I’m glad other people know more what’s going on in Japan right now than I do. 21 months into watching anime and I’m still largely trying to catch up with what has already been released in the US for the past 10 years.
I’m currently watching four and blogging one spring anime currently. I may add another show to blog in the summer, though expect me to write those reviews different than Nagasarete Airantou as I’m still learning the best way to blog series. I’m also only taking one new series because I’m still not sure how much I can handle at once yet, so I thought that taking it slow first is better than biting off more than I can chew.
That said, what new shows will I watch?
Baccano!
Oh goody! Alchemists. And immortal ones at that! In prohibition-era America. That starts off the list of summer anime series. Apparently this series deals with said alchemists dealing with a variety of characters in a series of plot lines which apparently are all supposed to come together at the end. Maybe if this gets good reviews I may pick it up, but it’s not on my list to watch right away.
Buzzer Beater
A remake of a 2005 anime series, about basketball. I haven’t seen any sports anime, save Angelic Layer (if that counts), and I don’t really plan on starting. If I want to watch sports I’ll watch…sports.
Code-E
This sounds like it should be a comedy - a girl emits electromagnetic waves whenever she experiences high levels of emotion. Of course, these EMP pulses interfere with most electrical devices, so try not to watch a stimulating TV show with her. Meanwhile, a boy comes along who wants to study this phenomena and, well, the anime will probably write itself from there. Other than a different premise, I’m not sure how this is different from other romance comedies, so I’m inclined to skip this one.
Doujin Work
This is an anime series about writing manga. Specifically, it’s about a girl learnig to write doujinshi (self-published manga). The manga was a 4-panel comedy comic ala Azumanga Daioh, so I may also try watching this as well.
Higurashi no Naku Koro ni Kai
This is the sequel to When They Cry. When they Cry is still on my list, and if I like it, I’ll hit this, but I won’t watch this until I see the first series. It sounds interesting, but pass due to not having seen the show it’s based on.
Kenko Zenrakei Suieibu Umisho
This is one series that I can’t seem to find much about online. However, from what I have read, it’s about a boy who is the manager of his high school’s swim club, but basically hates water himself. This also sounds like one of those fan service filled comedy series. I’ve had my fill of series like this for a while I think, so I don’t think I’ll watch it to begin with, but if it sounds like it’s getting good reviews, I may decide to pick it up.
Moetan
You know you’re in trouble when a series as the world moe in the title. Do you want loli’s using video game and anime lines to each you english? That’s what moetan was originally meant for, using often bizzare lines or references from anime in an attempt to teach English. And now it’s an anime. I may watch this just because it sounds hilarious, but I have completely decided on it yet.
Mononoke
No, this has nothing to do with Miyazaki’s movie Princess Mononoke. Once again, this is a sequel, this time of Ayakashi - Samurai Horror Tales. I don’t think I’d watch this one anyway, but given it’s a sequel of something I haven’t seen, it’s a definite pass.
Mushi-Uta
One thing I look at in new shows are a unique premise, and promise that the series will be different from what I’ve already seen. This one seems to fit that bill. In a fantasy world, a certain type of bug known as Mushi eat people’s dreams. This has a plus side and a negative side to it, however. The plus is that the people who have their dreams “eaten” get paranormal powers. The negative is that once all your dreams are eaten, you die. Throw in a conflict between the government of the world and a resistance movement, and I’m curious to see how it works out. This also appears to be the production debut of the company BEAT FROG, so one doesn’t really know what to expect. I think I’ll at least start watching this one.
Nanatsuiro Drops
I just got done raving about Kanon and talking about how I want to watch Air and how much I seem to like well done visual novels. This one sounds, well, interesting as well: boy drinks weird liquid, and and a result turns into a stuffed animal at night. To turn back to normal, he has to collect “Star Drops” to turn back into normal. Ok, sounds weird, but OK. I’ll probably watch this, but I don’t think I’ll blog it.
Potemayo
Another 4-panel comic adaptation, this one is about a girl who suddenly pops out of the main character’s fridge and can read minds. As one might expect, this is a comedy, but there just isn’t a heck of a lot to get me excited about this one. Pass.
Sayonara Zetsubou Sensei
Despite the name, this is apparently supposed to be a comedy series about a rather negative and pessimistic teacher and one of his optimistic students. Or something. In any case, it doesn’t sound interesting enough for me to watch straight from Japan.
School Days
This is another visual-novel type game turned into an anime. What was unusual about this game was that instead of text and audio on still images, it had a lot of actual animation. There were also 21 endings, which is quite a lot for a visual novel, so even people who have played it may not know what ending the anime will take. I’ll probably end up watching this one as well. I’d say this is the odds-on favorite for the series that I choose to blog as well.
Shigurui
One Armed Samurai vs. Blind Samurai in the 17th century. That basically sums up this series from what I can tell. Oh, and it is apparently excessively violent. I think I’ll pass. If I wanted to start watching Samurai anime, I’m sure I could start with a lot better series.
Sky Girls
From the looks of art of this show, this looks like another lolis-with-mecha anime series. 10 years ago, aliens known as “worms” attacked mankind. The world eventually united in their fight against the invaders, but with no effect. Finally, the world decided to attack the works with large amounts of weapons of mass destruction. The resulting catastrophe saved mankind and defeated the worms, but nearly all of young and middle-aged men were wiped out in the battle. However, the worms have now re-emerged and it’s up to a trio of teenage girls to defeat them using their mecha. I’m already getting my mecha fill watching Idolmaster Xenoglossia, and it seems like a better show than Sky Girls, so I think I’ll pass.
Tetsuko no Tabi
Another series which I can’t find much about online, but from what I glean from it, it basically sounds like a manga-ka and his family traveling around. It sounds interesting, and may ultimately be funny, but I’m not sure it’s interesting sounding enough for me to want to spend my time watching it as it airs in Japan.
Tokyo Majin Gakuen Kenpucho Tou Dai Ni Maku
Another sequel of another horror series. Like Mononoke above, I’m not much into horror, and I doubt I’d watch this anyway, but I definitely wont watch it as a sequel of something I haven’t seen.
Zero no Tsukaima ~Futatsuki no Kishi~
Also known as The Familiar of Zero, this is another second season of an anime series I haven’t seen yet. This sounds like an interesting comedy, one which I want to pick up sometime, but again, I don’t want to watch the second season before the first, so pass for that reason.
Zombie-Loan
As the name may imply, this is basically a zombie-hunting anime. However, two of the hunters themselves are, in a sense, zombies (though not evil ones presumably) as, after they were involved in a horrific accident, they made a deal to hunt zombies in exchange for surviving. The third part of the group is a girl who can see “death rings” around people’s necks just as they’re about to die. I’m not normally one for this type of anime. Consider it to be on my watch list to pick up if it gets good reviews in the first few weeks.
Whew, so there you go. So in review:
What I’ll blog
School Days (probably)
What I’ll watch
this will probably include occasionally updates about what I think, but not an episode-by-episode write up
- Doujin Work
- Mushi-Uta
- Nanatsuiro Drops
What I may pick up if they sound good after a couple weeks
- Baccano!
- Kenko Zenrakei Suieibu Umish
- Moetan
- Zombie-loan
There you have it. Summer 2007 anime.
