09/09
Another one of those series meant to sell a fighting card game to the kids these days, harumph-humph. (Get off my lawn!)
Noteworthy Seiyuu:
Fukuyama Jun (Code Geass's Lelouch)
Midorikawa Hikaru (Fushigi Yuugi's Tamahome)
Neya Michiko (Read or Die's Nancy)
Horie Yui (Aoi Hana's Kyouko, Hourou Musuko's Anna)
09/28
An adaptation of a novel that is not a light novel. In a bucolic futuristic Japan, the people are ruled by those who have the "gods' power" of telekinesis. A girl named Saki and her four friends learn the truth about the calamity that brought civilization to the state it's in, and "throw themselves into life-threatening adventure" to save their world from collapsing again.
I'll give it a shot. It looks like it could be interesting. My interest is piqued, foremost, by this series' source material being a non-light novel, though.
Seiyuu:
Hanazawa Kana (Mouretsu Pirates's Chiaki, Black Rock Shooter's Mato)
Hirata Hiroaki (One Piece's Sanji)
Kaji Yuuki (No. 6's Shion)
10/01
An adaptation of a manga running in Dessert, about a studious girl (Shizuku) who befriends a boy (Haru) who was suspended from school for fighting, after finding that he isn't the violent vagabond everyone paints him as. Cue romance.
Sounds like a potentially cute series (opposites attract and all), but apparently Haru threatens to rape Shizuku at some point. Ugh. DO NOT WANT from the character who's supposed to be Shizuku's love interest. Kaburaki Hiro, Kimi ni Todoke's director, is helming this series, so it should be competent as an adaptation. But ugh, that rape threat plot point. Pass for me.
Weird trailer streaming here.
Seiyuu:
Tomatsu Haruka (Mouretsu Pirates's Gruier)
Hanazawa Kana (Mouretsu Pirates's Chiaki, Black Rock Shooter's Mato)
Nakamura Yuuichi (Clannad's Tomoya)
Another shoujo manga adaptation, being directed by Daichi Akitaro (Fruits Basket, Kodocha). Known in English as Kamisama Kiss, this series is running in Hana to Yume.
Nanami's dad abandons her because of his gambling debts, so she's evicted from her apartment. After she "saves" Mikage, a man with a dog phobia, Mikage offers to let her stay at his house...which is a shrine. Turns out Mikage is a god, and he transfers his status as the god of his shrine to Nanami. One of the supernatural residents of the shrine is a youkai named Tomoe. Nanami and Tomoe develop feelings for each other.
I've heard this series is sweet and I like the Japanese deity and monster aspect. (See: My enjoyment of the whimsical-look-at-the-supernatural themes in Tokimeki Mononoke Jougakuen and Natsume Yuujinchou.) Its third trailed (listed below), especially, is charming. (Its song is stuck my head. lol) Here's hoping it's good! *fingers crossed*
PVs streaming here, here, and here.
Seiyuu:
Mimori Suzuko (Yuruyuri's Himawari)
Ishida Akira (Mai Hime's Nagi)
Satou Satomi (K-ON!'s Ritsu)
Horie Yui (Aoi Hana's Kyouko, Hourou Musuko's Anna)
A series of "comedy shorts" based on what is apparently a pretty disturbing manga, about some high school boys who create a machine that runs on lychee fruit to "seek out the beautiful women of the world." Things don't go as they expect after the machine becomes self-aware.
So...if you like the manga, I guess you'll get a kick out of these shorts? If the "machine that unexpectedly becomes self-aware" theme appeals to you, you should check out Roujin Z. (It's old and wasn't mega-popular in its time, so I'm not sure that many anime fans know it.)
Noteworthy Seiyuu:
None.
10/02
A kid's show about a futuristic world in which cars have artificial intelligence and a fifth grader is given a special car to save humanity.
Seiyuu:
Inoue Marina (Smile Precure!'s Nao)
Iguchi Yuka (Symphogear's Miku)
Tanaka Rie (Azumanga Daioh's Yomi)
Tomokazu Seki (Cardcaptor Sakura's Touya)
w00t, Jormungand season 2, continuing the adventures of arms dealer Koko Hekmatyar and her posse of bodyguards, including a woman named Valmet who is in love with her. If you're wondering who the kid behind Koko in the pic above is, he's Jonah, a former child soldier whose parents were killed because of an arms dealer- an arms dealer who isn't Koko. He becomes one of Koko's bodyguards, and Koko and the other bodyguards become a sort of surrogate family to him.
Yup, watching this. If you liked Black Lagoon, Jormungand will be right up your alley.
PV streaming here.
Seiyuu:
Ohara Sayaka (Fate/Zero's Irisviel)
Itou Shizuka (Marimite's Rei, El Cazador de la Bruja's Nadie)
Koshimizu Ami (Marimite's Kanako)
Toyoguchi Megumi (Marimite's Sei)
A children's series about Wooser, a "mysterious 'animal' that lives on the internet" and has a horrible personality.
I'm not watching this show, but it does sound kind of funny. What's its point? Remember kids, don't trust appearances too much, especially on the internet? Not a bad lesson, actually.
Seiyuu:
Miyano Mamoru (Ouran's Tamaki)
10/03
A Japanese-US collaboration that premiered in the US this past February and is premiering in Japan this season.
Kids fight each other using monster creatures. This series's English-language website's "Collect them all!" tagline tells you everything you need to know about it.
Seiyuu:
Tano Asami (Smile Precure!'s Akane)
A comedian once joked about middle schoolers having "chuunibyou" ("middle school second-year disease"), referring to their having delusions of being more special and important than they are.
This series' protagonist, Yuuta, used to have chuunibyou and his girfriend Rikka still has it, and they meet another girl who has it and there's a fantastical aspect to this series because two of them are really into video games, and I just don't care. I'll probably try an episode because as an otaku, it is my patriotic duty to sample everything by Kyoto Animation, but I don't expect to watch more than one episode.
This show's ending theme is streaming here.
UPDATE:
A mini-episode has been released in advance.
Seiyuu:
Fukuyama Jun (Code Geass's Lelouch)
An all-new adaptation of the otaku reference-heavy Hayate no Gotoku shounen comedy manga. It's about a boy who, abandoned by his debt-laden parents, ineffectively tries to rob a rich girl but becomes her butler instead.
Tried the Hayate manga. I could see why people are into it, but it didn't interest me. Pass on this adaptation.
PV found here.
Seiyuu:
Kugimiya Rie (Marimite's Touko)
Shiraishi Ryoko (Saki's Mako)
Tanaka Rie (Azumanga Daioh's Yomi)
Itou Shizuka (Marimite's Rei, El Cazador de la Bruja's Nadie)
Iguchi Yuka (Symphogear's Miku)
10/04
22 year-old Ryota has nothing to boast of in life except his skill at the combat game he plays online. One day he wakes up and finds himself in a real-life version of that game and has to figure out how to get out of Zzzzzzzzzzz.
Pass.
And super, along with Btooom!'s protagonist's love interest being pure, busty wish fulfillment service-bait, she's going to get sexually assaulted. My prediction: She won't get raped before this series' protagonist swoops in and saves her in the most Gary Stu way possible, so the viewers who get off on seeing her manhandled in a servicey way by the would-be rapist can feel good about themselves.
Seiyuu:
Mimori Suzuko (Yuruyuri's Himawari)
Sawashiro Miyuki (Canaan, Blue Drop's Hagino)
Nakamura Yuuichi (Clannad's Tomoya)
More slice-of-life with Yuno and her art school friends who live at the Hidamari apartments.
I like Hidamari Sketch as a relaxing series with spiffy visuals by SHAFT, but a fourth season of pretty much the exact same thing as the previous three seasons is wearing out the franchise's welcome for me. ^_^;
UPDATE: PV added.
Seiyuu:
Harada Hitomi (Sasameki Koto's Tomoe)
Shintani Ryoko (Mai Hime/Mai Otome's Aoi)
Fukuen Misato (Smile Precure!'s Miyuki)
Sawashiro Miyuki (Canaan, Blue Drop's Hagino)
Kugimiya Rie (Marimite's Touko)
A high school boy named Rihito returns home after studying abroad and lives with his four moe, sentient, weapon-toting female action figures.
Blah.
UPDATE: PV added. It hasn't changed my opinion.
Seiyuu:
Asumi Kana (Hidamari Sketch's Yuno)
Nakajima Megumi (Macross Frontier's Ranka)
An average high school boy meets a cute girl who needs him to help her oppose her clan, who want to unleash a power that will destroy the world.
*sigh*
PV here.
Seiyuu:
Hanazawa Kana (Mouretsu Pirates's Chiaki, Black Rock Shooter's Mato)
Sawashiro Miyuki (Canaan, Blue Drop's Hagino)
Mizuki Nana (Nanoha's Fate, Heartcatch Precure's Tsubomi, Symphogear's Tsubasa)
Shiro's high school is located in a suspiciously Academy City-like area. While going on an errand for a classmate, Shiro runs into Kukuri, a girl who is being chased. Fantasy-action stuff happens.
This series is trying so hard to be cool. So hard to be liked. It even has some bishounen for the ladies who like dudes and a busty woman-child for the man-children who like that type of fictional lady (link NSFW). "Blech"-inducing female character aside, this series seems pretty trite, despite its slickly animated action scenes.
PVs streaming here, here, here and here.
Seiyuu:
Ono Daisuke (Kuroshitsuji's Sebastian)
Fukuyama Jun (Code Geass's Lelouch)
Miyano Mamoru (Ouran's Tamaki)
Komatsu Mikako (Mouretsu Pirates's Marika)
Sawashiro Miyuki (Canaan, Blue Drop's Hagino)
Satou Satomi (K-ON!'s Ritsu)
Sakurai Takahiro (Code Geass's Suzaku)
Sugita Tomokazu (Suzumiya Haruhi's Kyon)
Horie Yui (Aoi Hana's Kyouko, Hourou Musuko's Anna)
Nakamura Yuuichi (Clannad's Tomoya)
Kaji Yuuki (No. 6's Shion)
10/05
Obligatory incest-themed comedy of the season. Akito and his twin sister have been separated for years, but now in high school they're living under the same roof.
*sob sob*
*sob sob*
Seiyuu:
Kitamura Eri (Madoka Magica's Sayaka)
Takamoto Megumi (Sasameki Koto's Ushio)
An adaptation of a very long, very weird manga about the crazy adventures of people in the different generations of the Joestar family. One person in each generation is born with a star-shaped birthmark, and they are the protagonist of each generation's arc. (The eight generation's arc is currently running in Ultra Jump.)
I tried the first chapter of the first arc of JoJo's Bizarre Adventure. Even setting aside my avoidance of incredibly long series, it didn't do much for me. Good for the folks who are fans of it, though.
PV here.
Seiyuu:
Okitsu Kazuyuki (Shiki's Muroi)
Koyasu Takehito (Fushigi Yuugi's Hotohori)
Kawasumi Ayako (Chikane and Saber)
An adaptation of a manga spin-off of the To-Love-Ru manga, a harem series in which a high school boy cohabits with an alien princess. This series will star two of To-Love-Ru's side characters, Momo and Yami.
Yup, pass.
PV found here.
Seiyuu:
Toyosaki Aki (K-ON!'s Yui)
Fukuen Misato (Smile Precure!'s Miyuki)
Iguchi Yuka (Symphogear's Miku)
Watanabe Akeno (Kaleido Star's Anna)
Tomatsu Haruka (Mouretsu Pirates's Gruier)
Hanazawa Kana (Mouretsu Pirates's Chiaki, Black Rock Shooter's Mato)
Itou Kanae (Hanasaku Iroha's Ohana)
Noto Mamiko (Marimite's Shimako)
Yuzuki Ryoka (Mai Hime/Mai Otome's Haruka)
Arai Satomi (Railgun's Kuroko)
10/06
Rather than get pissed again ranting about this series, I'll paste what I wrote in response to its second season:
I won't lie. I hate Bakuman. I hate its sexism dressed in uplifting shounen tournament garb; I hate it for painting its lead's crush as the perfect girl for being meek and modest, unlike that total bitch who's proud of getting good grades; I hate its "men have dreams that women can't understand!" message; I hate how its heroes put down female mangaka, and how every mangaka in Bakuman's world is a guy except the token girl who doesn't have a full grasp of what the shounen market wants because she started out in shoujo. (The shounen market consists of girls as much as boys, really, but hey! They're icky and shouldn't be allowed in the tree house, right?)Passing again, of course.
Seiyuu:
Kawasumi Ayako (Chikane and Saber)
Nanafa, an energetic middle school girl, lives with her older sister, her younger sister, and her grandma, who runs a soba shop. Nanafa sees a seal fall off a Chinese kanyan tree, causing the three spirits sealed within the tree to be released.
While this series has a whimsical-supernatural-beings-intrude-on-a-regular-human's-life theme like Kamisama Hajimemashita, I don't plan on trying it. Kamisama looks like it's sweet without trying too hard to be. This series looks like it's going to beat viewers senseless with how precious its characters are supposed to be, and oh my god, don't you just want to go on a moe-induced merchandise-buying spree for them?
Noteworthy Seiyuu:
None.
The latest Key visual novel adaptation, about a group of friends who grew up together.
I've enjoyed previous Key adaptations- primarily Kyoto Animation's adaptations of Air, Kanon (the 2006 version- never made it through the earlier Kanon adaptation because of its awful visuals, although I finished that OVA in which Mai and Sayuri get an extra happy ending together since I used to ship them lol), Clannad, and Clannad ~After Story~ (~After Story~ being my favorite, followed by Air). I even enjoyed P.A. Works' Angel Beats even though it has plot holes big enough to drive a truck through. (Yes, I know Angel Beats! was directly written by Key's Maeda Jun, rather than adapted from a Key visual novel.) I did like Toei's Air movie (If you want to see Yukito punch out Misuzu's horrible father, here's where you can see it!), but still prefer the TV version. I would rather see Little Busters! adapted by Kyoto Animation than J.C. Staff, but I'm still willing to give this series a chance.
PVs here and here.
UPDATE: New PV.
Seiyuu:
Horie Yui (Aoi Hana's Kyouko, Hourou Musuko's Anna)
Midorikawa Hikaru (Fate/Zero's Lancer)
Another adaptation of a shoujo manga from Dessert. 16 year-old Mei has never had friends or dated. Because of a misunderstanding, she kicks a popular boy named Yamato. He decides he likes her, and she starts to like him back.
Could be cute. Its trailer doesn't do much for me, but it doesn't seem outright bad like Tonari no Kaibutsu-kun, so I'll try it. I dread the girl-classmates-ganging-up-on-the-main-character-because-she-"stole"-their-precious-school-idol part, though- because protagonists in these types of stories tend to just grin and bear the bullying directed against them. Even though such a response is realistic for a lot of people, I'd rather see the bullied girl rub her tormentors' ridicule back in their faces and act like she doesn't give a shit. (That's part of why I like the protagonist of Okazaki Mari's Shibuya-ku, Maruyama-chou so much. She starts out as a passive girl who doesn't want to rock the boat and disrupt her illusion of a peaceful school life by admitting that she's being bullied, but owns what's happening and becomes much more effective at dealing with the scumbags who try to push her around.)
Seiyuu:
Kayano Ai (Lagrange's Muginami)
Sakurai Takahiro (Code Geass's Suzaku)
Kotobuki Minako (K-ON!'s Tsumugi)
Uchiyama Yumi (Binbougami ga!'s Momiji)
While riding the bus, Sakura sees a bunch of people burning in blue flames while a teenage boy stands above them. When she returns to the scene the next day, there isn't evidence of anything more than a small fire. Her class gets a mysterious new transfer student, the same boy who she saw standing over the burning people. Sakura learns that the boy, Rei, is an assassin with preternatural abilities who is part of a secret government organization.
Pass. This series' premise doesn't interest me, and going by its trailers, it takes itself too seriously given that it's just a checklist of anime tropes.
PVs here, here, here, and here.
Seiyuu:
Hikasa Youko (K-ON!'s Mio)
Saiga Mitsuki (Mai Hime/Mai Otome's Chie)
Yukana (Futari ha Precure's Honoka)
Kaida Yuko (Strawberry Panic!'s Amane)
Kimura Subaru (Penguindrum's Kanba)
Inspired by a popular children's song called "Oshiri Kajiri Mushi" ("Butt-Biting Bug"), this series is about a ten-year old bug who attends Biting School.
Here's the Oshiri Kajiri Mushi song. Enjoy. lol
Seiyuu:
Ise Mariya (Lagrange's Yurikano)
10/07
Another series meant to market a children's fighting game or something.
Seiyuu:
Mizusawa Fumie (Heartcatch Precure's Erika)
An adaptation of a shounen manga that re-imagines One Thousand and One Nights.
Going by its trailers, it looks pretty meh. And there's the way to attract female fans- advertise the
Noteworthy Seiyuu:
None.
A slice-of-life comedy about four girls who are on the same tennis team. They don't play tennis much.
Pass. Don't see anything suggesting this series is going to be one of the not-utterly-disposable examples of its subgenre.
Seiyuu:
Hanazawa Kana (Mouretsu Pirates's Chiaki, Black Rock Shooter's Mato)
Mimori Suzuko (Yuruyuri's Himawari)
An adaptation of a fantasy PC game, about a fantasy PC game-playing teenage boy who finds himself in an alternate fantasy world.
Meh.
PV here.
Seiyuu:
Kamiya Hiroshi (Zetsubou-sensei)
Fukuyama Jun (Code Geass's Lelouch)
Nakai Kazuya (One Piece's Zoro)
Saiga Mitsuki (Mai Hime/Mai Otome's Chie)
Shintani Ryoko (Mai Hime/Mai Otome's Aoi)
Mikami Shiori (Yuruyuri's Akari)
Sugita Tomokazu (Suzumiya Haruhi's Kyon)
Hosoya Yoshimasa (No. 6's Nezumi)
10/08
Based on a card game aimed at girls. Figures that while the card games marketed at boys are about fighting and monsters, this one's about choosing the right clothes to become a cute top idol.
Seiyuu:
Noto Mamiko (Marimite's Shimako)
Kotobuki Minako (K-ON!'s Tsumugi)
An adaptation of a seinen light novel. Ugh, this series' premise.
Sorata, an ordinary high school boy, lives in Sakurasou, a dormitory for the problem children at his school. Mashiro, a cute girl who is a highly talented artist, moves in. Sorata decides to protect her from the dorm's eccentric residents and finds that she's completely incapable at taking care of herself. e.g. She can't leave her residence without getting lost. Sakurasou's other residents dub Sorata Mashiro's "Master", and they live together as "master and pet."
Ugh. Ugh ugh ugh. Ptooey.
PV here.
UPDATE: New promo vid.
Seiyuu:
Kayano Ai (Lagrange's Muginami)
Toyoguchi Megumi (Marimite's Sei)
Sakurai Takahiro (Code Geass's Suzaku)
Horie Yui (Aoi Hana's Kyouko, Hourou Musuko's Anna)
In the world of Girls Und Panzer, girls practice Sensha-do, the art of tank combat. After transferring to Ooriai Girls' Academy, Miho is ordered by the student council to join Ooriai's Sensha-do team to compete in the national Sensha-do championships.
Potentially fun setting, but this series is by the same folks who brought us Strike Witches, so blagh. This series doesn't appear to be anywhere as obsessed with young girls' crotches and butts as Strike Witches, but going by this series' promo art and trailers, there is enough indication that this series' adult viewers are expected to leer at the little girl characters in it (e.g. how the redheaded girl in the promo pic above is posed) to warrant my giving it the side eye.
PVs here and here.
Seiyuu:
Kayano Ai (Lagrange's Muginami)
Kitamura Eri (Madoka Magica's Sayaka)
Shiina Hekiru (Yokohama Kaidashi Kikou's Alpha)
Ueda Kana (Marimite's Yumi)
Kikuchi Mika (Mai Otome's Arika)
Fukuen Misato (Hidamari Sketch's Natsume)
Hirano Aya (Suzumiya Haruhi)
Kawasumi Ayako (Chikane and Saber)
Nabatame Hitomi (Strawberry Panic!'s Shizuma, Marimite's Eriko)
Ise Mariya (Lagrange's Yurikano)
Tanaka Rie (CANAAN's Liang, Mai Otome's Tomoe)
10/10
The sequel to Medaka Box. Zenkichi is an average guy whose best friend and crush is Medaka, an eccentric, seemingly "perfect" girl who strives to solve her school mates' problems after becoming class president.
Tried the first episode of Medaka Box. It wasn't awful, just meh.
PV streaming here.
Seiyuu:
Toyosaki Aki (K-ON!'s Yui)
Kayano Ai (Lagrange's Muginami)
Katou Emiri (Sasameki Koto's Kiyori, Madoka Magica's Kyuubey)
Paku Romi (Air Master's Maki)
10/11
A Noitamina series. In the near future, technology that can "measure and quantify a person's state of mind and personality" has been developed. Psycho-Pass's protagonist, Shinya, is a police officer. I assume/hope he and his colleagues will have to deal with the flaws and potential abuses inherent to their mind-reading technology.
I have some hope for this series because Urobuchi Gen (Madoka Magica, Fate/Zero) is in charge of the series composition.
PV streaming here.
UPDATE: A PV with animation.
Seiyuu:
Hanazawa Kana (Mouretsu Pirates's Chiaki, Black Rock Shooter's Mato)
Tomokazu Seki (Cardcaptor Sakura's Touya, Fate/Zero's Gilgamesh)
Ishida Akira (Mai Hime's Nagi)
Sawashiro Miyuki (Canaan, Blue Drop's Hagino)
Itou Shizuka (Marimite's Rei, El Cazador de la Bruja's Nadie)
Sakurai Takahiro (Code Geass's Suzaku)
Another series that doesn't fulfill Noitamina's original purpose (at this point, the Noitamina label isn't a draw in and of itself for me)- or look good, for that matter.
In 2019, an average high schooler named Kaito is in his school's robotics club. Together with his childhood friend Akiho, a crack fighting game programmer, he decides to create a fighting robot.
Eh.
PVs streaming here.
Seiyuu:
Kugimiya Rie (Marimite's Touko)
Hona Takako (Kara no Kyoukai's Touko)
Kikuko Inoue (Aa! Megami-sama's Belldandy)
10/13
I tried the first episode of the first season of Seitokai no Ichizon. Considering its haremy premise (its protagonist is a guy in a student council full of girls), it wasn't bad. Didn't watch any further, though.
Noteworthy Seiyuu:
None.
10/20
A parody of the console wars. Two kingdoms are at war- Segua and Ninterdo. Gear (Sonic), from the kingdom of Segua, seeks to defend his homeland from Ninterdo's emperor Marcus (Mario).
Certain older gamers may get a kick out of this series' premise, but it's lost on me. Pass.
Seiyuu:
Mimori Suzuko (Yuruyuri's Himawari)
Koyasu Takehito (Fushigi Yuugi's Hotohori)
11/04
You already know if you're going to watch this. Not being an Initial D fan, I'm not. Initial D is worth sampling in order to understand the ubiquitous parodies of it more than for itself. But I guess plenty of people disagree, since this is its fifth season.
Animax will air Fifth Stage's first episode on November 4, but then from November 9 on, this series will only air on the "Animax presents PPV" pay-per-view service. On the second Friday of each month, two new episodes will be available for 840 yen.
Seiyuu:
Tomokazu Seki (Cardcaptor Sakura's Touya)
Koyasu Takehito (Fushigi Yuugi's Hotohori)
Date still undetermined:
Season 2 of an adaptation of an otome game about a high school girl who inherits her ancestor Princess Tamayori's task of sealing the sword Onikirimaru, with help from five young men who act as her guardians.
I didn't try the first season, but I'm glad for this series' fans.
Seiyuu:
Miyake Marie (Penguindrum's Ringo)
Sugita Tomokazu (Suzumiya Haruhi's Kyon)
Ohara Sayaka (Fate/Zero's Irisviel)
Mimori Suzuko (Yuruyuri's Himawari)
And that's it!
