This preview will mainly focus on the new shows appearing this spring, so let’s get through the sequels first. There are several sequels coming out this season including, Gintama’, Kaiji Season 2, Maria Holic Alive, Seikon no Qwaser II, The World Only God Knows 2, and Tono to Issho Season 2. Of those, I’ve only seen Maria Holic, The World Only God Knows, and some of Seikon no Qwaser, so I can’t really comment on sequels to series I haven’t seen, so I’ll leave those to others who have experience with those series. Most of the audiences for sequels will have already seen the first season already, so you already know if you’ll be watching these shows or not based on your prior viewing experience.
The three series that I do have knowledge of, Maria Holic, Seikon no Qwaser, and The World Only God Knows, all seem to be continuations where the first seasons left off. With that being the case, Maria Holic Alive is the one I’m looking forward to the most as it was the strongest comedy of the bunch. Seikon no Qwaser had decent action but I found myself drawn more towards the ecchi comedy than anything else in the series, so I hope I laugh while watching it. The World Only God Knows was not one of my favorites in the Autumn but I’m willing to give the sequel a shot this time around.
C: The Money of Soul and Possibility Control
Opinion: Ever since seeing the title [C] some months ago, I knew I was going to eventually watch this show when it premiered. As for what it’s about, it appears to be a blend of science fiction and economics set in a fragmented, futuristic Japan. Furthermore, there is a exclusive area of wealth and excess known as the Financial District with the rest of the nation a slum of poverty and crime. Sounds like an excellent setting to me. The staff and time slot (Noitamina) are also indications that this might be the best of the season. This show has my highest hopes going into the Spring season.
Plans for this show: Will watch and likely blog.
Steins;Gate
Opinion: Steins;Gate is another science fiction anime which I have high hopes for. It appears to be linked in the same universe as Chaos;Head, another visual novel/anime from 5pb. and Nitro+, but is a separate story all together. This series follows a group of friends who have modified a microwave to send messages into the past as they try to evade an organization that wants to hunt them down. It sounds like a rich plotline from which to draw an anime from and the genre and synopsis have piqued my interest.
Plans for this show: Will watch and likely blog.
Dog Days
Plans for this show: Will watch and maybe blog.
Hanasaku Iroha
Opinion: Judging from the PV alone, it appears to have enjoyable art and animation and the characters, plot, and setting seem solid. Additionally, only 5 of the characters are under the age of 20, so the cast appears to have a healthy range of ages instead of revolving around teenagers the whole time. This also appears to be a coming-of-age story, with the girl leaving Tokyo and working at a ryokan in rural and mountainous Japan.
Plans for this show: Will watch and maybe blog.
Nichijou
Opinion: You may already know that comedy is my favorite genre in anime, so I always try to give comedy anime a shot at the beginning of the season. I’ve been able to gauge how I will like the anime after viewing a few pages of the manga and the OVA that aired a few weeks ago. The humor seemed good in the manga but the feeling while watching the OVA seemed a little off. It’s like it didn’t transcribe itself well. But then again, it was only an OVA. The series is getting a lot of attention because it’s being produced by Kyoto Animation. Wonder if it’ll get more focus on that aspect or its comedy once it finally airs in April.
Plans for this show: Likely watch.
Denpa Onna to Seishun Otoko (Electromagnetic Wave Woman and Adolescent Man)
Opinion: Well, this show is made my Shaft and appears to be quite a mystery. The story revolves around a girl who was lost at sea for six months and thinks she’s an alien. She wraps herself in a futon and wonders the neighborhood. The girl is also releated to a generic male lead who, the less said about, the better. From my first glance, it appeared to be a romance with lolis with a sprinkle of ecchi on top, but the more I think about it, the more I can see this being a comedy first and all that stuff second. It’s also a Shaft anime which is almost always a go for me, but the plot and characters are giving me second thoughts. Well, it’s always worth a shot.
Plans for this show: Likely watch.
Deadman Wonderland
Plans for this show: Likely watch.
Blue Exorcist (Ao no Exorcist)
Opinion: Probably the other top action/horror anime of the season, Blue Exorcist looks to be another watchable anime this season. The animation seen in the PV shows the level of quality in this series and the plot sounds interesting. However, I’m a little more into Deadman Wonderland as the action-type anime this season but I’m still going to give this a fair shot when both premire. It’s just that Blue Exorcist doesn’t seem as intriguing at this point.
Plans for this show: Maybe watch.
Fireball Charming
Opinion: Typically, I don’t care for a lot of 3-D CG stuff like this, but I have to admit, it does look stunning. That and this is a comedy and I’m required to give it a shot. I’ve watched most of the mini-series that’s on YouTube and the comedy was either glance or miss. I never cracked up but I did have a smile on my face. The series appears to have a great deal more animation than the mini-series, so even if I’m not laughing, I still might enjoy the spectacular 3-D art and animation the series has to offer.
Plans for this show: Maybe watch.
Tiger & Bunny
Opinion: Another series with a heavy dose of 3-D animation, Tiger & Bunny appears to be an anime about superheroes with mecha who go around and solve crimes and save people. The catch here is that they get points in some sort of superhero system and are followed by television programs and society as a whole. It certainly doesn’t sound like an anime I’d pounce on right away but there are some out there who seem excited for it. I hope I’m not like a moth to their flame and end up getting burned by their recommendation.
Plans for this show: Maybe watch.
Appleseed XIII
Opinion: The final 3-D heavy anime this season, Appleseed XIII follows an already established line of mecha anime from an OVA from 1988 and a few movies from the previous decade. I’ve yet to watch anything from this universe of work, so I’m a little hesitant to start something like this, not knowing if this is technically a sequel to any previous works or whatever, but the story sounds interesting and the mecha look dazzling from the PV. Again, I don’t care much for 3-D but it’s worth a shot.
Plans for this show: Doubtful but it gets a shot.
Sofuteni
Opinion: This appears to be an ecchi-first, everything else-second type series. XEBEC seems to give that indication away, too. And like all of these series it has elements of comedy, as well. Hopefully all the jokes don’t revolve around how short their skirts are (you can see their panties when they’re standing up somehow) or how they’re embarrassed to be in various states of undress but I seriously wonder how much comedy you can milk out of a tennis club. Well, I’ll give it a shot, but I’m expecting so little from it that the first episode will probably exceed my expectations and still be dropped.
Plans for this show: Doubtful but it gets a shot.
Ano Hi Mita Hana no Namae wo Bokutachi wa Mada Shiranai (Ano Hana)
Opinion: It appears to be a quality anime, judging from the animation and the time slot (the other Noitamina anime this season) but I can’t help but be dulled by the story. I have a feeling that what will end up happening is that three girls in the group will fall in love with the main lead guy or that they all fall in love with one of the other guys in the group. That style of romance in anime is always a turn-off and, while I can’t say for sure that’s the path this show will follow, I can’t help but always think that when I see it. I’ll give it a fair shot if I’m giving Sofuteni a shot but I’m not expecting much from this anime.
Plans for this show: Doubtful but it gets a shot.
Showa Monogatari (Showa Story)
Opinion: This anime is aimed at an older audience (seniors), so I’m wondering if it’ll be subbed by any group. If it is (likely by a group curious to see what it’s like), I’ll give it a shot since the story and presentation are interesting.
Plans for this show: Doubtful but it gets a shot (if subbed).
Toriko
Plans for this show: Doubtful but it gets a shot.
Sket Dance
Opinion: Despite it appearing to be a comedy, I don’t get excited when I see the PV or read about it from other sources. The idea of a group of students helping each other out reminds me of Ookami-san, which I liked, but more for the twist on fairy tales than anything else. I’d be lying if I said I was excited about this but it’s a comedy and like you’ve seen before (if you’ve actually read the previous sections instead of just picking out titles you’re interested in and reading my opinion glancing at this section) all comedies get a shot.
Plans for this show: Doubtful but it gets a shot.
Hen Zemi (Abnormal Psychology Seminar)
Opinion: Another comedy that makes only a tiny blip on my interest gauge. I’m interested to see what the series is like but I have a feeling I won’t enjoy either the comedy, the characters, or the animation and end up being disappointed in most of the comedy anime this season. But hey, this is only a preview, so come on and surprise me Hen Zemi!
Plans for this show: Doubtful but it gets a shot.
30-sai no Hoken Taiiku (Health and Physical Education for 30 year olds)
Opinion: Kinda in the same boat as Hen Zemi as a sex-themed comedy involving young adults. It appears to have better animation than Hen Zemi but I’m a little concerned about its presentation style. Still worth a shot, especially if it thinks it’s a serious anime rather than a joke.
Plans for this show: Doubtful but it gets a shot.
Dororon Enma-kun
Opinion: I like youkai and monsters in anime but they’re mostly hit or miss with me. Judging from the PV, it looks like a miss. This is also a remake of the same anime from the 70s, so I’m curious to see the reactions and opinions of people who’ve seen the original version.
Plans for this show: Doubtful but it gets a shot.
Sengoku Otome
Opinion: This anime is the border between ‘gets a shot’ and ‘no dice’. I’m still trying to figure out why. I think because it’ll air before a lot of the other shows will like C, Steins;Gate, and Maria Holic Alive. Well, I hope it impresses me.
Plans for this show: Doubtful but it gets a shot.
You’re Being Summoned Azazel-san
Opinion: I’m sure we’ve all seen that cow-transformation scene from the OVA, but there’s a 2-episode OVA of it out already. Didn’t do anything for me.
Plans for this show: No dice.
Moshidora
Opinion: If I’m going to watch anything baseball related, it’ll be on ESPN.
Plans for this show: No dice.
Aria the Scarlet Ammo
Opinion: JC Staff being JC Staff
Plans for this show: No dice.
A Channel
Opinion: Never a good sign when I stop the PV after 10 seconds and go watch something else.
Plans for this show: No dice.
Lotte no Omocha!
Opinion: The lead male is already too generic for me.
Plans for this show: No dice.
Oretachi ni Tsubasa wa Nai
Opinion: It reminded me of Shuffle. I think I’d rather watch Shuffle again than this.
Plans for this show: No dice.
Hoshizora e Kakaru Hashi
Opinion: We’ve already watched this anime before.
Plans for this show: No dice.
X-Men
Opinion: Never been much of an X-men fan but I did watch those old cartoons when I was a kid. Never was a show I looked forward to, though.
Plans for this show: No dice.
World’s First Love
Opinion: haha no
Plans for this show: No dice.
