Year: 2008

The new fall season is almost here, and it’s going to be quite a doozy with big names like Gundam 00 alongside sequels like Nodame Cantabile Paris and new titles like Michiko to Hatchin. There are a whopping 35+ series premiering – that’s not even counting the kiddie shows – and there should be something for everyone, from mecha to space operas to slice-of-life comedies to dark romances and more. As usual, I’ll try to watch the first episode of most shows within certain parameters (in other words, not the kiddie shows), and what I list here are the chances of me actually blogging something based on my initial impressions from promotional material – which incidentally there is a ton of this time around. However, even if I list the chances for a show as good or guaranteed, it doesn’t necessarily mean I’ll stick with it for more than a few episodes.

By no means does this list reflect every single anime series that is going to be aired, though I did try to be as comprehensive as I could. Check out MOON PHASE for an entire listing, syoboi’s calendar for specific air-times, and Fansub Wiki’s Fall 2008 page for who’s tentatively subbing what.

Technical Note: All times are given in a 24-hour, relative-day format where times are extended to show which day they belong to. For instance, Friday morning at 1:30AM would become Thursday at 25:30 to show that the episode aired late Thursday night.

Toradora! http://www.starchild.co.jp/special/toradora/ Premieres October 1st, 2008 Airtime in Japan (JST, GMT+9): Wednesdays at 25:20 Airtime in U.S. (EST, GMT-4): Wednesdays at 12:20 Information Links: ANN Encyclopedia, AnimeNfo, AniDB, syoboi Toradora! follows a guy and girl who are in love with each other’s best friends and decide to help each other out. Along the way, they develop a very unique and close relationship. The female lead here is a role that was tailor made for Kugimiya Rie due to the way she acts and how she treats the male lead like a servant (much like Louise or Shana). Being animated by J.C.Staff as well will probably only increase the likeness. Horie Yui‘s also has a role in this, and put all together, this is a series generating a lot of buzz – I’ve even heard it called the next Suzumiya Haruhi. I don’t think it’ll have quite that much impact, but I’ve liked what I’ve read of the light novels and manga so far, so I’m tentatively planning on watching this. Odds I’ll Blog This: Good

Linebarrels of Iron http://www.linebarrels.jp/ Premieres October 3rd, 2008 Airtime in Japan (JST, GMT+9): Fridays at 26:25 Airtime in U.S. (EST, GMT-4): Fridays at 13:25 Information Links: ANN Encyclopedia, AnimeNfo, AniDB, syoboi The big series Gonzo is pushing for the fall season – to the point where they’ve released a PV in English – starts with a boy who meets a naked girl with no memories and obtains a mecha via an accident. He subsequently becomes a powerful pilot and has a to fight a lot of battles and such. My initial reaction to the plot was that it’s rather generic sounding, and it doesn’t help any that this is being animated by Gonzo and has character designs by Hirai Hisashi (those of you who have been reading RC for a while now will remember that, thanks to SEED Destiny, I get a bad feeling whenever I see a show with his character designs). On the other hand, this has a pretty strong cast including Fukuyama Jun, Hirano Aya, and Noto Mamiko, and the PVs don’t look that bad. Fridays are likely going to come down to a choice of this or Tales of the Abyss. Odds I’ll Blog This: Decent

Note: This is a rather long and fairly comprehensive list of the shows coming in October. Much much more after the jump, including the torrent link for promotional material.