Season Schedule / Series Introduction
Sunday Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday
Ao no Exorcist
17:00 MBC TBS (4/17)		 Natsume Yuujin-chou San
25:30 TX (7/4)		 Bleach
18:00 TX		 Nyanpire The Animation
22:54 Kids Station (7/6)		 Usagi Drop
24:45 CX (7/7)		 BLADE
22:00 ANIMAX (7/1)		 Nekogami Yaoyorozu
08:30 AT-X (7/9)
D P T E D P T E D P T E D P T E D P T E D P T E D P T E
Nurarihyon no Mago Sennen Makyou
17:30 MX (7/3)		 Kaitou Tenshi Twin Angel
25:45 tvk (7/4)		 Kami-sama Dolls
25:30 TX (7/5)		 NO.6
25:15 CX (7/7)		 Ro-Kyu-Bu!
23:00 AT-X (7/1)		 Uta no Prince-sama Maji LOVE 1000%
24:00 MX (7/2)
D P T E D P T E D P T E D P T E D P T E D P T E
Hanasaku Iroha
22:00 MX (4/3)		 Yuruyuri
26:00 TX (7/4)		 Double-J
25:29 NTV (6/28)		 THE IDOLM@STER
25:25 TBS (7/7)		 Ouran High School Host Club Drama
24:20 TBS (7/22)		 R-15
25:00 tvk (7/9)
D P T E D P T E D P T E D P T E D P T E D P T E
Ikoku Meiro no Croisée The Animation
24:30 CTC (7/3)		 Morita-san wa Mukuchi.
25:30 KBS (7/5)		 BLOOD-C
25:40 MBS (7/7)		 Itsuka Tenma no Kuro Usagi
25:05 TVS (7/8)		 Nichijou
26:20 TVA (4/2)
D P T E D P T E D P T E D P T E D P T E
Manyuu Hikenchou
25:00 tvk (7/10)		 Steins;Gate
26:05 TVS (4/5)		 Mayo Chiki!
25:55 TBS (7/7)		 Dantalian no Shoka
25:23 TX (7/15)		 Sacred Seven
26:28 MBS (7/2)
D P T E D P T E D P T E D P T E D P T E
Mawaru Penguindrum
26:10 MBS (7/7)		 Kami-sama no Memo-chou
25:30 MX (7/8)
D P T E D P T E
Baka to Test to Shoukanjuu Ni!
26:15 TX (7/7)
D P T E
Legend: 8 Divine 2 Prooof 6 Takaii 5 Guardian Enzo Not covering/watching

First off, Happy Canada Day to all our Canadian readers and an early Happy Fourth of July to all our American ones. The summer season is upon us now, so it’s time to give a quick overview of what the writers and I will be watching, and more importantly, what we’ll be covering. As always, please note that this is a tentative schedule and shows may be shuffled around after the first week. Any changes will be noted on this post as they’re made.

That being said, we’re pretty set on Enzo taking over Ao no Exorcist and Steins;Gate, seeing as he was blogging both those shows on Lost in America already. Not listed is the Ouran High School Host Club live-action drama that I mentioned in the Summer 2011 Preview, which I’m hoping to make time for on Fridays. Assuming that I do end up covering it, seven shows is still a tad on the light side compared to what I’m used to, so there’s the possibility that I may pick up one more. We’ll see. No promises.

To reduce the amount of time spent on each post, I’ve encouraged all the writers to adopt the 15-image mini post format this season as they see fit, and I’m also considering using it for several of my own shows. A lot of the time, we only want to give some quick first impressions on an episode, and a format with fewer screen caps is more accommodating to shorter posts. For me in particular watching raws, I often run into the situation where a post is fully written but held up because of a lack of caps, which is something I really want to avoid going forward to bring back the speedy posts that the site’s known for. At the moment, a single post takes anywhere from 1.5 to 2.5 hours on average, including watching, capping, writing, and editing time, and I’d like to see that cut in half. If we can make blogging a quick and painless process, it will translate to more shows being covered. It’s as simple as that.

With that in mind, Enzo’s going to be using the mini format for all five of his shows while he gets accustomed to blogging at RandomC. The exceptions are first episode posts, which everyone will be using the regular format to give a better idea of what a new series looks like. Prooof will continue using the mini format for Bleach, and probably for his other two new shows as well due to time constraints, whereas Takaii and I will likely be using a mix of the two formats. I realize the site’s been known for providing a lot of high quality images, but quite frankly, that comes secondary to sharing some impressions on what we’re watching.

Updates:
07/12: Takaii dropped Sacred Seven and BLOOD-C and picked up Ro-Kyu-Bu.
07/22: Divine will be covering IDOLM@STER, Mayo Chiki, Ro-Kyu-Bu, and the Ouran High School Host Club Drama for as long as time permits.
08/10: Prooof dropped coverage of Kami-sama no Memo-chou. He won’t be watching it anymore either.
08/18: Takaii will be covering Kami-sama no Memo-chou.
08/25: Divine dropped coverage of Ro-Kyu-Bu. Takaii will be taking over coverage of Mayo Chiki.

84 Comments

    1. Mayo Chiki is what I’m considering if I decide to pick up another series. I’m trying to avoid blogging two shows on the same day, but if I were to do so, Thursday would definitely be it. It’s always the busiest day of every anime season.

      Edit: Actually, scratch that. It looks like MBS is airing Mawaru Penguindrum on Thursdays, one day ahead of TBS’ broadcast, so there goes that idea.

      Divine
      Reply

  8. Well, seems like the workload’s pretty evenly split this season. I’m guessing +12-series-season-coverages will be a thing of the past?
    …and it’s a shame Appleseed XIII looks like it’ll be postponed yet again.

    1-31
    Reply

  10. Divine’s taking it easy this season now that he’s back.

    im glad he decided to blog yuruyuri and blood c(even though he said he didnt finish blood+).

    on a side note, is first impressions still there? I mean blogging the first episodes.

    amado
    Reply

  12. Awesome stuff, loads of shows are getting covered! Now just to wait and see if there are going to be any hidden gems this season. (My guess goes to Mawaru Penguindrum & Ikoku Meiro no Croisée)

    Kurofaise
    Reply

  13. Yay Usagi Drop

    Pretty balanced schedule having a few things covered each day by different bloggers. Gone are the days where Divine was pumping out 16 shows a week. Well until Fall arives XD. Good work guys and I hope that this season will deliver.

    Shadiic
    Reply

  14. WOW you covering 19/33 shows! Now that is awesome!! Hopefully this season will produce absolute gems again. Glad to see you active again Divine, how was the break? Kudos to Takaii and Prooof for your continued contributions.

    I will be looking forward to your input Enzo. Your post on colorful was interesting, I will take some time in the future to give it a go.

    Flappy
    Reply

  19. 😀 I’m so glad that Natsume Yuujin-chou San is being covered!! I’m looking forward to reading Guardian Enzo’s reviews and opinions ;P

    pretty sad that there’s gonna be a few screen caps though and lesser detailed reviews..i love reading about them in detail especially if i do not understand the episode.. >.<

    VT
    Reply

  20. Wow, solid coverage this season. It looks like all the good shows are pretty evenly spread among the writers as well and I’ll have the chance to read everyone’s contributions.
    A bit disappointed that Manyuu Hikenchou won’t be covered. If there’s a site that cover such guilty pleasure well, it’s Random Curiosity.
    Try not to burn out again, Divine. I hope we’ll get to read your impressions on more movies/OVAs as well.

    Seishun Otoko
    Reply

  24. I’m a huge Natsume Yuujinchou fanboy, so there was no way I was letting that one slip past me. And VT, even if I use a mini-format for most posts with caps (for now) rest assured, I’ll try and give fully detailed reviews all the time if I can.

    Exciting to see all this laid out – should be a great season. I’m happy to be here.

    Guardian Enzo
    Reply

    2. As Luxorcist said it’s not bloggable, but yes it’s probably going to be quite long running similar to Toriko and Beelzebub at the moment as they all have quite alot of source material to go through, (mainly Sket Dance).

      Kurofaise
      Reply

  28. @Darkmaya – I know about the BL overtones, and it doesn’t bother me so much – chalk this up to that “generalist” tag I apply to myself. I don’t have too many hangups with anime except poor quality – if the writing is good and the product is entertaining, they can have whatever undertones they want. Besides, I have full faith in NoitaminA. They’ve had their misses, but their batting average is unbeatable the last two years.

    Guardian Enzo
    Reply

    1. I wouldn’t have thought BL tones would be a problem considering you said Hourou Musuko was one of your favs in recent years (mines too) and if anybody disliked anything do with sexuality or identity or related topics then I would think chances were they would not have enjoyed Hourou Musuko in the first place; never mind it being one of your favourites. So yeah, I really look forward to your upcoming bloggings Enzo, especially NO.6/Ao No Exorcist/Dantalian!

      🙂

      Kurofaise
      Reply

    1. I disagree. I liked the 1st episode. The characters are clearly CLAMP characters similar to XXXHolic design but Saya is beautifully drawn. It is a complete reimagining of the original series with everything being changed from top to bottom (including Saya’s look). I loved the original series as well.

      The business with her and the fight isn’t well explained but I’m not worried. Many suspense/horror action type series start with a mysterious thing happening that isn’t well explained and then gets filled in later as a way of drawing us in. Hell Ga-Rei introduced a whole cast and then killed them all in a WTF moment at the beginning of the series so hang in there.

      Karmafan
      Reply

  36. The 15 picture format is a good idea. Don’t stress yourselves out screenshotting things, most of us should have watched the episode already and are more interested in your opinions. :]

    Kevin
    Reply

  39. WOW.. I’m completely blown away that Tiger and Bunny doesn’t have a spot. I would’ve guess Divine would pick that one up if anyone. But it is mid-season for it and you guys don’t just pick up a show in the middle of it’s story like that.

    I’m really happy there’s a new writer on the team. Random Curiosity is great. Always gets my spirits up. 🙂

    Shirt
    Reply

  43. Good choice not choosing “Uta no Prince-sama Maji LOVE 1000%”. These kind of reverse harems are just pointless and their eyes are just…ugh. Also, Starry Sky just sucks a$$.

    Hidoi
    Reply

    1. o.O I feel that it’s wrong for you to stereotype a show like that, just because it’s a reverse harem, and especially when you’ve not even tried watching the show. Personally, I myself do not watch reverse harems because I thought that having 1 girl and loads of guys (or 1 guy with loads of girls for that matter), wouldn’t show much substance for a story, and I do agree that when I peeked into Starry Sky’s series, I was greatly disappointed by the way the anime delivered the plot. All the more the distance between me and that type of genre increased.

      My sister then picked up Uta no Prince Sama series, kyaaa-ing every time she sees the ending with all of those so-called pretty boys. I had no interest in picking in up either because I had the same mindset as you.

      But I’m telling you now that I’m glad that that day, I had nothing to do and my sister forced me to sit through the first episode of the series…because it was great!

      I found the series different than usual types of reverse harems, the humour was uniquely crafted, there’s that tinge of mysterious suspense (not romantically), and i must say, the plot so far, has been really good at putting me on the edge of my seat.

      Sure, like the typical reverse harem stories, each episode is devoted to a character, but the way the producers dwell on it to twist it in such an amazing way, makes the plot really tension-driven…and even the songs in the series are not that bad at all. (i’m more towards the TM Revolution type of music)..

      The only thing that bugs me in the entire series….is the main girl’s eyes. =__=|| impossibly yellow pupils that look lifeless and hollow..

      But that’s just about it. So, i just wanna say that, before you point out that a show (any type of show) is “pointless”, I suggest you watch at least the first episode before giving it an answer. It’s just worth 30mins of your time, to break it or make it. It’s no use watching it with a narrow view on the series (any series), so have an open mind and opinion about others before commenting and judging them. ;P

      VT
      Reply

    2. I strongly agree with VT. Just like how you can’t judge a book by its cover, you can’t judge a series by the genre that’s been assigned to it. I myself don’t usually go for reverse harems either. But Uta no Prince-sama is an exception since for one, it does have a decent plot to it.

      Also, I think it’s fair to consider that different people have different tastes. Take another series that goes more to the extreme, for example, Fresh Pretty Cure. I remember the time when I was the screenings director in the anime club at university. It was during this one random screenings session, and Fresh Pretty Cure just happened to be chosen from the hat. In the first 5 minutes of the first episode, everyone (around 50 people) in the room started yelling and demanded a re-pick. It was hard for me to believe however, how many people liked the show in Japan. There was this convenient store I went to in Osaka and they sell these Fresh Pretty Cure merchandise like lunchboxes, backpacks…etc and I always see people in their early 20’s to 30’s in that section.

      So even if you watched a show and still think it’s pointless, I think it’s a good idea to respect the people who do like the show. I mean, say you like Steins;Gate and someone say it’s pointless, it wouldn’t feel good would it? But it’d be okay to say that it’s not to their tastes though.

      minase
      Reply

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