Fall 2009 Preview!

The Fall 2009 season is upon us, so here’s the seasonal preview of all the shows that’ll be premiering! As usual, I’ll try to watch the first episode of as many shows as I can within certain parameters (in other words, not those kiddie shows), and what I list here are the chances of me actually blogging something based on my initial impressions from promotional material. 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 unless it actually is good.

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 airtimes, and Fansub Wiki’s Fall 2009 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.

InuYasha -Kanketsu-hen- (The Final Act)
http://www.ytv.co.jp/inuyasha/
Premieres on October 3rd, 2009
Airtime in Japan (JST, GMT+9): Saturdays at 23:30
Airtime in U.S. (EDT, GMT-4): Saturdays at 10:30
Information Links: ANN Encyclopedia, AnimeNfo, AniDB, MyAnimeList, syoboi
I don’t think this series needs much of an introduction, but just in case: InuYasha centers around a modern girl who gets thrown into the past and meets a half-demon, and it follows their quest to recover the shards of a powerful jewel. It’s a fun series, and the original broadcast covered up to volume 36 of the manga. The new series, which is bringing back the same Sunrise staff and cast, will cover up to the end of it. I watched and enjoyed a good portion of the original many years ago, but my memory is really, really fuzzy, and I’m pretty sure I didn’t watch the last couple of seasons of it, so I’ve been trying to read the manga to fill those holes. Basically what this means is that I’m going into the new series with no knowledge of what will happen, which is pretty much the same as I did for the Fullmetal Alchemist series running right now (and it’s worked out pretty well). The news that Do As Infinity will be performing the opening song just makes me even more excited to see it.
Odds I’ll Blog This: Guaranteed
Kimi ni Todoke
http://www.ntv.co.jp/kiminitodoke/
Premieres on October 6th, 2009
Airtime in Japan (JST, GMT+9): Tuesdays at 24:59
Airtime in U.S. (EDT, GMT-4): Tuesdays at 11:59
Information Links: ANN Encyclopedia, AnimeNfo, AniDB, MyAnimeList, syoboi
Production I.G‘s sole series for the season is popular shoujo manga Kimi ni Todoke. It follows a misunderstood girl who wants to get along with everyone in her class but is hindered by how creepy she sometimes looks, and the open and friendly boy she meets and starts to get along with. What little I’ve read of the manga has shown it to be a pretty well-written love story that does a great job conveying character emotions, and I’m looking forward to seeing how Production I.G adapts it since they’ve done so much great work in the past. The lead role is tailor made for Noto Mamiko too.
Odds I’ll Blog This: Guaranteed

Note: This is a rather long and fairly comprehensive list of October shows. Much much more after the jump, including a bunch of promo videos.
Edit: I’ve added 11eyes, Shin Koihime Musou, Seitokai no Ichizon and Inuyasha promo videos.