Spring 2012 Anime Season

The winter season has been unexpectedly excellent- fingers crossed for spring. The only two spring shows that I'm 100% certain I'll watch are Fate/Zero and Saki Achiga-hen, but there are several others that look interesting.

03/16

 Ozma (2 episodes watched):
Matsumoto Leiji's first series in five years, at six episodes long.
In a desert world in which people travel in metal sand ships, a plucky teenager named Sam saves a white-clad damsel-in-distress named Maya from the military ships pursuing her. He brings her to the sand ship where he lives. Here, we meet Sam's tomboyish childhood friend Mimay, the ship's incredibly badass Captain (no exaggeration- when soldiers shoot at her, she just stares them down and doesn't give a shit, as seen in the screencap above), and an assortment of other crew members. The military ships catch up to them and demand Maya. Rather than surrender Maya, the Captain and her crew decide to submerge their ship in the sand and wait until the military ships leave. Just before it becomes impossible for the ship to remain submerged without its members succumbing to heat stroke, the military ships withdraw. Going by the preview for the third episode, there's going to be conflict among the crew over whether harboring Maya is more trouble than it's worth. I couldn't care less, just as I didn't care when Maya fainted and almost died in episode 2, because she has no personality.

The people working on this show have done an excellent job recreating the old school style- visually and aurally. That and the Captain are the two things that I really like about this show. But alas, the Captain isn't quite awesome enough to make me sit through the Maya-centric plot and parade of uninteresting characters, so I'll probably drop this show.
Streaming on Crunchyroll and ViKi.

Noteworthy Seiyuu:
Tanaka Rie (CANAAN's Liang)
Tanaka Atsuko (Ghost in the Shell: SAC's Major Kusanagi)

04/01

Hiiro no Kakera:
Studio DEEN's latest otome game adaptation.
When 17 year-old Kasuga Tamaki's parents go overseas for work, she moves into her grandmother's home in a town in the mountains. There, a boy named Takuma saves her from "mysterious creatures." Takuma is one of the five Suzaku Seishi Guardians of the Tamayohime.

Even though the TV premiere date is April 1, the first episode has been released in advance.
Streaming on Crunchyroll.

Seiyuu:
Sugita Tomokazu (Suzumiya Haruhi's Kyon)
Ohara Sayaka (Fate/Zero's Irisviel, Aria's Alicia)

Saint Seiya Omega:
A sequel to the original Saint Seiya anime, starring Kouga, a 13 year-old boy who becomes the Bronze Saint of the Pegasus constellation. Saori, the woman who raised Kouga, is an incarnation of Athena. Mars (why not Aries?) kidnaps Saori, and Kouga must save her with help from the other Saints.

I'm not interested (I haven't tried Saint Seiya, and the plot sounds pretty "meh" anyway), but I'm happy for the Saint Seiya fans who get more of a franchise they like.
PV streaming here.

Seiyuu:
Konishi Katsuyuki (Gurren Lagann's Kamina)
Furuya Tooru (Mobile Suit Gundam's Amuro Ray)
Midorikawa Hikaru (Fushigi Yuugi's Tamahome)

Uchuu Kyoudai:
An adaptation of a Morning manga starring two brothers, Mutta and Hibito. As children Mutta and Hibito vowed to travel to space. Hibito, the younger brother, became an astronaut, but Mutta did not. Nevertheless, Mutta's life "changes one fateful day." How does it change? I'll try the first episode and see.
PV streaming here.

Update: Will stream on Crunchyroll.

Seiyuu:
Sawashiro Miyuki (CANAAN's Canaan)

04/02

Kimi to Boku. 2:
A second season following a group of friends in high school. I'm not interested, and haven't tried the first season.

Noteworthy Seiyuu:
Nope.

Zetman:
An adaptation of a manga by Katsura Matsakazu (Video Girl Ai, DNA², I''s), about Jin, a homeless boy who can transform into the superhero "ZET," and Kouga, the heir of an industrial magnate who becomes a superhero too.

Doesn't sound like my cup of tea.
PV here.

Seiyuu:
Miyano Mamoru (Ouran's Tamaki)
Hisakawa Aya (Sailor Moon's Ami)
Hanazawa Kana (Black Rock Shooter's Mato)
Paku Romi (NANA's Oosaki Nana)


04/03

Gakkatsu!:
A slice-of-life gag comedy in which a middle school class discusses various weird, random topics.

Each episode is five minutes long, so I'll probably try the first one.
PV streaming here.

Noteworthy Seiyuu:
None.

Naruto SD: Rock Lee no Seishun Full-Power Ninden:
An adaptation of a gag manga starring Rock Lee. This series will air in Bleach's time slot after Bleach ends.

I'm not a Naruto fan, so pass.
PV streaming here.

Seiyuu:
Tamura Yukari (Nanoha)

Queen's Blade: Rebellion:
After Reina won the Queen's Blade, she handed the title of queen over to her older sister Claudette and decided to keep wandering around. Claudette seemed like a good ruler at first, but within four years she became a worse tyrant than Aldra and abolished the Queen's Blade so that no one could take her place. A knight-princess named Annelotte decides to rebel, and a bunch of other new characters join her.

It's Queen's Blade. Cool-sounding plot, soft porn-y execution. And the new characters...it's not like the old Queen's Blade was a paragon of story-telling, but underneath its service, most of its cast was pretty decent. They actually look good next to the new (and unnecessary, considering that this takes place four years after the original; it's not like it's a generation later) batch. Especially this one.

Because the first two seasons of Queen's Blade had some yuri, I'll give Rebellion a shot- at least for my Early Impressions of Spring Shows post.
Lots of cringe-making PVs here.

Seiyuu:
Endo Aya (Macross Frontier's Sheryl)
Toyosaki Aki (K-ON's Yui)
Taketatsu Ayana (K-ON's Azusa)
Tomatsu Haruka (CANAAN's Yunyun)
Sakurai Harumi (Koihime Musou's Sonken)
Mizuhashi Kaori (Hidamari Sketch's Miyako)
Inoue Kikuko (Aa Megami-sama's Belldandy)
Kotobuki Minako (K-ON's Mugi)
Chihara Minori (Ga-Rei: Zero's Kagura)
Satou Satomi (K-ON's Ritsu)
Itou Shizuka (Marimite's Rei)
Kobayashi Yuu (Saki's Yumi)


04/04

Kore ha Zombie Desu ka? OF THE DEAD:
The second season of a series about a high school boy who gets murdered by a serial killer and revived by a necromancer, before he accidentally deprives a magical girl of her powers and has to fight her enemy in her stead. The necromancer and the magical girl both end up living with him.

Tried the first episode of the first season. Pass.
PV here.

Seiyuu:
Shimizu Ai (Strawberry Panic!'s Tamao)
Nabatame Hitomi (Strawberry Panic!'s Shizuma)
Shitaya Noriko (Kannazuki no Miko's Himeko)
Hikasa Youko (K-ON's Mio)

Lupin III ~Mine Fujiko to Iu Onna~:
Lupin III is an iconic series from the 70's about a gentleman thief named Lupin who advertises what he plans to steal before he steals it. This new series will focus on Fujiko, Lupin's love interest, and take place before the main Lupin III timeline.

Admittedly, I haven't seen or read anything Lupin III. I know that its tone and characters influenced Cowboy Bebop (Lupin -> Spike, Fujiko -> Faye), and the promo looks quite cool.

Seiyuu:
Sawashiro Miyuki (CANAAN's Canaan)
Kurita Kanichi (Lupin in over a dozen earlier iterations of the Lupin III franchise)

Medaka Box:
A Weekly Shounen Jump adaptation.
Medaka wins her school's student council presidency with 98% of the vote. She creates a "Medaka Box," in which students can submit requests to the student council for help with anything. (Mostly problems involving supernatural powers and battles.)

The PVs look "meh" and the premise sounds an awful lot like Sket Dance, but shounen series starring female leads are rare and it's a Gainax show, so I'll give it a shot. (I expect to only watch one episode, though.)

Seiyuu:
Kayano Ai (Lagrange's Muginami)
Toyosaki Aki (K-ON's Yui)
Katou Emiri (Sasameki Koto's Kiyori)


04/05

Acchi Kocchi:
An adaptation of a Manga Time Kirara 4-koma starring a short tsundere girl named Tsumiki, an unsociable boy named Io, and their classmates.
Pass.
PV available here.

Seiyuu:
Nabatame Hitomi (Strawberry Panic!'s Shizuma)

Natsu-iro Kiseki:
A slice-of-life starring four high school girls voiced by the members of the seiyuu music group Sphere. Like Symphogear, Natsu-iro Kiseki is merely a vehicle to promote the seiyuu starring (and singing) in it, but I'm trying it anyway.
PVs streaming here.

Seiyuu:
Toyosaki Aki (K-ON's Yui)
Takagaki Ayahi (Sasameki Koto's Sumi)
Tomatsu Haruka (CANAAN's Yunyun)
Kotobuki Minako (K-ON's Mugi)

Sankarea:
An adaptation of a manga by Hattoori Mitsuru, who some yuri fans know as the creator of Concerto.
15 year-old Furuya is obsessed with zombies. His obsession grows after his cat dies in an accident. He runs into a runaway girl named Sanka Rea. Sanka tries to commit suicide by drinking the resurrection potion Furuya created. She dies after falling off a cliff and revives as a zombie. (Of course, she doesn't decompose as a proper zombie should because rotting flesh isn't sexy.) She kisses Furuya, fulfilling his dream of being kissed by a zombie, then bites him, making him half-zombie. They start living together. Rea quells her desire to eat human flesh by eating hydrangeas.
Wtf.
PV here.

Seiyuu:
Fukuen Misato (Hidamari Sketch's Natsume, Smile! Precure's Miyuki)
Iguchi Yuka (Symphogear's Miku)

Sengoku Collection:
An adaptation of a social networking service game, in which the key historical figures of the Sengoku Era are re-imagined as cute girls.

I might just try it to see if it's worse than Sengoku Otome.

Seiyuu:
Hanazawa Kana (Black Rock Shooter's Mato)
Kudou Haruka (Honey and Clover's Hagumi)
Nakahara Mai (Strawberry Panic!'s Nagisa)
Noto Mamiko (Marimite's Shimako)

Shirokuma Café: 
An adaptation of a gag manga from Monthly Flowers, about a café run by a polar bear and the penguins and other animals that patronize it.

Not interested.



Seiyuu:
Sakurai Takahiro (Code Geass' Suzaku)
Endo Aya (Macross Frontier's Sheryl)
Ono Daisuke (Kuroshitsuji's Sebastian)
Kamiya Hiroshi (Zetsubou-sensei)
Fukuyama Jun (Code Geass's Lelouch)

04/06

Accel World:
In the year 2046, a bullied middle school boy named Haruyuki meets the prettiest girl in school, Kuroyukihime. She reveals a virtual world called "Accel World" to him.

Pass.
PV here.

Seiyuu:
Toyosaki Aki (K-ON's Yui)
Tomatsu Haruka (CANAAN's Yunyun)


04/07

Fate/Zero season 2:
YEAH, FATE/ZERO! *fistpump* My fangirl heart is pitter-pattering with anticipation for the awesome battle royale fights and slash fodder that are sure to come in this season. (Not to mention the resolution to season 1's cliffhanger.) BRING ON SEASON TWO!! *kicks back with popcorn* *waves Team Saber pennant*

Update: Preview screencaps!
Update 2: PV! With Saber on a motorcycle!

Seiyuu:
Kawasumi Ayako (Chikane)
Ohara Sayaka (Aria's Alicia)
Ishida Akira (Mai Hime's Nagi)
Midorikawa Hikaru (Fushigi Yuugi's Tamahome)
Toyoguchi Megumi (Marimite's Sei)
Seki Tomokazu (Cardcaptor Sakura's Touya)
Ueda Kana (Marimite's Yumi)
Shitaya Noriko (Kannazuki no Miko's Himeko)

Ginga he Kickoff!:
Kickoff follows Shou, whose soccer team that was disbanded because it didn't have enough players. After Shou meets a pro soccer player named Erika, he strives to create a team again.
I like that Shou's inspirational role model is a woman, since that role would normally be filled by a man in this type of series. But I'm not really into sports series. I don't expect to follow Kickoff, but I'll try its first episode.

Seiyuu:
Kobayashi Yuu (Saki's Yumi)
Kuwashima Houko (Azumanga Daioh's Kagura)
Neya Michiko (Read or Die/R.O.D. the TV's Nancy)
Tanaka Rie (CANAAN's Liang)

Jewelpet Kira Deco!:
The newest Jewelpet series, focusing on a new heroine, Oomiya Pink. Pink and her friends partner with Jewelpets to find the legendary Deco Stone and save the world from Eternal Darkness.

Never tried anything from the Jewelpet franchise before, not starting now.

Seiyuu:
Toyosaki Aki (K-ON's Yui)
Hirano Aya (Suzumiya Haruhi)
Sawashiro Miyuki (CANAAN's Canaan)

Kuroko no Basuke:
Another Weekly Shounen Jump series. Kagami Taiga is a new student at Serin High School with a talent for basketball. He befriends Kuroko, the former sixth "shadow" member of another school's "Generation of Miracles" basketball team. Kagami and Kuroko strive to create a championship-winning team and beat the team from Kuroko's old school.
Again, sports series. Probably won't follow it.
PV here.

Seiyuu:
Saito Chiwa (Madoka Magica's Homura)
Ono Daisuke (Kuroshitsuji's Sebastian)

Nazo no Kanojo X:
When a mysterious transfer student drools on her desk, Akira decides to taste it. Little does he know that they will soon be dating.

...
PV streaming here.

Seiyuu:
Fukuen Misato (Hidamari Sketch's Natsume, Smile! Precure's Miyuki)
Hirohashi Ryou (Kaleido Star's Sora, Aria's Alice)

Pretty Rhythm Dear My Future:
A sequel taking place three years after Pretty Rhythm Aurora Dream, starring a new group of girls who want to make it big as idols.

Pass.

Seiyuu:
Itou Kanae (Hanasaku Iroha's Ohana)
Yonezawa Madoka (K-ON's Ui)
Asumi Kana (Black Rock Shooter's Yuu)

Upotte!:
Based on a manga by the creator of Eden's Bowy, about a school filled with guns anthromorphized as girls.

It increasingly feels like the producers and sponsors for this season have been collectively sniffing glue, doesn't it?

Seiyuu:
Iguchi Yuka (Symphogear's Miku)

04/08

Cardfight!! Vanguard: Asia Circuit Hen:
The sequel to that awful new card tournament series.

Seiyuu:
Shitaya Noriko (Kannazuki no Miko's Himeko)
Hirohashi Ryou (Kaleido Star's Sora, Aria's Alice)
Nanjou Yoshino (CANAAN's Maria)

 

Metal Fight Beyblade Zero-G:
The other crappy tournament series sequel of the season.

Noteworthy Seiyuu:
None.

Phi Brain: Kami no Puzzle season 2:
The sophomore season of a show about a boy who solves deadly puzzles to unlock treasures and hopes to eventually solve the ultimate Divine Puzzle.

Never tried Phi Brain, not interested in doing so.

Seiyuu:
Fukuyama Jun (Code Geass's Lelouch)
Ishida Akira (Mai Hime's Nagi)
Saito Chiwa (Madoka Magica's Homura)
Ono Daisuke (Kuroshitsuji's Sebastian)
Kamiya Hiroshi (Zetsubou-sensei)
Shimizu Kaori (Marimite's Noriko)
Goto Mai (Shin Koihime Musou's Ryuubi)
Miyano Mamoru (Ouran's Tamaki)
Saito Momoko (Saki's Momo)
Satou Rina (Marimite's Tsutako)
Yukino Satsuki (R.O.D. the TV's Nenene)
Sakurai Takahiro (Code Geass' Suzaku)
Sugita Tomokazu (Suzumiya Haruhi's Kyon)
Hikasa Youko (K-ON's Mio)
Taketatsu Ayana (K-ON's Azusa)
Nakajima Megumi (Macross Frontier's Ranka)
Koyasu Takehito (Fushigi Yuugi's Hotohori)

Saki Achiga-hen episode of side A:
Yay, more Saki! Unfortunately, we won't see the original Saki characters, aside from (going by one of the promo videos) a younger Nodoka. (And I will never like Saki's brand of service.) Fortunately, this series will revitalize interest in the franchise enough to, hopefully one day, get a continuation of the original story animated. At least we can expect some over-the-top mahjong competition and yuri.
PVs streaming here.

Seiyuu:
Yuuki Aoi (Madoka Magica's Madoka)
Hanazawa Kana (Black Rock Shooter's Mato)
Tooyama Nao (Kyoukai Senjou no Horizon's Margot)
Ishihara Kaori (Lagrange's Madoka)

Tasogare OtomexAmnesia:
Niiya Teiichi enounters the ghost of a student named Yuuko at his school. They try to figure out who or what caused her death because she can't remember what happened.

This season's lone horror series. It doesn't look bad. I'll try it.
PVs here and here.

Seiyuu:
Kitamura Eri (Madoka Magica's Sayaka)
Fukuen Misato (Hidamari Sketch's Natsume, Smile! Precure's Miyuki)

04/09

Haiyore! Nyaruko-san:
A high school boy is chased by aliens one night, until a girl named Nyaruko saves him. Nyaruko is really Nyarlathotep, one of the Outer Gods from H.P. Lovecraft's Cthulu mythos. Romantic comedy hijinks ensue.

Pass.
Will stream on Crunchyroll.

Seiyuu:
Kitamura Eri (Madoka Magica's Sayaka)
Asumi Kana (Black Rock Shooter's Yuu)
Hisakawa Aya (Sailor Moon's Ami)
Kouda Mariko (Marmalade Boy's Miki)
Kugimiya Rie (Marimite's Touko)
Arai Satomi (Railgun's Kuroko)

04/10

Jormungand:
An adaptation of a Monthly Sunday Gene-X (same magazine that runs Black Lagoon) series about an arms dealer named Koko and her crew of bodyguards. One of them is a boy named Jonah who only joins Koko's group because he wants to find the arms dealer who killed his family. (Koko's group becomes a sort of surrogate family for him.) One of Koko's bodyguards, Valmet (the knife-wielding woman above), is in love with Koko.

I tried the manga, but couldn't get into the story because the art was so scratchy. The anime won't have that negative, and the trailer looks pretty awesome, so I'm looking forward to it it.

Seiyuu:
Itou Shizuka (Marimite's Rei)
Ohara Sayaka (Fate/Zero's Irisviel, Aria's Alicia)

04/12

Eureka Seven Ao:
A sequel to Eureka Seven, taking place ten years after its predecessor. Ao lives on Okinawa, where he saves money so he can the island to search for his mother who disappeared ten years ago. Scab Coral turn up on the island, and monsters called the "Secret" start attacking. Ao boards a mech called the Nirvash, which hasn't been activated in (what a coincidence!) ten years, and starts fighting the Secret alongside the mercenaries that the government hired.

I watched Eureka Seven six or so years ago- long enough ago that I thought "Whuh?" when I read some of the world-building terms in this series's description (like Scab Coral and Nirvash) and had to look them up. Eureka Seven never blew my mind, but I enjoyed it enough to finish it. I'll give this series a try.
PV streaming here.

Seiyuu:
Omigawa Chiaki (Hidamari Sketch's Nazuna, Hanasaku Iroha's Minko)

Sakamichi no Apollon:
A Noitamina show.
In the summer of 1966, straight-laced honor student Kaoru moves in with his relatives in Kyushu. He befriends a laid-back boy named Sentarou and learns to enjoy life.

I like stories that take pace in different eras. But when I first read this show's description, I was a little apprehensive that it wouldn't try to appeal to people who don't have golden, nostalgia-tinged memories of its setting, like Showa Monogatari. But it's being helmed by Cowboy Bebop director Watanabe Shinichiro, with music by a certain goddess of soundtrack composition (jazz will play a prominent role in this series), so I'm looking forward to it. The OP's even being sung by YUKI, who sang the opening theme for Honey & Clover. It feels like Noitamina's trying to return to its roots this season, after an unusually (but not exclusively) otaku-pandering line-up this past year. Don't get me wrong. I really liked Ano Hana and I mostly liked Black Rock Shooter even though it ended weakly- but I want Noitamina to keep focusing on shows that aren't meant to appeal to otaku. Every other late night time slot already does that.
PV streaming here.

Seiyuu:
Endo Aya (Macross Frontier's Sheryl)

Shining Hearts ~Shiawase no Pan~:
An adaptation of an RPG.
An amnesiac woman named Kaguya washes ashore the island of Wyndaria. She meets a swordsman named Rick, who works at a bakery. Pirates invade Wyndaria to steal the sacred stone Kaguya that wears on a necklace. Rick and his co-workers decide to help Kaguya.

Ho-hum. Pass.

Seiyuu:
Kamiya Hiroshi (Zetsubou-sensei)
Itou Kanae (Hanasaku Iroha's Ohana)
Saito Chiwa (Madoka Magica's Homura)
Midorikawa Hikaru (Fushigi Yuugi's Tamahome)
Kamiya Hiroshi (Zetsubou-sensei)
Kuwashima Houko (Noir's Kirika)
Nakai Kazuya (One Piece's Zoro)
Kugimiya Rie (Marimite's Touko)
Hirohashi Ryou (Kaleido Star's Sora, Aria's Alice)
Horie Yui (Aoi Hana's Kyouko)

tsuritama:
This season's other Noitamina series.
A slice-of-life about four friends living on an island: Yuki, who has poor communication skills and isn't good at making friends; Haru, who calls himself an alien and wants to teach Yuki how to fish; Natsuki, who is perpetually irritated but loves fishing; and Akira, the "mysterious Indian who watches them all from a distance" and carries a pet duck named Tapioca.
 
I'll do a write-up on the first episode of this series because it's a Noitamina show. I don't expect to follow it, though.

Update: PV streaming here.

Seiyuu:
Sugita Tomokazu (Suzumiya Haruhi's Kyon)
Katou Emiri (Sasameki Koto's Kiyori)
Hirano Fumi (Urusei Yatsura's Lum)

04/22

Hyouka:
A boy named Houtarou, who isn't very sociable, joins his school's classic literature club because his older sister tells him to. He and the other club members work on resolving an "incident" that happened to an uncle of one of the club members thirty three years ago.

This series is based on a novel that won an honor in the Young Mystery & Horror category of the 5th Kadokawa School Novel Prizes, and it's by Kyoto Animaton, so I'll try it.
PV streaming here.

Seiyuu:
Satou Satomi (K-ON's Ritsu)
Nakamura Yuuichi (Clannad's Tomoya)
Kayano Ai (Lagrange's Muginami)
Toyosaki Aki (K-ON's Yui)
Koshimizu Ami (Marimite's Kanako, Saki's Nodoka)
Yuuki Aoi (Madoka Magica's Madoka)
Asano Masumi (Ikkitousen's Hakufu)
Satsuki Yukino (R.O.D. the TV's Nenene)
Yukana (Mai Hime/Otome's Mashiro and Fumi)

04/29

AKB0048:
A series based on members from AKB48- and, going by the voice cast, its sister groups SKE48 and NMB48- taking place in what appears to be a space colony. The people working on this series clearly have the Macross franchise's success in mind. I'm not into AKB48, SKE48, or NMB48, so this series doesn't interest me.
PV here.

Seiyuu:
AKB48 members Ichijou Yuuka (who also played the glasses girl in Morita-san ha Mukuchi), Ishida Haruka, Iwata Karen, Watanabe Mayu, Nakaya Sayaka, and Satou Sumire.
SKE48 members Yagami Kumi and Hata Sawako.
NMB48 member Mita Mao.
Kawasumi Ayako (Chikane, Saber)
Ueda Kana (Marimite's Yumi)
Nakahara Mai (Strawberry Panic!'s Nagisa)
Noto Mamiko (Marimite's Shimako)
Sawashiro Miyuki (CANAAN's Canaan)
Shiraishi Ryouko (Saki's Mako)
Horie Yui (Aoi Hana's Kyouko)
Tamura Yukari (Nanoha)

And whoo-hoo! Mouretsu Pirates is continuing through the spring! ^__^