Summer 2015 Anime Pre-Season Impressions

I swear, these things are the only thing keeping this blog afloat. As usual, you can view this season's chart at http://anichart.net/summer

There's no sequel to a show I've seen and liked airing this season, so I'm not going to be watching anything on this chart this summer. (And all but one of those sequels I watched turned out to be big disappointments.) On to the originals. Oh, and if an original isn't on here, it means I have little to no thoughts on it.


Okay, if I was going to be watching originals, Akagami no Shirayuki-hime would most likely be one of them. It's a shojo, it's Bones, it's a fantasy, and it reminds me of Yona. Which, if that's true, is all the more reason for me to wait 'till this is done then marathon it. (Please Funi, pick this one up.)

I'm not quite sure what kind of anime Aoharu X Kikanjuu is trying to be. There's action, otaku appeal, cross dressing, possibly romance... Love the character designs though.

Charlotte has a bit of a generic premise, and I predict this show might just devolve into a generic school life/supernatural show. I just don't understand the little slivers of hype this thing has in the anime community.

Classroom☆Crisis. Given this anime's premise, this thing seems like it's underselling itself. But I guess that's okay, because I predict this will also be a generic, forgotten show. 

Here's how I imagine Gakkou Gurashi! came to be. *ahem* Pitcher: "How does this sound: We take the standard moe four-girl group of close knit friends, but we add a zombie apocalypse to save this from being generic." Producer: "Ah. So, it's like Highscool of the Dead, but for people who are into moe girls instead of Matrix tits. Okay. Green-lit." 

*Exhale* Okay. Finally, another original on this chart that I think will be worth watching. I do think a certain video published by 42Believer significantly increased the popularity of the manga of Gangsta, and it's actually because of that video that I decided to buy the first two volumes of the manga when I saw a manga lot for sale on Craigslist. From what I've read, this is gonna be pretty good, and the PVs I've seen have showcased some great Madhouse-worthy animation. Love the artwork. And the previewed OP song.

Gate: Jieitai Kanochi nite, Kaku Tatakaeri sounds like a cross between D_r_ _r  Th_ _  B_ _ck and W_ _ ld T_ _ gg_r. The otaku pandering is kind of obvious, and this is another show that seems like it isn't sure what to be. We know you want a SAO III green-lit so you can make more money, A-1 Pictures, but for now, you're biding their time with this, while glaring at your producers. But hey, the character designs look nice. 

Man, ufotable is rolling it in with their anime recently. I'm not sure how successful the game that God Eater is based of is, but I've seen the PV, and the character designs were a bit jarring, being somewhere between 2D and 3D animation. The very least I'm expecting from this anime are some phenomenal animation and action scenes.

Jitsu wa Watashi wa. Sounds generic, but why do the character designs remind me of a few anime YouTuber's profile pictures?

Joukamachi no Dandelion. A supposedly dystopian that's also underselling itself. Next. 

Prison School
Joining its cousins Akame ga Kill and Triage X, I say...
 

Kuusen Madoushi Kouhosei no Kyoukan. Do we really need another generic-ish anime to give the lucrative title of "Black Swordsman" to a probably generic male lead? We all know Guts is the one true black Swordsman. 

Oh my gosh. Monster Musume no Iru Nichijou is just Rosario+Vampire all over again, but maybe a little more shameless. Bleh. RUN AWAYYYYYY

Okay. Overlord is giving us a bit of a different take on this "trapped in a video game" phenomena the anime world has been experiencing these past few years.

Rokka no Yuusha. Slightly interesting, slightly generic fantasy adventure concept, but this is probably going to be more generic fantasy with hot girls. Skip. 

J.C. Staff...what are you doing this year... Earlier, Shimoneta to Iu Gainen ga Sonzai Shinai Taikutsu na Sekai had this ridiculois fanservice-y key visual, and looking at how well DanMachi did last season, I'm actually wishing JC Staff went back to making supernatural light novel adaptations with tsundere girls. WHY ARE YOU TURNING TO ECCHI, J.C. STAFF???

Sore ga Seiyuu! is another anime about the anime industry, though I'm not sure if this will be as good or successful as the acclaimed Shirobako was.

Not exactly sure what Ushio to Tora is gonna be like, but my money's on it being a dark, supernatural seinen-esque action with demons and possibly body horror. *watches everyone else immediately jump onto the MAPPA hype train*

I know this is a movie, but thank you for slightly improving my outlook on this season, Boy and the Beast. Mamoru Hosoda, please work your magic again.

Yeah.....this season looks like it's going to be pretty bad.
What sequels are coming out?

Uhhhhh...

TOEI YOU ARE FALLING APART. You've been taking on way too many things, and delivering poor results. I mean, just look at the quality of anmation in Sailor Moon Crystal and World Trigger. Just. Stop. Toei.

Is this the second half to what aired this winter?

More Type-Moon turned moe.

I didn't watch the first season when it aired in 2013...should I have done that?

I AM NOT TOUCHING YAOI IN ANIME FORM...yet. Not sure if this is a good start.

Heard good things about this first season, but pure slice-of-life with cute girls just isn't really my thing.

I think I know a certain anime related YouTuber will probably be happy about this...

Ugh. More ecchi franchise.

And...more slice-of-life I'm not sure if I should watch or not.

Man, this season looks pretty bad.
And now, watch as all the shows I've deemed generic to be massive smash hits. (Glares at DanMachi, Seraph, Punchline, and Plastic Memories from Spring)
2015 is looking to be a pretty bad year for anime.

But wait...what do I see in the horizon?
   
Nah.

Alright, after I just spent time whaling on this season's chart, what shows are you guys looking forward to?

Cheers,
~Selena

Last Updated: 28 June 2015
Originally Published: 28 June 2015

4,000 Pageviews!!!

(HIATUS INTENSIFIES)

But yeah, thanks to you all, and hopefully I'll get some posts out. 

Hopefully.

Cheers, 

~Selena

Last Updated: 26 April 2015

Originally Published: 26 April 2015

Spring 2015 Anime Pre-Season Impressions!

As of this moment, we are getting dangerously close to the start of the new season, so there's no better time to publish this than now.
I know I didn't do one for last season, and I'm actually glad I didn't, because this Winter season was awful. But hey, Spring is a time of new beginnings, so let's take a look at some of the shows that will be hitting Japanese airwaves soon and my thoughts on them! All pictures and information gotten from http://anichart.net/spring, so go check the page out!

I am actually going to watch a few shows for sure this season! This is the start of me actually watching simulcasts! (Although they're all squeals)


In between the time I published my Fall Impressions post and now, I actually went and caught up to the Fate canon! The first half of Unlimited Blade Works was great, and I can't wait to see how it ends.


My body is ready for more colorful boys dancing and singing in Uta no☆Prince-sama♪ Maji Love Revolutions! At least I get more of Mamoru Miyano singing in his heavenly voice. *Fangirl sigh*


Just out of curiosity, I picked up the first season of this anime and did enjoy it a bit. And hey, the episodes are short, so I can look forwards to 4 minutes of Danna ga Nani o Itteiru ka Wakaranai Ken 2-sure-me this season. 


I am watching the first season of this show right now, so hopefully, I can catch up before Sidonia no Kishi: Daikyuu Wakusei Seneki begins. 
UPDATE 30 March 2015: I finished the first season, just need to wait for this now. 

And here are the rest of the shows I'd like to give my thoughts on: 
Full TV Originals:

Arslan Senki sounds a bit (okay, quite a bit) like a generic fantasy. And I would say something about this sounding like Akatsuki no Yona, but I haven't finished that show yet. 

Do we really need more anime that express the fantasy of a male otaku ascending to become so much more than your average NEET? Well, Denpa Kyoushi is taking a leaf out of Ken Akamatsu's book by having a young prodigy become a teacher for a whole class of bodacious babes. Well, A-1 Pictures is handling this, so at least it will look nice. 

J.C. Staff is going to give us Dungeon ni Deai o Motomeru no wa Machigatteiru Darou ka? a somewhat generic sounding fantasy-adventure anime which combines western mythology with moe in a way only anime can do. 

Etotama personifies the animals of the Chinese Zodiac, has the cat(girl) wanting to join the Zodiac (Geee, real original) and then has our catgirl become a freeloader at a guy's place in da-da-da-daaa, Akihabara. This is most likely a show that's nothing but otaku pandering. Skip.

Gunslinger Stratos: The Animation looks and seems like a watered-down version of either a certain famous series by Sunrise or Production I.G. It seems interesting, but this could easily be ruined with excessive fanservice or overused anime tropes. 

Hibike! Euphonium is one of the most anticipated shows this season, probably because it's got KyoAni's name attached to it. As a longtime musician and band geek, I might actually watch this. The PV looks good, too. 
 
I can feel the hype, but please, please, please, please, PLEASE don't let us down! Kekkai Sensen is looking to be one of the most promising shows on this chart, and this thing has got Funimation's name all over it. 

Is this Kyoukai no Rinne just going to be a re-skin of Bleach with Rumiko Takahashi's art style? Eh, well, generic shonen is generic. The least it can do is be enjoyable, and we'll have to see about that. 

Mikagura Gakuen Kumikyoku. Ehhh, I've seen this "school where abilities are granted through fighting each other" shtick many times in anime. Skip.

Ore Monogatari!! is another promising show from this chart. This time, by being a shojo that "breaks the boundaries and tropes" where the main character is a not-so bishonen big guy. I really hope some good writing and character development happens here.

Let's hope WIT once again gives us some great action animation with Owari no Seraph. The premise doesn't sound terribly original, but at least is provides a viable excuse as to why all the people doing the fighting are kids and teenagers.

And we've got another anime that deals with humans loving humanoid androids! The only way I think Plastic Memories could be good is if they put in some legitimately good and emotional writing. However, being a believer of Sturgeon's Law when it comes to anime, I am doubtful that will happen.

I don't really have many thoughts on Punch Line. So I'm just gonna leave this here... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bD0nFmu2jKc

Uggggghhhhh, now you're not even trying trying anymore, Re-Kan! You're not even trying to sound original!!!

In this corner, we've got Shokugeki no Souma a tournament-style battle shonen revolving around...cooking. Yes, you read that right, folks! Unfortunately, what turned me off from this anime was finding out this was going to be an ecchi. *Sigh* At least make the food look amazing...

Bones. What are you doing. Stop. You're not Toei. Please tell me you haven't resorted to kid shows like Show By Rock!!

UPDATE 30 MARCH 2015 It's actually not a kids show, and it's got pretty boys as well as moe girls. I saw this: http://www.funimation.com/blog/2015/03/28/funimation-acquires-rights-to-show-by-rock/ the day I originally posted this, actually.

Oh, boy. I think we've got another "super-edgy" show here with Triage X. I mean, Violence! Hot girls! Ambiguous morals! But I really don't think this anime will be anything spectacular. It might just be the next Akame ga Kill, though. 

And to finish off the TV originals, we've got Yamada-kun to Nananin no Majo, a comedy about two polar opposite characters switching bodies, and then hilarity shall ensue. Yeah...I think this will probably fall though the cracks of anime obscurity after it airs. 

And for the sequels...
 
A friend of mine is looking forward to High School DxD BorN and Nisekoi: this season. (He likes harems). So, this is for you, Alex.

These are sequels to shows and franchises that I've heard are good, so I'll just list them here.

Baby Steps Season 2


Diamond No Ace Second Season


Lupin III (2015)


Mahou Shojo Lyrical Nanoha ViVid


I thought Nagato Yuki-chan no Shoushitsu was going to be a movie. And IT'S NOT DONE BY KYOANI. WHAT IS THIS BLASPHEMY???

There's also quite a few franchise add-ons with the movies, specials, OVAs. I just don't feel like talking about them. I did not list everything that was on the chart on this post, so, again, go to http://anichart.net/spring to see the full chart along with plot synopses and when the shows start airing.

What are you looking forward to this coming Spring season? Is there anything on the chart I didn't talk about here that you would like me to give my thoughts on? Please leave your comments below. I read every one. But I've been having problems with a spammer in my comment sections, so PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE NO SPAM.

Cheers,
~Selena

Last Updated: 13 April 2014
Originally Published: 28 March 2014