nothing about his situation but soon discovers that his body is starting to take certain actions without his mind ordering it. In times of action, Birdy takes full control of their shared body, transforming it back into her original female form. – (Taken from Anime News Network)
Thoughts: When I first learned about this series, I had no interest in it whatsoever. Then I discovered that it’s going to be directed by what’s quite probably my most favourite director ever: Kazuki Akane. Take a look at my top 10 series: this guy directed two thirds of my top 3: Noein and Escaflowne. The guy behind the series composition of Noein will take care of the series composition, I’m really curious as to what these people can do with such a premise. I don’t like the excessive fanservice in the promo, but as long as the story won’t focus much on dull fanservice-jokes, this should be no problem at all.
About Mahou Tsukai ni Taisetsu na Koto. The image you used in the preview is not from the actual series. The correct one is the one below that. The girls look very similar, hehe.
BTW, I think the manga is really good. The first manga was mostly a slice of life/drama piece, but the second one (Tokyopop called it Spellbound) is a romance, and while it has some cliched characters, it’s pretty well done and has some really good moments. The third one (Summer Skies) is being scanlated right now and seems to take the best of each series, so I hope it’s going to be the best of them.
Anyway, if I know your tastes, it’s probable that you won’t like it. The characters are very moe-ish and the plot it’s not very original.
Erm, in the last post I was talking about the images in the artist’s site. I mean, this one: http://www.tuchinoko.com/soraa.jpg
Ah, thanks. The website was gibberish to me, so I just assumed that the top picture was the right one.
SLAYERS! Trust me, the art does not affect the plot at all. I can’t say for sure that you’ll like it, but please, please give it a chance outside of the art.
Thanks for the list. As for me, I’m interested in Slayers Revolution (for the record, the character designs are essentially the same as they were in the previous series), Yakushiji Ryouko, Telepathy Shojo Ran, and Birdy the Mighty. I read some of the BtM manga and it didn’t really focus on fanservice (the way you mean) at all.
Natsume Yuujinchou and Chocolate Underground sound somewhat interesting as well.
Birdy the Mighty is based on a manga by the same guy who created Patlabor; much more down to earth than the premise suggests, and definitely not a service piece. More of a serious action manga with a very elaborate plot…too elaborate, apparently, since the anime is making up their own story. We’ll see how that turns out, but I’m hoping this is a staff that can nail what’s good about the manga while doing a new story.
As an eternal Slayers fanboy (it was the series that got me hooked on Anime, and despite its age and all its faults it’s perpetually my 5th favorite anime) Slayers Revolution is my personal top pick of a sadly bleak looking summer. I would recommend going back and trying the early seasons, or even better, read the novels if they’re at your local bookstore. While the anime is still fun to go back and watch (and newbies can still enjoy it despite it very much showing its age thirteen years after it first appeared), I find that the novels are just better. Though the new anime season is probably set to keep the same style as the first three seasons, so…
Just don’t expect the world from it, and suspend your disbelief for once: it’s a fantasy series that likes to have fun and even cracks jokes when it thinks it’s getting too serious. Its charm is what makes it enjoyable.
Wow…….your tastes, I still don’t get. Your top 5 are crap to me.
Are we sure Ikkitousen Great Guardians is an ecchi comedy? The premise you’ve got written up there doesn’t exactly give it away as such, and while the art is… provocative, this is the anime industry. If it has female characters, they will be drawn in compromising poses.
I mean, it namechecks the Romance of the Three Kingdoms. It can’t be all bad, right? Right?
RIGHT?
*grasps at straws*
…well, haven’t seen anything compelling this season so far. The proportion of supernatural shows intrigues me, though.
Anyway, at the rate we’re getting subs it’ll be September before I’ve seen the end of Kaiba, so it’s not as if we’re hurting for shows.
CHOCOLATE BECOMES ILLEGAL AFTER 5????
As incredibly appalled as I am with that premise, anything with chocolate in the title must be checked out!
Damn, i really need another HD to pile up stuff ¬_¬”
My only thought right now is about Strike Witches: It can turn out nice, but please, the usual loli with gun (and jet-boots too) stuff… this ridiculous format is becoming quite old and boring!!
the only anime i really want to see is Blade of the Immortal but i really hope a good mystery anime will be among all this and a good comedy since the last good one i watched was the 1st season of SayonaraZS
An anime by the creators of Xenogears, one of my favorite RPG’s, nay, favorite GAMES, EVER? You just made my day, psegels, I NEEEEED to watch this 😀 Character art looks nice as well. Damn, now I’m expecting too much, hope it won’t suck 🙁
A bunch of bishies serving cake…I assume beefcake
lol bee train….. and yes Yakushiji Ryouko no Kaiki Jikenbo will rock.
As much as I do like those types of shows (Girls Bravo is one of my favs) I really, *really* hope Sekirei turns out less fanservice-oriented. While the manga has its fair share of panty-shots and bath scenes, it actually does have a decent story (that looks like it will get a bit dark near the end). Unfortunately, so did Rosario+Vampire…and I actually cringed the first time I saw the “transformation” animation.
However, the short preview of Sekirei looked promising (although the voices weren’t quite what I was expecting).
Ahaha, long time lurker, but you actually might be surprised by Antique Bakery. The manga was leagues above its BL counterparts for one thing (it even won the Kodansha award) and it’s very much more than “bishies serving cake” … though it all depends on whether the director chooses to be smart or do the dumb thing by appealing to squealing fangirls.
I don’t know. I hope they can retain the charm and humor of the original manga. Bleh.
Looks like I’m far from the first to comment here, but I just want to add my two cents on a couple things:
– The original Slayers was EXCELLENT. If the new series is even half as good, it’ll be well worth watching.
– The original TV series of Mahoutsukai ni Taisetsu na Koto was also quite good, and very much your style. I’m kinda surprised you never watched it, as it’s about as you as an anime can get. 😉
– The original Birdy the Mighty OAV, from either the 80s or early 90s, was actually pretty good for the time. Weird series to be reviving from the dead, though!
-Tom
Every time I read one of these previews I always end up thinking the next season will be crap. Considering how unimpressed I was with the premises of the spring season and how much I’m currently loving it, I’m not going to try and predict how next season will end up.
Though seriously it looks crap…
wow, Winter season was so unsatisfying that I think many people spent weeks waiting for Spring – this time around, Summer has caught many people by surprise.
Well, obviously Spring is good enough to stop people getting bored, but it will be nice to add a few more anime to the watchlist.
From a quick glance, the most interesting are: Chocolate Underground, Blade of the Immortal, Birdy the Mighty Decode, Telepathy Shoujo Ran, and perhaps Code 004.
Birdy the Mighty is one I am very interested in seeing more of ever since the OVA released years ago.
Slayers is a must see for me, being a Slayers-fan since the beginning. It’s what got me into Anime.
I saw the Ultraviolet live action movie, and was not impressed. The live action Aeon Flux was actually better (and that’s saying a lot by comparison). Still, the anime might actually be the proper medium for the show since the “concept” is very cartoony anyway.
The rest I never heard of so I have no expectation or desire to see. I’ll just read what bloggers like you say about them.
Regarding Birdy the Mighty, I find it sad that they couldn’t get her face right. Her face didn’t look generic, there’s was little to nothing to improve at her character design. Even though the first OVA series is 12 years old, they could have used the same character designs. It was a OVA after all, presumedly with a high budget. Even the animation looks still fluid for today’s standards.
The new Birdy looks like Renton Thurston with boobs.
zOmg!Chocolate Underground!! It’s my nemesis! I cannot live without my daily dose of chocolate :S I’m addicted to chocolate!! How can i watch such an anime without suffering? and more over…
… i’m not even FAT! (It’s true ’cause i said it)
Slayers is NOT moe. It was around well before the whole Moe craze and the main female characters are awesome.
I especially recommend Slayers Next!
Yakushiji Ryouko no Kaiki Jikenbo, Blade of the Immortal, Antique Bakery, and Chocolate Underground for me. Two interesting, 2 crazy/dumb (but with food). Not sure about the rest.
alot of them look very interesting indeed ^^
Blade of the inmortal? I thought I’d never see that one on anime. Although it’s quite probable it will be worst than the manga (the image don’t look like it’s very well adapted), I hope it gets the other way round. From the series I’m basically expecting hidamari sketch, and I hope the Strike Witches will be completely different from that terrible pilot episode (or first, don’t know)
Looking forward to Natsume yuujin-chou,if it ‘s the director of Baccano, I will watch everything he does and the theme sounds interesting. That Chocolate story sounds good too, I always love everything production I.G. did because of the fact that most of their shows have brains.
Another interesting one is World destruction, I really really hope that it would be good , the Xenogears and Xenosagas rpg series are THAT impressive with its story so I hope their new game would be complicated as their past works. For other series , I guess most of your opinions are in the same way as mine.
Antique Bakery is not yaoi (and hardly shounen-ai, except for one character). If they adapt the manga faithfully, it’s not just about cake! If you are okay with Himitsu, you’ll be fine.
The term “moe” has been used in anime for decades. The latest “moe” fad didn’t invent it.
Ironically enough I just finished watching Someday’s Dreamer a few days ago. I liked it, but found it way too short. For a 12-episode story it sure tried to squeeze in way too much.
I guess I’ll give the remake a chance.
Antique bakery is ‘quality manga’, rather than yaoi the way Junjo was, so no worries. Addictively loveable characters, good stories, and very fun. (It’s not solely shounen ai either as only one character is even gay.) Although I’m worried about it since they attempted a live action and it sank. We’ll have to cross our fingers that they neither push it too far with the shounen ai (its mature, but not ‘sensual’) and yet don’t change the stories badly the way they did in the drama and make it too shojou (that ended simular to your fear of just baking cakes).
Sorry to ccontinue ranting, but also!
Natsume yuujin-chou is *definately* something I’ll be looking forward to. I was shocked to see that on the list since I’m a fan of the mangaka and yet have never seen much mention of her before. Very excited. Her mangas have a great mood to them and they’re very unique– I’m just hoping they stay true to the mood and the artwork since she has a very distinct style ^^ Although I have little doubts with Baccano’s director~ It’s exciting! I can’t wait!
HOLY CRAP WATCH SLAYESR NEXT instaed of watching fan-serivce/ecchi crap that’s not funny at all.
Well, until somebody tries to re-adapt Berserk into an anime (a thing which, sadly, will probably never happen), I’ll make do with Blade of the Immortal. 🙂
Good list!
If you did a little search, you’d know more or less the story behind koihime musou… It’s another Dynasty Warriors related animes with an almost all girls cast.
(from himeya) “Timeslip!? Kazuto went out to catch a thief, who had sneaked into school. But the next instant, he finds himself in wasteland. What’s happened!? He is surrounded by the men with swords. They mumble something, and attack him. Just when he gives up, a girl appears in front of him. She swings a big spear, and beats them up. “My name is Kanu, boss. Let’s fight together for unification of country.””
Studio 4c?
Metal?
YES. WANT. NOW.
>I’m a Bee-Train fan
NOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
>I’ve not read the manga
OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
I’m genuinely dissapointed 🙁
Seriously though, I’ve always considered Bee Train to be a mediocre studio, and I would never have thought they would have gotten the rights to adapt such a legendary manga.
BTW, the art looks dissapointing. Doesn’t do the manga justice at all.
As for the rest of the series you mentioned, Detroit Metal City is definitely interesting, and I’ll probably check Yakushiji and the new Madhouse anime.
Psgels, why don’t you read the Blade of the Immortal manga while watching the anime ? Especially for this manga (with an art style that simply CANNOT be animated), I think it would be a interesting blogging experience.
For the next season, I’ll pick : Natsume Yuujin-chou (I’ll watch anything that’s by Brains Base as of now, probably will catch on Kamichu too), Chocolate Underground, Birdy the Mighty, Detroit Metal City, World Destruction, Ryoko’s Case Files and Telepathy Shoujo Ran.
I’m sorry, I will now inflict myself the Blade of the Immortal anime, the manga doesn’t need or even deserve Bee Train’s bad treatment.
*will not
I just saw the Telepathy Shoujo Ran PV-it seriously looks like a bunch of espers straight out of Koizumi Itsuki’s Organization going to middle school. That should actually be pretty fun, though, and it was the only series that caught my eye right off. I’ll be watching the first episodes of a lot of stuff before making final decisions.
Oh, and you might just want to give up on World Destruction. PVs aren’t much to judge from, but it seems to have an incredibly generic plot.
Let me say first that I really enjoy reading your blog and that it has introduced me to a number of anime titles I would have easily overlooked had I not consulted some of your reviews before hand. So thank you. 🙂
I absolutely adore Slayers. Since it’s announcement this is the series I have been looking forward too the most this summer. The three tv seasons are still my favorite series in the six years since I have been introduced to anime. But I’m not really sure if you’re going to like the oodles of slapstick comedy that’s going to come with it, since that sort of thing doesn’t always appeal to everyone. Its story is more character driven and less plot driven.
I have to agree with people here and say that it is definitely not “moe” either. The looks is more or less the same as it was in the 90’s just a bit more updated.