Winter Anime Catalogue 2016
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All CG heavy series seem to be the new thing after we got Knights of Sidonia, Argeggio of Blue Steel, God Eater and a few others that I forgot about, but for the most part the animation just in the trailers for Bubuki Buranki looks decent at least even though I am guilty of hating on full blown CG series because the facial expressions tend to look terrible and the characters movements often look as if they are puppets? Anyway Bubuki Buranki falls into the category of teenagers gifted with awesome powers and weapons who gotta save the world! I just hope it turns out to be more fun and less…OH MY GOD DRAMA.
An interesting science-fiction series with admirable animation, great music and sound design, and what appears to be the beginnings of a fascinating plot? Well, I think that deems it worthy of a try. If anything, Bubuki reminds me the most of last season’s God Eater, with the interesting CG animation, the strange monster weapons with a mind of their own, and even the main characters do have a similar look. The plot as it is, is very standard, and that on its own isn’t enough to really intrigue anyone. However, getting a chance to see the preview, and what kind of characters we would be seeing and the world that they would attempt to immerse us in, is what caught my eye. We’ll have to see what this series brings to the table, and if it can deliver on what it’s trying to be.
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Original Creator: Acquire Co. and Gungho Online Entertainment (Video Game)
Producers: Pierrot
Divine Gate is about, well, a gate. It’s not just a regular old gate though, but a magical portal that links the living world, the heavens and the underworld. The World Council manages to create peace and make it so everyone forgets all about the gate…until now. It’s an action-adventure story with hints of fantasy (and mythology, based on the character names) and a good sprinkling of sci-fi. Based on the trailer showing a heavy focus on crazy weapons and fashionable outfits, I think it will be more about the fighting than anything science-related. And that’s ok! Divine Gate looks like a fun show with a decent plot behind it and a decent studio backing it up (love the stuff Pierrot has been doing with Osomatsu-san). The director also knows his action, as the guy who directed Bleach. It won’t be a ground-breaker, but it should provide some stylish fight scenes with flare.
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Original Creator: Ryohgo Narita (Light Novel)
Producers: Shuka
I don’t think we need to have a recap of what this show is going to be about, since this is going to be the fifth cour for this show (If you really don’t know, this isn’t the place to start, I’d have to say). But where we left off last time was just starting to be a gang war between the reconstituted Yellow Scarves and the Dollars, rotting from within thanks to the influence of Aoba and the remainder of the Blue Squares. I have to say that I’m not so pleased about that, because my second least favorite part of the show is the color gang fights. But hopefully there will be enough of the yakuza, the other characters, and the quirky supernatural weirdness of Ikebukuro to lighten what seems to be the main story using a lot of Izaya and Mikado, who make up the worst part of the series for me.
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Hey, I know many of us have been out of high school for a while, and whenever we have to be dragged back into one in many an anime series, we are always rolling our eyes. But there is always one classroom that we would always like to be in when it comes to learning the arts of assassination. And strangely enough, that’s the one classroom that no parent would ever place their child, and it just so happen to be taught by perhaps the most odd character that FukuJun has ever voiced.
Yes, it’s a return to the world of Assassination Classroom, where our students of class 3-E and Kuro-sensei continue their comedic if dangerous adventures. To be honest, I wasn’t really pulled into this series as so many others were. I found Kuro-sensei to be more creepy than funny, but I can understand how so many others are so entertained and were awaiting this new season. If you had fun with all the ridiculous antics of last cour, then this season promises to be a blast.
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Original Creator: Takumi Yanai (Light Novel)
Producers: A-1 Pictures
Well, it’s time for the return of everyone’s geopolitical, right-wing propaganda, military stompfest, fantasy, pseudo-harem romance, where we once again go on adventures with a man who is one-part humdrum otaku, and one-part military extraordinaire. This series is both annoying and fun all at the same time. It’s tries to be so many things all at once, and while it can irritate you to high heaven, you still somehow find your way back to it.
If some of you remember, this series was originally supposed to be a straight 2-cour series, but it was changed mid-series into being a split-cour. Because of that, the last episode of the first season pretty much just ended as most would, with the introduction of a new arc and setup for the next adventure. So, when we come back, we’ll probably be jumping right back into this world beyond the Gate, when our new elf lady needs Itami and team’s help in saving her people. There will of course be more fish-out-of water shenanigans, the JSDF roflstomping over all other military forces both ancient and contemporary, Rory, Lelei, and Tuka all trying to get a piece of our wacky military CO, and there will also be some new elements, such as finally meeting Princess Pina Co Lada’s big brothers, and having the JSDF officers finally meet face to face with the Empire’s seat of power. This series carried a lot of controversy about it from the moment of its introduction, but I’ve enjoyed it for what it is. It’s a pretty fun time, and I’m up for it.
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Original Creator: Ao Jūmonji (Light Novel)
Producers: A-1 Pictures
Honestly, if I hadn’t guessed from the PV and the nature of the characters, the summary does nothing to suggest that this is another one of those “kids who get locked in a video game” series. Those usually aren’t my sort of thing, and so I usually avoid your .hack//s, your SAOs, and your Log Horizons. It’s just really isn’t my sort of thing. However, I don’t know what it is about how this series decided to present itself, but it has garnered my attention. The animation for the series is top-notch and the fact that many of these characters are being tossed into this dark world that they know absolutely nothing about and it doesn’t looks like anyone wants to give them the rules anytime soon. I’m always one for fantasy and world building and sword and sorcery, so we’ll have to see if they can bring a non-VG person like me into this series and get me to like it. A-1 Pictures isn’t doing that much this season compared to others so let’s see what they’ve got now that they’ve got time to concentrate.
Just as we will always have cute girls doing cute things, just as we will always have callow youths learning secret techniques of ass-kickery along with valuable life lessons along with filler episodes, just as we will always have oppai and the accidental perverts that see them, we will have gamer’s falling into and being trapped by the games they play. It’s a big trope, a big genre, and a big medium after all…
I never quite got into ./hack back in the day, as it seems to much a “toyetic” parallel to the 4kids corner of marketable export anime; not that there is anything wrong with that, just not my bag. We can argue that Sword Art Online really sealed the deal and made the system of “trapped in a game” tropes something to emulate and market as much as Star Wars popularized space fantasy and set the stage for summer blockbuster imitators. I would argue that Log Horizon did it better, if not as slick a production as A-1 studios did with SAO. But now that studio is back with a different coat of paint on a genre it popularized, and made a mint off of.
So why would they, unless they could do it different enough to keep interest? Why repeat SAO? With that in mind, it looks like Grimgar is not your father’s “trapped in game” anime as the parts look much darker than just “death as punishment”. At least in SAO you knew a great deal about the world you had to interact with before you got trapped. Here it looks like the characters are getting tossed into deep dark waters, and left to live or die without some much as a scrap of a manual ,or even that much concern….so we’ll see how that changes the viewing experience.
As far as my own personal connection goes, I’m looking forward to seeing what the team of Ryousuki Nakamura and Mieko Hosoi have in store. I really loved their short series Aiura, and have been interested in seeing them do a longer project, outside of the very beautiful, but really overly-ponderous, Narawareta Gakuen film project. Now with that in mind, the “trapped in a game” genre is currently one of a many flavors that hipster/elitist haters love to indulge in hating on, so how much an uphill climb Grimgar has to face due to sorting out that inane horse-crap remains to be seen and done, so let’s see if has something in the tank that can shut up the most scornful of fans, or prove them “right” even though they might not watch it….point is, you never really know until you actually shut up and watch…
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In the year L.C. 922, mankind faces a terrible crisis, following the conclusion of a 100 year war on the mythical world of “Tetraheaven” the losing Majins sought a safe haven and invaded the human world of “Septpia” and now the government is forced is fight back by employing “Logicalists” aka the special police force that protects us from foreigners enemies that are trying to invade from the other world; however these Logicalists are given a special power that allows them to fuse with the Goddesses from the other world giving them a fighting chance, now it’s up to these special logicalists to protect the world!
Magical girls that fuse!? Sounds like Vividred Operation to me and this one reminds me of that with less fanservice I guess? The strangest part of the trailer was the fact that the characters go from 2D drawings to 3D? I guess they wanted to make the two worlds different which is similar to Show By Rock which did the same thing even though the CG in Luck & Logic looks more like they are going for cell shaded graphics, other than that I’m interested in learning more about the characters.
This kind of series would normally interest me heavily. I mean, mythological entities from all over the world, coming together to interact with humanity? And finally someone has decided to give life and a voice to one of my favorite Greek goddesses, Nemesis: The goddess of vengeance and justice? I would usually immediately say, “Sign me up!” However, the preview and the character design have given me a lot of pause in terms of this series. The looks to be shaping up to be your humor and moe-filled attempt at cashing in on the mythological spike that has occurred over popular culture and the plot doesn’t have much structure to it to give it life. Hearing Kensho Ono, Ai Kayano, and Inori Minase again might be a plus that can help L&L find purchase, but I’m not going to hold my breath.
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Original Creator: Sōichirō Hatano (Light Novel)
Producers: Kyoto Animation
In a world…geez, why do things always begin this way? In the near future…what, five minutes from now? Ten years? What? When? In a world born of human imagination….OMG whatever editor created this crappy adcopy that I, right now, am trying to recopy to form this synopsis, I will find you…I have a unique skill set and a weasel cannon set to Rabid Exsanguanmentation! I will shoot you in the face with rabid weasels!!! This adcopy means nothing and more nothing with no cherry on top of nothing! So let’s go….It’s got high school kids, some magic, some spooky stuff, some funny stuff, some ecchi stuff. And it’s by Kyoto Animation, so if you don’t have too big a hipster elitist stick stuck up yer arse, it should be quite nice to watch.
Did I mention it has magic stuff? I’ll mention that again, cause it looks like a big deal this time around. That should be cool, right? If you like Kyokai no Kanata this one should be right up your alley. Given the love letter I wrote for that show back during this past Halloween, it is right up mine. KnK has a wainscotting urban fantasy world, and Phantom looks like the magic is modern and out in the open. I’m a fan of both styles, but out in the open is the harder of the two to pull off, IMO. But, not to be ignored, this is KyoAni’s next television project, and that rather does bring the noise. So far, that’s about all we have to go on, as is typical for pre-seasonal fare. But it does look rather jolly just by it’s stats. As far as I’m concerned Ishihara is on fire from his triumphant directorial role with Hibike! I’m curious to see if he can use that to spark this production, or if he’s just go for due diligence and fan the flames a bit….If nothing else it has a loli with the cutest twin-tails possible….
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What can I really say about this series, I’m not a VG person and don’t think I ever will be. However, that doesn’t keep me from checking out video game adaptations that come out, and giving them a try. There are a lot of trash ones, but some gems as well. I have a feeling I know which side PSO2 will come out on, but I guess every series needs the benefit of the doubt. Well, for the games themselves, there was an old RPG game called Phantasy Star, which turned into Phantasy Star Online, and of course came the sequel, Phantasy Star Online 2. It’s a MMORPG fantasy/sci-fi game series that is now due for its 15th year anniversary, and thus an animation adaptation! For those like me who know nothing about the game, well guess what? You don’t need to know anything about the game since this will be a completely original story!
Now from the storyline that they have given us, it will be about some anime high school student generic stereotypes at some hoity-toity military school, and specifically our pretty generic male lead Itsuki, who gets roped into an adventure in this fantastic, if generic, gaming world. Yeah….it really is not much to write home about, and is reminding me more of those pretty substandard gaming animation adaptation series such as Gunslinger Stratos and Devil Survivor 2, rather than the exceptions, like Shingeki no Bahamut. The animation and especially the CG, is pretty low quality and there’s nothing that really shows a lot of effort here. I don’t think it’s for me, but if you’re into the game, then it’s probably something you might want to at least check out.
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Original Creator: Senri Akatsuki (Light Novel)
Producers: Lerche
So, guys, get this. Some dude in this show accidently sees a girl naked. Oh, and get this more, she’s a princess! Ho Ho, I’ve never heard of that sort of plot development!!! Oh, and it looks like this guy has something exceptional about him, but what that is looks to be pretty vague at the outset. OK. Back in the real world, where we’ve heard all this before. This Bahamut looks like this seasons fantasy-adventure-ecchi (but not quite enough) romp. Get in while the getting is good, I guess…As it is, lots of us are upset that this isn’t a continuation of MAPPA’s Bahamut, and Lerche may just be busy with their big bread winner in Assassination Classroom, this season….
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Original Creator: Hirohiko Yoshida (Light Novel)
Producers: LIDEN FILMS
Another season, another mecha series, but this time, it’s not necessarily a single fighter against the odds, but rather a team of fighters known as Schwarzesmarken (or Black Marks for those of you who do not speak the great language of the Fatherland), who are fighting against those conquering aliens called BETA, in order to keep them away from some kind of mcguffin that will doom the world, etcetera, etcetera. While this is being called a spin-off of the Muv-Luv series (one that I have absolutely no experience in), it actually appears to be a prequel to that series, and a spin-off all at the same time. And what better place to locate such a series than the post-war but pre-fall of Berlin Wall era, East Deutschland! Now, I myself haven’t seen the previous Muv-Luv series, and I haven’t heard anything encouraging about it yet, but then again, I will try to judge this on its own merits and hopefully it will be better than the series of the previous offering.
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About Team Meta
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!
POWUH: 800-899 and Self-proclaimed Manga Queen with 874 comments
~Oh man, nothing even matters to me other than the Doukyuusei movie because it is one of my favorite series ever and it looks amazing already from the trailers I’ve seen and I’m just praying that someone actually subs it ;;
Other than that, I’ve read both Ajin and Boku Dake and both are pretty interesting. Of course I’m worried about Boku Dake because how can you do a mystery anime that doesn’t even have an end manga-wise?? Not sure how they’ll deal with it, but I’ll still be checking it out just to see.
POWUH: and LOLi Defender with 10998 comments
Sometimes it’s the journey…
POWUH: and Athenaeum Châtelaine with 2212 comments
It’s all my fault. I was trying to write the commentary for Boku Dake and the PVs and summary was so vague and I didn’t know if I would like it (I was afraid it would turn out like The Perfect Insider, which I didn’t care for much in the end), so I decided to go against my usual rules and read a few manga chapters to get a feel for the story. And just like “that”! It hooked and ensnared me, and now I’ve read through all 34 scanlated chapters and looked at up to chapter 42 of the raws. What shall I do now for the show?! I know everything now. T_T
I guess I’ll just have to see what they do with the adaptation of it. It just won’t be as fun. Sigh.
But anyway, I was addressing your question of how they can do the mystery when it doesn’t have an end in the manga yet. Actually, now that I’ve read it, there’s a perfect place to end it, and you would just need to switch it around in the final act of the climax of a certain chapter and give it an anime original ending. Show ▼
POWUH: and Vampire Lover with 11746 comments
Haha! Know the agonizing pain of us readers, Irene! Especially when we see an adaptation of what we’ve read. I’m 90% sure you’ll fight to keep yourself from giving out spoilers. 😛
POWUH: and Athenaeum Châtelaine with 2212 comments
I know! The problem is this is this series is one part psychological human drama involving the main character, and one part whodunit mystery suspense thriller that continually keeps you on your toes.
Since I know the answer to the whodunit, it’ll just be interesting now to go back and connect the pieces and fun to watch everyone else try to. As for the human drama part, get ready for some drama, emotion, and even some tears. That will hit you hard no matter how many times you see it.
Yeah, trying to refrain for giving out even hints of spoilers is going to be hard, but I did it with Rokka no Yuusha, I think I can do it here too. You just have to put yourself in the mindset of just having watched only that particular episode and that’s it. Nothing else. And only look at what the episode gave you, not compare it with what you read.
POWUH: 800-899 and Self-proclaimed Manga Queen with 874 comments
~It happens to me all the time lol. Like if there’s a manga for it, I’ll almost always read a couple chapters first because it’s so much easier for me to read a manga than watch an anime. But yeah, it does take out the excitement of first watching a show…
And ooh right right! It’s been awhile since I last read it so I can only remember really vague pieces of it (like all I could remember at first was that there was snow, lots of snow lol). So that gives me some hope!
Really it’s just a pet peeve of mine when they try to animate something you know they can’t finish in 12/24 episodes and it’s just a ridiculous cliff hanger like why waste animation energy on a show that you know you can’t finish when you can animate something that can give you an ending…POWUH: and Athenaeum Châtelaine with 2212 comments
It sort of works out here, since having read the latest arc of the manga, I think that the author is drawing it out for too long. He could fix it in the end, but right now, I think the way it’s currently heading is a mistake. So, if the anime fixes that, that would be cool too.
POWUH: Meta Team and Ringleader Extraordinaire~ with 6433 comments
Can’t wait for the Doukyuusei movie! That would be brilliant and I’m really looking forward to how they would adapt Asumiko Nakamura’s flowing lines.
POWUH: Meta Team and Meta-Analyst with 3844 comments
Di Gi Charat is still God. All Hail our Cute Overlord Alien Oppressor Dejiko-sama! Dejiko-sama demands a second season of -Nyo.
As for Komugi R… I have heard that it doesn’t reflect the original’s wackiness. Like you said, *idol craze*. Magical Nurse Witch Komugi-chan -Magi de Karte- ‘s appeal was its crazy stories. Which is a spinoff Soul Taker. And her best-friend-turned-tanuki-rival. Oh the hilarity… No high hopes for the remake.
@Irene: No.Mainstream.Game.Turned.Anime.Series.Has.Succeeded. Not FF. Not Blazblue. Not SF. Not RO. Not even the Tales series. They might as well make a Star Wars Anime series just to advertise their MMORPG… wait, they have.
So. Let the FIs loose. And see if you can make my count go from Sifr to something. 😛
POWUH: Meta Team and The Mad Scientist with 5525 comments
I haven’t rewatched any of the Di Gi Charat series in a while so I’m still wearing rose-tinted nostalgia glasses as I look back…Wonder if I’ll like it as much if I ever go back to them. I get the feeling the Komugi remake will flop too and that will make me want to go back to Di Gi Charat lol.
Look forward to those FIs!
POWUH: and LOLi Defender with 10998 comments
I betcha I can get my FI out first!!!!!
POWUH: and Vampire Lover with 11746 comments
Man, sky, that is so juvenile to say for someone your age! 😛
POWUH: and LOLi Defender with 10998 comments
Bite me, young’un!!!
POWUH: and Vampire Lover with 11746 comments
Yeah! You’re going to run us ragged wave after wave!! 😉
POWUH: Meta Team and Meta-Analyst with 3844 comments
Dejiko-sama commands you. Or else *episode 16* will happen-nyo. Fufufufu-nyo…
POWUH: and Vampire Lover with 11746 comments
Ragna the Bloodedge (After the credits on episode 1 of BlazBlue: Alter Memory): “O Azure Grimoire, dwelling within my right arm, erase the jinx on anime shows based on fighting games!”
Clearly his wish was denied, though admirable it was.
What about Shingeki no Bahamut: Genesis? Wasn’t that a mainstream game? And if we consider animated movies as a subcategory, I think Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children did extremely well.
POWUH: Meta Team and Meta-Analyst with 3844 comments
FFVII is FFVII. And we all know the rabid FFVII fans out there.
Poor Ragna. I did watch Blazblue and it just simply took the piss out of itself with that trope.
POWUH: and Athenaeum Châtelaine with 2212 comments
And don’t count out FFVII Last Order, which was pretty good too.
POWUH: and Athenaeum Châtelaine with 2212 comments
Well, sure there have been…a LOT of failures, but there are some good game animation adaptations. But I can definitely say with some assurity that Phantasy Star Online 2, won’t be one of them. 😛
Divine Gate looks interesting though.
POWUH: Meta Team and Meta-Analyst with 3844 comments
Yosuga no Sora is the best game to anime adaptation.
POWUH: Meta Team and PreCure Mastah with 9203 comments
That series would have sold regardless of it being based off a game due to all the sex scenes…I mean isn’t school days also a game? That has sex in it as well and sure it didn’t break records it still appeals to a certain sex crazed crowd.
POWUH: Meta Team and Meta-Analyst with 3844 comments
It appeals to the Nice Boat crowd.
Yosuga no Sora is teh win because Twincest is Wincest!
POWUH: and Vampire Lover with 11746 comments
Arrgh! What happened to my precious Fall season and the great shows that were tied to it?! It came and went so fast it’s hard to believe it was ever there. Grieving aside, I’m feeling rather numb about the new season. I know Winter doesn’t have a reputation for being strong performance-wise but this time, the sentiment is thicker. Considering the few sequels that are in my sights, the list doesn’t have shows that scream “Must see” to me personally but maybe some may prove worthy yet.
Out of the PVs, I see at least two shows going the way of Knights of Sidonia and Arpeggio of Blue Steel by using completely 3D animation. This is an unofficial trend that’s rising and if it does becomes official, I hope by then, they’ll have perfected the animation itself.
Sequels:
Ansatsu Kyoushitsu/Assassination Classroom S2
Durarara!!x2 Ketsu
Gate: Jieitai Kanochi nite, Kaku Tatakaeri S2
High:
Ajin
Dimension W
Moderate:
Active Raid: Kidou Kyoushuushitsu Dai Hakkei
Boku Dake ga Inai Machi
Bubuki Buranki
Divine Gate
Fairy Tail Zero
Hai to Gensou no Grimgar
Itachi Shinden: Hikari to Yami
Luck & Logic
Musaigen no Phantom World
Saijaku Muhai no Bahamut
Schwarzesmarken
Low/Maybe/Likely Dropped:
Dagashi Kashi
Koukaku no Pandora
Phantasy Star Online 2: The Animation
Reikenzan: Hoshikuzu-tachi no Utage
Durarara!!x2 Ketsu: Had I not paid attention and someone told me the first cour of Durarara!!x2 played a year ago, I’d probably say “No way! You’re pulling my leg”. But there’s no denying it: Durarara!!x2 Shou indeed was a Winter 2015 anime. Which is unnerving since it doesn’t feel one bit that a year has passed. Frightening how time flies. Despite being build-ups for the most part, Durarara still maintains its hold by doing what it does best. I’m certainly looking forward to future developments as Mikado continues his path into insanity, Izaya once again finds himself in piping hot water and hopefully, we’ll finally see Celty get her head back.
Assassination Classroom S2: Another series whose previous season aired exactly a year ago. Gonna watch it simply because it’s more “Nu-hu-hu” Koro-sensei, Nagisa who’s badass at hiding bloodlust and Karma for obvious reasons.
Gate S2: The last season ended abruptly and anticlimactically but the PV showed a lot’s been done to make amends and I must say it looks damn action packed so I’m aboard this train. More Rory Mercury is a must!!!!
Ajin: A dark themed anime sporting the tags of “Adventure, Horror, Mystery” and “Supernatural”. All very relevant to my tastes. And it seems to involve my favorite story setting which is the “Human vs. Non-human” setup. If it also includes a moral gray area atmosphere, this show will easily be front and center.
Dimension W: Reading the synopsis and watching the PV, this one doesn’t look like it’ll have to do much to win me over. Hints of political and corporate corruption always manages to sweeten the deal and there might possibly be a balance struck between humor, action and story progress. If it does well in the first few episodes, I’ll hope for this to be a two-cour series.
Schwarzesmarken: I watched Muv-Luv Alternative: Total Eclipse when it began airing back in Summer 2012 and found it passable. Seeing that this show will be a prequel to that story, I can’t help but inquire, out of curiosity, as to what happened before. As usual, the enemy known as the BETA are damn butt ugly. Bleh!
Overall, not sure what to expect but I say “Bring it on!” Show me what you’re made of, Winter 2016!
POWUH: and LOLi Defender with 10998 comments
I think Dimension W is going to pack an interesting punch. I really loved studio 3Hz on last year’s Sora not Method; not so much for the story, or the ending, but for a great deal of the animation was quite well done for a youngish studio. Sometimes, these are the sorts of people that have the fire burning, and can bring something sharp to the screen.
POWUH: and Athenaeum Châtelaine with 2212 comments
I’m pretty interested in Ajin and I haven’t read anything about it so I’m going in mostly cold other than the summary.
ERASED was such a mystery though that I had to read the manga at least for a few chapters just to see if it was really something that I could get into. I was pretty disappointed with The Perfect Insider, so I wanted to make sure this wasn’t a repeat of that experience. And what I got was a very good mystery suspense thriller, so I’m pretty excited to see where that goes.
Gate S1 ended so abruptly because they didn’t intend to make it a split-cour until midway through its run. However, it looks like some interesting things are happening, especially with the Japanese finally meeting the emperor and Pina’s brother, the heir apparent.
I’ve never seen the Muv-Luv series, though this new one does look promising.
POWUH: Meta Team and The Mad Scientist with 5525 comments
BB, if they adapt Ajin right, I think you’re really going to like it! It’s got your name written all over it, although I will concede it doesn’t have vampires.
POWUH: and Vampire Lover with 11746 comments
Indeed such a heartbreaking fact but I think I’ll survive regardless. You saw the hopeful I have of Ajin in detail in the previous comment. A moral gray area atmosphere that blurs the divided lines is biggest aspect I’m anticipating. I get that and possibly anything else on the list and it’ll be enough to hold me over. Shows like Trinity Blood, Shiki, Tokyo Ghoul (Both seasons), Seraph of the End (Both seasons) have them which is why I love them so much. If Ajin pulls it off, it’s going to get added to the list.
Though I will sincerely admit that because of such circumstances, if I understand the party’s reasoning, I have the tendency to sooner turn on and condemn the humans than siding with them while sympathizing with the non-humans and rooting for their survival.
Well, you clearly know that already, OC. 😛
POWUH: and Athenaeum Châtelaine with 2212 comments
Yeah, I think you’ll like Ajin BB, it actually reminds me a little of Tokyo Ghoul the most, and like Cool said in her summary, it’s pretty fast paced, almost to the point of being reckless.
As for whether to root for the humans or the non-humans, I remember we were on opposite sides for Shiki, but I think in the case of this series, let’s just say there is just so much gray area that I really don’t know if I can side with either group. There is no character in there that I completely want to root for, pretty much everyone in the series is an a**hole except for maybe one or two exceptions.
I think you would enjoy the series like that a lot. 😀
(And yes, I gave in (again!) and read all the available manga chapters (all 35) in a day. Sigh…I’m becoming so weak.)
POWUH: and Vampire Lover with 11746 comments
Alright, then. That’s good news. Receiving such positive outlooks from you two alone is getting me excited.
Preference of gray area scenario over black and white any day of the week. Because the latter is such a clear cut, set in stone, foregone conclusion of a setting, it’s no fun at all to get into even if the story is well made. But with the former, there are no clear answers or choices. So in the end, it’s all about one’s perspective and which one is felt most comfortable to live with based on whatever reasons seen fit. I’m hopelessly in love with that.
Going on six years and my stance on Shiki hasn’t changed one, mademoiselle. You can count on that. No doubt you’ve noticed times have changed. Back then, it was made clear that anything not human was considered an evil monster needed to be killed. These days, you have stories essentially telling you a “monster” need not have fangs and claws to be a monster (basically humans to themselves and other species) and the non-humans as a result, gain the support of the viewers.
Oh, such a weak constitution, mademoiselle. Not that I’m one to talk, though. We share the same weakness. If there’s a new chapter of a manga I’m reading, I’m very liable to read it. Even if I’m aware of an adaptation in the works.
POWUH: and Athenaeum Châtelaine with 2212 comments
Ajin is a weird series in that I’m not undecided because of the morality, because both sides do really bad things, but it’s that unlike Shiki where it was two sides fighting for survival against the other, this time, it doesn’t feel like the same kind of stakes.
If I had to choose a side, I guess I would side with the Ajin, but even then…you’ll have to see it to understand what I mean.
I hope you don’t get scared off by the CG though, it does look pretty simple (even worse than Sidonia’s), but that might help those squeamish people like me, with the gore, because it does have quite a bit of blood and gore, which is fine on a black and white page, but has a different impact when color, sound, and movement are applied.
POWUH: Meta Resident with 1557 comments
I’ll suffer through this if you suffer along with me.
Dimension W: Just noticed Kamei Kanta is directing! Tales of Vesperia was an awesome movie (if you like the action/fantasy genre). I went in expecting it to be horrible (because all game adaptions prior to this that I watched were all horrible), and I was hooked instead! You don’t need to know the game to enjoy the anime, because I never got to play it (don’t own a xbox and was only released on the PS3 in Japan) and still highly enjoyed it.
POWUH: and Vampire Lover with 11746 comments
No promises. I’ve learned from experience that suffering through a series with no payoff, especially with little to no appeal (as in personal taste) to start off leaves a sour taste in the mouth, fills you with nothing but regret and will have you wishing for the time spent/lost you won’t get back. So depending on how it goes, I may or may not stick around.
POWUH: and LOLi Defender with 10998 comments
I think that Kono Subarashii Sekai ni Shukufuku wo! is going to be the run-away, beautifully brain-damaged show of the season.
POWUH: Meta Team and Spammy Tamer with 7115 comments
There is something about that show that, to me, just seemed like it was going to be interesting. We’ll see how it goes.
POWUH: Meta Team and PreCure Mastah with 9203 comments
Yeah I hope it can do something fun and not take itself serious! I want to laugh more than roll my eyes being annoyed.
POWUH: Meta Team and The Mad Scientist with 5525 comments
I’m digging the new site banners!
POWUH: and Vampire Lover with 11746 comments
I second that. They look great!
POWUH: Meta Resident with 1557 comments
Agreed! Whoever’s doing the banners, good job!
POWUH: and Athenaeum Châtelaine with 2212 comments
You shall have to thank bosslady and team for such a wonderful job. *^_^*
POWUH: Meta Resident with 1557 comments
Thank you bosslady and team! They’ve always been very tasteful and well-done. Are they done in Photoshop or GIMP?
POWUH: Meta Team and Ringleader Extraordinaire~ with 6433 comments
Thank you all and yes I use Photoshop to make all banners. My go to tool for everything design. :3
POWUH: Meta Team and PreCure Mastah with 9203 comments
Yesssssssssss! Same
POWUH: and Vampire Lover with 11746 comments
Spammy alert!
POWUH: Meta Resident with 1557 comments
Looks like Spammy went to lunch with my post as well =(
POWUH: and Vampire Lover with 11746 comments
Yeah, and he just did it again with mine.
POWUH: Meta Resident with 1557 comments
I was sitting here and was thinking that the Metanorn preview should be coming soon (actually I was a human sponge in the shower ratcheting up my energy bill because winter is finally here) and what do you know! (ノ°ο°)ノ “It appeared!”
Fall was kind, it didn’t kill me or pour a truckload to my backlog pile… I actually managed to trim it down! Slightly, but one small step for human, one big step for humankind… I don’t know where I was going with that. 16 shows, and I dropped 3 shows. I did a head-fake with an early drop for Gakusen Toshi Asterisk, but Highway convinced me to pick it back up. Good job and thanks! (*＾-‘) 乃
Winter looks deadly. As in, it’s making up for last season and feeding my backlog for two. Let’s see what we have in store…
Strong This Season, The Force Is
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-Prince of Stride Alternative: This looks promising. While almost all sports anime have failed to keep my interest through the entire season, this one has Ishizuka Atsuko, responsible for three great anime (NGNL, Sakurasou, and Hanayamata. Plus it looks like “Stride” has similarities to parkour, which is very fun to watch (burnt away many hours on youtube). Don’t fail me this time, sports anime! I mean, Sore ga Seiyuu! was the first anime about making anime or manga that I really enjoyed, so bring it on!
-Musaigen no Phantom World: Magical-fantasy-action + KyoAni… mmmmmmmmm, yes oh yes. The only thing missing is a school and I’d be like ヽ(´∇´)ノ (∇´ノ) ヽ( )ノ (ヽ´∇) ヽ(´∇`)ﾉ . For the record I was like that when I heard Rakudai Kishi no Cavalry was getting adapted. Only it didn’t have KyoAni~
-Haruchika ~Haruta to Chika wa Seishun Suru~: P.A. WORKS! P.A. WORKS! P.A. WORKS! ＝( ^o^)ノ ．．．…___ｏ Mystery in a school? If it’s anything like Hyouka, I’ll be a happy goldfish.
-Durarara!!x2 Ketsu: The later seasons stumbled a bit, but the core is solid, so this should be an entertaining finish to a good series. More DRRRRR and Daisuke is a good thing.
-GATE: Jieitai Kanochi nite, Kaku Tatakeri 2nd Season: YES, SEASON 2! ( ･ㅂ･)و ̑̑ Season 1 was a great adaption of the source material, and eagerly looking forward to S2. That said, I lost interest in the manga later, but hopefully the anime can still keep my revived interest going! Btw, that Rory figure is looking pretty sweet!
-Koyomimonogatari: （〜^∇^)〜 〜(^∇^〜) Get on the Monogatari train, wooo wooo!
-Hai to Gensou no Grimgar: Fantasy adventure + game theme? A-1 Pictures? Great art and character designs? Yessir, please sign me up. (`･ω･´)ゞ
-Undefeated Bahamut Chronicle: This is a manga I picked up recently and found it interesting. Granted there aren’t many chapters out, but I’ve read enough to know it’s right in my batting zone.
-Akagami no Shirayukihime 2nd Season: Another season of the series that gave me my name? Yes please! (◎｀・ω・´)人(´・ω・｀*)
-Ao no Kanata no Four Rhythm: Sci-fi, flying, and hints of romance? We demand romance! We demand romance! Good character designs doesn’t hurt~~~
-Kono Subarashii Sekai ni Shukufuku Wo!: Been enjoying this manga, so definitely picking this up. The character designs look different from the anime (which is more chibi-like at times), but that won’t stop me. Houston, we’re going in!
-Teekyuu 7: Crazy random fun packed in 2 minute episodes.
The Mayan Calendar Said The World Would End In 2015… But We’re Still Here
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-Active Raid -Kidou Kyoushuushitsu Dai Hakkei-: Full Metal Panic 3rd Raid? No? Drat, saw “Raid” and got excited. The promo art and characters look good, and has police, action, and sci-fi. Just like Pyscho-Pass did. The things keeping it from the above list? A) Exoskelton suits to fight crime? Not sold. B) CGI? Ugh. Big UGH. Here’s hoping the latter two don’t sink it too badly. Actually, as long as the CGI is kept to a minimum and done tastefully I can live with it.
-Shoujo-tachi wa Kouya wo Mezasu: Another show about making media, this time an adaption of a VN about making a VN. Sore ga Seiyuu was good, so I’m willing to give this a shot. The character designs look kinda weak though.
-Oji-san to Marshmallow: This doesn’t look like much, but apparently the webcomic is highly popular. But it does have Hanazawa Kana and Kitamura Eri, so I’m willing to give this a try.
-Dimension W: At first glance it seems average to me, but there’s so much hype that I would be doing it a disservice to not watch. So watch I will.
The Mystery Bucket
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-Phantasy Star Online 2 The Animation: This looks really generic, but it’s action and sci-fi, and based on a game (which can be a pro or con). At least it’s an original story, so it might be a surprise hit.
-Dagashi Kashi: Not sure how I feel about another food anime, but the art style is unique + light comedy, might just end up being pretty fun to watch. Actually the more I look, the more I like the art style.
-Divine Gate: Action/Fantasy (++), Character designs look bland (-), Based on a smartphone game (-). This will probably suck, but in the slight chance it doesn’t… trial run it is!
-Koukaku no Pandora: The plot doesn’t look like it’ll be my cup of tea, but Shirow Masamune is behind this, so I’ll at least give it a shot to see how it starts. GiTS is great, and enjoyed the recent Arise series. But this looks like it’s dipping in moe, and I don’t know if Masamune is my goto choice to watch moe.
-Reikenzan: Hoshikuzu-tachi no Utage: DEEN is usually a hit or miss for me. It has fantasy + comedy, so that could be good, but Tencent is funding it and it’s based on a Chinese webcomic, so I fear this is going to turn into a “China is awesome” propaganda show. But hey, maybe I’m being too pessimistic and this will actually be decent. Maybe.
-Luck and Logic: Funky character designs and fantasy plot make this a must-sample show. The downside? CGI. WRRYYYYYY щ(゜ロ゜щ)
-Rainbow Days: The designs look weak and the plot unlikely, but the romance line-up is really lacking this season. I’ll take what I can get at this point.
Actually, that wasn’t so bad… 22 shows (excluding Teekyuu because it’s so short), with 7 in ? watching. It could end up being manageable!
POWUH: and Vampire Lover with 11746 comments
From our last talk, you seemed as though buried a number of feet under backlog. And now you’re adding 22 more shows to the load? Let’s see how this tests you. 😛
POWUH: Meta Resident with 1557 comments
Just checked, at 1,260 files at 302GB. Granted some are shorts like later seasons of Teekyuu and Puchimas!!, but the majority are regular episodes.
It’s not so bad, I watch a couple of shows per season up-to-date, and the backlog is binge-watched in-between.
POWUH: and Vampire Lover with 11746 comments
Hahaha! I would say “that’s a lot” but won’t because my situation is a bit more embarrassing. On my 1TB external hard drive that I got nearly 4 years ago, I have a video folder with a total of 455GB, spread across… let’s see… 379 subfolders (Yes, that much and it will get bigger when this season kicks off). 90% of, by estimation, are seasonal anime that started back as early as Winter 2010 until recently. A few that are long running anime still airing to this day. The other percentage are anime video episodes, new and old, generated from means elsewhere. Most whose links are probably terminated by now.
Even with that amount, there are still shows on my backlog and if I feel I have the time, I’d consider going through the list.
So don’t feel bad if you think you’re a bit behind.
POWUH: Meta Resident with 1557 comments
Oh, and 43 episodes of One Piece (17GB). I can’t just watch one episode, so I wait until I have enough and watch 5-10 in a row.
POWUH: and Vampire Lover with 11746 comments
Understandable. You’ll immediately want to watch the next episode, especially if the previous one has built up a lot of anticipation. However, that seems too much memory sacrificed for such a small number of episodes.
Here’s my side:
In the anime video lot of my external hard drive, my biggest folder is Naruto Shippuuden with a grand total of 18.7 GB.
Naruto movies: “Blood Prison”, “Road to Ninja” and “The Last: Naruto the Movie”
Episodes (Currently): 201 – 443. So 242 episodes total.
I have been very diligent.
POWUH: Meta Resident with 1557 comments
HD or go home! Mostly 720p goodness and BluRay if it’s released and I haven’t watched it yet, haha.
Good to know someone else out there has a larger backlog than me, makes me feel I can slack some more and instead go through my game backlog, haha.
POWUH: and Vampire Lover with 11746 comments
However, you might regret it if slack off on your anime backlog again. *grin*
POWUH: and LOLi Defender with 10998 comments
Phantom
I don’t know what this means….
But I’m looking forward to this one. As I was saying in the catalog, they’re going the full ride on this one, as magic looks to be out in the open in the modern world, so the will have to bring something else to the story to make it really stick out. That will probably be the thing worth following.
-Koyomimonogatari: （〜^∇^)〜 〜(^∇^〜) Get on the Monogatari train, wooo wooo!
Yeah, but how. Unless you have access to a Japanese Apple account or Japanese Google Play….I’ve been poking around trying to find the station for this train, but cannot seem to…
Always watch what you can manage…
POWUH: Meta Resident with 1557 comments
It’s just missing a school setting. And that’s me dancing in a circle.
On Koyomimonogatari, I’m hoping someone rips them from their phone. It’s weird in that they’re not releasing it on any TV. Otherwise I’ll have to wait for the BDs ヽ（・＿・；)ノ
POWUH: and LOLi Defender with 10998 comments
Yes, I guess that does look like someone dancing in a circle, and that does rather clear up what you were trying to say about Calvary being adapted…
As for Koyomimonogatari, who knows how they’ll release it.
POWUH: Meta Resident with 1557 comments
Subs spotted!!! The interwebz is my savior.
POWUH: 800-899 and Mad Scientist with 814 comments
Begun, the coverage war has. 😉
POWUH: and Vampire Lover with 11746 comments
I’m already imagining the casualties. 😉
POWUH: Meta Team and Meta-Analyst with 3844 comments
Excellent. Everything is going as I have foreseen. >:3
*sits in nice comfy chair*
POWUH: and Athenaeum Châtelaine with 2212 comments
Is that a spinning chair or a giant holographic chair? 🙂
POWUH: Meta Team and Meta-Analyst with 3844 comments
The one in the nice office in a nice building on a nice planet.
POWUH: and Vampire Lover with 11746 comments
Why does that have me thinking of Classroom☆Crisis?
POWUH: and Vampire Lover with 11746 comments
Because it’s all part of the plan.
POWUH: 800-899 and Mad Scientist with 814 comments
At an end, the coverage war is. And not a single drop of blood was spilled!
POWUH: and Vampire Lover with 11746 comments
Tsk, how anticlimactic! It’s no fun without bodies hitting the floor or pained screams being heard. *sobs*
POWUH: 800-899 and Mad Scientist with 814 comments
If you want some, you are welcome to pay a visit to the Metanorn dungeon. 😉
POWUH: and LOLi Defender with 10998 comments
Hey, we’re out of the tears of the vanquished, can you get us a refill when you’re out next?
POWUH: and Vampire Lover with 11746 comments
I’m not sure about that. The Boss Lady runs that place. So I’m quaking in my boots at the thought of it.
POWUH: Meta Team and Meta-Analyst with 3844 comments
Delivery for one boss lady. Where should I install the new Iron Maiden?
POWUH: Meta Team and Ringleader Extraordinaire~ with 6433 comments
Unauthorised personnel are prohibited to enter the Metanorn Dungeon. If you hold your life dear, please leave the Iron Maiden at the door and spammy will deal with it soon. Thank you.