Winter 2011 Anime Season

It's that time of the year again! ^_^ This time I'm listing everything in one post. The selection this coming season appears to be moe, moe, and moe, with a dash of shounen fantasy, a palate-pleasing sprinkle of shoujo, a dollop of American comic action, and some harem for both ladies and gents, with a serving of gender-bending on the side. Bon appétit.

Beezlebub: Based on an ongoing Weekly Shounen Jump manga, ""Strongest juvenile delinquent" Oga Tatsumi, in the most random events, finds himself with the infant son of the Great Demon King and threat to humankind, Beelzebub. After being "greeted" by the baby's maid and caretaker, Hilda, it become obvious that Beelzebub doesn't want to leave Oga's side. With his close friend Furuichi and a bunch of other characters on hand, Oga now must raise baby Beel and prevent the world from destruction."

Tried the manga. It read like a mediocre cross between Yuu Yuu Hakusho and Daa Daa Daa! Pass for me.

Premiering January 9.

Sawashiro Miyuki, Toyosaki Aki, Tomatsu Haruka, and Noto Mamiko (squee!) have roles.

  
Cardfight!! Vanguard: Another show about kids fighting each other with cards and monsters, and sheer guts, no doubt. (I would say that this'll keep the kids happy, but I was that weird kid who never liked Pokémon, Digimon, or Yu-Gi-Oh when they were popular in the U.S.) A promo is streaming here.

Premiering January 8.

Dragon Crisis!: A light novel adaptation in which "a high school boy named Ryūji is dragged by his cousin Eriko to rescue a girl from black-market dealers. The blue-eyed "girl" turns out to be a dragon who is inexplicably fixated on Ryūji — following him even when he is bathing and sleeping. Ryūji has to protect the girl from the black-market dealers and others."

I dare you to watch the PV and tell me that the little dragon girl doesn't irritate the crap out of you.

Premiering sometime in January. (The date hasn't been announced.)

Kugimiya Rie and Horie Yui have roles.

Fractale: "The story is set on an island at the far reaches of a continent where the "Fractale System" is on the brink of collapse. A boy named Kurain embarks on a journey to search for Furyune — a girl who disappeared, leaving behind only a pendant. Kurain will eventually learn the secrets of the "System.""

It's a Noitamina show, so I'm automatically checking it out. It could be interesting.

 Premiering January 13.

Kobayashi Yuu and Hanazawa Kana have roles.

Freezing: "Beings from another dimension, called "Nova" have started a war with Earth. In response, "Genetics Academy" trains female warriors called "Pandora", who can create special weapons and armours to fight against the Nova. Kazuya Aoi enrols, due to a promise he made with his sister, a famous Pandora who died in battle, and meets Bridgette L. Satellizer, infamous for her solitary demanour, and becomes her "tuner", an assistant who nullifies Novas' psychic attacks."

We've seen this story before. And I have never liked it. A PV is streaming here. (Click "2" for the animation trailer.

Premiering January 8.

Hanazawa Kana, Noto Mamiko, Koshimizu Ami, Ueda Kana, Inoue Marina, Kitamura Eri, Kaida Yuko, and Asakawa Yuu have roles.

Gosick: Based on another novel series "set in 1924 in the small Alpine country of Sauville, where Kazuya Kujo studies abroad at the Saint Marguerite Academy. Kazuya joins forces with Victorique, a girl with deductive powers that rival Sherlock Holmes', to solve mysteries."

I like the 1920's fantasy setting, but nothing else looks interesting. A PV is available here.

Premiering January 7.

Sawashiro Miyuki has a role.

Haiyoru! Nyaruani: Remember My Mr. Lovecraft: Another light novel adaptation. "The story centers around Nyarlathotep, a formless Cthulhu deity who can take on the shape of anyone it wishes, but particularly the shape of a seemingly ordinary silver-haired girl. Mahiro Yasaka is a normal high school student who is chased by aliens one night, until "Nyaruko" saves him."

H.P. Lovecraft must be rolling in his grave right now.

Premiering December 10.

Kitamura Eri has a role.

Hourou Musuko: Yay, Hourou Musuko! Hopefully I don't need to say why this show is worth looking forward to. ^___^ Promos are streaming here. (The art is puuurty.) HM is airing on the Noitamina block.

Premiering January 13.

Nitori and Takatsuki are being played by newcomers Hotokeyama Kosuke and Seto Asami, respectively, while Toyosakai Aki, Mizuki Nana, Chiba Saeko, and Horie Yui have supporting roles.

Infinite Stratos: A light novel adaptation. "Infinite Stratos (IS), a weaponized exoskeleton system, has become the dominant tool of warfare and conflict. Unfortunately for the men in society, only women are able to operate Infinite Stratos... with very few exceptions. One of those exceptions is ORIMURA Ichika, an orphan raised by his older sister who is herself a famous IS pilot. When his compatibility with IS is discovered after he accidentally touches an IS at the age of 15, he's given a scholarship and enrolled in a school that specializes in training IS pilots. Which of course means an... intersting life surrounded by girls for this shy, unassuming boy."

You already know whether or not you want to watch it. (Guess which camp I'm in!) PVs are available here.

Premiering sometime in January.

Hikasa Youko,  Hanazawa Kana, Inoue Marina, Toyoguchi Megumi (kyaa!), Shitaya Noriko, and Tamura Yukari have roles.

Kimi ni Todoke season 2: Yay!! ^^ More epic adorableness from Shiina Karuho's Kimi ni Todoke! For anyone who isn't familiar with it: Kuronuma Sawako is a sweet, shy girl with poor social skills who resembles Sadako from The Ring, so her classmates nickname her "Sadako"and generally ignore her. Kazehaya Shouta, the equally sweet guy in her class who she has a crush on, makes friends with her, which causes her classmates to reconsider their first impression of her. She also becomes best friends with Yoshida Chizuru and Yano Ayane (who are both great supporting characters, btw; one thing I like about KnT is how well it develops Sawako's friendship with Yano and Yoshida, in addition to her budding relationship with Kazehaya), and generally makes people like her just by being a nice person. Definitely worth watching.

Premiering January 4.

Noto Mamiko is playing Sawako, and Hirano Aya, Miyano Mamoru, and Sawashiro Miyuki have roles.

Kore ha Zombie desu ka?: Based on a light novel series, "The story centers around a lazy high school boy named Ayumu Aikawa who gets killed during a spate of mysterious serial killings. However, Ayumu is resurrected as a zombie by a necromancer girl named "Yū" (Eucliwood Hellscythe), who Ayumu had just met before dying. Ayumu reawakens in a world surrounded by "masō shojo" (magically equipped girls) and vampire ninja. Ayumu is assigned the duties of a masō shōjo by a magical warrior girl named Haruna."

So it's kind of like High School of the Dead, except that there's magic and vampire ninjas, and the female characters look like moe waifs instead of Playmates. Pass for me. PV streaming here.

Premiering January 10.

Hikasa Youko has a role.

Level E: Based on an ongoing Weekly Shounen Jump manga by Yoshihiro Tatsumi, of Yuu Yuu Hakusho and Hunter x Hunter fame, "Tsutsui Yukitaka is a freshman who has finally convinced his parents that he is ready to live on his own. When he arrives at his new apartment, he is surprised to find that someone has arrived before him; A young man who claims that he is an alien and that he is suffering from amnesia. A series of short stories involving aliens on Earth."

The promo art looks pretty trippy. I'll probably check out the first episode.

Premiering January 14.

Koyasu Takehito has a role.

Mahou Shoujou Madoka Magica: A seinen magical girl show by SHAFT and Shinbo Akiyuki starring a middle school girl who wants to grant wishes, with original character designs by Hidamari Sketch's Aoki Ume, and music by Kajiura Yuki. If you care, clips of the four leads talking are on the website.

Madoka will have splendid figurine, soundtrack, and DVD sales, no doubt. My reaction is "meh."

Premiering sometime in January.

Saito Chiwa, Kitamuri Eri, and Mizuhashi Kaori have roles.

Update: New PV featuring the OP and ED themes now streaming.

Mai no Mahou to Katei no Hi: A series by P.A. Works that is, "designed to raise public awareness about the importance of family bonds.""In the story, eight-year-old second-grader Mai Tatsumi uses magic to understand her family's feelings. Moeko Shimizu created the original concept with "Getsuyōbi wa 'Katei no Hi'" (Monday is "Family Day"), the winning entry in a writing contest she entered in 2005 when she was a fourth-grader." "In addition to the planned broadcasts, 2,000 DVDs will be distributed to nurseries, kindergartens, elementary schools, and middle schools. The anime will also be streamed on the Internet via YouTube for free."

Because of this show's unusual promotion and distribution alone, I'll try it. It looks like a pleasant show.

 Premiering sometime in February.

Maria Holic season 2: Someone once explained the appeal of this series for himself to me as, "It's about this big dumb lesbian getting beat up." I'm not exaggerating that quote at all.

Mitsudomoe Zouryouchuu!: The 8 episode second season of a series about gutter-minded little girls that idiots compare to South Park. If you love gags about being kicked in the crotch and naming a hamster "Nipples", you're probably already into this show. PVs can be found here.

Premiering sometime in January.

Takagaki Ayahi, Tomatsu Haruka, Toyosaki Aki, Saito Chiwa, Chihara Minori, and Inoue Kikuko have been roped in.

Rio -Rainbow Gate!-: Rio is the main character of several pachinko games and now she's getting a TV series. Umm...that's it.

A PV is streaming here.

Premiering January 4.

Inoue Marina, Taketatsu Ayana, Shimizu Kaori, Ohara Sayaka, and Hikasa Youko have roles.

Starry Sky: An adaptation of an otome game series. "Tsukiko Yahisa is the first female student to enroll at Seigatsu Academy, a former [garden of bara] all-boys school specializing in astronomy. She is closely watched over by her childhood friends, Kanata Nanami and Suzuya Tohzuki, who often protect her from the male student body. Throughout the games, she befriends other young men whose personalities are based on the Western zodiac constellations."

This will please its intended audience.

Premiering December 23.

Ishida Akira, Ono Daisuke, Orikasa Fumiko, Midorikawa Hikaru, Kamiya Hiroshi, Fukuyama Jun, Miyano Mamoru, Kishio Daisuke, and Sugita Tomokazu have roles.

Suite Precure: The eighth Precure series. Toei hasn't revealed what (or who) it's about. Heartcatch has been fun, so I'm interested.

Premiering February 6.

Wolverine: Madhouse's next Marvel TV adaptation. The Iron Man series wasn't good, so I don't have high expectations for this one. PV streaming here.

Premiering January 7.

Yumekui Merry: "The action fantasy revolves around a high school boy named Yumeji Fujiwara who has the mysterious power to see other people's dreams or nightmares. One day, he meets Merry, a beautiful girl [the elfin-looking purple-haired thing above] who came from the world of dreams."

Pass for me. A PV is streaming here.

Premiering sometime in January.

Endo Aya has a role.

And that's it. ^_^

This will be my last post here until December 23. After finishing up finals, I'm dragging myself home on the 21st and spending the 22nd screwing around at City Place and attending the Nutcracker with a friend. (Which she and I do every year.) Until this blog revives in a burst of flame from the ashes of the next 3 weeks, thanks a lot for your patience! 3 weeks until winter break!!! XD