Random Curiosity

Another year has come and gone, which means that it’s time for a new season to begin! Unlike Fall, which had a ton of shows, this upcoming Winter season is relatively light on new titles, though hopefully not on quality titles. As usual, I’ll watch the first episode of most shows within certain parameters (in other words, not the kiddie shows), and what I list here are the chances of me actually blogging something based on my initial impressions from promotional material. However, even if I list the chances for a show as good or guaranteed, it doesn’t necessarily mean I’ll stick with it for more than a few episodes.

By no means does this list reflect every single anime series that is going to be aired, though I did try to be as comprehensive as I could. Check out MOON PHASE for an entire listing, syoboi’s calendar for specific air-times, and Fansub Wiki’s Winter 2008 page for who’s tentatively subbing what.

Technical Note: All times are given in a 24-hour, relative-day format where times are extended to show which day they belong to. For instance, Friday morning at 1:30AM would become Thursday at 25:30 to show that the episode aired late Thursday night.

GUNSLINGER GIRL -IL TEATRINO- http://www.gunslingergirl.com/ Premieres January 7th, 2008 Airtime in Japan (JST, GMT+9): Mondays at 27:00 Airtime in U.S. (EST, GMT-5): Mondays at 13:00 Information Links: ANN Encyclopedia, AnimeNfo, AniDB, syoboi And speaking of which, after a four year period, Gunslinger Girl is getting another anime series too. For those who might not be familiar with it, Gunslinger Girl is about a group of cybernetically enhanced girl assassins who work for an Italian counter-terrorism agency. Now, it’s easy to dismiss this as another girls-with-guns show, however there are actually a lot of interesting themes explored here, including brainwashing and the relationships between assassins and their handlers – it can be a pretty dark series at times. In any case, the first anime more or less covered the first two volumes of the manga, and the sequel looks to pick up right where that left off. It should be noted though, that pretty much the entire cast and crew have been changed (Artland will be animating it instead of Madhouse), so the sequel will likely have a different feel to it. Odds I’ll Blog This: Good

Ookami to Koushinryou http://www.spicy-wolf.com/ Premieres January 8th, 2008 Airtime in Japan (JST, GMT+9): Tuesdays at 25:30 Airtime in U.S. (EST, GMT-5): Tuesdays at 11:30 Information Links: ANN Encyclopedia, AnimeNfo, AniDB, syoboi First things first, I can’t help but be amused whenever I look at the URL of the official website. The series’ Japanese name translates to “Wolf and Spices,” but seeing spicy wolf just makes me laugh. Anyway, the show is about a traveling merchant who one day finds a wolf harvest goddess stowing away in his wagon. The two start traveling together, and she ends up helping him with his work. I haven’t read the light novels (here’s a review of someone who has), but supposedly they focus a lot on Middle Ages economics and trade, which sounds unique, however I don’t know how interesting that’ll turn out to be. The biggest draw to this show for me is actually the combination of Fukuyama Jun (Lelouch) and Koshimizu Ami (Kallen) voicing the two main characters. Plus, aside from Sisters of Wellber Zwei, Ookami to Koshinryou is the only other show airing on Tuesdays this upcoming season, so there’s a pretty good chance I’ll watch it. Oh, and ROCKY CHACK is performing the ED, and since I haven’t heard them since ZEGAPAIN, I’ll be looking forward to that too. Odds I’ll Blog This: Guaranteed

Note: This is a rather long and fairly comprehensive list of the shows coming in January. Much much more after the jump, including the torrent link for promotional material.