Well, it’s time to start looking at what the next season has to offer again. The summer-season is again going to be relatively small, but there are quite a number of potential gems in it. There’s also a wide variety of different genres; there’s slice of life, action, adventure, mystery, romance, comedy, detective, there are historic series, there’s fantasy and science-fiction. It’s going to be a pretty diverse series, and I’m glad to see people as Ike Yoshihiro make their return as well. I’ll update this list when more anime get announced.
+ Not Really Looking Forward To +
Ikkitousen Great Guardians
Summary: Loosely based on the novel ‘Romance of the three kingdoms’, modern day Japan sees a similar struggle for power between different rival schools with the three strongest being; Kyosho Academy led by Sousou Moutoku, Nanyo Academy by Sonsaku Hakufu and Ryuubi Gentoku from Seito High School. Together these three tousei, each with their own mangatama, fight for the honour of becoming ikki tousen and fulfilling their fated destiny through battle and conquest. – (Taken from AniDB)
Thoughts: Oh god, not another one. Why this airs at 9:30 in the morning is beyond me. In any case, this one will most likely be the obligatory depth-less fanservice-show that every season seems to have.
Antique Bakery
Summary: Tachibana, grandson of a rich businessman and newbie in the world of managing; Ono Yuusuke, famous pastry chef and even more infamous “devilish homosexual”; Kanda Eiji, a retired young boxer with a thing for pastries; Kobayakawa Chikage, servant friend of Tachibana and current romantic interest of Ono, who is clumsy yet serious and stoic to a fault (most of the time). Together, these four men maintain a small yet elegant cafe known as “Antique”, where they and all their customers can come together to cherish one of the few but truly important things in life: cake. – (Taken from Anime News Network)
Thoughts: Okay, I have no problems with Junjo Romantica, but there are borders. I’m fine with Shounen Ai. But please let this be more than just a bunch of freakin’ bishies who like to serve cake. -_- The director of Bedaman doesn’t promise much good either, and I don’t think that even Natsuko Takahashi will be able to save this series.
RoboDz Kazagumo Hen
Summary: RoboDz Kazagumo Hen is an upcoming anime, co-produced between The Walt Disney Company and Toei Animation. It is currently scheduled to begin airing on Japan’s Toon Disney starting in June, 2008, with a possible chance of airing in future Asian Markets. Despite the close release date, little to no information has been given about the project. What is known at this point and time is the episodes will be animated in 3D. – (Taken from Wikipedia)
Thoughts: Well, this series is so obscure that even Anime News Network doesn’t have an entry about it. There’s just one thing you should really know about it: it’s being directed by the director of Dragonball Z. Stay away from this one at all costs!!!
Sekirei
Summary: Minato is a total loser. He’s failed to make it into college twice, he’s unpopular with women, and he’s unemployed. But suddenly one day he met a girl dashing inhumanely fast down the road he walked, chased by 2 bandits with electrical powers. From that day on Minato’s life changed forever. The Girl, Musubi was not any ordinary girl she was a “Sekirei”, and suddenly she just bestows Minato with the power of an Ashikabi, one of a mysterious set of “masters” in an awesome battle royale between hordes of cute girls (and males) with individual special powers called “Sekirei’s”. Eventually Minato’s true capabilities will release his useless self into truly understanding all of the Sekirei’s that he embarks to gather, and his own strength. – (Taken from Anime News Network)
Thoughts: Produced by the same animation production who worked on the Mahou Shoujo Lyrical Nanoha trilogy. They also seem to have brought over the same director and the music composer. The screenplay will be done by someone who’s been behind various fanservice-series as Dragon Destiny, Kakyuusei, Sky Girls OVA, Zero no Tsukaima, Mezzo, DearS, etc. With such a premise, is there really any hope for this thing?
Hidamari Sketchx365
Summary: Yuno has just begun school where she always wanted, Yamabuki High School. She moves out and into an apartment by herself in a complex called Hidamari-so, which is right in front of the school. There, she meets a classmate, Miyako, and a senior student, Hiro. Yuno’s days become hectic as she begins meeting the strange artists that live in her complex. Although she’s not used to her new life style, she begins to actualize her dream while being with these gentle friends. – (Taken from AniDB)
Thoughts: Shinbou’s next series, though I never really got into Hidamari Sketch when it first aired. Slice-of-life fans will love this, though.
+ Shows With Small Potential +
Nogizaka Haruka no Himitsu
Summary: Based on a light novel series by Igurashi Yuusaku, illustrated by Shaa. The main character, Ayase Yuuto is your average boy without any special traits. He attends a private high school where he is one of the many and doesn’t stand out, until, one day, he happens to discover the secret of the school princess Nogizaka Haruka, and his life changes drastically from there on. Haruka, the school’s most unattainable girl, is so idolized in the school for both, her looks and intelligence, that her classmates nickname her Nuit Étoile (The Silver Star of the Night) and Lumière du Clavier (The Shining Princess on the Piano). However, nobody knows that it is only a fake role she assumes to hide her true nature. In reality she is a die-hard fan of anime, manga, and otaku culture. Promising Haruka to keep this a secret, Yuko becomes her advisor and confidente of some sort and hangs out with her more, though earning some viciously envious glares from his fellow schoolmates. – (Taken from AniDB and Anime News Network)
Thoughts: Well, it doesn’t get any points for originality, but it does look better than the regular premise of a shounen romance. Studio Barcelona (the ones who did Kodomo no Jikan and Nanatsuiro Drops) is behind this piece that’ll probably never be anything special. The director who did Otoboku seems to confirm this.
Slayers Revolution
Summary: The May issue (released on March 19) of Fujimi Shobo’s Dragon Magazine has announced the official title of the upcoming fourth anime television series in the Slayers fantasy comedy franchise: Slayers Revolution. The announcement also hinted tongue-in-cheek, but not stated, that the character Xellos will be the main character instead of the popular female lead Lina. A major announcement will be made in Dragon Magazine’s July issue, which goes on sale on May 20. (Dragon Magazine has moved to a bimonthly schedule starting this month.) Dragon Magazine published Hajime Kanzaka’s original light novels that started the franchise. – (Taken from AniDB)
Thoughts: I’m a Slayers-noob: I’ve never seen anything whatsoever about the franchise. This series could be a good way to check whether the rest of the series are worth watching. I’m not at all positive about the director, though: apart from Slayers, he directed Shakugan no Shana, Ikkitousen and Lost Universe. Interestingly enough, he also did Boogiepop and wrote the storyboard for Death Note, but by the looks of the overly moe-ified promo-art, I’ll remain sceptical for now.
Koihime Musou
Summary: ???
Thoughts: Eroge adaptation alert! I took a look at the promo of the original game, and this seems to be a fantasy series where a bunch of cute teenaged girls ended up being the commanders of a huge army. Agh, why must these things be so lazy in their explanations!? Interestingly enough though, the director of Mahoujin Guru Guru is going to be directing this one. I hope that he realizes how hopeless the original premise of this series is, and ends up parodying it.
+ Interesting-Looking Series +
Chocolate Underground
Summary: “From 5 o’clock this evening, chocolate is illegal.” It is an amazing law. The story takes place in some present-day country. The Good For You party has won the elections and announced the Chocolate Prohibition law. They prohibit all sweet things, including chocolates, because they are harmful to one’s health. “We can’t stand such an absurd rule”. Two boys, Huntley and Smudger, stand up to fight against the law. With help from Louise and other friends, they begin to bootleg chocolate. – (Taken from AnimeNfo)
Thoughts: Production IG continues its string of series with very weird premises, though I think that Trans Arts is going to be doing all the work again. Still, I must say that the prohibited chocolate has more potential than that of Library Wars at the moment. Ironically, both series share the same director, and this “ONA” also shares a lot of staff members with Sisters of Wellber. Should prove to be interesting.
World Destruction
Summary: From the creators of Xenogears, it seems. An RPG and anime will be released at the same time. “The story revolves around two main characters named Kyrie and Morute who become a part of an organization called “Destruction of the World.”” – (Taken from Destructoid)
Thoughts: Production IG keeps coming with strange premises, which you wouldn’t expect from such a major animation company. Still, I like how they try to think beyond the box. World Destruction can go anywhere, all depending on how they’ll end up interpreting the “world destruction”-part of the title. The director of the Prince of Tennis and Tsubasa Chronicle OVAs will direct the thing, the supervision and scriptwriting will be done by the scriptwriter of Himawari, Reideen and Deltora Quest and Yoshihiro Ike (one of my favourite musicians) will be doing the music. I’ll keep my fingers crossed and hope that this won’t be another lazy RPG-adaptation!
Strike Witches
Summary: The world had received the attack from the existence of the mystery that appeared suddenly. Only girls who have magic can fight against them. They install arms in an own body, and fight in the sky, the land, and the sea. Fights of girls who defend the world start now. – (Taken from AniDB)
Thoughts: The first episode still has me intrigued, as in that it was nothing like I expected. I’m interested whether the creators can carry that style further in a fully fledged TV-series, and I hope that they keep the short episode-length. The director has never directed before, which means that this series really can go anywhere, depending on his skills. This seems to be backed up by the fact that this will be another Gonzo series.
Mahou Tsukai ni Taisetsu na Koto: Natsu no Sora
Summary: Yume Kikuchi, a girl who can use magic, goes to Tokyo to be an apprentice mage to the handsome Masami Oyamada (a professional mage). In Tokyo, Yume learns about magic, helping people, and various other things on her way to being a mage. but she soon also finds out that even just magic alone isnt enough to make someone truly happy… – (Taken from Anime News Network)
Thoughts: I’ve been doubting whether or not to check out Mahou Tsukai ni Taisetsu na Koto for ages, and this seems a good opportunity to check whether the original series is any good. Hal Film Maker is behind the animation, and the original mangaka will be doing the scenario, which always helps. The director will be the director of Paradise Kiss, Kimagure Orange Road, End of the World, Beck (which I haven’t seen yet, but it seems to be awesome), the seventh episode of Kemonozume and the infamous fourth episode of Gurren Lagann (but NOT the original MTnTnK). The art director will be the one from Good Witch of the West, and the music will be done by the guy who did Vampire Knight. Honestly, I have no freaking idea what to expect from this series.
+ Definitely Looking Forward To +
Natsume Yuujin-Chou
Summary: Natsume Takashi has the ability to see spirits, which he has long kept secret. However, once he inherits a strange book that belonged to his deceased grandmother, Reiko, he discovers the reason why spirits surround him. Containing the names of these spirits, a binding contract was formed between the spirits and the owner of the book. Now, Natsume is determined to free the spirits and dissolve the contracts. With the help of a spirit cat, his days are filled trying to return the names to these spirits. – (Taken from Anime News Network)
Thoughts: Brains Base is busy this year. This’ll be their next series, and it can really go both ways, depending on how interesting the creators can make the demons that Natsume encounters. For this series, it’ll really depend on the quality of the scriptwriters, and having the director of Jigoku Shoujo and Baccano really helps! The series composition is done by Kenichi Kanemaki, who worked on series as Pani Poni Dash, Jigoku Shoujo, El Cazador and various Hiroshi Watanabe-series. This could prove to be very interesting!
Mission-E
Summary: Chinami Ebihara is girl with a strange ability to generate electromagnetic waves when her emotions run high. However, since this ‘ability’ affects anything electrical, it resulted in her having to transfer from school to school when she was younger. As Chinami, now 18 years of age, transfers to a new school, she once again affects the electronic devices in the school, but this time, when another student, Kotaro Kannagi, sees her do this, he becomes obsessed in studying her “TYPE-E” ability. – (Taken from Anime News Network)
Thoughts: About the only really bad thing of Code-E was its ending, so I’m really glad to see the sequel. I seem to be one of the few who actually liked the first season, though. It had a cast of really charming characters and for that I’m more than eager to check out the sequel. The retro promo-art makes me even more intrigued as to what the creators have in store.
Ultraviolet: Code 044
Summary: Main character “044” is a female warrior who is genetically engineered with high combat skills and ordered by the government to annihilate a vampire army. – (Taken from AniDB)
Thoughts: The trailer looks really promising. The main female lead is drawn without any attempts to make her moe, and the music sounded great. This could be the next great 12-episode series from Madhouse. Osamu Dezaki is also a very experienced director who may have been behind some of the big flops in anime, but also directed rumoured excellent series as Rose of Versailles, Oniisama E, the original Ie Naki Ko and the Snow Queen. Let’s hope he goes back to his roots for this series. Just let it be more than “Vampire of the Week”.
+ Top-5 Looking Forward To +
Yakushiji Ryouko no Kaiki Jikenbo
Summary: Based on a series of light novels written by Tanaka Yoshiki and illustrated by Kakinouchi Narumi. The story revolves around Ryouko Yakushiji, a 27-year-old multilingual investigator that graduated from Tokyo University’s elite Department of Law, and the bizarre cases she faces while working for the Tokyo Metropolitan Police. Yakushiji not only has to deal with supernatural beings in her line of work, but also her rival Yukiko Muromachi, another equally talented and beautiful police investigator. – (Taken from AniDB)
Thoughts: Another police-series covering the supernatural. Sounds good! The writer of the original novel also wrote the novel for Legend of Galactic Heroes, which is supposed to be awesome beyond belief. The director can go all kinds of ways again. He did a bunch of random episodes on series as xxxHolic, Full Metal Alchemist, Gurren Lagann and Ghost Hound, and he was the episode director of Ookiku Furikabutte. This has the potential of being the surprise hit of the season.
Telepathy Shoujo Ran
Summary: Ran is a bright and energetic first-grader in junior high school who possesses supernatural abilities. Together with Midori (her friend who also has supernatural powers) and Rui, the threesome is constantly embroiled in mysterious circumstances. Ran is troubled by her powers because it seems to spark off the ill intentions of people in contact with her. However, with the support of her family and peers, Ran learns to deal with her ‘other’ side and accepts who she is. The threesome also learn how to team up as a whole and solve these mysterious events. – (Taken from Anime News Network)
Thoughts: Mystery? 26 episodes? Count me in! I’m really happy to see the musician Yoshihiro Ike in action again. His soundtracks are always subtle, yet awesome. Interestingly, the director for this series is still unknown, but the series composition will be done by the guy who did the script for the Snow Queen, among a bunch of other anime I’ve not seen. I’m interested to see what he can do with this concept.
Blade of the Immortal
Summary: Manji is a crass, violent samurai with a special ability: he cannot die. Cursed with immortality by the nun Yobikuni as punishment for his ruthless deeds, he has grown weary of his ageless life. The only way to lift the curse is to slay 1,000 evil men. So Manji wanders Japan, shedding the blood of the wicked on his quest to finally die. – (Taken from Anime News Network)
Thoughts: What? I’m a Bee-Train fan, so I’m obviously biased about this one. I’ve not read the manga, but I’m really interested in how Bee-Train’s style will work with such a bloody premise. An experienced writer (Hiroyuki Kawasaki) is behind the series composition, and the music is this time done by none other than Kou Outani, who did the music of Haibane Renmei, Gunslinger Girl Il Teatrino, Popolocrois Monogatari, Ayakashi Ayashi and Gundam Wing.
Detroit Metal City
Summary: Souichi Negishi is a shy young man who came from the rural Ota Prefecture to Tokyo for college and wished to become a kindergarten teacher. However, for some reason he became the singer and songwriter of a metal band named “Detroit Metal City,” with a stage name “Johannes Krauser II.” Whenever he wears the heavy makeup, Negishi becomes a completely different person, shouting the most vulgar profanities beyond anyone’s imagination. With the popularity of DMC increases, Negishi starts worrying his double personalities can have negative effects on his (romantic) life off stage. – (Taken from Anime News Network)
Thoughts: Another Studio 4C television series? Hell yeah! These guys always surprise me when I least expect it. I admit, that the idea of a metal-band sounds really promising, and it attempts to explore settings that don’t often get featured in anime. The fact that this is directed by the director of none other than MUSHISHI makes things even better. Really, I can only imagine what will happen when this guy and Studio 4C join forces!
Birdy the Mighty Decode
Summary: While pursuing a criminal, the pretty but reckless interplanetary police officer Birdy Cephon Altirra accidentally kills Tsutomu, an earthling high school student. To make amends, Birdy is forced to share her own body with Tsutomu’s spirit so that he can continue his own life. At first, Tsutomu knows nothing about his situation but soon discovers that his body is starting to take certain actions without his mind ordering it. In times of action, Birdy takes full control of their shared body, transforming it back into her original female form. – (Taken from Anime News Network)
Thoughts: When I first learned about this series, I had no interest in it whatsoever. Then I discovered that it’s going to be directed by what’s quite probably my most favourite director ever: Kazuki Akane. Take a look at my top 10 series: this guy directed two thirds of my top 3: Noein and Escaflowne. The guy behind the series composition of Noein will take care of the series composition, I’m really curious as to what these people can do with such a premise. I don’t like the excessive fanservice in the promo, but as long as the story won’t focus much on dull fanservice-jokes, this should be no problem at all.