Expectations: 2013 Fall Anime

OboeOtaku: Hope you all are enjoying the new school year as much as I am. Which is to say, I hope you all want to commit sudoku as well.

We've decided to switch up the colors a little
ExtraCareful - blue
OboeOtaku - red

OboeOtaku: Actually, my desire to commit seppuku sudoku may be more from the previous season than anything else. God the levels of autism were appalling...

Many of the series this season seem to be series I've favorited/made note of on Batoto/BakaTsuki...let's see whether I was right to ignore them or not. I probably won't even be watching all that much to begin with, school seems to have gotten exponentially bitchier. That and chances are, I would rather play Melty Blood for 25 minutes than watch an episode of most of these series.

Also, if I didn't comment on anything, it's because I'm that disinterested in the premise.

ExtraCareful: Sorry for the delays this time around, guys. This season actually has a lot of interesting hooks masquerading as plot premises. However, will they be deep enough for even a 11/12-episode season? I have my doubts...

Without further ado, here are the new series this fall!

Diabolik Lovers (Already released)
Eh. The token reverse harem series of the season. Watch if you want to. I should probably get to watching some of them too, just so I can weigh in on the experience...

Miss Monochrome (10/1)
Haven't seen it, probably a 3 to 5-minute series, right? Will try it out, but obviously not worth investing into, unless you're a HUGE Horie Yui fan..

Coppelion (10/2)
Didn't this get greenlit one or two seasons ago? What happened to the adaptation, did it get pulled because of the nuclear plant incidents?

Well, Derpa is supposed to have a second season too, but it's been like what, 3 years?

Kyousogiga (10/2)
For some reason, I thought this was Earthbound related from looking at the title. Kyousogiga --> Gigyas Koou? Idk.

There's an easy way to tell if you're going to like this series or not. All you have to do is judge yourself on the feelings you get from the following statement:

"The MC is a 14-year-old hyperactive girl voiced by Rie Kugimiya, who fights enemies with a hammer."

...I'm watching it.

In all seriousness, though, I watched the two OVAs for this original by Toei, and it is beautiful as it is surreal. If you don't mind going on an acid trip, I suggest watching this. I've always said that if Toei took mainstream anime seriously, they would pack a punch - and they're delivering now. Original concept, hopefully will not disappoint.

Gaist Crusher (10/2)
Standard variation of sentai rangers. Eh.

Where's CrimsonMonarch, he's the mecha guy here...

Kyoukai no Kanata (10/2)
I would be motivated to watch this, but I don't think there's enough abs and triceps in this series.
Jk. I would watch this over Free! any day of the week. I've actually never seen any fantasy works from KyoAni (I know there are some things they've done, I'm just a lazy fuck), so I'm really looking forward to seeing how far they go with it.

"The work won an honorable mention in the Kyoto Animation Award competition in 2011."

The above phrase should thrill you. Several LN adaps that have been really good from KyoAni won honorable mentions. Although it does say "dark fantasy" as a genre, be ready to indulge in a steady serving of KyoAni supernatural magic, without the swimming. Anticipated series - but I am also anxious, since the studio's track record over the past year or so has not been good. We'll see.

Nagi no Asukara (10/3)
PA Works, and it's not about a Friday club that eats tanukis. Sounds like enough of a reason to try for me.

This "culture divide" trope between the land-humans and the sea-humans sounds a bit too much like a softer version of what we experienced in Suisei no Gargantia. However, it IS P.A. Works, and Urobuchi is NOT directing this series. So let's have a little more hope for this series. Will try with anticipation.

Infinite Stratos 2 (10/3)
THE GOOD:
- Charlotte Dunois
- Student Council President
- Charlotte Dunoir
- Eyecandy
- Char <3

THE BAD:
- Cecilia Alcott
- Possibly one of the thickest, most numbskulled male protagonists I've seen in an anime to date.
- Cecilia Alcott
- Plot? Eh? Bajunga?
- Cecilia "my-voice-is-the-voice-that-pierces-the-heavens-eardrums" Alcott

I'll let you choose. Basically, it determines whether good blonde cancels out shit blonde.

Will cover the "Russian girl(s)" arc. I'm pretty sure she's supposed to represent Russia, right? Anyways, it's not gonna go through a lot of plot, so don't expect any. 

...I'm saying this like the first season went through a lot of plot - ________ -;;;

Kill la Kill (10/3)
"The series, which is Trigger's first original television anime project, is directed by Hiroyuki Imaishi and written by Kazuki Nakashima, both of whom had previously worked together on Gurren Lagann."

I don't even need to read the description. I'm in fanboy mode now. Sorry EC.

On a side note, the possessed school uniform looks kinda like a Gunmen imo. Probably intentional lols.

Some bullshit about powers and violence...high school ruled by fear via supreme student council...something about drama...now the female lead has to fight the council to find out the truth do boss fights for 12 episodes.

Joy.

This series makes Dansai Bunri no Crime Edge look decent enough to watch.

As someone who actually tried watching that shit, I'll have to disagree with the last part of that lol.

Outbreak Company (10/3)
Blah blah blah hits several mainstream fetishes blah blah blah fanservice blah blah blah complete this objective blah blah blah counting on you.

#trapwave2014

I'll probably give it a go, but it'll probably end up like Hagure Yuusha no Estetica in terms of meh fanservice.

Golden Time (10/3)
This is my most anticipated series of the season by a landslide. They've brought back the Takemiya Yuyuko/JC Staff/Hashimoto Yukari combo that made Toradora! one of my favorite series of all time. EC may disagree, but as long as they just follow the LN and don't fuck anything up, this will probably be my favorite series of the season.

Prioritize this above all others. Even Non Non Biyori. And this is a lolicon saying that.

HOPEFULLY this will not be a bland, straightforward reading of the light novel. If it adds a new facet onto the franchise's plot-line while applying that J.C. Staff gloss over the graphics, it'll probably end up being the best series of Fall 2013.

Aikatsu! [Season 2] (10/3)
Meh. I should probably watch Pretty Cure a bit so I can shit on it.

Freezing Vibration [Season 2] (10/4)
More boobs, yadda yadda. You know Im Dal Young.

The worst part is, Im Dal Young made a GREAT, refreshing series in Unbalance x Unbalance (a Korean manhwa). But as he got swamped with Japanese manga works like this and Koimoku (which was still decent and had a unique conclusion, but leaned more heavily towards needless fanservice), it's like he lost his balls or something. It's immensely frustrating. 

Now, as one Batoto comment points out, "This comic is basically Nipple Fight 2: The Tittening: Boob Harder".

And I couldn't agree more.

Strike the Blood (10/4)
I saw this series pop up on both BakaTsuki and Batoto, but for some reason, I never really bothered trying it out. What is with my aversion to fantasy/shounen I wonder...?

The subplot is the usual shallow/incomplete supernatural powers + white people who like to use a lot of Eastern European words for magical rituals bullshit. Plus vampires, I guess. Main plot is usual rom-com with dumbass and cool-headed girl who had a bad past or whatever the fuck female leads like to bitch about nowadays. Watch for the fanservice.

Yuusha ni Narenakatta Ore wa Shibushibu Shūshoku o Ketsui Shimashita. (10/4)
The MC is called Raul. I think I'm going to try this series solely for that reason

Usual slice-of-life/rom-com combination, they realize that while situations are different, people from all walks of life can be nice, the usual themes. You know how this goes.

Kuroko no Basuke [Season 2] (10/5)
Typical continuation, etc etc (you'll notice we tend to skim over the sports series here. Among others). The story started off as being fairly unique and interesting in their take on the MC's ability, but it's just the same old schtick now. 

Part of my cynicism here may be out of annoyance at the fact that we only recently came out of a hugeass flashback in the manga. 

It's funny because Japanese people are the best at basketball lolols

Meh, another series based on a lack of knowledge in a narrow field. What can you say?

Log Horizon (10/5)
I would say "hasn't there been enough of this shit recently," but then I remember last season's spree of the 4-5 girls-in-random-clubs and realize I can't say much.
...Except I can. Shit like this is obviously just riding on SAO hype. We're probably also going to see a giant-humanoid-monster + 3.14-D maneuver gear series in the near future too.

No this is nothing like Sword Art Online because it has a different name and graphics and has no console.

It's like how League of Legends is a completely different genre from DotA 2.

Anyways, have fun watching people grind for 12 episodes.

White Album 2 (10/5)
I haven't played/seen the first White Album, and I really should. It seems like a decent visual novel. However, I have the usual misgivings over whether this is gonna be anything more than the token standard visual novel adaptation that appears every season. If it is...well, that's that, I guess.

Little Busters! Refrain [Season 2] (10/5)
God damn it KyoAni...

I'm done commenting on this. I'm absolutely done. Not watching.

Hajime no Ippo Rising [Season 3] (10/5)
I will summarize this series for you so that you don't have to read/watch it.

POWER
DETERMINATION/FIGHTING SPIRIT
DEMPSEY ROLL
TRAINING CAMP
DEMPSEY ROLL LEVEL UP
JOKES ABOUT LARGE DICKS
MORE TRAINING
COMEBACK KO'S
DEMPSEY ROLL

Done. Now you don't have to waste your time with this series.

How-2-Dempsey-Roll

Season 3 of a classic series. Let the fans come.

Tesagure! Bukatsu-mono (10/5)
Looks like 5 minute fodder to me. Have yet to see any "CG animes," and I don't think now is the time to start.

"The CG anime centers around the extracurricular activities of students."

Are you

I mean

what the

I can't even

....

really?

How fucking generic, how fucking scraping-the-barrel can you get? Even the description is just depressing.

Sekai de Ichiban Tsuyoku Naritai! (10/6)
A series focusing on female pro wrestling? I thought this shit was only supposed to exist in hentai god damn it.

This reminds me of El-Palacio, but I'm not sure if this premise will be able to carry this series through the season. It just doesn't seem to have any legs to run on. So what, they're wrestlers. What now? Are they just gonna do 12 episodes of them jumping onto the ring?

Gingitsune (10/6)
What's with these damn series that involve girls making random friends with male temple deities and then shit happens? Some serious reverse-Kannagi stuff going on nowadays.

^Are we gonna see more otaku rage from possibilities of a non-virgin female heroine then? lel.

Yozakura Quartet ~Hana no Uta~ [Season 2] (10/6)
I forget the plot of Yozakura Quartet, but I remember it being at least decently creative and nice enough for me to watch. Try the first season or the manga original out if you're interested.

Ace of Diamond (10/6)
But not of spades? Must be shit.

Eh, OboeOtaku summed it up nicely enough.

Walkure Romanze (10/6)
inb4 the jokes about the lances sliding off the round smooth curves of the breastplates

The go-to series for visual-novel/eroge-based fanservice this season. The developers behind the original also made Princess Lover!, and that shit got a fucking hentai OVA to go along with the official anime adap. 

Yeeeeeeap.

On the other hand, HORSES

Meganebu! (10/6)
This series is about completely heterosexual males that really like to wear glasses, all gathered in a small room.

But do they have abs? That is the question here.

Magi: The Kingdom of Magic [Season 2] (10/6)
I'll let EC take care of this, I know nothing about this series.

Magi is, perhaps, one of the best examples of a manga based on world creation that is currently running today. Unfortunately, the latest updates are slowly starting to drag a bit, but you won't get to that part yet as you go on another wondrous joyride in the season two adaptation with Alibaba, Aladdin, Morgiana and co. The only question is...how will they fit all that plot into this season?

@_______@;;

Phi Brain - Kami no Puzzle [Season 3] (10/6)
No.

Teekyuu [Season 3] (10/6)
Wait. Wait...How the actual fuck did this get a 3rd season...

This is the closest thing to Alvin and the Chipmunks plus tennis. 

Why, Japan? Why?

Yowamushi Pedal (10/7)
Interesting concept, but again, I feel like this is gonna end up in the shallow end of the pool just like every other hobby-based manga/anime out there, just like how Yama no Susume did a couple of seasons ago.

Kikou Shoujo wa Kizutsukanai (10/7)
I like how the series teases at fanservice but is actually continually rolling into different plot arcs. I wish the main plotline wasn't a simple goddamn "grind till the boss fight" fantasy series, but what can you do?

The voicing, however, worries me. Beware.

The animations remind me of OreShura, lol.

Non Non Biyori (10/7)
ALL HAIL THE LOLIS
I actually don't know how this got an adaptation. Much less by Silver Link. It's just standard brainless SoL fodder. With lolis. And not enough chapters.

It's not like they need enough chapters to make bullshit up, as we've seen all too many times...

Aoki Hagane no Arpeggio (10/7)
The only times I will permit the usage of submarines in an anime is when they're used like they are in Baby Princess.
As for the series itself...well I'll be frank, I'm not that interested in warfare-related anime. This sounds like a version of Kantai Collection based solely on submarines.
On that note, Kantai Collection is also supposed to be getting an anime next year...but I'll wait to shit on that for now. After all, there are still many other series here to shit on...

Yeah, I'm not even going to TOUCH the current trend that is Kantai Collection.

Anyways, girls and ships and shit. The ships are just filler, it's a regular bossfight + rom-com series.

Gundam Build Fighters (10/7)
Do I even need to explain this?

BlazBlue Alter Memory (10/8)
"My defenses!" ~Iron Tager, every second of every matchup in fucking existence.

I think I'll actually try watching this because I actually have no idea of the backgrounds/stories for any of the characters in this series. And I'm not gonna find out anytime soon from the games because it's impossible to play BlazBlue on a keyboard. 

...Oh right, that and the fact that Tsubaki is voiced by Asami Imai.

Hmm...I might try it too. I want to learn slightly more about the BlazBlue universe, if possible. My worry, however, is that the series will just throw us in media res while expecting us to already know half the characters in the story.

Tokyo Ravens (10/8)
I'm going to close my eyes, pick a slip of paper out of the hat, and say it's standard rom-com with fights in between.

^This man is too good.

Ore no Noonai Sentakushi ga, Gakuen LoveCome o Zenryoku de Jama Shiteiru (10/9)
Fanservice. Diomedea as a studio is excellent at pacing, though, so expect something decent.

The title of this series is entirely too long. Also, can't this guy just skip the damn multiple choice questions?

Galilei Donna - Storia di tre sorelle a caccia di un mistero (10/10)
Due to their inability to speak engrish, Japan has decided to switch over to Italian, which they are clearly more proficient at.

Yea I'm just going to assume that's what happened. Also I like how the descendants of Galileo are Japanese. And they have to run from the police. Not because they're black. That'd be racist.

This Italian obsession needs to stop.

Samurai Flamenco (10/10)
I REALLY hope that this series does something new with the "what is a hero/what is justice" trope, because if it's the usual consequentialist (end justifies the means) vs deontological (there should be set rules) debate I will kill myself.

Koroshiya-san (10/10)
Wait....this is an adaptation of a 4koma? Of an assassin? Is this like, Kill Me Baby minus the lolis?

A hit man doing janitorial tasks - this actually sounds pretty amusing in a cheeky way, although it's nothing we haven't seen before. Will try to go through a few episodes.

Kakumeiki Valvrave [Season 2] (10/10)
Mecha amirite

Pocket Monsters XY (10/17)
I believe you mean "Digimon XY".

Watch the Kanto remake with the video game storyline instead. Fuck Ash.

Pupa (October 2013)
Sister turns into a monster, brother tries to restore her. Interesting concept, hopefully it lasts for a season. I'm also worried about it turning too angsty and introspective, because that shit gets dumb after a few episodes of flashbacks and silent thinking.

At least the comments seem positive. "It was a masterpiece, really verging on being as awesome as Love Hina-"

OH GOOOOOOOOOOD NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

WHY DID I READ COMMENTS ON MYANIMELIST

Favorited on Batoto months back, never got to it. Probably won't in the near future either, I take a while for these things. I mean, Otoyomegatari  has been on there for half a year, and I only just started it. Hinamatsuri has been on there since it came out on Batoto, and I still haven't read it. And I'm probably going to prioritize Hinamatsuri above this.

----

To be quite honest, last season was a disappointment. KyoAni failed to deliver, many of the sequels were flops or a mediocre evolution of past mehs, and so many adaptations were simply straight reads of the manga/light novel original. I don't want that. I want the anime to show me a new side of the story, as a different form of media. I want it to have an original (but still plausible) interpretation. If Western superhero media can do that, then so can Japanese animated media. I would, however, like to give a shout-out to Love Lab and Kitatsubu Katsudou Kiroku as the only series I fully watched/enjoyed this season - they pulled out all the stops on reference-based/slapstick/other forms of humor to make me laugh and enjoy what little the Summer 2013 season had to offer.

^This man summed it up pretty well. Love Lab and KKK were the best series (and also the only ones I ended up following to the end). Also, hip-hip-hooray for the death of the Shingeki no Kyojin anime. I know they're gonna whip out a second season, that shit is too big of a cash cow for them not to, but revel in its absence from the TV while you can. I basically spent all the time I would have spent watching other series trying to not suck ass at Melty Blood instead. Luckily, this season seems a lot better.