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「至福の店 ビフォー & アフター」 (Shifuku no Mise Before & After)
“Fortune Cafe Before & After”
Maid outfits? Maid training? Maid JUTSU? From the amazing people at SHAFT, the company who has brought us some of my favorites such as Mahoromatic and Bakemonogatari, comes Soredemo Machi Wa Mawatteiru. A quirky comedy, filled with gags, jokes, and some really weird character designs.
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「8月31日（さいごのひ）」 (Hachigatsu Sanjūichinichi (Saigo no Hi))
“August 31st (The Last Day)”
Having been looking forward to this sequel ever since Railgun ended back in March, I must say that this first episode certainly did not fail to meet my expectations.
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「ハルカナキオク」 (Haruka na Kioku)
“Distant Memories”
Well, it looks like my question surrounding whether or not this would be a fairly clean adaptation was answered this very first episode. feel studio isn’t being shy about playing the twin incest angle, even though it’s been portrayed as something that innocently developed during childhood.
Ika Musume is here to subjugate mankind for polluting the ocean! Too bad nobody cares.
「侵略しなイカ？／同胞じゃなイカ？／最強じゃなイカ？」
(Shinryaku Shinai ka? / Douhou Janai ka? / Saikyou Janai ka?)
“Aren’t I Invading? / Aren’t You a Fellow Brethren? / Isn’t She the Most Powerful?”
The invasion of the squid girl is here! While I enjoyed the bit of the manga I read in preparation for this adaptation, it’s far better animated than even I was expecting. Diomedea’s animation is crisp and the lush colors have a lot of “pop”. Best of all, Ika Musume herself is absolutely adorable with the way Kanemoto Hisako plays her.
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「File 01: 開かずの間」 (File 01: Akazu no Ma)
“The Forbidden Room”
I never read the manga for an anime I’m going to watch, since it usually builds unwanted expectations. When I learned that Yakumo blew through over 120 pages of material in just one episode, I couldn’t help but take a gander at the manga. And now I really, really regret that I do. I mean, imagine having to cover 120 pages of manga material, over 40 pages per chapter, in just one 30 minute episode. Can it be done?
Vice-Commander of the Shinsengumi, Hijikata Toshizou (Miki Shinichirou).
「特別編 京都回想録」 (Tokubetsu-hen – Kyouto Kaisouroku)
“Special Chapter – Memories of Kyoto”
Despite the “Hekketsuroku” addition to the title, this is a direct continuation of the series that aired back in spring, hence the episode number thirteen next time. Normally the numbering wouldn’t matter, but in the case of Hakuouki, they treated this as the midpoint of the series and used it to recap. What a way to premiere a sequel. With a recap… -_-;
* Note: I just realized the actual episode 13 aired right after on AT-X on Monday. I’ll cover it in the upcoming days. Consider this a season one primer.
I don’t know if Kyousuke was looking at Kirino’s eyes or about 30cm below, but I know where I was. It was her eyes of course!
「俺が妹と恋をするわけがない」 (Ore ga Imouto to Koi wo Suru Wake ga Nai)
“There’s No Way I’m in Love with My Sister”
The model middle school student is secretly a younger sister-obsessed erotic game maniac! In actuality, it’s not quite that bad, but it sure sounds more interesting when I say she poses for pictures to earn money for feeding her addiction. It’s all about taking stuff out of context.
Memories of how Gauche became Noir of the anti-government association Reverse.
As a direct continuation to the story that left off six months ago, the only thing that’s keeping this feeling like an actual sequel is the new title, REVERSE.
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「銀河美少年」
“Galactic Pretty Boy”
When I first heard that BONES, the studio responsible for producing masterpieces such as Eureka Seven, Xam’d: Lost Memories and Darker than BLACK, was making another original mecha series it went right to the top of my list of most anticipated anime of this fall, and so far this year’s dose of FABULOUS has not disappointed.
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「夢と現実」 (Dreams and Reality)
From the writers of the Death Note manga, Ohba Tsugumi and Obata Takeshi, comes Bakuman, an anime about two students who try to hit it big as mangaka. Produced by J.C. Staff, Bakuman shines not in animation quality, but how the characters interact with each other and how the little things in life are emphasized.