Posted by Sorry this took so long to get written up – leaving for a week set me back a week in terms of working on this. Regardless, the new year is upon us and with it is another new season of anime. Since this isn’t a spring or fall season, there are relatively fewer new offerings, but that still leaves around 24 major titles, not including the kiddie shows and some long-running shows. 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. 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 Winter 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.
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Shikabane Hime Kuro http://www.starchild.co.jp/special/shikabanehime2/ Premiere on January 1st, 2009 Airtime in Japan (JST, GMT+9): Thursdays at 10:30 Airtime in U.S. (EST, GMT-4): Wednesdays at 20:30 Information Links: ANN Encyclopedia, AnimeNfo, AniDB, MyAnimeList, syoboi Shikabane Hime Kuro is the continuation of Shikabane Hime Aka, and they appear to have changed the name of the series solely to mark the next chapter of the story. Kuro picks up where Aka left off, with main character Makina now contracted to young Ouri – saying anything more probably spoils the end of Aka for those who haven’t seen it yet. I’ve heard some good things about the first series, but given that I haven’t had the time to watch it (the previous sentence was provided by Divine who did watch it) and given how I probably won’t have time with the new season, I’m going to have to pass on this. The staff and cast appears not to have changed though, however there’s no word yet if FUNimation is going to be streaming Kuro like they did for Aka. Odds I’ll Blog This: Poor |
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Maria-sama ga Miteru 4th Season http://www.gokigenyou.com/ Premiere on January 3rd, 2009 Airtime in Japan (JST, GMT+9): Saturdays at 10:30 Airtime in U.S. (EST, GMT-4): Fridays at 20:30 Information Links: ANN Encyclopedia, AnimeNfo, AniDB, MyAnimeList, syoboi The girls of Lillian Girls’ Academy are back for a fourth season, and the new story appears to be giving more focus to first year girls Touko and Kanako along with the series regulars Yumi and Sachiko. If none of those names are familiar to you, just know that this is the continuation of a series with a lot of yuri overtones about the relationships at a prestigious all-girls school. I’ve read some of the manga and watched a couple episodes of the first tv series a long time ago, but my interest in the general story is pretty low these days, so I doubt I’ll be watching this. Odds I’ll Blog This: Poor |
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Akikan! http://www.melomelomelon.com/ Premiere on January 3rd, 2009 Airtime in Japan (JST, GMT+9): Saturdays at 24:00 Airtime in U.S. (EST, GMT-4): Saturdays at 10:00 Information Links: ANN Encyclopedia, AnimeNfo, AniDB, MyAnimeList, syoboi Akikan is about a boy – played by Fukuyama Jun in his lecherous boy voice – who drinks from a can of soda, and that can turns into a girl who has special powers, has to be refilled (drinking from her is apparently like sex), and she can’t be allowed to lose her carbonation. It’s a completely ridiculous setup, so much so that I was laughing from the utter stupidity of it as I watched the first episode. That first episode was streamed online prior to the TV broadcast and has already been subbed, so you can go make your own decisions about it, but it presented me with very little that made me want to watch more. I’d probably be better off just reading the light novels that it’s based on. Odds I’ll Blog This: Poor |
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WHITE ALBUM http://www.whitealbum-tv.com/ Premiere on January 3rd, 2009 Airtime in Japan (JST, GMT+9): Saturdays at 26:00 Airtime in U.S. (EST, GMT-4): Saturdays at 12:00 Information Links: ANN Encyclopedia, AnimeNfo, AniDB, MyAnimeList, syoboi WHITE ALBUM is a love triangle story between two female idols and a regular college guy. The guy and one of the girls have been dating since high school, but they start to grow apart, and things happen between him and the other girl. Given that those two female leads are both singers, it makes sense that Hirano Aya and Mizuki Nana have been tapped for the roles, and there’ll probably be a decent amount of music coming from the series. Whether it’s good or not remains to be seen – I’ll say right now that I haven’t been a big fan of Hirano Aya’s music. In any case, I’m a sucker for these kind of love triangle stories, so I’ll probably be watching this. Odds I’ll Blog This: Good |
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Maria†Holic http://www.mariaholic.com/ Premiere on January 4th, 2009 Airtime in Japan (JST, GMT+9): Sundays at 24:30 Airtime in U.S. (EST, GMT-4): Sundays at 10:30 Information Links: ANN Encyclopedia, AnimeNfo, AniDB, MyAnimeList, syoboi Like Maria-sama ga Miteru, Maria Holic is takes place at an all girls school. Unlike Maria-sama ga Miteru though, this is a comedy series being animated by SHAFT and Shinbou Akiyuki, and it features, to use a popular term, a trap. I won’t spoil the surprise if you haven’t already read the manga or seen the first episode that was streamed online a few days ago, but I will say that I enjoyed that premiere and think that this could turn out to be very amusing. The downside is that it airs regularly on Sundays, and my current Sundays are booked for Gundam 00 + other stuff. Odds I’ll Blog This: Good |
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Minami-ke Okaeri http://www.starchild.co.jp/special/minami-ke/3/ Premiere on January 4th, 2009 Airtime in Japan (JST, GMT+9): Sundays at 25:30 Airtime in U.S. (EST, GMT-4): Sundays at 11:30 Information Links: ANN Encyclopedia, AnimeNfo, AniDB, MyAnimeList, syoboi After almost a year off, the Minami sisters are back for a third comedy series. This one is still being animated by the same studio (asread) that did the second season, but the director and the person in charge of series composition have changed again, so there’s no telling if this will be more like the first series or the second series or neither. The promo videos were amusing enough, which is a good sign, and I had a good laugh at Kana pretending to be Barack Obama (see video below). Don’t worry though at the indication below that I won’t be blogging this – Trillian is a big fan of the series and probably will be. Odds I’ll Blog This: Poor |
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Zoku Natsume Yuujin-Chou http://www.natsume-anime.jp/ Premiere on January 5th, 2009 Airtime in Japan (JST, GMT+9): Mondays at 25:00 Airtime in U.S. (EST, GMT-4): Mondays at 11:00 Information Links: ANN Encyclopedia, AnimeNfo, AniDB, MyAnimeList, syoboi The second season of this series continues the story of a boy who can see spirits and – with the help of a feline spirit – deals with the various other spirits in his grandmother’s Book of Friends. This is a title that put me to sleep in the past, but Trillian loves it and swears by its thought-provoking and tear-inducing story, and the commercial below seemed interesting enough, so maybe I should give it a second chance. Odds I’ll Blog This: Decent |
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Sora wo Kakeru Shoujo http://www.sorakake.net/ Premiere on January 5th, 2009 Airtime in Japan (JST, GMT+9): Mondays at 25:30 Airtime in U.S. (EST, GMT-4): Mondays at 11:30 Information Links: ANN Encyclopedia, AnimeNfo, AniDB, MyAnimeList, syoboi Among the sea of adaptations and sequels, the Sunrise team behind Mai-HiME and Otome is introducing a new title that (to I’m sure no one’s surprise) involves a bunch of girls and mechas. The story takes place in a future with space colonization, and it revolves around a girl who encounters a space colony with a unique artificial intelligence. Now generally I like Sunrise series because they tend to have original stories that are backed up with some pretty good production quality. In this case however, I have a hard time getting really excited about the series (and no, ALI PROJECT doing the OP has nothing to do with it, though maybe the fact that Gundam 00 is still airing does), so I’m taking a more wait-and-see attitude. Odds I’ll Blog This: Decent |
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VIPER’S CREED http://viperscreed.jp/ Premiere on January 6th, 2009 Airtime in Japan (JST, GMT+9): Tuesdays at 22:00 Airtime in U.S. (EST, GMT-4): Tuesdays at 8:00 Information Links: ANN Encyclopedia, AnimeNfo, AniDB, MyAnimeList, syoboi VIPER’S CREED takes place in an troubled 21st century with a polluted environment, economic collapse, terrorism, and a great war, and the story is about the members of a private military company who guard a key city. The CG action style reminds me a bit of BLASSREITER, but this is being animated by AIC Spirits and Digital Frontier instead of Gonzo, and the big draw should be that it’s being directed by APPLESEED director Aramaki Shinji. That’s what they keep advertising anyway, though it’s not enough to get me interested in the series. Odds I’ll Blog This: Poor |
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Hajime no Ippo: New Challenger http://www.ntv.co.jp/ippo/ Premiere on January 6th, 2009 Airtime in Japan (JST, GMT+9): Tuesdays at 25:29 Airtime in U.S. (EST, GMT-4): Tuesdays at 11:29 Information Links: ANN Encyclopedia, AnimeNfo, AniDB, MyAnimeList, syoboi One of the longest running manga series is finally back with a new anime adaptation. It’s still being animated by Madhouse and has some of the same staff (Sugiura Kouji, Fudeyasu Kazuyuki) as the original series, but now has a different director Shishido Jun. For those unfamiliar, Hajime no Ippo follows the rise of a great boxer and the other boxers around him. I haven’t seen the first anime, but I have read a good bit of the manga, and as with a lot of good sports series, it can get quite engaging at times, so I’m curious to see if the new anime will be as good. Odds I’ll Blog This: Decent |
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Asu no Yoichi! http://www.tbs.co.jp/anime/yoichi/ Premiere on January 8th, 2009 Airtime in Japan (JST, GMT+9): Thursdays at 25:29 Airtime in U.S. (EST, GMT-4): Thursdays at 11:29 Information Links: ANN Encyclopedia, AnimeNfo, AniDB, MyAnimeList, syoboi The premise of Asu no Yoichi is pretty simple: after being raised in the mountains by his father as a swordsman, a boy is sent into a modern city to live with a family of girls and attend high school. Hilarity and fanservice ensues with some martial arts and swordplay mixed in. I thought the manga was a cute and amusing read, but the story isn’t all that deep, and I’m not sure if the anime adaptation will turn out to be anything more than a lot of fanservice. The promotional material make it look like it’ll be a nicely animated series (done by AIC), but be forewarned that this is going to be inheriting Yozakura Quartet‘s timeslot, which means a 4:3 aspect ratio. Odds I’ll Blog This: Decent |
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The Tower of Druaga ~the Sword of Uruk~ http://www.druaga-anime.com/ Premiere on January 8th, 2009 Airtime in Japan (JST, GMT+9): Thursdays at 25:30 Airtime in U.S. (EST, GMT-4): Thursdays at 11:30 Information Links: ANN Encyclopedia, AnimeNfo, AniDB, MyAnimeList, syoboi For those of you who didn’t watch watch the first Druaga anime series, it was about a group of adventurers who climbed to the top of a tower so that they could get a great treasure. The story for this second season picks up half a year after the events of the first, and main character Jil remains somewhat shocked over a certain betrayal until he meets a young girl and decides to make the climb again. The first series was pretty average overall, but I got invested in the characters, and the series had an incredibly frustrating cliffhanger that practically forces me to watch the sequel (meaning it did its job). Here’s to hoping the Gonzo team doesn’t screw it up. Odds I’ll Blog This: Good |
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Kurokami The Animation http://www.kurokami-anime.net/ Premiere on January 8th, 2009 Airtime in Japan (JST, GMT+9): Thursdays at 26:40 Airtime in U.S. (EST, GMT-4): Thursdays at 12:40 Information Links: ANN Encyclopedia, AnimeNfo, AniDB, MyAnimeList, syoboi Kurokami is an action title that follows a boy who by chance meets and becomes contracted to a powerful girl. The main twist on the story comes up when characters meet their doppeliners (similar to doppelgangers) and one of them subsequently dies. Sunrise is adapting the manga – which is incidentally written by a pair of Korean authors – into an anime, and the first episode got an online screening in advance of the TV premiere. Having watched it, I’d say the series has potential (especially given how they showed a certain semi-graphic car accident scene), though with all the new and currently airing Thursday shows, it might get lost in the mix. Odds I’ll Blog This: Decent |
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Tetsuwan Birdy DECODE:02 http://www.birdy-tv.com/ Premiere on January 9th, 2009 Airtime in Japan (JST, GMT+9): Fridays at 26:10 Airtime in U.S. (EST, GMT-4): Fridays at 12:10 Information Links: ANN Encyclopedia, AnimeNfo, AniDB, MyAnimeList, syoboi Having finished its first season a few months ago, the Tetsuwan Birdy DECODE story continues here with the two main characters again sharing one body. This time, Birdy goes after some escaped prisoners who may be connected to what happened in the first season, and the story looks to examine her past more. Some of you may remember that I started blogging the first season but had to drop it, and although I did eventually finish watching the series, I didn’t enjoy it enough (partially because of my dislike for the male lead Tsutomu) to want to see a second season. Odds I’ll Blog This: Poor |
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Kemono no Souja Erin http://www3.nhk.or.jp/anime/erin/ Premiere on January 10th, 2009 Airtime in Japan (JST, GMT+9): Saturdays at 18:25 Airtime in U.S. (EST, GMT-4): Saturdays at 4:25 Information Links: ANN Encyclopedia, AnimeNfo, AniDB, MyAnimeList, syoboi Taking over the NHK-E timeslot vacated by Telepathy Shoujo Ran is a new 50-episode series originally written by the same author of Seirei no Moribito, Uehashi Nahoko. It’s about a green-eyed young girl who has the ability to control a great beast and subsequently gets involved in a power struggle. Like Seirei no Moribito, this will also be animated by Production I.G and will have some of the same staff members, but to be honest, the main draw to this series for me is the fact that music duo Sukima Switch will be singing the OP since I’m a fan of their music. Odds I’ll Blog This: Decent |
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Chrome Shelled Regios http://anime.webnt.jp/regios/ Premiere on January 10th, 2009 Airtime in Japan (JST, GMT+9): Saturdays at 25:00 Airtime in U.S. (EST, GMT-4): Saturdays at 11:00 Information Links: ANN Encyclopedia, AnimeNfo, AniDB, MyAnimeList, syoboi Chrome Shelled Regios takes place in a world full of pollutants that force mankind to live in mobile domed cities called Regios, and the story follows one particular talented group of fighters who protects their particular academy city. This looks like a pretty typical action series to me based on the promos (production handled by the ZEXCS team behind Rental Magica), but I guess the story can’t be all that bad given that this is a title which has been popular enough to lead to four manga and two light novel series. Odds I’ll Blog This: Decent |
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RIDE BACK http://www.rideback-anime.jp/ Premiere on January 11th, 2009 Airtime in Japan (JST, GMT+9): Sundays at 24:00 Airtime in U.S. (EST, GMT-4): Sundays at 10:00 Information Links: ANN Encyclopedia, AnimeNfo, AniDB, MyAnimeList, syoboi RIDE BACK is a very intriguing story about a time of great political turmoil in the not-so-distant future, but it focuses on a girl who was raised as a dancer and is attending a university. She accidentally gets involved with the Rideback club – Ridebacks are a cross of motor bike and mecha – and puts her dancing skills to use on a Rideback just as things start to erupt politically. The original manga is very good, and I’m really looking forward to this anime adaptation that’s being done by Madhouse and Digital Frontier and has Mizuki Nana in the lead role. Trillian is just as excited about this series as I am and might be blogging this instead of me since I have a fairly busy Sunday schedule. Odds I’ll Blog This: Good |
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Slayers EVOLUTION-R http://www.starchild.co.jp/special/slayers_revolution/er/ Premiere on January 11th, 2009 Airtime in Japan (JST, GMT+9): Mondays at 9:30 Airtime in U.S. (EST, GMT-4): Sundays at 19:30 Information Links: ANN Encyclopedia, AnimeNfo, AniDB, MyAnimeList, syoboi Evolution-R should pick up where Revolution left off, meaning that Lina Inverse and company are trying to help revive the city of Taforashia and its people who were put into an icy slumber because of a plague. This in turn means finding someone called Rezo the Red Wizard. I never did end up watching the rest of Slayers Revolution (Divine provided the basic outline in the two prior sentences) and probably won’t get around to it anytime soon, so it’s highly unlikely that I’ll be blogging this. Odds I’ll Blog This: Poor |
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Sora wo Miageru Shoujo no Hitomi ni Utsuru Sekai http://www.munto.com/ Premiere on January 13th, 2009 Airtime in Japan (JST, GMT+9): Tuesdays at 25:45 Airtime in U.S. (EST, GMT-4): Tuesdays at 11:45 Information Links: ANN Encyclopedia, AniDB, MyAnimeList, syoboi This series is a retelling and continuation of one of Kyoto Animation‘s original works, Munto, a story about a girl who has the ability to see floating islands in the sky and a young king whose world is running out of a certain energy. He has to go to Earth to find the girl who is the key to saving his world and convince her to help. The two original OVAs will be made into part of this new series, so I assume you won’t need to have seen those (and I haven’t) for this series to make sense. Given that this is a Kyoto Animation title which is being worked on by a veteran team, I’ve got high hopes for it. Odds I’ll Blog This: Good |
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Genji Monogatari Sennenki http://genji-anime.com/ Premiere on January 15th, 2009 Airtime in Japan (JST, GMT+9): Thursdays at 24:45 Airtime in U.S. (EST, GMT-4): Thursdays at 10:45 Information Links: ANN Encyclopedia, AnimeNfo, AniDB, MyAnimeList, syoboi Replacing Nodame Cantabile in the noitaminA timeslot is famed director Dezaki Osamu‘s anime adaptation of The Tale of Genji. Though first slated to be an anime adaptation of the 80s manga adaptation of the 11th-century classic, this is now going to be a straight adaptation of that original work about the rise and fall of Hikaru Genji, a son of a Japanese emperor during the Heian period. Since I couldn’t find any promotional material on the series, the most I can be is cautiously optimistic. Given that this is a Thursday show however, odds are that even if I end up wanting to watch it, I won’t have time to blog it. Odds I’ll Blog This: Poor |
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Hetalia Axis Powers http://hetalia.com/ Premiere on January 24th, 2009 Airtime in Japan (JST, GMT+9): Saturdays at 25:52 Airtime in U.S. (EST, GMT-4): Saturdays at 11:52 Information Links: ANN Encyclopedia, AnimeNfo, AniDB, MyAnimeList, syoboi It’s hard to describe Hetalia Axis Powers as anything but cute. Based on a popular webcomic, the series follows the adventures of the male personifications of various countries of the world, including the cowardly Italy and hard-working Germany, in a comedic parody of history (not always WWII-era and not always the Axis side). Studio DEEN is animating this, and each episode is only five minutes long, so it might be worth watching as just a quick dose of humor. Odds I’ll Blog This: Decent |
Now before anyone asks, Fullmetal Alchemist and Queen’s Blade aren’t premiering until spring season, so that’s why they’re not in this preview. I also omitted the 5th season of Major because it’s a long-established title that I honestly just don’t know much about, and I suspect that me figuring out and talking about its fifth season here probably isn’t going to motivate anyone who’s not already familiar with the title to go watch it.
In any case, there are a number of shows I’m interested in seeing (most excited about RIDE BACK), though I’ll ultimately probably only have enough room in my schedule to regularly blog a handful since I have so many shows still ongoing. I suspect things are going to get especially crazy/overloaded on Thursdays now that Index is “moving” to that day. Fortunately, as I’ve noted above, Trillian has expressed interest in several series, so we should be able to cover more than just a few of the new shows.
As always, comments, questions, and suggestions are welcome.
wow…..im waiting for this!!!
uh… winter season is slow as always…
I like how this time there’s no guaranteeds.
… Where’d you get the Druaga screen of Fatina holding loli-Ki in her arms?
I’m waiting for this too!!!
KuroKami and Maria+Holic are really good.
There are girls in Hetalia as well. Not among the primary cast (except maybe Hungary) but apparently two of them will be in the anime. 😀
kurokami!!!! and i’m also looking fowards to rideback!!!
I’m honestly not looking forward to this season.. I’m like, an uber non-caring about plot kind of type, and theres like nearly no Ecchi? My life is over!
not a very interesting season… still I’ll be downloading most of them xD
but I’ll probably only be watching a few of them
new Shana – KuroKami , Minami-ke Okaeri FTWWWWWW !!!! , Maria†Holic – Crossdressing boy X Girls School !! FTW !
oh and btw. here is a better list including all OVA’s http://img168.imageshack.us/img168/3961/winterseason0809chartv2gr3.jpg
RIDE BACK looks about a dozen times better animated than I thought it would be. Mizuki Nana as the lead is another huge plus.
Natsume is back.
Hell yeah!
SHIT TOWER OF DRUAGA though was next summer but w/e too good!
Finally, someone else who is excited about Ride Back. I really can’t wait for it
maria holic / kuro kami / genji looks good to me
I think ”Akikan, Marai+Holic, Tower of Drauga, Kurokami the animation, sora wo kakeru shoujo, White Album & xxxholic OVA” are wroth watching
this season doesn’t look as promising as the previous.
of course, there are still some animes i’m looking forward to!
too badno kannagi s2 ^^
huh…
really makes me wonder about Haruhi’s 2nd season…
oh well. yay for okaeri
divine come back!blog akikan! and asu no yoichi!~take a death note and programs divines death after he blogs the two~
I’m quite curious about White Album, since it’s actually an eroge adaptation, based on a game of the same name by the makers of To Heart (Leaf/Aquaplus) back in the late 90’s.
Asu no Yoichi! – ah another harem anime, but one of the few with the leading male as a fighter (swordsman in this case) by nature. Gonna check that one out. Perhaps this male lead will have a spine unlike most harem leads?
Maria-sama ga Miteru 4th Season – definitely watching that one (I’ve seen all the previous seasons).
Akikan!, I will watch Akikan! ever
Oh ****, you spoiled me the end of Shikabane Hime 🙁 (lol, I was sure it would have those “changements”, so you just confirmed me what I thought)
+1 for Rideback, weid theme but good company ^^.
worth watching (I think): Shikbane Hime kuro, white album, Maria Holic, Kurokami and the Kyoani one.
But I will watch many others as akikan, Hetalia, etc.
Minami-ke ^^ thats it i think…
Haruka Tomatsu!
if rideback gives me any ‘speed power gunbike’ vibes its gonna be my no1 show!
Oh LOL…maria sama 4th, didnt see that coming ;p looking forward to it 🙂
Hmm, not much to be excited about…
Looks like Marimete is on top of the list for me. Maybe White Album and MariaHolic too.
only be watching black god and fighting spirit this season,
for all those excited abot asu no yoichi I can sum it it in a few words for ya
clueless guy = trips or pushed = hands on boobs = a beating from girl = the end
I didn’t think that Druaga ~ Aegis’ ending was frustrating. I thought it was quite daring of them. Wish that J.C. Staff was that daring with ZnT 2 and Shana 2.
-Natsume is back!!!! *A* WILL WATCH.
-Hetalia Axis Powers looks absolutely adorable! I’ll definitely watch that series.
-Ride Back looks good too (and I’m a sucker for anything that has to do with dancing). I’ll most likely watch that series.
-KUROKAMI looks like absolute WIN!!! I’m kinda surprised that this didn’t get a “Good” blogging rating. I’ll defintely give this series a shot. Tha animation looks solid.
So that four series, on top of Shugo Chara and Kyou Kara Maou that I’m currently watching. It’s going to be a busy winter season for me. XD
Oh dear; is that a baby Fatina’s holding? Looks like the Fatina upgrade worked right after all…
Sounds awesome! But there are a lot of season 2 shows which you guys seem to express intrest in… So I guess I’m gonna have to watch the first season and catch up with your blog since I love reading your blog as a recap.
Thanks so much for putting this up. Some of the action series stuff looks amazing, while the fanservice stuff…not so much. :]
I’m looking forward to:
The Tower of Druaga ~the Sword of Uruk
Genji Monogatari Sennenki
Maria†Holic
Asu no Yoichi!
Hajime no Ippo: New Challenger
I hope you blog at least
The Tower of Druaga ~the Sword of Uruk
Genji Monogatari Sennenki
Maria†Holic
YAY! 😀
would be nice omni if u ask the other bloggers which 1 they might blog, since you put alot of decent on odd’s of blog. and most of those shows will probably not be blog by you. by the way thnx a bunch for the anime preview ’09
Natsume & Hetalia !! 😀
Thank goodness I have 5 series to catch up with for the Fall Season. Still, it looks like I might just pick up Hetalia and Maria†Holic…Though Genji looks promising enough. ^-^””
I will continue to watch: Shikabane Hime (2nd Season),
Natsume Yuujin-Chou (2nd Season), and Tower of Druaga (2nd Season).
To balance my strong bias towards the scifi-fantasy genre, maybe I will watch Maria†Holic– at least its first episode has a few cheap laugh moments, and is a viable alternative to Maria-sama. I honestly think that Maria-sama can be a cruel and unusual punishment for men if they are forced to watch it. Tale of Genji is one of the most prestigious classics in Japanese literature. I am curious about how Japanese adapt their own literature (in contrast to what they did to Chinese classics like Romance of Three Kingdoms).
Unfortunately, this season seems to be otherwise rather uneventful. Kurokami and Rideback appear to be interesting. The premise of Chrome Shelled Regios resembles that of ErgoProxy, which I like very much. Perhaps I will also give these three series a chance.
kurokami, asu no yoichi, Maria holic and Druaga is what im looking forward to
if you have digital cable, Kurokami is being aired on ImaginAsian. the first episode was kick ass.
Well just telling you guys if you don’t know that Kurokami The Animation ep 1 is subbed and out on zomganime.com if you want to check it out.
may i ask on which channels do these shows air? i’d like to try watch them on tv. 😀
i’m looking forward to rideback, tower of druaga, and mariaholic’s first episode was pretty funny. first time i’ve seen a girl’s nose bleed from seeing other people’s boobs(considering the fact she has her own set @_@). lesbian fell for a trap = epic lulz. anyhoo, i’m a sucker for any shows with giant flying robots and other forms of mecha in it.
Hm… There’s a lot more stuff that I’m interested in than I previously thought…
Maria Holic really had an amazing first episode. KuroKami has a great manga. And there’s a whole bunch of other shows that look somewhat interesting (maybe first few episodes). Still, this season feels rather weak compared to Fall.
Ah, KyoAni’s releasing so much stuff lately!!! Where’s Haruhi? Praying for a spring release…
I’m really into love stories so I’m very excited about White Album! 🙂
There are many others that also look good as well.
Booring previews
I’mmm watching….2..3 this winter?I’m so bored…
Definitely going to watch Maria Holic… might check out Kurokami and Ride back, even though I should probably stop picking up mecha/sci-fi series.
Yes, New Tower of Druaga. Have been waiting for this since the last one ended, definitely hope Gonzo does a good second season.
White Album and Sora wo Kakeru Shoujo seems decent.
Yes, hope spring season gets better with Full Metal Alchemist.
Tokkan: I don’t remember, somewhere on 2ch I think.
Kejjebiejjeballn: If all you care about is ecchi, then go watch Asu no Yoichi.
D’Rapist: If by “other bloggers” you mean Divine and Trillian, Divine has declined to blog anything regularly anymore and is taking on a more contributing role, and Trillian I’ve mentioned several times in the post above. If by “other bloggers” you mean bloggers of other websites, I don’t have the time to go survey everyone.
The animes for this coming season ain’t that exciting, as compared to previous seasons.
thanks for all the info but what about spice & wolf 2 season …
In my personal opinion Kurokami has a lot of potential! It seems that the plot is not something seen already. If you can please blog it! I have the feeling it is going to be really good!
Ugh. I guess K-ON won’t come until Spring, or Summer. I’m convinced KyoAni is animating it based off of the video I saw.
gonna watch few, but tat white album seems like its gonna have some crazy drama….
This blog has been missing a lot of testosterone ever since Gurren-Lagann ended… if Hajime no Ippo: New Challenger is blogged, it will certainly be a good thing.
kurokami looks to be the only anime that ill probably watch. everything else just seems washed up and boring. although ive been hearing great things about maria holic and rideback so i might check those out.
Hetalia! It’s about time.
Mind you, they’re not all male – There’s Hungary, Belgium, Liechtenstein, Belarus, Ukraine, and so on.. Hungary and Liechtenstein will be in the anime for sure, it seems, since they have seiyuus listed at ANN.
Also, Hetalia has an awesome voice cast.
So excited for Hetalia X3 Like someone said, there are some girl countries (you see Belgium I think it was in the commercial), but yeah most of them aren’t any of the countries you see alot of. (The ones I see most of are Hungary and Belarus)
I’m dissapointed, though, that it’ll only be 5 mins. 🙁 I mean, I understand why, but I was hoping it’d be like a Azumanga Daioh type thing where it was a bunch of short little segments that made a whole episode. Oh well- take what we can get.
Apart from Slayers, nothign good until Senjou no Valkyria next season. :/
Well 2009 starts off crappy. Maybe i’ll watch Druaga (screw CrunchyRoll), but other than that it’s just more continuations/fanservice.
Kurokami looks promising though. *Sigh*
hmmmm? akikan= i thought this was really old by looks, but humor was fresh!
mariaholic= thank god there was a trap, otherwise…..
birdy= why not! plenty of unanswerd questions
black god=why bother, super generic. but ppl be dieing sooo…
shikibana.H= well! is that so? season one? thats what happens to his…
Meh, not too much looks promising. I’ll probably just stick with Maria Holic; its first episode was great and it’s not the kind of show I’ll get sick of watching halfway through.
Higurashi’s third season is coming up, too – that’s gauranteed to be a fun watch.
Am i the only one who doesn’t find a single interesting anime on that list? 😐
kurokami and rideback seems interesting!
@Omni
You could ask divine to do daily dose can’t ya?
For anyone wondering, I’ll be watching the following:
Sequels (or continuations):
– Shikabane Hime Kuro (really looking forward to this after how Aka “ended”)
– Minami-ke Okaeri (more Haruka, Kana, and Chiaki!)
– Slayers EVOLUTION-R
– The Tower of DRUAGA ~the Sword of URUK~
New series:
– RIDE BACK
– Maria Holic
– WHITE ALBUM
– Sora wo Kakeru Shoujo
– Sora wo Miageru Shoujo no Hitomi ni Utsuru Sekai
– Asu no Yoichi!
– Kurokami The Animation
– Koukaku no Regios (a.k.a. Chrome Shelled Regios)
And series carrying over from last season:
– Gundam 00 S2
– Skip Beat!
– SOUL EATER
– Toradora!
– Casshern Sins
– Naruto Shippuuden
– TYTANIA
– CLANNAD ~AFTER STORY~
– To Aru Majutsu no Index
– Tales of the Abyss
Surprisingly, this is still a reduction in series I’ll be following. Fifteen (15) of them ended in Fall.
Definitely agree with some that there aren’t as many good anime for this season as the previous..
There are many series that look very poor. I hope Tower of Druaga save this season XD
Can’t wait for the Tale of Genji adaptation!
All looks like Shoujo anime.. >_< Except for Natsume looks pretty interesting.. XDD
Finally chrome shelled regios a great story, and asu no yoichi
I’m only picking up Maria Holic, as it seems =__=;
Where is Suzumiya Haruhi?! No new novels, no new anime… If they’re trying to build up anticipation for the series, it worked really well… 6 months ago. If they’re trying to turn anticipation into angst into hatred, now THAT works great right now. Ladies and gentlemen, I hereby claim that Suzumiya Haruhi is in the leagues of Duke Nukem: Bloody good, ground-shattering stuff. But thanks to the long wait, … meh. Feels like they’re simply trying to keep “Milking” the series , instead of keeping the “Momentum”. Since I’m not in the field of marketing, I’ve no idea if that’s a sound/idiotic decision, but it sure ain’t doing much for me.
Going to camp out for another 6-12 months, and if there’re still no new releases (not announcements), I’ll heed my friends’ and parents’ advice and completely drop the series and novels. Will just go back to “meh, it’s just another series. If it does get release, I’ll read/watch it. But I sure ain’t gonna hold my breath.”
How many of you guys will continue to be faithful, and how long will you wait before you give up?
not many nice show TT
And finally we get Hetalia anime, one of the funniest things ever. ♥
The upcoming season does look a little bland.Since a lot of comments say that Kurokami is promising I’ll look into a few eps and the manga.Put in Chrome Shelled Regios for some fantasy-action and Asu no Yoichi for some romance-ecchi-comedy plus Toradora and ToAru and it should get me by through winter I guess.I’ll probably catch the first eps of the other but nothing catches my interest aside from those.
Ok, I managed to watch some of these titles (thanks to someone putting raws out there):
Maria-sama ga Miteru 4th Season – off to a good start, though nothing really big happening just yet
Akikan! – more interesting and hilarious than I expected. What bothers me though is that the lead male sounds a bit too much like Lelouch Lamperouge :O (if CC shows up I’m gonna freak!), at least there’s a female there who reminds me of To Love Ru’s Haruna (and she seems to have a crush on the male lead, which could make things interesting).
WHITE ALBUM – had high hopes for this, but the first episode seems a bit too plain
Maria†Holic – seemed interesting at first, until I saw the real personality of the crossdresser whom the lead female must deal with – he turns out to be a real a**h**le (as in he makes me want to hire some thugs to beat the snot out of him).
only looking forward to rideback. the concept and lead character looks really interesting ^^
Druaga~!! Can’t wait! xDDD That cliffhanger pissed me off but it was damn good. I still love that show to death for it’s first episode. lmao The lineup this season seems promising despite the not-so-shiny titles..
Wow no Guarantees from you this season eh? Hopefully it will be good. Btw Ikikan! Is hilarious, sure it has an ass load of Innuendo but it works so perfectly it’s epic.
this season doesnt look so promising, with only a few im interested in, including rideback.
Thanks for the info! 😀
Can’t wait for White Album, Kurokami, Tetsuwan Birdy DECODE:02, Maria†Holic, Minami-ke Okaeri, and Asu no Yoichi!
when will shina dark be televised?
Maria†Holic (love the manga) and Hetalia (I love it enough to start ordering doujinshis from Japan, I found the not-PC element pretty funny) are what I’m most interested in at the moment. However, I am not decided until I have seen the first or couple episodes of each series.
I’m cool. I like to anime. I love it. It’s pretty and great. I most love to Gundam 00.
I like to from Japan. Japan was pretty.
omni what are your recommendations for us? ill follow it xD
hajime no ippo and Asu no Yoichi! (pls dont cencor this x_X) in my list
Hell yeah, Maria†Holic FTW….Ever since I heard the story two months ago, I’ve been waiting for this series 😀 Trap+Yuri= Win
Of course, Marimite gets a free ticket since I’ve watched the previous seasons about 3 times 😀
I’ll definitely check out White Album, if only for Nana Mizuki and her songs.
Oh, and there is Kurokami. I loved the manga, but it seems there are major changes for the anime. I’ll wait and see how the changes will affect the anime.
Other series worth mentioning are Sora wo Miageru Shoujo no Hitomi ni Utsuru Sekai( I found and dled the OVAs to see an outline for the anime series), Ride Back and Koukaku no Regios( Chrome Shelled Regios if you want).
Although there is not much anime compared to Fall/Spring Season, the level of the series makes up for it I think.
Wow i was really surprised that Genji Monogatari will be adapted into anime. Seriously gonna watch this =D
Definitely Hetalia~~~~*-*
Not all the country personifications are male.
Some are female(Belarus, Hungary, Belgium).
Will be watching for sure:
VIPER’S CREED (I am shucker for Scifi stuff)
Kurokami The Animation (One of the best manga and one of the most awaited adaptations for me)
Genji Monogatari Sennenki (I WAS WAITING FOR SO LONG, for a faithfull and good novel adaptation. IF everything will be good, we will be getting an epic anime with a quality rivaling ghibli works.)
Everything else: uninteresting generic stuff.
I will be watching:
Maria†Holic: looks funny and interesting
Tower of Druaga: need to know what happens after frustrating ending
Kurokami: I’ve been reading the manga at onemanga.com (known there as Black God) and love it.
Chrome Chelled Regios: it looks well animated, will probably give it a couple of episodes to cinvince me.
Hetalia: because it looks funny
If you ask me. It’s very mediocre season. Compare with last season of animes it’s bad.
Well, give it a try of Kyoto Animation new anime. Ride Beck by Madhouse + Digital Frontier (looks very promising <—(probably will be the best anime this season). Also HNI by Madhouse. And some sequels and new animes like White Album and Kurokami.
Will watch :
shikabane 2 season
white album
kurokami
birdy the mighty decode 2 season
ride beck
^ To say that I already dropped Maria Holic. Don’t recommend to watch. I while watching I though “Is this fucking 1985 year of animes??!” Artwork/animation looks [b]abysmal[/b]. + retarded humour. *…Facepalm on Shaft studio…*
dont know what i want to watch…
too many shows in the same genre
Really looking forward to “Kemono no Sou-ja Erin”, “Ride Back”, “Viper’s Creed” and “Genji Monogatari”
I have high hopes also for the 2nd seasons of “Zoku Natsume Yuujinchou” and “Kurokami”.
Interesting list. No mention of Valkyria Chronicles?
I’m honestly not interested in anything on this list. Kurokami looks exactly like Shana, too, but I’ll prefer to wait for the next season of Shana.
This season, I’m just going to take the advice of the best of 2008 post, and watch all the interesting looking ones that I didn’t have time for: True Tears, Code Geass, Death Note, and maybe Kannagi.
.< anyways ty for this
Chrome Shelled Regios this will be one if not the best anime of the winter season!!
you can bank on that so be prepared
I’ve been waiting for this post! :]
The only one I’m really sure I’ll watch is Hetalia XD;;; Though I’ll probably check out the first two episodes of everything, just to see if there’s anything that catches my eye 😀
I really have high hopes for “Kemono no Sou-ja Erin”, “Ride Back”, “Genji Monogati” and “Viper’s Creed”.
I do hope to enjoy a lot also a couple of 2nd seasons such as “Zoku Natsume Yuujinchou” and “Shikabane Hime: Kuro”
i guess we’re not gonna see a new season of tsubasa anytime soon T-T
This season doesn’t look all too promising, although I’ll probably still at least try to start watching some of the series
omg theres so much shoujo anime this season. well the anime film i cant wait 4 is eureka seven a pocket full of memories 😀 cant waaiit.
Thanx for the winter preview Omni, doesn’t look as interesting as last season though…
http://worldofanimemusic.blogspot.com
Uninteresting season for me. Might as well be called, Winter 2009 Preview! Featuring Hajime No Ippo!
Maria + Holic is a interesting show
O yeah, completely forgot about Haruhi
I want more Haruhi!
*sigh* Here we go again with Winter Season. But at least, there’s more shows worth watching than last year i think…? Maria+Holic, for me is really awesome. It’s the only winter anime 2008-2009 that I’ve watched so far because of school and I like it.
I guess I’d try the others after examination.
Random Curiosity sure is the BEST place for previews. This blog never fails to put good information.
Regarding the winter season, I’m not exactly looking forward to anything though. Everything looks uninteresting maybe except for Ippo and Maria-sama 4th. I guess I’ll try and look into Viper’s Creed.
hey how come they are not subing Sora wo Miageru Shoujo no Hitomi ni Utsuru Sekai?
Apparently, the TV broadcast of Hetalia Axis Powers has been cancelled due to the protests against the show in Korea.
http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/news/2009-01-15/japan-kids-station-cancels-its-hetalia-anime-run
I was really looking forward to that series too, sigh.
shit. Isn’t there going to be a season like code geass ??
Honestly, I have high expectations for this season’s animes. I’m waiting patiently for the second season of La Corda D’ Oro. (“,)
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