Wednesday, June 8, 2011

Expectations - Summer 2011 Anime

Let's do this.
ExtraCareful's Impressions:
So summer is coming up and there seems to be a jumble of series coming. I'm only going to mention the ones that stick out. The spring season was I think pretty excellent, what with the Slice-of-life Triple combo with Denpa Onna, Hanasaku Iroha, and Ano Hana giving us the catharsis we need with a fatty fanservice-laden desserts cart made of Hidan no Aria, Ao no Exorcist, Lotte no Omocha!, and Kami Nomi II. Gosick is also finishing up so that was fun to get a break from the usual stuff. This season promises to be rather peculiar, but I am looking forward to many of them.
Oh, and I will purposefully not mention 2nd or 3rd seasons of series I don't know for obvious reasons. Some of them may be good, but I haven't seen the 1st season so I have no opinion on the series in general.
Here they are:
Double-J (June sometime): Uh...this manga has 2 chapters...why is this thing getting greenlighted for a series? The hell? It BETTER not be just because it has cute girls and it barely matches the definition of "school life" anime - by which they mean "school exists in background". Just...no.
Yuruyuri (July 4th):
Oooooof course I could be wrong because I'm taking this on face, but seeing this thing and its associated genres both make me doubt that. I mean, Dogakobo Studios made 11eyes and Koihime Musou, for Christ's sake. I don't think that they're going to have a meaningful, cathartic series anytime soon.
Morita-san wa Mukuchi (July 5th): Interesting premise. 4-comic panel. I can smell an A-Channel sized failure from a mile away.
Kamisama Dolls (July 5th): The manga's beginning seems interesting, but not supremely engaging. I guess expect a softer version of Tsukihime, maybe? Not sure yet. Keep on the list.
Baka to Test to Shoukanjuu Ni! (July 7th): Baka to Test S2. Ohhhh yes. Cute drawings, hard-hitting humor, nice school-life/rom-com flow. Great series and I hope they keep it up.
What's wrong with this picture?
Usagi Drop (July 7th): Slow (obviously), has distinct timeflow, josei. It's very rewarding if you have the determination to keep trucking. I like the premise and I hope the anime series manages to capture the sort of the "special within the ordinary" vibe that the manga gives off.
Mayo Chiki! (July 7th): Pretty stereotypical rom-com with the additional girl added in for tension/fanservice. Eye candy/brain melter? Pretty much...
Itsuka Tenma no Kuro-Usagi (July 8th): Essentially the same as Mayo Chiki! except with the SUPERNATURAL. The manga/LN hasn't developed enough yet and I'm betting that this series is gonna be the same as the series above.
R-15 (July 9th): 90% chance of it going to (whatever that series was that featured mangakas) and doing it poorly; 5% chance it turns into a male Koe de Oshigoto (AKA shitfest); 5% chance it turns out well. Let's do this.
Dantalian no Shoka (July 15th): More Gosick-like than what is apparently this season's Gosick spiritual successor (see below)? I think so. Throw in Gosick, add more black-haired people, mix some Shana in, throw some good stuff out, and you may have this series. Keep on your list though, if you liked Gosick. I will.
Ro-Kyu-Bu! (July sometime): Uhhh...either this will turn out like what I expect it to be (read the plot summary please) and turn out bad, OR:
It won't turn out like I expected and still be really bad. I mean, this is one of those series where the setting/background/initial character themes pose such an overwhelming problem for the series that it's going to take a goddamn MIRACLE for this series to go places. Sorry, but it's probably not going to work out.
Ikoku Meiro no Croisee (July sometime): Apparently the Gosick spiritual successor. The manga doesn't seem like crap on face, but I should actually delve into it to see. It seems to be a nice slice-of-life deviant from the artwork of Gosick, so whoever likes slow stuff (such as the other series, Usagi Drop) should also keep this on their list.
Kami-sama no Memo-chou (July sometime): For some reason, this series has a strange appeal. It hasn't really gone anywhere yet, but the artwork is very nice, the romantic tension is implied (AKA not blatant), and it has potential. However, potential doesn't always translate into success, so keep a tab but don't invest.
Overall Review: This season seems to be like the Winter 2010-2011 season...sacrificing quality in favor of quantity. At least there's not AS MANY harem animes as last season, which is a relief since I'm not sure if I could have dealt with all the shoddy relationships.
Here are the pictures if you want to see them. Or you could take the 5 seconds on Google Image. Either way...
Here are some anime green-lighted for the distant future that I am very much looking forward to:
Boku wa Tomodachi ga Sukunai: Very funny, very extreme series that brings out the crazy without sacrificing the interpersonal relationships or the flow. What Haruhi, perhaps, should have been if it was aiming for a more light series. Actually, it IS sort of like a cross between Haruhi and Seitokai no Ichizon. Reading/Watching is highly recommended.
.........Huh.
Seitokai no Ichizon (Season 2): It's Seitokai no Ichizon. Expect crazy. A lot of crazy. A lot of humor. A lot of references. A lot of crazy humorous references. The only regrettable but also delightful thing is the noticeable passing of time. But that bittersweetness is oh so worth watching as this cast of characters starts pulling out their patented "one-pun-per-second" device. Keep on the radar please.
Slightly more than a cameo, slightly less than a felony. In other words, just right.
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Some other things I wanted to mention....
I saw the Kore wa Zombie desu ka? OVA ("13th episode")...what the hell lols. The makers sure know how to pull out both the fanservice and the crazy shit. I was about to criticize it to the point of no return (since it had absolutely no point, either to be funny/random or to give fanservice) and then the shit started flying and I had no choice but to laugh along. Pretty good if you're a fan of the series. Try it out. I will DEFINITELY review Kore wa Zombie sometime soon.
Also, International Saimoe Aquamarine Period. Nakano Azusa's going to win it all but we'll see.
GAH SORRY I COULDN'T RESIST BUT SO GOOD WHY
MorningLescue's Impressions:
Last season was pretty much a low point in my anime watching. I was not really impressed by any of the series besides AnoHana. Just looking at the preview list for summer, I predict that my summer will be occupied by more League of Legends than anime. NOTE: At the beginning of every season, I tend to say everything sucks. I merely read the synopses in the preview, which I know does not supply sufficient information to judge, but I form opinions based on what I have. I watch more series as I hear more about them after the first few episodes are released. Double J: Apparently has to do with culture, which I frankly don't care about at all. It all depends on the comedy factor now. Yuru Yuri: Seriously, what is up with this season and 4 girls in a club together? This looks like K-ON 3 Kamisama Dolls: Sounds like a murder mystery that involves things called Kamisama Dolls. Honestly I don't know what to think of this right now. Morita-san wa Mukuchi: No. More. School. Anime. With. 4. Girls. (at least in one season) Please. Looks terribly boring. Goddamn 4-komas jumping on the bandwagon. Usagi Drop: From what I hear, this one has promise. I'll look forward to seeing how the two characters develop. NO. 6: At least this is not confined to a classroom with 4 girls. A science fiction novel should have more potential than a generic-looking 4-koma (I would hope so). The Idolm@ster: At least this is actually about Idolmaster, not like Sunrise's shit-ass mecha adaptation. Why must they turn it into mecha? I know next to nothing about Idolmaster actually, but I can't get enough of this video, so I will watch this show. (goddamn you, UTW)
Mayo-Chiki: Random genderbending anime, this time it's a girl pretending to be a guy. I just don't care. R-15: Wtf, why would a teenager write porn novels. I hate you, Japan. Dantalian no Shoka: The girl looks like Shana and sounds like she functions like Index. Not sure exactly what kind of story this is, but it looks more interesting than the other shit on here. Ro-Kyu-Bu!: 10 bucks says less than 5% of this show has to do with basketball. Them bishoujo lolis don't play basketball. Kami-sama no Memo-chou: Looks like modern Gosick. I hope she doesn't "reconstruct the chaos" with as bullshit explanations that Victorique so conveniently did EVERY TIME. Sacred Seven: Sunrise, why you so lame now? Instead of cheesy taglines, bring us something even half as good as Code Geass. Baka Test 2: I've been waiting for this. A great rom-com set up well with actually funny and likable characters. Also, dat Hideyoshi. Itsuka Tenma no Kuro-Usagi: At first when I saw that picture, I thought, what a generic loli. Then I read "The Legend of the Legendary Heroes" in the synopsis, and for me, 'nuff said. I'm definitely picking this up. I don't care what people say, LOLHeroes was the best show of summer 2010. Not Shiki. Not HOTD (Hell no). Not K-ON!!. I will have faith in Kagami Takaya. Manyuu Hikenchou: Breasts are all powerful? What is this, Seikon no Qwaser? This seems like it will overdo the ecchi and be dumb. Nurarihyon no Mago 2: Season 1 was soooo boring. I still have not finished it cause it's so slow and has bad fight scenes. It doesn't help that I already knew the story from reading the manga either, which was one of my favorites. Take this as a lesson to stay away from shonen manga adaptations; instead look into the source material because it is better 99% of the time. Higurashi Kira: Have no idea what this is about, but it's Higurashi; therefore, I watch. Carnival Phantasm: Now that I reflect, I didn't particularly like Fate/Stay Night or Tsukihime (apparently the VN's are much much better to the point that fans refuse to acknowledge the existence of the Tsukihime anime). Strangely enough, I really liked Unlimited Blade Works though. It's not the characters that pissed me off, so this OVA will be fun to watch. Once again my current opinions mean next to nothing. It will probably change once I hear more about each series, but I still foresee more LoLing than animu-watching. Still to come: Kizumonogatari (Also known as Koyomi Vamp): I heard this will be adapted into a movie set to air next year. Finally we get to see the backstory behind the massively popular Bakemonogatari and how Arararagi got his badass vampire powers. Working! 2, Shinryaku! Ika-Musume 2, and Seitokai no Ichizon 2: These are 3 sequels of shows that I felt successfully delivered satisfying comedy. Look forward to them if you were a fan of the S1's. Now I just need more Zetsubou-Sensei.
Zetsuboushita! The state of anime in the near future has left me in despair!

5 comments:

  1. Chris- I find your neurotic obsession with Azusa Nanako to be a subject of concern. As someone who cares about your well-being, I would advise you to stay far away from music-playing lolis, especially ones with black hair. Despite their *ahem* highly arguable "cute" appearances, these lolis are actually ferocious beasts of the netherworld who wish to use your body as a vessel for their maniacal demands (they may have already succeeded). Take care.

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  2. I have already planned to attend a meeting at a local mutual aid foundation (Lolicons Anonymous) to help my addiction to squealing in glee every time I see a half-decently drawn picture of Azusa. Thank you for catching me before it was too late :).

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  3. All I can say is Azunyan is a perfectly justified object of neurotic obsession. Oh, and Chris is a lolicon.

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  4. Wow, I love you guys for posting recommendations for manga/anime on this website. I really love these stuff but I really don't ever know what stuff is coming out/is good. Keep on posting, I need animes to watch over the summer.

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