Expectations: Winter 2012 Anime (January/February)

Happy holidays guys! To make your days even better, we've got a very convenient set of previews for you to read for each of the upcoming anime series (not OVAs, too many random ones popping up nowadays) this winter. Nothing like reading about how terrible this season's A Channel imitation will be by the yule log, eh? Furthermore, we have not one, not two, not three, but FOUR differing opinions to get the full blast of how each series will probably be perceived. So without further ado, here's the blog team and the color code - let's get on with it! (Note: due to the lower quality and high quantity of seemingly terrible series this season, please understand that some comments will be cut short, often to "urgh" or "god this is gonna suck". Bear with us.)

Extracareful - blue (because who the hell else would watch Tamayura with me)
NotMoe - green
BartreTheBeast - red
CrimsonMonarch - pink cuz im a boss

Oh and I'm only including series here that are not sell-outs OR create brain aneurysms. That means YOU, Tantei Milky Opera Holmes.

Natsume Yuujin-Chou Shi (1/2/12)

As the fourth season of the unique Natsume Yuujin-Chou series, I'd say I would obviously recommend it if you're a fan. If you haven't been into it, you have a long way ahead of you. Again, not saying much because, well, I haven't seen it myself.

I really need to see this series sometime...

Other people say this is promising. I have no opinion as of now, aside from the fact that Arakawa Under the Bridge takes precendence.

Not really a priority. Only saw the half of the first season and didn't like it so no. 

New Prince of Tennis (1/4/12)

An oldie (especially evident in terms of graphic style relative to modern series) but goodie, this series combines tennis, messed-up humor (this one person showed me what was called the "fish scene"...) and Dragonball Z-style serves. Again, I didn't see Prince of Tennis, but I would probably watch this classic sports series if you liked the first season or if you like sports series in general.

I got bored of the original series pretty quickly; clearly not my interest.

I finished the original series (reading) and started the spin-off, but I don't think I'll watch this. All sports series are bound to end up with characters pulling off insane, impossible feats, but this series overdoes it. It is possible to break bones in football (Eyeshield 21). It is possible to maul people in boxing with a single punch (To aru Majutsu no Index Hajime no Ippo). It is possible to do slam dunks in basketball (Slam Dunk). It is not possible to send someone flying into the stands, take away ones 5 senses, magically cause all balls to curve to you, to cause a ball to slice in two after hitting the line of the net, or play a game of tennis using a racquet with only 2 strings on it in tennis. I understand the need to make the series dramatic, but doing it by having people bloodied and sent flying by tennis balls is too much.

I prefer Baby Steps over this garbage. 

Baby, Please Kill Me! (1/5/12)

Ok, I lied about not previewing terrible series here, but I just gotta point this out as perhaps already the worst series in this season.

Think about this: the two themes at work here are moe and ultraviolence. Alex Mercer meets My Little Ponies? I don't think so. Also, you can tell that the production quality of this series is low when the preview (supposed to be pretty attractive for obvious reasons) is slightly worse than a Youtube/Nico Nico Douga AMV. Take a look - or rather, don't. This series will crash.

But then again my predictive powers for extreme series tend to be somewhat faulty, so this might turn out to be another Ro-Kyu-Bu!. Can't see that happening though...

4-koma anime are generally not very good.

I tried reading this, then realized that it was decreasing my chances of getting an A in multi this quarter because it was slaughtering my already dwindling number of brain cells. I suspect watching it would have an effect similar to MARS of Destruction: halving my IQ. Its only selling point is the blonde twin-tailed loli...or it would be if it were voiced by Rie Kugimiya.

I think this anime will turn out decent in my view point. Plus, look at Higurashi, that was moe and mega-psycho- violence at its finest. Granted, different style, but it worked. 
 
^Yes, and that difference in style is key. And Higurashi, although it had moe/fanservice moments, was primarily concerned with psycho-violence, and it actually had a plot (this series does not...).

Amagami SS+ (1/5/12)

Man, this is gonna be good. Nobody really expected Amagami to be this popular (at best a diluted Kimikiss?) but the first season made one helluva splash. It had everything - the different arcs with the nice transitions, the extra side stories, the imouto arc, the graphics, the sound, you name it, this visual novel adaptation had it. The girls were nicely done and nothing like any of the other VN adaptations from last year. I hope AIC continues their solid adaptation and concludes (or leaves open, whichever fits best) well. I'm especially looking forward to the Hibiki arc~~

Oh and for the love of God, please extend the Miya arc.

lolnope.

The ExtraCareful and MorningLescue both seem to like this series. I may start it eventually, but there are backed up series with higher priority to watch before that. Such as Shinryaku! Ika Musume.

Loved the game and I know this will be good. Will be low priority as there is too much out there and with this having a predictable story, I'll wait it out. 

Recorder to Randoseru (1/5/12)

4koma again, though the concept is better, still not my preference.

Concept is...different. Not sure if that's a good thing though. The guy's kinda like Stiyl Magnus, tall and mature-looking for his age. Except this guy doesn't use runes. And Stiyl doesn't carry around a recorder. Continuing with the Index connections, the fake loli is like Komoe sensei.

It's interesting, definitely watching the first 3 episodes and then deciding from there.  

What the hell?

High School DxD (1/6/12)

Moe. Dropped.

If I'm in desperate need of fanservice, I'll start this. Otherwise, I'm not going to bother with it, partially because I'm tired of seeing thickheaded male protagonists (Ichika, I'm looking at you) and partially because I think it's stupid that baka-tsuki is translating this and not Denpa Onna.

MOST ANTICIPATED SERIES OF THE LIST. I like the main character's train of thought as he courageously announces the harem route from the beginning like seitokai no ichizon (Making him DEFINITELY NOT like Ichika whose sexuality was on par with Shinji Ikari). Also, who doesn't like vampires, action, oppai, chess, main protagonist who actually gets buff and strives for the harem route, oh and did I mention oppai? #1 boi.

Oh this. From where the manga is going, I don't like the premise much. Yes fanservice, but all fanservice and no plot OR character makes Jack a Japanese pervert. Probably not ever going beyond 3-5 episodes. I expect a repeat of what Maken-ki! was for the Fall 2011 season.
 
Senhime Zesshou Symphogear (1/6/12)

I would actually be interested in this if I didn't think this would lead to moe; the concept looks quite good.

The premise is very unique, which makes me feel that it will either be interesting and enjoyable or flop. I hope it has good music.

Looking forward to this, love androids/vocaloids. Another favorite.  

Isn't this a mix of that terrible merchandise-based series that we previewed (Busou Shinki, I believe its name was) and the worst of THE iDOLM@STER? Not looking terribly forward to it, but will try and watch.

Mouretsu Pirates (1/7/12)

What is this.

I suspect MorningLescue would like this because it has pirates allowing a connection with One Piece. If I watched it, I would probably spend half the time screaming "nice boat." So I probably won't, unless MorningLescue and/or ExtraCareful love it or something.

YES! Good ol' fashioned random pirates. This is what One Piece should have been if it was going to end up straying from it's original plot. 

Unfortunately, any series that gets its inspiration from a picture at a doujinshi labeled "Miniskirt Space Pirates" will not get a thumbs up from me.

Brave10 (1/7/12)

Looks very manly. Probably won't bother with it, as I've had my fill of manliness recently from Fist of the North Star.

If this is anything like Sengoku Basara then it is worth watching. 

I hope it turns out ok, but I'm afraid that it'll just be mediocre at best.

Nisemonogatari (1/7/12)

A Shaft sequel to an anime that I half-liked, which means this will probably be terrible.

The Bakemonogatari adaptation was very nicely handled for what the light novel was. VERY nicely handled. I think the disappointment mainly comes from the fact that Bakemono is simply the initial stories and not a continuation of the characters (which is terrible, since the continuing stories such as Nadeko Medusa is much better). This being said, I expect more development of every character in this series, even if the perspective is different. I fully expect Shaft to be able to pull off a good series, and I'll be heavily disappointed if they don't. 

An interesting quote for those of you who've only seen the anime adaptation and don't really know anything about the characters:

"In the official guidebook, Nisio Isin did an interview with all of the voice actors, and asked Kana Hanazawa on what character she would like to play, in which Kana Hanazawa replied that she'd like to play an evil character, probably becoming the basis of Nadeko Medusa (Hanazawa plays Nadeko Sengoku in Bakemonogatari)."

Need to watch Bakemonogatari before I can think about watching this. Also, are they wearing sunny-side up eggs in their hair?

Seeing as how I loved Bakemonogatari, I will probably end up loving this one as well. 

Area no Kishi [Knight in the Area] (1/7/12)

Random sports series that I probably won't bother with. The only other soccer series I know is Captain Tsubasa, but this at least seems to have better artwork.

Read the manga and although a fan of sport manga/anime, there are too many soccer ones out there that it gets kinda old. 

I thought this series was pretty big, but again, it's another sports manga. I don't think our blog team is very accepting of these, so don't expect to see reviews of them...

I mean, have you guys ever seen a series where the final "spirit-of-the-tiger" induced goal-match-point-kick-smash by the main character DOESN'T MAKE IT IN? I didn't think so.

Zero no Tsukaima F (1/7/12)

If I had watched the first 3 seasons, I would watch it. Is everyone looking forward to another formulaic OP by Ichiko?

Already know what happens, but will still end up watching it. 

Damn it all to hell. I'm also gonna end up watching it, but just...why...
Sometimes I just wonder if the studio that makes ZnT is just not interested in making a good series.

Aquarion Evol (1/8/12)

Only mecha series I bothered with were TTGL and Bokurano. Probably won't watch, since I haven't heard great things about the series. The song "Sousei no Aquarion" sounds good in Nico Nico Douga Kumikyoku though.

HELL YEAH BABY! Aquarion is back! Of course I love orgasmic mecha combo scenes as much as the next guy, what really sells me is the continued reincarnation of Apollo and the rest of the gang. I am interested to see if they will keep the same plot as the first one or come up with something new entirely.

Yeah, listen to CrimsonMonarch. Aquarion is a pretty big name series-wise, but I haven't watched it yet so I would trust the comments above if you're into this genre.

Rinne no Lagrange: Flower declaration of your heart (1/8/12)

See above reason.

Will watch simply because it has mechas in it. 

The premise is very incoherent. Probably the Horizon of the Winter 2012 season. Hope it comes out nicely in the wash though.

Poyopoyo Kansatsu Nikki (1/8/12)

......wtf?

^agreed 

A cat is fine too


Another (1/9/12)

Looks like yandere. Seems creepy so I might watch it later if I have time.

Meh, gloomy eye patched girl in horror setting. Not liking it. Now if it was an eye patch girl like Shimei Ryomou then I would reconsider. 

At least it's a change of tone. I want this to keep me at least barely conscious after Zero no Tsukaima puts me to sleep.

Ano Natsu de Matteru (1/9/12)

Smells like moe. ExtraCareful says it's going to be similar to Toradora so I might watch it.

Will watch the first 3 episodes and judge from there on. 

Same as above, but since the character designer is the same as the one from Toradora! I'll probably be much more lenient. After all, it's a slice-of-life, and I'm the only one on this blog who went through Iroha and Tamayura (bastards...)

Danshi Koukousei no Nichijou [Daily Lives of High School Boys] (1/9/12)

The description says "humorous yet 'realistic' everyday life," which gives off a Nichijou-ish feel (which is good). Seems safe, so I might watch it.

Another watch first 3 episodes and judge from there. Not really digging the whole boy school idea, but there seems to be at least one girl going by the promotion cover right? 

I watched the PV and it was great. The VAs (and the mood) are from the cast of Gintama, so this is an obvious starter for me.

Papa no Iu Koto o Kikinasai! (1/10/12)

My pick of the season. Weird as hell background into typical comedy/seinen series into lolis featured with good graphics? All right.

This series looks like it has good lolis. Blonde twin-tail instafaved. Might watch.

Although it is heavy on loli's, I will watch it because the plot intrigues me. It reminds me of a lot of shoujo mangas so I shall watch. 

Inuboku Secret Service (1/12/12)

This series supposedly has a loli who transforms into an oni. Since this allows me to make a reference to Suika Ibuki of Touhou, I will try to watch this.

Liked the manga, will watch. 

I like the premise (pretty much the reverse of what we've been seeing in every other rom-com seinen manga these days) but I'm not sure how much of it will fit into the adaptation. Nevertheless, this is the shoujo series of the season, so keep a tab on it.

Thermae Romae (1/12/12)

Because everyone likes nude Roman statues. I really don't understand this series... something about time travelling and baths. If ExtraCareful likes it, I might try it...

Not even gonna bother with this. 

For the good of all...I guess I'd better watch at least one episode...
 
Black Rock Shooter (2/2/12)

So they finally decided to turn this into a series, eh? Let's see if they can transform the half-baked OVA into something worthwhile. People have said that the loli premise of the OVA was interesting, but that the producers couldn't flesh it out in the 90 or so minutes theywere given. I hope I won't regret watching it.

Also, if neither the OP nor the ED are done by Supercell, I will have a fit.

...Did I mention that this has a good loli?  

Will watch only because it looks badass. 

Don't get this fad, don't want to unless people say it's really really good. And even then only one episode.

Smile Precure! (2/5/12)

This gives off a disgustingly strong Sailor Moon vibe. Meaning that I will never watch it.

I will force myself CrimsonMonarch to watch this series or something just so that we can say we covered everything.

I will say that I have watched all the Pretty Cure seasons with Fresh Pretty Cure! being my favorite. I don't know about this new one, but will probably end up watching it just because I am a boss. 

-----

And from the blog crew to you, HAPPY HOLIDAYS!