Season Schedule / Series Introduction
Sunday Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday
Beelzebub
07:00 NTV (1/9)		 Dragon Crisis!
25:30 CTC (1/10)		 Bleach
18:00 TX		 Starry☆Sky
16:00 animate.tv (12/23)		 Wolverine
22:00 ANIMAX (1/7)		 Cardfight!! Vanguard
08:00 TX (1/8)
Suite PreCure ♪
08:30 EX (2/6)		 Kore wa Zombie Desu ka?
25:30 TVS (1/10)		 Rio -RainbowGate!-
23:00 MX (1/4)		 Mahou Shoujo Madoka Magica
25:25 MBS (1/6)		 To Aru Majutsu no Index II
23:30 AT-X (10/8)		 FREEZING
09:30 AT-X (1/8)
STAR DRIVER Kagayaki no Takuto
17:00 MBS/TBS (10/3)		 LEVEL E
25:45 TX (1/10)		 Kimi ni Todoke 2ND SEASON
24:59 NTV (1/4)		 IS Infinite Stratos
25:25 TBS (1/6)		 GOSICK
25:23 TX (1/7)		 Bakuman.
18:00 NHK E (10/2)
Super Robot Wars OG: The Inspector
22:00 MX (10/3)		 Moshidora
22:55 NHK (3/14-18, 3/21-25)		 Yumekui Merry
25:55 TBS (1/6)		 Tegami Bachi REVERSE
23:55 TX (10/2)
FRACTALE
24:45 CX (1/13)		 Onii-chan no Koto ga Zenzen Suki Janain Dakara ne!!
24:30 tvk (1/8)
Hourou Musuko
25:15 CX (1/13)		 Mitsudomoe Zouryouchuu!
26:58 MBS (1/8)

* Others: Houkago no Pleiades, SUPERNATURAL THE ANIMATION

Legend: 7 Divine 3 Kiiragi 2 Prooof 4 Takaii Not covering

The start of the winter 2011 season is only days away, so here’s the quick rundown on what me and the writers will be covering. As I mentioned in the Winter 2011 Preview, I’m reducing my personal load to about half of what it was last season by only picking up a couple more series — Infinite Stratos and FRACTALE. To help compensate, both Kiiragi and Takaii have offered to pick up an additional series to cover, adding GOSICK and Kore wa Zombie Desu ka respectively to the ones they decided on in the preview. Prooof on the other hand is still too busy to pick up new shows, but will continue being the resident Bleach specialist like he’s always been.

I was originally planning to pick up three new series to cover regularly, but decided against it after taking over coverage of STAR DRIVER and To Aru Majutsu no Index II. This led to the reluctant decision of dropping Tegami Bachi REVERSE, which I was already hesitant to take on last season, in order to pick up FREEZING. I’ve already stated my reasons for being excited about FREEZING’s adaptation back in the preview, and whether influenced by my opinion or not, the latest seasonal poll shows a similar amount of anticipation, so it’s something I want to cover weekly to see if it lives up to my expectations. I wasn’t expecting readers to be looking forward it as much as I am, and I’m already getting the feeling it won’t live up to the hype, but that’s something I want to decide for myself and convey thoughts on after watching it. Either way, it’s a series that will be fun to write about.

In lieu of dropping Tegami Bachi REVERSE and not taking on as many series as usual, I have a new “monthly digest” type of post in the works. It’s something that I’ve wanted to do for some time now, since I always watch more shows every season than I have time to cover. The general idea is a monthly post with some quick thoughts on every series that I’m watching, answering the question, “What do you think about the season so far?”, and potentially sparking new interest in certain shows as well. It will also provide me with an outlet to say some good things about shows like Otome Youkai Zakuro, which turned out much better than expected as the season went on. As this type of post is oriented towards both current and potential viewers, the plan is to keep the impressions free of major spoilers (or in spoiler tags). I have yet to finalize the format, but I’m encouraging all the writers to post their own version of it, providing multiple perspectives on a given series. The same goes for me, as I’ll be talking about shows that they’re covering. We’re all pretty excited about writing one of these, so hopefully it will be well-received.

Lastly, I’ve made the subtle change of covering Super Robot Wars OG: The Inspector on Sundays when it’s aired on Tokyo MX. I’ve already been doing this for weeks now since it balances out my schedule better, plus it’s when the simulcast that most viewers will be able to watching airs.

As always, comments, questions, and suggestions are welcome. I’m also willing to listen to requests (complaints?) to a degree if you really want to a series covered that isn’t listed above, though it would have to fall under the list of ones I’m planning to watch to be considered. Updates (if any) will be made to this schedule accordingly.

Updates:
01/14: Kiiragi will be covering Hourou Musuko and I’ll be continuing with Tegami Bachi REVERSE in a minimalistic manner.
01/28: Kiiragi has decided to drop regular coverage of Hourou Musuko after realizing it’s not a series he has much to say about on a weekly basis.
02/06: Prooof will be taking over regular coverage of Hourou Musuko.

83 Comments

      3. Monthly Posts? Well this would be a nice way to talk about a lot of shows that you watch and how they progress. Which in turn gives us the readers a broader prespective of the available anime and their current progress. I Like!

        Shadiic
        Reply

    1. Beelzebub is produced by Studio Pierrot and taking over Yumeiro Patissiere’s time slot, so there’s a chance that it will run for a year or longer. I’m hesitant to make such a huge blogging commitment if that turns out to be the case.

      Divine
      Reply

  15. I’m pleased, only 1-2 shows that i’m watching aren’t being covered.
    With regards to the monthly thing, that sounds great – certain series could have benefited from that this/last season.
    Looking forward to what’s to come.

    Reborn
    Reply

  17. Takaii and Kiiragi covering Madoka and Gosick makes me very happy.

    Divine dropping Letter Bee makes me sad D: I know I haven’t really posted anything on those posts, but that was mainly because I was actually behind that show. Still, I knew there had to be sacrifices to preserve Divine’s life, so it’s alright.

    The monthly digest idea sounds excellent, looking forward to it.

    Here’s to a great year for the blog!

    Arabesque
    Reply

  18. Yeah you know it seemed like in the past someone would write about at least the first episode of every new series on here so that will be nice to at least glance at the other shows.

    sealouse
    Reply

    1. I think Divine and the others will still do first impression.
      besides, usually the schedule will change due to an anime’s lack of excitement, exceeded anticipation, or sickness, busy IRL etc.

      amado
      Reply

  19. Little question
    Are the numbers before and after the “:” the airing time? For example:
    “GOSICK
    (!)25:23(!) TX (1/7)”
    I mean my day doesnt have more than 24 hours and I dont think the japanese day has more ^^

    And the airtime is the only think that comes to my mind, even though it doesnt really make sence since most of them are above 24.

    Flytaggart
    Reply

  23. I was hoping Hourou Musuko would be covered cause I think a full post would be good to talk about the themes it covers. Still, if it gets decent mentions in the monthly reviews that’ll probably be adequate. The monthly reviews are such a great idea and I’m glad to see you guys will be doing them this season!

    ocswing
    Reply

  25. I’m sad Starry Sky, Wandering Son, Dragon Crisis, and Level E won’t be covered by Random C, but I can understand.

    I’m just happy Yumekui Merry will be covered. <3

    Thanks so, so, SO much to all of you guys for continuing this blog.

    Ashen
    Reply

  29. Aww, I was looking forward to Dragon Crisis and Moshidora writeups (though for Moshidora particularly, the airing schedule would’ve made it very difficult to write up on time :P).

    On the other hand, the monthly posts sound like a great idea, especially if multiple writers do it, and it’s good to see you’ll be able to get at least -some- sleep now, Divine.

    Also – happy new year’s, everyone!

    ZoboCamel
    Reply

  31. Just gonna throw in my two complaints about Hourou Musuko and Beelzebub not being covered. You’re correct about Beelzebub going on for a year though. Tv station confirmed 50+. Probably more than 50 if it sells well so I can actually understand that it’s not going to be covered by anyone. *Goes to cry in a corner from lack of Hourou Musuko*

    lHyDrAl
    Reply

  36. YES monthly posts. I think it’s an excellent idea since people are always complaining about their shows not being covered, so at least this way everyone will be able to talk about the shows they’re watching.
    It would be cool if you guys could include a few (maybe six?) screenshots from each series so that the non-watchers could get a better idea of what the show is like 🙂
    I’m also interested to see how impressions differ between the writers too! Thanks RandomC!

    innerchihiro
    Reply

  39. well i guess the monthly thing sounds good and i guess i am lucky that u r doing all the shows i am going to watch. o btw does anyone agree with me that the fall anime seems better than the winter one? O.o

    O.O
    Reply

  42. Ah, dropping Tegami Bachi REVERSE? Dx Sad, but I /can/ see why though. On the bright side, I’ll be looking forward to your monthly posts as well as coverage of Kore wa Zombie Desu ka? and Yumekui Merry

    Anne
    Reply

    1. Yeah, but I guess there must be a lack of interest or time to do it. Hourou Musuko is one of the series I am looking forward too, since there are very few I am looking forward to compared to this time last year. Guess I will just have to cover it on my own site to make up for the time void that is present this season. 🙁 oh well, we will see what happens.

      noobiesnack
      Reply

  46. Ahhhhhhh so sad Tegami bachi is being dropped and Hourou Musuko isn’t going to be covered.
    I’m def one of those people who always looked over the Tegami Bachi posts. Thanks for all the hard work though!

    larri
    Reply

  47. Long time reader, first time poster here – probably going to type way too much. I have to admit that I’m pretty sad that no one is going to cover Hourou Musuko. I’m not really surprised, though. Yeah, I know it’s probably not going to be the most popular show, especially among this site’s readers (the mindless allure of breasts is too strong, I guess), but I’m fairly sure that it’s going to be the best quality show this season. I hope that some kind of post gets made about it, even if it isn’t covered regularly (and I suppose there’s some hope of that with the monthly digest thing you guys are starting). I was really looking forward to seeing opinions on it, mostly because transgender issues are rarely dealt with seriously or realistically in anime and it would be something new, if nothing else. I also had hopes of some intelligent discussion on it, but alas… at least Fractale is getting covered. As a fellow writer, I can’t fathom having to write about trite magical girl shows week after week and still being able to find something witty to say every time – they all seem so dreadfully similar. *sigh* Keep going though, guys – I really do like the new direction of this site, despite any minor missteps. =)

    Morose Girl
    Reply

    2. While I’m also somewhat saddened that Hourou Musuko wont be covered, I wont rule out Madoka as some trite show this early. For one thing the creative force behind this project is amazing, what with Shaft X Shinbo as studio and director, Gen Urobuchi as writer and Ume Aoki as designer, and to top it all off music by Kajiura Yuki? Add to that how they said they had to add the magical girl title to the show because they thought people wouldn’t think of it as one, I’m expecting something similar to Princess Tutu. Which is needless to say, a very high expectation but with such a team, who wouldn’t get their hopes up?

      Arabesque
      Reply

  49. Freezing with AT-X? I guess there is hope for it. Still, I will not hype it as I hyped Fairy Tail… man, what a disaster…

    Beelzebub not covered? I’ll watch it on my own then! dunno why so many sad pandas about it.

    7 days and 4 shows… Unless I see something that catches my eye, this will be an austere season. humh!

    Lectro Volpi
    Reply

  52. Looking forward to FREEZING and Fractale!! While I enjoyed your Tegami Bachi posts, I usually wait for a few episodes to accumulate so I can have a mini-marathon (if 3-4 eps at a time can be called one) so this monthly format may actually work out better. 🙂

    Kiri
    Reply

  54. Iwas hoping Takaii to blog Moshidora since he recently blogged Shinrei Tantei Yakumo and Bakuman.

    Anyways,I think I’ll put Moshidora on My list,Looking forward to new NHK Animes this year. [Isn’t it too obvious,I really love Public Broadcasting 😆 ]

    I’ll also put Kmi ni Todoke,IS and Freezong on my watchlist.

    imbestigador
    Reply

  55. Aww shoot. There’s at least 3-4 shows I’ll give a watch that aren’t covered at all.
    Beelzebub is the most surprising pass but I understand, it’s quite the commitment since it’s the next big shounen anime and it’s highly likely to run over a year.
    However, it makes me a sad panda to not see Dragon Crisis, Level E and Hourou Musuko covered. They all look to be pretty good. But hey, time contraints, I get it. But couldn’t Prooof do it? I mean, he only has Bleach and Beelzebub is a shounen giving me the same feeling (I read both mangas).

    Besides, it’s easier to list what I won’t be watching : Starry☆Sky, Wolverine, Super Robot Wars OG: The Inspector, Bleach, Kimi ni Todoke 2ND SEASON, Cardfight!! Vanguard, Onii-chan no Koto ga Zenzen Suki Janain Dakara ne!! and SUPERNATURAL. Everything else, I’m giving it a try if they’re subbed.
    Rio -RainbowGate!- is very likely to be my first one to be dropped judging from the first episode.

    Ncrdrg
    Reply

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *