Category: Other:

Nisemonogatari Review – 80/100

by psgels, posted in Anime Reviews, Monogatari Series



To start this review, here is where I was coming from when starting Nisemonogatari: I really did not like its predecessor, Bakemonogatari. I had a ton of problems with how Shaft executed that series; it was trying too hard, the tons of still frames, far-away shots and blank frames made it look more like a slide-show than an actual anime, the characters bored me, the subject material didn’t feel interesting. It was a chore to sit through. In the meantime though, Shaft changed a lot. It’s not like they stopped making boring shows (Arakawa’s second season was a pain to sit through…), but their successes have allowed them to get a budget to actually animate their series really well. Enter Nisemonogatari.

To my surprise, I actually liked this series. I have a ton of problems with it, don’t get me wrong. But they actually get less in the way compared to Bakemnonogatari, and I was actually able to enjoy the good stuff inbetween these flaws.

Now, by far the biggest improvement and the biggest reason to watch this series is the visual presentation. Unlike Shaft’s early work, the characters in this series are actually animated, and they’re animated really well. Heck, Nisemonogatari was by far the best animated series of this Winter Season, and that is with a season that has a Shoji Kawamori series and a Brains Base series. There is a ton of creativity in the images without looking like it’s trying too hard with pretentious references or unnecessary convoluted detail. This show is a visual feast.

Bakemonogatari also really got on my nerves with its really poor storytelling. It had a ton of dialogue and all, but in the end its arcs never really seemed to amount to anything. To my surprise however, I actually really liked the way in which the both arcs that comprises this series resolved themselves. The dialogue was actually used well, and the growth tat the different characters go through is much more interesting. So yeah, I liked this show. but it really made it hard at times.

You might notice that Bakemonogatari had 15 episodes which combined to five different arcs, and even then it was dragged out. Nisemonogatari has 11 episodes… and consists out of only two arcs. It takes forever to get anywhere, and especially its first half drags on horribly. And ti does so with an ungodly amount of fanservice.

Seriously, this show randomly brings in characters, giving them a rather shallow reason to appear again and then proceeds to have them walk around naked, bathe with the male lead and all kinds of other stuff. At best it’s creative and clever, but at worst it’s realy distasteful. You’d think that at least the dialogue would make up for it, but even that grinds to a halt when the characters end up talking about nothing else but fanservice, over and over and over again.

This really ends up eating away at the majority of the series. The entire female cast needs to have had a long dragged out fanservice scene with the male lead that doesn’t go anywhere. It’s just way too much. Just as you think you’re done with one girl, the male lead moves on to the next and it starts all over again. The important lines that are tacked onto it that actually develop the characters and add more to them feel tacked more than anything. This show even jumps the implied incest bandwagon without really contributing anything to it. I don’t mind fanservice if it’s used well and all, but this was just way too much.

Thankfully, the points where it gets down to business, it really becomes good, and this series does really give some good insights into its lead cast. The dialogue whenever the fanservice isn’t involved is actually dedicated to fleshing out the characters and the wordplay is more put to the side-lines. Watch this if you want to see an arthouse flick, because it definitely is a well directed visual feast.

Storytelling: 7/10 – Great dialogue, way TOO MUCH fanservice.
Characters: 8/10 – Good development, interesting cast, well fleshed out characters for once.
Production-Values: 9/10 – Gorgeous and fluid animation with very creative shots and images. The music is nothing special, though.
Setting: 8/10 – Even though nobody seems to live in the world of Nisemonogatari outside of the main characters, the underlying themes make up for itwith some neat ideas and backstories.

Suggestions:
– Dororon Enma-Kun Meerameera
– High School of the Dead
– Michiko e Hatchin

To Aru Hikuushi he no Tsuioku Review – 82,5/100

by psgels, posted in Anime Reviews

Quite often, movies suffer from being too epic. I understand that conflict is necessary, and trying to think big is a great way to do it, but there are also a lot of stories that have no business going there. To Aru Hikuushi he no Tsuioku understands this, and actually creates the right balance. Sure, there is a war going on, and one of the main characters is a princess, but it smartly doesn’t attempt to solve everything in its airtime. At heart, this is an escort story, nothing more, nothing less.

And because it understands this so well it’s able to do a lot of things that other movies can’t. It definitely stands on its own in terms of its plot, which is well paced and gives ample time for events to play themselves out and the characters to develop themselves and flesh each other out. There is relatively little action for a show that’s supposedly about a war, but the few dogfights that are there are really well directed, and the build-up between the quiet parts and the climaxes is excellent.

The characters in this series are also very good most of the time, and that is mostly due to the acting. The characters manage to show off a good variety of their personalities, and they act very believable. There are large parts of this movie dedicated to just showing the two lead characters play off each other, and they work really well together… most of the time.

It’s unfortunate that this movie has one major flaw, really: the romance itself can get really corny at times. The movie has good intentions, but the great acting just can’t hold up as soon as the characters get too sappy about their feelings. The ending also involves one particular twist that makes no sense whatsoever other than giving it a cheesy aftertaste.

So yeah, because of that it’s not amongst the best movies, but really: it has a lot to like. The thing sit does well, it does really well.

Storytelling: 9/10 – Well told, and knows very well what it wants and doesn’t want.
Characters: 8/10 – Very believable characters… outside of the romance.
Production-Values: 8/10 – Great dogfights, although apart from that the animation is nothing special.
Setting: 8/10 – A bit too one-sided on the discrimination subplot, but apart from that we’ve got a believable setting that smartly stays away from being too epic.

Suggestions:
– The Sky Crawlers
– Seikai no Monshou

Hotarubi no Mori he Review – 85/100

by psgels, posted in Anime Reviews

The essentials that you need to know for Hoturabi no Mori he: it’s from the creators of Natsume Yuujin-Chou (same director and same original writer; heck, it’s even done in the same style and the cast of Natsume Yuujinchou even makes a very small cameo here), and for a movie’s standards, it’s very short: only 40 minutes. Most OVAs nowadays have episodes of just that length. Now, Natsume Yuujin-Chou was really, really good at telling short standalone stories. This movie is too.

This movie is perfect for if you’re interested in Natsume Yuujin-Chou, yet don’t have the time to sit through 52 episodes, because it is a delightful self-contained story. Because it’s short, it can’t do as much as other movies can, but the story that it does tell is incredibly well executed. It’s heart-warming from start to finish, and never has a weak scene. The beginning is captivating, the build-up is excellent and the ending is incredibly solid.
What surprised me the most about this movie is the amount of character development. It actually takes place over multiple years, allowing the characters to gradually grow, instead of focing its entire scenario into the timespan of just a few days, like what most movies do. It’s perhaps not the most unpredictable movie, and it definitely isn’t for those who are looking for a lot of action or drama. Apart from that though, it is really an accessible movie with a wonderfully told story.

Storytelling: 9/10 – Excellent script, great build-up and ending.
Characters: 9/10 – Excellent character-development, especially for just a 40 minute movie.
Production-Values: 8/10 – Very good animation, though perhaps nothing impressive for movie standards.
Setting: 8/10 – Pretty much the same setting as Natsume Yuujinchou. Uses it well enough, but doesn’t add much to it either.

Suggestions:
– Natsume Yuujin-Chou
– Mushishi
– Zettai Shounen

February Summary

by psgels, posted in Monthly Summaries

At first I thought that this would be a season that would at least be exciting. In the end, what stood out about the most is how many series make me go wtf this time. And they just keep increasing. And really: while there aren’t any absolute classics here, it does make this season really fun to watch and keep up with.

#20 (24) – Guilty Crown – (6,25/10) – In its first half, Guilty crown was offensively boring. Right now however, it’s just plain offensively bad. The plot twists it pulls just are consistently pulled out of its ass, and yet at the same time it’s not really going anywhere. It’s not fun; the characters are obnoxious and Shu is still a terrible character who randomly changes every episode, yet remains consistently obnoxious. Please Noitamina, don’t make writing of this level to be the new standard for your new shows. I know it sold well and all, but for god’s sake this should never become the norm!
#19 (new) – Smile Precure – (7/10) – Here is the thing, Smile Precure: I know you’ve got a big audience who will watch you no matter what, but that’s no excuse to just be completely boring at the start. You can be amazing halfway through, but if you don’t give us a reason to keep watching, then that’s all for naught. All I’ve seen so far are a bunch of dull introduction episodes. There are no major side-characters whatsoever other than the Precure, the standard bad guys and that mascot thing. This show is nowhere near as bad as Suite Precure’s opening, but at the same time I also see no hints that it’ll get better later on.
#18 (new) – Black Rock Shooter – (7/10) – Halfway in, and I’m not very impressed by this series. The biggest reason is because of how incredibly forced the drama and angst is. I could have lived with relatively little focus on the Black Rock Shooter world (because really: that one has even less depth), but the angst is way too forced, and just there for the sake to create drama. It’s gotten very annoying now. Mari Okada, you disappoint me.
#17 (17) – Listen Girls, I am Your Father – (7,5/10) – This show is not like Kimi to Boku. That show used it annoyance to somehow become good. Papa however, is annoying, only to become heart-warming afterwards. It’s nowhere as neatly meshed, especially when the girls take a bath for the umpth time. This show is worth it for the small moments that really are heart-warming, but the rest of the airtime tends to be rather boring.
#16 (15) – Ano Natsu de Matteru – (7,75/10) – Ano Natsu got dominated this month with that cliche-filled beach arc. Sure, the characters developed a bit, but it was all predictable and the fanservice was pointless and obnoxious, not to mention that the annoying harem subplot also didn’t really steer this show into a good direction. I will have to say though that I am at least glad that this show is heading somewhere.
#15 (11) – Last Exile – Ginyoku no Fam – (7,75/10) – I’m very iffy about Last Exile at the moment: it’s not like Fam is badly developed or anything, and I want to like her, but most of the time she just doesn’t belong in this series. Overall the “war is bad themes” of this series are starting to get a bit boring, and the world building isn’t really bringing anything new to the table at this point. I really fear whether this show would be able to deliver a solid climax.
#14 (19) – Danshi Koukousei no Nichijou – (8/10) – This show is a hit and miss comedy: it’s cringe-worthy when a joke falls flat, but it’s also hilarious and very creative when it actually works. The ration at the moment seems to hang steady around 50:50, and at the very least I admire it for this creativity here. It’s not the best comedy of the season, though.
#13 (14) – Inu X Boku SS – (8/10) – Inu X Boku is nothing special, especially for David Production’s standards. And yet, it’s consistently able to put a smile on my face. Even though the characters are simplistic, they are also heart-warming in a way. It’s a bit shallow, but very charming.
#12 (7) – Rinne no Lagrange – (8/10) – Out of the three big mecha/sci-fi shows this season, Rinne no Lagrange is the only one who dulled in a bit this month. This is mostly due to time spent on building up, but the fact remains that lately it hasn’t been as sharp as it used to, though it did offer solid character building. Now all that’s left is to use it.
#11 (18) – Nisemonogatari – (8,25/10)

I actually really liked this month for Nisemonogatari. Fially the plot was about something meaningful other than mostly fanservice, and the animation really is gorgeous as well. I also really liked the way in which the Karen arc ended. And then there was the toothbrush scene. Just… wtf.

#10 (10) – Mirai Nikki – (8,25/10)

It’s about bloody time, but the character development has finally kicked in. And indeed: this show has become a lot more entertaining compared to the first half. In particular Yukiteru has become much more interesting to watch now. It’s nothing deep and it’s still full of plotholes and bad twists and all, but it’s just so over the top entertainment that at this point, I don’t mind.

#9 (13) – Poyopoyo Kansatsu Nikki – (8,25/10)

I love this show. In only five minutes it consistently tells fun little stories about the entire cast, and really brings them alive. The creative jokes just keep coming, but on top of that: it also fleshes out who the characters are in a really fun way by showing a very good look at their everyday lives. half of the jokes don’t even involve Poyopoyo but instead are about how they live their lives.

#8 (8) – Aquarion Evol – (8,25/10)

The romantic comedy really is not a genre that I’m often into, and I find the vast majority of these series to be dull and trite. Aquarion Evol is a major exception though. It just has this energy, on top of its just bizarre context and sexual undertones. This month has continued to explore the “males versus females”-themes and it did so with some solid character-building arcs that made the collective cast very enjoyable to watch. The music still is completely awesome, and the graphics still look incredibly flashy.

#7 (9) – Mouretsu Pirates – (8,25/10)

This really is the stand-out series in terms of characters feeling real. In this series, there are hardly any stereotypes, and the acting is very believable, and this only solidified more this month. It’s clear that Tatsuo Sato is behind the helm of this series, because it really takes its time to let everything play out. Because of that it’s not the most exciting series yet, but in terms of character and world building it really is excellent. This month also put a lot of focus on politics and really took its audience seriously when it discussed everything involved in being a pirate.

#6 (6) – Hunter X Hunter – (8,5/10)

This month featured the conclusion of the Hunter Exam arc. As usual there were things that I liked and things that I liked a little less when comparing it to the 1999 series, but the things I liked are getting better and better. I am disappointed that this adaptation didn’t spend the same amount of care to Gon’s final fight (an episode that I considered in the 1999 version to be absolutely fantastic), and the cast of side characters is noticeably weaker and less interesting, but the character development on the main cast is still really, really good.

#5 (12) – Another – (8,5/10)

What really makes Another stand out as a horror series is how down to earth the characters are. The acting here is top-notch, and because of that the contrast with the brutal gore really stands out. This show has some very interesting build-up and the atmosphere is still excellent. \

#4 (5) – Phi Brain – (8,5/10)

Phi Brain has yet again just gotten better and better this month. I’m really surprised at how engaging this show has gotten, but the character development just continues to push the characters forward. I just have to wonder: how on earth are the creator planning to top this for the second season?

#3 (4) – Tantei Opera Milky Holmes – (8,5/10)

This month had both the most and least entertaining episode of the second season, so it’s a bit hard to judge. When at its stride though, it was absolutely hilarious and without a doubt the biggest WTF of the entire season (and with this season, that has to say something). In particular the train episode was just glorious.

#2 (2) – Natsume Yuujin-Chou – (8,75/10)

Not as strong as the previous month, but this series still stands on top of the season with its well thought out stories about youkai. The fourth season is really dedicated to develop everyone around Natsume, and it’s doing a great job at that. My one complaint is that some parts (like Nyanko-sensei) are getting a bit repetitive.

#1 (3) – Chihayafuru – (8,75/10)

This series has been as solid as ever. Where it lacks in varietyk it more than makes up in character development, giving every major character enough time to play out, and it always finds something meaningful for every character in every episode. Now that’s good writing, especially considering how it’s been doing that throughout the entire series now.

Towa no Quon – 06 Review – 80/100

by psgels, posted in Anime Reviews

As the final movie of the Towa no Quon series, it indeed closes off with a nice action-packed finale. The action s very solid, and the animation also is overall the best out of all the six movies so far. Overall I like it much more than the Break Blade movies, which was just a collection of uninspired movies. This movie has personality and the themes to back it up with. On the downside however: it was just too much run of the mill.

And with that I mean that this finale did succeed in creating a satisfying climax, but not really much more. It really is the standard finale against an overpowered bad guy that every other series ends with. In the meantime it did wrap up its storylines, but that too was done in the most obvious way. This series of movies is well laid out because of this, and there is nothing rushed or dragged out. That’s good, but I would have wished that the creators took a bit more risk. But then again: this was made to commemorate the death of Umanosuke Ida, so the creators probably focused more on delivering a solid portrayal of his vision.

With the last episode I noted that the villain had become a lot more menacing. And yeah, this was done with this typical ending in mind: he needed more power to actually be a threat, and that was the purpose of Movie 05. In the end though, he’s your typical villain with hardly anything original to him. The big cliff-hanger he ended the fifth movie with? In the end he never really did anything with it and the whole point of that scene was probably the most underdeveloped part of this movie. For the sake of the epic finale, it did focus much less on the themes of the other movies. On the other hand though, the bad guy’s subordinates suddenly got characters and started thinking on their own. That was a surprise.
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Storytelling: 8/10 – Solid climactic ending. No rush.
Characters: 8/10 – Enjoyable characters throughout the movie, though they remain not very deep.
Production-Values: 8/10 – Best animation overall of the six movies.
Setting: 8/10 – Solid for what the movie is trying to do, however could have tried more in the end.

Towa no Quon – 05 Review – 80/100

by psgels, posted in Anime Reviews

The fifth Quon movie is meant to be a typical preparation for the finale. Standalone it definitely should not be watched, but it’s essential for building up the atmosphere and storyline for the sixth and final movie to close everything off. The major villain gets a lot more threatening as well, and the entire cast continues to head into the direction in which they had been built up to.

Overall, Towa no Quon isn’t exactly anything new, but what made this series work is how it stayed true to its themes. The characters in this series are all hunted for their powers and because of that they had to abandon everything if they wanted to be able to live happily. This movie actually makes great use of this.

The main villain was both the best and worst part of this movie. On one hand, he really turned into a threat, and became more than just someone who sits into his chair and gives orders, making excellent use of the above-mentioned themes. On the other hand though, he remains a very typical villain, still without any background an still very one-sided. Plus, I have no bloody clue why any of his subordinates still dare to follow him after what he did in this movie.

Storytelling: 8/10 – Solid build-up, the atmosphere and overall themes made this work.
Characters: 8/10 – Consistent character build-up, though there still are too many undeveloped characters left..
Production-Values: 8/10 – Solid and expressive enough.
Setting: 8/10 – Albeit nothing new, the themes are well explored.

Monster Review – 95/100

by psgels, posted in Anime Reviews

And with this, I’ve finally finished this behemoth of a series. Aside from LoGH, this probably is the most critically acclaimed anime out there. And by GOD, I do agree with that consensus.

I already noticed when watching Master Keaton, how much research its author, Naoki Urusawa, puts into his stories and setting. The same influence can be seen in Monster. It’s completely different from Master Keaton, and yet both shows are meticulously well researched: its portrayal of Germany is fantastic, and like Master Keaton: everyone is a professional. This isn’t a series of impulsive plans: everyone all spends a large amount of time preparing and researching. This has two benefits: it’s incredibly believable what these guys do, and it fleshes out whatever they’re investigating brilliantly.

Now, talking about what makes this show so amazing is very difficult without delving into spoilers, so I’ll try to be as vague as possible with this review, as usual. Let me just say that this series has some of the best villains I have ever seen. Perhaps even the best out there. The only thing I’ll say about them is that their character development is just utterly fantastic.

Now, Monster is long. I have found that marathoning these long series, like most recently Hajime no Ippo and Legend of Galactic Heroes, that while they have some amazing parts, there are also parts at which it’s a bit of a chore to sit through with all of the build-up. And here is the thing: with Monster, I did not have that. It immediately starts off with an amazing display of fireworks, and even though it is paced very slowly, every episode delivers an interesting new twist to the story, and every episode had me at the edge of my seat. Even the build-up episodes are fascinating to watch, and in a personal way that really allows you to connect to the characters. It manages to avoid being repetitive by continuing to push its storyline in different directions, and introducing a wide variety of characters. Seriously, even the development of the minor side-characters has its flashes of brilliance.

On top of that, this show also has a stunning direction, use of music and audio. Masayuki Kojima has really shown that he can direct in pretty much any style. And heck, Ryousuke Nakamura (yes, the Mouryou no Hako guy) was actually the assistant director for this. The result shows, with an incredibly solid show that hardly ever shows any bad animation. The animation that’s there feels real and yet very intense when it needs to, and it makes very good use of its camera angles and fluidity. The music is also just perfectly timed.

This show is amazing. I’m very sure that this show is better than anything else that’s going to appear this year. Did it become my favorite series? Well, it’s certainly amazing, but near the end of its run it does lose a little steam, and the ending itself was excellent, yet left me hungry for more answers. It’s not like the ending is rushed, but because it wasn’t rushed it couldn’t answer as much as I had hoped to. Still, a spot in my top 20 favorite anime has most definitely been conquered.

Storytelling: 9/10 – Brilliant atmosphere and pacing.
Characters: 10/10 – Deep and diverse characters, both main and side. Fantastic development.
Production-Values: 9/10 – Perhaps not over the top or anything, but the animation is very refined and very realist, plus the soundtrack is terrific.
Setting: 10/10 – Again, meticulously researched. A very realistic and believable portrayal of Germany.

Suggestions:
– Gankutsuou
– Les Miserables – Shoujo Cosette
– Mushishi

Full Metal Alchemist – Brotherhood – The Sacred Star of Milos Review – 82.5/100

by psgels, posted in Anime Reviews, Full Metal Alchemist - Brotherhood

Out of the entire FMA franchise, the worst part for me was the movie to the first season. It just mad eno sense, was badly animated, especially for movie standards, mad a mockery of the characters and the plot, and overall wasn’t the least bit enjoyable. Thankfully, The Sacred Star of Milos is nothing like that, and is actually a pretty good movie.

Let me first debunk some overall fears that arose with the announcement of this movie: do you remember how in the promo art, Winri looked really inaccurate to her designs in the other series? Well, that is because that wasn’t Winry at all. She’s a character original to this movie, and pretty much the main character. I know a few people who were turned off by the art style of it (yeah), but let me tell you that that is no reason to skip this movie. One thing that you do need to take into account that this IS made by different people as the anime staff, so the animation IS different from the style of the TV-series. The character designs in this movie are a bit more rough and simple. This movie also doesn’t really bother to keep its faces consistent. As a tradeoff however, ti did get a lot of very good inbetween animation. It’s been said before, but this movie has some very good action, and especially the choreography of the different action scenes is very good and creative.

So, what about the story? As it turns out, this takes place around the second half of the Brotherhood TV-series. It’s an original story that doesn’t have anything to do with the main storyline of the series, but it does flesh out the world the world it’s set in. As for the plot: it has some good and bad parts. The good parts was that it packed a good amount of twists that were well built up throughout its airtime. It created a new city in the FMA universe, and actually successfully populated it and created an epic storyline around it. Although… near the end it does get a little too epic.

What I mean by that is the following: you can really see that the creators put some good thought into some of the twists that are pulled. Near the end of the movie however, they just run out of time and momentum to keep that up, resulting in a rushed ending and a final villain with very flimsy motives who continues to spout random moral crap at the main characters. The themes and morals also are a part where this movie leaves things to be desired. Like the TV-series, it’s full of morals, and it doesn’t just copy them, but also adds in its own themes. At the end of the movie though, it didn’t really do anything with them, and most of the final quarter was just completely inconsistent with the morals it tried to build up, and not in a way that makes things come together.

So yeah, it’s a very nice movie, which unfortunately suffers of the common flaw of trying to do too much and trying to be too epic. Still, I’d recommend it. It’s a solid movie with likable characters, and I’d say that out of the Primetime Timeslot movies to come out in the recent years, it is so far the most solid and enjoyable.

Storytelling: 8/10 – Solid storyline for a movie that is just about a random story, albeit a bit too short to give everything the time it needs to build up.
Characters: 8/10 – A solid cast, both the old and new characters. The main villain is flimsy, though.
Production-Values: 9/10 – Great action choreography.
Setting: 8/10 – Doesn’t build much on the themes of the TV-series, but does flesh out the world it plays in.

Suggestions:
– Cowboy Bebop – Knockin’ on Heaven’s Door
– Heartcatch Precure Movie
– Metropolis

Spring Season Preview – Movie and OVA Edition

by psgels, posted in Seasonal Previews

I’m really busy this weekend, so this preview will be a compact version, simply because I don’t have the time to look up and list the creators and synopsizes of all of the different DVD-specials, franchise movies or ongoing releases that are coming out next month.

When looking purely at the new releases, the next season will be small. There will hardly be any new OVAs beond the usual DVD specials and manga DVDs. In terms of movies, there are going to be three that I’m really going to keep my eye out… and beyond that everything looks dull.

DVD Specials

Comments: This season, we’ll get DVD episodes and specials from Maken-Ki, Kore wa Zombie Desu Ka, Sankarea and Another. Ignoring Maken-Ki, which is just going to be porn, and Kore wa Zombie Desu Ka (the first dvd special was horrible…), there are two interesting ones coming. Apparently Sankarea is going to be more than just another zombie comedy (still: two Zombie series in one season, which both have a DVD-special. Get back to your variety, Studio Deen…). The big one will be Another, though: this is definitely a DVD special with a clear meaning, and it’s going to offer some vital background for the main female. I’m definitely looking out for that one.

Franchise Movies and OVAs

Comments: These are the kinds of movies and OVAs that just keep returning with new installments and of which I don’t feel like covering them over and over again with each preview. This time I also included series like A-Channel and Kenichi, which are coming out with random OVAs that honestly, I don’t care about, having never finished the TV-series they’re based on. I’ve heard good stuff on Kenichi, but the characters were just too annoying to continue with when I first watched it. A-Channel also wasn’t really interesting, and it was mostly unremarkable moe with insert songs that took up way too much time. Beyond that, To Heart is coming out with yet another spinoff OVA, again pretty uninteresting. Oh, and the new Conan movie will be about soccer, for the people interested in that. Honestly, the only thing that stands out here for me is that there seriously is going to be yet another Precure All-Stars movie. Yes, the count has actually reached a staggering 29 main characters. Who are all going to be stuffed into this one movie. And that does not even include all the various mascots that have been collected over the years. Good lord, I’m going to watch that only to witness the complete chaos that can only result from it.

Ongoing OVA and Movie Series

Comments: These are ongoing Movie and OVA series, including manga who just keep releasing an OVA with one of their volumes, like Fairy Tail, Seitokai Yakuindomo and Yondemasuyo, Azazel-san. Of those three, the latter is the only one I care about, having dropped the other two really quickly. Still, the OVAs of Azazel-san are actually better than the TV-series, so it’s good that they keep making more of them. Beyond that, the Eiyuu Densetsu OVA will be continued, which honestly disappointed me a bit: the story there assumed that you are familiar with the original source material, which I am not. And then there is the second Scryed movie coming out. I’m still debating whether or not to watch it, but damn: these guys sure look constipated. The fifth installment of Gundam Unicorn will also arrive, but at this point I’ve pretty much lost interest. It’s a real shame: it’s incredibly well made. But the main character drags the entire thing down. Just like more than 50% of all other Gundam shows.

Moe Can Change

Summary: “Based on a game. The “playful bishoujo Miroid-raising/clothes-changing moe game” has the player joining a beta test program for an android, who the player must raise and dress up as a girl. “ – (Taken from ANN)
Type: OVA
Director: Takeo Takahashi

The Positives: Moe can change? Hah, I’d like to see that!
The Negatives: Takeo Takahashi is pretty much another porn director, with series as Aki Sora and Yosuga no Sora behind his belt now. Yeah, there is no hope for this one.

First-Glance Potential: 0%

Strike Witches The Movie

Summary: “The year is 1939 – it was then that the Neuroi appeared. Nobody knows where they came from or what their ultimate agenda is, but the fact remains that their attacks drove people out of their towns and cities. In order to take arms against them, humanity develops a new anti-Neuroi weapon called the “Striker Unit.” Using the power of magic to fight against the monsters, this new device enhances and amplifies the power of female magic-wielders. To use this device, young witches from all over the world have been brought together to form an elite task force unit called the 501st Joint Fighter Wing, commonly known as the “Strike Witches.”” – (Taken from ANN)
Type: Movie
Director: Kazuhiro Takamura

The Positives: Well, I guess they’re milking the Strike Witches cow here some more.
The Negatives: And here is the thing with this movie: when you look at the trailer, the animation didn’t really improve over what it was. It still looks quite generic, and apparently doesn’t make use of the fact that it’s a movie at all. This franchise really isn’t so complex that it warrants two whole series and a movie…

First-Glance Potential: 0%

Kimi no Iru Machi

Summary: “Kirishima Haruto is your average Hiroshima Prefecture countryside Japanese student that is about to start his 3 year High school life. But before that happens a girl from Tokyo, Eba Yuzuki, whose father is the friend of Haruto’s father, shows up at his house to live with him and his family so she can attend the same high school. Haruto isn’t happy of the situation; a stranger that happens to be a girl of his same age, not his relative, living in the same house like him will cause complications. Truth is Haruto has another girl in mind, Kanzaki Nanami, whom Haruto has hidden romantic feelings for since middle school. And so starts his complicated life.” – (Taken from ANN)
Type: OVA
Chief Director: Yasuhiro Yoshiura
Director: Hiroshi Kobayashi
Screenplay: Momoko Murakami
Other Notable Staff: Kouji Seo (Original Creator), Ryuusuke Chayama (Character Designs), Akira Takahata (Chief Animation Direction)

The Positives: Akira Takahata is an awesome animation director: he also directed the animation for Natsume Yuujinchou, Karas, Durarara and Ookiku Furikabutte. As if that wasn’t enugh already, we’ve got the director of Eve no Jikan acting as the chief director here.
The Negatives: This brings me to the premise: a guy and a cute girl are going to live together again. I really wonder: is this kind of OVA really right for the guy of a caliber of Hasihiro Yoshiura? This guy should delve into hard sci-fi with experimental stuff, not some random romance OVA that is most likely just a promo for the manga it’s based on.

First-Glance Potential: 70%

Niji-Iro Hotaru ~Eien no Natsu Yasumi~

Summary: “The story revolves around a sixth-grade boy named Yūta on his summer vacation. His father passed away one year ago in a traffic accident, and Yūta now goes alone to visit a place where he and his father once shared memories. The two had gone often to an unused dam deep in the mountains to collect the rhinoceros beetles nearby. Yuuta suddenly receives a shock in a thunderstorm, loses his footing, and gets knocked out. When he wakes up, he see a small girl and a village — except this village is the one that should be submerged below the dam. Yuuta realizes that he slipped back time to over thirty years ago, before the dam was completed. Another summer vacation, and another chance for Yuuta to reclaim what cannot be reclaimed, begins. “ – (Taken from ANN)
Type: Movie
Director: Kounosuke Uda
Screenplay: Kei Kunji
Other Notable Staff: Takaaki Yamashita (Screen Design)

The Positives: Interestingly, Takaaki Yamashita has closely worked for a lot of the Mamoru Hosoda movies as a designer and animation director. The director will be the same One Piece director who’s going to direct the Ginga he Kickoff series. The really great part is the guy behind the series composition, though: it’s the guy who adapted Porfy no Nagai Tabi. This guy is perfect for bringing a coming of age drama to life.
The Negatives: The show does have a few cliches: this definitely isn’t the only show about a young boy, a remote village, and a dam that’s causing problems. The time travel thing however has some definite potential, so let’s see whether this show can set itself apart from these other series.

First-Glance Potential: 90%

Space Battleship Yamato 2199

Summary: “In the distant future, the war between the human race and the Gamilon has taken its toll on the planet Earth. Constant bombardment of radioactive asteroids has rendered the planet’s atmosphere uninhabitable. As a means of relief aid, Queen Starsha of the planet Iscandar offers the Earth Forces a device that can completely neutralize the radiation off the planet. For this task, the space battleship Yamato is launched from the remains of its World War II ancestor on a 148,000 light-year journey. However, the crew of the Yamato has only one Earth year to travel to Iscandar and back, or the human race will come to an end.” – (Taken from ANN)
Type: Movie
Director: Yutaka Izubuchi
Screenplay: Ryuusuke Hikawa
Other Notable Staff: Leiji Matsumoto (Original Creator), Akira Miyagawa

The Positives: Yes, the director of Rahxephon is actually doing the Space Battleship Yamato remake. This is going to be awesome. I love remakes as it always brings out the best in the people working with them. Most of these series were really made by fans, and more often than not they are excellent vehicles to experiment in all kinds of new styles. The Yamato series as a space exploration franchise with a very simple story is perfect for this. I’m also definitely looking forward to that TV-series, whenever it’s set to come out.
The Negatives: AIC and Xebec? That’s about the last combination I’d expect when animating this space epic. Especially AIC, but I’m glad that they FINALLY are going to do something that isn’t moe again.

First-Glance Potential: 90%

A Letter to Momo

Summary: “A Letter to Momo follows a girl named Momo who struggles with her father’s sudden passing and resulting move to the countryside. Momo finds an otherworldly surprise at her new home.” – (Taken from ANN)
Type: Movie
Director: Hiroyuki Okiura
Screenplay: Hiroyuki Okiura
Other Notable Staff: Hiroyuki Okiura (Storyboard), Hiroyuki Okiura (Original Concept), Hiroshi Ouno (Art Direction), Masashi Ando, Takeshi Honda

The Positives: And ths is the very obvious big hit of this season: the director of one of the best anime movies ever made (Jin Roh), finally returning with another movie for which he took no less than seven years to write, direct and storyboard. This just couldn’t be anymore different to Jin Roh, and Mamoru Oshii also is not involved this time, but this still is chock full of talent, and a number of fantastic animators will be involved as well.
The Negatives: The coming of age movie is very overcrowded in terms of movies. That’s all I have. These guys will have to set themselves apart, but with such names behind this thing, I have no doubt that they will.

First-Glance Potential: 100%

Spring Season Preview

by psgels, posted in Seasonal Previews

The upcoming Spring Season will be a bit small: only 33 new series will premiere. Last year, in comparison, we had 40 of them. In any case, here is my preview for them. As usual, I can only comment on the anime themselves, and not on the source material they’re based on, since i don’t read any manga or light novels.

I’s unfortunate, but only four series of these shows aren’t about teenagers. We’ve now gotten to the point where this is really getting annoying and one-sided. And to be honest, this season is in one thing very mediocre: the actual premises. Very few of the premises really stand out as potential classics, and most of them really are the same usual teenaged stories or moe shows compared to previous spring series. I’m really talking about the taglines of a series that immediately catch your attention.

Looking beyond that and to the creators involved, and the potential for some of these series, and then we’ve got a very solid bunch. I’ve got about 11 series that I’m really looking forward to, along with quite a few others that could turn out very nice. Unfortunately, the fact remains that yet again, there will be a ton of moe and dull romantic comedies.

There are two major themes of this season aside from that: coming of age, and thrillers. The most series this season come from Studio Deen again. And really, by now you’d think that with the amount of series they release, they’d at least use one of those slots for something interesting or expermental. But no, we apparently only need moe and bishies. Sunrise also has three shows, which thankfully look more promising. The most impressive company this season will be A-1, with two shows with a lot of potential coming up.

Haiyoru! Nyaruko-Chan

Summary: “The story centers around Nyaruko, a formless Cthulhu deity who can take on the shape of a seemingly ordinary silver-haired girl. Mahiro Yasaka is a normal high school who is chased by aliens one night, until Nyaruko saves him.” – (Taken from ANN)
Director: Tsuyoshi Nagasawa
Series Composition: Noboru Kimura

The Positives: I… um… what?
The Negatives: I’m just completely baffled here. For those of you who don’t know: Haiyoru Nyarani was released a few years ago as this utterly terrible flash OVA that was very poorly produced and had the most mind-numbing banter imaginable. It kicked off the very annoying trend of showing horrid flash shows that are barely animated and that just feature cute girls talk to each other and fail miserably in their attempts to be funny. Xebec saw this, and thought “hey, we can make an anime about this too!”, or so I can only imagine. Just… what the hell? These guys have completely given up. Thank god there still is Good Xebec.

First-Glance Potential: 0%

Sengoku Collection

Summary: “The story is set in the tumultuous Sengoku Era of historical Japan, when military masters circle the figurative throne of Japan’s first shogunate. In the game, “God of War Cards” have been sealed in six hidden treasures, and fighting breaks out among those who seek the treasures. As a new military master, the player embarks on a journey to obtain the treasures by clearing quests and fighting bosses. The anime’s main character is a female re-imagining of the great warlord Oda Nobunaga. Another major character is the female version of Tokugawa Ieyasu, the first shogun of Japan. “ – (Taken from ANN)
Director: Keiji Gotou
Series Composition: Shinjuurou Mitaka

The Positives: Keiji Gotou surely worked on a ton of different series here.
The Negatives: Brains Base, seriously? Are you seriously saying that you too have sold out and followed the horrible bandwagon of turning famous historical figures into moe stereotypes? Are you seriously trying to beat a horse that has been dead for half a decade now?

First-Glance Potential: 0%

Rock Lee no Seishun Full-Power Ninden

Summary: “The story centers around the secondary Naruto character Rock Lee. “ – (Taken from ANN)
Director: Masahiko Murata

The Positives: I really like Masahiko Murata. He’s the director of some really good horror series: Shikabane Hime and Gilgamesh. His sense of action is raw and cold, just like his characterization.
The Negatives: Just… no. Are they really going to milk out the Naturo franshile like what Toei is currently doing with One Piece? Is there really a need for this? Is there really a need to use such a good director as Masahiko Murata?

First-Glance Potential: 0%

Pretty Rythm Dear My Future

Summary: “The Prism Show is an all-new kind of ice skating show that requires its participants to be figure skaters, models, and singers all at the same time. Aira and Rhythm are two girls who both dream of becoming the Prism Queen. They’ll have to train hard and overcome both their quarrels with each other and their blossoming interest in boys if they want to achieve their dream.” – (Taken from ANN)

The Positives: Nothing.
The Negatives: Oh, I remember watching the first episode of the first season of this one. What really stood out was how abysmally poorly it was in every single aspect. The animatio was virtually nonexistant, and the writing in particular was incredibly stupid and convenient. I can’t believe they’re making a second season of this.

First-Glance Potential: 0%

Jewel Pet Sunshine Second Season

Summary: “The Plum Section of the 3rd grade class at the Sunshine Academy in Jewel Land are also known as “the Leftovers.” Ruby and her classmates aim to graduate and follow their dreams.” – (Taken from ANN)

The Positives: I remember when kids’ series were actually about something other than selling toys…
The Negatives: There’s going to be even more of this?

First-Glance Potential: 0%

Queen’s Blade: Rebellion

Summary: “” – (Taken from )
Director: Yousei Morino
Series Composition: Hideki Shirone

The Positives: The positives should be obvious by now…
The Negatives: Will there ever come a point at which the guys at Arms will stop producing these bad fanservice shows? I mean, I remember the frst show they ever made: Elfen Lied. That was good. What happened afterwards? Did they just realize “hey, we can actually make a lot more money while putting in a lot less effort!” or something?

First-Glance Potential: 0%

Acchi Kocchi

Summary: “The four-panel manga follows a tsundere (initially aloof and abrasive, but later kind-hearted) girl named Tsumiki, the most unsociable eyeglasses-wearing boy named Io, and their classmates. “ – (Taken from ANN)
Director: Fumitoshi Oizaki
Series Composition: Nobuhiko Amagawa

The Positives: The best I can think of is that the series composition isn’t anything bad.
The Negatives: It’s got the director of Astarotte no Omocha. My big problem with this one is that I just can’t find anything about it that interests me whatsoever. It’s just another mediocre high school romance show, but this time based on a 4koma; the designs look generic and being produced by AIC seals the deal here.

First-Glance Potential: 0%

Gakkatsu

Summary: “???”

The Positives: Information about this thing is very scarce. I managed to find out that it’s being produced by the same company who produced Hanoka. Now, that actually was an interesting experiment to animate a small action series in only flash vector graphics…
The Negatives: … so of course their next work will be yet another one of those horrid flash school series. Of course. Let’s at the very least hope that they won’t be as cheap as the crap that companies as DLE produce.

First-Glance Potential: 5%

Nazo na Kanojo X

Summary: “When a mysterious transfer girl happens to drool on her desk one day, Akira Tsubaki decides to taste it. Little did he know that soon he would be going out with Mitoko Urabe, a girl who he knows absolutely nothing about, yet seems to be destined for.” – (Taken from ANN)
Director: Ayumu Watanabe
Series Composition: Deko Akao
Other Notable Staff: Kenichi Konishi (Character Designs), Shigemi Ikeda

The Positives: The character designer of Bokura no and Tokyo Godfathers? Awesome. Ayumu Watanabe only directed a few doraemon movies before, so I’m interested in what he can do as a director of an actual tv-series.
The Negatives: Ugh, it’s Hoods again, or the guys who just produce porn over and over again. This really seems like a typical raunchy romance of theirs again, especially since Deko Akao isn’t really such a good writer (having adapted Astarotte no Omocha and Pretty Rythm before…). It’s a real shame to waste such a good character designer on this.

First-Glance Potential: 10%

Kore wa Zombie Desu Ka? Of the Dead

Summary: “Ayumu Aikawa is a normal high school boy. One day he is killed by a serial killer and revived as a zombie by a necromancer named Eucliwood Hellscythe. He starts to serve Eu as her guard but he happens to deprive the mahō shōjo Haruna of her magic power. Haruna orders Ayumu to fight against the anti-mahō shōjo system “Megalo” in her place.” – (Taken from ANN)
Director: Takaomi Kanasaki
Series Composition: Makoto Uezu

The Positives: Well, it’s bound to have a few good episodes, like the first season.
The Negatives: This show pissed me off so much. It could have been a fun gory show, but instead it dabbled way too much into dull harem hijinks, along with a joke of a story to close itself off with. The staff is exactly the same, and it really looks like they’re going to pull the exact same here. In the meantime though, I’ve thankfully been exposed by a lot of comedies who weren’t so lazily adapted at this one, and who were genuinely fun despite having a lot of moe in it (Enma, Ben-To, Milky Holmes), so this one is going to have to be really impressive for me to also follow it all the way through.

First-Glance Potential: 25%

Upotte

Summary: “At Seishou Academy, a newly transferred teacher discovers that girls like Funko always aim to do their best and shoot for their goals, often literally with live ammo. Because these girls aren’t just expert shooters, they are the guns, in human form.” – (Taken from ANN)
Director: Takao Kato
Series Composition: Naruhisa Arakawa
Other Notable Staff: Takaaki Suzuki (Military History Advisor)

The Positives: Takao Kato still puzzles me a bit. He’s a very mediocre director, who at the same time captured the Pandora Hearts Manga really well. I’ve given up with this guy though. Too many of his series were just unremarkable, but there is hope, at least. Naruhisa Arakawa also certainly isn’t a bad writer per se. He wrote Legend of Black Heaven for example, and adapted Spice and Wolf and Papakiki.
The Negatives: “Hey, you know Strike Witches? That’s really popular, right? Let’s do that too!”, said Xebec, five years after Gonzo originally aired it… just… no. Let’s also not forget that Naruhisa Arakawa also wrote Love Love, Yosuga no Sora and CosPrayers…

First-Glance Potential: 30%

Medaka Box

Summary: “Medaka Kurokami is an exceptional first year student at Hanokiwa Academy who got elected as president of the student council with a smashing 98% of the votes. Extremely intelligent, strong, and rich; she wants to help anyone in need. To do that, she introduces a suggestion box that allows any student to contact her. Later known as the “Medaka Box”, it will bring forth incredible challenges to Kurokami and her friends of the student council.” – (Taken from ANN)
Director: Shouji Saeki
Series Composition: Shouji Saeki
Other Notable Staff: Nisioisin (Original Creator)

The Positives: Nisioisin as the original writer will at least lead to some nice wordplay, I guess.
The Negatives: My interest was piqued a bit when I noticed that Gainax seemed to be behind this, not to mention that it has one guy overseeing both the direction and the series composition of this thing. Unfortunately, that guy turns out to be the “bad Gainax director”, who has been directing their worst series and stories with He is My Master, Houkago no Pleiades, This Ugly Yet Beautiful World, or those Mahoromatic OVAs. On top of that the premise also seems very generic, as yet another school romantic comedy about a student council. I see nothing that stands out here.

First-Glance Potential: 30%

Dusk Maiden of Amnesia

Summary: “A young woman, by some strange occurrence, was left to die alone in the former building of the Academy for Sincere Teachings. Mysteriously, there is one person who can see her in ghost form: Niiya Teiichi, a freshman. Now they both seek to find out the reasoning behind her death, and what could have caused it.” – (Taken from ANN)
Director: Shin Oonuma
Series Composition: Katsuhiko Takayama
Other Notable Staff: Yukiko Ban (Character Designs, Animation Director)

The Positives: Yukiko Ban was a main character designer for Bee-Train (she designed the characters for Avenger, .Hack//Sign and Yakumo), and a good animation director for Studio Deen (07-Ghost, Amatsuki). The designs for this show will at least be good.
The Negatives: Just… go to the website of this series. Then you’ll immediately see where the mind of this series lies. I mean, could they really have been less subtle? I’d like to see the Silver Link guys as the Shaft Graduates without actual talent (in comparison: I consider Shinbo to be very talented, I’d just wish that he’d use it better). Ever since they left the company to form their own, all they pretty much worked on was mediocre and unimpressive. I’ve given them enough chances by now, but all they can hope for here is that the source material is good enough to pull them through.

First-Glance Potential: 30%

Hiiro no Kakera

Summary: “The original game centered around Tamaki Kasuga, a 17-year-old high school girl. When her parents have to go overseas for work, Tamaki moves to her mother’s hometown in the mountains with her grandmother. On the day that Tamaki arrives at the village, she encounters strange creatures, only to be saved by a mysterious boy. The boy, Takuma Onizaki, is the first of five Guardians of the Tamayohime that Tamaki meets. “ – (Taken from ANN)
Director: Bob Shirohata
Series Composition: Yoshiko Nakamura
Other Notable Staff: Naoyuki Onda (Character Designs, Animation Direction)

The Positives: The director of Hetalia’s next project. Also, the character designer is very good.
The Negatives: I used to be a big fan of shoujo, but now the genre has become just way too diluted by angsty bishies to still be as enthusiastic about it. Here we yet again have an interesting sounding premise, but every single one of these series just descends into a bishie fest full of bad acting and characters trying too hard to look cool that is too focused on wish fulfillment. Especially considering the direction that Studio Deen have gone into the latest years. The series also is supposed to have a very good character designer (Ergo Proxy, Detective Story, Blassreiter, Berserk Movie), but I’m really not seeing that here.

First-Glance Potential: 40%

Saki Achiga-hen episode of side-A

Summary: “The anime adapts Aguri Igarashi’s Saki Achiga-hen episode of side-A manga, which is a spinoff of the original Saki high school mahjong manga. The story follows Shizuno Takakamo and the other mahjong players at the all-girls school Achiga. “ – (Taken from ANN)
Director: Manabu Ono
Series Composition: Tatsuhiko Urahata

The Positives: So, we had the Saki TV-series, which ended with a really obvious sequel hook, and so the next season will focus on some completely different characters instead. Okay. At the very least this won’t be a Manabu Ono series with his enormous boobs trademark…
The Negatives: Oh, I remember that it was a really big chore to sit through the first Saki series, as it turned itself into some magical girl series in which the matches were determined by how well the different characters could manipulate luck (no, seriously). At the very least I hope that the new cast will be more interesting than the old cast, because these girls got very bland very quickly.

First-Glance Potential: 40%

Sankarea

Summary: “This is the story of Furuya, a 15 year old boy who is obsessed with zombies. From videos to manga, trinkets to video games, he will stop at nothing in his quest for anything zombie related. However, his interests turns from a simple hobby into an obsession when his cat dies in an accident. Using an old manuscript, Furuya embarks on a quest to revive his fallen pet. During his quest however, he is discovered by the idol Rea, a popular and elegant lady from a wealthy family. Though it may appear that her life is perfect, everything is not as it seems. And she turns to Furuya, for a chance to live her life, in this life or the next.” – (Taken from ANN)
Director: Mamoru Hatekayama
Series Composition: Noboru Tagaki
Other Notable Staff: Kyuuta Sakai (Character Designs), Mitsuru Hattori

The Positives: Noboru Takagi, the guy who adapted Baccano, Durarara and Koi Kaze. This premise is a major step down from those, though. It does seem slightly better than the usual romantic comedy. Emphasis on slightly, though. And I admit that I’m always interested in new directors: most of the time they’re nothing special, but things get interesting when they manage to already show off their own style.
The Negatives: There are going to be TWO zombie moe comedies in one season? And both are produced by Studio Deen? What the hell man, go back to your good premises again dammit.

First-Glance Potential: 45%

Natsuiro Kiseki

Summary: “I have no bloody idea. The anouncements for this series seem more focused that it’s meant to promote some group of four idols.”
Director: Seiji Mizushima
Series Composition: Tatsuhiko Urahata
Other Notable Staff: Shigemi Ikeda (Art Director), Sadayuki Murai (Script)

The Positives: Seriously, this series has a killer staff: the guys behind Hanamaru Youchien creating a new anime original series, aided by the scriptwriter of Mouryou no Hako, Natsume Yuujinchou San & Shi and Boogiepop Phantom, animated by Sunrise.
The Negatives: That really makes me wonder: what the hell will this series be about? This show seriously has some of the most generic promo art I’ve seen in a while. On top of the characters looking very generic, they’re just not doing anything at all. From the impression I get here, this seems to be one of those shows to promote four random idols. Those things usually turn out terrible, which is why it’s so sad to see so many great people work on this.

First-Glance Potential: 50%

AKB0048

Summary: “Inspired by the popular Japanese idol group AKB48.” – (Taken from ANN)
Chief Director: Shoji Kawamori
Director: Yoshimasa Hiraike
Series Composition: Mari Okada
Other Notable Staff: Mikan Ehime (Character Designs)

The Positives: What the…? What are Shoji Kawamori and Mari Okada doing here?
The Negatives: What the hell is this, man? There’s going to be another idol promotion show this season? Why two of them? And why of all people Shoji Kawamori and Mari Okada, the people who are currently working on Aquarion Evol? Is this AKB48 really popular enough to warrant this?

First-Glance Potential: ?!#%

Accel World

Summary: “The “future teen” story revolves around a bullied middle school boy named Haruyuki. One autumn day in 2046, he has an encounter with Kuroyukihime, the prettiest girl in his school, that changes his life. Through a mysterious piece of software from Kuroyukihime, Haruyuki learns of the existence of the virtual “Accel World.” In that moment, the lowest of the “school caste” becomes “Burst Linker,” a knight defending a princess. “ – (Taken from ANN)
Director: Masakazuu Obara
Series Composition: Hiroyuki Yoshino
Other Notable Staff: Nobutaka Ike (Art Director)

The Positives: Oh good lord. This show reunites certain staff together: the people who made Mai Hime, which was a very good series…
The Negatives: … only to be followed up later by Mai Otome, which was one gigantic mess of a series. The director later went on to direct the Girl who Leapt through Space, a mediocre comedy, while Hiroyuki Yoshino… went on to write Seikon no Qwaser, Code Geass, Macross Frontier and Guilty Crown. Thankfully this is an adaptation, and granted, Yiroyuki Yoshino did show that he is good at that with Denpateki na Kanojo. But really, this is another trainwreck waiting to happen unless they go back to their roots with Mai Hime.

First-Glance Potential: 60%

Arashi no Yoru ni

Summary: “Through an unlikely friendship between a goat and a wolf, One Stormy Night is a heartwarming children’s story that explores themes about acceptance, loyalty despite differences, and highlights the important message that those from different backgrounds or cultures can be accepting and develop into the very best of friends.” – (Taken from ANN)
Director: Tetsurou Amino

The Positives: They’re going to remake Arashi no Yoru ni into a television series? This could get interesting, especially now that they have more time to tell the story (this will have 52 episodes of 11 minutes long, interestingly). Tetsurou Amino is also a very interesting choice for a director With Shiki, he did prove that he is a very good director.
The Negatives: It will be entirely in 3D CG, though. This just doesn’t seem like the right story for that.

First-Glance Potential: 70%

Shining Hearts: Shiawase no Pan

Summary: “One day, a mysterious girl named Kaguya was washed ashore the island of Wyndaria after a great storm. She encounters Rick, a swordsman who wound up working at the island’s bakery. Apparently, Kaguya is suffering from having lost her memories and emotions. In addition, the usually peaceful Wyndaria is now swarming with pirates who came seeking for the special spirit stone that is worn around Kaguya’s neck. Knowing the situation, Rick and his co-workers, Nellis, Amyl, and Aerie decided to bring back peace to island and help Kaguya regain her lost memories and emotions.” – (Taken from Wikipedia)
Director: Itsuro Kawasaki
Series Composition: Itsuro Kawasaki
Other Notable Staff: Ike Nobutaka (Art Direction)

The Positives: Once in a while, you run into a series where the direction and series composition are done by the same guy. This season has Mouretsu Pirates, and last season had Tamayura. These are often very well done series, because there is one guy who is holding in the reigns quite well for his own vision…
The Negatives: … so I can’t believe that this season is the turn for Itsuro Kawasaki. His series are often quite mediocre, with a few series that admittedly did end up well. (Denyuuden, small parts of Sengoku Basara, Wild Arms (although that series was also helmed by Koichi Mashimo) and bizarrely enough Papakiki, although that series still has some very bad parts). Still, I’m positive here: what can he do when he’s involved much more than usual here? Does he have a vision to make this an interesting RPG adaptation?

First-Glance Potential: 70%

Ginga e Kickoff!!

Summary: “The story follows a boy who was in a soccer team, but it was disbanded due to not enough players. However, after the boy meets a female professional soccer player, he aims to bring his soccer team back. “ – (Taken from ANN)
Director: Kounosuke Uda
Series Composition: Takashi Yamada

The Positives: This series airs on the NHK channel. The one advantage of series that air there is that they don’t necessarily have to be profitable. At first sight this may look like yet another sports show, but yet again this show has a very solid staff. In particular Takashi Yamada, who also wrote the series composition for Heartcatch Precure, Ojamajo Doremi, Marie&Gali and Shion no Ou. Kounosuke Uda? This guy is the director of One Piece. I assume not the entire series, but I couldn’t find how big that part was.
The Negatives: The big problem with this one remains the premise. It’s yet again the story of a young boy with passion for the sport he plays. The creators will have to put in some serious work to make this stand out, instead of making such a soap opera like what Knight in the Area is currently doing. The standards for this genre are very high, after all.

First-Glance Potential: 75%

Kuroko no Basuke

Summary: “In the story, Taiga Kagami has just enrolled into Seirin High School when he meets Tetsuya Kuroko of the school’s basketball team. Kuroko happens to be the shadowy sixth member of the legendary “Generation of Miracles” basketball team. Together, Kagami and Kuroko aim to take their team to the inter-high school championship — against Kuroko’s former teammates. “ – (Taken from ANN)
Director: Shunsuke Tada
Series Composition: Noboru Takagi

The Positives: And yet again they put some really, really solid writers on the sports series. Noboru Takagi is the guy who adapted Baccano, Durarara, Koi Kaze and wrote C. Can he bring a dull story about basketball to life? Will the director of Bungaku Shoujo be able to bring life to this series.
The Negatives: I unfortunately keep looking at these high school sports series with a negative feeling. The thing is that I’ve already seen so much of them, and the only reason they stood out was due to their ridiculously good execution. These kinds of series miraculously keep pulling me in, even when their premises are nothing special. I expect Kuro no Basuke to do the same.

First-Glance Potential: 75%

Kimi to Boku 2

Summary: “About 4 friends, twins Yuta and Yuki Asaba, the cute and girly Shun Matsuoka, and the class head Kaname Tsukahara, who have known each other since kindergarten. When a half-Japanese transfer student named Chizuru Tachibana joins their group, he brings a new dynamic to their friendship.” – (Taken from ANN)

The Positives: The staff for the second season hasn’t been announced yet, but it’s safe to assume that it will be the same as the first season. That means Manabu Kanbe as the director and Reiko Yoshida behind the series composition. A very solid combination, as they did breathe life to the manga and portrayed a unique way for the characters to interact with each other.
The Negatives: But yeah: that way does get on your nerves quite a bit. This show is hard to watch at times, but that was also what made it interesting to see how it would nearly always end its episode on an interesting note.

First-Glance Potential: 80%

Zetman

Summary: “Jin, a mysterious kid with a halo carved in his hand, and extraordinary fighting skills, lives with his grandfather in a beggar’s community. In other place, the old scientist Amagi is searching for professor Kanzaki, to ask him for the whereabouts of the “player” -a kind of genetic altered humans- Zet, which they created some years ago. Soon, Jin and his grandfather are attacked by a mysterious man who turns into a monster. The connection between professor Amagi and professor Kanzaki, seems to connect also young Jin to the mystery of the “players”, and Zet.” – (Taken from ANN)
Director: Osamu Nabeshima
Series Composition: Atsuhiro Tomioka
Other Notable Staff: Mazakazu Katsura (Original Creator), Shinichiro Yoshihara

The Positives: Finally! A show that doesn’t look completely generic and like the others. As for the director, he never really directed anything I watched (he’s the director of D.Gray Man, Saint Tail and Clamp School Detectives; and Hamtaro). In any case though, I’m very interested in the premise here.
The Negatives: Atsuhiro Tomioka, oh boy. This guy strikes me as someone who rushes in with his own vision, and it’s always the question whether the end result is good. This is the guy who adapted Samurai 7, Nishi no Yoki Majo, Trinity Blood, Disgaea, Zombie Loan, Inazuma Eleven, Danbooru Senki and Chrno Crusade. The quality between all these adaptations varies greatly, so this series can really go anywhere, although it’ll probably be rushed.

First-Glance Potential: 80%

Saint Seiya New Omega

Summary: “Kōga is a 13-year-old boy who assumed the role of the Saint of the Pegasus constellation. His undefeatable spirit and rebellious nature are strong, as is his single-minded determination. Saori Kido (the goddess Athena) also appears as the protector of peace and all living things — and the woman who raised Kōga like a parent. Mars kidnaps Athena to establish a new world order, and Kōga stands up against Mars.” – (Taken from ANN)
Director: Morio Hatano
Series Composition: Reiko Yoshida
Other Notable Staff: Yoshihiko Umakoshi (Character Designs, Chief Animation Director)

The Positives: The thing that immediately stands out: Yoshihiko Umakoshi, the character designer of Heartcatch Precure and Casshern Sins is on another series. And this time he’s going to also act as the animation director. That combined with Toei’s staff of excellent animators, and we’re in for a lot of eye candy here. The director will be another rookie (seriously, for the past years Toei has been putting the episode directors of Heartcatch Precure as the directors for all sorts of different projects), and the Heartcatch Precure episodes this guy worked on were some of the highlights of the series. To make things even better, Reiko Yoshida is a very experienced writers and has helmed a lot of classic series, including a few originals.
The Negatives: I have never followed Saint Seiya, and none of the OVAs that appeared particularly caught my interest, but if this can be watched without being familiar to the whole franchise I’ll certainly give it a shot. That’s going to be my big fear though: the Saint Seiya franchise at this point is huge. Will it be easy to get into?

First-Glance Potential: 80%

Phi Brain Second Season

Summary: “Kaito Daimon is a brilliant 16-year-old teenager who loves to solve puzzles. He acquires an enigmatic item called the Armband of Orpheus that allows him to fully utilize his brain, but that consequentially drains him completely. Currently attending Root Academy as an honor student, he is invited by the school principal to confront a secret organization named POG. They create deadly Sage Puzzles to protect invaluable treasures and challenge the select few individuals capable of facing them. Given the title of Einstein, Kaito battles against the mysterious group in order to keep a promise he made as a kid while at the same time he heads towards the ultimate test: the Divine Puzzle.” – (Taken from ANN)
Director: Junichi Sato
Series Composition: Mayori Sekijima
Other Notable Staff: Youhei Sasaki (Character Design)

The Positives: Well, this was about the last series of the currently airing series that I’d expect to get a sequel, but here it is. And really: there is a lot of great stuff that they can do with this. Phi Brain is currently at the point where you can really see that Sato Junichi’s characterization is paying off, and the character development is getting very good now, not to mention that the puzzles can only get more interesting with the way things are set up.
The Negatives: My one big question is what the new season will be about. The current season is building up to a very easy to see climax, but this will also be a climax that will be very hard to beat, as it really looks into the characters and pasts of the main protagonists and antagonists.

First-Glance Potential: 85%

Ozuma

Summary: “The title of the project is Ozuma, and it is set on a future Earth that has gone to ruins in a sea of sand. “ – (Taken from ANN)
Chief Director: Ryousuke Takahashi
Director: Takahiro Ikezoe
Series Composition: Junki Takegami
Other Notable Staff: Leiji Matsumoto (Original Creator), Nobuteru Yuki (Character Designs), Kousuke Yamashita

The Positives: I am a big fan of Ryousuke Takahashi, so I was very pleasantly surprised when I found out that he would be involved in this project. It’s only going to be six episodes long, and I don’t know whether it counts as an OVA or TV-series, but I’m thrilled to see a series that reunites him, with Leiji Matsumoto of all people. The music also will be excellent: it’s got the composer of Chihayafuru and Shion no Ou, and the style of this guy could pretty well fit in a space opera. Junki Takegami as a scriptwriter doesn’t really say anything to me to be honest, but this guy does have a lot of experience. He just didn’t really work on many series I saw, with the big exception of being the guy who adapted the first Gunslinger Girl season.
The Negatives: The big question mark here is the director: he’s the director of Slap Up Party, something that meant to be an RPG parody, but didn’t know what a parody was. I’m not very confident with him behind the reigns, although as a standalone episode director he does know his stuff and worked on some impressive episodes.

First-Glance Potential: 85%

Hyou-ka: You can’t escape

Summary: “The story follows a boy named houtarou who is not assertive about getting involved, but was ordered by his older sister to join the classic literature club. In the club, he gets close to the truth about an incident, involving a female member’s uncle, which happened 33 years ago. The “energy-saving” boy is joined by an inquisitive girl in this adolescent mystery.” – (Taken from ANN)
Director: Yasuhiro Takemoto
Series Composition: Shouji Gatou
Other Notable Staff: Kouhei Tanaka (Music), Honobu Yonezawa (Original Story, Series Composition Cooperation)

The Positives: My big problem with Kyoani is that they keep making shows I’m not interested in. I know that they’re really well animated, but for me to watch a bunch of moe blobs in their daily lives, there has to be something that catches my attention, and neither K-On, Lucky Star nor Nichijou succeeded in that. But lo and behold, it’s like they heard me, because their next series will be an actual mystery-series. Awesome! The series composition guy will be the writer of the Full Metal Panic novels, and the guy who wrote the Druaga no Tou series, which also is quite interesting.
The Negatives: My one concern with this series: I don’t “get” Yasuhiro Takemoto’s sense of humour. Lucky Star, Fumoffu, those Haruhi ONAs… they all bored me to death, so I really hope that he will keep to his mystery in this series and just ignore the comedy altogether.

First-Glance Potential: 85%

Uchuu Kyoudai

Summary: “story follows two brothers, Mutta and Hibito, who made a vow as kids to travel to space. The younger Hibito became an astronaut. Mutta did not, but his life changes on one fateful day. “ – (Taken from ANN)
Director: Ayumu Watanabe
Series Composition: Makoto Uezu
Other Notable Staff: Toshiyuki Watanabe (Music), Hiroshi Kato (Art Direction)

The Positives: Now here is one who really caught my eye. This premise is potentially gold, and A-1 Pictures behind the animation is showing a lot of potential here. The art will look amazing: Hiroshi Kato also did the art for many other gorgeous looking series. The director has only worked on Doraemon movies before, so he has experience in directing, and let’s see what he can do with an actual mature series like this.
The Negatives: Oh god, not Makoto Uezu. This guy sometimes gets lucky when he’s got good source material, but he also screwed up potentially interesting stories up often enough. I’m looking at you, Kore wa Zombie Desu Ka. Since he also adapted “classics” such as School Days, Seikon no Qwaser and Akane-Iro ni Somaru Saka, in which it felt like he wasn’t even trying, I’m really holding my heart out for this guy.

First-Glance Potential: 85%

Fate/Zero Second Season

Summary: “Taking place 10 years before the events of Fate/stay night, this series chronicles the events of the Fourth Holy Grail War.” – (Taken from ANN)
Director: Ei Aoki
Original Creator: Gen Urobuchi
Other Notable Staff: Yuki Kajiura (Music)

The Positives: Well, it’s finally time for the second season of this series. The first season was entirely dedicated to building up, so there had better be some payoff now. In either way though, this was an incredibly solid series: well produced in all ways, so this series definitely has the potential to come well together.
The Negatives: The only slight downside I can think of now is that familiarity with Fate/Stay Night is slightly assumed, both for the in-universe concepts of magic and the personalities of some of the characters and I’m not going to watch that series again.

First-Glance Potential: 90%

Tsuritama

Summary: “In Enoshima, Yuki is a high school student who’s never been good at making real friends thanks to his abnormally poor communication skills. Haru is the self-styled alien who decides to teach Yuki to fish. Natsuki is an irritable born-and-raised local. Akira is the mysterious Indian who watches them all from a distance. These four meet, fish, and find big adventures on their little island.” – (Taken from ANN)
Director: Kenji Nakamura
Series Composition: Toshiya Ono
Other Notable Staff: Atsuya Uki (Character Designs)

The Positives: More Kenji Nakamura! This guy is really an excellent director, and with A-1 Pictures backing him, he can really flex his creative muscles again, and again this is a series completely different from his other works. The premise very well could work here.
The Negatives: Just one question. The guy who wrote Suite Precure will be writing this? Why him? Also, the thing remains: Noitamina should not be about high school kids. There are enough other shows who do that.

First-Glance Potential: 90%

Eureka Seven Ao

Summary: “The “real mecha epic” will center around a boy named Ao who “set ‘destiny’ in motion again when he held the ‘power.'” – (Taken from ANN)
Director: Tomoki Kyouda
Other Notable Staff: Mitsuyasu Sakai (SF-Setting), Shiho Takeuchi (Design), Shoji Kawamori (Nirvash Design)

The Positives: Awesome to see Eureka Seven back. the original series took a while to get going, but when it went off, it really was amazing. And the director of the series has finally returned for some more. This will be his first full series again after directing that series, so I’m very curious what he can do with a re-imagining of this series. A lot of work has also gone into the designs of this series (including getting Shoji Kawamori to design the main mecha). This is definitely one to look out for.
The Negatives: I see none so far, but it would be a bit of a shame if Bones can’t also get this to 52 episodes.

First-Glance Potential: 95%

Sakamichi no Apollon

Summary: “Summer, 1966. Kaoru Nishimi has moved to live with relatives in Kyushu. He’s been an aloof honor student his whole life, but that starts changing when he meets Sentarou Kawabuchi, the school’s notorious bad boy. Through him, he learns the appeal of jazz and forms his first real friendships.” – (Taken from ANN)
Director: Shinichiro Watanabe
Other Notable Staff: Yoko Kanno (Music), Yuuko Kakihara (Script), Ayako Katou (Script), Yoshimitsu Yamashita (Character Designs)

The Positives: Well, this is it: the big one. The show in which Shinichiro Watanabe finally returns for another series. Aided by Studio Mappa, who are apparently the same division of Madhouse who were behind series as Dennou Coil and Casshern Sins. I really want to see more of these guys. The story being about Jazz fits him really well, and yet it’s very different from his usual series (and yet, his short film Baby Blue on Genius Party showed that he can also very well animate non-action series). Add that to an excellent character designer and animator (think the character designs for Hyouge Mono and the animation direction of Sarai-ya Goyou).
The Negatives: At the same time, it would have been even more awesome for Shinichiro Watanabe to just do a Noitamina series, but a full fledged rich and diverse series as Cowboy Bebop. He can really make it happen, especially with how ridiculously solid the trailer looked, showing that he had nowhere lost his touch. Also, one of the scriptwriters worries me a bit. Yuuko Karihara adapted Sora no Otoshimono, Persona, Stitch and Kamichama Karin. Can she keep up with this series?

First-Glance Potential: 95%