Winter Anime Catalogue 2015

Welcome to METANORN’s Winter Anime Catalogue of 2015!

Aaaaah, I am going crazy! Packing is srs bsns yo, but one good side of it is that our Preview post is super-early from our standard due to it. Interestingly, I’m moving to Summer country than a Winter one so I’m skipping my favourite season altogether this year. It sucks but you gotta do what you gotta do. I’m really hyped for Durarara!! x2, like many other Metanornies and besides it, Assassination Classroom, Death Parade, Kurobas and Tsukimonogatari. I’ll be pretty busy this season so the slim watch-list is actually welcomed but for Fall at least, I promise to continue my UBW editorials soon!
Wooooooooo! Winter season is right around the corner which means lots of Metanorn birthdays coming up in January, but like any new season we get tons of new anime to enjoy. Even though I will be perfectly honest and say that the winter season looks kind of weak to me or will it be good? I guess we always ask that question before any season starts and most of the time we end up being wrong; however there are a few shows this season I am looking forward to like Rolling Girls, Koufuku Graffiti, Kantai Collection: KanColle, Yuri Kuma Arashi and The IDOLM@STER: Cinderella Girls! Then again I tend to take a peek at everything because you never know what will surprise you after watching just one episode.
I don’t even care about anything aside from Durarararararararara (I’m lying, but it’s just SO EXCITING that it’s hard to focus on anything else). Seriously, there are a ton of great sequels coming out. Some expected and some totally unexpected. For new and old shows alike, our usual season preview should give you some ideas of how many shows you’ll be keeping up with this winter.
This winter seems to be the season for highly anticipated sequels, as we’re getting follow ups to such well regarded titles like Durarara!!, Aldnoah Zero, JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure, The Idolm@ster, Monogatari Series, and others. One hopes the planned follow ups can finish their stories in a satisfying way and the others can recapture the magic of the previous seasons that made the idea of sequels so enticing. There’s also Kantai Collection, which looks to carry the mecha musume/military girls torch previously carried by such outstanding works as Strike Witches and Girls und Panzer; it will be fun to see if it can fill those incredibly big shoes. As always, I’ll probably be sampling a bit of everything, letting my watch list be created as shows fall by the wayside.
*Fill in obligatory joke about how “winter is coming” here* But in all seriousness, the line up of anime for this season looks pretty great with Drrr! (yay for the Orihara siblings!) and all of the other sequels coming up. Oh, plus there’s Madhouse’s Death Parade, which should be pretty awesome if Death Billiards was any indication. And if not, there’s Akatsuki no Yona and a bunch of other shows carrying over.
Oh look, it’s winter. This year’s brings us the return of DRRR, which certainly came out of nowhere. Who’da thunk that’d get a continuation so long after the initial airing? There’s also everybody’s favorite KanColle anime adaptation, which is sure to be interesting if the waterskiing girls with large chunks of ship hanging off them is any indication. Or it might just be unintentionally hilarious. Who knows? Ok, I’d better stop before the rampaging hoard of KanColle fans jumps on me for making snide comments about their ship waifus. Moving on, This winter actually doesn’t seem that exciting to me aside from one or two shows. Which is surprising, because there are usually more than a few that catch my eye. But hey, if I get to cover cute girls eating delicious food, then that’s all I care about!
Kind of a weird season for me to look forward to new shows, because I have 3 series I’m blogging that are continuing from last season. So it’s more as a viewer than as a writer that I’m taking a look at this preview. Well, kinda, cause it’s hard to turn that off, but it looks like we could have another fun season coming up.
Winter is always an interesting time for anime. You look forward to the heat. It can be action, or it could be romance, or it could be a comfy slice of life. The show has to charge you and provide some defense against the cold. So I’m looking for my Tamako Market, or my Zvezda, or Witch Craft Works, my Chu2Ren or Gj-bu. Oh, why can foresight be exactly like hindsight? There are some shows that I’m gonna predict being hard to predict. Or some shows so so-so at first, but could explode into awesome/awful. But I do know it will be fun finding something great to write about…

Anyways, now that you have heard from the team, enjoy our list meticulously categorized just for you. Three cheers to the Metanorn Team members, who took time to compile this list earlier and a big shoutout to the Metanorn community, who have made our site an amazing place for discussion. Keep them going!

>> WINTER IS HOHOHEEERRRREEE~~~°˖ ✧◝(○ ヮ ○)◜✧˖ °~~~

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We are the deadly team of Metanorn. When together, we usually come up with long, informative reviews and commentary. After all, we take fangirling seriously!
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107 Responses to “Winter Anime Catalogue 2015”

  1. […] >> WINTER IS HOHOHEEERRRREEE~~~°˖ ✧◝(○ ヮ ○)◜✧˖ °~~~ […]

  2. Di Gi Kazune says:

    So ASS I pray: UNLIMITED MOVING WORKS! 😛

    It looks like this season will be a break for me. Nothing strikes me at the moment.

    Re: Diomedea – they should just do sequels for their best two series: Kodomo no Jikan and Lotte no Omocha conclusions. 😀

    • BlackBriar says:

      It looks like this season will be a break for me. Nothing strikes me at the moment.

      It looks truly unimpressive here, doesn’t it? I’m surprised to have found anything likable at all in this seasons’ line-up. There are some lucky breaks, though. Winter season in general just reached a new level in underwhelming presentation. Here I thought last Winter seemed weak.

      • Di Gi Kazune says:

        Maybe I’ll find something after you guys start the FIs. Unfortunately right now there isn’t a particular drive to commit to anything. A/Z and *monogatari are likely candidates but they are sequels and it means catching up on the missing stuff which I’m not too keen at the moment.

        A lot of the shows appear too heavy with generic harem to my liking. 🙁

      • Foshizzel says:

        @DiGi I am sure you will find something next season even if you aren’t originally excited for it, but yeah I imagine after you see a few FI posts you might find a series to stick too~

        @BB P much i’ll be honest and say it looks dull, but after seeing a few trailers and hunting for info about each series has me curious! I am looking forward to Death Parade, Junketsu no Maria, Koufuku Graffiti, Yuri Kuma Arashi and Rolling☆Girls.

        • Di Gi Kazune says:

          I expect to pick up the stripperific series Foz-sama and me. (if only it existed)

          I *may* pick up Mahou Shoujo Trappu. I expect you to do as well. FKYA Magical Girls! 😛

          After rereading the previews for the nth time, there might be something but there isn’t any standouts at the moment. Will let you guys do the hardwork and lay out the groundwork. 😛

  3. zztop says:

    Shonen Hollywood: A lot of things they talk about are a true expose/critique on the idol industry behind-the-scenes. The handsome guys are just a bonus.

    • BlackBriar says:

      It’s a safe bet the target audience, as in the ladies, will simply ignore the exposition and just settle for watching the show’s male cast.

    • Foshizzel says:

      From the few episodes that I saw Shonen Hollywood was somewhat realistic in how they went about with idol stuffs! That said I prefer my idol shows like Love Live or The Idolm@ster~

  4. Sumairii says:

    If Highway would get over his insistence on not watching trailers or looking at promo art of the season to come before it starts airing, he would know that Seylum is slated to make a return to a/z for sure. And the same might be true for Inaho, though they’re “trying” to be less obvious with that one.

    • Highway says:

      Hey, I looked at plenty of trailers for stuff this season (but not for A/Z, that was just pure emotion there). I don’t know what they’re going to do, but she BETTER be pulling guns on people, or something’s gonna get broken…

      • Sumairii says:

        Yeah, she does have a bust-a-cap quota to fill. She’s in a wheelchair now, so it won’t be exactly like the OP. But hey, maybe having a wheelchair-bound princess gun down welps who deserve it *cough Slaine cough* will have more impact.

        • BlackBriar says:

          The very idea of her in a wheelchair makes me cringe. I hope she hasn’t suffered so much that she’s ultimately paralyzed from the waist down.

          • Di Gi Kazune says:

            To quote the 6 million dollar man:

            “We can rebuild her and make her better!”

            With all that Martian technology, I’m sure they can give her cybernetic spiderlegs and a lightsa… err.. that’s wrong series.

            I’m sure that they can at least give her cybernetics to walk again, if not genetic engineer her back to tiptop shape.

          • Foshizzel says:

            Well Tougou from Yuuki Yuuna does fine on her own with her wheelchair and for all we know the power of the Aldnoah will assist her just like Tougou in magical girl form <3

            • BlackBriar says:

              I’ll take your word for it since I haven’t watched Yuuki Yuuna.

    • Highway says:

      Just to add, for some of these shows, because we’re quite a bit earlier than usual (Go MetaTeam!) with this preview, there wasn’t much in the way of PV’s or promo stuff, so I even went to the show websites and butchered some translating.

      • Sumairii says:

        Congratulations on finally overcoming your allergy to previewing seasons then.

        • Highway says:

          It’s not an allergy. It’s just not something I personally find particularly compelling. 😛

          The shows are going to come, or they’re not going to come. I will evaluate them on what they are when they get here. Until then, there are other shows for me to watch. 🙂

    • skylion says:

      ::imitates infamous YouTube video::

      YOU LEAVE HIGHWAY ALONE! YOU LEAVE HIM ALONE ::cries::

  5. bobob101 says:

    That Seiji Kishi directed Jinrui, one of my all time favorite anime shows period, is just another thing getting me more hyped for Ansatsu.

    As for lvlln, you will be disappointed, mostly because what you don’t like is what JoJo has been for the past 20 years. And if you don’t like it sorry, but JoJo is unapologetic-ally (say it in your Fabio voice) FABULOUS!

    • Foshizzel says:

      I am hype for more damn JOJO!!!!!!!!!! YES!!!!!!!!!!!!

    • akagami says:

      I hear nothing but good things about JoJo. But as someone who’s never even seen one episode, I can’t find the motivation to start.

      • Foshizzel says:

        True I can see that! I guess you have to be into over the top shounen like battles and crazy characters to get into Jojo.

        • BlackBriar says:

          I’m into crazy shounen-type battles like from DBZ or Naruto but I tried the Jojo franchise with the first episode of Bizarre Adventures and just couldn’t get into it. So I left the series right there and moved on.

        • akagami says:

          I was confused, so I had to check wiki… I was under the impression it was a long running series, so I never bothered. All I know is that all JoJo references are weird. Turns out its only two 2-cour seasons. Hm.

          I lost interest in most shounen shows early on when I started getting into anime (and learned there was more to anime than Astro Boy, Sailor Moon, and DBZ). The only exception is One Piece. It’s in my top 3, because the power of nakama wins every time.

          • bobob101 says:

            Let me set the record straight. JoJo isn’t really a shonen fighting series. It’s about: Critical Thinking!!! Something weird and horrifying happens, innocent people (and a lot of innocent animals) die in horrible ways. But you will not see any real power ups or training montages in JoJo past Battle Tendency. JoJo might be shonen, but it has almost nothing in common with shows like Dragonball or Naruto.

  6. JPNIgor says:

    I’m so excited for this season, mainly for the return of awesome shows. I can’t wait to see more weird stuff happening and connecting in Durarara!!, and the song, too. I hope they bring awesome themes and OST.

    How could I not watch A/Z 2 after that cliffhanger? I think I already discussed this about something. Ah, yeah. That was Yowamushi Pedal. Same applies for Tokyo Ghoul.

    The other continuation I’m really hyped for is Kuroko Basket 3. Now that Yowamushi Pedal is near the end and Haikyuu don’t even have a second season announced yet, I need something to feel the slot.

    And then, there is Tsukimonogatari. Can’t miss Monogatari Series stuff.

    About Death Parade, I haven’t watched the PV until seeing it here and OMG, I remember Death Billiard from Anime Mirai. That was so awesome, I remember a lot of people saying that it could be expanded into a lot more and I’m so thankful they are doing it. Though the conflict they showed in the PV is much more complex, a couple that died together now have to “kill” each other to go to heaven… I’m expecting so much from this I’m scared.

    The other stuff I’m watching are:

    Kantai Collection – I just want to understand why Fosh is so hyped about this.

    Absolute Duo – Here, I just chose one of the four/five exceptional boy anime that is showing this season. If I watched all of them it would get tiring.

    Isuca – Seeing the description, it kind of reminded me of Rokujouma no Shinryakusha, so I’m curious about it.

    Koufuku Grafitti – Shaft stuff can’t be missed as well. Head tilts, weird scenery, art shift, I love it all. I’m expecting them to make the food in an over-the-top fashion, though they could do it like anyone would do and leave their trickery of always to other parts of the show… Nooooo 8D

    Saenai Heroine no Sodate Kata – Well, Highway ended up hyping me up for this. And it’s always interestng to see what noitaminA’s up to each season. Let’s just hope they don’t take a step back.

    Rolling Girls – Wow, they really remind of Zvezda, specially when that gas mask appeared. And I love the character design of this thing.

    Yeah, that’s about it. I actually needed to drop my anime count now that I’m trying to get into college but oh well.

    • skylion says:

      Absolute Duo It’s not quite the exception to the other ones, is it? I plan on doing all of them, just to get a feel. Fafnir looks like my sort of design, but then I felt the same way Blade Dance.

      • JPNIgor says:

        I’m sure it’s not, but I just randomly chose one. I would choose my mind if you were to point out the best out of them.

    • Foshizzel says:

      Yeah there are quite a few returning shows and I really hope they can improve on Tokyo Ghoul! I really want it to be awesome and since Kaneki finally turned white hair mode I expect a lot of badass fights or is that going to be only activated when he is in danger?

      Yes more A.Z! Expect to hear us talking about that in the MechaNORN whenever it airs <3

      Kantai Collection? Yeah I honestly don't know why I am so interested in that series, but I will say you can blame the fan-artists! There is tons and tons of artwork if you ever go looking for it. As for the series itself I am expecting something like a mixture of Strike Witches meets Arpeggio of blue steel with over the top battles or is it going to be more slice of life cute battleship girls doing cute things? I have no idea but that second PV sold me~

      Rolling Girls! Yes that has ZVEZDA all over it and damn that has me excited <3

      • Di Gi Kazune says:

        Aoki Hagane has backstory/plot
        Kankore is just lolicon bait.

        Thus why Aoki Hagane is better IMHO.

        • Foshizzel says:

          Kankore is just lolicon bait.

          I See a lot of rather busty ship girls from fanartists so I have to call you out on that comment bro! Also I am not watching it for that reason so yeah I am watching because I want to see what it is actually about.

          • Di Gi Kazune says:

            Bust size =/= Loli.

            • skylion says:

              Wait…wuh?

            • Sumairii says:

              You just affirmed fosh’s point against you…

            • Di Gi Kazune says:

              I realised the interpretation got lost and should have done it in the wordy way in the first place.

              There is no firm relationship between bust size and the definition of loli. In fact there is no universal agreement on what defines a loli. For all intents and purposes, the majority defines it simplistically as “looks under-18 and pr0king would be illegal”. You can have busty lolis.

              Similarly, there is no firm relationship between loli and bust size although the majority would say that DFC (mmmmmm) would be a feature.

              Which brings us to the point which I expect skylion to answer: Is kissshotacerolaorionheartunderblade a LOLi or not? 🙂

            • skylion says:

              The question is so obvious, I don’t even feel the need to answer…

              Yeah, it’s an attraction thing. I find TRUe LOLi to be kawaii and moe, and that’s it. But LOLiesque or LEGal LOLi to be actually attractive.

              Odd, that DFC for most, isn’t actually all that flat, and what some consider flat aren’t all that small…

            • Di Gi Kazune says:

              Thus it is exactly why I find the washboard insults in anime kinda silly unless the character is in the single digit range.

              As I have said it before and will continue to do so:
              OPPAI ARE FOR BABIES! 😛

            • Sumairii says:

              Your sermonizing is nice and all, but as fosh says, a quick search will reveal that there are non-lolis in the fleet…

            • JPNIgor says:

              I wonder when my comment turned into a discussion about what is loli…

              And yeah, I think Di Gi is probably right. Oppai doesn’t isn’t related to loli at all. Though lolicons are usually attracted to the short, pettanko type.

              At the same time, I agree with skylion. Legal Lolis have their own charm. It’s weirdly attractive to see a chibi body talking stuff you wouldn’t hear from a true loli.

  7. BlackBriar says:

    Once again, the Meta Team has caught me off guard. I wasn’t expecting the Winter Anime Catalogue until at least after Christmas. Now I feel so unprepared. Oh, well. Aside from a handful of notable sequels, Winter 2015 is looking very meh and lacking. I’d even go as far as saying this is the weakest anime line-up I’ve ever seen. More so than last Winter which proved underwhelming. That’s saying something, indeed.

    As proof to how much this upcoming season leaves to be desired, I’ve only accumulated a number of 14 series to watch whereas my usual standard number is either 20 or 21 animes to start off. Not including ongoing animes from previous seasons. A sheer and recording breaking drop for me. Even if I added the 5 ongoing two-cour series from Fall (Akatsuki no Yona, Cross Ange, Log Horizon S2, Nanatsu no Taizai, Parasyte), it would amount to 19 in total.

    High:
    Aldnoah.Zero 2
    Durarara!!x2 Shou
    Tokyo Ghoul √A
    Tsukimonogatari

    Moderate:
    Ansatsu Kyoushitsu
    Death Parade
    Isuca
    Shinmai Maou no Keiyakusha
    Soukyuu no Fafner: Dead Aggressor – Exodus

    Low:
    Absolute Duo
    Junketsu no Maria
    Kantai Collection: Kan Colle
    Seiken Tsukai no World Break
    Yoru no Yatterman

    Tokyo Ghoul √A (Tokyo Ghoul Root A): *wears badge signifying the first season was seen to the end and liked* The wait is taking its toll on me. More Ghoul society, more Touka Kirishima, more Hinami, Kaneki undergoing a harsh reconditioning to become the series’ most talked about white-haired badass. All good points. Maybe this will be better received by viewers given that the manga author Sui Ishida will personally be holding the reins for the story concept since he apparently didn’t take a liking to how the first season fared either. Plus an unconfirmed rumor flying around stating the second season will be two-cour. Should this news turn out to be true, it will get proper development and I’ll be particularly content for the next six months. Hopefully TK from Ling Tosite Sigure (or the whole band can join this time) will be singing the OP again. I’m still hooked on the first season’s OP “unravel”.

    Durarara!!x2: One or two episodes of the show’s first season English dubbed episodes got a passing glance a long time ago but the talk of this show was so rampant I couldn’t stave the curiosity off any longer (These Metanorn cult fans dealt the finishing blow. It was utterly crushing. Curse you all!), so I gave in and check it out seriously almost 8 months back which I’m happy I did. I downloaded the whole lot and the addiction came quick after the first episode. I liked it so much everything in power was done to burn through the whole thing on that same day. Total success!! Now it’s sheer happiness to see a sequel on the way. Even better, more is already scheduled with two more cours of it. Second one for Summer 2015 and third for Winter 2016! Preparations are being made to scold that irredeemable, underhanded snake Izaya Orihara.

    Aldnoah.Zero 2: More Sora Amamiya More Alnoah.Zero is definitely demanded. I’ve been itching to see how the story continues after that cliffhanger left me with a huge question mark on the face. With Urobuchi around, it’s assured things will get ugly. As if it wasn’t already so with nearly the entire Earth and its population decimated.

    • Foshizzel says:

      Ness and Kyo busted out the whips and made us get to work, but yeah both of them have plans in the next few weeks so we decided why not get it out earlier instead of the week of stuff premiering.

      Tokyo Ghoul: Now that Kaneki has white hair I expect baddass fighting, but I know in reality he wont be that way until he trains and learns to use his full powers! So I also expect it will take a while for him to accept those powers again much like season one which to every diehard manga reader was garbage; however I am 50/50 on that it was entertaining but a bit of a train-wreck as well.

      Durarararara2: YESSSS YESSSSSSS YESSSSSSSSS! I am so happy to see that getting another season at last because I miss Celty, Shizou and yes even Izaya <3

      A/Z: I am not as excited anymore thanks to a facebook group I joined which killed things for me because of the constant debates WEEKLY about who was better between Inaho, Slaine, MARZ and Earth which honestly divided a bunch of them into groups which pushed a few to call each other certain names because they supported one of the characters...yeah childish arguments! Anyway ill still watch it because it will be on the MechaNORN podcast.

  8. Hoshi says:

    DURARARA!!x2 IS ALL THAT MATTERS, AHHHHHH.

    Okay no, but I’m interested to see Assassination Classroom. I recently bought the manga and it’s definitely one of the best things I’ve bought lately.

    • Foshizzel says:

      Hell ya on DURARARARARARARARARARA <3

    • BlackBriar says:

      When Durarara!!x2 starts, it will have been 5 years since the first season. The anxiety must be killing you all who have watched while it was initially airing in Japan.

    • akagami says:

      Do the later chapters change much? I read the first four or five and it seemed more or less the same thing, different scenery.

  9. bobob101 says:

    Okay, so I actually just watched Death Billards for the first time. WOW THAT WAS GREAT!!! I think I can only describe this as Kaiji in the afterlife. I am now shooting this one to the top of my list!!!!

    • skylion says:

      It was seriously well done. I just hope it doesn’t feel like a “death thingy” a week…

      • BlackBriar says:

        You make it sound like Another. If the series does fall into that category, I won’t mind as long as the deaths are executed nicely.

        • Bobob101 says:

          No offense to Another, but what I’m talking about is nothing like that blah show. I’m talkng about silly games with high stakes, people freaking out and sweating from every imaginable pore of their being, just all that taking place in limbo or something. I guess this is he fate of Fukumoto characters. Especially since a Madhouse makes the best gambling anime (akagi, kaiji, one outs etc)

  10. akagami says:

    Wooo, Winter season is already here~~~

    Hmm, from fall I dropped 8 out of 27 I was contemplating, so 19 shows (mostly backlogged). Not too bad, I suppose. I’ve managed to trim my backlog and clear my free space to over 50GB after falling close to 20GB free space on my backlog drive (I’m doing my best to delay buying a new HDD).

    This season looks pretty light, by my standards. I’m only tentatively picking up 16 shows, it’s been a while since I’ve had a sampling dish of less than 20 shows.

    Potential to be the next best thing since sliced-bread Category
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    Aldnoah.Zero S2 – If Asseylum-hime is dead, I’m going to bury this 10′ deep. I raged when she “died”. I hate cliffhanger endings. And when they kill off perfectly good princesses. Die Slaine die~~~

    Dog Days” – Yes oh yes… I loved the first two season, low calorie highly enjoyable entertainment. I want more Yukikaze~~ I’ll just add this here (probably borderline NSFW).

    DRRRRR!!x2 – Good stuff, yes good stuff. The ED (Trust Me) is still one of my favorite songs. If you don’t know what DRRRRR is about, I highly recommend watching S1! Crazy fun hijinks. Dollars 4 life.

    KanColle – I really want to play this game. One of these days I’ll read through those walkthroughs and figure out how to play it in Japanese. I was semi-interested (because I like the art) until I saw the trailer, and then I was sold. If you watch anime and don’t know what KanColle is, shame on you. You’re obviously a pretender.

    The Idolmaster: Cinderella Girls – The show that got me hooked on Idol anime. I’m highly interested to see where this will go. Producer-san! (Unfortunately I don’t think this will have Miki or Hibiki :sadface).

    Tsukimonogatari – You either like this series or you don’t. This far in, you won’t be swayed by words. Chocolate or alcohol maybe, but not… ooooh, wine ~旦_(^O^ )

    Shinmai Maou no Testament – I’ve had pretty good success with shows in this genre. Here’s hoping it’s got some potential like DxD, Ichiban Ushiro no Daimao, or Hataraku Maou-sama!

    Guaranteed to be at least second base Category
    ———————————————————
    Pretty much everything in the RomComSlice category is an automatic watch for me. I inhale this stuff like a fat kid inhales donuts when he passes by (insert donut shop of choice). Except Shounen Hollywood. Love Stage made me barf rainbows.

    Isuca
    Juuou Mujin no Fafnir
    Koufuku Graffiti
    Saenai Heroine no Sodatekata
    Rolling Girls
    – No explanation needed. You just add in at least two of Romance, Comedy, and/or Slice of Life, and I’m sold. You had me at RomCom.

    Kamisama Hajimemashita 2 – A good solid showing, S1 was. Nothing fabulous, but I enjoyed it. Much more than Inari, Konkon, Koi Iroha (which I struggled to finish, not quite drop, but not great either).

    Junketsu no Maria – Production I.G. manning a historical fantasy? I’m in.

    Potential to be dropped faster than The Interview Category
    ———————————————————
    Seiken Tsukai no World Break – Schools and fantasy is usually an invincible combination for me, but the recent history has been a little of being the mole in whack-a-mole. Blade Dance was mediocre, and Dragonar was instant drop for me. On the flip side, Yuuki Yuuna and Inou Battle have been enjoyable, so maybe this one will manage. But totally not digging the character designs.

    Absolute Duo – Not sure as the description is so vague, I don’t know what to expect. But it has a mix of genres I like so I could do worse than try this out. Like watching another episode of World Trigger.

    • Foshizzel says:

      Aldnoah.Zero S2: From what I am hearing she is alive but using a wheelchair to get around so I don’t really know what she is going to be actually doing next season, but if anything I will bet she uses the Aldnoah power to help her walk around some…

      KanColle: I have’t played the games at all, but I do know of it existing thanks to fanart all over the place which generally has me very excited~

      The Idolmaster: Cinderella Girls: FK YA MORE IDOLMASTER! I can’t wait even though I know nothing about the characters this season but if it is anything like the other series that won’t take long for me to like them.

      • akagami says:

        I actually got around to watching the Idolm@ster movie. I felt it focused too much on the new girls, I wish it had rather focused on the main girls (more Miki!). But overall it was decent.

        I’m the same with KanColle. I’ve seen a number of doujin and fanart, and I’ve enjoyed them more than I did with Touhou (although I do have a fair number of Touhou art in my collection).

    • BlackBriar says:

      Absolute Duo – Not sure as the description is so vague, I don’t know what to expect. But it has a mix of genres I like so I could do worse than try this out. Like watching another episode of World Trigger.

      I’ll let you in on a little secret about that. The reason it looks like and is dragging along is because that particular series will be playing for a long time. At first I thought it would be two-cour or split cour, then a find out about three days ago that World Trigger is confirmed to be 50 episodes long. A whole year’s worth of episodes.

      • JPNIgor says:

        Wow, seriously? I could swear that wouldn’t continue for another season with such awful animation. With that said, I hate to admit that the story and the premise is interesting. I just wish they would dedicate more budget to animation…

        • JPNIgor says:

          Also, Yuuma is just awesome.

        • BlackBriar says:

          Well, it’s subtle enough I don’t mind watching. I actually look forward to each episode as the story is progressively getting better.

        • akagami says:

          Agreed, the animation is.. um, non existent for at least 50% of the time. And the rest is eye-scratching level (for me).

      • akagami says:

        oh lawdy, it could still be 50 episodes and less draggy. Go animation only route if you don’t have enough play material and they’re that insistent on making it a 4+ cour show.

        • BlackBriar says:

          I guess they want to be as faithful to the source material as possible if they’re willing to go in with such a number of episodes.

  11. belatkuro says:

    Fall series carryovers are missing Gundam Build Fighters, Garo and World Trigger.

    Quite an early preview. Good job guys.
    Winter is always fewer than Fall and generally considered a weak season. Though that doesn’t stop me from still picking up a lot of titles. And you’ll never know when a gem will appear so I’m always optimistic.
    Very much a step down from last season with only 20 prospects for me. At least there are plenty of carryovers from Fall to add to that.

    On to the listing. My top picks are:

    Aldnoah Zero 2: First season ended in quite a controversy and the promo picture are also stirring quite a controversy themselves. I definitely won’t want to miss this sequel, only for the shitstorm that it causes every week.

    Ansatsu Kyoshitsu: I actually got to read this when it first started getting published. I’m a big fan of the manga so I was excited to see this get adapted. It was only a matter of time after all granted that it was popular and selling a lot for a manga without an adaptation. It holds the record for the 2nd highest 1st week volume sales in WSJ(1st is Bakuman). It also won some awards as well.
    The director-scriptwriter combo worries me as they’re a bit of a hit or miss but we’ll see how it goes.

    Dog Days”: After about 2 years of no news, we finally get to see this sequel. It’s a relaxing and fluffy show full of top notch seiyuus. That’s good enough for me. And it has kemonomimi girls of a wide variety. You can’t argue with that logic.

    Durarara!!x2: After years of wishing for a sequel to this, we finally got it. Brains Base seems adamant with their ‘no sequel besides Natsume’ policy and handed this over to a new studio. Good news is that it’s the same staff and cast so there’s hardly a difference. To be honest, I like Baccano more than Durarara but this also has its charms. And it also sold better than Baccano.
    Three seasons spaced one season apart is quite a great deal we’re getting so bring it on.

    Jojo: The 2nd season was pretty weak compared to the first season with it going with the monster of the week format. It also did not properly developing this generation’s Jojo. Jotaro isn’t as appealing as Jonathan or Joseph. And don’t get me started on the injuries that they receive every single fight that just magically disappears at the end of the episode. Thankfully, they arrived in Egypt and are close to confront Dio. It’s apparently where Part 3 gets good so let’s see.

    KanColle: To be honest, my exposure to this franchise is only through the doujins. I did do my research afterwards but didn’t decide to play the browser game. There was just so much to do to be able to play the game that I got lazy. Plus it’s in moonrunes so I give up. It’s 2nd only to Touhou in terms of doujin output so I’m curious to its popularity. I’ve already pegged on some characters I want to see(mostly the famous ones on the doujins) so let’s see what this is about.

    Kuroko s3: Production IG milking this one last time before letting it go since the manga already finished. Though I got tired of it in the last stretch due to how it got over the top more than ever. The developments just left me shaking my head every week. Let’s hope we get some decent animation and music this time. 2nd season had some ups and downs with it.

    Tokyo Ghoul: The manga that skyrocketed in popularity recently. My friend keeps pushing me to read the manga before the season starts and I’ll do that in a couple of days. Season left in quite a big cliffhanger that a sequel was in order. The news regarding its content is worrying but I’ll complain after I read the manga.

    Others I’m picking up:
    Seiken Tsukai no World Break – obligatory harem #1
    Absolute Duo – obligatory harem #2 which I’ve read the source. And while I have a high tolerance to harem and ecchi series, this one surprisingly falls below my threshold. It’s below average in terms of plot and character development. Had to force myself to finish vol2 and I’m stalled at volume 3. Let’s see if the anime could do it better. Though my expectations are totally rock bottom.
    Isuca
    Juuou Mujin no Fafnir
    Koufuku Graffiti – SHAFT
    Saenai Heroine no Sodatekata
    Tsukimonogatari
    Rolling Girls – Wit Studio
    Junketsu no Maria
    Yuri Kuma Arashi
    Shinmai Maō no Testament – obligatory harem #4 and definitely MetaFap. Prepare for QUALITY though with the studio involved.
    Death Parade

    Picking up too much, time management, real life, etc. My usual complaints. Here’s to the new season and the new year.

    • BlackBriar says:

      At this point, calling an anime like World Trigger a carryover is an understatement because you’re going to be seeing it every week until the end of Summer 2015. ANN posted the news a few days ago. That series is 50 episodes long.

      I’m not a manga reader but will issue a little heads up. The story for the first season of Tokyo Ghoul is shaky, I’ll admit but I’d recommend it despite that for the exposition on how interesting the Ghoul society is. If you’ve seen Shiki, you’ll find there’s a fair amount of similarities. Most of all, it’ll have you questioning yourself on who you want or should take sides with.

    • Foshizzel says:

      I have said this a few times about A.Z but yeah my original hype is dead for that not because characters might have died or not! I guess the constant back and forth about Inaho V Slaine really killed things for me! Yeah everyone is allowed to like whoever they want; however it just came off as super annoying! That said I will be watching cause A.Z will be on the MechaNORN posts <3

      MORE DURARARARARARA! HELL YESSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS I am super excited <3

      JOJO yeah same as Durarara just excited for more~

      Kancolle: Yeah same doujins and fanart got me curious about it and now we are getting an anime series? I don't know what it will be about, but that has me the most curious.

      I will be watching all those harems anyway LOL

  12. Soliia says:

    I’m such a bad anime fan! I haven’t watched anything in the past year. There isn’t much this season that interests me, but maybe that’s a good thing. Perhaps taking it just a few series at a time will help me get out of this burnout.

    Anyway, here is my list:
    Ansatsu Kyoushitsu
    Durarara S2
    Kamisama Hajimemashita S2
    Yuri Kuma Arashi

    I’m mostly excited for a new season of Durarara! I have been waiting for a sequel since it ended and I’m so happy it’s finally here~

    • skylion says:

      I wouldn’t call you “bad”. We all have our priorities. And I think that taking just a few shows on is a great idea. And you’ve picked some goods ones.

      …I’m gonna invite Kyo’s whips and chains, but I’ve yet to watch Durararararaaaaaa. Yeah….

      • BlackBriar says:

        …I’m gonna invite Kyo’s whips and chains, but I’ve yet to watch Durararararaaaaaa. Yeah….

        Heretic! Infidel! You must be punished! Someone flog this blasphemer! 😀

      • Foshizzel says:

        Dude watch Durarara! It is a ton of fun I know you will enjoy it~

      • skylion says:

        Hai Hai~

        • Foshizzel says:

          I would give it the 3 episode thing and test the waters~

          • BlackBriar says:

            There shouldn’t even be a need for that rule when Durarara!! is involved.

          • skylion says:

            OK. I found the first episode to be really really boring. But I am hooked by the second and third….

            • akagami says:

              Yeah, it starts out a little slow. I remember thinking, why the hell is Mikado the main character? But motorcycles are always cool. That is truth.

            • skylion says:

              The first episode felt so by the book, perfunctory. Even Celty’s action sequence was quite wan. But it really did take off like a shot with the second having more substance in five minutes than the first episode could have dreamed of. And it kept going…

            • akagami says:

              I didn’t (and still don’t) care that much for Mikado and Kida. But Izaya and Shizuo, and their interactions, on the other hand… that’s the good stuff.

  13. AllenAndArth says:

    Action package is full this time…still don’t care about Aldonah(it’s a horrible mecha anime…i’m a mecha freak, but even i don’t care about it)

    RomCom is a bit disappointing, kind of meh…

    The Outcasts…is the best, i can’t wait to see if Hirai Hisashi is going to make a masterpiece(the designers seems to be amazing, he’s my favorite designer…because he made my beloved gundam seed) or not! *0*
    go Soukyuu no Fafner Dead Agressor Exodus…even if you have Athrun Zala and Millialia look-a-like as characters, Takashi Noto is a great director too.
    this anime aside, there are a few others that seems interesting, kuroko(i’m a fan strangely enough, since i don’t like many sport anime’s), the little-sister-demon-anime-romance-thingy, the one with the fat guy(the name is too hard for me to remember…Yoru no Yatterman, i think), death Parade is cool too and junketsu no maria

    Mini-Series…hmm, Tales of Zestiria Doushi no Yoake seems to be a good one

    Ova’s? Hyakka Ryouran, Gundam and “Date a live:Encore” seems good

    Movie’s…Psycho Pass is the movie of the season, no doubt and Aoki Hagane is going to be good

    The List:
    *Action* –
    Ansatsu kyoushitsu
    Durara-rarararararararararararara
    JoJo
    Seiken Tsukai(AKA.Seirei Tsukai version 2)
    Absolute Duo(kind of meh, but i’ll watch)
    Sengoku Musou
    *RomCom* –
    Juuou Mujin no Fafnir (Maybe)
    Kamisama(what i said when i watch the entire season…i’ll still watch and see if it can change)
    *Outcasts* –
    Junketsu no Maria
    Dead Agressor Exodus(for short)
    Shinmai Maou no Keyakusha
    Kuroko
    Yoru no Yatterman(seems to be so funny)

    • Foshizzel says:

      Lol damn bold statement on A.Z being horrible, but I totally understand it is not what most mecha fans what! Then again it really isn’t a true mecha in some parts since it tends to focus on the DRAMA in and in fighting between the mars peoples oh and WAR!

      Hirai Hisashi is alright I liked his work on Majestic Prince but yeah I am not interested in Fafner at all cause I just don’t like the way mechs are used in that series LOL

      Seems like everyone is super pumped for more Durararara! Which they should be because wow it is a ton of fun!

      • AllenAndArth says:

        A.Z is not all bad, some parts are neat, but it just doesn’t do justice to the branch…
        Personally i liked Majestic Prince, the mechas were great, the characterization was good, it fell on…well, every other aspect

  14. Irenesharda says:

    Wow, there is like nothing out this season…

    Hmm, so I guess my load will just become a bit easier this winter.

    Series that I will be following:

    Aldnoah.Zero 2
    Ansatsu Kyoushitsu
    Rolling Girls

    Series that I will be continuing from Fall:

    Gundam G-Reco (I might as well finish this wonky ride…)
    Akatsuki no Yona
    Garo (that’s a maybe, if I like what I see once I catch up in the series)

    See? Not really that much. Maybe I’ll find some new things along the way, but not seeing much as of right now.

    • Irenesharda says:

      Well, looking at them, Binan…Love! and Death Parade do seem funny/interesting. Does anyone know if you had to have seen Death Billiards before seeing this new series? Is it a direct sequel?

      • Sumairii says:

        This is just my guess, but I believe they will reintroduce the concept in the tv series so you might not need to have seen the OVA. But again, I have no real info to back this up so take it with a grain of salt.

        • JPNIgor says:

          Yeah. And it’s not like Death Billiard will take a toll on your time. It’s a half-hour episode and it’s very interesting, so if it’s needed, there won’t be any problem at all.

          Also, even though there were some neat stuff in Anime Mirai, I’m guessing it’s still something obscure, even in Japan. It wouldn’t do to need to watch something that hardly anyone saw when it first aired.

          • Irenesharda says:

            Oh? Is that all? Well, I can watch that I guess. I thought it was a whole series, but we’ll see.

    • BlackBriar says:

      Hopefully, this season will produce enough interesting shows to carry us all the way through. Spring is already shaping up to be good.

  15. MR.KLAC says:

    well give looking winter anime is coming yet so far i got

    dog days s3 – yea did 2 seasons of it now the trilogy is in.

    yoru yatterman – new story this time Doronbo gang are main leads yet yatter are baddies alright who seen maleficent movie cause seeing info so far getting vibes on it.

    as others give seen durarara & kamisama kiss yet in their dub version so wait for it s2 dub version.

    yet wonder IF plan to see ansatsu kyoushitsu give Funi got with dub some time later.

    overall rest wait & see give got 2 summer anime to finish then fall left-overs to see if watch.

  16. Namika says:

    I’m late as always 😀
    Guess what I’m looking forward the most this season??? Kuroko no Basket! <3 less than a month away, yaaayyy~ _<
    And of course I will watch Durarara. That show is so nostalgic for me as well. It was the first show I ever followed episodically, and plus I started reading Metanorn around that time as well. <3 This will be such a nice season <3 Guess it's a chance to recover after that Psycho-Pass failure TT^TT

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