Winter Anime Catalogue 2016

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Genre(s): Mecha, Police, Sci-Fi
Original Work
Producers: Production IMS
AIR DATE: Jan 7, 2016
Episodes: 12
Director: Goro Taniguchi
[ WEBSITE ] [#activeraid]

Seiyuu: Show ▼

Trailer: Show ▼

Hmm, It’s a mech series with an interesting premise? You’ve got me. From what I can tell, we have another futuristic police force in future Japan, where we have a specialized unit of officers that rather than your usual uniforms and guns, use specialized personal mech suits to enforce the law. But of course this is the also the one unit that is so unorthodox and roguish that they send in a newbie girl with brown hair to try to whip the unit into shape. Akane Tsunemori anyone? The key to this kind of series is going to be the character dynamics between our unit members. If they can get us invested in them, then they’ve won half the battle. However, there is still quite a bit that can go wrong, so they’re going to have to watch their step. Just because you resemble Tiger & Bunny, doesn’t mean you can replicate their success.

Still…it’s got some of the creative force behind Code Geass and some of the most recent good Gundam series, and it’s got enough confidence to go ahead with a confirmed split-cour. I’m intrigued. And it’s an original property? Well, Active Raid, you’ve all but earned a try from me. I haven’t watched a futuristic police tale, since the season season of Psycho Pass. Let’s hope that series will be just a little bit better than that. LOL

possibly blogging // Samsura + IreneFosh

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Genre(s): Adventure, Horror, Mystery, Seinen, Supernatural
Original Source: Gamon Sakurai (Manga)
Producers: POLYGON PICTURES
AIR DATE: Jan 16, 2016
Episodes: 13
Director: Hiroyuki Seshita
[ WEBSITE ] [#亜人計画]

Seiyuu: Show ▼

Trailer: Show ▼


This is the first time in my life that I’ve read a manga first and then heard about an anime adaptation. I completely wasn’t expecting this at all, but it’s a really nice feeling. I think Ajin is a great choice too, because it’s a really interesting manga. Basically, it’s about people who can’t die. However, this is depicted as being an absolute curse because all of humanity is hellbent on running endless, torturous experiments on them and treating them as monsters. To be fair, they are quite scary. Ajins not only don’t die, but they are able to control these powerful monsters that can wreck havoc in case a regular human wants to try and stick needles in them all day. It’s difficult to say whether the Ajin really are dangerous or just misunderstood, but either way, a typical high school named Kei is forced to find out when he gets completely wrapped up in this huge mess.

Ajin is an action show at heart, with a few pointed questions about the nature of humanity (although I’d hesitate to really put the psychological genre label on there). The fights are great because they rely a lot on strategy and wits, especially since we follow some of the more scrappy fighters at the beginning who are so weak they have nothing but their minds to make things even against these monsters. It’s a fast-paced, exciting story that should translate well in anime form. I really suggest you check this one out. My only warning is that the manga itself is already very rushed and I don’t think this anime adaptation is going to fix any of that. The animation studio and director are most unknowns, having only done major work on Knights of Sidonia. Guess we’ll have CGI Ajins!

I’ve always been a fan of stories regarding immortals, from Greek mythology to the Highlander franchise, to Jennifer Fallon’s The Tide Lords series (If you haven’t gotten a chance to read that literary quartet masterpiece, I highly recommend it.), even in Lord of the Rings, my favorite characters are always the immortal elves. So, the minute I read the synopsis for this, I instantly gravitated to this series. I have never heard of this property before and I will decline to look at anymore other than the PVs, but I am very intrigued by what I’ve seen and read so far. A group of immortals that aren’t praised but hunted by humanity? I’ll have to at least take a look. The horror tag does scare me a little. I have extremely little tolerance for gore, or mad scientist “strapped to an operating table” scenes (you know what I’m talking about, Shiki), and the animation makes me a little hesitant. However, Sidonia and even God Eater has shown me that if the story is good enough, this type of animation can serve it. The tone looks dark and grim and serious and I do hope there will be a ray of light in here eventually, but still, an action series with a sci-fi fantasy kick and a dark psychological edge? I’m game.

possibly blogging // Irene + Cool + Kyokai

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Genre(s): Psychological, Seinen, Supernatural
Original Source: Kei Sanbe (Manga)
Producers: A-1 Pictures
AIR DATE: Jan 8, 2016
Episodes: N/A
Director: Tomohiko Ito  
[ WEBSITE ] [#僕街]

Seiyuu: Show ▼

Trailer:Show ▼

Ever want to see Early Edition the anime? Well, it’s not exactly that, but that was one of the first things I thought of when I heard of this series about a guy with the ability to stop disasters before they happen (though this time it’s because he can go back in time, rather than a magical newspaper). The source material that this series is based on is pretty acclaimed, which both gets me excited, but also causes me to be cautious. There have been quite a few an acclaimed work that ends up being quite the mess when brought to the screen. However, from what I have seen of this series, it does have quite an interesting flair to it that makes me pause and take notice. Our main character is not a teenager and he’s not in school (two large boons for me), but he does have the power of “Revival”, which is the ability to go back in time to an event of disaster in order to find the source of said disaster and prevent it. And he will go back as many times as necessary until that happens. It’s a very interesting and grim premise, that can spell all kinds of psychological and thematic shifts and turns. And they cap it off by having the turning point in our young mangaka’s life be a shifting event in his own life that will change everything…

I don’t make it a point to read the original material before I go into a series, in fact, I make it a point not to. That can be a bit of double-edged sword sometimes, especially with recent other examples of series such as “The Perfect Insider” and “pupa” and others, which would have been a heck of a lot more interesting if you had the background knowledge to back it up. However, I’m willing to give it the old “three-episode” try.

possibly blogging // Irene + Kyokai

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Genre: Comedy, Shounen
Original Source: Kotoyama (Manga)
Producers: feel.
AIR DATE: Jan 8, 2016
Episodes: N/A
Director: Shigehito Takayanagi
[ WEBSITE ] [#だがしかし]

Seiyuu: Show ▼

Trailer: Show ▼

Dagashi Kashi, in a nutshell, is a comedy about the son of a sweets shop owner. The heiress to a famous sweets company visits their shop one day to recruit our hero’s father. However, he will only agree to join her family’s company if she can convince his son to inherit his shop. Hilarious sweets related jokes and gags ensue.

At this point, I must admit that I read the manga rendition of Dagashi Kashi, and it is a riot. However, each chapter is rather short, so I have to wonder how the anime will handle this. Perhaps this will turn out to be a short anime, or perhaps studio feel will opt for full-length episodes broken up into multiple segments. But whatever the case, I really hope that the adaptation will do justice to the humor in the manga.

possibly blogging // Suma FI

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Genre(s): Sci-Fi, Seinen
Original Source: Yuji Iwahara (Manga)
Producers: Bandai Visual
AIR DATE: Jan 10, 2016
Episodes: N/A
Director: Kanta Kamei
[ WEBSITE ] [#DW]

Seiyuu: Show ▼

Trailer: Show ▼

If there was ever a series that I was crazy about seeing it would have to be Dimension W because I’m a sucker for scifi themed anime and if it has any kind of robots or androids I just have to watch, but this series is also coming from the writer of Darker than Black which I loved as well and the character designs also seem similar to Darker Than Black as well. Character designs also remind me heavily of Darker Than Black and Mira looks really cute, but who knows what this series will actually do! I just hope it is a million times more entertaining than the last attempted series to have robots working with humans -cough- Plastic Memories -cough-

Evil energy consumption from a resource that everyone assumes is infinite and yet no one really knows where it comes from? Yeah, we’ve seen this before guys, but for some reason, I’m still drawn to this gritty techno-noir world that has been set up for this series, and yet it’s also so silly and cheesy with it’s graffiti-esque blasted onomonopia. I’m liking the cast and the visuals and the story has the beginnings of what could be very interesting. Hearing from Daisuke Ono again is always a pleasure, and while I’m not really familiar with Reina Ueda’s work, from what I’ve heard, her character of Mira, won’t be a hassle to the ears. Let’s see if it can deliver.

possibly blogging // Fosh + Irene

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Genre(s): Fantasy, Magic, Shounen
Original Source: Hiro Mashima (Manga)
Producers:  A-1 Pictures
AIR DATE: Jan 9, 2016
Episodes: N/A
[ WEBSITE ] [#フェアリーテイル]

Seiyuu: Show ▼

Trailer: Show ▼

It’s another addition to the Fairy Tail franchise (a prequel this time), what more is there really to say about it? It will be more of the adventure, magic, characters, and standard animation that you’re used to if you’ve been a fan of this long running shounen series. So, if you want more of the same, just with getting to see how the Fairy Tail guild was founded this time, then this series might just be for you. If you’re like me and haven’t looked at a single page or episode of the series before, you might just want to give this one a skip.

possibly blogging // Nobody wants this Tail

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Genre: Sports
Original Source: Kanako Nono (Visual Novel)
Producers: MADHOUSE
AIR DATE: Jan 5, 2016
Episodes: N/A
Director: Atsuko Ishizuka
[ WEBSITE ] [#プリスト]

Seiyuu: Show ▼

Trailer: Show ▼

Another otome game to anime! Only, this one involves a school club that does a  relay / parkour combination called “Stride”. The heroine, Nana, joins the club (only I’ve been told that she’s more there for moral support because heaven forbid that she take the spotlight away from the male characters) which is having trouble because of past incidents with the club. It should be pretty interesting to see how Madhouse goes about animating things, since the races in the game consist of arrows moving on a map, which was rather unexciting. The director is the same lovely lady who directed No Game No Life and like I mentioned before, the studio is Madhouse. So if anything, this should at least be fun to watch for the animation. Though I’m sure the story will be interesting as well.
possibly blogging //  Kara

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Genre: School
Original Source: Takahiro (Visual novel)
Producers: Project No.9
AIR DATE: Jan 7, 2016
Episodes: N/A
Director: Takuya Satō
[ WEBSITE ] [#shokomeza]

Seiyuu: Show ▼

Trailer: Show ▼

“Do you want to help us make a galge?” That’s the question Buntarou gets asked by Sayuki. It’s less random than you might think, tho, because she’s read some of his work for the drama club. Can Buntarou find what it is he wants to do with his so-far aimless life? And can they actually make a gal game that will be a success?

I have to admit that the studio behind this, Project No. 9, doesn’t exactly have the greatest of pedigrees, seeing as how it consists entirely of Ro-Kyu-bu, Momo Kyun Sword, and Recently, my Imouto is Unusual, none of which are particularly well, thought of (Momo Kyun Sword was especially terrible). perhaps Kana Hanazawa and Satomi Satou can help this out, although Seiichiro Yamashita as the male lead isn’t particularly comforting.

possibly blogging // Highway FI  

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Genre(s): Josei, Historical
Original Source: Haruko Kumota (Manga)
Producers: Studio DEEN
AIR DATE: Jan 8, 2016
Episodes: 13
Director: Mamoru Hatakeyama
[ WEBSITE ] [#落語心中]

Seiyuu: Show ▼

Trailer: Show ▼

I believe that Showa Genroku (or Shoroku as no kids are calling it) will easily earn the title of “Hard Sell of the Season.”  Which puts this show right up my alley.  The first question you need to ask yourself before watching this show is “Do I know what Rakugo is?”  The non-Wikipedia definition is a traditional form of Japanese storytelling that lies somewhere between stand up comedy and straight up folk tales.  A quick comparison of anime titles would probably be to something like House of Five Leaves.  If you are willing to sit through that show, I believe Shoroku (am I really going to stick with this abbreviation?  DAMN YOU DANMACHI!!!) will scratch that itch.  That itch being historically accurate, culturally rooted homoeroticism.  

The actual show seems to be about a man who is released from prison, and immediately after being released begins to enter the world of Rakugo after being inspired by a master’s storytelling.  An analogy would be trying to get into stand up after hearing George Carlin or Louis CK live.  There will be romance (subtextual and textual I bet), there will be Japanese storytelling, and there will FACTOIDS!  I’m not sure if this is obvious or not, but I actually really like Josei stories.  They tend to have the right mix of melancholy and romance that really works for me and when you combine that with a premise that would alienate the average anime viewer you get Samsura’s pick of the Season!

possibly blogging // Samsura

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About

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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71 Responses to “Winter Anime Catalogue 2016”

  1. Hoshi says:

    ~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.

    • skylion says:

      how can you do a mystery anime that doesn’t even have an end manga-wise??

      Sometimes it’s the journey…

    • IreneSharda says:

      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 ▼

      • BlackBriar says:

        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

        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. 😛

        • IreneSharda says:

          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.

      • Hoshi says:

        ~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…

        • IreneSharda says:

          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.

    • Kyokai says:

      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.

  2. Di Gi Kazune says:

    I was really into Di Gi Charat’s brand of bizarro, random comedy mixed with eye-melting cuteness.

    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. 😛

    • Overcooled says:

      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!

    • BlackBriar says:

      @Irene: No.Mainstream.Game.Turned.Anime.Series.Has.Succeeded. Not FF. Not Blazblue. Not SF. Not RO. Not even the Tales series.

      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.

      • Di Gi Kazune says:

        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.

      • IreneSharda says:

        And don’t count out FFVII Last Order, which was pretty good too.

    • IreneSharda says:

      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.

      • Di Gi Kazune says:

        Yosuga no Sora is the best game to anime adaptation.

        • Foshizzel says:

          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.

  3. BlackBriar says:

    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!

    • skylion says:

      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.

    • IreneSharda says:

      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.

    • Overcooled says:

      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.

      • BlackBriar says:

        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. 😛

        • IreneSharda says:

          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.)

          • BlackBriar says:

            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.

            • IreneSharda says:

              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.

    • akagami says:

      Low/Maybe/Likely Dropped:
      Phantasy Star Online 2: The Animation

      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.

      • BlackBriar says:

        I’ll suffer through this if you suffer along with me.

        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.

  4. skylion says:

    I think that Kono Subarashii Sekai ni Shukufuku wo! is going to be the run-away, beautifully brain-damaged show of the season.

    • Highway says:

      There is something about that show that, to me, just seemed like it was going to be interesting. We’ll see how it goes.

    • Foshizzel says:

      Yeah I hope it can do something fun and not take itself serious! I want to laugh more than roll my eyes being annoyed.

  5. Overcooled says:

    I’m digging the new site banners!

  6. BlackBriar says:

    Spammy alert!

  7. akagami says:

    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
    —————————————————————————————————
    -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
    —————————————————————————————————
    -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
    —————————————————————————————————
    -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!

    • BlackBriar says:

      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!

      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. 😛

      • akagami says:

        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.

        • BlackBriar says:

          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.

      • akagami says:

        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.

        • BlackBriar says:

          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.

          • akagami says:

            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.

            • BlackBriar says:

              However, you might regret it if slack off on your anime backlog again. *grin*

    • skylion says:

      Phantom

      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

      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…

      • akagami says:

        I don’t know what this means….

        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

        • skylion says:

          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.

  8. Sumairii says:

    Begun, the coverage war has. 😉

  9. Sumairii says:

    At an end, the coverage war is. And not a single drop of blood was spilled!

    • BlackBriar says:

      Tsk, how anticlimactic! It’s no fun without bodies hitting the floor or pained screams being heard. *sobs*

      • Sumairii says:

        If you want some, you are welcome to pay a visit to the Metanorn dungeon. 😉

        • skylion says:

          Hey, we’re out of the tears of the vanquished, can you get us a refill when you’re out next?

        • BlackBriar says:

          I’m not sure about that. The Boss Lady runs that place. So I’m quaking in my boots at the thought of it.

        • Di Gi Kazune says:

          Delivery for one boss lady. Where should I install the new Iron Maiden?

          • Kyokai says:

            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.

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