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Finally, the long-awaited fall season! Along with spring, fall tends to be one of the busier seasons, with everything from the debut of highly anticipated blockbusters to the continuation of venerable old series. And this year is no different! Hotly anticipated adaptations include the award-winning sci-fi light novel Shin Sekai Yori, the 5pb. sci-fi visual novel ROBOTICS;NOTES, and the Key romantic drama Little Busters! The sequel front has some heavy-hitters as well, among them the return of spring’s amoral action-adventure Jormungand, a brand new season of the comedy and harem classic Hayate no Gotoku, and the third season of the mangaka drama Bakuman. There are even a few original series to round things out, most notably Urobuchi Gen’s PSYCHO-PASS. Fall is busy indeed–and like last spring, you’re fortunate enough to have not one, not two, but FIVE writers to help guide you through the shows you’ll want to be watching this season. Lucky for you, eh? So without further ado (that’s a lie; there’ll be a lot more ado before we’re done), let’s get on with it and talk about the 32 series we’ve previewed for you this season. Get excited!
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 of characters.
- The writer’s impressions, expanding on the plot and highlighting specific points of interest.
In addition, this season we’ve added a little something extra to make it even easier for you to decide what to watch. We call this the Expectation Level, which is a rough signifier of how excited we are about every show. For more on this, including our definition of each level, check out the overall impressions section at the very bottom. We’ve also included a list of all shows organized by expectation level, just because we’re super helpful like that.
Disclaimer: past season previews were done by a single writer, so while regular readers were probably familiar with the shows that Divine liked to watch, this collaborative approach features many different 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 still maintaining the high-quality and objective impressions of seasons past. 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.
This season, we painstakingly selected five writers (i.e. everyone drew straws, and we lost) whose tastes and anime watching experience we felt would translate into the best previews possible. Those writers are: BakaMochi, Moomba, Zephyr, verdant, and yours truly, Stilts!
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.
By the way, I’d like to take a quick moment to thank all the other writers who helped put this thing together. It took nine of us working together to do what Divine did alone, but then again none of us had to spend a month solid working on it, and then take four days off from work to finish it off in the home stretch. So, you know, that was pretty cool. Aside from the preview writers that I already mentioned, here’s what everyone did to help out:
- Zanibas, BakaMochi, Cherrie, Moomba, Stereoman, and Zephyr gathered all the links and researched the shows.
- Moomba collected and encoded all of the PVs.
- Zephyr translated the OVA / Movie list.
- Stereoman found and cleaned all the images.
- Zanibas, unlisted, and I inserted all the links and formatted the post so it would actually work.
- Last but most certainly least, verdant and I went through and proofread, edited, and double-checked everything.
Thanks for your hard work, everybody! It’s because of you that my friends and family actually got to see me this past month. Needless to say, they’re pissed, but I’m grateful at least!
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.
| Sunday | Monday | Tuesday | Wednesday | Thursday | Friday | Saturday |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Magi 17:00 MBS/TBS (10/7) |
Aikatsu! 19:30 TX (10/8) |
Initial D Fifth Stage 04:00 Animax (11/6) |
Chuunibyou Demo Koi ga Shitai 24:30 MX (10/3) |
Gintama (2012) 18:00 MX (10/4) |
Kyousogiga Internet (8/31) |
Bakuman. 3 17:30 NHK-E (10/6) |
| Hiiro no Kakera S2 22:00 MX (9/30) |
Sakurasou no Pet no Kanojo 24:30 MX (10/8) |
Jormungand 2: Perfect Order 24:30 MX (10/9) |
Medaka Box 2 25:20 MBS/TBS (10/10) |
BTOOOM! 23:00 MX (10/4) |
Onii-chan Dakedo Ai Sae Areba Kankei Nai yo ne 23:00 AT-X (10/5) |
Aoi Sekai no Chuushin de 22:00 MX (10/20) |
| Ixion Saga DT 25:05 TX (10/7) |
Girls und Panzer 25:00 MX (10/8) |
Hayate no Gotoku! Can’t Take My Eyes Off You 26:05 TX (10/3) |
PSYCHO-PASS 24:30 CX (10/11) |
Shin Sekai Yori 24:30 EX (9/28) |
Little Busters! 22:30 MX (10/6) |
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| Tonari no Kaibutsu-kun 25:35 TX (10/1) |
ROBOTICS;NOTES 25:15 CX (10/11) |
JoJo’s Bizzare Adventure The Animation 24:30 MX (10/5) |
Seitokai no Ichizon S2 23:30 Niconico (10/13) |
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| Kamisama Hajimemashita 26:05 TX (10/1) |
Hidamari Sketch x Honeycomb 25:25 TBS/BS-TBS (10/4) |
To Love-Ru – Trouble: Darkness 25:00 MX (10/5) |
Sukitte Ii na yo 25:00 MX (10/6) |
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| Busou Shinki 25:55 TBS (10/4) |
CODE:BREAKER 26:58 MX (10/6) |
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| Zetsuen no Tempest: The Civilization Blaster 26:00 MBS (10/4) |
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| K 26:25 MBS/TBS (10/4) |
* Jump to OVA/Movies.
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Preview by Moomba The continuation of the hyperactive and frequently downright crazy ONA Kyousogiga comes to us once again from Toei Animation as a series of ten minute Original Net Animations to be released online at various portals over the last few months of 2012. In the ‘Mirror Capital’ Kyoto, ruled over by a monk (Suzumura Kenichi), a demon (Kitamura Eri) and a priest (Nakahara Shigeru), Koto (Kugimiya Rie) continues her search for the rabbit that will allow her to return home to her mentor, Inari (Ishida Akira). Along with the two spirits A (Hidaka Noriko) and Un (Shiraishi Ryoko), she wreaks havoc throughout the city causing extensive frustration for Shouko (Saito Chiwa). There’s a certain type of brilliance which can only be found while plumbing the depths of insanity. FLCL continues to stand strong as a testament to this. Kyousogiga may not have quite the same extent of magnificence as FLCL, but it certainly comes close. The biggest difference is that the former seems to focus far more on the pure entertainment value of its absurdity without putting too much stock in its plot, whereas FLCL meshes the two together beautifully. There’s something quite satisfying about watching Koto send a car soaring across the Kyoto skyline with a single swing of her enormous hammer. Truth be told, the biggest downer here is that the only available streams are all low definition which doesn’t really do justice to the spectacular animation of the series. Regardless, with its colourful art-style, unique denizens and entertaining action sequences, our return to Mirror Kyoto should be an eventful and thoroughly enjoyable journey!
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Preview by Zephyr In the distant future, the world is on the brink of collapse, and people now live in small secluded towns. They are led by psychics possessing the cursed power of “Juryoku,” which allows them to materialize objects from their imaginations. One day, a girl named Saki (Taneda Risa) and four of her friends (Hanazawa Kana, Toudou Mai, Tojo Kanako, Kudou Haruka) stumble upon an archive on the outskirts of town. Within, they find records of the past and the truth behind their world: individuals with Juryoku powers arose in the 21st century, resulting in a world war between psychics and non-psychics. With their victory, those with the Juryoku became the rulers of the world, and began a reign of terror. When the rest of the town finds out the kids have discovered this forbidden knowledge, they seal their powers and exile them. The five decide to band together, going on an adventure to protect their friends and to save their dying world. To say I have high hopes of this series would be an understatement. As a co-winner of the Nihon SF Taishō Award in 2008, a distinction previously given to Evangelion, there’s no doubting the quality of the source material. The winner of the award is recognized as the best sci-fi work in all mediums, ranging from films to manga, anime to novels. As for the animation studio, we have A-1 Pictures (Anohana, Ao no Exorcist, Sword Art Online, Tsuritama) at the helm. With some arguably questionable decisions during recent adaptations of Ao no Exorcist and SAO and Ishihama Masashi taking on his first director role, I’ll admit that this isn’t the ideal matchup. But the strength of A-1’s resume speaks for itself and they tend to put more resources into adaptations of more recognizable works, so it’s more likely to be a good adaptation instead of a bad one. At the very least, their animation team is consistent, and should benefit from the director’s previous experience regarding this aspect. Overall, with a distinguished source material and a studio with a strong resume behind the adaptation, you have to admit that Shin Sekai Yori has all the potential ingredients for greatness.
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Preview by BakaMochi Picking up where it left off in spring 2012, the anime adaptation of Hiiro no Kakera returns for its second season. Centering around Kasuga Tamaki (Miyaki Marie) as the “Tamayori Princess” – a guardian against evil spiritual forces – and Onizaki Takuma (Sugita Tomokazu), Atori Mahiro (Okano Kousuke), Komura Yuuichi (Namikawa Daisuke), Inukai Shinji (Shimowada Hiroki), and Oumi Suguru (Hirakawa Daisuke) as her five guardians, Hiiro no Kakera chronicles their struggles to preserve the spiritual balance of the world while they each face difficulties they must overcome. The first season of the show was a pleasant surprise, as they delved quite a bit into some of the “darker” issues such as identity and the role of destiny in shaping a person’s life. Hiiro no Kakera also showcased some of the most engaging character interactions to date, where a lot of the conflicts faced by each character were expertly weaved into the dialogue. Its one main weakness was – and probably will be – plot, but if the second season can manage to bring out the same things that made the first season worthwhile to watch, I see no reason why it shouldn’t continue to be a gem among the other otome game adaptations.
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Preview by verdant There’s nothing easy when humans fall in love with supernatural beings, but then again, nothing has been easy in Momozono Nanami’s life. An adaptation of Suzuki Julietta’s shoujo manga, this series follows Nanami (Suzuko Mimori), a poor and lonely homeless teenage girl who has recently been evicted after her gambling father disappears to evade paying his debts. Down on her luck, she happens to save a strange man by the name of Mikage (Ishida Akira) from a dog, and as a reward, she is gifted his house – which actually turns out to be an old shrine with many strings attached. One consequence of being the shrine’s new “owner” comes with many responsibilities: Nanami’s the new local deity, having been made a god of sorts after Mikage transfers his position to her in addition to the shrine. The other consequence of owning the shrine comes in the form a handsome male fox familiar named Tomoe (Tachibana Shinnosuke). Will the myriad of responsibilities and dangers that accompany being a god render any hope of a forbidden love a footnote? Or will love conquer all like it usually does? At first glance, the characters do sound somewhat similar to the ones found in Inu x Boku SS, but a few pages into Kamisama Hajimemashita tells a different story. The romance in comparison doesn’t feel like it’s the main focus as the familiar isn’t head over heels (or is it paws?) over the girl from the outset and the heroine has to balance her school duties with her shrine duties, leaving less time for love to develop. To keep things fresh, there’s also a well-written plot involving nefarious forces trying to take over the shrine and land, keeping the duo busy. In the end though, opposites do attract, and their attraction makes for a dynamic that is compelling, likeable, and entertaining. TMS Entertainment and director Daichi Akitarou (Fruits Basket) helm a series that has the makings of a light-hearted and fun show with enough comedy and supernatural elements to keep it from being too much like your run-of-the-mill shoujo romances.
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Preview by BakaMochi Time for Brains Base’s entry into fall’s competition for shoujo romance adaptations! The source material is Robico’s manga of the same name, serialized in the magazine Dessert alongside Sukitte. Mizutani Shizuku (Tomatsu Haruka) is a girl whose life revolves around grades, and grades only. When she is forced by the teacher to deliver notes to the perpetually absent Yoshida Haru (Suzuki Tatsuhisa), the boy sitting next to her in class, she mistakenly gives him the impression they are friends. After witnessing how kind-heartedly naive and lonely Haru really is, Shizuku begins to feel the stirrings of spring in her previously wintry life. Err… aside from that terribad Engrish in the PV, again, Tonari no Kaibutsu-kun’s mundane synopsis really does not do it justice. While Haru is just precious, Shizuku really steps it up as the heroine, and although her interactions with Haru really hit all the right spots, it’s her gradual shift in focus from academics to other, “more important” things in life that really clinched this series for me in terms of my “most anticipated” series in the fall. With a great blend of sweet romance and amicable characters, Tonari no Kaibutsu-kun is shaping up to be yet another brightening entry to the romance genre. Here’s hoping it won’t fall into the will-they-won’t-they trap like so many other shoujo series tend to.
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Preview by Zephyr The second season of Jormungand, Perfect Order continues the story of the unpredictable Koko Hekmatyar, an arms dealer who aims to attain world peace. With her are a group of bodyguards composed of mostly ex-military such as Lehm (Ishizuka Unsho) and Sofia Valmet (Ohara Sayaka), as well as the newest addition: child soldier Jonathan Mar (Tamura Mutsumi). The first season saw the team traversing the world as Koko sold her wares, leaving a trail of bodies as they fought off other arms-dealers and assassins, maneuvered through complex political obstacles, and faced off with their respective inner demons. The second season sees the arrival of new threats to Koko’s goal, as the C.I.A. lurks as one of many new enemies. Unbeknownst to her however, is the threat that lies within her own team… Looking back, Jormungand had a little of everything: a great cast of characters, ridiculous action scenes, loads of comedic moments seamlessly mixed in with the killing, great insight into arms-dealing, and complex layers of political intrigue and philosophical ideologies regarding guns in general. Combined with the fact the series made it so you could easily just enjoy what aspect you liked and disregard the aspects you didn’t care much for, the original series was easily one of the more enjoyable shows of the year. There were qualms with some unrealistic portions of the series, but the fact remains that those were intentional, rather than due to a lack of oversight on the part of the creator. Ultimately, with everything remaining the same in terms of the staff (Motonaga Keitarou as director), cast, and studio, you can’t help but expect more of the same complex, dark, and exciting ride that the first season offered (and then some). As a result, I can’t help but recommend this series to everyone, provided you watched the first season however. Chances are you’ll end up singing the “her name is Koko, she is loco, I said oh no!” jingle too.
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Preview by verdant Instead of helming the animated adaptation of Key’s visual novel Little Busters! as many people had anticipated (and hoped for), Kyoto Animation has brought their talents to work on the adaptation of Chuunibyou Demo Koi ga Shitai!, a light novel which won an honorable mention in their 2010 awards competition. The title of the show refers to the slang term “chuunibyou” that was coined by Japanese comedian Ijuuin Hikaru and it describes the “middle school 2nd year syndrome” that afflicts adolescents who either believe they know better than everyone and look down on them accordingly, or they believe they possess special powers. Now entering high school, Togashi Yuuta (Fukuyama Jun) has left his chuunibyou past and is enjoying life to its fullest like any other normal teenager. He’s even begun dating Takanashi Rikka (Uchida Maaya), who although still afflicted by the syndrome, wants to try and move past it. Antics and shenanigans follow as the pair clash while working on their relationship, and if that wasn’t enough, her special powers come into play as the couple encounter and battle other chuunibyou sufferers as the fate of the world possibly hangs in the balance. With a veteran staff including director Ishihara Tatsuya (Air, Clannad, Kanon), this show looks like it will try to add to KyoAni’s stable of well-regarded romances. The material looks light and consistently entertaining with a good deal of comedy thrown in – probably more in the style of Nichijou than Clannad or Kanon – yet the inclusion of special powers and battles gives a nice twist that will surely bring plenty of drama and fireworks as well. However what will truly set this show apart and what I’m looking forward to the most is seeing KyoAni bring its talented brush to the action scenes. If the trailers are any indication, we could be in for quite the visual treat. If you’re looking to fill the KyoAni shaped hole left after Hyouka has ended or simply want to enjoy a well animated show with fun characters, this could be just the missing piece you’ve been looking for.
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Preview by Stilts Hayate no Gotoku is back once again, returning for a third season…sort of. This series follows Ayasaki Hayate (Shiraishi Ryoko), a hard-working and insanely unlucky young man who is working to pay back the 150 million yen debt his dead-beat parents left him. Originally this was owed to some “very nice people” who had designs on Hayate’s organs, but fortunately Hayate got involved with the super rich otaku ojou-sama Sanzenin Nagi (Kugimiya Rie), who paid off his debt in exchange for Hayate working for her as a butler until he paid her back. Crazy antics and harem-like misunderstandings ensue as the effeminate butler meets various girls, including hyper competent maid Maria (Tanaka Rie), cool student council president Katsura Hinagiku (Itou Shizuka), the kind-hearted normal girl Nishizawa Ayumu (Takahashi Mikako), and popular dance idol/doujinshi creator Suirenji Ruka (Yamazaki Haruka). First of all, let’s be clear – this is not a direct sequel to the first two anime seasons. Those were straight manga adaptations, whereas this will consist of new material. But have no fear – this won’t be the work of some random script writer, but rather the original manga-ka Hata Kenjiro himself! Apparently it’s going to be full of ideas he couldn’t fit into the manga, and I couldn’t be happier. Anime original material gets a bad rap, but with the original creator on board you can be sure that this will be a faithful – and funny! – addition to the series. Continuity-wise, I’m not sure where this season will fall; I would assume that it’ll be easy for anime viewers to understand and enjoy, but the emphasis on Suirenji Ruka in the PV makes me slightly unsure. Manglobe is returning to animate after last summer’s movie, and seeing as they did a fine job there I’m sure they will do so again. Bottom line: if you’ve enjoyed Hayate no Gotoku in any form, watch this. For everyone else, this might be the perfect place to jump in and see if you’ll like the series. Fair warning, though: you might end up marathoning the whole thing before long. But that’s a good thing!
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Preview by Moomba In this Madhouse adaption of Inoue Junya’s seinen manga BTOOOM!, Sakamoto Ryouta (Kanata Hongou), one of the top players in the eponymous worldwide online game ‘BTOOOM!’ (who also happens to be a NEET living with his mother), awakens on a tropical island with no recollections of how he came to be there. Sighting another person, he calls out to them seeking help, only to have a bomb thrown at him in response. Catching on quickly, he comes to the realisation that he’s trapped in a real-life version of his favourite game. It’s kill or be killed as he faces off against a host of other combatants including Himiko (Mimori Suzuko), Kira Kousuke (Sawashiro Miyuki), Oda Nobutaka (Nakamura Yuuichi) and Taira Kiyoshi (Ookawa Tooru). From what I gathered after reading the first few chapters of the manga, BTOOOM! appears to be another interesting take on the Battle Royale situation, albeit with the focus on explosives. Of course, with explosions comes the potential for a lot of gore and intense scenes and my inquiries into the subject suggest that this anime may not be for the faint of heart. Rape and mutilation (along with a fair bit of fanservice) are amongst some of the themes that arise during the course of the series, and with Madhouse’s previous success in Highschool of the Dead, this is not a combination they’re unused to handling. The colourful cast is definitely a big draw for me – the PV alone suggests the participants will come from all sorts of backgrounds so we should be getting a wide range of personalities… and perhaps we may see some hints of a romance blooming on the battlefield too!
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Preview by Moomba Based on the action figure line by Konami Digital Entertainment, 8bit’s Busou Shinki is a slice-of-life battle story set in a relatively peaceful future where robots are a part of everyday life and society. The ‘Shinki’ are action-figure sized moe-mecha partners with advanced intelligence and emotions, designed to serve their human masters in whatever capacity is possible. Each Shinki can be armed with a variety of weapons and armours in order to fight each other, giving them the name ‘Busou Shinki.’ Our story focuses on Masato (Mizushima Takahiro), a high school student recently returned from living abroad and his three Shinki: the Arnval model, Ann (Asumi Kana); the Altines model, Aines (Mizuhashi Kaori); and the Altlene model, Rane (Nakajima Megumi). The dynamic is changed by the arrival of a fourth Shinki – the combative Straaf, Hina (Chihara Minori). Perhaps the optimism I feel about this series comes in part from the fact I never actually watched Busou Shinki Moon Angel – everything I’ve heard about it ranges from bad to interesting but forgettable, mostly the latter. Of course, Moon Angel was animated and directed by a completely different studio, so hope for a much better series remains. In fact, given that 8bit and director Yasuhito Kikuchi were behind Infinite Stratos, I find myself actually looking forward to seeing how it will turn out. Many parallels have been drawn between IS and Busou Shinki in the past, and with the similarity in mecha design (both feature girls with weapon and armour attachments), this seems like it could be the right choice in studios for an entertaining anime. From the PVs, we could well be in for an entertaining slice-of-life battle anime combining mecha and moe with some comedic elements! Maybe even some harem… but I’m not sure whether a harem of 15cm tall gynoids is particularly viable…
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Preview by Divine, with additional reporting by verdant After a six month hiatus, the popular sci-fi/history shounen series featuring aliens and samurais graces television screens once again. Although it’s not a completely new season as many fans had hoped for, the same main cast and staff do return for a mix of new episodes and Yorinuki Gintama-san (literally “The Very Best of Gintama”) ones. For those interested in getting caught up, the story takes place in a fictional alternate reality, where aliens known as Amanto had conquered Earth during the Edo period and Japan has remained in a feudal state. Sakata Gintoki (Sugita Tomokazu) is a samurai who makes his living doing odd jobs, and is joined by teenager named Shimura Shinpachi (Sakaguchi Daisuke) and a powerful alien girl named Kagura (Kugimiya Rie). They get pretty desperate at times and take on whatever crappy jobs they can to pay the rent, yet also wind up with ones that task them to save the world. I never got into this long-running comedic series when it first aired and haven’t been inclined to do so afterward since I’m apprehensive about shounen adaptations. I did get a sense of the humor from the handful of episodes that I did watch though, which includes poking fun at various other shounen series and the characters’ showing awareness that they’re an anime. The show’s take on the Shinsengumi was amusing as well, simply because I’m familiar from slightly more faithful depictions. However, that doesn’t mean I’m unaware of the series’ popularity. There isn’t much that needs to be said about that, as those who have been waiting for this continuation will already be watching, whereas those who haven’t don’t have any business jumping right into this latest installment.
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Preview by BakaMochi SHAFT and Shinbou Akiyuki (Nisemonogatari, Madoka Magica, Sayonara Zetsubou Sensei) are back with another incarnation of Hidamari Sketch – its fourth season, to be precise. Based on a 4-koma manga about the daily lives of four girls living in Hidamari Apartments while attending the prestigious Yamabuki Art High School, the show’s return to airwaves should please the fans of the franchise. With Asumi Kana, Mizuhashi Kaori, Shintani Ryoko, Gotou Yuuko, Omigawa Chiaki, and Harada Hitomi reprising their roles as Yuno, Miyako, Sae, Hiro, Nazuna, and Nori respectively, Hidamari Sketch x Honeycomb is showing all the charm that led to the birth of its numerous OVAs and previous seasons. The PV showcases more of the colorful palette audiences have come to expect from SHAFT, while the story and characters show the same light-hearted atmosphere and whimsical vibe that permeates most slice of life series. I’m not sure if continuity will be an issue for viewers wanting to jump into this fourth season, but fans of the slice of life genre could do a lot worse than giving this series a try.
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Preview by BakaMochi An original work from studio GoHands with Naikaishi Go as the producer and Suzuki Shingo as director. With little to no information about its premise available to the general public aside from video snippets released on the official site over a 100-day period, the plot of K represents one of the biggest mysteries of the season. The manga adaptation, K: The Memory of Red, which seems more like a spin-off rather than a straight-up reiteration of the anime material, also tells very little in what this show might be about. One thing is for sure though: this thing is a beast in terms of star power and eye candy potential. With what could only be described as an entirely A-list cast – with the likes of industry heavyweights Sakurai Takahiro, Nakamura Yuuichi, Ono Daisuke, Horie Yui, Sawashiro Miyuki, and Sugita Tomokazu in one show – and gorgeous animation, the trailers give off vibes of an intensely immersive world reminiscent of Durarara!!. Whether all these ingredients come together to create Inception or The Expendables is up in the air, but if nothing, K is set to provide the visually and auditorily orgasmic experience of the season. And in the case it fails, well… at least The Expendables was good for some turn-your-brain-off-and-just-enjoy-it sort of entertainment. And yes, I even watched the sequel. And enjoyed it.
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Preview by Zephyr Nearly a year after his family was mysteriously killed, teenager Fuwa Mahiro (Toyonaga Toshiyuki) stumbles upon a doll inscribed with the words: “If you believe in magic and you have a wish to be granted, pierce this doll with a single nail.” He pierces the doll, resulting in a link with Kusaribe Hakaze (Sawashiro Miyuki), a sorcerer marooned on an island by fellow clan member Kusaribe Samon (Koyama Rikiya). In exchange for her assistance in finding his family’s killer via magic, Mahiro agrees to help stop Samon’s plan to revive the Tree of Zetsuen, which could allow the clan to obtain offensive magic capabilities, but could also lead to the world’s destruction. In the present, Yoshino Takigawa (Uchiyama Kouki) finds himself questioned about Fuwa’s disappearance by a mysterious woman—at gunpoint. Armed with new powers bestowed upon him by the sorcerer, Fuwa saves Yoshino and tells him about the iron sickness: a curse caused by the revival of the Zetsuen and turns living things into metal. Linked by bonds of the past and unknowingly guided by a higher power, Yoshino joins Fuwa in his quest. Having gone through the first volume, it seems to me that the mystery label is either a misnomer or an aspect that doesn’t truly show itself until much later in the story. Because of this aspect, beginnings of Zetsuen ultimately give off the impression that it’s a straightforward fantasy series, which may not be to everyone’s liking. At the very least though, the art from Saizaki Ren gives the series a distinctive look that complements the dark atmosphere and Studio Bones will more than likely set a high bar in regards to animation quality. Also, there’s admittedly room to develop the unique aspects it has—including a heroine who has to resort to a wooden doll to communicate and two intelligent male protagonists—but it should be noted that there are only six volumes of source material to work with at this time. All in all, Zetsuen no Tempest comes together as a series with the potential to succeed. The fantasy aspects are enough for fans of the genre and both the art and animation shouldn’t be too shabby either.
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Preview by verdant Shueisha’s second longest running manga series, Araki Hirohiko’s JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure will finally be getting its first TV anime this fall to coincide with its 25th anniversary and an upcoming PS3 fighting game. This series is a bit unique in that it follows the adventures of the Joestar bloodline, a family whose members have battled all manner of bizarre enemies over several generations. This adaptation starts at the beginning of the manga and covers the adventures of the very first Joestar to fight, Jonathan (Okitsu Kazuyuki), who as a boy growing up in a wealthy family during 1880s Britain, enjoyed a fairly normal upbringing until his father adopts Dio Brando (Koyasu Takehito) to repay an old debt. Far from being thankful, Dio has designs on taking over the Joestar estate and fortune and tries to drive Jonathan mad so that Dio can be named as the sole heir instead. When his plans fail, he instead uses an ancient Aztec stone mask to turn him into a vampire and then tries to murder Jonathan. The show follows Jonathan as he duels Dio time and time again throughout London and the surrounding countryside with their ever increasing powers. The source material is noticeably more mature in tone than what we’d consider to be shounen today. The characters are fewer in number and tend to be tailored towards more typical archetypes, while the fights are gritty and visceral yet still over-the-top enough to not allow you to forget that it’s a shounen title at heart and shouldn’t be taken too seriously. The drama can be heavy-handed and overwrought at times, but you can’t help becoming consumed by the stories that unfold between the classic dichotomy of a singular hero and a singular villain. There’s still a lot of charm found in its pages that make me long for the shounen of yesteryear, and hopefully Jojo’s Bizarre Adventures will usher this popular and well-regarded manga into the 21st century with an updated art style courtesy of David Production and the guidance of director Tsuda Naokatsu (Inu x Boku SS).
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Preview by Stilts After six years apart due to various circumstances, Himenokouji Akito (Ohsaka Ryota) is finally able to live with his twin sister Akiko (Kido Ibuki) once again. In the intervening years Akiko has become a fine young lady, a beautiful and well-mannered girl that any older brother would be proud to call his sister – save for the fact that she’s a total bro-con. Unfortunately for her, everyone else says that there’s no chance of a relationship between her and Akito happening, including the hard to read Nasuhara Anastasia (Chihara Minori), the super-horny Nikaidou Arashi (Kitamura Eri), Akito’s best friend Sawatari Ginbee Haruomi (Shimoda Asami), and of course, Akito himself. Akiko clearly has her work cut out for her. Imouto-love romantic comedy light novels are nothing new. From the popular Ore no Imouto ga Konnani Kawaii Wake ga Nai to last season’s Kono Naka ni Hitori, Imouto ga Iru!, there are plenty to choose from, so the obvious question is: what makes OreAi special? Well, while Kirino was a tsundere and Shougo’s imouto was hidden, Akiko is utterly shameless. There is no question here – Akiko loves her onii-chan, and she’ll proudly proclaim this to anyone who will listen! That, combined with the other female characters’ hold-nothing-back personalities results in a harem show with a lot of comedic potential. This one should be easy to decide whether to watch it or not: if you like romcoms, harems, imoutos, shameless comedies, the occasional fanservice, or seeing a horny high school girl get shut down by a male lead who actually has a really good reason to reject her advances – which is nearly without precedent! – then give this show a shot. If, however, you demand a strong plot in your anime, it doesn’t look like you’ll find it here, so you may want to steer clear. I for one will be tuning in, but really…was there any doubt?
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Preview by Stilts The To Love-Ru series follows Yuuki Rito (Watanabe Akeno) and the bevy of gorgeous girls who are in love with him. After Lala Satalin Deviluke (Tomatsu Haruka), princess of the Galaxy ruling Deviluke family, appears naked in Rito’s bath and falls in love with him, he found it difficult to confess to his true love, the gentle Sairenji Haruna (Yahagi Sayuri). But that was only the beginning of Rito’s love troubles. Now the female protagonist roles have been passed to Lala’s little sister Momo Belia Deviluke (Toyosaki Aki) and the blonde-haired assassin Konjiki no Yami (Fukuen Misato). While Momo puts her make-Rito-a-harem plan into action, Yami does battle with an unknown entity pushing her to finally assassinate Rito. Then there’s Momo’s twin sister Nana Astar Deviluke (Itou Kanae) and her interactions with her brand new friend Kurosaki Mea (Igushi Yuka)… At its root To Love-Ru has always been an ecchi harem series, yet previous seasons sometimes sidelined the harem aspect in favor of the Lala-Rito-Haruna love triangle, or just focused on the ecchi antics at the expense of all else. The feeling I got from the Darkness manga is that the creators said “You know what? Screw it. Harem time, 1,000%! And dial up the nudity too!!” So lets be clear about what this is: this is a harem show so ecchi it borders on hentai. Borders hard. Don’t believe me? A Darkness OVA has already been released, so if you’re thinking of watching this series then check that out. I have to wonder how much of that they’ll be able to show in a TV broadcast though. Other thoughts: while Momo focuses on the Harem Plan, there’s definitely some plot on Yami’s side which was actually fairly interesting. Animation is done by Xebec, and while it’s not Xebec style, it’s definitely Xebec quality, i.e. middle of the road at best. Other than that, if you enjoy harem antics with plenty of the nibbly bits showing, this show is definitely for you!
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Preview by Zephyr J.C. Staff’s adapation of Ohba Tsugumi’s manga about manga returns, continuing the story of mangaka pair “Ashirogi Muto” and their attempt at becoming the best in Japan. Abe Atsushi reprises his role as Mashiro Moritaka, an artist motivated by his late uncle and a promise with childhood crush Azuki Miho (Hayami Saori) to get married should they succeed in their goals. Hino Satoshi also returns as Takagi Akito: scriptwriter, top student, and the other half of Ashirogi Muto. The first season saw the pair achieving their first big success via the serialization of their series, Detective Trap. The second showed us the difficulties in maintaining the serialization’s success, the harsh reality of the industry, and Detective Trap’s eventual failure. This season, Ashirogi Muto resume chasing their dreams in some of the final chapters of the Bakuman saga, armed with their new serialization: Perfect Crime Party. Looking back at the past two iterations of Bakuman, “solid” would be the best word to describe them. They weren’t masterpieces by any sense of the word, but did enough well to distinguish them from your average shows. However, given the premise and genre, except slower pacing and the lack of consistent “wow” moments. Whether you give the series enough time to build up will go a long way toward determining whether or not you’ll enjoy the experience. Should you be undeterred though, what Bakuman will offer is a story full of emotional ups and downs, as well as great insight into life as a mangaka and how the manga industry works. The story aspect might not be impressive in its own right, but forms a fairly distinctive combination worth watching when combined with the manga aspects. As such, Bakuman 3 earns the distinction of being one of the safer picks this season in terms of being a series you won’t regret watching. If you’re a first time viewer though, make sure you start this journey with the original, rather than here.
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Preview by Zephyr From producer Kinema Citrus (.hack//Quantum, Tokyo Magnitude 8.0), comes the adaptation of Kamijyo Akimine’s shounen manga CODE:BREAKER. The story revolves around Sakurakouji Sakura (Hikasa Youko), a high school student who witnesses people being burned to ashes by blue flames. The next day in class, there is a new transfer student, a boy her age whom she recognizes from the scene of the massacre. Despite the fact no evidence of the crime remained the day after, Sakurakouji pursues the transfer student in an attempt to find answers. He reveals himself as Oogami Rei (Okamoto Nobuhiko), a CODE:BREAKER and “one whom law codes cannot judge”. Using his powers, he hands down judgment to those that slip through the system, criminals who have avoided rightful punishment for their crimes. Convinced that his definition of justice is flawed however, Sakurakouji embarks on a mission to stop him. After reading the first few chapters, I’ll admit that was slightly intrigued. Not only does the series starts off with a fiery opening (literally a human barbeque), it gives us an interesting heroine to boot, full of strong beliefs and the ability to hold her own as a martial artist. There’s a resemblance to popular shows Ao no Exorcist and Death Note as well, and with the director of Full Metal Alchemist: Brotherhood onboard too, it normally wouldn’t be hard to label this series as potentially awesome. However, there is some concern regarding Sakurakouji’s proper development as an atypical heroine and whether or not there will be pacing issues with a series that already has 19 volumes of source material. Concerns aside though, there’s more than enough to make CODE:BREAKER worth watching. Do note that the series is an action-oriented shounen however, so one’s preference regarding this genre may be the ultimate determinant in whether or not one enjoys this series.
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Preview by Stilts It’s here – the long-awaited adaptation of Key’s beloved visual novel, Little Busters! When Naoe Riki (Horie Yui) was young both of his parents died, leaving him alone and depressed. Fortunately, he was saved by a group of three boys and a girl his age, who befriended him and played with him in his time of need. Now those friends and Riki – known together as the Little Busters – are in high school, and still goofing off and enjoying life. The story begins when leader Natsume Kyousuke (Midorikawa Hikaru) decides that the Little Busters are going to play a baseball game. But to do that they need more people, so Kyousuke sends Riki and Kyousuke’s little sister Natsume Rin (Tamiyasu Tomoe) out to find more members – preferably girls, so that shy Rin won’t be the only one. They end up finding five girls willing to join, all of which start getting close to Riki. A lot has been made of this Key adaptation being done by J.C. Staff, rather than by KyoAni as we have become accustomed to. I for one am not terribly worried. Production-wise, I think J.C. Staff knows the stakes, and from the looks of the PV they’re spending the money necessary to make this anime look good. Likewise, some are worried because they decided to put the relatively inexperienced director Yamakawa Yoshiki in charge for this important project. Yet Yamakawa-san isn’t completely wet behind the ears – he served as director for Hatsukoi Limited, which was a very good adaptation across the board. Look, this is an easy recommendation to make: Key stories are always superb, and are full of love, drama, deep themes, serious plotlines, touching emotions, and tons of cute girls. Add onto that the fact that Little Busters! is easily the funniest Key story I’ve ever read – the original five Little Busters are hilariously crazy on their own, and it only gets better when more characters enter the fray – makes this without a doubt one of the must-watch shows of the fall season. Ignore the cynics and watch this show – I bet that when the emotions start flowing and the drama gets under way, you won’t regret having tuned in.
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Preview by BakaMochi Based on the manga by Hazuki Kanae (whose works include mature shoujo fare), the adaptation of Sukitte Ii na yo by ZEXCS brings social recluse Tachibana Mei (Kayano Ai), who had neither friends nor boyfriends for the sixteen years of her life until one day, she accidentally roundhouse kicks the most popular boy in school, Kurosawa Yamato (Sakurai Takahiro), in retaliation for a prank. From then on, she suddenly finds herself surrounded by friends and feelings she never knew she could experience. I’m personally a little wary of shoujo titles in general, and I approached Sukitte with the same caution, since the plot seemed very run-of-the-mill. But sometimes, it’s the delivery of the material that counts – the first couple chapters of the manga presents a frank look at the lives and feelings of its characters, approaching some of the “heavier” issues of adolescence (e.g. sex, bullying) with a bluntness that gave it maturity and a refreshing edge to set it apart from typical shoujo fare. Along with some pitch-perfect casting for Yamato, this adaptation by ZECXS is definitely something to look forward to for those wanting to sink their teeth into some meaty romance.
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Preview by Moomba Directed by Takamatsu Shinji (most notable for directing various comedies, including Gintama) and animated by Brains Base, Ixion Saga DT brings us a series based on Capcom’s new Online RPG Ixion Saga, complemented by an impressive voice cast. Through certain circumstances, protagonist Hokaze Kon (Eguchi Takuya) finds himself in a parallel world by the name of Mira. In this world a mysterious energy called Alma dwells within all things. After saving Princess Ecarlate (Mikami Shiori) and her entourage from assailants attempting to stop the political marriage that will prevent the looming war, he soon finds himself caught in the middle of a struggle over Alma, all the while seeking hints on how to return to his own world. Other notable seiyuu include Kamiya Hiroshi, Kaji Yuki, Hosoya Yoshimasa and Sugita Tomokazu. Anime based on video game settings seem to be in vogue at the moment. There’s always a slight worry that an anime of this type is being made purely to promote the product in question, but AKB0048 already managed to prove that this is not inherently bad. After all, if it’s enjoyable to watch and is well made, what does it matter why it was made? It’s hard enough to find great fantasy anime these days (although things have been looking up these past few seasons) so Ixion Saga DT should stand out on that count at the very least. The premise and PV don’t seem to suggest that the anime will be breaking any new ground, but that should not deter from the series’ capacity to entertain. With such a great cast of A-list seiyuu, Brains Base handling the animation, Elements Garden (Senki Zesshou Symphogear, Mouretsu Pirates) writing the music, and a solid chance for some great humour amidst the fantasy setting, I know I’ll definitely be watching.
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Preview by BakaMochi Based loosely on the Arabian Nights, Magi ups the ante by introducing the concept of fate and “Magi” into its universe. Adapted from Ohtaka Shinobu’s manga featuring a young boy named Aladdin and the djinn trapped in his flute named Ugo, the story unfolds as the two meet various key characters from the Arabian Nights such as Ali Baba and Sinbad, all in an attempt to fulfill Aladdin’s role as a Magi by choosing rightful kings who will keep the world’s precarious balance in check. Some of the elements of Magi seem to be tailored for children/older teens, but a perusal through the manga does reveal flashes of some of the darker issues (e.g. slavery, greed) in its early chapters. I also particularly liked the rich universe Magi creates to immerse its readers, and the previews indicate a rich, colorful palette and some nice animation to bring that to life. The setting is certainly refreshing, and everything in general has a very expansive feel reminiscent of high-fantasy series like Narnia or The Lord of the Rings. While I can’t guarantee its success, if A-1 Pictures can do it right, Magi can become an epic adventure story filled with heart and fun.
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Preview by BakaMochi Based on a card game about producing idols. With a relatively unknown cast (only Ohashi Ayaka and Kotobuki Minako have had “mainstream” roles) and first-time director Kimura Ryuichi at the helm, Sunrise’s entry into the fall 2012 season is shrouded in mystery. It’s too early to write this show off though, as the seiyuu have had some solid roles, and while this is his first time as a director, Kimura Ryuichi has worked on some decent shows. With series like IDOLM@STER, Amagami SS, and Natsuiro Kiseki under his belt, he has experience enough to take the seemingly frothy, cotton-candy-happy Aikatsu! to some dramatic heights.
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Preview by Verdant Anime truism number 1026: a series featuring cute girls and military hardware will always find a respectable audience. Following in the footsteps of shows like Strike Witches and Upotte!!, studio ACTAS is the latest to appeal to this crowd with an original series featuring teams of high school girls who battle one another using real world tanks. In the Girls und Panzer universe, the traditional martial art for girls is actually the art of battle tank operation, called sensha-dou (literally tank driving). Nishizumi Miho (Fuchigami Mai) is a transfer student at Ourai Girls’ Academy who struggles with making friends and hates operating tanks, but she is forced to join the school’s tank sensha-dou team by the student council president. There she befriends the boy crazy Takebe Saori (Kayano Ai), gentle and composed Isuzu Hana (Ozaki Mami), tank obsessed Akiyama Yukari (Nakagami Ikumi), and gloomy Reizei Mako (Iguchi Yuka) as they team up to compete against other high schools and eventually in the national championship. In many shows, cute girls usually do cute things, but sometimes it’s more interesting and appealing when they don’t do typically cute things – like say, operate heavily armored mechanized marvels of modern warfare. Director Mizushima Tsutomu (Ika Musume, Another, xxxHOLiC) promises no panty flashing and intends to provide plenty of tank-service instead. Judging from the early chapters of the manga, there is a good deal of characters rattling off tank specifications, little details and nuances of tank operation, and actual tank combat tactics along with your usual high school girl slice-of-life stories. With CGI by Graphinca (Strike Witches), the battle scenes should be well animated too. If you’re craving for your weekly course of cute girls along with a side dish of good old fashioned fight scenes that can even teach you a thing or two, Girls und Panzer may have the perfect recipe for your consumption.
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Preview by Stilts One day Kanada Sorata (Matsuoka Yoshitsugu) picked up an abandoned cat and decided to raise it…only to be immediately kicked out of his no-pets-allowed dorm. That’s how he ended up living at Sakurasou, his school’s dorm for problem children. Now he’s surrounded by crazy people, including genki anime creator Kamiigusa Misaki (Takamori Natsumi), useless 29-years-old-and-15-months teacher Sengoku Chihiro (Toyoguchi Megumi), and bespectacled playboy Mitaka Jin (Sakurai Takahiro). But his life becomes even more hectic with the arrival of one Shiina Mashiro (Kayano Ai), an internationally renowned art prodigy and quiet beauty…who just so happens to be completely useless at anything save for drawing. Such as cleaning, or dressing herself, or washing her face, or not sleeping naked underneath her desk. Now Sorata is stuck taking care of Mashiro like he’s the master and she’s his pet. If you’re familiar with the romcom genre, you’ve seen this premise before – a normal guy gets paired up with a cute but eccentric girl, and hilarity (and romance) ensues. That’s not a bad thing by any means, it’s just that nothing struck me as especially unique about this show going in. That said, as I looked into the source material…well, that opinion mostly held true! I did laugh at the Sakurasou resident’s antics, especially those of super-genki Misaki, whose interactions with Sorata just made me smile. If I’m worried about anything, it’s that most of the jokes appear to be at Sorata’s expense, and it can get tiresome to see the only responsible character take a bunch of abuse. Still, the art is good (think upgraded Toradora), the seiyuu cast is solid, and this is the kind of series that J.C. Staff has traditionally done well. If you’re into romcoms, this is an easy choice. For everyone else, consider giving it an episode or three. It might not set the world on fire, but you may just may find yourself having a good time.
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Preview by Moomba GAINAX returns to bring us the second season of Nisio Isin’s school-comedy-turned-meta-shounen-battle manga Medaka Box with its borderline Mary Sue protagonist. Slated to cover the ‘Flask Plan’ arc, it will directly continue on from the first season, which served primarily to establish the student council and introduce us to the bare bones of the central cast. As was teased at the end of the previous season, Kurokami Medaka (Toyosaki Aki) and the other members of Sandbox Academy’s student council, Hitoyoshi Zenkichi (Ono Yuuki), Akune Kouki (Namikawa Daisuke) and Kikaijima Mogana (Kayano Ai) face off against a slew of new foes as they seek to find out exactly what the Flask Plan is and halt its progress. When I covered the first season here on RandomC, I had yet to read any of the manga. Not long after it ended, I felt an irresistible drive to read through all the available chapters and found it to be a very entertaining work. As much as there is frequent concern over GAINAX adaptions, they were extremely faithful with the first season – covering it almost word for word in most cases. There were definitely many parts of the first season which I found to be enjoyable, despite frequently suffering from overly static backgrounds and poor quality control. This new arc is when Nisio Isin’s characteristic writing style begins to shine through a little bit more and where it truly transitions to being a full on battle manga. While this season probably won’t reach the parts of the manga most anticipated for adaptation by fans, it will still cover what is certainly one of the arcs I would most like to see in animated form. The only concern is how well GAINAX will fare in that department given the evident budget constraints seen throughout the first season.
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Preview by Zephyr From Production I.G comes the newest addition to Fuji TV’s lauded noitaminA programming block: PSYCHO-PASS. Set in the future, this is a story where one’s state of mind and personality can be measured and quantified instantly. The information is then compared to a standard known as “PSYCHO-PASS,” which is then used to ascertain an individual’s state of being. With the coming of this new era also comes the need for new breed of law enforcement. Shinya Kougami (Seki Tomokazu) is that new breed. And at his side is his trusty Dominator pistol: the “muzzle that dispenses justice”. Urobuchi Gen takes the helm for screenplay, with Kateyo Hitman Reborn’s Amano Akira on character designs. They’re joined by a cast filled with esteemed female seiyuu, including Hanazawa Kana, Itou Shizuka, Sawashiro Miyuki. It took a while to confirm, but now that we know Urobochi Gen’s officially involved, PSYCHO-PASS immediately becomes one of the season’s must-watch shows. The brain behind Fate/Zero and Madoka Magica, Urobochi has shown a propensity for not only delivering quality series, but doing so while defying all sorts of predictions and expectations. The catch though, is the amount of brutality that’s used to achieve that effect. The two aforementioned series definitely aren’t for the squeamish, and with guns and justice involved, I wouldn’t expect PSYCHO-PASS to break that trend either… or so you’d think. You just never know with Urobochi, which is not only part of the beauty behind his works, but a major reason I’m just hesitant to say anything else regarding PSYCHO-PASS. What I do know though, is that Urobochi’s armed with an all-star cast and the distinctive art style of Amano Akira this time around, and having done more with less, there aren’t enough ways to say “you need to watch this series”.
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Preview by Moomba Production I.G brings us an anime adaptation of the third installment in 5pb.’s acclaimed Science Adventure series, set to air in the noitaminA slot this fall. Taking place in 2019, Divergence Ratio 1.048596, the focus this time is on augmented reality and Chuuoutanegashima High School’s Robot Research Club as they attempt to build a giant fighting robot. Our protagonist is Yashio Kaito (Kimura Ryohei), a lover of fighting games and the only other member of the robotics club besides its chairman, Senomiya Akiho (Nanjo Yoshino). Together they strive to build a giant robot and save the club’s status. Of course, it wouldn’t be a Science Adventure without a conspiracy of some sort, which stems from the discovery of the mysterious A.R. Annotation that becomes the basis for the Kimishima Report. It’s hard not to have high expectations for the anime adaption of the successor to ChäoS;HEAd and Steins;Gate. While the ChäoS;HEAd anime failed to capture the glory of the VN, WHITE FOX did an admirable job of adapting Steins;Gate, resulting in it being one of my favourite series of 2011. Though the ROBOTICS;NOTES VN was nowhere near as well received in Japan as its predecessors, I don’t see this as much of an issue – it will depend on how well the material fares as an anime. I have to admit, given Production I.G’s questionable reputation in recent times it comes as a surprise that they’re replacing WHITE FOX for ROBOTICS;NOTES, but at the very least we can expect some spectacular animation! In addition, the trailers for the VN seem to suggest much more crossover with the two previous series than we’ve seen in the Science Adventures released to date which can only be a good thing in my view!
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Preview by Stilts Seitokai no Ichizon follows the antics of Sugisaki Ken (Kondo Takashi), vice president and lone male member of a student council otherwise populated by beautiful girls. Other members include Sakurano Kurimu (Honda Mariko), the pint-sized president who is childish in both body and mind; Akaba Chizuru (Mina), the busty secretary with a sadistic side who loves to cuddle with Kurimu; Minatsu Shiina (Togashi Misuzu), the athletic tomboy vice president who is a tsundere with very little dere; and Shiina Mafuyu (Nomizu Iori), the fujoushi treasurer and Shiina’s younger sister who is a gamer, a BL fanfic writer, and deathly afraid of men. Silly conversations and hilarity ensue as they spend their days together in the student council room. The first season of Seitokai no Ichizon was one of those shows I was surprised I enjoyed so much. It’s what’s called a “one-room comedy,” meaning that nearly the entire story takes place inside the student council room, and that always seemed limiting to me. Yet the very first skit of the first episode was totally hilarious, and by the time I was a few episodes in, the characters had me hooked. Ken is one of those harem leads who actually deserves any love he gets – he truly cares about the girls, which leads to some heart-warming moments throughout the story. But he doesn’t get much love, and a lot of the comedy is at his expense – also deservedly so! The chemistry between the characters is also nice, as they all have unique personalities that collide in interesting ways. If I had any qualms about this series, it’s that it’s a pure comedy – when the jokes fall flat, an episode can end up being pretty boring. Still, I enjoyed the first season, and with the change from Studio DEEN to AIC – a swap I will make any day, given their past work (Sora no Otoshimono, Nyan Koi!, Amagami SS) – I’m hopeful that if Season 1 was good, Season 2 will be even better!
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Preview by Moomba In Aoi Sekai no Chuushin de, little-known animation studio 5th Avenue brings us an adaptation of the web manga drawn by doujin circle Crimson (perhaps best known for their extensive catalogue of hentai doujin) and written by Anastasia Shestakova. Like many other recent series, Aoi Sekai no Chuushin de has strong connections to video games, the twist being that unlike shows focusing on game worlds, Aoi Sekai instead features parodies of many well known and much loved classic video game systems and characters. For some time, the kingdom of Segua has been on the losing side in the war with the Ninterdo Empire, an empire which already controls the majority of the continent thanks to their ability-possessing troops. But one day things begin to change as Gear (Okamoto Nobuhiko), a youth posessing exceptional speed and the nickname ‘Sonic,’ sets out for revenge against the Empire following the death of Til (Uchiyama Kouki) at their hands. Many properties of Sega and Nintendo (including The Legend of Zelda, Super Mario Bros. and Sonic the Hedgehog) feature throughout the storyline. Console/Manufacturer wars as a plot element is not an entirely original concept (e.g. Hyperdimension Neptunia), but it’s still something that hasn’t been done particularly frequently. It interests me that the director (Yanagisawa Tetsuya) has worked as the director for High School DxD and Sora no Otoshimono – both rather ecchi series – when the original manga for Aoi Sekai is drawn by a group known for their h-doujin. The first three chapters of the manga (which you can read online) did nothing to give the idea that there might be ecchi involved, but some of the character designs suggest otherwise. A few of the other parodied characters I noticed included Kirby (who appears female in this iteration!), Mario (the ruler of Ninterdo), two versions of Link, an androgynous Pikachu, and Samus Aran. Many of us lived through and are familiar with how this ‘war’ turned out… the big question is whether or not this parody will have the same outcome!
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Preview by verdant Buckle up for the restart of the storied street/drift racing franchise because 6 years after the last installment, Initial D is at the starting line once again with its fifth season. Shigeno Shuichi has kept the manga running this entire time so there’s plenty of races left in the tank for Fujiwara Takumi and his legendary tofu delivery vehicle/drift machine, a Toyota Sprinter Trueno GT-APEX (AE86). He’ll be joined by his former rival Takahashi Keisuke in his Mazda RX-7 (FD3S) as they team up and try to conquer touge (mountain pass) races all over Japan and hopefully gain the skills to move on from the streets and onto the track. Not much is known about the series’ cast or staff at the moment, but if past seasons are any indication, gearheads like me should have plenty to rejoice about. Initial D is known for its intoxicating, high-octane blend of CGI street racing that is based on just enough real-world tactics and technical information to feel plausible (I would know – I tried it!) but still fantastic enough to invoke excitement. An addictive Eurodance soundtrack provides an energetic accompaniment to the throaty roar of engines and screeching of rubber across tarmac, while the drama between racing personalities and their teams keeps the interest level topped up when the gas pedals aren’t glued to the floor. With BBC’s Top Gear on break until January 2013, I’m glad to have an old friend of a show to keep the boy racer inside me company until then.
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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 or e-mail one of us directly (Stilts, verdant, Divine).
| Release Date | Title | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 09/13 | Accel World OVA | アクセル・ワールド OVA http://accel-world.net/ |
Bundled with PSP/PS3 game. |
| 09/20 | Sakura Taisen: Kanadegumi | サクラ大戦奏組 http://sakura-taisen.com/kanade/ |
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| 09/20 | High School DxD OVA | ハイスクールD×D OVA http://www.kadokawa.co.jp/shop/sp/shop_sp_193.html |
Bundled with LN vol. 13 |
| 09/20 | Eureka Seven: AO OVA | エウレカセブンAO OVA http://eurekaao-prj.net/ |
Bundled with PS3 game. |
| 09/26 | Boku wa Tomodachi ga Sukunai Add-on Disk | 僕は友達が少ない あどおんでぃすく http://www.tbs.co.jp/anime/haganai/ |
Series Compilation. |
| 09/26 | Hagure Yuusha no Estetica Special | はぐれ勇者の鬼畜美学 (エステティカ) Special http://kichiku.tv/ |
Bundled with BD Vol. 1. |
| 09/26 | Inu x Boku SS | 妖狐×僕SS http://www.inuboku.tv/ |
Bundled with BD/DVD Vol. 7. |
| 09/26 | Nogizaka Haruka no Himitsu: Finale | 乃木坂春香の秘密 ふぃな～れ♪ http://www.nogizaka-haruka.com/ |
Episode 2 of 4, 10/31: Vol.3, 11/28: Vol. 4. |
| 09/26 | Otome wa Boku ni Koishiteru: Futari no Elder 処女はお姉さまに恋してる ～2人のエルダー～ http://www.caramel-box.com/products/otoboku2/ |
10/24: Vol. 2 |
| 10/03 | Amagami SS+ plus Special | アマガミSS+ plus http://www.tbs.co.jp/anime/amagami/ |
|
| 10/05 | Minami-ke OAD | みなみけ OAD http://kc.kodansha.co.jp/content/top.php/1000000240 |
Bundled with manga Vol. 10. |
| 10/18 | Kami Nomi zo Shiru Sekai Tenri-hen | 神のみぞ知るセカイ 天理篇 http://kaminomi.jp/index.html |
Bundled with manga Vol. 19. |
| 10/19 | Ippatsu Hicchuu! Devander OVA | 一発必中!! デバンダー OVA http://www.tatsunoko.co.jp/devander/ |
|
| 10/19 | Usogui OAD | 嘘喰い OAD http://vomic.shueisha.co.jp/usogui/ |
Bundled with LE manga vol. 1. |
| 10/20 | Fuse Teppou Musume no Torimonochou | 伏 鉄砲娘の捕物帳 http://fuse-anime.com/ |
|
| 10/20 | Kore wa Zombie Desu ka? OF THE DEAD OVA | これはゾンビですか? OF THE DEAD http://kadokawa-anime.jp/zombie/ |
11th episode. Bundled with LE manga Vol. 6. |
| 10/24 | Tales of Symphonia the Animation: Sekai Tougou-hen OVA テイルズ オブ シンフォニア THE ANIMATION 世界統合編 OVA http://ova-tos.com/ |
Episode 3 of 3. |
| 10/24 | Upotte!! OVA | うぽって!! OVA http://www.upotte.jp/ |
Bundled with LE manga Vol. 4. |
| 10/25 | The IDOLM@STER: Shiny Festa OVA | アイドルマスター シャイニーフェスタ OVA http://www.bandainamcogames.co.jp/cs/list/idolmaster/festa/ |
Bundled with PSP game. |
| 10/26 | Momo he no Tegami | ももへの手紙 http://momo-letter.jp/ |
|
| 10/26 | Strike Witches The Movie | 劇場版 ストライクウィッチーズ http://s-witch.cute.or.jp/movie/ |
|
| 11/09 | Sankarea OVA | さんかれあ OVA http://www.tbs.co.jp/anime/sankarea/ |
Episode 2 of 2, bundled with LE manga Vol. 7. |
| 11/16 | FAIRY TAIL OVA | フェアリーテイル OVA http://kc.kodansha.co.jp/fairytail/limited35/ |
Episode 4 of 4, bundled with manga Vol. 35. |
| 11/28 | Tasogare Otome x Amnesia OVA | 黄昏乙女×アムネジア OVA http://www.amnesia-tv.com/ |
Bundled with BD/DVD Vol. 6. |
| November | Code Geass Gaiden: Boukoku no Akito OVA | コードギアス GAIDEN 亡国のアキトOVA http://geass.jp/akito/ |
Episode 2 of 4. |
| Fall 2012 | Arve Rezzle: Kikaijikake no Yoseitachi OVA | アルヴ・レズル -機械仕掛けの妖精たちOVA http://kobolog.typepad.jp/box/2012/07/post-5230.html |
Normally this is the place that Divine would give his overall impressions of the season, but seeing as I am only one of multiple people who worked on this preview, it wouldn’t feel right. I will only say this – I feel like there is a lot to enjoy about this season, if you’re willing to pick up a few shows and give them a shot. Even shows whose premises don’t ooze with creativity can be fun to watch, so if something looks like it might be up your alley, give it a shot, alright? You just might find yourself pleasantly surprised!
Now, onto the list. Below is a collection of all the shows debuting this season by excitement level, along with the defition of what each level means to us. We arrived at these levels by convening a shadowy council of the five writers who wrote previews (BakaMochi, Moomba, Zephyr, verdant, and myself) + any other writers who were around at the moment (Stereoman, in this case) and going down the list, shouting out our opinions as we went. As usual, we have tried to be as objective as possible, but we’re only human (except for verdant, who is a vampire robot. Don’t ask), so don’t take these as unassailable truths. Note: The lists are sorted in alphabetical order.
High expectation shows give us reason to believe they have the makings of a very good series that should appeal to the widest audience in their given genres. If you consider yourself a “casual” fan who only gets your toes wet every season by watching the “best” shows (i.e. popular ones that generate the most buzz), then these are the ones we feel you should keep an eye out for. We’re also expecting good things from these shows, so if they fall short, disappointment is understandable.
- High Expectations: Jormungand 2: Perfect Order, Little Busters!, PSYCHO-PASS, ROBOTICS;NOTES, Shin Sekai Yori
Moderate expectation shows don’t provide any immediate indication that they’ll be amazing in retrospect. This is often the case with shows that fall into one of anime’s overused plot devices, which most people, particularly self-proclaimed critics, will perceive as mediocre at best. However, in many of our experiences, these shows still provide a great deal of entertainment and may turn out a lot better than they appear. They’re good for “regular” fans who are aware of all these tropes and don’t mind seeing them used in different settings. Personal tastes come heavily into play, so your mileage will vary.
- Moderate Expectations: Aoi Sekai no Chuushin de, BTOOOM!, Chuunibyou Demo Koi ga Shitai, CODE:BREAKER, Hayate no Gotoku! Can’t Take My Eyes Off You, Hidamari Sketch x Honeycomb, K, Magi, Medaka Box 2, Seitokai no Ichizon S2, Sukitte Ii na yo, Tonari no Kaibutsu-kun, Zetsuen no Tempest: The Civilization Blaster
Low expectation shows don’t seem to be striving for much and choose to focus on more frivolous aspects such as senseless humor and fan-service. That doesn’t mean they’re the bottom of the barrel and shouldn’t get any consideration, but simply that you need to keep in mind what kind of show it is. Generally only “avid” fans will be interested in seeing what these have to offer, because they’re already watching all the better shows.
- Low Expectations: Busou Shinki, Girls und Panzer, Ixion Saga DT, Aikatsu!, To Love-Ru – Trouble: Darkness, Onii-chan Dakedo Ai Sae Areba Kankei Nai yo ne, Sakurasou no Pet no Kanojo
Niche shows break away from the norm by being slower-paced, extremely dark/grotesque, or even controversial. In most cases, these shows are oriented towards older audiences or those who feel that anime has become far too repetitive and want something different. Shows of this category tend to be highly underappreciated but can turn out to be hidden gems for that very reason. Includes works oriented toward female audiences.
Established shows are generally long-running manga/anime series, geared towards younger viewers who are already fans of them. A commonality is that they all air early morning on weekends or well before midnight on weekdays so that “normal” people can actually watch them. They aren’t very dependent on expectations but a love for never-ending shows and a willingness to get into all the material that’s out if they’re completely new to you. Shounen series fall into this category, hence why we treat them differently.
FIRST!!!
j/k
Actually, what took you guys so long?? 😛 Let me state, for the record, that I asked to work on this preview and was denied permission by the Godfather himself.
The Godfather has a plan for everything.. have faith.
*Reads – “everyone drew straws, and we lost”
Ok, maybe not everything… >_>
Somehow the voice of Riki in Little Busters!(Anime) seems akward(I’m a VN player) after seeing the new commerical they put not long ago.
The voice isn’t much different than in the VN, as Riki had the same Seiyuu as Rin originally. Switching Riki’s voice to Horie Yui is not a stretch by any means.
Yeah I know. But this going to take time to get used to.
Really – the AO haters are following me to other posts now?
Hey think of it as having another group of “loyal” followers. :3
After scrutinizing this list, I have came up with several interesting numbers..Out of 32 shows (Accurate at time of writing!):
What is most popular amongst writers:
(Assuming Divine Takaii and Proof not watching, this leaves us with 11 total)
7: CODE:BREAKER
8: Shin Sekai, Chuunibyou, Tempest, Little Busters, Sukitte, Magi
9: Tonari, ROBOTICS;NOTES
10: K, PSYCHO-PASS (K why you no rated highly?)
11: BTOOOM! (? Clearly most popular)
The number of shows each writer is watching (out of 32):
23: Stilts
21: Zanibas
18: Moomba
17: Ghost Zephyr
17: Guardian Enzo
——–Half way point——–
13: Cherrie
12: BakaMochi
12: Stereoman
10: Verdant
9: Asobi
5: Unlisted (claims he is going to pick up more)
Genre distribution (didn’t count everything though >_>):
14 Comedy
12 Action
11 School, of which 5 have Romance and Comedy in them
9 tagged Romance
5 Sci-Fi
4 Harem
1 Ecchi
Seiyuu roles (selected the more popular ones):
4: Sawashiro Miyuki, Kayano Ai, Sugita Tomozaku
3: Kugi Rie, Hana Kana
2: Horie Yui, Toyosaki Aki, Kita Eri, Nakamura Yuuichi
1: Hikasa Youko, Fuku Jun
Misc:
JC staff with 3 shows this season, hopefully their LB adaptation goes well.
6 confirmed 1-cour shows
2 confirmed 2-cour shows – R;N and Psycho-pass \o/
Comment took 20 minutes to come up with, not counting research time taken.
My not-so-finalized watchlist:
“Must watch” at 6: Shin Sekai, Chuunibyou, K, LB, Psycho Pass
“Rom Com bla bla” at 5: Tonari, Pet, Sukitte, Oni Ai, TLR:D
“Action and everything else” at 5: BTOOOM, Medaka Box2, Tempest, Codebreaker, Magi
try to watch Jormungand
It’s okay Enzo!
I was asked to sit this one out too so you’re not the only one =P
Can’t. Wait. For. Jormungand. PERFECT ORDER. !!!!
Her name is Koko, she is loco, OH NO!
I’ll just need to put this here:
http://youtu.be/wf-pqcTa5xg
I’m not really a big follower of Jormungand, But DAT Soundtrack. AWESOME!!
I think it’s better to leave this here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0qAVwGZSGeE
LITTTTTTTTTLLLLLEEEEEEEE BBBBBBBBBBUUUSSSSSSSTTTTEEEEEERRRRRRRRRRSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS
and Chuunibyou
HAYATE 3RD SEASON WOW!
The first season was great the second season was good (but I missed the insanity and banter), the third season will have the extended cast from the manga.
Hmmm Let’s see…
Chuunibyou
K(Though I hope I can get past the horrible color scheme they’re using.)
Kyousogiga
PSYCHO-PASS
ROBOTICS;NOTES
LB
JJBA
Hidamari
And…
wait… WHAT THE-
Intial D Fifth Stage? There’s really going to be a fifth stage!? How could I have not known this was going to be made? D:
Oh well.. This season seems SO packed. I dunno what I’ll stick too.
Jormugand 2 more expected than KyoAni’s new LN adaptation and Project K?
Well, the thing about K was, you hardly know anything about it to make it a surefire bet as “high expectations.” As for KyoAni, eh, just because it’s KyoAni doesn’t mean it will be a high expectation bet. And as for Jormungand, its original season was pretty enjoyable according to most and it’s said the sequel will be better so… that’s how it worked out.
Finally, after a sluggish summer season we get some great looking shows this fall!
Seitokai is surprisingly good.
Damn straight! Hopefully this 2nd season can hold up to what we saw in Season 1
Wowow this actually came out way too fast! There is still 2 weeks to go for the next season, heh. Thanks to everyone for the hard work!
Let’s see..so many goodies lined up T_T Probably will scrutinize this list later but K is definitely FTW this season. Although there are many other top-tier picks as well.
K! I’m waiting eagerly for its premiere too, haha. Hearing all those top-tier seiyuu in one sitting… it’s going to be heaven *__*
Whoa. Noitamina going 2-cour for both series?! how things change :o!.
Meh, not terribly excited by this lineup… which works out well for me. I could use a “vacation” season… catch up on the backlog and actually get things done during the week @_@;;.
Once again, I lament having another season without a giant robot show. WHY JAPAN!?
Seriously though, my must see would be ROBOTICS;NOTES, Hayate and Little Busters largely due to having seen the original materials, or has some relation to works I like.
Magi might be interesting for me, since Arabian Nights holds a place in my heart for Children stories. Psycho Pass I didn’t care much until Urobuchi’s name was attached so now I HAVE to see it. I’d add To Love-ru as well because if anything can fill my perversion quota of the season, it would be this.
I might see Busous Shinki since its the closest they’ve got to a mecha. Other than that I’ll keep my yuri goggles on for any other show that have some context.
Mmmm theoretically Shinki isn’t about giant robots either. There is Vivid Red Operation in the Winter with mecha though, but unsure how big of a part they play in the story.
Technically speaking, mecha doesn’t have to refer to giant robots.
Isn’t Gundam AGE still running? Isn’t that why there are no new mecha shows?
Weird. Usually the Fall is the best season but I can’t see anything that I want to watch =/
That’s where RC comes in I guess =D
SEITOKAI NO ICHIZON 2, YEEEEEEEEEAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHH, always wanted a 2nd season of it, although i hear there’s been quite a staff change with this next season; hopefully things will still be fine. Little Busters will either make or break JC Staff. Either way, looking forward to this season.
AIC is an upgrade in my book, and so are the seiyuu changes. Who knows, maybe it’s something only Studio Deen could do, but, well…I’m excited : )
Damn. I hope it doesn’t change that dramatically. I really loved the previous Seiyus. They seemed all perfect at acting their roles.
I would hate it if my favorite show of all the time suddenly becomes a piece of shit.
Robotics;Notes looks like the only guaranteed pick for me at the moment, but I’ll be keeping my eye out.
The way Psycho Pass is getting built up is certainly giving me flashbacks from last year (as well as the fact that it’s 22 episodes and on Noitamina), but it IS Urobuchi, so I’ll give it a shot.
Hinagiku: 2013’ll be my year!
Code Breaker looks pretty bland…
And Gintama just won’t die!
Other than those, not a lot of standouts from a first glance. Though I’ll likely watch the first episode of each new show to see if something catches my eye.
Guilty – ERR ANYWAY. I’m hoping PSYCHO-PASS! will be a little lighter on the philosophical dialogue and heavier on the action, but who knows. At the very least, I’m praying it’ll be less ZETSUBOU than UroGen’s last two series.
I’m hoping for more ZETSUBOU myself. I adore a good tragedy and Gen has proven himself masterful in their composition.
More action scenes are always welcomed, but if there’s one thing Urobuchi sensei clearly excels at, it’s the very well-written dialogues and the intellectual discourse that they inspire.
if Urobochi can pull off the same kind of drama as the one in Phantom : Requiem for The phantom and Fate/Zero with this premise then this is gonna be epic….
Yup, that’s the thing about PSYCHO-PASS. With Gen at the helm you just can’t know what to expect, so you just gotta wait and see.
Will definitely be following Jormungand 2 and Psycho-pass.
Speaking of which, the idea where your mentality is measured in Psycho-pass reminds me a lot of Money and Intelligence from Bakuman!
Oh wow, now that you mention it… Don’t know how that slipped by me. Good catch. 😀
Shin Sekai Yori is way too much under the radar. I suspect it’ll be the best show of the season.
I really want Shin sekai to have this kind of triangle
That is NOT a triangle… This is why you fail classes Croos. Try going back to kindergarten.
This might help.. or probably not. Most likely not. Yeah, I guess not. I wasted my time!
@MrRei is concerned for my well being.
Doshioo!!! Mina doshio!!
*shakes head and blush*
*////*(blush)
MrRei honto ni tsundere-san da ne~
-_-
Go lock yourself somewhere you’ll never be found…
Croos! How could you make a dorky mistake like that? D: That’s five-sided, not 3.
Yeah, I’ve been getting the same vibe here. Distinguished source material, good adapation studio, HanaKana, Sci-Fi, Supernatural = great punch.
The only off note is Kaji Yuuki. Why, A-1, why??
Sadly life does not work the way we want it is why. But I dunno, he’s not particularly bad imo eh… and it’s doubtful even if he does a bad job, that he’ll overpower the other 4 mains and the great pedigree at least. 😀
HanaKana~ ♥♥♥
HanaKana~ <3<3<3
Trolling so soon, after getting trolled by Eureka Seven AO trolls? 😉
Little Busters! is the one that introduces me to the world of visual novel, and I’ve been faithfully wait for its anime adaptation for about 4 years. Now that it’s here, I can’t wait to feast myself with the anime~!
Other than LB, there are also Jormungand S2, Seizon S2, Hayate no Gotoku, Psycho Pass, Robotics;Notes, Shin Sekai Yori, Chuniibyou, Magi, K, Medaka Box S2…. Ugh. There’re so many titles I want to watch this fall~! It’s been so long since the last time I was this excited~!
omg DAT THURSDAY!
BTOOM! (“when in doubt , lob another grenade” – Minnie may, Gunsmith Cats)k (I have my suspicions what it will be about and i like the art), zetsuen no tempest (magic meets guns!), psycho-pass (more guns, plus some neat cyber-to-brain tech…), robotics;notes (I’d so love to create fighting robot myself… saving the world will probably come into play too)
other than that I will go for Jormungand (even more guns!) and Girls und Panzer
(I am definitely into tanks… Guderian, take this: “Achtung Moe!”)
Nothing really….jumps out at me this season…some look interesting, yeah, but nothing really just jumps out and bites me, saying “WATCH ME!”
Who knows…we’ll see.
Thank you for your hard work everyone! The expectation level is quite a good idea as it gives people an indication of what full-on anime bloggers think about certain series. Keep up the good work.
\o/ glad to hear it!
Looks like a great season! I pretty much have most of these anime on my to watch list.
Small error on the Shin Sekai Yori description – Another was done by P.A Works
Fixed. My bad. Don’t know how that snuck in… :3
“Due to heavy traffic at the ‘Fall 2012 Preview’ page, we are experiencing unexpected disregard for all other pages. Please take time to leave a message in other pages as well. This has been a message from Mixed Milkshake.”
Nobody watching Gintama. Nobody watching Hidamari. Four to five authors watching pandering bullshit.
I don’t like what RC has become.
They suck because they don’t watch what you think it’s good?
…what?
However, they should really watch Gintama, the writers here should really give it a shot. Best comedy anime ever.
Well, Gintama is a long-running shonen, regardless of its impeccable comedy. It isn’t surprising that none of the bloggers have watched it. That being said, it is one of the few truly good shonen out there.
So many interesting shows to watch, but the only thing I feel is missing this season is an optimistic, feel-good show in the vein of Usagi Drop or Tsuritama. Lots of guns and action, lots of romance and feels, but not a show in this fall season seems overtly optimistic and happy just for its own sake. That’s not exactly a problem, more of a preference, and I’ll definitely be more than satisfied with all the heavy themes we’ll be getting from shows like Jormungand, Shin Sekai Yori, and PSYCHO-PASS. Many thanks to the RC writers for your hard work!
That would be Little Busters! You know when you have one of KEY’s works, no other feel good show can compare right?
My watchlist
– Jormungand 2: Perfect Order
– Chuunibyou Demo Koi ga Shitai!
– Gintama (2012)
– K | K
– CODE:BREAKER
– Little Busters!
– Girls und Panzer
– PSYCHO-PASS
– ROBOTICS;NOTES
– Seitokai no Ichizon – Hekiyoh Gakuen Seitokai Gijiroku
Seitokai no Ichizon!!!! Jormungand!!! Autumn is awesome, it gets better and better!!
Jorgmungand, Psycho-Pass, Robotics;Notes, and Shin Sekai Yori make for four definite watches.
I’ll wait to see what K/K is and whether or not Zetsuen no Tempes, Code:Breaker, and Magi turn into long shounen series before putting them on the watch list.
Maybe I’ll watch one of the Key anime.
Oh, and thank you very much for the effort that went into this.
My Anime Watchlist
– Chuunibyou Demo Koi ga Shitai!
– Little Busters!
– Seitokai no Ichizon – Hekiyoh Gakuen Seitokai Gijiroku
– To Love-Ru Darkness
– Hayate no Gotoku Can’t Take My Eyes Off You
– Onii-chan Dakedo Ai Sae Areba Kankei Nai yo ne
– Busou Shinki
My OVA Watchlist
– High School DxD OVA (Watched)
– Inu x Boku SS
– Kami Nomi zo Shiru Sekai Tenri-hen
– Kore wa Zombie Desu ka? OF THE DEAD OVA
– The IDOLM@STER: Shiny Festa OVA
– FAIRY TAIL OVA
Shame that Hayate not continuation of season 2 (i want to watch A-Tan) but looking forward to its fourth wall comedy, same as SeiZon. Hoping that when KamiNomi OVA out there is a news about third season.
After looking through this, I feel that I habe to check out at least 19 of these 32 animes. Man, Fall will be busy.
Thanks for the very comprehensive preview. You guys are the best!
Autumn certainly looks very promising especially with Urobuchi sensei at the helm of an original series. Most looking forward to PSYCHO-PASS, K, Robotics;Notes, CODE:BREAKER, Shin Sekai Yori, Zetsuen no Tempest and Jormungand.
Might check out Tonari no Kaibutsu-kun, Chuunibyou demo Koi ga Shitai, Hayate no Gotoku, Btooom, To Love-Ru, Little Busters, Sukitte Ii na yo, Ixion Saga DT, Magi, Seitokai no Ichizon 2 and Aoi Sekai no Chuushin de.
This is a lot like mine especially the definites, so much to potentially watch this season it looks like 🙂 In addition for me I’d add Magi to this most looking forward to group.
Seems a bit bore overall, only a few that seem interesting compare to last season.
Same comment. Every season.
Just so you know, Kamisama Hajimemashita has the wrong my anime list link 🙂 It should be http://myanimelist.net/anime/14713/Kamisama_Hajimemashita.
Thanks for the preview! 😀
Fixed. Thanks!
I will mostly focus on school, mostly; Bakuman. 3 and Little Busters! are definitely what I will watch this season though.
I knew it: that plan did not work, lol (^o^)!
More Eurobeat with street racing!!
Did not realize it’s been 6 years since 4th stage…
It’s been too long.
Im glad to see I.G trying out another original animation. Those are always fun to watch because you don’t know what to expect. Though the recent original animation ” Guilty Crown ” dissapointed me a little.
Apparently BTOOOM! is so popular that someone made an original PV when the opening song was released.
http://youtu.be/fZu7sXzNHLw
my watch list
1.robotic;notes
2.Psycho;pass
3.Zetsuen no Tempest
4.K
5.Shin Sekai Yori
6.BTOOOM!
7.Magi
8.Suteki ii Nayo
9.Sakusama no Pet Kanojo
10.Jormungand : The Perfect order
11.Medaka Box Abnormal
12.Tonari no Kaibutsu-kun
12.Little Busters!
13.Code;Breaker
14.Chuunibyou
This autumn 2012’s anime season is shaping up to be better than than this year’s spring season (u gotta admit it was a satisfying season for all anime fans…)
Hayate no Gotoku
Jormungand 2
Initial D
Sukitte Ii na yo
are probably the definite watch of the season for me >:)
probably will pick up a few more when the season starts 😀
Now this is a very easy-going season:
Im sure I’ll be watching K, Little Busters, Hayate No Gotoku, Robotic Notes and Busou Shinki.
I’ll give the others the three episode test except: Setokai, Initial D, To-Love-Ru, Bakuman, Jomungad, Hidamari, Medaka Box and JoJo. I’m currently reading some that has their manga versions and see no reason to watch the anime.
I can see great promise with Magi, R;N, K and Little Busters. Busou Shinki because I like robot girls and loved Angelic Layer a long time ago.
Fabulous Preview for a Fabulous looking Fall Season, Great job guys!!
I gathered 17 shows that piqued my interest and hopefully try to follow it without destroying my schedule.
PSYCHO-PASS (You’re a psycho if you let it pass.)
ROBOTICS;NOTES (It had this “;” in the title, so it should to be great. Right?)
Shin Sekai (Just reading the preview is awesome)
Tonari (Tomatsu Haruka)
Chuunibyou (Kyo-Ani)
BTOOOM! (Its Madhouse, I’m sure it will have an amazing b
tooombs physics)Magi (Only 2 disney show i enjoy when i was a kid, Lion King & Aladdin)
Jormungand 2 (The crazy group is back!)
Little Busters (Honestly, I’m more interested in the fan reaction when this airs)
Zetsuen no Tempest (Sawashiro Miyuki)
TLR-Darkness (LOL! Two polar opposite writers, GE and Stilts are watching this.)
K | K (A-list cast, why not try)
OreAi (i need one of this type of show every season)
Sukitte Ii na yo (A mature HS slice of life, I hope.)
CODE:BREAKER (I hope this will not be tooooo-shounen-esque of an show)
Ixion Saga DT (My love for RPG)
Sakurasou (Cats)
Semicolons in the title are sure sign that a show will be excellent. The ranking goes like this:
Semicolon>Hyphen>Period>Apostrophe>Colon>!?>?>!>no capital letters>ALL CAPS>Numbers in title>Regular words>Acronyms>L33t Sp34k
And yes, I completely made that up just this minute.
Seems reasonable to me. I’m using this from now on!
Thanks for the hard work guys!
So many good shows so little time!
This is my watch list:
1. Kamisama Hajimemashita
2. Tonari no Kaibutsu-kun
3. Sukitte ii na yo
4. Hiiro no Kakera S2
5. Code Breaker
6. K
7. Zetsuen no Tempest
8. Little Busters!
9. Magi
Absolutely definetely watch:
Magi Magi Magi Magi Magi Magi Magi Magi Magi Magi.
Oh, and Magi.
Also looking forward to:
Robotics;Notes
Zetsuen no Tempest
Kyousogiga
Tonari no Kaibutsu-kun
Maybe watch:
Code:Breaker (but, really, I’m not sure. I loved the Manga in the beginning but it got boring later on with Bleach-esque powerups x/)
Kamisama Hajimemashita
Chuunibyou
K
Little Busters (However all the hype about it and on top of that those ugly character designs…I’m not sure if want.)
Sukitte Ii na yo (I started reading the Manga some time ago, but never continued. but I think it was…ok?)
Psycho-Pass (I’m not sure yet. Looks like too many guns to me. But I will give it a try)
I don’t see Teekyu anywhere here…did it slip under the radar? It’s been on other charts and season previews. Anything else missing that we should know about?
The series we know about that weren’t covered (and why):
Haitai Nanafa, Te-Kyu, Litch DE Hikari Club – Are all only like 2 or 5 minutes/ep.
Battle Spirits: Sword Eyes, Chou Soku Henkei Gyrozetter, Oshiri Kajiri Mushi – Kiddie shows.
Monsuno – has already aired in many other countries.
Girls und Panzers!
Straight gonna watch that for weekly done of panzer on panzer action! Nice colour schemes for the Stug and M3 Lee… Potential build for the latter. My panzer collection needs a PINK PANZER!
Other than that, off hand these’re some titles I’d be watching –
Little Busters
Busou Senki
The one from SilverLink
Hidamari Sketch (see what’s so good)
Jormungand
And few others…
P.S. Why must they drive a Pz IV with the L24 75mm gun??? Why y no have Panther??? (;_;)
Her name is Koko she is loco i said oh YES!
I seriously can’t wait to watch more Jormungand. Let’s just hope Iwasaki Taku brings back his fantastic score for the second season.
this season seems a lot better than the last
Magi
Then it’s Kyousogiga, Busou Shinki(I liked the PSP game), girls driving tanks, Psycho-pass, Medaka and maybe thats all.
K looks interesting but the picture makes it look like a reverse harem though.
Code:Breaker!! My saturday is saved!
Psycho-Pass design in the screen reminds me of Akira Amano (Reborn). It’s just me or there is a connection?
There’s no direct connection to KHR!, but Amano Akira did do the character designs for PSYCHO-PASS!.
CANT WAIT FOR LITTLE BUSTERS!!!!!! (VN reader) Man I really hope it’s good.
Also, why must there be an onii-chan centric show every season? Is there really that high a demand?
Looks like this season is going to be awesome! Here are some of the shows that I am looking forward to:
Jormungand S2
Girls und Panzer
Aikatsu!
Hidamari Sketch x Honeycomb
It really is quite sad that nobody from the RC crew is watching Gintama especially when comparing it to some of the shows that are being watched.
my gosh this season looks better than the last, this summer has been extremely weak in my opinion
Hot damn, what a season! Jormungand 2 was enough to make this season more than worth it, but then I see that Say I Love You (Sukitte Ii na Yo) is getting animated, and Hayate is getting a new season!
BTOOOM!, Girls und Panzer, K|K, PSYCHO:PASS and Zetsuen no Tempest look awesome as hell too.
…hot damn!
Btooom! (the manga is great, though I’m sure 90% of the gore is getting cut like people’s lower bodies exploding to bits)
PSYCHO-PASS (I’m hoping IG is considering this a replacement for Ghost in the Shell 3rd GIG, this looks like a less series Section 9, but who knows..)
Initial D 5th Stage (cuz its Initial D)
Shin Sekai Yori (could be an interesting Sci-Fi thriller)
serious*
PSYCHO-PASS = Guilty Crown
YEAH!!
Rather, Psycho-Pass should have been the Guilty Crown we got last year instead of what will most likely win the most disappointing series of 2012 award.
Indeed..with Urobochi-san at the helm nothing can go wrong….
Please don’t compare crappy Guilty Crown to Gen Urobuchi.
Hey guys, thank you for putting together this preview and compiling all the PV videos. It’s very helpful when choosing which shows to give a try!
I already have nine shows I’m most likely to follow with a few more I’ll watch at least the first ep. I’m happy that there are some attractive shoujo/ romance titles this autumn. What’s missing for me are series which are a bit darker and ones which historical settings (like Utakoi).
A few thoughts after reading your preview and watching the PV’s:
– I didn’t think about giving CODE:BREAKER a try but the art style w/ clear lines looks nice and the female heroine is interesting.
– Chuunibyou looks cheap compared to Hyouka but as it is KyoAni I’ll watch it nonetheless.
– Zetsuen no tempest caught my interest for using Beethoven’s tempest sonata in the PV.
– For reasons unrelated to quality I’ll certainly watch Onii-chan dakedo as a guilty pleasure.
– When watching the Girls und Panzer PV it seemed to be (not being a military geek) that they are pitting WW1 models against fairly recent models – isn’t this unfair?
– I’m not going to watch Sakurasou no pet no kanojo as the premise seems degrading to the female who is the pet.
i like how you guys completely ignored the fact that To Love-Ru Darkness’ main focus is actually the plot. sure, the fanservice is ramped up to whole new levels, but compared to a completely nonexistent plot in the original anime Darkness is a gigantic step up.
My list
Returning that I have to watch:
Jormungand 2: Perfect Order
Hayate the Combat Butler! Can’t Take My Eyes Off You
Hiiro no Kakera S2
Will be watching:
Kamisama Hajimemashita
K | K
Zetsuen no Tempest
JoJo’s Bizzare Adventure (this manga series has a cult fallowing so sseing it get animated will be interesting. Get ready for an mind fuck with some stories in it.)
Magi (Aladdin with the cast of One Piece. lol)
PSYCHO-PASS
ROBOTICS;NOTES
Maybe:
Tonari no Kaibutsu-kun
BTOOOM!
Busou Shinki (watched the teaser movie of this and found this interesting. If not a ripe off of Angelic Layer)
CODE:BREAKER
Little Busters!
Forgot to put down Shin Sekai Yori as a yes as well. God there is a lot of series starting up!
I maybe watching some of this. Only maybe, probably because I’m more concentrated on the manga.
List:
Hayate – Wasn’t fond of second season, but willing to give it another try.
Jormugand – First season left a good impression.
Medaka Box – I’ve been waiting several years for an anime and I’m not too content with it only being 12 eps.
Bakuman – Having read the whole manga, I’ve only got parts I want to see.
Busou – It appeared a bit interesting when I first saw it.
Magi – Curious to see how they execute the story. Manga’s good, but wasn’t really expecting an anime.
To-LOVE Ru – reason like Hayate.
Chuunibyou Demo Koi ga Shitai is published by Kyo-Ani’s own in-house light novel publisher KA Esuma (KA being short for Kyo-Ani, Esuma is Italian for exhume/discover).
Perhaps a reason why Kyo-Ani passed Little Busters in favour for making this title is because not only is it much more affordable for them to adapt their own in-house title, as even the author would be one of their own people, this would give them much more creative freedom to adapt any changes they feel would enhance the work, rather than a work from an outside source and risk getting accused of “butchering” the author’s intention by the purists, as in this instance, they are the authors.
It’s somewhat incorrect to say that KyoAni passed up Little Busters as their schedule was busy whenever Key asked them to animate it. Their old production committee partners (TBS/Pony Canyon) made much more profit from K-On! (especially Pony Canyon), so that pushed back any Key adaptation. It’s also very probable that this production committee (KyoAni, Pony Canyon, Lantis, and TBS) decided to animate Chuunibyou in Fall 2010, which means that any discussion in 2011 for Little Busters would go “We’ve already booked two shows for 2012. Can you wait until 2013?” Key’s president has already said the reason they went to other committees was because KyoAni was busy on other projects, so it’s obvious they didn’t want to wait. It’s unfair to put all the blame on KyoAni (and Chuunibyou by due process).
I don’t really get the “Low” Expectations for To Love Ru Darkness, especially when you gave other long running series “Established”. To Love Ru is one of the best and most established fanservice series out there. Its already got over 40 episodes.
Pretty excited for this season. Will definitely be giving quite a few of these a try with Psycho-Pass and JoJo being my most anticipated.
Although, it is a bit disappointing that JoJo seems to be getting so little love here. I guess it’s not too surprising since the manga has a fairly small fanbase to begin with and most people excited are fans of the manga already. Still, I hope that people who know little about it still give it a chance, because it should be quite good if done correctly.
I really agree with you that Jojo needs more love. Its a series that might not gain the widespread popularity of stuff like One Piece and Naruto, but it still has some of the most memorable characters, villains and fights in all of manga.
So many titles I’m interested in, I’m at a lost at which not to watch, or at least place in the back burner until I have more time. Especially Thursdays.
Definitely watching:
– Little Busters
– Chuunibyou Demo Koi ga Shitai (would be very interested to see how the title Kyo-Ani passed LB in favour for would fare)
– SAO (continued)
– “K”
– BTOOOM
– Hidamari Sketch 4
– Sakurasou no Pet wa Kanojo
Probably watching:
– Psycho Pass
– Robotics Notes
– Hayate no Gotoku
– Shin Sekai Yori
I have to cut on anime this season, it will be very hard, probably gonna skip most of the romcom ones and some of the low expectation ones as well some fantasy…
Less hectic Friday to Monday and more action during the remaining week, tuesdays, wednsdays (specially) and thursdays are very boring save for the noitamina couple on thursdays…
I was like Whoa! There will be a new season of Katekyo Hitman Reborn!? And then Gen Urobuchi’s name caught my eyes. So, Psycho-Pass is a must watch, alongside Little Busters, Robotics;Note, and Shin Sekai Yori. Gah! So many tempting choices a haven’t known before!
Thanks and damn you all for the list, guys! I can only watch six titles at most for this autumn :'(
Besides the ongoing One Piece (and even then I go huge gaps in between marathoning episodes and waiting like half a year before I pick it back up again) I have watched very little over the last few years. Too much moe, too much ecchi, very little substance and a swath of 12-13 episode shows (I only watch 24-26+ unless the 12-13 episoder is part of a second season)
The last anime (looking back through anidb) I watched was one show back January 2011. Before that was two shows in October 2010, one show in April 2010, two shows in January 2010. You get the point. Sure I’ve followed along for the last few years on RandomC and other sites, but only as something to read.
This season actually has me interested in quite a few for the first time in a long time. I’m not entirely sure why, but many of the ideas simply seem…fresh. Hopefully it works out.
l.b,r;n,pp
Wow what a impressive season, way better then most in recent memory. PSYCHO-PASS of course is a must watch, more Jormungand is always welcome, the craziness of JoJo will be awe inspiring, CODE:BREAKER sounds worth checking out. All in all I want the current horrible season to end ASAP and get us some decent shows.
I’m only looking forward to To LOVE-ru Darkness. All the rest look boring and, just, boring.
Just wanted to say that I really hope you guys cover Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure.
The manga is very possibly the most influential shonen series besides Dragon Ball and Fist of the North Star. That’s easily apparent from the sheer number of references it gets to this day by anime that’s being aired now (Jinrui, Binbougami, etc.) and anime starting next season (Bakuman, Medaka Box, etc.).
But besides having a plethora of easily recognizable scenes, Jojo is the pioneer of the intelligent shonen battle manga where characters fight and win not based on power levels but with unique abilities and the uses the characters can think up for them. If you liked stuff like Hunter x Hunter and Law of Ueki, you will fall in love with this series. Nowhere else are you going to see abilities like being able to put zippers on objects given such deadly usages.
This is a relatively hard series to get into. The art style is extremely unique and rough at the edges at first (though the artist has blossomed into one of modern Japan’s foremost artists with his stuff being featured in the Louvre) and the stand battles that the series is famed for don’t show up until part 3.
Given the incredible variety in the series though, you are sure to find something you can latch onto. Though the first part is a Victorian Gothic horror, the second has the air of a light-hearted action flick. The third is a Journey to the West, the fourth a Persona-ish hunt for supernatural criminals in a small Japanese town, the fifth an Italian mafia war, the sixth a jailbreak story and the seventh is a horseback race across the continental United States.
As a Japanese fan of anime in the US, its always astounded me that one of the most beloved series in Japan is so underrated in the States. I hope that with this animation (and the PS3 game coming out next year), a lot of Western fans can be introduced to the epic that is Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure.
I wrote the preview after reading some of the manga and I felt that it had a lot of potential, reminiscent of the old shounen classics. Now after reading your comment, you’ve persuaded me to give this series a shot. Thanks!
Good call, my man. It’s really good stuff and I hope David Production keeps it going as long as possible because of how varied it is. My personal favorite is part 2 so I hope they at least get that far.
I’m really glad you’re giving Jojo a chance. Its the sort of series that a lot of people pass on at first glance but turns others into complete fanatics.
Ma nigga…
Za Warudo.
there’s never been an anime season where a manga i was reading was actually made into an anime and now for this fall season, there’s 3 of them! =O let’s see how the anime adaption of Kamisama Hajimemashita, Tonari no Kaibutsu-kun, and Sukitte Ii Na yo play out~ and K looks really interesting too ^_^
Thank the heavens I am only taking seven credits this fall. I have too many shows on my list that I must watch. @_@
Magi
Tonari no Kaibutsu-kun
Sukitte Ii na yo
Robotics;Notes
Zetsuen no Tempest
Shin Sekai Yori
Chuunibyou Demo Koi ga Shitai
K
Little Busters!
Sakurasou no Pet na Kanojo
Kamisama Hajimemashita
Psycho-Pass
there are loads of girl protaginasts this season? i just hhope no one bashes on them if some are really girly and qiurky.
Only 1 real harem anime, lots of supernatural & fantasy, lots of manga adaptations, a few psychological stuff.
This is going to be a challenging season.
For sure going to watch Busou Shinki. Have to check the first episodes of the rest.
Most Definitely Watching:
Shin Sekai Yori
Tonari no Kaibutsu-kun( #1 Favorite Manga )
Jormungand 2: Perect Order
BTOOOM!
Gintama(2012)
Zetsuen no Tempest
Bakuman 3
Code Breaker
Magi
Medaka Box Abnormal
Pyscho-pass
Trying out:
Kamisama Hajimemashita(already read manga)
Chuunibyou Demo Koi ga Shitai!
K ( awesome VAs )
Little Busters! (J.C Staff…..)
Sukitte Ii na yo (tried manga…)
Ixion Saga DT ( Brain’s Base and Hiroshi Kamiya )
Sakurasou no Pet na Kanojo
Robotics;Notes
Aoi Sekai no Chuushin de
Because I’m predictable I’ll be watching K. Also, Little Busters! and Psycho Pass.
Anyone know if Blood C movie is online anywhere? Would not be asking if I could find it myself!
My watch list :
1.Jormungand 2
2.Little Busters (Please J.C Staff…no more Yumekui Merry)
3.Sakurasou no pet na kanojo (I like the premise)
4.Medaka box abnormal (Can we expect Medaka Box Minus next spring?)
5.Bakuman 3
6.Tonari no Kaibutsu-kun
7.K (I will watch this on animax since it airing on the same time with japan)
I won’t give Psycho Pass to much expectation since I pretty much disappointed with Madoka Magica.
And last, thanks to all RC’s blogger for this season preview. I really appreciate the work.
I really hope Gainax is gonna make a change of decision by making this a 2-cour series so they can also include the Minus Arc….probably the most epic arc in the whole manga…
24 shows I’m going to start with.
My must sees are: Shin Sekai Yori, Chuunibyou, HnG, To Love-ru Darkness, Little Busters, Magi and Medaka Box Abnormal.
Oh, and Sukitte Ii na yo looks promising but no PV yet. Plot sounds a little like Boys Over Flowers.
I’ve been waiting for this preview!! 😀 I have to say I’m surprised at the numerous shoujo mangas adapted this season…but the rest of the anime released look pretty interesting. I’m looking forward to the first-episode reviews on RC! They usually help me decide on what to watch for the season.
got some show for me to watch like k!k and to love-ru darkness but i was looking forward for to aru majutsu no index 3rd season
Diving in with no expectations. Surprise and bedazzle me Fall season. Surprise and bedazzle me!
Watching Jormungand 2nd, Ichizon 2nd, TRL Darkness. That’s it.
Looks awesome so far.
YEAH! this looks pretty good! MORE Black Lag…I MEAN Jourgamand!! nice. MORE MEDAKA!?! SWEET!!! HOLY SHIT!!!! MORE HAYATE!?!?!?! cooooooolz! and JOJO BIZZARE!?!?! WOW!!
and TU LOVE RU…………………who the %UCK actually watches that?? RIIIIITTOOOOOOOO. shut up!
Waiting for…
Continuation Seasons Romance/Comedy Action
Hiiro no Kakera Kamisama Hajimemashita Code Breaker
Hayate the Combat Butler Tonari no Kaibutsu-kun K
Gintama Sukitte Li Na Yo Psycho-pass
To Love Ru
Medaka Box
Initial D
OVA/Movie
Inu x Boku SS, Nogizaka Haruka no Himitsu, Amagami SS, Kore wa Zombie Desu, Tales of Symphonia, Strike Witches, Fairy Tail OVA & Movie, Tasogare Otome x Amnesia, Code Geass Gaiden
So much to look forward to! ^_^
My list is going to be huge and I don’t know if I have the time to keep it up 🙁
My watchlist:
1. Hiiro no Kakera Season 2
2. K (Will aired on Animax)
3. Zetsuen no Tempest
4. Magi
5. Ixion Saga DT (Pending to watch Ep 1, if good will follow, not good will drop)
OVA
1. Fairy Tail
2. Code Geass Gaiden
That will be all. 🙂
Psycho-Pass might be cool.
My watchlists
Shin Sekai Yori
Tonari no Kaibutsu-kun
Zetsuen no Tempest
To Love-Ru – Trouble: Darkness
Little Busters!
Psycho-Pass
This honestly looks like an incredible season. My #6 show would be #1/2 most other seasons. In order of most anticipated to least:
HIGH EXPECTATIONS
– Psycho-Pass
– Robotics;Notes (it’s too bad the VN got such a bad reception)
– Shin Sekai Yori
– Little Busters
– Magi
– K
MODERATE EXPECTATIONS
– Chuunibyou
– Btooom!
– Tonari no Kaibutsu-kun
LOW-MODERATE EXPECTATIONS
– Kamisama Kiss
– Zetsuen no Tempest
– Pet na Kanojo (probably like a 25% chance of actually completing this)
Series in high expectations I will almost surely follow to the end. Moderate, ~75% chance. Low-moderate, probably less than 50%. Everything else has virtually no chance.
So many shows.. so little time.. very packed indeed
This season is so cruel… so many to watch while i am busy with my final semester…
HIGH EXPECTATIONS
Magi (really want to watch the Sinbad entrance scene lol)
Little Busters
Gintama
Psycho Pass (The staff interest me)
MODERATE EXPECTATIONS
Btoom!
Code Breaker
Chuunibyou
Can’t wait for Psycho-Pass and JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure! Also, Code:Breaker may have potential, especially since it’s from the creator of Samurai Deeper Kyo.
Oh, previews for the next season. damn you anime con for backtracking me. Oh, well…glad some anime interest me this time. I hoping for Psycho-Pass and Jormungand (how can I pass on loco koko, Code Geass Gaiden, and maaaayyybbbee Magi (the manga started out interesting, but I seem to have a lack of attention recently for it)
[K], BTOOOM!, JJBA, Jormungand, PSYCHO-PASS, Medaka Box…huh, my watchlist is packed with action.
Well, at least there’s Honeycomb to provide routine SoL dose.
“By the way, I’d like to take a quick moment to thank all the other writers who helped put this thing together. It took nine of us working together to do what Divine did alone,…”
lol, and we had a lot of idiots complaning about Divine’s preview
I don’t see a great premise to this season, maybe ROBOTICS;NOTES?
So much interesting potential, I think my head’s about explode.
Sorry for the random question. Is eureka seven AO over? no episode came out this week. :'(
There was an episode this week. O_o
Anyone know the title for the BGM in the “K” promo vid? its amazing
Gonna be an awesome season
Highly anticipating Little Busters, Magi, Psycho Pass and Shin Sekai Yori
There are so many shows to look forward to
My hard disk :”(
I’ll be having the same problem w/ my HD~
I think it’s a good time to buy a 3TB HDD, don’t you think so 😉
Another Season full of wonderful things!!!
oh man… i SERIOUSLY need to buy a 3TB HDD to supplement my poor 1TB HDD. so many animes to download
..Girls und Panzer? Seriously?
Why using German? Not that I mind but, why?
>Little Busters
>full of love, FORCED drama, DEEP themes,
serious plotlines, touching emotions, and tons of cute girls.Like all the Key’s works.
Nice season. Thanks for the preview guys.
JC Staff is doing little busters so I think it will have significant differences than the key-based animes which are done by kyoto animation.
So far my only certain watches are:
Robotics;Notes
Seitokai no Ichizon Second Season
I’m on the fence (and will need to check 1st episode) of:
K
Shin Sekai Yori
JoJo
Will watch the following:
Psycho Pass
Jormungand 2
K project
Kyousogiga
When is Evangelion 3.0 You Can (Not) Redo gonna be released in theaters?
11/17 – Evangelion Shin Gekijou-ban Q Quickening
http://www.evangelion.co.jp/
There are so many series I’m psyched about, I find myself having to bookmark this list just to remind me which ones to watch for! Eeeexcellent.
In no particular order:
Show Spoiler ▼
Cripes. I just realized it would’ve been easier to list what titles I’m not planning to see lol. Ah well, better to have too much quality than not enough, right?
EXCITED! So much anime shows that I think I will actually watch! Including the ones that will continue to run….
Just wondering, Uchuu kyodai and Kuroko no Basuke will go one will they? How about SOA?
Jinrui wa Suitai Shimashita was the only decent anime last season and I have a feeling that Shin Sekai Yori is going to be this seasons only watchable anime, lets hope that this season doesnt suck so much as usual.
Though I agree with you to some extent that Summer 2012 was lackluster save for Jinrui wa Suitai Shimashita and maybe SAO (enjoyable so far though not to the extent people led me to believe), I don’t know why you would have a feeling that this season would suck except for Shin Sekai Yori. It has a lot going for it. This has got to be the most hype season for anime yet.
The ones I’m looking forward to:
Intense bloody survival manga Btooom! produced by Madhouse.
One of Key’s flagship VN Little Busters! being animated.
A classic and influential violent shounen title Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure finally getting a much deserved anime after 25 years, no longer making it the longest running manga series without an anime.
Robotic’s Note which is from the same series as Steins;Gate which had a great adaptation and is one of the best anime I have seen and my personal favorite.
Urobuchi Gen’s Psycho-Pass (the guy behind Fate/Zero and Madoka Magica so you can pretty much guarantee a quality dark anime with tragic unpredictable turns)
I can honestly say I cannot wait for Fall.
This season sounds good. Too bad my college has started and I have yet to clear Jormungand S1 and several existing show is not up to date…. I think I might need to trim my list down eventually.
-Confirmed (ATM)-
Psycho-Pass: GEN. UROBUCHI. I’m in.
Do we need to start betting on survivor(s)??
Robotics;Notes: “;” series. I’m in.
Don screw this up, IG. I just hope Nao would be more….. sane this time around. And I really hope the MC, Main Heroine and Glasses Guy is more tolerable than the manga ver….. I hope.
LB!: Its Key, its a highly acclaimed VN, croos-tan the local VN guy says its quite good. I’m in.
JC, don screw this up plz
Jormungand S2: The 1st season and Koko Loco. I’m in.
Shin Sekai yori: Sounds promising. I’m in.
Listen to G. Enzo advice, they says. This might be a sleeper hit. (Is it the right term??)
BTOOM!: Sounds like a good action show with BR elements. I’m in.
-On a fence-
K
Chuunibyou Demo Koi ga Shitai! (Okabe is fun enough to watch but now we have a group of them!? AW YEAH)
Magi
JoJo
Zetsuen no Tempest
C:B
*phew* wow tht one hell of a list….. And there stuff tht I wanted to tk a peek too… I better get a time table and be strict with it.
Yes, D-LAN! Shin seikai is nice. IF you know WHAT I mean. >:D
Nope. You lost me….
is it ecchi? 🙂
There are quite a lot of shows I want to watch…need more time!! 🙂 seems like this fall season has more serious/darker content than spring. not necessarily bad though, can’t wait!
Kitaaaa! Seitokai no Ichizon season 2 is finally here! And Mahiru-sensei was just trolling us in the first season, thank you! Easily the most anticipated show for me this season!
OMG, GINTAMA IS BACK !!!!!!1 WOOOOOOOOOOOTTTTTT!!!!
BTW -Jormungand 2
-Hayate the Combat Butler
-Bakuman 3
-To Love-Ru
-medaka box
-Seitokai no Ichizon
so many awesome series is back !! oh yeah !!!! so happy!!
Wow…
Fall season is just going to be dead for me.
There’s maybe 3 shows I may want to follow. A big maybe.
Oh well…
If there’s one show I’m following this season, it’s Project K! I’ve been dyingly awaiting its release since I chanced upon it’s trailer about half a year ago….
Hope it’s not an asteroid of disappointment like Guilty Crown
Project K is all I care about
Psycho-Pass — might be the only one I’ll pick up this season; if it involves guns and Gen, it means Urobuchi is closer to the Equilibrium fic he wrote down back in the day.
Only one thing to say really, SO MUCH ANIME SO LITTLE TIME
Initial D fifth stage! I have been highly anticipated for its arrival since its announcement on 86 day (6 August). One of the classic anime of all time which deserved more attention
Koko is loco.
(._. ) I swear this not being me lately.
My list:
-K
-Chuunibyo
-Little Busters!
>Having Kyousuke as your avatar.
>Listing LB at the end.
You just went full Saito. Over~
I was on my way home from work today when it hit me like a brick: There’s no Hyouka and Jinrui this weekend.
Fall season had better deliver.
Well we still get a little bit of Jinrui as the first of 6 OVA’s as released. I swear if the fairies when so naive/shattered brained I think they wanted to rule the world over humans. lol
Before reading this preview , I’d already decided on watching Hiiro no Kakera’s S2 and Shin Sekai Yori. Now , I’m not going to have enough time to watch all the ones that look interesting(which is actually quite a few) so I limited myself to 4 only. With 2 already certain , I am considering watching K (the mystery behidn what the plot is is very interesting) and the fourth one I will watch is…I’m not sure yet
=P.
One hell of a season 😀 😀
My must-watch List:
– PSYCHO-PASS
– Robotics;Notes
– Shin Sekai Yori
– [K] Project
– Jormungand 2
– Little Busters
– Zetsuen no Tempest
– Btooom!
Other great ones:
– Sukitte Ii na yo
– Tonari no Kaibutsu-kun
Dont know yet ^^
– JoJo
– Medaka Box 2
– To Love-Ru:Darkness
doesn’t Litchi de Hikari Club start this season, too?
No, Litchi de Hikari Club starts this season, but such anime just gonna have 2-5 minutes per episode, so it wasn’t commented/posted here. I’m very anxious waiting for LdeHC! =)
I didn’t know that it’s just a short. thanks for the info.
Litchi de Hikari Club starts at October 1st on Tokyo MXTV.
Magi and Robotics;Notes are my only must-watch in this season. But I’m sure I will pick up at least another 7-8 series when the season actually starts.
On a side note, does someone know if Sword Art Online will have ‘proper’ 2-cour format (back to back running) or ‘Fate/Zero’ 2-cour format? I’ve heard from somewhere that they will do a Fate/Zero.
It must be me but all of the new shows dont look very promising. Only one that stands out is Initial D!!! Damn I’ve been waiting years for the series to continue.
Man Robotics;Notes really reminded me of Stardriver in the latter half of that trailer. All the sparkles and that 1 second of weird mecha action really showed the resemblance
I kinda lol’ed when the robots were shown to be tiny after that pose he did. XD
Awesome!
My watch list is pretty much the same as Stilts’s.
And I’m watching damn near everything. M! FiShar is an M because he’s watching everything! 😀
will probs watch Chunibyo
And maybe Little Busters, hoping that it’ll be one of the Hits of JC Staff and not one of their misses.
Why is Suou in To Love Ru?
Why is it that I see ‘Stilts’ on every show that has cute girls? Just wondering… heh
Classified :X
JoJo
Full of win. Can’t wait to see Dio in action.
Pyscho pass’ premise remind of something I read in Bakuman once…
kyaaa
Sukitte li na yo AND tonari no kaibutsu kun!!!!
*bliss
Hey I’m new Here this’ll be my first season giving this a shot. My friend naske recommended here so hopefully I’ll be a full time visitor. So far I’m digging K, psycho-pass, magi, code breaker, aoi sekai no chuushin de and zetsuen no tempest.
glad to see you giving seasonal anime a try hope you enjoy XD
Give love Chuunibyo. 😀
Just out of curiosity, why did you put kamisama Hajimemashita in the “Niche” category while you put Tonari no Kaibutsu-kun and Sukitte ii na yo in the “Moderate” category? Reading your definition of “Niche”, I thought it was because Kamisama Hajimemashita is aimed at a female audience since it’s shoujo, but so are the other two that I mentioned in the “Moderate” category.
In any case, I have never been more excited about a new season than this time. I see so many shows with potential that I look forward to watching!
You know that gritted my nerves too. Kamisama while shoujo is far more original and compelling, and it stands out from other shoujo manga, which is why it got an anime in the first place. Is the plot original? ha, heck no but the characters and that author’s storytelling in Kamisama are truly amazing. I will add that anime to my watch list.
I have a s**t load of anime I’m watching this season, and I’m too lazy to write my list. 😛
Use myanimelist.net! It’s convenient for keeping track of the animes you are watching and the ones you’ve watched. 😉
JoJo PV for anyone that cares: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LncqRnznspk
I think it’s coming along REALLY well. I’m quite impressed by the animation on display here which is good since everyone’s biggest fear was that the animation may not be great. Combine that with how good the character designs look animated with the voice acting and I think we may have a great adaptation on our hands.
Thanks girls and guys for the preview.
New Seitokai, yay =]
Will watch:
*LB
*RoboNoto: 5pb. I´m in.
*K: Nice animation, hope it´s more than an eye-candy.
*SnI S2
*Jormungand PO
*Magi: Heard awesome things about the manga and the animation looks cool.
*Chuunibyou Demo Koi ga Shitai!: Just because KyoAni. Hope LB outsells this.
*Kyousogiga
If I have time (3-episode-rule)
*PSYCHO-PASS
*Shin Sekai Yori
*Sakurasou no Pet na Kanojo
*Btooom!
*Hayate: Don´t like new designs, but I´ll give a try.
*TLR Darkness: FOR THE PLOT !!
Everything else … Maybe next season maybe not …
Damn, i’ve been waiting years for initial d 5th stage!
wow~ this season is filled by some great anime…
I’ll watch Hayate No Gotoku, Bakuman, Little Busters! and many more
Really looking forward to these anime:
-Little Busters!
-Seitokai No Ichizon S2
-To Love-Ru Darkness
-Shin Sekai Yori
-Chuunibyou Demo Koi ga Shitai!
-Pyscho-Pass
-Robotics;Notes
So many to watch ^^
No one’s in interested Civilization Blaster? It’s directed by Masahiro Ando for god’s sake.
How do you even BLAST a CIVILIZATION?
in b4 smallpox
i admit the name sounds both irrational and surprisingly cool at the same time….though it kinda rang true to the plot a little bit (i dunno if u’ve read the manga or not so i can’t elaborate)
I am!! lol…Well, my biggest reason is Bones. It’s so very rare for them pick up shonen adaptions. As far as I can recall, this will be their third one after FMA and Soul Eater, and the studio hasn’t really produced anything too disappointing. The plot sounds a little risky to me, ambitious but risky, and with Mari Okada on script, I’m even less sure how it will turn out. I liked some of her works in the past, and hated others. But again, it’s Bones…if nothing else, the action sequences will be something to behold.
Well, i guess my thursdays are filled up…
Jormungand <3
Might try robotics;note (I hate busy sched)
Ugh. So many animes to watch!
My 500GB is WAAAAAYYYY too small! 🙁
Why don’t u use anime sites for some of the animes?? Or just:
1)Write the name of animes you want in several piece of paper
2)Put them in a jar
3)???
4)Problem solved!
But hey, this mean Fall 2012 a good anime season huh?
Convert to smaller resolution. Smaller resolution = smaller size. I watch my anime pocket size so I can save space and bring it every where.
I hope the non committal sex between the young cast of Shin Sekai Yori does not turn anyone off.
This upcoming season looks pretty good. I’ll see many series I like that.
marathoning gintama is worth more than half the shows u r blogging here and it’s definately muuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuch funnier than all the shows u’v been choosing as best comedies
Wow, thursday is totally packed..o__O…Has it always been that intense? Anyways, I haven’t been this excited for a season in a long long time. Spring this year was awesome, but ultimately lacked the diversity the upcoming fall season is boasting. I usually stick with 3 – 4 shows on average, however I have a feeling I’m going to be a lot busier this time around, which is frustrating considering how packed my schedule already is. So many things to check out……so little time.
Definitely looking forward to Little Busters based on what I have heard of it. Might check out BTOOM!, Setokai no Ichizon (I liked the first season so I will have to see reviews of this one to decide), and Aikatsu!
Will there be a poll for most anticipated anime this season?
Where is my sport anime?
Damn.
Did Jormungand 2 slip a week or am I crazy
in that I thought I saw Oct 2 there earlier…?