Fall 2012

Well, some folks think this upcoming season is going to be a total loss, but I’m not one of them. For that matter, some think this season is a total loss, and while it wasn’t as good as I’d hoped, it actually picked up about midway. We can’t find a Puella Magi or Moretsu Pirates in every season. I wish we could, but let’s just enjoy them when we can, and take what we can get when we can’t, hm?

Or maybe my taste is just getting lower….

So, what am I likely to be watching next season?

Must Watch:

Psycho-Pass: NoitaminA series — strike one. No information — strike two. Gen Urobachi screenplay — Hit! Lead male seiyuu — the guy who did Souske Sagara (FMP), Gilgamesh (FSN), Kenichi Shirahama (Kenichi), & Gai Daigoji (MSN) — extra bases!

Female roles include the voices

• of Aoi Futaba (Asobi ni iku yo) Yuri Maria (Campione) Rana Linchin (Freezing), Charlotte Dunois (IS);
• of Hildegarde (Beelzebub), Hinigiku (Hayate), Fujiko Etou (Demon King), Shinra (They Are my Noble Masters), Misa (Moretsu Pirates); and
• of Dalian (Dantalian no Shoka), Petite Charat (Di Gi Charat), Celty (Durarara), Mint (Galaxy Angel), Reika (GSNK), Saeko (HOTD), and Perrine (Strike Witches)….

I think we’ve got enough for a home run here. If Gen Urobochi did the screenplay, it would take an extraordinarily bad director to screw it up.

Robotics;Notes : The other NoitaminA series, but this one is another from the universe of Chaos;Head and Steins;Gate. The divergence ratio is 1.048596 this time (which doesn’t mean anything except to say “it’s another slight variant timeline). I rather liked Chaos;Head and Steins;Gate was nothing short of superb. Is it possible that I might be watching two NoitaminA series in a single season?

Likely:

K: The last time we got a staff this top-of-the-line, an original script, and no information on the plot, we got Puella Magi Magical Madoka.. It’s highly unlikely that same lightning will strike again (Gen’s not involved in this one), but at least two of the promos look interesting. The other two… don’t, more thanks to the crappy music than anything else. Going to have to wait and see; I’m crossing my fingers on this one.

Chuunibyou Demo Koi ga Shitai! KyoAni’s entry; this is giving me a vibe like a Haruhi Suzumiya who knows she’s got powers. This could be nice and silly, and while Kyoto isn’t as strong as they once were, they’re still damn good.

Maybe:

Kamisama Hajimemashita: Although I never watched Kamichu, this sort of sounds like the same idea, only with a plot. Nanami is a poor homeless girl who ends up becoming a minor deity, and then having to defend her shrine. It’s more of a shoujo romance though, and that’s not my cup of tea, so I’ll probably try it out, and decide against it.

Tonari no Kaibutsu-Kun: The description of this show sounded really, really, really bad. Then I watched the preview, which was evidently the protagonists’ imaginations run wild. And most terribly Engrish bad! “Itadakimasu!” It’s going to get at least an episode or two tryout.

Busou Shiniki: First thought was it was a remake/rip-off of Saber Marionette J. That is not a recommendation, and I had no interest whatsoever. Then I noticed the studio: 8bit. Yeah, that 8bit, that actually made Infinite Stratos worth watching just for the backgrounds and battle scenes. Um, OK, I’ll give it an episode or two, just on that strength. I doubt the characters will be as interesting, though.

Zetsuen no Tempest : Being a light novel adaptation, it’s going to suffer the Infinite Stratos disease (speak of the devil): it won’t get far enough into the actual plot to really be interesting. There’s only six novels out at this time, and they’re not far into it.

Onii-chan Dakedo Ai Sae Areba Kankei Nai yo ne Top: A name so long, it takes the entire preview just to say it. Another bro-con. Where do the Japanese get all these perverted sisters? I mean, seriously, by now you can tell Miu in Hagure Yuusha is ready to jump Ouwasaka’s bones, even if he did kill her father. And here we’ve got a twin sister who wants her brother in no uncertain terms. Haven’t we seen this before in KissxSis? If the dialog is good enough, I might watch it, but that’s about it. Hell, I’m still watching Imouto ga Iru, so I guess my standards really are getting fairly low.

Code:Breaker: I’ve read some of the manga, and it’s moderately interesting. The heroine is definitely atypical, but it’s a shounen series in the end. Doubt it will keep my interest.

Girls und Panzer: Enh, I guess so, until it bores me. It’s probably no sillier an idea than Strike Witches or Upotte! If the girls are as memorable as the Witches were, then I could go the course. Take note of that ACTAS, it’s not the idea that makes a show in this genre a success, it’s the characters. Anyone really remember much about Sora no Woto? Didn’t think so. (Ok, so technically, they weren’t mecha-musume either.)

Not likely:

Kyousogiga: It almost looks interesting. Almost.

Sakkurasou no Pet na Kanojo: Uninteresting, unoriginal manga. Expect the same from the anime.

Shin Sekai Yori: Bleh.

Hiro no Kakera: Ditto.

Jormundgand: Didin’t watch the first season, not interest in the second.

Hayate no Gotoku Was cute, but got bored with it after the first year.

BTOOM! Wasn’t interested in the manga, less so in the anime.

Gintama: Still no.

Hideous Sketch: Same. I don’t do slice of life.

JoJo’s Bizzare Adventure the Animation Same. I don’t do pure seinen.

To Love-Ru – Trouble: Darkness : The switch from Lala to Momo definitely improved the manga, but I found myself skipping through the OVA, and the truth is, there’s just nothing that interesting to me in this story. Making Mikan into another potential haremette also was a mistake; she was my favorite character, being the normal, unflappable one that the insanity revolved around.

Bakuman 3: Again, no interest in the first seasons, none here.

Little Busters: Key strikes again. At least they didn’t drag KyoAni into another wasted season. Speaking of which, I only watched Kanon because of KyoAni’s art, so this isn’t likely to gain any interest from me.

Sukitte Ii na yo : Read some of the scanlations. Enh. I don’t see why he likes her. Dump the insecure bitch and go find one that’s better looking.

Ixion Saga DT: RPG adaptation. Run away! Run away!

Magi: An interesting take on the Arabian Nights, but only if I am really bored.

IdolM@ster Aikatsu!: Is Bakamochi taking payola to hype this? I kid! I kid!

Medaka Box Abnormal : I lost interest in the manga because Medeka was just about the ONLY fanservice in it, and in the anime, because… ummm, well — the same reason, I guess. That and the mutants were getting weirder and more silly.

Seitokai no Ichizon – Hekiyoh Gakuen Seitokai Gijiroku: While the first episode was side-splittingly funny, I lost interest. On the other hand, the studio is AIC, instead of Deen, so at least the animation should be competent.

Aoi Sekai no Chuushin de : Console wars parody taken from a webcomic. Seriously, if you’re going to adapt a webcomic, do this one.

Initial D Fifth Stage: Vroom, vroom. Yawn, yawn.

Well, I’ve seen worse seasons, but I’ve seen better too. We’ll have to see what shakes out — as always.