The upcoming season is relatively small: 27 series, 13 of which seem interesting. Production IG will be a powerhouse with many different series, and there will be a lot of mechas and bishies. There are a lot of sequels, and relatively little crap. Oh, and one of the reasons there are a bit fewer series is because I left out the kiddie shows this time. It just takes up too much of my time for some info that’s just completely useless.
Movies and OVAs to watch out for:
In the past I also did a separate post for the upcoming movies and OVAs for each season, but here is the thing: writing up these posts really takes up nearly an entire day. I can manage to do this once, but two days after each other… I don’t have the time for that anymore. Still, I do want to highlight the upcoming movies and OVAs, because there’s often a lot of good stuff amongst them. This is no complete list, just the ones that caught my attention:
Anime Mirai
Impressions: Anime Mirai, otherwise known as the Young Animator Training Project. For the third year in a row, four studios have received a budget and made a short story based on it. Madhouse, Studio Trigger, Zexcs and Gonzo each have their own entry and a lot of freedom, so now let’s see what they have come up with this year. I really like this initiative.
Hana-Saku Iroha – Home Sweet Home
Impressions: Aah, finally the Hana-Saku Iroha movie will air, written by Mari Okada her first movie) and directed by Masahiro Ando, so it’s pretty much the staff of the TV-series making a movie, and there is enough inspiration left. Looking forward to it.
Precure All Stars New Stage 2: Kokoro no Tomodachi
Impressions: I’m not going to watch this. I just to say: the counter is currently on 32 Precures. This is starting to turn into pokemon.
Aura: Maryuuinkouga Saigo no Tatakai
Impressions: You don’t often see this: a movie adapted from a light novel. Normally these things get TV-series. It’s from the same writer as Jinrui wa Suitai Shimashita, so it’s worth a look. The premise reminds me a bit of Chuuninbyou demo Koi ga Shitai: a girl arrives pretending to be from a different world, and the main character suffered from delusions like that in his past.
Steins;Gate Fuka Ryouiki no Déjà vu
Impressions: Steins;Gate will also have a movie, and just like Hana-Saku Iroha it will also be the staff of the anime to adapt it, meaning that we have a very solid team behind the movie. The question to ask is: the series ended very conclusively. What will the sequel be about?
Saint Young Men
Impressions: The movie that starts like a bad joke: Jesus and Buddha sharing an apartment. And they made an entire movie based on that. A-1 Pictures is behind it and the promo material does look gorgeous. A-1 Pictures will produce it and it will be directed by one of the staff members who worked on a lot of Kyoto Animation projects. There really are not many comedy movies, so I hope that this one will work.
Ore no Imouto ga Konnani Kawaii Wake ga Nai.
Summary: “Living on the shadow of his prodigious younger sister, Kyousuke Kosaka conducts a normal lifestyle until he accidentally finds out that she hides a secret. In addition to being smart, pretty, and popular; Kirino Kosaka is also an obsessive consumer of anime and eroge (adult computer games). After being assured that Kyousuke is committed to not mock her and keep this concealed from their parents, she starts to share a bit of her world with him. Kirino faces several problems as she tries to keep the appearances and balance her exemplar school life with her hobbies. Her brother then becomes a crucial ally while dealing with all the difficulties that lie ahead.” – (Taken from ANN)
Produced by: A-1 Pictures (?!?)
Director: Hiroyuki Kanbe
Series Composition: Hideyuki Kurata
Original creator: Tsukasa Fushimi
Character Designer: Hiroyuki Oda
Impressions: Blagh! Incest! Still the worst premise of the season. Next.
First-Glance Potential: 0%
Hyakka Ryouran Samurai Bride
Summary: ” The story takes place in Japan in the early 21st century, in an alternate reality where the Tokugawa Shogunate has remained in power. In this reality, student councils are tasked with oppressing schools. Yagyuu Muneakira is a high school student who rebels against his student council with the help of girls who’ve had the names of famous samurai heroes passed on to them.” – (Taken from ANN)
Produced by: ARMS
Director: KOBUN
Series Composition: Satoru Nishizono
Original creator: Akira Suzuki
Music: Tatsuya Katou
Character Designer: Tsutomu Miyazawa
Impressions: Well, here you have ARMS again with their boobs. They continue to churn out sequel after sequel, so it’s no wonder that Hyakka Ryouran would end up with one, and this one is even more shameless than before with a title like that… Just skip this one if it’s anything like the first series. Just a lot of bad boob jokes, fanservice and terrible voice acting…
Trailer Impressions: Yup, lots of fanservice, bad fight scenes… and maid outfits.
First-Glance Potential: 0%
Pretty Rythm Rainbow Live
Impressions: Pretty Rythm’s previous seasons were just terrible. At least for the first episodes that I kept with, they were horrible cash-ins for the mahou shoujo idol genre with really annoying and paper-thin characters. The director for this season is completely the same as last time, so I really don’t expect anything from this series at this point.
First-Glance Potential: 0%
Haiyore! Nyaruko-san W
Impressions: Why people just keep coming back to that godawful Haiyore concept is beyond me. We get it, she is the female personification of a monster from the Cthulu mythos. It’s good for a joke for one time. Not to drag this on for years now. The first series wasn’t even that good. It was just a string of bad moe jokes we’ve seen many times before. Why is there enough material for a second season for this?
First-Glance Potential: 0%
Uta no Prince-sama – Maji Love 2000%
Summary: “Nanami Haruka wants to be a song writer, so she attends an idol training school filled with beautiful bishounen. The school pairs each aspiring songwriter with an aspiring idol, but Haruka finds herself paired with 6 bishounen idols. To make things more difficult, Nanami is also not allowed to date any of her beautiful partners.” – (Taken from ANN)
Produced by: A-1 Pictures
Director: Yuu Kou
Series Composition: Yuu Kou
Music: Elements Garden
Character Designer / Animation Director: Mitsue Mori
Impressions: So here it is, the inevitable second season of Uta Prince, which sold so incredibly well that it it mind-boggled me. I mean I could understand a good series with bishies selling well and all (like what happened with Hakuouki), but the first episode I watched of it was so ridiculously cheesy that I suspected it was some kind of practical joke or something.
First-Glance Potential: 0%
Date A Live
Summary: “In the story, a boy named Sido (Shidō) Itsuka meets a spirit girl who has been rejected by a devastated world. The girl, who Sido names “Tohka,” happens to have wiped out much of humanity 30 years ago, and now she is back. The only way to stop her is to date her.” – (Taken from ANN)
Produced by: AIC Plus+
Director: Keitaro Motonaga
Series Composition: Hideki Shirane
Original creator: Koushi Tachibana
Music: Go Sakabe
Character Designer: Satoshi Ishino
Other Notable Staff: Takaaki Suzuki (World Setting)
Impressions: For this preview, Date A Live was the first series I looked at. And then you have a seires with such a ridiculously stupid premise… it did not give me the best first impressions for the rest of this season. Keitarou Motonaga has directed many different series, including a few good ones, but he only seems to try if he has an actually good premise, which is a very big problem here… Hideki Shirane’s works in the past years also don’t really seem that promising, with him having written Queen’s Blade Rebellion and Platonic Heart, both of which were horrible. And I also still haven’t forgiven him for what he did to Yumekui Merry’s second half… The nail in the coffin is that this is AIC, who haven’t exactly had the best track record with me.
Trailer Impressions: The soundtrack is pretty good for this series. The creators just have no idea how to use it. There are all these choirs, and the scenes include characters and mechas who try way too hard to look cool… and unnecessary panty-shots and harem hi-jinks…
First-Glance Potential: 10%
Yahari Ore no Seishun Love Come wa Machigatteiru.
Summary: “The romantic comedy revolves around an antisocial high school student named Hachiman Hikigaya with a distorted view on life and no friends or girlfriend. When he see his classmates talking excitedly about living their adolescent lives, he mutters, “They’re a bunch of liars.” When he is asked about his future dreams, he responds, “Not working.” A teacher gets Hachiman to join the volunteer “service club,” which happens to have the school’s prettiest girl, Yukino Yukinoshita.” – (Taken from ANN)
Produced by: Brains Base
Director: Ai Yoshimura
Series Composition: Shoutarou Suga
Original creator: Wataru Watari
Character Designer: Yuu Shindou
Impressions: … is this another Boku wa Tomodachi ga Sukunai or something? At the very least, this series deserves no points whatsoever in the originality department. Thankfully the rest of the cast seems competent: Shoutarou Suga has written an awful lot of interesting series and episodes. But romantic comedies? Can he succeed to make this one not boring? Another interesting point is that this will be Ai Yoshimura’s first full series to direct. I’m always one to encourage fresh talents here, so good luck! Try to give this one some spark, how difficult it may seem.
First-Glance Potential: 15%
The “Hentai” Prince and the Stony Cat.
Summary: “The story centers around a second-year high school boy named Youto Yokodera. Youto is always thinking about his “carnal desires,” but no one acknowledges him as a pervert. He learns about a cat statue that supposedly grants wishes. The boy goes to pray that he will be able to express his lustful thoughts whenever and wherever he wants. At the statue, Youto encounters Tsukiko Tsutsukakushi, a girl from his high school with her own wish — that she would not display her “real intentions” so readily.” – (Taken from ANN)
Produced by: JC Staff
Director: Youhei Suzuki
Series Composition: Michiko Itou
Original creator: Sou Sagara
Character Designer: Haruko Iizuka
Impressions: Another series with a pervert main character, but at the very least this premise does seem to hint at some good character chemistry with the main characters being polar opposites, rather than just being there for the fanservice. As for the people who are going to adapt this… I don’t trust Michiko Itou. Her track record with series as Twin Angel and Ro Kyu Bu, which were both mind-numbingly stupid, gives me enough reason to be wary of this. It is not really easy for me to like a romantic comedy and if I do watch one, I want one with substance.
First-Glance Potential: 20%
Photo Kano
Summary: “The main character is an ordinary second-year high school student named Kazuya Maeda who gets a single-lens reflex camera at the end of summer vacation. He begins taking pictures of the girls at his school, and the photos may lead to romance.” – (Taken from ANN)
Produced by: Madhouse
Director: Akitoshi Yokoyama
Series Composition: Akitoshi Yokoyama
Character Designer: ae Shimada
Impressions: My first impressions for this one? Bad. I mean, I get the idea of a guy with a photo camera. It can be a very nice hobby. But if you do make a show about it… at least try to be a bit subtle, okay? Don’t just stuff a girl in bloomer with a box of valentine chocolate on the front cover. It leaves hardly anything to the imagination. In any case though, the director has me intrigued, looking at his track record. He is someone who whenever he is involved with something, is involved as a lot of different functions. He’s also both writing and directing this. Someone who likes to be in control and has a lot of different skills, and some of the episodes he worked on really were amazing and really well done. I wonder if it was his idea to go with that promo art…
Trailer Impressions: I am not a photographer or anything, but is it normal that you first take a picture of a girl’s crotch before you focus on her full pose?
First-Glance Potential: 30%
Yuyushiki
Summary: “The series follows the school life of three girls in the data processing club, Yuzuko, Yukari, and Yui.” – (Taken from ANN)
Produced by: Kinema Citrus
Director: Kaori
Series Composition: Natsuko Takahashi
Original creator: Mikami Komata
Character Designer: Yoshiyuki Tabata
Impressions: This… just… what? So, we have a voice actress for hentai-series. She then starts to direct and animate for a few series, and suddenly she’s directing a new series. Just… what the heck happened here? Beyond that this seems like an average “random girls doing random things”-series, in other words a genre that hardly ever manages to catch my attention. It probably will be solid for its genre, but not good enough to catch my interest.
Trailer Impressions: It’s a trailer that does its utter best to not show you anything that’s going on. All we got was a bit of random movement and some dull background song.
First-Glance Potential: 30%
Mushibugyou
Summary: “The action story is set in Edo-era Tokyo in the early 1700s. The eighth shogun Tokugawa Yoshimune ordered boxes to be installed so commoners can submit their thoughts. After hearing their voices, the shogun creates a new magistrate unit — Mushibugyō — to protect the people in the heart of the city. Each member is a specialist with unique fighting skills.” – (Taken from )
Produced by: Production IG
Original creator: Hiroshi Fukuda
Impressions: This is one of those series for which little is known yet, other than its original material and the fact that Production IG will be behind it. The premise also is a bit too vague to really say anything about it. It could become good with t the right people behind it, as a fun little action series. Even though the guy on the promotional material has drunk way too much coffee…
Trailer Impressions: Never mind what I said! When the very first scene is about a girl nearly getting violated by a giant spider… yeah. My only compliment is that the art style is surprisingly good, but when you’ve got your mind in the gutter like that it doesn’t really help your case….
First-Glance Potential: 30%
Hataraku Maou-Sama
Summary: “In another dimension the Devil King Sadao is only one step away from conquering the world when he is beaten by Hero Emilia and forced to drift to the other world: modern-day Tokyo. As “conquering the world” are the only skills the Devil King possesses – and are obviously unnecessary in his new situation – he must work as a freeter to pay for his living expenses.” – (Taken from ANN)
Produced by: White Fox
Director: Naoto Hosoda
Series Composition: Masahiro Yokotani
Original creator: Satoshi Wagahara
Character Designer: Atsushi Ikariya
Impressions: The premise, in the right hands, can be comedic gold. But then it really as to be the right hands, otherwise it will end up horribly dull. So let’s take a look at the ones who are going to have to adapt this: Naoto Hosoda is the director of Mirai Nikki and the second season of Minami-Ke, which is regarded by many as the worst Minami-ke series… Masahiro Yokotani meanwhile wrote Busou Shinki. That does not bode well.
Trailer Impressions: Generic J-Pop, but misleadinglygood animation. No humour whatsoever…err…
First-Glance Potential: 30%
Aiura
Summary: “The story centers around Amaya, Iwasawa, and Uehara — three “annoying, spirited high school girls with zero motivation” — and their classmates. Their daily life is “what happens when there is nothing happening.”” – (Taken from Mangaupdates)
Original creator: Uji Chama
Impressions: Very little is known about this series and about who will adapt it, but this is a 4-Koma adaptation about three girls doing nothing. A genre that I’m not really fond of. If the characters change, or if there is more than just their daily lives. Otherwise I just get the feeling that I’m watching paint dry. Sorry!
First-Glance Potential: 50%
Karneval
Summary: “Nai searches for someone important to him, with only an abandoned bracelet as a clue. Gareki steals and pick-pockets to get by from day to day. The two meet in a strange mansion where they are set-up, and soon become wanted criminals by military security operatives. When Nai and Gareki find themselves desperate in a hopeless predicament, they encounter none other than the country’s most powerful defense organization, “Circus”. The Circus is a Defense organization that works for the government. They perform raids to capture criminals and solve crimes that the Security force otherwise cannot handle. After their raids, they put on shows as an apology for scaring the citizens. Their group consists of the strongest, most capable fighters that use a special type of bracelet, known as Circus I.D., to fight.” – (Taken from ANN)
Produced by: Manglobe
Director: Eiji Suganuma
Series Composition: Touko Machida
Original creator: Touya Mikanagi
Character Designer/Chief Animation Director: Toshie Kawamura
Impressions: Toshie Kawamura is something like Manglobe’s new in-house animation director and character-designer, because he is involved in a lot of their projects. It’s a shame that he is not very good though, although the promo art here does look like his best and most creative work. But we’re talking about Manglobe here: what happened to their ambition behind Ergo Proxy and Michiko e Hatchin? They used to recruit their staff all over the place, with all kinds of different backgrounds. Here, they just return to the director of Mashiro-Iro Symphony, which was an utterly crappy harem. The sole salvation here will be the original material, which granted does look promising with the right execution, but then we come to the one who will have to adapt this: Touko Machida is not good at that, and I really hope that she has learned ever since her adaptations of Okamikakushi and Allison to Lillia….
Trailer Impressions: The voice acting is really bad, but in terms of visuals it looks nice and colourful. At least the trailer shows a lot of movements and action.
First-Glance Potential: 50%
Ginga Kikoutai Majestic Prince
Summary: “The story follows humanity after it expanded its frontier into space in a quest for resources. Advances in genetic engineering research allow humans to adapt to the new frontier, leading to the advent of evolved children such as the protagonist Izuru. Izuru enrolls in an academy city called Gurantseere to fulfill his mission of “protecting humanity” with robotic mecha.” – (Taken from ANN)
Produced by: Dogakobo
Director: Keitaro Motonaga
Series Composition: Reiko Yoshida
Original creator: Rando Ayamine
Character Designer: Hisashi Hirai
Other Notable Staff: Fimihiko Shimo (Script)
Impressions: Both Keitaro Motonaga and Reiko Yoshida are doing other series this season. Okay. Still, collectively there is a lot of talent between the writing and directing staff, so this could actually become something. Dogakobo have shown that with Natsuyuki Rendezvous, they can do something actually good. The problem however is the premise. I mean, it tries to dance around the obvious, but we do have another high school mecha series here. What can they do to stand out?
Trailer Impressions: It’s a silent trailer so I can’t comment much on the music and voice acting, but what I’ve seen… good background art, overdone facial expressions, and unfortunately nothing that makes it stand out at first sight…
First-Glance Potential: 60%
Namiuchigiwa no Muromi-san
Summary: “The comedy story centers around Muromi-san, a mermaid who happens to speak with a Hakata accent. She is suddenly caught by Takurō Mukōjima, a boy in his high school’s fishing club.” – (Taken from ANN)
Produced by: Tatsunoko Production
Director: Tatsuya Yoshihara
Series Composition: Kazuyuki Fudeyasu
Original creator: Keiji Nashima
Character Designer / Animation Director: Kikuko Sadakata
Impressions: That is the ugliest mermaid I have seen in a long, long while. It’s not really the hair… but those eyes…. they are kind of unnerving. Anyway, Kazuyuki Fudeyasu wrote Milky Holmes. He also adapted Ben-To. This guy has energy. And something tells me that he’s also going to put that energy in this series… I’m expecting something bizarre…
First-Glance Potential: 70%
Danchi Tomoo
Summary: “The manga centers around a fourth-grade boy named Tomoo who lives in an apartment complex with his mother and big sister. With his father away on a long-term work contract, Tomoo gets into one misadventure after another with his friends.” – (Taken from ANN)
Director: Ayumu Watanabe
Original creator: Tobira Oda
Impressions: Apparently the manga this was based on was nominated for a Tezuka Cultural Prize, back in 2007, alongside works as Hyouge Mono, Moyashimon and Death Note. My impressions seems that the manga manages to capture the life of being a kid. And seriously, only the director for this production is known, but he is a really good one: Ayumu Watanabe directed Nazo no Kanojo X and is still working on Space Brothers. He will be able to bring that out.
Trailer Impressions: Really bad animation with lots of CG. Unfortunately this seems to be a very cheap production, so the question remains whether it will be enough to show why the manga is so good.
First-Glance Potential: 75%
To Aru Kagaku no Railgun
Summary: “Academy City is a highly developed place in terms of technology. It is said to be 20 to 30 years ahead of the rest of the world. Eighty percent of its 2.3 million residents are students. The focus of studies here is directed towards esper powers. Misaka Mikoto, one of the top level espers in town, shares a room with Kuroko Shirai, another high level esper who is a member of Judgement, a law enforcing agency composed of students. Both attend to Tokiwadai, a private school reserved for the high-leveled and the rich. Kuroko’s partner at Judgement, Kazari Uiharu, is a low level esper who studies at Sakugawa middle school. Her best friend and classmate there is Ruiko Saten, a level zero (no esper powers). Together, the four encounter several adventures in the exciting scientific town.” – (Taken from ANN)
Produced by: JC Staff
Director: Tatsuyuki Nagai
Series Composition: Seishi Minakami
Original creator: Kazuma Kamachi
Impressions: 100 episodes of the To Aru franchise. Let that sink in for a while. I personally don’t think that it warrants so much. Collect the best parts in 26 episodes and you’d have one heck of a series, but this is just too long. In terms of the staff nothing much has changed though, and Tatsuyuki Nagai and Seishi Minakami? These guys are awesome! They worked on many awesome series including Anohana, Honey and Clover, Birdy the Mighty Decode, Shigurui and Asatte no Houkou.
First-Glance Potential: 75%
Devil Survivor 2 The Animation
Summary: “The setting of Devil Survivor 2 spans the whole country of Japan. It tells the story of Japanese high school students who received an email from a website foretelling deaths. Mysterious creatures invade the country, and the students enter a pact, enabling them to summon demons. The plot may unfold differently depending on the player’s actions.” – (Taken from ANN)
Produced by: Bridge
Director: Seiji Kishi
Series Composition: Makoto Uezu
Music: Kotaro Nakagawa
Character Designer: Etsushi Sajima
Other Notable Staff: Mohiro Kitoh (Original Septentrion Design)
Impressions: Another series based on a series in the games of Shin Megami Tensei. And it’s by the director of Persona 4. Oh god, no. I still have not forgiven him for what he did there. Thankfully, the rest of the production looks a lot ore solid here. Bridge only did comedies so far, and this seems to be their first full series, and they are looking very ambitious. Makoto Uezu is someone who sometimes delivers really good, and sometimes really bad adaptations. And that’s the thing with this series: it’s got interesting source material, but it can both become great, or crash and burn horribly. And Mohiro Kitoh behind the mecha designs rocks.
Trailer Impressions: A solid trailer, it’s short but shows some nice animation, the soundtracks is good and it doesn’t loo overly lciched or silly. The problem will be the pacing again and whether that will be better this time…
First-Glance Potential: 75%
Yondemasuyo, Azazel-San
Summary: “Akutabe, a detective, summons devils to solve the troubles of his clients. One day, a low class devil Azazel Atsushi is summoned by Akutabe and is used harshly by him and his assistant Rinko Sakuma.” – (Taken from ANN)
Produced by: Production IG
Director: Tsutomu Mizushima
Original creator: Yasuhisa Kubo
Impressions: Oh god, they actually made one: a sequel to Yondemasuyo Azazel-san. This is a comedy that is not for everyone, and I have seen very few other comedies in which the humour was as black there. There is so much bile in it, and yet it had me in stitches for many times. There is always the matter of this series losing inspiration, but with this premise there is plenty of material left that can be explored, especially if the episodes are only 10 minutes long again.
First-Glance Potential: 80%
Valvrave the Liberator
Summary: “The story is set in an era when 70% of the human race lives in space due to the development of space cities. Between two major powers — the Dorushia Military Pact Federation and the Atlantic Ring United States (ARUS) — there is a small neutral nation called Jiouru that has prospered economically. The protagonist Haruto, a high school student who lives in Jiouru, encounters the mysterious “forbidden” humanoid weapon Valvrave when the Dorushia army invades.” – (Taken from ANN)
Produced by: Sunrise
Director: Kou Matsuou
Series Composition: Ichiro Okouchi
Character Designer: Tatsuya Suzuki
Impressions: Holy crap, what a combination between staff members. The writer of Code Geass, together with Matsuo Kou of Red Garden, Kurenai and Natsuyuki Rendezvous fame. I mean seriously, this will be either the trainwreck of the season, or a really epic and creative series. It all depends on how much freedom the creators have. Matsuou Kou is at his best with the more freedom that he has, while Ichiro Okouchi works better when he has less freedom (just look at Berserk, and Overman King Gainer also was awesome because that had the famous Yoshiyuki Tomino all over it, for example). In any case this will become interesting to follow…
Trailer Impressions: Reaaaaaly vague. We just saw a bunch of mechas and characters, although I do like the choice of music. Apart from that, it didn’t really show off anything…
First-Glance Potential: 80%
Gargantia on the Verdurous Planet
Summary: ” While fighting an intense inter-galactic war, a mecha pilot was accidentally warped into a space-time neither he nor the computer of his mecha could recognize. After waking up from a long-time hibernation, he found himself trapped on a planet, with human residents talking in an unknown form of language, using inferior technologies, and — most shocking to him — naturally breathable air.” – (Taken from ANN)
Produced by: Production IG
Director: Kazuya Murata
Series Composition: Gen Urobuchi
Music: Taro Iwashiro
Character Designer / Animation Director: Masako Tashiro
Impressions: Here is a series that put some effort in its promotional material. Just take a look at the official site, there’s a lot of neat artwork there. On top of that, we have Urobuchi Gen doing another original script of his. At this point he is in a very good position, where he has a lot of freedom. I really hope that he makes more and more use of this, while continuing to get better at writing. Kazuya Murata has not directed in a really long while. In fact, he seems to be returning after many years of not working on anything. I wonder what this can add to this series, because it definitely looks interesting here.
Trailer Impressions: Here I noticed a problem that I’ve often seen with Urobuchi Gen’s works: his characters are rather dull. The trailer was fairly long so we could see quite a bit about them, but there is nothing that makes them stand out. They’re just bland in every way.
First-Glance Potential: 80%
Arata Kangatari
Summary: “In a mythical world where humans and gods co-exist, Arata has the unfortunate honor of being the successor to the matriarchal Hime Clan. This means he has to pretend to be a girl or face death if his true gender is discovered! On the day of his inauguration, an assassination plot forces him to flee – and he somehow winds up in modern-day Japan! Meanwhile, a boy named Arata Hinohara gets sucked into the first Arata’s world and finds himself dealing with people after his life!” – (Taken from ANN)
Produced by: Satelight, JM Animation
Director: Kenji Yasuda,
Woo Hyun Park
Series Composition: Mayori Sekijima
Original creator: Yuu Watase
Music: Kou Otani
Character Designer: Masahiro Aizawa
Impressions: Yuu Watase is a big name in the shoujo genre: she was the one who wrote Fushigi Yuugi, which had a big influence. I watched the first episodes of it, and the one thing that struck me was how mind-numbingly stupid the female lead character was, to the point of making it really hard to watch. It definitely had potential though, and this premise again can lead to a great fantasy-epic that relates back to the current world. The director is a Satelight regular, being involved in many of their series (including NOEIN), and directing Croisée, while Mayori Sekijima is pretty experienced in adaptations to make it work if it has the potential. On top of that this seems to be a Korean co-production, showing yet again that the people at Satelight have a lot of international connections (first France, now Korea)
First-Glance Potential: 80%
Uchuu Senkan Yamato 2199
Summary: “The year is 2199. The human race has been crushed in their war with the Gamilos, driven into underground cities by the invader’s assault. Scientists estimate they have only a year left. The young officers Susumu Kodai and Daisuke Shima receive a mysterious capsule from a ship that made an emergency landing on Mars and return with it to Earth. It contains humanity’s last hope: the planet Iscandar on the other side of the Magellan Galaxy has the technology to defeat the Gamilos and restore the planet. The space battleship Yamato is entrusted with this task, but they have only one year before humanity ends.” – (Taken from ANN)
Produced by: Xebec, AIC
Director: Akihiro Enomoto,
Yutaka Izubuchi
Series Composition: Yutaka Izubuchi
Original creator: Leiji Matsumoto
Music: Akira Miyagawa
Character Designer: Nobuteru Yuki
Other Notable Staff: Hiedakki Anno (Opening Storyboards),
Hiroshi Ohnogi (Script),
Sadayuki Murai
Impressions: Yes, I also had to do a bit of a double-take when I suddenly saw Hideaki Anno (you know, the guy behind Evangelion…)’s name between the credits. And that really shows in what way this series stands out: it’s a remake, but it’s a really well produced one. There are a lot of great names who are responsible for some of the episodes here, and you can really see that this is made by fans, who want to make the original Yamato (which is incredibly outdated at this point) accessible to modern audiences. I have seen three episodes so far and was planning to catch the rest as it comes out on television, but the creators really managed to tell the original story, while also adding a lot of new stuff and details.
First-Glance Potential: 85%
Dansai Bunri no Crime Edge
Summary: “Haimura Kiri is a seemingly ordinary boy with one slight problem: he is obsessed with cutting other people’s hair. One day he meets Mushiyanokouji Iwai, the “Hair Queen” who cannot cut her hair because of an inherited curse. Kiri finds out that his scissor, “Dansai Bunri no Crime Edge” is the only thing that can cut them. But little did he know that their meeting sparked the start of an old murder game to kill the “Hair Queen” using the cursed killing tools, the “Killing Goods.” Can Kiri protect Iwai from the Killing Goods Owners? Let the game begin!” – (Taken from Mangaupdates)
Produced by: Studio Gokumi
Director: Yuji Yamaguchi
Series Composition: Tatsuhiko Urahata
Original creator: Tatsuhiko Hikagi
Character Designer: Katsuzo Hirata
Impressions: Aaand the biggest wtf-premise award goes to: Crime Edge. I mean, cutting people’s hair is already strange, but this show seems to go out of its way to make its premise as strange as possible. And you know, I don’t think I mind that. Just go a little crazy, it’s much better than having a normal premise. The director has experience with weird shows like that: he previously di Touka Gettan and Yami to Boushi to Hon no Tabibito. Tatsuhiko Urahata meanwhile has experience with everything. He is an awesome adapter, with his works ranging from Horizon to Gunslinger Girl Il Teatrino and Hajime no Ippo and Master Keaton and Monster.
Trailer Impressions: This is how you do a trailer: really charming on one hand, and “wtf are those bloody scissors doing there?!” on the other.
First-Glance Potential: 85%
RDG Red Data Girl
Summary: “The story revolves around Izumiko Suzuhara, a girl raised within the confines of Tamakura Shrine, one of the Kumano shrines that are part of a World Heritage site. However, after Izumiko spent practically her entire life at Kumano until middle school, it was decided that she and her childhood friend Miyuki would enroll in Houjou High School in Tokyo. On a school trip to Tokyo, a mysterious entity known as Himegami appears and a terrible incident occurs. Izumiko’s family carries a great secret that Izumiko is about to learn.” – (Taken from ANN)
Produced by: P. A. Works
Director: Toshiya Shinohara
Series Composition: Michiko Yokote
Original creator: Noriko Ogiwara
Music: Masumi Itou,
Myu
Character Designer: Minako Shiba
Impressions: I must say, I’m intrigued by the premise here. It sounds pretty solid and has a lot of potential to develop into something good. What makes this even better is that we’re talking about the director of the Book of Bantorra, which was a series that I absolutely loved (he also directed the first season of Kuroshitsuji). Michiko Yokote is a scriptwriter who I trust and she can really make the premise work. This is based on a story by the same author of Good Witch of the West, which I really liked. It’s great to see that this time, her story can be adapted by a bunch of people who know what they’re doing, instead of rushing through it.
Trailer Impressions: Very elegant, and it takes itself seriously. The backgrounds are really good, and the narration is good. The animation also looks very good, and the trailer really knows how to build its atmosphere. Good signs, good signs.
First-Glance Potential: 85%
Aku no Hana
Summary: “The story opens as middle school student Takao Kasuga receives an F on a math test. But he doesn’t even seem to notice because he’s too engrossed in surreptitiously reading Beaudelaire’s The Flowers of Evil. And the day goes downhill from there. In a moment of weakness, he finds and takes home the gym clothes belonging to sweet, pretty Nanako Saeki on whom he has a major crush. Unfortunately for Takao, there’s a witness to the theft: Nakamura, who has a huge chip on her shoulder and a sadistic streak.” – (Taken from Mangaupdates)
Produced by: Zexcs
Director: Hiroshi Nagahama
Series Composition: Aki Itami
Original creator: Shuzo Oshimi
Music: Hideyuki Fukasawa
Character Designer: Hidekazu Shimamura
Impressions: Zexcs previously was a studio who made mostly unremarkable series, and sometimes got lucky and delivered a good one. They have been getting much better lately. And holy crap, the director of Mushishi is back! Finally, years after doing Detroit Metal City he’s ready for another one, and I must say: this sounds like an awesome drama. Finally there is a school drama that just immediately stands out from its peers with such a simple, yet deceptive premise.
First-Glance Potential: 90%
Shingeki no Kyojin
Summary: “Several hundred years ago, humans were nearly exterminated by giants. Giants are typically several stories tall, seem to have no intelligence, devour human beings and, worst of all, seem to do it for the pleasure rather than as a food source. A small percentage of humanity survived by walling themselves in a city protected by extremely high walls, even taller than the biggest of giants. Flash forward to the present and the city has not seen a giant in over 100 years. Teenage boy Eren and his foster sister Mikasa witness something horrific as the city walls are destroyed by a super giant that appears out of thin air. As the smaller giants flood the city, the two kids watch in horror as their mother is eaten alive. Eren vows that he will murder every single giant and take revenge for all of mankind.” – (Taken from Mangaupdates)
Produced by: Wit Studio (Production IG)
Director: Tetsurou Araki
Series Composition: Yasuko Kobayashi
Original creator: Hajime Isayama
Character Designer: Kyoji Asano
Impressions: Back when I dabbled in manga (I really want to continue with that experiment… as soon as I have time again), one of the mangas that I checked out and really liked was Shingeki no Kyojin. Holy crap, that was intense, but it would also have been very difficult to animate properly. And here is the thing: if there is any director who can bring out the strength of the manga, it would be Tetsuro Araki, the director of Death Note and Kurozuka. He really can make this work! Yasuko Kobayashi also fits this show perfectly with his brilliant adaptations of Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure. Add that to Production IG’s expertise, and yes. I am really looking forward to see this in animated form.
Trailer Impressions: Fucking epic.
First-Glance Potential: 100%
