Category: Other:

Some Quick First Impressions: Kingdom

by psgels, posted in Some Quick First Impressions

Kingdom

Short Synopsis: Our lead character has a very bad case of constipation.
The producer of this series… screwed up badly. It’s a sad case of being crippled by your own ambition. I mean, it is impressive that he managed to land this series 38 episodes right from the start. The thing is, that he didn’t seem to realize that he didn’t have enough budget to actually animate all those. The result? CG. Tons of CG. This goes further than you can imagine, to the point where this becomes a CG animated series that has occasional 2D scenes in them. It looks horrible: both styles are ugly and they don’t mesh at all, not to mention the bad case of constipation that every single character seems to have. Beyond that, this episode suffered from a chronic case of melodrama. I mean I understand that series that are focused on combat are meant to be hot blooded, but this show just goes way over the top. This double episode (yes, this is a double episode) did have some nice ideas,but they don’t really come to their right in such a melodramatic shounen execution.
OP: J-Rock, neither bad nor good. But are they serious in that that protagonist is going to end up fighting entire armies on his own?
ED: An unimpressive ballad.
Potential: 10%

Berserk – Golden Age Chapter I – The Egg of the High King Review – 85/100

by psgels, posted in Anime Reviews

So, things have been very quiet in terms of movies. However, starting from now, we’re in for a year in which the line-up is going to be the best in many, many years. And what a wonderful way to start this streak of awesome movies than with Berserk’s remake. Remake anime are tricky. I hate them if they don’t add anything, or are nothing more than a glorified recap. With those things, you can just as well watch the original thing, making them completely redundant. When they’re done well though, I just can’t complain. Berserk’s movie is one of the best examples of that.

It adapts the same story as the TV-series, but the tone and execution are so completely different, and both adaptations have their own merits. The TV-series was dark, subdued and incredibly gloomy, using is long length perfectly to set its atmosphere. It let everything play out very slowly, and as a result was a tad padded out here and there. The movie however has a much brighter colour palette, its pacing is much faster, and rather than the gloomy atmosphere, it creates the atmosphere of an epic fantasy series. This also really reflects in the soundtracks: the TV-series had Susumu Hirasawa’s magic do a very depressed and dark score. The movie instead is full of choirs and orchestras, having a much more bombastic feel.

And then there are the visuals. On one hand we have the TV-series, which has the better art style of the two (outdated? Hah, I disagree; I have more problems with most anime characters nowadays looking too similar), creating some stunning designs and images, at the expense of a lot of still frames. Then there is the movie, which really excels in its animation. The TV-series had some amazing consistency, while the movie is much more experimental, even though it had to make some sacrifices for that.

Because yeah, if there is one complaint that you’re going to hear about this movie, then it’s the fact that the creators had to resort to CG for the actual character models. And really, for character-models done in CG, this really is one of the better examples of combining 2D and 3D, but it still stands out. The creators definitely prioritized movement over looking consistent, and it shows: the movement in this show feels very smooth and natural. The fluidity of the scenes is great.

Where this movie also stands out is a specialty of the director that Studio 4C got for this movie: Toshiyuki Kubooka, who previously directed Remaining Sense of Pain from Batman: Gotham Knight. He already showed there a great knowledge of human anatomy that he used in his gore, and he also uses this very effectively in this movie, giving a real edge to the combat scenes.

So, is this movie on par with the Television Series? I can’t say that yet, as it only adapted, what? The first ten episodes or so? They haven’t even reached the part where Berserk gets really, really good, but even then this movie had my constant attention and it was excellent at both building up and delivering solid action scenes, and it still has really good acting. It’s all really well balanced, but yeah: the downside is less time to flesh out some of the characters. Especially the side-characters suffered from this.

Storytelling: 9/10 – Managed to condense the Berserk storyline to movie-format. Wonderful balance and really went with its own direction.
Characters: 8/10 – The creators did a great job in bringing the characters to life. Unfortunately, the movie is only an hour long, and some side-characters suffered from this.
Production-Values: 8/10 – Really, the only reason why this isn’t a 9 is because of the CG. Perhaps the budget isn’t as big as some other movies, but the sense of aesthetics of this movie makes it a visual feast nonetheless.
Setting: 9/10 – Still maintains that unique take on the medieval setting here.

Suggestions:
– Berserk
– Rurouni Kenshin – Tsuiokuhen
– Vampire Hunter D – Bloodlust

Welcome to the Aniblog Tourney

by psgels, posted in Special Articles

Well it has taken a bit longer than expected, but it’s finally Star Crossed’s turn to go up in the aniblog tourney. You can find the link here:

http://aniblogtourney.wordpress.com/2012/06/01/round-3-group-1/

Also please be sure to check out the blogs I’m up against: 8thsin Fansub Anime Blog, Amaenbou Dane~ and Shameful Otaku Secrets.

For the ones who came here for the first time: welcome. I’m the kind of writer who tries to cover as much as possible. Be my guest and have a look around.

May Summary

by psgels, posted in Monthly Summaries

What sets this season apart: the sheer amount of great series out there. Seriously, the amount of interesting shows that push boundaries is the best in at lest two years. Now all that’s left is a bunch of great finales: a lot of the series in this seasons will end next month, and a lot of them have quite a bit of potential to end wonderfully.

#23 (25) – Medaka Box – (7/10) – Medaka Box is dangerously close to being one of those “meh” series. What I mean by that is that it’s going to end within one month, even though it hasn’t really done much so far. It has introduced plenty of things with potential, but those were just introductions: it hasn’t really done anything with them because these will very likely be used later on in the series. So yeah, this show is mostly building up to parts that aren’t going to be animated. This is why I really dislike shounen jump series.
#22 (22) – Saint Seiya Omega – (7,4/10) – I’m on the verge of dropping this show, and then episode eight came and was slightly interesting. My main problem with this show is its characterization: it’s all too wooden and one-sided, especially that main character is a one-sided hot blooded idiot and the villains other than that golden saint are all terribly uninspired and stereotypical.
#21 (23) – Sankarea – (7,6/10) – Sankarea is that really annoying series of the season, that has flashes of brilliance, intermixed with flashes of incredible annoyance. Pretty much what Nisemonogatari was last season. Sanka Rea is a pretty interesting character to watch, especially considering the state she’s in. Shenever she takes up the center of attention, this show is great. The cousin however, is annoying. The classmates are annoying. This show also wastes too much time on random fluff. I understand that characters need to get fleshed out, but the balance of these scenes feels missing.
#20 (12) – Phi Brain – (7,75/10) – Oh boy, Phi Brain surely took a hit to the suspension of disbelief this month. I mean, it’s the series nature to be over the top and rather stupid at times, however what it pulled this time is so vital to the overall storyline and characters that it’s really hard to overlook. I really hope that there is more to it, because Freecell, you’re very close to becoming a very pathetic villain here.
#19 (21) – Jormungand – (7,9/10) – If I had to point out one point at which Jormungand, it’s the characterization. I still can’t exactly point out what it is, but most characters fail to capture my interest, there are a lot of very similar characters walking around, or characters who are carbon-copies of other characters or who just try too hard. It’s strange, but for a show that’s supposed to be about gun delaying, I miss this lack of tension.
#18 (20) – Aquarion Evol – (8,25/10)

Aquarion Evol continues to balance between a tense storyline and a heap of cliches, in a pretty bizarre way. It’s over the top and some of the twists are great entertainment to watch. There are characters who really shine here, but on the other hand we have Mikono: the main female character… who didn’t really do anything over the series other than get kidnapped.

#17 (19) – Hunter X Hunter – (8,25/10)

We are now at a point of explanation and exposition. It’s a point that also made me tired in the original 1999 series, so watching it in recap is… annoying. On the other hand though: the thing it’s building up to will be something really special. I usually hate remakes that do nothing but recapping, so it has to say something that I’m still stuck with this show after 30 episodes. Nen is very original, and I hope that this show’s success inspires future shounens to also put a lot of attention to detail and creativity in their settings.

#16 (14) – Shirokuma Cafe – (8,25/10)

The bizarre thing with this series is that the jokes are incredibly corny, yet consistently enjoyable. The Polar Bear and the Penguin are the standout characters here. The penguin is great to watch and gets great stuff out of the rest of the cast, while the Polar Bear has some awesome deadpan humour.

#15 (9) – Nazo no Kanojo X – (8,25/10)

In this day and age in which everything is just trying to get more and more fanservice in, it’s great to see a series that puts so much restraint in it. It’s a really good way to flesh out the characters, and I like how they grew closer together a lot here.

#14 (4) – Zetman – (8,25/10)

This month was not as impressive because the budget decreased, but the creators still are trying to make this show as expressive as they can with their limited means. The pacing also actually slowed down in order to have some mid-season build up and extra tension. It really depends on that ending whether this show will work or not.

#13 (24) – AKB0048 – (8,4/10)

Oh, AKB… I want to hate this show. I really do. But it’s such a charming series. It’s obviously pandering, but some scenes are played so straight that I wonder whether they are partially meant as a criticism as well. The cast of this series is huge, and what me impressed the most within these first five episodes is how well it gave every single one of these characters a bit of detail and info, keeping a great balance between all of the characters.

#12 (17) – Hyouka – (8,4/10)

What I like about Hyouka is that the long dialogues are about something. It’s well acted and consistently interesting, which really is a breath of fresh air after all those Shaft-series that attempted the same thing but couldn’t hold my attention. The animation still is very excellent and even though most mysteries are about mundane things, I do find myself drawn in.

#11 (8) – Tsuritama – (8,4/10)

Tsuritama is building up to something. I feel that that finale is going to be the major factor for me in evaluating this series, because it is clear that it has like a deck full of aces hidden in its sleeves and socks. There was one episode that really showed that potential and it was awesome. Now finish things properly!

#10 (18) – Poyopoyo Kansatsu Nikki – (8,4/10)

You know what? Poyopoyo actually is the best show about owning cats that I’ve seen. In fact, if you don’t count movies (Night on the Galactic Railroad, Tamala 2010 and the Cat Returns were awesome), this pretty much is the best cat chow I’ve ever seen. It’s all just so relatable, and the pacing is just perfect for five-minute episodes. I know it sounds weird and all, but I’m consistently enjoying this show.

#9 (15) – Legend of Korra – (8,4/10)

The romance in this series isn’t really that interesting. Everything apart from that though is really good. Especially since there are no anime about politics at the moment, this really fills my hunger for the Spring Politics Series. The villains are very credible and a great threat for Korra, and the creators made good use of how out of place she is.

#8 (11) – Kimi to Boku – (8,5/10)

Kimi to Boku really blossomed in its second season. Every episode is standalone, but they nearly all created some very impressive character-development, both for the main cast and for the cast of side-characters.

#7 (13) – Eureka Seven Ao – (8,5/10)

Eureka Seven Ao’s charms are hard to define. In any case they’re different from what made the first season great. It’s the great acting, along with some surreal parts and very good directing that makes it really entertaining to watch, but I think that it’s the acting that really put this series above most other mechas of the past few seasons: kids are treated like kids. There are tons of different parties active, all with their own goals.

#6 (5) – Lupin The Third – (8,5/10)

This show has class. I know it’s a bit weird to say that of a series with so much nudity, but what makes this show so interesting is how well Mine Fujiko is portrayed, along with the guys around her. It’s the storytelling here that really stands out with a great direction.

#5 (7) – Natsuiro Kiseki – (8,6/10)

Every episode of Natsuiro Kiseki so far has been dedicated to character development. We’re now at the point where the rock takes a step back, so that we can really focus on the four main characters, and this series still pushes them into situations in which they’re forced to grow. This show does an amazing job in showing their worries and despite that having them act believably.

#4 (6) – Mouretsu Pirates – (8,6/10)

You know, I’m really enjoying Mouretsu Pirates at the moment. I said it before, but with this, it’s pretty much the best non-sequel to have come out the past winter season. The past arc is especially fun and and this show also gets more and more creative with its storylines.

#3 (3) – Fate/Zero – (8,6/10)

This really has been a month of build-up for Fate/Zero, but what build-up there was was really, really dark. A ton of characters got extra backgrounds, changed, and moved into some really harsh plot twists. A few of these scenes were a bit too harsh (apparently they were better built up in the novels, but this is an anime first and adaptation second), but it nevertheless is excellent and dark stuff.

#2 (1) – Uchuu Kyoudai – (9/10)

Really, there are two stand-out series this season. Both of them rock because of their characterization, but both do this in completely different ways. Uchuu Kyoudai is briljant at fleshing out its characters: Mutta’s inner monologues are really sharp, and the rest of the side-cast all fits incredibly well with each other.

#1 (2) – Sakamichi no Apollon – (9/10)

Yes. To say that this show is good would be a huge understatement. This series manages to capture its characters in a unique way and it does it with so much detail and believability that is un-matched by only very few other series. The way this show plays with emotions and awkwardness is exquisite. Add that to the excellent animation (including the parts that aren’t rotoscoped but actually animated) and Yoko Kanno’s awesome soundtrack, and you’ve got a winner. Definitely the best Noitamina series since Ano Hana.

Summer Season Preview – Movie & OVA Edition

by psgels, posted in Seasonal Previews

I’ll be honest here: in terms of OVAs the upcoming season will suck. The continuation of the Tales of Symphonia anime is the only thing noteworthy coming out. On top of that there will also be very little original content: nearly everything is based off on some franchise or the other. I am not sure what it is, but producers seem to get more and more scared to put out movies and OVAs with an original premise.

However, and I don’t say this often: in terms of movies the upcoming season has the potential to become one of the best of the past decade. This season has four movies coming out that have the potential to be incredible due to the staff involved in all of them. Of course things still need to air and all, but really: it has been a long while since there were so many of these movies at the same time coming out.

Franchise Movies and OVAs

Comments: These are the OVAs and Movies that either just keep coming out, or that are a small release. Squid Girl and Rinne no Lagrange for example are getting OVAs that probably won’t be more than just random side-stories. The key here will be whether or not they’re fun to watch, it’s that simple. There is also an OVA of that Esthetica series by Arms coming out, which I don’t care about in the slightest. And bizarrely enough there will also be a Code Geass OVA. In which they’ll do exactly the same as what Kuroshitsuji did a few years ago in having everyone play cameos in Alice and Wonderland. That Kuroshitsuji OVA really was not good. Did the producers really look at that and said: “yeah, we can do that too”? As for the movies, Naruto is getting a new one, and it looks really dull and generic again. At least with Blood Prison I could imagine what it’d be about.

Ongoing OVA and Movie Series

Comments: There are lots of on-going OVA and Movie series coming out this season. To start with the OVAs: The Tales of Symphonia episode is especially looking interesting and more Azazel is always nice. Beyond that though, To Love Ru, Hakuouki, To Heart and Seitokai Yakuindomo all get more OVAs which I don’t care about, and let’s net get started on KissXSis. Kimi no Iru Machi and Holy Knight also both get continuations, but the first episodes of both these OVAs were really bad and cheesy romance, and not really worth it to continue. Also hell yeah! Berserk’s second installment. From what I heard of first impressions, it’s supposed to be amazing, but filled with ugly CG. Well, let’s see if the second movie will be able to improve on that, but regardless I am really looking forward to it. Yamato’s second movie will also arrive, and based on the first episode that was pre-screeened a few weeks ago we’re in for a very solid science fiction show with a lot of nostalgia value. Nanoha’s second movie though.. I am not looking forward to that one. Unlike the two above, those movies are just simple recaps with very little value on thir own. The only point about the first movie was that now Nanoha’s story could be viewed in movie format. There is no way in which that’s going to work for Nanoha A’s. The story is just to big for that.

Asa Made Jugyou Chu!

Summary: “The story revolves around Yuuki Kagami, a boy who enrolls in the academy of his dreams as a honors student — and is mistakenly put in the girls’ dormitory where boys are prohibited. Faced with the possibility of having to leave the school, Yuuki has to dress up as a girl in the dormitory. On top of things, he ends up rooming with the female teacher Ayana Kakinozaka, who has to watch over him.” – (Taken from ANN)
Type: OVA
Director: Hiromitsu Kanazawa
Screenplay: Hiromitsu Kanazawa

The Positives: Yeah…
The Negatives: It’s pretty much porn from Gohands again, this time with the director of Princess Lover.

First-Glance Potential: 0%

Tight Rope

Summary: “The story follows two childhood friends, Ryuunosuke and Naoki. Ryuunosuke is the heir to a crime family, but Ryuunosuke fell in love with Naoki and would rather spend every day with him. Just before his high school graduation, Ryūnosuke suddenly renounces any claim to his family legacy. “ – (Taken from ANN)
Type: Two Episode OVA
Director: ?
Screenplay: ?
Other Notable Staff: Isaku Natsume (Original Creator)

The Positives: You could probably guess by the picture, but this will be a shounen ai OVA. Nothing is known about this yet and who will end up handling it.
The Negatives: That’s a very emo sounding premise you’ve got there, guys… Granted, it is a kind of premise that could work well when in the right hands. But I really doubt that these hands are right. Especially with a two episode OVA like this.

First-Glance Potential: 10%

Eiga Jewelpet Sweets Dance Princess

Summary: “The story of the film is set in Sweetsland, a country next to Jewelland. Ruby and the other Jewelpets are celebrating the birthday of the princess with dancing. However, during the preparations for the birthday party, a mysterious object appears from the skies. In the object is a Sweetspet boy, whose identity is unknown. “ – (Taken from ANN)
Type: Movie
Director: Hiroaki Sakurai
Screenplay: Takashi Yamada

The Positives: Studio Comet. Are you serious with the staff you gathered for this movie? The director of Kodocha, Les Miserables and and Geijutsuka Art Design Class, together with the writer of Ojamajo Doremi, Heartcatch Precure, Marie&Gali, Shion no Ou and Yumeiro Patissiere? The people who can totally make this premise work if they try?
The Negatives: And here is the ting with these two: if they try they can deliver some very charming and incredible series. If they don’t then the result is random fluff without much value. I have no idea what’s going to happen when both of them come together, though…

First-Glance Potential: 50%

Fairy Tail Houou no Miko

Summary: “The film revolves around a mysterious girl named Éclair who appears before Fairy Tail, the world’s most notorious wizard’s guild. She lost all of her memories, except for the imperative that she must deliver two Hououseki (Phoenix Stones) somewhere. The stones may spell the collapse of the magical world, and Natsu, Lucy, and the rest of the Fairy Tail guild are caught up in the intrigue” – (Taken from ANN)
Type: Movie
Director: Masaya Fujimori
Screenplay: Masashi Sogo
Other Notable Staff: Yasuharu Takanashi (Music)

The Positives: Fairy Tail fans, be delighted because this movie has a really good director assigned to it: Masaya Fujimori directed You Are Delicious a movie which was good on so many levels. The story is original so I think even I am going to take a peek at what he did here.
The Negatives: The scriptwriter is the same as for the TV-series, which I hope will work out because the annoyance of the characters lead me to quickly drop the show.

First-Glance Potential: 70%

Toshokan Sensou: Kakumei no Tsubasa

Summary: “In a slightly different time-line than ours, the explosion of information and misinformation came to be considered a direct threat to society. In a daring decision, it was decided to create a new government agency dedicated solely to information management. Some thirty years later, in 2019, the government still monitors and controls information, suppressing anything they find undesirable, but standing against their abuses of power are the libraries, with their special agents called ‘the book soldiers.’” – (Taken from ANN)
Type: Movie
Director: Takayuki Hamana
Screenplay: Takeshi Konuta

The Positives: The director and screenplay writer are the same as for the Toshokan Sensou TV-series, so if they did have some sort of vision that was cut off at the really incomplete ending of the TV-series, then this is the place to show it. Toshokan Sensou does have potential. The TV-series did not find it, but it also did not cut it off. The director in particular is very volatile: he made some awesome stuff and some dull stuff, often in the very same franchise. Anything could happen at this point.
The Negatives: Still, before the advent of Guilty Crown, Library Wars was my least favorite installment of Noitamina, especially after the Armed Librarians came, and did everything that it should have been. If I had to give the movie one advice: pick one plot, and develop it. The TV-series was all over the place and therefore didn’t really do anything quite well. Keep your focus here.

First-Glance Potential: 70%

Ookami Kodomo no Ame to Yuki

Summary: “Hana is a 19 year old student who falls in a “fairy-tale like” love with a ‘wolf man’, over the course of the 13 year story Hana gives birth to two children – older sister Yuki, and younger brother Ame or ‘Snow and Rain’. At first the family quietly lives in city trying to hide their wolf heritage, but when the ‘wolf man’ suddenly dies Hana makes the decision to move to a rural town, far from their previous city life.” – (Taken from ANN)
Type: Movie
Director: Mamoru Hosoda
Screenplay: Mamoru Hosoda, Satoko Okudera
Other Notable Staff: Takaaki Yamashita (Animation Director)

The Positives: Mamoru Hosoda (Summer Wars, Toki wo Kakeru Shoujo)’s next movie looks really interesting. It’s closer to Toki wo Kakeru Shoujo again, and looks to be a very personal story, about a grown woman and a mother, of all things. That really isn’t something you see everyday, and with these writers on board it’s bound to become really interesting
The Negatives: Hmm, my only concern would be that the focus would lie too much on the children, and there are enough movies about kids already. But heck, with these creators they’ll end up balancing things really well.

First-Glance Potential: 100%

Blood-C – The Last Dark

Summary: “Tokyo has enacted the Youth Protection Ordinance, minors are forbidden to be out at night, and the internet is policed however, Sirrut, an underground rebel organization, has declared war on Fumito Nanahara. Sirrut uses the internet to try and find information in cyberspace, and they discover something more gruesome, TOWER, a mysterious organization behind Fumito that is rumored to be conducting experiments involving human beings, and alluding to people being…eaten.” – (Taken from ANN)
Type: Movie
Director: Naoyoshi Shiotani
Screenplay: Junichi Fujisaku, Nanase Oukawa
Other Notable Staff: Naoki Sato (Music), Kazuchika Kise (Character Design, Chief Animation Director)

The Positives: If you want to know why I’m looking forward even more to this than compared to the TV-series, just watch this video. That is the third opening for the Blood+ TV-series, and the guy who directed it will direct the new Blood-C movie. It is a gorgeous and very artistic opening, and if you look at some of the other episodes he’s worked on, like Sengoku Basara’s second episode, or Chevalier’s eighteenth episode, the amount of passion he puts in his direction and visuals is just completely stunning. He already showed that he is a very clever director with the cute romance OVA Tokyo Marble Chocolate, but here he gets to direct a full fledged action movie. Written by Clamp who have shown that they had huge guts with their complete re-imagination of the Blood franchise. Yeah, I’m really looking forward to this one.
The Negatives: Overall the direction of Production IG has taken after Blood-C has worried me. I really hope that this wasn’t caused by Blood-C’s backlash, but ever since they have been so incredibly safe. First Guilty Crown and the Prince of Tennis, now Shining Hearts and Kuroko no Basuke. And it’s such a pity, because these guys need to go back to their days in which they took huge risks and delivered on some of the most imaginative and bold series out there. I really hope that this movie won’t be the last of that side of theirs that we get to see. Have some balls, IG!

First-Glance Potential: 100%

Code Geass – Bokuko no Akito

Summary: “” – (Taken from )
Type: 4-Part Movie Series
Director: Kazuki Akane
Screenplay: Kazuki Akane, Miya Asakawa
Other Notable Staff: Ichiko Hashimoto (Music), Shuuichi Shimamura (Chief Animation Director)

The Positives: I have been looking forward to this for so long. For those new to this blog: Kazuki Akane is like, my favorite director ever. He directed three of my most favorite anime ever (Noein, Escaflowne and Birdy the Mighty Decode). I don’t care whether he’s doing the Code Geass sequel next, it’s an original story in any case so this can be taken anywhere he wants. He has been working on this for years now, and I’m really psyched what he is able to do with this franchise. The staff isn’t a dream team, but together they can do some really interesting stuff.
The Negatives: Miya Asakawa did write the Mars Daybreak, a show with some very flimsy plot twists, so she does need guidance because her scripts on Noein, Birdy the Mighty Decode and Overman King Gainer were amazing.

First-Glance Potential: 100%

Summer Season Preview

by psgels, posted in Seasonal Previews

The upcoming season, there will be 25 series in total. A healthy number for a Summer Season. There will be interesting stuff to watch, however, it really looks like it will not live up to the currently excellent Spring season. The reason is the amount of series that have the potential to stand out. On a first look, I could only spot two series that had that, both Josei. The rest of the series all have their perks, but not enough to really set themselves apart in the way that the current season has done by looking different, unique or in any other kind of attempt to break a mold. I’m a bit pessimistic about this season, but that may also be because while I was compiling this list and gathering the right links on Anime News Network, I kept getting bombarded by ads for the Armed Librarians. I tried, but it’s hard to not subconsciously compare things to that after a couple of hours…

In any case though: this is a big season for Josei. I don’t think we ever got three josei series in just one single season. Beyond that, the science fiction and fantasy genres also have some interesting stuff coming out. The bad shows meanwhile are exactly the bloody same bad shows that we get every single season, unfortunately. AIC is the studio with the most series coming out, unfortunately. Sunrise, Studio Gokumi, Dogakobo and JC Staff also have multiple series coming out.

Again, this list is mostly about a quick look at premises, staff members and production companies. I have no idea how the original source material for these series are, because I haven’t read them.

Dakara Boku wa, H ga Dekinai

Summary: “The main character of the story, who lost his “erotic spirit” by making a contract with a beautiful Goddess of Death, struggles to regain that spirit back. Ryousuke cannot enjoy himself while living with the Godess of Death Risara under a contract, because he gave up his erotic spirit under the deal. He cannot get excitement from watching girls and wonders if his adolescent days are over. “ – (Taken from ANN)
Director: Takeo Takahashi
Series Composition: Naruhisa Arakawa
Other Notable Staff: Cher Watanabe (Music)

The Positives: Japan, why do you keep making these shows?
The Negatives: From the creators of the anime Yosuga no Sora… yeah you know the rest.

First-Glance Potential: 0%

Kono Naka ni Hitori, Imouto ga Iru!

Summary: “The story centers around Shougo Mikadono, the son of an industrial magnate named Kumagorou Mikadono who passed away. As a final wish, Kumagorou gave Shougo a condition before Shougo can inherit the family legacy — find a female mate at school. Shougo transfers into a school to fulfill that condition. However, he learns that he has a younger sister who was separated at birth. He does not know what his long-lost sister looks like, but she happens to be one of the students at his new school. “ – (Taken from ANN)
Director: Munenori Nawa
Series Composition: Go Zappa

The Positives: There are other series out there…
The Negatives: These incest shows just keep getting more desperate.. Plus, the director of KissXSis pretty much tells where this one’s going.

First-Glance Potential: 0%

Oda Nobuna no Yabou

Summary: “The historical romantic comedy follows a modern-day high school boy named Yoshiharu Sagara who is transported to Japan’s Sengoku Jidai (Era of the Warring States) — except the well-known warriors of the era are female. Oda Nobuna, a cute girl who happens to be a warlord, nicknames Yoshiharu “Monkey” and takes him under her wing. “ – (Taken from ANN)
Director: Yuuji Kumazawa
Series Composition: Masashi Suzuki
Other Notable Staff: Yasuharu Takanashi (Music)

The Positives: No.
The Negatives: No.

First-Glance Potential: 0%

Hagure Yuusha no Estetica

Summary: “The story follows an international training organization named Babel which protects the young people returning from another world. A wayward hero named Akatsuki has come back to the real world from a world of sword and magic called Areizaado, along with beautiful girl who is a demon king’s daughter.” – (Taken from ANN)
Director: Rion Kuji
Series Composition: Ryunosuke Kingetsu
Other Notable Staff: Kayo Konishi (Music), Yukio Kondo (Music)

The Positives: Interesting music choice with the soundtrack composers of Elfen Lied. Ryunosuke Kingetsu also is good… when he works for Ufo-Table. He adapted Manabi Straight, Tales of Symphonia and Futakoi Alternative.
The Negatives: It’s really a shame that this is one of the worst companies out there, Arms, which really won’t allow him to take the liberties necessary to make this premise work. That result lead to the horribly bad Samurai Girls. No, we want fanservice and stupidity here. That’s what sells. The director of the incredibly stupid Asu no Yoichi only reaffirms this.

First-Glance Potential: 0%

Ebiten: Kouritsu Ebisugawa Koukou Tenmon-Bu

Summary: “The story centers around Itsuki Noya, a boy who wishes to join his school’s astronomy club (tenmon-bu). However, he actually entered the similarly named Tenmon-bu — a club for fujoshi (female otaku) interests.” – (Taken from ANN)
Director: Hideki Okamoto
Series Composition: Yuuko Kakihara
Other Notable Staff: SCA-ji (Original Creator, Script)

The Positives: The original creator is working on the script so you can’t whine that it won’t be faithful.
The Negatives: Otaku jokes by AIC and the director of Sengoku Otome and the adapter of Sora no Otoshimono. Blegh, absolutely nothing of interest here. Moving on.

First-Glance Potential: 0%

La storia della Arcana Famiglia

Summary: “The story follows Arcana Famiglia, a self-appointed organization with mysterious powers that has protected a small Mediterranean island from pirates, foreign countries, and other threats. The only daughter of the family’s “Papa,” Felicitá, will be married to the next head of the family in two months — and the successor will be decided in a competition that Felicitá herself will take part in.” – (Taken from ANN)
Director: Chiaki Kon
Series Composition: Masanao Akahoshi

The Positives: At least until you start looking more carefully, it doesn’t look that bad.
The Negatives: Chiaki Kon, get back from directing bad bishie fiction to actually direct proper series again. You are a good director when you actually try. Or were.

First-Glance Potential: 0%

Yuruyuri ♪♪

Summary: “Right after starting middle school, Akari Akaza joins the Amusement Club which is composed solely of her two childhood friends, Kyouko Toshinou and Yui Funami. Chinatsu Yoshikawa, Akaza’s classmate, becomes a member after finding out about the dissolution of the Tea Club. The Amusement Club, situated at the tea room facility since the Tea Club disbanded, has no clear purpose, being free for the girls to do whatever they want.” – (Taken from ANN)
Director: Masahiko Oota
Series Composition: Takashi Aoshima
Other Notable Staff: Yasuhiro Misawa (Music)

The Positives: Well, this still is handled by right people: the director and scriptwriter of Minami-ke and Mitsudomoe. These guy know what it is to be funny. What’s more, Mitsudomoe’s second season was also pretty much better in every way compared to the first season. Hmm…
The Negatives: But really: the first season of Yuruyuri lost my interest within two episodes. I gave up on it when it turned out to be nothing… but bad lesbian jokes. Over and over. And they want to make a second season of that. Is there really enough material for that?

First-Glance Potential: 10%

Hakuouki Reimeiroku

Summary: “Based on Idea Factory’s romance adventure game: Yukimura Chizuru has come to Kyoto looking for her father, a doctor who has gone missing. While there, she witnesses a fight between an Oni and the Shinsengumi. Taking her into custody, the Shinsengumi debates on what to do with Chizuru when they discover that she is the daughter of the doctor they are also looking for. The Shinsengumi then takes Chizuru along on their search after the missing doctor, from adventures to adventures.” – (Taken from ANN)
Director: ?
Series Composition: ?

The Positives: Well, so with this, Hakuouki has three seasons, two OVAs and two movies coming up. Fans of the series: is it really worth so much airtime?
The Negatives: I’m getting tired to keep having to talk about Hakuouki in these previews. All that is to say about it has been said by now.

First-Glance Potential: 20%

Koi to Senkyo to Chocolate

Summary: “Koi to Senkyo to Chocolate follows the protagonist Yūki Ōjima, who attends Takafuji Private Academy a large school with over 6,000 students. Yūki is a member of the Food Research Club along with seven others, including his childhood friend Chisato Sumiyoshi. The members leisurely spend their time in the club not doing much activities. When the election of the next student council president comes up, the front runner Satsuki Shinonome proposes that clubs that have no merit should be sorted out and abolished. The Food Research Club seeks advice from the current student council president Yakumo Mōri, who suggests Yūki run in the election as an opposing candidate. Yūki learns about the issues facing the school and decides to run in the election.” – (Taken from ANN)
Director: Toru Kitahata
Series Composition: Katsuhiko Takayama
Other Notable Staff: Elements Garden (Music), Hiroaki Gouda

The Positives: Katsuhiko Takayama isn’t the best scriptwriter, but he can churn out good adaptations if he wants. The director is new. He did work as a unit or assistant director before (notably on the Big O and Argento Soma), so this will be his first chance to show what he can do on his own.
The Negatives: Unfortunately, this is AIC again. And unfortunately, some of the other works that the director worked on more recently… were Haganai and Ookami Kakushi. Combine that with that dull harem premise and we’ve got another show that very suspiciously looks like all those other uninspired school romance comedies that don’t try to stand out.

First-Glance Potential: 20%

Muv Luv Alternative: Total Eclipse

Summary: “In the year 1973, alien species known as BETA (Beings of Extra Terrestrial origin which is Adversary of human race) came to invade earth. During the next 30 years, they have conquered most of the Eurasian continent, effectively decreasing the world population by billions. In response to their unique behavior, a new type of mobile mechanical humanoid weapon was developed, known as Tactical Surface Fighter (TSF). In the year 2001, elite pilots from around the world start to gather at a UN base in Alaska named Yukon to participate in the Prominence Project. This project is a joint effort between Russia and America on research and development of next generation of TSF. The job of the pilots is to test the prototypes, which occasionally involves pitting them one against another… “ – (Taken from ANN)
Director: Takayuki Inagaki
Other Notable Staff: Yumiko Hara (Character Designs), Kouki Yoshimune (Original Creator)

The Positives: Satelight is behind this series (seriously, these guys are really packing out for 2012), so it’s bound to be action-packed and very pretty to look at. The premise with the right execution has the potential to become a nice mecha epic.
The Negatives: Terrible director… agh. We’re talking about the guy behind some of the most blatantly bad and stupid fanservice series as Rosario to Vampire, Baby Princess, Koharu Biyori and Marginal Prince. The bad character designs also really hint that this will be very focused on pandering to its audience. Let there at least be a good scriptwriter behind this, because I don’t see how letting this guy take the reins will lead to anything successful here.

First-Glance Potential: 30%

Kokoro Connect

Summary: “The teen comedy follows the strange phenomena at the Yamahoshi Academy’s Culture Club, starting with the five male and female club members switching bodies with each other. “ – (Taken from ANN)
Chief Director: Shin Oonuma
Director: Shinya Kawamo
Series Composition: Fumihiko Shimo

The Positives: That’s interesting here… after collecting one of Shaft’s sub directors, Silver Link has now also recruited one of Bee-Train’s sub directors. Let’s hope that he can show himself off here more than what Oonuma Shin did. Fumihiko Shimo adapted Air and Clannad for Kyoani. This definitely is a stronger team that what we usually see from Silver Link.
The Negatives: Speaking of which, Oonuma Shin: you are not Shinbo. You never will be, and you are far from knowledgeable enough to act as a chief director at this point. Come back when you learn a thing or two about good acting.

First-Glance Potential: 50%

Campione!

Summary: “The “battle fantasy” story follows an ordinary high school student named Godou Kusanagi who kills a god and claims its powers. As a result, Godou becomes a Campione who slays other gods.” – (Taken from ANN)
Director: Keizo Kusakawa
Series Composition: Jukki Hanada
Other Notable Staff: Masakazu Ishikawa (Character Designs), Susumu Mitsunaka

The Positives: Jukki Hanada: very solid, especially improved over the past year with his work on the script of Steins;Gate and Level E. Keizo Kusakawa meanwhile is an average director, but if the source material is good he can give it a pretty good portrayal.
The Negatives: Which leads me to the premise of that source material. It sounds really really corny, in a bad way.

First-Glance Potential: 50%

Binbou-gami ga!

Summary: “The story revolves around Ichiko Sakura, a girl whose blissful life comes from her bountiful “happiness energy” — gained by sapping that energy from other people. To restore the balance, the Binbō-gami (Poverty God) Momiji Binbada attempts to eliminate her.” – (Taken from ANN)
Director: Yoichi Fujita
Series Composition: Kento Shimoyama

The Positives: Okay, so you have the director of Gintama, the guy who took over after episode 100 doing a new TV-series. Personally that was for me the point where Gintama started to decline, but with this concept it’ll be interesting to see whether he can bring another comedy to life.
The Negatives: Kento Shimoyama is currently doing a horrible job with Rock Lee’s script. And before he adapted Bleach. I’m not sure whether that will work well.

First-Glance Potential: 60%

Dog Days’

Summary: “In the land of Fronaldo, the Republic of Biscotti has been aggressively attacked by the Lion Kingdom of Galette. Facing potential defeat, Princess Millhiore summons a hero who can save the country. What she gets is Izumi Shinku, a middle-school boy from Japan. Awaiting him in Fronaldo is the task of becoming hero enough to defeat his enemies while learning the peculiar rules of battle in this strange new world.” – (Taken from Dog Days)
Director: Junji Nishimura
Series Composition: Masaki Tsuzuki
Other Notable Staff: Masaki Tsuzuki (Original Creator)

The Positives: If there is any series this season where I have the most conflicted feelings for, then it’s this one. The first episode of the first season was terrible. The premise of this show is an insult to warfare. And yet, this is Seven Arcs: they have shown plenty of times that their second seasons are much better than their first seasons. On top of that, they changed directors here… into one of my favorites: Junji Nishimura. He doesn’t always hit the right mark, but when he hits, he hits HARD.
The Negatives: So yeah, I’m stumped here. This can either be great, or just plain mediocre and a waste of time. Agh! Fans of the first season: give me reasons to pick up this show!

First-Glance Potential: 60%

Joshiraku

Summary: “The story follows the behind-the-scenes dressing-room conversations of a group of female (joshi) Japanese verbal show (rakugo) performers.” – (Taken from ANN)
Director: Tsutomu Mizushima
Series Composition: Michiko Yokote

Other Notable Staff: Kouji Kumeta (Original Creator)

The Positives: Kouji Kumeta is the original creator of Sayonara Zetsubou-Sensei. It’s going to be interesting to see this without having Shinbo all over it. Tsutomu Mizushima is a great director for this type of show, teamed up with Michiko Yokote like they did with Squid Girl. . Backed up by Squid Girl, this seems like it’ll be a solid comedy.
The Negatives: The genre of “gather a bunch of cute girls and have them talk’ is very over-saturated. The creators will really have to try to set themselves apart.

First-Glance Potential: 70%

Kyoukai Senjou no Horizon 2

Summary: “In a distant future, Japan is divided into feudal territories, which have been conquered and are ruled by outside countries. The flying city-ship Musashi, which holds the remnants of the Japanese, is being targeted and has no choice but to keep its people safe by going to war. With the fate of the world resting on its hands, the students of Musashi may hold the key to victory.” – (Taken from ANN)
Director: Manabu Ono
Series Composition: Tatsuhiko Urahata
Other Notable Staff: Tatsuya Katou (Music))

The Positives: Well, here we get Horizon’s second season. It’s a series with a huge amount of creativity. This was up to the point where it got lost in its own convolution at times, and the battles just make no sense whatsoever, but it’s still going to be interesting where this show plans to go. Everything about this series is huge, and even though the character designs still are pretty terrible, there also will be a lot of stuff to look out for.
The Negatives: The source material for this series is HUGE. Will 26 episodes even be enough to do justice to everything?

First-Glance Potential: 75%

Moyashimon Returns

Summary: “College student Tadayasu Sawaki has a unique ability. He can see and communicate with bacteria and other microorganisms. Hijinks ensue. Sawaki Souemon Tadayasu is a freshmen in Tokyo agriculture university. He has a unique ability that worth the value of a 1 million yen electron microscope: to see microorganism with naked eyes. Together with his childhood friend, Kei, he begins a new and carefree life as a student.” – (Taken from )
Director: Yuichiro Yano
Series Composition: Natsuko Takahashi
Other Notable Staff: Takefumi Haketa (Music)

The Positives: Only four series in Noitamina have ever gotten sequels: Nodame Cantabile, Honey and Clover, Mononoke and Moyashimon. These really are the big ones who made the timeslot what it is today. Moyashimon out of those for is the least impressive, but it’s still a very solid and quirky comedy. Plus the characters are of college age, which is always a plus.
The Negatives: Now, a sequel in Noitamina is a very special privilege. What does this series hope to add to Moyashimon that hasn’t been said already?Just having “More of the same” will not be quite enough for Noitamina’s standards, you know?

First-Glance Potential: 75%

Arve Rezzle

Summary: “In this cyber science-fiction story, a boy named Remu goes to take back the soul of his little sister, who disappeared in net space. “ – (Taken from ANN)
Director: ?
Series Composition: ?

The Positives: Very little is known about this anime, and I do suspect that it’ll eventually end up getting delayed at this point, but still: I am intrigued by this premise. It’s simple, but if the creators develop it right it can become an interesting science fiction series.
The Negatives: At this point I can only say: Zexcs. They unfortuantely aren’t the most stable production company out there.

First-Glance Potential: 80%

Kingdom

Summary: “In the Warring States Period of ancient China (475-221 BCE), Shin and Hyou are war-orphans in the kingdom of Qin. They dream of one day proving themselves on the battlefield. One day, however, Hyou is taken to the palace by a minister. Winding up on the losing side of a power-struggle, Hyou manages to return to the village, barely alive. Shin then meets a boy who closely resembles Hyou, Ei Sei. For now he is the king of Qin; later he will become the emperor Shi Huangdi.” – (Taken from ANN)
Director: Jun Kamiya
Series Composition: Naruhisa Arakawa

The Positives: I am keeping my eye on this for one reason: Jun Kamiya’s direction of the Third made a huge impression on me, and that series still is among my favorite anime ever. Of course, afterwards he went on to direct Penguin no Mondai, but on the other hand his direction on Hikaru no Go was also amazing. I’m looking out for what he can do though because he definitely knows how to handle a good story. Naruhisa Arakawa is the kind of scriptwriter who is mostly working on random moe shows (and very bad ones at that), but he does strike me as someone who can also deliver a good story when he sees one, as evidenced from his work on Spice and Wolf, Legend of Black Heaven,Seraphim Call and Sentimental Journey.
The Negatives: Now, I am a fan of historical series. Strangely enough, the series based on Chinese history are a large exception to that. It probably has to do with anime’s tendency to make a complete mockery of the Romance of the Three Kingdoms, but I’ve yet to see an anime about Chinese history that really caught my interest.

First-Glance Potential: 80%

Jinrui wa Suitai Shimashita

Summary: “The story is set several centuries into the slow decline of mankind. Earth has now become the realm of “fairies” — 10-centimeter-tall (about 4-inch-tall) creatures with remarkable intelligence and an appetite for sweets. The human protagonist of the story serves an important duty as the international arbitrator between the fairies and humans, and she returns to her former hometown of Kusunoki. She chose this job because she thought it was an easy job she can do, even when she is as old as her grandfather. However, she learns that her job is anything but simple when she meets the fairies. “ – (Taken from ANN)
Director: Seiji Kishi
Series Composition: Makoto Uezu
Other Notable Staff: Kou Outani (Music), Kyuuta Sakai (Character Designs, Animation Director)

The Positives: Oh my god, an AIC promo that actually looks pretty? Seriously, I hate these guys with passion, but I have to admit here: this series actually looks very interesting and genuine. It’s got a potentially great pair of director and writer, and the ever awesome Kou Outani is perfect for this kind of series.
The Negatives: Seiji Kishi and Makoto Uezu. Both two people who can be incredibly good (Angel Beats, Seto no Hanayome, Sunred, Uchuu Kyoudai) or incredibly bad (Persona, School Days, Akaneiro ni Somaru Saka, Tayutama…), regardless of source material. This is either going to be great, or a complete disaster. And seriously.. why of all people, THESE two for a very cute and innocent looking series? Their styles are about the complete opposite.

First-Glance Potential: 80%

Tari Tari

Summary: “The story centers around five Japanese high school students who are too young to be called adults, but who no longer think of themselves as children. Wakana Sakai once took music lessons, but she withdrew from music after losing her mother. Konatsu Miyamoto is a positive-thinking girl who loves singing and spends time after school at the vocal music club. Sawa Okita is a spirited archery club member who dreams of becoming a horse rider. Taichi Tanaka is a chronically late badminton team member who lives with his college student sister. “Wiin” just transfered into Wakana’s class after 12 years abroad in Australia. Music brings Wakana, Konatsu, Sawa and the others together into an ensemble during their last summer in high school. “ – (Taken from ANN)
Director: Masakazu Hashimoto
Series Composition: Masakazu Hashimoto
Other Notable Staff: Shirou Yamaguchi (Music), Kanami Sekiguchi (Character Designs), Kazuki Higashiji

The Positives: So here we have PA Works’ new production, and the visuals immediately strike resemblance to Hana Saku Iroha. The character designer and animation director indeed is the same woman, and she really has been the visual ticket of many of PA Works’ series. This will also be completely original, and about what to expect of the plot: we’ve got the director of the Professor Layton movie behind this one, both behind the direction and the series composition. I have no idea what to expect of that, but if he has one vision then this could tun into a very interesting high school drama.
The Negatives: I have one issue with how the premise of this show is written: you’re describing the characters as stereotypes. Do not do that. Just create their characters, give them traits, but don’t immediately put them into one cube.

First-Glance Potential: 80%

Rinne no Lagrange Second Season

Summary: “Madoka is the lone member of her school’s Jersey Club. She is one day recruited by a mysterious girl named Lan to pilot the robot “Vox” and protect her city from space invaders. They are joined by a third girl, Muginami, who has a different goal than Ran. Meanwhile, they still don’t know their enemies’ true goal, or what “Rinne” might be.” – (Taken from ANN)
Chief Director: Tatsuo Sato
Director: Toshimasa Suzuki
Series Composition: Shuuratou Suga

The Positives: Well, with this we get to see the second half, and seeing as how Tatsuo Sato is on a roll with Mouretsu Pirates currently, it would be great to see how his work with Lagrange will turn out. The first season was definitely building up to something, and it’s up to the second one to really deliver.
The Negatives: Overall I do consider Rinne no Lagrange to be a bit below Mouretsu Pirates, mostly because of how the setting is really quite simple. This is something that the new season will need to improve on. Otherwise though, it was a very neat version of a mecha series with some good acting.

First-Glance Potential: 80%

Sword Art Online

Summary: “The story revolves around a boy named Kazuto “Kirito” Kirigaya who enters a virtual-reality, massively multi-player online (MMO) world called “Sword Art Online.” There is no escape from this world unless the player clears the game, but “game over” means the death of the player.” – (Taken from ANN)
Director: Tomohiko Ito
Other Notable Staff: Yuki Kajiura (Music), Takayuki Nagashima (Art Director), Yusuke Takeda (Art Director), Tetsuya Kawakami (Animation Director), Reki Kawahara (Original Creator)

The Positives: I’m looking forward to Tomohiko Ito’s next work. Occult Academy was a flawed, but very fun and interesting series to watch, and this series seems to be in the same vein. A lot of interesting people seemed to be gathered around him, including several talented Bones animators, and of course Yuki Kajiura behind the soundtrack is also a very big plus here.
The Negatives: Now, this was created from light novels, the same from the creator of Accel World, which I didn’t really like. It was too forced, there were many uninteresting characters. My big fear is that she is only very good at creating an interesting setting, while ignoring everything else. Let’s hope that Sword Art Online will be different.

First-Glance Potential: 80%

Chouyaku Hyakunin Isshu: Uta Koi

Summary: “The story is a “super-liberal interpretation” of the Hyakunin Isshu anthology of poems that were written between the 7th and 13th centuries in Japan. The anthology features 100 romantic poems from 100 different poets such as The Tale of Genji’s Murasaki Shikibu. The poems are also used as the basis for the karuta card game. “ – (Taken from ANN)
Director: Kenichi Kasai
Series Composition: Tomoko Konparu
Other Notable Staff: Aki Tsunaki (Character Designs), Yasunori Mitsuda (Music)

The Positives: Now this is a really interesting one to look forward to. With Chihayafuru we already got to see the 100 poems that were compiled together for the Karuta card game. Now here we have a story that is actually based on the subject of these poems. I am not sure whether the two series collaborated in any sort of way, but this show is perfect as a different look at these poems here. And then the people who are in charge of this: Kenichi Kasai is a wonderful director when he has the right source material (just look at Nodame Cantabile, Honey and Clover, Aoi Hana, and Tomoko Konparu is an excellent scriptwriter with series as Les Miserables, Nana, Nodame Cantabile, Kodocha and the Hi no Tori movies on her name. These are the perfect people to adapt this manga!
The Negatives: Yasunori Mitsuda has yet to compose anything noteworthy, and mostly did soundtracks for Inazuma Eleven. Does he have the talent to give this series a great soundtrack? It’d be great if he did.

First-Glance Potential: 90%

Natsuyuki Rendezvous

Summary: “the story of a love triangle between Hazuki, a young man who works part time at a flower store, Rokka, the widow who owns the store, and the ghost of Shimao, Rokka’s deceased husband.” – (Taken from ANN)
Director: Kou Matsuo
Other Notable Staff: Haruka Kawachi (Original Creator), Junichiro Taniguchi

The Positives: The big reason I’m looking forward to this one: Kou Matsuo. For those who don’t know: in producing his series he tends to record the voice acting before the animation process. The result of this leads to some absolutely fantastic voice acting. The best examples of this are Red Garden and Kurenai. I really hope that he will do this again for Natsuyuki Rendezvous, because it is a wonderful effect that he makes a brilliant use of. The creators also got a wonderful animation director here with the animation director of Madoka Magica and Ookiku Furikabutte’s visuals.
The Negatives: Dogakobo? Don’t they only do bland moe shows?

First-Glance Potential: 90%

5000th Post! – My Top 26 Comedies

by psgels, posted in Special Articles, Top 10 Anime

I didn’t think that I’d ever make it this far, but whoa: this really is the 5000th post I have made on this blog. It took me six and a half years to get there, but it was worth it. It takes up a lot of my free time, but I still really enjoy keeping up with writing and keeping up with all ongoing series. In any case, I really wanted to do something special for this occasion, and what I came up with is a list of my favorite comedies. I already did one before, but I’m not too happy with how that one turned out. It was too rushed and short, and a lot happened to change my opinion ever since I wrote it.

Of course, comedy is incredibly subjective. This is indeed meant as the list of comedies that I personally find to be the funniest. Your mileage may vary for everyone, but I do hope that this manages to include some inspiration if you’re looking for something to laugh at. Also note that this is really about the funniest series I have seen: the top comedies, not the top series that have comedy in them.

#26: PaniPoni Dash!

I was debating whether or not to put Pani Poni Dash on this list. In the end though, I did love this series when it first came out. It just hasn’t aged well, due to Shaft repeating themselves over and over. Nevertheless, when it first came out Pani Poni Dash was fresh in its artistic direction and creative situations and running jokes. I would say that these still are some of the most fun characters of a Shaft comedy. Other characters, like the “Normal” girl were unfortunately milked out way too much in its sequel Sayonara Zetsubou-Sensei (seriously, it’s the exact same character!).

#25: Detroit Metal City

Detroit Metal City made this list because of its ridiculous premise and ideas: a guy who likes innocent Swedish pop transforming into the heavy metal Krauser when he puts on a mask. There are times when the jokes could have been a bit less padded, but some of the ideas in this series are a hilarious and clever stab at the metal genre.

#24: Demashita! Powerpuff Girls Z

I really did not expect anything from this series when it first was announced: turning the Power Puff Girls… into mahou shoujo. Who the hell found that a good idea? And granted, this series really does take a while to get going. After that though, I was really surprised at how funny this show turned out to be as it grew into a parody that made both fun of the mahou shoujo genre, as the power puff girls themselves. I myself watched way too much of the original cartoon when I was a teenager, to the point where I got sick of it, so seeing all of these jabs felt like a godsend to me, especially with the Octi-episode. Power Puff Z is one of those rare comedies that lasts long (52 episodes), and gradually gets better and better, quitting where it’s at its height. Do note that it’s a very childish series.

#23: Tantei Opera Milky Holmes

At first sight this seems like a generic moe show with the same recycled jokes over and over, however this series stood out with its huge amount of energy it puts in its delivery. This is a perfect example of a show made on crack. The first season has the jokes flowing very naturally and unexpected, while the second season is just balls to the wall insanity, using the most bizarre ideas to garner laughs. The animation for this series was really good and creative, and really helped the jokes along.

#22: Mahoujin Guru Guru

Mahoujin Guruguru is an interesting one. It’s a series that is unfortunately troubled by being too long. It’s got 50 episodes, and unfortunately not enough jokes to fill up all of that time. However, the jokes that it does have, are really, really good. It’s an RPG parody that pokes fun on all sorts of fantasy cliches and tropes. And the jokes can be quite clever and witty when they want to. If this series had only been 26 episodes long, it would have been a classic.

#21: Master of Epic The Animation Age

In the past, I played my fair share of MMORPGs, which is probably why this series hit so much home to me. Master of Epic is an MMORPG adaptation, but instead of trying to force in some bad storyline, the creators decided to parody the heck out of it, making it look as ridiculous as possible. The hilarity of this series lies in its setting, and how the anime creators actually created an entire world around just this concept. The show is nothing more than a collection of random sketches without even any sort of recurring characters (heck, it’s impossible to know which characters are recurring and not because of how everyone looks like each other, an awesome jab at the character creation process of these games). There is a lot of bad acting here, but the total picture that this series manages to paint is a wonderful parody.

#20: Ben-To

Ben-Tou is an action-comedy. It is incredibly fun to watch, and about quite an unusual premise to boot: fighting over half-priced lunches. The jokes in this series are classic slapstick. They fall flat once in a while, but the ones that work are quite creative and really hilarious.

#19: Hyakko

If there is one genre that’s over-saturated in terms of comedies, then it’s the school life comedy: the type of series that follows a bunch of kids at school… and that’s it. Out of those Hyakko is one of the best. It’s weird; it’s not the best animated series or anything and it does have a few one-dimensional characters, but the characters themselves made this one very funny to watch. They all have this natural charm, and in particular the lead character is fun to watch. This series also knows exactly when to quit, and even though there are stereotypes, they feel real. Things are added to them to prevent them from becoming too bland. This is a great example of a character-based comedy done right.

#18: Marie & Gali

This is the series that’s aimed at the youngest audience of this list. It’s meant as a series to show how fun science can be to kids, and they succeeded so well that they even caught me up in it. The characters in this series have a huge passion for what they do, and it really shows in all of the hilarious ways in which they end up toying with the basics of all sorts of science. The subs are also finally moving along a bit, so if you’ve got children and they know English, go ahead and give them a look at this.

#17: Cromartie High School

Cromartie has an amazing concept. When you first see this series, you might think that this series is about a bunch of delinquents doing delinquenty.. stuff. Yet, that’s not true at all: instead, this series is about a bunch of morons who look like delinquents. This series often has the characters talking about the most bizarre things, and some very weird characters pass the screen. This series has a lot of dry humour. If you’re a fan of that, then by all means give this show a chance because I can’t think of any other series that has more of it than this series.

#16: Sayonara Zetsubou Sensei

This is very important: with this, I only recommend the first season of Sayonara Zetsubou-Sensei. If you like it: don’t give into the temptation to check out the sequels, because they are notably less good and they repeat themselves way too much. Unlike Pani Poni Dash, I still contest that Sayonara Zetsubou-Sensei is a unique comedy. Its big selling-point is its randomness, and the first season is just the right length for this to remain fresh. This series toys with depression in a delightful way, before it became a cheap gimmick in the subsequent seasons.

#15: Gag Manga Biyori

Out of all of the comedies I have seen, Gag Manga Biyori is without a doubt the one with the most energy. It is by far the most hyperactive. Yes, more than Gintama, the Excel Saga or any kind of Shaft work. It’s on a complete league of its own; it never takes a break. It’s 50 5-minute episodes of non-stop people talking incredibly fast, yelling hyperactively and trying to stuff as much dialogue as is humanly possible into as little time as possible; this show is on speed from start to finish. And on top of that it’s also hilarious. It uses its energy brilliantly in its delivery of some of the most bizarre jokes and set-ups, and it thrives on absurd humour.

#14: Yamato Nadeshiko Shichi Henge

This is the ultimate parody of the shoujo genre. With 26 episodes, this series succeeded in making bishies look as ridiculous as possible, often dressing them up like catalog models and poking fun at a lot of genre conventions by pushing these to the extreme. Most of the bishie series nowadays are badly acted, but what also made this series hilarious is how well acted and over the top some of the characters are. Especially Sunako shines in her rants and how she’s the complete opposite of your average shoujo lead.

#13: Jungle wa Itsumo Hare nochi Guu

Hale Nochi Guu was for me one of the best examples of a comedy that thrives on sadism. The show pretty much consists out of the main character, Hale, being tormented over and over. Very often this gets old fast, but this series makes Hale a much more redeemable character, not to mention that the people around him are just hilarious and always manage to tick him off in new ways. The titular Guu in particular is a unique character, and I think I lost count of all the times in which she gave him a nervous breakdown, but the interplay between the two of them really was one of a kind that many comedies afterwards never really got close to.

#12: Dororon Enma-kun: Meeramera

The fanservice comedy is a genre that I am really not often into. I find that way too often, they’re just stuck in bad boob jokes, or try to out-pervert each other, or just turn into fanservice for the sake of fanservice. And then Dororon Enma-kun arrived. Its opening two episodes suggested that it was again one of those juvenile and dull fanservice flicks. And yet, the subsequent episodes elevated it to the absolute best in its genre. The amount of crack that the creators put in it is very impressive, The fanservice gets completely bizarre at times and it also has a lot to offer beyond just nudity, with some completely ridiculous premises for its episodes. The height of the show is its absolutely fantastic ending though.

#11: Sugoiyo!! Masaru-san

Overall, in terms of comedy directors, there is one guy who I really consider to be the best: Daichi Akitarou. He has quite a few other works on this list, but what really sets him apart is how many different series he has made, and how all of them are just hilarious. Sexy Commando Gaiden is the series where his style of comedy is the most apparent: very consistent, very hyperactive, but always sharp and unexpected. This show is a parody of the school life fighting genre, the episodes are only eight minutes long, but the crazy characters who just keep making new jokes over and over, never leaving in a dull moment are hilarious to watch. I really wouldn’t be surprised if this series ended up as the inspiration for series as Gintama that followed afterwards.

#10: Skip Beat!

Skip Beat probably was the last of the really good shoujo comedies to appear. Afterwards the genre has been in a bit of a slump and none has really been able to reach Skip Beat’s level of creativity in its jokes. It thrived on strange set-ups and taking these to the extreme resulting in very wacky situations. The comedy in this series is particularly good at combining the characters’ wide variety of emotions in the jokes. As it goes on the show does lose its spark a bit, but the parts that are funny really are hilarious.

#9: Ooedo Rocket

Don’t let the looks of this series fool you: Ooedo Rocket may be a fun and energetic series, but it’s also a very clever comedy that on top of telling its own story, has great fun at poking holes in the historical genre.

#8: Kodomo no Omocha

Kodomo no Omocha made this list because of its amazing consistency: 100 episodes of hilarity, and it never dulls in. Unlike Gintama, which diminishes at a certain point, it delivered an amazingly consistent series, and then quit when it was still fresh, leaving the best possible aftertaste for such an incredibly long series. The humour in this series is very character-oriented, and with such a small cast for so many episodes, I really have to praise the creators for developing them so well that they lasted so long.

#7: Cross Game

Cross Game has a unique sense of humour; that’s why it’s so high on this list. It’s always subtle, and tries to make things look bigger than what they actually are in some very smart ways. It depends a lot on the interplay between the different characters and because this works so well, it can be very laid back. I admit that my favorite type of comedy is the hyperactive kind, but this show won me over immediately with its incredibly subtle jokes, that it can actually keep up for nearly 50 episodes.

#6: Gosenzosama Banbanzai!

This is one of the oldest series on this list, but still: this show is still more than able to measure itself amongst the most stand-out comedies. Its sense of humour is also unique. Gosenzosama Banbanzai is a very intelligent little series about characters talking over and over, trying to rationalize some of the most surreal things. It’s hard to explain what makes this show so hilarious, but just take note that Mamoru Oshii was behind it. His unique sense of dialogue that just goes on and on is used for comedic purposes here with some hilarious results.

#5: Mobile Police Patlabor

This includes the TV-Series and the two OVAs that were released. And really: most of the episodes of Patlabor aren’t exactly a comedy. I just had to include this series in this list for the episodes that were intended to raise laughs, though, because of how incredibly well written they were. The build-up for most of the jokes was exquisite, and sometimes this series dedicated an entire episode, just to build up to one single joke. This series is more than 20 years old at this point, but the amount of series with as much wit as these episodes…. there are very few of them. On top of that, this series just has a hilarious cast of characters.

#4: Level E

Level E is a collection of short stories about aliens. Now, I said before that this list is about the best “comedies” and now the best “series that have comedy in them”, but what makes Level E such a fantastic comedy is how well it puts that into its different stories. Every single one of its stories is a legitimate, imaginative and interesting story with proper and unique characters, but all of them would completely fall apart if it weren’t for the comedy: it’s so well engrained into this series. The laughs in this series also very much rely on the cast of unique characters, and these people are hilarious to watch. Especially the prince (whose name is a wonderful easter-egg by the way – only look this up once you’ve already finished a number of episodes) always cracked me up.

#3: Gintama

Gintama hardly needs an introduction at this point. It’s a series that can make you laugh uncontrollably one minute, but cry manly tears the other. And it does so for nearly 100 episodes. Its dialogue in particular is side-splitting hilarious when it hits its stride, almost in a monty python-esque way. The reason why it’s placed relatively low on the list is due to only one thing: this series didn’t know when to quit. It’s shounen jump. It kept going on, even though it already made its best jokes. Because of that, it doesn’t really leave the best final impressions. It really hit its height at episode 100. After that it declines, and yet it goes on for 150 more episodes that you have to sit through if you want to finish it. The bad taste afterwards is a shame, but really: the first 100 episodes accomplished so much and generated so many laughs, that id’ be a shame to ignore this one just because of that.

#2: Excel Saga

The Excel Saga has a special place in my memory. Together with .Hack//Sign, it was the series that really turned me into an anime fan. This really is the parody of parodies: everything about it pokes fun at something. Every single episode is dedicated to a different genre, making every episode a completely different experience, and on top of that the entire premise, especially for its time and my personal experience, was comedic gold. The characters were all wonderful in their delivery of the jokes, from the self-insert Nabeshin to the rambling Excel whose monologues were delivered with an insane pace, to some of the best running jokes out there: Pedro and Menchie.

#1: The Law of Ueki

I watched this series six years ago, but in the end, there hasn’t been any comedy that managed to top this one for me. It’s not like this series is perfect from start to finish: there are a number of duller arcs. But the good arcs are absolutely hilarious. The concept of having a bunch of middle schoolers with some of the most ridiculous powers battle each other has been incredibly well developed in this series, and especially the creativity that it uses with nearly every single one of these powers has made this my favorite comedy for years now. I have no idea where they got them from, but the ideas in this series are just side-splittingly hilarious.

Schedule Notice

by psgels, posted in Special Articles

Well, even though my schedule hasn’t been as consistent ever since I started working full-time, this week in particular will have a rather chaotic schedule for me. As I mentioned before, I took the upcoming week off for holiday and will be going to Paris tomorrow for a few days, but I also have a lot of other stuff planned to do.

What this means is that there will be no posts until Tuesday evening (GMT) nor will I be able to reply on the shoutbox or comments. The weekend after that I will also be completely absent, as I will be attending the biggest anime convention in the Netherlands, Animecon. Inbetween though, I’ve got a number of huge posts planned, on top of the series I regularly blog, so be sure to look out for that. It’s also time for Star Crossed to have its first match in the Aniblog tourney, which is going to be fun too.

For now though, take care everyone. I’ll be back in a few days. 😉

For the people living in and around Paris

by psgels, posted in Special Articles

I apologize for being late on this, because I just finished booking this myself, but after all the talk about a week ago in the shoutbox I do at least want to try and get some sort of meet going.

Upcoming Sunday and Monday, 13th and 14th of May, I’ll be in Paris for a short holiday. It will be my first time there, so are there any places that I just have to go to visit? Also, if any of you happen to be in the neighborhood, I’d love to meet up somehow.