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Without further ado, welcome to the first collaborative edition of the Random Curiosity season preview, now featuring more writers for you to love and adore than ever. (Please don’t stalk us too much though.) As you all probably know, Divine, our season preview writer/extraordinaire, is taking an indefinite hiatus so he has passed on the baton to the rest of us writers – and just in time for the spring preview too, which is generally one of the busiest seasons with 50 new shows and counting. As is standard fare, we have the usual batch of hotly anticipated sequels to recent shows such as Fate/Zero 2nd Season, Kimi to Boku 2, and Kore wa Zombie Desu ka? OF THE DEAD, but there are also sequels and spiritual successors to venerated older shows as well like Eureka Seven Astral Ocean, the return of the Saint Seiya franchise after 25 years, and the reunion of Cowboy Bebop’s director and composer for a new show after over ten. So dust off that TV, free up some hard drive space, or do whatever else it is you do to get ready, because this season looks highly promising. Long-awaited sequels, a diversity of genres, and a nice balance of original works and manga/light novel adaptations have filled the slate with many shows that merit more than just a passing glance, and made this is a season one where even the pickiest of viewers should be able to find something to enjoy.
As a quick reminder, each entry is divided into two paragraphs:
- A brief introduction to the series and its premise, often with the starring cast.
- The writer’s impressions, expanding on the plot and highlighting specific points of interest.
The overall impressions at the very end categorize the shows in a way that should help you decide what to watch.
Disclaimer: Past season previews were done by a single writer, so while regular readers were probably very familiar with the shows that Divine liked to watch, this new collaborative season preview features many new writers whose tastes you might not yet know very well. That said, we hope this will translate into a more diverse set of perspectives while allowing us to remain objective enough to provide informed judgements on new shows and write a preview that is true to the style and tradition of past season previews. Similar to what Divine did in the past, we will also try to identify what appeals to us in each series, in hopes it will help you determine if it coincides with your tastes.
For a peek into our anime viewing histories: Asobi, BakaMochi, Cherrie, Guardian Enzo, Moomba, Prooof, Stereoman, Stilts, Takaii, unlisted, verdant, Zanibas, Zephyr
By no means does this list reflect every single anime series that is going to air, though it’s meant to be as comprehensive as possible. Shows that stray far from the anime norm or are deemed oriented towards younger children are omitted, so check out MOON PHASE for a complete listing, syoboi’s calendar for specific air times, and Fansub Wiki’s page for a tentative look on who’s subbing what.
Technical Note: The list is ordered by the date and time that the shows premiere. The links in the schedule will take you to a series’ corresponding entry and the “Top” links on the right will bring you back. You can also use the back/forward buttons in your browser to jump between links you’ve clicked. 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.
* Jump to OVA/Movies.
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Preview by Stereoman This spring, Marvy Jack brings us Koiken!, an anime based on a popular dating simulation game that’s hosted by DeNA‘s social networking site Mobage. This show’s been airing for a while now so you may wonder why you haven’t seen anything related to it. That’s because it’s a mobile ONA – a show that airs on a mobile network in Japan. As far as I know, people in Japan watch this on cell phones. Dating simulation games are pretty well-known so it’s easy to understand what’s going on. The show also has a relatively well-known cast with stars like Tomatsu Haruka, Inoue Kikuko, Toyosaki Aki and Kugimiya Rie! Unfortunately, I don’t know if this show will be available through anything else besides mobile networks, so you probably won’t be able to watch this one (at least for now).
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Preview by Stereoman The first show of the spring season this year is LandQ studios‘ Ozuma, based on an unpublished work by Matsumoto Leiji who’s known for his various space-related works. The story is set in the distant future where the elevated radiation from the sun has destroyed the environment on Earth, covering the planet in sand and drastically decreasing the birthrate of humans. One day, Sam Coin (Kakihara Tetsuya) – a trader of the desert in search of Ozuma, an enemy of his brother – saves a woman named Maya (Tanaka Rie) from her “Ideal Children” pursuers, an army of cloned soldiers named used by the government to control society. I must admit, I had no idea who Matsumoto Leiji was before writing this post so I can’t say anything regarding his other works. This show seems interesting and relatively short, but I don’t know if I’ll watch it or not. The first episode of Ozuma has aired already, as this preview is a tad late. I haven’t given it a shot yet but I intend to very soon. However, I have watched the opening for the anime and it was quite interesting because while the regular Japanese broadcast had a Japanese song, the Crunchyroll stream had the same song in English – both performed by the same band. Other than that, this show has a pretty “old” style compared to the modern works we’re more familar with today. The artwork, the theme, basically everything else about this show is nostalgic. This might just be the most unique offering this season.
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Preview by Stereoman We’re all used to seeing battles fought with swords, but what about the most common “fights” in the world – debates? This spring season offers us a rare of a short comedy that takes place in a school with a girl named Rareko (Kawashou Miyuki). Rareko is known for starting enthusiastic yet absurd debates that result in a very lively classroom life. These debates take obscure topics and blow them out of proportion, and the arguments are exchanged like strokes from swords. Gakkatsu will air on weekdays every night in short five-minute episodes. This kind of comedy can be fun. I always enjoy watching a good debate, no matter what form it’s presented in. I might give this a chance as it seems odd enough to catch my attention. It’s relatively short too, so I can fit it anytime into my schedule. I have no idea what the topics will be brought up and I have no real expectations. This show will probably be a fun pastime for me but who knows? It might be really funny! And it’ll be really nice to see Kawashou Miyuki in action again. I really enjoyed her voicing Drossel from Fireball.
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Preview by Stereoman Twenty-five years later, the Saint Seiya franchise returns with a brand new series featuring an original story and a new cast of characters. Like Aquarion EVOL, this is a story that takes place some time after its prequel and doesn’t require the audience to have any prior knowledge about it. The story centers on the reincarnated goddess Athena who lives on Earth accompanied by her Saints: Pegasus Kouga (Midorikawa Hikaru), Orion Eden (Suwabe Junichi), Wolf Haruto (Suzuki Tatsuhisa), Aquila Yuna (Yukino Satsuki), Dragon Ryuuhou (Kakihara Tetsuya) and Lionet Souma (Konishi Katsuyuki). Together they’re fulfilling Athena’s duty of protecting peace on Earth. I knew of Saint Seiya but I’ve never seen anything related to the franchise. It’s pretty interesting to see an old series in a new, modernized version; however, the artwork still has its old touch from the prequels. This is not something that appeals to me and I know I won’t be watching it but I’m pretty sure a lot of anime fans are feeling nostalgic and looking forward to this “old school” classic shounen.
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Preview by verdant The adaptation of Koyama Chuuya’s award-winning seinen manga features two protagonists – brothers, who as children, made a vow to become astronauts after a fateful summer day when they saw a UFO streaking towards the moon. Flash-forward to 2025 and Namba Hibito (Kenn), the younger brother who has always been blessed with good luck, has kept his end of their promise as he is part of the first NASA mission sending people to live on the moon. His elder brother Namba Mutto (Hirata Hiroaki) on the other hand, has always been plagued by bad luck and never able to fulfill his aspirations. He’s currently unemployed after being fired from a successful job as a car designer; however, his luck begins to change after an inspirational message from Hibito, spurring him to try and become an astronaut and live up to his motto that “The older brother should always be ahead of the younger one.” When I was a youngster, I too dreamed of becoming an astronaut, so this series speaks directly to my heart. To boldly go where only approximately 530 people have ever been is both romantic and adventurous, and the journey Mutto takes to become an astronaut in Uchuu Kyoudai embodies both of these traits very well. This tale of one man’s personal development while on the road to following his dreams is a heartwarming one with many themes that can be easily identified with. The well-done character development in combination with insights into the rigorous astronaut selection and training process reminds some of the underappreciated series Planetes, and could make for a series that becomes the sleeper hit of the season.
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Preview by Moomba Adapting Japanese folklore, myth, legend and festival origin stories into a series of original anime episodes narrated by Emoto Akira and Matsukane Yoneko, Furusato Saisei could prove an interesting anime for those who want to learn more about Japan’s cultural background. The first of these stories will tell the tale of an honest elderly couple who receive a mysterious dog; this dog grants the couple good fortune, garnering the avarice of their neighbours who then proceed to steal it.
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Preview by Stereoman Studio DEEN brings us an anime adaption of the PS2 otome game Hiiro no Kakera this season. This reverse harem show, targeted towards the female audience centers around our main protagonist, Kasuga Tamaki (Miyake Marie), who returns to a village that reminds her of her childhood, oblivious to the supernatural danger surrounding it. She soon becomes involved in a world previously unknown to her and the only help she can get comes in the form of five bishounen guardians: Onizaki Takuma (Sugita Tomokazu), Atori Mahiro (Okano Kousuke), Komura Yuuichi (Namikawa Daisuke), Inukai Shinji (Shimowada Hiroki) and Oomi Suguru (Hirakawa Daisuke). These kinds of shows tick me off because they’re filled with clichés, always ending with the heroine not choosing anyone at all. For some odd reason however, I always get stuck watching these and hoping for the best. Having already seen the first pre-aired episode and found it quite interesting, I intend to continue watching this show. Some of you may recognize the artwork and that’s because this show has the same character designer (Kazuki Yone) as Hakuouki. Another thing that has me hooked on this show is the wonderful cast it has assembled. So if you’re looking for a reverse harem featuring bishounen designs, played by an all-star interesting cast – this is your show!
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Preview by verdant The trend of comedy shows about the daily lives of students doesn’t show signs of letting up anytime soon. An adaptation of Uzu’s 4-koma manga, Shiba Inuko-san is slated for 2-minute episodes featuring the lives of middle school students. The titutlar character, Shiba Inuko (Sasaki Mikoi), looks like a Shiba Inu dog, but everyone appears to treat her like an ordinary 14 year-old girl except her best friend Ishibashi Chako. However, in order to maintain their friendship, Chako never voices her doubts to her friend. There doesn’t seem to be any translations of the manga yet so I can’t say for certain what the tone of the show will be, but from a premise like this coupled with the limitations of brief episodes, I would bet on this series consisting of short bursts of humor with heartwarming moments sprinkled throughout. So if you’re looking for a quick laugh or d’aww to brighten your day, this could be your ticket.
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Preview by unlisted Queen’s Blade: Rebellion is a sequel to the second season of Queen’s Blade. It is set four years after and revolves around Annelotte (Endou Aya). She leads the Rebel Army to overthrow Claudette, the tyrannical queen. This sequel features a new cast while keeping some of the original characters. For those of you who don’t know, “Queen’s Blade” is a tournament held every four years to decide who gets to be the next queen. I remember watching a couple episodes of this franchise and found it was filled with ecchi. This series reminds me of SEKIREI in that it features women fighting in a tournament who, when they get injured, their clothes slowly start disappearing due to fighting. What differentiates Queen’s Blade from SEKIREI is that the latter is seemingly mild by comparison. For those who can look past the heavy fanservice, there should still be a compelling fantasy story worth checking out.
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Preview by Zanibas Enter Gon, the egocentric dinosaur. He may not have many words to say, but he’ll sure bite you in order to get his point across. In fact, this is how the manga plays out: no dialogue, just beautifully drawn and emotional artwork that drives the plot. Although Gon ends up coming off as a self-centered ass for the majority of the story, he ends up doing many kind things in his own misunderstood way. It is unlikely that this unique feature of GON will translate into the anime adaptation. TV Tokyo has already laid out their full cast of seiyuu, including Kusao Takeshi (Trunks from DBZ) and Horiuchi Kenyuu (Tomoro from Twin Spica). In addition, the art style is a steep contrast from the ultra-detailed realistic approach of the manga. This adaptation will most likely take an entirely different approach to the concept and appeal to a different demographic, but maybe Korean animation studio Daewon Media’s first foray into the Japanese market will surprise.
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Preview by Takaii The sequel to Kimi to Boku (which finished its first run two seasons ago) is finally making its triumphant return this spring! For those out of the loop, “You and I” follows the daily lives of four childhood friends — twin brothers Asaba Yuuta (Uchiyama Kouki) and Yuuki (Kimura Ryouhei), perfectionist Tsukahara Kaname (Ono Yuuki), the fluffy Matsuoka Shun (Toyonaga Toshiyuki) — and their half-German transfer student Tachibana Chizuru (Irino Miyu), who met Yuuki years ago during an earlier trip to Japan. If you’re on the fence about picking up Kimi to Boku 2, give it a chance!. With J.C. Staff taking the reins again, I fully believe that they’ll be able to build and improve on what they delivered two seasons ago. With the slow character introductions out of the way and a few recurring plot points that are sure to keep us entertained (like the love-hate relationship between Chizuru and Masaki), I’m certain that Kimi to Boku will at least be enjoyable.
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Preview by unlisted Yurumates 3D is based on a 4-koma comedy manga. Aida Yurume (Momoi Haruko) wants to make it to a university in Tokyo, but in order to fulfill that goal, she moves from the countryside to an apartment in Tokyo to attend cram school. At her new home, she meets her odd bunch of neighbors, Kawana Sae (Kuwatani Natsuko), Matsukichi (Hino Satoshi), and Tanaka Kumi (Matsuki Miyu), who are all in the same position as her. I wasn’t very impressed by the actual 4-koma version. All of the gags came off extremely awkward. That being said, I moved onto the first OVA that was released back in 2009 to investigate further. Since it was animated, the gag delivery was a lot better even though the jokes themselves were still hit or miss. It’s also being animated by a relatively less known company, who helped work on bigger name productions such as Amagami SS, BakaTest, and STAR DRIVER. Although I have low expectations for this show, I hope it turns out better than what I’ve seen thus far.
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Preview by verdant For those of you looking for a dark and brutal series this spring, the adaptation of Katsura Masakazu’s manga will probably fit your bill. In their efforts to create the perfect artificial human, the Amagi Corporation ends up creating monstrous abominations instead, dubbed “Players”. These Players, who were basically used and mistreated by their creators, eventually become self-aware, perceive themselves to be superior to humans, and go on murderous rampages. And thus, the role of protecting mankind from the Players falls on the two rival heroes of the series: ZET and Alphas. The series begins with the backstories for each hero: Kanzaki Jin (Namikawa Daisuke), who transforms into the superhuman ZET form, and Amagi Kouga (Miyano Mamoru), who has a strong sense of justice and fights Players as the hero Alphas, despite being the grandson of the Amagi Corporation founder. While the premise is grim, the manga (at least the first ten chapters or so) actually manages to blend in just enough humor and lighthearted moments to keep the whole thing from being overly dark and depressing – which when combined with the meticulously drawn scenes, made it a very engaging read. Hopefully many of these elements will transfer over to the animated adaptation as well, and it’ll be especially interesting to see if TMS Entertainment will be able to translate the more realistic character designs and parkour-like combat onto the screen. In an age that is sadly devoid of brutal violence and badass protagonists, ZETMAN is a very promising breath of fresh air this spring season.
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Preview by Stereoman With Bleach reaching its end, Studio Pierrot brings us a Naruto spin-off centering on Rock Lee (Masukawa Youichi) to take over Bleach’s timeslot. Not much is known about this show, but as far as I can tell it’s a parody about Rock Lee’s everyday life and struggles. The main stars of the show are Rock Lee’s teammates Neji (Toochika Kouichi) and Tenten (Yukari Tamura), but Naruto (Takeuchi Junko) himself is also listed as a main character. This might seem filler-related but believe me, it’s not. There is a spin-off manga with the same title for those of you who’re interested. I’m not very fond of Rock Lee but he does have his funny moments. I doubt this will have any serious plot like Naruto has, so if you want to watch something light yet shounen, this is your show. Based on the images I’ve seen, it appears Rock Lee takes place in the same time frame as Naruto: Shippuuden, so you probably shouldn’t watch this before watching that or you might not be able to understand what is going on.
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Preview by Moomba As part of the Dai! Tensai Telebi-kun program, Dumomo to Nupepe is an adaptation of Rumparo Tita’s debut children’s manga in the form of 5-minute shorts that tell the story of a pair of unlikely friends. The anime starts with from the meeting of Dumomo (Midorikawa Hikaru) – who likes to seclude himself in his own world – and the meek and simple-minded Nupepe (Aizawa Mai), and depicts their antics together with various other colourful characters.
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Preview by Stilts Based on a multiple award-winning series of children’s books, Arashi no Yoru ni follows the story of a pair of unlikely friends. One night, a goat named Mei (Kugumiya Rie) and a wolf named Gabu (Yoshino Hiroyuki) both take refuge in an old barn while a storm rages outside. The two begin to talk as they wait in the dark and find out they have many things in common. Soon, a friendship develops. Yet many hardships lay ahead for the two, as their friends and family would never accept a friendship between a goat and a wolf. In an effort to give you a more informed preview, I sat down and watched the 2005 movie that was also based on this series. I originally only intended to watch for a little bit, but I actually found it really hard to force myself to stop. It reminded me of an old school Disney movie – one that seems childish and innocent on the surface, but is actually quite deep and even dark. This is a story where Mei’s mother was killed by wolves, and one which constantly deals with issues such as Gabu forcing himself to not eat his new friend, and the deaths of Mei’s people at the claws of Gabu’s pack. By the looks of it, this adaptation might be more “kid friendly” (the CG animation is a lot lighter and softer than the traditional art used in the movie), but the underlying story will be the same. That said, it’s still a children’s show, so unless you’ve got young kids who happen to understand Japanese, this one probably won’t be for you.
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Preview by BakaMochi Apparently, this cutesy show is actually an adaptation of Ishizaki Hiroshi’s children’s novels. Each episode is 7 minutes long and depicts the struggles of the ‘cynical’ witch Chiyoko ‘Choco’ Kurotori (Orikasa Fumika) as she trains to be a black witch under her tutor, Gubid (Paku Romi). Err, I don’t know how cynical a fifth-grade girl in a magical girl kiddy show can be, but maybe she’ll be just cynical enough to win me over. Despite all the black in the promo images, the character designs themselves are cavity-inducingly sweet, courtesy of character designer and chief animation director Ootake Masae. A cursory glance at director Yasumi Tetsuo and Ueno Kimiko’s resumes tells me both of them primarily worked on children’s shows, so Kuromajo is probably in good hands. It’s an overload of cute for 7 minutes and I’ll probably watch an episode or two for nostalgia sake and to see just how ‘cynical’ little Choco is. *Included for completion’s sake
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Preview by Stilts Here, we have the sequel to a certain highly eclectic crazy comedy bonanza. This story follows the adventures of Aikawa Ayumu (Majima Junji), a normal high school student whose life is abruptly ended when he’s slain by a serial killer. Fortunately, that didn’t stop him from going about his business, thanks to a timely resurrection from the silent and emotionless necromancer Eucliwood Hellscythe, a.k.a. Yuu. If that wasn’t enough, Ayumu accidentally saps away the powers from a magically-equipped genius named Haruna (Nomizu Iori), and is forced to fight monsters known as Megalo in her place. Add to that a vampire ninja named Seraphim (Hikasa Youko), who wants Yuu to resurrect her clan’s leader, and a rival vampire ninja named Yoshida Yuki a.k.a. Tomonori (Kanemoto Hisako), who considers herself Ayumu’s wife after an accidental kiss, and suddenly Ayumu’s high school life is no longer anything close to normal. One of two zombie-focused shows running this season, “Is This a Zombie?” is focused much more on comedy and is about 40x more absurd. We have zombies, magical girls, necromancers, vampire ninjas, magical world teachers, invading Megalo, serial killers, perverts, goth lolis … and are you getting overwhelmed yet? Well don’t be, because that’s not even half of what makes this show fun! Thanks to its “kitchen sink” approach to fantasy, there are always a ton of things to mine for comedy, fanservice, and occasionally plot. The first season was uneven at times, but overall, this ridiculous comedy kept me coming back week after week. With director Kanasaki Takaomi and Studio DEEN returning for the second season, and 6 more light novels full of content left to explore, I’m expecting more of the same.
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Preview by Stilts Coming to you from the brain of Nisio Isin, the pen of Akatsuki Akira, and by way of Studio Gainax, here’s a new series for all you shounen fans out there. Starring the outrageously perfect Kurokami Medaka (Toyosaki Aki) and the scrappy but loyal Hitoyoshi Zenkichi (Ono Yuuki), the story starts with first year Medaka elected Student Council President with an overwhelming 98% of the votes. She immediately implements the titular “Medaka Box,” a suggestion box where any student can submit any request to the Student Council at any time – no matter what the issue is, Medaka will see it through. The only problem is that Hakoniwa Academy is anything but normal. Medaka may be perfect, but with ever more ridiculously powerful enemies constantly upping the stakes, the fate of Hakoniwa Academy is far from certain. When I hear about a Gainax original series, I get excited. From Neon Genesis Evangelion to Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann to Panty & Stocking with Garterbelt, Gainax’s original series are always a treat to behold, even if they tend to do funny things to your mind. Gainax adaptations on the other hand are different story entirely, and with Saeki Shouji (He is My Master, the second season of Mahoromatic) back as director, there is a bit of a cause for concern. The animation also looks a little sub-par for 2012, at least from what I’ve seen so far. Nevertheless, I really enjoyed the manga. It’s a strange story, with Medaka being so seemingly overpowered that she almost qualifies as a Mary Sue, but it still manages to keep the tension and suspense alive by having all the enemies be ridiculously overpowered as well. Let me put it this way: If Nisio Isin dialogue + awesome shounen battles + over-the-top characters + the plot constantly one-upping itself sounds like a fun time to you, give this one a shot. As long as Gainax can do the source material justice, it should be good times.
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Preview by Stereoman Studio Pierrot brings us a very odd comedy based on a manga of the same title. Shirokuma Cafe is a story about a polar bear (Sakurai Takahiro) that runs a cafe and its regulars: a panda (Fukuyama Jun) and a penguin (Kamiya Hiroshi). This show seems very unpredictable to me, but is also one of the most interesting ones out of the bunch. I suspect this might be a rare gem this year, and I fear it may become a very underrated show. The artwork seems very shoujo/josei to me which is a big plus, and the male cast stands out too. In addition to the seiyuu voicing the main characters above, we have Morikawa Toshiyuki, Ono Daisuke, Konishi Katsuyuki and Taniyama Kishou. With a cast like this that has performed well in a variety of comedy shows, it’s hard to overlook this one!
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Preview by Zanibas Continuing directly from last season, the two siblings Miyagawa Atsushi (Okiayu Ryoutarou) and his 17-year-old sister Atsumi (Kugimiya Rie) continue facing the gag troubles that arise from their reversed appearances. Atsushi continues to get arrested by the police and Atsumi continues to take on the short jokes. This season’s misunderstandings will be no different. If you laughed when Atsushi’s friends prepared boxes to take his chocolate, then you should watch the second season’s three-minute bursts. Hirano Aya will continue voicing Sayo, to the relief of fans who wish to see her career rebuild. If you haven’t seen the first season and want to catch up in time for April, the first season can be completed in about 30 minutes.
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Preview by Stereoman Brains Base brings us an anime adaption of Konami‘s Sengoku Collection, a social networking service game. The story takes place in the Sengoku Era, the warring states period in historical Japan when military masters circle the figurative throne of Japan’s first shogunate. I don’t have much to write about this show because this is very new and unfamiliar to me. After some research, I managed to find some information about the game itself. In the game, there are six hidden treasures containing “God of War” cards. The military masters embark on journeys to obtain the treasures, and I’m assuming that the anime plot will stick to the original game story. As for the characters, there is very little information given about them but the cast is a notable one with seiyuus like Hanazawa Kana, Nakahara Mai and Noto Mamiko. All I have to say is – this could be anything!
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Preview by unlisted High school boy meets high school girl. But this isn’t your standard romantic comedy. Sankarea follows a high school student by the name of Furuya Chihiro (Kimura Ryouhei) who is obsessed with all things undead. He meets Sanka Rea (Uchida Maaya), a popular girl from a nearby all girls high school. After overhearing her problems one night, they become friends. Together they try to resurrect Babu, Furuya’s dead cat. One things leads to another and Rea turns into a zombie! I know this might sound similar to Kore wa Zombie Desu ka? but it isn’t. While Zombie takes a lighthearted approach, Sanakarea is much darker and it’s not entirely certain that everything will be rosy at the end of this zombie romance. It is based on an ongoing manga written by Hattori Mitsuru and I believe that this anime is probably going to be THE rom-com of the season. I’ve read 26 chapters of it and I must say that the plot is interesting and compelling. There is definitely more to the main characters than I’ve stated here so as to avoid ruining a great story.
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Preview by Cherrie Based off a 4-koma manga, Acchi Kocchi follows the daily (school) life of two students, Miniwa Tsumiki (Ookubo Rumi) and Otonashi Io (Okamoto Nobuhiko); the former being a tsundere who’s in denial of all romantic feeling towards Io. The latter appears to be your typical overly-nice, oblivious love interest (and from what I’ve seen, that fact isn’t going to change in the near future). Together, they are joined by classmates Haruno Hime (Fukuhara Kaori), Katase Mayoi (Nabatame Hitomi), Inui Sakaki (Asanuma Shintarou), and probably a slew of others that will become the catalyst for things to happen. Not a lot of additional information is provided for this anime (without having to actually read the manga). I did skip through a few pages and I’m not thoroughly impressed by the plot or the characters; the story seems to reek of typical prolonged romances that go nowhere. Due to the nature of the manga though, it’s hard to develop a solid storyline and continuity between chapters. It’s not meant to be taken seriously but rather as a generic high school romantic comedy (which makes it a safe choice for lighthearted anime viewers). Unfortunately, I’m not a fan of predictable plotlines and if I were to watch an anime solely based on production values and seiyuus, this would still not pass the test. As a result, I could probably pick up the first and last episode and understand the gist of the story. Based on personal preference, I’ll be passing up on this one, but my fellow co-writers may be watching/blogging it. Even the comedic scenes will not be enough to carry the series for me and I’ll be looking elsewhere for my seasonal dose of romance…by possibly re-watching Toradora!
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Preview by Stilts Continuing their recent trend of moving beyond their traditional Action and Mecha genres, Sunrise is bringing us a new original series that is pure slice-of-life. “Summer-Colored Miracle” centers around four middle-school girls. There’s the cheerful tennis player Aizawa Natsumi (Kotobuki Minako), the perfect beauty Mizukoshi Saki (Takagaki Ayahi), the “mood-setter” who loves the idol group Four Seasons Hanaki Yuka (Tomatsu Haruka), and the calm and steady music lover Tamaki Rinko (Toyosaki Aki). The story follows these four friends as they hang out, go to school, run around town, and enjoy their youths. That is, until one summer, when a “miracle” happens. Sunrise is being pretty tight-lipped about this original work. The primary selling point is that it stars the four-person seiyuu group Sphere, who will also be singing its theme songs. That’s all well and good, but as far as a basis for a whole series, it’s not much to go on. Yet as I look deeper, it’s looking like there may be more to this show than there originally seemed. Director Mizushima Seiji (Gundam 00, UN-GO, the first Fullmetal Alchemist) isn’t a name I recognized off the top of my head, but his resume is full of good (and occasionally great) works. Perhaps more encouraging is the man in charge of the series composition, Tatsuhiko Urahata (Saki, A-Channel, Ichigo 100%), and sound director Hiromi Kikuta (Black Rock Shooter, Kannagi, the Da Capo series), both of whom have worked on a lot of really great series. The art is also quite nice, with Hidari (Fractale), Tanaka Yuuichi (Toaru Majutsu no Index, Toaru Kagaku no Railgun), and Ikeda Shigemi (Afro Samurai, High School DxD) working together to give us a town full of idyllic charm and some cute characters to run around it. More than anything though, it’s this “wonder” that caught my attention (check out the videos below to see what I mean). Here’s the bottom line: if you’re a slice-of-life fan, give this one a shot. If not, consider it anyway. In an industry full of endless adaptations, Sunrise is bringing us something original. And who knows, it just might be fantastic.
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Preview by Zanibas FROGMAN (alias for Ono Akira), director and voice actor for all of the main characters, continues the story of Eagle Talon where your stereotypical evil organization trying to conquer the world. However, failure always seems to await the organization, whether it’s in malfunctioning monster-making machines, Deluxe Fighter foiling their plans, or making time to take a girl’s father to the hospital. After watching a handful of subtitled episodes from last season, I actually found that this series is pretty funny for its absurdist elements. How much more ridiculous can you get with self-righting water glasses and monstrous human dressers? This season looks like it won’t be any less absurd, as “Chancellor” Soutou arises again from hitting hobo rock bottom (in a dramatically over-the-top manner of course), along with his trusty henchman Yoshida, side-henchman Phillip, and sensitive-that-he’s-a-bear (???) mad scientist Doc Leonardo. If you enjoyed shows such as >Thermae Romae and Haiyore! Nyaruko-san, this flash series ONA should be right up your alley. Most, if not all of the work to make this series is done by FROGMAN, so it’s nice to see amateur work being displayed, especially one with good humor running for its third season.
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Preview by verdant The first of two Kawahara Reki light novels to be adapted (summer 2012’s Sword Art Online being the other), Accel World is an adaptation of his 2008 Dengeki Novel Grand Prize winning light novel series. In 2040, the Internet has evolved to a point where everyone uses neuro-interfaces to interact inside virtual worlds and the main character, Arita Haruyuki (Kaji Yuki), spends his time setting record virtual squash scores inside his school network’s virtual world in order escape from the harsh realities of the real world. One fateful day, his skills are recognized by Kuroyukihime (Misawa Sachika), the beautiful Student Council Vice-President, and she offers him the ability to slow time in the real world to a near standstill by using software called Brain Burst, which accelerates a person’s brainwaves. However, such an ability never comes for free as Haruyuki discovers when he is drawn into a new virtual world where he must fight other Brain Burst users in order to continue using the software. For Kuroyukihime’s help, he agrees to protect her so she can meet Brain Burst’s creator and learn of its true purpose. From the premise itself, this series does appear to share many similarities with Guilty Crown: both protagonists have low self-esteem and share the same seiyuu, both heroines wear similar dresses and change the hero’s life forever by giving them a new power and introducing them to a new world. However, don’t let these parallels dissuade you from giving Accel World a chance, because unlike Guilty Crown, the series doesn’t take itself too seriously and the focus is more on the fights between the Brain Burst users rather than end-of-the-world machinations. With Sunrise’s capable hands at the helm, the action should be well animated and creatively choreographed, befitting the virtual world setting. So if you’re looking for shounen-esque action along with a dash of romance, school life, and comedy, this might be the series for you.
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Preview by BakaMochi One day in Jewel Town, Jewel Land, the clumsy and cheerful Deco-loving Ruby (Saitou Ayaka) learns of the legendary “Mirror Ball” scattered around the world. Meanwhile, the Kira Deco Five descend from the skies and arrive in Jewel Land in search for the legendary Deco Stone… all to save the world from Eternal Darkness?! Is it… bad that I’m morbidly interested in this? And that I would sit through however many episodes to hear Ono Daisuke (unsurprisingly) voice what looks to be the obligatory Prince Charming of this show? Whatever others may say, come at me with your overload of sickeningly sweet pink Jewelpets – I’ll take you on! *Included for completion’s sake
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Preview by verdant Fans of Bakugan Battle Brawlers rejoice, because the series is back to coincide with SEGA’s new toy release. Heroic warriors, risking life and limb, are trying to collect the three Gate Cards to obtain victory – but in order to do so, they must do battle with the monsters summoned from the power within their cards! There was once a time when you too, watched Yu-Gi-Oh!-like shows, so if you’re itching for more card monster-based action, or are looking to reminisce about what you watched when you were younger, you probably won’t be disappointed with this modern version. It’s probably in HD too, and there are new toys to buy and play with! What more could a kid nowadays ask for…
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Preview by Guardian Enzo The Nadeshiko won the World Cup, and soccer anime seems to be having a renaissance in Japan. This one is based on the novel Ginga no World Cup by Kawabata Hiroto. The story follows young Shuu (Kobayashi Yuu – not a favorite of mine in male roles), whose middle-school football team was disbanded for lack of players. However, he’s inspired to bring it back after (fittingly) meeting the female professional player Erika (Nakatsu Mariko). I haven’t found a translation of this anywhere, so I can’t vouch for the source material. I have a certain fondness for sports shounen, though this one appears to be pitched at a somewhat younger audience than Kuroko no Basuke. However, director Uda Konosuke has a solid track record and writer Yamada Takashi has worked in an intriguing mix of genres. This may end up being nothing more than an inoffensive kids series, but I sense it could end up surprising a few people.
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Preview by Stilts Coming only a week after the end of its predecessor’s 51-episode (!) run, here’s the second season of the Pretty Rhythm series. Based on Takara Tomy’s arcade game targeted at young girls, the series is about fashionable super-idols who sing, dance, and skate in the popular program known as the Prism Show. This season picks up three years after the events of the first one, with the original three heroines now all grown up and tutoring a new group of aspiring Prism Stars: Karin, Reina, Mia, and Ayami, who together form the group known as Prizmmy☆. But they have some serious competition this time in the form of a five-girl rival group out of Korea. I checked out a bit of the first season, and it really wasn’t that bad. The animation was respectable, with expressive faces and cute character designs, though they did tend to abruptly switch to CG whenever the characters start dancing or skating, which I’ve always found to be jarring. The music was good as well, in a light-and-fluffy JPop way. In fact, the whole feel of the show reminded me of some of the cartoons I watched as a kid, just with the action and fist-fights replaced with fashion and skating. That’s the thing though: when I was a kid. The first season looked like it was done well, and I would expect more of the same from a second season, but this is still a show targeted at teenage girls. If that’s you, or you really love cute clothes and cutesy singing, this might be right up your alley. Personally, I’m so far outside of the target audience that I’d need a Mars lander to find it, so I’ll be sitting this one out.
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Preview by Stilts This ONA follows the students of Seishou Academy, a school where every student is a pro-level shooter, and every lesson is about guns. Why? Because every student is a gun. Follow the hijinks of FNC (Nomizu Iori) and her friends M16A4 (Togasi Misuzu), L85A1 (Misato), and SG550 (Sadohara Kaori) as they work to become the very best guns they can be…when they’re not slacking off from classes, getting shot at by their sempais, or hospitalizing the new teacher. The premise behind this show is rather silly. Aside from the new (so far nameless) Modern Lit teacher, all the students and teachers are guns, who shoot guns. They shoot…themselves? That said, despite the strange premise the manga wasn’t really that weird. Upotte is basically a comedy about four friends’ school life with the occasional gun battle thrown in. Personally, I wasn’t especially taken with the manga – the jokes were serviceable, but nothing that hasn’t been done better many times before. I’m also curious with what direction Xebec will take this. The promotional material shows they’ve already swapped in their signature fanservice art style (Kanokon, Ladies versus Butlers!), but those comparisons don’t feel right since there’s very little ecchi about this story. Director Kato Takao (Busou Renkin, Pandora Hearts) and writer Arakawa Naruhisa (Papa no Iu Koto wo Kikinasai!, Yosuga no Sora) have long resumes, but they’re mostly full of shows I don’t recognize, so I’m not sure what to think there. If you think you’d enjoy a light comedy with plenty of gun-related exposition, this might be the show for you. I’m not personally sold quite yet, but I’ll be checking out an episode or two, just to give it a chance.
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Preview by Stilts Here’s the show many of you have been waiting for: the second half of Uroboshi Gen’s (Madoka Magica) prequel to Fate/stay night, Fate/Zero 2nd Season. In case you missed the first one, here’s the breakdown: taking place ten years prior to the original story, Fate/Zero tells the tale of Emiya Kiritsugu (Koyama Rikiya) and Saber’s (Kawasumi Ayako) battles during the Fourth Holy Grail War. Hired by the Einzbern family to claim the legendary wish-granting Grail, Kiritsugu will use every underhanded tactic at his disposal in order to win, but to claim the prize he must defeat the other six masters and the heroic spirits they have summoned. Among those is Kotomine Kirei (Nakata Jouji), an aimless magician-priest who is grappling with his purpose in life. Unfortunately, he may have found it in opposing the cold-hearted Kiritsugu, putting the two men on a bloody collision course. Fate/Zero was easily the most anticipated series of last fall, and I don’t think it’s a stretch to say that it has claimed that honor once again, and for good reason. Everything that was done well in Fate/stay night has been dialed up to 11 for this prequel. Where before the mood was dark, now it’s darker; where before the masters were overwhelmed kids, now they’re ruthless, cutthroat adults; where before the battles were good, now they’re lovingly animated to near movie-level quality. I won’t say this show isn’t without its problems, and of course it’s a prequel, so we all pretty much know how it’s going to end. Yet sometimes it’s the journey that matters, and the journey we saw during the first season was truly a sight to behold. Personally, I know I’ve been waiting for this show to return since the second the last episode faded to black. We may know how it will end, but I have faith that Urobuchi Gen and Ufotable will make it a fun ride getting there. Plus, there’s always Iskander to look forward to, and I don’t know about you, but I can always use more Iskander in my life.
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Preview by Prooof Boy meets girl. Boy falls in love. Boy becomes addicted to girl’s saliva. It may sound like a strange fetish, but Mysterious Girlfriend X really is an honest love story at heart in most aspects, if not a bit quirky (okay, it’s very quirky). The set-up is pretty ordinary: Tsubaki Akira, a very average male protagonist, meets cute transfer student Urabe Mikoto. Normal ends there however, as it is immediately apparent that Mikoto is an odd girl: she sleeps a lot, is anti-social, and expresses emotions through her saliva. She also happens to carry around a pair of scissors tucked in her panties, which she wields with incredible skill. Akira and Mikoto waste no time waffling around, as he forms a “drool bond” with Mikoto after inadvertently tasting her saliva and declares his love for her. And so, their bizarre relationship begins, complete with regular saliva exchanges and Mikoto declaring that they will have their first sexual experience with each other. The premise may be weird and the art style retro, but “Mysterious Girlfriend X” is shaping up to be among the most promising romances this season. While the male protagonist is a little bland, the heroine can rival Senjougahara Hitagi of Bakemonogatari in pretty much every way, which results in all sorts of interesting situations. Watching their unique relationship develop should be quite a fun ride, revolving around the special bond they share and their ability to transfer emotions through saliva. Mikoto will be voiced by Yoshitani Ayako in what seems to be her debut seiyuu role, but judging from what I’ve seen in the PV, her voice is perfect for Mikoto, even if it’s not exactly what I expected. I’m also looking forward to seeing the supporting characters, including another couple who also share an interesting relationship. In general there’s a little bit of ecchi and straight-up discussion of sex, but all in all, if you’re looking for a decent seinen romance, this series is a pretty good bet.
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Preview by unlisted In the game of basketball, being anything but a leading scorer or a starter is short of glamorous, which can be said for most sports. What we all seem to forget is that teams need other players as well. Ones that can coordinate the team or someone who can be unselfish. Kuroko Tetsuya (Ono Kensho) is that player. He hails from a championship middle school basketball team where he served as a sixth man, and now in high school, meets Kagami Taiga (Ono Yuuki), a naturally talented guy who only wants to be the best. Together, they vow to become the best in Japan and take down members of Kuroko’s old team who all went to different high schools. I’m not one to watch many shounen or sports shows, with the only major sports one being Cross Game and I didn’t even watch that for the sports aspect. Nevertheless, from what I’ve seen from the 3 chapters of manga that I’ve read, it still seems like it will become an interesting show. Much of the comedy that I saw came from the deadpan delivery from Tetsuya. If he can be half as funny as Yuu from Persona 4 the ANIMATION, this could become quite the hit with some anime fans.
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Preview by BakaMochi Wanting to test his own strength and become the champion, aspiring Blader Kurogane Zero (Okamoto Nobuhiko) arrives at Hagane Gingka’s hometown in order to challenge him. But instead of Gingka, who is nowhere to be found, Zero finds that pro-Bladers have gathered to compete for the title of ‘Strongest Blader’. Immediately, he challenges them but it proves to be a tough match with the new Zero Stadium system that has taken the world by storm. Fortunately with intuition and sheer determination, Zero he’s able to turn the game around and emerge victorious. Wow, Beyblade. I haven’t kept up with the series since G-Revolution, so I have no idea how the story has been progressing. The couple episodes I caught here and there of Zero-G’s prequel was um… interesting, and unfortunately, without the charm of the original cast missing in the recent incarnations, I’ll probably go back to not keeping up with it.
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Preview by Stereoman With the first Cardfight!! Vanguard series ending, the second one takes over. This sequel will center around the same old cast: Sendou Aichi (Yonaga Tsubasa), Kai Toshiki (Satou Takuya), Tokura Misaki (Kitta Izumi), and Katsuragi Kamui (Ishikawa Shizuka), who have all grown up but are still involved in the same struggle as the old series. The premise remains, focusing on the card battle game called Vanguard – a game that takes place on a planet called “Cray”. This show is the result of a collaboration between Yu-Gi-Oh! R‘s Itou Akira and Duel Masters‘ Nakamura Satoshi. Both shows were targeted towards a younger audience, but I’m pretty sure most of us have seen Yu-Gi-Oh. It’s a part of childhood, no? The “game” concept is a very popular one nowadays, as seen on many international cartoon channels and this show is no exception. Unfortunately, this is not something that appeals to me anymore but it does make me feel nostalgic.
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Preview by Stereoman Sunrise brings us the second season of last year’s puzzle show, Phi Brain. Like last season, this will center on high school student Daimon Kaito (Asanuma Shintarou) and his circle of friends: Itou Nonoha (Shimizu Kaori), Sakanoue Gammon (Fukuyama Jun), Cubic Galois (Miyata Kouki), and Anna Gram (Yukino Satsuki) – people risking their lives to solve puzzles created by the mysterious organization POG. The only help Kaito is offered (besides his brain and his friends’ ideas) is the Orpheus bracelet, a mysterious device that maximizes Kaito’s puzzle-solving abilities. I remember I first thought this would be interesting, but after I’d seen the first five episodes of the first season, I dropped it. I can’t say much as I’m not a fan of this, but I guess it’s a good thing that the Phi Brain fans don’t have to wait at all because this airs one week after the first season ends! Something else you might look forward to is the introduction of some new characters that have been added to this sequel: Freecell (Kamiya Hiroshi), Pinochle (Sugita Tomokazu), Doubt (Ono Daisuke), Melancholy (Saitou Momoko), Mizerka (Hikasa Youko), and Whist (Konishi Katsuyuki).
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Preview by Stereoman Oonuma Shin, best known for directing the anime adaptions of Ef: A Fairy Tale of the Two, tackles the ongoing manga Tasogare Otome x Amnesia and brings us its anime adaption this spring season. Like most of the shows he directed, this one too, takes place in a school: Seikyou Private School, a facility that seems more like a maze than anything. The mysterious aura of the building serves as the reason behind many of the paranormal rumors. One day, first-year middle school student Teiichi Niiya (Yonaga Tsubasa) gets lost in this maze, and by chance arrives at an old storage room. There he meets Yuuko Kanoe (Hara Yumi), a mysterious girl with beautiful long black hair who claims to be a ghost. For some unknown reason, only Niiya can see her as a girl with amnesia. Curious about Kanoe, Niiya starts a paranormal investigation club in order to find out how she died, along with various other supernatural mysteries surrounding the school. I’m a big fan of supernatural mystery shows so this will definitely be on my watch-list. Knowing that Oonuma Shin is directing makes the show even more interesting, as I’ve come to like all of the works that I’ve seen from him. I was a bit sad over the fact that Another was reaching its end, but knowing that another show with similar elements will air this season, immediately brightened my mood. As for animation, I’ve never seen anything produced by SILVER LINK so I don’t know what to expect, but I can say one thing for sure, I expect good story development out of this. I can confidently say that this is one of my most anticipated shows of the season.
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Preview by Prooof “Lolis playing mahjong” is probably the best phrase to describe Saki and its spin-off manga Saki Achiga-hen episode of side-A, the latter of which is now also being adapted into an anime. Instead of featuring Saki, the series’ titular character, this spin-off will chronicle the story of several girls at the Achiga Girls Academy and their goal to restart the mahjong club in order to eventually go to the national inter-high school tournament. They are mentored by former pro Akado Harue (Shindo Naomi) and hope to eventually meet an old friend at the nationals. Reading the first few chapters of Saki Achiga-hen reveals a fast pace, containing more drama and slice-of-life rather than actual mahjong. It covers a relatively long time frame within a few chapters, with not too many details given in general. From what I’ve read, there are only brief scenes where mahjong is actually played, and little strategy/discussion of the game. It reminds me a lot of A-channel (also produced by Studio Gokumi), and not only that, both Yuuki Aoi and Uchiyama Yumi from A-channel will be voicing the main roles here as well. I don’t want to write it off just yet, but initial impressions lead me to think that it’s another rehash of the cute girls doing cute things genre. That’s fine if you know what you’re getting into, but if you are looking more for mahjong gameplay or intense showdowns, I personally found the original Saki to probably be a better choice. Both have their share of light fanservice, yuri undertones and humor, but this spin-off seems to lean more heavily on “seinen moe” slice-of-life, rather than shounen sports (e.g. Hikaru no Go). Notably absent is the presence of a “sleeper player” hiding incredible strength that the other characters fear — a role filled by Saki herself in the original.
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Preview by BakaMochi Lupin the Third is a long-running series and spring 2012 brings about yet another spin-off to add to the impressive array of TV shows, films and specials. Lupin the Third: Mine Fujiko to Iu Onna will feature the titular Mine Fujiko (Sawashiro Miyuki), Lupin (Kurita Kanichi reprising his role) and the rest of the cast during their ‘younger days’. The show will also reportedly aim to capture some of the original series’ ‘sensuality’, so I suppose that is something to look forward to with this adaptation. I’ve heard of the Lupin series but never followed it, so it’s unlikely I’ll follow the newest entry to the franchise. The promo does look stunning however, with lovely visuals and a classy sort of sexiness that’s reminiscent of (g)olden days. If that’s the sort of ‘sensuality’ the producers are aiming for, with adequate pacing, Lupin the Third: Fujiko Mine to Iu Onna could be not only be a standout show, but a formidable entry into the infamous franchise.
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Preview by unlisted This series is based on the Cthulhu mythos, so that aspect should be interesting, but unfortunately I haven’t actually read any of the light novels so I don’t really know what the exact plot entails. This anime follows Yasaka Mahiro (Kitamura Eri) who is a normal boy and Nyaruko (Asumi Kana) who is a Cthulu deity that has no form (whatever she turned into in the previous anime was censored) but can tranform into a girl. Judging from what I’ve seen previously, the show has more of a slice-of-life focus than an overarching plot. I watched the TV series last winter and finished off the ONA shortly after that. The flash animation left me feeling short-changed because the ED was traditionally animated and the episode length was unfortunately much too short. Despite its issues, I quickly came to like this franchise for all the slapstick humor, parodies, and references to pop culture. Now that Hairyore! Nyaruko-san is getting a proper run, it is probably the anime I’m most excited about to watch this spring because there will be more of it.
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Preview by Guardian Enzo Takahashi Keitaro‘s manga is a dark ride. It’s the story of child soldier Jonah (Tamura Mutsumi) who joins a group of arms merchants led by the charismatic Koko (Itou Shizuka). I’ve read the manga, and this is a pretty unique premise – not much that happens will meet your expectations, and the cast, while larger than life, definitely falls under the umbrella of anti-heroes more than traditional protagonists. There’s a lot to be excited about here: this could be one of the most challenging and disturbing shows of the season, and it’s being adapted by White Fox, who did a stupendous job with Steins;Gate. Character designer Nakamura Kazuhisa has a sterling track record, as does composer Iwasaki Taku (Rurouni Kenshin, Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann). There’s concern over the matter of director Motonaga Keitaro being responsible for School Days, though I place most of the blame for that abomination on the writer.
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Preview by verdant It’s been far too long of a wait for director Watanabe Shinichiro (Cowboy Bebop, Samurai Champloo) to be reunited with the composer for Cowboy Bebop, Kanno Yoko (Aquarion EVOL, Macross Frontier). Fourteen years later, the duo is tackling the adaptation of Kodama Yuki’s coming of age manga about two young men’s friendship, and their bonding over a mutual passion for jazz music beginning in the summer of 1966. Nishimi Kaoru (Kimura Ryouhei) is a bespectacled intelligent young man who moves from Yokosuka to Kyushu during his first year in high school, but because he has been moving around for so much of his life and is quite introverted, he’s never been able to make lasting friendships… until he meets Kawabuchi Sentaro (Hosoya Yoshimasa), who is his exact opposite in personality. With Kaoru on the piano and Sentaro on the drums, the pair are eventually joined by some fellow classmates as together, they discover friendships, love, and most importantly, themselves – all through the universal language of music. To me, the pedigree of a series is never an important factor as there are too many other unseen influences that can affect the quality of it, but Sakamichi no Apollon is one of the few exceptions. With a legendary director and an equally legendary composer, this series definitely has lofty expectations, but thankfully the manga and its accolades suggest the source material is a perfect fit for the two. Once you get past a bit of the yaoi vibes in the first few parts of the series, the friendship and especially the musical aspects pick up quickly and it becomes a show that will likely appeal to both male and female fans. Topping it all off are the promises of jazz standards being performed by up-and-coming musicians, so even if you’re not too keen on the idea of a male bonding slice-of-life series, any music lover owes it to themselves to tune in and enjoy this once in a decade show.
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Preview by Guardian Enzo Along with Sakamichi no Apollon, Tsuritama gives me hope than NoitaminA can return from its weakest season ever. It’s the story of four high-school boys (Irino Miyu, Sugita Tomokazu, Uchiyama Kouki, Ohsaka Ryouta) residing in the island city of Enoshima. One of the boys, Haru (Miyu) fancies himself an alien, lending a sci-fi tinge to affairs. In addition to the fantastical slice-of-life, there seems to be a strong ecological bent as well. The most important thing to know about this series is that it’s directed by Nakamura Kenji, who’s had fine fortune in NoitaminA before with Mononoke, and not so fine with C. He’s a talented guy with an offbeat sensibility, and this appears to be gentler and more wistful than we’re used to with him. It’s nice to see a slice-of-life series about guys for a change, too. Cenceroll director Uki Atsuya provides the character designs.
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Preview by Guardian Enzo BONES revives what is arguably its signature property, and let’s hope they do it more successfully than Gonzo did with Last Exile. Eureka Seven was a big series for me as an anime fan — flawed and overcomplicated but compelling as seemingly all classic BONES series were. The A studio is working on this one, with director Tomoki Kyouda and most of the staff back, though the absence of writer Satou Dai is worrisome. The first two manga chapters are out and I like them, though they don’t tell us much. We have a young lad, Ao, who’s apparently the son of Renton and Eureka, living in what appears to be current-day (or nearly) Okinawa. Kudos to BONES for casting a real live boy – 14 year-old Honjou Yuutaro – as Ao. There looks to be a harem aspect to this, as Ao will be surrounded by a cast of female mecha pilots. The only confirmed appearance from the original cast so far is the Nirvash. The fans are dismissing this one as a disaster before it even premieres, but I see no reason for such defeatism; I’m hoping this will be a multi-cour series that does the brand proud. If not, I’ll be almost as sad as I am about “Fam”.
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Preview by BakaMochi Based on SEGA’s Shining Hearts RPG, this adaptation features an emotionless anmesiac girl named Kaguya (Kuwashima Houko) who washes ashore on Wyndaria after a storm. There she meets the swordsman Rick (Kamiya Hiroshi), and his three coworkers at the island’s bakery: the sisters Nellis, Amyl and Aerie (all voiced by Itou Kanae). Trouble starts brewing, however, as a sudden onslaught of pirates invade the island in search of Kaguya’s necklace. Wanting to restore peace to their island and restore Kaguya’s memories and emotions, Rick, Nellis, Amyl and Aerie set out on their adventure. Here was my train of thought when I saw the preview image: pretty! Bread! It’s like SEGA knew exactly what I wanted! Obviously in the visual department – with renowned ecchi artist Tony Taka at the helm – Shining Hearts is nothing to scoff at. From what I can remember, the Shining Tears X Wind adaptation that aired a few years back didn’t look too bad either; considering this is Production I.G, I assume the animation will look good. The plot seems like standard RPG fare, but the cast is quite nice and fans will probably want to tune in to see how the adaptation pans out. I’m generally a little weary of putting ‘amnesia’, ’emotionless’ and ‘female lead’ together in one sentence, but I’m a sucker for RPGs and the characters sound promising, at the very least. And with the capable Kuwashima Houko voicing her, maybe Kaguya won’t be so generic after all. Will definitely be checking it out!
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Preview by Zanibas Tenma Matsukaze (Yuka Terasaki), a soccer-loving first year, meets a boy and a robot bear from the future named Fei Ruun and Clark “Wandaba” Wandabatto respectively. However, as Matsukaze returns to Raimon Junior High School after the Holy Road tournaments, he finds that the world has changed for the worse. Alpha, a member of a rival soccer team, seeks to wipe soccer from Earth. Matsukaze must now use the Inazuma Caravan van to fix time and keep soccer alive! Inazuma Eleven, originally a game from makers Level-5, now adds a time-traveling twist. If you are still following the series, here’s another series to continue Level-5’s adaption. However, as a third season, it will be hard for newcomers to catch up.
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Preview by Takaii An anime produced by the amazing KyoAni? Count. Me. In! Seriously though, Hyouka sounds like another mystery anime that will fall on either end of the spectrum — really, really good or really, really bad. With director Takemoto Yasuhiro (who’s had a hand in all of KyoAni’s popular works), lead character designer Nishiya Futoshi, and a popular mystery series known as Kotenbu written by Yonezawa Honobu as its source material, this anime sounds like it has all the right ingredients to be successful. But even with a good team and source material, what good is it if the story isn’t good enough to draw people in? Luckily, the premise of the show is simple enough and leaves a lot of room to build upon. Beginning when the shy Oreki Houtaro (Nakamura Yuuichi) decides to finally join a club after a bit of nudging by his older sister, he meets its three members: the perfect girl Chitanda Eru (Satou Satomi), who turns into a mystery maniac the moment something interests her; the amazingly smart Fukube Satoshi (Sakaguchi Daisuke) who can’t put two and two together; and the hot-headed Ibara Mayaka (Kayano Ai). With a nice variety of characters backed up with some impressive vocal talent, I can’t wait to get my hands all over this show.
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Preview by Prooof The idol scene is nothing new in Japan, but there’s no doubt that the incredibly popular AKB48 is the reigning queen of Japanese girl groups. This group of over 48 members (currently 60) has had movies, TV dramas, and even dating sims featuring them, making it inevitable that they would eventually get an anime. When I first heard about the anime, I thought it was going to be an adaptation of the manga AKB49, which was a good series in its own right, but apparently that won’t be the case. Instead, this anime will follow an original storyline set in a futuristic, totalitarian society where pop music is banned and idols are illegal. AKB0048 rises up as a sort of supergalactic rebel idol group who put on guerilla concerts and resist the government. I expected that members of AKB48 would be voicing their own characters in the anime adaptation, but instead, more experienced seiyuu will take the roles of the real life members. However the main cast –the nine members of the Kenkyuusei, or trainees– are voiced by actual members of AKB48 and its sister groups, selected in contests as is characteristic of them. The nine will be singing the theme song, though their voice acting abilities are yet to be seen. Several spin-off manga have also been released, but a quick skim reveals more slice of life and drama than sci-fi or mecha. However, Macross Frontier directors Kawamori Shouji and Hiraike Yoshimasa and studio Satelight will be heading this production, so seeing the girls engaging in high-tech battles will not be a surprise at all. AKB0048 will inevitably draw comparisons with Idolm@ster or Xenoglossia as well, and it does seem to share some similar elements. Many things point to a similar story format as AKB49, chronicling the trainees’ journey and struggles towards joining the senbatsu, with the added sci-fi twist and without the romance aspects that drew me into it originally. The premise doesn’t particularly impress me, and is probably more geared to existing AKB48 fans. I like their music, but I’m not set on watching this title aside from maybe the first episode or two.
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Technical Note: OVAs are sorted by the date they are released. For series that have multiple episodes coming out over the course of the season, please refer to the Notes column for additional dates. More information on each OVA can be found on their respective websites, including promotional videos in some cases. Movie premiere dates are not included since they don’t mean a whole lot to viewers outside of Japan. DVD/BD movie releases are however. This list is likely incomplete and will be updated as more titles surface. If you notice anything missing, please feel free to point it out in the comments.
| Release Date | Title | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 03/01 | Maken-Ki! OAD | マケン姫っ! OAD http://maken-ki.com/ |
Bundled with Limited Edition manga vol.8 |
| 03/15 | High Score OAD http://www.ribon-highscore.com/ |
Bundled with Limited Edition manga vol. 17 |
| 03/21 | Nekogami Yaoyorozu OVA | 猫神やおよろず OVA http://www.maql.co.jp/special/nekogami/ |
|
| 03/21 | To Heart 2: Dungeon Travlers OVA | ToHeart2ダンジョントラベラーズ OVA http://aquaplus.jp/th2dtv/ |
Episode 2 of 2 |
| 03/21 | A-Channel+smile OVA | Aチャンネル +smile OVA http://www.a-ch.jp/ |
|
| 03/23 | Yondemasu yo, Azazel-san OVA | よんでますよ、アザゼルさん。 OVA http://kc.kodansha.co.jp/azazel/ |
|
| 03/23 | Lupin Ikka Seizoroi OVA | ルパン三世 ルパン一家勢揃い OVA http://mantan-web.jp/2012/01/20/20120119dog00m200070000c.html |
|
| 03/30 | Space Battleship Yamato: Ressurection Director’s Cut 宇宙戦艦ヤマト 復活篇 ディレクターズカット http://yamatocrew.jp/crew/dc |
|
| 03/30 | Mirai Nikki SP | 未来日記 SP http://www.future-diary.tv/ |
Unaired episode on BD vol.4 |
| 03/30 | Kobato SP | こばと。 SP http://www.kobato.tv/top.html |
Anime short bundled with BD |
| 04/04 | Amagami SS+ plus SP | アマガミSS+ plus SP http://www.amagami-ouen.com/ |
Anime short bundled with BD vol. 1 |
| 04/20 | UN-GO episode:0 Inga-ron | UN-GO episode:0 因果論 http://www.un-go.com/ |
|
| 04/20 | New Prince of Tennis SP | 新テニスの王子様 SP http://www.tv-tokyo.co.jp/anime/shin-tenipri/ |
Unaired episode featured on BD vol.1 |
| 04/25 | Naruto the Movie: Blood Prison | 劇場版NARUTO-ナルト- ブラッド・プリズン http://www.naruto-movie.com/ |
|
| 04/25 | C3 Cubed x Cursed x Curious SP | シーキューブ SP http://www.starchild.co.jp/special/c3/ |
Unaired episode featured on BD vol.5 |
| 04/25 | Seitokai Yakuindomo OAD | 生徒会役員共 OAD http://kc.kodansha.co.jp/seitokai/ |
|
| 04/26 | Ai Mai! Moe Can Change! OVA | あいまい! 萌えCanちぇんじ! OVA http://ai-mi.jp/ova/ |
|
| 04/2012 | Kore wa Zombie Desu Ka? OAD | これはゾンビですか? OAD http://www.kadokawa.co.jp/shop/sp/shop_sp_188.html |
Episode 0 bundled with light novel vol. 10 |
| 05/02 | Amagami SS+ plus SP | アマガミSS+ plus SP http://www.amagami-ouen.com/ |
Anime short bundled with BD vol.2 |
| 05/23 | Yondemasu yo, Azazel-san. OAD | よんでますよ、アザゼルさん。 OAD http://www.bookclub.kodansha.co.jp/yoyaku/comics/azazel_5/ |
Episode 3 bundled with Limited Edition manga vol.8 |
| 05/2012 | Another OAD http://www.another-anime.jp/ |
Episode 0 bundled with Limited Edition manga vol.0 |
| 05/2012 | Mobile Suit Gundam Unicorn OVA | 機動戦士ガンダムUC OVA http://www.gundam-unicorn.net/ |
Episode 5 of 6 |
| 05/2012 | KenIchi the Mightiest Disciple OVA | 史上最強の弟子 ケンイチ OVA http://www.tv-tokyo.co.jp/anime/kenichi/ |
Bundled with Limited Edition manga vol.47 |
| 06/18 | s.CRY.ed Alteration II: QUAN | スクライド オルタレイション 後編 QUAN http://www.s-cry-ed.net/ |
BD preorders |
Spring is probably looking like one of the stronger seasons in recent memory, and a great one for fans of all persuasions. With so many different genres covered, we’re lucky to have so many new writers and new tastes to cover as many shows as possible. Based on our early picks, it looks like the shows that will most likely be covered are Accel World, Eureka Seven AO, Fate/Zero 2nd Season, Hyouka, Jormungand, Saki Achiga-hen episode of side-A, Sakamichi no Apollon, Sankarea, Tsuritama, and Uchuu Kyoudai. Less likely to be covered, but still quite probable are Haiyore! Nyaruko-san, Hiiro no Kakera, Kore wa Zombie Desu ka? OF THE DEAD, Mysterious Girlfriend X, Tasohare Otome x Amnesia, and ZETMAN.
If there’s a show you really want to see covered at RandomC, please let us know in the comments and we’ll take it into consideration. Below is the shortlist, broken down into days. (In one or more writers’ top 5 list; underline means guaranteed.)
- Sun: Uchuu Kyoudai, Hiiro no Kakera, Tasogare Otome x Amnesia, Saki Achiga-hen episode of side-A, Hyouka
- Mon: Haiyore! Nyaruko-san, Kimi to Boku 2, ZETMAN
- Tue: Jormungand
- Wed: Kore wa Zombie Desu ka? OF THE DEAD
- Thu: Acchi Kocchi, Eureka Seven Astral Ocean, Natsuiro Kiseki, Sankarea, Sakamichi no Apollon, Shining Hearts: Shiawase no Pan, Shirokuma Cafe, Tsuritama
- Fri: Accel World
- Sat: Fate/Zero 2nd Season, Kuroko no Basuke, Mysterious Girlfriend X
Congratulations, you’ve made it to end of our first collaborative season preview! Thanks for reading and please don’t hesitate to leave us a comment if you have any suggestions, corrections, or questions.
- Verdant’s note: Special thanks to all the writers for helping out with this preview on such short notice. I couldn’t have done it without you all, and now I owe everyone either several rounds of tasty beverages or food.
yay awesome preview
Confirmed watching: Hyouka, Jormungand, Sankarea, Accel World, Medaka Box and Fate II.
Now you guys realize how robotic Divine is. 😀
It’s Biotic Implants from Cerberus.
Shuu couldn’t save Inori because he didn’t have 5000 war assets.
even if he had those assets he will still get an shitty ending:P
Divine is Glad0s. You monster.
It took a lot of human writers to do what 1 robot(android) writer was doing all this time. One of the most possible theory, is that Divine is a blogging android created by Omni until it was self-sufficient to blog on it’s own. After some time, Divine decided to develop himself further, hence, his “Android Dev” project today. Maybe we can expect the improved Divine 2.0 when he comes back.
So what you’re saying is that Divine = an alternate universe version of the Terminator? He did leave a possibility that “he’ll be back” XD
“Blog with me if you want to live” – I can imagine Divine saying that to the writers of RandomC. =)
Divine is ‘divine’ itself. It transcends EVERYTHING.
Divine is Meduka. Being Divine is suffering.
Divine = Mahou Shounen Divine Magica? With the rest of the RandomC writers as Mahou Shoujo/Mahou Shounen? FUND IT. XD
Really REALLY looking forward to Sakamichi no Apollon as well as all the season 2 of Kore wa Zombie desuka? Fate Zero and Kimi to Boku.
This season looks very promising with so many series starting.
Who wants to taste my saliva!
Can’t tell if this is a weird reference, really random or just plain disgusting but I lol’d.
FATE/ZERO S2!!! Can’t wait!
Hyouka is definitely at the top of my list 🙂
Definitely watching some. Others- I’ll withhold judgment.
I was waiting for this! I love RC’s previews. Thanks 😀
Holy Guacamole thats a lot of shows!
Yes!
Well, I can’t just go to spring season without reading first this RC preview…
Ah ~ RC makes me became this for more than 2 years now.
First thoughts:
Thank goodness that all of the the 2-cour series I’m watching from Fall season 2011 are all ending and all the series I’ve watched for the Winter season are only 1-cour. That leaves me with only Gundam AGE as a carry over, it is a good thing for me because it means I have at least 10-12 new series to watch (which are my limit).
Lupin the 3rd was *Included for completion’s sake ?!! The show looks amazing. Other than that though great preview, just as good as Divine’s which really is saying something.
Thanks a ton Verdant and Divine! I love these previews. Here’s to another great season on promising animes!
So much dream team are gathered this season, but I’m not keeping my expectations high anymore. I was badly burned by a certain series (I think you can all guess what that is) last season that I am now determined not to get hyped dream teams anymore.
I agree, Spring looks pretty good. But in hindsight, I think Winter is going to go down as pretty damn good, too – better than I thought going in.
Thanks for the preview, tend to wait for RC’s one before setting in stone what I plan to watch. For this season, from this it’s looking like:
Accel World, Hyouka, Jormungand, Kimi to Boku. 2, Kore Wa Zombie Desu ka? of the dead, Nazo no Kanojo X, Sakamichi no Apollon, Sankarea, Tasogare Otome x Amnesia, Tsuritama and Zetman.
What I’ll be watching this Spring 2012 Anime Season:
1. Fate Zero Season II (I’ve been waiting three months for this! My wish will finally be granted)
2. Mysterious Girlfriend X (I want to see Urabe Mikoto’s “Panty Scissors” Finishing Move animated)
3. Kore wa Zombie Desu Ka? OF THE DEAD
4. Accel World (SUNRISE anime, ’nuff said)
5. Uchuu Kyodai (a.k.a. The Daily Lives of Space Bros?)
6. Queen’s Blade Rebellion (I watch it for the plot, promise XD)
*drops knife on the floor*
Go threaten the studio director and your wish will be granted…
I’m terrified that the mighty Urabe will let me down. No matter how much I love the manga, I have a feeling that there is potential for epic FAIL. Please be good. Please be good. Please?
Hmm, what do you think might be the factor that could cause the anime adaptation to fail? Let’s discuss. Is it the Urabe’s seiyuu, since it’s her first time acting as a lead heroine? The decision to keep the manga’s art style, which might put off viewers since they’re used to high-quality levels of animation + CGI? Or is it the decision to keep it only 13 episodes long, and might not develop the plot + characters?
I’m not too worried about things like keeping the art style or the choices of seiyuu — those are issues that can sink any anime.
The main concern for EPIC FAIL potential is the plot itself. It is a surreal, nuanced plot that if the studio (which I’m not familiar with) messes up the proper balance of goofy humor, sweet romance, and the bizarre, the setting could crumble like a house of cards. The characters are pretty unique, and could easily be twisted/distorted into something completely different from the ones I love. Especially Urabe, who could appear absolutely bat-shit insane if done wrong. Mostly, I’m sure I’m worrying for nothing. I just LOVE the manga, and will be CRUSHED if the adaptation doesn’t meet my expectations.
Oh, and if the panty scissors end up being lame… I’M IN DESPAIR! THE PROSPECT OF LAME PANTY SCISSORS HAS LEFT ME IN DESPAIR!
On that note, I’m both disappointed that SHAFT isn’t doing this series, and relieved. The dream sequences a la Shaft would’ve been awesome, regardless of the rest of the production. Alternatively, depriving Shaft the opportunity to screw-ball this series might have been a wise choice.
It just hit me. What if they censor the panty scissors?
Hmmm, so its the possibility that the studio gets way in over its head, and might mess up the plot. Damn, that’s scary. But censoring Urabe’s Panty Scissors is scarier. Panty Scissors is one of Urabe’s most distinguishing traits. If that were to be censored, I’d really be disappointed in Hoods Entertainment.
But hey, this is Japan we’re talking about. If Highschool DxD got away with their nudity, maybe Mysterious Girlfriend X will get away with Urabe’s Panty Scissors. Or maybe they’ll just flash a little *very little* of Urabe’s panties, then comes the scissors, just to keep it Safe For Work.
I can’t wait for April 7, 2012. Let’s hope Mysterious Girlfriend X becomes the sleeper hit of the season.
I’m going to watch them ALL !
WAY too many interesting looking series this season, i bet i will slack on studying for university….again.
I’m really looking forward to Eureka Seven Astral Ocean, as the original has been one of my favourite shows ever since i first watched it.
As always, thanks a lot for the preview!
The shortlist is missing Eureka Seven : AO for Thursdays. Shows that potential bloggers are willing to blog it but doesn’t show up on shortlist.
Fixed, thanks.
I’m probably going to stay watching only Smile Precure (which I personally think would’ve been hilarious if one of you guys had blogged it) but I might watch Tsuritama. The rest I’m just going to wait for it to finish before starting.
Just read Medaka Box 140, and though expecting it, I still feel trolled hard. I wonder how the anime adaptation will fare…is there a confirmation on how many episodes it will be?
In any case, thanks for the preview!
Hello Zombie, Sankarea, Jormungad and Queen’s Blade~
I’m only watching Accel World, Fate/Zero, and Kore wa Zombie Desu ka.
Can’t wait for Sword Art Online because the novel is absolutely epic. Probably not going to show chapter 16.5 in the anime though… Oh wellz. How Accel World plays out will determine how SAO is animated… though the characters look pretty young compared to their novel counter parts… Then again Kirito and Asuna were only 14 when they first logged on…
I agree. On the official site for SAO anime, their cheeks look puffy and makes them look childish compared to the LN art.
Went through the list, some thoughts:
Medaka Box – I wonder if the prediction by *spoilers* is going to come true. Manga will end before the Anime begins.
Accel World – HELL YEAH!! Will be AWESOME!! Can’t wait for Sword Art Online in a few seasons too! My favorite LNs!
Fate/Zero2 – HELL YEAH! (again)! I think everyone can agree to look forward to this.
Mysterious Girlfriend X – It’ll be interesting to see this animated. I love the manga, but I don’t see it adapted that well.
Kuroko no Basket – should be good, but may resemble PoT a bit.
Tasogare Otome x Amnesia – I think this will be a good replacement for Another. If they can get the atmosphere right, then it should be pretty awesome.
Saki-Achiga – More mahjong with cute girls!! Who can resist the unique pantsu-less-ness fanservice.
Lupin – I’m all for reviving this classic.
Eureka Seven 2 – mmm, I’ll watch it…but Eureka Seven always left a bad taste in my mouth.
Shining Hearts w/bread – Watch it just because it is Tony Taka.
These just caught my eye. I’ll definitely follow more than just these.
Great Post ! There is indeed WAYYY too much new anime, making it hard to choose between the one who seems worth watching and the others. Anyhow, thank you for this HUGE Spring 2012 Preview, I can only wait to see Fate Zero S2 !!
Thanks a lot for putting together this season preview. There are a surprising amount of shows that I`m really interested in checking out, so thank God it’s summer (for me at least).
Fate/Zero and Jormungand are my most anticipated shows this season. (After Steins Gate, having White Fox produce Jormungand sealed the deal for me)
Zetman, Hyouka, Apollon, Tasogare Otome x Amnesia, Accel World, and Kore wa Zombie are all pretty high on the list for me as well.
This past Winter season had some really good shows, so here’s to another great season.
Thanks guys! I love your previews (they plan my anime consumption).
I’ve been reading Mysterious Girlfriend X for years now, so I’m really looking forward to the anime. Can’t wait!
Much thanks for the preview guys! Have a good idea of what to watch this time around.
Thanks Verdant. I’ve been definitely waiting for the Spring 2012 preview. This is definitely quite a change as Wednesdays have been almost empty for the past few seasons. That’s a lot of shows too. I’ll be definitely viewing most of them but what stands out so far for me is Medaka Box to see how Gainax is gonna adapt the manga.
Compliments to the RC team for putting all this together. What a mouthwatering selection we have here. Can’t wait.
Goodness Gracious, leave out all those toddler shows that half of them even include you mentioning that this will be for no one who visits this site. Seriously, pretty much no one is interested in them and they’ve never been so fully included before; why suddenly start? It also makes it a little more difficult to go through the whole list when looking for the more normal anime shows.
I dont mean to hate; I’ve followed mainly this site’s season preview for years now which I guess is another reason why this sudden full inclusion of kid shows like Gon and Arashi is making kinda mad. They don’t fit so I don’t get it.
Cover Shirokuma Cafe now!! Talking Panda? Talking Penguin? And talking Polar bear??? What could possible go wrong??!!!
Okay seriously it could turn out to be really odd and weird, which I would like, but it could also turn out to be cheesy and girly. Still I’d prefer it being covered over shows like Kimi to Boku 2 (cheesy, sappy, and girly) and Kore wa Zombie Desu ka (stupid and cliché) in the off chance that it could be great.
I type “shirokuma cafe manga” on google to gauge its content and the first search result pops up: “Shirokuma Café Women’s Comedy Manga Gets Anime”. Women’s comedy?? Gosh darn it!! (no offense to ladies) It’s not for me. Talking polar bear+penguin… adios. I could’ve watched you… adios~~!!
I’m pretty sure His and Her Circumstances is also a “women’s comedy” by definition, and many people I know find it hilarious. Don’t be hating on my potential blog show cause it’s from a women-directed magazine! D:
…however, you may voice your concerns again when the series actually airs. We’ll talk then. ^^
Thanks to all the writers for their work on the preview ^^ I’ve been looking forward to reading this 😀
Sorry, but may I point out that for Hyouka, Nakamura Yuiichi is listed as a seiyuu twice. According to MLA, Sakaguchi Daisuke voices Fukube Satoshi.
looking foward to a good handful of these, Ozuma, Uchuu Koudai, Zetman, Sankarea, Hyouka, Shining Hearts, Tasogare Otome x Amnesia, Mysterious Girlfriend X, Haiyore! Nyaruko-san
and of course the obvious Fate Zero 2nd, and Eureka 7 AO.
OH! and definitely Accel World. It’s not exactly often you see an overweight portagonist, and honestly; being one of a plump stature, I personally hold this particular one very close.
Really though? a Naruto SD with Rock Lee….??
What is the average life span of a Japanese anime studio? I never heard of HALF of these!
Uchuu Kyoudai, Sakamichi no Appolon and Accel World.
The rest? Will try.
must watch QB’s rebel & sankarea
fujiko anime maybe might check
girlfriend x if survive through saliva drool issue hmm
Jormungand still thinking on it
woot, finally out, thanks a lot for the preview,
going forward for :
-fate zero
-Kore wa Zombie Desu ka? OF THE DEAD
-medaka box
-Sankarea
-accel world
-Tasogare Otome x Amnesia
-Jormungand
i will check others out, well good works
“Free up some hard drive space” you say ? Forget it, this is on the buying-a-new-hard-drive level already.
It has been a looonnnnggggg time since a season looked so promising – and it comes on the heels of a pretty decent Winter Season to boot. I am usually following 2 to 5 series (and eventually catching up to 1 or 2 others), yet right now I stand at 7 must-watch-at-all-costs with 9 that I will definitely check…
The “larger than life cast” category contenders:
Fate/Zero 2nd Season – need I even tell why ?
Jormungand – you will know when you see it
Then the most unusual trio of RomComs:
Sankarea – light-hearted (or not ?) zombie story
Tasogare Otome x Amnesia – light-hearted (or not ?) ghost story
Mysterious Girlfriend X – light-hearted drool (!) story
And lastly the “for the fun” category:
Kore wa Zombie Desu ka? OF THE DEAD – can’t even tell why I like the prequel
Medaka Box – it lives through the supporting cast and insane over-the-top fights
And now let us all send a set of prayers to the relevant local deities for the several manga adaptations we liked tremendously, so they hopefully all turn out good enough to at the very least do justice to the sources.
Fate Zero 2, Kore wa Zombie Desuka Ka 2 and Zetman for me. Very little shows interested me this season. I supposse I’ll catch up with the series of previous seasons I haven’t finished… like Shana and last Exile.
My body is ready? :O
Thanks for the preview, been waiting for it. I still prefer Divine’s writing style for the previews though.
Seems like I’ll be following 18 series this season, though some may dropped. Feels like my watching list has been slowly increasing over the seasons…
Oh, and Uchuu Kyoudai is confirmed for 48+ episodes, it’s listed as 12 in the guide ^^
No Yukana roles? Makes me tear a lil. Anyway. Gon… is that the same Gon from Tekken 3? Woah. Hoping Zetman, Accel World, Jormugand, and Sakamachi no Apollon, would tide me over till summer comes… Thanks for the work and effort you guys did for the previews. Well appreciated!
Can’t wait to watch Tasogare Otome x Amnesia since the manga will be ending soon.
No one else is excited for Gundam UC? 🙁
I’m excited there with ya! So much awesome happened at the end of the last ep with a fantastic reveal!
Here are the shows that interest me. Keep in mind that I don’t watch anime while they’re currently airing anymore due to my weening interest in anime, in general, and hating to have to wait. If I really like a show, especially one that’s driven through drama and romance, waiting is a nightmare (I klearned this the hard way with ef a tale of melodies). Anywho, here’s my list –
Plan to definitely watch –
– Sankarea
– Tasogare Otome x Amnesia (looking forward to this the most, due to what the director’s worked on in the past)
– Hyouka
Might watch (depending on ratings) –
– Acchi Kocchi
– Accel World
– Mysterious Girlfriend X
– Jormungand
– Eureka Seven Astral Ocean (I’m wary about this; even though Eureka Seven was one of my favorite shows, the manga for Astral Ocean doesn’t look promising, and they have hardly any material to cover. If the ratings are bad, I’ll probably just skip this to save myself the integrity of the original series)
I’ll watch Eureka7 AO just for the gratefulness of there being a second season. The first season was almost god-like but i don’t expect this one to be that good. Gotta keep your hopes low that way you may get a big surprise.
In order of priority (starting with highest):
Sakamichi no Apollo
ES:AO
Tsuritama
Jormungand
Ozuma
Hyouka
TOxA
Sankarea
Accel World (just so I can sh!ttalk with Seven)
And the rest… Meh. (Forgive me for saying that about F/Z S2. I’ve yet to watch F/Z, so I’m not particularly excited about the sequel.)
And I will NOT be watching Kore wa whatever.
man, I am not sure why silly generic shows like Kore wa Zombie Desu ka? (“Kore wa whatever” as Junglepenguin calls it) have so many fans at RC and everywhere in general. To me, it’s the dark side of these Japanese stuff (Oh the dark side~~. It’s so dark). And I’ve got negs earlier for poo-pooing it too~. Anyway I still join Junglepenguin’s hate train and brace for more negs shooting down from dedicated Kore wa whatever fans. eh, I don’t mean to put down anyone, but merely expressing my dismay on such shows; so don’t misunderstand, you know.
In the meantime, I very much look forwards shows like Sakamichi no Apollon and Uchuu Kyoudai, aka Seinen stuff. There aren’t just enough of great Seinen stuff. I can literally count with my hands of good Seinen in the past 10 years. It’s terrible.
Ahem, “Sakamichi no Apollon” might be considered Josei, based on its look and that yaoi vibe VERDANT talks about. Psst, I am always thinking almost all Seinen look Josei anyway. Heck, even Monster looks Josei if you never actually sit down and watch it. But still I will take it! Hey, I managed to stomach Honey and Clover (which actually was a pretty good show after I managed to pass 1st episode after many failure to do so… dude side of me still can’t handle that Josei look…), gosh darn it! Surely I can handle another Josei looking show from cowboy bebop team!!
It is josei, if I’m not wrong, and a lot of people have been focusing on the shounen-ai aspect of the series, but to me, that was never the point. You’ve got Watanabe Shinichiro and Kanno Yoko working together again, and on something with jazz as the focus. JAZZ. SHINICHRO. YOKO. Ah, crud, need to change my pants again.
And I’ll never understand the fans of Kore wa Zomboragh either. I went through the first season and thought it was alright, but definitely not deserving of the attention that it receives now. People say it’s unique, it’s different, it’s refreshingly funny. Really? I don’t remember being impressed by it at all. Especially Eulicisomething or whatever her name was getting together with the main protagonist Ayumu or whatever his name is.
There’s definitely a correlation on how pretty/catchy the image is and the popularity o_O
Now which of you perverts are keeping Queens Blade funded, that is should be Chihayafuru second season money.
It’s finally the time for obligatory RC seasonal preview! Thanks for the hardwork, guys!
As for myself, I am highly anticipating these shows :
Fate/Zero : The Urobuchi-fest that just begin to start. My body is not ready!
Tasogare Otome x Amnesia : The manga is nothing but awesomeness. Not something that you expect from Another, Tasogare is a mix of Horror, Romance, Mystery and a bit of Drama. Oonuma Shin, I believe you can deliver!
Sakamichi no Apollon : Jazz? Watanabe Shinichiro? Yoko Kanno? This can’t be messed up, right?
Hyouka : KyoAni obligatory watch. From the trailer, I believe this would be a heartwarming artsy-moe with mysteries. Very curious to see.
Intrigued by :
Uchuu Kyoudai : Spacebros? Drama? Family? Count me intrigued.
ZETMAN : This reminds me of the manga that has been stalled in my watchlist for years for the reason that I don’t know. I remember that this manga is very interesting, plus with the old school art from I’s mangaka, so I guess I’ll watch the anime counterpart.
Kore wa Zombie : I am in for more “That is not a kick!!!”
Medaka Box : Actually I am hoping that the manga never existed before to see the reaction when the trolling begin.
Sankarea : Although I am loving Tasogare Otome more, I also loved Sankarea, which is a bit brighter.
Accel World : Dengeki Novel Grand Prize should be something enough to warrant at least obligatory 3 episodes watch, right?
Mysterious Girlfriend X : Seeing the initial hype in many places before, I am curious to see this adaptation.
Jormugand : I may watch for White Fox.
Tsuritama : Had a pretty good initial impression for NoitaminA.
I haven’t watch Eureka Seven, so I guess I won’t reverse the watching order (although it won’t be connected directly)…
…OMG this is a new record! I haven’t anticipate this much of shows before… O.o
Can I just say I love you all? Just an appreciation post. 🙂 Thanks for this.
I <3 you too! ^^
Ouch this one is definitely a bad one for me, mangas adaptations are a no-no, Ialready read them, and the originals are already not that good :/ (Well maybe accel world could be fun). I’m left with only one confirmed: Fate/zero. I guess I’m gonna have time for some old shows.
About Eureka AO, i’m wary too, Seven wasn’t bad … well he was too long (and the fillers…), but I had a good time. For AO the manga is giving me some “stay away, something shittier than GC’s Mary Shoes is coming” alert, I think I’m gonna avoid it.
Comparing Accel World to Guilty Crown is just wrong. They are nothing alike. Guilty Crown was a massive crap fest.
“Twenty-five years later, the Saint Seiya franchise returns with a brand new series featuring an original story and a new cast of characters.”
Do you count the Lost Canvas OVA out?
gaah! it had to be spring when Divine stopped indefinitely.
I dont know if thats the problem or if its just that there’s so many shows, but I cant find much interesting ones. well, this will take getting used to…
*busy reading a bit more before posting my list*
going to check out:
Hyouka
Tsuritama
Jormungand
Haiyore! Nyaruko-san
Tasogare Otome x Amnesia
Accel World
Natsuiro Kiseki
Medaka Box
…well ok, maybe thats not really a small list…
I guess I really was just fooled by seeing too many shows as per usual in spring :p
I will definitely continue the sequels of kore wa zombie ka desu and fate/zero.
Thank you all for making this great effort to put forth such an wonderful review!
as to what show I will be watching… I guess I will check out most non-long running shows, and see which ones I like… 🙂
can’t wait to see the posts from your guys, thanks a lot for the effort in advance!!!
If one of you bloggers could give “Medaka Box” a chance, I would really appreciate it. Thanks a lot in advance!
you guys r the best randomc <3
Seems like there’s ton of great anime this season!! And I hope Shining hearts will do well because I want to see shining Blade get animated…
I’m disappointed by the lack of anime that catch my eye. The ones I know for sure are either sequels (KoreZom,F/Z) or anime adaptions of manga I’m currently reading (Medaka Box,Sankarea).
I’ll probably also end up watching Acchi Kocchi until the tsundere gets old. Natsuiro Kiseki and Tsuritama look like they have potential. The Accel World manga adaption was a bit slow for me… Maybe the anime will be better. I’ll take Hyouka for my mystery this season.
Whoops.
I might check out Upotte!! It looks like a slice-of-life version of Strike Witches, but I’m not too keen on Upotte’s art style.
Will someone be uploading the OPs and EDs for this season?
Holy flying penguins! Hyouka looks so good. Why does it have to be the last show to air? WHY?!?
Uchuu Kyoudai: Love it. I love space and I love all magas that deal with it. This one is on my top pick for spring. I don’t think anyone should miss the series. The manga is AWESOME!!!!!
Others that seem to have potential:
Kore wa zombie desu ka? Of the dead, cuz I saw the the first season.
Mysterious Girlfriend X: Cua I was introduced to the manga first
Tasogare otome X Amnesia because it seems like it can fill in Another’s void
Sakamichi no apoolon because I am a fan of cowboy bebop and with these two people working on this series it has got to be good.
Kimi no boku 2 because I want a slice of life kind of anime.
50 shows?! Is that a record or something?
Definitely watching Fate, Apollon, and Eureka. I’ll probably watch the first few episodes of…well, most of these. Spring and Fall are usually pretty bountiful.
Interesting new way of doing the previews. But it’s nice to see everyone’s opinions ^_^
I’ll definitely be watching Fate/zero, Tasogare Otome x Amnesia because I loved the manga, Tsuritama, Hyouka, Jourmungand, Accel World, and if I can finish Eureka Seven in time, Eureka Seven AO.
Amazing job on the preview, guys!
This season is going to be insane. There’s so much to watch! 50 titles in all?!
Good lord, this is a huge season. I am looking at about 10 shows with a handful more questionable. Thanks for the preview, can’t wait to see who’s blogging what.
Thanks for the work Verdant! Guess I’ll be watching like 80% of the show as usual with Fate/Zero, Tasogare Otome x Amnesia, Jormungand and Saki as the highlight. I hope Tasogare and Jormungand will not disappoint me since the manga version of them are pretty good.
Please someone blog Tasogare it is such a good manga and deserves someone following it!
Also shout outs to all of you guys and ladies for doing an amazing job with the spring line up so seriously thank you all! And also one more shout out to divine for still maintaining the site and domain to keep it alive for all of us anime fans! Random C RULES!
How does everybody end up sleeping on Gon and the real Naruto?
Kind of interested in Zetman. The series started out fairly well, then gradually turned into a contrived seinen poster child.
So far i am watching 10 out of all the ones listed so far guaranteed 😀
Why does C3’s link directs me to a pastry online shop @_@
somehow, I dont think medaka box will be liked if they only have 12 eps, no matter which arc it ends it will be unfulfilling since you’ll miss out on its greatest appeal(outside of the mary sue): the genre shifter.
medaka box is best known and (in)famous as the genre shifter. the series will need at least 24 eps and a 2nd season for completion. and the manga is “done”(unless we got trolled) so there is no excuse of fillers and such problems with other shounen manga adaptations(OP,bleach,naruto,etc.)
Yay ! thanks for the preview!!
There are a lot of shows this season @_@
I’m really just looking forward to Eureka Seven, Sakamichi no Apollon and Tsuritama c:
Only a few show I am interested in Accel world being one of the few, prefer Sword Art Online more since I been reading the LN ever since volume 1 and still one of my very favorite LN but Accel world is from same author and I kind of read it as well overall not bad storyline but yea we should see how it is animated.
Definitely watch:
1. Accel World
2. Kore wa Zombie Desu ka? OF THE DEAD
3. Queen’s Blade: Rebellion
4. Upotte!!
5. Tasogare Otome x Amnesia
6. Saki Achiga-hen episode of side-
Might decide after an episode or two:
1. Hyouka
2. Shining Hearts ~Shiawase no Pan
3. Haiyore! Nyaruko-san
4. Fate/Zero 2nd Season
5. Koiken! ~Watashi-tachi Anime ni Natchatta!~
6. Saint Seiya Omega
7. ZETMAN
8. Sengoku Collection
9. Sankarea
10. Acchi Kocchi
11. Medaka Box
The loli is looking especially strong this season.
Vanguard is awesome. It’s like Yi-Gi-Oh, but good. LOL.
Hey, Yugioh’s badass.
Vanguard’s good too, though. The protagonist actually loses a lot, THEN turns evil! Never saw that coming!
A shame that the poster for the 2nd season pretty much confirms Ren will live and become a good guy.
Hey, I take offense to that one. Yu-Gi-Oh! (Duel Monsters, Duel Monsters GX, 5Ds, and ZEXAL) is good, but the 4kids dubs made it look bad. Just to clarify.
I really don’t like AKB48, but with Shoji Kawamori directing and Okada Mari writing as well, I am very interested. If anything, it should have awesome music numbers ala Macross Frontier.
Hm. About the only ones I care about for a fact are Fate Zero and Inazuma Eleven GO: Chrono Stone. Medaka Box and Accel World are both maybes as far as I’m concerned.
Almost forgot about Sengoku Collection.
Jormungand > Black Lagoon
Apollon is the only guarantee for me. Hope it somehow pulls Noitamina out of the hole Guilty Crap pushed it into.
Will probably check out the oyher Noitamina series as well.
Others, I put on probation, watching what the tasteful people I know recommend.
Really looking foward to Eureka seven AO 🙂 🙂
I just want to say great job on the preview guys for this being the first one put together by a group!! I know a lot of hard work goes into this and the fans appreciate it so much! If I didn’t have season previews, I’d never figure out what was coming out!
Wow awesome preview great job to all the writers! Looking like a great season looking forward to a lot of shows 😀
PV for Jormungand doesn’t work
Wow, nobody cares for AKB48? I guess it’s really meant for the fans only.
Nevermind, it seems to be working now^^ Alot of shows this season, Sunday’s packed^^
Medaka Box is first on my list. I’ve been wanting an anime of this series for years.
Actually, it was confirmed in the fanbook that Natsuiro Kiseki is a science fiction fantasy. Inb4 we get aliens here too because aliens in every animu lately.
You shouldn’t treat Inazuma Eleven GO: Chrono Stone as a third season to the InaEle franchise as a whole. It’s the sequel of the second “generation” (yes, Hino is hoping this will become like Pokemon, because it has) of InaEle games, something the first series/generation already had two of. There’s no break, it’s a direct continuation of GO. It should not be on here.
Thank you reader for the correction. None of the writers here follow Inazuma, so thanks for catching this early ^^.
I’ll get read the rest later, thank you; new Fate Zero and Zombie Desu Ka! Fuck and Yes!
I can’t believe that nobody’s interested enough in Phi Brain to actually contemplate blogging it (And only Moomba is watching it?!?). Sure, the show’s plot isn’t anything amazing, and the characters aren’t anything special, but the way everything revolves around solving (often deadly) puzzles is quite innovative, and the puzzles themselves are usually pretty interesting. I’ve found myself coming back to this show week after week; more consistently than any other simply because I wanted t see what kind of crazy “Gusha no Puzzle” Sunrise’d dream up next…I’m not trying to say that Phi Brain is an objective model of excellence, because it isn’t; in fact, I’d say its average-ish at best, but what I am saying is that given how innovative its premise is, I’m surprised that it’s failed to spark anyone’s interest…
but, but, but, look at the guy’s hair!! What is he, Son goku? Is he doing to do kamehameha to solve puzzles? he he he. Seriously, many will be put off by that ridiculous getup of main character. It’s a shame since the premise sounds unique whether it’s my type of cup of tea or not.
I think the reason Phi Brain has such a little fandom is that everyone dropped around episode 5 or was put off by the character design.
Sure, the animation is often derpy, but the characters are expressive and grow on you. You just have to accept that PUZZLES ARE SERIOUS BUSINESS and not expect to get the chance to solve them with the protagonist. It’s another problem: as an puzzle-themed anime, people expected to solve puzzles like in the Layton film, but it isn’t the case, and frankly, it doesn’t matter anymore past episode 13 where plot and action really kick in and become a vehicle for character development. (I have to admit the first half of the series is rather weak, but still alright)
The soundtrack is quite good, the opening is a total earworm and I already have the second season’s in the head!
I hope more people give Phi Brain a chance, because it’s the show I’m currently the most excited about! It isn’t the best, but it’s definitively worth a look.
If you want to take a peek, Star Crossed Anime Blog and METANORN have Phi Brain reviews. (episode 25 didn’t air last week due to a baseball game)
I’ll surely watch
1. Fate/zero (well the reason is pretty obvious)
2. Eureka Seven: Astral Ocean (Well I’m a fan of eureka)
3. Dusk Maiden of amnesia (Well it looks good even though I havent read the manga)
4. Accel world (well I love the LN)
5. Hyouka: You can’t escape (Looks good)
6. Haiyore! Nyaruko-san (Moe of this season)
7. Kore wa zomebie desu ka? of the dead (well it’s a sequel
8. Phi Brain(well I finished this series so I might as well finish season 2)
I’ll try this one
1. Sankarea
2. Sengoku Collection
3. Shining Hearts ~Shiawase no Pan~
4. Tsuritama
5. Jormungand
6. Natsuiro Kiseki
7. Acchi Kocchi
I might add nor drop some after they all started and of course the problem w/ some series is the number of episodes :C
If Enzo were to blog Kuroko no Basket, I have a feeling he’ll drop it.
I read the manga, and it’s not particularly impressive.
Not to mention, this is one ridiculously, unrealistic basketball anime.
I just hope the animation will be as good, if not better than Buzzer Beater
Guaranteed watches:
Ozuma(currently watching and liking it a lot)
Uchuu Kyoudai(Glad CR is simulcasting it. Love stories about space)
Fate/Zero (Loved the first season, looking forward to the epic conclusion)
Haiyore! Nyaruko-san (Liking the shorts, looking forward to full length episodes. Nyarlko and Cthuko are a hoot.)
Interested in:
Jormungand (Liking the dark action aspect)
Sakamichi no Apollon (Watanabe and Kanno make this very interesting for me)
Tasogare Otome X Amnesia (Likes the mystery aspect and the cute ghost girl)
Natsuiro Kiseki (It looks like it could be quite good)
Will Wait and See:
Accel World (writer of Guilty Crown makes me cautious)
AKB0048 (Okada might make the most out of a rather bad sounding premise)
Medaka Box (Could be a fun romp or a total disaster)
Hyouka (Love KyoAni, not sure the story interests me)
Shining Hearts (Need more info before I decide)
Seriously excited for some new shows and genres I don’t usually watch, but will be taking some leaps of faith for!
Well damn.. Sad season for mecha fan. I got new Eureka Seven whose story just turn the super duper happy ending into some tragic Greek tragedy and… nuhting.
Shining Hearts will watch.
Don’t know which shows to watch? Help anyone! Tasukete kudasai.. 😀
It really depends on your interests in genres at the moment, because there’s quite a number for you to choose from. Ya into action? Romance? Comedy? Plain ecchi?
Anyway, I’ll start you off with Accel World. Looks like standard action/romance/comedy set-up, and reviews about it are fairly positive (though I don’t exactly see what’s so interesting about it.).
Ummm.. heads up to people comparing Tasogare Otome x Amnesia to Another (there seems a lot of you). Don’t compare them too much. Ghost story, yes it is. But the flow is a bit different.
Definitely not ridiculously bloody like Another (no Final Destination appeal here).
That’s not to say the story is bad. In fact you might find it better with the mystery being centered more without the abnormal massacres distracting you.
I will keep telling to myself : limit to 8 anime, limit to 8 anime….
GOD, this is hard!
HI! Thanks for the hard work :3 Looks Like RC and me have a lot of anime to watch this season ! 🙂 I hope you guys could take a chance with Lupin. Myself never watched but this but this time look pretty promising ! Specially if it follows the old sexy feeling tha some t ” classic ” anime have ! :DD
Thanks to the RC crew for putting together the Spring Preview. My, my, this is going to be a tough season for me. Way more shows than I normally would be interested in. May have to make some tough choices due to time…
Guaranteed to watch:
Ozma – Matsumoto space opera, plus it’s short
Uchuu Kyoudai – Space theme + award-winning manga serialized in Afternoon
Lupin III – A Lupin series centered on Fujiko? Sign me up.
Medaka Box – I’m a reader of the manga. Interested in seeing how Gainax will adapt it.
Jormungand – Dark theme + White Fox (I loved the Steins;Gate adaptation)
Sakamichi no Apollon – Watanabe + Kanno. All I need to know. noitaminA a plus as well.
Eureka Seven AO – Big fan of the original series. Trying not to let expectations ruin my enjoyment.
Plan to try out:
Zetman – Like the dark theme of this seinen series
Kuroko no Basket – Read some of the manga but drifted away from it. I’ll see if the anime can inspire interest for the series in me again.
Tasogare Otome x Amnesia – I liked the art style and mystery/supernatural theme.
Tsuritama – noitaminA show. [C] was a bit of a miss for me, but I’m willing to give Nakamura another chance.
Hyouka – I haven’t been interested in much of what Kyoani has put out in a while, so I’m willing to see what they have in store in a genre I like.
On the fence:
Sankarea – Deen being involved is a bit of a turn off to me, but it seems like it could be something I would like.
Natsuiro Kiseki – I wouldn’t call myself a slice-of-life fan, but the mystery aspect intrigues me, and Sunrise’s work on the series looks nice from the preview.
A potential 9 hours of anime a week next season for me. After week two I think I will have a lot of dropped shows, but there are enough here to catch my attention I will give em an episode or two. I just hope I don’t end up liking them all as 9 hours will kill me!
This is … kinda wrong. AW definitely takes itself pretty seriously even if the starting point doesn’t seem like it.
Tentatively sales wise, F/Z, AW, Hyouka, and AKB are going to be strongest.
Not gonna watch as much next season, I got exams coming, maybe the AKB48 anime because it looks like another Macross Frontier.
When I saw Zetman, I almost ruined my pants! Super stoked about it. I really hope they don’t censor the crap out of it. It just won’t be the same. But so far, from what I saw in the trailer, it looks awesome.
Eureka7 and Jormungand are top of the list for me but ill also add zombie wa deskai and something else. Trying to cut back on the anime because of college stuff.
I’d love to see AKB0048 covered, at least initially. It seems like it has a lot of talent behind it, Kawamori, Mari Okada who’s writing (she’s famous for the script of AnoHana) . This could be interesting.
Or it could be utter crap
There’s a lot of risk riding on it. I’d say 50/50.
I refuse to watch the Rock Lee Spin Off due to it replacing bleach.
I would like to see you blog Saint Seiya Omega, and Shining Hearts
Its not really replacing Bleach. The anime is ending because the manga is ending. Some show has to go there.
Is there any plan on putting the song playlist back to the website since it is going to be the start of new season?
And here I was hoping I will able to reduce ongoing anime to only this season. Looks like it won’t happen. Damn. Well, I will surely watch Fate/Zero. And I will try some others. More sleepless nights coming…
Please cover Tasohare otome x amnesia please???
Seeing the studio and the people behind it, i believe we’d get something similar to ef… Both in the story as well as the artwork
@Stereoman: if u wanna see how Silverlink does its animation, you can take a look at bakemonogatari / nisemonogatari / madoka magica
Thus far their productions for baka to test and c3 cube has “SHAFTY” elements to it. If i remembr correctly one of the head honchos was previously under the guy who runs SHAFT
Is that so? That’s great to know! Thank you for the information. :]
Yepz….. C3 cube wasnt covered by RC that time =(
The following comment may pass off as shallow but i’d say that the art for c3 was really great. Although some complained that it was cliched or the atmosphere was ruined by silly fan service, i still liked it for its SHAFT-iness and the dark story line…
Otome x amnesia is on my definite watch list… Gives me my fix of SHAFT-y art
well, Divine at least mentioned C3 in the “best of anime 2011”. heck, the OP song was considered the best!
erm.. NO. Bake/Nisemonogatari done by Shaft. NOT Silver Link. The only thing SL provided for those series was ‘animation assistance’. The main artistic/creative direction was determined by Shaft, SL just helped out and went along with it.
A couple of series that Silver Link actually produced THEMSELVES would be a better indicator of their style, e.g. C3 or Tayutama. The latter is a bit older, both both share a similar style, which is a better representation of SL’s style.
If possible can you blog medaka box? Give a chance at least to redeem gainax adaptations. And mahoromatic was good…till the ending at least
Space Battleship Yamato 2199 will be coming out (in theaters)in 8 days. April 7th.
http://yamato2199.net/index.html
It seems to be an OVA series as well with the first releast on May 25th (theater goers get it earlier).
Normally I’m always happy to watch a adaption of great mangas that I’ve already read.
This season Sakamichi no Apollon and Uchuu Kyoudai are based on manga’s I’ve only heard good things from but never read them myself. Definitely a refreshing change to watch the anime first this time.
I’ll be checking out:
Kore wa Zombie Desu ka? OF THE DEAD (definite watch)
Uchuu Kyoudai
Sankarea
Accel World
Mysterious Girlfriend X
Tasogare Otome x Amnesia
Haiyore! Nyaruko-san
Sakamichi no Apollon
Shining Hearts ~Shiawase no Pan~
Hyouka
Looking forward most to Kore wa Zombie Desu ka? OF THE DEAD. Aside from that one I’m most interested in Sakamichi no Apollon, Hyouka and Mysterious Girlfriend X…
Forgot to mention: Yay, Gundam UC!
And thank you, heroes of RC, who work so hard to entertain us readers. On behalf of all the readers, I present to each one of you RC bloggers ONE internet burger.
my preliminary schedule (subject to change as always,i wioll try hard to limit myself to one show daily)
sunday Tasogare Otome x Amnesia, Hyouka
monday Queens Blade Rebellion
tuesday Jormungand
wednesday Kore wa zombie desu ka 2
thursday Sanka Rea
friday Ozuma
saturday Fate Zero, mysterious girlfriend X
note; I follow both mysterious GF X and Sanka Rea on manga which might be god or bad depending on how the adaptation works…
So… Which of those 5 will blog about fate/zero second season?
It will be a surprise! =)
These shows had better be good. If you see the recent entries at animetake nearly all the good anime that have been running until now have ended. Even long-running ones like Beelzebub, Prince of Tennis, Gintama and Bleach.
@All writers:
Ova/Movies header is in wrong place.
This will be the busiest season yet!
Rather than free up some space, better buy a new one!
~cherry blossom~ ~cherry blossom~
if you know what i mean…
NIRVASHHHH!!!
Eureka7 is still one of the best anime I’ve ever had the pleasure of watching.
Still can’t believe they’re making a sequel of this.
Hope they can make a great sequel out of this material.
I have a strong feeling it’s really going to suck because it’s not by the original authors. It’s was written by some nobody and is basically worthless fan fiction. The same as that new code geas
we must consider the new writers’ potential my friend…~
Another truck load of Shows
I will be watching Fate/Zero’s 2nd run for sure
Have to read the rest of this page and video’s to decide to follow next
Thanks for the previews!
Will watch:
Hyouka
Uchuu Kyoudai
Kore wa ombie desuka? of the dead
Kimi to Boku 2
Medaka Box
Sankarea
Accel world
fate Zero 2
Kuroko no basuke
Haiyore Nyaruko san
Saki
Jormugand
Tsuritama
Sakamichi no Apollon
Eureka Seven Ao
I fail to see why this post has gotten 3 “Dislikes” (as of this comment).
Haha so gonna watch Hyouka for Tomoya and Sunohara 😀
Gonna be quite a lot to watch this season. Looking forwards to Medaka Box hope it won’t result in some Rosavampesque Anime though. Wanna see some Naked Apron-senpai as fast as possible.
After reading this i noticed that i really miss divine :/
Also i noticed that I never found a mistake in his posts, props to divine.
Anyway, it’s a shame that with so many new writers only about 15 shows will be covered, divine was a beast~! xD
btw gratz on finishing the preview, hope next time you guys’ll do better~
Is the release date of Ginga e Kickoff!! right? I saw that upto 4 raw eps are being circulated in the internet. If I remeber correctly 2 eps showed up sometime last week and two this week each a different day but in order.
Too many, but I can tell I probably will only pick up around 5 to follow and some to marathon after they end. There are too many shows with 4 main characters I’m getting sick of it, not much compared to how many shows there are but all the ones that look like light slice of life stuff seem to have 4 – new standard?
I wonder how long Medaka box will run for, with Gainax doing it, we might just get thrown an original ending T_T
fate zero!!!
it’s been a long time.
I think there’s a mistake in the Shining Hearts entry. Itou Kanae voiced all 3 sister in the game, but in the anime, she only voices one of them. The other two sisters are voiced by two other seiyuus.
http://myanimelist.net/anime/12367/Shining_Hearts:_Shiawase_no_Pan/characters
Yes
Ozuma
Lupin the Third: Mine Fujiko to Iu Onna
Sakamichi no Apollon
Eureka Seven Astral Ocean
Possibly
Uchuu Kyoudai
Jormungand
Tsuritama
The rest= Mainly awful.
You know, as short-noticed as you make it sound Verdant, I actually like that every blogger preview a show for the preview. It also gives us an idea on who’s likely gonna blog it as well.
I’d say keep that strategy for future previews. Have a group meeting like that could also help keeping in touch with each other, since the RC crew grew up big time lately.
On a sidenote… no Durarara!! sequel… again… why ?!? ;_;
Why is this not under announcements?
Doubt anyone actually cares, but the Seitokai Yakuindomo OAD is actually a stand alone release not bundled with anything. The link you have is to the manga volume 7 release in July which will have ANOTHER OAD bundled with it.
Anyway, thanks for all this. The previews are one of the main reasons I rely on this blog rather than others.
Holy mother of mercy! that’s lot of good shows to watch! thanks!
I REALLY hope they do more with Haruna in Kore wa Zombie Desu ka? OF THE DEAD is season.
In the first season they show a literal second of Haruna in a room full of bloody dead bodies. It’s looks like a really good story and Kore wa Zombie Desu ka? can be really dramatic and sincere when it wants to be.
Interesting season. Can’t wait to get dug in!
Avatar: the legend of Korre does count for this season？? Its the sequel to the masterpiece, Avatar the last airbender! Come on >.<!!
That reminds me: Katawa Shoujo was conceived by a Japanese Doujin artist, but the game itself was developed and produced by people from around the world. Therefore, RC’s curse of only blogging Japanese stuff is finally lifted!
Avatar is not a Japanime so I don’t think they would do it.
But if they do start doing non-japanimes some one should cover Game of thrones and Dexter.
Game of Thrones S2 back on Sunday! XD
Since it’s not my blog, it isn’t shameless advertisement. :p
Enzo, as the varied multifaceted man that he is, is covering both Avatar and Game of Thrones on his blog.
Luxor, looks like the check arrived… 😉
Avatar is the pride of American cartoons that American cartoons can still be good. Other than Avatar nowadays the rest of American cartoons are junk.
Not much anime to watch for the upcoming Spring except for Hiiro No Kakera.
Thank you so much for the information. 🙂
Confirmed:
Fate/Zero 2nd Season, Accel World, Medaka Box, Tasogare Otome x Amnesia, Hyouka
May consider watching:
Ozuma, Zetman, Sankarea, Natsuiro Kiseki, Jormungand, Sakamichi no Apollon, Tsuritama, Shining Hearts
I want to watch the Un-Go movie and Another Ep 0…
If anyone’s interested in Hyouka, Baka-Tsuki has just started doing a translation of it.
http://www.baka-tsuki.org/project/index.php?title=Hyouka
It’s quite an obscure title to be adapted by Kyo-Ani. Then again, no one heard of K-ON and Nichijou before Kyo-Ani adapted them, but this would be Kyo-Ani’s first non-Key, non 4-koma slice-of-life adaptation with a plot (though still light-hearted) in years.
B-T is also hosting translations of Accel World and Fate/Zero.
IMO it looks like a weak season. Personally the only shows I have high expectations this season is Fate/Zero and Accel World. I’ll end up watching zombie, hyouka, amnesia, and mysterious girlfriend but I certainly don’t expect much from ’em.
Lol, if you think Accel World is going to be good you have awful taste. Like really who wants a fat, poorly draw, 2D protagonist.
Though i am not so dismissive of AW, the action/fights do look decent, I do wonder why the author felt compelled to portray the protagonist as such.
We know he is the typical useless schoolkid main character, but having him drawn in such a quasi-SD style ESPECIALLY WHEN ALL THE OTHER CHARACTERS ARE NORMAL is rather ridiculous.
Personally, it detracts quite a lot from an otherwise quite intriguing series. Not that I have any shallow preconceptions of what the protag should look like, but it simply a distraction in the way he stands out from the other characters.
Best anime of 2012:
* Fate/Zero
Expectation levels to the max:
* Hyouka
* Zetman
* Accel World
High expectation:
* Aquarion EVOL – So far so good. Last episode was the best and it seems it’ll get better.
* Eurekan Seven Ao
* Saint Seiya Omega – Mainly nostalgia.
* Dusk Maiden of Amnesia
* Sakamichi no Appolon
Should be good:
* Medaka Box – GAINAX + [NisiOisiN](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nisio_Isin). The ingredients are more than just good.
Picked my interest, No expectations:
* Sankarea (read Manga, so maybe not)
* Mysterious Girlfriend X (also read Manga, so maybe not)
* Ozuma – “Living legend Leiji Matsumoto’s return”.
* Tsuritama – This
* Uchuu Kyoudai – This
* Jormungand – And this may be surprise hits like Tiger and Bunny.
Guilty Pleasure/Turn off my brain while watching:
* Nyarlko
* Shining Hearts
GAINAX and Nisio Isin, huh? To be honest, I didn’t even notice that before. I overlooked the show due to the generic-looking designs. Might have to give it a chance…
What happened to Sword Art Online?
Or Robotic Notes? !!
SAO airs in summer…
And Robotics;Notes airs in October. That’s Fall right?
Robotics; Notes has a slot with noitamina’s for the Fall season
beyblade zero g new character new story
i like anime guilty crown
i see anime korewa zombie season 2
i need see anime korewa zombie season 2
Hyouka, that’s all I really care and look forward the most. Everything else seems meh except for Natsuiro Kiseki. This is a rather weak season for me. I can’t wait for summer though cause of Yuru Yuri.
Yay, Fate/Zero is back! 😀 . Gonna check out mysterious girlfriend X too though
. Other than that, up in the air…
Hello Divine/Stilts/other RC staff, could one of you rewrite the first sentence of the Medaka Box description? I was confused because Stilts said “from the pen of Akira Akatsuki.” After checking up on it, I see he meant Mr. Akatsuki drew the work and Nisio Isin wrote it. But I inserted the word PEN NAME in there; I imagine others have as well! The description is a little confusing as it stands.
I really really really hope that they don’t censor Zetman and Jormungand and retain that brutal, blatant and dark disturbance. It just wouldn’t work otherwise.
Still, seeing only 13 episodes for Zetman, it looks like they might turn it into a regular action anime. 🙁
Sometimes I think there should be only 2 anime seasons a year because whose gonna find the time to see them all… Still looking forward to a show or two this season…
Holy-
I
I am just going to watch one anime this season, and the Unicorn OVA.
This is very, very sad.
Wow, season looks promising. Totally forgot about Gundam Unicorn too. *counts* so about 15 shows I’m watching for sure and another 5 maybes *faints*. Good thing summer is coming up.
finnaly I ve been wating over 3 weeks haha…
For the first time I don’t know what I’d like to watch, so I was looking forward to this anime preview in particular.
Thanks to RC my interest is piqued and it looks like this won’t be such a boring season afterall! I’m especially looking forward to Sakamichi no Apollon, Hyouka, and Shirokuma Cafe. Maybe Kuroko no Basuke too…but I never read the manga despite how popular it was.
Pretty Rhythm Aurora Dream is THE BEST ANIME EVER. More seriously (actually I wonder if I’m even joking), it really turned into one of the best sports anime I’ve seen along with Captain Tsubasa, Hikaru no Go, and some others, so I’m definitely looking forward to Pretty Rhythm Dear My Future and hope it’ll be as great, awesome and perfect.
Now that I satisfied my inner Pretty Rhythm fanboy, I have to say I’m looking forward to a lot of others things, like Saint Seiya Omega. I’m so excited about this, I wonder how it’ll turn out. Then there’s Kimi to Boku, Zetman, Medaka Box, Lupin the Third and Accel World that I’ll try to watch weekly. I’ll fall behind for the rest and watch later like always I guess.
Oh yeah I forgot, thanks all of you writers, you did a great job at season previewing.
Well as this covers japanese anime release shame that it has nothing about Avatar:The Legend of Korra which is American show but has alot from anime style and was one of shows that got me in anime…
Awsome work so much… to watch!
First of all, I would like to thank everyone that worked on the Spring 2012 Preview. I know that it is a lot of work, but I, as well as many others, really appreciate all the hard work done to get this together. I especially love reading about each series, and it sometimes makes me pick up a show that I may have otherwise never taken a chance. So, it is greatly appreciated.
Overall, this looks like a fairly good season, at least for me. I guess it will vary for others. Anyway, from the looks of it, after I sort through what I’ll keep watching, it seems that I’ll likely have at least one episode for each day of the week, which isn’t too bad.
Series I will likely watch:
Tasogare Otome x Amnesia – If done right, this could be a very good series. In many ways, this is very character driven, simply because the main heroine is very appealing and her story is the mystery that the series is centered upon. Based on the manga it’s got a good mix of mystery, horror, and some lightheartedness. If they manage to incorporate the same feel as the manga, I am sure that it will appeal to many people. I really haven’t heard much about the studio SILVER LINK, but after researching some more, it seems that they’ve mostly done in-between animation and/or 2nd animation, but the few anime that they did head are Baka and Test 1 & 2, Tayutama, and C3. I haven’t watched any of those series, but I hope they will do justice to the manga though, because the original source material had really good art. All in all, this is a highly anticipated series for me.
Eureka Seven Astral Ocean – Considering it’s predecessor, this show is likely extremely anticipated and will have sky-high expectations. I’m hoping for the best, but I’m simply not sure if this series will meet them. Still, I want this to be great, so I will definitely watch to see if they meet expectations. However, I guess it will somewhat be determined by the overall length of the sequel. The first series had the luxury of 50 episodes, which allowed for a great deal of character development over many episodes. If the sequel is shorter, it may not have that luxury and may fall flat. Or, Studio BONES may simply not be able to capture the magic of the first series. Sequels in general, in all media, seem to have that in common. Still, I will likely be seeing this series through.
Jormungand – This is another series that I’ve read and enjoyed the manga. From what I recall, this should be a fairly grim series rife with violence. The characters are certainly not the norm, although I would have to say that most would likely fit the anti-hero archetype. At least, I don’t believe any if at all are altruistic. As stated, this should be an anime filled with a plethora of violence, assuming that the show remains true to the manga. I’m hoping that this turns out like the Black Lagoon adaptations, which would be great.
Sankarea – A zombie romance, huh? Yeah, it might sound a little odd, but the manga made it work. It has all the makings of a traditional romantic comedy with a twist, but the source material will get much darker than the premise. Don’t worry too much if you don’t like dark themes. It is present in this series, but it is not always there. It’s done in a way that that there is a good mix of the lightheartedness expected in a romantic-comedy with more darker themes coming out, especially when the main story is progressing.
Kore wa Zombie Desu ka? OF THE DEAD – I enjoyed the first season, so I’ll be sure to take up the second season. I don’t expect this to be the series of the year let alone the season, but it should be good fun nonetheless. People who have watched the first season will know what to expect. Expect a zany anime that is usually over-the-top and doesn’t really take itself very seriously.
ZETMAN – Unlike Katsura Masakazu’s earlier works of Video Girl Ai and I”s, this is a much darker and seinen series. If the adaptation is anything like the manga, then it will certainly be a treat to watch. However, I am still a little bit wary of what they can do in 13 episodes (if that is the correct length). In the end, they may simply try to pack too much into it or simply stray from the manga. So, I am still a little bit on the fence about this one, but I am willing to give it a shot based on the source material. I just hope that it stays true to the manga and does not devolve into just another action anime.
Note: I’m currently leaving out Fate/Zero, which looks great by the way, because I’d prefer to marathon it.
Series I may check out:
Accel World – This seems to have an interesting enough premise. The most interesting thing that I found was the character design of the main protagonist, which is certainly not the norm, especially when you consider the multitude of generic spiky-haired males. I’ll be willing to watch an episode of two before deciding whether or not to check this out.
Hyouka – Honestly, I have very little knowledge about this series. However, since it is being animated by Kyoto Animation, I will definitely check it out to see if it piques my interest. This is definitely one of those anime that I may have potentially overlooked if not for this Spring Preview, simply because of the slew of new anime coming out.
Holy wall of text bat man!
I guess I’m missing something, but I never really got the idea why someone would care about some random guy’s over the opinion on anything. I can see why people might care about the bloggers, they run the site. But this is just some random person. Why does he think people care about what he says and vice verse.
My post may be long, but it’s not necessarily a wall of text. I made sure to stylize and kept each block of text to around that or a traditional paragraph. Also, I don’t expect anyone to particularly care about my own opinion. I just like to write my opinions. That’s it. Whether or not other people actually care is not that important to me. I’m not under any illusion that I’m any more special than anyone else.
Actually, this is what I usually do, not posting I mean. It’s really a good way for me to internalize and organize all of my thoughts. Anyway, for the rest of your post, that is your opinion and I respect it. Next time, I’ll try to be more in-depth. This time, I just didn’t want to make an already long post even longer. I’ll keep your comments in mind though. Thanks for the feedback.
You actually try to get as many down votes as possible don’t you?
Well, I’m not helping you! Lol
Actually, Cyrano, don’t worry about it. Feel free to keep writing similar posts eh. Many people have put up similar type posts here and also, it’s a preview article, so it makes perfect sense for you to type up what you think personally regarding expectations. Seven just seems to like voicing rather extreme opinions that don’t quite have much going for them.
You should internalize and organize your thoughts more often. 🙂
I read everything he said, such like most comments of people with formed opinions that may be interesting for me to look at. Besides, reading a blog is basically doing just that, so I see no reason why people wouldn’t care about it.
But I may be talking to a wall, trolls have brain damage after all.
A very thoughtful comment. Your passion for anime certainly shows. Props Cyrano. Brofist.
That is why I believe ES:AO might meet the same fate as GC: community-divided, fanbase even moreso.
Unless ES:AO focuses on it’s predecessors’ group of fans, this show will be thrown crap, especially Bones’ recent performance isn’t good.
For Accel World, try reading up to the volume 1 of the novel if you have doubts about it.
Thanks for the hard work guys. Though I must say, Divine’s absence has never been more apparent. He really did spoil us bad with his very detailed season preview. We miss you bad, Divine T_T
My list just keeps growing. Will be checking out the first few episodes of Ozuma, Uchuu Kyoudai, Queen’s Blade: Rebellion, ZETMAN, Kore wa Zombie Desu ka? OF THE DEAD, Medaka Box, Shirokuma Cafe, Natsuiro Kiseki, Accel World, Fate/Zero, Mysterious Girlfriend X, Tasogare Otome x Amnesia, Jormungand, Sakamichi no Apollon, Tsuritama, Eureka Seven Astral Ocean, Hyou-ka and maybe, just maybe AKB0048 since I was such a huge fan of IDOLM@STER.
This really makes me realise the very high quality and amount of the work Divine did here on RC.
This preview is a laudable effort by the new team, but let’s be honest – this doesn’t hold a light to Divine’s previews; all the more remarkable that it was done single-handedly.
Come back Divine, we miss youuu….
No mention of Boudacious Space (Mouretsu) Pirates? I believe it’s ongoing, slated with 26 episodes.
Ef Tale, are probably my one of my top shows of all time, and because of that, I’m really looking forward to Tasogare Otome x Amnesia. If it turns out good, I hope you guys cover it ^ ^
There’s a pretty good number of interesting shows airing during Spring. I’m very, very excited for the sequels Fate/Zero, which can’t possibly fall flat, and to a much a lower scale, Kore wa Zombie. The new Eureka Seven smells… dubious, and I’m praying that it doesn’t fall into the pitfalls of its predecessor (namely filler episodes and Renton being a little bitch). Whatever the case, I’m ready to dedicate my time to Spring season. Or… at least I would be if it weren’t for XENOBLADE FUCKIN’ CHRONICLES coming to NA soon :P.
Did you really have to preview all the kiddy shows? Anyways looks like I’ll be watching the usual number of shows.
Looking forward to see FZ2 and Kuroko no Basuke. I think this compete with Slam Dunk. I think this is up there with the sports manga. I loved reading this and I cant wait to see it. I also cant wait to get into Eureka Seven Astral Ocean.
Yeah Kuroko is good enough to compete with Slam Dunk but it also might have something to do with it being more 2000’s shonen like Prince of Tennis and Eyeshield 21 with it’s unrealistic moves and thus more appealing.
I have very personal reasons for hoping KnB proves popular around here…
I hope it is (for your sake and mine) but the let down with sports manga adaptations is that they sometimes mess up by taking the story into a completely different direction via filler arcs.
@ “don’t let these parallels dissuade you from giving Accel World a chance”
Actually, these parallels encourage me to give the show a try. On the contrary, your remarks do dissuade me from reading this blog altogether.
Before making a statement like this, I advise you to look at statistics first. For one, here is from Guilty Crown’s page on ANN: 62% gave it a rank between 8/10 (very good) and 10/10 (masterpiece). Most ranks were 8/10, then 9/10, then 7/10, then 10/10. So not sure who exactly should be turned off.
If you didn’t like the show, then it’s your own opinion, no need to make it look as the majority’s point of view. And if you base your opinion on the many negative comments on RC, then you should take into consideration people who stopped reading your coverage of Guilty Crown. I for one, became happy ever since.
If Anime Blogging is a business, then your most loyal clients are the ones who watched a show, enjoyed it, then came to look for people who shared their experience. So trashing a show or criticizing it objectively, as some like to call it, is not an option if you are to increase your readership. As for the objective assessment, as some claim that they are blessed to have, it is not that objective after all, at least not from statistic’s point of view.
Also, forgot to mention. Thanks for putting the large effort into doing the preview, which I can’t stop myself from reading. It’s just statements like the previous one can blow away any good impressions.
Good writeup. Much appreciation to all the hard work there.
I wanted to catch Queen’s Blade, Saki and Hyou-ka only, but after this writing, I’m adding Mysterious GF X to my list.
From the promos of the 1st BD of Saki Achiga-hen, Harue Akado will be voiced by Naomi Shindou, not Kanemoto Hisako. Dun know where that comes from though.
It’s just my impression or this season looks weaker than the past ones.
Only Fate/zero 2 and kore wa zombie desu ka looks promising to me.
I say wait for some of the blogs for certain shows to pop up here on Randomc and see if it strikes more of your interest. Sometimes I see something and think it’s not for me, but I usually come back here and read up on it.
I’m just extremely curious; this is a question for all of the writers. Do any of you watch J-dramas? I know Divine does/did, so I’m wondering if anyone else does. 🙂
I’ll check:
– Korezon,
– Saki Achiga-hen,
– Saint Seiya
Let’s see…
DEFINITES:
* Hyouka
* Zetman
* Arashi no Yoru ni: Himitsu no Tomodachi
* Fate/Zero season 2
* Natsuiro Kiseki
* Kuroko no Basuke
* Another’s OAD
* UN-GO’s Prequel OVA
POSSIBLES:
* Eureka AO (Might wait for the dub)
* Tasogare Otome x Amnesia
* Sankarea
* Medaka Box
* Kuromajo-san ga Touru
* Tsuritama
* Jormungand
* Shining Hearts ~Shiawase no Pan~
* Accel World
* Saint Seiya Omega
Gotta hold off on Zombie?! until I see season 1.
Glad to see most of what I wanna learn about will be blogged here!!
Only Hiiro no Kakera, Fate/Zero and Hyou-ka for me. Since I’ve already have 5 for the summer season..
Isn’t summer still ways away?
Wow, they’re like… adapting all my favorite manga this season. I mean, seriously. Tasogare Otome x Amnesia? Mysterious Girlfriend X? Jormungand? Sankarea? Medaka Box?
Next, you’re going to tell me that they’re doing an adaptation of Dorohedoro and a GUNNM TV series.
ah, Nope, nope, nope, nope, nope, nope, nope, nope, nope, nope, maybe…eh nope. nope nope nope uh UH! OHH ZETMAN!!!!!!! but if they water it down to shit…NOPE!!!!! nope , nope, nah!!!! AHH-SOOO!!! WHERE DA PHUCK HAVE YOU BEEN MEDAKA BOX!!?!?!?! i’ve been waiting for your Verbose ass show FO A MINUTE and whats this????!!!!!! IT’S GAINAX?!?….well phuck me with a Golden Hammer!!
but on another note…Mysterious girlfriend X?????………….really? slurp my drool panty scissor??? oh lord to think what could have gotten funds for a show instead of this
Watch List
Jormungand – Love the manga, if they get the characters right and stick to the original manga relatively closely the anime should be great.
Sakamichi no Apollon – the reason is pretty obvious
Uchuu Kyoudai – Looks good and A-1’s adaptations tend to be well done.
Zetman – looks boss, though TMS could mess up since all they do nowadays is card game adaptations
Tsuritama – A-1’s original works are good plus noitamina slot instills confidence
Kuroko no Basuke – I’ve been waiting for it to get an anime
Why would two people have neg repped you for this post? Sheesh.
Good list, BTW.
Hahaha. Well is it because I’m too mainstream? I only just realised you might be potentially blogging any one of the shows on my watchlist
It’s them Kore wa Zombie fans who gives you negs, I bet! Very hard to find people who are into more intellectually mature stuff instead of silly Zombie moe show that isn’t even funny.
C’mon now, give me negs, the silly Zombie moe show fan y’all, as I have committed the unforgivable sin and dishing it!! C’mon~~!!
Really? Don’t add more oil to a fire that doesn’t matter. Although I can’t comment on Korewa Zombie, I still don’t plan to watch it (need to catch up on all the amazing anime I’ve missed from previous seasons).
But why would you neg rep someone for saying what shows they plan to watch? It’s not like there was anything negative about other shows in the post…
I know, I know – let trolls be trolls and don’t try to understand them.
I was wondering that myself on a post a little further up the page. The only thing I can think of is that they object to people saying what they’re going to watch for some reason. Which is kinda silly, as that is what people post in the season preview’s comments.
The thing about Sankarea is that as a zombie, Show Spoiler ▼
. Somehow that was never an issue in Kore wa Zombie desu ka?
And that’s why it’ll work pretty well as a romance.
And because they can still reverse the decaying process. Or try to preserve her. I can think of several ways that will generate comedy…
you guys just got me hooked to Accel World now (DAMMIT)
I’m so sick of seeing little loli girls at school.. Nothing for me to watch this season but Naruto SD and Lupin.
Looks like someone needs to go through that list of airing series again.
How about them two astronaut brothers? Or perhaps a talking panda+penguin+polar bear show would interest you? There a few shows that don’t involve “eyes big as your fists with no nose” school girls out there. But then you watch Naruto… so… eh, can’t help ya.
Wow. It will take you at least thrice as long to read all the comments compared to the preview. Do some people actually read all the comments, I wonder.
I do. The thoughts of those who comment can be as interesting to read as the thoughts of the RC bloggers. That’s the point of having a comments section, after all, not for people to go around saying “trololol” and “derp” and stuff.
I thought I won’t watch too much this season, yet I fill the list rather higher than expectation
saint seiya omega
queen blade rebellion
medaka box
acci kocci
accel world
fate zero
nazo no kanojo x
tasogare amnesia
saki achiga hen
eureka seven ao
hyaoka
Looking forward to Fate/Zero, Cardfight Vanguard, and Eureka 7 sequel. Yeah, Cardfight Vanguard. I gotta say, it’s actually nice. Its cheesy moments are easy to chew and the ending really delivered. The character development isn’t smooth but it’s good. Will recommend that anime for those who enjoyed Yu-Gi-Oh.
Finally, it’s here
For now, I plan to watch thes…
Saki Achiga-hen
Hyouka
Accel world
Sankarea
Tasogare Otome x Amnesia
Kore wa Zombie Desu ka? OF THE DEAD
I will see the rest if I have time.
Dear RandomC team, thank you for this seasonal preview – putting it together with several writers has made it even more enjoyable for me and it was a really good read!
In particular, I second to:
– Verdant: “In an age that is sadly devoid of brutal violence and badass protagonists, …” even though I have some doubt that ZETMAN will really be dark as I prefer it (like the last two eps of Blood-C), but I’ll give it a try.
– Unlisted being most excited about Nyuaroku-san, as I found the Nyaruani-shorts being one of the completely unassuming shows I end up liking most in many a season
– Verdant again, expecting Sakamichi no Apollon to be a once in a decade show. As long as such shows are produced there is still a lot of life in anime!
– Takaii: “An anime produced by the amazing KyoAni? Count. Me. In!” No second thoughts for me, either!
– Bakamochi pointing out the stunning visuals of the Lupin III PV.
Most of the shows I have on my “for sure” watchlist (11) are also on the list of what you intend to cover. Natsuiro Kiseki and AKB0049 may not offer much material to write about. As I’m not accustomed to the franchise and expect some awesome visuals I’d love to read some of your writers’ thoughts about Lupin III, though, if anyone should decide to watch it!
Spring 2012 is finally here! My body is ready… for everything.
Better late than never I suppose, so for that I give the new RC writers a BIG CONGRATULATIONS for making this awesome looking spring preview.
A great winter season of Anime just ended, so comes the new and promising spring season!! You can never have a dull week in your life if your an Anime fan, so for that:
(•_•)
( •_•)>⌐■-■
(⌐■_■)
I’m ready, C’MON FATE/ZERO Season 2 bring it on!!
I always liked anime bread ever since Heidi so Shining Hearts looks good. KoreZom’s first season started ok but became meh later on, so no high hopes there. Saki’s spin off probably won’t be too incredible from looking at the manga. Fate 0 should be good from the first season and both Jormungand as well as Sankarea seems interesting
Natsuiro Kiseki as an original story could be something to look for
It’s that time of year again, and thankfully the new staff writers at Random Curiousity seem to be doing a good job in keeping traditions alive. Granted, I was sorely tempted to send in an applicaiton to be a staff writer, although I dunno what RC would’ve done if a gun nut/armchair 2nd Lieutenant came on. But the new writers making a preview makes Divine’s sabbatical all that less heart wrenching. (I dunno what another Omni-like post would do to me. ;-; )
Anyways, the shows I am watching/might watch:
– Mobile Suit Gundam Unicorn OVA 5: Guaranteed. Like, I’ll be buying a digital copy on the PS3. The Universal Century timeline is the original, and is the best in my opinion. (Guaranteed)
– Uppotte!: Okay, not exactly Mecha Musume…and a little miffed the main character is based out of the FN FNC, but hell, moé anthropomorphism of firearms? I’m in! (Strong)
– Ozuma: Well, somewhat post-apocalyptic setting with a strong space opera feel. Considering I’m watching Mouretsu Pirates and was mildly surprised in the level of depth it brings, from characters to the S.O.P. of the future-tech, I’ll give this one a shot. (Good)
– Uchuu Kyodai: I liked Planetes, and this gave me such a vibe, I’ll give it a look. (Good)
– Haiyore! Nyaruko-san: I saw “series is based on the Cthulhu mythos” in the blurb so now I am compelled to give it a shot. (Ph’nglui mglw’nafh Cthulhu R’lyeh wgah’nagl fhtagn!…I mean ‘Good’)
– Jormungand: Eh…I’ll see. I’m mainly hoping form nice gun play here, we’ll see if I get sucked into the plot. (Decent)
And that’s it. I’m not really watching all the other shows that seem to be crowd favorites due to me being weird/not really caring for the mainstream/OMFGINEEDTOSLEEPICAN’THANDLETOOMUCHSHOWS. And reposted on facebook as well.
Stereoman, how the hell didn’t you know about Matsumoto Leiji?! And you write about anime? Please! Where did you get this guy?
So many good-looking shows to watch, and we, mortals, only have 24 hours per day!!! I guess I need another life =P I’m definitely watching: Kimi to boku.2, Medaka Box, Sankarea, Fate/Zero, Sakamichi no Apollon, Tsuritama and Hyouka; plus, I’ll give a try to shows like Uchuu Kyoudai, Acchi Kocchi, Accel World, Nazo no Kanojo X or Tasogare Otome x Amnesia =D
Also, I can’t believe that not a single RC blogger is into Lupin– and only unlisted is watching Saint Seiya?!? You’d think these classics deserve little more attention…
Lupin…here is a franchise that has somehow managed to retain a significant amount of popularity in Japan in spite of the fact that is was created way back in the late 1960s; it is about 20 years older than Saint Seiya but still popular enough to earn it yearly TV specials (And this new TV anime season). And Lupin remains so beloved in the anime industry that making references to it (Especially in comedy/mystery shows) is common and frequent, almost an industry tradition of sorts.
Saint Seiya is no slouch as a franchise, either; this series is a classic in its own right; it began as a Weekly Shounen Jump publication back in the mid-to-late 1980s and was numbered among the “never ending shounen” of its time, spanning a full 28 volumes and over 100 TV anime episodes. In spite of its age, it too retains a significant following, with the sporadic release of OVAs over the last ten years- and now the new TV anime.
Classics like Lupin and Saint Seiya are anime evolutionary milestones; anyone who seeks a deeper understanding how the medium became what it is today should definitely check these two shows out…
Bl**dy typos, what’s wrong with me?!? Everything I post, I proofread- but I somehow always still manage to miss a typo or two…grr…XP
There…
Wow, looking at the poll and what people are looking for is kind of disappointing because the shows that appeal to me like Uchuu Kyoudai and Sakamichi no Apollon are really low on the poll. All I can say to that is that I am POSITIVE these two show are going to be the gems out of all the generic ones there. There is two other shows that may also be very good. They are the mystery and supernatural one. . .Hyouka and the otome X amnesia.
=D I am never wrong in my choices. LOL
About Phi-Brain, the preview lacks info. It’s like a preview for the first part of the series and not about what is to come. So little ventured about the second part.
And I hope to see Eureka AO, Fate and Accel World and the anime adaptations of mangas and other more other animes. There are too many with good potential and sequels, too many! Good.
Uchuu Kyoudai, aka them astronaut brothers, aka SEINEN show!! gasp!!, episode 1 with sub is already out. But for a few sec, I thought it was one of those soccer shows again -suddenly sport theme shows are in fashion again it seems- and angrily close the window and checking the title again and proceeding once again. Geez, why confuse me with the world cup stuff??
I watched the 1st episode of Uchuu Kyoudai and it’s looking good. The visual isn’t that good (considering the low budget), but story-wise, looking good. Who’s covering this show? It’s being covered, right? I’ll be outraged…or, okay sad, if this doesn’t get covered; even though it is supposed to be pretty long, eh, 48 episodes or something.
Agreed. The animation style feels like from the early-to-mid 90’s, but the premise works. Two brothers promise to become astronauts after seeing what might be an UFO. Fast Forward to the series’ present day (2025):
The younger brother succeeds in becoming an astronaut and will be the first Japanese to go to the moon, while the elder brother is an ex-salaryman who got fired from his job because he gave his supervisor a headbutt. Elder brother is currently umeployed, until he is reminded of his promise with his brother. The next day, he receives a package from JAXA (the series’ Japan’s equivalent of NASA) telling him that he got accepted in the new astronaut training program.
For some reason, the series clicks with me. I’m sure we all were interested in Dinosaurs, finding the Lost City of Atlantis, and becoming astronauts in our childhood, right? *I still do want to become an astronaut* XD
Because you don’t need an over-the-top, seizure-inducing light show spectacles to make a series good. Who cares if the animation looks old? I certainly don’t. Uchuu Kyoudai is almost definitely on my top 10 this season, for having such an impressive premise.
its been a while since kyoani produced an anime dont you guys think? and now they are producing one! anyway hyouka, basing from screenshots, and the PV itself is showing that its a quality anime… i’m not fond of mystery but seeing a mio fused into yui main character is enough to pull me in… 😀
IMHO, sankarea, kore wa zombie desuka, hyouka and accel world are the contenders of this season.
Show Spoiler ▼
This spring is the spring of WIN.
You know I’ll be following at least UCHYUU KYOUDAI and Sankarea.
Just sayin.
WATCH ALL THE ANIMES!
and drop half of them afterwardsRead my mind, brother.
Hey where’s moondoggie been lately?Not surprisingly the adapted works have the most attention compared to originals, and so guarantees them high viewership, but then… somewhere in that pile or originals could be a sleeper hit or two, like last year, when Madoka came from out of nowhere and bushwhacked us all.
I’ve bet on a certain dark horse here, an ugly-looking one that has been backed up with a solid staff, voice cast, and an impossibly huge budget supplied by a very important customer.
Uchuu Kyoudai is sooooooo good. To be honest, my expectations weren’t high, but the first episode hits me at all the right spot, it was funny, heartwarming and sends a very powerful message.
Everyone should go watch this, period!
The dog’s expression was cute, yet accurate, right? Hehe. XD
It’s number one on my list right now- I have a soft spot for shows with brothers, mainly because I have one too. But lol, “Space Brothers?” Seriously? That’s what the fansubbers have decided to call this- I know it’s a literal translation but damn, that has to one of the cheesiest title’s I’ve ever heard…
Agreed. Japanese > English
Uchuu Kyoudai sounds way more appropriate.
Good job on the preview guys! I know for a fact that a lot of time was spent on this. Oh btw, Yuuichi Nakamura was added to the cast of Shirokuma cafe as per the recent seiyuu event.
I’m disappointed nobody’s watching Lupin The Third. Sure, it will be extremely experimental, and the vibes it gives might now match everyone’s tastes, but still, I suggest you guys to at least give it a try. I understand it might not be easy to like it, especially if you’re not familiar with the original manga series (which differs deeply in style from the usually happy-go-lucky anime franchise)
Finally, preview’s up. I’m looking forward to Mysterious Girlfriend X, as well as Zetman, Accel World, Jormungand and a lot of the rest.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d4a68z7bCoQ
Fate/Zero 2nd Season trailer.
My body is so ready for this.
The fact that Saki Achiga-hen has our beloved diva Hanazawa Kana on its cast should attract significantly more attention of international viewers and therefore should have been mentioned in the preview imo.
Watch for Matsumi Kuro! And she is actually pretty good at mah-jongg too…
Are you guys going to complete this?
Hyouka, F/Z, Shining Hearts and Zetman. The rest is meehh
Actually, I’m doing rounds advertising/recommending Sankarea and Accel World. I advice you to try it out….
No one says anything about the Scry-ed ova???
im absoluted obsessed with Eureka Seven AO already. E7 is one of my favorite shows.
Already watched all 5 eps of Gakkatsu. It was a cute little series. Silly, but good for 5 minutes of entertainment.
As for the rest of the shows this season, it’s hard to tell what’s going to be good and what’s going to stink based on the previews. Some shows always surprise me in both ways, but so far Uchuu Kyoudai has that PlanetES feel to it, and I really liked both the PlanetES manga and the anime.
Otherwise, we’ll see, I guess.
My policy is to watch everything that sounds remotely interesting, give it the 3-episode test, and go from there. (Although some shows get shook out around 6 and even 9 eps…)
Also looking forward to the continuation of Moretsu Pirates from last season. Hooray for 2-cour shows that aren’t split-cour. I hate having to wait 3-9 months to see the rest of a series, although if that means that the next cour of “Horizon” will be even more awesome than the first, then I suppose I can wait until July. I may even finish one of the books by then. Ugh.
Looking forward to Eureka Seven!
there’s a few interesting animes this season, Kora wa Zombie desu ka? 2, Fate Zero Season 2,Saki 2, Cardfight Vanguard 2. LMFAO All I’m going to watch are sequels.
hohohoho awesome list! SO MANY SHOWS TO WATCH! Ahahahha
I am looking forward to
Eureka Seven AO
Kore Wa Zombie Desu ka? OF THE DEAD
Sankera
More Mouretsu Pirates of course <3
Fate/Zero S2
And lots of other random series just to watch <3
Kuroko no Basuke!!!
T^T There’s so much! D’x I don’t know what to do anymore there’s to much anime to watch. T_T
Now the question is, To marathon or not to marathon.
Thanks so much for your hard work on this Preview. Incredibly huge and lengthy and requires multiple playthroughs.
*looks at the promo for Eureka Seven*
Wait.. THAT’S A BOY!?!?! NOT EUREKA!?!?! OMGEPIC
Seitokai OVA, oh yes!
I´ll be watching without a doubt this sping:
1.-Fate/Zero: Iskander, Saber and super awsome battles, need to say more?
2.-Accel World: Kawahara Reki has become my god since I started reading Sword art Online so this show might do it for until july comes.
3.-Misterious Girlfriend X: I´ve read all the manga so far, so belive when I say it´s quiet adictive.
4.-Kore wa Zombie Desu ka? OF THE DEAD: You can never go wrong with this insane serie and its even more insame characters.
5.-Eureka Seven Astral Ocean: I love the original one along with the movie so this could turn out as master piece to honor the original or a train wreck so bad you want ot killed everyone who made happen.
6.-Shining Hearts-Shiaswase no Pan: I love the characters desings by Tony Taka so I´m going to give it a chance as I did with Shining TearsxWind years ago; it didn´t dissapoint back then that´s for sure.
7.-Zetman: This what the world needs, more anime with decent violence, good story and awsome action.
8.-Jormungad: WHITE FOX is in charge, I don´t any other reason to watch this series.
9.-Hyouka: this is the most promising series of the season, I´m a sucker for novel adaptation and Kyoto Anomation in charge I´m onboard until the end.
10.-Tasogare Otome x Amnesia: I´ve a lot of the manga so this adaptation is just what i wanted to see.
Let´s hope my prayers are heared and this season turns out to be fantastic, but one thing is certain: I´m going to miss you Divine but I´ll stick with the blog until the end, this a great comunity.
Show Eureka Seven AO Promotional Videos ▼ really nice anime
Hyouka – I have the very same feeling I had on ‘another’ when I first heard of this anime.
A feeling of awesomeness!
Bleh the first half of the list made me disappointed.. Not many to my liking..
But the second half of the list looks more up to my alley..
will be watching accel world, upotte, natsuiro kiseki, acchi kocchi, zombie desu ka, kanojo X, shining hearts, maybe amnesia & sankarea but I read the manga so far already.. and maybe haiyore..
Urgh, why must the new Anime season begin now of all times??? With the semester rounding up and deadlines approaching, I’m hard pressed for time as it is.
Not sure how much time I’ll have for anime this season as entering college has severely lessened my watching time. However, I will absolutely check out fate/zero, Hyouka, and Eureka Seven.
Sankarea, Natsuiro Kiseki, Accel World, Nazo no Kanojo X, Sakamichi no Apollon, and especially Tsuritama all look interesting as well.
Really? No blogger is watching Lupin? I am disapointed
You guys should really review Accel World, its just stunning (the graphics) and I’m really sure that there will be lots of character development on the main character. Its really creative and innovative as well.
Whoa whoa whoa..! I just realized, the seiyuu’s for the two male leads in Hyouka are Nakamura Yuuichi and Sakaguchi Daisuke. Okazaki and Sunohara (Clannad) are getting reunited again!!
Hmmm guys about sengoku I saw some part of the trailer and it looks like the setting is the future world(not the historic thingy)
The link for the vid is on my site (it’s on 5:05)
well that vid is a compilation of spring anime so it’s good to watch that…though there’s still no PV/CM for shining hearts :C
This Spring anime season is looking good. 😀
Definite:
Acchi Kocchi
Kore wa Zombie Desu ka? of the Dead
Upotte!!
Recorder to Randoseru Re♪
Saki: Achiga-hen – Episode of Side-A
Shiba Inku-san
Sankarea
Natsuiro Kiseki
Haiyoru! Nyaruko-san
Perhaps:
Hyouka
Sengoku Collection
Tsuritama
Yurumates 3D
After reading this season preview of the more than 40+ shows coming this spring anime season, these are the shows that garnered my attention and interest:
Overall I pick 23 shows but I will eventually narrow it done to 12-15 series.
1. Koiken! ~Watashi-tachi Anime ni Natchatta!~ – Romance/dating sim
2. Ozuma – sci-fi
3. Gakkatsu! – comedy
4. Uchuu Kyoudai – space, drama, sci-fi
5. Queen’s Blade Rebellion – (I’ll probably wait for the uncensored version like I did with the first 2 seasons).
6. Zetman – they say horror? nuff said.
7. Kuromajo-san ga Tooru!! – magical girl but very childish, nuff said.
8. Kore wa Zombie Desu ka? OF THE DEAD – not really impressed with the first season but count me in for this.
9. Medaka Box – I’m getting lot of hype from this, maybe I’ll try.
10. Sengoku Collection – action, history.
11. Sankarea – comedy, romance nuff said (Guaranteed).
12. Natsuiro Kiseki – slice of life by Sunrise? That should be interesting.
13. Accel World – now this is getting lots of hype with premise something like Guilty Crown, but I have more fate on Sunrise with their Code Geass than Production IG so this is GUARANTEED.
14. Upotte!! – everyone is a gun, no problem!
15. Fate Zero – Guaranteed nuff said.
16. Nazo no Kanojo X – fell in love because of her saliva?
17. Tasogare Otome x Amnesia – horror and mystery tag – nuff said.
18. Saki Achiga-hen episode of side-A – slice of like and mahjong, cute character designs.
19. Jormungand – they say its action, looks a bit more maturer series also.
20. Sakamichi no Apollon – this is another series that is getting lots of hype, but I’m not really a big fan of male driven slice of life-drama stories and add that music premise. If it’s mecha I’m ok, but I’m not sure of this, I’ll still try a few episodes.
21. Eureka Seven Astral Ocean – I didn’t try the original Eureka Seven because of many complaints of the lead male character’s tendency to act like Shinji Ikari(of Evangelion) which I don’t really like plus its 50 episode, just maybe I’ll try this series also.
22. Shining Hearts ~Shiawase no Pan – adventure, romance, and bread? That is interesting!
23. Hyouka – mystery they say and KyoAni? nuff said.
Still I will probably settle with 12-15 series because if I add more the more chance I have to drop a few shows along the way.
Anyways, my guaranteed picks are the ff:
1. Sankarea
2. Accel Word
3. Fate ZERO
12-15 anime is kinda alot. Doesn’t sound possible to me. Normally everybody’d pick 1-3 shows right?
Not really. It’s pretty normal for people to watch that many.
I too watch around 12-15 shows per season. Right now for Spring, I have 18 shows that I want to watch, 5 I’m already watching.
And it’s possible. You just need to balance your time.
Well I am watching 12-15 series per season not included are the OVAs, movies, specials, ONAs that I watch since they are mostly one episode anyways. It’s not that hard to watch that many if you know how to balance your time on anime-work-social life.
Well if you know Divine, he’s like watching 20-30 series per season and have time to write blogs on about 8-10 then finding time for work and real life, isn’t that amazing?
To me Accel World is a turnoff just because that the main character’s fat. Abit too stretched for my tastes. Show looks good though
It’s actually better than it looks, just give it a try. Although I’ll bet some people will get Shu vibes from the guy since self-depreciation is rampant on his personality in earlier parts.
Not to mention tht he sound lk Shu too…
But yeah the point is to make us sympathize with him or relate themself to him… Its seem lk ANY Jp and US HS story has one…
But yeah, his design is a bit distracting and being WAY more jerkass than Shu.
Making the main character a fat-ugly-midget-whining loser: FINE BY ME. Not everyone looks like models with six-pack. It surely makes things a little different, having a downright loser as the main guy. Is that you, Cartman?
Some other clichés that I don’t have to mention here: again FINE BY ME. Just like the Hollywood sausage machine, these “maker” people clings onto these so called mainstream “success formula” like there’s no tomorrow. As long as the final product is good, I’m willing to let go most of these.
HOWEVER!! The one cliché I can’t let go here: drop-dead gorgeous women falling down themselves to have a go at the fat-ugly-midget-whining loser (aka FUMWL guy) FROM DAY 1. No real plot development for that, nah, just from the get go (Not even reasonable reason like maybe because the fat guy risked his life and saved her from her death or anything. Gah No~~~!) What the heck? The school’s most beautiful woman suddenly aggressively pursues the FUMWL guy (and we can ALL see where that is going from billions of miles away) for some trivial reasons AND the FUMWL guy ALSO happens to have a drop-dead gorgeous childhood friend who makes home-made lunch for you. Give me a freaking break. There is a limit to how much wiling suspension of disbelief can take us.
I do find some of the premises of this show (all that future invisible gadget stuff) have potential, but I just can’t get past that stupid sh@t.
I don’t know how you guys can look at Haruyuki’s appearance and see some fat, greasy, repulsive abomination (at least that’s what I’m getting from reading these comments) when he’s obviously not. Seriously, am I looking at the same character here or do you guys just have prejudice against fat people in general? To me, having a main character with this design is refreshing to see. He actually reminded me of Simon from Gurren Lagann which made me hope that he’d share the same voice actor, but I guess not.
They’re just bias. Haru is a definitely a badass in his own rights. Unlike Shu, who didn’t have to deal with bullies, he seeks and craves the power to escape being bullied everyday: To go faster until nobody can match his speed.
seconded. why they felt the need to make the MC stand out from the other characters in such a stark visual manner is beyond me. it is simply distracting from looks to be otherwise a great show.
This anime season sucks compared to last season. I havn’t found an anime I am really interested in yet. Have high hopes for Medaka Box. Hopefully that won’t disappoint me.
If your only hope is Medaka Box, you might as well give up looking for a show now. What, queen’s blade didn’t give enough ZZ cups for you? You can always go back and repeatedly watch Highshool DxD again.
And what exactly did you find interesting during the previous season?
Gintama, Girls Listen to me I am your Father, Naruto, Guilty Crown, High School DxD, Beelzebub, Fairy Tail, Gundam Age, Aquarion Evol I found interesting initially before even watching it. Only Guilty Crown disappointed me at times after watching it. Later I found Phi Brain not that bad also (not really that interesting but not bad). I never liked Queen’s blade. I watched 2 or 3 episodes when season 1 came out but I found it quite boring so I never bothered to watch the rest.
As the shows pour out daily, this page serves as a perfect guide to remind you of what’s what. Fantastic.
Damnit Spring why must you be so boring? The only things that look entertaining enough are sequels.
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Since Another is finished, I am so waiting for the OVA. And for Hyouka. Another mystery anime can surely fill my watch list (bad pun is bad XD)
This season was garbage.I’m only watching 4 anime out of this season.
there was a lot kiddy show thistime I watch every anime as long its not too childish ><
very nice