Summer Season 2017 Preview

Come one, come all, it’s time for the usual Anime season Preview and let me say this one took a lot more out of me than previous seasons. Maybe I am getting old or maybe it was the fact that I wrote a preview for a series and researched it only for to end up a short series. Making my efforts a waste of time. That would be the reasoning why there are previews of short series below when I usually disregard them. Either way, with holidays, moving to a new house, Dies Irae and just a general listlessness I found this season harder to write for. Looking at it overall I think this may be the weakest season of the year so far but we do still have a few standouts and some potential surprises that could save it.

So you know the drill. I check out every source I find from light novels to manga and give you a rundown on what looks to be great or terrible. Naturally peaking at the staff as well just to give a vague estimate on a series quality. Below we have a poll where you can rate what you want to be blogged this season which us writers will use as a reference when picking out shows. Whatever’s top of the list is guaranteed to get blogged. You have more than one vote so vote as many shows as you like.

Once again thanks to Mario for gathering the images, chipping in his two cents and helping with the format. Honestly makes this task a whole lot easier. Let’s get started,

 

The sequels/Shorts I don’t care about

Ikemen Sengoku: Toki o Kakeru Koi (Short)

Jigoku Shoujo Yoi no Togi [Hell Girl Season 4] (Sequel)

Kaito x Ansa (Short)

Musashino! (Short)

New Game! 2 (Sequel)

Nora to Oujo to Noraneko Heart (Short)

Seizei Gambare Mahou Shoujo Kurumi (ONA)

Senki Zesshou Symphogear AXZ (Sequel)

Skirt no Naka wa Kedamono Deshita. (Short)

Teekyuu 9 (Sequel)

 

Series I don’t care about

Action Heroine Cheer Fruits

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Studio: diomedea

Director: Keizou Kusakawa

Script/Series composer: Naruhisa Arakawa

Source: Original

Set in Hinano City, a tranquil area that cultivates fruits, but has lost its vitality. For the town she loves, high school girl Misaki Shirogane and other girls become local heroines (at the urging of Misaki’s aunt, the prefectural governor) and vow to produce action live events. The teen story depicts their strenuous efforts to revitalize their town.

 

Honestly sounds like an effort to merge Love Live with Kickass. We got the director of Sekirei, Fuuka, Dog Days, Campione, Asura Cryin’….Oh god it only gets worse and worse. Well he did Nanoha’s first three seasons so I guess that’s something. Series composer worked on more bad than good but well I thought Nadesico and Outbreak company where alright. I don’t see any real hope for this. I say the hero aspect won’t play much of an active role and this will just be a bunch of cute girls in homemade hero outfits. I have had enough of cute girls being all cute and stuff but give me a call if we got cute girls in insane asylum.

Aho Girl (Short Series)

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Studio: diomedea

Director: Keizou Kusakawa / Shingo Tamaki

Script/Series composer: Takashi Aoshima

Source: 4-koma Manga

Yoshiko, a truly clueless high school girl, is never far from over the top hijinks (she can even manage to get all 0’s on multiple choice tests). Her childhood friend, who she claims to like, has no choice but to look out for her!

The usual tsukkomi and boke routine with very weak comedy. Watch Tsurezure Children instead for this particular fix.

Battle Girl High School

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Studio: Silver Link

Director: Noriaki Akitaya

Script/Series composer: Yousuke Kuroda

Source: Game

It’s the year 2045. The world has been contaminated by the Irousu invaders, and humans find themselves contained. Standing boldly against these invaders are but ordinary girls. The Shinjugammine Girls Academy is a school for these “Hoshimori” (Star Guardians) destined to fight the Irousu.

 

Now there’s a title that lost me interest immediately. Now while this is based on a game, that game is a smartphone game and I would place that among mobile card game adaptions. Generally not very good. Director worked on Bakuman and Active Raid. Series composer actually has some really good series under his belt with the likes of Hellsing ultimate, Drifters, Boku no Hero, Gungrave and Infinite Ryvius. The series composer could manage to save this but I think this is a simple paycheck for him and nothing more. Definitely feels like a throwaway title.

 

Clione no Akari

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Studio: Ishikawa Pro

Director: Naoya Ishikawa

Script/Series composer: N/A

Source: Novel

The story centers around an illness-stricken, constantly bullied orphan girl named Minori. After one rainy day, she doesn’t turn up at school, having been admitted into a hospital in a distant town. Two months pass, and the girl’s two school friends, Takashi and Ky?ko, receive a mysterious email with no sender listed. The email reveals a summer festival taking place at a nearby town.

I can’t find a translation so my impressions are going off the PV and the director. Frankly I got pretty much nothing here. This is the first work by a one man animation studio called drop(That naming choice is rather poorly thought out.) and the PV don’t exactly wow me from a production standpoint. THe director has only worked with short series and OVAs, none of which I have heard of. The premise as well doesn’t give much idea of what the story is. I was hoping for something horror themed but the PV gives the impression of it being more slice of life with a magic aspect. This one looks to be something we can only judge once the first episode comes out.

DIVE!! TV

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Studio: Zero-G

Director: Kaoru Suzuki

Script/Series composer: Touko Machida

Source: Novel

The series revolves around the Mizuki Diving Club (MDC), which is on the verge of closing down after having financial troubles. The club’s new coach persuades the club’s parent company to stay open on one condition: that the club sends one of its members to next year’s olympics as part of Japan’s olympic team.

This looks like Free to me. Though before I can start calling it a ripoff I notice this this actually came before Free and was released in 2007. I can’t really find any translation of the source material so I working off staff and PV. What I see from the PV is a lot of manservice and as for the staff. This is the director’s first time in the main director’s chair though he was a director for a short series called Pupipo. Series composer did the script for a number of episodes of Akame ga Kill as well as Amnesia so that really does not bode well. I am going to jump the gun and say this likely wouldn’t be my cup of tea. I say Free fans might enjoy it though.

 

Enmusubi no Youko-chan

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Studio: Haoliners

Director: Wang Xin

Script/Series composer: N/A

Source: Manga

In a world where Spirits and Humans coexist and can fall in love with each other, the Spirits’s life expectancy being far superior to the Human’s one can only see their loved one dying before them. Even when that human is reborn, the previous memories of his past life is erased from his memory. However, it is said among Spirits that a certain “service” is spreading. This “service” is provided by the “Fox Spirit Matchmakers” who can revive the lost memories of their former lover. When the Spirits lose their lover, they can purchase the “service” of the “Fox Spirit Matchmakers” so that they could attempt to regain their former lover memories and start over a new love story. This story follows a young Fox Spirit Matchmaker who tries her best to restore lost memories and spread love.

 

Is it racist if I dismiss this out of the gate over it being a Chinese animation production? I mean I am not saying that China cannot make good anime, if anything i think it would be great if they did, but previous experience with their works has been rather disheartening. This anime doesn’t look to be the thing to change that track record. It appears this series is a re-airing of the show with a Japanese dub so I checked out the source and yeah…this isn’t really good. Animation is bare bones and the humor is cringey slapstick. The director seems to only have worked on previous Haoliners shows which you can likely guess the quality of. Keep trying guys and maybe one day I can have high hopes for one of your works.

Gamers!

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Studio: Pine Jam

Director: Manabu Okamoto

Script/Series composer: N/A

Source: Light Novel

Centering on the gaming lives of various high school students who play video games, including: Keita Amano, a lonely young man who loves video games; Karen Tendou, the beautiful president of the video game club; Chiaki Hoshinomori, who constantly fights with Keita; and Tasuku Uehara, who puts on a facade of being satisfied with his life in the real world, but he in truth loves video games.

You know, whenever you have these anime about people setting up a club I at least am distant from the actual topic of the club itself. Therefore it doesn’t matter to me when the topic is ignored completely in favor of random hijinks between the gathered members. But this is games, my domain. And I am not amused. For one this story treats games like they are stigmatised as being for nerds and I really thought society had moved past that. Though perhaps that’s not the case in Japan. Games aren’t really the focus here. What’s really the focus is the love hijinks where everyone is misunderstanding who is interested in who. The whole point of the gamers club in the first place is to set people up. When reading the novel I couldn’t help but feel patronised to as the school’s idol somehow takes an interest in the protagonist because he’s a gamer. I could be biased here and maybe this story aiming for a topic close to my heart has caused me to be pissed off when it’s treated so half heartedly. Still this just isn’t a very interesting story.

Hajimete no Gal

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Studio: NAZ

Director: Yuuki Ogawa/ Hiroyuki Furukawa

Script/Series composer: N/A

Source: Manga

The romantic comedy begins with Junichi “Jun” Hashiba, an uncool high school student who frets about wanting to lose his virginity. Egged on by his friends, Jun goes on his knees and confesses his love to a classmate named Yukana Yame. The confession surprisingly works and the couple goes out. However, Jun finds himself in uncharted waters with Yame, a trendy and fashion-conscious “gal” (gyaru).

This series originally had a little of my attention in that the heroine seemed like the type who doesn’t find love so “embarrassing” and is actually mature enough to not act like a hormonal red flush lighthouse. Sadly this is illusion as you will see as the series continues. The protagonist is annoyingly ordinary besides his obsession with getting laid and somehow a harem even begins to develop around this bell end. We got fanservice and the plot is nothing to write home about besides this guy going out with this chick and trying to determine her reactions as consent to sex. I am making it sound a little more malicious than it actually is, really it’s rather harmless.

Hina Logi: From Luck & Logic

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Studio: Doga Kobo

Director: Koichi Chiaki

Script/Series composer: Takahashi Yuya

Source: Card Game

Liones Yelistratova, a pure princess from a small country, enters a school in Hokkaido on a spring day. The school is a specialized educational institution operated by ALCA to train Logicalists, who maintain world peace. Liones enters class S, where she meets many classmates with unique personalities, like Nina. A lively and cute everyday life begins now.

Wait, do you mean that Luck & Logic? The series that aired a while ago and was forgotten faster than light? That’s getting a spinoff anime? Just why exactly? Well it’s not as if there haven’t been spinoffs which outshone their original material, two prime examples would be Nanoha and Great Teacher Onizuka. However I am fairly confident that this will not be the exception to the norm. I doubt this is worth your time.

Hitorijime My Hero

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Studio: Encourage Films

Director: Yukina Hiiro

Script/Series composer: Yuusei Naruse

Source: Manga

Story involving Kensuke’s brother, Kousuke Ooshiba and friend, Masahiro Setagawa from Hitorijime Boyfriend..

 

The manga gave off this impression of this being a very BL kind of show. The PV reinforces this perception. Personally not to my tastes so I can’t really judge the quality of it. This is the director’s first time in the director’s seat and the Series composer’s first show. May be me jumping the gun but I doubt this will be anything that noteworthy except to enthusiasts of this particular genre.

In a Different World with a Smartphone

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Studio: Production Reed

Director: Takeyuki Yanase

Script/Series composer: Natsuko Takahashi

Source: Light Novel

Touya Mochizuki was accidentally killed, and as an apology, God allows him to be reborn in a fantasy world and will grant him any one wish he desires. And so, Touya chooses to keep his smartphone in the next world. In his second chance at life, he befriends many important figures and comes across the world’s secret. He inherits the legacy of an ancient civilization and travels around nonchalantly while possessing powers that rival this world’s kings.

 

I was ready to name Knights & Magic the worst Isekai of the season but then this happened to come along and leave me utterly shocked at it’s existence. In another world…with a smartphone. I…I just…really? Surely this must be a parody of Isekai tropes and such I hear you say but from what I read of the novel, it isn’t. The story tries to be funny with the concept but for the most part it embraces the cliches of the Isekai genre wholeheartedly. It even looks as uninteresting as it actually is. I mean at least with other series it was individuals making use of previous life knowledge to gain an upper hand in their new life. This guy is just some ordinary twit with the power to google in a google-less world. Surely is it not depressing only you excel only because of a everyday device? Director is a newbie with only one or two short series under his belt. Series composer has more experience and worked on Rentai Bouken in the spring season. Her output seems to be nothing to write home about. This show looks to be something that’s going to lose interest and fast. I expect this to be dropped by most halfway in the season and forgotten by seasons end.

Jikan no Shihaisha

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Studio: Project No.9

Director: Masato Matsune

Script/Series composer: Michiko Yokote

Source: Manga

The story centers on “Chronos Rulers,” those who fight the time-eating demons that appear when people wish they could turn back time. The Chronos Rulers fight a time-manipulation battle against these demons.

 

A taiwanese manga adaption? That’s rather fascinating though this is more a pretty standard shounen than anything else. However the general concept is rather interesting. Basically revolving around demons which prey on those who wish to undo mistakes or turn back time. The characters are nothing to write home about but I really do like some of the concepts as well as the main characters rather strange problem. Sadly though the PV has some pretty god awful CGI during fights. We also have the director from chaos dragon so that’s not looking good either. Series composer has worked on a lot of things but nothing worthy of note. If this series is done well then it could make for a legitimately decent shounen. But so far it’s looking to be an anime people are going to drop fast.

 

 

Katsugeki Touken Ranbu

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Studio: ufotable

Director: Toshiyuki Shirai

Script/Series composer: N/A

Source: Video Game

The year is 1863 as the tumultuous samurai era is coming to an end, Japan is split between the pro-shogunate and anti-shogunate factions. The fate of the world is threatened as an army of historical revisionists are sent from the future to alter the course of history. In order to bring these forces down and protect the real history, two sword warriors, spirits who are swords brought to life by Saniwa (sage), rush to Edo. The polite and thoughtful Horikawa Kunihiro and the short tempered yet skillful Izuminokami Kanesada, who served the same master, confront the invading army along with a lively gang of other warriors including Mutsunokami Yoshiyuki, Yagen Toushirou, Tombokiri, and Tsurumaru Kuninaga.

 

Listen Ufotable. I appreciate that you guys are branching out from Type Moon stuff and going your own way and everything. But could you perhaps animate something that I can actually care about? Anyway this is an animated adaption of a browser game much like Kantai Collection. I am sure it will be a very pretty average anime that is about as interesting to me as the national sewing olympics. It might be to other people’s tastes but even then this just feels beneath their capability. Sure previously they were animating everything Type Moon but at least that stuff puts there fantastic animation and visuals to use. I mean they could be animating Fate/Apocrypha and god how much I want that. But if it must be this way then why is it that we couldn’t get something more substantial than this? Sure Gyo wasn’t all that great but hell it was different damnit.(Might even be on board for a Uzumaki adaption.) This is the director’s first time in the main seat but he has been working on a number of other Ufotable works behind the scenes. Anyway this looks to be pretty but not much else.

Knights & Magic

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Studio: 8-bit

Director: Yuusuke Yamamoto

Script/Series composer: Michiko Yokote

Source: Light Novel

In the story, a Japanese mecha otaku dies in a car accident and his soul is reincarnated into another world as Ernesti Echevarria. Eru inherits memories and interests from his previous life, and aims to be a pilot of a Silhouette Knight, a large humanoid weapon that really exists in his world.

 

The Isekai genre has become somewhat of a blighted genre in these recent years with the overabundance of titles based on the concept. I have no doubt that a number of these will end up showing up in anime but surprisingly the titles which have gotten anime adaptions have been on the upper end of the scale. Titles like Youjo Senki and Re:Zero take the Isekai formula and do something interesting with it and I can’t really think of an anime example which truly showcases the massive problems this genre has. (The closest example I can think of is Overlord and even that at least is better than most of the trash this genre has to offer.) That is until now, for Knights & Magic is a perfect showcase of why the Isekai genre is so tiresome. I say there will be those that enjoy it but this really is blatant ego stroking power fantasy with harem elements. Consider this the template of every generic Isekai series to come. The director has Welcome to the NHK in his resume but not really anything else. Series composer did work for Shirobako but again, her bad shows outweigh the good. In all honestly this likely won’t be a terrible show but I consider it in the same ballpark as them dime a dozen light novel animes. Watchable, but nothing noteworthy.

 

Koi to Uso

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Studio: LINDENFILMS

Director: Seiki Takuno

Script/Series composer: N/A

Source: Manga

Lies are forbidden and love moreso. In the near future, when you turn sixteen, you are assigned a marriage partner by the government. Yukari Nejima is a below average fifteen year old, but in within him, hides a heart burning with passion! In this world in which love is forbidden, what will happen to him?

 

This manga is…frustrating. Part of the problem lies in the fact that the chapters are about ten pages long and all have a tendency of ending on some sort of cliffhanger which pushes you to keep reading. But another is in that the story sets up and doesn’t really go anywhere from there. Boy A likes girl A but is engaged to Girl B. However Boy A also has feelings for Girl B and finds himself falling for her. Boy A flip flops between liking Girl A and Girl B. There you go, a story synopsis for the last hundred chapters. The director worked on Yamada and the seven witches and that’s about it. Fans of romance may like this but I think that while Scums Wish wasn’t quite an enjoyable anime per say, at least it ran with the concept. This kinda sticks to the innocent side of love and thus never truly goes anywhere. Could have some people hooked on watching but I think by series end it will be a unfulfilling experience.

Konbini Kareshi

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Studio: Studio Pierrot

Director: Hayato Date

Script/Series composer: Sayaka Harada

Source: Original

Six students are each getting on with their lives, and all of them will visit the nearby convenience store after school.
Each goes there for different reasons: to eat ice cream after club activities, to get the latest issue of this week’s game magazine, to purchase ingredients, to meet friends, or to stock up on their favorite food. The convenience store becomes the place they can relax and make small memories.

 

We got the director of Naruto and the series composer worked on some boy idol stuff and Tamayura. Only other I can say is the animation in the PV looks really cheap. I wouldn’t hold much hope for this one I would think.

Mahoujin Guru Guru (Shinsaku)

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Studio: Production I.G

Director: Hiroshi Ikehata

Script/Series composer: Hisaaki Okui

Source: Manga

The story takes place in a world gripped by hero mania after a proclamation was sent out for heroes to gather to defeat the demon king. A boy named Nike is half-forced by his parents to go on a journey. As part of his town’s custom, he visits an old witch’s house on the outskirts of town before he sets off. There, he sees a girl named Kukuri who uses a magical circle. The old witch tells Nike that Kukuri is the last descendent of the Migumigu tribe, which can use the magical circles. Thus begins the adventure of the frivolous small hero and the naive magician girl.

 

Story seems set in a old standard JRPG world which may be a little annoying due to how much that is referenced in recent works. Story seems mostly unfunny and dated slapstick comedy. Director only did Akiba’s Trip and the series composer only did a short series called Hacka Doll. Can’t say this series will have much appeal to me and to the rest of us westerners I think the humor will fall rather flat.

Marvel Future Avengers

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Studio: Madhouse

Director: Yuzo Sato

Script/Series composer: N/A

Source: Manga

The anime follows Makoto, a young boy who gains superpowers due to an evil gene manipulation experiment. Makoto and other youths join the Avengers as apprentices named “Future Avengers.” The anime shows Makoto and others as they train, fight villains and grow, under Avengers members Iron Man, Captain America, Hulk, Thor, and Wasp.

 

This sounds like self insert fanfiction that a ten year old would write. It’s a kids show so I don’t think anyone here has any expectations for it.

Netsuzou Trap(Short Series)

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Studio: Creators in Pack

Director: Hisayoshi Hirasawa

Script/Series composer: N/A

Source: Manga

Yuma and Hotaru have been friends since childhood, so it’s only natural that when Yuma is nervous about her new boyfriend, she asks Hotaru for advice. But when Hotaru starts coming onto Yuma for what feels like more than just ‘practice,’ what does it mean…? With boyfriends in the foreground but a secret, passionate tryst in the background, will Yuma and Hotaru try to forget what happened between them or have they fallen into a trap of true love and betrayal?

 

Oh boy. Let us welcome the poor man’s Scums Wish. Now NTR or Netorare is a genre of porngraphy with revoles around a couple in a loving relationship which is destroyed when an outsider “Seduces”(or as it’s commonly known, blackmails) the female into cheating. Then she comes to like being treated like a mastubtory toy and the husband instead of devolving into murderous rage on discovering what’s happening just falls into despair. It’s a really stupid thing and has a rather pathetic underlying message of “Screw you popular guys! If your girlfriend knew how good I was at the sex then she would be all over me instead!”. So why is this relevant? Because that’s essentially what this is about but instead the seducer of sorts is a girl. The characters are horrible, horrible people and the whole plot hinges on these girls not being able to admit that they swing for the other team when they are busy playing with each other behind their boyfriends backs. Not to say the boyfriends are paragons of virtue either. Honestly this story is just an excuse for weak titillation and lacks any real depth.

 

Princess Principal

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Studio: Studio 3Hz

Director: Masaki Tachibana

Script/Series composer: Ichiro Okuochi

Source: Original

The stage is set during the 19th century London, in its capital where a wall divides the east and west of the Kingdom of Albion. Five high school girls, who enrolled in the prestigious Queens May Fair School, are involved in spy activities that involve disguise, infiltration, car chase, and more. These girls take advantage of their special abilities and fly around the shadow world.

 

Considering that Studio 3Hz previous project was Flip Flappers, I am quite interested in seeing just what they plan to do with this one. The premise seems good though I question the need to make the cast high school girls. Director worked on Barakamon and Tokyo Magnitude 8.0 so he seems solid. No, the worrisome aspect is the script writer who happens to be the creator of Code Geass. You might be asking why that’s a problem but he also created Guilty crown, Valvrave and Kabaneri. Three colossal anime trainwrecks. I actually had high hopes for this show until I learned of his involvement. Now admittedly if someone can keep this guy from getting too stupid then this might be a return to form for him. We also got Kajura Yuki on the soundtrack and I hope she can branch out a bit from her usual repertoire. This looks to be a gamble to me. It could be very good at the start but fall apart at the midpoint.

Saiyuki Reload Blast

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Studio: Platinum Vision

Director: Hideaki Nakano

Script/Series composer: Kenji Konuta

Source: Manga

At last, the Sanzou Party has arrived in India. In this foreign land, where the anomaly’s influence runs rampant, their battles only heighten in their violence.
And also awaiting them is their tragic fate from 500 years ago?
What will they find at the end of their long and treacherous journey?

 

A sequel to an anime that aired in 2004. I can certainly think of other shows more deserving of this treatment. Due to a lack of knowledge regarding the previous season I pass on giving this an assessment.

Tenshi no 3P! TV

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Studio: Project No.9

Director: Shinsuke Yanagi

Script/Series composer: Gou Zappa

Source: Light Novel

Kyou Nukui is a first year high school student hikikomori. His hobby is making Vocaloid songs and uploading them online. One day, he receives a message from a fan asking if they could meet up with him. At the meeting place, three elementary school girls were waiting for him. The three of them want to form a band and ask for Kyou’s help.

 

You know it’s shows like this that make me somewhat glad that in Ireland many have not idea what anime even is. Because then when I say I like anime I don’t have to explain that I am not a pedophile or into tentacle porn. Anime like this just gives anime a bad reputation. I have no source to read but based on my impression of the PV I am not wrong on declaring it trash. The staff only further confirm this with the director having previously directed Netoge no Yome wa Onnanoko ja Nai to Omotta? Yeah, there’s nothing to see here.

 

Series I am middling on

18if

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Studio: Gonzo

Director: Kouji Morimoto

Script/Series composer: Atsuhiro Tomioka

Source: Other (Multimedia Project – mobile game & VR game)

There is a dream world. Desire, hope, desperation formed a form of consciousness and unconscious nap. Hideo Tsukisaki who tried to go to sleep again in her room that she always dreams about will get into other people’s dream by chance. That is the dream of the witches whose hearts are caught in this dream world. The appearance of their dreams who fell into the “sleeping princess illness” that rejects reality, runs into a dream, keeps falling asleep. A witch’s dream Hakusman looking for an exit door, meet with her and exchange words.

 

That synopsis has me scratching my head as to what it really means but the rundown appears to be some sort of inception level dream diving? Thing is that this is part of a multimedia project that includes a mobile game and a Virtual reality game. My rule of thumb in these cases is that when you attempt to do so many things at once it only ends up a mediocre effort across the board. Director mainly worked on kids shows though nothing really of note. Series composer fairs worst as his more recent efforts where the Phoenix Wright anime and Blade & Soul. His other works are all pretty bad or mediocre. The PV has some interesting visuals but doesn’t look technically impressive considering the ambition of the premise. I don’t have high expectations for this but I am willing to give it a chance.

 

Centaur no Nayami

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Studio: Haoliners

Director: Fumitoshi Oizaki

Script/Series composer: Touko Machida

Source: Manga

Himeno is a sweet, shy girl, who struggles with the high school life. The difference is she’s a centaur; but she’s not alone. In fact, all of her classmates are supernatural creatures, sporting horns, wings, tails, halos, or some other unearthly body appendage. Yet despite their fantastical natures, Himeno and her best friends are down-to-earth, fun-loving teenagers who grapple with issues of life and love.

 

Fantasy elements aside this is more or less a slice of life series and one a bit too plotless for my liking. The centaur girl isn’t even center stage here as the story does jump to different characters. Not much to say really as it’s more just some heartwarming series about the little things in life. Directors portfolio is rather weak with not a standout series present and a lot of duds. Series composer fairs better but not by much. What is a worriesome sign is the animation studio whose previous works include Bloodivores and Hitori no Shita. Animation wise they really are nothing impressive but considering the nature of this show that may not be an issue. Don’t need top tier animation for slice of life after all. I guess if you are into flying witch and series like that this could be to your tastes.

 

Isekai Shokudou

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Studio: Silver Link.

Director: Masato Jinbo

Script/Series composer: Masato Jinbo

Source: Light Novel

There’s a restaurant called “Youshoku no Nekoya” (Western Cuisine Cat Restaurant), located on the first basement floor of a building at a corner of a shopping district. While it normally feeds salarymen, there is a secret. Every Saturday, the shop takes a “day off” and is full of special customers. For the office workers, it is a familiar place with familiar dishes, but for Saturday customers, it is nothing but cuisine never imagined.

It’s food porn. Basically characters from a Isekai world show up in a modern average restaurant in our world and eat food. Thus what is an ordinary convenience to so is a super amazing meal for kings to these folk. I have read a couple of chapters but the format is usually the same. A random character stumbles upon a door to this restaurant and ends up ordering some food. Then they remark over how amazing the food is and leave thinking they experienced some legendary cuisine. That is the format of pretty much all the chapters I read and to be blunt it just doesn’t sound like that interesting a watch for me. Chances are that they will overdramatise the taste of the food like in other food porn titles as that’s the only way I could see of making this interesting.

 

Keppeki Danshi! Aoyama-kun

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Studio: Studio Hibari

Director: Kazuya Ichikawa

Script/Series composer: Midori Gotou

Source: Manga

Aoyama, the handsome young soccer genius that’s a representative of Japan. His play style is “cleanliness.” He doesn’t tackle and doesn’t head the ball. If he’s doing a throw-in, he’ll only do it if he’s wearing gloves.

No translation of the manga to go off but I say what will determine the quality of this show would be the main character. I suspect the usual runthrough of the sports anime cliches. This is the first time the director has worked on a full fledged series instead of a short series or OVA. Series composer worked on a Tsubasa Chronicle movie, Attack on titan high school and empire of corpses so based on that I say she’s rather shaky when it comes to quality. Based on the PV this looks to be a decent sports comedy so it could be worth watching in between shows.

 

Nana Maru San Bantsu

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Studio: TMS Entertainment

Director: Masaharu Okuwaki

Script/Series composer: Yuuko Kakihara

Source: Manga

As soon as he entered high school, the first year student Koshiyama Shiki was invited to the mysterious Quiz Study Group led by his senpai. What will Shiki run into when being dragged along by his class mate Mari into the dazzling world of competitive quizzes?!

 

It’s alright. Again much like any other sports series, the subject matter may be different but the general bets are the same. Rookie enters sport, learns all about sport, sport becomes center of the universe, Rookie has hidden talent for sport. Add rival, love interest and experienced senpai, bake for one cour and top off with life goes on ending with no resolution whatsoever. The subject matter does have it’s interesting points, such as quizzing not simply being a matter of having the most general knowledge. It does the usual thing where it amps up the dramatic effect of even the most rudimentary actions in an attempt to hype up what would be a rather visually dull sport. Overall it’s just a serviceable show with no real staying power. Much like All outs or any other by the numbers sports anime you can think of. Watchable but quickly forgotten.

 

Owarimonogatari (2017)

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Studio: Shaft

Director: Tomoyuki Itamura/ Akiyuki Shinbou

Script/Series composer: Akiyuki Shinbou

Source: Light Novel

That is?the end of your youth.” On the morning of the appointed day of the college entrance examinations, Koyomi Araragi headed towards North Shirahebi Shrine. What awaits him there with an unexpected smiling face is the slice of the sword that marks the final decisive battle?All of the “stories” now meet their resolution!

Mario: Owarimonogatari (literally mean as Final Story) is where the story of this whole universe come to an end. But before you guys can exclaim “Finally! We’d never see this franchise again”, just let me inform you that at this writing, NisiOisin had already published Zokuowarimonogatari (which mean After-Final Story), an Off-Season and the beginning of Monster Season, which even as a die-hard fan I would say it’s just way too many. Whether any of those would become an anime is up in the air right now, but even for non-fan this season is A Must-Watch, as it will tie up the main arc altogether. The last (chronically) time we had seen Araragi is when he was chop up and sent straight to hell. How he manage to get back to life? Who exactly is Ougi? What is her purpose? Time for us to reach the final answer.

 

Shoukoku no Altair

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Studio: MAPPA

Director: Kazuhiro Furuhashi

Script/Series composer: Noboru Takagi

Source: Manga

For generations the Turkiye Devleti and the Balt-Rhein Empire have stood in stern opposition to each other. Then one night, when an imperial minister is found assassinated, the two nations are plunged into a potentially explosive situation. As the generals of Turkiye’s council cry for war, Mahmut comes to discover the devious truth behind the assassination. Thus the young pasha’s battle for his country, peace, and trust in his fellow man begins!

 

High fantasy is certainly a rarity in anime and I certainly welcome one that doesn’t blend in harem or Isekai elements. Sadly like Arslan Senkai this suffers from the problem of having no interesting characters to carry it. The main character is dull and stereotypical and for the most part there doesn’t seem to be anyone interesting in the cast. The general premise is intriguing but lacks a driving force to get the reader invested.

 

The Reflection Wave One

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Studio: Studio Deen

Director: Hiroshi Nagahama

Script/Series composer: N/A

Source: Original

After THE REFLECTION, some of the people in all parts of the world are discovered with super powers.
Some become heroes, and others villains.
How did the Reflection happen? What was the cause of it?
With many unsolved mysteries, the world is lead into turmoil.

 

I didn’t think I would see another Stan Lee original anime. Yes despite not listed above, Stan Lee is marked as an original creator for this series. The last time Stan Lee entered the anime scene it was to make Heroman with Bones. The end result was an anime I didn’t really find all that bad though it was more a saturday morning cartoon in tone. Certainly not a perfect show by any means. That’s what I think we are getting here too. Very standard old school superhero show. Not pushing any boundaries or going grim. And you know what? I might be okay with that. Director worked on Aku no Hana and Mushishi. This also isn’t his first experience with Marvel media and he previously directed the X-Men anime. My bet is this could be fun but nothing outstanding.

Vatican Kiseki Chousakan

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Studio: J.C. Staff

Director: Yoshitomo Yonetani

Script/Series composer: Seishi Minakami

Source: Novel

Vatican City?Holy Land of the Catholics. Amidst the land, there is an organization that conducts rigorous investigations on “claims of miracles” from all over the world to ascertain their credibility. The organization is referred to as “Seito no Za” (Assembly of Saints) and the priests that belong there are called miracle investigators. Robert Nicholas, an ancient archive and cryptanalysis expert is partnered and good friends with Hiraga Josef Kou, a genius scientist. Together, the brilliant duo investigates the “miracles” and uncovers the incidents and conspiracies hidden behind them.

 

Don’t have a translation of the source so I can’t give a heads up about the writing quality of the original story but the premise certainly seems unique enough to catch my interest. PV gave me not idea on the actual quality of the show. The director has previously graced us with the likes of Shokugeki No Souma, Tiger and Bunny movie 1 and Dororon Enm-akun Meeramera so this title seems a bit classier than any of his previous work. Series composer has No.6, Toaru Railgun and Manyuu Hiken-chou but also worked on Birdy the Mighty Decode and the script of Paprika of all things. So this looks to be just a wait and see show. Only once the first episode comes out can we really get an idea on just what we are in for.

Youkai Apato no Yuuga na Nichijou

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Studio: Shin-Ei Animation

Director: Mitsuo Hashimoto

Script/Series composer: N/A

Source: Light Novel

Yuushi Inaba, a 16-year-old boy whose parents died three years ago. He moved into his uncle’s house, but resolved to move into a dormitory in high school. Plans changed when that dormitory burned down. He eventually finds a cheap apartment, but discovers too late that the apartment is home to supernatural creatures such as ghosts, youkai, and mononoke, and his daily life becomes embroiled in the eccentric apartment.

 

Surprisingly better than I would have thought. The premise isn’t exactly unique, I can think of two other anime with the exact same premise, but it is handled in a much more mature way than those. Main character is quite good and I like the focus on just how all these weird happenings are helping him to branch out his horizons to help him become a better person. It has the kind of heart you could find in the likes of Natsume Yujinko and it does somewhat mirror that and Xxxholic. If done well I say this would be worth checking out. We only have the director to go off here and he’s done some dragon ball Z movies and a few kids shows. So while a cautious recommendation I at least think this is worth giving a try.

Youkoso Jitsuryoku Shijou Shugi no Kyoushitsu e

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Studio: Lerche

Director: Seiji Kishi/ Hiroyuki Hashimoto

Script/Series composer: Aoi Akashiro

Source: Light Novel

Koudo Ikusei Senior High School is a leading prestigious school with state-of-the-art facilities where nearly 100% of students go on to university or find employment. The students there have the freedom to wear any hairstyle and bring any personal effects they desire. Koudo Ikusei is a paradise-like school, but the truth is that only the most superior of students receive favorable treatment.
Ayanokouji Kiyotaka is a student of D-class, which is where the school dumps its “inferior” students in order to ridicule them. For a certain reason, Kiyotaka was careless on his entrance examination, and was put in D-class. After meeting Horikita Suzune and Kushida Kikyou, two other students in his class, Kiyotaka’s situation begins to change.

 

It takes quite a while for the story to actually start so I think that will turn off a number of people if they are under the impression this is a stereotypical school life story. However the real story is more than a little absurd. For one, it’s impossible for a school like this to exist. The system of this school is such an absolute dictatorship filled with broken and unfair bullshit that all these students need to do is throw some evidence on the internet and let the media tear the school apart. Still there wouldn’t be a story otherwise and this story is mainly about the worse students of the school upping their rank so that they can get the treatment they deserve. So frankly, it’s Baka no test but without the summoned monsters and taken seriously. Main characters seem alright though they are quite similar to the likes of the main cast of SNAFU. We have two directors this time with Seiji Kishi whose mainly known for adapting the Persona 4 anime and Danganronpa, though he also worked on Angel beats and Assassination Classroom. Our other director worked on “Is the order a Rabbit” and “Magical Girl Raising Project”. Series composer worked on Fuuka and that’s about it. However there does seem to be a good amount of fanservice and the big old question of why these students are putting up with such high degrees of discrimination instead of the more logical option of simply quitting the school doesn’t appear to be addressed. Could make for a decent watch but also infuriating in just how the school’s rules make you want to punch a teacher. Especially when said teacher keeps purposefully not explaining the rules and then berating the students for not figuring it out themselves. Teaching part of the job description so sincerely go to hell miss.

 

Series I do look forward to

Ballroom e Youkoso

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Studio: Production IG

Director: Yoshimi Itazu

Script/Series composer: Kenichi Suemitsu

Source: Manga

Fujita has drifted through middle school aimlessly, unable to find friends or anything that can hold his attention. Then, one day, he’s attacked by a gang and saved by a mysterious man. But this isn’t a karate master; it’s a ballroom dance instructor! Reluctantly, Fujita takes a few beginner’s classes, only to find his inspiration… an entrancing, teenage dance prodigy named Shizuku. It’s Fujita’s first step into the high-octane world of competitive dance!

 

I didn’t really have any expectations when I started reading this manga. In all honestly I was expecting the usual sports tropes with just Ballroom dancing as the topic. To a degree it does have that but I was surprised to find how much I got into this story. I reminds in a way of Hajime no Ippo and that’s my favorite sports anime of all time. An anime has to the potential to make it more engaging, as seeing the dance sequences would certainly be more interesting. Hopefully they have the animation chops to pull of a large number of dance sequences. This is the series composers first anime and the director only directed a movie called Mitsuami no Kamisama. I am worried about how inexperienced the staff is but if they stick to the story and can pull off the dances then we should be fine. The PV looks very promising though the necks on the characters are ridiculously long. Sure that was the same in the manga but it’s a good bit more noticeable here. But yeah, I wholeheartedly recommend checking this out.

 

Fate/Apocrypha

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Studio: A-1 Pictures

Director: Yoshiyuki Asai

Script/Series composer: Yuichiro Higashide

Source: Light Novel

The setting is a parallel world to Fate/stay night where the Greater Grail mysteriously disappeared from Fuyuki after the Third Holy Grail War. After many years of silence, around the same time as the Fifth Holy Grail War would have happened, the Yggdmillennia, a family of magi, openly declares their secession from the Mage’s Association, and that they are in possession of the Grail. The Association dispatches fifty magi to retrieve it, and all but one are instantly slaughtered by a mysterious Servant. The one remaining manages to activate the reserve system of the Greater Grail, allowing for the summoning of fourteen Servants in total.
In the city of Trifas, two factions will fight for the control of the sacred relic, each of them possessing their own team of seven Servants : the Black Faction whose members are part of Yggdmillennia, protecting the Grail, and the Red Faction whose members were sent by the Mage’s Association, trying to take the Grail back. For an event of this scale, the Grail itself summons its own Servant, the holy Ruler, to oversee the conflict.
This marks the start of the Great Holy Grail War.

 

Not that this was ever in doubt but yes indeed, I am going to cover this. It’s no secret I am a Fate Fanatic and this is right up my alley. So Fate/Apocrypha, originally intended to be a Online game but was turned into a light novel series instead. Now many people are looking at the new Heavens Feel movie and thinking that is going to be Fate/Zero 2. Frankly, it’s not going to be as Fate Stay/night has it’s own way of doing things. However if you are looking for a Fate/Zero 2 then this anime is likely as close as you are going to get to one. It has a similar format as there is technically no central character and it focuses on multiple master and servant pairings. This series bosts the largest servant roster with a grand total of fifteen servants and acting more as a actually war with two sides each with seven servants. And Joan of Arc acting as referee. No returning faces but the new cast does have it’s standouts. Though fair warning, the servant choices this time are rather weird. Some are interesting such as the likes of Shakespeare and others are more of the head scratching variety. I read the first two volumes and if they are a mark of the quality of the story then this will be something worthwhile indeed. My biggest concern is that instead of UfoTable we have A-1 pictures at the helm and while they can put on some impressive animation at times, I am not keen on the character designs here. ANother thing is that the staff chosen don’t feel like A-1 are putting their full effort into this as the director only previously directected Charlotte and the series composer only did the script for School Live and literally nothing else. School Live was well adapted but I feel like we need more experienced men on this. The story is fairly solid as far as I know of so it’s just a matter of A-1 managing to hit a homerun with the execution. If the gamble pays off then this could be a hit of the season. Regardless of result I am most certainly going to watch this.

Kakegurui

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Studio: MAPPA

Director: Yuichiro Hayashi

Script/Series composer: Yasuko Kobayashi

Source: Manga

Hyakkaou Private Academy. An institution for the privileged with a very peculiar curriculum. It’s not athletic prowess or book smarts that keep you ahead. It’s reading your opponent. What better way to hone those skills than with a rigorous curriculum of gambling? Here, the winners live like kings, and the losers are put through the wringer.

This is actually pretty good from what I read of the manga. The scenario is a bit ridiculous with the really unnecessary school setting and how elaborate some of the bets get but for those that like shows similar to Kaiji and other mindgame contests then this will tickle your fancy. The main character is interesting in her own broken way and it’s always rather satisfying to see smug arrogant villain get taken down a peg and beaten at their own game. If I had an issue with it that would be that the story doesn’t really evolve past its initial concept and it moves from gamble to gamble without much change in the characters. It lost my interest when it entered a tournament arc of shorts and I just didn’t have the motivation to continue. Still with visual flair that could make these gambling games all the more intense and engaging. DIrector hasn’t worked on anything you have likely heard of but the series composer does did do Jojo part 3 and 4, Death note and Attack on Titan. Considering the type of show this is then they seem perfect for the job. So yeah, I recommend checking out this one.

 

Made in Abyss

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Studio: Kinema Cirtrus

Director: Masayuki Kojima

Script/Series composer: Hideyuki Kurata

Source: Manga

The “Abyss” is the last unexplored place in the world. Strange and wonderful creatures roam within, and it is full of precious relics that present humans can’t recreate. Those that dare to explore the depths are known as “Cave Raiders.” An orphan girl named Rico lives on the rim. Her dream is to become a Cave Raider like her mother and solve the mysteries of the cave system. One day, Rico starts exploring the caves and discovers a robot who resembles a human boy.

 

The setting is pretty much the best aspect of this series as it’s quite interesting. Though the main character is a bit on the annoying side. PV looks quite good and this is shaping up to be an interesting watch. Best thing on the director’s portfolio is Monster and everything else is not really worth mentioning. His worst is Black Bullet. Series composer has me confused on whether he is good or terrible. Sure he’s got Here now, then and there, Maria the Virgin witch and Drifters. But he’s also got Dragon Crisis, Oreimo, Grisaia and Samurai Flamenco. He’s either really good or really terrible with no middle ground. Depending on execution this could be something to keep an eye on this season.

 

Tsurezure Children (Short Series)

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Studio: Studio Gokumi

Director: Hiraku Kaneko

Script/Series composer: Tatsuhiko Urahata

Source: 4-koma Manga

A series depicting various scenarios of young love. These stories range from a boy, crippled by his absolute lack of confidence in himself, cannot even accept the fact that the girl of his dreams actually asked him out on a date, to the near-psychotic girl that pours her own blood into her homemade chocolate in order to win his heart.

 

This is actually surprisingly better than you would think. It’s a fairly simple concept in that it’s just a series of short gags that are about love relationships but here’s the key point. Meaning that the majority of this series cast are in actual boyfriend/girlfriend relationships. A lot of the comedy comes from how they actually deal with a relationship which is a surprisingly rare untapped topic in anime. Sure you have series covering first attraction parts but few actually detail the parts after that. The comedy works but I think the main draw here is the general fluffy nature of the situations and just seeing these various couples get along. Personal favorites are the Kuudere couple and the council president and the delinquent. This is a short format series which I normally don’t cover on these previews but in this case the quickfire format should lend itself well to the subject material.