I swear these anime seasons go by so fast. Hard to believe I have been doing this for about a year and half now; even harder to believe that I am the one still doing it. In old days of Psgels if you told me that I would be the guy one day writing the posts I would claim you were mad. Yet here I am, the one and pretty much only writer of the site. Can’t say I signed up for that but well you can’t fight fate so I am here for better or worse. Who knows, maybe one day I will stop making spelling mistakes in these posts. (That will be the day)
I must admit that the quality of the past winter season was marvelous. There were quite a number of really great enjoyable titles. KonaSuba, Buranko Buranki, Dagashi Kashi, Ajin ERASED, Rakugo and even the more flawed shows like Schwarzesmarken being quite watchable. A very strong season in my opinion. So much so that I dared not mention it for fear of jinxing it. This upcoming season might not be quite as strong but we do have some contenders which has me hopeful that this season won’t be a disappointment.
The rules remain the same as the last previews. The sequels and prequels are listed below. If you liked the previous series then by all means continue. My picks for blogging this season are Re:zero and whatever takes my fancy during the quick first impressions. Sakamoto is looking to be a safe bet for my second choice but I am reluctant to blog a straight out comedy due to it being a highly subjective affair and lacking much to talk about. A Strawpoll is below to decide the third series I will cover. If I happen to pick the series listed first as my personal second blogging choice then the second highest voted series will be the winner. You have more than one vote so go nuts.
http://strawpoll.me/7103287
And with that let us begin.
The sequels/prequels I don’t care about
Battle Spirits: Double Drive
Beyblade Burst
Concrete Revolutio: Choujin Gensou 2
Duel Masters VSRF
Bishoujo Senshi Sailor Moon: Crystal – Death Busters-hen
Future Card Buddyfight DDD
Kaitou Joker 3
Kyoukai no Rinne 2
Magi: Sinbad no Bouken
PriPara 3rd Season
Terra Formars: Revenge
Series I don’t look forward to
12-sai.: Chiccha na Mune no Tokimeki
The story begins with Hanabi, a sixth-grade girl who is neither an adult nor a child. She deals with issues such as accidentally witnessing her homeroom teacher kissing, and worrying about experiencing physiological changes before her friends. This is the depiction of a 12-year-old girl’s innocent worries and first love.
We got nothing. No staff, no translated source material. Only thing I can say is that the studio has animated a lot of Pokemon and kids shows. They did some mature stuff in the old days but now it seems they tend to shoot for the younger demographic. To me this looks like what you see is what you get.
Aikatsu Stars!
Aikatsu Stars! features the protagonist Yume Nijino. Yume aims to become a top idol, and she enrolls in the Yotsusei Gakuen. This academy has a special group called the S4, who are the top four active idols in the school. Yume and the other first-year students aim to become a part of the S4.
Bah! Look at all the colour. It’s like someone decided to binge on skittles while drinking only to vomit up on paper. Truly nothing on this one, not even an animation studio. There’s a school for idols to teach them how to market themselves out like plastic barbie dolls so they can earn enough money to drown their shame in barrels of cocaine when they are older. Sadly that isn’t what this show is actually about.
Big Order
10 years ago a child wished for the destruction of the world. Now a Group of people has the ability which grants their wishes depending on their power. They are called “Order User”.
Before these great people who has the power of “Order”, One person excels most, with the ability to rule and conquer the world and turned people into puppet when it is on his Jurisdiction, that power belongs to Hoshimiya Eiji, who is also responsible with the destructive phenomena happened exactly 10 years ago.
From the author of Mirai Nikki(Future dairy) comes Mirai Nikki…again. Now to me there is pretty much only one reason for the anime of Mirai Nikki to exist and that was to show off one of the greatest examples of a yandere to grace the anime medium. Other than that it was a plot hole filled mess that pretty much could only qualify for a guilty pleasure. Big Order is very much a retread of Mirai Nikki. We have a poor man’s Yuno in the female protagonist and the story is essentially a battle royal between supernatural power users. The protagonist is better than what we had before however the issues with plot holes and wasted potential setups remains. Without Yuno, I say this series isn’t really worth the time. There are interesting ideas present in the story but the author can’t really use them to their fullest potential.
Bungou Stray Dogs
Nakajima Atsushi was kicked out of his orphanage, and now he has no place to go and no food. While he is standing by a river, on the brink of starvation, he rescues a man whimsically attempting suicide. That man is Dazai Osamu, and he and his partner Kunikida are members of a very special detective agency. They have supernatural powers, and deal with cases that are too dangerous for the police or the military. They’re tracking down a tiger that has appeared in the area recently, around the time Atsushi came to the area. The tiger seems to have a connection to Atsushi, and by the time the case is solved, it is clear that Atsushi’s future will involve much more of Dazai and the rest of the detectives!
This story is lacking the hook to get me interested. The premise is pretty overdone and the characters are simply are bunch of rather bland eccentrics. It reminds of of blood blockade battlefront in how it deals with a organization of super powered individuals stopping supernatural crimes. Only difference is that this time the characters are named after famous Japanese novelists and their powers after famous works of literature. It’s rather cosmetic though and holds not much significance. It’s possible that with the right direction this could turn into something more worthwhile but judging solely from this I say it’s rather mediocre.
Endride
The story is set on Endra, an unknown world beneath the surface of Earth itself. It is another world, where the giant Adamas shines above and seven-colored bands drift across the skies.
One day, Shun Asanaga — an ordinary yet positive and bright 15-year-old middle school boy who lived in the “Land Above” — lands in this place. He had discovered a mysterious crystal at his scientific businessman father’s company, and the moment he touched the crystal, he was transported to Endra.
He meets Prince Emirio, who strongly despises the current King Deruzain and had just turned 16 at Endra’s castle. He became of age to ascend to the throne, and he wields a weapon to seek his vengeance at last, but the difference in strength proves to be insurmountable. Captured and imprisoned by Deruzain, Emirio is heartbroken. But then, the walls of the prison suddenly become distorted, and Shun appears within them.
Two youths live in Endra — one to return his former world, and one to exact revenge. The future that is within the grasp of two youths raised in different worlds…
Brains base normally gives me hope for a show but in this case I am not seeing much potential. The Story isn’t interesting from the description and the art-style looks generic. The staff doesn’t inspire much hope either as neither the director or Series composer has worked on anything all that worthwhile. I am fairly willing to bet this won’t be worth anyone’s time.
Gakusen Toshi Asterisk 2
Second season of Gakusen Toshi Asterisk.
So why is it that in a season with two shows that were highly similar, the lesser of the two gets a sequel? Japan, sometimes I just don’t get you.
Gekidol
A multimedia project that will combine stage theater, anime, and idols.
No source material, no staff information, PV that explains nothing about the show. I got nothing. The only thing I can tell you is that the studios only notable work is Mysterious Girlfriend X. Everything else they made is either anime that’s softcore porn or some genuine porn. Based on that; not much hope for this one.
Hundred
The story begins with the Hundred, the only weapon that can counter the mysterious Savage life form attacking Earth. To become a Slayer (master of military arts) who wields this Hundred, the main character Hayato Kisaragi successfully enrolls in the marine academy city ship Little Garden. However …
“I wanted to meet you, Hayato!!”
“W–who are you…?”
Hayato feels a strange yet familiar sense of incongruity towards Emil Crossford, his roommate who somehow knows him from somewhere. On top of that, as soon as he enters the school, he is challenged to a duel by the “Queen” (the school’s most powerful Slayer) Claire Harvey!
Boy goes to magic high school, boy meets girl, girl challenges boy to duel, later sees a girl naked…you know where this is going. It’s been done. It was done last season and the season before that. It is the same story with palette swapped heroines. It has been done so many times that I wonder why it still sells. Just give this one a pass, it’s a no effort light novel.
Hai Furi
“In the sea we live, the sea we protect, and by the sea we go.”
Japan, 100 years after plate subductions caused many other countries to be submerged. To save the remaining countries, the coastal cities that had been built up were launched into the seas, and the seaborne routes between them expanded. With this expansion, a need for personnel that could safeguard the seas arose. Women began to seek employment in this new industry, and soon, the “Blue Mermaids,” those who keep the sea safe, began to be a source of admiration for many. The childhood friends Akeno Misaki and Moeka China sought to become Blue Mermaids themselves, and together with others who shared their dream, they enrolled in Yokosuka’s Marine High School.
In reading this synopsis I went from a number of reactions. First I was expecting a school slice of life but found the synopsis talking about sea warriors. So it’s like a Kantai collection ripoff, but hey maybe it could put more creativity into the idea. Just when some hope that this might be something worthwhile the last words hit. “they enrolled in Yokosuka’s Marine High School.” Truly these words can kill interest faster than a lecture on the fundamentals of geology. So the studio has pretty much nothing worthwhile and this is the director’s second anime. The series composer seems experienced but this looks like a “just in it for the paycheck” job. I would be surprised if this was something notable.
Netoge no Yome wa Onnanoko ja Nai to Omotta?
The story centers on Hideki Nishimura, a young man who confessed to a person he thought was a girl online, only for that person to turn out to be a boy. He keeps this “black history” secret and swears to never to trust a “girl” online again. However, one day a girl online confesses to him, and it turns out she’s actually a beautiful girl named Ako Tamaki. Ako cannot tell the difference between the online world and reality, and she is a loner who has trouble communicating. Hideki and his friends from his guild decide to work together to “correct” her.
This is pretty much every teenage MMO players wet dream. Those people you play online with are all beautiful girls and one of them is totally into you! Wish fulfillment to the max and I find the mentality of the story to be rather outdated. Girls wanting to play MMOs?! Ridiculous. Here on the internet men are men, Women are men and children are FBI agents. These days anyone with a phone can access the internet. Finding a real girl isn’t as hard as you think. Now finding a hardcore gamer who happens to be a gorgeous girl, single, nearby and ready to be molded into your perfect girlfriend? Yeah, that would take some effort. And a miracle. My particular gripe with this is that the setup has to do with this girl not being able to distinguish between games and reality. I despise this as it’s a common utterly nonsensical argument people opposed to video games throw out. It’s just stupid, if a person cannot tell between what happens on screen and what happens in reality then they are either idiotic or have much more serious mental problems. So what is this show about. Well a guy finds himself in a school club which is made up of eccentric girls he met online. Remember Haganai? Basically that. At most mildly watchable but more likely a dull forgettable show.
Pan de Peace!
The 4koma centers around Minami, an airheaded girl who is starting high school and who loves eating bread for breakfast. Baked goods bring happiness everyday to her and her classmates — the reliable Yuu, the pastry-baking Fuyumi, and the independent Noa.
It’s a four Koma comedy manga about cute girls eating bread and frankly, my dear. I don’t give a damn. And lets be honest; neither do you.
Kidou Senshi Gundam RE: 0096
U.C. 0096. Three years after Char’s rebellion, Banagher Links, a boy who lives on the manufacturing colony Industrial 7, meets a mysterious girl named Audrey Burne. She claims to seek to prevent a potential war by interfering with the transfer of “Laplace’s Box” from the Vist Foundation to a Neo Zeon remnant group known as the “Sleeves”.
However, when a Federation squad also sent to prevent the transfer clashes with the Sleeves, the colony is plunged into battle.
As Banager races through the flames in search of Audrey, one other fateful encounter awaits him—the Unicorn Gundam, a pale white mobile suit that’s the key to Laplace’s Box.
What is Laplace’s Box? What are the secrets that it holds? For the first time in 100 years, light will shine on the darkest secrets of the Universal Century…
With the OVA covering the story of Gundam Unicorn extensively I don’t really see the point of having an anime to expand upon it. To me this seems like the OVA is going to be chopped up into a series with some small extra scenes. I have no interest in watching that.
Seisen Cerberus: Ryuukoku no Fatalité
The anime is set in a continent ruled by sword and magic called Kunaaan, where a power balance between the Holy Kingdom of Amoria, the Kingdom of Ishilfen, and the Vanrodis Kingdom keeps a peace so unstable that any tragedy that befalls any one kingdom will mean war for the entire continent. Another power, the evil dragon Daganzord, also resides on the continent, and no one is powerful enough to stop him from spreading destruction and charred land in his wake. Two individuals, Bairo and Kismitete, undertook a ritual alongside a party of wizards to seal Daganzord, but were foiled. This event was known thereafter as the Balbagoa Tragedy. Bairo and Kismitete’s son Hiiro is saved by Giiru, and Hiiro swears to avenge his parents’ deaths and trains himself with the sword. When Hiiro turns 16, he sets out on a journey to slay the dragon, and Giruu accompanies him, having no choice. Along the way, they meet many types of people, and gain companions on their journey.
Based on a card battle game I don’t hold much hope in this one. The premise is overdone and out of the card game based animes recently; they tended to end up mediocre. The series composer does have potential though; being the same man behind Birdy Decode and quite a number of Eureka Seven episodes. It’s just that I look at this and it’s all too familiar for my tastes. Even done well it’s a derivative of what has been done many times before.
Shounen Maid
The manga revolves around Chihiro Komiya, an energetic elementary school student who was living with his mom. Chihiro is very good at doing housework and chores, and his mother’s motto is “No work, no food.” After his mother suddenly dies, a man named Madoka Taketori who claims to be his uncle shows up, and asks Chihiro to come live with him. Chihiro initially refuses, but when seeing the horribly dirty state of Madoka’s rich home, he decides to start cleaning it. Then Madoka makes another offer to Chihiro: that he comes to live with him, but in exchange Chihiro will do the housework. Chihiro accepts this deal, but suddenly finds himself in a maid uniform.
I am guessing this was supposed to be a comedy. So a boy loses his parents and is taken in by his relative who is creepy and volatiles personal space. Because of the boys sensibilities to pay back what he’s given; he agrees to act as a cleaner for the house. His relative this dresses him up in a maid outfit and forces him to clean in that because it’s “cute”… Um…this is a comedy right? Not some kind of disturbing horror show? I am pretty sure this is worthy of calling child services on. I read what I can stomach of the manga so the anime gets a nope from me.
Super Lovers
A high school boy named Haru and his mother are living overseas. His mother orders him to take care of and “civilize” his adoptive brother Ren, a wild young boy who dislikes talking with other people. While their relationship is adversarial at first, they grow closer as they begin to understand one another.
I knew going into this manga that it’s clearly not for me but for the preview I must give everything a chance. I admit that the story is more tastefully done than I expected and I think there are those who could find this interesting. The idea of a person taking care of a feral boy is at least somewhat interesting. The issue I take with the manga is likely its main drawing point; the romance. I have no issues with homosexual relationships but regardless of gender, a romance between a grown adult and underage child is very creepy. I will just leave this off by saying it’s not for me.
Kamiwaza Wanda
The story is set in a world where every event has been turned into programs, and mysterious monsters known as “Promin” maintain the world. However, many Promin who have turned into bugs known as “Bugmin” are responsible for many of the world’s real-life bugs. Left alone, they may eventually turn into a big problem. The boy Yūto encounters the space dog Wanda, and the pair use a camera-like device and key items to capture Bugmin. Promin themselves are able to do things like “accelerate objects,” “spew fire,” or “create objects,” through an ability known as “Kamiwaza” (miracle), and are able to fend off Bugmin with it. At first, the Bugmin only cause small, bothersome things, but it will soon elevate into a global scale threat. Can one boy and one dog save the world?
It’s a kids show about some kid using Digimon to save the world. The studio has some fairly decent stuff though this looks like a typical kids show. Personally I am more interested in how this studio will handle an adaption of ReLife. The series composer has done a lot of screenplays though his series composer shows are not too noticeable besides Blue Gender. Well who knows, could be fun.
Sansha Sanyou
The comedy manga follows the everyday life of three very different high school students. Futaba Odagiri is incredibly energetic but is also a glutton. Teru Hayama looks like an angel but she is really a demonic class president. Youko Nishikawa is the daughter of family that used to be a member of the upper class, but after her father’s company went bankrupt, they became poor.
Cute girls + cute things = bored Aidan. Well looks like a typical cute girls do cute things show and the studio has done quite a few of them. It’s also the studio that did the Grisaia Adaptions. So let’s just move along.
Sword Gai
The story revolves around Gai, who was born beside a woman who met her death in a forest. He was adopted by the swordsmith Amon. A few years later, Gai becomes Amon’s apprentice, and during the forging of a sword, he loses his right arm. To help him, Amon crushes the demon sword Shiryuu (lit. Death Dragon) to form it into Gai’s replacement right arm. Gai then is able to fuse with the weapon on his arm, and fights against his enemies.
Pretty certain this is a short 5 to 15 minute show based on whose animating it. Other than that no other information on this. There’s nothing to say here. We just have to see how it turns out.
Tanaka-kun wa Itsumo Kedaruge
Tanaka who is a high school student simply is a slacker and does not want to do anything at all. He loves to sleep during classes and prefers not moving to save energy. One day he meets his classmate, Ota who is exactly the opposite. Ota is energetic and leader in class. He becomes friends with Tanaka and tries to make him start moving. Based on a popular comic from Nozomi Uda.
It’s a comedy about a guy that’s really lazy. That’s pretty much the only joke and it’s not funny.
Unhappy♪
The story centers around class 1-7 of Tennogofune Academy, where all the students with “bad karma” or misfortune seem to have been gathered. Hibari, a student in this class, meets the unlucky Hanako and the perennially unhealthy Botan on her first day of school, and together they try to find a way to turn their school life into a happy one.
These people look very happy to me. What deplorable false advertising. Can’t someone provide a title the niche audience that desires emo girls doing emo things? Directors hit or miss, its silver link so it’s bound to be decently animated.
Series I am middling on
Bakuon!!
The story revolves around high school girls who discover the appeal of motorcycles. Sakura Hane is a high school student who looks a little bit like an airhead. On the way to her all-female high school one day, she is worn-out climbing a hilly road with a bicycle, but she sees a girl named Onsa Amano who is riding a motorcycle. Sakura immediately becomes interested in motorcycles, and she and Onsa join the motorcycle club at the school. Then, Sakura sets out to get her license.
Cute girls love motorcycles sums it up nicely. A cute girl gets interested in motorcycles, joins a school club about motorcycles (A school approving a club that would have serious health and safety issues?) That has three other quirky motorcycle enthusiasts which includes a girl who never removes her helmet or speaks. It’s not original by a longshot but for what it is; it’s done better than most. Ultimately inoffensive and mindless entertainment.
Boku no Hero Academia
What would the world be like if 80 percent of the population manifested extraordinary superpowers called “Quirks” at age four? Heroes and villains would be battling it out everywhere! Becoming a hero would mean learning to use your power, but where would you go to study? U.A. High’s Hero Program of course! But what would you do if you were one of the 20 percent who were born Quirkless?
Middle school student Izuku Midoriya wants to be a hero more than anything, but he hasn’t got an ounce of power in him. With no chance of ever getting into the prestigious U.A. High School for budding heroes, his life is looking more and more like a dead end. Then an encounter with All Might, the greatest hero of them all gives him a chance to change his destiny…
It really was only a matter of time before this got an anime as it is the very kind of Shounen that becomes exceedingly popular. The manga isn’t bad by any means and under the direction of Bones this is likely going to end up a very good Shounen series. Though I feel it’s very run of the mill and predictable as far as these stories go. Upon first reading it I thought would would be a story of a normal person in a superhero world becoming the equivalent of that universe’s Batman. Sadly it’s more of a tale about him inheriting the role of this world’s Superman. Once the superhero school is introduced I began to get bored very quickly as the plot ticked all the boxes you would expect if you are familiar with the genre. Again if you haven’t seen a lot of these stories or just like them in general then it will be a fun ride. It’s Naruto with Superheroes instead of ninjas. As far as anime goes this is a fairly safe bet to be some fans hit of the season.
flying witch
Aomori, Japan.
In a land blessed by nature’s bountiful beauty, bizarre things begin to take place. Makoto Kowata, 15 years old, is a professional witch. She left Yokohama with Chito, her black cat, to live in the house of her relatives in Aomori. This is where she begins to train as a witch.
Even though Makoto’s powers are still limited to just flying through the sky, she and her second cousins Kei and Chinatsu surely make the most out of each and every day.
There’s not much to say about this one. It’s mainly a slice of life about a girl who’s a witch. Some comedy and fairly easygoing. Somewhat reminiscent of Kiki’s Delivery service. A readable title which will become a decent anime if done right.
Gyakuten Saiban
CAPCOM announced at a stage event at Tokyo Game Show on Thursday that its Ace Attorney (Gyakuten Saiban) courtroom battle game franchise is getting a TV anime adaptation that will premiere in Japan in April 2016.
Looks like hell has frozen over because there is a Phoenix wright anime adaption in front of me. My reaction to this is curiosity, but not excitement. The old rule of video game adaptations being below average has been proven time and time again but this game’s status as a game/visual novel puts that into question. Thing is this game is made by Capcom and they are well known for absolutely terrible writing. I have played the first two games if the series so I know what I am in for and let me tell you this. The story of these games is very silly. There are good aspect in the murder mystery style of the cases but this series is very lighthearted when it comes to the plot. People may die but it’s hard to take that seriously when you have a cast of overly eccentric people around. What will make or break this adaption is the highlight of the games themselves, the courtroom debates. This series needs to capture that over the top epic feeling with Phoenix’s “objection!!” as well as the desk slams and reactions. We need to blow everything out of proportion and if they can manage that then this anime will be something pretty good. Otherwise I see a weak video game adaption coming.
JoJo no Kimyou na Bouken: Diamond wa Kudakenai
Part 4 focuses on Josuke Higashikata, the illegitimate son of Joseph Joestar, with Jotaro Kujo and Joseph Joestar along in a supporting role.
Stardust Crusaders has diminished my love for this series a bit so I am not quite as excited to see a sequel. It wasn’t bad but it got fairly repetitive and the rule of cool can only carry you so far. This time people are calling out that this is the pinnacle of the series though I doubt that as people said the same about Stardust. The fact of the matter is that; how does one top what has come before? Jojo has always managed to top itself by getting more and more ridiculous but I feel that once we are past Freddy Kruger babies and Gorilla with a boat stand that we have reached a zenith. The good thing about Jojo is that with every part comes a new cast and villain so perhaps they can make it work if we have more interesting main characters to work with. ( Though Jotaro is still here and Jotaro got boring fast)
Kiznaiver
The fictional Japanese city named Sugomori City is built on reclaimed land. But as the years go by, the city’s population is decreasing. One day, Sonosaki tells her classmate Katsuhira: “You have been selected to be a Kiznaiver.” The Kizuna System, which allows Katsuhira to share his wounds, connects him to the classmates whose lives and personalities completely differ from his. The Kizuna System is an incomplete system for the implementation of world peace that connects people through wounds. All those who are connected to this system are called Kiznaivers. When one Kiznaiver is wounded, the system divides and transmits the wound among the other Kiznaivers.
It’s Studio triggers new original anime. Quite frankly I could leave it at that. Do you even need any more information? They have already proven they can make some great shows with a hamstring budget. Given a half decent budget after some adaptations I expect nothing less than a damn good watch. Nothing particularly deep but entertaining without doubt. However there is a problem with this one. For one the synopsis is a bit complicated for a Tigger style anime and the other is that Mari Okada is the series composer. This doesn’t look to be Triggers usual fair and while Okada did good with Gundam; I still have misgivings about her. Not to mention this isn’t the only anime she’s composing this season. The director is a first timer so we just have to wait and see with this one.
Koutetsujou no Kabaneri
As the world is in the middle of an industrial revolution, a monster appears that cannot be defeated unless its heart, which is protected by a layer of iron, is pierced. By infecting humans with its bite, the monster can create aggressive and undead creatures known as Kabane. On the island Hinomoto, located in the far east, people have built stations to shelter themselves from these creatures. People access the station, as well as transport wares between them, with the help of a locomotive running on steam, called Hayajiro. Ikoma, a boy who lives in the Aragane station and helps to build Hayajiro, creates his own weapon called Tsuranukizutsu in order to defeat the creatures. One day, as he waits for an opportunity to use his weapon, he meets a girl named Mumei, who is excused from the mandatory Kabane inspection. During the night, Ikuma meets Mumei again as he sees Hayajiro going out of control. The staff on the locomotive has turned into the creatures. The station, now under attack by Kabane, is the opportunity Ikoma has been looking for.
From the studio that brought us Attack on Titan comes an original anime that sound a lot like it. This is a mixed situation. We have the series composer who brought us Code Geass and Planetes; But has also given us Valvrave. We have the director of Death note, Kurozuka, attack on Titan and High school of the dead; but he has also given us Guilty crown. Sawano is here ready to give us an epic soundtrack that will likely be reminiscent of his Attack on Titan work. With all these players here we could get something special but the anime does feel to me like wit studio is trying to make lightning strike the same place twice.
Kuma Miko
The story follows Machi, a middle school student who serves as a shrine maiden at a Shinto shrine enshrining a bear in the recesses of a certain mountain in Japan’s northern Touhoku region. Machi’s guardian is a talking bear named Natsu, and one day Machi says to Natsu, “I want to go to a school in the city.” The worrywart Natsu then gives Machi — who is ignorant in the ways of the world — a set of trials that she must pass in order to be able to survive in the city.
A little girl wants to go to school in the city while her talking bear guardian says she can’t because she’s a country bumpkin. The series basically involves comedy as the bear tests her on being ready for the city. The girl is old fashioned seeing as she finds chopping wood for a boiler is better than making use of electricity. I like how the bear is the one who’s tech savvy and is often making use of Ipads and the internet. Its amusing but I do feel its rather typical for this kind of comedy. For example, yet again we have a character who is in love with another character whose oblivious to their affections. Is their some sort of rule that requires that all simple comedies have this? It’s an alright read which could be a fun watch.
Kuromukuro
An original anime by studio P.A. Works in celebration of the studio’s 15th anniversary. It will debut in 2016.
I was rather happy to see PA works go for a Mecha anime as I feel they need to change up the formula. They are a bit too fond of the school slice of life and need to take steps away from it. Then I watched the PV for this and found that no Mecha were present and there was plenty of Highschool slice of life. They don’t look to be moving too far away from their speciality. The series composer has Another and a couple of episodes of Morbitio under his belt and the director has been involved with a number of big names; though not always as a director. He’s directed Blue exorcist, Seven deadly sins, Darker than Black OVAs and Wolf’s rain. But he’s done storyboarding for the likes of Cowboy Bebop, Samurai Champloo and a one or two episodes of Evangelion and soul eater. He’s even done Key animation for the Ghost in the shell movie and Ninja Scroll. He’s got an admittedly impressive CV though I still don’t hold much hope for this one. It depends on which side of this show is more prevalent, the school slice of life or the Mecha.
Mayoiga
30 young men and women who came together on a shady bus tour. The tour’s destination: an illusive, possibly nonexistent village called Nanakimura. In Nanakimura, one can lead a utopian existence, free of the world’s obstacles … or so it was rumored, like an urban legend.
“In despair over the real world … wanting to escape the tedious daily life … wanting to restart your life from scratch …”
The bus headed deep into the mountains, carrying 30 people each harboring their own expectations and wounds in their hearts…
And so, the place these 30 arrived at, was an uninhabited village with the lingering faint scents of life, even though it was falling apart.
What is the truth of Nanakimura facing the 30? You can’t miss even one episode
This one is curious. It happens to be the another show Mari Okada is writing for this season.(Let other writers get some work Okada for crying out…) The premise is fascinating; looking to be an otherworldly exploration on life and the afterlife. Though it’s too soon as all I really have to go on is a vague description. Personally I would like it to be a horror anime as we have very little great examples of it but for all we know it’s a slice of life about people starting over in the country. However the studio has made a lot of terrible anime; their redeeming titles being Bokurano and Ore no Nounai Sentakushi ga, Gakuen Love Comedy wo Zenryoku de Jama Shiteiru. The director has Shirobako and Xxxholic as his previous work though he also worked on Blood C and Another. Which makes me wonder if we are going to get so ultra violence in this particular title. This looks to be a wait and see kind of title.
Sousei no Onmyouji
Rokuro dreams of becoming anything but an exorcist! Then mysterious Benio turns up. The pair are dubbed the “Twin Star Exorcists” and learn they are fated to marry…
Can Rokuro escape both fates?
When Rokuro’s best friend Ryogo goes missing, Rokuro is forced to ask Benio for help to enter Magano, the realm of the evil Kegare, to rescue him
There are likely those who scoff as this show. Truly I pity it, in another season this would be a welcome addition but it had to air in the season with Boku no Hero. From the mangaka behind Binbougami ga we have a fairly standard Shounen. But, while this may be a controversial opinion, I consider this story to be better than Boku no hero’s. Will it be the best anime of the season, no it won’t. But it still has the potential to be a really good shounen anime. It starts off predictable and has no real surprises but really pulls through with its humor and the relationship between the two leads. One thing I really love is that they fight as a team, with none of this “I sit back while you wail on the bad guy” nonsense.(But there is a bit too much of a focus on the guy more than the girl in later chapters. And I dislike the harem building up but the anime shouldn’t reach that point.) Both the mains make use of combination attacks and seem even in regards to power. The trailer even looks great with showing this off. But there is a big problem, a very big problem. That problems name is Studio Pierrot, and I certainly groaned the moment I heard that they were in charge of this adaption. Pierrots animation is fairly sub-par but to top things off their most recent adaption, Tokyo Ghoul, was horrendously botched. Twin star exorcists manga already has the perfect pacing and structure to fit into a twelve episode series without alteration. Even giving it a fairly decent ending if they stick true to the source. My expectations are set to low but I still hope that they can somehow pull through on this. The story deserves that much. However they have already messed up by announcing an anime original character and that Synopsis doesn’t sound like the manga I read.
Macross Δ
Macross Δ (Macross Delta) is set eight years after the events of Macross F.
The next installment of singing divas and giant Mechas comes and I can’t say it’s looking to present something much different than previous entries. Not that this is a bad thing seeing as Macross Frontier was at least a decent watch with one or two catchy tunes. The entire squad behind this anime is a mixed bag. We have the animation studio Satelight, whom has titles of varied quality. The director too has worked on both really bad shows and pretty good ones. (Bad:Shugo Chara!, Good:Ikoku Meiro no Croisée) The series composer has a pretty bad lineup of anime he’s worked on but has worked partially on anime such as Steins gate, Bantorra and Terra E. Music wise we have three composers, two of whom worked on Rinne no Lagrange which was a fairly mediocre anime but it certainly had a great soundtrack. The PV doesn’t really look all that interesting but still while I doubt it will be a great anime; at least it has the potential to be good.
Series I do look forward to
Joker Game
In 1937, before World War II begins in earnest. Lieutenant Colonel Yuuki of the Imperial Japanese Army forms the “D Agency,” an army intelligence outfit under his command and tutelage. Army General Staff attaches Lieutenant Sakuma to observe the unit’s performance. D Agency casts a wide net to find agents beyond Japanese military personnel, and Yuuki establishes D Agency’s tenets, which go against IJA doctrine: “Don’t kill, don’t get killed, don’t get captured.” With this, Yuuki trains a team of operatives who conduct missions against domestic and foreign powers.
No translation of the original novel so I wasn’t able to check out the source. Still the trailer has me intrigued as it does seem like a mature spy thriller. My only major gripe is that the cast his heavily male dominated and they have very bland and similar designs. However considering that it’s set around the 1940s I am willing to let that go. Though the director isn’t promising as he worked as a director on the likes of Robotics notes and Segoko Basara. Series composer holds more potential as while he hasn’t done a lot, he does have Usagi Drop, Sliver Spoon and most importantly Erased in his resume. We also have Kenji Kawai on the soundtrack and I really like his previous work. This is one I am quite interested in and to be frank, anything that’s about mature adults and has a complete absence of a school setting is alright by me.
Re: Zero Kara Hajimeru Isekai Seikatsu
In the story, Subaru Natsuki is an ordinary high school student who is lost in an alternate world, where he is rescued by a beautiful, silver-haired girl. He stays near her to return the favor, but the destiny she is burdened with is more than Subaru can imagine. Enemies attack one by one, and both of them are killed. He then finds out he has the power to rewind death, back to the time he first came to this world. But only he remembers what has happened since.
This one is a bit of a surprise. The synopsis makes it sound like the most generic setup and it is certainly true that this is showing nothing new. But there’s more to this title than you would think. An ordinary guy gets thrown into another world and naturally he thinks that a bunch of old clichés are about to happen. And they don’t. He meets a strange girl who pretty much ignores him. And the only power he has is that when he dies, he goes back to the start of the day again. I am a bit of a sucker for this Groundhog day scenario so this appeals to me. There’s just something about some ordinary person becoming strong through a time loop that I find engaging. Though in this case it’s more him making use of knowledge from his time loops to reach the best outcome. The characters are admittedly weak besides our main who has more to him than the “Average highschool student” template. Our protagonist doesn’t shake off his death’s easy as they do have an effect on him as the story goes on. As well as he loses the time he spent getting closer to people and has to start from scratch again. The director is a newbie and the series composer’s work is a mixed bag though considering his recent work I think he can do a good job. I actually think this could be one of the more interesting titles this season.
Sakamoto desu ga?
First year high school student Sakamoto isn’t just cool, he’s the coolest! Almost immediately after starting school, he began attracting everyone’s attention. The girls love him, and most of the boys resent him. There’s even a boy in the class who works as a model, but who is constantly upstaged by Sakamoto! No matter what tricks the other boys try to play on him, Sakamoto always manages to foil them with ease and grace. Though Sakamoto may seem cool and aloof, he helps others when asked, such as in the case of the boy in his class who was being constantly bullied. No matter what difficulties Sakamoto encounters, he moves through his high school life with confidence and class!
Despite appearances this is a straight up comedy and a fine one at that. The main plot is that students with problems get involved with what is essentially the perfect superhuman, Sakamoto, and learn something about themselves through him. Sakamoto is a ridiculously over the top character who is a delight to watch. No matter what he does; he does it with style. From feeding birds in trees to fighting a Japanese hornet bee with a compass. I genuinely laughed while reading this and really think that if done well this will make a great anime comedy.
Ushio to Tora 2
The second season of Ushio to Tora.
I am at least hoping Ushio to Tora can provide a finale that a Shounen series deserves rather than the usual endings where the finale is abrupt and unsatisfying or just a “life goes on as usual” still I am on board for another run of over the top Shounen action. I pray the continued adventures of Japanese Calvin and Hobbes doesn’t lose steam. Most of all though, I am looking forward to seeing what Hakumen no mono can really do.
