Just saw the previews for Nobunga The Fool. Seems very promising, though it'll take a long time for Kawamori to earn my trust back after the terrible, terrible disaster that was EVOL.
I think Buddy Complex (odd title aside) looks decent, actually. I'd take something that is cliché and well-executed over something that tries to be original and fails miserably (ahem... Valvrave). My hunch tells me that it'll be more like Fafner than Valvrave in terms of plot detail. I thought Fafner was a good show, so... I might give this one a chance. I'm also giving Toaru Hikuushi e no Koiuta a chance. This show reminds me of Last Exile and Scrapped Princess, based the meager promotional material that has been released. I liked Toaru Hikuushi e no Tsuioku (movie) well enough, so I'll see this one too. (Besides, two of my favourite voice actors- Kouki Uchiyama and Kaito Ishikawa- are playing major characters in these shows, so it'll be vey hard for me to completely avoid them. If they do turn out to be bad, though, I fully intend to drop these shows after a few episodes).
Speaking of Fafner, I am mega sad that apparently Exodus is not happening. It was announced a few years back to be aired in the last quarter of this year...and absolutely nothing has been said on it since.
And well, the thing with Buddy Complex is that...look, we can't exactly trust it after Valvrave's previews gave absolutely no indication of how wonderfully ludicrous the show would be. It looked like a super robot carbon copy of Gundam Seed, and then in the first episode all the sudden the robot changes to look evil and then space newtype ghost vampires. So for all we know, Buddy Complex will abruptly change into a hardcore metal soap opera taking place in the literal bowels of hell.
Or, you know, maybe Valvrave was just Sunrise letting all their crazy out and this show will be perfectly normal. That'd be a twist. It just sounds kinda boring, is all.
And yeah, EVOL was never expected to be anything besides campy silliness, given what it was the sequel to.
Why do you fight? Why do you exist?I just watched the Super Sonico promo. Does she wear that headset literally 24/7?
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But it could have been GOOD campy silliness - and it was, for the first dozen or so episodes. After that point, the writers stopped caring and the entire thing fell into a twisted mockery of what storytelling should be.
Valvrave to me feels like a good or even a great show that got strangled by too few episodes and an unwillingness to create a main character that espoused something other than bog-standard "Protect my friends" type drivel, or even one that acted remotely heroic. I'll never understand why people consider something to be an attempt to ape the success of Code Geass when none of these shows have protagonists that are in any way as dynamic and plot-driving as Lelouch.
Definitely:
- Nobunaga the Fool
- Pupa (And yes, I am prepared for its... strange atmosphere and character development.)
- Season 2 of Silver Spoon
- Space☆Dandy (In its Toonami dub glory)
Maybe:
- Buddy Complex: Question is whether the latest show from Creator/Sunrise will be a pleasant surprise like Tiger & Bunny or a disastrous trainwreck like Valvrave. I will have to see others' reactions first before I take the plunge.
- Neppu Kairiku Bushi Road: It's been in Development Hell for 10 years. After seeing Coppelion become one of the worst shows of the last cour, I'm much more hesitant on watching this 3-hour special. I'll need to read the reviews first.
- Noragami: Two words: Deko Akao. He's notorious for being a lazy, inconsistent writer, so I'll have to see if he steps up before I take a chance on this series.
- Toaru Hikuushi E No Koiuta: The original movie was fantastic, so I'm wondering how a TV series can build upon the movie's universe. I'm a little worried that this will go to hell and damage the franchise's reputation in the process a la Eureka Seven AO, so I will keep my eye on reactions on forums first.
The rest I'll pass for now, though Super Sonico The Animation could be a Sleeper Hit so we shall see...
edited 25th Dec '13 8:39:17 PM by sanfranman91
Some notes on the series I've read (some of) the manga of:
- Hoozuki no Reitetsu: Definitely not the sort of thing we normally see, in art style, subject matter, or even sense of humour. I honestly didn't like it that much, but the PV looked promising, and adaptations can have huge effects on comedies
- Noragami: Kinda gloomy. Low on fighting, high on character development. Felt kind of like Kekkaishi
- Pupa: Aimed at siscon fans with cannibalism fetishes. Also, not very good. Going by the PV, it looks like DEEN is really phoning in the anime, too. Lower your expectations to the ground
- Saki Zenkoku-hen: They're covering a fairly short arc. As in, nowhere near long enough to last an entire cour. I'm interested to see how they're going to pad it out
- Sakura Trick: Good comedy, fairly good romance. Lots of kissing. So, you need to be at least moderately fond of yuri to enjoy it
my picks for this season:
- Tonari no Seki-kun - seems interesting, the art reminds me of Nichijou
- Toaru Hikuushi E No Koiuta - the CG of the aerial battle in the PV is a bit distracting
- Mahou Sensou - looks LN as fuck, but I'm a sucker for Functional Magic
- Nisekoi - hype
- Space Dandy - hypeHYPEhype
- Wizard Barristers - Ace Attorney WITH MAGIC!
- Chuu2byou 2
- Noragami
I may add Sakura Trick and/or Saki, depending on the amount of yuri I can withstand in a single season.
Pupa: Aimed at siscon fans with cannibalism fetishes.
Glad to see SOMEONE besides me basically translated the premise as "incest cannibalism". Why are people excited for this again?
I'm just planning on watching Space Dandy and Silver Spoon, maybe Inari, Konkon, Koi Iroha if it's good.
The only thing that jumps out at me are Happiness Charge Precure and Sakura Trick...which probably shows where my priorities are. Otherwise, I'll see what gets on Crunchyroll. I'll continue watching Kill La Kill, Strike the Blood, Gundam Build Fighters and Log Horizon from fall season.
edited 26th Dec '13 12:40:49 PM by universalperson
If you haven't actually read the manga, it sounds like it might be interesting and creepy for the right reasons. This turns out to wrong, but...
Should probably give Wake Up Girls a look, too, then. Primarily female cast, and the showrunner also did the BRS OVA
edited 26th Dec '13 2:29:02 PM by Hylarn
Alright.
High priority
- Bushi Road: Apparently only one episode, so what's there to lose? It will probably suck, but I can't pass up a mecha show involving the writer of Trinity Blood.
- Robot Girls Z: Mazingirls!
- Nobunagun: Weaponized historical figures. YES. I dearly hope this will be over-the-top.
- Witch Craft Works: I've read the manga way back when and while the story is more or less decent it's the excellent art that kept me reading. I hope the gorgeous visuals will be present in the anime.
- Space Dandy: I've had my Anti-Hype Programs running since I first heard about this show, but I'm still looking forward to it.
- Noragami: A supernatural story falling under the usual slew of genres and possessing a generic premise... but apparently the source material is good, and BONES is pretty good at adaptations.
- Buddy Complex: Japan has been really good to mecha fans lately.
- Nobunaga the Fool: Like I said, hurrah for mecha fans. Entertainment value's bound to be high too.
- Tonari no Seki-kun: Been meaning to read the manga and— holy crap Kana Hana yes yes yes.
- Toaru Hikuushi e no Koiuta: 'Cause I enjoyed the movie.
- D-Frag: Another one I've wanted to check out for a while now. I like the cast of seiyuus. Very much.
- Chuuni S2: I hear S2 will have less of S1's frankly mediocre drama and more of the excellent comedy. I approve.
- Hoozuki no Reitetsu: My obligatory "Tribute to Horizon, Chihayafuru, etc." show.
- Sakura Trick: Not really a yuri fan, but I smell a solid comedy.
- pupa: Will it suck? Probably. Will I enjoy watching it? Probably.
- Nourin: Rom-com, Silver Link, agricultural school, the seiyuu... check, all of them.
- Nisekoi: Take a cliche-riffic harem rom com and mix it with SHAFT. What the hell do you get? That's what I wanna find out.
- Wizard Barristers: Law procedural plus magic. Sounds good to me.
- Inari Konkon: Maybe I'll like this better than I did Gingitsune.
Moderate priority
- Double Circle: Nice art style, it's sci fi, plus it's short.
- Blah Blah Imouto Blah Blah: Will probably watch just to snark at it.
- Super Sonico: WHITE FOX is animating? This might just be interesting.
- Hamatora: There's just not enough to go on, but I'll likely bite.
- Mikakunin de Shinkoukei: SOL-comedy thing.
- Mahou Sensou: Will probably be a serviceable action fantasy.
- Wake Up, Girls!: If the songs are nice I'll keep watching.
- Sekai Seifuku: The little-girl lead puts me off, but the premise is sort of interesting.
Low priority
- Pupipo: Not my kind of show, but I do get the feeling that it might turn out to be surprisingly decent. Still not my kind of show so I'll be waiting for impressions.
- Onee-chan ga Kita: Looks boring, hahaha.
- Go! Go! 575: The Ore Imo designs are what interest me the most.
Not watching
- Seitokai Yakuindumo: Didn't watch S1, and am not planning to.
- Saki: Ditto.
- Silver Spoon: Ditto ditto.
- Maken-Ki: Ditto ditto ditto.
- Strange+: No thanks.
- CARD GAMES: You activated my trap card!
edited 26th Dec '13 10:05:59 PM by fillerdude
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You do know that the Card Game Anime in question is a Seinen right, and not aimed at the same demographic as Yu-Gi-Oh, you know?
That alone actually makes me want to see what it's like. It could be a breakout hit.
edited 27th Dec '13 5:03:10 AM by Demongodofchaos2
Watch Symphogear

The 24th anniversary is the 'anime twice the age of its target demographic' anniversary!