Natsuyuki Rendezvous – 07

by psgels, posted in Natsuyuki Rendezvous

After compiling the preview for the next season, at this point I’m about 90% sure of this: my favorite series of 2012 will be either Uchuu Kyoudai or Natsuyuki Rendezvous. Both series stand far above the other series this year in terms of characterization and acting. This episode of Natsuyuki Rendezvous only reaffirmed this.

It went on even longer with the body takeover: this episode still didn’t resolve it, but instead it was entirely dedicated to Atsuhi coming ot terms with his own death, and Rokka moving on. This episode didn’t pull the soap opera card by hammering on that Rokka was falling in love with him again, but rather it was about how he realized that she had fallen in love with someone else. Something that both of them couldn’t imagine for years.

Even at the end of the episode when Rokka realized the hints of Atsushi, this again wasn’t with a soap opera in mind, but again with the themes of goodbye. I love how the creators used that small potted plant thingy as the way for him to leave Rokka, in order to “correct his own mistakes”. I have no clue what that means, the way in which it symbolizes his character-development was really well done.

What’s more: this series really was made for Noitamina. 11 episodes is the perfect length for this story, and that makes it also very easy to pick up and just watch for those with little time. And really: this series wastes no minute of its airtime: every scene feels like it contributes subtly to the cast.
Rating: 6,5/8 (Amazing)

Moyashimon – 18

by psgels, posted in Moyashimon

Only three monthsago I was a weekend in Paris for a holiday, so it was kindof nice to see it in animated form. And some parts of this episode definitely rang home to me, like how on one hand it profiles itself as this hip charming city, yet still is full of merchandizing stuff, how the hotels are small and how things are pretty expensive. There was one part that I found a bit fishy: the creators handled the language barrier right, but how did they know the exchange rates between euros and yen instantly?

But still, there is something I’m really wondering here: what’s the point? Why is Paris important fo this series? All the characters did in this episode was eat out expensively and spend money. There were hardly any microbes, plus it doesn’t really add anything to the premise, setting or characters. Haruka’s whole wedding has been going on for nearly the entire season, but has much changed?

On top of that, this episode also wasn’t really fun, it wasn’t surprising, it wasn’t entertaining. It was just… there. I’m really starting to wonder whether my original assessment for this sequel was right: why was it made? What does it have to add? Right now this feels like the Paris-hen of Nodame Cantabile: sure it has its moment, but was it really necessary? There are virtues in being concise, you know?
Rating: 3/8 (Mediocre)

.Hack//The Movie Review – 80/100

by psgels, posted in Anime Reviews

So, the new .Hack Movie: how did it turn out? Well, you can see this as the spiritual sequel to .Hack//Quantum. It’s got a similar kind of set-up, it’s got a similar main character and its story progression is kindof similar. It’s just slower-paced and more epic.

But yeah, for those who are unfamiliar to the franchise: take Sword Art Online, and instead of putting the focus on combat, you put the focus on adventure and social interaction. Where Sword Art Online has a lot of shounen elements, .Hack on the other hand has more shoujo-esque elements in it, although it does tend to blur the lines between the genres more often. Of the .Hack franchise, I really recomend.Hack//Sign, which has been among my favorite series for eight years now. This movie simplifies a lot of the setting, but it has its merits.

Here is the thing with this movie: don’t expect anything from the plot. You’ve seen this story before, especially if you’re familiar with any other .Hack installment. All you need to know is that the story is epic, the protagonist is an average teenaged girl and that it has romance, and you can pretty much fill in how it’s going to progress on your own. Where this movie delivers instead is with its atmosphere.

The plot is simple, yet the movie clocks in at an hour and 50 minutes. That time is used to make everything play out very slowly. Because of this, it does a proper introduction of the characters, it does the development and the progression believably, the acting is down to earth and credible and the build-up all gets used well in the climax and it closes off satisfyingly. It’s also helped by a composer who obviously is a big fan of Yuki Kajiura, yet manages to keep her own influences.

So yeah, it’s not a movie that people are going to talk about for long, because there’s not much to say about that hasn’t been said in other .Hack anime, but what it does, it does well. It’s also completely done in CG, but this is handled well: in the virtual world this makes sense, and the characters manage to avoid the “botox”-face syndrome decently. It’s in any case better than the other CG .Hack Movie (Trilogy) which was heavily over-acted.

Storytelling: 8,5/10 – The pacing is slow, but skillful and the build-up is good.
Characters: 8/10 – Well acted and engaging characters.
Production-Values: 8/10 – Pretty good CG, and an impressive soundtrack.
Setting: 7.5/10 – It’s the .Hack franchise well portrayed, but it doesn’t really add something new to it.

Suggestions:
– .Hack//Sign
– .Hack//Quantum
– Digimon Movie 2 – Bokura no War Game

Uta Koi – 07

by psgels, posted in Uta Koi

After compiling the preview for the next Fall Season, I just realized how special this current season is. Sure, it may not shine in the quantity department, but what really makes it stand apart is the imagination in its premises, compared to next season in which everything sounds surprisingly similar. And among those series, Uta Koi once again showed that it stands among the most imaginative and different shows of the season.

This episode contains two romance stories in one again, just like in the first episode, and they’re about the members of the Fujiwara clan (which appeared to be quite big). One story revolved around a guy who died early, the other about a guy who had a full life. The first story was about living life to the fullest, and the second was about long-term relationships and fear of faithfulness. I can understand why the two of them were compiled together, because they contrast very nicely with each other.

Still, this series remains kindof silly. I mean, I’m not sure who found it a good idea that the way to flesh them out would be a random test of courage, which turned out to be a silly joke by an old man. I mean, I get the historical significance of the romance and the stories around that, but the thoughts behind that test of courage seem a bit lost on me. Out of all of the things to highlight the difference between the two main characters of this episode… why that?
Rating: 4,5/8 (Good)

Hyouka – 17

by psgels, posted in Hyouka

Well done, Hyouka. I applaud you. This episode brought things together perfectly and it gave everyone a conclusion after so much time of build-up.

Chitanda had her part with the broadcasting club, followed by that interesting advice Irisu gave her. After so long trying to advertise the club, she indeed ended up doing things a bit ham-handedly, and got pointed out for it, and I like that she too realized that she’s not going to do that again and that it was just something necessary to sell all of those anthologies.

Ibara meanwhile had this really genuine conclusion with that one girl, and I like how it indeed was true that there was a reason for her acting like that. That on its own was perhaps nothing special, but it removed so much stress from Ibara that it was really charming to see her, after how well the previous episodes portrayed her state of mind.

The real stars of the episode were Hotarou and the actual culprit: the vice president of the student council. My guess turned out to be half-right, I guess. Hotarou just went with his hunch speculated a bit and successfully managed to unmask the guy. And I think that that is the difference between him and Satoshi: imagination. Hotarou is really able to think between the lines. And the story behind everything was awesome, in which the whole plot was used as a way to ask a really good writer to continue with what he was doing.

This is really how you create a slow-paced series right. Instead of dragging things out, you use the extra time to give mode detail to the setting, characters, storyline. It’s because of all that build-up that this episode was so good, and I really like how believable the cast turned out here. If the creators can take this even further for the final arc, then it’ll really become amazing.
Rating: 6/8 (Awesome)

Rinne no Lagrange – 18

by psgels, posted in Rinne no Lagrange

Okay, I did not expect that.

Last week when Yurikano took over Madoka’s body, I thought that this would be the start of this epic story to resolve the war, with Yurikano in a central position. And here this episode comes and already removes Yurikano again from the main plot. And the way in which they did it surprised me even more.

Basically… this episode used coincidences: first Madoka randomly switches on the communicator while she’s talking to herself about Yurikano and afterwards just as when Lan’s brother is about to talk to Madoka about Yurikano, the Rinne switches them back again. They were a necessary evil: it led to nice character development and the chemistry that resulted from it was awesome. After all that build-up, this episode resolved everything surprisingly quickly. It’s a bit of an anti-climax, but so much stuff happened in this episode, and it was quite creative in the process.

And really, the creators can use this in their advantage. The only flaw of this episode was the coincidences, but I like it when a series does something against expectations. This brings the center of the story back to Dizelmine and Vilagulio. But how will they fill the remainder of the series with that? I mean, this episode was rushed for a reason. The question now is what kind of reason that was.
Rating: 5/8 (Great)

Jinrui wa Suitai Shimashita – 07

by psgels, posted in Jinrui wa Suitai Shimashita

With this epsiode, the fairies watched Groundhog Day and thought “hey, we can do that too!” The result was a very surreal episode. And with this series, that has to say something.

Also, what made this different from Groundhog Day was that Watashi kept running into herself. At first I thought that these would be future versions of herself, but since we never got to see those this remains just speculations. All that’s clear is that the fairies were hungry and this only became clear near the end when suddenly everyone started making cakes.

I’ve made my complaints about Assistant-kun, but in this episode he had a very interesting role to play. One thing that’s always fun about the series with a disjointed narrative is seeing all of the out of order introductions, and this was the point at which he apparently got introduced. Does that mean that he won’t appear in the final arcs or are we currently watching the chronological first arc of the story? I doubt that though, because something tells me that the creators still want to explain why Watashi’s watch broke. Also why was grandfather gearing up for battle?
Rating: 5/8 (Great)

Dudu the Floatee

by psgels, posted in OVA Impressions, Young Animator Training Project

Nearly everyone here is probably familiar with the workoholic trope: a father works a lot, neglecting his child, and some drama is created from that. If it’s told from the perspective of the father, the main theme is guilt, if it’s told from the perspective of the child, the main theme is loneliness. Dudu the floatee is entirely dedicated to this trope, but it actually manages to be different from the norm.

What really surprised me was how much heart this short has. I mean, this was told from the perspective of the child, and it does go on with the theme of loneliness for a while…. and then her floatee comes alive, takes her into a strange world full of floatees who kidnap her father and this turns into a quest for her to save her father. Instead of the usual conclusion in which the father realizes his errors, both of them actually come to an understanding with each other: the girl understands that her father is both afraid of water and that he sometimes needs to be at work, and the father realizes that he can’t keep using his fear of water as an excuse to ignore his family life. This two-sided development is what especially impressed me here, and it turned this into a very heart-warming little episode.

Anyway, this is the entry to the Young Animator Training Project by the Answer Studio. They’re a small studio that I really like, because they don’t release often, but when they do they always go for the really imaginative anime like Flag, Otona Joshi no Anime Time and Votoms’ Pailsen Files. Dudu the floatee gives me a lot of confidence to their junior division, because it was again really well animated. This episode also was directed by the director of Otona Joshi no Anime Time by the way, and it shows: it again has this really down to earth relationship between a parent and a young child.

So, to summarize the second iteration of the Young Animator Training Project: skip Buta, but definitely check out the rest, because these are some very well done animated shorts for every age: they’re aimed at children but have enough depth for adults to enjoy. Buta was probably the only one who didn’t get this and instead is just a bit of fun for children.

Uchuu Kyoudai – 20

by psgels, posted in Uchuu Kyoudai

So, we’ve finally arrived at the big day: where of each team two people have to be chosen, supposedly to become an astronaut, even though many people have already figured out that JAXA will make its choice, regardless of who gets selected. That will be the real climax of this arc. In the meantime, this episode was all about convincing those who didn’t figure this out yet. In particular, Yasushi.

If you’d just randomly watch this episode, then its effect will probably be completely lost on you. However, after following these people for so long and seeing them get fleshed out so brilliantly with all kinds of things they went through, this is just the episode in which everything together. It was so heart-warming when Mutta finally came with the idea to just use Rock Paper Scissors. The Udon actually was the perfect build-up for that.

It’s also awesome to see how little drama there has been: any incident has been solved so incredibly quickly in Group A. And to illustrate that even further is the sharp contrast that this has with Group B, in which the mood is completely tense. It just shows how one person can have such an impact on the overall mood. This episode showed absolutely nothing of how they ended up selecting their two people.

Of the past arc, there is one thing I do regret not having seen: Group C. They pretty much disappeared after the time assignment on the first day (of which they were the only ones who got it wrong). However, I know this series by now. They’re holding something back. They’re saving Group C for an appropriate moment, I’m sure of it.
Rating: 5.5/8 (Excellent)

Autumn Season Preview – Movie & OVA Edition

by psgels, posted in Seasonal Previews

Oh my god. Remember how I said in the preview for the movies for the current Summer Season that it has the potential to become the best season for movies in a decade? Well, upcoming fall season actually is looking even better. I did not think it was possible, but seriously: there are so many awesome movies coming out, it’s just incredible.

So yeah, brace yourselves for the point at which all these movies will finally be able to arrive on DVD, because 2012 is going to be a fantastic year for movies.

Franchise OVAs

Comments: This is a list of all the ovas and dvd specials that are going to come out. A rundown: Otome wa Boku ni Koshiteru, Nogizaka Haruka no Himitsu, Boku wa Tomodachi ga Sukunai, Minami-ke, Kami Nomi zo Shiru Sekai, High School DXD, Kore wa Zombie Desu Ka and Upotte. And to be honest, the only one I even remotely care about is Minami-Ke, but even that is a series that I can hardly remember when I watched its third season.

Ongoing OVA and Movie Series

Comments: These are continuing instalments of movies that are appearing, including the umpth Precure movie. And really: what’s not to love? Tales of Symphonia will conclude, Berserk will air its third instalment, concluding up to the point where the Television series left off (in other words, the BEST part), Mardock Scramble will conclude, and Evangelion is also back at a point at which it’s probably really going to take off, if the second movie was any indication. Interesting bit of trivia: for Evangelion they got their hands on a rather peculiar director to help along with the regular creators: Mahiro Maeda, the director of Gankutsuou. Yeah.

Katayoku no Khronos Gear

Summary: “The story is set in the near future not long from now, when humanity has completed an orbital elevator and begun developing the outer planets in earnest. An enigmatic extraterrestrial enemy known as “Obliquus” has set its sights on the solar system, and humanity enters a state of war with the first aliens it has encountered. To counter the enemy’s overwhelming technological superiority, the Khronos Foundation has assembled the descendants of every country’s heroes from Japan’s Musashi Miyamoto and Ryouma Sakamoto to France’s Napoleon and Joan of Arc. The foundation then fuses the descendants with “Gear” battle suits as special biological weapons, thus giving birth to “Khronos Gear.”” – (Taken from )
Type: OVA
Produced by: AIC
Director: Hiroku Hayashi
Screenplay: JR Eri Sakurajima
Other Notable Staff: Ayu Kawamoto, (Art Direction)

The Positives: The director originally came up with the concept for the Legend of Black Heaven and El Hazard, so he definitely has imagination.
The Negatives: You know, I find it very impressive that these guys managed to track down the descendants of Joan of Arc. Especially since she died as a virgin. I think this is one of those OVAs where you can pretty much get your impression from watching the trailer: it’s all really typical moe fantasy (with orgasmic power-up scenes included). Along with such a stupid premise, I’m not seeing much hope for this one.

First-Glance Potential: 0%

Mahou Shoujo Madoka Magica Zenpen: Hajimari no Monogatari & Mahou Shoujo Madoka Magica Kouhen: Eien no Monogatari

Summary: ” After experiencing a bizarre dream, Madoka Kaname, a kind 14-year-old girl, encounters a magical creature named Kyube. Madoka and her friend Sayaka Miki are offered the opportunity of gaining magical powers if they agree to make a contract with the strange little being. He will also grant them one wish, but in exchange they shall risk their lives by accepting the responsibility of fighting witches. Invisible to human eyes, witches are catalysts of despair in the areas they inhabit. An ally of Kyube, a magical girl named Mami Tomoe, befriends and encourages the two girls to accept the contract. For an unknown reason, another magical girl named Homura Akemi is determined to prevent Madoka from accepting the deal.” – (Taken from ANN)
Type: Recap Movies
Produced by: Shaft
Director: Shinbo, Yukihiro Miyamoto
Screenplay: Gen Urobuchi
Other Notable Staff: Yuki Kajiura (Music)

The Positives: For those who haven’t watched Madoka Magica yet: this is for you. The chance to watch it on the silver screen.
The Negatives: You know, it really sounded great when three whole movies of Madoka Magica got announced, right? Well, two of those three are just recap movies: only the third will feature any new content, and really: that ending was very conclusive: how do they plan to add to that? In any case though, my real issue with these movies is that I cannot find an answer to the question of “What will these movies add to the Madoka Franchise?”

First-Glance Potential: 30%

Kaiketsu Zorori Da-Da-Da-Daibouken!

Summary: “Hara’s books follow Zorori, a mischievous bandit fox who dreams of becoming the “King of Pranks.” Zorori aims to “build my own castle and make a beautiful princess my wife,” and he embarks on one misadventure after another with his two boar companions Ishishi and Noshishi. In the film, Zorori is after a trove of riches discovered by the treasure hunter Zorondo Ron.” – (Taken from ANN)
Type: Movie
Produced by: Sunrise
Director: Tomoki Iwasaki
Screenplay: Takeshi Mori
Other Notable Staff: Yutaka Hara (Original Creator), Kouhei Tanaka

The Positives: So, the producer of Legend of Legendary Heroes will direct the next movie for the Kaiketsu Zozori franchise, written by the director of Vandread, The Skull Man, Otaku no Video along with music composed by the same guy who also did the soundtrack for Hyouka, One Piece, Nurarihyon no Mago and A TON of other series. Kindof an impressive resume for a kids’ movie.
The Negatives: Kaiketsu Zozori is a bit of an overblown kids show that went on for way too long, can this movie really reel in new fans or is it just going to aim itself at kids?

First-Glance Potential: 40%

Usogui

Summary: “There are gamblers out there who even bet their lives as ante. But to secure the integrity of these life-threatening gambles, a violent and powerful organization by the name of “Kagerou” referees these games as a neutral party. Follow Baku Madarame a.k.a. Usogui (The Lie Eater) as he gambles against maniacal opponents at games – such as Escape the Abandoned Building, Old Maid, and Hangman…” – (Taken from Mangaupdates)
Type: OVA
Director: Kazuo Tomizawa
Original Creator: Toshio Sako

The Positives: This one screams pilot. It’s based on a shounen manga that is in no way going to fit inside an OVA, but this really looks like the producers are trying to see whether it works for animation, so we might as well see a proper Usogui series in about a year or something. And they got the character designer of Barefoot Gen to direct it… interesting.
The Negatives: So yeah, don’t expect anything from this OVA, it will only be an introduction, nothing more.

First-Glance Potential: 70%

Macross FB7: Ginga Rukon Ore no Uta o Kike!

Summary: “The story is set in 2059, five decades after the Space War I conflict seen in the first Macross story. Macross Frontier, the 25th New Macross Class super-long-distance colonization fleet, is journeying through the galaxy to a new paradise to call home. However, it is locked in a state of war with a strange enemy called Vajra. Ozma Lee, the leader of the S.M.S. Skull Team that is fighting the Vajra on the frontlines, encounters a mysterious lifeform, different from even the Vajra, one day. This mysterious lifeform shares visual memories of a certain other colonization fleet with Ozma and two other Macross Frontier characters, Ranka and Sheryl.” – (Taken from AniDB)
Type: Movie
Produced by: Satelight
Director: Tetsurou Amino
Screenplay: Tetsurou Amino

The Positives: So this is going to be a remake of the Macross 7 series, in which the characters of Macross Frontier are also going to make an appearance. Tetsurou Amino directed the original Macross 7 (which I didn’t see, by the way) and this guy really impressed me with his work on Shiki, so who knows? Satelight will also very likely brings its best animators to this project, so it’s definitely going to have a ton of eye candy again.
The Negatives: I hate to say it, but the Macross Franchise is really getting milked out right now. This is the third movie in what? three years? This one definitely sounds like it was thought up by producers with a lack of imagination.

First-Glance Potential: 75%

Horimiya

Summary: “People say that the youthful days are always bittersweet, but maybe it’s just bitter? Kyouko Hori is a flashy high school girl, who, despite her ostentatious appearance, excels in academics and has a family-loving character. Izumi Miyamura is a bland high school boy, who, despite not wanting to stand out in class, secretly wears piercings outside of school and has a large body tattoo. One day, Miyamura finds Hori’s little brother injured and helps him back to Hori’s house, where the relationship between Hori and Miyamura begins with Hori’s discovery of Miyamura’s secret.” – (Taken from Mangaupdates)
Type: OVA
Produced by: Hoods Entertainment
Director: Shingo Natsume
Screenplay: Yuniko Ayana
Other Notable Staff: Hero (Original Creator)

The Positives: This story is definitely inspired by His and Her Circumstances, with the whole “pretending to be someone you’re not”-angle. The question will now be how well the creators make use of this shoujo story. And the guy to direct this and bring the characters to life is an interesting guy: this will be his first full series to direct, but before this he worked as the unit direction of the Full Metal Alchemist-movie, he directed episode 6 of the Tatami Galaxy and worked as an animator for anime as Welcome to the Space Show, Welcome to the NHK, Gurren Lagann, Read or Die and Panty and Stocking. He’s got an interesting resume for a starting director.
The Negatives: Yukino Ayana previously wrote the series composition for Denpa-Onna to Seishun Otoko, which didn’t know how to pace itself. But hey: this is a short OVA so the danger of it dragging on is much smaller.

First-Glance Potential: 75%

Ippatsu Hicchuu!! Devander

Summary: “The story revolves around a spirited, carefree boy named Kazuma Harukaze, who lives with his little sister Sakura and his horse Lovely on a farm within sight of Mt. Fuji. One day, a “meteor” lands nearby, and it turns out to be Hinkeeru — a messenger from Muzanda who has come to warn Earth of a grave danger — and a robot horse named Robony.” – (Taken from ANN)
Type: OVA
Produced by: Tatsunoko Productions
Director: Hiroshi Sasagawa
Screenplay: Junki Takegawa
Other Notable Staff: Junio Okawara (Mechanical Designs)

The Positives: This is just one of those shows that made me do a double-take to check whether it was really true what I saw. I mean, we have this guy walking around on this robot horse who turns out to be named “Robony”. And to make matters even weirder, Robony was designed by who is probably THE classical mecha designer out there: he is the guy behind the designs of Gundam, Votoms, Reideen, and a ton of other classic mechas. Apparently this is to celebrate Tatsunoko Production’s 50th anniversary. The director is also a complete veteran: the director of Yatterman and all kinds of classic kids’ shows of 30 years ago (this guy was born in 1938!) The script also is written by a veteran, who has written and adapted a ton of series, ranging from Naruto to Yugioh and Yatterman. This definitely is an homage to Yatterman by the way.
The Negatives: The danger is aiming this too much at kids. This really should be something aimed at the older fans.

First-Glance Potential: 80%

Kizumonogatari

Summary: ” “I think it’s about time I talked about Kiss-Shot-Acerola-Orion Heart-Under-Blade. I believe it’s something I have to do. I met her in the spring break between my second and third years of high school. That meeting had such impact, and was also quite devastating.”” – (Taken from ANN)
Type: Movie
Produced by: Shaft
Director: Shinbo
Original Creator: Nisioisin

The Positives: Do you remember that very misleading OP of Bakemonogatari? Now that was actually a teaser for the Kizumonogatari movie, the sequel to both Bakemonogatari and Kizumonogatari. The thing is that I read in an interview once that Nisioisin doesn’t like to repeat himself, which is something I really like, even though I’m definitely not a fan of his writing style that overemphasizes wordplay and takes ages to get anywhere. Still, this will very likely be full of really nice eye candy and animation, on top of that it seems much more action-packed than what Bakemonogatari and Nisemonogatari were.
The Negatives: That pacing still worries me though. Shaft does have an actual budget for this series now, and they’renot producing way too many series any more like when Bakemonogatari was aired, but I still need to run into a -monogatari adaptation that I really liked.

First-Glance Potential: 80%

Arata Naru Sekai

Summary: “The story follows a “time researcher” and a group of children in a depopulated world that finds itself stuck in time. In order to save humanity, some of the characters are chosen to travel to the future (depicted in the anime), and others to the past (depicted in the manga), while those who are deemed unsuitable for the technology stay in the present (depicted in the novel.)” – (Taken from ANN)
Type: OVA
Produced by: Madhouse
Director: Yuzuru Tachikawa
Screenplay: Hitoma Iruma
Other Notable Staff: Satoru Kousaki (Music)

The Positives: This is an ambitious project: it’s going to be both a manga, light novel and anime at the same time, penned by the guy who wrote the Denpa Onna to Seishun Otoko novels, and I’m curious what his work is like without Shinbo dancing all over it. And really: this sounds very interesting with a story that deliberately spans different mediums. The director will also have his first full-on directing job, and he sounds like a solid Madhouse director here, having worked on an episode of Mouryou no Hako, Kurozuka and Steins;Gate in the past.
The Negatives: The problem is that I probably won’t be able to get 1/3 of the story, since I don’t read light novels.

First-Glance Potential: 85%

Fuse Teppou Musume no Torimonochou

Summary: “In Fuse Gansaku: Satomi Hakkenden, the female hunter Hamaji comes to her brother in order to hunt Fuse. Thus, the karmic cycle of retribution that began long ago with the Satomi family begins anew.” – (Taken from ANN)
Type: Movie
Produced by: TMS Entertainment
Director: Masayuki Miyaji
Screenplay: Ichirou Okouchi
Other Notable Staff: Kazuki Sakuraba (Original Creator), Michiru Ooshima

The Positives: Yes! The director of Xam’d is back with another work, this time an adaptation of the author of Gosick who based her story on the Hakkenden. Michiru Ooshima also is a really good choice for the soundtrack. This probably won’t be such an arthouse project as with the original Hakkenden OVA, but as a standalone story there is a ton of potential.
The Negatives: Ichirou Okuchi, the writer of Code Geass… yeah. Still, he did adapt the Berserk movies and Shigofumi, so he can definitely adapt something.

First-Glance Potential: 85%

Sakasama no Patema

Summary: “The film’s story will take place in an underground world where tunnels extend everywhere. Even though they live in dark and confined spaces, people wear protective clothes and lead quiet and enjoyable lives. Patema, a princess in her underground village, loves to explore the tunnels. Her favorite place is a “danger zone” that her village prohibits people from entering. Even though she’s scolded, Patema’s curiosity can’t be held back. No one ever explained what the supposed danger was. On her usual trip to the “danger zone,” Patema faces unexpected events. When hidden secrets come to light, the story begins to unfold.” – (Taken from ANN)
Type: Movie
Produced by: Purple Cow Studio Japan
Director: Yasuhiro Yoshiura
Screenplay: Yasuhiro Yoshiura
Other Notable Staff: Yasuhiro Yoshiura (Original Creator)

The Positives: So what was previously released were a bunch of preview OVAs. I didn’t watch them because I was just waiting for the full movie to arrive. In any case, Yasuhiro Yoshiura is the creators of Pale Cocoon, Eve no Jikan and Mizu no Kotoba. He definitely has a unique vision through his works, so this movie is definitely going to be interesting.
The Negatives: If I’d have to say one thing that he lacks, it’s making things come together. That also struck me with Eve no Jikan. Great individual stories, but it just seemed to miss something in the big picture, and I do hope that this gets fixed for this movie release because it definitely seems interesting.

First-Glance Potential: 90%

Hana-Saku Iroha: Home Sweet Home

Summary: “When her mother runs off with her latest boyfriend, Ohana Matsumae is sent to live with her grandmother, who she has never met nor spoken to. Her grandmother is not pleased to find Ohana on her doorstep, and sets her to work at her Taisho-era (1920s) hot springs inn. It’s not a lifestyle that Ohana would have chosen, but she decides not to be discouraged and to make the most of her difficult circumstances.” – (Taken from ANN)
Type: Movie
Produced by: PA Works
Director: Masahiro Ando
Screenplay: Mari Okada
Other Notable Staff: Shirou Hamaguchi (Music), Kanami Sekiguchi (Animation Director)

The Positives: Sweet, they stuck with the main staff members of the TV-Series, and on top of that this will probably be Mari Okada’s first written movie screenplay. There is enough inspiration left to fill a movie here, especially since we already know the characters and therefore don’t need the lengthy introduction arc that bogged the TV-series down a bit around its beginning.
The Negatives: So yeah, unfortunately this will likely be a movie for the fans, and not new audiences.

First-Glance Potential: 90%

Rakuen Tsuihou: Expelled From Paradise

Summary: “???”
Type: Movie
Produced by: Toei Animation, Nitroplus
Director: Seiji Mizushima
Screenplay: Gen Urobuchi

The Positives: Awesome: a new completely original movie, animated by Toei, directed by Seiji Mizushima (the director of Natsuiro Kiseki, Full Metal Alchemist, Un-Go) and written by Gen Urobuchi (Madoka Magica, Phantom, Fate Zero). It’s going to be a science fiction project, but apart from that nothing is known yet what it’ll be about. It’s also got a really cryptic official website that makes Psycho Pass look like the bible in comparison.
The Negatives: I can’t say anything negative yet. The people involve here are awesome, and Toei’s movies always have this charm to them when they’re done by the experimental part of Toei, of which this definitely belongs to.

First-Glance Potential: 95%

Tiger and Bunny – The Beginning

Type: Movie
Produced by: Sunrise
Director: Yoshitomo Yonetani
Screenplay: Masafumi Nishida
Other Notable Staff: Yoshihiro Ike (Music)

The Positives: The Tiger & Bunny movies just got even better once I found out who the director is going to be: Yoshitomo Yonetani’s name is synonymous to crack: he was behind Dororon – Enma-kun, Hoshi no Umi no Amuri and Brigaddon. He has this unique style and is always really fun to watch, and his crazy touch is definitely going to be interesting and unconventional for Tiger & Bunny here, aided by the series’ original scriptwriter.
The Negatives: Now, the series did end pretty conclusive. I’m not going to spoil this here, but the creators are going to have to be very careful to avoid some deus ex machina in order to actually get a story here.

First-Glance Potential: 95%

Asura

Summary: “The unrelentingly dark drama follows the struggles of a child during a famine in medieval Japan. His mother was so impoverished and starved that she tried to eat Ashura at the beginning of the story.” – (Taken from ANN)
Type: Movie
Produced by: Toei Animation
Director: Keiichi Satou
Screenplay: Ikuko Takahashi
Other Notable Staff: George Akiyama (Original Creator), Yoshihiro Ike, Norihito Sumitomo, Susumu Ueda (Music)

The Positives: Holy crap! Toei actually made a movie out of this!? Oh my god, this manga was actually labelled like an anti-Miyazaki story, and this seems unrelentingly dark here. On top of that, the director of Karas and Tiger and Bunny will direct this. The scriptwriter of some of Mononoke’s stories and Ojiisan no Lamp will adapt the story and the ever-lovely Yoshihiro Ike will delier the soundtrack If they can manage to make this work this will definitely be an incredible movie.
The Negatives: The big danger for this one is making it devolve into something that is shocking for the sake of shocking. Make it count and actually flesh these characters out.

First-Glance Potential: 95%

009-Re:Cyborg

Summary: “The nuclear age has brought with it the arms race, which has led to the advent of weapons powerful enough to destroy the world itself several times over. Unwilling to take the plunge into Armageddon, the world powers, in league with a group known only as the Black Ghost, have developed super soldiers known as the Cyborgs, designed to fight the wars of the world in space. Unfortunately, the Black Ghost didn’t ask the Cyborgs how they felt about their role in the new world order. This classic work from manga legend Shotaro Ishinomori (Masked Rider) not only told a thrilling tale set against a backdrop of Cold War tensions, but it also helped define the genre of super team stories such as Battle of the Planets, Voltron, and The Power Rangers.” – (Taken from Mangaupdates)
Type: Movie
Produced by: Production IG, Sanzigen
Director: Kenji Kamiyama
Screenplay: kENJI kAMIYAMA
Other Notable Staff: Shotaro Ishinomori (Original Creator), Kenji Kawai, Yasuhiro Aoki

The Positives: Kenji Kamiyama is back! And how, with this remake of one of the classics in anime (it was written in 1964 and formed the prototype for all power rangers and super sentai series to follow). On top of that, the always awesome Kenji Kaway will do the soundtrack, and one of the people behind the storyboard is one of the main episode directors of Mahou Shoujotai. Remakes are usually awesome, but to have such a rock-solid staff behind one this time makes me even more excited than usual for one.
The Negatives: Like with all remakes, this will have to balance between the original vision of Cyborg, and the vision of the creators themselves. The key here is freedom while doing justice to the source material. That’s always a bit difficult.

First-Glance Potential: 100%

Gothicmade

Summary: “On a tiny colony world named Carmine, young women known as Songstresses inherit the generation memories of those who came before them, using their knowledge to help a populace that suffers under the harsh policies of the ruling interplanetary league. Newly reborn as a Songstress, 16-year-old Bellin Ajelli sets off a holy pilgrimage across the planet. Rumors of a possible terrorist attack result in Prince Truhallon of the militant Donau Empire being sent in to protect her, but his very presence is the antithesis of everything Bellin stands for. The two are as different as night and day, but they’re stuck together until they reach the capital.” – (Taken from ANN)
Type: Movie
Produced by: Automatic Flowers Studio
Director: Mamoru Nagano
Screenplay: Mamoru Nagano
Storyboard: Mamoru Nagano
Original Creator: Mamoru Nagano
Character Design: Mamoru Nagano
Key Animation: Mamoru Nagano
Layout: Mamoru Nagano
Photography: Mamoru Nagano
Other Notable Staff: Seikou Nagaoka (Music), Hiromasa Ogura, Yasuhiro Ogura

The Positives: Now this is it: a completely unique movie. It was already announced seven or eight years ago, and with this, it’s finally done. This is Mamoru Nagano’s magnum opus. He was involved everywhere. In fact, the reason for why this movie took so long to make was because he took up so much of this movie’s production to himself, from the key animation to the storyboards: everything needed to be done perfectly. After such a long wait and build-up, I just have to see what it eventually turned into because really: we’re likely never again going to see another movie like this.
The Negatives: But yeah, that’s also the danger of such a project: it will either be an amazing and really personal experience… or a complete train-wreck because Mamoru Nagano took way too much into his own hands. But even then though, it will most likely be something special.

First-Glance Potential: 100%

Nerawareta Gakuen

Summary: “The story is set in Abeno 6th Middle School, a prep school attended by the main character Kouji Seki. The school puts a high emphasis on studying, but the resulting stress leads to unruly students. Michiru Takamizawa is elected the student council president, and she begins ruling over the school with a brutal iron fist. Kouji rises up against Michiru, and Kazumi Kusumoto joins him in the battle with the student council.” – (Taken from ANN)
Type: Movie
Produced by: Sunrise
Director: Ryousuke Nakamura
Original Creator: Taku Mayumura

The Positives: Holy crap, Ryousuke Nakamura is back! This guy really is my favourite director who started his career during the past ten years, and just about everything he touches becomes brilliant. I mean, just look at the trailer on the official website. It looks so completely gorgeous and expressive. On top of that, I cannot confirm this and I’ve only read this somewhere, but there are rumours that Tetsurou Araki (the director of Death Note and Kurozuka) also helped to work on this movie after his work on Guilty Crown was finished.
The Negatives: There is the premise, which at first sight doesn’t seem like much. Yet, the author did write the Order to Stop Construction, which was delightfully witty. It probably won’t be something as unique as Mouryou no Hako and Hashire Melos though.

First-Glance Potential: 100%