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Boy, Spring 2012 sure has been a heck of a season, hasn’t it?
In an odd way, I’m glad Summer 2012 looks like a mediocre season. Frankly, Spring has exhausted me – there are too many good shows clustered on the same days (Thursday, Saturday, Sunday) and in general, and the workload has been more than I can comfortably handle. Summer will be a chance to scale back, catch up on RL, and possibly check a few older series of the bucket list of shows I’ve been meaning to finally watch. Full previews of the Summer shows are below the fold, and the Summer Season Poll is in the sidebar.
On the other hand, it’s disappointing to see a season that looks to be a big step down from Spring. In reality, Summer is usually the weakest season of the year anyway, and there was no way we were going to have consecutive seasons of this quality. Still, this Summer may set a record for undeserving sequels. Anime is no different than Hollywood in being in love with sequels, but this crop is especially weak. Summer also looks to be a return to the trend of recent years where anime falls back on the flavor of the moment for most of its inspiration – these are mostly very safe and trendy choices with a heavy emphasis on moe, yuri, harem and ecchi. The interesting question will be whether the explosion of diversity and creativity we’ve seen this Spring is part of a welcome trend, or a last hurrah for anime as art – a kind of dying spasm, bucking an overall trend towards the derivative and uninspired. We’ll have a much better idea once the Fall schedule begins to resemble its final form.
If you doubt that Summer is a big step down in terms of the creative impulse, consider this – every series except for Tari Tari is either an adaptation or sequel (and Tari Tari might as well be Japanese for “We’re not even trying anymore”). After an increase in original shows in the last few seasons, this aspect of Summer 2012 may be the most disappointing of all.
With that, to the modest collection of previews:
Kingdom – Studio Pierrot
Director: Kamiya Jun
Writer: Arakawa Naruhisa
Schedule: Monday 19:00, NHK Premium – Premières 6/4/12
Episodes: 38
Preview:
MAL:
First Look: This is Summer’s early bird, having already premièred (First Impressions here). It’s set in China’s Warring States period (6th-5th Century BC) and chronicles the lives of two youngsters from boyhood to greatness, with many trials and travails in-between. I’m not sold on the visuals as the CGI is poorly integrated, but the story is fascinating and the characters compelling. It’s rare to see classic, sprawling historical epics in anime these days, and this one seems well-written and has three cours to weave its tale. As well, it represents a return to the director’s chair for Kamiya Jun, who directed one of my favorites in Hikaru no Go.
Chouyaku Hyakunin Isshu: Uta Koi – TYO Animations
Director: Kasai Kenichi
Writer: Konparu Tomoko
Schedule: Monday 25:30, TV Tokyo – Premières 7/2/12
Episodes: Unknown
First Look: No, it’s not Chihayafuru S2. But Kana-chan would be thrilled with this adaptation of the “100 Poets” (even if it a liberal interpretation) and I’m pretty excited to see Karuta cards come to life myself. It’s directed by the great Kasai Kenichi (Bakuman, Honey & Clover, Major, Nodama Cantible).
Koi to Senkyo to Chocolate – AIC Build
Director: Kitohata Toru
Writer: Takayama Katsuhiko
Schedule: Thursday, TBS – Premières 7/5/12
Episodes: Unknown
First Look: This is an interesting mix. An eroge adaptation featuring school council elections, slice-of-life (wasting time in the food club) and trying to save said club from extinction. Plus, romance between childhood friends. Director is a first-timer, writer is extremely experienced with quite a few outstanding adaptations, and some mediocre ones too. In short, this could go anywhere – but that makes it interesting enough to check out.
Kono Naka ni Hitori, Imouto ga Iru! – Studio Gokumi
Director: Nawa Munenori
Writer: Zappa Go
Schedule: Thursday, TBS – Premières 7/5/12
Episodes: Unknown
First Look: Thank goodness, another imouto series with incest implications and a twist of harem – how long has it been, 5 minutes? This LN adaptation’s twist is that the brother and sister are twins separated at birth, and he doesn’t realize she attends the new school he just enrolled in. The only – read only – reason this is even on my radar is that director Nawa Munenori also did R-15, one of the great unsung heroes of 2011. Unfortunately he’s done little else of merit, but R-15 gets him at least a trial run here.
Moyashimon Returns – Shirogumi/Telecom Animation
Director: Yano Yuichiro
Writer: Takahashi Natsuko
Schedule: Thursday 24:45, Fuji TV – Premières 7/5/12
Episodes: 11
First Look: It’s a sequel on NoitaminA, something we haven’t seen in an age. Moyashimon wouldn’t have been my first choice for one, to be honest. The original was a good show but a little overrated, in my view – a bit sloppy and inconsistent, despite the clever conceit. Only a Shinto nation like Japan could come up with the idea of a manga built around anthropomorphized germs though, I’ll give you that.
Natsuyuki Rendezvous – Dogakobo
Director: Matsuo Kou
Writer: TBA
Schedule: Thursday 25:15, Fuji TV – Premières 7/5/12
Episodes: 11
First Look: I don’t expect NoitaminA to duplicate this season’s greatness for a very long time, if ever, but Natsuyuki Rendezvous has the potential to deliver on its half of the draw. Kurenai and Rozen Maiden director Matsuo Kou brings Kawachi Haruka’s josei manga to the screen, and it’s a romantic tale of a part-time panda florist with a major crush on his boss – and the love triangle is completed by the ghost of her dead husband. The manga gets great reviews and it’s short enough to thrive in a one-cour slot.
Campione! – Diomedea
Director: Kusakawa Keizou
Writer: Hanada Jukki
Schedule: Friday 25:00, Tokyo MX – Premières 7/6/12
Episodes: Unknown
Preview:
MAL:
First Look: Takezuki’s Jou’s LN series about a 16 year-old boy known as Campione, or “The God Killer” and a 16 year-old Italian girl knows as a “Great Knight” of a magical order is popular and seems well-regarded. The plot seems a little pedestrian to me TBH, and I’m not a fan of Kusakawa-san. But the cast (Hikasa Youko, Kitamura Eri, KanaHana, Hidaka Rina, Ogura Yui) is excellent, and writer Hanada-san has done some truly excellent work.
Sword Art Online – A-1 Pictures
Director: Ito Tomohiko
Writer: TBA
Schedule: Saturday, 24:00, Tokyo MX – Premières 7/7/12
Episodes: 24 (?)
First Look: I’ve yet to hear any reader disagree with the notion that SAO is the better of the two Kawahara Reki LN series to be animated this year – Accel World being the other – and since AW is pretty good, I take that as a hopeful sign. Adachi Shingo’s very distinctive character designs will surely remind you of Working!, and there’s some grumbling that the male lead is a bit of a Marty Stu, but overall this may well be the most anticipated series of a season free of blockbuster properties. This is only Ito Tomohiko’s second directorial effort but the first, Seikimatsu Occult Gakuen, was very solid, and he’s worked on mostly very good series in lesser roles. As a bonus, Tomatsu Haruka isn’t just the female lead but sings the first ED. On balance, this seems like a good bet to be a winner.
Ebiten: Kouritsu Ebitsugawa Koukou Tenmon-bu – AIC Classic
Director: Okamoto Hideki
Writer: Kakihara Yuuko
Schedule: TBA, Tokyo MX
Episodes: Unknown
MAL:
First Look: I probably need to have my head examined to even consider this one, but every season there seems to be a series whose premise is so stupid that I can’t help but check in out of morbid curiosity. And this one – high school boy thinks he’s joining the astronomy club, but actually joins the fujoshi club – looks like the one for Summer. Offering some small measure of hope is that Okamoto-san directed the pretty solid and underrated Nagasarete Airountou.
Jinrui Wa Suitai Shimashita – AIC A.S.T.A.
Director: Kishi Seiji
Writer: Uezu Makoto
Schedule: Sunday 25:30, Tokyo MX – Premières 7/1/12
Episodes: 12
First Look: The writer/director team behind Seto no Hanayome and last year’s underrated gem Kamisama Dolls are back for an adaptation of Tanaka Romeo’s LN series. This is getting almost no buzz but it’s my top pick for the season – I’m a fan of Kishi and Uezu, I love Sakai Kyuuta as a character designer, and the great Otani Kou is providing the music. There’s quality everywhere you look, and the trailers have been gorgeous. It’s the story of a future where mankind is in decline, and tiny faeries are the dominant species – and of the girl who acts as arbiter between the races. Probably the only show besides Natsuyuki Rendezvous that looks like it has a decent chance to be great.
Oda Nobuna no Yabou – Madhouse/Studio Gokumi
Director: Kumazawa Yuuji
Writer: Suzuki Masashi
Schedule: Sunday 25:05, TV Tokyo – Premières 7/8/12
Episodes: Unknown
First Look: Japanese warlords as moe teen girls? Well, we’ve had guns and soon, tanks… What – am I crazy? Probably – but it’s a thin season, so may as well give it a try, especially as Madhouse is quiet otherwise. The writer is semi-competent and the cast is good, but honestly, this is a reach for me.
Tari Tari – P.A. Works
Director/Writer: Hashimoto Masakozu
Schedule: Sunday, TBA – Premières 7/1/12
Episodes: Unknown
First Look: And here’s the only original (not a sequel, VN, LN, etc.) series of the summer – but “original” is hardly the first word that springs to mind when you look at the premise and watch the PVs. Visually this looks like an abject imitation of HanaIro; premise-wise, a derivative of the avalanche of cute girls @ school shows we’ve been subjected to, especially from KyoAni (whose influence is also plain in the character design). Hashimoto’s résumé offers nothing to suggest why he’s been given total creative control here. So why am I watching? Well – it’s still P.A. Works, and any PA series is a bit of an event. It at least makes the effort of having a mixed-gender cast, though you wouldn’t know it from the promo images. And it’s Okada-free, which offers at least the novelty factor. Who knows – as the Minami sisters say, don’t expect too much – but I wouldn’t be shocked if this turns out to be pretty decent.
Kokoro Connect – Silver Link
Director: Oonuma Shin
Writer: Shimo Fumihiko
Schedule: Saturday, 25:00, Tokyo MX – Premières 7/7/12
Episodes: Unknown
Preview:
MAL:
First Look: I was a bit of an Oonuma Shin fan at one time – he seems to embody a somewhat more restrained version of the Shinbou style, with his work on series like EF and the first season of Baka Test. But it’s been all downhill from there, and I now associate his name with pessimism when attached to a new series. And that’s too bad, because this one looks relatively interesting, with five members (two male, three female) of a high school “Culture Club” switching bodies (no idea how that odd number thing will work itself out). Visually, you should pretty much know what to expect with Shin and Silver Link, but that’s not all a bad thing – at least it won’t look boring – and it’s a good cast. Plus, writer Shimo-san has done some good work, mostly for KyoAni.
La storia della Arcana Famiglia – J.C. Staff
Director: Kon Chiaki
Writer: Akahoshi Masanao
Schedule: TBA
Episodes: Unknown
Preview:
MAL:
First Look: Another one that’s basically a flyer for me. Chiaki Kon and Akahoshi Masanao have a mixed track record with some decent work, and the premise is just weird enough that it might be interesting – a family that seems to be a mix of organized crime and dark arts, and a marriage competition. I rather like the art from what I’ve seen.
Will Definitely Blog: Natsuyuki Rendezvous, Jinrui Wa Suitai Shimashita, Tari Tari, Sword Art Online, Kokoro Connect. Yup, that’s all I’m sure of – the rest of them are all “maybe”. Of course, Hunter X Hunter, Eureka Seven: Astral Ocean, Hyouka,Ginga e Kickoff (hopefully), Shirokuma Café (apparently), and Uchuu Kyoudai will carry over – and then there’s the new season of Doctor Who. We’ll see about AGE and Accel World – I imagine I’ll continue coverage though it’s not 100%.
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OVA/Movie:
Not a bad crop of OVAs and theatricals – probably better than the TV lineup on balance – not surprising as summer always seen a rush of big-screen anime releases. Among the highlights:
Sankarea (OVA) – 6/8: Presumably a stand-alone ep, or perhaps a segue into a second season.
Asa Made Jugyou Chu! (OVA) – 6/23: OK, I’m morbidly curious about this borderline hentai manga adaptation.
Hyouka (OVA) – 7/7: “Episode 11.5” of the TV series.
Accel World Special (BD Bonus) – 7/25: 4-koma gag omake adaptation.
Shinryaku! Ika Musume (OAD) – 8/8: With the dip in BD/DVD sales for the second season, this might possibly be it for the delightful Squid Girl. I hope not, ~degeso.
To LOVE-Ru Darkness (OVA) – 8/17: I’d check this out even if Ishihara’s censorship panel hadn’t targeted it. S2 of the TV was pretty awful, but I have a certain fondness for the franchise.
Nazo no Kanojo X (OAD) – 8/23: One of the best romance anime returns with a special BD extra episode. I hope we see a second season but stalker points aren’t looking too good.
Dantalian no Shoka: Ibrahime (OAD) – 8/2012: The long-awaited extra ep of the underrated GAINAX series.
Arve Rezzle (OVA) – TBA: This one is a complete flyer for me, to be honest – Verdant from RC is high on this one, and his tastes and mine often overlap. Plus, I like the illustrations from the LN. It’s sort of an interesting premise – in 2022, many people have transferred their consciousness to cyberpace with their bodies preserved in a liquid culture called “body pool”, including Remu’s sister – but something has gone wrong, and her body appears to have been taken over by another girl. Plus, bonus dystopia.
Theatrical:
Berserk Ougon Jidaihen II: Doldrey Kouryaku (Studio 4C) – 6/23: New Berserk anime is certainly newsworthy. Trailers weren’t impressive, but we’ll see.
Rurouni Kenshin: Shin Kyoto-Hen Part II (Deen) – 6/23: Part 2 of Mari Okada’s assault on RK canon hits theatres, with a trip to BD soon after. Hopefully it improves on the mediocre first part, because RK deserves far better.
Space Battleship Yamato 2199 Part II (XEBEC) – 6/30: Obviously.
Guskou Budori no Denki (Tezuka) – 7/7: Seriously old-school anime from the a story by “Night on the Galactic Railroad” writer Miyazawa Kenji, directed by the man who did the film version of that story, Gisaburou Sugii. Could be very, very interesting.
Mahou Shoujou Lyrical Nanoha: The Movie 2nd A’s (Seven Arcs) – 7/14: Another Nanoha season retold in movie form.
Ookami Kodomo no Ame to Yuki (Madhouse) – 7/21: Hosoda Mamoru is one of the three most important anime directors working theatrically right now, and anything he does is worth long and careful consideration. This is the tale of who falls in love with a wolf-man, and the children she conceives with him. Expect true quality and big box office from the most important anime film of the year. Previews:
Fairy Tail Movie: Houou no Miko (Satelight) – 8/18: The mangaka is working on composition, so hopefully this will prove to be a winner.
Asura (Toei) – 9/29: Tiger & Bunny director Satou Keiichi brings us an “unremittingly dark” tale of a boy who’s mother tries to eat him during a famine in medieval Japan (really – unremittingly dark?). Competing at Annecy this month, this could be a real sleeper – the art looks fantastic.
xRichard
June 9, 2012 at 5:12 amI'll leave my vote for MLA: Total Eclipse here in the comments.
Full Trailer: http://youtu.be/cLfDKNcouBA
wendeego
June 9, 2012 at 5:23 amWeirdly enough, Tanaka Romeo happens to be an all-time great author of visual novels, Cross Channel being the most significant. I have no idea whether Jinrui Wa Suitai Shimashita will be any good, but I'm almost certain that it will be interesting.
Same with Muv Luv, actually. There's every chance that it will end up being a terrible adaptation, and I haven't actually read the source material, but the work that Total Eclipse is a spin-off of is so strong that it probably deserves an elementary glance just for that. No guarantees, though!
James
June 9, 2012 at 5:27 amYuck, thank goodness anime seasons aren't like this during the school year when I need short breaks from work.
doddle god
June 9, 2012 at 5:42 amhmm, I have no interest what-so-ever in series like Chouyaku Hyakunin Isshu: Uta Koi. Something about overtly traditional theme (in this case, it happens to "Japanese" traditional theme) rubs me the wrong way. The same way why I never was sold into Chihayafuru. I enjoyed other Josei series like "Honey and Clover", "Kare Kano" and "Nana" (which took me a bit to get over the unique character designs"), but Chihayafuru? Nah, couldn't do it. Its setting is modern enough, but it's about some old tradition and that doesn't work for me at all.
On the other hand, I like action genre set in the same old tradition, such as, "Rurouni Kenshin" or any of those Samurai theme. I just dislike drama or slice-of-life genre of the overtly oldie theme/setting/value; I don't get it and I have no interest in what-so-ever. I think my aversion to this is very similar to your dislike of Nisio Isin/Akiyuki Shinbo combo, GE. Something about it "just" rubs me the wrong way…
Seishun Otoko
June 9, 2012 at 5:49 amTop on my list are: Kyoukai Senjou no Horizon II, Rinne no Lagrange II, Muv-Luv Alternative, Jinrui Wa Suitai Shimashita, Chouyaku Hyakunin Isshu: Uta Koi, Aruvu Rezuru, Hagure Yuusha no Estetica, Sword Art Online, Dakara Boku wa H Ga Dekinai and La storia della Arcana Famiglia.
doddle god
June 9, 2012 at 5:50 amMy only question about "Sword Art Online – A-1 Pictures":
Is that character on right with darker costume supposed to be a boy or a girl? The orange long hair on left is CLEARLY a girl and I'm inclined to say that the other one is ALSO a girl, but… I have a feeling that it's supposed to be a boy. A very feminine looking boy, that is. Why else they gave her a dark sword with a dark costume? She's clearly not a villain, not with that baby-face. So she could be a boy. Traditionally Japanese anime girls have bigger eyes than anime boys, but in this case, their faces look virtually identical, thus further confusing me.
admin
June 9, 2012 at 6:07 am@doddle: we each have our own pet peeves. FTR, my problem is much more with Nisio than Shinbou, though Nisio does bring out the worst in him.
The SAO character on the right is the male lead. I've heard him called a Marty Stu by some and a bit girlish by others, but I can't say as I haven't read the novels. If you look at Yamada's brother from Working!!?, he's a dead-ringer – same character designer.
Seishun: Of all these sequels, none really interest me – Rinne was OK but pretty bland I thought, and I won't even get into the others. Moyashimon is about the best, but I wasn't a huge fan of the first season as a NoitaminA show. I may have to give Muv-luv a chance, since it's getting a lot of recs.
belatkuro
June 9, 2012 at 2:14 pmWell, Kirito is said to have a feminine face by the characters in the novels. And he's not that much of a Marty Stu but I'll let you be the judge.
Spinarakk
June 9, 2012 at 6:46 amAww no look in to Bimbogami ga, the anime I'm placing to be the funniest of the season? It's always sad to see an anime your looking forward to get no love from the blogosphere.
admin
June 9, 2012 at 7:22 amBimbogami is in the poll, anyway.
Anonymous
June 9, 2012 at 11:20 pmI second that. This is only series of the season I'm familiar with and if it sticks close to the manga this will be probably be the funniest show of the season.
Liche
June 9, 2012 at 6:49 amI will have to cancel my vacation to see all these, but I think I won't regret it at all…
Thank you for the early preview!
random: Love the 5cm per sec theme
Makoto Shinkai works make my eyes twinkle *A*
admin
June 9, 2012 at 10:25 pmThank Tsuki from Emory Anime Club – he made it for me!
Morg
June 9, 2012 at 7:29 amUnfortunately it doesn't look like we will be getting the next season of Doctor Who until the end of the year. From wiki
In September 2011 Doctor Who Magazine stated series 7 will air from late 2012. The Doctor Who official Twitter account announced in March 2012 that it was planned that six episodes will be shown in 2012, including a Christmas Special, to be followed by eight in 2013. Episode 1 will screen at the MediaGuardian Edinburgh International Television Festival during 23–25 August.
Beckett
June 9, 2012 at 7:39 amThank the FSM this season is going to be lighter. Do you even know how much of a backlog of shows I have that I've downloaded but not watched yet. I desperately need this breather season.
That said, I'm not as pessimistic about the quality as you. Sure, season 2 of Horizon is bound to be a crapfest, and yes, the shows this season don't look very original, but basically I'll be willing to accept that as long as they are at least entertaining. My standards are just not super high I guess. Even this moe/ecchi/harem shit (yuri not included cause I like yuri, sue me :P) is more tolerable than 90% of the crap on American TV right now so I still see this as an improvement. At least it isn't The Real Housewives Of Saskatchewan or wherever the hell they are filming that now.
KT;the ever faithful Reader
June 9, 2012 at 8:23 amWhile it is a pity that this coming season isn't quite that packed, I'm somewhat relieved though. This spring season has been far too bless with too many shows that I want to watch while I only have enough time to catch up with a couple of show at most, so may be I would finally have the time to catch up with some left overs!
I am a bit interested in La storia della Arcana Famiglia though. I am not typically into Otome adaptation, but this one looks like it could pack quite a bit of action scenes. The heroine sounds like she does actually have some personality, and the character design is rather appealing.
SQA
June 9, 2012 at 9:20 amSpring has some great series, but the main "problem" we've all had is a whole bunch of "well above average" series. Leaving you having to pick and choose. Summer looks like a fair bit of "average" fair. So there's a lot of series that could be enjoyable, but you really won't miss anything if you skip them. (Or they're a sequel that you probably need the backstory to appreciate)
Though we're going to be seriously lacking in "Glorious" series for Summer. Maybe Muv Luv has potential, but hard to say. Going from a season with 2 Kawamori series to none is going to seriously lower the unintentional comedy levels. (Also, I just realize we're in the middle of a season with 3 Okada series: Aquarion, Lupin III and AKB0048) Summer might be of lesser quality, but we might be in for far less angst?
Still, the one I'm actually looking most forward to is Dog Days`. It's the most well constructed yet mediocre series ever made. It's just enjoyable but doesn't patronize you. Such a nice change of pace from most things.
If SAO goes bad, do we call it Working//Sign? hehe
Kinny Riddle
June 9, 2012 at 10:08 amSAO is a no brainer for me, with A-1 Pictures doing the other Kawahara Reki work.
And to top it up, Kajiura Yuki will be doing the soundtrack. Yes, I know what you're thinking, this feels like .hack//SIGN all over again, with Kajiura coming full circle after coming to fame doing the soundtrack for that other MMORPG-themed anime.
Kokoro Connect I might be following mainly due to the character illustration being done by Horiguchi Yukiko – the character designer of K-ON and Lucky Star. The light novels credits her by the alias of Shiromizakana, but artwork is clearly hers.
elianthos
June 9, 2012 at 2:02 pmAm I going selectively blind or I can't find Ookamikodomo's blurb ? I can only visualize the preview pic at the very top of this post ;_; .
Anyway… I have a soft spot for the talking bacteria as concept, so I'm quite happy to see Moyashimon returning in anime form XD, I hope Natsuyuki will be good too.
Other than that, Chouyaku Hyakunin Isshu: Uta Koi and Jinrui are the potentials in my list. Everyhting else for now is carry-overs and catching up with my watch list from Spring season XD, first of them all being Tsuritama episodes 5+ and AO episodes 3+.
Thank you for the seasonal preview Enzo.
admin
June 9, 2012 at 2:24 pmCheck "Theatrical" at the bottom of the post.
elianthos
June 10, 2012 at 1:43 amThank you!
Mystery solved… the page wasn't loading completely earlier for some reason.
Well, basically all the Summer movies bar three look interesting for one reason or another. I've never been much into Berserk outside of its Golden Age manga arc, so I think I'll skip the whole movies version unless reviews are stellar.
Fairy Tail: never followed it and still not interested.
Nanoha: as above.
Among the OAD I'l probably check out Hyouka and Nazo no Kanojo.
elianthos
June 9, 2012 at 2:03 pmP.S.: among your bucket of old shows to check is there going to be Rose Of Versailles this season, maybe? *bats lashes*
belatkuro
June 9, 2012 at 2:35 pmReally seems to be a weak season. Well Summer is a weak season always so I'm not surprised.
Still, I'm gonna go ahead and pick up a lot just because. My standards aren't really that high and I enjoy stuff as long as it entertains me.
That said, SAO is a must watch for me. Been very hyped for it for months.
And I'm gonna watch the sequels as well. Horizon, RnL and Dog Days'.
As for the new ones, I'm just gonna mention the ones I won't watch from the ones mentioned in this post.
Those are Chouyaki, Moyashimon, Oda Nobunaga, and La Storia. I'm still on the rocks about Kingdom and Jinrui Wa Suitai Shimashita but let's see. Everything else, I'm gonna watch.
I'm gonna add Muv-Luv, Hagure Yuusha no Estetica, and Arve Rezzle too.
I'm reading the Campione novels and I'm pretty sure you won't like this Enzo. I've warned you before about Medaka Box and HSDxD so yeah. Leave these kind of things to me 🙂
Well that's it I guess. Now for the wait for SAO's PV2 and the cast. LiSA is the one singing the OP so it adds to the hype.
Last thing, you forgot Hyouka, Shirokuma Cafe and Gundam AGE to the ones you'll carry over to the Summer season. Pretty sad that AW and KnB are on the rocks for dropping but hopefully someone picks the latter up on RC. Though does anyone else watch it there?
admin
June 9, 2012 at 10:28 pmYup, forgot Hyouka. But I thought AGE was finishing, no? Shirokuma is definite?
belatkuro
June 10, 2012 at 8:39 amYeah AGE is in its last arc but I don't think it will finish before July kicks. Though with how the story is going it might get finished halfway in the Summer so yeah.
And I posted in RC about Shirokuma Cafe. It's going to get new EDs every month for 12 months(??). Only the ones up until September have titles as of now.
Here's the source for Shirokuma Cafe
http://moca-news.net/article/20120427/201204270500a/01/
Altritter
June 11, 2012 at 2:37 amThis is a reply to Enzo's comment, in case it's confusing.
AGE doesn't seem to be finishing for a while; presumably it's going to be 48-50 episodes. Brief episode summaries come out in magazines every so often and the latest ones go up to 39 with no end in sight. A new Gundam design was also leaked, and that's not debuting until at least 40. Also, I think that AGE was locked into its timeslot for about a year from the beginning anyway.
Copter Link
June 9, 2012 at 3:29 pmBack to good old moe.
At least I have a backlog of Spring shows to watch, because this season looks like rubbish.
dv
June 9, 2012 at 3:55 pmThanks for this Enzo!
I would like to say that i am hyped for Sword Art, but after watching the PV… the art is worse than the novel's… an d worse than the manga…
At least for champione, the character designs are slightly less disfigured.
Any of these are by KyoAni?
admin
June 9, 2012 at 10:28 pmJust more Hyouka
steelbound
June 9, 2012 at 8:12 pmThere's no doubt that Hosoda Mamoru is one of the best but I'm curious, who are the other two important theatrical anime directors?
admin
June 9, 2012 at 10:28 pmFor me? Miyazaki Hayao (yes, still) and Shinkai Makoto.
Ishruns
June 10, 2012 at 9:24 amThe three of them and the deceased Satoshi Kon are in my opinion the Holy Quartet of anime.
Copter Link
June 10, 2012 at 10:50 amMiyazaki wouldn't be pleased to know you think of his work as anime though :V
admin
June 10, 2012 at 4:21 pmThat's an urban legend about Miyazaki more than anything. Bur even if it weren't, it wouldn't change my opinion.
Copter Link
June 11, 2012 at 12:56 pmGiven his thoughts in this rather old article
http://www.nausicaa.net/miyazaki/interviews/aboutanime.html
I don't think it's a stretch to assume that he'd rather not have his work lumped in with the rubbish that's spewing out of the anime industry of late.
Of course, there are excellent shows airing right now, but at the same time, you have pedo-pandering work like Kodomo no Jikan and Ro-Kyu-Bo (or whatever it's called), and terrible moe shows aimed at the creepy otaku demographic.
It'd be a hell of a lot better if we had more shows like Chihayafuru, Sakamichi no Appollon and Tsuritama each season (just to name some good recent ones) over GENDERBENT SAMURAI ANIME #100 and I'M NOT A PEDOPHILE, I'M A LOLICON.
Samurai Jack
June 9, 2012 at 9:33 pmIsn't Blood Lad confirmed to air next month? That was pretty much the only new anime series I was looking forward to this summer.
But it looks like for this summer, I'll be more interested in the non-anime series. In particular there's Legend of Korra, Young Justice, Tron Uprising, and Motorcity, as well as the continuing animes Hunter x Hunter and possibly Shirokuma Cafe.
Other than that, I'm interested in seeing the Nazo no Kanojo X special, which I hope will lead to a second season. I also want to see Persona 4: The Factor of Hope, even though it's just a compilation film, and the rest of Rurouni Kenshin: Shin Kyoto-Hen.
Helen
June 12, 2012 at 7:05 pmWell, Korra ends in two weeks so it's not really a summer show….
Samurai Jack
June 28, 2012 at 3:56 pmYeah, that's true. I hope the second season of Korra airs this fall…though it'll probably air 2013. Just found out that Young Justice is taking another break till September too.
Well, I'll definitely be looking forward to watching Arcana Famiglia and Jinrui wa Suitai Shimashita this summer.
admin
June 9, 2012 at 10:29 pmWell, Blood Lad is supposedly airing but I've been able to find very little. I wonder if it could end up being an OVA.
SAO is owning the poll, big-time.
totoum
June 9, 2012 at 10:58 pmWow Ebiten was off my radar,that indeed might be crazy enough to work.
Oda Nobuna no Yabou isn't even the only show that'll air this summer that'll feature cute girl versions of warlords since sengoku collection is also still airing,though interestingly enough both look very different.
But the one show I'm genuinely looking forward to that I don't see in your post or in your poll is Joshiraku (it has so little hype I just checked to be sure it was airing this summer),don't know the source but it has the director/writer combo of Ika musume working on it so I figure if the source material is good they'll do justice to it.
admin
June 10, 2012 at 1:50 amYeah, Joshiraku has the Ika Musume team (though Mizushima's cred isn't all it was) but the premise looks so… I mean, how many times can they make that show and keep putting it under a different title?
totoum
June 10, 2012 at 1:16 pmHorror is not his thing but I still trust him when it comes to comedy.
As for the premise the author of Sayonara Zetsubou Sensei doing a cute girls do cute things manga doesn't seem right,maybe not gen urobuchi does magical girl anime level of "not right" but I'm still willing to bet there's more to it.
At least it's not set in a highschool lol
Anonymous
June 10, 2012 at 1:32 amMuv Luv, I don't expect it to fill the void, but hopefully it's something.
elior
June 10, 2012 at 6:27 am@guardian enzo you forgot to put in the anime summer list the second season of dog days can you put the trailer with this?
admin
June 10, 2012 at 7:14 amDidn't forget it – just not at all interested, sorry! Plenty of trailers out there on youtube and the likes…
Anonymous
June 10, 2012 at 1:54 pmI know this is not summer anime but just saw on ANN that Chihayafuru will have a second season!! I followed your posts closely every week and look forward to the next season. I'm surprised it will continue as I wasn't sure it would sell well.
Anonymous
June 11, 2012 at 1:45 amI personally was most entranced by Jinrui wa Suitai Shimashita's preview. I love shows that have a great world (settei) built up… it's part of why I don't like many American shows.
And why I stopped watching the new season of Avatar pretty early: there was no sense of something greater over the horizon.
dv
June 11, 2012 at 2:13 amThe last time i checked SAO was stated to be 1 cour. Guess the fevor of Accel World made the producers rethink it?
I think 2012 is the golden year for anime. Summer may not be excellent but its still alright. Autumn and Winter looks thunder.
@^^ Settei = setting? no?
duckroll
June 11, 2012 at 2:23 amNot true. SAO was always slated for 2 cours. Back in December last year when both Accel World and Sword Art Online were announced, they were both announced as 2 cour shows.
http://news.dengeki.com/elem/000/000/436/436815/
elior
June 11, 2012 at 9:40 am@guardian enzo actully the second season will be good battles so can you try it and do first impressions on it?
Anonymous
June 17, 2012 at 6:55 amDog days is shit.
Gelo-Melo
June 11, 2012 at 1:56 pmI see Binbo Gami Ga is getting a little bit of attention, I started reading the manga not too long ago and fell in love~! They've got a good director, so I'm hoping for the best!(* v *)
admin
June 11, 2012 at 5:04 pmGelo, I don't see much in Fujita's résumé to go on. What makes you so confident? Big Gintama fan?
yingying
June 11, 2012 at 2:55 pmErm, I only have one question: you aren't bringing kuroko no basuke over? I like reading your reviews for kuroko no basuke, it's pretty funny, and always made me go back to re-watch that same episode again, haha.
I'm looking forward to La Storia, and fairy tail movie (always been a sucker for friendship and stuff like that)
admin
June 11, 2012 at 4:49 pm@elior – you mean Dog Days? No, that was a show that really rubbed me the wrong way. Not going there.
On Kuroko, stay tuned on that.
Anonymous
June 17, 2012 at 6:53 amA lot of nothing in there. Except perhaps for Moyashimon.
Anonymous
June 19, 2012 at 4:06 amI'm excited for Arcana, Tari Tari, and Natsuyuki Rendezvous. The others don't look that interesting.
But at least I still have HxH and Uchuu Kyoudai to look forward to as well.
belatkuro
June 19, 2012 at 4:26 pmHmm, I think the sidebar poll is missing some shows. Muv-Luv, Hagure Yuusha no Estetica, and Dakara Boku wa H ga Dekinai.
Not that it matters I guess since you won't be watching them and they won't really rack up votes to catch up to the big lead of SAO lol. Just saying though.
On another note, SAO PV2 where? D:
I'm getting tired of waiting for it.