Season Preview / Series Introduction

Summer 2010 Preview!

Welcome to the first edition of the Random Curiosity season preview since the relocation of the site to its new home, randomc.net! While this is only my second time writing one, I hope everyone liked what they saw in the Spring 2010 Preview and found it an informative resource for upcoming new shows at the time. I do plan to keep the tradition of writing up the previews this site became renowned for over the years and will continue tweaking the format ever so slightly for the better.

First up is the weekly schedule that doubles as a table of contents for navigating around the post itself, which will be a mainstay from now on. For the information links, out are less useful resources such as AnimeNfo and in are each series’ Japanese Wikipedia pages. In addition, the animation production (studio) information is now readily available, the first broadcast station to air is made note of, and the number of episodes each series will run for is listed (if known and confirmed from a reputable source). A subtle change is “Odds I’ll Watch This” rather than “Blog”, as I’ll likely end up watching more shows than I end up blogging. That wasn’t the case back in spring when I ended up blogging 16 shows concurrently to share thoughts on the wide range of shows I watch every season and give some limelight to the less popular ones, but it’s something I’d like to cut back on.

 

Note: This is a rather long and fairly comprehensive list of summer shows. Much much more after the jump, including a full schedule and a bunch of promo videos.

First Impressions / SEKIREI / Series Introduction

SEKIREI ~Pure Engagement~ – OP/ED

[flv:SEKIREI_Pure_Engagement_OP.mp4 370 210] OP: “Hakuyoku no Seiyaku ~Pure Engagement~”
by Hayami Saori, Inoue Marina, Hanazawa Kana, Endou Aya
[flv:SEKIREI_Pure_Engagement_ED.mp4 370 210] ED: “Onnaji Kimochi”
by Hayami Saori, Inoue Marina, Hanazawa Kana, Endou Aya

I just thought I’d chime in here with the new opening and ending sequences for one of the upcoming summer shows, SEKIREI ~Pure Engagement~. As a sequel to the first adaptation back in 2008 which I covered, my plans are to watch this given how open-ended things left off. The “to be continued” message then let us know that we’d be in store for more, so here it is three weeks in advance with a special early broadcast premiere of the first episode. Interestingly enough, it also featured cast commentary as well. Anyway, I haven’t actually gotten around to watching the episode in full yet — hence why there’s no full post about it — but here’s a sneak peak to provide an area for discussion about it.

On a separate note, I’ve been busy working on the Summer 2010 Preview in the past couple of days and all I can say is that it’ll be ready “soon”. I’ve actually let coverage of my shows slip in favor of spending more time on it and getting it out early, so please look forward to it. Now I just need to get through the four Sunday shows I put on hiatus yesterday…

First Impressions / Sarai-ya Goyou

Sarai-ya Goyou – 09

「お助けに参る」 (Otasuke ni Mairu)
“I’ve Come to Rescue You”

After deciding to save Matsu on his own last time and making good on it here, Masa has all of a sudden become a samurai beaming with confidence. However, the one thing that everyone can probably live without is his tendency to say whatever’s on his mind, especially now that they’ve learned Yagi is the chief of the local Kitamachi police.