Looks like the god of anime has heard my prayer, because somehow a good number of studios, as if by mutual agreement, are putting out darker themed series in the fall season. There are a ton of shows I want to check out this season, so to be more organized, I'm going to divide the shows into four tiers based on my priority.
First Tier - Series that I'm very excited about and look forward to the most. It's very likely for me to stick through it from beginning to end.
Second Tier - Series that I'm interested in checking out. But depends on how I feel about it after a couple of episodes, it may move up or down my watch list.
Third Tier - Series that I kind of want to check out for one reason or another, but only if I have time to spare as my schedule is packed with school, volunteer, amongst other things.
Fourth Tier - Series I have no interest in what's so ever. I rarely, if ever, move series out of this tier once they are in.
[WARNING: LONG POST, VIDEO/PICTURE HEAVY]
Okay, without further ado, let the rant begin.
First Tier
Genre: school, comedy, sci-fi
Studio: Production I.G
Director: Kazuya Nomura
Script Composition: Jukki Hanada
Synposis:
"Chuuoutanegashima High School's Robot Research Club is in danger of losing its club status. Kaito Yashio, one of only two members, is only obsessed with robot fighting games, showing no interest in the Robo Club even in this situation. The reckless, useless club head, Akiho Senomiya, aims to complete a giant robot, struggling hard to avoid losing the club's status. Then, one day, Kaito discovers the A.R. annotation that becomes the Kimishima Report. Written in that report is the indictment of someone named Kou Kimishima's conspiracy involving the world."
"Chuuoutanegashima High School's Robot Research Club is in danger of losing its club status. Kaito Yashio, one of only two members, is only obsessed with robot fighting games, showing no interest in the Robo Club even in this situation. The reckless, useless club head, Akiho Senomiya, aims to complete a giant robot, struggling hard to avoid losing the club's status. Then, one day, Kaito discovers the A.R. annotation that becomes the Kimishima Report. Written in that report is the indictment of someone named Kou Kimishima's conspiracy involving the world."
The story is set in the same universe as Steins;Gate (and Chaos;Head), hence the title is stylized in the same fashion. The synopsis is very vague, from what I'm getting at, it seems to be a mystery story revolving around a school robotics club. The preview doesn't reveal much either, besides announcing to the world that it's a well animated series. Does it have potential to be amazing? Sure. I know for a fact this is one of the most anticipated series this season, with good reasons too. The studio behind the series is Production I.G, which happens to be one of the most extolled studio in the industry, so I think the animation is in good hands. The director for this show hasn't had a whole lot of experience as a project director, though he has worked on a number of well known series, often as a key animator or episode director. Just to name a few: Fullmetal Alchemist Brotherhood (key animation), Denno Coil (key animation), Xam'd: lost Memories (storyboard, episode director, key animation). As far as I know, Notes is not related to Gate in terms of plot, so I'm not sure how relevant the comparison between the two is. However, the script composition is handled by the same person who penned Steins;Gate and that's perhaps the most important reason to believe this series will inherit the good qualities of its predecessor. With all factors considered, I think the hype is not irrational, and I'm quite excited to see how it will turn out.
PV
Genre: Sci-fi, Supernatural
Studio: A-1 Pictures
Director: Masashi Ishihama
Script Composition: Masashi Sogo
Synopsis:
"About one thousand years into the future, civilization has been retrograded and humans are living dispersed within small communities. People in this era have a psychic power called "Juryoku" which materializes things they imagine. In the absence of advanced scientific technology, people are using this power as a major source of energy.
One day, a girl called Saki, along with her friends, finds a small archive robot outside the town. It records the ancient history of humans. It tells them that Juryoku was found in the 21st century and the discovery caused a world war between psychics and non-psychics. The psychics won this war and thus their reign of terror began.
When the adults in town figure out that the children discovered this forbidden knowledge, they seal their Juryoku and exile them. Saki and the others end up in a forest where they meet a huge hairless bipedal mouse known as a "Bakenezumi" and get involved in a violent war the creatures are currently engaged in."
Putting everything else aside, the premise of this series caught my attention right away. I've always been a fan of post-apocalypse setting because it allows for many possibilities in terms of plot direction. Judging by the synopsis, there seem to be a lot of intriguing ideas floating around, and if fully developed, they have the potential to give rise to a solid story.The PV itself consists of a number of serious, slightly creepy scenes, which is an indication of a dark-themed story, something that's largely missing from the spring lineup. The production is handled by A-1 Pictures, who have put out a lot of good works in the past couple of years, such as AnoHana and Ao no Exorcist, two of my personal favorites from the studio. The director has worked as a key animator on series such as Code Geass, FLCL, Welcome to NHK, Gurren Lagann and Sword of the Stranger. The person on script composition has penned the script for some of the best known shonen series - Fairy Tail, Bleach and Prince of Tennis. While I'm not sure how this combination of talent will ultimately work out, I do have a lot of hopes for the series.
PV
Manga Adaption Genre: Action, Fantasy, Mystery
Studio: Bones
Director: Masahiro Ando
Script Composition: Mari Okada
Synopsis:
"The story revolves around Mahiro Fuwa, a teenager whose family was mysteriously murdered one year before and his friend Yoshino Takigawa. Mahiro is contacted by Hakase Kusaribe, the leader of the Kusaribe clan who was left stranded on an unknown desert island by her followers, and agrees to help Hakase in exchange of her help to find out the culprit for the death of his family. Upon learining of his friend's intentions, Yoshino joins him on his quest to stand against the Kusaribe clan who intends to awake the "Tree of Zetsuen" whose power can bring ruin to the entire world."
Everything in this synopsis already happens in the first chapter of the manga, this is a story that thrusts you into the heart of the mystery from page one. The main character – well, one of the main characters, named Mahiro – has a Light/ Lelouche vibe, which is either interesting or obnoxious, depending how his character is ultimately developed. The manga was relatively unknown before the anime was announced, so it's difficulty to find constructive opinions about how the anime may pan out based on the manga. An ambitious plot is hard to manage, from what I've seen in the past, it often walks the precariously line between epic and pretentious. Bones is behind the production, which is what I'm quite excited about. The manga is only in its 6th volume, so I think Bones will invent their own ending like they did with FMA and Soul Eater, and whether that's good news or not is really up to individual preference. I personally don't mind as long as it flows with the rest of the story, though with Bones, you should probably keep in mind that they have a tendency to leave things open-ended – or in other words – unexplained. The director on the project has helmed the movie Sword of the Stranger – also a Bones production – and action series Canaan, both I enjoyed. The famous – if not controversial – Mari Okada is on board for the script. This would be the third time the two has collaborated, Okada has previously worked with Ando on Canaan and Hanasaku Iroha, both produced by P.A Works. I should mention that Okada also penned Anohana, which is a show I have great love for, so while I don't consider myself a avid fan of her work, I liked her style of writing for two of the series I have seen. The animation in the PV looks gorgeous, beautiful character design with lots of details, very characteristic of Bones. Based on the promo trailer and poster, a lot of people jumped to the conclusion that this is a BL series, because apparently having dual lead characters who are both male automatically signals some kind of homosexual relationship. Yes, Bones has produced No.6, which happens to have BL elements, but are people really that homophobic? In the studio's defense, No.6 is a prime example of where BL relationship can be made for good character development without drowning the plot in fanservices. But that's a discussion for another day. As I said before, this is one of my most anticipated anime of the season because it's produced by Bones. I simply cannot wait for it to come out.
PV
Psycho-Pass
Genre: Sci-fi, drama, action
Studio: Production I.G
Director: Naoyoshi Shiotani
Series Composition: Gen Urobuchi
Synopsis:
"The series takes place in the near future, when it is possible to instantaneously measure and quantify a person's state of mind and personality. This information is recorded and processed, and the term "Psycho-Pass" refers to a standard used to measure an individual's being. The story centers around the "enforcement officer" Shinya Kougami, who is tasked with managing crime in such a world."
I'm very excited for this show, it's probably the number one on my watch list, which is kind of irrational considering I've been anticipating it even before any information was released. There is just something about the trailer that's very appealing. I had a hunch Production I.G was behind the project because the 3D animation in the trailer was over the top well done. Now that it's confirmed to be produced by Production I.G and the synopsis has been released, my expectation went up even more, now I'm just waiting for the second trailer as well as the staff information. Frankly speaking, I'd be very depressed if this show turns out to be disappointing. So please Production I.G, I beg you, do not flop this one, I will rage. [Edit: We have two relatively inexperienced directors steering the ship, but no matter, it's always more fun to discover new talents. The script is undertaken by the creator of Fate/Zero, who also penned the script for Puella Magi Madoka Magica, a hugely popular show that I have not watched. Is it good news? I like Fate/Zero well enough even though I do have a lot of problems with it, so while I'm not celebrating his presence, I'm not appalled by it either.]
PV
Second Tier
Genre: Sci-fi, Action, Psychological
Studio: Madhouse
Director: Kotono Watanabe
Script: Yousuke Kuroda
Synopsis:
"The story centers around Ryūta Sakamoto, a NEET (Not in Education, Employment, or Training) young man and a top-ranked player in the online combat game Btoom! One day, he wakes up on a tropical island without remembering how he got there. He sees a figure in the distance and asks for help. However, the figure responds by throwing something at Ryūta — a "BIM" bomb. In that moment, Ryūta comes to realize two things: one, his own life is in danger, and two, he is now in the world of Btoom!"
My immediate thought upon reading the synopsis is — I swear I have seen this premise somewhere before. Yes, it's the same idea rehashed over and over again, since when did getting stuck in virtual reality become so appealing? After Sword Art Online from the current summer season, I wasn't expecting another one of these series so soon. Am I jumping to conclusions? Probably. I have not read the manga from which this anime is adapted, so any speculation at this point is quite baseless. The synopsis aside, I am comforted by the fact Madhouse is behind the production, because this is a studio known for good seinen, psychological series. If there is a studio that can dissolve my biases, it's Madhouse. Who knows, maybe Btooom! will pull something exceptionally clever, like Mirai Nikki did with the "Battle Royale" concept. I'm not sure what to make of the PV, the cast of characters does look interesting and there seems to be plenty of actions to keep the eyes entertained; however, that one potential rape scene kind of threw me off. Depending on where the show places itself, it may be erotic content thrown in for the sole purpose of gratifying sexually frustrated male fans, which is the unfortunate case, or it may be part of good tension building. I guess I won't find out until the official release. The director of the project is a newbie who doesn't have a lot of titles under his name. Though the ones he has worked on: Madoka, Aoi Bungaku and Chihayafuru, were well received. If Madhouse put him up for such an important position, I'm willing to give him the benefit of the doubt. As for the script writer, judging from a good number of well known series he has penned — Trigun, Hellsing, and Jormungand, for example — he certainly has the experience in handling dark-themed action series. With all things considered, the series has its merits, so I am kind of excited about how it will turn out.
PV
Manga Adaption
Genre: Action, Supernatural
Studio: Kinema Citrus
Director: Yasuhiro Irie
Script Composition: Yasuhiro Irie
Synopsis:
"Riding the bus one day, Sakurakouji Sakura looks out the window to see people being burned alive with a blue fire as a boy her age remains unharmed and stands over the people. When she goes back to the site the next day, there are no corpses or evidence of any kind of murder, just a small fire. When Sakura goes to class, she discovers the new transfer student is the same boy she saw the day before. Sakura soon learns that he is Ogami Rei, the sixth "Code: Breaker," a special type of assassin with a strange ability and also a member of a secret organization that serves the government."
It's no surprise that the popular shonen manga finally gets an anime adaption, I can only imagine how ecstatic the fans must feel. The manga is currently in its 19th volume, so that means there is plenty of material to work with, what I'm wondering is how many seasons are actually planned. To boil it down, it's a story that begins with a fateful meeting between a dangerous, stoic guy and a kind hearted girl. While the premise and even the characters sound somewhat generic, the manga does have a mainstream appeal, just like every popular shonen title. I mean who doesn't love the sexual tension between a dangerous guy and a pretty girl. Okay, I'm just teasing, the series is actually not romance oriented, though the shipping discussion is inevitable given the situation. I've only read half of the first volume, and considering how far the story has gone, I'm about as good of a judge as someone who only read the synopsis. I'm waiting to be surprised. The anime is produced by Kinema Citrus, a very young studio founded in 2008, whose first work is a collaboration with Bones. Code: Breaker will have significant meanings for the studio, as it's the studio's first independent project and an opportunity to put the studio's name on the table. The director and script composition is undertaken by the same person. Now, I'm biased to believe he'll do a good job with the adaption because he was the director of FMA-Brotherhood and a long time associate of Bones. But until the final product is released, I shall cross my fingers and hope for the best.
PV
Manga Adatption
Genre: Action, Adventure, Fantasy
Studio: A-1 Pictures
Director: Koji Masunari
Series Composition: Hiroyuki Yoshino
Synopsis:
"This story is about the flow of fate and the battle to keep the world on the right path. Aladdin is a boy who has set out to explore the world after being trapped in a room for most of his life. His best friend is a flute with a djinn in it named Ugo. Soon enough, Aladdin discovers he is a Magi, a magician who chooses kings, and he was born to choose kings who will follow the righteous path, battling against those who want to destroy fate. Follow his adventures as he meets others from 1000 Arabian Nights, like Ali Baba and Sinbad, and fights to keep the balance of world in check!"
The selling point of this show is obviously the "Arabian Nights" premise. These childhood tales carry a sense of nostalgia for me even though I don't remember the story details, so it would be very interesting to see them reenacted in the form of anime. Besides, the story is set in the middle east, which in itself is not very common in anime, the different landscape and traditions should be rather refreshing to see. But I do have a nagging feeling that the series targets a younger audience, so I don't know how much appeal it would have to me in terms of character and plot complexity. The production is handled by A-1 Pictures, the studio that's also producing Shinsekai yori. The director doesn't have a whole lot of notable titles under his name, the only one that pops up is probably Read or Die, which he directed. The script is handled by the person who assisted with the series composition of Code Geass and who penned the script of Mai-HIME and Gundam Seed. But keep in mind, he is also the creator of Seikon no Qwaser, an ecchi/fanservice ridden series that showcases nothing but boobs. He also penned Guilty Crown, which from what I heard, was a disappointment considering the hype that went into it. It's hard to say whether the series will rise of flop based on his controversial track record. All in all, the staff behind is the show is not glorious, not to the point where you can say, "Oh I should probably watch this show because X is on board." But I would definitely give the series a try.
PV
This is a series that's been confirmed since march, but the production studio has the been extremely stingy about information release. Yes, there is that gloriously animated trailer, but where is the plot?! The staff?! Okay, I will be patient. But this starvation strategy is a little irritating don't you think? I guess it got the attention it wanted, because practically anyone who bothers with anime release is talking about this mysterious series named K. Adding to the enigma, this is a original production by a relatively unknown studio, which means we have no grounds to make any speculation. Well, let's wait for it.
Manga Adaption (Mangafox)
Genre: Comedy, Romance, School
Studio: Brains Base
Director: Hiro Kaburaki
Series Composition: Noboru Takagi
Synopsis:
"Mizutani Shizuku is the type of person who only cares for her own grades. But when she accidentally delivers lesson notes to Yoshida Haru, he becomes convinced they are friends.
Haru turns out to have a very innocent personality, but who would've thought that Haru would actually confess to Shizuku?
A cold-hearted girl and super-troublemaker romance with a fresh new perspective."
Well, the synopsis doesn't exactly scream originality, but I guess it's more interesting than the typical "Prince charming falls for Cinderella" plot. This is probably the most anticipated shojo this season, if not this entire year, and that's the main reason why it's in my second tier. We've got the director of Kimi ni Todoke and a very competent script writer on board. The script writer has penned Durarara!! and Baccano!, two very unique series also produced by Brains Base. So fans of the manga should feel somewhat relieved, because the show could not have asked for a better core staff. [Edit: The trailer is lolz..It's funky in a good way. Let's just say it has increased my interest level.]
PV
KPV
Original
Genre: Action, Supernatural
Studio: GoRa x Gohands
Director: Shingo Suzuki
Series Composition: GoRA
Synopsis:
"Set in a world where history has taken a slightly different course from the one we're familiar with, K follows the story of a young boy whose life is caught in a psychic war between seven kings.
Ashinaka High School is known for its unique setting: the entire campus is built on an island. Yashiro Isana, aka Shiro, is having lunch with a cat on one of the school rooftops. After his lunch break, Shiro goes on an errand for his classmate Kukuri to prepare for their upcoming school festival, only to be chased by some intimidating-looking men."
"Set in a world where history has taken a slightly different course from the one we're familiar with, K follows the story of a young boy whose life is caught in a psychic war between seven kings.
Ashinaka High School is known for its unique setting: the entire campus is built on an island. Yashiro Isana, aka Shiro, is having lunch with a cat on one of the school rooftops. After his lunch break, Shiro goes on an errand for his classmate Kukuri to prepare for their upcoming school festival, only to be chased by some intimidating-looking men."
This is a series that's been confirmed since march, but the production studio has the been extremely stingy about information release. Yes, there is that gloriously animated trailer, but where is the plot?! The staff?! Okay, I will be patient. But this starvation strategy is a little irritating don't you think? I guess it got the attention it wanted, because practically anyone who bothers with anime release is talking about this mysterious series named K. Adding to the enigma, this is a original production by a relatively unknown studio, which means we have no grounds to make any speculation. Well, let's wait for it.
PV
Third Tier
"Nanao Momozono suddenly becomes homeless after her dad disappeared and left a huge debt behind, which forced her to leave the apartment. On the street Nanao rescues a strange man from a dog. To thank her, he gives her his house, which proves to be a run-down shrine, inhabited by a hostile fox-eared young man. Confused and tired with no other place to go to, she decides to stay, but this proves to be more difficult than expected..."
This looks to be a romantic comedy. The concept of a human falling in love with an animal spirit isn't really what you would call original, but with the right directing, you could probably get a few chuckles out of it. The director has previously directed another famous shojo adaption - Fruits Basket, so I guess for someone who really enjoyed that anime, I have little reason not to give this one a try. The studio working on this series is a veteran in the industry, though looking at their record, they haven't done anything note worthy aside from a heap of kids shows. The ones that come to mind is probably D.Gray-Man and Detective Conan, and based on that record alone, the only conclusion I can draw is that this is a studio that can hold long production, but that's not exactly constructive in light of our discussion. So yes, I'm not too hyped up about it, considering I've seen more than enough romance cliches to find it immediately appealing, but will still check it out.
PV
Little Busters
Visual Novel Adaption
Genre: Comedy, Drama, Romance
Studio: J.C Staff
Director: Yoshiki Yamakawa
Series Composition: Michiru Shimada
Synopsis:
"Riki was a child when his parents died, leaving him hopeless and depressed. What saved him was a group of four kids calling themselves the Little Busters. They took Riki out and played with him during his time of need. He really enjoyed being together with them, and his grief gradually faded away. Now in his second year of high school they still hang out, fight and live together, and enjoy their school life."
The story is developed by Key, the company that created Air, Clannad and Kanon. Going by the synopsis, it sounds like a melodrama centering around school life. Key's works tend to follow the same pattern, innocent characters, melodramatic plot with elements of tragedy, and moe style of art. Little Busters doesn't seem like an exception. Out of all their works, I've only seen Air, although I don't consider it a masterpiece, it did have a unique flair. The studio on the project is J.C Staff, which is not my favorite studio, because they generally cater towards comedy, slice of life shows. It's not that I hate slice of life shows per se, but the bad ones, in my opinion, really outnumber the good ones, which is why I tend to avoid slice of life shows unless something really intriguing comes up. I'm a little surprised that KyoAni didn't take on the project, since they have produced all of Key's previous titles. Even before the summer season, there were rumors going around about this project, thanks to Key's passionate fans. So while I am not particularly interested in this one and do not intend to follow through with it, I am inclined to check out the first episode just to see what the hype is all about. But if you are fond of Key's previous works, then you'll probably enjoy this one as well.
PV
JoJo's Bizarre Adventure
Genre: Action, Adventure, Supernatural, Historical
Studio: David Production
Director: Naokatsu Tsuda
Series Composition: Yasuko Kobayashi
Synopsis:
"This is the story of the Joestar family, and their battles against bizarre enemies. Jonathan Joestar's battle against the vampire Dio Brando starts it all, and it continues into roughly each second generation of Joestars through all parts of the story."
I honestly don't know what to expect from this series. From what I head, it can be summarized in one word: bizarre. This is apparently the longest running manga in Japan that has yet to receive an anime adaption. So I'm rather curious so see what's so peculiar about the series. The studio picked up the project is relatively unknown, it has produced two series (Level E, The Book of Bantorra) prior to this adaption, both had mediocre reception. The person on the script has previously worked on Claymore and Death note, which is definitely a good sign. I don't have much to say about the director. So yes, I'm not too excited about this one but still curious enough to give it a try.
Genre: Romance, school, drama
Studio: Zexcs
Director: Takuya Satō
Series Composition: Takuya Satō
Synopsis:
"Mei Tachibana has spent her 16 years without making either a boyfriend or friends. One day, she injures the most popular boy in school, Yamato Kurosawa, because of a misunderstanding but for some reason it seems that he takes a liking to her and one-sidedly claims that they’re friends. Furthermore, he not only protects Mei from a stalker, he does it with a kiss…?!!"
Haven't we heard the this story somewhere before? Please see Tonari no Kaibutsu-kun. Attention to all girls out there, next time when a mysterious man pops up beside you, you can assume that he already thinks of you as his best friend, because that's the exact message I'm getting from these stories. With that said, I've actually read a good chunk of what's been released for this manga, even though I struggle to remember any of the details. This is the problem with most shojo series out on the market, they suffer from identity crisis because of how formulaic the story tend to be. Of course, many girls, including myself, need our romantic fairytale fixes, which is why no matter how cliched the stories are, they still have marketable value. Anyways, there isn't anything special about this series, because otherwise I would have remembered something, but it doesn't hurt to see how the anime adaption is put together. There is really nothing impressive about the production studio either, they have done a heap of romantic comedies, but almost none of them really reached critical success, so I suspect that we probably shouldn't expect a high production value.
Haitai Nanafa
Genre: Slice of life, drama, fantasy
Studio: Passione
Director: Hiroshi Kimura
Series Composition: Takeshi Konuta
Synopsis:
"The story of Haitai Nanafa revolves around an energetic middle school girl named Nanafa Kyan. Nanafa lives in Okinawa with her grandmother who runs the “Kame Soba” soba shop, her beautiful older sister Nao who is in high school, and her younger sister Kokona, who is in elementary school and has a strong ability to sense the supernatural.
One day, Nanafa witnesses a seal fall off of a Chinese banyan tree, and three spirits who live in that tree are unleashed. These spirits include Niina and Raana, who are “jimunaa” spirits. The third spirit is Iina, who is an incarnation of an Okinawan lion statue. As spirits start appearing one after another, the peaceful life of Nanafa and her family begins to change."
The premise sounds a little like Shugo Chara to me, but only cheesier. I don't feel much towards this show, neither excitement nor repulse, which means I also have little to say about it. I'm sure there are people who will enjoy the story because it's pretty harmless.
Chuunibyo demo Koi ga Shitai!
Novel Adaption
Genre: Comedy, Romance, School
Studio: Kyoto Animation
Director: Tatsuya Ishihara
Series Composition: Jukki Hanada
Synopsis:
"Yuuta Togashi suffered from chuunibyou while he was in middle school. When he graduated, he put that dark history behind him and forgot about it... or he was supposed to. High school was smooth sailing and full of enjoyment - until the unavoidable, sad event occurs. The event that locks Yuuta into a contract with Rikka Takanashi and disrupts his desperately ordinary life."
I know a lot of people are excited about this show because it's produced by KyoAni. But since I'm moe phobic, I've never been a hardcore fan of their works, though I could understand why the studio has garnered a large fanbase over the years through series such as Air, Clannad, Haruhi, and more recently Hyouka. Speaking of Hyouka, to my pleasant surprise, it turned out to be an immensely enjoyable show. I may not always appreciate the moe style of art, but the studio is undeniably unique. Well, looks like the old team is back again. The person who directed the above mentioned works is on the project and the script will handled by the person who worked on Steins;Gate, Chobits and Rozen Maiden (and also currently working on Robotics;Notes). I think that's certainly good news for fans.
PV
PV
Manga Adaption (Mangafox)
Genre: Drama, Horror, Psychological
Studio: Kachidoki Studio
Director: N/A
Series Composition: N/A
Synopsis:
"The
story starts of with 9 boys, all in the Hikari Club, who are driven to
make the ultimate Artificial Intelligence, and will stop at nothing to
create it. The leader of the club, Zera, is an attractive boy who is
very sick and twisted. He has complete control of the members. The
second-in-command and previous leader, Tamiya, is not happy with the way
Zera is controlling everyone, so he tries to reclaim the club, and
eventually everything begins to crumble and turn into chaos."
Another
one of those series that I really want to know about but unfortunately
so little information has been released. I'm always up for a
psychological thriller. There is really not much I can say about the
series at this point, so let's leave it here. [Edit: I just realized the
production studio has been announced. All I want to say is
Kaichi....what? So we've got a newbie studio taking on a risky project,
because from what I've heard, the manga is quite morbid and not everyone
enjoys that stuff. I'm seriously wondering how they are going to pull
this off.][Edit #2: Turned out that this is gonna be one of those "three minutes" comedy. Well, there goes my hope for a decent plot.]
Fourth Tier
Busou Shinki
Studio: 8-bit
Synopsis:
"The slice-of-life battle story is set in a future that has neither World War III nor an alien invasion — just an ordinary future set after our current age. In this world, robots are part of everyday life, and they contribute in various aspects of society. "Shinki" are 15-centimeter-tall (about 6-inch-tall) cute partners made to assist humans. Equipped with intelligence and emotions, they devote themselves to serving their "Masters." These Shinki can even be equipped with weapons and armor to fight each other. Such Shinki are named "Busou Shinki" (literally, "armed divine princesses"). In particular, the Shinki Ann (Arnval), Aines (Altines), and Rane (Altrane) serve a high school freshman named Masato. Things change when a new Shinki, the bellicose Staarf, joins them."
The whole "cute partners serving masters" just sounds like another way of selling fanservice. I don't expect anything out of this show.
Ixion Saga DT
Studio: Brains Base
Synopsis:
"The game and anime follow Kon Hokaze, a boy who embarks on a journey from our world to an alternate world known as Mira, which is full a mysterious energy known as Alma. After saving Princess Ecarlate from attackers, he soon finds himself in the middle of a struggle around Alma."
I have nothing against the mechanism of the plot per se, but boy, it is painfully generic. Brains Base, if you have the budget to waste, where is my Durarara! second season? I'd prefer another season of Natsume over this.
Teekyu!
Manga Adaption
Studio: MAPPA
Synopsis:
"Teekyuu is based on a sports comedy manga of the same name featuring four high school girls who belong to a tennis club."
I don't know what to say about this one. It just doesn't interest me I guess.
Aikatsu!
Original
Studio: Sunrise
Synopsis:
"Anime adaptation of the Aikatsu! arcade card game about producing idols."
Sounds like another version of The IDOLM@STER, which means I'm not giving it another thought. If I was 10 years younger I may actually be excited about this show.
PV
Teekyu!
Manga Adaption
Studio: MAPPA
Synopsis:
"Teekyuu is based on a sports comedy manga of the same name featuring four high school girls who belong to a tennis club."
I don't know what to say about this one. It just doesn't interest me I guess.
Aikatsu!
Original
Studio: Sunrise
Synopsis:
"Anime adaptation of the Aikatsu! arcade card game about producing idols."
Sounds like another version of The IDOLM@STER, which means I'm not giving it another thought. If I was 10 years younger I may actually be excited about this show.
Sakurasou no Pet na Kanojo
Studio: J.C Staff
Synopsis:
"The school romantic comedy revolves around a second-year high school student named Sorata Kanda who lives in Sakurasou, the dormitory for problem children at Sorata's school. One day, Mashiro Shiina —a cute girl who happens to be also a cosmopolitan, brilliant artist— moves into Sakurasou. Sorata thinks to himself that he should protect Mashiro from the weirdos at Sakurasou, but Mashiro has a surprising secret: she has no idea how to take care of herself. She gets lost if she goes out, and her room is a complete mess. Sorata's dorm mates designate him as the "master" of Mashiro, and thus, an ordinary boy and a brilliant girl must live like "a master and his pet."
"Master and Pet", another fanservice ridden show. I can just see it coming. This is why I can never take anything produced by J.C Staff seriously.
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Onii-chan Dakedo Ai Sae Areba Kankei Nai yo ne
Studio: Silver Link
Synopsis:
"Himenokouji twins Akito and Akiko have finally reunited with each other after separation due to the death of their parents. After six years of living apart they suddenly began to live under the same roof due to Akito's desire to live as a family unit once more. Things were fine at first until Akiko began to express her incestuous love for her older brother, who only sees her as a little sister."
What I hate more than fanservice is fanservice involving incest. I'd never understand the appeal of these things, fanboys, please enlighten me one day.
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Girls und Panzer
Studio: Actas
Synopsis:
"In the world, the manipulation of tanks (Sensha-do) is one of the traditional martial arts especially for girls. Miho doesn't like Sensha-do and moves to Oarai Girl's High School. But the chairperson of the student council orders Miho to participate in the national Sensha-do championship."
Another version of Upotte!!. Skipped.
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Well, this is for the Fall season lineup. I may have missed a show or two, I'll double check when the lineup is finalized. To my delight, the upcoming season is a marked improvement over the summer one. Looking at my watch list of slice of life series, which is a tad ironic considering I'm not the biggest fan of the genre, I realize there hasn't been any good action series for a while. Breaking the trend, this Fall Season is jam packed with potentially amazing action series, with some of the best studios behind the productions. All in all, I am pumped~
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