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I’m going to cut back on my blogging schedule this season. I really mean it this time.
Traditionally, Spring and Fall are the most varied and deepest anime seasons in terms of quality shows. 2012 was no different – Spring was the clear #1, and Fall was the clear #2. As always there are gems to be found in every schedule, but Winter and Summer typically lag behind – with Summer especially relying on formula and fanservice to try and sell a few more Blu-rays.
Going in, Winter looks about average to me, maybe a tad worse – though I don’t know just exactly what that means. I don’t see a lot on the schedule that reeks of potential greatness, but it’s a rather good season for sequels as far as I’m concerned. We have the 4th season of one of my favorite comedies, Minami-ke, and of course the much-rejoiced over second season of one of the very best shows of 2012, Chihayafuru. We also have the second season of the very enjoyable Haganai, and the TV airing of Seitokai no Ichizon Lvl. 2 (which is a lot better than some would have you believe).
Among the new series, it seems a fairly thin crop to me in terms of potential standouts, though a couple of shows look very interesting. We also have the “Episode 11.5” OVA of Hyouka in January and some notable big screen entries for TV series, including the Hunter X Hunter: Phantom Rouge film, and the AoEx film. What’s noticeably missing are “tentpole” cinema releases from big-name studios or directors, though they tend not to be released in the first quarter as a general rule.
Finally, as to that whole, “cut back on my schedule” (I really mean it this time) thing… It’s somewhat complicated by the fact that there are many series crossing over from this season – H x H, Uchuu Kyoudai, Sakurasou, Ginga, Shin Sekai Yori, Bakuman, Little Busters, Psycho-Pass, Robotics;Notes, Shirokuma, Zetsuen no Tempest… Well, slap me – that’s a lot, isn’t it? With the sequels already locked in, at most I can see covering one or two other Winter shows – something is going to have to really knock me out to break into the schedule, and a few of the weaker animals may be culled from the Fall herd.
As always, please vote for your most anticipated series in the sidebar poll!
With that, to the previews:
Boku wa Tomodachi ga Sukunai – AIC Build
Director: Kitahata Toru
Writer: Urahata Tatsuhiko
Schedule: Thursday 25:55, TBS – Premières 1/10/13
Episodes: TBD
First Look: No reason to expect much change here – we’re working with mostly the same staff, and still have source material to draw from. I wasn’t completely sold on the first season, but it mostly worked for me. There were some huge laughs and Sena was one of my favorite characters of the year.
Sasami-san@Ganbaranai – Shaft
Director: Shinbou Akiyuki
Writer: Takayama Katsuhiko
Schedule: Thursday, 25:25, TBS Premières 1/10/13
Episodes: TBD
Preview:
MAL:
First Look: Anytime Shinbou and SHAFT are involved, it’s news. It’s certainly a quirky sounding story – a hikikomori girl and her slave-like brother who she spies on with cameras as he stumbles through romantic entanglements with three beautiful sisters. Frankly the premise sounds pretty inane to me, but Shinbou always the potential to at least be interesting, Takayama is a reliable screenwriter and the author of the LNs also did Kyouran Kazoku Nikki, which I rather liked. I’ll certainly give it a chance.
Chihayafuru Season 2 – Madhouse Director: Asaka Morio
Writer: Kakihara Yuuko
Schedule: Friday, Time TBA, Nippon – Premières 1/11/13
Episodes: 25
MAL:
First Look: Is there any question that this is my most-anticipated series of the Winter? Chihayafuru getting a second season was a case of quality winning out – and a huge bump in manga sales didn’t hurt either. You have 25 eps worth of posts to look through if you want to know why this was one of the best series of 2012, and the second season should deliver once again in terms of quality. In brief – fantastic characters, beautiful art, and a winning combination of the best elements of shoujo, shounen, seinen and josei. Chihayafuru is special – it could be agonizing (in a good way) at times, the way only a special series can. If you haven’t watched the first season I highly recommend you do, because this is the sort of series that has to be watched in context to really work.
Minami-Ke Tadaima – Feel
Director: Kawaguchi Keiichiro
Writer: Kouno Takamitsu
Schedule: Saturday, Tokyo MX, 25:00 – Premières 1/5/13
Episodes: TBD
First Look: And here’s my second-most anticipated series of the season. Three seasons and two OVAs later, Minami-ke is back with yet another studio and director – it’s Feel this time, with Kawaguchi-sensei in charge. I would call his record “mixed” in terms of quality, and I don’t think M-K has ever matched the level of the first season at Daume under comedy genius Ohta Masahiko. Still, there were many fine moments in the succeeding animation – and the OVA Feel produced was quite good. I have a huge sentimental desire to see this succeed as Minami-ke is one of my favorite comedy franchises, and as always, the world needs more Mako-chan. I’ll approach this under my general guideline: hope for the best and prepare for the rest.
Ore no Kanojo to Osananajimi ga Shuraba Sugiru – A-1 Pictures
Director: Kamei Kanta
Writer: Urahata Tatsuhiko
Schedule: Saturday 24:00, Tokyo MX – Premières 1/5/13
Episodes: TBA
Preview:
MAL:
First Look: Is it just me, or are anime titles getting longer and longer?
A classic battle royale between a childhood friend and a new girl over a teen boy who who’s sworn off romance? Doesn’t seem to be an original strand of DNA in this gene anywhere, but there are some elements that make this one look interesting. Ohsaka Ryota in a starring role is a good start. A-1 Pictures hasn’t attached themselves to anything really awful, and Kanta Kamei has some impressive cred as a director after Usagi Drop. The LN author “Yuuji Yuuji” has done nothing else as far as I’m aware, so this is a bit of a blind shot for me – but for some reason this feels like it might be better than it looks.
Zettai Karen Children: The Unlimited – Hyoubu Kyousuke – Manglobe
Director: Igarashi Shishou
Writer: Inotsume Shinichi
Schedule: Monday 24:45, Time TBA – Premières 1/05/13
Episodes: TBA
Preview:
MAL:
First Look: I’m always keen to give Manglobe shows a chance, as they tend to do difficult and interesting work that fails commercially. As a sequel this might be somewhat safer ground for them. It’s a “spinoff” rather than a straight sequel to the story of children with tremendous powers of ESP (after Shin Sekai Yori there might be some burnout for me). I wouldn’t say the original stands as a classic but rather a worthwhile series, so I have decent expectations. Director Igarashi was not involved in the original ZKC but Inotsume was the head writer, providing some continuity.
Mondai-ji-tachi ga Isekai kara Kuru Sou Desu yo? – Diomedea
Director: Kusakawa Kaizou
Writer: Kimura Noboru
Schedule: Friday 25:30, Tokyo MX – Premières1/11/13
Episodes: TBA
Preview:
MAL:
First Look: Not only does this have Oro no Kanojo beat by three letters, but it has three dashes too – so you know it has to be great. It’s another LN adaptation is a season absolutely crawling with them, and superficially this is another one that doesn’t have a whole lot to recommend it – it’s the novelist’s first work and while Kusakawa has certainly been busy, most of his work falls in a broad range from standard exploitation comedy to just plain bad. That said, though, I like the character designs, and the lead looks like the antithesis of the standard pushover male lead. Can’t make much from the premise – “problem child” Izayoi, bored with the world, gets drawn into an alternate universe to help two bishoujo fight the devil – and this another one that amounts to a shot in the dark based on a hunch it might be fairly subversive.
Cuticle Detective Inaba – Zexcs
Director: Mitsunaka Susumu
Writer: Nakamura Makoto
Schedule: Friday, 23:30, ATX – Premières 1/4/13
Episodes: 12
Preview:
MAL:
First Look: This is strictly a case of chasing an interesting premise for me. Half-man half-wolf artificial being who runs a detective agency with the help of a reverse-trap secretary and a teen played by Irino Miyu? I’m in – to start with, anyway. The manga is the author’s first and there’s nothing special in the staff or studio, but it just sounds like it could be a lot of fun – I like offbeat detective series, and this one reminds me just a hair of a series I always thought was underrated, Mythical Detective Loki Ragnorak.
Tamako Market – Kyoto Animation
Director: Yamada Naoko
Writer: Yoshida Reiko
Schedule: Wednesday 24:30, Tokyo MX – Premières 1/9/13
Episodes: 12
Preview:
MAL:
First Look: With every new series from Kyoto Animation I immediately try and assess what I call the “postage rate”. In other words, just how much of this one is KyoAni just mailing in? Superficially, this one really doesn’t look like they’re trying very hard – the premise has classic KyoAni moe for its own sake written all over it, and the character designs are the studio at their most chipmunk-cute. Still – the studio’s last two offerings have been an often-superb near masterpiece (Hyouka) and a pretty solid youth comedy (Chuunibyou) so there’s no telling what Tamako Market will bring to the table. This is an original story – a good sign – but it’s basically the K-ON team so it’s not hard to guess what sort of show it might be. It’s a story about a girl and a mochi shop and it’s KyoAni – start the printing presses and let the yen roll in.
Maoyuu Maou Yuusha – ARMS
Director: Takahashi Takeo
Writer: Arakawa Naruhisa
Schedule: Friday 25:00, Tokyo MX – Premières 1/4/13
Episodes: TBA
MAL:
Preview:
First Look: It’s fair to say this is the non-sequel I’m most looking forward to this season. This property has seen many forms already – novel, manga, etc. – and it looks something like a genuinely fascinating mix of epic fantasy and “Settlers of Catan”. A sword and sorcerer, human and demon tale with serious geekery looking at the nuts and bolts of civilization-building in a genuinely good concept, and director Takahashi-san has some decent work in his folio (Spice & Wolf seems like a good comp for this one). I wouldn’t say ARMS as a studio is necessarily a positive – it’s fair to say their biggest his is the Queen’s Blade franchise – but it’s not a deal-breaker either. There are a lot of folks saying a lot of good things about the source material, and I have high hopes. Bring on the useless meat.
Koutora-san – AIC Classic
Director: Ohta Masahiko
Writer: Aoshima Takashi
Schedule: Thursday, 26:00, CBC – Premières 1/10/12
Episodes: 12
Preview:
MAL:
First Look: Simply put, I’m excited to see Ohta Masahiko back working with material that might actually be funny. I’d rather he were teamed up with Minami-ke again but any comedy he’s involved with gets a long look. Kotoura-san is a mind-reader who transfers to a new school and joins the ESP Club – beyond that I don’t know much, and there are no other manga from Enokids to draw on. The staff pedigree is excellent and there’s almost no chance this won’t be at least competent, and if the manga is any good it might just be the funniest series of the season.
Amnesia – Brains Base
Director: Ohashi Yoshimitsu
Writer: Machida Toukou
Schedule: Monday, Time TBA, – Premières 1/7/13
Episodes: TBA
Preview:
MAL:
First Look: Production I.G. is having a terrific season, but I think Brains Base is probably my favorite studio of the moment. An adaptation of a VN targeted at the female demographic, this is the story of a girl who loses her memory and a spirit boy named Orion who helps to guide her. Really, this could be anything – but it’s Brains Base and their batting average in terms of picking quality projects to adapt is as good as anybody in the industry.
Will Definitely Blog: Chihayafuru, Minami-ke, Maoyuu Maou Yuusha. Looking at it that way, it really does look like a thin crop of new shows, though I’m sure one or two will jump up and surprise me. With an unusually high number or shows carrying over from Fall, a mediocre lineup of new ones isn’t all bad from my perspective, though I’m always happier with a great season than not.
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OVA/Movie:
We have a few trinkets in the pile here, anyway:
ToLove Ru: Darkness (OVA) – 12/19: Three more uncensored soft-porn chapters from the surprisingly charming TLR stable.
Aruvu Rezzuru (OVA) – 1/2013: The mysterious sci-fi project finally sees the light of day, in OVA form.
Hyouka : Motsubeki Monu wa (OVA) – 1/2013: The pool episode finally gets a HQ release, bundled with manga Vol. 3.
Theatrical:
Ao no Exorcist (A-1 Pictures) – 12/28: An original story featuring the cast of the popular Shounen Jump manga. The TV had mixed results with original material, but I like the premise and cast quite a bit.
Hunter X Hunter: Phantom Rouge (Madhouse) – 1/13: A new take on Kurapika’s blood feud with the Phantom Troupe, based on a story Togashi wrote 10 years ago which was just published in SJ this month. Everything H x H Madhouse has touched has turned to gold, so I’m really looking forward to this more than any other film of the season.
Preview:
We also have To Are Majutsu no Index and Star Driver films on the way, for those of you so inclined.
Doddle God
December 17, 2012 at 2:23 pmI don't know, it seems like there are more than 1 potentially good "new" good shows. How about considering to blog shows that RC won't cover? I know you would cover those two sequels no matter what, so I may have a better chance of asking to consider to drop a few from this season in order to pick up some more would work better.
1. How about dropping coverage of Sakurasou and LB ? Seriously Sakurasou and LB are the worst show, "comparatively speaking", of those carry-over shows and perhaps you would agree to that statement. I would think those are the two represent less interesting materials, again comparatively speaking, to talk about week after week.
2. Among the shows not covered in RC, I know you won't drop Ginga, HxH, and Bakuman, but maybe instead of covering them in a full post, shrinking them in a smaller post? They don't get covered at RC, so I can't ask to drop them -not that you would anyway. I am biased towards great Shirokuma, so no change there.
3, Another question would be 'would you still cover 'til the end even if 4th M-K turn out to be even worse or similar to 2nd and 3rd? I only watched 1st and consider 2nd and 3rd kinda unwatchable (there were 1-3 good episodes from them, but they were generally bore-fest).
Perhaps these changes could leave a room to 2-3 shows besides the two sequels and MMY?
Doddle God
December 17, 2012 at 2:34 pmMan, I must be not fully awake, so many silly errors up there. It's like I start writing a sentence and then finish with a different one, LOL! Pardon me, everyone.
Now that I've actually watched all the previews of the new shows… I suppose actually watching the previews does make a big difference compare to just looking at the posters. They all look rather mediocre, average-serviceable at best. However one or two could indeed turn to be worthwhile as you said. Comedy shows all look the status-quo, shounen shows the same, and that last shojo show with the butler character and everything? Gosh I will never watch shojo shows with bishie butler/bartender character similar to that one.
admin
December 17, 2012 at 2:35 pm1. Sakurasou is certainly a potential candidate to be scaled-back or dropped, as likely the most inconsistent of all the shows I'm covering. We'll see about any others.
2. Absolutely no way would I scale back coverage of those three shows unless I were to basically stop blogging.
3. I don't agree with your overly harsh assessment of Okawari and Okaeri. But if Tadaima were to turn out to be really mediocre, I wouldn't feel obligated to finish it. Obviously I hope that doesn't happen.
elianthos
December 17, 2012 at 2:46 pm@Doddle: hmmm… shouldn't this be up to his tastes and energies/time ? :p
1) YMMV. I'm not following either atm, but LB is Enzo's show at RC as well, plus going by his posts he seems to enjoy the show quite enough on its own merits.
2) I'd dare say those shows are among the least likely to get short posts on this blog.
Also… how could you suggest that about GeK? My babies T_T. Its subbing schedule is quite sparse on top of that. More on-topic, Enzo has been very dedicated to spreading the Ginga love since the beginning, to the point I'd say GeK it's one of his pet series. *waiting for Enzo to totally prove me wrong on the matter X,D*
elianthos
December 17, 2012 at 2:47 pm@Enzo: ahah, you posted while I was writing. feel free to delete my post above and this one XD.
Doddle God
December 17, 2012 at 2:54 pmWell, I suppose I was spoiled by the 1st M-K and when 2nd & 3rd turn out to be very different (almost all the way slice-of-lifeish, not much comedy, if at all, at least for me), it's why it became unwatchable for me as I was bored. If I clarify it further, you see it was not so bad that it was unwatchable, but rather it wasn't for me anymore. Not sure if that's overly harsh. I might have had a different opinion if 1st season weren't there. Or perhaps I may not have interested in the show in the first place if it was just a slice of life with 3 sisters + 2-3 girlfriends (didn't care too much about the cross-dresser boy).
I especially liked the dynamic between the three brothers (mostly the older ones) and three sisters, BTW. Also the interaction between the eldest sister and older brothers. The older brothers were basically gone in 2nd & 3rd, if I remember correctly. Perhaps that dynamic wasn't what the show was about in the first place.
Doddle God
December 17, 2012 at 2:55 pmelianthos, this is JUST a suggestion. Calm down.
elianthos
December 17, 2012 at 3:03 pmI am calm, joking even. No need to bring out the caps. Sorry if that wasn't clear?
Snuckerpooks
December 17, 2012 at 2:25 pmI'm liking that you are going to follow Minami-ke and Chihayafuru. Too bad it won't be Taichi Tuesdays or whatever it was before. Now it is a Friday show. Oh wells!
Sasami-san@Ganbaranai looked incredibly weird but enjoyable at the same time. Something about it.
elianthos
December 17, 2012 at 2:27 pm'Well, slap me' *slap slap*
*kiss* <— a kiss a day keeps the pain away
happy now?
—
I'm only sure about Taichi Fridays. Everything else is up to your blog entries if any. Knowing how persuasive you can be…
of all things I quite like Miss Devil's dress in the fantasy series' promo pic though.
Anonymous
December 17, 2012 at 10:04 pmwtf you on?
elianthos
December 17, 2012 at 11:33 pm@Anon: Enzo's brand of brain candy of course *winks*
Cars
December 17, 2012 at 2:27 pmKind of a weak-looking season, as winter tends to be. I haven't really watched any of the first seasons of the sequels, and a lot of the other offerings look somewhat shallow or fanservice-oriented. I'll probably try out quite a few things but I'm only expecting a few of them to actually stick. Savanna Game in particular looks like a great concept if done right, but it's the kind of concept that can crash and burn pretty easily and I have my doubts that it will even make its date considering it was announced a long time ago and we don't have a PV or anything.
As a closing note, (and I know how short on time you are but I figured I'd throw this out there) do you plan on picking JoJo back up for blogging? I could see you getting really enthusiastic about Battle Tendency.
admin
December 17, 2012 at 2:37 pmI haven't even had time to catch up on watching Jojo, so blogging it seems like a very long shot indeed.
Jeroz
December 17, 2012 at 2:37 pmIf you have any doubt in regard to the level of abilities from ARMS, check out Hyakka Ryouran, one of the best looking series I'd seen a couple of years ago
Anonymous
December 17, 2012 at 2:41 pmEnzo, is there any new shows you've omitted to include with posters by any chance? You sometimes do do that, right? Like one or two shows "sometimes". Obviously I don't care about the kiddie shows or web-only shows, but just curious.
admin
December 17, 2012 at 2:46 pmYes, several, as I always limit myself to the ones I consider it reasonably likely I'll follow – but the poll has every series I could find.
Thatguy3331
December 17, 2012 at 3:04 pmI made a post on this myself, this really just looks like the season that'll have me looking into season 1 material of certian shows or let me play catch up. the only things acctually catching my intrest are some movies but with my luck I'll be getting sed to college life by the time I'm able to view them.
scineram
December 17, 2012 at 3:15 pmVoting was easy.
-Epicly hilarious, I cannot wait for AKB to wrap up its crazy story. Must see what Okada and Kawamori have in store for us.
-Every art and promo coming out for Sasami-san have just been screaming pure Shaft magic. It's the kind of show they are best at, and this one seems epic.
-I cannot miss out on a rare totally oroginal story from Kyoto. I hope it's as whimsical as it looks.
-The craziest, meanest cast of all, Haganai cannot be missed. Maybe even a little story to go with the fanservice this time, I heard.
-Watch Chihayafull trying to fuckin murder the competition again. Mostly succeeding, again. I don't see too many shows next year being better than it, if at all.
By the way, where did you see Tempest being 2 cours? I couldn't find any confirmation, and the solicitation seems like a one cour show.
Helen
December 17, 2012 at 3:16 pmActually Hyouka 11.5 came out right when the series was airing, that was the pool episode between the movie and festival arcs, maybe there's another OVA coming out?
admin
December 17, 2012 at 3:24 pmThat was just a web release I believe, and this is the actual disc.
Wally
December 17, 2012 at 5:24 pmthe moderator(s) might ban me for saying this…. but you're wrong, Enzo! Look it up yourself! Nazi!! I invoke Occam’s Razor! Yep, I am winning~~.
(ok I kid, Enzo ahahaha. Before you freak out on that unwarranted incomprehensible lines, I find this wired article -the source of those lines- on "How to End an Argument on the Internet" amusing. Nothing radically new is said, though. http://www.wired.com/underwire/2012/12/alt-text-internet-arguments/)
lkk
December 17, 2012 at 3:41 pmMy viewing choices are ultimately determined by my streaming options as I rarely do fansubs any more. With that in mind, these are the shows I hope most to get legal streams for.
Chihayafuru 2: I don't expect that I'll have to but I would break my no fansubs policy if I had to in order to see season 2. I loved season 1 that much.
Cuticle Detective Inaba: I had a subscription to G-Fantasy for a couple of years. (That's the magazine that Inaba runs in.) I never knew what was going on in that series, but it was one I was very curious about. I'll definitely give the anime a try.
Maoyuu Maou Yuusha: Appeals to the sword & sorcery streak in me although I don't know much else about this one.
Amnesia: Lately, I've developed a taste for otome game adaptations. Amnesia may be a bit dark for my tastes (I've read that there are a lot of yandere characters in the series), but I plan to give this one a look-see.
Dunn
December 17, 2012 at 5:33 pmEnzo,
Amnesia, Mayouu Maou, Sasami and Minami- Ke MAL links currently are for different series. Hope you can fix that.
Looking forward to the new season as well.
Team Taichi all the way!!
Anonymous
December 17, 2012 at 6:32 pmThe MAL links are random on these it seems.
admin
December 18, 2012 at 12:06 amFixed, sorry about that.
Eunichi Jin
December 17, 2012 at 6:14 pmThis is the only winter season, so far, that I'd only pick at least one and no more than three (Chihayafuru, Sasami-san@Ganbaranai, Tamako Market). So many fanservice and moe (yeah, i'm a KyoAni bias). However, it made my viewing sched less hectic, from over 20 to less than 15 or 10.
So, Tuesdays are again free and, now, Mondays too.
Sakamoto san
December 17, 2012 at 6:26 pmThere's Nekomonogatari Black, a 4 episode TV Special that will air at the end of December. I'm looking forward to it!
dustShadow
December 17, 2012 at 6:30 pmSo every weekend start with Chihayafuru? Fantastic, Team Taichi is already rallying across the web.
The only other one that will definitely get a shot is Tamako Market. Looks I can reduce my backlog a bit this season.
Anonymous
December 17, 2012 at 6:51 pmHot Damn. So many Chihayafuru lovers here that I can hear their steamy breath full of orgies.
Anonymous
December 17, 2012 at 7:05 pmI had been begging, praying, waiting for a season 2, and with baited breath, I am doing a count down…Taichi Fridays here I come…
Other than that, I will go with Minami-ke, MMY, Koutora-san (betting on your prediction–the funniest series of the season), and Amnesia. With Tonari, I have high hopes on Brains Base — they really know how to make an adaptation unique and great (I am now reading the manga but do think that the anime is smarter).
BTW, forgot to ask…how are you doing with your exams? Anyway, wishing you awesome results.
~Ronbb
admin
December 18, 2012 at 12:07 amLast one yesterday, now we wait…
Anonymous
December 18, 2012 at 4:46 amAll the best to you, Enzo.
~Ronbb
Beckett
December 17, 2012 at 11:36 pmI do hope Minami Ke is more like the first season. I can not remember if the last seaon of it I watched was 2 or 3 but I do remember thinking at the time that it spent way too much time on the supporting cast, they practically took over the show. This was not a strength. Back to basics, guys, focus on the 3 mains first and foremost.
Anonymous
December 18, 2012 at 12:59 amLET'S GO TAICHI, YOU CAN DO THIS! WE'RE HERE FOR YOU!!!
Anonymous
December 18, 2012 at 2:54 amDudes watching shows like Chihayafuru are like dudes watching sex and the city & Twilight and reading fifty shades of grey. Some dudes just roll that way.
I won't judge anyone and I don't have the old-fashioned macho mindset; I am merely putting the said fact out there.
Anonymous
December 18, 2012 at 3:39 pmWhat an amazing mix of contradictory sentences! The comment has maxed out the number of contradictions achievable for its length.
Anonymous
December 23, 2012 at 7:10 pmHow do SatC, Twilight and 50SoG begin to compare to Twilight though? (Or, romance and sex-focused series even compare to something about hanafuda with touches of romance and drama.)
Anonymous
January 2, 2013 at 2:15 amKaruta =/= Hanafuda…
________
December 18, 2012 at 2:57 amWhat the heck is Taichi? It's Taichi this and Taichi that. You mean the Chinese dance moves old people do in the morning like the Panda granpa in shirokuma and in China? No, since Enzo's blog is like a safe haven (or evil spawning ground, depends on the point of views) of Chihayafuru, I bet it's something to do with that show. It doesn't take a genious to figure that out.
I have to admit it -the more people fanboying out of their minds and write over-the-top silly stuff over and over and over, the more I dislike whatever the show they happen to be frothing about covered with fanboy foams. That's how I roll—. I get that you kids are psyched, but y'all need to calm down.
shirayuki75
December 18, 2012 at 4:17 amYeah, some more Chihayafuru. I skipped over it when it aired, but watched it this summer due to my friend's urges. And it happened to be my favorite anime yet.
Winter 2013 doesn't look too exciting, but there are a lot of two-cour anime pouring in from Fall 2012, so that makes my schedule happy. Maybe Spring 2013 will be better, like you said. Still waiting for Brains;Base to do Durarara!! 2.
Entrav
December 18, 2012 at 7:13 amHonestly, this season is fairly bland. I'm glad that Maoyuu Maou Yuusha is actually getting an anime adaptation. I really enjoyed the economics in the manga though it might not be accurate.
Nice to see Chihayafuru; always good. Still, not sure about the new Tamako Market by KyoAni… We'll have to see. If it's anything like Chuunibyou then I'll take it.
Seishun Otoko
December 18, 2012 at 2:42 pmOn top of things as usual Enzo 😉
Thanks for the preview and all the best in your exams!
My Winter 2012 list: AKB0048 Next Stage, Amnesia, Cuticle Detective Inaba, Haganai NEXT, Koutora-san, Love Live! School Idol Project, Maoyuu Maou Yuusha, Minami-Ke Tadaima, OreShura, Sasami-san@Ganbaranai, Tamako Market and Vividred Operation.
admin
December 18, 2012 at 3:15 pmWow – that's pretty much all of them isn't it? 😉
Highway
December 18, 2012 at 5:36 pmI'll probably try enough to get total shows up to 20 or so, and then see if I don't like any of them. Apparently, I have plenty of time to watch anime (19 shows complete in Summer, 17 shows complete in Fall), but if anything I'd cut back on my blogging from a measly 4 shows to a paltry 3. 🙂
Nayrael
December 18, 2012 at 6:37 pmFirst NuraMago OVA has finally found its way to the Internet… now to wait for someone to sub it… and upload a HQ version…
Because Chibi Tsurara needs to be seen… that and it is a nice OVA in general… but still, Chibi Tsurara…
On the Winter '13 itself… not sure if disappointed for so few series I intend to pick up or glad due to not getting my already big watchign schedule grow even more :p
haitechan
December 18, 2012 at 11:11 pmOnly interested in Boku wa Tomodachi, Minami-ke and Sasami-san. Guess I'm going to catch up with Autumm and Summer for this vacations as I'm only watching Magi (awesome show) and kind of dropped SAO at the end of the first arc. Some recommendations would be nice! No JC Staff please, the only thing I enjoyed from them was Toradora and BL stuff like Uraboku and Yami no Matsuei XD. And no Xebec, I hate them since Pandora Hearts.
Anonymous
December 19, 2012 at 2:37 amI dunno if you just meant recommendations from Enzo, and I have no idea if it's your kind of show, but JJBA is amazing and my favorite show of the fall season.
ravenanne
December 21, 2012 at 3:21 amWoot! Chihayafuru season 2, the only anime next year I highly anticipates!
Can't wait for more Taichi's! <3
I'll also be looking forward to your episode review's from this series ^^
Good luck and More Power!
elior
December 21, 2012 at 11:31 pm@enzo can you please put a poster of the doki doki precure new season? and do a first impressions once it will be air becouse i heard this season is including blood and i not joking
Anonymous
December 23, 2012 at 7:14 pmIt would be nice to see something for DokiDoki! Precure, but was it not included because these are the Jan. shows? (If it was everything, then. . . oh.)
What do you mean by including blood? Like, "there will be blood" as in the team said it will be more intense? Because PreCure really does not need to start including blood. At all. (I prefer all the craters and serious beatdowns – esecially from Futari wa and SS, and the lack of blood complements it.)
ZonikStrike
December 22, 2012 at 11:57 amI hope you're not dropping HxH… And yeah, it'd be really nice to see you reviewing Jojo.
admin
December 22, 2012 at 12:32 pmHeh – what in the world would make you think I would drop H x H? I love that show – I don't think I do a very good job of hiding it.
JoJo, realistically, not gonna happen. There's just not time.
Anonymous
December 23, 2012 at 3:12 amEnzo, a different question. Now that you've been living in Japan for a while and interacting with Japanese (I'd assume that conversations are limited to rudimentary level) and other foreigners who lives there, perhaps you can answer this. Is confessing the love of anime give a weird look from most adults? If you tell an acquaintance, in western countries 'hey, BTW, I love anime and spend hours watching anime every week', will more than likely result in judgmental looks in return, especially if it comes out of someone older than 20 and especially older than 30. Say it to a different gender in a first date, it's likely game over. They will not take you seriously.
Now I hear that in Japan, it's completely normal for "some" adults reading manga while commuting to work in a subway car while it's true that they are "some" openly hardcore anime/manga fans in Japan, but the majority of people are indifferent to it. So while you may not get the same pity treatment from most regular adults in Japan as in western cultures if you say 'hey, BTW, I love anime and spend hours watching anime every week', you won't get taken seriously. What's your view based on experience? (obviously I'm not talking about hanging out among like-minded anime lovers, but interacting with random average people). Would you say "confessing love for anime" is a bit of taboo (i.e. people will not take you seriously) in Japanese adult world? I suspect it is or at the least, I don't think it's as mainstream as many westerners think it is among Japanese adults.
admin
December 23, 2012 at 5:17 amFrom what I can tell, while true otaku are certainly a minority and somewhat disdained by the general populace, there's no stigma whatsoever in being a mainstream anime fan. Expensively-dressed businessmen and obaa-sans in kimono reading manga on the train is dead common, and in any given year half of the top 10 box-office films are anime. I don't see any evidence whatsoever that Japanese adults feel awkward or embarrassed reading manga in public or talking about anime they love, though most of them wouldn't want to be seen in Akiba on the 7th floor of Toranoana.
In broad terms, I would say that manga is even more mainstream and less niche than anime. There's no demographic that isn't a target audience, and every bookstore has a large manga section that's browsed mostly by well-dressed and respectable adults.
elior
December 23, 2012 at 6:44 am@Guardian Enzo i suprised the new season of pretty cure has reached to the 2nd place in the votes here it never reached to such number of votes and never been in the top 5 what do you think the reason this season has reached to such amount of votes compard to the outher seasons?
admin
December 23, 2012 at 9:27 amSomeone clearly spammed the poll, considering it went from almost no votes to second place in the matter of an hour or so.
Anonymous
December 23, 2012 at 7:15 pmWell, there was a rally of sorts for the PreCure fans to vote (from a few different spaces). And needless to say, that is also no small number.
Anonymous
December 24, 2012 at 8:26 amI think maybe just a lot of people what you to blog or are just generally interested in the new precure series. I know I am. I dont think its spam though
donttel
December 25, 2012 at 4:07 amI don't think it's spamming either. I am a precure fan and I'm part of a community for it in which there was a rally to vote. I for one want you to review it since this is precure's 10th anniversary season. I would really appreciate it if you would review it.
elior
December 23, 2012 at 9:34 am@guardian enzo actully most of the votes for doki doki precure come from the users in livejournal comminty so dont you think it not suprising since most of livejournal users love precure?if most the votes are from livejournal users so it clearly not spammed
admin
December 23, 2012 at 9:36 amAnd it's well known that they all vote in the same hour, right?
elior
December 23, 2012 at 9:44 ami know it wierd but there is lot of pepoles there so many post one after anoudher since they love it very much there was many posts in a topic there they was voted once every minute somone else said he voted there so it not the same person everytime
Anonymous
December 24, 2012 at 10:57 amIt was more because someone made a post on the LJ comm asking people to vote, and the members figured, hey, why not, you know? I guess they voted as soon as the post went up.
elior
December 23, 2012 at 9:37 am@guardian enzo livejournal is large commenity site and lot of pepoles love this show in there so it very possible
elior
December 23, 2012 at 9:39 am@guardian enzo i agree it wierd but there is lot of pepoles there so many post one after anoudher since they love it very much there was many posts in a topic there they was voted once every minute somone else said he voted there so it not the same person everytime
Anonymous
December 23, 2012 at 7:19 pmI was pretty excited to see that two shows with female leads that don't pander to (male otaku, gaze-y) fanservice were taking the top spot in the votes, but even if PreCure wins, doesn't sound like you'd be very excited about reviewing it, Enzo?
(Since Chihayafuru s.2 is already on your list though, if PreCure stays at #2 or takes #1, will you be reviewing it?)
Anonymous
December 23, 2012 at 9:54 pmActually there are a lot of male otaku who watches Precure even though they're aimed at little girls <_<
admin
December 24, 2012 at 1:48 amNothing is ruled out – I'll check out the first ep of just about everything. Just disregard the poll, as the results are bogus when it comes to that show.
Anonymous
December 24, 2012 at 8:28 amBit harsh considering Precure has a massive fan base and just about everyone I know absolutly loves your blog and would love you to review a magical girl series.
Anonymous
December 24, 2012 at 8:34 amEnzo some of the precure series are actually really good. I'm not a fanboy or anything but Heartcatch, Futari Wa, and GOGO were really special in my opinion. I think you should definitly give DOKI!DOKI! a chance because they are full of surprises 🙂
admin
December 24, 2012 at 11:41 amWhat's harsh? I never said a word against the show. I'm just letting people know about vote-rigging – that's not the show's fault.
Anonymous
December 24, 2012 at 12:29 pmits harsh that you think the poll is rigged because it is in second place. maybe people really just want you to blog it it but you just think its some trolls trolling
Anonymous
December 24, 2012 at 7:21 pmI get the feeling that Enzo isn't expecting PreCure fans to vote either way, and if he feels it's spam, that's all there is to it. Maybe it's better if it doesn't get reviewed. ^u^;
(And it's not as though those voting weren't going to check out the reviews here, but eh.)
Anonymous
December 24, 2012 at 7:22 pmAlso, first Anon, I understand a lot of males watch it (whether of the specific otaku audience I meant or not), but it is not a show aimed at them or one that panders to them. Which I strongly appreciate. (That's what PMMM is for.)
Anonymous
December 24, 2012 at 8:32 amOMG! IM SO LOOKING FORWARD TOO (in order of excitment)
1. DokiDoki Precure
2. Chihayafuru2
3. Tamako Market
4. Sasami-San@Ganbaranai
5. Vividred Operation
6. Nekomonogatari
7. AKB0048
8. Haganai
9. OreShura
10.Maoyuu
OMG! AND I CANT BELIEVE PRECURE IS NUMBER 2 ON THE POLL THIS IS LIKE A DREAM! MG'S ROCK!!!!!!
Anonymous
December 24, 2012 at 12:41 pmenzo! heads up! found the precure vote post on livejournal mate http://precure.livejournal.com/2210943.html
admin
December 24, 2012 at 2:49 pmHeh… It's still spamming the poll, whether it's one person doing all the voting or going out and getting a bunch of other people to do it for them. I appreciate that these folks like Precure, but how many of them follow the site or would have been likely to vote in the poll otherwise? They're more than welcome here, and welcome to vote for whatever show they want – but when one fan is doing this for one show, it's not really a fair test of the overall views of the readership of the site. That's all I'm saying.
And for the record, what I blog and don't blog isn't a popularity contest (seen any Isin Nisio coverage here lately?), so the poll results have no impact whatsoever on my decisions about what shows to cover. I've covered plenty of mahou shoujou in my time, and while it's not my top genre I have nothing against it – I just haven't seen enough in the franchise to make me think this entry is going to break into a very tough schedule. Dokidoki could win the poll by 10K votes and I'd be no more or less likely to cover it – the only thing that matters is if the first couple of episodes grab me.
Anonymous
December 24, 2012 at 6:50 pmIts not one person because you cant vote twice and lots of people adore your reviews/blog.
donttel
December 25, 2012 at 4:21 amI have voted for doki doki and I do have to admit I don't follow this blog and just voted because I like the show. But if you were to blog for doki doki I would start to follow. As I'm sure many people will too. So I don't think it's a vote and run deal at least not for me. And I understand what you mean about the first couple of episodes catching your attention because I'm the same way. And some seasons of precure are bland(in the beginning at least). But I would appreciate it if you just gave it a chance thank you.
admin
December 25, 2012 at 5:20 amWell as I said, you're very welcome and I'm glad you stopped by. I just think when one show has campaigning for it and the others don't, it makes the poll less than a fair test.
†Croos†
December 24, 2012 at 5:03 pmI'm 100% sure that Enzo won't watch Chihaya S2.
Isn't that right Enzo.
Anonymous
December 24, 2012 at 7:26 pmJust a quick note, if the poll has no impact on what you review, I think you should add a disclaimer of sorts or something.
(And on the topics of mahou shoujo, very curious about which ones you covered.)
admin
December 25, 2012 at 12:32 amWhy do I need a disclaimer against something I never suggested in any way, shape or form?
Kaioshin Sama
December 24, 2012 at 9:21 pmI'm just very greatful that there's a lot of 2 cour shows from this season that I'm enjoying because yet again Winter looks really weak this year. It'll probably just be Chihayafuru for sure and playing it by ear and word of mouth from trusted sources for everything else. People are trying to sell me on Maou Yuusha and Amnesia but we'll see. I plan to give them a test but I'm honestly doubting I'll be keeping much beyond Chihayafuru since I plan to get back into my backlog of long running shonen-action series and 80's stuff.
Samurai Jack
December 29, 2012 at 11:21 pmUnfortunately the only anime that looks interesting to me is Bakumatsu Gijinden Roman.
Besides that, there's the two sequels to last year's fall season that look good.
At the moment, the main anime I'm looking forward to next year is Drifters.
It'll be great to finally be able to watch the Blue Exorcist, Wolf Children, Fuse, Hunter x Hunter, Steins;Gate, Tiger and Bunny, Mardock Scramble, and Madoka Magica movies.
Mr. OtakuJPN
January 5, 2013 at 9:04 pmIt seems like a lot of people have both good and bad things to say about Maoyuu Maou Yuusha. As I've told others already, I'll have to check it out to see for myself. Everyone seems to be commenting on the boobs aspect of it. I don't see a huge issue myself. But, just honest opinions in the end. 😀
Anonymous
January 6, 2013 at 6:28 amHey G.E., I know you mentioned that Maoyuu Maou Yuusha was directed by the same person as Okami To Koshinryou, but I wish you'd mentioned that it had the same two lead seiyuu, Koshimizu Ami and Fukuyama Jun. I loved Okami; although the economics lectures sometimes got a little dry, the relationship between the two main characters more than made up for it, and the seiyuu handled these characters perfectly.
I just watched the first episode of Maoyuu, and I'm cautiously hopeful. I was a little put off by the kyonyuu female character, but fortunately she seemed to have a bit more going for her than the oversized chest. And she's much easier to understand than Holo from Okami, since Ms. Koshimizu isn't doing that frustrating oiran dialect for this character.
Bottom line: I'll be watching this Maoyuu Maou Yuusha just for the two lead seiyuu.
Samurai Jack
January 6, 2013 at 7:02 pmNot including long running series like Precure, I'm kinda surprised that nearly every single new anime airing this season will be 12 or 13 episodes long at most.
So far the only winter 2013 anime that seems confirmed to run for longer than that is Chihayafuru. It's possible The Unlimited may run for more than 13 episodes though.
Well, I'll be looking forward to the premieres of Bakumatsu Gijinden Roman and Sasami-san@Ganbaranai this week.