Sunday, May 30, 2010

Summer 2010 Anime Season: Part 2

More shows!


Ookami-san to Shichinin no Nakamatachi:
"A love comedy parodying fairy tales such as "Little Red Riding Hood," "The Ant and the Grasshopper," etc. Ookami Ryoko (Ookami-san) is a spunky high school girl. She is a member of a "fixer" club so called Otogi High School Bank. She fixes the school's problems with her partner Akai Ringo (Akazukin-chan.)"

The trailer doesn't look very good. The girl with the short red hair (Ringo) seems like she might have a thing for Ryouko (the girl who looks like an older Aisaka Taiga), but the trailer narrator (who sounds an awful lot like Shirai Kuroko) explains it away as her being like a "mother-in-law." But I'm not really interested either way. (The premise isn't inherently bad- I enjoyed the fairytale parody episode of Kaichou wa Maid-sama that aired this past week.)

Itou Kanae, Itou Shizuka, Toyosaki Aki, Kawasumi Ayako, and Horie Yui have roles, and the OP is being sung by May'n (of Macross Frontier fame).



Osaka Hamlet:
An adaptation of Morishita Hiromi's award-winning omnibus manga, which "collects a variety of stories about Osaka dwellers and the problems they face."

I'm lukewarm about this title. I'm afraid that it might be one of those "message" shows that strive to educate people about issues (like divorce, bullying, etc) rather than really entertain. (Like most Lifetime movies.) Maybe I'm being overly cynical.


Tono to Issho:
An adaptation of Ohba-Kai's 4-koma gag manga about "the humorous exploits of generals during Japan's tumultuous sengoku (Era of the Warring States) period."

Not interested. The manga trailer that Media Factory posted following the anime's announcement doesn't look very good.


Seikimatsu Occult Gakuin:
There are a lot of horror titles premiering this summer...

Seikimatsu Occult Gakuin "revolves around mystery and supernatural cases at Occult Academy, a fortress-like academy city." This is the third "Anime no Chikara" show, after So-Ra-No-Wo-To and Senkou no Night Raid. The trailer at the official website looks okay.... (But what's up with the promo art?)

Takagaki Ayahi, Hanazawa Kana, and Koyasu Takehito have roles.


Seitokai Yakuindomo:
"The story centers around Ōsai Academy, a former all-girls private high school which has recently been integrated for both genders. The student body is split between 524 girls and 28 boys. Takatoshi Tsuda is pushed into becoming the vice-president of the student council, where he is the lone male member surrounded by girls."

Didn't we see this last autumn? Pass. PVs are streaming here.

Satou Satomi, Hikasa Youko, Katou Emiri, Arai Satomi, and Kobayashi Yuu have roles.


Sekirei Pure Engagement:
The second season of Sekirei. I never saw the first season, but judging from Pure Engagement's trailer, the character interactions, in a nutshell, seem to be: "Average high school boy!! You are amazing!! Be mine!!" "No, MINE!!!!" "GRAAHHH!!!" *clothes-shredding fight*

I'll pass.

Endou Aya, Nabatame Hitomi, Fukuyama Jun, Hanazawa Kana, Itou Miki, Paku Romi, Ohara Sayaka, and Kaida Yuko have roles.


Sengoku Basara season 2:
"OYAKATA-SAMA!!!"
"YukiMURAAAAA!!!!"
"OYAKATA-SAMA!!!"
"YukiMURAAAAA!!!!"

Season 2 of SB's signature silly, ambiguously gay, shounen super-powered take on the Sengoku era. I enjoyed it when it premiered in spring 2009. (Couldn't get enough of watching historical figures punching each other out with ki. :D ) But when I re-watched the first episode today, I just thought it was okay. (Maybe I wasn't in the right mood- or my tastes changed. Whatever.) And this doesn't reflect on Sengoku Basara, but when I watched it today, I couldn't help mentally sniping that if someone made virtually the exact same series with the genders switched, it would suddenly be Ikki Tousen have gobs of service.

Paku Romi, Koyasu Takehito, and Kaida Yuko have roles.


Shiki:
This summer's Noitamina anime. (The other show airing on Noitamina this summer will be the live-action Moyashimon.)
"During a fiercely hot summer in Sotoba, a peaceful and quiet village with a population of 1300 people, a series of bizarre deaths begin to occur. At the same time, a strange family moves into a long abandoned mansion in the region. Hospital dean Toshio Ozaki cannot figure out the cause of death in the deceased, initially suspecting an epidemic. As investigations continue between the hospital staff and the residents, it turns out that the village is being attacked by vampires."

I'll try an episode because it's a Noitamina show and Gackt is playing one of the leads and singing the OP. (This looks JUST like the type of show that he would voice a character/sing in.) The only other seiyuu I recognize is Tomatsu Haruka. A trailer can be found here.


Shukufuku no Campanella:
Another ero-game adaptation.
"The game's story is set in Ert'Aria, a city known as the "treasury of the world" for the great riches that pass through its streets. The city is in the middle of preparations for a special harvest festival; every seven years, the harvest of the mysterious energy source known as Ēru is more abundant than usual and attracts merchants, tourists, and adventurers from around the world. During those abundant years, a "Day of Shooting Stars" lights up the night skies.
Leicester Maycraft is a young item technician who lives in the city as part of the Oasis adventurers clan. On the "Day of Shooting Stars," one shooting star lands near a party that Leicester attends. When Leicester searches for where the shooting star landed, a girl appears before Leicester and says, "You are my Papa!""

Wtf? Pass.
 A trailer is streaming here.

Fujiwara Keiji and Goto Yuko have roles. (Fun Fact: Two of the characters are named "Salsa Tortilla" and "Ritos Tortilla.")


Strike Witches season 2:
It was hard to find an image of this show that didn't show off the characters' underwear.

The second season of the skin-crawling war saga of girls known as "Strike Witches", who fight an alien race called the "Neuroi" during WWII using flying equipment and magic, apparently while never wearing any pants or shorts, and sprouting animal ears and tails while using magic.

Ick ick ick. I felt less dirty watching two seasons of Queen's Blade (featuring hyper-sexualized women) than I did watching 10 minutes of Strike Witches (featuring hyper-sexualized kids). Pass for me.

The cast is chock full of popular seiyuu. It almost seems like a warning sign now whenever I see a show featuring a long list of fan favorite voice actors. (It's like, "What's the catch?" lol)

I don't really see myself following any of these shows for a full season. ^^; (Is the upcoming season that bad, or am I just getting jaded?) There isn't anything of yuri interest (aside from Strike Witches, which doesn't count for me) and no shoujo. (I'm surprised. Have shoujo anime DVDs been selling poorly recently, or what?)

For me, this will be a good season to catch up on shows that I want to finish. (Like Nanoha StrikerS.)

And hopefully the fall season will be better. ^^ *fingers crossed*

11 comments:

furei kinoko said...

Aoi Bungaku? Is that anime have more mysteries?

Katherine Hanson said...

@ furei kinoko- Aoi Bungaku isn't really a mystery show. It adapts 6 classic stories by Japanese authors who wrote in the early 20th century (Dazai Osamu, Sakaguchi Ango, Soseki Natsume, and Akutagawa Ryunosuke). The stories usually feature prominent psychological themes and often employ fantasy. The artistic style also changes throughout. It's a very good show. :-) (Naturally, given the source material.) The only drawback for me is that no stories by female authors were adapted, even though there are plenty of talented early 20th century Japanese female writers whose stories could have been used.

Duskren said...

Dear god, why are they making a second season of Strike Witches 2?! Ugh, I never understand how dudes in Japan can watch that and still not be arrested... That series just...looks so wrong. Panty-shots of 12 year olds...it's not right XD. Alot of these series do look un-interesting, only 3 caught my eye so far. We'll see how it goes yeah? Great postings and opinions you got here Katherine!

darkchibi07 said...

You know what the funny thing is about Strike Witches? Elia and Sanya seems to be one of the more popular characters and pairings, and they're dressed more conservatively than the rest of the girls.

Katherine Hanson said...

@ Duskren- Thanks! ^^ Hopefully you'll see something you like.

@ darkchibi07- But given the "average" dressing standards on the show....

Taylor said...

"it will suddenly be Ikki Tousen"
that made me laugh so hard.
and I'm still waiting for a possible season 2 of Saki.

Katherine Hanson said...

@ Taylor- I would love to see a second season of Saki. (More yuri-mahjong tournaments!!)

Duskren said...

*coughs* Needs second season of Sasameki Koto *coughs* or at least something!

Katherine Hanson said...

@ Duskren- Agreed; I would love AIC forever if they animated a second season of SK. XD (At least, more than I already do b/c of the first season.)

Duskren said...

Here here Katherine! Here here!

Unknown said...

@darkchibi.

About that Finland/Russian pair.

Here's my theory.

Remember Talvisota? I rest my case.